ESTD-1928 Vol. 67 No. 226 | SATURDAY | JUNE 22, 2024 | 33 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 ✩✩✩ THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL QUALITY @ VALUE www.freepressjournal.in NATION UP Police constable recruitment exam: Probe contract to Gujarat company EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE BHOPAL In a belated attempt to uphold the integrity and sanctity of the examination system, the Centre, in view of the swirling controversies surrounding the NEET and UGC-NET examinations, has notified a stringent law that was passed in February to prevent paper leaks and cheating. The February law proposes that any person found guilty of leaking a paper or tampering with answer sheets will receive a minimum jail term of three years. This can be extended to five years with a fine Porsche case: bail for father, bar owners of up to Rs 10 lakh. Service providers who have knowledge about a possible offence but do not report it can be fined up to Rs 1 crore. Known as the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024, this ‘antipaper leak’ legislation covers examinations held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission, the Railways, banking recruitment examinations and all computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The late night move came even as another exam -- the CSIR-UGC-NET examination, scheduled to take place from June 25, was also postponed due to "unavoidable circumstances." This exam too, was to be conducted by the National Testing Agency. The joint CSIR-NET exam is conducted for Junior Research Fellowship and Lectureship and Assistant Professor posts in Indian universities and colleges. Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh said, “The Bill is aimed at curbing corrupt practices by few unscrupulous elements that play havoc with the future Contd on | Nation Raina Assainar NAVI MUMBAI Ankit Shukla Contd on | Nation of our youth, destroying their careers and aspirations and occasionally resulting in fatal suicides.” On June 19, the Central government had ordered the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination amid questions about the “integrity” of the exams. A day after the cancellation, the Union Education Ministry handed over the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation. According to Education Ministry Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal, prima facie, the government felt the exam had been compromised. Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023) Cinema Check out our verdict on films and OTT releases Edit Unpardonable disasters in top exams Minor longitudinal cracks in asphalt pavement, claims MMRDA Cracks in Setu approach road Kalpesh Mhamunkar MUMBAI The Congress party on Friday targeted the state government over what it said looked like ‘cracks in Atal Setu’ with its state unit chief Nana Patole inspecting the structure on Friday along with a media team. The Mahayuti government has breached all limits of corruption, Patole alleged after the inspection. Atal Setu connects Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and was inaugurated with much fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few months back. Also referred to as the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, it is India’s longest sea bridge, spanning 21.8 km, with a significant portion extending over the sea, measuring 16.5 km. If Patole is to be believed, the cracks developed in three months. He alleged a one-km road has already caved in on the Navi Mumbai side. The MMRDA, while clarifying on the issue, debunked the claim. These cracks are not on the bridge, it said, but on the approach road connecting MTHL from Ulwe towards Mumbai. The service road was built as a temporary connecting route at the last minute due to the absence of a coastal road, sources said. “During an inspection by the Operation and Maintenance team on June 20, 2024, minor cracks were found on the road surface near the edges at three locations on Ramp 5 (the ramp towards Mumbai). These cracks are minor and located along the edge of the road,” the MMRDA said in a statement. “It is important to note that these cracks are not due to any structural defect. They are minor longitudinal cracks in the asphalt pavement, which can be effectively Contd on | Nation Four city students drown in reservoir Tell it to birds, Kejri not free yet Four college students from Mumbai drowned in a reservoir near Sondai Fort on Friday. They were part of a group of 37 students of different Mumbai colleges and associated with each other through the National Cadet Corps (NCC). The students — 22 boys and 15 girls —climbed to the Sondai Fort at Sondaiwadi at 10 am PUNE Vishal Agarwal, the father of the juvenile who allegedly mowed down two IT professionals in his speeding Porsche on May 19, was granted bail by a Sessions court on Friday. The court had heard the arguments 10 days ago and granted bail on Friday in the primary case where he was booked under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. Section 75 deals with "wilful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses". Along with Agarwal, the court also granted bail to five other accused, including the owners and managers of the two bars who were arrested for allegedly serving liquor to the juvenile under Section 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, which E-paper Arming Ukraine would be “a big mistake”, Putin tells South Korea ANTI-PAPER LEAK LAW FPJ News Service KONKAN WORLD TESTING TIMES | The law passed in Feb and notified now will entail a jail term of three to five years and fine up to `1 crore NEW DELHI / PATNA / LUCKNOW NASHIK Trump dangles green card for students FPJ News Service MIAMI Former President Donald Trump has said in an interview that he wants to give automatic green cards to foreign students who graduate from US colleges, a sharp departure from the anti-immigrant rhetoric he typically uses on the campaign trail. A Green Card, known of- ficially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document showing a person has permanent residency in the United States. Trump was asked about plans for companies to be able to import the "best and brightest" in a podcast taped on Wednesday which venture capitalists and tech investors called the "All-In". It is set to be a civil union for lovebirds Sonakshi, Zaheer “What I want to do and what I will do is that when you graduate from a college, you should get automatically, as part of your diploma, a green card to be able to stay in this country. And that includes junior colleges too -anybody who graduates from a college. Contd on | Nation SRA is stepping into our ambit, says BMC chief S Balakrishnan FPJ News Service MUMBAI MUMBAI month notice to the marriage registrar. Ratansi said the wedding, scheduled for June 23, Setting at rest intense specula- could be held at his Bandra tion about the upcoming wed- residence on Carter Road. ding of noted actress Sonakshi Under the Special Marriage Sinha, 37, and actor Zaheer Act, the registrar can come Iqbal Ratansi, 36, from the with the marriage register close-knit Khoja Shia to a venue selected by community, the the couple and comgroom’s father told plete the legal forthe FPJ on Friday malities. that the marriage Asked about reE XC L U S I V E would not have any ports that Sonakshi religious ceremony. was being converted “It will have to Islam, Ratansi rubneither Hindu nor Muslim rit- bished them. “She is not conuals. It will be a civil marriage,” verting and that is for sure. he confirmed. Theirs is a union of hearts and Apparently, the marriage religion has no role to play will be under the Special Mar- whatsoever,” he added. “I beriage Act, 1954, under which lieve in humanity. God is called the couple had reportedly Bhagwan by Hindus and Allah given the mandatory one- by Muslims. But at the end of FPJ the day, we are all human beings. My blessings are with Zaheer and Sonakshi,” he declared. It is reliably learnt that Sonakshi’s parents, actor-MP Shatrughan Sinha aka Shotgun and Poonam, are now reconciled to the marriage. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani has accused the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) of encroaching on the BMC’s jurisdiction as the planning authority, in a letter addressed to the SRA’s chief executive officer (CEO) this month. Gagrani has now taken the matter to the state’s urban development department (UDD). In the letter, Gagrani said, “The Development Plan and Development Control And Promotions Regulations (DCPR) 2034 is applicable for issuing permissions to Planning Authority BMC and SRA. Contd on | Nation Contd on | Nation offgrid AI-enabled yoga mat for home Our Bureau NEW DELHI A smart AI enabled Yoga mat developed by a start-up funded and incubated at Department of Science and Technology (DST) supported TIH of IIT Mandi was presented to Union Council of Ministers on behalf of Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh, on the occasion of International Yoga Day. MARINE ASAN: Girls in a yoga mudra at Marine Drive on Friday. Pic: Salman Ansari Contd on | Nation and descended by 1.30 pm, according to officials. Around 2.30 pm, the students decided to take a dip in the Dhavari river reservoir constructed by Sai Sansthan. “Eklavya Umesh Singh (18) jumped into the poll not realising the depth. When he started drowning, some students raised an alarm, following which three others jumped in to save him but Contd on | Nation Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI A day after Vacation Judge Nyay Bindu of the Rouse Avenue Courts granted bail to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi liquor policy case, the Delhi High Court on Friday stayed the order after the counsel for Enforcement Directorate argued that he was not given “full opportunity” to argue his case. The court is now likely to pro- nounce its order in the matter on June 25. After Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju challenged the lower court’s order and termed it a “perverse order” on the ground that it was delivered “without going through documents filed by both sides and without giving us an opportunity (to argue)”, Vacation Bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain heard the arguments of Kejriwal’s counsels. He then ordered that “I am reserving the order for two to three days. Till the pronouncement of the order the operation of the trial court order is stayed.” Meanwhile, Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, reacted to the developments by saying that Kejriwal was being treated like a “wanted terrorist” and that “dictatorship has increased in the country”. Another AAP leader and Contd on | Nation