MADURAI: A 44-year-old man died after a portion of the rain-soaked roof of his house collapsed, following heavy downpour, near the Mathichiyam area in Madurai in the wee hours of Friday. This is the first such incident reported in the district this year, according to the disaster management department. Sporadic rain has been lashing Madurai district for the past couple of days. Following the heavy downpour, a portion of roof of a house collapsed in Mathichiyam area, killing Balasubramanian (44).

TIRUPATTUR: It gives me immense joy that my daughter, who will be joining Class 6 in the upcoming academic year, has received her ST community certificate. This will help her pursue higher education and secure dormitory facilities, said S Ambika (35), a resident of the Irular colony in Bapanapalli near Vaniyambadi. On Thursday, Collector K Tharpagaraj issued Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates to six school students from the community, marking a milestone in the nearly 50-year struggle of the resi

TIRUNELVELI: Three more persons were arrested by the Tirunelveli city police in connection with the attack on activist-cum-builder Ferdin Rayan here on Thursday. The accused were identified as Muzamil Murshid, Mullan Syed Ali and Abdul Ajees, natives of Tirunelveli. A special police team has also been set up to nab another accused Sahul Hameed, a native of Dindigul. Rayan, a resident of Palayamkottai, was hacked using a sickle on his head and hands on May 4 at a badminton ground here. Following

THOOTHUKUDI: Two persons were arrested by the Kovilpatti West police and a search is on to trace another for allegedly attacking an auto driver and a woman over previous enmity. According to sources, auto driver Gnanaprakasam (55) of Nadarajapuram was brutally hacked by a three-member gang on the AKS Theatre road late on Wednesday. His relative Punitha Mary, who attempted to shield Gnanaprakasam, also sustained injuries in the attack. Preliminary investigation revealed that the attack was carrie

COIMBATORE: The Anaimalai police in Coimbatore district on Thursday registered a case against a woman who befriended a woman devotee and stole about 13 sovereigns of gold ornaments from the latter at the Arulmigu Masaniamman Temple at Anaimalai. The case has been filed against Shanthi of Salem. The devotee who lost the valuables is Nagammal (67), wife of Thirupathi of Gandhi Nagar at Achampathu in Madurai. Police said Nagammal, a daily wage labourer, visited a temple at Kanakkanpatti on May 8 mo

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has quashed the final report (chargesheet) filed in a Pocso case against a lawyer and her partner, charged with sexually assaulting her 13-year-old son, after finding out that the investigation had not touched upon the bribery charges against a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) member who allegedly influenced the probe at the instance of the womans estranged husband (the boys father). This court is of the view that the final report is defective in the sense that the ma

TENKASI: A 16-year-old boy from Tirunelveli was swept away by flash floods triggered by heavy rain at the Old Courtallam Falls in Tenkasi on Friday. His body was later recovered by the fire and rescue services personnel and sent to Government District Headquarters Hospital for postmortem. The waterfalls will remain out of bounds for tourists until further notice. Police identified the deceased as K Aswin, a resident of NGO colony in Tirunelveli. Aswin recently cleared his SSLC examination. He vi

TIRUPPUR: The manager of a lodge in Udumalaipet was arrested and remanded for letting a minor boy rent a room in the facility where he allegedly sexually assaulted girl. The case relates to the sexual assault on two minor girls by nine people last Monday. The arrested person, Samuel (60), is a resident of Udumalaipet. Police said Samuel allowed a boy and a girl to take a room in his facility though it is illegal. He has been managing the lodge for the past several decades, police added. Further,

CHENNAI: Several places across Tamil Nadu received widespread rains on Thursday and Friday. Mylaudy in Kanniyakumari district registered the highest rainfall of 7 cm in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Friday. Tiruchendur in Thoothukudi, Valparai in Coimbatore, and Nannilam in Tiruvarur received 6 cm each; Cuddalore and Kottaram in Kanniyakumari received 5 cm each; and Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi received 4 cm during the same period. Karur Paramathi received 4.5 cm of rain from 8.30 am to 7.30

COIMBATORE: A police crackdown on escort services is on in Coimbatore city. More than 40 women have been rescued from the cartel running the racket in the last one month. Based on their statements, the Coimbatore city police in the last fortnight arrested a dozen middlemen who allegedly brought them to the illegal activity. Most of the rescued women are aged between 18 and 25. They are either students or employees. The city police have formed special teams and have intensified investigation foll

TIRUPATTUR: The Tirupattur Taluk police on Friday booked 90 villagers from Anganathavalasai on the charges of obstructing government officials from carrying out their duty. A day before, the villagers staged a protest, seeking permission to construct a compound wall for a temple on a parcel of land which happens to fall under the poramboke category. As the officials declined permission, following an inspection, the protesters reportedly besieged the officials vehicle and demanded them to issue o

CHENNAI: Customs officials at the Chennai airport seized around 1.6 kg of gold worth around Rs 1 crore from two persons who allegedly tried to smuggle it into the country, sources said on Friday. In the first case, Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officers intercepted a female passenger who arrived from Bangkok in Thailand on Thursday. Upon search, they recovered a silver-coated bangle and three silver-coated chains from her. They subjected the ornaments to heat treatment, and found that the items we

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore city cyber crime police produced YouTuber G Felix Gerald of RedPix before the Coimbatore court from Tiruchy and on Friday lodged him in the Coimbatore central prison. Gerald was arrested by the Tiruchy district cyber crime police from Noida on May 10 and remanded in the Tiruchy central prison on Monday. Geralds arrest came in connection with an interview on his channel with YouTuber Savukku Shankar in which the latter spoke in an objectionable manner about senior polic

TIRUCHY: The additional mahila court here before which the Tiruchy cyber crime police on Friday evening produced YouTuber Savukku Shankar after one days custody for interrogation ordered him to be lodged back in the Central Prison in Coimbatore. Shankar is currently under judicial remand till May 28. At the court, Shankar urged magistrate D Jeyapradha to direct the Coimbatore prison authorities to shift him from the special ward for prisoners with mental illnesses to a normal cell. To this, the

SALEM: In a disturbing incident that highlights the continuation of caste discrimination, two engineering students hailing from an SC community were assaulted by 10 inebriated people from a dominant caste near Jalakandapuram on Wednesday evening when they were returning home from college. Police arrested one suspect on Friday. According to police, the victims, R Kamalesh and Magi K, both 18-year-old, are studying in a private engineering college at Mecheri. The two were 500 metres away from thei

CHENNAI: Accusing the DMK government of failing to check sexual crimes against women and girl children, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday urged the state to ensure that severe punishment is given to the gang of nine persons involved in the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in Udumalaipettai. He also charged that law and order have been deteriorating ever since the DMK government assumed office and that prevalence of narcotics leads to crimes. Expressing shock over the

THOOTHUKUDI: Environmental activists have alleged that palmyra trees are being felled in Thoothukudi district without obtaining appropriate permission from the authorities concerned and despite the state having prohibited the felling of palmyra trees. The concern comes after 50 palmyra trees on a private land in Adichanallur near Srivaikuntam were felled earlier this month. The trees, including young ones, were cut away for timber while the remnants were torched, on private land banks of the Tha

COIMBATORE: Students who have completed their class 12 education through the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), which is an autonomous institution under Ministry of Education, face immense difficulties in securing admission to private arts and science colleges affiliated to Bharathiar University in Coimbatore. Students alleged that colleges refused admission citing lack of equivalence certificates and other reasons. A student, C Murali at Selvapuram in the city, told TNIE, After comple

CHENNAI: In a significant judgment likely to have a pan-India impact, a division bench of Madras High Court has held that tax deduction at source (TDS) is applicable on the roaming charges for mobile communication paid by one service provider to another since the charges qualified as fees for technical services under section 194 J of the Income Tax Act. The order was passed by a division bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq during a special sitting on Friday on an appeal filed by t

CHENNAI: In a move to facilitate easier online bill payment for consumers, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) will commence sending UPI payment links through WhatsApp for consumers who use more than 500 units of electricity bimonthly. This new feature, launched on Friday, aims to boost digital payment collection across Tamil Nadu. A senior Tangedco official told TNIE, This is the first time we are offering such a service. Currently, consumers pay their electricity

CHENNAI: The proverbial long arm of the law has eventually caught up with Virugambakkam-based vegetable seller-turned-ganja peddler L Ravi (64). Seven-and-a-half years after a trial court acquitted him in a ganja case, the investigation of which was messed up by Chennai police, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) managed to secure a 12-year sentence for Ravi and three others on May 9 in another case filed in 2019. Ravi and four others were acquitted in December 2016 after the Choolaimedu police f

Contrary to the original intent of giving effect to the UN General Assembly in 1998 to combat the severe concern of drug money being used to promote terrorism, the application of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) has been criticised for abusing the powers and conferring excessive authority to the Enforcement Directorate for every ordinary crime. When enacted in 2002, it was to curb the crime proceeds derived under the NDPS Act, IPC, Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, The Arms Ac

MADURAI: In view of disconnection and traffic block for facilitating engineering works at Karaikudi, Madurai division of the Southern Railway has made certain changes in the pattern of train services. In line with this, Tiruchy-Rameswaram Express (16849) leaving Tiruchy at 7.05 pm on May 19 and Rameswaram-Tiruchy Express (16850) departing from Rameswaram at 2.35 pm on May 19 have been cancelled. Likewise, Karaikudi-Tiruchy Passenger (06830) leaving Karaikudi at 3.30 pm on May 19 and Tiruchy-Kara

KANNIYAKUMARI: Kanniyakumari district received an average rainfall of 11.93 mm in the last few days. In a stray incident, a Kerala native drowned in a tank in Nagercoil. The deceased person has been identified as 35-year-old Alexraj, who was an electrician from Kerala.According to sources, he had come to Nagercoil for work. On Wednesday night, he had come to Subbaiyarkulam tank in Nagercoil, to take bath. That is when he drowned in the tank. The fire and rescue service personnel retrieved the bo

Thondamuthur police on Wednesday arrested a gang of six Assam native workers, including two women, for allegedly smuggling and selling a narcotic substance which is yet to be identified. This is the third such drug bust in the locality in the last nine months, yet police have not been able to find out what type of drug it is. Workers from Assam and other north eastern states work in betel nut processing industries in Thondamuthur. Police arrested Ashma Kha Tun (40) wife of Noorjahan Ismail. Alo

MADURAI: In the wake of the rain alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city corporation is on standby to address rain catastrophes, and is gearing up to increase emphasis on rainwater harvesting schemes. As per latest IMD reports, several parts across the state are likely to witness sporadic and heavy rainfall for the next couple of days. With heavy downpour lashing Madurai for the past few days, the city has been facing severe waterlogging issues. Though major stagnatio

THOOTHUKUDI: With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounding an orange alert for Thoothukudi on Saturday and severe downpour predicted to lash the district till May 19, the district administration is primed up to address to any catastrophic situation which might occur, and flood management works are under way in full spirit. Thoothukudi Corporation Mayor Jegan Periyasamy, who has initiated desilting activities at Buckle canal in a bid to ensure smooth flow of rainwater into the sea, advi

THOOTHUKUDI: With eight murders reported within two weeks in Thoothukudi, the district police have allegedly broken the hands of four accused, in a bid to curb crime. According to sources, one Santhana Maria (32) was murdered at Ganesh Nagar on May 4, while Regina Mary (47) was killed by her husband Nagendran at Muthiahpuram on May 5. On May 7, Gurusamy (64) was killed inside a Tasmac bar in Kovilpatti, while one Muthupandi (42) of Barathinagar was killed by his friends in Kovilpatti on May 9. K

COIMBATORE: A special team of Coimbatore city police on Thursday arrested a Karnataka-based drug distributor, who was allegedly involved in most of the drug abuse cases in the district for the last two years and had been evading arrest. He was arrested on Wednesday when he arrived in the city to deliver a consignment. As many as 116 sedative tablets, three grams of methamphetamine, three mobile phones, and some tobacco products were seized from him. Four of his customers were also arrested. Acco

COIMBATORE: The Southern Railways has been urged to introduce Coimbatore-Tiruchendur special train in view of the Vaikasi Visakam festival on which Lord Murugan's birthday is marked. In a letter to the Southern Railway General Manager RN Singh, Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan requested a special train on May 22 to facilitate smooth travel for devotees. The festival is being celebrated with great fervour in the Tiruchendur region, attracting a large number of devotees from across the stat

NAGAPATTINAM: The resumption of the international passenger ferry service between Nagapattinam and Sri Lanka has been deferred for a second time. The delay in delivery of the ferry, Sivagangai and unavoidable compliance requirements have forced the launch date of the service to be pushed to May 19, announced the operator. In a statement on Thursday, the ferry operator, IndSri Ferry Services Private Limited announced that the maiden voyage of Sivagangai has been rescheduled to Sunday. Besides the

RAMANATHAPURAM: About 800 kg of banned African catfish and Sucker mouth catfish have been seized by the food safety department near Rameswaram on Wednesday. This is the second time in one year that such a large consignment of banned fish has been recovered in the district. In August 2023, the department had seized 1,300 kg of African catfish from Rameswaram. Based on a tip-off about the movement of banned fish in Ramanathapuram, food safety department officials, along with police from Uchipuli s

PUDUCHERRY: Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) State Secretary R Rajangam sought the intervention of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor (V-C) for Pondicherry University. He said the Department of Higher Education is scheduling interviews for the post on May 17, while the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in effect. The guidelines prohibit such appointments to ensure a level playing field and prevent any undue influence on the electoral process.

TIRUNELVELI: Three days after a farmer set himself ablaze before running inside the Tirunelveli district collectorate over a land dispute, he succumbed to burns at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) here on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Sankara Subbu (32) of Maruthakulam village. On Monday, Subbu set himself on fire on the banks of the Thamirabarani before running inside the collectorate located nearby. Subbu had allegedly taken the extreme step over a land dispute

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed an anticipatory bail application filed by YouTuber G Felix Gerald of RedPix as infructuous in view of the fact that he was already arrested in connection with the cases on telecasting the controversial interview of Savukku Shankar, who allegedly made derogatory statements against women police personnel. When the application came up for hearing before Justice R Sakthivel, Additional Public Prosecutor R Muniapparaj submitted the police had regis

TIRUCHY: The additional mahila court on Thursday granted the district cyber crime police one days custody of YouTuber Savukku Shankar, who is in judicial remand, for inquiries in connection with a case on his alleged derogatory remarks against women police personnel. Shankar, who was already arrested by the Coimbatore police and lodged in a jail over his alleged slander, was booked separately by the Tiruchy district cyber crime police and produced before the Tiruchy court on Wednesday. The court

CHENNAI: To address the growing rush during summer holidays, the Southern Railway has notified the operation of special trains between Chennai Egmore and Visakhapatnam stations. According to a press note, Visakhapatnam - Chennai Egmore summer special will leave Visakhapatnam at 5.35 pm on Mondays, and reach Chennai Egmore at 8.45 am the next day. For the return journey, the Chennai Egmore - Visakhapatnam summer special will leave Chennai Egmore at 10.30 am on Tuesdays and reach Visakhapatnam at

CHENNAI: Disposing of a habeas corpus petition, the Madras High Court said it understands the sentiments of parents, but children do not when they take decisions on their own regarding marriage. The observation was made by the vacation bench of Justices PT Asha and N Senthilkumar on Thursday while dealing with a petition filed by J Madusudanan alleging that his daughter Amirthavarshini was abducted by K Gopinath, and sought an order to the police to produce her in court. The parents of the girl

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, during a vacation sitting, on Thursday directed the police department to file a status report on a petition, seeking the transfer of an alleged custodial death case from Madurai city police to the CB-CID. Justice P Vadamalai issued the directions on a petition filed by K Kamalapriya after her husband Karthick allegedly died in police custody. She also sought the preservation of the CCTV footage at Mathichiyam police station, where her husband

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore city police have identified two-wheeler theft hotspots that witnessed several such cases in the last five months. These hotspots will be geo-tagged for the analysis of theft patterns and to strengthen police surveillance. To help the victims of bike theft cases, the city police have been issuing Non-Traceable Certificates (NTC) to vehicle owners as soon as possible if their stolen vehicles are not recovered within six months. This enables owners to proceed with insuran

TIRUNELVELI: Two fourth-year students of Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) were suspended on Thursday for allegedly ragging first-year students on Wednesday night. Sources said the students were suspended after the Anti-Ragging Committee of the college conducted an inquiry based on the complaint lodged by the first-year students. It is also learnt that a clash also erupted between the students, and the car of Dr Kannan Babu, college hostel warden, was damaged by some unidentified pers

CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked an appraising officer of Chennai Customs for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the proprietor of a shipping company for clearing imported goods. In an FIR registered on May 10, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of CBI, Chennai identified Manish, the appraising officer, as the accused, based on a complaint from Madhukumar, proprietor of VBM Shipping in Kilpauk. According to the central agency, VBM Shipping was tasked with clearing a

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) will float tenders in the first week of June to import 13 lakh tonnes of coal from Indonesia for the newly opened 800-MW North Chennai Super Critical Thermal Power Station (NCTPS Stage III). A senior official told TNIE, This is the states first super critical thermal power station, designed with the latest equipment. Therefore, we can use 70% imported coal and 30% domestic coal for better efficiency. Imported coal has a highe

MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Thursday directed the chief secretary (CS), home secretary, and DGP to constitute a high-level secret committee to monitor those police officials who are suspected to be hand-in-glove with drug offenders. During a vacation sitting, a division bench of justices P Velmurugan and K Rajasekar disposed of a petition filed by G Theeran Thirumurugan, and said that the materials placed before it suggest that the state government has taken effective

CHENNAI: A 25-year-old man was murdered in Saidapet late on Wednesday night in front of his partner and her two children, allegedly by the womans husband and his five friends. Police said the deceased, S Gowtham, was a history-sheeter and a murder case was pending against him. On Wednesday, while he was spending the night with his partner G Priya, a few men began banging on the house door aloud and demanded to be let in. Though the couple tried to pacify them, Priyas husband Rajkiran and his fri

COIMBATORE: The Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam has opposed the draft elephant corridor plan released by the forest department recently. It demanded the withdrawal of the report and threatened protests otherwise. Addressing media persons on Thursday, associations president S Palanisamy urged the state government to withdraw the report saying it would affect farmers living along the western ghats. The TN government and the forest department has published a 161-page report in English to identify the

PUDUCHERRY: With Indigo airlines planning to launch flight services from Puducherry airport, connecting Bengaluru and Hyderabad, starting July 1, the Airport Authority of India(AAI), along with the Puducherry Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC), has been working towards improving passenger amenities on the airport premises. On Thursday, a team from AAI, including Puducherry Airport Director K Rajsekhar Reddy and Air Traffic Control (ATC) in-charge Thomas Kutty, engaged in discussions with Pub

COIMBATORE: D Ajitha (20), a trans woman, faced rejection from about a dozen colleges during admission when she refused to heed to their demand to dress like a man. Undeterred, she finally got accepted into one without having to compromise on her principles. I approached 10 private colleges through phone calls, and also directly went to four colleges on Avinashi Road, seeking admission. But they bluntly said they cannot take me in. In fact, two colleges offered me hope but reneged later. All the

NAGAPATTINAM: Indian Coast Guard arrested 14 Sri Lankan fishers on Thursday for allegedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing endangered sea cucumbers using scuba diving kits in Indian waters near Kodiyakarai. According to sources, Coast Guard patrol vessel Rani Durgavati spotted five motorised boats at 13 nautical miles from Kodiyakarai (Point Calimere) and 7 nautical miles from the IMBL around 2 pm on Thursday. The personnel identified the boats as those from Sri Lank

TIRUPATTUR: With warnings of heavy to very heavy rainfall issued in several districts, including Tirupattur, activists and farmers from the district have voiced their concerns regarding the delay in desilting water supply channels, lakes, irrigation canals, and the 1,556 farm ponds constructed last year. A failure to desilt the channels now, a dry season, would result in surface runoff, impeding groundwater restoration and the rainwater not being utilised for irrigation. In 2023, Tirupattur dist