Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala (India) – Vakkom Purushothaman, a veteran Congress leader and former governor of Kerala, passed away on Monday at the age of 90. He had been suffering from old age-related ailments for some time.

Purushothaman was born in Vakkom, a small town in Kerala, in 1928. He joined the Congress party in 1947 and served in various party positions over the years. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1967 and served as minister for education and culture in the state government.

In 2011, Purushothaman was appointed governor of Kerala by the Union government. He served in this position until 2016.

Purushothaman was a respected leader and a strong advocate for secularism and social justice. He was also a keen historian and writer. He authored several books on Kerala history and politics.

His death is a major loss to the Congress party and to the people of Kerala.

Kochi:  Prohibited tobacco products were seized during the excise inspection conducted at the labor camps of guest workers in Ernakulam. Excise seized around 60 kg of banned tobacco products. It is concluded that they were selling drugs at home. The inspection was conducted in various labor camps including Aluva and Perumbavoor. The excise officers of the district were conducting the inspection in rotation in different units.

Meanwhile, the court will consider the custody plea of Asfaq Alam, accused in the murder case of a five-year-old girl in Aluva, today. The petition is being considered by the Ernakulam Special POCSO Court. The police want to keep Asfaq in custody for seven days.

The accused has been remanded in custody for taking evidence and questioning. The court will hand over the custody application filed in the Aluva Magistrate Court to the POCSO court in the morning. Further proceedings till filing of charge sheet in the case will proceed under the supervision of Ernakulam POCSO Court.

According to the remand report, the five-year-old girl was brutally killed.  According to the remand report of the police, the child’s death occurred during the rape. The remand report charges nine sections against the accused, ranging from IPC 377 sexual exploitation to IPC 302 murder.

Thiruvananthapuram: Another case against Marunadan Malayali editor Shajan Skariah. The case was taken on the complaint of PV Anawar MLA. The complaint is that the wireless of the police force was leaked. Thiruvananthapuram Cyber Crime Police registered the case. The case has been filed under Official Secrets Act, Telegraph Act and IT Act.

PV Anwar filed a complaint with DGP. A complaint was also sent to the Prime Minister through e-mail, alleging that it was a matter affecting national security. In the complaint, Anwar had claimed that he had the technical systems to hack the wireless messages, phone messages and e-mails of the state police force and other central forces and demanded that it be checked.

The complaint said that the passport of Shajan Skariah, who is leaking communication messages of highly secret government systems, which is a threat to national security, should be checked and his foreign dealings should also be investigated. In the complaint, the MLA also raised the suspicion that he and his relatives and brothers frequently travel abroad to transmit the leaked messages to other places. MLA PV Anwar also pointed out in the complaint that it is suspected that the phone conversations of the President, Prime Minister, intelligence officers, senior officials including the Chief Minister, prominent industrialists and High Court judges were hacked.

Thiruvananthapuram: Public Education and Employment Department Minister V Sivankutty said that the temporary appointment of teachers in schools should be through employment exchange.  This has already been clarified by the Public Education Department.  Candidates will be interviewed on rank basis from the list provided by the Employment Exchange for the temporary appointment.  No complaint regarding temporary appointment has been received so far.  Strict action will be taken if received.  Other options should be sought only if no eligible candidates are received from the Employment Exchange.  First newspaper advertisement should be given for this.  Then the interview board should be formed with experienced people.  This interview board shall interview the candidates and publish the rank list including those who are capable and qualified.  Minister Sivankutty also suggested that the rank list should be displayed on the school notice board.