DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 2024, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Safety for All Modi World’s largest vaccination drive; Guarantee Over 220 administeredof crore doses Viksit Bharat vaccines Sarkar Government of India Ki Scan for more information Hamara Sankalp cbc 22201/13/0330/2324 Adityanath expands Cabinet: Rajbhar, Dalit CBI takes over leader from RLD among four new ministers JAN 5 ATTACK ON ED TEAM Dara Singh Chauhan, who returned to BJP recently, takes oath along with party colleague Sunil Kumar Sharma MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, MARCH 5 The four new ministers — Sunil Kumar Sharma, Anil Kumar, Om Prakash Rajbhar and Dara Singh Chauhan — with Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after the swearing-in ceremony in Lucknow on Tuesday. Express BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY INTHEfirstCabinetexpansionin hissecondtermasUttarPradesh chief minister, Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday inducted four more ministers keeping in mind the casteequation, regional balance, and alliance partners ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The four ministers inducted into his Cabinet — the strength of which has now increased to 56 — included ally Suheldev BhartiyaSamajParty(SBSP)chief OmPrakashRajbhar,Dalitleader Anil Kumar of ally Rashtriya Lok Dal(RLD),BJPleadersDaraSingh Chauhan and Sunil Kumar Sharma. The four were sworn in by INSIDE PRE-POLL BONANZA FOR FARMERS: POWERBILL OF TUBEWELLS WAIVED FROM LAST APRIL PAGE 4 Governor Anandiben Patel in a simpleceremonyatRajBhavanon Tuesday evening in the presence ofChiefMinisterYogiAdityanath. Out of the four new ministers, two are non-Yadav OBCs — SBSP chief and Zahoorabad MLA Om Prakash Rajbhar, and BJP MLC Dara Singh Chauhan who has influence among non-Yadav voters in areas surrounding Ghosi, Azamgarh and Ballia. MISSION GAGANYAAN Training for space at ISRO: Survival lessons, simulators, yoga, engineering After Russian leg, the four IAF officers are preparing for the mission in Bengaluru TWO-PHASE TRAINING ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, MARCH 5 EXPRESS NETWORK HC ACQUITS SAIBABA; MAHARASHTRA MOVES TOP COURT SHOWN DAGGER, BEATEN, RAPED: SPANISH VLOGGER TO POLICE PAGES 8, 13 LAST WEEK, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi bestowed them the “astronaut wings”, the four Indian Air Force officers, Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla, were a picture of confidence and determination. Behind this is a rigorous training regimen the four astronauts-designate for Gaganyaan, India’s first crewed space mission, have been undergoing at the Indian Space Research Organisation’s(ISRO)newastronaut training facility in Bengaluru. This includes training in engineering disciplines with a focus on spaceflight, propulsion and aerodynamics; GENERIC SPACEFLIGHT TRAINING IN RUSSIA ■ Training to get used to weightlessness, motion sickness, and living in isolation NEW DELHI, MARCH 5 IN THE first Indian government response on the new dispensationinIslamabad,PrimeMinister NarendraModiTuesdaycongratulated Shebhaz Sharif, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. The brother of former Prime Minister and PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif was administered the oath of of- PAGE 1 ANCHOR Wait and watch FOR NOW, Delhi has a wait-and-watch policy on the new coalition in Islamabad where, with the Pakistan Army’s backing, the PML-N and PPP have come to power to keep out Imran Khan amid rigging charges. ■ Training on four sets of simulators, including one that will mimic jerks, vibrations, acceleration, and shocks ■ Parabolic flights — aircraft that fly up and down at 45-degree angles A video grab of one of the four astronauts at ISRO’s Bengaluru facility yoga classes; and training on simulators that mimic the jerks, vibrations, acceleration and shocks that a space flight entails. Currently, the astronauts are doing mission-specific training, as part of which they familiarise Modi greets Shehbaz, first Indian response on new govt in Pak SHUBHAJIT ROY MISSION SPECIFIC TRAINING IN INDIA fice as Prime Minister — for the second time — Monday, nearly a month after an election marred bycontroversy,allegationsof rigging,and protestsby the party of the jailed PTI leader Imran Khan. “Congratulations to @CM Shehbazonbeingsworninasthe PrimeMinisterofPakistan,”Modi posted on X. This message from Modi is different from the one he posted in April 2022 when he said India CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ■ Survival training for terrains such as mountains, woodlands, the Arctic, and the sea themselves with the spacecraft and its operations ahead of the spacemission,whichiscurrently scheduled for next year. Thisfollowsthetrainingatthe Gagarin Cosmonaut Training CentreinRussia’sMoscowOblast ■ Basics of spaceflight, propulsion and aerodynamics ■ Psychological and physical training, including yoga that started in 2020 and continued through the pandemic. Sometimein2021,thetrainingat ISRO’sBengalurufacilityfollowed. ISROofficialsdescribedthetraining as a “continuous process”. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Plea seeks repairs inside Gyanvapi cellar: ‘Vibrations by crowd offering namaz’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, MARCH 5 CLAIMING THAT a “sudden increase in people coming to offer namaz” is causing the roof to vibrate, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust has filed an application at Varanasi District Court seeking directions for repairing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On January 31, the court allowed puja inside the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque. File Notably, both the leaders hail from east UPandwere ministers in Adityanath’s first-term Cabinet. While Rajbhar contested the last Assembly polls in alliance with Samajwadi Party, Chauhan had joined the main Opposition party before the 2022 Assembly elections. The RLD, which too severed ties with Samajwadi Party recently and joined the BJP-led NDA,got oneof itsnineMLAsinducted into the Cabinet. Anil Kumar is a three-term MLA from Purkazi in Muzaffarnagar district. The Dalit leadercomesfromfarmingbackgroundandisconsideredcloseto RLD chief Jayant Chaudhary. With RLD MLA and SBSP chief’sinduction,allthemembers CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Muizzu: No Indian troops, in uniform or civilian clothes, after May 10 Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MARCH 5 DAYS BEFORE the deadline set for the withdrawal of the first batch of Indian military personnel, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has said that no Indian military personnel, whether in uniform or “civilian clothing”, will be present in the island country after May 10. “There will be no Indian troops in the country come May 10. Not in uniform and not in civilian clothing. Indian military will not be residing in this country in anyformof clothing. Istate this with confidence,” Muizzu said, according to a Maldives news portal. He was responding to the Opposition’s criticism that the Indian technical personnel who are replacing the military personnel are actually military personnel without their uniform. According to the report, while addressing the residential community of Eydhafushi during his tour across Baa Atoll on Monday, Muizzu said: “That these people (Indian military) are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing... We must not indulge such thoughtsthatinstildoubtsinour hearts and spread lies.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sandeshkhali probe, Bengal Govt goes to SC Calcutta HC says police biased, orders transfer of probe, custody of Sheikh ATRI MITRA & SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, MARCH 5 COMING DOWN heavily on the WestBengalPolice,whoitcalled “totally biased”, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday ordered the transfer of the probe into the January5attackonEnforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Sandeshkhali, as well as custody of main accused Shahjahan Sheikh, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Hours later, the state government moved the Supreme Court against the HC’s order. Meanwhile, taking over the investigation, the CBI registered an FIR in the case. A CBI team, escortedbyparamilitarypersonnel, reached the CID office in Kolkata totakecustodyof Sheikh.Butthe police refused to hand him over, sayingthematterwassub-judice. In its order, the HC had directed that the custody of Sheikh, the suspended Trinamool Congress leader who was arrested by the West Bengal Police refused to hand over Sheikh custody to the CBI ED ATTACHES PROPERTIES THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate Tuesday said it has attached assets worth Rs 12.78 crore of suspended TMC leader Shahjahan Sheikh, including bank deposits, an apartment, and agricultural and fishery land in Sandeshkhali and Kolkata, under PMLA. ENS Police on February 29 in connection with the attack on the ED CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Will join BJP, says Gangopadhyay after quitting as HC judge SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, MARCH 5 HOURS AFTER he resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay announced Tuesday that he will be joining the BJP on March 7 and it was up to the party to decide if he should contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “I will join the BJP on March 7. It is the only national party which is fighting against Trinamool Congress’s corruption,” said the former judge, known for making critical remarks against the ruling TMC anditsleaderAbhishekBanerjee. “I have been forced to take thisstepduetotauntsbytheruling party. Their taunts and statements inspired me to take this step. The ruling party insulted me many times. Their spokespersonsattackedmewith unparliamentary words. I think they have a problem with their Justice Gangopadhyay at his residence in Kolkata on Tuesday. Partha Paul education,” he told reporters at his Salt Lake residence. Responding to a question on when the BJP approached him and how long he took to take a call on joining politics, Gangopadhyay said, “I did not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Weeks after moving to Israel for work, Kerala man killed in shelling SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 5 THE PROSPECT of a better life in Israel ended bitterly for a family as a 31-year-old Kerala man was killed in a missile strike in the northern part of the country, leavingbehindhispregnantwife and a five-year-old child. Nibin Maxwell, who came from Kaikulangara in Kerala’s Kollam, was killed and two people from the state were injured on Monday when an anti-tank missile fired by Hezbollah hit a farm in Northern Israel where they were employed. The incident took place at an orchard at Margaliot, a moshav (collective agricultural community), sources said. The injured men were identified as Joseph and Paul Melvin. According to Nibin’s father Antony,theincidenttookplacein the afternoon. “My eldest son Nivin, who is also employed in Israel,informedmethatNibinhad been injured in a missile attack. Later, his death was confirmed. Twoweeksago,Nibinhadtoldus aboutanairstrikeneartheirfarm. I told them to move elsewhere, but since there were no other issues, they continued at the same workplace,” said Antony. Nibin,whoheldanindustrial training certificate, was working with a manpower supply firm in the UAE before he quit in December to move to Israel, when that country opened agricultural visas for Indians. “The husband of Nibin’s sister-in-law, who works as a caregiver in Israel, helped him find a job there. A week after Nibin left for Israel, his elder brother Nivin followed. Nivin, who was workinginaprivatefirminBengaluru, also took up work in the agriculturalsector.TheymovedtoIsrael considering the better prospects,” said Antony, whose Nibin Maxwell, 31, was killed in a Hezbollah missile strike youngest son works in the UAE. Sources in Israel said the injured men are out of danger. Nibin’sbodywillbemovedtoTel Aviv on Wednesday before being sent back to India. The attack on farm workers in Israel led to panic among Indians employed there. “Most of the Indians in Israel are caregivers, working inside houses. Theycanrunforcoveratshelters when a siren is sounded. But thoseworkingin thefarm sector areexposedto theattacks.Many Indianshavejoinedthefarmsafter people from other countries abandoned that sector in the wake of the war,” said a source. The Indian Embassy in Israel has issued an advisory for Indian nationalsworkinginthecountry, especially in border areas, to relocate to safe areas within the country. The Embassy said they are in touch with the Israel authoritiestoensurethesafetyofall itsnationals.TheIndianEmbassy also shared a helpline number and email address for any help. In a post on X, the Israel Embassy wrote: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by the death of one Indian national and the injury of two others due to a cowardly terror attack launched by Shia Terror organization Hezbollah, on peaceful agricul- ture workers who were cultivating an orchard at the northern village of Margaliot yesterday early afternoon.” “Israeli Medical institutions are completely at the service of the injured who are being treated by our very best medical staff.Israelregardsequallyallnationals,Israeliorforeign,whoare injured or killed due to terrorism. We will be there to support the families and offer them assistance,” it wrote. “Our countries, who are sadly well versed in civilian loss, stand united in hopes of a speedy recovery for the injured and solace for the family of the bereaved,” it wrote. Lucknow