DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 INITIAL REPORT SUGGESTS PEOPLE STUMBLED WHILE GATHERING SOIL PREACHER WALKED ON; CM ORDERS PROBE At least 116 killed in stampede at Hathras religious gathering, most victims women Satsang by local preacher had SDM permission but large crowd gathered: officials ‘Bhole Baba’: UP Police constable who became a self-styled preacher DHEERAJ MISHRA & NEETIKA JHA MANISH SAHU LUCKNOW, JULY 2 HATHRAS, JULY 2 A SATSANG by a local preacher in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras turned into the site of a tragedy as 116 people, almost all of them women, were killed in a stampede on Tuesday. According to officials, the event in Phulrai village was addressed by Narayan Sakar Vishwa Hari aka Bhole Baba, who has been active in the region and adjoining districts for 27 years. A preliminary investigation points to a host of factors that led to the incident — thousands more than expected turning up at the satsang; many falling on the uneven surface while trying to collect soil the preacher had walked on before he left the venue; and healthcare facilities A victim of the stampede at the district hospital in Hathras. Abhinav Saha struggling to keep pace with the rush of dead and injured. UttarPradeshChief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh said after visiting the area, "A total of 116 people have died — seven children, one man, and the rest women. Seventy-two deceased have been identified so far. No person is missing.” “The chief sewadar (working for the preacher) had given an application that around 80,000 people will attend the programme. But many more arrived,breachingthelimit.Ahuge FULLCOVERAGE,P 6 police force was deployed. I am told that people rushed to touch his feet and tried to collect soil (from where he walked), and a stampedetookplace.Manypeoplefellinanearbydrain,"hesaid. There were a total of 78 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BEFORE HE became Narayan SakarVishwaHariorBholeBaba, the self-styled preacher who organised the satsang on Tuesday, he was Suraj Pal Singh, a constablewiththeUttarPradeshPolice. Sources said Singh, 58, hails from a Dalit family in Bahadur Nagar village of Kasganj district, about 65 km from Hathras where the stampede occurred. “After serving in the police force for about a decade, he left the job... His last posting was in Agra,” said a police officer who visited Singh's village after the stampede. While the exact date is not known, Singh is reported tohaveleftthepoliceforcesome time in the 1990s. “He is married and does not have any children. After leaving the police force, he adopted the name,BholeBaba,whilehiswife is known as Matashree,” said Zaffar Ali, husband of Bahadur Nagar village pradhan, Najis Khanam. Ali said Singh's family waswell-off,andhewasthesecond of three brothers. While his elder brother died a few years ago,hisyoungerbrother,Rakesh, a farmer, still lives in the village with his family. “Hebuiltanashramonhis30bigha land in the village. People from other districts, and even states, would visit the ashram to seekhisblessings;theywereprovided accommodation at the ashram,” Ali said. According to him, Singh left the village about five years ago, suspecting a conspiracy against him. “We heard he is now residing in Rajasthan. Last year, he returned to the village and entrusted his property to a Trust. A manager oversees the affairs of the ashram,” he said. REPLY TO DEBATE ON MOTION OF THANKS TO PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS Hindenburg denies Sebi claims on Adani short bet, names Kotak fund HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, JULY 2 US-BASED short-seller Hindenburg Research Monday denied allegations by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that, violating Indian market guidelines, it had colluded with a US investor for trading in shares of Adani Enterprises Ltd immediately prior and post the release of its report on the Adani Group in January 2023. In that report, Hindenburg had alleged that the Gautam Adani-ledgrouphadindulgedin stockmanipulationandaccounting fraud, which the port-to-energy conglomerate had denied. The report was released prior to the launch of Adani Enterprises Ltd's (AEL) Rs 20,000-crore follow-onpublicoffer(FPO),which was later called off. TheSEBI noticewasissuedto Hindenburg Research; Nathan Anderson, sole owner and share holder member of Hindenburg; Hindenburg’s client Mark Kingdon, owner of Kingdon Capital, and his three entities, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 The report and trade THE JANUARY 2023 report by Hindenburg Research accused the Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, which the conglomerate denied. The report led to cancellation of the follow-on public offer of flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd. Sebi has alleged the report was used in collusion to make profit. PM on Rahul: Balak Buddhi... insults Hinduism; LoP’s remarks expunged Deletions on Hinduism, Agnipath, NEET: Rahul says truth will prevail MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JULY 2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha, Tuesday. PTI Attacks Cong in over 2-hour speech amid Opp’s Manipur chants VIKAS PATHAK NEW DELHI, JULY 2 MOUNTINGAscathingattackon the Congress a day after he and his party were targeted by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Lok Sabha Tuesday that his government had a clear mandate for stability and continuity with a third consecutive term in office while the Congress, like a “parasite” (parjeevi) feeding on its allies for survival, remained in denial. Replying to the debate in the House on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, Modi, who spoke for over two hours amid Opposition chants of “Justice for Manipur” and “Bharat Jodo”, accused the Congress and its “entire ecosystem” of attempting to “look down upon, abuse and insult Hinduism” and of plotting a “conspiracy to falsely” claim Hindus were violent. Alleging that the Congress was trying to spread chaos in defeatandwasdeliberatelyabusing Hindus,thePrimeMinisterurged the Speaker to take strict action to “defend the dignity of the House” against what happened Monday,whichwas“aslaponthe wisdom of our people and our great national traditions”. This was a reference to Rahul Gandhi’s speech in which he referredtoHinduismwhileattacking the BJP – remarks that were later expunged from the records (see accompanying report) – and prompted Modi to intervene, SEVERALreferencestoHinduism inthecontextof theBJP,threereferencestotwoindustrialiststhat the Congress frequently mentions in context of the Modi government, two to the Agnipath scheme, and one each to the NEET row, Manipur and the PrimeMinisterspecifically.These were among the 14 bits from RahulGandhi’sfirstspeechasthe Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, lasting around 100 minutes and interrupted frequently THE EDITORIAL PAGE THE FIRST FACE-OFF GovtandOpposition shouldhit reset,refresh—andrespect PAGE 8 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi in Lok Sabha, Tuesday. by the treasury benches, which were expunged by Speaker Om Birla late Monday night. Theexpunctionmove,which became public Tuesday, drew CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Close to midnight, Cong Manipur MP’s wake-up call to govt on its ‘silence’ SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, JULY 2 DAYS AFTER the Manipur crisis failed to find a place in the President’s address to Parliament, newly elected Inner Manipur MP A Bimol Akoijam late Monday came all guns blazing against the BJP-led NDA government for “ignoring” the strife-torn state. “Is this silence communicatingtothepeopleof theNortheast and particularly Manipur that you do not matter in the Indian There’s hurt, anger and pain, says A Bimol Akoijam State’s scheme of things?” Akoijam said, addressing the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Can you plan and fall in love, asks Bengal woman who was flogged in public SWEETY KUMARI CHOPRA, JULY 2 “Prem ki bhebe chinte kora jaye (can you plan and fall in love)?” Days after a video came to light showing a Trinamool Congress functionary flogging a couple in public, the 38-yearold woman at the centre of the storm has told The Indian Express that she can put the ignominy of being beaten and humiliated in public behind her as long as she gets to “live life on her own terms.” The woman spoke to The Indian Express from a home wheresheissequesteredinUttar Dinajpur.Outside,severalpolicemen stand guard. The woman, whoismarriedandhastwochildren, said that five years ago, she fell in love with another man. At first, they would meet in secret, she said. When her husband eventually found out, he asked her to leave home, and on June 27, she said she moved in with the other man, who is 35 and also married. To many in the village, she said, this was not acceptable. On June 28, a “salishi sabha” or kangaroo court was called, during which the main accused, TMC’s Tajimul Islam alias JCB, showed up. Clad in a black T-shirt and holding a weapon that seemed custom-made to mete out public justice, it was Islam who led theassault,shesaid.Surrounded by a crowd of dozens, the man andthewomanwerefloggedre- Accused Tajimul Islam has been arrested. ANI lentlessly, even as they writhed in pain on the ground and begged for mercy. The incident took place a stone’s throw from the woman’s home. The woman said she had fearedsuch“punishmentandassault” but she was not prepared for the video to go viral. “What happened here would have stayed here if the video didn’t spread,” she said. It was in the wake of the video that police slapped an attempted murder charge and the case set off widespread outrage. Islam, arrested on Sunday, is now in police custody, also booked under charges of molestation and assault. “I don’t know him, I didn’t see him. Who hitme,Ihavenoknowledge,”the woman said. She is trying to put up a brave face. “I am fine now. This (the 35-year-old’s house) is my home now, and I will not go CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Jalpaiguri woman ends life after ‘public beating over extramarital affair’; 4 held ATRI MITRA AND RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, JULY 2 A WOMAN died purportedly by suicide after she was beaten up byagroupof peoplefromhervillage panchayat in the Phulbari area of West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district for allegedly having an extramarital affair, it is learnt. The incident took place in Bogravita panchayat on June 29, a day after a woman along with a man was flogged in public by a local Trinamool Congress functionary over similar allegations in Chopra block of the neighbouring Uttar Dinajpur district. The woman's husband from Bogravita village said, “My wife ended her life by drinking some poisonous substance after some womenfromthevillagebeather up in front of the panchayat. I complainedtothepolicethatmy wife died because of these womenasshecouldnotbearthe humiliationof beingsummoned to the kangaroo court and then being beaten up publicly.” It was alleged that the woman had an extramarital affair with a youth and had gone missing from her home 10 days ago. At that time, her husband lodged a complaint of her disappearance at the New Jalpaiguri police station. However, her whereabouts were found last Saturday and she returned home, it is learnt. “Once she came back, my wifewassummonedbythepanchayat head and TMC leader Malati Roy and her husband Shankar Roy. When we went there, their supporters started assaulting me and my wife,” the husband said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A half-burnt phone, a memory chip: Gujarat lab helps police in BSY case PAGE 1 ANCHOR JOHNSON T A BENGALURU, JULY 2 A SEMI-BURNT mobile phone from which the memory chip was recovered by forensic expertsinGujaratisamongthekey pieces of evidence gathered by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Karnatakapoliceinacaseof sexual assault of a minor registered againstseniorBJPleaderandformer Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa. The phone had been used by the mother of the victim to recordavideoof herconfronting the former CM at his residence on February 2 after the the minor was allegedly assaulted in his house. According to the police complaint filed by the woman on March 14, she had visited Yediyurappa'shomeonFebruary 2withherdaughter,seekingjusticeinanearliercaseof sexualassault on her daughter. Sources said the phone on which the original recording of the mother's confrontation with Yediyurappa, 81, was recovered from the victim's family during the investigation. While it was damaged, its memory chip containing "the full original video" was recovered by experts at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Gujarat, sources said. On June 27, the CID filed a chargesheet against Yediyurappa and three of his associates under Section 8 (punishmentforsexualassault)of the Protection of Children from BJP leader and former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and underIPCsectionsrelatedtosexual harassment, destruction of evidence and offering gifts to silence the victim. The mobile phone is among the key pieces of evidence documented in the chargesheet, CID sources said. The chargesheet runs into 730 pages and has the statements of 76 witnesses. One of the reasons cited by the CID for the delay in the filing of thechargesheet–thecasewas filed on March 14 and the chargesheetisrequiredtobefiled within 60 days of the filing the FIR – is the time taken to recover the memory chip of the phone. “There is no facility in Karnataka to recover the memory chip from the half-burnt phone.Therewerechancesof the memory chip getting damaged. Only the Gujarat FSL had the facilitytorecoverthechip.Theyrecovered the chip and sent it on May 13," the CID informed the KarnatakaHighCourtonJune14 during the hearing of a plea by Yediyurappa to quash the case. Police sources said the video of theconfrontationwassecretly shot by the mother on a phone that her daughter used. On February 20, after she uploaded the video on social media, the former CM allegedly sent his associates to the mother and daughtertogetthevideorecordingsdeleted.Whilethevideowas deleted from the mother's phone, the original video remainedonherdaughter'sphone. The CID has also found voice sample matches between the voice of Yediyurappa and the voice heard in the video during the confrontation on February 2. Three associates of the former CM — Arun Y M, Rudresh M, andYMariswamy—areaccused of destroying evidence by deleting the video recording of the confrontation. On May 26, the 54-year-old woman died in Bengaluru after an eight-year-battle with lung cancer. Herlawyersaidshehadbeen fighting a relentless battle since 2015 seeking justice for her minor daughter in two separate cases of sexual assault. He said the woman had been running around for support for a case involving the assault of her CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Kolkata