www.freepressjournal.in | twitter.com/fpjindia Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 I M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 INFLATION TARGET BAND UP FOR REVIEW, GOVT CONSULTS RBI Pg 7 AZAAN SAMI KHAN TALKS ABOUT HIS FAMOUS PARENTS AND RECENTLY RELEASED DEBUT SOLO ALBUM Pg 22 PETROL AT RS 100 A LITRE CALLS FOR LOWER TAXES Vol. 64 No. 250 | FRIDAY | FEBRUARY 19, 2021 | 14 Pages | EDITIONS: Mumbai*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper BMC cracks the Covid whip • • • Those instructed to quarantine at home will have hands stamped Asymptomatic patients in home quarantine will be contacted 5 to 6 times daily If an asymptomatic patient steps out of isolation, housing society should inform BMC ward war room Such errant patients may go into institutional quarantine Clean chit to CJI Gogoi OUR BUREAU / New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday once again absolved the then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi of the charge of sexual harassment of a staff member posted at his residence. A Bench of Justices S K Kaul, A S Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian accepted the report of a committee headed by former Apex Court judge A K Patnaik holding that a conspiracy cannot be ruled out in the sexual harassment charges levelled against Justice Gogoi in April 2019. The Patnaik committee report said it could be because of the tough stand taken by the then CJI on judicial and administrative matters. In its order, the court said Justice Patnaik acknowledged a wider conspiracy behind the sexual harassment charges levelled against retired CJI Gogoi. Justice Patnaik said he did not have the mandate to probe the conspiracy as already a 3-judge committee headed by Justice Sharad A Bobde had given a clean chit to Justice Gogoi. The court noted that an Intelligence Bureau report submitted to the Justice Patnaik committee had stated that some people were unhappy with Gogoi because of his tough stand on finalisation of NRC-Assam and this could have been part of the plot to defame him. CONTD. ON P12 • • • Three hundred marshals will be appointed to take action against those travelling in trains without masks. Marshals will also keep watch on those failing to maintain appropriate physical distance at public places Police are authorised to fine citizens roaming about without masks. Female marshals will be appointed at places of worship Regular inspection will be conducted at halls, wedding venues. Health Minister Rajesh Tope Tests positive Disha moves HC to restrain police leaks to media Toolkit case OUR BUREAU / New Delhi Climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested for alleged involvement in sharing a toolkit backing the ongoing farmers' protest, moved the Delhi High Court on Thursday seeking to restrain police from leaking to the media any probe material in relation to the FIR lodged against her. The petition, which is listed before Justice Prathiba M Singh, also seeks to restrain the media from publishing the content or extract of any private chats, including those on WhatsApp, between her and third parties. Ravi, in her plea, said that she is "severely aggrieved and prejudiced by the media trial surrounding her arrest and the ongoing investigation, where she is being viscerally attacked by the respondent 1 (police) and several media houses". She also claimed that her arrest from Bengaluru on February 13 by a Cyber Cell team of Delhi Police was "wholly unlawfully and without basis". She has contended that in the present circumstances, it was "highly likely" that the general public will perceive the news items "as being conclusive as to the guilt of the petitioner (Ravi)". "In these circumstances, and to restrain the respondents from further violating her privacy her , No leak: Centre T he Centre, however, told the Delhi High Court that there has been no leakage of messages or any other details from the Delhi police to the media in connection with the 'toolkit' case. "This is for media attention. There has been no leakage of info from the police. We will file an affidavit on this," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told Justice Prathiba Singh. After hearing the contentions, the court gave Centre time till Friday to file the affidavit. reputation, and her right to a fair trial, the petitioner is moving the present petition," the plea said. Her petition has alleged that investigative matters have been leaked to the media and the press briefings by the police are "prejudicial" and "grossly violative of her right to a fair trial and presumption of innocence". CONTD. ON P12 MOST EXPENSIVE: RR grabs SA all-rounder Chris Morris for Rs. 16.25 cr. Until now, Yuvraj was most expensive at Rs 16 cr. Right-arm fast bowler and a lower-order hitter, he has an IPL strike rate of 157.87. (Base price Rs 75 lakhs). RCB GRAB MAXWELL, TOO: Australia all-rounder picked up for Rs 14.25 cr. Penchant for hitting sixes coupled with fast offbreaks and fabulous fielding. OUTBID PUNJAB: New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson snapped for Rs 15 cr by  RCB. At 6'8", he is literally unplayable on green wickets with steep bounce off length and movement off the pitch. MYSTERY PICKINGS: Punjab managed to grab Jhye Richardson – for a whooping Rs 14 crore. Base price was Rs.1.5 cr. But an economy rate of 8.44 can't be worth nearly USD 2 million. Also snapped Australia's uncapped pace bowler Riley Meredith (Base price Rs. 40 lakh) for Rs 8 crore. Currently, down with a serious shoulder injury ALI, ALI…: England's all-rounder Moeen Ali, who played in the second Test at Chennai, went to CSK for Rs.7 crore. Reserve price Rs.2 crore. Possibly, the best buy among multi-skilled foreign players. MUMBAI’S MOJO: Nathan Coulter-Nile taken for Rs 5 cr and Piyush Chawla for Rs 2.40 cr. PITTANCE: India's Test specialist Cheteshwar Pujara bought by CSK for base price of Rs 50 lakh. Pawar, others get clean chit in MSCB scam BEST UNCAPPED BUY: Krishnappa Gowtham, Karnataka’s allrounder, goes to CSK  Rs. 9.25 cr. Base price Rs 20 lakh. for Arjun Tendulkar SOLD to Mumbai Indians for Rs 20 L SANJAY JOG / Mumbai FPJ POLITICAL BUREAU / Mumbai Covid seems to be doggedly following the MVA government. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope is the latest government functionary to test positive for coronavirus. Two days back, Tope was present at a video conference hosted by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray which was , attended by divisional commissioners and district collectors. Tope said in a tweet, ‘‘My corona test has come positive. I am in good health and seeking advice from the doctors.” To curb the spike in Covid-19 cases, the district collectors of Amravati, Yavatmal, Akola and Wardha have imposed strict restrictions, including a lockdown and curfew. In Yavatmal, the District Collector M Devender Singh has announced a 10-day lockdown, while his Amravati counterpart Shailesh Naval has ordered weekend restrictions. In Akola, District Collector Jitendra Papalkar has announced a lockdown until February 28. There will be curfew on Sundays from 8pm to 6am, while the weekly markets have been suspended until further orders. In Wardha, the district administration has imposed a curfew from midnight. In all these districts, the administration has decided to take punitive action against violators of Covid norms. A lockdown has been announced in Amravati district from Saturday 8pm to Monday 7am. "I advise all the people of the district to adhere to Covid-19 guidelines, failing which strict action will be taken by the concerned authorities," Collector Naval said. He further declared that the district would be closed on Sunday and only essential services would be provided. CONTD. ON P12 YET ANOTHER DAY IN MUMBAI Metro man joining BJP OUR BUREAU / New Delhi In a shot in the arm for the BJP in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan on Thursday announced his decision to join the party He is likely to do so dur. ing the party’s Vijay Yatra, which gets kicked off on Sunday in the run-up to the polls due in May . PM Modi has bent backwards to accommodate the 88-year-old Sreedharan, as the party has an age cut-off of 75 years, under which veterans like Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were shown the door. The ‘Metro Man’ told reporters on phone from his hometown Malappuram that only formalities remain and he is amenable to contesting the election, if the party wants. CONTD. ON P12 TAILPIECE Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, rural development minister Hasan Mushrif, former MPs Vikaysinh Mohite Patil and Anandrao Adsul and about 72 others have been given a clean chit by the committee appointed by the Cooperation Department in the alleged Rs 25,000 crore Maharashtra State Co-operative Bank scam. Earlier, the Special Investigation Team had given a clean chit in the same case. CONTD. ON P12 P Hanuma Vihari is UNSOLD!. Harbhajan Singh goes to KKR  Rs 2.2 crore. for VEER-ZARA AT IPL reity Zinta has finally ‘reunited’ with her estranged 'Veer-Zara' co-star Shah Rukh Khan, albeit under the auspices of the IPL. Zinta, in fact, paid through her nose – a hefty Rs 5.25 crore - for the Tamil Nadu all-rounder who had a base price of Rs 20 lakh. Not just Zinta, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore too were angling for the uncapped player who showed his penchant for hard-hits in the T20 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. After winning the bid, Zinta was seen engaging in a banter with those sitting at the KKR table. ‘‘We got you," she declared, trying to take some salacious pleasure. But some Twitter users did not share the mirth. ‘‘This is the reason why Punjab Kings has no haters. And no IPL Trophies either,’’ they said in zest. Soon after, RCB, too, shared a GIF from 'Kal Ho Naa Ho' on their official Twitter handle. The words may prove prophetic. Freaky Feb weather in city Wind gusts and rain in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai PIC: BL.SONI • • Powai Police have booked a woman under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly violating Covid-19 norms on Thursday . The woman, a resident of a high-rise in Powai, had stepped out of her house despite civic authorities having sealed the floor on which she resided after a resident tested positive for coronavirus. On February 14, a resident of Everest Heights, Lake Homes, living on the 17th floor of the high-rise, had tested positive for Covid-19 and the floor was subsequently sealed, after which all the residents were asked to strictly home-quarantine. CONTD. ON P12 PIC: BL.SONI YOUR NEW COVID RULE BOOK PRIYANKA NAVALKAR & DIPTI SINGH Mumbai Her Holiness Mataji Nirmala Devi GLENN MAXWELL'S price again raised eyebrows, Chris Morris forced franchises to break the bank and Indian fans will be vociferously googling Riley Meredith's credentials while trying to figure out how Jhye Richardson swooped a nearly 2 million dollar deal. Welcome to the 'IPL Wonderland', auctions for the uninitiated, where at times suspension of disbelief is the best policy while trying to decipher the numbers. SANJAY JOG Mumbai WOMAN BOOKED FOR VIOLATIONS IN POWAI “Let us have competition in compassion, in mildness, in sweetness and in beautiful behaviour.” Auction Action: Insane bids LOCKDOWN IN 4 DISTRICTS At Juhu, on Thursday PIC: BL.SONI Days after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray asked the adtained from those affected. ministration to be more vigilant If an asymptomatic patient and step up containment meassteps out of isolation before the ures to curb rising Covid-19 completion of their prescribed cases, the BMC has launched a period of home-quarantine or encomprehensive plan to keep tabs ters a public place, the housing on citizens flouting rules of society should inform the BMC home-isolation, while those failward war room, which will take ing to observe pandemic norms action against the erring patient; at wedding and public gatherings Institutional quarantine would will be prosecuted. also be a possibility for such paAn FIR will be tients. comThe market areas ing to Travellers from lodged against such Mumbai persons for non-com- of Dadar, Andheri Brazil will be put into pliance. The BMC pro- and Lalbaug have compulsory 7 days inposes to once again stitutional quarantine. pursue its tracing, been recording BMC Commissioner tracking, treatment heavy footfall Iqbal Chahal held a and isolation/quaranever since the video conference with tine to curb infection. the additional commisThe civic body has state government sioner and other asked its staff to aim loosened the senior officers and difor Mission Zero in rected strict impleCovid curbs. wards where cases are mentation of Covid-19 on the rise. Area-mapnorms in the city He . ping will be done and the maxisubsequently briefed the governmum testing will be conducted in ment. such areas. At least 15 close conThree hundred marshals will tacts per patient will be tracked be appointed to take action and isolated. against those travelling in trains Residential buildings with more without masks. Marshal strength than five active Covid-19 patients will be doubled from the existing will be sealed and those 2,400 to 4,800 to keep a check on instructed to quarantine at home citizens travelling unmasked. will have their hands stamped acThe BMC plans to take action cordingly as was being done in , against 25,000,through its marthe early stages of the pandemic shals, for violation of norms. outbreak last year. Asymptomatic Apart from fining those not patients in home quarantine will masking up, marshals are also be contacted 5 to 6 times daily to , keeping a watch on those failing check on their health status. to maintain appropriate physical Close contacts will be segregatdistance at public places. CONTD. ON P12 ed after their information is ob- Residential buildings with more than five active Covid19 patients will be sealed Pg 19 • BUILDINGS TO BE SEALED • FIR TO BE LODGED AGAINST VIOLATORS • 300 MARSHALS TO HAUL UP THOSE TRAVELLING IN TRAINS WITHOUT MASKS • HAND-STAMPING IS BACK SANJAY JOG, DIPTI SINGH AND PRATIP ACHARYA Mumbai • EDIT 290c. 220c. Sunrise: 07:05 am Sunset: 06:41 pm STAFF REPORTER / Mumbai On Thursday evening, there were strong winds and heavy to moderate rains in the island city , while pockets in western and eastern suburbs received low to moderate rainfall and in Navi Mumbai, residents reported intense rain. Weather experts attributed an ongoing low-pressure trough for the unseasonal rainfall and said the rain would subside by Friday evening. According to K S Hosalikar, head of climate research, India Meteorological Department, "The rainfall is occurring due to connective clouds developed over Marathawada, Vidarbha and Ghat areas. Moderate to light rains will continue in Mumbai for the next 24 hours, following which they will recede. However, in Central Maharashtra, the intensity of rain will be comparatively higher." "An extended low-pressure trough has formed between Kerala and Vidarbha, spreading across coastal Karnataka and interior Maharshtra, which is why there has been unseasonal rainfall across the city according to ," Mahesh Palawat, vice president, meteorology and climate change - Skymet Weather. "In Mumbai, there will be patchy rainfall, which will eventually subside by tomorrow afternoon. However, the interior regions of Maharashtra like Vidarbha will experience heavy rain due to a cyclonic formation," Palawat added. CONTD. ON P12 shoots will be permitted at monuments in Jaipur, to begin with. “We have decided to first implement the policy in Jaipur which has the most demand for photo shoots. After seeing the response, we can consider opening up monuments across the state for such photo shoots, said Mugdha Sinha, secretary of the art, culture and archaeology department. “ wedding is a special occasion A and people want to make it memorable. We observed that we get two types of clients – regular visitors and the upper-end clientele who seek exclusivity she said. ,” For those who want to take photos and videos without crowds milling around them, they can have exclusive access to the monuments for Rs15000 per hour. The couple will have to bring their own camera person and the shoot will take place before or after the opening and closing of the monument,” she said. CONTD. ON P12 Wedding photo shoots in Raj monuments LAST WORD R FPJ CORRESPONDENT / Jaipur ajasthan has always been a favourite wedding destination for couples from around the world. Those looking to add some pizzazz to their nuptials can get exclusive photo shoots at the historical monuments in the state. The state government has allowed pre- and post-wedding photo shoots at historical monuments, for a price. The photo