DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BOTH HOLD RALLIES IN COOCH BEHAR DECEMBER 2023 INCIDENT IN J&K A PM-CM showdown in Bengal Army probes point to torture, death of three men from Poonch Officers among personnel to face action; Army says it’s committed to highest standards PROMISE TO END PMLA: CONGRESS MANIFESTO TODAY PAGE 7 Shameful if even 1% of Sandeshkhali claims true: Calcutta HC PMNarendraModiwithCoochBeharMPatThursday’srally. PTI CMMamataBanerjeewithTMC’sCoochBeharnominee. Express ‘Opp spreading lies on CAA, ‘BJP using central agencies in Modi guarantees citizenship’ election... don’t bow to them’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, APRIL 4 IN A bid to dispel apprehensions among the Matua and Rajbanshi communities over the recently notifiedCitizenshipAmendment Act (CAA), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday ac- cusedtheOppositionof“misleadingpeoplewithmisinformation” andsaiditwas“Modi’sguarantee to provide citizenship to those who have faith in Maa Bharati”. Addressing a rally at Cooch Behar town’s Rash Mela Ground ahead of the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, the Prime CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, APRIL 4 AHEAD OF Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally in Cooch Behar town, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursdayaddressedarallyinthe North Bengal town where she urged people to “teach BJP a lesson” for “not respecting the model code of DECISION conduct and 2024 misusingCentral agencies”, and said that one can trust a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ATRI MITRA CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, APRIL 4 THE ARMY’S internal inquiries into the killing of three civilians, allegedlyduringinterrogationby Army personnel following a terror attack in J&K’s Poonch in December 2023 that left four soldiers dead, and into the operational gaps have found serious lapses in the conduct of 7-8 personnel, including officers, at various levels. Sources have told The Indian Express that the findings of the inquiries indicate that the three civiliansdiedof torture,allegedly during interrogation. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 KOLKATA, APRIL 4 SEEKING ACCOUNTABILITY on theallegedsexualharassmentof women in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali by men linked to suspended Trinamool Congress strongman Shahjahan Sheikh, theCalcuttaHighCourtThursday said even if 1% of the allegations are true, it is “absolutely shameful” and claims of the state being safe for women fall apart. Hearingpublicinterestlitigationsfiledinconnectionwiththe case,includingsomeonbehalf of the alleged victims, the bench presided by Chief Justice T S Sivagnanamsaid,“Theentiredistrict administration and ruling dispensation must owe a moral responsibility. Even if 1% (of the affidavit) is true, it is absolutely AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA REVISION AFTER SC VERDICT, ITS ‘WELCOMING RECEPTION’: NCERT 3 Babri references out, Ayodhya section ‘revised’ in Class XII new politics book RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, APRIL 4 THE section on the Ayodhya dispute in a chapter in NCERT’s Class XII political science textbook is said to have been revised to give primacy to the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, factor in the 2019 Supreme Court verdict allowing the temple — and, in at least three places, referencestotheDecember6,1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid Fourth round of revision THIS IS the fourth round of revision and updating of NCERT textbooks since 2014. The first round, in 2017, was called a “review”, and not a revision, as the then NCERT director cited the need to update textbooks to reflect recent events, changes. have been deleted, The Indian Express has learnt. The revised book is expected to be in classrooms in a month. These changes are part of the revision of school textbooks undertaken by NCERT for the academicyear2024-25,whichwere recently communicated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). NCERT, which advises the Uniongovernmentonschooleducation, is the apex body tasked CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE NEW UNIVERSE MAP MAY OPEN WINDOW TO DARK ENERGY PROSTATE CANCER CASES IN INDIA TO DOUBLE BY 2040: LANCET STUDY BENGAL GOVERNOR ‘ASKS GOVT TO SACK MINISTER BRATYA’ PAGES 6 & 3 Rajnath Singh met families of victims last December. ANI file 10 survived ordeal, most still to recover even after 3 months ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, APRIL 4 MORE THAN three months after they were picked up and tortured,allegedlybyArmypersonnel, following the killing of four soldiers in a terror attack in Jammu’s Poonch district, nine of the10villagerswhosurvivedare yet to return to work, many still nursing their wounds. Of the 13 Poonch residents who were rounded up after the December21terrorattack,three wereallegedlytorturedtodeath, whilefiveeachwereadmittedto two separate hospitals. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RESPONSE TO EXPRESS REPORT ED driven by legal mandate, evidence, not shifting sands of politics: Official EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 4 THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate is “driven by legal mandates and evidence, not by the shifting sands of political will” and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) “stands as the bedrock upon which credible investigations are built”, a senior Government official said Thursday. The official was responding to the report ‘Since 2014, 25 Opposition leaders facing corruption probe crossed over to BJP, 23 of them got reprieve’, published in The Indian Express Wednesday. “TheGovernment’sunwaveringstanceonrootingoutcorruption has instilled renewed confidenceamongcitizens,reinforcing the belief that India is shedding its image as a sanctuary for the corrupt,” the official said. The official accused the Opposition of “spreading a spu- rious narrative that questions the credibility of agencies” and “engaging in a campaign to malign the integrity of our nation's investigative agencies” after its “corrupt leaders” were “subjected to the rigours of the law”. “The legal processes in India are far from linear or simplistic. They are characterised by a networkofchecks,balances,appeals and reviews that ensure no case is closed without exhaustive examination. This framework, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata