FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. 13 NO. 342 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | MAY 24, 2024 | PAGES 16 r Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023; `3 r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 QUALITY AT VALUE www.freepressjournal.in - WE STARTED TO PLAY FOR OUR SELF-RESPECT: KOHLI SPORTS NATION COLOURFUL ROADSHOW: DIDI WALKS FOR OVER 2 KMS WEATHER EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE 33.10c. 23.90c Sunrise : 05.59 Sunset : 06.51 HEAT STROKE CLAIMS LIFE, 0 AS BHOPAL SIZZLES @44.4 C @46.60C GUNA HOTTEST IN STATE NEWS BRIEF Campaigning ends for 6th phase of LS polls NEW DELHI: Campaigning ended on Thursday for the penultimate phase of Lok Sabha elections in 58 constituencies across six states and two Union territories, including all the seven seats in Delhi. Besides the national capital, polling for the sixth round of the marathon sevenphase elections will be held Saturday in 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, all 10 seats of Haryana, eight seats each in Bihar and West Bengal, six seats in Odisha, four seats in Jharkhand and one seat in Jammu and Kashmir. Ponting turns down India head coach approach NEW DELHI: Australia great Ricky Ponting has revealed that he was approached for the soon-tobe-vacant India head coach position but he has declined the offer as it doesn't fit into his "lifestyle" right now. "...there were a few little oneon-one conversations during the IPL, just to get a level of interest from me as to whether I would do it," Ponting told the ICC. Bomb threat at Lady Sri Ram College NEW DELHI: Delhi University's prestigious Lady Sri Ram College received a bomb threat on Thursday, officials said, a day after a similar e-mail was received by the office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). A Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials said a call was received at 4.38 pm and two fire tenders have been pressed into service. The local police, a bomb disposal squad, a bomb detection team have arrived at the spot along with a dog squad and are conducting searches. Cong wants to impose inheritance tax BETTIAH/MOTIHARI: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday alleged that the Congress wants to impose "jizya-like inheritance tax" so that it could distribute properties among infiltrators. Addressing election rallies in Purvi and Paschim Champaran Lok Sabha constituencies he labelled Congress and RJD as "antiIndia, anti-Ram and antipeople" and alleged that the two parties would "rob" SCs, STs and OBCs of quotas and give those to Muslims. Three killed as car overturns in Rajgarh RAJGARH: Two children and an elderly man were killed and three others injured after the car they were travelling in overturned in Madhya Pradesh's Rajgarh district on Thursday, a police official said. The car going towards Indore flipped near a petrol pump in Sarangpur of the district around 11 am, killing a child on the spot. Another child succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the hospital from the scene, he said. PLACES OUR STAFF REPORTER City.bhopal@fpj.co.in As Bhopal sizzled at 44.4 degrees Celsius, extreme heat wave claimed a life on Thursday. Police said that Nilendra Meena (40) of Neelbad died while working in his farm. Post-mortem report cited dehydration as the cause of death. Police said that he suffered heat stroke. Meanwhile, weatherman has sounded orange alert for severe heat wave for districts like Datia, Bhind, Niwari, Dhar, Ratlam and Gwalior. Yellow alert has been issued for heat wave in Mandsaur, Umaria, Rajgarh, Badwani, Ashok Nagar, Neemuch, Shivpuri, Morena, Sheopurkalan, Chhatarpur and Tikamgarh. Bhopal’s day temperature was recorded at 44.4 degrees Celsius while night temperature Deers and birds seek refuge in cool water to beat the heat at Van Vihar in Bhopal on Thursday INDORE EQUALS EIGHT-YR-OLD RECORD Indore’s maximum temperature on Thursday equalled the eight-year-old record and reached a peak of 44.5 degrees Celsius. The temperature above it, in the month of May, was recorded in 1996 when it touched the 46-degreeCelsius mark. stood at 30 degrees Celsius night temperature. Indore recorded day temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius and night temperature of 29.9 degrees Celsius. In the last 24 hours, while Seoni braved hail, dusty storm lashed districts like Balaghat, Dindori, Seoni, Chhindwara, Betul Jabalpur, Sagar, Katni and Mandla. CONTD. ON P8 NEW DELHI: The Indian Navy on Thursday congratulated Kaamya Karthikeyan, a 16-year-old class XII student of Navy Children School in Mumbai, on becoming the youngest Indian and the second youngest girl in the 46.6 46.3 46.1 45.8 45.7 45.1 45.0 44.7 44.6 44.6 44.5 44.4 44.1 44.1 44.0 44.0 44.0 43.7 43.4 43.4 43.3 CINEMA 7 Naxalites killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh NARAYANPUR: Seven Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in a forest along Narayanpur-Bijapur interdistrict border in Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said. The gunfight broke out around 11 am when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation and the intermittent firing was still underway, Narayanpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Prabhat Kumar said. Seven Naxalites in "Maoist uniform" have been gunned down in the exchange of fire so far, said the SP. The operation, involving personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard from Dantewada, Narayanpur and Bastar districts, Bastar Fighters and Special Task Force - all units of state police - was launched based on inputs about the presence of cadres from Maoists' Indravati Area Committee and Platoon No. 16, he said. Altogether seven firearms have been recovered from the encounter site, he said. CONTD. ON P8 Sensex, Nifty hit all-time peaks weeks ahead of poll results INVESTOR WEALTH MUMBAI With nearly a fortnight left for the results of Lok Sabha polls, benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty zoomed more than 1.6 per cent to close at lifetime high levels on Thursday, making investors richer by Rs 4.28 lakh crore. Regaining the 75,000 level, the BSE Sensex ended at an all-time peak of 75,418.04, up by 1,196.98 points or 1.61 per cent. During the day, it zoomed 1,278.85 points or 1.72 per cent to reach its all-time intra-day high of 75,499.91. The index logged its biggest single-day gain since January 29. The NSE Nifty inched closer to the 23,000 mark during the day. The 50issue index went up by 369.85 points or 1.64 per cent to 22,967.65. During the day, it jumped 395.8 points or 1.75 per cent to 22,993.60 -- its intra-day record peak. "Nifty shrugged off some of the uncertainty related to election results and hit a new high today," said Apurva Sheth, Head of Market Perspectives and Research, SAMCO Securities. The results of the ongoing general elections will be declared on June 4. The sixth and last phases of polls will be held on May 25 and June 1 respectively . Sheth also attributed the rally to a record dividend announced by RBI to the government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exuding confidence about winning the elections. "There has been lot of uncertainty in the markets related to elections. The India VIX has more than doubled from a low of about 10 a few weeks ago to the current level of 21. In an interview published today PM Modi , was not only confident about winning the elections but also claimed that NDA has already crossed majority and is on track for a historic win," Sheth added. SEE PAGE 13 HD DEVE GOWDA WARNS GRANDSON Abandoned by Return to India, SAILANA HOSPITAL staff refuse bus conductor, sick youth dies at roadside face the law; don’t to keep body in mortuary test my patience FP NEWS SERVICE Sailana In a tragic incident that has left humanity shamed, negligence by a tourist bus conductor and hospital staff led to the death and mistreatment of a young man. The episode began around 4 pm on Wednesday when an unconscious youth, later identified as Rameshwar Aalam Banjara, a na- BENGALURU JDS patron and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda has issued a stern warning to his grandson and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna to return to India from abroad and face the law in the obscene video case. Prajwal Revanna is facing a probe by an SIT constituted by the Karnataka government over allegations of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation following a complaint by a woman who worked in his household. In a letter posted on X, the former PM says he is not aware of where his grandson is but has warned him to return home and face the law. "I have already said that he should be given the harshest punishment under the law if found guilty . I also cannot convince people that I was unaware of Prajwal's activities. I can- If he has any respect left for me he has to return immediately not convince them that I have no desire to shield him. I cannot convince them that I am not aware of his movements and that I was not aware of his foreign trip. I believe in answering my conscience. I believe in God, and I know the almighty knows the truth," the former PM wrote. Deve Gowda also appealed to his grandson to return if he have any respect left for him. At this juncture, I can only do one thing. CONTD. ON P8 Cyclone Remal to reach WB by Sunday NEW DELHI: A low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal will intensify and reach Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts as a severe cyclonic storm by Sunday evening, the IMD said on Thursday . This is the first cyclone in the Bay of Bengal this premonsoon season and will be named Remal, according to a system of naming cyclones in the Indian Ocean region. "The system will concentrate into a depression over central Bay of Bengal by Friday morning. CONTD. ON P8 6 killed, 48 hurt after triple blasts, fire in Thane factory THANE: At least six persons were killed and 48 others were injured after three powerful explosions followed by a massive fire engulfed a chemical factory located in the MIDC complex at Dombivali in Thane district on Thursday afternoon. The triple explosions at quick intervals were so huge that they shook nearby homes, and shattered windowpanes as terrified locals rushed onto the street. The sound of the explosions could be heard from several kilometres away locals said. , Minutes later, a huge fire engulfed the factory as thick clouds of smoke were seen billowing in the air even as half a dozen fire-tenders, water tankers, and rescue teams rushed to the spot. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that at least six persons died in the blast-cum-blaze while 48 others were rescued from the factory and rushed to nearby hospitals. CONTD. ON P8 Kaamya youngest Indian to scale Mt Everest SETS SIGHT ON Antarctica's Vinson Massif GUNA RAJGARH NEEMUCH RATLAM BADWANI SHAJAPUR UJJAIN SEHORE DHAR KHARGONE INDORE BHOPAL DEWAS NIWARI DAMOH SHIVPURI TIKAMGARH SAGAR ASHOK NAGAR CHHATARPUR NARSINGPUR TEMP FROM SATIRE TO STUNT world to summit Mount Everest from the Nepal side. In a unique father-daughter feat, Kaamya, along with her father Cdr S. Karthikeyan of the Indian Navy, successfully submitted the 8849 m Mount Everest summit on May 20. "Kaamya has exhibited immense courage and fortitude in summiting the highest peaks in six of the seven continents. Indian Navy wishes young Kaamya the very best in her aspiration to summit the highest peaks of all seven continents, becoming the youngest girl to do so," the Indian Navy posted on X. Kaamya has now completed six milestones in her mission to summit the highest peak of all seven continents and aims to summit Mt. Vinson Massif in Antarctica this December to become the youngest girl to accomplish the Seven Summits Challenge. CONTD. ON P8 Petrol pump CCTV shows Rameshwar Aalam Banjara (right) being dumped on road by bus conductor tive of Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, was found suffering in the sun at the Sai petrol pump on the bypass after he was abandoned by a bus conductor on the roadside in the scorching heat. Despite the petrol pump staff notifying the police, the youth succumbed before help arrived. Upon reaching the scene, police shifted the deceased to Sailana Hospital in a private vehicle. However, the hospital staff, led by Block Medical Officer (BMO) Jitendra Raikwar, re- fused to keep the body in the mortuary, despite repeated police requests. The body remained in the hospital premises for four hours until section officer Manish Jain intervened, finally placing it in the mortuary at 10:30 pm. Later, senior officers arranged to shift the body to Ratlam Medical College around midnight, where it was safely stored and post-mortem a was conducted Thursday The body was on . subsequently handed over to the family for cremation in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. CONTD. ON P8 Won’t resign from Rajya Sabha, says Maliwal amid assault row NEW DELHI Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Thursday stated that even if someone wanted her Rajya Sabha seat she would have willingly given it and firmly asserted that "ab chaahe duniya ki koi bhi shakti lag jaye main resign nahi karungi" (even if any power puts pressure on me to resign I won't do). Maliwal asserted that she is the youngest woman Parliamentarian adding that she never showed any "desire" for any position. "Agar meri Rajya Sabha ki seat unhe chahiye thi, woh pyaar se maangte toh main jaan de deti, MP toh bohot choti baat hain. (If they needed my Rajya Sabha seat, they would have Kenyan delegation reviews prep for cheetah reintroduction MANDSAUR: A delegation from Kenya has visited the Gandhisagar sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh to take stock of preparations for cheetah reintroduction in the area, an official said on Thursday The six-member . team visited the sanctuary, spread across Mandsaur and Neemuch districts, on May 21 and 22, he said. After reintroducing cheetahs -- the animal was declared extinct from India in 1952 -- at Kuno National Park (KNP) in the state's Sheopur district two years ago, the government is planning to bring the big cats to Gandhisagar. On the first day, the Kenyan team watched a presentation on preparations for the translocation of cheetahs and successful reintroduction at KNP, the forest official said. KEJRIWAL WAS AT HOME I Asked whether she was claiming that Bibhav Kumar did what he did at someone's instructions, Maliwal said, "This is a matter of investigation. I am cooperating with the Delhi Police. I am not giving anyone a clean chit. The fact is that I was in the drawing room, Arvind Kejriwal was at home and I was beaten up very badly. I screamed and shouted, but no one came." have known Bibhav Kumar since 2006. Arvind Kejriwal 'ke sabse bade raajdaar, sabse karibi aadmi iss waqt Bibhav Kumar hain SWATI MALIWAL asked for it, I would have given my life, it is such a small thing). If you see my whole career I never showed any desire for any position. In 2006, I left my engineering job and joined this when nobody used to know us. Only three people were there and I was one of them. I have been working since then. The way they have beaten me, 'Ab chaahe duniya ki koi bhi shakti lag jaye main resign nahi karungi' (I will not resign now). I have been told that this is the reason my character is being assassinated. CONTD. ON P8 Inspector attached with CBI suspended OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in Police headquarters on Thursday suspended inspector Sushil Kumar Majoka. He was attached with CBI. The action was taken on instructions from CBI after the agency registered FIR against 23 accused, including four police officials, in Nursing College Bribery NURSING COLLEGE BRIBERY SCAM case. These officials are inspector Rahul Raj, DSP Ashish Prasad, inspector Sushil Kumar Majoka and Rishi Kant Asathe. The two inspectors of Madhya Pradesh police Sushil Kumar Majoka and Rishi Kant Asathe were attached with CBI. The CBI had registered FIR on May 18th. CONTD. ON P8 $20,000 per seat for India vs Pak game at T20 World Cup? Lalit Modi blasts ICC T he T20 World Cup 2024 is just round the corner and the cricket fans all around the world are waiting for the much-anticipated clash between India and Pakistan on June 9 in New York. The two teams have not played a bilateral series for nearly a decade due to political tensions and as a result, their matches in ICC tournaments hold a special place in the hearts of cricket fans. While anticipation is at an all-time high for the match, former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has alleged that tickets of the clash which will held at at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York is be- ing sold at around $20,000 (Rs 16.6 lakh) and he blasted the International Cricket Council (ICC) for hampering the promotion of the game. “Shocked to learn that ICC is selling tickets for Diamond Club at $20000 per seat for the #indvspak WC game. The WC in the US is for game expansion & fan engagement, not a means to make profits on gate collections. $2750 for a ticket It's just #notcricket #intlcouncilofcrooks,” he posted on X (formerly Twitter). Recently, there has been multiple reports stating that match tickets are being sold on the black market and in a number of websites, fans can buy these tickets for way more than their actual prices. However, no official communication has come from the ICC regarding the allegations till now. India will begin their campaign in the T20 World Cup 2024 with a match against Ireland on June 5 before taking on Pakistan in the most high-profile Group A encounter in New York on June 9.