DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THE WORLD HAD CHALLENGED ARREST, REMAND IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE HCrejectsKejriwalpetition:EDmaterial showshe‘conspired’,sought‘kickbacks’ HAMAS SAYS ISRAELI TRUCE PROPOSAL UNDER REVIEW XI MEETS WITH AAP says it will move SC immediately, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV P 13 BJP pushes for his resignation as CM EXPLAINED ECONOMICS TWOREASONSWHY FOODINFLATION MAYSOFTEN PAGE 12 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 THE DELHI High Court Tuesday dismissed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case, noting there was “sufficient material”with theagency forhis arrest and remand. The single-judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, rulingonthematterafterreserving the verdict on April 3, said, “To summarise, the material… reveals that Arvind Kejriwal had allegedly conspired with other persons and was involved in the formulation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, in the process of demanding kickbacks from the South Group, as well as in generation, use and concealment of proceeds of crime.” Was arrested on March 21 “He is allegedly involved in theoffenceof moneylaundering in two capacities. Firstly, in his personal capacity as he was in- volved in formulation of the Excise Policy and in demanding kickbacks.Secondly,inhiscapacity as the National Convenor of Aam Aadmi Party as per Section 70 (1) of PMLA, for use of proceeds of crime of Rs 45 crores in the election campaign of Aam Aadmi Party in Goa Elections 2022, which are prima facie apparent from the material relied upon by the respondent (ED) as wellasthestatementrecordedon 08.03.2024 of one of the candidatesof AamAadmiPartyinGoa Elections 2022,” the bench said. ItclarifiedthatKejriwal’splea India has 2nd highest hepatitis cases, 11% of global burden: WHO ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 INDIA HAS the world’s second highest prevalence of viral hepatitis cases, accounting for over 11 per cent of the global burden in 2022, according to the Global Hepatitis Report 2024 released by the World Health Organisation(WHO)onTuesday. Accordingtothereport,there were 254 million people living with Hepatitis B and 50 million withHepatitisCacrosstheworld in2022.Ofthese,Indiaaccounted for 29 million Hepatitis B cases, second only to China at 79 million; and 5.5 million Hepatitis C cases,afterPakistanat8.8million. An estimated 1.23 lakh people died due to hepatitis in India, whileover50,000newHepatitis Bcasesand1.4lakhnewHepatitis C cases were reported in 2022. Globally, with an estimated 1.3 million deaths per year, viral hepatitis kills as many people as tuberculosis. `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 challenged his arrest as “illegal” andwasnotanapplicationseeking grant of bail. It said the “cumulative effect of material collected by the ED so far” on Kejriwal’s alleged role reflected ED’s “reasons to believe” that he was “guilty of offenceof moneylaundering”,and theneedtointerrogate, confront him with witnesses statement andothermaterial,coupledwith his conduct of not joining investigation after being served nine summonsinasix-monthperiod, “necessitated” his arrest. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY INDIA NUMBERS Hepatitis B (Total) 2.97 cr Infection load* 11.7% Incidence 50,083 Deaths 98,305 Diagnosis 2.4% Hepatitis C (Total) 0.55 cr Infection load Incidence Deaths 26,206 28% Treatment** 21% Source: Global Hepatitis Report 2024 (figures pertain to 2022); *Proportion of global infections; **Hep B treatment coverage: 0% InIndia,whilethetuberculosis toll remains higher — 3.31 lakh people are reported to have died due to TB in 2022 — what is concerningisthathepatitisdiagnosis and treatment remains verylow.Accordingtothereport, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 DECISION 2024 MVA: 21 SEATS FOR UBT SENA, 17 CONG, 10 SHARAD NCP RUPALA’S NEMESIS ‘READY’ TO ENTER POLL FRAY PAGES 4,9,10 Longer runways, jetty, road expansion amid China bid to expand influence AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 WITH REVAMPED airfields and jetties to additional logistics and storage facilities, habitat for troops to a robust surveillance infrastructure, the strategic Andaman and Nicobar Islands are in the middle of a major military infrastructure upgrade, senior officials familiar with the developments have told The Indian Express. The enhanced infrastructure isaimedtofacilitatedeployment of additional military forces, facilities for larger and more warships, aircraft, missile batteries and troops. The ongoing large-scale construction activities come amid growingChineseattemptstoexpand its influence in the region, which includes construction of a military facility at Myanmar’s Coco Islands lying 55 km north of A&N Islands. Thereare836IslandsinA&N, of which only 38 are inhabited. E Importance ofthechain ● ofislands THE ANDAMAN and Nicobar Islands are of great strategic importance since they straddle one of the busiest sea lanes in the world and give India the reach to monitor the flow of traffic from the South China Sea (Pacific Ocean) to the Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) via the Strait of Malacca that’s key to trade and oil shipments in the Indo-Pacific. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first andonlytri-servicecommandin the islands and was established in 2001. Sources said there are plans to significantly enhance the surveillance infrastructure at one of thenorthernislandsof A&N,and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TO AVOID COLLISION WITH LIONS 11.2% 1,44,187 Diagnosis Strategic military infra upgrade in the works for Andaman & Nicobar Islands E X P L A I NE D WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES CHENNAI ROADSHOW Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a roadshow in Chennai in support of BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday. PTI RELATEDREPORT,PAGE10 NIA calls its officer to Delhi as TMC and BJP trade charges over ‘meeting’ SWEETY KUMARI & MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL KOLKATA, NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 DAYS AFTER the TMC alleged that a BJP leader carrying cash in an envelope visited a Superintendent of Police with the National Investigation Agency at the latter’s home near Kolkata, the NIA has asked the officertoreporttoitsDelhihead- quarters, it is learnt. ADIG-rankofficerhasmeanwhile been sent by the NIA from Patna to West Bengal to supervise cases. On Monday, in a memorandum to the EC, the TMC alleged thattheBJPwasmisusingtheNIA to target its political opponents. ThepartyallegedthataBJPmember, Jitendra Tiwari, met NIA SP Dhan Ram Singh at his residence on March 26. Along with its memorandum,theTMCsubmit- ted a copy of the visitor’s register at Singh’s residence with an entry allegedly showing Tiwari’s visit.TheTMCclaimedthatTiwari was seen entering with a packet in his hand and when he left an hourlater,hewasempty-handed. A source said Singh came to NIA from the BSF on deputation in2014.“Additionalchargeof the West Bengal branch has been given to DIG Rakesh Roshan,” a source said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trains to ply at less than 40 kmph on Pipavav-Surendranagar line during night: Rlys to Gujarat HC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, APRIL 9 AFTER BEING pulled up by the Gujarat High Court last month for failing to ensure that no lions died in accidents at the Gir forest and sanctuary, the Railways and Gujarat forest department told theHC on Tuesday that they have framed a revised standard operating protocol (SOP), limiting train speed to less than 40 kmperhour(kmph)onthe busy Pipavav-Surendranagar rail line during night to avoid collision with lions in Amreli district. A joint meeting of forest and railwayofficialswasheldonApril 3 after the HC took note of three lion deaths in January, two of themdyingfromtrainaccidents. Counsel for the Railways, advocate Ramnandan Singh, in- The SOP will be applicable to 90-km long stretch of rail line. formedthebenchof Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice AniruddhaMayeethattheforest department and the Railways haveframedarevisedSOP,asper which the speed of locomotives will be below 40 kmph from sunset to sunrise in sections identified as hotspots of lion movement. The new SOP will be applicable to an around 90-km long stretch of railway lines crossing Gir (east) wildlife division, Shetrunji wildlife division and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 The Kerala Story in state poll theatre: ‘That one phone call AKADEMI CHAIRMAN’S POWERS CURTAILED Dioceses back screening, BJP cheers shattered us’: Family of Lalit Kala Akademi: Fallout with student found dead in US Being screened with agenda, don’t fall into RSS trap: CM SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 9 A YEAR after its release, The Kerala Story is roilingthestate’s heated political DECISION battlefield, with 2024 other Catholic dioceses announcing plans to follow in the footsteps of the Idukki diocese andscreenthecontroversialfilm, as part of efforts to “enlighten Was released in May last year teenagers against love jihad”. The decision of the dioceses follows vehement criticism by the ruling CPI(M) and Opposition Congress of Staterun Doordarshan for its screening of the film, days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. They had also approached the Election Commission seeking a directive to ban its telecast. The movie depicts the story of four women from Kerala converting to Islam and joining the Islamic State (IS), with the filmmakersclaimingthatthousands of women from the state had fallen to this. The film had faced several court cases ahead of its CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ministry before the curb order SREENIVAS JANYALA HYDERABAD, APRIL 9 A PHONE call from the Indian Consulate in New York on the eveof Eidshattered the family of Mohammed Abdul Arfath — the 25-year-old Indian student who went missing in the US last month and has been found dead in Cleveland, Ohio. Ever since Arfath went missing in March, and the Indian Consulate told them it was working with law enforcement authorities to find him, the fam- DIVYA A NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 Mohammed Abdul Arfath. (Twitter/ @IndiainNewYork) ily had been holding on to hope. Arfath had gone to the US in May 2023 to pursue Masters in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE CENTRE’S unprecedented order of January 8 curtailing the powersof theLalitKalaAkademi (LKA) Chairman, V Nagdas, within just 10 months of his appointment,wasprecededbyaseries of disagreements between himandtheCultureMinistryover the administration and finances ofthepremierartsinstitution,The Indian Express has learnt. Lalit Kala Akademi Chairman V Nagdas As reported by The Indian ExpressonMarch28,Nagdaswas barred from taking “any administrative actions including appointment, recruitment, transfer, disciplinary actions and financialdecisions”withoutcon- sulting the ministry. In its order, the ministry had cited Nagdas’s failure to respond to an earlier “complaint” and also alleged non-compliance with its “administrative directions”. The Indian Express has now learnt that the order came amid differencesbetweenNagdasand theministry overadministrative issues, including the appointment of consultants, transfer of officialswithintheAkademi,and selection of invitees for the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 Citizenship dream turns sour for lives caught in India-Bangladesh enclave swap PAGE 1 ANCHOR RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA COOCH BEHAR, APRIL 9 LONG BEFORE the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) became a reality, they were the nowhere people of Partition whobecamethecelebratednew citizens of India. Nineyearslater,livingupto25 people in two-bedroom apartments,withpropertypapersstill nottransferredtothem,awaiting promisedcashdoles,andlacking joboptions,theysaytheywantto return across the border. On April 19, as Cooch Behar votes in the first phase of theLok Sabha elections, on the electoral rolls will be the 15,421 people who became Indians over a period after Delhi and Dhaka signed a historic land boundary agreement in 2015 covering their respective enclaveslying in each other’s territories. It will be their second tryst with general elections. In 2019, the BJP had won an overwhelming victory from here. However, their numbers, at 15,421, mean these ‘new residents’ remain on Cooch Behar WEST BENGAL Kolkata INDIA At Madhya Masaldanga in Cooch Behar district. Partha Paul themarginsof thepollcampaign — amidst all the CAA talk. As part of the IndiaBangladesh agreement, 111 BANGLADESH ‘Indian’ enclaves spread over 17,160 acres inside Bangladesh went to Bangladesh, while 51 ‘Bangladeshi’ enclaves occupying 7,110 acres in India became the property of India. The resi- dents of these enclaves were giventheoptionof acceptingcitizenship of either country. Eventually,while921crossed over to this side with much fanfare,14,500residentsof formerly Bangladeshienclaveswereidentified as Indians. Both say their plight is no better — if not worse —though the residents of former Bangladeshi enclaves concede they “at least have roads now”. The 921 who lived in ‘Indian’ enclavesinBangladeshwhocame to India in phases were initially kept in makeshift tin-roof camps on open grounds in Dinhata 1 Block of Cooch Behar district. After five years of tortuous summers and monsoons spent in these accommodations, in 2020, the state government moved them into three apartment clusters with funds providedbytheCentre.Whileoneof these clusters is located in Dinhata Block, the other two are in Haldibari and Mekhliganj blocks of Jalpaiguri Lok Sabha seat,whichalsovotesonApril19. Kashem Ali, 65, has now been sharing his two-room apartment in Dinhata with his family of 22 for three years. There are 58 families, same as his, living in this cluster, all of whom came from Kurigram dis- trict in Bangladesh. All of Kashem’s five sons are migrant labourers, earning daily wages in places like Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Says Kashem: “When we came,wewereassuredwewould be rehabilitated, given the same amount of land as we had in Bangladeshandgetemployment, apart from Rs 5 lakh per family. None of that has happened.” All they got are the apartments, Kashem says, which accommodate on an average 12 people in two rooms. “We were also given voter identity cards, CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad