Vol. 67 No. 32 | SATURDAY | NOVEMBER 4, 2023 | 28 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper REVIEWS OF THIS WEEK Check out how OTT and theatrical releases fare EDIT FOREX RESERVES RISE TO 1-MONTH HIGH OF $586 BN BREATHE NOT, SAYS DELHI AIR TRIPS BAGHEL FOUR DAYS BEFORE POLLS Days before Chhattisgarh poll, ED stumbles on booty in cash meant for one BAGHEL ASHISH SINGH / FPJ/MUMBAI Politics, the adage goes, is all about timing. In a well-timed disclosure, barely four days before the state elections in Chhattisgarh, the Enforcement Directorate has stumbled upon a booty in crores, which was allegedly meant to be delivered to one 'Baghel' for election expenses. The initial seizure – of Rs 3.12 crore – was made after the investigative agency got a THE FP BULLETIN NO TARIKH PE TARIKH COURT C JI D Y Chandrachud on Friday urged lawyers not to seek adjournments in fresh matters, saying he does not want the Supreme Court to become a 'tarikh-pe-tarikh' court. At the outset of the day's proceedings, the CJI flagged the issue of lawyers seeking adjournments in fresh matters and said in the last two months adjournment slips were moved in 3,688 matters by advocates. "Unless it is very, very necessary, please don't file the adjournment slips...I don't want this court to be a 'tarikh-petarikh' court," said the CJI. tip-off that a large amount of cash was being ferried on behalf of the promoters of the Mahadev App through a courier and was intended to fill the coffers of the Congress during the elections scheduled on November 7 and 17. The ED arrested Asim Das, the courier, after raiding his room at Hotel Triton and impounding his Toyota Innova car. But the seizure was ṯhe tip of the proverbial iceberg with Das revealing to ED that a bigger cash consignment was lying at his residence at the Housing Board Industrial Area in Bhilai. The ED team swooped down on the dilapidated premises on Thursday night; in the nondescript quarters they found a treasure trove -crores of rupees hidden in the ‘diwan’ and in the washroom's commode. A counting machine was requisitioned from the State Bank of India branch but it still took a marathon six hours to count the money . The booty recovered thus far was a staggering Rs 5.39 crore. According to ED, Asim Das, alias Bappa, a one-time driver of a Congress councillor in Bhillai, had been under investigation for some time. On November 2, exactly five days before the elections, intelligence input was received that Das had been dispatched by Saurabh Chandrashekhar and Ravi Uppal, CONTD. ON NATION Air of disquiet among builders As new pollution rules come into play, construction activity slows down in Mumbai; 7 developers issued stop-work notices DRAUPADI ROHERA / MUMBAI There is an air of disquiet among developers which has temporarily impacted and slowed down construction activity in the city Seven real estate developers in . Mumbai city have been issued stop-work notices for non-adherence to the recent guidelines issued by Mumbai civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal to curb air pollution, Keval Valambhia, CEO, CREDAI-MCHI told the FPJ.  CREDAI has a membership of 1,800 developers across the board in the city .  Currently construction is on at a , whopping 6,000 sites, according to Cha- hal. Many of these sites are linked to the upgrade of the city's transport network such as the Mumbai Metro - as well as the SRA and redevelopment projects.   Meanwhile, a MHADA official told the FPJ on condition of anonymity that the new norms would slow down all ongoing projects, including the SRA, as material including 35-foot barricades, smoke guns, water sprinklers and other machinery would have to be purchased and their stock availability in the market too would be impacted, given the heavy number of projects currently underway . According to Valambhia, CREDAI has been continuously in touch with its members, to ensure compliance with the new rules and has even issued an advisory to them on this count. CONTD. ON NATION India's forex kitty rose by $2.58 billion in the week ended on October 27 0 0 33 c. 27 c. Sunrise : 06:40 am Sunset : 06:04 pm ASI told to vet plea on history of Taj Mahal ONLINE REPORT / NEW DELHI The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to consider the representation made by an organization named Hindu Sena seeking directions to publish the "correct history" of the Taj Mahal. A Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma  and Justice  Tushar Rao Gedela  disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which claimed that the Taj Mahal was not built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, but by Raja Man Singh. The Bench noted that the petitioner had earlier filed a petition in the Supreme Court with a similar prayer. The apex court had then asked the organisation to make a submission to the ASI. On Friday, the High Court was informed that the ASI is yet to take a decision on the representation. The Bench, therefore, asked the ASI to look into the representation. The petition filed by Hindu Sena President Surjit Singh Yadav claimed that the Taj Mahal was originally the palace of Raja Man Singh, and was subsequently renovated by Shah Jahan. Yadav, therefore, sought directions to the ASI, the Central government, CONTD. ON NATION Nervous Pak eyeing Afghan performance JOE WILLIAMS / MUMBAI In a stunning display , Afghanistan continued their impressive journey in the World Cup 2023 with a sevenwicket victory over the Netherlands in Lucknow. This marked the fourth consecutive win for the erstwhile minnows, earning them a total of eight points with two matches remaining. Positioned at fifth in the points tally they are can have , a shot at the semifinals should they emerge victorious in their final two encounters. Afghanistan’s success has a negative spin-off for Pakistan, whose semifinal aspirations hinge on the former’s performance. With six points from seven games and a net run rate of -0.024, Pakistan is at a crossroads. To secure a spot in the semifinals, they must defeat both New Zealand and England in their remaining two matches, so that they can garner a total of 10 points in 10 games. CONTD. ON NATION