16042022_First India Lucknow.pdf

CRUCIAL READ
MOB SETS
MUSLIM MAN’S
HOUSE ON FIRE
Agra (PTI): Right-wing
activists on Friday set
ablaze two houses
belonging to the fam-
ily of a Muslim man
accused of kidnapping
a Hindu woman, who
said in a video clip that
she went willingly with
him. Police arrested
eight people involved
in the mob attack,
which they said was
carried out by mem-
bers of a group known
as Dharam Jagran
Samanvay Sangh. A
police post in-charge
was suspended for
negligence and a probe
ordered against the
local SHO. More on P3
Lucknow (PTI): Chief
Minister Yogi Adity-
anath has directed offi-
cials to ensure a clean
environment and basic
amenities for people
visiting police stations
across the state, accord-
ing to an official state-
ment issued on Friday
.
He also instructed of-
ficials to strengthen
law and order in the
state and ensure good
governance.
According to the
statement, Adityanath
said there should be ar-
rangements for sitting,
access to clean drinking
water and toilets in eve-
ry police station so that
people do not face any
inconvenience.
The chief minister
also reviewed the ef-
forts made in this direc-
tion by Station House
Officer (SHO) of Ra-
jghat Police Station in
Gorakhpur, Randhir
Kumar Mishra.
Additional Chief
Secretary (Home)
Avneesh Kumar
Awasthi said the SHO
along with other staff
have taken special in-
terest in the renovation
of the police station.
The SHO along with his
team established a help
desk and renovated
parts of the police sta-
tion. A women’s help
desk and women retir-
ing room have also been
set up to ensure that the
women visitors don’t
face any discomfort,
Awasthi said.
JAI SHRI RAM!
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu with his wife Usha V. Naidu at the Ram Janmabhoomi
Temple construction site in Ayodhya on Friday. The Vice Prez travelled to Ayodhya from
Lucknow by train and was accompanied by Governor Anandiben Patel, Dy CM Keshav
Prasad Maurya and other dignitaries to Ayodhya. —PHOTO BY PTI/STORY ON P2
Ensure cleanliness, amenities
at police stations: CM’s orders
—FILE PHOTO
LUCKNOW l SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229 l Vol 2 l Issue No. 153
Delhi Capitals’ physio Patrick Farhart has tested positive for COVID-19,
the Indian Premier League said on Friday. “Delhi Capitals physio Patrick
Farhart has been tested positive for COVID-19. He is being closely
monitored by DC Medical Team at the moment,” officials said.
DELHI CAPITALS
PHYSIO PATRICK
FARHART TESTS
COVID POSITIVE
CJI NV Ramana has said filling up judicial vacancies is essential
for improving access to justice and that he is making efforts to fill
up all judicial vacancies at all levels. “With cooperation from all the
stakeholders, we could make considerable progress,” he said.
FILLING VACANCIES
ESSENTIAL FOR
IMPROVING ACCESS
TO JUSTICE: CJI
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, AHMEDABAD, LUCKNOW NEW DELHI www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia
ANURAG THAKUR
IN UNA TODAY
Union IB Minister
Anurag Thakur will
be visiting Una
in Himachal on
Saturday to launch
free health camp on completion
of 4 years of MP Mobile Health
Service, at old bus stand.
FRIDAY NAMAZ Muslim devotees offer
Friday prayers during the holy month of Ramzan at
Khairuddin Masjid in Amritsar on Friday. Dua or prayer
to Allah during namaz included well-being, world peace.
GOOD FRIDAY People belonging to the Christian community perform
a play during a procession, on the occasion of Good Friday in Jalandhar.
“Ideals of service and brotherhood of Jesus Christ are the guiding light for
several people,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion.
RONGALI BIHU Youngsters perform a traditional dance inside the premises of Ranghar, during the Rongali Bihu celebrations
in Sivasagar city of Assam on Friday. Bohag or Rongali Bihu is one of Assam’s three Bihus, and it is one of the most significant
festivals for the Assamese community. Traditional pat or muga silk or cotton mekhela chadors are worn by women on the occasion
in colours ranging from vivid red, yellow, green, orange and pink. —PHOTOS BY PTI
FAITHFUL FRIDAY OF MONTH
India
observes
Moscow: Russia’s de-
fence ministry warned
Friday it will intensify
attacksontheUkrainian
capital Kyiv in response
to strikes on Russian
soil, after accusing
Ukraine of targeting
Russian border towns.
“The number and
scale of missile strikes
against targets in Kyiv
willincreaseinresponse
to any terrorist attacks
or sabotage committed
by the Kyiv nationalist
regime on Russian terri-
tory
,” the ministry said
in its daily update.
It added that Russian
troops hit a “military”
factory outside Kyiv us-
ing long-range missiles.
RUSSIA HITS MILITARY
TARGET OUTSIDE KYIV
Moscow
says more
to come
RUSSIAN MILITARY’S DAMAGED
BLACK SEA FLAGSHIP SINKS
WORLD WAR III HAS
BEGUN: RUSSIAN TV
The flagship of Russia’s Black
Sea fleet, a guided-missile
cruiser that became a potent
target of Ukrainian defiance in
the opening days of the war,
sank after it was heavily damaged in the latest set-
back for Moscow’s invasion. Ukrainian officials said
their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia
acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva.
Russian state television has
declared that World War III has
already started after the sinking
of its naval vessel Moskva in
the Ukraine war. Presenter Olga
Skabeyeva made the chilling
statement, informing the viewers
that “what it’s escalated into can
safely be called World War III”.
26 arrested, 55 booked in Fatehpur
over ‘conversion to Christianity’
Fatehpur (PTI): Police
on Friday arrested 26
people on charges of il-
legally converting 90
Hindus to Christianity
in the last 40 days in the
district.
The arrests were
made following a com-
plaint by a Vishva Hin-
du Parishad office-
bearer Himanshu Dix-
it, who alleged that 90
Hindus have been ille-
gally converted to
Christianity by the
‘Evangelical Church of
India’ in Hariharganj
area, said Deputy Su-
perintendent of Police
Dinesh Chandra
Mishra.
On Dixit’s complaint,
an FIR was lodged at the
Kotwali police station
against 55 people, in-
cluding 10 women, un-
der various sections of
the Uttar Pradesh Pro-
hibition of Unlawful
Conversion of Religion
Act, DSP Mishra said.
A search is on for 29
other accused, the DSP
said. Thirty-five people
were named in the FIR.
The FIR was lodged
following a ruckus at
the church in Harihar-
ganj area on Thursday
evening. A prayer was
called by people of the
Christian community
at the church. Some
people from the Vishwa
Hindu Parishad and
Bajrang Dal reached
there in the evening al-
leging that unlawful
conversion of Hindus
was being done, DSP
Mishra said.
TATA REJIGS AIR
INDIA BOARD
Mumbai: Tata Sons has re-
jigged the board of Air India
moving the airline’s execu-
tives who held board posi-
tions to senior management
roles. It has also appointed
a chief commercial officer,
and heads of HR, digital and
technology, customer experi-
ence and ground handling
at the airline.
Air India starts
restoring staff
salaries in a
phased manner
Mumbai: Air India is
restoringsalariesof em-
ployeesinaphasedman-
ner to pre-pandemic lev-
els as the aviation sector
is recovering with the
decline of COVID-19
cases in the country
, ac-
cording to the airline’s
official document on
Tuesday
.
Indian aviation sector
was badly hit due to the
pandemic-inducedtravel
restrictions during the
last two years and there-
fore, all airlines in India
had cut salaries.
Air India’s document
on Tuesday said pilots’
flying allowance, special
payandwidebodyallow-
ance were cut by 35 per
cent, 40 per cent and 40
per cent, respectively
, af-
ter onset of pandemic.
I reject Musk’s Twitter buying
offer: Investor Saudi Prince
San Francisco: Tesla
chief Elon Musk bid to
buy Twitter has set up
the billionaire entrepre-
neur against one of
Twitter’s major share-
holders – Saudi Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal.
“I don’t believe that
the proposed offer by @
elonmusk ($54.20)
comes close to the in-
trinsic value of @Twit-
ter given its growth
prospects,” Prince Talal
tweeted tagging a post
that claimed the King-
dom and he own a 5.2%
stake in Twitter.
MUSK REACTS...
“Interesting. Just two
questions, if I may. How
much of Twitter does
the Kingdom
own, directly
indirectly?
What are the
Kingdom’s
views on
journalistic
freedom of speech?”
Musk asked in a tweet.
A Russian sailor salutes on the bow
of Missile Cruiser Moskva, left, as
crew of Russian patrol ship Pitliviy,
right, prepare to moor the vessel in
Sevastopol, Crimea on March 30.
‘IF HARMED, INDIA
WILL NOT SPARE’
In a strong message to China,
Defence Minister Rajnath
Singh said that if harmed, In-
dia will not spare anyone. He
asserted that India under PM
Narendra Modi has emerged
as a powerful country. P6

UTTAR PRADESH
LUCKNOW | SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2022
02
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‘RAM TEMPLE TO HERALD A NEW PHASE’
Lucknow (ANI): Re-
construction of the
Ram Janmabhoomi
temple is not simply a
high point in India’s cul-
tural history
, it will also
herald a new phase in
the economy and devel-
opment of the ancient
city of Ayodhya and
nearby areas, Vice Pres-
ident M Venkaiah
Naidu said on Friday
.
Naidu’s statement
came after he along
with his spouse Usha
Naidu visited the Ram
Janmabhoomi Temple
site in Uttar Pradesh’s
Ayodhya. They were ac-
companied by the Gov-
ernor of Uttar Pradesh,
Anandiben Patel and
Uttar Pradesh Deputy
Chief Minister Keshav
Prasad Maurya.
“Spiritual tourism is
a major employment
generator in India and
Ayodhya, one of the
most ancient cities of
the world, which is fast
emerging as a preferred
destination for national
as well as international
devotees,” Naidu fur-
ther said.
“I am pleased to note
that to meet the increas-
ing requirements of
surging tourist inflows,
the Central and State
governments have start-
ed many works.”
A new International
Airport is being con-
structed and redevelop-
ment of Ayodhya Rail-
way Station is also un-
derway, said the Vice
President.
“The private sector is
also investing in hotels,
medical sector and food
chains. All in all, this
sacred region is wit-
nessing an unprece-
dented scale of develop-
ment and Ram Nagari is
on course to regain its
ancient glory
.”
“My visit to Ayodhya
and Darshan of Shri
Ram Janmabhoomi to-
day was the fulfilment
of a long-cherished
dream, one which, I am
sure I share with mil-
lions of my country-
men,” Naidu said.
“The rebuilding of
Shri Ram Temple in
Ayodhya symbolises In-
dia’s cultural renais-
sance and our renewed
commitment to the
principles of Ram Rajya
- a vision of democratic
and righteous govern-
ance which ensures
peace, justice and equal-
ity for all,” he added.
TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION TO PAVE WAY FOR TOURISM, DEVELOPMENT OF AYODHYA, NEARBY REGIONS: VICE PREZ
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with his wife Usha V Naidu being bid farewell by CM Yogi Adityanath and other dignitaries as they depart for Ayodhya at Lucknow’s
Charbagh Railway Station. Governor Anandiben Patel and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya accompanied the Vice Prez to Ayodhya. —PHOTO BY ANI
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with CM Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel and Deputy
CM Keshav Prasad Maurya inspect a model at Charbagh railway station in Lucknow on Friday.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with his wife Usha V Naidu perform rituals at River Sarayu in
Ayodhya on Friday. They were accompanied by Governor Anandiben Patel and Dy CM Keshav Maurya.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with his wife Usha V Naidu at
the Hanuman Garhi Temple in Ayodhya. —PHOTO BY PTI
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu with his wife Usha V Naidu offer
prayers at the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
VP HAILS ROLE OF MAJOR COMPANIES
“It was gladdening to know that experts from var-
ious institutions including IITs, Central Building
Research Institute, LT Constructions and Tata
Consultancy Engineering Limited are working
together as a large team overseeing this historic
mission.”, said Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu,
during his visit at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: The state
government is soon go-
ing to give big job op-
portunities to the wom-
en in UP Home Guards,
an official spokesman
said on Friday. Only
women will be recruit-
ed for 20 per cent of the
vacant posts in the de-
partment and the offi-
cials have already been
asked to prepare a pro-
posal to start the re-
cruitment process in
100 days, it was in-
formed.
These recruitments
are to be done in the
Home Guards Depart-
ment, which has con-
tributed significantly to
maintaining peace and
internal security.
This will drastically re-
duce crimes against
women in the state and
an environment of se-
curity will also develop
in the state.
Women of the state,
who dream of touching
the heights with their
courage and passion,
will get opportunities
and they will be helpful
in strengthening the se-
curity system of the
state as well. Women
will show their ability
and efficiency on one
hand and will also be
able to serve the public
on the other hand.
The government has
also issued guidelines
to fill all the vacant
posts of Home Guards
phase-wise in the next
four years. The govern-
ment is working fast to
fill the vacancies with
empowered women,
able youth and fill all
departmental vacan-
cies quickly and in-
crease the number of
women in jobs.
Yogi government,
which is going to give
jobs to more than one
lakh people in the state
every year, is working
to make women strong
and self-reliant. It has
also stressed increasing
the number of women
in vacant posts in all
government depart-
ments.
At present, Centre
has approved 1,18,348
Home Guards volun-
teers for the Uttar
Pradesh Home Guards
organization of which a
total of 1151 companies
including 785 rural, and
366 urban companies
have been formed, in-
cluding 25 women com-
panies and 60 independ-
ent women platoons.
Govt to recruit women for 20% posts of home guards in UP
WOMEN EMPOWERMENT
lll
The initiative
by the home
department
is slated to
create an
atomosphere
of security
in the state
PHASED MANNER
UP govt to set up potato research centre
First India Bureau
Lucknow: To boost po-
tato cultivation in east-
ern Uttar Pradesh, the
Yogi Adityanath-led
government has decid-
ed to set up a potato cen-
tre of excellence at
Kushinagar (Kasaya).
This will not only lead
to an increase in the
production of potatoes
but also an increase in
income of farmers.
In this centre, re-
search on the quality of
potatoes, better varie-
ties and new varieties
for industrial use, and
improved seed research
will be done.
In addition, schemes
will also be made to pro-
tect the potatoes from
any kind of diseases.
Alongwiththis,farm-
ers will also be taught
new ways of potato cul-
tivation in the Potato
Centre of Excellence.
Besides, workshops
will be organized from
time to time, in which
farmers will be able to
discuss issues faced by
them with agricultural
experts and know their
solutions.
Farmers will also be
able to get information
about getting maxi-
mum production by us-
ing minimum water in
agriculture of potato as
a crop.
The centre is slated to
play a pivotal role in
produce of potato in the
state.
POTATO CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE SOON
The foundation stone of the administrative building
of the most ultra modern Potato Centre of Excellence
at Kushinagar will be laid soon. It has also been
included in the 100-day action plan of the state gov-
ernment. This will contribute towards providing high
quality seeds to the farmers in a hassle free manner.
YOGI GOVERNMENT LAUNCHES DASTAK CAMPAIGN
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Focusing
on prevention before
treatment, the Uttar
Pradesh Government
on Friday launched
the Dastak Abhiyan to
prevent the spread of
water-borne and vec-
tor-borne diseases.
The campaign is
scheduled to last till
April 30.
Speaking about the
same, CM Yogi, while
addressing a review
meeting said, “The
preparations will help
us contain the commu-
nicable diseases which
normally erupt during
the summers and
rainy season.”
With the aim to keep
the people safe from
communicable diseas-
es including encepha-
litis, malaria, dengue,
filariasis, Chikungun-
ya, and others, the CM
has also instructed the
officials to provide fa-
cilities for prevention,
treatment, and medi-
cines at the CMJan
Arogya Mela, organ-
ised every Sunday.
ASHA workers,village heads
entrusted with responsibilities
First India Bureau
Lucknow: ASHA
workers and Angan-
wadi workers have
been entrusted with
responsibility to ap-
prise people about
various water-
borne and mosqui-
to-borne diseases.
Stating that any
kind of careless-
ness could spiral
into a scary situa-
tion, the govt has
stated that special
efforts should be
made to improve
surveillance. Along
with the health de-
partment, Rural de-
velopment and
Child development
departments should
also stay alert.
Uttar Pradesh,
which has formed
the maximum num-
ber of (more than
60,000) monitoring
committees in the
country
, is playing a
vital role in the
fight against sea-
sonal fevers.
—PHOTO BY ANI
—PHOTO BY ANI
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—FILE PHOTO
—PHOTO BY ANI

UTTAR PRADESH
03
CRUCIAL READ
Lucknow: ACS, MSMEs, Navneet Sehgal on Friday
chaired a meeting to review the preparations for the
Apprenticeship Fair to be held in all districts of the
state on April 21. Sehgal said that Apprenticeship
Promotion Scheme is being offered to provide prac-
tical training
to the youth
in industries,
establishments
and MSMEs
during the
apprenticeship
fairs which will
be held at the
nodal Govern-
ment Indus-
trial Training Institute of each district. He further
instructed the officials to ensure that many youth
participate in the fair. Nodal Principal of the district,
State Industrial Training Institute and Deputy Com-
missioner, District Industries and Export Promotion
Center have been jointly made member secretaries.
44 CHILDREN TEST
COVID+ IN NOIDA
IN PAST 7 DAYS
Noida: A total of
44 children tested
COVID-positive in the
past seven days in Noi-
da, the health depart-
ment said on Friday. The
number of active cases
has crossed the 150-
mark in Noida, CMO Dr
Sunil Kumar Sharma
said. “As many as 44
children tested positive
in the last 7 days, of
which 16 children are
below 18 years. There
are 167 active COVID
cases in Noida. Percent-
age of children affected
26.3 per%,” CMO said.
Meanwhile, India report-
ed 949 new cases in the
last 24 hours, informed
the Union Ministry
of Health and Family
Welfare on Friday.
5 COUPLES
WEDDED
TOGETHER IN LKO
Lucknow: A mass mar-
riage ceremony of five
girls on behalf of Shree
Shyam Jyot Mandal
was held on Friday in
the courtyard of Maha-
raja Agrasen School,
Motinagar. Deputy CM
Brijesh Pathak, former
Deputy CM Dinesh
Sharma, BJP MLA
Ravidas Malhotra, and
Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia
blessed the newlyweds.
The marriage cere-
mony was performed
in a grand pandal by
taking 7 rounds of fire
amidst Vedic chanting.
Mandal’s media in-
charge Anupam Mittal
said that sherwani to
the grooms, lehenga
to the brides, and were
presented as gifts.
NAVNEET SEHGAL HOLDS MEETING FOR
APPRENTICESHIP FAIR PREPARATIONS
COMMUNAL
BLAZE
Right-wing activists set houses on fire
Muslim man
accused of
kidnapping woman
A video surfaced on social media in which the
woman said she is an adult and had gone willingly
with the man, according to police
Agra(PTI): Right-wing
activists on Friday set
ablaze two houses be-
longing to the family of
a Muslim man accused
of kidnapping a Hindu
woman, who said in a
video clip that she went
willingly with him. Po-
lice arrested eight peo-
ple involved in the mob
attack, which they said
was carried out by
members of a group
known as Dharam Jag-
ran Samanvay Sangh .
A police post in-
charge was suspended
for negligence and a
probe ordered against
the local SHO. Police
said the mob torched
the house in the city’s
Runakta locality,
where Sajid, a gym
owner, stayed. An ad-
joining house belong-
ing to the family was
also set on fire.
The mob was de-
manding his arrest for
‘kidnapping’ the wom-
an, who police said is 22
years old but still in
school. Shops in the lo-
cal Runakta market
also downed shutters,
with traders making
the same demand.
There were no reports
of any injuries in the at-
tack on the gym owner’s
home.
The woman, who is a
class 11 student, went
missing on Monday
. She
was traced two days
later by police, but Sa-
jid’s whereabouts were
not known. Her family
members had lodged a
missing person’s re-
port, prompting a police
search. Apparently on
the basis of their com-
plaint, a case was also
registered under sec-
tion 366 of the Indian
Penal Code. But in a
video that surfaced on
social media, the wom-
an said she is an adult
and had gone willingly
with the man, accord-
ing to police.
Both are adults,
Agra’s Senior Superin-
tendent of Police Sud-
heer Kumar Singh told
reporters. He said po-
lice will produce the
woman in court. They
couldn’t do that so far
because of the court
holidays.
The local police post
in-charge was suspend-
ed after the incident for
negligence and an in-
quiry ordered against
the Sikandra station
house officer. If found
guilty, action will be
taken against him as
well,” the SSP said.
Both are adults, the SSP
said, adding police will
produce the woman in
court.
There has been a de-
lay in this due to the
holidays. He said an FIR
has been registered
against the members of
the group that set the
houses on fire.
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Alla-
habad High Court has
granted no relief to the
ex-Chief Finance and
Accounts Officer of
NOIDA in the case of
corruption and dis-
missed the petition on
merits. Counsel for the
petitioner submitted
that the Principal Sec-
retary, Government of
U.P had issued a letter
dated 16.07.2021 calling
for explanations and
clarifications as re-
gards the role of the
petitioners.
This clarification/
explanation has been
sought from the CEO,
Noida but no reply to
the same has been re-
ceived till date. The
Court noted that from
the submissions made
by the counsel for the
petitioner, as also the
material brought on
record and the aver-
ments in the writ peti-
tion, it is not the peti-
tioner’s case that the
entire material re-
quired to be consid-
ered by the sanction-
ing authority had not
been placed before it.
This submission only
is that certain clarifi-
cations had been
sought at the instance
of the sanctioning au-
thority from CEO, Noi-
da, which clarifica-
tions were never re-
ceived and therefore,
the sanctioned order
is bad.
The Court opined
that this argument
does not help the peti-
tioner in any manner.
The sanction order for
prosecution is to be
granted by the sanc-
tioning authority on
the basis of material
collected during inves-
tigation by the investi-
gating agency
.
The Court said that,
“From perusal of the
sanction order, it clear-
ly emerges that such
material had been pro-
duced before the sanc-
tioning authority and
the same was perused
and taken note of while
granting sanction for
prosecution. Any reply
or explanation by CEO,
Noida which is not the
investigating or prose-
cuting agency, would
be irrelevant for the
purposes of grant to
sanction.” “In view of
the above and since
the contentions raised
by the counsel for the
petitioners have been
repelled herein-above,
the writ petition is
found to be without
merit. It is, according-
ly, dismissed,” the
order reads.
Aligarh(PTI): A
30-year-old woman was
allegedly raped by the
driver, his helper and a
passenger of an au-
to-rickshaw that she
hired at the bus stand
here to reach her vil-
lage, police said on Fri-
day.
The incident took
place late Thursday
evening when the wom-
an took an auto from
the Aligarh bus stand
for her native village,
about 15 km away from
the city, they said. In
her complaint, the vic-
tim has alleged that the
driver picked up anoth-
er passenger for the
same destination. After
the auto crossed the
outskirts of the city
and reached a remote
area, the driver, his
helper and the other
passenger robbed and
raped her and dropped
her by the roadside, the
victim said in her com-
plaint. With the help of
some passersby, the vic-
tim managed to reach
the police station on
Friday, police said.
A case has been reg-
istered against the ac-
cused and efforts to nab
them are on, they said.
Aligarh’s Superinten-
dent of Police (Rural)
Shubham Patel said the
police are scanning
CCTV footage of the
bus stand to identify
the culprits.
Bareilly(PTI): Two
people have been
booked here for alleg-
edly hampering the na-
tional integration by
playing songs on a mo-
bile phone hailing Paki-
stan, police said on
Thursday
.
An FIR has been
lodged against Naeem
and Mustkim of Sing-
hai Murawan village of
the Bhuta area of the
district on Wednesday,
police said. The FIR was
lodged against the duo
on the complaint of vil-
lager Ashish who ob-
jected to their playing
the song praising Paki-
stan, they said.
On being objected to
by Ashish, the duo also
picked up a fight with
him, prompting the
complainant to shoot
the video of the inci-
dent and upload it on
his Twitter handle,
prompting police to take
note of the matter and
proceed legally, they
said. Bareilly’s Addi-
tional SP (Rural) Rajku-
mar Agarwal said an
FIR has been registered
on the complaint and a
probe is on in the mat-
ter. The FIR was lodged
under section 153 of the
IPC which pertains to
acts hampering nation-
al integration.
Janardan Misra
Lucknow: Police have
registered FIR against
four persons including
two police constables on
charges of kidnapping,
extortion and threaten-
ing of killing in “en-
counter”. Additional
Deputy Commissioner
of Police Prachi Singh
said that the case has
been registered on com-
plaint of the victim.
Departmental action
will also be taken
against the accused po-
lice constables, she
said. It was reported
that two police consta-
blesof thecrimebranch
had abducted a proper-
ty dealer and demanded
Rs 5 lakh ransom. They
threatened the victim
that they will kill him
in an ‘encounter’ if
money was not deliv-
ered. Property dealer
Atul Singh complained
that he had sent Rs
20,000 in Jagdeesh
Lodhi’s account who
claimed to be an STF
official. The FIR has
been registered against
Akash alias Jagdeesh
Sudheer, Shivanshu
Mishra and Anil and
further investigations
are underway in Lko.
G h a z i a b a d ( P T I ) :
Three men have been
arrested for allegedly
kidnapping and stab-
bing to death a 10-year-
old boy here, police said
on Friday. The victim
was the cousin of one
of the accused, they
said. SP (crime) Deek-
sha Sharma said a miss-
ing report was lodged
by the boy’s father at
Khoda police station on
April 12.
During the investiga-
tion, it came to the fore
that the boy was last
seen with his cousin
Priyanshu who was
then arrested on Thurs-
day along with his
friends Raj Kumar and
Akash, the police offic-
er said. The body of the
boy with stab marks
was recovered the same
day following interro-
gation of the three ac-
cused, Sharma said.
Interrogation led
Priyanshu to confess
his crime. He told the
police that he had
hatched a plan along
with his friends to ex-
tort Rs 15 lakh from his
uncle, the SP said. Pri-
yanshu took the boy to
a park in Noida sector
54 on the pretext of
playing with him.
When the boy insisted
on going home, the
three accused tied his
mouth with a cloth, the
police officer said.
Locals and police trying to douse the fire outside the houses in Agra on Friday.
BEARER OF THE CROSS
Procession of the Cross was taken out at Hazratganj’s Cathedral campus on Good Friday. —PHOTO BY ASHOK DUTTA
FIR against 2 constables
for kidnap, extortion
NOIDA PROBE
Ald HC grants no relief to
officer in corruption case
10-year-old boy
kidnapped,
killed; cousin
among 3 held
RPF OFFICER ATUL
KUMAR SRIVASTAVA HELD
GUILTY OF CONTEMPT
First India Bureau
Prayagraj: The Al-
lahabad High Court
has held the Chief
Security Commis-
sioner (CSC) of
North Eastern Rail-
way Protection
Force, Atul Kumar
Srivastava, guilty of
contempt.
However, before
sentencing him, the
Additional Solicitor
General has been
given an opportuni-
ty to comply with
the order by giving
him 24 hours time. A
single-judge bench
of Justice Saral Sri-
vastava passed this
order while hearing
a contempt applica-
tion filed by Kri-
tyanand Rai. A com-
pliance affidavit
had been filed stat-
ing that entire bene-
fits which the appli-
cant is entitled to
have been paid. Ra-
jeev Chaddha, coun-
sel for the applicant,
raised objection and
stated that the Court
order has not been
complied with in let-
ter and spirit. On
record finding of
guilty of contempt,
the Additional So-
licitor General has
submitted that en-
tire dues of the
house rent allow-
ance and diet allow-
ance shall be re-
leased to the appli-
cant by today.
Woman raped by auto driver,
co-passenger in Aligarh
The court dismissed
petition of ex-Chief
Finance and
Accounts Officer of
NOIDA
Two booked for playing
songs hailing Pak: Police

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 2 l Issue No. 153
l RNI NO. UPENG/2020/80229.
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Amar Ujala Ltd. B-5 Amausi
Industrial Area Kanpur Road Luc-
know. Published at 98, Friend’’s
Colony, Raheem Nagar, Dudouli
Road, Madiyaon, Lucknow (UP).
Editor-In-Chief: Jagdeesh Chandra.
Editor: Vishal Srivastav
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Ashwini Vaishnaw
@AshwiniVaishnaw
My best wishes and greetings to all
on Poila Boishakh, Bihu, Baisakhi,
Puthandu, Vishu and Bisu.
Jyotiraditya M. Scindia
@JM_Scindia
Heartiest greetings to every resident
of Himachal Pradeh on the state’s 75th
Foundation Day. May the state continue
to move forward on the path of
progress and continue to play its part
in nation building with committment.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Detachment from
material things is the way
to inner peace.
—Bhagvad Gita
IN-DEPTH
ODISHA HC’S CHIEF
JUSTICE CALLS LAW
DISCRIMINATORY
AGAINST THE POOR
TOP TWEETS
nlawful detentions,
getting dispossessed
of their properties
with no quarter to
approach for relief,
the poor and the marginalised in
India have always found them-
selves at the receiving end of the
law because of their low status
in society
. Never mind the party
in power and never mind their
claims of being pro-poor. Odisha
High Court’s Chief Justice S.
Muralidhar has given an un-
blinkered view of the plight of
the poor “as the laws are struc-
tured against them”. Delivering
a lecture on “Appearing in
Court: Challenges In Represent-
ing the Marginalised”, Chief
Justice Muralidhar said, “There
are many barriers to accessing
justice that a marginalised per-
son faces…The laws are them-
selves structured to discrimi-
nate against the poor”.
Indeed, not only are laws com-
plex, the entire legal system is
tilted heavily in favour of the
rich and powerful leaving the
poor at the mercy of untrust-
worthy lawyers at times. People
from the Scheduled Castes,
OBCs and Muslims constitute
the bulk of undertrials and con-
victs and there’s little hope of a
change.
U
inding an honest
politician would
be like looking for
the proverbial
needle in a hay-
stack. Karnataka, like many
other states, has a long list of
corrupt politicians. Heading
the list is former Chief Min-
ister BS Yediyurappa. Others
on the list included his cabi-
net colleagues and Bellary
mine lord Janardhana Reddy
and his aide B. Sriramulu.
All of them were probed by
the Karnataka Lokayukta in
2012. Yediyurappa is still not
off the hook in a land scam
case, although the Supreme
Court did grant him relief
from arrest. The BJP saw
nothing wrong in giving tick-
ets to Janardhan Reddy and
his brothers who, at one
point in time, were seen as
fountainheads of corruption.
The present controversy is
over contractor Santosh Pa-
til’s suicide because of Kar-
nataka Rural Development
Minister KS Eshwarappa al-
legedly made an unreasona-
ble demand for “40 percent
cut money” to clear his bill of
Rs 4 crore. Those in the know
of cut money business are
aware that if 40 percent was
being allegedly demanded by
the highest authority in the
department, others down the
pecking order also expect a
cut. Besides Eshwarappa,
Santosh Patil also named two
associates of the minister.
Eshwarappa has offered ar-
guments in his defence.
The minister has resigned
but he has not been arrested.
Enforcement Directorate and
the CBI, the two independent
bodies, are watching the
show from afar as Karnataka
is an important BJP-ruled
state. What is important here
is to understand that no po-
litical party can absolve itself
of corruption charges. A rul-
ing party finds facing such
charges easier to handle.
KARNATAKA’S CORRUPT
POLITICAL LEADERS
The present controversy is
over contractor Santosh
Patil’s suicide because of
K’taka Rural Development
Minister KS Eshwarappa
allegedly made an
unreasonable demand
for “40% cut money”
to clear his bill of
`4 crore
F
CONTRACTUAL RECRUITMENT
A TRYST WITH NATIONAL SECURITY
I agree that jobs creation is
the utmost need of the hour.
There is also no doubt that
the youth should be
disciplined and the love and
respect for India should
reign supreme. Yes, we all
want India to become an
economic super power but, is
it required to disturb the
decades old and tested
military practices to fulfil
short term political gains
without caring for the long-
term ill effects
ast two years saw a massive
reduction in soldier strength
in Indian Army
. Due to the
pandemic no rallies wereheld
and results of rallies held
were not declared thus caus-
ing a deficiency of over 1.2
lakh soldiers in a time when
we were preparing to meet
Chinese might. The nation
wondered why recruitment
rallies of 15 -18K couldn’t be
conducted when N number of
political rallies involving
over lakhs of citizens, voting
by dozens of crores in elec-
tions and IPL matches were
seen on the block. Was it by a
design or default?
As an observer of military
affairs, I was of the firm opin-
ion that policy makers were
inclinedtopushinoldscheme
of ‘TOUROFDUTY’intoprac-
tice albeit, under a new and
attractive Jingoism called
‘
AGNIPATHBHARTIYOJNA’.
It is believed that the Cen-
tral Government is now final-
izing the Agni Path Recruit-
ment Scheme where in, youth
will have the option to be re-
cruited into Army for three
years and would be known as
Agniveer during his service.
To a lay man the thought
would appear to be noble but
actually it is fraught with un-
certainties and tremendous
harm not only to military’s
war potential but also to the
morale, discipline, motiva-
tion and ethos of units. As it
takes 4 - 5 years in a unit ser-
vice before a soldier matures.
In India, Army has been a
volunteer force for all ranks
since independence. There is
no conscription as the vol-
ume of volunteers is ever on
an increase. Having conduct-
ed this whole process as a
recruiter in the Army, I am
well aware of the dreams and
aspirations of the teeming
millions as well as the tough
selection process of soldiers
before they are put through a
rigorous training pro-
gramme to harness a very
basic military craft which
gets developed into a battle-
hardened soldier in next few
years in a unit.
My apprehension is that, as
againsttheestablishednorms
of recruitment if the propos-
al of short-term recruitment
comes through, it would not
only defeat the efficacy and
efficiency of the armed forces
but may also have the danger
of producing dissatisfied and
disgruntled gun trained mer-
cenaries who are vulnerable
in the absence of meaningful
and worthy employment in
thealreadysaturatedjobmar-
ket. In fact, if ‘
Agniveers’ fail
to pick up a job after three
years of military tourism, the
nation will have weapon
trained unemployeds ready
for exploitation.
Politicians popularly argue
that this scheme is to usher in
‘discipline’ and ‘patriotism’
amongst youth. While mili-
tary leadership harps upon
financial benefits accruing
out of this scheme. The two
do not appear to be in sync. It
is evident that our leadership
is willing to accept the chal-
lenges even at the peril of
National Security
.
I agree that jobs creation is
the utmost need of the hour.
There is also no doubt that
the youth should be disci-
plined and the love and re-
spect for India should reign
supreme. Yes, we all want
India to become an economic
super power but, is it re-
quired to disturb the decades
old and tested military prac-
tices to fulfil short term po-
litical gains without caring
for the long- term ill effects.
Will it not be wise to put this
template first on other govt
services like Railways, CAPF
and Para military forces to
establish its efficacy and
then only subject the defence
forces for implementation?
If we further analyse the
likely draw backs of this pro-
posal, it is the myth it spreads
about the savings to the na-
tion for modernization of the
very Army
. While the cost of
Agniveer is calculated at 85
lakhs against 4-5 crores for a
regular soldier, how many
Agniveers will be required to
replace service span of a
regular soldier has not been
discussed.
It is not quite clear as to
why Defence forces are se-
lected to be the favourites of
the financial authorities for
cost cutting measures. But
the recent reductions in man
power, replacement of regu-
lar soldiers, accepting exist-
ing short falls in officer cad-
re and sale of defence land to
generate modernization
funds for Army point in a di-
rection not very healthy and
inspiring.
And what do we lose in this
myopic vision? Obviously,
the growth within the organ-
ization, stability, experience
skills, motivation and the
capacity to succeed in any
future war. In other words,
lower degree of national se-
curity and that too, just for a
little saving to the exchequer.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
L
COL ANUPAM
JAITLY (RETD)
The writer is Defence expert,
Motivational Speaker Corporate Trainer
In fact, if ‘Agniveers’
fail to pick up a job after
three years of military
tourism, the nation will
have weapon trained
unemployeds ready for
exploitation.Politicians
popularly argue that
this scheme is to
usher in ‘discipline’
and ‘patriotism’
amongst youth

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INDIA
05
BJP fact-finding team meets rape
victim’s family, criticises WB govt
Nadia (ANI): A five-
member fact-finding
committee constituted
by Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) national
president JP Nadda vis-
ited Hanskhali on Fri-
day to look into the al-
leged rape and murder
of a minor girl.
A 14-year-old girl died
after she was allegedly
gang-raped in Hanskha-
li in Nadia district of
West Bengal earlier this
month. The victim’s
family has accused the
son of a Trinamool Con-
gress (TMC) panchayat
leader in the case.
Following this, BJP
— the Opposition party
in the state — formed a
committee of party’s
women members to en-
quire into the incident.
The members of the
fact-finding committee
are BJP’s vice presi-
dent and MP Rekha
Verma, Uttar Pradesh
minister Baby Rani
Maurya, Tamil Nadu
MLA Vanathi Srini-
vasan, who is also BJP
womenwinghead,Kush-
buSunderandWestBen-
galMLASreerupaMitra
Choudhury
.
Meanwhile, a Central
Bureau of Investiga-
tion (CBI) team also ar-
rived in Hanskhali on
Thursday and visited
the residences of the
gang rape victim and
the accused in the case.
Calcutta High Court
on Tuesday granted per-
mission to the CBI to
investigate the alleged
rape and murder case.
CBI DIG Akhilesh Sin-
gh with CBI Joint Direc-
tor Ghanshyam Upad-
hyay reached the house
inGanrapotaBilparaVil-
lageof theprimeaccused
in which the minor girl
wasallegedlygangraped,
but found it locked. They
then broke the lock and
entered the house.
BJP ‘fact-finding team’ visit Hanskhali village to inquire into the death of a minor girl, who was allegedly gangraped and murdered, in
Nadia on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
TRIBAL GIRL GANGRAPED IN BENGAL’S
BIRBHUM DISTRICT, SAY POLICE
Santiniketan (PTI): A tribal girl has been gang-raped in
West Bengal’s Birbhum district by at least five men when
she was returning home from a village fair, police said
on Friday. The incident took place when the minor and
her boyfriend were coming back from a Charak Mela at
Adityapur in Santiniketan police station area on Thurs-
day night, an officer said. Five men beat up the girl’s
boyfriend and took her to the banks of a river where they
took turns to rape her, he said. Based on a police com-
plaint, a case has been registered and investigation is un-
derway, the officer said. The girl is undergoing treatment
at Bolpur Sub-divisional Hospital, and police is seeking
her help to draw sketches of the accused, he said.
Bengaluru (PTI): As
Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj (RDPR)
Minister K S Eshwarap-
pa is all set to resign,
Karnataka BJP strong-
man BS Yediyurappa on
Friday, standing by his
old friend, expressed
confidence that he will
come out clear from all
allegations and return
as Minister soon.
Eshwarappa, against
whom police have
booked a case for alleg-
edly abetting the sui-
cide of contractor San-
tosh Patil, will be sub-
mitting his resignation
to Chief Minister Basa-
varaj Bommai today
evening.
“As a situation has
come for him (Esh-
warappa) to resign, he
is going to resign. If the
investigation is com-
pleted in two to three
months, it will be
proved that he has no
role (in the case) and
that he is innocent, and
there will no hurdles
for him to be re-induct-
ed into the cabinet,”
Yediyurappa said.
Speaking to reporters
here, the former Chief
Ministersaid,duetocer-
tain unavoidable rea-
sons, despite having
committed no mistake, a
situation has come for
Eshwarappa to resign,
under certain pressure.
DECIDED ON HIS OWN: BOMMAI ON RESIGNATION
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivaku-
mar on Friday took a pot shot at Karnataka Chief Minister
Basavaraj Bommai after the latter confirmed that Minister
KS Eshwarappa will tender his resigna-
tion from his ministerial post on Friday
following allegations of corruption. “The
protest is not for his resignation (KS
Eshwarappa) but against corruption. CM
said (Eshwarappa) has not done anything
wrong. If he didn’t do anything then why
are you accepting his resignation?” said
Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar. “No need for
the Opposition to become an investigation officer or judge
as everything will come out after probe,” the Bommai said.
‘Eshwarappa will become
Min again after probe’
BS Yediyurappa
New Delhi (PTI): Delhi
Deputy Chief Minister
Manish Sisodia on Fri-
daysaidthattheBharati-
ya Janata Party (BJP) in
copying the Kejriwal
Model of governance in
Himachal Pradesh.
Addressing a press
conference here, Sisodia
saidthatHimachalChief
Minister Jai Ram
Thakur has announced
to provide 150 units of
electricity
,waterandbus
farefreeinthestate,fear-
ing defeat in the view of
assembly election in the
state in November.
He said the BJP is in
the power in total 18
states and has opposed
the freebies every-
where. But as Himachal
Pradesh is going to the
poll soon, they are copy-
ing the Kejriwal model,
blamed Sisodia.
Delhi Chief Minsiter
Kejriwal has done just
one roadshow in Mandi
and it has created so
much fear among them
(BJP), Sisodia claimed.
He also questioned
the BJP as to why it is
not making such an-
nouncements in other
states.
Sisodia said that the
public of the state
knows that the BJP is
not in favour of provid-
ing free electricity
. This
announcement is a
hoax of BJP, he said.
The BJP has spoken
half-finished plans out
of fear of elections,
they have no intention
of doing anything free
or cheap, said Sisodia.
BJP copying Kejriwal model of governance in HP: Sisodia
BEFORE CHALLENGING, AAP MUST BUILD A
DECENT ORGANISATION IN HIMACHAL: BJP
New Delhi: BJP’s Himachal Pradesh in-charge
Avinash Rai Khanna on Friday said before challeng-
ing anyone, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) must build
a decent organisation in the state. “AAP has no pres-
ence and stake in Himachal Pradesh. They do not
have any organisational structure. AAP tried to build
an organisation but collapsed within a short span of
time. Before challenging anyone, AAP must build a
decent organisation in Himachal Pradesh. AAP does
not have ground presence while the strong cadre of
BJP is present in each polling booth across Himachal
Pradesh. We have no challenge from anyone and
AAP is not in the race,” Khanna said. He also said
the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government will be
formed for the second consecutive time in the state
for its pro-people policy.
AMIT SHAH LAUDS
JAIRAM GOVT
Shimla (PTI): Extending his
greeting on Himachal Day
to the people of the state,
Union Home Minister Amit
Shah on Friday said Chief
Minister Jairam Thakur-led
government not only doing
development in the state
but is also cherishing the
culture. Shah took to Twitter
to express his views and
extended his wishes to
the residents of Himachal
Pradesh. “I extend my best
wishes to all the residents of
Devbhoomi on the occasion
of Himachal Day,” the Home
Minister tweeted in Hindi.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia
Implement letter of pact reached
with farmers: BKU Charuni to Shah
Ambala (Agencies):
Bharatiya Kisan Union
(BKU) Charuni national
president Gurnam Sin-
gh Charuni wrote a let-
ter to Union home min-
ister Amit Shah on Fri-
day, demanding full im-
plementation of the let-
ter of agreement
reached with farmers
during their year-long
protest.
A similar letter has
also been sent to the sec-
retaryof theUnionmin-
istry of agriculture and
farmers’ welfare.
In his letter, Charuni
said that through the
Union ministry of agri-
culture and farmers’
welfare’s letter secre-
tary (AFW)/2021/Mis/1
dated December 9, 2021,
the Centre government
and the andolankaris
(agitating farmers)
reached a written agree-
ment.
“According to the
agreement, points no. 2
and 2A have not been
implemented, under
which, a consensus was
reached to withdraw
with immediate effect
all the cases related to
the Andolan (agitation)
but till date, the Centre
government has not is-
sued any order to imple-
mentpointno.2and2A”,
said Charuni.
Charuni alleged that
due to the non-with-
drawal of cases, the rail-
way police and other
agencies are harassing
the farmers.
“Therefore, it is re-
quested that Centre gov-
ernment should fully
implement all the points
reached in an agree-
ment to maintain the
people’s trust in govern-
ment”, said Charuni.
“The Centre should
also write to concerned
state governments to
withdraw all the cases
still pending against the
farmers,” he added.
BKU Charuni president Gurnam Singh Charuni (C).
Unable to pay bill,
T’gana man hangs
self in hospital
Hyderabad (Agen-
cies): Unable to pay
hospital bill, a man
committed suicide by
hanging in a private
hospitalinJayashankar
Bhupalapally district.
Marri Bapu, 46, was un-
dergoing treatment af-
ter consuming pesti-
cide following denial of
job to his son as prom-
ised by the authorities
while acquiring his
land for Kakatiya Ther-
mal Power Project.
ED roped in
to track
money trail
Kolkata (Agencies):
TheCBIhasropedinEn-
forcement Directorate
(ED) in the investigation
of theongoingWestBen-
gal School Service Com-
mission (WBSSC) scam.
TheEDwillnowruna
parallelinquirybutonly
inthefinancialaspectof
the scam. CBI sources
told media that the deci-
sion to rope in ED was
takensincethelatterhas
better expertise to track
the money trail involved
in the scam.
“Tracking the money
trail will give crucial
clues relating to the
scamandwedonotwant
further delay in it. Our
senior officers had been
holding dialogues with
theircounterpartsinED
for the last few days and
finally the latter has
agreed to take up the fi-
nancial angle probe in
the scam,” a CBI official
heresaidonconditionof
anonymity
.
The ED will specially
examine the transac-
tions involving huge
amounts to track the
money trail.

❍ WBSSC SCAM
Sonia among last Cong leaders
to enrol for internal elections
New Delhi (PTI): Sonia
Gandhi was among the
lastleaderswhoenrolled
as Congress members
digitally ahead of inter-
nal elections next
month. Over 2.6 crore
Congress workers have
enrolled digitally and
another 3 crore have
used paper enrolment
system to participate in
theexercisethatisbeing
carried out for the first
time in the party’s
137-year-old history
.
This exercise comes
after a series of defeats
in several states and in-
ternal calls from leaders
and workers for a com-
plete overhaul of the
party organisation and
leadership at all levels.
KC Venugopal gives ID card to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.
JK: Militants kill BJP
sarpanch in Baramulla
Srinagar (PTI): Mili-
tants shot dead a sar-
panch in an orchard at
Goush-bugh village of
Pattan in north Kash-
mir’s Baramulla district
on Friday evening.
A police official said
a sarpanch was shot
dead by suspected mili-
tants in an orchard at
Goush-bugh village.
The sarpanch has
been identified as Man-
zoor Ahmad Bangroo
of Goush-bugh and is
said to be associated
with the BJP.
The area has been
cordoned off and a
search operation has
been launched to nab
the attackers, the police
official said.
AAP Guj chief
invites Cong
leader Hardik
to join party
Ahmedabad (ANI):
Amid rumours of Guja-
rat Congress Working
President Hardik Patel
quitting the party over
infighting in the party,
Aam Aadmi Party Guja-
rat chief Gopal Italia on
Friday invited him to
join a “like-minded par-
ty” like his and said that
Congress would not
have a place for the ded-
icated people like Patel.
Speaking to media,
the AAP state chief
said, “If Hardik Patel is
not liking in Congress,
he should join a like-
minded party like AAP.
Instead of complaining
to Congress, wasting his
time, he should contrib-
ute here.”
“I have given my 100
per cent to Congress till
now, and will give the
same in the coming
days,” Patel said.
Hardik Patel
Don’t believe ‘Ram was a
god’, Manjhi triggers row
Patna, (Agencies): The
Presidentof Hindustani
Awam Morcha (HAM)
andformerChief Minis-
ter of Bihar, Jitan Ram
Manjhi, has again made
a controversial state-
ment on Lord Ram.
Speaking at an event
organised by HAM
MLA Praful Kumar
Manjhi at Sikandra in
Jamui district to mark
Ambedkar Jayanti on
Thursday, Manjhi said:
“I don’t believe Ram
was a God. Ram was a
character created by
Tulsidas and Valmiki to
spread their message.”
On September 22 last
year, Manjhi had
sparked a row after call-
ing Lord Ram a historic
figure who is just a
character in a mytho-
logical story
.
At the event in Si-
kandra, Manjhi also
said: “People who per-
form Puja at other’s
houses do not become
big people. People be-
longing to Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled
Tribes should stop puja
in their houses. Brah-
mins used to eat meat,
consume liquor and
speak lies. You cannot
achieve religious merit
ny inviting Brahmins
at your houses for puja.
In fact, you gain sin
that way.”
Reacting to Manjhi’s
remarks, RJD state unit
chief Jagadanand Sin-
gh said: “I can’t under-
stand why Manjhi re-
peatedly makes state-
ments on Lord Ram. We
worship Lord Ram. He
is the creator of the uni-
verse. Why do some peo-
ple use his name to cre-
ate controversy and
flare up communal ten-
sion in the society?
Jitan Ram Manjhi

INDIA
06
VIVEK AGNIHOTRI
DROPS HINTS FOR‘THE
DELHI FILES’
Mumbai: Filmmaker
Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri
on Thursday revealed that
he will soon be working
on his next feature film,
titled “The Delhi Files”. The
filmmaker, whose last film
“The Kashmir Files” raked
in big numbers at the box
office but also resulted
in a political controversy,
shared the news in a post
on Twitter. “I thank all
the people who owned
#TheKashmirFiles. For last
four years, we worked very
hard with utmost honesty
sincerity. I may have
spammed your TL but it’s
important.
B’DESHI TEEN HELD
WHILE SNEAKING TO
BUY CHOCOLATE
Agartala: A Bangladeshi
teen has been arrested
and put behind bars for
illegally crossing into
India to buy chocolate, the
BSF said on Friday. Eman
Hossain, a resident of a
Bangladeshi village close
to Shalda River, which
marks the international
border between the two
countries, regularly swam
across the water body to
buy his favourite Indian
chocolate in Tripura’s
Sipahijala district. He used
to sneak through a hole in
the barbed wire fencing to
buy chocolate from a shop
in Kalamchoura village.
Patna: Bihar govern-
ment has sent a fresh
proposal to the Archae-
ological Survey of India
to get Cyclopean wall, a
more than 2,500 years
old structure at Rajgir,
listed in the UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
The Cyclopean Wall
of Rajgir is a 40 km long
wall of stone which en-
circled the ancient city
of Rajgir to protect it
from external enemies
and invaders, built be-
fore 3rd century BC.
“We are leaving no
stone unturned to get
Cyclopean wall listed in
the UNESCO World
Heritage Site. We have
submitted a fresh pro-
posal highlighting the
historical significance
and features of the Cy-
clopean Wall to the ASI
following their re-
quest”, Additional Sec-
retary cum Director
(Archaeology), of Bi-
har’s Art, Culture and
Youth department,
Deepak Anand told PTI.
Anand said the wall
is among the oldest ex-
amples of cyclopean
masonry in the world
and it must be listed in
the UNESCO World
Heritage Site. Earlier,
Bihar Chief Minister
Nitish Kumar also
said on several occa-
sions that Cyclopean
wall must be listed in
the UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
Bihar’s push for UNESCO world heritage tag
FOR 2,500-YEAR-OLD WALL
lll
The Cyclopean
Wall of Rajgir is
a 40 km long
wall of stone
which encircled
ancient city of
Rajgir to protect
it from external
enemies and
invaders
Washington (PTI): In
a strong message to
China, Defence Minis-
ter Rajnath Singh has
said that if harmed, In-
dia will not spare any-
one, as he asserted that
India under Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi has emerged as a
powerful country and
is headed to be among
the top three econo-
mies of the world.
Singh, in his address
to the Indian-American
community in San
Francisco, also sent a
subtle message to the
US that New Delhi does
not believe in a diplo-
macy of “zero-sum
game” and its relation-
ship with one country
cannot be at the expense
of the other.
The defence minister
was here to attend the
India US 2+2 ministeri-
al in Washington DC.
Thereafter, he travelled
to Hawaii for meetings
at IndoPACOM head-
quarters and then to
San Francisco.
At a reception hosted
in his honour by the In-
dian Consulate in San
Francisco, the Defence
Minister told the select
gathering about the
valour shown by Indi-
an soldiers on the bor-
der with China.
“I cannot say openly
what they (Indian sol-
diers) did and what de-
cisions we (the govern-
ment) took. But I can
definitely say that a
message has gone (to
China) that India will
not spare anyone, if In-
dia is harmed. (Bharat
ko agar koi chherega to
Bharat chhorega
nahi),” he said.
The Ladakh border
standoff between the
Indian and Chinese mil-
itaries erupted on May
5, 2020, following a vio-
lent clash in the Pan-
gong lake areas. The
face-off escalated after
the Galwan Valley
clashes on June 15, 2020.
New Delhi: Indian citi-
zens, without transit or
regular Schengen visas,
are unable to fly to the
UK through European
Union airlines like Luf-
thansa, KLM and Air
France as they are
stopped at the origin
airports in India itself.
As the UK is no long-
er part of the European
Union, it has, post Brex-
it, made mandatory of
for non-EU citizens to
get a transit Schengen
visa in order to fly to the
UK on transit flights op-
erated by its airlines.
Schengen visa is a
short-term visa that al-
lows its holder to travel
freely throughout the
Schengen area, which
covers 26 EU countries
or Schengen States
without border controls
between them.
The move took place
on January 1 last year.
Non-EU citizens can
fly to the UK without
transitorregularSchen-
gen visa only through
non-stop flights or by
one stop flights only
through Gulf countries
or Switzerland. The EU
rule does not apply for
Switzerland as it is not a
member of the Union.
However, there are
several services which
fly directly to the Unit-
ed Kingdom.
After India resumed
scheduled internation-
al flights, foreign air-
lines have started offer-
ing one-stop connec-
tions between India and
the rest of the world.
Following the Rus-
sia-Ukraine conflict,
this one-stop business
has also increased sig-
nificantly.
Beijing: Sun Jian, a 37-year-old master’s degree
student in the Chinese city of Yantai, for months staged
a solo campaign against his university’s Covid-19
prevention measures, including blistering criticism on
social media. The last straw for authorities came on
March 27, when Sun walked around his campus carry-
ing a placard that read “lift the lockdown on Ludong”.
Police detained him and on April 1 Ludong University
expelled him, according to a letter from the university
seen by Reuters. University officials did not respond to
a request for comment. The Chinese public have been
largely supportive of the zero-Covid policy.
Karnataka: Several parts of Bengaluru faced severe
water-logging amidst very heavy rainfall in the city on
Thursday. Buses, cars and other vehicles were seen
struggling to meander through the cascading water.
Homes in some parts of the city were submerged in
nearly waist-deep water due to the downpour. People
were stranded in city due to water-logged streets and
pavements. An emergency operation had to be carried
out in some areas by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara
Palike (BBMP) and the fire department.
GROWING DEFIANCE OF COVID CURBS
IN CHINA BRINGS WAVE OF ARRESTS
DELUGE IN BENGALURU, HOMES FLOODED,
HEAVY RAIN FORECAST FOR THREE DAYS
CRUCIAL READ
Counting for key
Chhattisgarh
Assembly
bypoll today
CBSE yet to
decide on Class
X XII exams
for 2022-23
Rajnandg aon:
The counting of
votes in the
Khairagarh As-
sembly bypoll in
Chhattisgarh held
on April 12 will be
taken up on Satur-
day, an official
said. The process
will begin at 8am
in a godown of the
State Seeds Devel-
opment Corpora-
tion where a large
posse of security
personnel, includ-
ing from paramili-
tary units, have
been deployed, the
district official
said.
The bypoll was
necessitated due
to the death of Ja-
nata Congress
Chhattisgarh (J)
MLA Devvrat Sin-
gh. The voter turn-
out was 77.88 per
cent, and postal
ballots will be
counted first fol-
lowed by the EVM
ones, the official
said, adding that
the process will go
on for 21 rounds
on 14 tables. Inci-
dentally, the Con-
gress has prom-
ised to make
Khairagarh a dis-
trict if it wins.
New Delhi: The Cen-
tral Board of Secondary
Education is yet to de-
cide whether the 2022-23
academic session will
remain split into two
terms for Class 10 and
12 or it will revert to the
single board exam pat-
tern, officials said on
Friday
.
Bifurcating the aca-
demic session, holding
two term-end exams
and rationalising the
syllabus were part of
the special assessment
scheme for Class 10 and
12 board examinations
in 2021-22 announced by
the CBSE as a “one time
measure” in view of the
Covid-19 pandemic.
“The decision to con-
duct the board exams in
two terms was taken in
view of the unprece-
dented situation, the
students had to be as-
sessed using assess-
ment scheme as no
board exams could be
conducted,” a senior
board official said.
MODI DISCUSSES UKRAINE, SCS
WITH TOP VIETNAMESE LEADER
New Delhi (PTI):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Friday
spoke with general sec-
retary of the Commu-
nist party of Vietnam
Nguyen Phu Trong and
exchanged views on re-
gional and global is-
sues, including the on-
going crisis in Ukraine
and the situation in the
South China Sea.
In their telephonic
conversation, the two
leaders expressed satis-
faction over the rapid
pace of wide-ranging
cooperation under the
India-Vietnam Compre-
hensive Strategic Part-
nership which was es-
tablished during Modi’s
visit to Vietnam in 2016,
the PMO said.
They complimented
each other on the 50th
anniversary of the es-
tablishment of diplo-
matic relations between
the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi
reiterated Vietnam’s
importance as an im-
portant pillar of India’s
Act East Policy and In-
do-Pacific Vision, and
sought to enhance the
scope of the bilateral
relationship, besides
working for expeditious
progress on existing
initiatives.
The prime minister
also requested for great-
er facilitation of mar-
ket access for India’s
pharma and agri-prod-
ucts in Vietnam, the
statement said.
PM Modi highlighted
the historical and civili-
sation links between
the two countries and
expressed his happi-
ness on India’s involve-
ment in restoration of
Cham monuments in
Vietnam.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets while virtually addressing
on the special occasion of Himachal Day, in New Delhi on Friday.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visits the various training sites of
US Army Pacific, in Hawaii on Thursday. —FILE PHOTO
PM LAUDS HP’S PROGRESS,
STRESSES ON DEVELOPMENT
New Delhi (PTI): PM
Narendra Modi on
Friday emphasised on
the need for Himachal
Pradesh to realise
its full potential, and
said the State has to
be developed with a
quick pace in the next
25 years to take it
further ahead in fields
like tourism, higher
education, research,
information technol-
ogy, bio technology,
food processing and
natural farming. In an
address on the state’s
75th foundation day,
he lauded its progress.
However, people con-
verted challenges into
opportunities, and the
state now ranks high
on various develop-
ment indices with its
progress in the fields
of horticulture, literacy,
electrification and
water supply.
—PHOTO
BY
ANI
Artists perform during an event to celebrate Himachal
Divas at Dhalpur in Kullu district on Friday.
RAJNATH’SWARNINGTOCHINA
If harmed, India
will not spare
anyone: Def Min to
China amid tension
Indians can’t fly EU
carriers to UK without
transit Schengen visa
Hawkers cannot insist
on leaving goods: SC
New Delhi: A hawker
has no right to insist
that he may be permit-
ted to keep his goods
and wares at the place
of hawking overnight,
the Supreme Court has
said. A bench of Jus-
tices MR Shah and BV
Nagarathna said hawk-
ers can be permitted to
hawk in markets only
in accordance with the
hawking policy
.
“The prayer before
the high court was that
the petitioner, who is a
hawker in the Sarojini
Nagar Market (Delhi),
be permitted to leave
his goods and wares at
the place of hawking
overnight. The said
prayer has been rightly
rejected by the high
court,” the court said.
“The petitioner, be-
ing a hawker, has no
right to insist that he
may be permitted to
keep his goods and
wares at the place
where he is hawking
overnight,” the bench
said.
Kolkata Police raids fake call
centre, arrests 8, seizes laptops
Amid Ukraine war, Russia starts
delivery of S-400 missile to India
Kolkata (PTI): At least
eight people were ar-
rested after a fake call
centre was raided by
Kolkata Police in the
city’s Garden Reach
area, an officer said.
Acting on a tip-off,
police raided a house in
the Garden Reach area
late on Wednesday
night and busted a call
centre which was oper-
ating without any valid
licence, the officer said
on Thursday
.
The owner of the call
centre managed to es-
cape. Police has seized
at least 13 laptops, eight
mobile phones, four
hard-disks and Rs 19
lakh, he said.
“We are investigating
the matter... It seems
they were collecting
money by duping peo-
ple under the pretext of
mending computer sys-
tems. They were keep-
ing the money deposit-
ed in a bank account
and then transferring
them to some other as
per requirement,” the
officer added.
New Delhi: Amid the
ongoing war between
Russia and Ukraine, In-
dia has received the
simulators and other
equipment from Mos-
cow for the training
squadron of the S-400
Triumf missile system.
The second squadron
of the missile system is
a training squadron
and includes simula-
tors and other training-
related equipment only
.
It does not include mis-
siles or launchers, de-
fence sources told ANI.
Despite the ongoing
conflict, defence sup-
plies from Moscow are
continuing as the Indi-
an defence forces have
received shipments of
overhauled aircraft en-
gines and spares.
However, there is con-
cern about whether this
would continue in the
near future as a solu-
tion for making pay-
ment to Russia has not
yet been found.
Prime Minister reiterated Vietnam’s importance as an important pillar of India’s Act East Policy

NEWS
07
MAN KILLS
ORPHAN NIECE
FOR OPPOSING
MOLESTATION
A42-year-old man allegedly
axed his orphan niece to death
in a village here after she spurned
his sexual advances, police said
on Friday. Accused Ramgopal
Singh attacked his niece late
Thursday night after she objected
to him when he molested her,
Ghazipur police station’s SHO
Sangamlal Prajapati said. The
accused has been arrested, he
said. The 14-year-old girl’s
parents had died long ago and
she had been living with her aunt
in Rae Bareli and had come to her
uncle’s place a few days ago, the
SHO said. Prajapati said
investigations till now have
revealed that Ramgopal had
molested her and he attacked her
when she objected to it. —PTI
3 JUVENILES
HELD FOR
KILLING ICE-
CREAM VENDOR
Three juveniles were
apprehended on Friday for
allegedly stabbing a 45-year-old
ice-cream vendor to death in
northeast Delhi’s Bhajanpura,
police said. As per police, the
incident took place in Subhash
Vihar area on the intervening night
of Wednesday and Thursday. Two
baton swords used in the crime
were also recovered from them. All
the juveniles who were aged
between 15 to 16 years had fled to
Meerut (UP) after killing Tamkeen
and later returned back to their
Delhi home, police said. Police said
Tamkeen used to be an ice-cream
vendor in the morning and would
sell vegetables in the evening. The
victim used to taunt and threaten
the minors and a day before the
murder, Tamkeen had slapped one
of them which led to a scuffle
between them, the police added.
The victim was standing near his
house when three juveniles
allegedly came on foot and stabbed
him. They fled from the spot in a
motorcycle. The injured man was
taken to GTB hospital where
doctors declared him brought
dead, said Devesh Kumar Mahla,
Additional Deputy Commissioner
of Police (Northeast). A case was
registered under sections 302
(murder) and 34 (common
intention) of the Indian Penal Code
in connection with the incident, he
said. After scanning through all
CCTV footages and based on
secret information, all the three
juveniles were apprehended on
Friday from Delhi, he added.
“During interrogation, they
disclosed that they wanted to take
revenge and killed him,” the senior
police officer said. —PTI
U’KHAND: PMO
VISITS
BADRINATH
TO REVIEW
REDEVELOPMENT
WORK
An official from the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) on
Friday visited Badrinath to review
the progress of the redevelopment
work being carried out in the
temple town. According to the
master plan for the beautification
and upgradation of facilities around
the Himalayan temple, Badrinath is
to be redeveloped as a spiritual city
in three phases. PMO deputy
secretary Mangesh Ghildiyal was
accompanied by Chamoli District
Magistrate Himanshu Khurana, and
inspected the spots being
redeveloped according to the
master plan, including the
Himalayan temple premises, Mana
bypass, Badrish and Shesh Netra
lakes, and banks of the Alaknanda
river. The master plan includes
beautification of the Shesh Netra
and Badrish lakes near the temple
dedicated to Lord Vishnu in the
first phase, expansion and
renovation of temple premises and
nearby areas in the second phase
and construction of an “Astha
Path” from Shesh Netra lake to the
temple in the third phase. —PTI
COW SMUGGLINGSYNDICATE
BUSTED IN MEERUT, 5 HELD
First India Bureau
Meerut: The security
forceshavebustedasyn-
dicate of cow smuggling
and held five accused
from Uttar Pradesh on
April 12. The accused
used to smuggle cows
from various states and
supply them to Assam,
Meghalaya, Mizoram as
well as Bangladesh. As-
sam police had an-
nounced a reward of Rs
two lakhs on accused
Akbar Banjara. Special
OperationsGroup(SOG)
and Falawada police
acted on inputs of April
11, held two accused
Babukha and Ranjit,
and recovered 2 cows
and cutting tools from
them. Prabhakar
Chaudhary, Senior Su-
perintendent of Police,
said that Falawada po-
lice had recovered sev-
eral cows illegally trans-
ported in the truck un-
der the Nakodar police
station area and Akbar,
Salman, Shamim, Iqbal
had managed to escape.
During the interroga-
tion, the accused dis-
closed that they used to
smuggle cattle from dif-
ferent states and take it
to Assam from where it
wassmuggledtoBangla-
desh. The official added,
“They have two cases
registered against them
at Police station in As-
sam. The crime branch
team along with Falwa-
dapolicearrestedAkbar
and his 2 brothers Sal-
man Shamim. Akbar
Banjara had a large net-
work of cow smuggling
across the country
Bangladesh and several
criminal cases were reg-
istered against him. Ak-
bar was involved in ille-
gal cow smuggling since
childhood. Police have
registeredacaseagainst
Akbar and his accom-
plices and further inves-
tigations were under-
way
, he said.
The accused used to smuggle cows from various states supply them to Bangladesh
CRIMINAL HISTORY
ACTION AGAINST LIQUOR
MAFIA IN PRATAPGARH
First India Bureau
Pratapgargh: Tak-
ing action against the
liquor mafia Sanjay
Singh, the police have
confiscated the assets
of the criminal, pro-
ceeding under the
Gangster act. Police
have seized proper-
ties of the liquor ma-
fia in Balipur and
Lucknow.
Dr. Nitin Bansal,
district magistrate
here said that a case
was registered
against the liquor ma-
fia Sanjay Singh a
year ago when a huge
consignment of ille-
gal liquor was recov-
ered from his Balipur
farmhouse under
the Hathigawan po-
lice station area.
He said that actions
were taken after the
notice was issued to
him. Sanjay Singh
was jailed a year back
and further proceed-
ings were underway.
Apart from Sanjay
Singh, actions were
being taken against
other liquor and land
mafias in the dis-
trict. Several people
had lost their lives af-
ter consuming spuri-
ous liquor last year.
Actions were taken
against excise depart-
ment officials, police-
men, and liquor ma-
fias after the incident.
Chief Minister Yogi
Adityanath has in-
structed concerned
officials to take stern
actions against mafi-
as following which as-
sets of mafias, and
criminals were confis-
cated and their illegal
STEPPED-UP DRIVE
Several people had lost
their lives after consum-
ing spurious liquor last
year. Actions were taken
against excise depart-
ment officials, police-
men, and liquor mafias after the incident.
RAMADAN IN PRAYAGRAJ
Devotees offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Prayagraj during the holy month of Ramzan. —PHOTO BY PTI
Three notorious criminals held
after encounter in Sitapur
First India Bureau
Sitapur: Police have ar-
rested three notorious
criminals after an en-
counter in Talgaon area
here.NPSingh,Assistant
Superintendentof Police
(West), said police had
nabbed three persons ac-
cused of loot on Thurs-
day evening while their
three other accomplices
had managed to flee.
After information, the
police team intercepted
the other three criminals
in Talgaon but they
opened fire on the police
team. In retaliatory fir-
ing, two accused were in-
jured, Singh said. Police
haverecoveredthelooted
items, country-made pis-
tols, and cartridges from
them. Thearrestedcrim-
inals were identified as
Sakran, Manoj Godiya,
and Sunil Pasi.
Morethan10criminal
cases under loot, theft,
and other charges were
registered against Sunil
Pasi and Manoj Godiya,
andarewardof Rs25,000
was announced upon
their arrest. Police said
thatthearrestedaccused
had confessed to their
crime.
` 25,000 REWARD
NOIDA MAN DROWNS IN
YAMUNA WHILE TAKING DIP
THREE OF A FAMILY KILLED IN
ROAD MISHAP IN FARRUKHABAD
Noida (PTI): A 38-year-
old man allegedly
drowned in the Yamuna
river while taking a dip,
police officials said.
The incident took place
near Wajidpur village
where he had gone with
his family to pray at a
temple on the river
bank, the officials said.
“Gangaram hailed from
Ilahabas village. Before
going for the prayers in
the temple, he went for
a dip in the Yamuna but
started drowning in it.
When his daughter no-
ticed him drowning,
she called for help and
some locals reached the
spot,” a police official
said. Gangaram was
pulled out from the riv-
er and rushed to a hos-
pital but he did not sur-
vive, the official said.
The police were also
informed about the in-
cident after which the
body was sent for a post-
mortem and then hand-
ed over to the family
, the
official added. The po-
lice said there has been
no complaint in the
case by the family of
the deceased.
First India Bureau
Farrukhabad: Three
persons lost their lives
while two others were
severely injured when
a state transport bus
rammed a motorbike
near Madanpur vil-
lage at Etawah-Bareil-
ly highway under Mo-
hammadabad Kotwali
area.
Police sources said
that Balram Singh (40)
was heading towards
his native village in
Mainpuri district
when a speeding state
transportbusrammed
his motorbike. Bal-
ram Singh his wife
Vandana (35), four-
year-old daughter
Mohni, and two-year-
old son Kartik were
severely injured.
Meanwhile, the bus
driver and his assis-
tant managed to flee
from the spot leaving
their vehicle be-
hind. Police rushed to
the spot shifted the
injured to the hospital
where Balram, his
wife Vandana, and
their daughter Mohini
succumbed to their in-
juries while the condi-
tion of a two-year-old
boy was stated to be
critical. It was alleged
that the ambulance
did not reached on
timewhichworsen the
condition of the in-
jured. Police have
launched a manhunt
to nab the escaped
driver his assistant.

Three held after two
police personnel held
captive by villagers
Mathura (PTI): The in-
charge of a police out-
post and a constable
were allegedly held cap-
tive by the locals of
Umarala village when
they reached there fol-
lowing reports of a scuf-
fle, officials said. The
villagers also threw
stones at a police vehi-
cle, damaging it. The
duo could be released
after an additional po-
lice force reached the
village, they said. Three
people have been arrest-
ed in connection with
the incident. According
to the police, a scuffle
occurred between two
parties in the village on
Wednesday night. When
Mohit Kumar, the in-
charge of the police out-
post reached the spot
with some personnel of
the force, a few women
started abusing them.
When they objected,
people attacked them
and also threw stones at
the police vehicle.
Later, a case was reg-
istered following com-
plaints made by the po-
lice outpost in charge
and the police consta-
ble, SHO of Kosikalan
Sanjay Tyagi said.
Three people have been
arrested and efforts
were on to nab others,
he added.
Authorities in Lakhimpur
Kheri hold gram
choupal events in 30
village panchayats
Lakhimpur Kheri
(PTI): The district au-
thorities here organised
‘gram choupal’ events
in 30 village panchayats
on Thursday to redress
publicgrievancesunder
the ‘Prashashan Aapke
Dwar’ pilot project, of-
ficials said. “The pro-
ject, which happens to
be the first of its kind in
Uttar Pradesh, is pri-
marily focused on re-
dressal of grievances of
people living in rural
areas at their door-
steps,” Chief Develop-
ment Officer (CDO)
Anil Singh, who is steer-
ing the project, told PTI.
“It is also aimed at in-
fusing a sense of re-
sponsibility among of-
ficials posted at the vil-
lage level, besides mak-
ing people aware of the
benefits of various gov-
ernment welfare
schemes,” Singh added.
A total of 320 com-
plaints were received
during the events on
Thursday, of which 226
were resolved on the
spot and the rest for-
warded to the authori-
ties concerned to be
disposed within a week,
the officials said.
—REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

08
2NDFRONT
Travel is one of the best ways to
learn about life; one may travel
physically to other places or
through books with your mind.
—Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
Ahtesham Siddiqui
Lucknow: In a major
reshuffle, a dozen IAS
officersweretransferred
in UP on Friday
, includ-
ing DM Meerut K Balaji
and DM Rae Bareli Vai-
bhavSrivastava,whoare
facing the wrath of
Chief Minister Yogi Ad-
ityanath with their
names being put on the
waiting list.
As per reports, DM
Rae Bareli Vaibhav Sri-
vastava was put on wait-
ing list after a woman
legislator complained
against him to the CM.
Two IAS officers of
2014 batch have been
made District Magis-
trate for the first time:
Manish Bansal, Munici-
pal Commissioner,
Meerut, being made DM
of Sambhal, while Neha
Jain, serving as Addi-
tional CEO of UP Indus-
trial Development Au-
thority
, being made the
new DM of Kanpur De-
hat. Further, 2009 batch
IAS officer Mala Srivas-
tava is made new DM of
Rae Bareli, IAS Deepak
Meena of 2011 batch has
been made DM of
Meerut, IAS Jitendra
Pratap Singh of 2013
batch has become DM of
Deoria, while IAS San-
jeev Ranjan has become
DM of Siddharthnagar.
2004-batch officer
Balkar Singh, who re-
turned from intra cadre
Deputation from Hary-
ana has been made MD
of Jal Nigam, 2000 batch
IAS Anurag Yadav, Sec-
retary Urban Develop-
ment, has been made
Secretary Agriculture
while IAS Sameer Ver-
mahasbeenshiftedfrom
Secretary PWD to Secre-
tary Social Welfare de-
partment.
The charge of plan-
ning and programme
implementation has
been withdrawn from
ACS Suresh Chandra
and he will now only
have charge of Labour
department. Chandra is
set to retire in January
2023 and the responsi-
bility of planning and
program implementa-
tion has been given to
Alok Kumar (III), also
secretary to the CM.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: Amid Spec-
ulations of joining BJP
and after coming out in
support of Uniform
Common Civil Code,
Pragatisheel Samajwa-
di Party (Lohia) chief
Shivpal Yadav on Fri-
day dissolved all party
units.
On Thursday, Akh-
ilesh’s uncle Shivpal
had toed BJP line on
UCC. Apart from the
working committee,
state fronts, the entire
spokesperson panel has
also been dissolved
with immediate effect.
An order in this regard
has been issued by
Shivpal Yadav’s son and
PSPL national general
secretary Aditya Yadav
on Friday
.
The move comes
amid speculations of
Shivpal Yadav switch-
ing over to the Bharati-
ya Janata Party.
Earlier on Thursday,
while attending a pro-
gramme in Lucknow on
the occasion of Ambed-
kar Jayanti, Shivpal Ya-
dav had spoken in fa-
vour of implementing
the Uniform Civil Code,
an issue which has been
an agenda of the BJP.
Besides, PSPL spokes-
person Deepak Mishra
has said, “Even Dr Ram
Manohar Lohia was in
favour of Common Civ-
il Code and he even
made it an issue in
1967.”
Shivpal had earlier
tweeted a ‘chaupai’
from Ramcharitra-
manas, describing Lord
Ram as the best teacher
for family and nation
building. Sources sug-
gest that he may visit
Hanumangarhi and
Ram Lalla in Ayodhya
soon. On the occasion
of Chaitra Navratri,
Shivpal Yadav had
tweeted: “Chaitra
Navratri is a moment of
faith as well as a mo-
ment to connect with
the ideals of Lord
Rama.”
Shivpal Yadav con-
tested the recent elec-
tions on SP symbol
from his traditional
Jaswantnagar seat in
Etawah district. Last
week, he had met Yogi
at the latter’s official
residence in Lucknow
for about 20 minutes.
Sources close to Yadav
said the PSPL chief
may make some big an-
nouncement of leaving
nephew’s tie-up soon.
DMs of Meerut, Rae Bareli among 12 IAS officers transferred
MAJOR RESHUFFLE
Alok Kumar Neha Jain Manish Bansal
14 IPS OFFICERS, INCLUDING NINE
DIST POLICE CHIEFS MOVED OUT
Lucknow (PTI): In the
first major reshuffle after
assembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh, 14 Indian
Police Service (IPS) offi-
cials were transferred by
the state government on
Friday. Those transferred
include SSP Moradabad
and eight other district
police chiefs. According
to information, SSP
of Moradabad Babloo
Kumar has been kept in
waiting while Superin-
tendent of Police (SP)
of Balrampur, Hemant
Kutiyal, will be the new
Moradabad SSP.
Rajesh Kumar Saxena,
commandant of Eighth
PAC battalion in Bareilly
will take charge as the
new SP of Balrampur,
while SP of Rampur,
Ankit Mittal, will replace
Saxena. IPS Ashok
Kumar, who was attached
with police headquarters,
will take charge as the
new SP of Rampur. SP
of Amroha, Poonam, has
been kept on waiting.
SP of Hathras district
Vineet Jaiswal will take
the charge as the new SP
of Amroha. SP of Sant
Kabir Nagar, Kaustub,
has been made the new
SP of Maharajganj. SP
of Maharajganj Pradeep
Gupta has been made the
Commandant of 37 PAC
battalion in Kanpur Nagar.
IPS Vineet Jaiswal
COASTING TO BJP?
AFTER ENDORSING UNIFORM CIVIL CODE,
SHIVPAL DISSOLVES ALL PARTY UNITS
Akhilesh’s
disgruntled uncle
often seen
seconding the
saffron party’s
line of socio-
political narrative
in recent times
PSPL chief Shivpal Yadav. —FILE PHOTO
ATROCITIES AGAINST MUSLIMS: SP
LEADER KASIM RAEEN RESIGNS
Samajwadi Party leader Kasim Raeen on Friday
resigned from all party posts citing “no action” by
party chief Akhilesh Yadav and others against “rising
incidents of atrocities meted out to Muslims” in UP.
In the resignation letter shared by Raeen, he accused
the party chief of inaction and questioned his silence
over the incarceration of Azam Khan and his family.
“Akhilesh Yadav kept silent when Azam Khan and his
family were put into jail. SP President did not raise
his voice after Nahid Hasan was imprisoned and
Sahijal Islam’s petrol pump was demolished,” he said
in the letter. “I am resigning from all the posts of the
party after being angered with such behaviour of the
SP President towards Muslims,” he added.
SP’s Sukhram Yadav meets
CM Adityanath, triggers
speculations of joining BJP
Lucknow (PTI): The
Samajwadi Party’s
Rajya Sabha member
Sukhram Singh Ya-
dav has met Uttar
Pradesh Chief Minis-
ter Yogi Adityanath
here, triggering spec-
ulations he might
switch over to the
BJP.
During the meeting
at chief minister’s
residence here on
Thursday, Yadav was
accompanied by his
family including son
Mohit, who had re-
cently joined the BJP.
On being asked about
the purpose of the
meeting, the MP told
PTI Friday that since
he could not meet Ad-
ityanath after his
swearing-in ceremo-
ny in March, he had
gone to congratulate
him now.
But, political cir-
cles here are agog
with speculations
that the senior SP
leader, who has some
differences with par-
ty president Akh-
ilesh Yadav, was pre-
paring to crossover to
the BJP.
Yadav, however, dis-
missed such talks. “I
don’t see any strength
in these specula-
tions.”
Yadav trashed
these suggestions too.
“The meeting with
the Uttar Pradesh
chief minister was
good,” he said. “Since,
I could not meet the
Chief Minister after
the elections and the
oath-taking ceremo-
ny, I met him yester-
day (Thursday), and
congratulated him.”
The 70-year-old Ya-
dav had served as the
chairman of the Ut-
tar Pradesh Legisla-
tive Council from
2004-10. He became a
Rajya Sabha MP from
the Samajwadi Party
on July 5, 2016.
“I have already said
earlier that there are
a few differences be-
tween me and the par-
ty leadership,” Yadav
asserted.
“The difference is
that it was said by
Akhilesh (Yadav) ji
during the party feud
(in 2016) that netaji
(Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav) will be made the
national president of
the party after the
2017 elections,” he
said. “However, many
elections have passed,
but no action has
been taken in this re-
gard. I only want that
the respect for Netaji
should remain in-
tact,” Yadav asserted.
First India Bureau
Lucknow: In view of
simmering discontent
against the Samajwadi
Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav in the organiza-
tion, the SP patriarch
Mulayam Singh Yadav
has launched exten-
sive damage control
exercise to keep the
party united and pre-
pare for 2024 Lok
Sabha elections.
During a visit to his
Mainpuri Lok Sabha
constituencyMulayam
Singh Yadav said the
party should not only
stand united under the
leadership of Akh-
ilesh Yadav but also
give him strength. He
said all the workers
should join hands to
further consolidate
the party
.
Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav’s observations in
the light of bickering
in the family with im-
pending departure of
SP MLA Shivpal Singh
Yadav to BJP and ris-
ingdiscontentinAzam
Khan camp against the
leadership of Akh-
ilesh Yadav are aimed
at keeping the control
over party and also
avoid any problem
from the Yadav com-
munity as the BJP is
expecting to make dent
in SP’s Yadav vote
bank through Shivpal
Yadav.
Mulayam Singh also
coming forward to pro-
tect Akhilesh Yadav
and this could be a
message to the Muslim
community that the
party was committed
to its interest. Though
looking beyond Mus-
lim-Yadav (M-Y) com-
bination Mulayam
Singh Yadav would not
like this vote bank to
get fragmented. While
around 12 per cent Ya-
davs had voted for BJP
in the Assembly elec-
tions there are voices
in Muslim community
to re-strategize the ac-
tion plan, including
support to the BJP in
future elections.
Around eight percent
Muslims had voted for
BJP in last elections.
After a minor jerk
during assembly elec-
tion when SP patriarch
Mulayam Singh Ya-
dav’s younger daugh-
ter-in-law Aparna Ya-
dav Bisht had joined
the BJP
, the stage is set
for Mulayam Singh’s
younger brother
Shivpal Yadav shifting
loyalty to saffron bri-
gade.Thepossibilityof
some family members,
who are not pulling on
well with Akhilesh Ya-
dav, joining the BJP
could not be ruled out.
Ghaziabad (ANI):
The father of the man-
agement student in To-
ronto, who was mur-
dered on April 7, said
that the body of Kartik
would arrive in Delhi
on Saturday.
“(Accused) Edwin
has been produced be-
fore the court and is
being asked to hire a
lawyer for the next
hearing that is being
scheduled on Wednes-
day (April 20),” said
Hitesh Vasudev, father
of deceased.
Richard Jonathan
Edwin (39), the accused
of the murder of Kar-
tik Vasudev, 21, was
arrested by the Toron-
to police on Sunday in
connection with two
homicide cases, in-
cluding Vasudev’s
case.
Vasudev was a man-
agement student from
Uttar Pradesh’s Gha-
ziabad, who went to
Canada for studies in
January. He was shot
dead in Toronto on
April 7 following a
shooting outside the
Sherbourne subway
station.
Rishikesh (PTI):
Heavy tourist inflow
owing to the long week-
end led to a 30-km traffic
jam between Haridwar
and Rishikesh on Fri-
day with vehicles mov-
ing at a snail’s pace, of-
ficials said.
The long weekend be-
gan on Thursday with
Ambedkar Jayanti fol-
lowed by Good Friday
and Saturday and Sun-
day
. According to offi-
cials, the jam stretched
Har-ki-Pauri in Harid-
war to Lakshman Jhoo-
la in Rishikesh, a dis-
tance of around 30 km.
Dehradun traffic direc-
tor Mukhtar Mohsin
said heavy crowds were
expected due to the long
weekend adequate ar-
rangements were made.
However, the tourist
footfall exceeded the ex-
pectations upsetting all
arrangements,headded.
Meanwhile, the Chard-
ham yatra will begin in
the first week of May
and a heavy influx of
devotees is expected as
the annual pilgrimage
will take place without
any restrictions.
NEW INNINGS
Mulayam in damage control mode to protect Akhilesh
SP founder Mulayam Singh Yadav. —FILE PHOTO
BodyofIndianstudent
killedinTorontolikely
toarriveinDelhitoday
Long weekend rush
triggers traffic jam
IN DEVOTION
Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and his wife Usha
Naidu attend Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in
Varanasi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI

orn and brought up in
the sound city of Ra-
jasthan, he has been
associated with the
world of fabrics,
hand blocks and
screen printing since
childhood.
Angrish fully knows the
market and client’s needs, as
well as how to deal with sup-
ply and demand. Given his
love for history, art and mod-
ernism, his collection is main-
ly inspired by the idea of fan-
tasy resorts and offers a beau-
tiful mix of classic vintage
touch with modern resort
looks for men as well as for
women.
Keeping in mind that
eloquence and elegance
are in proportion with
each other, Wrickie An-
grish has managed to
keep the hold of the her-
itage of Jaipur with
Hand block and yet
gives mesmerizing con-
temporary styles and
silhouettes, which is
what makes the An-
grish all the more
beautiful and makes
it stand out from oth-
er brands and com-
panies. Oozing flair
and trend, the time-
less clothing created
and presented by An-
grish is for quintes-
sential men and wom-
en. When in college,
as a student of gradu-
ation, his keen inter-
est and curiosity in
fabrics and business led him
to pursue and continue with
his family business ie. The ex-
porting apparel. Later, in the
year 2010, he opened a multi-
brand designer studio by the
name of W.A.S. (Wrickie An-
grish Studio), where he sold
the brands of budding design-
ers while presenting his own
designs, in the studio.
B
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
www.firstindia.co.in I www.firstindia.co.in/epapers/lucknow I twitter.com/
thefirstindia facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
LUCKNOW, SATURDAY,
APRIL 16, 2022
THE OWNER OF THE FAMOUS ‘THE ANGRISH’, WRICKIE ANGRISH IS
AN ACE DESIGNER, WHO HAS STUNNED THE AUDIENCE WITH HIS
ASTONISHING COLLECTIONS AT FASHION CONNECT, DUBAI, NOW
SHARES HIS JOURNEY AS THE DESIGNER WITH CITY FIRST
ELOQUENCE
ELOQUENCE
and Elegance
and Elegance
Wrickie Angrish

10
ETC
AS WE RECENTLY CELEBRATED THE NATIONAL SAFE MOTHERHOOD DAY,
ANTARA PROGRAM IS DOING ITS BEST TO PREVENT ADOLESCENT
PREGNANCIES AND CURTAIL MORBIDITY!
GAME-CHANGER
GAME-CHANGER
HOW AN INJECTABLE
HOW AN INJECTABLE
CONTRACEPTIVE IS
CONTRACEPTIVE IS
PROVING TO BE THE
PROVING TO BE THE
RAJASTHAN
RAJASTHAN
IN RURAL
IN RURAL
CITY FIRST
ukhsana is one of
the 23 million
girls who were
married off be-
fore the age of 18
and robbed of
their agency
. Mar-
ried off at 16, she says, “I
still don’t know how a girl
is expected to comprehend
the meaning of the word
‘marriage’ as soon as she
reaches puberty. I never
wanted to marry so early
but my parents paid no
heed and I was sacrificed
to save them from further
financial travails. I can’t
describe the painful expe-
riences I went through.”
She gave birth within a
year of her marriage and
regardless of the depres-
sion that was set in had to
take care of a home as well
as a malnourished baby
girl. Recalls Rukhsana, “I
never wanted to be a moth-
er so soon but was forced
into compliance after be-
ing accused of not obeying
the elders in the family. I
was told that older women
are incapable of giving
birth to a male child
and when I deliv-
ered a girl, I was
asked to get
p r e g n a n t
again!”
Rukh-
sana was
unaware
of con-
tracep-
t i v e
c h o i c e s
available to
her, and her hus-
band took no initia-
tive to plan their fam-
ily. (As the National
Family Health Sur-
vey (NFHS) re-
ports, birth control
is often considered
to be a female re-
sponsibility and
75.4% of married
men do not use any
method of contra-
ception. Hope inter-
vened in the
form of Dariya, an ASHA
worker. She was oriented
on client mobilization and
follow up under the Udaan
project, an initiative of
IPE Global which is work-
ing as a technical support
partner to the Department
of Medical, Health Fam-
ily Welfare, Rajasthan to
roll out Antara injectable
contraceptives in 14 high
fertility districts.
Dariya successfully
counselled Rukhsana and
her husband Sibgadulla
about the benefits of Anta-
ra. Rukshana now says, “I
am at peace because I can
plan my second baby when
I want. I have resolved that
my little girl will study
hard and will not be forced
into an early marriage like
I was. I am getting health-
ier and I have decided that
there will be no more chil-
dren till I turn 20.” How-
ever, Rukhsana’s story
may just be a drop in the
ocean in the face of figures
by the UN stating
that in
India
more than 50% of married
adolescents have already
given birth.
Inclusion of creating
awareness and counselling
on Antara as a new contra-
ceptive in a program like
Rashtriya Kishor
Swasthya Karyakram
(RKSK) is a game-changer
in delaying early pregnan-
cy and ensuring well-
planned and safe mother-
hood.
Sachin Kothari, IPE’s
Strategy Lead for expand-
ing contraception choices
for young women, says,
“We have embedded a
technical support unit
within NHM Ra-
jasthan to roll out in-
jectable contracep-
tives. In 2022, we
will be reaching
the milestone of
over 10 lakh doses
and this is huge
progress for the
State of Ra-
jasthan.”
According to Dr Nazi-
ma, Senior Gynaecologist
and National Master
Trainer for Antara, it is
very rewarding to see
women and sometimes
couples coming back for a
new dosage. “I believe the
success of any family plan-
ning initiative depends not
on coercion but proper
communication so that
people can make healthier
choices on their own. In-
jectable contraceptive is
preferred as a
safe and easy
way to plan a
family as it pro-
vides three
months of pro-
tection with a
single dose. It is
a reversible
method of con-
traception and
does not cause
infertility and is
a wonderful
method for post-
abortion contra-
ception.”
Kothari says
activation
strengthening of health
facilities, robust monitor-
ing system management
of method effects and e-
Counselling has increased
acceptance of the method
and its continuation
among clients. He ex-
plains, “ To keep a tab on
the follow-ups and to re-
duce the drop out rates a
web and mobile-based ap-
plication named Antara-
Raj was developed. With
the help of AntaraRaj, pe-
riodic follow-up messages
were sent to clients to avail
subsequent doses on the
scheduled due date.
Dr Nazima added “As
proper delivery of quali-
ty services is key to the
success of any initiative,
we train doctors ANMs
on complete technical in-
formation on Antara
counselling techniques.
For client mobilization,
ASHA workers were sensi-
tized and they are acting
as last-mile change mak-
ers. IPE Global with the
support of SIHFW de-
partment has developed
e-training modules to en-
sure the continuation of
the capacity building dur-
ing the covid pandemic.
Rekha (name changed), a
30-year-old Antara-Udaan
beneficiary, reflects upon
how the injectable contra-
ceptive changed her life.
Rekha,aclass6schooldrop-
outwasmarriedtoMahesh,
who was a class 5 dropout,
deliver her first
child within a
year – a girl. She
was constantly
tormented for
this, causing her
to suffer three
back-to-back
miscarriages af-
ter which she fi-
nally delivered a
baby boy
. She re-
calls, “I could
not even share
mypainwithmy
husband as he
doesnotapprove
of modernmeth-
ods of contra-
ception.”
She visited the nearby
sub-centre and the trained
ANM counselled her and
her husband. The couple
agreed for adopting Anta-
ra and since then Rekha
has taken four doses of
Antara. Mahesh says, “I
now understand the real
purpose behind family
planning and I am thank-
ful for initiating Antara
services at the sub-centre.
Whenever I take my wife to
the sub-centre for her dos-
age, I fall in love with her
smiling eyes.”
Dr Anupama, a gynae-
cologist and part of the
TSU team, says one of the
reasons for Antara’s popu-
larity is easy to use, highly
effective and can be pro-
vided to most the clients of
reproductive age group
and even lactating mothers
can use it after 6 weeks of
delivery
. Few other method
effects associated with
Antara use can be man-
aged easily with effective
counselling and reassur-
ance. On National Safe
Motherhood Day, I recom-
mend Antara as a safer
way of family planning.
Dr Girish Dwivedi, Pro-
ject Director(FW) stated
that with the proactive role
of Add/Dy.CMHO (FW)
technical support of IPE
Global, we were able to ini-
tiate the Antara services
in more than 90% of health
facilities and this has im-
proved its acceptance and
reduction in dropout of
clients.
R

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