FREE PRESS - VOL. 12 NO. 16 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | JUNE 30, 2022 | PAGES 14 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; UDDHAV QUITS WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN EDIT BARBARIANS ON THE LOOSE News Brief Swara receives death threat Actor Swara Bhasker has received a death threat in a letter following which Mumbai police have launched an investigation, an official said on Wednesday. After receiving the letter, Swara Bhasker approached Versova police station two days back and lodged a complaint against unidentified persons, an official said. All-time low for rupee The rupee depreciated 18 paise to close at a record low of 79.03 against the US dollar on Wednesday, weighed down by persistent foreign capital outflows, a strong dollar overseas and surge in crude oil prices. It has lost 1.97 per cent so far this month and has eroded a staggering 6.39 per cent since the start of this year. See Money Rs 15L ex-gratia for ONGC victims Both the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) have announced an ex-gratia of Rs 15 lakh each for the families of the four persons who lost their lives in the chopper crash on Tuesday. One senior ONGC officer has been associated with each of the survivors to accompany them to their hometowns. 2 LeT militants gunned down Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said. Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation at Nawapora in Mir Bazaar area of Kulgam following information about the presence of militants there, a police official said. AG given three months' extension Senior advocate KK Venugopal has agreed to continue as the Attorney General (AG) for three more months following a request from the Central government, sources said on Wednesday. Venugopal's tenure was to end on June 30. The AG has agreed to continue for three more months, said sources. Countdown for PSLV begins The 25-hour countdown for the Thursday evening launch of Indian Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, carrying three Singapore satellites, began on Wednesday evening, the Indian space agency said. The mission is codenamed PSLV-C53/DSEO by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Two LeT militants killed in Kulgam Two Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants were killed in an encounter with security forces in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday, police said, adding the operation site was "very close" to Amarnath Yatra route. The official said the search operation turned into an encounter. 33.20c. 25.40c BETRAYED BY MY OWN: THACKERAY Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday evening said he was betrayed by his own people. An official said that Thackeray told his cabinet colleagues that he had been betrayed by his own people. "I also apologize if I have hurt anyone unintentionally," the official quoting Thackeray as saying. "Uddhav Thackeray will not stop nor he be defeated, " the Congress leader Sunil Kedar said. AURANGABAD IS NOW SAMBHAJI NAGAR: CAB DECISION Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday approved name change for two districts including Aurangabad and Osmanabad. The western district Aurangabad's name has now been changed to Sambhaji Nagar while Osmanabad to Dharashiv. The Navi Mumbai airport's name will also be changed to DB Patil international airport. SC ALLOWS MALIK & DESHMUKH TO VOTE Eknath Shinde, who is leading a group of party MLAs in Guwahati, has said they are "not rebels but Shiv Sena" and are carrying forward the agenda and ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray. "We are not rebels. We are Shiv Sena. We are carrying forward the agenda and ideology of Balasaheb Thackeray's Shiv Sena. We will work for the Hindutva ideology and development of the state," Shinde told reporters at Guwahati airport. 5-year-old boy falls into borewell, rescued safely after eight hours’ hard work FP NEWS SERVICE Bhopal/Chhatarpur a tunnel, Rajora said. Heavy rains hampered the rescue operation but rescuers had Dangers posed by open covered the borewell's borewells came to fore opening to prevent the in again once entry of rainwater, an district Chhatarpur official said. where a five-year-old The district adminisboy slipped and fell tration had also lowinto a 40-feet deep open ered a camera and oxyborewell in his fields in gen pipe in the shaft Narayanpura area on and the child's moveWednesday . ments were seen in the After eight hours footage, Chattarpur hard work, the boy was collector Sandeep JR on safely rescued said. officials Wednesday, An Army team comsaid. prising two officers, Dipendra Yadav, son Rescued boy with family on Wednesday two junior commisof Akhilesh Yadav, a sioned officers and 23 his father's farm at farmer, was brought out of jawans, besides National Narayanpura Patharpur the borewell around 10 pm Disaster Response Force village, located near the and rushed to a hospital (NDRF) and State Disaster headquarters, district for a medical check-up, the Response Emergency around 2 pm. state's additional chief Force (SDERF) teams After digging a parallel secretary (ACS) home Dr helped in the rescue operpit up to a depth of 28 feet, Rajesh Rajora said. ation, Rajora said. the rescuers got access to The boy slipped and fell the borewell shaft through into an open borewell in CONTD. ON P6 Election for Vice-Prez on Aug 6 NEW DELHI The Election Commission on Wednesday announced the schedule of the VicePresidential election with the polling to take place on August 6. The term of Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu will end on August 10. The notification will be issued on July 5 and the last date for filing nominations is July 19. The scrutiny of 115 nominations filed for prez poll SC asked CBI, ED to bring jailed NCP MLAs Malik and Deshmukh to Maharashtra Assembly for floor test and take them back after proceeding gets over. WE ARE NOT REBELS, WE ARE SHIV SENA: SHINDE Sunrise : 05.45 Sunset : 07.16 ACING THE ACTION Pg-14 AFTER SETBACK IN SUPREME COURT Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said he is quitting the post. "I am also quitting as member of Legislative Council," Thackeray said in a webcast. His announcement came minutes after the Supreme Court refused to stay Maharashtra Governor's direction to the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government to take a floor test in the Assembly . on Thursday The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its go ahead for the floor test in Maharashtra Assembly tomorrow as it refused to stay the state Governor's decision which was challenged by Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu. "We are not staying tomorrow's floor test," the Supreme Court bench said. "We have drafted this short order. We are not staying the floor test as convened by the Governor. We are issuing notice in the writ petition. You can file a counter in five days. CONTD. ON P6 WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE FOR 24X7 UPDATES OUR BUREAU/AGENCIES Mumbai/New Delhi `3 QUALITY AT VALUE RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 Prohibitory orders ahead of floor test Mumbai Police have stepped up security near Vidhan Bhavan ahead of the floor test slated for Thursday and along the route that rebel MLAs are likely to take from the airport, an official said. Police have imposed section 144 of the CrPC banning the assembly of five or more persons and will not allow anybody to gather near the Vidhan Bhavan. MEA slams UN remarks against Setalvad's arrest NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday dismissed as "completely unwarranted" the remarks by the UN Human Rights office over the arrest of social activist Teesta Setalvad and said these comments "constitute an interference" in the country's independent judicial system. The UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has voiced concern over the arrest and detention of social activist Setalvad and called for her immediate release. "#India: We are very concerned by the arrest and de#WHRD of tention @TeestaSetalvad and two ex-police officers and call for their immediate release. They must not be persecuted for their activism and solidarity with the victims of the 2002 #GujaratRiots," the UN Human Rights office said in a tweet on Tues. day CONTD. ON P6 As many as 115 nominations were filed till Wednesday, the last day of the filing papers for the July 18 presidential election, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said. The scrutiny of the nominations would be done on Thursday. Those who filed their papers include NDA nominee Droupadi Murmu and joint Opposition candidate Yashwant Sinha, who are the main contestants. nominations will take place on July 20, the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures is July 22 and voting, , if necessary will take place on August 6. The schedule of the election was finalised in a meeting of the poll panel held today which was chaired by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar. CONTD. ON P6 Paneer, meat, papad, cheque book set to cost more CHANDIGARH Come July 18, 18 per cent and Goods Services Tax (GST) will be applicable on bank cheque book/loose leaf cheques Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at and 12 per GST council meeting in Chandigarh cent on maps, 12 per cent. atlas, and globes. The GST for transport of Similarly, unbranded but good and passengers by pre-packed curd, lassi, butropeway is down to five per ter milk, food items, grains cent from 18 per cent and etc will be brought under the renting of truck/goods the GST net from the excarriage where cost of fuel emption list. is included brought down Writing, printing, or by six per cent to 12 per drawing ink will also becent. come costlier. The other items for The rate rationalisation which GST rates has been decision was taken at the increased are printing, two-day 47th GST Council writing or drawing ink (12 Meeting, chaired by Union per cent to 18 per cent), Finance Minister Nirmala cutting with knives Sitharaman, that started in blades, paper knives, pen. Chandigarh on Tuesday cil sharpeners and blades On the other hand, the therefor, spoons, forks, laGST rates on medical items dles, skimmers, cakeorand ostomy like servers etc (12 per cent to thopaedic appliances 18 per cent), power driven splints and other fracture pumps primarily designed appliances, artificial parts for handling water such as of the body, other applicentrifugal pumps, deep ances which are worn or tube-well turbine pumps, carried, or implanted in submersible pumps; bicythe body to compensate for , cle pumps (12 per cent to a defect or disability, and 18 per cent). intraocular lens- has come down to five per cent from CONTD. ON P6 NIA TAKES OVER PROBE, KILLERS BOOKED UNDER UAPA Udaipur tailor's killer has Pak links, visited Karachi JAIPUR: One of the two prime accused in the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur has links with the Pakistan-based organisation Dawat-e-Islami and had visited Karachi in 2014, the Rajasthan Police chief said on Wednesday . The police have detained three more people in connection with the killing so far, Director General of Police (DGP) M L Lather said at a press conference here. Two men, identified as Riaz Akhtari and Ghouse allegedly Mohammad, hacked Kanhaiya Lal to death with a cleaver at his shop in Udaipur on Tuesday and posted videos online saying they are avenging an insult to Islam. CONTD. ON P6 ‘KILLING UN-ISLAMIC’ Family members mourn during funeral procession Prominent Muslim organisations on Wednesday condemned the brutal killing of a tailor in Udaipur, calling it "un-Islamic" and asserting that no person has the right to take law into one's hands. Bodies like All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind issued statements condemning the murder of Kanhaiya Lal by two men who had posted videos online that claimed they were avenging an insult to Islam. NAVEEN JINDAL CLAIMS DEATH THREATS Former Delhi BJP media head Naveen Kumar Jindal, who was expelled from the party over his tweet on Prophet Mohammad, on Wednesday demanded security for himself and his family after he allegedly received death threats via e-mails, which also had videos of the Udaipur "beheading" incident. Around 6.45 am, I received three e-mails with videos of tailor Kanhaiya Lal's murder in Udaipur and a threat of similar treatment to me and my family, Jindal said. Woman ends life with Conspiracy to import opioids from If Putin were woman, three minor daughters India busted with convictions in US there would be no Ukraine war: BoJo TIKAMGARH NEW YORK A 25-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide by jumping into a well along with her three minor daughters in Tikamgarh district of Madhya Pradesh , on Wednesday police said. The incident occurred at Muhara village, some 45 km from the district headquarters, under Jatara police station limits in the early hours of the day, an official said. According to the family members, the woman, Ramdevi Kushwaha, went missing with her three nine aged daughters, months to five years, on Tuesday evening, Jatara police station in-charge An international conspiracy to import opioids and other drugs from India and distribute them across the US has been busted with the conviction of the participants. Federal Prosecutor Breon Peace, who announced the conviction of Ezhil Sezhian Kamaldoss on Tuesday, said: "He lined his pockets off the black-market sales of millions of illegal opioids and misbranded prescription pills without regard for the harm caused by the abuse of these highly addictive and dangerous drugs." Kamaldoss, 43, was also convicted of money laun- Trivendra Trivedi said. Following a search, the bodies of the woman and children were found in a well at a nearby field on Wednesday morning, he said. It is suspected that the woman jumped into the well along with her daughters. The initial probe has revealed that she took the extreme step due to a family dispute, the official said. A case has been registered in this regard and the police are probing all angles, he added. dering during the four-day trial in a federal court here and faces up to 50 years in prison. Earlier this month another participant in the Velaudapillai scheme, Navaratnarajah, had admitted being guilty of conspiracy charges in the federal court, which amounts to a conviction, and is awaiting sentencing, according to prosecutors. The participants in the conspiracy imported millions of Tramadol pills, as well as Alprazolam from India and repackaged them in a New York warehouse described as a "pill mill" and shipped them to customers throughout the US, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors introduced as evidence an audio recording made by an informant in which Navaratnarajah discussed the number and type of pills to package into envelopes. Prosecutors said that a "cooperating witness" - the equivalent of an approver admitted to bribing workers at John F. Kennedy International Airport to evade detection of the drugs. CONTD. ON P6 UK unveils 75 scholarships to mark India’s Independence anniv NEARLY 108,000 STUDY VISAS were issued to Indian nationals in the year ending March 2022 LONDON The UK government on Wednesday announced a partnership with leading businesses in India to offer 75 fully funded scholarships for Indian students to study in the UK from September, in celebration of the 75th anniversary of India's independence. The programmes on offer include Chevening scholarships for a one-year Master's programme, with the opportunity to study any . subject at a UK university Additionally, the British Council in India is offer- ing around 18 scholarships for women in science, technology, engi- neering and mathematics (STEM) - covering over 12,000 courses across more than 150 UK universities. Along with these, the British Council is also offering six English scholarships. The UK government said it marks the highest number of fully funded scholarships given for the one-year Master's programme to date. "In India's 75th year, this is a great milestone together," Alex Ellis, the British High Commissioner to India, told the India Global Forum's UK-India Week in London. CONTD. ON P6 BERLIN President Russian Vladimir Putin would not have started the war in Ukraine if he was a woman, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday days after G7 members mocked the bare-chested pictures of the Russian leader. “If Putin were a woman, I just don’t think he would have launched such a macho war. If you want a very good example of toxic masculinity, we have that in his person,” German told Johnson broadcaster ZDF on Tuesday evening as he again scoffed off at the Russian President. During his interview, the British PM also emphasized that everyone wants the Russia-Ukraine war to end. “But there is no possible deal. Putin makes no offer for a peace deal. Zelenskyy cannot offer a deal.” , Earlier on Sunday the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) had mocked Putin over his shirtless, barechested horse-riding pic- ture. Boris Johnson and his counterpart Canadian Justin Trudeau could be heard on a video joking about their impending photo shoot. “Jackets on? Jackets off ? Shall we take our clothes off ” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asked sitting leaders other around a table. “We all have to show that we're Putin.” than tougher “We're going to get the horseback bare-chested riding display,” Trudeau quipped, referencing a widely shared photo of Putin. “There you go! There you go! We've got to show them our pecs!” Johnson responded. CONTD. ON P6