09072022_First India_Mumbai.pdf

New Delhi (PTI): For-
mer National Stock Ex-
change (NSE) top brass
including Ravi Narain
and Chitra Ramkrishna
had allegedly roped in a
company founded by re-
tired Mumbai Police
Commissioner Sanjay
Pandey to snoop in on
the stock market’s em-
ployees by illegally in-
tercepting their phones,
the Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI) has
alleged in a recent FIR
against them.
The CBI on Friday
started a coordinated
search operation in 18
citiesafterfilingtheFIR
on a reference from the
UnionHomeMinistry
.It
wasspreadacrossMum-
bai, Pune, Delhi, Luc-
know,Kota,Chandigarh
that started Friday
morningatthepremises
of accused.
The agency has
booked Pandey
, his Del-
hi-based company
,
Narain and Ramkrish-
na, NSE Executive Vice
PresidentRaviVaranasi
and Head (Premises)
Mahesh Haldipur
among others in the
FIR, said officials.
The CBI has alleged
that during the period
2009-17, Narain, Ram-
krishna—who are cur-
rently in judicial custo-
dy in the NSE co-loca-
tion scam—and Vara-
nasi and Haldipur con-
spired to illegally inter-
cept the telephones of
NSE employees. To that
end, they hired iSEC
Services Pvt Ltd, found-
ed by Pandey in 2001.
The company re-
ceived a payment of
Rs4.45 crore for the ille-
gal tapping which was
camouflaged as ‘Period-
ic Study of Cyber Vul-
nerabilities’ at NSE, al-
leged the probe agency
.
The company also
provided transcripts of
the tapped conversa-
tions to senior manage-
ment of the stock mar-
ket, the FIR alleged.
“...Top officials of
NSE issued agreement
and work orders in fa-
vour of said private
company and illegally
intercepted the phone
callsof itsemployeesby
installing machines, in
contravention of provi-
sions under Indian Tel-
egraph Act,” said a
statement from the CBI.
The agency alleged
that no permission for
this activity was taken
from the competent au-
thority as provided un-
der Section V of the In-
dian Telegraph Act. “No
consent of the employ-
ees of NSE was also tak-
eninthismatter,”itsaid.
The agency has also
listed as accused the
then directors of iSEC
Services Pvt Ltd San-
tosh Pandey
, Anand
Narayan, Armaan Pan-
dey
, Manish Mittal, for-
merSeniorInformation
Security Analyst Na-
man Chaturvedi and
Arun Kumar Singh.
The company had
doneanauditaroundthe
time the co-location ir-
regularities are alleged
to have taken place.
REVELATION
Ex-top cop’s firm tapped
NSE emplo yees’ phones
PROBE AGENCY CBI CONDUCTED SEARCHES AT
PREMISES OF ALL ACCUSED IN 18 CITIES ON FRIDAY
Former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey. —FILE PHOTO
THE CASE
The CBI has alleged that during the period 2009-
17, Narain, Ramkrishna—who are currently in
judicial custody in the NSE co-location scam—
and Varanasi and Haldipur conspired to illegally
intercept the telephones of NSE employees. To that
end, they hired iSEC Services Pvt Ltd, founded by
Pandey in 2001. The company received a payment
of Rs4.45 crore for the illegal tapping which was
camouflaged as ‘Periodic Study of Cyber Vulner-
abilities’ at NSE, alleged the probe agency.
Renni Abraham
Mumbai: Chief Min-
ister Eknath Shinde
and his deputy Deven-
dra Fadnavis reached
New Delhi on Friday
ahead of their meeting
with Prime Minister
Narendra Modi, Union
Home minister Amit
Shah and BJP national
president JP Nadda.
In addition to dis-
cussions around the
first consolidated list
of councils of minis-
ters from Maharash-
tra, Shinde’s two-day
visit is expected to also
see him announce the
renaming of the Sam-
ruddhi corridor in Ma-
harashtra after late
Shiv Sena supremo
Bal Thackeray.
MLAs from Shinde’s
faction will likely get
better than a fair share
of portfolios in the Ma-
harashtra govern-
ment. The BJP high
command is strategi-
cally pampering the
CM, with PM Modi
grooming him as the
next big Shiv Sena (al-
beit rebel group) lead-
er from Maharashtra,
with obvious political
implications for the al-
liance. The BJP will
also look to ensure
that no political mach-
inations by NCP chief
Sharad Pawar can ad-
versely impact their
current alliance gov-
ernment in the state.
Meanwhile, the lob-
bying for plum portfo-
lios continues both
within the Shine
grouping and the BJP
led by Fadnavis. BJP
wants to retain Home,
though it has tradi-
tionally been with the
CMO since 2014.
Cabinet on agenda as CM
arrives in Delhi to meet PM
CM Eknath Shinde arrives in New Delhi on Friday ahead of his
Saturday meeting with PM Modi. —PTI PHOTO
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MUMBAI l SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2022 l Pages 12 l 3.00 RNI TITLE NO. MAHENG/2022/14652 l Vol 1 l Issue No. 64
ED IMPOSES `51.72CR FINE ON AMNESTY INDIA
New Delhi: A penalty of `51.72 crore and `10 crore has been
imposed against Amnesty India and its former head Aakar Patel
respectively for contravention of the foreign exchange law, the
Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday. P6
RUSSIA’S
FOREIGN MIN
WALKS OUT OF
G20 TALKS
Bali: Russia’s top diplomat stormed out of talks with G20
foreign ministers meeting in Indonesia on Friday as West-
ern powers criticised Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Washington and allies condemned Russia ahead of meet
before Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov faced criticism.
MARKETS
MAINTAIN
MOMENTUM
FOR 3RD DAY
Mumbai: The Sensex and Nifty marched higher for the
third session on the trot on Friday as investors continued
to accumulate banking, infrastructure and FMCG stocks
despite unabated selling by foreign funds. The Sensex
advanced 303.38 points to settle at 54,481.84.
OUR EDITIONS: JAIPUR, NEW DELHI MUMBAI BSE SENSEX 54481.84 303.38 | NSE NIFTY 16220.60 87.70
CRUCIAL READ
RELIEF TO TV ANCHOR
OVER RaGa FAKE NEWS
SIX KILLED IN TN
ROAD ACCIDENT
INTERIM BAIL TO
ZUBAIR IN UP FIR
New Delhi: In a relief to
news anchor Rohit Ranjan,
the Supreme Court on Friday
restrained various state au-
thorities from taking coercive
steps against him to take him
in custody in connection with
multiple FIRs for playing a
doctored clip of Congress
leader Rahul Gandhi.
Chennai: 6 passengers,
including 2 women were
killed and 10 others were
injured on Friday after a bus
they travelled rammed into a
truck on a highway near here.
The Chidambaram-bound
bus hit the container truck off
Mathuranthakam on Chennai-
Tiruchirappalli highway.
New Delhi: The Supreme
Court on Friday granted
interim bail to Alt News
co-founder Mohd Zubair
in the case registered
against him in Sitapur in
UP and also issued notice
to the state police on his
plea challenging the Al-
lahabad High Court order.
ED raids 17
locations linked
to J’khand CM
Soren’s aide
New Delhi (Agencies):
TheEnforcementDirec-
torate (ED) on Friday
carried out raids at 17
locations in Jharkhand
that were
linked to
P a n k a j
Mishra, a
close aide
of state
Chief Minister He-
mant Soren and MLA
representative for Sa-
hibganj constituency
.
Sources said the
raids, which were being
conducted in a fresh
case of money launder-
ing registered against
Mishra, were spread
across Sahibganj, Bar-
het and Rajmahal areas
of Jharkhand. “The ED
case is based on an FIR
registeredbyJharkhand
police against Mishra.
Investigations are on,”
an ED official said.
No one can take away
Sena’s ‘bow and arrow’
symbol, says Uddhav
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Friday
posted for hearing on
July 11, a plea filed by
the Uddhav Thacker-
ay-led faction challeng-
ingMaharashtraGover-
nor Bhagat Singh Ko-
shiyari’s decision to in-
vite Eknath Shinde to
form the government
and also the Speaker’s
election and floor test.
A bench of Justices
Indira Banerjee and JK
Maheshwari posted the
matter for Monday
,
along with other pend-
ing pleas. Mentioning
the matter for hearing,
senior advocate De-
vadatt Kamath said the
plea challenges the deci-
sion of appointing
Eknath Shinde as the
CMof Maharashtraand
askedthatthefreshplea
be heard on July 11
when other matters are
coming up for hearing.
Thebenchthenordered
the listing of the matter
before the appropriate
bench on July 11.
Meanwhile, Uddhav
saidthatthe‘bowandar-
row’ symbol will always
remainwithSenaandno
one can take it away
.
More on P2
Thackeray camp
files plea in SC
against Governor’s
decision to invite
Shinde to form govt
SHINZO ABE
ASSASSINATED
Nara (AP): Former Ja-
pan PM Shinzo Abe was
assassinated on Friday
onastreetinwesternJa-
pan by a gunman who
opened fire on him from
behind as he delivered a
campaign speech an at-
tackthatstunnedthena-
tion that has some of the
strictest gun control
laws anywhere.
67-year-old Abe, who
wasJapan’slongest-serv-
ing leader when he re-
signed in 2020, collapsed
bleeding and was airlift-
edtoahospital,although
hewasnotbreathingand
hishearthadstopped.He
was later pronounced
deadafterreceivingmas-
sive blood transfusions,
officials said.
Japan’s longest-serving leader shot dead during a speech
WHO IS ASSASSIN TETSUYA YAMAGAMI?
NATIONAL MOURNING IN INDIA TODAY: MODI
41-year-old assassin Tetsuya Yamagami was previously
in the Japanese navy. Yamagami was apprehended
by the security forces immediately and a gun was recovered
from the area.Yamagami reportely told investigators that he
was “dissatisfied” with Abe and intended to kill him.
India has announced one day of state mourning on July 9
as a mark of respect for former Japanese Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe who was shot on Friday while delivering a cam-
paign speech in Nara city in western Japan. PM Narendra
Modi expressed his shock over the tragic demise of Abe.
15 die, many missing in
Amarnath cloudburst
Narendra Modi
@narendramodi
I am shocked and sad-
dened beyond words at the
tragic demise of one of my
dearest friends, Shinzo Abe.
He was a towering global
statesman, an outstanding
leader, and a remarkable
administrator. He dedicated
his life to make Japan and
the world a better place,”
PM Modi said in a tweet.
Amit Shah@AmitShah
NDRF, CRPF, BSF and local administration are
engaged in the rescue work. Saving people’s
lives is our priority. I wish all the devotees well.
Rahul Gandhi
@RahulGandhi
Deeply saddened by the
demise of former PM of Ja-
pan, Shinzo Abe. His role in
strengthening the strategic
relationship between India
Japan was commendable.
He leaves behind a lasting
legacy in the Indo-Pacific.
My condolences to his fam-
ily to the people of Japan.
António Guterres
@antonioguterres
I’m deeply saddened by
the horrific killing of
Shinzo Abe, former Prime
Minister of Japan
Amit Shah @AmitShah
Pained to learn about the
assassination of the former
PM of Japan and India’s
valued friend, Mr Shinzo
Abe. His efforts in strength-
ening the India-Japan rela-
tionship will always be held
fondly in our memories.
My deepest condolences to
his family, followers the
people of Japan
Tetsuya Yamagami (bottom) is detained near the site of
gunshots in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, on Friday.
In this image from a video, former Japan PM Shinzo Abe (C) is
attended on the ground in Nara, western Japan on Friday.
First India Bureau
Srinagar: Asmanyas15
people died and 40 were
reported missing in a
cloudburst incident that
happened near the holy
caveshrineof Amarnath
in south Kashmir Hima-
layas on Friday around
5.30 pm, officials said.
The gushing waters
hit the base camp out-
side the shrine, damag-
ing 25 tents and three
community kitchens
where the pilgrims are
served food, they said.
Union Home Minis-
ter Amit Shah has di-
rected Central forces
and Jammu and Kash-
mir administration to
ensure swift operations
to rescue people affect-
ed in the cloudburst.
In this incident, two
residentsof Rajasthan’s
Sriganganagar district
have also been killed
and one person is miss-
ing. Lok Sabha Speaker
Om Birla and Rajasthan
Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot have expressed
condolences with the
families of the victims.
Administration trying to give safe passage to pilgrims after a
flash floods triggered by cloudburst near Amarnath Cave, in
Pahalgam on Friday. —PHOTOS BY ANI

NEWS
MUMBAI | SATURDAY, JULY 9, 2022
02
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SC verdict on OBC to decide
Shiv Sena’s future: Uddhav
Asserts nobody can take away ‘bow and arrow’ symbol from Shiv Sena, as per the law
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Shiv Sena
President Uddhav
Thackeray on Friday
said the Supreme
Court’s verdict on the
disqualification plea
of 16 rebel MLAs
scheduled to be given
on July 11 will decide
not just the future of
the Shiv Sena, but also
of Indian democracy
.
He challenged the re-
bel MLAs and the
Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) to face mid-term
elections in the state.
“People should be al-
lowed to take a stand on
the toppling of the
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government led
by him. If people do not
favour his party in the
elections, I will accept
it,” he said while ad-
dressing reporters at
‘Matoshri’.
Shiv Sena’s Eknath
Shinde --now the chief
minister of Maharash-
tra--had last month
raised a banner of re-
volt against the party
leadership, a move that
subsequently led to the
fall of the MVA gov-
ernment comprising
Sena, Nationalist Con-
gress Party (NCP) and
Congress. A day after
Thackeray resigned as
the state chief minis-
ter on June 29, Shinde
took oath of the top
post with BJP’s Deven-
dra Fadnavis being
sworn in as his deputy.
Shinde enjoys the sup-
port of 40 rebel MLAs
of the Sena.
“According to the law,
noonecantakeawaythe
bow and arrow symbol
fromShivSena.Iamsay-
ing this after talking to
constitutional experts,”
he said, a remark made
in the wake of the rebel
Sena faction’s assertion
thatitwastherealclaim-
ant of the symbol.
Rebel Shiv Sena MLA
Gulabrao Patil had on
Wednesday said that CM
Shinde-led faction was
the real claimant of the
party’s ‘bow and arrow’
poll symbol.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray addressed a press conference at ‘Matoshri’ in Mumbai on Friday.
—PHOTO BY PTI
FUTURE OF
DEMOCRACY
Thackeray said
the Supreme
Court’s verdict to
be delivered on
July 11 will decide
not just the future
of Shiv Sena but
also the future of
Indian democracy.
“I trust the judici-
ary. The Supreme
Court order
(on the plea on
disqualification of
rebel MLAs) is not
restricted to Shiv
Sena alone, but
it will also show
direction on which
side the democra-
cy is heading. The
country is looking
at what decision
the SC gives,” he
said.
Confusion is being created. Legislature party and registered
party are two different identities. No one can take along the
party workers with them. There should be mid-term polls. If
we have made a mistake, people will not favour us and that will be
acceptable to us. —Uddhav Thackeray, Former Maha CM
Municipal polls to be held
in Maharashtra on Aug 18
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Elections
to 92 Nagar Pari-
shads and four Na-
gar Panchayats in
Maharashtra will
be held on August
18, announced the
state election com-
mission (SEC) on
Friday.
The elections to
these municipal bod-
ies are likely to be
held without Other
Backward Classes
(OBC) reservation
while a related case is
pending before the
Supreme Court, said
sources in the SEC.
Counting will be held
on August 19.
The Bharatiya Ja-
nata Party (BJP) had
earlier opposed the
holding of local body
elections until the
OBC quota, set aside
by the Supreme Court
in March last year,
was restored.
The party is now in
power in the state
along with the Shiv
Sena faction led by
Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde.
Elections will be
held for local urban
bodies in Pune, San-
gli, Solapur, Kol-
hapur, Nashik, Dhule,
Nandurbar, Jalgaon,
Ahmednagar, Au-
rangabad, Jalna,
Beed, Osmanabad,
Latur, Amravati and
Buldhana districts.
State Congress
chief Nana Patole has
alleged that former
Chief Minister Dev-
endra Fadnavis and
the Union govern-
ment-led by Prime
Minister Narendra
Modi were responsi-
ble for OBCs losing
political quota in lo-
cal body elections.
“There should be no
elections until the res-
ervation is restored,”
he demanded.
The Supreme
Court had refused to
restore OBC reserva-
tion for want of em-
pirical data.
Congress is firm on its demand to put off any elections
until the Supreme Court restores the OBC reservations.
The BJP is now in power in Maharashtra. It should fol-
low up the issue with the Union government.
—Nana Patole, Maha Congress chief
The OBC reservation issue remains unresolved even as the
SEC declared poll dates. —FILE PHOTO
First India Bureau
Nashik: Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut on
Friday hit out at the
Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP), by stat-
ing that it does not
want to just engineer
a split in the party,
but altogether finish
the regional outfit to
realize its dream of
“breaking” Maha-
rashtra into three
parts.
He also dubbed the
n e w l y - i n s t a l l e d
Eknath Shinde-Deven-
dra Fadnavis govern-
ment as “illegal”.
Talking to reporters
in Nashik, the Rajya
Sabha MP hit out at re-
bel Sena MLAs and
said that they may
have returned home,
but Shiv sainiks will
ensure they do not get
re-elected to the Maha-
rashtra Legislative As-
sembly whenever polls
are held.
The rebel Sena
MLAs first reached Su-
rat from Mumbai on
June 21, then flew to
Guwahati and also
stayed in Goa before
returning to the state
capital.
Raut, the Sena’s
chief spokesperson,
said the rebel MLAs
have been changing
the reasons for revolt-
ing against the party
leadership, an act
which brought down
the Maha Vikas Agha-
di (MVA) government
late last month.
“The BJP does not
want to engineer a split
in the Shiv Sena, but
wants to destroy the
party
. Till the time Shiv
Sena exists, they cannot
realize their dream of
breaking Maharashtra
into three pieces. They
cannot free Mumbai
(from Maharashtra till
the time Sena exists),”
asserted Raut.
Slamming the rebel
MLAs, Raut also said
that they keep changing
reasonsfortherebellion,
from accusing the Sena
of deserting the Hindut-
va plank to then-Chief
Minister Uddhav Thack-
eray’s inaccessibility
, to
the NCP (which handled
finance portfolio under
MVA government) not
allocating funds to their
constituencies.
Not only cause split, BJP wants to destroy Shiv Sena, says Raut
STRONG ACCUSATION
lll
Terms newly
installed
Shinde govt
as ‘illegal’;
calls on Shiv
sainiks to
ensure rebel
MLAs don’t
get re-elelcted
to Assembly Shiv Sena Spokesperson Sanjay Raut —FILE PHOTO
The BJP does not want to engineer a
split in the Shiv Sena, but wants to
destroy the party. Till the time Shiv
Sena exists, they cannot realize their dream
of breaking Maharashtra into three pieces.
They cannot free Mumbai (from Maharash-
tra till the time Sena exists).
—Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Spokesperson
SC to hear fresh plea against Shinde as CM
First India Bureau
New Delhi: The Su-
preme Court on Fri-
day agreed to hear on
July 11 a fresh plea of
the Uddhav Thacker-
ay-led faction chal-
lenging appointment
of Eknath Shinde as
chief minister of Ma-
harashtra.
A vacation bench of
Justices Indira Baner-
jee and JK Maheshwari
said it will be listed be-
fore an appropriate
bench on July 11.
Senior advocate De-
vadatt Kamat, appear-
ing for Shiv Sena leader
Subhash Desai, said
they are seeking listing
of the fresh plea along
with other pending peti-
tions which are coming
up for hearing.
Desai has challenged
the Governor Bhagat
Singh Koshyari’s June
30 decision to invite a
coalition of the Shinde
faction and the BJP to
form government in
Maharashtra.
The Thackeray-led
faction has also chal-
lenged the validity of
assembly proceedings
held on July 03 and July
04, in which a new
speaker of the House
was elected and subse-
quent proceedings of
floor test in which the
Shinde led coalition
had proved its majority
.
Earlier also several
petitions have been filed
bytheThackerayledfac-
tion on various issues
related to the Maharash-
trapoliticalcrisis,which
are coming up for hear-
ing on July 11.
Rebellion by a section
of Sena MLAs, led by
Shinde, had resulted in
the collapse of the
Maha Vikas Aghadi
(MVA) government.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde —FILE PHOTO
No convoy bandobast, CM tells cops;
cites hardships for people as reason
Mumbai: Chief Minis-
ter Eknath Shinde on
Friday asked the po-
lice not to provide spe-
cial protocol for his
convoy in Mumbai and
elsewhere in the state.
Shinde gave the direc-
tions after holding dis-
cussions with state Di-
rector General of Police
Rajnish Seth and Mum-
bai police commission-
er Vivek Phansalkar.
As per a statement
from the Chief Minis-
ter’s Office (CMO),
Shinde has directed that
there should be no po-
lice bandobast for his
convoy, as it causes
hardships and delays
for the common man.
“This is a govern-
ment of the common
man so he should get
priority over VIPs,”
Shinde said, adding that
the special protocol
causes traffic snarls,
disrupts daily routine
of citizens and burdens
the police force.
10 NEWLY-ELECTED MLCS TAKE OATH
Mumbai: All 10 new-
ly-elected members of
the Maharashtra Leg-
islative Council, in-
cluding Chairman
Ramraje Naik Nim-
balkar, took oath here
on Friday
.
The members were
administered oath of
office by Deputy
Chairperson of the
Upper House Neelam
Gorhe in the Vidhan
Bhavan complex in
south Mumbai.
They were elected
in the June 20 biennial
polls in which MLAs
had voted.
Thosewhotookoath
were Pravin Darekar,
Ram Shinde, Prasad
Lad, Uma Khapre,
Shrikant Bharatiya
(all BJP), Council
Chairman Ramraje
Naik Nimbalkar and
Eknath Khadse (both
NCP),SachinAhirand
Amasha Padvi (Shiv
Sena) and Bhai Jagtap
(Congress).
The current party
positioninthe78-mem-
berUpperHouseof the
legislature is as fol-
lows:BJP24;ShivSena
12; Congress 10; NCP
10; Lok Bharati 1; PWP
1;RSP1; Independents
4; vacant 15.
CRUCIAL READ
Aurangabad: An outfit formed to op-
pose the name change of Aurangabad
in Maharashtra has said it will hold a
protest march on Tuesday.The previous
Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in its
last cabinet meeting on June 29, had
approved proposals to rename Aurang-
abad as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad
as Dharashiv.”The Aurangabad Namantar
Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti, which has been
formed after the MVA government passed
the renaming proposal, will march from
Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue located at
Bhadkal Gate to Amkhas Maidan, which is
a kilometre away, on Tuesday,” coordinator
Ayyub Jahagirdar said.
‘SAMBHAJINAGAR’: NEW GROUP TO
HOLD PROTEST MARCH ON JULY 12
Palghar: Rajendra Gavit, the Shiv Sena MP
from the Palghar (ST) Lok Sabha seat, on Fri-
day asked his party chief Uddhav Thackeray to
support the candidature of Droupadi Murmu for
the post of President of India. In a letter written
on Thursday, Gavit said it would be an honour
that a tribal would become President, adding
that party founder Bal Thackeray had previous-
ly broken ranks with the NDA and supported
the candidatures of Pratibha Patil and Pranab
Mukherjee. Earlier, Mumbai South Central Lok
Sabha MP Rahul Shewale had written to Thac-
keray with the same demand.
SUPPORT MURMU FOR PREZ, TRIBAL
SENA MP URGES UDDHAV THACKERAY

MAHARASHTRA
03
Establish family court in every Maha dist: HC
Woefully short: As many as 5,000 divorce cases pending in Mumbai’s 7 existing family courts, claims petition
First India Bureau
Mumbai: The Bom-
bay High Court on
Thursday urged the
government to take
initiative and estab-
lish a family court in
every district of the
state.
A division bench
comprising Justice
Anil K Menon and Jus-
tice Makar and S
Karnik was hearing a
public interest litiga-
tion (PIL) filed by a
businessman named
Tushar Gupta. He had
claimed that there was
a severe dearth of fam-
ily courts in the state,
despite stipulation of
one family court for a
population of 10 lakh in
the Family Courts Act.
A law student, Gupta,
claimed that according
to Right to Information
(RTI) responses he re-
ceived, over 5,000 di-
vorce cases are pending
in merely seven family
courts in Mumbai. Go-
ing by the 2011 census
data, Mumbai alone
needs at least six more
courts.According to
2011 census of Maha-
rashtra, there are only
19 family courts cover-
ing 11.24 crore popula-
tion of the state . There
is a requirement of 39
courts, stated the plea.
The government
pleader for the state
submitted that the reg-
istrar general of High
Court could be added as
a party to the petition,
as such courts are to be
added only after consul-
tation with the high
court admin.
On June 07, the peti-
tioners submitted a
chart detailing the pop-
ulation and number of
family courts. Accord-
ingly, Mumbai requ-
uires at least six family
courts. Pimpri-Chinch-
wad also require three
courts.
“Other places in
Mumbai Metropolitan
Region (MMR) includ-
ing Mira Bhayendar,
Navi Mumbai and Bhi-
wandi are also falling
short of family courts,”
it stated.
The bench orally re-
marked, “First step is to
be taken by you (state).
Give us land. We will
tell you how to build it
(family court).”
Mumbai rains subside,
coastal districts affected
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Heavy rains
continued lashing the
coastal districts of
Maharashtra on Fri-
day. A man and 11 ca-
tle were killed in the
rains. As many as 254
persons have been
evacuated in different
parts of these re-
gions.
After continued
downpour of last five
days, state capital Mum-
bai witnessed sporadic
rain showers. Howver,
coastal regions includ-
ing Raigad, Palghar and
Ratnagiri witnessed
heavy downpour in the
last 24 hours, informed
a Relief and Rehabiita-
tion Department here
on Thursday. A person
died in Palghar district
in Mumbai, while 11
animals were also re-
ported to be killed due
to incessant rains.
Since June 1, as many
as 67 people have lost
their lives due to rains,
the bulletin further
added.
“National Disaster
Response Force and
State Disaster Response
Force are on their heels
and have evacuated 254
people in the last 24
hours. The rains have
cause permanent dam-
age to as many as 14
houses. Parshuram
Ghat situated onthe
Mumbai-Goa Highway
too has been closed for
the general public”, the
bulletin said.
13 teams of NDRF
have been deployed in
the coastal regions of
Maharashtra and some
more teams have been
camping in west Maha-
rashtra’s Satara and
Kolhapur districts that
have been witness to
floods in the recent
monsoons.
Mumbai, however,
was spared of heavy
rains on Friday
.
Transport services
including the BEST and
local trains were run-
ning without any diffi-
culties as no waterlog-
ging incidents were re-
ported in the state capi-
tal, the officials said.
The India Meterologi-
cal Department also
downgraded Mumbai’s
status from ‘Red’ (ex-
tremely heavy rains) to
‘Orange’ (heavy to very
heavy rain) .
Pune markets to get separate
space for organic food stalls
First India Bureau
Pune: The Pune Mu-
nicipal Corporation
(PMC) has decided to
allocate dedicated
stalls for organic food
products in market
places in the city.
The deadline for sub-
mitting the application
is July 20.
The state govern-
ment is implementing
‘Urban Food System’ in
the city under the Bala-
saheb Thackeray Kri-
shi Vyavsaya Gramin
Parivartan, also known
as the State of Maha-
rashtra Agribusiness
and Rural Transforma-
tion (SMART).
“The PMC has decid-
ed to provide exclusive
stalls for selling organic
food items in the mar-
kets. There is a high de-
mand for organic food
in the city,” a civic body
officer said.
First India Bureau
Kolhapur: In order to
pin point the water
woes faced by the
commoners, a couple
in Kolhapur opted to
ride a water tanker in
their marriage pro-
cession. They also
chose to not to go for
honeymoon until this
issue was sorted out
by the authorities.
Vishal Kolekar, aged
32 got married on
Thursday and decided
to highlight the water
scarcity issue faced by
the region by using a
water tanker instead of
a car in their marriage
procession.
“We are part of a so-
cial group known as the
Prince Club and have
been apprising the ad-
ministration about ir-
regular water supply in
some areas of Mangal-
war Peth. But despite
our pleas, the issue has
not been addressed”,
saidKolekar,whoworks
in a private firm in Kol-
hapur.
Couple ride a water tanker in marriage procession
FOR BETTER/FOR WORSE
The couple also has vowed to not to go
out for honeymoon until water woes of
their Mangalwar Peth are sorted out
WOMAN, EIGHT OTHERS ARRESTED
ON PRETEXT OF FAKE MARRIAGE
Jalna: Cops have
arrested a woman and
eight others on pretext of
fake marriage. Rausahab
Bhausaheb Sahane (25),
was looking for a match,
when he was intro-
duced to accused Soni
Wankhede. The accused
demanded a sum of Rs 2
lakh from the victim and
got married to Sahane
on June 24. After a few
days the woman asked
Sahane that she wants
to go to her parents’
place alone. Sahane took
the woman to the bus
station and found a man
waiting for her over there
and that he has been
cheated. The police was
called immediately and
the accused and 8 others
connected to the case
were arrested.
Bombay High Court —FILE PHOTO
A law student, Gupta,
claimed that according
to Right to Information
(RTI) responses he
received, over 5,000 di-
vorce cases are pending
in merely seven family
courts in Mumbai. Go-
ing by the 2011 census
data, Mumbai alone
needs at least six more
courts. If one takes the
2011 census data of
Maharashtra into ac-
count, despite a popula-
tion of over 11.24 crore,
there are only 19 family
courts in the state.
LACK OF FAMILY COURTS, A MATTER OF CONCERN
Unsure if Navlakha should be
allowed to call: Govt counsel
Mumbai (PTI): A
government lawyer
told the Bombay
High Court on Fri-
day that she was not
sure if the facility
could be granted to
activist Gautam
Navlakha, an ac-
cused in the Elgar
Parishad-Maoist
links case. The facil-
ity is extended to
prison inmates, who
can talk to their rel-
atives or lawyers
over phone calls.
Navlakha, 70, is ac-
cused of a serious of-
fence, said lawyer
Sangeeta Shinde, rep-
resenting the state. A
division bench of Jus-
tices Nitin Jamdar
and NR Borkar then
granted her time till
July 12 to make the
government’s stand
in the matter clear.
The high court was
hearing a writ peti-
tion filed by Navlakha
through his counsel
Yug Mohit Chaud-
hary, seeking that he
be allowed to make
phone calls and video
calls from Taloja pris-
on near Mumbai
The bench said the
state prison rules did
not provide for video
call facility. A PIL de-
manding that video
calls from prisons
should be allowed was
pending before a
bench headed by
Chief Justice Di-
pankar Datta.
Gautam Navlakha is an accused in the Elgar Parishad-
Maoist links case. —FILE PHOTO
CRUCIAL READ
THREE CHILD LABOURERS RESCUED
FROM FACTORY; OWNER HELD
Thane: Three child labourers were rescued from a
factory in Bhayander of Thane district and the owner
of the establishment was arrested, police said on
Friday. Based on a tip-off, the anti-human trafficking
cell (AHTC) of the MBVV police raided a factory on
Navghar Road on Wednesday and arrested the owner,
Abhishekkumar Mahato (20), senior inspector
Devidas Handore said. The police found children
working on an electric metal press of the steel unit. An
offence under section 374 (unlawful compulsory
labour) of the IPC and Child abour Prevention Act has
been registered against the factory owner.
SIX ARRESTED FOR CHEATING 319
PERSONS OF MORE THAN `1.7 CRORE
Thane: Thane police have arrested six persons in a
case related to conning hundreds of people in the
name of giving them high returns on their investments.
A case has been registered by the cops at Manpada
police station of the district.The cops informed that the
accused had floated a company by the name Supreme
Mutual Benefit Nidhi Limited and promised good
returns on investments. Many people had invested
their hard-earned money in the company between
2019 and 2022, but none of them got anything back.
So far, 319 people and 22 agents have been duped by
the company to the tune of Rs 1,77,89,934.
FOUR PEOPLE DIE OF ELECTROCUTION IN
A VILLAGE IN AURANGABAD DISTRICT
ELDERLY COUPLE ROBBED AT
KNIFEPOINT IN THANE DISTRICT
Mumbai: Four people died from electrocution on
Friday during a new electricity connection work that
was going on in a village in Aurangabad district, a
police official said. The incident took place around 3
pm at Hiwarkheda-Nandgirwad village in the district,
about 375km from Mumbai, where work on providing
new electricity connection was going on. All four
suffered severe electric shocks and died on the spot,
the official said. The incident was reported to the
Kannad Rural Police station in Aurangabad.
Thane: An elderly couple was robbed of valuables
worth over Rs.8 lakh by unidentified men who broke
into their home in Thane district. The incident took
place at a house located on Barvi dam road in
Badlapur town of the district around 2.30 am on
Thursday. Four unidentified persons entered the
house from the kitchen door and brandished a knife at
Baban Kalu Mhatre (62) and his wife and stole their
ornaments worth Rs 8.82 lakh, police said on Friday.
An offence under section 392 (robbery) of the IPC has
been registered against the unidentified accused and a
manhunt has been launched for them.
NO MEGA BLOCK ON SUNDAY, JUMBO
BLOCK FROM 12:30 AM TO 4:30 AM
Mumbai: The mega block related to maintenance of
local trains’ track will not be imposed on Sunday.
However, a jumbo block from 12:30 am to 4:30 am
will be in place in the up and down slow line
between the Vasai Road and Virar stations on July
10. Some slow line suburban trains will be
operated in the fast lines between Vasai Road and
Virar stations, informed a press release issued by
Sumit Thakur, the Chief Public Relations Officer of
Western Railway.
FESTIVAL PREP
A vendor is seen with his goats at a livestock market, ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival, in
Thane on Friday. —PHOTO BY PTI
Marriage procession of Vishal Kolekar and his wife Aparna.
A Mumbai beach bears a red-alert flag on Friday.
AMID HEAVY RAINS, MAN SWEPT
AWAY IN BHIWANDI FEARED DEAD
Thane: A man aged around 19-years has
been feared drowned in Bhiwandi town situ-
ated Thane district on Friday, a fire brigade
official informed. Mohammed Asif, on Friday
had ventured into the river waters for a swim
with for others and was swept away by the
strong water current. His friends tried, but
he could not be rescued, an official said.

PERSPECTIVE
04
l Vol 1 l Issue No. 64
l RNI TITLE NO.
MAHENG/2022/14652 Printed
and published by
Anita Hada Sangwan on behalf of
First Express Publishers. Printed
at Dangat Media Pvt Ltd, No.22,
Dighe MIDC, Vishnu Nagar,
TTC Industrial Area, Dighe, Navi
Mumbai-400701. Published
at Plot No. 3 Scheme C of
Manglorean Garden Home, CHS
Limited, Survey No. 5, 6C (Part)
Ville Parle East, Mumbai 400057.
Editor-In-Chief: Dr Jagdeesh Chandra
Editor: Anita Hada Sangwan
responsible for selection of news
under the PRB Act
Rajnath Singh
@rajnathsingh
Deeply saddened by the assassination
of former Prime Minister of Japan,
Mr. Shinzo Abe. India today has lost a
close friend who assiduously worked
towards strengthening the bilateral
relations between India and Japan,
during his tenure as Prime Minister.
Bhupender Yadav
@byadavbjp
The ban on single-use plastic is a step
towards building a sustainable planet...
Living by PM Shri @narendramodi
ji’s vision of LiFE and adopting
environmentally friendly alternatives
alone will build a sustainable future.
SPIRITUAL SPEAK
Self-control is the
Mantra of Success.
—Bhagavad Gita
IN-DEPTH
ZUBAIR GETS
INTERIM BAIL
BUT ‘FREEDOM’
FROM JAIL
ELUDES HIM
lt News co-founder
Mohammed Zubair
has been granted five
days’ interim bail by
the Supreme Court
in the case filed against him in
UP’s Sitapur district. Ironically,
the bail allows him no freedom
as he was in judicial custody in
another case registered by the
Delhi police. The Sitapur case
pertains to his tweet calling
three right-wing leaders “hate-
mongers”, while the Delhi case
was filed after he flagged Nupur
Sharma for her inappropriate
comment on the Prophet. Police
were, however, yet to reach
Sharma despite several FIRs
lodged against her in several
states. As Zubair remains in
custody the five-day interim bail
is only notional.
Arrest of journalists in India
drew criticism from Germany.
German Foreign Ministry said
in a statement that “journalists
should not be persecuted and
imprisoned for what they say
and write”. Although India re-
sponded by telling Germany to
avoid uninformed comments,
recent developments in the
country have been drawing ad-
verse comments from some na-
tions and watchdog bodies.
TOP TWEETS
A
he Legislative
Council or Vid-
han Parishad in
Uttar Pradesh
will not have a
Leader of Opposition as the
Samajwadi Party does not
have the required numbers
in the 100-member House. Its
strength has dwindled from
11 to nine which led to the
party losing the leadership
position. However, the party
has 111 MLAs and is the prin-
cipal opposition party in the
Lower House.
The other opposition par-
ties have nothing to boast
about either. The Bahujan
Samaj Party, Apna Dal, Ni-
shad Party Jansatta Lok
Dal have one member each,
while the Congress has none
after the term of its MLC
Deepak Singh’s term ended
recently
. The Congress, inci-
dentally, also has no one to
head its state unit. The BJP’s
claim of making India ‘Con-
gress-mukt’ seems to have
begun from UP. All these
dwindling numbers in the
Legislative Council make it
virtually free of opposition
presence while the BJP en-
joys a sizeable majority with
73 seats. Not that it makes
any difference to legislative
functioning of the state as,
unlike the Rajya Sabha, Up-
per House in states are only
of token significance. The op-
position MLCs can send a
Bill to a Select Committee or
make other minor interven-
tions besides keeping an eye
on government’s hasty deci-
sions. It also serves as a park-
ing place for a politician who
fails to win an election but is
important for the party
.
As the Constitution gives it
limited powers, Legislative
Council’s relative insignifi-
cance is the reason why only
six states-UP, Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka,
Maharashtra and Telangana-
have a Bicameral House.
FREE RUN FOR BJP
IN UP COUNCIL
The BJP’s claim of making
India ‘Congress-mukt’
seems to have begun from
UP. All these dwindling
numbers in Legislative
Council make it virtually
free of oppn presence,
while BJP enjoys a
sizeable majority with
73 seats.
T
RUSSIAN STRATEGIC
SECRET: KALININGRAD
hile browsing through the
recent international develop-
ment, as defence observer, I
chanced upon an interest-
ingly interposed region be-
tween Lithuania and Poland
belonging to Russia that is
often overlooked. Kalinin-
grad is actually a Russian
exclave that has had increas-
ing strategic importance
ever since Poland and the
Baltic States joined the Euro-
pean Union and North Atlan-
tic Treaty Organization.
As per history, this region
was part of Germany until
the end of the second world
war, when it was conquered
by the Red Army in early
1945. Following WWII, Under
the provisions of Yalta con-
ference and then at the final
formal meeting of the big
three (Russia, the US and
Britain) at Potsdam confer-
ence, Kaliningrad was hon-
ourably given to the Soviet
Union.
With disintegration of
erstwhile USSR, the dynam-
ics changed when Poland en-
tered NATO in 1999 and the
Baltic States followed suit in
2004. Subsequently
, the Baltic
states and Poland all joined
European Union as well.
Leaving the oblast of Kalin-
ingrad completely surround-
ed by NATO members, trans-
forming the enclave into an
exclave. Now Russia was left
with no alternatives but to
strengthen the region into a
strongly defended military
zone and as a miniscule Rus-
sia within the NATO Europe
with state-of-the-art equip-
ment and nuclear weapons.
Beyond its value as a Rus-
sian fortress within ‘enemy’
territory, Kaliningrad holds
strategic and dominating
position along the Suwałki
Gap, a narrow and difficult-
to-defend strip of land that
is the only passage from Ka-
liningrad to Belarus, a Rus-
sian associate. The 65 kms
stretch of land also doubles
as the border between Po-
land and Lithuania and
therefore, crucial to Russia.
Should Russia dominate and
militarily take control the
Gap; it would separate the
Baltic States from rest of the
NATO allies.
This border of Poland and
Lithuania though formed
in1920, it had limited impor-
tance as during the Cold War,
Lithuania was part of the
Soviet Union and communist
Poland belonged to Warsaw
Pact alliance as well. But, in
recent times, NATO’s fears
about the Suwałki Gap esca-
lated after 2014, when Russia
annexed Crimea and started
the war in Donbas region.
Fears further got compound-
ed after Russia – Ukraine war
in February 2022. These wor-
ries prompted the NATO alli-
ance to increase its military
presence in the area, and an
arms race ensued ever since.
With the United States’
strong naval presence in the
waters around continental
Europe, the Russian Federa-
tion depends heavily on Ka-
liningrad to counter the
American military build-up.
Kaliningrad’s warm water
port allows Russia to quickly
engage and deter NATO na-
val operations at any time of
the year. Kaliningrad also
has the strategic location of
being on the Baltic Sea,
meaning thereby that, should
NATO forces go on the offen-
sive, Russia could mine the
small straits and seaworthy
passages effectively closing
off the corridor to the Baltic
Sea.
The Former Europe force
Commander, General Ben
Hodges acknowledged Rus-
sian advantage, saying that,
“Russia could take over the
Baltic states faster than we
would be able to defend
them.” And, as per informa-
tion available, with three di-
visions plus Army deployed
in the region Moscow has the
military strength to cut off
Baltics.
Today
, Kaliningrad carries
enormous implications for
Russia’s influence in Europe
and is crucial to Kremlin’s
foreign policy agenda. How-
ever, for the EU and NATO to
fight back against Russia’s
militarization of Kalinin-
grad, they should venture
into creating greater social
and cultural ties with its pop-
ulace. Inhabitants there hold
more euro-centric views and
in the past ten years there
have been social upheavals
for change to adopt demo-
cratic and free European life
style. In my opinion, the peo-
ple of Kaliningrad may be
less willing to go along with
every order that the Moscow
imposes on them.
Needless to say, that Kalin-
ingrad has the potential to be
a great threat to both NATO
and the EU, and it is impera-
tive that Western democra-
cies do not overlook the pow-
er this small territory holds.
With the rise of NATO in
Eastern Europe and distanc-
ing of EU from US and its
policies concerning Europe,
this small Russian oblast
will be at the forefront of
conflict over the years to
come. The war of Ukraine
resulting into likely power
crises in Europe and the on-
set of winters, the Putin fac-
tor becomes stronger and
may bring in a new align-
ment of EU with Russia to
safe guard its industries,
economy and defence as the
Russia shares the same land
mass as Europe. Germany,
France and a few more coun-
tries are already detesting
influence of US UK as al-
ien players on European and
Eurasian landmass.
THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY
THE AUTHOR ARE PERSONAL
W
Today, Kaliningrad carries
enormous implications for
Russia’s influence in
Europe and is crucial to
Kremlin’s foreign policy
agenda. However, for the
EU and NATO to fight back
against Russia’s
militarization of
Kaliningrad, they should
venture into creating
greater social and cultural
ties with its populace
Kaliningrad has the
potential to be a great
threat to both NATO
and the EU, and it is
imperative that Western
democracies do not
overlook the power
this small territory
holds. With the rise of
NATO in Eastern Europe,
this small Russian oblast
will be at the forefront
of conflict over the
years to come.
COL ANUPAM
JAITLY (RETD)
The writer is Defence expert,
Motivational Speaker Corporate Trainer

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05
INDIA
After 22 years,farming activity
resumes along IB in J-K’s Kathua
Kathua, (PTI): Farm-
ers resumed agriculture
activities on the zero
line along the Interna-
tional Border (IB) in
Jammu and Kashmir’s
Kathua district on Fri-
day
,afteragapof almost
two decades, officials
said.
Theysaidthefarming
activity was resumed
with the help of the Bor-
derSecurityForce(BSF)
andtheciviladministra-
tion.
The BSF pressed four
bulletproof tractors
into service and started
ploughing the land to
clear it of wild bushes
and make it ready for
the wheat crop, the offi-
cials said.
Thousands of acres
of land near the border
fencing, spread across
22 villages from Pa-
harpur to Londi in Hi-
ranagar sector, is lying
unattended for the past
22 years due to frequent
ceasefire violations by
Pakistan, they said.
SATYENDAR
JAIN’S WIFE TO
BE GRILLED
New Delhi: The En-
forcement Directorate
has called Poonam Jain,
the wife of jailed Delhi
Health Minister Satyen-
dar Jain, for question-
ing next week. Jain, 57,
was arrested by the cen-
tral probe agency on
May 30 under the Pre-
vention of Money Laun-
dering Act (PMLA) over
alleged hawala transac-
tions with a Kolkata-
based firm in 2015-16. A
hawala system involves
two parties transacting
money with local
agents on their behalf
without the funds pass-
ing through formal
banking channels.
TRIPURA CM
TAKES OATH
AS MLA
Agartala: Tripura
Chief Minister Manik
Saha, who won the re-
cent by-election from
Town Bardowali con-
stituency, took oath as
the member of the
Tripura assembly on
Friday
. Tripura assem-
bly Speaker Ratan
Chakraborty adminis-
tered the oath of office
and secrecy to Saha.
The Chief Minister
tweeted, “Took oath as
a Member of Tripura
Legislative Assembly,
today
. With the help of
colleagues in the house
and under the leader-
ship of Hon’ble PM Shri
Narendra Modi Ji, we
will definitely take for-
ward the development
works of the state.”
TIMES’ TOP MGMT
QUIZZED BY ED IN
FEMA INQUIRY
New Delhi: Bennett
Coleman and Company
Limited (BCCL), one of
the country’s largest
media conglomerates
and publishers of the
Times of India Group
of publications, is un-
der the scrutiny of a
Central investigating
agency, sources said.
The sources have com-
firmed that top manag-
ers of the company
have faced rounds of
questioning by the En-
(ED) with the agency re-
cently sending formal
requests for corrobora-
tive information to off-
shore destinations.
EID: ASSAM BANS
ILLEGAL ANIMAL
SLAUGHTERING
Guwahati: The Assam
Home Department on
Friday in a notification
has directed the author-
ities to take steps to
prevent illegal killing
of animals including
cows on the occasion of
Eid. Joint Secretary
K.K. Sharma has writ-
ten a letter to all Depu-
ty Commissioners and
SPs of the state for tak-
ing measures to prevent
the illegal killing of
cows, calves, and other
animals during the up-
coming Eid.
BRIEF
in
in
Kochi (Agencies): The
consent for sex obtained
by a promise to marry
will amount to rape only
if the promise was given
in bad faith or was viti-
ated by fraud or was not
intended to be adhered
to at the time of making
it,theKeralaHighCourt
has clarified.
Issuing bail to a law-
yer who has been
booked on charges of
raping a woman lawyer
after promising to mar-
ry her and thereafter
backing out from the
promise, Justice Bechu
Kurian Thomas noted
that even if a sexual re-
lationship between two
willing partners did not
culminate in marriage,
it would not amount to
rape in the absence of
any factor that vitiated
the consent for sex.
The judge noted that
a subsequent refusal to
marry or a failure to
lead the relationship
into marriage were not
factors that were suffi-
cient to constitute rape
even if the partners had
indulged in a physical
relationship. “The sexu-
al relationship between
a man and a woman can
amount to rape only if
it is against her will or
without her consent or
when consent is ob-
tained by force or
fraud,” the court held.
‘Refusing to marry after sex isn’t rape’
KERALA HIGH COURT
lll
‘Sexual
relationship can
amount to rape
only if it was
against her will
or without her
consent or when
consent was
obtained by
force or fraud’
ED slaps Amnesty India, ex-CEO
with over `61 cr in penalties
The development comes months after Aakar Patel was prevented from flying to the US
FEMA VIOLATION
Alt News’ Zubair to
stay in jail despite
top court bail order
The Supreme Court on
Friday gave bail for five
days to fact-checker Mo-
hammedZubairinacase
registered in Sitapur, Ut-
tar Pradesh, over calling
three Hindu right-wing
leaders “hatemongers”;
but he will remain in jail
fornowasthere’snobail
yet in a case in Delhi.
The Alt News co-
founder’s plea in the Su-
preme Court challenges
the Allahabad High
Court’s refusal to quash
the Sitapur FIR, which
says he hurt religious
sentiments with his
tweet. The bail today is
an interim order as the
court will now hear the
matter next week. It
came a day after a local
court in Sitapur denied
him bail and sent him to
police remand. A condi-
tionforthebailisthathe
cannot post any tweets.
The UP government
argued that he is being
taken to Bengaluru so
any bail should be given
onlyafterthat.Italsoun-
derlined that he is tech-
nically in judicial custo-
dy in a case in Delhi too.
But the Supreme Court
said, “We are dealing
with only the UP police
case. The matter be list-
edbeforetheappropriate
bench next week.”
Zubair being taken to court, in New Delhi. —FILE PHOTO
All BJP MPs told to reach Delhi
2 days before Prez poll: Report
New Delhi (PTI): The
BJP has asked all its
MPs to reach Delhi by
July 16 and stay here till
July 18 to ensure full at-
tendance of all the law-
makers for the presiden-
tial election, sources
said on Friday
.
In these two days, the
party will organise a
traininganddemonstra-
tion session on how to
castvoteinthepresiden-
tial elections, they said.
The BJP’s national
president J P Nadda
will host a dinner
meeting with all MPs
of the party on July 16,
sources said.
The BJP-led NDA
has nominated Drou-
padi Murmu as its
presidential candidate.
With the support of the
YSR Congress, BJD
and a few other parties
it is all likely that she
will get elected Presi-
dent of India.
Nadda to host a dinner meet with all MPs on July 16.
IN THE
COURTYARD
POCSO COURT
REJECTS BAIL
PLEA OF DOCTOR
Kochi: The Thiru-
vananthapuram
POCSO (Protection of
Children from Sexual
Offences Act) Addi-
tional District and Ses-
sions Court rejected
the bail plea submitted
by a doctor charged
with prescribing abor-
tion medication for a
minor girl. Premchand,
62, of Thiruvallam, is
the second accused
in a case in which a
16-year-old girl was
purportedly sexually
abused.
DELHI COURT
TO HEAR
VIVO’S PLEA
New Delhi:
The Delhi High
Court on Friday
allowed the
urgent listing
of a plea by
Chinese smart-
phone maker
Vivo against the
freezing of its
bank accounts in
connection with
a money-laun-
dering probe by
the Enforcement
Directorate.
Jagan’s mother quits YSRC to help daughter
Hyderabad (Agen-
cies): In a dramatic
turn of events on the
first day of a mega
meeting of Andhra
Pradesh’s ruling YSR
Congress Party, its hon-
orary president YS Vi-
jayalakshmi, popularly
referred to as Vijayam-
ma, announced that she
was quitting her post.
Shesaidshewasgoing
to “stand with” the po-
litical campaign led by
herdaughterYSSharmi-
la in neighbouring Tel-
angana, whose party
shares frosty ties with
her brother’s outfit.
The announcement
came at the end of her
speech on Thursday at
the YSRCP plenary
.
“There was so much
speculation, rumour-
mongering and unnec-
essary controversy
about me standing with
mydaughterYSSharmi-
la who is fighting a soli-
tary battle in Telangana
to do her bit to realise
YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s
dreams for the people of
Telangana. So, I have de-
cided to quit the YSRCP
to put an end to the con-
troversy about differ-
ences within the family
or talk about conflict of
interest,” she said.
DENIES RIFT IN FAMILY
Vijayamma hugs son Jagan after announcing her decision.
Car washed away in
Nainital, nine killed
Nainital (PTI): Nine
tourists from Punjab
drowned on Friday
morning as a car fell
into the Dhela river
in Uttarakhand’s Ram-
nagar and was washed
away by its strong cur-
rent, news agency PTI
quoted the police as
saying.
While four bodies
havebeenrecovered,five
are still trapped in the
car, they added.
Of the nine who
passed away, four bod-
ies identified of which
3 are from Patiala and 1
from Sangrur, accord-
ing to Patiala DC Sak-
shi Sawhney.
The four deceased
have been identified as
Pawan Jacob of Bhim
Nagar, Kavita of Guru
Angad Dev Colony (Ra-
jpura) and Janvi alias
Sapna (village Inder-
pura) of Patiala dis-
trict and Amandeep
Singh of Challa Bhatti
Bhawanigarh (San-
grur), she added.
Sacked Pb Health
Minister gets bail
in bribery case
Chandigarh (Agencies):
Sacked Punjab’s Health
Minister Vijay Singla
was granted bail on Fri-
day by the Punjab and
HaryanaHighCourtina
bribery case. The bench
of Justice Lisa Gill al-
lowed his bail plea.
Singla was accused of
demanding “one per
centcommission”inten-
ders and purchases by
his department.
In his bail petition,
Singla contended that
the “FIR was the out-
come of political rival-
ry” and wreaking
vengeance.”
30 Sena ex-corporators
join Shinde faction
Mumbai (Agencies):
The Shiv Sena suffered
another setback as at
least 30 ex-municipal
corporators joined
Chief Minister Eknath
Shinde’s group, here
on Friday.
The move has come
as a jolt to the former
CM Uddhav Thackeray,
ahead of the upcoming
civic elections in Navi
Mumbai Municipal
Corporation and other
major cities in the
Mumbai Metropolitan
Region and the state.
The development
came a day after 67 ex-
corporators of Thane
Municipal Corporation
met Shinde — who was
also the Guardian Min-
ister of Thane in the
erstwhile MVA regime
— and pledged to work
together under his
leadership for the pro-
gress of the city ad-
joining Mumbai.
A penalty of Rs 51.72
crore and Rs 10 crore
has been imposed
against Amnesty India
and its former head
Aakar Patel respec-
tively for contraven-
tion of the foreign ex-
change law, the En-
(ED) said on Friday.
The adjudicating au-
thority of ED has adju-
dicated an SCN issued
to M/s Amnesty India
International Pvt. Ltd.
(AIIPL) and its CEO
Aakar Patel for contra-
vention of the provi-
sions of FEMA.
The federal agency
said it initiated action
against the two on the
basis of information
that Amnesty Interna-
tional, UK had been
remitting “huge
amount” of foreign
contribution through
its Indian entities
(non-FCRA compa-
nies) following FDI
route, in order to evade
Foreign Contribution
Regulation Act (FCRA)
to expand its NGO ac-
tivities in India.
This was despite de-
nial of prior registra-
tion or permissions to
Amnesty International
India Foundation Trust
(AIIFT) and other trusts
under FCRA by the
Ministry of Home Af-
fairs, it said.
The Enforcement Di-
rectorate said the show
cause notice of penalty
was issued as the funds
received “violated”
Foreign Exchange
Management Act
(FEMA) provisions.
The show-cause no-
tice highlights Amnes-
ty International India
borrowed from over-
seas contributors be-
tween November 2013
and June 2018 but
claimed that as a re-
ceipt for business
consultancy and PR
services.
The development
comes months after Pa-
tel, based on a lookout
circular (LoC) issued
by the CBI, was pre-
vented from flying to
the US to deliver a se-
ries of lectures.
All contentions and submission from AIIPL
regarding the claim of the remittance towards
the export of services to Amnesty Interna-
tional have been dismissed, in the absence
of concrete evidence. —ED STATEMENT
z
z
z
z
ED ARGUES!

06
INDIA
Bhopal (ANI): After a
college in Bhopal pe-
nalised students for
chanting religious
hymns inside the cam-
pus, Madhya Pradesh
Home Minister Narot-
tam Mishra on Friday
turned down the insti-
tution’s fine pressed
against the students
and said that if the
hymns are not chanted
in one’s own country
then where else. “No
fine will be imposed,
we’ve informed them
(college). If Hanuman
Chalisa is not chanted
in Hindustan, there
where?. We can make
students understand,”
said Mishra. Mishra
also ordered the au-
thorities to initiate a
probe into the matter.
“The issue is not
what’s being present-
ed. Other students had
complained due to the
noise after Hanuman
Chalisa was chanted
(by 7 students). I have
ordered the Collector
to probe it,” he added.
His remarks came in
wake of the imposition
of a fine of Rs 5000 on
seven students at VIT
Bhopal for chanting
Hanuman Chalisa in
campus.
‘No fine on students for reading Chalisa’
PROBE ORDERED AGAINST VIT
G20 SUBMMIT
Bali (ANI): External
Affairs Minister S Jais-
hankar on Friday held
talks with US Secretary
of StateAntonyBlinken
focusing on a range of
challenges with “great-
er understanding and
openness”.
The talks took place
on the sidelines of the
G-20 foreign ministers’
meeting (FMM) in the
Indonesian city of Bali.
The Ukraine crisis is
believed to have figured
in the talks. S Jais-
hankar also held talks
with his Russian coun-
terpart Sergey Lavrov
in Bali. India has not yet
condemned the Russian
invasion of Ukraine
and it has been main-
taining that the crisis
must be resolved
through diplomacy and
dialogue. In the last few
months, India has also
increased the import of
discounted crude oil
from Russia notwith-
standing increasing dis-
quiet over it by several
Western powers.India’s
crude oil imports from
Russia have jumped
over 50 times since
April and now it makes
up for 10 per cent of all
crude bought from
overseas.
The G-20 is a leading
grouping that brings
together the world’s
major economies. Its
members account for
more than 80 per cent
of the global GDP, 75
per cent of global trade
and 60% of the popula-
tion of the planet.
Rameshwar Shar-
ma, BJP MLA from
Huzur constituency,
had also appealed
to Madhya Pradesh
Governor Mangubhai
Patel, Chief Minister
Shivraj Singh Chou-
han to come to the
rescue of the seven
students who were
fined for chanting
Hanuman Chalisa.
The incident hap-
pened after around 20
students of VIT recited
Hanuman Chalisa
inside the hostel.
NIA: Amravati Umesh killing was
carried out to terrorise people
Amravati (ANI): The
accused arrested in
connection with the
killing of Amravati
pharmacist Umesh
Kolhe were involved
in terrorist activities,
the NIA on Thursday
told a court here. The
special court for Na-
tional Investigation
Agency cases sent the
seven accused in NIA
custody till July 15 af-
ter hearing the argu-
ments.
Kolhe was killed in
eastern Maharashtra’s
Amravati on June 21,
allegedly for sharing a
post supporting sus-
pended BJP leader Nu-
pur Sharma whose re-
marks about Prophet
Mohammad had trig-
gered a huge contro-
versy. While the NIA
sought the accused’s
custody for 15 days,
special judge A K La-
hoti remanded them in
the custody of the fed-
eral probe agency till
July 15.
There was “incre-
mental substance”
against the accused to
show they were in-
volved in terrorist ac-
tivities, the NIA told
the court. The accused
had no personal enmi-
ty with Kolhe but their
intention was to ter-
rorize people, the pros-
ecution said.
Cong to hold Dhwaja
Satyagraha on July 30
New Delhi (PTI): Con-
gress will hold a Dhwa-
ja Satyagraha” on July
30 in protest against the
BJP’s alleged plans to
amend the National
Flag Code to permit the
manufacture and im-
port of polyester na-
tional flags, the party
said here on Friday
.
The INC supports the
Karnataka Khadi
Gramodyoga Samyukta
Sangha demand for
withdrawal of the deci-
sion to hold a Dhwaja
Satyagraha, it said.
“Tricolour (tiranga) is a
symbol of the nation’s
freedom and sovereign-
ty. Its khadi signifies
how the people of India
defeated the mighty
British Empire using
the simple charkha, a
symbol of self-suffi-
ciency, spiritual humil-
ity, national integrity,
social equality
.
HEAVY RAINS
Yellow alert in twelve
districts of Kerala
Kerala (ANI): With
the onset of torren-
tial monsoon in the
country, heavy rain
continues to lash
northern districts of
the Kerala state. A
yellow alert has been
sounded in all dis-
tricts of the State
except Thiruvanan-
thapuram and Kol-
lam on Friday.
The India Meteor-
ological Department
has predicted that
heavy rains with
thunderstorms may
lash the State for the
next four days. The
District Collectors
of Kannur and
Kasaragod have de-
clared all education-
al institutions, in-
cluding professional
colleges, to remain
closed on Friday, in
both districts.
The talks took place
on the sidelines of
the G-20 foreign
ministers’ meeting
in the Indonesian
city of Bali
Bali (ANI): Russia’s top
diplomat stormed out of
talks with G20 foreign
ministers meeting in
Indonesia on Friday
as Western powers
criticised Moscow over
its invasion of Ukraine.
Washington and allies
condemned Russia’s
assault ahead of the
meeting before Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov
faced what US Secre-
tary of State Antony
Blinken called a barrage
of Western criticism at
the closed-door talks.
“What we’ve heard to-
day already is a strong
chorus from around the
world.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meets France Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on the
sidelines of the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Bali on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
RUSSIA’S FOREIGN MIN WALKS OUT OF G20 TALKS
FLIGHTS DIVERTED DUE TO BAD WEATHER
Goa (PTI): Sev-
eral flights that were
scheduled to land at
Goa airport on Friday
have been diverted
due to bad weather
and poor visibility.Air
India Flight AI 146 from
London’s Heathrow
airport to Goa has been
diverted to Bengaluru
due to bad weather.
The flight was sched-
uled to arrive in Goa
at 3:20 am on Friday.
Besides, the departure
of a Goa-London flight
has also been post-
poned to tomorrow,
July 9. The schedule
of several other flights
which were expected
to land or take off from
Goa airport have also
been affected due to
the weather conditions
in the state.On Thurs-
day, the IMD issued
a red alert warning of
extremely heavy rainfall
in Goa over the next 24
hours and very heavy
showers till July 10.
MUMBAI RAINS: RED ALERT
FOR NEXT 24 HOURS
IMD PREDICTS HEAVY RAINS
IN HARYANA, CHANDIGARH
Mumbai (ANI): IMD
on Friday issued a red
alert in Mumbai from
1:00 pm till the next
24 hours. Several
parts of Maharashtra
have been witnessing
heavy rainfall over
the past few days
“Red alert in Mumbai
from 1 pm on Friday
till next 24 hours.
We request Mum-
baikars to plan their
travel and schedules
likewise,” IMD said.
“Fairly widespread/
widespread rainfall
and thunderstorm/
lightning with iso-
lated heavy rainfall
are very likely over
Odisha and other
states.
Punjab (ANI): The
India Meteorological
Department (IMD)
on Friday predicted
heavy rains in Pun-
jab, Haryana and
Chandigarh during
the next two days till
July 10. From July
8 to July 10, heavy
(64.5 to 114.5 mm)
to very heavy rainfall
(115.6 to 204.4 mm)
is expected to lash
Punjab, Haryana, and
Chandigarh accom-
panied by thunder-
storms and lightning.
Twenty seven newly-elected
RS members take oath
New Delhi (ANI): Un-
ion ministers Nirmala
Sitharaman and Piyush
Goyal were among the
27 newly-elected mem-
bers of Rajya Sabha
who took oath as mem-
bers of the Council of
States on Friday
.The
members took the oath
owing allegiance to the
Constitution as re-
quired to commence
their functioning as
MPs, in the presence of
Chairman M Venkaiah
Naiduinthechamberof
Rajya Sabha.
The 27 members are
from 10 states and took
oath in nine languages
12 in Hindi, four in Eng-
lish, two each in San-
skrit,Kannada,Marathi
and Odia and one each
in Punjabi, Tamil and
Telugu. Four other
members of the total 57
newly-elected MPs had
taken oath recently
. Dur-
ing an interaction with
some leaders and mem-
bers of the House after
the oath taking ceremo-
ny, Naidu clarified that
those elected members
who are still to take oath
also can vote in the pres-
idential election on July
18. Naidu said the up-
coming monsoon sesh
will be conducted under
the Covid-19 protocol.
‘Reach out to potential
startups support them’
Transfer of 149
Bihar officers
cancelled
Patna (ANI): Bihar
Governor Phagu Chau-
han on Friday cancelled
the transfer and posting
of 149 officers of the
Land Reforms and Rev-
enue Departments, on
the recommendation of
the Chief Minister. CM
Nitish Kumar found
something fishy in the
transfer and posting of
149 circle officers, set-
tlement officers, and
consolidation officers
of these two depart-
ments, and recommend-
ed the cancellation.
First India Bureau
New Delhi : Union mi
Minister of State for Sci-
ence and Technology Ji-
tendra Singh on Friday
directed govt officials and
agencies to reach out to
potential startups and of-
ferthemsupport.
Addressing an event
organised at UP Mo-
radabad, Singh also
called for launching a
countrywide hunt for in-
novative young minds
and potential startups,
adding that these would
shape the country’s fu-
tureeconomy
.“Reachout
topotentialstartups,sup-
port them, and also offer
support to those who
themselves reach out to
us. This way
, we will not
miss out on many a de-
serving innovative
mindswhosestartupini-
tiatives may not have
taken off because of in-
adequate support or re-
sources,” he said.
PM MODI MEETS NEWLY-
ELECTED RAJYA SABHA MPS
New Delhi (ANI): PM
Prime Minister Naren-
dra Modi on Friday met
the newly elected BJP
Rajya Sabha members
at his official residence
here. It was learnt that
the Prime Minister ad-
vised the newly elected
Rajya Sabha Members
to regularly attend the
House proceedings,
and learn from seniors
Sources said that
the interaction lasted
nearly an hour.“The
Prime Minister met
newly elected Rajya
Sabha Members over
tea and talked about
their new role and
immense responsibility
coming with it,” sourc-
es said. “The Prime
Minister told them
that being members
of Upper House (of
the Parliament), huge
responsibility lies on
you. He advised them
to regularly attend
the House and come
prepared to attend the
proceedings,” a source
said.
S Jaishankar holds talks with US
Secretary of State in Indonesia
“Continued the
conversation with
@SecBlinken on
global and regional
issues, this time
at Bali #G20FMM.
Our relationship
today allows us to
approach a range
of challenges with
greater understand-
ing and openness,”
@ S Jaishankar
tweeted.
HIGHLIGHTS
RAMESHWAR SHARMA SAYS
Sergei Lavrov
Narottam Mishra
BJP President JP Nadda and Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jai Ram
Ramesh greet each other during the Oath taking ceremony, at
Parliament House, in New Delhi on Friday. —PHOTO BY ANI
The administration of VIT-Bhopal in Sehore
had imposed a fine of `5,000 each on seven
students for reading Hanuman Chalisa.”
The newly elected
members are
Jairam Ramesh,
Vivek K Tankha and
Mukul Wasnik (all
of Cong), Surendra
Singh Nagar, K
Laxman, Laxmikant
Vajpayee (all BJP),
Kalpana Saini. Jay-
ant Chaudhary,

BIZ BUZZ
07
GoM on GST
levy on casinos
to meet on 12th
Group of Ministers on
casinos, online gam-
ing and horse racing
will meet on Tuesday
to finalise its report
on modalities taxing
these activities that
are akin to gambling.
The GST Council,
comprising the Centre
and state finance min-
isters, had referred
back the report to
the GoM for further
discussion and set a
deadline of July 15 for
the submission of the
final report. Address-
ing a conference
on GST, UP Finance
Minister Suresh Ku-
mar Khanna, who is a
member of the GoM,
said the panel will
meet on July 12.
NCL dispatch
3.8 LT coal to
power houses
CIL arm Northern
Coalfields Ltd (NCL)
dispatched 3.83
lakh tonne coal to
electricity generating
plants on Thursday,
the highest in a single
day, feeding the need
of power houses in
the wake of sharp
increase in the de-
mand for the dry fuel.
Overall, the company
dispatched 4.14 lakh
tonne of coal on
Thursday, the highest
ever dispatched in
2022-23, and also
the second-highest
since the company’s
inception. “Fuelling
the need of the
power sector... Amid
the steep rise of
coal demand, NCL
dispatched 3.83 lakh
tonne, the highest
amount of dry fuel
in a single day since
the inception of the
company,” NCL said
in a statement on
Friday (July 7, 2022).
Coal India Ltd (CIL),
which accounts for
over 80% of domestic
coal ouput, is one of
the major suppliers of
coal to power houses.
FinMin exempts
excise duty on
ATF purchases
Finance Ministry has
exempted domestic
airlines running inter-
national flights from
11% basic excise
duty on ATF or jet fuel
bought from oil mar-
keting companies.
In a notification, the
ministry said that ATF
supplied as fuel to
domestic carriers on
international routes
would continue to be
exempted from basic
excise duty from July
1. Confusion arose
on the leviability of
the excise duty on
domestic airlines for
their foreign flights
after the government
on July 1 slapped a
Rs 6 per litre special
additional excise duty
(SAED) or duty on the
export of jet fuel. Oil
companies were of
the view that with the
levy of export duty,
domestic carriers
would be liable to pay
11% basic excise duty
for the Aviation Tur-
bine Fuel (ATF) they
purchase for running
overseas flights.
ON STRONG SIP FLOWS
Equity MFs attract
`15,498-cr in June
New Delhi (PTI): In-
vestors continue to
back-up equity mutual
funds in June as such
schemes attracted a net
inflow of `15,498 crore
on strong flows from
systematic investment
plans despite volatility
in the stock market and
relentless selling by
Foreign Portfolio Inves-
tors (FPIs).
This also marked the
16th straight month of
positive inflow in equi-
ty schemes.
Inflows into equity
mutual funds in June
was lower compared to
the net inflow of `18,529
crore seen in May, data
from the Association of
Mutual Funds in India
showed on Friday
.
Kavitha Krishnan,
Senior Analyst - Man-
ager Research, Morn-
ingstar India, believes
that continuous FPIs
selling impacted the
magnitude of flows on
the back of concerns
over a global recession,
the upcoming US mid-
term elections, and
their focus on regulat-
ing inflation.
Equity schemes have
been witnessing net in-
flow since March 2021,
highlighting the posi-
tive sentiment among
investors.
Prior to this, such
schemes had consist-
ently witnessed out-
flows for eight months
from July 2020 to Febru-
ary 2021, losing `46,791
crore.
All the equity-orient-
ed categories received
net inflows in June with
the Flexi-cap Funds cat-
egory being the biggest
beneficiary with a net
inflow of `2,512 crore.
This was followed by
the multi-cap fund that
witnessed `2,130 crore
net infusion.
This positivity is in
spite of the capital mar-
kets regulator Sebi’s
ban on launch of new
mutual fund schemes
during the June quar-
ter.
Inflows through SIPs
were at `12,276 crore in
June as compared to
`12,286 crore in May
. Be-
sides, the number of
SIP accounts reached
an all-time high at 5.54
crore in June.
Apart from equity,
Gold ETFs experienced
a net inflow of `135
crore in the month un-
der review.
During the month,
index funds and other
ETFs combined re-
ceived net inflows of
`12,660 crore as passive-
ly managed funds have
gained prominence
amongst investors over
recent times, and they
have been actively add-
ing these funds in their
portfolio from a diversi-
fication perspective.
However, redemp-
tions from debt mutual
funds were at a higher
level, with a net outflow
of `92,247 crore in June,
as compared to a net
withdrawal of `32,722
crore in the preceding
month.Overall, the mu-
tual fund industry reg-
istered a net outflow of
`69,853 crore last
month, as compared to
a net pull out of `7,532
crore in May
.
The outflow pulled
down the average assets
under management
(AUM) of the industry
to `36.98 lakh crore at
the end of June, from
`37.37 lakh crore at
May-end.
New Delhi (PTI): Im-
pact investor British
International Invest-
ment (BII) will invest
`1,925 crore in Mahin-
dra Mahindra’s new
electric vehicle arm.
As per an agreement
between the two part-
ners, the new electric
vehicle company -- EV
Co, is envisaged to have
a total capital infusion
of around `8,000
crore/$1 billion be-
tween financial year
2024 and fiscal year
2027 for planned prod-
uct portfolio. MM and
BII will invest `1,925
crore each in EV Co,
which would focus on
four-wheel passenger
electric vehicles, as per
the pact. The Mumbai-
based automaker and
BII have executed a
binding agreement in
this regard. According
to the pact, BII will in-
vest up to `1,925 crore
in the form of compul-
sory convertible in-
struments at a valua-
tion of up to `70,070
crore, resulting in
2.75% to 4.76% owner-
ship in the EV Co,
MM said in a late
night regulatory filing
on Thursday
.
MM and BII will
work jointly to bring
other like-minded in-
vestors in the company
to match the funding
requirement in a
phased manner, it add-
ed.
“We are extremely
delighted to have BII as
a partner in our SUV
electric journey
. In BII,
we have found a like-
minded long-term part-
ner who is committed
to combating the cli-
mate emergency,”
MM MD CEO Anish
Shah said.
MMRAISES`1925CROREINPROPOSEDEVARM
COLLABORATION
lll
MM and BII
will invest
`1,925 crore
each in EV Co,
which would
focus on four-
wheel
passenger
electric vehicles,
as per the pact
ONGC,OIL winners of
OALP-VII bid round
New Delhi (PTI):
State-owned ONGC,
OIL and GAIL
walked away with
most of the eight
blocks offered for ex-
ploration and pro-
duction of oil and
gas in the OALP 7th
bid round even as the
g o v e r n m e n t
launched the next
bidding round, ex-
pecting $600-700 mil-
lion investment in
the 10 areas on offer.
Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation
(ONGC) won three
blocks in the OALP-
VII round while Oil
India Ltd (OIL) won
two, according to in-
formation posted by
the DGH.
GAIL walked away
with one block in Ra-
jasthan while Sun
Petrochemicals Pvt
Ltd won the remain-
ing two blocks.
Separately, the oil
ministry said a new
policy for finding
and producing oil
and gas, called the
Hydrocarbon Explo-
ration and Licensing
Policy (HELP), was
promulgated on
March 30, 2016.
Since then, seven
bid rounds of the
Open Acreage Li-
censing Programme
(OALP) have been
concluded and 134 ex-
ploration and pro-
duction blocks
awarded. These
blocks cover 2,07,691
square kilometers of
area across 19 sedi-
mentary basins.
IREDA committed to increasing
participation of MSMEs in RE
IREDA on Friday said it
is committed to increas-
ing participation of
MSMEs in the green en-
ergy sector by offering
more loans, its Chair-
man and MD Pradip Ku-
mar Das said.
MoS for Finance
Bhagwat Karad lauded
the efforts of the IREDA
for the overall develop-
ment of the renewable
energy sector.
Das said while MS-
MEs only represent
1.86% of the company’s
total loan assets of
`33,884 crore (as of May
2022), the IREDA is at-
tempting to address the
issues of MSMEs in or-
der to increase their
participation in the RE
sector. He emphasised
that the target of 500
GW of RE capacity by
2030 cannot be achieved
without the considera-
ble participation of MS-
MEs, and therefore,
their efforts will be a
crucial driver of Aatm-
nirbhar Bharat.

z Oil and Natural Gas
Corporation (ONGC)
won three blocks in the
OALP-VII round while
Oil India Ltd (OIL) won
two.

z GAIL walked away
with one block in
Rajasthan while Sun
Petrochemicals Pvt Ltd
won the remaining two
blocks.

z Seven bid rounds
of the OALP have
been concluded and
134 exploration and
production blocks
awarded.
Markets extend
rally to 3rd day
Mumbai (PTI): Bench-
mark indices gained
for the third day run-
ning on Friday, with
the Sensex climbing
over 300 points amid
mixed global market
trends.
The 30-share
B o m b a y
Stock Ex-
change (BSE)
b e n ch m a rk
a d v a n c e d
303.38 points or
0.56 per cent to
settle at 54,481.84.
The broader NSE
Nifty went higher by
87.70 points or 0.54 per
cent to end at 16,220.60.
From the Sensex
pack, Larsen Toubro,
Power Grid, NTPC, ICI-
CI Bank, Axis Bank, Dr
Reddy’s Lab, Nestle,
Bharti Airtel, Infosys
and Hindustan Unile-
ver were the major
gainers.
Tata Steel, Maruti
Suzuki India, IndusInd
Bank, TCS and Asian
Paints were among the
laggards.
RUPEE FALLS 10
PAISE TO 79.23
AGAINST USD
Mumbai (PTI): The
rupee declined by
10 paise to close at
79.23 against the
US dollar. At the
interbank foreign
exchange market,
the local currency
opened at 79.20
and finally ended
at 79.23, down 10
paise over its previ-
ous close of 79.13.
PanelonGSTAppellate
Tribunalformed
GST Council has set up
a Group of Ministers,
chaired by Haryana
Deputy CM Dushyant
Chautala, to suggest re-
quired changes in the
law for setting up the
GST Appellate Tribunal
(GSTAT).
The GST Council,
chaired by Finance
Minister Nirmala Si-
tharaman and compris-
ing state ministers, had
last week decided to
constitute a Group of
Ministers (GoM) to ad-
dress various concerns
raised by states in rela-
tion to constitution of
the GSTAT.
As per the Terms of
Reference (ToR) of the
GoM, the panel would
recommend required
amendments in the GST
law to ensure that the
legal provisions main-
tain the right federal
balance and are in line
with the overall objec-
tive of uniform taxa-
tion within the country
.
The 6-member GoM
would also ensure that
the amendments are in
line with various court
judgements relating to
setting up the tribunal.
TCS Q1 NET PROFIT RISES
5.2% TO `9,478 CRORE
Mumbai (PTI): India’s
largest IT services firm
Tata Consultancy Ser-
vices (TCS) on Friday
reported a 5.2% year-
on-year rise in consoli-
dated net profit to `9,478
crore for the first quar-
ter ended June 30. The
consolidated revenue
from operations in-
creased 16.2% year-on-
year to `52,758 crore in
the first quarter of
FY23.
TCS CEO and Manag-
ing Director Rajesh
Gopinathan said: “We
are starting the new fis-
cal year on a strong
note, with all-round
growth and strong deal
wins across all our seg-
ments”.
TaMo global wholesales
up 48 per cent in Q1
New Delhi (PTI): Tata
Motors on Friday said
its global wholesales,
including that of Jag-
uar Land Rover, rose
48% to 3,16,443 units in
the first quarter of the
current fiscal. The auto
major had dispatched
2,14,250 units to dealers
in the April-June quar-
ter of 2021-22.Global
wholesales of all Tata
Motors’ commercial ve-
hicles and Tata Daewoo
range in the first quar-
ter stood at 1,03,529
units as compared with
52,470 units a year ago.
The company’s global
sales of all passenger
vehicles were at 2,12,914
units, up from 1,61,780
units in June quarter.

08
2NDFRONT
A true leader pushes his team to
work beyond their potential,
individually and as a team.
—Dr Jagdeesh Chandra,
CEO Editor-in-Chief, First India
First India Bureau
Nashik: The Nashik
Rural police, investi-
gating the murder of
an Afghan national
who was shot dead on
Tuesday, have ob-
tained the deceased’s
bank records in or-
der to further probe
the possible motive
for his death.
Khwaja Ahmed Za-
rif Chishti, 35, was
killed in the MIDC area
of Yeola. His driver
and three others who
were with him at the
time of the crime and
then fled are the pri-
mary suspects in the
murder.
According to prelim-
inary investigations,
Chishti would get his
friends to buy proper-
ty for him because he
was prohibited from
owning any property
in India due to his for-
eigner status. The
murder is believed to
have been committed
over disputes arising
from one such transac-
tion.
“We are examining
Chishti’s bank records
to find out more about
these transactions. A
dispute over the com-
pensation to be paid for
the latest property that
he wanted to control
appears to have led to
the murder,” a police
official said.
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra Governor Bhagat
Singh Koshyari has
urged the vice-chan-
cellor of the Univer-
sity of Mumbai
to name the newly-
built international
students’ hostel
after freedom fighter
Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar.
The governor, who is
also the chancellor of
public universities in
the state, inaugurated
the new hostel building
at the University’s Ka-
lina campus here on
Friday. He also inaugu-
rated a new examina-
tion building, knowl-
edge resource centre
and the girls’ hostel.
The international
students’ hostel can
accommodate 146
students, while the
girls’ hostel can house
144 pupil.
“The University of
Mumbai was founded
in 1857, the year India
fought its first war of
Independence against
the colonial rulers,”
Koshyari said, citing
that it was Savarkar
who had described the
uprising against the
British as the “first
war of independence”.
“Naming the inter-
national students hos-
tel after Savarkar will
enhance respect for In-
dia in the hearts and
minds of students,” he
said.
The governor further
added that apart from
imparting education,
the university must im-
bibe the values of san-
skriti and sanskar (cul-
ture) in students.
He also expressed
hope that an interna-
tional sports complex
will be sanctioned at
the university soon.
‘Name newly-built international
students’ hostel after Savarkar’
Guv Bhagat Singh
Koshyari inaugurated
new hostel building at
MU’s Kalina campus
Police scan bank records
of slain Afghan national
Khwaja Ahmed
Zarif Chishti, 35,
was shot dead
in the MIDC
area in Yeola
Stateaimstobe1st
inIndiatorunpublic
busesoncleanfuel
First India Bureau
Mumbai: Maharash-
tra plans to be the
first state in India to
run all its public
transport buses on
clean fuels, Deputy
Chief Minister Dev-
endra Fadnavis said
on Friday
, adding that
big cities like Mum-
bai and Pune already
have electric buses.
However, he did not
share a timeline for this
transformation.
“In the coming days,
we will endeavour to en-
sure that public trans-
port will not have any
conventional fuel at all.
We have already made a
start with big cities in
thestatewheretranspor-
tation systems are being
turned to clean sys-
tems,” Fadnavis said, at
an event organized by
the Union Ministry of
Culture and industry
lobby CII here.
Fadnavis said the
state-run Maharashtra
State Road Transport
Corporation (MSRTC)
will also begin to re-
place the fuel source for
its fleet soon.
Speaking at the maid-
en public outing for him
and Chief Minister
Eknath Shinde since
taking oath last week,
Fadnavis said a switch
to EVs will help India
achieve its overall envi-
ronmental targets and
also develop the state’s
EV ecosystem.
The GSDP of the
state will touch $1 tril-
lion before 2030 on the
back of the infrastruc-
ture, technology and
innovation-led ap-
proach adopted by the
government, he added.
He also said politics
sometimes meddles in
infrastructure creation
like the Metro rail pro-
ject in the financial
capital, but made it
clear that the govern-
ment wants to speed up
the pace of work and
complete it on time.
Without naming the
Vadhavan port off the
Dahanu coast, Fadnavis
saidthegovernmentwill
also help facilitate pro-
gressontheport—which
has been facing environ-
mentalobjections—soas
to help achieve the over-
all GSDP target.
Admitting that Maha-
rashtra has lagged be-
hind in progress on the
Mumbai-Ahmedabad
bullet train project,
Fadnavis said efforts
will be made to expedite
the same.
Shindesaidheandhis
deputy are currently
thinking about reducing
the value added tax
(VAT) on fuels, as done
by some other states.
Union Minister for Road Transport and Highway Nitin Gadkari with
CM Eknath Shinde (R) and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis (L) during
Friday's event in Mumbai. —PHOTO BY ANI
GSDP will touch $1
trillion before 2030
on the back of the
infrastructure,
technology and
innovation-led
approach: Dy CM
SEA BRIDGE
Woman living in India for
50 years seeks citizenship
Mumbai (PTI): A
66-year-old woman
living in India for over
50 years without any
citizenship documents
or an Indian passport
approached the Bom-
bay High Court on Fri-
day seeking that the
Union government
be directed to grant
her citizenship.
The Indian-origin
woman, Ila Popat,
claimed in her plea filed
before a bench led by
Justice SV Gangapur-
wala that she was born
in Uganda in East Afri-
ca and came to India on
her mother’s Indian
passport in 1956 when
she was ten years old.
She got married to an
Indian citizen 10 years
later, and now has two
children and several
grandchildren, all of
them Indian citizens.
She applied for an Indi-
an passport three times
during these years but
her request was rejected
each time because of
lack of documents.
She told HC that
only in 2018-19 she was
told by officials she
should have applied for
Indian citizenship first
before seeking an Indi-
an passport.
Mumbai (PTI): The
Congress on Friday
appointed senior lead-
er Mohan Prakash to
conduct an inquiry
into the recent politi-
cal developments in
Maharashtra, where
the party saw cross-
voting by seven of its
MLAs in the Legisla-
tive Council elections,
while nearly a dozen
legislators were ab-
sent during a trust
vote in the Assembly
which was won by the
Eknath Shinde gov-
ernment.
AnAllIndiaCongress
Committee (AICC)
statement did not spe-
cifically mention about
the cross-voting or ab-
senteeism, but said
Prakash, a former gen-
eral secretary in-charge
of Maharashtra, will
submit a report to party
presidentSoniaGandhi.
The announcement
comes in the wake of
state party leaders hold-
ing meetings with the
central leadership and
demanding a probe into
the cross-voting by sev-
en Congress MLAs in
the June 20 Legislative
Council elections.
The cross-voting
had led to the defeat of
Congress candidate
Chandrakant Handore,
a former minister and
Dalit leader.
Similarly, 11 Con-
gress MLAs, including
some former ministers,
were absent during
voting on the motion
of confidence moved
in the Assembly on July
4 which was comforta-
bly won by the Shinde-
led government which
is being supported by
the BJP.
The Congress, which
has 44 MLAs in the
state, was a part of
the Maha Vikas
Aghadi (MVA) govern-
ment which collapsed
in June-end following
a revolt by a section
of Shiv Sena MLAs led
by Shinde.
Mohan Prakash to lead Cong probe into poll debacle
CORRECTIVE MEASURES?
Party was hit by cross-voting
in MLC polls, absenteeism
during trust vote in Maha
Mohan Prakash
Khwaja Ahmed Zarif Chishti
COURTESY MEET!
Jagdeesh Chandra called on Anurag Singh Thakur Union Minister for Information Broadcasting and Youth Affairs
Sports, at the latter’s office in New Delhi on Friday morning, during a courtesy meet. Aditi Nagar, Editor First India News and
Delhi Bureau Chief was also present.
Jagdeesh Chandra extends a floral greeting to Anurag Thakur. Anurag Thakur and Jagdeesh Chandra in conversation.
Aditi Nagar
Union Home Minister
Amit Shah, the man
who has often been
called the modern-age
Chanakya, would be in
Pink City to chair a
crucial top-level meet-
ing of Northern Zonal
Council on internal se-
curity with the CMs
and lieutenant Gover-
nors of eight states on
Saturday. Shah is the
chairman of the Coun-
cil. Apart from his of-
ficial assignment, Shah
will also get an oppor-
tunity to give a clear
message to all the war-
ring groups in Ra-
jasthan BJP to get unit-
ed to effectively face
the 2023 challenge. He
will meet the state BJP
leaders at the head-
quarters here for about
3 hours.
Shah, who has carved
out a niche for himself
in ensuring internal se-
curity and stability in
the country, is expected
to guide the north zonal
states to further im-
prove internal security
.
This meeting is con-
sidered very crucial for
Rajasthan as CM
Ashok Gehlot will host
it and is likely to have
a long discussion with
Shah, on 7 prominent
issues including inter-
national border with
Pakistan, power, coal
supply, national project
status to the Eastern
Rajasthan Canal Pro-
ject (ERCP), Bhakra
Beas Management
Board, reduction of
special excise duty on
petrol and diesel, and
getting the states’
share of GST compen-
sation.
The meeting will be
mainly focused on in-
ternal security. Issues
like cybercrime, inter-
state and cross-border
drug trade and creating
a joint workforce, de-
veloping a system of
mutual exchange of in-
formation, speeding up
the investigation of
cases of rape of women
and children will be
discussed in the meet-
ing.
C M s / L i e u t e n a n t
Governors of Ra-
jasthan, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh,
Punjab, Delhi, Chandi-
garh, Jammu and
Kashmir and Ladakh
will participate in the
meeting to be held from
10 am at hotel Rambagh
Palace.
The meeting is also
considered important
in the backdrop of the
brutal killing of Kan-
haiya Lal in Udaipur.
The killers had threat-
ened PM Modi in a vid-
eo and agencies like
NIA and state ATS are
probing the terrorist
connections of the ac-
cused.
Gehlottohosthispoliticaladversaryinhishomestate!
Amit Shah

P
rabhas, Saif Ali Khan and
Kriti Sanon’s highly talked
about film Adipurush has
already created a lot of
buzzes. Now, the makers have de-
clared that will be sharing a sneak
peek from the magnum opus very
soon. Posting a video of an empty
theatre, they wrote on Twitter,
“#Adipurush testing on the
big screen.” It will be exciting
to see what the makers have in
store for us.
Earlier, the director, Om
Raut opened up about what
makes Prabhas the perfect
choice for the film. Accord-
ing to the sources, he was
quoted as saying, “I have
tried to understand Prabhu
Ram to the best of my
ability and I will keep on
understanding for the
rest of my life. Eyes are
a reflection of the
heart and Prabhas is
such a pure soul that
his eyes are calm.”
T
he wait is
over! The
makers of Vi-
jay Devera-
konda and Ananya
Panday’s upcoming
sports drama Liger
have dropped the
promo from the
film’s first song,
Akdi Pakdi. From
the glimpse, the
track looks like a
perfect party num-
ber. Lijo George-Dj
Chetas composed
this energetic
n u m b e r,
w h i l e
B a b a
Bhaskar choreo-
graphed it. Vijay De-
verakonda’s swift
dance moves set the
dance floor on fire in
the video and Anan-
ya Panday matches
his every step with
zeal. The full song
will be revealed on
11th July this year.
Dev Negi, Pawni
Pandey, and Lijo
George have crooned
the Hindi version of
the single, and Moh-
sin Shaikh and
Azeem Daya-
ni have pro-
vided the
lyrics for
it.
fter making her debut in Samrat Prith-
viraj alongside Akshay Kumar,
Manushi Chillar is now making big
strides and has officially signed on to
her third film. The actress has report-
edly signed a big-ticket film and this
time it is an action entertainer that
will be shot in Europe. While details of the pro-
ject are currently under wraps, Manushi re-
portedly signed on to the big project just days
after her debut film was released.
A well-placed trade source revealed,
“Manushi will be seen in an all-new avatar in
this action entertainer. She mesmerised every-
one with her screen presence in Samrat Prith-
viraj in which she played the role of the gor-
geous Indian Princess, Sanyogita. Now, she will
train hard to impress everyone with her action
avatar in this project. It is an ambitious pro-
ject and the makers wanted to cast a new
face with a great on-screen personality.
Manushi fit the bill to a T. This will be
the third film in her filmography
.”
A
N
eetu Kapoor celebrated her birthday on Fri-
day. Neetu Kapoor turned 64 today and she
celebrated her special day with daughter
Riddhima Kapoor Sahni and Bharat Sahni
in London. Needless to say,
fans are missing Ranbir Ka-
poor and Alia Bhatt’s pres-
ence during Neetu Kapoor’s
birthday celebrations. How-
ever, the soon-to-be parents
have made sure to make
Neetu’s day more special
by sending her a sweet
gift.
Yes! Ranbir and Alia
sent Neetu a bouquet of
white roses along with a
note which read, “Happy birthday mom. Love
you lots”. Neetu, who was overwhelmed with
Ranbir and Alia’s gesture, took to her Insta-
gram story and shared the pic of Ranbir and
Alia’s sweet gift. She captioned the post as,
“Thank you @aliaabhatt
Rana” along with a heart
emoticon.
Birthday Surprise
Disha
oozes oomph
in pink saree
D
isha Patani
d r o p p e d
jaws when
the actress
shared some pret-
ty pictures wear-
ing a pink saree on
social media. With
the sheer embel-
lished pink six-
yard, paired with
a silver blouse, the
actress oozes
oomph in this eth-
nic wear. Disha
Patani took to her
social media and
shared her saree
look. From don-
ning dresses to
gowns or bikinis,
it can certainly be
said that Disha
can make any-
thing look hot.
The most allur-
ing value about
Disha Patani is
that she barely
tries to look that
good! Anything
she wears or any
move she per-
forms, her god-
dess-like aura
tends to leave a
trail of lovers be-
hind. Recently,
during the trailer
launch of ‘Ek Vil-
lain Returns’, the
actress was liter-
ally the fascinat-
ing factor of the
entire event.
Liger’s Akdi Pakdi Promo
L
ooks like Parineeti Chopra has hired a
new stylist! Well, the ‘Jabariya Jodi’
actress made her fans meet her cute
little stylist on Instagram recently and
her fans are in awe of them both.
Parineeti took to Instagram to share
an adorable video of a toddler who’s
her friend’s son. In the video, the kid
is seen helping Parineeti select an
outfit in the cutest way possible.
Parineeti is seen wearing a bath-
robe while the little toddler picks
an outfit for her. She captioned
the post “Hired a new stylist”.
The cute boy chose a black
evening gown for the actress
and later also chose pink stilet-
toes for her. Parineeti was seen
wearing the outfit in one of the
pictures she posted on Insta-
gram.
PARINEETI’S NEW
HAIR STYLIST
Adipurush
on big screen
Alia Bhatt
Manushi Chillar
Ananya Panday
Her post...
Her post...
Parineeti Chopra
Kriti Sanon
Disha Patani
Her post...
www.firstindia.co.in I https://firstindia.co.in/epapers/mumbai I twitter.com/
thefirstindia I facebook.com/thefirstindia I instagram.com/thefirstindia 09
MUMBAI, SATURDAY,
JULY 9, 2022

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