Vol. 68 No. 127 | Saturday, March 1, 2025 | 35 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to June 2024) NATION Delhi's creaking health infra: CAG flags staff crisis, unspent funds, project delay GAMES Pune rape accused nabbed Dattatray Ramdas Gade was discovered hiding in a trench by a canal in Gunad village at 1.10 am on Friday. Ankit Shukla In a massive search operation involving 500 police personnel from Pune City Police, Pune Rural Police, Pune Police Crime Branch and Riot Control Platoons & Recruits, Dattatray Ramdas Gade, the 37-year-old man accused of raping a 26year-old woman inside a bus in the busy Swargate depot, was arrested in the wee hours of Briefing the media after Gade's arrest, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar provided a detailed account of the 72-hour operation. "After checking 23 CCTV cameras in the Swargate bus depot and 48 CCTV cameras outside the depot, we identified the accused within one and a half to two hours," said Kumar. Kangana and Javed Akhtar bury hatchet UTTARAKAHAND MISHAP | Rain and heavy snow hamper efforts to pull Border Roads Organisation workers out of avalanche. 32 rescued, of which 4 are in critical condition On Thursday morning, the police released a poster of the wanted accused, urging the public to come forward with information. The poster mentioned that a case under section 64, 351(2) of 2023 had been registered against the accused. Kumar also announced a reward of ₹1 lakh to anyone providing information about his whereabouts. Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam was pulled up by both the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minster Ajit Pawar for his insensitive remarks on the victim of the Pune Swargate rape. Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is Kadam’s party boss, preferred to keep mum on the issue. Kadam's statement - that the 4Contd on | Nation 25 TRAPPED IN Actress Kangana Ranaut and renowned lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar have decided to put an end to their long-standing legal dispute. The matter was resolved after the two Bollywood personalities reached a mutual agreement, leading to the withdrawal of the defamation case filed by Akhtar against BJP MP Ranaut. Ranaut has issued an apology and accepted the terms of the agreement, marking the end of a high-profile legal conflict. During the last hearing, the Bandra Court had issued Kangana an ultimatum, warning that a non-bailable warrant would be issued against her if she failed to appear. The court made it clear that this was her final chance to attend, and any further absence would result in legal action. The Free Press Journal contacted the actress over a phone call. Initially, she refused to comment, but later confirmed the development through an Instagram post, asking the paper to refer to her Instagram version for her comments on the story. In the Instagram post, which was accompanied by a photo of her posing with Akhtar, she wrote, “Today, Javed ji and I have resolved our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation. During the mediation, Javed ji was very kind and gracious. He also agreed to write songs for my next directorial.” The legal conflict stemmed from an interview given by the actress in 2020, following the tragic death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. During the interview, Kangana alleged that Akhtar had asked her to apologize to her Krrish 3 co-star Hrithik Roshan, who had filed a lawsuit against her in 2016, demanding an apology after a public dispute over their rumored relationship. Yogesh Kadam takes flak over his rape comment FPJ Political Bureau Friday from Gunat village in Shirur taluka. MUMBAI Edit Interest rates have definitely peaked in the present cycle MUMBAI PUNE Pranali Lotlikar Cinema Sidharth Malhotra-Kiara Advani announce pregnancy South Africa will look to seal their semifinal slot when they take on England today AVALANCHE FPJ News Service MUMBAI Markets closed in deep red on Friday as key indices plummeted by 2 per cent. Investors’ wealth eroded by Rs 9 lakh crore on constant foreign fund outflows, US tariff threats, poor US economic outlook, H5N1 bird flu virus fear, and India’s decelerated GDP growth for the third quarter ended December 31, 2024. Reflecting the bearish trend, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex nosedived CM FADNAVIS RECEIVES THREAT FROM PAK NATIONAL Boris Spassky, the 10th World Chess Champion whose 1972 clash with Bobby Fischer became a defining tableau of Cold War rivalry, has died at 88 in Russia. A luminous mind and a paradoxical soul, Spassky transcended the chessboard to embody grace, intellect, and the quiet resilience of a man who found freedom in surrender. Born in Leningrad in 1937, Spassky’s life mirrored the The indices are on course for the fifth consecutive month of losses, indicating longest losing streak in nearly 30 years 1,414.33 points to close at 73,198.10. Extending losses to the eighth straight day, the NSE Nifty lost 420.35 points to 22,124.70. From its record peak of 85,978.25 hit on September 27, 2024, the BSE benchmark index is down 12,780.15 points (15 per cent). The Nifty dropped 4,152.65 points (16 per cent) from its lifetime high of 26,277.35 hit on September 27, 2024. Analysis shows that the indices are on course for the fifth consecutive month of losses, indicating longest losing streak in in nearly 30 years. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 11,639.02 crore on Friday and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 12,308.63 crore. 4Contd on | Nation SC for environmental lens on Vadhavan project FPJ News Service MUMBAI Poonam Apraj MUMBAI Agencies DEHRADUN Rescue efforts are underway to pull out some 25 workers of the Border Roads Organisation after they they trapped in a massive avalanche that struck near Mana village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhan on Friday. Thirty-two of the 57 BRO workers were earlier rescued. Concerns mounted as night fell on the snowbound slopes and rescue efforts came to a temporary halt. The snowslide, which buried a Border Roads Organisa- tion camp between Mana and Badrinath, rolled down early on Friday morning. Multiple teams battled through tough terrain, heavy snow and icy temperatures through the day to reach the men. They initially pulled out 10 workers and then the others, sources said. Four of those rescued are reported to be in a critical condition, the Army PRO said. All 32 have been taken to the ITBP camp in Mana for treatment, the sources said. Mana, three kilometres from Badrinath, is the last village on the India-Tibet border at a height of 3,200 metres. Visuals from Mana showed rescuers trudging through high piles of snow in a grim landscape bathed in white. Rescue operations were stopped in view of continuing bad weather and the impending danger of more avalanches in Mana. Two mild avalanches had followed the main one. The avalanche hit around 7.15 am, burying the workers inside eight containers and one shed, the Army said. Its swift response teams, Mumbai's Crime Branch and Worli Police have confirmed that a threatening message sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ office originated from a Pakistani mobile number. The sender did not use a VPN, allowing investigators to track the source directly. The message, which was sent to the Mumbai Traffic Police's WhatsApp number last Wednesday afternoon, identified the sender as Malik Shahbaz Humayun Raja Dev. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Gene Hackman death mystery deepens Online Report SANTA FE, NEW NEXICO Police are investigating a new theory on Hollywood star Gene Hackman's final moments after he and his wife Betsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs, were found dead in their New Mexico home. The couple, who had been married since 1991, were found dead in separate rooms. Police initially said that no foul play was suspected and that two dogs survived the triple tra- gedy, but a search warrant has since ruled their deaths as 'suspicious' enough to probe further, Daily Mail reported.  Despite earlier theories with the actor's daughter suspected carbon monoxide may have been the cause of their deaths, the document also stated that there were 'no signs of a gas leak.  A space heater was found next to Arakawa's head, which investigators believe may have fallen. One of the surviving dogs was found alive close to Betsy's body, with a second roaming the property. Arakawa was discovered lying on the bathroom floor of the couple's home on her right side, with an open prescription bottle of pills scattered across a nearby countertop. No indication has been given as to what the pills were and whether they had been prescribed to Hackman or his wife. tumult of his century. Evacuated during the WWII siege of his city, he discovered chess on a train ride to safety—a serendipitous spark that ignited a lifelong romance. By age 10, he defeated reigning Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition, foreshadowing a career steeped in brilliance. His ascent was methodical yet poetic: world junior champion at 18, grandmaster at 19, and Soviet champion by 22. But it was his 1969 dethroning of Tigran BORIS VASILIEVICH SPASSKY (January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) NCP FORMS SHADOW CABINET Kalpesh Mhamunkar later reflected. “A colossal burden lifted.” His applause for Fischer’s sixth-game masterpiece epitomized sportsmanship, a gesture that disarmed Cold War tensions and revealed a man unshackled by dogma. Boris Spassky was one of those rare figures in the chess world who brought both mystery and mastery to every game he played. Often regarded as a stoic strategist, his demeanor was one of The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Sharad Pawar, has set up a shadow cabinet to scrutinize the Maharashtra government's 100day agenda. Party leaders have been assigned regional responsibilities and instructed to strengthen the party's presence by touring the state. A key meeting in Mumbai focused on the party’s organizational structure, attended by all MLAs and MPs. Important leaders were given tasks to expand the party’s footprint across Maharashtra. Sharad Pawar assigned regions to various leaders: Rajesh Tope and Jayprakash Dandegaonkar for Marathwada, Rajendra Shingne and Anil Deshmukh for Vidarbha, Jeetendra Awhad for Konkan, Shashikant Shinde and Harshwardhan Patil for West and North Maharashtra. 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Petrosian, after two grueling title matches, that crowned him chess’s sovereign. Spassky’s reign, however, was immortalized not by his triumphs but by a loss. The 1972 Reykjavik match against Bobby Fischer—a geopolitical spectacle dubbed The Match of the Century—transfixed millions, pitting Soviet discipline against American audacity. Fischer’s victory ended 24 years of Soviet chess dominance, yet Spassky greeted defeat with unexpected relief. “I breathed freely,” he The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Central government to explore the appointment of an independent expert body to assess potential environmental risks linked to the proposed Vadhavan Port in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. The suggestion came during proceedings in a petition filed by the National Fishworkers Forum and others challenging the project over ecological and livelihood concerns [National Fishworkers Forum v. Union of India] reported Live Law. A Bench comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued the interim order, emphasising the need for rigorous environmental scrutiny. While MUMBAI Boris Spassky, grandmaster of grace and grit Ketan Narottam Tanna 4Contd on | Nation Bear rampage kills `9L cr Obituary MUMBAI victim did not scream for help during the rape had made it easier for the accused to commit the crime; if she had screamed, people nearby would have helped - put the Mahayuti government in an embarrassing situation. Reacting to this, the CM said, “Kadam is a new minister, and my advice to him is that in such sensitive cases, one must speak with greater awareness and sensitivity. UK court blocks extradition FPJ News Service MUMBAI A London court has blocked the extradition of Sanjay Bhandari, a British-based defence consultant wanted by Indian authorities on charges of tax evasion and money laundering, citing significant risks of torture and systemic abuse within India’s prison system. The High Court's ruling has raised wider questions about India's efforts to repatriate individuals accused of financial crimes, many of whom have sought refuge in the UK. Bhandari, 63, successfully challenged his deportation order after judges concluded that sending him to India would breach his rights under Articles 3 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibit inhuman treatment and guarantee fair trial protections. The court expressed serious concerns about India’s justice system, 4Contd on | Nation refraining from halting the project outright, the Court noted the government’s assurance that no significant construction activity is imminent. It urged authorities to evaluate engaging an expert agency to study the port’s ecological impact ahead of the next hearing in May 2025. 4Contd on | Nation India has been seeking arms agent Sanjay Bhandari’s extradition since 2020, accusing him of hiding overseas assets and evading taxes as well as money laundering