DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FIRST BILATERAL TALKS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION US flags irregular immigration; always open to return: India At the accident site in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. PTI Passengers get off after chain-pulling, passing train runs over 12 on tracks Were spooked by rumour of fire in train: Minister SWEETY ADIMULAM & DHEERAJ MISHRA MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, JAN 22 AT LEAST 12 passengers of Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express, who got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident, were run over by another train coming from the opposite direction on the adjacent tracks in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district Wednesday evening. Ten more passengers were injured, four of them critically. Jalgaon Guardian Minister Gulabrao Patil said the passengers, mostly from the general compartment, were spooked by a rumour that the train had MAHARASHTRA SITE Jalgaon Karnataka Express Pushpak Express Maheji Accident site Pardhane Pachora Junction caught fire, and jumped out of the train. “There was a chain-pulling incident that caused the train to cometo an abrupthaltwhenthe emergencybrakeswereapplied. The friction from the brakes caused sparks to fly from the tracks. Passengers in the general compartment, fearing the train had caught fire, jumped from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUJARAT ON WAY TO RELEASE LEOPARD, GUJARAT OFFICIALS END UP IN MAHARASHTRA P6 WOMAN THROWS 2 KIDS OFF BALCONY P4 Levels of trust very high, says EAM Jaishankar SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 NEWLY-APPOINTED US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the issue of “irregular immigration”inhisveryfirstmeeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington DC Wednesday. While there was no word on the discussion on tariffs, Rubio underlined the new administration’s desire to “advance economic ties”. The two sides are also discussingthepossibilityof ameeting between Prime Minister NarendraModiandUSPresident Donald Trump on the sidelines of the AI summit in Paris on February 11-12, sources said. Jaishankartoldreportersthat “levelsof trustareveryhigh”and “the trust is a more systemic sentiment”. “There’s a very visible chemistry between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, and that also, in a sense, percolates CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Picking up the threads AS DELHI engages the new US administration, the focus will be on deepening ties especially over critical and emerging technologies, defence, energy. It was Trump who, in his first term, revived the Quad grouping to counter China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. His administration also backed India during the crises over Doklam, Pulwama, Balakot and Galwan. He left without legal papers, called after incident: Father of Saif stabbing accused Quad message to China: Oppose External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Quad counterparts Penny Wong of Australia, Marco Rubio of the US and Takeshi Iwaya of Japan in Washington, DC. PTI any action to change status quo Leaders of grouping will meet in India later this year; summit may be advanced if Trump’s calendar permits SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 US SECRETARY of State Marco Rubio held his first multilateral meeting as Foreign Ministers of the Quad grouping gathered in Washington DC and pledged to “strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”. This resolve was directed at Chinaanditsassertivebehaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, from Taiwan to the Sino-Indian border.ThefactthattheQuadmeeting was the first meeting for the newly-appointed Secretary of Statesignalsthe prioritygiven to the grouping. India will be hosting the Quad leaders’ summit this year, and efforts are underway to schedulethetripbyUSPresident BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Donald Trump to India, sources said. While there is expectation that the visit is expected to take placeinthelatterhalf of theyear, there are indications that it can beadvancedto asearlyasAprilif Trump’sdiplomatictravelcalen- dar allows that. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington DC, hosted by Rubio on his first day in office, the four nations said officials wouldmeet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders’ summit in India expected this year. “We, the Secretary of State of theUnitedStatesandtheForeign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan, met today in Washington DC to reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening aFree andOpenIndo-Pacificwherethe rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended.” The references to rule of law, democratic values and defence of territorial integrity and sovereignty are oblique references to China’s behaviour in the region. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 POLL SEASON RUSH NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 DELHI POLICE has asked its Punjabcounterpartsto“intimate tour plans and security details” of protectees during the AssemblyelectionsandRepublic Dayfunctioninthenationalcapital.Followingthis,PunjabPolice appointedanAssistantInspector General (AIG) as the nodal officer to maintain “liaison and coordination” between the two, sources said. Punjab Police has also written to all its protectees, includingstateministersandMLAs,requesting them to provide their tour details to the nodal officer, the sources said. According to the sources, on January10,aletterwassentfrom DelhiPolice'ssecuritydivisionto itscounterpartunitinPunjabled by the Additional Director General, highlighting an “area of concern relating to security of protected persons”. The letter states that in view of the heightened security alertnessinconnectionwithRepublic Day and the Delhi Assembly elections, the Punjab Police should provide information regarding tour programmes of its protectees and accompanying securitycomponentswhiletravelling to Delhi. Incompliancewiththeletter, the Punjab Police replied to the Delhi Police Commissioner and statedthatithasaskedtheADGP, Security, to maintain liaison and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, JANUARY 22 THIRTY-EIGHT HOURS after he allegedly stabbed Saif Ali Khan at the actor’s Bandra residence, Mohd Shariful Islam called his father back home in Jhalokathi, Bangladesh. Shariful told his father he had transferred 10,000 Taka to the latter’s account. Shariful said he had Rs 3,000 in savings, enough to buy food for the next few days, his father, Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, recalled while speaking to The Indian Express over the phone. Two days later, Ruhul, a clerk in a jute company, saw his son’s face splashed across news channels and social media. “Iamastonished…Wedonot haveanyfinancialproblems,and committing such a crime is not somethinganyof uscouldimagine,” Ruhul said. The 54-year-old wondered how the family can help with legal aid when Shariful is “thousands of kilometres away”. Shariful, 30, dropped out of school afterClass10andentered Mohammed Shariful Islam of Bangladesh, held for attacking actor Saif Ali Khan India illegally in April last year through an agent in Bangladesh in search of better job prospects, his father said. In Rajabaria village, Shariful earned a living for the last six years ferrying people on his motorcycle before he decided to move to India. “Due to increasing political instability here, he felt his future wasbleakinthisvillage,soheleft without any legal documents with the help of a middleman,” his father said, claiming that his eventual aim was to earn enough and move out of India. Shariful worked in a hotel in West Bengal for about a month CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 STF mourns fallen veteran: Injured in gunbattle with UP gang, Inspector dies As Punjab VIPs join campaign for AAP, Delhi Police seeks details of travel plans ALOK SINGH SAGAR RAJPUT & NAYONIKA BOSE NEETIKA JHA NOIDA, JANUARY 22 THE UP CABINET AT MAHA KUMBH Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Cabinet colleagues take a dip at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on Wednesday. PTI THOSE WHO knew him never called him ‘Sir’. To his colleagues and juniors in the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), he was ‘Dadu’, a term of endearmentfor the one who put them at ease. At 2.30 pm Wednesday, Inspector Sunil Kumar breathed his last, two days after he was shot at, allegedly by members of the Mustafa Kagga gang during an encounter in Shamli district of western UP. Kumar, 53, was hit by three bullets in the abdomen during a gunfight between 11 pm and 11.30 pm Monday at the BidoliChausana Road in the Jhinjhana area, the UP STF said in a statement. He was taken to Inspector Sunil Kumar had 3 bullet injuries Amritdhara Hospital in Karnal, where doctors referred him to the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. He underwent a sixhour surgery Tuesday. According to sources,Kumar, who was leading a team of 12 police personnel, was not wearing a bullet-proof jacket when the gunfight broke out. Neither was anyone else in the team. Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police, UP STF,LawandOrder,said,“Hewas one of the bravest in the team. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Key question as VMC gears up to desilt Vishwamitri: What about the crocodiles? PAGE 1 ANCHOR ADITI RAJA VADODARA, JANUARY 22 ONE OF the biggest challenges the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is likely to face as the project to desilt and dredge the Vishwamitri river, which faced massive flooding last year, takes off, is the relocationof nearly300crocodilesthat have made the water body their home. Among the 13-point priority listof flood-mitigationmeasures that the civic body will take up is the river-channel modification and straightening of the meanders in sections, the process for which is likely to coincide with the nesting period of the crocodiles. While officials say it is possible to carry out the work as the crocodiles are “hardy species” that are unlikely to be harmed “merely due to shifting”, experts stress on the need for a plan B, reasoningthatthe“disturbance” mayleavetheanimals,including other reptiles like monitor lizards, “agitated”. On Tuesday, the Municipal Commissioner presented before the Standing Committee the three-phase plan of the Vishwamitri project, including immediatemitigationmeasures to be undertaken before the upcoming monsoon as well as the long-term activities to rejuvenate the river. The VMC has also convened a special General Board meeting with its corporators at the Sayaji Nagar Gruh on Friday in order to showcase the presentation and “seek opinions” before commencing the much-anticipated project that could help reduce the risk of annual floods in the city. EvenastheVMChasreceived The process of straightening of meanders is likely to coincide with the nesting period of the crocodiles. Bhupendra Rana environmental clearance, it is awaiting response from the Wildlife Department to a proposal to allow the civic body to “shift crocodiles” from the Vishwamitri for the proposed activity. Speaking to The Indian Express, Agneeshwar Vyas, incharge Vadodara districtDeputy Conservator of Forests, said that the proposal of the VMC seeking the permission to shift crocodiles has been forwarded to the State Wildlife Board through the PCCF (Wildlife) and onward to theNationalWildlifeBoardsince crocodiles are a Schedule-I species of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. Vyas said that although the Vishwamitririverisnotinthejurisdiction of the forest depart- ment and, therefore, the civic body does not need permission to begin work on the project, relocation of crocodiles cannot be done without the permission of theNationalWildlifeBoard.Vyas said,“Theforestdepartmentwill be involved only if there is any potentialthreattothecrocodiles. If the VMC feels that it can carry outthework in sectionswithout actually shifting the crocodiles, they do not need any permission. In case a relocation of crocodiles is planned, the VMC will execute the same under supervisionof theforest department.” Vyas said that one of the recommendationsmadebythefor- est department is that the VMC must leave certain areas along the river course undisturbed to allow the mugger (Crocodyluspalustris) to nest. The river stretch in the city limits had close to 300 crocodiles as of the2021census,whiletheentire stretch could have at least 1100 muggers. Vyas said, “The VMC has plans to complete the entire work beforeMay, but if thework extends beyond their estimated time period, it would coincide with the nesting period, when female crocodiles also turn aggressive. We have CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad