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 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2024, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CONTOURS OF REDEPLOYMENT POSSIBLE AFTER NEXT ROUND OF MILITARY TALKS India and China make ‘significant progress’ on pending LAC issues in eastern Ladakh INDIA AND China are learnt to have made “significant progress” in narrowing their gap on pending issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. This includes exploring the contours of a possible solution that factors in their respective pre-April 2020 positions while agreeing to ad- PAKISTAN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 25 DepsangPlains Ladakh Daulat Hot BegOldie Galwan Springs J&K Leh Srinagar PangongTso Demchok CHINA AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA dress existing issues in Arunachal Pradesh, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said this might im- plythatIndiantroops,whoseaccess to certain patrolling points along the LAC were blocked either by Chinese troops or due to theimplementationof thebuffer zones created in the backdrop of disengagement at specific friction points, might be close to accessing them again. Top officials have confirmed thatthedevelopmenttookplace during the latest diplomatic and politicalleveltalksbetweenboth CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E EXPLAINED Both sides explore solution that factors in pre-standoff positions, to address pending issues in Arunachal At centre ● of dispute FRICTION POINTS such as Galwan Valley, north and south banks of Pangong Tso, Gogra-Hot Springs area have seen some resolution with buffer zones. Legacy issues of Depsang Plains and Demchok remain — troops at Depsang Plains were blocked from accessing patrol points. Disengagement one part of problem, main issue is patrolling: Jaishankar YOSHITA SINGH NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 25 THE INDIA-CHINA relationship wouldinfluencethefutureof the entire world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while making it clear that peace needed to be restored on the AN EXPRESS INVESTIGATION AMID AIRSTRIKES, ISRAEL PREPARES FOR GROUND ATTACK ON LEBANON RUSSIA MAY USE NUKES IF ATTACKED: PUTIN TO WEST P 16 Company got fresh contract for waste disposal despite flouting previous deal’s terms A heavily waterlogged Bhandup railway station in Mumbai on Wednesday. Deepak Joshi 250 mm rain in 6 hrs: Mumbai brought to its knees yet again EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THE CITY TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR battered Mumbai on Wednesday with several pockets of the suburbs receiving over 250 mm rain within six hours. The intense spells triggered waterlogging acrossseveralareas,trafficsnarls, disruption of train services and diversion of at least 14 flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) updated its warning and issued a red alert in MumbaiandThane—firstforthis month — which will be in place till 8.30 am, Thursday. According totheweatherbureau,heavyrain is here to stay with an orange warningsoundedinMumbaiand Thane districts for Thursday. IMD data showed that while heavy rain was recorded until Wednesday morning, just 16 mm rainfall was recorded in the city and suburbs between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. However, by evening, rainfall intensifiedandover250mmrainfallbatteredthecityinthenextsix hours. According to the BrihanmumbaiMunicipalCorporation’s (BMC)automaticweatherstation, between 4 pm and 10 pm, heavi- MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 25 JAY MAZOOMDAAR KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 25 THE CBI is probing the sale and disposal of biomedical waste as partof itsallegedcorruptioncase at Kolkata’s R G Kar Medical College Hospital, the epicentre of a political firestorm after last month’s rape and murder of a medical intern there. A little-known company, SNG Envirosolutions, could hold one key to this in the manner it grew to handle up to 70% of waste from government hospitals across the state, including at RG Kar, without owning a single waste treatment plant in violation of its contract’s terms, an investigation by The Indian Express has revealed. Records show that in 2019, the company, owned by Kolkata businessman S P Singh, won the contract by tying up with a Delhi firm that owned a treatment plant in UP. At a daily rate of Rs 8-9 per bed — there are an estimated 80,000 government hospital beds across the state — SNG collected tonnes of hospital waste daily for 44 months relying on a sub-contract with its rival. All this while, SNG operated from a “table” in the premises of one its key investors, a business family of Kolkata. The government terminated SNG’s contract in June 2023, when the sub-contractor pulled out. Within three months, SNG set up its first treatment plant in the state — and was awarded a fresh contract. When contacted by The Indian Express,RajivaSinha,who was the state’s Health Secretary whenSNGwonthecontract,said that “everything went by the book”.Headdedthattherulesallowedcompanieswithouttreatment plants, “provided they set up the facilities within the prescribed deadline of four months from getting environmental clearance (EC).” SNG, however, did notcomplete the EC application process for years. Asked about this, Sinha, who is now the state’s Election Commissioner, said: “If a company violated any condition later,mysuccessorsintheHealth (department) must have taken appropriate steps.” Incidentally, Sinha was the Calcutta Environment Improvement Project director in 2006 when another company owned by S P Singh, SNG Mercantile, was hired as a consultant for a project funded by the Asian CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUBURBAN TRAIN, FLIGHT SERVICES DISRUPTED PAGE 4 est downpour was recorded in pocketslikeMankhurd(276mm), Powai (274 mm) and Ghatkopar (259mm),whilethewesternsuburbs received maximum rain in Jogeshwari (191 mm) and Marol (176 mm). Several areas such as Kurla, Bhandup, Mulund and Andheri subway were inundated, forcing motorists and pedestrians wade through ankle-deep waters. Waterloggingwasreportedacross several key carriageways, including western and eastern express highwaysaswellasAmarsonsinterchangeexitatBreachCandy,resulting in traffic snarls along the newly launched coastal road. The incessant showers also impacted local train services on the central suburban railways with speed limit being imposed. After UP, Himachal: Cong minister says eateries must display owner ID SAURABH PARASHAR SHIMLA, SEPTEMBER 25 A DAY after the Uttar Pradesh government made it mandatory for food outlets across the state to display the name and address of operators, proprietors and managers, Himachal Pradesh’s Minister for Public Works Department and Urban Development, Vikramaditya Singh, said that the owner’s ID card will have to be displayed in every eatery and food stall in the Congress-ruled state. A day after the decision was taken at a meeting held at his office, he posted on Facebook, “In Himachal Pradesh too, every eatery and fast food cart will have to display the owner’s ID so customers don’t face any sort of inconvenience. To this effect, an orderhasbeenpassedinameeting of the Urban Development and Municipal Corporation. Jai Shri Ram.” Contacted by The Indian Express, he said, “I will only like to say that this decision is statecentric, it is for the well-being of people of the state.” His mother Pratibha Singh, president of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee, did not weigh in on the decision, saying one should ask Vikramaditya about it. Senior BJP leader and MLA Randhir Sharma, who is also the spokesperson of the opposition party in the state, said, “Like CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Jammu, BJP gets its house in order, Congress fumbles its initial advantage 26/09/2024 94 122 ARUN SHARMA JAMMU, SEPTEMBER 25 150 75 INSIDE 9-YEAR-OLD BOY KILLED IN JUNNAR LEOPARD ATTACK BENGALURU MURDER: PRIME SUSPECT FOUND DEAD P 8 & 13 AT THE start of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly poll campaign,theBJP that had won 25 of the 37 seats in Jammu DECISION the province in 2014 2024 J&K lookedonashaky wicket. Therewasstronganti-incumbency against the party, over the rise in eviction drives, property tax and toll plazas under the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD On RG Kar graft radar: Firm handled waste for 44 months without treatment plant At a protest against the healthcare ‘syndicate’ in Kolkata. File border first for bilateral ties to move forward. Addressing an event hosted by the Asia Society and the Asia Society Policy Institute here on Tuesday,JaishankarnotedIndia’s “difficulthistory”withChinaand said the “parallel rise” of the two countriespresented“avery,very Foreign diplomats witness voting at Bemina polling booth in Srinagar during Phase 2 of J&K Assembly elections, Wednesday. The turnout was 57%, down from 61% in Phase 1. Shuaib Masoodi PAGE9 Centre-run J&K administration, as well as deep disappointment that the promised benefits from the Article 370 abrogation, such as more jobs and investments, hadnotmaterialised.TheBJPfurtherbungleditsstartwithconfusion over candidate lists, leading to protests by supporters of the big names who were dropped. However, as the J&K polls hit the mid-way point Wednesday, with the second of three phases voting, the Congress appears to havefritteredawaytheadvantage. A combination of infighting – whichattimespushedtherelease CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SEEKS FAIR, IMPARTIAL PROBE ‘Can’t be termed as encounter’: Bombay HC questions killing of Badlapur accused OMKAR GOKHALE MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 25 RAISING SEVERAL questions on thepoliceclaimthattheaccused in the Badlapur sexual assault casewasgunneddownin“retaliatory firing”, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday said “this cannot be termed as an encounter”. Saying the incident “could have been avoided”, the HC called for a “fair and impartial probe”, adding that it would be “constrained to pass orders” otherwise. Pointing out that “four trained police officers” were accompanying the man, the HC said they should have tried to disarm and overpower him first. “Ordinarily, you would fire on the leg. How you fired on the temple or head of the deceased?,” it asked. On Monday, the 23-year-old janitor, arrested last month for allegedlysexuallyassaultingtwo four-year-old girls at a school in Badlapur (Thane district), was gunned down when he was being taken in a police vehicle. Police said he was killed in “retaliatoryfiring”afterhesnatched an officer's service weapon and opened fire. According to police, the accused fired three rounds, injuring an officer. Allegingafakeencounter,the BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY fatherof thedeceasedhadfileda pleaincourtseekingaprobebya Special Investigation Team (SIT). Hearing the plea on Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and PrithvirajKChavansaid:“Weare lookingatthematterfromallangles. We make it clear that we want to know the truth and we are not remotely suspecting activities by the police, but they have to come clean.” The court asked if the deceased knew how to unlock the pistol. Public prosecutor Hiten Venegaonkar, who represented the state government, submitted that the weapon was not locked, and the magazine was released when the deceased CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Dereliction of guard duty at RBI: 12 policemen suspended SAGAR RAJPUT MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 25 ELEVEN PERSONNEL of the Mumbai Police, who were on guard duty at the two Reserve Bank of India buildings at Fort (oldandnewbuilding),andtheir company karkun were suspended for not showing up at workwithoutinforminganyone. According to the police officials, the suspension order was issued on Tuesday and the karkunwhoisresponsibleforassigningworktootherpolicemen, was also punished for hiding theirmisdemeanorforownbenefit,riskingthesecurityof India’s central bank. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Jadhav (Local ArmsII),confirmedtoTheIndian Express that 12 policemen were suspended.He,however,refused to share details. According to sources in the police department, Local Arms II wasresponsibletoallocate48policemenattheoldbuildingof the RBI and 32 constables at the new building. Constable Mahendra Sangle was working as company karkunof companyAintheLocal ArmsIIwhileanotherpoliceman Kamlesh More worked as his assistant.Theirjobistoallocatedayto-daydutiestootherpolicemen and are supposed to take leave applications in writing. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2