Police official shoots senior dead at Ranchi: Poor command structure, long tenures in conflict zones cause stress, says expert.

Source – firstpost.com

A police constable on Monday shot dead his company commander and killed himself at Ranchi. Another constable, who received bullet injuries in the firing, has been hospitalised.

This incident comes less than a week after another case of fratricide at Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur.

In Ranchi, constable Vikram Rajware shot dead his superior, Mela Ram Kurre, and during the firing, constable Venudhar Guru sustained a bullet injury in his thigh. Guru has now been hospitalised. The incident occurred at 6.30 am on Monday, according to a police source. All three belong to 1066 Company of the Chhattisgarh’s State Police Force (SPF), and were deployed in Jharkhand for the ongoing Assembly election.

“There was an altercation between the jawan and the commander in the morning, and after that, the jawan fired at his commander. However, the reason for this altercation is still unknown,” the source said.

The 1066 company of the Chhattisgarh SPF had earlier been stationed at Khelgaon Stadium in Ranchi for a night halt and was on its way to Hazaribag for the third phase of Jharkhand Assembly election.

Initially, it was rumoured that the commander and the jawans belong to the CRPF. However, the CRPF headquarters clarified, “They don’t belong to CRPF. The company belongs to Chhattisgarh SPF and is deployed for the Jharkhand Assembly election.” CRPF headquarters has clarified.

In another incident on Monday at Geedam in Naxal-affected Dantewada, a CRPF jawan committed suicide. The reason could not be ascertained.

Less than a week ago, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawan shot dead four of his colleagues with an AK-47 rifle and killed himself at Kadena in Narayanpur district. Two other jawans were seriously injured in the incident.

Narayanpur, located close to the Maharashtra border, is a hotbed of Left-Wing Extremism (LWE). Similarly, 18 out of 24 districts in Jharkhand are LWE-affected.

According to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha this year, over 930 police personnel, including those from the paramilitary forces, committed suicide in the last five years. Between 2016 and 2018, 307 paramilitary personnel committed suicide. In the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), between 2012 and 2015, the highest number of suicides (149) was reported by the CRPF.

Anil Kamboj, counter-terrorism analyst, said, “There’s definitely a rise in such kind of incidents. The foremost reasons are excessive stress and poor command control. There’s a growing lack of communication between the superiors and the subordinate staff members, which results in severe frustration – even to the extent of jawans going into depression — which is alarming. Regular communication helps ease frustration, but this is not seen to be happening in many cases.”

Other factors include an increase in workload with the same or lower personnel strength, long periods of deployment in conflict zones, frequent movement of troops from one conflict zone to another without a break, and staying away from home for longer periods.

Kamboj added, “While the use of mobile phones is no doubt a boon, it also heightens stress. Now, security personnel are almost constantly in touch with their family members, but cannot help them in day-to-day problems. Getting leave is not easy. This has aggravated stress among security personnel posted in remote locations.”

The Ministry of Home Affairs says occupational hazards such as long tenures of deployment in difficult areas are among the reasons behind the suicides. It also cites domestic issues, marital discord and financial problems as other reasons.

Without doubt, the present situation is alarming, and has a direct impact on security operations.

A possible outcome of impulsive actions among security forces can also be incidents like the encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Sarkeguda in 2012. A judicial inquiry commission recently found that 17 villagers killed in the encounter were not Naxals. The commission said that the forces fired at the villagers in “panic” after hearing a noise in the distance.

UPSC Civil Services Prelims Exam, A 6-Month Strategy (Dec-June).

Source – www.pagalguy.com

UPSC conducts the examination every year in the month of June. The official notification of the examination date is released by the commission in the month of February. This competitive exam is very tough and in a common scenario, an aspirant spends years preparing for it.  But is it really required?

Well, UPSC is the only examination that requires a person to have both smart study and hard work. With the right strategies in hand and complete dedication, one can clear the examination in just 6 month preparation.

We have mapped down a few points for you to use as a strategy for UPSC preparation.

  • Prepare a BASE– UPSC requires an aspirant to study the NCERT books which were once a part of your very curriculum. Go through the syllabus thoroughly and segregate the topics on priority basis. Make a schedule to cover these topics before the month of January ends. Do not miss the NCERT books as few questions asked by UPSC are directly picked from here. Along with this you will surely have to cover the current affairs you have missed up until December. There are many online sources and publications which release monthly and yearly current affairs compilation which you can use for preparation.
  • Combine with your pre knowledge– UPSC syllabus covers everything and anything under the sun. This means that your graduation syllabus is also included in it. Combine both your existing knowledge and the portion that you have studied in the last months. Revise these on a day to day basis (Subject wise). Along with this, enrol in the preliminary mock quizzes to test your knowledge and preparation. If you are able to successfully do this, you are probably 50% closer to your target.
  • No time for extra- In the 6 month preparation course you cannot spend time on learning new things every day. Do not feel overwhelmed by seeing other aspirant’s preparation styles. Focus on the content you have covered and keep revising it. UPSC also asks questions from the previous papers, so circle back in time and practice all the past papers.
  • Analyse – The month of April is all about analysing your mistakes and building on it. One can easily do this by giving mock tests. The scores are not your permanent scores but they do give a rough idea of how your actual results would be. Do not take these scores lightly, analyse your weaknesses and strengths from here. Make a strategy on how can you use your strengths and overcome the weakness. Remember, UPSC has a negative marking pattern, so not answering the question would be more favourable than marking the wrong ones.
  • CSAT– CSAT is the Part B of the UPSC’s preliminary examination. Many aspirants take CSAT lightly, however, they often fail this as well. Even though the examination is just qualifying in nature, it does require preparation. Go through the past papers and give at least one hour for it. (Study for it during the break between two General studies subject). By the time you reach May end, all you have to focus is on the positives. Do not sit in last minute comparison, focus on your wits.

Final Getaway!

Many aspirants believe that UPSC is the toughest examination and cannot be cleared in 6 months preparation. Nonetheless, this is not the reality, if one is determined and is good at smart study. \

They can easily clear the UPSC Civil Services preliminary exam within 6 months. But this would be just the beginning there is a lot more in the store that the UPSC aspirant has to cover for the Mains preparation, so buckle up aspirants, let’s get set study!

IBPS SO 2019 Admit Card for Prelims Exam to be Released this Week on ibps.in; Check Exam Pattern here.

Source – pagalguy.com

The Institute of Banking Personnel service conducts the Specialist officer and the preliminary officer exam every year to select the candidates to be placed in banks across the country. The 2019 Specialist officer is scheduled to take place on December 28 and December 29.

An official notification has been released by the Institute of Banking Personnel selection that the admit card for the specialist officer exam will be released by the end of this week. The anticipated date of release of the admit card is on December 13, 2019. The correct date for the release of admit card will be released official in the official website of the Institute of Banking personnel selection.

The candidates who have enrolled for the specialist officer exam are advised to check the official website of the institute of banking personnel service from time to time in order to not miss any updates on the examination.

The official website to get more details on IBPS SO 2019 and get the admit card is www.ibps.in .

Selection Process:

There are 3 process which the candidates have to cross in order to become a specialist officer in any bank across the country.

The processes are:

  • Preliminary Exam
  • Main Exam
  • Interview

Preliminary Exam Pattern:

The prelims exam will be conducted for 125 marks. The exam will be divided into 3 sections Reasoning, English language and General Awareness. The English language will be conducted for 25 marks and the other 2 sections for 50 marks each. Each section will be for 40 minutes.

Main Exam Pattern:

The main exam will be conducted on the Professional Knowledge for a total of 60 marks. The duration of the exam will be for 45 minutes. The candidates have to make note of the fact that 0.25 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.

The interview will be conducted for those who cleared the exams.

WBPSC Exam Dates announced for WBCS, Accounts and Audit Service, IDO, Clerkship and others to be held from Dec 2019 to March 2020.

Source – news.aglasem.com

West Bengal Public Service Commission has published a consolidated exam date schedule for 8 exams that are going to be held from December 2019 to March 2020. WBPSC has published this time table for forthcoming exams at the official website, pscwbonline.gov.in.

WBPSC exam dates 2019-2020 are as follows.

Sunday, December 22, 2019: Recruitment exam for Industrial Development Officer 2019.

Sunday, December 29, 2019: Recruitment exam for Clinical Instructor.

Saturday, January 11, 2020: Recruitment exam for Works Accountant 2018 Mains.

Saturday, January 25, 2020: WBPSC Clerkship exam 2019 part 1.

Sunday, February 9, 2020: WBCS (Exe) examination 2020 preliminary.

Sunday, February 16, 2020: West Bengal Audit and Account Service 2019 preliminary exam.

Thursday, February 20, 2020 to Wednesday, February 26, 2020 except Sunday, February 23, 2020: West Bengal Audit and Account Service 2018 main exam.

Sunday, March 8, 2020: Miscellaneous services recruitment exam prelims 2019.

It has also been notified that the admit card for IDO exam will be available for download from December 12, 2019, and that for clinical instructor will be released on December 19, 2019.

The WBPSC Industrial Development Office recruitment 2019 is for a total of 118 vacancies for Industrial Development Officer in the Directorate of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, West Bengal under the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises and Textiles Department, Govt. of W.B. Applications against this post, against advertisement No. 10 /2019, were accepted online from May 14 to June 3, 2019. 

Clinical Instructor recruitment is being carried out against advertisement number 28(3)/2017 for the posts of Clinical Instructor, Nursing Training Institute (for GNM course) under Directorate of ESI (MB) Scheme, WB under the Labour Department, Govt. of W.B. 

Clerkship recruitment is as per WBPSC advertisement number 05/2019, for which applications were accepted until March 25, 2019.

The WBCS 2020 is a more recent notification, released in November 2019. Applications were accepted until November 26, 2019. With the exam date in February 2020, it is expected that the admit card will be released by end of January 2020.

West Bengal Audit and Accounts Service Recruitment Examination 2019 notification is the most recent of them all. This was notified in advertisement no. 28/2019 on December 4, 2019. The application form submission for this exam is still ongoing, and will end on December 23, 2019. 

Conveying the tentative nature of the dates, the exam date schedule notification says “The date indicated above are tentative and are being provided for general guidance of the examinees, particularly to facilitate their preparations for academic or competitive examinations only. The Commission cannot guarantee strict adherence to such dates, notwithstanding its best effort to maintain those, and shall not be held responsible for any losses, pecuniary or otherwise, arising out of presumption of such dates being accurate. Advertisement for actual date of examinations will be published in due course in the website of the Commission as well as Newspapers.”

Bihar jail works on ropes for hanging convicts.

Source – gulfnews.com

Patna: A jail in Bihar is working overtime to prepare 10 Manila ropes which are used for hanging prisoners on death row.

Buxur central jail located in central Bihar is perhaps the only jail in India which has the expertise in preparing these special ropes. It is prepared by the inmates lodged in the jail.

“We have the expertise in preparing Manila ropes. We supply such ropes to every jail in the country for hanging purposes. We are busy preparing these as our stock has run short,” Buxur jail superintendent Vijay Kumar Arora told the media, refusing to divulge more details.

According to him, the jail administration is preparing 10 Manila ropes right now and the work has been going on for the past few days.

Apparently the jail administration swung into action shortly after the federal home ministry sent a recommendation rejecting the mercy petition filed by one of the convicts in 2012 Nirbhaya rape and murder case sent to President Ram Nath Kovind.

The recommendation came on a day victim’s family sought for shooting dead rapists in the same way the four accused persons in Hyderabad veterinarian rape case were killed in alleged encounter. The home ministry’s recommendation also coincided with a call given by the President to do away with the mercy petition in cases involving sexual assaults on minors.

Given a series of such developments, it is believed these nooses could be used for hanging the convicts of Nirbhaya gang-rape case in Delhi.

Buxur jail is one of few prisons in India where Manila ropes are made. Jail authorities said the inmates lodged in this jail prepared this rope for which they have been imparted training by experts. Flanked by two rivers, the environment of this place is considered very ideal to prepare such ropes which are made from special kind of thread J-34 cotton yarn.

Authorities said a lot of hard work goes into making of Manila ropes. First, the yarn is spun into thick threat from J-34 variety of cotton. Then the thread is smoothened with a coat of soft wax. While making these ropes, the inmates take utmost care to ensure there are no knots in the thread.

According to jail officials, ropes supplied from this jail have been used for execution of several convicted prisoners and terrorists, such as Dhananjay Chatterjee who was accused of raping and killing a 14-year-old girl, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab who was involved in the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and Mohammad Afzal Guru who was found guilty in 2001 Parliament attack.

Delhi Anaj Mandi fire: After victims’ families object, bodies of Bihar residents to be taken home by road.

Source – thehindu.com

Bowing to pressure from families of those killed in the Anaj Mandi fire on December 8, the Bihar government has decided to send the bodies of the State’s residents home by road instead of train.

Earlier, it was decided that the railways will carry the bodies in the seating-cum-luggage rake (SLR coach) on board the Swatantrata Senani Express over December 9 and 10.

However, the victims’ families objected to the arrangement, choosing to take the over 1,000 km journey by road instead.

Many of the 43 people who were killed in Sunday’s blaze were migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They were trapped in the building as they were asleep when the fire started.

“The families were not comfortable in taking the bodies by train, so we have decided to send them in ambulances. One ambulance will have two bodies.

“All the preparations were made for sending the bodies by train. Special coaches were also attached [to the train] but the family members [of victims] did not agree to let the bodies go by train,” said Kumar Digvijay, Joint Labour Commissioner, Bihar Bhavan.

“As and when post-mortem is being done, we are sending the bodies home. Till now 36 bodies of Bihar residents have been identified and we are trying to send them back to the State as soon as possible. The procedure is slow, but we are trying our best,” he said.

Zakir Hussain from Bihar’s Madhubanj area, who lost his brother Shakir in the fire, said though the Bihar government had made arrangements to take the bodies back home by train, there was no clarity about the procedure.

Mohammad Shamshir from Begusarai, whose neighbour Naveen Kumar (19) died in the fire, said it was not feasible to take the body in a train.

“We were not happy with travelling via a train. The train would stop at Samastipur station and our village Barijana is another 70 km from there,” Mr. Shamshir said.

According to officials, the resident commissioner of Bihar in Delhi had approached Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal for help to send the bodies back home. Upon Mr. Goyal’s intervention, the Delhi Division had arranged for the coach.

Drunk CRPF jawan kills 2 including commanding officer in Jharkhand.

Source – indiatoday.in

A “drunk” jawan allegedly shot dead two CRPF personnel, including an officer, and injured another at his camp in poll-bound Jharkhand, officials said on Tuesday, in the second incident of fratricide in the central armed police forces in less than a week.

The incident took place at the ‘charlie’ company of the 226th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force in Bokaro on Monday around 9:30 pm, they said.

The CRPF unit was deployed for polls in Jharkhand, where voting for two phases has been completed and three more are to be held.

A senior CRPF officer said the reason that triggered the shooting was not known yet. But other officials claimed constable Deepender Yadav was drunk when he started the shooting.

They identified those killed as Assistant Commandant Shahul Harshan B, 28, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Purnanand Bhuyan, 47. Constable Yadav is among the two injured.

The injured have been moved out to the state capital Ranchi.

Senior CRPF and state police officials have reached the camp and a Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered.

On Dec 4, an ITBP soldier allegedly opened fire at his colleagues in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district and killed five personnel and injured two. He then killed himself.

A preliminary investigation has found the soldier had a “dispute” with the five he killed, sources have said. A CoI is being conducted.

The sources have added that the ITBP soldier had stated to his unit commander in July that he will avail leave to go home in December.

Jharkhand Assembly polls: Campaigning for Phase-III ends, voting on Dec 12.

Source – business-standard.com

Campaigning in 17 Jharkhand assembly constituencies ended on Tuesday as the third of the five-phase polling in the seats will be held on December 12.

According to the Election Commissions latest updated list of voters about 56.18 lakh electorate, including female and third gender voters, are eligible to decide the fate of 309 candidates, including 32 women nominees in the 17 constituencies.

In all, 7016 polling stations have been set up to conduct smooth polling, an EC release said.

The voting will commence at 7 am and end at 5 pm on Thursday at Ranchi, Hatia, Kanke, Barkatha and Ramgarh seats while voters in the rest of the constituencies can exercise their franchise between 7 am and 3 pm, Election Commission officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned in favour of BJP. Besides him, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP Working President J P Nadda and Union minister Smriti Irani sought vote for nominees of the saffron party at different places.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and actor-politician Shatrughan Sinha addressed election meetings in support of party candidates in separate areas.

According to police sources, adequate security personnel, including central para-military and the state police forces have been deployed for a smooth and peaceful conduct of the voting.

Notable candidates in the electoral arena are Jharkhand Education Minister and BJP candidate Neera Yadav (Koderma), Urban Development Minister and BJP nominee C P Singh (Ranchi) and sitting MLAs of different parties.

Former chief minister and president of Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) Babulal Marandi is contesting Dhanwar seat.

Former deputy chief minister and AJSU party president Sudesh Mahto is crossing swords with sitting JMM MLA Seema Mahato from Silli assembly seat.

Former minister and Congress candidate Rajendra Prasad Singh is taking on sitting BJP MLA Yogeshwar Mahato from Bermo.

“Booth app” has been launched in 10 of the 81 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand as a pilot project and in the third-phase Hazaribag, Ranchi and Ramgarh constituencies will have the booth-app facility to give real-time voting percentage and other information, the release said.

The 17 constituencies, including two reserved for SC candidates and one ST nominees, are spread over eight districts.

The seats where polling will be held are Kodarma, Barkatha, Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, Hazaribag, Simaria (SC), Dhanwar, Gomia, Bermo, Ichagarh, Silli, Khijri (ST), Ranchi, Hatia and Kanke (SC), an EC release said.

The BJP has nominated candidates in 16 of the 17 seats in this phase, a party leader said.

The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) has fielded candidates in all the seats in the third-phase, JVM (P) spokesman Saroj Singh said.

The opposition alliance comprising the JMM, Congress and the RJD have fielded candidates in the constituencies as per their pre-poll seat adjustments.

The AJSU party, Lok Jan Shakti Party, Aam Admi Party, Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI (ML-Liberation), All India Trinamool Congress, Hindustani Awami Morcha (Secular), Shiv Sena, Janata Dal (United), All India Forward Bloc and some other parties have put up candidates in selective constituencies.

The first-phase polling for 13 seats and the second-phase for 20 assembly segments had concluded on November 30 and December 7 respectively.

The fourth and the fifth phases polling for 15 and 16 seats will be held on December 16 and 20 respectively.

Counting to the 81-member House is slated on December 23.