Vol. 67 No. 104 | TUESDAY | JANUARY 30, 2024 | 26 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper CB 22201/13/0227/2324 BC Government of India Unprecedente boost to entrepreneurship ed Scan for more information collateral-free loans of More than 45 crore c under MUDRA Yojana d Y j given Facing ED action CM Soren ‘untraceable’ FPJ DESK / NEW DELHI The ED’s questioning of Hemant Soren, the chief minister of Jharkhand, ran aground on Monday with the CM incommunicado and “untraceable.’’ According to News 18, Soren left his residence in the wee hours (around 2.30 am) along with one of his security personnel, while another senior police officer who is part of his protective retinue took a flight back to Ranchi. Mobile phones of the chief minister and his security personnel were switched off, while his family members, the CM’s office, and his colleagues in the cabinet and party expressed “ignorance” about his whereabouts to the ED, the TV channel adds. The central agency is looking for the chief minister and his aide, while BJP leaders in Ranchi are considering filing habeas corpus petition before the High Court, said sources in the party So far, the Chief . Minister has evaded seven summons and the buzz is that he is gearing up to challenge the matter in the high court. According to NDTV the ED , sleuths went to his Delhi residence but drew a blank. Soren was not at home and the agency after conducting a , search, seized some documents and his BMW car. The Phones off, slipped out of his residence in wee hours with an aide; relatives say false narrative is being woven; BJP unit plans to file habeas corpus petition investigating team went to Jharkhand Bhawan and his father's residence at Motilal Nehru Marg but Soren could not be found there either. His RAHUL PICKS UP NITISH’S UNFINISHED CASTE AGENDA DHEERAJ KUMAR / PATNA Keen to fill up the political space in the INDIA bloc formulation, which has been vacated by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday latched onto the issue of nationwide caste census. While addressing two rallies in Kishanganj and Araria during his ‘Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’, Rahul devoted a good amount of time to the demand for nationwide caste census. He asked the Narendra Modi government to conduct the survey so that meted OBCs, EBCs and Dalits, could be brought into the mainstream from the political periphery . Ever since Nitish snapped his ties with the grand alliance and formed a new government with the BJP a common per, ception started gaining ground that OBC politics would be relegated to the backwaters due to the possibility of resurgence of hard core Hin- dutva politics spearheaded by the Lord Ram narrative. With the BJP firing on all cylinders to push the Hindutva narrative after the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir, there is a distinct possibility of the saffron party aggressively creating hype over Ram Mandir to consolidate its Hindu votes, cutting across caste lines. Former Senior Editor of Hindustan Times, Ashok Mishra, said, “Caste census became the main plank of IN- Woman SDM smothered by jobless hubby DIA bloc after Nitish Kumar conducted it in Bihar and hiked the reservation quota in accordance with the new figures. Now that Nitish Kumar has deserted the INDIA group and joined hands with the BJP , he will have to adhere to BJP's official stand on the issue.” ‘‘The Congress, which is the anchor of the INDIA bloc, will vigorously pursue the unfinished agenda of the nationwide caste census and take it to its logical end. CONTD. ON NATION OUR STAFF REPORTER MADHYA PRADESH ED closes in, Lalu quizzed for 10 hours his daughter Misa Bharti, reached the ED office at 11.05 am for questioning in the central agency's money laundering probe into alleged land-for-jobs scam, officials said. A large number of RJD supporters and a few leaders had converged outside the ED office. They alleged that Lalu was being harassed by the central agency at the behest of BJP leaders. Sources said ED sleuths asked Lalu nearly 50 questions; 500CR SCAM BASED ON IMAGINARY ACCUSATIONS: RAVINDRA WAIKAR SENA UBT MLA IS ALSO GRILLED ASHISH SINGH / MUMBAI HARIDEV PUSHPARAJ / MUMBAI A fter the shock defeat in the first Test, the Indian team is in a state of tizzy with Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul, both saddled with injuries, being ruled out for the ensuing tests. But one Mumbaikar is not complaining. 26-year-old Sarfaraz Khan from Kurla, who spent most of his childhood honing his skills at Azad Maidan, along with Saurabh Kumar of the Services and Tamil Nadu’s Washington Sundar have been picked as reinforcements in the Indian squad. Khan, the Mumbai lad, has been languishing in domestic cricket for several years now and has been knocking at the door of the Indian team. In fact, he had two huge seasons in Ranji Trophy in 2021-22 and 2022-23. But it was apparent that only an injury or two to the team’s regulars would pave the way for Sarfaraz’s entry . In 2022-23, Sarfaraz had smashed 556 runs in six games at an average of 92.66 with three CONTD. ON NATION hundreds. BISWAJEET BANERJEE LUCKNOW Oppn to oust Maldives Prez A day after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar switched his political allegiance, his erstwhile political co-traveller, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav was , questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for over ten hours. He left the ED's office around 9 pm, an indication that plans might be afoot to deal a further blow to the Cong-RJD combine. Lalu Prasad, accompanied by Sarfaraz Khan from Kurla finally makes it UP: CONG FIRM ON 20 SEATS he either remained silent or answered in negative. He was administered his medicines by Misa during the long drawn interrogation in view of his health complications. Prasad's Singapore-based daughter Rohini Achaya claimed that even after repeated requests by her sister Bharti, ED officials did not allow any assistant of the RJD chief to enter the central agency's office and accompany him. FPJ DESK / NEW DELHI, PATNA The Enforcement Directorate questioned Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar for nine hours on Monday in a money launder, ing case related to alleged irregularities in securing permission for the construction of a luxurious five-star hotel on a plot in Jogeshwari, in violation of an agreement with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). After nine hours of questioning, Waikar claimed that the alleged defrauding of Rs 500 crore was based on imaginary accusations. According to him, ED officers demanded to see bank statements for 19 years, related to the profit earned from programmes, functions, and marriages organised on the said land, of which he is the legitimate owner. Waikar asserts that Ravindra Waikar and four other accused individuals, who are partners, earned a total of 36 crores over 19 years from events held on the said land. They reportedly spent 20 crores on maintenance of the land, and following that, each partner earned only Rs 1.22 crore over the 19-year period, he claims. Further, the allegations of a Rs 500-crore scam made out against him was all bogus and baseless, he said. CONTD. ON NATION days Samajwadi Two madeafterAkhilesh Party leader Yadav an unilateral announcement that 11 Lok Sabha seats would be allocated to the Congress, the grand old party has made it clear that it will not settle for anything less than 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh, which has the largest number of Lok Sabha seats, 80 in all. CONTD. ON NATION MALE The main opposition MDP , which holds a majority in the Maldivian Parliament, is planning to submit a motion to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu, even as three members of his cabinet were denied approval during a parliamentary vote on Monday , according to media reports here. The development comes a day after clashes broke out in Parliament on Sunday between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers over differences over the approval of four members of the pro-China President's cabinet. Muizzu, 45, defeated Indiafriendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September last year. CONTD. ON NATION A  woman sub divisional magistrate (SDM) posted in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly murdered by her husband over marital discord -- for allegedly not making him the nominee in service, insurance and bank records. Sharma allegedly smothered her with a pillow on Sunday sat near , the corpse for five to six hours and then took the body to a nearby community health centre, ostensibly for treatment; he told the hospital staff that her wife was vomiting whole night and she had refused to come to hospital. However, the doctors became suspicious over the incongruities in his account. According to NDTV he told the , doctors, "She was suffering from a kidney ailment and Vaze seeks pardon in ‘custodial death’   CHARUL SHAH JOSHI /  MUMBAI Dismissed police officer Sachin Vaze has approached the sessions court, seeking a pardon in the Khwaja Yunus custodial death case, citing the delay in trial. However, at the same time, he has denied his role and involvement in the case. Vaze submitted a four-page long handwritten application, stating that the prosecution had nowhere said he was involved in the alleged murder nor had the body of Yunus been identified. However, he prayed to the court to record his statement, wherein he had agreed to make full and true disclosure of the facts of the case and sought pardon. “I have been suffering because of the pendency of this matter for the last 20 years. LAST WORD This is not only abuse of the process of law but it has been harming my livelihood, reputation and status in society Be. ing arraigned as an accused in the case, the Indian Criminal Jurisprudence does not give me opportunity  case until my the ending part of the trial,” Vaze said in his plea. He further expressed that “the crucial aspect of this case is pending before the Hon. Supreme Court. Its outcome is unlikely in the near future. CONTD. ON NATION had kept a fast on Saturday; she vomited at night after which she was given some medicine. I overslept in the morning and she didn't have any work as it was a Sunday I . went for a walk after the maid came in at 10 am. When I returned at 2 pm, she still hadn't woken up. I tried to rouse her, gave her CPR. Then, I called the doctor who asked me to take her to a hospital." When the doctors checked her at the hospital, they found her bleeding from nose and mouth.  Later, the doctor, who conducted the SDM's postmortem examination, said Nisha had died a few hours ago before she was brought to the hospital. During a search of the couple’s house, the police and the forensic team found a bed-sheet, a pillow cover and Nisha's clothes stacked in a washing machine. CONTD. ON NATION JEE ASPIRANT HANGS HERSELF BEFORE EXAM MANISH GODHA / JAIPUR An 18-year-old JEE aspirant hanged herself at her home in Kota, a coaching hub, a day before the exam. She left behind a suicide note, regretting her action and dubbing herself a "loser." The note scribbled in English said: "Mummy papa , I can't do JEE. That is why the suicide." "I am a loser. I am a bad daughter. Sorry mummy, papa. Yahi last option hai," the note found in Niharika Singh's room added. What is more terrifying is that this is the second suicide of a coaching student in a week. Niharika's cousin Vikram said that she was the eldest among three sisters. Her father is a gunman in a bank who left for duty on Monday morning. CONTD. ON NATION TAILPIECE HC refuses pre-arrest bail to man with 5 wives URVI MAHAJANI /  MUMBAI Observing that the offence of cheating was clearly made out, the Bombay High Court rejected the pre-arrest bail plea of a man who had married five women  and concealed the fact.   While rejecting his plea, Justice Sarang Kotwal said that there was sufficient material to show that the accused had cheated many women. “No case for grant of anticipatory bail order is made out,” Justice Kotwal said.   The HC was hearing a plea by Shantilal Kharat, seeking anticipatory bail in a case registered chartered plane remained parked at the Delhi Airport. Soren has claimed that he is the target of a huge conspiracy and an attempt to weave a false narrative. His relatives have claimed he has sent ED an email mentioning that he will record his statement on January 31. In a statement posted on social media site X, Babual Marandi, chief of the BJP’s Jharkhand state unit, said, “Due to fear of the Enforcement Directorate, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is absconding from the CONTD. ON NATION by the Rasayani police station in Raigad last year, on a complaint filed by his wife.  According to the woman, she met Kharat in April 2022 through a matrimonial website and they married in June that year. She alleged that after marriage, Kharat sought financial help and she gave him Rs 7 lakh. He had also borrowed Rs 32 lakh by pledging her ornaments.  Later, she suspected that he was having an affair with his colleague and returned to her parents’ house in January 2023. On further inquiries, she learnt that he had been married four times before and that his first wife had passed away as per the com, plaint.  Based on her complaint, the police registered a case of cheating, bigamy and criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code.  Kharat’s advocate, Samarth Karmarkar, submitted that his wife had passed away and thereafter, he had only married the complainant and no one else.  However, Advocate Durivendra Dubey appearing for the , woman, argued that there were documents showing that the accused had married other women. CONTD. ON NATION HANUMAN FLAG ROW FANS OUT SHANKAR RAJ / BENGALURU T he row over removal of Hanuman flag in Keragodu village in Mandya district in Karnataka spread further with BJP supporters holding protests in Bengaluru and district HQs. Dozens of men and women, carrying Hanuman flags or wearing saffron scarves, clashed with the police even as the police detained several BJP workers in Bengaluru. Keragodu village continued to remain tense. The adminis- tration has rushed a large contingent of police and security personnel to counter protests demanding the Hanuman flag be raised again. Life in Keragodu village is at a standstill; police have erected barricades around the flagpole and CCTV cameras have been installed to ensure no untoward incidents occur. Most shops and businesses in the village have either shut down or been forced to shut, according to reports reaching here. CONTD. ON NATION