DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ONLY BUSINESS ON LAST DAY: 39-MEMBER PANEL FOR BILLS ON JOINT POLLS The cold, bitter end BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY A protest against the Parbhani police custody death near the Collector’s office in Thane on December 16. Deepak Joshi ‘He aspired to be just 1% of Babasaheb, but police killed him’: A family seeks justice Bhagwat: Ram temple matter of faith, raking up new issues unacceptable In Parbhani’s Dalit areas, allegations of police brutality do the rounds PARBHANI, DECEMBER 20 SEATEDONacotinthecourtyard of arelative’shouseinAnnabhau SatheNagarareaof Parbhanidistrict, Vijayabai Suryawanshi remembers her son as “an avid booklover”.“Hisonlyassetswere his books, running into hundreds. He aspired to be even 1% of what Babasaheb (B R Ambedkar) was,” Vijayabai says. On December 15, Somnath Suryawanshi, who was studying to become a lawyer like Ambedkar, died in custody, two daysbeforehislawexam.Theinterimpostmortemreportattributed the immediate cause of death as “shock following multiple injuries”. Somnath’s death triggered protests in Parbhani town as it followed allegations of widespread police brutality in rounding up people from its Dalit ar- Amid protests, Speaker Crime Branch to investigate BJP’s issues warning, Dhankhar FIR against Rahul, Cong complaint flags ‘severe criticism’ Make scuffle footage public, says Cong; Stormy EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 20 THE WINTER session of Parliament came to an acrimonious end Friday when the two Houses were adjourned sine die after a few minutes of business amid the faceoff between the ruling NDA and the Opposition. The divide appeared to have deepened a day after they clashed on the premises of Parliament, accusing each other of insulting Dr B R Ambedkar. Two minutes after proceedings began in the morning, Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die as Opposition members stormed the Well of the House, raising slogans of ‘Jai Bhim’ and protesting a remark by Union Home Minister Amit Shah which they called an insult of Ambedkar. Amid the din, Speaker Om BirlaallowedLawMinisterArjun Ram Meghwal to move the proposal that the Bills related to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP gives notice against Rahul, Kharge PRAGYNESH, ASAD REHMAN & LALMANI VERMA NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 20 A DAY after it registered an FIR against Leader of Opposition RahulGandhionaBJPcomplaint followingascuffleonParliament premises in which two BJP MPs were injured, Delhi Police transferred the case to its Crime VARINDER BHATIA CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 20 THE WORLD OM PRAKASH CHAUTALA 1935-2024 farmer leaders of Haryana. It was in 1968 that Chautala fought his first political battle from Ellenabad, which was con- sidered his father's bastion, on a Janata Party ticket. He, however, lost to Lalchand Khor of Vishal HaryanaParty,formedbyformer CMRaoBirenderSingh.Chautala challenged the election in High Court and after about one year, Khor's election was set aside. A bypoll was conducted and Chautala won the seat, marking his Assembly debut. Since then, the journey of Chautala — the man with 90% physical disability who couldn’t even “change his clothes on his own”, a plea his lawyers took while seeking leniency after he was convicted of corruption CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ● days ahead THE END of the winter session on an acrimonious note has deepened the divide, and hardened positions on either side. It is likely that this faceoff will play out across the country in the days leading to the Budget session of Parliament. LPG tanker-truck crash PARUL KULSHRESTHA JAIPUR, DECEMBER 20 AT 5:45 AM — 15 minutes after he dropped his nephew Harlal and another relative, Raju, at the Jaipur-Ajmer highway to board a truck to take them back home — Mohanlal (47) got a distressingcall:therehadbeenanexplosion and that Harlal was nowhere to be found. The explosion occurred after the truck they were travelling in collidedwithanLPGtankerwhile it was taking a U-turn on the EXPRESS NETWORK SC: PUNJAB SHOULD ENSURE DALLEWAL’S HEALTH IS STABLE DHARAVI PROJECT: HC DISMISSES DUBAI FIRM PLEA PAGE 4 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE PUNE, NEW DELHI, DEC 20 UNDERLINING THAT Ram temple in Ayodhya was a “matter of faith” for Hindus, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that it is“unacceptable”torakeup“such new issues on a daily basis” simply because of “extreme hatred, malice, enmity and suspicion”. His remarks come amid the debate over the Places of WorshipAct,thechallengetothe validity of which is before the Supreme Court, and a clamour for surveys of mosques and dargahs in different parts of the country. In his address on “VishwaguruBharat”atalecture series in Pune on Thursday, Bhagwat said, “Ram temple is a matter of faith for Hindus. The Hindus believed Ram temple should be constructed. But by doing that one does not become a Hindu leader….” “Under the burden of the extreme past, it is not acceptable to resorttoextremehatred,malice, enmity, suspicion and rake up suchnewissuesonadailybasis,” Bhagwat said. He said that while the world believes that all have to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 At the site of the accident in Jaipur on Friday. Rohit Jain Paras highway.Accordingtoofficials,12 peoplediedand40vehicleswere burnt in the accident. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Cops trying to connect dots in Surat bank heist: No guard on duty, alarm deactivated KAMAAL SAIYED SURAT, DECEMBER 20 TOP US OFFICIALS IN SYRIA TO DISCUSS TRANSITION TRUDEAU LOOKS SET TO LOSE POWER AS KEY ALLY VOWS TO TOPPLE HIM PAGE 15 Branch. TheInterstateCell(ISC)of the CrimeBranchwillinvestigatethe FIR against Gandhi which was registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that included those on voluntarily causing grievous hurt, use of criminal force and criminal intimidation. DCP (Crime) Sanjay Kumar Sain said, “A team led by ACP E CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Five-time Haryana CM and INLD 12 killed in explosion patriarch O P Chautala dies at 89 on Jaipur highway after INDIAN NATIONAL Lok Dal (INLD) supremo and five-time Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, patriarch of one of the most influential political families of the state, died at his Gurugram residence Friday. He was 89. Adominantfigureof Haryana politics for over five decades, Chautala was born to former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal and Harki Devi. He grew up observinghisfather,atwo-timeCM and one of the tallest Jat and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat The winter session of Lok Sabha was adjourned sine die amid pandemonium in the House Friday. PTI EXPLAINED SIDDHANT KONDUSKAR eas over a violent agitation on December 10. The agitation had been sparked off by the “desecration” of a copy of the Constitution kept next to an Ambedkar statue in the area. TheOppositionhassoughtto corner the newly elected Mahayuti government over the issue, particularly as it coincides with the war of words between the two sides in Parliament and outside over the Constitution and Ambedkar. On Friday, replying to a discussion on the Parbhani incident in the Maharashtra Assembly, Chief MinisterDevendraFadnavissaid Somnath was suffering from breathlessness and other diseases, and had not complained of any police torture when produced before a magistrate. Atthesametime,thegovernment has set up an SIT to probe the incident, suspended a police sub-inspector and sent on leave FOUR DAYS after a massive heist was reported at a Union Bank of India (UBI) branch at Kim Crossroads in Surat, police are still trying to join the dots to get the clues in a bid to trace the accused. The theft has left the investigating officials stunned as the accused allegedly broke into The hole in the wall that tells the story of the heist. Express the bank — which had no security guard on duty — by entering the office of a marble polishing unit at the backside; digging a hole into a 20-inch wall that opened into the bank locker room; and managing to deactivate the alarm system and steal jewelleryandcashfromsixlockers, police said. While police initially said that cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 40 lakh was stolen from one locker, another locker owner has now claimed that valuables and cash to the tune of Rs 63.60 lakh were stolen from his unit. So far, subsequently, theft to the tune of Rs 1.04 crore has been detected, and this amount is further expected to rise. It is suspected that an insider may have tipped off a gang to find loopholes in the security system. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Near the slopes of the Caucasus, a hotel tragedy at a ski resort reveals India-Georgia connection PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA JALANDHAR, DECEMBER 20 A DECADE ago, having hot idlis near the snow-clad Caucasus mountains in Gudauri was perhaps a pipe dream for most Indian tourists and medical students in Georgia. With Gudauri becoming a “must-visit” destination for Indian tourists and medical stu- dents — thanks to its breathtaking views, snow and hotels — restaurants serving Indian food are thriving in this scenic Europe-based ski resort. Gudauri was thrust into the spotlightonDecember14,when agasleakatanIndianrestaurant, Haveli, claimed 12 lives, including 11 Indians, due to suspected carbon monoxide poisoning during a severe snowstorm. On the day the bodies were discovered, temperatures had plunged to minus 18 degrees. According to the local media, the deaths allegedly happened after fumes An Indian restaurant in Gudauri, Georgia. Special arrangement from a generator placed in a closed room filled the premises. The incident, however, shed lightonthegrowingIndianpresence in Gudauri, which started developing as a tourist resort afterthefirsthotelwasestablished there in the late 1980s. Located neartheRussianborder,Gudauri is now home to nearly 36 Indian and Indian-Arabic restaurants, catering to the increasing number of Indian tourists and students who are primarily pursuingmedicaleducationinGeorgia. Onesuchrestaurantisowned CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad