DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 OVER 45.10 CRORE VOTES POLLED: EC GHATKOPAR HOARDING COLLAPSE Gap closes, overall voter turnout in first four phases reaches 66.95% Mumbai police arrest accused owner of ad agency from Udaipur Barring5redrawnAssamseats,turnoutin374of 379seatswhichhavevotedsofarwas68.5%in2019 DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, MAY 16 BOOSTED BY the increase in voterturnoutinthefourthphase on May 13, the overall turnout in the first four phases of the Lok Sabha elections has touched 66.95 per cent with over 45.10 crore votes being polled, the Election Commission said on Thursday. In 2019, 374 of the 379 constituencies that have gone to polls so far (five constituencies redrawn and renamed during delimitation in Assam not included) had recorded around 68.5 per cent polling, while the total turnout was 67.4 per cent. This time, the first three phases saw a dip in turnout as compared to 2019. In the first phase on April 19, when 102 constituencies went to polls, the final turnout was 66.14 per cent, down from around 69.29 per centin2019.Inthesecondphase on April 26, in which 88 seats POLLING IN FIRST FOUR PHASES Phase First (April 19) 2024 turnout 2019 turnout 66.14% 69.29%** Second (April 26) 66.71% 69.43%*** Third (May 7) 65.68% 66.58% Fourth (May 13) 69.16% * 68.80% * Provisional figure ** Does not include Kaziranga and Sonitpur in Assam *** Does not include Darrang-Udalguri, Diphu and Nagaon in Assam voted, the final turnout was 66.71 per cent,downfrom 69.43 per cent in 2019. In the third phase on May 7, across 93 constituencies,thefinalturnoutwas 65.68 per cent as compared to 66.58 per cent in 2019. But the fourth phase on May 13,across96seats,sawincreased polling in Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, MaharashtraandTelanganaconstituenciesascomparedto 2019. In J&K, which had one CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ED can’t make PMLA arrest after Caste threatens social cognisance, needs court nod: SC aspects and divides NEW DELHI, MAY 16 THE SUPREME Court ruled Thursday that the Enforcement Directoratecannotdirectlyarrest apersonunderthePreventionof Money Laundering Act (PMLA) once a special court takes cognisance of its complaint and the agency will have to approach the court if it wants custody of that person. The bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, which was hearing Tarsem Lal vs Directorate of Enforcement, Jalandhar Zonal Office, said, “After cognisance is taken of the offence punishable under Section 4 of the PMLA based on 17/05/2024 122 150 E E X P L A I NE D EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE The relief this ruling ● provides THE SUPREME Court’s ruling extends protection against arrest by the ED when an accused is actively participating in the investigation without being evasive. The relief is significant as the bar for grant of bail, once arrested, is very high in ED cases. a complaint under Section 44, theEDanditsofficersarepowerless to exercise powers under Section 19 to arrest a person shown as accused in the complaint.If theEDwantscustodyof the accused who appears after serviceof summonsforconducting further investigation in the same offence, ED will have to seek custody of the accused by applying to the special court.” “If the accused appears before the special court pursuant to a summons, he shall not be treated as if he is in custody. Therefore, it is not necessary for himtoapplyforbail.However,the special court can direct the accusedtofurnishbondsintermsof Section88oftheCodeofCriminal Procedure (CrPC),” it said. The question before the Supreme Court was whether an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM in UP: Modi, Yogi will change face of Purvanchal in 5 years 187 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, MAY 16 AMID CLAIMS and counterclaims by lawyers for the Enforcement Directorate and AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court said Thursday that it had not made “any exception”whilegrantinghiminterim bailuntilJune1fortheLokSabha election campaign. It also said that “critical analysis or even criticismof thejudgment”inthis regard was “welcome”. It made these remarks a day after UnionHomeMinisterAmit Shah told news agency ANI that grant of interim bail to Kejriwal, arrested by the ED on March 21 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, MAY 16 THECASTEpolarisationbetween the Marathas and the OBCs (Other Backward Class) in the Marathwada region, so evident duringthe 2024 Lok Sabha polls, is detrimental to the state’s social fabric, said BJP leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. “The most disturbing aspect in the ongoing elections has been the casteconflict in parts of Marathwada.Suchdevelopment does not augur well for the state. Kejriwal aide booked for assault after Maliwal files police complaint NEW DELHI, MAY 16 Narendra Modi with Yogi Adityanath in Azamgarh. PTI LALMANI VERMA NEW DELHI, MAY 16 ADDRESSING A series of rallies across constituencies in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said thathe alongwith UttarPradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would change the face and future of the Purvanchal region in the next five years. “Aane wale paanch saalon mein, Modi, Yogi Purvanchal ki tasveer aur taqdeer donon badalnewalehain(Inthecoming five years, Modi, Yogi are going to change the face and future of Purvanchal),”Modisaidatapublic meeting in Jaunpur, adjacent to his Lok Sabha constituency of Varanasi. His statement came days after Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s claim that Modi would not be the PM for long even if the BJP wins, and thatthedaysof AdityanathasUP CM were numbered. BJP leaders have rubbished Kejriwal’s remarks, insisting Modi will “be PM even in 2029”. Modi, who also addressed rallies in the Lalganj Lok Sabha seat in Azamgarh district, and Pratapgarh and Bhadohi, also praised the Adityanath government for its crackdown on criminal elements and said, “UP mein BJP ne zameen mafia ki kamar tod THREE DAYS after AAP Rajya SabhaMP Swati Maliwal alleged in a call to the police control room that she was assaulted when she went to visit Delhi Chief MinisterArvindKejriwalat his residence, the Delhi Police Thursday bookedKejriwal’saide Bibhav Kumar in connection with the case. The FIR against Kumar has beenfiledunderIPCsections354 (assaultoruseofcriminalforceon woman with intent to disrobe), CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Time allotted, but DD & AIR censor speeches of Opp’s Yechury, Devarajan PAGE 1 ANCHOR LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, MAY 16 TWO LEADERS from the Opposition were asked to drop the terms “communal authoritarian regime” and “draconian laws” and the word “Muslims” from their speeches made on All India Radio and Doordarshan during the broadcast time allocated to them in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. CPI(M)’s Sitaram Yechury, AIFB’s G Devarajan While CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had to delete the two terms and replace the word “bankruptcy” of the governance with “failure” during his televised address in the Doordarshan studio in the national capital, All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) leader G Devarajanwasaskedtoavoidthe word “Muslims” in his address recorded in Kolkata. When asked about it, an official in Prasar Bharati said both Doordarshan andAll India Radio follow the “conduct rules” given by the Election Commission of India (ECI). “But it happens with most leaders. There were instances in which even the chief ministers’ texts were corrected,” the official said. The guidelines require speakerstorefrainfromcriticism P8 SHUBHANGI KHAPRE, VALLABH OZARKAR & SANDEEP SINGH EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 78 Shah remark on Kejriwal bail: SC says made no exception communities: Fadnavis of other countries, attack on religions or communities, incitement of violence or anything amountingtocontemptof court, aspersionsontheintegrityof the Presidentandjudiciary,criticism bynameof anyperson, anything affecting the unity, sovereignty and integrity of the nation, and anythingobsceneordefamatory. Under the ECI’s ordersissued in April, representatives of national parties and state parties are allotted telecast and broadcast time on Doordarshan and AIR in the run up to the election. The directive said “six national CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW DEVENDRA FADNAVIS MAHARASHTRA DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER My worry is post-polls. Once the elections are held, it will set in process an analysis on who worked for whom. It would require greater vigilance in terms of law and order,” Fadnavis told CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, MAY 16 Mangled remains of cars at the site of hoarding collapse in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Amit Chakravarty How a son’s call from US led to location of his parents’ bodies SAGAR RAJPUT & SIDDHANT KONDUSKAR MUMBAI, MAY 16 IT WAS meant to be a quick stop at a Mumbai petrol pump around4.30 pmon May 13 to refuel their car before driving back home to Madhya Pradesh. However, gusty winds knocked down a 250-tonne hoarding at that exact moment on top of the couple’s red sports utility vehicle at the fuel station in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar. Late on Wednesday, nearly 50 hours later, the bodies of retired Air Traffic Control (ATC) general manager Manoj Chansoria,60,andhiswifeAnita, 59, were recovered from the car. The time and cause of their deaths are yet to be determined. The hoarding crash has claimed 16 lives so far. On Thursday, Bhavesh PrabhudasBhinde,51,theowner of the hoarding that crashed, was arrested by the Crime Victims Manoj Chansoria, a retired Air Traffic Control (ATC) general manager, and his wife Anita. Express Branch from Udaipur. The Ghatkopar hoarding, situated beside a petrol pump in Pant Nagar on Eastern Express Highway, measured 120x120 feetasagainstthepermittedsize of 40x40 feet. Bhinde, the director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, was booked in a rape case by Mumbai Police earlier this year. According to his colleagues, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE MUMBAI police crime branch on Thursday arrested Bhavesh Bhinde — the owner of the company whose hoarding collapsed on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar killing 16 persons — from Udaipur. Bhinde had been missing since Tuesday when the hoarding collapsed and his mobilephonehadbeenswitchedoff. Pant Nagar police had registered an FIR on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other sections and named Bhinde as an accused. Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam said, "Bhinde has been nabbed from Udaipurwherehewasstayingin ahotelunderthenameof hisrelative.Our teams had been trying to track him down and eventually found him on Thursday evening." The officer said that Bhinde had been using another phone and it appeared that he had help from some people, whichiswhyhemanagedtostay on the run for the past few days. A team led by DCP Vishal Thakur had left for Udaipur on Thursday morning after they received information that he had been holed up in a hotel there. He is likely to be brought to the city by Friday evening when he will be produced before a court forthepolice toseek his custody. Hisinterrogationwillhelppolice CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 4