First India-Delhi Edition-16th November 2022

PM MODI AT G20 SUMMIT IN BALI

World

UNITED WE STAND!

Moni Sharma

Bali: The annual G20 Summit opened in Bali on Tuesday with world leaders set to discuss over the next two days challenges triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and more recently topped by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prime Min ister Narendra Modi was welcomed at the summit venue by Indo nesian President Joko Widodo, ahead of the formal opening of the summit.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told G20 members they must avoid another world war as he opened a lead ers’ summit dominated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Bali on Tuesday.”We should not divide the world into parts. We must not al low the world to fall into another world war,” he said as he opens a lead ers’ summit dominated

by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Bali.

During the day, PM Modi, along with other world leaders, partici pates in G20 summit’s second working session on the theme of ‘Health’, at Apurva Kempisnky hotel in Bali. PM Modi greeted the gathering at the In dian community event in Bali, as people chant ed “Modi, Modi”. Ad dressing the Indian di aspora Modi said

I have repeatedly said that we have to find a way to return to the path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine. Over the past century, WWII wreaked havoc in the world. After that leaders of that time made a serious effort to take the path of peace. Now it’s our turn.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Delhi BJP replaces 6 district presidents

Gujarat: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are among the 40 star campaigners for Gujarat assembly polls. Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel, CMs of Cong-ruled Raj and C’garh, are also in list. P5

New Delhi (PTI): Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta on Tuesday re placed working presi dents of the party’s six districts units with im mediate effect. On Mon day, Gupta had appoint ed working presidents of six district units but the appointments were withdrawn within hours. In the latest list, three working presi dents, whose name was in Monday’s list, have been dropped.

According to the fresh list, Sardar Kul deep Singh has been ap

pointed president of Chandni Chowk, Manoj Tyagi of Navin Shah dara, Lata Gupta of Shahdara, Naresh Vashishth of Mehrauli, Vinod Sehrawat of Northwest Delhi and Ramesh Shokhanda of Najafgarh.

In Monday’s list, Di pak Gauba was appoint ed for Shahdara, Azad Singh for Mehrauli and Sunil Mittal for North west Delhi. “Gauba and Singh were replaced af ter strong protest by the local MPs,” a senior party leader said.

We also witnessed the world order & int’l law being tested. Today, eyes of the world are focussed on our meeting - will we be able to succeed or will we add another item to number of failures? In my view, G20 must succeed & must not fail and we must end the war.

—Joko Widodo, Indonesian President

The war should be ended “justly and on the basis of the UN Charter and international law”. I urge world leaders to back a plan to end the war in his country, saying now was the time to push for peace after Russia’s defeat in the southern city of Kherson. Ukraine would not allow Russian forces to regroup after their withdrawal from Kherson.

—Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President

A useful exchange between PM Modi and US Prez Biden on sidelines of G20 summit in Bali, Indo nesia. Leaders appreciated continuing deepening of India-US Strategic Partnership & close cooperation in groups like Quad, I2U2, etc. Agreed to maintain close coor dination during G20 India —Ministry of External Affairs

MODI SPEAKS

l India’s self-sufficiency in medicines, vaccines during the pandemic benefitted the world

l Indonesia and India are companions in both good and bad times

l India is a ray of hope for world in 21st century

l India has the Hima layas, Indonesia has Mount Agung; if India has Ganga, Indonesia has Tirta Gangga — we are united through cul tures and traditions

l No restrictions on energy supplies, stability in the energy market should be ensured, India’s energy security is imp for growth

MAJOR G-20 HAPPENINGS

l Ukraine’s Zelensky suggests ‘all for all’ pris oner swap with Russia

l Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen tests positive for Covid-19 at G-20 inaugural summit

l G20 summit: Russian President Vladimir Putin may be absent, but he is still on leaders’ minds

l Biden, Xi clash on Taiwan, find common ground on Ukraine

l PM Modi and US President Joe Biden on Tuesday shared a warm hug at the summit

l PM Modi seeks agree ment to maintain supply of manure, foodgrains

l ‘Have to return to path of ceasefire and diplomacy in Ukraine,’ PM Modi says at the G20 Summit

l FIFA boss Gianni In fantino trolled for urging Russia-Ukraine ceasefire during World Cup 2022

‘Made up mind to kill Shraddha a week before’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Aftab Amin Poonawalla, who killed his live-in partner Shraddha Walker and chopped her body into 35 pieces before dump ing them in the forests of south Delhi’s Chha tarpur, said he had made up his mind to kill his girlfriend more than a week before he commit ted the murder on May 18, Delhi Police sources said on Tuesday.

“More than a week before the murder, I had made up my mind to kill Shraddha. Even on that day, Shraddha and

I had a fight. I was de termined to kill her when she suddenly be came emotional and started crying. So I held back for later,” a source quoted Aftab as saying in his confession.

Aftab said his part ner had trust issues be cause of which she would often get angry. “I often had to talk to someone over the phone. However, she would doubt my com mitment to the relation ship every time she caught me speaking over on the phone. She used to get very angry,” Aftab told Delhi Police.

LARGESSE OF STATE GIVEN TO…: GUJARAT HC ON MORBI TRAGEDY

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat HC on Tuesday heard a suo motu PIL on Morbi bridge tragedy and asked the state government as to how no expression of interest was tendered, and how the “largesse of the state” was given to an individual without floating a tender.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the bail plea by Chitra Ramkrishna in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping on the NSE employees.

On disposing of the body, he said, “I browsed Google all night to search for ways to dis pose of the body and not arouse any suspicion. I

web series and shows related to crime and said it was from these that he borrowed ideas on preserving the body parts and disposing of them later, police said.

“It was to preempt any doubts or suspi cions on her wherea bouts that I kept posting on Shradhha’s Insta gram profile after the murder. I did it all by myself,” the accused told police.

THE DATA STATES...

also searched the inter net on what kind of knife would I have to use to chop the body.”

Aftab confessed to his fondness for watching

According to sources, the accused first dis posed of her liver and intestines after minc ing them. He was a trained chef. More on P3

VETERAN TELUGU ACTOR KRISHNA PASSES AWAY

Hyderabad: Veteran Tollywood actor, Congress parliamentarian Ghattamaneni Krishna, popularly known as Super Star Krishna passed away at a hospital in Hyderabad after a brief illness in early hours of Tuesday, officials said. He was 79 and is survived by 5 children.

Narendra Modi @narendramodi Krishna Garu was a legendary superstar, who won hearts of people through his versatile acting and lively personality. His demise is a colossal loss to the world of cinema and entertainment. In this sad hour my thoughts are with @urstrulyMahesh and his entire family. Om Shanti.

Shraddha Walker (L) and Aaftab Amin Poonawalla

PM attends G20 Indonesia working session on food & energy security

PM Modi likely to hold bilateral talks with over 8-9 leaders today

faces crisis upon crisis and sharpening rivalries: Prez Joko

After Bali meet, India will take over Group of 20 presidency for one year

Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets United States President Joe Biden and Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the 17th G20 Summit, in Bali, Indonesia on Tuesday. —PHOTOS BY ANI

(Top) Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanges warm greetings with French President Emmanuel Macron. (Left) Prime Minister

Narendra Modi interacts with his United Kingdom counterpart Rishi Sunak for the first time at the G20 Summit. (Right) Prime Minister

Narendra Modi interacts with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Welcoming Dinner during the G20 Leaders’ Summit, at Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park, in Badung, Bali on Tuesday. It was for the first time that Modi and Xi exchanged words publicly.

Kochi: Actress Sunny Leone has approached Kerala HC seeking to quash case registered against her by Kerala crime branch on a complaint alleging that she cheated by receiving advance for a stage show but fell back on the promise.

Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah met Gachchadhipati Acharya Bhagwant Manohar Kirti Sagar in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. During the day, while inaugurating the BJP’s election office here, Shah said BJP will form government in Gujarat. P5

Mumbai: Kieron Pollard, who made his MI debut back in 2010, has now been appointed as batting coach for Mumbai Indians. He will also play inaugural International League T20 in UAE for MI. Pollard on Tuesday announced his retirement from the IPL.

New Delhi: Actor Jacqueline Fernandez on Tuesday was granted mail by a Delhi court in `200 crore money laundering case. The money laundering case involved conman Sukesh Chandrashekar that is being probed by the ED.

CONG STAR CAMPAIGNERS

Secretary-General

GHATTAMANENI KRISHNA

My head hangs in shame: CJ over DDA’s inaction on sewer deaths

New Delhi (PTI): "My head hangs in shame," the Delhi High Court Chief Justice said on Tuesday, lamenting the "complete unsympa thetic attitude" of the Delhi Development Au thority (DDA) towards the families of two peo ple who died inside a sewer this year.

The HC, annoyed over non-compliance with its October 6 order by which DDA was di rected to pay Rs 10 lakh compensation each to the families of the de ceased, said it had asked the authorities to pay the amount to the

victims' kin as they had lost their sole bread earners in the incident.

Pursuant to the high court's direction, DDA Vice Chairman Manish Gupta was present at the hearing.

A sweeper and a se curity guard had died on September 9 in Out er Delhi's Mundka area after they inhaled toxic gases inside a sewer.

The incident oc curred when a sweeper had gone down to clean the sewer and fainted.

A security guard who rushed to his rescue also fell unconscious, and both died.

The high court, which was hearing a public interest litiga tion (PIL) initiated by the court on its own based on a news report of the incident, ex pressed displeasure over non-payment of Rs 10 lakh each by the DDA to the victims' families and said "not even a sin gle penny" was released

by the authority.

It, however, noted that as a part of a sepa rate compensation, the Delhi government has paid Rs 1 lakh each to the two families and the remaining Rs 9 lakh will be paid to them within 15 days.

"We are dealing with people who are work ing for us so that our

TUNING UP FOR MCD POLL

AAP, BJP campaign songs lift poll mood

New Delhi (PTI): The BJP's Delhi unit and the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday released their campaign song for the civic body polls.

The BJP’s song, 'BJP ka Matlab Sewa Hai' (BJP means service), is sung by MP Manoj Ti wari and narrates the "reality of Delhi" and the BJP's "victory" for the MCD polls, the par ty's Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta said at the launch event.

The song's opening line "BJP ka matlab sewa hai" is followed by how the Modi govern ment at the Centre "served people during the pandemic”.

It also mentioned the efforts of the erstwhile BJP-ruled municipal corporations to remove garbage collection points in residential ar eas and lowering the heights of landfill sites. The song also narrates how the Modi govern ment worked for Delhi' development, including expansion of the Metro network and construc tion of a tunnel near Pragati Maidan.

Through the song, the BJP also accuses the government of Kejriwal of turning the Yamuna into a "drain" and con verting Delhi into a "gas chamber".

AAP’s , 'MCD mein bhi Kejriwal' has been sung by party's Tima rpur MLA Dilip Pandey.

PADYATRAS, AAP TELLS ITS CANDIDATES

New Delhi (PTI): AAP has instructed its MCD poll candidates to hold padyatras and doorto-door campaigns to reach out to voters ahead of polls, party officials said. The direc tions were issued at a meeting of the party's 250 candidates presided over by Dy CM Manish Sisodia. Environment Minister Gopal Rai and AAP leaders Atishi and Durgesh Pathak also attended the meeting. At the meeting, the campaign strategy for the MCD elections and ways to put it into ac tion were discussed, of ficials said. Candidates were asked to hold padyatras, door-to-door campaigns and public meetings at the booth level. They were also directed to personally monitor preparations and reach out to the public.

People are saying that we gave an op portunity to Chief Minister Arvind Ke jriwal and

group demands devp

life is made comforta ble. And this is the man ner and method they are being dealt with by the authorities. Very unfortunate," a bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad said.

The CJ added, "My head hangs in shame." "From October 6, we

Vasant Kunj residents protest over water woes

New Delhi (ANI): Irked over erratic water supply and persistent water crisis, residents of Vasant Kunj residen tial society of Sector C-8 - one of the most high-end neighbour hoods of the city, took to the streets on Tuesday and protested against Delhi Jal Board.

The residents hold ing empty buckets in their hands, com plained that there was no water supply there for last 6 days, and said they were dependent only on water tankers which they get only af ter much effort.

are now on November 15. When the court had directed DDA to pay the amount, why it was not done? This is the ques tion," the bench said.

The counsel for DDA said it was the duty of the Delhi government to pay the amount.

Delhi government standing counsel San tosh Kumar Tripathi submitted the DDA was trying to mix up the compensation which is to be paid as per the Su preme Court order and that the amount of Rs 10 lakh to be paid by the Delhi government was by a cabinet decision of

March 5, 2020.

The bench said the question of liability could have been decid ed later on but the anxi

ety of the court was that, as an immediate measure, something needed to be given to the affected families.

Tahir Hussain part of conspiracy to fund 2020 Delhi riots: ED to HC

New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directo rate on Tuesday con tended in the Delhi High Court that former AAP leader Tahir Hussain was part of a conspiracy to fund the 2020 Delhi riots by using proceeds of crime.

The ED’s submissions were made while oppos ing a plea by Hussain challenging the framing of charges against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Justice Anu Mal hotra, after hearing sub missions of the counsel for Hussain and ED, re

served the order on the petition.

The court asked the parties to file short writ ten submissions in the case.

Hussain has chal lenged the trial court’s November 3 order by which charges for the al leged offence under Sec tions 3 (offence of mon ey laundering) and 4 (punishment for the of fence of money launder

ing) of the PMLA were framed against him in connection with the 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.

The trial court, in its order, had said that pri ma facie Hussain con spired to engage in mon ey laundering and the proceeds generated from the crime were used for the riots.

During the hearing, Hussain’s counsel sub mitted that no property or proceeds of crime were seized from him which could justify the framing of charges against him for the al leged offence of money laundering.

Court grants bail to Jacqueline Fernandez

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to actor Jac queline Fernandez in a Rs 200 crore money laun dering case involving conman Sukesh Chan drashekar.

New Delhi (PTI): Ward-level waste manage ment, pollution monitoring, increasing green cover and ending encroachments are some of demands listed by United Residents' Joint Ac tion (URJA)

URJA members said MCD should publish a roadmap in the first 100 days to achieve citizen demands over the next five years with measur able, time-bound and ward-specific goals.

"MCD must publish regular reports on pro gress of the roadmap, budget and expenditure and conduct a publicly-available performance audit by the CAG," URJA chief Atul Goyal said.

Goyal added MCD must engage in local area planning at ward level and coordinate with residents' welfare associations to constitute a well-resourced Residents' Ward Committee within three-to-six months to increase trans parency, accountability, citizen participation and optimum utilisation of funds.

MAJOR SUCCESS

Special Judge Shailen dra Malik granted the relief on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of like amount. The judge had on August 31 taken cog nizance of a supplemen tary charge sheet filed

AQI improves as farm fires drop

New Delhi (PTI): Del hi’s air quality improved significantly on Tuesday amid a sharp decline in farm fires in Punjab over the last two days.

The capital’s 24-hour average AQI stood at 227 on Tuesday. It was 294 on Monday and 303 on Sunday.

An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’. The air quality is likely to improve fur ther on the back of strong winds, IMD said The city recorded a minimum temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius

and a maximum of 29.5 degrees Celsius on Tues day, it said.

According to Indian Ag ricultural Research In stitute data, Punjab re ported 141 farm fires on Tuesday and just four on Monday. Total 2,467 inci dents were reported in the state on Saturday.

4 criminals held in separate encounters in Noida, G Noida

lll While one encounter took place late on Monday night in Noida, the other two were in the wee hours of Tuesday, within six hours after the first incident

Noida (PTI): Four sus pected criminals were held in three separate incidents of gunfights with police in Noida and Greater Noida in less than six hours, of ficials said on Tuesday.

Of the four crimi nals, three suffered gunshot injuries, po lice said. In retaliatory firing, a 26-year-old man from Ghaziabad was injured and arrest ed from an area under the Sector-39 police sta tion, ACP, Noida-1, Ra

jneesh Verma said.

“The encounter took place around 9.30 pm (Monday) in Sector-98 area. Accused, Shah rukh, is a wanted crimi nal active in NCR with three dozen cases

against him,” Verma said. Around 12.15 am on Tuesday in Phase-1 area, a Noida Sector-8 resident informed po lice that he was return ing home when his phone was snatched by

ARMS & AMMUNITIONS SEIZED

a scooter-borne man, ACP, Noida-2, Sushil Kumar said.

“This snatcher was first intercepted by a po lice party at a checking barrier. However, he managed to escape. A

police team chasing him intercepted him in Sec tor-15A,” Kumar said.

“He lost balance and fell from the scooter and started fleeing. He opened fire on cops but got hit by a bullet on his

leg in retaliatory firing,” Kumar said. The snatch er has been identified as Delhi-based 27-year-old Usman alias Ponta, who has half a dozen crimi nal cases against him, the ACP added.

In the third incident, two men were held after a gunfight in Jarcha PS area, Addl DCP (Greater Noida) DK Singh said.

The duo has been identi fied as Keshav Sharma alias Golu and Pawan Singh alias Chhotu, na tives of Greater Noida.

Fernandez, who was summoned by ED sev eral times in connection with the probe, was named as an accused for in the supplementary charge sheet. The ED's earlier charge sheet and a sup plementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. The docu ments, however, had mentioned the details of statements recorded by Fernandez and fellow actor Nora Fatehi.

Car hits e-rickshaw, injures six; 2 students held

Noida (PTI): Two col lege students were tak en into police custody here on Tuesday after their car allegedly hit an e-rickshaw, injuring six people, including two school girls, an of ficial said. The incident took place around 8.30 am near Amity Univer sity on a service lane, under the Sector 39 po lice station limits, the official said.

"Three passengers of the e-rickshaw suffered severe injuries for which they were hospitalized for treatment, while the other three were dis charges after first aid," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Harish Chander said.

"The occupants of the car, both aged between 20 and 22, have been tak en into custody and fur ther legal proceedings in the case are being car ried out," the DCP said.

We are dealing with people who are working for us so that our life is made comfortable. And this is the manner and method they are being dealt with by the authorities.

—Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma

by the Enforcement Di rectorate and asked Fer nandez to appear before the court.

Artists dance to AAP’s campaign song during its launch by Manish Sisodia , at party office, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

he ensured that we got good gov ernment schools, hos pitals, free bus rides for women in DTC.

—Manish Sisodia, DyCM, Delhi

HOLD

for the civic body polls in Delhi.

Citizens’

roadmap of 5 yrs

Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez after appearing before the Patiala House court in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

REPRESENTATIVE PIC

HEART OF DARKNESS

Forest area searched for three hours

New Delhi (PTI): Del hi Police Tuesday took Aaftab Poonawala to the forest area of south Delhi's Chhatarpur and spent nearly three hours to locate specific places where he had al legedly dumped her body parts.

After the scene rec reation exercise on Tuesday, the accused was brought back to the police station. Ac cording to police offi cials, he will also be taken to some other places in the city be sides the Chhatarpur jungle area as part of their probe into the horrific murder.

As Poonawala, with his face covered with a white cloth and sur rounded by police per sonnel, was taken to the woods, camera crews and journalists

jostled with each other.

The ire over the gruesome killing seemed to spill over with a woman at the spot asking Poonawala if he was ashamed of his actions.

“The crime scene was recreated to un derstand and ascertain the sequence of events that led to the heinous crime and how he man aged to locate the spots where different pieces could be dumped with out inviting public glare,” a senior police official said.

According to police, 13 body parts were found after the accused pinpointed the areas where he had thrown them, but only after their forensic exami nation, it can be con firmed if they belong to the victim.

He was aggressive

New Delh (PTI): A doctor who treated Aaftab Amin Poon awala , said the ac cused had visited him in May, the same month when the wom an was killed, for treating a wound.

Dr Anil Kumar re called Poonawala was very aggressive and restless when he had come to him for treatment and when he asked him about his injury, he claimed he got hurt while cutting fruit.

“In May, he came in the morning hours. My assistant told me that one person has come with an injury. When I saw him, I found it was not a deep injury but a superficial one.

“The underline structure was intact. When I asked him how he sustained this injury, he re plied it was while he was cutting fruit. I did not have any doubt as it was a small clean knife cut,” said Kumar. He said 28-year-old Poonawala was a very bold and confident person when he met him for the first time during the treatment.

“Two days ago, police brought him to my hos pital and asked whether I treated this guy. I rec ognised him and said yes.

“He was very aggressive and restless when he came for treatment. He looked into my eyes while speaking. He was very bold and confident. He was speaking in English and told me he was from Mumbai and came to Delhi as the city has good opportunities in IT sector,” Dr Kumar said.

Aaftab had trained on how to cut meat

n CUT VICTIM’S BODY INTO PIECES OVER TWO DAYS n HANDLED HER SOCIAL MEDIA TO HIDE SUSPICION

New Delhi (PTI):

Staying active on Shraddha Walkar's so cial media account and disposing her body parts over sev eral days were among the measures Aaftab Amin Poonawala al legedly employed to conceal the murder.

But it was only a matter of time before he ran out of luck and the police came knocking at his door.

The couple moved to the house in Meh rauli in May. On the 18th of that month, an argument broke out between them and Poonawala tried to shut her mouth with his hand. He later al legedly strangulated her, police said.

The next day, he purchased a saw and a 300-litre refrigerator, taking inspiration from American crime drama 'Dexter'.

On May 20, he sawed her body into 35 pieces and dumped them in the fridge.

Poonawala had studied hotel manage ment and worked as a chef a few years ago. He had undergone a two-week training on how to cut meat, which he used to chop Walkar's body.

"He cut her body for two days," an official said.

Police said Poon

2010 STILL HAUNTS

Mini-saw used to chop body not yet found

New Delhi (ANI): Sources said that Aaftab had used only one weapon to chop Shrad dha’s body parts. The weapon is yet to be recovered.

“As per police, only one weapon was used to chop Shraddha’s body parts. Aftab had used a mini saw to chop off the body parts. The mini saw is yet to be recovered. Aftab broke down after they grilled him when he gave confusing timelines of when Shraddha left him,” the sources claimed.

Police sources said the accused used Shraddha’s Instagram account until June to give an impression of her being alive.

“Aaftab dumped Shraddha’s phone, her last location being traced so that it can be retrieved. Police are searching for the weap on used to chop her body. He used her Insta gram account until June to give an impres sion of her being alive,” the sources said.

awala would pack the refrigerator's deep freezer with the piec es and put the remain ing ones in the bottom tray. After some time, he would take the fro zen pieces out to deep freeze those kept in the tray.

According to police, Poonawala is "sharpminded" and was more comfortable an swering them in Eng lish though he knew Hindi.

After allegedly kill ing her, Poonawala used to impersonate

FATHER FILED ‘MISSING’ COMPLAINT

Clueless until cops came, say neighbours

New Delhi (PTI):

Neighbours of the 28-year-old man, who allegedly chopped his live-in partner's body into pieces and kept them in a fridge at his house in Mehrauli here for almost three weeks, said they were clueless until the po lice arrested him.

They said there was barely any furniture in the couple's house and the new refrigera tor the accused pur chased to hide the body was kept in the drawing room.

The neighbours also said they had never seen the victim in the locality but had spotted the accused coming downstairs from his house on the first floor to collect food delivery orders.

Aaftab Poonawala and 29-year-old Shrad dha Walkar lived on the first floor of a building at Gully Number 1 in Chhatar pur Pahadi area.

Though the South Delhi neighbourhood has houses in close proximity, most peo ple said they did not hear any cry or see

unusual activity.

Kusumlata, who lives in the house in front of the building where Walkar was al legedly murdered, said, "Three to four days ago, I was com ing back from work when I saw police in the building and asked its owner what had happened. He said a woman had gone missing.

Aaftab, a food blogger, traveller & ‘murderer’

Around 15- 20 days after her death, she called her father and told him the same.

She had even met him in person later.

The FIR quoting the victim's father read, "When I asked her to leave Poonawala and return home, he apol ogised to her and she went back with him.

She did not listen to me and therefore I stopped talking to her." Ankit Chauhan, ADCP-I, South district said the father had called Poonawala one day

ago.

Walkar on the app and chat with her friends until June 9.

Even after allegedly killing Walkar, Poon awala continued to live in the same flat and ordered food through online apps, police said.

Anupama Gulati murder case redux?

Dehradun (PTI):

Twelve years Dehra dun lived its own night mare with the Anupa ma Gulati killing, in which her husband sawed her body into 72 pieces and froze them, before dumping them over several days.

The two horrific murders have several aspects in common.

Experts said they not only reveal the brutal ity of the killers but also the fact that the murders were premed

itated, and not commit ted in a fit of rage. For mer Dehradun SSP GS Martolia, during whose

tenure the Anupama case was uncovered, said people who com mit murders in such

manner cannot be con sidered “normal”.

“In my entire career, I had never come across

a case like this where the killer perpetrated such brutal atrocities on the dead body,” Mar tolia added.

Such murders do not happen out of the blue. Signals begin to mani fest in the form of quarrels and acts of domestic violence, he said.

The killers in both the cases did not just use a saw to chop the body but also used a fridge to hide the piec es and the foul smell.

Probe has also revealed that the couple had frequent fights.

According to police, before shifting to Delhi in 2022, the couple had come into a relationship in 2019. They stayed in Maharashtra for some time but used to visit various places as part of their travel plans.

According to the police, they went to hill sta tions in March-April. Both of them had trav elled to Himachal Pradesh for a few days in May and stayed together where they met a man who lived in Delhi’s Chhatarpur. As per reports, upon shifting to Delhi, they had initially stayed at the flat of the same man whom they met in Himachal. However, the stay did not change the situation between them.

‘She wanted to leave Aaftab but...’ friends reveal her side

There was a fight to such extent that she texted me asking to take her somewhere that night, fearing he would kill her.

—Laxman Nadir, Friend

Rajat Shukla,

happily, but then Shard dha started saying that Aaftab beat her. She wanted to leave him but couldn't."

Rajat said it had be come "very difficult" for her to come out of that relationship, add ing that "her life had become like hell".

“After shifting to Del hi, our contact with her

nearly broke," he said. Laxman Nadir, an other friend, said, "She had contacted me two months ago. She did not reply to any of my texts since August. Her phone was switched off. That is when it be came a point of con cern to me that I should start reaching out to the people.

Students from Gurukul Art School pay tribute to Shraddha Walker, in Mumbai on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Police probe into the Shraddha Walker murder case has revealed that accused Aaftab Poonawala was a food blogger who used to work at a call centre here. The po lice are now investigating if he had rented a flat in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area as part of a conspir acy to kill the victim.

and restless: Doctor

Palghar (ANI): Friends of Shraddha here said initially, the couple lived happily, but things deteriorated between them and she wanted to break the re lationship.

her friend, said, "Today suddenly the news flashed on the mobile. I was shaken to the core that my friend has been murdered. She had told us in 2019 that she was in a relationship since 2018. They lived togeth er. Initially, they lived

CBI officials arrive at Mehrauli Police Station for the probe in the case, in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

New Delhi: Ac cording to the FIR, the victim's father separated from her mother in 2016. The mother died a couple of years ago. It said Walkar used to earlier inform her mother that Poonawala had been beating her up.

and learnt that the couple had parted ways sometime

SIMILAR MODUS OPERANDI OF BOTH ACCUSED

The building wherein the two had rented a flat.

Police told us a woman had gone missing. We had never seen the wom an but saw the man coming downstairs often to collect food delivery orders

—Kusumlata, Neighbour

GIRI’S BLUNDER MAY FLOUNDER

TMC’S TRIBAL PROSPECTS

tution into Santhali lan guage’s Ol Chiki script.

The Trinamool govt is in a spot once again, thanks to Bengal Minister Akhil Giri who has come under severe criticism over his controversial remarks on President Droupadi Murmu recently

The Trinamool government is in a spot once again thanks to West Bengal min ister Akhil Giri who has come under severe criti cism over his controversial remarks on President Droupadi Murmu recently.

KEEPING DISTANCE

After a video of his com ments went viral, the Tri namool Congress (TMC) minister apologised on Friday and Sunday and on Monday, the party supre mo and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Baner jee, had said the party con demned and apologised for her minister’s comments on President Droupadi Murmu. Saying it is not in her party’s culture to make personal comments, she added the MLA has been cautioned over his comments and her party has also apologised.

“We respect the Presi dent a lot. She is a very sweet lady, I apologise for the comments,” Ms Baner jee said, adding that “Akhil (Giri) has done something wrong; I condemn the com ments and I apologise.

“Beauty is not about how you look, it is about how you are from the inside,” she added. Earlier, while the BJP demanded his ar rest and removal from his post besides a public apol ogy from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the TMC distanced itself from his comments. The TMC is having a tough time as the party, in order to steer clear of controversy, has had to distance itself from a lot of its stalwarts.

Calling the comments “irresponsible”, the party had distanced itself from Giri’s remarks. “This is an irresponsible comment & does NOT represent the views of @AITCofficial. We are extremely proud of the President of India &

Murmu. Saying it is not in her party’s culture to make personal comments, she added the MLA has been cautioned over his comments and her party has also apologised.

hold her & her office in the highest regard,” read the tweet by TMC spokesper son Saket Gokhale.

The BJP claimed when he made those comments, the women welfare depart ment minister of Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet Shashi Panka was also there.

While sharing the video on social media, the state BJP accused Mamata Ba nerjee and the Trinamool of being anti-tribal.

COURTING TROUBLE

Such a remark by one of its ministers regarding President Droupadi Mur mu threatens to derail the TMC’s ambitious plans to keep the substantial tribal population in West Bengal from drifting away to wards the Saffron might.

BJP, meanwhile, is do ing everything to keep the heat on TMC and have also

demanded his resignation.

THE TRIBAL CARD

Tribals account for about 7 to 8% of Bengal’s popula tion. In four parliamenta ry constituencies in Jun glemahal region, compris ing Jhargram, Bankura, Purulia and West Mid napore districts, and eight constituencies spread across North Bengal dis tricts, such as Cooch Be har, Darjeeling, Alipurdu ar, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda, the tribal pop ulation count may go up to almost 25%.

It may be recalled that in the 2019 Lok Sabha elec tions, the BJP had sur prised the TMC by win ning 18 seats… while the TMC registered wins in 22 seats. What is important is that the BJP had picked up considerably in the tribal-

Murmu for office, and now this. Shameful level of discourse.”

dominated areas and the party had bagged all the seats in Junglemahal and six constituencies in North Bengal.

SEESAW BATTLE

As they say, nothing and no one are permanent en emies. The TMC had fought and won a huge number in the 2021 Assem bly elections, especially in the Junglemahal districts, which led to the TMC’s massive mandate. Modi government’s ace decision while nominating Murmu as the President had made the TMC chief wary of the binary of regional politics.

After the former Jharkhand Governor’s name was announced, Mamata had created a flut ter by saying that if the BJP had consulted the Op position parties, Murmu could have been a “consen

What is the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia?

The latest G20 Summit is be ing held in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15 and 16. It is the culmina tion of a series of G20 events that have been go ing on for the past year.

But what are these G20 meetings really about?

What are the goals and benefits for member states, countries around the world, and for host nation Indonesia in particular?

Reports and statements conveyed by state officials that have attempted to ex plain this often use com plex and sometimes diplo matic language, making it difficult for the public to understand. This is unfor tunate as this year’s G20 meetings have attracted more international atten tion than previous years.

The results of this summit

will undoubtedly deter mine the cohesiveness, solidarity, and effective ness of the G20 forum and its member countries.

WHAT IS THE G20?

The G20 is a multilateral forum representing the world’s largest economies, involving 19 countries – Ar gentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Sau di Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, and the US – plus the European Union.

GLOBAL HEALTH

The main agenda for the health sector is strength ening “global health archi tecture”. The G20 member countries, usually repre sented by their respective ministers, hold a series of meetings to discuss how to

build a resilient global health system, align global health protocols, and es tablish centres for the manufacture and research of genomes and vaccines.

DIGITAL CHANGE

The next primary agenda item in G20 discussions is on digital transformation.

The topic is being discussed by countries and stakehold ers through the G20 Digital Working Group, which has carried out a series of ac tivities and meetings since March 2022.

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY

The third agenda item at this year’s G20 meetings is

on achieving a sustainable energy transition. This re fers to efforts to encourage global transition from nonrenewable energy use, such as petroleum and coal, to renewable energy, including solar, wind, and hydro.

Human activities, how ever, have disrupted this natural balance. These in clude the combustion of fossil fuels, pollution that destroys marine life, and forest encroachment. Ulti mately, these activities will continue to increase the Earth’s temperature, which has increased by 1.2°C since the pre-industrial era.

For this reason, coun tries worldwide – includ ing the G20 – are presently taking various measures to restore this balance. Ac cording to the Paris Agree ment, the deadline is 2050.

SOURCE: THE CONVERSATION

sus candidate” for the country’s top post.

WHAT DIDI HAD SAID

“Had we known that they (the NDA) were planning to field a tribal woman or a member of a minority community, we could have thought about it (consen sus). We have great respect for people from tribal com munities and for women,” Mamata said, adding that now that (Yashwant) Sin ha had already filed his nomination papers….

Not only stopping at that, the astute politician that Prime Minister is, apart from nominating Murmu as the President, the PM through his Mann Ki Baat reached out to the Santhal tribe by lauding the efforts of Prof Sripati Tudu from none other than West Bengal, who had translated the Consti

For TMC, matters could not be worse as the party’s supremo was set to visit Jhargram to celebrate tribal legendary figure Birsa Munda’s birth anni versary on Tuesday in a bid to reach out to the trib als and Giri’s gaffe has dampened this initiative. TMC had also declared the day as a general holiday.

BJP’s West Bengal state president, Sukanta Ma jumder, used the opportu nity to target the TMC and he also accused the party (TMC) of being “anti-trib al”. Amit Malviya, incharge of the BJP’s Na tional Information & Tech nology Dept, and co-incharge of West Bengal, tweeted: “Mamata Baner jee has always been antiTribals, didn’t support President Murmu for of fice, and now this. Shame ful level of discourse.”

The TMC had distanced itself from Giri’s remarks soon after the row broke out on Friday. Party said that what Giri said was “irre sponsible”, and did not rep resent party’s views. “We are extremely proud of the President & hold her & her office in the highest re gard,” tweeted TMC spokes person Saket Gokhale.

On Sunday, TMC Adi vasi leader and minister Jyotsna Mandi said: “I cannot support what Giri said regarding a woman President.” TMC leader Kunal Ghosh, who also condemned Giri’s re marks, added, “Where is the condemnation from BJP leaders when (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari keeps referring to the honorable CM as ‘Begum’? Where is the BJP’s ‘Nari Samman’ plank when its leaders use reprehensible remarks against women leaders?”

Already on the backfoot with job scam and with party stalwarts like Mon dol and Partha in custody and with panchayat elec tions in a few months’ time, now Giri’s words has put TMC in deep trouble.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

TOP TWEETS

I bow to Lord Birsa Munda ji on his birth anniversary and wish everyone a Happy Tribal Pride Day. Birsa Munda ji fought with the British for the protection of water, forest and land. His valor and his lifelong struggle for the upliftment of tribal society will continue to inspire us.

Anurag Thakur @ianuragthakur

PM @narendramodi ji said, “in India, in order to further sustainable food security, we are emphasising on natural farming and making millets, along with other traditional food grains, more popular.”

He also talked about India’s strides in renewable energy. #G20Summit

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment. Buddha

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

TMC MINISTER APOLOGISES ON FRIDAY AND SUNDAY; ON MONDAY WB CHIEF MINISTER MAMATA SAYS, “I AM SORRY” A fter a video of his comments went viral, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister apolo gised on Friday and Sunday and on Monday, the party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, had said the party condemned and apologised for her minister’s comments on President Droupadi

CM MAMATA BANERJEE HAS ALWAYS BEEN ANTI-TRIBALS, SAYS BJP’S AMIT MALVIYA

A mit Malviya, in-charge of the BJP’s National Information & Technology Dept, and co-in-charge of West Bengal, tweeted: “Mamata Banerjee has always been anti-Tribals, didn’t support President

Amit Shah @AmitShah

Hada Sangwan

ROBIN ROY The writer is Senior Journalist and former Managing Editor, First India

HC JUNKS UDDHAV’S PLEA AGAINST POLL SYMBOL’S FREEZING

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea moved by Former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission’s decision to freeze Election Symbol of Bow and Arrow. The Bench also directed ECI to decide the dispute as expeditiously as possible which is pending before it.

TO HEAR PLEA FOR LIFETIME BAN ON CONVICTED NETAS

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted for next week hearing in a plea seeking to debar convicted Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies from contesting elec tions for life. A top court Bench said that it will hear the matter next week as it was hearing other matters.

GUJ HC JUDGE RECUSES HIMSELF FROM BAIL PETITION OF SETALVAD

Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court judge Justice Samir Dave on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the regular bail petition of activist Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case of the alleged fabrication of evidence to frame innocent people concerning 2002 Gujarat riots. Setalvad is out on interim bail.

MLAS POACHING: HC SAYS NO TO BJP’S PLEA FOR CBI PROBE

Hyderabad: The Telan gana High Court on Tues day rejected BJP plea to hand over the TRS MLAs poaching case to the CBI but made the SIT prob ing the case independent. The court also ruled that a single judge will moni tor the probe into the case relating to arrest of 3 alleged agents of BJP for “luring” 4 TRS MLAs.

FOLLOW OUR ORDERS ON ADOPTION AND POLLING FOR IOA: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that its orders of October 10 and November 3 on the adoption of constitution and polling for executive committee of the Indian Olympic Association shall be scrupulously followed. A bench recorded assurance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on this matter.

“

BJP will break all records” Shah confident of forming govt again

Ahmedabad (ANI): Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday exud ed confidence in the BJP forming government in the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections and said that the party will “break all records and win with the most num ber of seats”.

The Union Home Minister is in Gujarat's Ahmedabad where he accompanied the San and constituency candi date in filing his nomi nation for the upcoming assembly elections. Speaking to the media here, Shah said, “BJP in this Assembly elections, will break all records and win with the most number of seats and will form the govern ment with a majority.”

Shah hailed the lead ership of Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bhupen dra Patel and said that they are giving pace to the developmental work in the state.

The Union Minister also mentioned the law and order situation and said that it has im proved in the state.

“The leadership of PM Modi and CM Patel is giving pace to develop ment work. Gujarat’s law and order situation has improved, state’s economy has grown. PM Modi's development model for Dalits, tribals and OBC community of Gujarat is being followed by CM Patel,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has fielded Kanu Patel to contest from the Sanand constituency in Ahmedabad for the polls slated to be held in two phases on Decem ber 1 and December 5.

On Monday, the BJP released its fourth list of candidates, where it announced 12 names in cluding two women can didates.

Earlier, the party re leased the names of 167 candidates for Gujarat polls.

The leadership of PM Modi and CM Patel is giving pace to development work. Gujarat’s law and order situa tion has improved, state’s economy has grown. PM Modi’s development model for Dalits, trib als and OBC community of Gujarat is being followed by CM Patel.

Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

The BJP has drawn up a list of star campaigners for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections. Topping the list is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The other prominent names on the list include BJP national president JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and fellow central cabinet colleagues Smriti Irani, Dharmen dra Pradhan, Mansukh Mandaviya and Purushottam Rupala.

Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, who is seeking a fresh mandate from the Ghatlodia Assembly segment, also features in the star campaigners list along with BJP state president CR Patil and state Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi.

Yatra has brought to fore ‘real’ Rahul: Ramesh

Washim (PTI): The Bharat Jodo Yatra has brought to the fore the “real” Rahul Gandhi and completely changed his image, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh asserted on Tuesday.

Responding to a ques tion at a presser in here where the yatra has reached on its 69th day, Ramesh said the crosscountry foot-march led by Gandhi has nothing to do with any state poll and if its impact has to be assessed, then it can only be done in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Ramesh said Gandhi is “not a dettol or fevi col brand” that he has to be rebranded and the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala has his own views on key issues.

ED turns down Soren’s request to advance summons

Ranchi (PTI): The ED has not agreed to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s request for re scheduling the sum mons issued to him for questioning on Novem ber 17 in a money laun dering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state, sources said on Tuesday. The JMM leader had asked the ED to advance the date of appearance to November 16, which has not been agreed to by the agency. Soren was initially sum moned by the federal probe agency on No vember 3, but he did not depose citing official engagements. He had then sought a threeweek deferment of the summons. The CM has been asked to appear at ED’s regional office.

“India undertaking efforts to fight climate change”

New Delhi (PTI): India is undertaking an ardu ous effort to fight cli mate change despite accounting for less than 4 per cent of the world’s cumulative emissions so far, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav said on Tuesday.

Delivering the na tional statement at the UN climate summit in Egypt, Yadav said India responded to the call for increased ambition in the 2030 climate targets and updated its Nation ally Determined Contri butions in August.

“India, home to 1.3 bil

lion people, is undertak ing this arduous effort despite the reality that our contribution to the world’s cumulative emis sions so far is less than 4 per cent and our annual per capita emissions are about one-third of the global average,” he said.

The minister said the country has embarked on far-reaching new ini tiatives in renewable energy, e-mobility, etha nol blended fuels, and green hydrogen as an alternate energy source.

It seeks to foster strong international co operation through ac

AMIT SHAH’S ‘TLC’ APPROACH FOR PARTY REBELS

Rattled by protests and angry statements by leaders denied tickets for Gujarat elections, the BJP is “taking a love and compassion” (TLC) approach suggested by Home Minister Amit Shah, and plans to hold one-on-one discussions with discontented leaders, sources said on Tuesday. It comes a day after many BJP workers protested at the party’s headquarters, Kamalam, in Gandhinagar over the tickets from some seats. The party has so far announced 160 of 182 candidates, and al ready dropped 38 MLAs. “A team of state leaders has been given the job to talk to the disgruntled ones,” said a source in the party. In power in Gu jarat for 27 consecutive years, the party has partly tried this approach in the past few days, deput ing state home minister Harsh Sanghavi.

TRIANGULAR CONTEST IN

KHAMBHALIYA SEAT

KHARGE, GANDHIS, KANHAIYA: CONG’S STAR CAMPAIGNERS FOR GUJ POLLS

tion and solutions-ori ented coalitions like International Solar Al liance and the Coalition of Disaster Resilience Infrastructure, both of which were launched

India would assume the presidency of the G20 in 2023 with the motto of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

“Our journey towards a planet safe for human ity is one that no nation can undertake alone. This is a collective jour ney to be undertaken with equity and climate justice as our guiding principles,” he said.

Ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections next month, the Congress on Tuesday released a list of 40 star campaign ers, which includes former party president Sonia Gandhi and her children Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Newly elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel are among the other prominent names on the list. Interestingly, it also includes former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot who had led an unsuccessful rebellion against Gehlot. Former CMs of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath, are also scheduled to campaign in Gujarat.

Everyone living in India is ‘Hindu’, says RSS chief Bhagwat

Shillong: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said all people living in India are Hin dus in terms of identi ty. Elaborating the RSS’ philosophy, he said that Hinduism is not a reli gion but a way of life.

At a gathering in Shillong, the RSS chief said all are Hindus as all Indians are the in habitants of Hindu stan, which, he said is in the south of the Him alayas, north of Indian Ocean, on the bank of the Indus river.

“The habitants of this area are tradition ally called Hindus. This is also called Bharat,” said Bhagwat.

The RSS chief said even before the Mughals

The stage is set for a triangular fight in the Khambhaliya seat of Devbhumi Dwarka district with senior Congress leader Vikram Madam, Aam Aadmi Party’s chief ministerial candidate Isudan Gad hvi and BJP candidate Mulubhai contesting the next month’s Assembly polls. Congress leader Madam has grabbed eyeballs not for his high winning chances, but for his political maturity, diplomacy, and the way he praised his elec toral opponent and AAP candidate Isudan Gadhvi in public meetings. His speech has gone viral on social media winning several hearts.

and nurtured by India, Yadav said.

“This is a testimony to our ethos of collec tive action for global good,” he said.

Yadav mentioned that

“We hope that the fight against climate change will unite the world as one family,” the Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change said.

“AMAZON FUNDING CONVERSIONS IN N-E”

New Delhi: RSS-linked weekly ‘Organiser’ has accused US e-commerce giant Amazon of financing a “Christian conversion module” in India’s north eastern states and being involved in suspected money laundering. The publication carried a cover story in its latest edition.

who have spread Islam and the British rulers who spread Christiani ty, Hindus were already in existence.

Kolkata (Agencies): West Bengal Chief Min ister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday questioned whether she will have to touch the feet of the Prime Minister Naren dra Modi to get the dues of the state government on account of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guaran tee Act (MGNREGA) scheme.

“To get the Central funds for the 100-day job scheme under MGNRE GA scheme is our right. I personally met the Prime Minister and spoke to him in the mat ter. Will I have to touch his feet now? The Union government will have to pay our dues at any cost. Else the positions of power have to be va cated,” the CM said at Jhargram on Tuesday.

D Bravo, K Williamson, N Pooran released ahead of IPL auction

New Delhi (PTI): IPL giants Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday end ed their hugely success ful 11-year association with legendary allrounder Dwayne Bravo while Sunrisers Hy derabad released star batter Kane Williamson ahead of the cash-rich league’s mini auction.

Tuesday

Amit Shah greets the BJP supporters as he arrive to inaugurate the party’s election, in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

PM MODI, BJP CHIEF NADDA, HM SHAH AMONG PARTY’S STAR CAMPAIGNERS

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav at at COP 27, in Egypt.

was the last date to announce the full list of players re tained and released by the teams ahead of the mini auction, sched uled to be held on De

cember 23 in Kochi.

The day started with Mumbai Indians’ long standing West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pol lard announcing his re tirement from the IPL, only to be drafted as the five-time champions’ batting coach.

Mumbai Indians have released 13 players. In other big movements, Punjab Kings have re leased their last edi tion’s captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi embraces the people during the party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, in Hingoli on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

KERALA CONG PREZ SUDHAKARAN’S

FAUX PAUS LEAVES SEVERAL FUMING

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Congress President K Sudha karan has come under attack from not just the CPI-M but even his party men after he purportedly made ‘pro-RSS’ comments. On Children’s Day on Monday, Sudhakaran said that PM Jawaharlal Nehru had struck a truce with “communal fascists” for democracy’s sake by agreeing to accommodate Jan Sangh founder and RSS leader Shyama Prasad Mukher jee in the Cabinet. A few days ago, he said Congress workers had protected the RSS offices during his heydays in Kannur, when it came under duress from the Left forces.

Didi: Will I have to touch PM’s feet for MGNREGA funds?

SC

BJP MLA seeks probe into ‘Love Jihad’ angle

MLA Ram Kadam on Tuesday said he will write a letter to Delhi Police to seek a probe into the possible "Love Jihad" angle behind the murder of Shraddha Walkar, a resident of Vasai near Mumbai.

"Love jihad" is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a con certed effort by Muslim men to convert Hindu women to Islam through marriage.

Mumbai MLA Kad am and his supporters gathered in Ghatkopar area here on Tuesday and raised slogans against Walkar's live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala, who is ac cused of killing her and has been arrested by Delhi Police. They had also brought an effigy of Poonawala to mark their protest.

Speaking to reporters here, Kadam said, "I will write a letter to the Delhi Police requesting them to conduct a probe

into the possibility of 'Love Jihad' behind the killing of Shraddha by Aaftab Poonawala. Are there any groups or gangs behind such an incident? Is an enemy state involved in it? It should be probed."

Walkar's murder should not be seen as a standalone case, he said, adding that simi lar incidents have taken place earlier.

POLICE TO SEEK AFTAB’S PROFILE

DETAILS FROM DATING APP

New Delhi (ANI): Delhi Police is likely to write to the dating app Bumble to seek details of accused Aftab’s profile to find out the details of women who visited him. Aftab had met Shraddha on this dating app. The Delhi Police wants to ascertain if any of the women Aftab dated on the app could be a possible reason behind Shraddha’s alleged murder. “Delhi Police may write to Bumble to get details of Aftab’s profile to find details of women who visited him in his house when Shraddha’s body was still in the refrigerator,” police sources said. Bumble’s headquarter is in Texas, USA.

BIRTH ANNIVERSARY OF BIRSA MUNDA

FATHER SUSPECTS ‘LOVE JIHAD’

Mumbai: Vikas Walker, father of Shraddha Walker, on Tuesday demanded death penalty for the ac cused while also suspect ing a "love jihad" angle behind the incident. "I suspected a love jihad an gle. We demand the death penalty for Aaftab. I trust Delhi Police and the probe moving in the right direc tion. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn't talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aftaab. I lodged the first complaint in Vasai," he said.

Anger, lack of communication behind violent crimes: Experts

Manish Sain

New Delhi: As the police probe a multi tude of factors that pushed Aaftab Poon awala to allegedly butcher his live-in partner into 35 piec es, experts say lack of communication and low anger thresh old are behind such violent crimes.

Forensic psycholo gist Deepti Puranik said, “We find it often these days that peo ple get stressed out easily, they are not able to tolerate frus tration. Instead of communicating and resolving the issue, they are resorting to fighting.”

Smita Pandey, asso ciate dean, School of

Behavioural Science at the National Foren sic Sciences Univer sity, said piling is sues, old grudges and an anti-social life style can lead to a sudden burst of an ger. “Lately, people are not able to forgive small issues that hap pen in daily life. They keep piling up,” Pan dey said. —PTI

Aaftab’s family moved to Mumbai 15 days ago

Mumbai (PTI): Aaftab Amin Poonawala had visited the housing so ciety in Vasai in Pal ghar district a fortnight ago to help his family members shift to Mum bai, a society member said on Tuesday.

“Aaftab Poonawala had visited Unique Park Housing Society in Vasai around 15 days

back to help his family members who shifted from the society to Mumbai,” the housing society member said.

The society member recalled that Aaftab spoke normally during his visit. “No one can even think that he had committed such a hei nous crime,” he said. He said the Poonawa

Prez Murmu, V-P Dhankhar, PM Modi pay tributes

New Delhi: PM Naren dra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of Jan jatiya Gaurav Di vas on November 15. He said, “ I consider this the fortune of my govt that it got the opportunity to declare 15th Nov (birth anniversary of Birsa Munda) as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. He was not only the hero of our political independence, but he was also the con ductor of our spiritual and cultural energy.” He further added, “ Today, the entire country is cel ebrating the birth anni versary of Bhagwan Birsa Munda with devo tion and respect.”

UP: Yogi takes part in Griha Pravesh

Lucknow (ANI): Stat ing that the poor and underprivileged re mained deprived of benefitting from ambi tious government schemes like PMAY before 2017 in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minis ter Yogi Adityanath said that previous gov ernments divided the society to salvage the lost political ground

and to increase their vote bank.

“Their neglect re veals their real con cern for the needy,” Adityanath said. He took part in the ‘Griha Pravesh’ ceremony for beneficiaries under CM Awas Scheme, and distribution of the first installment to about 34,500 beneficiaries on Tuesday.

Munda was carrier of our spiritual & cultural energy: PM on Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas

New Delhi (ANI): Ex tending greetings on the occasion of Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the na tion is moving with the energy of ‘Panch Praan’ to realize the dreams of Bhagwan Birsa Munda and crores of Janjatiya braveheart.

“Expressing pride in the tribal heritage of the country through Janjatiya Gaurav Di was and resolution for the development of the

Adivasi

Daughter’s complaint led to father’s body

Ghaziabad (PTI): The testimony of a 16-yearold on how her mother killed her father led to the police unravelling a murder case they had closed four years ago and discovering the body buried under a two-floor building.

Chandravir, alias Pa poo, of Sikrod village went missing on Sep tember 28, Circle Offic er-2 (City) Alok Dubey said. Papoo’s daughter

Annu, who was 12 at the time, recently lodged a complaint against her mother and stepfather,

alleging that they in tended to force her into marrying a man twice her age.

Annu narrated the whole story of how her father was killed and buried by her mother Savita and stepfather Arun, alias Anil Kumar, who was her brother-inlaw. The two later got married after murder ing Chandravir.

Police dug up a near ly six-foot pit at Arun’s house and exhumed a skeleton. A DNA test will now be conducted on the body, the CO said.

“Amit Shah’s firmness helped transition of power in Maha”

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s firmness helped in the smooth transition of power in the state ear lier this year as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) countered “be trayal by the Shiv Sena”. He also added that “Shah’s thoughts had the potential to change anyone’s life.”

Fadnavis was speak ing in Mumbai as the chief guest at the launch

of a booklet inspired by the thoughts of senior BJP leader Shah.

Addressing the gath ering, Fadnavis said, “Shah’s thoughts have the potential to change anyone’s life. Open any page of this booklet and you would certain ly get some knowledge, which would inspire you. Every sentence of the ‘Vichaar Pushp’ booklet guides us to ward a path in life.”

Hailing the Union minister for his dedica tion towards the party, the Maharashtra depu ty CM said, “We have

seen his work as BJP national president. Dur ing the Lok Sabha elec tions in 2014, we all saw how the party clocked the highest number of

He (Shah) be lieves in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Veer Savarkar. He not only possesses leadership abilities, but also tremen dous decision-making ability. Everyone has seen the change (change of re gime) in Maharashtra.

—Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra Deputy CM

stayed for several days in each state. Amit bhai has reached every sec tion of the society by holding 40-40 meetings in a day.”

las own a flat in the so ciety and lived there for 20 years before shifting. Nobody ever com plained against them.

“When we asked them the reason behind shifting, Aaftab’s father told us that his son got a job in Mumbai and his company will pay rent. They also spoke about inconvenience (about

shuttling between Mumbai and Vasai, which is in Palghar dis trict and part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region),” he said.

The housing society’s secretary Abdullah Khan, who lives in the same wing as the Poon awalas, said Aaftab and his family members al ways behaved nicely.

it is only the leadership of Modi ji

(Prime Minister Naren dra Modi) and the work of Amit bhai. They toured almost all over the country to strength en the party. They

Crediting the suc cessful induction of the BJP government in Ma harashtra to Shah, Fad navis added, “Amit Shah also stayed in Ma harashtra for two-anda-half months and han dled the election pro cess from the state BJP office. And as a result, the BJP government came into power with its own chief minister in Maharashtra.”

Assam: The Assam Police on Tuesday apprehended two men for allegedly transporting seven Ape-like endangered animals from Mizoram. The police team of Ramnathpur Police Station seized these endangered animals which were transported from Mizoram.

“Seven Ape-like endangered animals were seized by Hailakandi police team of Ramnathpur PS. Animals were transported from Mizoram,” Hailakandi police said. Earlier on Septem ber 16, Khawzawl Police at Tuisenphai Checkgate rescued three two-spider monkeys (female with a baby) and one Indri Lemur suspected to be smuggled from Myanmar.

New Delhi: Kerala Gover nor Arif Mohammad Khan responding to the LDF pro test outside the Raj Bhavan said, give me one instance where I tried to interfere in the business of the govt, I shall resign at that very moment. Khan said, Job to run universities is with the chancellor, to run govt is with elected govt. Give me one instance where I tried to interfere in the business of the government, I shall resign at that very moment. He added, “I’m not going to deal with these things. But I can tell you one thing, I think there’s enough evidence for you to come to the conclusion that I’m not the type of person who can be pressurised.”

WHATSAPP INDIA HEAD AND META INDIA’S DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC POLICY RESIGN

Nabarangpur district.

Raipur: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has said one’s caste is accorded by birth and one cannot change the caste into which one is born. However, while everybody has the right to choose his or her religion, his government is strict and unsparing when it comes to dealing with forcible religious conversions, he added. Strict action will be taken if any compaint of forcible religious conversion is brought to the government’s notice, the CM added. The SC on Monday observed that everyone has the right to choose their religion but there should be no forced conversion.

ODISHA EOW ARRESTS THREE CYBER CRIMINALS

OUR GOVT WILL DEAL WITH RELIGIOUS CONVERSION: BAGHEL

Bhubaneswar: Three cyber criminals, including two from Rajasthan, were arrested for allegedly cheating several people of Odisha. Mahmud Khan and Munfed Khan were arrested from Rajasthan and Anil Khiller from Odi sha’s Mayurbhanj district, an official of the economic offences wing (EOW) of Odisha said. The accused along with few others have opened about 2000 mule accounts with Indian Post Payment Bank (IPPB) in the name of different innocent/rustic persons of Odisha, West Bengal, Bi har, and Assam. They have cheated several people of Odisha’s

New Delhi: WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose and director of Public Policy at Meta India Rajiv Aggarwal resigned from their positions on Tuesday. Shivnath Thukral, director of WhatsApp Public Policy in India, has now been made the director of Public Policy for all Meta brands in the country. The development came after Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on November 9 that it will fire over 11,000 employees. The layoff will reduce Meta’s staff strength by 13%. The company has also extended a freeze on new hiring till first quarter (Jan-March) of next fiscal.

President Droupadi Murmu meets with the family members of Birsa Munda in Jharkhand on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

community is part of that energy”, PM said. PM Modi paid tributes to Bhagwan

Birsa Munda and said that 15th November is a day to celebrate Adivasi tradition.

VP Dhankhar at Birsa Munda birth anniversary celebration in Delhi.

Birsa Munda was a young freedom fighter and a tribal leader, whose spirit of activism in the late nineteenth century, is remembered to be a strong mark of protest against British rule in India. Born and raised in the tribal belt around Bihar and Jharkhand, Birsa Munda’s achieve ments are known to be even more remarkable by virtue of the fact that he came to acquire them before he was 25.

WHO WAS BIRSA MUNDA?

seats in Uttar Pradesh with him as the national general secretary. If anyone can take credit for this,

(L to R) BJP leader Madhavi Maik, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, BJP Mumbai Vice Prez Acharya Pawan Tripathi, Maha Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Maha BJP prez Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Maha cabinet ministers Mangal Prabhat Lodha & Atul Save at launch of ‘Vichaar Pushp’ booklet in Mumbai on Tuesday.

The accused, Savita and Arun, in police custody.

Mumbai (PTI):

Bharatiya Janata Party

Supporters of BJP leader Ram Kadam raise slogans during a protest over the killing of Shraddha Walkar in Delhi, in Mumbai on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Governor Shaktikanta Das will hold a meeting with CEOs of public sector banks on Wednesday to discuss issues concerning slow deposit growth and sustainability of high credit demand. As per the RBI data, deposits rose by 9.6% as compared to 10.2% on a Y-o-Y basis, while credit offtake wit nessed a jump of 17.9% as against 6.5% a year ago. According to an agenda circulated for the meeting, sustainability, in cluding pricing and slow growth of deposits, would be discussed.

HIKES MCLR BY UP TO 15 BPS ACROSS TENORS

SENSEX UP TO NEVER-BEFORE HIGH

Mumbai (PTI): Market benchmark Sensex climbed 248 points to close at its all-time high of 61,872 on Tuesday, propped up by robust fag-end buying in banking and energy stocks amid a positive trend in global equities.

A strengthening rupee, encouraging domestic in flation data and unabated foreign capital inflows fur ther bolstered sentiment, traders said.

After a see-saw session, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 248.84 points or 0.40% to settle at 61,872.99 -- sur passing its previous clos ing peak of 61,795.04 on November 11.

During the day, the index witnessed a high of 61,955.96 — its 52-week in

traday high — and a low of 61,436.90.

The broader National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nif ty advanced 74.25 points or 0.41% to finish at 18,403.40.

“Following gains in glob al equities, early losses in

IN EVs PRODUCTION

the domestic market were reversed, with banking stocks steering the recov ery. Food and commodity price declines have helped to keep domestic inflation below 7%.

PowerGrid topped the

` GAINS 17 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.11/$

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee appreciated by 17 paise to close at 81.11 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, on positive domestic macroeconomic data and weak American currency. Forex traders said a firm trend in domestic equities, sustained foreign fund inflows and easing crude oil prices also supported the local unit. At the in terbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.18 and touched an intra-day high of 81.04 and a low of 81.45 against the green back. The local unit finally settled at 81.11, registering a rise of 17 paise over its previous close. On Monday, the rupee depreciated by 50 paise to close at 81.28 against the US currency.Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, slipped 0.38 per cent to 106.25.

Sensex gainers’ chart, ris ing 2.20%, followed by ICI CI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Ul traTech Cement, SBI, Dr Reddy’s, Titan, M&M and HDFC Twins.

In contrast, Bajaj Fin serv, ITC, Reliance, Sun

‘India has potential to become world leader’

Pharma and Nestle India were among the laggards, shedding up to 0.76 per cent. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge climbed 0.08% and smallcap index ended marginally higher by 0.01%.

OTHER STORIES

GOLD GAINS `294; SILVER CLIMBS `366

New Delhi (PTI): Gold rallied by `294 to `53,275 per 10 gram in the national capital on Tuesday amid rise in prices of the metal in interna tional market, according to HDFC Securi ties. Silver also climbed ` 366 to ` 63,148 per kilogram. In international market, gold was trading in the green at $1,780 per ounce while silver was up at $22.14 per ounce.

Among sectoral indices, oil & gas climbed 0.99%, tel ecommunication jumped 0.79%, auto (0.75%), bankex (0.70%) and utilities (0.53%).

FMCG, industrials, capi tal goods, metal and realty were among the laggards.

US ORDERS AIR INDIA TO PAY $121.5 MN AS PASSENGER REFUNDS & $1.4 MN AS FINES

New Delhi: SBI has raised the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) by 15 basis points across tenors, making most consumer loans costlier for borrowers. The revised rates come into ef fect from November 15, 2022. The benchmark one-year MCLR, which is used as base for fixing most of home, auto and personal loans, has been raised by 10 basis points (bps) to 8.05%, as against 7.95% earlier. Likewise, the two-year and threeyear MCLRs have been raised by 10 basis points each. —PTI

HDFC TO RAISE UP TO `5,500 CRORE VIA BONDS

New Delhi (PTI): HDFC will raise up to `5,500 crore by issuing bonds on private placement basis to shore up its resources. The secured redeemable non-convertible deben tures issue will have a base size of `4,000 crore with an option to retain oversubscription of up to `1,500 crore. “The object of the issue is to augment the long-term resources of the Corporation,” Housing Development Fi nance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd said in a regu latory filing. —PTI

ONGC Q2 PROFIT

TUMBLES 30 PER CENT TO `12,826

New Delhi (PTI): India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC reported a 30% fall in September quarter net profit after the govern ment brought a new tax on windfall profits arising from a spurt in interna tional energy prices. Net profit of `12,825.99 crore, or `10.20 a share, in July-Sept 2022-23 is compared with `18,347.73 crore, or `14.58 per share net profit in the same period a year ago, ONGC said in a statement. —PTI

Washington (PTI): India has the potential to become the world leader in electric vehicles production, a re search by Berkeley Nation al Laboratory and UCLA said, underlining that mak ing the transition from diesel-fuelled trucks to electric-charged will ena ble the country to meet the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070.

India imports 88% of the oil it uses and of the total petroleum consumed by the country’s transport sec tor, nearly 60% used by freight trucks.

A study by the Depart ment of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Labora tory (Berkeley Lab) and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Monday revealed that elec

Exports decline by 17 pc to $29.78 billion in October

New Delhi (FIB): India’s exports entered negative territory after a gap of about two years, declining sharply by 16.65% to $29.78 billion in October, mainly due to global demand slow down, even as trade deficit widened to $26.91 billion, according to data by com merce ministry.

Key export sectors, in cluding gems and jewellery, engineering, petroleum products, ready-made gar ments of all textiles, chem icals, pharma, marine products, and leather, re corded negative growth during October.

Imports during the month under review rose by about 6% to $56.69 bil lion on account of increase in the inbound shipments of crude oil and certain raw materials such as cot ton, fertiliser and machin ery. During April-October

2022, exports recorded a growth of 12.55% to $263.35 billion. Imports rose 33.12% to $436.81 billion.

The merchandise trade deficit for April-October 2022 was estimated at $173.46 billion as against $94.16 billion in April-Octo ber 2021, as per the data.

Trade deficit in October 2021 was $17.91 billion. Last time it was in November 2020, when exports con tracted by 8.74%.

‘Direct tax collection to exceed budget target’

New Delhi (PTI): The di rect tax collection in the current fiscal is likely to exceed the budget target of ` 14.20 lakh crore by about 30%, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Nitin Gupta also said that the Budget for next fiscal could bring about some tweaks in the TDS provi sion for online gaming to check tax evasion.

“Currently there is a pro vision for deduction of TDS on online gaming. There is existing provi

sion, if it needs to be modi fied or retained in the same way that needs to be seen,” he said. Currently, a 10% TDS is levied on income from online gaming.

Gupta further said that given the current buoyan cy in collections, the Budg et target for the next fiscal is also likely to be higher.

ACC TO DATA IN OCTOBER 2022

z Key export sectors, including gems and jewellery, engineering, petroleum products, ready-made garments of all textiles, chemicals, pharma, marine products, and leather, recorded negative growth

z Imports during the month under review rose by about 6% to $56.69 billion

tric trucks would be more affordable to operate than diesel and India could be come a world leader in pro ducing electric vehicles.

The transition will also help India reduce its reli ance on imported oil, im prove the air quality, and meet the goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2070, the study said on Tuesday.

Washington: The US has ordered Tata-group owned Air India to pay a whopping $121.5 million as refunds and $1.4 million as penalties for extreme delays in providing refunds to passengers due to the cancellation or change in flights, mostly during the pandemic, officials said. Air India is among the six airlines that have agreed to cough up a total of over $600 million as refunds, the US Department of Transportation said on Monday. Air India’s policy of “refund on request” is contrary to the Department of Transportation policy, which mandates air carriers to legally refund tickets in the case of cancellation or change in flight, officials said.

CCI TO TAKE UP GST COMPLAINTS FROM DECEMBER 1

New Delhi (PTI): The pro posed data protection bill will put an end to misuse of customer data, and viola tors will face punitive ac tion under the rule, Minis ter of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chan drasekhar said on Tuesday.

The minister shared his reaction in response to Google’s settlement of an investigation in the US which outlines that the in ternet giant misled users and continued tracking their location even after they opted out of the loca tion tracking system. “This type of “misuse” of custmr data violates #Privacy n #DataProtection expecta tions India’s #DigitalData Protection bill will put a stop to this - & ensure that any Platform/Intermedi ary that does this will face punitive & financial conse quences, “ Min tweeted.

New Delhi: All GST anti-prof iteering complaints would be dealt with by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from Decem ber 1 as the extended ten ure of National Anti-profiteer ing Authority ends this month, an official said on Tuesday.

A notification in this regard is expected to be issued by the finance ministry later this month, the official added.

The National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) was set up in November 2017 under Section 171A of Goods and Services Tax (GST) law to check unfair profiteering activities by regis tered suppliers.

MOODY’S ACCORDS

NEGATIVE OUTLOOK TO CREDIT WORTHINESS

New Delhi: Moody’s on Tuesday gave a ‘negative outlook’ to credit worthiness of countries globally for 2023, saying high prices of food and energy would curb eco nomic growth and raise social tensions. Tighter financial conditions and economic scarring will push some debt burdens to unsustainable levels, while rising borrowing costs will erode debt afford ability, according to Moody’s. It forecast that as many as 13 nations, including India, would spend over 20% of their government revenue in servicing debt next year.

GOVT ISSUES DRAFT NOTIFICATION TO STREAMLINE, STRENGTHEN TOURIST PERMIT REGIME

New Delhi: With an aim to further streamline and strengthen the tourist permit regime, the ministry of road transport and high ways (MoRTH) has issued a draft notification to supersede the All India Tourist Vehicle (Authorisation or Permit) Rules, 2021. According to an official statement, the rules notified in 2021 provided a significant boost to the tourism sector in India by streamlining and simplifying the permit regime for tourist vehicles. “MoRTH has issued a draft notification on 11 November 2022 to supersede the All India Tourist Vehicle (Authorisation or Permit) Rules, 2021.

THIS AND NEXT FISCALS HIGHLIGHTING POINTS

Crisil foresees bank credit growing 15%

Mumbai (PTI): Riding on a broad-based economic re covery and stronger, clean er balance sheets, lenders are expected to see their credit growing at 15% this fiscal and the next, a report said on Tuesday.

Credit growth so far this fiscal has printed in at around 18%, which is a dec adal high.

Already, large lenders have seen corporates flock ing to banks for funds for capital expenditure and also for working capital as the demand side of the economy is faring better.

SBI has the best corpo

rate loan sales in Q2 re cording a 20% growth and so did most other lenders including private sector banks. Bank credit is seen growing 15% per annum in

fiscals 2023 and 2024, Crisil said in a report.

The agency said that its forecast is based on an ex pected 7% GDP growth this fiscal, as well as the expect

z Credit growth so far this fiscal has printed in at around 18%, which is a decadal high

z State Bank of India (SBI) has the best corporate loan sales in Q2 recording a 20 per cent growth

ed continuation of the credit push from govern ment’s infrastructure spends, higher working capital demand in a highinflation environment.

SBI

New Delhi: Reserve Bank

‘Data protection bill will end misuse of customer data, penalise violators’

29th witness in Malegaon Blast case turns hostile

Mumbai (ANI): An other witness in the case of the 2008 Male gaon Blast turned hos tile on Tuesday.

This is the 29th wit ness who has turned hostile so far. This per son had given state ments to the Anti-Ter rorist Squad (ATS) in 2008 about accused Lt Col Prasad Purohit and Sudhakar Chaturvedi.

Previously, the 28th witness turned hostile on November 5 after he told the special Nation al Investigation Agency (NIA) court that he does not remember the state ment he had given to the earlier investigative agency- Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).

This witness had re portedly given a state ment against the sitting Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur and another accused, identified as Dayanand Pandey, of this case dur ing the initial investiga tion done by Maharash tra ATS.

However, on Novem ber 5, he came before

the special NIA court and was confronted with the facts of his statement. He said that he doesn’t remember what he had said in his statement to Maharash tra ATS earlier. He told the special NIA court that he is 75 years old and that is why it is dif ficult for him to remem

COURTESY VISIT

ber what he had said in his statement.

Earlier in September and August, two other witnesses of the case had turned hostile dur ing the special NIA court hearing. One of them, who worked at a hotel in Indore, refused to partially say in court what he had stated ear

lier to the investigating agency.

On September 29, 2008, six people were killed and over 100 oth ers were injured after an explosive device placed on a motorcycle exploded in Maharash tra’s Malegaon city in Nashik town. All the seven accused in the case are currently out on bail.

On October 23, 2008, the Maharashtra ATS made its first arrest in connection to the case by apprehending BJP

KEY WITNESSES

Eco-friendly IAF inducts fleet of Nexon EVs

New Delhi (ANI): In dian Air Force has in ducted a fleet of 12 Tata Nexon electric vehicles to achieve a reduction in carbon footprint and in keeping with the gov ernment’s initiative on the introduction of green mobility.

Air Chief Marshal

VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Air Staff, flagged off the first batch of 12 elec tric vehicles in the pres ence of other senior of ficers and staff at Air

Force Headquarters, Vayu Bhawan, on Tues day. The IAF is planning to enhance the usage of

electric vehicles in a progressive manner by procuring e-vehicles against downgraded

conventional vehicles.

Augmentation of the e-vehicles ecosystem, including installation of charging infrastruc ture at various Air Force bases, is also planned. The first batch of electric cars intro duced on Tuesday will be deployed in DelhiNational Capital Re gion (NCR) units for performance monitor ing and analysis, ac cording to a statement from IAF.

MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur.

Later, other accused including Sameer Kulkarni, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, Sud hakar Chaturvedi, Ajay Rahilkar, and Sudhakar Chaturvedi were also caught.

On January 20, 2009, the ATS filed a charge sheet in the case after completing its investi gation. In April 2011, the central government transferred the investi gation into the case to the NIA.

Vice President, LS Speaker pay tributes to Birsa Munda

New Delhi (ANI): Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Tuesday paid floral tributes at the statue of tribal leader Bhagwan Birsa Munda on his birth anniversa ry, Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, in Parliament House Complex.

Several Union Minis ters, Members of Par liament, and former MPs also paid tributes

to Bhagwan Birsa Mun da on the occasion. On this occasion, Birla re called that Bhagwan Birsa Munda played an important role in bringing awareness against British rule.

Birla said that the ideas of Bhagwan Birsa Munda will always be a source of inspiration for the nation.

Minister of Parlia mentary Affairs, Coal and Mines Pralhad Joshi, and Social Jus

tice and Empowerment Minister Dr Virendra Kumar along with sev eral MPs of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were also present on the occasion.

Birsa Munda, who be longed to the Munda tribe, was born on No vember 15 in 1875.

His birth anniversa ry is celebrated as Birsa Munda Jayanti in the country and coincides with the Jharkhand Foundation Day.

India, US start military drills in Uttarakhand

New Delhi (PTI): The armies of India and the US on Tuesday began an over two-week mega military exercise at a military facility in Utta rakhand with an aim to exchange best practices and tactics in sync with growing defence ties be tween the two countries.

The ‘Yudh Abhyas’ exercise began amid the 30-month border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh. The exercise is conducted annually be tween India and the US. The previous edition of the exercise was con ducted at Joint Base El mendorf Richardson, Alaska (the US) in Octo ber last year.

Officials said the 18th edition of the exercise began on Tuesday and will end in the first week of December.

US Army soldiers of the second brigade of the 11th Airborne divi sion and Indian Army soldiers from the As sam Regiment will be participating in the ex ercise. The Army said the scope of the field training exercise in cludes validation of in

LEGAL TANGLES

tegrated battle groups, force multipliers, estab lishment and function ing of surveillance grids, validation of op erational logistics, and mountain warfare skills.

The exercise will in volve exchanges and practices on a wide spectrum of combat skills including combat engineering, employ ment of Unmanned Air craft Systems (UAS and counter-UAS tech niques, and informa tion operations.

‘SEA VIGIL’ EXERCISE ALONG 7,516 KM OF COASTLINE

The Pan India Coastal Defence Exercise ‘Sea Vigil - 22’ commenced, on Tuesday. —PHOTO

BY ANI

New Delhi (PTI): India started on Tuesday a twoday multi-agency military exercise covering the country’s 7,516 km-long coastline and exclusive economic zone with the twin aim of checking the preparedness of various agencies to deal with any eventualities and bolster overall mari time security, officials said. The scale and conceptual expanse of the ‘Sea Vigil’ exercise are “unprecedented” in terms of the geographi cal extent, the num ber of stakeholders involved, the number of units participating and the objectives to be met, they said. It will be the third edition of the exercise that was conceptualised in 2018 to validate various measures instituted following the Mumbai terror attack in 2008. The exercise is a build-up towards the Theatre Level Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX), which the Indian Navy conducts every two years.

Supreme Court waives solvency certificate requirement for Gautam Navlakha

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the hurdle for the release of activist Gautam Nav lakha from Navi Mum bai’s Taloja prison, where he is lodged in the Elgar ParishadMaoist link case, by waiving the require ment of a solvency cer tificate for availing the benefit of house arrest.

The top court had on November 10 allowed Navlakha to be placed under house arrest ow ing to his deteriorating health. It had said that to avail the facility of house arrest, Navlakha will provide local sure ty of Rs 2 lakh by No vember 14.

The activist’s legal team told the NIA court they will produce sure

ty, as stipulated by the SC, on Wednesday be fore the special judge for completing the pro cess for his release from Taloja jail.

A bench of Justices K M Joseph and Hrishi kesh Roy was on Tues day informed by senior advocate Nitya Ram akrishnan and advocate Shadan Farasat, ap pearing for Navlakha, it

will take a minimum of six weeks to secure a solvency certificate in respect of surety to be provided as a precondi tion for house arrest of the activist.

“Considering the submission and the cir cumstances, we deem it appropriate to waive the requirement of a solvency certificate for the petitioner (Nav

lakha) to avail the ben efit of our order dated November 10, 2022. It is ordered accordingly,” the bench said.

It said since other ad equate security proofs such as a passport, Aad haar card, and Perma nent Account Number (PAN) card have been provided, the trial court should not insist on a ration card.

—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,

Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, now a Lok Sabha MP, was the first person arrested in the case. —FILE PHOTO

On ‘Janjatiya Gaurav Divas’, Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar plays a musical instrument, as Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla looks on, after paying tributes to tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary at Parliament House on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Officials said the 18th edition of the exercise began on Tuesday and will end in the first week of December.

Army soldiers from the Assam Regiment will be participating in the exercise

‘YUDH ABHYAS’ The ‘Yudh Abhyas’ exer cise is conducted annually between India and the US. It was conducted at Alaska last year.

Gautam Navlakha in police custody.

—FILE PHOTO

Mumbai: Gautam Nav lakha was on Tuesday brought to a special NIA court in Mumbai hearing the matter pertaining to his release formalities from jail for house arrest. The other accused were also brought to the court from jail as the case was listed on Tuesday.

NAVLAKHA BROUGHT TO MUMBAI COURT

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari during the flagging off of the first batch of Electric Vehicles at the Air Force Headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra greeted LS Speaker Om Birla during a courtesy visit at the latter’s residence in New Delhi on Tuesday evening.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra greeted BJP National General Secretary and BJP State in-charge Rajasthan & Karnataka Arun Singh, during a courtesy visit at the latter’s residence in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Earlier in September and August, two other witnesses of the case had turned hostile during the special NIA court hearing.

www.firstindia.co.in

YOUR FASHION GAME

Every living thing has lace in it, including the barren branches of winter, cloud formations and the water’s surface as it moves with the wind. If you look closely enough, even the matted fur of a wild dog will display a lacy pattern. So, let’s dive into the world of ethereal lace fashion with City First!

An elaborately laced dress is not only lovely but also en hanced by the so cial standing of the privileged who may wear it and the general public who de sire it. Even just the term “lace” conjures up a

silk, or metallic threads.

Lace has been worn as a status symbol since the 15th century when whitebordered cuffs and collars indicated your social stand

result of the expansion of the lace industry and the flappers’ demand for a more contemporary inter pretation of lace, which featured garments with straight lines, a loose fit, and mixed lace designs. It’s still a fabric that, over a century later, isn’t sure if it’s an angel or a demon; a pricey material we put on the highest pedestal or a sassy fibre used to produce budget négligées.

Although it was mostly a 20th-century fixation that has lost its relevance now, purity is a secondary con notation of white lace. White lace has earned a reputation for also repre senting fresh starts and rebirth.

ing. It is a common trim today, especially for linge rie and bridal attire.

Lace evolved into one of the most sophisticated ma terials on the planet as a

If a pattern is recognised as being from a specific area, it might honour a lin eage or a family’s heritage. You can still buy heirloom lace. Additionally, there are those who can knit heirloom lace, continuing the tradition of handcraft ed lace.

MRIDULA SHARMA

REKHA KUMAR rekhakumar@protonmail.com

Acouple were very much in love when they got married.

However, only six months later, they decided to get a di vorce. Why?

“My husband did what ever his family asked him to do, but he never consult ed me. I asked him, who is more important to you, your mother or me?” said the wife.

The husband related. “I discovered that my wife and I were less compatible than I thought. When we watched T.V., I liked sports, but she liked dramas. I liked going out, but she liked staying at home. I be came frustrated and asked a senior colleague for ad vice on how to deal with my wife. He said, ‘just tell her to shut up and if she com plains, knock her down.’ One time, when I slapped her, there was a big fight and she left.”

To keep the marriage bond strong, good commu nication is vital. When discussing matters that

affect one’s partner, it is best to first tell how one would like to handle the situation by presenting one’s thoughts as sugges tions and not as final deci sions or ultimatums. Sec ondly, asking one’s partner to express his/her opinion, and also, accepting his / her right to hold a different viewpoint is important.

At times, a husband can internally feel unmanly to consult his wife. He can have this thinking because of his background and up bringing.

Also, a wife may be used to asking her family for ad vice which she may con tinue doing so even after being married for many years.

“My father hardly ever consulted my mother about family issues or decisions. So I ruled my wife as a mon arch,” expressed one hus band.

“I demanded that my husband should be neat and tidy, just as my own fa ther was. But my bossy ap proach only seemed to make him more stubborn,” related a wife. Contentious issues can be discussed calmly. Instead of attacking the character of one’s part ner, one must attack the problem. It is easy for a hus band/wife to accept sugges tions when they speak tact fully rather than frequently highlighting the mistakes made. Keeping a list of

MARITAL BLUES CONSULTING TOGETHER

‘changes I need to make,’ instead of constantly tell ing the other partner where she/he needs to improve will prevent inner frustration to de velop. A husband some times can treat his wife like a child, demanding her obe

YOUR DAY

ARIES

dience at all costs. He does not consider her feelings or opinions thus leading to conflict since no one can be obedient flawlessly all the time.

Two clashing voices are bad enough. Why add a third voice to the clamour?

MAR 21 - APR 20

Some clarification will need to be sought on a financial issue, before you take the next step. A project left halfway by someone else may come on your shoulders, but your efforts will be acknowledged. Some of you are all set to enjoy a splendid vacation.

LEO

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23

Continue doing whatever you are doing to remain healthy. Some of you will have to curb your splurging ways. Family life will cruise along smoothly with much love and bonhomie. Don’t speed up on the road. Chance of moving to a new location on transfer is likely for some.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

Money coming from various streams will keep you in an elated state of mind. A new fitness regime that you have adopted promises to keep you in the pink of health. Getting an old furniture upholstered may be at the top of the mind of some homemakers. Your search for perfect partner may soon be over.

It is the responsibility of marriage partners to work out their difficulties by con sulting together privately, rather than letting their friends or family members enter into the fray.

A happy home is one where ‘two equals one.’ Our

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20

You will derive great benefit from an exercise routine that you keenly follow. Extra workload is foreseen at work. Taking

culture generally works against openness. We are taught to mind our own business – to be secretive about money, ideas, and feelings – anything person al. This conditioning sim ply does not go away, when one ‘falls in love,’ or gets married. Unless a continu ous effort for openness and consultation takes place, intimacy cannot flourish.

Times of relaxation can become stressful when there is no open talk. Is it always what the husband wants to do, that is being done by the family? Or do they mutually consult each other?

Also, the partners can consult together to share time with each other’s rela tives. A wife/husband can make things miserable when either one’s relatives come for a visit when there is no open talk on the matter.

Often a husband leaves all the disciplining of the children to his wife; when they do well, they are his

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

Your stars favour a bright beautiful day . A setback you have recently experienced can make you come out stronger. Tax advisor will be a big help in saving taxes, so don’t hesitate to contact one.It is difficult for the relationship of friends turned lovers to fall apart, so relax.

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22

Money put together on previous occasions is likely to come in handy now. A family youngster is keen to learn from you, so don’t disappoint. Settling down in a new house is indicated for some.You may have to awaken partner’s interest in you once again.

CAPRICORN

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19

A vacation you only dreamed about is likely to become a reality soon. Healthy eating will help prevent digestive ailments. Money will be no constraint in buying what you like. Driving down with lover to a happening place is indicated today.

children. And when they do not do so well, they are her children. But if there is a united effort in the rearing of the children, how much more it can add to their sat isfaction?

Keeping finances trans parent and having a regu lar brief conversation ei ther on the first day of each month or each week can increase mutual trust.

Learning to maintain a balanced relationship is like learning to swim. One can expect some tumbles as one gains confidence as a swimmer. Similarly, one can expect to make embar rassing blunders as one gains experience in mar riage. An efficient contrac tor will never start con struction without first con sulting an architectural drawing. A husband and wife can iron out their problems by getting to know each other better and by consulting together re sulting in unity in the mar riage bond.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

Previous investments are likely to give you good returns. Some of you may decide to follow in the footsteps of celebrities and visit the very same exotic destination that they had been to.No amount of excuses will dispel lover’s suspicions about your tendency to stray the path.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

PISCES

FEB20 - MARCH 20

Your financial situation is set to improve, as earning opportunities come to you. Help from co-workers in a time consuming task will be forthcoming on the work front. Support of family will encourage you to take up a challenge. Socially, your presence will be much looked forward to.

Something you have implemented at work is likely to profit the company. You are likely to celebrate the achievement of a family youngster in a grand way. Shifting into your very own house may soon become a reality. An exotic island destination beckons, for which you may already be making plans!

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

One year has passed since Raj kummar and Patralekhaa's wedding. Before being mar ried last year on November 15 in Chandigarh, the couple dated for more than ten years. The Hum Do Hamare Do actor celebrated the an niversary on his social media ac counts with a compilation of their previously unpublished photos

MAJOR HUSBAND GOALS!

The adorable pair was unable to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary since Deepika Padukone had other engagements. Ranveer Singh, however, once again redefined what a great husband should be by dropping by his wife's workplace unexpectedly and surprising her with flowers and chocolates. On his official Instagram account, he later posted a photo of Deepika working in her office with her staff. Ranveer Singh captioned his Instagram story, "When she has to work on your anniversary so you surprise her at her office.."

Additionally, he provided some special advice for males in his Instagram sto ry, in which he wrote: "Ps: Never underestimate the power of flowers & chocolates. Dia monds not needed bua haha, Take notes and thank me later gentlemen."

urrently enjoying Yashoda's popular ity, Samantha Ruth Prabhu has truly left the audience impressed with her performance. As the actress brought her action avatar in the film, it is indeed a result of the tough training that she went in to bring out the best of herself.

Samantha shared a BTS of her ac tion scenes from her blockbuster movie Yashoda on social media as she began her demanding training for the movie Today. She can be seen working quite hard to prepare in the BTS video, and she was pretty badass throughout the action scenes. Yashoda, which was produced and di rected by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under the Sridevi Movies label, debuted on November 11, 2022. The acfeels ‘humbled’ after getting posi tive response from the Hindi audience

ollywood actress Anushka Sharma has been named by Michael Kors as the newest brand ambassador for Michael Kors' timepiec es in India. "I have long ad mired the standout nature and unique designs of Mi chael Kors watches, I am happy to be working with them as an ambassador. I believe the Michael Kors brand mirrors many of my

principles, and its in novative creations are an authentic expres sion of individuality.

The Michael Kors brand has a historic lineage, and I am hon oured to represent its global heritage in India," Anushka said when asked about the collaboration. The actress shared news of the collaboration on her so cial media account.

Alia Bhatt and Ran bir Kapoor are the new parents in BTown as they re

her fans about the arrival

As Alia gave birth to a baby girl, now, a throw back video of the ac tress from her childhood is

doing rounds on the inter net. In the video, baby Alia looks cute as a button in a pink dress as she can be seen sitting on her filmmaker father Mahesh Bhatt's tummy. The Sadak filmmaker is seen talking on the phone, he also sings, “happy birthday” for “dar ling Alia," while baby Alia plays on his belly and ador ably calls out to her mother Soni Razdan, who appears to be shooting the video. Alia originally shared this precious video on her 25th birthday and wrote: "Dad dy's little girl. Whether you're 1 or 25!"

ania Mirza, a well-known tennis player from India, turned 36 on No vember 15. She had a blast with popular singer Ananya Birla and filmmaker Farah Khan, among others, to celebrate her big day in style. Although Mirza was seen joyfully celebrating her special day, her husband Shoaib Malik was missing from the festivities. How ever, Shoaib Malik made his wife a heart felt birthday wish. He posted a picture on instagram with the caption "Happy Birthday to you @mirzasaniar. Wish ing you a very healthy & happy life! Enjoy the day to the fullest…" Sania Mirza has not yet commented on this development. If rumours are to be believed, the couple is alleg edly on the verge of divorcing.

Deepika Padukone

Patralekha

Paul

Alia Bhatt

Samantha Ruth Prabhu

Anushka Sharma

Sania Mirza

Ranveer Singh’s story...

Her post...

Rajkumar Rao’s post...

Shoaib Malik’s post...

Mesmerizing performance!

CITY FIRST

In the Odissi dance tradi tion, Manch Pravesh marks the beginning of the journey in a dancer’s life as a solo performer. And the stage was ready for young Odissi per former Vishnupriya Goswami, granddaugh ter of Acharya Srivatsa Goswami, renowned Vaishnav scholar from Vrindavan, to mark her Manch Pravesh here at the India International Centre, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi on Sunday morning.

On this occasion, the disciple of Guru Kun

jalata Mishra and Guru Pratap Narayan, Vish nupriya performed the complete classical Odissi repertoire from Manglacha ran to Moksha (Manglacharan, Sthayee, Pallavi, Abhi naya and Moksha).

Vishnupriya enthralled everyone with a solo performance. A house

ful audience applauded the young dancer on her maiden voyage into Odissi. On this occa sion, (Padma Shri) Madhavi Mudgal and (Padma Shri) Geeta Chan dran were the chief guests.

Vishnupriya com menced her perfor mance with an invoca

tion (Manglacharan) to Lord Krishna, followed by Sthayee depicting the various postures in spired by the sculptures from the temples of Orissa. The third piece was an abhi naya on an Ori ya KaavyaBha Cham pu describes the various poses (bhan gis) of Krishna and how the gopis are mes merised by his grace.

Vishnupriya was ac companied on stage by Guru Kunjalata Mishra (Manjira), Sri Sukanta Kundu (Vocal), (Padma Shri) Dhaneshwar Swain (Mardala), Sow mya Ranjan (Flute) and Gopinath Swain (Violin).

An elated Vishnupri ya said I am very excit ed and happy, the pres entation went well. The applause from the audi ence was pleasing, it was an overwhelming experience for me. The credit for what I’m to day goes to my gurus, under their guidance I learned the art and to day I presented my first solo performance.

cityfirstdel@gmail.com

arampara Series’ –National Festival of Dance and Mu sic organised every year by Dr(s). Raja Radha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy to give enlight enment about our classical rituals of India and invited re nowned artists to perform in the 3-day festi starting Novem at Raja Radha Rangmanch (Amphithea tre), Natya Tarangini, New The Parampara

The festival has rep resented some of the most successful dance productions of re cent times in addition to the musical concerts by legendary artists Raja Radha Reddy, Ustad Am jad Ali Khan, Rama Vaid hyanathan, Aruna Sairam, and Aditi Man galdas. The eminent guests at the event were

KRANTIDOOT!

CITY FIRST

The 4th and 5th part of the book series ‘Kranti doot’ by author

Manish Srivastava was launched by Kapil Ka poor on November 12 at the Constitution Club of India, Delhi.

Kapil Kapoor is a member of the Am rit Mahotsav Com mittee for the 75th year of the Prime Min ister as well as the Chairman of the Edito rial Committee, Histor ical Records Committee of India and National Archives.

During the program, Manish Srivastava pre sented the ‘Surya Kant Tripathi Nirala Sahitya Samman Award’ from Sarvabhasha Trust. Pathak, Sudhijans, Ud

hamis and people from different sections of so ciety were also present on this occasion. Along with Bhagat Singh, names like Ajit Singh, Rash Behari Bose, Avadh Bihari, Hanu mant Sahai and Amir Chand will appear in Part-5 Basanti Chola of the Krantidoot series.

The story of Jhansi Files begins around 1926, in which it

is told about Azad’s ex ile in Jhansiwas, about which the general pub lic is not much aware.

In the meantime, there is mention of some oth er associates of Azad Saheb, Bhagwan Das Mahour, Sadashiv Mal kapurkar and Vishwa nath Vaishampayan who were associated with Azad till the last time. The story revolves around Jhansi and Orchha.

MELODIOUS EVENING!

CITY FIRST

Delhi’s evening got even cozier when Nabeel Khan, the grandson of Padma Bhushan awardee Ustad Sabri Khan and the youngest estab lished Sarangi musi cian and singer-com poser, performed at Triveni Kala Sangam, Mandi House on No vember 12. Nabeel sang a solo during the 18th Quarterly Baithak or ganised by Pracheen Kala Kendra.

The perfect time of year to enjoy some wonderful Indian clas sical music, Nabeel pre

sented his own compo sition of Indian Classi cal Raga along with an Indo-Arabic piece, hence mesmerizing the audience with the calming tunes of his Sarangi. He was accompanied by Shahbaaz Khan on Tabla.

Nabeel started his performance with Raag Saugandh in Ek Taal Vilambit, which is the opening of the raga. This was followed by Drut Teen Taal, which was composed by his grandpa, the great Sa rangi maestro Ustad Sabri Khan Sahab, and was based on a 16-beat time cycle. This Raag

expresses the senti ments of a person trav elling down memory lane with feelings of deep connection with nature and life.

Sharing his views on the per formance, Nabeel Khan said, “Raag Saugandh is an incred ibly special piece to me because it was com posed by my grandfa ther. It was really diffi cult to do this in Saran gi. I believe the audi ence loved my perfor mance, and I will con tinue to entertain mu sic enthusiasts while also promoting Indian Classical Music on a grander scale.”

Series was launched by Natya Tarangini keeping in mind the necessity to bring the common mass es closer to Indian tradi tions and to ensure that the rich Indian Heritage is preserved for gen erations to come.

Minister of State for Ex ternal Affairs and Cul ture, Odissi Dancer Sha ron Lowen, Subhalaksh mi Khan, Writer Aruna Vasudev, and Designer Shivan Narresh to name a few.

Kaushalya Reddy, Artistic director & Guru of Natya Tarangini- “I feel for tunate and happy that I get to curate the Natya Tarangini Raja Radha Reddy National Festival of Dance & Music- The Parampara every year. The Parampara series is an endeavour to redefine and rejuvenate India’s rich cultural heritage.”

—PHOTOS

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

—PHOTO

BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

MRS INDIA WORLDWIDE 2022!

The grand finale of Mrs India Worldwide 2022 held in the U.A.E concluded on a high note recently. In the grand finale, the winners were crowned and felicitated at Hilton Garden Inn, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK).On the occasion, Vaneeta Batra too was felicitated with the TIMELESS BEAUTY.

Vaneeta was groomed by celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist Sylvie Rodgers, styled by Seitu Kumar, choreographed by show director Liza Verma and shot by ace celebrity photographer Rony Kaula.

The jury panel included Bharat Bhramar, CEO of Haut Monde Mrs India Worldwide, Sylvie Rodgers, celebrity hairstylist, Rony Kaula, Celebrity Photographer, Amisha Sethi, Haut Monde Mrs India Worldwide Winner 2021, Preeti Gautam, Space Element Winner 2021 and Manjari Gupta, Earth Element Winner 2021.

On the occasion, Vaneeta said “This aspiring platform has given me confidence that at such age also you can chase your dreams. I am sure it will also inspire my co-winners and they will soon be seen successfully working in various sectors of the fashion industry.

Vishnupriya Goswami during her Manch Pravesh

Guru Pratap Narayan, Vishnu Priya Goswami and Guru Kunj Lata

Madhavi Mudgal and Geeta Chandran

Manjushree Chatterjee and Madhavi Mudgal

Shrivats Goswami, Rajiv Chandran & Geeta Chandran

Vishnupriya Goswami

Meenakshi Lekhi with Kaushalya Reddy Natyataringini Opens Parampara Series

Utsad Amjad Ali Khan

Dr RajaRadha Reddy and Kaushalya Reddy during the lamp lighting

Wife of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Subhalakshmi Khan

Nabeel Khan

Vaneeta Batra

Keshav Mohan Pandey, Dr Manish Shrivastava, Kapil Kapoor and Dr Sudhir Kant

Keshav Mohan Pandey, Dr Manish Shrivastava, Kapil Kapoor and Dr Sudhir Kant during the launch

Vaneeta Batra during the crowning ceremony