Friday, June 13, 2025 | 27 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 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. 215 | www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) GAMES NATION Honeymoon horror: Police claims Raj Kushwaha masterminded the brutal crime with Sonam’s help Cinema Air India crash shakes Bollywood celebrities Pat Cummins blows away South Africa as Oz take advantage in WTC final Edit Reality check of the tall tales of India’s GDP milestone Dreamliner plunges after takeoff Slams into medical hostel 241 of 242 aboard feared dead One flyer survives Many medicos perish PROBE ASSURED ANI AHMEDABAD Melvyn Thomas AHMEDABAD An Ahmedabad-London Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into the BJ Medical College UG hostel mess in Meghani Nagar almost immediately after takeoff on Thursday, possibly killing all on board. It also killed an undetermined number of people in the college hostel just off the perimeter of the airfield. It is possibly the worst air tragedies and triggered an immediate and frantic emergency response. There was no official count of those killed even hours after the crash which turned the plane, carrying a full load of fuel for its long-haul flight, into a ball of fire, as it exploded when it crashed. Pieces of the aircraft 1 CR FOR EACH VICTIM FAMILY FROM TATAS body and fuselage and tyres were strewn all over the area when fire services reached. The aircraft issued a Mayday call, a signal that the aircraft was in distress, immediately after take off at 1.38 pm and thereafter there was no communication. It had managed to climb barely 600 feet whenit began losing altitude. At that height the Boeing which was eleven years old, was visible till it dropped . It quickly lost altitude, skimmed into the trees outside the airport and crashed into the building where junior doctors and nurses were partaking lunch in the mess. Thick black smoke billowed out and was visible for miles as people rushed to the spot hearing the explosion. It was just a couple of minutes after take-off. 4Contd on | nation ANI NEW DELHI Tata Group has announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic Air India plane crash on Thursday. "We are deeply anguished by the tragic event involving Air Scenes of chaos as Ex-CM Rupani was in the plane plane struck hostel Agencies FPJ News Service AHMEDABAD AHMEDABAD Former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani was believed to be on board the Londonbound Air India plane that crashed near the Ahmedabad airport soon after take-off on Thursday, a BJP leader said. "Vijay Rupani was going to London by the Air India flight," said senior state BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama. Ruani, a member of the BJP, served as the 16th Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2016 to 2021 for two terms. He was a member of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly, representing Rajkot West. "I am going to the city civil hospital to inquire about him," Chudasama told reporters. A fellow passenger apparently took a picture of Rupani aboard the ill fated flight AI 171, shortly before take off and shared it. He is the second person who was a CM of Gujarat to have died in a plane crash. On September 19, 1965, Balwant Rai Mehta died when the aircraft he was flying in took fire from Pakistan as it was flying over the Rann of Kutch at the height of war. Mehta was going to Mithapur for a routine visit. With him were his wife Sarojben, aides, a journalist, and two crew members. The aircraft was flying near the Rann of Kutch, close to the international border, when it was mistakenly identified by Pakistani radar as a potential threat. When Flight AI171 hit the roof of BJ Hospital's medical intern building, its debris flew in all directions, some landing in the civil hospital's canteen area directly affecting young medical professionals and hospital staff. Videos circulating online show a chilling scene: a large section of the plane, including a wheel, resting precariously on the roof of the intern doctors’ hostel at BJ Medical College. According to a doctor present at the Civil Hospital, the hospital's canteen area was also struck. It's estimated that 30 to 50 students and staff were in the India Flight 171. No words can adequately express the grief we feel at this moment. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost their loved ones, and with those who have been injured," N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, said in a post on X. "Tata Group will provide Rs1 crore to the families of each person who has lost their life in this tragedy. We will also cover the medical expenses of those injured and ensure that they receive all necessary care and support. Additionally, we will provide support in the building up of the B J Medical's hostel," he said. Both pilots from City Manoj Ramakrishnan MUMBAI vicinity at the time, with local reports confirming at least 30 students sustained injuries from the impact. 4Contd on | nation Capt Sumeet Sabharwal, who piloted the ill fated Flight AI 171 had 8,200 hours of flying experience. He was assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had 1,100 hours of flying experience. Both were from Mumbai. Sabharwal was a resident of Jalvayu Vihar in Powar, was known to be a very amiable person who stayed with his aged father. According to a neighbour Pamela Cheema, his mother passed away some time ago. ``When ever I had the occasion to meet him he came out as a very pleasant person. But our interactions were very few since he was constantly flying. All of us in our building will sorely miss him."  Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu, who visited the crash site, assured that a fair and thorough investigation would be carried out to uncover the cause behind the tragic incident. "We are going to do a fair & thorough investigation, and probe why this incident happened. We still have to find out the numbers. We will go to the depths of why this incident happened," Naidu told the media. He denied to give details of casualties in the incident as rescue operations are still underway. A high-level team from the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), including the Director General and Director of Investigation, is en-route to Ahmedabad to begin a detailed inquiry into Thursday's fatal crash of Air India flight AI-171, an official said. The AAIB, which functions under the Ministry of Civil Aviation, is the national authority tasked with probing civil aviation accidents and serious incidents. The bureau's mandate includes classifying aviation safety occurrences and recommending measures to prevent future tragedies. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | city, nation 4Contd on | nation BOEING SHARES SLIDE 5% Agencies MUMBAI Boeing's shares fell 5% on Thursday after the Air India 787-8 Dreamliner crash, posing a major setback for the planemaker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges. Shares of Spirit AeroSystems, a key supplier, and GE Aerospace, which makes engines for the jet, also fell about 3% each. GE Aerospace said in a post on X that it had activated its emergency response team and would support the investigation, but did not specify if the Air India aircraft was equipped with its engines. The engine maker did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 4Contd on | nation US begins moving Retail inflation hits 75-month low of 2.8% staff out of W Asia FPJ News Service MUMBAI AP WASHINGTON The United States is drawing down the presence of staffers who are not deemed essential to operations in the Middle East and their loved ones due to the potential for regional unrest, the State Department and military said on Wednesday. The State Department said it has ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel from the US Embassy in Baghdad based on its latest review and a commitment "to keeping Americans safe, both at home and abroad." The embassy already had been on limited staffing, and the order will not affect a large number of personnel. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "has authorised the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations" across the region, US Central Command said in a statement. The command "is monitoring the developing tension in the Middle East." As talks hit an impasse, Washington begins to move non-essential staff out of the region and IAEA finds Iran in non-compliance Speaking at the Kennedy Center in Washington on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said, "They are being moved out, because it could be a dangerous place, and we'll see what happens. We've given notice to move out, and we'll see what happens." Tensions in the region have been rising in recent days as talks between the US and Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme appear to have hit an impasse. Trump, who has previously said Israel or the US could carry out airstrikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations failed, gave a lessthan-optimistic view about reaching a deal with Iran, telling the New York Post's "Pod Force One" podcast that he was "getting more and more less confident about" a deal. Iranian Defence Minister Gen Aziz Nasirzadeh separately told journalists on Wednesday, "If conflict is imposed on us, the opponent's casualties will certainly be more than ours, and in that case, America must leave the region, because all its bases are within our reach," he said. "We have access to them, and we will target all of them in the host countries without hesitation." Meanwhile, the Board of Governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency formally found that Iran isn't complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years, a move that could lead to further tensions and set in motion an effort to restore United Nations sanctions on Tehran later this year. 4Contd on | nation Headline inflation (year-onyear) based on All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of May 2025 eased to 2.8%, hitting its lowest level since February 2019. There is a decline of 34 basis points in headline inflation for the month of May 2025 as compared to 18 basis points fall in April at 3.16%, recording the lowest monthly inflation rate in 75 months, according to official data released by the National Statistics Office on Thursday. The decline in headline inflation and food inflation during the month of May 2025 is principally attributed to decline in MINORITY EDU INSTITUTIONS HC stays govt move on admission quota Urvi Mahajani MUMBAI The Bombay High Court on Thursday stayed a Maharashtra government decision that sought to apply Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Other Backward Class (OBC) reservations to First Year Junior College (FYJC) admissions in minority colleges. The interim stay was granted after the government refused to withdraw its decision to apply the reservation in minority institutions. A division bench of Justices MS Karnik and NR Borkar granted the stay noting that there was merit in the arguments raised by the petitioners, who had challenged the government resolution (GR) issued on May 6, 2025, and subsequent corrective GRs that followed. 4Contd on | nation inflation of pulses, vegetables, fruits, cereals, household goods and services, etc. “Easing food prices reflect a strong harvest, and timely government interventions, including anti-dumping duties. As a major oil importer, the country has benefited from lower global crude oil prices in recent months, including May, which reduced domestic fuel costs and helped contain input costs in energy-intensive sectors such as transport, manufacturing, and agriculture,” a veteran economist told The Free Press Journal.  Kerala remained the highest year-on-year inflation hit state at 6.46% as compared to 5.94% recorded in April. Karnataka recorded 4.26% inflation, Jammu & Kashmir (4.55%), Punjab (5.21%), Maharashtra (3.21%), Madhya Pradesh (3.06%), Tamil Nadu (2.81%), West Bengal (2.45%), Rajasthan (2.38), Andhra Pradesh (1.69%), Gujarat (2.67%), and Delhi (2.07%). Telangana recorded the lowest inflation at 0.55%.    4See also | P9 Slip in gender gap, India is 131 of 148 PTI NEW DELHI India has ranked 131 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, slipping two places from its position last year. With a parity score of just 64.1 per cent, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia, according to the report released on Thursday. India ranked 129 last year out of 146 countries. "In 2025, India ranks 131st, with an overall gender parity Pakistan placed at the bottom at 148, Bangladesh jumped 75 places to rank 24 globally. Nepal ranked 125, Sri Lanka 130, Bhutan 119. score of 64.4 per cent. Compared to the 2024 edition, India sees a relative drop in rank due to the performance of other economies," it said. The Global Gender Gap Index measures gender parity across four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. With notable gains in political empowerment and economic participation, Bangladesh emerged as the best performer in South Asia, jumping 75 ranks to rank 24 globally. Nepal ranked 125, Sri Lanka 130, Bhutan 119, Maldives 138 and Pakistan ranked at the bottom among all countries at 148. 4Contd on | nation