FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 279 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | MARCH 24, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Nation ‘India must develop diverse set of energy relationships’ P.8 fp ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK JAMMU Gunfight breaks out in J&K A gunfight broke out between security forces and terrorists in J&K’s Kathua district on Sunday, officials said. Official sources said that joint forces started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Sanyal village near the international border in the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district today following suspicious movement of persons there."As the joint forces including the army, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the J&K Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) closed on hiding terrorists, they were fired at, triggering an encounter, which is now underway," a source said. Brand Sutra One For The Bar P.12 BEIJING AI non-combat military role China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has started using the recently released Chinese AI tool 'DeepSeek' for non-combat support functions, especially in military hospitals, to assist the doctors in devising treatment plans besides other civilian areas, media reports said. DeepSeek's open-source large language models (LLMs) are being used in PLA hospitals, People's Armed Police (PAP), and national defence mobilisation organs, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported on Sunday. ROME Pope Francis discharged After over five weeks in a Rome hospital undergoing treatment for respiratory ailments and pneumonia, Pope Francis was discharged on Sunday but will need at least two months of rest and time before his voice becomes normal. Minutes before his discharge, the 88-year-old Pope appeared at a window at the Gemelli hospital to give a blessing to the assembled faithful - in his first public appearance since February 14. Burnt `500 notes add twist to judge cash case IANS BURNT IN FIRE? NEW DELHI In a new twist to the ‘cash at judge’s home’ episode, burnt currency notes of Rs 500 denomination were spotted by a sanitation worker on Sunday while sweeping a road outside the 30, Tughlak Road, residence of Justice Yashwant Varma in central Delhi. The recovery caused a minor flutter in the high-security area which is a stone’s throw from Tughlak Road police station. The sanitation worker of NDMC who chanced upon the remains of burnt currency notes clicked their photos and informed seniors, who contacted the police. The presence of notes in the outhouse or their burning in the fire has been denied by Justice Varma who has called the entire episode a conspiracy to malign him. The controversy has prompted CJI Sanjiv Khanna to order a probe and ask the Delhi HC chief not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma till the investigation is The recovery of burnt currency notes, in a way, gives credence to the police claim in the ‘Cash at judge’s home’ case that currency notes were burnt in a fire that broke out late on Holi night on March 14 in an outhouse on the premises of Justice Varma’s official residence. over. On Friday, CJI Sanjiv Khanna constituted a threemember committee to conduct an inquiry against Justice Varma. "The CJI has constituted a three-member Committee consisting of Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana; Justice G.S. Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh; and Anu Sivaraman, Judge of the High Court of Karnataka, for conducting an inquiry into the allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, a sitting Judge of the High Court of Delhi," said a statement released by the Supreme Court. MATCH NO. 4 DC Vs LSG VISAKHAPATNAM; 7:30 PM (Detail report on Sports Page) 2 Maha doctors killed, 4 hurt in Shivpuri crash Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Two women doctors were killed and four others injured when their SUV crashed into a culvert and fell into a ditch in Shivpuri district on Sunday morning. The group, all residents of Maharashtra, was returning from a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. According to SDOP Vijay Yadav, the accident occurred around 7:30 am on the GunaShivpuri Road under Kolaras police station. The SUV, carrying six doctors, lost control be- PTI NEW DELHI With Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna constituting a three-member panel to probe the discovery of "four to five semi-burnt sacks" of Indian currency notes after a fire incident at the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma, the in-house procedure has entered the crucial second-stage whose findings will decide the fate of the judge. BJP serves notice on party MLA over Simhastha land remark Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In a rare move, the BJP has served a notice to its own MLA, Chintamani Malviya, for criticising his party's government over land acquisition for the Ujjain Simhastha during a recent assembly session. BJP state president VD Sharma toldFree Press that Malviya has been asked to respond within a stipulated time. "The party has taken cognizance of his statements made both in and outside the assembly," Sharma said. Speaking to Free Press, Mal- viya acknowledged hearing about the notice but said he had not yet received it. "Once I get it, I will reply accordingly," he said. During the budget session, Anti-dumping duty on Chinese goods IANS Malviya had thanked CM Mohan Yadav for allocating Rs 2,000 crore for the upcoming Simhastha but raised concern over land acquisition. He said that unlike the previous Simhastha, where land was taken temporarily for 3–6 months, farmers are now receiving notices for permanent acquisition as part of plans to develop a "Spiritual City." Malviya questioned the feasibility of building such a city within Ujjain, stating that true spiritual knowledge requires isolation and tranquility—something difficult to achieve within an urban setting. 4Continued on | P8 PTI PTI NEW YORK An Indian-origin woman has been charged with allegedly murdering her 11-year-old son after a three-day vacation to Disneyland. Saritha Ramaraju, 48, has been charged with one felony count of murder for slitting her son's throat, killing the boy after they went on a vacation to Disneyland during a custody visit. She has also been charged with one felony enhancement of personal use of a weapon, a knife. 4Continued on | P8 state that the duty has been levied for a period of five years on the imports of soft ferrite cores, vacuum-insulated flasks, and trichloro-isocyanuric acid which is used as a disinfectant, chlorinating agent, and bleaching agent. It's commonly found in tablet or granular form, and is the active ingredient in "chlorine" tablets used for swimming pool sanitation. An anti-dumping duty of up to $873 per tonne has been imposed on aluminium foil for six months. Bangladesh's request for a meeting between its interim government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the upcoming BIMSTEC Summit is under consideration, External Affairs minister S Jaishankar is learnt to have told a Parliamentary panel meeting here. At this year's first meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for External Affairs on Saturday, several MPs raised concerns on attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, asking what steps was India taking in this regard, sources said. They said Jaishankar informed the members that the interim government in Dhaka has claimed that the attacks on Hindus were "politically motivated" and not "minority targeted". Jaishankar briefed the MPs on ties with Bangladesh, the Maldives, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. He said he would speak about Pakistan and China separately at a later date. Jaishankar was also learnt to have told the meeting that SAARC was inactive because of Pakistan's approach and thus India is trying to Ni-kshay Mitra Meghalaya govt 'adopts' all TB patients A 56-year-old Indian-origin man and his 24-year-old daughter were shot dead at a convenience store in the US state of Virginia and police have arrested one person in connection with the shooting, according to media reports. Pradipkumar Patel and his daughter were working at the store on Lankford Highway in Accomack County when the shooting incident happened. Accomack County is located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. The Accomack County Sheriff's office said deputies were called to the scene shortly after 5:30 am on March 20 on reports of a shooting victim, Shore Daily News reported. When they arrived, deputies discovered an unresponsive man suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, it strengthen BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). He indicated that Prime Minister Modi may attend the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok from April 2 to 4 in Thailand, but did not confirm the visit at the meeting, the sources said. He also informed the meeting that Prime Minister Modi would visit Sri Lanka next month. Asked whether Modi is expected to meet Yunus and hold bilaterals with him on the sidelines of the BIMSTEC summit, Jaishankar remained noncommittal saying it is under consideration, the sources said. 4Continued on | P8 said. While searching the building, deputies found a woman suffering from apparent gunshot wounds as well. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman, who was not identified, was transported to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries, the report said. Accomack County Sheriffs announced late Thursday that they arrested a man in connection with the shooting. George Frazier Devon Wharton, 44, of Onancock, is currently held in Accomack Jail without bond, according to Sheriff W Todd Wessells. He was charged with firstdegree murder, attempted firstdegree murder, possession of a firearm by a felon and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. 4Continued on | P8 PTI In an unprecedented initiative, the Meghalaya government has "adopted" about 4,500 tuberculosis patients in the state and has become a "universal Ni-kshay Mitra" for them as part of the 100day Intensified TB-Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan. The Centre launched the 'Ni-kshay Mitra' programme in September 2022, urging individuals, private organisations and civil society groups to "adopt" patients and provide them additional nutrition and diagnostic support. Now, Meghalaya has gone a step further and become the universal Ni-kshay Mitra for all tuberculosis patients in the state. Under its unique Comprehensive TB Care Initiative launched in December last year, the northeastern state has taken extra measures not just to improve treatment success rates but also to reduce morbidity and fi- nancial burden on the patients and their families. In addition to the Rs 1,000 monthly nutritional support that each patient is provided under the Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana by the Union government, Meghalaya possibly is the only state that provides additional support worth Rs 2,000 per month to each patient in the form of a nutritional kit. The kit comprises 10 kgs of rice, one tray of eggs, three kgs of moong daal, one litre of refined oil as well as seasonal fruits and vegetables to ensure a patient's faster recovery. The aim is not just to provide nutritious food to the patient but also to take care of their family members so that their immunity is boosted and the future breakout of infection into active TB is pre- vented, said Ramkumar S, the mission director of the National Health Mission (NHM). The state government also provides free transportation for TB patients and one attendant from their homes to the health facility and back, he said. At the health facilities, patients are provided free-ofcost diagnostics with all additional laboratory tests and investigations completely taken care of by the state. 4Continued on | P8 BHOPAL ADG Special Police Establishment Lokayukta, Jaideep Prasad has been shifted and ADG Cyber, A Sai Manohar, will be the new ADG intelligence as the state government transferred 15 IPS officers on Sunday. The Lokayukta Special Police Establishment came to limelight after they conducted raid at the house of former transport constable Saurabh Sharma. The working of the SPE raised several questions on the investigations. The outgoing ADG SPE Jaideep Prasad has been appointed as ADG SCRB. ADG A Sai Manohar has been appointed as ADG Intelligence, the ADG intelligence Yogesh Deshmukh to hold the charge of ADG SPE. 4Continued on | P8 Sambhal Jama Masjid committee chief held PTI SAMBHAL Shahi Jama Masjid committee president Zafar Ali was arrested on Sunday in connection with the violence that erupted here in November last year over a court-ordered survey of the mosque, a police officer said. Earlier in the day, officials said the mosque committee chief was taken into custody by the local police's special investigation team (SIT) to record his statement in connection with the November 24 violence case. Ali's brother, however, alleged that it was done to prevent him from submitting his testimony before a three-member judicial commission on Monday. FLASHBACK... he panel has been appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to investigate the violence in which four people were killed and several injured. The Mughal-era mosque here has been at the centre of a major row after a petition claimed that it was the site of an ancient Hindu temple. T Sambhal Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi, while talking to PTI, said Shahi Jama Masjid chief Jafar Ali has been arrested in connection with the November 24 violence case. 4Continued on | P8 Boeing lays off 180 employees in India PTI NEW DELHI SHILLONG ADG SPE LOKAYUKTA AMONG 15 IPS OFFICERS TRANSFERRED Our Staff Reporter B’desh request for Yunus-Modi meet under consideration NEW DELHI Three persons were killed on Sunday after their motorcycle was hit by a mini loading autorickshaw in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district, a police official said. The incident took place on Mahuar bridge in the afternoon, Karera police station in charge Vinod Chhawai said. See page 2 Three persons, including a woman, were killed and 33 others sustained injuries when a private passenger bus overturned in Raman Pur Valley known as ‘Khooni Ghati’, under the Bargi police station area of Jabalpur on Sunday, police said. See page 2 Indian-origin man, daughter die in US store shooting Indian-origin woman charged for murdering son 3 siblings killed in bike accident 3 dead as bus overturns in ‘Khooni Ghati’ However, no timeline has been fixed for the inquiry committee to conclude the probe. In 2014, while dealing with a case of alleged sexual harassment of a subordinate court judge in Madhya Pradesh at the behest of a sitting judge of the high court, the top court laid down the in-house procedure meant to probe the allegations against a judge of the constitutional courts. PTI India has imposed anti-dumping duty on four Chinese products, including aluminium foil, to safeguard domestic industry as these goods were being exported by the neighbouring country at below-normal prices. The duties have been imposed on soft ferrite cores, vacuum-insulated flasks of a certain thickness, aluminium foil and trichloro-isocyanuric acid, as the inflow of these cheap goods into the Indian market was hurting domestic manufacturers of these products. The notifications issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) fore hitting the culvert. Dr. Tanvi Acharya (50) died on the spot, while Dr. Neelam Pandit (55) succumbed to her injuries later. The injured—Dr. Uday Joshi (64) and his wife Dr. Seema Joshi (59) from Mumbai, Dr. Subodh Pandit (62) from Vasai, and Dr. Atul Acharya (55) from Bhiwandi— are undergoing treatment at Shivpuri district hospital. SDOP Yadav said that the group had been on a pilgrimage for the past 10 days and was enroute to Ujjain when the accident occurred. In-house inquiry enters crucial second stage NEW YORK NEW DELHI Today in IPL E-paper Edit User and Musk’s AI abuser P.6 India imposes anti-dumping duty on 5 Chinese products CASH ROW | Justice Varma calls it conspiracy to malign him Briefs MUMBAI US aircraft maker Boeing gave pink slips to up to 180 employees at its engineering technology centre in Bengaluru as part of a global workforce reduction exercise, according to a source. Boeing, which has been facing multiple headwinds globally, has around 7,000 staff in India, which is also a key market for the company. Last year, Boeing announced a global workforce reduction of around 10 per cent. The source aware of the development said as part of the global workforce reduction, up to 180 staff at the Boeing India Engineering Technology Center in Bengaluru were laid off in the December quarter of 2024. There was no official statement from Boeing. The source said strategic adjustments were made affecting limited positions while ensuring no adverse impact on customers or government operations. While some roles have been removed, new positions have also been created, the source said and added that reductions in India have been more measured, with a clear focus on maintaining customer service, safety, and quality standards. The Boeing India Engineering & Technology Center (BIETC) in Bengaluru and Chennai undertakes complex advanced aerospace work.