DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES RAILWAY PROTECTION FORCE INQUIRY REPORT ON NEW DELHI RAILWAY STATION STAMPEDE ‘RPF trying to clear overbridge when platform for Kumbh Special changed... this led to a stampede’ MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 WHAT SET OFF the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday night killing 18 people was an announcement about a change in the departure platform of a Kumbh Special train to Prayagraj, according to an inquiry report prepared by an in- RISE AGAINST CANCER An advertorial appears in today’s edition of The Indian Express. These pages contain content paid for by the advertisers. These pages should be read as an advertisement. SIT TO PROBE CASE Assam invokes UAPA against Pak expert who worked with Gogoi’s wife spector-rank officer of the Railway Protection Force. “…at around 8.45 pm, an announcement was made that Kumbh Special going to Prayagraj will depart from Platform Number 12, but after some time, another announcement was made that the Kumbh Special will leave from Platform Number 16, due to which a stampedesituationaroseamong CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DHEERAJ MISHRA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 A separate enclosure for general class passengers headed to Prayagraj at New Delhi Railway Station on Monday. Amit Mehra TWO DAYS after 18 people died in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Monday that a separate holding areawillbedevelopedat60busy stations across the country to HARYANA CHIEF SECY JOSHI IS NEW EC EC Gyanesh Kumar new poll panel chief; LoP files dissent Rahul asked Govt to wait until SC decides on plea seeking inclusion of CJI in panel DAMINI NATH & MANOJ CG NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 CM Himanta Biswa Sarma; Cong MP Gaurav Gogoi SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 17 ASSAM POLICE on Monday registered an FIR invoking the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against prominent Pakistaniclimatepolicy expert Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, with whom Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth Gogoi worked in the past. ThiscomesadayafterAssam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that his Cabinet directed the state’s police chief to file a case in connection with Sheikh’s alleged “explicit involvement” in “India’s internal affairs”. Over the past week, Sarma and a section of the BJP have raisedquestionsoverElizabeth’s foreign citizenship and accused her of having ties with the ISI. The CID registered the FIR on Monday morning under the UAPA as well as BNS sections pertaining to abetment from outside India for an offence in India; acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; criminal conspiracy; and imputationsandassertionsprejudicial to national integration. The FIR named Sheikh and “unknown others” as accused. A four-member SIT, led by CID Special DGP M P Gupta, has been constitutedtoinvestigatethecase. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 regulate the rush of passengers. He said other measures CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Why shouldn’t contempt be initiated: SC on demolition of UP mosque EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 CEC-designate Gyanesh Kumar; (right) Vivek Joshi THE PRESIDENT on Monday appointed Election Commissioner GyaneshKumarasthenextChief Election Commissioner and Haryana Chief Secretary Dr Vivek Joshi as Election Commissioner. This came hours after the meeting of the Prime Minister-headedhighlevelcommittee where Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi asked the Government to defer the appointment until the Supreme Court decides on the petitions challenging the new appointment process. Kumar will take over as CEC Wednesday as current CEC Rajiv KumarissettoretireonTuesday. Kumar joined the ECI in March last year, having retired from the IAS in January. At the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw CEC Rajiv Kumar collects his belongings, including a bat signed by Sachin Tendulkar, at his office on Monday. Kumar demits office on Tuesday. Abhinav Saha MOREREPORTS,PAGE10 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Hearing poll cases during elections may fuel distrust, courts should avoid: CEC DAMINI NATH NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 ON HIS last full day in office on Monday,outgoingChief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said court proceedings in “longpending” cases related to polls should be scheduled “with due CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 consideration to the election period” so as to ensure a “smooth” electoral process. Kumar,who will demit office on Tuesday, expressed concern over the “live reporting” of hearings during “critical” periods of elections. “Thelivereportingof hearing CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THESUPREMECourtonMonday issued notice to authorities in Uttar Pradesh on a plea seeking contempt of court proceedings against them for demolishing a portion of a mosque in Kushinagar. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih issued notice to the authorities, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them, after the petition alleged that the demolition violated the apex court's November 13, 2024 ruling that laid down pan-India guidelines for demolitions. The guidelines barred demolition of properties without prior show cause notice and 15 days'timetotheaggrievedparty to respond. On Monday, the bench also restrained the authorities from carrying out any further demolition at the Madni mosque in Kushinagar until further orders. It gave them two weeks to respond to the notice. The petition, filed through advocate Abdul Qadir Abbasi, said the authorities demolished the outer and front areas of the mosque on February 9. Appearingforthepetitioners, SeniorAdvocateHuzefaAhmadi contended that no prior notice was issued, which amounts to “egregious” contempt of the court’s November 13 judgment. “Itissubmittedthatthestructureinquestionwasconstructed onprivatelandownedbythepetitioners. The construction thereon was also with the due CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As 33 deportees land, Guj police chief says will start probe after they ‘recover from trauma’ BRENDAN DABHI AHMEDABAD, FEBRUARY 17 Even as the flow of Gujarati immigrants from the US to Ahmedabad via Amritsar continues with the third such C-17 Globemastermilitaryaircraftoffloading 33 more from the state, the Gujarat Police are yet to launch a probe into the traffickerswhoallegedlyenabledtheillegal crossing of the international border in lieu of large Immigrants being escorted upon their arrival at airport, in Ahmedabad. Bhupendra Rana sums of money. Their Haryana and Punjab counterparts have, however, not only launched an officialprobeinconnectionwith the matter but have also made multiple arrests in a crackdown against the human trafficking nexus. According to the Gujarat policechief VikasSahay,thedeportees are being “given time” as they “have come after a traumatic experience”. Two flights carrying 33 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM Narendra Modi receives the Qatar Amir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, on his arrival in New Delhi Monday. PTI As Qatar Amir starts visit, trade, energy & tech ties on table In special gesture, PM Modi receives the Amir at airport; meeting today SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 AS THE Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, began his two-day state visit to IndiaonMonday,PrimeMinister Narendra Modi, in a special gesture, went to the airport to receive him. “Went to the airport to welcome my brother, Amir of Qatar H.H. Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani. Wishing him a fruitful stayinIndiaandlookingforward toourmeetingtomorrow,”Modi said on X. Modi and the Amir are expectedtodiscussIndia-Qatarties related to trade, investment, en- ergy and technology at their meeting on Tuesday. The Amir, who is on his second state visit to India after March 2015, will also meet President Droupadi Murmu. His visit comes at a time when negotiations are underway to end the conflict in Gaza. Qatar has played a key role in facilitating the negotiations, leading to exchange of hostages and prisoners. Doha has been the seat of Hamas’ representatives, andtheQatarroyaltyplaysaninfluential role in the region’s power dynamics. Oneof theissuespendingbetween India and Qatar is the return of a former Indian Navy CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 25% TARIFF ON STEEL, ALUMINIUM Delhi hopes for some tariff easing as it works on US trade agreement RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 AS INDIA and the US prepare to work on the contours of a bilateraltradeagreement(BTA),New Delhi hopes to secure concessions on the sweeping tariffs announcedbyUSPresidentDonald Trump, such as the 25 per cent tariff on all steel and aluminium, as well as reciprocal tariffs that could impact India’s exports to the US. “All tariff announcements coming from the US will be addressed in the trade forum, where both countries have agreed to sign a trade deal and increasetradeto$500billion(by 2030). Negotiators from both countrieswilldiscussaroadmap onhowtomoveforward,including (on tariffs) being announced in the US,” a government official said in response to India’s strat- E EXPLAINED Vaishnaw: 60 stations to get holding areas to regulate passenger rush At 8.45 pm, announcement that train to Prayagraj from PF No. 12, then another announcement said PF No. 16 ● Shiftfrom Trump1.0 HOPES FOR a concession during the current round of trade deal negotiations marks a shift from the past, when India had chosen to retaliate against the US on steel and aluminium tariffs imposed during Trump’s first term. This time, the White House has said that exemptions to certain countries were exploited by China and so concessions have broadly been ruled out now. egy to tackle the 25 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SC flags number of pleas on Places of Worship Act: Will become impossible INSIDE Bench refuses to hear fresh writ pleas, adjourns matter to April MIANI TO MIAMI: THE VILLAGE AT THE HEART OF PUNJAB’S MIGRATION DREAM TWO GET LIFE TERM FOR GANG RAPE OF SURAT TEENAGER PAGES 3,5 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 17 EXPRESSING DISMAY over the number of petitions being filed onthePlacesof Worship(Special Provisions) Act, 1991, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain fresh writ petitions in the matter. The court, however, allowed those who have filed writ peti- tions on which notices have not been issued so far to file interventionapplicationsinstead.The court adjourned the hearing to April, when a three-Judge bench will take up the petitions. “We are constrained to pass this order as there are a large number of writ petitions raising newandadditionalgroundsetc,” the two-Judge bench of Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar said. “Freshapplications,exceptthose writ petitions which are being disposed of in terms of this order, will be allowed only if new grounds are raised,” it said. At the outset, the CJI expresseddismayoverthenumber ofpetitionsbeingfiledinthematter. “Somewhere we will have to stopit,”theCJIsaid.“Peoplekeep on filing fresh petitions alleging that they have raised new CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Some poetic justice as J&K court convicts ‘faith healer’ of child abuse PAGE 1 ANCHOR BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, FEBRUARY 17 NINE YEARS after a minor broke his silence before his father and narrated the details of sexual abusebya“faithhealer”,aJammu andKashmircourthasconvicted theaccusedunderSection377of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The123-pagejudgmentends with a poem — Whispers of Faith, Echoes of Fear — that Chief Judicial Magistrate Mir Wajahat penned on the victims’ ordeal andthecharacterof theaccused. The first case came to light in March 2016, when the 14-yearold boy refused to visit the accuseddespitehisfamilyinsisting onit.Itwasonlywhenthefamily tried to persuade him that he openedup.Onceacasewasfiled, several other children came forwardtonarratethesexualabuse by the accused. By then, many victims had grown up and were in their late teens or early 20s. The accused, now 54, would reportedly promise his disciples good fortunes, relief from financial problems, or a cure for medicalailments.Hewouldtellthem to bring their children so they could talk to the djinns (supernatural powers) at his home on the outskirts of Sopore. He wouldreportedlysilencehisvictims by telling them that if they spoke to anyone, they would be chased by djinns and their families would be destroyed. At least 12 families have approached the court, though authoritiesestimatethenumberof victims would be higher. “He stood adorned in robes of light, A shepherd sworn to guide the night. With whispered prayers and sacred hands, He sowed the faith in shifting sands. A child approached with eyes so wide, Seeking solace, safe inside. But shadows stretched behind the glow, Where whispered words turned cold as snow. “Fear the Jinn, but trust in me, I hold the key, I set you free.” Yet chains were forged in holy guise, Where trust was lost in silent cries. A touch, a word, a hollow stare, The scent of faith laced with despair. A promise spun in webs unseen, A nightmare veiled in what had been. Years will pass, the wounds remain, The echoes whisper through the pain. For what was torn can’t just repair, A soul once bound floats in the air. But truth will rise, the stars will call, No shadow stands where justice falls. And though the scars may never fade, The dawn will break—unafraid”. The poem, Whispers of Faith, Echoes of Fear, penned by Chief Judicial Magistrate Mir Wajahat Convicting the accused of child abuse, Baramulla CJM Wajahat said on Monday: “In lightof thecompelling, reliable... evidence presented by the prosecution, this court holds that the accused is guilty of committing unnatural offences punishable under Section 377 RPC, affecting the body, mind and soul of (two prosecution witnesses).” “The prosecution has established all ingredients of the offencebeyondreasonabledoubt... The defence has failed to create anysubstantialdoubtthatwould merit an acquittal,” the order read. “The accused is convicted under Section 377 RPC for committingunnaturaloffences…The established legal principles governing sexual offences leave no roomfordoubtregardingtheaccused’s guilt,” the court said. It said that while the other protected minor victims “courageously recounted harrowing accounts of their suffering”, this judgment “refrains from extensive elaboration or deliberation, solely to uphold the sanctity of the impending investigation, which must proceed after the registration of separate FIRs.” Ahmedabad