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Front Page

- India slips 2 notches to 129 in WEF global gender gap index

- 26/11 accused to be quizzed to track down ‘absconder’

- Over 40 Indians among 49 dead in Kuwait blaze

- 47.7°C at Najafgarh, heatwave in city likely to last 6 more days

- Sand-laden truck overturns on hut in UP, 8 of a family killed

- Retail inflation at 12-month low, IIP holds steady at 5%

- 21 of 24 mins from TDP, 1 berth for BJP; Kalyan likely to be deputy CM

- With Patnaik on dais, Majhi is sworn in, inducts 15 in cabinet

- Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak convict in Red Fort attack

- CRPF jawan, 2 terrorists killed in 15-hr Jammu op

- 1st post-poll Parl session from June 24, likely to be stormy

- ‘State policy encourages encroachments’: HC junks Maha govt bid to take over church land

- Modi to come face to face with Trudeau at G7, may take up separatist issue

- SC asks Delhi govt for explanation on water crisis, raps HP for U-turn

- INDIA BEAT USA, IN SUPER 8

India slips 2 notches to 129 in WEF global gender gap index

Closed 64.1% Of Gap In ’24, Score For All 146 Countries Is 68.5%

While no country has achieved full gender parity, 97% of economies have closed more than 60% of their gap, compared to 85% in 2006

Ambika.Pandit@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: India ranked 129 out of 146 countries, two ranks lower than the previous year with a marginally lower score (0.17 points), in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 released by World Economic Forum on Wednesday. With a population of over 1.4 billion, India closed 64.1% of its gender gap in 2024.

The global gender gap score in 2024 for all 146 countries stands at 68.5%. “The lack of meaningful, widespread change since the last edition effectively slows down the rate of progress to attain parity. Based on current data, it will take 134 years to reach full parity — roughly five generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target,” the report highlights. The Gender Gap Index shows that while no country has achieved full gender parity, 97% of the economies includ- ed in this edition have closed more than 60% of their gap, compared to 85% in 2006.

Last year, India ranked 127 on the index showing an improvement by 1.4 percentage points and eight positions from 135 in 2022. India had closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap, the 2023 report had observed, marking a partial recovery towards India’s 2020 (66.8%) parity level.

On India dropping two rungs in the latest index, the report highlights that “this slight regression is mainly the result of small declines in educational attainment and political empowerment, while economic participation and opportunity slightly improves.”

The report noted that parity in educational attainment is well underway, but challenges remain. Updated figures in educational attainment bring India’s parity levels slightly down from prior scores. “While the shares of women are high in primary, secondary and tertiary education enrolments, they have only been modestly increasing, and the gap between men and women’s literacy rate is 17.2 percentage points wide, leaving India ranked 124th on this indicator,” it is stated in the report.

In the political empowerment subindex, while India scores within the top10 on the head-of-state indicator (40.7%), the country’s scores for women’s representation at the federal level, in ministerial positions (6.9%) and in Parliament (17.2%), remain relatively low.

The index ranked India's neighbours Bangladesh at 99, China at 106, Nepal at 117, Sri Lanka at 122, Bhutan at 124 and Pakistan at 145. Iceland (93.5%) is again ranked first and has been leading the index for a decade and a half. Of the remaining nine economies in the top 10, eight have closed over 80% of their gap.

26/11 accused to be quizzed to track down ‘absconder’

Rebecca.Samervel@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: A special trial court on Monday granted permission to police to question arrested 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Abu Jundal while in custody, to help establish the identity of a key absconding accused. Jundal is the sole accused on trial in the case.

The Crime Branch sought permission to question Jundal about freshly acquired information received on the identification. Jundal has been in custody in the case since his arrest in 2012.

“Prosecution filed an application for permission to interrogate accused Sayyed Zabiuddin Sayyed Zakiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal... Application is hereby allowed,” special judge RN Rokade said.

The judge said that the Taloja Central Jail superintendent is to permit officers to confront Jundal with the information and to record statement, if any, in presence of jail authorities. The judge grant- ed the permission from Tuesday till Saturday from 10am to 5pm.

The officers... are also permitted to carry laptop, digital device and other requisite stationery in jail, and authorities to make arrangement, the judge said.

In 2016, a special trial court convicted 12 persons, including Jundal, and sentenced them to life in the Aurangabad arms haul case. Jundal is suspected to have been a handler of the 10 Pakistani terrorists involved in the attacks.

Over 40 Indians among 49 dead in Kuwait blaze

Smoke billows after a fire broke out in a building in Mangaf on Wednesday

More than 40 Indians were reported killed and many injured in Kuwait after a fire early Wednesday engulfed a multi-storey building that housed foreign workers, most of them Indians. The overall death toll had reached 49 till late in the evening, out of which 42 were believed to be Indians.

India rushed MoS (MEA) Kirti Vardhan Singh to oversee assistance to the injured and to coordinate with local authorities for early repatriation of mortal remains of the victims. PM Modi chaired a review meeting at his residence and announced ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the families of the deceased India nationals from the PM Relief Fund. “PM expressed his deep sorrow at the unfortunate incident and extended condolences to the families of the deceased. He wished speedy recovery of those injured,” said a govt statement.

“The fire mishap in Kuwait City is saddening. My thoughts are with all those who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian embassy in Kuwait is closely monitoring the situation and working with the authorities there to assist the affected,” Modi said in a post on X. TNN & AGENCIES

 Most died in sleep after inhaling smoke, P 18

47.7°C at Najafgarh, heatwave in city likely to last 6 more days

Temperatures soared to 47.7 degrees C at Najafgarh and 47.5 degrees at Narela as the heatwave intensified in the capital, with at least four spots witnessing severe heatwave conditions. Safdarjung (44.7 degrees on Wednesday) has recorded three heatwave days in June so far, the highest in 10 years. The current heat spell is likely to last at least another six days, IMD said.

P6

Sand-laden truck overturns on hut in UP, 8 of a family killed

Eight members of a family were killed when a sand-laden truck going from Kanpur to Hardoi in UP lost control and overturned on a hut in Hardoi district, about 120km from Lucknow, on Unnao road early Wednesday morning. The truck driver has been detained.

P 15

Retail inflation at 12-month low, IIP holds steady at 5%

Retail inflation eased slightly to a 12-month low in May with prices of some food items moderating marginally, while the index of IIP growth held steady at 5% level in April. NSO data Wednesday showed retail inflation rose an annual 4.8% in May, nearly at the same level as the previous month.

P 21

21 of 24 mins from TDP, 1 berth for BJP; Kalyan likely to be deputy CM

PM Modi is flanked by Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu (R) and Pawan Kalyan, who also took oath Wednesday

NAIDU TAKES OATH AS CM FOR 4TH TIME IN ANDHRA, ODISHA GETS 1ST BJP GOVT

Srikanth.Aluri@timesgroup.com

Vijayawada: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu's spectacular comeback after five years on the sidelines and some tribulation, including arrest, culminated Wednesday in his taking the oath of office as Andhra Pradesh's CM for the fourth time — the first two at the helm of the then undivided state — alongside 24 cabinet ministers. PM Modi led the BJP pantheon, including home minister Amit Shah and health minister and BJP president J P Nadda, at the swearing-in of their party's key ally at the Centre and the state.

Actor and Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan, who was instrumental in forging the winning combination with TDP and BJP, joined the cabinet and is tipped to get the deputy CM's post. Naidu's son and TDP national general secretary, Nara Lokesh, was among those sworn in by governor and retired SC judge S Abdul Nazeer at the event near Kesarapalli on the outskirts of Vijayawada.

AP can have up to 26 ministerial berths, of which 25 have been filled. TDP accounts for 21 of these, while JSP has three and BJP one. Nadendla Manohar and Kandula Durgesh of JSP are in the cabinet, while A Satya Kumar is BJP's lone face.

17 are newcomers, P 13

Buzz over Amit Shah’s chat with Tamilisai

A video showing Union home minister Amit Shah wagging his finger while speaking to former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan went viral on Wednesday.

P13

With Patnaik on dais, Majhi is sworn in, inducts 15 in cabinet

Mohan Charan Majhi went to invite his predecessor, Naveen Patnaik, to his oath ceremony

Ashok.Pradhan@timesgroup.com

Bhubaneswar: Odisha stepped into a new political era Wednesday with four-time tribal legislator Mohan Charan Majhi being sworn in as the state's first BJP CM along with 15 ministers at an event made extra special by the presence of the man whose uninterrupted 24-year stint at the helm of successive BJD govts the saffron party ended.

Ex-CM Naveen Patnaik was on the Janata Maidan dais in Bhubaneswar with PM Modi and a heavy-duty BJP line-up that included home minister Amit Shah, defence minister Rajnath Singh, health minister and BJP chief J P Nadda, and road transport & highways minister Nitin Gadkari. After the ceremony, Modi and Naveen were seen chatting for a while, seemingly oblivious to the hubbub around them.

Majhi's team, with two deputies in Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and first-time MLA Pravati Parida, has 11 cabinet ministers and five ministers of state with independent charge.

No min from 17 dists, P 13

EDIT PAGE: How Majhi Won Naveen’s Job

3rd term in a row for Khandu in Arunachal

BJP formalised on Wednesday Pema Khandu’s selection as Arunachal CM, just over a week after he led the party to a landslide that sealed a third term for it.

P13

Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak convict in Red Fort attack

President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition filed by Pak terrorist and death row convict in the Dec 2000 Red Fort attack case Mohd Arif alias Ashfaq, 18 months after SC dismissed his review plea.

Arif was part of the twomember, armed LeT squad that stormed into the Red Fort premises housing a unit of 7th Rajputana Rifles on Dec 22, 2000, and opened fire at the jawans on duty, killing three of them. Arif was arrested three days after the attack. A trial court convicted him and awarded the death sentence, which was affirmed by Delhi HC in 2007 and upheld by SC in 2011. Arif still has the option of moving SC challenging the rejection of his mercy plea.

P 11

CRPF jawan, 2 terrorists killed in 15-hr Jammu op

Weapons and cash recovered from terrorists in Kathua district

Jammu: A CRPF constable from MP and two suspected Pakistani terrorists were killed in a 15-hour operation that began late Tuesday in the border village of Seda Sohal in Kathua district of Jammu division, where an alert about a likely fidayeen strike was sounded Wednesday. Terrorists have struck at four places in the region, beginning with Sunday’s ambush on a bus in Reasi district that left nine dead and 41 wounded, reports Sanjay Khajuria.

In Doda district, five Rashtriya Rifles troopers and a special police officer were wounded in a terrorist attack on a checkpost near Chattergala mountain pass on Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway around 1am Wednesday. The busy road has been closed and additional forces deployed to intensify an operation to track down the attackers.

2nd strike in 24 hrs, P 18

1st post-poll Parl session from June 24, likely to be stormy

The first Parliament session after LS polls will be held from June 24 to July 3 in what could provide a peep into the tense dynamic that will define govt's equations with opposition. It is likely to be stormy. While govt will use the Prez address to showcase its agenda for 5 years, the stronger oppn has several issues to raise, including the NEET row.

P12

Budget session in 3rd week of July

Parliament is likely to reconvene in July third week for Budget presentation. The session will also see Nirmala Sitharaman becoming the first FM to present 7 consecutive Budgets, surpassing Morarji Desai’s record.

P 12

‘State policy encourages encroachments’: HC junks Maha govt bid to take over church land

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Upholding the right of a landowner to redevelopment, Bombay HC has struck down the state Slum Rehabilitation Authority’s proposed acquisition of a portion of land belonging to Mount Mary Church, Bandra (W) to rehabilitate slum dwellers. While doing so, it rapped the state govt for recognising the right of slum-dwellers to rehabilitation over the right to property, and said the state policy encourages encroachments.

“The Slum Rehabilitation Authority is directed to recognise the preferential rights of the petitioner to undertake redevelopment of its land,” said Justices Girish Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain in Wednesday’s verdict on a petition by Bish- op John Rodrigues, sole trustee and rector, Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount.

The judge held as “illegal and invalid” SRA CEO Satish Lokhande’s March 2022 order rejecting the trustee’s objection to the proposed land acquisition. They said it was not open to the CEO to refuse to grant the petitioner “an op- portunity to undertake redevelopment” in the “legal capacity as owner of the land.” They said SRA’s approach of “foisting compulsory land acquisition’’ amounted to a complete negation of the right(to property) under Article 300A.

The judges said the record is replete with material to show the trustee had expressed willingness to redevelop the land and rehabilitate the slum-dwellers as part of composite development. Senior advocate Milind Sathe argued that the trustee as landowner has preferential right, settled by law, to redevelop the land. The judges said the case is a “glaring example” of how a 120-day restriction could not be applied as the land was declared a slum amid the pandemic.

They said considering Su- preme Court’s orders extending limitation during the pandemic “it is quite astonishing” how the SRA CEO issued a notice and further reckoned on a 120-day limitation. “In our opinion, the acquisition…is totally unwarranted. The decision of the SRA was hurriedly taken, hence, is patently illegal,” they added.

The judges directed that after the trustee submits a redevelopment proposal within 8weeks, SRA shall consider it within 6 weeks “so development of slums on the petitioner's land can be carried out as expeditiously as possible.”

The judges said, “once a private land is declared a slum, strangely the encroachment on it gets converted into a legitimate right of a free tenement to the encroacher under govt’s slum policy.”

Modi to come face to face with Trudeau at G7, may take up separatist issue

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: With PM Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau set to come face to face at the G7 summit in Italy on Friday, the govt reiterated that India’s main issue with Canada remained the political space given to anti-India elements who advocate violence and extremism.

Modi will arrive in Italy on Thursday for what will be his fifth consecutive participation in the summit of the economically most advanced nations as the leader of an invitee country. He will look to address issues related to the Global South while underlining the significance of dialogue and diplomacy for resolving the Russia-Ukraine war, an issue high on the G7 agenda along with the Gaza conflict. He will participate in the G7 outreach session on Friday and is also likely to have bilateral meets with G7 leaders.

 PM to meet Meloni, P 14

Gandhi statue vandalised in Italy, MEA protests

MEA said Wednesday that it has raised the issue of vandalisation of a Mahatma Gandhi statue by pro-Khalistan activists in Italy, just ahead of PM Modi’s visit. “We have seen reports and taken it up with the Italian authorities. We understand that a suitable rectification has already been made...,” FS Vinay Kwatra said.

P 14

SC asks Delhi govt for explanation on water crisis, raps HP for U-turn

On March 14, April 3 and April 12, I asked chief secy to increase the no. of water tankers...but he did not do so. This...is what has led to possible proliferation of the private tanker mafia—Atishi | Delhi water ministerIn 10 years, instead of asking Haryana govt to repair lining of (Munak) canal, Kejriwal govt didn’t consider sending an engineer to look at the status — V K Saxena | Delhi LG On March 14, April 3 and April 12, I asked chief secy to increase the no. of water tankers...but he did not do so. This...is what has led to possible proliferation of the private tanker mafia —Atishi | Delhi water minister In 10 years, instead of asking Haryana govt to repair lining of (Munak) canal, Kejriwal govt didn’t consider sending an engineer to look at the status — V K Saxena | Delhi LG

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Concerned over the drinking water crisis in the capital during summers becoming a recurring issue, Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up Delhi govt and sought an explanation on the measures taken by it to resolve the problem, particularly to stem losses due to leakage which are said to result in more than half of the supplied water not reaching consumers.

The court also rapped the Himachal Pradesh govt for making a U-turn on its earlier promise, saying that it had no excess water to spare for the capital. Miffed with the stand, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Prasanna B Varale threatened to send Himachal’s officer to jail for misleading the court on the previous hearing when the govt offered to release 137 cusecs additional water which could be supplied to Delhi.

 Similar loss of water, P 6

INDIA BEAT USA, IN SUPER 8

➤ India booked their spot in the T20 WC Super 8 with a hard-fought 7-wicket win over hosts USA

➤ Arshdeep claimed a career-best 4/9 as India restricted USA to 110/8. In reply, India were reeling at 39/3, but Suryakumar (50 n.o) & Dube (31 n.o) saw them safely home

P 23

Times Nation

- Surat civic hosp doctor assaults Thai woman in boys’ hostel

- Man & son, both lawyers, shot on way to court

- June 24-July 3 Parl meet will be 1st show of govt-oppn dynamics

- Wayanad or Rae Bareli, which to quit? My call will make people at both seats happy: Rahul

- 6 of Delhi gang, pub manager in Hyd held for dating scam

- Boy cuts b’day cake, then sneaks out & plays PubG. Ends up dead

- Video showing Shah wagging finger at TN BJP neta goes viral

- Taking ‘break’ for medical reasons: TMC’s Abhishek

- Khandu set for 5th term as BJP finalises him as Arunachal CM

- Of 24 cabinet ministers in Andhra, 17 are newcomers

- MP Akhilesh quits Karhal assembly seat

- Andhra, Odisha will usher in record development: PM

- No mantri yet from 17 of 30 Odisha dists, dy CM lone woman

- Jailed BrahMos scientist ‘delivered 80 missiles to armed forces, had access to dispatch locations’

- Five on two bikes crushed between truck and bus in TN

- PM to meet Meloni, other bilaterals being finalised

- ‘Taken it up with Italian authorities’: MEA on Gandhi statue vandalisation

- Vehicle ferrying cattle set ablaze in Jharkhand, probe launched

- 8 of family killed in UP as truck overturns on makeshift hut

- 3 dead as bus falls into U’khand gorge

- 3 of family killed in Mizoram landslide

- 2 leopards drown in Assam:

- Exhausted over being targeted: Salman to cops

- Ajit’s NCP slams RSS mag for questioning its entry into NDA

- CID asks K’taka ex-CM BSY to face probe team in Pocso case

- Woman arrested for hacking and burning son, 4

- Govt plans to import additional chana from Aus to check prices

- HC asks ATS to probe new info from Pansare kin

- New devices to check FASTag to cut toll plaza delays soon: NHAI

- Govt inaction lets firm sell human milk using HC stay

- Residents allege 3 killed, 76 unwell due to contaminated water; MP govt denies deaths

- Fire at Mum factory weeks after industrial area blast sparks panic

- Sanctity of NEET-UG exam not compromised, says NTA

- How insurance cover helped 46,000 women avoid toiling in the sun during heatwave

- Sena UBT, Cong give up a seat for each other for MLC polls

- Need 4-6 mths to change Maha govt: Pawar in Baramati

- 4 fall guys were offered `20L to shield Kannada actor in murder case: Cops

- ED attaches `32cr bank deposits of ponzi co

- Art 21 lets adults go with anyone, says HC, quashes kidnapping FIR

- BALANCE, MILORDS!

- ‘Country wants answer’: Rahul slams PM over J&K attacks

- Second Doda strike in 24 hrs sparks gunfight

- Dancing his way to Cannes

- No independent role for central forces hit BJP in polls: WB neta

- Most Kuwait victims died in sleep after inhaling smoke

- Mukhtar Ansari’s bro lauds Yogi, says ‘Modi magic over’

Surat civic hosp doctor assaults Thai woman in boys’ hostel

Surat: A third-year resident doctor in the orthopaedic department of Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER) was suspended Wednesday for allegedly assaulting a Thai woman in the boys’ hostel. Rutvik Darji will remain suspended pending inquiry by dean Deepak Hovale.

According to case details, Darji had brought the foreign woman to the boys’ hostel on June 8. Eyewitnesses said the woman had dashed out of Darji’s room, shouting “danger”. Darji, partially clothed, was seen chasing the woman who ran about 300m before entering the police chowki inside SMIMER campus.

She told the cops that Darji had attacked her and slapped her multiple times. Following this, a woman cop called the police control room. Thai woman had refused to lodge an FIR. Later, police informed SMIMER authorities. “The woman is untraceable. We are unable to gather details from her side. The inquiry is based on CCTV footage and statements of eyewitnesses,”Hovale said.

TNN

Man & son, both lawyers, shot on way to court

Chapra (Bihar): A man and his son, both lawyers, were shot dead by miscreants while they were on way to Chapra court in Bihar’s Saran, Wednesday. Police have arrested two accused, reports HK Verma.

The deceased were identified as Ram Ayodhya Prasad Yadav (70) and his son Sunil Kumar Yadav (30), residents of Methwalia village. Both were rushed to Chapra Sadar Hospital, where they were declared dead onarrival.According to preliminary investigation, police suspect the murder took place owing to a land dispute.

Saran SP Kumar Ashish said that raids are on to arrest the remaining accused adding that a forensic science laboratory (FSL) team from Muzaffarpur was also summoned for investigation.

June 24-July 3 Parl meet will be 1st show of govt-oppn dynamics

Oppn Has Signalled Intent By Questioning Govt’s Legitimacy

The session will see new members being sworn in, President’s address to a joint sitting of the two Houses, and election of Speaker

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The first session of Parliament after the Lok Sabha polls will be held from June 24 to July 3 in what could provide the first peep into the tense dynamics that is likely to define govt’s equations with the opposition which has returned with stronger numbers and has signalled its intent by questioning the legitimacy of the new Modi govt.

The session, in which newly-elected members of LS will be sworn in, will see President Droupadi Murmu addressing a joint sitting of the two Houses on June 27. While govt, as is always the case, will utilise the President’s address to showcase its agenda for the next five years, the number-boosted opposition has several issues to raise, including the recent NEET controversy. Its response to the President’s address will provide the first indication of its approach in Parliament.

Election of the Speaker will be the high point of the short session and opposition’s response to govt’s choice will be worth watching. So far, all Speakers have been elected unanimously.

Both Houses of Parliament are expected to reconvene in the third week of July for presentation of the Union Budget.

The session will also see Nirmala Sitharaman becoming the first finance minister to present seven consecutive Budgets, surpassing the record of Morarji Desai, who had presented six Budgets in a row.

“The first session of 18th LS is being summoned from June 24 to July 3 for oath/affirmation of newly elected members, election of speaker, President’s address and discussion thereon,” parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said on X.

He said the 264th session of Rajya Sabha will commence on June 27 and conclude on July 3. PM Narendra Modi is expected to introduce his council of ministers to Parliament after the President’s address on June 27.

PM will respond to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President’s address in both Houses of Parliament.

The session is also important as after a decade, Lok Sabha will have a leader of opposition and Congress is keen that Rahul Gandhi take up the post.

In the 16th and 17th Lok Sabha, Congress had the highest number of members in the opposition camp but fell short of 10% of the total strength, a prerequisite for a party to lay claim to the LoP’s post. Congress had won 52 seats in 2019, three seats short of the required number, and was way below in 2014 when it had won just 44 seats. The party, however, has won 99 seats this time.

Wayanad or Rae Bareli, which to quit? My call will make people at both seats happy: Rahul

Hinting that he might relinquish the Wayanad seat, Rahul said people here had showered him with love ‘which I’ll remember all my life’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Kozhikode: Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who won in Wayanad and Rae Bareli Lok Sabha constituencies, said during his Wayanad visit that he was in a dilemma over which of the two he should represent in Parliament. “Everybody knows the answer except me. In politics, everybody knows everything except the person who is doing it,” he said. At meetings in Edavanna, Malappuram and Kalpetta, Wayanad, he said that the people of Wayanad and Rae Bareli will be happy with his decision.

Rahul at his thanksgiving rally in Rae Bareli on Tuesday had not talked about his dilemma. But he did so in Wayanad a day later.

Hinting that he might relinquish Wayanad seat, Rahul said the people of Wayanad had showered him with love and support, which is much beyond elections and votes. “You have treated me as family and I can never thank you enough for that. I will remember it all my life,” he said.

Also, Congress-UDF activists were seen holding a banner near Kalpetta meeting venue which read, “Dear big brother Rahulji, please don’t leave us. You are our best hope. But if you must, please ask sister Priyankaji to take care of us.”

The banner was put up in the name of the Wayanad UDF. Taking a swipe at PM Modi, Rahul said, “Unfortunately, I do not have this luxury (of getting instructions from God) as I’m human and God doesn’t order me. For me, it is simpler. My god is the poor people of India. My god is the people of Wayanad. I just talk to people and my god tells me what to do,” he said, adding that the new NDA govt in Delhi was “crippled” after being beaten by the INDIA bloc.

6 of Delhi gang, pub manager in Hyd held for dating scam

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Hyderabad: A six-member gang from Delhi and a pub organiser (person who leases a pub) from Hyderabad involved in a dating racket were arrested in Nagpur on Wednesday. They were brought here and produced before a court, which remanded them in judicial custody.

The suspects targeted youngsters on dating apps, luring them with rendezvous with young women at a pub in Madhapur area of the city, where they would be forced to buy expensive liquor and food.

The gang had reportedly used the same modus operandi repeatedly to cheat several persons in Delhi and Bengaluru, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Madhapur Zone, Vineeth G said.

Police said Aakash Kumar, Suraj Kumar, Akshat Narula, Tarun, Shiv Raj Nayak and Rohith Kumar were organisers of a Delhi night club. They recruited girls and registered them on dating apps and used them to lure men to pubs.

The bills paid by the victims were equally distributed between these persons and pub organiser C Sai Kumar. A commission was also paid to the girls. Police officials identified the women involved in the fraud and said they were originally from UP and Bihar. They would come to the city on a predetermined date and leave after the meeting. Their exact role in the fraud is also being probed.

This gang has reportedly cheated up to 60 persons in Hyderabad during the past two months and looted over Rs 30 lakh from them, police said. This fraud came to light after testimonies of many victims came out, after which police initiated suo motu action. Special teams were deputed to hunt down the suspects.

Based on technical evidence and analysis of other clues, the teams traced the accused persons to Nagpur, where they were planning to execute the same fraud. Police seized two cars and mobile phones, all worth around Rs 40 lakh from the arrested persons.

Boy cuts b’day cake, then sneaks out & plays PubG. Ends up dead

The teen’s body being taken out of the pump chamber at Ambazari

Viraj.Deshpande@timesgroup.com

Nagpur: A 16-year-old boy fell into an open pump chamber of Ambazari dam and died around 4am on Tuesday. After celebrating his birthday with his family at midnight, he had sneaked out around 3am and gone to a friend’s house.

The friend told police that after walking around Jaripatka for 15-20 minutes, they had decided to go to Shankar Nagar Square to have poha. However, they found that the poha stall was yet to open and went to Ambazari lake and played PubG there. After completing a game, they decided to head back to the poha stall.

“While his friend walked ahead of him, the 16-year-old followed, still engrossed in his game,” said Vinayak Golhe, senior sub-inspector at Ambazari police station.

He did not see the open pump chamber and fell into it, Golhe said. “There was a loud splash. The friend turned back and peered into the deep pit, but could not spot the 16-year-old,” added Golhe.

The friend then informed a guard nearby and the police were called. Police, with the help of Nagpur Municipal Corporation fire fighters, retrieved the body and handed it over to the family after postmortem. The boy had recently cleared Class 10 exam and was preparing to take admission in Class 11. His father runs a hardware shop.

The death brought to fore the lack of safety measures at Ambazari lake. Locals blamed Nagpur Municipal Corporation for the tragedy as the civic body is the custodian of the lake and is responsible for safety measures there.

Video showing Shah wagging finger at TN BJP neta goes viral

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: A video showing a brief interaction between home minister Amit Shah and former Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundararajan went viral Wednesday. In the video, Shah is seen wagging his finger while speaking to Tamilisai in the presence of former veep Venkaiah Naidu and Union ministers J P Nadda and Nitin Gadkari.

This took place at Chandrababu Naidu’s swearing-in in Vijayawada. “What transpired remains unclear. Tamilisai could not be reached throughout the day,” said a senior BJP leader.

There have been reports of a rift between Tamilisai and BJP state president K Annamalai following the party’s poor performance in the LS polls in Tamil Nadu. Tamilisai had resigned her governor’s post in March and unsuccessfully contested in the Chennai south constituency.

Virtually endorsing ADMK leader S P Velumani’s statement, Tamilisai had said that had the two parties stayed together, DMK wouldn’t have swept the polls. This, her supporters said, triggered some ‘derogatory remarks’ from Annamalai’s ‘war room’.

Sources said BJP state unit’s core committee held an online meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Vikravandi bypoll. “Neither was there any mention about Tamilisai’s remarks nor the Amit Shah-Tamilisai interaction,” they said.

Tamilisai is the daughter of Congress veteran Kumari Anandan. Kerala Pradesh Congress criticised BJP’s “culture and attitude towards women”. An X post read: “Anyone with some self-respect will give it back to him and quit, @DrTamilisai4BJP. Being a qualified doctor and a former governor, you don’t have to take such insults...”

Taking ‘break’ for medical reasons: TMC’s Abhishek

Kolkata: TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said in a post on X Wednesday that he would take a break from party organisation “due to pressing medical reasons.” Abhishek said he hoped Bengal govt would prioritise its poll promises to pay Awas Yojana beneficiaries from the state exchequer.

“In light of pressing medical reasons, I’ll be taking a short hiatus from the organisation. This time off will be an opportunity to humbly explore and understand needs of our people and community. I trust GoWB will act swiftly & leave no stone unturned to ensure justice for those in need,” he wrote.

TNN

Khandu set for 5th term as BJP finalises him as Arunachal CM

Prabin.Kalita@timesgroup.com

Guwahati: BJP formalised on Wednesday incumbent Pema Khandu’s expected selection as Arunachal Pradesh’s 18th CM, just over a week after he led the party to an electoral landslide that sealed a third successive term in govt for the saffron party in this NorthEastern state bordering China, Bhutan and Myanmar.

For Khandu, at 44 the country's youngest CM, this will be his fifth chief ministerial stint in seven years and 10 months — thrice at the helm of BJP govts and a brief term each for Congress and People’s Party of Arunachal.

Home minister Amit Shah, party president and health minister JP Nadda, and BJP’s national general secretary BL Santhosh will attend Thursday’s swearing-in.

After staking claim to form the govt, Khandu thanked PM Narendra Modi and Nadda for their support, and the citizens of Arunachal Pradesh for trusting BJP.

“BJP scripted a historic victory by winning 46 out of 60 seats. People also voted for our two Lok Sabha MPs from the state for the second time. I assured the people of the state that the new government will function as “Team Arunachal' and address the challenges of the various regions, keeping the commitments in the election manifesto and ensuring development of the districts,” Khandu said.

The BJP Legislature Party meeting to elect the next CM was held in Itanagar 10 days after the election results were declared. The meeting was held in the presence of two central observers, former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and national general secretary Tarun Chugh. “State BJP chief Biyuram Wahge proposed the name of Khandu as the CM, which was supported by all party MLAs,” Chugh said.

Of 24 cabinet ministers in Andhra, 17 are newcomers

Naidu Balances Caste Equations, Gives 8 Berths To Backward Classes

Modi with Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan (R) and Chiranjeevi in Vijayawada

Continued from P 1

Naidu, who is expected to take a call on portfolios by Thursday evening, ensured all regions of the state were being represented in the cabinet. The mix takes into account the original 13 districts of the bifurcated state before the erstwhile YSRCP govt of Jagan Reddy doubled that number.

The new CM balanced caste priorities by giving eight ministerial berths to representatives of backward classes. The Kamma community got five, while the Kapus received four.

Of the 24 cabinet ministers, 17 are newcomers. Only TDP state president Kinjarapu Atchennaidu, Kollu Ravindra, Kolusu Pardasarathi, Anam Ram Narayana Reddy and P Narayana have been ministers before. Ma- nohar of JSP was the speaker of the undivided assembly when Congress was in govt from 2011 to 2014.

Vangalapudi Anitha, Satya Kumar Yadav, Nimmala Ramanaidu, NMD Farooq, Payyavula Keshav, Anagani Satya Prasad, DBV Swamy, Gottipati Ravi Kumar, Kandula Durgesh, Gummadi Sandhyarani, B C Janard- han Reddy, T G Bharath, S Savitha, Vasamsetti Subhash, Kondapalli Srinivas and Mandipalli Ram Prasad Reddy are first-timers in the cabinet.

In a message on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Naidu and his cabinet colleagues, saying the TDP-JSP-BJP alliance would work towards taking the state to new heights and realising the dreams of the youth.

Former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu and retired CJI N V Ramana attended the gathering along with industrialist Gautam Adani, GMR Group founder G M Rao, and actors Chiranjeevi, Rajinikanth, Ram Charan, Nikhil, and Shivaji.

Bonhomie among 4 AP clans after win

The swearing-in of TDP-BJP-Jana Sena govt in Andhra ignited celebrations among four influential political families: the Nara, Nandamuri, Konidela, and Daggubati clans.

During the event, the camaraderie among the families was evident. This bonding became possible because of the remarkable comeback of Naidu.

TNN

MP Akhilesh quits Karhal assembly seat

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav formally resigned from Karhal assembly seat to retain Kannauj Lok Sabha constituency, on Wednesday. Newly elected MP from Ayodhya, Awadhesh Prasad, who is a sitting MLA from Milkipur, has also forwarded his resignation to the Speaker.

While the move has put to rest the speculations over whether Akhilesh will retain the position of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly or quit Kannauj, the spotlight in state politics has now shifted to the next LoP in the assembly.

TNN

Andhra, Odisha will usher in record development: PM

FRESH MANDATE

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: As the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) govts were installed in two more states with Chandrababu Naidu and Mohan Charan Majhi taking oaths as chief ministers in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha respectively, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday expressed confidence that the new govts will usher in record development in both the states.

Prime Minister Modi attended both the swearing in ceremonies in Vijayawada and Bhubaneswar.

He congratulated new Odisha chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi and his deputies Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, besides other ministers. “It’s a historic day in Odisha! With the blessings of my sis- ters and brothers of Odisha, @BJP4Odisha is forming its first-ever government in the state,” he said on ‘X’.

“With the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath, I am confident this team will usher in record development in Odisha and im- prove the lives of countless people,” the PM added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi posted a congratulatory message for Telugu Desam Party (TDP) supremo N Chandrababu Naidu on being sworn in as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh.

In his post on X (formerly Twitter), PM said, “Attended the oath-taking ceremony of the new Andhra Pradesh Government. Congratulations to @ncbn Garu on becoming the Chief Minister and also to all the others who took oath as Ministers in the Government.”

No mantri yet from 17 of 30 Odisha dists, dy CM lone woman

Former CM Naveen Patnaik with party workers in Bhubaneswar

Continued from P 1

Besides the CM, three members of the new govt are tribals and two represent Scheduled Castes. Eight ministers are first-time MLAs.

Brajarajnagar MLA Suresh Pujari, Kuchinda’s Rabinarayan Naik and Loisingha's Mukesh Mahaling, all of whom were seen as contenders for the CM’s post, found places in Majhi’s cabinet.

As of now, 17 of Odisha’s 30 districts don’t have a minister.

Majhi said BJP was committed to promoting “Odia asmita” (pride) and the state’s culture, reflecting the central theme of his party’s campaign which played a big role in its electoral success.

“It’s a historic day in Odisha! With the blessings of my sisters and brothers of Odisha, @BJP4Odisha is forming its first-ever government in the state,” the PM posted on X. “With the blessings of Mahaprabhu Jagannath, I am confident this team will usher in record development in Odisha and improve the lives of countless people.”

Deputy CM Parida, the lone woman in Majhi’s council of ministers, said, “I will personally ensure the prom- ise of cash incentives of Rs 50,000 to women under Subhadra Yojana is rolled out at the earliest.”

Surama Padhy, one of five woman MLAs of BJP in the 147-member assembly, is tipped to become speaker. She is a two-time MLA from Ranpur and was a minister in the erstwhile BJP-BJD coalition govt from 2004 to 2009.

Union members Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram and Ashwini Vaishnaw attended the event along with CMs of nine BJP-governed states. A 50,000-strong gathering watched the swearing-in.

Majhi’s 1st decision on Puri temple gates

In his first cabinet meeting, Odisha CM Mohan Majhi on Wednesday decided to reopen all four gates of the iconic Jagannath temple in Puri from Thursday and create a corpus of Rs 500 crore for the shrine, reports Ashok Pradhan. The newly formed BJP govt also decided to introduce policies to implement BJP’s manifesto of the cash incentive scheme “Subhadra” for women (Rs 50,000 cash vouchers to be encashed over two years) and to purchase paddy at Rs 3,100 per quintal in 100 days.

Jailed BrahMos scientist ‘delivered 80 missiles to armed forces, had access to dispatch locations’

Shishir.Arya@timesgroup.com

Nagpur: Former BrahMos scientist Nishant Agrawal, who was sentenced to life by a sessions court here on June 3 for leaking military secrets to Pakistan, worked in the missile assembly unit at Nagpur and was involved in delivery of close to 80 missiles to the armed forces during his four-year stint.

He had access to customers and delivery locations of missiles, as per Major General (retd) Achyut Deo, general manager, BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited (BAPL), who deposed as a witness during Nishant’s trial.

Last week, Nishant was sentenced to life imprisonment by the sessions court under the IT Act and Official Secrets Act. He was accused of passing on secret information on BrahMos missiles to Pak intelligence operatives, who contacted him on social media in the guise of girls. His defence counsel has filed an appeal in high court.

Deo, however, told the court he did not come across any instance of Nishant tampering, sharing or misusing information from office computers even though his workstation had more classified information. The data allegedly found in his laptop was already in public domain, Deo told the court.

Deo said he headed the warhead integration and mechanical department and did not receive any negative report about Nishant from the IB or other security agencies.

However, NN Kumar, executive director (production) at the BrahMos unit, told the court that Nishant was not supposed to keep departmental information in his personal computer. This was highly classified information and a draft version for approval by technical specialists, he said.

Five on two bikes crushed between truck and bus in TN

Salem: Five people, including a pregnant woman and two children, on their way to a marriage on two bikes were killed after their vehicles were crushed between a bus and a truck at Salem in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.

The two bikes were following the truck when it slowed down for a speed-breaker. The bikers also slowed down, however, the bus failed to brake behind them, said police. 13 passengers on board the bus escaped with minor injuries.

TNN

PM to meet Meloni, other bilaterals being finalised

Modi To Skip Ukraine Summit, Return Home From G7

A view of Castello Federiciano in Italy, the venue where the G7 summit’s first dinner is scheduled to take place on June 13

Continued from P 1

Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra on Wednesday only confirmed a meeting of PM Modi with his Italian counterpart and host Giorgia Meloni, as he said the list of bilateral meetings was still being finalised. A meeting with Trudeau wasn’t ruled out.

“The main issue is the political space that Canada provides to anti-India elements that advocate extremism and violence. We have repeatedly conveyed our concerns to them and we expect them to take strong action,” Kwatra said, briefing reporters about Modi’s G7 visit.

The summit is being held in a luxury resort in the southern region of Puglia. As expected, Modi will skip the peace summit on Ukraine in Switzerland and return straight to India. India will be represented by senior officials at the summit.

Asked about the focus on Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kwatra said India has always maintained that dialogue and diplomacy is the best option. He recalled Modi’s remark in Sep 2022 before Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin that “today’s era is not of war”.

Kwatra spoke about the consequences of the war, including its derivative impact on food, fuel and fertiliser availability, challenges to global supply chains and disruptions in the global economy. “We have always been in the forefront to talk about not just the conflict, the need for dialogue and diplomacy but also the way the conflict is impacting the priorities and interests of developing countries,” he said.

“We have always been at the forefront to offer assistance wherever we can to alle- viate challenges faced by the Global South because of the conflict, also humanitarian aid to Ukraine,” he added.

The foreign secretary said India would continue to share its perspective with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit and continue to emphasise and underline the importance of dialogue and diplomacy to address the situation. According to Kwatra, the G7 summit would also provide a timely opportunity to follow up on outcomes of the G20 summit held under India’s presidency last year and deliberate on issues which are significant for the Global South.

‘Taken it up with Italian authorities’: MEA on Gandhi statue vandalisation

New Delhi: India has taken up with Italian authorities the matter concerning the “vandalisation” of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue by proKhalistani elements following reports in the media, the external affairs ministry said on Wednesday while noting that “a suitable rectification has taken place”. “We understand that a suitable rectification has already taken place,” foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said on Wednesday.

This is not the first time that Mahatma Gandhi’s statue was vandalised in a foreign country. Last year, in a similar incident, astatue of Gandhi was vandalised at Simon Fraser University in Canada’s British Columbia province in March.

ANI

Vehicle ferrying cattle set ablaze in Jharkhand, probe launched

BOVINE RESCUE

Jamshedpur: A four-wheeler ferrying cattle in Seraikela-Kharsawan district in Jharkhand was set on fire by unidentified persons early on Wednesday, reports B Sridhar. Nine bovines were recovered from the vehicle, police said.

The incident occurred at Ganjiya barrage near Udaipur village under the Gamharia police station in Kharsawan.

Locals informed the police that they saw some individuals repairing a vehicle early morning. As they approached, they heard cattle mooing. When they gathered around and inspected the cargo, the men fled. Hours after the vehicle was left abandoned, some unidentified persons set it on fire after setting the cattle free. “A detailed investigation will be carried into the matter,” Gamharia police station in charge Raju told TOI.

Raju said the identity of those who were transporting the cattle will be ascertained after the vehicle owner is found. “We are taking help from district transport office to know details relating to the registration of the vehicle and owner of the vehicle,” he said.

Police, however, said they did not receive any complaint of cattle theft in the recent days.

8 of family killed in UP as truck overturns on makeshift hut

Lucknow: As many as eight members of a family were killed when a sand-laden truck going from Kanpur to Hardoi in UP lost control and overturned on a hut in Hardoi district, around 120 km from Lucknow.

The incident took place on Unnao road around 3.30am. The driver has been detained.

Police said the victims lived in one of the makeshift huts on the side of the road inhabited by members of Nat nomadic community. The bodies had to be pulled out after removing the truck and clearing the sand using earth movers, cops said.

Hardoi DM MP Singh said, “The truck was headed to Hardoi after collecting sand from banks of Ganga. Due to excess sand, the vehicle overturned at a turn in the road leading to the accident. Everyone inside the hut, except a girl, died.” TNN

3 dead as bus falls into U’khand gorge

Uttarkashi: Three people were killed and 26 injured after a tourist bus fell into a gorge on the Gangotri highway in Uttarkashi district Tuesday night, reports Abhyudaya Kotnala.

The bus was carrying 29 people from Uttrakhand and seven from UP. A probe is on to find the cause for the accident.

3 of family killed in Mizoram landslide

Three people died Tuesday in a landslide caused by flash floods at Khantlang village on Mizoram-Tripura border in Mamit district, reports HC Vanlalruata. The deceased were identified as Sanjiv Chakma, 32, his daughter Kripa Mala, 10, and relative Handori Chakma, 12. Sanjiv’s wife and youngest daughter were rescued.

2 leopards drown in Assam:

Two leopards were found dead in a well on a tea estate in Assam Wednesday, reports Rajib Dutta. They likely fell inside and drowned.

Exhausted over being targeted: Salman to cops

Police Record Statement In Shooting Case

The Bishnoi gang has targeted Khan since 1998, when he was accused of hunting chinkaras near Jodhpur while shooting

Ahmed.Ali@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: Actor Salman Khan, who has been allegedly facing persistent threats from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, while recording his statement before the crime branch expressed his frustration and exhaustion over being targeted for a crime he claims to have already suffered greatly from and paid fines imposed by various courts.

The gang has been targeting Khan since 1998, when he was accused of hunting chinkaras near Jodhpur while shooting for a movie.

The city crime branch, probing the case in which two shooters fired at Khan’s Bandra residence on behalf of Bishnoi on April 13, recorded the statements of Salman Khan and his brother Arbaz Khan on June 4.

Navi Mumbai police recently arrested another faction of the Bishnoi gang that allegedly planned to ambush the actor near his Panvel farmhouse. Police sources said Navi Mumbai police will need to record the actor’s statement too.

City crime branch arrested Sagar Pal and Vicky Gupta, and their interrogation led to the arrest of five others, one of whom, Anuj Thapan, died by suicide inside police lockup. Crime branch sources said city police are in the final stages of filing a chargesheet and recorded Khan’s statement to build a stronger case.

Ajit’s NCP slams RSS mag for questioning its entry into NDA

COALITION FALLOUT

Mumbai: An article in the latest edition of the RSS mouthpiece, Organiser, has described the admission of Ajit Pawarled Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) into the BJP-Shiv Sena govt as an ill-advised step, which “hurt” BJP’s cadre, reports Prafulla Marpakwar. The criticism has come days after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment about the lack of political decorum in the Lok Sabha campaign.

Columnist and RSS member Ratan Sharda’s piece said the foisting of “defectors” as candidates in many Lok Sabha seats was done at the expense of local leadership. “Well performing Parliamentarians” were ignored to accommodate such “latecomers”, it said, while pointing out that the party was “enjoying the glow reflected from Modiji’s aura” but “not listening to the voices on the street.”

“Maharashtra is a prime example of unnecessary politicking and avoidable manipulations. NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar joined BJP though BJP and split Shiv Sena had a comfortable majority. Sharad Pawar would have faded away in two-three years as NCP would have lost energy with infighting cousins. Why was this ill-advised step taken? BJP workers were hurt because they had fought against the Congress ideology for years and were persecuted. In a single stroke, BJP reduced its brand value. After years of struggle to become numero uno in Maharashtra, it became just another political party without any difference.”

Ajit-led NCP has reacted sharply to the article. “Organiser is not the official mouthpiece of RSS, it does not reflect RSS ideology. I do not think top BJP functionaries agree with whoever wrote the article. One keeps finding different rea sons for failure. When parties are against each other, they find fault and make accusations. In politics, accusations are thrown at each other. Everything depends on ultimate results. I don’t think there’s truth in what RSS said,” spokesman Unmesh Patil said.

CID asks K’taka ex-CM BSY to face probe team in Pocso case

Bengaluru: CID has summoned former Karnataka CM and senior BJP politician BS Yediyurappa to appear before its investigation team for questioning related to a Pocso case filed against him, sources said Wednesday.

Yediyurappa (81), currently in Delhi, is expected to participate in the investigation on his return, said sources close to him.

According to police reports, Yediyurappa has been charged under Pocso Act and IPC Section 354-A (sexual harassment). The case was registered based on a complaint by the mother of a 17-year-old girl, who alleged Yediyurappa had sexually assaulted her daughter during a Feb 2 meeting this year.

On March 14, shortly after cops registered the FIR, Karnataka DGP Alok Mohan issued an order transferring the case to CID. The 54-year-old woman who had accused Yediyurappa died at a hospital in Bengaluru in May due to an illness.

Yediyurappa has denied the allegations and said he would fight the case legally.

TNN

Woman arrested for hacking and burning son, 4

Bijnor: A 28-year-old woman from Bijnor’s Jalalpur Hasna was arrested Wednesday for allegedly hacking her four-yearold son & burning him in a chulha, reports Harveer Dabas.

The boy’s father had gone to the fields for work when the incident took place. “I was shocked when I saw my wife burning our child. She first hacked my son’s neck with a spade and then tried to burn him in a chulha,” he claimed.

Govt plans to import additional chana from Aus to check prices

Fall In Output & Increased Consumption Have Led To More Import

SPIKE ALERT: As per Union consumer affairs ministry data, average retail prices of chana increased from Rs 74.7 per kg a year back to Rs 85.8 on June 13 and on Wednesday it stood at Rs 87.6

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: As rise in price of pulses and fall in production of chana (bengal gram) remain a concern, govt is looking at importing 11 lakh tonne of chana from Australia soon. This will be in addition to the import of 16 lakh tonne of yellow peas used as substitute of chana in the past six months since govt did away with the import duty.

Sources said govt has sounded out Australia about the plan to import more chana in the next few months to increase availability and check prices. Chana has 50% share in pulse production in the country and is widely consumed. Reduction in availability of chana impacts the prices of other pulses.

As per consumer affairs ministry data, the average retail prices of chana has increased from Rs 74.7 per kg a year back to Rs 85.8 on June 13 and on Wednesday it stood at Rs 87.6 per kg. Price of tur dal has also increased by around 27% in the past one year, from Rs 126.4 a kg to Rs 160.3 on Wednesday. Similarly, urad dal price has increased by 13.5% in the past one year. However, there is a minor rise in retail prices of masur dal.

Trade sources said govt’s intention to import more chana from Australia has sent the right signal to growers there and this will result in an increase in seeding this year.

As per the agriculture ministry estimate, gram production in the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) is estimated at 116 lakh tonne, lower than previous year’s 123 lakh tonne. But traders expect the actual harvest to be lower.

Fall in pulses production and increased consumption has resulted in import of more pulses during the current financial year. Sources said the import has increased to 3.7 lakh tonne in the past two months compared to 3.1 lakh tonne during the corresponding period last year.

HC asks ATS to probe new info from Pansare kin

Mumbai: Bombay HC Wednesday directed ATS that is probing murder of late CPI functionary Govind Pansare, to look into information that will be submitted by his family on probable motive for the crime.

Pansare was fired at by bike-borne men in Kolhapur in Feb 2015. On a plea by Pansare’s kin, HC is monitoring the probe which ATS took over in 2022 from state police’s SIT.

Special public prosecutor Ashok Mundargi told HC that SIT had found no evidence to substantiate allegations in the media. Pansare family’s advocate said his clients have new information. The judges said they must share it with the investigating officer.

TNN

LESS ERROR-PRONE

New devices to check FASTag to cut toll plaza delays soon: NHAI

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Soon you may not have to wait in queues at toll gates due to technical glitches in reading FASTags strapped on vehicles, which often force toll booth operators to use handheld devices to read the smart tag.

The NHAI has ordered a major change in deployment of IT system and hardware at toll plazas for processing transactions through FASTag to make them hassle free for commuters.

The highways authority will now only empanel players who have good experience, and they will have to mandatorily procure equip- ment from manufactures certified by Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification directorate of the ministry of electronics and IT.

The STQC certification will be mandatory for equipment, including RFID reader along with the antenna, au- tomatic number plate reader, toll lane controller and toll plaza server, as per specifications issued by IHMCL, NHAI’s entity responsible for management of tolls.

According to the new specifications, the system integrators will have to give an undertaking to IHMCL that if any deviation are found at toll plazas designated to them because of equipment, the agency will have the right to immediately suspend the empanelment and forfeit the bank guarantee.

TOI, in a report titled ‘FASTag made highways cashless. Here’s why they aren’t jam-less’, had highlighted how commuters face hassle at toll gates even when their FASTags have enough balance due to glitches or inefficiency of hardware and system deployed at plazas that don’t read tags. Toll collectors asked commuters to take their vehicles back and forth or end up using handheld devices to read the tag.

Govt inaction lets firm sell human milk using HC stay

Earlier this year, former employees of Neolacta said the company was ‘collecting breast milk from poor mothers by offering cash or kind illegally and selling it across India, which is unethical and illegal’

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com

Nearly two years after its licence was cancelled, Neolacta, a Bengaluru-based company, continues to process and sell human milk despite this being not permitted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It is able to do so because of an interim stay granted in Sept 2022 by Karnataka high court on the cancellation of licence and because no govt agency has moved to have the stay vacated. India is the only country in Asia where breast milk is being sold for profit.

When granting the interim stay, the high court order stated: “It is open to the respondents to move the matter at any time.” Yet, none of the respondents in the high court case — Ayush department of Karnataka, Ayush state licensing authority or Union Ayush ministry — made any effort to get the stay vacated till March this year.

With FSSAI cancelling the licence of other companies trying to commercialise human milk, Neolacta now has a virtual monopoly on selling human milk for profit. However, no govt agencies moved. Seeing the continuing inaction of Union Ayush ministry, Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), a nonprofit working to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding, wrote to Union health ministry on March 19, urging it to intervene in HC to explain govt’s objections to get the stay vacated. On March 25, Ayush ministry moved to vacate the stay. Before this, Ayush ministry had only filed objections in June 2023.

Neolacta was established in 2016 with a licence from Karnataka office of FSSAI in category of dairy products. After receiving complaints, FSSAI cancelled the licence in 2021. However, Neolacta con- tinued to function by getting an Ayush licence in November 2021 claiming that what they were selling were ayurvedic proprietary medicines.

BPNI complained to Ayush ministry. Ayush ministry decided that Neolacta’s products do not come under the definition of drugs and do not qualify for being ‘ayurvedic proprietary medicine’. The ministry wrote to the state licensing authority, which cancelled the Ayush licence on Aug 28, 2022.

“I hope the Union and state govts will take concrete steps to stop this business just as they moved to cancel the licences. All govt parties were issued notice when the inter- im stay was granted. The court specifically stated that govt agencies could move the matter at any time. The time to move the court is now or face the possibility of their own advisory and order cancelling the licence being defeated,” said Dr Arun Gupta of BPNI.

On Jan 24 this year, a few former employees of Neolacta filed an application asking to be impleaded in the case before HC. Their application stated that the petitioner (Neolacta) is “indulging in collecting breast milk from poor mothers by offering cash or kind illegally and selling the same all across India, which is unethical and illegal”.

“After coming to know of unethical business carried on by petitioner, Ayush department cancelled the licence. However, on the basis of the interim stay obtained by the petitioner, the petitioner is merrily carrying on the business,” stated the application.

When TOI contacted Dr Vikram Reddy, one of the applicants, he said he could not comment because Neolacta has filed a case in the high court against several employees who left the company, including him, to prevent them from revealing any information about the business.

“Govt has not even launched an investigation into the allegations against the company that it was buying breastmilk from poor women in villages, processing it and selling it for as much as Rs 4,500 for 300ml though the ministry has held that products of Neolacta raise an issue of women’s and human rights,” pointed out Dr Gupta.

On May 24 this year, FSSAI issued an advisory on “unauthorised commercialisation of human milk and its products”. It stated that “all activities related to commercialization of human milk and its products should be immediately stopped” and urged state and central authorities “to ensure that no licence or registration was granted to FBOs (food business operators) involved in the processing or selling of mother’s milk/human milk”. Aweek later, food safety officers conducted raids against outlets selling human milk including Neolacta. On June 3, Neolacta got an interim stay from Karnataka HC against the FSSAI advisory.

In response to queries sent to the Ayush ministry and to Neolacta, they refused to comment saying the matter was sub judice. FSSAI did not respond to TOI’s queries.

Residents allege 3 killed, 76 unwell due to contaminated water; MP govt denies deaths

Bhopal: Residents of Phoop area in Bhind district of Madhya Pradesh claimed three people, including a 17-year-old youth, died after consuming contaminated tap water, even as the state govt and district administration denied this, only admitting that 76 people were taken ill. While 52 patients took ill on Monday, 24 more cases were reported on Tuesday. The incident was reported from two wards of the Phoop area, where patients complained of vomiting and diarrhoea.

Sanjeev Srivastava, collector of Bhind, who visited the affected areas on Wednesday, told TOI that 13 people are still hospitalised. “Seventy six people complained of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Three of them were referred to Gwalior while seven are still at the Morena health facility,” he said.

He denied reports of any casualties and said all other patients were discharged after first aid. “An elderly person with multiple medical issues died, but we can’t say contaminated water was the reason for his death,” Srivastava said.

Three ambulances were deployed in Phoop, while ambulances from Gwalior and Morena have been placed on alert.

It’s likely that piped water became contaminated when new electricity poles were being installed adjacent to a drain in the area. The machinery used for earthwork likely damaged the domestic water supply line, allowing drain water to seep in and contaminate the water line, sources said.

Residents, especially in Wards No. 5, 6, and 7, where the contaminated water was supplied Monday, were worst affected. As the number of patients increased, health dept issued an alert. The collector said they are monitoring the affected wards and patients have been given ORS and necessary medicines.

TNN

Fire at Mum factory weeks after industrial area blast sparks panic

Kalyan: Less than three weeks after a blast in the chemical reactor of a Dombivli MIDC factory killed 12 and left 68 injured, a major fire broke out in another factory just around 300 metres from the ill-fated plant on Wednesday, reports Pradeep Gupta. While the factory was gutted in Wednesday’s blaze at Indo Amines, no one was injured as all its 10 employees rushed out in time. However, the blaze spread to the factory next to it, Malde Capacitors Manufacturing Company, which burned down too.

After the blaze, a Indo Amines spokesperson said they had got a fire safety audit done just a month and half ago.

The blaze led to panic among locals as the factory is situated near a large residential locality and a school, which was evacuated as the smoke began to affect students.

Following the second blaze in weeks, locals who live between two phases of MIDC demanded that govt either shift dangerous chemical companies from the city or relocate them.

Sena (UBT) functionary Vaishali Darekar said the Eknath Shinde govt has not learned any lessons from previous fires.

Sanctity of NEET-UG exam not compromised, says NTA

Reiterates ‘No Paper Leak’ Amid Multiple Pleas In SC & HCs

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Denying any question paper leak, National Testing Agency (NTA) is likely to oppose any move for cancellation of NEET-UG 2024. There are multiple petitions being filed in high courts and Supreme Court on diverse allegations — right from question paper leaks to grace marks and significant jump in the number of high scorers.

The agency on Wednesday reiterated that the sanctity of the medical entrance exam hasn’t been compromised and there has been no paper leak and said that 63 students were reported to have used unfair means in NEET-UG out of whom 23 have been debarred for varying periods.

According to NTA sources, it is going to take a call after the recommendation of the four-member panel set up by the ministry of education to review the compensatory marks awarded to 1,563 candidates to address the issue of time loss in the exam. The committee is expected to submit its report on Thursday. It is learnt that the committee is likely to recommend re-test for the 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks or an alternate mechanism may be devised to ensure no candidate faces any disadvantage.

On social media being abuzz with candidates sharing score sheets and videos claiming they were given “incorrect” results, official sources said that the matters are sub judice and NTA would wait for the courts’ directions on the issue.

On allegations of paper leak, according to a senior NTA official, “The cases are under police investigation. However, these cases seem to be related to cheating/ impersonation and not to paper leaks. There were definitely no paper leaks, but we are awaiting the outcome of the investigation.”

Of the 67 candidates who got full 720 marks, NTA said that 44 were on account of re- vision in one answer key of physics and six were on account of compensatory marks for loss of time.

According to NTA officials, the adjustments were aimed to address inconsistencies in NCERT textbooks “which led to getting the full marks for 44 candidates and revision led to increased marks for many candidates.”

NTA to move SC for transfer of all NEET petitions from HCs

National Testing Agency (NTA) informed Delhi HC Wednesday that it intends to approach SC seeking transfer of all petitions filed by NEET-UG candidates before several high courts over alleged random grant of grace marks, paper leak and anomalies in evaluation.

A vacation bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, meanwhile, asked NTA to respond to four petitions filed by NEET-UG 2024 candidates raising these grievances.

The high court listed the matter for further hearing on July 5.

TNN

How insurance cover helped 46,000 women avoid toiling in the sun during heatwave

The scheme helps women get a portion of their daily wages when they are forced to stop work due to rising temperature

In the city of Ahmedabad, temperatures climbed above 43°C (109F) every day between May 19 and May 25, creating deadly hot working conditions for many of the labourers who keep the local economy humming.

For 40-year-old Lataben Arvindbhai Makwana, it was unbearable to run her sewing machine inside her tin-roofed house, which has little ventilation and only a small ceiling fan. As a daily wage labourer, that meant she was not earning the money she needed to feed her kids and buy blood pressure medication for herself.

“It’s getting worse every summer,” Makwana said. The heat is especially dangerous for people like her who suffer from hypertension.

With climate change raising temperatures during heat waves, millions of Indians face a difficult choice: work in dangerous conditions or go hungry. But some women like Makwana are now getting help from a program to make a third choice: stop working for at least a few hours.

As soon as temperatures breached 43.6°C in Ahmedabad, Makwana and thousands of other women were told that ICICI Lombard, an insurance company, would pay them a portion of their daily wages. The program uses parametric insurance, which pays out when a particular metric is hit, such as a daily high temperature.

More than 46,000 women across 22 districts in India were paid Rs 2,84,00,000 in total over last month’s heat waves. About 50,000 women are enrolled in the program. Makwana’s insurance payout was Rs 750, enough to cover food and medication for a few days. (That sum came on top of a separate charity payout of Rs 400 when the temperature breached 40°C the first time.)

The Self-Employed Women’s Association labour union runs the insurance program. Its premium is paid for partly by the women enrolled in the program, with a charity covering the remaining portion. The pilot program launched last year and is set to run until April 2025.

Kathy Baughman McLeod, chief executive officer of Climate Resilience for All, the non-profit supporting the program through development, technical expertise and funding, says it has been “successful.” The charityplans to expand the insurance program to other parts of the world.

Baughman Mcleod hopes that the funders supporting the Indian program can continue to do so for a few more years. Ultimately, the plan is to get SEWA’s 2.9 million members signed up, which would allow the plan to be funded entirely by women paying the premiums.

“Our experience is that poor women don’t want charity always,” said Reema Nanavaty, general secretary of SEWA. “Once they see that this program is addressing their dire needs, I’m sure the women would start contributing toward the program.” The eventual plan would see the premium for each woman be about a day’s wage every month, she added.

BLOOMBERG

Sena UBT, Cong give up a seat for each other for MLC polls

Mumbai: A day after Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Nana Patole expressed strong displeasure over Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray’s ‘unilateral’ announcement of candidates for the graduates’ and teachers’ constituency elections, the latter withdrew Kishore Jain’s nomination from Konkan graduates’ constituency and Congress dropped its candidate Dilip Patil from Nashik division teachers’ constituency, reports Prafulla Marpakwar.

Patole had said that it was wrong on Thackeray’s part to unilaterally declare candidates without consulting Maha Vikas Aghadi partners. Then, Thackeray had refused to entertain Patole’s plea.

But on Wednesday, when a senior All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader spoke with Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, MPCC’s proposal was accepted. Thackeray then announced that his party was withdrawing Jain’s nomination from Konkan graduates’ constituency, while releasing the manifesto of Mumbai graduates’ candidate Anil Parab.

Need 4-6 mths to change Maha govt: Pawar in Baramati

Pune: NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar sought on Wednesday four to six months to effect a change in the Maharashtra govt, reports Anurag Bende. The veteran leader is on a three-day tour of Baramati to review the drought situation in the tehsil.

He was visiting a village on Wednesday where he told people that MVA wants to win the assembly election, which may be held in Oct. Pawar criticised the Mahayuti govt, blaming it for not providing help to people, especially farmers facing an acute water crisis.

“People in power should use it for the betterment of those who have voted for them to be in that position. Sadly, those in power now are not making people-friendly decisions. Unless we change the govt, we cannot make people-friendly policies. I am seeking four to six months from you to make that change. We want to win the assembly polls so that we can set up our govt and make policies that help common people.”

He also told dairy farmers to get ready for a statewide agitation. “Farmers can earn good money through milk production but the state failed to provide a good price. We will have to put extra pressure on govt to get the desired results. I am ready to hit the streets for an agitation and all the farmers can join me in a statewide protest,” Pawar said.

Pawar said that during the Lok Sabha election campaign, PM Modi made various guarantees but the results show “his guarantees don’t work anymore”.

4 fall guys were offered `20L to shield Kannada actor in murder case: Cops

Rajiv.Kalkod@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Four fall guys who came forward to claim they murdered 33-year-old S Renuka Swamy over a “financial dispute” were allegedly offered Rs 20 lakh to conceal the alleged role of Kannada film star Darshan in the crime, police officers privy to the investigation claimed.

Swamy, a drugstore employee who had allegedly posted an offensive comment against Darshan’s girlfriend, Pavithra Gowda, was bundled into a van from Chitradurga and brought to Bengaluru where he was allegedly tortured to death. The coverup began after his body was discovered and police set off on the trail of the murderers.

The quartet — Raghavendra, Karthik, alias Kappe, Nikhil Nayak and Keshavmurthy —had appeared before Bengaluru’s Kamakshipalya police around 7pm on June 10, owning up the crime. During interrogation, they confessed to having been roped in by Darshan’s friend, Deepak, a relative of a city MLA and under arrest, to claim the crime, police claimed.

“The four had been instructed not to take Darshan’s name anywhere,” the remand application filed by the police quoted them as saying. While Deepak allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh each to Nikhil and Keshavmurthy, the other two — Karthik and Raghavendra — were told their share of money would be paid to their families after they go to jail.

According to sources, the actor had allegedly paid Rs 30 lakh to his aides to find fall guys before police reached his doorstep. Police sources said they suspect Darshan and his team were tipped off about the line of investigation after the tortured man’s body was found, forcing the former to launch a cover-up.

Based on the statement given by the four, the remaining accused, including Darshan and his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, were detained.

Probe reconstructs journey of SUV used by Darshan’s aides to dump victim’s body

Investigators reconstructed the journey of a Mahindra Scorpio which was used by arrested Kannada actor Darshan’s associates to transport the body of the 33-year-old fan Renuka Swamy before it was dumped in a drain in Summnahalli in Bengaluru on Sunday.

The footage from multiple CCTV cameras, starting from the location where the body was found, showed that the SUV was followed by a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. Both the vehicles were found to have returned to Rajarajeshwarinagar. Though police were yet to make a connection between Rubicon and the murder, sources said Darshan knew the owners of the two vehicles.

According to sources, the four men, who walked into the Kamakshipalya police station and surrendered, owning up the murder, had come in the Scorpio the cops were looking for. Sources said the surrender drama was staged as the killers had got wind of police reconstructing the trail of vehicles.

On Wednesday, the four were taken to the drain in Summnahalli where Swamy’s body was found. They explained to the officials they had slowed down the vehicle and threw Swamy’s body out. They expected the body to be washed away, but it lay on the drain bed.

Investigation revealed that the Rubicon belongs to Vinay V, 38, a restaurateur. Sources said Darshan used Rubicon more than its owner Vinay. The Scorpio belongs to hotelier Pradosh Rao, 40, a resident of Girinagar who is also a close aide of Darshan.

The suspects had transported Swamy’s body from a parking yard, where vehicles seized by financial firms and police were parked, to dump it at Kamakshipalya.

TNN

Daughter of Pavithra faces fan’s ire on social media

Bengaluru: Darshan’s girlfriend’s teenage daughter is facing his fans’ ire on social media, reports Yashaswini Sri. The Instagram account of the daughter of Darshan’s girlfriend and fellow accused, Pavithra Gowda, was filled with hate comments.

A daughter of Pavithra’s close friend was also flooded with hate comments.

Both girls have disabled their comments section.

Meanwhile, rumblings have begun in Sandalwood over Darshan’s arrest for allegedly killing his fan.

Actor-turned-politician Jaggesh shared a cryptic post following the arrest of the actor. Jaggesh tweeted : “In the essence of self lies Brahma, and divinity resides within every living being. Life holds no entitlement to take another’s. Karma inevitably follows, and one’s sins will ultimately consume them. Arrogance blinds one to the essence of compassion. (sic)”. Another actor, Chetan Ahimsa, posted his stance on the arrest on his social media handle.

ED attaches `32cr bank deposits of ponzi co

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

‘CRIME PROCEEDS’

New Delhi: After two days of searches in Kochi on a multilevel marketing company, Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday attached bank deposits of Rs 32 crore, taking the total attachment in the case so far to Rs 260 crore.

The directors of the company are accused of collecting over Rs 1,500 crore from the public and laundering the ‘proceeds of crime’.

The agency said that MD of the company, High Rich Online Group, K D Pratapan along with his wife Sreena Pratapan managed to escape before the ED’s search team arrived at their residence on Tuesday. The agency officials also searched the premises of a software company involved in the ponzi scam.

Pratapan was earlier ar- rested by the Kerala GST department, which had booked him for tax evasion of more than Rs 126 crore in Dec, 2023 and later released on bail granted by Kerala HC .

The accused offered its members, if they invested in its crypto currency, an interest of 15% on the invested amount besides an annual profit of 500%. The ponzi scheme also offered 30% commission on bringing new customers. The company collect- ed huge money from the public and siphoned off the fund, the agency said.

“Searches also revealed that the total amount collected from people at large in this ponzi type MLM scheme is approximately Rs 1,500 crore out of which Rs 1,250 crore has been redistributed to members as returns and the balance Rs 250 crore have been siphoned off by the accused promoters, which is the proceeds of crime,” ED said.

Art 21 lets adults go with anyone, says HC, quashes kidnapping FIR

Prayagraj: Quashing an FIR for kidnapping, Allahabad high court said that no one could restrain an adult from going anywhere they like, staying with a person of their choice, or solemnising marriage according to their will or wish, as this was a right which flows from Article 21 of the Constitution, which provides protection of life and personal liberty, reports Rajesh Kumar Pandey.

Making this observation last week, a division bench comprising Justice JJ Munir and Justice Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal criticised a judicial magistrate for sending an adult woman from Siddarthnagar, the first petitioner in the case, to her uncle’s home. The uncle, who is third respondent, had lodged an FIR against her husband, who is second petitioner in this case. In her statement , the woman had said she feared for her life if sent to her uncle’s or parent’s home.

The court further added that the judicial magistrate was duty bound to get an FIR registered against the uncle, besides taking adequate measures to secure the safety and life of the woman.

Emphasising that ‘honour killing’ in such matters is “not an unknown phenomenon”, the court added that the Siddharthnagar SP and SHO of Bansi police station of the district were equally answerable for not taking action against the woman’s uncle by registering appropriate FIR and safeguarding the woman’s life and security.

According to the petition, the first petitioner was an adult woman aged about 21 years who married an adult man of her choice as per her own free will and wish according to Muslim rites in April 2024.

BALANCE, MILORDS!

The Madras high court’s handling of YouTuber Savukku Shankar’s detention under the Goondas Act has raised concerns of how both undue haste and delay can compromise fairness in the justice system

The Latin maxim ‘Audi Alteram Partem’ (No person should be judged without a fair hearing) is the very first lesson taught in law schools in all democratic countries Justice Jayachandran

A.Subramani@timesgroup.com

Law and procedure are like a horse – both bite if you go to the front, and kick if you go to the rear. And if justice delayed is justice denied, then justice hurried is justice buried. Both are anathema for fairness and equity. The art of justice dispensation, therefore, lies in mastering and balancing the beast.

Nothing illustrated this better than a recent habeas corpus petition (HCP) filed for the release of YouTuber Savukku Shankar who had been detained under Goondas Act.

An otherwise innocuous HCP filed by Shankar’s mother A Kamala kicked up so much dust in Madras high court that the case, which should have been decided by two judges, will now involve at least six judges. First, a division bench of two judges could not reach a consensus and the issue was referred to the chief justice for ‘appropriate orders’. The chief then nominated a third judge. Following the orders of the tie-breaker judge, the case is now headed to a ‘regular’ division bench of two judges.

These procedural complications paled into insignificance when compared to the legal part where all the four judges – the division bench, the third judge and the chief justice – contributed their ‘mite’ to the case.

Justice G R Swaminathan, senior judge in the division bench, got into news for two reasons: One, he ordered the release of Shankar at the admission stage itself, that is the second day of hearing. Though the Act 14 proceedings meant statutory notice of four or six weeks, he said he was constrained to deliver instant justice because two ‘highly influential emissaries’ contacted him in connection with the case. He wanted to prove them wrong, so he ordered Shankar’s release.

Justice P B Balaji, his companion judge, however, stuck to rules and procedure. He wanted to hear the arguments of the govt and peruse its counter-affidavit justifying Shankar’s preventive detention under Goondas Act.

Now the law part. Can, by any stretch of imagination, this division bench decision be called a split verdict? Where is the verdict? Justice Swaminathan delivered a verdict, Justice Balaji issued only notice. A statutory notice can never take the place of a ‘verdict’ for the division bench decision to qualify as a ‘split verdict’.

Therefore, when it is hardly a split verdict, how did the chief justice refer it to a third judge instead of rostering it before a ‘regular’ HCP bench? What were the points of reference? What will a third judge decide in the absence of two conflicting verdicts? Justice G Jayachandran, who was the tie-breaker judge, was faced with an ‘absence of consensus’, but not a split verdict. Quite deftly he favoured the notice route and sided with Justice Balaji. He also felt the case should now go before a ‘regular’ HCP bench for adjudication.

Though it marked the end of uncertainty over the manner Shankar’s HCP will be decided, details of Justice Jayachandran’s ruling have fuelled a debate over Justice Swaminathan’s bid to release Shankar despite pleas from the advocate-general himself for time to file the state’s response. Justice Jayachandran said: “Failure to afford an opportunity to file the counter, when it was sought and the bias of showing interest in passing order hastily without consulting the bench partner renders the expression of opinion by Justice G R Swaminathan non est.”

The Latin maxim ‘Audi Alteram Partem’ (No person should be judged without a fair hearing) is the very first lesson taught in law schools in all democratic countries, Justice Jayachandran added.

“The reasons which triggered him (Justice Swaminathan) to deny the opportunity to the state is more disturbing and makes his finding on facts liable to be eschewed not only for want of completion by the opinion of junior judge in the Bench but also for the semblance of personal bias against the authorities against whom a serious allegation of approaching through emissary is made,” he said.

From the words of Justice Swaminathan, being triggered by the approach of two emissaries, he was forced to bypass the normal course, Justice Jayachandran said. Bias is not only direct or indirect interest in a party either personal, pecuniary or official. Even getting annoyed or disturbed over a backdoor attempt to interfere in the administration of justice may induce negative bias, Justice Jayachandran said.

Justice Swaminathan’s justification that he tried to prove the emissaries wrong by ordering Shankar’s release has, therefore, opened a ‘negative bias’ charge against him by his colleague-judge himself.

This is not the first or last time a serving judge has or will complain about attempts to influence decisions. But this is perhaps the first time a judge has told an open court and written in his judgment itself that he decided the case in a particular way to disprove emissaries who tried to influence him.

Others before him resorted to more discreet and non-controversial ways. One, judges have recused themselves from hearing the case, without even mentioning the backroom development. Two, a few ‘emissaries’ have been hauled up for contempt of court. Three, many judges have simply brushed aside such attempts and gone ahead to pass orders within the four corners of law. And, four, there are a few judges who simply left the tainted docket untouched till they left the portfolio or the service itself. But since the better part of valour is discretion, it would be in the interest of the institution of justice that we do not name anyone here.

HEAR-SAY: Justice G R Swaminathan (above) ordered the release of Shankar at the admission stage; his companion judge, Justice P B Balaji (top right), stuck to procedure and wanted to hear the arguments of the govt; Justice G Jayachandran, the tie-breaker judge, sided with Justice Balaji

‘Country wants answer’: Rahul slams PM over J&K attacks

The (PM) is so busy responding to congratulatory messages that he is unable to hear the cries of families of the pilgrims killed brutally in J&K. The country wants an answer. Why haven’t those behind terror attacks been caught in BJP’s regime RAHUL GANDHI CONGRESS MP

New Delhi: Congress’ Rahul Gandhi lashed out at PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday, accusing govt of failing to arrest the perpetrators of terrorist attacks in J&K’s Reasi, Kathua, and Doda on June 9, coinciding with the Union council of ministers’ oathtaking ceremony.

Rahul posted on X, “(PM) is so busy responding to congratulatory messages that he is unable to hear the cries of families of the pilgrims killed brutally in J&K. The country wants an answer. W hy haven’t those behind terror attacks been caught in BJP’s regime.”

Congress’ media and publicity department chairman, Pawan Khera, stressed that while Union ministers were taking oath and heads of states were visiting the country, India suffered a horrific terror attack in Reasi when terrorists fired upon a bus carrying pilgrims from Shiv Khori Temple to Katra. “Did the victims not deserve a word of sympathy from the self-proclaimed ‘divine’ PM? Modi is busy posting responses to congratulatory tweets by Pakistani leaders — Nawaz Sharif and Pak PM Shahbaz Sharif. Why has he maintained a stoic silence?”

Khera also alleged, “BJP’s hollow claims of the return of peace and normalcy in J&K have been thoroughly exposed. Their ‘Naya Kashmir’ policy is an abject failure as BJP doesn’t bother to fight polls in the valley.”

TNN

Second Doda strike in 24 hrs sparks gunfight

Cops Release Sketches Of 4 Pak Terrorists

Sanjay Khajuria TNN

Jammu: In a second terror attack in Doda district in 24 hours and fourth in three days in J&K’s Jammu region, constable Fareed Ahmed from J&K police’s special operation grou p was wounded when terrorists fired at a search team in Kerloo Bhalessa in Gandoh area, leading to a gunfight.

An official said this was a new group of terrorists as Chattergala, the site of the other strike in Doda, is about 125km away from Gandoh. “The operation is on,” he said.

Police released sketches of four terrorists suspected to be involved in the Doda strikes and announced a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh for information on them. The terrorists, who are of Pakistani origin and aged between 20 and 42, are armed with AK-series rifles, American M4 carbines and pistols, officials said. Security forces are on high alert following intelligence reports of potential terrorist attacks, particularly in the increasingly volatile Poonch and Rajouri dist ricts. Intelligence agencies warned that “terrorists are planning suicide attacks on security forces/camps/installations, particularly in Suderbani, Nowshera, Lamberi, Akhnoor and Domana are as of Rajouri and Jammu districts, in next 48 hours”. A search operation has been launched in Kalal area of Nowshera sector in Rajouri district following reports of suspicious act ivity. In Seda Sohal, about 60km from Jammu and near the international border, the first terrorist was killed Tuesday night in a shootout with security forces after villagers raised an alarm and reported to police the presence of a group of terrorists when an unidentified man asked for water in a house around 8pm. The group retaliated by attacking the house with a grenade and hail of bullets before escaping into nearby forests. Sources initially reported two villagers were killed, but officials ruled out Wednesday any civilian fatalities. They said a villager named Onkar, 45, suffered gunshot wounds in his left arm and is being treated in hospital.

The second terrorist was killed Wednesday noon after a long gunfight with a combined team of police, Army, and CRPF personnel. Constable Kabir Das Uike of 121 Battalion CRPF was fatally wounded when the terrorist tried to break the security ring, firing a hail of bullets with an American M4 carbine. Counter-fire cut down the terrorist. Uike, 3 5, a native of Pulpuldoh village in MP’s Chhindwara, is survived by his wife Mamta, four siblings and an elderly mother. He had joined CRPF in 2011. “We have not informed his wife…She is tense and asking questions. They got married just two-and-a-half years ago. Kabir was on leave and had joined duty hardly a week ago,” brother-in-law Ravi Shankar said. Uike’s mortal remains will reach his village Thursday.

During the operation, DIG Sunil Gupta and SSP Anayat Ali Choudhary also came under attack as a volley of bullets hit their vehicles. They are unhurt.

ADG (Jammu zone) Anand Jain, who oversaw the operation, said a large cache of weapons — including an M4 carbine, an AK-47 assault rifle, 10 magazines, 382 live ammunition, IEDs, and eight grenades — over Rs 2 lakh in cash, and Pakistan-made food items and medicines were found. He cautioned that there might be more terrorists hiding in the area.

(inputs from Bhopal)

Dancing his way to Cannes

MOVES AND MOVIES: Bharatanatyam exponent Raghunath Manet makes films on dance in Puducherry

Asha.Prakash@timesgroup.com

From Puducherry to Paris at the age of eight, back to Tamil Nadu to learn Indian art forms as a young adult, and back to France to eventually turn into a professional dancer and musician; Raghunath Manet’s artistic career trajectory has been all about back and forth journeys. But his tryst with Puducherry eventually culminated in his first feature film debuting this year at the Cannes Film Festival, making him the first filmmaker from the Union Territory to achieve the feat.

“Almost everyone in France knows about ‘Pondicherry’,” says Raghunath. “The French always come up to me with questions like ‘is everyone a vegetarian in India’, ‘is the caste system still prevalent’, or ‘who is Lord Siva’ and ‘why is he dancing’.”

The 54-year-old, who does solo performances in dance tours worldwide, says he started learning dance from his sisters in France, but eventually travelled to Chennai to learn dance and veena at Kalakshetra. A recipient of the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 2005 from the French Ministry of Culture, he also received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2017.

Raghunath says he started filming whatever he found interesting, and a reason he turned to art was to answer their questions. His first film was the documentary ‘Dance of Shiva’ in 2013. Raghunath completed a PhD in the ‘Temple Dances of Puducherry’.

The Cannes film, titled ‘Return to Pondicherry’ in English, stars Thalaivasal Vijay and French actress Marianne Borgo in major roles, and it was his own experiences as a dance student and later as a teacher at Puducherry that inspired him, says Raghunath, “While I was in Puducherry, I had a dance master who also used to teach children in orphanages. On his deathbed, he asked me to continue to teach the orphans.”

For the next five years, Raghunath taught orphan students every week. “My film is about two women who adopt a 10-year-old orphan child from Puducherry and bring her to Paris. But the girl feels lost in Indian and French societies, and one of her parents brings her to Puducherry on her 20th birthday,” says Raghunath. The girl eventually finds her identity through dance and spirituality. “The film is about how dance is not just about postures for Indians, but a means to joy and worship.”

No independent role for central forces hit BJP in polls: WB neta

Kolkata: Bengal BJP Wednesday trained its guns on the role of central forces during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and alleged that “false voting“ had ruined the party’s chances in a number of constituencies. “The central forces were deployed following EC’s order. But they did not have an independent role to play here. State police controlled them throughout the poll process,” Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari said.

BJP’s Ranaghat MP Jagannath Sarkar, too, raised questions on the central forces earlier in the day. “Where was the central force when Trinamool continued proxy and false voting? I did not see them anywhere nearby. I have closely watched how they behaved on poll day,” Sarkar said.

Former Union minister Nishith Pramanik also alleged there had been false and proxy voting in nearly 8% of booths in Cooch Behar.

Adhikari said BJP had potential in a number of seats that they lost like Arambag, Midnapore, Bankura and Cooch Behar. “Proxy and false votes, this time, crossed a total of 25 lakh,” he claimed.

TNN

Most Kuwait victims died in sleep after inhaling smoke

The fire broke out in a kitchen on the ground floor of the six-storey building in Mangaf area in Kuwait’s Ahmadi Governorate, officials said

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi/Kochi: Govt officials did not share any figure on the number of casualties in Kuwait till late because many of the victims were yet to be identified. Sources said identification may take some time as, like elsewhere in the Gulf, passports of foreign workers in Kuwait are kept by their employers. A large proportion of the million-strong Indian community in Kuwait consists of unskilled and semiskilled workers.

A senior Kuwaiti official was quoted as saying many of the victims were Indian nationals from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and north Indian states. According to officials in Kuwait, m ost deaths were caused by smoke inhalation while the victims were sleeping. A significant number of occupants were evacuated, they added.

The fire started in a kitchen on the ground floor of the six-storey building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait’s southern Ahmadi Governorate, officials said, adding that the building reportedly had nearly 200 people living in it, who were workers of the same company.

Reports said a preliminary investigation suggested that a short circuit led to the fire and it quickly spread to other floors. A few individuals, who leaped out of the building, were among those killed. Others succumbed to burns or were suffocated due to smoke inhalation.

EAM S Jaishankar expressed shock, and said the Indian embassy would render the fullest assistance to all concerned.

In a statement, the Kuwaiti interior ministry said the death toll had reached 49, the Kuwait Times newspaper reported. The ministry said criminal evidence de- partment personnel were working on identifying the victims on site and added that strict measures would be taken against building owners who violated the law.

The deceased were aged between 20 and 50 years, Major General Eid Al Owaihan, head of the interior ministry’s General Department of Criminal Evidence, was quoted as saying by Arab Times. Sources said five firefighters sustained injuries during the rescue operation.

The building was rented by NBTC group, a leading firm in import of building and construction material in Kuwait. Malayali businessman K G Abraham is its partner and managing director while its chairman is Mohammed N Al Baddah.

The Indian embassy has put in place an emergency helpline number, +965-65505246.Indians constitute 21% (1 million) of the total population of Kuwait and 30% of its total workforce.

The Emir of Kuwait,Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah ordered authorities to probe the massive fire and vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the tragedy.

Mukhtar Ansari’s bro lauds Yogi, says ‘Modi magic over’

Varanasi: SP MP Afzal Ansari, who has been blaming the UP govt for the death of his younger brother and gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in Banda jail, on Wednesday praised Yogi Adityanath, saying the CM helped BJP win 30 seats while PM Narendra Modi’s “magic remained limited to not more than three seats in the state”, reports Rajeev Dikshit.

“Had Yogi not camped in Varanasi, retaining his seat would have proved difficult for Modi,” claimed Afzal. “Modi’s magic is over now as Varanasi constituency is surrounded by Chandauli, Ghazipur and Machhlishahr LS constituencies and BJP lost all three. Gone are the days when Modi’s magic led to a cascading effect in east UP, Bihar and West Bengal because of his candidature from Varanasi,” Afzal said, adding that keeping ground realities in view, Yogi made best efforts in the last phases, especially in Varanasi.Afzal said BJP should thank Yo gi for “avoiding a major disaster” in UP. “Due to his hard work and efforts, 30 seats could be won by BJP,” the SP MP said.

Afzal, however, alleged that to save some dreaded criminals, state govt ensured Mukhtar Ansari died in Banda jail.

Times City

- Delhi May Get Its Fourth ISBT Near Tikri Border

- Bright spots! 9 lakh tulip bulbs to adorn city this yr

- Teenager stabbed to death, three held

- Museums, psychiatric hosps receive bomb hoax emails

- Delhi govt will spend `900cr for development of city villages

- App To Help Roll Out New Criminal Laws

- Bibhav Kumar moves HC for bail

- How Delhi cops trained for transition to new laws

- ‘We started off small... had four sessions of 1.5 hours each daily’

- Mayor directs MCD to speed up relocation of Safiabad toll plaza

- Number Of Water Tankers Cut Without My Nod: Atishi

- LG’s office: Haryana’s affidavit busts ‘lie’ of neighbour being responsible for crisis

- BJP asks Delhi Police to set up an SIT, probe water theft

- Tanker trips, quantum of water up from 2023: DJB

- Similar loss of water takes place during supply in other states too: Delhi to SC

- Contempt plea: HC seeks stand of govts

- 10 Heatwave Days Already At Some Stations This June

- Sun Turns Rooftop Plastic Water Tanks Sauna Ready

- DU’s ‘presentation’ criterion for assistant professors faces flak

- CBSE tries a new test: Open-book exams for Classes IX and XI

- In realtor vs realtor in Ggn, case in Delhi poses a jurisdiction question

- More testing times for disabled certified wrongly in NEET

- Race Against Time To Finish Desilting

- DMRC gets new infra director

- Police chargesheet details how a slap prompted father’s plot to kill his son

- Mann meets Kejriwal in jail

- Man arrested for robbing, killing elderly woman

- ‘Pune flight back in Delhi after being in air for about 3 hrs’

- When ASI Chose Wrong Colour To Paint Safdarjung Tomb Entrance

- Red Fort attack: Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak man

- ‘Fit case for discretion’: Rape accused gets pre-arrest bail

- 3-month-old boy is now 6, still waits for surgery at AIIMS

Delhi May Get Its Fourth ISBT Near Tikri Border

Will Connect Outer Delhi To Haryana, Other Areas

GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS The plan is at a nascent stage. We are examining the feasibility in depth

Abhinav.Rajput@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:Delhi govt is likely to build a fourth inter-state bus terminal near the Tikri border to cater to the people of outer Delhi commuting to Haryana and other areas. At present Haryana-bound buses start from the Kashmere Gate ISBT, almost 40km from the Tikri border.

“We have identified land near the Tikri border. The plan is at a nascent stage, but we are examining the feasibility in depth,” said a govt official on Wednesday. He said that a smaller terminal on the lines of those in Mumbai for up to six buses could be started and expanded later.

Another officer pointed out that an ISBT in outer Delhi would help when transport movements were restricted due to pollution in winter. “If we have a terminal there, buses wouldn’t need to reach the central parts of the capital where the ISBTs are located,” he said. Also buses deemed ineligible to run then because of deficiency in engine norms could be diverted to the new terminal. To prevent pollution load at such times, only buses running on electricity, CNG or rated BS-VI are allowed to enter the city from Haryana, UP and Rajasthan.

Delhi Panchayat Sangh Pramukh Than Singh Yadav said that people had been demanding such a bus terminal and Delhi Metro extension for a long time. “The colonies and villages near Tikri form the catchment area of regular passengers going to Haryana.

A terminal there will make travel easier,” said Yadav. “It will also boost the economy of the region. The border areas are still underdeveloped when compared with other parts of the capital.”

The demand for more buses, both inter-state and inter-city and the penetration of Delhi Metro into the outskirts, was a major topic during campaigning for the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls.

Meanwhile, Delhi High Court provided interim relief to around 1,000 Cluster Scheme bus operators whose contracts were due to expire this month. The permits have been extended to July 15. TOI had reported that a thousand public transport buses could go off city roads in 10 days if Delhi govt’s transport department did not extend their contracts. Most of these buses were connecting outlying Delhi areas to different parts of the city.

Bright spots! 9 lakh tulip bulbs to adorn city this yr

RIOT OF COLOURS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The city is set to witness a significant increase in the number of tulip bulbs planted this year. Delhi’s greening agencies are preparing to procure over nine lakh tulip bulbs, marking a substantial increase compared to previous years. In the winter of 2023, Delhi planted five lakh tulips, while in 2022, the city had only 1.5 lakh tulips.

New Delhi Municipal Council will procure 3.25 lakh tulip bulbs, and Delhi Development Authority 4 lakh. Other civic and greening agencies will purchase tulips from NDMC and DDA based on their requirements. Additionally, nearly 2.5 lakh tulip bulbs will be received from the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology in Palampur and other centres where NDMC had sent the harvested tulip bulbs for further regeneration.

The decision was made during a joint meeting headed by lieutenant governor VK Saxena, where a blueprint was prepared for sourcing and planting tulip bulbs. The meeting was attended by the horticulture departments of various civic and govt agencies.

“Given the great enthusiasm the people showed for tulips this year, LG also directed DDA and NDMC to sell potted tulips at reasonable prices, through its nurseries in different parts of the city," said the officials.

This year, the entire NDMC area, including 52 roundabouts and prominent places, such as the diplomatic area and the Parliament House, will be adorned with multi-hued tulips.

"Besides NDMC, DDA will also plant the Tulips in various parks, recreational spaces on Yamuna riverbed like Asita, Baansera and Yamuna Vatika, and other city forests that are frequented by people," said the official. In the previous year, tulips in various colours were planted in 65 locations. This year, the goal is to expand the coverage to approximately 200 prominent locations throughout Delhi, added the official.

Teenager stabbed to death, three held

New Delhi: Police have arrested three people for fatally stabbing a 15-year-old boy in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Tuesday. The motive behind the murder was reportedly a dispute between the victim and one of the accused’s brother.

The accused were identified as Hans (19), Nathu (18), and Dev (19).

Police said they received a PCR call on Tuesday about a boy lying in a park. A team from the local police station reached the spot. The injured boy was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

“The victim sustained a stab injury on the left side of his chest. It was found that the incident took place in the park between 4 pm and 5 pm. CCTV footage near the place of the incident was analysed, and we zeroed in on three people,” the officer said. A case under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC was registered.

Police said they conducted raids and nabbed the three men. One of them told police that the boy had a fight with his brother a month ago, and they wanted to take revenge for it.

TNN

Museums, psychiatric hosps receive bomb hoax emails

Police have launched an investigation into the hoax, which is among several that institutions in Delhi have received recently

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: At least eight museums, a library and four psychiatric hospitals in Delhi on Wednesday morning reported getting hoax emails with bomb blast threats from a group that identified itself as “Terrorizers 111”.

In the mail sent to the hospitals — three in south-west Delhi and one in Shahdara — the sender chose to identify as “Adam Lanza”, which was the name of a 20-year-old man who shot 20 children dead in Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut on December 14, 2012. Lanza shot himself dead after the carnage, one of the worst in US history that took 26 lives.

In New Delhi, the first museum to report the matter was National Rail Museum, whose staff came across the mail. The bomb disposal squad, fire officers, police and a dog squad rushed to the scene. "The building was evacuated by police and an extensive search was done in every part of the museum," an officer sa- id. After two hours of meticulous search, the bomb squad found no evidence of explosives, leading to the conclusion that the email was a hoax.

Subsequently seven more museums — Gandhi Smriti Museum, National Philatelic Museum, National Museum, Metro Museum, National Crafts Museum, Prime Minister Museum and National Gallery of Modern Art — as well as the National Science Library reported receiving a mail that said: "Explosives inside the museum, and everyone will die." The mail had been sent on Tuesday night.

All the structures were emptied and searched.

Investigators later said the email was by a group that called itself “Terrorizers 111”.

At the psychiatric hospitals, a similar email surfaced. It was sent by someone who identified himself as “Adam Lanza”. The person stated that the group “Terrorizers 111” was behind it. The email was sent around 9:49 am. "Three (hospitals) in southwest Delhi and one in Shahdara got the threat email," an officer said. Among them were Vimhans and IHBAS. Hospitals in other states were also tagged in the mail.

Police have launched an investigation into the hoax, which is among several that institutions in Delhi have received recently.

Recently, a 13-year-old child was detained for sending a hoax bomb email to Delhi airport, claiming that an explosive had been planted on a Toronto-bound flight.

Last month, several hospitals, IGI Airport and Tihar Jail got hoax emails. The emails were sent from a Europe-based mailing service company. On May 1, at least 200 schools got emails threatening explosions, leading to widespread panic.

Delhi govt will spend `900cr for development of city villages

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi govt will spend Rs 900 crore for the development of rural and urban villages in the ongoing financial year with a special thrust on laying and strengthening of roads in urban villages as well as rural areas.

Delhi development minister Gopal Rai said these works will be completed by Oct-end before the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) comes into force to control air pollution.

“Due to the model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha election, it was not possible to take decisions on new works. For the development of Delhi's villages, the Kejriwal govt has made a provision of nearly Rs 900 crore for the first time in its budget,” Rai said.

The minister, in the meeting of the village development board before the elections, said that 1,387 proposals were received from MLAs for their respective assemblies and all of them had been approved. Priority is being given this year to the development of all roads in the villages, he added.

Since the board has already approved the projects, Municipal Corporation of Delhi and department of irrigation and flood control – two agencies that execute all village projects – will soon issue the tenders and start works on the ground.

Rai said the board and all associated agencies have been asked to finalise the action plan and timeline of the works latest by June 15. “The agencies will also prepare a list of problems faced on the ground so that they could be resolved in time,” he said.

The minister said that a meeting of MLAs has been called on June 19 where the officials concerned will present the status report of the proposals from all assembly constituencies.

“We will have a special camp at Delhi secretariat on June 27 and 28 where any kind of no objection certificate or other documents required from any other govt agency could be taken. The officials of all associated agencies will be present in the camp and pending files will be disposed of,” Rai said.

TIMES Special

App To Help Roll Out New Criminal Laws

Hectic Meetings On With 15,000 Personnel Already Trained

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhi Police is working on an app that will help investigating officers in fulfilling the requirements of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which is set to be rolled out on July 1. The app will help the cops in filming the crime scene and preserving recordings besides submitting all this to courts.

The app is likely to handle videos, audio recordings and pictures from the crime scene and allow the investigating officers to directly upload these, sources said.

With barely two weeks left for the rollout of the new laws, the police brass is learnt to be fine-tuning the app with the help of technical experts. The focus is on preserving the sanctity of digital evidence, something which Union ho- me minister Amit Shah was keen on, said an officer.

On July 1, Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and Indian Evidence Act will cease to exist and all FIRs of criminal offences will be registered under BNS. Instead of Indian Evidence Act, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam will kick in as well. CrPC will be replaced by Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which defines the updated procedures and time-limits for criminal investigation and trial and needs full digital integration of all arms of the criminal justice system, including courts.

The police brass has imparted the training for implementation of the new laws to over 15,000 personnel, including assistant sub-inspectors and sub-inspectors, who function as IOs and even SHOs and ACPs.

Most cops at the police station level have either received training or have been acquainted with the new laws through a booklet. The police brass seems confident of rolling out the new laws with spe- cial CP Chhaya Sharma handling training and the two law and order chiefs — Ravindra Yadav and Madhup Tiwari — having been tasked with ensuring seamless transition at the police station level.

Lieutenant governor VK Saxena has been seeking regular updates from the police commissioner. While a key review meeting is to be held on Saturday where the police brass will take stock of the preparations, a series of meetings, including with the ministry of home affairs and LG, are lined up for the next two weeks.

While BNS retains most offences from IPC, some of the features stand out. For example, it adds community service as a form of punishment. Organised crime is an offence and so is petty organised crime. Sedition is no long- er an offence and has been replaced by a broader offence which comes under ‘acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India’.

Terrorism is also listed as an offence and cops need not rely only on UAPA. Mob lynching — murder or grievous hurt by five or more people on specified grounds like race, caste, sex and language – is also a separate offence now.

Bibhav Kumar moves HC for bail

New Delhi: Bibhav Kumar, former aide of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, moved Delhi High Court on Wednesday seeking bail in the Swati Maliwal assault case. The matter is likely to be heard on Friday. Kumar approached the high court after a trial court dismissed his regular bail plea citing threats received by Maliwal and apprehension of influencing the witnesses by the accused. Maliwal has alleged that her family and extended family members are getting continuous threats.

TNN

How Delhi cops trained for transition to new laws

A committee was tasked to develop study material for investigating officers which could facilitate practical understanding of the new provisions and the related changes in procedures

Rajshekhar.Jha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A few days were left for Dec of 2023 to end when special commissioner of police Chhaya Sharma was informed about her new assignment. Delhi as well as the rest of the country were to have new criminal laws in place and Sharma was tasked to spearhead the training programme for the cops in Delhi. The exercise would have involved putting the cops back into the classroom, giving them classwork as well as homework and making sure they fully understood the new laws and the changes.

Sharma was not a random choice. From her days of being the chief investigator in the Nirbhaya case (2021), she has been known for being thorough with whatever she does. She was also an exceptional team lead — a trait which was imperative for this task. The police brass took the first step in early Jan when it put together a 14-member committee headed by Sharma.

The committee was tasked to develop study material for the investigating officers which could facilitate a practical understanding of the new provisions and changes in procedures introduced by the new laws. The transition from CrPC, IPC and IEA to BNSS, BNS and BSA was an uphill task. For decades, police had been using sections like 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 394 (robbery) and 420 (cheating) day and night. Apart from explaining the new laws, the cops also had to memorise the corresponding changes.

Sharma’s team started off with creating the training material or ready reckoners to be used by Delhi Police personnel as well as holding classes. With ongoing training of recruits at the police academy, Sharma’s team set up four centres in Wazirabad (north), Dwarka, Jharoda Kalan and Barakhamba Road. “We started off small...Took teams of 24 police personnel from each police station and started training them without affecting the working of police stations in the first phase. At a time, 1,100 policemen were being trained,” Sharma told TOI on Wednesday.

In the first phase, around 10,000 personnel were trained. The second phase had the presence of over 3,000-4,000 personnel.

Simulation exercises were held to acquaint the investigating officers with the procedures in new cases. Fifty personnel were also trained specifically in crime scene videography. Sharma and her team had created three handbooks for the cops which had the laws explained in simplified form. “It was not just the new laws...Things like punishment and their durations had changed. Community service was introduced...In the handbook, we had a separate chapter on crimes against women- ...The new forms and proformas of processes like arrest and bail which will be introduced were explained as well,” Sharma added.

The committee also had the authority to engage lawyers and retired police personnel to refine the course material, ensuring alignment with the judicial process. The co-opted members, which included retired ACPs Rajender Singh and Ram Singh, as well as some criminal lawyers played a role in conducting classes for Delhi Police personnel and provided practical insights. They also helped in building “master trainers” who then imparted the training to their subordinates and colleagues in batches. Key consultations were held with different institutions like National Police Academies, National Law Universities, and Judicial Academies.

The exercise didn’t remain at conducting training sessions but also at ensuring that the cops had learnt. So, there were tests and evaluations at the end of sessions. There was feedback given to each trainee and he was explained what he needed to do further. The evaluation exercise is still continuing and the district DCPs will be asked to conduct tests at their level so that gaps, if any, are plugged.

TOI INTERVIEW

‘We started off small... had four sessions of 1.5 hours each daily’

TIMES NEWS NETWORK Special commissioner Chhaya Sharmain a quick conversation with Raj Shekhar Jhaover the rollout of new laws.

■ What was the biggest challenge in training the policemen in the new laws?

We needed to make it easy and simplified for the police personnel. So, we created reading material, compendiums and master trainers to do the job well.

■ Delhi Police is a huge force. How did you plan to train such a large pool of cops?

We started off small. Initially,24 personnel from each police station were trained. In the first phase, 1,100 policemen trained simultaneously.

■ How many policemen have received the training till now?

Policemen have been training in batches. Till now, over 15,000 policemen who will directly deal with the laws have received the training

■ Where were the training workshops held at?

There were four multipurpose halls taken at Wazirabad, Dwarka, Jharoda Kalan and Barakhamba Road police station.

■ Were senior officers trained too or was the exercise just for IOs?

We also held workshops for officers from the rank of ACP to joint commissioners for three days. The officers attended in person and through videoconferencing links.

■ What was the feedback from the trainees?

We tried to keep the sessions short and interesting. For example, one session went on for 1.5 hours and we had four of them in a day. They were interactive too.

■ How did you ensure that the cops did learn what was taught to them?

There were evaluations conducted at our level and we are now communicating to the district DCPs to carry more tests.

Mayor directs MCD to speed up relocation of Safiabad toll plaza

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Mayor Shelly Oberoi has directed Municipal Corporation of Delhi to expedite relocation of the toll plaza situated in Safiabad, Narela . The decision was taken after she visited the area and heard grievances of the locals, who complained about frequent traffic congestion causing inconvenience to students attending nearby schools.

“During the inspection of the area, the mayor observed that the toll plaza is situated in a densely populated area in Delhi about a kilometre away from the border. Also, there are three schools in that location. While interacting with locals, maximum people complained about heavy traffic jams. Most often, such traffic jams are so long that the kids get late in reaching the schools,” said an official.

“A meeting will soon be organised with all the stakeholders regarding the shifting of toll plaza and all possible efforts be made to address the issues,” she said.

Apart from the traffic problems, residents also expressed concerns about the unauthorised parking of heavy vehicles on the roadsides and in the surrounding area throughout the day. The officials have assured that appropriate actions will be taken to resolve this issue.

Similar reports of traffic congestion during peak hours have been made by locals from other border areas, such as the Ghazipur toll plaza and occasionally on Delhi Meerut Expressway due to random parking of vehicles.

"Based on the residents' complaints for long traffic jams every day at the Ghazipur border service lane due to toll collection by MCD, we pursued the DDA for providing additional land for constructing a five lane plaza and things are in progress," added the official.

Number Of Water Tankers Cut Without My Nod: Atishi

Urges LG To Probe ‘Collusion’ Of Two Officials With Tanker Mafia

ATISHI ON X Today LG’s office sent a press release. I have been abused a lot in it. You can abuse us as much as you want... But don’t stop water supply of Delhiites because of your hatred towards us

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Water minister Atishi on Wednesday alleged that the number of water tankers deployed by Delhi Jal Board was reduced without her knowledge and permission and urged lieutenant governor VK Saxena for investigation into alleged “collusion” of chief secretary and Delhi Jal Board’s CEO with tanker mafia.

She added that the two officers should be suspended, pending investigation, to prevent them from “influencing the proceedings”.

She also urged the LG to depute a senior police officer to patrol the Delhi stretch of the Munak Canal to prevent private tankers illegally filling water from there. In a separate note to the chief secretary, Atishi asked for immediate deployment of additional district magistrates and subdivisional magistrates to check any leakage in water pipelines.

In her communication to the LG, she claimed that there was a “deliberate and substantial” reduction in the number of tankers — from 1,203 in June 2023 to 888 in Jan 2024 — without her approval or consultation.

She added that despite repeatedly flagging the grievances regarding water tanker shortage and her directions to the DJB CEO to increase the number, it was not done.

“On 14th March, 3rd April and again on 12th April, 2024, I directed the chief secretary to increase the number of water tankers to the same number as deployed in previous years, but he did not do so. This reduction of water tankers deployed by DJB is what has led to possible proliferation of private tanker mafia, who are illegally selling water,” Atishi said in a press conference.

The govt later shared an Excel sheet giving the number of tankers deployed by DJB since Jan 2023. According to the data, the number of tankers increased from 888 in Jan 2024 to 1,211 in June this year. This included 250 DJB-owned tankers, while 961 were hired from private operators.

Atishi claimed that it was only when Delhi was hit by a severe water crisis and she “threatened” to investigate the “collusion” in an open meeting that the tankers were increased.

“Even now the number of water tankers deployed by DJB is lesser than June 2023, while there are much severe heatwave conditions.... Common sense says that the number of water tankers deployed by DJB should have been more in this heatwave than in previous years,” the minister said in the letter to LG.

Referring to some photographs that the LG shared with her on Monday of tankers illegally filling water from the Delhi stretch of the DSB and CLC – the sub-branches of the Munak Canal – Atishi urged the LG to depute an ACP-level police officer for patrolling.

To ensure efficient water management, Atishi directed the chief secretary to deploy special teams, headed by ADMs and SDMs, to monitor the water pipeline and prevent leakages and wastage.

LG’s office: Haryana’s affidavit busts ‘lie’ of neighbour being responsible for crisis

RAJ NIWAS ON X LG Sahab did not abuse you. LG's office has refuted the abuses and blatant lies you uttered to him with full evidence. He hopes you will stop water theft in Delhi and provide water to people

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Wednesday asked the police commissioner for strict vigil along the Munak Canal to prevent alleged theft of water by the tanker mafia.

In a letter to the police commissioner, he said these tankers were illegally stealing water from the canal carrying water from Haryana to Delhi.

“This canal is entering Delhi near Bawana where tankers have been reported to be lifting water from the canal and selling it illegally,” LG’s principal secretary said in a letter to the police commissioner, urging him to take legal action against such mafia elements.

The lieutenant governor office on Wednesday accused Delhi water minister Atishi of issuing a “patently and blatantly false” statement, blaming Haryana for the scarcity of water in the capital and charging Saxena with “lies”.

Citing the affidavit filed by Haryana govt in Supreme Court on June 10, which Atishi had also referred to on Tuesday to allege that Ha- ryana was not providing Delhi its rightful share of water, the LG’s office said a cursory reading of the document “busts her lies and calumnious statements”.

Reacting to the minster’s assertion that Delhi was getting less water from Haryana than agreed upon, the LG’s office said that from the various documents annexed with the status report that Haryana had submitted in court, it was evident the capital was getting more water than its allocated share and the quantum had not gone below 1,050 cusecs “not even on a single day”. The LG’s office added that the official of the Upper Yamuna River Board, who vi- sited Munak, Kakori and Bawana after the court hearing corroborated the statement.

The LG’s office said referring to the daily bulletins published by Delhi Jal Board, Haryana in its affidavit said the total production of Delhi’s seven water treatment plants, which draw water from the canal, was more than the designed capacity.

On Atishi’s claim that the repair of the canal was the responsibility of Haryana govt, the LG’s office said it is done at the “behest, demand and cost” of Delhi govt. “During the last 10 years, instead of asking the Haryana govt to repair the lining of the canal, Kejriwal govt did not even consider sending an engineer to look at the status of the canal,” it said.

Haryana also pointed out the “lapses” of AAP govt for “leakage, wastage and theft” of water on the basis of data provided in Delhi’s Economic Survey. The LG’s office said Saxena had flagged losses of more than 50% in transmission of water in Delhi. Quoting from the Economic Survey, Haryana govt said the losses that stood at 40% in 2018-19 rose up to 58% in 2022-23 “This would mean that from every litre of treated water, more than half a litre was vanishing due to the internal distribution limitations and shortcomings,” the LG’s office quoted Haryana as saying in the affidavit.

The LG office said despite knowing that a largescale water mafia was operating in Delhi, the Delhi Jal Board under AAP never complained to police about it or filed an FIR. “They never came to LG asking for action to be taken,” the LG’s office said. It added that a sting operation by a news channel established that the water mafia was operating in the city.

BJP asks Delhi Police to set up an SIT, probe water theft

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: BJP leaders met the Delhi Police chief on Wednesday and demanded the formation of a special investigation team and registration of an FIR over the alleged theft of water from the Munak Canal and other sources by the alleged tanker mafia.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva along with the party's North West Delhi MP Yogendra Chandolia met police commissioner Sanjay Arora at the Delhi Police headquarters and handed over the BJP’s complaint in which the party requested police to register an FIR over water theft.

“You are further requested to form a special investigation team to conduct a thorough probe to ensure action against the tanker mafia for theft of water from the Mu- nak Canal and any govt official conniving with them," the complaint said.

It also urged the police to thwart the operations of the tanker mafia as they were depriving Delhi's people of their water rights.

At a press conference, Sachdeva had on Tuesday presented photos and videos purportedly showing tankers drawing water from the canal, claiming that this alleged theft was a “premeditated conspiracy” by AAP govt to turn the water crisis into a profit-making venture. He questioned the “delayed operational status” of the Chandrawal and Dwarka water treatment plants.

Sachdeva accused govt of turning the situation into a revenue generating avenue in connivance with its ministers and MLAs.

AAP govt did not respond to the allegations.

‘Haryana sensitive on Delhi water issue’

More than 24 hours after Delhi minister Atishi accused Haryana govt of deliberately and illegally halting the water supply to the national capital, state irrigation and water resources minister Rao Abhay Singh Yadav has reiterated that Haryana is sensitive enough to adhere to the mandate of the Supreme Court as well as issues of Delhi and its residents “We have produced the records of supplying 1,049 cusecs of mandated water to Delhi daily. For us, it is an issue of the capital and its residents. It is our moral responsibility to ensure that people get their legitimate right of water,” said Rao. TNN

Tanker trips, quantum of water up from 2023: DJB

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi Jal Board said on Wednesday that the total number of tanker trips and the quantum of water delivered had increased substantially this year in comparison to 2023 by increasing efficiency in operations.

The statement came hours after minister Atishi alleged the number of tankers deployed by DJB had come down in comparison to 2023 leading to “possible proliferation” of a private tanker mafia.

DJB said the average number of trips made by a tanker in a day in 2023 was six. This had increased to nine this year after a detailed analysis was carried out.

“For example, in May and June last year, the total number of trips made by tankers in a day were 7,104 and 7,326, respectively, which has gone up to 8,631 and 9,981 trips this year in May and June, respectively,” DJB said.

It added that quantum of water delivered to the people of Delhi was 7.1 million gallon per day in May 2023 and 7.3 MGD in June 2023, which had increased to 8.6 MGD and 9.9 MGD in May and June 2024, respectively.

DJB added that tankers filling hydrants were currently operational at 190 locations. “Fixed destination points of tanker deployment have been increased from 6,050 in 2023 to 8,700 in 2024,” it said.

DJB officials claimed that all engineers-in-charge in all zones were supervising tanker operations. They added that tankers remain deployed from 6am to 11am.

“When one tries to improve operational efficiency of the system, it’s not an easy path.... We are determined to clean up the system,” a DJB official said.

Similar loss of water takes place during supply in other states too: Delhi to SC

AmitAnand.Choudhary@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday threatened to initiate contempt proceedings against Himachal Pradesh for going back on the promise to supply its excess water to Delhi.

“We were persuaded to pass the interim order based on your statement that you have excess water. Now, you say that you do not have excess water to what is being supplied. Then you are in contempt,” the court bench told the state, asking it to be ready to face the consequences.

Arvind Kejriwal govt had moved the court seeking a direction to Haryana for “immediate and continuous release of water at Wazirabad barrage, including but not limited to the full surplus water provided by Himachal Pradesh for NCT Delhi” for mitigation of water crisis in the national capital.

When senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Delhi govt, submitted that as per the order passed by the Yamuna Board in 2018, Delhi must get 1,013 cusecs but the actual water received was varying between 800-900 cusecs with 900 cusecs received only twice. He was opposed by Haryana's counsel senior advocate Shyam Divan who contended that 52.2% of water is wasted in Delhi during supply and that it is that problem that needed to be fixed first.

Singhvi maintained that there was nothing abnormal in this and said similar losses are sustained in Haryana and other states, and also assured the court that the data will be placed on record.

Referring to news channel reports that water was being supplied in Delhi in tankers, the court said that tanker mafias were working in the city and no action was being taken against them. It said that if the Delhi govt did not take action then it would entrust the task to Delhi Police.

“If you are not taking any action then we will hand it over to the Delhi police to take action against the tanker mafia. People are suffering. The same water is coming through tankers and in the pipeline there is no water. We are seeing visuals in every channel, tanker mafia working in Delhi. What measures have you taken?,” Justice Mishra said.

Advocate Shadan Farasat for the Delhi govt clarified that it was the Delhi Jal Board which is supplying water on tankers and told the court that the govt took various measures to prevent wastage of water and disconnections were done on a massive level.

“We are in a catch-22 situation with very little water. In so far as police are concerned, we will be more than happy to have the police taking action in this.” he told the bench.

Contempt plea: HC seeks stand of govts

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the stand of govts of Delhi and Haryana on a fresh plea seeking contempt action against Haryana officials for “not supplying adequate water” to the national capital parts of which are reeling under acute water shortage in peak summer.

A vacation bench of justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notice to the authorities concerned, including senior officers of the department of irrigation and water resources of Haryana, to file their replies within three weeks.

It listed the matter for further hearing on July 24. The court was hearing a plea by a lawyer alleging that the state of Haryana had reduced water supply to Delhi, that too during summer season, and that the short supply was “deliberate, intentional and malafide.”

The plea for contempt said Haryana had given an undertaking before the high court last year that Delhi has an allocation of 719 cusecs water from the upper riparian state of Haryana, which is supplying nearly 1,040 cusecs to the national capital by diverting nearly 321 cusecs from the share of its own citizens.

In Jan this year, the court had disposed of the petition seeking sufficient water supply for Delhi in which a fresh plea has been filed. It had accepted Haryana’s undertaking and statement and said the state was bound by the same, but the application sought contempt proceedings against senior officers of the department of irrigation and water resources of govt of Haryana for going against the undertaking before the court.

“There is wilful and deliberate defiance of the Jan 15, 2024 order and Delhi residents are facing acute water crisis and therefore contempt proceedings are liable to be initiated by this court against the respondents,” the plea said.

HEAT IS ON

10 Heatwave Days Already At Some Stations This June

HARSH SUMMER: At 47.7°C, Najafgarh Hottest On Wednesday

Priyangi.Agarwal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Delhiites, who have been experiencing a harsh summer this year, witnessed another heatwave day on Wednesday. Safdarjung, which is the city’s base station, has recorded three heatwave days in June so far. It is the highest number of heatwave days reported over Safdarjung in June in the past 10 years.

However, some stations in Delhi have witnessed heatwaves for 10 days in June so far. On Wednesday, Najafgarh was the hottest station at 47.7 degrees Celsius, eight degrees above normal. All stations were under the grip of a heatwave on Wednesday, while Najafgarh, Narela, Pitampura and Pusa saw a ‘severe heatwave’.

India Meteorological Department’s data shows that the last time Safdarjung recorded a higher number of heatwaves in June was in 2014 at seven such days. However, June 2019 also reported three heatwave days.

The current heatwave spell is likely to continue for the next six days.

The maximum temperature at Safdarjung was 44.7 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal. The minimum was 28.5 degrees Celsius, one degree above normal. The heat index or feel-like temperature was 46.1 degrees Celsius.

Dry and warm westerly winds from Rajasthan and south Haryana along with clear skies are keeping the mercury above normal. For the next few days, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 45 degrees Celsius at most stations. IMD has issued an ‘orange’ alert for Thursday, and a ‘yellow’ alert has been sounded from June 14 to 18 for heatwave conditions.

IMD has asked people to avoid heat exposure and keep themselves hydrated.

The weather department defines a heatwave day when the maximum is 4.5 degrees and more above normal temperature and the maximum is at least 40 degrees Celsius. A heatwave is also considered if maximum temperature touches 45 degrees Celsius or above. A ‘severe’ heatwave is declared when the maximum is 6.5 degrees and more above normal or when the maximum temperature surpasses 47 degrees Celsius.

Sun Turns Rooftop Plastic Water Tanks Sauna Ready

Here’s How Insulation Can Help You Beat That Scalding Experience

A practical and environmentally useful option can be to install solar panels over the tanks

Shreya.Ghosh@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:Hot and sweaty, you turn on the shower and yell in exasperation when hit by a jet of scalding water. And no, the geyser hasn’t been mistakenly put on. Most Delhiities would have had such experiences when the cool water they expected to gush out of the taps was almost boiling hot. The summer sun is to blame.

The plastic water tanks placed on terraces are exposed to the 45 plus heat through the day almost as if they had been placed on a hotplate. People cope in different ways, some storing water in drums and vats, others keeping buckets of water in rooms where the ACs are running.

Traditionally, houses and buildings had rooftop concrete tanks, which have now been replaced by the ubiquitous Sintex ones. The former retained heat more than the latter, but when the mercury is regularly going past the 45-degree Celsius mark, tap water, even early in the morning, is very warm.

To tackle the problem of overheated tanks in summer, Dipti Ranjan Sahoo, professor of civil engineering at IIT, Delhi, suggested using insulation. It can be a tank jacket made of ultra violet-resistant material like foam and fibreglass. Its drawback is, however, its cost. Placing the tank in a shady, isolated spot is a more affordable option. Sahoo added, “If relocating the tank is not feasible, constructing a shade over it can achieve the same effect. This will not only keep the water cool but also extend the tank's lifespan because materials like fibreglass and plastic degrade with prolonged sun exposure.”

Another economic alternative, according to LR Subhramaniyam, profes- sor of material sciences engineering, IIT-D, is the use of local resources like paddy and wheat straw. While placing thick jute bags around the tank can block direct sunlight. painting the tank with reflective paint also helps to reduce the radiative heat.

Subhramaniyam pointed out how earthen pots keep water cool because of the porosity of the material they are made of. Water stored in such pots diffuse and moisten the outer surface, where it evaporates, in the process absorbing the heat and cooling the water inside. “Materials with similar porosity could offer comparable benefits,” said the professor. “Replicating this methodology with controlled porous materials for water tanks could enhance water cooling, but the brittleness of ceramics necessitates a protective environment.”

A simple solution could be storing water in 100-litre indoor tanks, suggested Anil Haritash, head of environmental engineering, Delhi Technological University. "Water from the overhead tanks can be channelled to smaller, secondary tanks for 2-3 hours until it cools down,” he said. “These tanks can be placed near rooms, kitchens and toilets. The flow in the tap, however, won’t be as powerful because of lower gravity."

The experts felt that a good, practical and environmentally useful option would be to install solar panels over the tanks. As Haritash pointed out, “The investment in solar panels offers the dual benefit of providing a shade for your tank and generating clean energy. Fancy insulation methods may not be environmentally friendly and can contribute to carbon emissions.

DU’s ‘presentation’ criterion for assistant professors faces flak

UNIVERSITY OFFICIAL SAYS This is not a new policy. A similar mechanism has been in use in the university department's selection process. Presentations are part of the selection process

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Delhi University has revised its eligibility criteria for recruiting assistant professors by adding what it calls the requirement of “presentation”. The new requirement has faced resistance and teachers are demanding a rollback. Under the new rules notified on June 3, the final selection will involve two stages: a presentation and an interview. The presentation will be evaluated on aspects like humility and passion for teaching. As part of the presentations, candidates will also be required to write an essay to assess their writing skills.

There is concern also about DU increasing the minimum eligibility from 50 to 55 points, with a fivepoint relaxation for SC/ST/PwD candidates. The presentation and interview together account for 50 points of the total 100.

A university official said, “This is not a new policy. A similar mechanism has been in use in the university department's selection process. Presentations are part of the selection process.” But amid criticism about the quality of ongoing interviews and the resulting displacement of long-serving ad-hoc teachers, DU teachers pointed out that the UGC Regulations, 2018, do not stipulate such a two-tiered structure for the direct recruitment process.

Abha Dev Habib, secretary, Democratic Teachers' Front, said, “The increase in points is against the interests of serving teachers because it reduces the number of candidates who can appear before the selection committees. Appointments in many colleges are pending, and many displaced colleagues are waiting to join back. On top of this, there is the additional layer of presentation conducted by a centralised committee. This will lead to over-centralisation of the process. A single window for appointment without the college having a say will pave the way for centralised corruption.”

Maya John, also an elected AC member, was also critical of the SOP’s prescribed scorecard for the selection committee ignoring teaching experience as a separate parameter with higher weightage. “Instead teaching experience has been clubbed with ‘Academic Record and Research Performance’ with a mere 20 weightage points,” said John. “Thus, the most objective, concrete parameter to assess a candidate has been diluted. Overall, the proposed prescribed scorecard has vague, overlapping parameters that are very subjective but constitutes the lion's share of points. These parameters are titled ‘Interview Performance’ (20 points), ‘Teaching Aptitude, Ability and Presentation Skills’ (30 points) and ‘Domain Knowledge’ (30 points).”

Mithuraaj Dhusiya, an elected member of the Academic Council, too rejected the new norms. “The new SOP, which introduces additional conditions that find no mention in the UGC Regulations, is draconian and needs to be rolled back immediately,” said Dhusiya.

CBSE tries a new test: Open-book exams for Classes IX and XI

CBSE DOCUMENT SAYS The tests may be piloted in schools to examine various aspects for this assessment namely, the time taken by students to complete it, its suitability for formative/ summative purposes, etc

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will carry out a pilot open-book examination for Classes IX and XI.

Although the board’s governing body had approved the openbook test plan for six subjects in classes IX-XII in a Dec meeting, it decided not to conduct the pilot for classes X and XII in the 2024-25 academic year.

A CBSE document on the pilot said: “The tests may be piloted in schools to examine various aspects for this assessment namely, the time taken by students to complete it, its suitability for formative/summative purposes and the stakeholders’ perceptions regarding this.”

The committee was considering testing the open-book testing process for English, science and mathematics for Classes IX and X students, and English, mathematics, and biology for Classes XI and XII. However, the scope of such a pilot has now been reduced.

Himanshu Gupta, the board secretary, said: “It has now been deci- ded that the open book examination will be piloted for Classes IX and XI. There will be no open book examination in Classes X and XII. For this year, the pilot will be conducted in a few schools. In the 2025-26 academic year it will be a larger pilot.” Gupta added that the goal was to introduce a competencybased assessment.

“For years, we have been increasing the weightage of such questions because it is the need of the hour in order to make the shift from rote learning to critical thinking. Ultimately, the aim is to make competency-based questions for almost 50% of the Class Xand XII exams.”

In realtor vs realtor in Ggn, case in Delhi poses a jurisdiction question

RaoJaswantSingh@timesgroup.com

Gurgaon: A legal battle between two developers over a housing project in the city has ended up before the Delhi high court, leaving the judges with a decision first to make on who should hear it.

On the directions of a court in the capital, Delhi Police’s economic offences wing (EOW) filed an FIR against Godrej Properties and its top management in connection with Godrej Air. The complainant, Orris Infrastructure, claimed in its plea before the court that Godrej Properties was supposed to pay Rs 202 crore for 10 acres of land for the project by Sept 2022 but had so far paid only Rs 37 crore.

The EOW case invokes sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC. On May 28, the court of chief metropolitan magistrate (south-west) Dwar- ka, Rajat Goyal, after hearing the petition filed by Orris, ordered the FIR registered and a compliance report sent to the court. The case was filed the next day.

Godrej Properties subsequently moved Delhi high court to quash the lower court’s order. After hearing both parties, the court of Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma on June 7 observed, “This court considers that this case falls within the category of rare of rarest case where the documents filed show the jurisdiction of the courts in Gurgaon and learned CMM has passed an order for registration of FIR despite noting that the investigation agency reported that the offence alleged has been committed within the jurisdiction of Gurgaon and the complaint has been sent to Gurgaon”.

The court stayed any coercive action in case till the next hearing, which is scheduled on July 11.

The counsel for Godrej Properties ar- gued that the lower court had passed the order mechanically without having territorial jurisdiction. The counsel for Orris, however, argued that different meetings between both parties had taken place in Delhi, which was within the territorial jurisdiction of the Dwarka court.

A spokesperson for Orris told TOI on Wednesday, “The company had given its 10 acres to Godrej for construction and in turn was to get Rs 200 crore by Sept 2022. Instead of giving money back to Orris, the builder siphoned off the money and bought a parcel of land of 14 acres adjacent to the project. In this case, an FIR was registered against Godrej.”

A spokesperson for Godrej Properties said, “This is an attempt by Orris to damage the reputation of Godrej Properties by repeating allegations that have already been investigated by relevant agencies and found to be baseless,” the spokesperson said.

More testing times for disabled certified wrongly in NEET

PWD ACTIVIST SAYS To ensure non-discrimination of prevalent bias against NEET candidates with disabilities, all disability assessments must be video recorded and the examining board must include a doctor with a disability

Ridhima.Gupta@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Lakshay Sharma cleared the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEETUG) for medical studies last year despite being visually impaired. However, he could not participate in the counselling process because Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital declared him a person with zero visibility and, therefore, not eligible to avail of disability reservation for NEET. It was only after the chief commissioner for persons with disabilities ordered another assessment that a fresh report found him eligible to be in the disability category.

This is not an isolated case. According to disability rights activists in the city, many individuals like Sharma face similar hurdles every year. They argue that the process of assessment is not standardised, forcing many candidates with disabilities to undergo multiple assessments each year. As per the National Medical Commission (NMC), candidates who register under the persons with disabilities (PwD) quota for the entrance exam have to obtain a disability certificate from one of the 16 designated NEET disability screening centres.

Last year, when Sharma scored 548 marks out of 720 in NEET-UG 2023 as a PwD candidate, he was referred to RML Hospital for a medical examination as per the NMC guidelines for admission to medical colleges. The hospital’s eye department issued a certificate declaring him ineligible for reservation on the ground of 0% vision. Sharma already had a certificate from JP Hospital, Bhopal, Civil Surgeon Hospital, Bhopal, and AIIMS, New Delhi, for visual impairment.

Following this declaration, Sharma had to reach out to the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, which ordered a reassessment at Guru Nanak Eye Centre, where he was certified as 40% disabled.

In another case in 2022, Laxmi Chaudhary was declared ineligible to apply for counselling by Safdarjung Hospital. She too had to fight in Delhi High Court for reassessment, in which AIIMS found her eligible for the reservation in the PwD category. In 2020, Safdarjung similarly ruled Usman ineligible with 100% disability but a reassessment in Chandigarh provided a respite. He is now doing his MBBS course.

Disability-rights activists claim that every year, many PwD candidates have to go through unnecessary hassles because of such issues rendering the right to education for people with disabilities more tedious.

Calling the regular wrongcertification discriminatory, Dr Satendra Singh, a PwD and disability-rights activist, alleged that the standard guidelines for assessment of candidates were not being followed. This was why many candidates faced such problems every year. Singh added, “To ensure non-discrimination and mitigation of prevalent bias against NEET candidates with disabilities, all disability assessments must be video recorded and the examining board must include a doctor with a disability. Further, NMC must penalise hospitals for any gross deviation found in the Unique Disability ID certification.”

Race Against Time To Finish Desilting

Third Week Of June Is Deadline To Complete Work At 22 Major Open Drains

WHERE DOES THE MUCK STOP?

Vibha.Sharma@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Govt agencies in New Delhi have set the third week of June as the deadline for completing the desilting work at 22 major open drains that have their outfall in the Yamuna. This is to prevent waterlogging in the city during the monsoon season.

The 22 drains will be automatically transferred to the irrigation & flood control department (I&FC) for better maintenance and operation, as directed by Delhi High Court. However, this year, the agencies responsible for desilting them will have to accomplish the work within the given timeframe.

Of these drains, 14 are either partly or fully under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and they are expected to be cleared of muck by June 20, according to officials.

The drains include Tehkhand drain (70% work completed), Tughlaqabad drain (75%), Maharani Bagh (50%), Magazine Road (work completed), Sweeper Colony (work completed), Delhi Gate or Power House drain (80% work done), Vijay Ghat (work completed), Qudsia Bagh (work completed), Nullah No. 12, also called Sen Nursing Home Nullah (80%) and Drain No. 14 (90%). All these drains have a depth of up to 5 metres.

"We had a meeting with the additional commissioner of MCD on Monday to discuss the status. The offici- als of various zones informed us that 75% of the silting target had been accomplished so far. We have been asked to meet all our targets for the 18 drains by June 20," said a civic official.

The remaining five drains are under the jurisdiction of other departments. These include the Shahdara, Barapullah, Jaitpur and Najafgarh drains with I&FC responsible for them and a part of Okhla Barrage falling under the UP irrigation department. An I&FC official reported that 80% of the work on all drains, except for the Najafgarh drain, had been completed.

The official stated, "At the Najafgarh drain, work is in progress and we should be able to complete it by month end with the removal of silt from all obstruction points. After the formation of a high-level committee, we launched a special drive to clear the drain of silt before the monsoon, setting a target of clearing eight lakh cubic metres of silt. We have successfully dug out 70% of the silt."

Following the high court's instructions, I&FC has developed a separate plan for deep desilting of the Najafgarh drain until June 2025. The official elaborated, "As per our assessment, there is more than one crore cubic metres of silt in the drain. This is a challenging amount to remove. We also have to identify the spot where we can dump such a huge volume of cleared silt. We have written to all neighbouring states asking them to provide space for dumping silt. We had a study conducted by Shriram Institute of Industrial Research and found the silt appropriate for filling and horticulture. A final action plan will be drawn up based on all these factors as well as the costs involved.”

I&FC is also responsible for a 2.5-km stretch of the Barapullah drain, and the department claims to have removed 55,000 cubic metres of silt from this area so far. Two other drains, the Metcalf House and Tonga Stand drains, fall under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department, and work is ongoing in these locations as well.

The state govt received directives from Delhi High Court on April 8 to appoint a single agency to oversee all open drains in the city. The objective is to enhance drainage management, reduce floods and boost the quality of water in the Yamuna. An official said, "All these 22 drains have outfalls in the Yamuna and the project will treat the water before releasing it into the river.”

DMRC gets new infra director

New Delhi: Manuj Singhal has assumed charge as the new director (infrastructure) of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation.

An Indian Engineering Service officer of the 1994 batch, Singhal has nearly three decades of multidisciplinary experience in numerous key positions.

As director (infrastructure), Singhal will be in charge of maintenance of infrastructure including civil, electrical, signal, AFC, telecom, rolling stock, and solar power in DMRC.

An electrical engineering graduate and postgraduate from Delhi College of Engineering, Singhal began his career with NTPC and thereafter, joined department of telecom. He has been working with DMRC since 2006 and prior to this, he was working as executive director (rolling stock/project).

TNN

Police chargesheet details how a slap prompted father’s plot to kill his son

The victim had multiple stab injuries on his head, back, face, and other parts of the body

Abhay.@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Nearly three months after a 54-year-old man allegedly killed his 29-year-old son on the eve of his wedding in south Delhi's Devli, a chargesheet has been filed in the case. The chargesheet was filed in Saket court on June 5 after 37 witnesses were examined by police.

The father, Ranglal, and four men – Harsh, Varshu, Chetan, and Lakshay – have been charged under Sections 302 (murder) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC for killing Gaurav Singhal on March 7. The victim had multiple stab injuries on his head, back, face, and other parts of the body.

During investigation, Ranglal revealed a grudge stemming from a slapping incident and extravagant nature of Gaurav, a gym owner. Ranglal had claimed that about two years earlier, during an argument with his wife, he was slapped publicly by Gaurav, a police source said.

“It was the main trigger of friction between father and son. Gaurav had gone on vacation to Dubai a few months before his murder, it had also led to an argument. One day he had purchased a costly suit which was disapproved by Ranglal," the source said.

Two months prior to the murder, Ranglal confided in Varshu about his son’s misbehaviour and asked him to kill Gaurav. "Varshu introduced him to three people who agreed to carry out the murder, and deal was fixed for Rs 1.5 lakh," the source said.

Expressing no remorse, Ranglal told cops that he should have murdered Gaurav earlier. He not only provided the murder weapon (scissors) but also chose the location – his vacant house – and turned on the generator at the time of the murder to muffle his son's screams.

“He chose a room in the corner of the building and had already provided scissors to the three men. Under some pretext, he summoned his son to the building. The first thing he did was cut the power and start the generator. They continuously stabbed Gaurav and left," the source added.

The inquiry revealed that Ranglal wanted to teach his wife a lesson believing that she supported Gaurav’s misbehaviour and did not want to ruin the life of the girl with whom his son was getting married, so he killed him a day prior to the wedding

Mann meets Kejriwal in jail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday met AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar Jail to give him feedback on the reasons behind the party’s poor performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections and discuss the upcoming Jalandhar (West) Assembly bypoll, party insiders said.

It was Mann’s first meeting with Kejriwal after the election results as the latter had surrendered himself and returned to jail two days before that. AAP’s national general secretary (Organisation) Sandeep Pathak, too, was in Chandigarh on Tuesday to discuss the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha polls.

Over the past week, Mann has been interacting with the party’s Lok Sabha candidates and MLAs from the assembly segments concerned to introspect over the election results. Pathak also met a group of MLAs, besides district presidents on Tuesday evening.

Contrary to AAP’s claims of sweeping the Lok Sabha elections 13-0, the ruling party managed to win only three seats.

Man arrested for robbing, killing elderly woman

New Delhi: Delhi Police arrested a man for killing an elderly woman during a robbery at her residence in northeast Delhi’s Jafrabad.

The accused was identified as Rajan Sharma (24) who worked as a security guard at a construction site.

The incident occurred on May 14. The woman’s son had found her unconscious and bleeding profusely from a head injury, with her gold earrings missing. Later, it was found that her mobile phone, smartwatch, purse containing cash and more jewelry items were also absent. The accused was arrested from Ghonda recently.

Recovered items included two silver anklets, four gold bangles, a smartwatch and a mobile phone. A motorcycle used in the robbery and tools for breaking into residences were also seized.

TNN

‘Pune flight back in Delhi after being in air for about 3 hrs’

Pune: Passengers of a SpiceJet flight from Delhi to Pune on Wednesday claimed that the aircraft returned to the national capital after flying for around three hours.

Atish Landge, a flyer said, the flight (SG8938) took off from Delhi at 5.15pm instead of 4.15pm. “The plane took off after we spent an hour sitting inside it. We were in the air for three hours. Once the aircraft landed, I thought I was in Pune. But to my surprise, I was back in Delhi. There was no in-flight announcement about it,” Landge, an advocate, said.

“The crew said there was some technical issue. The airline has said we will fly again at 9.40pm,” Lande added.

A SpiceJet spokesperson said, “The aircraft returned to Delhi approximately one-anda-half hours after take-off, after a radar failure annunciation was detected. An alternative aircraft was arranged and it has departed.”

TNN

When ASI Chose Wrong Colour To Paint Safdarjung Tomb Entrance

Terms Mistake Inadvertent, Says Repainting On To Rectify ‘Human Error’

The door was mistakenly painted in a dark yellow colour instead of its original light yellow

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: The Archaeological Survey of India is repainting the main door of the 18th-century Safdarjung Tomb after it was mistakenly painted recently in a dark yellow colour instead of its original light yellow.

Terming the mistake as “inadvertent,” ASI officials said that they had presumed that the yellow colour used on the gate would lighten up after drying, but it didn’t and was not a match to the original colour. “Hence, we decided to redo it. We are very sensitive about the originality of the structure and it was a human error that is being rectified now,” said officials.

The conservation work on the tomb, which started in Feb, is likely to finish by the end of this month. If this mistake had not happened, the work would have been finished by now. “At least a month’s delay was caused due to this,” said a senior official from the Delhi circle.

Officials told TOI that a ramp leading to the main tomb had also been made so that people on wheelchairs or walkers could easily enter the monu- ment. A pathway has been made, along with ornamental plaster on the tomb and the main gate. The work for filling the gaps between the joints of two marble slabs in the tomb has also been completed.

According to a book titled “Delhi and Its Neighbourhood,” published by a former director general of ASI, “the structure was built in about 1753-54, according to an inscription over the eastern entrance to the mausoleum, by Nawab Shuja’u’d-Daula, Safdar-Jang’s son”. Its extensive garden enclosure, spread over 300 sqm, is divided into four squares by wide pathways and tanks, which are again divided into smaller squares by passages on the pattern of Mughal gardens (chaharbagh).

The tomb is the last example of the pattern, which began with Humayun’s tomb. It has been rightly described as “the last flicker in the lamp of Mughal architecture at Delhi,” said ASI officials.

“The high rubble walls of the enclosure, with channels over them to carry water to different pavilions, contain a series of recessed arches on the interior and octagonal towers (chhatris) on the four corners. In the centre of the eastern side is the double-storey impressive gateway to the enclosure with several apartments, a courtyard and a mosque, while the same position on the other sides is occupied by multichambered spacious pavilions, known originally as Moti Mahal, Badshah Pasand and Jangli Mahal on the north, south and west, respectively. The mosque, built with red sandstone on the second storey, was obviously added later,” the book mentioned.

Red Fort attack: Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak man

This is the second mercy petition to be rejected by Murmu, the first being that of Vasanta Sampat Dupare who was awarded the death sentence for raping and murdering a minor girl

Bharti.Jain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has rejected the mercy petition filed by Pakistani terrorist and death row convict in the Dec 2000 Red Fort attack case Mohd Arif alias Ashfaq, almost 18 months after the Supreme Court dismissed his review petition.

Arif was part of the twomember, armed Lashkar-eTaiba squad that stormed into the Red Fort premises housing a unit of 7th Rajputana Rifles on Dec 22, 2000, and opened fire at the jawans on duty, killing three of them. Though both the terrorists, following retaliatory fire by the personnel on duty, escaped by scaling Red Fort’s rear wall, they left behind enough clues — including firearms like AK rifles as well as an accidentally dropped paper slip with a phone number that ultimately led them to Arif’s house in Delhi’s Ghazipur area.

Arif was arrested three days after the attack. An investigation and trial ensued, ending in the trial court convicting him under IPC, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act and Foreigners Act and awarding him death sentence. The death sentence was affirmed by Delhi High Court in 2007 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2011. On Nov 3, 2022, a threejudge bench dismissed Arif’s review petition.

He filed a mercy petition with the President on May 15, 2024 and the latter rejected it on May 27.

This is the second mercy petition to be rejected by Murmu, the first being that of Vasanta Sampat Dupare who was awarded the death sentence for raping and murdering a minor girl.

Arif still has the option of moving the SC challenging the rejection of his mercy plea.

Interestingly, a key change being made via the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) — which comes into force from July 1 — is that the President’s decision on a mercy plea shall be final and courts cannot question the grounds for such decision. However, this shall apply only prospectively.

A resident of Pakistan, Arif received training from LeT in the use of arms like AK-56 rifle and hand grenades. He illegally crossed over to India in 1999 along with arms and ammunition and stayed in Srinagar with other LeT terrorists. Tasked by LeT to unleash an attack at the iconic Red Fort, he collected money for the mission through hawala channels. He arran- ged cover for himself by marrying Delhi resident Rehmana Yusuf Farooqui, who was aware of his terror plans and was also convicted in the case. He forged documents including driving licence and ration card and was running a computer centre in Ghazipur.

Arif, after confessing his involvement in the Red Fort attack, had led Delhi Police to his second hideout in Batla House, Okhla, where an encounter broke out, leading to the death of his aide Abu Shamal alias Faizal. A search at the hideout led to the recovery of an AK-56 rifle and ammunition.

Investigations into Arif’s money and bank dealings helped establish the terror funding trail.

‘Fit case for discretion’: Rape accused gets pre-arrest bail

TIMESNEWSNETWORK

New Delhi: A Delhi court has granted anticipatory bail to a man accused of rape, stating that it is a fit case for the court to exercise its discretion in granting bail.

The allegations of rape were levelled against him by the mother-in-law of his daughter. The man informed the court of special judge Dhirendra Rana that a marital dispute was ongoing between his daughter and the son of the complainant woman. The complainant happens to be a qualified doctor and one of her sons is an advocate.

The case dates back to April when an FIR was registered against the man for the offences of voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and wrongful restraint among others. Later, the section for the offence of rape, Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code, was added in the FIR in May.

The accused man, through advocate Prabhjit Jauhar, submitted before the court that allegation of rape is an afterthought on the part of the complainant to pressurise him and his daughter to settle the matrimonial dispute. He also joined the investigation on three occasions and he is ready to join the same as and when required, the counsel stated. “No useful purpose will be served by arresting the accused as nothing is to be recovered at his instance”.

The court took note of the fact that there was no mention of sexual assault in the FIR filed in April.

“She was medically examined and she did not utter even asingle word before the doctor about the sexual assault. It is not out of context that the complainant is a qualified doctor and she was supposed to mention the fact of sexual assault at a very first available opportunity as it is such a significant act that it should not have been left in the complaint,” the court said.

While granting bail with certain conditions, the court noted that the accused was not involved in any other case, was not a flight risk, had joined the investigation on three occasions, and there was no threat perception involved after the incident. Furthermore, he is a permanent resident of Delhi and nothing is to be recovered at his instance, it stated.

Advocate Promila Singh, additional public prosecutor, appeared for the state.

3-month-old boy is now 6, still waits for surgery at AIIMS

The boy’s father Ankit Kumar, a medical store helper, earns a modest monthly income of `8,000 and faces significant financial strain due to the medical expenses

Anuja.Jaiswal@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: A 6-year-old, Aayansh Kumar, a resident of Bihar’s Begusarai, suffering from acardiac issue, has been waiting for surgery since 2019. Doctors at AIIMS have only been providing dates for the surgery on every visit by his family.

Ankit Kumar, a 32-yearold medical store helper, shared with TOI the health struggles of his son Aayansh. The young boy was suffering from fever and respiratory issues, which led the family to seek medical advice from a local doctor. Upon examination, the doctor suspected a cardiac problem and advised the family to take Aayansh to AIIMS, Delhi for further assessment and treatment.

“We brought him to AIIMS in Nov 2018, when he was just three months old. Dr Sachin Talwar, professor of cardiothoracic & vascular surgery, saw the child and advised some tests. We were then asked to deposit Rs 60,000 for the surgery and Rs 8,000 for some tests. We got an appointment for the operation four months later, but the surgery hasn’t been performed till date,” claimed Ankit.

He added that he had completed all the formalities as advised by the hospital staff.

Ankit, who earns a modest monthly income of Rs 8,000, faces significant financial strain due to the medical expenses. Each visit to Delhi costs him between Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 for transportation and accommodation. Despite his best efforts to follow the hospital’s instructions, Aayansh’s surgery has been repeatedly delayed.

Ankit described the limitations Aayansh faces due to his condition, stating that the child cannot walk more than 15 steps without experiencing breathlessness. Additionally, Aayansh’s physical development has been hindered, not progressing as expected for a child of his age.

Frustrated by the repeated postponements, Ankit mentioned that he has only been given dates for the surgery. The reasons provided by AIIMS have varied, ranging from unavailability of beds to the doctor’s absence.

Ankit expressed his concern, stating, “I had asked the doctor whether the operation was needed, but he advised us to undergo the procedure. I don’t belong to an affluent family and I don’t have anyone who can support me financially. If something happens to my child, what will I do? He is my only child”.

Prof Rima Dada, the head of the public relations department at AIIMS, stated that “taking cognisance of the complaint of apatient’s father alleging postponement of the surgery of his son for a cardiac intervention for nearly 6 years, AIIMS, New Delhi has constituted a fact-finding committee to verify the allegations and introduce corrective measures, if required. The committee has been asked to fast track its inquiry and provide its report within 7 days”.

Attempts to contact Dr Talwar were unsuccessful as his phone was switched off.

Times Global

- Pope Francis is accused of using a homophobic slur yet again

- Russian warships enter Havana harbour under US’ watchful eye

- Ceasefire plan in doubt as US says Hamas wants changes

- Outrage among France’s Conservatives after top politico backs far-right

- Why is Biden going to Europe twice in a week?

- UN inquiry says Israel & Hamas committed war crimes

- In sudden move, Musk drops suit against OpenAI sans explanation

- AROUND THE WORLD

- Asked about hardships, Sunak cites growing up without Sky TV

- Economic crisis? Pak allocates Rs 2,100bn for defence in budget, a 19% hike over 2023

- SpaceX sued by engineers fired after accusing Elon of sexism

- ‘Musk had sex with 2 staffers, asked another to have his babies’

- First came ‘spam.’ Now, with AI, we’ve got ‘slop’ for dubious content

Pope Francis is accused of using a homophobic slur yet again

KEEP THE SERMONS SNAPPY: Pope told priests on Tuesday to keep their messages short and speak for a maximum of eight minutes to prevent members of the congregation from nodding off

Rome: Pope Francis repeated an anti-gay slur during a meeting with priests in Rome Tuesday, Italian news outlets reported, the same offensive term he was accused of using two weeks ago. The Vatican, in summarising the gathering, said only that the pontiff had cautioned about admitting gay men into Roman Catholic seminaries.

The Vatican did not address the reports by two of the most prominent news agencies in Italy, ANSA and Adnkronos, that he had again used the word “frociaggine”, an offensive Italian slang term referring to gay men. The reports cited anonymous sources they said were present at the meeting. The NYT could not independently verify news. A spokesperson for the Vatican declined to comment . The pope was accused of using the same term last month at a private meeting with Italian bishops. Those reports ignited backlash and drew an apology from the pope, issued through the the Holy See’s press office. NYT

Russian warships enter Havana harbour under US’ watchful eye

Havana:A Russian navy frigate and a nuclear-powered submarine churned into Havana harbour Wednesday, a stopover the US and Cuba said posed no threat but which was widely seen as a Russian show of force.

Cuba — a long-time ally of Russia — saluted the ships’ arrival with cannon fire from the harbour. The Admiral Gorshkov frigate, and later the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, half submerged with its crew on deck, were accompanied by a tugboat and fuel ship that had arrived earlier in the morning.

The four Russian vessels sailed to Cuba on Wednesday after conducting “high-precision missile weapons” training in the Atlantic Ocean, Russia’s defence ministry said Wednesday. The submarine and frigate carry Zircon hypersonic missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles and Onyx anti-ship missiles, the ministry said. Cuba said last week that the visit was standard practice by naval vessels from nations friendly to Havana. The communist-run govt’s foreign ministry said the fleet carried no nuclear weapons.

The US has been monitoring the Russian vessels as they skirted the nearby Florida coast, but has said they pose no threat. White House NSA Jake Sullivan said such naval drills were routine. He said there was no evidence of Russia transferring any missiles to Cuba, but the US would be vigilant.

REUTERS

Ceasefire plan in doubt as US says Hamas wants changes

Blinken Says Some Tweaks ‘Unacceptable’, Questions Sincerity; Outfit Official Denies Group Putting Forward New Ideas, Says Secy Of State ‘Part Of Problem’

Demonstrators protest at Warsaw University campus on Tuesday to demand that the administration publicly condemn Israel’s Gaza assault

Hamas’s response to a US-backed ceasefire proposal for Gaza includes some changes that are “unacceptable”, secretary of state Antony J. Blinken said on Wednesday, adding that the Biden administration would continue trying to strike a deal between Israel and Hamas.

“Hamas has proposed numerous changes to the proposal that was on the table,” Blinken said, a day after Hamas responded to a ceasefire plan endorsed by the UN Security Council that would pause the fighting and free hostages and prisoners. “Some of the changes are workable, some are not.”

Speaking at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, alongside Qatar’s PM, Blinken said that “a deal was on the table that was virtually identical” to one that Hamas put forward on May 6. But, he said, Hamas’s response, which was received by Egypt and Qatari mediators and passed to American officials on Tuesday, makes demands that “go beyond positions that it had previously taken and accepted.” “But in the days ahead we are going to push on an urgent basis,” he said, “to try and close this deal.”

Blinken declined to disclose details about the Hamas counterproposal. But he suggested that the group’s changing demands called into question the sincerity of its negotiating. At some point, he said, “you have to question whether they’re proceeding in good faith or not.” Hamas also wants writ- ten guarantees from the US on the ceasefire plan, two Egyptian security sources said.

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan denied Wednesday that the Palestinian Islamist group had put forward new ideas for the US-backed proposal. Hamdan told pan-Arab Al-Araby TV that Blinken was “part of the problem, not the solution” in the Gaza war.

Izzat al-Rishq from Hamas’ political bureau said its formal response to the US proposal was “responsible, serious and positive” and “opens up a wide pathway” for an accord.

The ceasefire proposal would halt the fighting in Gaza immediately, and after the release of some Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, begin talks that could lead to a much longer or even permanent ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Qatar and Egypt have acted as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas, which do not communicate directly with each other.

Israel has yet to publicly accept the initial proposal, and has said previously that it will not agree to a deal that doesn’t allow it to eradicate Hamas, or that would force what it considers a premature end to the war. It has maintained that the proposal on the table enables it to achieve all its war aims. Blinken said Wednesday that Israel had accepted the proposal, which was made public in a speech by Prez Biden in a move intended to put pressure on both sides to reach a deal. NYT & REUTERS

Hezbollah launches rocket barrage on Israel after strike kills top commander

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired one of its heaviest rocket barrages yet into Israel Wednesday, targeting military bases and an arms factory, in response to an overnight strike that killed one of its senior commanders.

The commander, Taleb Abdallah, was among the highest-ranking Hezbollah members to have been killed since the Oct 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel set off war in Gaza. The Israeli offensive prompted Hezbollah to mount cross-border attacks in support of Hamas. The Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday that it had struck a Hezbollah command and control centre, killing Abdallah and three other Hezbollah fighters.

As sirens sounded across north Israel, Israeli army radio said around 150 rockets had been launched from Lebanon in an apparent response to the Israeli strike. Hezbollah claimed attacks on a string of military bases, including on Mount Meron, an area housing a radar station that is roughly 8km south of the border. Hezbollah vowed to intensify its attacks.

There were no immediate reports of casualties from the rocket barrages. Israeli military said a number of the rockets had been intercepted, but that several had hit the ground and started fires. NYT

Outrage among France’s Conservatives after top politico backs far-right

Party Says Head Eric Ciotti Removed For Suggesting Alliance, He Denies

The head of France’s conservative party Tuesday called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, breaking a longstanding taboo and throwing his party into turmoil as the shock waves from Prez Macron’s decision to dissolve the lower house of parliament coursed through the country.

No leader of any mainstream French political party has ever previously embraced a possible alliance with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally or its predecessor, the National Front. But across Europe, barriers to what was long regarded as the extreme nationalist right have been falling as those parties have adjusted their positions and as a broader consensus has formed that large-scale illegal immigration across a porous EU border must be curbed.

The announcement, by Eric Ciotti, the head of the Republicans, was a historic break with the party’s longstanding line and its ties to ex-prez Charles de Gaulle. Ciotti’s call was immediately met with a chorus of angry disapproval from within his own ranks. Long a “party of govt” bringing presidents like Nicolas Sarkozy and Jacques Chirac to power, the Republicans have been squeezed between Macron’s centrists and the far right since 2017.

On Wednesday, French conservatives said they have removed Ciotti, although he insisted he was still in the post. The Republicans’ political committee had voted unanimously to oust Ciotti, MP Annie Genevard said. “I am and remain the president of the party,” Ciotti retorted in a post on X, calling the panel’s decision “a flagrant violation of our statutes” that was illegal and void. NYT & REUTERS

Macron defended his decision to call snap election, insisting voters will ultimately choose the ‘progressive bloc’ over the far-right

Why is Biden going to Europe twice in a week?

4 TRANS-ATLANTIC TRIPS IN 9 DAYS

Air Force One is plenty comfortable if you are its most privileged frequent flier, with a comfortable bedroom and a spacious office. Still, most US presidents will try to avoid making two back-to-back round trips to Europe, separated by about 60 hours on the ground at home. Yet that is what Prez Joe Biden is pulling off this week — for reasons few at the White House seem eager to discuss.

Biden left the US for D-Day celebrations in France last Wednesday, June 5, stayed the weekend for a state dinner in Paris, and returned to his home in Delaware late Sunday. He left Washington again early Wednesday, June 12, to fly to Italy for the annual gathering of the G7.

When Biden looks back at those two round trips — roughly a day and a half of flying, all told — he may remember only what happened in between: the conviction of his only living son, Hunter Biden, on charges of lying to obtain a gun permit.

But the two round trips beg the question: Why didn’t he just stay in Europe for a couple days? He is, after all, 81, and some of his aides who are half his age were complaining about lost sleep cycles.

The White House’s explanation for four trans-Atlantic crossings in nine days was simply that Biden had commitments in Washington. But by presidential standards, his public schedule looked light: a lunch with vice-president Kamala Harris and a speech to a gun-safety group. Hunter Biden’s trial also loomed over the planning, though it was impossible to know when these trips were planned that the case would go to the jury and a verdict would be rendered in the three days between the D-Day trip and the G7 meeting.

But privately, some aides said there were election-year optics to be considered. There was no urgent reason to stay in Europe, and a few down days “might not look right”, one of Biden’s advisers conceded. In any case, no one wanted images of the president on what his political opponents might cast as a European holiday, at least while he is running for re-election.

The presidency, of course, is the ultimate work-from-anywhere job. There are instant communications (a White House van, bristling with antennas, travels in every motorcade) and a staff of hundreds ready to cater to every contingency, whether that involves sending off a thank-you note or launching a retaliatory nuclear strike.

The intolerance for seeing presidents abroad, save for work, has a long history. Franklin D Roosevelt loved to camp at Campobello Island, in Canada, though as president he kept the visits brief. When Harry S Truman went to Potsdam, Germany, to negotiate with Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill about what post-WWII Europe would look like, he stayed for more than two weeks. There were days off from the negotiations, but not for long, and the nearest big city, Berlin, was a bombed wreck. And there was a reminder of the risks of being out of town: Churchill’s party lost to Labour during the conference, and he got booted out of office while it was still going on. NYT

UN inquiry says Israel & Hamas committed war crimes

The conflict has killed or maimed tens of thousands of children, a scale and a rate of casualties that were ‘unparalleled across conflicts in recent decades’, the panel said

A United Nations commission investigating the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza has accused both Palestinian armed groups and Israel of committing war crimes, and the panel said that Israel’s conduct of the war included crimes against humanity.

In a report released on Wednesday, the three-person commission — led by South African of Indian Tamil origin Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief — provided the most detailed UN examination yet of events on and since Oct. 7. The report does not itself carry any penalties, but it lays out a legal analysis of actions in the Gaza conflict that is likely to be weighed by the International Court of Justice and in other international criminal proceedings. Israel did not cooperate with the probe and protested the panel’s assessment, the panel — which also included Miloon Kothari, an Indian expert on human rights— said.

The report said Hamas’s military wing and six other Palestinian armed groups — aided in some instances by Palestinian civilians — killed and tortured people during Oct 7 assault on Israel in which over 800 civilians were among the over 1,200 killed. An additional 252 people, including 36 kids, were taken hostage, the report said. “Many abductions were carried out with significant physical, mental and sexual violence and degrading and humiliating treatment, including in some cases parading the abductees,” it said. Hamas has rejected all accusations.

But Israel, during its campaign in Gaza, has also committed war crimes, the commission said, like the use of starvation as a weapon of war through a total siege of Gaza. It said Israel’s use of heavy weapons in densely populated areas amounted to a direct attack on the civilian population and had the essential elements of a crime against humanity, disregarding the necessity of distinguishing between combatants and civilians. NYT

In sudden move, Musk drops suit against OpenAI sans explanation

San Francisco: Elon Musk has dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI just ahead of a scheduled on Wednesday hearing on the case. Musk in Febsued the San Francisco AI company and its CEO Sam Altman over what he said was a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits.

No explanation was given for why it was being dropped.

In the lawsuit filed in Feb, Musk said when he bankrolled OpenAI’s creation, he secured an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, to keep the company as a nonprofit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public and keep its code open instead of walling it off for private gain. However, by embracing a close relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI and its top executives set that pact “aflame”, Musk alleged in the lawsuit.

Most of the legal experts said that Musk’s claims were unlikely to succeed in court.

AP

AROUND THE WORLD

HEATWAVE SHUTS ACROPOLIS, SCHOOLS: Greece shut the ancient Acropolis tourist site, suspended schools and stationed medics across Athens on Wednesday as it faced the first heatwave of the summer. Temperatures were expected to hit 43°C on Wednesday and Thursday in parts of the Mediterranean country, driven by southerly winds bringing hot air and dust from North Africa. Greece is one of the most climate-impacted nations in Europe

Historic castle in Mexico shown flying ‘Targaryen flag’, officials fume

Mexico’s historic Chapultepec Castle has been depicted flying the black Targaryen flag, and officials in Mexico aren’t amused. The plot of the “House of the Dragon”, a “Game of Thrones” prequel, apparently involves countries taking sides in a civil war for control of the fictitious Iron Throne. The producers of the HBO series posted a video Monday of the 19th-century Mexico City hilltop castle showing the black Targaryen flag hanging over the battlements. The flag, representing queen Rhaenyra, predictably has a dragon on it. Mexican officials issued a statement Monday saying it wasn’t true and threatening to sue. But it’s not because they support Laenor Velaryon. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said the flags were generated by technology, and had never really hung at the site. “The reproduction of images of this site for use in promoting this series has not been authorised,” it said. HBO did not comment. GoT social media accounts posted similar images of other world landmarks, including New York City bridges.

Denmark recalls S Korean noodles for being too spicy

Denmark’s food agency has recalled South Korean instant ramen produced by a brand popular in the West, warning noodle lovers that they were so hot they might cause “acute poisoning”. Three Samyang Foods noodle products were assessed to have dangerous levels of capsaicin, the active component of chilli peppers, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration said Tuesday. The three products — Buldak 3x Spicy & Hot Chicken, 2x Spicy & Hot Chicken, and Hot Chicken Stew— were being withdrawn from sale in Denmark. Samyang products are hugely popular overseas. Celebrities such as Cardi B have posted stories online about searching for over 30 minutes to find the flavourful instant noodles.

Asked about hardships, Sunak cites growing up without Sky TV

London: British PM Rishi Sunak, whose family is estimated to be wealthier than king Charles, said he went without “lots of things” as a child, including Sky TV, when asked if he was in touch with the struggles of ordinary people. Sunak, the son of a doctor and a pharmacist, is the wealthiest PM in British history through a combination of his past career in financial services and the family fortune of his wife Akshata Murty, whose father Narayana Murthy founded Infosys.

In an interview with ITV, Sunak cited his parents’ refusal to pay for the subscription channel as an example of having to “go without” because he said they were making sacrifices to pay for his education. Asked to give a specific example of something he missed out on as a child, he said: “...Famously, Sky TV, so that was something that we never had growing up actually”.

REUTERS

Economic crisis? Pak allocates Rs 2,100bn for defence in budget, a 19% hike over 2023

Omer Farooq Khan TNN

Islamabad: Cash-strapped Pakistan’s exigency of securing a bailout from the IMF dominated the political discourse Wednesday as the new Shehbaz Sharif-led govt presented its first federal budget, worth a projected Rs 18.5 trillion, in the National Assembly.

Last month, IMF linked any future deal with Islamabad to the passage of the 2024-25 budget in parliament. Even with depleted foreign reserves and an economic crisis, the govt allocated Rs 2,100 billion to defence in the federal budget, a 19% increase over the previous year. IMF hasn’t demanded cuts in defence spending so far.

Pakistan has been in talks with the IMF for a loan estimated to range from $6bn to $8bn as it seeks to avert a default in the face of its economy growing the slowest among all countries of the region.Islamabad entered into a $6.5bn three-ye- ar deal with IMF in 2019. It got a final $3 billion under a standby arrangement last year.

The finance ministry and IMF were reportedly locked in last-minute talks as the global lender presented some more tough conditions last week to include in the budget. A ministry official said the IMF’s demands include a higher tax revenue target, withdrawal of subsidies, taxes on agriculture sector, increased taxes and levies on the power, gas, and oil sectors, privatisation of sick govt organisations and units, and improved administration.

Despite Pakistan’s pursuit of economic diplomacy to improve trade and investment ties with other nations, finance minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said there were no alternatives to IMF at present.

A day earlier, the govt unveiled its 2023-24 economic survey, which showed the economy failed to meet most of its targets set in the previous budget.

SpaceX sued by engineers fired after accusing Elon of sexism

Rocket maker SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk were sued Wednesday by eight engineers who say they were illegally fired for raising concerns about alleged sexual harassment and discrimination against women. The engineers —four women and four men — claim Musk ordered their firing in 2022 after they circulated a letter calling the billionaire a “distraction and embarrassment” and urging executives to disavow sexually charged comments he had made on social media.

The lawsuit says Musk’s conduct fostered a “pervasively sexist culture” at SpaceX where female engineers were routinely subjected to harassment and sexist comments and their concerns were ignored. SpaceX has denied wrongdoing, saying the 2022 letter was disruptive and the workers were properly fired for violating company policies.

‘Musk had sex with 2 staffers, asked another to have his babies’

San Francisco: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has been accused of having sexual relationships with two of his employees, including an intern, and approaching another worker to have his babies, a media report revealed on Wednesday.

According to Wall Street Journal, Musk in his companies created a culture which made the women staff uncomfortable. Women employees at Tesla claimed that they were “ pursued” by Musk. A SpaceX flight attendant had alleged Musk exposed himself to her and offered to buy her a horse in exchange for sex in 2016. A female employee who left SpaceX in 2013 claimed that Musk repeatedly asked her to have his children. Tesla CEO has expressed concerns about underpopulation and has stated that individuals with high IQs should have children, the report mentioned. The report also claimed that a woman who worked at SpaceX received repeated invitations from Musk to come to his house at night. IANS

First came ‘spam.’ Now, with AI, we’ve got ‘slop’ for dubious content

‘IGNORE, IT’S SLOP’: For example, Google suggesting that you could add nontoxic glue to make cheese stick to a pizza? That’s slop

You may not know exactly what “slop” means in relation to artificial intelligence. But on some level you probably do. Slop, at least in the fast-moving world of online message boards, is a broad term that has developed some traction in reference to shoddy or unwanted AI content in social media, art, books and, increasingly, in search results. Google suggesting that you could add nontoxic glue to make cheese stick to a pizza? That’s slop. So is a low-price digital book that seems like the one you were looking for, but not quite. And tho- se posts in your Facebook feed that seemingly came from nowhere? They’re slop as well.

The term became more prevalent last month when Google incorporated its Gemini AI model into its US-based search results. Rather than pointing users toward links, the service attempts to solve a query directly with an “AI Overview” — a chunk of text at the top of a results page that uses Gemini to form its best guess at what the user is looking for. The change was a reaction to Microsoft having incorporated AI into its search results on Bing, and it had some missteps, leading Google to declare it would roll back some of its AI features until pro- blems can be ironed out.

But with search engines having made AI a priority, it appears that vast quantities of information generated by machines, rather than largely curated by humans, will be served up as a daily part of life on the internet for the foreseeable future. Hence the term slop, which conjures images of heaps of unappetising food being shoveled into troughs for livestock. Like that type of slop, AI-assisted search comes together quickly, but not necessarily in a way that critical thinkers can stomach.

The use of slop as a descrip- tor for low-grade AI material seemingly came about in reaction to the release of AI art generators in 2022. Some have identified Simon Willison, a developer, as an early adopter of the term — but Willison, who has pushed for the phrase’s adoption, said it was in use long before he found it. The term has sprung up in 4chan, Hacker News and YouTube comments, where anonymous posters sometimes project their proficiency in complex subject matter by using in-group language. “What we always see with any slang is that it starts in a niche community and then spreads from there,” Adam Aleksic, a linguist and content creator .

As people become accustomed to AI’s increasing role in how the internet works, Willison, who identified himself as an optimist for AI when it is used correctly, thought that slop could become the go-to term for the lesser forms of machine-generated content. “Society needs concise ways to talk about modern AI — both the positives and the negatives,” he said. “‘Ignore that email; it’s spam’, and ‘Ignore that article; it’s slop’, are both useful lessons”. NYT

Editorial

- A thought for today

- Ego & Success

- To Russia, For War

- ‘A+’ for local-vocal

- DIY Approach To Self-Realisation

- How Majhi Won Naveen’s Job

- India At G7: The Summit & Substance

- Sacred space

A thought for today

Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world

ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER

Ego & Success

Balance is the key. Overconfidence causes costly errors, in politics, in business & at work

One chatterati reading of the 2024 LS results is that Indian voters don’t like arrogance, ahankaar. RSS seems to share this reading. It’s not just chief Bhagwat advising, shakthi ke saath sheel sampan bano– be strong but gracious. An Organiser essay also flays the ‘overconfidence’ and ‘false ego’ of many BJP leaders.

Overconfidence is not a danger unique to politics. When selfe-stimation remains defiant of all external assessment, that’s an HR manager’s nightmare. In business, banking and medicine too, it can lead to damaging decisions. It can drive govts to wars, thinking these will be easily won. For Nobel-winning cognitive scientist Daniel Kahneman, overconfidence is the mother of all biases.

It plays into the stereotype of politicians as egomaniacs. But succeeding in politics does not only demand unusual drive and selfconfidence. There also has to be surrender of ego from time to time. When Chandrababu Naidu went alliance shopping ahead of elections, he left his ego at home. Rahul Gandhi does strategy gupshup with Kejriwal today, as if the India Against Corruption wounds are history. Modi has been celebrating NDA’s win, not lamenting the absence of a BJP majority.

In Freud’s own thinking, the ego is actually a balancing agent, between id and superego. The way in which Sourav Ganguly built Team India into quite a force, but then adapted to batting under Dhoni’s captaincy, is a storied example of such balance. Another great captain Sunil Chhetri has reportedly said, ego is only fine when it is working for your motivation.

In an earlier avatar, when he had pulled out of NDA, Naidu complained about having to call Modi ‘sir’ even though the latter is “my junior in politics”. Office games can be ego games along exactly the same lines. How to maintain motivation when someone else gets the promotion. Or how to not let your promotion go to your head. However, one thing does set politics apart. Its sheer volatility. A persona non grata one day, can be kingmaker the next. Perhaps nothing says Pandian is not a politician than that he is leaving the field after just one defeat.

To Russia, For War

GOI must use both diplomacy and legal deterrents to stop Indians from being recruited by Russian army

That two more Indian nationals have died fighting for the Russian army in Ukraine shows earlier GOI attempts to stop these recruitments haven’t worked. As reported by TOI, one of those killed was Tejpal Singh, a young man from Amritsar who had travelled to Russia in Jan on a tourist visa, and then joined the Russian army. Cases like these present a serious dilemma for GOI, which has now called on Russia to ensure a “verified stop” to the recruitment of Indians in the Russian army.

Fatal attraction | There are two types of recruitment of foreign nationals into the Russian army. First, young people looking for employment opportunities are being duped by international recruitment agencies. They are promised lucrative jobs in third countries but find themselves being forced to join Russian forces. But there are also those who have been voluntarily joining. In fact, Moscow is offering fast-tracked citizenship for foreigners – and their families – who sign contracts with the Russian military.

Legal tangle | Indians joining foreign armies can be prosecuted under various legal provisions if govt so chooses. Hitherto UAPA provisions have been applied to individuals who had joined, wanted to join or expressed allegiance to terrorist outfits like ISIS. But there are also IPC provisions: Section 125 proscribes “waging war against an Asiatic power in alliance with the government of India”, while Section 126 penalises “commissioning of depredation or plunder on territories of states at peace with the government of India”. But revoking citizenship of such individuals would fall foul of international law. Then there’s the tricky area of war crimes – India criminalises grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.

Deterrents needed | It’s clear that advising Indians against taking up risky employment in Russia isn’t enough. Applying legal provisions against Indians fighting for Russia can be an effective deterrent. Also, this is a larger South Asian problem, with hundreds being recruited from Nepal and Sri Lanka too. Colombo recently had some success and is sending a special delegation to Moscow to stop such recruitment. India should follow suit, discuss the matter at the highest level in Russia, and bring our boys back home.

erratica

‘A+’ for local-vocal

Ayodhya showed bells toll louder for civic issues

Bachi Karkaria

There’s been enough ‘Ha-ha-ha!’ over Ram-baan in BJP’s armoury turning out to be a paper arrow in Ayodhya itself. What chuffs me more is the victory of local over lofty. Grand mandir construction mattered less than gulley destruction. Even broadly, the party that failed on Bijli Jobs Pavements got a thumbs down; the one that did better, better keep doing better on Sadak Pani. Well, bijli too, even if Delhi results showed that giving free electricity is no guarantee against power cuts.

Ayodhya – which begins and ends with the first letter of the English alphabet – gets my ‘AA’ rating because its results highlight urban India’s human tragedy: small citizen crushed under showpiece juggernaut. The local resident’s blogpost bemoaned little or no compensation for the 5K homes and livelihoods lost to the Rampath’s widening, no reparation for lethally inhaled dust, no internet because electric poles were torn down. His cri de coeur finds echo in mofussil and megalopolis alike. ‘Development’ is a daily death sentence for both people and the environment.

Infrastructure may be the sarkar’s comeback queen, but infrastrictures destroy, degrade, displace. Invisible multitudes are driven to the margins by celebrity projects. But faceless aren’t always voiceless. This election reaffirmed that potholed civic services can stall the most thundering truck.

Like Biblical Paul’s, my personal epiphany came on the rutted road of a closer Damascus. In the 1980s, I realised the deep resonance of local stories when I began writing seriously on Calcutta’s civic issues in The Statesman. It revived the hoary journalism diktat: ‘Dead dog in street outside is more important than flood in China.’ Colleagues on loftier perches called me ‘a gutter journalist’. But by 1996, TOI Bangalore reached the sky in circulation figures because we ‘took the local train’, going full pelt on issues of a metamorphosing city. Vocal for local has come a long way, baby, in print media at least. Civic services should keep pace. It would save skins more exalted than the municipal commissioner’s.

***

Alec Smart said: “Each day adds to the blatant impunity of the ‘Porschame’ case.”

THE SPEAKING TREE

DIY Approach To Self-Realisation

Somnath Sarkar

Human beings generally tend to be swept off their feet in two situations – triumph, and tragedy. The person who can look at both sides of this parabolic sweep with equanimity, acknowledging the ephemeral quality of life cloaked in maya, has truly evolved. Indeed, attaining such an ideal state of equanimity is the privilege of one who ironically has either lost one’s mind or is so wrapped in divine thoughts that the ego, fountainhead of pride, arrogance and misery, loses all potency.

The latter category is more challenging as it implies a state where one is in the world and yet straddling a cusp of attachment-detachment. It effectively translates to being both within and without and in perfect harmony with this dichotomy. Those attuned to living in this state are well and truly on course to Selfrealisation.

The philosophy of Amiya Roy Chowdhury, aka Dadaji, emphasises the connection between duty and devotion. According to him, the two concepts are not mutually exclusive but are the kind of inalienable realities that if conformed to in an egoless manner, offer aperfect blueprint for Self-realisation and spiritual harmony. Regarding God as absolute Truth and one with the universe and all its subsets, he had observed that this Truth was, therefore, within each individual and manifested as a name in one’s consciousness. Dadaji said that we are all born with this Mahanaam, but with time, it is forgotten and submerged in the business of life. It can be unearthed through deep meditative introspection.

As the Mahanaam, akin to Shabd Brahmnin the vedas, flows from the Truth within the human being; it becomes a pristine expression of God. The Truth manifests equally in macrocosm and microcosm as the moving force of all creation. In essence, Dadaji’s philosophy was based on the premise that given the oneness of Truth, all that stemmed from it, whether mankind, religion or language, were all expressions of this Truth.

Work undertaken in the reverberating aura of the Mahanaam is elevated to the level of worship. No rites, rituals, or dogmatic subservience are necessary in this do-it-yourself approach to Self-realisation and spiritual harmony. Such work, per se, becomes an act of sublime dedication. It is a statement of surrender and an acknowledgement of oneness with God, where the human ego is redundant and has no place. This one step demolishes the ego and its concomitant desire. It paves the way for undertaking one’s duty sieved through the Mahanaam. By dedicating one’s actions to God in the form of the Mahanaam, one automatically insulates oneself from vanity, arrogance, desire so that all actions are attributed to divine sanction.

Bharat, brother of Ram, is perhaps the best example in this regard. He ruled Ayodhya on behalf of his elder brother during the latter’s 14-year exile and was happy to relinquish his charge to Ram on his return home. In the process, Bharat epitomises the concept of selfless duty without letting ego, attachment or desire come in the way of performing his raj dharm in Ram’s name and in service to the people.

How Majhi Won Naveen’s Job

BJP’s tribal CM took oath in Odisha yesterday. Tribal vote was crucial to its success, as was its clever positioning as guardian of ‘Odia Hindu’ pride. And BJD’s pro-big business economic model cost it dear

In mineral-rich Jajpur district, tribal residents voted against BJD for failing to address illegal mining, which Patnaik govt hadn’t stopped

Pinky Hota

After the declaration of Lok Sabha poll results on June 4, Modi began his victory speech with a ‘Jai Jagannath’ chant that drowned out the ‘Jai Sri Ram’ emanating from the crowd. Modi was celebrating his party’s whopping Lok Sabha and assembly victory – in Odisha. BJP won all but one of the state’s 21 parliamentary seats, picking up 12 new ones and altogether removing Biju Janata Dal (BJD) from Parliament.

It also gained a majority in assembly (78 of 147 seats), removing Naveen Patnaik, the state’s longest-serving CM, who has run it for nearly a quarter century, from the helm. On Tuesday, the party chose four-time MLA Mohan Charan Majhi, a tribal, as the state’s new CM.

While BJD’s defeat may be in part an anti-incumbency mandate, it is BJD itself that paved the way for BJP’s grand arrival in Odisha.

BJD’s politics soil for BJP’s rise | Patnaik consolidated a powerful regional movement that for a long time made Odisha immune to national narratives. In the foreground of his vision of a proud Odisha was Hindu identity, with BJD spending `800cr on a pilgrimage corridor to Jagannath Temple in Puri.

But this Odisha-for-Hindu Odias logic primed voters for the triumph of BJP and its political Hinduism narrative. In 2024, the party challenged BJD precisely over who best represents and is most suited to preserve the state’s ‘pure’ Hindu identity.

Building up an image of a weak Patnaik, Modi claimed that the CM, who is only four years his senior, was too frail for the task, and vowed to create a committee of inquiry to look into his health. Patnaik’s closest confidant, a Tamil Nadu-born former IAS officer, VK Pandian, was accused of being CM’s puppeteer and a Tamil intruder to boot. Much was made of Pandian being a ‘foreigner’ and a political impostor attempting to steal Odisha’s wealth.

EC ordered the transfer of Pandian’s wife Sujata Karthikeyan, also a bureaucrat, who led Mission Shakti and played a pivotal role in BJD’s mobilisation of women through self-help groups, healthcare coverage, and expansion of women’s reservations in panchayati and LS seats.

BJD’s success with women was no match for this year’s battle over political Hinduism. Running with the Odia Hindu Asmita – Odia Hindu Pride – slogan, BJP beat Patnaik at his own game.

BJP inroads into tribes | BJD’s reliance on upper-caste Hindus backfired. SCs and STs constitute 40% of Odisha, while OBCs make up another 40%. BJP expanded across the state substantially by pulling tribal communities into the Hindu fold, which Patnaik’s Odia Asmita, by stoking Hindu pride, had paved such a smooth road for. Most tribal votes went to BJP, including in Mayurbhanj district, home of Droupadi Murmu, a tribal woman propelled to international fame two years back when she became President.

Hinduisation of Odia tribes has pitted Adivasis against Dalits, whom Christian missionaries have been converting since the 19th century. There has been wave after wave of religious violence since 2008, when the murder of a VHP leader precipitated a pogrom against Christian Dalits in Kandhamal. This Adivasi-Tribal opposition was a winning strategy for BJP: tribals constitute 23% of the population, while Dalits make up only 17%.

BJD’s skewed growth model | Patnaik’s earlier success rested substantially on Odisha boasting one of the country’s fastest growing economies that attracted a lot of FDI, being focused on exploiting its wealth of natural resources.

While the promotion of Odisha as an ecotourist destination raised its national status as an upper-class travel destination, Patnaik’s vision of economic development leaned heavily on big capital investing in extraction.

For all his claims about BJD being a pro-poor party, its economic success ended up dispossessing Adivasis and Dalits. The notorious Vedanta displacement of the Dongria Konds from areas around their sacred mountain Niyamgiri is but one example.

In the mineral-rich Sukinda town in Jajpur district, tribal residents voted against BJD for failing to address illegal mining, which Patnaik’s administration hadn’t stopped, and which had contaminated the town’s groundwater. While investments bloom, malnutrition remains chronic in the region, with tribals still migrating in droves for precarious, daily-wage labour.

Even ecotourism ended up being extractive rather than conservationist in nature, with tribal communities excluded from its profits.

BJP has its task cut out | It remains to be seen if tribal conditions in Odisha will improve under BJP. In Chhattisgarh, BJP has tweaked key laws protecting Adivasi autonomy and access to forests. Activists have alleged BJP doesn’t respect Adivasi rights and that it has targeted Adivasi Christians.

The strategic elevation of tribal leaders like Murmu, an Odia Santhal woman, and portrayal of Adivasis as ‘proto-Hindus’ who can be mobilised against Christian and Muslim minorities, have successfully rendered BJP the state’s ‘tribal party’. Majhi, Odisha’s first BJP CM, is also a Santhal leader, from the same tribe as India’s President, and from Keonjhar, an important mineral mining district.

To counter the destruction of Odisha’s ecology while protecting its minorities, a shared Dalit-Bahujan-Adivasi platform will have to work against progressive deforestation, expedited by the region’s rampantly extractive economy.

The writer is an associate professor of anthropology at Smith College, US

India At G7: The Summit & Substance

Writing on Modi’s participation in the two-day meeting in Italy, IDSA DG argues the world’s largest democracy brings much to the table, from strong growth to being an FDI alternative to China

Sujan Chinoy

PM’s first overseas visit after assuming office for a third term is for the 50th G7 Summit’s Outreach Sessions. Italy is the host. The G7 agenda includes discussions on Indo-Pacific, Africa, climate change, environment, migration, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Participation of representatives of Global South, EU and African Union (AU) provides a chance to forge wider convergence on key challenges. The presence of G20 Troika, comprising India, Brazil and South Africa, is a bridge to the hard-won consensus wrought in the G20 process. With illegal migration from Africa into Europe reaching crisis proportions, major transit countries such as Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt have also been invited.

Big boots, big boost | Modi represents world’s largest democracy, also the most populous. India has overtaken four G7 nations – UK, France, Italy and Canada – to become world’s fifth-largest economy. Growing at the fastest clip, India is on its way to become world’s third-largest economy, even as Modi’s third term begins in earnest.

Modi’s presence at the G7 event vindicates the strength of India’s political institutions. The electoral outcome is a scathing indictment of those who peddled the falsehood of democratic backsliding in India.

Big wins, big tech | Invitation to Modi is acknowledgement of India’s growing credibility as a voice of Global South. PM has the opportunity to highlight India’s achievements in health, housing, education, and sanitation. He will, no doubt, showcase the visible spurt in infra, connectivity, entrepreneurship, gender equality, and the widespread and positive impact of the direct benefit transfer scheme. Many countries, including developed economies, have evinced interest in India’s extraordinarily efficient digital public infra.

Today, India is embracing advanced technologies such as AI and leveraging its talented human resource pool. In the run-up to general elections, Modi, in an interview with ANI, said his govt was using AI tools to prepare strategies for Viksit Bharat by 2047. Given risks associated with AI, countries of Global South will have to ensure that AI remains human-centric, subscribes to techno-ethics, and eschews techno-colonialism.

Big on climate, going green | India’s the only G20 country to have fulfilled all promises it made at COP15 in Paris on climate change. Green growth and energy transition, both totemic goals, have taken centre stage under Modi. He has advocated a change in individual behaviour and an embrace of sustainable lifestyles through a signature initiative known by its acronym LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment).

G7 meetings will provide Modi with a platform to highlight India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission and promote Global Biofuels Alliance, which includes Italy.

UN reforms, call for peace | There can be no meaningful progress on developmental issues without reforming multilateral organisations and making them inclusive and democratic. It was Modi who successfully campaigned for the inclusion of AU during India’s G20 presidency.

African nations continue to bear the brunt of debt distress and supply chain disruptions in Covid’s aftermath. Modi will endeavour to push for expansion of UN Security Council and reform of global financial institutions.

G7 nations, grappling with the war in Ukraine, are likely to step up their condemnation of Russia and consider fresh sanctions. Modi’s clarion call for a peaceful resolution of disputes, “This is not an era of war,” will be on the table as leaders of the world’s most prosperous nations discuss various ongoing conflicts.

What’s good for business | The spectre of China’s non-market policies and practices figured large in G7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué in 2023. This time, G7 is likely to again emphasise de-risking, promoting resilient supply chains, and countering malign practices such as illegitimate tech transfers and a lack of data disclosure.

Significantly, Italy, the only G7 country to have subscribed to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, walked out last year as part of a growing pushback against Beijing’s policies. Argentina, an invitee to the outreach sessions, also did an about-turn on BRICS expansion. This is a clear setback for attempts in some quarters to create an anti-West constituency in BRICS.

India has emerged as an attractive destination for global trade and investment flows. Its economic rise is insurance against harmful distortions in the global economy. India’s vibrant democracy and its people centric approach to development will no doubt figure large over the next two days.

Views are personal

Sacred space

Attachment and aversion are attributes of the mind. You are not the mind. You are Consciousness itself – changeless, undivided, free. Go in happiness.

Ashtavakra Gita

Times Business

- US Fed holds rates steady as inflation is still ‘elevated’

- Rules for direct listing in GIFT to be out in a mth

- Will pursue reforms to push growth, macro stability: FM

- India will be main driver of global oil demand: IEA

- JK Paper CMD 1st vice-chair of Int’l Chamber of Comm

- Get more if you surrender life cover with new norms

- Sebi bars PTC’s CMD, ex-PFS MD from holding board seats

- Your phone no. may come at a cost as Trai mulls fee

- Exporters take air route to tackle Red Sea crisis

- Retail inflation at 12-mth low, IIP holds steady at 5%

- Onboarding delays by IT cos put freshers in limbo

SEES JUST ONE CUT THIS YEAR

US Fed holds rates steady as inflation is still ‘elevated’

The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday and pushed out the start of rate cuts to perhaps as late as Dec, with officials projecting only a single quarter-percentage point reduction for the year amid rising estimates for what it will take to keep inflation in check.

The markdown in the outlook for rate cuts, from three quarter-percentage-point reductions seen in the Fed’s March projections, was made despite the central bank’s acknowledgement in its new policy statement of “modest further progress” towards its 2% inflation target — an upgrade from its May 1 statement. The statement said inflation remains “elevated”.

The S&P 500 briefly pared a strong gain and was still up 1% . The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes ticked higher but was still down sharply on the day at 4.28%. REUTERS

Rules for direct listing in GIFT to be out in a mth

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: International Financial Services Centres Authority chairman K Rajaraman has said that regulations for direct listing of Indian companies in the GIFT IFSC will be out in a month.

Govt had in Jan amended laws to permit the direct listing of unlisted companies in the GIFT IFSC. The route is expected to benefit new-age startups considering overseas incorporation to tap into international capital markets. IFSCA, which is the unified regulator for the GIFT IFSC, expects to clear listing proposals in a month. GIFT City functions as an offshore financial centre located on Indian soil, and with operations in foreign exchange.

“Our regulations will be out in the first week of July. We should be able to approve an IPO within a month because we have a smaller number of proposals,” Rajaraman said at a BSE event in Mumbai.

Will pursue reforms to push growth, macro stability: FM

Budget May Be In 2nd Half Of July, Consultations To Start Soon

SECOND TERM: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman with her team on the first day in office. Govt is fully committed to ensuring ‘Ease of Living’ for its citizens, she says

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Modi govt intends to move on the reforms path to boost macroeconomic stability and growth, amid indications that the Union Budget will be presented around the third week of July, with consultations set to kick off over the next few days.

After taking charge as finance minister for a second term, Sitharaman said the govt is fully committed to ensuring ‘Ease of Living’ for its citizens and will continue to take more steps.

“She also highlighted India’s commendable growth story in recent years amidst global challenges and noted that there is an optimistic economic outlook for coming years,” an official statement said.

India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy, clocking 8.2% growth during the last financial year with RBI projecting a 7.2% expansion during the current fiscal year. Faster growth also helped the Centre report a further improvement in the fiscal deficit, which was estimated at 5.6% of GDP at the end of the last financial year, raising prospects of govt improving upon the 5.1% target set for the current year when the full Budget is presented.

The finance ministry will kick off the budget exercise over the next few days, which includes consultations with govt departments and ministries, experts from various fields as well as the states.

Usually, state finance ministers and the Union finance minister hold consultations on the same day as the GST Council meeting, which is expected to be convened shortly. The agenda for the meeting is, however, unclear at the moment and will be firmed up in the next few days.

The Budget will also incorporate elements of the 100-day plan that PM Narendra Modi had asked his team of officers to prepare. The idea is to use the inputs and then set the agenda for the next 12 months as also for 2030 and 2047, when govt expects India to be a developed country.

After assuming charge, Sitharaman, who was briefed by ministry officials, “urged the departments to advance the NDA government’s development agenda with renewed vigour and ensure responsive policymaking to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’,” a statement said.

India will be main driver of global oil demand: IEA

Sanjay.Dutta@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: India will become the main driver of global oil demand growth in the second half of the decade on the back of expanding transportation of fuel consumption, driven by rapid economic growth and growing population, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

The agency’s Oil 2024 report and forecast till 2030 saw India’s oil demand rising 1.3 million bpd (barrels per day ), or 3.2%, from 5.4 million bpd in 2023 to 6.7 million bpd by 2030. This increase will be higher than any country other than China between 2023 and 2030, it said. In contrast, the report said, “demand in China, long the single most important driver of global growth in oil use, is set to reach a plateau at close to 18 mb/d (1.4 mb/d higher than 2023) by the end of the decade.”

India’s oil consumption growth will be underwritten by increasing demand for transport fuels, growing economy and population besides “underlying demand outpacing deployment of clean energy technology”.

JK Paper CMD 1st vice-chair of Int’l Chamber of Comm

JK Paper CMD and JK Organisation director Harsh Pati Singhania has been elected as the first vice-chair of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris. “I am very happy and honoured to have this opportunity to serve the business community through this prestigious institution and will do my best to represent the voice of the South, as we navigate a complex and fragile world economy,” Singhania said on his election. TNN

Get more if you surrender life cover with new norms

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Mumbai: Life insurance policyholders will receive better surrender values after a one-year period and find their policies to be more liquid investments following an overhaul of norms by regulator Irdai.

On Wednesday, Irdai issued a new master circular on life insurance products to address the pain points of those who have purchased life insurance policies. The new norms require insurers to ensure that the special surrender value is at least equal to the paid-up sum assured, paid-up future benefits and accrued and vested benefits. The free-look period — which provides time to review the policy terms and conditions — is now increased to 30 days from 15 days earlier.

In the past, policyhol- ders suffered huge losses if a policy was discontinued after a year. Now, however, the higher surrender value norms make it unprofitable for insurance companies to have customers who seek to discontinue their policy after a year and hence, incentivise them to increase their business’s persistency.

To ensure policyholders have access to liquidity in emergencies, all non-linked savings products offering surrender value shall have the facility of a policy loan based on the eligible surrender value. They would also provide for partial withdrawal from pension plans for emergency reasons such as higher education, marriage, purchase/ construction of a house or treatment of illness.

Irdai, in a statement, said that the new rules establish mechanisms to impro- ve persistency, curb misselling, avoid financial loss to policyholders, and enhance long-term benefits for them. To facilitate financial planning and enhance the flexibility in premium payments, insurers are now permitted to offer products with a range of premium payment term.

The overhaul of life insurance product norms comes in the wake of the regulator making health and general insurance norms more customer-friendly. Just like in health and non-life covers, Irdai has directed companies to improve their grievance redressal mechanisms. “In case the insurer does not appeal against the award of insurance ombudsman and does not implement the same within 30 days, a penalty of Rs 5,000 per day shall be payable to the complainant,” the circular said.

Sebi bars PTC’s CMD, ex-PFS MD from holding board seats

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Market regulator Sebi on Wednesday barred Pawan Singh, the former MD and CEO of PTC Financial Services (PFS), from holding any board position in a listed company or associating himself with any public company that intends to raise funds in six months. Rajib Kumar Mishra, the NBFC’s current non-executive chairman and also the CMD of PTC India, faces the same curbs, but for six months. Both the executives have also been slapped with penalties.

In its 111-page order, Sebi found Singh — who was asked to go on leave — to have “grossly misused” his position as the MD and CEO of PFS to prevent an NTPC executive, Ratnesh, from joining as the CFO of the company, with Mishra acting as a willing accomplice.

Three independent directors on the board of PFS — Santosh B Nayar, Thomas Mathews and Kamlesh Shivji Vikamsey — had quit, citing multiple lapses. Singh made a delayed disclosure of the Forensic Audit Report on loans to NSL Nagapatnam Power and Infratech to the board of PFS — two years after completion of the forensic audit.

Also, there was a considerable delay on the part of Singh in providing information in respect of the loan account to the committee of independent directors, formed by the board to examine nondisclosure-related issues of the loan account. Further, despite clear direction from the PFS board to report about the loan account as suspected fraud, there was a significant delay, Sebi noted.

Ex-anchor banned over illegal trades

Mumbai: Markets regulator Sebi late on Tuesday banned former TV anchor Pradip Pandya and seven other entities from the market for five years for making illegal profits by trading in stocks recommended on TV shows and over social media posts. They have been fined Rs 2.6 crore in total. TNN

Your phone no. may come at a cost as Trai mulls fee

Pankaj.Doval@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Your phone operator may soon charge a fee for the number of your smartphone and the landline if a proposal by telecom regulator Trai gets implemented.

Trai feels that phone number “represents an exceedingly valuable public resource which is not infinite” and charges may be imposed on mobile operators, who may subsequently recover them from users.

It is also considering whether to impose penalties on operators, who are holding on to number resources with low utilisation. For example, a subscriber with dual SIMs not using one for a long time but the operator is not cancelling this number in fear of losing user base.

“...Simply adhering to strict criteria for assigning numbering resources might not ensure judicious and efficient use of freely allotted numbering resources by service providers. One way of ensu- ring judicious and efficient use of any finite public resource is by imposing charges, while allocating it. Efficient utilisation can be further ensured by introducing penal provision for those holding numbering reso- urces with low utilisation.”

Trai said just like spectrum, ownership of the numbering space resides with govt, which only grants mobile operators usage rights over the designated number resource during the tenure of licences. The new Telecom Law, which was passed in December last year, also has an enabling provision to charge for numbers, technically known as ‘telecom identifiers’.

To make a stronger case for fixing a charge on mobile operators, Trai cited several countries where a fee is levied for telephone numbers, either on the mobile operator or on subscribers. These include countries such as Australia, Singapore, Belgium, Finland, the UK, Lithuania, Greece, Hongkong, Bulgaria, Kuwait, Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, Nigeria, South Africa, and Denmark.

Talking about the possible methods of charging, Trai said govt can look at either imposing a one-time charge per number, or seek an annual recurring charge for each numbering resource allocated to the service provider, or allocate numbering series, with govt conducting centralised auctions for the vanity numbers.

Trai, which has to submit recommendations to govt that will also cover the aspect of ever-shrinking numbering resources in the era of 5G, machine-to-machine communications and internet of things, is also taking a leaf out of the several auctions that mobile operators carry out for ‘vanity/ fancy/premium numbers’.

Exporters take air route to tackle Red Sea crisis

Use Space In Belly Of Passenger Aircraft Apart From Freighters For Faster Delivery

Sidhartha@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Tension around the Red Sea has prompted several exporters, such as those in fast fashion and electronics, to take the air route to deliver goods to the US and Europe, often routing it via Gulf nations.

While companies such as Zara have been using freighters, exporters are now also using the space in the belly of passenger aircraft for the purpose. Even Bangladesh-based garment exporters are using Delhi airport, with DIAL open to allow more freighters to transport cargo faster.

While cargo headed to Europe and North America is not just more expensive because ships are now taking a longer route, around the Cape of Good Hope, but the time taken to send the goods has also increased, prompting exporters to look at newer options, especially where the buyers are demanding faster delivery of goods. Shipping goods takes at least 30 days extra, said a large exporter.

“Many exporters are using sea and air transport to save both on time and cost, particularly of footwear, apparel, electronics and high-value low-volume engineering goods,” said an official at Fieo, the lobby group re- presenting exporters. Even earlier, gems and jewellery were transported by air with some large buyers using freighters to collect their goods.

But the higher cost of goods and the time taken has made the deal more favourable for air cargo, although exporters claimed that the cost has increased due to more demand.

Exporters led by Apparel Export Promotion Council have also complained that garments from Bangladesh were eating into a part of the space in freighters and aircraft and urged the customs authorities to reverse the decision to allow these shipments from Delhi airport.

Govt officials said that around 20% of this type of cargo goes in the belly of the aircraft, while around 80% goes via freighters. At Delhi airport, the monthly capacity available in the belly of the aircraft was estimated at 95,000 tonnes with an estimated 20-25% used during Jan-March. While capacity utilisation may have gone up, cargo originating from Bangladesh was estimated to be using around 4% of the capacity available at IGI airport.

“It is possible that there is more pressure in planes that are headed to Europe and the capacity utilised on those aircraft is much higher. Govt has suggested that exporters could pool in resources to hire freighters and DIAL is willing to provide slots for that,” said a source familiar with the discussions.

Retail inflation at 12-mth low, IIP holds steady at 5%

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Retail inflation eased slightly to a 12-month low in May with prices of some food items moderating marginally, while the index of industrial production (IIP) growth held steady at 5% level in April.

Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Wednesday showed retail inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose an annual 4.8% in May, nearly at the same level as the previous month. Rural inflation was higher at 5.3%, while urban was at 4.2%. The food price index was at 8.7%, similar to the level in April.

This is the ninth consecutive month when retail inflation has been below the 6% upper tolerance level of RBI. The data showed food and beverages inflation at 7.9%, while fuel and light contracted 3.8%. Vegetable prices continued to be a concern, rising an annual 27.3% in May, while pulses and products rose 17.1% during the month. Core inflation, which is estimated after stripping out food and fuel, was steady at 3.1%. Vegetable prices have come under pressure due to the heatwave sweeping parts of the country.

“Looking ahead, a favourable base effect is expected to persist until July 2024, hel- ping absorb potential upward risks to price pressures to a certain extent. For FY25, we expect inflation to average 4.8%. If food inflation moderates, we expect the RBI to cut the policy interest rate by a shallow 50 basis points in two tranches in the second half of the fiscal year,” said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at ratings agency CareEdge.

Separate data released by the NSO showed IIP rose an annual 5% in April, slightly slower than the upwardly revised 5.4% in March, but abo- ve the 4.6% in April last year.

The mining and electricity sectors remained robust. The manufacturing sector grew 3.9% in April, slower than the 5.5% expansion in the year ago month. Capital goods, the key gauge of investment activity, remained sluggish at 3.1% during the month. Consumer durables grew 9.8%, compared to 2.3% contraction in April last year, while the consumer non-durables sector contracted 2.4% during the month compared to expansion of 11.4% in April last year.

Onboarding delays by IT cos put freshers in limbo

Veena.Mani@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: Some Indian IT firms have not only deferred onboarding of freshers, but have also left them in limbo without providing any definite joining dates.

According to data from the IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), India’s leading IT firms delayed the onboarding of at least 10,000 freshers who were offered jobs last year and the year before.

Harpreet Singh Saluja, president of NITES, said the labour union has received complaints from candidates who were offered positions at top and mid-tier IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Zensar, and LTIMindtree. In a recent email reviewed by TOI, Infosys informed these candidates, “We will allocate the DOJ (date of joining) based on business requirements and the DOJ will be sent at least 3-4 weeks prior to joining.” Infosys hired only 11,900 campus recruits in FY24, a significant 76% decrease compared to the 50,000 freshers it hired in the previous year.

Wipro has yet to fulfill campus offers made two years ago. During a recent earnings call, Wipro CHRO Saurabh Govil said, “The year before last, we went to campus and made many offers. We are yet to honour those. We will finish those offers and then hire new freshers. We will induct freshers this year, but we cannot give a number as the macro environment is uncertain.”

In April, mid-tier IT services company Zensar requested candidates to take a test so that it could consider onboarding those who perform well. Last year, Zensar had asked freshers who were still waiting to be onboarded to confirm their continued interest in the job opportunity despite the delay. TOI has reviewed both emails sent to affected employees. Emails sent to TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Zensar and LTIMindtree didn’t elicit a response till the time of going to press.

The delay in onboarding is primarily due to uncertainty in business in North America and Europe, where signs of a slowdown have made clients of these service providers cautious about spending. Recent quarterly results and forecasts by IT firms indicate a significant slowdown. Krishna Vij, business head of IT staffing at Teamlease, estimated that “around 3-5% of freshers hired by the top IT services companies in 2022 are yet to be onboarded. This could be due to lack of project visibility, and employers focus on the required skill sets and job readiness of the candidates.”

Times Sport

- IMAGINE. IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY

- DAD DRIVES BOOTS TO GERMANY FOR LATE CALL-UP MAATSEN

- RONALDO DOUBLE IN FINAL WARM-UP

- Ten Hag to stay on at Old Trafford

- LEFT BACK AT HOME

- Give peace a chance: Ukraine’s Sudakov dreams of home

- India seeks probe into Qatar’s equaliser

- Chathunni moulded Vijayan; won big with Salgaocar, Bagan

- SINGH, SEAM & SKY SINK US

- Perennial semifinalists, NZ stare at exit

- LANKA’S QUALIFYING HOPES DIMINISH AFTER FLORIDA WASHOUT

- Thiago Motta named as new coach of Juventus

- Shardul Thakur undergoes ankle surgery in London

- AUSTRALIA STORM INTO SUPER 8

- Rainy Miami likely to disrupt Team India’s preparations

- Manipulate Scotland game, eliminate Eng: Paine urges Oz

- ‘Looking at smart options to tackle India’

- ACTION TODAY

- An India House for the first time at Olympics

- Divya a win away from world junior chess title

- McIlroy, wife end divorce proceedings

- ‘Nervous’ Nikhat looking to remain injury-free leading up to Paris Games

- ‘My uncles have made me what I am today’

- Nadal, Alcaraz to team up at Paris Oly

IMAGINE. IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY

Expect An Explosion Of Cultural Crossovers As Germany And Turkey Seamlessly Transform Into The Other’s Colours This Summer

Duesseldorf: Six years ago, Ilkay Gundogan’s place on the German national team was in question over a photograph with Turkey’s president. Now, he’s the team captain.

When Gundogan leads the German national team out against Scotland in the European Championship opener on Friday, he will be its first captain of Turkish heritage at a major tournament.

To some in the large Turkish-German community, the Barcelona midfielder embodies a “hybrid identity” that is gaining ground even in the face of political gains for the anti-migration far right, said Caner Aver, a researcher at the Centre for Turkish Studies and Integration Research in the German city of Essen.

While Gundogan had to choose which country to represent on the field, fans can support both. Aver bought a German and a Turkish national team shirt for his sixyear-old son, cut them in half, and stitched the halves together to make his hybrid kit. “I think there will be a lot of people who support both national teams and who would probably be pleased if they were to meet at some point in the semi-finals or final,” Aver said.

One of those supporting both Germany and Turkey is Osman Eroglu, who is a goalkeeper and board member at Turkgucu Ratingen, a Turkish community soccer club on the outskirts of Euro 2024 host city Dusseldorf. “For us, for people with a migration background in the third or the fourth generation by now, it’s a European Championship in our own country too, after all,” Eroglu said. “It’s double the joy because Turkey is represented this year too.”

Others question whether players from minority groups might be scapegoats for German fans or the media if the team falls short. Some even see choosing Germany over Turkey as an act of betrayal. Gundogan was particularly targeted with booing by some fans of the Turkish national team in a friendly game against Germany in Berlin last year that Turkey won 3-2.

When Gundogan and teammate Mesut Ozil, another star German player of Turkish heritage, posed for photos with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup, they faced pointed criticism from the German football federation’s president at the time, Reinhard Grindel. After the World Cup, Ozil quit the national team, citing a “feeling of racism and disrespect” following anti-Turkish comments from far-right politicians and fans. Ozil never played for Germany again and retired from football last year.

Younis Kamil is an academic and football coach of Sudanese and German heritage who is working the national Olympic committee on a project around Euro 2024. Even with Gundogan as captain, there are few people of Turkish heritage, and from other minority groups in coaching and authority roles in German football, Kamil said.

“There’s still a gap between the possibility of identification with the German national team, and I think one of the main reasons is the lack of representation in the decision-making structures, and also experiences of discrimination,” Kamil said.

The Turkish national team has five Germany-born players in its squad and is counting on enthusiastic support. “In Germany, we’re going to be like a host country,” Turkey defender Ozan Kabak, who was born in Turkey but plays his club football in Germany, said in a recent interview. “I think whole stadiums (are) going to be full of Turkish people.”

Fans of the Turkish team even outnumbered Germany’s supporters at the friendly in Berlin last year. Unfortunately for Kabak, he won’t be playing when Turkey starts their Euro 2024 campaign on June 18 after a pre-tournament knee injury. Turkey play their first two Euro 2024 games against Georgia and Portugal in Dortmund before facing the Czech Republic in Hamburg. Both cities have many residents of Turkish heritage.

Many people of Turkish origin in Germany are descended from “guest workers” who arrived during the Cold War. An economic boom after World War II meant West Germany had an acute shortage of labour.

This year also brings a significant legal change as long-standing restrictions on dual nationality are abolished. “It’s not either-or, it’s both-and,” said Aver, the researcher who made his son a half-and-half shirt for Euro 2024.

“It’s important, now in a time of rising right-wing populism ... to put diversity in the foreground,” he said. “So, I hope, and I wish that the fans celebrate together, commiserate together and experience joy together.”

AP

ILKAY GUNDOGAN

HAKAN CALHANOGLU

DAD DRIVES BOOTS TO GERMANY FOR LATE CALL-UP MAATSEN

Wolfsburg: Uncapped Ian Maatsen was holidaying on a yacht off Mykonos when the Dutch footballer got a call up on Monday night and was asked to join up with the Netherlands squad as quickly as he could. He wasted no time and was present for early evening training on Tuesday with the Dutch who arrived at their base in Wolfsburg. It was thanks to his father driving from the Netherlands to Germany to bring his boots that Maatsen was able to shake off the holiday cobwebs.

RONALDO DOUBLE IN FINAL WARM-UP

Aveiro: Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice for Portugal as they comfortably beat the Republic of Ireland 3-0 on Tuesday in their final Euro 2024 warm-up. “The Portuguese expect a lot from Portugal, there’s no margin for error, they always want Portugal to win because of the generation, the talent there is,” said Ronaldo. “We have to have our feet on the ground and our thoughts in the sky.”

Ten Hag to stay on at Old Trafford

Manchester: Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will remain in the job for next season and has entered into talks with the Old Trafford club over a contract extension despite the team’s lowest ever Premier League finish of eighth, British media reported.

The decision comes after an end-of-season review by the club’s board for the 2023-24 campaign, which finished on a high with a shock FA Cup final win over favourites Manchester City.

Ten Hag’s contract runs until the end of next season, with the club having the option of extending it a further 12 months.

Former Ajax Amsterdam coach Ten Hag had come under increasing pressure after 20-times English champions United suffered their worst start to a season since 1962-63 with eight defeats in their first 15 matches in all competitions. They ended up eighth after 14 defeats in their 38 league games and bowed out of the Champions League in the group phase. Ten Hag is United’s fifth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. In Ten Hag’s two seasons in charge, United have played in three Wembley finals and lifted two trophies, having also won last season’s League Cup. Ten Hag pointed to United’s revolving door of injuries last term. He also spoke about the breakout seasons of Kobbie Mainoo winger Alejandro Garnacho.

LEFT BACK AT HOME

A LOOK AT SOME TOP PLAYERS WHO WON’T BE AT EURO 2024......

HAALAND

ERLING HAALAND (NOR): Goalkeepers and defenders: Exhale. The most feared striker in Europe won’t be playing at the European Championship. That’s because Erling Haaland’s Norway didn’t qualify.

Haaland’s goal-scoring statistics with both club and country are staggering: 90 goals in 98 matches across all competitions in two seasons with Manchester City, and 30 in 32 matches for Norway since his national team debut in 2019. But Halaand produced “only” five goals in six qualifying matches for Norway, which finished third in Group A behind Spain and Scotland and didn’t even reach the playoffs. Norway’s absence also means that Arsenal and Norway captain Martin Odegaard won’t be at the tournament in Germany.

FRENKIE DE JONG (NED): Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been ruled out of the European Championship after failing to recover from an injury, dealing a blow to the team’s chances. It was a freak ankle injury playing for Barcelona against Real Madrid in April. De Jong was the heartbeat of the team, the passing master whose acumen in midfield was key to their hopes of success. He often acts as a deep-lying midfielder, dictating the tempo of the game, but his versatility is such that he can play various midfield role. Koeman once even had him as a makeshift centre back in the Dutch side.

THIBAUT COURTOIS (BEL): Thibaut Courtois was healthy enough to make two key saves during the first half of the Champions League final and help Real Madrid to another title. But the Belgium goalkeeper announced in ecember that he would miss the Euros and has not backpedaled on his decision despite returning to full fitness for Madrid after a long-term knee injury. There’s also this: There are ongoing tensions between Courtois and Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco. Courtois questioned Tedesco’s “reality” after the coach accused him of abandoning his teammates and faking an injury before a qualifier last year. Without the Madrid ’keeper, Tedesco’s choices in goal are: Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg) and Thomas Kaminski (Luton).

MARCUS RASHFORD (ENG): The Manchester United striker paid the price for a disappointing season at the club level and failed to make the cut for England coach Gareth Southgate’s initial 33-man selection. Rashford managed just eight goals for a United team that suffered its lowest-ever Premier League finish — eighth. The omission comes only two seasons after Rashford had a career-best campaign, scoring 34 goals for club and country. Jack Grealish, Harry Maguire and Jordan Henderson — who all played in the final when England lost to Italy in a penalty shootout in 2021 — were also left out by Southgate. “These are difficult calls, you are talking about players who are very good players, who have been an important part of what we have done,” Southgate said. “With Marcus, I feel players in the same area of the pitch have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that.”

MATS HUMMELS (GER): Reaching the Champions League final wasn’t enough for Mats ummels to make the squad for hosts Germany. Hummels made a strong case for inclusion with his inspirational performances in Borussia Dortmund’s run in Europe. But Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said there were “1,000 components” to the decision not to include the veteran defender. Nagelsmann sees Real Madrid’s Antonio Rüdiger and Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah as his preferred central defensive pairing — and anyone else would need to be content with a backup role. Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka was also left out, despite a strong finish to the Bundesliga season.

SANDRO TONALI (ITA): Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is serving a 10-month ban for betting on teams he played for — ruling him out of consideration for defending champs Italy. It leaves coach Luciano Spalletti without his top playmaker but opens space for the likes of Jorginho and Lorenzo Pellegrini. Tonali had seemed poised to inherit the role that once belonged to Andrea Pirlo.

AP

MARTIN ODEGAARD

Give peace a chance: Ukraine’s Sudakov dreams of home

Berlin: Ukrainian star Heorhiy Sudakov is on course to achieve his dream of becoming one of the best players in Europe. His dream of returning home seems more distant.

The 21-year-old Sudakov is one of the brightest talents on the Ukraine team heading to Germany for the European Championship. His life has been shaped by more than a decade of conflict.

It’s been 10 years since Russia-backed separatists took over Sudakov’s home town of Brianka in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region. Russia declared the annexation of the area in 2022 following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I dream about it and would like to return. I haven’t been there for more than 10 years,” Sudakov said.

He plays for Ukrainian champion club Shakhtar Donetsk, which has been displaced for a decade from its home stadium in the city of Donetsk, and plays most home games in the western city of Lviv.

“Of course, it will be psychologically difficult, but I have the same dream to return to play a match at (Shakhtar’s) Donbas Arena,” he says. “I’ve never been there, only heard about it and seen it on TV. And I understand how important it is for our country, for our team, for our club and for its president.”

Sudakov says living through the last 10 years has toughened him up. “It has affected every Ukrainian who lived in the country. Everyone has hardened, let’s say, and became stronger psychologically,” Sudakov says. “I thank our warriors for being able to keep playing football, and sleep peacefully. Now everyone probably only dreams about the war to be over.”

Qualifying for Euro 2024 with a comeback win over Iceland in front of an overwhelmingly pro-Ukraine crowd in Poland brought “incredible emotions” to the team and those at home, Sudakov says. With all that responsibility, just remaining focused can be a challenge.

“You have a lot of emotion, a lot of adrenaline in your head, because you know you’re not just coming to play football,” Ukraine defender Illia Zabarnyi says. “Our players need to switch to be calm and not do stupid things, because if you’re just thinking, ‘Oh, I need to give 2,000%,’ and just kick someone, it’s red.”

In the Ukrainian league where Sudakov plays, all games are held without spectators. If an air-raid siren sounds, the game stops and players, coaches and referees head to a shelter. The league stopped after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 but resumed later that year in empty stadiums and with several teams relocating to other cities.

Fourteen of the 26 players in Ukraine’s initial Euro 2024 squad were from clubs in the Ukrainian league.

Most Ukrainian men of military age are banned from leaving the country, but football players get exemptions to travel abroad for games in events like Euro 2024 or the Champions League. That means a lengthy journey by land over the western border with Poland before flying on anywhere else. Ukraine’s airports have been shut since the 2022 Rus- sian invasion.

Sudakov and his Shakhtar teammates got a taste of playing in Germany when they used Hamburg as their “home” stadium in the Champions League this season. Locals and Ukrainian refugees living in Germany flocked to games to give the team a warm reception.

Reaching the quarterfinals, like Ukraine did in 2021, won’t be easy but it should be competitive in Group E with Belgium and two neighbours, Romania and Slovakia. After Euro 2024, Sudakov also hopes to play for the Ukraine team at the Paris Olympics.

“Every match for the national team is incredible pride and responsibility,” Sudakov says. “I probably have double motivation in such difficult times for our country.”

AP

HEORHIY SUDAKOV

India seeks probe into Qatar’s equaliser

AIFF Writes To FIFA, AFC, Match Commissioner, Regarding The Grave Supervision Error

The set of officials, referee Woosung Kim, linesmen Jinhee Cheon and Dongho Kang (left) have come under fire for allowing Qatar’s equaliser against India on Tuesday

Marcus.Mergulhao@timesgroup.com

Panaji: India coach Igor Stimac called it shameful, captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu termed it unfortunate, while most felt it was robbery. South Korean referee Kim Woosung has been widely criticised for allowing Qatar to score the equaliser against India, despite the ball, according to television replays from multiple angles, being clearly over the line, before Alhashmi Mohialdin sheepishly pulled it back for Youssef Aymen to stab it home.

Till the 74th minute, India led by a goal and were on course to making it to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time. Aymen then scored a controversial equaliser and the hosts fired home the winner with five minutes left to be played. Qatar, who fielded a team comprising under-23 players, won 2-1.

“Proud of you guys, we can’t afford the referees,” India winger Ashique Kuriniyan, who missed the qualifiers due to a long-term injury, said in a post on social media.

Captain Gurpreet didn’t hold back either. “Yesterday’s unfortunate result and the incident of the equaliser is a lesson that where we want to go, you don’t just need the hook, but the crook as well,” said the goalkeeper. All India Football Federation (AIFF) president Kalyan Chaubey issued a statement and asked officials to “look into the grave supervision error during the game that practically cost us a place in FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Round 3.”

India have also separately written to FIFA, AFC and match commissioner Hamed Momeni (Iran), formally expressing deep concern and disappointment.

“Given the severity of this error, we respectfully request both FIFA and the AFC to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter,” team manager Velu Dhalayamani wrote in an email, attaching video clips of the controversial goal. “Furthermore, we urge you to explore the possibilities of sporting compensation to address this injustice. Ensuring the integrity of the game is paramount, and we trust that the AFC and FIFA will take necessary steps to rectify this situation.” According to AIFF sources, the AFC is yet to respond to its email.

“Since this is a refereeing error, the match result cannot be overturned. It’s an unfortunate error. The referee and his assistant probably didn’t have a clear view with players crowding the area,” said another official. The second-round matches of the World Cup qualifiers do not have the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system. VAR, according to sources, will be in place for the next round of matches. For most of the night at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium, it looked like India would get their first win of the year and qualify for the next stage of the qualifiers. Lallianzuala Chhangte’s goal – the first open-field goal in eight matches, spanning about 682 minutes – had provided real hope, until it all ended in heartbreak.

Times View

Replays show that the ball had clearly crossed the line and was then pulled back. It is strange that neither the linesman nor the referee blew the whistle. The matter is certainly worth investigating. The incident also underlines why VAR should be part of every World Cup game.

Chathunni moulded Vijayan; won big with Salgaocar, Bagan

OBITUARY

Rayson.Tennyson@timesgroup.com

Kochi: TK Chathunni, the player-cumcoach who lived football every moment of his life, passed away in Karukutty near Thrissur on Wednesday. Chathunni, 79, had been battling cancer.

“When I die, place a football on my body instead of flowers,” he would say. Many remember him as the coach who out-thought PK Banerjee’s mighty East Bengal side to give Salgaocar a famous Federation Cup title at the heaving Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata in 1997. A year later he would help Mohun Bagan win their first National League title.

A strict disciplinarian, he played a pivotal role in shaping the careers of some of India’s best. “Chathunni sir made IM Vijayan,” an emotional Vijayan told TOI on Wednesday. “Chathunni sir moulded me into the footballer that the country knows me as today,” he added.

“Chathunni sir taught us to play aggressively,” Jules Alberto, who was part of that title-winning Salgaocar side, told TOI from London. “He would keep shouting from the sidelines and was very aggressive. All these things were new for us as the Goan style of play was to take everything at a slow pace,” added Alberto.

“I wish we could have had him here in Kolkata for a longer period of time,” said former India international Satyajit Chatterjee, and a key member of Bagan’s NFL-winning squad. “It’s not easy for an outsider to get adapted to the demands of Kolkata football and live up to expectations. But he took charge of a Bagan team left behind by Amal-da (Amal Datta) and eventually took them to the pinnacle of success,” added Chatterjee.

Hailing from Chalakudy, Chathunni was a dependable defender at Services and Vasco Goa. He also donned the Indian jersey on six occasions. But he found his true calling as a much sought-after coach in the 1990s. Though Chathunni’s first major assignment as head coach of Kerala in the Santosh Trophy in 1979 came to a disappointing end, with the team bowing out even before reaching the semis, he reignited his managerial career by making the Kerala Police team a force to reckon with on the national stage. Their maiden Federation Cup triumph in 1990 also made Chathunni a hot property of clubs in Goa and Kolkata. After stints at MRF Sports Foundation and Dempo SC in Goa, he arrived at a beleaguered Salgaocar SC. The club at the time was on the verge of shutting down, and Chathunni weaved his magic to guide them to their maiden Federation Cup title in 1997. Chathunni is survived by his wife and two daughters.

(WITH INPUTS FROM NILESH BHATTACHARYA)

TIMES IN THE US

SINGH, SEAM & SKY SINK US

Arshdeep, Surya Star As India Recover From Early Wobble To Chase 111, Qualify For Super 8

INSTANT IMPACT: Arshdeep Singh (C) celebrates after dismissing Shayan Jahangir off the first ball of the match

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

New York: It was a stern work-out that no one in the Indian camp would mind. Even the United States, who came up second best, can take a lot of heart from this effort as they stay close to a Super-8 berth.

India, of course, finished the job of qualifying for the next round with a seven-wicket win, but not before a scare. A target of 111 on this track is more than competitive, and when left-arm pacer Saurabh Netravalkar had Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma out cheaply, one felt that things could really get tight. Rishabh Pant, too, was done in by one that kept low and a middle-order, that looked wobbly against Pakistan, was suddenly asked to do the job.

It was here that Suryakumar Yadav (50 no off 49 balls) brought all his experience into play. He got hit a few times but there was a determination in the Mumbai man’s effort that has made him such a hot property in T20 cricket.

He got a life too at 22, when a topedge was dropped by Netravalkar at short third-man running back. India were 58-3 at that stage and Surya’s wicket could well have made things a little tougher. But he survived, as did Shivam Dube (31 no off 35 balls), who had been struggling for form in the tournament. He was equally uncomfortable for long stretches of his innings, but after Surya’s dropped chance, one felt that the US bowling intensity dropped a little.

Dube also connected an 86-metre six in the 15th over, that brought the pressure down significantly for the India. Surya and Dube batted on for their unbeaten 72-run partnership as India wrapped up their New York leg with three wins of the trot.

On the bowling front, it was Arshdeep Singh who turned out to be the hero. Arshdeep (4-9) wasn’t a nailon starter when India came to the US, but at the World Cup has progressed, he has shaped up into a key cog. On Wednesday too, the paceman was right on his money from the beginning, getting rid of Shayan Jahangir in the second ball that swung in late.

Arshdeep didn’t mind pitching a few slightly short, even though that’s not his go-to delivery. On this track which had a lot of uneven bounce, the short ball worked well as the left-arm pacer had the wicket of skipper Andre Gous in the first over itself.

Later, coming back for his second spell, the Punjab Kings pacer had the wicket of a dangerous looking Nitish Kumar with another short ball at a time when the right-hander was looking to take the game to the Indian bowlers. Nitish’s catch was brilliantly completed by Mohammed Siraj in the deep, as he adjusted his body to keep himself within the ropes.

In between the two Arshdeep spells, the USA team showed enough spunk to take their score to 110, which wasn’t easy to achieve against an attack of the quality of India on a pitch as difficult as this.

The US batters created little boroughs of resistance with the likes of Steven Taylor, Nitish, Corey Anderson all coming up with useful contributions. They tried to negate the risk-factor as much as possible and tried to play in ODI style, waiting for the slightly loose balls to get the runs.

There was probably a slight sense of complacency in the Indian bowling ranks—understandable after their magnificent comeback win against Pakistan—but that doesn’t take anything away from the courage that was shown by the USA batters to make a match of it.

But at the end of the day, the experience of the Indian team proved a little too much.

PREVIEWS

Perennial semifinalists, NZ stare at exit

Tarouba: Staring at early elimination, New Zealand will look to dish out a much-improved show in a do-or-die clash against tournament cohosts West Indies in the T20 World Cup.

New Zealand suffered a batting collapse to be bowled out for 75 in 15.2 overs in a stunning 84-run loss to Afghanistan in their tournament-opener at the Providence Stadium. The loss dropped their run rate to -4.2, the lowest among the five teams in Group D, placing them at the bottom of the standings.

Now, they find themselves on the brink of a rare group stage exit—an unexpected predicament for a team known for its remarkable consistency in World Cups, having reached the semifinals in all six recent editions—the ODI World Cups of 2015, 2019, and 2023, and the T20 World Cups of 2016, 2021, and 2022. Only two of their batters managed to reach double digits and the Kane Williamson-led side will have to buck up as a batting unit to pose any challenge to the local favourites.

On the other hand, West Indies face no such issues as a Super Eight berth will be up for grabs. Having started off with a scrappy win over Papua New Guinea, WI have started to come into their own and coasted to a 134-run victory after bowling out Uganda for 39 in their previous match.

Former New Zealand play- er and noted commentator Ian Smith had questioned their readiness after their defeat against Afghanistan.

“They’ve got to beat the West Indies, and hope that they (West Indies) get beaten by Afghanistan, because New Zealand’s run rate situation is so poor,” Smith, who has played 63 Tests and 98 ODIs, told Sen Radio.

“I just don’t know how they’re going to get up to speed from the flat performance they had (vs Afghanistan). What kind of team are they going to pick? Are they going to make any changes? The people they bring in haven’t played any cricket either,” he added.

Battle of survival as B’desh take on Netherlands

Kingstown: Bangladesh and the Netherlands will look to keep their Super Eight hopes alive when they lock horns in a crucial Group D fixture at Kingstown. In the group of death, South Africa have already made the cut and the fight is among Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal and Sri Lanka—in that order—to book the second slot.

Having started off with a two-wicket win over Sri Lanka, a nervy Bangladesh let it slip against South Africa to go down by four runs in their last match.

Netherlands too are coming on the back of a reversal against South Africa and will hope to bounce back.

AGENCIES

LANKA’S QUALIFYING HOPES DIMINISH AFTER FLORIDA WASHOUT

Former champions Sri Lanka are on the brink of an early exit from the T20 World Cup after heavy rain washed out their Group D match against Nepal in Lauderhill, Florida, on Tuesday.

The 2014 champions badly needed a win to keep their tournament hopes alive after defeats to South Africa and Bangladesh. Wanindu Hasaranga’s team are bottom of the group with just one point and look certain to crash out unless other results go their way. “It’s not going to be easy for us and it would be a miracle actually,” Sri Lanka spinner Maheesh Theekshana said.

They will conclude their group campaign against the Netherlands on Sunday and Theekshana acknowledged nothing had clicked for them so far. “We didn’t bat well, we didn’t assess the conditions really well and our plans, everything went wrong,” the off-spinner said.

Nepal are also winless after two matches and on Friday they face unbeaten group leaders South Africa, who sealed their place in the Super Eight after three straight victories. “Obviously we want the sun to shine and have a proper game,” Nepal coach Monty Desai said.

REUTERS

Thiago Motta named as new coach of Juventus

Turin: Italian giants Juventus on Wednesday named Thiago Motta as their new coach, replacing Massimiliano Allegri who was sacked last month.

“It’s official, the next Juventus coach will be Thiago Motta. The Italian-Brazilian has signed with Juventus until June 30, 2027,” the club said in a statement.

Motta, 41, was previously in charge at Serie A rivals Bologna.

AFP

Shardul Thakur undergoes ankle surgery in London

Gaurav.Gupta@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: India and Mumbai pacebowling allrounder Shardul Thakur ]successfully underwent an ankle surgery in London on Wednesday.

“Thakur was experiencing pain in his ankle for quite some time. He took an injection before the IPL but the situation didn't improve, so he decided to undergo surgery post the IPL a s there is a three-month break before the 2024-25 domestic season starts. The surgery will keep him out of the game for three months,” a source told TOI.

“Thakur was operated on by the same doctor in UK who performed an ankle surgery on England’s star footballer Harry Kane and India’s premier pacer Mohammed Shami. He’s the best in the business when it comes to operating on the ankle. Thakur will stay in London for around two weeks amd then return to India and go through rehab at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru,” the source said.

This is the second time Thakur has undergone a surgery, the first time being in 2019.

AUSTRALIA STORM INTO SUPER 8

North Sound (Antigua): Leg-spinner Adam Zampa starred again in the middle overs as Australia annihilated Namibia by nine wickets to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup.

Australia put up a complete bowling performance to dismiss Namibia for 72 before chasing the target in just 34 balls with Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh remaining not out on 34 and 18 respectively.

With three wins in a row, Australia stormed into the Super Eight from Group with a match in hand. They take on Scotland at Gros Islet in their concluding Group B fixture on Saturday. For Namibia, it was their second loss in three games, eliminating them from the Super 8 race. Scotland and England are fighting for the second Super 8 spot from Group B.

Josh Hazlewood (2-18) removed the Namibian openers Michael Van Lingen and Niko Davin before Zampa (4-12) got into the act to run through Namibia. Brief scores: Namibia 72 in 17 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 36; Adam Zampa 4-12; Marcus Stoinis 2-9, Josh Hazlewood 2-18) lost to Australia 74-1 in 5.4 overs (Travis Head 34 no).

PTI

Rainy Miami likely to disrupt Team India’s preparations

SPIKE IN INTEREST: USA’s win over Pakistan has sparked a meme fest on social media

Dwaipayan.Datta@timesgroup.com

New York: India’s New York assignment is over and it’s been quite outstanding, to say the least. But there’s a slight hint of cloud developing as India go on their further assignments, as they move to Miami for the second leg.

There’s nothing about the opposition that is going to worry them at Fort Lauderhill—minnows Canada should be easy meat. But there’s a storm brewing over Miami, and there could be a case where the game may not be played at all.

In fact, flights have started getting cancelled as flood alerts keep coming and even before India entered the ground for their match against the United States, everyone was keeping tabs on Miami’s weather forecast for the next few days.

More than the game, India will not get the two intense sessions of practice in Miami, that may just hurt them as they gear up for the more difficult leg of their World Cup sojourn—the West Indies.

“We hope that the weather clears up on time so that we get a game. But if we don’t, there’s not much that we can do about it,” Team India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey said on Wednesday.

India’s game against Canada is on June 16 while their first game in West Indies is on June 20. Every game in the Super 8 is a must-win and India’s potential opponents—Australia, England, Afghanistan and New Zealand—have all been playing in the West Indies.

It has given them enough time to get used to the Caribbean conditions, which should stand them in good stead in the Super 8s.

India, on the other hand, have been playing on quite unique conditions in New York and with a probable four-day gap before they get to work in the Windies, the break could be unwanted for a team that is looking to build momentum.

Mhambrey, though, didn’t want to read too much into it, because he insists that “the team has experience” to deal with such difficulties.

“I think the good thing is that we have already played in the West Indies—a couple of series out prior to this. So, more or less know what kind of a surface we’ll encounter out there. We have played on those conditions in India as well. If you travel in India, Wankhede is different to Gujarat or Delhi, so it’s not exactly alien conditions for us,” the bowling coach said.

The pace bowlers have enjoyed themselves in New York, but that doesn’t mean that India will stick to the tried-and tested in West Indies as well. If there is some help in the pitch, Mhambrey said that Kuldeep Yadav can very well come into the equation.

“He was in very good rhythm in the IPL and has been bowling well in the nets. He completely understands why he isn’t playing here, but that doesn’t mean he will not be in our equations in West Indies,” Mhambrey said, stressing on the flexibility that the India is aiming for to lift the trophy that they last won in 2007.

Manipulate Scotland game, eliminate Eng: Paine urges Oz

TIM PAINE

Melbourne: Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine wants Mitchell Marsh & Co to ‘manipulate’ their final group game against Scotland to ensure that England are knocked out of the T20 World Cup.

Defending champions England find themselves in a precarious spot after a washed out game and a heavy defeat against Australia, who have qualified for the Super Eights. “Absolutely they should (manipulate the result) and I’m not even joking. I’ve spoken to people about this in the last few days. I’m dead serious,” Paine said on Sen Radio.

As things stand in Group B, England are fourth with just a point and -1.800 net run rate. They have two more games left. Even if they win both their games they can’t overtake Scotland, who are second with five points and a healthy +2.164 NRR.

In order to progress to the Super Eights, Jos Buttler & Co not only have to win both their remaining games by heavy margins but also hope familiar foes Australia hand Scotland a huge defeat to dent their NRR.

Paine clarified that he doesn’t want Australia to lose the match but rather make it close enough for England to be eliminated. “I’m not sure what the net run rate looks like, you don’t have to lose the game, I think they can just let Scotland get close enough.”

“Again, let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, Scotland could have a day out. But say Scotland batted first and got to 140 and we chased it off 19.5 overs to make sure they don’t suffer a big net run rate loss. I think England have to win both of their games by about 50 runs to even get up towards Scotland’s net run rate. So, it’s certainly plausible that you can win the game (but still ensure England don’t progress),” he added.

The former wicketkeeper batter sees this as a “smart, calculated” move that may help Australia later in the tournament. “That’s not just because it’s England. You got to go into these tournaments trying to win a World Cup. Who could certainly pose a threat in the latter rounds? That is England.”

Australia pacer Josh Hazlewood also acknowledged the potential benefit in hindering England’s progress and said it would serve “best interest” for all teams. “Yeah, I think so. In this tournament you potentially come up against England at some stage again,” Hazlewood said after their nine-wicket win over Namibia.

“They’re probably one of the top few teams on their day and we’ve had some real struggles against them in T20 cricket so if we can get them out of the tournament that’s in our best interest as well as probably everyone else.”

If Australia do go ahead with their tactic, it would mirror those that Steve Waugh’s side employed in the 1999 World Cup. Chasing 111 for victory, Australia adopted a go slow approach and got to the target in 40.4 overs to allow West Indies to improve their net run rate and qualify ahead of New Zealand as Australia had lost to the Kiwis in the group stage and the rules said you carry points in the Super Six along with the teams that you had beaten.

AGENCIES

MARSH MAY FACE TWO-TIE BAN IF OZ MANIPULATE

If Australia do indulge in any hanky-panky, it could result in their skipper Mitchell Marsh being banned for up to two of their three Super Eight fixtures. Under article 2.11 of the ICC’s code of conduct, “inappropriate strategic or tactical reasons… such as when a team deliberately loses a pool match in an ICC Event in order to affect the standings of other teams in that ICC Event,” can be punished. “Inappropriate manipulation of net run rate” also falls in that code and the captain would be directly responsible and could cop a Level 2 offence which carries a fine of 50% match fee, with four demerit points and two suspension points. That would rule Marsh out of the first two Super Eight matches.

SA WOMEN IN INDIA

‘Looking at smart options to tackle India’

South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt on Wednesday

Ashim.Sunam@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru: The South African women’s cricket team landed in the city last Sunday ahead of their India tour, that includes a one-off Test, three ODIs and three T20Is. The visitors arrived after a two-week training and captain Laura Wolvaardt remains confident of a good display over the next three weeks in India.

Before the ODI series, starting June 16, South Africa will face the Board President’s XI at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday. But the real test lies against top Indian players in the ODIs. If the likes of Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh gets going with the bat, the visitors will have a tough time. Wolvaardt is also aware of the threat the- se batters bring to the middle and said they have spent some precious time to draw plans to outwit them.

“It is going to be a tough tour, which is going to test our bowling line-up, especially if the wicket (at Chinnaswamy) is going to be as flat as it was in the IPL. We are going to be very smart in our options,” said Wolvaardt. “They have world-class players and the Indian batters have been doing well and with the WPL experience also, they are also explosive. So our plan A is going to be the key around our bowling attack. We have the talent and the right people, but we must plan properly for each batter.”

After the ODI series concludes on June 23, the South Africa will head over to Chennai for the Test match, starting June 28, followed by a T20I series (that starts from July 5). In the longer format, Wolvaardt is expecting ‘slow conditions’ in Chennai and are geared up for the tough test.

ACTION TODAY

CRICKET: T20 WC, WI vs NZ, 6 am; BD vs Ned, 8 pm; Eng vs Oman, 12.30 am Friday (Star Sports)

An India House for the first time at Olympics

Pavilion Will Showcase Nation’s Cultural Heritage And Have Ethnic Restaurants

TOI EXCLUSIVE

Sabi.Hussain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: Indian athletes have often complained about food and lack of homely feeling when they compete in multisport events such as the Olympics, Asian Games or CWG. A case in point is the food issue raised by the country’s contingent during the Youth Olympics in 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina or the two Asiads in Incheon (2014) and Jakarta (2018).

The upcoming Paris Olym- pics, scheduled from July 26 to August 11, may give the Indian athletes a reason to feel happy about. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) – led by legendary athlete P T Usha – has decided to host the first-ever ‘India House’ at the Paris Games. The pavilion will showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage, have yoga sessions, medal celebrations, meet-and-greet opportunities with Indian athletes and multi-cuisine Indian restaurants.

Many participating nations at the Olympics have their own hospitality houses but this will be the first time that India will be having one to showcase its culture and heritage. The initiative is a joint collaboration between the IOA and Reliance Foundation – the principal partner of the country’s national Olympic committee (NOC) – which will build the India House.

The hospitality centre will come up at a 40,000 square feet facility near the Games Village, serving as the ‘home away from home’ for the Indian athletes and their families. It’s been learnt that a dedicated section at India House will commemorate the country’s 100-year journey at the Olympics.

Previously, the JSW Group had announced it would set up a first-ever India ‘Hospitality House’ at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The centre was supposed to come up in Tokyo’s Ariake region. However, the idea was shelved as the entire Games was held in a bio-bubble due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When we were in Paris last month, we did have an op- portunity to go and have a look at the place where the India House is being set up. It’s basically a facility which is not only meant for athletes but also for the Indian diaspora to visit and enjoy the direct feed of matches involving Indian athletes. A lot of cultural activities have been being planned where we will showcase India’s tourism, progress made in digitalisation and cultural activities. There will be a dedicated Indian food section for the country’s athletes and travelling Indian fans and mediapersons. Two restaurants will be set up which will serve food dishes from North and South India,” said IOA president P T Usha.

“There will be yoga sessions every morning for the locals. India House will be surrounded by other country-specific hospitality houses from France, Canada and the Netherlands. We have also planned to showcase mallakhamb sport to the locals, which was a demo sport at the first-ever Olympic Games in 1904.”

The facility will be inaugurated on July 28, a day after the opening ceremony on July 26. It’s been learnt that there could be a modification in the name of India House, giving it amore traditional touch.

Divya a win away from world junior chess title

GLORY BECKONS: Deshmukh

Amit.Sampat@timesgroup.com

Nagpur: Asian women’s champion and top seed Divya Deshmukh has lived up to her reputation and is just a win away from her maiden World Junior Chess Championship title.

In the 10th and penultimate round, the top-ranked Indian in U-20 category took 26 moves to end the giantkilling run of 14-year-old compatriot Sachi Jain to remain unbeaten and maintain sole lead in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on Wednesday.

Divya took her tally of points to nine and is closely followed by Armenia’s second seed Mariam Mkrtchyan (8.5 points). In the 10th round, Mariam outclassed Sri Lanka’s upcoming talent Gunawardhana Devindya Oshin in 50 moves.

Of the 101 players from 27 countries participating in the championship, Divya, Mariam and Bulgaria’s Krasteva Beloslava are the three top-20 junior girls as per FIDE ratings.

In the top-board battle between the two unbeaten Indian compatriots, Divya utilized her opening advantage with the white pieces well to post her eighth victory and stay ahead. In the English opening game between her and Sachi, Nagpur’s 18-yearold International Master (IM) sacrificed a couple of her pawns to become a piece up. With an extra knight and already advanced rooks Divya activated her queen to force Sachi to resign on the 26th move.

On Thursday, the Divya (2456 Elo) will face the challenge of Bulgaria’s third seed Beloslava while Mariam squares up against India’s sixth seeded Rakshitta Ravi. A win for Divya will make the Nagpur girl world junior girl’s champion. If Divya plays out a draw and Mariam beats Rakshitta, then the champion will be decided on tie-break score between the top two. At the end of the 10th round, Divya has a better tie-break score over Mariam. The two had played out a seventh-round draw. It’s advantage Divya.

McIlroy, wife end divorce proceedings

Pinehurst: Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica have scrapped plans to divorce and are putting their marriage back together. They filed for a voluntary dismissal of the case on Tuesday.

It was another dramatic turn of events for McIlroy. News broke when he arrived at the last major in May they had filed for divorce. And two days before the U.S. Open came news that divorce proceedings were closed in a filing in Palm Beach County, Florida. In a statement to The Guardian in the UK, McIlroy said, “There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game.

“Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.” They have one daughter, Poppy, who turns 4 in September.

AGENCIES

‘Nervous’ Nikhat looking to remain injury-free leading up to Paris Games

I can’t help but not being nervous. It’s kind of my thing. Before every big competition, I become nervous. Otherwise, my body won’t respond the way I want it to. Nikhat Zareen | INDIANBOXER

CONFIDENCE PERSONIFIED: Nikhat Zareen (in red jersey)

Sabi.Hussain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: By her own admission, two-time world champion Nikhat Zareen says she is “nervous” heading into her debut Olympic Games in Paris.

Despite being hailed as the country’s best bet for a medal at the Olympics, Nikhat, who will fight in 50kg class, has been experiencing some anxious moments. But the 27-year-old Telangana boxer’s nervousness has a different meaning.

“I am excited heading into my first Games but, at the same time, I am really nervous as well. People will be having a lot of expectations from me to deliver for India and, of course, I will go to Paris with the same mindset. I can’t help but not being nervous. It’s kind of my thing. Before every big competition, I become nervous. Otherwise, my body won’t respond the way I want it to be inside the ring. People may laugh about it, but my body works well when I am nervous, and I can focus better during my bouts. Having said that, I am equally focused and determined to win a medal,” Nikhat said on Wednesday.

Nikhat will be leading the nation’s charge alongside Tokyo Games bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain (75kg) and two other first timers in Preeti Pawar (54kg) and Parveen Hooda (57kg) in the women’s section. Amit Panghal (51kg) and Nishant Dev (71kg) will participate in the men’s division.

With the onus largely on Nikhat and Lovlina to deliver the goods, the former wants to remain injury-free and in good mental space leading up to the Games. “The Olympics will be a lot tougher than the World Championships because all the top boxers will be there. Everyone must have worked really hard to represent their country. So, the effor t would be to kee p my body in shape by remaining injury-free. It’s also important to live in good mental space because you can’t deviate from your target,” said Nikhat, who felt that her medal-winning efforts in Strandja Memorial meet and Elorda Cup, coupled with her training stints in Montenegro and Turkiye, would hold her in good stead in Paris.

However, the Hangzhou Asiad bronze medallist reckoned that the Olympics would pose a tougher challenge with no seeding and ranking available at the Games. “In the Olympics, no boxer will be offered any seeding or ranking. A lot will depend on your luck... the kind of draw you get in the first and second rounds. From my side, I am working really hard. Let’s hope I get a good draw. I am aiming at one bout at a time,” added Nikhat in a virtual interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India.

‘My uncles have made me what I am today’

Puja Tomar made history by winning a UFC bout recently

Rahul.Singh1@timesgroup.com

Meerut: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Puja Tomar (30), a native of Bijrol in Baghpat district, made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win a bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

She achieved this with a split-decision victory over Brazil’s Rayanne dos Santos in the 52kg division category in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, on Saturday. After the victory, Tomar said, “I am thankful to the chachajis and taujis of Bijrol village for their blessings. I will visit them once I am back in India.”

Locals in Bijrol were overjoyed to hear the message and are preparing a grand welcome for her.

Amit Tomar (31), Puja’s cousin from Bijrol, said, “The last time she came to Bijrol was in Feb 2022 after winning a championship abroad. We didn’t know much about this sport then.”

Puja’s uncle, Krishan Pal Singh (71), said theirs is a family of farmers. Puja joined the family fields when just four years old, which contributed to her strength and endurance. “When her father died in a road acci- dent, she was just eight years old. She is the youngest of three sisters and was sent to Bhopal to her maternal uncle (mamaji) where she completed schooling and learned martial arts. By the age of 20, she had won five national and state-level wushu championships before winning international MMA championships in Indonesia and the US,” Krishan Pal said.

“In our family, there are many wrestlers (pehelwans) who are Puja’s taujis and chachajis. They are her inspiration, and she has grown up among them. Puja’s two elder sisters are doctors and live in London and Delhi after marriage,” Pal said.

“Nearly 50 years ago, Puja’s immediate family moved to Budhana village in Muzaffarnagar from Bijrol. Her family, including descend- ants of 1857 martyrs, still live in Bijrol. This is the soil of Bijrol which produces loyal and brave fighters,” said Yashpal Tomar, Puja’s other uncle.

Amit Pathak, author of ‘1857 – A Living History’ and fellow at the Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research, talked about the legacy of Bijrol. “Shah Mal, a native of Bijrol, led a large band of around 8,000 farmers against the British, attacking British troops and strategically destroying the bridge over the river Yamuna — the only direct communication between Meerut and British headquarters in Delhi during the 1857 uprising. Though they fought valiantly, they were no match for the organised British troops, and a large number of villagers were killed,” said Pathak.

Nadal, Alcaraz to team up at Paris Oly

ON TOP: Ariarne Titmus

Madrid: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will play doubles together for Spain at the upcoming Paris Olympics, the Spanish tennis federation said on Wednesday. The announcement comes three days after the 21-year-old Alcaraz won the French Open for the first time — earning his third Grand Slam trophy.

The same courts used for the French Open each year will host Olympic tennis. Nadal has won the French Open a record 14 times. Alcaraz, who will play in his first Olympics, is widely seen as the heir to Nadal in Spanish tennis, and has frequently remarked that Nadal was his childhood hero.

Titmus sets women’s 200m freestyle world record:

Ariarne Titmus set a world record in the women’s 200-meter freestyle on Wednesday at Australia’s Olympic swimming trials. Titmus finished in 1 minute, 52.23 seconds in the final, taking almost twothirds of a second off Mollie O’Callaghan’s world mark of 1:52.85 set at last year’s world championships. Titmus, the Olympic champion in the 200- meter and 400-meter freestyle events, now holds the world records in both events.

Bol wins 400m hurdles gold with world-leading time:

Femke Bol set a world-leading time to claim a dominant victory in the women’s 400m hurdles at the European Athletics Championships, and the Dutch athlete said she could go even quicker at the Paris Olympics. Bol, who won bronze in 400m hurdles at the Tokyo Games, crossed the line with a championship record of 52.49 seconds in Rome to win her second European gold in the event and fourth overall.

AGENCIES

Delhi Times

- CORE OF MY EXISTENCE REMAINS MY DAUGHTER MEGHNA, SAYS GULZAR

- If Sonakshi is getting married, I will give her my blessings, says Shatrughan

- Meet the winners of Fresh Face Season 15

- Musk shares Tamil ﬁlm still as meme; netizens call it a win for 'Tamil meme nation'

- BUZZ STOP

- Getting into the pool brings out the inner child in me, says Abhimanyu Dassani Prathamesh Bandekar, Location: ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

- I HAVE LEANED ON MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO DEAL WITH POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

- LOOP THE LOOP

- Gifts to give your globetrotting dad

- ARCHIE

- GARFIELD

- TIMES HITORI

- SUDOKU CHALLENGE

- THE DAILY CROSSWORD

- SCRAMBLE

- An exciting grand finale for Fresh Face

- DID YOU KNOW?

- Kevin Jonas undergoes treatment for skin cancer

- Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa’s Punjabi-Haryanvi movie all set for release

- ‘From Filhaal to Sam Bahadur, I’m proud of Meghna’s journey’

- I overcame fear of dogs & found joy in them: Sonu

CORE OF MY EXISTENCE REMAINS MY DAUGHTER MEGHNA, SAYS GULZAR

Gulzar says he had already imagined becoming a father to a girl child, much before Meghna arrived

Natasha Coutinho ulzar’s home in Mumbai is called Boskyana,

Gulzar’s home in Mumbai is called Boskyana, and it’s named after his daughter Meghna, whom he lovingly calls Bosky. “The core of my existence remains my daughter,” says the celebrated poet, lyricist, screenwriter and director, who was feted with the Jnanpith award earlier this year.

“I had already imagined becoming a father to a girl child much before she arrived. Once she was born, she became the apple of both our eyes – her mother Rakhee and me. Rakhee was a working mother, and I would take on the role of both a father and mother when she was away on shoots. I believe there is a strong maternal side within me. I remember how she was upset with her caretaker on one occasion because she wanted two plaits. This is why I learnt to braid her hair,” remembers Gulzar, sitting in his cosy library, sipping on green tea.

CONTINUED ON 4

If Sonakshi is getting married, I will give her my blessings, says Shatrughan

Though Shatrughan Sinha is tight-lipped about news doing the rounds about his daughter’s wedding, he says that he will support her choice and decision

Tanvi Trivedi

As per reports, Sonakshi Sinha will marry her boyfriend Zaheer Iqbal on June 23. When we reached out to her father, veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, he chose to neither confirm nor deny the rumours. He said, “I am neither confirming nor denying her wedding news. Time will tell. She will always have my blessings.”

He further added, “Sonakshi is my only daughter and very close to me. I am a proud father because, over the years, she has also grown as an actor. From Lootere to Dahaad to now Heeramandi, she has proved to be a fantastic actor. If my daughter is getting married, I will give her my blessings and support her decision and choice. Sonakshi has the right to choose her companion, and I will be the happiest father on her wedding day. Ek hi toh beti hai meri.”

Meet the winners of Fresh Face Season 15

Nawazuddin Siddiqui with winners Asad Shaikh and Umme Salma

JOY Times Fresh Face Season 15, powered by AcneStar Gel, saw 20 participants from across India competing for the coveted title. At the grand finale held in Mumbai, where celebrity guest Nawazuddin Siddiqui cheered for the finalists, Bengaluru’s Umma Salma and Mumbai’s Asad Shaikh were declared winners.

Continued on P2

FRESH FACE WINNERS

GIRLS

Winner: Umme Salma, Bengaluru, PES University

First runner-up: Ria Jaitley, Mumbai, Atlas SkillTech University

Second runner-up: Dia Singh, Delhi, Ramanujan College, Delhi University

BOYS

Winner: Asad Shaikh, Mumbai, Rizvi College

First runner-up: Ishaan Buryok, Delhi, Kirori Mal College, Delhi University

Second runner-up: Shreyas Ghosh, Bengaluru, Christ University

Musk shares Tamil film still as meme; netizens call it a win for 'Tamil meme nation'

Directed by Mujibur Rahman, Thappattam is a 2017 Tamil film. While the film is not very well known, a still featuring the actor drinking tender coconut with a straw from the actress’s mouth has been a popular meme for the last few years

Makers and actors of the littleknown 2017 Tamil film Thappattam would never have thought that they would go viral worldwide. But that's just what’s happened after Elon Musk took to X to share a meme featuring a still from the film. Soon enough, Tamil Twitteratis went gaga over it, and started celebrating it as a win for the ‘Tamil meme nation’.

BUZZ STOP

DILJIT DOSANJH TO DEBUT ON JIMMY FALLON’S SHOW

DILJIT DOSANJH took to his Instagram to announce his debut on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show. Sharing the news, the singer wrote, ‘’PANJABI AAGYE OYEE… This Week’s Guest (sic)’’.

Summer Splash

Getting into the pool brings out the inner child in me, says Abhimanyu Dassani Prathamesh Bandekar, Location: ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

Abhimanyu Dassani

Vinay MR Mishra

Abhimanyu Dassani admits he is a water baby as he takes a dip in the pool during an exclusive shoot with us. The Meenakshi Sundareshwar actor loves beating the heat by plunging into the pool. “I am a water baby, and this is also a great way to beat the heat. Getting in the pool brings out the inner child in me. I’m a Piscean, and I guess being a water sign draws me to waterbodies. I like being in the pool,” he says.

Abhimanyu, who is actress Bhagyashree’s son, reveals that this summer, he stayed indoors working on some scripts. “I spent a lot of time participating in writing sessions. I am developing a couple of scripts. In fact, this is the first summer that I haven’t travelled anywhere,” he shares.

I HAVE LEANED ON MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO DEAL WITH POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

“Don’t be afraid to seek professional help to deal with postpartum depression”

SWARA BHASKER Actress

Postpartum depression is personal and unique to each person. The degrees are different, the experience is singular. It’s one of those experiences that unless you’ve been through it, there is actually no way of understanding what it is and what it does to you.

I’m only eight months postpartum so I’m in the throes of adapting to this new life, new body, new soul and new me. I am observing myself, trying to be conscious of how I’m feeling about it emotionally and physically and more importantly, I haven’t isolated myself.

I’ve leaned on family, friends and hired help in this period to deal with this 360-degree spin and new life experience that childbirth and postpartum are.

I had read about postpartum depression during pregnancy and spoken to friends who had severe cases. So had my husband Fahad. In theory, we knew what it was and we thought we were prepared to face it. But when the postpartum blues hit me; it was still something I had to learn to cope with.

For the first 40-45 days, I would just start weeping every day at sundown or the minute Fahad and I got a moment alone. Once that improved, I started having awful thoughts and terrible fears about my baby and her safety. I’d be oversensitive and swung between highs and lows.

It didn’t help that Israel began its genocide of Gaza just two weeks after I’d given birth. So during my entire postpartum those images of babies being massacred that were there on social media stayed with me. Watching the genocide unfold live on our devices while I was learning to parent my own baby impacted me in a very fundamental way.

I felt lost and disconnected with my old self. I spoke to my therapist but what really left a deep impression was speaking to other new mothers who had been through postpartum depression. Friends who are mothers became my go-to advisers and single girlfriends became the people I spoke to and met when I wanted to feel like my old self again.

What has also helped is my support system in my family. Fahad has been my partner, friend, and witness through this whole process. My mother was our constant companion and adviser. We made sure that we read and watched the same things during pregnancy. Fahad or my mom were at every doctor’s appointment. They were both in the labour room with me and for the last eight months they have been my constants as I’ve learnt to become a mother to my baby girl.

In fact, Fahad has been my greatest comfort through my postpartum depression and I’ve been able to talk to him about everything I feel without guilt or shame or fear of judgement. My parents have been our rocks and I stayed at my parents’ house for seven months even after my delivery because they were my safe space.

I’ve been in therapy since 2020 and I can’t recommend it enough to everyone. Therapy has helped me through heartbreaks and low phases. It also helped me immensely in our relationship and Fahad jokes that it’s rubbing off on him too. As I negotiate my way through this new phase, therapy is helping me make sense of my postpartum life as well.

Postpartum depression is real, talk to those you trust. Lean on them. Don’t be afraid or shy to seek professional help. This too shall pass and always remember, it’s not your fault.

– As told to Natasha Coutinho

Agree? Disagree? Write to us at: byinvitation@timesgroup.com

The views expressed by the author are personal

#postpartum #motherhood #mentalhealth

LOOP THE LOOP

Gifts to give your globetrotting dad

Follow this space for more Father’s Day gifting ideas

Pocket translator

A handy pocket translator can be useful while navigating foreign countries and cultures. It can help him decipher menus, ask for directions, and even engage in a basic conversation with the locals.

Digital planner subscription

Is your dad travel-loving and digitally savvy? A digital planner might be the perfect gift for him. With it, he will be able to plan his trips better, whether it’s booking flights, jotting down must-visit places, or making a to-pack list.

A sleek suitcase

Help your father pack like a pro with a smart suitcase. These suitcases come with features like built-in scale, USB charging ports, GPS tracking, and remote locks. Packing cubes can allow him to maximise space and stay organised.

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

TIMES HITORI

SUDOKU CHALLENGE

THE DAILY CROSSWORD

SCRAMBLE

An exciting grand finale for Fresh Face

Dabboo Ratnani was the celebrity judge for the evening

JOY Times Fresh Face Season 15, powered by AcneStar Gel, witnessed thousands of youngsters battling it out for the coveted title. After several audition rounds and grooming sessions, 18 finalists and two JOY wildcard entries made it to the grand finale in Mumbai. Cheering the youngsters was celebrity guest Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

Talking about the finale, Nawazuddin said, “This is a good platform for people to showcase their talent. Everyone has confidence within them; they just need an outlet. You need to stay focused, especially in the field of acting. Kyunki acting ek tarah ki tapasya hai. People often set a time frame for success, but I would say aap niraash na ho, kamyabi agar pachchas saal ke baad bhi milti hai, toh woh bhi achha hai.”

From impressive dance perfor- mances to mono acting, the power-packed finale had it all. Designer Narendra Kumar, who dressed the contestants, said, “I was blown away by the talent, their energy and how they represented our new streetwear line, with such confidence and aplomb. Kudos to them, they were all winners for me.”

JOY MR & MISS ‘YOU’NIQUELY YOU

Title sponsor: JOY Cosmetics Powered by: AcneStar Gel; Driven by: Kia India Fragrance partner: Yardley London Show curated by: Cocoaberry33 by Anjli Raut & Alesia Raut; Wardrobe courtesy: URA Street & FKNS by Narendra Kumar

SUB-CONTEST WINNERS

Social Star: Saikavin Manikandan, Chennai

JOY Mr Uniquely You: Saheel Faiz, Kolkata

JOY Ms Uniquely You: Vipra Mehta, Jaipur

Miss Confident by AcneStar Gel: Umme Salma, Bengaluru

Nawazuddin Siddiqui with (standing) Ria Jaitely, Asad Sheikh, Umme Salma and Dia Singh; (sitting) Ishaan Buryok and Shreyas Ghosh

Anjli and Alesia Raut

Participants put their best foot forward at the finale

Follow us on @TimesFreshFace on

Designer Narendra Kumar

Sachiin Kumbhaar anchored the event

Dabboo Ratnani with Vipra Mehta and Saheel Faiz

A dance act by TAG, The Atoot Gang entertained the audience

DID YOU KNOW?

Robert Downey Jr improvised several lines in The Avengers

Director Joss Whedon encouraged improvisation on the set of The Avengers (2012). Reportedly, Iron Man’s cheeky postclimax line “Let’s just not come in tomorrow” was improvised by Robert Downey Jr.

Kevin Jonas undergoes treatment for skin cancer

Kevin Jonas

Singer-songwriter Kevin Jonas revealed on Tuesday that he recently had a cancerous mole removed from his face. He also encouraged fans to stay vigilant about their own skin health.

In a video on Instagram, the Leave Before You Love Me singer said, “So today, I am getting a basal cell carcinoma removed from my head. Yes, that is an actual little skin cancer guy that just started to grow.” He continued, “And now, I have to get surgery to remove it. So, here we go.”

After the procedure, he shared, “Now it’s time to heal. Heading home.” Before ending his video, the singer left his fans with a final request. He said, “Make sure to get those moles checked, people.”

Basal cell carcinoma is a type of skin cancer that occurs most often on areas of the skin exposed to the sun, such as the head and neck.

Agencies

A screengrab from the video Kevin shared

Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa’s Punjabi-Haryanvi movie all set for release

Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa

Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa entertainer Kudi Haryane Val Di is all set for release on June 14. “Our film’s trailer, teaser, dialogues and songs have already garnered 40 million views (approx). This is the first time that a Punjabi film has two titles – in Punjabi and Haryanvi – and is eyeing the national market space beyond the Punjabi audiences,” says producer Pawan Gill. The upcoming movie has a cast of Punjabi and Haryanvi actors, including Ammy Virk, Sonam Bajwa – who plays a Haryanvi jaatni, Yashpal Sharma, Yograj Singh and Ajay Hooda.

The film is set in the backdrop of wrestling. “It is shot 90% in Harayana and 50% of the film is in Hindi and Haranyvi. This comedy, romance, and fun entertainer is being billed as Punjabi cinema’s first potentially pan-India film,” adds the producer.

He says, “Sonam, who is a national crush and top Punjabi actress, is speaking Haryanvi for the first time in her career. This has raised curiosity among her fans worldwide. Her fans can’t wait to see her bring her vivacious spunk into a new character.”

Kudi Haryane Val Di is directed by Rakesh Dhawan, the writer of the blockbuster films Honsla Rakh and Chal Mera Putt and produced by Pawan Gill, Aman Gill, and Sunny Gill – the producers of blockbuster Punjabi films Shadaa and Puaada under their banner Ramara films. The film is releasing across India on June 14.

‘From Filhaal to Sam Bahadur, I’m proud of Meghna’s journey’

Meghna learnt all the other skills I have on her own, but even today, when it comes songwriting, she comes to me. She does not let me read her scripts before they are ready – Gulzar

CONTINUED FROM 1

When it was time to put Meghna in school, she was taken to a kindergarten that she loved so much that she didn’t want to leave it, though other schools were available in the Bandra-Khar area. Gulzar shares, “We decided to admit her there. Later, I found that it was run by actor Pran’s daughter. I also loved taking her along to buy books – be it from the stores or on the pavement. Once, when she was still a child, she confidently asked the shopkeeper if he had Hans Christian Andersen’s book of fairy tales. The man was surprised that a child was familiar with the author’s name!”

Talking about how Meghna grew up to become a confident young woman, who made her own decisions, he says, “She and her friends decided to join St Xavier’s College and her mother was worried how she would travel. But she learnt to take the train instead of going by car. I wish she had taken to sports, but her interest lay in dramatics.

She also met her then-boyfriend and now husband Govind during that time. Like the daughters from film families, she started getting movie offers, though she wanted to complete her studies. I found out about her interest in filmmaking after she started assisting Saeed Mirza,” he recalls.

When it came to going abroad, Meghna had already decided on an institution and did not allow either parent to recommend her anywhere. “Both she and Govind moved to America. Both Govind’s parents and we knew they would marry someday and did not pressurise them,” Gulzar says.

He will turn 90 this year, but the ability to see the humorous side of life hasn’t left Gulzar. “There is the famous story of the cat and the tiger. The cat teaches the tiger all sorts of survival skills, but finally, the tiger pounces on the cat. Seeing the danger, the cat climbs a tree and escapes – and the tiger realises that he’s not been taught this skill. Meghna learnt all the other skills I have on her own, but even today, when it comes to songwriting for her films, she comes to me. She does not let me read her scripts before they are ready, but I’m proud of her journey from Filhaal to Sam Bahadur. The best gift she has given me is my grandson, Samay Gulzar Sandhu,” he tells us.

I am a headstrong director, and as a lyricist, my father always offers me that space: Meghna

“Though both my parents are famous people, I’ve had a very normal upbringing. It was nothing like today’s celebrity kids. They were always very present, and I never felt that either of them was not there for me. It isn’t easy for a father to raise a daughter, but he would tie my sash and do my pigtails just the way I wanted them. He would hold me from the back when I went cycling down the slope… these are precious memories. My parents raised me in a way that I could make my own choices and live with them. It was equal parenting and positive reinforcement – that’s how I would describe it,” says Meghna.

She adds, “Though my father writes my film’s songs, he keeps egging me on to write my own songs. I think in English, so when one of my films needs lyrics in English, I do my own writing as well. I am a headstrong director, and as a lyricist, he always offers me that space and courtesy. I hope my son, Samay, imbibes the same values, though he is developing his own personality. Samay and he share a unique bond that’s independent of me or my husband.”

Gulzar with his daughter Meghna

I overcame fear of dogs & found joy in them: Sonu

As kids, my siblings and I were never fond of dogs. We had terrible experiences with street dogs chasing our bicycles, which led us to develop an innate fear of them

Sonu Nigam with his pets

Sonu Nigam, a pet parent to his shih tzu dogs Goggles and Shifu, shares that he had to overcome his fear of dogs before making them a part of his family. Sonu says, “As kids, my siblings – Meenal, Teesha, and I – were never fond of dogs. We had terrible experiences with street dogs chasing our scooters and bicycles, which led us to develop an innate fear of them. Slowly, we started getting accustomed to the presence of dogs in other people’s homes, and that fear converted into the joy of having them around. Now all three of us have our own dog families.”

Speaking of how he adopted his pets, he says, “Our first pet was Santa, who passed away two years ago. Goggles and Shifu were adopted, along with their brother Zen. I gifted Zen to Teesha.” Today, the singer says he is happy to add more pets to his growing family.

– Natasha Coutinho

Table of Contents

TOI Print Edition Jun 13, 2024

Front Page

India slips 2 notches to 129 in WEF global gender gap index

26/11 accused to be quizzed to track down ‘absconder’

Over 40 Indians among 49 dead in Kuwait blaze

47.7°C at Najafgarh, heatwave in city likely to last 6 more days

Sand-laden truck overturns on hut in UP, 8 of a family killed

Retail inflation at 12-month low, IIP holds steady at 5%

21 of 24 mins from TDP, 1 berth for BJP; Kalyan likely to be deputy CM

With Patnaik on dais, Majhi is sworn in, inducts 15 in cabinet

Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak convict in Red Fort attack

CRPF jawan, 2 terrorists killed in 15-hr Jammu op

1st post-poll Parl session from June 24, likely to be stormy

‘State policy encourages encroachments’: HC junks Maha govt bid to take over church land

Modi to come face to face with Trudeau at G7, may take up separatist issue

SC asks Delhi govt for explanation on water crisis, raps HP for U-turn

INDIA BEAT USA, IN SUPER 8

Times Nation

Surat civic hosp doctor assaults Thai woman in boys’ hostel

Man & son, both lawyers, shot on way to court

June 24-July 3 Parl meet will be 1st show of govt-oppn dynamics

Wayanad or Rae Bareli, which to quit? My call will make people at both seats happy: Rahul

6 of Delhi gang, pub manager in Hyd held for dating scam

Boy cuts b’day cake, then sneaks out & plays PubG. Ends up dead

Video showing Shah wagging finger at TN BJP neta goes viral

Taking ‘break’ for medical reasons: TMC’s Abhishek

Khandu set for 5th term as BJP finalises him as Arunachal CM

Of 24 cabinet ministers in Andhra, 17 are newcomers

MP Akhilesh quits Karhal assembly seat

Andhra, Odisha will usher in record development: PM

No mantri yet from 17 of 30 Odisha dists, dy CM lone woman

Jailed BrahMos scientist ‘delivered 80 missiles to armed forces, had access to dispatch locations’

Five on two bikes crushed between truck and bus in TN

PM to meet Meloni, other bilaterals being finalised

‘Taken it up with Italian authorities’: MEA on Gandhi statue vandalisation

Vehicle ferrying cattle set ablaze in Jharkhand, probe launched

8 of family killed in UP as truck overturns on makeshift hut

3 dead as bus falls into U’khand gorge

3 of family killed in Mizoram landslide

2 leopards drown in Assam:

Exhausted over being targeted: Salman to cops

Ajit’s NCP slams RSS mag for questioning its entry into NDA

CID asks K’taka ex-CM BSY to face probe team in Pocso case

Woman arrested for hacking and burning son, 4

Govt plans to import additional chana from Aus to check prices

HC asks ATS to probe new info from Pansare kin

New devices to check FASTag to cut toll plaza delays soon: NHAI

Govt inaction lets firm sell human milk using HC stay

Residents allege 3 killed, 76 unwell due to contaminated water; MP govt denies deaths

Fire at Mum factory weeks after industrial area blast sparks panic

Sanctity of NEET-UG exam not compromised, says NTA

How insurance cover helped 46,000 women avoid toiling in the sun during heatwave

Sena UBT, Cong give up a seat for each other for MLC polls

Need 4-6 mths to change Maha govt: Pawar in Baramati

4 fall guys were offered `20L to shield Kannada actor in murder case: Cops

ED attaches `32cr bank deposits of ponzi co

Art 21 lets adults go with anyone, says HC, quashes kidnapping FIR

BALANCE, MILORDS!

‘Country wants answer’: Rahul slams PM over J&K attacks

Second Doda strike in 24 hrs sparks gunfight

Dancing his way to Cannes

No independent role for central forces hit BJP in polls: WB neta

Most Kuwait victims died in sleep after inhaling smoke

Mukhtar Ansari’s bro lauds Yogi, says ‘Modi magic over’

Times City

Delhi May Get Its Fourth ISBT Near Tikri Border

Bright spots! 9 lakh tulip bulbs to adorn city this yr

Teenager stabbed to death, three held

Museums, psychiatric hosps receive bomb hoax emails

Delhi govt will spend `900cr for development of city villages

App To Help Roll Out New Criminal Laws

Bibhav Kumar moves HC for bail

How Delhi cops trained for transition to new laws

‘We started off small... had four sessions of 1.5 hours each daily’

Mayor directs MCD to speed up relocation of Safiabad toll plaza

Number Of Water Tankers Cut Without My Nod: Atishi

LG’s office: Haryana’s affidavit busts ‘lie’ of neighbour being responsible for crisis

BJP asks Delhi Police to set up an SIT, probe water theft

Tanker trips, quantum of water up from 2023: DJB

Similar loss of water takes place during supply in other states too: Delhi to SC

Contempt plea: HC seeks stand of govts

10 Heatwave Days Already At Some Stations This June

Sun Turns Rooftop Plastic Water Tanks Sauna Ready

DU’s ‘presentation’ criterion for assistant professors faces flak

CBSE tries a new test: Open-book exams for Classes IX and XI

In realtor vs realtor in Ggn, case in Delhi poses a jurisdiction question

More testing times for disabled certified wrongly in NEET

Race Against Time To Finish Desilting

DMRC gets new infra director

Police chargesheet details how a slap prompted father’s plot to kill his son

Mann meets Kejriwal in jail

Man arrested for robbing, killing elderly woman

‘Pune flight back in Delhi after being in air for about 3 hrs’

When ASI Chose Wrong Colour To Paint Safdarjung Tomb Entrance

Red Fort attack: Prez rejects mercy plea of Pak man

‘Fit case for discretion’: Rape accused gets pre-arrest bail

3-month-old boy is now 6, still waits for surgery at AIIMS

Times Global

Pope Francis is accused of using a homophobic slur yet again

Russian warships enter Havana harbour under US’ watchful eye

Ceasefire plan in doubt as US says Hamas wants changes

Outrage among France’s Conservatives after top politico backs far-right

Why is Biden going to Europe twice in a week?

UN inquiry says Israel & Hamas committed war crimes

In sudden move, Musk drops suit against OpenAI sans explanation

AROUND THE WORLD

Asked about hardships, Sunak cites growing up without Sky TV

Economic crisis? Pak allocates Rs 2,100bn for defence in budget, a 19% hike over 2023

SpaceX sued by engineers fired after accusing Elon of sexism

‘Musk had sex with 2 staffers, asked another to have his babies’

First came ‘spam.’ Now, with AI, we’ve got ‘slop’ for dubious content

Editorial

A thought for today

Ego & Success

To Russia, For War

‘A+’ for local-vocal

DIY Approach To Self-Realisation

How Majhi Won Naveen’s Job

India At G7: The Summit & Substance

Sacred space

Times Business

US Fed holds rates steady as inflation is still ‘elevated’

Rules for direct listing in GIFT to be out in a mth

Will pursue reforms to push growth, macro stability: FM

India will be main driver of global oil demand: IEA

JK Paper CMD 1st vice-chair of Int’l Chamber of Comm

Get more if you surrender life cover with new norms

Sebi bars PTC’s CMD, ex-PFS MD from holding board seats

Your phone no. may come at a cost as Trai mulls fee

Exporters take air route to tackle Red Sea crisis

Retail inflation at 12-mth low, IIP holds steady at 5%

Onboarding delays by IT cos put freshers in limbo

Times Sport

IMAGINE. IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY

DAD DRIVES BOOTS TO GERMANY FOR LATE CALL-UP MAATSEN

RONALDO DOUBLE IN FINAL WARM-UP

Ten Hag to stay on at Old Trafford

LEFT BACK AT HOME

Give peace a chance: Ukraine’s Sudakov dreams of home

India seeks probe into Qatar’s equaliser

Chathunni moulded Vijayan; won big with Salgaocar, Bagan

SINGH, SEAM & SKY SINK US

Perennial semifinalists, NZ stare at exit

LANKA’S QUALIFYING HOPES DIMINISH AFTER FLORIDA WASHOUT

Thiago Motta named as new coach of Juventus

Shardul Thakur undergoes ankle surgery in London

AUSTRALIA STORM INTO SUPER 8

Rainy Miami likely to disrupt Team India’s preparations

Manipulate Scotland game, eliminate Eng: Paine urges Oz

‘Looking at smart options to tackle India’

ACTION TODAY

An India House for the first time at Olympics

Divya a win away from world junior chess title

McIlroy, wife end divorce proceedings

‘Nervous’ Nikhat looking to remain injury-free leading up to Paris Games

‘My uncles have made me what I am today’

Nadal, Alcaraz to team up at Paris Oly

Delhi Times

CORE OF MY EXISTENCE REMAINS MY DAUGHTER MEGHNA, SAYS GULZAR

If Sonakshi is getting married, I will give her my blessings, says Shatrughan

Meet the winners of Fresh Face Season 15

Musk shares Tamil ﬁlm still as meme; netizens call it a win for 'Tamil meme nation'

BUZZ STOP

Getting into the pool brings out the inner child in me, says Abhimanyu Dassani Prathamesh Bandekar, Location: ITC Grand Central, Mumbai

I HAVE LEANED ON MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO DEAL WITH POSTPARTUM DEPRESSION

LOOP THE LOOP

Gifts to give your globetrotting dad

ARCHIE

GARFIELD

TIMES HITORI

SUDOKU CHALLENGE

THE DAILY CROSSWORD

SCRAMBLE

An exciting grand finale for Fresh Face

DID YOU KNOW?

Kevin Jonas undergoes treatment for skin cancer

Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa’s Punjabi-Haryanvi movie all set for release

‘From Filhaal to Sam Bahadur, I’m proud of Meghna’s journey’

I overcame fear of dogs & found joy in them: Sonu