THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 67 No. 238 | SATURDAY | JULY 6, 2024 | 37 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only www.freepressjournal.in Briefs Hathras: Key accused held The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday arrested Dev Prakash Madhukar, the key accused in the tragic stampede at a satsang in Hathras that claimed the lives of 121 people, mostly women. 'Mukhya sevadar' Dev Prakash Madhukar was identified as the main accused by the police, according to the FIR. Earlier, the police had announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information regarding the whereabouts of Madhukar. This comes a day after the UP police nabbed six people in connection with the Hathras stampede. They were all members of the organising committee involved in holding the satsang, the police stated, reports a news portal. 16 engineers suspended Sixteen engineers of the water resources department in Bihar have been suspended after 10 bridges collapsed in the last 15 days across the state, a statement by the department said. Bihar Development Secretary Chaitanya Prasad told reporters the contractors responsible for building the bridges will be traced and held to account. TN BSP chief hacked by six Bahujan Samaj Party’s Tamil Nadu president K Armstrong was hacked to death by a gang of six members near his house at Perambur in Chennai on Friday night. Armstrong, a former Councillor of the Greater Chennai Corporation, was the BJP state unit president for around 15 years. He had also organised a couple meetings in Chennai in which Mayawati had participated. Rohit’s dig at Surya Yadav Skipper Rohit Sharma, known for his deadpan appearance even in tense moments on the field, let the guard down when he addressed the members of the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, where the cricketers were felicitated for their T20 World Cup triumph. Not just that, he had a dig at his colleague Suryakumar Yadav for his dream catch in the world Cup final. "After Surya caught the ball, he told me that the ball sat in his hand. Thank goodness, it sat in his hand. Otherwise, I would have sat him out," Rohit said, leaving the assembly in splits. He could not control his laughter after cracking the joke. MUMBAI INDORE PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper GAMES NATION Modi government will fall by Aug, be prepared for snap election, Lalu tells RJD men fp EDITIONS: Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 Cinema Check out our verdict on films and OTT releases CM Eknath Shinde felicitates Mumbai players of T20 WC winning team 400 PAAR | Keir Starmer sweeps election in the worst ever rout for Conservatives LABOUR PAIN FOR TORIES Edit Cricket, the biggest draw for crowds COMMENT Ties with UK set for reboot? V Sudarshan MUMBAI FPJ News Service LONDON The Labour Party has won a landslide election in the UK, ousting the Conservatives after 14 years in an anti-incumbent vote. With almost all 650 results out, Labour has won more than 410 seats and the Conservatives secured fewer than 130, making it the worst rout for them in the 200-year history of the party. Keir Starmer on Friday promised a phase of “national renewal” as Britain's Prime Minister-elect. He had earlier successfully weaned away the Labour from the left-wing policies of his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, and reinvented the party as a credible alternative to the Conservatives. In his first speech to the nation as prime minister, Starmer said that Britain had “voted decisively for change, for national renewal,” and promised to lead a pragmatic KEIR WE GO: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised change; the first indication came when he appointed the first female chancellor to lead the Treasury in its history. government that would restore hope and the nation’s faith in politics and public service. Meanwhile, the country's first British Indian Prime Minister Rishi Sunak comfortably held on to his own seat but failed to turn things around for his party at a national level. A sombre-looking Sunak was joined by his wife Akshata Murty as he conceded his party's defeat. 4Contd on | Nation RECORD INDIAN-ORIGIN MPS ELECTED record number of around 26 Indianorigin members of Parliament have been elected to the House of Commons, with several of them among Conservatives surviving the overall brutal outcome. Outgoing prime minister Rishi Sunak held on to his seats, with a decisive win. Other prominent British Indian Tories A to cruise through were former home secretaries, Suella Braverman and Priti Patel, as did Sunak's Goan-origin Cabinet ally Claire Coutinho. Gagan Mohindra held on, with Shivani Raja trouncing fellow Indian Rajesh Agarwal (Labour) in the keenly watched constituency of Leicester East. 4Contd on | Nation The Labour Government has come to power after being in the wilderness for fourteen years. In this almost a decade and a half, the world has changed and the older underpinnings of Labour foreign policy are likely to be re-calibrated. The litmus test will be the traditionally prickly relations between the Labour party and India on issues such as Kashmir. As recently as in 2019, Labour had exhibited its interventionist tendencies. It remains to be seen how much of that has been eschewed, and how much lurks beneath the surface. How Labour walks the fine line between voter expectations, especially the Pakistani diaspora who form a solid vote bank, and expectations from an assertive New Delhi which has overtaken UK as the fifth largest economy in the world, with all its attendant pulls and pressures, remains to be seen. Indian diplomats, in the run up to the polls, would have got a pretty good sense of how the cards will fall. The new Prime Minister Keir Starmer sounds reasonable in his desire to push for strategic ties with India based on the new realities. 4Contd on | Nation J&K polls after Yatra winds up? Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI The BJP in a late night meeting on Thursday asked its party leaders and workers to prepare for the Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, which are likely to be held after the Amarnath Yatra winds up on August 19. The meeting also discussed the possibility of the saffron party contesting all the 90 Assembly seats. However, it would remain open to accommodating “like-minded parties.” The civic body polls are also due in the state. To start the process, it was conveyed to state leaders that party president J P Nadda would visit J&K on July 6 and address the state executive meeting of the party. He would also launch a mass contact programme to ensure that people know about the party’s plans and policies ahead of the polls. The meeting, which was chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah and Nadda, discussed the outcome of the recent Lok Sabha elections in which BJP won the Udhampur and Jammu seats for the third consecutive time. Shah too urged the party Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) leaders to be prepared for the Assembly polls and said the elections could be announced any time. The Assembly was dissolved following the revocation of the special status in August 2019. The senior leadership also conveyed there would be no change of leadership in the state ahead of the polls and that it would be using all the resources at its disposal so that the party does well. 4Contd on | Nation Exam illegalities: State law gets teeth Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI The Maharashtra Government has tabled a bill in the legislative assembly to check unfair competitive exam practices. Significantly, it makes all such offences cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable. Under the proposed law, if a service provider -- the agency which is engaged for conduct of competitive examination – engages in any illegality -- then it shall be liable to be punished with imposition of a fine up to Rs one crore; a proportionate cost of examination shall also be recovered from the service provider and he shall also be barred from discharging any responsibility for the conduct Probe into death of 21 newborns Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW Emotional scenes unfolded as Congress MP Rahul Gandhi visited the victims of the Hathras stampede on Friday, offering solace and promising to raise the issue in Parliament. Family members hugged and cried in his presence. A girl who lost her mother in the accident sobbed uncontrollably, and Rahul Gandhi comforted her, saying, "Don't worry, we are with you. You all are my family. We will raise this issue in Parliament." Speaking to the media in Hathras, Rahul Gandhi said, “It is a matter of grief that so many families have suffered, so many people lost their lives. I don't want to speak from a political standpoint, but there have been some lapses on part of the administration. There have been mistakes, which should be identified." He urged the government to ensure that there is no negligence in disbursing the compensation and urged that the police should take action against those responsible. “I have assured the families of all support and given them the commitment that justice will be done,” he said, adding: "I will help them in every possible way at my level.” Rahul sat on the ground as he spoke with the victims' families. He shared their grief and shock and claimed that the victims clearly told him that the accident happened due to the negligence of the administration. 4Contd on | Nation Sea of fans left ocean of trash S Balakrishnan & Prashant Narvekar THANE The Mahayuti government has swung into action following the report on the front page of the FPJ about the death of as many as 21 newborn children last month in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of the government-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, in Thane district. The district is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.  The Congress party, led by MLA Amin Patel, drew the government's attention on Friday to the ‘shocking report’ in the FPJ. Minister Uday Samant promised that an inquiry would be made and a statement would be made in the House within two days. He also said he would personally visit the hospital. Discarded footwear on pavement near Marine Drive FPJ News Service MUMBAI In an overnight mega clean-up drive at Marine Drive after Team India’s T20 World Cup victory parade, the BMC collected 11.5 metric tonnes of waste on Thursday. This was the quantity of waste carted away by two dumpers and five jeeps were filled with footwear and plastic bottles in the process. The nocturnal operation ensured that the following morning, walkers would have a NEW DELHI The Central government told the Supreme Court on Friday that the NEET UG exam held on May 5 should not be cancelled since there is no proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in the exam, reports Bar and Bench. The submission was made amidst the NEET UG exam being caught in a storm of allegations, including malpractices, mass question paper leaks and cheating. In an affidavit filed before the top court on Friday, the Central government's Ministry of Education maintained that cancelling the NEET UG exam and holding a fresh one would not be rational. "In the absence of any proof NEET PG ON AUG 11 The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences on Friday said the NEET PG exam will be conducted in two shifts on August 11. The exam was scheduled to be held on June 22 but was postponed as a "precautionary measure" just 12 hours before the examination. of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared. 4Contd on | Nation off-grid Moitra in pyjama row FPJ News Service NEW DELHI The remarks stem from a video released by Moitra on X which shows the NCW chief arriving at the stampede site with someone in the rear holding her umbrella. Reacting to the video, several users on social media wondered why the NCW chief could not hold the umbrella herself. Mahua took a dig at one such post and said Rekha is too busy ‘holding her boss’s pyjama.’ The NCW has taken suo motu cognizance of the remarks and wants an FIR lodged against Moitra; it has also written to Speaker Om Birla. The TMC MP quickly responded on social media. She urged the police to promptly act on the NCW's statement, stating that she is currently in Nadia.   "Come on Delhi Police please take action immediately on these suo motu orders. 4Contd on | Nation Baba's retinue kept him duly informed Biswajeet Banejee LUCKNOW Baba’s white house In the aftermath of the horrendous stampede at Baba Bhole’s satsang, an investigation has uncovered that 20 calls were made to Baba, from five different numbers. The numbers are believed to be those of the main organiser and his associates who kept the Baba informed of the developments after the Baba had fled the scene. Investigators suspect that based on clean promenade to set foot on.  Thousands of citizens had packed every square inch of space on the Marine Drive promenade on Thursday, in their enthusiasm to welcome the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. The champions’ victory parade began after 7.30pm, setting off from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) at Nariman Point and culminating at Wankhede Stadium. 4Contd on | Nation No large-scale breach, Tailpiece so no retest, says Govt Bajaj unveils Online Report Victims cry on Rahul’s shoulder of any competitive examination for a period of four years. If it is established during the investigation that an offence under this Act has been committed with the consent or connivance of any director, management or the persons in charge of the service provider firm, he shall be liable for imprisonment not less than three years but which may extend up to ten years; it may also entail a fine of one crore rupees. No action will be taken against a person who committed the offence without his knowledge and if he has exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such an offence. If the matter falls within the ambit of organised crime, the offending individual/group will get a three-to- five year jail term. A fine of Rs one crore will also be imposed. Property is also liable to be attached and proportionate cost of examination shall be recovered from it. these accounts, Bhole Baba instructed them to go into hiding. The Special Operations Group (SOG) teams of the police discovered that subsequent to the twenty calls, all five numbers were switched off. It is also emerging that instead of providing assistance to those who cried out for help, the volunteers urged the victims to chant the name of the Baba saying that would solve everything. Sources revealed that Dev Prakash Madhukar had informed Bhole Baba about the stampede. Call records show that a call was made to Baba's phone from Madhukar's number at 2:48 PM on Tuesday afternoon, with the conversation lasting 2 minutes and 17 seconds. Subsequent phone activity places Baba at his Mainpuri Ashram from 3 PM to 4:35 PM, during which he communicated with other organizing committee members. 4Contd on | Nation world’s first CNG Bike Suvasit Shrivastava MUMBAI Bajaj has revolutionized the two-wheeler market with the launch of the Bajaj Freedom, the world's first CNGpowered bike. Priced at a competitive Rs 95,000 (exshowroom), this innovative motorcycle aims at providing a cleaner and more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional petrol-powered bikes. The CNG bike is powered by a 125cc engine and it delivers 9.3bhp and 9.7Nm of torque. The 2kg CNG cylinder is securely positioned under the bike’s flat seat, held in place by a robust tubular steel cradle frame. By introducing a CNG option, Bajaj is set to transform the industry, offering an eco-conscious solution that reduces emissions and promotes sustainable transportation. The Bajaj Freedom boasts dual-fuel capability, featuring an auxiliary petrol tank with a 2-litre capacity, extending its combined range to an impressive 330 kilometres.