DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA BY UNNY EXPRESS NETWORK 2.5-ACRE FARMHOUSE HAS SEIZED CARS, TRAINING CENTRE ED runs Gurugram office from farmhouse it confiscated, PSU bank challenges it in court Not handing over to realise public money defeats PMLA purpose: Union Bank; ED says as per rules NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 3 ASHOK TANWAR TURNS AGAIN, BACK IN CONGRESS PAGE 7 THE FAÇADE of the farmhouse has a big “ED” painted on it, with the “D” fast fading. The indoor swimming pool is empty, the space used as a waste yard for discarded sarkari furniture; there is even a twin lock-up and interrogation centre inside. A family of strays, with a litter of puppies, has free run of the 2.5acre property, fed by staff near the “canteen” which was once a plush dining room. For the past two years, Farm No 22 in the Greens, Rajokri, in south Delhi, serves as the Gurugram Zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), with its very confiscation being challenged by the bank to which the property was mortgaged. A visit shows that, including casual employees, there is a staff Clockwise from top: The farmhouse where ED has set up its office; seized vehicles parked inside; the swimming pool area with discarded furniture. Gajendra Yadav, Ritu Sarin Challenge is to maintain Abducted Meitei men freed, Kuki-Zo prisoners J&K peace, not in favour shifted out of Imphal jail of dilution of grid: GOC SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 3 DAYSOFhecticparleysThursday led to the release of two young Meitei men, who had been held hostage by Kuki groups since September 27. The men, who were abducted when they strayedintoanareainManipur’s Kuki-Zomi majority Kangpokpi district, were released in the early hours of Thursday and taken to Imphal. The two men, Oinam Thoithoi Singh and Thokchom CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 RITU SARIN JAISHANKAR TO MEET NEW LANKA PRESIDENT TODAY POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2024, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 14 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL ● Thesilver lining SECURITY OFFICIALS said the release of the Meitei men should be seen as an “opportunity”. “There were negotiations and the men were released without conceding to any unreasonable demands. This can be seen as a good opportunity, a starting point for all to come together for talks,” an official said. NAVEED IQBAL SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 3 TERMING THE last two years in Kashmir “peaceful and stable”, General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Thursdaysaidthatrecruitmentto militantrankshasdroppedtosingle digits, and that the challenge aheadisto“maintain”thispeace. Regarding the possibility of a phased withdrawal of troops from the Valley, the GOC, who is set to take over as Director General of Military Operations of almost 100 working inside. The sprawling central lawn of the farmhouse, with a market rate estimated by local property dealers to be worth Rs 120 crore, lined with fir trees and silver palm, serves as a parking lot for seized cars. There were about 40 carsonThursday,some pricedat Rs 1 crore plus. Officers say when ED headquarters in New Delhi is short of space for parking pricey cars confiscatedasproceedsof crime, they line them up at this sprawlingED“office”inRajokri.Besides a yard for seized cars, one large living room also doubles up as the agency’s training centre by the ED. This very farmhouse has been the subject of ample litigation,earlierintheDebtRecovery Tribunal (DRT) and the Delhi HighCourtand,atpresent,inthe Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Panchkula, where the Union Bank of India (earlier Corporation Bank) has challenged the ED’s attachment and confiscation of the property as a “proceed of crime.” Reason: the farmhouse belongedtoAtulBansal,arealtor,allegedto bethe mainaccused ina property and money laundering CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FPIs PULL OUT `15,243 CR Sensex,Niftyfall over2%onnew F&O,WestAsia Investors lose ` 9.78 lakh crore in a single day; market cap at `465 lakh cr HITESH VYAS MUMBAI, OCTOBER 3 DOMESTIC STOCK market indices Sensex and Nifty crashed Thursdaybyover2percenteach, their biggest fall in almost two months,duetoescalatinggeopolitical tensions in West Asia and a surge in crude oil prices. Recent norms announced by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to curb speculative trading in the Futures and Options (F&O) segment and continued outflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) also spooked the market, resulting in heavy selling. The30-shareSensexplunged ISRAEL CALLS FOR EVACUATIONS FROM SOUTH LEBANON UK HANDS OVER CHAGOS ISLANDS TO MAURITIUS PAGES 5, 10 Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai. ANI next week, underscored that whether it’sthecounter-infiltration effort on the Line of Control or the counter-terrorism one CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AFFIDAVIT IN SC Govt flags wife consent, but says too harsh to make marital rape criminal ANANTHAKRISHNAN G NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 3 SPELLING OUT its stand for the first time on the marital rape exception in law, the Centre told the Supreme Court Thursday that while “a husband certainly does not have any fundamental righttoviolatetheconsentof the wife”, calling such a violation as “rape” is “excessively harsh and, therefore, disproportionate”. A 49-page affidavit filed by the Ministry of Home Affairs stated: “It is submitted that a husband certainly does not have any fundamental right to violate theconsentof thewife,however, attractingthecrimeinthenature “rape” as recognised in India to the institution of marriage can be arguably considered to be excessively harsh and therefore, disproportionate. This Hon’ble Court has further adopted a balancing approach in order to reconcileintheperceivableengagement between fundamental rights.” This is the first time that the government has, on record, opposed the striking down the marital rape exception. In 2022, inthe Delhi High Court, it had said that the “issue needs wider consultations” and that a review of existing criminal laws was pending at that time. Delivering a split verdict, a two-judge bench of the HC had noted: “Insofar as UOI is concerned, Mr Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General, stated before us in no uncertain terms that UOI does not wish to take a stand in the matter. In fact, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Jaipur CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Household ownership of equity surges to 21.5% GEORGE MATHEW INSIDE 1,769.19points,or2.1percent,to end at 82,497.1, while the broader Nifty slid 546.8 points, or 2.12 per cent, to finish at 25,250.1.OnAugust5,theSensex had fallen by 2.74 per cent and Nifty by 2.68 per cent. In percentage terms, it was the fourth biggest fall for Sensex in 2024, andthethirdbiggestfallforNifty. The market capitalisation, or thetotalvalueof alllistedshares, of the BSE-listed firms declined byRs9.78lakhcroretoRs465.07 lakh crore, or $5.54 trillion. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) pulled out Rs 15,243.2 crore worth of equities from the domestic market, according to the BSE’s provisional data. In the MUMBAI, OCTOBER 3 INDIANHOUSEHOLDSarenotas conservativeintheirfinancialinvestments as many believe. The household sector, which includes individuals and nonprofitinstitutionsservinghouseholds directly, owned 21.5 per cent of India’s listed equity market as of June 2024, much higher when compared to other developed markets, excluding the US, according to a research report. Thisownershiphasremained withinaverynarrowrangeof 2122 per cent since the beginning of thecalendaryear2021,following a more stable period of almost five years when it was between 18 per cent and 20 per cent prior to that, and between 16 per cent and 17 per cent CONTINUED ON PAGE 2