Vol. 65 No. 347 | THURSDAY | JUNE 16, 2022 | 19 Pages | Rajnath calls up FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI The BJP is as keen on a consensual presidential candidate as the Opposition. Enthused at the lack of unity in the Opposition camp with three key leaders skipping a meet convened by Mamata Banerjee, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh rang up and reached out to those on the other side of the fence. Rajnath reached out to Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata and Akhilesh Yadav, and requested them to suggest names. When asked about the name the government had in mind, he did not play along. Hence the opposition leaders were also non-commitCONTD. ON NATION PAGE tal. EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper WHEN PAWAR SAYS MAY TRADE DEFICIT TOUCHES ALL-TIME HIGH OF $24.29 BN EDIT A DOSE OF JOSH FOR THE ARMED FORCES ‘NO’ HE MEANS ‘NO’ OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI Maratha leader and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar remained adamant on Wednesday declining to be the Opposi, tion’s Presidential mascot, as requested by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee at a meeting of the opposition parties. This was his official stand at the meeting, urging all not to make him a butt of joke by repeatedly floating his name de- spite his refusal, not once but so many times. Why pester him still, he asked, feeling hurt at comments that his “no” means “yes.” In an earlier meeting with the NCP leaders at his residence, he told them that he does not want to fight “a losing battle” and the most important task before him is to ensure the ruling alliance of Maharashtra led by the Shiv Sena completes its full 5-year term. At the meeting of the 17 parties, he bluntly asked the leaders to look for some other candidate, asserting that “even at For many, it was first day at school after two years CHAITALI DHARAMSHI MUMBAI One could say it was a back-toschool celebration of sorts on Wednesday After two long . years, schoolchildren had a first day at school. The atmos- phere in schools around Mumbai was practically festive, packed with excitement, bustle and untrammelled joy with , parents, teachers, and students ecstatic at being able to return to the pre-Covid scenario. At the same time, schools were PIC: CHAITALI DHARAMSHI concerned about how to set first-timers and newcomers at ease on the first day and sustain a welcoming environment throughout the year. For primary schoolers, their primary concern was where their classrooms were; parents too were somewhat overwhelmed, but at the same time glad that their kids were back in school. “I was relieved that my children are back in school,” said Bhupinder Kaur, a parent with children in the fourth and sixth grades. “They are overjoyed to see their old buddies and meet their teachers,” she added. According to Ashika Ghag, parent of a first-grader, “My child was ecstatic to return to school and meet new classmates and teachers. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Lid off Kalyan suicide case Kids ecstatic on the first day at St. Xavier’s High School, Andheri Class 12 student was sexually abused by 7 of the 8 accused for 18 months; they were threatening to publicise her video on social media ABHITASH SINGH THANE The police investigation into the suicide of an 18-year-old girl who had jumped to her death from the third - floor of her apartment on Sunday has , revealed that she allegedly took the extreme step in the face of continuous threats and torture by eight accused, including a girl, who were arrested on Wednesday Seven men, . who are among the eight people arrested in the case, had been allegedly sexually abusing the deceased for the last 18 months, with the help of their eighth co-accused, a girl, who was a friend of the victim. The accused girl’s brother is one of the seven accused arrested in the case. According to police, the accused had threatened the deceased saying they had shot a video featuring her, which they would post on social media and make it go viral. Kolse- wadi police are further probing the case.  Speaking with this correspondent, Bashir Shaikh, SenPolice Inspector, Kolsewadi ior  police station, said, “The victim had befriended a young man on Instagram and this friendship proved fatal to her. On Sunday June 12, we regis, tered a case of suicide when an 18-year-old girl jumped from the third floor of an apartment in Kalyan east. Two days after the incident, we obtained the mobile of the deceased and a search of the device revealed a suicide note. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE As Pawar backs out, Farooq name to the fore the age of 81, I still have an active political innings to play ." Mamata, who had convened the meeting, proposed Pawar’s name despite him declining the invite during a meeting with her at his residence on Tuesday evening. Sources said she has suggested two other After more than four years, trial is likely to restart in the custodial death case of Khwaja Yunus, an accused in the 2002 Bombay blast case in a BEST bus in suburban Ghatkopar, with the appointment of Pradip Gharat as the special public prosecutor (SPP). The trial in the custodial death case has been at a stand- Pradip Gharat appointed as special public prosecutor; trial has been at a standstill since April 2018 still since April 16, 2018, after the state government removed Dhiraj Mirajkar as SPP He . was appointed SPP in the case on September 7, 2015. Gharat told FPJ that he received the notification by the government appointing him as SPP on Tuesday Gharat has . been an SPP in several high profile cases, the recent one being the case against Independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana and the case of alleged attempt to murder filed against BJP MLA Daughter of judge faces murder rap Kalyani Singh Sippy Sidhu RAJESH MOUDGIL CHANDIGARH Making headway in the over six-year-old high-profile case of the murder of national level shooter Sukhmanpreet Singh aka Sippy Sidhu in Chandigarh, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested the daughter of the acting chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The accused, Kalyani Singh,  who is the daughter of Justice Sabina Singh, the acting chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, was presented before the CBI’s Special Judicial Magistrate who remanded her in four-day CBI custody It . may be recalled that the national-level shooter Sippy Sidhu was shot dead in a Sector 27 park in Chandigarh on September 20, 2015. According to official information, the CBI had found documentary evidence suggesting that Kalyani Singh and Sidhu were intimate and had a romantic relationship that had turned sour. A .12 bore gun was reported to have been used in the crime and four bullets were fired from it, according to the CBI report. Sidhu’s family had been accusing Kalyani, Sippy’s former girlfriend, who was the judge’s daughter, of being involved in the murder and that the motive behind the murder was the refusal of a marriage proposal. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Nitesh Rane. He has also appeared as SPP for the Central Bureau of Investigation in cases against Chhota Rajan. Gharat’s appointment comes following another legal battle by Yunus’ mother, Asiya Begam, who filed a plea in the Bombay High Court seeking continuation of Mirajkar as SPP Begam has challenged the . government notice terminating his service as SPP alleging CONTD. ON NATION PAGE OPERATION FOREST SHEFALI PARAB - PANDIT MUMBAI As part of its project to create urban forests in the city, the BMC’s planning department has invited tenders for afforestation at Marol, along the stretch of Mithi river. The ward housing Marol Industrial Estate is one of the least performing in terms of tree cover, with high mean land surface temperatures. So, the civic body has decided to plant 139 species of trees in an area of 3.2 acres at an estimated cost of Rs. 6.92 crore. Environment and Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray has made a separate provision for funds under the district planning committee, to revitalize suburban Mumbai through tactical urban interventions. Accordingly, an initiative 13,102 Total number Total site area: of species: 139 was taken by the BMC on January 26, 2020, by creating an urban forest in Bhakti Park at Wadala. Fifty-seven thousand trees were planted to create an ‘urban forest’, using the Miyawaki techCONTD. ON NATION PAGE nique. Category Large trees Bamboo Shrubs Bushes & aquatic plants Grasses Ground cover Climbers/ creepers Lawn Species 63 12 12 17 4 19 11 1 sqm Plants 380 120 clumps 7,700 17,000 6,000 10,000 4,850 1,188 sqm President’s post in 2017, which he lost to NDA candidate M Venkaiah Naidu, polling 244 votes, as against his 514. The meeting set June 21 as the deadline for deciding the presidential candidate. It was also decided to persuade Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the Opposition presidential bandwagon. Significantly , all three skipped Wednesday’s meeting. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE 320c. 260c. Sunrise: 06:01 am Sunset : 07:17 pm 5-G ROLL-OUT BY JULY END FROM OUR BUREAU NEW DELHI The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved e-auction of 5-G spectrum, paving the way for private operators to operate 5G networks. Following the decision, the Department of Telecom lost no time in issuing a notice inviting applications for auction of 72 GHz of spectrum, with the goal of rolling out 5G internet services by July end; 5G is expected to be 10 times faster than 4G. The notice of auction is for 20 years and the bidders will be given an option to surren- HC sets aside decree saying “fraud” played upon court KANJURMARG LAND DISPUTE URVI MAHAJANI MUMBAI Urban forest to cool down temps at Marol LAST WORD options -- former Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi (77), the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, and National Conference supremo and former J&K chief minister Farooq Abdullah (84). Gandhi was the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance nominee for the Vice- At the meeting, he bluntly asked the leaders to look for some other candidate, asserting that “even at the age of 81, I still have an active political innings to play.” Why pester him still, he asked, feeling hurt at comments that his “no” means “yes”. Khwaja Yunus trial may restart after four years URVI MAHAJANI MUMBAI I LOVE SEEING PEOPLE DO WELL, AS IT PUSHES ME TO WORK HARDER: ABHIMANYU DASSANI In a relief to the Maharashtra government, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday set aside a 2020 consent decree which granted ownership of a 6,000acre parcel of land in suburban Kanjurmarg – including the 102-acre land designated for a Metro car shed – to a private firm, saying that a huge “fraud was played on the court” while obtaining the earlier order. Justice AK Menon set aside the decree obtained by Adarsh Water Parks and Resorts by suppression of material facts O C ASE RECAP n October 28, 2020, Justice BP Colabawalla decreed a 2006 suit filed by Water Parks and Resorts Pvt Ltd against six private persons. The suit sought specific performance or compliance of an agreement of August 2005, according to which, it claimed, that it was granted development rights of the CONTD. ON NATION PAGE entire Kanjur village. such as that there were other claimants. “Undeniably a , fraud of huge proportion has been played by suppressing the claim of other parties on the land. The decree order is a product of fraud played on the court by the parties. I have no doubt in my mind that the fraud was on the court itself,” he said. The high court has, however, made it clear that it was not making any remarks about who is the legitimate owner of the disputed land. The concerned parties will have to take the ownership dispute to an appropriate court, the HC said. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE der the spectrum after 10 years with no liabilities. The cabinet also said that for the very first time “there is no mandatory requirement to make upfront payment by the successful bidders.” Payment is allowed in 20 equal annual instalments to be paid in advance every year. This is to ease cash flow requirements and lower the cost of doing business. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE BRIEFS HUGE FED HIKE T he Federal Reserve has raised its interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point to stem a disruptive surge in inflation, and projected a slowing economy and rising unemployment in the months to come. The rate hike was the biggest by the Fed since 1994. CHHETRI NUDGES FERENC PUSKAS SAPTAK DATTA / MUMBAI: Indian men’s football team skipper, Sunil Chhetri, continued to climb up the ladder of the international goal scorers and moved to the fifth spot on Tuesday. The talismanic striker scored his 84th goal in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifier against Hong Kong. He now shares the spotlight with iconic Hungarian star Ferenc Puskas on the international level. —SEE GAMES