FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 227 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | JANUARY 30, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Tilak rises to No 2 in ICC T20I Rankings; Varun breaks into top 5 P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN PUNE WORLD INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Chinese bull in the Silicon Valley P.6 ‘Putin afraid of talks, wants to prolong war’ : Zelenskyy Cinema Kaun Hai Don? P.14 MAUNI AMAVASYA TRAGEDY | Incident took place due to pressure of crowd as devotees broke barricades and jumped to other side, crushing those waiting there to take holy dip at sangam 30 KILLED, 60 INJURED IN MAHA KUMBH STAMPEDE 6 crore take holy dip Biswajeet Banerjee MAHAKUMBH NAGAR At least 30 people were killed and 60 injured in a stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela in Prayagraj on Wednesday. Despite the tragedy, the spiritual fervour remained intact as over six crore devotees took a holy dip at the Sangam on Mauni Amavasya. The Akhara Parishad, which had initially called off the Amrit Snan, later participated in the ritual albeit without its usual grandeur. While the state government has not officially confirmed any deaths, sources at a government hospital claim that 30 people have died, with fears that the toll may be higher. A senior doctor at the hospital told this reporter that most of the deceased were from Karnataka and their bodies have been handed over to their families after post-mortem examinations. However, there was a variance in the statements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the incident. The PM expressed deepest condolences, calling the tragedy "extremely saddening". In a post on X, he assured that the local administration is providing all possible help and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. “I have been speaking to Chief Minister Yogi ji and am in constant touch with the state government,” he said. In contrast, the CM avoided confirming any fatalities. His of- ED crackdown on firm in adulterated milk products case Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL/MORENA Pilgrims gather to take a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati rivers, on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya. A stampede at the worlds largest religious gathering killed at least 30 people with many more injured Two from MP die CM announces Rs 2 L ex-gratia Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL A man from Gwalior and a woman from Chhatarpur died during the stampede that occurred in Mahakumbh area in Prayagraj on Wednesday morning. The woman’s daughter was injured. Bakswaha police station inficial statement only mentioned the injured, saying, "Some people have serious injuries," sidestepping reports of deaths. The Maha Kumbh Mela control charge Kirpal Marko said that they got information about the incident in which a woman Hukam Bai (45) died in the stampede and her daughter Deepa Lodhi received injuries. The police added that the body along with family members was brought with the help of ambulance arranged by Uttar Pradesh police. About 18 people from Chhatarpur district had gone for a holy dip. room remained operational, but no dedicated helpline was issued yet for affected devotees, further adding to the frustration of those searching for Chief minister Mohan Yadav has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to woman’s family. Chhatarpur district collector Parth Jaiswal also provided Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 to family under BPL norms. Gwalior SP Dhramveer Singh said Tekanpur resident Kamta Prasad Pal (47) died in the stampede. The family members are bringing the body from Kumbh area. 4Continued on | P8 missing family members. Eyewitnesses recounted the chaos that unfolded in the early hours. 4Continued on | P8 Historic feat as ISRO scores a 100 Rs 750 crore plan to upgrade MYH THIRD ARREST IN SAURABH SHARMA CASE PTI 1450-bed facility with multilevel parking and nursing hostel planned Six-day police remand granted SRIHARIKOTA The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Wednesday achieved a historic milestone with its 100th mission and revealed an ambitious future plan of crossing the next 100 launches in five years. Starting off with the SLV in 1979, the space agency crossed the 100-mission mark after 46 years, but what stands out is the PSLV's dominance through the years with 62 missions. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has turned out to be ISRO's most trusted rocket, thanks to its unmatched reliability. See Pg7 PTI The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Centre to provide the details of the number of FIRs and chargesheets filed against men for pronouncing instant triple talaq to divorce spouses in violation of the 1991 Muslim Women (Protection of Rights in Marriage) Act. A bench comprising Chief key medical centres like Chacha Nehru Hospital, Super Specialty Hospital and Cancer Hospital. Despite the new construction, the existing MY Hospital building will continue to operate as before. Lokayukta police have made a third arrest in the Saurabh Sharma corruption case, arresting Sharad Jaiswal on Wednesday. He was presented in the Special Court of Lokayukta, which granted a six-day police remand. The case, which involves disproportionate property acquired by Saurabh Sharma, led to the arrest of two other persons, Saurabh Sharma and Chetan Singh Gaur, on Tuesday. They were remanded into police custody until February 4. Special public prosecutor Vivek Singh Gaur said that Sharad Jaiswal was initially detained by the police on Tuesday and later arrested. His arrest was formalised on Wednesday when he was presented in court. The court granted six days' remand, which will end on February 4. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Tarun Tiwari INDORE Aiming to upgrade Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital (MYH), the biggest government medical facility of the state as a ‘model’ hospital, the state government has prepared a plan to construct a new seven-story building and expand the hospital at a whopping cost of Rs 750 crore. The officials in Bhopal have prepared a proposal to equip the new hospital with 1450 beds, providing modern medical facilities for patients across Indore and Ujjain divisions. According to officials, the new building will be constructed near the MYH OPD after dismantling the nursing hostel and other encroachments, to ease accessibility to SC seeks details of triple talaq cases NEW DELHI Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, hearing as many as 12 petitions challenging the constitutionality of the 1991 law, also asked the Centre and other parties to file their written submissions to the pleas. The bench fixed the petitions for final hearing in the week commencing March 17. Samastha Kerala Jamiathul Ulema, a Kozhikode-based Muslim organisation, is the lead petitioner in the case. “Earlier, a presentation of the proposed plan was scheduled to be presented before the chief secretary on Wednesday. However, it could not be done and new dates for it will be decided soon”. Nitin Gole, Building Development Corporation Amrit Snan he stampede initially prompted the Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad to cancel the Amrit Snan, a sacred bathing ritual. Mahant Ravindra Puri, president of the Akhara Parishad said, “Our saints and seers were ready for the ‘snan,’ but then we were informed about the tragedy.” However, after intervention from CM Yogi Adityanath, who personally urged the saints to reconsider, the Akharas ultimately participated in the sacred ritual—though the celebrations were subdued. T In a crackdown on a dairy company allegedly involved in distributing adulterated milk products, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted multiple raids across Bhopal, Sehore and Morena districts. The raids targeted Jayshri Gayatri Food Products Pvt. Ltd. and its promoters, Kishan Modi and Rajendra Prasad Modi, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The company is accused of producing and distributing contaminated milk products for both domestic consumption and international export, using forged laboratory certificates. ED officials said that 63 fake lab certificates were used to export the adulterated products to countries such as Bahrain, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, and the UAE. The raid started at 8 AM in Morena, where the ED team Our Staff Reporter Medical device BHOPAL On the second day of his Japan tour, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav held important discussions with key officials in Tokyo, including Japan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Hisashi Matsumoto, State Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Yasushi Furukawa, Chairman of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) Susumu Kataoka, and representatives from AND CM Mohan Yadav with Suichi Isibasi, Global CEO of Bridgestone Corporation Medical Company. The focus of the meetings was on enhancing In his meeting with Daiki Arai, Director of AND Medical Company, CM Yadav discussed opportunities for medical device manufacturing in MP. He emphasised the 75-acre Medical and Pharmaceutical Park under development in Ujjain, positioning it as a prime destination for investors trade and investment opportunities between Japan and SC rules out residence-based quota in PG medical courses IANS NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that residencebased reservation in Post Graduate (PG) medical courses under state quota is constitutionally invalid. A bench, headed by Justice Hrishikesh Roy, said that providing for domicile or residence-based reservation in PG medical courses is constitu- tionally impermissible and cannot be done. It opined that residencebased reservation is impermissible for the reason that such reservation runs counter to the idea of citizenship and equality under the Constitution. It clarified that institutional preference or reservations to a reasonable extent permissible under the Constitution in PG courses, yet reservation in PG medical courses and other higher learning courses, on the basis of 'residence' violates Article 14 of the Constitution. "We must also remember that, to a reasonable degree, residence-based reservation in a state is permissible for MBBS course, but the same reservation for PG courses is not permissible," added the Bench, also comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and S.V.N. Bhatti. Trump asks Musk to bring Sunita home Billionaire Elon Musk claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump asked him to expedite the return of NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who have been aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since June 2024. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk announced, “The @POTUS has asked @SpaceX to bring home the 2 astronauts stranded on the @Space_Station as soon as possible. We will do so.” He further criticised the Biden administration, calling it “terrible” that the astronauts had been left there for so long. NASA, however, has consistently refuted claims that Williams and Wilmore are stranded, assuring that they are in good health and spirits. The two astronauts 4Continued on | P8 CM bats for Japanese investment in MP offgrid FP Online broke open multiple locks at the company’s original premises in Ganeshpura. Over a dozen locks, including those on doors, boxes, and cupboards, were broken during the operation. The company specialises in manufacturing ghee, paneer and other milk products. Earlier on July 31, 2024, Economic Offences Wing officials had searched five locations linked to Jayshri Gayatri Food Products in Sehore and Bhopal. originally launched to the ISS aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft in June 2024. Their mission was meant to last just 10 days, but technical issues forced NASA and Boeing to reassess the spacecraft’s safety for reentry. After weeks of troubleshooting, NASA deemed it too risky to return Starliner with the crew onboard. In response, NASA arranged for SpaceX to bring the astronauts back as part of its Crew-9 mission. To accommodate them, NASA adjusted Crew-9’s original lineup, removing two crew members from the Dragon capsule launched in September 2024. This meant Williams and Wilmore would remain on the ISS until Crew9’s scheduled return in February 2025. However, additional delays arose in December when SpaceX required extra time to prepare the new Dragon spacecraft for the Crew-10 mission. 4Continued on | P8 Madhya Pradesh. During his meeting with Hisashi Matsumoto, CM Yadav emphasised the growing cooperation between India and Japan, underscoring Japan’s strategic investments in India, particularly in Madhya Pradesh. He said that the state offers significant opportunities for Japanese investors, especially in sectors such as urban transport, water management, and smart city development. 4Continued on | P8 Parl panel adopts report on Waqf bill PTI NEW DELHI A parliamentary panel examining the Waqf Amendment Bill on Wednesday adopted by a majority vote its report that contained changes suggested by ruling BJP members, prompting the opposition to dub the exercise as an attempt to destroy the Waqf boards. The Joint Committee of Parliament (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, chaired by BJP member Jagdambika Pal, adopted the report on the draft legislation by a 15-11 majority vote. Opposition members were submitting dissent notes to the report.BJP members insisted that the bill, introduced in Lok Sabha in August last year, seeks to bring modernity, transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties, while the opposition termed it as an attack on the constitutional rights of the Muslim community and interference in the functioning of the Waqf boards.