Vol. 65 No. 329 | THURSDAY | MAY 26, 2022 | 17 Pages | LIFE TERM FOR YASIN MALIK GOVT NOTIFIES CAPPING OF SUGAR EXPORTS AT 10 MN TONNES FOR THIS YEAR EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper EDIT FIRST WICKET DOWN FOR AAP IN PUNJAB FPJ NEWS SERVICE JAMMU INFANT FREED OF STUCK PEANUT A peanut, stuck in the respiratory tract of a 14month-old child from Navi Mumbai for three weeks, was successfully removed by a team of paediatric doctors of Apollo Hospitals after 30 minutes of rigid bronchoscopy. The family members, who were unaware of the presence of the peanut in her lungs, had been visiting various hospitals for the respiratory issue faced by their daughter. The child was in an unconscious state when she was shifted to the hospital. JADHAV FACES FEMA PROBE The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Shiv Sena leader and former BMC standing committee chairman Yashwant Jadhav on the allegation of violating rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), the agency officials said on Wednesday. On February 28, FPJ had reported that ED could launch a probe against Jadhav based on the action initiated by the Income Tax (I-T) department. An ED official stated that the summons were issued to make enquiries with Yashwant Jadhav with regards to the alleged purchase of tenancy rights by Jadhav, of some apartments in the Balakadi chambers after paying the tenants in cash. The ED is making enquiries into the payments made to a foreign based owner of one of the rooms. SENSELESS KILLING OF 19 KIDS IN CLASS In one of the worst school shootings in American history, an 18-year-old gunman in body armour massacred at least 21 people, including 19 children and two adults, at an elementary school in Texas state, with an emotional President Joe Biden urging lawmakers to “turn this pain into action” to control the powerful gun lobby. Among those shot dead by the callous killer, identified as Salvador Ramos, was a 10-year-old girl who was phoning 911 police helpline path of violence had donned the political cloak in 1994; he had even professed to have adopted the Gandhian way of protest and was perceived to be a moderate voice in the separatist camp. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE PAWAR WANTS NATIONAL CASTE BASED CENSUS SANJAY JOG MUMBAI Even as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government is embroiled in a legal battle over the restoration of the OBC quota in civic and local bodies, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has demanded the undertaking of a national castebased census to determine the population of the OBCs, which would help the government while providing concessions to this group. On Wednesday, he claimed that such an exercise was necessary to ensure social equality . Pawar, who was speaking at a convention of the NCP OBC cell in the city, said that  everybody should get their due. “We are not asking for freebies. There is no option but to conduct a castebased census,” he noted. He expressed satisfaction over the NCP OBC cell’s move to pass a resolution demanding caste-based census. The NCP boss’s strong pitch for the caste-based census came when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that his government would soon start work on a caste census and expressed confidence that all parties in the state would back the proposed move. “The question of OBCs was raised again by the Bihar CM yesterday (Tuesday). He is an We are not asking for freebies. There is no option but to conduct a caste-based census – Sharad Pawar ally of the BJP, yet he raised the issue of a caste-wise census. But I don’t think it will happen as long as there is a government at the Centre,” said Pawar. Pawar said RSS leader Bhaiyyaji Joshi had opposed a caste-based census, saying it would send the wrong message to society “What is . wrong if a correct picture emerges? The NCP will create awareness about it,” he said. Pawar explained that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes had benefitted due to reservations granted to them by the Constitution and similar concessions were required for the OBCs. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Tik-Tok artist is shot dead in Kashmir FPJ DESK SRINAGAR A woman, who was described by a news portal as a television actor and by a TV channel as TikTok artist, was shot dead by terrorists in Budgam district in central Kashmir on Wednesday Her 10-year-old . nephew also sustained injuries in the attack. A top police officer was quoted as saying that terrorists fired upon the actor Amreen Bhat and her nephew outside their residence in Hishroo Chadoora. Both of them were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, the officer said. This is the second targeted attack in the last 24 hours. On Tuesday a police, man was shot dead by terrorists outside his home in Srinagar. His seven-year-old daughter, who reportedly rushed to save him, was injured in the attack. In both cases, by an uncanny coincidence, the children were injured. The Police stated that three LeT terrorists were behind the attack.  when he opened fire. The victim’s grandmother said that the youth told the class ‘you’re going to die’ before he began his massacre. The grand-daughter was sitting next to her best friend who was left ‘covered in her blood'. Ramos was eventually stopped by a Border Patrol agent who had been manning a nearby post and rushed into the school. The two exchanged gunfire and Ramos was shot and killed. Investigators say the suspect was armed with a handgun, an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and high-capacity magazines. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Jobless woman pulls ‘gun’ on jeweller, fails CCTV CLIP METRO BRIEFS DEMYSTIFYING A KILLER A SEEMA HAKHU KACHRU HOUSTON hanging if the intelligence agencies prove any terror-related activities involving him. On Wednesday, he told the court that he has been following “Gandhian principles” after giving up arms. (Malik having renounced the DHARMESH THAKKAR MUMBAI The Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) of Mumbai Customs at the Air Cargo Complex has arrested  Bollywood stunt woman  ima for porting restricted goods – three consignments of 78,000 blank cartridges - without possessing a licence for arms and ammunition for theatrical, film or television production. The blank ammunition consignment was deliberately de- Absence of valid ID does not nullify accident claim URVI MAHAJANI MUMBAI Observing that merely not carrying a valid ID card along with a season pass was no valid reason for denying accident claim, the Bombay High Court has directed the Railway Claims Tribunal to pay appropriate compensation to a 55-year-old man who had fallen off a moving local train at Dadar station in 2004 and sustained severe injuries. Justice SK Shinde, while GAUTAM S MENGLE MUMBAI Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey said on Wednesday that all schools in Mumbai would be subjected to a security audit, in the light of the recent alleged sexual assault on a five-year-old girl at a school in Mulund. Police will step in to help those schools that are unable to provide enough security to its pupils, Pandey said.  In the recent incident in which a five-year-old was assaulted, the child was playing on the ground of a privately run school near her residence in Mulund east when a watchman-cum-peon with the school preyed upon her. He is alleged to have taken her to a room inside the school, luring her with the promise of sweets and sexually assaulting her on Monday evening. He was subsequently arrested by the Navghar police on Tuesday and is currently in police custody. Pandey made the declaration while responding to a question posed by The  Free Press Journal during his YouTube live session on Wednesday evening. In a free-wheeling interaction, Pandey answered questions from several people about various aspects of crime, policing and law and order. asking the railway tribunal to grant appropriate compensation, observed: “Although, instructions stipulate, season ticket would be invalid for want of Identity Card, in my view, for more than one reason, non-production of the Identity Card along with the season ticket by a passenger, who had sustained injury due to accidental fall, itself would not render a valid season ticket, invalid.” CONTD. ON NATION PAGECON- Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey has announced the move after the recent incident of sexual assault on a five-year-old at a Mulund school “The Navghar case is very serious and the issue of security in schools is a very important one. I have instructed all additional commissioners and deputy commissioners of police to review the security of children studying in schools in their re- The children killed were aged between seven and 10 The slain children and teachers were barricaded in a single classroom by the gunman Where in God’s name is our backbone, Joe Biden demanded US flag to be flown at half-mast GAUTAM S MENGLE MUMBAI A closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera clip of a jewellery store heist that failed has left social media amused – it shows a woman trying to rob a store ending up being overpowered and caught, instead. However, few know of the tragedy behind the comedy – the woman had lost her job during the pandemic and hence, turned to crime. The short video clip debuted on WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter on Wednesday morning and quickly went viral. The following is the sequence of events that ensued on Tuesday afternoon. The accused woman, wearing a burqa, entered Devnarayan Sunrise: 06:01 am Sunset : 07:10 pm Pillion riders, helmets must from June 9 STAFF REPORTER MUMBAI From June 9, if you are riding pillion on a two-wheeler without wearing a helmet, you will be penalised. The Mumbai traffic police issued a notification on Wednesday, stating that it was going to be compulsory for pillion riders to wear a helmet and a fortnight’s time was being given to Mumbaikars to start complying with this rule. Officials said that wearing a helmet was always mandatory for pillion riders under the Motor Vehicles Act, and this would now be strictly enforced. Those who fail to comply with the rule will be fined Rs 500 and will also have their driving licences suspended for three months. Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey said that this was already followed all over the world, as well as in most cities in India. “If the rider alone wears a helmet, how does it guarantee the safety of the pillion rider? It is like saying that you are safe but you are willing to risk your friend’s life. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Jewellers in Virar, posing as a customer. Even as the owner, Devilal Gujar, 26, was showing her some jewellery, she whipped out a gun from the plastic bag she was carrying and pointed it at Gujar, telling him to sit down on a stool on his side of the counter and place both his hands on his knees. However, Gujar slid over the counter and grabbed the gun with one hand and the woman’s burqa with another and dragged the struggling woman out of the store, where a passer-by noticed the fracas and stopped to help. They immediately called the police control room and the information was relayed to the Arnala police station, which rushed a team to the CONTD. ON P13 spot. Bollywood stunt woman arrested FOR IMPORTING 78,000 BLANK CARTRIDGES WITHOUT LICENCE clared as ‘dummy air pellets’ to circumvent the import policy restriction on blank cartridges. Firoza Khatun of M/s Firoza Movie International Enterprise was arrested, along with Customs clearing agents Shailesh Kathe and Mahendra Ruparel, by the Customs Zone – III officers and produced before the Chief Metropolitan MVA, BJP to slug it out for council seats SANJAY JOG / MUMBAI The Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi and the BJP will be pitted against each other in the election to the 10 seats of Maharashtra Legislative Council announced by the Election Commission on Wednesday The polling is . slated for June 20, which is 10 days after the voting for six seats of Rajya Sabha scheduled on June 10. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Security audit for all Mumbai schools, says top cop LAST WORD 340c. 280c. s the US tries to make sense of the tragedy, stories about Ramos, the gunman, are beginning to emerge from those who knew him best, painting the picture of loner with a propensity for self-harm and violence, who was from an unstable home, including an alleged drug-using mother. Neighbours and classmates say his behaviour slipped into the bizarre and macabre as he entered his later teenage years, with one friend telling Good Morning America: ‘He had scars on his face and someone asked him, ‘Are you ok?' and he just said with a smile ‘I did it myself, I liked how it looked.' He began dressing in dark clothes and military boots and used his BB gun to target random people, one local claimed. According to Ramos’ neighbour, the shooter and his mother would often have screaming matches, with police being called to the home on multiple occasions. On his since removed Instagram account, Ramos is believed to have shared a photo of two AR15-style rifles just three days before the massacre, while the bio on his TikTok page chillingly read: ‘Kids be scared,’ reports Daily Mail. NIA ASKED FOR DEATH IN TERROR FUNDING CASE Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief and Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik was on Wednesday sentenced to life imprisonment by a Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi in a terror funding case. The NIA had argued for the death sentence. The court has, however, awarded him two life sentences and five punishments of 10 years of rigorous imprisonment each. All sentences are to run concurrently. The court also imposed a fine of at least Rs 11 lakh on him. The sentence was handed down for various offences under the stringent UAPA and the IPC, including waging war against Government of India; criminal conspiracy; unlawful activities; perpetrating a terrorist act and raising funds for it; membership of a terror outfit, etc. Malik had voluntarily and after due legal consultation pleaded guilty to the charges framed against him. “His plea is accordingly accepted," the court had said in its conviction order. In the arguments before the sentencing, Malik told the court that he will accept SHALINI PANDEY SPILLS THE BEANS ON PLAYING A PREGNANT WOMAN IN HER HINDI DEBUT FILM spective jurisdictions. Wherever we find that the school is unable to provide enough security to the children, we will add to it with our own resources,” Pandey said. The Navghar case has raised concerns because the accused, a 51- year-old man, was the oldest employee of the school and doubled as a peon and watchman. Additionally, the playground of the school has no gate or a compound wall and scores of children come there to play every evening. The accused was the only school employee present there. The Navghar police’s chief concern is that the accused may have similarly  targetted  other children in the past, either among the school’s students or among the children coming to play at the ground and this is being verified. To this end, police are interrogating the accused and are also considering making inquiries CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Magistrate, Esplanade Court. The trio was remanded in 15 days’ judicial custody, until June 7, by the court. The three consignments of 78,000 blank cartridges were imported in the pandemic lockdown - September to November 2021 – when there was laxity in the checking of imported goods at Customs cargo, with most officers having been detected Covid-positive. The goods were declared as ‘Blank Cartridge 9mm Kaiser’ (dummy air pellets) to subvert CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Sibal quits Cong, to be SP’s voice in RS OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Former Union Minister and senior advocate Kapil Sibal (73), who was part of the Congress-led governments from 2004 to 2014 but became a loner in the dissident group of G-23 which he had mobilised, has finally walked out of the Congress and accepted Rajya Sabha nomination from the Samajwadi Party. Sibal had struck a discordant note after he wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking an organisational revamp and called for a proactive leadership. In fact, at a recent press conference, he had said the G-23 is “not a Jee Huzur 23" as it would continue to reiterate the demand for the Congress recast. Most of the G-23 leaders, however, distanced themselves from Sibal after Azad scaled down his tone against the Gandhis. Whereas the others, who were part of the G-23, were accommodated by Sonia Gandhi, Sibal was kept at bay and had no option but to leave. Two members of the G-23 - former Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Rajya Sabha Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma -- were only on Tuesday accommodated in the political affairs group. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE