FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLI No. 91 | INDORE | SUNDAY | SEPTEMBER 8, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Cinema Rajiv opens up about his arranged marriage with Aarti and more ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper World Ukraine shoots down scores of Russian drones WEEKEND Rinaa Shah has defied stereotypes to prove her mettle in a maledominated world Variety Prasoon Joshi talks about penning the script for Rajadhiraaj PROF’S DEATH BY SWINE FLU GIVES JITTERS TO DAVV After Digvijaya’s President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to attend varsity convocation on September 19 in Indore Our Staff Reporter INDORE In a worrisome development for Indore, the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, claimed its first casualty of 2024 within Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya campus, where President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to attend convocation on September 19. The victim, who teaches in DAVV, passed away on Saturday evening after battling swine flu for a week. He first showed fp Briefs AIZAWL 33K pigs with ASF culled Over 12,200 pigs were killed and over 21,000 pigs culled as the outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) continued in Mizoram for over past seven months, officials said on Monday. Mizoram Animal Husbandry and Veterinary (AHV) Department officials said due to the outbreak of ASF, a large number of farmers across the state incurred huge losses. KHANDWA 5 injured in wolf attack Five of a family members from Khandwa district were injured after they were attacked by a wolf, officials said.The incident took place at 2:30 a.m. on Friday in Malgaon village in tribaldominated Khalwa tehsil, nearly 20 km from the district headquarters, Harsud Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Sandeep Vaskale told the media. (Details on District Page) PESHAWAR symptoms of the disease shortly after university hosted an international conference on August 23 and 24. The meet was attended by a few people from Mexico as well. He was diagnosed with H1N1, which has sparked concerns among the campus community, especially those who attended the event or interacted with him in last few days. The news of his death caused unease across the campus, with several individuals isolating themselves Will university go for test of staffers and students before holding the convocation? Will it seek guidance from the powers-that-be for and others reporting symptoms of the deadly disease. The potential spread of the infection has raised fear of a larger outbreak, just as DAVV is preparing for its high-profile convocation ceremony. While the news of death of professor, with swine flu, was making rounds in the city, the health officials expressed unawareness hosting the event? Unaware Health dept FIRST-OF-ITS KIND | After years of denial, General Asim Munir in his Defence Day speech mentioned Kargil along with three wars with India Pak Army chief admits direct role in Kargil war IANS ISLAMABAD In what is being seen as a firstof-its kind confession by the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir has admitted Pakistani military's direct role in the 1999 Kargil war against India. During his Defence Day speech on Friday, Munir mentioned Kargil along with the three wars with India while paying homage to what he termed as "sacrifices rendered through martyrdom" by soldiers of the Pakistan Armed forces. "Certainly Pakistani nation is a powerful and brave nation, which understands the value of freedom and knows how to 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war between Pakistan and India, or the war in Siachen, thousands sacrificed their lives and were martyred for the safety and security of the country General Syed Asim Munir The statement is being seen as a first-ofits-kind confession by a sitting Army Chief on the direct role of country's military in the Kargil war, a position Islamabad has refrained from taking for the past 25 years. So far, Pakistan had denied involvement in the 1999 war and claimed that it was an action taken by freedom fighters of Kashmir Nitendra Sharma Closed shops at a market after six people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur’s Jiribam district, on Saturday Agencies Six people were killed in fresh violence in Manipur's Jiribam district on Saturday, police said. Security forces, on the other hand, destroyed three bunkers of militants in Churachandpur district on Friday after the insurgents launched rocket attacks in adjoining Bishnupur that killed one person and injured six others. On Saturday, one person was shot dead in his sleep while four others were killed in subsequent exchange of fire CM announces ` 1 crore for martyred jawan’s parents Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL/ CHHATARPUR Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced Rs 1 crore for parents of army jawan Pradeep Patel who died in a road accident in Sikkim’s Pakyong recently. The body of martyr jawan Pradeep Patel was brought to Khajuraho airport from where it was taken to his native village Hardua in Katni district. CM Mohan Yadav paid tribute to martyr jawan Pradeep Patel at Khajuraho airport. After paying the tribute, CM said that government has decided to pay Rs 1 crore to parents of martyr jawan. He added that whether it is a peace time or war time, army personnel discharge their duty with full dedication. 4Continued on | P6 between people of two warring communities in Jiribam district, a police officer said. Militants entered the house of the person who lived alone at an isolated location around 5 km from the district administration headquarters and shot him dead in his sleep, he said. After the killing, a heavy exchange of fire took place between people of the warring communities leading to the deaths of four armed persons, including three hills-based militants, the officer said. 4Continued on | P6 Lobbying for the post of the BJP’s state unit president has intensified as the dates for party’s organisational election are nearing. Apart from some senior leaders, a few others have also become active to get party’s top job in the state. The way BJP appointed Mohan Yadav as chief minister and selected VD Sharma as mant Khandelwal and Rameshwar Sharma from B h o p a l (Huzur seat), and an MP Faggan Singh Kulaste, Hemant Khandelwal from Mandla and Rameshwar Sharma Faggan Kuthe president of the party’s laste have thrown their hat state unit sidelining several into the ring. leaders has given confidence Nevertheless, it is yet to be to many politicians to vie for decided whether Sharma will the post. get another term or not. Legislators from Betul HeSeeing the possibilities of Cancellation of appointment of 289 B.Ed teachers put on hold Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The cancellation of appointments of 289 primary teachers hired based on their B.Ed, has been halted. CPI Shilpa Gupta has directed that since the matter is in court, the teachers should not be removed from their jobs or schools. They will continue to work in their institution until a final decision. On 29 August, the directorate of Public Instruction issued an order to terminate their jobs, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling. The appointments of 289 primary teachers in Madhya Pradesh who hold a B.Ed. degree were earlier cancelled following a Supreme Court order. The Supreme Court, in its ruling on August 11, 2023, nullified the NCTE notification dated June 28, 2018, 4Continued on | P6 offgrid Boeing’s troubled capsule returns to Earth empty Agencies NEW MEXICO Boeing's first astronaut mission ended Friday night with an empty capsule landing and two test pilots still in space, left behind until next year because NASA judged their return too risky. Six hours after departing the International Space Station, Starliner parachuted into New Mexico's White Sands Missile Range, descending on autopilot through the desert darkness. It was an uneventful close to a drama that began with the June launch of Boeing's long-delayed crew debut and quickly escalated into a dragged-out cliffhanger of a mission stricken by thruster failures and helium leaks. For months, Butch Wilmore and SunitaWilliams' return was in question as engineers struggled to understand the capsule's problems. Boeing insisted after extensive testing that Starliner was ‘napunsak’ jibe, VD challenges his potency Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh’s 'napunsak' (impotent) jibe at state BJP chief and Khajuraho MP VD Sharma triggered a political storm on Saturday. Responding to Sharma's accusation that he has “strong connections with terrorist organisations”, the veteran Congress leader said, “If V.D. Sharma thinks I am a supporter of terrorist organisations, 'toh mujhe unki napunsakta pe nirasha hoti hai' (I regret his impotency).” The Congress veteran made the remarks while addressing a joint press conference at the CPI-M office in Bhopal on Saturday, where he also said that the literacy rates among Muslims, Scheduled Castes (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST) were at par. Yet, Muslims are not represented properly in government jobs compared to SC/ST communities. 4Continued on | P6 safe to bring the two home, but NASA disagreed and booked a flight with SpaceX instead. Their SpaceX ride won't launch until the end of this month, which means they'll be up there until February - more than eight months after blasting off on what should have been a quick trip. Wilmore and Williams should have flown Starliner back to Earth by mid-June, a week after launching in it. But their ride to the space station was marred by the cascade of thruster trouble and helium loss, and NASA ultimately decided it was too risky to return them on Starliner. So with fresh software updates, the fully automated capsule left with their empty seats and blue spacesuits along with some old station equipment. "She's on her way home," Williams radioed as the white and blue-trimmed capsule undocked from the space station 260 miles (420 kilometers) over China and disappeared into the black void. Williams stayed up late to see how everything turned out. "A good landing, pretty awesome," said Boeing's Mission Control. 4Continued on | P6 Singh wants to snatch SC/ST rights for Muslims: Sharma Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL BJP’s state unit president VD Sharma has challenged former chief minister Digvijaya Singh’s potency after Singh called Sharma ‘impotent.’ Singh wants to snatch the right to reservation from the SC/ST category and give it to Muslims, Sharma said. “If I protest against Singh’s statement, I am ready to accept his comments on me. I challenge Singh’s potency for his efforts to snatch the rights of SC/ST category,” Sharma said. According to Sharma, he respects Singh, but the language he used is not suitable to his stature. 4Continued on | P6 Diggi wants to be Jinnah: Rameshwar Reacting to ex-CM Digvijaya Singh’s satement on less Muslim representation in jobs than SC/ST category, BJP MLA Rameshwar Sharma said that Lobbying for the post of BJP’s state unit president intensifies among leaders BHOPAL IMPHAL/KOLKATA sustain it. 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war between Pakistan and India, or the war in Siachen, thousands sacrificed their lives and were martyred for the safety and security of the country," he told the gathering at the GHQ. Munir's statement is being seen as a first-of-its-kind confession by a sitting Army Chief on the direct role of country's military in the Kargil war, a position Islamabad has refrained from taking for the past 25 years. So far, Pakistan had denied its involvement in the 1999 war and claimed that it was an action taken by "freedom fighters" of Kashmir. Former Army Chief General Pervaiz Musharraf always claimed that the Kargil operation was a successful localized action. about the same. “We have not been notified by the hospital yet. There are total 13 positive cases in Indore since January and there are only three active cases at present,” Dr Anshul Mishra, district epidemiologist said. Meanwhile, doctors of Suyash Hospital said that the professor was suffering from co-morbidities including sleep apnoea, hypertension, and others. He was admitted to the hospital for the last seven days. Hemant, Faggan, Rameshwar eye VD’s chair Six killed in fresh Manipur violence Four suicide bombers killed Security forces thwarted a deadly attack on a Frontier Corps unit headquarters and killed four suicide bombers in northwestern Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said on Saturday. All four terrorists were killed when they attacked the Mohmand Rifles Headquarters in Ghalanai town of Mohmand district bordering Afghanistan on Friday, Will district administration take suo-moto cognizance of this serious devpt on UTD campus? Two members of his family too have been diagnosed with the disease and are currently in isolation. The university now finds itself in a difficult position, as it contemplates how to proceed with the convocation, where the President is to be the chief guest. PERTINENT QUESTIONS Singh wanted to become Jinnah. He wanted to know from Singh how many Muslims were given jobs during the Congress rule. Van overturns, 3 dead, 20 hurt FPNS/ RATLAM Sharma getting some other assignments, all these leaders are contending for the post. Besides the names of former ministers Narottam Mishra and Arvind Bhadoria, the names of these three leaders are doing the rounds for the job. Khandewal has the support of the RSS and organisational general secretary Hitanand Sharma. Three persons lost their lives and more than 20 others were injured in a tragic accident that occurred near Dholavad Ghat in Ratlam district that falls under Raoti police station area on Saturday morning. Incident occurred when a pickup van, which was overloaded, lost control and fell into a ditch. The mishap claimed the lives of three individuals, including a 15-year-old, and left more than 20 others injured. 4Continued on | P6 4Continued on | P6 Centre sacks Puja Khedkar from IAS IANS NEW DELHI The Centre on Saturday sacked Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect. The move came a month after the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled her selection in government service. Khedkar has been found guilty of faking and wrongly availing OBC and disability quota benefits. After cancelling her selection, the UPSC had also barred her for life from taking the entrance exam after founding her guilty of faking her identity to take the exam multiple times. In a status report submitted to the Delhi High Court three days ago, Delhi Police had contended that Maharashtra cadre probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar had submitted two separate disability certificates for her UPSC exam. The disability certificates dated 2018 and 2021 citing ‘multiple disabilities’ were purportedly issued by the Ahmednagar District Civil Hospital for her UPSC attempts made in 2022 and 2023. However, as per Delhi Police’s status report, the hospital authorities had denied that the certificates claiming ‘multiple disabilities’ were issued to her by them. Khedkar's troubles began in June when Pune Collector Suhas Diwase wrote to Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik flagging her demands for perks such as car, staff and an office which she was not entitled to during her twoyear probation period. 4Continued on | P6