FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 138 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | OCTOBER 31, 2024 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports ROHIT PLUMMETS TO LOWEST ICC TEST RANKING P.14 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Partisanship in House committees P.10 India’s external assets grew faster than liabilities: RBI Cinema When we were kids P.16 With 25L diyas Ayodhya illuminates history Biswajeet Banerjee/B P Singh 1,100 AYODHYA Priests performed Maha Aarti Ayodhya, the spiritual heart of Hindu mythology, etched its name into the Guinness World Records on Wednesday with a breathtaking display of 25 lakh earthen lamps along the Saryu River. This year’s Deepotsav, an annual Diwali celebration, marked the world’s largest oil-lamp lighting, outshining Ayodhya’s previous record of 22 lakh lamps set last year. illuminated by diyas along the riverfront, stretching 1.5 kms 91k litres mustard oil used An aerial view of the Ayodhya city during Deepotsav 2024 on the eve of the festival of Diwali fp ESCALATING ROW | Minister keeps mum on intel but says... Briefs NEW DELHI French envoy’s phone stolen Four people were arrested for allegedly stealing a mobile phone from French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou while he was visiting Jain Mandir in the Chandni Chowk area of North Delhi. The lost phone has been recovered, said police. Earlier, French Ambassador to India Thierry Mathou filed an e-complaint that he had lost his mobile phone near Jain Mandir in Chandni Chowk area of North Delhi. KOCHI Film editor found dead Noted film editor Nishadh Yusuf was found dead in an apartment here in the early hours of Wednesday, police said. The 43-yearold film editor, who hailed from Haripad in Alappuzha district, was found at around 2 am in an apartment in Panampilly Nagar. A police officer said that the incident is suspected to be a case of suicide. He, however, did not provide further details. ‘SHAH BEHIND PLOT TO KILL KHALISTANIS’ OTTAWA A Canadian official alleged Tuesday that Indian Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada. Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told Parliament members of the national security committee that he had confirmed Shah's name to The Washington Post, which first reported the allegations. "The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person," Morrison told the committee. Morrison did not say how Canada knew of Shah's alleged involvement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said a year ago that Canada had credible evidence agents of the Indian government were involved in the The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person David Morrison, Canada Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Canada officials accept leaking info to NYC anada's opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has cancelled Diwali celebrations that were scheduled to take place at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, drawing severe backlash from the Indian community. rudeau's national security and intelligence adviser Nathalie Drouin on Tuesday admitted that she leaked information on India's alleged link to Nijjar's killing to the Washington Post.Drouin's confession came at a hearing of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) studying electoral interference and criminal activities in Canada by agents of the Government of India in the Parliamentary Precinct of Ottawa. C US State Department has dismissed recent reports suggesting that Washington is considering expelling Indian diplomats in response to the growing diplomatic tensions between India and Canada. The rumours circulated following Canada’s naming of India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, and other Indian diplomats as “persons of interest” in its probe into killing of Nijjar. murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023. Canadian authorities have repeatedly said they have shared evidence of that with In- CM gets into Arjun tank, takes aims with 7.72 SIG SAUER Rifle BHOPAL Delhi LG slams Kejri The Free Press offices will be closed on Thursday on account of Diwali and there will be no edition on Friday. Readers can keep abreast with happenings across the globe through www. freepressjournal.in OPPN LEADER CANCELS DIWALI CELEBRATIONS US DENIES REPORTS OF EXPELLING INDIAN DIPLOMATS Our Staff Reporter HOLIDAY NOTICE After CG, state govt revises DR for pensioners and family pensioners Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL AP NEW DELHI After Delhi BJP MPs on Wednesday filed a joint writ petition in the high court seeking implementation of the Ayushman Bharat scheme in the national capital, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena accused AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal of not going ahead with the scheme out of "fear" of getting "exposed". The developments came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the AAP government for blocking the health insurance scheme in the national capital out of "political interests". 4Continued on | P8 KEY DISPLAYS: n T-90 tank, a third-generation Russian main battle tank designed for modern warfare n BMP-2, a Russian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle. CM Mohan Yadav atop a tank during army exhibition Arjun Tank and 7.62 SIG SAUER Rifle, that strike terror in hearts of the enemy, are part of two-day military exhibition of four-day function of MP Foundation Day. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inaugurated the exhibition at Lal Parade Ground in Bhopal on Wednesday. Yadav couldn’t stop from himself from jumping into Historic first: New York schools get Diwali holiday India, China complete Disengagement in Depsang, Demchok Arjun tank and even took detailed information about it. Later, he also tried to take an aim with 7.62 SIG SAUER rifle. 4Continued on | P8 FP Online T dian authorities. 4Continued on | P8 TEENAGER BEHEADED IN FIGHT OVER LAND IN UP Teenager's wailing mother sat with the severed head in her lap for hours 4Continued on | P8 India and China has been completed and patrolling will commence soon at these points, Indian Army sources said on Wednesday. Exchange of sweets between the sides will take place on Diwali tomorrow, they said. "During the confrontation, Ramesh attacked Anurag Yadav, son of Ramjeet Yadav, with a sword and decapitated him," he added. Lalta Yadav was arrested after the incident and a hunt is on for his son Ramesh. Police have been deployed in the village to prevent any further flare-ups. Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav decried the violence and alleged there was no law and order left in the state. "There is a strange contradictory relationship between today's government and crime. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Indian and Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh (file photo) Exchange of sweets today on Diwali PTI NEW DELHI Troop disengagement at two friction points at Demchok and Depsang Plains in eastern Ladakh following a key agreement firmed up between EIGHT Dead till now Our Staff Reporter A surviving elephant stand before the dead elephant of its herd BHOPAL The pachyderm toll in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve went up to eight (one male, seven female) on Wednesday. Though the exact cause of deaths is yet to be ascertains, preliminary investigation has pointed finger of suspicion towards consumption of poisonous Kudo – a staple millet crop. On Wednesday, four pachyderms died during course of treatment, while one is still under treatment and two others have recuperated. Forest Minister constitutes probe panel Taking serious note of the incident, forest minister Ramniwas Rawat has constituted a state-level four-member investigation committee under APCCF Wildlife L Krishnamurthy to probe the deaths. He ordered the panel to probe all possible angles and initiate strict action against those involved in it and submit report within 10 days. 4Continued on | P8 AI flight from Delhi to Mumbai via Indore gets hoax bomb threat IN REPLY TO CEO FIR registered odi said this in reply to GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke, who lauded India for being the fastest-growing developer population on the planet. M JAUNPUR A 17-year-old boy was beheaded with a sword in a fight over a piece of land in Kabiruddinpur village on Wednesday, police said. Superintendent of Police Ajaypal Sharma said the violence was a consequence of a land dispute between villagers Ramjeet Yadav and Lalta Yadav. "Ramesh Yadav, son of Lalta Yadav, began clearing the disputed land this morning that flared up the tension," he said. n Initial probe hints at consumption of toxic Kudo n STF questions five persons, searches seven fields and houses Indian youth best in innovation & tech: PM PTI NEW YORK Schools in New York are going to be closed for Diwali for the first time ever. Dilip Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of International Affairs in New York Mayor Eric Adam's office told the media that the schools in the city will remain closed on November 1. "This year Diwali is special...," said Chauhan, as quoted by ANI. "It's not easy in New York City, where 1.1 million students are studying in the school, to declare the school a public holiday," he added. Following in Chhattisgarh government’s footstep, state government on Wednesday hiked Dearness Relief (DR) for pensioners and family pensioners. The Dearness relief under sixth pay commission is 9% and 4% for seventh pay scale. After the hike, the revised DR is now 239% for sixth pay scale and 50% for seventh pay scale. The Chhattisgarh government had sanctioned 50% DR in 7th pay commission and 239 % in 6th Pay Commission to pensioners and family pensioners from October 1 and had sought the consent of MP government for the same through a letter on October 17. The said order will be applicable with respect to state government employees who had drawn lump sum amount on absorption in PSU/ Autonomous body/board/corporation etc. 4 more elephants die in Bandhavgarh IANS NEW DELHI Indian youth are among the best in innovation and technology, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday. "When it comes to innovation and technology, Indian youth are among the best!" PM Modi said, in a post on X. Dohmke called India's rise as a global tech titan "inexorable". In its recent 'Octoverse' report, the Microsoft Copilot- PTI INDORE powered developer platform said there are over 17 million developers in India building on the platform -- representing an increase of 28 per cent in 2024. The report noted that AI has moved beyond the hype of 2023 as Indian developers and organisations prioritise results over experimentation. "India's developers have gone a leap further: they're increasingly using AI to build AI," Dohmke wrote on X. A message claiming a bomb had been placed on Air India's flight from Delhi to Mumbai via Indore was posted on a social media platform which later turned out to be a hoax, police said on Wednesday. The Indore police have registered a case in this connection against an unidentified person, they said. The "threatening message" that a pipe bomb was placed in Air India's flight AI 636 was posted on an X social media account at 5.08 pm on Tuesday, an Aerodrome police station officer said quoting a complaint by a local official of the airline. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 King Charles pays private visit to B’luru for wellness treatment PTI BENGALURU/LONDON Britain's King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla paid a private visit to Bengaluru for wellness treatment at a sprawling integrative medical facility here, local sources said on Wednesday, with the Buckingham Palace confirming the couple made a city stopover enroute to the UK from Samoa after attending a Commonwealth meeting. They made a short restful stopover in the country to break their long journey back to the UK from the The royal couple stayed at the holistic health centre, known for rejuvenative treatment, including yoga and meditation sessions & therapies Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa, Buckingham Palace said in London on Wednesday. The 75-year-old monarch made the private visit that the palace indicated was not REPRESENTATIVE PIC 55 ghats health related or linked with his ongoing cancer treatment. It was reportedly factored in as part of appropriate periods of rest advised by his doctors as part of the overall long-distance royal tour that covered Australia and Samoa. 4Continued on | P8