A 30-year-old trainee IAS officer allegedly drowned in the swimming pool of the Foreign Service Institute in south Delhi’s Munirka on Monday night. Ashish Dahiya, native of Sonipat’s Kharkhoda district, was attending a party at the institute with other young civic service officers. His lifeless body was found in the pool around midnight.Alcohol at partyWhile Mr. Dahiya’s family members claim that he had jumped into the pool to save a woman officer, the police say it is unclear at the moment whether he jumped in or was already in the pool.The police said they received a call at Vasant Vihar police station from Fortis Hospital early Tuesday stating that the 2016-batch IAS officer was declared brought dead at 12.50 a.m.Based on the initial statements given by eye-witnesses, the party started around 8 p.m. and they were consuming alcohol. “Evidence collected from the spot suggests that the revellers were consuming alcohol. However, whether Mr. Dahiya was drunk or not, will be clarified in the post mortem report,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chinmoy Biswal.Already in the poolAs the night progressed and many of the officers left to go home, a few of the revellers decided to go into the pool.The small group of officers were enjoying themselves when they heard a woman yell for help. A few of the men jumped into the pool to save the woman, who is also an officer. A senior police officer said that after she was rescued, the woman told the men that Mr. Dahiya was with her at the time and asked: “Where is Ashish?”The officer’s friends then dove back into the pool and fished out Mr. Dhaiya’s body. They called the station medical officer, Dr. Pramyesh Basall, who tried to revive him with Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) but failed after which he was taken to Fortis Hospital where he was declared brought dead.‘No lifeguard?’Whether there was a life guard present near the pool is unclear, said a senior police officer privy to the case. “We are not aware of any such presence. Also, it’s unclear whether they were allowed to go near the pool at the time,” he said. Mr. Dahiya is survived by his wife Pragya Dixit.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said students studying in universities who wished to complete Afzal Guru’s “incomplete job” of blasting Parliament should be ashamed of themselves. He was addressing students at the convocation ceremony of Shri Vaishnav Vidyapeeth Vishwavidyalaya here.“Out of the 920 universities in the country, few are in the news for the wrong reasons. People there say — Afzal Guru aapne jo kaam adhura choda hai, hum usse poora karenge(Afzal Guru, we’ll complete the job you left incomplete). They should be ashamed of themselves. Guru tried to blast Parliament. Even I was there, but nothing happened to us,” he said.Although several private institutions had contributed to the sector, he said, higher education in the country still faced the challenges of access, equity, affordability and equality.“There was a time we gave knowledge to the world and now we do not figure even in the top 100 universities of the world,” he said. “Educational institutions should focus only on academic excellence. Then physical fitness, mental alertness and social consciousness. Students should not get into other things and controversies.”Stating that although everyone had the freedom to eat whatever they wanted, some people made an issue out of it, and added, “But then there are those who celebrate beef festival and anti-beef festival.”‘Why create tension?’“In some areas, they even celebrate kissing festival. It’s a different matter if it’s consensual between two people. But by celebrating it as a festival, why create tension in society? Therefore, I advise students to focus on education and raise its standards,” he said. Exhorting students to be physically fit, he said he played badminton, went for a walk and practised yoga every day. Yoga benefits “The Prime Minister was kind enough to promote yoga across 172 countries, where they have even opened institutes for it. But in our country, we doubt it. One child asked me once about the benefits of yoga. I told him — if you do yoga, you’ll be yogya (able).”“One child had an issue with doing Surya Namaskar, so I told him, do Chandra Namaskar instead,” he said. “Yoga is not political. It is not because of Modi, it is for your body.”As for welfare measures of the government, he said, “Programmes like Beti Bachao, Beti Padhaoshouldn’t just be reduced to government schemes. They should be made into people’s movements.” Mr. Naidu called upon students to follow the diet prescribed by their forefathers.
The Pakistani cricket team would not play in Mumbai during its tour of India starting in December owing to the threat by Shiv Sena, sources said on Wednesday.The Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) has written to the government seeking permission for the Pak team’s tour. Its proposed itinerary has no mention of Mumbai.Opposing some Pakistani artistes’ participation in a TV reality show, the Shiv Sena had also threatened that it would not allow Pakistan cricket team to play in Mumbai because of its role in terror activities against India.The BCCI has written to the ministries of home affairs, external affairs and sports and youth affairs for the Pak team’s tour of India.The visitors are set to play three ODIs and two Twenty-20 matches between December 28 and January 6.
LOOK: Joyce Pring goes public with engagement to Juancho Triviño Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (L) and Switzerland’s Roger Federer shake hands at the end of their men’s singles semi-final tennis match on day six of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 – Rolex Paris Masters – indoor tennis tournament at The AccorHotels Arena in Paris, on November 3, 2018. (Photo by Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP)Roger Federer Sunday said he planned to speak to fellow big guns Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray about the future of ATP Tour chief Chris Kermode after reports of a move to oust him.Britain’s Daily Telegraph said it had seen a strongly worded email sent out by ATP player council member Vasek Pospisil to players ranked between 50 and 100.ADVERTISEMENT LATEST STORIES SEA Games hosting troubles anger Duterte Magic edge Celtics for 2nd time Federer said he was not on top of what was going on but planned to speak with his colleagues about it.“I was going to speak to some of the council members. I’m practising with one of them this afternoon, Robin Haase,” he said ahead of the Australian Open.“I would like to hear a little bit from him how the council meeting (on Saturday) went, where their general feel is about leadership in the ATP.”Federer added: “We’ve had a good five, six years now under Chris’ leadership. Obviously it’s an important role. “We need to look at it very thoroughly. I need to speak with Novak, Rafa, and Andy a little bit just to get their take on it all.”ADVERTISEMENT SEA Games: Biñan football stadium stands out in preparedness, completion It reportedly called for the workforce to “start acting and running like a business not like a bunch of scared kids … we need a CEO that first and foremost represents OUR interests”.The email added that “the governance structure of the ATP favors the interests of the tournaments and its (their) owners … It’s time for a change and it can be achieved by staying unified and demanding what we deserve for our hard work”. FEATURED STORIESSPORTSPrivate companies step in to help SEA Games hostingSPORTSUrgent reply from Philippine football chiefSPORTSWin or don’t eat: the Philippines’ poverty-driven, world-beating pool starsThe ATP board — comprised of three tournament representatives and three player representatives — is expected to vote on a possible renewal of Kermode’s contract this month.He needs two of the three board members from each side of the ATP to support him. Private companies step in to help SEA Games hosting PH underwater hockey team aims to make waves in SEA Games PLAY LIST 02:42PH underwater hockey team aims to make waves in SEA Games01:44Philippines marks anniversary of massacre with calls for justice01:19Fire erupts in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City01:07Trump talks impeachment while meeting NCAA athletes02:49World-class track facilities installed at NCC for SEA Games02:11Trump awards medals to Jon Voight, Alison Krauss
LOOK: Joyce Pring goes public with engagement to Juancho Triviño Adding to the ATP board woes was member Justin Gimelstob pleading not guilty last month to a felony battery charge in a Los Angeles court.The two-time Grand Slam mixed doubles champion was accused of attacking one-time friend Randall Kaplan. He pleaded not guilty.“With the board member (Gimelstob), we know the situation. It’s pending,” said Federer.“We’re waiting to see what’s going to happen. I know him well. So we’ll see what the situation is there. “But it’s definitely interesting times, I’d like to call it, not bad times in our sport,” he added. “I think it’s maybe also a bit of a transition time. So it will be interesting to see what’s going to happen.”Sports Related Videospowered by AdSparcRead Next Don’t miss out on the latest news and information. SEA Games: Biñan football stadium stands out in preparedness, completion TS Kammuri to enter PAR possibly a day after SEA Games opening MOST READ Is Luis Manzano planning to propose to Jessy Mendiola? View comments