340c. 220c. Sunrise: 06:40 am Sunset: 06:51 pm Most ceos to wait for vaccination before opening offices Pg 9 the rs 100-crore boMb: no end in sight to Maha crisis My journey as an actor has coMe a full circle with this award: Manoj Pg 22 Loving service to all is a way to show our gratitude. His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj Vol. 64 No. 278 | WEDNESDAY | MARCH 24, 2021 | 16 Pages | ` 4 | EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, E-Paper NO APRIL FOOL, JABS FOR 45+ EDIT Pg 15 ALL REGISTERED BENEFICIARIES WILL GET COVAXIN; COVISHIELD STOCK LOW, IS BEING RESERVED FOR THOSE WHO GOT IT IN ROUND 1 SWAPNIL MISHRA Mumbai Starting from April 1, all those above 45 years of age, regardless of comorbidities, would be eligible for Covid vaccination, the Union Government announced on Tuesday Officials and health experts . welcomed the announcement, saying in view of the current spike, this was indeed a good decision, as half of the country’s population would be covered. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, while briefing the media on Tuesday said , people who were 45-plus ''should immediately register and get vaccinated, as it is a BETWEEN THE LINES PTI Under-fire Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was unlucky to have missed a century by two runs, but he did the damage for the visitors with a solid 98. India won the first ODI by 66 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to urgently allow inoculation of younger people as 81 per cent of Covid samples in the state showed infection was caused by the UK variant of the virus. The B117 -- an extremely virulent form of the virus -- is largely affecting younger people and the UK authorities have found that the Covishield vaccine is effective against it, the Chief Minister has said. GLOBAL FLIGHTS SUSPENSION: The DGCA has extended suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till April 30, in view of the pandemic. These services have been suspended in India since March 23 but special international flights have been operating since May. Also, India has formed air bubble pacts with around 20 countries, including the US and the UK. 5 DEAD IN NAXAL BLAST: Chhattisgarh on Tuesday witnessed one of the most brutal Naxal attacks during the year. A bus carrying 30 District Reserve Guards, while returning to district headquarters after anti-Naxal operations, was ambushed and blown off the road in a land mine blast. Five lives were lost; the injured jawans, two of serious, have been ferried to Raipur by an IAF helicopter, the IG said. Sources said, there were three IED explosions in quick succession. PARAM BIR PLEA HEARING: The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh's plea seeking a probe into the allegations levelled by him against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh. FASTEST HALF-TON: Krunal Pandya hit the fastest half century by a debutant in ODIs first in the  match against in England  Pune on Tuesday. Coming in to bat with India at 205/5 in 40.3 overs, the older Pandya brother smashed a half-century off just 26 deliveries. He finished not out with 58 off 31 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries and two sixes. Singh hand in Vaze return SANJAY JOG / Mumbai Contrary to the BJP’s claims that the suspension of Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze had been revoked and he had been reinstated at the behest of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, documents show that the decision was taken by a four-member committee headed by former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh on June 5, 2020. The committee comprised the joint commissioner (administration), the additional commissioner (Naigaon), the additional commissioner (anti-corruption) and the deputy commissioner (Mantralya security). The Free Press Journal is FPJ EXCLUSIVE in possession of a copy of the document. Currently , Vaze, who is close to Singh, has been suspended and arrested by the National Investigation Agency in connection with the Antilia bomb scare case. Vaze was appointed as the head of the Criminal Investigation Unit (CIU) by Singh, bypassing senior inspectors. The order was issued on June 9, 2020, at a time when coronavirus cases were sharply POLICE TRANSFER RACKET growing. Citing the need for police personnel in the war against the virus, Vaze’s reinstatement was facilitated. The committee had reviewed 113 cases and decided to withdraw the suspension of 18 officers, including Vaze, who had been suspended on March 12, 2004, after the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus. According to the two-page document, the high court, in its order of April 7, 2004, had said, “Hence, we direct the State Government to suspend Vaze and three constables immediately and start disciplinary action against them as they have been prima face found to be involved in the offence”. CONTD. ON P14 PIC: BHUSHAN KOYANDE 81% PUNJAB CASES ARE OF UK VARIANT shield against the disease.” He said the decision was taken after discussion and on the advice of the taskforce and scientists. Last week, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray had sought vaccination for this category at a virtual meeting with PM Modi. Dr Rahul Pandit, Director, Critical Care, Fortis Hospitals Mumbai & member, Maharashtra COVID Taskforce, said the decision to vaccinate people above 45 years of age had come at the right time, as the state is witnessing a daily surge in cases. “The decision to start vaccinating people who are 45 years and above, with or without comorbidities, comes at a very crucial time when India is on the brink of a second wave. Citizens should not delay getting vaccinated and help the country in overcoming this public health emergency one dose at a time. Don’t let , your guard down; be responsible towards yourself and others,” he said. CONTD. ON P14 Order CBI probe SANJAY JOG / Mumbai A day after former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh moved the Supreme Court, seeking a CBI probe into charges of corruption against Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, the state BJP also made a capital dash. In its latest attempt to corner the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis alleged there were malpractices in police transfers in the state. “I have given all the information and evidence of the Maharashtra Police transfer racket in a sealed envelope to the Union Home Secretary in New Delhi and demanded a CBI probe. They have assured an appropriate decision after going through it,” Fadnavis said. CONTD. ON P14 RASHMI THACKERAY TESTS +VE SANJAY JOG Mumbai Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray has tested positive for corona and is currently in home quarantine. The development comes three days after her son and Minister of Tourism and Environment Aaditya Thackeray tested positive for the infection. Rashmi Thackeray the edi, tor of the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, had been tested on Monday Aaditya is home. quarantined and recovering. On March 11, Chief Minister Thackeray got his first Covid vaccine shot in the third phase of the nationwide immunisation drive. Dhananjay Munde reinfected Maharashtra Social Justice Minister Dhananjay Munde has tested Covid-positive for the second time. CONTD. ON P14 Officer's expose bid had recoiled FPJ EXCLUSIVE Phone tapping to expose transfer racket got her punishment posting SANJAY JOG Mumbai The Maharashtra home department had taken serious note of the phone-tapping being done ‘illegally’ by senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla to detect the alleged racket in police transfers, in her ca- pacity as additional DGP in, telligence. The state government had sought an explanation from Shukla but was not satisfied by her response. The Free Press Journal has accessed these government documents. Shukla had submitted her report on the involvement of an alleged network of ‘brokers’, particularly individuals with extensive political connections in arranging desired postings for police officers in CONTD. ON P14 Mystery woman on NIA radar VAZE CASE A SOMENDRA SHARMA Mumbai mysterious woman is the latest twist in the swirling Antilia affair; sources in the National Investigation Agency claim that a woman was seen in the CCTV footage of a posh South Mumbai hotel, reportedly carrying a device, suspected to be a note counting machine, and heading towards the room where suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze was staying. NIA sources also claimed that Vaze reportedly had five bags with him during his stay in the hotel from February 16 to 20 last month. The agency has asked the suspended API about the whereabouts of those bags and the mysterious woman seen in the footage. The agency has also come across information that Vaze had used a fake Aadhaar card in the name of one Sushant Khamkar to check into the hotel. The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Tuesday meanwhile, , made it clear that they would continue their probe in the Mansukh Hiran murder case and press for Vaze’s custody in connection with the alleged crime. CONTD. ON P14 PETROL ` 97.57 Per litre Reg. No. Mcs/048/2018-20; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai-400001 JUNGLE RAJ IN BIHAR HOUSE For the first time in the history of BIhar Assembly the , Rapid Action Force was summoned inside the "House" to evict Opposition MLAs who were protesting against the passage of the controversial Bihar Special Armed Police Bill. In the pandemonium with members coming to blows and others being physically hustled out of the house, the 86 COPS 65 crime branch officers among those transferred SHIFTED STAFF REPORTER / Mumbai In a major reshuffle amid a raging controversy over an intelligence report alleging that middlemen were influencing transfers of police officers in the state, 86 Mumbai Police officers, including 65 from the Crime Branch alone, have been transferred to different posts in the city The move . comes in the backdrop of the recent controversy over police officer Sachin Vaze's arrest by the National Investigation Agency for allegedly parking an explosive laden vehicle in the vicinity of Mukesh Ambani's residence. CONTD. ON P14 Per litre www.freepressjournal.in twitter.com/fpjindia RAF jawans discipline MLAs LAW KUMAR MISHRA Patna DIESEL ` 88.60 Assembly passed the controversial legislation by majority voice vote. RAF personnel cordoned off the chair of the Speaker while the Bill was being passed. In a dubious precedent, for the first time, the services of the district magistrate and the senior SP of Patna were requisitioned to evict the opposition MLAs. At their direction, an additional SP entered the Speaker’s chamber to restore order, a task that is CONTD. ON P14 No Holi hai in City DIPTI SINGH Mumbai With hardly a few days left for the festival of Holi, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday issued a circular virtually banning the festival. Owing to the quantum rise in the daily caseload, the civic body on Tuesday prohibited the public/celebration of 'Holika Dahan' (burning of Holy pyre) and DhuliVandan / Rang Panchami (festival of colours ). Not only this, the civic body has warned that those found flouting the order will be prosecuted under the relevant sections of the Epidemic Disease Act 1897 and Disaster Management Act of 2005. The festival of Holi will be Violators can be prosecuted A pre-Holi gathering at a temple in UP celebrated on March 28 and 29 this year. " We have banned playing Holi on both days in public and private space to curb the virus transmission in the city We have . appealed to people to avoid playing Holi even in the inner circle of close friends and family members. Those flouting the order will face action," said Iqbal Singh Chahal, BMC commissioner. CONTD. ON P14