First India-Delhi Edition-24th November 2022

JUST DAYS AFTER RETURNING FROM REHAB

Drug addict stabs parents, grandmother, sister to death

First India Bureau

New Delhi: A 25-yearold drug-addict alleg edly stabbed his par ents, sister and grand mother to death in southwest Delhi’s Palam, just days after returning from a reha bilitation centre, po lice said on Wednesday.

The bodies were found in separate rooms with blood all over the home after Keshav killed his en

tire family Tuesday night following a quar rel, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Kes hav’s grandmother Deewana Devi (75), fa ther Dinesh (50), moth er Darshana and sister Urvarshi (18).

As Keshav went on the stabbing spree, the screams of his family members alerted some of their relatives, who live in the same build ing, and neighbours.

According to a police officer, they received information around 10:30 pm Tuesday about a quarrel on the upper floor of a house in Palam. Deputy Com missioner of Police (Southwest) Manoj C said when a police team reached there it found four members of the family dead.

The caller and his relatives had caught hold of the accused and handed Turn to P3

RANSOMWARE ATTACK CRIPPLES AIIMS-DELHI MEDICAL SERVICES

New Delhi: The AIIMS New Delhi on Wednesday faced server issues, the hospital confirmed in a statement. The server issues affected the healthcare centre’s OPD and sample collection services at the hospital.

HEMOPHILIA AT $3.5

MN A DOSE: WORLD’S MOST COSTLY DRUG

Washington: The US health regulators approved the first gene therapy for hemophilia, a $3.5 million one-time treatment for the blood-clotting disorder. The FDA cleared Hemgenix, an IV treatment for adults with hemophilia B.

PROVIDE SATYENDAR JAIN FOOD AS PER RULES: DELHI COURT

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Wednesday asked the Tihar Jail administration to provide food to Delhi minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in his jail cell according to the rules. The next hearing of the matter has been scheduled for Thursday.

BJP’S TOP BRASS IN GUJARAT CONGRESS MODEL MEANS CASTEISM, VOTE-BANK

POLITICS: PM

PM Modi addresses public meetings in Gujarat’s Mehsana, Dahod, Vadodara & Bhavnagar

Mehsana:

in Guja rat’s Mehsana. Slam ming Congress, PM said, “The Congress model means corruption, nepo tism, dynastic politics, sectarianism & casteism. They are known for in dulging in vote bank politics and creating rifts between people to be in power. This model has not only destroyed Gujarat but India too. That is the reason why we have to work hard to take India ahead today.”

Gujarat’s electronic policy will attract thou sands of crores of rupees in investments. This electronic policy will also create 10 lakh new employment opportunities in Gujarat.

—Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

Amit Shah targets RaGa, says Patkar’s presence in Yatra is insult to Gujarat

Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s gesture of taking along antiNarmada activist Med ha Patkar during his Bharat Jodo Yatra is the “biggest insult” meted out to Gujarat’s people by the Opposition party.

He was addressing a poll rally in Jasdan town in Rajkot district in sup port of BJP candidate Kunvarji Bavalia for the next month’s Gujarat Assembly elections.

Shah also slammed AAP leader Arvind Ke jriwal for giving a ticket to Patkar in the 2014 LS elections from the NE Mumbai constituency.

HM Amit Shah addresses public meeting in Rajkot on Wednesday.

The foundation stone of Sardar Sarovar dam was laid by India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963, one year before my birth. The water finally reached here when I turned 58. So who stalled the Narmada project? The Congress party had stalled this proj ect from 1963 till 2002.

—Amit Shah, Union Home Minister

IT WAS PRE-PLANNED, SAYS RELATIVE Shri Krishan, 48, the brother of Keshav’s mother, said he suspects the incident was pre-planned. “I received a call around 10.20 pm that Keshav has killed his family members. I rushed here from my residence in Burari. We have never thought that this would happen. He was a drug addict and used to fight with his family members over money. He was admitted in rehabilitation centre twice. “We suspect it was pre-planned. We sus pect that he first killed his grandmother. Later, he killed his father who came home around 8 pm. When his mother came around 8.45 pm, he killed her and at last, he killed Urvashi who came home around 9.30 pm,” Krishan said. Keshav’s another cousin Rajneesh demanded the death penalty for him.

‘If everything is hunky-dory…’

Top Court asks Centre on new poll commissioner’s appointment today

New Delhi (ANI): The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it wants to go through files pertaining to the recent appointment of Arun Goel, a 1985 batch IAS officer, as the Elec tion Commissioner.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice K M Joseph, who is hearing petitions seeking an in dependent mechanism to appoint the election commissioners said it wants to know whether there was any “hanky panky” and asked AG R Venkatramani to pro duce files pertaining to Goel’s appointment on Thursday. Bhushan told that this post had been lying vacant since May, he had filed applica tion seeking interim or ders against Goel’s appt.

Walmart manager kills 10, later shoots self at US store

Virginia: At least 10 people were killed after a gunman opened fire in a Walmart depart ment store at Sam’s Cir cle in Chesapeake, Vir ginia. The police said that the shooter was also dead. “Chesapeake Police confirm an ac tive shooter incident with fatalities at the Walmart on Sam’s Cir cle. The shooter is de ceased,” the City of Chesapeake said in a tweet. More than 40 emergency vehicles were rushed to the Walmart outlet on Bat

after a 911 call was made, as per the reports.

‘I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic,’ Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas said on Twitter.

z SC said inclusion of CJI in consultative process for appt of CEC would ensure independ ence of poll panel

z A Cong leader moved SC seeking review of its verdict upholding the 10 per cent reservation introduced in 2019 for the EWS in educational in stitutions and govt jobs excluded poor among SC SC/ ST/OBC categories

TENSE SITUATION

Ahead of Meghalaya ministers meeting Amit Shah, Assam hands over border violence probe to CBI

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himan ta Sarma announced Wednesday at Delhi that his cabinet has decided to hand over the probe into Tuesday’s violence at the border of the two states, which claimed

six lives, to the CBI.

The announcement was made a day ahead of a team of Meghalaya ministers meeting Un ion Home Minister Amit Shah here.

The Assam cabinet meeting was held, quite unprecedentedly, in Del hi. The state’s ministers

had come to attend a function honouring As samese medieval hero

Lachit Borphukan. The cabinet also asked Assam’s police

force to use restraint while dealing with civil ians. Sarma said that Justice Rumi Phukan, a retired judge of Gauha ti High Court, has been requested to conduct a probe into the incident, On Tuesday night, a Meghalaya cabinet meeting decided to send a delegation of minis ters led by CM Conrad K Sangma to meet Home Minister Amit Shah on November 24.

CBI MOVES HC AGAINST BAIL TO NAIR, BOINPALLY

New Delhi: The CBI on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the bail granted to businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally by the trial court in a case related to the Delhi Excise Policy 202122. The CBI’s petition is listed for hearing on Thursday before Justice Yogesh Khanna. Nair, AAP’s communication in-charge, and Boinpally are in custody as they were arrested by the ED in another excise policy related case.

Assam cabinet meeting held, unprecedentedly, in Delhi. Assam’s police force asked to use restraint

Meghalaya CM Conrad K. Sangma

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Locals gather outside the residential building at Palam area on Wednesday. Keshav (in red), and his mother, sister, father and grandmother, whom he stabbed to death. —PHOTOS BY PTI

NO OFFICIAL FIFA WORLD CUP INVITE TO NAIK: QATAR TELLS INDIA

Jammu: Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court in Jammu issued a fresh production warrant on Wednesday against JKLF chief Yasin Malik, in the case of killing of 4 Indian Air Force personnel in Srinagar on January 25, 1990.

Doha: No official invitation was extended to fugitive Islamic preacher Zakir Naik to attend opening of FIFA WC in Doha, Qatar conveyed to India through diplomatic channels, sources said. Qatar calls earlier reports disinformation being spread by third countries.

tlefield Boulevard

PM Narendra Modi being garlanded by BJP supporters during a public meeting in Mehsana on Wednesday. PHOTOS BY ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi being embraced by a 103-year-old supporter during a public meeting in Dahod on Wednesday.

OTHER TOP ORDERS

First India Bureau

Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi on Wednesday addressed public meeting

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that Arun Goel took Voluntary Retirement (VRS) on Friday and on Saturday he was appointed as the Election Commissioner. Goel assumed office on Monday.

DAY AFTER 28-KG WEIGHT LOSS CLAIM, JAIN SEEN ENJOYING MEAL IN TIHAR

New Delhi (ANI): A new purported video of jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain having an elaborate meal in side Tihar has emerged, just a day after footage of the minister receiv ing an oil massage in side his jail cell trigged an uproar.

The latest CCTV foot age sourced from Tihar jail sources shows Jain getting an elaborate meal in jail. Tihar Jail sources also said that the Delhi minister gained 8 kg weight dur ing his time in jail, con trary to his lawyer’s claims of him having lost 28 kgs.

The new footage sur faced a day after Jain on Tuesday submitted be fore the trial court that he has not been getting privileges like proper food and medical checkup in Tihar Jail.

Sharing the video on his Twitter handle, BJP spokesperson She hzad Poonawalla said, “One more video from media! After taking maalish from rapist & calling him PHYSIO therapist, Satyendra Jain can be seen enjoy ing sumptuous meal! Attendants serve him food as if he is in a re sort on vacation!”

“Kejriwal ji ensured that hawalabaaz gets VVIP maza not saza!,” Poonawalla said

In an accompanying video on his Twitter ac count, Poonawalla said after,” He is being served outside food by two attendants as if he is in a resort or a restau rant and there is a vari ety of delicacies and dishes in front him.”

In the latest footage from Tihar jail, Jain is seen having fruits and dry fruits.

‘LG can recommend Jain’s suspension’

Chandigarh (ANI): On the issue of jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain enjoying special treatment in Tihar, For mer IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Wednesday said that such lapses are the fault of the pris on administration.

Bedi, who was In spector-General of Del hi’s prisons, said, “It’s the prison admin’s fault, it reports to po litical system. How will they take action when their own min is jailed?

“With the help of legal experts and If rules permit Lt Governor can recommend his (Saty endar jain) suspension/ dismissal to President Droupadi Murmu,” Kiran Bedi said hours after a new purported video of jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain having an elabo rate meal inside Tihar has emerged.

She also said, “Delhi being a Union Territo ry, LG has some special powers.”

“The CCTV footage from Jain’s cell in Tihar negates his claims of not getting proper food. He has been getting the food of his choice, including fruits and dry fruits, as the vid eo shows,” a source said. The source said that contrary to Jain’s lawyers’ claim that he lost 28 kg in jail, he has gained 8 kg. Earlier, sources on Jain’s side had said he was not be ing given fruits and vegetables

Jain enjoying ‘resort like’ facilities: Meenakshi Lekhi

First India Bureau

New Delhi: AAP minis ter Satyendar Jain is enjoying facilities akin to a holiday resort in side Tihar Jail, Union minister Meenakshi Le khi alleged on Wednes day, hours after a pur ported video showing him eating fruits and raw vegetables surfaced on various platforms.

Addressing a press conference, Lekhi also referred to another vid eo showing Jain getting a massage by a rape ac cused in Tihar.

“I would not allow such a person to even come close to me. Imag ine that person massag ing his feet.”

“The shameless ac tions of AAP leaders like Jain getting mas sage by a rape accused, are being noted by the people. AAP leaders say

something and behave exactly opposite to it,” Lekhi told reporters.

There are prison manual rules for food and medical services in jail, she said.

“Added facilities like television, packed food and massage in Jain’s cell show as if he is

Cylinder supplier dies in hit-and-run by Jal Board truck

New Delhi (ANI): The Police Control Room at Mangolpuri on Wednes day received a call that a person was crushed by a truck. According to the police, the deceased was identified as 30-year-old Santosh Ku mar, resident of H 2/18, Budh Vihar, who used to work as a gas cylin der supplier.

“A PCR call was re ceived at 1:28 AM re garding the crushing of a man at Hanuman Mandir, G Block Man golpuri,” police offi cials said. “He was shifted to the SGM hos pital, where he was de clared brought dead.”

Satender Solanki, a conductor in DTC, iden tified the Jal Board truck. The truck was caught near the ord nance depot. As per the police statement, the truck was seized but the driver of the vehicle managed to flee.

“An investigation of the case is in progress,” the Delhi Police said, adding that a case has been registered.

FIVE-STAR LUXURY IN JAIL: ANURAG THAKUR’S DIG AT ‘KEJRIWAL MODEL’

some holiday resort,” she said.

Lekhi also hit out at Arvind Kejriwal and ac cused him of “failing” to solve the problems of Delhi and instead cam paigning in poll bound states to achieve his aim of becoming prime minister.

Jaipur (PTI): Union minister Anurag Thakur on Wednes day said that a minis ter facing corruption charges was enjoy ing “five-star luxu ries” in prison.

“The Health min ister of AAP in Delhi has been in jail for the past six months and is enjoying en tertainment and

massage. How luxu ries are enjoyed in jail and how enter tainment and mas sage are done, AAP is a live example of it.

““Arvind Kejriwal gives a certificate of honesty to such peo ple who are in jail for the past six months. This is Kejriwal’s model,” Anurag Thakur said.

JAIN SEEKS COURT ORDER TO RESTRAIN MEDIA BROADCAST

New Delhi (ANI): Jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday filed an application in a Del hi court seeking di rection to restrain all media organisations from airing, broad casting or publishing any CCTV clip relat ed to him. The plea stated that all the na tional media are reg ularly running CCTV footage of Satyendar Jain. A parallel me dia trial is going against him, despite the present matter being examined by this court, argued senior advocate Ra

moved by Jain. The court will take up the matter tomorrow.

Satyendar Jain’s lawyer also submit ted in court that his client has a protein deficiency.

Advocate Abhijeet Shankar appeared for Tihar Jail and stated that allega tions that they have withdrawn some diet and food of Satyen dar Jain are without any basis.

‘Pichhla Maaf, Agla Half’: Congress promise on house tax ahead of MCD polls

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Delhi Con gress on Wednesday said it will waive off dues of private residen tial buildings, if voted to power in the upcom ing polls to the MCD.

Launching a cam paign, “House TaxPichhla Maaf, Agla half”, the party’s Delhi chief Anil Chaudhary said his party will also reduce the property tax by 50 per cent.

“It is unfortunate that the BJP looted and threatened the citizens in the name of house tax in Delhi. We will waive off dues of pri vate residential build ings within a month and ensure no house pays more than half the present property tax,” he said.

Chaudhary said the Delhi Congress will constitute a municipal valuation committee,

which will re-categorise colonies under the MCD, and unit area rates will be fixed based on category of roads

where the properties are located. “All records available in property tax returns will also be digitised,” he said.

HOMAGE TO THE AHOM

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during the inauguration of the 400th birth anniversary celebration of Ahom General Lachit Barphukan, at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

—PHOTOS BY ANI

Congress Delhi chief Anil Chaudhary addressing a presser.

‘JAIN HAS GAINED, NOT LOST WEIGHT’

CCTV footage from Tihar Jail sources showing Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain having food in jail. —PHOTO BY ANI

hul Mehra who ap peared for Jain. Special Judge Vikas Dhull issued notice to Tihar Jail Author ity on the application

The shameless actions of AAP leaders like Jain getting massage by a rape accused, are being noted by the people. —Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister

Union Minister Anurag Thakur with Youth Delegation from 4 Central Asian Countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

‘Aaftab will kill me, cut me into pieces’

Mumbai (ANI): In the latest twist in the tale of the Shraddha Walkar murder case, a letter has surfaced that Shraddha allegedly wrote in 2020 at Tulinj police station in Maha rashtra’s Palghar, in which she complained that Aaftab Poonawa la, the accused in her murder case, had beat en her up and threat ened to kill her.

The letter has re portedly been shared by Shraddha’s neigh bour in Vasai with whom Shraddha had gone to file the police plaint. Maharashtra police have confirmed that Shraddha had written a complaint letter on November 23, 2020, at Tulinj police station. The police also confirmed the authen ticity of the said letter shared by Shraddha’s neighbour as to have been written by Shard dha. In the complaint letter, Shraddha said she “did not have the guts to go to the police” because Aaftab had threatened to kill her. However, she added that Aaftab tried to kill her on the day she was writing the letter, and he also threatened to kill her and cut her into pieces and throw her away.

“It’s been six months he has been hitting

me,” the letter read.

The letter further claimed Aaftab’s par ents were aware that he beat her up and that he tried to kill her.

“I lived with him till date as we were sup posed to get married anytime soon and had the blessings of his family. Henceforth, I am not willing to live with him. So any kind of physical damage should be considered coming from him as he has been blackmailing me to kill me or hurt me whenever he sees me anywhere,” the let ter read.

Case closed after she withdrew complaint: Police

Palghar (ANI): Ma harashtra Police Wednesday said that based on a complaint by Shraddha Walkar in 2020, they had be gun an investigation but the case was closed after she gave a writ ten statement to with draw the case.

DCP of Mira Bhay andar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) Commission erate, Suhas Bavache said Shraddha in her written statement had stated that “the dis pute between herself and Aaftab Poonawala was resolved.” “What ever necessary action

had to be taken in that matter was done by po lice at that time. The application by the complainant was also investigated. After the investigation, the complainant herself gave a written state ment that there is no dispute. Her friend’s

parents also cajoled her to resolve the dis pute. She gave the written statement and after that the case was closed,” said Bawche.

Aaftab has been ac cused of strangling to death his alleged livein partner Shraddha and chopping her body

‘E-cutter, saw-teeth knife used in such crimes’

First India Bureau

New Delhi: A big sawteeth knife might have been used by Aaftab to cut Shraddha into piec es, believe forensic ex perts and lawyers. In many cases of this sort, electric cutters or sawteeth knives of mini mum 18-20 inches have been used in the past, they say even as the hunt for the weapon is still on.

Lawyer RV Kini, who had represented the prosecution in film pro

Accused threatened me while being taken by cops: Cousin

First India Bureau

New Delhi: While be ing taken by the police into custody, Keshav, 25, accused of killing his parents and two other relatives on Tuesday, re portedly issued a death threat to his cousin.

It was cousin Kuldeep Saini (26) who caught Keshav while he was trying to flee after the killings and handed him over to the police. “When I come out of jail, it will be your turn,” he warned him, said Saini.

Keshav is a drug addict and allegedly killed his sister and grandmother along with his parents at their residence in Palam area at 10 pm on Tues day, the police said.

Saini said his and Ke

shav’s families lived on different floors of the same building.

“I heard my cousin Ur vashi (Keshav’s sister) calling my name and screaming for help. When I went upstairs, I saw the gate outside the main door was locked and there was silence.

“I knocked and asked Keshav to open it. But he insisted that I leave as it was their family mat ter,” he recalled.

Saini said he later saw Keshav trying to flee on a scooter, but he man aged to get hold of him and handed him over to the police.

“When cops were tak ing him, he told me he will be in jail for 10 to 15 years and when he fin ishes his term, he would kill me,” Saini said.

He said he and his par ents opened the gate out side Keshav’s main door after cutting the iron mesh and found their grandmother and Ur vashi lying in a pool of blood in one room, and Keshav’s parents dead in the washroom.

POONAWALA’S NARCO TEST NOW

DELAYED

DUE TO FEVER & COLD

New Delhi: The polygraph test on Aaftab could not be conducted on Wednesday since he is down with fever and cold, police said. The delay in completion of the polygraph test means the narco test on him, cannot be conducted on Thursday. The test will continue only after he gets well, an official said. A senior official at Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Rohini said that investigators informed them that Poonawala is down with fever and cold.

ducer Neeraj Grover murder case in 2008, re called the convicts -Maria Monica Susairaj and Emile Jerome Jo seph – , “had used one

FROM PG 1

Drug addict... him over to the police, he said. Preliminary investigation revealed that Keshav did not have a stable job. He used to work in a com pany in Gurugram and left the job a month ago, police said.

Prima facie it seems the accused killed his family members fol lowing an argument, police said.

The police have got three-day police custo dy of the accused.

“Investigation is un derway and we will try to probe the matter from all angles. The in vestigation is in early stage. We have got three-day police custo dy of the accused. He was not under the in fluence of drug at the time of the incident,” an official said.

Married man held for killing schoolgirl in ‘one-sided affair’

Chandigarh (ANI):

Chandigarh Police ar rested a 25-year-old Bi har native for allegedly strangulating to death an 18-year-old school girl at her residence in Burail here, police said on Wednesday.

According to police, the accused, identified as Mohd Sharik is mar ried and was allegedly pressuring the girl to be with him in an ex tramarital relation ship. When the victim, aged 18 years, became aware of his married status, she refused to

entertain him and stopped talking. Police said that incensed with this the man allegedly killed her.

Officials said they arrested the accused from the Sector-43 bus stand while he was try ing to flee.

The Class 12 student lived with her mother

and younger brother in a rented house in the same area where the accused lives. The two were in touch.

The incident was re ported on November 19 when the victim’s brother had gone to school, and her mother -who works as domestic help, had gone out for work.

Upon his return home in the afternoon the deceased’s brother found the door of the house open and he found her lying uncon scious on the bed.

He called up his mother, and the girl was taken to a hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

“The accused was caught on the basis of CCTV footage of the area as he was seen go ing and coming out of the girl’s house. Prima facie it appears to be a case of a one-sided af fair, but things will be come clear only after the probe and postmortem report,” DSP Ram Gopal said adding that the accused was also being questioned.

chopper with a thin blade and another knife with saw-like teeth which was about 18 inches long along with its handle.”

Rajesh Gulati, the man who murdered his wife in Dehradun in 2010, had reportedly used an iron cutter, a wood chipper and a stone cutter. JS Virk, Dy Advocate General for Uttarakhand govern ment said, “There is a stark resemblance be tween the criminal act of Gulati and Aaftab. A forensic doctor said, “A body can be eas ily cut into 12 to 13 piec es from the joints. How ever, one needs an elec tric saw or cutter.”

into pieces. He is also alleged to have pre served the chopped body parts in a refrig erator before dumping them in the forests.

Maharashtra Police said in 2020, Shraddha had made a complaint at the Tulinj Police Station in Maharash tra’s Palghar, in which she stated that Aaftab Poonawala, had beat en her and threatened to kill her.

Maharashtra police have confirmed Shrad dha had written a com plaint letter on No vember 23, 2020 to the Tulinj police station.

POLICE RECORD STATEMENTS OF AAFTAB’S FAMILY

New Delhi (ANI): Del hi Police on Wednesday recorded the statements of the family of Aaftab in the Shraddha Walkar murder case. “Aaftab Poonawala’s family is in Delhi. Their state ments were recorded.

Based on the facts that have come to light about the family, they may be questioned again.

Shraddha had filed a complaint in Mumbai in 2020 that his family knows he wants to kill her,” said sources.

Kidnapped Gzb minor girl’s body found

Bulandshahr(ANI):

Panic gripped rural Bu landshahr after the body of a 12-year-old girl who was reported kidnapped earlier from Ghaziabad, was found in the area, police said on Wednesday.

The body was found after the arrest of the accused. The victim was allegedly abducted by unidentified people from Nandigram police station limits three days ago.

Her family had re ceived a call from the unidentified kidnap pers with a demand for ransom. Sonu, the girl’s father, told police that he received the ransom call on Sunday, after which he lodged a po lice complaint. He said the accused were de manding Rs 30 lakh within three days, said officials.

Following the com plaint, the police launched an investiga tion and arrested three persons including a neighbour where the victim lived with her grandparents.

The suspects re vealed the sequence of events and kidnap ping, where they dumped the body after killing the girl. The po lice recovered the body from a farm in Saray Chhabila village under Kotwali (Dehat) police of Bulandshahr.

Shraddha’s 2020 complaint letter to Maha police surfaces in which she had expressed fear of threat to life from Aaftab

PALAM MURDER

Kuldeep Saini speaking about the incident, in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Police along with Aftab Poonawalla leave from the Forensic Science Laboratory office in New Delhi on Tuesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

MODI MANTRA BE THE STRING THAT BINDS TOGETHER THE DIFFERENT PEARLS OF IDEAS!

BAITHAK:

he narrator brings out the remarkable vision of Modiji when it comes to conducting meetings. He says that the party is bound to succeed if every karyakarta, every booth, every baithak and the minutest detail is taken with utmost seriousness.

Municipal Corporation elections were going on in Shimla and Bimla Kashyapji was contesting from Ward No 13 which is now Ward No. 17. Bimlaji had been a Rajya Sabha member as well and her commitment towards the ward was exceptional. It was night time and we were past ing posters in our constitu ency for the impending elec tions. In this digital age, you know, we don’t put up posters any more. But back then we got free by 1:30 at night and returned home. Next day we convened a baithak to dis cuss what all had been ac complished and what tasks remained to be completed.

Bimlaji already knew that we

had been very busy all these days. In fact she was watch ing us work at 1:30 in the night from her window. Such was the energy and commit ment of Bimla Kashyapji to wards her ward and booth workers! Her days had no beginning nor end. Waking up at 4:00 am and working till 2 in the night, but her energy and josh toward work would not diminish. She harboured tremendous devotion for the Sangathan and worked inces santly towards its strength ening, growth and success.

I am fortunate to have sev eral such examples to talk about, about people who have inspired me and continue to do so by their unshakeable loyalty and commitment to wards the Sangathan.

It was Narendra Modiji who taught me what baithak really means. What is a baithak? It is indeed a group of people coming together to put forth their views and dis cuss important issues. But how Modiji defined it to me was a complete eye-opener. He has the ability to explain con cepts in very few words, in a way that’s logical and makes instant sense to the listener.

He said “When people arrive for a baithak, you must know that they are coming from dif ferent places and viewpoints. But when they leave the baithak, they must all leave with a united plan in mind.

Baithak must clear all differ ences and help people come to a unanimous decision. Only when this happens can we say that the baithak has in deed yielded desired results.

And this alone is the true and correct measure of the suc

JUDGEMENT FOR PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS IS NEVER WRONG’

Once we spotted a group of men coming towards us from afar. I remarked that they must be tourists. Immediately, Narendra Modiji said “Look carefully at their belts! They are not tourists. They are members of the Sangh.” Well, the broad brown belts they were wearing, were indeed the belts that members of our Sangh wear. This is how Modiji is an exceptionally keen observer. His eye for detail is such that he can never go wrong with his judgement of people or of situations!

cess of baithak.”

Not just this, Modiji would say that baithak is not some non-serious business where in people come strolling from somewhere, sit here and there sipping tea and coffee and chit-chatting with each other, causally, gossiping away about the happenings in various Zilas! No, this is not what baithak is!

Contemplating on the seemingly smallest aspects of governance, and discuss ing them threadbare for as much time as it takes is the first priority according to Modiji. Baithak does not hap pen again and again and when it does, people must de vote time and discuss the smallest issues in detail so that progress can be made in the right direction.

‘NARENDRA MODIJI EXPLAINS CONCEPTS IN VERY FEW WORDS’

It was Narendra Modiji who taught me what baithak really means. What is a baithak? It is indeed a group of people coming together to put forth their views and discuss important issues. But how Modiji defined it to me was a complete eye-opener. He has the ability to explain concepts in very few words, in a way that’s logical and makes instant sense to the listener.

Secondly, coming fully pre pared to the baithak is of ut most importance. Come with a holistic picture in mind, keeping a note of all the is sues and subjects that can possibly be discussed in the meeting. Preparation implies doing the home-work well and arriving to the baithak with a focus on identifying, resolving, discussing, reflect ing upon and finding the way ahead to all issues.

Well, I vividly recall an in cident that took place some time back in a baithak where Modiji was present too. I will not name my colleague for obvious reasons here but will share the incident. The Pradesh Karya Samiti baithak was ongoing and the usual trend is that people come to the baithak with dif

ferences in opinions and viewpoints. So when my col league got the opportunity to speak about one particular issue, he decided to vent out all his thoughts at once. He had negative views about sev eral aspects and he spoke at length over that issue, but bringing forth only the disad vantages and weaknesses about the subject.

Narendraji, as always, lis tened patiently to the entire speech. Once the speaker had finished, Modiji remarked “Well said! You are indeed very eloquent. Can you now share with us just one posi tive aspect about all of this?”

Don’t you think what a big observation this is? Just one remark and Modiji turned around the conversation to a positive note, encouraging

people to think of solutions, rather than contemplating only on the negatives. Now that karyakarta had not ex pected this and he fumbled. He literally had nothing to say! But at the same time, he had learnt his lesson for the future. So had everyone pre sent in the baithak. Everyone has flaws and it is human to err. Dwelling on the negatives of people in a meeting is just waste of time.

Modiji would say that the aim of baithak is to delegate work to karyakarta, to hear out his side of the story and to take care of his well-being. He inspired every karyakarta to ensure hundred percent dedi cation to his booth. If a both has 100 votes, those 100 votes are all that should matter to the karyakarta. If you get those 100 votes, no one can de feat the party. Thus encourag ing the booth workers to sim ply win their booth and not bother about others is Modiji’s message to the karyakartas.

Morning walks with Nar endra Modi have taught me a lot. He used to call me in the morning and I would reach US club where our office was. From there we would often go to different areas of Shimla for walks. Once we spotted a group of men coming to wards us from afar. I re marked that they must be tourists. Immediately, Naren dra Modiji said “Look care fully at their belts! They are not tourists. They are mem bers of the Sangh.” Well, the broad brown belts they were wearing, were indeed the belts that members of our Sangh wear. This is how Modiji is an exceptionally keen observer. His eye for de tail is such that he can never go wrong with his judgement of people or of situations!

COMPILED AND EDITED BY SHASHIKANT SHARMA AND SHWETA SHARMA

Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan responsible for selection of news under the PRB Act

‘MODIJI’S

Prime Minister Narendra Modi

DEFINING

Come in with diverse viewpoints and move out with a singular stance

‘So Ja Warna...’: AAP’s

BATTLEGROUND GUJARAT

Modi hopes for record turnout in upcoming polls

Dahod (ANI): PM Nar endra Modi on Wednes day said he hoped that Gujarat will witness a record voter turnout in the upcoming state polls, particularly among the youth and first-time voters.

Modi’s remarks came after Jam Saheb Shatrushalya Singhji, scion of the Jamnagar royal family, cast his vote at his residence in the presence of the deputy collector and other election officials on Monday.

Tagging a tweet by the Press Information Bureau in Gujarat, Modi said, “I commend Jam Saheb Shri Shatrusalyasinhji for this remarkable pas sion towards the festi val of democracy.”

“Inspired by him, I hope Gujarat witnesses a record turnout, par ticularly among young and first time voters,” the prime minister said. In its tweet posted on Monday, the PIB in Gujarat had said, “Jam Saheb Namdar Maha raja Shatrushalya Sing hji of Jamnagar cast his vote today at his residence in the pres ence of the Deputy Col lector and other elec tion officials.” Voting for the 182-member Gu jarat Assembly will be held in two phases — December 1 and 5 — and counting on Dec 8.

CONGRESS TRIED TO DEFEAT TRIBAL WOMAN NOMINATED

New Delhi(PTI): At least seven legislators who have won the Guja rat Assembly elections for five or more times are seeking a term again in the state polls scheduled next month.

Jadeja’s wife & sister play from different teams

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched an attack on Congress and said the grand old party tried to defeat a tribal woman (Droupadi Murmu) nominated by BJP for President’s post by fielding a candidate. PM Nodi said this while addressing the public in Dahod in central Gujarat.

On July 21, NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu clinched the country’s highest constitutional post after defeating her rival and joint opposition can didate Yashwant Sinha. Droupadi Murmu’s ascent as the 15th elected President of India makes her the first tribal and the second woman after Pratibha Devisingh Patil to hold the coveted post. “Cong always wanted to keep people poor so they remain dependent on government,” PM Modi said.

Rajkot: On opposite sides of the electoral fence in Gujarat, crick eter Ravindra Jadeja’s wife Rivaba and sister Naynaba are sparring over the former’s cam paign strategy. Nayna ba, who is actively working with the Con gress, has accused her sister-in-law, who is the BJP candidate from Jamnagar (north), of violating laws. Nayna ba alleged that Rivaba had been taking along children. “Many of these kids are below 10 years of age. A com plaint with the district election officer,” Naynaba said.

The ruling BJP has reposed faith in five of the leaders by fielding them for yet another term, while one has sought to contest as an independent. These five candidates fielded by the BJP are Yogesh Pa tel (Manjalpur seat), Pabubha Manek (Dwar ka), Keshu Nakrani (Gariadhar), Purshot tam Solanki (Bhavna gar rural) and Pankaj Desai (Nadiad).

MY NAME IS ENOUGH TO WIN, SAYS

HIMANTA SARMA TAKES DIG AT RAHUL

Ahmedabad (ANI): Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has taken a dig at Cong leader Ra hul Gandhi’s bearded appearance, which he said resembled that of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. Ad dressing a campaign rally in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, he said, “If he (Rahul Gandhi) wanted to change his looks, why did not he choose to look like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel or Jawaharlal Nehru?

Even Gandhi ji’s look would have been better, but why he is he chang ing his face to look like Saddam Hussein now?”

Sarma also hit out at the Congress leader’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and said, “Rahul Gandhi is

visiting places where there are no elections.” Soon after the state ment of the Assam CM went viral, Cong lead ers termed it “stunt”.

“You (Assam CM) just want a headline and you get that only when you take Rahul Gandhi’s name. Him

IN THE COURTYARD

RAPE ACCUSED GETS BAIL, HC SAYS GF, MINOR, KNEW OF CONSEQUENCE

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 22-year-old man, arrested last year for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl, noting the two were in a relationship and the girl, though minor, was capable of understanding the con sequences of her act. A sin gle bench of Justice Bharati Dangre in order dated Nov 15 also noted girl had voluntarily accompanied accused to his aunt's place where alleged offence took place. "It appears that girl, though a minor, was capable of understanding consequences," bench said.

Jammu: Three senior advocates including former Kashmir Bar association president Mian Abdul Qay oom have been summoned by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on December 17 next month after law secretary Achal Sethi filed a complaint for initiating disciplinary action against them under the Advocates Act for misconduct. “You are hereby summoned to appear before this commit tee on 17.12.2022 at 10.30 (am) at the high court at Srinagar,” the disciplinary committee secretary said in separate summons.

anta Biswa Sarma can say anything. He can go to any level for power. We don’t pay attention to such statement,” As sam Cong chief Bhupen Kumar Borah said.

Rajasthan Cabinet Minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas also condemned the remark.

ASSAM COPS ACTIONS ‘UNPROVOKED, UNCONTROLLED’: CM HIMANTA SARMA

New Delhi (PTI): A day after six persons were killed and several injured in a clash between Assam Police and a mob along the Assam-Meghalaya border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednes day criticised the former over its handling of the violence and said it used force in an “unprovoked, uncontrolled and arbitrary” manner. “I feel there was no need to fire to the extent the police did. The firing was a little unprovoked, and the police could have acted in a little more controlled manner,” CM Sarma was quoted as saying.

MEGHALAYA DELEGATION TO MEET AMIT SHAH TODAY TO DEMAND PROBE

Shillong (PTI): A delegation of Meghalaya ministers led by CM Conrad K Sangma will meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on November 24 to demand a CBI or NIA probe into the violence that left 6 people dead on state’s border with Assam. Assam govern ment, however, on Tuesday said it would hand over investigation into violence on its disputed boundary with Meghalaya in

Gandhinagar (ANI):

India will be a USD 40-trillion dollar econo my by 2047 and ranked among the top three economies of the world, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh D Ambani has said and identified Clean Energy Revolution, the Bio-En ergy Revolution and the Digital Revolution as “three game-changing revolutions” that will govern India’s growth

Himanta Sarma sounds like a petty troll: Tewari

Ahmedabad (ANI): Congress leader Man ish Tewari on Wednes day, while reacting to Himanta Biswa Sar ma’s “Saddam Hus sein” jibe at Rahul Gan dhi, said that the Assam CM “sounds like a petty troll”. Sarma on Tues day said Rahul Gandhi “looks like Saddam Hussein”, who was the former Iraqi president and was executed by hanging on Dec 30, 2006, after being convicted of crimes against human ity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal. When asked about Sarma’s remark, Tewari said, “In public life, it is very imp that we maintain decorum.”

POLITICAL PARTIES BARRED FROM CAMPAIGNING IN RAJKOT VILLAGE

in the decades ahead.

Addressing the con vocation of Pandit Deendayal Energy Uni versity (PDEU) here on Tuesday, Mukesh Am bani said India is poised

Adani's port project stalled as fishing community protests

Vizhinjam (PTI): On the main road to billion aire Gautam Adani’s planned Vizhinjam mega port on the south ern tip of India, a shel ter built by the coastal region’s Christian fish ing community blocks the entrance, prevent ing construction.

The simple 1,200 square-feet structure with a corrugated-iron roof has since August stood in the way of am bitions for the coun try’s first container transhipment port - a $900 million project that seeks to plug into the lucrative shipping trade flowing between juggernaut manufac turers in the East and wealthy consumer mar

kets in West.

Decorated with ban ners proclaiming “in definite day and night protest”, shelter pro vides cover for roughly

100 plastic chairs, al though the number of protesters taking part in the sit-ins on any one day is usually much lower.

for an “unprecedented explosion in economic growth and opportuni ties” during the Amrit Kaal, 25-year period to 2047 when India will cel ebrate centenary of its

independence. He said three game-changing revolutions will togeth er transform lives in ways unimagined.

“While Clean Energy Revolution and the BioEnergy Revolution will produce energy sus tainably, the Digital Revolution will enable us to consume energy efficiently. All 3 revolu tions will together help India & save our beauti ful planet,” he said.

Police officers with batons gathered to monitor the situation in Vizhinjam.

BHARAT JODO YATRA

West Karbi Anglong district to neutral agency. “The govt of Meghalaya has decided that all festivals will be cancelled,” he said.

Nirmala Sitharaman with Himanta Biswa Sarma during inauguration of 400th birth anniversary celebration of of Ahom General Lachit Barphukan in New Delhi on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Raghav Chadha Gives Gujarat Pitch A ‘Sholay’ Twist

Yogi on Gujarat tour for 3rd time in a week, will hold multiple meetings

BJP suspends 12 more rebels for contesting as independent candidates

BJP govt in Gujarat legitimised corruption, alleges Manish Tewari

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing a public rally, in Dahod on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

FOR PRESIDENT: PM MODI

GUJARAT IS GANGOTRI OF CULTURE OF DEVELOPMENTAL POLITICS: NADDA

Botad (Gujarat) (ANI): BJP national president JP Nadda on Wednesday lauded the work done by the Gujarat government over the years and said that the Gujarat model is not just a model of development but is the source of the "culture of developmental politics." While addressing an election rally in Botad, Nadda said, "The Gujarat model is not just a model of development, but the Gangotri of the culture of developmental politics." Mentioning PM Narendra Modi's welfare schemes for the poor, BJP chief said, "PM Modi built 3.07 cr 'pucca' houses in the whole country under PM Awas Yojana and in Gujarat, 15 lakh houses were built. " he added.

BJP national president JP Nadda during his visit to Swaminarayan Temple, at Gadhada, in Botad on Wednesday. —PHOTO BY ANI

7 MLAs who won for 5 times again in fray

LADY DON'S SON KANDHAL JADEJA

Porbandar (ANI): For Kandhal Jadeja, SP candidate from Kutiyana seat in Porbandar district and son of the late mafia don Santokben Sarmanbhai Jadeja, said that his suf ficient to win the Gujarat Assembly elections. Jadeja, who recently quit Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), after the party denied him the ticket and hopped on to the bicycle of the Samajwadi Party stated that the NCP was "finished in Gujarat." 1999 film "Godmother" star ring Shabana Azmi is based on the life of Santokben Sarmanbhai Jadeja. The 'Lady Don' was an MLA from Porbandar's Kutiana seat from 1990 to 1995. Accord ing to police records, she had more than 500 cases.

Rajkot (ANI): With the Gujarat assembly elections round the corner, the entire state is engulfed in elec tion fever, but the resi dents of Raj Samadhiyala village in Rajkot district are free from these politi cal dramas as they have barred entry of political parties and campaigning in the village because they think that allowing candidates to campaign would be detrimental to the region. No political party can enter the vilage as they have been banned to cam paign. Raj Samadhiyala village which is 20 km away from Rajkot, not only banned political campaigning but it also imposes a fine of Rs 51 on those who do not come out to vote.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani addresses during the launch of 5G services in India.

J&K HC SUMMONS EXBAR ASSN CHAIRMAN MIAN ABDUL QAYOOM

OVER ‘MISCONDUCT’

Home Min visits blast site, NIA to take over Mangaluru case

Objective of the accused was to create a divide between communities, says DGP

Mangaluru (PTI): The Mangaluru autorick shaw blast case would be formally handed over to the National In vestigation Agency (NIA) soon, Karnataka DGP Praveen Sood said on Wednesday.

He said the objective of the prime accused Mohammed Shariq was to create a divide be tween communities.

“What else was the objective? His aim was to create differences be tween two communi ties, there is no doubt.

Differences between communities be it Hin du, Muslim, or Chris tian grow when there is a blast. It means desta bilising the country. He definitely intended to disturb communal har mony...,” the DGP said.

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanen dra visited the blast site and also the hospital where Shariq and autodriver Purushottam Poojary are being treat ed for burns.

Jnanendra said the police were working to find the background of the accused in the No vember 19 blast at Na gori here, his financi ers, and, “the forces which are compelling him to repeatedly do such acts.”

Jnanendra said Shariq had planned a major blast, but “the bomb exploded midway and did not go off the way it was planned”.

CRUCIAL READ

KARNATAKA GOVT RELEASES `738 CR FOR MODERNIZATION OF VANI VILAS CANALS

Karnataka: Karnataka Chief Minister

Tuesday said that the state government released Rs 738 crore grant for the desilting of Vani Vilas Sagara canals and its modernisation in order to help farmers of this region. Speaking at the inauguration of the BJP’s (BJP) Jan Sankalp Yatra here, Bommai said Rs 20 crore has been reserved for the maintenance of Vani Vilas Sagar Dam, and also initiated steps to strengthen it further.

CPI NATION SECY DEMANDS CHANGE IN G20 SUMMIT LOGO WHICH HAS LOTUS

“If the entire cooker (carried by Shariq) had exploded then it would have led to major dam age. He (Shariq) had managed to create a bomb using materials available locally,” said the Home Minister.

He said the Home De partment has resolved to “completely eradi cate the fanatical forces which want bloodbath to disturb the unity of the country”.

—PHOTO

BY ANI

ACCUSED PROJECTED HIMSELF AS HINDU

Mangaluru (PTI):

The prime accused, Mohammed Shariq, projected himself as a Hindu to hide his real identity, police said on Wednesday.

After the explosion, police found an Aad haar card of Prem Raj Hutagi from Hub balli. After the iden tification of the blast accused as Shariq, who was in the past arrested in the Man galuru terror graffiti case, the investiga tion agencies swung into action.

According to State Home Minister Ara ga Jnanendra, Shariq disappeared after getting bail from the High Court and took shelter at different places in cluding Kanyaku mari, Kochi, Coim batore, and Mysuru. The police found

out that he was stay ing at Mohan Ku mar’s house in Mysu ru from where mate rials that go into making a bomb were found. “Mohan Ku mar, the owner of the house, was not aware of these,” ADGP Alok Kumar said.

According to the police, the accused was using the SIM card in the name of a Hindu man living in Ballari. He put up an image of Lord Shi va’s statue of Isha Foundation in Coim batore as his What sApp display picture to hide his identity.

‘Ensure name on voter list to avoid detention camp’

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mama ta Banerjee today asked people of the state to ensure that their names are on the electoral roll to avoid getting sent to deten tion camps under the garb of enforcing NRC.

She was addressing a programme organised by the state government to distribute land 'pat tas' (documents) to mar ginalised families from all districts.

"Ensure your name is there on the voter list, or else, you will be sent to detention camps in the name of NRC. It's a shame, shame and shame," Banerjee said.

Referring to inci dents of "forcible takeo ver of land by the rail way and airport author ities", Ms Banerjee said, "No eviction will be al lowed in Bengal with out proper compensa tion and rehabilita tion." At the public function, she asked peo ple to start "protests if your land is forcibly taken and the state will be with you".

digest the fact that the Trinamool chief lost to me in Nandigram. The govt did not maintain decorum and showed disrespect to the chair of leader of opposition," Adhikari told reporters.

Ranjan seeks Guv intervention against govt power misuse

Kolkata (ANI): The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday wrote a let ter to the West Bengal Governor seeking his intervention with re gard to the misuse of power by the state ad ministration.

In his letter ad dressed to the Honora ble Governor of West

Bengal CV Ananda Bose, the president of West Bengal Congress and Leader of Opposi tion in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowd hury sought the Gover nor's intervention as a Constitutional Head in the state regarding the issues of the Jhalda Municipality. Adhir Ranjan in his letter al leged that ever since

Speaker will decide: Minister on winter session at new building

MASSIVE FIRE BREAKS OUT IN ASSAM’S KARBI ANGLONG

Assam: A large number of houses and shops were gutted in a massive fire in the Lahorijaan area near Bokajan in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district along the Assam-Nagaland border on Wednesday. SDPO of Bo kajan, John Das, told ANI that no casualty had been reported in the incident.

“Fire tenders have reached the spot and tried to douse the flames,” John Das said.

GUJ POLICE ARREST TWO PERSONS, SEIZE ` 75 LAKH IN CASH

Surat: The Gujarat police on Wednesday arrested two persons and seized Rs 75 lakh in cash from a car during vehicle checking in Surat. As per the police, they have impounded the car and arrested the ac cused persons who had Rs 75 lakh in their possession. This vehicle checking by the EC of India and Surat Police was underway amid the security setup.

3,000 to 5,000 km and is capable of carrying both con ventional and nuclear warheads. “Successful test was part of routine user training launches carried out under aegis of the Strategic Forces Command,” Ministry of Defence

New Delhi: Union Min ister of State for Hous ing and Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore has said finishing touches are being given to the new Parliament build ing and the Lok Sabha Speaker will decide whether the forthcom ing Winter Session will be held there or in the existing building.

The Winter Session of Parliament will be gin on December 7 and conclude on December 29. The govt has main tained that the project would be completed by

Nov. Kishore said on Tuesday that the pro ject is on track and ef forts are being made to complete the construc tion work as soon as possible.

"The Speaker will de cide whether the Winter Session of Parliament will be held in the new building or the old one," Kishore told PTI.

Union Housing & Ur ban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said earlier this month that it was up to the govt to make announcement regarding the date.

FIFA WORLD CUP

the election of Jhalda Municipality and the declaration of its re

sult, the councillors, party leaders and mem bers of the Indian Na tional Congress have been subjected to tre mendous torture. Ad dressing the Governor, Adhir further alleged that the ruling dispen sation of West Bengal has left no stone un turned to forcefully take control of Jhalda Municipality and cling

on to power.

Adhir Ranjan in his letter asserted, "From the murder of a coun cillor namely Tapan Kandu to implicating councillors, party lead ers and members of Indian National Con gress the ruling dispen sation has left no stones unturned to forcefully take control of Jhalda Municipality".

I’m a bit irritated over issues created by media: Tharoor on ‘sectarian’ accusation

Kerala: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday sought to know how his attending events and meeting some prominent per sons in Kerala, along with MP M K Raghavan, could be construed as sectarian and said he was “a bit irritated” over the issues being created in the media.

A day after LoP in the state assembly V D Satheesan said any kind of sectarianism or parallel activities would not be allowed in the party and warned

that such moves would be dealt with “serious ly”, Tharoor questioned how activities of the two Congress MPs could be seen as sectar ian. Speaking to report ers at Kannur after

Japan stun Germany in dramatic World Cup comeback

Al Wakrah [Qatar], (ANI): Following his team’s win over Austral ia in their FIFA World Cup 2022 opener, defend ing champions France coach Didier Deschamps said that though his side started well, it was able to let the Aussies score a goal that should have been avoided.

Olivier Giroud’s brace and a stunning goal from Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe guided reigning champions France to register victo ry over Australia by 4-1 in the Group D match of the ongoing FIFA World

Cup 2022 at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.

Des champs also added that France showed more confidence in second half to push Aus tralia on backfoot.

“We began the match well in the first

the second half, we showed a lot more con fidence and forced Aus tralia on to the back foot and then we creat ed a lot of chances and four goals, which is good,” Sky Sports quoted Des champs as say ing.

“It is a good beginning to the tournament. The opening match is al ways vital and impor tant. I would like to con gratulate the team and the players,” he added.

Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra visits the spot where the autorickshaw blast occurred, in Mangaluru on Wednesday.

SUVENDU ADHIKARI SKIPS BENGAL GOVERNOR'S OATH OVER SEATING PLAN Kolkata: Leader of Opposition in Bengal Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday skipped the oath-taking cere mony of the new governor, alleging that the Trinamool govt "humiliated" him by allotting him a seat beside two MLAs who defected to the ruling party from the BJP after last year's assembly polls. The BJP leader also claimed that the Trinamool govt was pursuing "vindic tive" politics as it was yet to come to terms with CM Mamata Banerjee's poll defeat to him in Nandigram. "Just to humiliate me and the BJP at the oath-taking ceremony, I was given a seat beside two legislators who had won last year's elections on a party ticket and later defected to the Trinamool without resigning as BJP MLAs." "This Trinamool govt is acting in a vindictive manner. It is yet to

Mamata Banerjee

Suvendu Adhikari

INDIA TESTS INTERMEDIATERANGE BALLISTIC MISSILE AGNI-3

Bhubaneswar (PTI): The Strategic Forces Command, responsible for managing India’s nuclear weapons as part of the Nuclear Command Authority, has successfully tested an Agni-III ballistic missile from the APJ Abdul Kalam Island (formerly known as Wheeler Island) off the coast of Odisha. The missile has a strike range of

said.

Basavaraj Bommai on

Andhra Pradesh: Communist Party of India (CPI) National Secretary K. Narayana on Wednesday took a swipe at the central government for choos ing a lotus flower in the logo of the G20 summit and demanded a change. “CPI welcomes the G20 meeting, and we appreciate Prime Minister Modi on this occasion as we would be the host for the coming two years,” said K. Narayana.

meeting Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany, Tharoor said he was sad to hear, via media, that some were saying he and Raghavan were indulging in such activities.

WE WERE PUNISHED BY OUR MISTAKES,

SAYS

AUSTRALIAN COACH AFTER LOSS

Qatar: Following the loss to France in their FIFA World Cup 2022 opener, Australia head coach Graham Arnold said the quality of their opponents contributed to their win and his side was punished by their mistakes.

Olivier Giroud’s brace and a stunning goal from Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe guided reigning champions France to 4-1 victory over Australia in the Group D match of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar.

GERMANY LEADS WC PROTESTS AGAINST FIFA

‘RIGHT TIME TO SEEK A NEW CHALLENGE’

Qatar: Germany players covered their mouths during their team photo prior to their Group E game against Japan, in order to mark their protest against the OneLove armband ban. After FIFA threatened seven European teams with sanctions if they wore the armband sym bolising diversity and tolerance, all German players took part in the gesture in front of doz ens of photographers.

Qatar: Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday announced the end of his contract with Manchester United, say ing that it "feels like the right time to seek a new challenge". Star striker of the club Cristiano Ronaldo has parted ways with Manchester United, the club said in a statement on Tuesday. Ronaldo also took to Twitter to announce that he has parted ways with the club.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Shashi Tharoor

Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal in action.

BRIEFS

PARLE CROSSES $2 BILLION IN SALES DURING FY22

India, GCC to launch FTA negotiations today

First India Bureau

$27.8 billion in 2020-21, ac cording to data from the commerce ministry.

New Delhi: Parle Prod ucts, which retails brands including Parle G, Monaco and Melody, crossed $2 billion in annual revenues during FY22, becoming the first packaged food company in India to breach the mark. The bis cuit maker posted a 9% increase in net sales at `16,202 crore while profit slipped 81% to `256 crore during the year end ed March. A year ago, it had sales of `14,923 crore and profit of `1,366 crore, according to the company’s filing to the Registrar of Cos. —FIB

ATHER PLANS TO MAKE ITS THIRD PLANT OPERATIONAL

New Delhi: India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will announce the launch of negotiations for a FTA on Thursday, which aims at promoting two-way commerce and invest ments between the regions, an official said.

GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf re gion -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

India’s exports to the GCC member countries grew by 58.26% to about $44 billion in 2021-22, as against

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

Bilateral trade has in creased to $154.73 billion in 2021-22, from $87.4 billion in 2020-21. “GCC officials will be here for the announce ment,” the official was quoted as saying by PTI.

India has already imple mented a free trade pact with the UAE in May this year. This would be a kind of resumption of FTA talks as earlier two rounds of ne

gotiations had been held in 2006 and 2008 between In dia and GCC. Third round did not happen as GCC de

USE HPR TO BUILD NETWORK OF DOCS: IRDAI TO INSURERS

New Delhi (PTI): Irdai has asked insurers to leverage the Health Professional Registry to build a network of doctors or other health care professionals for pro viding OPD and other health services.

AS PART OF DIGITAL MISSION

Bengaluru: Electric twowheeler maker Ather En ergy is all set to finalise the location of a third manufacturing plant shortly with plans to make it functional by end of next fiscal to cater to growing demand, accord ing to co-founder Swapnil Jain. The startup which currently sells two elec tric scooters — 450X and the 450 Plus — expects its current capacity of 4.2 lakh units per annum in Hosur (Tamil Nadu) to get fully utilised by next fiscal end.

DHARMAJ CROP GUARD IPO TO OPEN

ON NOVEMBER 28

As part of the Ayush man Bharat Digital Mis sion, National Health Au thority (NHA) has incorpo rated a Healthcare Profes sional Registry (HPR), a comprehensive repository of registered and verified practitioners of health care professionals, deliver

OTHER STORIES

ing modern as well as traditional healthcare services across India.

“The General and Health Insurers offering health insurance policies can also consider leverag ing on the Health Profes

z NHA has incorporated a Healthcare Professional Registry, a comprehensive repository of registered and verified practitioners of healthcare professionals

sional Registry for build ing up the network of doc tors/physicians or other healthcare professionals for providing OPD or other healthcare services,” Irdai said in a circular released on Wednesday.

ferred its negotiations with all countries and economic groups. India imports pre dominately crude oil and

INDIA AND THE GCC COUNTRIES

z GCC is a union of six countries — Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain

z India’s exports to the GCC member countries grew about $44 billion in 2021-22

z The share of GCC members in India’s total imports rose to 18% in 2021-22

natural gas from the Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and exports pearls, precious and semi-

precious stones; metals; imitation jewellery; elec trical machinery; iron and steel; and chemicals to these countries.

Besides trade, Gulf na tions are host to a sizeable Indian population. Out of about 32 million NRIs, nearly half are estimated to be working in Gulf coun tries. These NRIs send a significant amount of mon ey back home. According to a November 2021 report of the World Bank, India got $87 billion in foreign remit tances in 2021. Of this, a sizeable portion came from the GCC nations.

Markets end higher for second day on firm global trends

Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmarks ended higher on Wednesday amid buying in banking counters and a firm trend in global mar kets. Continuing its previ ous day rally, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 91.62 points or 0.15% to settle at 61,510.58.

During the day, it jumped 361.94 points or 0.58% to 61,780.90.

The broader NSE Nifty gained 23.05 points or 0.13% to end at 18,267.25.

From the Sensex pack, State Bank of India, Bajaj

RUPEE FALLS 18 PAISE TO CLOSE AT 81.85

AGAINST US DOLLAR

New Delhi: Agrochemical company Dharmaj Crop Guard on Wednesday said it has fixed a price band of `216–237 a share for its `251-crore initial public offering (IPO). The initial sharesale will open for public subscription on Novem ber 28 and conclude on November 30, the com pany said in a statement. The initial public offering (IPO) consists of fresh issue of equity shares worth up to `216 crore and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of up to 14.83 lakh equity shares by existing shareholders.

BANK BOARDS CAN DECIDE ON WAIVING PENALTY ON MINIMUM BALANCE: MoS FINANCE KARAD

Srinagar: The boards of individual banks can decide on waiving the penalty on accounts, which do not maintain a minimum balance, Union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwant Kishanrao Karad on Wednesday said. “Banks are independ ent bodies. They have boards which can take a decision to waive off the penalty,” Karad said. The minister was responding to a question if the Centre would consider directing banks not to charge any penalty from the accounts where the balance falls below the prescribed min levels. —PTI

TOTAL LEASING OF OFFICE SPACE IN OCT DIP

21% TO 6.7 MN SQ

FEET

New Delhi: The total leasing of office space, which comprises demand for all grades of build ings, fell 21% year-on-year in October across seven major cities to 6.7 million square feet on lower demand, according to property consultant JLL India. As per the data, Mumbai with a 65% share of monthly leasing activity clearly leads the way, followed by Delhi NCR and Pune. These three cities accounted for nearly 93% of all leasing activity in the October 2022 monthly leasing activity tracker. —PTI

POWER WORKERS HOLD RALLY TO PROTEST AGAINST ELEC BILL

New Delhi: Thousands of power sector workers from different states held a massive rally on Wednesday at Jantar Mantar here to protest against Electricity (Amendment) Bill 2022, AIPEF said on Wednesday. The rally was held under the ageis of National Coordination Commit tee of Electricity Employees and Engineers. Besides opposing the bill and privatisation of power distribution (utilities), employ ees are demanding Old Pension Scheme and regularisation of all outsourced employees. —PTI

New Delhi: Gold price de clined by `40 to `52,797 per 10 gram in the nation al capital on Wednesday amid a fall in prices of the yellow metal in overseas markets, according to HDFC Securities. In the previous trade, the pre cious metal had closed at `52,837 per 10 gram. Sil ver, however, climbed by `110 to `62,056 per kilo gram. In the international market, gold was quoting lower at $1,745 per ounce while silver was flat at $21.27 per ounce.

New Delhi (ANI): Amidst layoffs and a slowing down of the hiring process being seen by large companies as an avenue to strengthen their revenues, global tech major Google has intro duced a new performance management system, which could push out thou sands of underperforming employees, according to reports surfaced online in recent days.

Multiple news reports quoted technology-fo cused publication The In formation making a men tion of the new perfor mance management sys

tem, which once imple mented early next year, could make way for hu man resource managers to push out underperform ing Google employees.

Finance, Dr Reddy’s, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Phar ma, Maruti, NTPC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank were among the major winners.

Air India to launch new flights to New York, Paris & Frankfurt

Mumbai (PTI): Tata Group-owned Air India on Wednesday announced the launch of new flights con necting Mumbai with New York, Paris and Frankfurt, starting February next year. Besides, the full-ser vice carrier also an nounced the resumption of non-stop flights connecting Delhi with Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna.

The Mumbai-New York (JFK) daily service will commence from February 14 next year, Air India said.

Air India said it contin ues to make progress in augmenting its fleet with newly-leased aircraft, and the return of existing air craft to active service.

The international expan sion comes at a time when Air India is grappling with the shortage of both cock pit and cabin crew.

AIRASIA INDIA SIGNS DEAL FOR IN-FLIGHT WI-FI

New Delhi (FIB): AirAsia India and cloud technology firm Sugarbox have formed a partnership to provide in-flight wi-fi service on all AirAsia aircraft. The service will enable AirAsia India flyers to access over 1,000 international and Indian movies. The content will also include “short movies, web series episodes and stream buffer-free content from OTT apps from the system installed in the flight.”The multi-feature in-flight experience hub is called ‘AirFlix’. It will be avail able to all fliers through a local in-flight wi-fi at no additional cost.

AKASA TO LAUNCH VIZAG-BENGALURU SERVICE

New Delhi (PTI): Domestic carrier Akasa Air announced its plans to launch services to Visakhapatnam from Bengaluru, starting Decem ber 10, which will be the airline’s 10th destination since its launch in August this year. The Mumbai-based airline recently announced con necting Pune and Bengaluru with double daily flights from November 26 and a third frequency on the route from December 10. Akasa Air will launch two daily flights on the Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam route, with the first frequency starting from December 10 and the second frequency from December 12, the airline said in a statement.

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee depreciated 18 paise to close at 81.85 (provisional) against the US dollar on Wednesday on dollar demand from import ers and recovery in crude oil prices. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 81.81 and later witnessed an intraday high of 81.74 and a low of 81.87 during the session. The domestic unit finally settled at 81.85 against the American currency.

Meesho joins govt’s ONDC

New Delhi (PTI): E-com merce platform Meesho on Wednesday said it has inte grated with the govern ment’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) to help connect buyers with hyperlocal sellers.

The government is run ning a pilot of ONDC where all e-commerce ecosystem players will facilitate on line purchase of goods and services at competitive prices, thereby reducing cost burden on sellers and consumers.

The pilot with Meesho will be launched in Ben galuru and gradually rolled out in other loca tions in coming months. With this, registered buy ers on ONDC will be able to access a list of products available on ONDC through Meesho. Meesho claims that 80% of its 14 crore an nual transacting custom ers come from Tier 2 and beyond cities.

The

The

tech

also said Google’s managers could also use the perfor mance ratings to avoid pay ing employees bonuses and stocks.

turing hubs will be benefit ed by the transformation.

GOLD FALLS `40 BUT SILVER PRICE GOES UP BY RUPEES 110

New Delhi (PTI): Telecom opera tor Bharti Airtel on Wednesday announced the deployment of its ‘5G Plus’ service at Dr Baba saheb Ambedkar International Airport Nagpur, making it the second airport in the state with the ultra-high-speed service. The new terminal in Bengaluru, Pune and Varanasi are the other three airports that have Airtel

MCD ELECTIONS

DELHI BJP MANIFESTO TO BE WOMEN-CENTRIC

promises

property tax

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Amid a rag ing political debate over the feasibility of parties announcing freebies ahead of MCD elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi has planned to come up with empowerment tools, particularly for women and children.

For MCD elections, the Delhi BJP may intro duce a manifesto with promises of delivery of “faceless” civic servic es, incentivising girl child education, and re bate to women in prop erty tax, the party lead ers said on Wednesday.

Senior party leaders asserted that the party will have the resident welfare societies in the city employ green initi atives for a green Delhi.

Also, the State BJP president Adesh Gupta said if the party wins the MCD polls it will bring a solution to the parking problem in the city by developing over 100 parking lots.

Earlier, the Delhi BJP had released a ‘Wachan Patra’ promising to pro vide slum dwellers flats, like 3,024 recently hand ed over to Bhoomiheen Camp JJ cluster in Kalkaji area.

Prime Minister Nar endra Modi handed over the keys of the flats to some beneficiaries of ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahin Makan’ (in-situ slum re habilitation project) at a function in Vigyan Bha

MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

Delhi HC notice to ED on Preeti Chandra’s bail plea

New Delhi (ANI): The Delhi HC on Wednesday issued a notice to the En forcement Directorate (ED) on a bail plea of former Unitech promot er Sanjay Chandra’s wife Preeti Chandra in a money laundering case.

The ED, in this case, had arrested the found er of Unitech Group Ramesh Chandra, Preeti Chandra (Sanjay Chandra’s wife) and Rajesh Malik of Car noustie Group last year.

The Bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh sought a response to a petition of Preeti Chandra seeking regular bail in the case.

Advocate Adit Pujari, who appeared for Preeti Chandra submitted that: she has been in judicial

wan. The convener of the party’s MCD poll manifesto committee Satish Upadhyay said the document is expect ed to be women-centric with several announce ments related to them.

“Incentives for girl child education and measures supporting a green and clean Delhi are also likely to be there,” he said.

Last week, Upadhyay announced that if the

BJP wins the MCD polls, it will develop an app for the faceless delivery of municipal services to the people of the city.

The Delhi BJP had in vited feedback from the people for its draft man ifesto under ‘Sabki Del hi, Sabka Suraj’ initia tive, receiving over 60,000 suggestions.

A Delhi BJP leader said that over one-andhalf dozen issues of pub lic interest were likely to be included in the mani festo including the par ticipation of Delhiites in the delivery of obligato ry services of MCD in cluding sanitation, health, and education.

Siemens to supply baggage handling system for Noida airport

First India Bureau

New Delhi: Siemens Logistics has been se lected to deliver the bag gage handling system for the new Noida Inter national Airport (NIA) near Delhi, which is also known as the Jewar Air port. Under this con tract, Siemens Logistics will design, supply, in stall, commission and maintain the baggage handling system for the airport’s Terminal 1. Noida Airport on Wednesday signed an agreement with Sie mens Logistics India Private Limited.

The Siemens VarioT ray system is a modular and expandable technol ogy. It will provide fast and safe transportation of baggage with a high level of accuracy.

“This will be a fully automated system with a high level of precision, ensuring that each bag is tracked along its route with live security sta tus,” the statement read.

“The technology will integrate seamlessly with Noida Internation al Airport’s operations and provide fast baggage handling,” it added.

Thakur’s ‘billion dollar’ plan to generate money for I&B Ministry!

Aishwary Pradhan

Jaipur: CEO and Edi tor-in-Chief, Bharat24Vision of New India and First India & CMD, First India News, Dr Jagdeesh Chandra met I&B Minister Anurag Thakur in Jaipur on Wednesday. Interest ingly, Thakur has now thought of an initia tive to earn billions from dept’s idle prop erties. Under this, survey will be con ducted in the entire country like railway properties of vacant lands of Doordarshan and All India Radio stations.

After the survey, a plan will be made for their auction. Simi

larly, instructions have been issued for exist ing Doordarshan & All India Radio stations with a plan to get rid of 2 lakh square feet of land from its existing premises. Notably, a 3-storey Doordarshan

Kendra is located on Peddar Road in Mum bai & according to plan, similar parts of other big properties will also be made free of possession & then government will put them on rent on merit.

Significant increase in Yamuna pollution since 2017: Delhi govt

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi government has promised to clean the Yamuna to bathing standards by 2025, but the pollution load in the river has increased sub stantially over the last five years, according to a report by the environ ment department.

The report shows that barring Palla, the annual average level of biological oxygen de mand (BOD) increased

SC’s ‘critical concerns’ show EC not following its mandate: RJD over EC appointment

at every location of wa ter sample collection for testing in the nation al capital.

BOD, an important parameter for assess ing water quality, is the amount of oxygen re quired by aerobic mi croorganisms to de compose organic mate rial present in a water body. BOD levels less than 3 milligram per litre (mg/l) is consid ered good.

crores

to

custody for a long time. She is a fashion designer and has nothing to do with the proceeds of crime, as alleged.

New Delhi (PTI): The Rashtriya Janata Dal on Wednesday said the “critical concerns” raised by the Supreme Court over the function ing of the Election Commission prove that the poll panel has not been following its man date of conducting free and fair elections for the last couple of years.

The RJD’s assertion came on a day the Su preme Court said the inclusion of the Chief Justice of India in the consultative process for the appointment of Chief Election Commis sioner would ensure the independence of the poll panel. On Tuesday, the apex court said the Constitution has vested

enormous powers on the “fragile shoulder” of the chief election commissioner and the two election commis sioners and it wants a CEC of strong charac ter like the late T N Se shan. The top court had also termed the exploi tation of the “silence of the Constitution” and

It has to be done. If you want both, the Judiciary and the EC, to be independent, then it should be for 6 years (the tenure of the CEC) & it should be done by a collegium, which was recommended by me.

—Veerappa Moily, Ex-Law Min

the absence of a law governing the appoint ments of ECs and CECs a “disturbing trend”. Reacting to the obser vations, RJD spokesper son and Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said the remarks made by the Supreme Court are it self an indication that what his party have

been saying for a long has been proved right.

“Not only the Su preme Court has raised certain critical con cerns with regard to the functioning of the elec tion commission, but it has also gone to the ex tent of asking ‘will you take action against the prime minister’,” he

It has been “our demand” for the past 20 years. Serving CECs have been making this demand. We are fa miliar with the collegi um system. Various appointments are made by collegium.

—SY Quraishi, Former CEC

said. “They have raised questions on selection criteria and that vindi cates our position that in the last couple of years, the election com mission of India has not been following its mandate under article 324 which calls for con ducting free and fair elections,” Jha said.

Over

Prashant Jha and Manoj K Singh

Ranchi/Patna: In Ranchi on Wednesday , Bharat-24’s News Con trol Room Head Sand eep Mishra, Consulting Editor Shishir Awasthi, Marketing V-P Vishal Mathur, Jharkhand Edi tor Manoj Kumar Singh and Senior Correspond ent Kanhaiya Kumar

briefed reporters about how every small and big news from 81 assembly seats of Jharkhand should reach the view ers of Bharat24 news channel. During this, the correspondents also shared the experi ences of working in the past with Dr Jagdeesh Chandra.

In a very short span of time, Bharat24 has selected very active and hardworking corre spondents at every small and big place in

Jharkhand who will bring every news of Jharkhand to the audi

ence of Bharat24. They will also be seen roam ing in the field with the

spirit

respondents

dia platforms of Bharat24.

Earlier on Tuesday, a large number of corre spondents of Bharat24 from 243 assembly seats of Bihar reached Pat na’s Vidhyapati Bhavan in Patna to participate in this programme.

Bharat 24 is the first national TV channel whose 4,000 reporters are alert and active in every corner of the country.

Channel’s News Con trol Room Head Sand

posts to be created for security of Kartavya Path

400

New Delhi (ANI): The newly created Police Sta tion at Kar tavya Path will soon be manned by freshly re cruited po lice personnel. Lieuten ant Governor (LG) Vi nai Kumar Saxena has recommended and for warded a proposal for creation of 467 new posts to the Ministry of Home Affairs, said a statement by LG’s office. Of the 467 new positions, 227 will be deployed for the area security plan of Central Vista Project and sur rounding areas of Kar tavya Path, while 240 will man the new Police Station at Kartavya Path (Central Vista).

Team Bharat24 committed to achieve greater heights!

eep Mishra, Consulting

Prashant Jha dis cussed how every small and big news on 243 as sembly seats of Bihar reached the viewers of Bharat24. Vice- Presi dent Sales Vishal Ma thur briefed all the re porters. Along with this, the correspond ents were motivated to make the slogan of Dr Jagdeesh Chandra Bharat24 ‘New Vision of India,’ a success.

With

of incentivising girl child edu, and rebate in

BJP leaders and supporters during the Vijay Sankalp Roadshow for upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections, at Uttam Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday. —PHOTO BY ANI

The Delhi BJP had invited feedback from the people for its draft manifesto under ‘Sabki Delhi, Sabka Suraj’ initiative, receiving over 60,000 suggestions.

IN-SITU TECH

ED ATTACHES ‘BENAMI’ ENTITIES IN UNITECH GROUP PROMOTERS Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached assets worth several

belonging

two benami entities of erstwhile Unitech Group promoters Ajay Chan dra and Sanjay Chandra.The attached properties included 1 multiplex in Gurugram, 6 commercial properties in Gurugram & Lucknow, and 24 bank accounts and Fixed De posit Receipts as per agency.

Dr Jagdeesh Chandra extends floral greetings to Anurag Thakur during their meeting in Jaipur on Wednesday.

to take the pub lic’s questions to the government. All the cor

were also advised to stay connect ed with all the social me

Editor Shishir Awasthi and Consulting Editor Bihar

Sandeep Mishra, Shishir Awasthi, Vishal Mathur and Prashant Jha along with team in Patna.

Sandeep Mishra, Shishir Awasthi, Vishal Mathur, Manoj Kumar Singh and Kanhaiya Kumar along with team in Ranchi.

f your soul is bo hemian, free and gypsy wild. Come swim in the calm ing sea and be mermaids for a while, each season, we come upon new sources of inspiration that not only

result in intriguing silhou ettes but also surface innova tions. Making is an example of inspiration. When Mer maidcore, which combines the terms “mermaid” and “normcore,” is the most re cent fad that designers have adopted. Fashion’s desire for a different world in these un certain times caused by the coronavirus is evident. With out much certainty regard ing the future, it is simpler to suffocate in the depths of the ocean, where there is a di verse array of flora and fau na in addition to peace and strength. This aquatic-in spired style is fueled in part

maids were featured in the Spring/Summer 2021 collec tions. With Kendall Jenner, Precious Lee, and Hailey Bie ber gracing the cover of Ver sace’s spring 2021 advertis ing campaign alongside a sea of jellyfish, the campaign stands out.

nipulation was used to trans late components inspired by the ocean into collections. Whether it’s through patch worked coral and seashell patterns on black mesh pants and shifts, fish and sea ur

www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/delhi I twitter.com/ thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia

by a rise in interest in sus tainability and ecology.

UTTKARSHA SHEKHAR

uttkarsha.shekhar@firstindia.co.in

ARIES

CHRISTMAS CAKES WINES and

During winter, or anges are one of the fruits associated with Christmas and are available in the north ern countries. Orange peelis candied or the juice from orange is used in cakes.

hristmas is celebrat ed as a reli gious and cultural festival by billions of people around the world. It is an annual festival that recalls the birth of Jesus Christ observed most commonly on the 25th of December and is an integral part of the holiday season. Carol singing, decorating the house in red and green and prepara tion of a sumptuous meal are the high lights of the celebra tion.

One of the most im portant part of the special holiday cele bration, is the food that is prepared and served. Based on the cultural practises, the meal varies greatly from country to coun try. A standard Christ mas meal in the Unit ed Kingdom and the countries influenced by its tradition in clude large birds like turkey or goose, pota toes, vegetables, sometimes bread and cider. Rich fruitcake, Eggnog, Christmas pudding are few of the special desserts.

Brandy, rum, wine or bourbon are often added in cooking or consumed as such. It gives warmth to the body and pacifies the mind. Without a glass of sweet grape wine and a piece of fruit cake, Christmas din ner would be incom plete.

Homemade Christmas Wine : Wine making is a longstanding tradi tion, which holds good especially dur ing Christmas. The homemade wine prep aration begins early in October, as the weather is not as ideal in tropical countries as compared to the west. Wine making is still done at home by few while many opt to buy them from stores.

The fermentation period is briefer for sweet grape wine as the process is halted before all the sugar turns to alcohol.

The color of this wine is from the red pigment in the grape skin. Grapes give the flavor, sweetness is from the sugar, the yeast ferments, and spices bring out the aroma. Wheat or bar ley acts as the clarify ing agent and adds strength to the wine.

CHRISTMAS

CAKE

Spices, dried fruits and candied peels add bitter aromatic flavours to the cake, which is otherwise sweet, and this is what makes the Christmas fruit cake different from a regular fruitcake. The spices add flavour and favour digestion. Figs, prunes, apricot are the commonly used dried fruits in cakes, which are high-calorie but contain no fat, cholesterol or sodium. Apricots, prunes and figs are packed with beta-carotene while plums are potassium rich and prunes favour digestion due to its fi bre content. Nuts, are rich in fibre, phytonutrients, antioxidants such as Vitamin E and selenium.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are packed in nuts, been shown to lower LDL cholesterol.

EGGLESS CHRISTMAS CAKE RECIPE

z Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes

z Serving size: 6 - 7 z Ingredients (1 cup = 250 ml)

z To soak in the rum: z Raisins - ½ cup z Chopped cashews½ cup z Chopped citrus peels - ¼ cup

z Apricots (dry or fresh) - 8-9

z Chopped dates - ½ cup z Tutti fruity - ¼ cup z Glazed cherries, sliced - 9-10

z Rum or orange juice or apple juice - 1 cup z To make the sponge: z All purpose flour1½ cup

z Whole wheat flour¾ cup

z Demerara sugar or brown sugar or pow dered sugar - 1 and ½ cup z Oil or melted butter - 1 cup

z Soy milk or any nut milk or dairy milk - 1 cup

z Apple cider or regular vinegar - 2 tbsp

z Baking soda - 1 tsp

z Baking powder - ½ tsp

z Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

z Spices, powdered:

z Cinnamon - 1 inch or 1.5 inches

z Cloves - 2

z Cardamom - 2

z Grated nutmeg – a pinch or two

PREPA RATION METHOD

Soaking the dry fruits: Chop all the dry fruits and take them in a bowl. Pour rum in the bowl. Cover the bowl let the dry fruits soak for 12 or 24 hours.Stir or shake at intervals so that the dry fruits get soaked evenly.

TAURUS

APR 21 - MAY 20

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

GEMINI

MAY 21 - JUNE 21 Continue doing whatever you are doing to remain healthy. Some of you will have to curb your splurging ways.

Family life will cruise along smoothly with much love and bonhomie. Don’t speed up on the road. Chance of moving to a new location on transfer is likely for some.

CANCER

JUNE 22 - JULY 23 People falling under this sign will have a refreshing day. Visiting a mall or watching a movie is likely to be the highlight of the day for some. You may enjoy travelling to a tourist destination recommended by your friends. Reignite the flickering romance in your life by spending more time together.

LEO

JULY 24 - AUGUST 23 Money put together on previous occasions is likely to come in handy now. A family youngster is keen to learn from you, so don’t disappoint. Settling down in a new house is indicated for some.You may have to awaken partner’s interest in you once again.

VIRGO

AUG 24 - SEP 23 Something you have implemented at work is likely to profit the company. You are likely to celebrate the achievement of a youngster in a grand way. Shifting into your house may soon become a reality. An exotic island destination beckons, for which you may already be making plans!

YOUR DAY

LIBRA

SEPT 24 - OCTOBER 22 Money coming from various streams will keep you in an elated state of mind. A new fitness regime that you have adopted promises to keep you in the pink of health. Getting an old furniture upholstered may be at the top of the mind of some homemakers. Your search for perfect partner may soon be over.

SCORPIO

OCT 23 - NOVEMBER 22

A vacation you only dreamed about is likely to become a reality soon. Healthy eating will help prevent digestive ailments. So don’t drool after those junk foods. Money will be no constraint in buying what you like. Driving down with lover to a happening place is indicated today.

SAGITTARIUS

NOV 23 - DEC 22

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

CAPRICORN

DEC 23 - JAN 20 Some clarification will need to be sought on a financial issue, before you take the next step. A project left halfway by someone else may come on your shoulders, but your efforts will be acknowledged. Some of you are all set to enjoy a splendid vacation.

AQUARIUS

JAN 21 - FEB 19 You will derive great benefit from an exercise routine that you keenly follow. Extra workload is foreseen at work, but nothing that you cannot handle within office hours. Taking the family on a trip seems impossible today due to your professional commitments, so postpone it for some other day.

PISCES

FEB20 - MARCH 20

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

FACEOFTHEDAY

PREPARING THE CAKE

Grind the whole spices in a dry grinder and keep aside.

Grease a loaf pan or a round cake pan with oil or butter paper (6.5 inches round pan was used).

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

begin to froth. Then, add this mixture to the cake batter. n Add vanilla extract and mix. Pour in the cake pan. n Spread the batter uniformly in the cake pan. n Place the sliced cherries on the top. n Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes or more or less depending on your oven at 180 degrees C. The cake can be stored in an airtight con tainer for two weeks.

SOURCE: Christmas Feast, It’s al ways Grand with Cake and Wine (medindia.net)

DIKSHA PAWAR, Model

Horoscope by Saurabbh Sachdeva

JULIA SAMUEL, M.PHIL cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

First look of ‘BLURR’

Taapsee is all set for her next film titled Blurr. The actress today anncounced the release date on her social handle and also shared the first look. Sharing it, Taapsee wrote, “There’s always more than what meets the eye!

#BlurrOnZEE5 premieres 9th De cember.” As reported, the story revolves around a woman and her struggles. This film is about a Gayatri who is slowly losing her sight whilst trying to investigate the death of her twin sister.

SONAM KAPOOR’S CHIC AIRPORT LOOK!

Actress Sonam Kapoor is currently enjoying a new phase of her life. On August 20, she and her husband Anand Ahuja welcomed a baby boy to the family. The couple named their son Vayu. Sonam keeps shar ing glimpses of her son on Insta gram. Meanwhile, the new mom was seen making heads turn on Wednesday as she was clicked at the Mumbai airport. The ac tress never fails to impress when it comes to fashion. Earlier today, Sonam was seen making a starry appearance at the airport. Her son Vayu was not seen accompanying her. She was seen sporting a chic green dress with funky prints. She wore a match ing jacket and styled the look with a black trench coat. She opted for high black boots, layered chains and a messy bun to com plete her look. Sonam also wore quirky sunglasses to amp up her overall look.

Alia’s obsession with ANANYA’S PLAY-ON-DATE DRESS

nanya Panday stepped out for Kartik Aaryan’s birthday bash in a picture-perfect white ruched dress. However, what we cannot get over is the envy-worthy lilac bag that takes the ensemble to a whole new level of per fection. This party sea son certainly brought in an influx of solidcoloured ensembles and Ananya has

certainly been on top of it. With her latest appearance, she served lessons on how

Priyanka’s shocking REVELATION

to

without going OTT. As Ananya Panday paus es and poses for the paps at Kartik Aaryan’s birthday bash she proves a white look has a timeless charm and is a fail-safe option when you want to step out in style. She chose to sport a Sirene Dress in White by House of CB. The dress is a figure-perfecting cura tion entirely made up of luxurious organza mesh that delivers a sheer look.

‘WEIGHT AND BODY’

Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt has come a long way in her acting career. At the time of her first film’s release, Alia was just 19 years old. In past inter views, she had mentioned that she lost weight before she forayed into Bollywood. Now, in a recent interview, Alia revealed

riyanka Chopra needs no introduction and always leaves her fans stunned with her acting skills and amazing work.

A few weeks back, Priyanka who resides in Los Angeles with her husband-singer Nick Jo nas and daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas, recently visited India after three long years and was busy with her work commit ments. During her visit, Priyanka inter acted with YouTuber Ranveer Allahba dia aka BeerBiceps for his podcast, The Ranveer Show and during their chat, the actress shared that people were trying to ‘jeopardise’ her career and also take away from her work. While others also made sure she wasn’t cast just because she was doing well in what she was doing. Fur ther, she continued that it’s not something that stops her. “I don’t sit and wait and harp on, maybe I will cry one night when an opportunity was taken away from me, but I don’t sit in the s**t. You have to shut off the noise,” she added.

icky Kaushal, Bhumi Pednekar and Kiara Advani are busy pro moting their upcom ing film - the Shashank Khaitan-directed Govinda Naam Mera. Vicky and Ki ara play choreog raphers in the movie. Recent ly, when asked, who from the film industry would the

team like to choreograph for, here’s what they had to say. “I would like to choreograph Katrina Kaif, woh theek thaak dance karti hai. Tal ented hai ladki, better kar sakti hai,” laughs Vicky, fur ther adding, “Bas aaj khana nahin milega”.

Vicky and Katrina got mar ried in December last year in Rajasthan in the presence of their families and close friends. Has life changed af

style a white ruched dress to make a feminine and flattering statement

Sonam Kapoor

Ananya in white ruched dress

Ananya Panday Vicky’s

confession!

Taapsee Pannu

Priyanka Chopra Alia

Poster of the film

'Back to school'

CITY FIRST

Kriti Sanon was ecstatic about visiting her school. After an interval of fifteen years, the actress went back to school for a very spe cific purpose: to sup port the release of her film Bhediya. Back to school," Kriti Sanon captioned a photo she posted of herself in front of the DPS RK Puram entrance of her school. after fifteen years. Being back at my

school to promote my movie Bhediya makes me feel really pleased. Nostalgic. I've received a lot from D.P.S. R.K. Puram. It really influ enced who I am now. And coming back and declaring, "I made it!" was the finest feeling ever. The hashtag #Al waysADipsiteAtHeart was also added to her. Kriti's sister Nupur Sa non replied to the post with a string of fire emojis. ’Bhediya’ is set to release in cinemas on November 25 .

BHEDIYA FEVER ON!

PHOTOGRAPH What You Love!

MRIDULA SHARMA cityfirst@firstindia.co.in

When I have a camera in my hand, I have no fear," says Khushi Dubey during a chit-chat session with City First

Tell us something about yourself.

My name is Khushi Dubey, I hail from Jaipur but am cur rently based in Delhi for work. I am also a wildlife photographer and a Journalist.

Where do you see yourself after the next 20 years?

For me, twenty years is a long period. I see myself as a profes sional and estab lished photogra pher. Regardless of my actual profes sion, I would click photos in some form or the other. I would also like to open a shelter to rescue dogs and cats.

How did your jour ney begin?

You must discover your passion. And same goes for job as it requires your true interests. Your job will take up a significant portion of your life, and the only way to genuinely be fulfilled is to produce what you consider to be outstanding work. And doing outstanding work is only possible if you enjoy what you do.

for a clothing brand called 'Pehnava'. Apart from that, I have been capturing pictures of nature and that's what makes me satisfied about my life that I am doing what I love. The show gave me every thing. I was known for my famous perm hair and that look solely got me some of my best work ever.

CITY FIRST

Kana Ram Mewada, a tea stall owner from UP, has come up with a unique way to collect and recycle kilos of plastic waste in and around his village, in a bid to make it plastic free.

In a small tea shop lo cated in Bisalpur, Uttar Pradesh, one can spot unique furniture like stools and tables made of bricks and recycled plas tic. Other than custom

SUSHI

CITY FIRST

While there are many Chi nese eateries in the city, it might be difficult to lo cate one that takes its Japanese food serious ly. Many restaurants try to serve multiple cuisines with the same fervor—and as a result, not enough fervor—in the maze of Pan Asian gastronomy. We located five excellent eateries in Delhi that treat their Sashimi and Teppen kyaki like it’s a matter of life or

amid the murky cloud of multicuisiners.

Celebration of the art form of dance

CITY FIRST

The third edition of the dance fes tival titled 'The Natya Ballet Dance Festival 2022' is scheduled to take place from November 25-27. The show is organised by The Natya Ballet Centre, by Kamla Lal in New Delhi and is set to mark the return of this much-awaited festival enthralling evening dance productions to stage and much more, besides. The Natya Bal let Centre continues to support and promote both established and up coming talent as well as build its own repertory of new performances, both contemporary and classical.

As part of the festival, three evening perfor mances at Kamani Au ditorium ‘Unmasked’ and ‘Abha’ in Bharatan atyam and ‘Draupadi’ in Odissi will retell the an cient epics of the Rama yana and the Mahab harata, but each with a twist in the tale.

In an effort to reach young, school-going au diences from NDMC school and others, the festival’s outreach pro gramme curates and presents Dances of

India, to showcase for them, India’s rich pal ette of classical and folk dances that incorporate both style and vigour, glorious costumes, ele vating music and his torical tidbits.

“Through our special dance curation, Dances of India, we endeavour to give the children something new to learn and a sense of India’s amazingly diverse and spectacular cultural landscape.

So, we are especially delighted to be present ing the third edition of this grand festival of dance, with three su perb evening perfor mances rooted in the ancient epics three de tailed lecture demon strations, a more seri ous panel discussion on how to reboot the dance and excellent conversa tions with living legends of dance.” said Radhika Hoon

ers, tourists who come to visit the nearby Jawai Dam often stop by here to hand over plastic waste to the shopkeeper.

Run by Kana Ram Me wada, the shop not only sells steaming cups of chai and snacks but also leads a campaign to re

duce the use of single-use plastic in his village.

Kana Ram believes that relying completely on the government with out making any individu al contribution was not a good idea. The youngster began thinking about ways to raise awareness among people in his vil lage and make at least his locality free of plastic.

“Many municipalities had failed in effectively

employing the single-use plastic ban, even after spending crores on awareness campaigns and planning,” Kana Ram shared.

Kana Ram collects an average of 50 kg of plastic a month, which is taken to the recycling company for further processing.

“Sometimes, I purchase a few things made of recy cled waste to show the vil lagers that it was created from our plastic waste contribution.” he added.

SUSHI HAUS

(Chairperson, Natya Ballet Centre) This dance festival is eet Natak Akademi theby’s India and

The star cast Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon and Abhishek Banerjee of the upcoming film

'Bhediya' recently visited Delhi for the promotions as the movie is all set to release on November 25. The shooting of the film is done in mesmerising forests of Arunachal, while Bhediya tells the story of Bhaskar, a man who gets bitten by a mythical wolf, and begins to transform into the creature himself. As Bhaskar and his ragtag buddies try to find answers, a bunch of twists turns and laughs ensue.

death

MEGU - THE LEELA PALACE

This upscale, genuine Japanese restaurant is referred to be Delhi’s “mini-Japan” by locals. It specialises in Sumibi Aburiyaki, an excellent grilling method, hand-made tofu, and superb sushi.

FUJIYA

Another hidden treasure in Delhi, this nearly four-decade-old restaurant is well-known for its retro furnishings and incredibly traditional Japanese cuisine! The Mandarin Chow & Mizutaki Soup types, as well as popular Japanese dishes like Sukiyaki Chicken & Ebi Tempura, are the obvious favourites here.

GUPPY BY AI

Guppy By Ai is a modern Japanese bar and restaurant that provides a wide variety of vegetarian food and has distinct lunch and supper menus. When you next visit, try their Chashu Ramen, Exotic Mushroom Gyoza, and Guppy Signature Black Cod.

This is the restaurant where you need to place your next order if, like us, you’re a huge fan of sushi and want something that will excite your taste buds from the first bite. Sushi Haus makes sure to provide you with a dine-in experience in the comfort of your home with their home-delivery exclusively service.

—PHOTOS BY SHAZID CHAUHAN

Khushi Dubey

Kriti Sanon at Delhi Public School

Varun Dhawan, Kriti Sanon and Abhishek Banerjee during the promotion

Kana Ram Mewada

A scene from Unmasked

Dancers performing Bharatanatyam

—PHOTOS

BY SHAZID

CHAUHAN