DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Under fire, IAS probationer recalled, her training on hold EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, JULY 16 INDIAN ADMINISTRATIVE Service (IAS) probationer Puja Khedkar, who faces allegations of misusing the Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Persons With Benchmark Disabilities (PwBD) quotas,hasbeen“recalled”tothe Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy and Administration (LBSNAA)andher“districttraining programme” has been put “on hold”. In a letter to Khedkar on Tuesday,MaharashtraAdditional Chief SecretaryNitinGadresaid: “It is informed that Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy and Administration, Mussoorie, has decided to keep your district trainingprogrammeonholdand immediately recall you for furthernecessaryaction.Therefore, youareherebyrelievedfromthe district training programme of the state government of Maharashtra...Youareinstructed to join the Academy at the earliest but not later than July 23, 2024...” TheLBSNAAinMussoorieisa training institution for civil servants. Earlier this month, Khedkar (34) was transferred from Pune `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ENCOUNTER IN FOREST AREA OF JAMMU’S DODA DISTRICT Captain among four Army personnel killed in J&K gunfight, search ops on Second attack in a week; ground forces assisted by helicopter, drone surveillance Attack surge in Jammu lays bare chinks in security ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, JULY 16 AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & NAVEED IQBAL FOUR ARMY personnel, including a Captain, were killed in an encounter with a group of militants late Monday night inside Koti forests in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Army identified the four as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Bijendra and Sepoy Ajay — from Rashtriya Rifles — and said they had “laid down their lives in the line of duty, while undertaking a counter terrorist operation in Doda in order to ensure peace in the region”. This comes a week after five soldiers were killed when militants ambushed a convoy of two ArmytrucksinKathuadistricton July 8. In fact, since the June 9 terror attackonabuscarryingpilgrims inReasi,Jammuhasseenasurge in militant activity, with the security establishment often the target. At least 10 security personnelhave been killed and severalothersinjuredinencounters inJammudivision’sReasi,Kathua and Doda districts since then. The militants who killed the four Army personnel in Monday night’s encounter are suspected tobethesamegroupthatfledafter attacking security forces in the district’s Sezan forests on THE LATEST encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district has once again laid bare the gaps in the security infrastructure of a belt that had seen long stretches of peace until recent years. Since 2021, areas south of the Pir Panjal range, including Poonch, ● Rajouri and Jammu, have seen a surge in high-intensity terror targeting security forces and civilians. InJanuary,formerArmyChief General Manoj Pande acknowledged that terrorism in that area had been brought under control by 2003, and the region saw peace till 2017-18. However, he admitted that India’sadversarieshavebeenactively abetting terrorismandencouraging “proxy tanzeems (groups with a common objective)” in this area, even as the situationintheKashmirValleywas getting back to normal. While there were three attacks each in the Jammu region against security forces in 2022 and 2023, six attacks have been recorded so far this year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, SRINAGAR, JULY 16 E EXPLAINED BY UNNY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha pays tribute to the Army personnel killed in the encounter in Doda district at the Technical Airport in Jammu, Tuesday. PTI JHUNJHUNU MOURNS A Sepoy who died on wife’s birthday, another looking to return home HAMZA KHAN JAIPUR, JULY 16 Clockwise from top left: Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, Sepoy Ajay Kumar Singh and Sepoy Bijendra RELATED REPORTS PAGE 5 HOURS BEFORE he was killed in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda on Monday, Sepoy Ajay Singh Naruka, 24, had called his family inRajasthan’sJhunjhunudistrict, saying he would be home around July 20. Sepoy Bijendra, 25, who was from the same district and was also killed in the gunfight, had wished he were home on Monday to celebrate the birthday of his wife, Ankita. Both Sepoys of Rashtriya Rifles,enrolledinSeptember2018, sustained“gunshotwounds”during the encounter at about 8 pm Monday and succumbed to their injuries,alongwithtwootherpersonnel, including a Captain. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HC restrains Mamata: Can’t make defamatory remarks against Bose IN CONVERSATION RAVIK BHATTACHARYA & ATRI MITRA KOLKATA, JULY 16 THE CALCUTTA High Court on Tuesday restrained West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and three Trinamool Congress leadersfrommakingany“defamatory or incorrect statement” against Governor C V Ananda Bose until August 14 when the matter will be heard next. The court said the right to freedom of speech and expression“isnotanunfetteredrightin the garb of which defamatory Governor C V Ananda Bose; CM Mamata Banerjee statements can be made to tarnish the reputation of a person”. A single judge bench of Justice Krishna Rao passed the interim order while hearing a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ChesslegendViswanathan Anand,wifeArunaandtop playerArjunErigaisiwith AnantGoenka,Executive Director,TheIndianExpress Group,andAmitKamath, AssistantEditor,TheIndian Express,attheExpressAdda inChennaionTuesday. Abhinav Saha Jaipur PLAN TO HOLD BOARD EXAMS TWICE A YEAR On Govt table: CBSE’s second board exam for Class 12 in June ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NEW DELHI, JULY 16 IN KEEPING with the plan to conduct board exams twice a year, as recommended by the NationalCurriculumFramework for School Education (NCFSE), the Government is considering scheduling a second Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exam for Class 12 students in June from 2026, The Indian Express has learnt. Currently, a Class 12 student appearsfortheCBSEboardexam in February-March. After the resultsaredeclaredinMay,shehas the option to improve her performanceinonesubjectthrough “supplementary exams” held in July. Students who have not cleared their papers and whose results have been declared as “compartment” can also sit for the “supplementary exams”. This year, for instance, “supple- mentary exams” for Class 12 were held on July 15. However, the new National EducationPolicy,2020,envisages moving away from high-stakes exams and proposes biannual boardexamstoprovidestudents with more opportunities. In line withthis,theEducationMinistry has asked the CBSE to prepare a proposal for holding two board exams per year, to be implemented from 2026. Although the government is yet to decide the final shape and formof thetwo-boardexamsystem, one option on the table is for students to take a second set of exams in June, a source said. Instead of the current system where Class 12 students take “supplementaryexams”for“improvement of performance” in only one subject, they would have the option to retake their exams in any or all subjects of their choice in June. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Centre reconstitutes NITI Aayog, brings in allies as special invitees AGGAM WALIA NEW DELHI, JULY 16 THE GOVERNMENT on Tuesday reconstituted theNITIAayog, increasing the number of special invitees from five to 11, including five ministers from the BJP’s allies -- H D Kumaraswamy (JDS), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD-U), K R Naidu (TDP) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-Ram Vilas). Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the Chairperson and economist Suman K Bery will continue to be the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog, according to the notification. Scientist V K Saraswat, agricultural economist Ramesh Chand, paediatrician V K Paul and macro-economist Arvind Virmani will also continue to be full-time members of the gov- ernment think-tank. BVR Subrahmanyamwillalsoremain the CEO. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has replacedhispredecessorNarendra Singh Tomar as an ex-officio member. The other ex-officio members include Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Among the other special invitees are Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), J P Nadda (Health), Virendra Kumar (Social Justice and Empowerment), Jual Oram (Tribal Affairs), Annapurna Devi (Women and Child Development) and Rao Inderjit Singh(StatisticsandProgramme Implementation). Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD, P10 TRUMP AT PARTY CONVENTION AFTER ASSASSINATION BID VANCE, ONCE A TRUMP CRITIC, NOW HIS RUNNING MATE