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 WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ENCOUNTER IN FOREST AREA OF JAMMU’S DODA DISTRICT 17/07/2024 94 122 150 78 Captain among four Army personnel killed in J&K gunfight, search ops on JAMMU, JULY 16 NITI Aayog reconstituted, govt allies as special invitees AGGAM WALIA NEW DELHI, JULY 16 THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday reconstituted the NITIAayog,increasing the number of special invitees from five to 11, including five ministers from the BJP’s allies — H D Kumaraswamy (JDS), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD-U), K R Naidu (TDP) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-Ram Vilas). Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the Chairperson and economist Suman K Bery will continue to be the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog, according to the notification. Scientist V K Saraswat, agricultural economist Ramesh Chand, paediatrician V K Paul and AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & NAVEED IQBAL FOUR ARMY personnel, including a Captain, were killed in an encounter with a group of militants late Monday night inside Koti forests in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Army identified the four as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay — from Rashtriya Rifles — and said they had “laid down their lives in the line of duty, while undertaking a counter terrorist operation in Doda in order to ensure peace in the region”. This comes a week after five soldiers were killed when militants ambushed a convoy of two Army trucks in Kathua district on July 8. In fact, since the June 9 terror attackonabuscarryingpilgrims inReasi,Jammuhasseenasurge in militant activity, with the security establishment often the target. At least 10 security personnel have been killed and severalothersinjuredinencounters inJammudivision’sReasi,Kathua and Doda districts since then. The militants who killed the four Army personnel in Monday night’s encounter are suspected tobethesamegroupthatfledafter attacking security forces in the district’s Sezan forests on THELATESTencounterinJammu and Kashmir’s Doda district has once again laid bare the gaps in the security infrastructure of a belt that saw long stretches of peace until recent years. Since 2021, areas south of the Pir Panjal range,including Poonch, Rajouri ● and Jammu, have seen a surgeinhigh-intensityterrortargetingsecurityforcesandcivilians. In January, former Army Chief General Manoj Pande acknowledged that terrorism in that area had been brought under control by 2003, and the region saw peace till 2017-18. However, he admitted that India’sadversarieshavebeenactively abetting terrorismandencouraging “proxy tanzeems (groups with a common objective)” in this area, even as the situationintheKashmirValleywas getting back to normal. While there were three attacks each in the Jammu region against security forces in 2022 and 2023, six attacks have been recorded so far this year. Significantly, six security force personnel were killed in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, SRINAGAR, JULY 16 E EXPLAINED BY UNNY Behind surge: Reduced troops, intel networks ARUN SHARMA BUSINESS AS USUAL Second attack in a week; ground forces assisted by helicopter, drone surveillance J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha pays tribute to the Army personnel killed in the encounter in Doda district at the Technical Airport in Jammu, Tuesday. PTI He always wanted to join Army: Captain’s family RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, JULY 16 Clockwise from top left: Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Ajay Kumar Singh and Sepoy Bijendra RELATED REPORTS PAGE 10 THE GRIEVING family of Captain Brijesh Thapa (27), the Army officerkilledintheencounterwith militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda, expressed their pride in him, with his father saying that he was “intelligent and disciplined”, and his mother recalling that he had wanted to join the Army since childhood. Captain Thapa’s father, Colonel Buwanesh Thapa (retd), said he too served in Kashmir during his time in the Armed Forces,andcalledonthegovernment to “identify and curtail the supportbaseof militants”inJ&K. Brijesh Thapa was among four soldiers killed on Monday in an encounter that broke out aftermilitantshidingintheDesa forests of Doda district opened fireatsecurityforcesconducting search operations. Colonel Thapa said while the family was grieving the loss of their son, they were proud of him.Healsohadsomeadvicefor other young men in the Army. “I would like to tell the young men there that they should be very CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Under fire, IAS trainee Khedkar recalled, her training put on hold IN CONVERSATION EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, JULY 16 INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE Service (IAS) probationer Puja Khedkar, who faces allegations of misusing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons With Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quotas, has been “recalled” to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) and her “district training programme” has been put “on hold”. In a letter to Khedkar on Tuesday,MaharashtraAdditional Puja Khedkar Chief SecretaryNitinGadresaid: “It is informed that Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy and Administration, Mussoorie, has decided to keep your district trainingprogrammeonholdand immediately recall you for furthernecessaryaction.Therefore, youareherebyrelievedfromthe CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Chesslegend Viswanathan Anand,wifeArunaandtop playerArjunErigaisiwith Anant Goenka,Executive Director,TheIndianExpress Group,and AmitKamath, AssistantEditor,TheIndian Express,attheExpressAdda in ChennaionTuesday. Abhinav Saha PLAN TO HOLD BOARD EXAMS TWICE A YEAR On Govt table: CBSE’s second board exam for Class 12 in June ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, JULY 16 IN KEEPING with the plan to conduct board exams twice a year, as recommended by the NationalCurriculumFramework for School Education (NCFSE), the Government is considering scheduling a second Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam for Class 12 students in June from 2026, The Indian Express has learnt. Currently, a Class 12 student appearsfortheCBSEboardexam in February-March. After the resultsaredeclaredinMay,shehas the option to improve her performanceinonesubjectthrough “supplementary exams” held in July. Students who have not cleared their papers and whose results have been declared as “compartment” can also sit for the “supplementary exams”. This year, for instance, “supple- mentary exams” for Class 12 were held on July 15. However, the new National EducationPolicy,2020,envisages moving away from high-stakes exams and proposes biannual boardexamstoprovidestudents with more opportunities. In line withthis,theEducationMinistry has asked the CBSE to prepare a proposal for holding two board exams per year, to be implemented from 2026. Although the government is yet to decide the final shape and formof thetwo-boardexamsystem, one option on the table is for students to take a second set of exams in June, a source said. Instead of the current system where Class 12 students take “supplementaryexams”for“improvement of performance” in only one subject, they would have the option to retake their exams in any or all subjects of their choice in June. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RSS-linked weekly blames BJP’s poor Maharashtra LS show on tie-up with NCP ALOK DESHPANDE MUMBAI, JULY 16 WEEKS AFTER an article in the RSS-linked magazine Organiser called the Lok Sabha poll results a “reality check for overconfident” BJP leaders and workers, a Sangh-affiliatedMarathiweekly has blamed the Maharashtra BJP’s poor performance in the polls on its alliance with the Ajit Pawar-led NCP besides the lack of communication between the party, its workers and the NDA government in the state. “Every (BJP) worker, while narrating the unease and reasons for failure in the Lok Sabha polls (in Maharashtra), starts with the alliance with the NCP. It is clear that the workers of the BJP have not liked joining hands with the NCP. Even the BJP leaders know this,” the cover story titled “Karyakarta khachlela nahi, tar sambhramat (Worker is not discouraged, but confused)” in the latest issue of “Vivek” weekly stated. The BJP, which contested the Lok Sabha elections in the state (48 seats) in alliance with the NCP and the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, could win only nine seats out of 28 it contested – down from the 23 seats it had won in the 2019 polls. The Shinde Sena and the NCP won seven seats and one outof 15andfourseatstheycontested respectively. The Vivek article went on to say that the BJP's alliance with CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MAHARASHTRA THE WORLD 5 KILLED AFTER BUS, TRACTOR COLLIDE ON MUMBAI-PUNE E-WAY KIRTIKAR MOVES HC SEEKING WAIKAR’S VICTORY ‘VOID’ PAGE 4 TRUMP AT PARTY CONVENTION AFTER ASSASSINATION BID VANCE, ONCE A TRUMP CRITIC, NOW HIS RUNNING MATE P12