DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Opposition gets an address PM TO REPLY IN LOK SABHA TODAY ON MOTION OF THANKS TO PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS NEW CRIMINAL LAWS COME INTO FORCE Maximum police custody still 15 days, can be spread over two months: Shah EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JULY 1 Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi; Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Amit Shah in Lok Sabha on Monday. PTI INPARLIAMENT,PAGE7 ‘SOREN OR KEJRIWAL IN JAIL… SHOULD DISTURB ME’ MINISTERS MAKE INTERVENTIONS TO COUNTER REMARKS Rahul debuts as LoP: Hatred in name of Hinduism to fear to let’s work together PM rebuts Rahul: Calling Hindu society violent a serious issue; Shah seeks apology HARIKISHAN SHARMA & MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JULY 1 REFLECTING AN Opposition with its highest tally in 10 years and presenting a united front, in his first speech as Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi picked up the threads of his election campaign to counter the Government on several fronts: from accusing it of having created an atmosphere of fear to alleging that it had spread violence and hatred in the name of Hinduism; from the crisis in Manipur to how demonetisation had wrecked employment. At the same time, Gandhi wrappeduphisnearlytwo-hour speech by dialing down to say that theOpposition wasreadyto work together with the Narendra Modi government in the national interest. Participatinginthedebateon Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, Gandhi began his speech — the first by a recognised LoP in Lok Sabha in a decade — on a fractious note. Pointing to the Treasury Benches,hesaidthat“thosewho callthemselvesHindus…areengaged in violence and hate.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, JULY 1 LEADER OF Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s maiden speech in Lok Sabha that lasted almost 100 minutes Monday saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Cabinet ministers intervening to counter remarks. There was uproar in the House when Gandhi, while at- tacking the BJP, said “those who call themselves Hindus talk violence… hatred… untruth 24 hours”. Modi rose from his seat and said, “This is a very serious issue. Calling the entire Hindu society violent is a serious issue (poore Hindu samaj ko hinsak kehna yeh gambhir vishay hai).” Union Home Minister Amit Shahsoughtanapologyfromthe Congress leader. As the treasury benches protested, Gandhi said “the BJP and the RSS are not the entire Hindu society… Aap Hindu ho hi nahi (You are not Hindus).” And when he took him on directly, asking “why is the PM always serious?”, Modi, who sat throughtheaddress,rosefromhis seat again and said, “Democracy and the Constitution have taught me that I need to take the Leader of Opposition seriously.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AS THE new criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita(BNSS)andtheBharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively — came into effect Monday, UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah clarified that the maximum period of police custody under the BNSS would remain 15 days, with provision to be spread over a maximum of two months. Therewereconcernsthatthe BNSS extends the period of police custody of an accused. Addressing a press conference, Shah said the maximum policecustodyundertheBNS,too, would remain 15 days, like the IPC. “I want to clarify that in BNS APURVA VISHWANATH A fishing expedition, Lankan Navy officer’s death, and 10 Indians who await their fate ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, JULY 1 THE EARLY hours of June 25 turned into a nightmare for ten Indian fishermen from Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, when a routine fishing expedition spiralled into chaos, ending in the death of a Sri Lankan Navy officer.TheSriLankanauthorities allege the officer died due to the “aggressive manoeuvres” of the trawler of Indian fishermen resistingseizure,butthefishermen, now in Sri Lankan custody and reportedlysettobechargedwith death,denytheseallegationsand insist they are innocent. According to a top Sri Lankan government source involved in the case proceedings in Jaffna, the Indian trawler was allegedly speeding when the Sri Lankan Navy attempted to intercept it around 1.30 am on June 25. The postmortem report of the Navy officer suggests the officer possibly died due to an accidental fall during the tense moments leading up to the interception, sources said. The boat driver, Madhi (40), provided a statement to Sri Lankan authorities, explaining thathistrawlerwasheadingback to Indian waters, turning from southtonorth,whentheincident took place. He claimed the Navy boat, with its lights off, rammed intothetrawler.Atthatmoment, the rest of the crew was asleep. Madhi, who was awake at thesteeringwheel,reportedseeing two Navy men with guns whoannouncedtheirarrest.The fishermen were handcuffed and moved to the back of the boat, which was then taken to Kankesanthurai Harbour near CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bengal flogging: Murder attempt charge invoked; notice to state RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, JULY 1 POLICE HAVE invoked sections relatedtoattempttomurderand molestation against a TMC functionary, who was arrested on Sunday for publicly flogging a man and a woman in Chopra block of Uttar Dinajpur district, West Bengal, over an alleged extramarital affair. Theaccused,TajimulHossain alias JCB, was produced before the Islampur sub-divisional THE EDITORIAL PAGE SYNDICATEvsLAW Uttar Dinajpur incident stems from culture of impunity. CM Mamata Banerjee must ensure law takes its course PAGE 8 court, which sent him to police custody for five days. Meanwhile, Governor C V AnandaBosehassoughtareport on the incident from Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee.“The Governorwasshockedbytheincident, which was caught in a video, and called it barbarous... He condemned the incident and has sought an immediate report from the Chief Minister,” a Raj Bhavan official said. In a video statement, Bose said he would visit the area on Tuesday and meet the couple. “The series of ghastly violencein Chopra, Cooch Behar and Kolkataarerevolting,disgusting, shocking and shattering... what CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Chital stock dwindling in Kuno, plan to move out excess cheetahs Leopards behind loss of prey base, so tigers as check an option JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, JULY 1 THE PROJECT Cheetah authoritieshavereachedanin-principle decisiontoshiftsurpluscheetahs from Kuno national park to Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary after the monsoon. At present, Kuno has 26 cheetahs, including 13 cubs and sub-adults. This follows a reassessment of Kuno’s cheetah carrying capacity — pegged at 21 in the Project Action Plan — necessitated by a staggering loss of over 25 per cent since 2022 of Kuno’s An estimated 2,250 chital were lost in a year at Kuno prime cheetah prey base: the chital population. Thelossofanestimated2,250 chital within a year has confounded the project team as the seven cheetahs that managed to hunt in the wild outside the enclosures during that period took down only around 50 chital. Since authorities have ruled out largescale poaching of chital for bushmeat due to the presenceof toomanybootsandcameras on the ground, in the dock isKuno’s90-strongleopardpopulation. Ironically, leopards are also frustrating the efforts to stock and breed a cheetah prey base in Gandhi Sagar wildlife sanctuary by sneaking into a 60 sq km enclosure to feed on chital brought CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY A 14-DAY timeline for the police to register an FIR in cognizable cases; the right of the accused to be heard even before a case is made out againsthim—atleasttwo key changes in procedural laws in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) fly in the face of landmarkSupremeCourtjudgements on these issues. The BNSS has replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973. On registration of an FIR immediately, the BNSS, under Section 173(3), states that for cognizable offences, where the MOREREPORTS,PAGE6 punishment is more than three years but less than seven years, apoliceofficerisallowed14days toconductapreliminaryenquiry before registering an FIR and then proceed with investigation in the case. “…Police,considering the nature and gravity of the offence,— ● (i)proceedtoconduct preliminary enquiry to ascertain whether there exists a prima facie case for proceeding in the matter within a period of fourteen days; or (ii) proceed with investigation when there exists a prima facie case,” the law states. This change goes against the landmark 2013 Supreme Court ruling inLalitaKumari vsStateof E EXPLAINED FACING UNIQUE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES, SAYS ARMY CHIEF P 12 PM SET TO VISIT RUSSIA JULY 8-9, VIENNA JULY 9-10 P 6 GOVERNOR, NHRC SEEK REPORTS ON UTTAR DINAJPUR INCIDENT CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 On FIRs & hearing of accused, BNSS sections fly in face of SC rulings NEW DELHI, JULY 1 EXPRESS NETWORK also,theremandperiodis15days. Earlier, if an accused was sent to policeremandandhegothimself admittedinahospitalfor15days, there was no interrogation as his remand period would expire. In BNS, there will be remand for a maximum 15 days, but it can be taken in parts within an upper limit of 60 days,” he said. Shahsaidthenewlawswould ensure“justiceinsteadofpunishment” and “speedy trial instead ofdelays”.Justicewouldbedelivered “up to the level of Supreme Court” within three years of an FIR being registered, he said. Shah also said that the first case registered under the BNS wasrelatedtoamotorcycletheft in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior at 10 minutes past midnight. “The case was for a value of Rs 1,80,000... The case against a street vendor in Delhi was not CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GOATS SEIZURE DURING EID Need to curb animal vigilantism, shows Gujarat in a bad light, police tell HC SOHINI GHOSH AHMEDABAD, JULY 1 A PANJRAPOLE in Ahmedabad, which had moved the Gujarat High Court alleging violation of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Actinrelationtoavehiclecarrying 22 goats days before Eid in June, withdrew its petition after the courtcamedownheavilyonitfollowingthestatepolice’sstrongoppositiontosuchapetition. The police told HC that groups indulging in animal vigilantism“needtobecurbed”and that such incidents “portray Gujarat in a bad light nationally and internationally”. The Seth Anandji Kushalji Khodadhor Panjrapole Sanstha, which had taken custody of the 22goats,hadmovedHCthrough its authorised representative Marutibhai Pavar on June 13, seeking that a June 12 communication by the police — permittingthereleaseof the22animals from the panjrapole and handing over the same to the owner after the police found no violation — be quashed. The HC on June 14 sought a response from the state while ordering that the custody of the goats shall remain with the panjrapole until the next hearing. Thepolicehadfoundthatthe pick-up van, owned by a person named Tarikkhan Ubedkhan Pathan, was licensed to carry 17 goats but was instead ferrying 22. Also, the vehicle did not have the required fitness certificate and was thus fined Rs 5,500 under the Motor Vehicle Act. Followingthis,thepolicehad communicated to the panjrapole to release the goats to Pathan. The police had also clarified that the panjrapole was given only temporary custody of the cattle. In an affidavit dated June 25, ACP Sureshkumar Patel of Ahmedabad City Police N division, however, said the panjrapole'spetitionisa“glaringexampleofhowthelawbeingmisused and challenges faced by police due to such misuse of law”. He said that a woman volunteer from NGO Namaste Foundation, “having scant regard for rule of law, opted to vigilantism and chose to stop the vehicle and threatened the driver thereafter”. “They (volunteers) were violatingmultipletrafficlaws(triple riding, riding without helmet, etc) as wellas wrongfulrestraining of the vehicle... No private CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Rohit said can’t climb this mountain alone... need everyone’s oxygen: Suryakumar PAGE 1 ANCHOR DEVENDRA PANDEY MUMBAI, JULY 1 IT HAS not even been 24 hours since India's much-awaited T20 World CupwinandSuryakumar Yadav is amused by the contrast in the curfew-like view of the street below his team hotel at Barbadosandthevideosof mass celebrations that he has been getting from back home. Suryakumar had returned fromapost-winparty,wherethe entire team danced till the wee hours, to find 1,014 Whatsapp congratulatory messages on his phone. But ask him about the game and his sleep-deprived mind comes alive as he recalls therivetingspeechcaptainRohit Sharmagaveattheteamhuddle, minutes before the final against the South Africans. Talking to The Indian Express from Barbados, Surya, whose spell-binding catch on the ropes to dismiss David Miller turned the match on its head, says, “He told us to keep it simple but said, ‘I can’t climb this mountain alone. If I have to reach the peak, I will need everyone’s oxygen’. He also said, 'Joh bhi hai, paon mein, dimag mein, dil mein (Whateveryouhaveinyourlegs, mind and heart), just bring everything to the game. If that happens, we will not regret the night'. We all were moved.” If Rohit moved with his action and words, coach Rahul Dravid, Suryakumar recalls, set the mood with a simple slide presentationthatmadethemrealisethattheywouldhavetorise to the occasion. “He showed a graph of the number of T20 games the entire Indian team had played -- from Virat bhai to Yashasvi Jaiswal (the most junior member). That number was 800-plus,” says Surya. “And then he showed a second slide that had the number of games that the entire coaching staff, including Rahul bhai, had played -- that number Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav with captain Rohit Sharma. AP/PTI was 1. He said to us, ‘You are the bestjudgeheretomaketheright call at the right time. So leave every other thing to us, go out there and enjoy your game’.” Suryakumar says the team had a motto that was followed all through the campaign. “Before the start, we decided that we won’t talk about what lies ahead in the tournament. Nobody thought about Super 8 and the same was true for the finals in Barbados. Our mind has to be where our feet are -- that was our motto,” he says. On Rohit’s leadership style, Suryakumar says, “He connects with the players. Off the field, be it in a hotel room, or on the beach, he connects with every- one. So when a crunch situation comes, players know that he (Rohit) will back us. One feels I have to deliver for this man for the confidence and respect he gives to everyone.” Surya says the team's neverquit spirit, which came in handy duringkeymomentsinthetournament – be it in the game against Pakistan, where India came back late in the game, or the final, when they rallied together to fight despite South Africa needing just 26 runs from 24 balls with six wickets intact – stems from a deep self-belief. “Everyone, starting from the captain, was relaxed because we knewthatonemagicalthingwill happen and we will be back in the game. And the way Bumrah and Arshdeep bowled was remarkable.” He says he will remember thefinalnotjustforhiscatch,but for two moments, which, he says, will stay with him for years to come. One of these is of the acutely self-conscious Dravid letting himself gowhenKohlithrustthe trophy into his hand. “That 30second clip, when he took the trophy in his hand and screamed... that moment when he expressed his happiness. I think I will save that clip for life,” Suryakumar says. Thesecondimageryis thatof RohitSharmadownonhisknees CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Ahmedabad