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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023

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 NEW DELHI/METRO
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
n VOL. XCIX NO. 73
Atiq brought to UP jail
after 24-hour road trip
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
PRAYAGRAJ: An Uttar Pradesh
Police convoy brought gangster-
turned-politician Atiq Ahmad
from Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail to
Prayagraj in a largely uneventful
journey on Monday, and lodged
him in a high-security barrack
while upping vigil and surveil-
lance.
Ahmad, a former Samajwadi
Party MP from Phulpur, is the
prime accused in the sensational
murder of Umesh Pal, who was
the main witness in the 2005
killing of Bahujan Samaj Party
lawmaker Raju Pal. On Tuesday,
Ahmad will be produced before
the Prayagraj MP/MLA court,
which will pronounce its verdict
in the 2006 case of Umesh Pal’s
abduction — another case where
Ahmad is the prime accused.
The convoy transporting
Ahmad covered 1,275km by road
in nearly 24 hours, crossing
three states, and reached Naini
central jail at 5.35pm.
“Atiq has been kept in a high-
security barrack located close to
BANJARA GROUP
TARGETS YEDDY
OVER QUOTA ROW
IN KARNATAKA
Priyanka Rudrappa
letters@hindustantimes.com
BENGALURU: Members of the
Banjara community on Monday
pelted stones at former Karna-
taka chief minister BS Yediyur-
appa’s residence at Shikaripura
in Shivamogga district, demand-
ing the withdrawal of the inter-
nal reservation for the Sched-
uled Castes (SCs) announced by
the state. They hurled stones at
the senior BJP leader’s resi-
dence, even as police used
batons to disperse agitators.→P9
SC CLEARS WAY
FOR U.P. LOCAL
BODY POLLS WITH
OBC RESERVATION
Abraham Thomas
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Monday gave its go-ahead for
Uttar Pradesh to hold elections
to its local bodies, with reserva-
tions for OBCs after being con-
vinced the state followed the tri-
ple test benchmark. The lack of
this led the Allahabad high court
to stay the state from notifying
OBC reservations in the polls.→P9
TN COP REMOVED
FROM POST OVER
ALLEGATIONS OF
BRUTAL TORTURE
Divya Chandrababu
letters@hindustantimes.com
CHENNAI: An assistant superin-
tendent of police in the Ambas-
amudram subdivision of Tamil
Nadu’s Tirunelveli district was
removed from his post on Mon-
day after being accused of custo-
dial torture. In photos and videos
circulating on social media, men
with missing teeth accused Bal-
veer Singh of torturing them at a
police station 10 days ago. →P7
{ HOLKAR STADIUM } MATCH ENDED ON THIRD MORNING
Indore Test pitch no longer ‘poor’, just ‘below
average’ after world body reviews own report
The pitch for the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series was
initially rated as ‘poor’, a grade the BCCI appealed.
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The van carrying Atiq Ahmed at Naini Central jail on Monday.
the women’s jail. Besides elabo-
rate security arrangements at
the barrack, the number of CCTV
cameras has been increased,”
said senior superintendent of
Naini central jail, Shashikant
Singh.
The convoy left Sabarmati jail,
where Ahmad was lodged since
2019, at about 6pm, but met with
an accident in Madhya Pradesh’s
Tussle over power subsidy
as Delhi govt orders audit
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal on Monday said he
will not allow the Capital’s
power subsidy scheme to be
stopped, while his Cabinet col-
league Atishi announced a spe-
cial audit to check all accounts
related to the popular initiative
going back eight years, in an
attempt the latter said was
meant to counter a “conspiracy
to halt the scheme”.
The remarks are the latest in
an escalating war of words
between the Aam Aadmi Party
(AAP) government and lieuten-
ant governor (LG) VK Saxena.
AAP leaders have accused him of
trying to end the subsidy — a
claim the latter’s office has
denied.
“In Delhi we provide free and
24x7 water supply. We have
revamped the electricity infra-
structure on the one hand and
provided the electricity free. This
hurts BJP and they want to stop
the power subsidy through vari-
ous conspiracies. Until I am
alive, I want to assure people of
continued on →11
Ailing cheetah Sasha dies
in Kuno of kidney disease
Sasha was not released in the wild.
AP
PTI
Shivpuri at around 6.30am,
when it hit a cow before entering
Jhansi. The convoy stopped
briefly even as the cow was
taken to a local veterinary hospi-
tal, said police.
The police’s decision to bring
Ahmad back by road had
sparked a political controversy
with opposition leaders, such as
continued on →15
CM Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi assembly on Monday.
Kejriwal lists policies
across sectors in 8 yrs
Paras Singh
paras@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal on Monday said
the “Delhi model of govern-
ance” has provided a glimmer
of hope for the country, and
showed that an “honest and
educated” government can
PTI
MUMBAI: The International
Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday
announced that it has improved
the original rating of the Indore
pitch for the third Test against
Australia from “poor” to “below
average”. It means the Holkar
Stadium, facing three demerit
points, will now get only one
demerit point. Australia won the
game, which ended in two days
and 75 minutes on a rank turner.
This followed an appeal by BCCI.
The move, once again, high-
lighted India’s power in world
cricket and BCCI’s hold over ICC
as its must lucrative member.
DEFAULT BAIL
MUST KICK IN
IF CHARGE SHEET
NOT FILED: SC
Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Monday stressed that an
accused is entitled to default bail
under the law if the agency fails
to present its charge sheet within
these 60 days, and held that the
window starts on the day the
accused is remanded to custody
and not the day after.
A three-judge bench led by
justice KM Joseph delivered the
ruling on the point of law as it
dismissed the Enforcement
Directorate’s (ED) appeal against
the grant of default bail to
former Dewan Housing Finance
Corporation (DHFL) promoters
Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj
Wadhawan in a money launder-
ing case in connection with the
Yes Bank scam.
The bench, which included
justices Hrishikesh Roy and BV
Nagarathna, declared that for
considering a claim for default
bail, the day of remand is to be
included while computing the
period of 60 or 90 days for the
agency to conclude its probe and
present a charge sheet. →P7
HT PHOTO
deliver for the people, as he laid
down targets to transform the
Capital into a “saaf, sunder aur
adhunik” (clean, beautiful and
modern) city within two years.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) hit back, saying that
every year, the Delhi govern-
ment fails to keep the promises
it makes in the Budget. →P3
Shruti Tomar
letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL: Five-and-a-half-year-
old Sasha, who was brought to
India in the first batch of chee-
tahs from Namibia, died of sus-
pected renal failure on Monday,
officials said. She contracted a
renal infection in the third week
of January and was being treated
at the Kuno National Park in
Madhya Pradesh. The state for-
est department first found out
about her ill health on January
22, when she was visibly “lethar-
gic”, said a statement. →P8
“Having reviewed footage of
the Test, the ICC appeal panel
consisting of Mr Wasim Khan,
ICC General Manager – Cricket,
and Mr Roger Harper, ICC Men’s
Cricket Committee member,
were of the opinion that while
the guidelines had been followed
by the Match Referee in accord-
ance with Appendix A of the
Pitch Monitoring Process, it was
deemed that there was not
enough excessive variable
bounce to warrant the “poor”
rating... the pitch should be rated
“below average”,” an ICC state-
ment said. →P17
 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Number Theory
Two charts that capture
Congress’s current crisis
By Roshan Kishore
Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in a criminal defamation case, his subsequent disqualification from
the Lok Sabha and a possible jail term and debarment from contesting elections for another six
years is one of the biggest crises which has faced the Congress, India’s oldest political party.
Here are two charts which show that this is only the latest in a series of problems that has
plagued the Congress.

1 Post-Independence Congress is used to being led by

someone from the Gandhi family
Of the 17 general elections that have been held in the country since
1951, the Congress has faced every election except one (in 1996)
under the leadership of a person from the Gandhi family. Between
1951 and 1962, it was Jawaharlal Nehru; from 1967 to 1980, it was
Indira Gandhi; 1984 to 1991 was Rajiv Gandhi (he was assassinated
just before the 1991 election); 1998 to 2014 was Sonia Gandhi (even
though Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister in 2009 and 2014,
it was Sonia Gandhi who was seen as the political leader); and 2019,
Rahul Gandhi.
To be fair to the present set of Gandhis leading the party, it was the
Congress party that asked Sonia Gandhi to take over the leadership
of the party in 1997 after she refused to partake in active politics
after her husband’s killing. Even in 2022, it was the Gandhis,
especially Rahul, who insisted that they were not keen on
becoming the president of the party. Even without the crisis
triggered by Rahul’s conviction, the Congress would have still had
to take a call on its face for the 2024 campaign — unless it decided
it would pick current chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

2 Its support-base has a seen a gradual decline under

every successive Gandhi
A long-term comparison of vote shares of the Congress
shows this clearly. If one were to round-off vote shares, the
Congress never went below the 45% mark in the three elections it
fought under Jawaharlal Nehru. The party fell below the 40%
vote-share threshold for the first time in the 1977 elections,
which were held after Indira Gandhi imposed the emergency
in 1975. The next big watershed moment came in 1996, when the
Congress’s vote share fell below the 30% mark. The Congress faced
a double whammy of sorts in these elections. It had nobody from
the Gandhi family leading the party and the PV Narasimha Rao
government was seen as having allowed the demolition of the
Babri Masjid under its watch in 1992, which was seen a decisive
blow for Hindutva politics in India. While Sonia Gandhi could not
really bring up the vote share of the Congress above the
30% mark, she did manage to bring back the party to power in
2004 and 2009 as head of a coalition. However, 2014 would see yet
another low for the party when the vote share fell below the 20%
cut-off for the first time. It remained there in the 2019 elections,
which were held with Rahul Gandhi holding the presidency of the
party.

GE-wise vote share of Congress (in%)

50 49.1
47.8
45.0 44.7
43.7
40.8 42.7
40 39.5

36.3

34.5
30 28.3 28.6
28.8

25.8 26.5
19.7

20 19.3

Jawaharlal Indira Rajiv Sonia Rahul

Nehru Gandhi Gandhi Gandhi Gandhi

10
1951 1957 1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996 1998 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Source: TCDP and ECI

3 Congress’s biggest challenge in the run-up to 2024

is a predatory solidarity
This might seem slightly counter-intuitive given the widespread
condemnation of Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification by opposition
parties in the last couple of days. However, it can be argued that
the solidarity being displayed towards the Congress by other
opposition parties is a bit predatory in nature.
Given the sharp drop in Congress’s vote share and seat share in the
last two Lok Sabha elections and its reverses in critical states in
recently held polls — Punjab and Gujarat in 2022 were the biggest
elections — regional parties that are opposed to the BJP are already
pushing hard to make the Congress cede more ground to them.
Some argue that the Congress cannot even claim to be the principal
challenger to the BJP anymore.
Even if the Congress wants to build a wide alliance to challenge the
BJP in 2024, it will enter negotiations from a weak position. This is
best seen by comparing the share of parliamentary constituencies
contested by the Congress and its strike rate in general elections.
While the Congress contested its lowest share of seats in the 2004
polls, its strike rate was much better than in 2014 and 2019.
Regional parties in key states — Janata Dal (United) in Bihar,
Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena (Uddhav) in Maharashtra,
among others — are likely to cite these numbers to push harder in
alliance negotiations in the run-up to 2024. Others like Trinamool
Congress are trying to argue that the Congress does not even
matter in drafting an opposition-strategy for 2024.

Share of LS Share of contested seats and strike rate of the Congress Strike
seats contested rate
100 100
99.2
98.8
80 82.3 92

60
74.0 84

40 76.8 76
77.5

20 12.4 68

9.5
0 60
1962 1967 1971 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996 1998 1999 2004 2009 2014 2019
Source: TCDP

What can work for the Congress at the moment?

Four key states that will go to polls before the 2024 general elections will see direct (or almost-direct) contests between the Congress and
the BJP. If the Congress can pull off convincing victories in these elections, it could at least have a strong bargaining chip vis-à-vis the
anti-BJP regional parties. Even then, it will have to handle the challenge of addressing BJP’s advantage in national elections compared to
state elections, which has become one of the party’s defining features under Narendra Modi.

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Finance bill cleared by
Parl amid Oppn uproar
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The parliamentary
process for approval of the ₹45
lakh crore Union Budget ended
on Monday with the Upper
House returning the Finance Bill
to the Lok Sabha without any
discussion, a fact that Rajya
Sabha chairman Jagdeep
Dhankhar termed “most unfor-
tunate”.
The Opposition continued its
demand for an investigation by a
Joint Parliamentary Committee
into Hindenburg Research’s
report alleging that the Adani
Group indulged in fraud and the
manipulation of its stock price,
which meant that no debate was
possible despite 10 hours being
allocated for it. The Rajya Sabha,
however, recommended an
amendment , correcting a typo
on the tax rate on the Securities
Transaction Tax. The Lok Sabha
then cleared the Finance Bill,
marking an end to the year’s
budgetary process.
Passed through Parliament
with dozens of amendments, the
Finance Bill 2023 focuses on cap-
ital investment as a key driver of
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Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and other MPs dressed in black on Monday.
growth and employment, with
the outlay raised by 33% to Rs 10
lakh crore. Taking grants-in-aid
to states together, the effective
capital expenditure of the Centre
is budgeted at ₹13.7 lakh crore,
which will be 4.5% of the GDP.
The Budget for FY24 also
focused on tax-rationalisation,
particularly for the new, exemp-
tion-free income tax regime,
incentives to domestic manufac-
turing with emphasis on micro,
small and medium enterprises
and social upliftment.
Earlier, after the Rajya Sabha
returned the Finance Bill, 2023
as well as other money bills such
as the Jammu and Kashmir bud-
get and appropriation bills to the
Lok Sabha through voice vote
without any discussion, Dhank-
SANJEEV VERMA/HT
har said: It is “most unfortunate”
as the House is meant for discus-
sions, and debate “to put across
points that matter in larger pub-
lic interest” … “not availing this
10-hour of discussion is not very
wholesome”.
The entire proceeding took
just few minutes amid slogan-
eering.
continued on →5
RAHUL ASKED TO
VACATE OFFICIAL
HOUSE BY APR 22
Deeksha Bhardwaj and
Saubhadra Chatterji
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha secre-
tariat on Monday asked Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi to vacate his
official residence by April 22,
three days after he was disquali-
fied as an MP after conviction in a
defamation case. If a poli-
tician ceases to be an
MP, the official
accommodation is
withdrawn, but time
taken to send an evic-
tion notice is often
longer. →P8
POLICE SAY SUICIDE
NOTE FOUND IN
IIT-BOMBAY DEATH
Manish K Pathak
manish.pathak@htlive.com
MUMBAI: A special investigation
team (SIT) of Mumbai Police
found a suicide note from the
hostel room of a first-year Dalit
student at IIT-Bombay, officers
said on Monday, uncovering a
new twist in a case that sparked
outrage and allegations of caste
discrimination on campus.
Police said the note, in English,
named another student. →P7
NEW DELHI/METRO
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Top court seeks files on
Bilkis convicts’ release
that the adjudication of the mat-
Utkarsh Anand THE BENCH TOLD ter will be strictly on “legality
letters@hindustantimes.com THE CENTRE AND and law”.
NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court STATE TO PRODUCE “This is a horrendous
on Monday termed the gang- offence... no doubt about it.
rape of Bilkis Bano and murder
FILES RELATING Now, we have a stream of mur-
of her family members during TO THE GRANT OF der case convicts who are lan-
the 2002 Gujarat riots a “hor- REMISSION TO guishing in jails without remis-
rendous” crime, directing the sion. So, is this a case where the
Centre and the Gujarat govern-
THE 11 CONVICTS standards have been adopted
ment to produce files regarding uniformly in other cases too?”
the grant of remission to 11 peo- asked if the Gujarat government asked the bench as it heard a
ple convicted and sentenced to a applied the same standards in bunch of six petitions challeng-
life term in the case. respect of other prisoners when ing the remission — while one
A bench of justices KM it granted remission to the 11 of these petitions was moved by
Joseph and BV Nagarathna also convicts, even as it observed continued on →15
Release followers in a day or face
stir, Akal Takht tells Punjab govt
Surjit Singh
surjit.singh@htlive.com
AMRITSAR: The acting chief of
the Akal Takht, the highest tem-
poral seat in Sikhism, gave a
24-hour ultimatum to the state
government on Monday to
release all people who were
arrested during a crackdown
initiated last month to appre-
hend pro-Khalistan preacher
Amritpal Singh. →P8 Amritpal’s supporters protest in Amritsar on Monday. AFP
 02 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Page One Plus

{ WORLD } IN CALIFORNIA { MY INDIA } RHINO KILLED { WORLD } HUMZA YOUSAF { MY INDIA } BAIL PLEA REJECTED { WORLD } SHOOTER ALSO KILLED

Two people shot in Assam sees 1st case Scotland gets its youngest Karnataka BJP MLA 3 kids among 6 dead
gurdwara shootout of poaching since ’21 and first leader of colour held in bribery case in US school shooting

Two people were shot at a gurdwara in the US
state of California, with authorities ruling out the
incident as a hate crime. The shooting took place on
Sunday around 2:30pm at the Gurdwara Sacramento
Sikh Society, according to Sacramento County
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi.
Gandhi said a fistfight had broken out between two
men on the temple grounds, the Sacramento Bee
newspaper reported. One of the men, Gandhi said,
shot a friend of the other combatant. The second
man involved in the fight then fired upon the first
man and ran off. That second man remains at large,
Gandhi said. The two people who were wounded
were hospitalised at Kaiser Permanente hospital in
south Sacramento with injuries that were not
considered life-threatening.
An adult rhino was poached and its horn
removed in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park and
Tiger Reserve in the first such incident in the state
after zero-poaching last year, an official said on
Monday. The carcass of the rhino was found Sunday
in Bagori range. “The carcass, which was partially
decomposed, was found on the bank of a water body
inside the park’s Bagori range,” said divisional forest
officer Ramesh Gogoi. “It is a clear case of poaching.”
He said a round of .303 rifle was found near the rhino
indicating it was shot dead before the poachers
removed its horn and fled. “The incident seems to
have taken place around a week ago. As the carcass is
decomposed, it is unclear whether the animal was a
male or female,” said Gogoi. Assam did not record any
poaching of endangered rhinos, whose horns fetch
big money because of their supposed medicinal
PTI value, for the first time in nearly 45 years in 2022. →P11
Scotland’s governing Scottish National Party elected Humza
Yousaf as its new leader on Monday after a five-week contest that
exposed deep fractures within the pro-independence movement. The
37-year-old son of Pakistani immigrants is set to become the first person
of colour and the first Muslim to serve as Scotland’s first minister since
the post was established in 1999. He is also Scotland’s youngest leader,
taking the helm months after Rishi Sunak, 42, became the youngest UK
PM in modern times. Yousaf, who currently is Scotland’s health minister,
beat two other Scottish lawmakers in a contest to replace First Minister
Nicola Sturgeon. She unexpectedly stepped down last month after
eight years as leader of the party and of Scotland’s semi-autonomous
government. Yousaf, who is due to be confirmed by Scottish lawmakers
on Tuesday, faces the challenge of uniting the SNP and re-energising its
campaign for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. →P15
Karnataka Lokayukta police on Monday
arrested Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator
Madal Virupakshappa, hours after the Karnataka
High Court rejected his anticipatory bail application.
“I am of the view that the petitioner-accused No.1 is
not entitled to anticipatory bail as he is required for
custodial interrogation,”said the single bench of
Justice K Natarajan of the special court for elected
representatives. Senior police officers said that the
Channagiri MLA was arrested from a toll booth in
Kyathsandra in Tumakuru district and will be brought
to Bengaluru for questioning. Virupakshappa, on
March 2, was named the main accused in a corruption
case lodged by the Karnataka Lokayukta after his son
Prashanth Mandal was caught taking a bribe of ₹40
lakh. →P9
A female shooter wielding two “assault-style”
rifles and a pistol killed three students and three
adults at a private Christian school in Nashville on
Monday, authorities said. The suspect also died after
being shot by police during a confrontation after the
violence at The Covenant School, a Presbyterian
school for about 200 students from preschool
through sixth grade. Police said the shooter was a
28-year-old woman. The victims were pronounced
dead on arrival at a hospital. Reacting to the latest of
a spate of such incidents in the country, the White
House on Monday said US president Joe Biden is
calling on Congress to act on gun violence “because
enough is enough”. Labelling the shooting
“heartbreaking”, White House press secretary Karine
Jean-Pierre said, “How many more children have to
be murdered before Republicans in Congress will step
up and act to pass the assault weapons ban?” →P15

{ REFORM ROW } KEY MOVE ON HOLD

12.5k projects given
green clearance in
2022, Lok Sabha told
Jayashree Nandi
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The number of envi-
ronment, forest, wildlife and
coastal zone regulation clearan-
ces granted in India jumped 21
times in four years — from 577
in 2018 to 12,496 in 2022 (also the
highest in at least five years), the
environment ministry informed
the Lok Sabha on Monday.
The clearances were given
through the Parivesh portal, jun-
ior environment minister Ash-
wini Kumar Choubey said,
responding to a question by MPs.
The ministry has made sev-
eral policy and technological
interventions to remove redun-
dancy and streamline the clear-
ance process with environmen-
tal safeguards, he said. The aver-
age time taken to provide
approvals at the central level has
reduced significantly from more
than 150 days in 2019 to less than
70 days in 2022, he added.
According to the data shared
by the minister, 3,498 clearances
were granted in 2019, 8,169 in
2020 and 8,793 in 2021.
“All processing of proposals
for grant of environmental clear-
ance is on the basis of Environ-
ment Impact Assessment/Envi-
ronment Management Plan,
examined by the duly consti-
tuted Expert Appraisal Commit-
tees (EACs) and final approval is
given only after incorporating
general and specific conditions
so as to ensure compliances of
environmental standards and
safeguards,” he said.
“The existing PARIVESH por-
tal launched at the central level
in August 2018 has met its objec-
tives and facilitated uninter-
rupted services to the industries
even during the difficult period
of Covid,” Choubey said.
The central government will
use the geographic information
system to grant faster environ-
mental clearances for infrastruc-
ture projects through Parivesh
2.0, HT reported on December 2.
“It is important to bring effi-
ciency and professionalism to
the environmental regulatory
system,” said Kanchi Kohli, legal
researcher at the Centre for Pol-
icy Research.
“At the same time, the quality
and veracity of the decision-
making process are equally
important as the outcomes have
a direct bearing on socioeco-
nomic relationships and ecologi-
cal networks. Such a system can
also help strengthen regulatory
practice and institutional frame-
works.”
Netanyahu blinks as protests roil Israel Israel
embassies
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday put on hold controversial judicial reforms after
protests tore through Israel. The decision also prompted the withdrawal of a nationwide strike
join protest
Israeli embassies across
the world, including in
India, the United States
A plan to exert more judicial control and Belgium joined the
stir. “Today, the
At the heart of the protests is a
plan by Netanyahu’s government
announced this January to
1 Overturn rulings by the
country’s supreme court Histadrut, Israel's largest
labour union, instructed
overhaul the country’s judiciary. It
would allow parliament to...
2 Give the governing
coalition the final say over
all judicial appointments
all government
employees to go on
strike, including Israel’s
diplomatic missions
Dismay after dissident around the world. The
Embassy of Israel will be
minister sacked closed today until further
notice and no consular
Anger, which has been simmering in the
services will be provided,”
country for the past three months, boiled said Elad Strohmayer, a
over on Sunday after Netanyahu sacked top Israeli diplomat.
defence minister Yoav Gallant, the first
senior member of the ruling Likud party
to speak out against the reforms
Netanyahu
backtracks
Anger boils over “When there’s an
opportunity to avoid civil
Israel’s largest trade union declared a war through dialogue, I,
general strike and thousands of people as prime minister, am
gathered outside parliament to protest. taking a timeout for
The group, on Monday evening, called dialogue... There are
off its protest after Netanyahu said the a minority of
reforms will be put on hold. extremists
that are
willing to
“The country is on fire” tear our
country to
shreds...”
Chanting the slogan ‘The country is on fire’, - Netanyahu
protesters lit bonfires on Tel Aviv's main on Monday
highway, shutting the thoroughfare, and
many others throughout Israel for hours

{ VAST CLANDESTINE NETWORK } IN MADHYA PRADESH

Busted sex-determination camp blows lid off larger social crime

Shruti Tomar
letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL/MORENA: Four-hun-
dred metres off the Agra-Mum-
bai national highway (NH3), and
800 metres away from the Ban-
more police station, is an
unpaved road leading to a three-
room house that has a large
desert cooler jutting out from
one of its windows. The locality
in Jaitpur Road in Madhya Pra-
desh’s Morena district is nonde-
script — single-floor houses
located on sparse plots, with
cows ambling on dusty streets.
Right in the middle is the home
with the cooler, owned by
35-year-old taxi driver Lakhan
Singh Gurjar. In one corner is a
10x10 square foot room. Its rick-
ety wooden beds have no mat-
tress. There are two
entrances, the first
through a worn-out
wooden door, the other
covered only by a torn
curtain.
There is little reason Pick Of
for the rent for this
house to be ₹15,000 — 10
The Day
times the market rate.
Except that a joint investigation
by Haryana and Madhya Pra-
desh — in which a pregnant
woman acted as a police mole —
revealed that this location was
the venue of a clandestine sex
determination camp where
agents brought women secre-
tively from multiple states.
On March 3, the Madhya Pra-
desh police arrested two agents,
32-year-old Narendra Singh and
24-year-old Sachin Kumar, while
two others are on the run. “Four
people have been booked in the
case. The two arrested men
worked as agents and drivers.
The kingpin is 32-year-old
Dheeraj Shriwas, who was found
involved in a sex determination
case in 2020, and has been
absconding since then. We have
invoked the stringent National
Security Act against him. The
other man on the run is Lakhan
Gurjar, who owned the house,”
said Morena’s superintendent of
police Ashutosh Bagri.
India has struggled with
female foeticide for decades,
intertwined with issues such as
men being seen as productive
members of a household and a
culture of wedding dowry, which
was made illegal in 1961. These
fault lines were exacerbated in
the mid-1970s, when techniques
such as sonography arrived in
India. “In 1961, the Census
pegged the sex ratio at 976
females per 1,000 males. But
between 1974 and 1975, sonogra-
phy machines emerged and this
deepened the crisis. In 1981, the
sex ratio declined to 934, falling
even further to 927 in 1991,” said
Madhya Pradesh women
and child development
joint director Suresh
Tomar.
A 2019 report, “Gen-
der Issues” by the Union
ministry of health and
family welfare con-
curred. “Sex determina-
tion techniques have
been in use in India since 1975,
primarily for the determination
of genetic abnormalities. How-
ever, these techniques were
widely misused to determine the
sex of the foetus and subsequent
elimination, if the foetus is found
to be a female. Easy availability
of the sex determination tests
and abortion services has proved
to be a strong catalyst in the
deteriorating demographic
imbalance.”
It was to combat this that, in
1994, the Union government
passed the Pre-Conception and
Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques
— PC&PNDT (Prohibition of Sex
Selection) Act, 1994, strengthen-
ing it with an amendment in
February 2003. The amendment
brought “techniques of pre-con-
ception sex selection” under its
ambit, including the misuse of
ultrasound machines to disclose
the sex of the foetus.
The last two Census surveys
brought a measure of course
correction, with the sex ratio
improving to 933 females per
thousand males in 2001 and to
943 in 2011. But in several cor-
ners of the hinterland, there is
still evidence of organised gangs
that game the system, feed on
the desire to ensure a male child,
determine the sex of the foetus,
and fuel female infanticide.
The latest incident is of one
such multi-state operation that
brings into the spotlight a still-
prevalent practice in parts of
India.
The operation
In early February, 271km away
from Banmore, the Faridabad
district medical team received a
tip that preparations were
underway for several pregnant
women to be taken to Morena
for a sex-determination camp.
Led by Maan Singh, the district
Pre-conception and Pre-natal
Diagnostics Techniques
(PCPNDT) Act nodal officer, an
eight-member team began look-
ing for ways to crack the case.
Aware that these camps are
run behind a veil of secrecy, and
that its perpetrators could flee at
the slightest hint of being
caught, Singh knew they had to
come up with something invent-
ive. Police concluded that they
had to send in a pregnant
woman who could lead them to
the location of the house. “Most
women, even some from our
staff, refused. They were afraid
of the consequences, and scared
by the idea that the camp was
being held in Chambal, a name
that strikes fear because of its
history of dacoits. For a month,
we came up empty. But, eventu-
ally, did we find one woman
from Jhajjhar who was willing,”
Maan Singh said.
Agents secretively brought women from multiple states to a
house in Banmore for a sex determination camp.
The woman is 24, the wife of a
Jhajjhar-based farmer, and is
three-and-a-half months preg-
nant with her first child. “The
woman and her husband first
approached the agent of the sex
determination ring through a
middleman who was our
informer. We cannot share how
we convinced the woman. But
after she agreed to help, for two
weeks, we gave her some rudi-
mentary training on how to stay
calm, and what to say. She was
also told what to do if the agents
suspected her of working with
us,” Maan Singh said.
Police fixed a GPS device in
the 26-year-old’s saree, and on
March 3, began tracking her
movements. “The woman and
her husband were first taken in a
vehicle arranged by the accused
to Dholpur in Rajasthan. The
agent, Narendra, then asked the
husband to stay in Dholpur (on
the Madhya Pradesh-Rajasthan
border), and told him his wife
would return in a few hours. We
tracked the GPS location, but
lost it for a couple of hours.
When we eventually raided the
place, the woman and all of
those that were with the agents
had left, but we were able to
HT PHOTO
arrest two people,” Maan Singh
said.
Senior Madhya Pradesh police
officials said interrogations
revealed that Narendra picked
up the woman and her husband
from Jhajjhar and drove to Dhol-
pur, where 14 other women were
waiting. There, they changed
vehicles from a van to an SUV
and drove to Banmore in
Morena, 26km away. “Each
woman was frisked to see if they
were carrying cellphones,” a sen-
ior Madhya Pradesh officer said,
asking not to be named.
In her account to the police,
the woman said that each of the
other 14 women there had differ-
ent stories that they exchanged
— one already had three daugh-
ters so wanted a male child, a
few others were victims of har-
assment from their families who
wanted a boy and nothing else.
“But they were all cagey about
their names, identities and
addresses. This is how they had
been instructed to be by the
criminals,” the senior officer
added.
Modus operandi
Investigators said that the sex-
determination gang has at least
eight members, besides a net-
work of agents that works in
multiple north Indian states
such as Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
These “agents” were trained to
keep an eye out in district hospi-
tals, often using amenable Asha
workers to find families to tar-
get. “The agents themselves got
between eight to ten thousand
rupees per camp where they
brought vulnerable women.
Once a family was contacted, a
deal between ₹40,000 to
₹50,000 was fixed for sex deter-
mination,” a second senior
police officer said.
Inside the room in Banmore,
the wooden bed served as a hos-
pital bed where Dheeraj Shriwas
conducted the ultrasound tests.
As one woman lay down, the
others stood and watched. He
used a small portable ultrasound
machine, (Chinese-made, police
said) that could fit into a small
briefcase. “These machines can
be bought for anywhere between
₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh on the black
market. They are portable and
can be carried around easily.
The advent of this technology
has meant the threat of more
such camps being organised,”
said health expert KK Dixit, who
has worked in the field for 15
years in Madhya Pradesh.
At the end of the day on
March 4, Shriwas said the two
dreaded words to four women.
“Hatana padega”(it will have to
be removed), he said. To 10 oth-
ers, he said, “Wahi hai jo cha-
hiye”(the child is the kind you
want).
Investigators said that they
have zeroed in on a doctor who
was in touch with the gang, and
carried out abortions at his med-
ical facility. “He would admit
these women alleging that the
abortion was required because
of a medical complication in the
pregnancy. We are not naming
him because we are still building
a case against him,” said case
investigating officer Sapna Jain.
Shriwas, police said, once
worked as a paramedic in a pri-
vate hospital in Madhya Pradesh
and has been running such rack-
ets for at least three years. “The
gang has a nexus in different
states and this is at least the sec-
ond camp in the past four
months. We have also found the
involvement of a man named
Saurabh Sharma who is
absconding in a PCPNDT Act
case since 2020. Asha workers
are also involved, and more
arrests will follow,” said Jain.
According to Morena
PCPNDT nodal officer, Dr Giriraj
Gupta, a raid was carried out at a
similar sex determination centre
in Sanjay Colony, Morena, about
two years ago. “That centre was
run by Rekha Sengar, a nurse
from a private hospital, and Shri-
was. Police registered a case
under Section 315 (act done with
intent to prevent child being
born alive or to cause it to die
after birth) of the Indian Penal
Code. Shriwas has been
absconding since then,” said
Gupta.
Why Morena is a hot spot
Experts said that the Chambal
region of Madhya Pradesh has
long been an area where foeti-
cide is rampant. In the 2011 Cen-
sus, Morena had the lowest sex
ratio in the state at 829 females
per 1,000 males. It was among
100 districts in India that were
asked to improve on this aspect
by the Union ministry of women
and child development in Janu-
ary 2015 under the “Beti Bachao,
Beti Padhao” scheme.
On the ground in Banmore,
HT found that there was a quiet
sense of support for the practice.
Kaumesh Gurjar, who lives next
door from the one-room house
said, “We were told that the
room was taken on rent to run a
self-help group for women. How
does it matter if they were check-
ing the sex of the child? They
were not involved in foeticide.
Why has Lakhan been targeted?”
Standing next to him, Rab-
hudi Khan, another neighbour,
said, “The women would all
come of their own volition. They
did not seem poor or harassed.”
According to Dixit , the people
in this region suffer from a lack
of awareness that it is illegal to
carry out such practices. “There
are villages here where foeticide
is rampant. Things have
improved a little and infanticide
may have stopped, but people do
not believe there is anything
wrong with foeticide,” he added.
Morena district collector
Ankit Asthana said that they
were looking to fix accountabil-
ity for the existence of such
camps. “I have asked all the
block medical officers (BMO) to
keep a watch on such camps and
improve our informer network.
If they need more money, we will
provide it.”
Dixit also pointed to a lack of
action by the state government
under the PCPNDT Act. Accord-
ing to data from the Madhya Pra-
desh health department, since
1994, over 11,008 ultrasound cen-
tres have been inspected, and
action has been taken against
299. Since 2022, action was
taken against two centres while
1,099 were inspected. There was
no inspection that was carried
out in Morena, Madhya Pradesh
health department data says.
MP health minister Prabhu-
ram Chaudhary, however, said,
“I don’t know a great deal about
women from other states com-
ing to Madhya Pradesh for such
tests but we have improved a
great deal, especially Chambal.
National Family Health Survey
(NFHS) 5 data shows that the sex
ratio has increased to 964.”
(with inputs from Shiv Pratap
Singh in Morena)

This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023 03
My Delhi
Did more in 8 years than MCD teachers’ unions call
SPEAKER CLAIMS
BID TO RESTRICT
AUTONOMY OF
DELHI ASSEMBLY for security staff at schools
other govts did in 65: CM Paras Singh
paras@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Delhi assembly

HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: Two weeks after a

Paras Singh
paras@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arv-
ind Kejriwal on Monday asserted
that the Delhi model has pro-
vided a glimmer of hope for the
country, and has showed that an
“honest and educated” govern-
ment can deliver for the people,
as he laid down targets to trans-
form the Capital into a “saaf,
sunder aur adhunik” (clean,
beautiful and modern) city
within two years.
The Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) hit back, saying every year,
the Delhi government fails to
keep the promises it makes in
the Budget.
Concluding the discussion on
the Delhi Budget 2023-24 in the
assembly, Kejriwal said his Aam
Aadmi Party-led government
has in its eight-year tenure deliv-
ered on a wide range of parame-
ters, claiming that this is equiva-
lent of the work undertaken by
previous governments over a
period of 65 years.
Kejriwal said, “We are the
most honest government in the
country. The quantum of devel-
opment works taken up during
the 65 years after Independence,
we have completed double that
over the last eight years (of our
tenure)... The amount of progress
done by Delhi over the last eight
years is double the work done
over the last 65 years...”
During his 30-minute speech,
the chief minister listed a series
of achievements of the AAP ten-
ure. “Everyone knows about
education and health but our
government has done equally
well on other counts,” he said.
LG NOD TO TRAIN
CAPITAL’S CIVIL
SERVANTS AT IIMS
NEW DELHI: Lieutenant governor
VK Saxena on Monday cleared a
proposal to train middle- and sen-
ior-level civil service officers of the
government of national capital
territory of Delhi (GNCTD) at
Indian Institutes of Management
in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and
Kolkata, officials at the LG secre-
tariat said.
They said officers from Delhi,
Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshad-
weep, Daman and Diu and Dadra
and Nagar Haveli (Civil) Services
(DANICS) as well as the Indian
Administrative Service will be eli-
gible for the programme. It was
not clear when it will begin.
Officials at LG secretariat said
these programmes will be in addi-
tion to those under the “Karmyogi
Bharat” programme. “These pro-
grammes will enhance the admin-
istrative acumen of decision-mak-
ers in relevant spheres like public-
private partnership, management,
leadership and decision science,”
said an official. HTC
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses the Delhi assembly on Monday.
“Our Budget is in the positive
despite our providing free educa-
tion, water, electricity, pilgrim-
age and ration. In their (BJP-run
states) case, nothing is free for
public but governments are run-
ning in losses of several lakh cro-
res,” Kejriwal added.
He said that his government’s
Delhi model “shines” because of
the lack of corruption and the
subsidies it provides, adding that
this brings relief from inflation.
Kejriwal said the Budget will
enable the government to exe-
cute the same quantum of work
over the next two years.
“We are investing ₹21,000
crore on infrastructure, street
beautification, clean up and
Ggm police book realty firm
execs for cheating customer
Debashish Karmakar
letters@hindustantimes.com
GURUGRAM: Gurugram Police
have booked two directors and a
general manager at realty firm
Ansal Buildwell Limited after
they allegedly cheated a home-
buyer of more than ₹1 crore, offi-
cers said on Monday.
Police said Amit Goel, the
complainant, said he booked an
apartment at the Ansal Crown
Heights project at Faridabad’s
Sector 80 in 2012, and has made
payments of more than ₹1 crore
to the firm over the next 11 years.
However, he said in his com-
plaint, even after 11 years, he has
not been provided with the
apartment.
The project was initially to be
ready by 2015, but has been
plagued by several delays and is
maintenance. In one year, people
will not be able to find a single
pothole on the streets, and dust
pollution will go down by 30%,”
he said.
Kejriwal said the city’s three
landfill sites at Bhalswa, Okhla
and Ghazipur will be cleared by
December 2024. “When BJP ruled
the MCD, it was estimated that it
would take 197 years to clear up
these ‘mountains’. I commit to
you that we will do it by Decem-
ber next year. In their time, Delhi
came at the bottom of the sanita-
tion index, but I assure you we
will beat Indore to become the
cleanest city in the country. We
will also revamp MCD schools
and hospitals,” he said.
THE ANSAL CROWN
HEIGHTS PROJECT
WAS TO BE READY
BY 2015, BUT HAS
BEEN PLAGUED BY
SEVERAL DELAYS
AND IS YET TO BE
COMPLETED
yet to be completed.
Goel, in his complaint, said he
has been paying a monthly EMI
of more than ₹1 lakh against a
home loan he took for the flat,
and was under mental and
financial duress as he was nei-
ther getting his money back nor
getting the property.
On Goel’s complaint, a first
information report (FIR) was
registered against Ansal Build-
HT PHOTO
He also took a quip at the BJP.
“We’ve done a lot of work for
education of children. I request
education minister Atishi to
work on the education of adults.”
Leader of the opposition in the
Delhi assembly Ramvir Singh
Bidhuri hit back at Kejriwal, say-
ing, “Every year, promises are
made and then they are forgot-
ten. No implementation is done
on the promises made in the
Budget. They had promised to
provide employment to 20 lakh
people in five years, but even four
people did not get a job. A provi-
sion of ₹250 crore was made for
setting up a shopping festival in
Delhi, but the whereabouts of the
festival is not known…”
well directors Shobhit Charla
and Sanjeev Guleria, and general
manager Vishal Sehgal under
sections 120B (criminal conspir-
acy) and 420 (cheating) of the
Indian Penal Code at the Sector
14 police station on Saturday
evening, said police. HT has seen
a copy of the FIR.
Kapil Ahlawat, assistant com-
missioner of police (Old Guru-
gram), said did not comment,
saying, “Let the investigation
proceed first.”
Officers aware of the case said
though Goel submitted his com-
plaint on October 18 last year, a
case was registered only on Sat-
urday, after an initial inquiry
and on the directions of senior
police officers.
Goel, when contacted, said he
was in hospital and could not
immediately speak.
speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Mon-
day alleged that attempts were
being made to restrict the legisla-
tive body’s financial autonomy,
and asked the finance minister to
look into the matter.
The speaker made the remark
after the Delhi assembly passed
the Budget 2023-24.
Reading out a statement, Goel
said the finance department has
“unilaterally” appointed the law
secretary as the assembly’s
administrative secretary and the
head of the department even as
the assembly does not fall under
the ambit of the law department.
“Most importantly, this goes
against the recommendation
made by the Lok Sabha secretary
general who informed the Delhi
chief secretary about recommen-
dation of granting financial
autonomy to the legislatures
made by the All India Presiding
Officer’s conference through a let-
ter dated December 31, 2021,”
Goel said.
He urged finance minister Kai-
lash Gahlot to direct the depart-
ment to recall the letter written
on March 22, 2023 and take steps
to enforce the assembly’s finan-
cial autonomy. A senior official
from finance department said
that the according to the present
order, the principal secretary law
is the administrative secretary
and HoD of the assembly, and the
finance department is only fol-
lowing the government order.
The finance secretary did not
comment on the matter.
Goel said that the assembly
was allocated ₹87.7 crore, but to
spend this amount, the House
needs permission from finance
secretary.
The two directors were not
available for comment.
General manager Sehgal said
some homebuyers have
defaulted in their payments, but
admitted that Goel never
defaulted, nor were there any
problems with his documenta-
tions. “The project was delayed
by several years. It was to be
completed by 2015, but now we
estimate that it will be ready
within another year,” he said.
“Four of the eight towers are
95% complete. We expect them
to be ready and handed over
within six months. The other
four towers are 75% complete.
They will take another year,”
Sehgal added.
The units, under four differ-
ent categories as per their area in
the project, are priced between
₹72 lakh and ₹1.26 crore.
10-year-old girl was lured out of a
Municipal Corporation of Delhi
(MCD) school and gang-raped,
teachers’ unions have demanded
that the education department of
the civic body designate guards or
civil defence volunteers at the cor-
poration -run schools before April
1, the day the new academic ses-
sion begins.
On March 23, the Delhi Police
announced that it had arrested
Ajay Kumar, a peon at an MCD
school in east Delhi for allegedly
sedating, abducting and raping the HT on May 7, 2022 and last week, on March 24, reported that two
10-year-old girl with three yet-to-be out of three MCD schools lack CCTV cameras. RAJ K RAJ/HT ARCHIVE
identified accomplices. The girl, a
class 5 student, was assaulted on issued a series of directions to for teachers to look after kids… a
March 14, officials said, describing improve the security of the 15,25 log book of visitors should be
her condition as “severely trauma- municipal primary schools under maintained… Teachers can either
tised”. On Monday, four teachers’ its jurisdiction. The 30-point direc- teach or ensure safety,” said Pant.
unions — Shikshak Sangathan tions include the bolting of the MCD has in the past cited a lack
Samanvay Samiti, Shikshak Nyay school’s main gate, a visitor’s regis- of funds or unavailability of sanc-
Manch Nagar Nigam, Municipal ter, fixing times for teachers to tioned posts for guards as the rea-
Corporation Teachers Association leave the school premises, keeping son behind the lack of security
and Akhil Dilli Prathmik Shikshak a record of vehicles dropping chil- measures at their schools. HT on
Sangh (ADPSS) — submitted a let- dren to the school, and ensuring reported on March 24 that two out
ter to MCD and the Delhi govern- that children are not sent to the of three MCD schools lack CCTV
ment demanding that security toilet alone. The education depart- cameras and security guards.
staff be hired. ment has also directed that no An MCD spokesperson said the
“Delhi government has hired street vendors should be allowed proposal for CCTV cameras and
the security guard agencies for its to operate near schools. security guards was ready and will
schools and enough guards are Deepak Pant, who heads be put up before the House.
deployed at those sites. We ADPSS, said the unions will go on “CCTV cameras are present in
demand that the civil defence vol- strike if their demand to improve 399 school buildings, and for the
unteers be deployed at the schools the security of schools is not met. remaining buildings, the proposal
till a permanent solution is found “After recent incidents, parents is ready and will be put before the
to depute security guards at the are scared to send their kids to House. The proposal for security
MCD schools,” the letter said. schools… The guidelines issued by guards is also ready to be put
The development comes after the education department said before the House,” the spokes-
MCD, in an order on March 24, that a roster should be prepared person said.
BORKER ELECTED
TRUSTEE OF IIC
NEW DELHI: Mediaperson and
independent documentary film-
maker Suhas Borker was
elected the trustee of the India
International Centre (IIC) dur-
ing its biannual election process
on Saturday, the results of
which was declared on Sunday.
Elections were held to elect
both the board of trustees and
executive committee posts, offi-
cials said. Former Delhi chief
secretary PK Tripathi, and
former director of Lal Bahadur
Shastri National Academy of
Administration (Mussoorie)
Sanjeev Chopra were elected as
members of the executive panel.
Both are retired IAS officers.
IIC is a non-government insti-
tution where experts from vari-
ous fields meet to exchange
ideas. Its goal is to “promote
understanding between differ-
ent communities of the world”,
according to its charter. HTC

NCR sees decline in HC notice to state labour dept

sale of flats: Report
Abhishek Behl
abhishek.behl@hindustantimes.com
GURUGRAM: Delhi and National
Capital Region (NCR), one of the
fastest-growing real estate mar-
kets in the country, saw a decline
of 9% in sale of residential units
in first quarter of 2023 as com-
pared to same period in 2022, a
report by Anarock, a realty servi-
ces company, said on Monday.
Barring Delhi-NCR, all other
six major markets — Mumbai
Metropolitan Region, Bengaluru,
Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and
Chennai — in the country saw a
rise in housing sales ranging
from 3-19% in the first quarter.
Overall, this quarter, saw the
most residential sales in the past
decade, said the report.
The report said NCR is the
only city in the top seven to see a
9% decline in housing sales. The
region saw sale of 18,835 units in
the first quarter of 2022, which
came down to 17,160 units in the
first quarter of 2023. However,
the number of launches
increased in NCR this quarter by
as much as 34%, said the report.
Developers said sales of new
houses declined due to dwin-
dling availability of affordable
housing units, and hardening of
home loan interest rates. At the
same time, the city has wit-
nessed a strong recovery in the
luxury market segment.
over illegal placement agencies
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court
on Monday sought the response
of the state labour department on
its alleged non-compliance in cur-
tailing trafficking through illegal
placement agencies.
The court was hearing an
application related to a 2018 con-
tempt plea filed by Bachpan
Bachao Andolan, a non-govern-
mental organisation (NGO). In the
application, the NGO demanded
closure of unregistered and unli-
censed placement agencies in a
time-bound manner. It also said
that the authorities failed to
implement earlier orders passed
by the court in 2010 and 2014 to
check trafficking.
The Delhi government did not
respond to requests for a com-
ment.
Asking the additional and dep-
uty labour commissioners to
appear in the court in this regard,
it posted the matter for hearing
on the fresh plea on May 26.
In the 2018 plea, the NGO
flagged the Delhi government’s
alleged failure to register place-
ment agencies employing chil-
dren, and said that “unregulated
functioning of placement agen-
cies” leads to trafficking. Accord-
ing to the contempt petition, the
Delhi government in 2014
informed the high court that it
had issued an order for the regis-
tration of private placement agen-
cies providing domestic workers.
In its application, the NGO said
that it in order to assess the func-
tionality of the process of registra-
tion of placement agencies, they
made a dummy registration using
fictional addresses and false
details, and was granted a clear-
ance by the Delhi government
through its portal. The NGO also
cited an example of a 15-year-old
girl placed in a home allegedly by
an illegal placement agency, who
was rescued after being tortured
by her employers.

2019 Jamia violence: Verdict on discharge today

HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court
on Tuesday will pronounce its
judgment on a Delhi Police plea
against the discharge of 11 people,
including JNU student Sharjeel
Imam, in connection to the vio-
lence at Jamia Millia Islamia in
December 2019.
A single-bench of justice
Swarna Kanta Sharma will pro-
nounce the verdict in the case.
The FIR in the case was lodged
after violence broke out near
Jamia Millia Islamia on Decem-
ber 13, 2019 when some 700-800
people were protesting the Citi-
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zenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The police indicted 12 people,
including Imam, under various
sections of the Indian Penal Code
and Prevention of Damage to
Public Property Act.
On February 4, a trial court
discharged 11 accused, including
Safoora Zargar and Asif Iqbal
Tanha, observing that the
accused were made “scapegoats”
by police. The court, however,
ordered framing of charges
against one of the accused,
Mohammad Ilyas. On February 7,
the Delhi Police moved the high
court against the trial court’s
order. In its plea, the Delhi Police
have specifically listed remarks of
Sharjeel Imam
the trial court that criticised them
for initiating the prosecution
against them in a “perfunctory
and cavalier fashion”.
Arguing against the trial court
judgment, additional solicitor
general (ASG) Sanjay Jain, told
the court that the trial court did
not consider the third charge
sheet, which contained the state-
ments of injured police officials.
He contended that the trial court
judge had conducted a “mini trial
at the stage of framing of char-
ges” and “overstepped its juris-
diction” by passing disparaging
observations.
The ASG said that they have
ten video clips of the incident in
which seven accused have been
identified. With respect to the
rest of the accused, ASG Jain said
that they have been named by the
witnesses and the injured police-
men. Opposing the submissions,
senior advocate Rebecca John for
Zargar told the court that her cli-
ent could not be identified by the
police even by seeing in the video
footage of the incident as her face
was covered.
Appearing for Imam, his coun-
sel Ahmad Ibrahim argued that
his client’s speech in Aligarh,
where he had said that his specta-
cles had broken during the vio-
lence, shows that he was a “vic-
tim of violence” and had “no
active role to play in its culmina-
tion”.
The bench of justice Sharma,
after listening to the arguments
from all the parties, had reserved
the order on Thursday.
 04 My Delhi
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Soon, IMD forecasts to Police to scrutinise footage of

include ‘real feel’ factor protest at India mission in UK Sanjeev K Jha passport-holders living in the
UK, and permanent residents of
Jasjeev Gandhiok sanjeev.jha@hindustantimes.com
Indian origin.
jasjeev.gandhiok@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: The India Meteoro-

logical Department (IMD) is plan-
ning to issue Heat Index (HI) read-
ings for weather stations across
the country, including Delhi, this
summer, as well as colour-coded
forecasts, in addition to the day’s
maximum and minimum temper-
atures, officials said on Monday.
IMD will calculate HI or “real
feel” using multiple models that
will factor in the day’s relative
humidity, wind speed, maximum
temperature, and cloud cover.
A colour-based warning — yel-
low, orange or red — will also be
issued, based on the expected HI,
listing precautions people can
take.
IMD will utilise the data it gath-
ered from weather stations across
the country during a heat hazard
analysis last year to prepare this
HI. The model will be shared with
all regional meteorological centres
across the country, with the aim to
release HI data this monsoon, offi-
cials said.
Hindustan Times regularly
published Delhi’s heat index and
wet-bulb temperature (a com-
bined measure of heat and humid-
ity of a region) all of last summer,
finding the heat index to be 5-10
degrees higher than the actual
maximum of the day in several
cases. For instance, on June 27,
2022, when the maximum temper-
ature in Delhi was 40.2 degrees
Celsius (°C), humidity of 45%
pushed the wet-bulb temperature
to 52°C. Exposure to a sustained
wet-bulb temperature of 35°C or
higher can be dangerous even for
healthy people.
Kuldeep Srivastava, scientist at
IMD and head of the Delhi
regional meteorological centre,
said that initially, only one HI fore-
cast is likely to be issued for the
Capital based on the expected
weather at Safdarjung, which is
representational of Delhi’s
weather. However, in the long run,
the goal is to issue HI forecasts at
the district level. “While we can
calculate the day’s HI for each sta-
tion, we will only issue one single
forecast for Delhi, which will be
calculated based on Safdarjung’s
weather. This will give us an esti-
mate on what kind of weather is
expected across the whole of
New tool for Met department
WHAT IS HEAT INDEX?
An H.I. reading gives an
estimation of what the
temperature actually
l Cloud cover
l Wind speed
l Relative humidity
feels like. It factors:
l Maximum temperature
Delhi,” he said, adding that IMD is
hopeful of utilising the model this
monsoon when humidity is high.
HI is used widely, particularly in
tropical countries, to understand
the extent of discomfort being felt
by an individual by factoring in
both humidity and temperature.
The higher the humidity, the
higher the HI. Experts say HI is
often highest in June and during
the early parts of July, with humid-
ity levels constantly remaining
around 40-50%, coupled with tem-
peratures of over 40°C, with the
body’s ability to not effectively
sweat (which is how human bod-
ies cool) making it more danger-
ous than spells of dry heat.
“Mapping the heat index is
most useful when relative humid-
ity is high and that makes standing
or working outside uncomforta-
ble. This is normally seen between
June and August and the aim is to
start sharing this data by then.
Prior to that, we see dry heat and
while the maximum temperature
can be fairly high, the heat index is
generally low as the body can still
cool down by sweating,” Srivas-
IMD, in addition to giving out the
day’s maximum and minimum
temperatures, will soon issue a heat
index (H.I.) reading
WHEN IS H.I. MOST REQUIRED?
Between June and August, when the high
temperature and high humidity level
makes stepping out uncomfortable. Prior
to June, and after August, H.I. is similar or
less than the actual temperature as dry
heat is prevalent
COLOUR-CODED WARNINGS
GREEN ALERT
No risk
YELLOW ALERT
Be aware of high heat
ORANGE ALERT
Be prepared to take
precautionary action against heat,
or avoid exposure
RED ALERT
Be vigilant, step out only if
necessary
tava added. humid heat spells had not been
Akhil Srivastava, scientist at factored in when it came to policy-
IMD, who was part of last year’s making.
heat hazard analysis, said they Aditya Valiathan Pillai, associ-
gathered data from weather sta- ate fellow with the Initiative for Cli-
tions across the country between mate, Energy and Environment at
March and June, with the aim of CPR and part of the analysis, said
analysing it beyond the impact of IMD releasing HI is a good start, as
relative humidity. “While HI it will allow states to prepare their
across the world is calculated only HAPs accordingly. “It is important
using maximum temperature and to factor in humid heat, even more
relative humidity, we also ana- so than dry heat, as there is loss of
lysed the impact of wind speed, life even at lower temperatures
cloud cover, and duration of heat- when humidity is high. The launch
waves,” he said. of a heat index can allow state-
Experts say that during the dry wise action plans to be triggered
heat months of March and April, automatically when a certain level
the body can cool off more effec- is reached,” he said.
tively, owing to the low moisture Currently, IMD issues a colour-
content in the air — that same abil- based warning for all significant
ity for the body to sweat out redu- weather activities, including rain,
ces when humidity levels are 50% gusty winds, hail, thunderstorm,
or higher. And it is why, for people cold waves and heatwaves.
working outdoors, wet-bulb tem- It issues a green alert when
perature is the most important. there is no risk, and a yellow alert
On Monday, a report released to warn the public of a weather
by the Centre for Policy Research phenomenon, and upgrades to an
(CPR) which looked at 37 heat orange alert if preventive action is
action plans (HAPs) across 18 required. A red alert is generally
states, found while most states had issued if an extreme weather event
included measures on dry heat, is expected.
NEW DELHI: The special cell of
the Delhi Police has begun a
probe to identify the people
involved in a violent protest that
took place outside the Indian
high commission in London on
March 19, officers familiar with
the matter said on Monday, add-
ing that a case has been regis-
tered under various provisions
of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
and the stringent anti-terror law
Unlawful Activities (Prevention)
Act, or UAPA, on the directions
of the Union home ministry.
The protest in London on
March 19 began hours after the
Punjab Police launched a state-
wide manhunt for pro-Khali-
stani separatist preacher Amrit-
pal Singh and his followers,
arresting nearly 100 people
across the state. During the pro-
test, pro-Khalistan elements
Autopsy of Mauritius national
reveals ‘compression of neck’
Karn Pratap Singh
karn.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The man from Mau-
ritius whose body was found on
a pavement in east Delhi on
March 18 died of “compression
of neck”, a medical board consti-
tuted to conduct the post-mor-
tem examination has said in its
report, police officers aware of
the investigation in the case said
on Monday.
Citing the autopsy report, the
officers said that the doctors
found a “a faintly visible ligature
mark on the right side of neck”,
indicating that the victim might
have been strangled. The officers
added that since the post-mor-
tem report was inconclusive
about the exact cause of death,
they have decided to seek opin-
ions of medical and forensic
experts from All India Institute
Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and
other top institutes.
Till Monday, no first informa-
tion report (FIR) was registered
in the case.
Protesters outside the high commission in London.
managed to enter the premises
of the mission in London, and
some activists clambered onto a
balcony and pulled down the Tri-
colour from a pole at the front of
the building.
On Monday, a senior Delhi
Police officer said they are
reviewing photographs and
video footage of the protest.
On March 18 at around
4.30pm, a Geeta Colony police
station team was patrolling the
streets when they spotted a
decomposed body on a pave-
ment at the Geeta Colony under-
pass, and a bag left nearby. The
bag contained a Mauritius pass-
port, a flight ticket, some clothes,
a packet of “prasad” purchased
from a shop at a Hanuman tem-
ple in north Delhi, and a packet
of biscuits.
Based on the passport details,
the deceased was identified as
Bagwat Lutchmee, who had
arrived in India on February 8,
and was expected to fly back on
May 5, deputy commissioner of
police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena
said after the recovery of the
body. “We are inquiring into the
matter and taking necessary
steps. As of now, it’s not clear
exactly how the foreigner died.
The autopsy report says that a
ligature mark is found on the
right side of his neck. If the per-
son died of strangulation, the lig-
ature marks should have been
AP
“Besides alerting our intelligence
officers in Punjab and in other
places to gather more details, we
have started identifying the agi-
tators to take legal action against
them,” the officer said, asking
not to be named.
The officer said, prima facie, it
appears that the protestors were
two groups of people — Indian
seen all around the neck. Also,
no bones in the neck were found
broken,” said a senior police offi-
cer who asked not to be named.
‘Visited high commission’
According to the inquiry so far,
officers said, the tourist had
visited the Mauritius high com-
mission on February 22, seeking
help, as his ATM card was not
working and he was not able to
withdraw money. Then, his body
was found on March 18. They
added that the man’s activities in
the intervening period were not
known, though he was spotted in
CCTV footage from the Geeta
Colony area on March 8.
In other CCTV footage from
the near the spot where the body
was found, a man was seen tak-
ing away the deceased’s mobile
phone and foreign currency
notes. It’s not clear whether the
Lutchmee was dead at that time,
the investigators said.
Police said that the family of
the deceased were yet to reach
India to claim his body.
“In case of Indian passport-
holders, we’ll inform the author-
ities in London and issue a look-
out circular (LOC) against them
and arrest them. For permanent
UK residents, we’ll ask the Brit-
ish government to extradite
them to India,” he said.
Another officer, also declining
to be named, said sleuths have
been deployed at Delhi’s airport,
railway stations, bus terminals
and Metro stations. “We have
received inputs that some associ-
ates of Amritpal have been try-
ing to go to Nepal via Delhi. We
are on alert after Punjab Police
informed us that Amritpal, in
the guise of a sadhu (monk), had
boarded a bus late on March 20
and de-boarded near Peepli on
the Rajasthan-Haryana border
in Jhunjhunu district the next
morning,” the officer said.
TWO HELD FOR
ABDUCTING MAN
IN EAST DELHI
NEW DELHI: Two bouncers of a
restaurant in east Delhi’s Jhilmil
Industrial Area were arrested for
allegedly abducting a 30-year-
old man from his house in Pan-
dit Park near Krishna Nagar in a
car and taking him to the eatery
on Sunday, police said, adding
they rescued the man from the
building.
Police said initial investiga-
tion revealed that the man and
his friends had partied at the res-
taurant on Saturday night and
did not pay a bill of ₹46,000. The
bouncers, identified as Paritosh
Gupta, 30, and Love, 29, alleg-
edly abducted the man to force
him to pay, police said. “The
man, Deepak, was abducted to
pay the outstanding bill. We are
probing further. Neither Deepak
nor his family wants to file a
complaint. We registered a case
of kidnapping based on the call
his mother made regarding his
abduction from their house
around 4.30pm on Sunday,” said
DCP (Shahdara) Rohit Meena.
The owner of the restaurant
has also been asked to join the
probe, police said. HTC

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

School of Specialised Excellence
Rana Pratap Bagh, Delhi

Inauguration of
NEW SCHOOL
Tuesday, 28th March २०२३

Highlights
◌ A specialised modern school for Humanities and Social Scie
ences
◌ A curriculum linked to aspirational career pathways
◌ Experiential and industry-linked learning pedagogy
DIP/Shabdarth/D/0168/22-23

◌ Focus on skills such as research, critical thinking, and

communication
◌ Fully equipped laboratories
◌ Library with rich collection of books

Chief Guest Atishi, Minister, Education and Public Works Department, Delhi

Directorate of Education, Government of NCT of Delhi

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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023 My Delhi 05
On budget eve, MCD ends OVER 200 CHILD
LABOURERS
RESCUED IN DELHI,
Narwana Road: Potholes,
term of Delhi’s civic secy NGO TELLS HC
HT Correspondent
craters, but no repair work
letters@hindustantimes.com HT Correspondent
htreporters@hindustantimes.com
Paras Singh NEW DELHI: The Delhi high
paras@hindustantimes.com

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Cor-

poration of Delhi (MCD) disen-
gaged the services of municipal
secretary Bhagwan Singh on
Monday, a day before a special
House meeting to take up budget
proposals for 2023-24.
Singh has been replaced by
Siva Prasad KV, who retired as
the municipal secretary of the
North MCD in March 2022. He
had earlier functioned as an OSD
to the mayor. Praveen Kumar
Sachan, an additional deputy
commissioner, will now look
after the charge of secretary to
the mayor.
In an order issued by the civic
body’s central establishment
department, the corporation
said that Singh — who was
engaged on a consultancy basis
after he attained the age of 60
years in March 2019 and retired
— is “hereby disengaged from
services from March 27”.
As required by norms, the
civic budget has to be cleared by
March 31.
After his retirement in 2019,
Singh’s services were repeatedly
extended over the intervening
period by the erstwhile South
MCD, and later by the unified
MCD. An MCD official said
Singh’s current contract was to
end in June.
Singh did not comment on the
Change at the top court was informed on Monday
that, since January, authorities
have rescued more than 200
NEW DELHI: Potholes that stretch
over several metres, manholes
dotting the road, and dug-up por-
minors employed as child tions left either neglected or
What the municipal secretary does Controversies labourers in the Capital. poorly repaired — Narwana Road
The municipal secretary acts as a link between the executive wing, l During MCD meetings on
The information was given to in east Delhi has been a night-
headed by the municipal commissioner, and the deliberative February 23 and 24, the a bench of chief justice Satish mare for commuters for the past
wing, made up of the elected councillors. All policy matters secretariat issued reports Chandra Sharma and justice several years.
of the executive wing are submitted to the which conflicted with mayor Sachin Datta, while they were Since 2019, the road that runs
standing committee and House via the secretariat, Shelly Oberoi’s statements hearing a plea by NGO Bachpan through the apartment com-
which also convenes and arranges all official l Oberoi and Singh differed
Bachao Andolan, filed in the aft- plexes in Indraprastha Extension
meetings called by the deliberative wing over the results of the
ermath of a December 8, 2019 in east Delhi has been a “work in
standing committee polls fire at a factory in east Delhi’s progress”. The 2.7-km stretch,
Bhagwan Singh retired in March 2019 after l Durgesh Pathak, the AAP
Anaj Mandi area, in which 45 from Mother Dairy to Arya Nagar
turning 60. Thereafter, his services were in-charge for the
people, including minors, were Apartments, has earned notoriety A dug-up stretch of Narwana Road, on March 24. RAJ K RAJ/HT PHOTO
repeatedly extended on a contract basis — MCD, alleged
killed. for being dug over the last many
first by the erstwhile South MCD, and that Singh was
later by the unified MCD. His current The NGO has sought a direc- years. It was one of the 16 roads in riageways to gauge the condition on the stretch till the cement is
“colluding”
contract was to end in June tion to the authorities to inquire Delhi approved by chief minister of the road that joins the Manda- dry,” said Ashwani Ranjan, who
with the BJP
into the angle of trafficking and Arvind Kejriwal in November wali Road on one end and the runs a shop adjacent to the road.
child labour. 2019 to receive a facelift. But, Mother Dairy plant at the other. A senior PWD official said that
development. heads the 150,000 personnel of responsible” for the violence in During the hearing, advocate nearly four years later, little has Barring a 300m stretch on both while the problem arising due to
The municipal secretary acts the corporation. the civic body meet, and that he Prabhasahay Kaur for the NGO changed, according to locals. the carriageways on the Manda- pipe leakages was resolved,
as a link between the executive During the corporation meet- was “colluding” with the Bharat- told the court that there had Residents say the promise of a wali Road-end, and 800m of one power discom BSES was conduct-
wing of MCD, which is headed ings on February 23 and 24, the iya Janata Party (BJP). been “unprecedented success” model road had left them hope- carriageway on the Mother Dairy ing digging work.
by the municipal commissioner, municipal secretariat had issued Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in rescuing child labourers ful, but the “slow pace” of work plant-end, there was hardly any “These patches will be repaired
and the deliberative wing, made reports in direct conflict with councillor Prem Chauhan said from various units in the city has ensured no immediate relief. stretch without potholes. by the power discom. We will
up of the elected councillors. All public statements issued by the removal or appointment of since January 11, when the last “...the pace is so slow that there Gaurav Gupta, deputy com- expedite the remaining work on
policy matters of the executive mayor Shelly Oberoi. The mayor the municipal secretary is the order was passed for the con- is more digging work happening missioner of police (traffic), said the revamp of Narwana road
wing are submitted to the stand- also remarked on several occa- commissioner’s domain. “There stitution of committees to by various civic agencies than the poor upkeep of the road stretch over the next two
ing committee and House via the sions that Singh was not cooper- must be some shortcomings on check child labour in each dis- the actual repair of the road,” affects traffic. “The potholes often months,” the officials said.
secretariat, which also convenes ating with her, and she and the behalf of the outgoing secretary trict of Delhi. said Vijender Sharma, secretary slow down the movement of A BSES spokesperson said that
and arranges all official meet- municipal secretary were seen that he was removed. The officer Kaur said the government of RWA of Ekta Garden Apart- vehicles,” said the DCP. “patches will be covered by
ings called by the deliberative differing over the standing com- should act as per the DMC Act, has rescued more than 200 chil- ments, which is located along Locals also blamed the nature March 31.”
wing. To be sure, the powers mittee election results. and not in favour of the AAP or dren, and authorities have taken the road. of repair work carried out after For now, the residents want is
related to the execution of poli- The situation reached a low the BJP,” he said. action in most of the 183 com- The road was dug up again last every digging exercise. “Each a usable road before the mon-
cies, obligatory functions men- on February 24, when Aam Senior BJP councillor from plaints filed by the NGO. The week for electrical work, locals time a part of the road is dug up, soon rains. “We were promised
tioned in the Delhi Municipal Aadmi Party legislator Durgesh Dwarka Kamaljeet Sehrawat court granted four weeks to the said, leaving just one carriageway the respective agency covers it up that a model road would pass
Corporation (DMC) Act as well Pathak, the party in-charge for alleged that the AAP was respon- government to file a further sta- for motorists. By Monday, how- by dumping cement or tar over through our colony... even village
as transfer posting lie with the MCD, alleged on the floor of the sible for sacking the official, and tus report and posted the matter ever, the road had been filled up. the cavity. They do not care to roads are better,” said Anmol
municipal commissioner, who House that Singh was “directly that the BJP condemns it. for hearing on May 4. On Friday, HT drove on both car- even prevent vehicles from plying Singh, a local resident.

Interstate sextortion
racket busted, 5 held
Karn Pratap Singh
karn.singh@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police
arrested three men and appre-
hended two minors for running a
“sextortion” racket from Rajast-
han that targeted at least 20 men
aged 50-70 from Delhi, Uttar Pra-
desh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand,
Assam and Madhya Pradesh by
blackmailing them with explicit
videos, officers said on Monday.
Police added that they had
recovered ₹40 lakh from their
accounts so far.
The cyber police station of
Shahdara district, which arrested
the suspects, said the gang would
make sexually explicit video calls
to people they found on dating
sites, and then blackmail them by
threatening to post the videos
online. In some cases, the suspects
masqueraded as senior police offi-
cers and threatened the victims
with criminal cases, pressuring
them into giving money to hush
up the case. “We discovered a trail
of more than ₹40 lakh in the gang
members’ bank accounts. They
extorted at least 20 men in the last
three to four months across India.
In addition, we found 24 sexually
explicit videos of various men on
the six mobile phones we seized
from the five gang members. Five
complaints have been linked to the
gang — three from Uttar Pradesh
and one each from Gujarat and
Uttarakhand. More victims from
Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and
south India have been identified,”
said deputy commissioner of
police (Shahdara) Rohit Meena.
He added that police cracked
down on the gang after a 67-year-
old man from east Delhi
approached the police with a com-
plaint on February 25 that he had
Modus operandi DELHI
l Operating out of Bharatpur and Haryana
Alwar, gang members create
fake accounts on dating/friend-
ship apps and masquerade as
Uttar
women. They look for soft Alwar Pradesh
targets, mostly men over 50 yrs
Bharatpur
l A gang member video calls a target Rajasthan
and plays a pornographic video so
that the target believes the act is live
l One of the gang members speaks like a woman, entices the target
to remove his clothes and records the video call
l A gang member then calls the target and
blackmails him by threatening to upload his
obscene videos
l A few days later, a gang member masquerad-
ing as a police officer calls the target and
claims police received complaints of sexual
harassment against him from ‘women’
on the video calls, who accused him of
uploading their private videos on the
Internet
l The gang member then extorts him
under the pretext of sorting out the
issue without filing FIRs
been blackmailed for ₹13.70 lakh claimed the woman had recorded
by some people. Accordingly, a the video call and filed a com-
case under Indian Penal Code sec- plaint. According to DCP Meena,
tions pertaining to impersonation, the caller threatened to file a case
extortion, cheating, and criminal and share the video on social
conspiracy was registered. media if the man did not pay. “The
According to the complainant, man transferred ₹13.70 lakh. How-
he received a WhatsApp video call ever, when the demands contin-
on February 18 from an unknown ued, he approached us.”
number during which a woman The investigators tracked the
performed a sexual act. The suspects to various villages in
woman allegedly prompted the Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and Alwar
complainant to take off his clothes districts. The police conducted
as well. After a few days, he started multiple raids over 10 days, and
getting extortion calls. five suspects, including two minor
According to the complainant, boys, were nabbed.
the caller identified himself as the The arrested men were identi-
station house officer of a cyber fied as Rahul Khan (26), Arman
police station in Dwarka, and (21) and Azad (41).

FINANCE BILL
On Friday, the Lok Sabha
approved the Budget in less than
15 minutes without any discussion
with the house seeing similar pro-
tests. “The worst message from a
parliamentary democracy is to
approve a Budget without discus-
sion… ₹45,03,097 crore will be
raised and spent for the ‘people’ in
2023-24 without the people’s rep-
resentatives offering their views
on the Budget,” Congress leader
and former finance minister P Chi-
dambaram tweeted on Friday.
“They really deserve to do some
serious introspection,” Union min-
ister Hardeep Singh Puri said.
Meanwhile, leaders of 16 oppo-
sition parties, mostly dressed in
black in a rare show of unity, on
Monday continued their demand
for a joint parliamentary commit-
tee on the Adani issue and pro-
tested against the disqualification
of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
in Parliament on Monday.
Opposition unity got a fillip
with Trinamool Congress, the sec-
ond largest opposition outfit in
Parliament, joining the anti-Bhar-
atiya Janata Party demonstrations
after a long time. However,
Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena
skipped the protests, objecting to
Gandhi’s comment that he won’t
apologize for his comments in
London as he was not Savarkar.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
{ }
“Today, by wearing black, we
want to show Modi ji is ending
democracy in this country one by
one,” Congress president Mallikar-
jun Kharge said.
While moving the Finance Bill,
2023 in the Rajya Sabha, finance
minister Nirmala Sitharaman
drew the attention of the chair to
the one amendment for considera-
tion — to correct the rates of Secu-
rities Transaction Tax (STT) on
selling options in the Bill that was
passed by the Lok Sabha on Fri-
day. The amendment in the Clause
174 substituted “0.05%” with
“0.0625%” as there was a typo-
graphical error which was cor-
rected, a government official said
on condition of anonymity.
The Finance Bill 2023 has over
five dozen amendments including
providing relief to taxpayers
exceeding the lowest taxable slab
₹7 lakh by a whisker, removing the
tax benefit available to debt
mutual funds, increasing tax scru-
tiny on credit card payments for
foreign tours , and setting up of a
much-awaited appellate tribunal
for the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) regime. It also had an
amendment on the creation of a
committee to review the New Pen-
sion Scheme for government
employees, amid a political battle;
several Opposition-ruled states
have said they will be moving to
the old pension scheme.
While Sitharaman did not
speak on the Finance Bill in the
Upper House on Monday, she did
give an explanation on some of
the key amendments in the Lower
House on Friday.
“One amendment [in the
Finance Bill] is for the GST Coun-
cil, which is establishing the tribu-
nal,” she had said. The Council on
February 18 agreed to table a draft
legislation in the current session of
Parliament to establish the GST
Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) after
stakeholders’ (states and Union
Territories) consultations. The law
bringing GST into effect in July 1,
2017 has provisions to set up an
appellate tribunal for disputes
between assessees and the author-
ities — in its absence, the disputes
ended up in high courts, which
was time consuming and costly.
On bringing credit card pay-
ments for foreign tour packages
under TCS, she said: “It has been
represented that payments for for-
eign tours through credit cards are
not being captured under the Lib-
eralized Remittance Scheme, the
LRS, and such payments escape
tax collection at source. The
Reserve Bank is being requested to
look into this with a view to bring
credit card payments for foreign
tours within the ambit of LRS and
tax collection at source thereon.”
 06 My Delhi
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Homage
Delhiwale EXPERIENCE YOUR CITY LIKE NEVER BEFORE
Mayank
Austen Soofi

We are here for you

Portals to the Millennium
To place an obituary or underneath are engravings of Bhagwan Shiv, Bhag-
Lesser-known doorways into Gurugram
remembrance advertisement with wan Vishnu and Devi Lakshmi. Time-stamped
with ochre-coloured stains, the gateway’s walls
The signboard warns of the presence of a look like twilight’s sky. Surely it must be standing

{ PUBLIC
INTEREST } dog. But the door invites the dare. So unu-
sual, so different from other doors along
this market alley. It appears to be an ordi-
nary wooden door, but plated with metal-
here for centuries. The illusion is quickly splin-
tered, exposed by the modern-day bricks of the
walls, exposed here and there by the peeling paint.
The gateway’s birthdate is engraved on its central
Scan the code: lic panels. Each panel is embossed with a disc, as if panel—Samvat 1999 (which is 1942). Inside, a cul-
representing a full moon. All of it jointly looks de-sac flanked by residences.
like—how to describe it— a conference of moons?
You can also call on: In the big wide Delhi region, Gurugram has to be In Sadar Bazar
1800-103-1800 (9 AM to 9 PM everyday) the place with the most seesaw sort of architectural 18 tiny squares sculpted into the door’s twin kiwar,
disparities. A great part of the town feels like an or shutters. A long metallic zanjeer tied to a hook.
or
SEZ (special economic zone) comprising gigantic The side jambs, aka chaukhat, carved with tangled
Email at: counterclassifieds@hindustantimes.com malls, too-tall office towers and gated condos, patterns. Traditional taaks scooped on the top,
which are like self-contained Singapores. Then along the sides. Three narrow wooden strips on
there are parts that contain edifices so old and tra- both sides carved with three separate floral
ditional that they resemble the loveliest portions of
Old Delhi, only less congested and better preserved.
Nothing else conveys this assertion more vividly
than the Millennium City’s doorways. Here are
designs. Nobody here cares for the door’s exquisite
beauty. Instead, exploited as a parking spot.

On Golf Course Road

w
READ:
For more
three of them, including one that is not traditional, It bores no resemblance to traditional doorways.
and must be seen through a strictly anti-nostalgist During sunny afternoons, the glassy entrance door stories by
perspective. to this shopping mall shimmers with daylight, Mayank
reflecting the raw world it faces: the cars, the sky, Austen
In Civil Lines the cottony white clouds wafting around the high- Soofi,
Inscribed atop the Lala Shyamlal Bhawan gateway, rises and the Rapid Metro sliding along the ele- scan the
the sacred Om is flanked by a roaring lion and a vated tracks. This is new Gurugram: zero nostalgia, QR code
roaring boar. The lion’s head is missing. Directly total dreaminess.

GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA, "e"-PROCUREMENT NOTICE B-1392 OFFICE OF THE SUPRITENDENT ENGINEER (WW)-III
WORKS DEPARTMENT DELHI JAL BOARD: GOVT. OF N.C.T. DELHI
E-mail : ceworldbankprojects@gmail.com CHANDRAWAL WATER WORKS NO. II
CIVIL LINES, DELHI-110054, E-mail:- eecplantww.djb01@gmail.com
Bid Identification No. CE-W.B.P. (O) - 45 / 2022-23 PRESS NIT No. 51/(2022-23)
1. The Chief Engineer (World Bank Project), Odisha on behalf of Governor of Odisha invites percentage S. Name of Work Estimated Earnest Tender Publication date Last date & time
No. Cost Money Processing of tender in for receipt of tender
rate bid in double cover system in ONLINE MODE from eligible contractors for construction of Road & Bridge (Fresh) Fee (Fresh) e-procurement from e-procurement
work as detailed below : Solution solution
2. Nature of work : Road work 1 Installation of 05 Nos. Tubewells Bore for Augmentation 4517981/- 90400/- 500/- 24.03.2023 05.04.2023
3. No. of work : 01 no. of water supply through extraction of ground water
4. Tender cost : Rs.10,000.00 (on-line) at Renny Well No. V-10 & V-13 Pusta Road near Bank
Enclave. (Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238892_1)
5. Class of Contractor : Special / Super Class Contractor
6. Available of bid document : : From 10.00 AM of 28.03.2023 to 5.00 PM of 20.04.2023 The more detail required above can be seen on website www.delhi.govtprocurement.com
(ER. ABSAR AHMED)
in the website
EX. ENGINEER(C) PLANT, WW
7. Pre - Bid meeting : Dt.04.04.2023 ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) “STOP CORONA; WEAR MASK, FOLLOW PHYSICAL Chandrawal WW No. II,
8. Date of opening of Bid : Dt.21.04.2023 at 11.30 AM ADVT. NO. J.S.V. 576(2022-23) DISTANCING, MAINTAIN HAND HYGIENE” Civil Lines, Delhi-110054
9. The Bidders have to participate in ONLINE bidding only. Further details can be seen from the website :
https://tenderodisha.gov.in . Any addendum / corrigendum / cancellation of tender can also be seen in the said
website.
Chief Engineer
DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF N.C.T. OF DELHI
World Bank Project, Odisha
OFFICE OF THE ADDITIONAL CHIEF ENGINEER (M)-8
OIPR - 34003/11/0091/2223 EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (TENDERING)-M-8
OHT BERIWALA BAGH, SUBHASH NAGAR, NEW DELHI-110064
PRESS NIT NO. 72/EE(T)-M 8/(2022-23)
S. Name of Item Amount Put T/Fee Earnest Last date/time of receipt
No. to Tender Money of tender through
Deposit (Rs.) e-procurement solution
1. Replacement of Old/damaged Water Line from B1/001 to B1/278 Rs. Rs. Rs. 89,400/- 12.04.2023
Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission B1 Zone-1 in Hari Nagar Constituency AC28 under EE(M) 28. no- 44,65,667/- 500/-
09S, AC-28 under EE(M)-28.
up to 3.00 PM

Vidyut Niyamak Bhawan, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow - 226010 Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238864_1
Ph : 0522-2720426, Fax : 0522-2720423, E-mail: secretary@uperc.org, www.uperc.org 2. Replacement of old damaged sewer line by P/L 300mm dia DWC Rs. Rs. Rs. 56,300/- 12.04.2023
pipe at Manak Vihar, Tihar in ward no-09S, AC-28 under EE(M)-28. 28,14,229/- 500/- up to 3.00 PM
Ref : UPERC/D (Tariff)/2023-24/1782 Dated: March 21, 2023 Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238864_2
Public Notice 3. Providing and laying of 100mm and 50mm dia water line for proper Rs. Rs. Rs. 73,200/- 12.04.2023
The Distribution licensees, viz. Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (DVVNL), water supply in JJ Camp F-extension khayala in Ward No-008S in 36,56,825/- 500/-
Rajouri Garden AC-27 under ACE (M)-8.
up to 3.00 PM

Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (MVVNL), Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238864_3
(PVVNL), Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (PuVVNL), Kanpur Electricity Supply 4. Replacement of old damaged water line from HDPE pipe at Rs. Rs. Rs. 64,600/- 12.04.2023
Company Ltd. (KESCO), Noida Power Company Ltd (NPCL) and the Transmission Licensee Mukhram Garden In Ward NO. 06S, AC-27 Rajouri Garden under 32,24,261/- 500/- up to 3.00 PM
AEE(M)-27 0/0 ACE (M)-08
viz. Uttar Pradesh Power Transmission Company Limited, Lucknow (UPPTCL) have filed Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238864_4
Petitions for determination ofAggregate Revenue Requirement (ARR) / Tariff for FY 2023-24,
NIT for publishing in daily leading News Papers, can view this particular statement in detail Website (https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in)
Annual Performance Review for FY 2022-23 and True-Up for FY 2021-22 before the Uttar
Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC / Commission). ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)
Advt. No. J.S.V. 577 (2022-23)
“STOP CORONA: Wear Mask, Follow Physical (Ramesh Kumar Gupta)
Dy. SE (TENDERING) M-08
Distancing, Maintain Hand Hygiene”
The Commission vide Orders dated February 28, 2023, has admitted the Petitions and has
decided to hold "Public Hearings" for inviting suggestions and objections from
the stakeholders and public at large. The "Public Hearings" will be conducted as per
below details:
Licensees Date & Time of Place of Public Hearing
Covered Public Hearing
April 10, 2023 Varanasi - Commissioner Office Auditorium
PuVVNL (Monday) @ Opposite Vikas Bhavan, Hamrautia, Varanasi,
11:30 Hrs Uttar Pradesh 221002
April 21, 2023 Lucknow - Auditorium (3rd Floor) of Uttar Pradesh
MVVNL & Electricity Regulatory Commission, Vidyut Niyamak
(Friday)@
UPPTCL Bhawan, Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow — 226010
11:30 Hrs GOVERNMENT OF ODISHA O-2005
OFFICE OF THE CHIEF CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER
April 27, 2023 Agra - Rao Krishna Pal Singh Auditorium R.B.S. College,
DVVNL & RURAL WORKS CIRCLE, KENDRAPARA-JAJPUR.
(Thursday)@ Pushpa Vihar Colony, Khandari, Agra, AT/PO- NAYABAZAR, CUTTACK -753004, Tel No. 0671-2444488, Email-serw_kpd@yahoo.com
KESCO
11:30 Hrs Uttar Pradesh -282002 No. Tender Oline RCK - 12/23 Letter No. 1196 Date :- 22-3-23
e-Procurement NOTICE
April 28, 2023 Greater Noida - Auditorium 3, Gautam Budh University, 1. Name of the work : Tender for the Building projects during 2022-23 in the Dist. of Jajpur.
PVVNL & 2. Class of Contractor : As specified in the Column-6 of the Annexure.
(Friday) @ Opposite Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida,
NPCL 3. Time of Completion : As specified in the Column-7 of the Annexure.
11:30 Hrs Uttar Pradesh -201312 4. Detail Projects : As per Annexure attached
The licensee has already published the summary of the Petitions in newspapers, inviting 5.. Other Details
suggestions and objections. The stakeholders & Public at large should regularly check the Bid Availability of tender Last Date & Time Date & Time of Opening of Tender
On-line for bidding
websites of Commission i.e. www.uperc.org & concerned Licensee for updates / Procurement Officer Identification of seeking Tender
No Clarification
information and details in regard to the venues of the 'Public Hearings'. All stakeholders and From To Technical Bid Financial Bid
public at large are invited to attend the 'Public Hearings'. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
All the Stakeholders who are participating in the Public Hearing shall also submit Chief Construction Tender 05.04.2023 19.04.2023 18.04.2023 20.04.2023 To be intimated
Engineer, Rural Works Online at to up to at
their written suggestions and objections in hard copies (one original + 5 sets of copies) along Circle, Kendrapara-Jajpur RCK - 12/ 23 11.30 A.M. 05.00 P.M. 02.00 P.M. 11.30 A.M.
later
with verified affidavit (as prescribed) to the Secretary, UPERC within three (3) days
Further details can be seen from the website www.tendersorissa.gov.in
of the Public Hearing. The submission should also be sent in PDF and Word / Excel format on
D.P. Karan
the email id: office@uperc.org. It should be ensured that the Licensee name for whom Chief Construction Engineer
the submission pertains to, is written in the subject line, otherwise it may not be Rural Works Circle, Kendrapara-Jajpur
taken into consideration. Secretary OIPR - - 25129/11/0065/2223

This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023 07
My India
{ ANOTHER STUDENT BLAMED }

Bail by default if charge sheet SIT finds suicide note in IIT-B case
not filed on time, stresses SC ruary 2021, and referred the matter period ended on July 12. Despite
Manish K Pathak
manish.pathak@htlive.com

MUMBAI: A special investiga-

Utkarsh Anand
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court
on Monday stressed that an
accused becomes entitled to
default bail under the law if the
agency fails in presenting its
charge sheet within these 60 days,
and held that the window starts on
the day the accused is remanded to
custody and not the day after.
A three-judge bench led by jus-
tice KM Joseph delivered the
authoritative ruling on the point of
law as it dismissed the Enforce-
ment Directorate’s (ED) appeal
against the grant of default bail to
former Dewan Housing Finance
Corporation (DHFL) promoters
Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj
Wadhawan in a money laundering
case in connection with the Yes
Bank scam. The bench, which
included justices Hrishikesh Roy
and BV Nagarathna, declared that
for considering a claim for default
bail, the day of remand is to be
included while computing the
period of 60 or 90 days for the
agency to conclude its probe and
present a charge sheet.
“The remand period will be cal-
culated from the date when the
magistrate remanded the
COUPLE LYNCHED
ON SUSPICION OF
‘WITCHCRAFT’
KOLKATA: A married couple was
beaten to death in West Bengal’s
Birbhum district over allegations
of practising witchcraft, police
said on Monday, adding that
seven people were arrested in
connection with the incident.
The deceased were identified as
Pandu Hembram and his wife
Parbati Hembram.
“A couple was beaten to death
on Saturday. We have arrested
seven people,” said Birbhum SP
Bhaskar Mukherjee. A case
under Section 302 (murder) of
IPC was registered and police
are also verifying the witchcraft
allegations, said an officer. HTC
The court said for a default
bail, the day of remand is to be
included while computing the
period of 60 or 90 days. ANI
accused... in other words, an
accused becomes entitled to
default bail if the charge sheet is
not filed before the 61st or the 91st
day of the remand, as contem-
plated in Section 167 (2)(a)(ii) of the
CrPC,” said justice Roy, reading
out the operative part of the ver-
dict. The detailed judgment is yet
to be released.
According to section 167 of
CrPC, an accused will be entitled to
bail by default, if the investigating
authority fails to file charge sheet
within 60 days from the date of
remand. For certain category of
offences, the stipulated period can
be extended till 90 days.
The three-judge bench
answered the point of law referred
to it by a two-judge bench in Feb-
{ TO TRACK STOCKS }
Govt panel to check pulse’s hoarding
Zia Haq
zia.haq@htlive.com
NEW DELHI: The Centre formed
a committee to track stocks of
tur or pigeon pea, a widely con-
sumed variety of pulses, held by
importers, millers and traders
after market intelligence inputs
of a hoarding nexus to ratchet up
prices in coming months, an offi-
cial statement said.
The panel, led by Nidhi Khare,
additional secretary in the con-
sumer affairs ministry, will also
monitor stocks of other pulses
varieties to take “necessary pre-
emptive measures in the event of
back for adjudication on merits. In
February 2021, the two-judge
bench referred to a few conflicting
views taken by the top court
regarding the computation of the
day of remand. “Because of the
conflicting view on the proposition
of law for grant of default bail, a
judicial conundrum has arisen
which is required to be resolved
for guidance of the court,” this
bench had noted while referring
the issue to the larger bench.
On August 20, 2020, the Bom-
bay high court granted the bail to
the Wadhawan brothers on the
ground that ED failed in filing the
charge sheet within the 60-day
period, making the mandatory
default bail applicable. Overturn-
ing the trial court’s denial of bail,
the high court had then stated that
“excluding the first day of remand
while computing the period of 60
days cannot be sustained and is
liable to be set aside”.
The Wadhawan brothers were
arrested by ED on May 14, 2020
and were remanded on the same
day. ED submitted its charge sheet
in the physical form on July 13 but
the Wadhawans had already
moved for bail in the morning on
that day, arguing the 60-day
unwarranted price rise in the
coming months”, amid reports
that despite sufficient imports,
supplies were thin in markets.
Consumer pulses inflation
was 4.09% in February against
4.27% in the preceding month.
The government wanted trad-
ers to earn reasonable profits
“but if you try to game it, then we
are there to control. That is what
we get paid for. That’s my
friendly warning,” consumer
affairs secretary Rohit Kumar
Singh had said, HT reported on
February 18.
“The decision comes against
the backdrop of reports of mar-
the bail, they were not released
from jail since they are also
accused in another case registered
by the Central Bureau of Investiga-
tion.Before the top court, ED cited
some Supreme Court judgments
to contend that the day on which
the accused is remanded should
be excluded while calculating the
60-day period. However, the Wad-
hawans’ counsel also harped upon
another bundle of apex court judg-
ments to argue that the 60-day
period would start from the day on
which the accused were
remanded to custody.
ED had filed money laundering
charges against the Wadhawans in
connection with alleged suspi-
cious loans granted by Yes Bank
and the “quid pro quo” between its
co-promoter Rana Kapoor and the
Wadhawans, based on a CBI FIR
filed in March.
According to CBI and ED, Yes
Bank invested about ₹3,700 crore
in short-term non-convertible
debentures of DHFL between April
and June 2018. In return, DHFL
paid a kickback of Rs 900 crore to
Kapoor in the form of loans to DoIT
Urban Ventures, a firm controlled
by Kapoor’s wife and daughters,
the CBI has alleged.
ket players not releasing stocks
despite regular arrival of
imports in good quantities,” the
consumer affairs ministry said
on Monday.
The government will “deal”
with unscrupulous speculators,
it added.
On August 22 last year, the
Union government asked the
states to require stockists to dis-
close tur quantities held by them
mandatorily under the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955.
To ease supplies, the Centre
has waived off 10% duty on
import of the lentil variety from
non-least developed countries.
tion team (SIT) of Mumbai
Police found a suicide note
from the hostel room of a first-
year Dalit student at IIT-Bom-
bay, police officers said on
Monday, uncovering a new
twist in a case that sparked out-
rage and allegations of caste
discrimination on campus.
Police said the note was writ-
ten in English and named
another student.
It was found under a table in
the student’s hostel room in the
first week of March, a police
officer connected with the
investigation said, declining to
be named.
The four-word note blamed
another classmate with whom
the victim had fought before,
IPS officer accused of custodial
torture removed from post in TN
Divya Chandrababu
letters@hindustantimes.com
CHENNAI: An Indian Police Ser-
vice (IPS) officer was on Mon-
day removed from his post and
an inquiry was ordered against
him after he was accused of
custodial torture in Tamil
Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, an
official memorandum and peo-
ple aware of the matter said.
Balveer Singh, from the 2020
IPS batch, was accused of
plucking the teeth of at least 10
men and repeatedly hitting at
least two of them on their geni-
talia while they were in cus-
tody, people familiar with the
matter said.
A group of men, identifying
themselves as victims of
Singh’s alleged assault, held a
press conference in the state
and demanded justice.
“He didn’t do this to murder-
ers, rapists, or drug peddlers.
He did this to innocent civil-
ians, those who file complaints,
to husbands in marital disputes
with their wives. He did this to
The victim, a first-year
chemical engineering student,
had died by suicide on Feb 12. HT
said the police officer, part of
the SIT.
HT hasn’t seen the suicide
note as of now.
The SIT is yet to register an
offence in connection with the
suicide, as the victim’s parents
haven’t filed a formal com-
plaint yet.
A MAGISTERIAL
INQUIRY HAS BEEN
INITIATED AS PER
STANDARD
PROCEDURE IN
ALLEGATIONS OF
CUSTODIAL
TORTURE
those who went to the police
station to find a resolution,”
lawyer Maharajan, who goes by
one name, said.
In a video that has gone viral
on social media platforms, a
man said that he and his rela-
tives were assaulted by Singh
for 10 days at a police station
when they approached the
police over a family dispute.
“Two officers gripped my
hands and sir (Singh) pulled
my hair back and used jallii
(crushed rock) to break my
teeth. He attacked by brother’s
genitals and stomped on his
chest,” one of the men said.
HT could not independently
“We were lucky that we
could locate the note after mov-
ing the chair in hostel room
number 802,” said the same
officer cited above.
The victim’s family refused
to comment on the develop-
ment.
After recording the state-
ments of 11 of the 12 students
staying in the same wing of the
hostel, police informed the
family about the note, the offi-
cer said. “We presented all the
facts to the family on March 16
and asked them to file a formal
complaint so as to register an
FIR (first information report)
and take further legal action,”
he said.
The victim’s mother identi-
fied his handwriting, said the
police officer cited above. “We
have also checked the hand-
writing with the deceased ’s
verify the authenticity of the
videos.
When HT reached out to
Singh over the phone, he dis-
connected the call. A resident
of Rajasthan, Singh was serving
in the Ambasamudram police
sub-division in Tirunelveli Dis-
trict.
“Thiru Balveer Singh IPS,
Assistant Superintendent of
Police, Ambasamudram sub-di-
vision, Tirunelveli district is
brought to Chief Officer VR
(meaning Vacancy Reserve)
with immediate effect,” said a
memorandum from the office
of the Director General of
Police, which HT has seen.
Tirunelveli collector K P Kar-
thikeyan said a magisterial
inquiry has been initiated as
per standard procedure into
the allegations of custodial tor-
ture,
“I received an intimidation
from the police department on
Sunday and I immediately sent
it for a sub-magisterial inquiry,
which has begun,” Karthikeyan
said.
notebooks and it appears simi-
lar,” the officer said. “We have
sent the note to the handwrit-
ing bureau on March 20 for
analysis.”
The victim, a first-year
chemical engineering student,
had died by suicide on Febru-
ary 12 . After registering an
accidental death report, Powai
police searched the room in
which he stayed but did not
find a suicide note.
Shortly after the death, the
victim’s family had alleged that
there was caste discrimination
on campus; his sister had told
the reporters that he faced
casteist remarks from some
students.
HELP IS JUST A CALL AWAY
SNEHI: 011-65978181
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Amruta Fadnavis
AMRUTA FADNAVIS
BLACKMAIL CASE:
ACCUSED GETS BAIL
MUMBAI: A special Mumbai
court for cases under the Preven-
tion of Corruption Act on Mon-
day granted bail to Aniksha Jais-
inghani, daughter of bookie Anil
Jaisinghani, arrested for alleg-
edly attempting to bribe and
threatening Maharashtra dep-
uty chief minister Devendra Fad-
navis’ wife Amruta Fadnavis.
The special court ordered
Aniksha, 25, to be released on a
personal bond of ₹50,000 and
one or two sureties in the same
amount. The court also asked
her to not “influence witnesses
or tamper with evidence”. She
has been asked to deposit her
passport with the investigating
agency. In another development,
accused Anil Jaisinghani and his
cousin Nirmal were remanded to
14-day judicial custody. HTC

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 08
Release those held in crackdown
in 24 hours or face stir: Akal Takht
Surjit Singh
surjit.singh@htlive.com
AMRITSAR: The acting chief of
the Akal Takht, the highest tem-
poral seat in Sikhism, gave a
24-hour ultimatum to the Punjab
government on Monday to
release all Sikh men who were
arrested during a crackdown ini-
tiated earlier this month to appre-
hend pro-Khalistan preacher
Amritpal Singh.
The statement by the acting
jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani
Harpreet Singh, came two days
after he asked Waris Punjab De
chief Amritpal Singh to surrender
before the police and cooperate in
the probe. Since the Punjab Police
operation began on March 18,
over 100 people have been
arrested across the state.
“If the government does not
end the atmosphere of terror by
releasing all the youngsters
within 24 hours, then a campaign
will be initiated diplomatically in
the country and abroad against
the atmosphere created by the
Indian state of committing
excesses on the Sikhs,” he said. He
also asked the government to
revoke the National Security Act
(NSA) against eight aides of
Amritpal.
HT tried to reach out to a gov-
ernment official for a comment
but did not get one immediately.
Amritpal and his followers are
facing eight first information
reports (FIRs) across Punjab. The
most prominent among them is
related to the February 23 siege by
thousands of Amritpal Singh’s
supporters of a police station in
Ajnala town, which forced the
state government to free a key
aide, Lovepreet Singh Toofan.
Singh has been linked to a larger
conspiracy involving the Khali-
stani secessionist movement,
‘Amritpal may sneak in’: India alerts Nepal govt
Rezaul H Laskar
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Indian embassy
in Kathmandu has alerted the
Nepal government that fugitive
radical preacher Amritpal
Singh could sneak into the
country using a fake passport.
A note verbale or unsigned
diplomatic correspondence sent
by the Indian embassy to the
department of consular services
of Nepal’s foreign ministry and
the department of immigration
warned that Singh, the subject
Cheetah brought
from Namibia dies
of kidney ailment
Shruti Tomar
letters@hindustantimes.com
BHOPAL: Five-and-a-half-year-old
Sasha, who was brought to India
in the first batch of cheetahs from
Namibia, died due to suspected
renal failure on Monday, officials
said.
Sasha was detected to have
been suffering from a renal infec-
tion, common among the ani-
mals, in the third week of January
and was undergoing treatment at
Kuno National Park in Madhya
Pradesh’s Sheopur, officials of the
state forest department said.
“Sasha died at around 8am on
Monday. At this point, renal fail-
ure is suspected,” said Susan Yan-
netti, spokesperson of Cheetah
Conservation Fund, the Namibia-
based wildlife NGO that is part of
the project to relocate the big cats
in India.
The Madhya Pradesh forest
department, in a statement, said
Sasha was suffering from a kid-
ney ailment before her transloca-
tion. According to the statement,
officials first found out about her
ill health on January 22, when she
was visibly “lethargic”. “Sasha
was inspected by three veterinari-
ans, who found that Sasha needed
treatment and she was brought to
the quarantine enclosure on the
same day,” the statement said.
Blood tests at Van Vihar
National Park in Bhopal con-
firmed she had kidney infection,
the statement said.
“For the past two months,
Sasha was treated by all wildlife
doctors posted in Kuno, Nami-
bian expert Dr Ilai Walker and
South Africian expert Dr Adrian
Tordif. On February 18, veterinary
expert Dr Laurie Marker came to
Kuno with 12 cheetahs brought
from South Africa and checked
on her health. South African
experts appreciated that despite
such a serious illness, Sasha was
relatively healthy due to proper
care and treatment,” the state-
ment said.
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Amritpal Singh’s supporters gather for a special meeting in
Amritsar on Monday.
with intelligence agencies saying
he was fast radicalising young
men in the border state.
He remains on the run after
allegedly giving the police the slip
on March 18, but some have
argued that he has already been
detained under NSA.
Representatives of various Sikh
organisations, sects, seminaries
and nihang bodies, scholars, jour-
nalists and intellectuals attended
a meeting on the crackdown to
discuss the current situation in
Punjab. The Akal Takht chief said
the NSA imposed on young men
should be revoked, vehicles seized
during a protest on March 22 at
Harike headworks in Ferozepur
district should be released, and
any social media accounts and
web channels that were banned
or withheld reinstated.
“A very brainy and diplomatic
siege is being carried out by the
state against the Sikhs, which
should be answered diplomati-
cally without being violent and
there is a need to create collective
capacity among Sikhs,” Giani
Harpreet Singh said.
The crackdown has sparked
protests by diaspora groups and
pro-Khalistan outfits in the UK,
of a “Look Out Circular” in
India, “may try to escape
through Nepal on an Indian
passport or fake passport of any
other country”.
The note verbale dated
March 25, reviewed by HT,
enclosed information on the
“possible looks” and Indian
passports that could be used by
Singh.
It further included a brief
description of Singh’s physical
features, giving his age as 30
and his complexion as “fair
wheatish”.
The cheetah, Sasha, died at
around 8am on Monday.
An official of the Cheetah Task
Force told HT earlier this month
that Sasha was diagnosed with
the infection in February and was
recovering in her quarantine.
An autopsy will be conducted
to reveal the exact cause of
Sasha’s death, Yannetti said. “This
is what happens with cheetahs,
that is why we say they are deli-
cate creatures. They are prone to
renal disease,” she said.
The forest department said
that Sasha was suffering from a
kidney ailment even before her
translocation.
“Wildlife Institute and Kuno
National Park got her medical his-
tory from Namibia and found that
the creatinine count in her last
blood test done on August 15,
2022, was more than 400 which
showed she was suffering from
renal infection before coming to
India,” the statement read.
CCF convener Laurie Marker,
however, refuted the claim. With-
out giving further detail, Marker
said, “It is not true that Sasha was
unwell before her arrival in
India.”
Namibian forest ministry pub-
lic relation officer Romeo
Muyunda said that they have
received the news of Sasha’s
death and were looking into it. “I
need to consult on this, I believe
the cheetahs were tested for pos-
sible illnesses. If an illness was
missed, it was not deliberate, our
commitment was to donate
healthy cheetahs. We believe the
rest are reportedly doing very
well, “ he added.
AFP
US, Canada and Australia, with
even Indian embassies being van-
dalised. The Indian government
has lodged strong protests against
the violence.
The declaration of the Akal
Takht was welcomed by the rep-
resentatives.
Shiromani Gurdwara Prab-
handhak Committee (SGPC) chief
Harjinder Singh Dhami
announced a panel of lawyers to
help the people booked under
NSA and provide other legal
assistance. “I also appeal to the
families of the arrested Sikh
youngsters that they should
immediately contact the SGPC so
that legal assistance can be pro-
vided to them,” he said.
Gurdeep Singh, a Sikh leader
from Haryana, criticised the
jathedar. He said: “The govern-
ment knows that you do nothing
but organise meetings. Big
announcement should be made
by calling a big gathering. If you
want to save the community, you
must introspect,” he said.
On Saturday, the Akal Takht
Jathedar had asked Singh to sur-
render and cooperate with the
police in the investigation into
cases against him.
Amritpal Singh
The Indian embassy asked
the Nepal government “not to
permit Amritpal Singh to travel
through Nepal to any third
country”. It also asked Nepal’s
authorities to “arrest Amritpal
Pakistan decides to participate in 3
SCO meetings to be hosted by India
Rezaul H Laskar
letters@hindustantimes.co
NEW DELHI: Pakistan has decided
in principle to participate in three
key upcoming meetings of the
Shanghai Cooperation Organisa-
tion (SCO) to be hosted by India
though the level and mode of par-
ticipation is yet to be finalised,
people familiar with the matter
said.
India is set to hold the meet-
ings of SCO national security
advisers (NSAs) and top national
security officials in New Delhi on
March 29, the defence ministers
in the national capital during
April 27-29 and the foreign minis-
ters in Goa during May 4-5, the
people said. These meetings will
culminate in the SCO Summit to
be held in July, the first time India
will host the event since joining
Don’t introduce lion in same region as cheetah: NTCA
Jayashree Nandi
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The National Tiger
Conservation Authority (NTCA)
has filed an application in the
Supreme Court, appealing that
the expert committee constituted
by the apex court in 2020 to
oversee introduction of African
Cheetahs in India’s Kuno
national park be dissolved.
NTCA has also said it is not
appropriate to introduce another
larger carnivore, the lion, in the
same area as the cheetah imme-
diately as this would be detri-
mental to the survival of both
species due to interspecies com-
petition. The application was
shared by NTCA’s legal team
with other respondents on
March 25.
“It is humbly submitted that it
is no longer necessary or manda-
tory for the NTCA to continue to
take the guidance or advice of the
expert committee appointed by
this Hon’ble Court vide order
dated January 28, 2020…how-
ever, if at any stage NTCA
requires aid and advice of any
Pro-Khalistan groups
protest at Times Square
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: A group of pro-Kha-
listan activists joined a protest at
Times Square in New York in sup-
port of fugitive radical preacher
Amritpal Singh as photos of the
Waris Punjab De chief were dis-
played on a massive billboard on
Sunday, people aware of the mat-
ter said,
This was the latest in a string of
protests organised by pro-Khalis-
tan groups in Australia, Canada,
the UK and the US to back Singh,
who is the focus of a massive
manhunt in Punjab. India has
reacted angrily to the protests,
especially the vandalisation of its
diplomatic premises in London,
San Francisco and Ottawa, and
demanded action against those
responsible. There was no imme-
diate response from Indian offi-
cials to the protest in New York.
The protesters in New York
joined a car rally that began at
Amritpal Singh’s photos were displayed on a massive billboard in
New York on Sunday.
Singh if he attempts to escape
from Nepal using (an) Indian
passport or any other fake pass-
port” and to alert the Indian
mission in this regard.
Singh is the focus of a mas-
sive manhunt currently under-
way in Punjab. Over 100 people
have been arrested after Punjab
Police launched a crackdown on
Singh, chief of Waris Punjab De,
and his followers. Singh is con-
sidered a proponent of the sepa-
ratist Khalistan movement.
The crackdown has been fol-
lowed by protests by pro-Khalis-
IT IS FOR THE FIRST
TIME THAT INDIA
WILL HOST THE
EVENT SINCE
JOINING THE
GROUPING IN 2017
the grouping in 2017.
The people cited above, famil-
iar with the thinking in Islama-
bad, said the Pakistani side is keen
to ensure its full participation in
important deliberations of the
SCO despite the strains in bilat-
eral ties between India and Paki-
stan. “While there is an in-princi-
ple decision on attending all these
upcoming meetings, the mode of
participation – whether it will be
in-person or virtual – is yet to be
decided,” one of the people said.
experts, the same may be done as
and when the need arises,” the
application said. HT has
reviewed a copy of the applica-
tion.
The SC on March 13, while
hearing an application moved by
the expert committee seeking to
guide and direct the NTCA on
cheetah translocation (as envis-
aged in the 2020 order), said they
did not wish to interfere in Cen-
tre’s matter, Live Law reported.
“We have become like micro-
administrators,” the green bench
of the Supreme Court said at the
time, adding “National Tiger
Conservation Authority is an
expert body that is concerned
with the conservation of tigers in
India. So, once that body is there,
why should we have further
supervision?”
In January 2020, the apex
court had set up a three-member
committee, comprising former
director of Wildlife Trust of India
(WTI), MK Ranjitsinh, the head
of the Wildlife Institute of India,
and an official from the environ-
ment ministry to guide NTCA in
taking a decision on the issue of
My India
Baba Makhan Shah Lubana Sikh
Center in Richmond Hill neigh-
bourhood and culminated at
Times Square in the heart of Man-
hattan on Sunday afternoon amid
tight security.
A sizeable number of New
York Police Department person-
nel and vans were deployed in the
area, people said.
As with most similar protests
in recent days, the protestors car-
ried yellow-and-black Khalistan
flags and played songs backing
separatist leaders and calling for a
separate Sikh homeland. Trucks
that were part of the rally had
electronic displays that showed
photos of Singh.
The protesters shouted anti-In-
dia slogans and carrying banners
and signs with messages such as
“Free Amritpal Singh”.
Singh has been on the run
since Punjab Police started a
crackdown against him and his
followers last week, and arrested
over 100 people.
SOURCED FROM TWITTER
tan groups in Australia, Canada,
the UK and the US. India has
lodged strong protests with
Canada, the UK and the US over
these protests and the vandali-
sation of its diplomatic prem-
ises in these countries.
On Sunday, a large group of
pro-Khalistan activists joined a
protest at Times Square in New
York in support of him. His pho-
tos were also displayed on a
massive billboard.
Singh is facing eight first
information reports (FIRs)
under various offences.
“A decision is also yet to be
made whether foreign minister
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari or minis-
ter of state for foreign affairs Hina
Rabbani Khar will join the meet-
ing of foreign ministers,” the per-
son added.
In the case of the meeting of
the SCO NSAs, Pakistan is
expected to be represented by a
senior official from the defence
ministry or the National Security
Council as the post of NSA is cur-
rently vacant.
Pakistan’s participation in the
SCO NSAs’ meeting is most likely
to be virtual, the people said. This
meeting is expected to focus on
the situation in Afghanistan,
countering terrorism, extremism
and trans-national crimes, and
the misuse of emerging technolo-
gies such as drones and crypto-
currency by terrorists.
MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan
releases a cheetah at Kuno
National Park on Feb 18. PTI
translocation of Cheetahs.
The court did this while also
removing a stay (dating back to
2012) on the translocation of the
Cheetah in Kuno. Interestingly,
that 2012 stay by the court was
also on account of Kuno, at the
time, being considered a second
home for the lions of Gir. The
court, while lifting the stay in
2020, did not get into the reloca-
tion of the lions at all (experts
had recommended this because
Gir was becoming crowded, and
they were worried that a disease
could decimate the entire popu-
lation).
Still NTCA, which comes
under the Union environment
{ AFTER DISQUALIFICATION }
Rahul gets notice, told
to vacate MP bungalow
Deeksha Bhardwaj and
Saubhadra Chatterji
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha sec-
retariat on Monday asked
former Congress chief Rahul
Gandhi to vacate his official
residence by April 22, after he
was disqualified as a member
of the Lok Sabha due to his con-
viction in a criminal defama-
tion case in Gujarat last week.
The letter, a copy of which
HT has seen, said the 12 Tugh-
lak Lane bungalow, allotted to
him in 2005 as a Member of
Parliament, will deem to be
cancelled by April 23 – a month
after the secretariat issued a
notification disqualifying him
from the Lower House.
“Consequent upon your dis-
qualification/cessation from
the membership of the 17th Lok
Sabha with effect from March
23…. I am directed to state that
you are allowed to retain bun-
galow number 12 Tughlak Lane
along with its units, in which
you have continued to stay as
your regular accommodation
for a maximum period of one
month,” said the letter signed
by deputy secretary Mohit
Rajan.
After a politician ceases to be
UDDHAV FACTION
SKIPS DINNER HELD
BY KHARGE AMID
SAVARKAR ROW
Yogesh Naik and Faisal Malik
letters@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: The Uddhav Thack-
eray faction of the Shiv Sena on
Monday skipped a dinner for
Opposition parties hosted by
Congress chief Mallikarjun
Kharge, a day after expressing its
displeasure over Rahul Gandhi’s
remarks on VD Savarkar.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb
Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut, who
normally attends Opposition
meetings in Delhi, chose to return
to Mumbai on Monday evening,
and said Gandhi’s critical remark
on Savarkar, a Sena icon and a
Hindutva ideologue, had
aggrieved the party.
“The issue of Savarkar is being
raked up every day without any
reason… They have to under-
stand our feelings and also
understand that we are deeply
upset,” he said.
Asked if his party would be
attending a joint meeting of the
Maha Vikas Aghadi – which com-
prises the Sena, Nationalist Con-
gress Party and Congress – next
week, Raut said that a call will be
taken later.
“My name is not Savarkar, my
name is Gandhi and Gandhi does
not offer an apology to anyone,”
Rahul Gandhi had said on Satur-
day during a press conference fol-
lowing his disqualification as an
MP after conviction in a defama-
tion case.
A day later, Thackeray warned
that demeaning Savarkar would
create “cracks” in the opposition
alliance. He further said that he
considered Savarkar as his idol
and asked the Congress leader to
refrain from insulting him.
The Maharashtra Congress
struck a conciliatory tone, saying
that Gandhi and Thackeray
would discuss the contentious
issue. “It is a well-known fact that
the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Con-
gress have different views as far
as Savarkar is concerned,” said
state Congress chief Nana Patole.
“The Congress has never com-
promised on its ideology. It is a
party that advocates interfaith
equality and does not hate any
religion or person.”
ministry, is taking no chances on
that front. “Post mandatory quar-
antine period, cheetahs have
been released into larger enclo-
sures and free ranging condi-
tions and they have started hunt-
ing on their own. In order to pro-
vide cheetahs a stress-free
environment and successful
establishment of the founder
populations, it is not appropriate
to introduce one more large car-
nivore species (Lion) in the area
immediately as it would be detri-
mental to the survival chances of
both the species owing to inter-
species competition. Although
cheetahs and lions in African
countries are known to coexist
together, it is pertinent to men-
tion that competitively subordi-
nate and vulnerable carnivores
(Cheetah) should be released
prior to the dominant species
(Lion),” its application said.
Due to conservation efforts by
the Centre and the Gujarat gov-
ernment, the lion population has
grown by 29% over the past five
years, the application said, add-
ing that there were 674 lions in
2020 as compared to 411 in 2010.
A Congress supporter outside
Rahul Gandhi’s residence on
Monday. SANJEEV VERMA/HT
a member of either House, the
official accommodation allot-
ted to him is withdrawn, but
the period of time taken in
sending an eviction notice is
often much longer. Congress
leaders pointed out that some
leaders, such as Ghulam Nabi
Azad who retired from the
Rajya Sabha in 2022, still retain
their official bungalow.
“Yes, it could have been
served a few days later. But the
important thing is that he has
been given just one month to
vacate,” said former Lok Sabha
secretary general P Sreed-
haran.
Congress leaders close to
Gandhi said he will vacate the
official bungalow earlier than
the deadline. But if his convic-
tion is stayed by a higher court,
the party will ask him to retain
Congress considers
Gandhi kin above
Constitution: BJP
Smriti Kak Ramachandran
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Congress party
considers the Gandhi family
above India’s judicial process,
Constitution and democratic sys-
tem, the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) said on Monday as the
Grand Old Party staged a protest
at Parliament complex against
Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification
as MP last week.
Gandhi was disqualified from
the Lok Sabha following his con-
viction in a 2019 defamation case
by a Surat court last week. The
case pertains to a remark – “why
all thieves have Modi in their
names” – he made in the run up to
the Karnataka elections in 2019.
Talking to reporters outside
Parliament on Monday, Union Jal
Shakti minister Gajendra Singh
Shekhawat said Gandhi, who rep-
resented Wayanad Lok Sabha
constituency in Kerala, was given
several opportunities, including a
chance to apologise for his
remarks against the Modi sur-
name, but he opted not to apolo-
gise. “...Thinking that the judiciary
will not dare to deliver a verdict
against him,” he said.
As Congress leaders, wearing
black attire, staged a protest
against Gandhi’s disqualification
outside Parliament, party presi-
dent Mallikarjun Kharge said:
“Our message is, save democracy
and Constitution. If you take law
into your hands, democracy will
be ruined and nobody would have
freedom of speech.”
Shekhawat lashed out at the
Congress over the protest and
said the Gandhi family considers
itself “class apart, elite and above
the Constitution”. He also said
both the BJP and the government
have nothing to do with Gandhi’s
disqualification. “The way Con-
gress leaders are making a hue
and cry over a judicial and lawful
exercise itself shows that they
consider the Gandhi family above
India’s judicial process, Constitu-
tion and democratic system.”
In a pointed reference to Gan-
“The ultimate goal of Project
Lion is to ensure maintaining a
viable Asiatic Lion population.
The Gir Protected Area popula-
tion and natural dispersal into a
new surrounding area, including
Barda Wildlife Sanctuary, have
the potential to achieve this
goal,” the application added. On
March 15, HT reported the move
to develop Barda as a second
home for the lions.
“With respect to introduction
of African Cheetahs in the Kuno
National Park and also steps
taken to secure the future of Asi-
atic Lions beyond Gir National
Park, the Union environment
ministry and NTCA have decided
to re-examine entire aspect of
translocation of Asiatic Lions
from Gir to Kuno from an
expert’s perspective. A status
report/appropriate application
will be filed before this court
within six months…” the applica-
tion said. A senior NTCA official
did not want to respond to a
query on why it wants the expert
committee to be dissolved. ”The
matter is sub-judice. We will not
comment until SC takes a call.”
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
the residence.
HT reported last Friday that
the decision to ask Gandhi to
vacate his residence was
expected in the wake of his dis-
qualification as an MP. Gandhi
also runs his office from the
residence.
At the Congress plenary in
Raipur earlier this year, Gandhi
spoke about his unusual rela-
tionship with his residence and
said that he never had a home
as he always stayed in a gov-
ernment accommodation. He
had also said he didn’t have a
strong attachment to his house.
The Wayanad MP, who was a
lawmaker in the Lower House
for 19 years, was disqualified on
Friday, a day after a Surat court
convicted him in a criminal
defamation case for a remark
he made ahead of the 2019 gen-
eral elections about the Modi
surname.
The announcement came via
a notification issued by the Lok
Sabha secretariat and sparked
a wave of condemnation from
Opposition parties, including
the Congress that said it will
launch a mass movement, even
as the ruling Bharatiya Janata
Party said Gandhi had insulted
backward groups with his com-
ment.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat ANI
dhi, Shekhawat said: “People like
him are a threat to democracy as
they consider themselves above
it.” He also accused Gandhi of
insulting VD Savarkar. “Rahul
Gandhi very rightly said that he
wasn’t Savarkar. If Rahul actually
wishes to know Savarkar, then he
must go to the Andaman Jail and
spend time there to realise who
Savarkar actually was and the
kind of sacrifices he made,” She-
khawat said.
On Saturday, when Gandhi
was asked if he would apologise
for his “Modi surname” remark,
he said: “My name is not Sav-
arkar, it is Gandhi and Gandhi
never offers apology”.
Union minister for information
and broadcasting minister Anu-
rag Thakur also slammed the
Congress’s “drama” over Gandhi’s
disqualification.
“Rahul Gandhi and Congress
have been insulting the OBC com-
munity. Has the Congress party
stopped believing in the courts?
Rahul Gandhi’s arrogance is such
that he did not apologise to the
OBC community, or in the court.
He is not ready to accept the
court’s judgment. The order was
from the court. His membership
ended soon after the court deliv-
ered its verdict. Why are they cre-
ating this drama now?” he said.
Union commerce and industry
minister Piyush Goyal hit out at
the Congress for allegedly dis-
rupting Parliament and being dis-
respectful towards the Chair.
Union petroleum minister
Hardeep Singh Puri asked the
Congress to “do serious introspec-
tion” and ponder over what is
acceptable in a legal system.
POLLING FOR P.A.C
TODAY AS OPPN
LEADER DECLARES
CANDIDATURE
NEW DELHI: Polling will be held
to elect members of the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC) on
Tuesday as an extra candidate
from the Opposition has
announced his candidature.
Against seven seats for the
Rajya Sabha members, eight can-
didates are in the fray for the poll.
AAP’s Raghav Chadha, Con-
gress’s Shaktisinh Gohil, BJP’s K.
Laxman, Ghanshyam Tiwari and
Sudhanshu Trivedi, TMC’s
Sukhendu Sekhar Ray, DMK
leader Tiruchi Siva and
AIADMK’s M. Thambidurai are
contesting the poll.
A senior TMC leader said: “One
of the Opposition candidates was
asked to withdraw his candida-
ture. But he didn’t, resulting in an
election.”
The three BJP candidates –
Laxman, Tiwari and Trivedi – are
expected to secure an easy win.
Similarly, the lone Congress can-
didate Gohil and DMK’s Siva are
also set to sail through. HTC
 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
Banjara groups protest near
BSY house over quota issue
Priyanka Rudrappa
letters@hindustantimes.com
BENGALURU: Members of the
Banjara community on Monday
pelted stones at former Karna-
taka chief minister BS Yediyur-
appa’s residence at Shikaripura
in Shivamogga district, demand-
ing withdrawal of the internal
reservation for Dalits announced
by the state government.
The community, a subgroup
of Scheduled Castes, is appre-
hensive about its share of reser-
vation going down under the
new system. Chief minister Basa-
varaj Bommai, however, claimed
the reservation for Banjaras will
increase under the new system
and accused the opposition Con-
gress of instigating people.
Hundreds of members of the
Banjara community clashed
with police personnel deployed
at Yediyurappa’s house. They
hurled stones at the senior Bhar-
atiya Janata Party (BJP) leader’s
residence, damaging window
glasses, even as the police used
batons to disperse the protesters,
who included women. Several
police personnel and commu-
nity members were injured due
to the stone-pelting. The protest-
ers also set ablaze posters of Yed-
iyurappa and Bommai.
“Today (Monday) morning,
over 1,000 people arrived at the
tehsildar’s office to submit a
memorandum. We had set up
barricades and deployed police
personnel. The protesters
jumped over the barricades
which resulted in violence,” said
superintendent of police (SP),
Lokayukta arrests K’taka BJP MLA in corruption case
Arun Dev
letters@hindustantimes.com
BENGALURU: Karnataka Lokay-
ukta police on Monday arrested
ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
legislator Madal Virupakshappa,
hours after the Karnataka high
court rejected his anticipatory
bail plea in a corruption case.
The Channagiri MLA was
arrested from a toll booth in
Kyathsandra in Tumakuru dis-
trict and will be brought to Ben-
galuru for questioning, police
officers said.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
Banjara community members protest against the move to give
internal reservation for Dalits, in Shivamogga on Monday.
Shivamogga, GK Mithun Kumar.
“Four police personnel were also
injured and they are being
treated at a hospital.”
Prohibitory orders under Sec-
tion 144 of Code of Criminal Pro-
cedure (CrPC) have been
imposed in Shikaripura town to
prevent untoward incidents, said
the SP, who visited the town to
take stock of the situation.
“Additional police force has
been deployed and the situation
is under control,” he added.
On Friday, the state govern-
ment recommended to the Cen-
tre a new breakup of the reserva-
tion for SCs in education and
jobs in the state, where assembly
elections are due by May.
Of the 17% reservation for SCs,
the state cabinet has recom-
mended a 6% internal quota for
SC (left) subcategory, 5.5% for SC
(right), 4.5% for “touchables”,
and 1% for others.
Dalits constitute about 20% of
On March 2, in what caused
BJP embarrassment, Virupak-
shappa was named the main
accused in a corruption case
lodged by the Karnataka Lokay-
ukta after his son was caught
taking a bribe of ₹40 lakh. In the
raids that followed, Lokayukta
authorities recovered ₹6.1 crore
in cash from his Sanjay Nagar
residence and ₹2.2 crore from
his office. A total of ₹8.23 crore
in cash, a huge quantity of gold
and silver ornaments and large
investments in land in Karna-
taka were allegedly uncovered.
PTI
the state population and are
broadly divided into two groups
— Dalit left and Dalit right. The
Dalit left, who are about 70% of
the SC population, are consid-
ered more deprived than the
Dalit right. All sub-categories
can be divided into these two
groups. Experts said the divi-
sions are on the basis of a belief
that, in the 17th century, those
who worked in farms now con-
stitute Dalit left and those who
were administrators are now
Dalit right. All 101 caste groups,
who were considered original
inhabitants of Karnataka and
faced oppression from invaders,
were given SC reservation post-
Independence.
The state government also
wrote to the Centre recommend-
ing that the proposal be included
in the ninth schedule of the Con-
stitution, to give it immunity
from judicial review.
The Banjara community has
Madal Virupakshappa
Virupakshappa’s bail applica-
tion was rejected by Justice K
Natarajan of the special court for
elected representatives. “I am of
the view that the petitioner-ac-
DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI
OFFICE OF THE ADDL. CHIEF ENGINEER (C)-06
THROUGH EXECUTIVE ENGINEER (PR) SR-I
POCKET D-7, ROHINI SECTOR- 6, NEW DELHl-110085
Email:- eepsr11@gmail.com
Item Name of work
No.
1 Providing and Laying Sewer line 7,54,80,418/- 15,09,608/- Rs. 1500/-
work in Garhi Rindhala village in
Mundka AC
2 Providing and Laying Sewer line 26,83,08,268/- 36,83,083/- Rs. 1500/-
work in 1 nos U/A colonies and 2
no. villages in Jaunti and Tatesar
village in Mundka AC
Further all the details in this regard can be seen at https://govtprocurement.delhi.gov.in.
ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER)
Advt. No. J.S.V. 580(2022-23)
opposed the cabinet’s decision to
introduce internal reservation
amongst SCs, alleging that “less”
reservation was given to the
touchables sub-category, to
which the Banjaras belong.
“We are disappointed that we
will get only 4.5% reservation.
Yediyurappa has appealed to not
arrest anyone, but we are at the
police station now. We wanted to
submit a memorandum to the
tahsildar in a peaceful manner,
but the police did not let us in.
They also lathi-charged some
members of community, which
led to stone pelting,” said
Raghavendra Naik, a Banjara
community leader. “Our fight
does not end here. There are
about 45,000 voters from the
community in Shikaripura... We
will make sure we give a befit-
ting reply in the elections if jus-
tice is not given to us.”
Reacting to the incident, chief
minister Bommai blamed local
Congress leaders for instigating
people. “The Congress is unable
to digest the social justice done
to every community and is
resorting to inciting violence,”
Bommai told reporters, urging
the Banjara community “to not
fall for any hearsay”.
Yediyurappa, who is a mem-
ber of the BJP’s top Parliamen-
tary board, said the incident
occurred due to the misunder-
standing. “I will speak with lead-
ers of the Banjara community...
There is some miscommunica-
tion among the protesters,” he
told reporters.
Congress leaders were not
available for comment.
cused No.1 is not entitled to
anticipatory bail as he is
required for custodial interroga-
tion,” the judge said. “Though
this court granted the interim
anticipatory bail until disposal of
the case because there was no
material found in the FIR (first
information report) at that time,
but now, there is sufficient evi-
dence to show the involvement
of the petitioner in the commis-
sion of the offence.”
Virupakshappa claimed the
allegations made in the FIR were
absurd and there was no suffi-
Press Note
NIT No. 08(2022-23)/EE(PR)SR-I
Amount put to E/Money Tender Fee
tender (EMD) (Non-
in Rs. in Rs. Refundable)
2023_DJB_238748_1
2023_DJB_238748_2
STOP CORONA: Wear Mask, Follow Physical Distancing,
Maintain hand Hygiene
My India
REVISED NCERT
TEXTBOOKS LIKELY
TO BE INTRODUCED
FROM NEXT YEAR
Fareeha Iftikhar
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: New textbooks by
the National Council of Educa-
tional Research and Training
(NCERT), revised in line with the
national curriculum framework,
are likely to be introduced in
schools from the 2024-25 aca-
demic year, education ministry
officials said on Monday.
For the first time, the NCERT
textbooks will be available in at
least 22 languages, mentioned in
the eighth schedule of the Con-
stitution, they said, declining to
be named. These include Hindi,
English, Bengali, Assamese, Guj-
arati, Kannada, Sanskrit, Pun-
jabi, Sindhi, Manipuri, Urdu,
Malayalam, Odiya, and Kash-
miri, among others.
A national steering committee
led by former Indian Space
Research Organisation chief K
Kasturirangan is developing new
frameworks in the areas of early
childhood care and education,
school education, teacher educa-
tion, and adult education as part
of the implementation of the
National Education Policy 2020.
NCERT textbooks will be revised
according to these frameworks.
“We will attempt to come up
with textbooks for all classes
from next academic year even
though it is a very tall task,” a
ministry official said.
For the first time, the ministry
is also planning to introduce
electronic versions of textbooks.
“Covid-19 has taught us the need
of reaching out to students digi-
tally... ,” the official said. “We will
make sure that they are also put
on digital platforms.”
cient ground to proceed against
him, a Lokayukta police officer
said. “While hearing his plea, the
bench had given him interim
bail till the disposal of the antici-
patory bail petition,” the officer
said, seeking anonymity. “The
court has rejected the anticipa-
tory bail and thus the interim
bail also stands cancelled.”
“There is no black spot in my
career. This controversy is
because of a conspiracy,” Virup-
akshappa said after his applica-
tion was rejected. “I will come
out of this with a clean slate.”
Date of release of Last date/time of
tender/Tender ID receipt of tender
Dated 22.03.2023 13.04.2023
upto 3.15 PM
Dated 22.03.2023 13.04.2023
upto 3.15 PM
(Er. V.P. Sharma)
EE(PR)SR-I
SC paves way for conducting UP
civic polls with OBC reservation
Abraham Thomas
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Monday paved the way for
holding urban local body polls in
Uttar Pradesh with reservation
for the other backward classes
(OBCs), after it was convinced
that the state followed the man-
datory “triple test” criteria.
The court allowed the state
election commission (SEC) to
issue a notification in this regard
in two days. Uttar Pradesh joins
a string of states such as Madhya
Pradesh in instituting backward
quota in local polls.
A three-judge bench headed
by Chief Justice of India (CJI)
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud
went through a report of the UP
State Local Bodies Dedicated
Backward Classes Commission,
set aside the Allahabad high
court’s decision of December 27
that stayed the state’s decision to
issue a notification for the civic
polls with OBC quotas. The panel
submitted its report to the state
government on March 9.
“…The process of notifying the
local body elections is going on
and will be done in two days.
The plea is disposed of. The
direction in this order is not to
be used as precedent,” said the
bench, also comprising justices
25 yrs on, SC sets death row convict
free as he was minor at time of crime
Abraham Thomas
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court
on Monday ordered that a man on
death row for 25 years be released
after an inquiry found that he was
a minor in 1994, when he and two
others killed seven members of a
family.
The three convicts broke into a
house in Pune 29 years ago to
carry out a robbery and murdered
five women and two children,
according to the FIR in the case. In
September 2000, the top court
upheld the capital punishment
given to convict Narayan Chetan-
ram Chaudhary by a district court
in 1998. One of the convicts , Raju,
turned approver and was par-
doned. The death sentence of the
third man, Jeetendra Nainsingh,
The top court allowed the SEC
to issue a notification for the
UP local body polls with an
OBC quota in two days.
PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala.
“This court, in an order dated
January 4, 2023, noted that in
view of the decisions of this
court, the government of Uttar
Pradesh issued a notification for
setting up the Uttar Pradesh
Backward Classes Commission
in December 2022. Though the
tenure of the commission was
six months, it was to complete its
task by March 31, 2023.”
Solicitor general Tushar
Mehta, appearing for the Uttar
Pradesh government, informed
the court that in its report run-
ning into 3,000 pages, the state
panel had done a comprehensive
exercise by gathering empirical
data for quantifying the extent of
backwardness local body-wise.
The state fulfilled the triple
test laid down by a 2010 Consti-
was commuted in 2016. Chaud-
hary is currently lodged in the
Nagpur central jail.
A bench of justices KM Joseph,
Aniruddha Bose and Hrishikesh
Roy relied on the birth certificate
issued by a government school in
Rajasthan, where the convict stud-
ied till Class 3, to conclude that he
was 12 years of age at the time of
the crime.
“Going by the certificate (of
birth), his age at the time of the
commission of offence was 12
years and 6 months. Thus, he was
a child/juvenile on the date of com-
mission of offence (August 26,
1994) for which he has been con-
victed in terms of the provisions of
the Juvenile Justice (Care and Pro-
tection of Children) Act, 2015, ” the
bench said.
The court added that since the
09
tution bench of the top court for
allowing OBC quota, Mehta said.
The triple test requires setting
up a panel to hold a “rigorous
empirical inquiry” into the
nature of “backwardness” in the
context of local bodies, specify-
ing the proportion of reservation
based on the panel’s recommen-
dations, and ensuring that it
does not exceed the overall 50%
quota limit set by the top court.
On December 29, the UP gov-
ernment moved the top court
challenging an order passed by
the Allahabad high court, quash-
ing the government’s December
5 draft notification which pro-
vided for reservation of seats for
OBCs apart from those for SC, ST
and women.
The HC had also ordered that
the state government should
notify the polls “immediately” as
the term of several municipali-
ties would end by January 31.
“Accepting the report of the
OBC Commission by the Honor-
able Supreme Court, the order to
conduct urban body elections
with OBC reservation is wel-
come...,” UP chief minister Yogi
Adityanath tweeted. “Following
the rules of reservation in a law-
ful manner, the Government of
Uttar Pradesh is committed to
conduct urban body elections in
a time-bound manner.”
maximum punishment for a juve-
nile under the 2015 act is three
years, the convict should be
released. “He shall be set free
forthwith... as he has suffered
imprisonment for more than 28
years,” said justice Bose, authoring
the 68-page judgment for the
bench.
Chaudhary moved an applica-
tion in the SC in 2018 seeking the
reopening of his review petition.
The Maharashtra government l
argued that the convict had differ-
ent ages as reflected by the charge
sheet (showing his age to be 20-22
years) and the electoral roll which
showed his age as 19 years at the
time of the crime. The court, how-
ever, held that the birth certificate
provided conclusive proof that he
was a minor at the time of the
crime.
 NEW DELHI, TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023
EMPLOYMENT / ACADEMIC
MAYUR
PUBLIC
SCHOOL
I.P. Extension, Delhi-92 Ph.: 22477676, 22477792
E-Mail: mpsipcareer@gmail.com Web: mayurpublicschool.com
WALK IN INTERVIEW
1. PGTs: Physics: Experienced male/female, B.Sc/M.Sc, B.Ed
2. Coordinator: Female having both teaching and
admistrative Experience in CBSE Schools.
3. Art and Craft Teacher: BFA/MFA
Please come with your detailed CV and originals
with 2 photos.
Salary as per norms. Advance increment for deserving
candidates.
Only shortlisted candidates will be called for final interview.
H.R. MPS
ACADEMIC ACADEMIC
HOLY INTERNATIONAL Sr. Sec. School
Om Vihar Phase-5, Uttam Nagar New
Delhi. Req Academic Incharge NTT,
TGT, PGT All Subject Computer Sc,
Music Arts & Phy. Edu. Teacher
BVM PUBLIC School Najafgarh, N.D.-
43, Required- PGT- Pol. Science, Eco, REQ. TEACHERS PGT- Computer Sci.,
TGT- Computer & PRT. Walk- in Economics, Physical Edu. TGT/PRT -
Interview 9:00 am to 12 Noon. Call: English, Maths, Music. DSR Modern
9891980405, 9718136681. Email: School K.K. Road, Dhoom Manikpur,
bvmpublicschool@yahoo.com Dadri M. 9773951440, 9599264143
REQ. TGT Sanskrit, PTI, Aca. Incharge,
Receptionist, Faculty for Shooting,
Dance. Walk in 8am-1pm. Vanasthali
Public School, Sec- 56,Noida # 0120-
4318856 Email-info@vpsnoida.com
KALGIDHAR NATIONAL public schl
inderpuri ND-12, Req candidates
1.Principal, 2. TGT- Sci. & Social Sci.,
3. PRT- Sci., Social Sci & Maths,
MOUNT ABU Public School, Pkt-H, Sec- Hindi. CV knpschool@gmail.com
18, Rohini, Delhi-89. Req. Prt Hindi,
PGT English, Primary Coordinator,
Senior Coordinator, Games Tchr. REQD FEMALE staff 1.NTT 2.PRT (All
Atnd Intw on 27, 31 March at 11 am Subjects) 3.TGT (Eng,Hindi,Maths,Sci,
S.S.T & Computer) 4.Receptionist Bal
Vikas Public School A-3 Paschim
Vihar ND # 25253344 , 9711844220
WALK IN interview on Wednesday,
29th March 2023 from 9 am to 11 am
for the post of NTT, TGT-S.St. and CHAIN OF Schools Needs Junior/Senior
PET at Abhinav Public School, Computer Teachers for Delhi. Send
CU-Block, Pitampura, Delhi-34. Cv with snap techkidz@gmail.com
Contact - 9811023595, 011- 45693772
REQ GERMAN, French, Spanish, C1/C2 REQ. FEMALE Trs JBT,Astt. trs ,TGT
qualified & English & IELTS Teachers SST,Maths Sci,Compu,Spl Edu.,Yoga
in East and South Delhi. Attractive Navjeevan Model School Mahendra
Salary. Pls contact: 9811296073, park Opp. AzadPur Fruit Mandi, Metro
email: swissschool@yahoo.in P-116, (Intw9am-12pm) # 8595120118
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
ACADEMIC
MOTHER KESARI Public School
Required Well Expd. Fluent English
JBT, NPTT, PTT, Diet & School
Incharge. Apply-Manager immedi-
ately, K- 90, Kalkaji, New Delhi-19
NEW HOLY Sr Sec School A3 Shish Ram
Park, Uttam Nagar New Delhi Req.
Fee Clerk / Receptionist, NTT, TGT,
PGT All Sub, Computer Sc. Music,
Arts & Phy. Edu Teacher.
FEMALE STAFF- PGT- Maths, Bio, Phy,
Comp Sci. TGTs- Eng, Sci, Skt, Comp.
Sci, Admin Staff, Asst Teachers, NTTs
& Librarian. G.D. Lancer's Public
School, R3/A3, Sainik Enclave,
Mohan Garden, Near Gandhi chowk.
call:- 9899304209, 99773847418
KONARK PUB School (Recog.) English
Med, Main 100 ft Rd., near Durgapuri
Chowk, Shahdara D-94 Req. Female
Acad. Incharge, TGT: Eng. Sci.,Comp.,
Sanskrit, Music, Dance Tchr. Nur. &
Recpt. # 9560014408, 9810530031.
K.S.K ACADEMY
SR. SEC. PUBLIC SCHOOL
(CBSE Affiliated)
Website: www.kskacademy.ac.in
Ph: 9810086205, 9810052205.
INVITING APPLICATIONS
FOR THE FOLLOWING
POSTS:
Vice -Principal- Female candidate with
Professional experience of
minimum 5 years.
PGTs- English, Economics, IP, Phy.
l Edu. (F)
TGTs-English, Maths, Hindi,
Economics, Geography
PRTs- English, Science, Hindi, EVS
Dance & Yoga instructor
Art & Craft instructor
Librarian, Lab Assistant
NTTs- Graduate candidates
with NTT from recognized
institute.
Freshers can also apply, Eligibility criteria
as per DSE rules. Good command over
English is mandatory for all the posts.
Apply online immediate on Teacher’s
Application Form which is available
under “Recruitment Section” of school
website.Only Shortlisted candidates
will be called for Interview.
Principal
ACADEMIC
WANTED EXPERIENCED Lady teachers
with English medium background
from nearby areas as PRT (all
subjects), TGT (Computer, Maths,
S.S.T, Science, Hindi, Sanskrit ),
PGT (Pol. Science, Economics, Hindi,
English, Maths) Lab Asst and Music
Teacher at Angels Public School
Vasundhara Enclave Delhi -96.
Applicants may mail their CVs
to angelspublicschool1@gmail.com,
Ph- 01143065315.
ACCOUNTS/FINANCE
ACCOUNTS PERSONNEL & Draftsmen
Required for Architectural Firm
based in South Delhi. Women
Preferred. Please Call: 9810522923
for appointment
REQ FEMALE Accountant Experience of
3-5 years, Address: 6304/6 Lane No.
4 Dev Nagar, Karol Bagh ND-110005.
Mob; 9811052504. Email:
lekhaadve@gmail.com
URGENTLY REQD Computer proficient
female (Accounts & Tally work) for
reputed jewellery showroom in East
Delhi. Salary : 15K to 20K per month
Contact: 9990186179, 9999998294
REQD. JUNIOR Accountant, Data Entry
Operator(M/F), Personal Assistant
(M) for a Marketing Company based
in Mayapuri. Contact : 9315950594
Email: amituniglobe@gmail.com
REQ. ACCOUNTANT cum Manager, Part
/full-time for Cooperative housing
society, well versed with Computer.
Retired person in South Delhi /
Gurgaon. Em- gurproj@gmail.com
URG. REQ. 2 ppl for computerised
billing on tally for FMCG business for
UT Ladakh, Sal:20k in hand, with
Food & lodging. Cont: Karan
9906977777
ADMINISTRATION/
SECRETARIAL
SOUTH DELHI bsd Reputed Const. Co.
reqd. Exp. Administration cum Office
Incharge (must be Computer literate)
who can handle Bank & Office works,
pref Retired Bank/Govt. Officer. Send
CV: management.desk91@gmail.com
ADMINISTRATION/
SECRETARIAL
REQUIRED A female PS for an office,
fluent English, below 30, willing to
travel overseas, Good salary,
freshers may apply. WhatsApp
resume at 9599456605
SALES & MARKETING
REAL ESTATE Co. Reqd Sales/Mktg/
Tele-callers staff (M/F) & Field staff
with own bike for outdoor survey/
meetings. Job Loc- Sec-8,Rohini (Nr
East Metro) Shri Radhey-9810118217
URGENTLY REQD Smart, Presentable
& skillful Sales Executive(female) for
reputed jewellery showroom in East
Delhi. Salary : 18K to 25K per month
Contact: 9990186179 , 9999998294
REQD SALES Exec. (Male/Female) for
Delhi/ NCR for a Pvt. Ltd. Co. Salary
upto 35K at Rajouri Garden ND-27
Contact: 9999773401, 9999003476
Email: sorayapaper@gmail.com
REQD. MARKETING staff for Marketing
Job, Candidates from UP, Residents
of UP Preferred. Santosh Hospital
N.I.T Fbd. (HR). Contact
#9312274548, 9958689391
REQUIRED 15 Sales Executives + 15
Female Telecallers for a reputed
real estate office in Sushant lok -1
Gurgaon for project sales, Freelancers
are also welcome, must be Fluent in
English. Call 9818205955
REQ. MARKETING Exec. and Field
Marketing Persons, fresher/expr.
Receptionist and Nurses for Eye
Hospitals in Dwarka & Uttam Nagar.
Call : 9310440455, 8800219977
EXPD MARKETING Executive for Delhi
/Gurgaon Region for Marketing of
organic products: Honey, Juice, Jams
etc on salary+ commission basis.
Send cv to:- rcvaastu@gmail.com
BUILDEX TMT Private Limited
Requires Sales / Marketing
Candidates for Sale in Gurugram/
Delhi / Faridabad Salary 32K to 42K
H.O. Dwarka Expressway Gurugram
Contact 9891211195 / 9717799928
REQUIRED SALES executives in Bagga
Link Hyundai, patel Nagar, Nr metro
station, ND. Walk-in interview on
28th & 30th march 2023. Salary
25k-30k+ Incentives, min 2yrs exp. in
automobile industry. #9958882806,
Em: hrhead@baggalinkhyundai.com
ENGINEER/
PROD/TECHNICAL
AN ISO 9001 Company Require M/F
Candidate having Diploma in
Mechanical / Instrument for office
work at F-61, Okhla Phase-I, New
Delhi. Walk-in 2-5 pm on 3-5 April 23.
REQUIRED SITE Engineer for a Const-
ruction Co. in South Delhi, Minimum
exp 7 years in similar capacity. Civil
Engg. Diploma/Degree must. Walk in
Interview on 29th-30th Mar.between
12-4pm. Contact person Yogesh:
8700922466, Em:ssvg11@gmail.com
MEDICAL
AUDIOLOGIST NEEDED Degree/
Diploma for evening hours 5:30 pm
to 8:00 pm at Paschim Vihar,
New Delhi at Bhatia ENT Clinic.
Call Dr. Bhatia at 9810071467
ADDRESSHEALTH, IS looking for
female MBBS Doctors For Providing
Health Education to School Children
at Faridabad location.Candidates
living on Violet Line Metro, South
Delhi,Sarita Vihar,Jasola Vihar,Okhla
Faridabad & Ballabgarh are preferred
Immediate Joining. Whatsapp
8448891380/95919 90945 Email :
your CV to hr@addresshealth.com
MEDICAL
Medical
Microbiologist
Essential: MD, DNB or
PhD(Medical Microbiology)
Excellent Remuneration
Send Biodata to
ndpclab@gmail.com
or Call Dr Sharma
at 9811047824
North Delhi Pathology Clinic
27/5, Shakti Nagar, Delhi
110007 www.ndpc.in
TARAK HOSPITAL Dwarka More:
Required ICU Trained Staff,
Emergency Staff and PRO. Contact:
Mr.Vishal Arora: 9999938960,
Ms.Varsha Saxena: 8588896995.
REQUIRED FEMALE Receptionist
Qualification Graduate minimum
Exp. 2 year Cont. B-18 sector-8 Noida
Mob. 9311793270,9811031118.
STENO−TYPIST/
OFFICE ASST
REQD EDU. middle age lady knowing
Computer can do party handling &
office work independently. East
Delhi/ Noida resi. Pref. Send CV at:
amsnarula@yahoo.com
EXPORT HOUSE JOBS
REQUIRED EXPORT documentation
and account assistant for export
business located at South Delhi.
Email id: clipperexp@gmail.com
REQUIRED MERCHANDISER &
Designer for Leather Bags &
Accessories Factory in Agra.
Please Contact :
mukesh.frontoffice@gmail.com
REQUIRED YOUNG export executive/
Manager with 4-5 yrs experience of
documentation/computer knowledge
and inspection of goods.send CV to:
chinargroup4@gmail.com
FOR EXP: Pattern & Cutting Master,
Prod. Mngr., Fashion Coordt.,Docum-
ent & Accnt Asst.,Measr.Checker.54W
Ave. Sainik Farm, N.D, 9810040131,
8178316283, 54jaspal@gmail.com
GENERAL MULTIPLE
VACANCIES
Position Nos. Qualification Experience
Civil engineer for 02 Diploma in
8-10 year
bil ing & tender civil engg.
Work (specifically B.tech in 5-7 year
water & sewer line) civil engg.
Supervisors 02 12th 5-7 Year working
experience in
/ Accountant desilting
and cleaning work by
super sucker machine
Driver 02 10th 5-7 year Driving,
super sucker machine
& maintaining
Contact Number-8510996694,9910505831
E-mail id-manojkrdmrc0809@gmail.com
E-mail id-romypanwar1991@gmail.com
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Manager
For Financial Products, 3.5 L PA +
G.K-2, Jasola & Faridabad offices.
GCIC Investment, E-478, G.K-2, New
Delhi-110048.
GIRLS STAFF Required for Office Work,
Field work & Work From Home.
Attractive Salary & Commission.
Immediate Contact: Universal
Enterprises: 92351 43029.
TO BOOK YOUR AD CALL 0120–4834999 (9 am to 9 pm, Everyday)
OR E-MAIL htclassifieds@hindustantimes.com
{Tuesday}
SCAN THE CODE
TO BOOK YOUR
ADS ONLINE↓
www.htclassifieds.com
GENERAL MULTIPLE CHANGE OF NAME
VACANCIES
JOB FOR MEP & Electrical Engineer IT IS for general information that I
Supervisor/Technician Audio Visual /
IT, Electric Project Mngr & Purchase
/ M/F Office Coordinator 45512609,
Anuradha Jatia D/o Raghu Hari
Dalmia and Ex. W/o Shashidhar
9818345169/ sales@glimpseinfo.com
Jatia residing at 1, Tees January
Marg, New Delhi-110011 declare
that I got divorce from my husband
Vide Court Decree No-0000276/
REQUIRED CIVIL Engineer, Foreman, 2020 dated 11.06.2021. Further I
Supervisor & Store Keeper Cum Site have changed my name and shall
Accountant for Delhi & Dehradun
Cont- 9205151321, Tel: 011-46578545,
hereafter be known as Anuradha
Dalmia.
E-mail: infoashaprojects@gmail.com
REQD FACTORY Supervisor & Dsgnr I SPARSH Garg S/o Naveen Garg
hvng knwldg of Autocad, Solid work R/o Flat No 106, Mark At 12, Omaxe
Height Faridabad have changed my
& Corel draw, Exp 1-2 yrs, Loc: Nr
Mundka, Slry depend on CV 881032 name from Sparsh to Sparsh Garg
0092, shubhindustries91@gmail.com for all future purposes.
REQ. EXP. Admn. Mngr, Asst. Mngr, I, PARKASHO Devi Sharma W/o Bankey
Mech & Elect. Engrs, Clerk, Com. Optr Lal R/o 183, Satya Niketan Near
for Prod. Unit at Manesar. Office. Nanak Pura, New Delhi-110021 have
Staff for Delhi Office: Off. Mngr, P.S, changed my Name Parkasho Devi
P.A, A/c's Off. Co-ordinator, & Comp. Sharma to Prakasho Devi for
Optr. Mob: 9560206002 Apply CV: all future purposes.
iaiindia2016@gmail.com
WALKIN INTW. Today Junoon Print & I ABIR Banerjee S/o Atreye Majumdar
portal News PA, HR, Anchor Channel and Abirup Banerjee R/O A-803, JM
is hiring : Internship paid, Video Aroma , Sector-75, Noida , Gautam
Editor, Content Writer, Social media, Budh Nagar , Uttarpradesh-201301
C-58, 3rd F Amba Tower Sec-2 Noida, have changed my name from Abir
9311404667, Mon-Sat (11am to 5pm) Banerjee to Abir MB for all future
purposes
HOTEL/RESTAURANT I, VIKRAMJIT Banerjee R/o C 67 2nd
Floor Nizamuddin East, Delhi 110013
URGENTLY REQUIRED Front Office have changed my minor son name
Manager (M) for Guest House in DLF from Vedant Banerjee to Vedant
Gurgaon. Basic Computer knowledge Sodhi Banerjee for all purposes.
is must. Salary : 15000 - 20,000/-
Contact : 9899331322
I, KARRAN Mehra S/o Late Jugal
Kishore Mehra R/o C-151, Defence
Colony New Delhi-24, have changed
WORK FROM HOME my son's name from Neil Mehra to
Lakshay Mehra with immediate
effect for all future purposes.
EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY!!! Work
PUBLIC NOTICES
From Home, if you have a good Hand
Writing then U can Earn 50,000/- to
1,00,000/- per month. Call Now # I, AMIT S/o. Jaybeer Chaudhary
R/o.Flat No.Flat No.8,Kewal Kunj
7417948717, 9540605177 (Ltd. Seats)
Apartment, Rohini, Sector-13, Rohini,
Delhi-110085 have changed my name
to Amit Baisla for all purposes and
DATA ENTRY
both are one and same person
OPERATORS
REQ DATA Entry Operators 35yr blw,
I, KULDEEP s/o- Charan Singh r/o-
CTC 14-20k Eng & Comp (Word, House no. 7/173, Dakshinpuri, Dr.
Excel) skills must Imm join Walkin Ambedkar Nagar,, New Delhi-110062
31 Mar (10am-5pm) 624 DLF Twr-B have changed my name to Kuldeep
Jasola #41008346
Bharti for all purposes.
REQUIRED DATA ENTRY Operator’s,
Speed 30 WPM for an MNC Bank I, YUGAM S/o. Sh. Ajay Datt Sharma
Process. Walk in interview: GF-22, R/o. H.No. 930-31, Gali Bajajan, Near
Hans Bhawan, 1, B.S.Z. Marg, I.T.O.,
N.D.Ph 011-43509401, Graduate pref.
Jain Dharmsala, Najafgarh, New
Delhi - 43 have changed my name to
Yugam Vashisht for all purposes.
COMPUTER
OPERATOR I SHAILESH Kumar Gupta s/o Banarasi
Ram R/O RZ- T30 Dayal Park West
REQD EXP. Office Secretary /Computer Sagarpur South West Delhi-110046
Operator at Nehru Place, having have changed my name to Shailesh
Gupta for all future Purposes
good communication skill. Em:-
mesbai75@yahoo.com Tel:-
011-49537644 / 7217621629
I, ASHA Jain W/o Sharat Chand Jain
R/o 21B/2 Friends Colony West,
Delhi- 110065, declare that my
DRIVERS husband's name has been wrongly
mentioned on my passport as Sharat
Jain. The actual and correct name is
REQ EXP Driver for SUV Vehicles at Sharat Chand Jain who is residing
Vasant vihar. Min. Exp. 10 years, with me at same address.
should be familiar with Delhi / NCR
Routes. Age Above 30. Contact .
9871988827, 8249361301
I, BHAWNA W/o Atul Kumar Garg
I-104, Jaipuria Sunrise Green, Ahinsa
Khand-1, Indirapuram Ghaziabad
BUSINESS (U.P) 201014 after marriage have
changed my name to Bhawna Garg
for all future purposes.
MACHINERY/
TOOLS & PLANTS I RUCHIKA Garg W/O, Ankit Garg R/o
Ed-45c, Pitampura, Delhi-110034
CNC PLASTIC Injection Moulding have changed my name to Ruchika
Machines, CLF - 800 T, CLF – 400 T, Jain for all purposes.
TOSHIBA (All Electric) – 100 T, L&T –
350 T In Good Running Condition.
Call: 9891795606, 9891795605
LOST & FOUND
CHANGE OF NAME I, LOST my DDA Lease of R/O 102,
Malka Ganj Road Delhi-110007 on
I, SASHI Kant S/o Shri Ram Sanehi R/o 2019/04/08 from my house. Finder
96, Masoodpur Dairy, New Delhi- may Cont : 9717745424, Em :
110070, Aadhar No. 2531 8362 5944 rakeshsonker@hotmail.com
declare that I have changed my
name from Ravi Kant Yadav to Sashi
Kant for all future purposes I, HARISH Kumar Sehgal S/O Late
Shri Madan Lal Sehgal R/O 43-A,
Pocket-4, Mayur Vihar Phase-1
I, SPARSH Garg S/o Sh. Naveen Garg Delhi-110091 have lost Original
R/o Flat. No. 106, Mark At-12, Omaxe Property Documents i.e Demand
Heights, Faridabad - 121002 have Letter, Site Possession letter, DDA
changed my name from Sparsh to Possession letter, NOC of Electricity
Sparsh Garg for all future purposes. and Water Connections etc. Finder
contact 8587815248
I, SHAHINA Begum W/o. Mohd. Arif
R/o. 2020, Ahata Kale Sahab, Gali
Qasim Jan, Ballimaran, Delhi - 06 I RAJESH Kumari W/o Subhash Chand
R/o D-492, Nand Gram, Ghaziabad
have changed my name to Shahina
Mo.-9818114203, have lost my
Parveen for all future purposes.
Property Registry of D-648, Nand
Gram, Ghaziabad, U.P. .
I CHEENA Gulati w/o Devanshu Gulati
R/o 1777 Outram Lines GTB Nagar
Kingsway Camp Delhi 110009 have
changed my minor daughter name
from Saachi Gulati to Shanaya
Gulati. Her date of birth is 16.2.2018.
I, MILI Verma W/o Sh. Gurprit Singh &
D/o Vinod Verma R/o H.No. H-10,
Gali-12, Phase-3, Ashok Vihar
Gurgaon Haryana have changed my
name to Mili Jayant Singh after
marriage for all future purposes.
I, GOVIND Singh Rautela S/o Late
Anand Singh R/o F - 55, Nand Gram,
Ghaziabad (U.P) 201001 have
changed my name to Govind Singh
for all future purposes.
I, LALITA Sharma W/o Sh. Neeraj
Sharma R/ H.No. 1425, Police Thana,
Sector-55, Ballabgarh, Faridabad-
121004 have changed my name from
Lalita Rani to Lalita Sharma for all
future purposes. In future I will be
known as Lalita Sharma.
I CHAUDHARI Ajmal Hussain Son Of
Chaudhari Ghazanfar Hussain.
Resident Of 1303,Tower-16,Lotus
Boulevard, Sector-100, Noida, U.P., do
hereby solemnly affirm and declare
as under:-That both the names Ajmal
Hussain and Chaudhari Ajmal Hussain
are the name of one and the same
person i.e. Chaudhari Ajmal Hussain
in future I intent to use Chaudhari
Ajmal Hussain as my name.
I, RITU Anupama D/o Ramesh Sharma,
R/o H.No-17, H.B. Colony, Sec- 18,
Old Faridabad, Haryana-121001,
I have change my name to
Anupama Malhotra for all purposes.
IT IS Notified to all that I, Kishan Prasad
Chaurasia S/o Late Sheoprasad
Chaurasia R/o B-4, Surya Nagar,
I, RISHABH Lal Alias Rishabh S/o Babu
Lal R/o H.No.-S/Q 73 South Avenue,
Ghaziabad (U.P) have lost my Posse-
ssion Letter, Allotment Letter, Lease
New Delhi. Delcare that Rishabh Lal & Deed, Approved Map etc. of property
Rishabh both are same & one person B-4, Surya Nagar, Ghaziabad (U.P) If
in future i will know as Rishabh Lal. found, Please contact : 9810369116
I, VANIKA Kaur Chawla D/o Balbir
Singh Chawla R/o 403 Royale MY ORIGINAL provisional Certificate
Retreat 3 Charmwood Faridabad of Tool Room and training center
Haryana 121009 have changed my Year 2009 Roll No. 256385 has been
name from Vernika Chawla to actually lost. Sumit Sharma H.no –
Vanika Kaur Chawla for all purposes. 646, Bakhtawar pur. Delhi-110026.
 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
191 rhinos were poached in
Assam between 2000 and 2021
RHINO POACHED IN
ASSAM FOR FIRST
TIME SINCE 2021
Utpal Parashar
letters@hindustantimes.com
GUWAHATI: An adult rhino was
poached and its horn removed in
Assam’s Kaziranga National Park
and Tiger Reserve (KNPTR) in the
first such incident in the state after
zero-poaching last year, an official
said on Monday.
The carcass of the rhino with
the missing horn was found in
KNPTR’s Bagori range on Sunday
afternoon. “The carcass, which
was partially decomposed, was
found on the bank of a water body
inside the park’s Bagori range,”
said divisional forest officer Ram-
esh Gogoi. “It is a clear case of
poaching.”
Assam recorded zero poaching
of endangered rhinos, which are
known for their horns that fetch
big money because of their sup-
posed medicinal value, for the first
time in nearly 45 years in 2022.
According to official figures, 191
rhinos were poached in Assam
between 2000 and 2021. The high-
est 27 rhino deaths each were
recorded in 2013 and 2014 and the
lowest two each in 2020 and 2021.
Forest and police officers said zero
rhino poaching was reported in
2022 for the first time since 1977
due to their coordinated efforts.
POWER SUBSIDY
Delhi that we will not allow the
power subsidy to be stopped. We
will undertake the audit. We had
ordered an audit of the discoms on
the first 49-day government and
we will again audit them,” Kejri-
wal said on Monday.
Earlier, at a press conference,
Atishi said: “What happened to all
the money that has been provided
by Delhi government to these dis-
coms (power distribution compa-
nies) over the last 8 years? How
was this money used? Was there
any nexus with officers? Was there
any nexus with the officers who
were appointed as nominees?
Why is LG hell-bent on removing
the policy experts appointed by the
government on discom boards
and why are files related to subsidy
not being presented before the
elected government? This audit is
being ordered to prevent any
nexus.”
The minister said the decision
to undertake the audit was taken
by Kejriwal and the order will be
issued to Delhi Electricity Regula-
tory Commission (DERC) shortly,
adding that there were indications
that the LG’s office had gone into
the issue but no files had been sent
to the elected government. “We got
to know through media reports on
March 10 that a letter has been
sent by LG regarding free power
scheme but the files have still not
been put up before us. This shows
there is a conspiracy being
hatched. Earlier, we saw how LG
and officials removed policy
experts appointed by Delhi gov-
ernment on the boards of these
power distribution companies,”
she added.
HT reached out to LG office but
there was no response.
The tussle over power subsidy
{ }
broke out on March 10 after LG
asked chief secretary Naresh
Kumar to direct the power depart-
ment to place the statutory advice
of DERC — which recommended
that subsidy should be continued
for only consumers with up to 5KV
sanctioned load — before the
council of ministers.
DERC had argued that capping
the power subsidy on the basis of
the load factor would cover nearly
95% of the total consumers who
are availing subsidies, and could
have saved the exchequer ₹200
crore per year.
The AAP government called it
an attempt to discontinue the
power subsidy, and claimed that
DERC later withdrew its advice
because it was beyond its mandate
to advise the government on
power subsidy.
On Monday, HT reported that
Delhi’s residents face an astro-
nomical jump in their electricity
bills due to a Supreme Court order
to the Capital’s electricity regulator
to allow a payment of about
₹20,000 crore in accumulated
dues to two private discoms. The
power regulator has said that it
will approach the top court for a
re-examination of the order.
The Delhi government is a
minority stakeholder in these
companies, with a 49% stake. Pre-
viously, on February 11, the Delhi
LG Saxena replaced “AAP govern-
ment nominees”, including AAP
leader Jasmine Shah, from the
boards of power discoms.
The LG office had stated that
finance secretary, power secretary
and the MD of Delhi Transco will
now represent the city govern-
ment on the boards of the discoms,
in line with the earlier prevalent
practice
Delhi has three power distribu-
tion companies. BSES Rajdhani
Power Ltd (BRPL) supplies power
to south and west Delhi, while
BSES Yamuna Power Limited
(BYPL) supplies to central and east
Delhi. Power to remaining parts of
the Capital is supplied by the Tata
Power Delhi Distribution Ltd
(TPDDL). Tata power and BSES
did not respond to requests for a
comment.
Atishi alleged that there may be
a nexus between bureaucrats and
the power discoms. “Was it
because of this nexus that our
nominees were removed from the
boards of discoms? We are com-
mitted to ensure free and 24*7
water supply. In order to prevent
any possible nexus and to expose
any possibility of nexus, CM has
ordered this audit through CAG
empanelled auditors,” she added.
The audit will cover funds that
were provided by the government
under the free power scheme.
Delhi government provides up
to 200 units power free every
month to consumers, and a 50%
subsidy to consumers using up to
400 units electricity every month.
The last audit of the discoms
was carried out in 2015, the minis-
ter said, adding that there should
have been an audit but when the
government nominees were on
the board of discoms, it was also
assumed that they were monitor-
ing the accounts. On Saturday, LG
office had stated that the AAP gov-
ernment and its functionaries
were making “baseless, false and
misleading statements”. “The LG
has never even suggested, leave
apart asking the AAP government
to withdraw subsidies. LG has
repeatedly asked for subsidy to be
given to the deserving poor people,
rather than to private power com-
panies,” the official said.
My India 11
8 NAGA TRIBAL
BODIES THREATEN
TO BOYCOTT
MUNICIPAL POLLS The undersigned had passed the following Adjudication Orders:
Alice Yhoshü
Order Date In respect of In the matter
letters@hindustantimes.com
No. of
KOHIMA: Close on the heels of ORDER/ July Hirji Kanji Petel, 51, Sunvilla, Off. Choncholi Adjudication
various civil society organisations
of Nagaland opposing the elec- BM/LD/ 18, Bunder Road, Malad West, Next to Infant Order in
tions to the civic bodies under the 2022-23/ 2022 Jesus School, the matter
Nagaland Municipal Act, eight 17939 Mumbai 400064 of Allied
Naga tribal bodies on Monday
Computers
threatened to boycott the polls
unless the 2001 state municipal International
law is “reviewed and rewritten”. (Asia) Limited
Elections are due to be held on ORDER/ October M/s. F6 Finserve Pvt. Ltd., 202-206, 2nd Adjudication
May 16.
Eight apex tribal hohos (organi- BM/JR/ 18, Floor, Sewa Corporate Park, M. G. Road, order in the
sations) of the Angami, Ao, Lotha, 2022-23/ 2022 Gurgaon -122 002 matter of
Chakhesang, Sumi, Pochury, 20379- Mr. Pankaj Goel, A-03.120, P-2, Sahara F6 Finserve
Rengma and Zeliang communi-
ties, during a joint consultative
20387 Grace Appts., M. G. Road, Gurgaon - 122 002 Private
meeting on Monday in Kohima, Ms. Meenu Goel, A-03.120, P-2, Sahara Limited
observed that the Nagaland Grace Appts., M. G. Road Gurgaon -122 002
Municipal Act 2001 is a borrowed
act and therefore, in the context of Mr. Deepak Goel, The Palmstreet, Villa No. 7,
the Naga people, any part or sec- Golf Course Road Sector-64 Gurgaon - 122
tion of the Act that infringes Arti- 002
cle 371A should be reviewed and
rewritten in complete consonance Ms. Ruchika Goel, The Palmstreet, Villa No.
with the voice of the Naga people. 7, Golf Course Road Sector-64
“The word ‘omission/omitted’ Gurgaon - 122 002
used in the subsequent amend-
ments of Nagaland Municipal Act This public notice is being issued in terms of Rule 7 of the Adjudication Rules to
2001, in respect to ‘Land and notify the above mentioned Notieees’ about passing of the Adjudication order.
Building Taxation’, ‘Scheduled
Caste’ and in sections wherever The Adjudication orders passed are already been published on www.sebi.gov.in
they occur, should be totally sub- under the section ‘Enforcement >> Orders >> Orders of AO’. The Noticees may
stituted with the word ‘deletion/ download the same and/or obtain a copy of the Adjudication Orders from office of
deleted’,” a joint resolution of the
eight tribes stated. CM Neiphiu the Adjudicating Officer at Securities and Exchange Board of India, 2nd Floor, Plot
Rio reiterated that the state gov- No. C-7, G-Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai-400051.
ernment is following the Supreme
Date: 24.03.2023
Court’s directive to see to it that
the polls are held as notified. “No Place: Mumbai Barnali Mukherjee
organisation should create prob- CBC 15204/11/0603/2223 ADJUDICATING OFFICER
lems. Doing so will be a breach of
the court’s order,” he said.

VACANCIES IN AIR FORCE SCHOOL BAREILLY FOR

TEACHING & NON-TEACHING STAFF
1. Vacancies for the under mentioned post exists in Air Force School Bareilly. The details are as follow :-
Ser No Name of the Post No of vacancies Revised Pay Scale (subject to approval)
(a) PGT(Computers) 01 on regular basis 35000-1050-45500-EB-1350-59000
(b) PGT (Phy Edn) 01 on contractual basis 35000 (Consolidated)
(c) Spl Edn Teacher Elementary 01 on contractual basis 28500 (Consolidated)
(Full Time)
(d) Lab Attendant 01 on regular basis 14000-400-18000-EB-550-23500
(e) Clk 01 on regular basis 14500-450-19000-EB-550-24500
(f) NTT 02 on regular basis 18000-550-23500-EB-700-30500
(g) Helpers 03 on regular basis 13000-400-17000-EB-500-22000
* DA@ prescribed by the IAF Educational & Cultural Society
2. QRS and other eligibility criteria for the above mentioned vacancies, as per Education Code for
Administration of AF Schools 2020 are available in school website / office. The application form can be
downloaded from school website i.e www.afsbareilly.in or obtained from Nainital Gate / Pilibhit Gate / School
office of AF Stn Bareilly during all working days. Eligible candidates are to submit Bio-data cum application
form clearly mentioning address and contact number along with passport size photograph and self attested
copies of documents or forward same to email id of school i.e princeafsbareilly@gmail.com latest by 11 Apr
23 (Postal address of school - Principal, Air Force School, AF Stn Bareilly, PO-Bareilly, Pin-243002).
Candidates may contact school office staff for queries, if any. (Mob No. School Manager - 7060775916/
Office Superintendent - 9808425492 / Clerk - 8650504800).
Executive Director
Air Force School Bareilly

No. 11012/08/2022-AIM
Government of India
NITI Aayog
(Atal Innovation Mission)
Subject:- Hiring of Consultants to handle Finance, Accounts and PFMS
related work in Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), National Institution for Transforming India (NITI)
Aayog, Government of India, invites applications from retired Govt. servants
- having experience in Finance & Accounts, Budget, Audit & Public Financial
Management System (PFMS) related work and knowledge of handling Excel-
who have retired or will retire by 31.03.2023 from the posts of Sr. Accounts
Officers/Accounts officers/Assistant Accounts Officers/Section Officers/
Under Secretary or equivalent (between Pay level 7 to 11) for filling up two
vacant positions of Consultant (Finance & Accounts) on contract basis for a
period of one year.
2. The details regarding eligibility & Terms of Reference etc. and Proforma
application for engagement to the above position are available on the link:
https://niti.gov.in/career/vacancy-circular of NITI Aayog & https://aim.
gov.in under sub-link “Engaged with AIM” — “Work With AIM” of AIM. The period
of engagement of consultant shall not exceed beyond the age of 65 years. The
last date for receipt of application is 30 days from the date of publication of this
advertisement in the Newspaper.
CBC 54112/12/0007/2223

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 12 corporate buzz NEW DELHI
TUESDAY, MARCH 28, 2023

The Ministry of Defence signed

a contract worth Rs 3,000 crore
with Bharat Electronics Ltd for
the supply of integrated electron-
ic warfare systems for the Indian
Army. Further, BEL has also re-
ceived several contracts total-
ling up to Rs 1,300 crore during
the last fortnight from the Indian
Navy for the supply of indige-
nously developed fire control, gun
fire control, surveillance, track-
ing, ESM, sonar systems, etc.
These projects will add another
milestone to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat
Abhiyaan’ and ‘Make in India’.
The Central Reserve Police Force
celebrated the 84th CRPF day
at CRPF campus in Karanpur,
Bastar, Chhattisgarh in a mag-
nificent ceremony marked with
enthusiasm and fervour. Union
Home Minister Amit Shah graced
the occasion with his august pres-
ence as the chief guest of the
function. He inspected and took a
salute of the grand parade. Shah
also paid homage to the brave-
hearts of the force at the Martyr’s
Memorial who laid down their
lives while serving the nation.
Besides felicitating the Gallantry
Medal awardees, the chief guest
also distributed trophies to dis-
tinguished CRPF institutions for
their commendable work. The
chief guest also flagged in the
CRPF women’s bike rally.
Mahila Mahotsav was organised
by Agriculture Insurance Com-
pany of India Limited (AICIL)
to encourage rural women’s in-
surance penetration on March
20 at New Maharashtra Sadan,
KG Marg, New Delhi. The event
was graced by the presence of the
Minister of Fisheries Parshottam
Rupala.
Sarbananda Sonowal, MoPSW,
virtually launched a real-time
performance monitoring dash-
board of MoPSW ‘Sagar Man-
than’ – a digital platform having
all the integrated data related to
the ministry and other subsidi-
aries. It was inaugurated in the
presence of Shripad Y Naik,
MoS, MoPSW and other of-
ficials from the ministry. This
dashboard will transform the pletely in-house under the guid-
workings of various departments ance of Sudhanshu Pant, IAS,
by improving well-coordinated Secretary, MoPSW in the span of
real time information. This plat- less than 1.5 months efficiently in
form has been developed com- order to ease working.

Justice Arun Mishra, Chair-

person, NHRC, India said that
despite the existence of human Union Minister for Environ- Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Un-
rights principle provisions in the
Ministry of AYUSH organised ment, Forest and Climate Change ion Minister of Health & Fam-
Indian Constitution and other
a felicitation ceremony to hon- Bhupender Yadav launched the ily Welfare addressed the 36th
statutes, the system has been
our Padma awardees of 2023, Aravalli Green Wall Project, a Board Meeting of the Stop TB
unable to deliver justice to the
who have contributed to the major initiative to green the 5 Partnership. He was joined by Dr
transgender community of the
country. He was chairing the field of AYUSH. Union Minis- km buffer area around the Ara- Bharati Pravin Pawar, Minister
NHRC Core Group Meeting on ter of AYUSH Sarbananda So- valli Hill Range in four states at of State for Health and Family
LGBTQ issues. He said every- nowal honoured Kamlesh Patel a function organised to celebrate Welfare. Dr Mansukh Mandaviya
one should be entitled to digni- (Padma Bhushan), President, Union Minister of Labour & Em- the International Day of Forests emphasised that effort is on not
fied treatment in all walks of life. Shri Ram Chandra Mission, ployment Bhupender Yadav an- at Tikli Village in Haryana. At the only to rebound from covid but
Furthermore, he stressed upon the Hyderabad. Dr Manoranjan nounced the addition of 500 beds event, he unveiled the National also bring innovative strategies
need to create safe public spaces Sahu (Padma Shri), eminent to ESIC Medical College & Hos- Action Plan to Combat Deserti- like the Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt
and unisex public restrooms. Union Minister of Jal Shakti listic approach towards con- ayurveda practitioner and sur- systems. Sarbananda Sonowal pital, Faridabad. Yadav unveiled a fication and Land Degradation Bharat Abhiyaan which has be-
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat de- servation and rejuvenation of geon, and Dr Gopalsamy Velu- congratulated the awardees and statue of Swami Vivekananda and Through Forestry Interventions come a one-of-a-kind movement
livered the keynote address at river Ganga and its ecosystem’ chamy (Padma Shri), veteran said that achievements are an inaugurated new services at the and a FAQ on Agro-forestry in the world. He also mentioned
a panel discussion on ‘Namami organised by NMCG during the siddha practitioner for their con- inspiration to all and an unwaver- Bone Marrow Transplant Centre- published by Indian Council of that it is a call to action for mo-
Epson, the world leader in digital Gange - an integrated and ho- UN Water Conference 2023. tribution to popularising ayush ing commitment to excellence. and a gymnasium for students. Forestry Research and Education. bilising communities to end TB.
imaging and printing solutions,
announced that it has retained
the no.1 position in the Indian
inkjet printer market in the 2022.
According to the latest data
published by International Data
Corporation, Q4 2022, Epson
captured 39.3% market share in
the inkjet printer market based
on unit shipments. Epson shipped
853,572 printers during this peri-
od. Epson says its core promise of
ecotank printers being economi-
cal and eco-friendly has found
wide acceptance among users.

Union Minister of Agriculture &

Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh
Tomar launched National Crop
Insurance Portal’s digitised claim
settlement module namely Digi-
Claim under the ambit of Prad-
han Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana at
Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. With
the launch of the module, claims
will be disbursed electronically,
which will benefit the respective
farmers of six states. Now, the au-
tomated claim settlement process
will be an ongoing activity to ease
all insured farmers’ lives and pro-
vide them with financial support.

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Tender Notice No.37/2022-2023

The Tenders are invites online by Executive Engineer Panchayat
(R&B) Division, Vadodara. Pin code No. 390001 Phone No.2432643)
for the Suvidhapath, Deposit Work & Jilla Panchayat Swabhandol
(Total-04 Tender) for Road & Building Which Estimated cost ranging
upto Rs.138.69 lakh by E-Tendering from the eligible and Approved
Registered Contractor by Government of Gujarat. For further
particulars contact of above office. The details of the E-Tender can be
seen from the web site https://nprocure.com and tender are to be
submitted online. Only notice will be available on the web site State
Government www.statetenders.gujarat.gov.in. Any changes /
modifications of work will be seen online.
:TIME SCHEDULE OF E-TENDERING :
Online submission Tender last date Work Dt. 04/04/2023
Sr. No.01 & 02 18:00 Hrs
Online Tender Opening date Work Sr. No. Dt. 05/04/2023
01 & 02 12:00 Hrs
Online submission Tender last date Work Dt. 12/04/2023
Sr. No.03 & 04 18:00 Hrs
Online Tender Opening date Work Sr. No. Dt. 13/04/2023
03 & 04 12:00 Hrs
INF-VAD/1605-22-23

SR. NAME OF NAME OF WORK OPENING DATE AMOUNT/ WEBSITE OF NODAL OFFICER/
NO. BOARD/CORP./ NOTICE TENDER CLOSING DATE EMD THE BOARD CONTACT
AUTH (TIME) (APPROX.) CORP./ DETAILS/EMAIL
IN RUPEES AUTH
1 HPGCL HIRING AND OPERATION OF 7
NO. DIESEL DRIVEN 7 SEATER
21.03.2023
20.04.2023
1.34
CRORE
www.hpgcl.
org.in
0180-2566015
xenmp1.ptps@ Bharat Ratan Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar
Jayanti Celebration
AC MODEL COMMERCIAL hpgcl.org.in
VEHICLE LIKE BOLERO JEEP
SCORPIO TUV TATA SUMO
OR EQUIVALENT NOT OLDER
THAN 2021 FOR PTPS, PANIPAT Government of NCT of Delhi is inviting applications for
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION KINDLY VISIT : www.haryanaeprocurement.gov.in or www.etenders.hry.nic.in celebration of Bharat Ratan Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar on
RO NO 13/2023/40/16597/I/19/7
14.04.2023 under the “Scheme for Celebration of Birth/
Office of the Chief Engineer & Basin Manager, A-1311 Death Anniversary of Eminent personalities”.
Rushikulya Bahuda Vansadhara Nagavali Basin, Brahmapur - 760004
e-mail: ce_rvn@yahoo.co.in Government of NCT of Delhi will provide assistance through
e-Procurement Notice No. CEBM-RBVN- 12/2022-23 empanelled agencies to the Organizations desiring to
1. Type of Work :- Irrigation Work. celebrate the event in the form of arrangement for tentage,
2. Total No of Works :- 01 (One) No.
sound, system, lighting, banners, chairs etc.
3. Amount put to tender : - Rs 18200.00 Lakhs
4. Period of completion :- 24 (Twenty Four) Calendar months. The applications will be received by 03.04.2023.
Bid Availability & Applications received thereafter will not be considered.
Bid Amount
Procurement officer Identification Submission of Bid
(Rs. in lakh)
No. On-line Eligibility Criteria and Procedure of applying is available on
Chief Engineer & Basin From 29.03.2023, the website www.scstwelfare.delhigovt.nic.in
CEBM-RBVN(CCD)-
Manager, RBVN Basin, 18200.00 10.00 A.M. to 11.05.2023,
02/2022-23
Berhampur, Ganjam. 5.00 P.M.
DEPARTMENT FOR THE WELFARE OF SC/ST/OBC
Date of opening of the Technical Bid 12.05.2023 at 11.00 A.M.
Further detail can be seen from the Govt. website www.tendersodisha.gov.in
GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI,
Chief Engineer & Basin Manager B-BLOCK, 2nd Floor, VIKAS BHAWAN, I.P. ESTATE,
RBVN Basin, Berhampur NEW DELHl-110002
OIPR - 32459/11/0016/2223 DIP/Shabdarth/0706/22-23
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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
Dalai Lama names US-born
boy, 8, a key Buddhist leader
Shishir Gupta
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama
announced earlier this month
that an eight-year old boy born
in the US is the reincarnation of
the third most important leader
in Buddhism, the next Khalkha
Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, HT
learns. The 14th Dalai Lama,
now 87, was pictured with the
boy, one of a pair of twins, in
Dharamshala, in early March,
and is believed to have intro-
duced him as the 10th Khalkha
Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche. The
boy was initially anointed at a
ceremony in Gandan Monastery
in Mongolia in late February .
The appointment is likely to
irk Beijing, which terms the
spiritual leader a “splittist” .
Under President Xi Jinping,
China has pursued the Siniciza-
tion of Tibet with Beijing abro-
gating the power of official rein-
carnations of high lamas of the
four schools of Tibetan Bud-
dhism. But the Dalai Lama has
still managed to make a point by
naming the third most senior
lama, or spiritual leader of
Tibetan Buddhism, and the
head of the Gelugpa school in
land-locked nation of Mongolia.
The anointment ceremony of
the tenth Khalkha Jetsun
Dhampa Rinpoche was
attended by some 600 Mongoli-
ans who travelled to Dharam-
shala for an event that has huge
ramifications in the running
battle between the Dalai Lama
and the CPC , and for survival of
Tibetan Buddhism.
There are unconfirmed
The Dalai Lama
reports that the eight-year-old
boy, who was born in the US in
2015, was anointed in a cere-
mony at Mongolia’s biggest
GandanTegchinlen Monastery
in end-February. The ceremony
was attended by the Abbot of
the monastery and the high
lamas of Mongolia. However,
Tibetan Buddhism experts say
that the boy only got legitimacy
after he was declared the rein-
carnation of Khalkha Jetsun
Dhampa Rinpoche on March 8,
ending an exercise that the 14th
Dalai Lama himself set off when
he visited Ulan Bator in 2016.
The Tenth Khalkha is one of
the twin boys named Aguidau
and Achiltai Attanmar, and
belongs to one of the richest
business and political empires
in Ulan Bator. The Dalai Lama
institution in Dhamashala is
tight-lipped over the real iden-
tity of the new Mongolian
Tibetan leader as they feel he
would be targeted by the Chi-
nese regime.
Sandwiched between Russia
and China, Mongolia has played
a key role in the very institution
of the Dalai Lama. It was Mon-
golian King Altan Khan who
offered the title Dalai Lama
(ocean of wisdom) to third Gel-
ugpa Lama Sonam Gyatso, who
in return conferred the title of
Brahma, king of religion, on
Khan. The 4th Dalai Lama
Yonten Gyatso was born in 1589
in Mongolia to Chokar tribal
chieftain Tsultrim Cheje, the
grandson of Altan Khan and his
second wife PhaKhen Nula.
While New Delhi has left the
religious matter to be sorted out
between the Dalai Lama, China,
and Mongolia, it is only a matter
of time before Beijing starts
mounting pressure on Ulan
Bator after being caught una-
wares. The appointment of
Tenth Khalka Rinpoche means
that Tibetan Buddhism gets a
new lease of life in Mongolia
and shows that the 14th Dalai
Lama has not backed down in
his fight against the Chinese
Communist regime and
remains a politico-religious
force to reckon with. That the
leader of the head of Buddhist
faith in Mongolia was formally
anointed in India is also a mes-
sage to Beijing as the battle for
Tibetan plateau continues 73
years after Lhasa fell to Chinese
communist forces.
Experts expect the tussle
between the 14th Dalai Lama
and Communist Party of China
to intensify after this develop-
ment and point out that the
87-year-old has made it public
that he will not be reborn in
occupied Tibet, leaving the
option open that the 15th Dalai
Lama could emerge from either
the Himalayan Belt or anywhere
outside China.
CBI: Choksi pledged low
quality jewels to get loan
Neeraj Chauhan
letters@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: Fugitive business-
man Mehul Choksi pledged over-
valued, low quality, laboratory-
prepared diamonds and gem-
stones to get a loan from
Industrial Finance Corporation of
India (IFCI) Ltd, a government
entity, in 2016, the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) has said in
its latest charge sheet.
The studded jewellery
pledged to get this loan was also
already pledged for another cor-
porate loan availed by one of
Choksi’s companies in the past,
the agency added.
The federal agency plans to use
the fresh charge sheet, filed last
month before a Mumbai court
and reviewed by HT, to convince
Interpol that Choksi is a habitual
offender and for ongoing extradi-
tion proceedings in Antigua &
Barbuda, people familiar with the
developments said.
Interpol withdrew its red
notice – a global arrest warrant –
against Choksi after he alleged
that Indian agents abducted him
from Antigua & Barbuda in May
2021, which was “vehemently
contested” by the Indian govern-
ment, HT reported on March 21.
The businessman is wanted by
India in the $2 billion Punjab
National Bank fraud case that also
involves his nephew Nirav Modi.
The latest case against Choksi,
taken up by CBI on April 30 last
year, pertains to a loan of ₹25
crore taken from IFCI Ltd, by
pledging his company’s shares as
well as gold and diamond jewel-
lery. His company Gitanjali Gems
Ltd and valuers Surajmal Lallu
My India 13
Mehul Choksi ANI
Bhai and Co, Narendra Jhaveri,
Pradip C Shah and Shrenik Shah
have also been named.
CBI has alleged that four differ-
ent valuers, in connivance with
Choksi, submitted inflated valua-
tions – ranging from ₹34 crore to
₹45 crore – based on which IFCI
disbursed the loan of ₹25 crore
into the account of Gitanjali Gems
Ltd on September 30, 2016.
On the same day, the entire
loan amount was “diverted to Pre-
mier Intertrade, a partnership
firm controlled by Choksi”, the
charge sheet said. After Gitanjali
Gems failed to repay the loan,
IFCI got a fresh valuation of the
896 pieces of jewellery done
through two valuers, who
reported the value of the jewellery
at ₹2.03 crore and ₹70.33 lakh,
respectively.
The valuers, CBI said, “have OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE ENGINEER(E&M) HP-I
stated that the reduction in value DELHI JAL BOARD, GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI
of the studded jewellery is due to HAIDER PUR WATER WORKS, DELHI - 110085
the inferior quality of diamond Tel No. 011-27552446-47, Email ID: eeemhp1.djb@nic.in
and ruby (colour stones).” CBI
also got an independent valuation Press N.I.T. NO. 27 (2022-23) (Re-Invited)
of the pledged jewellery done. S. Name of Work Approximate value based Earnest Tender Date of release Last date/time of
Dismissing the allegations, No. on Schedule of rates/item Money Fee of tender in receipt of tender
Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal rates/lump Sum in Rs. e-procurement through e-procurement
(Rs. in Lacs) solution solution
said: “All these cases are baseless
1. Replacement of 3 Nos. pumps of Item rate Rs. 1000/- 24.03.2023 06.04.2023
and would eventually die in the
Khyala Main at CWPH HP-I 114000/-
courts. Earlier charge sheets have Tender ID: 2023_DJB_238898_1
not proceeded an inch in courts Further details in this regard can be seen at https://delhi.govtprocurement.com
for the last five years.” ISSUED BY P.R.O. (WATER) (SUNIL KUMAR)
STOP CORONA:WEAR MASK, MAINTAIN SOCIAL
Advt. No. J.S.V. 575 (2022-23) DISTANCING AND MAINTAIN HAND HYGIENE EE (E&M) HP-I

Government of Jammu and Kashmir

JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT
OFFICE OF EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, PHE MECHANICAL
RURAL DIVISION, SRINAGAR, KASHMIR
Corrigendum For Specifications
For E-NIT : PHE/MRD/TS/174 of 03/2023 issued vide this office No. - PHE/MRD /TS/5172-83
DT: - 14.03.2023, and published vide No: 2023_PHE_208013_1.
Kindly read item at Sr. No.1.01 as:-
Supply, installation, testing and commissioning of Horizontal pumping unit as per IS 1520
with following specification: -
Pump:-
Type:- Horizontal split casing /Multi stage Discharge: 10000 GPH Head: 89 mtrs
Quality of water to handled: Raw Water Efficiency: Not less than 80%
Material of construction
As Per IS code 1520 and suitable for above parameters
MOTOR:-
A) Type:- Horizontal squirrel cage Induction Type B) Rating: - Suitable for above
parameters. C) No. of phases: 3 phase 415 V±5%,50 Hz, AC supply D) Winding:- Copper
wound squirrel cage E) Type of enclosure: SPDP/TEFC F) Method of cooling:- Air cooled
with fan mounted G) Method of Starting: star delta Class of insulation: Suitable for
above rating. Make of Pumping Unit : Kirloskar/M&P/Jyoti or of equivalent standard.
The motor shall be made of corrosion resisting materials to resist corrosion under normal
conditions and the motor shall have a name plate giving complete specifications
The job includes providing and fitting of suitable size/Dia GI nipple for pumping equipment
as per site requirement.
Note: The firm/bidder must submit the performance curve and material of construction
certificates of the pumping unit from OEM the divisional office for approval before procuring
the pump set.
Instead of
Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning of Non-clog Pumping Unit as per IS 5600 at
Raw Water Stage.
PUMP: -
Discharge: 10000 GPH Head: 75mtrs Type of pump: Non-clog Open well Submersible
Vertical Pump Solid Handling Capacity: 20mm (Minimum) Quality of water to be
handled: Raw water
MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION:
As per IS 5600, suitable for above parameters.
Make-
MOTOR: -
Type: Squirrel Cage 3-Phase Induction Motor Speed: 1500 rpm (syn) Rating: Suitable
for above parameter Method of starting: Star – Delta. Frequency: 50Hz ± 3% Voltage:
415 ±6%,-15% Class of insulation: Suitable for above rating. Make of Pumping Unit:
Kirloskar/KSB/Grandfoss/CRI/or equivalent standard.
The motor shall be made of corrosion resisting materials to resist corrosion under normal
conditions and the motor shall have a name plate giving complete specifications
The job includes providing and fitting of suitable size/Dia GI nipple for pumping equipment
as per site requirement.
Note: The firm/bidder must submit the performance curve and material of construction
certificates of the pumping unit from OEM the divisional office for approval before procuring
the pump set.
Kindly read item at Sr. No.2.01 as:-
Supply, installation, testing and commissioning of Open Well pumping unit as per IS 14220:
1994 with following specification: -
Pump:-
Type:- Open Well Submersible (Vertical) Discharge: 10000 GPH Head: 29mtrs
Quality of water to handled: clear Water Efficiency: Not less than 50%
Material of construction
As Per IS code 14220 : 1994 and suitable for above parameters
MOTOR:-
Rating: Suitable for above parameter Method of starting: Star – Delta/DOL (as specified).
Frequency: 50Hz ± 3% Voltage: 415 ±10% Class of insulation: Suitable for above rating.
Make of Pumping Unit : Kirloskar/KSB/Gradfoss/CRI or of equivalent standard.
The motor shall be made of corrosion resisting materials to resist corrosion under normal
conditions and the motor shall have a name plate giving complete specifications
The job includes providing and fitting of suitable size/Dia GI nipple for pumping equipment
as per site requirement.
Note: The firm/bidder must submit the performance curve and material of construction
certificates of the pumping unit from OEM the divisional office for approval before procuring
the pump set.
Instead of
Supply, Installation, Testing & Commissioning of Non-clog Pumping Unit as per IS 5600 at
Raw Water Stage.
PUMP: -
Discharge: 10000 GPH Head: 29 mtrs Type of pump: Non–clog Open well Submersible
Vertical Pump Solid Handling Capacity: 20mm (Minimum) Quality of water to be
handled: Raw water
MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION:
As per IS 5600, suitable for above parameters.
Make-
MOTOR: -
Type: Squirrel Cage 3-Phase Induction Motor Speed: 1500 rpm (syn) Rating: Suitable
for above parameter Method of starting: Star – Delta. Frequency: 50Hz ± 3% Voltage:
415 ±6%,-15% Class of insulation: Suitable for above rating. Make of Pumping Unit:
Kirloskar/KSB/Grandfoss/CRI/or equivalent standard.
The motor shall be made of corrosion resisting materials to resist corrosion under normal
conditions and the motor shall have a name plate giving complete specifications
The job includes providing and fitting of suitable size/Dia GI nipple for pumping equipment
as per site requirement.
Note: The firm/bidder must submit the performance curve and material of construction
certificates of the pumping unit from OEM the divisional office for approval before procuring
the pump set.
All the other specifications, terms and conditions shall remain same as laid down in the
said E-nit.
No: PHE/MRD/5387-98 Sd/-
Dated: 25.03.2023 Executive Engineer,
DIPK-18873/22 PHE Mechanical Rural Division, Srinagar

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 14 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Opinion

{ OUR TAKE }
E STA B L I S H E D I N 1 9 24
A strategy to improve
The balance of tiger viability in India
The biggest success of (54), national parks, and wildlife sanc- approaches that can tackle these. To

free speech and Project Tiger, which

marks 50 years, is the
tuaries. The new tiger census will be address these three threats, we need
released this April, but the 2018 report to look beyond the boundaries of pro-
indicated that nearly 50% of the tiger tected areas because exclusive, pro-
reserves were underperforming: Four tected area-based conservation mod-

State interests presence of tigers in all

habitat types. But serious
issues persist, including
tiger reserves had no tigers, and 14 els cannot address these challenges.
others had tigers at extremely low Tiger populations in most pro-
densities (<1 tiger/100 sq km). If all tected areas suffer from scale mis-
tiger reserves perform to match – where the space to We can achieve better viability for a tiger population by creating a network
SC’s revival of guilty-by-association doctrine their full potential, we could create a viable tiger popula- of small satellite populations around our protected areas. This can help
further narrows the window under UAPA the urgent need for new have 4,000-5,000 tigers in tion is smaller than reverse the range decline and build viable local meta-populations HT ARCHIVE
approaches beyond the our reserves. India also has required. This means our
tiger habitats in national conservation planning study in Madhya Pradesh that showed in protection and restoration.

I
n a crucial verdict last week, the Supreme Court protected areas. Address parks and wildlife sanctuar- must find spaces outside that approximately ₹6,50,000 is gen- Instead of 10 to 15 places where one
revived the doctrine of guilt-by-association after
these so that India can ies that are not categorised Raghu protected areas. erated from every square kilometre of can see tigers, India could have innu-
over a decade, saying that even mere membership as tiger reserves. In addition, Chundawat Instead of looking for a tiger forest open to tourism. Many merable destinations away from the
of a banned organisation will be a crime under the host 10,000 tigers one day extensive tiger areas exist single large population, we countries earn handsomely from present critical tiger habitats and
outside this protected area. can achieve better viability wildlife tourism even when they don’t crowded conservation centres. For
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

O
n April 1, India will cele-
The court’s verdict is important for two reasons. brate 50 years of her
One, the jurisprudence around terror cases has to iconic conservation
project: Project Tiger.
strike a balance between free speech and individual This is an appropriate
rights, and the interest of the State in stopping time to reflect on and
violence. In 2011, three separate judgments leaned learn from the project’s successes and
failures and devise a system to take
towards the former, saying that unless there was tiger conservation forward.
material on record to show intent for unlawful acts, In line with the resolution taken at
membership of a banned organisation itself was not the 10th General Assembly of the
International Union for Conservation
enough to prove criminal intent. The three-judge of Nature in 1969, India banned tiger
bench led by justice MR Shah now has reversed the hunting in 1970. The tiger was placed
top court’s position, agreeing with the government’s in the red data book for endangered
species after everyone was shocked to
argument. This switch was further evident when the hear that less than 3,000 tigers
apex court said a batch of US verdicts — which sided remained in India.
with free speech concerns — that the court based its Fifty years on, in 2018, this shock
had changed to celebration when the
2011 order on was not relevant. Two, the judgment census estimate of 2,967 tigers was
strengthened the hand of the executive by appearing announced. Same number, different
to place its trust in its agencies and processes. The response. Today, most of these tigers
live within heavily protected tiger
judgment questioned the wisdom of reading down a habitats, which include tiger reserves
legislation without hearing the Union of India, and
noted that a particular association is declared
unlawful only after the Centre is satisfied that such an
outfit is indulging in illegal activity.
What does this mean for individual rights, especially
Address systemic issues in
Taking all these into consid- for a tiger population by have iconic species such as tigers, ele- example, huge tiger forests with
eration, many tiger biolo- creating a network of small phants, lions and rhinos. Scotland, for much wildlife value and great poten-
gists believe India can have satellite populations example, earns more than £65 million tial lie between the tiger reserves of
10,000-15,000 tigers. around our protected areas. annually from wildlife tourism. In Panna and Ratapani (proposed), both
For us, it is not the num- This can help reverse the South Africa, nature tourism contrib- in Madhya Pradesh (MP). A nested
ber of tigers that is Project range decline, build viable utes approximately 3% to the real meta-population approach can help
Tiger’s success: Its most sig- J Van local meta-populations, Gross Domestic Product and 4.3% of connect Panna and Ratapani and the
nificant achievement is that Gruisen and, with strategically total employment. In India, wildlife newly established Nauradehi (also in
we have tigers in almost all located satellite habitats, tourism is centred around a few tiger MP), thus ensuring better survival of
different habitat types, as we provide a bridge between reserves. all three tiger populations.
did in 1973. Where we failed two existing protected tiger The nested meta-population After 50 years of tiger conservation,
is in not planning for conservation populations. approach can achieve tiger conserva- we have learnt a few things: We must
successes. If the project had planned This conservation model is based tion goals and generate economic plan for our successes and build upon
appropriately, after 50 years of strong on science and opens the door for an benefits and community welfare what we have managed to secure. In
political will, money, a legal frame- inclusive approach that can benefit through joint ventures of non-con- the next two decades, we hope India
work, and with all the expertise avail- local communities sharing tiger for- sumptive use (such as tourism) out- will proudly host over 10,000 tigers in
able, we could be celebrating more ests. This nested meta-population side our protected area network. the wild, in harmony with local com-
than 10,000 tigers today. approach builds on the present sys- Thus, a more extensive landscape can munities, and to their benefit.
Three serious conservation issues tem and works as an additional effort be brought under active conservation
plague tiger populations: Range con- to complement existing conservation efforts and uplift rural welfare. Such a Raghu Chundawat is a conservation
traction, individual population viabil- efforts. model addresses all three conserva- biologist and author of The Rise and
ity (small population size) and con- Tourism can catalyse these tion issues that science identifies; it Fall of the Emerald Tigers, and J Van
nectivity with neighbouring popula- changes when designed and pro- also creates a platform for communi- Gruisen is a wildlife documentary
tions (isolated populations and viable moted on clear conservation tourism ties, investors, outside experts, and filmmaker, writer and conservationist
corridors). We need conservation principles. In 2017 we conducted a philanthropic investors to participate The views expressed are personal
{ PIYUSH GOYAL } UNION COMMERCE MINISTER

P
at a time when the Opposition and activists have
accused the State of using anti-terror laws to curtail the armed forces archives We want to negotiate with
freedoms? Much of this will depend on the definition
he Indian military, in fits and starts, education. This is not just an academic ques-
nations which believe in
of membership and strategies used by the prosecution
to link an individual to a banned outfit. In the recent
Bhima Koregaon terror trials, the defence alleged that
evidence used to bring charges against activists was
T is undergoing its most significant tion; analysing this crisis should logically
transformation yet — with the crea- draw lessons for our current operational
tion of the offices of chief of defence plans. Most officers will brush away the
staff, department of military affairs, an question, citing secrecy concerns but deep
expectation of joint theatre commands and down most will struggle to answer these
reciprocity, transparency and
follow a rules-based approach.
sparse, even manipulated. Against this backdrop, will
confessions be enough to draw a link? Will a recovery
the unexpected and controversial Agnipath questions. The fact of the matter is this — the
recruitment scheme. Despite some misgiv- Army does not ask such searching questions We will engage with the world,
but as an equal
A
ings about implementing these reforms, and or provide its officers with a historically
of literature be deemed adequate? Or will the court the jury still out on their effectiveness, the grounded analysis. On the contrary, most for-
and the State need to come up with a rigorous process Narendra Modi government deserves credit mations will struggle to locate records about
to define and prove membership? The answer to these for most of these initiatives. However, these this operation, in which, according to the
institutional reforms must be matched by an government’s admission in the Rajya Sabha,
questions will determine the balance of liberty and even more important procedural undertak- India suffered around 1,874 casualties.
State action. For now, the narrow window for bail in ing — a willingness to declassify documents, But this is not just about Operation Para-
anti-terror cases has been further constricted. facilitate scholarly engagement, and be open kram, which occurred more than two dec-
to research scrutiny. Only then can the mili- ades ago but pertains to events even before
tary create opportunities for a much-needed that. Many senior military officers do not
intellectual transformation necessary to ful- understand the concept or value of archives
India must claim damages
The tremendous early
fil the promise of current reforms and deal and scholarly research. As a result, hundreds
with future challenges.
A few months ago, the director-
and thousands of documents and disserta-
tions about training, operations,
for attacks on embassies
general of the National Archives, administration, and logistics lie andalism at Indian missions in the the premises of the mission against any
potential of WPL Chandan Sinha, highlighted what is
common knowledge to India’s
(minuscule) tribe of military histo-
unexamined in formations, units,
and schools of instruction across the
country. V United Kingdom (UK), United States intrusion or damage and to prevent any dis-
(US), and Canada by elements back- turbance of the peace of the mission or
ing the separatist Khalistan move- impairment of its dignity.”
he inaugural Women’s Premier League (WPL),

T
rians — the archives do not have Egregiously, when space becomes ment, including the outrageous act of pulling It is this special duty of protection that the
which the Mumbai Indians won by defeating the any records about the 1962, 1965 or a constraint or as a matter of down India’s national flag, have rightly UK, US, and Canada have failed to perform.
1971 wars. To be sure, over the last Anit bureaucratic habit, the military con- caused New Delhi to lodge official protests. In an apparent response, India withdrew
Delhi Capitals on Sunday, will be judged on three Mukherjee venes a board of officers drawn
few years, the military and the Due to these actions, the property of Indian security measures outside the British high
long-term questions: Did it indicate that the format is defence ministry have made a con- from local units to oversee the missions has been damaged and some commission and the high commissioner’s
commercially attractive? Will it lead to upskilling and certed effort to transfer older files destruction of documents. These employees injured. While the British and residence in New Delhi. This act is also per-
improving the quality of the Indian woman’s cricket to the archives. In addition, the officers are not historians and most American authorities have denounced these mitted under Article 47 of VCDR which pro-
United Services Institution of India is digitis- cursorily go through the motions without events and New Delhi summoned the UK tects India’s ability to reciprocate the lack of
team? And will it help identify talent from small towns ing some historic files. These are positive understanding the potential value of such and Canadian envoys to lodge protests, that’s security and protection its mission experi-
that may otherwise go unnoticed? Fifteen years after and welcome developments. Nonetheless, documents. In all this, the ministry of not enough. enced in London. It is important to recall
the Indian Premium League was launched, these are they also belie a lack of understanding of the defence has shrugged off responsibility. This is a serious international law concern that in 2013, India took similar action of
value of scholarly research and its role in Their hands-off attitude facilitates a classic because it affects one of the core issues that removing security equipment around the
the three crucial questions for which the answer has professional military education. catch-22 situation. When quizzed about form the basis of relationships between American embassy in Delhi in response to
been in the affirmative. It’s commercially India’s Nothing illustrates this better than a sim- declassification, military officers ask for gui- States — diplomatic and consular relations. the US arresting Devyani Khobragade, an
biggest sporting event; it has taken the team to a ple pop quiz — ask any serving Army officer dance from the ministry to do so. On the The two key international treaties Indian diplomat.
what military lessons were learnt from Oper- other hand, ministry officials correctly claim that govern these relations are the What more can India do? Under
different level on some skills, particularly fielding and ation Parakram, launched in the aftermath that only the classifying agency can declas- Vienna Convention on Diplomatic international law, the failure to pro-
death-over bowling; and it has unearthed a pool of of the terrorist attack on Parliament in 2001. sify, putting the onus back to the military. All Relations (VCDR) and the Vienna vide protection to Indian missions
talent that has now made small-town India the More specifically, ask where our three-strike this buck-passing effectively leaves India’s Convention on Consular Relations does not automatically mean that
corps were deployed, why they were rede- strategic community worse off, with histori- (VCCR). These treaties have more New Delhi ought to be compensated
mainstay of the national team. ployed and whether their operational lessons cally minded officers overly reliant on self- than 190 countries as signatories for the damages to the property or
Prabhash
Most watchers, being introduced to regular were a part of their professional military convenient biographies and organisational and at the heart of these agree- for the injuries to its employees. It
myths. ments lies a functional approach Ranjan is, however, open to India to make
women’s cricket for the first time, were unsure if WPL
Addressing these systemic issues will aimed at ensuring that a country’s claims with respective countries for
will be able to produce the electrifying hits and require attention from the top. The defence mission abroad can perform its existing and future incidents based
thrilling matches that IPL does year after year. They minister and chief of defence staff should functions efficiently only when it is on their official practice. For
were in for a happy surprise. In all, WPL generated 801 promulgate an integrated records manage- situated in the territory of the instance, in 1994, the UK’s Foreign
ment policy for all three services. Such a doc- receiving country. and Commonwealth Office shared
fours and 159 sixes across 22 matches — an average of ument should specify a systematic declassifi- It is as part of this approach that with all diplomatic missions a note
36.4 fours and 7.22 sixes per game. The 2022 IPL saw cation policy and appoint nodal officers to Articles 22(1) and 31(1) of VCDR and to clarify that while the UK did not
27.2 fours and 14.35 sixes per match. In WPL, the slog oversee it. Indeed, transferring records to the VCCR, respectively, enshrine the consider itself under any obligation
public domain is a statutory requirement. As principle of inviolability i.e. the Shantanu to pay compensation for damages
was often replaced by technique because the women a first step, the defence ministry may also sanctity of diplomatic and consular due to attacks on diplomatic mis-
Singh
players relied less on strength and more on timing to need to empower professional historians — premises. Recognising the signifi- sions, it may still compensate the
clear the ropes with what purists like to call “proper” and not necessarily serving officers — to help cance of this principle, the Interna- sending State (the country which
decide what records should remain classi- tional Court of Justice in the 1980 sends its envoys) ex gratia, except in
cricketing shots. In terms of talent pool, though fied. To its credit, the Indian Navy has created Tehran hostages’ case — when the US suc- cases where the property was insured
established stars Meg Lanning (Delhi Capitals) and a naval history division but unfortunately cessfully brought a claim against Iran after against such attacks. A similar policy posi-
Hayley Matthews (Mumbai Indians) shone with their does not allow civilian researchers to access American diplomats were held hostage at tion with respect to damages to diplomatic
it. the embassy by militants — held that the premises exists in Canada too, as recorded in
batting skills, Saika Ishaque’s 15 wickets showed that In all this, the military must understand inviolability of diplomatic envoys and an advice note tendered by the Canadian
the tournament could unearth new players with the value of sharing information and open up embassies is a “fundamental prerequisite” Department of External Affairs in 1967.
bright futures. And while the recent Women’s World to scholarly scrutiny and inputs. Such orga- for the conduct of relations between coun- Relying on the British and Canadian prac-
nisational self-knowledge is necessary to tries. tices, India should make a claim for compen-
T20 showed that Indian cricket is lagging on some intellectually prepare future leaders for Accordingly, the premises of a sending sation for the attacks and the damage caused
crucial fronts — fitness, fielding, and dealing with emerging challenges. Otherwise, the military state’s mission, such as the Indian high com- to the Indian missions. If nothing, it would at
crunch situations — WPL proved that it can be a will continue perpetuating a half-baked, mission in London, cannot be interfered least put pressure on these countries to
sanitised version of its past — fearful of the with by anyone, even the authorities of the ensure that they respect the key principle of
bridge between domestic and international cricket for past and, thereby, hesitant about its future. State where it is located, without the permis- inviolability.
an entire generation of young players. The military must understand the value sion of the mission’s head. The natural con-
So, in a nutshell, WPL has shown tremendous early of sharing information and open up to Anit Mukherjee is an associate professor, sequence of this inviolability is that the Prabhash Ranjan teaches at the Jindal Global Law
scholarly scrutiny. Such self-knowledge is S Rajaratnam School of International receiving State, the UK in this case, under School. Shantanu Singh is an LLM candidate at
potential. At long last, women’s cricket is getting its necessary to intellectually prepare future Studies (RSIS), NTU, Singapore Article 22(2) of the VCDR is under a “special the Geneva Graduate Institute
moment in the sun (and under the floodlights). leaders for emerging challenges ANI The views expressed are personal duty to take all appropriate steps to protect The views expressed are personal

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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
Israel: PM announces ‘pause’
to divisive judicial overhaul
A nationwide protest
grounded flights, shut
down universities and
mall chains, while the
largest trade union
asked its 800,000
members to stop work
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minis-
ter Benjamin Netanyahu on
Monday announced a pause to
divisive judicial reforms moving
through parliament, after
months of street rallies that
drew tens of thousands. “Out of a
sense of national responsibility,
out of a will to prevent a rupture
among our people, I have
decided to pause the second and
third readings of the bill,” he told
the legislature.
Netanyahu added he would
delay consideration of the bill to
the next session of parliament
which begins in the second half
of April.
Earlier in the day, tens of
thousands of Israelis demon-
strated outside parliament and
{ U.S. } NASHVILLE
6 DIE, INCLUDING
3 CHILDREN, IN
SHOOTING AT
PRIVATE SCHOOL;
SUSPECT KILLED
Agencies
letters@hindustantimes.com
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE : A
28-year-old female shooter
wielding two “assault-style”
rifles and a pistol killed three
students and three adults at a
private Christian school in
Nashville on Monday, authori-
ties said. The suspect also died
after being shot by police.
The violence occurred at The
Covenant School, a Presbyterian
school for about 200 students
from preschool through sixth
grade. Authorities were work-
ing to identify whether she had
a connection to the school.
The Nashville victims were
pronounced dead upon arrival
at the Monroe Carell Jr Chil-
dren’s Hospital and Vanderbilt
University Medical Center.
Other students walked to
safety on Monday, holding
hands as they left their school
surrounded by police cars, to a
nearby church to be reunited
with their parents.
Police officers with rifles,
heavy vests and helmets could
be seen walking through the
school parking lot and around
the grassy perimeter of the
building on Monday morning.
Helicopter footage from WTVF
also showed the officers looking
around a wooded area between
the campus and a nearby road.
ATIQ BROUGHT TO U.P.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh
Yadav, hinting that Ahmad may
face the same fate as gansgter
Vikas Dubey, who was killed in
an encounter in 2020 after his
convoy allegedly overturned
while bringing him back to Kan-
pur from Ujjain in Madhya Pra-
desh. Under the law, there is no
stipulation that police have to
take the road route to transport a
prisoner. In fact, when Ahmad
was moved from Varanasi to
Gujarat in 2019, he was taken by
air.
Ahmad was escorted by a
45-member police team in six
vehicles, including an ambu-
lance and two fortified vans, and
followed closely by media per-
sonnel. On the way, there were
eight halts. Only five police offi-
cers were allowed to carry
mobile phones during the jour-
ney. After beginning the journey
from Sabarmati jail at 6pm, the
convoy first halted at Udaipur at
9.20pm on Sunday, followed by
Chittorgarh at 1am, Menal at
3am, and Kota at 4am. When
Ahmad was alighting from the
van at Shivpuri around 7am,
reporters asked if he was scared
and he retorted, “Kahe ka dar!
(Fear of what!)” After entering
Uttar Pradesh, the convoy halted
at Jhansi at around 9.15am and
Jalaun at 12.12pm. The eighth
stop was Chitrakoot.
Ahmad will be produced
before the Praygaraj MP/MLA
court on Tuesday for the verdict
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workers launched a nationwide
strike in a dramatic escalation of
the mass protest movement
aimed at halting PM’s plan to
overhaul the judiciary.
The chaos shut down much of
the country and threatened to
paralyse the economy. Departing
flights from the main interna-
tional airport were grounded.
Large mall chains and universi-
ties closed their doors, and
Israel’s largest trade union called
for its 800,000 members to stop
work in health care, transit,
banking and other fields. Diplo-
mats walked off the job at for-
eign missions while the main
doctors’ union announced that
its members would also strike.
The growing resistance to
Netanyahu’s plan came hours
after tens of thousands of people
burst into the streets around the
country in a spontaneous show
of anger at the prime minister’s
decision to fire his defence min-
ister Yoav Gallant after he called
for a pause to the overhaul.
Chanting “the country is on
fire”, they lit bonfires on Tel
Aviv’s main highway, closing the
thoroughfare and many others
throughout the country for hours.
Demonstrators gathered
again on Monday outside the
Humza Yousaf picked as Scotland’s new leader
Agence France-Presse
letters@hindustantimes.com
LONDON: Humza Yousaf on
Monday won the race to
become Scotland’s new leader,
the youngest and first from a
minority ethnic background,
charged with reviving a falter-
ing independence movement
after Nicola Sturgeon’s long ten-
ure.
Yousaf emerged victorious
with 52% of Scottish National
Party (SNP) members’ preferen-
Taiwan’s ex-prez visits { CAN AI CREATE ART? }
China ‘to lower tension’ Artists fight legal battles against AI that copy their styles
Sutirtho Patranobis
letters@hindustantimes.com
BEIJING: Former Taiwanese pres-
ident Ma Ying-jeou arrived in
Shanghai, China on Monday, the
first former leader of the self-
ruled island to do so in nearly
seven decades, in a visit that he
said was an effort to “lower
heightened political and military
tension between the two sides”.
Ma’s 12-day visit to China will
coincide with Taiwanese Presi-
dent Tsai Ing-wen’s visit later this
week to Belize and Guatemala in
Central America and two stop-
overs in New York and Los Ange-
les, a visit set to trigger angry
responses from Beijing.
The Democratic Progressive
Party, Tsai’s ruling party, has
called Ma’s visit “regrettable”.
Ma’s tour has also been criti-
cised in his country as it comes a
in the 2006 Umesh Pal abduc-
tion case, in which he is the
prime accused along with his
brother Khalid Azeem aka Ash-
raf, a former legislator. Azeem
was also brought by road from
Bareilly jail and lodged in Naini
jail on Monday.
Jail officials said joint teams
of police and jail guards will be
deployed. The security person-
nel will be on duty in three shifts
and equipped with body cam-
eras. Similar arrangements were
made for Azeem.
Atiq Ahmad, his wife Shaista
Parveen, his two sons, and
brother Azeem were named as
accused in the daylight murder
of Umesh Pal and two of his
police bodyguards on February
24. Umesh Pal was a prime wit-
ness in the 2005 murder of Raju
Pal, a case in which Atiq and
Azeem were the prime accused.
An FIR was registered against 17
people for Umesh Pal’s murder
on a complaint by his wife Jaya,
police said. Since Umesh Pal’s
murder, police have gunned
down two alleged aides of
Ahmad, and the Prayagraj
administration has demolished
the houses of several others.
Ahmad was shifted to Sabar-
mati central jail due to a
Supreme Court order after he
was accused of orchestrating the
kidnapping and assault of busi-
nessman Mohit Jaiswal while in
prison in UP in 2018. Back then,
police had taken Ahmad to Guj-
arat by air from Varanasi.
Knesset, or parliament, turning
the streets surrounding the
building and the Supreme Court
into a roiling sea of blue-and-
white Israeli flags dotted with
rainbow Pride banners. Demon-
strations in Tel Aviv, Haifa and
other cities drew thousands
more. “This is the last chance to
stop this move into a dictator-
ship,” said Matityahu Sperber,
68, who joined a stream of peo-
ple headed to the protest outside
the Knesset.
The plan — driven by Netan-
yahu, who is on trial for corrup-
tion, and his allies in Israel’s
most right-wing government
ever — has plunged Israel into
one of its worst domestic crises.
It has sparked sustained protests
that have galvanised nearly all
sectors of society, including its
military, where reservists have
increasingly said publicly that
they will not serve a country
veering towards autocracy.
Biden shares concerns
US President Joe Biden has
shared his concerns about the
situation in Israel directly with
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu amid protests over a
planned judicial overhaul, the
White House said on Monday.
tially ranked votes, following a
divisive leadership battle trig-
gered by Sturgeon’s surprise
resignation announcement last
month.
He is set to be sworn in as
first minister on Wednes-
day, becoming the first
ethnic minority leader of
a devolved government
and the first Muslim to
lead a major UK party.
He is also Scotland’s
youngest leader, taking the
helm months after
Ma Ying-jeou waves upon
arriving in Shanghai. AFP
day after the Central American
country of Honduras severed ties
with Taiwan in favour of Beijing,
which claims the self-ruled island
as part of its territory.
Beijing has escalated military,
economic and diplomatic pres-
sure on Taiwan since Tsai came
to power in 2016, luring nine of
Taiwan’s allies, leaving the island
with only 13 countries that now
diplomatically recognise it.
BILKIS CONVICTS
Bano, others were filed as pub-
lic interest litigations (PILs) in
the wake of the outcry over the
premature release of the con-
victs last August.
Setting down the matter for
April 18 for an extensive hear-
ing, the bench directed the Cen-
tre and the state government to
produce the relevant files relat-
ing to the grant of remission to
the convicts.
“We will not be going by
emotions. That’s the last thing
we will do. We are only on legal
and law and nothing to do with
emotions. We understand
whatever we are going to say
will affect the conditions of
prisoners in this country. We
have to put in a balance... lib-
erty and freedom are some of
the considerations,” remarked
the bench. These observations
came when advocate Rishi Mal-
hotra, appearing for some of
the convicts, complained that
PIL petitioners cannot question
the remission granted in a
criminal case and that emo-
tional arguments were being
pressed to dispel the require-
ment of law and maintainabil-
ity.
The bench, while issuing a
notice on Bano’s petition, clari-
fied that it would examine a
gamut of issues, including the
applicability of the remission
policy, definition of “appropri-
ate government” for the pur-
poses of remission, and the
World
People protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
plan to overhaul the judiciary in Jerusalem, on Monday. REUTERS
Rishi Sunak became the young-
est UK prime minister in mod-
ern times when he entered
Downing Street aged 42.
The 37-year-old vowed to
continue pursuing the SNP’s
central policy — independ-
ence for Scotland —
which Sturgeon has
championed since the
party lost a 2014 refer-
endum on the issue by
10 points. “The people of
Scotland need inde-
pendence now,
Agence France-Presse
letters@hindustantimes.com
SAN FRANCISCO: Artists outraged
by artificial intelligence that cop-
ies in seconds the styles they have
sacrificed years to develop are
waging battle online and in court.
Fury erupted in the art com-
munity last year with the release
of generative artificial intelli-
gence (AI) programmes that can
convincingly carry out com-
mands such as drawing a dog like
cartoonist Sarah Andersen
would, or a nymph the way illus-
trator Karla Ortiz might do.
Such style-swiping AI works
are cranked out without the origi-
nal artist’s consent, credit or
compensation — the three C’s at
the heart of a fight to change all
that.
In January, artists including
Andersen and Ortiz filed a class-
action lawsuit against DreamUp,
{ }
considerations made by the
authorities concerned.
During the hearing, the court
further indicated that it would
hear the parties on the point if
the Gujarat government was
the appropriate government to
grant remission under Section
433 and 433A of the Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) after the
lawyers for Bano and other
petitioners said that Maharash-
tra government should have
dealt with the convicts’ remis-
sion plea since the trial was
conducted in Mumbai as per
the 2004 apex court order.
Malhotra, on his part, coun-
tered this submission, citing an
order of the Supreme Court in
May 2022 passed by another
bench, which directed the Guj-
arat government could con-
sider the remission plea.
The bench, however, told
Malhotra: “Will this court order
clothe a state, which does not
have jurisdiction, with the jur-
isdiction? Even if there is a
Supreme Court order, if it is
found that there was palpably
no jurisdiction, whether this
court can clothe someone with
that jurisdiction? You cannot
simply cite the order of this
court but argue this independ-
ently.”
During the proceedings, sen-
ior counsel Kapil Sibal and
Abhishek Singhvi, and advo-
cates Vrinda Grover and
Aparna Bhat appeared for the
PIL petitioners, which included
more than ever before, and we
will be the generation that deliv-
ers independence for Scotland,”
Yousaf said in his victory speech.
He added his “immediate pri-
ority” was protecting Scots from
Britain’s cost-of-living crisis and
reforming public services.
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minis-
ter Rishi Sunak “looks forward
to working” with new Scottish
leader but rejects his demands
for another referendum on
independence, Sunak’s spokes-
man said on Monday.
Midjourney and Stable Diffusion,
three image-generating AI mod-
els programmed with art found
online.
Andersen said she felt “vio-
lated” when she first saw an AI
drawing that copied the style of
her Fangs comic book work.
She fired off an indignant reac-
tion on Twitter; it went viral, and
other incensed artists reached
out to her with stories of their
own. Backers of the suit hope to
establish legal precedent govern-
ing generative AI models that
copy artists’ styles.
Artists want AI creators to be
required to secure permission for
works used in training software,
with an option to remove it.
They also want suitable com-
pensation. “There is room for a
conversation about what that
would look like,” said Ortiz.
Compensation could take the
form of a licensing model, she
former CPI MP Subhashini Ali,
journalist Revati Laul, profes-
sor Roop Rekha Verma, and
TMC MP Mahua Moitra. Bano
was represented through advo-
cate Shobha Gupta.
Bano was 21 years old and
five months’ pregnant when
she was gang-raped while flee-
ing the violence during the
2002 riots, and her three-year-
old daughter was one of the
seven people killed.
The 11 men convicted of the
crimes against her and her fam-
ily were released on August 15
after one of them, Radheshyam
Shah, approached the Supreme
Court in April seeking remis-
sion, arguing that he had spent
over 15 years in prison in the
case. By an order in May, a
bench led by justice Rastogi
directed the state government
to consider the convicts’ plea
for premature release in
accordance with the 1992 policy
— the one prevalent on the date
of their conviction. While the
existing remission policy of
2014 of the Gujarat government
prohibits early release of rape
convicts, no such restrictions
were a part of the 1992 policy.
Subsequently, a batch of PILs
were filed, challenging the pre-
mature release of Bano’s con-
victs. These petitions stressed
that the crime was horrific and
the convicts should have never
been entitled to premature
release in the public interest.
A bench led by then CJI NV
Biden curtails govt’s use
of commercial spyware
Prashant Jha
letters@hindustantimes.com
WASHINGTON: President Joe
Biden has prohibited all US fed-
eral agencies and departments
from using any commercial spy-
ware that poses a risk to US
national security interests or/
and has been used by foreign
governments to engage in
human rights abuses.
The decision, formalised
through an executive order,
comes in the run-up to the Sum-
mit for Democracy, a flagship
event of the Biden presidency
that commences this week, and
18 months after revelations
about the extensive use of Pega-
sus software by democracies
and authoritarian regimes alike
highlighted the threats posed by
commercial spyware.
Biden’s order applies to all
federal agencies, including law
enforcement, defence and intel-
ligence departments, and
applies to spyware tools fur-
nished by both domestic and
international commercial enti-
ties. To be sure, the ban does not
extend to all commercial spy-
ware — but only to spyware that
has been found targeting US
interests and been deployed in
violation of law for human
rights abuses elsewhere. But it
is significant because for the
first time, it lays a strict set of
guidelines on what the US gov-
No change in Belarus
N-arms plan: Kremlin
MOSCOW: The Kremlin on
Monday said Western
criticism would not change
plans announced by Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin to
deploy tactical nuclear
weapons in Belarus. Mean-
while, European Council
President Charles Michel on
Monday pledged to continue
supporting Ukraine against
Russian aggression “for as
long as necessary”. AGENCIES
An image designed with AI by digital creator Julian van Dieken
inspired by Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’.
mused, and would need to be
appropriate.
It would be wrong for artists to
“get a couple of cents while the
company gets millions” of dol-
Ramana issued notices to the
Gujarat government and the
convicts in August 2022. As this
bench also included justices
Rastogi and Vikram Nath, the
matter was listed before justice
Rastogi’s bench after justice
Ramana’s retirement.
Replying to these petitions,
the Gujarat government filed its
affidavit on October 17, and dis-
closed that the Union ministry
of home affairs had approved
the early release of the convicts
while the state took into
account their “good behaviour”
as a key reason to grant remis-
sion.
The affidavit revealed that
remission was granted in
August despite objections from
the trial court judge who con-
victed the 11 men, and the Cen-
tral Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), which investigated and
prosecuted the case in Mumbai
following the 2004 apex court
order shifting the trial outside
Gujarat.
Later, in the last week of
November, Bano approached
the Supreme Court against the
Gujarat government’s decision
to allow the 11 men, sentenced
to life in 2008, to walk out of
jail.
She stated in her writ peti-
tion that the gravity of the
crime would itself disentitle the
convicts from getting benefit of
an early release. Explaining the
delay in approaching the court,
she said, “The petitioner was
ernment agencies cannot
acquire and use.
Calling it a “groundbreaking”
executive order, a senior admin-
istration official explained the
rationale of the move.
Defining commercial spy-
ware as “sophisticated and inva-
sive cyber surveillance tools
sold by vendors to access elec-
tronic devices remotely, extract
their content, and manipulate
their components, all without
the knowledge or consent of the
devices’ users”, the official said
that from the late summer of
2021, the National Security
Council had been engaged in
assessing the threat posed by
this kind of spyware. Two pat-
terns became clear.
For one, the spyware posed a
risk to the US’s own counterin-
telligence and national security
interests. At least 50 devices
used by US government person-
nel, in ten countries, in different
continents, had been targeted
by commercial spyware. The
order says, “Untrustworthy
commercial vendors and tools
can present significant risks to
the security and integrity of the
US government information
and information systems.”
In the absence of a clear and
standardised direction on
whether federal agencies could
use the spyware, commercial
spyware vendors were also
seeking to make inroads into
A
l
Six killed in suicide
blast in Afghanistan
KABUL: A suicide attack on
Monday near Afghanistan’s
foreign ministry killed six
civilians and wounded
several others, the interior
ministry said. Monday’s
blast was the second attack
near the foreign ministry in
Kabul in less than three
months, and the first since
the Muslim holy month of
Ramzan began on Thursday
in Afghanistan. AFP
AFP
lars, added Ortiz, whose resume
includes working for Marvel Stu-
dios. The Mauritshuis Museum
in the Netherlands sparked con-
troversy by displaying an AI-gen-
completely shattered with the
early release of all the convicts
and could not regroup herself
to be able to take a decision to
challenge their release the ear-
liest, more so when there was
not even a piece of information
of the basis or the grounds on
which they were collectively
granted such clemency.”
Through a separate petition,
Bano also sought a review of
the Supreme Court’s May order
asking the state government to
consider the convicts’ plea for
premature release in accord-
ance with the 1992 policy.
While Bano’s challenge to
the grant of remission remains
pending, the review petition
was rejected by a bench com-
prising justices Rastogi and
Nath on December 13. “In our
opinion, there appears no error
apparent on the face of record,
which may call for review of
the judgment dated May 13,
2022,” the bench said in its
order.
The case, however, could not
be heard since December as
justice Rastogi’s bench
included justice Bela M Trivedi,
who recused from hearing the
matter twice — on December 15
and on January 4. After
repeated requests by Bano’s
lawyer, Shobha Gupta, Chief
Justice of India Dhananjaya Y
Chandrachud last week agreed
to set up a new bench, and the
matter was thus listed before
the justice Joseph-led bench.
15
the US system.
Two, the US noted that a
growing number of foreign gov-
ernments had deployed this
technology to “facilitate repres-
sion and enable human rights
abuses, including to intimidate
political opponents and curb
dissent, limit freedom of expres-
sion, and monitor activists and
journalists”. The executive
order notes that democratic
governments too have confron-
tation revelations that actors
within their systems have used
spyware to “target their citizens
without proper legal authorisa-
tion, safeguards and oversight”.
It was in this backdrop that
the administration devised a set
of objectives for the use of com-
mercial spyware — ensure that
it aligns with US national secu-
rity and foreign policy interests
“in upholding and advancing
democratic processes and insti-
tutions and respect for human
rights”; ensure that the US does
not contribute, directly or indi-
rectly, to the proliferation or
misuse of commercial spyware;
and help protect US govern-
ment personnel and informa-
tion systems. The senior admin-
istration official quoted above
suggested that the administra-
tion also hopes that the order
will help spur reform in an
unregulated industry and pro-
vide the foundations for greater
international collaboration.
Pakistan: Ex-PM gets
protection from arrest
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani
court on Monday ruled in
defence of former prime
minister Imran Khan,
granting him protection
from arrest as lawsuits
mounted against him. The
Islamabad High Court ruled
that Khan cannot be
arrested — at least for
another week — in seven
separate cases over March
18 clashes. AP
erated image inspired by Ver-
meer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring.
The San Francisco Ballet,
meanwhile, caused a stir by using
Midjourney to generate illustra-
tions used in promotional mate-
rial for Nutcracker performances
in December.
“It’s sort of a natural conse-
quence of something being easy
and cheap and accessible,”
Andersen said.
Now, artists are turning not
just to the courts but to technol-
ogy to defend themselves against
generative AI.
Prompted by artists, a team at
the University of Chicago last
week launched their “Glaze” soft-
ware to help protect original
works. The programme adds a
layer of data over images that,
while invisible to the human eye,
“acts as a decoy” for AI, said
Shawn Shan, the doctoral student
in charge of the project.
KOLKATA: LOCALS
CLASH WITH COPS
OVER ‘MURDER’
OF MINOR GIRL
HT Correspondent
letters@hindustantimes.com
KOLKATA: Clashes between local
residents and police erupted
on Monday over the alleged
murder of a seven-year-old girl
whose body was found in a flat
in southeast Kolkata hours after
she went missing a day earlier,
police said.
One person has been arrested
for the alleged murder.
A mob in Tiljala area set a few
vehicles on fire, blocked roads
and local trains and also alleg-
edly attacked police officials
with bricks, prompting the latter
to resort to tear gas and lathi
charge to disperse the crowd.
“Police resorted to force after
the mob turned violent. Four
people have bene detained.
Raids are being carried out to
identify the culprits behind Mon-
day’s vandalism,” a police officer
said, seeking anonymity.
Police said the girl’s parents
had lodged a missing diary on
Sunday.
“The girl’s body was found in
a paddy sack behind a LPG cylin-
der in the kitchen. Her hands
and legs were tied. The accused
Alok Kumar, who hails from
Bihar, was arrested on Sunday,“
a second officer said, also seek-
ing anonymity.
 16
Lenders to proceed with
Reliance Capital auction
Round 2 is likely
next week despite
the Hinduja group
retracting revised bid
Gopika Gopakumar
gopika.g@htlive.com
MUMBAI: The lenders of Reli-
ance Capital have decided to go
ahead with the second round of
auction on April 4, in accord-
ance with the Supreme Court
decision, despite the Hinduja
group retracting its revised bid,
according to three people aware
of the matter.
The Hinduja group submitted
a revised bid of ₹9,000 crore on
December 21, a day after the
first round of auction—in which
rival Torrent Group had been
declared the highest bidder—
concluded. Torrent had bid for
₹8,640 crore, while Hinduja
Group had originally offered
₹8,110 crore. Challenging this,
Torrent approached the
National Company Law Tribu-
nal, which asked the lenders to
keep the Hinduja Group’s post-
auction offer on hold till final
hearing.
But an appeals court over-
turned the order . Torrent then
approached the Supreme Court
to seek a stay on the National
First Citizens buys
Silicon Valley Bank
after run on lender
Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
CALIFORNIA: First Citizens Banc-
Shares Inc. agreed to buy Silicon
Valley Bank, which was seized by
regulators following a run on the
lender.
The Raleigh, North Carolina-
based bank entered into a pur-
chase and assumption agree-
ment for all deposits and loans of
SVB, according to a statement
from the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corp. The deal includes the
purchase of about $72 billion
SVB assets at a discount of $16.5
billion, the FDIC said.
About $90 billion in securities
and other assets will remain in
the receivership for disposition
by the FDIC, while the Federal
institution also got equity appre-
ciation rights in First Citizens
worth as much as $500 million.
The estimated cost of the failure
to the Deposit Insurance Fund is
about $20 billion, though the
exact extent will be determined
when receivership is terminated,
according to the statement.
“This has been a remarkable
transaction in partnership with
the FDIC that should instill con-
fidence in the banking system,”
Frank Holding Jr., chief execu-
tive officer of First Citizens, said
in a statement.
The lender said it will assume
$56 billion in deposits and 17 leg-
acy branches will begin operat-
ing Silicon Valley Bank, a divi-
sion of First Citizens. There will
be no immediate change to cus-
tomer accounts.
Silicon Valley Bank abruptly
became the biggest US lender to
fail in more than a decade earlier
Banks must hear borrowers before declaring fraud: SC
Utkarsh Anand
feedback@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: An opportunity of
hearing must be given to an
account holder before a loan
account is declared fraudulent
under the Reserve Bank of
India’s (RBI) Master Circular of
2016, the Supreme Court ruled
on Monday, reading the princi-
ples of natural justice into the
banking regulator’s directive and
holding that such measures
affect the right to reputation.
Settling the point of law in the
wake of contradictory decisions
by different high courts, a bench
headed by Chief Justice of India
Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud
held that an audience to the bor-
rower followed by a reasoned
order must be read into the RBI’s
circular for it to be saved as a
constitutional directive even as
no such hearing was required at
the stage of reporting a criminal
offence. “We hold that the princi-
ples of natural justice, particu-
larly the rule of audi alteram
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
The Hinduja group submitted a revised bid of ₹9,000 crore on December 21, a day after the first
round of auction.
Company Law Appellate Tribu-
nal order, but the apex court
ruled in favour of lenders,
allowing them to hold a second
round of auctions.
But in a surprise twist, the
Hinduja group told lenders at
an informal meeting last week
that it wants to revert to the old
offer of ₹8,110 crore.
A banker, one of the three
people cited above, said that the
On March 9 alone, investors
and depositors tried to
withdraw about $42 billion. AP
this month, unraveling in less
than 48 hours after outlining a
plan to shore up capital. The
bank took a huge loss on sales of
its securities amid rising interest
rates, unnerving investors and
depositors who rapidly began
pulling their money. On March 9
alone, investors and depositors
tried to withdraw about $42 bil-
lion.
Regulators had been racing to
lock down a deal for all or parts
of the bank in a bid to cover the
uninsured deposits of its startup
customers, but an earlier auc-
tion attempt passed without a
buyer.
Then the FDIC extended the
bidding process after receiving
“substantial interest” from mul-
tiple potential acquirers. To sim-
plify the process and expand the
pool of bidders, the FDIC
allowed parties to submit sepa-
rate offers for the Silicon Valley
Private Bank subsidiary and Sili-
con Valley Bridge Bank NA — the
firm created by the FDIC after
SVB went into receivership.
The Banking Regulation Act authorised banks to classify accounts
as fraudulent without the necessity of hearing borrowers. REUTERS
partem (right to audience), has
to be necessarily read into the
Master Directions on Frauds to
save it from the vice of arbitrari-
ness. Since the classification of
an account as fraud entails seri-
ous civil consequences for the
borrower, the directions must be
construed reasonably by reading
into them the requirement of
observing the principles of natu-
ral justice,” said the bench,
which also comprised justices
Hima Kohli.
The bench, thus, directed:
existing bidders, including Tor-
rent Investments and Hinduja
Group, will have to enhance the
bids submitted in the first
round. However, the committee
of creditors (CoC) has not set a
reserve price for the auction,
the banker said.
While the CoC can go ahead
with the second round of the
challenge mechanism, the out-
come of the auction will be sub-
Coca-Cola set to bet on rural demand for chilled drinks
Suneera Tandon
suneera.t@htlive.com
LUCKNOW: Coca-Cola Co. is
investing significantly in India
along with its bottling partners,
a top company executive said, as
rural electrification and falling
poverty open up new markets
for its beverages in the country’s
vast hinterland.
India is at an inflection point
with its rapidly developing infra-
structure, John Murphy, presi-
Wait for a few weeks: Vaishnaw
on Indian version of ChatGPT
HT Correspondent
feedback@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: Union minister for
electronics and information
technology Ashwini Vaishnaw
on Monday said that India will
make a “big announcement” in a
few weeks when asked if the
country would have its own ver-
sion of artificial intelligence (AI)
chatbot ChatGPT.
“Wait for a few weeks, there
will be a big announcement,”
Vaishnaw said at the India
Global Forum (IGF) Annual
Summit 2023 (Setting the Pace).
The global chatbot market
size is expected to be worth
$3.99 billion by 2030, according
to Grand View Research’s latest
data, with tech giants OpenAI,
Google, Snapchat and many oth-
ers having launched their chat-
bots and more platforms plan-
ning to release their own ver-
sions.
The minister also said that not
a single startup in India was
affected in the aftermath of the
Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) col-
“The principles of natural justice
demand that the borrowers
must be served a notice, given an
opportunity to explain the con-
clusions of the forensic audit
report, and be allowed to repre-
sent by the banks/ JLF (Joint
Lender’s Forum) before their
account is classified as fraud
under the Master Directions on
Frauds. In addition, the decision
classifying the borrower’s
account as fraudulent must be
made by a reasoned order.”
“The Supreme Court has
Business
REUTERS
ject to the final decision of the
Supreme Court.
“It is learnt that Hinduja
Group told the lenders that it
will participate in the auction.
However, it is yet to provide a
confirmation in writing on
whether or not it stands by the
₹9,000 crore upfront offer,” said
the second person cited earlier.
The court will next hear the
matter in August.
dent and chief financial officer at
Coca-Cola, said at a bottling facil-
ity operated by a local partner on
the outskirts of Lucknow, Uttar
Pradesh.
“The infrastructure develop-
ment that’s taking place in a sys-
temic way across India is a key
driver. A specific point in the
case of India is electrification,
and how that has transformed
the landscape not only in large
cities and towns, but (also) in the
rural parts of India; it’s extraor-
Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister
for electronics and IT. ANI
lapse as the government ensured
immediate action to help them.
“To address the crisis, we
engaged with the entire startup
community and ensured that
whatever deposits they want to
shift to Indian banks and that
entire process was flawlessly
executed and not a single startup
in India was affected,” he said.
Hailing India’s position as a
technology giant around the
rightly recognised the far-reach-
ing implications of classifying a
bank account as ‘fraud’ and
drawn a balance between the
interests of the borrowers and
banks. The Right to reputation
has been reinforced and reiter-
ated by the Court. The inclusion
of principles of natural justice
shall also confer some legiti-
macy and sanctity on the deci-
sion of the banks,” said advocate
Abhishek Gupta.
At the same time, he added a
caveat. “Article 226 should not
become a haven for the default-
ers in such cases, so that each
and every decision triggers the
writ jurisdiction of the high
courts, which will defeat the pur-
pose of the circular and prove
antithetical to timely detection
and reporting of fraud.”
The court, in a bunch of peti-
tions pertaining to classification
of a loan accounts as fraudulent,
was interpreting a Master Circu-
lar titled ‘Reserve Bank of India
(Frauds Classification and
Reporting by Commercial Banks
Powered by
RANSOMWARE
ATTACK TO HURT
SUN PHARMA’S
Q4 REVENUE
Bloomberg
feedback@livemint.com
MUMBAI: Sun Pharmaceutical
Industries Ltd. expects revenue
to fall as measures taken by
India’s top drugmaker to contain
an information technology secu-
rity breach in early March
impacted operations.
A ransomware group has
claimed responsibility for the
incident, which included a
breach of some file systems and
theft of certain company and
personal data, Sun Pharma said
to stock exchanges late Sunday.
It first reported the incident on
March 2.
While the drugmaker is una-
ble to determine other impacts
of the breach, including cost to
maintain insurance coverage
and possibility of litigation, it
said there would be expenses
linked to the incident.
Ransomware remained the
biggest concern and attacks
were likely increasing due to the
proliferation of the ransom-
ware-as-a-service model,
according to the Financial Servi-
ces Information Sharing and
Analysis Center.
In a regulatory filing on Mon-
day, Sun Pharma Advanced
Research Company also said
that it may incur certain
expenses in connection with the
incident and the remediation
process. “We are unable to
determine the cost of remedia-
tion and other potential adverse
impacts of the incident at this
stage,” the company stated.
dinary progress that’s under
way,” Murphy said.
Rural electrification helps
Coca-Cola sell cold beverages by
installing chillers in stores. Mur-
phy said digitization is another
plank where India is leading
some developed markets.
India is the fifth largest mar-
ket for Coca-Cola globally, a mar-
ket it re-entered in the 1990s, and
where it sells brands such as
Thums-Up, Sprite, Fanta and
Limca, apart from Coca-Cola or
globe, the minister said, “There
was a time when India was a
technology consumer only and
today the time has come that
many global developers would
like to have Indian startups and
entrepreneurs as their partner
as their technology develops.”
On the booming startup sec-
tor community in India, Vaish-
naw called for the involvement
of diplomats and business repre-
sentatives to join India as part-
ners and guaranteed trust as
well as an opportunity for them
to create on a “big scale”.
Sharing the nation’s plan to be
at the forefront of 6G telecom
service, Vaishnaw said, “Last
year the PM gave us the target
that India could be equal to the
world in 4G and 5G but for 6G
we should lead the technology
development. We already have
127 patents for 6G telecom tech-
nology. 6G tech is 4-6 years
away, but the time to start the
development is today so that as
the technology matures, India
should be a leader and that’s the
philosophy of Bharat 6G.”
and Select FIs) Direction 2016,
which was later updated in June
2017. Issued by the regulator
under Section 35A of the Bank-
ing Regulation Act authorised
the banks to classify accounts as
fraudulent without the necessity
of hearing the borrowers.
A group of borrowers, led by
senior advocate Abhishek Manu
Singhvi, argued that the conse-
quence of the classification of an
account as fraud had a severe
impact on the fundamental right
of the borrowers since such an
action debar promoters and
directors from accessing institu-
tional finance, besides causing
other stigma, akin to blacklisting
the borrower.
RBI and lender banks,
defended the circular. Led by
solicitor general Tushar Mehta,
they contended that RBI is duly
empowered to take pre-emptive
measures in public interest to
ensure that fraudulent borrow-
ers are brought to justice and
loss caused to the banks is miti-
gated.
Govt may sell Balco stake
in coming financial year
Subhash Narayan
subhash.narayan@livemint.com
NEW DELHI: More than two
decades since the privatization
of Bharat Aluminium Co.
(Balco), the Union government
is preparing to sell its remain-
ing stake in the company in the
next fiscal year, two people
aware of the development said.
The Union ministry has
already reached out to the
Department of Investment and
Public Asset Management
(Dipam) for a road map for the
stake sale, the people said on
the condition of anonymity.
“The ministry of mines has
now sought fresh advice from
Dipam on the roadmap for the
disinvestment of Balco, which
has been in the works for sev-
eral years. Once this is final-
ized, the process to appoint
transaction advisers and legal
advisers may be initiated to
start the share sale plan in
Balco in the next year,” one of
the two persons cited above
said.
The government sold a 51%
stake in Balco to Sterlite Indus-
tries Ltd, a unit of Vedanta Ltd,
as part of its privatization in
2001 but continued to hold the
rest.
The government has dis-
cussed the sale of the balance
of 41% ever since, but the proc-
ess never took off due to a lack
of clarity over the valuation of
shares and the rights of the
majority shareholder. Though
Coke.
Murphy said there is “plenty
of reason” to believe that India
will continue to move up the
global rankings.
He said a “flywheel” of devel-
opment had been unleashed in
India, and it promises tremen-
dous opportunity for investors
for many years to come. For the
company and its bottling part-
ners, this translates into ramp-
ing up investments on the
ground. “When you have an
{ THE CROSSWORDS }
CRYPTIC CLUES
ACROSS
1 Apprehensive over bursting into sunset (7)
5 Badly cared for tree (5)
8 Retired - from the bank? (9)
9 End with a bit of advice (3)
10 A bit of a listener (4)
12 Main line terminals? (8)
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as the matter pertains to
Dipam, its inputs should be
sought while not offering any
other comment.
Questions sent to the finance
ministry and Dipam remained
unanswered till press time.
Vedanta did not respond to
queries, but an official said on
the condition of anonymity that
there was no development on
this issue from the company’s
side.
Since Vedanta is the majority
owner of Balco, the govern-
ment is expected to keep it
informed about the modalities
of the share sale. But Vedanta
would not be in a position to
The government sold a 51% block the share sale or influ-
stake in Balco to a Vedanta Ltd ence its valuation. It may also
unit in 2001. AFP not be permitted to purchase
Balco shares from the govern-
the government has a free hand ment in bulk, the two people
in deciding the mode, valuation cited earlier said.
and quantum of share sale On many occasions, Vedanta
thanks to various court verdicts has expressed interest in buy-
and favourable legal opinion, it ing the residual stake, but the
has so far not worked out the government is keen to
modalities and timing of its dis- approach the market to get the
investment plan. best value for its holding.
The government may sell the Balco is a premium alumin-
stake in an auction (offer for ium producer accounting for
sale), and may choose to sell it about 20% of India’s total alu-
in tranches, the person quoted minium capacity. In FY22, it
above said. It may also decide reported a net profit of close to
to retain some equity, the quan- ₹2,900 crore on revenue from
tum of which will be decided operations of over ₹13,600
once Dipam finalizes a road- crore.
map for disinvestment. Market The company has a total
regulator Sebi will also be con- capacity of 570,000 tonnes per
sulted to prevent any hiccup in annum and 2,010 megawatts of
the share sale plan. power plants, including captive
The mines ministry said that and independent power plants.
economy growing, our industry
typically benefits from economic
ment is under way. I’m reluctant
to give numbers...but we are very
growth...You have an emerging confident that the growth equa-
middle class that will be a huge tion for India will be in the top
driver of growth for the econ- quartile in the world, and from
omy for many years to come. there, we have partners who,
The progress that’s under way at along with the company, are
the moment is enormous. For us, willing to and are capable of
they are tremendous ingredients investing in whatever it takes to
to the growth equation that stay relevant, and hopefully,
we’re developing, and to manage have our fair share of the pie
that growth, you have got to that’s been developed here.”
invest,” he said. The author was in Lucknow at
Murphy said, “A lot of invest- the invitation of Coca-Cola India.
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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
Mumbai’s triumph: An
all-round success story
Packing the team
with all-rounders was
one of the key factors
that paid off for MI
Aditya Chaturvedi
aditya.chaturvedi@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: At the end of the auction
for the inaugural WPL, the over-
seas all-rounders in the Mumbai
Indians squad made them stand
out. In Natalie Sciver-Brunt, Hay-
ley Matthews and Amelia Kerr
they had world class cricketers
and it seemed certain the trio
would lend great balance to the
side. While they did prove instru-
mental in MI emerging the first
WPL champions on Sunday, at
the end of the tournament their
all-round strength stood out in
more ways than one.
MI notched up winning streaks
of five matches and then three,
with two losses in the middle, to
claim the title. In Heather Graham,
MI had the only Australia player —
the most powerful nation in
women’s cricket. It was a bold
move as the Aussie players are
serial winners and proved to be
major assets in the other four
teams. It did not matter as MI
found match-winners aplenty in
the squad.
Captain’s show
Just over a month before the final,
Harmanpreet had looked dis-
traught after India’s close semi-fi-
nal loss to Australia in the T20
World Cup. After the 2017 ODI
World Cup, 2020 T20 World Cup
and 2022 CWG, it was another
opportunity missed for Harman-
preet and India.
On Sunday night though, she
looked at peace and laughed heart-
ily after MI’s triumph. Harman-
preet said an ICC title remains on
her wish list but winning an
important trophy meant a lot.
The 34-year-old was tactically
astute and was among the runs
throughout. She started the tour-
nament with a bang and finished
as the fourth highest scorer (281
runs) with three 50s and an aver-
age of 40.14 (S/R 135.09). In the
final too, it was her stand with
Sciver-Brunt that guided MI
towards victory.
“Feels great to be on the win-
ning side,” said Harmanpreet. “I
am happy that as captain I could
win something so important for
women’s cricket.”
Overseas might
Matthews was the highest wicket-
taker in the tournament with
Sophie Ecclestone (16 each), Issy
Wong and Kerr were the second
highest wicket-takers (with Saika
Indore Test pitch RCB, DC and PBKS look to end barren run
rating changed Eyeing
after BCCI appeal an elusive
HT Correspondent
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
MUMBAI: The International
Cricket Council (ICC) has
changed the original rating of
the Indore pitch for the third
Test against Australia from
“poor” to “below average”. It
means the Holkar Stadium, fac-
ing three demerit points, will
now get only one demerit point.
Australia won the match, which
ended in two days and 75 min-
utes on a rank turner. The ICC
rating change followed an
appeal by BCCI, and was
announced on Monday.
The move, once again, high-
lighted India’s power in world
cricket and BCCI’s hold over ICC
as its most lucrative member.
“Having reviewed footage of
the Test, the ICC appeal panel
consisting of Mr Wasim Khan,
ICC General Manager – Cricket,
and Mr Roger Harper, ICC
Men’s Cricket Committee mem-
ber, were of the opinion that
while the guidelines had been
followed by the Match Referee
in accordance with Appendix A
of the Pitch Monitoring Process,
it was deemed that there was
not enough excessive variable
bounce to warrant the “poor”
rating. Instead, the appeal panel
concluded that the pitch should
be rated “below average”,” an
ICC statement said.
“Thanks @BCCI & @ICC for
correcting Indore Holkar Sta-
dium pitch rating – termed as
poor on March 3. At MPCA, we
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
What worked for
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians lost only two
matches on their way to the
WPL title in the inaugural
season. A look at factors that
helped them triumph
HARMANPREET PROVES A POINT
Harmanpreet Kaur went into the
tournament with a point to prove.
Contrary to expectations, she wasn't
one of the most expensive picks in the
auction, with MI acquiring her services
for ~1.8 crore. Handed the Mumbai
Indians captaincy, Harmanpreet stepped
up as both batter and leader. She finished as the
fourth highest run-getter of the
tournament with 281 runs in 10 matches
at an average of 40.14 and strike rate
of 135.09
SAIKA ISHAQUE: A
SURPRISE PACKAGE
Saika Ishaque hasn't yet
played for India, but a
national call-up doesn't seem
far away. She was one of
the surprise packages of
the tournament. The
left-arm spinner claimed
15 wickets in 10 matches
to finish joint-second
on the list of highest
wicket-takers in the
tournament
TOP 5 RUN-GETTERS
PLAYER M Runs
Meg Lanning (DC) 9 49.28
Nat Sciver-Brunt (MI) 10
Tahlia McGrath (UPW) 9
Harmanpreet Kaur (MI) 10
Hayley Matthews (MI) 10
Ishaque — 15); Sciver-Brunt was
joint-fourth highest (10). In the bat-
ting list, Sciver-Brunt was second
and Matthews was fifth. Wong
was the only bowler to take a hat-
trick. Mumbai’s overseas players
shouldered the responsibility and
produced clutch performances.
The franchise put its faith in all-
rounders and it led them to the
title. Sciver-Brunt was a rock at the
business end of the competition.
She was the Player-of-the- Match
in the eliminator and the final for
knocks of 72* and 60*.
“Since the day this team was
formed, we were only talking
once again commit ourselves to
be one of the best cricketing
venues in India. Grateful to all
those who helped us in this cri-
sis,” Madhya Pradesh Cricket
Association (MPCA) president
Abhilash Khandekar tweeted.
In the spin-dominated Test,
India were bowled out for 109
and 163, and Australia, dis-
missed for 197 in the first
innings, eased to 78/1 in the sec-
ond for the win. Spinners took
all but two Indian wickets, and
27 of the 31 wickets that fell in
the game. Leading 2-0 in the
series, India’s plans to win on
another turner backfired after
they were skittled out on Day 1.
‘No balance between
bat and ball’
ICC match referee Chris Broad
in his report had said the pitch
was “very dry” and “did not pro-
vide a balance between bat and
ball, favouring spinners from
the start.”
When a venue accumulates
five demerit points, it is sus-
pended from hosting interna-
tional cricket for a year. The rat-
ing change will help Indore,
which is expected to be a venue
for this year’s ODI World Cup.
There is recent precedent of a
match referee’s verdict being
reversed. After the pitch for the
Rawalpindi Test between Paki-
stan and England (the visitors
won) was rated “below average”
in December for being too bat-
ting friendly, ICC rescinded on
an appeal by the Pakistan board.
NAT SCIVER-
BRUNT
SAIKA
ISHAQUE
Average
66.4
50.33 302
40.14 281
30.11 271
about getting more all-rounders
in,” said Harmanpreet. “Having
all-rounders gives a balance to
your team.”
Ishaque’s impact
MI won five straight matches to
begin their campaign and a key
performer during that phase was
Ishaque. The uncapped 27-year-
old from Bengal was picked by MI
at her base price of ₹10 lakh and
she proved a game-changer. In the
first four matches, she bagged 12
wickets. The left-arm spinner dis-
missed some of the best in the
business — Alyssa Healy, Tahlia
Somshuvra Laha
somshuvra.laha@htlive.com
KOLKATA: Of all the questions
one could prepare for in a team
sport, probably nothing dis-
tresses more than the interroga-
tion about the ‘wait’.
Fifteen years can be an eter-
nity. And in every season, all
Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings
and Royal Challengers Banga-
lore have managed to do is find
different ways to lose. Is there
light at the end of this tunnel?
Success is difficult to predict.
But when it eludes a team for so
long, no amount of introspec-
tion or corrective measures
appear to be enough.
The franchises haven’t
stopped trying though. Ranging
from wholesale makeovers to
changing names of the teams,
franchises have undergone sim-
ilar convulsions after every sea-
son. Heads have rolled too fre-
quently.
If an Indian captain doesn’t
work, give the job to a foreigner.
Buy impact players, but don’t
compromise on the franchise
philosophy. Or change it at
times, for the sake of quick-fix
results. None of it has worked,
not in the way the franchises
would have hoped for. There
have been some extraordinary
highs, some nearly-there
moments, but all of that has
been buried under the com-
pounding burden of a 15-year
barren run.
Unlucky RCB
Twice runners-up, five times in
the playoffs, Royal Challengers
Bangalore are probably the
unluckiest team despite a few
questionable acquisitions over
the years. With one final and
Sport
THE RIGHT OVERSEAS PICKS
With players like Nat Sciver-Brunt,
Hayley Matthews, Issy Wong and Amelia
Kerr in the mix, Mumbai possessed the
strongest overseas core in the
tournament. And all of them came to the
fore in emphatic fashion. While
Sciver-Brunt was among the top
run-getters, Wong and Kerr were in
the top five wicket-takers. The star
performer with both bat and ball
was West Indian Hayley Matthews,
Player-of-the-Tournament award
HAYLEY
MATTHEWS
TOP 5 WICKET-TAKERS
PLAYER
345 Hayley Matthews (MI)
332 Sophia Ecclestone (UPW) 9
Issy Wong (MI)
Amelia Kerr (MI)
Saika Ishaque (MI)
McGrath, Meg Lanning, Shafali
Verma, Jemimah Rodrigues and
Sophie Devine. With Ishaque pro-
viding a solid wicket-taking option,
Harmanpreet had more freedom
to rotate her bowlers.
Elite fielding
Harmanpreet won the Best-catch-
of-the-Season award for her effort
to dismiss UPW opener Devika
Vaidya. The skipper was ably sup-
ported by teammates as MI
emerged the best fielding side in
the tournament. Amanjot Kaur
was exceptional. In the eliminator
against UPW, the 23-year-old’s
IPL title
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Best finish Runners-up (2009, 2011, 2016)
Number of playoffs 8 6
Worst finish 8th (2019)
five playoffs finishes, Delhi Cap-
itals too could say the rub of the
green hasn’t gone their way at
times. But barring a 2014 final
loss to KKR and a semi-final
defeat in 2008, Punjab Kings
haven’t quite arrived at the IPL.
An unstable core, no particular
direction in terms of long-term
captaincy and too many
changes in the playing eleven
have contributed to this incon-
sistency. And the most stinging
criticism has come from a
former player. “They chop and
change man, it is ridiculous,”
Chris Gayle said in an interview
in December. “You keep chop-
ping and changing, they never
deservedly earning the
FIELDING
The value of fielding is
underlined time and
again in the shortest
format. We saw it in
the WPL too, with
Mumbai Indians being
far superior to other
teams in this
department. They
took the most
catches (37) this
season, five
more than
Delhi Capitals
(32). Yastika
Bhatia was
also safe
behind the
stumps,
effecting the
most dismissals
with six catches
and seven
stumpings
M Wickets
10 16
16
10
15
10
15
10
15
sensational effort helped run out
McGrath, the top-ranked
batter in the world. In the
final, her immaculate
throw from cover led to
the run out of Lanning.
“Indian players may
not have got too many
opportunities. But if you
talk about fielding, they
were always there,” said
Harmanpreet. “They
knew that even if they didn’t get
the chance to bat or bowl, there
was one department in which they
could contribute. They were ready
to do anything for the team.”
In 15 seasons of IPL, Royal
Challengers Bangalore, Delhi
Capitals and Punjab Kings have
never won the title. A look at
how they have fared
Delhi Capitals
Runners-up (2020)
10th (2011)
have a set eleven whether you
win a match.”
Hope’s restored frequently,
more so after auctions as new,
stronger squads keep emerging
from the wreckage. Some of the
most extravagant IPL bids ever
have been authorised by these
three franchises.
Kings buying Sam Curran for
₹18.5 crore this season, Delhi
getting Yuvraj Singh for ₹16
crore a year after RCB splashed
₹14 crore on him, Kylie Jami-
eson going to RCB for ₹15 crore
in 2021, Liam Livingston to Pun-
jab Kings for ₹11.5 crore–the list
is pretty exhaustive.
But it wasn’t always money
{ LEFT FIELD }
Sharda Ugra
Why WPL was really
a special experience
ever mind picking a single
N memory from the inaugu-
ral season of the Women’s
Premier League, even list-
ing 10 would not do justice. Let
recency bias rule: Issy Wong’s
post-hattrick surfing on DY’s deaf-
ening wave of sound. Shikha Pan-
dey’s face-of-fury fist-pump after
launching into a six over cover, her
team on 95/9. Nat-Sciver Brunt’s
re-imagining the 360, carving the
space between her leg stump and
the keeper’s reach, paddling,
reversing on her way to victory.
Saika Ishaque, left out from East
Zone, tossing the ball up, snaffling
Alyssa Healy and Tahlia McGrath
in one over. Harmanpreet’s diving
single-hander slip catch against
UP Warriorz, off Hayley Matthews.
Matthews being Matthews in
every game…
This is what competitive cricket
action does. Separate itself from
whatever is roiling and boiling
around the event and have hearts
‘n’ minds dive into the instant.
Smelt men’s cricket and women’s
cricket together into that larger
much-loved entity called Cricket.
But of course, there is a difference
between the men’s game and the
women’s, the matter of power and
speed instinctively identifiable.
Except once the brain and the eye
switch frequencies, the compari-
son fades and we settle into
women’s cricket and savour. At
WPL, we discover again that the
women’s cricket frequency oper-
ates via lower heating and decibel
levels. What comes through is in
no way less authentic.
Women’s cricket appeals to the
aesthetic form with the bat and
trajectory, loop, dip and swerve
with the ball. (What it does not
require are WPL boundaries
between 42-45m so chivalrously
offered this season.) The WPL also
showed that the women’s game is
also responding to the athletic
requirements of the day — fielding,
diving, catching. The 80m six is no
longer an anomaly and Wong &
Sisters strive to race across the
130kph barrier. There haven’t been
enough accurate speed guns
around the women’s game, but as
of today, the fastest ball bowled by
a woman was Shabnam Ismail’s
128kph rocket in the Women’s ICC
T20 World Cup semi-final
versus England.
Mulling over speed and
muscle as the point of dif-
ference is happening when
there are already dark
mutterings about the
men’s game being turned
WPL into a six-hitting beast fest.
2023 One of the more appealing
parts about the women’s
game is the absence of testo-tan-
trums: ‘accidental’ collisions, fin-
ger-pointing, pushing-shoving,
captains haranguing umpires, fly-
ing bats breaking glass, fountains
Virat Kohli has reached
the IPL final thrice but is
yet to lift the IPL trophy
Punjab Kings
Runners-up (2014)
2 play. If we win, great. If we
8th (2010, 2015, 2016)
well spent. Some were duds,
some had mediocre outings
while others still find them-
selves in the scheme of things
mostly because the manage-
ment hasn’t given up on them.
Keeping faith in Shaw
Retaining Prithvi Shaw was
such an act of faith, especially
after Capitals head coach Ricky
Ponting had spoken about
Shaw’s reluctance to train
despite a lean phase. Dealing
with a Rishabh Pant-sized hole
now, Capitals — who had
invested heavily in the next gen-
eration when Rahul Dravid was
the mentor — need Shaw to fire
Fans packed the Brabourne Stadium for Sunday’s WPL final.
of lip-readable eff-words plus that
other tedium: sledging/ ‘banter.’
The most astonishing sight at
the Eliminator was the absence of
a collective UP Warriorz melt-
down when the third umpire ruled
out Anjali Sarvani’s superb diving
catch in the outfield. UPW captain
Alyssa Healy did question the
umpire but once the decision was
done, the game moved on, with
some head-shaking but that was
about it. After the final, Shafali
Verma told the Hindi comms feed,
that the only reason she left the
field after being dead sure she had
been given out off a no-ball, was
because her Australian captain
Meg Lanning asked her to cop the
call and go.
“Otherwise I would have sat
down right there and not moved,”
Shafali said and talked apprecia-
tively about her many learnings
from Lanning. Furious at the deci-
sion herself, Lanning’s eyes had
blazed under her helmet like she
was going to burn down our TV
screens. Let no one tell you that the
women care less just because
either they don’t emote more or
the stakes aren’t as high as for the
men. Try that with Harman and
see what happens. At this point,
this is a female journalists view of
the WPL. I decided to find out
what the women’s game looked
like to a couple of men.
Arvind Krishnaswamy, Mum-
bai-based sports nut for nearly five
decades enjoys following women’s
cricket. The play is most watcha-
ble, the batters are stylish and ele-
gant, there’s less faux-aggression,
“they look like they’re having fun”
and there’s a chance to closely
watch many varieties of the spin-
ning, floating ball play its dipping,
looping, drifting tricks. “In men’s
cricket, if it’s a fast bowler, if you
don’t have slow motion, you’re
completely lost… by the time you
blink the ball is gone and you are
completely reliant on TV.” As
someone who watches “99 per-
cent” of men’s matches on mute,
Krishnaswamy has enjoyed the
WPL’s female commentators.
“Men’s commentary is probably at
its worst today — banalities, inani-
ties. With the women, it’s been
more than ever.
Several times have we seen a
near-perfect run from Banga-
lore and Capitals, till they fell
agonisingly short. This is why
it’s pertinent to ask whether not
winning for 15 years can play on
the mind. Because nothing
beats that winning feeling.
Even Harmanpreet Kaur—
who finally laid hands on a tro-
phy after repeatedly missing the
mark — has vouched for it after
leading Mumbai Indians to their
maiden WPL win. But
during an interaction
with the RCB women’s
team earlier this
month, Virat Kohli
said: “I have
played IPL for 15
years and I
IPL
haven’t won it yet but
that doesn’t stop me
2023
from being excited every
year. That’s all I can do, that’s
all the effort I can put in every
game, every tournament that I
don’t, I am not going to go to my
grave thinking oh, if only I had
won the IPL I would have been a
happy man. It doesn’t happen
like that.”
Regardless of how Kohli or
anyone else may choose to view
their trophyless run, hope
should still float the boat for
these three franchises. It would
be naive to suggest mistakes
would be amended with a
change of personnel or
approach. But in a tournament
that consistently thrives on the
barest of margins, there is
bound to be a phase or a break
of luck that takes one of them
over the finishing line. That
anticipation alone can go a long
way in inspiring a team to make
their destiny.
17
BCCI
good to hear different voices,
they’ve worked hard for it. Not like
the current-day male commenta-
tors who, you know, seamlessly
plug in. They retire and the next
day, start commentary. I’m cross-
ing my fingers and hoping the
women don’t go the way of the
men.” To watch the women live,
Krishnaswamy even did what he
very rarely does — went to the Bra-
bourne to watch the final and mes-
saged through it. “Saika flatter and
faster, adapting nicely”, “high level
of competence” “only difference is
speed of the fast bowlers other-
wise they are a match for guile, bat
speed and reflexes.”
This is an urban cricket con-
noisseur, but the women’s game
has also appealed to a variety out-
side that demographic. Like
Mulayam Paras Yadav, 28-year-old
cricket fan, who spent WPL ferry-
ing media folk around between DY
and Brabourne. He began watch-
ing “ladies” from the Women’s T20
World Cup onwards, on YouTube
and mobile. “I don’t think gents
and ladies cricket is a competition.
It is not as if the women play any
less. If they get a ball to be hit for a
six, they hit it for a six.” He is from
Ghazipur, UP and says, “Of course
ladies cricket is slower than the
men’s game, but they will go
ahead, they have started later. Jitni
bhi taakat hai woh behtar hi khelti
hain (whatever power they have
they play above that.).”
To those who ask him, “kyon
ladies ko khilate hain” (why do they
make the women play) he
responds, “Ladies can be in police
they can be teachers and doctors
so why not cricket.” He refers to
cricketers with the suffix of ji —
Shafaliji and Deepti Sharmaji –
and picks the most appealing part
of their play. “Movement, their
movement is very good, ek number
(number one)” and explains he
means the fluency and technique
of their shot-making. With six
needed off four balls in a group
match, he saw Sophie Eccelstone
hit a six and seal the win. Yadav
says, “Kaunsa kamzor hai woh?
Kaunsa kam? (How is she any
weaker? Or any less?)”
We’re not arguing.
RANA NAMED KKR
CAPTAIN IN PLACE
OF INJURED IYER
HT Correspondent
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
KOLKATA: Kolkata Knight Riders
named left-handed batter Nitish
Rana as the team’s new skipper
for the upcoming season of IPL.
Rana will replace Shreyas
Iyer, who is likely to undergo
back surgery and could miss the
entire tournament. “...Nitish
Rana would captain the side in
the absence of Shreyas Iyer, who
is recovering from a back injury.
While we are hopeful
that Shreyas will recover
and participate at some
stage in the IPL 2023 edi-
tion, we feel fortunate
that Nitish, with the cap-
taincy experience having
led his state side in white-
ball cricket and the IPL
experience he has had
with KKR since 2018, will
do a great job,” KKR said in a
statement.
“We are also confident that
under head coach Chandrakant
Pandit and the support staff, he
will get all the support needed
off the field, and the highly expe-
rienced leaders in the squad will
provide all support that Nitish
may need on the field. We wish
him the best in his new role and
Shreyas a full and speedy recov-
ery,” it further stated.
“KKR has been my home
since 2018 and it’s an honour to
lead them. This captaincy instills
my belief of performing at the
highest level. It’s a great oppor-
tunity to showcase my leader-
ship skills and I will be using all
my experience to not just bring
the best out of me but also from
my team. I also wish for a speedy
recovery for Shreyas and I am
looking forward to the new chal-
lenge ahead of me,” Rana said.
 18
Delhi GP chess event runs into
controversy after withdrawals
Kazakh GM Zhansaya
Abdumalik pulls out
of the tournament
citing poor treatment
from the organisers
HT Correspondent
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
NEW DELHI: The third leg of the
FIDE Women’s Grand Prix in
Delhi — the first time that a
Grand Prix is being held in India
— has run into controversy after
a Grandmaster from Kazakh-
stan, Zhansaya Abdumalik,
pulled out of the tournament cit-
ing poor treatment from the
organisers.
Her withdrawal resulted in
the start of the tournament being
postponed from March 25 to 26.
The tournament, originally
involving 12 players but now
down to 10 participants, runs till
April 5.
The 23-year-old, who is the
first woman from Kazakhstan to
become a Grandmaster, said that
she withdrew because the local
organisers hadn’t prepared ade-
quately for the event. Her main
grievance was that the All-India
Chess Federation (AICF) did not
Every team has 10 good fielders now: Rhodes
Sharad Deep
sharad.deep@htlive.com
LUCKNOW: “When Jonty moves,
batsman halts.” This was the
catchphrase after the Proteas
star caught Sachin Tendulkar at
point while almost flying in 1997.
Remind him of that and it brings
a smile to the face of Rhodes,
regarded as one of the all-time
great fielders. He then plays it
down, saying “That’s a long time
ago.”
Ask about fielding and the
South Africa star of the 1990s
opens up on how big a difference
it makes between winning or los-
ing.
“We have seen its evolution
since T20 cricket started. The
importance of fielding has
grown manifold, especially
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
Kazakhstan Grandmaster Zhansaya Abdumalik, 23, pulled out of
the Delhi GP, which had to be postponed by a day.
send anyone to receive her at the
Delhi airport and arrange for her
commute to the Leela Ambience
hotel in Karkardooma in East
Delhi, where all the players are
put up for the tournament. She
also said that she was unhappy
with the location of the hotel and
that her room was overlooking a
garbage dump.
Bharat Singh Chauhan, the
tournament director of the
Women’s Grand Prix, explained
the organising committee’s ver-
while defending boundaries and
taking crucial catches. There
were times when a team used to
have only two-three good field-
ers, but now every team has 10
good fielders as this is its basic
need,” said Rhodes, fielding
coach of IPL team Lucknow
Super Giants, on Monday.
“For me, fielding is the third
most important component in a
game, after batting and bowling,
and it becomes more important
in Test cricket. Suppose you drop
Virat Kohli at slip in a Test, for
sure he is going to keep batting
over the next two days.”
Rhodes, 53, praised former
India skippers MS Dhoni and
Kohli for turning India into a
great fielding side. “For a long
time, India had some great field-
ers like Mohammad Azharuddin
FIDE
sion of events.
“Her flight landed a bit earlier
than expected. The people who
were there to receive her
couldn’t meet her at the airport.
We apologised for whatever
inconvenience she faced. She
also complained that the hotel is
on the outskirts of the city. But it
is a five-star hotel. All the boxers
who came for the world champi-
onships were staying there. I
don’t want to go into it further
because the tournament has
and Yuvraj Singh, but the rest of
the team really struggled as they
were not seen as a side who were
very athletic and agile.
“MS showed what strength,
power and speed can do to your
advantage. After him, Kohli took
it to the next level as he
insisted that every
player needed to pass
a certain fitness test
(Yo-Yo) before get-
ting selected. As a
result, India became
one of the fittest
teams in the world, not
only in their home condi-
tions but in away condi-
tions when a player
doesn’t feel at
home. Every
run saved
helps
started,” said Chauhan respond-
ing to the allegations.
Abdumalik, ranked 13th in the
world, further alleged that the
players were not provided offi-
cial transport from the airport to
the hotel. When they finally
reached the hotel, they were told
that the rooms were not ready.
Chauhan disputed Abduma-
lik’s allegations. “We have a con-
tract in place with Meru cabs for
the tournament. The other play-
ers were taken in cabs to the
hotel. And as far as rooms are
concerned, there are check-in
times that every hotel has. It may
be that a player arrived early and
had to wait for some time for the
room to be readied,” he said.
Second withdrawal
On Sunday, when the first round
of the tournament was held, Ger-
man GM Elisabeth Paehtz did
not turn up for her game against
India’s R Vaishali due to the
imbalance that the withdrawal
of Abdumalik created.
“I cannot accept that every
player does not start the tourna-
ment with the same conditions,”
Paehtz told ChessBase India.
“The intended solution of new
pairings with a fair distribution
of colours failed due to the ulti-
matum of a single player. Even
his side make use of it. In fact we
have seen that even if you con-
vert a half chance into a catch, it
makes a big difference.”
Lucknow Super Giants made
it to the playoffs on debut last
year and Rhodes sees a strong
pool of young, exciting and
experienced players do
well again. “I am very
excited about LSG’s
new season. It is an
important opportunity
for everyone to do
much better. They need
to learn from what they
did last season. Cer-
tainly, there is pressure
on everyone to per-
form much
better this
time.
“The
Sport
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
Conte exits as Tottenham manager
Associated Press
sportsdesk@hindustantimes.com
the season. Spurs are fourth in
the table. The announcement
fight on our hands for a Champi-
ons League place,” Tottenham
comes just over a week after chairman Daniel Levy said Sun-
LONDON: Antonio Conte has left Conte delivered a post-match day. “We all need to pull
his position as Tottenham man- rant in which he accused the together. Everyone has to step up
ager by mutual consent, the Pre- team’s players of being “selfish” to ensure the highest possible
mier League club said Sunday. and also took aim at the club’s finish.”
though I would get 6 whites and The Italian’s assistant, Cris- ownership. Conte is the tenth Premier
4 blacks, it is unfair for the other tian Stellini, has been appointed “We have 10 Premier League League manager to leave his role
players. I wanted a fair and equal acting head coach for the rest of games remaining and we have a since the start of this season.
tournament for everyone.”
After a few participants raised
their concerns about the event to
FIDE, the international chess
federation president Arkady
Dvorkovich said: “On behalf of
the International Chess Federa-
tion (FIDE), I would like to
extend our sincerest apologies
for the mishandling of the
Women’s Grand Prix tourna-
ment in India. We deeply regret
the problems and inconvenien-
ces you have experienced, which
has led to one player withdraw-
ing from the tournament.
“Considering all the argu-
ments in place, we have decided
to continue with the Women’s
Grand Prix in India. We believe
that such a decision is best under
the given circumstances, even
though the withdrawal of a
player would require all of the
tournament participants and
organisers to adjust themselves.
We will conduct a thorough
review of the guidelines and
standards for organising
women’s tournaments, and
make sure to strengthen the con-
nection with players, as well as
further improve the proficiency
of the event-organising team.”
players, including KL Rahul
(skipper), Avesh Khan, Ayush
Badoni, etc., had a wonderful
time with their performances.
They have already spent a year
with a fine coach Andy Flower,
who has a very positive relation-
ship with Rahul; it helps a team
get good results.”
Rhodes said LSG would miss
injured pacer Mohsin Khan and
their SA opener Quinton de Kock
in early matches. De Kock is on
South Africa duty and will miss
the first two IPL games.
Rhodes defended KL Rahul,
who has struggled due to his
form slump. “He is a wonderful
batter and a great captain who
loves to lead from the front. We
have no doubts about his ability
as he had a wonderful season
last year.”
 Tuesday, March 28, 2023
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/KAJOL
City Delhi
Vinay MR Mishra
vinay.mishra@htdigital.in
A
ctors Kajol and Ajay Devgn’s
daughter, Nysa Devgan, is
among the most popular star
kids in India currently, thanks
to her appearances on
paparazzi’s social media pages. From
partying with friends and making public
‘I LOVE
appearances to dressing up for photo
shoots — she has been making heads
turn. Ask mum Kajol how she feels about
the popularity that her daughter has
THE FACT
earned and she says, “I feel proud of her,
of course. I love the fact that she
conducts herself with dignity wherever
she goes. All I can say is, she is 19 and is
having fun. She has the right to do
THAT NYSA
whatever she wants to do and I will
always support her.”
All for her daughter’s freedom of
choice, the actor goes on to talk about
the principles she’s lived by in her
CONDUCTS three-decade-long journey in the film
industry. While validation is integral to
many actors, Kajol is quite insouciant
about it: “I never worried about being a
HERSELF
part of a group or following the trend or
being at the number one spot in the rat
race. I never thought about all that.”
Another principle that Kajol lives by is
inclusivity and she promoted the same at
WITH a recent event. Ask what the term means
to her and she says, “To not leave anyone
out, regardless of their race, gender
preference, abilities and disabilities.”
DIGNITY’
The Salaam Venky (2022) actor feels
“we, humans, have forgotten about
compassion” and if she sees
discrimination of any kind, she makes it
a point to not be the one discriminating.
Kajol is proud of her
“My mum (veteran actor Tanuja)
would always say, ‘You should treat
others like how you would expect
yourself to be treated’. Bahut maar-
daughter, who has been maar ke yeh sikhaya gaya hai. I grew
up with [this idea of inclusivity],”
making heads turn with the actor signs off.
her appearances of late P The accused, named
Nysa has the right to
do what she wants to
do and I will always
support her.
KAJOL, Actor
. ► Nysa Devgan PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/NYSADEVGANX
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM
STOP PRESS
▲ Tyla Yaweh
.
with his fans in
Mumbai
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM/
TYLAYAWEH
Rumours I would love to explore Bollywood
suggest that a roka
ceremony might be on
the cards for Parineeti
music, says Tyla Yaweh P
Soumya Vajpayee country and wishes to work on a
Chopra and politician Raghav Hindi film song.
soumya.vajpayee@hindustantimes.com
Chadha. The actor’s visit to merican rapper Tyla Yaweh
“I would love to explore
Bollywood music and bring our
designer Manish Malhotra’s
home on Sunday fuelled A visited India for the first
time recently. He performed
in Mumbai along with Grammy
melody game here. I would like
to use what I know to create
something dope with an Indian
speculation that she might Award-winning songwriter-
producer Kid Heat and US-based
connect,” says the emo rap icon,
as he goes on to add: “I love Shah
wear an outfit designed music producer duo of Indian Rukh Khan (actor).”
descent Almost Famous ahead of The 27-year-old, known for his
by him. the release of their new single, tracks Tommy Lee and High Right
Unsick. “The crowd in India is Now, admits that besides
amazing and so energetic. It Bollywood, he also enjoys other
really helped me during my genres of Indian music. “I love
NOTE TO READERS: Some of the
coverage that appears on our pages performance, because the energy everything about the music
is paid for by the concerned brands. I get from the crowd is what I culture in India because they
No sponsored content does or shall reflect back. Everybody in India (artistes here) use real
appear in any part of HT without it just loves music,” says Yaweh, instruments. I went to a (music)
being declared as such to our valued adding that he is in love with the festival in the country and it was
readers.
This PDF was uploade To Teligram channel_ LBS Newspaper platform (https://t.me/LBSNEWSPAPER) @LBSNEWSPAPER
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM/HAARSHLIMBACHIYAA30
Man who sent threat email
to Salman Khan arrested
he Mumbai police, on
T Sunday, apprehended
a man from Rajasthan
in connection with an
email threatening actor
Salman Khan that was
received at the latter’s
office recently. The mail
read: “You will end up like
Sidhu Moose Wala”.
Dhakad Ram Bishnoi (21),
was nabbed by a team of
Mumbai police and is
being brought to Mumbai,
PTI reported.
“They (Mumbai police) asked us to
assist them in detaining Bishnoi. We
provided them support and handed
Bishnoi over to the Mumbai police,”
said Jodhpur’s DCP (West), Gaurav
Yadav. Bishnoi was on bail in a case
I love the music
culture in India
because they
(Indian artistes)
use real
instruments.
Even actors make
music in India.
TYLA YAWEH, Rapper
dope. Even actors make music in
India and everybody listens to
them, which is amazing,” the
rapper signs off.
n6 PAGES. f @HTCITY t @HTCITY i @HTCITY y /USER/HT. ENTERTAINMENT & PROMOTIONAL FEATURES
So what if my wi
takes home a fe
fatter paycheck?
S
S Farah Rizvi
farah.rizvi@htlive.com
creenwriter-anchor Haarsh Limbachiyaa
feels proud that his wife, comedian Bharti
Singh, earns more than him. “So what if
my wife takes home a fatter paycheck? I
feel lucky that my wife is doing really well in
life. I laugh at those who have a problem with
her earning more than me, or being more
popular. Aise log bahut kam hain jinko apni
wife ki popularity se khushi hoti hai. Together,
we make a happy world for ourselves. Others
can think what they want to,” he says.
Their son, Laksh, will turn one on April 3.
Sharing how the last one year of fatherhood has
been for him, Limbachiyaa says, “The feeling is
out of the world. Everything has changed for us,
especially for me. Now, I plan a bit more and
have become more serious. Even my writing
has taken an upswing.”
On the work front,
Limbachiyaa and Singh are
excited about debuting as
actors this year. “Bahut din
se we have been looking
forward to making our
debut as actors on
television. We wanted
something good to come
our way. And finally,
there are a few exciting
projects and our fans
are in for a big surprise,”
he says.
Interestingly, he has
already had a few stints
in front of the camera,
thanks to his outings as
an anchor on reality
TV shows. “Anchoring
comes naturally to
me,” says the Comedy
h
Circus writer, adding,
“Itna likha hai life
mein for other
anchors that I feel
ti Singh and Haars comfortable being
Bhar an anchor now.”
hiyaa
Limbac
Salman Khan;
(inset) Dhakad
Ram Bishnoi
of Arms Act, 1959, police
said.
The complaint about the
threat email was recently
lodged at Mumbai’s Bandra
police station by Prashant
Gunjalkar, who, according
to the police, frequently
visits the actor’s Bandra
residence in Galaxy
Apartments and runs an
artiste management
company.
When Gunjalkar was
present in Khan’s office
recently, he noticed an email that was
received from the ID Rohit Garg.
“Goldy Bhai (gangster Goldy Brar)
wanted to talk to Salman Khan face-to-
face to close the matter. Agli baar,
jhatka dekhne ko milega,” the email
read, as informed by the police.
PHOTOS: SUJIT JAISWAL / AFP AND TWITTER
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TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

GREAT TO SEE LINES Malayalam actor

BLURRING: DIVYA DUTTA Innocent dies at 75
ON HOW INDIAN CINEMA V
eteran Malayalam
actor and former MP
Innocent died on
Sunday at a private

HAS CHANGED hospital in Kochi, Kerala. He

was 75. The actor, who had
been under treatment at the
hospital since March 3, died
at 10:30pm. “He was infected

South debate, the actor with Covid and had

e North vs respiratory issues along with

Keeping aside th
multiple organ failure
resulting in heart failure,”
the hospital said in a
statement.
shares it’s time to look at Indian cinema as one unit As the news of his death
spread, social media was
flooded with messages from
people from all walks of life,
Rishabh Suri including prominent actors
rishabh.suri@htlive.com P and politicians, expressing
their condolences and grief.
Everything has

T
he cross-pollination of
talent from Hindi to Telugu,
Tamil, Malayalam and
Kannada films has led to an
exciting time for Indian
cinema.
Divya Dutta, who will debut in
Malayalam cinema with Resul
Pookutty’s directorial, shares, “It is
lovely to see that the lines have
blurred in films as well as OTT. In web
shows like Farzi (featuring actors
Shahid Kapoor and Vijay Sethupathi)
and The Family Man (starring Manoj
Bajpayee, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and
Priyamani), it’s so nice to see the
amalgamation of so many actors from
different regions,” she gushes.
The 45-year-old adds that the
concept of pan-India projects has also
led to appropriate casting for different
languages.
“Everything has become role-
oriented now. For a character from
South India, you take an actor from
that region. Same goes for Bengali or
other roles,” feels Dutta.
She goes on to talk about the
situation a few years ago, when
Several actors from the
industry, including
become Prithviraj Sukumaran, his
role-oriented now. For brother Indrajith, Manju
Warrier, and Tovino Thomas
a character from South condoled Innocent’s death
on their social media
India, you take actors handles. PHOTO: TWITTER
from that region. “End of an iconic chapter
in cinema history! Rest in the luckiest to have known and penned down an
DIVYA DUTTA, Actor peace Legend! #Innocent him and to have shared emotional note, which read,
(sic),” Prithviraj tweeted. screen space with him “We lost the brightest
“Pranaamam... #RIP throughout the years. My shining star in our
#Innocent,” Indrajith said on deepest condolences to the constellation. You were all
Instagram. family,” Jayaram wrote on heart...Rest in peace.”
regional films were considered Senior actor Jayaram said Instagram. Innocent’s funeral will be
over-the-top, but they still earned high Innocent’s demise was a Actor Dulquer Salmaan held at St. Thomas Cathedral
TRPs for their dubbed Hindi versions. huge loss for the Indian shared a couple of pictures Irinjalakuda at 10am today.
“Tab OTT wagairah nahin the. cinema. “I consider myself of himself with the late actor HTC
Channels pe South ki films aaya karti
thi. People watched those dubbed
versions just for the action. But things
change, stories change, aur sabse badi
baat hai, audiences change. It’s
amazing that they are now ready to
see characters from where they
belong. I am doing this role in my next
film because I play a Punjabi woman
in it (she is a Punjabi),” she ends.
PHOTO: SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP

{ DAILY HOROSCOPE }

Not hing g reat is Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Dr Prem Kumar Sharma (Astrologer and Vaastu expert) can be contacted at: Delhi: 011-47033152, 40532026 (Sat
to Mon); Panchkula: 91-172-2562832, 2572874 (Tues to Thurs); Mumbai: 09716145644 (Last week of every month)

com in g m y w ay PREMASTROLOGER PREMASTROLOGER ASKPREMASTROLOGER

ARIES LEO SAGITTARIUS

in Hindi films
MAR 21-APR 20 JUL 23-AUG 23 NOV 23-DEC 21

A L s
Your excellent financial Any kind of property Travel agents and real
condition and lavish investment is not estate agents may earn
lifestyle may attract many suggested. Freelancers good commissions. Some
P people to you. You will be
able to overcome competition on the
may get new projects and
get a chance to work with clients
students can have second
thoughts about the line they have
ne the
Had I do s that
academic front. from abroad. chosen.
LOVE FOCUS: Your attractive LOVE FOCUS: You may meet someone LOVE FOCUS: You may feel less
ilm
[Hindi] f d to me, personality may attract the attention and have strong feelings for him or attracted to your partner and find
ere of many people. her. ways to add spark to your
Rishabh Suri were off ave been LUCKY NUMBER: 1 LUCKY COLOUR: LUCKY NUMBER: 5 LUCKY COLOUR: relationship.
h
it would ing my Golden Green LUCKY NUMBER: 8 LUCKY COLOUR: Grey

like digg ave.

ino Morea has decided

D to not settle for

mediocre Hindi
outings. In fact, he is
looking forward to his D
own gr
INO MO
REA, Actor
TAURUS
APR 21-MAY 20
VIRGO
AUG 24-SEP 23
CAPRICORN
DEC 22-JAN 21

upcoming Telugu and
Malayalam projects. While it’s
not like he doesn’t want to take
on Hindi offers anymore, the
nature of the roles matters.
Referring to the last few Hindi
offers that he turned down,
Morea says, “The characters
offered to me were
inconsequential. I didn’t do
anything in those characters. I
am not saying, ‘Give me the
main character’. All I am
asking for is something good.”
The actor garnered praise
for his web debut, The Empire
Morea says.
The actor admits saying “no
to all of them (Hindi offers)
from 2012 to 2016”. The 47-
Ask why he didn’t take on
any Malayalam and Telugu
films earlier and Morea replies,
“I was not putting it out there
T I
You may find a potential
buyer for your property.
Some health-related issues
are indicated. Your new
job may be secure, long-lasting, and
rewarding.
LOVE FOCUS: Try to make an intimate
romantic gesture to mend the fences
with your beloved.
LUCKY NUMBER: 15 LUCKY COLOUR:
Brown
from the South. Films in
languages from the South are
dubbed in different languages
GEMINI
MAY 21-JUN 21
and watched all over India.
A moderately auspicious
day is indicated on the
financial front. Property
investment should be
avoided. You may try to meditate and
relax today. Good showing on the
academic front will motivate you.
LOVE FOCUS: Singles may meet
interesting people and think about
moving forward.
LUCKY NUMBER: 9 LUCKY COLOUR: Red
LIBRA
SEP 24-OCT 23
c
Past investments may
start reaping rewards and
improve your finances.
You may spend time with
children today. Some of you may
have to pull up your socks on the
academic front.
LOVE FOCUS: Singles may find
someone via dating sites.
LUCKY NUMBER: 7 LUCKY COLOUR:
Magenta
AQUARIUS
JAN 22-FEB 19

(2021), in which he played the
role of Shaibani Khan. “I felt
confident about myself after
doing the show. The way fans
received the show and my
performance was warming. I
won an award for it as well,”
year-old explains, “Had I done
the films that were offered to
me, it would have been like
digging my own grave. I guess
everyone gets their time, and
for me, I am hoping that time is
now.”
that I wanted to go and act in
South films. There was anyway
nothing great is coming my
way in Hindi films. So, I started
exploring.”
“Filmmakers here, in Hindi
(cinema), buy rights of films
G l
There must be something right You may feel helpless and
there. So, I thought why not demoralised due to certain
explore that. I am expanding business losses. A family
my audience (base) with these or property matter may
two industries (Telugu and need third-party assistance.
Malayalam). They make huge LOVE FOCUS: You may go on a trip with
films,” he ends. your beloved but your partner may
feel under the weather.
LUCKY NUMBER: 3 LUCKY COLOUR:
Cream
A business trip may turn
out favourable and give
you work opportunities.
Property investment may
turn out rewarding in the near future.
LOVE FOCUS: Some may plan to be
romantic and share a special time
with their beloved.
LUCKY NUMBER: 17 LUCKY COLOUR:
Dark Blue
a
Your business may take
off and keep your bank
balance brimming. You
may join a new fitness
regime. Avoid travelling today.
LOVE FOCUS: You may make every
effort to be with your beloved today
and enjoy a peaceful walk with him
or her.
LUCKY NUMBER: 6 LUCKY COLOUR: Red

Video of Akanksha CANCER SCORPIO PISCES

Dubey crying
JUN 22-JUL 22 OCT 24-NOV 22 FEB 20-MAR 20

C S P
Some may spend on You may be in good You may start a new

inconsolably
business website financial condition. venture with someone. An
designing services. You Progress at work is argument with a parent or
may buy or sell a property. indicated. Some may sibling may make you

goes viral days

It seems to be a positive day and you invest in real estate today. You may doubt your capabilities. You may find
may feel physically fit. have to keep an eye on the academic potential buyers for your property.
LOVE FOCUS: Someone from a progress of a family youngster. LOVE FOCUS: You may feel good about

after her death

different cultural background may be LOVE FOCUS: Things may not go as per your relationship and share your
attracted to you and try to reach out. your plans on the love front. feelings with your beloved.
LUCKY NUMBER: 18 LUCKY COLOUR: LUCKY NUMBER: 9 LUCKY COLOUR: LUCKY NUMBER: 11 LUCKY COLOUR:
Magenta Yellow White

day after the news of crying.

A Bhojpuri actor
Akanksha Dubey’s
death broke out, a video
“Dubey was found dead
in a hotel room in Uttar
Pradesh’s Sarnath on
{ CALVIN AND HOBBES I BILL WATTERSON }

went viral on social media in March 26,” the police said.

which she is seen breaking
down.
It is believed that the 25-
year-old went live on
Instagram before she
allegedly ended her life.
Though the reason for her
crying is yet to be
ascertained, several Twitter
users shared part of the clip
where one can see Dubey
covering her mouth while
The police suspect that the
model-turned-actor died by
suicide, but no suicide note
has been recovered so far.
The police added, “The
prima facie report suggests
it might be a case of suicide.
But we have to wait for the
post-mortem report to be
sure about the cause of the
death.”
Meanwhile, Dubey’s
A still from the viral video
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM AND TWITTER
boyfriend and Bhojpuri star
Samar Singh reacted to her
death and wrote,
“speechless” in an Instagram
post.
Dubey had worked in
Bhojpuri cinema, music, and
films. She had over a million
followers on Instagram. ANI

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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
movers & shakers { SPOTTED }
03
An era of The pap
Swift album! ishing out some major

magic! D fashion statements, these

celebs were spotted in and
around Mumbai. While
Sonam Kapoor Ahuja donned a
colourful corset top, jacket, and black
skirt and completed the look with
Taylor Swift’s five- sneakers, Mrunal Thakur stunned in
Besides being a a bright blue jumpsuit. Also papped
year touring hiatus musical were actor Shahid Kapoor, singer
spectacle, Swift’s Jason Derulo and cricketer Chris
ended as the pop fashion Gayle. HTC
statements are
star is back with being lauded by A video of Sonam Kapoor
fans. Here she is Chris Gayle Ahuja recently
her The Eras Tour. donning a pink dancing while celebrated her
gown as she Virat Kohli mum’s
Glimpses... performed in Las records him on birthday Shahid Kapoor is busy Disha Patani shared a video
Vegas, Nevada! Mrunal Thakur will be his phone has along with shooting for an with Jason Derulo recently
PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM seen in Gumraah next gone viral family investigative thriller PHOTOS: YOGEN SHAH
AND AP drama

Artistes and

Ball-ywood performers at
the Ball

buzz
The multi-award-winning
artiste donned a silver blazer The annual charity event
for one of her performances in
Glendale, Arizona
held in Monaco, Bal de la
Rose, had Bollywood as
Filmmaker
its theme this year. Take Monika
French fashion designer Christian Louboutin and Bacardi
international artiste, singer-songwriter Mika a look!

Welsh singer
Shirley Bassey
PHOTOS: REUTERS AND AFP

. ◄ Tennis players Gael Monfils

and Elina Svitolina

Swift
returned to
the stage
with glitz
and
glamour.
Here, the
singer
performed
in a sparkly
rhinestone
bodysuit
Princess Caroline of Hanover and
Spanish singer Isabel Pantoja Prince Albert II of Monaco

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 04
NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

City
NEW DELHI
MARCH 28, 2023

show
At the 2023 BRIT
stoppers
Basketball
player Kyle
Awards, singer
Lizzo wore a
custom Act N°1
dress featuring a
on Tuesday
Kuzma, pink gown topped
considered with an enormous Scan here
the king of Medici collar to visit
stunt HTCityShowstoppers
dressing;,
wore a black
silk Rick FOR CELEB
Owens puffer
having an ◄ Businesswoman STYLE,
FOLLOW
.

attached Natasha Poonawalla in

snood with an extravagant padded ON INSTA:
matching gown by Moncler X @htcityshowstoppers
flared pants Pierpaolo Piccioli
d
mak ing, stunt dressing is reigning re PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM

tement-
Outlandish and sta
carpets and runways globally. Experts weigh in on this rather controversial concept

MAY WE HAVE
YOUR ATTENTION?
Singer Doja
Cat was
dressed
in crimson
Swarovski
crystals at
Paris
Shruti Shende whimsical, surreal take on fashion. Fashion
shruti.shende@hindustantimes.com P Stylist Isha Bhansali recalls singer
Lady Gaga’s meat dress at the 2010
Week

People have seen

W
hen
businesswoman
Natasha
Poonawalla
uploaded a slew
of snaps in an extravagant
padded gown by Moncler X
Pierpaolo Piccioli at Olympia
dresses to grab eyeballs
London, it received a mixed
response. While a section of
celebs, including Rhea Kapoor
and Anaita Shroff Adajania,
praised the look, others were
quick to curate memes. Singer
Sam Smith, too, made
headlines for his pumped-up
black latex suit by Indian
designer Harri at the 2023 BRIT
Awards. Not long ago, rapper Doja
Cat was in the news for wearing
30,000 crimson Swarovski crystals at
Schiaparelli’s 2023 Paris Fashion
Week. At the same event, beauty
mogul Kylie Jenner donned a black
dress with a hyper-realistic lion head
perched on her chest. Such cases of
Actor Julia stunt dressing are dominating
Fox walked runways and red carpets, and how!
the runway “After any pandemic or geo-
for Luis De political situation, something like
Javier at the this comes back,” says designer
New York Shruti Sancheti, adding, “It’s a ripple
Fashion Week effect. People have seen too much
in a strapless devastation, misery and negativity.
denim dress Designers are making statement
featuring dresses now to celebrate normalcy.”
horns Seconding Sancheti is designer
Rina Dhaka, who says: “Today, with
too much negativity.
So now, designers are
making statement
and celebrate
normalcy.
SHRUTI SANCHETI,
Designer
tech becoming huge, 3D and life-like
manifestations are becoming a big
part of stunt dressing.”
DECODING STUNT DRESSING
According to Glamour, stunt
dressing is the act of styling oneself
in an outlandish way, specifically
with the intention of being noticed
and photographed. “It’s a dialogue/
conversational piece that’s created to
attract eyeballs and create media
sensations for our short-term
attention span audience. Instagram-
driven culture is responsible for such
styles,” says designer Anikate Satam.
When asked what name first
comes to mind while speaking of this
trend, Satam says Moschino has
been ahead of the curve when it
comes to stunt dressing. Closer
home, designer Manish Arora
mastered this trend with his
MTV Video Music Awards, designed
by Franc Fernandez, while Sancheti
points out how actor-influencer
Uorfi Javed rose to prominence
through stunt dressing.
GLAM OR PLAIN GIMMICKY?
While the essence of stunt dressing
is primarily to seek attention, it can
also be used as a tool for self-
expression. “People will tag it as
attention-seeking, but that’s what it’s
about. When you’re at public events,
you want to stand out. There’s
nothing wrong with it; it’s a great
stunt!” says Bhansali, while Satam
feels stunt dressing makes fashion
more conversational.
Sancheti, however, believes “it’s a
bit crazy”: “For me, stunt dressing is
costume-y. Having said that, there Beauty mogul
are people who relate to this Kylie Jenner’s
particular kind of fashion.” black
Schiaparelli
REPLICATE WITH CAUTION dress came
In a post-pandemic world, more and with a hyper-
more people seem to be unapologetic realistic lion
and out there without paying much head
heed to trends or conventionality.
But, when it comes to something as
risqué as stunt dressing, a certain
amount of caution is vital. “Know
your audience, or else you’ll just be
the butt of jokes,” says Satam. And
Sancheti advises not to recreate the Singer Sam Smith
entire outfit from the runway as is, turned heads in a
but to borrow certain element(s), pumped-up black
thereby toning down the look. latex suit by Harri

#inbrief
#theburningquestion PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM AND SHUTTERSTOCK(FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE ONLY)

An AR-powered American
What can women shopping experience Sydney launches designer
workwear line Jeremy Scott
wear to work Coach is teaming up with
ZERO10 for a collaboration
that will bring their iconic Euphoria actor Sydney Sweeney steps down
Tabby bag to life like never delighted fans with the release of a

this summer? before. Using cutting-edge

AR (augmented reality),
shoppers can try on the bag
workwear collaboration between
Ford and herself. The four-piece
limited-edition collection, complete
After a decade at the helm of
Italian luxury fashion house
Moschino, Jeremy Scott, the
The ideal summer wardrobe is one virtually using the app with bib overalls, work pants, a celebrated creative director, will
that makes women feel comfortable during the upcoming bandanna and a corduroy baseball be stepping down from his
yet keeps the chic factor intact. Here Metaverse Fashion Week. cap, has already caught the position. His successor has not yet
are some options women can try to This feature offers a new, attention of fashion enthusiasts. been named. Despite his
turn heads at work while staying cosy dynamic way to interact Each item is adorned with a striking departure from the brand, Scott
and comfy. with the brand’s Ford x Sydney Sweeney patch, will continue to oversee his
l Pantsuits and jumpsuits are products. The iOS app emblazoned with the words “Syd’s eponymous label, which has not
popular choices. You can go also allows users to try Garage.” The work pant, a clever independently released a
for a lightweight, cool-toned on virtual outfits in twist on the classic Dickies Original collection since 2019. Scott made
piece this season and pair it real-time using their 847 pant, boasts a band that can be the announcement on Instagram,
with minimal jewellery. phone camera, with folded down to showcase the iconic expressing his eagerness to
l Printed maxi dresses are also advanced cloth Ford and Dickies logos. embark on a new chapter in his
in demand. Choose a floral simulation and body career: “I am filled with
print piece that has an airy tracking technology. excitement and anticipation and
silhouette and you’re good can’t wait to share with you all
to go! what I have in store for you next!”
l Co-ord sets are huge, this
season. Go for a bold, solid-
coloured or tie-dye pattern Egypt to host first fashion week A first for this
co-ord set for office.
l Another option is to wear
an A-line half skirt
Egypt’s fashion scene is about to
get a major boost with the
luxe brand
with a crisp shirt to announcement of the country’s Italian luxury brand Bottega
a meeting. first-ever fashion week. Set to Veneta, known to be one that
l It is easy to dress take place in May, the fashion doesn’t display any kind of
for the office in week is themed The Past, Present branding on its products, recently
a cotton or and Future. The inaugural event launched Quadronno — a canvas
georgette kurti will showcase the works of shoulder bag — with branding
paired with notable Egyptian designers at the displayed clearly for the first time.
straight or Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, Cairo, Designed by creative director
flared pants. on its opening night. Creative Matthieu Blazy, the bag features
With this, you Headz, a renowned business with various elements that steer away
can wear a nude Aditi a decade-and-a-half of from the brand’s house identity,
lipstick. Rao experience producing fashion and received mixed reactions on
Hydari events, will co-produce the event. social media. One user wrote,
Launchmetrics, an official partner “This is a dust bag with some rope
Yehuda Bitton, of the esteemed New York and attached?” while another said,
Fashion designer Paris Fashion Weeks, will also lend “Matthieu Blazy is making
their expertise on the occasion. beautiful moves man! (sic).” Compiled by Sneha Chakraborty
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 NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023
She Slays Awards
Celebrating exemplary women who are breaking biases and challenging stereotypes
Vote for your favourite nominees from different categories
Health
Dr Surbhi
Singh
GYNAECOLOGIST,
FOUNDER SACHHI
SAHELI
As an environmentalist and
activist, she firmly believes in
enlightening people about
cleanliness and sanitation.
Through her non-profit
organisation, she has been
working tirelessly to make
society a better place for
women.
Dr Mansi
Chowhan
CONSULTANT,
SURGICAL ONCOLOGY
She has been treating women
who are battling breast cancer
and other innumerable breast
problems. In a bid to help more
women, she creates a
comfortable environment to
talk about issues surrounding
their health and wishes to
accomplish more in this field.
Dr Mahima Bakshi
MATERNAL CHILD
CONSULTANT, FOUNDER,
BIRTHING NATURALLY
QUEEN
A maternity coach and an activist,
she advocates for women’s health
during adolescence, the prenatal
and postnatal phases, as well as
perimenopause. Also an
author and model, she is an
Indian Youth Ambassador
at the International
Youth Society.
PHOTOS: RAAJESSH KASHYAP AND DHRUV SETHI/HT
Hindu College’s western
dance soc, Aarambh’s
performance dedicated to
Lord Shiva stole the show
An art
exhibition,
Samsara, on the
theme of onism
was also
displayed during
the fest
Gargi College students
presented their idea of
happiness through the
character of Joker
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lifestyle 05
Scan the QR code
to vote for your
favourite nominee
Nutrition Technology Sports
Pooja Makhija Taru Dahiya Sreeja Akula
NUTRITIONIST,
AUTHOR AND
DIRECTOR, SMB,
ASIA PACIFIC-
INDIAN TABLE
TENNIS PLAYER
ENTREPRENEUR GOOGLE CLOUD The national champion
A mother of two teenagers, she Responsible for driving won gold at the 2022
believes in helping people Google Cloud business in Commonwealth Games in
rebuild their faith in food. She India, this entrepreneur at the table tennis mixed
has been transforming the heart facilitates the doubles event. The Arjuna
bodies and lives of many, company’s leadership Awardee is being hailed as
including several Bollywood initiatives. She is also the new queen of the
celebrities and sportspersons. engaged in numerous sport and aims to continue
Her easy-to-follow nutrition philanthropic endeavours her winning streak in the
hacks are popular on social that support women. years ahead.
media, too.
Neha Ranglani Usha Nitu
INTEGRATIVE Rengaraju Ghanghas
NUTRITIONIST AND
WELLNESS COACH CHIEF OF RESEARCH, INDIAN BOXER
She has been helping people EXA PROTOCOL, Having recently bagged the
to organically reverse or FOUNDER, NEUROAI gold at the IBA Women’s
manage obesity, diabetes, Ranked among the top 10 data World Boxing
thyroid, PCOS, infertility scientists in 2020 by Analytics Championships, the pugilist
and other such issues. India magazine, she is the made India proud by winning
Practising in the filed of world’s first female triple a gold medal at the 2022
nutrition, for more than a Kaggle Grandmaster. Among Commonwealth Games. The
decade, it’s her belief in her many recognitions, she has southpaw boxer wants to
the power of food that also won the Kaggle ML reach towering heights like
keeps her going. Research Spotlight 2022. her idol, MC Mary Kom.
Leema Rucha Nanavati Manu Bhaker
Mahajan CHIEF INFORMATION
OFFICER, MAHINDRA
AIRGUN SHOOTER,
INDIAN OLYMPIAN
CLINICAL GROUP Her recent bronze win at the
NUTRITIONIST With expertise in facilitating ISSF World Cup is an addition
A weight loss specialist, her business objectives through to her 25 gold medal tally in
mantra is: Let food be thy technological solutions, she has international competitions. A
medicine. Breaking through established herself as an Commonwealth and Youth
the clutter of fads, she international leader. She has Olympics gold medallist, she
doesn’t believe in restrictive successfully led digital specialises in airgun
diets or using meal transformations across shooting and was just
replacement pills or powders. sectors, including 16 when she won
Instead, she provides manufacturing, retail and the Youth Olympic
sustainable diet plans to high-tech. title in Buenos Aires
improve one’s lifestyle. in 2018.
Tarang of
music, fun and
bone-tickling
laughter at
LSR At the street dance
battleground,
Satyawati College’s
After a gap of five long years, the annual students stole hearts
with their moves
cultural festival returned to the campus
with power-packed performances and The crowd cheered non-stop for the live
performances at the finale, Pronite
competitions
#htcity@campus
Manvi Singh on day 2. “He took a dig at the organising
htcity@hindustantimes.com
committee and said, ‘jab bhi kuchh
pucho toh kehte thhe hum yeh abhi
pepped-up street knockout, a organise kar rahe hain’ (laughs),” adds
A morning of western dance, a
sustainable twist to fashion, and
a cheering nukkad — all this
marked the return of Tarang to Lady Shri
Ram College for Women (LSR), after a
Tripathi.
BATTLE ON THE STREET
With six participating colleges, the street
dance competition on day 1 saw a packed
five-year hiatus! Happy faces turned up amphitheatre. The effortless backflips,
under cloudy skies to witness this three- handstands and head rolls kept the
day extravaganza with the theme, Parde audience on their toes. Anishka Singh, a
Ke Peeche. The fest concluded with live first-year student of Political Science at
performances of indie bands. LSR, who saw the performances, says, “I
can only dream of being able to flip and
INDIE NOTES ON PRONITE fly like that.”
Waqt Ki Baatein reached LSR as the
Dream Note band performed at the finale DIM LIGHTS, LIT DANCE SOC
of the fest. This was followed by DJ The dance productions had themes such
Ravator’s beats and the sensational tunes as spiritual devotion to Lord Shiva and
of the All India Permit Band. “Dream Note the plight of people who feel homeless
surely left a mark. My roommate and I within their country, among others.
were humming their songs even after These won the hearts of the judges as
reaching home,” says Ananya Saxena, a well as the audience members. “I was
second-year student of BA (Prog) at LSR. waiting for this competition at our fest
since the coordination, expressions, and
A HEARTY LAUGH the way it was executed felt like a
“He came well-prepared to roast us!” narrative straight from the story,” (Above) All India Permit The dress-up
shares Alankrita Tripathi, a second-year shares Shivangi Joshi, a second-year band; (right) Comedian competition Poshak, by
student of BA (Prog) at LSR who attended journalism student from a Delhi-based Aashish Solanki roasted LSR art soc, had
comedian Aashish Solanki stand-up act college. students during his stand-up sustainability
as its theme
 06 showbiz NEW DELHI
TUESDAY
MARCH 28, 2023

Here’s a list of celebs

Hip-hop artistes making
who went to the holy cities
of Mecca and Medina to
some of the best music
perform Umrah. Not only
have they been sharing
in India: Seedhe Maut
pictures from the
pilgrimage, but also been
Sania Mirza talking about their soulful
Former tennis player Sania Mirza shared videos
experience
from her journey, featuring her parents, son and Hina Khan
SPIRITUAL
her sister’s (Anam’s) family at Kaaba. She wrote,
“It has been the most amazing and fulfilling time Actor Hina Khan, who visited Mecca with her
here... May Allah call us back again and again”. family to offer prayers and perform Umrah,
While some congratulated the star, there were a shared a video from her sojourn and wrote,

SOJOURNS
few others who raised questions about her “Pehla Umrah mukammal.” In a Story, she
husband, Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik’s posted a photo of her swollen feet and shared
absence, thereby adding fuel to speculations of how she got to Hajar al-Aswad (The Black
their divorce. Stone) and Kaaba (the holiest shrine in Islam).
She wrote: “Touching the Kaaba is a magical
experience. Don’t bother asking how.”
Text: Syeda Eba Fatima Throughout her stay in Mecca and Medina,
Khan kept her fans updated with her travel
PHOTOS:
INSTAGRAM experiences. However, she was trolled for
making reels from the religious sites.

Aly Goni
Actor Aly Goni reached the city of Mecca for Umrah
with his childhood friend, artiste Asim Riaz. Later,
Goni shared another series of Stories from Masjid al-
Haram (Great Mosque of Mecca). Currently, he is in
the city of Medina, and is posting Stories from Masjid
Al Nabawi as well as photographs of him having
sehri.
Faisal Shaikh
Reality TV star and actor Faisal Shaikh went to Umrah with his
family last month. Sharing photos from the flight, he wrote, “Our Abhijay Negi (Encore ABJ) and Siddhant Sharma (Calm)
first Umrah together. May Allah accept our prayers and guide us to
the right path.” Popularly known as Mr Faisu, Shaikh also gave a Vinay MR Mishra
glimpse of Masjid al Nabawi (is the second holiest mosque in vinay.mishra@htdigital.in
Islam, the second largest mosque in the world after the Masjid al-
Haram in Mecca) and expressed his gratitude for being there. He alm aka Siddhant Sharma and
captioned it, “Aur phir kuch youn huwa ki mere awaa ne mujhe
Madina bula liya.”
C Encore ABJ aka Abhijay Negi,
who form the hip-hop duo
Seedhe Maut, recently
performed in Mumbai. Taking the
stage, they say, was “a bit nerve-
wracking, but in a good way”.
“We enjoy the tension and the
nervousness. We have learnt how to
use it to fuel us on stage. It’s about
giving our best for the people out
there who constantly show up for us,”
shares Calm.
Asim Riaz Hip-hop, in the recent past, has seen
immense growth and popularity, with
The Bigg Boss 13 famed artiste shared a snap several hip-hop artistes coming forth
with actor Aly Goni from the flight, dressed in
traditional white robes, before embarking on the
to take part in reality shows, do stage
shows and even music videos. This,
spiritual journey to Mecca. In his Instagram Calm says, is “well-deserved spotlight
Stories, Riaz treated his fans to a top-down view that the desi hip-hop community is
of Kaaba from his hotel room. Just like Hina finally receiving”, and goes on to add,
Khan, a certain section of social media users “Our community has been making
expressed their displeasure over Riaz and Goni’s some of the best music in the country
video and photos from the holy site. and this is just a scratch on the
surface.”
PHOTO: INSTAGRAM/SEEDHEMAUT
Encore ABJ adds that the spotlight is
a result of months and years of hard
work, sharing, “Hip-hop wasn’t taken
seriously and it’s not a trend either.
[Today] it is an important part of
Indian music.”
The duo is known for hit tracks such
as Shaktimaan, 11k, Batti and others.
But, for anyone who has not been
introduced to their music yet, it is their
stage name that catches everyone’s
attention first. Encore ABJ recalls, “It
actually started in Nainital, where
Calm’s brother Sahil and his friends
created this term. During summer
holidays, Sahil came to meet Calm.
When we were figuring out what to
name us, he had the obvious answer.”
But, one can’t help observe how they
have stayed away from mainstream
music. Is that a conscious decision?
“We’ve never tried to fit in. We don’t
want to put our music in a box,”
Encore ABJ shares, as Calm chimes in,
“We make music for ourselves and we
put out things that we are satisfied
with, regardless of what is trending or
even considered mainstream.”

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