FREE PRESS - VOL. 12 NO. 66 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | AUGUST 19, 2022 | PAGES 14 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `3 QUALITY AT VALUE RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 WEATHER 24.10c. 21.80c CREWLESS SPEED-BOAT WITH MP AZAB HAI, GAZAB HAI AK-47S DRIFTS TO MAHA SHORE WWW.FREEPRESSJOURNAL.IN EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE FOR 24X7 UPDATES EDIT THE MORE BJP CHANGES, MORE IT REMAINS THE SAME Sunrise : 06.05 Sunset : 06.57 TWISTS AND TURNS UNVEILED Pg-14 COVID HIT MP IN 2020 but it came as ‘reason’ for poor inspection of dams in period 2016-2019 RANJAN city.bhopal@fpj.co.in COAST GUARD, ATS, NIA pressed into action SOMENDRA SHARMA AND AMIT SRIVASTAVA Mumbai, Thane A high alert was sounded after a 16-metre accidentstricken yacht carrying a box with three AK-47 rifles, ammunition and some documents was found at Harihareshwar beach in Raigad on Thursday morning. probe Intensified through the day revealed that the yacht, named Lady Han, was presumed to be sunk near Oman, on its way from Muscat to Europe on June 26, after it encountered bad weather at sea. The owner couple, Australians Hannah Londergan and James Hobert, was rescued by a Korean navy ship, which had responded to the SOS. After it drifted ashore in THE SCARE 16-mt Boat was found near Harihareshwar Beach in Raigad, 190 km from Mumbai. Three AK-47 rifles, bullets and documents found on it. Probe reveals boat is called Lady Han, owned by Australian couple, Hana Laundergun and James Harbert. The boat ran into rough waters on June 26 near Oman, on way to Europe NO TERROR ANGLE, SAYS FADNAVIS A suspicious boat with three AK-47 rifles and bullets (inset) found off the Raigad coast in Maharashtra on Thursday via Muscat. While the crew was rescued, the boat was presumed to have sunk. After it was found, security was tightened at the coast and the area put on high alert. team is investigating all aspects. The he government not ruling on high alert ahead Tpolice have beenisasked to beout anything and the of Dahi Handi and Ganapati festivals. DEVENDRA FADNAVIS whose sticker was found on the rifle box on the yacht. In the state assembly, which is sitting for the monsoon session, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a probe, even as Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that there is no terror angle. CONTD. ON P6 SANJAY JOG Mumbai Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has announced a probe into the Raigad yacht incident. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home department, told the state assembly on Thursday that there is no terror angle to the chain of events, even though it is unclear why the boat was carrying arms. Fadnavis said, “The government is not ruling out anything and the team is investigating all aspects. The police have been asked to be on high alert ahead of Dahi Handi and Ganapati festivals.” He added that the Raigad police and the AntiTerrorism Squad are conducting a probe and, if needed, additional security forces will be deployed. CONTD. ON P6 Much ahead of Karam dam breach Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India pointed out poor inspection of dams in the , state and, interestingly the Water Resources Department (WRD) officials underlined shortage of hands and Covid-19 for the poor show during a period when Coronavirus didn’t exist at all, at least in India, as per the report. The report assumes significance in light of the Karam dam breach in Dhar, which had put the entire state government at the tenterhooks for more than 48 hours. As many as 18 villages had to be evacuated while shifting more than 14,000 villagers and their cattle to safer places. The CAG in its report for the period from 2015-16 to 2018-19, which was tabled in the state legislative assembly in 2021, noted that as per the state government’s instructions, 20% of large dams should have been inspected by the State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO) every year so as to cover all the dams in a cy- Kalam Dam in Dhar cle of five years. However, the SDSO had inspected only 591 dams against the required 724 dams. As per the CAG report, government state the replied in September 2020 that due to shortage of staff in SDSO and other reasons like election duty, work load/Covid-19, the officers could not visit the dam sites and that SDSO will conduct the inspection of dams next year. The CAG said, “The reply of the government is not acceptable as priority should have been given to inspection, as it is directly related to safety of dams. Further, Covid-19 could not Raigad on Thursday morning, the state police machinery began looking for a terror angle, especially as Maharashtra has witnessed sea-route entries of terrorists in 1993 and 2008. Road blocks were imposed at several points across Thane and Mumbai on Thursday, with the police checking for any clues of security threat. The Indian Coast Guard (ICG), Maharashtra AntiTerrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) were pressed into action. Officials also set out to probe the antecedents of Nep, tune Maritime Security Farmers begin 3-day protest in Lakhimpur, want MoS Mishra sacked RTO officials’ earning 650% more China's Indian Ocean base operational, warship docked than valid source of income AGENCIES Lakhimpur Kheri News Brief HC for FIR against BJP leader in rape case The Delhi High Court has ordered that an FIR be registered forthwith against BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain on a woman's complaint in 2018 alleging rape. While noting that there was a complete reluctance on the part of the police to even register an FIR, Justice Asha Menon said there was no perversity in the 2018 trial order directing the registration of the FIR and vacated the interim orders of the court staying its operation. Raju Srivastava stable, says wife Raju Srivastava is a "fighter and will come back to be amongst all of us," the popular actorcomedian's wife Shikha Srivastava said on Thursday. The 58-year-old comedian was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences here after he suffered a heart attack on August 10. He underwent an angioplasty the same day and has been on a ventilator since then. Army jawan shot dead in Patna An army jawan was shot dead by two bike-borne men during an attempt to rob him on Thursday near Chiraiyatand Bridge under Kankarbagh Police Station limits in Patna. The jawan was identified as Bablu Kumar who was shot dead around 3 a.m. while he was en route to board a train. Far mers from Punjab, Uttar and Haryana Pradesh on Thursday began a three-day protest, demanding the sacking of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra over the violence here last year for which his son is in the dock. The protesters, who included farmers from Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu as well, also demanded a law on minimum support price (MSP) for their crops and withdrawal of the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022. Bhartiya Kisan UnionTikait and other constituents of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) gave the call for the 75-hourlong sit-in from August 18 to 20 to seek "justice" in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case. PG-6 OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Economic offences wing (EOW), Jabalpur has conducted raid at the house of regional transport officer (RTO) Santosh Pal and his wife Rekha Pal who works as a clerk and both posted in Jabalpur office for acquiring disproportionate assets apart from their known source of income, the officials said on Thurs. day The raid was launched in the intervening night of . Wednesday and Thursday The EOW sleuths found their earnings are 650 per cent more than their valid source of income. EOW, SP Devendra Singh Rajput told Free Press that the agency had got a complaint against the RTO and his wife, that they own KARNATAKA HIGH COURT SAYS... Family planning is not a cruelty BENGALURU In a major development, Karnataka High Court has observed that a husband asking his wife to pursue higher education and talking to his wife on when to have baby can not be con. sidered as cruelty The bench headed by Justice H.B. Prabhakara Shastri on Wednesday also quashed charges alleging harassment by husband and mother-in-law levelled by his wife. The bench considered the petition of the accused husband and his mother seeking relief from the punishment given by the lower court. The bench said that the couple are educated and have spoken to each other before marriage about their future. Therefore, a husband asking his wife to pursue her education and join the job can't be consid. ered as cruelty The husband had spoken to wife about not having a baby for 3 years. But, the wife had alleged that her husband's family tortured her for the matter of hav. ing the baby The court observed that, in the larger , interest of family husband talking to his wife on when to have baby can't be considered as cruelty or torture. PROPERTIES THAT CAME TO LIGHT DURING RAID One house constructed in 1247 square feet area in PP Colony Gwarighat. One house constructed in 1150 square feet in Shankar Nagar ward. Two houses constructed in 10,000 square feet area in Shatabdipuram colony. One house constructed in 570 square feet area in Gada Fatak area. One farmhouse of 1.4 acre in Deepkhera of Chargaon road One car and one SUV, two superbikes Gold and silver jewellery assessment is yet to be done. more property than their actual income. The inspector posted in EOW conducted primary investigation and a case of corruption was registered against the two. The teams of sleuths of Sagar and Jabalpur started their action at around 10.30 pm on Wednesday night and ended the raid on Thursday evening. CONTD. ON P6 Seers oppose Lata Mangeshkar Chowk in Ayodhya In an unexpected development, seers in Ayodhya have begun opposing the construction of the Lata Mangeshkar Smriti Chowk that is being built in memory of the legendary singer. At a meeting held at the Maniram Das Chhavni in the presence of Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, the saints opposed the decision to commemorate the memory of the late singer in Ayodhya. They demanded that the upcoming chowk should be named after Acharya Ramanandacharya of the Ramanand sect. CONTD. ON P6 SEVEN BANKS HIKE interest rates in the range of 15-50 basis points to boost liquidity Taking cue from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) latest revision in the benchmark lending rates, most commercial banks are increasing their interest rates on fixed deposits in view of the festive season credit off-take. Sources said this will help banks fund the demand for loans expected in the next couple of months. At least seven banks, including SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Indian Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank, have announced the revised deposit rates in the range of 15 to 50 basis points. In the August monetary policy meeting, the RBI had raised the prime lending rate by 50 basis points, which prompted the banks to revise their lending rates last week. However, the liquidity in the banking system has narrowed down in the last few quarters owing to low interest rates on deposits. Bank credit growth has Satellite images sourced by NDTV indicate that China's naval base in Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, is now fully operational and supports Chinese warships deployed in the Indian Ocean region. China's base in Djibouti is its first overseas military base, built at a cost of $590 million and has been under construction since 2016. It is located by the strategic Bab-El-Mandeb Strait which separates the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea and guards the approach to the Suez Canal, one of the most critical channels of international commerce. China's Djibouti base "is built in a fortified way, with layers of defences which appear almost medieval, like a modern day colonial fort. It is clearly designed to withstand direct assault,'' says Naval Analyst HI Sutton of Covert Shores. Significantly, the images from imagery provider Maxar show a Chinese Yuzhao-class landing ship (Type 071) docked along a berthing 320-metre-long area located near an apron that supports helicopter operations. "The base appears fully operational though there is more construction work likely to take place," says Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha (retired). "They can positively dock ships on both sides of the breakwater. CONTD. ON P6 FOREIGN STUDENTS HAVE FUN AT FREE PRESS remained in double digits, handily outpacing the deposit growth. Whereas credit growth continues to be driven by a low base effect, small ticket size loans, higher working capital requirements due to elevated inflation, and a shift to bank borrowings on account of high yields in the capital market. SEE MONEY PAGE Students from over 12 countries visited Free Press and marvelled at the re-print of Aug 15, 1947 edition. The students are in Indore on an exchange programme Body of navy captain fished out of Narmada backwaters OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Body of a navy captain who went missing while heading towards Pachmarhi after meeting his wife in Jabalpur on Monday evening was fished out from Narmada backwaters on Thursday, Narmadapuram police said. The officer had come to attend the training at Pachmarhi. Sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Madan Mohan Samar, told Free Press that the police have fished out a dead body which is identified as Nirmal Shivrajan, a navy captain. He went missing on the night of Monday (August 15). “The army official sources informed the police that the officer had gone to meet his wife who is also an army lieutenant in Jabalpur. He had taken three days leave and after completing his vacations he was supposed to join duty on August 16. He was returning by car to Pachmarhi”, the SDOP added. CONTD. ON P6 8 YouTube channels blocked for 'fake, sensational' and 'anti-India' content NEW DELHI AYODHYA Finally, more interest on bank deposits FP BUSINESS BUREAU Mumbai NEW DELHI EOW RAID unearths farmhouse & property over Rs 10 cr have affected dam inspections during the period 2016-19.” If the situation regarding inspection of large dams was bad it was worse in inspection of overall all the dams across the state. There were 4,523 dams including 906 large and 3617 small dams in the state as of December 2019. The report stated there was an average shortfall of as much as 79.61% in premonsoon inspection of the dams from 2016-17 to 201819. Year wise, out of 4523 dams only 381 were inspected, thus suggesting a shortfall of 91.57% in 201617. CONTD. ON P6 The government on Thursday ordered the blocking of eight YouTube channels, including one operating from Pakistan, for allegedly using "fake and sensational thumbnails" and spreading disinformation related to . India's national security The channels that were blocked under the Information Technology Rules-2021 include seven Indian news channels, a statement from the Information and Broadcasting ministry said. The blocked YouTube channels had over 114 crore views and 85.73 lakh subscribers and the content was being monetised, it said. The blocked channels are , , Loktantra TV U&V TV A M Razvi, Gouravshali Pawan Mithilanchal, SeeTop5TH, Sarkari Update, Sab Kuch Dekho and Pakistan-based News ki Duniya. YouTube Indian The channels were observed to be "using fake and sensational thumbnails", images of news anchors and logos of certain TV news channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic, the statement said. They also made false claims such as the demolition of religious structures by the government, ban on the celebration of religious festivals, and declaration of religious war in India, it added. CONTD. ON P6 MoU signed & exchanged on NRI meet at Indore CM REVIEWS preparations OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said here on Thursday that all preparations for 'Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas' convention to be held in Indore should be completed on time. "Organise the convention in a . better way This is a good opportunity to brand the achievements of MP. Indore should be kept fully decorated. Indore is number-1 in cleanliness. Put its image in front of the guests", instructed the CM while speaking to authorities concerned. CM was reviewing the preparations for the convention at mantralaya. Secretary to Government of India (GoI) Dr Ausaf Sayeed and additional secretary (GoI) Manika Jain, chief secretary, Madhya Pradesh Iqbal Singh Bains, additional chief secretary Health Mohammad Suleman, principal secretary Culture and Tourism Sheo Shekhar Shukla and other senior officers were present in the meeting. CONTD. ON P6