Nepali test in Bhaktapur cancelled; Panel formed to probe 'leakage'

The Education Ministry has cancelled Thursday's test on Nepali subject in Bhaktapur district following the proof of leakage of question paper of ongoing School Leaving Certificate (SLC) exams.
At the end of day-long discussions at the Ministry, Pradeep Nepal, Minister for Education and Sports, told media that all officials of the Office of Controller of Examinations (OCE) have been recalled and brought "under the purview of investigation."
Ministry's joint secretary Arjun Bahadur Bhandari has been deputed to take charge of OCE.
Likewise, three-member panel has been formed to probe the leakage incident. The panel is headed by Kedar Prasad Poudel, joint secretary at the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. Other members of the panel include Superintendent of Police Navaraj Silwal and joint controller of examination at Tribhuwan University Anup Kumar Shrestha. The panel will start its investigation beginning Sunday and will submit its report within 15 days.
Apart from today's test in Bhaktapur district, all other tests will resume as per the schedule. "In Bhaktapur, too, other tests will proceed smoothly," said Nepal. He informed that reports of leakage of question paper of other subjects could not be verified.
On Wednesday night, cadres of Young Communist League (YCL) caught two teachers trying to sell leaked Nepali question paper. They were later arrested by the police. The incident caused a furor leading the Ministry to take the decision to investigate it. nepalnews.com sd Apr 05 07

Marwari community in panic; 20 abducted in two weeks

In a shocking revelation, a daily paper has exposed that criminal gang/s specialising in kidnapping have kidnapped 20 businessmen from Marwari community in the past two weeks from the capital.
Nepal Samacharpatra daily quotes Tolaram Dugar, president of Nepal National Marwari Council, as saying that none of the kidnapper could be nabbed by the police.
"After they started kidnapping people from Marwari community selectively, we met with district police chief as well as Inspector General of Police. But the police has not been able to free the abductees or arrest the abductor. How can the country move ahead in this situation?" asked worried Dugar.
Pashupati Murarka, executive member of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), questioned how new industries can be set up to build the nation at a time when Marwari community were being victimised. Marwari is a leading business community of the country.
With the increase of incidents of kidnapping for ransom, many people of the community have even stopped going on 'morning walks.'
Dugar added that since police became unable to nab the culprits, the community has stopped complaining to the police and were handling the matters themselves.
However, commissioner of Metropolitan Police Office AIGP Deepak Thangden said that the police did not get cooperation from victim's families. "We are unable to receive cooperation from family of victims. They just put down the phone asking us not to poke our noses in the affairs and saying they will handle it themselves," he said.
The daily also quotes a Marwari businessman recently freed by abductors as claiming that the kidnappers usually keep victims in Koteshwore and Sinamangal areas and free them after getting ransom money.
On the other hand, Superintendent of Police at Crime Investigation Department of MPO Keshav Adhikary claimed that this year they only received 14 complaints of kidnapping. "We received none of the complaints of those 20 in the past two weeks," he said.
Police estimates that criminals might have collected as much as Rs 500 million in the last six months through kidnapping and extortion. nepalnews.com sd Apr 06 07

NEWS FROM NEPAL

COPIED FROM NEPAL NEWS
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