Corpse is left hanging for over a year, 425-year-old palace is felled by greed

In Nichli Anjani village of Mandva, along the Rajasthan-Gujarat border, a body has lain hanging in the compound of a deserted school for over a year.

The body has decomposed into a skeleton but the family of the deceased still refuses to accept it.

The reason: the age-old tradition of Mautana or death money.

Ajmeri, a 36-year-old from Nichli Anjani, had gone to see his sister in Boojha village in May 2014. A month later, Ajmeri's decapitated body was found on a hillock near Boojha and taken to his home.

His family, however, refused to take the body. They alleged that Ajmeri had been murdered by Boojha's residents and demanded Mautana from them.

When Boojha's elders rejected the demand, Ajmeri's dead body was hanged inside the dilapidated school compound.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Nichli Anjani is in Rajasthan whereas Boojha falls in Poshina, Gujarat. This meant that for over a year, the police forces of the two states kept passing the buck to each other until villagers of Boojha recently approached a local court.

The court has since asked the Mandva police to investigate the matter. The body, however, is yet to be removed.

Perched atop a hill overlooking the Nahargarh forest reserve outside Jaipur, Rajasthan, the Mariyam Begum Palace has withstood the ravages of time, including the flood of 1981.

But this 425-year-old monument to love is crumbling under the assault of human greed: unchecked excavations by treasure-hunters are fast reducing it to rubble.

The palace was built by Jagat Singh, the son of Maharaja Man Singh I of Amber, for his consort Mariyam, the mother of one of Mughal emperor Jahangir's wives.

Treasure hunters have dug up most of the palace complex, looking for riches that Mariyam is supposed to have buried there, while local authorities looked the other way.

The government too has hardly made any efforts to restore the palace despite its huge tourist potential.

[twittable]Treasure hunters have dug up most of Mariyam Begum Palace complex, looking for her buried riches[/twittable]

Barkatullah University in Bhopal is in a fix. Why? Its students have downloaded Hollywood movie Terminator.

The National Informatics Center has sought a reply from the university after the film's producer Paramount Pictures threatened the NIC with legal action for infringing its copyright.

The university's internet has been installed by the NIC's National Knowledge Network. The students have reportedly been using it largely for entertainment purposes, downloading movies, songs and games.

The students, however, claim their teachers are equally involved in misusing the internet.

Since receiving the NIC notice, the IT administrators have been compelling the students to sign an undertaking that they will use the facility only for academic purposes.

This though is being done without the knowledge of the registrar, much to his dismay.

"This is a serious issue. I have sought details from the IT in-charge regarding the undertakings. We will take strict action against the culprits," the registrar Anil Sharma said.

Translated by Deepak Sharma.