DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 2024, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES BY UNNY RAPE-MURDER OF JUNIOR DOCTOR IN KOLKATA: SC HEARING TODAY 16 external, 9 internal injuries, death NDA allies LJP, JD(U) red-flag by strangulation: post-mortem report officers’ lateral INDIA bloc unease grows as ally TMC targets those raising queries All injuries before death, showing evidence of vital reactions: Report Beginning today, DESHKAAL A weekly column by Yogendra Yadav PAGE 9 About politics as our yugadharma, the different ways of sensing, shaping — and suffering it as well. EVERY TUESDAY Jammu again: CRPF officer killed in attack, search ops on ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, AUGUST 19 A CRPF inspector was killed on Monday in a gunfight after militants opened fire on a joint security team in Dudu area of Udhampur district, the second such attack in Jammu region in the past five days. Sourcessaidthejointteamof CRPF and J&K Police personnel was on its way to an under-construction police post in Chill village in Dudu subdivision near Kathua district’s Lohai Malhar area,whereanArmyconvoywas attacked on July 8, killing four soldiers and a policeman. The joint party was on a routine visit to the post when, at around 2.45 pm, militants hiding in the forests opened fire on it, a police officer said. In the exchange of fire that followed, the CRPF inspector was killed. Sources identified the CRPF inspector as Deepak Kumar of 187 Battalion. Furtherdetailsareawaitedas theareawherethegunfighttook place is nearly three hours walking distance from the nearest motorable road, a police officer told The Indian Express, adding that reinforcements have been rushed to the site and a search operation has been launched. The attack comes three days after the Election Commission announced the much-awaited AssemblyelectionsinJ&Kinthree phases beginning September 18. ItisthesecondsuchattackonsecuritypersonnelinJammuregion since August 14 when an Army Captain was killed and a civilian injuredinagunfightinDodadistrict’s Akar forests adjoining the Patnitop hill station. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 1 ANCHOR MATTER OF CONCERN: CHIRAG RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, AUGUST 19 SIXTEENEXTERNALandnineinternalinjurymarks,deathdueto manual strangulation and smothering, and forceful penetration — these are among the findings of the post-mortem report of the junior doctor who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’sRGKarMedicalCollege and Hospital, it is learnt. The findings emerged a day after the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance and listed matters related to the case for hearing on Tuesday. The post-mortem examination was done from 6:10 pm to 7:10 pm on August 9. It states that “death was due to effects of manualstrangulationassociated withsmothering”andthe“manner of death” is “homicidal”. “There is medical evidence of forceful penetration/insertion in CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE PAGE 3 MANOJ C G & NIKHILA HENRY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 19 Calcutta High Court lawyers take out a protest rally on Monday against the rape and murder of a junior doctor at R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Partha Paul Under fire, Kolkata police get cracking — on social media: 1 arrest, 280 notices SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, AUGUST 19 STUDENTS, DOCTORS, YouTubersandleadersfromboth the BJP and the Trinamool Congressfigureinalistof people whohavebeenissuednoticesby the Kolkata Police — 280 in total — for allegedly spreading “misinformation” or “revealing pictures or the identity” of the jun- WEEKS AFTER MOSCOW SUMMIT PM Modi in Ukraine on August 23, will hold talks with Zelenskyy Delhi advocates diplomacy and dialogue to resolve conflict: MEA DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 19 BARELY SIX weeks after his visit to Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Ukrainian capital Kyiv on August23—hisfirstsincethewar broke out — and hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. WhileNewDelhiiswillingto contribute in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict, India believes that “a negotiated settlement acceptable to both sides” istheonlysolution,officialsfrom the Ministry of External Affairs said Monday. Before visiting Ukraine, the Prime Minister will travel to PolandonAugust21-22,thefirst visit by an Indian PM to Poland in 45 years. He will cross over to Ukraine from there, in “the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine after establishment PM Modi with Zelenskyy. File of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992”, as per an MEA statement. The conflict in Ukraine will form part of discussions, said MEA Secretary (West) Tanmaya Lal, adding that India has always calledfordiplomacyanddialogue to resolve the conflict. “Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable tobothparties.Anditcanonlybe anegotiatedsettlement,”hesaid. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ior doctor, who was raped and murdered at Kolkata’s RG Kar MedicalCollegeandHospital,The Indian Express has found. In fact, notices have been served not only to people from West Bengal, but to many social mediaprofileholdersfromUttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Police sources said these include fake or anonymous profiles, with some intending to give the case a com- munal colour. On Monday, the West Bengal police arrested a 23-year-old second-yearB.Comstudentover allegations of sharing a “provocative social media post” against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. According to the police, the studentisaccusedof incitinghatred by “encouraging” people to assassinate the CM. Police said CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HAVING BACKED the Mamata Banerjee government initially over the R G Kar Hospital rape andmurderincident,evenwhile seeking justice for the victim, INDIA bloc parties are showing growing unease over the way the Trinamool Congress is handlingthefallout,includingpolice action and political attacks on those raising their voices. This is the first serious strain since the Lok Sabha election results on ties within the alliance, whichjustcameoff aParliament session where it managed to put up a united show. The parties have that at the back of their mind, as well as the fact that the BJP, which has demanded Mamata’s resignation, is waiting to strike at the TMC government. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 entry, TDP backs Should not be giving a weapon in hands of Opposition, says K C Tyagi DEEPTIMAN TIWARY & NIKHILA HENRY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 19 DIFFERENCES EMERGED in the BJP-ledNDAonMondayoverthe Union Public Service Commission’s (UPSC) decision to fill 45 government posts through lateralentry.TheJanataDal(United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) opposed the move while the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) came out in support, saying that lateral entry into bureaucracy “will enhance the quality of governance and delivery of services to the common citizen”. “We are a party that has been asking governments to fill quotas since inception. We are followers of Ram Manohar Lohia. When people have been socially disadvantaged for centuries, why are you seeking merit? This order by the government is a matter of serious concern for us,” JD(U) national CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED BUSINESS AS USUAL `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES & ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 E Absolutely not in support, says LJP leader What are lateral ● entries? IN 2017, NITI Aayog and the Sectoral Group of Secretaries on Governance recommended the induction of personnel at middle and senior management levels in the central government. These ‘lateral entrants’ would be part of the central secretariat which, till then, had only career bureaucrats. They would be given contracts of three years, extendable to a total of five years. CAS on Phogat: Rules draconian, fairer to ‘limit consequences’ to final bout MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, AUGUST 19 TERMING THE rules that led to Vinesh Phogat’s complete elimination from the Paris Olympics as “draconian”, the sole arbitrator who heard her appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said a “fairer solution” would have been to uphold the first day’s results and “limit the Phogat’s appeal was dismissed consequences”toonlythe50-kg gold-medal bout, for which the wrestler was disqualified for being 100g overweight. In a one-line order on August 13, the Ad Hoc Division of CAS had dismissed Phogat's appeal. In a 24-page detailed order on Monday, Annabelle Bennett, the Australian arbitrator who presided over the case, underlined that although there was “no wrongdoing” on Phogat’s part, the “formation or validity” of the United World Wrestling’s (UWW) competition policy was not “subject to challenge”. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the inauguration of a photo exhibition in Bengaluru, Monday. PTI HC tells special court ‘MANY ICONS CRUMBLED... VERY HIGHLY PLACED MEN INVOLVED’ to defer proceedings Sexual abuse in Kerala film industry, against Siddaramaiah women threatened with ban: Report JOHNSON T A EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, AUGUST 19 THE JUSTICE Hema Committee report, which looked into the problems faced by women working in the Malayalam film industry,hasfoundthattheseinclude sexual harassment, lack of basic facilities like women’s toilets, gender bias and discrimination, disparity in remuneration, and the absence of a legally constituted authority to address their problems. The report, which has been with the state government for the last four- and-a-half years, was released on Monday after several rounds of legal battles in court as well as at the State Information Commission. The three-member committee,headedbyretiredHighCourt judge Justice K Hema, was formed in July 2017 in the wake CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 of the sexual assault of a prominent actor in a moving vehicle in February that year. The committee said incidents narrated by witnesses include those involving “highly placed men in cinema”. “It is very painful to hear some incidents narrated by witnesses in which very highly placed men in cinema were involved. These are the people whom society looks up to with CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BENGALURU, AUGUST 19 DAYS AFTER Governor Thawarchand Gehlot granted sanction for prosecutionof Chief MinisterSiddaramaiah,allowing threeprivatecomplainantstofile cases in court, the Karnataka High Court on Monday told a special court to “defer all proceedings”andnottopassanyorder “that frustrates the proceedings in the HC”. Whiletwoprivatecomplaints havebeenfiledagainsttheCMin the special court, Siddaramaiah, onMonday,filedapetitioninthe HC challenging the Governor’s order. A single-Judge Bench of the HC adjourned the hearing of the CM’s plea to August 29. Justice M Nagaprasanna said noinjunctionwasgrantedonthe Governor’s sanction for prosecution, but the special court should deferproceedingstilltheHCmatter concludes. The special court “shoulddeferallproceedingsand not precipitate the matter in any CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Can speak freely now’: Dhaka to Comilla, echoes of hope and fear EXPRESS INDHAKA SHUBHAJIT ROY DHAKA, COMILLA & NOAKHALI, AUGUST 19 THE ROAD from Dhaka to Comilla on National Highway-1, popularly called ‘Chittagong Highway’, is a marker of the “unnoti” (development) that many, including some of the hardened critics of the Awami League, credit Sheikh Hasina’s rule with. But as you drop off the rainsoaked highway — four-lane for most of the journey but sometimes widening into six lanes — and wind your way through the countryside and small towns, theroadsbecomenarrower,broken and pothole-pocked. “There was widespread corruption as well (during Hasina’s rule), as you can tell from the quality of the roads. So there is a question mark over the Awami League’s development claims as well,” says Sayeeda, a student of Noakhali Science and Technology University. In Noakhali and other towns and cities outside capital Dhaka, as many still try to process the momentous events of July and August that led to the ouster of the 16-year-old government led by former prime minister and Awami League leader SheikhHasina,thereisasenseof relief coupled with anxiety for the future. The Indian Express travelled to Comilla, about 100 km from Dhaka, and Noakhali, 171 km from the capital, and found that conversations on “unnoti” (development) are almost always followed by how “odhikar” (rights) were in short supply Burnt vehicles at a police station in Comilla town, about 100 kilometres from Dhaka. Shubhajit Roy during Hasina’s rule. “Aamra kotha bolte pari (We can speak freely now),” says Tanya Naznin, a student of library science at the government-run Noakhali Science and Technology University. Her friends at the girls’ hostel, from departments as varied as oceanographyandmicrobiology, nod in agreement. The youngsters say that for far too long, students associated with the Awami League would have a say in who got a hostel — “anyone who stood up to them would be branded and labelled as belonging to Jamaat Shibir (the students’ wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh),” says a student of oceanography on condition of anonymity. Another student, from the microbiology department, says, “They would harass and intimidate us. We had no protection from the university administration since they were filled with party loyalists. It was hell for us.” Almost all of them make it a point to underline that theirs is a fight for rights, not against each other. “We have Hindu friends in the Hall (the university hostel), we make sure they are comfortable and are not harassed,” says Naznin, the library science student. Afewkilometresaway,atthe Gandhi Ashram in Noakhali — Mahatma Gandhi visited Noakhali in November 1946- March 1947 following HinduMuslim riots — the recent incidents of violence against Hindus andotherminoritieshangheavy. Officials say that while there have been no attacks on the Hindu households surrounding the Ashram, there is a sense of foreboding. They say local BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders have assured them that the Ashram will not be harmed. Some of them even guarded the premises — a lush green campus that has a small pond and a twostoreyed red-brick building that was built with the assistance of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata