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, JULY 19, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 NEXT HEARING ON JULY 22 ReportNEET-UGresults city-wise,centre-wise, SCtellstestingagency 19/07/2024 100 128 158 78 Court sets July 20, 12 noon deadline, tells NTA to mask students’ identities BY UNNY ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, JULY 18 TRAIN DERAILS IN UP, 3 KILLED Three persons were killed when the Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express derailed near Gonda in Uttar Pradesh Thursday. PTI P9 In TN, CM Stalin’s Allies, BJP’s Naqvi question order, son Udhayanidhi say it will hurt social harmony to be Deputy CM Police say ‘voluntary’; BJP says ‘gives Hindus equal rights’ MUZAFFARNAGAR POLICE ORDER ON KANWAR ROUTE EATERIES ARUN JANARDHANAN VIKAS PATHAK & NEETIKA JHA CHENNAI, JULY 18 UDHAYANIDHI STALIN, Tamil Nadu’sYouthWelfareandSports Development Minister and son of Chief MinisterMKStalin,isset to be elevated as the Deputy Chief Minister before August 22, according to top sources in the DMKgovernment.Thiselevation mirrors that of his father, who became Deputy CM after the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Udhayanidhi pushed for the promotion to gain “wider acceptance” within the government and to lighten the load on his father, it is learnt. A senior DMK source confirmed that Udhayanidhi’s elevation is certain and will likely take place before CM Stalin’s scheduled trip to the United States on August 22. The primary motive is to reduce the Chief Minister’s workload, facilitating smoother gov- NEW DELHI, JULY 18 Udhayanidhi is likely to get new role before Stalin leaves for the US on August 22 ernance. “This move will help groomUdhayanidhibytakingon significant responsibilities,” a senior minister said, citing the needtoprepareforthedemanding 2026 Assembly polls. Despite mixed opinions in the state’s political circles about Udhayanidhi’s political commitment, a senior minister dismissed doubts, asserting that the post was not imposed but requested by Udhayanidhi himself. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Day after Assam cops say 3 militants killed, families cite video to claim fake encounter SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, JULY 18 THEFAMILIESof threemen,who were accused of being Hmar militants and were killed by the Assam police on Wednesday morning, have raised questions on the circumstances surrounding their death, citing a video which purportedly shows them being apprehended from an autorickshaw a day earlier. In a social media post on Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote, “In an early morning operation,Cacharpolicekilledthree Hmar militants from Assam and neighbouring Manipur. Police also recovered two AK rifles, one other rifle, and one pistol.” Cachar borders Manipur’s Jiribam district, which has been on the boil since last month. The Hmar community is part of the Kuki-Zo ethnic group, which is in conflict with Meiteis in the state. There is also a Hmarpopulation in Cachar, and a large number of Kuki-Zo people, including Hmars, who have been displaced from Jiribam, are currently taking shelter in Cachar. A 1 minute 18 second video that emerged on Wednesday CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BJP ALLIES JD(U) and RLD and seniorBJPleaderMukhtarAbbas Naqvi joined Opposition parties Thursdayinquestioninganorder by the police in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, directing that shops and carts falling on the Kanwar Yatra route display the names of their owners. After the order, which followed demands on these lines by the local BJP MLA and a prominent Hindu seer, drew criticism,the Muzaffarnagar police issued a fresh advisory Thursday saying that shopown- CBI will need consent for inquiry against state officials, says MP Govt ANAND MOHAN J BHOPAL, JULY 18 THE BJP Government in Madhya Pradesh, led by Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, on Thursday said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would require its written consent for initiating any inquiry against state government officials. The CBI is governed by The Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946. Section 6 of the DSPE Act (on “consent of state government to exercise of powers and jurisdiction”) states: “Nothing contained in Section 5 (on “extension of powers and jurisdiction of special police establishment to other areas”) shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JD(U)’s K C Tyagi, BJP’s Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi ers could display their names and those of their employees “of their own will”. The BJP, however, defended the police order, saying it allows fastingHinduswhomaywantto eat at a pure vegetarian restaurant, “where the likelihood of them being served Satvik food is higher”, a choice. Speaking to The Indian Express, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi said the Kanwar Yatra was taken out in several places across the country, including Bihar, UP and Rajasthan.“Therehasneverbeen any communal flare-up. If there are any anti-social elements, the police are competent to tackle them. If we demarcate on a religious level, communal harmony will suffer,” Tyagi said. He added: “Across the westernUPbeltfromwheretheYatra passes, there are places where 30-40% of the population is Muslim.Muslimartisansarealso involved in making the kanwars which the pilgrims carry, and in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE SUPREME Court Thursday asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish citywise and centre-wise NEET-UG 2024 examination results of all 23 lakh candidates, masking their identities, on its website by 12 pm Saturday. “We direct the NTA to publish the marks obtained by students at the UG-2024 NEET examination, while, at the same time, without disclosing the identity of the students. The result should be declared city and centre-wise by 12 noon on 20 July 2024 and shall be uploaded on the website of the NTA,” a three-judge bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud ordered. The bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj E E X P L A I NE D BUSINESS AS USUAL ● Rising Numbers THE NEET-UG was conducted at 4,750 exam centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. In 2023, 4,097 centres in 499 cities were designated to conduct the test; in 2022, there were 3,547 centres in 497 cities. The rationale for the increase in centres was to ensure more coverage of rural areas. Misra also questioned the Centre’s stand that the alleged leak of question papers in Hazaribagh had occurred just one hour before the start of the exam, and termed it far-fetched. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CBI detains 4 students from AIIMS-Patna SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JULY 18 THE CBI has detained four MBBS students from AIIMS Patna in connectionwiththeallegedleak of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) question paper. “The CBI had shared phone numbers and photographs of someof ourstudents.Theagency thentooktheMBBSstudentsunder detention,” said Gopal KrishnaPal,executivedirectorof AIIMSPatna.Hesaidthestudents were cooperating with the CBI. Police sources said the four students were suspected of having been engaged by the alleged paper leak kingpin Sanjeev Mukhiya’s gang to solve the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INDIA-BANGLA KIDNEY RACKET: ACCUSED FURNISHES NEW DETAILS Another Apollo doctor, clearance committee under police scanner MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL & KAUNAIN SHERIFF M NEW DELHI, JULY 18 THE DELHI Police probe into an organ transplantation racket across Bangladesh and India, in whichadoctorfromDelhi-based Indraprastha Apollo Hospital was arrested earlier this month, has now expanded in its scope to look at the alleged role of another top transplant surgeon at the same hospital, The Indian Express has learnt. The Delhi police had arrested Dr Vijaya Kumari for her alleged involvement in a network where Bangladeshi nationals were brought to her for transplants via medicaltourismchannels.Oneof the accused, during questioning, has told police that some of the foreignpatientswerealsoreferred to Kumari’s senior colleague. This disclosure has set in motion two lines of inquiry, sources said.Policehavesought“comprehensive details” of all kidney transplantsinvolvingBangladeshi nationals conducted at Apollo Hospital in Delhi and Noida, as well as at Yatharth Hospital in Noida — where Kumari also worked. Investigators have also turned to the government-appointed authorisation committee, the body that ultimately approves kidney transplants, for detailsonthepanelandtheirapprovals and if they had flagged any irregularities. “The accused will claim they had the necessary approvals so we will HC: Illegal constructions due to govt’s attitude of making citizens run Pointing gun at farmers: Khedkar’s around for approvals Bombay HC says authorities would mother in police custody till July 20 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 bend over backwards for big industries OMKAR GOKHALE MUMBAI, JULY 18 THE BOMBAY High Court on Thursday observed that “illegal constructions come up due to the state authorities’ attitude of making citizens run from pillar to post” for several years to obtain required permissions and said that the authorities would “bend over backwards”, and act differently in case the approvals were sought by big industries. Thecourtflaggedthe“hypertechnical” and “incorrect” approach of the monitoring committee for Eco Sensitive Zone (ESZ) of Sanjay Gandhi National Park(SGNP)towardsapetitioner who intended to comply with conditionsto construct a bungalow nearly 36 metres away from the SGNP boundary. The court pulled up the government lawyer as the reason to deny the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) was that the petitioner had addressed to the member secretary of the committee,insteadof thecommittee itself. It asked the committee to decidewithinamonthaboutthe approvaltoconstructthebungalow, application for which was given in July 2020. A division bench of Justices Mahesh S Sonak and Kamal R Khata was hearing writ plea by one Shailesh More who argued that as per October 31, 1974 letter of the District Inspector of Land Records, there was no dispute on the fact that the land concerned was in no manner part of SGNP. Despite this, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE PUNE, JULY 18 ACOURTinPuneonThursdayremandedManoramaKhedkar,the mother of controversial probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, in police custody till July 20, in a case in which she has been charged with threatening farmers at gunpoint in Pune district. AnFIRwas lodged in thecase atPaudpolicestationinPunerural by a farmer Pandharinath Pasalkar (65) on July 12. Based on Pasalkar’s complaint, the police had booked Puja’s mother Manorama, father Dilip Khedkar — both of whom areresidentsofNationalHousing Society in Baner — Ambadas KhedkarofAmbivillageinHaveli, and others under sections 323, 504, 506, 143, 144, 147, 148 and Manorama Khedkar is taken to hospital for medical examination after her arrest, in Pune on Thursday. PTI 149oftheIndianPenalCode(IPC) and sections of the Arms Act. The Pune Rural police have now also invoked IPC Section 307 (attempt to murder) against Manorama in this case. The FIR was lodged after a videoshowingManoramabrandishing a gun at a farmer surfacedonsocialmediaandtelevision channels. In the purported video,Manoramaisseenaccompanied by a few bouncers and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Bengaluru mall denies entry to farmer in dhoti, admits ‘mistake’ after outrage PAGE 1 ANCHOR KIRAN PARASHAR BENGALURU, JULY 18 CIVIC AUTHORITIES in Bengaluru decided Thursday to seal a mall over property tax dues, two days after an elderly farmerwasdeniedentryintothe shopping-cinema complex because he was in a dhoti. The incident involving Fakirappa, a 62-year-old farmer from Haveri district visiting his son in Bengaluru, at GT World Mallledtooutrageanddemands for action against the mall. As the incident snowballed, with the matter figuring in the Assembly Thursday, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) took action against the mall,whichislocatedonMagadi mainroad,sayingitowesRs1.78 crore in property tax. A BBMP officer said the mall hadfailed to paypropertytaxfor the year 2023-24. “A notice was issued earlier but since the payment has not been received yet, wedecidedtoshutthemall,”the officer said. Later in the evening, FakirappatoldTheIndianExpress, “I thank the media for standing by me and farmers. I never thought I would get such support from the public, government and media. I am happy that everyone stood by me. This is a lesson for the malls that nobody should be denied entry over attire.” Narratingtheincidentearlier, Fakirappa had said he travelled to Bengaluru to meet his son Nagaraj, an MBA graduate who works in the Kannada film industry as a technician. On Tuesday, Nagaraj took his parents to the mall for a movie around6pm.Astheywereabout to enter the mall, the security staff stopped Fakirappa, saying dhoti-clad men are not allowed inside. Despite repeated pleas from Nagaraj and Fakirappa, the security supervisor did not relent, saying even women wearing nighties would not be allowed inside. He said no mall would allow people in such attire. On Wednesday, Fakirappa said, “I am a farmer and have Fakirappa (left), a farmer, was stopped at the G T World Mall on Tuesday travelled a long distance to see my son. He took us to the mall. I was denied entry for wearing a dhoti. I told my son to return home, but he questioned such rules. I had never come across such an incident.” Nagaraj said, “I asked the security staff for the reason and was told that my father was wearing a dhoti and that is why he was stopped. I spoke with a friend but they did not allow us in for 30 minutes. Then I called my friends and after the media arrived, they let us go inside when we were about to leave.” A video of the father and son pleading with the mall security to let them in started doing the roundsonsocialmedia,drawing severe criticism. A mall employee, who did not want to be named, told The Indian Express that although thereisnowritteninstructionon dress code, they had an oral instruction to not allow people in “dirty clothes”. On Thursday, Prashanth, ownerof GTWorldMall,toldThe Indian Express: “I am taking the totalresponsibilityforthemistake thathashappenedfromourend.” Confirming that they received notices over the dues, he said, “The BBMP has sought explanation... We are closing down the mall from today (Thursday) even before getting a sealing notice. We have already spoken to all the shops and multiplexes in the mall. We will open after the issue gets cleared.” Incidentally, the controversy over local attire comes amid ef- forts by the Congress-led government in Karnataka to promote Kannada and domicile interests, the latest a Bill for job quota in private sector for “local candidates”. EarlieronThursday,theissue came up in the Assembly with Speaker U T Khader saying the government should take action against the mall. “I saw the episode in the media. A villager comes to Bengaluru and his son has taken him to the mall to make him happy. The entry denied over traditional dress of the state is unacceptable. No matter who the owner is, action should beinitiatedandcondemntheincident. This incident must be a lesson to other malls,” he said. LeaderofOppositionRAshoka said similar incidents have been discussed many times in the House but nothing has yielded. “I remember a committee was formedheadedbyCongressMLA NAHarisandhehadsubmitteda report. But it has not been implemented yet,” he said. State Urban Development and Town Planning Minister Byrathi Suresh said on behalf of the government that they condemn theincidentandwillclose the mall for seven days. InFebruarythisyear,security staff at a Metro station here deniedamanentrycitinghis“dirty clothes”. In a video that circulated on social media, the man was seen wearing a white shirt and carrying a bundle of clothes on his head. The security officer was suspended after the video triggered outrage.