Vol. 67 No. 200 | WEDNESDAY | MAY 22, 2024 | 30 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 ISHQ VISHK REBOUND EDIT It’s a blessing to recreate what Shahid Kapoor did 20 years ago, says Rohit Saraf MOCKERY OF JUSTICE IN PUNE HSC RESULTS OUT: 90s-CLUB BIGGER Success rate up, science students lead ■ Girls outshine boys ■ Konkan tops ■ Mumbai tailender FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI THE FP BULLETIN MARKET CAP HITS US$ 5 TN T he combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies hit the USD 5-trillion milestone for the first time on Tuesday. By generating unprecedented wealth of $1 trillion in just 6 months, the Indian stock market has joined the exclusive $5 trillion club, the fifth largest market cap country after the US, China, Japan, and Hong Kong. Significantly, it has done so after braving the pullout, just FII before the outcome of the Sabha Lok election June 4. At the close of on trade, the total valuation of the exchange-listed companies stood at an all-time high of Rs 4,14,62,306.56 crore (USD 4.97 trillion), the BSE data showed. BSE’s total market capitalization had hit $4 trillion in November 2023. The BSE-listed firms reached the market cap of $1 trillion back in May 2007, doubling in over a decade $2 trillion in July 2017, to and then reaching the $3 trillion mark in May 2021. The US leads with a market cap of almost $55.65 trillion, followed by China ($9.4 trillion), Japan ($6.42 trillion), and Hong Kong ($5.47 trillion). According to Bloomberg, in 2024 so far, India’s market capitalization has risen nearly 12 percent, while for the US it has gone up by 10 percent, and Hong Kong’s has risen 16 percent. China and Japan’s market cap have remained largely stagnant, with China falling 1.4 percent and Japan rising just 3%. P ATRA PENANCE: Embroiled in a controversy over his "slip of the tongue" on Lord Jagannath, BJP leader and party's Puri Lok Sabha candidate Sambit Patra apologised and announced he will undertake penance by observing fast for three days from Tuesday after being criticised in different quarters. Patra, while speaking to reporters of television channels on Monday, had said that the state's most revered deity "Lord Jagannath is a devotee of Prime Minister Narendra Modi." Patra, however, later clarified that it was a slip of the tongue and he wanted to imply that the PM was an ardent 'bhakt' (devotee) of Lord Jagannath and not the other way round. B HUSHAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY: A Delhi court on Tuesday framed charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging the modesty of women against the former chief of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, in a criminal case that has been filed by female wrestlers. Singh pleaded not guilty to the charges before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Priyanka Rajpoot. “Why will I plead guilty when I am not guilty?” he asked. The court also framed a charge of criminal intimidation against co-accused and former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case. The results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams were declared on Tuesday bringing glad tid, ings to several junior college students in the city and other parts of the state, as the success rate climbed up a few notches. The pass percentage in the Class 12 board exam, held between February 21 and March 19, 2024, rose by almost two percentage points, from 90.1 per cent last year, to 91.87 per cent statewide. As many as 8,782 students scored above 90 per cent, as compared to the 7,696 scorers in this range last year. The Mumbai Division, comprising the Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts, recorded a success rate of MEGHA CHOWDHURY / MUMBAI T anisha Sagar Boramanikar from Sambhajinagar, a student of Devagiri College, is the sole student in the entire state to secure a perfect score of 100% in the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) Class 12th examinations. Tanisha’s secured 582 Teen killer’s father held after wild goose chase FPJ NEWS SERVICE / PUNE 96.93, the Konkan region held on to its topmost slot. While pass percentages across all three major streams – science, arts and commerce – increased, the performance of science students stood out. CONTD. ON NATION out of 582 marks, along with an additional 18 marks for her participation in sports. Tanisha is not only good at studies, but also in chess. She has represented India in the under-eight tournament, participated in Open Nationals and state level tournaments. In her tenth grade examination she scored an impressive 98%. CONTD. ON NATION SC dismisses review PILs on Art 370 FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI house in Daund and properties in Pune – which clued in the police to his location. According to the FIR lodged in connection with the incident, the father, despite knowing his son did not have a valid driving licence, gave him the keys to the car, thus endangering his minor son’s life, and allowed him to party knowing fully well that his son consumed liquor. CONTD. ON NATION The Supreme Court has dismissed a batch of petitions seeking a review of its December 11, 2023, verdict that unanimously upheld the Centre’s decision to abrogate provisions of Article 370 bestowing special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. “Having vetted the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record,” said a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, which considered the pleas in chambers and dismissed applications for listing of the review petitions in the open court. “No case for review under Order XLVII Rule 1 of the Supreme Court Rules 2013. The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed,” said the bench, CONTD. ON NATION 24-hr campaign ban on ex-judge ARITRA SINGHA / KOLKATA The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday called former Kolkata High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay’s comment on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “a low-level personal attack” and barred him from campaigning for 24 hours. Gangopadhyay had at an election campaign raised the Sandeshkhali incident and said, “Mamata Banerjee, how much are you being sold for? Your rate is 10 lakhs, why? Because you’re getting your make-up done by Keya Seth? Mamata Banerjee, is she even a woman? I keep wondering sometimes.” The poll panel, which censured Gangopadhyay the , Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Tamluk candidate for the Lok Sabha elections, said his statement is a “direct affront” to women. CONTD. ON NATION GROUND ZERO Menaka ploughs a lone furrow in Sultanpur BISWAJEET BANERJEE / SULTANPUR The BJP’s decision to withhold a ticket for Varun Gandhi has cast the spotlight on his mother, Menaka Gandhi, the party’s candidate from Sultanpur. Menaka, who clinched a victory here in 2019, submitted her nomination on May 2. She was joined by NDA allies, including NISHAD Party president Dr. Sanjay Nishad and Apna Dal leader Ashish Patel. Notably BJP leaders were missing. , In the lead-up to the May 25 election in the sixth phase, Menaka Gandhi has been conspicuously solo in her campaign efforts. Despite the absence of BJP’s star campaigners, she has not sought their support, focusing instead on grassroots connections with the electorate. FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI flamboyance of 40 flaminA gos took a fatal hit following a mid-air collision with an Emirates Airlines aircraft, in the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday The accident oc. curred when the aircraft from Dubai was landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. According to forest authorities, the cause of their death FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI 89.27 per cent, up from 86.42 cent in 2023, though per the region continues to fare the worst among nine divisions of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE). However, with a pass percentage of “She doesn’t rely on rallies by the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister to energize voters. She’s engaging directly with people at the grassroots level and has already visited nearly 100 out of 1,200 gram panchayats in the Awadh region,” a senior party member revealed. Insiders report that pradhans from over 900-gram sabhas are in direct contact with Menaka, forming the cornerstone of her campaign strategy . By avoiding high-profile campaigners, she aims to sidestep the divisive politics that could be detrimental. Menaka is highlighting her achievements over the past five years and appealing across caste and community lines. While she is confident in her approach, there is anticipation that BJP workers will support if UP cabinet minister Sanjay Nishad campaigns in Sultanpur, especially given SP’s nomination of Ram Bhual Nishad, who is targeting traditional Nishad voters. CONTD. ON NATION India on cusp of long-awaited economic take-off, says article in the bulletin INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY 40 flamingos fall after mid-air hit ‘Standing’ passenger offloaded Chess and studies: Perfect balance, 100% Pune real estate developer Vishal Aggarwal—whose Porsche, driven by his teen son at a lethal speed of 200 km/h, mowed down two IT engineers on Sunday— was arrested from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar early on Tuesday . Aggarwal, apprehending arrest after an FIR was lodged against him, enacted an elaborate charade to evade the police. While he himself headed off to Mumbai, another car was dispatched to Goa and Kolhapur, to drive the authorities off track. His family too was misinformed about his whereabouts. He had also switched off his phone but it was the GPS of a friend’s car – in which he had travelled to various locations, including his farm- INDIA LIKELY TO GROW BY 7.5% IN Q1: RBI BULLETIN An IndiGo flight, operating from Mumbai to Varanasi, on Tuesday was forced to return to the aerobridge at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International airport (CSMIA) after the crew spotted an overbooked passenger standing at the back just before take-off, reports NDTV . The male passenger standing at the rear was noticed just when flight 6E 6543 was taxiing. “It was then that the crew alerted the pilot and the flight had to return to the terminal,” Sandeep Pandey one , of the passengers, said, adds NDTV Airlines generally . overbook to limit the possibility of a flight departing with empty seats. Another passenger Akhilesh Chaubey who , was heading to Varanasi on a work trip, said, “The flight returned to the bay and the passenger was offloaded. CONTD. ON NATION was attributed to a mid-air collision with the aircraft. Sources said this was the first such incident involving flamingos. What is intriguing is that the flamingos, which normally settle in the mangrove swamps of Airoli in Navi Mumbai, were returning to Gujarat and their flight pattern does not normally bring them near the airport. Given their superlative honing skills, they can effortlessly fly thousands of kilometres without incident. The incident was first reported to the Pant Nagar police in Ghatkopar (E) by citizens, since the dead birds fell in their neighbourhood. The police, in turn, alerted the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) and the wildlife warden of the forest department. CONTD. ON NATION One dead on ‘horror’ flight Severe turbulence as aircraft plummets 6,000 feet FPJ NEWS SERVICE / BANGKOK A British national, 73, who had a heart condition, died and several others were injured on board a London-Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence in stormy weather, after it had crossed the Bay of Bengal. There were at least three Indian nationals among the 229 people on board. Tracking data showed the Singapore Airlines flight cruising at an altitude of 37,000 feet. Suddenly in a span , of three minutes, the Boeing 777 sharply plummeted to 31,000 feet. Passengers recounted the dramatic drop and said some of them who were not wearing seatbelts being hurled towards the cabin ceiling. The aircraft hovered at 31,000 feet for just under 10 minutes before rapidly descending and landing in Bangkok, where it was diverted. Pictures from inside the aircraft showed how intense the turbulence was with baggage 3 INDIANS ON BOARD strewn around, oxygen masks dangling and monitors and parts of interior ripped off. Emergency crews at Bangkok airport rushed to help injured passengers and footage showed a line of ambulances streaming to the runaway Flight SQ 321 was carry. ing a total of 211 passengers; 18 of them were rushed to a hospital and twelve received treatment. Seven passengers are believed to be critical. One woman who had a cut on her head was heard howl- ing. According to BBC there were several passengers with lacerations and bleeding ears. It is understood that the passengers had loosened their seat belts as breakfast was being served. BBC talked with a passenger who recounted how he was covered with coffee, which splattered the ceiling as well. The deceased passenger was accompanied by his wife and it is still to be ascertained whether he was wearing a seat belt. CONTD. ON NATION