FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 101 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 24, 2024 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Ashwin best in India, Lyon better overall P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Sri Lanka votes for change P.8 India’s biggest oil, gas bid round gets 4 bidders Nation Private sector now steering economic growth MP schools star in School Ranking 2024-25 Indore has the best Centre-run govt & Bhopal has best in state-run school Tina Khatri INDORE Indore takes away the credit of being home to the best centre-run government school in the state, and Bhopal marks its presence as home to the best state-run government school of the state-run. These are findings from the 18th consecutive annual EducationWorld India School Rankings Separate battalions for Baiga, Bharia & Saharia tribe Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav instructed that separate battalions will be constituted for especially backward tribes Baiga, Bharia, and Saharia in the state. They would be constituted under Shaurya Sankalp Yojana of tribal department. Along with this, special training will be given to youths of said tribes for recruitment into Police, Army and Home Guard. He directed the setting up of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) Battalion to connect youths of PVTG group with employment. The tribes Baiga, Bharia and Saharia come under the PVTG group. fp Briefs NEW DELHI Deadly Mpox strain in India India has reported the first case of the Mpox strain, which led to the WHO declaring it a public health emergency last month, in a patient from Kerala who had tested positive last week, official sources said on Monday. ROME Pope ill, cancels all audiences Pope Francis cancelled his audiences Monday because of a "slight flu-like state," just days before he is to embark on a trip to Belgium and Luxembourg, the Vatican said. A statement from the Vatican described the clearing of Francis' agenda for the day as a "precaution". Francis is due to visit Luxembourg on Thursday and then spend the rest of the week in Belgium, ending with a Mass in Brussels on Sunday. CHENNAI 'Laapataa Ladies' India's Oscar entry Kiran Rao's "Laapataa Ladies" has been picked as India's official entry for Oscars 2025, the Film Federation of India announced here on Monday. (EWISR) 2024-25, several schools from Madhya Pradesh have made significant achievements on both national and state levels. Best govt schools : Leading the pack among Government Schools in the country, Model Hr Sec School in TT Nagar, Bhopal, which holds the prestigious rank of #19 in India and is recognized as the top school in the state. From Indore, Army Public School in Mhow, Indore, was ranked #39 nationally and securing the #1 position in the state among central government schools. Meanwhile, the Army Pub- Emerald & DC get India #1 rank The survey rates and ranks the country’s Top 4,000 schools in 4 main and 23 sub-categories -- Day: Co-ed, Boys and Girls, Day-cum-boarding; Boarding: Co-ed, Girls and Boys; International: Day, Day-cum-boarding and fully Residential. It also rates and ranks India’s best Government Day and Boarding schools, as well as Special Needs and Philanthropy Schools. The Emerald Heights International School, Indore (1+) jointly with SAI International School, Bhubaneswar (Day-cum-boarding) was ranked India’s #1 Day Schools. To create a level playing field for newly promoted schools, Vintage Legacy schools (90 years and above vintage) have been separately ranked in each sub-category, wherein Daly College from Indore is ranked first in the country. lic School in Bhopal is ranked #40 in India and #2 in the state, while the Army Public School No. 1 in Jabalpur holds the #59 spot nationally and #3 in Madhya Pradesh. 4Continued on | P6 India MP City Rank Rank Rank 36 1 1 45 2 1 48 3 2 48 3 2 50 4 2 50 4 2 99 5 3 101 6 4 106 7 3 111 8 4 111 111 8 8 5 5 116 120 120 9 10 10 6 5 7 Schools The Shishukunj International School Delhi Public School, Bhopal DPS, Indore Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar Sagar Public School, Saket Nagar DPS, Kolar Road Billabong High International School Campion School, Bhouri New Digamber Public School Orchids The International School, Manglia Mount Carmel School Ryan International School, MPHB Colony World Way International School Vidyasagar School Sagar Public School, Gandhi Nagar Over 274 killed in deadliest Possession of child porn Israel strike on Lebanon LANDMARK JUDGEMENT: Madras HC verdict on the issue set aside by the Apex Court, terms it ‘egregious’ offence under POCSO: SC PTI HIGHLIGHTS n Sexual exploitation of children pervasive n Asks Parliament to consider amending POCSO n New nomenclature for child pornography -CSEAM NEW DELHI In a path-breaking judgment, the Supreme Court on Monday held mere possession of any child pornographic material will constitute offences under the POCSO and the IT laws even if they are not disseminated further. Observing that "sexual exploitation of children is a pervasive and deeply rooted issue that has plagued societies worldwide and has been a matter of serious concern in India", the top court termed as "egregious" the verdict of the Madras High Court on the issue and set it aside. On January 11, the high court had quashed the criminal proceedings against a 28year-old man charged with downloading pornographic content involving children on his mobile phone, saying mere possession and downloading of such pornographic materials did not constitute offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology (IT) Act. "We have reached the conclusion that the High Court committed an egregious error in passing the impugned judgment. We are left with no other option but 19-yr girl gang-raped for 24-hrs in UP & Maihar Victim was taken to Manikpur in UP and gangraped. She was then brought to Maihar only to be violated again Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL A 19-year-old girl was repeatedly gang-raped for 24 hours in two states. The victim was first taken to UP s Manikpur and gang-raped for several hours. She was later brought to Maihar only to be violated again, said the police on Monday. All the four accused have been arrested The girl had gone missing from Satna on Saturday. Her mother had filed a missing complaint. On Sunday evening, the girl drew courage and escaped her tormentors at a dhaba and urged people to save her. SP Ashutosh Gupta said that on Saturday, the girl had gone market. She met Dinesh Gupta, whom she knew well, at Satna railway station. On Gupta s persuasion, she boarded a train with him to Manikpur. There the duo was joined by Rajji Kewat and Vikkey Keshrwani. The trio took her to a desolate place and raped her. Later, Dinesh took her to Maihar. At a dhaba they met one Arjun Patel, who too raped her. Sources said that the victim over-heard Dinesh s plan to sell her to some truck drivers. Under the garb of answering nature s call, she jumped off dhaba s boundary wall in a seminaked state. She rushed into a nearby building where agriculture department s training session was underway and cried for help and narrated her ordeal. 4Continued on | P6 to set aside the impugned judgment... and restore the criminal proceedings... to the court of Sessions Judge, Mahila Neethi Mandram (Fast Track Court), Tiruvallur District," the top court said. While passing a slew of directions and suggestions on the sensitive issue, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala asked Parliament to seriously consider bringing an amendment to the POCSO Act for substituting the term "child pornog- NIA probes track detonators case One railway employee arrested Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL National Investigation Agency (NIA) sleuths are investigating the Khandwa rail track detonators issue, said an official on Monday. The NIA officials visited the spot and took stock of the situation. Inspector Sanjeev Kumar of RPF Khandwa said that the police registered a case against one Sabir on Sunday for stealing the detonators under section 3 (a) of the Railway Property (Unlawful Possession) Act. Sabir is a mate, a rank higher than a gangman, who patrols tracks, he said. The detonators went off on a track near Sagphata between Nepanagar and Khandwa stations of the Bhusawal division on September 18. The explosion prompted the authorities to halt the military train for two minutes, officials said. 4Continued on | P6 raphy" with "child sexual exploitative and abuse material" with a view to reflect more accurately the reality of such offences. In the meanwhile, the verdict put all the courts "to notice that the term 'child pornography' shall not be used in any judicial order or judgment, and instead the term 'child sexual exploitative and abuse material' (CSEAM) should be endorsed". "Section 15 of the POCSO Act provides for three distinct offences that penalize either the storage or the possession of any child pornographic material when done with any particular intention specified under subsection(s) (1), (2) or (3) respectively. 4Continued on | P6 AP JERUSALEM The Israeli military said it struck 300 targets Monday in Lebanon in one of the most intense barrages of airstrikes in nearly a year of fighting against the Hezbollah militant group. The Lebanese Health Ministry said over 300 people were killed and nearly a 1000 others were wounded in what would be the deadliest day in Lebanon since the conflict started in October. Before the escalation beginning with the wave of pager explosions last Tuesday, around 600 people had been killed in Lebanon since October, mostly fighters, but also more than 100 civilians. The Israeli army announced the action on social media, posting a photo of what is said was the military chief, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, approving additional attacks from military headquarters in Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese village of Zaita on Monday Tel Aviv. Halevi and other Israeli leaders have promised tougher action against Hezbollah in the coming days. Hezbollah said in a statement that it fired dozens of rockets at an Israeli military post in Galilee. It also targeted for a second day the facilities of the Rafael defence firm, headquartered in Haifa. As Israel carried out the attacks, Israeli authorities reported a series of air-raid sirens in northern Israel warning of incoming rocket fire from Lebanon. Earlier Monday, Israel urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah has stored weapons, saying the military would conduct "extensive strikes" against the militant group. It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters. 4Continued on | P6 Govt to organise events at temples on Dussehra CM Mohan Yadav issues necessary directives Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has issued directives for organising religious events at each temple in the state on the occasion of Dussehra and Navratri festivals. The state government has begun to celebrate the relig- ious festivals and organised functions at different temples on the occasion of Janmashtami. Now, there are plans to celebrate Navratri and Dussehra. Yadav directed the officials to make arrangements for th occasion in every temple. As it is the first Dussehra after the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, the occasion will be celebrated across SHG director, wife in Lokayukta net FP News Service BHIKANGAON Indore Lokayukta arrested two persons- director of the Star Self-Employment Training Institute and his wife- in connection with a bribery case in Bhikangaon tehsil of Khargone district. The case highlights issues of corruption within the administration, particularly in the management of funds allocated for the welfare of trai- Soujanya & Jagriti Joshi nees at the Star Self-Employment Training Institute in Barwani. The action was taken on a complaint filed by Pinky Pawar (39), who heads Maa Vaishnavi Self Help Group, which provides catering services for women and men undergoing vocational training at the Star Self-Employment Training Institute. This service includes the preparation and provision of meals for trainees. Recently, Pawar submitted bills totalling Rs1,93,167 for food services rendered from July 2024 to August 20, 2024. the state. The district administrations have been asked to make all arrangements for celebrations. Yadav said road repairing work should be immediately done at Sharda temple in Maihar, Peetambara Peeth in Datia, Baglamukhi Maga in Nalkheda, Harsiddhi Mata in Ujjain, Chetanpur temple in Vidisha, and other religious places. Tirupati Temple purified amid animal fat row Agencies HYDERABAD The Lord Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh's Tirupati was "purified" Monday amid the row over animal fat - fish oil, beef tallow, and 4Continued on | P6 offgrid Lure of youth: Many elderly scammed of Rs 35 cr Biswajeet Banerjee KANPUR A shocking case of fraud has come to light in Kanpur, where a couple from Swaroop Nagar allegedly duped people of nearly Rs 35 crore by promising to make 65year-olds look 25 again using an Israel-made machine. The accused, Rajiv Kumar and his wife Rashmi Dubey, launched an organization called "Revival Word" in Saket Nagar to carry out the scam. According to the victim, Renu Singh Chandel, the couple convinced people that Israeli scientists had successfully rejuvenated 35 elderly individuals—aged 64 and above—by giving them pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber for five days. They claimed that the process made them appear 25 years old within three months. People above 65 were duped with the promise that they would look 25 years younger within 3 months of treatment with a Israeli machine The couple reportedly introduced two investment schemes, one costing Rs 6,000 and another Rs 90,000, under the pretext that the funds would be used to purchase the rejuvenation machine from Israel for Rs 25 crore. Additionally, they prom- ised lucrative rewards for those who recruited others into the scheme, with gift hampers for anyone who provided 50 new IDs. Renu Singh, a resident of Swaroop Nagar, said she invested Rs 9 lakh for 150 IDs and another Rs 3.5 lakh to expand the business. The couple initially promised her a return of Rs 3.5 lakh and Rs 2.1 lakh within a year, but after a year, they only returned Rs 1.75 lakh. When asked about the remaining amount, the couple assured her that the plant would soon start operating. Over time, it became clear that the couple had taken nearly Rs 35 crore from various individuals under false pretext. After realizing the scale of the scam, Renu lodged a complaint with Police Commissioner Akhil Kumar. The Kidwai Nagar Police have now registered a report on the Commissioner's orders, with investigations underway. Reports suggest the couple may be planning to flee abroad after defrauding so many victims. lard (pig fat) - in ghee used to make the laddoos, or devotional offerings, 'fed' to the deity and given to devotees. An army of priests performed a 'maha shani homam' at the temple that is widely seen as one of the holiest sites in Hinduism. Temple officials said the ceremony will "ward off ill-effects of adulteration and restore sanctity of laddoos as 'prasadam', and ensure devotees' well-being". 4Continued on | P6 4Continued on | P6