FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 231 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | FEBRUARY 3, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in World Elon Musk's DOGE gains access to Treasury data P.9 fp ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY ‘RBI’s interest rate, Q3 earnings key drivers’ UJJAIN PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit China’s ‘Eureka’ moment makes US anxious Brand Sutra Bathrooms Get A Makeover P.12 TRAGIC | Bus was en route to Dwarka Briefs 5 from MP die as bus falls into gorge in Guj JAIPUR Quake hits Bikaner Tremors of magnitude 3.6 were felt in Bikaner, Rajasthan on Sunday afternoon. No loss of life was reported in the quake. According to the meteorological department, an earthquake was felt in Bikaner and some surrounding areas at 12.58 pm on Sunday. According to the website of the National Centre for Seismology (NSC), the epicentre of the earthquake was 10 km below the ground near Bikaner. Its intensity was measured to be 3.6. According to officials, there is no report of any loss of life or property due to the earthquake. GAROTH/MANDSAUR Ex-sarpanch's MD lab exposed Mandsaur police discovered an illegal methamphetamine (MD) manufacturing unit at a former Sarpanch house, seizing drugs around Rs 2.25 crore on Sunday. Neemuch Narcotics Wing made the discovery after arresting two suspects on Saturday night. The investigation began when police arrested Balu Singh Panwar (46) and Kamlesh Prajapat (34) near Neemuch bypass road, finding 800 grams of MD drugs with them. During questioning, the suspects revealed that Dinesh Mohel, the former sarpanch of Akya Kunwarpad village, Garoth tehsil was running a drug factory from his house. See Pg4 MAHAKUMBH NAGAR Final Amrit Snan today Shaken by the deadly January 29 stampede, top Uttar Pradesh government officials on Sunday stressed the compliance of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's directive of "zero-error" during the ongoing Maha Kumbh's final 'Amrit Snan' on Basant Panchami. The government said it expects five crore pilgrims to take the holy dip Monday, and several steps has been taken to ensure the event remains incident-free. "Operation Eleven" has been implemented for crowd management, oneway traffic system has been put in place in the mela area for smooth movement for pilgrims and preventing congestion at Triveni Ghats. Pg7 CM announces Rs 4 L ex gratia Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Kids splash colours @ Free Press event The 14th edition of Free Press On-the-Spot Painting Competition was organised in Kalidas Sanskrit Academy premises in Ujjain on Sunday. More than 3,000 Class 1 to 12 students of city’s over 110 schools participated. Thirteen attractive prizes in each of the three groups of the competition were distributed. The event witnessed colourful cultural presentations by the participants. FP PHOTO Hostel warden booked for filming girls changing clothes FP News Service BARWANI In a shocking incident, the warden of the Government Girls’ Hostel here was booked for allegedly filming the students while they were changing their clothes. The allegations against the warden surfaced following the disappearance of his mobile phone, which was reportedly taken by the students. Investigations revealed that it contained objectionable videos of the students. On Saturday night, the affected students and their families approached the Palsud police to file a com- ISRO's latest mission faces technical glitch Online Report NEW DELHI The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s 100th rocket mission hit a hurdle after its navigation satellite, which was launched on Wednesday, suffered a technical glitch on Sunday. In an update on the mission on its website, ISRO said the "orbit raising operations towards positioning the satellite to the designated orbital slot could not be carried out as the valves for admitting the oxidizer to fire the thrusters for orbit raising did not open". The satellite - NVS-02, made by U R Rao Satellite Centre - was to be placed in a geostationary circular orbit at the designated spot over India. Since the liquid engine onboard the satellite is not functioning optimally, the effort to send it to its designated orbit is either delayed or may be abandoned altogether. "The satellite systems are healthy and the satellite is currently in elliptical orbit. Alternate mission strategies for utilising the satellite for navigation in an elliptical orbit is being worked out," ISRO said. 4Continued on | P6 Members of Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti protesting at Palsud police station plaint. Sub divisional police officer (SDOP) Ayush Alawa, along with other officials, promptly visited the spot. According to the district education officer, the students complained of inappropriate behaviour by the warden, including unwanted physical contact. As protests erupted among the local tribal community, demanding strict action in the case, the police recorded the statements of the victims and registered an FIR against the warden. SP Jagdish Dabar said that a case had been registered against the warden and further probe was underway. The collector has also initiated an investigation into the matter. The warden’s mobile phone is currently in possession of the girl students. 4Continued on | P6 Budget is by the people, for the people, says FM PTI NEW DELHI Paraphrasing Abraham Lincoln, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday described the Union Budget as "by the people, for the people, of the people", and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was fully behind the idea to cut taxes for middle class but it took time to convince the bureaucrats. "We have heard the voice of the middle class" who had been complaining about their aspirations not being met despite being honest taxpayers, she told PTI in an interview. With the honest and proud taxpayers wanting the government to do more to limit the impact of factors like inflation, the prime minister was quick to task Sitharaman to look at ways to give relief. While Modi was quick to agree to tax relief, it took a bit of convincing to get on board the officials in the finance ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) - who are tasked to ensure revenue collection to meet welfare and other schemes, she said. Pres- enting her eighth straight budget, Sitharaman on Saturday announced an increase in the personal income tax threshold below which taxpayers owe no tax to Rs 12 lakh, up from Rs 7 lakh, as well as a regij in tax brackets that would help those earning higher than that save up to Rs 1.1 lakh. The Rs 5 lakh hike in exemption limit is the biggestever and equals all the reliefs that were given between 2005 and 2023. "I think the prime minister put it succinctly, he said it's the people's Budget, it is the Budget which the people wanted." Asked to describe the ethos of the budget in her own words, she said, "as they say in democracy in Abraham Lincoln's words, it is Budget by the people, of the people for the people." 4Continued on | P6 UP man takes Rs 40K loan to fund sis-in-law's rape, murder Online Report A man in Uttar Pradesh took out a loan of Rs 40,000 to hire two contract killers to gangrape and murder his sister-inlaw, according to the police. Police have arrested the accused, while the two killers are absconding. The incident took place on January 21 near the Nanu canal in Meerut. According to the police, the victim was gang-raped by her brother-in-law and two others before being strangled to death. Police said the man, identified as Ashish, was in a relationship with his wife’s younger sister. During interrogation, he alleged that she was blackmailing him, leading him to plan her murder. He sought help from a hospital worker, Shubham, who then brought in another associate, Deepak. “Shubham told him that he had a contact who could help. They agreed to kill her for Rs 30,000,” said Aditya Bansal, superintendent of police for Muzaffarnagar rural police. “Ashish took a Rs 40,000 loan, paying Rs 10,000 in advance and Rs 20,000 after the murder,” he added. 4Continued on | P6 UK to criminalise AI sexual abuse tools Online Report Britain will become the first country to introduce laws against AI tools used to generate sexual abuse images, the government announced late Saturday. The government will make it illegal to possess, create or distribute AI tools designed to generate sexualised images of children, punishable by up to five years in prison, interior minister Yvette Cooper revealed. It will also be illegal to possess AI "paedophile manuals" which teach people how to use AI to sexually abuse children, punishable by up to three years in prison. "This is a real disturbing phenomenon. Online child sexual abuse material is growing, but also the grooming of children teenagers online. And what's now happening is that AI is putting this on steroids," in- terior minster Yvette Cooper told Sky News on Sunday. She said AI tools were making it easier for perpetrators "to groom children, and it's also meaning that they are manipulating images of children and then using them to draw and to blackmail young people into further abuse. "It's just the most vile of crimes," she added. The new law would include banning "some of the AI models being used for child abuse," said the minister. "Other countries are not yet doing this, but I hope everyone else will follow," she added. wheels near Saputara, a hill station, in-charge Superintendent of Police SG Patil said. He said the bus, carrying 48 pilgrims, broke the crash barrier and plunged 35 feet into the gorge. The passengers started at night for Dwarka in Gujarat from Trimbakeshwar in Maharashtra's Nashik district. The official said they stopped for tea at Saputara before resuming their journey when the accident occurred 2.5 km from the hill station. "Five persons died on the spot, and 17 others suffered Bizwoman blames ED, EOW, politicians for her suicide bid AI tools are being used to generate child sexual abuse images by "nudeifying" real life images of children or by "stitching the faces of other children onto existing images," said the government. The new laws will also criminalise "predators who run websites designed for other paedophiles to share vile child sexual abuse content or advice on how to groom children," punishable by up to ten years in prison, said the government. serious injuries and have been rushed to a civil hospital at Ahwa. Some others have sustained minor injuries. The rescue operation is nearly over," the official said. Patil said a total of 35 passengers were taken to the nearby community health centres (CHCs) for treatment, and 17 of them were referred to the civil hospital at Ahwa in the district. The pilgrims, hailing from Madhya Pradesh, had set out on four different buses on December 23, 2024, on a trip to religious places across various states, he said. Karnataka’s last Naxalite surrenders PTI UDUPI RAID ON JAISHRI GAYATRI FOODS Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In a shocking turn of events, Payal Modi, director of Jaishri Gayatri Foods, has blamed political leaders and law enforcement agency for her suicide bid. A video that had gone viral on social media captures her allegations against the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), and influential politicians, whom she accuses of relentless harassment leading to her desperate act. The turmoil began after ED conducted raids on January 29 at various locations in Bhopal, Sehore, and Morena. These raids were conducted after an FIR filed by EOW against her company for allegedly producing and distributing adulterated milk products using forged laboratory certificates. Following the raids, Payal attempted suicide on January 30 by consuming poison at her residence. In the video, Payal expressed her anguish and frustration, specifically naming individuals connected to Union Minister Chirag Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party, including Chandraprakash Pandey and Ved Prakash Pandey. She claimed they harassed her family following a burglary at their home in 2023, where she reported theft but felt ignored by authorities. “Sunil Tripathi had committed the theft and fled, we lodged an FIR, after which the harassment started. 4Continued on | P6 India defend U19 T20 WC with emphatic win: In the battle of unbeaten sides, India successfully defended the Under-19 T20 World Cup title with a 9-wicket win against South Africa on Sunday at Bayuemas Oval. After India prevailed in a low-scoring affair, the South African team formed a hurdle with tears streaming down the faces of the players. (Detail on Sports Page) offgrid LONDON Five pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh were killed and over 35 others injured when their bus plunged into a gorge in Saputara, Gujarat, on Sunday. The group was en route to Dwarka at the time of the tragic incident. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed deep concern over the death of pilgrims. He announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh for the family of each deceased, Rs 1 lakh for those seriously injured, and Rs 50,000 for those with minor injuries. The Chief Minister also asked officials to ensure that necessary medical treatment is provided to the injured. Among the deceased were the bus driver, who hailed from Vidisha, and four others from Shivpuri. Over 35 passengers sustained injuries in the tragic accident. The accident occurred around 4.15 am when the bus driver lost control over the Lakshmi, said to be the last Naxalite in Karnataka, unconditionally surrendered on Sunday in front of Udupi Deputy Commissioner Vidya Kumari and Superintendent of Police Arun K. According to police, Lakshmi, who had been hiding in Andhra Pradesh, has had three cases at Amasebail and Shankaranarayana police stations in Kundapur Taluk in the Udupi district. These cases date back to 2007-2008, and they pertain to the exchange of fire with police, assault, and pushing Maoist literature in villages and small towns. Police said Lakshmi originally belonged to Thombattu of Machchattu village in Kundapura taluk. She was accompanied by the State Naxal Surrender Committee member Sripal and her husband Salim, a former Naxalite who had surrendered in 2020 in Andhra Pradesh. After severing her connection with her family 15 years ago, Lakshmi had gone underground and was active in pushing the Naxalite agenda in Chikkamagaluru and Udupi districts. "I tried to get in touch with the district officials and wanted to surrender after the Karnataka government had announced the surrender protocol and package, but it had not happened for some reason. Now that the surrender committee was formed, my surrender has been facilitated," Lakshmi told journalists after her surrender today. 4Continued on | P6 Trump tariffs: China to sue US at WTO; Canada, Mexico hit back Agencies BEIJING China on Sunday said it "firmly opposes" the new tarrifs imposed on the country by US President Donald Trump and warned of taking "corresponding countermeasures" to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests. In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organ- ization against the US for its "wrongful practice," the Global Times reported. "China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods," the ministry said. On Saturday Trump announced, that effective from Tuesday, the US would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on all goods imported from China on top of existing duties. Trump also announced he is implementing a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico. The measures, as per a statement from the White House was being taken to to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other contraband drugs from flowing into the US. 4Continued on | P6