FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. XXXX NO. 293 | INDORE | SATURDAY | MARCH 30, 2024 | PAGES 16 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `3 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - ANDERSON, HARMEET IN USA T20I SQUAD AGAINST CANADA SPORTS EDIT EMPLOYMENT – THE GRIM TRUTH WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 38.80c. 22.20c Sunrise : 06.22 Sunset : 06.41 ON CRUTCHES, CONGRESS GETS KICK IN THE PANTS Party told to cough up `1823 crore in taxes NEWS BRIEF Biden assures support to Pak PM Islamabad: Marking the first official communication with a Pakistani premier during his tenure, US President Joe Biden has dashed off a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressing continuous support and highlighted that the ties between the two nations are critical for bilateral and regional peace and security. After assuming office in January 2021, President Biden neither telephoned former prime minister Imran Khan after his election victory nor spoke to Sharif when he succeeded Khan in April 2022, The Express Tribune said on Friday. Investigators from China reach Pak Islamabad: Investigators from China on Friday reached Pakistan to probe the death of five Chinese nationals in a major terrorist attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as more Chinese firms have stopped work on hydropower projects in the restive north-west region. Five Chinese and their Pakistani driver were killed when a suicide attacker rammed his explosivesladen car into a vehicle in the Bisham area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday when they were being driven to a construction site of the Dasu Hydroelectric power station in Kohistan district of the same province. Rs 10L reward for Cafe blast accused New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh each for sharing information leading to the arrest of two key accused, one of them using Hindu names to hide identity, in Bengaluru's Rameshwaram Cafe blast case. The agency requested the general public for information on the duo -Mussavir Hussain Shazib alias Shazeb alias Md Juned Hussain alias Mohammed Juned Sayed and Abdul Matheen Ahmed Taahaa alias Abdul Matheen Taha alias Matheen alias Taha alias Vignesh D alias Sumit "or any other assumed Hindu name" -- wanted in the case, according to its posts on X. ‘We don't feel safe in Canada’ Toronto: Urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep Canada free from "the glorification of terrorism", a prominent Hindu advocacy group in the country said on Friday that Ottawa's current political discourse regarding India's alleged interference in the country further emboldens extremist elements. In a letter addressed to PM Trudeau, the Hindu Forum Canada (HFC) said that despite the community's positive contributions, they don't feel safe in the country". CPI GETS I-T NOTICES, TOO OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI In what is being perceived as an act of political vendetta, the Congress on Friday said it had received fresh notices from the income-tax department, asking it to cough up Rs 1,823.08 crore, and accused the ruling BJP of indulging in "tax terrorism" to financially cripple the opposition party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. (The fresh tax notice is for the assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21, and includes penalty and interest.) The Congress is already strapped for funds after Income Tax authorities imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore and froze its accounts. The party has not received any relief from the High Court in the case and is likely to move the Supreme Court. Back to the wall, a livid Rahul Gandhi on Friday pledged the Congress will take exemplary action against those who have destroyed democracy -- "when the government changes." ‘‘ nd the action will be taken A in such a manner that no one will have the courage to do all this again. This is my guarantee," Gandhi said in a post on the microblogging platform X. Gandhi alleged central departments such as the income tax are working at the behest of the BJP . Addressing a press conference at the AICC NEW DELHI headquarters along with Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, party treasurer Ajay Maken alleged that the BJP is in serious violation of income-tax laws and said the I-T department should raise a demand of more than Rs 4,600 crore from the saffron party for such violations. Ramesh alleged that through the "electoral bonds scam", the BJP has collected Rs 8,200 crore and used the route of "pre-paid, post-paid, post-raid bribes and shell companies". And now, it is engaged in "tax terrorism", he alleged. The Congress is ready to fight a long drawn legal war to get the tax demands scrapped. Maken said the BJP has in the past few years Probe into Ansari death after ‘slow poison’ din BISWAJEET BANERJEE / Banda A chief judicial magistrate's court in Uttar Pradesh's Banda has initiated a judicial inquiry into the demise of gangsterpolitician Mukhtar Ansari and a comprehensive probe report will be submitted within a month. Ansari died on Thursday, March 28, in a hospital in Banda after he suffered a cardiac arrest. However, his family claimed that Ansari, while he was in jail, was being given ‘slow poison’, leading to his demise. The death has stirred a storm of controversy and some fingers have pointed at the involvement of another former legislator and Mukhtar’s sworn enemy Brijesh Singh. Ansari's family members claim he was poisoned to prevent him from testifying against Singh in court. According to Afzal Ansari, Mukhtar's brother, "40 days ago he was given poison in his food. Again, ten days ago, poison was administered in his meal." He asserts that the poisoning was intended to impede Mukhtar's appearance in the MPMLA Court Ghazipur, where his testimony against Brijesh Singh was crucial. Mafia don-turned-politician Brijesh Singh was released from Varanasi Central jail in 2022 on bail in a criminal case for an alleged attack on Ansari in 2001. This was the last of the several criminal cases Brajesh Singh was facing in which the trial is yet to start. Ansari's son Umar has approached the court in the matter. In a petition filed by Mukhtar's advocate in the High Court and the Supreme Court, it is alleged that he was poisoned twice at meal time in Banda jail, suggesting a concerted effort by the government administration to eliminate him. Expressing concern over the disregard for legal procedures during Mukhtar's incarceration, his advocate Saubhagya Mishra lamented, "Law was not followed when Mukhtar was in jail. His son Umar and other family members were not even allowed to meet or talk to him." CONTD. ON P8 got donations from thousands of people, and their income tax should also be calculated. Efforts are being made to financially cripple the Congress, but we are not going to be cowed down," Ramesh added. He asserted that the Congress's campaign for the upcoming parliamentary polls will continue and the party will take its guarantees to the people of the country . "We will not be scared of these notices. We will be more aggressive and fight these polls," the former Union minister said. Maken alleged that the Congress and other likeminded opposition parties are being selectively targeted by the I-T department, which he described as the BJP's CBI shuts case against NCP's Praful Patel NEW DELHI Nationalist Congress Party leader Praful Patel has been let off in an alleged corruption case as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) concluded there was no "evidence of any wrongdoing". The case was registered in 2017 to probe the allegations of irregularities in leasing aircraft for Air India. CBI has filed a closure report at a special court in Delhi. After going through the probe agency's findings, the court will decide whether to accept the report or continue the investigation. Allegations had been made that under the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, a large number of Air India aircraft were leased which hit the airlines' finances severely . The charges claimed that Air India made huge losses after the move while private persons made pecuniary gains. This leasing agreement was finalised by Ministry of Civil Aviation under the then minister Praful Patel and the National Aviation Corporation of India, a body formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. CONTD. ON P8 The Communist Party of India, too, has received a notice from the income-tax department, asking it to pay "dues" of Rs 11 crore for using an old PAN card while filing tax returns during the last few years, sources said on Friday. They said the Left party is consulting its lawyers to challenge the notice of the tax authorities. The sources said the "dues" to be paid to the I-T department include penalties and interest. Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale has also claimed that he has received no less than 11 IT notices in the last 72 hours. "frontal organisation". The IT department has launched a premeditated, diabolical campaign against the Congress by reopening matters of old returns on baseless grounds, he said. Some political observers are of the view that the ruling party is negating democracy by crippling an opposition party financially while it is itself loaded with money . A DECENT COURTROOM DRAMA CINEMA Gwalior student gets Rs 46 cr I-T notice over bank transactions OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in A college student has filed a complaint with Gwalior police after transactions of Rs 46 crores occurred from his bank account, a police official said on Friday . The victim became aware of the transactions after he got notice from income tax department. Additional superintendent of police (ASP) Shiyaz K M said that complainant Pramod Kumar Dandotiya (around 25 years old), came to know about the matter when he received a notice from the income tax and GST that a company had been registered through his PAN card which is being operated in Mumbai and Delhi since 2021. ASP added "An application has been received. The documents in this regard are being checked. The PAN card has been misused, a company has been registered through it and transactions of such a huge amount have been done. The matter is being investigated." Dandotiya told the media, "I am a college student in Gwalior. After the notice from Income Tax and GST, I came to know that a company has registered through my PAN card which has been operated in Mumbai and Delhi since 2021. I do not know how my PAN card came to be misused and how the transactions took place." CONTD. ON P8 UN turn to sermonise on elections PTI / UNITED NATIONS A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said we very much "hope" that in India and any country that is having elections, people's "political and civil rights" are "protected" and everyone is able to vote in a "free and fair" atmosphere. Spokesperson for the Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric made these remarks on Thursday while he was responding to a question on the "political unrest" in India ahead of the upcoming national elections in the wake of the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the freezing of the opposition Congress Party's bank accounts. "What we very much hope that in India, as in any country that is having elections, that everyone's rights are protected, including political and civil rights, and everyone is able to vote in an atmosphere that is free and fair," Dujarric said at the daily press briefing Thursday. The response from the United Nations comes a day after the US also reacted to a similar question on Kejriwal's arrest and freezing of the Congress party's bank accounts. CONTD. ON P8 container ship Dali lost power and crashed into a concrete pier supporting the bridge on Tuesday. Within seconds almost the entire bridge collapsed and plunged into what officials said was roughly 50 feet of frigid water below. Biden praised the ship's crew, most of whom were Indians for their prompt Cong MLA from Amarwara joins ruling party OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in The BJP has struck a severe blow to former chief minister Kamal Nath in Chhindwara. The BJP admitted Congress legislator from Amarwara, Kamlesh Shah, into the party on Friday. Shah considered very close to Nath won the assembly election for the third time in a row. After admitting Deepak Saxena, son of Ajay Saxena, into the party, the BJP has rattled the Congress by giving membership to Shah. Shah's wife and former chairperson of Nagar Palika Madhavi Shah and sister and chairperson of district Panchayat Kesar Netam also joined the BJP along with many party workers. CONTD. ON P8 Mahendra Singh, Vijayvargiya play major role BJP's election in-charge in the state Mahendra Singh has played an important role in bringing Kamlesh Shah to the party. Incharge of Chhindwara constituency Kailash Vijayvargiya, who carried out the party's strategy, is staying in Chhindwara these days. Party sources said they are in touch with a few more legislators and leaders of the Congress in the Chhindwara parliamentary constituency. MEANWHILE, Kamlesh Shah reached assembly after 4 pm and handed over his resignation letter to Assembly's principal secretary AP Singh. It was forwarded to the Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar who accepted it immediately. Damoh dist panchayat chairperson joins BJP Chairperson of Damoh district Panchayat Ranjeeta Patel joined the BJP Former chairman of district Panchayat Shivcharan Patel, . chairperson of Hatta Janpad Anuska Rai and former chairman of cooperative bank Gaurav Patel also took the BJP membership. Indore gets Rs 650 cr for road construction OUR STAFF REPORTER Indore WE DON’T NEED A TUTORIAL: VP India is a unique democracy and does not need lessons on the rule of law, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Friday after Germany, the US and the UN commented on the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. “India is a democracy with a robust judicial system. This can’t be compromised by any individual or any group. India does not need lessons from anyone on rule of law,” Dhankhar said. “Equality before law is the new norm” in India, the Vice-President said. The city has received Rs 650 crore for laying network of roads within the municipal limits. Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav confirmed receiving the amount from the state government. He stated that since they have funds in the kitty the constructions , of roads will be done at a fast pace. “Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and urban development and housing minister Kailash Vijayvargiya expedited the process so that funds would not become hurdle in the progress of Indore city he said. ,” Many important proposed roads on which either work could not be started or halted due to lack of funds will now see construction activities. CONTD. ON P8 10 killed after SUV falls Outrage over global into gorge in J-K award to photo BANIHAL/JAMMU Ten people were killed after an SUV skidded off the Jammu-Srinagar national highway and fell into a gorge in Ramban district on Friday, officials said. The vehicle, a Tavera, was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and it fell into a 300 feet gorge at the Battery Cheshma area of the district around 1.15 am, they said. The bodies of nine passengers and the driver of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) have been recovered, the officials said. They said the car's driver, Balwan Singh (47), of Amb Ghrotha in Jammu and Vipin Mukhiya Bhairagang of West Champaran in Bihar are among the deceased. CONTD. ON P8 'Racist' cartoon targets Indian crew on ship after Baltimore bridge collapse NEW DELHI: Six people are presumed dead after an out-of-control cargo ship smashed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge. While several, including US President Joe Biden, are praising the Indian crew on the ship a 'racist' cartoon depicting the incident has stirred a storm. The Singapore-flagged JOLT FOR NATH Mayday call which prompted authorities to scramble to shut down traffic to the bridge, potentially saving lives. A day later, a US-based webcomic shared a cartoon depicting the incident. The animated video shows unkempt men dressed only in loincloths preparing for the impend- ing crash and was directed at the crew on the ship. "Last known recording from inside the Dali moments before impact," Foxford Comics wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing the video. The cartoon also had the audio of people swearing at each other in English but with a strong Indian accent. CONTD. ON P8 NEW YORK A sickening image of Hamas terrorists parading a slain woman’s nearly naked body through the streets of Gaza has been awarded a prestigious photo-of-the-year prize — sparking fierce outrage from those who slammed the win as “an outrageous desecration of Jewish life,” reports New York Post. The grim photo featuring Shani Louk’s body was among a collection of 20 images that helped the Associated Press secure first place in one of the Pictures of the Year International award categories earlier this month. The awards, which are run by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, are self-described as the world’s oldest photojour- nalism competition. Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German Israeli tattoo artist, was among the scores of innocent music festival-goers taken hostage when Hamas terrorists carried out their deadly October 7 onslaught.“I am DISGUSTED, SHOCKED and ENRAGED that this @AP image of a murdered Shani Louk from October 7th was given picture of the year,” one social media user posted on X. “This is the value of Israeli women to you?” “This is just wrong and sick,” another user raged of the award.