Second semester students say they were promised a regular degree to be conferred by Gulbarga University but were later informed it was a distance learning course 
MBA students of Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), located on Bhandarkar Road, have alleged that their institute has cheated them by admitting them for a twoyear full time degree course and later telling them that it was a distance learning course instead. 

On Saturday, over 21 second-semester students filed a complaint application of cheating against the IIPM authorities with the Deccan Gymkhana Police station and have demanded fee refund. In their complaint, the students have stated that they were told that the institute was affiliated to Gulbarga University, Karanataka. 

However, six months after their admissions they were informed that the course is affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU), Meghalaya. The students have claimed that the institute is not affiliated to any of the university.
 
Later, Senior Police Inspector Manohar Joshi summoned the institute’s establishment officer Ashok Bose and dean S Dattagupta in the evening. The duo sought time till Thursday to take a call on refunding the fees and gave a written assurance that the same will be communicated to the students after consulting the institute’s head office. 

One of the students stated in the complaint: “They have charged Rs 5 lakh fee per student promising a full-time degree course. We were given admission in December 2011 and told that the degree will be conferred by Gulbarga University. We had submitted our registration forms to Gulbarga University but never received the registration numbers. 

On July 5, 2012 we were told that Gulbarga University has withdrawn its affiliation and the degree will be issued by MGU.” Another student stated: “When we enquired we found out that MGU is not authorised by the UGC to offer full time MBA/PGDBA degree courses outside Meghalaya. MGU can offer only distance learning courses. When we brought this to the notice of our institute authorities, they refused to accept it and prohibited us from entering the campus.”
 
Later, the students requested the dean to cancel their admissions and refund their entire fee amount. But, the students claim, the institute authorities threatened to file a defamation suit against them.
 
In a statement given to the police Dattagupta said, “We have signed an MoU with the Gulbarga University through Y Gen Management Consulting Pvt Ltd, Bangalore. We are yet to confirm the registration process.
 
To avoid any academic loss, we had asked the student to register with the MGU, Meghalaya. So far 13 students have registered but only eight of them are opposing it. We will take the decision to refund their fee after speaking to our head office in New Delhi.”
 
RTI activist Anoop Awasthi said, “Last year a similar complaint was lodged by students in the court and with the police against IIPM. It is deliberately harassing the students. There is a need to check the credentials of this college. The institute’s name is missing from the Y Gen’s list of affiliation also.
 
If they don’t refund the fee we will agitate.” Bose said, “We are expecting a response from Gulbarga by Wednesday. On Thursday further course of action will be decided. But the students have not followed the procedure to get their fee refunded.” Joshi said, “We won’t file an FIR if the students and the institute resolve the issue amicably till Thursday.” 

GULBARGA: A group of Muslims on Friday attacked the office of the Kannada daily Samyukta Karnataka here and assaulted the staff. Three employees of the newspaper were severely injured. The assailants were protesting against a report on the head of a local dargah.

The daily’s circulation manager Vilas Deshpande, who suffered serious head injuries, has been admitted to the Government General Hospital, and his condition stated to be serious.

Executive Editor of the newspaper Srikantacharya Mannur, who was an eyewitness to the incident, said that about 15 persons shouting slogans against the newspapers started assaulting the staff in the front office where the circulation and advertisement departments functioned.

The mob tried to storm into the editorial and the computer room before the other staff pushed them out of the main door.

“We were taken by surprise at the attack and initially we were not aware of the reason for the attack and nobody in the crowd was in a position to hear us. Nobody told us why they were protesting,” Mr. Mannur said.

The mob damaged a four-wheeler that belonged to the daily and damaged the vehicles parked in front of the newspaper office before being chased away by the police. The police picked up seven persons in connection with the attack from a building in front of the newspaper office.

Senior officials, including the Superintendent of Police Padmanayan, visited newspaper office and inspected the damage.

The news about the attack on the newspaper office spread and tension prevailed in some parts of the city. Journalists protesting against the attack staged a “rasta roko” agitation at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk. Many organisations, including the Kannada Rakshana Vedike, joined the protest by the journalists. Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretariat member Maruti Manpade condemned the attack.

Muslims staged a protest demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in the city demanding action against the newspaper for publishing a report which had hurt their religious sentiments.

In a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, the signatories said: “The newspaper had published indecent allegations and used vulgar words against the Honorable Shaikh Tajuddin Junaidi, Sajjada Nasheen of the Dargah of famous saint Sirajuddin Junaidi, who is known as Shaik-e-Deccan.”

The memorandum said “the paper has printed (the report) without any validity and (regard for) the rules of publishing” and demanded the closure of the newspaper. The senior officials who met the protesters at the Deputy Commissioner’s office said that they would look into the complaint and take action. The officials rejected the demand that the police should release those picked up in connection with the violence at the newspaper’s office.

Karnataka Union Working of Journalists has decided to take out a procession protesting against the attack on Samyukta Karnataka on Saturday and demand protection to newspapers and journalists.