First India-Mumbai Edition-18th November 2022

ED DIRECTOR S.K. MISHRA GETS ONE-YEAR EXTENSION

RAHUL’S SAVARKAR BARB SPARKS CONTROVERSY

UNION MINISTERS,

SAVARKARJI HELPED BRITISH SAYS RAHUL, SHOWS LETTER AS PROOF

Akola: Rahul Gandhi on Thursday again targeted late Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, claiming that he helped the Brit ish rulers and wrote a mercy petition to them out of fear. Gandhi also dared the Maharashtra government to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is currently pass ing through the state.

His statement comes in the wake of a few leaders from the ruling parties in the state de manding that the yatra be stopped in the state in view of his remarks against Savarkar.

Addressing a press conference, Gandhi showed documents dat ing back to 1920, claim ing that they contained a letter written by Sa varkar to the British.

“I will read the last line, which says ‘I beg to remain your most obe dient servant’,” Gandhi said.

READ Crucial GADKARI FALLS ILL

AFTER PROGRAMME, ATTENDED BY DOCTORS

SM COMPANIES CAN MAKE PARTIES WIN

Washim: Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that polls can be rigged through social media, and if social media companies want they can make any party win an election. Without naming any party, he also said that communal violence has been planted as a strategic weapon to cause disharmony.

Mumbai: Uddhav Thack eray said that he and his party disagree with Rahul Gandhi’s views on Savarkar and cleared that his party has immense respect for VD Savarkar. ‘’We don’t agree with what Rahul Gan dhi has said. We respect Veer Savarkar, have great love, loyalty and respect for freedom fighter,” he said.

Conspiracy against my government: Soren on mining case

Ranchi: Jharkhand

a programme at Siliguri and was attended by doctors. Gadkari’s blood sugar dipped resulting in problem. However he later recovered.

STRIKE AGAINST JUSTICE KARIEL’S

TRANSFER

CM Hemant Soren has alleged big “conspira cy” by BJP to oust his elected government and create instability in the state. He made these allegations ahead of his questioning in the illegal mining case. Soren also warned his party MLAs of more raids by the central agencies in the days to come to scare them.

“Allegations don’t seem to be possible at all. I feel agencies should come to a concrete con clusion only after a de tailed probe. I’m a CM, the manner in which summoning is being done makes it look like we’re people who flee the country,” he said and added, “Such ac

tions create uncertain ty in state. It can be called a conspiracy to destabilise govt. Our rivals were conspiring to topple Govt ever since we came to power. This submarine of con spiracy didn’t have strength to rise out of water-attempts being made to bring it out.”

TMC MLA

Bardhaman: A West Bengal MLA has stirred controversy by alleged ly asking TMC workers to ensure that only those Bangladeshi im migrants who support the ruling party in the state find a place in the voters’ list. The draft electoral roll revision is underway in the state along with the rest of the country.

In a purported video that has gone viral on social media, Bardha man Dakshin MLA Khokan Das is heard saying, “Many new peo ple are coming…they are from Bangladesh. Many of these people vote for BJP based on Hindu sentiments. Please ensure that only those who support our party get place in the voters’ list.”

SAVARKAR’S GRANDSON LODGES COMPLAINT AGAINST RAGA

Mumbai: Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar’s grandson on Thursday reg istered a complaint against Congress leader Rahul Gan dhi for allegedly “insulting” Savarkar, police said. Ranjit Savarkar, the late freedom fighter’s grandson, in a complaint lodged at Shivaji Park police station here also demanded that Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole too should be booked for ‘making similar statements’. However, no FIR has been registered yet.

BLAST ON UDAIPURAHMEDABAD RAILWAY TRACK

Raj SOG detaines 3 including minor

Savarkar is frequently insulted.

[he is addressed as] Mafiveer [by his critics for his mercy petitions]. We are seeing that a soft stand is being taken against them [those who insult Savarkar]

—Eknath Shinde, Maharashtra CM

Unfortu nately, while the late Balasaheb Thackeray never tolerated any insult on Savarkar ji, his grandson Aaditya Thackeray is hugging Rahul Gandhi who insulted the revolu tionary. What kind of ideology does Uddhav Thackeray espouse?

—Ram Kadam, BJP MLA

Jaipur: Three people, including a juvenile, have been detained in connection with the blast on the UdaipurAhmedabad railway track, a police official said on Thursday.

Preliminary investi gation revealed that the accused were upset as they were not given compensation or a job after their land was ac quired by Indian Rail ways and Hindustan Zinc Limited.

“Three people, includ

ing a juvenile, have been detained. Another per son from whom they purchased the explosive has also been detained,” Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) and Special Oper ation Group (SOG) ADG Ashok Rathore told re porters. The accused have been identified as Dhool Chand Meena and Prakash Meena. The ju venile is 17 years old. The other accused in the case is Ankush Suvalka, who sold the explosives, he said.

Court rejects objection to ‘Shivling’ worship at Gyanwapi

Varanasi: A Varanasi court Thursday rejected Gyanvapi Masjid com mittee’s objection to peti tion seeking right to wor ship ‘Shivling’ claimed to have been found in the mosque complex and fixed December 2 as the next date of hearing.Fast track court Judge Ma hendra Kumar Pandey

found the petition filed by Kiran Singh worth hearing and fixed De cember 2 for taking up the matter, Assistant Dis trict Government Coun sel Sulabh Prakash said. The court rejected objec tion filed by Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Com mittee questioning main tainability of the plea.

prove the conspiracy connected to Rajan, the judge added.

The others who were acquitted are Mohm mad Ali Sheikh, Umaid Shaikh and Pranay Rane.

NIA moves apex court against Navlakha’s house arrest order

First India Bureau

New Delhi: The Na tional Investigation Agency on Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking vacation of its November 10 or der allowing the plea of jailed activist Gautam Navlakha, incarcerated in the Elgar ParishadMaoist link case, to be put under house arrest owing to his deteriorat ing health

cord, claimed Navlakha was working in urban areas and assigned the job to unite intellectu als against government forces to defeat them.

It is submitted that consider ing the fact that a senior doctor of the said hospital is directly related to the petitioner and was a part of the (team) preparing medi cal report of the petition er, that a clear case of personal bias vitiates the said report has been made out by the re spondent. —NIA petition

BMC DELIMITATION: SC SEEKS RESPONSE

FROM STATE, SEC

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A special CBI court here on Thursday acquitted gangster

Chhota

and three others in a 2009 double murder case.

Special judge AM Pa til acquitted them for

lack of evidence, hold ing that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond “reasonable doubt”. It also could not

As per the prosecu tion, in July 2009 Sahid Gulam Hussain, alias Chhote Miya was shot by two men on the foot path in Nagpada area of south Mumbai. While escaping from the spot, the assailants also shot three others. Turn to P6

In its application, the NIA contended that, as a charge-sheeted ac cused in a case involv ing a threat to national security and integrity, Navlakha (70) does not deserve any extra lee way. The anti-terror agency, while referring to the evidence on re

Casting doubts on the validity of Navlakha’s medical report from Ja slok hospital, the inves tigative body pointed out that a senior doctor, Dr S Kothari--who has been associated with the hospital since 1979-is directly related to Navlakha.

Navlakha’s condi tion is manageable

within the premises of Taloja central jail, it added.

The agency said it has come to light that Navlakha is an active member of CPI (Mao ist) and has “deep links” with the organi zation, and that he es pouses

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the state govern ment and the State Elec tion Commission (SEC) to file affidavits in response to two petitions challeng ing an ordinance issued by the state reducing the number of directly elected councillors within the Mumbai civic limits from 236 to 227. Noting that the petitions filed by two former councillors raised a “seemingly complex issue”, a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Gauri Godse said the issue would have to be heard only after the re spondents had a chance to respond.

Rajan

The gangster has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail since his deportation from Bali in Indonesia in 2015. —FILE PHOTO

People form a queue as they arrive to pay tribute to Balasaheb Thackeray on his death anniversary, at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

Rajan, however, will not walk out of jail, as he is facing trials in several other cases and has been convicted in the murder of journalist J Dey

‘RESPECT AND LOVE SAVARKAR, DON’T AGREE WITH RAHUL’S REMARKS’

Bangladeshis aiding us should be in voter list:

IN GUJ HC

Ahmedabad: Advocates of Gujarat HC, based on the reports regarding SC collegium’s recommendation of transferring Justice Nikhil Kariel from the High Court to Patna High Court, Thursday afternoon gathered at Chief Justice Aravind Kumar’s court to oppose the move which they termed it “a death knell”.

Siliguri: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Thursday fell ill after attending

New Delhi: Senior BJP leaders, including president J P Nadda besides Union ministers and CMs, are expected to address public meetings on Friday in the 89 Gujarat going to the polls in the first phase of elections on December 1.

New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday extended by one year the tenure of ED Director S.K. Mishra. The 1984-batch IRS officer has been given the extension till November 18, 2023. Mishra, 62, was appointed ED-Director for two years on November 19, 2018.

Hemant Soren

‘Delhi took revenge by demoting Fadnavis to Dy CM’

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Former Ma harashtra Chief Min ister Uddhav Thack eray hit back at senior Bharatiya Janata Par ty (BJP) leader Deven dra Fadnavis, saying the top leadership of the latter’s party took revenge on him by de moting him as the deputy chief minister.

The Shiv Sena (Ud dhav Balasaheb Thack

eray) chief made the remark while ad dressng a press confer ence here on Thursday.

Responding to a ques tion on Fadnavis’ recent statement that he took revenge on Thackeray for ‘betraying’ him, Thackeray said, “That is why Delhi felt that the chief minister should be changed and he (Fad navis) be made deputy chief minister. They also took this revenge.”

Earlier this month, Fadnavis said during an event that the BJP had never promised the chief minister’s post for half the term to the Shiv Sena as claimed by Thackeray.

“If Eknath Shinde wanted to leave Shiv Sena because of the way he was treated by Ud dhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray, we were not going to ask him to go back. We were going to welcome him

BHARAT

JODO YATRA

Only women to walk with Rahul on Nov 19, Indira’s birth anniv

Congress party’s mass movement nears end of its Maharashtra leg, with some hiccups Akola (PTI): On the occasion of former prime minister Indi ra Gandhi’s birth an niversary on Novem ber 19, only women will walk with Con gress leader Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra that day, senior party leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday.

The Bharat Jodo Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Con gress has been passing through Maharashtra since its arrival in the state on November 07.

After Nanded, the foot march has so far cov ered Hingoli and Washim districts.

Now in Akola, the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Congress leader Ra hul Gandhi will reach Shegaon in Buldhana district on Friday morning, officials said, adding that it will enter Madhya Pradesh on November 20.

“On November 19, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, only women will walk in the yatra along with Rahul Gandhi,” Ramesh, Congress general sec retary in-charge of the party’s communica tion and publicity de partment, told report ers at Wadegaon in Akola district.

The women workers of the Congress and its affiliated wings will par ticipate in both the ses sions (pre-lunch and post-lunch) of the yatra on November 19. The party’s women public representatives from Maharashtra and other parts of the country will be a part of the foot march that day, he said.

FROM QUIT INDIA AS A CHILD, TO BHARAT JODO YATRA AT AGE OF 93

Akola (PTI): Leela bai Chitale (93), who had participated in the 1942 Quit India movement, joined Congress leader Ra hul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra for a while on Thursday.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh tweeted a video mes sage by Chitale who joined the cross-coun try foot-march at Vade gaon in Balapur tehsil

of Akola district.

“She wants the yatra to focus on saving the Constitution,” Ramesh said in the tweet. In the video message, Chitale said, “I was twelve years old on August 09, 1942. Mahatma Gandhi had given the slogan ‘Do or Die’.... My two friends and I were caught while shouting slogans (against the British) near a college.”

“We were just 12, so

we were let off (by the police) the same even ing. But my father and brother were in jail for 3.5 years. The country did not get freedom the way it is told today,” she said. People from all strata of society and religions partici pated in the freedom struggle, Chitale fur ther said, adding that “these people (padhya tris) are trying to save the Constitution.”

Mumbai: An awkward moment was witnessed on Wednesday night during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra when a different song be gan to play in stead of the na tional anthem.

WAR OF WORDS

and support him. We have taken revenge for the betrayal,” Fadnavis had said.

The Shiv Sena and the BJP had contested the 2019 state Assembly polls in alliance, but parted ways after the results fol lowing differences over sharing the CM’s post.

The Thackeray-led party went on to join hands with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress to form the

Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. However, the MVA dispensation collapsed in June this year after Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs rebelled against the Shiv Sena leadership. Shinde be came the chief minis ter with Fadnavis tak ing oath as his deputy. Fadnavis was the state CM during the BJP-Se na government from 2014 to 2019.

Cartoonist threatened over caricature, files complaint

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A non-cog nizable case was reg istered against two persons in Mumbai on the complaint of Gaurav Sarjerao Ya dav—a cartoonist working with a weekly ‘Marmik’— who claimed that he was being threat ened for drawing a caricature resem bling Chief of the Shiv Pratishthan Sambhaji Bhide.

According to a By culla police station of ficial, no FIR has been registered nor has any arrest been made on the complaint of the cartoonist. He has been asked to approach court for further ac tion, the official added.

“Yadav has said a cartoon of his that showed a man with worms instead of a thick bushy mous tache was published on November 03. He has alleged he is being threatened to delete

(intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimida tion) has been regis tered on Yadav’s com plaint and further in vestigation is under way, he added.

the post due to the caricature’s resem blance to Bhide,” the official said.

A non-cognizable case under Indian Pe nal Code sections 504

Bhide has hit the headlines often for con troversial statements, the latest being asking a woman journalist to wear a ‘bindi’ before asking him a question.

Marmik was found ed in 1960 by Shiv Sena patriarch late Bal Thackeray.

CRUCIAL READ

Akola: In a scathing rejoinder to Rahul Sh ewale’s comment about Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress lead er Yashomati Thakur said people who do not have any “present or future” should not “speak on history”.

Thakur’s response comes a day after Sh ewale, a member of the

Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, demanded that Congress’s Bharat Jodo Yatra be stopped in Maharashtra, over Ra hul Gandhi’s remarks against VD Savarkar.

On Thursday, Thakur tweeted: “Those who don’t have any present or future shouldn’t speak on history. Rahul Gandhi is speaking against the factory of hatred and distortion of history.…Rahul Gan dhi’s arrow has hit the bull’s eye. A party which has been stolen should not speak about stop ping the yatra. It is be yond your reach.”

The incident took place after Gan dhi ended his speech at Washim in Maharashtra on Wednesday night and an nounced that there would be “Rashtrageet”. Those on stage stood in attention. But when an un known song start ed playing, the Congress leader looked around in surprise. Maha rashtra Congress chief Nana Patole called out to the person in charge of music and had it stopped. The na tional anthem was then played.

Mumbai (PTI): Maha rashtra on Thursday recorded 108 COV ID-19 cases and 131 recoveries, while the fatality count stood unchanged, a health official said.

The state’s tally is 81,34,891, its recovery count stands at 79,85,630, and the toll remains 1,48,402, he said. The ad dition to the tally is a dip from the 156 cases reported on Wednesday, he added. The active tally in Maharashtra was 859, he added. Mum bai led with 26 of the new cases, the official said. As per health de partment data, the re covery rate in the state stands at 98.17%.

Navi Mumbai: Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) Navi Mumbai unit has demanded the city cops to start a WhatsApp helpline number where women can complain against drunk autorick shaw drivers who create menace and to ensure women’s safety. The AAP members also demanded creation of an application for women auto drivers in the city.

According to AAP Navi Mumbai Managing Com mittee Member Preeti Shindekar an atmos phere of fear has been created among parents

MAN JUMPS FROM SIXTH FLOOR OF BUILDING TO END LIFE, RESCUED

Mumbai: A man alleg edly tried to commit suicide by jumping off the sixth floor of Mantralaya, the head quarters of the Maha rashtra government in Mumbai on Thursday, but survived due to the safety net, police said. Bapu Mokashi (43) landed on the net which covers the open space below. The safety net was installed specifically to foil such attempts after similar incidents in the past. He did not receive any serious injury, said the police official.

and women due to rickshaw drivers operat ing without licenses. “In order to make their com muting smooth and safe, the police administration should announce the WhatsApp number for redressal of complaints,” she said, adding that an app like ‘NM Maithrin’ for women auto drivers in Navi Mumbai should also be created.

NOMINEES OF SHIV SENA-BJP ALLIANCE WIN PALGHAR ZP UNOPPOSED

Palghar: In a win for the ruling dispensa tion, the nominees of the Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance led by Chief Minis ter Eknath Shinde were on Wednesday elected unopposed as president and vice-president of the Palghar Zilla Parishad (ZP). Prakash Nikam of the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena was elected president, while Pankaj Kore of the BJP was elected vicepresident of the Zilla Parishad.

START EMERGENCY WHATSAPP HELPLINE FOR WOMEN COMMUTERS: NAVI MUMBAI AAP UNIT

Former CM Uddhav Thackeray. —FILE PHOTO

Shiv Sena - Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray chief Uddhav Thackeray, his wife Rashmi Thackeray and his son and Yuva Sena President Aaditya Thacekray paid their respects to Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray on his 10th death anniversary, at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Thursday. The Thackerays then visited an exhibition of caricatures and photos of Balasaheb. They were accompanied by Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde inaugurated 51 health clinics, to mark the occasion.

—PHOTOS BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE & PTI

Rahul Gandhi interacts with supporters along the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Akola, on Thursday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

AWKWARD MOMENT ONSTAGE

First India Bureau

‘THOSE WITHOUT PRESENT, FUTURE SHOULDN’T SPEAK ON HISTORY’

108 new nCoV cases, no death; active tally 859

Gaurav Sarjerao Yadav claims that he came under fire for drawing a caricature resembling controversial Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide

Delimitation of BMC wards: HC seeks answer from state, SEC

ISSUE AT HAND

Measles: Seven suspected deaths, 164 cases in Mumbai since September

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The city has seen seven sus pected measles deaths and 164 cas es of the viral infec tion since the out break began in Sep tember, according to officials at the Bri hanmumbai Munic ipal Corporation (BMC).

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bom bay High Court on Thursday directed the state government and the State Election Commission (SEC) to file affidavits in re sponse to two peti tions challenging an ordinance issued by the state reducing the number of directly elected councillors within the Mumbai civic limits from 236 to 227.

Noting that the peti tions filed by two for mer councillors raised

a “seemingly complex issue”, a division bench of Justices Gautam Pa tel and Gauri Godse said the issue would have to be heard only after the respondents had a chance to re spond.

The petitioners had said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are al ready overdue by more than six months and if the ordinance is not stayed, then the SEC will not be able to con duct the polls.

Leopard chasing cat strays into family’s living room in Pune

First India Bureau

Pune: A Pune-based family is in a state of shock after a leopard strayed into their home. The incident took place at Pimpalwandi in Jun nar on Monday night.

According to Vilas Raykar, who is a farmer, the leopard jumped into his living room as it was chasing a cat. Seeing the leopard in the house, his family screamed out of fear.

The leopard re mained in the house for few seconds but fortu nately no one was in jured in the incident.

“I was having a din ner when the leopard entered our living room. Other family

members were watch ing TV when we sighted the leopard who was chasing a cat that ran into the kitchen. All of us screamed out of fear,” Raykar said.

He further added that when his family mem bers screamed, the ani mal left the house. “It took us several minutes to stabalize after the in cident. His family did not came out of the house entire night,” he added. Raykar then urged the forest depart ment to put a cage to trap the wild animal.

The house of Raykar does not have a com pound wall and his resi dence is surrounded by sugarcane fields and grape plantations.

The HC bench on Thursday directed the Eknath Shinde-led Ma harashtra government and the State Election Commission to file their affidavits by No vember 25 and posted the matter for hearing on November 30.

The court also issued a notice to the govern ment’s Advocate Gener al as the petitions chal lenge the constitutional validity of the ordi nance issued in August.

The petitioners said the previous state govern

ment had decided that the number of directly elected councillors would be increased by nine, bringing the num ber to 236, to ensure the increased population was proportionately represented in the BMC.

This was then chal lenged before the HC, which proceeded to dis miss the petitions.

The court had held that the increase in the number of councillors was proportionate to the rise in population based on the 2011 cen

sus--a decision later up held by the Supreme Court.

Despite this, the cur rent state government reversed the earlier cabinet decision, the plea said. The ordi nance under challenge is ex-facie illegal and unconstitutional, as it purports to defeat and nullify the orders of the Supreme Court, the pe titions claimed.

With 184 new cases having symptoms of fever and rashes on the body, the number of suspected measles cases in the city rose to 1,263, and 647 of these cases included children in the age group of one to four years, the BMC said in a release on Wednesday.

The number of pa tients admitted in hospitals due to mea sles infection rose to 80, it said, adding that 12 new patients were admitted on Wednes day. On Monday, a oneyear-old boy died of measles, despite un dergoing treatment at the BMC-run Kastur

ba Hospital in Chinch pokli since last week, a civic official had said on Tuesday.

The BMC bulletin said although the city witnessed seven sus pected deaths due to measles infection, the exact reason behind their death will be confirmed only after a review committee gives its report.

The latest outbreak of measles is spread across eight civic wards in the city and the highest number of cases are from MEast ward, which in cludes Govandi and surrounding areas, it said, adding that the

Number of suspected measles cases in the city now up to 1,263, including 647 kids

civic body has set up isolation wards for pa tients in various hos pitals.

Highlighting that complications from this disease can be se rious in children who are partially vacci nated or unvaccinat ed, civic officials have appealed to parents to get children in the 9-16 age group vacci nated.

MANDWA WATER TAXI FARE REDUCED BY `150

Mumbai AQI improves to ‘moderate’ at 173

Mumbai: The Air Quality index (AQI) of Mumbai improved to 173 (moderate) on Thursday at 10 am.

According to a report re leased by SAFAR, PM 2.5 and PM 10 concen trations in Mumbai are 90 and 182 respectively. The current PM2.5 con

centration in Mumbai is six times above the recommended limit given by the WHO 24 hours air quality guide lines value.

The air qual ity in the finan cial capital im proved slightly on Wednesday. Mumbai recorded its highest AQI of 211 at 11 am on Wednesday. The air pol lution levels in Mumbai

AQI OF MUMBAI

COLABA 153 (MODERATE)

WORLI 136 (MOZDERATE)

SION 197 (POOR)

CHAKALAANDHERI (E) 180 (MODERATE)

THANE 137 (MODERATE)

surpassed that of Delhi on Tuesday. Mumbai’s AQI dropped to 262 on Tuesday evening, which

TIMELY WARNING

falls in the very poor category, compared to Delhi which recorded an AQI of 208.

As per India Meteoro logical Department, the city will be seeing clear sky for the next 48 hours meanwhile the temper ature is likely to hover between 35°C to 20°C indicating the days will be sweltering but things may calm down in the evening.

Mumbai: To get more passengers and bring good competition in the water taxi business, the Mumbai Mandwa water taxi fare for has been reduced by `150 and `100 for the lower deck and the executive deck re spectively. According to the revision which comes into effect Wednesday, the fare of the lower deck has come down from `400 to `250 and that of the upper or ex ecutive deck from `450 to `350. The water taxi Nayan XI operates between Ferry Wharf Bhaucha Dhakka or the domestic cruise termi nal (DCT) at Mazgaon and Mandwa jetty near Alibaug in Raigad district.

“We

WR TO CONVERT 26 SUBURBAN SERVICES TO 15-CAR FROM 12-CAR FROM NOV 21

Mumbai: Western Railway on Thursday said it would convert 26 suburban train services in Mumbai from 12-car to 15-car from November 21. This would increase the number of 15-car services on WR’s network in the metro politan area to 132 from 106, which in turn would increase carrying capacity by 25 per cent, it said in a release. It will comprise 13 services each in the Down, railway termi nology for the route towards Dahanu, and Up (towards Churchgate) directions.

Don’t touch or tamper with research balloons, Sangli officials warn

First India Bureau

Pune: The district ad ministration in Ma harashtra’s Sangli has issued a notifica tion advising resi dents not to touch bal loons containing sci entific equipment that are being re leased by the Tata In stitute of Fundamen tal Research, Hy derabad, in neigh bouring Telangana.

The advisory in formed that 10 balloons with scientific equip ment are being launched into space from TIFR’s balloon fa cility in association with the Department of Atomic Energy and the Indian Space Research Organization between November 01, 2022 and April 30 next year for research.

“These balloons are made of thin (polyethyl

ene) plastic films and are 50-85m in diameter. They are filled with hy drogen gas,” an official said.

“The balloons, carry ing scientific instru ments for research, are expected to reach alti tudes of 30-42km, de pending on the experi ment undertaken,” .

“After a period of a few hours, these devices come down to the ground with big col

oured parachutes. A parachute, with equip ment suspended below

it, usually descends slowly on a long rope, about 20-40m long.

These devices can land at points around 200350km from Hy

derabad,” he added. “If such balloons are spot ted, people should re

frain from touching them or tampering with them. On sighting such balloons with scientific equipment, they must alert the local police station, post office and administration,” Sangli Collector Raja Dayani dhi said.

Equipment deployed for scientific research was very sensitive and any kind of tampering would lead to loss of valuable information.

MUMBAI

ONE ARRESTED, THREE RESCUED IN THANE SEX RACKET

Thane: A woman was ar rested and three persons, including two teen girls, were rescued after a sex racket was busted in Kopri in Thane city, an official said on Thursday. The Anti Human Trafficking Cell of Thane Crime Branch arrested a woman on Wednesday while she was allegedly striking a deal.

have rescued two girls in the 16-17 age group and a 28-year-old woman. The racket was going on in a residential area of the city. A case under Indian Penal Code and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act has been registered,” the official said.

Court will hear ‘complex issue’ of petitions challenging state ordinance cutting the number of councillors from 236 to 227 after respondents file affidavits

The HC bench directed the state govt and SEC to file their affidavits before Nov 25. —FILE PHOTO

CM Eknath Shinde visited the measles ward at Kasturba hospital on Thursday. —PHOTO BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

The Surya Kiran team of the Indian Air Force performs during a rehearsal for Air Fest 2022 at Nagpur’s Vayusena Nagar on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

FLYING HIGH!

First India Bureau

Key lessons from T20 World Cup as Team India rebuilds in New Zealand

team lacked.

“E

veryone has the will to suc ceed, but few have the will to prepare for it.”

This quote by American Basketball coach Bobby Knight, resonates well with the current state of In dian cricket. While many plans and strategies were laid out after the debacle in the 2021 T20 World Cup, none were strongly implemented whereby India returned emp ty-handed from yet another World Cup. Now, the wait for an ICC Trophy has extended to 10 years since it was 2013 when Indian won the Cham pions Trophy in England.

It wasn’t just the captain that they changed in 2015. In stead, players suited to and specialists in the shorter for mats were given priority over more established play ers. The whole cricketing world wants to emulate their strategy now, and India put a plan in place last year by bringing together the RohitRahul duo as the captaincoach to usher in this change, especially keeping in mind the 2022 T20 World Cup. Sad ly, at the recent World Cup, India faltered by playing the same brand of cricket that they have been following for years.

The T20 game has changed a lot since India won the title back in 2007 and the approach to batting has evolved enormously. Unfortunately, most Indian players are still stuck in the past, playing old-fashioned cricket. Many experts questioned why a match winner like Rishabh Pant was not in the playing eleven

More than the quicks it was the surprising omission of Yuzvendra Chahal who wasn’t picked for a single game! England bamboozled India and Pakistan both in the knockout matches with the leg spin of Adil Rashid. In fact, much of Pakistan’s success can be attributed to the leg spin of Shadab Khan. But India played Ashwin and Axar, both of whom went for plenty in the semis against England as they bowled pre dictably without any element of surprise.

IN-DEPTH

CALM HANDLING OF MISSILE CRISIS AVERTS A GLOBAL CONFLICT

The fans are unhappy and want major changes to take place in the team. A traditional approach to batting, backing out of form senior players, an effective bowling attack with no space for wrist spinners and poor captaincy are some of the key factors behind India’s poor show in big games

For the change to happen, Team India just has to take a leaf out of England’s book. Many experts have pointed out the transformation and the efforts put in by the Eng lish management to overhaul their white ball cricket. In 2015, England were rudely jolted as they were ousted from the group league in the ODI World Cup. What hap pened after that is history as the English team appointed a new captain for the shorter format in Eoin Morgan and changed their approach to playing fearless cricket. To day, they have become the only team in cricket history to hold both the ODI and T20 World Cups at the same time.

The fans are unhappy and want major changes to take place in the team. A tradi tional approach to batting, backing out of form senior players, an effective bowling attack with no space for wrist spinners and poor captaincy are some of the key factors behind India’s poor show in big games. But it is the style of play that needs the biggest tweaking along with an ag gressive approach to the game.

In the semi-final against England, India started poorly in the powerplay overs, some thing that Rohit had claimed the team was working on se riously. In many bilateral se ries leading up to the World Cup, India had played aggres sively at the start but in cru cial games and tense situa tions, they faltered. The T20 game has changed a lot since India won the title back in 2007 and the approach to bat

NOTHING CURIOUS ABOUT JARIWALA CASE

The case of Kan chan Jariwala, Aam Aadmi Par ty’s candidate from Surat (East) would have been curious had it not happened in the midst of a hec tic political campaign. This disappearance of a candidate and his re-emergence the next day to announce a change in his allegiance from one party to another is not surprising.

But was Jariwala kidnapped, as alleged by the AAP, to force him to withdraw his nomina tion papers or did AAP over play its hand? In his statement

Jariwala said he was voluntar ily withdrawing due to the in ternal conflicts with AAP “leaders and workers”.

The AAP chief Arvind Ke jriwal said that Jariwala and his family went “missing”

ting has evolved enormously. Unfortunately, most Indian players are still stuck in the past, playing old-fashioned cricket.

Even some of the selec tions were bizarre and many experts questioned why a match winner like Rishabh Pant was not in the playing eleven. Dinesh Karthik was not part of the team’s setup for years after the 2019 ODI World Cup and had started commentating with Sky Sports. But he was recalled solely on the basis of his per formances in the IPL. Moreo ver, India lacked depth in the bowling department. With the injury to Jasprit Bum rah, India missed a genuine pace bowler, one who could bowl well at the top and in death overs. Every team had one or two genuine quick bowlers which the Indian

Hullabaloo by AAP over Jariwala’s alleged kidnapping was needless. In 2021, he contested the Surat civic body election on Congress ticket but lost to the BJP. Surat East is considered a stronghold of the BJP

since Tuesday. He tweeted, “First, the BJP tried to get his nomination rejected. But his nomination was accepted. Later, he was being pressured to withdraw his nomination. Has he been kidnapped?” The BJP rejected the charge. AAP has demanded a “free and

Now, barely a week after crashing out of the World Cup, Team India begins a white ball series in New Zea land hoping for a fresh start to its search for a right com bination. With Hardik Pan dya leading a young side, In dia will look ahead to locate players with an approach that befits the modern T20 game. Umran Malik, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan and San ju Samson will be the players to lookout for in the series.

This new-looking squad under Pandya will give the selectors an idea of who can be the potential replace ments for many of the sen iors in the coming years. Both India and New Zealand were knocked out in the Semi-finals of the T20 World Cup and will be keen to make amends - and that promises a gripping series as both sides battle to showcase their full potential!!

fair” probe into the incident. However, after Jariwala’s statement there is nothing left for investigation.

Hullabaloo by AAP over Ja riwala’s alleged kidnapping was needless. In 2021, he con tested the Surat civic body election on Congress ticket but lost to the BJP. Surat East is considered a stronghold of the BJP. In 2017 Assembly election AAP was able to gar ner only 0.22 percent of the votes which was less than the votes polled by NOTA.

Notwithstanding the truth behind the controversy, it does expose the dark side of Indian politics. Clean and controver sy-free elections have become a rarity. Most of the times these allegations are baseless and frivolous and malign the democratic process.

missile believed to have been misfired by Ukraine landed in Poland killing two people could have brought the Russia-Ukraine con flict to Europe. Luckily, timely and fair investigation allayed the initial suspicion that the missile was fired by Russia. The Soviet-era missile came from Ukraine, the investigators con cluded, thus averting a major confrontation. Had it been proved that the projectile came from Russia the Nato countries and the US would have been forced into a direct war against Russians.

Ukraine escaped an outright condemnation as it is facing a barrage of missile attacks from Russia. On the day the missile was misfired, Kyiv’s critical fa cilities, including power stations, were hit by as many as 50 mis siles. The human error looks quite possible as the Ukrainian missile was directed at an incom ing Russian projectile.

Moscow strongly denied any missile strike on Poland and the West also reacted with maturity and calm to save the world from a disaster.

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

MAHENG/2022/14652

Printed and published by Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of First Express Publishers. Printed at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22, Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar, TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi Mumbai-400701. Published at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of Manglorean Garden Home, CHS Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part) Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057. Phone 022-46031417. Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

Ashwini Vaishnaw

Thanks to PM @narendramodi Ji for giving opportunities for promotion to 80,000 supervisors of @RailMinIndia.

#KashiTamilSangamam will rediscover the centuries-old civilisational link between Kashi and Tamil Nadu. Look forward to welcome all students, delegates and scholars in Kashi.

Do your work with the welfare of others always in mind.

Bhagavad Gita

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL

SIDDHAARTH MAHAN

The writer is a specialist on Sports and Cinema who works as an actor in the Hindi film industry

BJP, CONGRESS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

Saffron party’s Alpesh Thakor files nomination from Gandhinagar South

Ahmedabad (PTI):

OBC leader Alpesh Thakor on Thursday filed his nomination as a BJP candidate from Gan dhinagar South Assem bly constitu ency in Gu jarat. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel accom panied him as he filed his papers on the last day of filing of nominations for the sec ond phase of the Assem bly elections.

Thakor, who had lost from Radhanpur in North Gujarat in a byelection in 2019 on the BJP ticket, has been fielded from Gandhina gar South this time.

“I am confident that with the support of our workers, the BJP will win massively in the state,” he told media. The BJP will take the state forward in the coming days, he added.

CM Patel said the state has achieved a lot under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership.

New Delhi (ANI): Ahead of Gujarat polls, PM Narendra Modi will hold rallies in Gujarat’s Saurashtra for three consecutive days from November 20. More than 1.5 lakh people will participate in these rallies, , said sources. The PM will conduct three rallies in Saurashtra on Novem ber 20, two in South Gujarat and Saurashtra on Nov 21 and two in Saurashtra on Nov 22. A BJP source said that a detailed program of the PM’s rallies and road shows is being

Congress cries foul, demands K’taka CM’s resignation

Bengaluru (PTI): The Congress in Karnataka on Thursday charged the Chief Minister with “corrupt electoral elec toral practice” vis-a-vis an “awareness pro gramme,” a charge re jected outright by Basa varaj Bommai who said the opposition party was bankrupt with ideas.

The CM asserted he was ready to face an en quiry and also get inves tigated, Congress’ alle gation that a private firm engaged in voter survey in the city col lected details, including on individuals’ caste and their Aadhaar.

As the issue erupted into a political row, the city’s civic body an nounced terminating the permission granted to the NGO involved in the programme and au thorities said action will be taken against it if it was found to be in volved in violations.

Congress national general secretary Ran deep Surjewala de

CONG DISSOLVES

New Delhi (PTI): The UN published a first in formal draft of the cli mate deal on Thursday and it doesn’t mention phase down of all fossil fuels, a proposal that was put forward by In dia and supported by the European Union and many other countries.

The draft, reflecting needs and demands of countries, expresses “deep regret” that de veloped countries who have the most capabili ties financially and

manded the resignation of Bommai, alleging he is directly responsible for the corrupt electoral practice by assigning a private entity, Chilume Educational and Rural Development Institute, to collect door-to-door voter information.

technologically to lead in reducing their emis sions continue to fall short in doing so.

Digvijaya targets PM Modi, Guj CM over Morbi bridge collapse

Ahmedabad (PTI): Sen ior Congress leader Dig vijaya Singh on Thurs day targeted Prime Min ister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel over the Morbi bridge col lapse and claimed it was an “act of fraud of the highest degree”.

Addressing a press conference here in pollbound Gujarat, Rajya Sabha member Digvi jaya Singh said there cannot be a bigger ad ministrative failure than the bridge collapse tragedy last month which claimed 135 lives, and said CM Patel should have resigned over the incident.

The suspension bridge located on the Machchhu river in Mor bi collapsed on October 30, four days after it was reopened following its repair and renovation.

TO WIN AMRELI FOR 4TH TIME WILL BE A TOUGH TASK FOR CONG’S PARESH DHANANI

TO HC

Ahmedabad: The Morbi municipality has told the Gujarat High Court that the company tasked with renovating the bridge, which collapsed killing 135 people, reopened it without any prior approval and without informing the civic body. The municipality also informed the court that as per a 2022 agreement between the civic body and the firm, it was for the Ajanta company to “ap propriately renovate” the bridge and only then open it for the public.

Akhilesh meets Shivpal ahead of Mainpuri by-election

Lucknow (PTI): Ahead of the Mainpuri Lok Sabha bypoll, Samajwa di Party president Akh ilesh Yadav and his wife and party candidate Dimple Yadav on Thurs day met with his uncle and PSPL chief Shivpal Singh Yadav.

The bypoll to the seat was necessitated by the demise of SP pa tron Mulayam Singh Yadav, and the area is considered to be the party’s stronghold.

the blessings of ‘Netaji’

elders of the family,

JMM supporters demonstrate in Ranchi as J'khand CM being questioned by ED

Ranchi (PTI): Thou sands of JMM workers from across Jharkhand gathered in Ranchi on Thursday to show soli darity with Chief Minis ter Hemant Soren, who is facing questioning from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state.

The Jharkhand Muk ti Morcha supporters, holding placards bear ing messages such as ED, CBI ka durupayog bandh karo’ (stop mis

use of ED, and CBI’) and Hemant Soren zindabad’, assembled at

They raised slogans against the BJP and the central agencies.

“The Hemant Soren govt is being harassed by the opposition through the central agencies. We came here to support our chief minister,” said a sup porter Sukumar Munda.

Meanwhile, several legislators from the JMM and its partnersthe Congress and the RJD- in the UPA also gathered at CM’s House to show their unity and solidarity.

are also with us.”

Akhilesh Yadav also shared a picture of the meeting.

Reacting to the meet ing, BJP leader Sid harth Nath Singh took a dig at the SP chief, saying the fear of defeat made Akhilesh Yadav remember his uncle.

“Akhilesh-ji remem bered his uncle be cause of elections this is called fear of de feat,” Singh said in a tweet in Hindi.

Amreli (PTI): It would be an uphill task for Congress leader Paresh Dhanani to win from the Amreli Assembly constituency for the fourth time in the next month’s Gujarat elections, especially when the Patidar quota agitation has faded out. The former Leader of Oppo sition in the Assembly is also facing challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which is expected to eat into the Congress's traditional vote banks. The rul ing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded its district unit chief Kaushik Vekariya from the seat, while the AAP has given ticket to Ravi Dhanani. All three — Dhanani and his two rivals — belong to the Patidar community.

SKM to hold marches to Guvs’ houses on Nov 26

New Delhi (PTI): The Samyukta Kisan Mor cha (SKM) will hold marches to Raj Bhavan across the country on November 26, alleging a breach of assurance by the Centre on farmers’ pending demands, the farmers’ organisation announced on Thurs day. The SKM has also called a meeting on December 8 to decide the future course of theirmovement.

HC EXTENDS TILL DEC 19 ORDER OF NO COERCIVE ACTION AGAINST ANIL AMBANI

Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court on Thursday extended till December 19 its earlier order directing the Income Tax department to not take any coercive action against Reliance ADAG group chairman Anil Ambani on a show cause notice seeking to prosecute him under the Black Money Act. The order was extended by a division bench after the Income Tax department sought more time to file its affidavit in response to Ambani’s petition challenging the notice.

REMARKS AGAINST PREZ: WB GOVT TO FILE AFFIDAVITS

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday directed the West Bengal govt, and its minister Akhil Giri to file separate affidavits in response to the PIL filed over the derogatory comments by Giri referring to the looks of President

ED CASE AGAINST FORMER UNION MINISTER QUASHED

It encourages “the continued efforts to ac celerate measures to wards the phase down

of unabated coal pow er and phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, in

line with national cir cumstances and recog nizing the need for support towards just

transitions”.

Nearly the same lan guage was used in the Glasgow Climate deal last year.

When contacted, a spokesperson of the En vironment Ministry said the Indian negotia tors do not wish to com ment “as negotiations are going on”.

The cover text also doesn’t mention when a loss and damage fi nance facility will be launched and what its contours will be.

Droupadi Murmu. The court directed the state govt to file an affidavit within two weeks on the steps taken by it on the FIR filed against Giri in the matter.

Chennai: The Madras High Court has quashed an Enforcement Case Information Report reg istered by the ED against DMK MP S Jagathrak shakan, representing Arakkonam constituten cy, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002. Justices PN Prakash and RMT. Teekaa Raman allowed his writ petition pending since 2020, and quashed the ECIR registered on June 12, 2020.

PARESH MESTA DEATH: COURT ALLOWS OBJECTIONS TO CBI’S CLOSURE REPORT

Honnavar (Agencies): In a major development, a court in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada on Thursday allowed filing of objections to the CBI’s closure report in connection with the suspicious death of Paresh Mesta during a commu nal clash in the district in 2017. The father of the deceased, Kamalakar Mesta had objected to the closure report and filed a submission in the Judicial Magistrate in Honnavar city, stating that they don’t agree with the report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

PM MODI TO ADDRESS POLL RALLIES FROM NOV 20 IN SAURASHTRA REGION NADDA, UNION MINISTERS, CMS TO ADDRESS 89 BJP RALLIES TODAY

prepared. Since the PM was out of the country for the G20 summit, the party waited for his return to seek approval and finalize the rally venues.

New Delhi (PTI): Senior BJP leaders, including chief JP Nadda besides Union ministers and chief ministers, are expected to address public meetings on Friday in the 89 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase of polls on December 1. With the BJP intensifying its campaign, party sources said Nadda will hold rallies in three places — Navsari, Ankleshwar and Rajkot East — while Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Narendra Singh Tomar and Anurag Singh Thakur will speak at three, four and four meetings, respectively. UP CM Yogi Adityanath and MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan will address three and four rallies, respectively.

Students create ‘rangoli’ to spread voting awareness ahead of upcoming Assembly polls, in Ahmedabad, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

MORBI BRIDGE WAS REOPENED SANS APPROVAL: CIVIC BODY

In a tweet after the meeting at Shivpal Sin gh’s residence in Saifai,

their native village in Etawah, Akhilesh Ya dav said, “Along with

and

the people of Mainpuri

Ranchi’s Morabadi Ground and marched towards the CM house.

PVT ENTITY IN VOTER SURVEY

JMM supporters protest over summoning of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren by ED, in Ranchi on Thursday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Akhilesh Yadav and wife Dimple Yadav with Shivpal Singh Yadav and his son Aditya Yadav, in Mainpuri, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

RAMPUR BYPOLL

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday dissolved all commit tees formed in Uttar Pradesh for the as sembly elections this year, and the state unit of the party is likely to be reconsti tuted. Party sources said office-bearers of the unit would be replaced under the leadership of state Congress president Brijlal Khabri. An of ficial communication from the party said.

UP PANELS FORMED FOR STATE POLLS

Cops get Aaftab’s custody for 5 days

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Thurs day permitted the city police to question Meh rauli killing accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala for five more days in its custody and also al lowed his narco analysis test to be conducted to unravel the case. Metro politan Magistrate Avi ral Shukla passed the order while allowing police plea in the matter.

Twenty-eight-yearold Poonawala alleged ly strangled Shradha Walkar and sawed her body into 35 pieces which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for al most three weeks at his residence in South Del hi’s Mehrauli before dumping them across the city over several days past midnight.

Police said the couple used to have frequent arguments over finan cial issues and it is sus pected that there was also a fight between them that resulted in Poonawala killing 27-year-old Walkar on the evening of May 18.

New Delhi: In Shraddha murder, the Southern District Police of Delhi have contacted their Eastern counterparts in a bid to match the DNA sample of chopped body parts including a human head which the latter had recovered ear lier in June. According to the sources the East Delhi Police had found a chopped head and hand in the Trilokpuri area in the national capital in

CRUCIAL READ

HC DENIES TO GIVE POLICE CUSTODY OF TAINTED IPS OFFICER

Lucknow: The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has declined to grant police the custody of tainted IPS officer Manilal Patidar for interroga tion in a corruption case, citing technical grounds. The bench said though the special Prevention of Corruption Act court in Lucknow erred in not allowing police custody for interrogation earlier, it cannot be granted at this stage “be cause section 167(2) of CrPC puts embargo on granting police custody after fifteen days judicial custody period, which expired on Nov 13.

MOPA AIRPORT MAY BE COMMISSIONED ON DEC 11: GOA CM

Panaji: The international airport in Mopa in Goa will be tentatively commis sioned on December 11 but an official announce ment would be made after con firmation is received from the Prime Min ister’s Office, said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday. Private firm GMR, which will oper ate the airport, the state government as well as the Civil Aviation ministry are all ready to commission the facility, located in North Goa bordering Maharash tra, Sawant added.

MORTAL REMAINS OF 8 INDIANS KILLED IN MALDIVES GARAGE FIRE REPATRIATED

Male: The mortal remains of eight Indians who were killed in the deadly garage fire in the Maldivian capital here last week have been repatriated to India, the Indian High Com mission said on Thursday. The eight Indians were among 10 people who died on November 10, when a major fire broke out in the garage below a cramped living quarters that housed foreign workers here. The fire broke out in the M. Nirufehi area near Maaveyo Mosque, and is reported as the worst-ever recorded in Male in terms of lives claimed. “Mor tal remains of all 8 Indian nationals, who lost their lives in this unfortunate incident, have been repatriated to India.We thank Maldivian authorities for their support in this regard,” the Indian High Commission in Maldives tweeted.

NIA moves..

Maoist ideology and anti-government utter ances through his vari ous lectures and videos.

The NIA also raised the issue over the address given by Navlakha for keeping him under house arrest. Having evaluated the premises, it is clear that rather than being a residential premise it is a public li brary building under the control of a political party, it said.

“It is further humbly submitted that, the said hall/premises is public library having access to all and therefore not safe from the view of safety and security of accused Gautam Nav lakha.… It is clear from the perusal of the above that the suggestion of the petitioner for house

arrest to be carried out in the so-called house was clearly another at tempt to mislead this Court, abuse the pro cess and to avail ex traordinary relief oth erwise not available,” the NIA plea said.

Mumbai court..

Chhote Miyan and Say eed Arshad succumbed to their injuries. During investigation, police ar rested Rane, who alleg edly disclosed the roles of the other accused.

Rajan, however, will not walk out of prison as he is facing trials in sever al other cases. He has been convicted in the journalist J Dey murder case. He is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail since his deporta tion from Bali in Indo nesia in 2015.

June this year, which was nearly a month after Shraddha was murdered (on May 18).

Sheena case: My father is innocent, says Peter’s son

Mumbai (PTI): Rahul Mukerjea, son of for mer media baron Peter Mukerjea, told the spe cial court here conduct ing the trial in the Shee na Bora murder case on Thursday that he still believes that his father is innocent.

Rahul Mukerjea was being cross-examined by main accused Indra ni Mukerjea’s lawyer Ranjeet Sangle before special judge for Cen tral Bureau of Investi gation cases SP NaikNimbalkar.

Peter Mukerjea, Ind rani’s former husband, was also arrested in the case. All the accused in cluding Indrani are out on bail.

Sheena Bora (24), with whom Rahul Muk erjea was stated to be in a relationship, was al legedly killed by her mother Indrani Muker jea with the help of coaccused Sanjeev Khan na and her driver Shay amvar Rai in 2012. The murder came to light in 2015 when Rai, arrested in another case, spilled the beans.

New Delhi: A section of lawyers on Thurs day evening at a court premises here shouting slogans against Aaftab Amin Poonawala, ac cused in the Mehrauli killing case. Around 100 advocates, practising at tje Saket district courts in the national capital, assembled around 3 in the afternoon when they came to know that the accused will be pro duced before the court

WATER BILL A PROOF TO CEMENT AAFTAB’S GUILT

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has come across a fresh lead in the investi gation of the Shraddha Walker murder case, in which they have found a pending water bill in accused Aaftab Poona walla’s flat, given the circumstances that 20,000 litres of water in Delhi is provided free by the gov ernment, sources said.

Court okays cops’ plea for Aaftab’s virtual production

New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court on Thurs day allowed police’s ap plication to produce Mehrauli killing ac cused Aaftab Amin Poonawala before a court through video conferencing. Metro politan Magistrate Avi ral Shukla said accord ing to the application submitted by police, the accused faced threat from miscreants and religious groups.

NGT files suo-moto case in Mizoram quarry collapse

of Metropolitan Magis trate Aviral Shukla. They shouted slogans de manding award of death penalty for Poonawala, who is under police custody.

“I am aware of the sen sitivity of the matter, media coverage...Pub lic traction...,” the judge said while allow ing the application. Aaftab was arrested on Saturday after Delhi police started probing into a missing com plaint filed by deceased Shraddha’s father Vikas Walker.

Aizawl (PTI): The Na tional Green Tribunal (NGT) has registered a suo-moto case in the stone quarry collapse in south Mizoram’s Hnahthial district and directed authorities concerned to appear be fore it on November 28.

Seven officials, in cluding the member sec retary of Mizoram pol lution control board and the director of the state’s disaster manage ment directorate, have been asked to appear at the tribunal’s Faridkot House office in Delhi, according to the notice issued by the NGT on Wednesday.

District Superinten dent of Police (SP) Vineet Kumar said that suo-moto case into the

incident has also been filed at Hnahthial police station. Meanwhile, the toll in the stone quarry collapse in south Mizo ram’s Hnahthial dis trict climbed to 11 after one more body was re covered from the site, an official said on Thurs day. Hnahthial deputy commissioner (DC) R Lalremsanga said that the body of a 25-year-old man, a resident of Lun glei district, was found under the debris during the ongoing search op eration on Wednesday evening.

Twelve people were confirmed to have been trapped after the stone quarry caved in at Maudarh village, about 23 km from Hnahthial town, on Monday.

V-P Dhankhar interacts with parl committee chairpersons

Bhubaneswar (PTI): Claiming that irregu larities have been com mitted in paying insur ance sum to farmers in Odisha under a central scheme, Union educa tion minister Dharmen dra Pradhan sought a probe into the alleged malpractices.

Pradhan, who held a meeting with farmers during his recent visit to Bargarh district, urged Union Agricul ture and Farmer Wel fare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar to insti tute an investigation

into the “scam” pulled off in the implementa tion of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), and review the sum paid by the in surance company en listed by the state gov ernment under the cen tral scheme.

New Delhi (PTI): VicePresident and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday interacted with chairpersons of various department-re lated parliamentary standing committees at his Parliament House complex.

Among those present were BJP leaders Sush il Kumar Modi, Radha Mohan Singh, Rama Devi, Jagdambika Pal, Bhubaneswar Kalita and Brijlal, BJD MP Su jeet Kumar, YSRCP

leader V Vijayasai Red dy and the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor.

The department-re lated standing commit

tees are formed to cover various central minis tries to strengthen ac countability of the gov ernment to Parliament.

CEC Kumar invited as Int’l Observer for Nepal polls

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Chief Elec tion Commissioner (CEC) of India Rajiv Ku mar has been invited by Election Commission of Nepal as Internation al Observer for the forthcoming elections to Nepal’s House of Rep resentatives and Pro vincial Assembly. Elec tions are scheduled in Nepal on November 20 for the Federal and Pro vincial elections to elect

CEC

MOS LAUDS PM MODI

vember 18 to 22. During his visit Kumar would be visiting Polling sta tions at Kathmandu and areas around.

ECI also has a similar International Election Visitors Program where members from other Election Management Bodies are invited to ex perience firsthand our General and Assembly Elections held periodi cally. The Election Com mission of India has al ways been in the fore

front with fellow Elec tion Management Bod ies and relevant interna tional organizations/as sociations in promoting the cause of democracy worldwide, through bi lateral as well as multi lateral interactions and has always endeavored to promote contacts, fa cilitate exchange of knowledge and sharing of best practices with a view to strengthen democratic institutions and processes.

India has most cost-effective healthcare: Dr Singh

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Union Min ister of State (MoS) Dr Jitendra Singh said on Thursday that India un der Prime Minister Narendra Modi has be come one of the world’s most cost-effective healthcare destination, with the latest technol ogy tools deployed, across care delivery.

Addressing the Healthcare Leaders Summit-2022 of the Eco nomic Times, Dr Jiten

PM MODI TO INAUGURATE AIRPORT IN ARUNACHAL, EVENT IN VARANASI ON 19

the ‘Kashi Tamil Sangamam’, a month-long programme being organised in his Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi, on Saturday. The airport is suitable for day operations in every weather. The name of the airport reflects the tradi tions and rich cultural heritage of Arunachal Pradesh and its age-old indigenous reverence to the sun and moon. MoS Dr Jitendra Singh at the event.

dra Singh said that more than 10 lakh medi cal visas were issued to foreigners between 2019

and 2022 and the coun try is fast emerging as the Medical Tourism Hub of the world. He

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi will on Saturday inau gurate Arunachal Pradesh’s first greenfield airport Donyi Polo, developed over an area of 690 acres and built at a cost of more than Rs 640 crore, in a boost to connec tivity, trade and tourism in the scenic region. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said that he will also inaugurate

said, this number is quite significant as there was almost com plete ban on interna

tional travel during the pandemic. The Minis ter also pointed out that India has almost 600

globally and nationally accredited hospitals that provide world-class treatment in cost-effec tive manner.

The Minister said that healthcare sector in India is expected to grow to reach a size of $50 billion by 2025, while the global medi cal tourism market is estimated to be worth about $72 billion. He said, India’s share in medical tourism is ex pected to be around 10 billion dollars by 2023.

Accused Aaftab Amin Poonawala allegedly killed 27-year-old Shraddha Walker on evening of May 18

Mediapersons at forest area where Aftab allegedly dumped body pieces of Shraddha, in New Delhi.

POLICE TO MATCH SHRADDHA’S DNA SAMPLES WITH CHOPPED HEAD FOUND

LAWYERS PROTEST, SHOUT SLOGANS AGAINST SHRADDHA MURDER ACCUSED

Pradhan writes to Tomar on farmers’ insurance scheme

275 members of the Fed eral Parliament and 550 seats of the seven Pro vincial Assemblies.

Kumar will be leading a delegation of ECI officials as State guest in Nepal from No

Union Min Dharmendra Pradhan

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. —FILE PHOTO

*Rates till the edition went to print.

BRIEFS

India, GCC to launch free trade pact talks

New Delhi (PTI): India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are expect ed to launch negotiations for a free trade agreement on November 24 with an aim to boost economic ties between the two regions, an official said.

GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf re gion -- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. “The FTA will be launched on November 24.

GCC officials will be here to launch the talks,” the of ficial said. India has al ready implemented a free trade pact with the UAE in May this year.

‘Binding commitments on new issues in FTAs may hamper India’s exports in future’

PTI

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had, on November 16, said that India will be launching a new free trade agreement (FTA) next week.

New Delhi: Oil refining and marketing company BPCL’s former chairman Arun Kumar Singh is likely to be the new chairman of India’s top oil and gas producer ONGC -- the first instance of a top PSU board-level position going to a person aged over 60. A search-cum-selection committee, constituted by the oil ministry, zeroed in on Singh after interview ing six candidates on Au gust 27. If his selection is approved, Singh will get three years as head of the cash-rich PSU. PTI

BHARATX TO INVEST $15 MILLION IN INDIGENOUS STARTUP

This would be a kind of resumption of FTA talks as earlier two rounds of nego tiations held in 2006 and 2008 between India and GCC. Third round did not happen as GCC deferred its negotiations with all coun tries and economic groups.

India imports predomi nately crude oil and natu ral gas from the Gulf na tions like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and exports pearls, precious and semi-

OTHER STORIES

New Delhi (PTI): Taking binding commitments on new issues like environment, labour and sustainability in the proposed free trade agreements (FTA), being negotiated by India, may hamper the country’s exports in the future, according to a report by Global Trade Research Initiative. India’s already “weak” FTA outcomes may worsen if it takes obligations in the new issues, the report -- FTAs: Fabulous, Futile, or Flawed? An evaluation of India’s FTAs with ASEAN, Japan and South Korea -- said. It added that like many developing countries, India has an evolv ing regulatory framework on most new issues.“International commitments must be taken only after the domestic regulatory framework is in place. And both must be in sync. New non-trade issues may serve as non-trade barriers and hamper our exports in the future,” GTRI report said.

precious stones; metals; imitation jewellery; elec trical machinery; iron and steel; and chemicals to these countries. India’s ex ports to the GCC grew by 58.26 per cent to about $44 billion in 2021-22 against $27.8 billion in 2020-21, ac cording to data from the commerce ministry.

The share of these six

INDIA ENTERS INTO DEAL FOR EXPORT OF 35 LAKH TONNES SUGAR SO FAR IN 2022-23 SEASON: ISMA

New Delhi: India has entered into a contract for export of about 35 lakh tonnes of sugar so far in the ongoing 2022-23 season, out of which 2,00,000 tonnes have been shipped last month, industry body ISMA said on Thursday. The 2022-23 sugar export policy announced on November 5 allowed exports of 60 lakh tonnes of the sweetener on a quota-basis till May 31. Further quantities for export would be allowed after assessing the do mestic production. Sugar season begins from October to September. FIB

countries in India’s total exports has risen to 10.4 per cent in 2021-22 from 9.51% in 2020-21. Similarly, imports rose by 85.8% to $110.73 billion compared to $59.6 billion in 2020-21, the data showed.

The share of GCC mem bers in India’s total im ports rose to 18% in 2021-22 from 15.5% in 2020-21.

Polarisation in performance of Indian banks to persist:

S&P

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices ended lower on Thursday in line with weak global market trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 230.12 points or 0.37% to settle at 61,750.60.

It said SBI and leading private sector banks have largely addressed their as set quality challenges, and their profitability is im proving more sharply than the banking system. S&P said economic recovery is driving credit costs to cycli cal low levels and stronger balance sheets and higher demand should boost bank loan growth, but deposit growth will lag.

“Polarisation in the per formance of banks to per sist,” S&P said, adding the return on average assets would be ‘adequate’ at 1%.

“Many large public sec tor banks are still saddled with weak assets, high credit costs, and poor earnings. Similarly, we ex pect a mixed-bag perfor mance for finance compa nies (fincos),” it added.

TV, OTT need selfregulation: Goyal

New Delhi (PTI): Com merce and industry minis ter Piyush Goyal on Thurs day asked the entertain ment industry to self-regu late content of pro grammes on televisions and over-the-top (OTT) platforms as some of them are beyond acceptable standards within the Indi an cultural landscape.

He said that some form of self-regulation and some levels of decency in the presentation of India, In dian families and culture needs to be there.

“I do believe that some form of self-regulation within the media and en tertainment industry is called for. On the one hand, we talk of our culture, rich tradition, our heritage, our family value systems and on the other hand, some of what we see on television and OTT platforms, cer tainly is beyond what is ordinarily acceptable standards within the Indi

TOP TALKING POINTS

z

Piyush Goyal on Thursday asked the entertainment industry to self-regulate content of programmes on televisions and OTT platforms

said that

and some levels of decency in the presentation of India and culture need to be there

an cultural landscape,” the minister said.

“I do not know if it helps in sell your product any better. I suspect not,” Goyal said, adding, “while we welcome modern content...I do believe that some form of self-regula tion and some levels of de cency in the presentation of India, Indian families and Indian culture is some thing where the captains of this industry should also” play a role.

BANK STRIKE: WORK IN SOME PSBs LIKELY TO BE HIT

New Delhi (PTI): Opera tions of PSBs may be im pacted as bank union AI BEA has given a strike call for Satto oppose incessant outsourcing of jobs.

New Delhi: Startup accel erator BharatX will invest $15 million over the next 18 months in the Indian startup ecosystem. A joint venture between India Ac celerator and think-tank CIEU, BharatX will invest `1-5 crore in each startup during the first edition of the accelerator pro gramme. “The number of startups in India rose from 471 in 2016 to 72,993 by June 2022, which is fuelling the Indi an tech wave. To build a Swadeshi Startup Ecosys tem in India, BharatX an nounces to inject $15 mil lion over the period of 18 months to build and scale nationwide,” it said. PTI

ALSTOM

WINS ORDER TO DESIGN, MFG 312

TONNES

New Delhi: The country’s export of oilmeal, used as animal feed, rose 38.45% to 19.84 lakh tonnes during the AprilOctober period of the current fiscal on sharp rise in shipment of rapeseed meal, industry body SEA said on Thursday. According to Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), out of the total oilmeal exports, the shipment of rape seed meal doubled to 13.41 lakh tonnes during the April-October period of the current fiscal, from 6.58 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. PTI

TO

TEA EXPORTS RISE 14.8% TO 140.28 MKGS IN JANUARY-AUGUST

Kolkata: Exports of tea from India increased by 14.8% to 140.28 million kilograms in the first eight months of the 2022 calendar year, according to Tea Board data. Tea shipments during the January-August period in 2021 stood at 122.18 million kilograms. The CIS countries, including Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, remained the larg est importer of Indian tea with 30.56 mkgs in the first eight months of 2022, marginally higher than 29.13 mkgs shipped in year-ago period. —PTI

CATER TO PENDING

During the day, it fell 337.45 points or 0.54 per cent to 61,643.27.

The broader NSE Nifty dipped 65.75 points or 0.36 per cent to end at 18,343.90.

From the Sensex pack, Titan, Mahindra & Mahin dra, Maruti, HDFC, Dr Reddy’s, Bajaj Finserv, In fosys, and HDFC Bank were the major laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Power Grid, ICICI Bank and Bhar ti Airtel were among the winners.

Foreign Institutional In vestors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth `386.06 crore on Wednesday, as per ex change data.

PAYTM SHARES TANK NEARLY 11% AFTER REPORTS OF SELLOFF

New Delhi (PTI): Shares of One97 Communications, Paytm’s parent firm, on Thursday tumbled nearly 11% following reports that Japan-based SoftBank has started the process to sell a 4.5% stake in the company in a block deal. The stock tanked 10.31% to settle at `539.55 on the BSE.

During the day, it went lower by 11% to `535.20. At the NSE, it fell 10.78% to settle at `536.60.

The company’s market valuation eroded by `4,021.85 crore.

Kia India looks to bring in more EV6 units

New Delhi (FIB): Kia In dia is looking to bring in more EV6 units into the country in order to cater to the pending bookings, the automaker said on Thurs day. The company said it has delivered 200 units of the EV6, which comes as a completely built unit (CBU), to customers till date.

This number is already twice the initially planned 100 units for the entire year, the South Korean au tomaker said in a statement.

“Now, the company is planning to further in crease the total allocation of EV6 in 2022 and com plete most of the pending deliveries within this year,” it added. The company had launched EV6 in the coun try in June this year, and

z The company said it has delivered 200 units of the EV6, which comes as a CBU, to customers till date. This number is already twice the initially planned 100 units for the entire year

the deliveries to customers began last month.

“At the launch of EV6, amid the very positive re sponse received, we had promised our customers to bring in more units of the EV6, over and above the initially allotted 100 units for 2022. Going forward, our focus will be on com pleting the deliveries of all the existing and new book ings at the earliest,” Kia India Chief Sales Officer Myung-sik Sohn stated.

` FALLS 37 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.63 AGAINST AMERICAN DOLLAR

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated by 37 paise to close at 81.63 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking the strength of the American currency in the overseas markets and a muted trend in domestic equities. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.62 and later wit nessed an intraday high of 81.45 and a low of 81.68 during the session.The domestic unit finally settled at 81.63.

Although the officers are not part of the strike, there may be some impact on cash deposit and withdraw al, clearing of cheques etc.

Several banks, including BoB and Punjab & Sind Bank, have already in formed their customers about the potential impact on services if November 19 strike materalises.

If the strike materialis es, a certain section of the Bank’s employees may par ticipate in strike on the said date, in which case, it is likely that the normal functioning of the branch es/offices of the bank may get affected, Punjab & Sind Bank said on Thursday.

NSE to soon introduce Electronic Gold Receipt

New Delhi (PTI): The Na tional Stock Exchange is likely to introduce trading of electronic gold receipts on its platform and market regulator Sebi is ironing out some taxation issues related to the product with the government, an official said on Thursday.

Referring to the Elec tronic Gold Receipt (EGR), V S Sundaresan, Executive Director at the Securities and Exchange Board of In dia (Sebi), said, this prod uct has been introduced by Sebi and BSE has launched it about a month back and “we hope that this product

will definitely gain trac tion over a period of time”.

“Under this product, what is proposed is that the physical gold is to be depos ited in a vault, that vault manager will issue an elec tronic receipt and this will be credited to the demat ac count of the investor, that receipt can be traded on the stock exchange,” he said.

ARUN KUMAR SINGH TO BE NEXT CHAIRMAN OF ONGC

APPOINTS S DEVANATHAN AS NEW INDIA HEAD

New Delhi (PTI): Polarisa tion in the performance of Indian banks will persist as many large public sector banks are still saddled with weak assets, high credit costs, and poor earnings, S&P Global Ratings said.

z He

some form of self-regulation

SENSEX FALL BY 230 POINTS AMID WEAK GLOBAL EQUITIES

NCB seizes drugs worth `1 cr in separate raids; 4 arrested

Drugs include 19kg ganja, 1.15kg hydroponic weed, 500 nitrazepam & 3,840 tramadol pills

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Drugs worth Rs1 crore, some of them concealed in photo frames, were seized and four per sons were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in sep arate operations this past week, an official said.

The seized drugs include 19kg of ganja, 1.15kg of hydroponic weed, along with 13,500 nitrazepam and 3,840 tramadol tablets, the of ficial said, adding that the arrests led to the identification of a few international drug syndicates operating in the region.

According to the of ficial, the NCB report edly got inputs about an international drug traf ficking syndicate pre paring to smuggle highgrade Bud (commonly known as hydroponic weed) to Doha, Qatar, through a courier par cel mode. The NCB held back the parcel, which was about to be shipped,

and inspected it. It con tained 10 photo frames with religious scrip tures, but upon close ex amination, 1.15kg of high-quality hydroponic

weed was found con cealed inside the frames, the official said.

On Tuesday, a surveil lance operation by the NCB led to a key associ

ate of the syndicate, and the Mumbai distributor being caught with a par cel containing nitraze pam, the official stated, adding that the two were in contact with many traffickers in other states as well.

The official also re vealed that the NCB had knowledge about an in ternational drug syndi cate planning to smuggle tramadol tablets to the US from Mumbai, through a courier. He also stated that the NCB

Removal of unauthorized construction begins at Rane’s Mumbai bungalow

First India Bureau

Mumbai: Civic author ities on Thursday con firmed that the remov al of unauthorized construction at Union minister Narayan Rane’s bungalow in Mumbai’s Juhu area has begun.

The Supreme Court had in September dis missed a plea challeng ing the Bombay High Court verdict directing the Brihanmumbai Mu nicipal Corporation (BMC) to demolish the unauthorized construc tion at Rane’s bungalow “Adhish”, noting there was a violation of the Floor Space Index (FSI) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.

FSI is the maximum permissible floor area that can be built on a particular plot or/piece of land. The plea against the HC judgement was filed in the apex court

by Kaalkaa Real Estates Pvt Ltd, a company owned by Rane’s family.

Activist Santosh Daun dkar, who had filed the

complaints, welcomed the development but said his complaint about the CRZ rules vio lation was still pending.

“I suspect the BMC’s action is only about il legal construction in the bungalow, but no ac tion is being taken on the CRZ rules viola tions. Such an action is more severe than what is currently taking place at Rane’s bunga low,” he said.

“arrived” at the courier office last Thursday and found the parcel box, “mis-declared as a legit item” containing the tramadol.

The NCB also uncov ered a “bus route” used for trafficking ganja across state borders by the drug syndicate; re portedly it was conspir ing to transport a con signment from Dhule to Mumbai. Subsequently, the NCB caught two per sons and recovered 19kg of high quality ganja.

Ailing man, others rescued from fire in 15-storey Pune apartment

Pune (PTI): An ailing man and several oth er residents were evacuated success fully after a fire broke out in a 15-sto rey building in Pune’s Kothrud area on Thursday, an official said.

The fire, which broke out around 11-11.30 am on the ground floor, saw flames rise till the 14th floor, he said. It was doused an hour later.

Pune Fire Brigade chief Devendra Pot phode said people should ensure fire extinguishers are in stalled in their buildings and they are functional.

“We took out four LPG cylinders from a duct on the sixth floor, which averted a larger incident. The firefight ing mechanism of the building was not opera tional. The incident is being investigated,” he also said, adding “As the stairs, terrace and ducts of the build ing are most used, one should avoid keep ing waste material in these spots.”

17-year-old Pune student raped for 6 yrs by father, uncle

Pune: A 17-year-old girl, studying at a col lege in the city, recent ly narrated to the members of her insti tute’s Vishaka com mittee on sexual har assment how her fa ther and uncle repeat edly raped her, and her grandfather mo lested her, when she visited her home in Uttar Pradesh.

“During a session of the committee formed under Vishaka guide lines, the girl revealed the rape and sexual abuse by her father, grandfa ther, and uncle over the past six years. The col lege authorities ap proached the police and a case was registered,” a police official said.

Based on her claims, a complaint was regis tered on Wednesday

Based on her claims, a complaint was registered on Wednesday with a Pune police station

with a Pune police sta tion, with charges under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Chil dren from Sexual Of fences Act.

In her complaint, the girl stated that she was raped by her uncle, be tween 2016 and 2018, when she was at her hometown in Uttar Pradesh; she also claimed her grandfather molested her.

“After coming to Pune in 2018, the girl informed her father about the sexu al assault incidents by writing on a chit. However, instead of acting against tormentors, the father also raped her on several occasions when her mother was not at home,” police said.

Maha govt doubles pension of freedom fighters to `20K

First India Bureau

Aurangabad (PTI): Na tionalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pa war and Union Minis ter Nitin Gadkari will be conferred Doctor of Literature (D.Litt) de grees by the Babasa heb Ambedkar Mar athwada University here, its Vice Chancel lor Dr Pramod Yeole said on Thursday.

The 62nd convocation ceremony of the Univer sity would take place on November 19 in the pres ence of Nalanda Univer sity Chancellor Dr Vijay Bhatkar. “The Universi ty will honour Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and former Maharash tra CM Sharad Pawar with D.Litt,” Yeole said.

DEADDICTION PROGRAMME

Mumbai: The state government on Thursday doubled the pension of free dom fighters who took part in the In dian Independence movement, the Mar athwada Mukti San gram and the Goa liberation struggle, to Rs20,000 per month from the cur rent Rs10,000.

A decision to this effect was taken at the weekly cabinet meet ing chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde here.

The cabinet also cleared a proposal to allow Socially and Educationally Back ward Classes candi dates (Marathas) to avail jobs quota under the category of eco nomically weaker sec

Cabinet also allowed Socially and Educationally Backward Classes candidates to avail jobs quota

tions (EWS), whose constitutional validi ty has been upheld by the Supreme Court. In this regard, the cabi net approved the re cruitment process, which began after September 09, 2020, said a statement from the Chief Minister’s

Office (CMO). The statement said the cooperation de partment’s proposal to allow farmers, whose names do not figure in the voters list, to contest Agricul tural Produce Market Committee (APMC) elections was ap proved at the meeting.

The cabinet approved a proposal to raise Rs35,629 crore through loans to fund road de velopment projects in the state, it said. This will help in expediting land acquisition for such projects.

Yavatmal village bans mobile phones for those below 18 years

may be the first of its kind in the state.

Yavatmal: A village in Yavatmal has banned the use of mobile phones by children be low the age of 18, with a gram panchayat of ficial claiming on Thursday the decision

The “no mobile phones for those below 18” decision in Bansi in the district’s Pusad talu ka was taken on Novem ber 11, village sarpanch Gajanan Tele said.

This follows close on

the heels of a similar decision taken in Sangli district’s Mohityanchi

Vadgaon village, where children and adults were barred from using

phones between 7 pm and 8:30 pm every day as part of an “evening

detox” plan to tackle mobile phone addiction among residents. Dur

ing the COVID-19 pan demic, children started using mobile phones for online education. They soon got addicted to it, spending lots of time watching various sites and playing online games,” Tele said.

“Therefore, we de cided to ban the use of mobile phones for all those below the age of 18 in Bansi gram pan chayat. We have be come the first gram panchayat in Maha rashtra to take such a

decision,” he claimed.

He said there may be initial issues while im plementing the deci sion but both parents and children will be counselled to make the move a success.

“If we see children using mobile phones even after counselling, we will impose a penalty. The purpose is to get children to go back to studies and not be distracted by mobile phones,” sar panch Tele said.

First India Bureau

First India Bureau

The decision aims to get children in Bansi village to go back to studies and not be distracted by mobile phones

During the COVID-19 pandemic, kids got addicted to mobile phones.

Marathwada varsity to give D.Litt to Sharad Pawar, Gadkari

Preparations underway for the demolition of unauthorized construction at Adhish at Juhu in Mumbai, on Thursday. —PHOTO BY PTI

The Supreme Court has directed Rane to remove the illegal construction at his bun galow in two months. If he fails to do so, the BMC will act. —Senior BMC official

PICTURE IMPERFECT

THE MAJESTIC BEAUTY ANSHIKA CHOUDHARY, ONE OF THE FINALISTS OF FIRST INDIA QUEEN SHARES HER JOURNEY AS A MODEL IN A CANDID CONVERSATION WITH CITY FIRST!

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

Do not go where the path may lead, go in stead where there is no path and leave a trail. Anshika Choudhary, one of the finalists of First India Queen shared her dreams and aspiration, she said “I am always more inter ested in studies since child hood and wants to make my career in the Medical field. Currently pursuing hospital administration from Mahat ma Gandhi Jaipur. My only passion is to miss India and soon I will make it to it. I was born in Shri Ganganagar and brought up in Jaipur. My par ents support me always. My father Dharmapala Saharan took care of my studies and my mother Sonia Saharan helped in growing my passion for beauty pageants.”

“My love towards Pageants is increasing day by day. Pa gent is Just not about beauti ful faces in the face it is a plat form where a girl can raise her voice for the welfare ciety,” she added.

The gorgeous beauty proved that the future belongs to those who be lieve in the beauty of their dreams.

While describing her inspiration, she said “I have always been involved in fashion as my mom is a fashion designer so I got used to be having naturally in front of the camera.

I noticed very young that it isn’t about looking it’s about how the camera per

ceives you. I focused on my look and defined what type of modelling I enjoyed Fashion should be a form of escapism and not a form of impris onment, but sadly models are stuck in the fashion world with lots of difficulties, while shar ing her jour ney, the diva said, “My jour ney has been very challenging as my studies were difficult. There was a time when I was preparing for the Neet exam mad my pag eant was also at that time as I managed both and suc ceed in both. but I am grateful to FIRST INDIA QUEEN for giving me this golden opportu nity and for providing wings to my dreams. When asked about her memorable mo ments, the beauty said “When I won Miss Congeniality India 2022 and Miss Vivacious jasthan 2021. I want to thank you Jagdeesh Chandra and Parimal Mehhta for support ing me a lot during my jour ney and special thanks to my principal Dr Tanjul Saxena for constant support during

emories ex press them selves in tears, sadness and depression and at times denial. Which should be the best way to deal with the memories of the departed ones yet alive in our hearts? There is a designated Day by the United Nations that an swers this question - The UN World Day of Remem brance for Road Traffic Victims which falls on every third Sunday of No vember.

It is a day to acknowl edge the pain of those families who have lost their dear ones in road ac cidents. It is a Day to pay homage to their memory. The United Nations en dorses it as a global day, making it a major advoca cy for road traffic injury prevention. The day is ob served by civil societies and social groups all over the world in more than 58 countries. We have 13.50 lakhs in the world and over 1.50 lakhs in India dy ing on the roads every year.

The poignant poser is what do we do with the fact that roads take away peo ple we love and leave the families totally resource less to deal with the sud den demise?

One most effective and positive steps are to turn the pain into a campaign, a mission to prevent such a loss. Yes, it is not easy, yet it is possible. Well then, there are those who some how go beyond their per sonal sorrow and include others by forming civil societies. Such individual efforts take a huge step for ward to mitigate accidents and pain. Empathy has a sense of brotherhood. The UN World Day of Remembrance does that.

Muskaan foundation for Road Safety which had re solved to move from per sonal to universal has been observing the Day for the sixth year now. These days the Muskaan office is a hub of activities as the team members work from nine to nine putting to

gether the Memory Out Reach program details in place. Old volunteers drop by and contribute, food or ders give a happy hour break on the terrace of the

Muskaan office. The event is victims-centric. The in spiration emanates from the overpowering inter face with some villager who has donated his

ARIES

daughter or son’s organs in a bid to save somebody’s life. There have been mo ments in the past when on stage the young organ do nor’s mother could not an

MAR 21 - APR 20

Today is a favourable day for business. Listening to someone’s advice on the professional front will be in your interest. You are very generous by nature. Be careful of the words that come out of your mouth. Your lover may finally say yes to get married to you.

swer the soft question posed to her and simply broke down- no words could replace the loud res onance of her tears! In an other such case, the bro

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20

You must create an environment of understanding at home. Your regular exercise routine promises to keep you fit and energetic. You will succeed in any sort of examination if you put your heart and soul to it. You need a break from day to day tensions.

ken but proud sisters of the family stand mute over the fact that four people got life from their brother whose organs were carried and trans

planted in Jaipur, Delhi and even further through a green corridor. Here Mo han Foundation is doing exemplary work in organ donation and counselling after the brain death of any dear one.

Then there are people like Dilip Petro in Hy derabad who was on his way to the international airport to travel on a schol arship to study further when he was hit by a vehi cle. This left him a paraple gic. The never say die spirit of this young man not only healed him, he put together ‘The Ability People,’ an or ganization that helps peo ple like him in rehabilita tion. He fights for the rights of survivors of life-limiting injuries in traffic crashes. Dilip though lives in severe pain, he is tireless in spirit!

Close to home, the Day of Remembrance is being commemorated by Muskaan NGO at Ravin dra Manch on November 20, 2022, at 6 pm. The day will have 350 voices of school children from thir ty-five plus schools of Jaipur city singing ‘Shrad hanjali song’, and other songs with messages of happy and safe behaviour on the roads. The Host for the Music workshop, pre paratory rehearsals and the finale is The Palace School for three months now. The Palace School Principal, Urvashi Var man said, ‘We are happy to be an associate for the Re membrance Day as this massive event is not only an expression of collabo rative social empathy for the victims, it is also a powerful medium to spread awareness about road safety. Besides the 35odd schools of Jaipur, still another school collaborat ing is the Tagore Public School with its Mime Thea tre that will relay the mes sage of road safety loudly through its forty-member group of students. The most innocent junior chil dren of Canvas Interna tional Pre School, a regular associate, contribute through a display of plac ards - walk on stage. There is a lot of music, and flow ers but no speeches! Here the silence is eloquence!

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21

Pending paperwork concerning a property will be completed. Your spouse may make you spend more than you expected. Admit your faults. Fantastic day for investing money in stock market as you can make fortune. You miss your parents a lot and somewhere fear to loose them.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

Tensions on the family front are likely to get sorted out.

Your spouse can do anything for your happiness. You are happy spending whole day at home. Help your mothers at home today and give them a reason to smile. You are opportunist and this will make you successful one day.

CAPRICORN

DEC 23 -

a great friend circle. Whatever you have in mind, you will implement it at work. You are likely to feel much healthy and energetic today. Visit a doctor if you have any doubts about your health. You will work hard to make your dream come true.

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19

This is the best time to try something new. You will feel amorous towards your wife. Work on your limitations, there can be no better time than this. You have more opposite sex friends than the same and you may be judged sometimes but don’t care.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

PISCES

FEB20 - MARCH 20

Some family issues may need urgent resolution, so don’t neglect them. Some of you are likely to enjoy an excursion with friends.You will feel financially comfortable. Your personality will attract many eligible bachelors. Spend time talking with likeminded people.

DR

tress pictures from events including the time she won

poor, and more. Later, she and Boney Kapoor’s wedding photos and revealed that it was their ‘secret wedding.’

The actress said: “This is mom and dad’s wedding photo. This was some sort of a secret wedding, I think. Which is why they seem so

hvi added, “I don’t know if I

Kareena, who has been shooting for several days now for her upcoming film in London, has dropped stills from behind-thescenes. Taking to Instagram, she captioned her post as “Dover Dia ries, United Kingdom 2022 Al ways a mood on set @ hansalmehta @balajimotion pictures@mahana_films.”

The new mom in B-Town, Alia Bhatt, complimented the actress and wrote, “Loving these looks.” Ekta Kapoor also commented, “Looking fab.”

hen asked about whether relationship rumours both er Sunny or not, the actor stated, “It doesn’t bother me when my personal life makes headlines. It doesn’t hamper our equation at all because we under stand that at the end of the day, these are just news headlines. It would be stupid of us to make it a reality and take it very seriously.”

He was all praise for his rumoured lady love. He said, “Sharvari is very level-headed. She has different sides to her, but she always keeps her head on her shoulder. She likes to weigh out the pros and cons when it comes to approaching any situa tion.”

The Shiddat actor also spoke about his wedding plans. He said, “I’ve a lot of time be fore that.”

MALAIKA ON AGEIST TROLLS

In the promotional video, Malla introduces herself as the “woman everyone loves to talk about,” which Malaika posted on her Instagram page. She stated that no matter what she does, she is constantly the target of trolling. “Kuchh bhi karo, people talk. I break up, it’s breaking news. I move on, all hell breaks loose. I’m with my partner, I’m trolled. Take a god damn walk, I’m trolled,” Malai ka said. She continued by say ing that she receives ageist remarks like “Ma’am, ghar pe raho na. Ye sab karne ki umar nahi hai,” whether she is wearing a swim suit or a ball gown.

“Sure. I’m not get ting any younger. But you know what’s getting really old? These com ments. The same old comments. So I thought I’ll give eve ryone something new to talk about. Show you the real Malaika up close.” Malaika continued.

the queen of effortless airport fash

Bollywood actor Ananya Panday, who will next be seen in the film Dream Girl 2 alongside Ayushmann Khurrana, has dropped pictures from an event in the USA. Here, she has got the opportunity to meet and get clicked with Hollywood models and actors like Freida Pinto, Lucy Hale, and Irina Shayk. Soon after this develop ment, Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan, Amitabh Bachchan’s granddaughter Navya Naveli Nanda and Sanjay Kapoor’s daughter Shanaya Kapoor dropped hearts in the comments section with special messages. Popular Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif has liked the post as well.

n the video shared by Vogue, Janhvi gave a bilia wall,’ which was her mother’s idea and features

Sharvari Wagh

Malaika Arora

Ananya Pandey

Deepika Padukone

Janhvi Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor Khan

Ananya Pandey with Indya Moore and Irina Shayk

B-TOWN’S BEST OUTFIT

ELLE INDIA BEAUTY AWARDS @

Kapoor and Sai Tamhankar, to Tejasswi Prakash, Karan Kundrra and more, everyone brought their best outfit for ward! The theme for the night seemed to be dreamy blue as the colour dominated the carpet the most.

on the red carpet with huge smiles on their faces. She fali Shah, Masaba Gupta, Rajkummar Rao and more took home the Elle awards.

ADITI CHAVAN cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

Bollywood is the home for fash ionistas and fashion enthusi asts who are ea ger to watch their favourite celebrities don the per fect look for the night.

Hence, award nights become an event that they wait for with bated breath. Elle Beauty In dia Awards which took place on the night of Novem ber 16, was a starry affair to be precise. It was graced by some of the biggest celebri ties in the Hindi film and tel evision industry who wore some of the most breathtak ing fits of the year.

Right from Kartik Aary an, Deepika Padukone, Kriti Sanon, Janhvi

While Kriti, Janhvi and other actors dazzled in flowy gowns, Deepika went for a white tulle skirt paired with a white shirt look. Meanwhile, Tejasswi wore a beautiful ivory two-piece deep-necked top and pants. Janhvi brought the vintage Hollywood vibe to Mumbai with her deep sweet heart-necked blue gown paired with gloves.

The men too did not shy away from looking their best selves as they went for some al luring suits for the night.

While Karan Kundrra went for a light and breezy shade of blue for his suit, Kartik chose a darker shade that complimented his tanned skin and beard. How ever, Rajkummar Rao chose to go hip-hop with his white oversized cargo pants and jacket with a hoodie.

The awardees were later seen posing with their awards

But what caught the at tention was Kartik Aaryan and Deepi ka Padukone’s undeniable chemistry as they posed to gether for the cam eras.

JAIPURFOOT USA’S FIRST Global Humanitarian Award!

CITY FIRST

At a recent award ceremony held in the Indian Consulate, New York; Jaipur Foot USA announced the first-ev er Global Humanitarian Award.

The award has been constituted to honour and recognise the self less work of Indians who without caring for their lives, manage to help those in need. The first-ever recipient of this prestigious award is Danish Manzoor Bhat.

Originally from Kash mir valley in North In dia, a journalist by pro fession, Danish leads Newsweek Magazine in Asia as its Editorial Di rector and Sr. Vice Pres ident for Global Edito rial Strategy & Innova tion. In the hardest ini tial 30 days of the cov id-19 pandemic’s second wave, he helped 326 pa tients and tele-triaged 460 patients suffering from the viral infec tion. His unique initiatives like #BengaluruHeals & #SabkaOximeter gained massive momen tum and helped thou sands of Covid patients and their families. Be

sides this Danish also helps “Rescuing Indi ans”, a not-for-profit helping Indians stuck overseas.

For this and more, Danish Manzoor Bhat was conferred with the first Global Humanitar ian Award by Jaipur Foot USA-BMVSS.

The award was pre sented by Consul General Randhir Jaiswal, IFS and Prem Bhandari, Chairman, JaipurFoot USA. Deputy Consul General, Varun Jeph was also present at the private ceremony.

The veteran ac tor Meenakshi Sheshadri re cently opened up about her experi ence as an actor in Bollywood. Revealing a piece of shocking

Dacait that starred her opposite Sunny Deol. She said, “With Sunny, I had a kiss in Dacait, I give full cred it to Sunny for being very professional about it and making me comfortable too. But the Censors cut that.” It seems that the audience was robbed of a stomach-flutter ing romance.

ALIA-RANBIR'S sweet tribute?

Tmunchkin as the new Mom and Dad brought her home. While reports suggest that the celebrity couple has shortlisted names for their daughter, it seems that they want to pay tribute to Ranbir’s father, the late actor, Rishi Kapoor.

Alia and Ranbir decided to pick out a name for their baby that pays a tribute to the late Rishi Kapoor. Sources reveal that when the news was disclosed to grandmoth er, Neetu Kapoor, she was overwhelmed and left in tears.

Disha's BIKINI Look

isha Patani's presence on so cial media never goes unnoticed.

Disha Patani possesses the special skill set to raise mercury levels simply by exist ing and loung ing in her lin gerie set.

Disha's new photo in the same black innerwear brings the

much-needed hotness during winter. The actress has set new goals for those who wish to attain a svelte and attractive physique. Her swimsuit pics are proof of her dedication towards a healthy and dis ciplined lifestyle. The ac tor dropped a picture pos ing in a black two-piece lingerie on her Instagram handle. Disha captioned her scorching hot photo with a flower emoji.

Meenakshi kissed Sunny!

Kriti Sanon

Rakul Preet Singh

Nargis Fakhri

Kartik Aaryan and Deepika Padukone

Hina Khan

Tejasswi Prakash

Shefali Shah Sanjana Sanghi

Sandeepa Dhar

Khushalii Kumar

Janhvi Kapoor

Elli AvrRam

Still from the movie Dacait

Disha Patani

Alia Bhatt

Disha’s bikini look

Prem Bhandari, Chairman Jaipur Foot USA with others during the occasion