Vol. 67 No. 205 | TUESDAY | MAY 28, 2024 | 24 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 JANHVI KAPOOR ON FAILURES I don’t know if I have a fanbase as my films didn’t do well at BO EDIT MAN-MADE TRAGEDIES HAVE TO STOP MODI GOVT RESHAPED BUDGET IN LAST DECADE: SITHARAMAN Says the pace of reforms will continue to make India a developed nation 0 0 34 c. 29 c. Sunrise : 06:00 am Sunset : 07:11 pm CYCLONE MAMATA BREWING? Poll vows are not a corrupt practice: SC Will skip key INDIA bloc meeting on June 1; Is Mamata hoping to leverage her position depending on how fickle are the LS results? ROBIN ROY & ARITRA SINGHA KOLKATA A mercurial Mamata, who has a penchant for playing political cards close to her chest, has decided to skip the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting on June one. Political observers see this as nothing less than a ‘brewing political cyclone’ that will hit the coast once the EVMs have pronounced their verdict on June 4. This essentially means that Mamata will be conspicuous by her absence at a meeting where all other alliance partners will be present. The meeting has been convened by none other than Mallikarjun Kharge and is expected to take stock of the political variables involved in the run-up to the declaration of re- Two salon ex-staffers convicted of murder CHARUL SHAH JOSHI / MUMBAI Two former employees of the Bblunt Salon, Andheri, were convicted by the sessions court on Monday for the mur, der of the salon’s finance manager, Kirti Vyas, 28, in 2018. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on Tuesday . Vyas’s assistant, Sidhhesh Tamhankar, 34, and the 48-yearold head of the salon academy (name withheld as per court orders) had strangled her on March 16, 2018, the day she had gone missing. The two had, later, dumped her body in a drain in Wadala-Mahul at night. The body was never found but the prosecution has argued that Tamhankar had stran- THE FP BULLETIN DENIED BOOZE, SO DJ IS SHOT A   man shot dead a DJ (disc jockey) late Sunday night at a bar after the employees refused to serve him alcohol in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. CCTV captured the shooter barging into the Extreme Bar wearing only shorts. He had covered his face with his t-shirt, the footage showed. The accused and four others arrived at the bar around 1 am when it had closed and asked the bar staff to serve them alcohol. “On being refused, a heated argument ensued between them and the bar staff. During the argument, one of them brought in a rifle and shot at the DJ in his chest from point-blank range,” said Chandan Sinha, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ranchi. The accused, Abhishek Singh, has been arrested from Gaya. He has been handed over to the Jharkhand Police. gled Vyas in the car, with his handkerchief. Sessions Judge M G Deshpande, while pronouncing the verdict on Monday observed , that “the offence is proved against both of you”. The court later asked police to take in custody the woman, who was out on bail. The court later said that the accused be given a day’s time, to make submissions on the quantum of sentence. The woman convict, however, was speechless and in a state of shock while an enraged Tamhankar said he did not want to make any submission on the quantum of sentence. The court however, said that it would hear the arguments from the prosecution and defence on Tuesday . CONTD. ON NATION sults. Mamata has cited the last phase of elections in the state as well as the need to battle the after-effects of cyclone Remal as the reasons for playing truant. The decision has been conveyed to the block, sources said. However, political observers are wondering whether Mamata is positioning herself, hoping to leverage her position depending on how fickle the results are. BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Shamik Bhattacharya said the CM’s political acumen cannot be questioned. “CM Banerjee understands politics inside out and is acutely aware that BJP is romping home with a massive mandate,” he said. CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty called Mamata’s decision a “clear indication of the setting between PM Modi and Didi.” A lot will, of course, depend on the numbers Mamata has in West Bengal and how precarious the calculus is at the Centre. More important, which side is more inclined to bend backwards to accommodate her interests. The equations within the INDIA bloc could also change overnight and catapult her in a pre-eminent position. Mamata had clearly blamed West Congress’s strongman Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury months before the Lok Sabha polls for botching up the prospects of the Opposition alliance and explicitly said that TMC would walk the Lok Sabha polls alone in West Bengal. CONTD. ON NATION AGENCIES / NEW DELHI The SC has said that commitments made by political parties in their election manifestos will not amount to “corrupt practice” under the election laws. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan made the observation while dismissing a plea by a voter hailing from the Chamrajpet Assembly Constituency challenging the election of a candidate belonging to the Congress. The plea alleged that commitments by the Congress in its election manifesto for the 2023 Karnataka assembly poll were direct and indirect financial help to the public which amounted to corrupt electoral practice. “The contention of the learned counsel that the commitments by a political party in its manifesto, CONTD. ON NATION Good SSC outing for State board Mumbai Division betters success rate, but once again it is first from the bottom ■ Girls outdo boys; 187 students score 100% while 90s-club expands FPJ NEWS SERVICE/ MUMBAI In what could be called the best SSC outing for the Maharashtra state board since the Covid-era, 94.86 per cent students cleared the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination this year. The only time the board had recorded a better performance at the Class 10 board exams in recent times was during the Covid lockdown years of 2021 and 2022, when the passing rates were 99.95 and 96.54 per cent, respectively . The results of the Class X board exams, declared by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary (MSBSHSE) on Monday show an increase of al, most two percentage points in the state-wide success rate, up from 93.07 per cent in 2023. While the pass percentage of Mumbai Division, which comprises the city Palghar, Thane, , Raigad and Palghar districts, also rose from 92.26 per cent to 93.88 per cent, the region fell from sixth position to the last among nine divisions. As has been the trend, girls had a better outing than boys. The girls had a success rate of 96.59 per Shah pitch for poll bond substitute Minor’s sample was switched at Sassoon Hospital before sending it for forensic test, so it does not show traces of liquor FPJ NEWS SERVICE / PUNE The Pune city police on Monday arrested two senior doctors of Sassoon Hospital and a peon for allegedly changing the blood samples of the minor boy who killed two young , engineers while driving a Porsche car under the influence of liquor on May 19. During its investigation, the police found that the staff at Sassoon Hospital allegedly replaced the minor’s blood sample before sending it for a forensic test to verify the presence of alcohol in the blood. In other words, the sample sent for forensic test was not of the juvenile accused at all. “ Around 11 am on May 19, a blood sample (of the teen) that was taken at Sassoon Hospital was thrown in a dustbin and the blood sample of another person was taken and sent to the forensic lab. CMO Srihari Halnor replaced the sample on the instructions of Ajay Tawade, HOD of Kejriwal wants bail extended by a week To curb influence of black money, Home Minister Amit Shah says Parliament needs to work out an alternative to electoral bonds which were scrapped by the Supreme Court PTI / NEW DELHI Union Home Minister Amit Shah believes the influence of black money will increase following the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the electoral bond scheme, and said it is for Parliament to decide on an alternative. If the incidence of black money increases, an alternative should be found, he said. In an interview to PTI, Shah said the scheme, which allowed donors to fund political parties anonymously by purchasing bonds from the SBI, was scrapped at a crucial moment. The Supreme Court struck down the scheme in February , a month before the Lok Sabha elections were announced. “I believe and, this is my guess, that it will increase the influence of black money in elections and politics. When political parties submit their account for the fiscal year, how much money is by cash donation and how much is through cheque will be known. The donation figure by cheques reached 96% at the time of the bond,” he said. “Now you will know. If the impact of black money rises, an alternative should be found. There should be a debate in Parliament.” Asked if he thought the influence of black money would increase in the ongoing elections due to the scrapping of the electoral bond scheme, Shah said, “I guess so.” What does he consider an alternative to the bond scheme? CONTD. ON NATION This will have to be debated in Parliament. We will have to discuss this with all parties. The Supreme Court’s view is also very important since its judgment has come. The Attorney General and Solicitor General will also have to be consulted. So we will have to deliberate collectively and decide on a new alternative. cent as compared to the corresponding rate for boys – 93.36 per cent. There was also an uptick in the number of high scorers at state board schools. CONTD. ON NATION Porsche cover-up: 2 doctors arrested forensic medicine department at Sassoon Hospital,” Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said. It is understood that a sum of Rs three lakhs had changed hands. However, the Pune city police, as a preventive measure, had taken another blood sample of the boy in the evening on the same day (May 19), for DNA test, the police commissioner added. When the two DNA tests did not match, it was apparent that the blood samples had been switched. The phones of  both doctors have been seized. Investigation has also revealed Dr Tawade and the father of the teen accused spoke over the phone on the day of the accident, Kumar told media persons, CONTD. ON NATION Heat wave will recede after May 30 GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the Supreme Court, which had on May 10 granted him interim bail till June 1 in the Delhi liquor policy case, to extend the term of the interim bail by another seven days. In a petition, Kejriwal has sought an additional seven day’s interim bail on health grounds for undergoing PET-CT scans and other medical examinations. Revealing the details of the request, Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Atishi said on Monday that Kejriwal had lost seven kilograms in weight following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the case on March 21 and was yet to regain his health. She added that his ketone levels were significantly high and this had prompted the doctors to recommend further examination and that is why the petition has been filed. CONTD. ON NATION The northwest and central parts of India, which are currently sizzling in severe heat wave conditions, can breathe easy after May 30. The weather office had earlier issued alerts for Delhi and Rajasthan as temperatures soared to 50 degrees in certain areas. Now, normal to above-normal minimum temperatures are expected in most parts of the country in June. According to IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, there could also be some thunderstorm activity in northwest India and rain in the western Himalayan region. The announcement comes along with IMD’s monsoon forecast. The IMD has predicted above-normal monsoon for central and south peninsular India, normal in north-west and below-normal in northeast India. CONTD. ON NATION Rajkot blaze: Police chief, others shifted FPJ NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD Two days after a blaze killed 33 persons in a recreation centre in Rajkot, the state government on Monday transferred the city’s police commissioner, two other IPS officers and the civic chief. Police Commissioner Raju Bhargava, Additional Commissioner of Police Vidhi Choudhary and Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-2) Sudhirkumar Desai were transferred without postings. The government has also transferred Rajkot Municipal Commissioner and IAS officer Anand Patel. Brajesh Ku- LAST WORD mar Jha, Special Commissioner of Police, Sector-2, Ahmedabad, will be the new Rajkot police commissioner. Were you sleeping for three years?: The transfers came after the Gujarat High Court, in a scathing rebuke, expressed its lack of trust in the state government machinery following the devastating fire. The bench, comprising Justices Biren Vaishnav and Deven Desai, questioned the Rajkot Municipal Corporation about their oversight and enforcement of safety regulations on the second day of the suo motu hearing on Monday . CONTD. ON NATION FIRST–PERSON Is it King of Clay’s swansong in Paris? CLOTHES RIPPED IN TURBULENCE HARIDEV PUSHPARAJ / MUMBAI He lorded over the hallowed Roland Garros clay court for a better part of his career with aplomb, but all good things, as they say come to an end. Or so , it seems, with Rafael Nadal. The ‘King of Clay’ and 22times Grand Slam champion was sent crashing out of the French Open in his first round match by Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3. The defeat is seen by many as Nadal’s swansong at the French Open, which he has clinched a record 14 times, having been an absolute mas- ter on one of the trickiest surfaces. Nadal’s loss to the fourth seeded Zverev brings the curtains down on one of the longest love affairs in Grand Slam tennis. The Spaniard from Mallorca has an astounding 112-4 record at the prestigious tournament and some of Nadal’s biggest rival like the legendary Novak Djokovic, fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, a wellknown Nadal super fan, were in attendance. With the Paris Olympics fast approaching later this year, Nadal was hoping to fea- ture for Spain perhaps one last time and grace the Court Philippe-Chatrier to regale and enthral his ardent Parisian fans. The Spanish icon was struggling with an injury sustained after the 2023 Australian Open and had lost out in action for most of the last season. If Nadal indeed officially announces this appearance as his last at the French Open, the annual slugfest of the best of the best for The Musketeers Cup would never be the same, leaving a huge void that will be hard to fill. P assengers on the Qatar Airways flight to Dublin, which was hit by extreme turbulence, have described how their clothes were ripped and flight attendants were thrown in the air. A passenger recounted how her partner had to pin her down to stop her from being launched out of her chair as she had been sleeping without a seatbelt. Eight people sustained injuries that required hospitali- sation. Several passengers told Irish broadcaster RTE how the cabin was suddenly plunged into chaos as it entered the air pocket just as flight attendants were serving food. A passenger, who was travelling back from holiday in Thailand, said: ‘’We felt the plane dip for about five seconds and next to us we saw the flight attendant just go up in the air and come straight back down.’’ ‘’There was pan- ic, the look of panic everywhere,’ another passenger said. ‘’Some of the flight attendants had scratches on their face, had to apply ice... one girl had a sling on her arm.’’ There were accounts of food flying around as the turbulence hit while meal was being served; but there was general praise of the air stewards on board as they went about their jobs despite the commotion.