FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 272 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | MARCH 17, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY World Bill names mental illness after Trump P.9 False narrative created over 2002 Guj riots: PM PTI NEW DELHI fp Briefs NEW DELHI New Zealand PM in India New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Sunday began a five-day visit to India with a focus on deepening the bilateral trade and economic ties with New Delhi. On Monday, Luxon will hold wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will grace the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue as the chief guest. Ahead of the Modi-Luxon talks, the two nations announced the launch of negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-New Zealand FTA. KOCANI 59 dead in nightclub fire A massive fire tore through a nightclub in North Macedonia's eastern town of Kocani early Sunday, killing 59 people and injuring 155, authorities said. The blaze broke out around 2:30 am during a concert by a local pop group at Club Pulse, Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski told reporters. He said 39 of the dead had so far been identified. He said, following an initial assessment, pyrotechnics likely caused the roof to catch fire. NEW DELHI RG Kar SC hearing today The SC is slated to hear on Monday the matter where it has taken suo moto cognisance of the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A Bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar will resume hearing suo moto case. himself as a peacemaker who has nudged both Russian and Ukrainian leaders to come to the negotiating table. He said normalcy has returned to the India-China border after his recent talks with President Xi Jinping to defuse tensions ignited by the 2020 clashes between the two armies in eastern Ladakh. Sounding optimistic about the ties between the world's two most populous countries, he said differences between neighbours are natural and emphasised the ancient cultural ties between them when the two civilizations learnt from each other and had little conflict. Turning to Pakistan, the prime minister said he took the initiative of inviting its leader to attend his swearingin ceremony in 2014 and then travelled to Lahore in 2015, but his efforts only drew negative reactions from the neighbouring country. "Yet, every noble attempt at fostering peace was met with hostility and betrayal," he said. Asked what he likes about Trump, Modi recalled that the US president during his first term had ignored security protocol and agreed to his request to take a lap around the stadium hosting the 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston. Trump believes in "America First" and his motto is "nation first" or "India first", Modi said, adding that this similar spirit makes them connect well. On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said it will only be resolved when both sides join the negotiation table, asserting that there can never be a resolution on the battlefield. Asked about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he said he feels blessed to have learnt life's values from a "sacred" organisation such as this as he lauded it for working since 1925 to inspire people to dedicate themselves to the country. Modi said the RSS gave him the purpose of life, noting that its different affiliates are involved in numerous fields and with every section of society. To a question about the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat when he was the chief minister, he said it was an attempt to create a false narrative to target him, and his political opponents in power at the Centre wanted him to be punished. The courts, however, cleared his name, he said. 4Continued on | P8 BLAZE IN GWALIOR HOSP; 120 PATIENTS RESCUED Fire due to old electric wiring at 65-yr-old building Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Over 120 patients including 16 from Intensive Care Unit were rescued and shifted to another hospital after a blast occurred in an air conditioner at the gynecology department of Kamla Raja Hospital in Gwalior at 1 am on Sunday. Fire erupted following the blast at the 65-yearold hospital, which is attached to Gajra Raja Medical College, Gwalior. No human loss was reported. Fire in MP hospitals n November 2021: In Kamla Nehru Hospital. Led to three neonatal deaths. n August 2022: Fire at New Life multi speciality hospital, Jabalpur caused eight deaths. n September 2023: SNCU in Kamla Raja Hospital; 68 kids were shifted. The hospital guards of the hospital immediately evacuated the patients admitted in the ICU by breaking the win- 31 killed as US strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen AP WEST PALM BEACH The Houthi rebel-run Health Ministry says the death toll from US strikes on Yemen has climbed to 31, including women and children. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesperson for the ministry, said Sunday that another 101 people were wounded in the overnight strikes. President Donald Trump said he ordered a series of airstrikes on the Houthiheld areas in Yemen on Saturday, promising to use "overwhelming lethal force" until Iranian-backed Houthi rebels cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. The Houthis said at least 18 civilians were killed. "Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists' bases, leaders, and missile defences to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom," Trump said in a social media post. "No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World." 4Continued on | P8 dows and shifted them to a super speciality hospital. 4Continued on | P8 BJP MLA seeks ban on non-Hindus at Kedarnath DEHRADUN BJP MLA from Kedarnath assembly constituency, Asha Nautiyal, said that a meeting was held for the 'yatra' management in Kedarnath, and people raised some issues that went unnoticed. Nautiyal said that she agrees with the issues raised by the people and that there are some people who do anything to malign the image of the Kedarnath Dham. She demanded that such people be banned from entering the temple premises. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid ISRO, SCL develop 32-bit chips for space applications PTI BENGALURU ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL), Chandigarh have jointly developed 32-bit Microprocessors -- Vikram 3201 and Kalpana 3201-- for space applications, the space agency has said. Vikram 3201 is the first fully Indian-made 32-bit microprocessor qualified for use in the harsh environmental conditions of launch vehicles. The processor was fabricated at the 180nm (nanometer) CMOS (Complementary Metal-OxideSemiconductor) semiconductor fab of SCL. This processor is an advanced version of the indigenously designed 16-bit Vikram 1601 microprocessor, which has been oper- ating in the avionics system of ISRO's launch vehicles since 2009, ISRO said in a statement released late on Saturday. A "Make-in-India" version of the Vikram 1601 processor was subsequently inducted in 2016 after the 180nm semiconductor fab was established at SCL, the statement said. 4Continued on | P8 PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Desperate outburst P.6 Quick commerce leads to 52% fall in sales of retailers LEX FRIDMAN PODCAST | India-China cooperation, Pak's 'betrayal', Gujarat riots, RSS influence—Modi touches varied issues Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday opened up on a host of foreign affairs issues as he stressed that cooperation between India and China is essential for global peace and prosperity and called out Pakistan's links to global terrorism, accusing Islamabad of responding with hostility to his attempts to rebuild ties. In an interaction lasting over three hours with USbased popular podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman, Modi said he and US President Donald Trump connect well as both put their respective countries first and asserted that their mutual trust remained unshaken even when the Republican leader was out of office during Joe Biden's presidency. The prime minister also touched on various aspects of his life journey, praising the Hindutva organisation RSS for instilling patriotic values in him, lauding Mahatma Gandhi's legacy and describing UJJAIN Brand Sutra Nature’s Baby P.12 Yadav slams K’taka govt for religion-based reservation Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL DGP visits Mauganj, CM declares ASI a martyr Six arrested Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has criticised Karnataka government for introducing religion-based reservation for contractors in government projects. Calling it an act of appeasement politics, Yadav urged AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge to ensure withdrawal of the decision taken by Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah. Lashing out at the Congress, Yadav accused the party of having an “unethical habit” of passing cabinet provisions that favour specific religious groups. He said that the BJP-led Union government is dedicated to the welfare of Dalits, backward classes and underprivileged, ensuring their rightful place in society. 4Continued on | P8 Director General of Police (DGP) Kailash Makwana reached Mauganj on Sunday to assess the situation following the violent incident atGadra village in Shahpur police station area. He met injured officials and reviewed the law-and-order response. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced martyr status for assistant subinspector (ASI) Ramcharan Gautam, who was killed in the attack. The violence erupted when a tribal family, accused of killing a youth named Sunny Dubey, clashed with the police team that arrived for his rescue. The mob attacked officials, killing ASI Gautam and injuring several others, including Mauganjtehsildar. Ten policemen, including Shahpura police station in-charge San- DGP Kailash Makwana talks to people in Mauganj on Sunday. Inset ASI Ramcharan Gautam PHQ cancels Holi Milan Samaroh PHQ has canceled ‘Holi Milan Samaroh’ scheduled for Monday due to the death of ASI in Mauganj, officials said on Sunday. deep Bharti, were left bleeding in the chaos. Late at night, a heavily armed police force stormed Gadra village, firing in the air to break the standoff. In the operation, SDOP Ankita Shulya and SI Aarti Verma, who had been taken hostage, were successfully rescued. The police also recovered the bodies of ASI Gautam and the deceased youth. 4Continued on | P8 Top LeT commander killed in Pakistan PTI NEW DELHI A top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander, wanted by Indian security agencies for several deadly terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, was eliminated by gunmen in an attack in Pakistan, officials said on Sunday. Zia-ur-Rehman alias Na- deem alias Abu Qatal alias Qatal Sindhi was gunned down in the Jhelum area of Punjab on Saturday evening. His security guard was also killed, the officials said, quoting information received from the neighbouring country. Considered the most trusted handler of LeT founder and 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, they said 43-year-old Rehman was the main handler of the terror outfit involved in the planning of various attacks in the Poonch-Rajouri region of Jammu and Kashmir. The officials said Rehman had infiltrated the Jammu region in early 2000 and exfiltrated in 2005. 4Continued on | P8 He had a wide network of Over Ground Workers in Poonch and Rajouri through A old contacts, they said. histotal of 90 Pakistani militarythe various investigations In personnel were killed in an attack the National Inconducted byon their convoy on Sunday, claimed the vestigation Agency (NIA) into Baloch Liberation Army the gruesome terror incidents (BLA). “The Majeed Brigin Poonch-Rajouri region, his ade, Fidayee unit, targeted involvement was found, offia convoy cials said. of Pakistani military,”was charge-sheeted by He a statement by the 90 Pak soldiers killed: BLA BLA said.