DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Cannot rule out conspiracy in Hathras stampede: SIT DHEERAJ MISHRA & BHUPENDRA PANDEY NEW DELHI, LUCKNOW, JULY 9 THE TWO-MEMBER Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the July 2 stampede at a religious gatheringinHathras,inwhich121 people were killed, has held the event organisers, local police and administrationofficialsresponsible for the incident. The probe teamalsosaiditdoesnotruleout a “major conspiracy” behind it. The SIT submitted its report totheUttarPradeshgovernment Tuesday. Acting on the findings within hours, the state government suspended six officials, including the sub-divisional magistrate of Sikandra Rao. The 855-page SIT report skippedblamingself-styled godman Suraj Pal, also known as Bhole Baba or Narayan Sakaar Hari,whoheldthesatsangwhere the stampede took place. Incidentally,theFIRlodgedin connection with the stampede had also skipped naming the constable-turned-preacher. Policehadearliersaidthevictims, mostly women, fell on the uneven surface while trying to collect soil the preacher had walkedonbeforeheleftthevenue in Sikandra Rao area of Hathras. The SIT of Additional Director General of Police (Agra Zone) Anupam Kulshreshtha and Divisional Commissioner (Aligarh) Chaitra V was set up CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WORLD KYIV MOURNS AS RESCUERS SIFT PILES OF RUBBLE AT BOMBED HOSPITAL TRUMP RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN AS V-P DEADLINE NEARS PAGE 12 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 MODI RECEIVES RUSSIA’S HIGHEST CIVILIAN HONOUR PM tightrope: Killing of children very painful; listening to Putin, I have hope Zelenskyy on PM-Putin meet: Blow to peace bid, huge disappointment PM raises issue of Indians working with Russian Army, Moscow promises release SHUBHAJIT ROY SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JULY 9 NEW DELHI, JULY 9 ACKNOWLEDGING that his visit to Moscow was being watched by the “entire world” which was trying to decode its meaning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi walked the hard diplomatic tightrope in his meeting with RussianPresidentVladimirPutin. So, a day after a suspected IN A strongly-worded criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr ZelenskyyonTuesdayexpressed “huge disappointment” and called it a “devastating blow to peace efforts”. “In Ukraine today, 37 people Russian President Vladimir Putin awards Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle in Moscow on Tuesday. Reuters MOREREPORTS,PAGE7 Russianmissilestruckachildren’s hospitalinUkraine’scapital,Kyiv, Modi told Putin that the death of innocent children causes “pain and the heart simply explodes”, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy werekilled,threeof whomwere children, and 170 were injured, including 13 children, as a result of Russia's brutal missile strike. A Russian missile struck the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AN EXPRESS INVESTIGATION Arunachal Deputy CM to chief of UP Special Task Force, Brij Bhushan’s MP-son to politicians across party lines: Rush to ride Ayodhya boom The Indian Express investigated over 2,500 land registries across 25 villages near the temple since SC’s 2019 verdict — and found many purchases linked to politicians, senior officials, local leaders Meanwhile, 7 years and waiting, no revision in circle rates SHYAMLAL YADAV AYODHYA, NEW DELHI, JULY 9 INTHE fractiouscampaignof the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Ayodhya (Faizabad) seat saw a defeat for the ruling BJP and victory for the SP candidate. On the ground,though,aftertheJanuary inaugurationof theRamtemple, a massive public-private developmentpackagehasturnedland intoprimerealestateandblurred many a dividing line. AninvestigationbyTheIndian Express of land registries — since theSupremeCourtverdictallowingtheRamtempleinNovember 2019 and up to March 2024 — show an up to 30 per cent rise in the number of land transactions in at least 25 villages in Ayodhya and adjoining districts Gonda andBastithatfallwithinaradius of 15 km of the temple. Many of these deals are by family members or those closely linked to politicians across parties and government officials. 1. Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein: His sons Chau Kaan Seng Mein and Aditya Mein bought 3.99hectaresforRs3.72crorebetween September 2022 and September 2023 in Maheshpur CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 File Ayodhya’s Dharam Path. The city is focus of a massive public-private development package. KEY LOCATIONS OF TRANSACTIONS: 15 KM FROM TEMPLE Areas where politicians and officials have bought land in Ayodhya 3 8 Durgaganj SarayuRiver RAM MANDIR 1 2 12 Maheshpur Lolpur Ahatmali ADANI,VVK* 11 Majha Jamthara AyodhyaJunction LucknowRoad Numbers in circles correspond to serial number of land bought by individuals * Companies / trusts 10 15 Kot Sarai Banveerpur 4 9 Haripur Jalalabad Mau Yaduvanshpur Ibrahimpur Barhata 13 Majha Bag Bijaisi Airport Basti Road 5 6 Shahnawazpur Majha 14 Rampur Halwara Majha Sultanpur Akbarpur Road Road Kudha Keshavpur Uparhar Tihura Majha HOABL* Sarairasi Majha Rajepur Uparhar 7 SHYAMLAL YADAV AYODHYA, JULY 9 THE CIRCLE RATE in Ayodhya, where land transactions have surged since the Supreme Court’s2019verdictallowingthe Ram temple, has not been revised for almost seven years. It's oneof the54districtsof thestate where the last revision happened in 2017. Circle rate is the district administration’sassessmentofland valueinitsjurisdiction,basedon which stamp duty is charged on each sale or purchase, and based on which the administration acquires property from land owners, including farmers. The DistrictMagistrateconsidersthe case for a revision every year. In fact, one of the farmers, Durga Prasad Yadav, had sought CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 Fresh encounter in Doda as hunt on to track militants who ambushed convoy ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, JULY 9 A FRESH encounter broke out between militants and security forces in Sezan forest area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda districtonTuesdayevening,evenas the Army, police and CRPF launched a search operation to track down militants involved in the attack on an Army convoy a day earlier. TheSezanforestareaborders Kishtwardistrictononesideand Anantnag on the other, and two to three militants are believed to be trapped there, a senior police officer said. Five soldiers were killed and five injured when militants ambushed a convoy of two Army trucks in Kathua district on Monday afternoon. Sources said security forces are combing throughdenseforestsinBadnota area to track down the militants. The distance between Kathua’s Badnota village, where Monday’s attack took place, and the Sezan forest is around 168 kilometres. Ground troops conducting the searches in Kathua are being supported by helicopter and drone surveillance, and the Army has also moved in Para commandos to the area. The J&K Police has also deployed its SpecialOperationsGroup,which CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Naib Subedar Havildar Anand Singh Kamal Rawat Singh Naik Vinod Singh Rifleman Anuj Negi Rifleman Adarsh Negi EXPLAINED WEDNESDAY, JULY 10, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES E Uptick in ● violence THE UPTICK in terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir comes after the security establishment received inputs of a successful infiltration by a large group around two months ago. According to defence sources, given the nature of the attacks, the involvement of highly trained and motivated militants is suspected. Gambhir is new coach of Team India: ‘Will do everything to make... dreams come true’ SRIRAM VEERA MUMBAI, JULY 9 ATTHEstartof thisyear,Gautam Gambhir was facing a dilemma. With the general elections a few months away, the then Lok Sabha MP wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue as an active politician.Atthebackof hismind was a lucrative offer made by IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders’ owner Shah Rukh Khan. The superstar wanted his one-time captain to return as coach. After consultations with friends and family, those in his inner circle say, Gambhir made up his mind to return to cricket. In his moments of indecision, what guided him in taking the call was a line from poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's famous poem: “Mann ka ho toh Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma during the IPL. File achha, mann ka na ho toh jyada achha (If you get what you wish for, it's good; if not, it's better)”. Theswitchbacktocrickethas provedfruitfulforhim.Aftertaking KKR to the 2024 IPL title and getting credit for the team’s turnaround, Gambhir, 42, has now replaced Rahul Dravid as India’s new coach. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata