FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLI No. 289 | INDORE | FRIDAY | MARCH 28, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Will Kohli & Co breach Chepauk fortress? P.14 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE MONEY ‘India no dharmashala’ Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said India was a country and not a “dharamshala” or a place of refuge while speaking in the Lok Sabha on the Immigration and Foreigners Bill 2025 that seeks to check the entry of illegal immigrants into the country. The Bill was subsequently passed by the House. Replying to the discussion on the Bill, Shah said the Bill has been drafted with the policy of “national security first” and sees to keep illegal immigrants at bay while facilitating lawful immigration. “India is not a dharamshala where any person can come and settle for any purpose. Parliament has the right to stop anything that poses a threat to the security of the country. Also, this bill will give legal provision to the blacklist prepared by the security agencies,” he said. The Home Minister said the Bill seeks to enhance national security, control of immigration procedures and provides for stricter penalties for violations for those entering India without valid documents. He added that the legislation also requires anyone entering India to have a passport and visa or face a five-year jail and up to Rs 5 lakh in fine. It also proposes a fine of Rs 5 lakh on transport carriers carrying foreigners without valid documents. 4Continued on | P8 India is not a dharmashala where any person can come and settle for any purpose. Parliament has the right to stop anything that poses a threat to the security of the country. This bill will give legal provision to the blacklist prepared by the security agencies. – Amit Shah fp Briefs MUMBAI US nixes 2,000 visa appointments The U.S. Embassy in India announced on Wednesday that it had canceled more than 2,000 visa appointments made using automated bots. The embassy issued a statement emphasizing that such actions violate its scheduling policies and reiterated its commitment to upholding the integrity of the visa process. 60% of posts lying vacant in ESB that recruits govt staff Vyapam’s name has been changed, but problems persist Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL The state government has promised to fill one lakh posts in government departments. The recruitment to these posts will be done through the Madhya Pradesh Employees’ Selection Board (MPESB). The government has changed the name of Vyapam, and rechristened it as Employees’ Selection Board. But still there are some problems. Nearly 60% of posts are lying vacant in ESB through which the process for recruitment will be done. There are 187 positions in ESB, and 112 are lying vacant. It means only 75 positions are filled. There are such positions among the vacant posts as affect the ESB’s functioning. The approved posts of controller, joint director, principal system analyst, deputy director, accounts officer, cyber se- curity specialist, assistant director, superintendent, assistant programmer and accountant are lying vacant. Then the number of employees working on other positions is less than required, which affects ESB’s working. The ESB conducted two recruitment examinations and an eligibility test last year. It also conducted five admission tests. The Board has planned to conduct 16 recruitment and five admission tests this year. 4Continued on | P8 NEW DELHI CBI arrests two Delhi cops The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has apprehended two Delhi Police personnel, including a Head Constable and a Constable from PS Sagarpur, Delhi, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 2.5 lakh from the complainant. BENGALURU Karna to survey SCs Accepting Justice H N Nagmohan Das Commission's interim report, the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday decided to go for a survey of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in the state, to decide on internal reservation among them. The one-man commission of the retired High Court judge submitted the interim report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah earlier in the day, just ahead of the Cabinet meeting. Parliament panel for lateral entry into CBI New law to probe national security cases sans state consent PTI NEW DELHI Flagging the shortage of candidates for deputation in the CBI, a Parliamentary panel Thursday recommended lateral entry for specialists, while also suggesting a new law be enacted to allow the agency to probe without states' consent cases affecting national security and integrity. It also recommended the development of an independent recruitment framework by allowing direct recruitment for core ranks like Deputy Superintendents of Police (Dy SPs), Inspectors and Sub-Inspectors through Staff Selection Com- mission (SSC), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), or a dedicated CBI exam. The panel said a separate/new law granting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) wider investigative powers without the consent of states for cases affecting national security and integrity may be enacted by taking views from state governments. These recommendations were made by the Departmentrelated Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice in its 145th report, tabled in Parliament on Thursday, on the Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). 4Continued on | P8 PTI MATCH NO. 8 CSK Vs RCB CHENNAI; 7.30 PM (Detail on Sports Page) PTI JAMMU A fierce gun battle in a remote forested area of Kathua district has left two terrorists dead and five security personnel injured as the security forces intensified their operation to neutralise an infiltrating group of about five militants, officials said on Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether it was the same group that had been evading an earlier cordon in Sanyal forest of Kathua region or another batch of freshly infiltrated terrorists. The encounter triggered intense firing and explosions, the officials said. 4Continued on | P8 ‘School enrollments drop in last 2 yrs’ NEW DELHI Today in IPL 2 ultras killed, 5 security men injured in J&K The country has reported a worrying drop in school enrollments in 2023-24, especially at the elementary level where numbers declined by around eight percentage points compared to 2021-22, according to government data presented in Parliament on Thursday. Replying to a question on the living standards of tribal people, Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Durgadas Uikey told Lok Sabha that the gross enrollment ratio of tribal students at the elementary level declined from 103.4 per cent in 2021-22 to 97.1 per cent in 2023-24. In comparison, the GER of students from all communities dropped sharply from 100.13 per cent in 2021-22 to 91.7 per cent in 2023-24. At the secondary level (classes 9-10), the GER of tribal students dropped from 78.1 per cent in 2021-22 to 76.9 per cent in 2023-24, the data showed. For students from all communities, the GER at the secondary level decreased from 79.56 per cent in 2021-22 to 77.4 per cent in 2023-24. At the senior secondary level (classes 11-12), the GER of ST students dropped to 52 per cent in 2021-22 to 48.7 per cent in 2023-24. In comparison, the GER of students from all communities at this level dropped from 57.56 per cent in 2021-22 to 56.2 per cent in 2023-24. 4Continued on | P8 the fear Man arranges wife's marriage to her lover PTI "I decided to arrange their marriage to avoid potential harm to myself. In recent days, we have seen that husbands have been killed by their wives," Bablu said SANT KABIR NAGAR (UP) A man arranged his wife's marriage to her lover, citing concerns for his own safety after he learnt about the recent murder of a husband allegedly by his wife and her lover in Meerut. Bablu, a resident of the Katar Mishra village, Dhanghta police station area, facilitated the marriage of his wife Radhika to Vi- shal Kumar on Monday. Bablu, who works as a labourer in another state, married Radhika, originally from the Gorakhpur district, in 2017. They have two children. According to locals, Radhika had been in- volved in a relationship with Vishal, also from the same village, for the past year-and-a-half. When Bablu discovered the affair, he asked Radhika to end it, but she refused. Instead of escalating the situation, Bablu decided to arrange their marriage. On Monday, he took Radhika and Vishal to Dhanghta Tehsil, where an agreement was prepared, and the couple got married at a temple in the presence of villagers. 4Continued on | P8 PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit The battle over Rana Sanga P.6 RBI set to double investment limit for foreign individuals GREEN SIGNAL FROM LS | Amit Shah shoots down demand to send the Immigration Bill to a parliamentary committee saying NEW DELHI UJJAIN Cinema Neha breaks silence after backlash P.12 SC stays probe against RERA chairperson Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Supreme Court on Thursday, has stayed the inquiry initiated against AP Shrivastava, chairperson of Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Defence counsel took the ground of Rule 35 of Madhya Pradesh Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017 stating that the state government shall make a preliminary scrutiny with respect to such charges. High Court Judge Justice Manindar Singh Bhatti has been handed over a probe into the allegations against Shrivastava. To remove RERA chairman, it is necessary to probe allegations against him by a High Court judge and prove the charges. After receiving complaints against Shrivastava, the state government wrote to the Chief Justice of the High Court, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait who appointed Justice Bhatti to probe allegations. 4Continued on | P8 Govt assures HC: UCC waste to be disposed in 72 days Agencies MOSCOW UCC factory since the December 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, was transported to a private waste treatment facility in Pithampur industrial town near Indore on January 1, 2025. This move was in compliance with the High Court’s order dated December 3, 2024. However, the transfer of waste had triggered massive protests in and around Dhar district, leading the authorities to delay their plans. Subsequently, a three-phase trial was conducted at Pithampur. Russia and India are aiming to take their bilateral ties to an all-time high, and for this, Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to visit India soon, said Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. "Preparations are being made for the President's visit," he confirmed in a televised address today. Lavrov said that "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made his first foreign visit to Russia after being re-elected for his third consecutive term. Now it is our turn." He added that "Arrangements are currently being made for President Vladimir Putin to visit India." However, he did not specify the month or date when the visit might take place. During his visit to Russia last year, Prime Minister Modi had invited the Russian President for an official state visit. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government has assured the High Court that 350 metric tonnes (MT) of chemical waste from the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) site in Bhopal, which has been lying there for over 40 years, will be incinerated within 72 days at Pithampur. The assurance was made in a status report presented before the principal bench of Jabalpur High Court on Thursday. The hearing was conducted in the court of Chief Justice Suresh Kait. The state government informed the court that a trial was conducted at a rate of 270 kilogrammes per hour, ensuring that the entire waste disposal process will be completed in the stipulated timeframe. The toxic waste, which has remained at the now-defunct Putin’s India visit confirmed Collegium to weigh Bar Associations’ demands PTI NEW DELHI Leaders of six high court bar associations on Thursday met Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and sought withdrawal of the recommendation to transfer Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court. Soon after the meeting, Allahabad High Court Bar Association (AHCBA) president Anil Tiwari said the CJI had assured them of considering the demands. However, the CJI did not promise anything, said sources privy to the development. The representatives of sixhigh court bar associations met They raised several demands, including setting in motion criminal action over cash discovery from the judge's official home the CJI and four collegium members, Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Abhay S Oka and Vikram Nath. "The five members (of the collegium) listened to us very carefully and told us in a positive way 'each and every point raised by you in writing will be considered by us strictly within the premises of law. Don't worry at all'. 4Continued on | P8