FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION FREE PRESS VOL. 13 NO. | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | MARCH 26, 2024 | PAGES 16 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `3 r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - EDIT POLLARD DEFENDS HARDIK'S BATTING — Sports THE FP BULLETIN DISMANTLING OF SION ROB T he dismantling of the road over bridge (ROB) in Sion is finally set to commence on March 28. The decision has already been postponed twice. The new date comes after a series of deliberations between the local residents and political leaders. The dismantling is to facilitate the proposed 5th and 6th rail lines connecting Kurla to Parel. A century-old structure built in 1912, the bridge has long served as a crucial link between Dharavi, Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Marg and the Eastern Express Highway. Its closure is expected to affect the eastwest traffic flow, necessitating alternative routes such as the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road. While pulling down the bridge will take three months, its reconstruction will last two years and cost Rs50crore. For now, though, a major concern is the congestion it might lead to, especially in the run-up to the Los Sabha polls. UNSC VOTES FOR GAZA CEASEFIRE A fter over five months of relentless military action by Israel, the United Nations Security Council on Monday issued its first demand to halt the fighting in Gaza, calling for a cease-fire during the holymonth of Ramadan, which ends April 9. The resolution was passed 14-0 after the U.S. decided not to use its veto power and instead abstained on the resolution. The chamber broke into applause after the vote. The resolution demanded the release of all hostages taken captive by Hamas. TAILPIECE Raymond man denies patch up with son DHARMESH THAKKAR MUMBAI R aymond Group founder Vijaypat Singhania has denied claims of reconciliation with his estranged son Gautam. The octogenarian businessman and aviator shared a video statement from Dubai on Saturday stating that Gautam had tricked him into meeting over a cup of coffee. Gautam had manipulated his visit to JK House after almost a decade with an ulterior motive of presenting a distorted view in public, he said. “I reluctantly visited JK House on the insistence of Gautam and our pictures were taken without my consent and posted on social media with false claims of me reconciling with my son. I was barely in JK House for about 10 minutes and left for the airport. I don’t know his motives but it was certainly not for coffee, nor to resolve our differences,” the veteran businessman CONTD. ON P10 said. FAILURE OF ALLIANCE TALKS NO SURPRISE WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE Sunrise : 06.48 Sunset : 06.30 9-yr-old abducted Holi dust-up over after prayers, killed Kangana’s post Kidnapper had demanded `23L in ransom from boy’s family, for building a house FPJ NEWS SERVICE / THANE A tailor was arrested on Monday for allegedly kidnapping a nine-year-old boy on Sunday, demanding Rs 23 lakh from his family in ransom and murdering him in Thane district, the police said. The motive behind this heinous act was reportedly to finance the construction of a house. The chilling incident happened after the boy finished his evening prayers at the local mosque and stepped out of the building. After the killing, the suspect put his body in a sack and hid it in the backyard. According to the police, the accused, who hails from Badlapur, wanted the money to build a house. The boy was identified as Ibadat; prima facie, it appears the accused was known to the victim and that was how he was able to lure the child to accompany him on some pretext, according to an officer at the Badlapur police station. The exact circumstances under which the boy was kidnapped are being investigated. VICTIM SUSPECT When the boy failed to return home, his family launched a search. Then came the ominous phone call, with the abductor demanding Rs 23 lakh in ransom in exchange for Ibadat’s safe return. However, the call abruptly ended, without divulging any details. Reportedly, the kidnapper, sensing the mounting pressure, had attempted to evade capture by changing the SIM cards in his mobile phone. The family then approached the police. The police launched a search but could neither trace him nor the kidnapper. When the villagers found out about the boy’s disappearance, they too embarked on a CONTD. ON P10 search. POLICE CLUELESS AFTER A YEAR Un-Holi mystery shrouds twin Ghatkopar deaths AISHWARYA IYER / MUMBAI It is over one year since the nude bodies of a couple in their forties were found in the bathroom of their fifth floor Ghatkopar residence with the shower still running. However, the Mumbai police has been unable to unravel the mystery surrounding the deaths. Even the cause of death is not known. The bodies were found on March 8, 2023, which was Holi day. Deepak Shah (44) and his wife Tina (39) returned to their home in Kukreja Palace, Vallabhbaug Lane, Ghatkopar (E). A few hours later, the maid came to work and rang the doorbell. Since there was no response she called a relative of Deepak who had a duplicate key to the apartment. The door was opened but there was no sign of the Shahs. They found the bathroom door was locked and they broke it open only to discover the two naked bodies with vomit all over. The Pant Nagar police was informed and bodies were sent for post mortem. There were no external injuries. Residents of Kukreja Palace said Shah ran a garmemt business. A day before the deaths (March 7), the couple were invited to a Holi party in Juhu. On March 8, in the morning, the couple left home to attend the event. Eyewitnesses informed the police that they both seemed happy. The couple later left the party and reached home post-noon. The watchman of the building and the CCTV camera on the OPERATION READINESS building premises confirm they entered their apartment In the postmortem report, the medicos ruled out suffocation as the cause of death. After suffocation, the second suspected cause was poisoning. Later, along with the PM report, the couple’s stomach wash, viscera, and vomit samples were sent to the Forensic Laboratory at Kalina for an in-depth examination. In the examination report, the Forensics lab ruled out poisoning, further adding to the jigsaw puzzle. The postmortem report, along with the forensics report was once again sent to Rajawadi hospital in November 2023 – to sum up the findings and declare the cause of CONTD. ON P10 death. S hortly after the nomenclature of actor Kangana Ranaut as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, the script has begun unfolding, rather like that of a film. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate reportedly posted a photo of a scantily-clad Ranaut, with a derogatory caption on Instagram. On Monday, there was a Holi dust-up, in keeping with the spirit of the day. However, Shrinate, who is the Congress’s chairperson for social media and digital platforms, claimed that someone with access to her Meta accounts (Facebook and Instagram) had done the mischief. She posted a clarification on X on the controversy and said that anyone who knew her would know that she would never speak thus about another woman. “Someone who had access to my meta accounts (FB and Insta) posted an absolutely disgusting and objectionable post, which has been taken down. Anyone who knows me will know I would never say that for a woman. However, a parody account that I have just discovered misusing my name is being run on Twitter (@Supriyaparody) which started the whole mischief, and is being reported,” she said. BJP leaders Shehzad Poonawalla and Amit Malviya clamoured for Shrinate’s immediate sacking over the episode. As for Ranaut, she fell back on her body of work to make her point. Her post on X read: “Dear Supriya ji in the last 20 years of my career as an artist I have played all kinds of SLAP FOR CHANT minister AKarnataka ofurging is in the centre a controversy for people to slap those shouting “Modi Modi” slogans. “Youths and students who raise ‘Modi, Modi’ slogans should be slapped,” Karnataka Minister for Backward Classes, Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi said while addressing a rally in his hometown in Koppal district, about 350 km from Bengaluru. Criticising the Centre, he accused it of not honouring the promise to create two crore jobs per year. "They (BJP) should be ashamed of seeking votes,” he said alleging that the Modi government had failed on all fronts. There was not a single development work in the last 10 years, he claimed. The BJP has petitioned the EC seeking the Minister be barred from the election process and from campaigning. Ajit Pawar is in quit mode if Shinde doesn't expel Shivtare S BALAKRISHNAN / MUMBAI The Western Seaboard witnessed eight submarines operating together in a recently concluded exercise in the Arabian Sea, demonstrating their high levels of operation readiness, officials said on Monday. As part of the demonstration, the Vice-Admiral also witnessed the bottoming of the submarine and tasted the sea water as per the submariners' tradition. Addressing media persons, Navy Chief, Admiral Hari Kumar, said the Navy will continue taking affirmative action to prevent piracy. FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI The Nationalist Congress Party led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has threatened to pull out of the ruling Maha Yuti alliance if the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde does not expel its leader Vijay Shivtare from the party. Spokesperson for the NCP Umesh Patil told the FPJ on Monday that a meeting of senior leaders of the party will be held on Tuesday at which a final decision will be taken. He said the language used by Shivtare against Ajit Pawar was in extreme poor taste and no self-respecting person will tolerate it. CM Shinde is finding him- self pushed to a corner with the NCP's demand for expelling Shivtare, who is an important leader from his party. Shivtare is a former minister who has his base in Purandar and neighbouring areas. When contacted by FPJ Shivtare said he will not apologise for his comment on Ajit Pawar and that he stood by it. ``I had only used a Marathi saying about a scorpion sitting atop a Shivling as per which you cannot kill the scorpion without damaging the Shivling. I had not used any objectionable language and I stand by my observation," he added. He also noted that Umesh Patil was not a leader and he owed no explanation to him. CONTD. ON P10 LAST WORD Pilibhit in focus after Varun is denied ticket BISWAJEET BANERJEE LUCKNOW Varun Gandhi's brazen outspoken nature may have cost him his ticket to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Never coy of expressing his views, Gandhi's vocal opposition to the Modi government's farm policies, retirement, and job schemes evidently did not sit well with the party leadership. His sharp criticism BABA SIDDIQUI’S IFTAAR PARTY — CINEMA 30.80c. 17.90c found resonance with opposition voices, drawing attention to contentious issues. After the denial of the ticket, the Samajwadi Party has expressed readiness to welcome Varun Gandhi into its fold, offering him a potential seat. However, it remains to be seen whether Gandhi will accept the offer, given his ideological alignment and political allegiances. Jitin Prasada, former Congress leader has been given the BJP's ticket to Pilibhit. Although the SP has allocated the Pilibhit seat, it is being suggested that they would keep it warm for Varun, if he decides to cross over. There are also rumours that Varun might seek to keep the Pilibhit seat by contesting as an independent. It is all up in the air. For over three and a half decades, the Gandhi family has held sway over the Pilib- hit parliamentary seat, marking a remarkable legacy in Indian politics. Former Union Minister Maneka Gandhi won the seat for first time in 1989 elections; in fact, there was no looking back and she won from there six times. In 2009, the baton was passed to her son, Varun Gandhi, who successfully contested from Pilibhit. CONTD. ON P10 The coming of age of a small-town girl K.S.TOMAR / SHIMLA I n sync with the philosophy of ‘chance and destiny,’ as espoused by 19th century Victorian realist, Thomas Hardy, a tiny girl from a nondescript village Bhambala in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, Kangana Ranaut, had set out on a hazardous journey to Mumbai to try her luck in film industry and made it by her sheer determination, commitment and willpower. Kangana’s voyage is embedded in the revolt against her family which did not support her choice to enter Bollywood, an ocean of uncertainties and her travails as she waded through a sea of opportunities. But she prevailed, despite having meagre earnings and subsisting on bread and pickle. From the sweeping vistas of Himachal, she found herself cooped up in a cardboard box that passed for a flat in Mumbai. But rigorous training under theatre director Arvind Gaur proved a blessing in disguise, with her immersed in his theatre workshop at India Habitat Centre CONTD. ON P10 at Delhi; Holi tragedy: Teen drowns near Mahim chowpatty; one missing RUCHA KANOLKAR / MUMBAI A teenager drowned and another was reported missing at chowpatty near Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, on Monday afternoon, according to police. The Mahim police said they were part of a group of five teenagers who had gathered at the chowpatty to celebrate Holi. The group was seen on the beach around 3.45pm, Senior Inspector Sudhakar Shirsath said. Three of them had ventured into the sea; local residents and their friends saw them struggling in the swirling waters, leading to the rescue effort, Shirsath said. Two of the teenagers, Harsh, 19, and Om, 17, were pulled out of the sea with the assistance of locals and the police. They were taken to Hinduja Hospital for urgent medical care. Despite the efforts to save him, Harsh was pronounced dead on arrival. The condition of Om, meanwhile, is reported to be stable. The third teen remains missing, and the search for him continues.