Vol. 65 No. 349 | SATURDAY | JUNE 18, 2022 | 18 Pages | AGNIPATH FIRES FAN OUT EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Indore, Bhopal, Konkan, E-paper FPJ TEAM LUCKNOW/PATNA/JAIPUR Disregarding the government’s bid to douse the Agnipath fires by enhancing the age cap to 23, protestors continued to wreak havoc, burning 12 trains, vandalising stations and even attacking private property – at least in Bihar. The first fatality – of a 19year-old – was reported in Secunderabad in police firing as the violence spread to the southern state. Several states like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh witnessed protests for the second consecutive day . Perforce, Bihar has suspended internet in 12 districts. Anticipating violence, the Haryana government, too, has suspended internet services in Gurugram and Ballabgarh; FOREX CACHE DIPS $4.5 BN FPJ NEWS DESK MUMBAI India’s foreign exchange reserves for the week that ended on June 10, 2022, declined by $4.59 billion to $596.46 billion, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed on Friday The . previous week that ended on June 3, 2022, the total foreign exchange reserves were at $601.05 billion. The latest decline in the reserves was on account of a sizable fall in Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), CONTD. ON NATION PAGE I BRIEFS J&K POLL BY YEAR-END: n the first indication of a timeline for assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir since it was downgraded to a Union Territory, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said there is a possibility of holding the polls “by this year-end". T JAB FOR TODDLERS: he US Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency authorization for the use of Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines in the youngest children, the final age group awaiting immunization in most countries. The agency authorized Moderna’s two-dose vaccine for children aged six months to five years, and three doses of Pfizer’s shots for those between six months and four years old. A two-year-old child was rescued within 12 hours of his being abducted because of the joint efforts of the Panvel Taluka and Taloja police stations. The baby was kidnapped from Panvel railway station and the two police stations acted in a timely manner on receiving information that a woman was roaming from place to place GOVT MUST STOP PLAYING WITH FIRE prohibitory orders under Section 144, restricting gathering of more than four persons, too have been imposed in Gurugram. BJP leaders tasted the wrath of the public: A local leader's car was torched in Aligarh and the residence of deputy chief minister Renu Devi was attacked at Bettiah in West Champaran district. The government's mounting concern is that the agitation may take a turn for the worse if ex-servicemen join the protests. Not just ex-servicemen, serving officers too are voicing concern over the nitty-gritty of the short-term contractual recruitment and its long-term repercussions. RLY STATION OVERRUN: It was Secunderabad’s turn to erupt in protests: The disruption, according to NDTV began at 9 am; around , 2,000 protesters had I AM AN ARDENT ADMIRER OF RADHIKA APTE’S WORK: VIKRANT MASSEY converged at the railway station, apparently mobilised through messages on social media. They overran the station and attacked three passenger trains, burning down bogies, smashing property inside and outside, on the platform. Elderly people were rattled, some left behind suitcases, spectacles, Aadhaar cards, and half-eaten packets of snacks, the channel reported. As the protests escalated, the Telangana police resorted to aerial firing to disperse the angry crowd. MOST UP DISTRICTS HIT: Protests have engulfed most districts in Uttar Pradesh. The traffic on two prominent expressways was blocked and over a dozen trains were cancelled. Trains and buses were torched at a few places while a police officer was hurt in a mob attack. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Eight new AC services on WR, Mon to Fri KAMAL MISHRA MUMBAI As the demand for air-conditioned local travel heats up, Western Railway has decided to increase the number of AC (air-conditioned) local services in its Mumbai Suburban section, with effect from Monday, by introducing eight new services. All the eight services will run as fast local services. With the introduction of these new AC services, the total number of AC services will go up FAST AND COOL to 40, from the existing 32 on the WR.    According to Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR, since the reduction in the prices single-journey tickets for AC locals came into effect from May 5, 2022, there has been a substantial rise in the number of commuters wanting to travel by AC locals. Ten days after the cut in fares, the WR had introduced 12 more AC local services from May 16, 2022. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE UP 6.57am local from Virar reaching Dadar at 8.06am  9.34am local from Virar reaching Churchgate  10.59am  at 6.44pm  local from Malad reaching Churchgate at 7.22pm  8.41 pm local from Vasai Road reaching Churchgate  9.54pm at DOWN 8.18am local from Dadar reaching Virar at  9.24am 11.03am local from Churchgate  reaching Malad at 11.47am 7.05pm local from Churchgate  reaching Vasai Road at 8.22pm 9.57pm local from Churchgate  reaching Virar at 11.22pm Starting Sunday, monsoon for real SHERINE RAJ MUMBAI Moderate to heavy rainfall is on the cards for Mumbai, starting from Sunday, according to the India Meteorological Department. Further, the IMD has also cautioned fishermen that the rains could be accompanied with wind speeds of up to 60kmph over the coast on Monday. Accordingly, fishermen and tourists have been advised against venturing into the sea along and off the coast at this time.  An orange warning of very heavy rainfall has also been issued for Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, from Sunday onwards. According to IMD official K S Hosalikar, “Rainfall is CATCH A RAINDROP likely to increase in the next five days in the state. There is a high chance of strong winds in different parts of the state for the next two with a kidnapped child. The Panvel Taluka police learnt from their interrogation of the woman that the child had been kidnapped from Panvel railway station on June 16. They confirmed with the Panvel railway police station where an FIR of kidnapping was also registered. Ravindra Daundkar, senior police inspector from Panvel Taluka police station, said that his counterpart at the Taloja police station, Ji- tendra Sonawane, had informed him that a woman had gone to Bhangarwadi village with a kidnapped boy; this village comes under the jurisdiction of the Panvel Taluka police. He also provided the mobile number of the woman. Following a technical analysis of the mobile number, the Panvel Taluka police traced the woman to her sister’s home in Bhangarwadi and rescued the CONTD. ON NATION PAGE boy . SUICIDE BID BY LITIGANT INSIDE HC URVI MAHAJANI MUMBAI days.  Konkan and some parts of Central Maharashtra will experience torrential rains for the next three days. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Uddhav convoy security breach STAFF REPORTER MUMBAI A civilian car breached the official convoy of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday evening, leading to concerns over the security arrangements of the highest elected official of the State. The Mumbai Police have initiated an inquiry into the incident. According to police officials, the incident occurred CONTD. ON NATION PAGE A retired serviceman attempted suicide inside the Bombay High Court after a judge passed an order rejecting his plea in a property dispute with his mother. After the order was passed by Justice PD Naik, the 55-year-old man removed a paper cutter from his pocket and tried to slit his wrist inside the courtroom. The judge had asked him to vacate the premises in a property dispute matter between him and his mother under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act. As soon as Justice Naik passed the order, the man whipped the paper cutter from his trouser pocket and attempted to slit his wrist.  A lawyer standing close to him intervened and managed to restrain him. Other lawyers, including public prosecutors, managed to restrain the man till the police personnel present in the courtroom took the man into custody. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE 24th year in row, school for blind girls scores 100% LAST WORD ABHISHEK NAIR PUNE As students across Maharashtra rejoice in the successful outcome of SSC 2022 results, a school in the small town of Alandi Devachi in Pune is celebrating something more special. The National Federation of the Blind, Maharashtra, is an organisation ‘of the blind’, ‘for the blind’, and successfully run ‘by the blind’. The NFBM Jagriti School for Blind Girls in Alandi Devachi, run by the non-profit organisation has recorded a 100 per cent score for the 24th year in a row – all 14 students who appeared for the board exams have passed with flying colours. Mangal Wankhede (Khunte), Principal, Jagriti School, while cherishing the “I expected more than 80 per cent but 79 per cent also seems good,” giggled Akshada Muthe, who topped her class and appreciated Jagriti school’s efforts in teaching students how to use digital devices and audio books. record, said that the organisation stayed true to its goal of helping blind students despite the Covid pandemic. “During the pandemic, we also had to shift to the online mode of learning but we made sure that our students were not left behind, providing them with gadgets and devices that could help them attend the lectures with ease. We gave out phones, tablets, etc, for students to access content. Maths was taught through Braille by the use of special devices,” she said, adding that students were also able to avail audio and video content from their syllabus, and did their best, despite the 310c. 250c. Sunrise: 06:01 am Sunset : 07:18 pm Konkan reigns, with pass percentage of 99.27; Mumbai lags, at 96.94% IAF TAKES THE LEAD: The IAF will be the first service to kick off selection under the new recruitment policy. The process of selecting ‘agniveers’ will begin from June 24. Covid had halted the Army’s recruitment for over two years. Cops rescue 2-year-old abducted from Panvel ticket booking area AMIT SRIVASTAVA PANVEL EDIT PIC: SALMAN ANSARI FOCUS ON INFLATION TARGET COULD HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS: RBI GUV challenges they face day in and day out. While some students who topped the class were happy with their results, others felt they could have done better but they agreed on the level of preparation they put into clearing the board exams. “I expected more than 80 per cent but 79 per cent also seems good,” giggled Akshada Muthe, who topped her class and appreciated Jagriti school’s efforts in teaching students how to use digital devices while also helping them out with other resources such as guides, audiobooks, etc. “I want to take up Arts and give the UPSC exam to be a civil servant in the future,” declared Akshada, an Aurangabad resident, who was extremely happy to return to school in 2022 and appear for the board exam. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Last year’s 99.95% hard to beat; dip in overall scores CHAITALI DHARAMSHI MUMBAI The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSB SHSE) announced the results of the SSC examination on Friday. Sharad Gosavi, chairman, MSBSHE, disclosed the key take-aways from the results earlier in the day. There has been a signifi2022 SSC cant drop in the overall pass percentage of students as compared to that for last year when the state had its highest pass percentage ever. This year’s overall pass rate is 96.94 per cent, down from 99.95 per cent last year. Predictably, the girls outshone the boys, with the pass percentage for first-time girl candidates from all the divisional boards being 97.96, while those for first-time male candidates was 96.06. Around 3.51 lakh students appeared for the exam in Mumbai, with a pass percentage of 96.94, with the Mumbai division ranking sixth among the nine divisions. There were 16,807 students from 243 BMC schools in Mumbai who appeared for the exam, of whom 16,319 passed, making for a pass percentage of 97.10 for civic schools. A total of 83,060 students scored 90 and above, while 1,49,221 students scored between 85 per cent to 90 per cent. Some of the toppers that The Free Press Journal spoke to included Vaishavi Shah from Kantaben Chandulal Gandhi School in Kalyan, who scored 98.40 per cent, while RESULTS Beejasani Patil from St Therese School in Dombivli obtained 97.4 per cent and Rishil Parmar from St Xavier’s High School, Virar scored 96 per cent. A total of 16,38,964 students had registered for the Maharashtra board exams in 2022, comprising 8,89,506 boys and 7,49,458 girls. A total of 15,84,790 students from Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Kolhapur, Amravati, Nashik, Latur, and Konkan appeared for this examination for the first time. Of the 15,68,977 students registered, 15,21,003 passed, resulting in a success rate of 96.94 per cent. There were 54,159 re-examinees from the nine divisional boards in the state. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE Mumbai cops can’t locate Nupur GAUTAM S. MENGLE MUMBAI A team from the Mumbai Police has been camping in Delhi since Thursday to serve summons on the suspended BJP spokesperson, Nupur Sharma, who faces police cases registered against her in five police stations in Maharashtra for her objectionable remarks against the Prophet Mohammed. Amid reports of her being ‘untraceable', the Mumbai po- lice team has not even been able to reach her house so far, due to alleged lack of adequate support from local law enforcement agencies, police sources confirmed. Sharma was booked by the Pydhonie police on charges of hurting religious sentiments after a complaint against her was received from the Raza Academy in Mumbai. The complaint was registered on the basis of certain derogatory comments about Islam that she made on a news channel debate. The police had last week sent her summons via email, asking her to present herself for inquiries by June 25. “ police team reached DelA hi on Thursday to serve a physical copy of the summons as well as to conduct some further investigations in the case,” a senior Mumbai Police officer said. However, as per protocol, any police team, while conducting any action in another state, has to seek assistance from the local police. CONTD. ON NATION PAGE