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 FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘WANT 1 LAKH YOUTH IN POLITICS, 75,000 NEW MEDICAL SEATS IN 5 YEARS’ PM’s UCC pitch: Time for secular civil code, lived 75 yrs with communal one On Bangladesh, says its development will always have India’s good wishes NEW DELHI, AUGUST 15 INVOKINGTHEConstitutionand the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch Thursday for the Uniform Civil Code, saying it’s timethecountrymovestowards a civil code that is “secular” and not “communal” and “discriminatory” as the existing one. Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 78th Independence Day, the Prime Minister said, “In our country, the Supreme Court has repeatedly discussed the Uniform Civil Code. Many times orders have been given because a largesectionof thecountry believes — and there is truth in it — that the Civil Code that we are living with is actually a kind of CommunalCivilCode,adiscriminatory Civil Code.” “Whenwearecelebrating75 E E X P L A I NE D HARIKISHAN SHARMA The last of BJP’s 3 ● promises FOR THE BJP, the UCC is the last of three promises that needs to be fulfilled — its goals of ending J&K’s special status under Article 370 and construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya have been attained. Partyruled Uttarakhand’s UCC is to serve as a template for other states under the party until a nationwide law is enacted. yearsof theConstitution,andthe spirit of the Constitution also tells us to do what the Supreme Court of the country tells us to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Wary BJP allies wait and watch, underline need for ‘consensus’ DEEPTIMAN TIWARY & NIKHILA HENRY A military helicopter showers flower petals during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address to the nation from Red Fort on Thursday. Praveen Khanna To say we had a communal civil code until now is insult to Ambedkar: Cong ASAD REHMAN NEW DELHI, AUGUST 15 INDIA BLOC allies Congress and theRJD criticisedPrimeMinister Narendra Modi for seeking a “secular civil code” in his Independence Day speech Thursday, while calling the existingone“communal”and“discriminatory”. The Congress called the PM’s remarks “a gross insult” to Dr B R Ambedkar, while the RJD said Modi’s address seemed like “an election speech”. Congress general secretary in-charge, communications, Jairam Ramesh said Modi’s speech again showed that his “capacity for malice, mischief, and maligning of history knows CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, AUGUST 15 AS PRIME Minister Narendra Modi called for a “secular civil code” for the country, in place of the existing “communal civil code”, during his Independence Day speech Thursday, BJP allies TDP, JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) reacted with caution. Modi’s reiteration of one of theSanghParivar’scoreideological issues — rechristened as “secular civil code” instead of “Uniform Civil Code (UCC)” — and especially during his Independence Day speech, was significant as it underlined his government’s commitment to INSIDE 2019 TO 2024 SHIFT: REFRAMING UCC AND DYNASTY, INVOKING CONSTITUTION PAGE 5 thesamedespiteitsdependence on allies for power now. Two of those partners, JD(U) and TDP, with large Muslim vote banksinthestatesruledbythem respectively, have earlier opposed any legislation in this regardwithoutwiderconsultation. Asked about Modi’s speech, JD(U) national general secretary K C Tyagi told The Indian Express: “CM Nitish Kumar made a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Damaged medical equipment at the R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which was vandalised by a mob on Wednesday night. Partha Paul RELATEDREPORT,PAGE6 Kolkata rape-murder: Mob targets protesters, vandalises hospital; 12 arrested so far Protesting doctors claim police left them when miscreants showed up RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, AUGUST 15 AFTERTHElate-nightvandalism at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, police on Thursdayarrested12peopleand are looking for dozens of others who were part of the mob. Late Wednesday night, as doctors gathered to protest against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the institute, hundreds of miscreants had showed up and wreaked havoc at the venue. On Thursday morning, the emergencybuildingtoldthestory of whathadtranspiredtheprevious night. Shattered glass, damagedmedicalequipment,broken beds, and destroyed medicines layscatteredacrossroomsonthe ground floor, while doctors and nurses could be seen trying to erect their protest tents again. Manydoctorssaidthatwhen the miscreants showed up, police left the protesters to fend for themselves. They said the miscreants BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY We did all we could, can’t shoot people: Police chief SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, AUGUST 15 chased away and assaulted the protesters, barged into the Emergency building, and ransacked the rooms on the ground floor using sticks and hammers. “We were attacked around midnight. The police ran faster than us. The goons beat some of us and ransackedthe area. It was clearly meant to intimidate us,” a protesting doctor, who did not wish to be identified, said. Eyewitnesses said the police were outnumbered and officers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOURS AFTER a violent mob stormed into R G Kar Medical College and Hospital and vandalised the area where people were protesting against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at the institute, Kolkata Police CommissionerVineetGoyalsaid the police did “everything we could, but we can’t shoot the people”. Policehavefacedcriticismfor their handlingof the case,which has now been transferred to the CBI. Late Wednesday night, the hospital’s emergency department, critical care units, and police outposts were damaged in the attack by miscreants who disrupted the protest. Goyalsaida“maliciousmedia campaign” was to blame for the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 101 Attack on Hindus in India put all eggs in one (Hasina) Thought she might die, Bangladesh a cause of basket, needs to shift policy: BNP says Vinesh’s coach on weight-cut before final concern, says Bhagwat 123 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 16/08/2024 73 64 THE WORLD NEWROUNDOF GAZATRUCETALKS STARTINDOHA P10 EXPRESS INDHAKA MUMBAI, AUGUST 15 EXPRESSING SERIOUS concern over attack on Hindus in Bangladesh, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday urged the Indian government to ensuretheirsafetyandwellbeing. Speaking in Nagpur on Thursday after hoisting the Tricolor to commemorate the 78th Independence Day at the RSS headquarters, Bhagwat spokeaboutthepoliticalturmoil in Bangladesh after its Prime MinisterSheikhHasina resigned and fled the country. Pointingout thatthepolitical SHUBHAJIT ROY DHAKA, AUGUST 15 RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur on Thursday. ANI instability and uncertainty in Bangladesh does not augur well for India, he said, “Our country hasagreatresponsibilitytowards the people who are subjected to atrocities... The government has CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 UNDERLINING THAT India’s foreign policy mandarins in South Block made a “massive policy blunder”anda“politicalblunder” by deciding to put “all its eggs in one basket”, top BNP leader and former Cabinet minister Abdul Moyeen Khan has said there is “immediate need” for India to have a “renewed look” at its Bangladeshpolicyinthis“hourof crisis” following the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In an interview to The Indian THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW ABDUL MOYEEN KHAN BNP SENIOR LEADER FULL INTERVIEW ON www.indianexpress.com ExpressathisresidenceinDhaka’s Gulshanneighbourhood,77-yearold Khan said, “We believe in friendship with India. India is on our three sides of the borders. Indiaiswithus,dayinanddayout. Why would we not want to have a good relationship with India? Now there has to be a policy shift in India. We hope the Indian government... will calibrate foreign policy and politics… There is an immediate need to have a renewed look of Bangladesh from India’s security and the strategic establishments as well.” He said, “Bangladesh... will neverbepro-Pakistan.”Hesaidhe willbe“surprisedifanyformalrequest is made to the Indian government”forHasina’sextradition since “an extradition treaty may notbeapplicableincaseof politicalasylumseekers”thoughDelhi has not yet made clear on what basis she has been accommodated in India. Excerpts from the interview: On Hasina government fall Sheikh Hasina had captured the civil administration, police, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHIVANI NAIK MUMBAI, AUGUST 15 VINESH PHOGAT'S coach at the Paris Games, Woller Akos, has said he feared that the wrestler “might die” by the end of the five-and-a-half hours of intense weight-cut the night before the Olympic final. Facing criticism after Phogat was disqualified from the 50-kg final for being 100g overweight, the Hungarian, in a social media post on Thursday, said the team did everything possible before the second-day weigh-in so that the wrestler could take the mat for the gold-medal bout. In a Facebook post in Hungarian, which he later took Phogat was disqualified for being overweight by 100g down,AkoshighlightedPhogat's commitment to secure her first Olympic medal. “After the semifinal, 2.7 kgof excessweightwas left; we exercised for one hour and twenty minutes, but 1.5 kg still remained. Later, after 50 minutes of sauna, not a drop of sweat appeared on her. There was no choice left, and from midnightto5:30inthemorning, she worked on different cardio machines and wrestling moves, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Californium that wasn’t: How ‘radioactive’ metal kept Bihar cops on edge PAGE 1 ANCHOR SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, AUGUST 15 ON AUGUST 9, the police in Bihar’s Gopalganj seized what they thought was a highly unusual and dangerous contraband: 50 grams of the highly radioactive metal Californium, estimated to be worth Rs 850 crore. Soon, atomic scientists dressed in special anti-radiation suits, protective gloves and nuclear grade half masks de- scended on Gopalganj and isolated it, only to eventually discover that it might not be radioactive at all. Californiumisasilvery-white synthetic radioactivemetalwith theatomicnumber98ontheperiodic table. First made in 1950 at Berkeley, California — from where it derives its name — Californiumisavery strongneutron emitter and is used in portable metal detectors for identifying gold and silver ores, tohelpidentifywaterandoillayers in oil wells, and detect metal fatigue and stress in aeroplanes. It is highly radioactive and prohibitively expensive, with one gram costing Rs 17 crore in the international market. It started with a tip from a source who claimed that three people travelling on a bike from UttarPradesh’sKushinagarwere smuggling in something “very valuable”. A team posted near Belthari villageunder theKuchaikotepolice station quickly intercepted the bike ridden by daily wagers Chhotelal Prasad (40) from Tamkuhi Raj in Kushinagar, Chandan Gupta (40) and Chandan Ram (28) from Gopalganj. In Chhotelal’s pant pocket,theteamfoundaniridescent lump weighing 50 grams Experts from FSL teams at Kuchaikote Police Station in Gopalganj, Bihar. Govind Kumar and wrapped in carbon paper. Anaccompanyingcertificate, allegedly bearing the name IIT Madras, claimed the lump was Californium. Thepoliceteamimmediately contacted the local forensic science team, who told them that the contraband was extremely radioactive and should be handled with care. Heeding this advice, the police team wore surgical masks and wrapped the metallic lump in a plastic bag. They then carefully placed this in a metal box and removed it to the Kuchaikotepolicestation,where they kept it in a room 50 metres from the station's operational area and ordered the staff to mask up. Meanwhile, the three men were detained. On August 10, a three-member team from the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Mumbai’s Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) visited the police station to check if the objectwasindeedradioactive.Its initial findings showed there was no radioactivity, although the team has now sent samples to a Forensic Science Laboratory in Mumbai for testing and is awaiting a final report. On August 12, Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Swarn Prabhatissuedapressreleaseon the DAE’s findings. The statement said: “The DAE has confirmed in its report that there was no presence of radioactivity around the seized substance. Elemental analysis of the object would be also done at (a) chemical laboratory even as DAE's team has already taken its sample with them.” Police investigators also found the certificate to be false, sources said. The findings led the Kuchaikote police station, on edge since the substance was CONTINUED ON PAGE 2