FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 289 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | APRIL 1, 2024 | PAGES 12 `3 - EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE Wife power takes centre stage at India Bloc rally GUJARAT TITANS REGISTER 7-WICKET WIN OVER SUNRISERS SPORTS r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; EDIT CONSTITUTIONAL CONUNDRUM WEATHER FP 37.40c. 22.80c Sunrise : 06.41 Sunset : 06.20 NEW DELHI Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita and former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana addressed a rally of the opposition bloc INDIA for the first time on Sunday and made a strong pitch for voting out the BJP, in an indication of their larger political role following the arrest of their spouses. Two chairs were kept empty for Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren at the 'Loktantra Bachao' (save democracy) rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, and their spouses blamed the BJP-led central government for the arrests. Several opposition leaders expressed solidarity with Kalpana Soren and Sunita Kejriwal, with Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray saying, "When PM TRYING TO DO MATCH-FIXING:RAHUL New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to do "match-fixing" in the Lok Sabha polls and asserted that if the BJP succeeds in its endeavours, the country's Constitution will be changed and people's rights taken away. Addressing the INDIA bloc's 'Save Democracy' rally at the Ramlila Maidan here, the former Congress chief said this is not an ordinary election but one to save the country's democracy and Constitution."When pressure is put on umpires and captain, players are bought off and the match is won, in cricket, it is called match-fixing. We have Lok Sabha polls before us. Who selected the umpires? Before the match started, two players were arrested... Narendra Modi is trying to do match-fixing in these polls," Gandhi said. two of our sisters are fighting, how can the brothers stay behind?...Not just us, the whole country is with you." Sunita has come into the limelight following the Delhi chief minister's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on March 21. A former IRS officer, she was earlier seen only on stage lending him support or acknowledging party workers. After the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered a historic mandate in Delhi in 2015 by winning 67 out of the 70 assembly seats, Arvind Kejriwal had posted a tweet thanking her for always being there with him. In a picture, he could also be seen hugging her in joy . CONTD. ON P6 Four killed, 70 injured as storm batters West Bengal NEWS BRIEF Nepal, India to promote Sanskrit KATHMANDU: Nepalese and Indian Sanskrit scholars have proposed to organise an International Sanskrit Conference every year and set up a study centre to conduct research and arrange publication of Sanskrit scriptures, especially the manuscripts found in the Himalayan nation. Adopting a fivepoint resolution at the end of a three-day Nepal-India International Sanskrit Conclave in Kathmandu, the participants also adopted a resolution to provide support for the development of gurukuls in Nepal with the collaboration of Maharshi Sandipani Veda Vidya Pratisthan, Ujjain, according to a press release. Naxal camp busted on Maha-C’garh border GADCHIROLI:The Gadchiroli police have busted a camp of Naxalites on the MaharashtraChhattisgarh border and seized some gelatin sticks, detonators and other items from there, an official said on Sunday. The police received intelligence inputs late Friday night that some armed Naxalites were camping on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border near Chutintola village to carry out subversive activities ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Gadchiroli's Superintendent of Police Neelotpal said in a release. JALPAIGURI Four persons were killed and at least 70 people injured as a storm destroyed parts of Jalpaiguri district in northern West Bengal on Sunday, officials said. Several houses were damaged, trees uprooted and electric poles fell as strong winds devastated most parts of the district headquarters town and many areas of neighbouring Mainaguri, they said. Among the most affected areas were Rajarhat, Barnish, Bakali, Jorpakdi, Madhabdanga and Saptibari, they said. The killed were identified as Dijendra Narayan Sarkar (52) of Senpara, Anima Bur- man (45) of Paharpur, Jagen Roy (72) of Putimari and Samar Roy (64) of Rajarhat, they added. "A rescue operation is underway," a disaster management officer said. Dhupguri MLA Nirmal Chandra Roy told PTI that several people were admitted to hospital with injuries. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said personnel of the civil administration, police and disaster management have been deployed for the relief works. Quick response teams (QRTs) have also been deployed, and the affected people were being shifted to safer places, she said. CONTD. ON P6 BJP’s take on rally New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday slammed the opposition INDIA bloc's rally at Ramlila ground here, saying it is not a "save democracy" meeting as projected but a "save family" and "hide corruption" rally. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited corruption cases of a host of leaders, to assert that all these charges date back to pre2014 period amid the opposition's accusation that the Modi government is implicating them in graft probes due to its political vendetta. Ramlila ground once hosted "India against corruption" movement under the leadership of Anna Hazare, Trivedi said, adding that it is hosting on Sunday a rally for "everybody with corruption". Indo-US tri-service exercise concludes NEW DELHI The 14-day bilateral triservice exercise between India and the US, 'Tiger Triumph-24', has concluded, officials said on Sunday . The exercise that began on March 18 aimed at developing interoperability for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) operations and refining standard operating procedures to enable rapid and smooth coordination between the forces of the two countries. The Indian Army's contingent comprising one battalion group took part in the second edition of the tri-service exercise in Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, along with the Indian Navy and the Indian Air Force. The closing ceremony of the amphibious exercise was held on board USS Somerset on March 30, a senior official said. The exercise signifies the "robust strategic partnership" between the two countries and was aimed towards sharing best practices and standard operating procedures in undertaking multinational HADR operations. CONTD. ON P6 Prez confers Bharat Ratna on Advani NEW DELHI President Droupadi Murmu conferred Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, on BJP stalwart and former deputy prime minister L K Advani at his residence here on Sunday . The ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah and the family members of Advani, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said in a post on X. Prime Minister Modi sat next to Advani as the President honoured the veteran leader with Bharat Ratna. CONTD. ON P6 BRAND SUTRA Minister's son booked for bashing journalist, couple 4 COPS SUSPENDED OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in A high-voltage drama unfolded in the Shahpura area of the city on Saturday night after Abhigyaan Patel, the son of MP's health minister Narendra Patel landed in a brawl with a media person. Patel and his friends assaulted the media person brutally, and when a couple, who operate a restaurant in the area, came to the victim's aid, the accused assaulted them too. The police said an FIR was registered against Abhigyaan Patel on the intervening night of Saturday-Sunday, under Sections 294, 324, 506 and 34 of the IPC. According to information, the media person identified as Vivek Singh had stopped at a traffic signal in the Shahpura locality. Abhigyaan, with his friends, stopped at the same signal, and over some issue, landed in an argument with Singh. He joined forces with his three friends sitting inside the car and began abusing MPCC president Jitu Patwari at Shahpura police station Singh. To save himself, Singh ran into a restaurant located in the area. When Patel and his friends followed him inside the restaurant, the owner of the eatery, Alisha, and her husband Dannis Mortin resisted Patel and his friends. The accused scuffled with them too, and the couple sustained injuries. Singh and the couple went to the Shahpura police station to lodge a complaint against the accused, and Patel and his friends also followed them there. Inside the police station, they began abusing Singh and the couple. The police personnel tried stopping them from doing so, after which Patel began threatening the policemen. The police personnel then allegedly assaulted Patel. CONTD. ON P6 At least 5,000 Indians are being reportedly held against their will in Cambodia and are being forced to scam Indians back home online. The sheer scale of the fraud - the Centre pegs the proceeds of crime generated over the past six months at a whopping Rs 500 crore - prompted the two countries to join forces to bring it all down. "We have seen the media reports on Indian nationals stuck in Cambodia. Our Embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work," the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding that around 250 Indians have been "rescued and repatri- ated" so far. According to media reports, those trapped in Cambodia were forced to scam people back home in Shahpura police station TI Raghunath Singh told Free Press that four police personnel, identified as Jai Kumar, Naresh Gurjar, and two other cops have been suspended for assaulting Patel. The action was taken after Patel's father, Narendra Patel said that the cops had no right to assault his son without probing the entire incident. COUNTER FIR Habibganj ACP Mayur Khandelwal told Free Press that after Patel and three of his friends were booked, they lodged a counter FIR against Singh and the couple, as he and his friends too had sustained injuries. PATWARI’S DEMAND Congress state president Jitu Patwari demanded that an attempt-to-murder case be registered against Abhigyan and slammed the police for not registering a separate case against him. "We will provide a lawyer to the journalist to help him file a private complaint against the minister's son in a court," he said. Fight against corrupt will go on: PM ‘Cong gave away Katchatheevu island’ MEERUT Lashing out at the opposition INDIA bloc, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the attacks on him will not stop the fight against corruption and action will be taken against those involved in graft irrespective of their status. "When Modi is fighting the battle against corruption with full strength, these people have formed the INDI alliance. They think they will intimidate Modi, but for me, my Bharat is my family and I am taking steps to protect it from the corrupt," the prime minister said addressing his first rally in Uttar Pradesh after the announcement of the Lok Sabha election schedule. Modi's counter-offensive came as the stalwarts of the INDIA bloc held a rally at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi in support of AAP chief Arvind Kejriw- NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cited a media report to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress "callously" gave away Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. "Eye opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people's minds- we can't ever trust Congress," he said on X, sharing the report. Modi added, "Weakening India's unity, integrity and interests has been Congress' way of working for 75 years and counting." al and JMM leader Hemant Soren, arrested on graft charges, and accused the prime minister of adopting dictatorial policies. The prime minister said some people are rattled because he is taking action against corruption. "I am fighting a big battle to save my country from the corrupt. That is why they are behind bars today and not getting bail even from the Supreme Court," Modi said. "The election is a fight between two camps. On one side you have the NDA committed to eradicating corruption, on the other side is the INDI Alliance focused on protecting corrupt lead- ers. You have to decide whether corruption should be removed or not," he said at the rally in Meerut. "Corrupt people should listen... no matter how many attacks you make on Modi, this is Modi, he is not going to stop. No matter how big the corrupt person is, action will defi- other instance of gubernatorial overreach, where the governor lacked sufficient material to declare the floor test. "This is not a healthy trend under the Constitution to bring the actions or omissions of the Governor of a state for consideration before constitutional courts," she said. "I think I must appeal that the office of a governor, though it is called a gubernatorial post, the governor's post is a serious constitutional post, the governors must discharge their duties under the constitution in accordance with the Constitution so that this kind of litigation before the law courts is reduced," Justice Nagarathna added. She said it was quite embarrassing for the governors to be told to do or not to do a thing. CONTD. ON P6 Kharge counters the charge Reacting to the charge, Kharge said the island was given to Sri Lanka as part of a friendly agreement in 1974 and reminded the government that it too had undertaken a similar "friendly gesture" towards Bangladesh with an exchange of border enclaves. "Pradhan Mantri Narendra Modi ji, You have suddenly woken up to the issues of territorial integrity and national security in your 10th year of misrule. Perhaps, elections are the trigger. Your desperation is palpable," he said in a post on X. nitely be taken. The one who has looted the country will have to give it back. This is Modi's guarantee," he said. Raising the Katchatheevu island issue, Modi accused the Congress and the opposition alliance of trying to harm the country's unity and sovereignty CONTD. ON P6 . I had to dissent: Justice Nagarathna Allahabad HC stays Raj on demonetisation judgment Babbar’s NEW DELHI Supreme Court Judge BV Nagarathna has cautioned against instances of governors sitting indefinitely on bills passed by elected legislatures, referring to the case involving the Punjab Governor. In her keynote address at the inaugural session of the fifth edition of Courts and the Constitution Conference, held at the NALSAR University of Law here on Saturday, Justice Nagarathna spoke about the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly case as an- 5K Indians working as Cyber Slaves in Cambodia, 250 rescued so far NEW DELHI QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in PRIME TIME IN INDIA Incident took place on Saturday night KEJRIWAL’S 6 PROMISES w 24-hour electricity across the entire country w Free electricity for the poor throughout the country w Constructing excellent government schools in every village and neighbourhood w Establishing Mohalla clinics in every village and neighbourhood w Ensuring fair prices for crops to farmers as given in the Swaminathan Commission Report w Granting full statehood to Delhi. r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 India and extort money by posing as law enforcement officials and telling the potential victims that suspicious things were found in parcels shipped by them. The police became aware of this massive scam late last year when a senior central government employee claimed he was defrauded of over ? 67 lakh and filed a complaint. Odisha's Rourkela Police busted a cyber-crime syndicate on December 30 and arrested eight people allegedly involved in moving people to Cambodia. "We arrested eight per- sons from different parts of the country and have prima facie evidence against multiple people involved in the scam. We issued Look Out Circulars against 16, following which the Bureau of Immigration detained two men Harish Kurapati and Naga Venkata Sowjanya Kurapati - at the Hyderabad airport after they landed from Cambodia," an officer said. CONTD. ON P6 conviction LUCKNOW The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has stayed the conviction of actor Raj Babbar in a case dating back to 1996 when he was contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Lucknow as a Samajwadi Party candidate. Lucknow, March 31 (IANS) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has stayed the conviction of actor Raj Babbar in a case dating back to 1996 when he was contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Lucknow as a Samajwadi Party candidate. Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan passed this order on an application filed by Raj Babbar under Section 389(2) of the CrPC. The application sought directives to suspend the effect, execution and operation of the conviction order dated July 7, 2022, passed by additional chief judicial magistrate-III for the offence in Lucknow arising out of an FIR lodged in 1996 at the Wazirganj police station. CONTD. ON P6