FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 125 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 18, 2024 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY Sports India crumble to historic low P.12 UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Jaishankar’s visit shows the way P.8 ‘India’s logistics cost will come down to 9% of GDP in next two years’ Cinema Revisiting the cult classic! P.14 UJJAIN'S NIKITA PORWAL IS MISS INDIA 2024 Rs 3,589 crore sanctioned for Bhopal-Kanpur eco corridor FP News Service UJJAIN Nikita Porwal from Ujjain triumphed over 14 contestants to claim the title of Femina Miss India World 2024 on Wednesday evening in a spectacular finale held in Mumbai. She received her crown from last year’s Miss India, Nandini Gupta, and will represent India in the upcoming Miss World competition. Nikita spent her childhood in Arvind Nagar, the first colony developed by the MP Housing Board in the city. She is a regular visitor to the Gopal Mandir area, Gabi Saheb Hanuman Temple, and Mahakal. A self-declared waffle enthusiast, she decided to give up her favorite treat to pursue the beauty contest, encouraged by her father, businessman Ashok Porwal, VIRAL VIDEO Cong MLA’s obscene remarks on Lord Shiva FIR against Babu Jandel; old video, says Congress Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The announcement of dates for by-polls in Vijaypur has generated political heat in the state. A video of Congress legislator from Sheopur Babu Jandel has gone viral. In the video, the legislator is seen drunk and heard making obscene comments on Lord Shiva. Only two days ago, Jandel said if the Congress had lost the Vijaypur by-election, 3 electrocuted in Seoni during Dussehra procession he would paint his face black. BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja posted the video from his social media account, and, afterwards, the BJP came down heavily on the Congress. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad lodged an FIR against Jandel after the video went public. The police registered a case against the legislator under sections 196, 299, 223 and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for hurting religious sentiments. 4Continued on | P6 Our Staff Reporter Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Three people died and five others received burn injuries during Dussehra procession when the Maa Kali idol they were carrying came in contact with a high tension electric line, in Lakhnadon tehsil of Seoni district, on Thursday, CM ANNOUNCES RS 2L EX-GRATIA said officials. CM Mohan Yadav has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each to the bereaved families. The incident occurred when a 21 feet high statue of Mata Mahakali was being taken out on tractor trolley and touched the electricity wire. Lakhanadon SDOP Apurva Bhalavi said that some of the youths walking with the chariot got an electric shock, due to which they got severely burnt. Information about the incident was given to the police and 108 ambulance. The injured were brought to Civil Hospital Lakhanadon. Doctors declared 3 people dead. A 13-year-old boy allegedly died while dancing to loud music of DJ in Sai Nagar (11 number bus stop) under Habibganj police station in Bhopal. There is ban on loud DJ music in state following directives from Chief Minister Mohan Yadav to control DJ noise. The incident occurred when the victim, Samar Billore, heard the DJ playing outside his residence during a local festival celebration. With people dancing outside his house, Samar was drawn to the loud music and joined the crowd. He, however, collapsed during celebrations. He was immediately taken to hospital but doctors declared brought dead. Habibganj TI Ajay Soni in- ing at Carmel Convent School, she earned a bach- Hamas’ top leader Sinwar killed, says Israel PM BIG VERDICT: SC upholds constitutional validity of Section 6A of Citizenship Act Agencies JERUSALEM Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday confirmed that Hamas chief and one of the masterminds behind the horrific October 7 attacks last year, Yahya Sinwar, is dead, the Times of Israel reported. The Prime Minister also instructed his aides to inform the families of Israeli hostages about the death of the Hamas chief. Earlier today, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that three terrorists have been eliminated during its operations in Gaza, among whom was Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, who has now been confirmed dead. formed Free P r e s s , “Neither parents nor DJ operators informed police about the incident, but we came to know of it. Police were present during the entire immersion procession.” Family member said that Samar was suffering from heart problems (Congenital Heart Defects), but he was fit. The DJ's sound was "dangerously loud", family members added. Despite many warnings, it was not turned off. It felt like nothing could stop that noise, even as our son's life slipped away," family added. However, the police claimed to have taken action against 91 DJ operators under the Noise Act. MUMBAI The pattern of domestic airlines receiving bomb threats to their flights continued for the fourth day as two international flights, one each of Vistara and IndiGo, were targeted in the similar manner on Thursday. Earlier on Wednesday, seven flights of IndiGo, SpiceJet and Akasa received similar bomb threats. Prior to that, nearly a dozen flights operated by Indian car- CALLS TRACED Days after multiple bomb threats to flights were received on social media, Central intelligence agencies have traced IP addresses where threats were posted to London and Germany. More than 20 flights of Indian carriers — both domestic and international — have received bomb threats this week. riers received similar threats on Monday and Tuesday. On Thursday a Mumbai- Agencies NEW DELHI The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of a key citizenship rule that recognised the Assam Accord, granting citizenship to Bangladeshi refugees who had arrived before 1971. Section 6A of the Citizenship Act was introduced in 1985 to allow refugees from Bangladesh (then East Pakistan), who entered India between 1966-1971, to register as Indian citizens. A five-judge constitutional bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud upheld Advance train reservation period reduced to 60 days PTI NEW DELHI The Railway Board has reduced the advance reservation period of seats from existing 120 days to 60 days with effect from November 1, 2024. "It has been decided that w.e.f 01.11.2024, the existing time limit for advance reservation by trains will be reduced from 120 days to 60 days (excluding the date of journey)," a Railway Board's circular, dated Oct 16, 2024, said. All bookings done up to October 31 under the ARP (Advance Reservation Period) of 120 days will remain intact, it added. The circular did not cite any reason for the reduction in ARP. 4Continued on | P6 bound Vistara flight with 147 persons on board was immediately taken to security checks on its arrival from Frankfurt following the Boeing 787 aircraft receiving a bomb threat, according to the airline. At the same time, an IndiGo flight operating from Istanbul in Turkiye for Mumbai also received a bomb threat and was taken to an isolation bay here for the security agencies to carry out a comprehensive security check. 4Continued on | P6 India-Canada face off No action on 26 extradition requests: MEA ANI NEW DELHI The Ministry of External Affairs called out Canada for not taking any action against criminals and anti-India elements, despite multiple requests for extradition and provisional arrest being sent by India over the last decade. MEA spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal said that there are total of 26 pending extradition requests pending with the Canadian side. "So as far as my information is concerned, there are 26 extradition requests pending with the Canadian side. These are over the last decade or more. Along with it, there are several provisional arrest requests, which are also pending with the Canadian side of several criminals," MEA spokesper- 4Continued on | P6 B’DESHIS who came before ’71 are citizens BOMB THREATS CONTINUE....Two Mumbai-bound int’l fights targetted PTI played Radha in the play "Shri Krishna," staged at Vikramotsav, earning applause from the audience. In addition to her acting, she has written various dramas, including the 250-page "Krishna Leela." Her entry into Bollywood came with the film "Chambal Paar," which was also screened at an international film festival. and her mother, Rajkumari. After completing her school- 13-yr-old boy dies while dancing to loud DJ music BHOPAL With her parents Performing as Sita in Ramlila elor's degree in performing arts with a specialization in drama from Sayaji University in Vadodara. Inspired by former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nikita began hosting events at the age of 18, captivating audiences with her acting talents. She was a regular participant in Rang Rays Kala Sanskar’s Ramlila, where she portrayed the role of Maa Sita, and also son Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference on Thursday. He further mentioned cetain names that are among those individuals sought for extradition; Gurjeet Singh, 4Continued on | P6 DISSENTING VOICE In his dissenting judgment, Justice Pardiwala held that the provision has become invalid with the passage of time. Laying out his reasoning, the judge said that Section 6A failed the test of temporal unreasonableness and that even if it was valid when it was included in the Citizenship Act in 1985, it was no longer so with the "efflux of time". the validity of Section 6A by a 4:1 majority with Justice JB Pardiwala dissenting. The bench also comprised Justices Surya Kant, MM Sundresh, and Manoj Misra. "The court's decision means that the non-resident Indians who came from Bangladesh between January 1, 1966 and March 25, 1971 are eligible for citizenship. Those who have got citizenship under this will retain their citizenship," the bench said. The order came on a petition that contended that the arrival of Bangladeshi refugees had impacted the demographic balance of Assam. 4Continued on | P6 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 3,589 crore to upgrade the Bhopal-Kanpur economic corridor into a four- lane highway. Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari gave this information on Thursday. Funds have also been sanctioned for the highway package from Bhopal to Vidisha, Vidisha to Gyaraspur, Sataighat to Chowka and from Chowka to Kaimaha. Gadkari said. Besides enhancing connectivity, reducing time for journey, improving road security, it will have a positive impact on boosting economy of the region, he said. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed gratitude to Gadkari for sanctioning funds for upgrading the economic corridor into four-lane highway. Yadav further said that the state government was working tirelessly under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to enhance This initiative aims to improve connectivity from Bhopal to Sagar via Chhatarpur, extending up to the Uttar Pradesh borders, thereby boosting regional trade and easing traffic. connectivity. He said the four-lane Kanpur-Bhopal economic corridor would boost economy of the region. An additional fund of Rs 592 crore has also been approved for upgrading the Mandla-Nainpur road. In its Sankalp Patra, the MP government announced the Bundelkhand Vikas Path – a major four-lane road project connecting Bhopal with the districts of Sagar and Chhatarpur in Bundelkhand. Although the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) already initiated the expansion process, certain segments awaited final approval.