New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee yesterday presented the prestigious civilian awards, the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. India’s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan was presented to scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, while actor Kamal Haasan and former badminton player Pullela Gopichand were among the 12 who received the Padma Bhushan awards. A total of 53 Padma Shri awards were presented by the president and the awardees included actor Vidya Balan and fashion designer Wendell Rodricks. Among the dignitaries present on the occasion were Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Minister for Home Affairs Sushilkumar Shinde.
Second suicide
in IIT Kharagpur
Kolkata: The second incident of a student allegedly committing suicide within a month at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur, has raised deep concern among the authorities of the oldest IIT in the country. Fourth year Chemical Engineering student Lokesh Kumar Goyal (22) was found hanging from the ceiling fan in his hostel room late on Sunday night. Confirming the incident, institute’s Registrar T K Ghosal expressed his dismay over Goyal’s death as he was good student and did not seem to suffer from any kind of depression. Earlier this month 24-year-old S Boga, a M.Tech student, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, too was found hanging from the ceiling.
Bhullar’s death penalty commuted
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court yesterday spared a Sikh militant convicted of a deadly car bombing two decades ago from execution, citing his mental illness and lengthy delays in deciding on his plea for mercy. The court commuted Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar’s death sentence to life in jail. Bhullar has been languishing on death row since he was convicted of the 1993 car bombing in New Delhi that killed nine people and injured more than 20.
Tamil actress ill
Chennai: Popular Tamil actress Manorama, fondly called ‘Aachi’ by her fans, was admitted to a private hospital here on Sunday evening following chest pain, said a relative. She is likely to undergo angioplasty, said the relative. Manorama, who has starred in over 750 Tamil films, spanning over five decades, is one of the finest female comedians of the southern film industry. She was seen in Suriya-starrer Tamil actioner Singam 2 last year.
Agencies
