DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, JANUARY 13, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 PM INAUGURATES INDIA’S LONGEST SEA BRIDGE IN MUMBAI CAPF personnel outside the house of West Bengal Minister Sujit Bose during an ED raid in Kolkata on Friday. Express Week after its team attacked, ED is back in action in Bengal RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, JANUARY 12 SEVEN DAYS after an Enforcement Directorate team was assaulted in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali area when they went to conduct searches at the premises of a Trinamool Congress leader, the agency was back in action on Friday — albeit with far more backup. The ED raided the residences and offices of West Bengal minister Sujit Bose, TMC MLA Tapas Roy, and former chairman of the North Dum Dum municipality Subodh Chakraborty in connection with a municipal recruitment scam. This time, central forces accompanying the ED officials were seen donning helmets and body shields, and carrying teargas canisters. This is apart from their usual gear of batons and arms. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORT PAGE 3 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with workers after inaugurating the bridge in Mumbai on Friday. ANI Atal Setu message to nation is... every corner connected: Modi SWEETY ADIMULAM MUMBAI, JANUARY 12 INAUGURATINGTHE22-kmAtal Setu, the country’s longest sea bridge,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi said Friday that the bridge symbolised a developed India even as he took a swipe at the previous governments at the Centre, saying they failed to deliver on their promises. “AtalSetuisthepictureof developed India. This is a glimpse of what a developed India is goingtobelike,”thePrimeMinister said during the inauguration of theMumbaiTransHarbourLink, which has formally been named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee SewariNhava Sheva Atal Setu. “In a developed India, there will be facilities for all, there will beprosperityforall,therewillbe speedandtherewillbeprogress. IndevelopedIndia,distanceswill be reduced and every corner of thecountrywillbeconnected.Be it life or livelihood, everything willgooncontinuously,without interruption.Thisisthemessage of Atal Setu,” he said. The six-lane bridge, which will be thrown open to the public Saturday morning, connects Sewri in Mumbai to Chirle in Raigad district. It will enhance connectivity from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai, Pune, Goa, and South India. The Prime Minister travelled the entire length of the bridge CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EDUCATION MINISTRY ORDERS INQUIRY Cloud over degree, IIM Rohtak director faces financial probe RITIKA CHOPRA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 12 MONTHS AFTER the Union Government amended the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Act, granting it greater say in the functioning of the 20 pre- mier business schools, the EducationMinistryhaslaunched an inquiry into the accounts of IIM-Rohtaktoinvestigateallegationsoffinancialirregularities,including a complaint that the institute“illegally”transferredRs2 crore to its director's account as CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AUV MAKES ‘ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY’ Seven years after IAF plane went missing, debris found off Chennai AMITABH SINHA NEW DELHI, JANUARY 12 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY The AUV that was being tested when the debris was found in the Bay of Bengal NEW DELHI, JANUARY 12 PAGE 7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Retail inflation surges to 4-month high; IIP slips to eight-month low AANCHAL MAGAZINE SC DECLINES TO STAY NEW LAW ON PICKING CEC, ECs 6,000 metres, was imported from Norway by the NIOT about six months ago for its own use, and was being lowered in the Bay of Bengal last week for testing and training purposes, when it spotted a few metal parts. “The first thing it saw was a chakra, a three-coloured SIGNALS STATUS QUO FOR RBI RETAIL INFLATION surged to a four-monthhighof 5.69percent in December driven by higher prices of food items such as pulses, spices, fruits and vegetables, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) Friday showed. SeparatelyreleasedNSOdata also showed that factory output, EXPLAINED A ROUTINE testing of a recentlyacquired automatic underwater vehicle (AUV) by the Chennaibased National Institute of Ocean Technology stumbled upon a large debris that eventu- ally solved the seven-year-old mystery of a missing transport plane of the Indian Air Force. The AN-32 transport plane, with 29 people on board, was flying from Chennai to Port Blair on July 22, 2016 when it had gone missing. The AUV, used for deep sea exploration up to a depth of E Non-food, non-fuel ● eases CORE INFLATION declining to a 48-month low is a big positive. On the industrial output side, the slide in capital goods production is an area of concern. as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), slippedtoaneight-monthlowof 2.4 per cent in November as against11.6percentamonthago, and 7.6 per cent a year ago, due to a high-base effect and slower growth in manufacturing, mining and capital goods output. This marked the second consecutivemonthofriseinheadline retail inflation and four calendar years and a quarter (51 months) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Stadium repairs, new dept: Ranji disaster wakes up Bihar govt PAGE 1 ANCHOR SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JANUARY 12 WHENMUMBAIandBiharfaced off for a Ranji Trophy fixture at Patna’sMoin-ul-Haqstadiumon January6,neithertheplayersnor thecrowdcouldhaveanticipated the sort of impact the match would have. Thestadium,hostingasignificant fixture after 27 years, was barelyreadyforone—someparts were under construction, others undergoing repair, and visitors were welcomed by overgrown A notice cautioning visitors against using the damaged gallery area Nagendra Kumar Singh grassintheseatingarea.Eventhe scoreboardwasnotclearlyvisible from all parts of the ground. With images from the match causing embarrassment to the state government, Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav visited the stadium on Friday. “We are aware of the people's grouseoverthepoorconditionof thestadium…Wehaveprepared a detailed project report for the structure,” Tejasjwi said, adding that as a sportsman himself, he could relate to the situation. “The CM has directed me to monitortherenovationwork.We plan to make it an international stadiumwithasportscomplex,a five-star hotel, restaurant, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata