Vol. 67 No. 182 | WEDNESDAY | MAY 1, 2024 | 28 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in MEMBER: AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATION JANUARY TO DECEMBER 2023 EDITIONS: MUMBAI*, Pune, Nashik, Konkan, Indore, Bhopal, E-paper VIDYA MALAVADE’S RUSLAAN I’ve never done an action film before, so this was a little different for me EDIT SEBI TAKES MEASURES TO CURB FRONT RUNNING, INSIDER TRADING IN MFS INDO-CANADIAN TIES IN TAILSPIN SC questions timing of Kejriwal’s arrest THE FP AGENCIES / NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, AHMEDABAD BULLETIN SEVEN MAOISTS GUNNED DOWN I n a significant blow to Maoists insurgency, security forces neutralised seven Naxalites in the dense forests of Abujhmad, Chhattisgarh, on Tuesday. Prior to this, security forces had killed 29 armed Maoists in an encounter in north Bastar. The anti-Maoists operation was conducted by a joint team of state police and DRG, and unfolded in the wee hours of the morning. The insurgents reportedly opened fire on the forces, triggering a fierce gun battle that lasted for several hours. The bodies recovered included those of two women. A huge cache of arms and ammunition, was also seized. GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the “timing” of the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case, as it came soon after the elections to the Lok Sabha were announced. On the second day of the hearing of the petition filed by Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, his counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued before the Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta on the need for arrest and the material evidence on which it was based. Singhvi raised the issue of Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia being arrested in the same case and his plea also COLUMBIA VARSITY HALL TAKEN OVER D ozens of protesters took over a building at Columbia University in New York early Tuesday, barricading the entrances and unfurling a Palestinian flag out of a window in the latest escalation of demonstrations against the IsraelHamas war that have spread to college campuses nationwide. According to a group of activists the building in question was ‘reclaimed in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl found dead in Gaza earlier this year. A student radio station gave a running commentary of the hall's takeover – which occurred nearly 12 hours after a deadline for the protesters to leave the campus or face suspension. CBI SHOCKER ON MANIPUR WOMEN I n a shocking charge, the CBI has alleged that personnel from the Manipur Police allegedly drove the two women to a mob of around 1,000 people, which stripped and paraded them before they were gang-raped, in an incident that shook the nation. The crime, which occurred on May 4 last year - just a day after ethnic violence broke out between the Meiteis and the Kukis - had come to light after videos began being circulated in July. In its chargesheet filed in October, which has come to light a few days before the anniversary of the start of the violence, the central agency has also said that the mob had attacked a third woman belonging to the same family and tried to strip her, but failed because she was holding on tightly to her young granddaughter. SUSPENSE OVER GANDHI SEATS W ith just three days to go for the last day of filing nominations, the Congress has kept the suspense going for the prestigious Amethi and Raebareli constituencies, not naming candidates for them in the latest list of names for the Lok Sabha polls released on Tuesday. Four candidates have been named in the fresh list and they include actorturned-politician Raj Babbar from the Gurgaon constituency and former Union Minister Anand Sharma from the Kangra constituency in Himachal Pradesh. being heard by the Bench. He said the Bench, which had summarised the case, would recall that “there was no mention of Kejriwal”. As the Delhi High Court had in its order – which is being challenged by Kejriwal before the Supreme Court -also stated that he was linked to the “proceeds of crime”, Singhvi argued that this term should be “interpreted strict- ly”. He said being in possession of unaccounted property was a matter of tax violation but may not necessarily constitute “proceeds of crime”. The senior advocate also questioned the involvement of the ED in the case, saying “receiving or not receiving cash is an offence under Income Tax. It is not listed under PMLA schedule (which is handled by ED).” CONTD. ON NATION Around 16 leaders in seven states, including Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy have been summoned by , Delhi Police in connection with the doctored video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The video was doctored to misrepresent Shah’s statement that he was committed to abolishing reservation quotas for Muslims in Telangana; this was deftly altered to suggest that Shah was advocating scrapping of all reservations, much to the embarrassment of the BJP leadership) The Delhi Special Cell has also sent teams to Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh to pursue leads in the matter. According to sources, one Samajwadi Party Lok Sabha candidate in Uttar Pradesh, and two Congress leaders in Rajasthan and Nagaland have also been asked to appear before police with their mobile phones. CONTD. ON NATION Unable to decide between Lodha and Narwekar, opts for Yamini Jadhav, a rank outsider The JD(S) on Tuesday suspended Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, after the party and former chief minister HD Kumarawamy came under pres- sure to initiate action against the 33-year-old MP who is accused of sexually assaulting several women and recording them on his mobile phone. Hundreds of pen drives comprising these pornclips were scattered all over Hassan town three days be- fore the April 26 elections. Prajwal is seeking re-election as a NDA nominee and contesting on a JD(S) symbol. A JD(S) core committee meeting chaired by former minister GT Deve Gowda recommended suspending Prajwal. The decision was later Guest Column ÷ L Adimoolam T Yamini gets Mumbai South Waikar gets Mumbai Northwest Colaba MLA Rahul Narwekar for the party’s ticket The Mumbai unit of the was so intense that the leadBharatiya Janata Party ership could not decide. Had (BJP) received a severe set- either of the two aspirants back on Wednesday when it been given the ticket, the was forced to surrender the other would have definitely prestigious Mumbai South protested. In fact, Narwekar Lok Sabha constituency to had even attended a meeting its ally the Shiv Sena led by of the Akhil Bharatiya , chief minister Eknath Sena, a political outfit foundShinde. Said a party insider: ed by the don Arun Gawli ‘‘We were unable to resolve with a view to send a mesintense intra-party differ- sage to the party leadership. ences over this constituency . A BJP leader said, ‘‘We The leadership preferred to could have definitely fielded concede the seat to the Shiv an eminent person in MumSena rather than risk a ma- bai South. Now we are jor revolt on the eve of the forced to support the candipolls.’’ dature of Yamini Jadhav, The BJP had staked its Byculla MLA, who has no claim to this seat at the out- connect with most parts of set of the seat-sharing talks the parliamentary conwith its allies in the ruling stituency She lacks the . MahaYuti, the Shiv Sena stature needed to match and NCP (Ajit Pawar). But that of the sitting MP , the fight between minister Arvind Sawant of the Shiv and Malabar Hill MLA Man- Sena (UBT), who won both gal Prabhat Lodha and the the 2014 and 2019 polls.’’ speaker of the assembly and CONTD. ON NATION S BALAKRISHNAN / MUMBAI Spotlight on who leaked porn clips RAJASHEKARA S / BENGALURU Happy Maharashtra day The ABC BJP cedes Mumbai South of Truth & Reality seat to Sena of RNI Frantic action over Shah’s fake video Other posers to ED, told life and liberty is equally important Regulator has decided to amend the regulatory framework for the same ratified by former PM Gowda, the JD(S) national president. Speaking to the media, Kumaraswamy said Prajwal stands suspended until the Special Investigation Team (SIT) completes its first investigation. CONTD. ON NATION he latest ABC for the year 2023 is out. After this audit, which was taken as a whole year, it will be again a bi-annual audit. Many leading publications, having dropped huge circulation copies post Covid, have preferred to stay out of ABC as a strategic move. They influence the agency and clients based on perception, not on real numbers. In editions where they are truly strong with numbers they go for ABC audit, or they submit themselves to RNI for certification. Many of the leading publications both in the English and in the language space have moved to the RNI as it effortlessly gets them to show higher numbers. If clients and agencies are aware of how RNI and ABC figures are compiled, then one will come to know how far the RNI figures deviate from reality. One should also question publications: why some of their editions choose to be in ABC and some in RNI. CONTD. ON NATION Bhatakti atma ‘NO MUSLIM QUOTA AS Pushed off train, man loses arm haunts the LONG AS I AM ALIVE’ nephew, now FPJ NEWS SERVICE HYDERABAD A S BALAKRISHNAN / MUMBAI P rime Minister Modi’s rather flippant allusion to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) leader Sharad Pawar as ‘bhatakti atma’ (restless soul) has riled the latter’s nephew and deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar. A visibly upset Ajit Pawar told newspersons that he was not sure whom PM Modi was referring to as the ‘bhatakti atma’. ‘‘But I will definitely ask him what he had in mind when he used the expression,’’ the nephew added. Even though Ajit and Sharad Pawar have parted ways and are engaged in a no-holds-barred proxy war in Baramati, they are personally close to each other. Modi’s latest sobriquet appears to go against the tone and tenor of his rather flattering description of Sharad Pawar as his political mentor. Modi had said Pawar had almost held his hand and chaperoned him in politics. Modi had even conferred the Padma Vibhushan, the highest civilian honour on Pawar, much to the discomfiture of his own partymen. In fact, PM Modi had tried to strike a personal equation with the NCP leader and had ‘puranpoli’ with the latter at his home. Sharad Pawar hit back at PM Modi over the moniker, saying his soul is ‘restless’ because of the plight of the farmers and the common man, and he is ready to be restless ‘100 times’, to mitigate their distress. CONTD. ON NATION ddressing an election rally in Zaheerabad Lok Sabha constituency in Telangana, Prime Minister Modi said on Tuesday "As long as Modi is , alive, he will not let the quota earmarked for Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs to be given to Muslims on the basis of religion." When the Congress had triumphed in undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2004 and 2009, it gave backward class reservation to Muslims, he claimed. ‘‘While 26 castes in Telangana had been seeking OBC status for a long time, the Congress did not approve of that, but overnight categorised the Muslims as OBC,’’ he pointed out. The constituent Assembly had decided that there will be no reservation based on religion and that quotas were meant for Dalits, Adivasis and OBCs, PM Modi explained. But now an attempt was being made to sneak in quotas through the backdoor on the basis of religion. He recounted how the Congress had started insulting the Constitution from "day one" when it removed the illustrations of Ramayan and Mahabharat in the copy presented by B R Ambedkar. Likewise, the first amendment to the Constitution was made by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. PM Modi also harked on how the "grandmother of the shehzada (Rahul Gandhi)" had crushed the Constitution during emergency and how the father of the 'shehzada' brought a law to intimidate newspapers in the country In . keeping with this unsavory tradition, the 'shehzada' ripped apart copies of an ordinance brought out by the then UPA government in 2013. The Prime Minister described the Constitution as a 'dharm granth' for running the government. ‘Nymphomania’ linked to repeated rape FPJ CORRESPONDENT/ MUMBAI The Bombay HC, while rejecting the bail application of a man accused of allegedly committing the dastardly act of sexually arousing (by giving intoxicating pills) and repeatedly raping his neighbour since she was a minor, has directed the trial court to initiate proceedings in the case at the earliest, and to not to allow any unnecessary adjournments in the case, so that the case reach- Man had repeatedly raped child next door since she was in Class 4, by giving her intoxicating tablets; because of the horrendous crime, she had turned into a nymphomaniac, the court held es its conclusion at the earliest. The court held on Tuesday that because of the horrendous crime, the victim had turned into a nymphomaniac. According to legal portal Live Law, in his order, the judge reproduced verbatim 27 handwritten pages in the victim's notebook narrating repeated sexual abuse and threats by her neighbour from when she was an 8-year-old child studying in 4th standard till she attained the age of seventeen. CONTD. ON NATION LAST WORD and got on a Panvel-CSMT train from Belapur to get A 32-year-old man from UP down at Nerul. , who had come to Navi MumIn his statement to police, bai one week ago, hoping to Diwakar has said that while find a job, must now go back he was trying to get into the home without an arm. train, four unidentified men Rajendra Kumar Lalji Di- standing at the door tried to wakar from Kosebi district in bar his entry into the train. UP had come to Navi Somehow, Diwakar managed , Mumbai recently and was to board the train but once he staying with his brother at was inside, the four men beAiroli. He was looking for em- gan assaulting him for enterployment at a laundry and ing the compartment despite had finally found one at Ulwe. their warning him not to. DeOn Friday after work, he spite his apologies, the four , shut shop and went to Panvel continued to assault him. One to meet another relative. Since of them took out a knife and the relative was not at home, stabbed him from behind and he decided to return to Ulwe. eventually they pushed him , Accordingly he boarded a out of the moving train. As he , train for Belapur and around fell, his right hand was 6pm, he got off at Belapur, to crushed between the train board an Uran train for Ulwe. and the tracks. None of the Since there was no train at passengers in the train had that time to Uran from Bela- tried to intervene, he said in pur, he decided to board an his complaint. Uran-bound train from Nerul CONTD. ON NATION RAINA ASSAINAR / NAVI MUMBAI PANNUN ASSASSINATION CHARGE Out of depth ‘Mumbai Indians’ hold key to World Cup TIT FOR TAT EXCHANGE AFTER FORMER RAW CHIEF IS NAMED HARIDEV PUSHPARAJ / MUMBAI The Mumbai Indians, who are struggling to stay afloat in the IPL with just six points from nine matches, have managed to grab both the captaincy and vice-captaincy of the Indian T20 World Cup squad. While Rohit Sharma has been designated captain, Hardik Pandya will be his deputy This indeed is a brave call . for the selectors as Pandya was retained as vice-captain despite his poor form in the IPL. Also, it is hoped the two players don’t carry the MI baggage with them to the World Cup, which begins on June 2 in the USA and the Caribbean. MI fans have never really relished Ro- hit, their ‘Mumbaicha Raja,’ being replaced by Pandya, who has since been under immense pressure to perform with bat and ball. It does not need any brilliant insight to fathom that the captain and his deputy ought to be on the same page with regard to important decisions related to team strategy and planning. It, therefore, remains to be seen how their on-field equation pans out during the T20 World Cup. A surprise omission is Kolkata Knight Riders' power-hitter Rinku Singh. The 26-year-old Aligarh lefthander, who captured the cricketing world's imagination with five sixes in an over during the previous IPL, made way for Shivam Dube in the national squad, while he himself has ended up being among the reserves. Shubham Gill, too, who is enjoying a good run in the IPL as Gujarat Titans captain, found himself among the standbys. Both Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal have instead made it to the provisional squad thanks to strong IPL performances. Samson, who has had a good IPL both as a batter and captain for Rajasthan Royals, was included as the second wicketkeeper-batter behind Rishabh Pant, pipping to the post the likes of K L Rahul and Ishan Kishan. Leg-spinner Chahal, who last played for India in August 2023, is the second wrist spinner in the team alongside Kuldeep Yadav . The selectors decided to show faith in Yashasvi Jaiswal, who had a slow start in the IPL but regained his touch with swashbuckling hundred recently for Rajasthan Royals. CONTD. ON NATION FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI I n a tit for tat exchange over the American accusation that Indian government officials were involved in the attempted assassination of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the White House and the Ministry of External Affairs have each stuck to their guns. The White House has said that it takes the Pannun matter seriously and will continue to bring the matter up while the Ministry of External affairs pooh poohed the This is a serious matter, and we're taking that very, very seriously. We're going to continue to raise our concerns. – White House spokesperson Washington Post report saying it “makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter.” The Washington Post on Monday named the Indian official who was working for the RAW at the time of the events as Vikram Yadav, and named the RAW chief at that time, Samanth Goel. According to the Post, “In reports that have been closely held within the American government, U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed that the operation targeting Pannun was approved by the RAW chief at the time, Samant Goel. That finding is consistent with accounts provided to The Washington Post by former senior Indian security officials who had knowledge of the operation and said CONTD. ON NATION