First India Mumbai 29032023.pdf

AMRUTA FADNAVIS BRIBERY CASE
Anil Jaisinghani was main instigator in the crime: Mumbai police
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Terming
Anil Jaisinghani was
“the main instigator”
in the case involving
alleged attempts to
blackmail and bribe
Amruta Fadnavis, the
wife of Deputy Chief
Minister Devendra
Fadnavis, local police
on Tuesday opposed a
bail application filed
by the “bookie”.
In a related develop-
ment, Jaisinghani’s
daughter Aniksha, a
co-accused in the case,
was released from By-
culla women’s prison
here following the bail
granted to her by the
sessions court on Mon-
day.
Evidence was being
collected against Jais-
inghani, his daughter
and his cousin Nirmal
Jaisinghani, the police
told the court.
Anil Jaisinghani
was arrested from Gu-
jarat last week along
with his cousin Nir-
mal.
The duo are in judi-
cial custody.
Anil had 17 cases
registered against him
in different parts of In-
dia and four of these
cases were still pend-
ing against him, said
the police’s written re-
ply on his bail plea.
He had been declared
a fugitive, they added.
The court will hear
the bail plea on March
31. Meanwhile, the
Madhya Pradesh police
has sought transit re-
mand from the Mum-
bai court to take Anil
Jaisinghani to MP in
connection with a case
registered in their
state.
The MP police’s re-
mand plea will be
heard on Wednesday.
Anil Jaisinghani and
his daughter have been
booked under Indian
Penal Code sections for
conspiracy and extor-
tion and provisions of
the Prevention of Cor-
ruption Act.
Aniksha Jaisinghani
was arrested on Mar 16
after the case was regis-
tered here on Feb 20 on
a complaint by Amruta
Fadnavis.
According to the
complaint, she met Am-
ruta Fadnavis for the
first time in November
2021. She then request-
ed the BJP leader’s wife
to wear clothes and jew-
ellery designed by her
at public events saying
it would help her pro-
mote the products, the
complaint said.
After gaining Amru-
ta’s trust, Aniksha al-
legedly offered to pro-
vide her with informa-
tion on some bookies
through which, she
claimed, they could
make money
.
She then directly of-
fered Amruta Rs 1 crore
to get her father Anil
Jaisinghani off the
hook in a police case,
police said.
Amruta Fadnavis
told the police that
when she blocked An-
iksha’s number, being
upset at such behav-
iour, the accused
threatened her.
Cops oppose bail
application filed
by ‘bookie’
Angry drunk man calls in bomb
hoax at Dy CM’s Nagpur house
First India Bureau
Nagpur: A 23-year-old
man has been arrested
for allegedly calling in a
fake bomb threat at the
Nagpur home of Dy CM
Devendra Fadnavis on
Tuesday
, police said.
The accused, a resi-
dent of Rama Nagar in
Kamptee, under the in-
fluence of alcohol--and
angry about power
thefts in his locality-
-when he called the po-
lice control room
around 2 am and said
that a bomb had been
planted outside Fad-
navis’s house.
However, the caller
abruptly disconnected
the call, Police Commis-
sioner Amitesh Kumar
said.
A police team with a
bomb detection and dis-
posal squad and dog
squad were rushed to
the deputy chief minis-
ter’s house near Trikoni
Park in Dharampeth
and a thorough check
was conducted inside
and outside the premis-
es, but no explosives
were found, the senior
official said. Fadnavis
and his family are cur-
rently in Mumbai.
According to police,
the accused man’s
neighbours had in-
dulged in power theft
but his relative was un-
able to steal electricity
.
When the man sought
police action on the
thefts, he was told to file
a complaint with the
power company
, leaving
him angry enough to
call in a bomb hoax.
Willabideby...:RaGaon
vacatinggovtbungalow
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi on
Tuesday wrote to Mohit
Rajan, deputy secy at
LS secretariat, saying,
“Thank you for your let-
ter of March 27, 2023
regarding the cancella-
tion of my accommoda-
tion at 12, Tughlaq
Lane.” This comes a day
after disqualified MP
was asked by LS Hous-
ing Committee to va-
cate govt-allotted bun-
galow by April 22. Ra-
hul said he owes “happy
memories of my time
spent here” to mandate
of the people. “Without
prejudice to my rights,
I will, of course, abide
by details contained in
your letter,” he added.
YOGI GOVERNMENT BULLDOZES GANGSTERS
Beginningof
formafiasinUP!
THEEND
Moni Sharma
Prayagraj: A court in
Uttar Pradesh’s Praya-
graj on Tuesday con-
victed gangster-turned-
politician Atiq Ahmed
and two other accused
in the 2006 kidnapping
of Umesh Pal, the prime
witness in the BSP MLA
Raju Pal murder case.
The MP-MLA court
sentenced Atiq Ahmed,
Dinesh Pasi and Khan
Saulat Hanif to life im-
prisonment and also
imposed a fine of Rs 1
lakh. This is the first
conviction for the jailed
don. 7 others, including
Ahmed’sbrotherKhalid
Azim alias Ashraf, were
acquitted in the case.
SC dismissed Atiq’s
plea seeking protection
during his custody
.
Atiq Ahmed, 2 others get
life imprisonment in 2006
Umesh Pal kidnapping case
7 others, including
Atiq’s brother Khalid
Azim alias Ashraf acquitted
ABOUT THE UMESH
KIDNAPPING CASE
After the killing of BSP
MLA Raju Pal on January
25, 2005, Umesh Pal, the
then zila panchayat member,
had told police he was a wit-
ness to the murder. Umesh
was kidnapped on Feb 28,
2006. Umesh was gunned
down outside his Prayagraj
home on Feb 24, 2007.
Atiq Ahmed and his brother
Ashraf stand accused of be-
ing involved in a conspiracy.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: Prime Min-
ister Narendra Modi on
Tuesday urged the BJP
leaders to be ready for a
“strong fight” stating
that the more the party
rises and succeeds, the
morewillbeattacksfrom
the opposition. PM Modi
attended the BJP parlia-
mentary party meeting
which took place in the
Parliament complex.
This was the first time
that this meeting has
taken place in the ongo-
ing second part of the
session. The meeting be-
gan with the BJP MPs
congratulating PM Modi
for leading them to score
3bigwinsintherecently
concluded the Assembly
elections in NE States.
PM Modi was felicitated
by the party leaders for
the party’s win in Tripu-
ra,MeghalayaandNaga-
land where they have a
coalition government.
BJP leading India into the future: Modi
l BJP to organise special campaign
to promote the central govt schemes
l BJP MPs laud PM Modi for leading
them to score 3 big wins in NE States
The more, the BJP continues to taste
success and rise, the more the attacks
from the other side will increase. Have to
be ready for a “strong fight”. —Narendra Modi, PM
PM Narendra Modi and BJP National President JP Nadda greet each other in presence of Union Ministers Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal,
Nitin Gadkari, S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and others during BJP Parliamentary Party meeting, at Parliament House on Tuesday.
PM Narendra Modi with JP Nadda at inauguration of the newly
constructed BJP Central Office (Ext.), in New Delhi on Tuesday.
P5
BSE SENSEX 57,613.72 40.14 | NSE NIFTY 16,951.70 34.00
MUMBAI l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO.MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No.319
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OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR MUMBAI
‘MODI GOVT NEVER
TOOK POPULIST
DECISIONS, ENDED
POL INSTABILITY’
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday extended the deadline for linking
PAN card with Aadhaar to June 30, 2023 from March 31, 2023. The Central
Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that the date for linking the PAN and
Aadhaar has been extended to provide some more time to the taxpayers.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on
Tuesday during ASSOCHAM Annual Session 2023 said
the Modi government never took populist decisions
for vote bank politics but worked for the betterment of
people and ensuring political stability in country. P5
BOM LAWYERS
BODY MOVES SC
OVER DHANKHAR,
RIJIJU REMARKS
Mumbai: The Bombay Lawyers Association on
Tuesday moved SC against a HC decision dismissing
its PIL against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and
VP Jagdeep Dhankhar for their remarks on judiciary
and the collegium system for appointment of judges.
PAN-AADHAAR LINKING DEADLINE IS JUNE 30 NOW
Who is Atiq Ahmed?
Atiq Ahmed is a former Samajwadi Party
MP from Phulpur and a five-time MLA.
‘BAHUBALI’ ATIQ CONVICTED
Found
GUILTY
in 2006 Kidnapping case
Land worth
`416 cr
SEIZED
Over
100
CASES
against ATIQ
ATIQ brought to books in
17 YEAR
old case along with bro
50+
CASES
against brother
ASHRAF
Illegal property worth
`751 cr
ATTACHED
Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, brother Khalid others being
taken at MP-MLA Court amid heavy security in Prayagraj on Tuesday.
Main mafia of the
State sentenced for
the first time.
—Prashant Kumar,
UP ADG
Govt cancels
licences of 18
pharma firms
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The govt on
Tuesday cancelled the
licences of 18 pharma-
ceutical companies for
manufacturing of spu-
rious medicines follow-
ing an inspection by
Drugs Controller Gen-
eral of India (DCGI) on
76 companies across 20
States. “Huge crack-
down under way on
pharma firms across
India related to manufac-
turing of spurious medi-
cines,” said sources.
Jaisinghani’s daughter Aniksha, a co-accused in the case, was
released from Byculla women’s prison after getting bail.
—PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE
Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis

NEWS
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2023
02
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Thane (PTI): Police
have prohibited the en-
try of Maharashtra
Navnirman Sena func-
tionary Avinash Jad-
hav in Mumbra town-
ship in Thane district,
days after he demanded
action from authorities
against allegedly ille-
gal dargahs and such
structures situated at
the foothills of Mum-
bradevi temple.
Following MNS chief
Raj Thackeray's con-
cerns about the prolif-
eration of illegal struc-
tures belonging to a
particular faith on
March 22, Jadhav urged
the Thane collector to
take action against the
illegal dargahs (shrines
of Muslim saints) and a
mosque located at the
base of Mumbra.
The release stated
that Jadhav had told
the collector that a tem-
ple of Lord Hanuman
will be constructed
near the place of wor-
ship if no action is tak-
en. It also mentioned
that political offenses
have been registered
against Jadhav in the
limits of the Thane po-
lice commissionerate.
The prohibitory or-
der was issued against
Jadhav by Vilas Shin-
de, the Assistant Com-
missioner of Police,
Kalva division, under
section 144 of CrPc, cit-
ing possible law and
order situation given
Mumbra is (commu-
nally) sensitive and
the month of Ramzan
is underway. So, for se-
curity purposes as per
the order, Jadhav's en-
try to Mumbra is pro-
hibited between March
27 and April 9.
CRUCIAL READ
FOUR CHAIN-
SNATCHERS HELD
IN THANE DISTRICT
3 AGRI DEPT
OFFICERS HELD FOR
DEMANDING BRIBE
MOTORCYCLES AND
PICKUP TRUCK
COLLIDE; 4 DEAD
Thane: Four members of
a notorious chain-snatch-
ing gang were arrested by
Mumbai police and stolen
gold jewellery worth
Rs5.15 lakh was seized
in an operation from
them in Ambivli village in
Thane district of the state,
police said on Tuesday.
An official said the arrest
would help crack multiple
chain-snatching cases in
the Kalyan region. The
police have seized the
stolen jewellery and have
booked the accused under
relevant sections of the
Indian Penal Code.
Aurangabad: Three offi-
cers of the Maharashtra
agriculture department
and a contractual em-
ployee were nabbed by
Anti-Corruption Bureau
(ACB) from Aurangabad
district for allegedly
demanding a Rs24,500
bribe to sanction files of
farmers, an official said
on Tuesday. A dealer who
supplied drip irriga-
tion-related material to
farmers under a state
government scheme was
allegedly asked to pay a
bribe of Rs 700 per file
by three officers posted
in Khultabad taluka.
The bribe money was
accepted by a contractual
employee at a hotel on
Monday.
Pune: Four people, in-
cluding two children, were
killed and three others
injured in the collision
between a pickup truck
and two motorcycles in
the Pune district, police
said on Tuesday. “A pick-
up truck coming from the
opposite direction hit two
motorcycles going in the
direction of Ahmednagar
near Alegaon. In the col-
lision, four people riding
the motorcycles including
a man, a woman, and two
children aged six and two
years, respectively, were
killed,” a police officer
said.
‘Cannot tolerate insult to
Savarkar? Then leave MVA’
First India Bureau
Nagpur: State unit
chief of the Bharatiya
Janata Party, Chan-
drashekhar Bawankule
on Tuesday dared Ud-
dhav Thackeray to walk
out of the Maha Vikas
Aghadi alliance if he
were serious about not
being able to tolerate
insults to Hindutva ide-
ologue VD Savarkar by
Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi.
Thackeray’s faction
of the Shiv Sena and the
Congress, along with
the Nationalist Con-
gress Party form the
tripartite MVA.
Addressing a press
conference here,
Bawankule said the
country can never for-
get the contribution of
Savarkar.
The former Congress
chief had said, “My
name is not Savarkar,
my name is Gandhi and
Gandhi does not apolo-
gize,” amid BJP de-
mands that he apologize
for allegedly insulting
OBCs (Other Backward
Classes) with his “Modi
surname remark” that
saw him convicted for
defamation and disqual-
ified from the Lok Sab-
ha. Predictably
, this did
not go down well with
the BJP, who has since
begun to use the issue to
drive a wedge into the
MVA--with some suc-
cess, according to politi-
cal watchers.
At a rally on Sunday,
Uddhav Thackeray
asked Gandhi to refrain
from “insulting” his
“idol” Savarkar--a move
that the BJP has called
eyewash.
Bawankule alleged
said Shiv Sena founder,
the late Balasaheb
Thackeray never toler-
ated insults to Savarkar
but Uddhav is tolerat-
ing it every day
.
“You say the insult to
Savarkar is unaccepta-
ble. Then why aren’t
you leaving MVA? I
dare Uddhav to slap a
photo of Rahul Gandhi
on this issue,” the BJP
leader said.
On Monday, Chief
Minister Eknath Shin-
de targeted Uddhav say-
ing Bal Thackeray had
launched a “joda mara
abhiyaan” (hitting with
slippers) in 2004 against
the then Union minis-
ter and Congressman
Mani Shankar Aiyar
for his remarks against
Savarkar.
MAHARASHTRA BJP CHIEF TARGETS UDDHAV
OVER RAHUL GANDHI’S COMMENTS
Uddhav Thackeray is just doing drama
by saying the insult to
Savarkar is unaccepta-
ble. Rahul Gandhi has been
targeting Savarkar for the last
three years. Meanwhile, (while
he was CM), Thackeray was
only concerned about his and
his son’s ministerial posts.
—Chandrashekhar
Bawankule, Maha chief, BJP
Uddhav Thackeray —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Pune: Swabhimani
Shetkari Sanghatana
founder and former MP
Raju Shetti has decided
to contest next year’s
Lok Sabha elections.
Other than his former
constituency of Hat-
khanagale in the state’s
Kolhapur district, Shet-
ti said his party would
contest five other seats
also in the state.
Shetti said the deci-
sion was taken after
voters approached him
regretting their deci-
sion not to vote for him
in 2019.
Former MP Raju
Shetti has announced
that he will contest the
upcoming Maharashtra
Legislative Assembly
elections from the Hat-
khanagale constituen-
cy. Shetti, who had pre-
viously represented
Hatkhanagale twice,
was defeated in the 2019
elections by Dhair-
yasheel Mane from the
undivided Shiv Sena by
over a lakh votes. The
decision to contest the
upcoming elections was
reportedly taken after
voters approached Shet-
ti, expressing regret for
not voting for him in
the previous elections.
Shetti's election cam-
paign in the past had al-
ways been crowd-fund-
ed, and the division of
votes in the last elec-
tions had hurt his
chances. Following his
defeat, Shetti had
backed the Maha Vikas
Aghadigovernment,but
his lone MLA, Devendra
Bhuyar, was expelled
from the party after the
government's fall. Bhu-
yar has since expressed
his support for the NCP
and Ajit Pawar.
“Last time, due to
various reasons, like
my decision to join
hands with the sugar
millers or the larger-
than-life image painted
of Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi had swayed
the voters. However, all
of them now agree that
they made a mistake,”
he said.
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Delhi
High Court on Tuesday
issued summons to Ud-
dhav Thackeray
, his son
Aaditya Thackeray, and
party leader Sanjay
Raut in a defamation
suit filed by Eknath
Shinde faction leader
and Member of Parlia-
ment Rahul Shewale.
The suit claims that
Uddhav Thackeray,
Aditya Thackeray and
Sanjay Raut have made
frivolous allegations of
corruption, specifical-
ly that the rival faction
of the Shiv Sena, led by
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde bought the Shiv
Sena symbol for
Rs2,000 crore.
After hearing Senior
Advocate Rajiv Nayar,
who appeared for the
plaintiff, a single bench
of Justice Prateek Ja-
lan of the Delhi High
Court admitted the suit
and issued summons to
Sanjay Raut, Uddhav
Thackeray and Aditya
Thackeray, directing
them to answer all ma-
terial questions and file
responses to interim ap-
plications.
While the plaintiff ’s
lawyer sought a court
direction to pass an in-
junction order to re-
strain Raut and others
from making any fur-
ther defamatory allega-
tions, the Court said
that an order will be
passed only after hav-
ing the responses of the
parties.
The matter is now
posted for hearing on
interim relief on April
17, 2023.
Meanwhile,theCourt
observed that as far as
the institutions are con-
cerned, the Election
Commission’s shoul-
ders are broad enough
to deal with all this.
Like the courts, people
say all kinds of things
about the courts.
The bench also direct-
ed Google, Twitter, San-
jayRaut,UddhavThack-
ray and Aaditya Thack-
ray to file written state-
ments/replies within 30
days on the suit.
Last month, a com-
plaint was also filed
against Uddhav Thack-
eray faction leader San-
jay Raut in Nashik in
connection with his al-
leged objectionable re-
marks against CM
Shinde during a press
conference.
According to the
complaint, Raut had
madeastatementclaim-
ing that transactions
worth Rs2,000 crore
took place to
get the Shiv
Sena party
name and its
“bow and arrow” poll
symbol.
His statement
came days after the
Election Commission
allotted the “bow and
arrow” symbol to
the Shinde
faction.
Delhi HC summons Sanjay Raut, Uddhav, Aditya Thackeray
DEFAMATION CASE
Suit filed by Rahul Shewale
questions ‘frivolous’ allegations
that Shinde faction bought the Shiv
Sena symbol for `2,000 crore
Aaditya Thackeray Sanjay Raut
Mahafarmerunion
politicalwingtofly
soloin2024polls
Raju Shetti —FILE PHOTO
Avinash Jadhav —FILE PHOTO
CopsbanMNSfunctionary
fromsensitiveMumbratown
Jadhav had
warned that a
temple will be
constructed if no
action is taken
Threat calls to Gadkari: Nagpur cops take
custody of suspected caller from Belagavi
Nagpur (PTI): Nagpur
Police on Tuesday ar-
rested a murder case
convict from jail in Be-
lagavi in Karnataka in
connection with the
threat calls made to the
office of Union minis-
ter Nitin Gadkari on
two occasions, an offi-
cial said. The convict,
identified as Jayesh Pu-
jari alias Jayesh Kan-
tha, was taken into cus-
tody from the Hindalga
jail and brought to Nag-
pur in a flight in the
morning, a Nagpur po-
lice officer said.
Two cases are regis-
tered against Pujari at
Dhantoli police station
in the city
. He would be
interrogated to under-
stand his motive behind
making the threat
calls,” the officer said,
adding Pujari would be
produced in a local
court in the afternoon.
A man who identified
himself as Jayesh Pu-
jari allegedly made
threatening phone calls
to the public relations
office of Nitin Gadkari
in Nagpur on January
14, demanding a sum of
Rs100 crore. The caller
reportedly claimed to
be a member of the Da-
wood Ibrahim gang.
Again, On March 21,
fresh calls were made
to the office of Nagpur
MP Gadkari, demand-
ing Rs10 crore, and
warned of harm if the
money was not paid.
The same person had
made similar calls ear-
lier, prompting in-
creased security at
Gadkari's home and
office.
Nitin Gadkari —FILE PHOTO
PROVE SAVARKAR APOLOGIZED, SAYS SAVARKAR’S GRANDSON
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The grand-
son of late Hindutva
ideologue VD Savarkar
has sought action
against Rahul Gandhi
for his comments and
also challenged the
Congress leader to
prove he had apolo-
gised to the British.
Gandhi's My name
is not Savarkar, my
name is Gandhi and
Gandhi does not offer
an apology to anyone
remark has drawn fire
from BJP.
Gandhi had made
these remarks while
addressing a press
conference.
Calling the com-
ments childish, Sa-
varkar's grandson
Ranjit Savarkar on
Monday said, Rahul
Gandhi is saying he
won't apologise as he
isn't Savarkar. I chal-
lenge him to show doc-
uments that prove Sa-
varkar apologised.
Using the names of
patriots to promote
politics is wrong and
deplorable. Action
must be taken,
Savarkar said.
“Using the
names of
patriots to
promote politics
is wrong,”
Savarkar said.

MAHARASHTRA
03
‘Unacceptable to treat stray
dogs with cruelty and hate’
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Noting that
“persons of civil socie-
ty” would never treat
stray dogs cruelly, the
Bombay High Court has
asked a housing society
to amicably resolve the
issue of feeding spots
for dogs with one of its
residents.
A division bench of
Justices GS Kulkarni
and RN Laddha on
Tuesday gave the exam-
ple of lawyers and judg-
es who care for the
many stray dogs and
cats in the High Court
building complex.
The bench was hear-
ing a petition filed by
one Paromita Purthan,
who claims to be an ani-
mal lover taking care of
18 stray dogs in her so-
ciety at Kandivali.
Purthan claimed she
was not being permit-
ted to feed the dogs and
care for them, and that
a designated area for
feeding the dogs is not
being provided.
On Monday, the court
remarked that the pro-
visions of the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Ani-
mals Act and the Ani-
mal Birth Control
Rules, 2023 issued by
the Union government
puts an obligation on
everyone from causing
any cruelty and harass-
ment to the animals, as
also to those, who in-
tend to take care for
these animals.
On Tuesday, after
hearing that the hous-
ing society had not
hired any bouncers as
alleged in the plea, the
court nevertheless di-
rected the society man-
agement and the peti-
tioner to amicably re-
solve the issue and
posted the matter for
further hearing on
April 06.
The bench said the
petitioner can continue
feeding the dogs at the
society’s parking lot un-
til a special feeding spot
is designated.
HC asks housing
society to resolve
issues over stray-
dog feeding with
its resident
We intend to
sound a word
of caution to
the members of the
managing committee
and the other mem-
bers of the society that
to hate stray dogs
and/or treat them
with cruelty can nev-
er be an acceptable
approach, from per-
sons of civil society,
as an act of cruelty to
such animals would
be against the Consti-
tutional ethos and the
statutory provisions.
—Bombay High Court
Many lawyers and judges also care for strays
found in the HC complex. —FILE PHOTO
Rapistgets10-yearRIjail
term,despitehostilevictim
First India Bureau
Thane: Witness state-
ments and medical evi-
dence led to the convic-
tion of a rapist here in
Thane, after the rape
survivor turned hos-
tile in court.
District and sessions
court judge Rachna
Tehra, in her order
which was passes on
Monday and made
available on Tuesday,
sentenced the man to
10 years of rigorous
imprisonment and also
fined him Rs6,000 after
finding him guilty of
raping his niece, who
was 18 years old at the
time of the incident.
The judge stated the
prosecutionhassuccess-
fully proved all the
charges—involving Sec-
tions 376 (Punishment
for rape) and 354 (As-
saultorcriminalforceto
woman with intent to
outrage her modesty) of
the Indian Penal Code.
Additional Public
Prosecutor Vinit A
Kulkarni told the court
the woman, who is now
in her early 20s, was an
orphan and had been
staying at an orphanage
in Mumbra town in
Thane district before
she was sent to her un-
cle’s house.
The accused used to
touch the complainant
repeatedly and made
unwanted sexual ad-
vances towards her. He
repeatedly molested
her and raped her in
October 2019, when she
was 18 years old. He
also threatened her
against disclosing the
incident, the prosecu-
tion told the court.
The girl later confid-
ed in her friend and or-
phanage officials of
her ordeal, after which
a case was lodged
against the accused
and he was arrested.
While the woman
turned hostile during
the trial, the prosecu-
tion examined four wit-
nesses, which the court
deemed enough to con-
vict the man and sen-
tence him.
Court relied on
witnesses and medical
proof convict 42-yr-old
of repeatedly raping
his 18-yr-old niece
IPS Daya Nayak
moved from ATS
to Mumbai police
First India Bureau
Mumbai: “Encounter
specialist” Inspector
Daya Nayak has been
transferred from Ma-
harashtra’s Anti-Ter-
rorism Squad (ATS) to
the Mumbai police, of-
ficials said.
Theorder,whichcame
onMonday
,relatedtothe
transfer of Nayak and
seven other Inspectors
was issued by the Addi-
tional Director General
(Establishment) of the
Maharashtra police, an
official said.
Besides Nayak, In-
spectors Dnyaneshwar
Wagh and Daulat Salve
were also transferred to
the Mumbai police from
the ATS, he said.
During his stint in the
ATS, Nayak was in-
volved in the investiga-
tion of the 2021 murder
of Thane businessman
Mansukh Hiren, whose
killing was linked to the
recovery of an explo-
sives-laden car from
nearindustrialistMuke-
sh Ambani’s house, An-
tilia, in Mumbai.
Though the probe in
the Antilia bomb scare-
Hiren murder episode
was later transferred to
the National Investiga-
tion Agency (NIA), the
ATS had collected evi-
denceagainstpolicemen
named as accused in the
high-profile case.
Nayak, a 1995-batch
police inspector, rose to
fame as an extra-judicial
“encounter specialist”
in the 1990s—when un-
derworld activities were
attheirpeakinMumbai.
2 held for
attempted
extortion
of builder
First India Bureau
Pune: Police have ar-
rested two people who
allegedly attempted to
extort a local builder of
Rs3 crore in the name of
former mayor and BJP
leaderMurlidharMohol,
police said on Tuesday
.
Officials say the ac-
cused used caller ID
spoofing technique to
contact the builder on
March 25 and gave the
impression that they
were calling on Mohol’s
behalf.
“Theaccusedusedthe
call spoofing technique
and used phone num-
bers belonging to Mohol
and his relative to call
the businessman, and
demanded Rs3 crore for
a programme of the
Bharatiya Yuva Mor-
cha,” he said.
After receiving the
complaint, the police
laid a trap and arrested
oneof theaccused,while
the second accused was
caught while accepting
Rs10 lakh, the official
said.
Mohol told reporters
that the builder contact-
ed him after receiving
repeated calls from the
accused. “I then ap-
proachedthepolice,”the
BJP leader said.
Accused allegedly
used spoofing tech to
demand `3 crore in
the name of former
mayor and BJP leader
Murlidhar Mohol
As numbers rise, Mumbai’s pvt
hosps reopen COVID-19 wards
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Private hospi-
tals in Mumbai are reo-
pening their COVID-19
wards after a year-long
lull, with a few admis-
sions trickling in daily
.
Some hospitals are in-
creasing their masking
and testing protocols in
response to the surge in
cases, while others re-
main on standby
.
Maharashtra report-
ed 397 new cases of COV-
ID-19 on Sunday
, with
active cases in the state
surpassing 2,000 for the
first time since October.
Mumbai reported 123
newcasesand17newad-
missions across hospi-
tals, marking a signifi-
cant increase in several
months. Currently
, the
city has 43 patients ad-
mitted due to COVID-19,
of which 21 are on oxy-
gen support.
With this, hospitals in
Mumbai are gearing up
for a potential surge in
cases. Lilavati Hospital
has set up a 15-bed triage
ward and ICU for Covid
patients, while Bombay
Hospital has prepared a
10-bedwardforpotential
admissions.
Dr Gautam Bhansali
of Bombay Hospital re-
ported that although
they have seen an in-
crease in positive cas-
es, no patients have
required hospitaliza-
tion thus far.
However, they do an-
ticipate a need for beds
if cases continue to
rise. Hiranandani Hos-
pital has been admit-
ting one or two COV-
ID-19 cases daily, but
none have been criti-
cal, according to Dr
Sujit Chatterjee, the
hospital’s CEO. All
hospitals have rein-
forced stringent proto-
cols for healthcare
workers, including
masking, particularly
for those in direct con-
tact with patients.
BETTER SAFE...
Inspectors
Dnyaneshwar Wagh
and Daulat Salve were
also transferred to the
Mumbai police from
the ATS
New threat to Olive Ridley nesting site in Dabhol project backyard
Ammar Zaidi
Guhagar: Every year
between October and
March,dozensof female
Olive Ridley turtles—
the world’s smallest sea
turtles—swim many
milestolaytheireggson
the pristine 6.5km Gu-
hagar beach tucked
away in a quiet stretch
of the Konkan coast.
Now, this little-known
nesting site, close to the
Dabhol power project, is
under threat from a pro-
posedroadnetworkof 12
metre roads along the
beach.Thishasalarmed
environmentalists and
also Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde, who has
ordered that the project
be stopped immediately
,
according to activists
and official letters.
Environmentalists
wrote to the state asking
that the project, detailed
in a Draft Development
Plan published by the
Guhagar Nagar Pan-
chayat on February 09,
be halted at once.
State Industries Min-
ister(anddistrictGuard-
ian minister) Uday Sa-
mant then wrote to CM
Shinde, saying the plan
had not “considered the
ecology and geographi-
calsituationof Guhagar
town”.
The minister in the
letter, said locals had
complained that the pro-
posed plan would “to-
tally destroy the envi-
ronment and hugely
harm the precious wild-
life in the area”. He
sought cancellation of
the proposed develop-
ment plan.
Taking note, Shinde
asked his additional
chief secretary for ur-
ban development to act
immediately, officials
said.
EnvironmentalistBit-
tu Sahgal expressed his
shock at the road plan
that could destroy the
nesting site.
“I am shocked to hear
that the Guhagar Nagar
Panchayat has ignored
an alternative align-
ment just a little east of
the Guhagar beach and
plannedabroadtarroad
virtually touching the
beach. Such a road will
harm the endangered
Olive Ridley turtles that
come ashore to nest,”
Sahgal, said. —PTI
Daya Nayak IPS —FILE PHOTO
15% water cut for a
month from March
31, BMC announces
Mumbai (PTI): A
15% water cut will be
implemented across
Mumbai for 30 days
from March 31 to fix a
hole in a crucial sup-
ply tunnel, the Bri-
hanmumbai Munici-
pal Corporation
(BMC) said in a re-
lease on Tuesday
.
Water has been
leaking from the tun-
nel after it was recent-
lypuncturedinThane
while digging a bore-
well, BMC said.
Its Bhandup water
complex, which takes
care of 65% of the to-
tal water supplied to
Mumbai, receives
about 75% of its sup-
ply through this
15-km-longtunnelthat
has a diameter of
5,500mm, it added.
“This tunnel got
punctured in Thane
due to digging of a
borewell and water is
leaking on a large
scale.Itisnecessaryto
isolatethetunnelcom-
pletely for repairs and
useanalternatetrans-
mission system for
bringing water to
Bhandup, during the
repairs period,” the
release said.
BMC said that the
water supply to Mum-
bai and its suburbs
will get affected dur-
ing the switching
over of transmission
systems and repairs.
Therefore, it has de-
cided to impose a wa-
ter cut of up to 15%.
It also appealed to
citizens to use water
judiciously
.
Earlier this month, two
records were set on
Ratnagiri’s Guhagar
Beach: 200 Olive
Ridley nests were
conserved and 162
hatchlings released in
one evening.
—PHOTOS BY PTI
Minister Uday
Samant
informed CM
Shinde that the
plan had not
‘considered the
town’s ecology’
CM has ordered immediate action to stop a road project planned close to the Guhagar beach
Murlidhar Mohol —FILE PHOTO

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 319
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652
Printed and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed at
Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe
MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial
Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701.
Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C
of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Phone 022-46031417.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Kartikey Dev Singh
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
An insincere and evil friend is
more to be feared than a wild
beast; a wild beast may wound
your body, but an evil friend
will wound your mind.
—Buddha
IN-DEPTH
Dharmendra Pradhan
@dpradhanbjp
For the first time we are creating a
system of ‘Professor of Practice’ in
higher education. This is the way forward
for future-proofing our education
skilling. PM @narendramodi’s resolve
for 100% coverage of welfare schemes
is a great example of design-thinking in
governance.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
The 233rd meeting of Central Board
of Trustees, EPFO, has recommended
8.15 per cent as rate of interest on
Employees’ Provident Fund deposits
for 2022-23. Happy to share the
interest rate of EPFO is higher than
other comparable investments avenues
available for subscribers.
TOP TWEETS
AFSPA REMOVED
FROM THREE
STATES IN THE
NORTH-EAST
heArmedForcesSpe-
cial Powers Act has
been a contentious
and sensitive issue in
some of the north-
eastern states. Demands for re-
movalof theharshlawhavebeen
persistent and long-standing.
Nagaland, Assam and Manipur
were placed under AFSPA dur-
ing the height of the insurgency
but, because of the Centre’s as-
sessment, it remained in place
much after the insurgency had
been brought under control.
TheCentre’sdecisiontoremove
AFSPA from more police stations
in the three states is a good balm
to heal old wounds and win the
people’s trust. The decision came
two days after Assam and Megha-
layapartlyresolvedtheirdecades-
old boundary dispute. Peace
agreements with various insur-
gent groups have facilitated grad-
ual withdrawal of AFSPA but re-
gionalandethnicidentitieswould
require a fine balancing act.
AFSPAwasfirstrevokedbythe
LeftFrontgovernmentinTripura
in 2015. Meghalaya followed later.
With the latest order, Northeast is
now ‘disputes free’. Last year, the
primeministerhadpromisedfur-
ther revocation of AFSPA.
T
he legal battle for
control of AIAD-
MK has gone
against O. Pan-
neerselvam (OPS)
after a single-judge Bench of
the Madras High Court up-
held the elevation of Edap-
padi K Palanisamy (EPS) to
the all-important post of
party’s general secretary,
held earlier by former Chief
Minister J. Jayalalithaa.
OPS camp had challenged
his expulsion from the party
and the appointment of EPS
as general secretary
. The two
strongmen of the AIADMK
have been squabbling over
Jayalalithaa’s political lega-
cy. The issue may not yet
have been resolved as the
OPS camp was considering a
challenge to the judgment
before a two-judge Bench.
The AIADMK’s general
council had appointed EPS,
the former chief minister, as
interim general secretary in
July last year. In February
this year, the Supreme Court
left it to the high court to de-
cide the legality of resolu-
tions passed at last year’s
general council but had up-
held the elevation of EPS as
interim general-secretary.
After the high court’s judg-
ment on Tuesday, EPS was
reappointed as party chief
amidst scenes of jubilation.
The decision of the court
will make the Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party, which was being
seen as supportive of OPS, to
reconsider its moves in the
southern state. The party had
brokered truce between the
warring AIADMK factions
before the recent Erode East
Assembly bypoll by support-
ing the EPS candidate. Earli-
er, BJP was seen to be backing
the OPS camp and EPS’ eleva-
tion was seen as a setback for
its plans to gain a foothold in
state politics. After Tuesday’s
verdict, BJP’s attempt to
unite the two factions may
have come a cropper.
EPS WINS HC BATTLE,
JOLT FOR BJP PLANS
The legal battle for control
of AIADMK has gone
against O Panneerselvam
(OPS) after a single-judge
Bench of the Madras HC
upheld the elevation of
Edappadi K Palanisamy (EPS)
to the all-important post of
party’s general secretary, held
earlier by former CM J
Jayalalithaa
T
ith the ICC World Cup slated
by the end of this year, Team
India has a major headache
as far as the fitness, availabil-
ity and good form of players
are concerned. The list of bad
forms and injuries is quite
long.Starbatsmanandsteady
wicketkeeper Rishab Pant
was injured some time back
and is, in all probability, not
playing for the World Cup.
As far as Shreyas Iyer is
concerned, KKR issued a
statement disclosing Nitish
Rana as the new interim cap-
tain of KKR in the absence of
Shreyas Iyer. The statement
read, “While we are hopeful
that Shreyas will recover and
participate at some stage in
the IPL 2023 edition, we feel
fortunatethatNitish,withthe
captaincy experience of hav-
ing led his stateside in white-
ball cricket and the IPL expe-
rience he has had with KKR
since 2018, will do a great job.”
KKR further stated, “We
are also confident that under
headcoachChandrakantPan-
dit and the support staff, he
will get all the support needed
off the field, and the highly
experienced leaders in the
squad will provide all support
that Nitish may need on the
field. We wish him the best in
his new role and Shreyas a
full and speedy recovery
.”
Now, with Pant, Jasprit
Bumrah and Iyer currently
undergoing rehabilitation af-
ter injury and the T20I great
Suryakumar Yadav going
through an extremely bad
patch in the recently conclud-
ed ODI series against the Aus-
sies, BCCI secretary Jay Shah
had previously stated that the
NCA will work with IPL fran-
chises to monitor the short-
listed Indian players partici-
pating in IPL 2023, keeping in
mind the men’s Future Tours
Programme and preparation
for the ICC-World Cup 2023.
Meanwhile, Team India
captain, Rohit Sharma, was
asked whether players would
take breaks during the IPL,
he said it was up to the fran-
chises and the players. If they
feel they need a break, they
can talk about it and take a
break in one or two games.
Speaking of the number 4
slot in India, which is a pivotal
position, Suryakumar Yadav’s
abysmalformhasbeenthetalk
among the cricketing circles.
After a double duck in the
ODI series against the Aus-
sies, it is also being discussed
that Suryakumar Yadav’s
(better known as SKY) power
may have been eclipsed in
ODIs of late, or is he a misfit
at No. 4? There was also talk
of shifting him to number 6
where he would play in a
crunch situation which he is
best suited for. However, that
too didn’t work as he was
shifted to number 5 at the
third ODI at Chennai and he
got out in a golden duck.
With the T20I star batter
SKYfailingtoopenhisaccount
in all the three recent ODI
matches, analysts are wonder-
ing if the team management
has frowned over the current
situation in Team India.
If SKY was the most con-
sistent player for the T20I for-
mat, the ODIs were no differ-
ent, at least in the initial stag-
es. In his first six ODI outings,
he had two scores of fifty-plus
with a 40 and a couple of un-
beaten scores in the thirties.
But since then, it has been a
downhill for the 32-year-old
who had registered scores in
this order…9, 8, 4, 34 no, 6, 4,
31, 14, 0 and 0 in his last 10
ODIs!!! With Shreyas unavail-
able for the series, India de-
cided to give SKY an exten-
sion in the ODI format.
Even as SKY is struggling,
captain Rohit Sharma and
head coach Rahul Dravid are
known to give a long leash,
especially to the struggling
players. Remember what
they did with KL Rahul?
While analysing Team In-
dia’s prospects especially with
the World Cup coming up, one
must consider all points and
everyplayer.Thebestavailable
must get to play
. We must not
ignore the fact that the Team
Indiamanagementhadthe op-
tiontochooseRajatPatidarbut
he was not considered for the
Australia series. Also why did
wenotconsiderSanjuSamson,
a batsman who in the 10 ODIs
had the following scores of 46,
12,54,6No.,43No.,15,86No.,30
No., 2 No., 36, besides an aver-
age of 66 in 11 matches. A knee
injury (against Sri Lanka) had
forced him out of the series
against the New Zealanders at
home, but if the SKY keeping
failing so miserably
, will the
management come clean on
thefactwhytheyaren’tconsid-
eringtheSamsonasthereisno
proper logic behind this move
of Team India’s management,
especially when the tourna-
mentissofarbeingconsidered
to be played on the home turf.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
INJURY-STRUCK AND BATTERED FORM OF PLAYERS
TEAM INDIA STARES
AT WORLD CUP
W
While analysing Team India’s
prospects especially with the
World Cup coming up, one must
consider all points and every
player. The best available must
get to play. We must not ignore
the fact that the Team India
management had the option to
choose Rajat Patidar but he was
not considered for the Australia
series. Also why did we not
consider Sanju Samson, a
batsman who in the 10 ODIs
had the following scores of 46,
12, 54, 6 No., 43 No., 15, 86 No.,
30 No., 2 No., 36, besides an
average of 66 in 11 matches
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah had previously stated that
the NCA will work with IPL franchises to monitor the
shortlisted Indian players participating in IPL 2023, keeping
in mind the men’s Future Tours Programme and
preparation for the ICC-World Cup 2023
ROBIN ROY
The writer is Senior Journalist and
former Managing Editor, First India

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05
INDIA
Mahesh Sharma
New Delhi: Congress
chief Mallikarjun
Kharge is building his
team and that new team
will be a surprise, if not
a shock, for everyone.
Because before the for-
mation of the new team,
the restlessness of the
old leaders has started
appearing inside the
party. It is being told
that Sonia and Rahul
Gandhi are not interfer-
ing in anything. The re-
sult of this is that the
old leaders of the party
and especially the lead-
ers loyal to the family
have to do their own po-
sitioning. On the other
hand, buoyed by Kharge
becoming the president,
a new team of leaders
are eager to take over.
So, the internal conflict
has started and it is vis-
ible from the Parlia-
ment as well as outside.
However, it is not that
Kharge is not working
and taking care of the
family
. He is taking com-
plete care of the senti-
ments of the family but
the message has been
created that he is work-
ing independently and
Sonia and Rahul Gan-
dhi are not interfering.
That’s why a controver-
sy has arisen regarding
Pramod Tiwari. Kharge
made him the deputy
leader of the party in
the Rajya Sabha. The
post was lying vacant
after Anand Sharma’s
tenure ended last year.
It is being told that two
powerful general secre-
taries of the Congress
had opposed the ap-
pointment of Pramod
Tiwari as the deputy
leader. But Kharge did
not listen to anyone and
made him the deputy
leader under him.
Similarly, in the cur-
rent session of Parlia-
ment, Kharge went on a
day-long tour of his
home state Karnataka,
where elections are due
soon. He had given
Pramod Tiwari the re-
sponsibility of coordi-
nating with the opposi-
tion and holding a joint
press conference. But a
general secretary of the
party wanted former
Union Minister P Chid-
ambaramtoholdapress
conference. He tried a
lot for this but Tiwari
was not ready as he was
adamant on complying
with Kharge’s order.
Seeing his attitude, the
General Secretary had
to step back. Later, both
remained absent from
the joint press confer-
ence of Opposition.
Also, two new secre-
taries have been ap-
pointed in the Congress,
about whom no one had
any idea. After the ap-
pointment everyone in
the All India Congress
Committee office was
asking about them but
nooneknewaboutthem.
Kharge gives a shocker with new appointments!
CONG CHIEF IN COMMAND
New Delhi (Agencies):
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Tuesday
inaugurated the newly
constructed BJP Cen-
tral Office (Ext.) in Del-
hi. Speaking at the in-
augural event, he called
the BJP the “most fu-
turistic party of India”
and recalled the “tire-
less and continuous
journey”. He attacked
Congress by raking up
the issues of the 1984
anti-Sikh riots, Emer-
gency, and corruption.
“India can never for-
get that black chapter
of 1984. Congress got a
historic mandate in
those elections, it was
an emotionally charged
atmosphere. We were
completely destroyed in
that wave, but we were
not demoralized and
didn’t blame others,”
Modi said in the event
attended by BJP chief
JP Nadda and other
dignitaries.
On the new office
building, PM Modi said
it is an “expansion of
the aspirations of BJP
workers who are the
soul of the party and its
office.” He added, “The
BJP is not the party
that came from the TV
screen or newspapers.
Neither did it come
from Twitter handles
and YouTube channels.
This BJP progressed on
the basis of the hard
work of its workers.”
Recalling the journey
of BJP, he said, “Jour-
ney began with two Lok
Sabha seats is now at
303 seats. The BJP is the
only pan-India party
from East to West and
from North to South.
The BJP gives opportu-
nity to the youth to pro-
gress… A few days from
today, our party will
celebrate its 44th foun-
dation day. This jour-
ney is a tireless and
continuous journey.
This journey is the
journey of the culmina-
tion of hard work. We
fought against the
Emergency. The BJP is
the most futuristic par-
ty of India.”
Attacking Congress,
he said BJP never
blamedothersforlosses.
Attacking Opposition
for questioning credi-
bility of central agen-
cies and courts, the
Prime Minister said,
“Credibility of our in-
stitutions are being
questioned. People who
are indulging in cor-
ruptions, when they are
being investigated by
agencies then agencies
are being targeted.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice
on a plea by Congress leader seeking to declare Section 50
and Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act
as ultra vires the Constitution. Section 50 gives ED power
to summon an accused and record a statement, which is
admissible evidence in court of law. Senior advocate Kapil
Sibal, representing petitioner Govind Singh, a Congress MLA
in Madhya Pradesh, said that plea challenges Sections 50 and
63 of PMLA, and the matter is regarding an ECIR in which the
person would not know in what capacity he is being called.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would
hear in the first week of May a PIL seeking to restrain con-
victed persons from forming political parties and becoming
their office-bearers for the period they are disqualified under
election laws. A bench of justices KM Joseph and BV Naga-
rathna deferred the matter after lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay
mentioned it saying it be heard on April 5 or 6 as it was
unlikely to be heard during the day. “What is the urgency?
This can wait. This can come in the first week of May,” the
bench said.
SC NOTICE TO CENTRE ON PLEA BY CONG
LEADER CHALLENGING PMLA’S SECTION 50
SC TO HEAR PIL SEEKING TO BAN CONVICTS
FROM FORMING, RUNNING POLITICAL PARTIES
IN THE COURTYARD
GYANVAPI MOSQUE:
ALL PENDING SUITS
MAY BE CLUBBED
KANJHAWALA CASE:
DELHI COPS TOLD TO
FILE CHARGE SHEET
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Tuesday agreed to
list for hearing on April 21 a
plea of the Hindu side seek-
ing consolidation of all suits
pending in Varanasi court
pertaining to Gyanvapi
Mosque-Kashi Vishwanath
dispute. A bench said it will
list the matter for hearing
on April 21 when the other
matter will come up for
hearing. Advocate Vishnu
Shankar Jain mentioned
the matter before the bench
saying the Varanasi court
was not passing an order
on the issue.
New Delhi: Delhi’s Rohini
Court on Tuesday asked
the Delhi police to file the
charge sheet on the next
date of hearing on April 1
in the Kanjhawala hit and
drag case. Delhi police
informed the court that
the charge sheet is under
scrutiny. This incident
pertains to January
1, 2023. Metropolitan
Magistrate Sanya Dalal
extended the judicial cus-
tody of the five accused
till April 1. The period of
90 days is going to expire
on April 1.
WHAT FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHT IS VIOLATED?
SC ASKS NCP LEADER
PROBE ON AGAINST
COP WHO PLUCKED
PRISONERS’ TEETH
New Delhi: “What is the
fundamental right that is vi-
olated?” the Supreme Court
on Tuesday asked NCP
leader Mohd Faizal who has
filed a plea against the Lok
Sabha Secretariat for not
withdrawing a notification
disqualifying him as an MP
despite his conviction in
an attempt-to-murder case
being stayed by the Kerala
High Court. A bench posed
the question to the lawyer
appearing for the NCP lead-
er after he mentioned the
matter saying it be heard on
Wednesday.
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu
State Human Rights
Commission (TNSHRC)
on Tuesday said that it
has taken up a suo moto
case against IPS officer
Balveer Singh accused of
torturing those in custo-
dy. There were allegations
that the IPS officer who
was working as ASP,
Ambasamudram, in
Thirunelveli district, had
tortured those taken into
custody for various cases
including gang wars and
other crimes, and plucked
out their teeth with pliers.
Fight not for RaGa but to
save democracy: Maken
Jammu (PTI): The
Congress’ campaign fol-
lowing Rahul Gandhi’s
“hasty disqualifica-
tion” from the Lok Sab-
ha is meant to safe-
guard democracy and
highlight corruption in
the country
, senior lead-
er Ajay Maken said
here on Tuesday
.
The former Union
minister also reiterated
the party’s demand for
setting up a Joint Par-
liamentary Committee
(JPC) to probe into the
allegations against the
Adani Group.
“Lookatthesequence
of events, which culmi-
nated in the hasty dis-
qualification of Gandhi
— who raised serious
questions on the links
between (PM Narendra)
Modi and Adani in Par-
liament,” Maken said.
14States,UTsfacing
boundaryissues:Govt
New Delhi (ANI): The
Central government on
Tuesday said in Lok
Sabha that there are
boundary disputes
arising out of the de-
marcation of bounda-
ries and claims and
counterclaims over ter-
ritories between 14
states and Union Ter-
ritories (UTs). Union
MoS (Home) Nity-
anand Rai said in a
written reply, “There
are boundary disputes
arising out of demar-
cation of boundaries
and claims and counter
claims over territories
between Haryana-
Himachal Pradesh, UT
of Ladakh-Himachal
Pradesh, Maharashtra-
Karnataka, Assam-
Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam-Nagaland, As-
sam-Meghalaya, As-
sam-Mizoram.”
“Karnataka govt’s intention is
to provoke communal strife”
Bengaluru (ANI): For-
mer Karnataka chief
minister HD Kumaras-
wamy on Tuesday said
that the BJP-ruled state
of Karnataka’s “inten-
tion” behind scrapping
4 per cent OBC reserva-
tion for Muslims was to
spark communal strife
between Vokkaligas
and Lingayats and the
Muslim community
.
“All these things are
childish issues. With-
out properly applying
the mind, this govern-
ment wanted to get
votes from a certain
community. But noth-
ing will happen,” the
JD-S leader said.
BJP’s Ram Prasad
Paul is Tripura
Deputy Speaker
Agartala: Ruling BJP
MLA and former Minis-
ter Ram Prasad Paul on
Tuesday was elected un-
opposed as the Deputy
Speaker of the Tripura
Assembly
. Paul was
among the four minis-
ters of the first BJP-led
govt who did not find
place in the second saf-
fron party-led govt led
by CM Manik Saha.
Saha along with eight
other legislators on
March 8 assumed office
as the cabinet ministers.
Bhagwat to attend
Sindhi community
event in MP on 31
Dimple Sharma
Jaipur : RSS chief Mo-
han Bhagwat will be in
Bhopal on March 31 and
address a convention of
the Sindhi community.
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi will also be
present there on April
1. Recently
, Union Home
Minister Amit Shah
and BJP national presi-
dent JP Nadda also vis-
ited Madhya Pradesh.
Bhagwat and Defense
Minister Rajnath Singh
will be in Bhopal on
March 31. Representa-
tives of Sindhi society
from all over the world
will participate in this
event. Singh will be
there for the two-day
Tri Service Military Ex-
ercise organized here.
The Chiefs of the
three Services and the
Prime Minister will
also participate in the
conference.Bhagwat’s
visit to Bhopal is also
considered important.
Three types of exhibi-
tions will also be or-
ganized in this pro-
gramme. The first will
be of Sindh province
in Pakistan.
STEPPING UP ATTACK
PM Modi fires back at Opposition
parties, says ‘Won’t bow down’
PM Narendra Modi with BJP National President JP Nadda interacts with workers during inauguration
of the newly constructed BJP Central Office (Ext.), in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
AMIT SHAH AT ASSOCHAM SESSION
“Policies, law and order
worth investing in JK”
New Delhi (ANI):
Home Minister Amit
Shah on Tuesday
while speaking at the
industry body ASSO-
CHAM’s annual ses-
sion stressed the fact
that both policy inter-
ventions and law and
order in Jammu and
Kashmir are worth
investing in, and
asked industrialists
to take note of it.
Both policy and law
and order are worth
investing in Jammu
and Kashmir, you
must pay attention to
this, the country’s
Home Minister Amit
Shah said in response
to a question to indus-
trialists at the Asso-
cham event.
Shah said that both
policy and law and or-
der in Jammu and
Kashmir are worth
investing in and in-
dustrialists must pay
attention to this.
“ I n d u s t r i a l i s t s
should choose the re-
gion for investment
according to their
market strategy and
keeping their busi-
ness interest in mind.
I have no issue wher-
ever you invest as
long as it benefits the
country. But I must
say that both policy
and law and order are
worth investing in
Jammu and Kashmir,
and you must consid-
er this,” said Shah, in
response to a query by
an industrialist.
Shah also assured
that India would be-
come a USD five tril-
lion economy by 2025,
and he also expressed
confidence that by De-
cember 2023, the 5G
rollout will be fully
completed across the
country
.
CENTRE SET UP ROBUST SYSTEM
TO CHECK CYBER CRIMES: SHAH
New Delhi: The Modi
government has cre-
ated a robust system
to handle cyber
crimes where people
can lodge online
complaints that lead
to registration of FIRs
and prompt action,
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah said on
Tuesday. He said
more than 20 lakh cy-
ber crime complaints
have been registered
on the national cyber
crime reporting portal
so far on the basis of
which 40,000 FIRs
have been registered.
‘BHRASHTACHARI BACHAO ABHIYAN’ BY OPPN: PM
New Delhi: Taking a
jibe at the Opposition,
PM Narendra Modi on
Tuesday said that all
those who are deeply
rooted in corruption
have come together and
are attacking consti-
tutional institutions of
the country. “When
agencies take action
against those who are
deeply rooted in cor-
ruption, they attack the
agencies. When courts
pronounce order, ques-
tions are being raised
on the judicial system,”
he added. PM also said
that the action against
corruption has brought
all the “corrupt” people
together. He added,
“During Congress rule,
our banks were looted
and fled the country. All
those deep in corruption
are coming together on
one stage. Some parties
have started ‘Bhrash-
tachari Bachao Abhiyan’.
We will not bow down
by the false allegation.”
INDIA REPORTED 1,317
H3N2 CASES FROM JAN
1-MARCH 21, RS TOLD
1,827 FCRA LICENCES
CANCELLED IN LAST 5
YEARS: MoS HOME
ROLLBACK OF MUSLIM
QUOTA LIKELY TO TURN
INTO CRISIS IN K’TAKA
New Delhi: India reported
1,317 cases of H3N2
from January 1 to March
21, according to informa-
tion provided by states
and Union Territories,
Union Minister of State
for Health Bharati Pravin
Pawar informed the Rajya
Sabha on Tuesday.
New Delhi: Union MoS
(Home Affairs) Nityanand Rai
on Tuesday said in Lok Sabha
that a total of 1,827 Foreign
Contribution (Regulation) Act
(FCRA) registration certifi-
cates have been cancelled
in the last five years under
section 14 of the Act. Bahujan
Samaj Party (BSP) Lok Sabha
MP Kuwar Danish Ali had
posed this query.
Bengaluru: Withdrawal of 4
per cent reservation for Mus-
lim community by the ruling
BJP government is likely to
snowball into a crisis-situation
in the poll-bound Karnataka.
As the major political parties
engage in a war of words
over the issue, members of
the Muslim community came
out in the open on Tuesday
to protest against the BJP
government’s decision.
BUDGET SESSION OF PARLIAMENT
Amit Shah at ASSOCHAM session in New Delhi on Tuesday.

06
INDIA
Bengaluru: Union avi-
ation minister Jyotira-
ditya Scindia on Tues-
day said that India is on
the “cusp of a new revo-
lution” with air taxis
set to become a reality
in the next 4-5 years.
Scindia, who for the
lasttwoyearsisworking
to bring the electric ver-
tical take-off and land-
ing (eVTOL) ecosystem
said the strong aviation
network of India will be
the foundation for the
new urban air mobility
revolution here.
The first step towards
this was taken on Tues-
day when US eVTOL
major AIRO Group -
that is headed by Indi-
an-American business-
man Chirinjeev Kathu-
ria - entered into a part-
nership with chopper
operator FlyBlade India
to launch eVTOL opera-
tions in India by 2027.
“Having an advanced
air mobility conference
in Bengaluru shows we
are in the cusp of a rev-
olution called technol-
ogy in India. This will
be unlike any other
revolution seen so far.
The concept of flying
cars is now a reality,”
Scindia, who has invit-
ed global eVTOL play-
ers to make in India for
India and world said.
The AIRO-FlyBlade
India partnership an-
nounced in Bengaluru
on Tuesday includes
Blade India’s “intended
acquisition of 150 Jaunt
(part of AIRO) Journey
aircraft, with an option
to order another 100 air-
craft to meet the pro-
jected demand over the
next decade,” AIRO
said in a statement.
“Jaunt Air Mobility,
the electric air mobility
divisionof AIRO,andits
partnership with Fly-
Blade,demonstratesour
company’sabilitytocap-
turebothshort-termand
long-termobjectivescre-
ating a sustainable fu-
ture for the people of
India,” said Chirinjeev
Kathuria,chairmanand
co-founder of AIRO
Group Holdings, Inc.
The companies will
collaborate in critical
areas to support future
short-haul mobility
operations including
exploring develop-
ment of key infra-
structure capabilities
in aircraft charging
and energy distribu-
tion technologies.
India on cusp of new revolution: Scindia
AIR TAXIS IN 4 YEARS
Pune (ANI): Defence
Minister Rajnath Singh
on Tuesday said that In-
dia will continue to
work with African na-
tions to promote region-
al security, foster stabil-
ity and enhance defence
capabilities together.
Rajnath Singh was
addressing the first edi-
tion of the India-Africa
Army Chiefs’ Conclave
organised on the side-
lines of the second Afri-
ca-India Joint Exercise
‘
AFINDEX’ in Pune, Ma-
harashtra on March 28,
2023. The conclave was
attended by Chief of
the Army Staff General
ManojPandeandChiefs
and representatives of
31 African nations,
along with other civil
and defence dignitaries.
Rajnath Singh reiter-
ated India’s commit-
ment to providing sup-
port to African partner
countries in all defence-
related matters, includ-
ing capability enhance-
ment of their Armed
Forces, to ensure their
economic growth and
social development.
He emphasised that
the full potential of a
nation’s progress can
be realised only when
its security is ensured.
“We believe that pres-
ervation of individual
human rights such as
the right to life and per-
sonal liberty, right to
employment, right to
livelihood, etc. are de-
pendent on a strong and
effective state appara-
tus which can ensure
the Rule of Law as well
as promote economic
growth and social devel-
opment. Development
can only take place in a
safe and secure environ-
ment. Though many of
us have come a long way
sinceourindependence,
there are many African
countries where the ca-
pacity building of state
systems is still a work in
progress,” he said while
emphasising the need to
build robust state struc-
tures which can cater to
the needs and aspira-
tions of the people.
India has been at the
forefront of providing
training to the Armed
Forces of African na-
tions and equipping
them with the neces-
sary skills to face the
security challenges of
the 21st century
.
INDIA-AFRICA DEFENCE TIE-UP
Hyderabad: Customs officials seized gold worth Rs 65 lakh
from two passengers who had come from Dubai at Hy-
derabad International Airport on Tuesday,
said an official.On suspicion, Customs Air
Intelligence officers intercepted one male
passenger who reached airport by a flight
from Dubai. During search three capsules
of gold in paste form weighing 840 gm
(approximately Rs 51.24 lakh value) was found concealed
in rectum, a release from Customs said.
Amaravati: One person was killed and another injured
when a man opened fire in Andhra Pradesh’s YSR Kadapa
district on Tuesday, police said.The
incident occurred in Pulivendula, the
Assembly constituency of Chief Minister
Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Bharat Kumar
Yadav, a sheep trader, opened fire from
his firearm, killing Dilip and injuring Ma-
habub Basha.The incident is said to be linked to a dispute
over some financial transaction between Yadav and Dilip.
Hyderabad: The South Central Railway (SCR) on Tuesday
appealed the public not to indulge in anti-social activities
such as stone pelting on trains as instances
of the same on trains including Vande
Bharat Express took place across different
locations. Some of the vulnerable sections
(of stone pelting) have been Kazipet –
Khammam, Kazipet – Bhongir and Eluru –
Rajahmundry, a press release from SCR said adding in recent
times, Vande Bharat trains were targeted by miscreants.
GOLD WORTH `65 LAKH SEIZED FROM TWO
PASSENGERS AT HYDERABAD AIRPORT
MAN SHOOTS DEBTOR DEAD, INJURES
ANOTHER IN ANDHRA PRADESH DISTRICT
SOUTH CENTRAL RAILWAY APPEALS PUBLIC
NOT TO INVOLVE IN STONE PELTING ON TRAINS
CRUCIAL READ
New Delhi: Police has
arrested a 56-year-old
doctor for allegedly
molesting a four-year-
old girl at a clinic in
northwest Delhi’s
Adarsh Nagar area, an
official said on Tuesday.
According to police,
the incident took place
on Sunday when the
girl’s mother took her
daughter to the clinic
in the locality after she
complained of stomach
pain.
Gangtok: A woman was
allegedly duped of about
Rs 1 lakh by a fraudster
posing as her father’s
friend, police said on
Tuesday. In her complaint,
victim Jyoti Gupta said
the man claimed to know
her father and managed
to dupe her of Rs 99,945.
She said the accused
claimed that her father
had asked her to transfer
Rs 15,000 to him. In all,
she transferred Rs 99,945
in multiple transactions.
DOCTOR MOLESTS
4-YEAR-OLD GIRL IN
DELHI’S LOCALITY
BUS FALLS INTO PIT
IN KERALA DISTRICT,
SEVERAL INJURED
Pathanamthitta: A bus
carrying around 60 Sabari-
mala pilgrims, including
children from Tamil Nadu
fell into a deep pit in Kera-
la’s Pathanamthitta district
on Tuesday.Several people
feared injured in the acci-
dent that took place near
Nilakkal, according to the
sources. The injured have
been shifted to Pathana-
mthitta District hospital
for treatment. Further
details are awaited on the
incident.
GURUGRAM WOMAN
DUPED OF `1 LAKH
BY A FRAUDSTER
SIKKIM REPORTS 6
NEW COVID-19
CASES, NO DEATH
Gangtok: Six more
people tested positive
for COVID-19 in Sikkim
on Tuesday, the highest
number of infections in
a single day this year,
taking the total number
of Coronavirus cases to
44,344, a health bulletin
said. Of the six new cas-
es, three were reported
from Pakyong district,
two in East and one in the
South district, it said.The
state now has 12 active
COVID-19 cases.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, and others released commemorative
booklet on India Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave during the event, in Pune on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
INDIA,AFRICAN NATIONS HAVE
STRENGTHENED TIES: GEN PANDE
Pune (ANI): Army Chief
Gen Manoj Pande on
Tuesday said, India and
African nations have
strengthened their ties
based on a mutually
beneficial relationship
encompassing a num-
ber of spheres.“India
and African nations
have strengthened their
ties based on a mutu-
ally beneficial relation-
ship encompassing a
number of spheres.
One of the most
important areas of
cooperation has been
in the field of defence
and security where
the two regions have
been working together
to promote peace and
stability,” said Gen
Pande at India-Africa
Army Chiefs’ Conclave.
Dating back to the In-
dus Valley Civilisation,
the Army Chief further
said that India values
Africa’s role in inspiring
the freedom struggle.
He said, “Over the cen-
turies, India and Africa
had shared a deep and
abiding connection be-
tween each other. Dat-
ing back to the Indus
Valley civilisation 2500
years ago when African
merchants traded Pearl
millet and sorghum for
Indian oil and spices.
India values Africa’s
role in inspiring our
freedom struggle.”
“Assam’s Vidhan
Sabha LS seats
will remain same”
CEC Rajiv Kumar addresses media regarding the delimitation
exercise in Assam, in Guwahati on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI
Guwahati (ANI):
Chief Election Com-
missioner Rajiv Kumar
on Tuesday said that
the 126 assembly seats
and 14 parliamentary
seats in Assam would
remain the same after
the completion of the
process of redrawing of
boundaries of the con-
stituencies in the State.
Addressing media in
connection with the on-
going delimitation of
constituencies, the CEC
said, “We held discus-
sions with nine recog-
nised and State political
parties and other organ-
isations in the last two
days. We also met
around 60 civil groups
and organisations. We
will try to accommodate
all suggestions of the
political parties and or-
ganisations in the de-
limitation exercise”. He
said those who partici-
pated in the exercise
includedTMC,BJP
,CPI,
CPI(M), NCP, Asom
Gana Parishad, AIDUF,
Bodoland People’s
Front, United People’s
Party Liberal, and three
more registered parties.
Toronto (PTI): Statue
of Mahatma Gandhi
was vandalised at a uni-
versity campus in Can-
ada’s British Columbia
province, days after an-
other statue of the glob-
al peace icon was tar-
geted in this country by
Khalistan supporters.
In latest incident, the
statue placed at Peace
Square on Burnaby
campusatSimonFraser
University was vandal-
ised, the Consulate Gen-
eral of India said on
Tuesday. “We strongly
condemn the heinous
crime of vandalising
the statue of the harbin-
ger of peace Mahatma
Gandhiji, @SFU Burna-
by campus,” the Consu-
late said in a tweet.
The incident comes
after Khalistani sup-
porters defaced and
spray-painted a Mahat-
ma Gandhi statue near
the City Hall in the
town of Hamilton in
Canada’s Ontario prov-
ince on March 23.
In last July too, a Ma-
hatma Gandhi statue in
Richmond Hill, Canada
was vandalised.
HC rejects plea of
OPS against EPS
Punjab CM
hits out at Akal
Takht Jathedar
Chandigarh (PTI):
Punjab CM Bhagwant
Mann Tuesday hit out
at Akal Takht Jathedar
Giani Harpreet Singh
for “provoking” people
through an ultimatum
to the AAP govt to re-
lease all Sikh youths in
a police action against
radical preacher Amrit-
pal Singh and his aides.
He accused the Jathe-
dar of favouring the
Badals and said that the
Badals had “used” sev-
eral Jathedars for their
“vested interests”.
The CM told the
Jathedar of Akal Takht,
the highest temporal
seat of Sikhs, that it
would have been better
had he issued the ulti-
matum in the sacrilege
and missing ‘saroops’
of Guru Granth Sahib.
Mann’s reaction
came a day after the
Akal Takht Jathedar
Giani Harpeet Singh
had given a 24-hour ulti-
matum to the AAP gov-
ernment to release all
Sikh youths who were
held during the police
crackdown against rad-
ical preacher Amritpal
Singh and his aides.
The Jathedar also
condemned the state
government for invok-
ing the National Secu-
rity Act against a few
people during the police
crackdown.
Chennai: The AIAD-
MK on Tuesday an-
nounced that former
Tamil Nadu chief min-
ister Edappadi K
Palaniswami has been
elected as general secre-
tary of the party. The
announcement was
made by AIADMK elec-
tion officials Pollachi V
Jayaraman and former
minister Natham R
Viswanathan at the par-
ty headquarters in
Royapettah, minutes
after the Madras high
court dismissed the pe-
titions challenging the
resolutions passed at
the general council on
July 11. An official re-
lease from the party
headquarters said
Palaniswami was unan-
imously elected by the
party cadre as per party
bylaw – Rule 20A (2) --
that mandated the elec-
tion to the post of gen-
eral secretary by the
primary cadres of the
party. Also, as per the
Rule 20A (1a, b and c)
that mandated the as-
pirant to the post of
general secretary to re-
main a member of the
party for ten years, min-
imum five years as
headquarters function-
ary, and proposed and
seconded by ten district
secretaries each.
New Delhi (ANI): Tak-
ing cognisance of the
incident where a minor
girl was found dead in a
jute bag in West Ben-
gal’s Tiljala, the Nation-
al Commission for the
Protection of Child
Rights (NCPCR) on
Tuesday said that they
have sent a notice to the
Director general of po-
lice (DGP) of the state.
As per the notice, the
commission has asked
for a factual report
within 48 hours over
the death of a 7-year-old
girl in Tiljala area.
As per police, the girl
was missing since Sun-
day morning and her
body was found inside a
suitcaseataneighbour’s
flat in the evening.
Police have arrested
the accused, identified
as Alok Kumar, a Bihar
native.
“On Sunday we re-
ceived a complaint
about a 7-year-old girl
gone missing near PS
Tiljala. During the
search, the body of the
girl was found inside a
gunny bag in a house in
an apartment complex.
Accused Alok Kumar
was arrested immedi-
ately after. He has been
remanded to police cus-
tody,” Subhankar Bhat-
tacharya, DC, South
East Division said.
NCPRCnoticetoWBDGP;reportsoughtin48hrs
TILJALA MINOR MURDER CASE
Second Mahatma Gandhi statue
vandalized in Canada this month
“CLOSE TO CATCHING AMRITPAL”
Chandigarh: The Punjab govt told the high court
on Tuesday that they were coordinating with
several agencies and close to catching Amritpal
Singh. The radical preacher, declared a fugitive
by the govt, has been on the run since a police
crackdown on him and his outfit — Waris Punjab
De — began on March 18. Images and videos
that emerged on social media have showed him
changing his vehicles and appearance multiple
times in a bid to dodge police.
Violent protests were held in Kolkata after death of a minor girl.
India will continue to work with the African nations to promote regional security, stability enhance
defence capabilities, says Defence Minister Rajnath during 1st India-Africa Army Chiefs’ Conclave in Pune

HOUSING PRICES MAY RISE 5% IN 2023-24
New Delhi (PTI): Housing
prices rose 8-10% in this
fiscal year and may further
increase by 5% in 2023-24,
India Ratings and Research
(Ind-Ra) said on Tuesday
.
The rating agency has
revised the outlook on the
residential real estate sec-
tor to neutral from improv-
ing for FY24.
“The residential real es-
tate market continued its
upward trajectory in FY23
(sales growth of 15% year-
on-year for top eight real-
estate clusters) despite
pressure from higher input
costs, increasing mortgage
rates, and domestic and
global recession,” Ind-Ra
said in a statement released
on Tuesday
.
Recessionary and infla-
tionary pressures could
impact near-term demand
slightly, it said, but expect-
ed the market to absorb the
pressure.
The agency believed
demand would pick up
eventually
.
ACCORDING TO INDIA RATINGS
MAJOR
FINDINGS
z India Ratings and Research
expected the sales
momentum to continue and
housing sales to increase by
9% year-on-year, supported
by a steady, healthy demand
z The rating agency has
revised the outlook on the
residential real estate sector
to neutral from improving
for FY24
business
BRIEFS
New Delhi: Gold prices
declined by `230 to
`58,750 per 10 grams in
the national capital on
Tuesday, according to
HDFC Securities. In the
previous trade, the yellow
metal had closed at
`58,980 per 10 grams.
Silver also declined by
`380 to `69,700 per kg.
“Spot gold prices in the
Delhi markets traded at
`58,750 per 10 grams,
down `230 per 10
grams,” Saumil Gandhi,
Senior Analyst - Com-
modities at HDFC Securi-
ties, said. —PTI
GOLD DROPS BY
`230/10 GM, SILVER
DECLINES `380/KG
New Delhi: India has im-
ported 74.86 lakh tonne
of urea till March 24 and
is set to register a year-
on-year decline this fiscal.
In a written reply to the
Rajya Sabha, Minister of
State for Chemicals and
Fertilisers Bhagwanth
Khuba shared the details
of the import of urea in
the last five years. As per
the data, the country has
imported 74.86 lakh
tonnes up to March 24 of
the current financial year.
Urea imports stood at
91.36 lakh tonnes in
2021-22 fiscal, 98.28 lakh
tonnes in 2020-21, 91.23
lakh tonnes in 2019-20
and 74.81 lakh tonnes in
2018-19. —PTI
74.86 LAKH TONNE
UREA IMPORTED TILL
MARCH 24: GOVT
New Delhi: Markets regu-
lator Sebi has simplified
the procedural require-
ments for onboarding of
Foreign Portfolio Inves-
tors in a bid to facilitate
ease of doing business
and to reduce the time
taken for their registra-
tion. The regulator al-
lowed designated deposi-
tory participants to grant
FPI registration on the ba-
sis of scanned copies of
application forms and
supporting documents,
according to a circular is-
sued on Monday. —PTI
SEBI EASES FPIs
ONBOARDING
PROCESS
New Delhi: Honda Motor-
cycle Scooter India on
Tuesday said it has
launched latest version of
its scooter Activa125 with
upgraded engine priced at
`78,920 (ex-showroom,
Delhi). The 2023 Acti-
va125 now conforms to
the stricter emission
norms. The Indian auto
industry is currently
working to make products
meet the second phase of
BS-VI norms in real-time
driving conditions. Auto-
mobiles will need more
sophisticated equipment
to meet the next level of
emission standards. —PTI
HMSI INTRODUCES
LATEST VERSION OF
ACTIVA125
07
Commodity Price Change % Chg
GOLD 58,750.00 230.00 0.39 (Per 10g)
SILVER 69,700.00 380.00 0.54 (Per 1kg)
COMMODITIES
Currency Price Change % Chg
USDINR 82.16 0.15 0.18
GBPINR 101.22 0.28 0.28
CURRENCIES
*Rates till the edition went to print.
RELIANCE, TATA TO GET
`14,000 CRORE SOLAR
MODULE INCENTIVE
New Delhi: As many as 11
companies, including Indosol,
Reliance and First Solar, have
bagged solar
photovoltaic
manufacturing
projects of a
total 39,600
MW capacity under the second
tranche of the production-
linked incentive scheme of the
government. The government
has allocated a total capac-
ity of 39,600 MW of domestic
Solar PV module manufacturing
capacity to 11 companies, with
a total outlay of `14,007 crore
under the Production Linked
Incentive Scheme for High-
Efficiency Solar PV Modules
(Tranche-II), a power ministry
statement said. —PTI
AI EXPRESS, AIRASIA
INDIA MOVE TO UNIFIED
RESERVATION SYSTEM
New Delhi: Air India Express
and AirAsia India have moved
to a unified reservation system,
whereby
passengers
can make
bookings for
both airlines
through an integrated website.
The move is part of the ongoing
process of merging AirAsia
India with Air India Express. The
combined entity will focus on
leisure-oriented and price-sen-
sitive markets. “Passengers are
now able to make and manage
bookings, and check-in to AirA-
sia India and Air India Express
domestic and international
flights, on an all-new integrated
website airindiaexpress.Com,”
the release said. —PTI
OTHER STORIES
TOO EARLY TO PREDICT ANY DAMAGE TO WHEAT
CROP BECAUSE OF HEAT STRESS: TOMAR
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it is too early to predict
any damage to the wheat crop due to heat stress in February. Union
Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, “In the month of
February 2023, though the maximum
temperature was hovering around 32-33°C
in most of the northern plains, it did not
impact the wheat grain growth since the
crop canopy temperature can be eas-
ily modulated by 2-3°C less than the air
temperature by irrigation.” “In the current
scenario, it is too early to predict any damage to the wheat crop due
to heat stress,” Tomar said. —PTI
FOR FY23
EPF INTEREST RATE
FIXED AT 8.15%
New Delhi (PTI): Retire-
ment fund body EPFO on
Tuesday marginally raised
interest rate on employees'
provident fund (EPF) de-
posits to 8.15% for 2022-23
for its over six crore sub-
scribers. In March 2022,
EPFO had lowered the in-
terest rate on EPF for 2021-
22 to a four-decade low of
8.10% for its subscribers,
from 8.5% in 2020-21.
The apex decision mak-
ing body of EPFO, Central
Board Trustees (CBT)
headed by Union Labour
Minister Bhupender Ya-
dav, recommended 8.15%
annual rate of interest to
be credited on EPF accu-
mulations in members' ac-
counts for financial year
2022-23.
The interest rate would
be officially notified in the
government gazette after
approval of Ministry of Fi-
nance, following which
EPFO would credit the rate
of interest into subscrib-
ers' accounts, it said.
The recommended rate
of interest of 8.15% safe-
guards the surplus as well
as guarantees increased
income to members, it stat-
ed adding that in fact, this
rate of interest and the sur-
plus of `663.91 crore are
higher than the last year's.
According to EPFO’s in-
come projection, the body
would have had a surplus
of `112.78 crore on provid-
ing 8.20% interest rate on
EPF for 2022-23. There
would have been a deficit
of `438.34 crore on provid-
ing 8.25% rate of interest.
MAJOR
CONCLUSIONS
z In March 2022, Employees’
Provident Fund Organisation
(EPFO) had lowered the
interest rate on EPF for 2021-
22 to a four-decade low of
8.10% for its subscribers, from
8.5% in 2020-21
z CBT recommended 8.15%
annual rate of interest to be
credited on EPF accumulations
in members’ accounts for
financial year 2022-23
z The recommended rate of
interest of 8.15% safeguards
the surplus and guarantees
increased income to members
New Delhi (PTI): Public
sector banks could recover
only 14% of the written-off
loans worth `7.34 lakh
crore in the last five years
ending March 2022, Parlia-
ment was informed on
Tuesday
.
Of `7.34 lakh crore writ-
ten-off loans, state-owned
lenders recovered `1.03
lakh crore, Finance Minis-
ter Nirmala Sitharaman
said in a written reply to
the Rajya Sabha.
So after recovery, net
written-off stood at Rs 6.31
lakh crore in the last five
years.
Replying to another
question, the Finance Min-
ister said non-performing
assets (NPAs), including,
those in respect of which
full provisioning has been
made on completion of
four years, are removed
from the balance-sheet of
the bank concerned by way
of write-off as per RBI
guidelines and policy ap-
proved by bank boards.
PSU banks
recover 14% of
written-off loans
in last 5 yrs: FM
PAN-Aadhaar linking
deadline extended
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment on Tuesday ex-
tended the deadline for
linking PAN with Aadhaar
by three months to June 30
to enable people comply
with the mandatory in-
come tax provisions.
The deadline for linking
PAN with Aadhaar was
ending on March 31. As per
the income tax depart-
ment, failure to link the
two unique identities will
lead to the unlinked PAN
becoming inoperative.
There have been de-
mands, including from po-
litical parties, for giving
more time to people to link
PAN with their unique
12-digit identification num-
ber Aadhaar.
“In order to provide
some more time to the tax-
payers, the date for linking
PAN and Aadhaar has been
extended to June 30, 2023,
whereby persons can inti-
mate their Aadhaar to the
prescribed authority for
Aadhaar-PAN linking
without facing repercus-
sions,” the finance minis-
try said in a statement.
Earlier also, the govern-
ment had extended the
deadline several times.
TOP TALKING
POINTS
z The government on Tuesday
extended the deadline for
linking PAN with Aadhaar by
three months to June 30
z The deadline for linking PAN
with Aadhaar was ending on
March 31. As per the income
tax department, failure to
link the two unique identities
will lead to the unlinked PAN
becoming inoperative
87 coal mines
auctioned in
three years
New Delhi (PTI): The gov-
ernment has auctioned 87
coal mines in three years
which after becoming op-
erational will generate an
estimated revenue of
`33,200 crore and provide
employment opportuni-
ties, an official statement
said on Tuesday
.
The government amend-
ed the mineral laws to open
up the coal sector to pro-
vide a level-playing field to
the public private sector
players and to permit auc-
tion of coal mines without
any restriction on end use
- coal from these mines can
be utilized towards own
consumption.
“Within a span of less
than three years, six
tranches of auctions have
been concluded success-
fully and 87 coal mines
have been auctioned. These
mines are estimated to gen-
erate revenue of around
`33,200 crores and to pro-
vide employment to three
lakhs persons,” it said.
Markets close lower in volatile
trade ahead of FO expiry
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark equity indices Sensex
and Nifty ended marginal-
ly lower in highly volatile
trade on Tuesday as losses
in IT and auto stocks were
largely offset by gains in
banking and oil shares
amid mixed global trends.
The 30-share BSE Sensex
ended 40.14 points or 0.07%
lower at 57,613.72 as 19 of
its stocks declined and 11
advanced. The index
opened higher and further
climbed 295.59 points or
0.51% to touch a high of
57,949.45. It, however, failed
to hold onto the gains and
fell to a low of 57,494.91
later.
The broader NSE Nifty
closed lower by 34 points or
0.20% to finish at 16,951.70
after gyrating between
17,061.75 and 16,913.75.
As many as 32 Nifty
stocks declined, 17 ad-
vanced and one closed un-
changed. Adani Entertain-
ment, Adani Ports, Tech
Mahindra, HeroMotoCorp
and Tata Motors were
among major Nifty losers.
Among the Sensex firms,
Tech Mahindra, Tata Mo-
tors, Bharti Airtel, Wipro,
Bajaj Finserv, HCL Tech-
nologies, Bajaj Finance,
Larsen Toubro, Mahin-
dra Mahindra and Ul-
traTech Cement were the
biggest laggards.
` GAINS 15 PAISE
TO CLOSE AT 82.16
AGAINST US $
New Delhi (PTI): The rupee
appreciated 15 paise to settle
at 82.16 (provisional) against
the US dollar on Tuesday. At
the interbank foreign exchange
market, the local unit opened
at 82.20 against the American
currency and finally closed at
82.16 (provisional) against the
greenback, registering a gain of
15 paise over its previous close
of 82.31. During the session, the
rupee touched a high of 82.16
and a low of 82.28 against the
dollar. The dollar index, which
gauges the greenback’s strength
against a basket of six currencies,
fell 0.26% to 102.59. Global oil
benchmark Brent crude futures
declined 0.42% to $77.79 per
barrel.
ALL 10 ADANI STOCKS END LOWER FOR 2ND DAY,
MCAP OF GROUP FIRMS ERODE BY `80,096.75 CR
New Delhi (PTI): Shares of all the ten listed firms of the Adani group
ended lower for the second day in a row on Tuesday, with Adani
Enterprises tumbling 7%. The stock of Adani Enterprises tanked
7.06%, the most among the group firms on BSE. Shares of Adani
Ports slumped 5.66%, Adani Power fell 5%, Adani Transmission
(5%), Adani Green Energy (5%), Adani Total Gas (5%) and Adani Wil-
mar (4.99%). The group firms have suffered a combined erosion of
`80,096.75 crore from their market valuation in two days of decline.
‘Telecom sector’s financial
health needs to improve’
New Delhi (PTI): The tel-
ecom industry’s financial
health needs to improve if
India’s dream of digital
connectivity across the
country has to be fulfilled,
Bharti Enterprises Vice-
Chairman Akhil Gupta
said on Tuesday
.
Very poor return on cap-
ital is a big hindrance in
telecom development in In-
dia today and unless it
changes, investments will
dry up at some point or the
other, he said.
The industry players
need to work together so
that the ARPU goes up to
`300 in a phased manner in
the next few years.
“The big hindrance in
telecom development in In-
dia today is the very poor
return on capital, which
this industry has, and at
some point in time, that
will have to change because
otherwise, the investments
will dry up,” Gupta said.

08
2NDFRONT
On all the upturns and the downturns
of life, one should remember to keep
faith in God for the required balance.
— Dr Jagdeesh Chandra, CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Pune: Kedar Jadhav’s
75-year-old father, Ma-
hadev Jadhav, who went
missing from their
Pune home on Monday,
has been reunited with
his family
.
“Mahadev Jadhav
went missing after he
left home for a morning
walk. He left the gate of
the housing complex
and has not been seen
since. A missing person
case has been regis-
tered and efforts are on
to trace him,” the
Alankar police station
official had said, quot-
ing the complaint, on
Monday
. The senior citi-
zen, who suffers from
dementia, was later lo-
cated in the Mundhwa
area. Senior Inspector
Ajit Lakde of the Mund-
hwa police station con-
firmed that he was in a
good condition.
Kedar is currently in
Chennai preparing for
the upcoming season of
the Indian Premier
League.
SIGHT FOR SORE EYES
Marine Drive is decked up in lights to welcome delegates to the G20 meetings slated for March 28-30 in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY ANI
‘Misconduct’ sees
advocate suspended
by Bar Assn for 2 yrs
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bar As-
sociation of Maharash-
tra and Goa has sus-
pended the licence of
advocate Gunratan Sad-
avarte for two years af-
ter finding him guilty
of misconduct, an offi-
cial from the lawyers’
body said on Tuesday
.
The association’s
three-member discipli-
nary committee found
Sadavarte guilty under
section 35 of the Advo-
cates Act, the official
said. The committee
was set up following a
complaint claiming
that Sadavarte had par-
ticipated in a protest at
Azad Maidan in south
Mumbai wearing his
advocates’ band which
was in violation of the
advocates ethics code.
“The license to prac-
tice issued by the BCMG
(association)torespond-
ent advocate Gunratan
Sadavarte is hereby sus-
pended for a period of
two years from the date
of the service of the or-
der on him,” an email
sent by the secretary of
the association said.
The committee’s or-
der is not available yet.
Sadavarte had ap-
peared in several mat-
ters in HC including
those pertaining to the
Maratha reservation
and last year’s strike
called by employees of
the Maharashtra State
Road Transport Corpo-
ration.
He is also accused of
orchestrating a violent
protest outside Nation-
alist Congress Party
chief Sharad Pawar’s
residence in Mumbai.
Probe launched
after Gunratan
Sadavarte
allegedly
violated
advocates’
ethics code
Italian, Gond artists to highlight cultural dialogue
JUGALBANDI
Mumbai (PTI): A dia-
logue between two cul-
tures will be reflected
on canvas in ARTI-
SANS' gallery's show
titled, Karmabhoomi:
Possible Natures by
Italian artist-designer
Andrea Anastasio and
Gond artist Padma Shri
Bhajju Shyam.
Curated by art enthu-
siast Biraj Patnaik, the
show opens on March 29
and will continue till
April 08 at the Kala
Ghoda-based gallery
.
The show is a perfect
complement to the Bi-
nary Codex retrospec-
tive of his works at the
Chhatrapati Shivaji
Maharaj Vastu Sangra-
halaya (CSMVS), Ana-
stasio said.
“If the jugalbandi'
works with Bhajju at Bi-
nary Codex reflect the
coming together of two
cultures on a single can-
vas, Karmabhoomi'
shows the common con-
cerns and our shared
humanity
, where two in-
dividual artists reverse
the gaze on each other's
work, using nature as a
metaphor both of har-
mony and the urban dis-
connect, he said.
Bhajju Shyam said,
My work seeks to cre-
ate new idioms while
taking the cosmology
of the Gond peoples to a
wider audience. I see
the work with Andrea
as a conversation be-
tween our cultures and
perspectives and it is a
privilege to be part of
this show that shows
our individual work in
Karmabhoomi'.
His work stems from
the Gond Pradaan tradi-
tion of interpreting the
mythology of his people
forawideraudience.His
works in this show are
rooted in his conscious-
nessasacollectivemem-
ory of the Gond people.
Anastasio's practice
over the past four dec-
ades has been about in-
terrogating the cultural
depiction of reality and
the manufacturing of
the individualistic iden-
tities as disjointed enti-
ties from nature, which
has become just another
external dimension.
Opening today, Karmabhoomi:
Possible Natures will run until Apr 08
‘The show is a perfect complement to the Binary Codex’
Maha sees 450 new nCoV cases, 3 deaths
Mumbai (PTI): Maha-
rashtra on Tuesday re-
corded 450 new cases of
coronavirus that raised
the tally of infections to
81,42,509 and three fa-
talities, an official from
the state health depart-
ment said.
The daily count of in-
fections has doubled
since Monday, when the
state reported 205 cases.
With the addition of
the latest casualties, the
tollhasreached1,48,438,
while the count of re-
coveriesroseto79,91,728
after 316 patients recov-
ered in the 24 hours, the
official said.
According to the
health department’s re-
port, 10,787 swab sam-
ples were tested in the
last 24 hours, taking the
number of tests con-
ducted across the state
to 8,65,96,047.
Of the latest infec-
tions, Mumbai circle
reported the highest
227, followed by Pune
with 138, Kolhapur 25,
Nashik 22, Nagpur and
Akola with 17 cases
each, and four from La-
tur. Kolhapur and Latur
circles reported two
and one casualty re-
spectively, the report
stated.
Mumbai city saw 135
new cases, taking its
tally to 11,55,662, which
includes 19,747 deaths.
With this, Maharash-
tra now has 2,343 active
cases, of which 663 were
from Mumbai district,
followed by 605 cases in
Pune and 429 in Thane
district.
The recovery rate is
at 98.15% and case fatal-
ity rate was 1.82%, the
report stated.
Mantralaya —FILE PHOTO
Nashik: Former
Maharashtra minister
and senior Nationalist
Congress Party leader
on Tuesday said he
has tested positive for
COVID-19. Earlier, he
had contracted the viral
infection when the pan-
demic was at its peak.
The NCP leader—who
recently toured his
assembly constituency
of Yeola in Nashik dis-
trict—took to Twitter to
say he had developed a
fever while returning to
Nashik from Yeola. He
underwent a COVID-19
test on Monday which
came positive.
The NCP leader ap-
pealed to all those who
had come in contact
with him in the past
few days to get tested
for the respiratory
disease if they had
symptoms like fever,
breathing difficulties,
runny nose and a sore
throat. The ex-minister
also urged citizens to
wear a mask and use
hand sanitisers.
Nashik district on
Tuesday reported 11
new cases, taking the
overall infections in the
district to 4,82,642,
officials said.
NCP’S BHUJBAL TESTS +VE FOR NCOV
1 woman dead,
another serious
MANTRALAYA SUICIDE ATTEMPTS
First India Bureau
Mumbai: One woman
who had consumed poi-
sonoutsidestategovern-
ment headquarters,
Mantralaya, on Monday
died at the ICU of the
state-run JJ Hospital
here on Tuesday
, while
another continues to be
in a serious condition,
officials said.
Dhule-resident Shital
Gadekar, a resident of
Dhule district, had come
totheMantralayaincon-
nection with a dispute
over a plot of land at
Dhule MIDC industrial
area. Sangita Davare, a
resident of Navi Mum-
bai, was also visiting
Mantralaya to seek jus-
tice in a different matter,
officials said.
The two women knew
eachotherandarrivedat
Mantralaya in the same
cabonMonday
.Anactiv-
ist who knew both of
them had allegedly
asked them to consume
poisoninordertogetjus-
tice, an official said.
When both were seen
consuming some sus-
pected poisonous sub-
stance, police deployed
on the gates of Mantra-
laya tried to stop them.
They were immedi-
ately rushed to the JJ
Hospital. Gadekar, who
wasshiftedtotheICUon
Tuesday
, died during the
treatmentwhileDavare's
condition was serious,
an official said, adding
that the police are look-
ing into the identity and
role of the ‘activist’.
AccordingtoGadekar,
a plot owned by her hus-
band was transferred in
thenameof anotherper-
son by officials of the
Maharashtra Industrial
Development Corpora-
tion with the help of bo-
gus and forged docu-
ments in 2010.
She had been com-
plaining about it at vari-
ous levels since then, the
official said.
Recently she had also
warned of committing
suicide if she did not get
justice, he said.
In Davare's case, her
husband,apoliceconsta-
ble, lost his leg during a
surgery
, and she was de-
manding action against
the doctor, he said.
Shital Gadekar
died at the ICU
of the state-run
JJ Hospital;
Sangita Davare is
still in a serious
condition
RECAP
CRICKETER’S MISSING
FATHER FOUND IN PUNE
First India Bureau
Mumbai: A local court
on Tuesday allowed the
National Investigation
Agency's (NIA) plea
seeking a letter of re-
quest to Nepalese au-
thorities for an inquiry
against three accused
in the 2021 Antilia bomb
scare case.
A letter of request is
sent by a court to a
court/authority in an-
other country for seek-
ing assistance in inves-
tigation or prosecution.
The three accused
against whom the re-
quest was sought are
Santosh Shelar, Satish
Mothukuri and Manish
Soni. In its charge
sheet, the NIA has
claimed that the trio
took shelter in Nepal
when they were on run
between March 09 and
March 20, 2021.
On Tuesday
, the agen-
cy moved the special
NIA court seeking a let-
ter of request, stating
that it needs details and
evidence regarding the
stay of the three ac-
cused in Kathmandu
after the murder of
Thane businessman
Mansukh Hiren, which
is linked to the case.
The court ordered
that a letter of request
be sent to the competent
authority in Nepal.
On February 25, 2021,
an explosives-laden
SUV was found near in-
dustrialist Mukesh Am-
bani's residence 'Antil-
ia' in south Mumbai.
Hiren, who said he
was in possession of the
SUV before it was alleg-
edly stolen, was found
dead in a creek in neigh-
bouring Thane on
March 05, 2021.
❍ ANTILIA BOMB SCARE CASE
Court nod for letter of request to Nepal authorities
An explosives-laden SUV was
found near Mukesh Ambani’s
residence on February 25,
2021. —FILE PHOTO

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY,
MARCH 29, 2023
City First highlights some glimpses of the
designer collection Fuchsia by Gaurav
Gaur and Akanksha Bhalla, which was
showcased at the Jaipur Couture Show,
held at The Palace on March 13!
SHWET
Amalgamationof
Puritybeauty
he three-day Jaipur Couture
Show, presented by First In-
dia and Bharat24-Vision of
New India organised at
The Palace on Ajmer
Highway on March 13.
Jagdeesh Chandra
graced the occasion as the chief
guest and appreciated Akanksha
Bhalla for her magical collection.
The brand ‘Fuchsia’ belongs to
Gaurav Gaur and outfits are cu-
rated by Akanksha Bhalla.
While describing her gorgeous
collection, the talented super-
model turned designer said,
“As we talk about the collec-
tion of Fuchsia, the name it-
self says cheerful and uplift-
ing, dealing in bright and
vibrant colours. As Fuchsia
has completed its 10 years,
we thought of bringing some-
thing new into the town and
redesigned the old aesthetic of
Chikankari. With this thought,
we have made our collection by
the name - 2023 for the first
time, which consists of white
bridal outfits to bridesmaids
thing and along with it we have
added Indo western touch to chi-
kankari which is an absolutely
rare thought. Our unique hand-
crafted chikankari couture is
now considered a must-have in a
bridal trousseau, courtesy of In-
dian designers who revived the
craft. ”
“Chitrangada was our show-
stopper and loved the white colour
theme and all the designs. She
looked stunning and nailed the
outfit. Our photography partner
is Laxman Singh Sisodia from the
Contour India group.” She added.
Various who’s who of the city in-
cluding Supermodels, Elite Miss Ra-
jasthan Winners, Models and Influ-
encers were present during the elec-
trifying fashion show.
T
UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR
uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in
JAIPUR
COUTURE
SHOW 2023
Akanksha Bhalla
Clockwise: Sheena, Rutvi, Astha, Nupur and Shrishti
Gaurav Guar with Chitrangada Singh

First India Mumbai 29032023.pdf

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