Baby-swapping mothers held at Chennai hospital

CHENNAI: In a curious case of mutual consent, two women at a government maternity hospital in Egmore tried to swap their newborn babies, but got caught in the act. One of them, who already had two daughters, wanted a male 

child, while the other, who had a son, wanted a girl. They had struck a deal to swap infants. But while walking out with the infant, one of the women was stopped by an ambulance driver. On police interrogation, both women confessed they had planned the whole thing.

S Thangam (34), a native of Alandur, was rushing out of the hospital with a baby boy at 7 am on Friday when ambulance driver Muthalagan stopped her on suspicion and reported her to the duty nurse. Asked for an exit pass with details of her discharge, Thangam fumbled. Around the same time, the staff heard another woman from the post-operative ward screaming that her newborn boy was missing.

Thangam was handed over to the police. The mother of the newborn boy, B Ammu (30), a native of Thiruvallur, was also summoned. On questioning, Ammu confessed that the exchange was carried out with mutual consent and that she had raised an alarm to avoid blame after learning that hospital authorities had busted their plan.

Thangam told cops that after raising two girls, she longed for a boy, and was depressed to find that her newborn too was a girl.

Baby rescued from kidnapper nurse in Puducherry

CHENNAI: Four days after she was kidnapped by a nurse, one-and-a-half year old Amsalakshmi was rescued by the Chennai police from Puducherry bus terminus on Saturday night. Thenmalar, the 25-year-old nurse, told the police that she took away the baby to blackmail Amsalakshmi’s father Kudiyarasu (34) into marrying her. Police arrested Thenmalar and a couple who had sheltered her in Perambur.

The baby, which went missing from her house in MGR Nagar on Wednesday, was found to be healthy and unharmed. On questioning, Thenmalar told police that she was having a relationship with Kudiyarasu for the last seven months and she wanted to get married to him though he was already married. Police had received information that Thenmalar and the child were in a house in Perambur on Friday, but minutes before a team reached the house, she slipped away with the child.

“Thenmalar’s friend Priya, a software engineer, and her partner Manikandan were hiding her in their house in Perambur. We have taken the couple also into custody. We traced Thenmalar to Puducherry, where she had gone to take the help of another friend. A police team with the photographs of the nurse and the child spotted them at the Puducherry bus terminus and brought them to Chennai,” T Nagar deputy commissioner of police G Sampath Kumar told TOI.

It has now turned out that Thenmalar had disappeared with the baby for two days three months ago, but the parents did not prefer a complaint then. Thenmalar, a resident of Ayanavaram, used to visit Kudiyarasu’s house and take care of Amsalakshmi when her mother Vani Sree (25), a call centre employee, would be away at work. According to Thenmalar, she has been having an affair with Kudiyarasu, a supervisor with the electrical department of HCL, where she was working with a medical team. She said she was initially not aware that Kudiyarasu was married and fell in love with him. She claimed that he agreed to take her as his second wife after she took away the baby three months ago, but he did not keep his word.

On Wednesday, when Kudiyarasu and his wife were away, Thenmalar who was to take care of Amsalakshmi, disappeared with the baby on her two-wheeler. Inquiries revealed that Thenmalar, a native of Kancheepuram, came to Ayanavaram a few years ago and stayed in a working women’s hostel. She got a job in a private hospital, where she met Manikandan when he was taking care of his ailing father, and later his girlfriend Priya, who was working with HCL. Thenmalar got a job in HCL through Priya and there she met Kudiyarasu.

Thenmalar, Priya and Manikandan were remanded in judicial custody after being produced before a magistrate court on Sunday.

Boy steals Rs 8 lakh from dad, buys car in driver’s name

CHENNAI: Gone are the days when children used to pocket coins from their father’s wallets to buy candies. With changing times and aspirations, as  well as peer pressure, the amounts stealthily pocketed are getting larger and, of course, candies are no longer what children want.

Recently, a rich businessman’s son, a plus-one student, stole Rs 8 lakh from his home in Anna Nagar and purchased a car in the name of his father’s driver. It was the driver who finally blurted out the truth, and the family ended up with egg on its face.

The businessman, who kept large amounts of money at home, found Rs 8 lakh missing from the locker. There was no sign of a burglary, but he preferred a police complaint.

Investigations revealed that the driver had purchased a new car, and he was taken into custody. When police grilled him, he revealed the truth — his employer’s son had stolen the money to purchase the car, which was registered in the driver’s name. The shocked businessman then requested the police to drop the case.

Sources told  that the boy had stolen the money a few weeks ago, but his parents learnt about it only last week. “They seemed to have kept a lot of cash at home. The boy took the money to purchase a Swift Dzire car. He used the vehicle to go partying with his friends and for long drives. He would park the car by the roadside to prevent his parents from noticing it,” a police official said.

“When we questioned the boy, he said many of his classmates drove posh cars and that they all had girlfriends. It was to attract female attention that he stole the money to purchase the car. Since he was not old enough to get a driving licence, he knew his parents would not get him a car. So, he took the easy way out,” the official added.

 

Tamils call Sri Lanka president ‘war criminal’, demand trial

TORONTO: Sri Lankan Tamils in Canada have called for an international trial of the Sri Lankan president for allegedly ordering the killing of  surrendering LTTE leaders during the ethnic war that ended in May.

Former Sri Lankan army chief and opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka has alleged that Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa ordered troops to kill three top LTTE leaders when they raised white flags to surrender.

The defence secretary is the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The killed Tamil leaders included LTTE Peace Secretariat head Seevaratnam Puleedevan, political wing head Balasingham Nandesan, and top military commander Ramesh and their families.

“From day one we knew that war crimes were being committed by the Sri Lankan army, but the international community asked us: where is the proof? Now the proof has come from the top army guy,” Canadian Tamil Congress spokesman David Poopalapillai told IANS.

“What more proof do world leaders and the international community now need to try the Sri Lankan president and his men for crimes against humanity?” he asked.

“Rajapaksa is a war criminal. He should be taken to The Hague to face trial for war crimes. No nation has violated the Geneva Convention as flagrantly as Sri Lanka. No nation ever killed the surrendering enemy.”

The Canadian Tamil leader said the international community should deal with the Sri Lankan president “in a similar way it dealt with Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein.”

He said the Tamil diaspora around the world is writing to the UN, the International Court of Justice and world leaders to put the Sri Lankan president on trial immediately.

“We are drafting our petition and will send it soon to the world leaders, including Canada and India, to put Mahinda Rajapaksa and his men in the dock for war crimes,” he said.

Canada has the largest concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Sri Lanka, with most of the 300,000-strong community concentrated in the Toronto area.

Though Canada banned the LTTE in 2006, the community staged vociferous rallies in Toronto and at the Canadian parliament to put pressure on Sri Lanka to stop the war against the LTTE.

Lanka Army killed surrendering LTTE militants: Ex-General

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan forces eliminated surrendering Tiger leaders on the orders of the defence secretary who had instructed that “all LTTE leaders  must be killed”, ex-army chief Gen Sarath Fonseka has claimed, prompting the government to describe it as a “great betrayal”.

In an explosive interview to The Sunday Leader, Gen Fonseka, opposition Presidential candidate, said no information was communicated to him in the final days of the war that three key LTTE leaders — Nadesan, Pulidevan and Ramesh — had opted to surrender.

Fonseka said that communications were instead confined between the LTTE leaders, Norway, various foreign parties, Basil Rajapaksa, Member of Parliament and the powerful senior adviser to the President and such information was never conveyed to him as he supervised the final stages of the war.

“Later, I learnt that Basil had conveyed this information to Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa – who in turn spoke with Brigadier Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Army’s 58th Division, giving orders not to accommodate any LTTE leaders attempting surrender and that ‘they must all be killed’,” he said.

Fonseka’s remark drew sharp reaction from the government which described it as a “great betrayal”

Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who addressed an urgently called media briefing, said Fonseka owes an explanation on his charges as it would tantamount to speaking against the army which had a clean record.

Samarasinghe, who along with two other ministers attended the media briefing, said this contradicted Fonseka’s own statement on July 10 where, among other things, he said he was being restrained from taking action against the LTTE.

Fonseka, who resigned last month accusing the government of sidelining him, said it was President’s advisor Basil Rajapaksa together with Gothabaya Rajapaksa who through foreign intermediaries conveyed a message to the LTTE leaders who wished to surrender to walk out carrying a piece of white cloth.

“It was their idea,” he said, adding sometime between midnight on May 17 and the early hours of the next morning, the three men and their family members were shot dead.

The government later claimed that troops found bodies of three key LTTE leaders identified as Balasingham Nadesan, political head of LTTE, Seevaratnam Pulidevan, head of LTTE peace secretariat, and senior LTTE commander Ramesh during the mop-up operations on the morning of May 18, the paper said.

When asked whether the government would consider taking legal action against Fonseka for such an accusation, Mass Media and Information Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said, “We cannot answer that question. We will have to study the legal aspects and consult the legal books.”

Meanwhile, Presidential Advisor Basil refuted this “damning” charge. “The Norwegians never got in touch with me over this particular incident. I have been in touch with the Norwegians over various issues pertaining to the conflict but never once on this particular issue.”

Fonseka, in the interview in the Lankan newspaper claimed that three LTTE leaders, Nadeshan, Pulidevan and Ramesh were shot dead in Wanni despite their desire to surrender.

Fonseka charged that Gothabhaya instructed a key ground commander in the north to kill LTTE leaders and not allow them to surrender.

Challenging Fonseka’s claim that three top leaders of LTTE were killed despite their willingness to surrender, the government today said many including the Tamil Tiger chief’s parents were allowed to give themselves up despite the damage done by them to the country.

Describing the retired army general’s charges as part of the effort to destabilise the country, Samarasinghe told reporters that statement was made by Fonseka for political gains.

He pointed out that besides Prabhakaran’s parents, four doctors and LTTE leaders Daya Master and Charles Master were allowed to surrendered when they carried the white flags. He said they were alive and being looked after well.

“Hence, this allegation is done to discredit the government for political advantage with an ulterior motive”, the minister said.

Samarasinghe claimed despite the elimination of the top leaders of the LTTE, attempts were being made to keep the outfit alive outside Sri Lanka.

Asked whether the Defence Secretary and Major General Silva would take legal action on such a serious allegation, Samarasinghe said he would not like to make comments on their behalf.

“The matter is being studied at present to decide on the course of action”, the minister said.

Speaking on the occasion, Environment Minister, Patali Champika Ranawaka said it was not only a betrayal by Fonseka but a damaging statement to the honour of the gallant armed forces who bravely fought the war.

 

Suriya to reprise Mammootty’s role in ‘Mrigaya’

Suriya has agreed to do the remake of Mammotty starrer ‘Mrigaya’, an IV Sasi film written by late Lohithadas. The remake will be directed by Amal Neerad, a talented cameraman who made two stylish flicks in Malayalam–’Big B’ with Mammootty and ‘Sagar Alias Jacky’ with Mohanlal.

‘Mrigaya’, released in the ’90s, had Mammootty playing a brute of a man, Varunni. A hillside village, terrorised by the frequent attacks by a tiger, hires him to kill the wild animal. But, the villagers soon find out that they have brought in greater danger for themselves than the carnivore.

The film was a superhit and Mamootty won a State award for his efforts in the film. Suriya, known for his love of experimentation in his roles and get ups, is sure to enjoy the challenge of doing this role, say sources close to Amal. The director is currently working on ‘Anwar’, starring Prithviraj in the lead.

Nayantara not in ‘Mappilai’

Last week, there were reports that Nayantara would be doing an item song in Dhanush starrer ‘Mappilai’. But, now it transpires that neither Nayantara nor the makers of the film have any such plans or inclination to do so.

Dhanush said: “I don’t know from where these rumours started. We had no idea to do the item number with Nayanthara, it’s a lot of hot air”.

Sources close to Nayanthara also denied the news, saying that the actress is very busy shooting for Arya starrer ‘Boss Engira Bhaskaran’ at Kumbakonam. Following this, she will start a Telugu film with superstar Balakrishna.

Nayantara’s item dance in ‘Mappilai’

Though a superstar in her own right, Nayantara is flexible when it comes to her friends and commitments. The actress, who did an item number for Rajnikanth’s ‘Sivaji’ when she was at her peak in Kollywood and later followed it up with ‘Kuselan’, is all set to repeat the act for Dhanush starrer ‘Mappilai’.

Recently, she has done another titillating number for Venkat Prabhu’s ‘Goa’. ‘Mappilai’, directed by Suraaj, is a remake of the Rajnikanth blockbuster with the same name. Hansika Motwani plays the female lead in this.

Nayantara, after the super success of Suriya starrer ‘Aaadhavan’, has many big offers coming her way. She is currently shooting for Arya starrer ‘Boss Engira Baskaran’. Her upcoming releases are Dileep’s ‘Bodyguard’ in Malayalam and ‘Adurs’, starring Jr NTR in the lead.

Rajni congratulates Big B for ‘Paa’

It is well known that Rajnikanth likes to acknowledge the good work done by his colleagues. The way he praised Kamal Haasan for his work in ‘Dasavatharam’ and director Bala for ‘Naan Kadavul’ were examples.

Last day, he called up Amitabh Bachchan in the middle of night to congratulate him on his stupendous work in ‘Paa’. In the film, Big B plays a progeria-afflicted young boy, which required the actor to undergo strenuous preparation and hours of make up.

It is worthwhile to remember that Amitabh Bachchan starred in ‘Andhaa Kaanoon’, Rajni’s debut film in Hindi.

Amitabh was there in Chennai on December 9 to attend the ‘Paa’ premiere. Rajnikanth and his family were among those who watched the film at Satyam theatres.

Ancestors of Chinese came from India: Study

BANGALORE: The ancestors of most Asian populations, including the Chinese and southeast Asians, came from India, a new genetic study across 10
countries has revealed. The study found that humans first migrated to the Indian subcontinent from Africa some 100,000 years ago and then spread to other parts of Asia.

“When humans moved out of Africa, there was a migration to India and from India to southeast Asia and then east Asia, and finally to the Americas. So, all Asians have a genetic connection with India,” Mitali Mukerji, a scientist from the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology who was in the team, said.

The study — Mapping Human Genetic History in Asia — was conducted in 10 Asian countries including India. Apart from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research DG Samir Brahmachari, the Indian study team comprised eight members and some students from IGIB, New Delhi, anthropologist Partha Majumdar and researchers from the Centre for Genomic Applications.

The study contradicts earlier findings that humans directly went to East Asia from Africa. The study found remarkable similarities between the Dravidian population of south India and specific populations in Malaysia and Singapore. More interestingly, north Indians and Dravidians, too, were found to be genetically connected — meaning there are similarities in their gene structures.

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