DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, JUNE 24, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BIHAR POLICE ARREST FIVE MORE SUNDAY TAKING TOTAL IN CUSTODY TO 18 24/06/2024 100 128 158 76 Inburntscraps,BiharPolicefound68 questionsmatching‘original’NEETpaper Serial numbers identical, centre code matched; Hazaribagh principal says leak possible before papers arrived Exam ‘irregularities’, train accident & Bangladesh water treaty among issues RITIKA CHOPRA EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 Those helping terrorists should be tried under Enemy Agents law: J&K DGP ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, JUNE 23 THOSEFOUNDhelpingterrorists inJammuandKashmirshouldbe triedbyprobeagenciesunderthe EnemyAgentsOrdinance,which is much harsher than the UAPA andhasthepunishmentof either life term or death sentence, J&K DGP R R Swain said Sunday. “In Jammu and Kashmir, we have a special law — Enemy Agents Ordinance,” Swain told reporters after inaugurating a THE BIHAR government’s communication to the Centre that its probe “clearly suggests a paper leak” in the NEET-UG exam is based on the fact that its EconomicOffencesUnit(EOU)is said to have matched 68 questions (of the estimated 200) retrieved from the burnt remains of a purported photocopy of the question paper with the original one that the National Testing Agency (NTA) shared with the EOU five days ago, The Indian Express has learned. TheEOU'sreport,receivedby NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 One of the accused in the NEET-UG case in Patna on Sunday. PTI theEducationMinistrySaturday, also states that the unique exam centrecode,of aschoolthatwere CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Students arrive at a school in Haryana’s Jhajjar for the NEET-UG retest on Sunday. Abhinav Saha CBI takes over NEET probe; NTA In Jharkhand, e-rickshaw looks to debar 17 Bihar candidates ferried papers, chain of Bihar and Gujarat transfer their cases to central agency custody under scanner RITIKA CHOPRA & EXPRESS NETWORK ABHISHEK ANGAD RANCHI, JUNE 23 AS PART of their probe into the alleged NEET-UG paper leak, investigators in Bihar and Jharkhand looked at courier and transportcompaniestaskedwith ferryingthequestionpapers,and foundlaxityonthepartof atleast one company that used an erickshaw to getthejob done, The Indian Express has learnt. After probe officers in Bihar found that the serial code found on the burnt remains of a leaked questionpaperswasof anexamination center in Jharkhand’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Sunday took over the probe into the alleged irregularitiesintheNEET-UGexam byregisteringacriminalcasewhile theNationalTestingAgency(NTA) sentshow-causenoticesthreaten- BIHAR: GANG MEMBER WHO GOT SOLVED PAPER AMONG 5 HELD AT RETEST CENTRE, UNCERTAINTY AND ANXIETY PAGE 5 ingdebarmentto17candidatesin Patna, based on the report sent to the Centre by the Bihar Police’s EconomicOffencesUnit. According to sources, the EducationMinistryisof theview thattheirregularitiesmentioned in the Bihar EOU report are a “localised problem” that can be addressed by debarring the candidates involved. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Chhattisgarh’s Korba After historic win over Aussies, Rashid sends district, first signs of a message home: ‘Roll up sleeves... celebrate’ progress in lithium 3-way PRATYUSH RAJ contest mining after setbacks ● forlast 4 E X P L A I NE D E NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 AGGAM WALIA NEW DELHI, JUNE 23 EXPLORATION OF LITHIUM, a critical mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries, in Chhattisgarh's Korba district has moved a step further with one block advancing to the second roundof auctionsandpromising deposits now being found in the initial exploration of another block, according to latest information available with the Union Mines Ministry. The reassuring signs from Korba come after a series of roadblocks in the Centre’s endeavour to develop India’s first lithium mine including the can- cellation of auction of a lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K’s)Reasidistrictduetoinsufficientinvestorinterest,shelving of exploration plans in Manipur’s Kamjong district due to“localresistance”,and“notencouraging” results from exploration in Ladakh and Assam. In Korba, just south of the lithiumblockcurrentlyunderauction, a private exploration company funded by the National MineralExplorationTrust(NMET) has found hard rock lithium deposits ranging from 168 to 295 parts per million (ppm). Further exploration could pin down the reservesestimatetoalargenumber. Lithium exploration in other CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Resurgent Opp sharpens knives as House session begins today MOMENTS AFTER Afghanistan’s historic 21-run win over Australia in the Super 8 game of theT20WorldCupatKingstown, avideocroppedupontheteam’s social media account that conveyed what the conquest meant for the nation that has historically seen many invasions. The clip had captain Rashid Khan, 25, and Man of the Match Gulbadin Naib, 33, passionately belting out a Pashto verse. There were no subtitles. Maybe, there was no need as this was the team’s two old hands talking directly to the fans back home. Kandahar-born Delhi University PhD student and cricket fan Nazamudin Asar, after sharing his excitement over his team’s chances of making it Afghanistan players after winning their T20 World Cup match against Australia on Saturday. PTI tothesemifinalfromagroupthat has India and Australia, translated the verse. “‘Roll up your sleeves, come celebrate and dance. Poor people like us rarely getthechancetoenjoyashappiness belongs to those who are strong and rich...’ That’s what they were singing, that’s exactly what Afghanistan feels today,” AFGHANISTAN’S WIN over Australia makes it a three-way contest for the semifinal spots in Group 1. In the group’s final two games, Afghanistan vs Bangladesh and India vs Australia, wins for Afghanistan and India will take both to the last four. If not, Net Run Rate will be key. India can miss out if Aussies beat them by a big margin and Afghanistan beat Bangladesh. Asarsaid,beforeaddingatypical self-deprecating Afghan touch. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE FIRST Parliament session of the 18th Lok Sabha will begin Mondayand,unlikein2014andin 2019,themoodintheHouseisexpectedtobedifferent.Aresurgent Opposition,unitedinspiritandupbeatsincetheirnumbersandheft havegoneup,appears combative andisgearinguptocrankuppressure on the NDA Government on several fronts, especially over the alleged irregularities related to NEET-UGandNETexams. The government, on the other hand, appears to be in no mood to be on the backfoot. It hasalreadyshuntedoutthechief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and appointed an expert committee to recommend a roadmap for examination reforms and review of the agency. On the eve of the session, whichwillhaveeightsittingsand will conclude on July 3, the main opposition Congress signaled that mere shuffling of bureaucrats was not a solution and the buck stops at the doorstep of the BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY top echelons of the government. And it was not just the NEETNET issue. The Oppositionis also upsetovertheGovernment’sdecisiontoappointseven-termBJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as the protemSpeaker,overlookingthe claim of eight-term Lok Sabha MP from the Congress Kodikunnil Suresh. Accusing the Government of flouting conventions in appointment of the pro tem speaker, the Congress has also alleged that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 CoBRA jawans killed in Sukma as Maoists target truck with IED JAYPRAKASH S NAIDU RAIPUR, JUNE 23 TWOJAWANSof theCommando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were killed Sunday afternoon after Maoists set off an improvised explosive device (IED) targeting their truck near Timapuram village in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. Accordingtoofficials,theIED wasplantedbyMaoistshidingin the jungle area between the police camps in Silger and Tekalgudem villages. The CoBRA jawans in the truck were taking ration material for security forces stationed at the newly built Tekalgudem police camp. The truck was driven by CoBRA jawan Vishnu R (35), while another jawan, Shailendra (29), was seated next to him. When the truck neared Timapuram village at around 3 pm, the Maoists set off the IED, killing the two jawans. Vishnu was a resident of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala andShailendrawasfromKanpur in Uttar Pradesh. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAOIST VIOLENCE THIS YEAR JAN 30: 3 CRPF jawans, 2 of them from CoBRA, killed in Tekalgudem encounter. IED blast in Bijapur. MARCH 3: Bastar Fighters FEB 18: Chhattisgarh constable killed in Kanker. One Maoist also killed. FEB 25: CAF jawan killed in JUNE 15: Special Task Force jawan killed in encounter in Abujhmad. Eight Maoists also killed. Armed Force (CAF) company commander hacked to death in Bijapur.