DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA HAD CHALLENGED ARREST, REMAND IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE HCrejectsKejriwalpetition:EDmaterial showshe‘conspired’,sought‘kickbacks’ AAP says it will move SC immediately, BJP pushes for his resignation as CM EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 EXPLAINED ECONOMICS FORECASTFOR FOODINFLATION P7 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 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”withtheagencyforhisarrest 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 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 India has 2nd highest hepatitis cases, over 11% of global burden, says WHO report 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. 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 very low. According to the report, only 2.4 percentof HepatitisBcaseswere diagnosed, while none received treatment in 2022. On the other hand, 28 per cent of Hepatitis C cases were diagnosed, while 21 per cent received treatment. INSIDE INDIA NUMBERS Hepatitis B (Total) 2.97 cr Infection load* 98,305 Diagnosis 2.4% Hepatitis C (Total) 0.55 cr Infection load Incidence Deaths 11.2% 1,44,187 26,206 Diagnosis 28% Treatment** 21% Source: Global Hepatitis Report 2024 (figures pertain to 2022); *Proportion of global infections; **Hep B treatment coverage: 0% Viral hepatitis is an infection that causes liver inflammation, damageandmayleadtolivercancer. Hepatitis B is known to cause acuteinfection,withnausea,vomitingandyellowingoftheeyeand skin for several weeks. In severe cases, it can even cause liver failure.ThechallengeisthatHepatitis Bcanleadtochronic,life-longliver disease in some, especially when theinfectioniscontractedinchildhood. The chronic infection can lead toscarring of the liver tissue, called cirrhosis, and increase the risk of liver cancer. BothHepatitisBandHepatitis C can be transmitted through blood transfusion, infected needles, contact with infected blood 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 CHENNAI ROADSHOW DIVYA A PM Narendra Modi at a roadshow in Chennai in support of BJP candidate Tamilisai Soundararajan on Tuesday. PTI REPORT,P6 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. As reported by The Indian ExpressonMarch28,Nagdaswas barred from taking “any administrative actions including appointment, recruitment, transfer, disciplinary actions and financialdecisions”withoutconsulting the ministry. In its order, the ministry had cited Nagdas's NEW DELHI, APRIL 9 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 that the BJP was misusing the NIA to target its political opponents. The party alleged that a BJPmember,JitendraTiwari,met NIA SP Dhan Ram Singh at his residence on March 26. Along with its memorandum, the TMC submitted a copy of the visitor’s registeratSingh’sresidencewith an entry allegedly showing Tiwari’s visit. The TMC claimed that Tiwari was seen entering with a packet in his hand and when he left an hour later, he was empty-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 THE WORLD HAMAS SAYS ISRAELI TRUCE PROPOSAL UNDER REVIEW XI MEETS WITH RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LAVROV P10 of A&N Islands. Thereare836IslandsinA&N, of which only 38 are inhabited. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is the first and only tri-service command in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lalit Kala Akademi Chairman V Nagdas 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 theministryoveradministrative issues, including the appointment of consultants, transfer of officialswithintheAkademi,and selection of invitees for the Akademi'sannual nationalexhibition and national award ceremony. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HYDERABAD, APRIL 9 Film being screened with particular agenda, don’t fall into RSS trap: CM PAGES 5, 6 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. ‘That one phone call shattered us’: The Kerala Story enters state’s political theatre: Family of student found dead in US More dioceses back film screening, BJP cheers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SREENIVAS JANYALA MVA PACT: UDDHAV SENA TO CONTEST 21 SEATS, CONG GETS 17, PAWAR (SP) 10 EC TO CBDT: VERIFY POLL AFFIDAVIT OF CHANDRASEKHAR E Importance ofthechain ● ofislands Lalit Kala Akademi: Fallout with ministry before the curb order 50,083 Deaths Longer runways, jetty, road expansion amid China bid to expand influence AKADEMI CHAIRMAN’S POWERS CURTAILED 11.7% Incidence Strategic military infra upgrade in the works for Andaman & Nicobar Islands EXPLAINED BY UNNY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● theIdukkidioceseandscreenthe controversial film, as part of efforts to “enlighten teenagers THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, APRIL 9 against love jihad”. The decision of the A YEAR after its release, dioceses follows veheTheKeralaStoryisroiling ment criticism by the rulthe state’s heated politing CPI(M) and ical battlefield, with Opposition Congress of other Catholic dioceses state-runDoordarshanfor DECISION its screening of the film, announcingplanstofol2024 low in the footsteps of days ahead of the Lok SHAJU PHILIP Was released in May last year 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 release in May 2023. On Tuesday, as the dioceses’ move became known, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan slammedthefilmas“againstthe cultural ethos of the state”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A PHONE call from the Indian Consulate in New York on the eveof Eidshattered thefamilyof Mohammed Abdul Arfath – the 25-year-old Indian student who went missing in the US last month and has beenfounddead 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 family had been holding on to hope. Arfath had gone to the US in May 2023 to pursue Masters in Mohammed Abdul Arfath. (Twitter/ @IndiainNewYork) ITfromClevelandUniversity.“He used to call regularly and would tell us he missed us. He said he was doing well in his studies; he hadbigaspirationsanddreams,” said a family member. The family, residing in Hyderabad’sMalkajgiri,lostcontact with him around March 7, when they discovered that his mobile phone was switched off and he had not contacted them for two-three days. This was unusual since he would call daily. On March 17, Arfath’s father Salim received a mysterious phone call from the US, with an unidentified person claiming thathehadbeenkidnapped,and demanding a ransom of $1,200 to release him. The caller threatened to sell Arfath’s kidneys if the amount was not paid immediately. “Wewerescared,disoriented CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Citizenship dream turns sour for lives caught in swap of enclaves 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 BANGLADESH themarginsof thepollcampaign — amidst all the CAA talk. As part of the IndiaBangladesh agreement, 111 'Indian' enclaves spread over 17,160 acres inside Bangladesh At Madhya Masaldanga in Cooch Behar district. Partha Paul went to Bangladesh, while 51 'Bangladeshi' enclaves occupying 7,110 acres in India became the property of India. The residents 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 Jaipur 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 whomcamefrom Kurigram district 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, we were assured we wouldberehabilitated,giventhe same amount of land as we had in Bangladesh and get employment, apart from Rs 5 lakh per family. None of that has happened.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2