First India-Mumbai Edition-27th September 2022

SONIA GANDHI SEEKS WRITTEN REPORT OVER RAJASTHAN CRISIS FROM MAKEN & KHARGE

CONG-RACE LEADERSHIP KEEPS ‘WAIT AND WATCH’ APPROACH

public, will be taken af ter interim chief looks Sonia Gandhi into the report by the observers sent to the state.

AMID RAJASTHAN CRISIS, KAMAL NATH CALLED TO DELHI

RAJ UDH MINISTER ACCUSES MAKEN OF CONSPIRACY

Jaipur: shocking

presidential election.

New Delhi: Congress leaders Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday briefed party chief Sonia Gandhi about the developments in Rajasthan in wake of the political crisis in the state over the move to find a successor to Raj CM Ashok Gehlot, who is likely to fight the party’s

Sonia Gandhi asked Maken and Kharge, who were appointed ob servers for the legisla ture party meeting, to give a written report to Cong chief. “Mallikar jun Kharge and I briefed Congress chief about our meetings in Ra jasthan. Now she has asked us for a written report that will be given to her by tonight or to

morrow,” Maken told reporters. Sources said status quo will be main tained till the process is over for filing nomina tions of AICC presi dent. With party ob

servers slamming some actions of loyalists of CM Ashok Gehlot, sources said decision on issuing show cause notices to miffed MLAs, who have been vocal in

DEADLY GUN ATTACK AT RUSSIAN SCHOOL

First India Bureau

Moscow: A gunman with a swastika on his T-shirt has killed 15 people, including 11 children, and wounded 24 at a school in Russia, investigators have said.

AMANATULLAH KHAN SENT TO 14-DAY JUDICIAL CUSTODY

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday sent ruling lawmaker Khan alleged the functioning the Delhi CLEARS COVID

New

The attacker, a man in his early thirties who was named by authori ties as Artem Kazant sev, killed two security guards then opened fire on students and teach ers at School Number 88 in Izhevsk, where he had once been a pupil. He then killed himself.

Russia’s investigative committee, which han dles major crimes, said it was looking into the perpetrator’s suspected neo-Nazi links. “Cur rently investigators … are conducting a search of his residence and studying the personali ty of the attacker, his views and surrounding milieu,” official said.

VLADIMIR PUTIN DEEPLY MOURNS THE DEATHS

K remlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin “deeply mourns” the deaths.

He described the incident as “a terrorist act by a person who apparently belongs to a neofascist organisation or group”. He said doctors, psychologists and neurosurgeons had been sent on Putin’s orders to the location of the shooting in Izhevsk, about 600 miles east of Moscow.

Maha Congress to brainstorm continuance of MVA experiment

New Delhi (PTI): The Congress has sum moned a meeting of top leaders from Maharash tra on Tuesday to re solve the conundrum over continuance with the coalition experi ment with the Shiv Sena and the National ist Congress Party (NCP) for future elec tions in the state.

Maharashtra Con gress President, Nana Patole, has been insist ing on going it alone in the state, at a time when a large section of lead ers appear satisfied

with the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) forged by NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) away from power.

The unlikely power

sharing agreement be tween the Sena, NCP and Congress had fiz zled out in June follow ing large-scale dissi dence in the Sena ranks.

Senior leaders from Maharashtra, includ ing former chief minis ters Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, Pa tole, and Congress Leg islature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat are scheduled to attend a meeting called by AICC General Secretary (Or ganization) KC Venugo pal and Maharashtra in-charge HK Patil.

VERY WELL PUT: GERMAN ENVOY HAILS PM MODI

New Delhi: Germany on Monday became the latest country to endorse PM Modi`s remarks to Russian Prez Putin on Ukraine conflict. German envoy to India, Philipp Ackermann said Modi’s remark about “this not being the era of war” to Putin was very well put.

New Delhi: Cong leader Ka mal Nath on Monday ruled himself out as a probable candidate for the party’s presidency.

Nath said, “I am not filing nomina tion, nor will I talk to Gehlot.”

Nath, known to have close ties with Raj CM Gehlot. Sonia called Nath to Delhi.

He is likely to play role of a mediator and try to broker a truce in state unit, which is reeling under a factional feud after a possible leader ship change move turned in full-blown crisis for Cong.

Dhariwal press conference residence Secretary General Ajay Maken those Chief and the State President, tried to topple the government for 34 days.

JACQUELINE BREATHES A SIGH OF RELIEF!

Delhi Court grants interim bail to actor Fernandez in a ` 200 crore case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday grant ed interim bail to actor Jacqueline Fernandez in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case against alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. Special Judge Shailendra Malik granted Jacqueline Fer nandez the relief on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and posted the matter for further hear

‘Democratic Azad Party’

GIORGIA MELONI: ITALY’S 1ST FEMALE PM

ing on October 22. Bollywood actor stat ed that she has deep roots in India and has been a tax-paying resi dent since 2009, while adding that India is her place of work, and her professional reputation and future work com mitments are all intrin sically linked to the country. She also stated that she doesn’t have any unity of design with the conman Suke sh Chandrashekhar.

Jammu: Former J&K CM Ghulam Nabi Azad on Monday announced that his new political outfit will be named as ‘Democratic Azad Par ty’. Azad also unveiled flag of the Party. The flag has 3 colours - mus tard, white and blue.

Italy is all set to have its first woman PM. Giorgia Meloni who has claimed victory also belongs to the most rightwing party of the country since the World War II. Meloni however promised that her govt would work for ‘everyone’.

Bal Thackeray’s close aide Champa Singh Thapa joins CM Shinde camp

welcomed Thapa and Raje to the fold by offer ing them shawls and greeting them.

First India Bureau

With development on Sunday in Rajasthan, that shocked & stunned the Congress party, highly placed sources in the grand old party have revealed that new observers can be sent by the high command to Jaipur. Moreover, word in Congress’ ‘relevant circles’ is that notice the High command can issue show cause notice to Shanti Dhariwal for calling second meeting, other than the official CLP meeting. RESULTS,

Thane: Champa Singh Thapa and Moreshwar Raje, who had served former Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray at his residence ‘Ma toshree’ for almost three decades, on Mon day joined the faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde in

Thane. Thapa, the trusted man Friday of the Sena patriarch, had served him devotedly for 27 years before the Thack eray senior’s death in November 2012.

Raje, who used to at tend phone calls at ‘Ma toshree’ for Bal Thack eray, had spent at least 35 years in the Thack

eray residence in sub urban Bandra in Mum bai.

Chief Minister Shin de, an MLA from Thane,

“On this auspicious occasion of Navaratra, everyone is happy that (pandemic-related) re strictions on festivals had been lifted. There is huge enthusiasm which is the need of the hour,” he said and added that the joining of Thapa and Raje, who were like shadows of Bal Thack eray, had added to the pleasant atmosphere of festivities.

Both Thapa and Raje were trusted aides of Sena founder Bal Thackeray. —FILE PHOTO

Moreshwar Raje, responsible for attending calls at ‘Matoshree’ for 35 years also inducted into rebel faction

Nana Patole. —FILE PHOTO

Amit Mishra, Aditi Nagar and Yogesh Sharma

Ajay Maken addresses media after meeting with Sonia Gandhi, as Qazi Nizamuddin looks on in New Delhi on Monday.

l Over 15 people among 11 kids shot dead, 24 wounded; gunman kills self

l Man was dressed in black with a red Swastika drawn on his T-shirt

An armed person opened fire in the school number 88 in Izhevsk in Central Russia on Monday.

ABE’S FUNERAL: PM LEAVES FOR JAPAN

AMIT SHAH PRAYS AT MELDI MATAJI

PM Narendra Modi left for Tokyo on Monday evening to attend state funeral of Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe. PM to also meet Japanese PM Fumio Kishida.

HM Amit Shah, who is on two-day visit to Guj, lauded Modi for making India 5th largest economy in world. He also visited Meldi Mataji Temple on Monday. P5

Maha min faces backlash for Maratha quota ‘itch’ remark

First India Bureau Mumbai: State Minis ter Tanaji Sawant on Monday attracted the ire of Maratha groups and opposition par ties by claiming an “itch” for reservation for the community had once again set in after the change of guard in the state.

However, after com ing under fire for his statement, Sawant later apologized and said he had no inten tion of hurting the sentiments of the Maratha community.

The Supreme Court had, in May last year, struck down a Maha rashtra law giving res ervation to the Maratha community in govern ment jobs and educa tion by terming it as unconstitutional. It had

also held that there were no exceptional cir cumstances to breach the 50% reservation cap set by 1992 Mandal ver dict.

Speaking at an event, Sawant said, “There was nothing on (Mara tha) reservation for two years (after it was stayed by the Supreme Court).

Now, after the change of power in the state, there is an itch for reserva

Maha delegation visits Guj to study ‘CM Dashboard’

tion. Even I want it and my next generation wants it. We will not sit quietly till the time we give it (reservation).”

“Our leaders (Chief Minister) Eknath Shin de and (Deputy CM) De vendra Fadnavis will ensure reservation as per our demand. They will not sit quiet till res ervation is granted,” Sawant, who is part of Shinde faction of the

BJP’S TAKE ON THE STATEMENT

NCP asks Sitharaman to explain all-time ` low

First India Bureau Mumbai: The Nation alist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Si tharaman to explain why the rupee has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar.

Mumbai: A delegation led by state Forest Minister Sudhir Mun gantiwar on Monday visited Ahmedabad to study Gujarat’s ‘Chief Minister Dashboard’ initiative.

“The plan is to study the ‘CM Dashboard’ and also understand how a similar initiative can be implemented in Maharashtra,” said Mungantiwar.

The CM dashboard initiative aims to moni tor the development of district level activities of different schemes launched by the Guja rat government.

Hitting out at the vis it, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Spokesper son, Mahesh Tapase, said there cannot be more desperate times for the government here if it had to visit the

NCP slams move amid VedantaFoxconn project shift to neighbouring state

Gujarat developmental model.

The Maharashtra government has been facing flak after the multi-billion VedantaFoxconn semiconduc tor chip project was bagged by Gujarat.

The delegation com prised state Industries Minister Uday Samant, Principal Secretary to the chief minister Vi kas Kharge, Managing Director of Maharash tra Information Tech nology Corporation Ltd Jayashree Bhoj, Officer on Special Duty to CM Ashish Kulkarni, and OSD to Deputy CM Kaustubh Dhavse, said an official statement.

Shiv Sena, added. Sawant was referring to recent protests by the Maratha community seeking reservation. His remarks drew strong reactions from the Maratha communi ty as well as political parties.

Maratha group leader Vinod Patil demanded Sawant be given a warn ing by the government or there will be serious

consequences.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former state minister, Dhananjay Munde, said people will forever snatch the ministerial post of Sawant for mak ing such statements.

Congress chief Nana Patole said Sawant’s statement was objec tionable and irresponsi ble and sought the min ister’s sacking.

‘Navi Mumbai Int’l airport will be operational in 2024’

First India Bureau

Pune: The under-con struction Navi Mum bai International air port will become op erational in 2024, said Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Dev endra Fadnavis on Sunday.

He was addressing the Maratha Chamber of Commerce, Indus tries and Agriculture (MCCIA).

Fadnavis also said that the “industrial cul ture” of Maharashtra will be back on track soon.

“Every stakeholder has to unite and work hard to make Maha rashtra number one again,” he added.

Fadnavis highlight ed important projects like Pune Metro, EV transportation, among other projects, and said the ring road will prove to be the growth engine for the Pune region.

He said the govern ment has acknowledged the urgent need for the Purandar airport in the Pune district and that the government is put ting in efforts for the same.

The deputy CM also informed that the gov ernment is planning a

WENT ‘OVERBOARD’ FOR VEDANTAFOXCONN PROJECT: DY CM FADNAVIS Mumbai (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister Deven dra Fadnavis on Mon day claimed that he had gone “overboard” to get the VedantaFoxconn project to the state and made a better offer than neighbour ing state Gujarat.

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was spreading lies that the Eknath Shinde government did not take efforts to keep the project in Maharashtra.

“The previous MVA

logistics hub at Purandar along with the airport. There is a need to connect the Navi Mumbai and Purandar airports, he added.

government is spread ing lies. I had gone overboard and reached out to the companies and made a better offer than Gujarat, when I learned about their plan to shift to the neighbouring state,” he said. Asked about the MIDC letter, Fadnavis said, “The letter tells the truth about the inactions of the previ ous government. They have done nothing during their tenure. We will give them a stern response soon.”

“Maharashtra’s econ omy should reach USD one trillion if India has to achieve the USD 5 trillion target,” assert ed Bharatiya Janata Party leader.

BLAME GAME

The rupee depreciat ed 43 paise to an all-time low of 81.52 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday as the strengthening of the American currency and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.

At the interbank for eign exchange, the ru pee opened at 81.47 against the greenback, then fell to 81.52, regis tering a fall of 43 paise over its previous clos ing.

The Sharad Pawarled NCP targeted Si tharaman for her re marks made at a press

conference in Pune on Saturday that the rupee has “held back very well” against the US dollar when compared to other currencies.

“Can she explain why the rupee has fallen to an all-time low of 81.47 against the US dollar?

If she concentrates more on the finance ministry and less on Baramati, maybe she can,’” NCP National Spokesman Clyde Cras to said in statement.

Against the back drop of the rupee drop ping to a lifetime low

against the greenback, Sitharaman on Satur day said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance minis try are keeping a very close watch on the curent situation.

“If any one currency that has held its own and did not get into fluc tuation or volatility as much as other curren cies, it is the Indian ru pee. We have held back very well,” she had told reporters in Pune at the end of her three-day tour of Baramati last week.

Prohibit entry of non-Hindu revellers at all garba venues in Vidarbha: VHP

Nagpur (PTI): The Vishwa Hindu Pari shad (VHP) in Nagpur on Monday demanded that entry to garba and dandiya events during Navratri festi val should be allowed only after checking identity cards and non-Hindus should not be permitted at venues.

The Vidarbha unit of the Hindu outfit has written to the Maha rashtra government and the Nagpur police commissioner in this regard.

The VHP’s Vidarbha region secretary Govind Shende in a release said many garba and dandi ya programmes are or ganized in Vidarbha by various organizations and mandals.

People from other reli gions should not be al lowed entry at these ven ues. Everyone’s Aadhaar cards should be checked before entry and CCTVs should be installed at venues, he added.

‘MVA leaders should apologize for Vedanta-Foxconn project loss’

lll Maha BJP chief Chandrashekar

Bawankule claims that no MoU was signed or land acquired for the semiconductor project during the MVA rule

First India Bureau

Nagpur: Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Chandrashekar Bawankule on Mon day said Shiv Sena leaders Uddhav and Aaditya Thackeray and other leaders of the Maha Vikas Agha di (MVA) should apol ogize to people of the state for losing out on the Vedanta-Foxconn project.

Addressing the me

dia outside the Nagpur Divisional Commis sionerate after a meet ing, Bawankule claimed

RELIEF FOR FARMERS BUT NOT PFI

till now. Similarly, no land of the Maharash tra Industrial Develop ment Corporation (MIDC) had been allot ted to Vedanta-Foxconn. Hence, there is no infor mation about the sur vey number or agree ment,” the BJP leader said.

of the state because the Vedanta-Foxconn pro ject was lost because of them,” he said, adding that if the agitations continue, the BJP will give them a befitting reply.

Shiv Sena leader

that no Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed or land was acquired for

the semiconductor pro ject during the MVA government rule.

“I have a letter, which

states that the Maha rashtra government had not signed any MoU with Vedanta-Foxconn

He further accused the MVA leaders of be ing liars and staging false agitations over the issue.

“MVA leaders should apologize to the people

Aaditya Thackeray held ‘Jan Aakrosh An dolan’ at Talegaon in Pune on September 24 against the shifting of the Vedanta-Foxconn semiconductor manu facturing project to neighbouring Gujarat.

NCP chief Sharad Pawar —FILE PHOTO

Tanaji Sawant later apologized, said ‘he had no intention of hurting sentiments’

Sawant holds the Public Health & Family Welfare portfolio in CM Shinde’s Maha Yuti government. —FILE PHOTO

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis chairs a Home Dept meeting at the state secretariat in Mumbai on Monday.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the unveiling ceremony of the bust of Hyderabad (Sind) National Collegiate Board founder and RD National College Vidyasagar principal KN Kundnani in Mumbai on Monday. He was accompanied by Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Principal of RD National College and HSNC University provost, Former President of HSNC Board Kishu Mansukhani, and Dr Neha Jagtiani, Vice Chancellor of HSNC University.

—PHOTO BY ANI

Garba events will be held during the 9-day Navratri festival.

First India Bureau

Industries Minister Uday Samant (L) and Forest Minister Sudhir Mugantiwar at the presentation in Ahmedabad on Monday.

First India Bureau

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Mon day asked three Jain religious charitable trusts and a city resi dent practicing Jain ism why they were seeking to encroach on people’s rights by ap pealing for restric tions or ban on adver tisements for meat and meat products in print and electronic media.

A division bench com prising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Jus tice Madhav Jamdar fur ther noted that the issue falls within the domain of the legislature and it cannot frame law/rules imposing bans.

Three religious chari table trusts and a Mum bai resident practising Jainism, claimed in their plea that their fam ilies, including children, are forced to watch such advertisements. This in fringed on their right to live peacefully and “tam pered” with the minds of their children, the peti

tioners contended.

The HC while hearing the plea on Monday raised questions on the prayers made in the peti tion. “What about viola tion of Article 19 of the Constitution? Why are you (petitioners) seeking to encroach on others’ rights? Have you read the Preamble of our Con stitution? It makes cer tain promises,” said Chief Justice Datta.

CRUCIAL READ

TWO BOOKED FOR FAILING TO REPAY

`35.64 LAKH LOAN

Thane: Police have registered a case against two persons in Thane district for allegedly failing to repay their collective loan worth Rs35.64 lakh taken from a private finance company. One of the accused, Sachin Vish wakarma, had taken a loan of Rs18,39,000 for renovation of his pharmacy shop and purchase of medicines, while the other accused, Pawankumar Shukla, had borrowed a sum of Rs 17,25,000 for his business, an official from Kolsewadi police station in Kalyan said on Monday.

OFFICIAL SUSPENDED FOR DERELICTION OF DUTY IN THANE

Thane: An assistant municipal commis sioner with the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) has been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty and failing to take action against illegal constructions in the town in Thane district. BNMC Commissioner Vijaykumar Mhasal, in the suspension order is sued on September 23, said despite repeated instructions to assistant commissioner Sunil Bhoir to take action against illegal construc tions and unauthorized structures, he failed to do so.

SCHOOL BUS OVERTURNS IN THANE DISTRICT, ALL STUDENTS SAFE

Thane: As many as 15 students had a narrow escape when a private bus ferrying them to a school overturned in Thane district on Monday, police said.

The accident took place at Green City in Ambernath town around 7 am, Senior Police Inspector Ashok S Bhagat said. After the accident, people rushed there to help and pulled the children out of the vehicle.

“All the children are safe”, the official said.

DEBT-RIDDEN MUMBAI GARMENT TRADER HANGS SELF

Mumbai: Unable to pay piling debt, a 47-yearold garment trader hanged himself from a ceiling fan with a stole at his home in suburban Kurla on Sunday. The deceased, identified as Ashok Mohnani, had suffered losses in busi ness and taken a loan of at least Rs25 lakh, that he was unable to repay, due to which he went into depression, a police official said. The incident occurred on Sunday morning after Mohnani’s son and wife left for the market. He was found hanging from the ceiling fan when they returned home.

FIRECRACKERS WORTH `43L SEIZED FROM ULHASNAGAR

Thane: The Ulhasnagar Police seized firecrackers worth Rs43 lakh from a shop located at Nehru Chowk on Monday. The police booked two people in connection with the matter. The duo did not allegedly have license to sell firecrackers. The of ficials found illegal stock of firecrackers on the second floor of the shop. The police later registered a case against shop own er Haresh Rajwani (50) and Amarjit Rajwani (31) under IPC 286 (Negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) and 34 (common intention) and relevant sections of Explosives Act 1884.

The bench also noted that it may not have the jurisdiction to pass or ders on the petition.

“You are asking the high court to order the state government to frame a rule, law or guidelines to ban some thing. This is a legisla tive action. It is for the legislative to say...not us,” said the court.

It also noted that while an ordinary person has

the option of switching off the television when such an ad comes, the court would have to look at the issue on the point of law.

The petitioners then sought to amend the peti tion to submit relevant orders of other HCs.

As a result, the bench directed the petitioners to withdraw the plea and file a fresh petition.

The petition had

sought reliefs from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, the State, the Press Council of India, the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department and the Advertising Standards Council of In dia. Apart from these, the petitioners have also arraigned companies Li cious, Freshtohome Foods and Meatigo as respondents.

Man

Vile Parle hutments did not collapse due to Metro work: MMRDA

First India Bureau Mumbai: A man ar rested by the Mumbai Government Railway Police (GRP) for al legedly molesting a woman in a local train last week, offi cials said on Monday.

The 25-year-old law yer had been travelling in a ladies compart ment of a local train between Andheri and Borivali when the inci dent occurred. Later, she had taken to Twit ter to narrate how abys mally she was treated by officials at the And heri GRP station where she had gone to file a complaint.

According to police, based on the CCTV foot age gathered from sev eral railway stations, the man was identified as 43-year-old Biharilal Yadav, a labourer and resident of Kalwa. “He was arrested by Vashi GRP in 2021 in a mobile theft case and that helped police ascertain his identity,” said Ar shuddin Shaikh, a sen ior inspector with the GRP (Crime Branch). Yadav told the police he was ‘intoxicated’ at the time of the incident.

First India Bureau Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Author ity (MMRDA) clarified on Monday that the collapse of seven hut ments adjacent to a nullah in Mumbai’s Vile Parle area on Sunday night was not caused by Metro work.

“With regards to slum collapse on VL Mehta Marg on the night of 25.9.22. no work of Met ro is being carried out on this stretch since June 2022. The hutments are away from Metro Line 2B alignment. Hence, this collapse is not due to Metro work,” the MMRDA said in a statement.

The clarification came after a regional news channel reported

The clarification came after a news channel reported that the incident was caused by Metro construction

that the incident was caused by Metro con struction.

According to the Bri hanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), portions of seven huts adjoining a nullah col lapsed in the Vile Parle area after 9 pm on Sun day. While no injuries were reported, 24 ad joining shanties were vacated and the resi dents were shifted to a civic corporation-run school. Civic officials provided the residents with food and water.

One-month-old infant injured

First India Bureau

Thane: A one-monthold infant was injured after a monkey sneaked into a police station in Thane and tried to snatch the baby from her mother.

The incident took place on Sunday when the woman carrying the infant went to Shil Daighar police station in Thane city to file a complaint.

At the same time, a monkey sneaked into the premises, jumped on the woman, and tried to snatch the baby, said the official. The woman held the baby tightly and saved her from the animal’s clutches.

The child, however, suffered injuries in the incident, added the official.

The woman rushed the bleeding child to a

nearby hospital where the baby received five stitches on her head for the injuries, he said.

The child’s condition is stable as of now.

The woman told re

porters that she had seen the monkey at the police station and tried to drive it away. In the attempt, the animal pounced on her child.

“I was shocked, but luckily, I managed to save my child,” she said.

Forest personnel lat er reached the police station and took the monkey away to release it into the wild, in formed the official.

Ananya Sengupta

New Delhi: Highlight ing the dilapidated condition of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express, the In dian Railway Catering and Tourism Corpora tion (IRCTC) has writ ten to the Railways so that a Vande Bharat rake can be allocated to run the corporate train.

Malfunctioning biotoilets and LCD screens and water leakage in

coaches were some of the issues red-flagged by the IRCTC, since July, in its letters to the Railway Board and the Western Railways, the zone in which the train runs.

“One of the Vande Bharat rakes be kindly allocated for the corpo rate train Tejas Express with a composition of 16 coaches,” an IRCTC let ter to the Railway Board and the Western Rail ways read.

“This (providing Van de Bharat train) will not

only put an end to bevy of passenger complaints being received … for rake deficiencies rather it shall also solve all the woes of the mechanical department both in

motive) that typically move together.

The letters also said that the train was being maintained on an “ad hoc basis in a piecemeal way” which is not bene fitting the premium train service.

end equipment on board by the original equip ment manufacturers (OEM) after the expiry of the annual mainte nance contract (AMC).

maintenance as well as flexibility in spares man agement,” it added.

A rake is a line of cou pled passenger coaches or freight wagons or rail cars (excluding the loco

“The non-mainte nance of coaches has resulted in deteriorating the condition of the coaches and thereby tar nishing the brand Tejas and arising complaints from passengers travel ling on board,” another letter read.

In the latest letter ear lier this month, the IRCTC raised the issue of no support for the maintenance of high-

Among other inci dents in the IRCTC-oper ated Ahmedabad-Mum bai Tejas Express re ferred to in the letters is the collapse of a ceiling panel, which occurred twice in the last year, in which passengers suf fered head injuries.

Other issues high lighted include choked toilets, leaking roof, elec trical panel faults, faulty infotainment systems, non-functional GPS and faulty coach entry main doors.

—PTI

According to BMC, 7 hutments adjoining a nullah collapsed in the Vile Parle area on Sunday night. However, no one was injuried and 24 adjoining shanties were vacated. —FILE PHOTO

Why encroach on others’ rights? HC asks Jain bodies complaints have also been received about maintenance problems premium express train. PHOTO BY ANI

Monkeys usually only try to steal food from people. —PHOTO BY ANI

Marking Navratri Mumbai’s

Mumba BY BHUSHAN KOYANDE

PREPARING FOR THE LONG WAR

CRY FOR JUSTICE ECHOES IN THE MOUNTAINS OF UTTARAKHAND

European leaders will need to prepare their populations for a long war while also continuing to search for solutions. Even as they demonstrate their long-term commitment to the Ukrainian struggle, they must structure their support in ways that will keep the door open for an eventual settlement. An endless proxy war is one of the last scenarios that anyone should want

Anuclear specter is haunting Europe once again. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a mobilization of some 300,000 reservists and announced that he will use “all available means” to de fend Russia, adding, “This is not a bluff.” As one senior Eu ropean policymaker noted to me, such nuclear brinkman ship is an invitation to dust off old Cold War tomes such as Herman Kahn’s On Ther monuclear War.

To be sure, amid the eupho ria following recent Ukraini an battlefield victories, some commentators are cautiously optimistic that Ukraine could win the war by the spring. But Putin’s latest moves sug gest that Russia is settling in for a long war of attrition. In addition to issuing more stri dent threats, he has also re duced two significant asym metries that have character ized the conflict so far. The first is the gap between Rus sia’s “special operation” and Ukraine’s whole-of-society response to it. Deploying 300,000 more soldiers may not be enough to overwhelm Kyiv or occupy Ukraine, but it will

CONG TOP BOSSES IN A CLEFT STICK

keep Russia in the game.

The other asymmetry is at the level of international support. Ukraine would have disappeared from the map many months ago had it not received billions of dollars of military supplies, intelli gence support, and economic aid from Europe and the United States. By contrast, Russia has been at pains to attract any meaningful exter nal support. But at the recent Shanghai Cooperation Or ganization Summit in Samar kand, Putin got to catch up with fellow travelers like Chi nese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lu kashenko, and Iranian Presi dent Ebrahim Raisi.

Putin’s most important supporter is Xi, who has con tinued to stand by him. As I learned from speaking with Chinese academics this sum mer, China seems to view the situation in Ukraine as a “proxy war” in its own loom ing cold war with the US. A pertinent lesson from the original Cold War is that when both sides in a proxy war are receiving enough support to keep them afloat, neither side will ever prevail. While the Ukrainians have used this fact to argue for continuous Western arms shipments, it also could mo tivate China to scale up its practical support (namely,

Amid the euphoria following recent Ukrainian battlefield victories, some commentators are cautiously optimistic that Ukraine could win the war by the spring. But Vladimir Putin’s latest moves suggest that Russia is settling in for a long war of attrition that will test European resolve

trucks and semiconductors) to Russia.

If the conflict does move in this direction, we know what the result will be. The people of Korea, Vietnam, Guate mala, Afghanistan, Angola, and many other places can all attest to the horrors of proxy wars that drag on for years or even decades, soak ing their countries in blood, crippling their economies, and depriving younger gen erations of a future.

Still, in the short-term, the West must show that it is not cowed by Putin’s threats of escalation. As my colleagues at the European Council on Foreign Relations have shown, Europe can weather a long war if it adopts a com

prehensive plan to provide Ukraine with the three key elements of military sup plies, security assurances, and economic support.

Finally, economic support must cover not just the costs of rebuilding the country and preparing it for integra tion into the European Union but also the Ukrainian state’s ongoing day-to-day needs. Right now, tax revenues are covering only 40% of public spending, leaving a $5 billion monthly funding gap.

Maintaining European po litical support and solidarity will be the biggest challenge, especially as the costs of the long war continue to rise. Ac cording to some of our esti mates, supporting Ukraine in the ways described above could cost more than €700 bil lion. That is larger than the EU’s pandemic recovery plan, which was already seen as a revolutionary step even though it applied to all mem ber states. Mustering the same level of support for a single non-member state will require a heroic feat of po litical leadership.

Moreover, the winter will bring mounting energy bills and higher costs for housingdesperate Ukrainian refu gees. Governments have al ready been toppled in Italy and Bulgaria, and the far right seems to be making gains on a new populist wave.

SOURCE: PROJECT SYNDICATE

Cleverly outwitted by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s loyal legislators, the Congress high command finds itself in a cleft stick in Rajasthan. If it accepts the conditions put forth by Gehlot loyalists to keep Sachin Pilot out of the race for CM’s post it will be risking losing the young leader to the Bharatiya Ja nata Party. And, if their con ditions are not met the 90-odd MLAs backing Gehlot could bring down the government.

To assert their strength, the legislators tendered their resignations to the Speaker in a late night drama.

The MLAs demand that Gehlot, as Congress presi dent, should be allowed to ap point his successor after Oc

The MLAs demand that Gehlot, as Congress president, should be allowed to appoint his successor after October 19. This is unacceptable to the high command as it will amount to conflict of interest. To show their strength and intent the legislators skipped the scheduled CLP meeting on Sunday

tober 19. This is unacceptable to the high command as it will amount to conflict of in terest. To show their strength and intent the legislators skipped the scheduled Con gress Legislature Party meet ing on Sunday.

The other condition was

that Ajay Maken, the observer for Rajasthan, should meet them in groups and not oneon-one which was desired by Delhi’s emissary. Their other demand, the future CM should be from among the 102 MLAs loyal to Gehlot, was effectively aimed at precluding chances of Pilot becoming the CM.

After Punjab, the Congress leadership in Delhi seems to have messed up in Rajasthan and is on the verge of losing the state. If Gehlot support ers are allowed to have their way, the Rajasthan Chief Minister could be an asser tive and politically sagacious party chief who will be like a hot potato for Sonia Gandhi and her politically novice son Rahul Gandhi. Still, keeping Ashok Gehlot in good hu mour is advisable.

The hills of Uttara khand are virtually resonating with an outcry for justice for the 19-year-old Anki ta Bhandari who was murdered allegedly by Pulkit Arya, the owner of a resort, for resisting his attempts to push Ankita into prostitution. Pulkit, the son of former state minister Vinod Arya, has been arrested while Vinod Arya has been expelled by the BJP. Pulkit being politically well connected the people fear he will get away with the murder.

The blatant manner in which the BJP spokesperson in Uttara khand denied that the scene of the crime was partially demol ished even as TV cameras ex posed his lie suggests that the Aryas have enough political clout to see them through this crisis. Whoever ordered the demolition could have done so more to destroy evidence than punish the resort owner.

Ankita’s body has been cre mated and the government has assured a thorough probe which, however, often gets compro mised in favour of accused if they are politically well linked.

Under the leadership of PM @ narendramodi ji, India is moving fast towards self-reliance and social, economic and cultural upliftment. The world is not only appreciating this changed mood of India, but is also expecting Modi ji to play an important role in world peace.

l Vol 1 l Issue No. 141 l RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652

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

Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra

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

SPIRITUAL SPEAK

Better it is to live one day seeing the rise and fall of things than to live a hundred years without ever seeing the rise and fall of things. Buddha

Amit Shah @AmitShah

The great social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar ji fought for the upliftment of society and women empowerment through education by destroying social evils throughout his life. His contribution to the Bengal Renaissance can never be forgotten. A tribute to him on his birth anniversary today.

Dharmendra Pradhan @dpradhanbjp

TOP TWEETS

MARK LEONARD

The writer is Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, is the author of The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity Causes Conflict (Bantam Press, 2021)

Amit Shah hails Guj govt for health infra, improved maternal, infant mortality rates

Union Minister’s remarks came while performing Bhoomi Pujan of ESIC Hospital

New Delhi (ANI):

Lauding Prime Minis ter Narendra Modi for adopting a holistic ap proach toward health infrastructure, Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday praised the Gu jarat government over its improved facilities on various health pa rameters like maternal mortality rate, infant mortality rate and insti tutional delivery.

Shah’s remarks came while performing Bhoo mi Pujan of 350 bedded Employees’ State Insur ance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital in Guja rat’s Sanand.

After the construc tion of the hospital, the Union Home Minister also said Gujarat Gov ernment would also provide land for the construction of a medi cal and nursing college.

At the event, the Min ister praised Prime Minister Modi for adopting a holistic ap proach towards health infrastructure having three parts--first, to ex pand all types of infra

structure and human resources related to medical science; sec ond, to mainstream tra ditional Indian systems of medicine like AYUSH; and thirdly, to provide expert facilities to all villages through technology.

The Minister further said there were only 387 medical colleges in the country in 2013-14 but PM Modi helped to in crease their number to 596 in 2021-22.

SUPREME COURT RELIEF FOR SHAH RUKH KHAN IN 2017 STAMPEDE CASE

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday granted relief to Shah Rukh Khan as it upheld Guja rat High Court which quashed the case against him related to the 2017 stampede in Vadodara Railway Station. A bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice CT Ravikumar rejected the plea filed by a complainant against Shahrukh Khan. The complain ant had challenged a Gujarat High Court order. The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the order passed by the High Court of Gujarat quashing the complaint filed by the complainant against the actor.

UNION HM TO ADDRESS PUBLIC RALLIES IN J-K

Jammu (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be visiting Jammu and Kashmir from September 30 to October 2, said BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Sunday. This will be Shah's second visit to the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370.

350-BEDDED ESIC HOSPITAL TO COME UP AT SANAND; HM LAYS FOUNDATION STONE

Ahmedabad: Union Home Minister Amit Shah laid the foundation stone of 350 Bedded ESIC Hospital, Sanand here on Monday. The 350 bedded hospital will have OPD, indoor facilities, X-ray, radiology, laboratory, operation theater, Obstetrics & Gynae cology facilities, ICU and ultrasound among other modern facilities. Construction of the hospital spread over 9.5 acres would entail an expenditure of Rs 500 crores. It may soon be upgraded to 500 bedded hospital as per requirement. The hospital would look after 12 lakh employees and their fami lies along with the villagers of Sanand, Shah said.

Anurag Thakur takes jibe over political crisis in Rajasthan

Kangra (ANI): Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday took a jibe at Congress over the political crisis in Rajasthan and said as if the “entertain ment” from Bharat Jodo was not enough, we have got the Ra jasthan political crisis.

While interacting with media at Kangra, the BJP leader took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’’.

New Delhi (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed with cost a PIL that sought that the Elec tion Commission (EC) be barred from al locating poll symbols claiming they were “misused” by political parties. A bench im posed a cost of Rs 25,000 on the peti tioner while observing that the relief claimed was “disruptive of the election process” and that litigation cannot be a “hobby”. The bench while dismissing the “misleading” petition said it was a com plete waste of judicial time.

New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court Mon day sought response from the Centre and others to a plea alleg ing that inmates are being kept in chains at a mental health institution in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam. A bench of Justices S A Nazeer and V Ramasu bramanian issued notices to the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Madhya Pradesh gov ernment and others while seeking their replies. The court was hearing a plea filed by advocate Gaurav Kumar Bansal.

PAY ENOUGH STIPEND TO JUNIORS TO LEAD DIGNIFIED LIFE: HC TO SR. LAWYERS

New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court has appealed to senior lawyers to ensure the stipend they pay to their juniors is enough to avoid financial stress and help them lead a more dignified life. The court asked senior advocates to be more mindful of the financial back ground of their juniors and show them greater empathy. This court also made an appeal to seniors in the profession to ensure that the stipend that is paid to their juniors is enough to evade the financial stress that accompanies this pro fession and allows them to lead a more dignified life.

He described Con gress’s condition as “Ek Anaar Sau Bimaar”.

“Even when Ashok Gehlot was asked to run for the post of Congress President, he still wants to remain the CM. This just shows that Con gress only wants power but never intends to serve the people. In Congress, there is no direction, no leader, and no one to listen to the leader. ‘Ek Anaar Sau

Bimaar’ is the condi tion of Congress,” Thakur said.

GUJARAT BJP PRESIDENT CR PATIL HINTS AT EARLY ASSEMBLY POLLS IN STATE

Resort demolished, but ‘evidence safe’, says SIT official

Ahmedabad (Agencies): The Gujarat Assembly polls are likely to be advanced by 10-15 days and conclude before No vember end, Bharatiya Janata Party state unit president CR Patil hinted on Monday. The polls have been scheduled for December. In 2017, the Assembly elections were held in two phases — December 9 and 14—, while the counting was held on December 18.

The state assembly has 182 seats. Patil, while addressing the party workers here this morn ing, said: “We should be ready for elections. There are all possibili ties that elections will be held 10 to 15 days prior to the schedule and end before November.”

Dehradun (ANI): Days after an Uttarakhand resort near Rishikesh was demolished — fol lowing the alleged mur der of an employee — a member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) leading the probe has claimed that all physical and forensic evidence from the site has been secured.

“Forensic team had collected all evidence from Vanatara resort before its demolition (on September 24). All evidence found there being used in forensic investigation is safe; further probe under way,” PR Devi told ANI. The probe is in con

nection with the alleged murder of a 19-year-old receptionist working at a property owned by Haridwar BJP leader Vinod Arya’s son Pulkit. Pulkit and two other employees have been arrested.

The body was recov ered from a canal near Rishikesh, days after she went missing. Vio lent protests erupted in areas surrounding the resort as family and ac tivists demanded action, after which the adminis tration began demolish ing the structure. As they did, though, critics pointed out that evi dence may also have been destroyed.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Palakkad dist of Kerala

Palakkad (Agencies):

The Congress party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra re sumed its journey on Monday from Shornur in Kerala’s Palakkad district with hundreds of party workers accom panying Rahul Gandhi in the walk.

The Congress party tweeted that the yatra entered Palakkad dis trict with “excitement and hope”. “...And we can’t wait to start this journey with you,” it said in the tweet.

Hundreds of people waited on both sides of the road to meet Gandhi.

“Couldn’t have asked for a better start to the Padyatra. The young minds are coming out in large numbers to bless @RahulGandhi Ji and all the Padtyatris. We owe them a brighter future. Towards achiev ing our goal. #Bharat JodoYatra,” the party said in a tweet along with a photo of the young girls holding Gandhi’s drawing.

BJP LEADER IN FIRING RANGE OF CONGRESS

New Delhi: The Congress has filed a complaint against BJP leader Priti Gandhi for “spread ing fake and divisive news to disrupt Bharat Jodo Yatra”. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh

tweeted: “We have initiated legal action in 5 cases of fake and divisive news peddled by BJP leaders and their bhakt online hate factory to hurt #BharatJodoYatra. Be warned! We will not take this lying down.”

Palakkad (Agencies): Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday made it clear that he would contest the upcoming Congress presidential election and said he has support from most of the states. He joined Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra. “All three from the Gandhi family have told me that they have no issue. They have only good words. I was told that as the media reported, there is no official candidate as such,” Shashi Tharoor said.

‘66% Indian pilots doze off during flight’ STUDY

New Delhi (Agencies): In India, two-thirds of pilots have admitted to dozing off in the pilot’s seat. According to a study by the Safety Mat ters Foundation that included 542 regional, local and international pilots, 66% of those polled admitted falling asleep while at the con trols of the aircraft without waking up a fel low crew member.

There is a chronic scar city of competent pilots in India, where airlines require up to 1,500 new pilots annually. Howev

er, only 200 to 300 of these new hires have the appropriate training.

The most common causes of falling asleep in the cockpit were

overwork and having to fly back-to-back morn ing flights, which re quired getting up as early as 2am. One of the biggest causes of aero

plane accidents is fa tigue. Between India and the UK, where 1.5 million British Indians reside, there are hun dreds of flights per

week. Around 54% of pilots reported having severe excessive day time sleepiness, accord ing to their responses, while 41% reported having moderate exces sive daytime sleepiness.

At least one-third of those polled admit ted to having a near-ac cident experience while flying, which they at tributed to being too fatigued. Pilot weari ness accounts for 1520% of human mistakes in fatal accidents. Avia tion accidents do not happen every day.

Lucknow: Abdul Majeed, a PFI activ ist, has been arrested by the Special Task Force of UP Police. Majeed is accused of being involved in anti-national activi ties. During interro gation by the STF, he has given the names of several other members. Electronic gadgets and objec tionable literature related to the PFI and IS have been seized from Majeed, said STF sources.

I HAVE SUPPORT IN MOST STATES: SHASHI THAROOR

Rahul Gandhi with the young football players during the Congress’ ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, in Palakkad on Monday. —PHOTO BY ANI

Union Home Minister Amit Shah at function at Sanand in Ahmedabad district, on Monday.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Vanatara resort, owned by Pulkit Arya, who is an accused in Ankita Bhandari murder case, was demolished. —FILE PHOTO

‘LITIGATION CANNOT BE A HOBBY’, SAYS APEX COURT

SC NOTICE TO MP, CENTRE OVER RATLAM MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY

Kangra: Anurgag Thakur praised the leadership of PM Modi and said that despite several parties coming together, they wouldn't succeed. "The work done under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji in the last 8 years was not done even in the last six decades. There is an unbreakable bond of trust and performance between Modi Ji and the people," Thakur said.

OPPN STANDS NO CHANCE IN FRONT OF PM MODI: THAKUR

‘PoK issue should’ve been solved in ’71 war’

Rajnath regrets that India did not take PoK during battle with Pakistan

Shimla (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that de cision on Pakistan-oc cupied Kashmir (PoK) should have been taken during 1971 war be tween India and the neighbouring country.

The Defence Minister said this while address ing a function to hon our martyrs’ families at Badoli in Kangra dis trict of Himachal Pradesh.

“We have recently marked the Golden Ju bilee of victory of 1971 war. The 1971 war will be remembered in the history as the war fought for the humanity instead of property, pos session or power,” Ra jnath Singh said.

“There is only one re gret. The decision on PoK should have been taken at that time it self,” he said. Singh also attended a similar func tion at Nadaun in Hamirpur district.

RAJNATH SINGH FELICITATES FAMILIES OF THE FALLEN HEROES

Kangra (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Monday felicitated the families of the slain soldiers hailing from Himachal Pradesh, who laid down their lives in the service of the Nation. The felicitation ceremony was organised at Badoli in Kangra district. The defence minister paid glowing tributes to the war heroes including the first recipient of Param Vir Chakra Major Somnath Sharma (1947) among others. While paying respects to the families of the war heroes, Rajnath said that the country will forever be indebted to the sacri fices made by the valiant soldiers. He stated that the Armed Forces will always be a source of inspiration to the people, especially the youth, as they possess the traits of discipline, devotion to duty, patriot ism and sacrifice and are a symbol of national pride and trust. “Background, religion and creed don’t matter, what matters is that our beloved tri-colour continues to fly high,” Rajnath Singh said.

In Kangra, Singh also shed light on the Cen tre’s unwavering re solve to make the coun

try ‘Aatmanirbhar’ and the progress achieved due to the measures

CAPT BATTING ON NEW PITCH

Have mission to accomplish after joining BJP: Amarinder

Chandigarh (Agencies):

Former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said he had a mission to accomplish after joining BJP.

“I have a mission to accomplish and that is to work for the interest of the state and the country,” he said.

At his maiden press meet after joining BJP, Amarinder Singh said he wanted to strengthen the hands of PM Naren dra Modi, Home Minis

ter Amit Shah and party President JP Nadda.

With BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, be sides senior leaders, the

taken to realise the Prime Minister Naren dra Modi’s vision.

Delhi-Shimla flights resume after 2 years

Chandigarh (Agencies): Flights between Shimla and Delhi resumed on Monday after a gap of almost two years.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while connect ing virtually from vil lage Bagsiad of Seraj Assembly Constituency in the Mandi district launched the regular flights by flagging off the new ATR-42-600 air craft of Alliance Air from Shimla Airport at Jubbarhatti today morning. Union Minis ter of State for Civil Aviation Gen. VK Singh also participated in the programme through virtual medium from Delhi. CM said connec tivity remains a big challenge for a hilly state like Himachal and the state government was making constant ef forts to increase the air connectivity in the state.

‘Hindu’ a geo-cultural identity, says Bhagwat

Shillong (Meghalaya) (ANI): Rashtriya Sway amsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, while stating that there is “no particular definition of Hindu”, said that the terms “Bharatiya” (In dian) and “Hindu” are synonyms, and added that it (Hindu) is a “geocultural identity”.

Bhagwat said that In dia had lost its freedom in the past because of “forgetting” its “civili zational motto and val ues”. Addressing a pub lic meeting in Shillong on Sunday, Bhagwat said, “We are an ancient nation since time im memorial, but due to forgetting our civiliza tional motto and values, we lost our freedom. Our binding force among one another is our inherent faith in our age-old values which lies in spiritual ity. These values of this country’s eternal civili zation had been named as Hindutva by people outside our country. We are Hindus, but there is

no particular definition of Hindu, although it’s our identity. Both the terms Bharatiya and Hindu are synonyms. It is a geo-cultural identi ty in fact”.

The RSS chief said that the organisation teaches to make sacri fices for the country while also giving up one’s “individual self ish ends”.

DGP’s file returned by UPSC after raising objections

Ahtesham Siddiqui

Lucknow: The UP DGP’s file was returned by the UPSC after rais ing objections. The Ut tar Pradesh govern ment had sent the file to appoint a permanent DGP to the UPSC in the first week of Septem ber month.

two-time CM thanked PM Modi for opening the Kartarpur Corridor and withdrawal of three agricultural laws.

But the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has sent it back to the state government by raising many objec tions in the said file, after which a new prob lem has cropped up in Uttar Pradesh regard ing the permanent

DGP. Whereas this file was sent to UPSC to make IPS Devendra Singh Chauhan as the next DGP. UPSC has sought answers on the reasons for the removal of IPS Mukul Goyal from the post of DGP

before the completion of 2 years and also sought the data of IPS officers up to 1992 batch. It is that when IPS Mukul Goyal was removed, why was he not informed. Moreo ver, the commission

has also said that the DGP chair in UP has been vacant since May 11, while the commis sion received the file to appoint DGP in Sep tember. The UPSC has thus questioned the de lay in sending the file.

Sources in the bu reaucracy say that if the UPSC meeting is held after October 1 and it accepts the same date as the basis, then the service period of IPS DS Chauhan will also be less than 6 months because he will retire on March 31, 2023. In such a situa tion, he will be out of

the race for DGP’s post. In the state govern ment, officers are look ing for answers to the objections raised by UPSC at the govern ment level so that after the reply to UPSC’s questions can be fur nished. Notably, the state government had appointed caretaker DS Chauhan DS Chauhan on 11 May 2022, replac ing the current DGP IPS Mukul Goyal. Meanwhile, the state government is prepar ing to send a list of all the reasons for the re moval of Mukul Goyal to the UPSC.

`

200 cr scam: Sukesh & actors’ meets recreated

New Delhi (ANI): As a part of the investigation in the Rs 200 crore scam case involving jailed conman Sukesh Chan drashekhar, the entire meeting of actors Nikki Tamboli and Sofia Sin gh with Sukesh inside the prison was recreated by the Economic Offenc es Wing (EOW) in Tihar Jail. While exclusively speaking with ANI, spe cial CP Ravindra Yadav

said, the scene was rec reated in the Tihar Jail with the two actresses. It was found that the two actresses had gone to meet Sukesh in the jail, where he had offered them good roles in the movies.

EOW CP Ravindra Yadav, said that during the investigation, it was found that Sukesh was operating from inside the prison.

Prez inaugurates Dasara festivities in Mysuru

Mysuru (Agencies):

The famous 10-day Dussehra celebrations commenced in this city palaces on Monday with religious and tra ditional fervour, with President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurating the fes tivities.

Celebrated as ‘Nada Habba’ (state festival), the Dussehra or ‘Sharan Navaratri’ festivities are expected to be a grand affair this year depicting Karnataka’s

rich culture and tradi tions, coupled with reminiscence of royal pomp and glory, after

IN A UNIQUE INITIATIVE

being devoid of fanfare for the last two years in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The President opened the festivities during the auspicious “Vrush chika Lagna” by show ering flower petals on the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mys uru royals, amid chant ing of vadic hymns, at the premises of Cha mundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hills here.

Ms Murmu is the first President to take part in Mysuru Dusseh ra in the recent past.

Goat sheds given to poor to save cattle from floods

First India Bureau

Patna: In the wake of recent floods in some ar eas of Bihar and in oth er states where a sizable number of milch cattle drowned in floods, a Self-Help Group (SHG) has provided unique goat sheds for goats that save them from floods.

Bihar’s Industries

Minister Sameer Kumar Mahaseth inaugurated 15 goat sheds built by Self-Help Group (SHGs) members with the credit

support of INR 20,000 (246 USD) from Uttar Bi har Gramin Bank (UBGB) in Kamalabari village in Madhubani under the Bihar Sus tainable Livelihood De velopment (BSLD) sig nature project.

To ensure quality and durability, Heifer India has provided the re quired technical sup port to the women SHGs. These sheds are disas ter-resistant, well venti lated, and with proper partition for separation

of kids and goats

The Bihar minister appreciated Heifer In dia’s efforts to empower women SHG members

development and wants wealth creation in vil lages through smallscale enterprises.

10 die, 37 injured after tractor-trolley overturns

Lucknow: 10 people were killed while 37 were injured when the tractor-trolley in which they were travelling overturned after it lost control and fell into a pond in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on Monday, a senior district official said.

About 47 people were travelling in the vehicle which was on its way to a Durga Devi temple in Unnaee village for a ‘mundan’ ceremony. An aid of `4 lakh each is be ing extended to the fam ily of the victims.

FROM PG

ACCIDENT KILLS 7; PREZ, PM CONDOLE

through the develop ment of micro business enterprises. He said the Bihar government is committed to holistic

Dr Abhinav Gaurav, Project Director, thanked the Minister for sharing his views on value-based holistic de velopment. He also gave a brief overview of Heif er’s plans to support 70,000 vulnerable farm ers in the six districts of Bihar namely, Madhu bani, Darbhanga, Mu zaffarpur Samastipur, Vaishali, and Sitamarhi.

Sameer Kumar Mahaseth, Industries Minister, Bihar

Bal Thackeray’s... Shinde said the duo de cided to join his faction as he represents the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and is taking forward the teachings of the Sena founder and Hindutva.

“Balasaheb used to do straight talking and used to be blunt. People knew Balasaheb well and hence they did not accept the Sena’s alli ance with Congress and NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) under

the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government,” he said.

Palghar Zilla Pari shad President, Vaide hi Vadan, and some members of the local body also joined the Shinde faction on the occasion.

Earlier in the day CM Shinde had said that he was unaware of any MLA or MP joining his faction but added that several leaders are in touch.

TRADITION OF SACRIFICE

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat addressing a public meeting in Shillong. —PHOTO BY ANI

President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates Mysuru Dasara festivities in Chamundi Hills of Mysuru on Monday. —PHOTO BY PTI

IPS Mukul Goyal IPS Devendra Singh Chauhan

Rajnath Singh greets the father of Captain Vikram Batra during the felicitation ceremony of the families of soldiers, who sacrificed their lives while serving the nation, in Hamirpur on Monday.

Capt Amarinder Singh with Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma, Sunil Kumar Jakhar addressing media. —PHOTO BY PTI

Bihar Industries Minister inaugurating a goat shed.

Every Poor Household in Bihar should be linked to small-scale enterprise and Heifer is moving in the right direction by harness ing the power of collec tives by creating Farmer Owned Agri businesses.

—PHOTO BY PTI

Mandi: 7 tourists died on spot and 10 sustained severe injuries, when the vehicle they were travelling in rolled down a gorge on Aut-Luhri highway in Kullu district on Sunday evening. PM Modi and President Droupadi Murmu express deep grief over incident.

SDRF team assists in search operations in Lok on Monday.

Mumbai (PTI): Film exhi bition company PVR Cin emas will invest up to `350 crore to open 100 new screens in FY23, a top official said on Mon day. It also expects its mega-merger with Inox Leisure to close by Feb ruary 2023, after which it will start to run as a com bined business, PVR’s chief executive Gautam Dutta said. “We will in vest up to `350 crore to open 100 screens in FY23. I see the same trend continuing in the next 2-3 years as well,” Dutta said.

Rupee hits all-time low of 81.67/$

Mumbai (PTI): The rupee plunged 58 paise to close at an all-time low of 81.67 (provisional) against the US dollar on Monday as the strengthening of the Amer ican currency overseas and risk-averse sentiment among investors weighed on the local unit.

Moreover, escalation of geopolitical risks due to conflict in Ukraine, a nega tive trend in domestic equi ties and significant foreign fund outflows sapped in vestor appetite, forex trad ers said.

Salaries in India likely to rise by 10.4% in 2023

search Analyst, HDFC Se curities.

Spot USD-INR may head towards 82 as strength in the dollar index continues with surging bond yields, Parmar said, adding that in the near-term, spot USDINR is having resistance at around 82 and support at 81.05.

MSI LAUNCH GRAND VITARA TAGGED B/W `10.45-19.65 LAKH TARGETS SALES REVENUE

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local currency opened at 81.47, then fell further to close at an all-time low of 81.67 against the American cur rency, registering a decline of 58 paise over its previ ous close. On Friday, the rupee slumped 30 paise to close at 81.09, its previous record low.

This is the fourth con secutive session of loss for the domestic unit, during

New Delhi (Agencies): Oil prices fell for a second day on Monday on fears of lower fuel demand from an expected global recession sparked by rising worldwide interest rates and as a surging US dollar limits the ability of non-dollar consumers to purchase crude.Brent crude futures for November settlement slipped $1.35, or 1.57%, to $84.80 a barrel at 0640 GMT. The contract fell to as low at $84.51, the lowest since January 14.US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for November delivery dropped $1.15, or 1.46%, to $77.59 a barrel. WTI declined to as low as $77.21, the lowest since January 6. Both contracts slumped around 5% on Friday.

which it has lost 193 paise against the American cur rency. “Another day of large gains for the dollar

EXPLAIN WHY ` HAS FALLEN TO ALL-TIME LOW: NCP ASKS FM Mumbai (PTI): The National ist Congress Party (NCP) on Monday asked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to explain why the rupee has fallen to an all-time low against the US dollar. The Sharad Pawar-led NCP targeted Sitharaman for her remarks made at a press con ference in Pune on Saturday that the rupee has “held back very well” against the US dol lar when compared to other currencies. “Can she explain why the rupee has fallen to an all-time low of 81.47 against the US dollar? If she concen trates more on the finance ministry and less on Barama ti, may be she can,” Sharad Pawar-led party’s national spokesman Clyde Crasto said in statement.

Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six cur rencies, advanced 0.46% to 113.71.According to ex perts, focus will now shift to RBI’s meeting this week, with its decision due on Friday. The 38th meeting of the Monetary Policy Com mittee, constituted under the Reserve Bank of India Act, will be held during September 28 - 30.

versus the rupee as it fell for the fourth day in a trot amid risk-averse senti ments and unprecedented

strength in the greenback following Fed tightening and recession worries,” said Dilip Parmar, Re

Foreign institutional in vestors were net sellers in the capital market on Fri day as they offloaded shares worth ` 2,899.68 crore, as per exchange data.

New Delhi (PTI): Looking to consolidate its pres ence in the fast-growing mid-sized sports utility segment, Maruti Suzuki India on Monday launched its all-new model Grand Vitara priced between `10.45 lakh and `19.65 lakh. The model will com pete with the likes of Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Tata Harrier, among others. With Grand Vitara, the MSI expects to en hance its presence in a segment where it current ly lags behind.

Housing prices seen rising in coming days

New Delhi (PTI): Nearly 50% of prospective buyers are expecting housing prices to rise in coming day & months amid reviv al in demand, according to a joint survey conducted by Housing.Com and in dustry body NAREDCO.

As per the survey find ings, 47% of respondents prefer to invest in real es tate, while 21% prefer to invest in the stock market, 16% in fixed deposits and 15% in gold.

ther in the coming months, while 58% of homebuyers who are primarily end-us ers are looking for readyto-move-in property, Hous ing.Com said in a state ment.

New Delhi (PTI): Realty major DLF will develop a new luxury housing pro ject in Gurugram with an estimated sales realisa tion of about `1,800 crore, its Group Executive Director Aakash Ohri said on Monday. DLF has launched its project ‘The Grove’, which is located at DLF phase-5. “We have launched a new project which will be low-rise luxury development com prising 292 residences. We are expecting a sales revenue of `1,700-1,800 crore from this project,” Group Executive Director and Chief Business Offic er of DLF Ltd, Ohri said.

SAMSUNG PARTNERS

Realty portal Housing. Com and NAREDCO (Na tional Real Estate Develop ment Council) on Monday released the ‘Residential Realty Consumer Senti ment Survey H2 2022’ re port. They conducted a joint survey with over 1,000 participants to gauge consumer sentiment.

In the survey, 48% of re spondents anticipate prices to rise

“India’s residential mar ket has seen a sharp re vival in demand after the second wave of the COV ID-19 pandemic. The rising cost of borrowing, in crease in input costs and strong demand has result ed in a rise in housing prices,” said Dhruv Agar wala, Group CEO - Hous ing.Com, PropTiger.Com & Makaan.Com.

Many listed real estate developers have reported that they have increased prices of their apartments in the last one year to off set rise in input cost and also improve profit mar gins.Agarwala expects housing demand to remain strong in the upcoming quarter on the back of strong consumer sentiment and the sea sonal uplift in demand during the festive sea son.

New Delhi (PTI): Sam sung has partnered with Axis Bank to launch cobranded credit card to provide additional finance option to customers as it eyes two-fold sales growth in its ultra-premi um foldable smartphones this year. A company offi cial said Samsung has fo cussed on making pur chases affordable and it has seen about three times growth in transac tions happening through Samsung Finance plus for buying its product.

New Delhi (PTI): Corpo rate India is bullish about its strong business perfor mance and expected to dole out a double-digit salary hike of as much as 10.4% in 2023, a survey said on Mon day. According to leading global professional servic es firm Aon Plc’s latest Salary In crease Sur vey in In dia, remu nerations in India are expected to increase by 10.4% in 2023, compared to an actual increase of 10.6% to date in 2022, which is slightly higher than the 9.9% increase projected in February. The study that analysed data across 1,300 companies from more than 40 industries in India noted that the attrition rate for the first half of 2022 con tinued to be high at 20.3%, marginally lower than the 21% recorded in 2021, thus retaining the pressure on salaries.

Sensex extends losses into fourth session

Mumbai (PTI): Bench mark indices fell sharply on Monday, with the Sensex and Nifty tumbling nearly 2 per cent each amid weak global market trends and foreign fund outflows.

Falling for the fourth straight day, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 953.70 points or 1.64 per cent to settle at 57,145.22. During the day, it plummeted 1,060.68 points or 1.82 per cent to 57,038.24.

The NSE Nifty fell 311.05 points or 1.80 per cent to

end at 17,016.30.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, Maruti, Tata Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, NTPC, Mahin

S&P pegs India’s FY’23 GDP growth at 7.3%

New Delhi (PTI): S&P Global Ratings on Monday retained its projection of India’s economic growth at 7.3% for the current fiscal and said inflation is likely to remain above the upper tolerance limit of 6%.

dra & Mahindra and In dusInd Bank were the ma jor laggards.

HCL Technologies, Info sys, Asian Paints, TCS, Ul traTech Cement, Wipro and Nestle were the gain ers.

Elsewhere in Asia, mar kets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended sharply lower.

European bourses were trading in the red in midsession deals. The US mar kets ended in the negative territory on Friday.

INVESTORS LOSE `13.30 LAKH CR IN 4 DAYS OF MKT CRASH

New Delhi (PTI): Equity investors’ wealth has tumbled by over `13.30 lakh crore in four days of market plunge amid a sharp sell-off in global markets. In four days, the BSE benchmark has slumped 2,574.52 points or 4.31%.

The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tum bled `13,30,753.42 crore in four sessions to reach `2,70,11,460.11 crore.

TaMo COMMITTED TO INVEST IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLE BUSINESS

FIEO PLANS ACTIVITIES IN GCC MARKETS TO PUSH INDIA’S EXPORTS

S&P Global Ratings Asia-Pacific Chief Econo mist Louis Kuijs said a pro nounced slowdown in Chi na was offset by a strong rebound in India as con sumption, especially of services, continued to re cover and investment grew rapidly. “We have retained our India growth outlook at 7.3% for the fiscal year 2022-2023 and 6.5% for the next fiscal year, although we see the risks tilted to the downside,” Kuijs said.

S&P Economist Vishrut Rana said the rupee may continue to see volatility in the coming days, but India has ‘substantial buffer’ to withstand foreign fund out flows.

Apple now manufacturing iPhone 14 in India

New Delhi (PTI): Apple’s newest phone iPhone 14 be in India as the global tech titan bets on the manufacturing prow ess of the world’s secondbiggest smartphone mar ket after China.

Apple started manufac turing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE. Today, Apple manufactures some of its most advanced iP hones in India including iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iP hone 13 &, now, iPhone 14.

According to sources, the Made-in-India iPhone 14 will begin to reach local in the next few

The iPhone outskirts

1st MFG STARTED IN 2017 WITH SE

z Cupertino, Californiaheadquartered Apple started manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017 with iPhone SE. Today, Apple manufactures some of its most advanced iPhones in the country including iPhone SE, iPhone 12, iPhone 13 and, now, iPhone 14.

Foxconn the world’s larg est contract electronics manufacturer and major iPhone assembler.

New Delhi (PTI): Tata Motors plans to continue investing in the range of ` 2,000 crore in its commer cial vehicle business per annum going ahead in order to drive in new models based on various kinds of powertrains, ac cording to Executive Director Girish Wagh. The company, which on Monday strength ened its pickup line with the launches of Yodha 2.0, Intra V20 bi-fuel and Intra V50 models, is also looking to transition to electric mobility through vehicles powered by CNG and other alternative fuel.

RELIANCE JIO’S UNDER `12K 5G PHONE LIKELY TO LAUNCH IN 2024

New Delhi (Agencies): Reli ance Jio will aim to launch a 5G phone priced under ` 12,000 once its 5G coverage has reached a good threshold, according to a Counterpoint Research report. The report says Jio will wait for its 5G network to proliferate, to target the broader base of mass market 4G smartphone users with its 5G smartphone. “Further, at some point in 2024, Jio will also be compelled to launch an affordable 5G mmWave + sub-6GHz smartphone as the cost deltas between the two have narrowed significantly from the overall BoM (bill of materials) fitting perspec tive,” the report said.

Dubai (PTI): Exporters body FIEO on Monday said it has planned a series of activities in the Gulf Coopera tion Council (GCC) markets to push India’s exports. Indian exports to the GCC grew by 44% in 2021-22 to $43.9 billion compared to $27.8 billion in 2020-21. In the current financial year, FIEO has planned various activi ties -- including exhibitions, B2B delegations, interactive sessions and capacity-building programmes -- to increase In dia’s export to the region, FIEO President A Sakthivel said.

DRONES IN MP TO KEEP AN EYE ON POWER TRANSMISSION TOWERS

Jabalpur (PTI): Madhya Pradesh will deploy drones from October 1 to monitor 10,000 high voltage electricity towers to strengthen the power transmis sion system with better checking of defects and inspection which is so far done manually, an official said on Monday. “This is for the first time in the country that drones will be used to check tall towers for smooth power supply,” MPPTCL MD Sunil Tiwari claimed. Drones will take videos and close range pictures of the towers and will come handy in saving time and labour as currently, the inspection of towers is being done manually, he said.

Brent crude oil prices slip below $85/barrel

NO COERCIVE ACTION AGAINST ANIL AMBANI TILL

First India Bureau Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Mon day directed the In come Tax (I-T) Depart ment not to take any coercive action against Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani till November 17 on a show cause no tice issued to him seeking to prosecute him under the Black Money Act.

The I-T department had issued the notice to Ambani on August 08, 2022 for allegedly evad ing Rs420 crore in taxes on undisclosed funds worth more than Rs814 crore held in two Swiss bank accounts.

The department has charged Ambani (63) with “willful” evasion, saying he “intentional ly” did not disclose his foreign bank account details and financial interests to Indian tax authorities.

As per the depart ment’s notice, Ambani was liable to be prose

cuted under Sections 50 and 51 of the Black Mon ey (undisclosed foreign income and assets) Imposition of Tax Act of 2015. I-T Department stipulates a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment with a fine.

Earlier this month, Ambani had approached the HC challenging the notice, claiming that the Black Money Act was enacted in 2015 and the alleged transactions are of assessment years 2006-2007 and 2010-2011.

Senior counsel

Rafique Dada, appear ing for Ambani, said provisions of the Act cannot have a retrospec tive effect.

Advocate Akhilesh war Sharma, appearing for the I-T Department, sought time to respond to the petition.

A division bench com prising Justices SV Gan gapurwala and RN Lad dha permitted the same and posted the petition for hearing on Novem ber 17.

“The Income Tax De partment shall till the next date not take any

coercive action against the petitioner (Ambani) in pursuance to the show cause notice,” said the court.

It also directed the I-T department to respond to Ambani’s contention that provisions of the Black Money Act may not have a retro spective effect.

Dada told the court that an assessment or der was passed by the department in March this year and the peti tioner filed an appeal against the said order before the Commission er of Income Tax.

He said when a civil proceeding is pending, criminal action cannot be sought to be initiated by the department.

“The show cause no tice on the face of it was violative of Article 20 of the Constitution of In dia (that says no person shall be prosecuted for the same alleged offence twice). Let the civil pro ceedings carry on and reach its logical end,” Dada argued.

CRUCIAL READ

UNABLE TO PAY DEBT, TWO MEN COMMIT SUICIDE

Mumbai (PTI): A court on Monday extended the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) custody of five people, arrest ed during the multiagency raids conduct ed on the Popular Front of India (PFI) in Maharashtra last week, till October 03.

The five accused were among 20 people nabbed from the state by the ATS in multi-agency raids across the country spearheaded by the Na tional Investigation Agency (NIA) last Thursday.

The ATS produced the five accused before the court of Additional Ses sions Judge AM Patil on Monday on the expiry of their previous remand.

They were booked on charges of engaging in

unlawful activities, pro moting enmity among communities, and wag ing a war against the country.

In a massive crack down on PFI, multiagency teams had ar rested 106 leaders and activists of the radical Islamic outfit in near-si multaneous raids in 15

states for allegedly sup porting terror activities in the country.

Maharashtra and Karnataka accounted for 20 arrests each, Ta mil Nadu (10), Assam (9), Uttar Pradesh (8), Andhra Pradesh (5), Madhya Pradesh (4), Pu ducherry and Delhi (3 each) and Rajasthan (2).

Nagpur: Two men commit ted suicide over financial issues in separate incidents in Nagpur city. Adeep Dhen gre (45) consumed poison near a hotel in the Wadi area on Saturday evening. He had purchased a vehicle on loan but was unable to pay monthly installments for last few months due to losses he had suffered in his business.

In another incident in Pardia area, Gokul Mankawde al legedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan on Saturday night. The deceased had borrowed money from his relatives and friends.

Mumbai: A 55-yearold man, who allegedly snatched chains of senior citizens by posing as a police personnel, has been arrested from Ambivali, in neighbouring Thane district, an official said on Sunday. Kabuli Zafri is part of the infamous “Irani gang” and was nabbed by the Prop erty Cell of Mumbai Crime Branch. Investigations have revealed he is involved in more that 36 cases in places including Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Pune, Raigad, Nashik, Surat and Ahmedabad.

22-YEAR-OLD MAN STABBED TO DEATH IN MUMBAI, OLD ENMITY SUSPECTED

Mumbai: A man was allegedly killed with sharp weapons in the Sion Koliwada area in Mumbai, police said on Monday. The deceased, identified as Tushar Wag (22), was a resident of PMC Colony in Dharavi.

The police have registered a case under sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and started the investigation. According to the police, Tushar was going to his grandmother’s place on Saturday night. The accused knew about it and were already waiting for him. As soon as he came there, the three accused attacked Tushar with sharp weapons, after which he died. The police sent the body of the deceased to Sion Hospital for post-mortem. Police suspect old enmity as the reason for the murder. Further investigation is underway in the case.

UNEMPLOYED MAN KILLS WIFE, INJURES NEIGHBOUR IN THANE

First India Bureau

Mumbai: A senior po lice inspector and a sub-inspector in Nan durbar district were suspended last week in connection with a case in which the body of an alleged victim of gang rape and mur der was preserved by her family for 44 days after post-mortems re vealed no foul play.

Inspector-General BG Shekhar suspended the two officers and trans ferred four constables from the Dhadgaon po lice station based on an inquiry report submit ted by superintendent of police PR Patil. Six

officials were found to have “failed to perform their duties” and “left gaps in the investiga tion”, police said on Monday.

The 21-year-old tribal woman was found hang ing on August 01 in a hamlet, 20km from her home in Nandurbar. A post-mortem examina tion ruled out foul play, but her father claimed the woman was raped by four men.

First India Bureau

New Delhi: A petition challenging the Bom bay High Court ver dict, which instructed the Mumbai civic body to demolish the unau thorized construction at Union minister Narayan Rane’s Juhu area bungalow, was dismissed by the Su preme Court on Mon day.

The apex court noted that the build ing was in violation of the Floor Space Index

(FSI) and Coastal Reg ulation Zone rules.

The FSI is the maxi mum permissible floor area that can be built on a particular plot or/ piece of land.

The plea against the high court judgment was filed by Kaalkaa Real Es tates Private Limited, a company owned by Rane’s family.

The petition came up for hearing before a bench of Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka, which refused to entertain it.

The apex court bench noted that the high court had in June this year ac cepted the Brihanmum bai Municipal Corpora

tion’s (BMC) first order.

The high court had ruled in the matter on September 20: “There is no dispute that the peti

Thane: An unemployed man was arrested in Thane district on Monday for allegedly stabbing to death his wife and injur ing his neighbour, a police official said. Sunil Shinde (40) and his wife Shilpa (35) would fight often as he was without a job and she was paying the home bills. “During one such fight this morning, he stabbed to death Shilpa in their Teesgaon Pada home. A neighbour who intervened was injured. People in the vicinity held the accused and handed him over to the police,” Kolsewadi police station senior inspector MR Deshmukh said.

Thane: Eight persons were arrested on Monday for allegedly practicing witchcraft and black magic in Murbad town of Thane district. The police received information that some per sons were practicing black magic and witchcraft at Songaon on Sunday night, Inspector Satosh Darade of the Tokawade police station of Murbad said.

Eight persons, including two fake godmen and two women, were arrested, while another person man aged to escape the scene at night, he said. The police also rescued two women, aged 26 and 19, who were going to be part of the ritual, he said.

tioner has carried out large scale unauthorized construction in blatant violation of the sanc tioned plan and the pro visions of law.”

BMC had earlier told the high court that it was willing to hear the sec ond application for regu larization of unauthor ized construction at Rane’s Juhu bungalow, even as the first applica tion had been rejected.

The company filed a second application in July, claiming it was seeking regularization of a smaller portion, as compared to what it had sought previously, and under new provisions of the Development Con

trol and Promotion Reg ulation (DCPR) 2034.

The HC had said if the BMC’s stand was accept ed, then any member of the public in this city can first carry out largescale unauthorized con struction and then seek regularization. It said the BMC cannot be permitted to consider and allow the second application as \it would “encourage wholesale construction of unauthorized struc tures”.

The BMC had reject ed the earlier regulari zation application in June, noting there were violations in the construction.

EIGHT ARRESTED FOR PRACTICING BLACK MAGIC, WITCHCRAFT

Union minister Narayan Rane (inset) has been pulled for large-scale illegal construction at his Juhu area residence. —FILE PHOTO THE WRECKING BALL

Industrialist Anil Ambani stands accused of not disclosing funds to the tune of Rs814 crore and evading taxes worth Rs420 crore. —FILE PHOTO

A security person keeps vigil outside the Popular Front of India (PFI) party office in Navi Mumbai. —PHOTO BY PTI

A group of children play football on a sandy pitch, near a beach in Mumbai city on Sunday. —PHOTOS BY ANI

The First India Fashion Connect Season 12 was held at Fairmont, Jaipur on Sunday. Ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s vision of luxury offered a contemporary update to his traditional repertoire with his ‘Festive Collection!

COLLECTION’ at the Fashion Con nect Season 12, by First India and Bharat 24-Vision of New India, deliv ered on all counts.

airmont Jaipur, the crowned jewel of the pink city, hosted one of India’s pre mier single-day fashion events called Fashion Con nect. With the huge response and netizens going gaga over the exemplary lineup and digital readiness, the show scored an amazing win over the fashion industry.

All that glitters may not be gold, but it likely has Manish Malhotra written all over it. After all, the legendary fash ion designer’s name com mands a certain cachet of spectacle and sartorial rev elry within the industry. And it stands to reason that his newest offering, ‘FESTIVE

Jagdeesh Chandra graced the occasion with his presence and wel comed everyone to Pink City. While addressing the audience, he said, “It is in deed a privilege to have amid us Fashion designer Manish Malhotra. This is the first time in Rajasthan, that a legend like him showcased his ravishing collection. Along with our endeavour to showcase the beauty and talent of charis matic models and fashion enthusiasts, with Season 12 of Fashion Connect, we also strive to empower the young generation, especially women transforming them into stronger in dividuals who are aware of their

Jagdeesh Chandra greeted by Rishee Miglani and Anita Hada

Supermodels donning the ravishing collection during the show

FROM PG 09

He further congratu lated Rishee Migla ni, Brand Ambassa dor and Youth Icon along with Show Director Lokesh Sharma for put ting up the grand show while calling them the heart and soul of the Fashion designer Man ish Malhotra showcased his exquisite collection at this year’s Fashion Connect event. The showcase included 85 garments donned by 50 models. These are ex traordinary times we live in, and Malhotra wouldn’t be the first designer to find him self pulled in two dif ferent directions— the need to adapt to the present juxta posed with the evoca tive hope of creating a bet ter future. The designer responded with a collec tion that aligned with the festivity ahead while maintaining fidelity to loyalists.

Rishee Miglani also thanked everyone on the occasion and while ad dressing the audience he said, “I am more than thankful to Jagdeesh Sir, truly a magician. His presence is enough to make any show succesful and with his blessings and freedom, we indeed get to tap our best poten tial. also thank Man ish Malhotra, the entire team includ

ing Gunjan Singhal, our set designer, Lokesh, our show director for putting up a succesful show.

Manish Malhotra paid immense gratitude to eve ryone on the occasion and felicitated the pillars of support behind the suc cessful show. While ad dressing the audience, he said, “It is indeed my pleasure to showcase the first glimpse of this royal festive collection in Jaipur. This city has my heart. I’d like to congratu late all my models. The patience and hardwork from the rehearsals to the final show has been im peccable.”

The magical evening witnessed a decorated guest list of lovers of art, craft, fashion and opu lence.

Jagdeesh Chandra with (L-R) Lokesh Sharma, Rishee Miglani, Rajiv Kapoor, Nasiha, Nikhita Sethi and Anita Hada Reema and Richa Rishee Miglani AshwinRajat and Sonia

Wrickie and Vriti Rajiv Kapoor & Rishee Miglani

Ayan Chugh and Aruna Beniwal Roma and Abhishek Poddar

Seema and

Industry waves a teary goodbye TO THE COMEDY KING

entertainment and political in dustry mourned his death im mensely. He left a void in the hearts of his fans and wellwishers who were praying for his speedy recovery.

Raju Srivastava started an era of comedy in the entertainment in dustry which paved the way for young co medians to achieve their dream. He made everyone laugh with his jokes and amazed people with his mimicry skills. After the come dian passed away after battling for his life for over a month, the

On August 10, Raju com plained of chest pain while running on the treadmill and shortly suffered a ma jor cardiac arrest. After an angioplasty was performed, he was kept on a ventilator as the actor failed to gain con sciousness. However, due to an infection in his brain, he was unable to wake up and breathed his last after battling for almost a month.

Raju passed away on Septem ber 21 and had a funeral attend ed by several of his colleagues,

friends and family members. On September 25, a prayer meeting was conducted in Mumbai that was attended by his industry friends. Right from Bharti Singh to Shailesh Lodha, Kapil Sharma and Ab hijeet Bhattacharya, everyone was in attendance and was even seen weeping for the loss of a gem. Bharti Singh was highly distraught as she hugged Raju Srivastava’s wife, cried along with her and even consoled the heartbroken Shikha who was still reeling from the loss of her husband. Krushna Abhishek, Haarsh Limbachiyaa, Sunil Pal, Kiku Sharda, Kay Kay Menon, Ah saan Qureshi and Rohit Verma were also present at the prayer

meeting. Several others includ ing Sugandha Mishra and hus band Sanket Bhosale, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vindoo Dara Singh and Lilliput attended the event too.

Raju Srivastava worked as an extra in several films in the 80s and 90s and finally stood in the spotlight when he partici pated in The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. He came in as the runner-up and was a part of the spin-off show, The Great Indian Laughter Chal lenge – Champions. After that Raju attended several live com edy shows and always made sure to tickle everyone’s funny bones. He started his political career in 2014 when he joined BJP and was a member until his death.

Neha vs Falguni

n the era of song remakes, it is Neha Kakkar who is at top of this game. But there are times when these remakes do not cre ate their usual. Something similar happened with her recent song, ‘O Sajna’ which was the official remake of Falguni Pathak’s iconic number, ‘Maine Payal Hai Chhankai’. The song did not go down well even with the original singer and there seemed to be a war emerging between the two. But to the shock of fans and netizens, a recent episode promo of Indian Idol 13 was published on the social media platform that showed Falguni Pathak joining the judges, Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya for a Garba night episode. Released in a news paper format, the episode that will go on air this weekend during the theatre round, showcased the headline ‘Navratri ki shuruaat Neha aur Falguni ke saath!’.

Pathaan's leaked photo?

While fans have been ea gerly waiting for Tiger 3, the inclusion of Pathaan in the spy uni verse has increased fans’ excitement for YRF’s ambitious pro ject. The cameos of both the actors have been fixed in each oth er’s films, but the knowledge does not stop netizens from be ing curious about how these cameos will be in corporated. Now, a pho to has been doing the rounds on the in ternet that has so cial media users speculating that it is a leaked photo from the sets of Pathaan.

The photo is a cropped one that focus es only on the arms of

SABA AS MAIN LEAD

Saba Azad is a busy bee in her per sonal as well as professional life.

While she is dating actor Hrithik Roshan, she also is occupied with shoots and her music shows. Saba has done some notable work in the past with Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge and Dil Kabaddi, she is currently gearing up for a new role that may be called a breakthrough role that may reinvent her as an actor.

Saba will be seen as the main lead in a project helmed by filmmaker Danish Renzu called 'Songs of Paradise', the film is being shot in parts of Kashmir as of now and will be soon wrapped up.

Apoorva Arora is gear ing up for her next series. The actress essays the role of the female lead in the show. Her sassy avatar as a girl-next-door is immensely loved by her fans.

But there are times when some creators are stereo typed as 'Influenc ers,'. Recently in an interview, she stated, "I love my work and I am grate ful that I get to do what I love. The audience loves my work. But I believe there's a thin line between being called an influencer and an actor, I would like to call myself an artist".

PC and Harnaaz clicked together

Harnaaz Sandhu shared a photo with Priyanka Chopra as the two finally met at the recently held Global Citizen Festival 2022 in New York.

Harnaaz, who won the Miss Universe 2021 title, took to social media to share a picture with former Miss World Priyanka and gushed, "I couldn't have asked for us to meet in any other way. Thanks, @priyankachopra for your kindness at @glblctzn ... you killed it!"

As soon as Harnaaz posted the picture, PeeCee sent her some love in the comments section by posting a heart and kiss emoji.

Both PC and Harnaaz, have been involved in humanitarian work around the globe. Priyan ka is the UNICEF global good will ambassador and recently addressed the United Nations General Assembly and spoke in depth about the problems affect ing people around the world.

ASHISH TIWARI

two people who are shaking their hands. While it is dif ficult to confirm wheth er it is from the sets of Tiger 3, netizens have spotted the very famil iar black and white

checker scarf that is worn by Salman’s char acter on the man stand ing at the right in the photo. Hence, the image is rumoured to be from a shooting scene that was leaked online.

I would like to call myself an artist - Apoorva Arora

Falguni Pathak

Apoorva Arora

Harnaaz Sandhu from the film

Family members during the prayer meet Sunil PalKiku Sharda

Shailesh Lodha

Kapil Sharma

Kay Kay Menon

Abhijeet Bhattacharya

Sugandhaa Misshra and Sanket Bhosale

Bharti Singh

Vindu Dara Singh

Neha

Kakkar

Saba Azad

Neil Nitin Mukesh