eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE ‘EVERY TIME I HAVE WRITTEN A SCRIPT KEEPING AN ACTOR IN MIND, IT HASN’T WORKED’ MUMBAI,LATECITY JANUARY21,2024 14+4PAGES,`6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Sriram Raghavan on his two-decade journey as director FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Modi Sarkar ki Guarantee CBC 22201/13/0187/2324 Scan for more information ‘Vocal for Local’ creating employment opportunities Hamara Sankalp 4 times increase in Khadi sales in last 10 years; Employment opportunities created in villages through promotion of Khadi and rural enterprises' products Viksit Bharat ANNOUNCEMENT IN ASSAM DECEMBER 21 KILLING OF FOUR SOLDIERS 80 108 132 76 New thaw: Taliban envoy is R-Day guest in Abu Dhabi SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 20 THE INDIAN Embassy in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has invited Taliban’s envoy, Badruddin Haqqani, for the RepublicDaycelebrationsinAbu Dhabi. Badruddin Haqqani, one of the sons of Jalaluddin Haqqani, was appointed Ambassador in October 2023. His brother, Sirajuddin Haqqani, is the Interior Minister of Afghanistan. Among the prominent leaders of the Taliban, the Haqqani network was involved in several terror attacks, including on the IndianEmbassyinKabulin2008. Acopyoftheinvitation,issued inthenameofIndianAmbassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir, was tweetedbyAfghanjournalistBilal Sarwary, who is now based outside of Afghanistan. The Indian Express verified the invite. New Delhi’s view is that the Indian government has been CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Centretofence India-Myanmar border,endfree movement:Shah In Poonch, torture of 5 more slipped under radar, J&K police ask for medical records ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, JANUARY 20 ADAYaftertheDecember21terror attack in Poonch on an Army convoy in which four soldiers were killed, eight civilians were picked up and allegedly tortured bysecurityforces—threeofthem died,fivewereadmittedfortreatment at Government Medical Hospital,Rajouri.Therewerefive more civilians who have alleged tortureanddetention,The Indian Express has confirmed. All are residents of Topa Pir village in Poonch and were admittedtoanotherhospitalonthe night of December 22 and discharged on January 13. They slipped under the official radar amid high-profile visits by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Army Chief Manoj Pande,bothof whomflaggedthe excesses and assured the families of justice. The Jammu and Kashmir police are learnt to have asked the Armytoprovidemedicalrecords of these five men, identified as: Riaz (25) and his brother Farooq (19), Israel (20), Jameel (18), and Irfan (18). Said a senior police officer: “Their records are needed as the injured have to be produced before a judicial magistrate to record their statements as part of the enquiry into the death of three civilians… These five are Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes a dip in the sea during his visit to Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, on Saturday. PTI During a patrol in Poonch after the Dec 21 attack. File eyewitnesses since they were picked up alongside the three from Topa Pir who died.” Wazir Hussian, the father of Riaz and Farooq, told The Indian Express that his family had received, for each son, Rs 2.5 lakh in compensation — Rs 1 lakh fromtheciviladministrationand Rs 1.5 lakh from the Army when the men were discharged. The former sarpanch of Topa Pir, Mehmood Bhat, confirmed that he had helped the families getthechequesfromtheciviladministration. The Army spokesperson did not respondto queries aboutthe five men. Theambushof theArmyconvoy took place on Mughal road between Dehra Ki Gali and Bufliaz. The next morning, eight civilians were picked up from Topa Pir in Poonch district’s Bufliazarea,andfivefromRajouri district’s Thanamandi area. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Flowers, water from across the country in rituals around new idol MAULSHREE SETH AYODHYA, JANUARY 20 LESS than 48 hours before the consecration scheduled for January22,anelaborateandprotracted set of rituals around the 51-inch idol of Ram Lalla were completed Saturday. The new idol’s eyes, still covered with cloth, underwent different “adhivas” rituals, which involved draping the entire frame in a variety of flowers brought from locations across the country including Tamil RANCHI, JANUARY 20 AFTER SKIPPING the Enforcement Directorate's summons seven times, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was questioned for seven-anda-half hoursathisresidencehere on Saturday, amid a show of strength by his ministers and supporters. The money laundering case against Soren pertains to an allegedlandscam.Itislinkedtothe ownershipof alandparcelmeasuring 7.16 acres, in Bajra area of Ranchi, allegedly acquired Hemant Soren addresses supporters after the ED questioning, Saturday. PTI through “proceeds of crime” involving illegal sale of Army land. IASofficerChhaviRanjan,alsoan accused in the case, is currently in judicial custody. The ED officials arrived at Soren's residence at 12.30 pm and left a little before 8.30 pm. Soon after the ED team left, Soren stepped out to address his supporters. Alleging a BJP conspiracy to topple his government, he said: “An Adivasi has become the Chief Minister with your support, with the blessings of Adivasis and Moolvasis… These people (BJP) can’t do anything politically, therefore they CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, JANUARY 20 THE RAJASTHAN High Court has turned down a 11-year-old rape victim’s plea to terminate her 32-week pregnancy, saying that abortion at such an advanced stage could “endanger” her life andthata fully developed foetus also has a right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The girl had expressed her wishtoterminatethepregnancy “as it would be a constant reminder to her about the atrocities committed on her” and wouldnotbegoodforher“physicalandmentalhealthandsocial GUWAHATI, JANUARY 20 MAKING IT official, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday announced that the Centre has decided to fence the entire length of the currently porous India-Myanmar border to stop free movement of people. Addressing the passing out paradeof newlyappointedcommandos of the Assam Police in Guwahati,Shahsaid:“Ourborder withMyanmarisanopenborder. The Narendra Modi government has taken a decision that the India-Myanmarborderwillbesecureandthewholeborderwillbe fenced like the Bangladesh border.ThegovernmentisreconsideringourFreeMovementRegime (FMR)agreementwithMyanmar, and is going to end this ease of coming and going.” Whiletherehavebeenreports thattheCentreisplanningsucha move, Shah's public announcement confirms the decision. India and Myanmar share a 1,643-km border along the Northeastern states of Manipur, Bhagwat: Jan 22 a beginning, end bitterness RAM MANDIR AYODHYA THE INAUGURATION 1 DAY TO GO Nadu, Maharashtra and Kolkata, sources involved in the rituals told The Indian Express. These flowers, an estimated 50 kg, include: lotus, rose, jasmine and chrysanthemum. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 victim’s abortion plea CM invokes Adivasi support, targets BJP: ‘They can’t do anything politically... trying to do things behind a veil’ SUKRITA BARUAH ‘Darshan’ of old idol put on hold, stage set for opening tomorrow ‘Land scam’ case: ED questions Rajasthan HC turns Jharkhand CM Soren at his home down 11-yr-old rape ABHISHEK ANGAD SaysitwillbesecurelikeBangladesh border,‘willendeaseof coming,going’ being.” Initsorder,whichwaspassed Wednesday but made public on Friday, a bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand said the delay by the child in approaching the court “has only further aggravated the said aspect” of termination of pregnancy, and relied ontheMedicalBoard’sstatement and existing judgments to turn down the request. “Themedicalreportindicates that foetusis gaining weight and is close to its natural birth. Vital organs, like brain and lungs are almost fully developed, preparing for life outside the womb. The foetus has, in fact life VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JANUARY 20 AHEAD OF the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, RSS SarsanghchalakMohanBhagwat has called for an end to the “bitterness”,“dispute”and“conflict”. “Now, the conflict that has arisen, as for and against the dispute, should be ended. The bitterness that has arisen in the meantime should also end. The enlightened people of society must see that the dispute ends completely. Ayodhya means a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PRATIP ACHARYA & NAYONIKA BOSE MUMBAI, JANUARY 20 THREE MINUTES and twenty seconds. That’s the total time it took The Indian Express to zip to BreachCandyfromMarineDrive onabusyweekendafternoonvia the soon-to-be-open 2.07-km twin tunnels that lie partly under the sea and a hill. The nearly 6-km stretch on the surface takes at least 30 minutes and re- quires motorists to cross seven traffic signals. Come February and Mumbaikars too will save time and fuel as they breeze through the toll-free tunnel. Set to be inaugurated in the second week of February, the tunnels start near Girgaon(aheadof MarineDrive), extend north under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and end at Breach Candy’sPriyadarshiniPark.They are a part of the 10.58-km highspeed Mumbai Coastal Road Project(MCRP)beingbuiltbythe Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation(BMC)atacostof Rs 12,721-crore.TheIndianExpress drove through the tunnel on Priyadarshini Park MUMBAI under sea tunnel 2.07 km total tunnel length 900 m under hill tunnel 1 km Arabian Sea January 13. The MCRP, which will connectMarineDrivetotheBandraWorli SeaLink, aims to cut down overall travel time from nearly Hindu and Islam Gymkhanas one hour during peak hours to little less than 10 minutes. The larger MCRP project envisages linking Marine Drive with suburbanDahisarviaatoll-freefree- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ● FREE Movement Regime allows tribes living along the India-Myanmar border on either side to travel up to 16 km inside the other country without a visa and stay up to two weeks. It was implemented in 2018 as part of the Modi government’s Act East policy. Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, a porous border of which only 10 km is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NATIONAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE: 2024 NOMINATION INVITED Nominations are invited for the 25th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence : 2024 which honours each year a distinguished Indian, residing either in India or abroad, for his/her sustained individual contributions and outstanding achievements of high professional order and excellence in the field of management, public administration, public affairs, education, institution building, art & culture and sports. The Awardee will be selected by a jury comprising of eminent persons. The award is given every year on October 1, the eve of the birth anniversary of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri. The honour carries an award of Rs. Five Lakh plus a citation and a plaque and the awardee is designated as Lal Bahadur Shastri fellow. EARLIER RECIPIENTS OF THE AWRD CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 way, bringing seamless connectivity to the Maximum City’s western coast. On January 8, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the ongoingconstructionfor the MCRP will be completed by January 31. He had said the entire corridor will be completely operational from May. Though the project is nearly 84 per cent complete at present, some bit of work on the tunnel catering to Marine Drive till Breach Candy is still left to be done.This includes justancillary works like painting, setting up traffic lights and signages. Civic officials have said the E What is FMR? LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI Under the sea and a hill: It’s now Marine Drive to ‘Breeze’ Candy in just under four minutes PAGE 1 ANCHOR Amit Shah in Tezpur, Assam, on Saturday. PTI EXPLAINED Government of India BHARAT RATNA SHRI LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI (1904 1966) Prof. (Dr.) Shiv Kumar Sarin Dr. Bakul Dholakia Dr. Randeep Guleria Smt. Sudha Murty Dr. (Mrs.) Manju Sharma Sh. Fali S Nariman Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak Shri Gopalkrishna Gandhi Dr. Prannoy Roy Dr. Apathukatha S. Pillai Dr. Rajendra Achyut Badwe Smt. Tessy Thomas Prof. Yash Pal Smt. Aruna Roy Shri Sunil Bharti Mittal Dr. E. Sreedharan Dr. M.S. Swaminathan Dr. Naresh Trehan Dr. C. P. Srivastava Smt. Ela Ramesh Bhatt Dr. R. A. Mashelkar Shri N. R. Narayana Murthy Shri Sam Pitroda Dr. C. K. Prahalad 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 NOMINATIONS MAY BE SENT IN CONFIDENCE LATEST BY MARCH 31, 2024 Nomination form may be obtained from the Director, LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT, DELHI Plot No. 11/7, Sector 11, Dwarka, New Delhi 110075 Tel. 011 25307700, Email director@Lbsim.ac.in Chairman LBSIM, Delhi