DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2024, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGE Rajkot fire case: Court rejects bail pleas of city fire chief, three others Karnataka CM booked by ED in probe linked to Mysuru land allotment PAGE 12 The Supreme Court Monday directed IIT Dhanbad to grant admission to Atul Kumar. Amit Mehra MOREREPORTS,PAGE12 Apart-timetailorandadailywage labourer at a Meerut factory, Rajendra’s son Atul Kumar, 18, had lost his seat at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2 women Navy officers to make history on the high seas — with Coldplay, Carl Sagan PAVNEET SINGH CHADHA PANAJI, SEPTEMBER 30 IDLI BATTER, Coldplay albums, and books by astronomer Carl Sagan. Astwowomenofficersof the Indian Navy, Lt Cdr Roopa A and Lt Cdr Dilna K, make final preparations to embark on a historic sailing expedition on Wednesday, which will see them navigate over 40,000 km (more than 18 7 Others 5 24 INC BJP PDP NC Turnout in 2014: 71.42% Note: Results and turnout in 2014 based on broadly analogous post-delimitation seats. Electorate data as of July 1 Source: EC Counting: OCTOBER 8 Expect Gods to be kept away from politics: SC on laddu row NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30 NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30 DADASAHEB PHALKE AWARD FOR MITHUN CHAKRABORTY Assembly polls Result (2014) ANANTHAKRISHNAN G VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA SOME TIME in June, Prince Jaibir Singh saw an unknown number flashingonhismobilephone.For Rajendra Kumar, the unknown caller sitting nearly 1,500 km away in Titora village in Uttar Pradesh’sMuzaffarnagardistrict, a lot was riding on Prince taking his call that day. 39.06lakh Lt Cdr Roopa A and Lt Cdr Dilna K set out tomorrow 21,600 nautical miles) across the globe without external assistance and relying solely on wind power, these are among the handfulof comfortitemsintheir packing list. Oncompletionof thevoyage, theofficers,whowillcircumnavigatetheglobeunderthesecond edition of the Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition, will be thefirstfromIndiatoaccomplish thefeatindouble-handedmode. STATINGTHATit“expectedGods to be kept away from politics”, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu'sclaimthatgheecontaminated with animal and vegetable fats was used to make the Tirupati laddus during the previous Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government. On the state government's claim that lab reports of ghee samplesshowedcontamination, the court said it was “very clear CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 10 CAPEX TOPPED PRE-COVID LEVELS ON FOOD, TEXTILES REBOUND Survey: Manufacturing industries’ job growth at 12-year high in FY23 AGGAM WALIA & AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30 THE ANNUAL Survey of Industries (ASI) for 2022-23, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Monday, showed that the total number of employees in manufacturing industries increased by 7.5 per cent to 1.84 crore in 2022-23 from 1.72 crore in 2021-22. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EMPLOYMENT GROWTH IN MANUFACTURING 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% -2% -4% 7.6% 3% 7.5% 4.8% -3.3% -3.5% CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Indian elephants lost genetic vigour as they moved north to south, 5 distinct populations exist: Study PAGE 1 ANCHOR JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30 A TEAM of researchers from the Bengaluru-based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has found that the Indian elephant migrated from the north to the south over many millennia and lost their genetic diversity progressively with each southward migration. Published in the latest issue of Current Biology, the study analysed whole genome sequences from captive and wild elephant blood samples collectedacrossIndiatoidentifyfive genetically distinct populations — one along the Himalayan foothills from the northwest to northeast, one in central India, and three in the south. Accordingtothelastnational census conducted in 2017, India ishometomorethan29,000elephants. While the three southern populations added up to 14,500 elephants, the central population was estimated at 0 km SAMPLING LOCATIONS, POTENTIAL BARRIERS TO DISPERSAL 500 1000 km km Brahmaputra Ganga Northern Central NorthofPalghatGap SouthofPalghatGap SouthofShencottahGap PalghatGap ShencottahGap over 3,000. The northern population accounted for the remaining12,000—around2,000inthe northwest and 10,000 in the northeast. As evidence for Indian elephantsmigratingfromthenorth to the south, the study — titled ‘Divergence and serial colonization shape genetic variation and define conservation units in Asian elephants’ — found that the northern elephant population diverged from all other Indian populations more than 70,000 years ago. Indicatingfurthersouthward CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad 2022-23 Now at IIT Bombay, Prince was denied a seat before apex court stepped in Electors in Phase 3 2021-22 SC to rescue of teen who missed IIT seat: 3 yrs ago, a similar story 415 *16inKashmir&24inJammu 2020-21 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Candidates 2019-20 “I AM 90 years old and have watchedelectionsinJammuand Kashmir since 1957 but for the first time I can’t predict even one result,” said an observer of the political scene in Srinagar. “This election has become a most 40* 2017-18 SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 30 ing in any election. Today, you see party flags and posters everywhere and 20 candidates in the fray. In nearby Handwara, People’s Conference chief Sajad Lone, once seen as a potential CM the BJP might back, is grappling with how to manage an 800-vehicle roadshow through the narrow streets of his hometown,oneof thetwoconstituencies he is contesting from. Around a month ago, many feltthattheNationalConferenceCongresscombinewouldsweep Totalseats E 2018-19 THE NEERJA CHOWDHURY COLUMN crowded arena.” Election 2024 in J&K, taking place after a gap of 10 years, has in the words of a political wag, “ended the stigma about elections” that existed in the troubled erstwhile state. If nothing else, people feel they will be able to approach their MLAs with their problemsinsteadof having to deal with the less responsive officials. Go to Sopore town in North Kashmir which used to be the centre of poll boycotts at one time with only 7-8 people vot- 2024 J&K polls: Phase 3 today 2016-17 Entry of large number of independent candidates has muddied the waters, NC-Cong sailing no longer smooth DECISION “ITIStoobleakacontentionmeritinganyacceptancealbeitprima facie that the petitioner was not behind every thing — standing just behind the curtain,” theKarnatakaHighCourt observed while upholding the Governor’s approval to probe graft charges against Chief Minister Siddaramiah. As the Congress leader faces an Enforcement Directorate probenowoverlandthatwasallotted to his wife under a BJP government, it is another chapter in the annals of Karnataka’s recent political history, which is replete with top political rivals helping each other to lucrative 2015-16 Crowded poll fray, one message: In J&K, election stigma is over BENGALURU, SEPTEMBER 30 2014-15 Polling officials leave for their booths on the eve of the final phase of the J&K Assembly elections, in Handwara Monday. ANI THEENFORCEMENTDirectorate (ED) has registered a case of alleged money laundering against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in connection with the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case. Sources said an Enforcement Case SIDDARAMAIAH Information Report (ECIR) was registered Monday, based on an FIR registered by the Karnataka Lokayukta. “We are in possession of the detailsoftheFIRandrelevantcase details.Theoffencesfallunderthe land resources. Siddaramaiah’s wife was allotted 14 housing sites with a market value of Rs 55 crore in Mysuru City by the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) between 2020-2022 — when there was a BJP government in power in Karnataka. These sites wereallottedinexchange for3.16acresallegedlyac● quired illegally by the MUDA outside Mysore, andvaluedataroundRs3.5crore. Not only are there several similar examples of political rivalsdoingfavoursforeachother, this often involves land in cities like Bengaluru. ■ D K Shivakumar, now Karnataka Congress chief and Deputy CM: Allotted land in JOHNSON T A EXPLAINED NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 30 2013-14 EXPRESS NETWORK DEEPTIMAN TIWARY BSY to Kumaraswamy: No party boundary when it comes to land ‘gifts’ 2011-12 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Wife offers to surrender sites allotted by MUDA 2012-13 RAJKOT, SEPTEMBER 30 2010-11 GOPAL KATESHIYA THEDISTRICTandsessionscourt of Rajkot rejected the bail applications of suspended Rajkot fire chief Ilesh Kher and three others in the TRP Game Zone fire case, onMonday.Kherandothershad sought bail after the Rajkot CrimeBranchfiledachargesheet in the case in July. The court of additional sessions judge DS Singh rejected bail applications filed by Kher, the then chief fire officer (CFO) of Rajkot. The court also rejected similar applications filed by Gautam Joshi and Rajkesh Makwana, suspended town planners of Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), and Ashoksinh Jadeja, one of the owners of the TRP Game Zone. Thefourwereamong15persons against whom the Rajkot Crime Branch had filed a chargesheet on July 24. They have been charged with Indian Penal Code’s Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 36 and 32 (acts of illegal omissions) etc. Thefourwerearrestedaftera massive fire broke out at TRP Game Zone on May 25 on Nana Mava Road of Rajkot, killing 27 people. Prakash Hiran alias Prakash Jain, one of the owners of the indoor and outdoor gaming park, was among those killed. The four accused moved the court for bail after police completedtheinvestigationandfiled a chargesheet. Opposing the bail pleas, Tushar Gokani, special public prosecutor in the case, told The Indian Express, “We told the court that there is strong prima facie evidence, including statementsof witnessesandscientific evidence supporting the prosecution’s case, against these accused persons. We said the witnesses to the incident are `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932