THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 136 | Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | 30 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) GAMES NATION Prime Minister Narendra Modi becomes first Indian to get Mauritius’ highest honour It is all in the stars! By invitation 4Contd on | nation Briefs FIR AGAINST KEJRIWAL In a setback to Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday okayed a petition seeking an FIR against the AAP chief and others for allegedly misusing public funds to put up large hoardings in Dwarka in 2019. SPY CHIEFS TO MEET Top intelligence chiefs from around the world, including US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Canadian spy chief Daniel Rogers, and MI6 head Richard Moore, will gather in India this weekend for a high-profile security conclave. India’s National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, will chair the meeting on March 16. PAK TRAIN AMBUSHED FPJ News Service trudge to the nearest railway station. Among them were women and children with Balochi antecedents. Many of the passengers were taken hostage whom the separatist Baloch Liberation Army has threatened to execute if the Pakistan authorities intervene. According to one account, the BLA had killed a score of security personnel on board. Security forces have rushed to the scene, as well as helicopters to try to rescue hostages, the police told the BBC. The Baloch separatists on Tuesday wrested control of the Jaffar Express train with hundreds of passengers on board as it was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar. The train was trapped inside a tunnel after the attack, during which it came under fire and the driver was wounded, police and railway officials said. Around 400-450 passengers had been booked on the train; a group of at least 60 had disembarked and allowed to Adani pockets `36k cr project S Balakrishnan MUMBAI The Gautam Adani Group has secured the mega project for redevelopment of Motilal Nagar, spread over 143 acres in Goregaon (W). Adani's bid of `36,000 crore was the highest and was accepted when the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA) opened the bids on Tuesday. A MHADA official told FPJ that construction major Larsen & Toubro was the second-highest bidder. After winning the Dharavi redevelopment project, Adani has made yet another successful foray into the Mumbai real estate market. "It is only a matter of time before Adani emerges as the biggest player in Mumbai’s real estate market," a city builder observed. The Motilal Nagar project is expected to significantly impact the real estate market in the western suburbs, where several major developers are already active. Incidentally, India's biggest builder, DLF Pvt Ltd, is set to enter the Mumbai market later this month with a project in Andheri. Motilal Nagar primarily consists of small, chawl-type houses spread across a vast area, largely occupied by the lower-middle class. Adani Properties Pvt Ltd (APPL) emerged as the highest bidder, offering more built-up area than its closest rival, L&T, according to sources familiar with the matter. 4Contd on | nation ‘GAZAB LILA’ AT HOSPITAL Megha Kuchik MUMBAI After the discovery of eight urns (‘kalashʼ) containing human skulls, bones, hair and rice beneath the floor of the office of a trustee of Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, Prashant Mehta, the latter has alleged that murder (ritual sacrifice) may be involved. Mehta has accused former trustees of engaging in black magic rituals, stating, “We found eight urns filled with human remains under the flooring of my office cabin in Lilavati Hospital. Some former employees brought this to my notice in December 2024. These findings suggest rituals, involving sacrifices, conducted by former trustees.” He further claimed that similar occult objects were VOOD(OO)UNNIT/8 urns with human relics found under office floor; `2,100cr trust fund scam alleged Spotlight on Bangladesh army tussle FPJ News Service MUMBAI found under the flooring of offices belonging to his mother, Charu Mehta, and other permanent trustees. “We had our engineering department break up the flooring and recorded everything on video. The discovery of these objects have brought negative vibes to the office,” Mehta added. Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh, now the executive director of Lilavati Hospital, has supported these claims, stating, A high-ranking Bangladeshi military official with suspected pro-Pakistan leanings is under surveillance for allegedly plotting to overthrow Army Chief General WakerUz-Zaman, sources told India Today. The official in question, Lieutenant General Faizur Rahman, the Quartermaster General (QMG), reportedly attempted to rally key commanders against the chief. His secret meetings, flagged by the Army Chief’s secretariat, set off alarm bells, leading to swift countermeasures. Rahman, known for his Islamist affiliations and alleged ties to Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation offgrid Crack down on fake birth certificates Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI In a major crackdown on illegal settlements, the Maharashtra government has announced stringent measures to prevent Bangladeshis and Rohingyas from obtaining fake birth certificates. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule unveiled plans to amend the Birth and Death Registration Act, introducing tighter regulations and harsher penalties for fraudulent applications. KEY MEASURES: ■ Birth and death registrations will now be treated as quasi-judicial matters, requiring rigorous scrutiny. ■ Applications for certificates for events over a year old must be backed by substantial evidence. Failure to provide valid proof will result in criminal charges. ■ The process for delayed registrations, as per the Birth and Death Registration Act of 1969 and Maharashtra Birth and Death Registration Rules of 2000, has been clearly defined. ■ Certificates will be issued only after verifying records from the place of birth or death. Officials, from village officers to district collectors, have been directed to enforce strict checks. ■ If discrepancies are found, officials must issue a nonavailability certificate with an explanation. ■ All applications will undergo police verification, and final approval will be based on the police department's report. This move aims to curb the misuse of birth certificates for illegal settlements, ensuring a more transparent and accountable registration process. Trump doubles up on Canada tariffs FPJ News Service NEW YORK The BLA separatist fighters 4Contd on | nation KHARGE IN A SPOT OVER THOKENGEY Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Several angry exchanges were witnessed on Tuesday in Parliament between the members and between the members and the Chair as issues ranging from Manipur violence, New Education Policy, delimitation and duplication of voter lists were raised by the members. The most acrimonious of these was one involving Leader of Opposition in 4Contd on | nation Fadnavis placed the onus of enforcement squarely on local police inspectors, making them responsible for ensuring adherence to the rules. “Police inspectors must visit religious sites and verify if proper permissions have been obtained. If violations occur, the inspector will be held accountable,” he warned. Failure to enforce the guidelines would invite disciplinary action against negligent officers. President Donald Trump doubled the tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel, threatening to inflict even more pain on one of America’s closest traditional allies as he pressed Canada to become part of the United States. His comments sent jittery markets tumbling, with the S&P 500 down about 1 percent in early morning trading.. Trump said the higher metal tariffs were a response to a surcharge on electricity Canada exports to the United States. On Monday, Ontario -- Canada’s most populous province -- retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by adding a 25 percent surcharge to the electricity it exports to Michigan, Minnesota and New York. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a conservative politician who runs Canada’s most populous province, says he's ready to 'shut the electricity off completely' if America continues to 'escalate.' President Trump, in a lengthy post on his Truth Social account, also threatened to 'permanently shut down' the Canadian auto sector. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation Bolan Pass, the railway line where the hijack took place Heat on shrine loudspeakers Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI PIC: VIJAY GOHIL W ill our next internet connection come from space? Will rural India finally get high-speed internet? And will this disrupt the current telecom hierarchy? With Bharti Airtel teaming up with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring Starlink satellite internet to India, the battle lines in the telecom and digital space are being redrawn. What happens next will have far-reaching consequences—not just for the Indian consumers, but for business, geopolitics, and the digital economy itself. For years, India’s telecom market has been defined by intense price wars, billionaire rivalries, and government regulations that have shaped its competitive landscape. Now, a new force is entering the arena. Starlink, with its low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, promDigital Shake-Up ises to deliver highspeed, low-latency from the skies: With Bharti Airtel internet to even the most remote teaming up with corners of India— Elon Musk’s places where tradiSpaceX to bring tional fibre and 5G Starlink satellite networks struggle internet to India, to reach. the battle lines in For Airtel, this the telecom and partnership means digital space are gaining an edge being redrawn over competitors by offering connectivity in areas where even Jio, India’s largest telecom player, is yet to establish its dominance. The timing is crucial. Washington has long accused India of being a difficult market for foreign tech companies, with protectionist policies favouring domestic giants. The decision to allow Starlink access—without the spectrum auction that Indian telecom players like Jio had been pushing for—could be a diplomatic signal in a shift in India’s approach to global business partnerships. It could also strengthen Indo-US ties at a time when both nations are aligning their interests on trade, technology, and security. In geopolitical terms, this move is as much about diplomacy as it is about digital connectivity. Edit Economic challenges may spell political trouble for Mahayuti BLOW UP THREAT | Hundreds of passengers on board are being held captive by Baloch Liberation Army; gunmen threaten to kill all hostages if demands are not met KARACHI Dr. Srinath Sridharan Cinema Hansal Mehta calls for a reset in Bollywood After CT win, England tour, T20 and ODI World Cups next challenges for Gautam Gambhir The Maharashtra government has introduced stringent regulations to curb noise pollution from loudspeakers at religious sites. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, addressing the state assembly on Tuesday, announced that any violation of prescribed noise limits—55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night—will result in the permanent revocation of loudspeaker permits.