FREE PRESS - VOL. XXXVIII NO. 358 | INDORE | MONDAY | JUNE 6, 2022 | PAGES 12 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE Stung by Gulf outcry, BJP stings its office-bearers WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN EDIT HEED THE WISE WORDS OF MOHAN BHAGWAT FOR 24X7 UPDATES FP NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI Stung by the anger in a section of Arab world – which translated into hashtags calling for the boycott of Indian products – the BJP on Sunday suspended party spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled her colleague Naveen Kumar Jindal over their comments on Prophet Muhammad, saying that it "strongly denounces insult of any religious personalities". The most prominent personality in the Arab world to voice his condemnation was the Grand Mufti of Oman with Twitter handles owing allegiance to him calling for the boycott of Indian goods. In a stinging social media post from his verified handle, the Grand Mufti of Oman said, “the insolent Qatar, Iran and Kuwait protest and obscene rudeness of the official spokesman for the ruling extremist party in India against the Messenger of Islam and his pure wife Aisha is a war against every Muslim in the east and west of the earth, and it is a matter that calls for all Muslims to rise as one nation.” This was followed by some disturbing reports which claimed superstores in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and other Arab states are removing Indian products in protest against the insulting remarks. In a related both development, Qatar and Kuwait summoned the Indian ambassadors and handed over a protest note against the remarks. CONTD. ON P6 14th French Open title, 22nd Slam trophy News Brief 49 die in B'desh container fire At least 49 people died after a huge fire broke out at a shipping container depot in Bangladesh's Chittagong on Saturday night, officials said on Sunday. SEE WORLD PAGE SRK, Katrina test Covid positive Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif have tested positive for Covid. However, the actress has completed her quarantine period. Brutal torture for cattle theft A 20-year-old has been hospitalised in Badaun in Uttar Pradesh after being brutally tortured by the local police in connection with a case of cattle theft. A FIR has been filed against five policemen, "including the station in-charge", the police have said. PARIS: Rafael Nadal pulled away to beat Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open final on Sunday for his 14th championship at Roland Garros and 22nd Grand Slam title overall, adding to two records he already owned. Nadal's victory came two days after his 36th birthday and made him the oldest title winner in the history of the clay-court tournament. Nowgong sizzles at 470C NEW DELHI ; Parts of Madhya Pradesh and Delhi sizzled under a severe heat wave as mercury touched 47 degrees Celsius on Sunday at Nowgaon, while at least sixteen towns and cities recorded temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius and above. "Heatwave conditions also prevailed over some parts of Vidarbha and over isolated pockets of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, west Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh," an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. DOHA/TEHRAN: Qatar, Iran and Kuwait on Sunday summoned India's Ambassadors and the key Gulf nations expressed their strong protest and condemnation of the controversial remarks of a BJP leader against Prophet Mohammed. Seeking to defuse a diplomatic row, spokespersons of the Indian Embassy in Qatar and Kuwait said that the Ambassadors "conveyed that the tweets do not, in any manner, reflect the views of the Government of India. These are the views of fringe elements." CONTD. ON P6 Tiger hide and claws seized in Mandla, 4 poachers arrested MANDLA Police have arrested four poachers and seized from them a tiger hide, its claws and the teeth of a wild boar in Mandla district, an offi. cial said Sunday Based on a tip-off, police intercepted four men moving on two motorcycles on Saturday near a temple under Bahmani police station limits. The skin of a tiger, its claws and four teeth of a wild boar were seized from their possession, sub-divisional officer of police Akansha Chatruvedi said. Some wires and axe allegedly used for poaching the animals were also seized from their possession, she said. The four persons, identified as Makhanlal Yadav (40), Anand Kushram (30), Manoj Pandram (32) and Itwari Posham (27), were arrested. The official said during initial questioning, the accused told the police they had poached a tiger in Bhalwani forest of the district three-four months back by using the wires, and were searching for a buyer of the animal body parts. ‘Narmada banks were full of greenery during my childhood’ OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Remembering his childhood days, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he had seen lush greenery on the banks of river Narmada. It has now vanished but our efforts can save the environment. It is still not late, said Chouhan. Chouhan was addressing children on World Environment Day at Jal Tarang Interpretation Centre developed under Bhoj Wetland project at Boat Club in Bhopal. CM said that he did not Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan poses for a photograph during his visit to Jal Tarang, on World Environment Day, in Bhopal, on Sunday want to get into the reasons that caused damage but during his childhood he had witnessed small waterfalls merging with river. CONTD. ON P6 SAME FATE AS MOOSEWALA, SALIM WARNED FP NEWS SERVICE Mumbai Veteran Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan on Saturday registered a complaint with the Bandra police, after he allegedly received a letter threatening to kill him as well as his son Salman Khan. According to the Bandra police, the letter had been left on a bench at the Bandstand Promenade, which Khan visits every morning for a walk. “Khan has been sitting on the same bench every day for several years. On Saturday morning, when he went to the bench, his bodyguard noticed the letter on it and brought it to his notice. Khan opened it and saw that it had a single line written on it in Hin- RNI No. 38281/83 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; di, saying that him and Salman would soon meet the same fate as murdered singer Siddhu Moosewala,” said an officer with the Bandra police station. Khan subsequently went to the Ban- dra police station and handed over the letter. The police recorded his statement, after which an FIR was registered in the matter. “We have registered an offence of criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code against unknown persons and are conducting investigations,” deputy commissioner of police Manjunath Singe, Zone IX said. The police suspect that the accused is also a regular visitor to Bandstand and is well versed with Khan's routine. Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera footage of the spot is being scanned for any suspects, while patrolling around the Khan residence has also been stepped up, sources said. FOCUS IS TO KEEP BOWLING IN RIGHT AREAS Pg-12 EPFO Sagar regional commissioner held for Rs 5 lakh graft OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in The EOW has arrested Employee Provident Fund Organisation Sagar regional commissioner for accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe from a bidi manufacturing firm. EOW, director general Ajay Sharma told Free Press the firm owner Anirudh Pimplapure had filed a complaint against Satish Kumar, the EPFO regional commissioner, Sagar, for demanding Rs 10 to lakh to prepare a proper report of . the company "The officer had demanded Pimplapure to handover Rs 5 lakh as a first instalment on June 5, the phone call regarding the same was also recorded," said the DG. A team comprising Sagar and Jabalpur units was formed to catch the 'corrupt' officer. On Sunday when Pimplapure was handing over ash to the commissioner at his home, the EOW sleuths caught the officer accepting the amount redhanded. `3 QUALITY AT VALUE WEATHER 40.60c. 26.00c Sunrise : 05.41 Sunset : 07.10 25 Panna pilgrims die as bus falls into gorge Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the PMNRF for the next of kin PM MODI, Amit Shah, CM Shivraj Singh, Kamal Nath condole deaths OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Twenty-five pilgrims of Panna district, who went on pilgrimage to Chardham, died after the bus carrying pilgrims fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand on . Sunday The accident took place near Damta on Yamunotri National Highway The condition of . three pilgrims is said to be critical. The bus left Haridwar at . 10 am on Sunday The accident took place on Yamunotri National Highway between Damta and Berni- Wreckage of bus after it fell into a deep gorge, in Uttarkashi district, on Sunday PTI gad. The bus was carrying over 28 passengers to Yamunotri, officials said. Seventeen bodies have been recovered so far, and a search is on for the rest, Patwal said. Madhya Meanwhile, Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, along with a delegation, has reached Dehradun late on Sunday night from where he will go to the police control room to review rescue operation. Later he will also visit the Max Hospital to meet the victims. Three people injured in the accident have been admitted to the Community Health Centre in Damta. CONTD. ON P6 Khandwa engineer threatens to bomb US school bus, arrested FP NEWS SERVICE Khandwa Posting a message on an international group on a social media platform to blast a school in America cost one Khandwa-based engineer youth dear as the Khandwa police arrested him on Saturday evening after the NCB Delhi alerted the local police about his post. Khandwa CSP Poonamchand Yadav said that the local police swung into action as soon as they got the information from NCB Delhi Swung into the action. Khandwa police engaged the local cyber cell team and based on preliminary investigation it was re- vealed that Bhanupratap Singh Yadav, a resident of Mahadevi Nagar in Khandwa had posted a message while chatting with his friends abroad on an international group. Police have arrested him and booked him under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, CSP Yadav said. Yadav added that the per- son is an engineer working with a Delhi-based firm. He is currently doing his work from home. He added that the person belongs to a good family and has no criminal background. Police are investigating the reason as to why he posted such a message and will now produce him before the court.