Vol. 67 No. 221 | SATURDAY | JUNE 15, 2024 | 32 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 REVIEWS THIS WEEK THE FP BULLETIN BSY ARREST IS STAYED BY HC Check out our verdict on films and OTT releases P32 EDIT STOP DEEPENING SOCIAL FISSURES PANIC ON TRAIN, THREE CRUSHED T here was no fire, but rumour of a fire was enough to trigger pandemonium aboard a train, leading to the death of three passengers, who were crushed under a goods rake, officials said. Around 8 pm on Friday, passengers on the Sasaram-Ranchi Intercity Express were about to settle in for the night when the rumour began doing the rounds; someone said the engine had caught fire, and panic ensued. The train was near Kumandih station in Latehar district when this happened, and several passengers jumped off the train, thinking they were fleeing for their lives. Blinded by fear, they failed to notice an oncoming goods train, which crushed three to death and left many others injured, including a child. PAK IS OUT OF WORLD CUP T he match between United States and Ireland at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida on Friday was washed out due to rain. The result thus helped USA advance to the Super-Eight round while last-edition runners-up Pakistan got knocked out of the tournament. Pakistan have thus bowed out of the tournament which they won way back in 2009. USA got one point from the abandoned game on Friday to reach 5 points, mark Pakistan a cannot reach even if they win their final league match against Ireland on June 16. P23 END TECH MONOPOLY: PM FPJ NEWS SERVICE / BARI (ITALY) T he Karnataka High Court on Friday stayed the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Chief Minister Yediyurappa BS in connection with a case registered against him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act), reports Bar and Bench. Justice Krishna S Dixit questioned the necessity to arrest Yediyurappa. The court was also not convinced by the State's allegation that the former CM had evaded a notice issued on June 11 to appear before the investigating officer, by flying to Delhi citing prior party commitments, hours after the notice was issued. "(Plane) ticket was booked only after notice is issued to him," Advocate General (AG) Shashi Kiran Shetty had argued today. The court, however, observed that Yediyurappa was a former Chief Minister and was unlikely to flee. The court also noted that Yediyurappa had replied to the June 11 notice by stating that he would appear before the Investigating Officer on June 17. "He is not some Tom, Dick or Harry. He is a former Chief Minister of State. Is it your case he will flee the country? What can he do by leaving for Delhi from Bangalore," the court said. The single-judge eventually ordered that no coercive action be taken against the former chief minister, particularly since Yediyurappa had volunteered in writing to appear before the investigating officer on June 17. FOREX RESERVES JUMP $4.3 BN TO HIT NEW ALLTIME HIGH OF $655.8 BN Prime Minister Modi on Friday addressed an outreach session of the G7 Summit where he underscored the need to end the monopoly of technology so that it reaches all sec, tions of society ‘‘This should . not only be our desire but our responsibility he said. ," The prime minister laid particular emphasis on artificial intelligence. "We must make technology creative, not destructive. Only then will we be able to lay the foundation PM Modi with his Italian counterpart of an inclusive society India . is striving for a better future through this human-centric approach," he said. India, he added, is among the first few countries to formulate a national strategy on artificial intelligence. "Based on this strategy we have , launched the AI Mission this year. Its basic mantra is 'AI for All.' As a founding member and lead chair of the global partnership for AI, we are promoting cooperation among all countries," he said. CONTD. ON NATION INVITE TO POPE P M Modi on Friday invited Pope Francis to visit India, which is home to the second-largest Catholic population in Asia. They met with a warm embrace at the Outreach session of the G7 Summit. "Met Pope Francis on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, I admire his commitment to serve the people and make our planet better. Also invited him to visit India," Modi said in a post on X. He was seen engaged in a lighthearted exchange with the 87-year-old head of the Catholic Church, who was taken around the table in a wheelchair to greet each of the world leaders. "It is up to each one of us to make good use of AI,” the Pope said in his address. The Prime Minister met Pope Francis during a private audience at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican in October 2021. BJP may ask Raj Thackeray to take on Uddhav in MMR ROHIT CHANDAVARKAR / MUMBAI The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been holding highlevel meetings behind closed doors in Mumbai and New Delhi as part of its strategic planning for the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra. One group of leaders feels it will be easier to counter Uddhav Thackeray in these elections if the BJP asks Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray to take on his cousin in five or six Assembly constituencies in the Mumbai Metro Region or MMR, which includes Mumbai and Thane. Many in the BJP think tank are willing to leave seats for the MNS and support that party’s candidate in various constituencies in the city and its suburbs. For the Lok Sabha polls, the BJP went with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in their seat sharing formula and though Raj Thackeray announced support to the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last phases of the campaign at a rally held at Shivaji Park, the BJP did not give him any constituency in their seat sharing formula. Raj had announced during the 2019 polls of Lok Sabha that his party would not contest any seat and in the 2024 polls also his party was not too eager to contest. CONTD. ON NATION D elhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has granted sanction to prosecute author Arundhati Roy and a former professor in Kashmir under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly making provocative speeches at an event in 2010, Raj Niwas officials said on Friday . The FIR against Roy and the former Central University of Kashmir professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain was registered following the SURESH GOLANI / MUMBAI OUR CORRESPONDENT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ed to the homes of the deceased in Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thrissur districts where funeral rites were conducted amidst outpouring of grief. POLITICAL ROW: Meanwhile, a controversy has erupted over the Centre's denial of permission to Kerala Health Minister Veena George to travel to Kuwait to coordinate relief efforts. PTI / NEW DELHI Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Congress-led opposition criticized the decision and described it as a "wrong stand" on the part of the Centre. "The minister had come here (Kochi), but could not travel due to a lack of political clearance. I am not raising it as a serious issue at the moment. It can be discussed later," Pinarayi said. CONTD. ON NATION SHOULD DEFEATED LOK SABHA CANDIDATES GET TO TAKE RS ROUTE FOR PARLIAMENT? – Participate in THE FREE PRESS online Poll WPI rises to 15-mth high FPJ NEWS SERVICE / NEW DELHI Wholesale inflation rose to a 15-month high of 2.61 per cent in May largely because , of higher prices of food items, especially vegetables, as a result of the heat wave and also because of costlier manufactured products. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation, which was (-) 3.61 per cent in May 2023, has been rising for three months in a row and was 1.26 per cent in the previous month. The last high in the WPI print was seen in February 2023, when inflation was 3.85 per cent. “The positive rate of inflation in May 2024 is primarily because of an increase in the prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, other manufacturing,” the Commerce & Industry Ministry said on Friday . CONTD. ON NATION Seventeen days after a 38year-old machine operator was trapped under the debris during tunnel shaft excavation work for the ongoing Surya Water Supply Project along the Versova Bridge in Vasai, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde visited the site on Friday . The incident was reported on the night of May 29, when the operator, identified as Rakesh Yadav, was lowering the machine into the shaft during the tunnelling process to connect the underground pipeline to the Thane creek. However, the soil gave away and the walled structure collapsed, causing the operator and machine to plunge to the Activists are livid, want CIDCO out of their city RAINA ASSAINAR / NAVI MUMBAI 20.6K & still counting RUMBLINGS OVER SUNETRA’S RS ENTRY SEE REPORT CITY In an unprecedented development, city planner CIDCO has complained in writing to NRI Coastal Police against the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, over the latter having opened the blocked water inlets at the DPS Flamingo Lake in Nerul. Shocked green activists have stated that this act of CIDCO only goes to confirm the allegations about its intention to ‘develop’ DPS Lake into money-making infrastructure, without caring for the environment. A letter signed by an executive engineer of CIDCO At any other time, NEET scores of 715 and 720, would have meant a cakewalk into the medical college of one’s choice. But this year, high scores have proven to be a disgrace. “My son has been in trauma ever since the SC verdict has come out. I am terribly worried about his health,” said a parent. The student, along with other candidates, was one of the recipients of the grace marks that are at the root of the entire ruckus. The cancellation of the scorecards of 1,563 NEET-UG SC NOTICE ON CBI PROBE T OUR BUREAU / NEW DELHI he Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre and the National Testing Agency ‘s (NTA) replies on a batch of petitions seeking CBI investigation into the alleged instances of paper leak in the conduct of the NEET-UG exam held on May 5. The court has also tagged the present petitions with earlier petitions raising similar issues, which are listed for hearing on July 8. lot of effort to plan their studies. It should not be cancelled as it would be unfair for successful students.” “The NTA has forced my child to seek help from a psychologist due to the chaos in the results. 0 Sunrise : 06:39 am Sunset : 06:04 pm “It has the whole of the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) to develop, & should concentrate there. Flamingos are our pride & now, we’ll show CIDCO the power of the common man” – NETRA SHIRKE, NERUL EX-CORPORATOR at Vashi, addressed to the Senior Police Inspector of Coastal Police, has said that MLA Ganesh Naik had visited the DPS Flamingo Lake area on May 23 and directed the NMMC officials to open the blocked channels. Accord-ingly NMMC contractors broke , an existing 300mm pipe and replaced it with a 600mm pipe and even drew water from the creek, with the help of 10 horse-power motors. The complaint said that the NMMC had not taken CIDCO’s permission before starting the work. CONTD. ON NATION was registered on a complaint lodged by Sushil Pandit, a social activist from Kashmir, on October 28, 2010. Roy and Hussain had allegedly made provocative speeches at a conference organised under the banner of 'Azadi - The Only Way' on October 21, 2010, at LTG Auditorium in the national capital. "The issues discussed and spoken about at the conference propagated the separation of Kashmir from India," said the official. CONTD. ON NATION RSS IDEOLOGUE HAS A DIG AT ‘ARROGANT BJP’ AGENCIES / JAIPUR In a clear dig at the BJP , Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue and member of the national executive, Indresh Kumar, has said that the ruling party fell short of a thumping majority as a feeling of arrogance had taken over. Speaking at the 'Ramrath Ayodhya Yatra Darshan Poojan Samaroh' event in Kanota near Jaipur on Thursday he , said, "The party which did bhakti of Lord Ram and became arrogant was stopped at 241, however, it became the biggest party It is the lowest ." showing for the BJP since 2014. "And those who had no faith in Ram were stopped at 234," he said, referring to the INDIA bloc. He further said, "See the 'Vidhan' of Ram Rajya in democracy; those who did 'Bhakti' of Ram, but gradually turned arrogant, emerged as the biggest party however, , the vote and the power that they should have been given was stopped by God due to arrogance." "Further, none amongst those who opposed Ram were given power. All of them together were made number two," he said. "Those who pray to Ram should be humble... Lord Ram does not discriminate and does not punish. Ram delivers justice to everyone. CONTD. ON NATION 2 WOMEN DIE IN COLLAPSE FPJ NEWS SERVICE / MUMBAI Two woman died when a portion of the second floor and third floor wall of a threestorey building in Antop Hill collapsed late on Friday evening. The wall collapse at Panja Gully in Wadala occurred at 9.30 pm, according to the BMC’s disaster management cell. A part of the wall, which was in a precarious condition after the collapse, was removed by the fire officials who had rushed to the spot. Two women — Shobhadevi Mourya (45 years) and Zakirunissa Shaikh (50 years) — injured in the mishap, were rushed to Sion hospital. However, both were declared brought dead by the doctor on duty . TAILPIECE NEET students’ trauma over grace marks 2024 candidates who were given grace marks may have solved the issue temporarily but has upended the lives of the recipients. The Free Press Journal spoke to parents of students who received grace marks and they seem livid and unable to comprehend what really happened. Now, they are worried about the mental health of their children. Another parent, Anjali Makandar, says, “My son has been in trauma ever since the news of re-examination has come out. The entrance is tough, and students put in a bottom of the shaft. A portable office container also fell in. The operator and the JCB were completely buried in the debris. After the incident, police and fire brigade were alerted as teams from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the spot and started rescue operations. However, it has been more than 17 days now and the operator has not been found. During his visit, Shinde informed that the Army and Coast Guard have been roped in to assist the NDRF and fire brigade in the rescue operation, with the help of advanced equipment. CONTD. ON NATION Flamingos need water, but CIDCO needs land PARENTS WORRY ABOUT THE MENTAL WELL-BEING OF THEIR KIDS MEGHA CHOWDHURY MUMBAI / orders of the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi, they added. There was no immediate reaction from Roy and Hussain. The FIR in the matter Buried for 17 days under debris, finally CM steps in Pope gets a warm hug from PM Modi 0 34 c. 23 c. Arundhati to be tried under anti-terror law SURYA WATER SUPPLY PROJECT IN VASAI Kerala overcome with grief as bodies arrive Kerala was grieving on Friday as 31 bodies were received at the Kochi airport by Central and state ministers, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. In all 45 bodies have arrived of which 14 were sent to Delhi in the same IAF aircraft. Families went into a huddle and solaced each other as the first casket carrying the remains of Arun Babu was brought out of the cargo terminal. Stifled sobs gave way to loud cries of grief as family members saw the names of their loved ones on the caskets. Seven of the 31 bodies belonged to expats from Tamil Nadu and one from Karnataka. Later, ambulances accompanied by police escorts head- The previous high for the kitty was $648.87 billion on May 10 P11 This is the first time I saw my son very disappointed, despite scoring 715 out of 720 marks in the examination,” said a Mumbai parent who wished to remain anonymous. They hope that the episode does not rob her son of his confidence. Amrita Kumar, another Mumbai parent, is facing a similar situation at home. “ After the verdict, my son locked himself in his room. We are all worried about him and are trying to talk it out with him and motivate him.” Then there are the distressed parents of students who scored 650 and yet were ranked 10,000. However, they said, they had never demanded a re-exam. Around 67 candidates bagged the top rank in NEET-UG 2024 by scoring 99.997129 percentile points. CONTD. ON NATION College students challenge hijab ban URVI MAHAJANI / MUMBAI Nine girl students from Chembur Trombay Education Society’s NG Acharya and DK Marathe College have approached the Bombay High Court challenging the college’s imposition of a ban on naqab, burka and hijab in the classroom, terming it as “arbitrary unreasonable, bad-in, law and perverse”. A bench headed by Justice AS Chandurkar will hear the petition next week. The petition sought the quashing of a notice cum message that was circulated on May 1 on the college What- sApp group of faculty and students imposing a “dress code” restriction on burqa, nakab, hijab, badge, cap, and stole. Such a directive was “nothing but colourable exercise of power”, contended the petitioners who are second and third year students of the college. The notice said that “only formal and decent dress in the college”, the petition pointed out, stating that the college has indirectly categorised the naqab, burka and hijab as indecent attire. “However, the fact is otherwise,” the plea states, adding that as a citizen, they have a right to dignity and bodily integrity . The petition alleged that the notice “targets religious beliefs and affairs” of the petitioners. CONTD. ON NATION