Tuesday, May 6, 2025 | 29 Pages | `5 & for State (+6 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 182 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) NATION Mamata accuses BJP of ‘spreading communal virus’, urges Centre to protect borders Param Iyer is temp nominee to IMF board PTI NEW DELHI: Parameswaran Iyer, Executive Director at the World Bank, has been temporarily entrusted with the responsibility of being India's nominee director on the board of International Monetary Fund (IMF) ahead of a crucial May 9 meeting, sources said. Iyer's nomination was necessitated to fill a vacancy created with the termination of services of K V Subramanian as the executive director at the IMF, six months ahead of his three-year tenure. The government's decision assumes significance as the IMF Executive Board will meet on May 9, to take a call on a new USD 1.3 billion loan under a climate resilience loan programme, along with the first review of the ongoing USD 7 billion bailout package for Pakistan. India is making efforts to corner Pakistan diplomatically and at various global fora as New Delhi believes its involvement in the Pahalgam terror attack that led to killing of 26 tourists last month. 4Contd on | nation Briefs SC wants fresh report The SC on Monday perused a forensic report on authenticity of leaked audio clips alleging role of former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh in the ethnic violence and asked the state government to file a fresh report pertaining to the probe. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar opened the sealed cover report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) submitted by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and asked the law officer to seek instruction from the state officers with regard to investigation in the matter. 1 dead as bus overturns A bus overturned on the Mumbai-Goa Highway at Karnala Ghat claiming the life of one passenger and leaving four others critically injured, with 26 sustaining minor injuries. The incident was reported on Sunday night at 9.30 pm near the Balaji Kitchen Hotel in Karnala, Panvel. The luxury bus, operated by Omkar Travels, going to Sawantwadi from Dahisar when it overturned near Karnala. The driver of the bus, identified as Narendra Mohite (37), resident of Ghatkopar, allegedly fled the scene following the accident but was later traced and arrested. SC red line on Red Fort The Supreme Court rejected the plea of Sultana Begum, who claimed to be the widow of great-grandson of Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar-II, seeking possession of the Red Fort on account of being the legal 'heir'. A bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar termed the plea as "misconceived" and "meritless" and refused to entertain the petition filed against a Delhi HC order. See Nation GAMES Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Titans eye playoffs berth in their IPL clash today at the Wankhede Cinema Understanding the Babil Khan case Edit Mamata Banerjee’s Hindu outreach Mock civil defence drills tomorrow Konkan tops in HSC, as do girls Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI For the first time since the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked several border states and others to conduct security mock drills on May 7 to prepare for “effective civil defence in the event of a hostile attack”. The preparation for these drills comes at a time when both the countries are again staring at a conflict following the April 22 As per the directive sent to various states, the drills would check the operations of the air raid warning sirens, and training of civilians and students in civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack. Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were gunned down by Pakistan-linked terrorists. Meanwhile, in some parts of the country the drills have already started. In the border district of Ferozepur in Punjab, lights were switched off in the cantonment area from 9 p.m. to 9-30 pm on Sunday as part of an exercise for which the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) was directed to cut the electricity supply at the scheduled time. The letter from the Cantonment Board officer had stated that the “blackout” would be carried out as part of a drill. It had added that the “rehearsal” sought to check the “preparedness and effectiveness in implementing blackout proce- dures during prevailing war threats”. Similarly, the exercise by the MHA would encompass several aspects of war preparation. As per the directive sent to various states, the drills would check the operations of the air raid warning sirens, and training of civilians and students in civil defence aspects to protect themselves in the event of a hostile attack. 4Contd on | nation PAHALGAM FOLLOW-UP | Russian President calls Prime Minister and extends his support on the fight against terrorism. Japan, too, fully supports India Putin backs Modi to the hilt Agencies NEW DELHI Defence minister Rajnath Singh greets his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani during his ceremonial Guard of Honour, at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi. PIC: PTI Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone call that Russia fully backs India's fight against terrorism and that the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack must be brought to justice. President Putin "strongly condemned the terror attack in Pahalgam" and conveyed condolences at the loss of innocent lives, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a social media post. According to Jaiswal, Putin “ex- CJI leaves waqf case for successor Gavai Rahul, CJI meet PM to look for next CBI chief Agencies NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Monday said the pleas challenging the Waqf (Amendment) Act's constitutional validity would be taken up now by a bench headed by CJI-designate Justice BR Gavai on May 15 as the incumbent CJI demits office on May 13. The clutch of petitions was listed for hearing before the bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justices Sanjay Kumar and KV Viswanathan. As soon as it came up, the CJI said, "There are certain aspects which you (Centre) dealt with, but that require clarification. I do not want to reserve any judgment or order at this interim stage. This matter will have to be heard on a reasonably early date and this will not be before me." "We have not gone very deeply into the Top court chides ED tors of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice," the MEA spokesperson added. Modi conveyed his greetings to Putin for the 80th anniversary of the Victory Day and invited him for the annual India-Russia summit to be held in India later this year, Jaiswal said. The Russian readout said the president once again "expressed his sincere condolences over the death of Indian citizens as a result of the barbaric terrorist attack on April 22 in Pahalgam." 4Continued on | P19 The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) on Monday declared the results of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, recording an impressive overall pass percentage of 91.88%. A total of 14,27,085 regular students had registered across the state’s nine divisional boards for the February-March 2025 exams, with 14,97,969 appearing. Of these, 13,02,873 students cleared the examination. However, this year’s result marks a slight decline from last year’s performance. In 2024, the overall HSC pass percentage stood at 93.37%, indicating a fall of nearly 1.5 percentage points. Among the nine divisions, Israel to seize all of Gaza AP TEL AVIV Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI counter affidavit (of the Centre). Yes, you have raised certain points in regards to registration (of Waqf properties) Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and CJI Sanjiv Khanna on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his office to discuss the appointment of the next director of the CBI. The incumbent CBI chief Praveen Sood is a 1986-batch IPS officer who had earlier served as commissioner of police in Bengaluru and Mysuru. He had taken over as CBI director on May 25, 2023. Since the Central Vigilance Commission Act 2003 had fixed the tenure of the CBI director at two years, the Appointments Committee comprising Modi, Gandhi and the CJI met to discuss the prospective candidates. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation The SC rebuked the ED on Monday for making allegations against an accused in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam "without any evidence". "This is a pattern adopted by the ED in a number of cases. You just make allegations without any evidence. The prosecution won't stand before the court in this manner," a bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said. pressed full support to India” in the fight against terrorism. He emphasised that the perpetrators of the heinous attack and their supporters must be brought to justice A Russian embassy readout said Putin described the terror attack as "barbaric" and that both the leaders emphasised the need for an "uncompromising fight" against terrorism in all its manifestations. It also said that the president accepted the prime minister's invitation for the annual India-Russia summit to be held in India this year. The Russian “emphasised that the perpetra- Aiman Siddiqui MUMBAI Shefali Parab-Pandit The seven lakes that supply water to Mumbai are currently holding just 22% of their total storage capacity. After a review on Monday, the BMC reassured residents that the existing water stock is adequate to meet Since aceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March, Israel has unleashed fierce strikes on the territory that have killed hundreds. It has captured swathes of territory and now controls almost half of Gaza. Before the truce ended, Israel stopped all humanitarian aid to Gaza, including food, fuel and water, setting off what is believed to the be the worst humanitarian crisis in nearly 19 months of war. The ban on aid has prompted widespread However, the water stock is adequate to meet city's needs till July 31 the city's needs until July 31. However, with rising temperatures accelerating evaporation, officials have raised concerns about the potential for a water crisis if the situation doesn't improve. The BMC is relying on a contingency reserve, which can be drawn from the Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna lakes. Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani conducted a 100 % US tariffs on non-Hollywood films AP President Donald Trump on Sunday fired a new salvo in his tariff war, targeting films made outside the U.S. In a post Sunday night on Truth Social, Trump said he has authorized the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to slap a 100% tariff “on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands.” “The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death,” he wrote, complaining that other countries “are offering all sorts of incentives to draw” filmmakers and studios away from the U.S. “This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!” “Other nations have been stealing the movie-making capabilities from the United States,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Sunday night after returning from a weekend in Florida. “If they’re not willing to make a movie inside the United States we should have a tariff on movies that come in.” It wasn’t clear how any such tariff on international productions could be implemented, both large and smaller films include production both in the U.S. and other countries. Big-budget movies like the upcoming “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” for instance, are shot around the world. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | city 4See also | city Justice Varma case report with CJI NEW DELHI offgrid NEW YORK Konkan once again emerged as the top-performing region, achieving a remarkable pass rate of 96.74%. It was followed closely by Kolhapur at 93.64%, Mumbai at 92.93%, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar at 92.24%. Other divisions including Amravati, Pune, Nashik, and Nagpur also fared well, maintaining pass percentages above 90%. Latur, however, stood at the bottom of the list with an 89.46% pass rate, being the only division to fall below the 90% mark. PTI Israel approved plans on Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and remain in the territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, in a move that if implemented would vastly expand Israel’s operations in the Palestinian territory and likely bring fierce international opposition. Israeli Cabinet ministers approved the plan in an early morning vote, hours after the Israeli military chief said the army was calling up tens of thousands of reserve soldiers. The new plan, which the officials said was meant to help Israel achieve its war aims of defeating Hamas and freeing hostages held in Gaza, also would push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, what would likely exacerbate an already dire humanitarian crisis. review of Mumbai’s water stock at the BMC headquarters on Monday. The meeting was attended by Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijeet Bangar and Chief Engineer of the Water Department, Purshottam Malavade. The Supreme Court-appointed three-judge panel has submitted its inquiry report to Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on the cash discovery allegations against Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma. The threem e m b e r panel comprising Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court and Justice Anu Sivaraman of the Karnataka High Court finalised its report on May 3. It was constituted on March 22. The report, which was submitted to the CJI on May 4 for further actions, if any, reportedly contains the findings of the panel into the alleged cash discovery row following a fire at Justice Varma's Lutyens Delhi residence at around 11.35 pm on March 14, prompting the fire officials to rush to the spot and douse it. The controversy was raised following a news report in the cash discovery row and led to several steps, including a preliminary inquiry by Delhi High Court 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation hunger and shortages have set off looting. Israeli officials said the plan included the "capturing of the strip and the holding of territories." The plan would also seek to prevent the militant Hamas group from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group's rule in Gaza. It also accuses Hamas of keeping the aid for itself to bolsters its capabilities. 4Contd on | nation Mumbai lakes hold 22% of capacity MUMBAI Overall pass percentage is 91.88. Kolhapur region comes second, Mumbai follows Murder rap on Chinmoy ANI DHAKA A court in Chittagong on Monday has shown arrested Hindu priest Chinmoy Krishna Das in four murder cases after the Bangladesh High Court granted bail in a sedition charge, lawyers said. "A judge in Chittagong has shown arrested Chinmoy Krishna Das in four cases filed in connection with the murder of lawyer Saiful Islam Alif", Ashraf Hossain Razzak, General Secretary of Chittagong Bar Association, told ANI over the phone. On November 26, Saiful Islam Alif, a lawyer practicing at the Chittagong Court, was fatally attacked with sharp weapons by unidentified assailants during a protest demanding the release of Chinmoy Krishna Das. Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested by police at Dhaka Airport on November 25 last year on the charge of sedition. 4Contd on | nation