Vol. 67 No. 223 | WEDNSDAY | JUNE 19, 2024 | 26 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only ESTD-1928 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL ✩✩✩ Reg.No Mcs 0482021-23; RNI No. 1541/1967 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 40001 QUALITY @ VALUE www.freepressjournal.in NATION Modi highlights role of farmers in transforming nation’s economy P.15 EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper WORLD Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Edit Crises and promises: A tale from rural Maharashtra P.21 Putin vows trade with North Korea beyond the reach of the West Cinema I never imagined getting a film like Munjya: Abhay Verma P.28 P.23 BJP WON’T Even “0.001 % negligence” ROCK BOAT not acceptable: SC to NTA FOR NOW ZERO TOLERANCE | We need timely action from you, SC tells Centre and NTA FPJ News Service NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said even if there was "0.001 per cent negligence" on the part of anyone in the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 examination, it should be thoroughly dealt with. Observing that students have to labour hard preparing for these examinations, the apex court said the litigation pertaining to the NEET exam- ination ought not to be treated as adversarial. The examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. "Even if there is 0.001 per cent negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with," a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti told the advocates appearing for the Centre and the National Test- ing Agency (NTA). The bench was hearing two separate petitions raising grievances, including on grace marks given to students in the examination held on May 5. "We all know the labour which the children undergo, especially in preparing for these exams," the bench said, adding, "Imagine a person who has played fraud on the system and becomes a doctor, he is more deleterious to the society". When an advocate appearing for one of the petitioners referred to a conversation with advocates appearing for the Central government and the NTA outside the courtroom, Justice Bhati said, “Your (the NTA and the Central government) stance ought not to change the moment you enter the court, just because you are representing the agency which is responsible for KEEPING UP PRETENCE: May not snap ties with Ajit, only wants to signal no partner is indispensable Contd on | Nation Rohit Chandavarkar Woman battered to death by Ex Incident happened on busy road with no one trying to stop the assault FPJ News Service VASAI In a gut-wrenching incident in Vasai, a young woman, identified by police as Aarti Jadhav, 22, was brutally bludgeoned to death allegedly by her former boyfriend, identified as Rohit Yadav, 29, in the middle of a busy road on Tuesday morning, in the Chinchpada area. CCTV footage shows the 29year-old Yadav, wielding a spanner, repeatedly striking the victim on her head and chest. In between attacking the woman mercilessly, he is also heard yelling, “Kyun kiya aisa mere saath (Why did you do this to me)?” fp Briefs CRPF bus is torched A bus ferrying CRPF personnel was intercepted, the soldiers were asked to get down and the vehicle was set on fire by a mob in Manipur's hill district Kangpokpi on Monday night, the police said. The bus was registered in the name of an individual from the valley-dominant Meitei community. The mob's action was in retaliation to the burning of two trucks in Meitei-dominated areas. B ite On a thanks giving visit to his Varanasi constituency, PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday said it appears that mother Ganga has now adopted him. 'Ab to Maa Ganga ne bhee jaise mujhe god le liya hai, main yaheen ka ho gaya hoon.’ He acknowledged the blessings of the people of Kashi which have enabled him to become a ‘pradhan sevak’ for the third time. Shockingly, there were onlookers at the scene but they were too busy shooting videos of the assault instead of jointly rushing to the woman’s rescue or calling the cops. Neither did motorists, who passed by, offer any assistance. Going by the CCTV footage, only one man is seen trying to come to Jadhav’s rescue. Yadav is seen ignoring him at first but later, threatens him with the wrench. By this time, a considerable crowd has gathered at the spot; however, no onlooker dares to confront or stop Yadav’s merciless onslaught. Contd on | Nation BJP keeps the speaker card close to chest Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday convened a meeting with several Union ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal (United) and the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) to discuss the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates for the posts of Speaker and Deputy Speaker and to also decide on the issues to be raised during the Vote of Thanks to the President’s Address during the upcoming first session of the 18th Lok Sabha. Kyun kiya aisa mere saath, cried out the assailant. Contd on | Nation HC nixes order on aid to vegetating wife Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay HC recently set aside a sessions court order which had reduced the interim maintenance payable by an NRI to his wife—who is in a vegetative state—from Rs 1.2 lakh per month, to Rs 25,000. The HC was hearing an appeal filed by the wife, challenging the order of the sessions court reducing the maintenance amount awarded to her by the trial court under the Domestic Violence Act (DC Act). According to the plea, the couple married in 2016 and moved to the UK, where the husband was employed. In 2017, the woman suffered a medical condition which resulted in her entering a vegetative state. Later, her family brought her back to Mumbai. She then filed an application under the DV Act, seeking maintenance from the husband. PTI NCERT Director D P Saklani has lamented that parents remain fascinated by Englishmedium schools, even though many don't have trained teachers, saying that it is "nothing less than suicide," since government schools provide quality education. In an interaction with PTI's editors at the agency's headquarters here, the chief of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) said the practice of cramming content in English has led to knowledge loss among children and distanced Parents are obsessed with English-medium schools, even if teachers are no good: NCERT them from their roots and culture. "Parents are obsessed with English-medium schools: they prefer to send children to such schools even if there are no teachers or they are not fully trained. This is nothing less than suicide and this is Contd on | Nation FPJ News Service DHARAMSALA, BEIJING China expressed “strong concern” even as a US Congressional delegation led by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul arrived in Dharamsala on Tuesday to meet Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama. The meeting is scheduled on Wednesday morning. Dharmasala is the seat of Tibet's government in exile. China also urged President Biden not to sign the Tibet policy bill, which seeks to counter Chinese disinformation on Tibet. Apart from McCaul, the US Amid the BJP’s preparations for seat-sharing talks with its alliance partners ahead of the state assembly polls, on Tuesday, there was brainstorming about whether the alliance with Ajit Pawar’s NCP had yielded results in the recent Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra and whether this alliance had to be continued for the assembly polls. At a high-level meeting of the BJP in the national capital on Tuesday, at which Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandras- hekhar Bawankule and BJP leader Pankaja Munde were present, the subject came up for discussion. Apart from the discussion over probable alliances in Maharashtra, the BJP brass also discussed other issues. Sources close to Fadnavis revealed that he had once again pressed the demand that he be allowed to resign as deputy CM and focus only on the assembly poll campaign. Reportedly, the party’s central leadership wants Fadnavis to continue in government and no decision was taken. Contd on | Nation A portion of a newly constructed bridge -- which cost the Bihar exchequer Rs 12 crores – caved in ahead of its inauguration on Tuesday. Initially, only a portion of the bridge over river Bakra in Araria district collapsed; it was instantly washed away by the swirling waters of the river, even as people standing precariously close to the bridge scurried to safety. The BJP MLA from Sikti, Vijay Kumar Mandal, alleged that the unholy nexus between the contractor and officials of rural works department was responsible for the collapse. Officials claimed that the construction of the bridge was complete but work on the approach road was not yet over. According to Araria district officials, the same bridge had collapsed in 2020 as well, due to heavy rainfall. Twelve people, including a motorcyclist, had fallen into the Bakra then. The bridge had collapsed near Udaghat that time. Authoritative sources said that eight pillars were constructed in the third phase and an equival- Contd on | Nation Courier man is run over by Merc in Pune A 41-year-old courier delivery person on a motorcycle was allegedly run over by a Mercedes SUV near the golf course at Yerwada after he reportedly lost balance and fell on the ground. CCTV footage showed that before the deceased could react, the Mercedes, coming from behind, ran over him, before coming to a halt. here was speculation in the NCP that senior party leader and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal was unhappy at being denied both the Lok Sabha candidature, as well as the Rajya Sabha nomination recently and he may cross over to another party in the coming weeks. But NCP official spokesperson Umesh Patil denied this and claimed that Bhujbal had not been an aspirant in either of the elections. Bhujbal himself was not available to comment on the issue but most of the activists close to him told the FPJ that he was unlikely to quit Ajit faction. T Contd on | Nation Contd on | Nation delegation consists of six more prominent US Congressional members, namely, Nancy Pelosi (Speaker emeritus), Mariannette Miller, Gregory Meeks, Nicole Malliotakis, Jim McGovern, and Ami Bera. After arrival at the Gaggal Airport here, McCaul expressed enthusiasm about the visit and said, "We are excited at the prospect of meeting His Holiness the Dalai Lama and talk about many things, including the bill which was passed by the Congress; it essentially says that the United States of America stands with the people of Tibet." Home, Heart & Happiness! With Heartfelt Gratitude sary Special Anniver ffer O Contd on | Nation ent number in the first and second phases. The eight pillars constructed in the first two phases were stated to be intact. Araria district magistrate Inayat Khan said that the matter would be fully investigated. Bihar is no stranger to under-construction bridges collapsing before their inauguration. One such structure on the river Ganga connecting Contd on | Nation ting Celebra rs Yea 35% offs for fee A bridge sinks in a river of corruption Dheeraj Kumar Fifty hospitals in Mumbai and 41 airports across the country received email bomb threats on Tuesday, sending ripples across the security spectrum and constraining authorities to initiate contingency measures and carry out antisabotage checks that lasted hours. All the threats were found to be a hoax, official sources said. The hospitals in Mumbai that received bomb threats over email include Jaslok Hospital, Raheja Hospital, Seven Hills Hospital, Kohinoor Hospital, KEM Hospital, JJ Hospital, and St. George Hospital. The threatening emails were sent using a VPN network, the Mumbai police said, adding that the identity of the sender and the motive behind the threat are yet to be ascertained. Indu Bhagat ‘Bhujbal is staying put’ offgrid PATNA FPJ News Service MUMBAI PUNE The magistrate, on July 30, 2022, considering the husband’s income in the UK, awarded a monthly compensation of Rs 1.2 lakh to the wife. This was challenged by the husband before the sessions court, English medium schools China frets as US delegates ‘nothing short of suicide’ arrive to meet Dalai Lama NEW DELHI MUMBAI Hoax bomb call to city hospitals on processing home loan sanctioned from 19th to 25th June 2024 Home Loans @ 8.50%* onwards Send “HI” on WhatsApp@ upto `2 crores 8369998182 For online Home Loan Approval Download HomY App To apply online visit www.lichousing.com Registered Office: 2nd Floor, Bombay Life Building, 45/47, Veer Nariman Road, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. STD: (022), Tel (EPABX): 2204 9799/9919. 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