PUBLISHED FROM LUCKNOW R.N.I. Reg. No.

: UPENG/2007/19688

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Editorial: Impending havoc NCLAT upholds Suraksha’s bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech 6th phase: Voting in 58 seats across 6 states and 2 UTs today

Ayodhya's Ram Temple bans ‘Congress uses Himachal

use of mobile phones on premises Pradesh as an ATM’: Amit Shah
OUR CORRESPONDENT
AYODHYA: The Shri Ram
Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshet-
ra and the Ayodhya admin-
istration have decided to
impose a complete ban
on mobile phones in the
Ram Janmabhoomi temple
premises for the security
and devotees' facilities, said
temple trustee Anil Mishra.
The trustee further ap-
pealed to all the devotees
to respect the decision and
urged them to avail the dev-
otees' cloak room facilities
and cooperate in maintain-
ing the arrangements.
"Yesterday, we informed
the administration in a meet-
ing. Looking at the security
and devotees' facilities, the
administration and the trust
have made this decision. We
appeal to all the devotees to
respect this decision... We
have complete facilities to
keep mobile phones safe...
We have the facility to keep
any valuable item safely,
Champat Rai said the mul-
tipurpose area would have
six additional temples rang-
ing from Lord Shiva to Lord
Hanuman. Once completed,
the Ram temple premises
would be able to accommo-
date 25,000 pilgrims at a
time with all their baggage,
Rai further said.
Ram Janmabhoomi Tem-
ple:
Constructed in the tra-
ditional Nagara style, the
The trustee appealed the devotees to respect the three-storied Ram Janmab-
decision and urged them to avail the cloak room facilities hoomi Mandir stands on 2.7
and cooperate in maintaining the arrangements acres of land in the temple
town, measuring 380 feet
the devotees are requested ing to all sects of life. Prime in length (east-west direc-
to avail these facilities and Minister Narendra Modi had tion), 250 feet in width, and
cooperate in maintaining presided over the rituals of 161 feet in height. It has a
the arrangements..." Mishra the pran pratishtha ceremo- total of 392 pillars and 44
said to news agency ANI. ny. doors. It features five Man-
The pran pratishtha of Further construction of daps (halls) -- Nritya Man-
the 51-inch-tall idol of Lord Ram Temple: dap, Rang Mandap, Sabha
Ram Lalla, crafted by famed The general secretary Mandap, Prarthna and
sculptor Arun Yogiraj, in of the temple trust an- Kirtan Mandap. The pillars
the newly built grand Ram nounced the construction of and walls showcase intri-
Janmabhoomi temple took a 14-foot-wide security wall cately sculpted depictions
around the Janmabhoomi of Hindu deities, gods and
Congress claims INDIA bloc crossed 272-mark,
place on January 22 among
around 8,000 VVIPS belong- temple, called 'Parkota.' goddesses.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
HIMACHAL: Union home
minister Amit Shah on Sat-
urday lashed out at Himach-
al Pradesh chief minister
Sukhwinder Sukhu, accus-
ing him of turning the state
into an ATM of the Congress.
“The Himachal Pradesh
chief minister has made the
state the Congress party’s
ATM. Whenever there is an
election the Congress par-
ty uses the state’s people’s
hard-earned money for con-
testing polls. Development
cannot be done by the Con-
gress but development is
the BJP’s habit,” the minister
said during his campaign in
Himachal Pradesh, whose
four seats will go to polls in
the seventh and final phase
of Lok Sabha elections on
June 1.
Continuing his attack on
the Congress, Shah said,"-
Modi Ji has already won
Lok Sabha elections: Amit Shah claimed that the entire
blame for the Congress defeat on June 4 will be pinned
on party chief Mallikarjun Kharge
310 seats and will cross the
400 mark in the sixth and
seventh phases and will be
the prime minister again.
Therefore the responsibility
of getting 400 seats lies on
the people who are going to
vote in the seventh phase.
On the other hand, Rahul
Gandhi will remain stuck be-
low 40 seats."
Shah claimed that the en-
tire blame for the Congress
loss on June 4 will be pinned
on party chief Mallikarjun
Kharge. “Now Kharge Ji is
campaigning in Himachal
Pradesh. But on the 4th of
June, the entire blame of
the Congress party losing
the election will be shifted
to Kharge Sahab and he will
have to resign. Because no
one can blame Rahul Gand-
hi and Priyanka Gandhi,” he
said.
He said that once the
BJP registers victory in six
assembly seats it will form
a government in Himachal
Pradesh.
Accusing the current Con-
gress government in the
state of corruption, Shah
said,"Modi Ji has sent Rs.
3200 crore during the disas-
ter but they spent the entire
amount on corruption. The
MLAs who have joined the
BJP have also tendered res-
ignation from the assembly.
They will be elected again
by the people as the BJP’s
nominated candidates and
once they are elected the
Congress government in Hi-
machal Pradesh will fall like
a house of cards. Modi Ji has
developed the nation 100%
but Himachal Pradesh by
150%,” he said.

Cyclone Remal: Kolkata airport to suspend mocks Modi's 'God sent' remark as ‘delusional’
flights for 21 hrs from Sunday noon
OUR CORRESPONDENT
KOLKATA: In the wake of the
impending cyclonic storm
'Remal', Kolkata's Netaji
Subhash Chandra Bose In-
ternational Airport has an-
nounced to suspend flight
operations for 21 hours
from Sunday noon.
“In view of cyclone Re-
mal's impact on the coastal
region of West Bengal, in-
cluding Kolkata, a meeting
was held with the stakehold-
ers and it has been decided
to suspend flight operations
from 1200 IST on May 26 to
0900 IST on May 27 due to
predicted heavy winds and
heavy to very heavy rainfall
in Kolkata,” NSCBI airport
director C Pattabhi said in a
statement.
Further, the Kolkata Port
also announced to suspend
all cargo and container
handling operations for 12
hours from Sunday evening.
The port operations would
remain suspended from 6
pm on Sunday till 6 am on
Monday, news agency PTI
reported, citing the port au-
thorities.
A low-pressure area that
was first observed on May
22 in the Bay of Bengal has
intensified into a more in-
tense system, now located
in the central Bay of Ben-
gal. The regions which are
likely to be impacted are
West Bengal, Coastal Ban-
gladesh, Tripura and some
other parts of north-eastern
states.
Here are the latest up-
dates on Cyclone Remal:
According to the IMD, the
cyclone is likely to make
landfall around midnight
on May 26 between Sagar
Island in the southern tip of
West Bengal and Khepupa-
ra in Bangladesh.
As per the latest forecast
by the weather agency, the
deep depression intensified
into a Cyclonic Storm "Re-
mal" over the Northwest
and adjoining Northeast &
East-central Bay of Bengal
at 5.30 pm on Saturday.
At the time of landfall on
May 26 night, Cyclone Re-
mal is expected to have a
storm surge of up to 1.5 me-
ters, inundating low-lying ar-
eas of coastal West Bengal
and Bangladesh.
Thousands of people are
likely to be evacuated and
brought to cyclone shelters
from the coastal villages
of West Bengal as the IMD
has issued a red warning for
districts, including such as
South 24 Parganas, North
24 Parganas, Kolkata, How-
rah and East Midnapore.
In view of the cyclonic
storm, the administration
has built around 115 multi-
purpose cyclone shelters in
South 24 Parganas, while
over 100 such shelters have
been built North 24 Parga-
nas. As per IMD, along with
West Bengal, other North-
eastern states like Tripura,
Assam, Nagaland and Mani-
pur may witness rainfall and
strong winds.
Tripura has also issued an
advisory based on reports
of IMD of severe weather
forecast. Revenue Depart-
ment Additional Secretary
Dr Tamal Majumder has
said that an increase in rain-
fall actively accompanied
by heavy rainfall and gusty
wind at isolated places is to
occur over Tripura from May
25 to 28.
Bangladesh has also
geared up for the severe
cyclonic storm. It has read-
ied nearly 4,000 shelters
equipped with adequate dry
food supplies and water.
Bangladesh Meteorolog-
ical Department (BMD) is
expected to issue a 'great
danger' signal number 10
between 12 midnight and
1:00 am Sunday.
This is the first cyclone
in the Bay of Bengal in
this pre-monsoon season
and will be named Remal
(meaning sand in Arabic),
according to a system of
naming cyclones in the Indi-
an Ocean region.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: As the voting
for the sixth phase of Lok
Sabha elections ended on
Saturday, the Congress par-
ty claimed that the ruling
BJP's fate is “all but sealed”
while the opposition IN-
DIA bloc has “grown from
strength to strength” since
the first phase.
Jairam Ramesh, Congress
general secretary in charge
of communications, repeat-
ed the opposition's slogan
‘’, implying that the BJP is
being wiped out in the south
and is losing ground in other
regions.
"After polling in Maharash-
tra, UP, Bihar, and now Delhi,
we are seeing the incredible
chemistry that has been
built between coalition part-
ners. The INDIA alliance has
already crossed the halfway
mark of 272 seats and is on
course for a tally of over 350
seats in total," he claimed.
He also claimed that the
BJP was facing difficulties
in campaigning in states
like Haryana and Punjab
as their leaders were being
“driven out of villages by res-
idents” and attributed this
to widespread anger among
Selfie points, pink booths, creche facilities elevate voting experience
OUR CORRESPONDENT
farmers. “The outgoing PM
has extra time to plan his
retirement, since the BJP’s
campaign is ending early,”
Ramesh said.
Noting “incredible chem-
istry” among coalition part-
ners, the Congress leader
claimed that the INDIA bloc
“has already crossed the
halfway mark of 272 seats
and is on course for a tally of
over 350 seats in total.”
The Bharatiya Janata
Party had made a similar
claim of achieving a majori-
ty in the Lok Sabha after the
fourth phase of the general
elections.
Jairam Ramesh also
called Prime Minister Nar-
endra Modi “delusional” for
claiming he was “sent by
god”.
In an interview with a TV
channel, Modi said, “Until
my mother was alive, I used
to think I was born biological-
ly. After her demise, when I
look at my experiences, I am
convinced that I was sent
by God. This strength is not
from my body. It has been
given to me by God. That's
why God also gave me the
ability, strength, pure-heart-
edness, and inspiration to
do this. I'm nothing but an
instrument that God has
sent.”
"As the reality of defeat
dawns on the outgoing
Prime Minister, he has be-
come increasingly delusion-
al. He has now proclaimed
that his birth was not biolog-
ical, and that he has been
sent by the Creator himself.
Perhaps he fancies himself
as a Godman in his next ca-
ers and balloons."
reer," Ramesh said.
"Even his acolytes have
taken to the PM's latest
re-branding - Puri candidate
Sambit Patra proclaimed
that even Lord Jagannath
is a 'bhakt' of the outgoing
PM. The voters of India will
teach them both a lesson in
humility," he added.
The Congress leader said
this election has continued
to centre around the Con-
gress party's positive cam-
paign.
"Our Nyay Patra and guar-
antees are the focus of the
messaging of all parties. The
slogan of 'Khata-Khat' has
captured the imagination
of the people, to the extent
that even the outgoing PM
has been forced to respond
to it. The announcement of
our final Guarantee - of dou-
bling the allotment of free
foodgrain for each individu-
al under the National Food
Security Act - has caught fire
in North and East India," Ra-
mesh said.
"Every single ground re-
port is very clear. 'Hawa
badal rahi hai, Aandhi ban
rahi hain'. The INDIA Jan-
bandhan is set to sweep the
NDA away. June 4th is com-
ing!" Ramesh said.
the voters as tokens of ap-

UN countries adopt treaty to better trace origins

The pink booth was man- preciation.
NEW DELHI: The specially aged by female staff and it Additionally, mugs with the

of genetic resources under global patent system

OUR CORRESPONDENT
GENEVA: UN member coun-
tries on Friday concluded a
new treaty to help ensure that
traditional knowledge about
genetic resources, such as
medicines derived from ex-
otic plants in the mountains,
is properly traced. It marks
the first time the 193 mem-
ber states of the UN’s World
Intellectual Property Organi-
zation (WIPO) have reached
agreement on patent protec-
tions about historic knowl-
edge from indigenous cul-
tures, which have long been
exploited by colonists, trad-
ers and others.
The treaty doesn’t address
compensation to indigenous
communities for their histor-
ic expertise about products
drawn from things like from
tropical plants. But the ac-
cord is seen as an important
first step. It requires patent
applicants, like foreign en-
trepreneurs or international
companies, to specify where
they got ideas about what
goes into their products, es-
pecially inputs drawn from
the knowledge of indigenous
or local peoples.
Daren Tang, the organiza-
tion’s director-general, said
the agreement showed that
“multilateralism is alive and
well at WIPO.” “Today we
made history in many ways,”
he said. “Through this, we
are showing that the IP sys-
tem can continue to incen-
tivize innovation while evolv-
ing in a more inclusive way,
responding to the needs of
all countries and their com-
munities.” The WIPO Intel-
lectual Property, Genetic
Resources and Associated
Traditional Knowledge trea-
ty, reached by consensus af-
ter more than two decades
in the making.
designed pink and model
booths were a hit among
the voters, who not only cast
their votes with ease but also
enjoyed clicking selfies on
the polling day.
The seven Lok Sabha con-
stituencies in Delhi went to
polling in the sixth phase on
Saturday. A vibrant effort to
enhance the voting expe-
rience, the polling stations
featured model encourage-
ment facilities, including
pink sofas, spacious waiting
areas with water fans, pitch-
er water, colourful rangoli,
beautiful hanging decora-
tions, selfie booths, carpets
and wheelchairs to help the
disabled.
Speaking about the pink
booth arrangement, Priyan-
ka Vajpayee, a voter, said,
"I was surprised when I en-
tered the booth because it
was not like the last time. It
was all decorated with flow-
was decorated with lots of
cutouts, motivational quotes
and beautification work to
enthuse people.
Talking about the deco-
ration, another voter Geeta
said, "The booth is so co-
lourful that it feels like we
are here to attend a cultural
programme, giving us a mo-
ment of joy as we participate
in the election. These new
booths are adding extra ex-
citement to the election."
At some polling stations in
Matia Mahal, soft toys and
souvenirs were also given to
message "Am I a proud vot-
er" were given to the voters
who exercised their voting
rights. On the other hand,
model booth selfie corners
were overloaded with people
getting clicked on the selfie
points right after performing
their voting duty. Speaking
about the selfie stand at
the CPWD Service Centre
in North Avenue, where the
center was decorated with
colourful fabrics and flowers,
another voter Anuradha said,
"Voting is our responsibility
and we step out to fulfil that.
2 Lucknow, Sunday, 26 May 2024 Lucknow News (English Daily)

Drunk & Driving

EDITORIAL
Impending havoc
The cyclone scare of May-end is back in West Bengal.
Close to the 15th anniversary of cyclone Aila, fourth of
cyclone Amphan and third anniversary of cyclone Yaas,
a ‘very severe cyclone’ is likely to hit the coastal areas of
West Bengal and Bangladesh between May 26 evening DRUNK DRIVING CASES INCREASE IN INDIA AND THE RICH AND
and May 27 morning, sources in the India Meteorological
Department (IMD) told Down To Earth. Officially, IMD pre- POWERFUL OFTEN GET AWAY WITH IT BECAUSE THERE IS NO FEAR OF THE LAW
dicted on May 23 that a ‘severe cyclone’ would be gener- Drinking and driving is no
ated by the evening of May 26. But a senior IMD official big deal to Indians. Time
from Delhi confirmed the possibility of a very severe cy- and time again, we have in-
clone, with a speed around 125 to 135 kilometres per cidents of reckless drunken
hour (kmph), hitting the region. behaviour leading to avoid-
Aila had made landfall on May 25, 2009, with a high- able loss of life. The most re-
est speed of 120 kmph. Yaas — which had made landfall cent being the Pune incident
on May 26, 2021 — attained the highest speed of 140 of 17 yearold Vedant Agarw-
kmph. In contrast, Amphan intensified to become a su- al, driving an unregistered
per cyclone, and one of the strongest tropical cyclones Porsche car in an inebriated
in the Bengal delta, before it made landfall on May 20, case causing the death of
2020. All three cyclones caused massive damage in the two IT professionals.
Sundarbans and other parts of West Bengal. We may have to say “al-
The current cyclone will legedly” since now it’s being
be christened as ‘Remal’ The cyclone may cause claimed, rather convenient-
once the depression inten- partial damage to the ly as always, that the realty
sifies into a cyclonic storm. Sundarbans, if the landfall group scion wasn’t behind
It may impact the Sund- happens on the Indian the wheels but rather his
arbans region if the land- coast and coincides with driver was. Hah! In recent
fall happens on the Indian high tide; May-end cyclone history, there have been
coast and coincides with scare is back in Bengal many such incidents of driv-
high tide. “It (low pressure as IMD confirms Cyclone ing under the influence.
area, the status on May 23) Remal, which could make From high-profile old cas-
is very likely to continue to landfall between Digha es such as Salman Khan’s
move northeastwards and and Khulna on Bengal case from 2002 or the trag-
concentrate into a Depres- & Bangladesh coasts ic killing of Kolkata model
sion over central parts of respectively, may be ‘very Sonika Chauhan because
the Bay of Bengal by the severe’ of rash driving by her actor
morning of May 24, 2024. friend, Vikram Chatterjee in
Thereafter, it is very likely to continue to move 2017 — many deaths have
north-eastwards, intensifying further into a cyclonic been caused by the tipple.
storm over east-central Bay of Bengal by May 25 morn- As per government data,
ing. Subsequently, it would move nearly northwards and 3,268 accidents in 2022
reach near the Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal and 1,503 deaths were
coasts by May 26 evening as a severe cyclonic storm,” caused by drunk driving.
said a communique shared by Somnath Dutta, head of And even as crash deaths As per government data, 3,268 accidents in 2022 and 1,503 deaths were caused by drunk driving
IMD Alipore, on May 23 afternoon. dropped by 5 per cent glob- In spite of the awareness I was. friends who didn’t discour- and prosecution.
“Kolkata is expected to be affected and likely to re- ally, they continued to rise that’s been built around Years ago, when a friend’s age him from driving, and There are many more Unfortunately, as the rich
ceive a lot of rain between May 25 and 27,” Dutta said. in India with a 9.4 per cent drunk driving, they still con- car hit the road curb and the cops who didn’t catch from other cities too — Del- and powerful get away
Incidentally, IMD has issued an orange warning for May increase in road accident fa- tinue to foolishly trust their thankfully, not another ve- him speeding. hi, Bangalore, and so on. with driving under the
26 and 27, predicting as heavy as 20 centimetres of rain talities recorded in 2022. motoring capabilities under hicle, I knew I had been Why would there be a de- Unfortunately, as the rich influence (DUI) resulting
in the city. In the same year, 1.68 the influence of alcohol. We saved by a guardian angel. terrent to drunk driving if and powerful get away with in deaths, the law is never
“Continuing to move nearly northward, it is very likely lakh people were killed ei- don’t really need to look at And while I got away with a drivers get bail within hours driving under the influence truly an impediment; at
to cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts ther due to reckless driving, surveys to understand the busted brow and no other since they are minors? (DUI) resulting in deaths, the least not to the affluent
between Sagar Island and Khepupara around May 26 overspeeding, drunken driv- callous outlook. injuries, it was a lesson well- Writing an essay is punish- law is never truly an impedi- and influential
midnight as a severe cyclonic storm,” stated the official ing, and non-compliance of Very rarely, and refreshing- learned — refuse lifts from ment enough and daddy’s ment; at least not to the af- General deterrence legisla-
release of IMD issued May 24 morning. traffic rules while the total ly so, would someone at a drunk drivers and dissuade fat wallet is able to buy off fluent and influential. tion is aimed at dissuading
Whither landfall? Sources in the cyclone division of IMD number of accidents soared party claim to be the desig- them from driving as well. penance. There are several To curb drunk driving the general public from driv-
Delhi pointed out the possibility of the cyclone becoming by 11.9 per cent to 4.61 nated, and therefore, sober But luck smiles rarely, and cases that are still languish- and the meaningless loss ing after drinking, whereas
a very severe one. “It’s early to say but the system is likely lakh. driver. is sometimes particularly ing in the courts, while some of lives, there should be a specific deterrence laws
to further intensify into a very severe cyclone with a wind To understand the cava- Very few times, would cruel, if you’re an innocent aren’t spoken of at all. fear of the law, and that can seek to prevent people who
speed in between 125 to 135 kmph,” said a senior IMD lier approach towards drunk someone have rented a car person caught in the mael- Who knows what’s hap- happen only if we set prece- have been convicted for driv-
scientist, adding that the landfall is expected to happen driving, simply take a look at or called a party hard driver strom of another’s thought- pening with the Kolkata Biry- dence with stringent punish- ing under the influence from
between the evening of May 26 and the morning of May the survey conducted by the service, predicting a heavy less behaviour. ani brothers’ case of 2019 ment and merciless policing repeating their offense. Ed-
27. Community Against Drunk- night of revelry and intoxica- The two IT professionals where it was found that Ra- on the roads. ucation, enforcement, and
“Too early to predict the exact landfall point as of now en Driving (CADD). Of the tion. in the Pune accident, full of ghib Parvez, elder son of the Since the early 1980’s, comprehensive community
but it may happen in the coastal areas adjacent to Digha 30,000 people that were More often than not, peo- life and promise, killed on famous Arsalan restaurant legislative initiatives, such programs, combined with
or the Sundarbans in West Bengal and Khulna in Ban- surveyed in Delhi, a stagger- ple who would have downed the spot by the collective chain, crushed two Bangla- as the minimum legal legislation, can substantial-
gladesh,” further pointed out the expert, noting that the ing 81.2 per cent admitted multiple drinks, would pop irresponsible behaviour of deshi nationals with his Jag- drinking age of 21, admin- ly reduce alcohol-related
probability of the cyclone hitting the Bangladesh coast to driving after consuming into the driver’s seat and the driver, the parents who uar? Similarly, four cases in istrative license revocation, traffic deaths. Traffic crash-
was higher. alcohol. We have to assume take off. allowed a minor to drive a Mumbai of Jahnavi Ajit Gad- and lower legal blood al- es are the leading cause of
A senior official in West Bengal’s disaster manage- that most of these people, We have all seen or been super-fast, that too unreg- kar, Sumer Merchant,Vish- cohol concentration limits death in the United States
ment department said the department is keeping a close who have access and ability an accomplice to this be- istered, car, the restaurant was Attavar, and Sandeep for youth and adults, have for persons ages 1 to 34
watch over the cyclone movement and getting ready to to own and drive cars, have haviour. Some of us have management who served Shantaram Bankar, have all significantly decreased alco- (Insurance Institute for High-
respond quickly if it hits the West Bengal coast. more than basic education. been saved by luck, I know alcohol to a minor, the but vanished from memory hol-related traffic fatalities. way Safety 1995).

India should impose tax on ultra-wealthy

“The weather system is changing direction rapidly. Ini-
tially, it was directed towards Visakhapatnam, then shift-
ed towards Bhubaneswar, and now towards West Bengal
and Bangladesh.
The chief secretary has already held a meeting and
alerted all stakeholders,” said the official. The Sundar- India needs to impose a 2
bans Experts point out that the cyclone may cause par- per cent tax on net wealth
tial damage to the Sundarbans, if the landfall happens exceeding Rs 10 crore and
on the Indian coast and coincides with high tide. Kolkata a 33 per cent inheritance
Port Trust (KPT) data shows that high tides are expected tax to deal with the prob-
at about 11 pm on May 26 night and around 11 am on lem of rising inequality in
May 27 morning, with the highest height expected to be the country, and create fis-
around 5 metres. “If the landfall somehow completely cal space for investments
coincides with high tide, the water level may rise by a in the social sector, a new
few feet. research paper coauthored
But there may be partial damage as the high tide level by economist Thomas
is not that high at this time of year,” said an expert as- Piketty has suggested.
sociated with KPT. “We have seen how during Aila, and The paper titled ‘Propos-
partially during Amphan, the cyclones and the high tide als For a Wealth Tax Pack-
combined to create havoc. age to Tackle Extreme In-
Hence, we are quite concerned,” said Animesh Mandal equalities in India’ propose
of Gosaba island in the Sundarbans. “As the sea near the a comprehensive tax pack-
West Bengal coast is pretty shallow, the cyclonic air ex- age on the ultrawealthy to
acerbates the water surges, impacting embankments,” tackle the massive con-
said another IMD expert, who pointed out that the mon- centration at the very top
soon system may also influence the cyclone. of the wealth distribution
and create valuable fiscal
space for crucial social
sector investments.
“Raise phenomenally
large tax revenues while
leaving 99.96 per cent of
the adults unaffected by
the tax.
“In a baseline scenario,
a 2 per cent annual tax on
net wealth exceeding Rs
10 crore and a 33 per cent
inheritance tax on estates
exceeding Rs 10 crore in
valuation would generate
a massive 2.73 per cent
of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in revenues,” the pa-
per suggested.
The paper said that the
taxation proposal needs
to be accompanied by ex-
plicit redistributive policies
to support the poor, lower
castes, and middle class-
es.
“For example, the base-
line scenario would allow
nearly doubling the current
public spending on educa-
tion, which has stagnated
at 2.9 per cent of GDP over
the past 15 years, well be-
low — less than half — the
6 per cent target set by the
government’s own Nation-
al Education Policy 2020
(NEP 2020),” it said.
The paper noted that the
taxation proposal needs
to be extensively debated,
with a consensus on spe-
cific details of the design
emerging from a broader
democratic debate on tax
justice and wealth redistri-
bution in India.
The paper has been au-
thored by Thomas Piketty
(Paris School of Econom-
ics and World Inequality
Lab), Lucas Chancel (Har-
vard Kennedy School and
World Inequality Lab),
Anmol Somanchi, (Paris
School of Economics and
World Inequality Lab) and
Nitin Kumar Bharti (New
York University and World
Inequality Lab) Accord-
ing to the paper, debates
on income and wealth
inequality in India have
gained significant mo-
mentum in recent weeks,
partly following the release
of our study ‘Income and
Wealth Inequality in India,
1922-2023: The Rise of
the Billionaire Raj’, which
revealed that economic number of ultra-wealthy certain sections at derail- ‘The taxation proposal
disparities in India have upper caste families. ing this muchneeded con- needs to be accompanied
reached historical highs. “In that respect, be- versation, a vibrant public by explicit redistributive
These extreme inequal- sides addressing extreme debate has emerged. policies to support the
ities and their close link wealth inequality, such tax- Somanchi said it would, poor, lower castes, and
with social injustice can no es could also play a small however, be a shame if middle classes’
longer be ignored, it said. role in weakening the rigid after coming this far, this
Co-author Anmol Soman- link between social and momentum is not translat- working paper released
chi highlighted that Indian economic inequalities in ed into policy. “Progressive on March 20 had said in-
billionaires are largely an India,” Somanchi said. wealth taxation, effective equality in India has sky-
upper caste club. According to him, the redistribution, and broad- rocketed since the early
“A progressive wealth 2024 Lok Sabha election based social sector invest- 2000s, with the income
tax package of the kind marks a critical juncture ments are urgently needed and wealth share of the
we propose is most like- with heightened political to build an equitable and top 1 per cent population
ly to benefit lower castes and public focus on eco- prosperous India,” he not- rising to 22.6 per cent and
and the middle classes at nomic justice. Despite ed. 40.1 per cent, respective-
the detriment of only a tiny sustained attempts from The authors in their ly, in 2022-23.
Lucknow News (English Daily)
INDIA should impose tax on ultra
wealthy to tackle wealth inequality, says study
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: India needs to
impose a 2 per cent tax on
net wealth exceeding Rs 10
crore and a 33 per cent in-
heritance tax to deal with the
problem of rising inequality
in the country, and create
fiscal space for investments
in the social sector, a new re-
search paper coauthored by
economist Thomas Piketty
has suggested.
The paper titled ‘Proposals
For a Wealth Tax Package to
Tackle Extreme Inequalities
in India’ propose a compre-
hensive tax package on the
ultrawealthy to tackle the
massive concentration at
the very top of the wealth
distribution and create valu-
able fiscal space for crucial
social sector investments.
“Raise phenomenally
large tax revenues while
leaving 99.96 per cent of
NCLAT upholds Suraksha’s bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Insolvency ap-
pellate tribunal NCLAT on
Friday upheld Suraksha Re-
alty’s bid to acquire debt-rid-
den Jaypee Infratech Ltd but
asked it to pay an additional
amount of around Rs 1,300
crore as farmers’ compensa-
tion. Upholding the Nation-
al Company Law Tribunal’s
(NCLT) decision of March
2023, the NCLAT said the
decision was to avoid any
further delay in the imple-
mentation of the resolution
plan and to take care of the
interests of all stakeholders,
including home buyers and
claim of Yamuna Express de-
velopment authority YEIDA
for additional compensation
of the farmers. NCLT had on
March 7, 2023, approved the
ADANI PORTS TO ENTER
SENSEX FROM JUNE 24
NEW DELHI: Gautam
Adaniowned Adani Ports
and Special Economic
Zone (APSEZ) will replace
IT major Wipro in the
30-share BSE Sensex from
June 24, according to an
official announcement
on Friday. This marks the
first inclusion of any Adani
Group firm in Sensex. The
group has 10 listed firms
with a combined market
valuation surpassing Rs
17 lakh crore. Notably,
both APSEZ and Wipro
are constituents of NSE’s
Nifty index. Moreover, the
group’s flagship firm Adani
Enterprises is also a part
of the 50-share Nifty.
the adults unaffected by the
tax.
“In a baseline scenario,
a 2 per cent annual tax on
net wealth exceeding Rs
10 crore and a 33 per cent
inheritance tax on estates
exceeding Rs 10 crore in
valuation would generate
a massive 2.73 per cent of
Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in revenues,” the pa-
per suggested.
The paper said that the
taxation proposal needs to
be accompanied by explicit
redistributive policies to sup-
port the poor, lower castes,
and middle classes.
“For example, the baseline
scenario would allow nearly
doubling the current pub-
lic spending on education,
which has stagnated at 2.9
per cent of GDP over the past
15 years, well below — less
than half — the 6 per cent tar-
get set by the government’s
bid of Mumbai-based Surak-
sha group to buy Jaypee In-
fratech Ltd (JIL), giving relief
to more than 20,000 home
buyers whose investments
are stuck across various proj-
ects being developed in Del-
hi-NCR.
“The impugned order
passed by the adjudicating
authority (NCLT) deals with
the claim of the appellant
(YEIDA) of Rs 1,689 crore
of additional farmers com-
pensation is set aside and
NMDC Steel Ltd unveils its logo
OUR CORRESPONDENT
HYDERABAD: NMDC Steel
Ltd. (NSL) at Nagarnar,
proudly unveiled its logo
at the NMDC Steel Plant,
marking a significant stride
towards sustainable steel
production.
The novel and symbol-
ic logo was unveiled by
Amitava Mukherjee, CMD
(Addl. Charge), NSL, in the
presence of Vinay Kumar,
Director (Technical) NSL, B
Vishwanath, Chief Vigilance
Officer, NSL, K Praveen
Kumar, Executive Director,
NSL, along with officials &
Shares of Adani Enterprises bounce
back to pre-Hindenburg report levels
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Shares of Adani
Enterprises have bounced
back to the pre-Hindenburg
Research report levels and
have hit a one-year peak in
intra-day trade on Friday.
Hindenburg Research in a
damning January 24, 2023
report accused the Adani
Group of “brazen stock ma-
nipulation” and accounting
fraud, which led to a stock
market rout that erased
about $150 billion in the
group firms’ market value at
their lowest point.
The conglomerate vehe-
mently denied all allega-
tions. Shares of Adani En-
terprises climbed 1.91 per
cent to hit the 52-week high
of Rs 3,456.25 at the BSE
on Friday. It, however, ended
flat at Rs 3,384.65. Adani
Group companies were in
the limelight on Thursday,
own National Education Pol-
icy 2020 (NEP 2020),” it said.
The paper noted that the
taxation proposal needs to
be extensively debated, with
a consensus on specific de-
tails of the design emerging
from a broader democratic
debate on tax justice and
wealth redistribution in India.
The paper has been au-
thored by Thomas Piketty
(Paris School of Economics
and World Inequality Lab),
Lucas Chancel (Harvard
Kennedy School and World
Inequality Lab), Anmol So-
manchi, (Paris School of Eco-
nomics and World Inequality
Lab) and Nitin Kumar Bharti
(New York University and
World Inequality Lab) Accord-
ing to the paper, debates on
income and wealth inequali-
ty in India have gained signif-
icant momentum in recent
weeks, partly following the
release of our study ‘Income
the rest of the order approv-
ing the plan is upheld,” said
NCLAT.
“Successful Resolution
applicant (Suraksha Real-
ty) is directed to make pay-
ment to the appellant of its
secured operational creditor
Rs 1,689 crore in the ratio of
79 per cent, which has been
paid to other secured cred-
itors which amount comes
to Rs 1,334.31 crore,”The
National Company Law Tri-
bunal further said Suraksha
Realty on April 18 has al-
ready undertaken to make
a payment of Rs 1,216 crore
towards additional compen-
sation in the timeline as in-
dicated. “Let SRA (Suraksha
Realty) make the payment
of Rs 1,216 crore as per its
offer in the timeline.
As indicated there is an
union representatives of
NSL and NMDC.
This logo is a symbol of
NSL’s ‘Ispati Irada’ and em-
bodies the company’s com-
mitment to crafting steel
not just with power, but with
purpose.
It represents NSL’s dedica-
tion to forging the future of
steel with innovations that
transformed hot metal into
HR coil in just 9 days and
achieving a record produc-
tion of 1 million tonnes in
merely 226 days.
Following the logo un-
veiling, NSL conducted its
firstever Annual Plan Meet-
with the flagship Adani En-
terprises rallying 8 per cent.
Shares of Adani Enterpris-
es rallied for the fifth day
in a row till Thursday, rising
11.51 per cent.
Adani Enterprises stock
price was Rs 3,434.50 on
January 23, last year, a day
before the report. From that
level, the stock price went
southward and fell to Rs
1,194.20 on February 27,
last year. The company’s
stock price has now zoomed
over 189 per cent from last
Lucknow, Sunday, 26 May 2024
and Wealth Inequality in In-
dia, 1922-2023: The Rise of
the Billionaire Raj’, which re-
vealed that economic dispar-
ities in India have reached
historical highs.
These extreme inequali-
ties and their close link with
social injustice can no longer
be ignored, it said. Co-author
Anmol Somanchi highlight-
ed that Indian billionaires are
largely an upper caste club.
“A progressive wealth tax
package of the kind we pro-
pose is most likely to benefit
lower castes and the middle
classes at the detriment of
only a tiny number of ul-
tra-wealthy upper caste fam-
ilies.
“In that respect, besides
addressing extreme wealth
inequality, such taxes could
also play a small role in
weakening the rigid link be-
tween social and economic
inequalities in India,” Soman-
additional amount of Rs
118.31 crore, which is re-
quired to be paid to make its
payment equivalent to the
payment given to other se-
cured creditors, will also be
paid as per the timeline indi-
cated in the offer, meaning
thereby that amount of Rs
1,334.31 crore to be paid as
per timeline and ratio indicat-
ed in the offer dated April 18,
2024,” it said.
The corporate Insolvency
Resolution Process (CIRP)
against JIL was started in
August 2017 over an appli-
cation by an IDBI Bank-led
consortium. In its final res-
olution plan, the Suraksha
group offered to bankers
more than 2,500 acres of
land and nearly Rs 1,300
crore by way of issuing
non-convertible debentures.
ing, The Annual Plan Meet-
ing focused on building
upon the previous year’s
successes, addressing and
stabilising operational chal-
lenges, and strategic initia-
tives for years to come.
The meeting focused on
enhancing production ef-
ficiency, reducing environ-
mental impact, and main-
taining the momentum of
innovation and excellence.
NSL’s initiatives are in line
with its vision to become a
leader in the steel sector,
promoting sustainable prac-
tices and supporting the na-
tion’s infrastructure growth.
year’s February 27 level. The
combined market valuation
of all the 10 listed group
firms stood at Rs 17.23 lakh
crore on Thursday.
Adani Group’s market
capitalisation on Wednes-
day regained the $200
billion-mark (Rs 16.9 lakh
crore) after its listed firms
gained Rs 11,300 crore as
investors reposed faith in
the company denying any
wrongdoing in the supply of
coal to Tamil Nadu power
company.
chi said.
According to him, the
2024 Lok Sabha election
marks a critical juncture with
heightened political and pub-
lic focus on economic justice.
Despite sustained attempts
from certain sections at de-
railing this muchneeded con-
versation, a vibrant public
debate has emerged.
Somanchi said it would,
however, be a shame if after
coming this far, this momen-
tum is not translated into pol-
icy. “Progressive wealth taxa-
NCLAT defers hearing
on Google’s Play Store
billing policy to July 5
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Insolvency ap-
pellate tribunal NCLAT on
Friday deferred hearing to
July 5 on the petitions filed
against tech giant Google
over its Play Store billing pol-
icy.
A two-member National
Company Law Appellate
Tribunal (NCLAT) bench, af-
ter a brief hearing over the
petitions, directed listing the
matter after summer vaca-
tions on July 5.
Indian Broadcasting and
Digital Foundation (IBDF),
Indian Digital Media Indus-
try Foundation, People Inter-
active India which operates
Shaadi. com, and Mebigo
Labs which operates Kuku
FM have filed petitions be-
fore the NCLAT against Play
Store billing policy.
During the proceedings,
counsel appearing from
app developers requested
the bench to pass an order
directing status quo till the
next date of hearing, though
Google had not de-listed
them from the Play Store
for non-acceptance of policy
terms. They urged the ap-
pellate tribunal to ask Goo-
gle for an undertaking to
this effect. Google’s counsel
refused to give an undertak-
ing, however, assured the
NCLAT that it will not do so
till the next hearing.
On this, the NCLAT bench,
comprising Justice Yogesh
Khanna and Justice Naresh
Salecha, said the app devel-
opers may approach the ap-
pellate tribunal for an urgent
hearing during the summer
vacations, if any adversarial
steps are taken. The peti-
Benchmarks end lower after
scaling record peaks intra-day
OUR CORRESPONDENT
MUMBAI: Equity bench-
mark indices Sensex and
Nifty scaled new peaks
on Friday in intraday deals
before closing marginally
lower due to profit booking
in FMCG, IT and healthcare
stocks.
A weak trend in global
equities weighed on the
sentiments, but renewed
foreign capital inflows and
stable crude oil prices in
international markets sup-
ported the markets, trad-
ers said. In a highly volatile
trade, the 30-share BSE
tion, effective redistribution,
and broad-based social sec-
tor investments are urgently
needed to build an equitable
and prosperous India,” he
noted.
The authors in their work-
ing paper released on March
20 had said inequality in In-
dia has skyrocketed since
the early 2000s, with the
income and wealth share of
the top 1 per cent population
rising to 22.6 per cent and
40.1 per cent, respectively,
in 2022-23.
tioners have challenged the
order passed by the Compe-
tition Commission of India
(CCI), which had on March
20, 2024 declined to grant
any interim relief against
Play Store billing policy and
restrain Google from collect-
ing fee.
On March 20, CCI dis-
missed four petitions of In-
dian app companies filed
against Google’s new Play
Store billing policy to levy an
11 to 26 per cent charge on
in-app payments. The CCI’s
decision was challenged by
the app companies before
the NCLAT.
The Indian-origin app
firms had alleged before CCI
that Google’s Play Store pay-
ment policies are anti-com-
petitive.
However, CCI in its or-
der had made it clear that
nothing stated in this order
shall be tantamount to a
final expression of opinion
on the merits of the case,
and the Director General will
conduct the investigation
without being swayed in any
manner whatsoever by the
observations made herein.
“The commission is of the
view that the informants
have failed to meet the nec-
essary criteria for grant of
interim relief as propounded
by the Supreme Court.
Sensex dipped 7.65 points
or 0.01 per cent to settle
at 75,410.39. During the
day, it rallied 218.46 points
or 0.28 per cent to hit its
all-time intra-day high of
75,636.50.
The NSE Nifty breached
the 23,000 mark for the
first time in early trade.
During the day, the bench-
mark climbed 58.75 points
or 0.25 per cent to hit its
lifetime peak of 23,026.40.
However, it pared all the
gains and ended with a
marginal decline of 10.55
points or 0.05 per cent at
22,957.10.
3
InBrief
MANIPALCIGNA CELEBRATES DECADE OF SUCCESS
WITH 3.5X GROWTH IN PREMIUMS
LUCKNOW: ManipalCigna Health Insurance, one of India's
fastest-growing standalone health insurance company, to-
day marks a significant milestone as it commemorates 10
years in business. Since its inception in 2014, ManipalCigna
has demonstrated remarkable growth, cementing its posi-
tion as a trusted Health Insurance Expert in safeguarding
the health and well-being of millions across India. The Com-
pany has grown exponentially since inception, with a 3.5x
increase in Gross Written Premium (GWP) and a 2x rise in
market share based on overall health insurance market over
the last 5 years. In 2023-24 (FY24), the company reported
a GWP of INR ~17 billion, growing at 28% CAGR over the
last five years. With an unwavering commitment to custom-
er-centricity, ManipalCigna has also witnessed a steady in-
crease in its customer base, serving over 19 million active
lives with comprehensive health insurance solutions tailored
to their needs. Commenting on this milestone occasion,
Prasun Sikdar, Managing Director and CEO, ManipalCigna
Health Insurance, said, "As we celebrate this momentous
occasion, I am humbled and proud of what ManipalCigna
has achieved over the past decade. Our journey has been de-
fined by a steadfast commitment to our customers' health
and financial well-being. Looking ahead, we remain dedicat-
ed to a culture of innovation and advancing quality health-
care accessibility to make a positive impact on the health
and financial wellbeing of millions across India."
TECNO CAMON 30 PREMIER 5G: LUXURY AND
INNOVATION IN MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY
LUCKNOW: The wait is finally over! TECNO, the global smart-
phone, just announced the sale of the smartphone that
brings the photography revolution. The TECNO CAMON 30
Series sets new standards in mobile photography, empha-
sizing TECNO's commitment to capturing in style. Starting
at an incredible price of 19,999, the highly awaited lineup in-
cludes the CAMON 30 5G available in two storage variants
and the CAMON 30 Premier 5G. With features such as In-
dia’s first 100MP OIS Mode with 50MP AF Front Camera, Su-
per Night Mode, and AI enhancements, CAMON 30 Series
encourages users to “See what's never been seen” allowing
users to capture the best possible video and photography ef-
fortlessly, turning every moment into a true masterpiece. Get
ready to embrace the extraordinary with the TECNO CAMON
30 Series, featuring the first-ever suede leather back that
exudes sophistication and luxury. Inspired by the timeless
aesthetics of professional cameras, the CAMON 30 Series
flaunts a classic side-axis design, seamlessly blending mod-
ern technology with a touch of vintage charm.
DISNEY+ HOTSTAR DROPS THE TEASER OF ITS
RIVETING DRAMA SERIES ‘GUNAAH’
LUCKNOW: Disney+ Hotstar is back with a gripping drama
series, Gunaah, centered around a hero that turns into an
anti-hero. Fueled by his desire for vengeance, Abhimanyu
played by Gashmeer Mahajani, is a seasoned gambler. He
is out there to blur the lines between right & wrong, friends
and enemies, mercy & retribution. The series also stars Sur-
bhi Jyoti in a pivotal role and is all set to release on Disney+
Hotstar on June 3, 2024. This will be available to watch for
FREE on all mobile devices. Directed by Anil Senior and cre-
ated by Anirudh Pathak, the series is set in a world where
betrayal and mystery collide, Gunaah will take the viewers
on a journey of a man whose existence is shrouded in se-
crecy. Talking about the project, creator Anirudh Pathak re-
marked, "With Gunaah, we wanted to create a narrative that
not only entertains but keeps one at the edge of their seat.
Abhimanyu, played brilliantly by Gashmeer, is a very intrigu-
ing character. We are confident that the gripping saga will
capture the audience’s attention and we are thrilled that it’ll
also be available to watch for free on mobile on the Disney+
Hotstar app, giving it a much wider reach.”
INNOVATIVE INVERTER BULB BY UDAY BHATIA
BRINGS LIGHT TO RURAL INDIA
LUCKNOW: Uday Bhatia, a young and passionate entre-
preneur, is making significant strides in addressing the per-
sistent issue of power outages in rural India. With his ground-
breaking innovation, an inverter bulb that provides up to 10
hours of backup power during outages, Bhatia is transform-
ing lives and illuminating households across rural regions.
This pioneering solution not only enhances the quality of life
for countless families but also exemplifies Bhatia's commit-
ment to leveraging technology for social impact. Despite
many citiesreporting 100% electrification with almost zero
downtime, only a few urban areas are receiving the benefits
of this. Unreliable power in rural areas highlights the urban
and rural divide, and it remains a significant challenge in
many parts of the country. While urban areas typically enjoy
robust and reliable access to electricity, fueling economic
growth and improving living standards, many rural regions
continue to experience intermittent power supply, if any at
all. This gap hinders not only educational and economic op-
portunities for rural inhabitants but also perpetuates social
inequalities and limits overall national progress. Bridging
this divide is crucial for achieving equitable development
and ensuring that all communities can benefit from modern
advancements and improved quality of life.
ZEE SEEKS 748.7 CR TERMINATION FEE FROM SONY
NEW DELHI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd
(ZEEL) has sought a termination fee of $90 million
(around Rs 748.7 crore) from the Sony Group for call-
ing off the $10 billion merger deal in January this year.
It has sought termination fees from two Sony Group
entities — Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), now
known as Culver Max Entertainment, and Bangla En-
tertainment (BEPL), according to a regulatory filing
from ZEEL on Thursday.
ZEEL has, on account of Culver Max’s and BEPL’s
breaches under the Merger Cooperation agreement
(MCA), terminated the MCA by issuing a letter dated
May 23, 2024. The company has sought a termination
fee from Culver Max and BEPL under the provisions of
the MCA, it said. “Culver Max and BEPL have failed to
comply with their obligations under the MCA. There-
fore, the company has terminated the MCA and called
upon Culver Max and BEPL to pay the termination fee
i.e. the aggregate amount equal to $90 million in ac-
cordance with the MCA,” it said.
4 Lucknow, Sunday, 26 May 2024 Lucknow News (English Daily)

3 yr old girl kidnapped, sexually

OVER 11 CRORE PEOPLE TO VOTE IN PENULTIMATE PHASE OF LS ELECTIONS

Sixth phase: Voting in 58 seats

across 6 states and 2 UTs today assaulted, & killed by neighbour
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: The sixth and
second-to-last phase of
the Lok Sabha elections is
scheduled for Saturday, with
58 constituencies across six
states and two Union territo-
ries, including all seven seats
in Delhi and the Jangal Ma-
hal region in Bengal, set to
cast their votes.
In addition to Delhi, voting
will take place in 14 constit-
uencies in Uttar Pradesh, all
10 in Haryana, eight each in
Bihar and West Bengal, six
in Odisha, four in Jharkhand,
and one in Jammu and
Kashmir. At the same time,
42 Assembly constituencies
in Odisha will also hold elec-
tions.
The electorate comprises
over 11.13 crore voters, in-
cluding 5.84 crore males,
5.29 crore females, and
5120 third-gender individ-
uals. The Election Commis-
sion (EC) has arranged for ap-
proximately 11.4 lakh polling
officials to oversee the voting
process at 1.14 lakh polling
stations. Given the ongo-
ing heatwave across large
parts of India, the EC has
instructed election officials
and state machinery to im-
plement sufficient measures
to mitigate the impact of the
hot weather.
Notable candidates in-
clude Union ministers Dhar-
mendra Pradhan, Rao In-
derjit Singh, and Krishan
Pal Gurjar, BJP’s Maneka
Gandhi, Sambit Patra, Mano-
har Lal Khattar, and Manoj
Tiwari, PDP chief Mehbooba
Mufti, and Congress’s Deep-
ender Singh Hooda, Raj Bab-
bar, and Kanhaiya Kumar.
The EC has encouraged
voters to participate in large
numbers and vote respon-
sibly and with pride. It has
specifically urged voters in
urban areas such as Delhi,
Gurugram, and Faridabad to
exercise their “right and duty
to vote and break the trend
of urban apathy”.
The fifth phase witnessed
a voter turnout of 62.2 per
cent across the 49 seats that
went to polls on May 20. In
West Bengal, the tribal belt
Jangal Mahal region, which
spans five districts, will hold
voting.
This region, a hub for
identity politics, sends eight
representatives to the Lok
Sabha from Tamluk, Kanthi,
Ghatal, Jhargram, Medini-
pur, Purulia, Bankura, and
Bishnupur seats. In the 2019
polls, the BJP won five of
these eight seats, while the
TMC secured three. Soumen-
du Adhikari, brother of Su-
vendu Adhikari, is contesting
from Kanthi, a stronghold of
the senior BJP leader.
In Tamluk, former Calcut-
ta High Court judge Abhijit
Gangopadhyay, representing
the BJP, is up against TMC’s
Debangshu Bhattacharya,
who composed the “Khela
Hobe” song for the party in
the 2021 Assembly polls.
A keen contest is expected
in Delhi, where the BJP and
the INDIA bloc partners are
engaged in a direct, one-
on-one contest across all
seven seats. This is the first
instance of the AAP and the
Congress fielding joint candi-
dates against the BJP. The
AAP is contesting four seats,
while the Congress has can-
didates on the remaining
three seats. The AAP has
nominated Kuldeep Kumar
for the East Delhi seat, Ma-
habal Mishra for West Delhi,
Somnath Bharti for New Del-
hi, and Sahi Ram Pahalwan
for South Delhi.
The Congress has put for-
ward J P Agarwal for Chand-
ni Chowk, Kanhaiya Kumar
for North East Delhi, and
Udit Raj for North West Delhi
constituency. The BJP’s can-
didates include Manoj Tiwari
for North East Delhi, the only
incumbent MP from Delhi
that the party has renominat-
ed; Ramvir Singh Bidhuri for
South Delhi, Bansuri Swaraj
for New Delhi, Harsh Deep
Malhotra for East Delhi, Yo-
gendra Chandolia for North
West Delhi, Praveen Khan-
delwal for Chandni Chowk,
and Kamaljeet Sehrawat for
West Delhi.
The constituencies in Uttar
Pradesh that are going to
polls include Sultanpur, Prat-
apgarh, Phulpur, Allahabad,
Ambedkar Nagar, Shrawas-
ti, Domariyaganj, Basti,
Sant Kabir Nagar, Lalganj,
Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Machh-
lishahr, and Bhadohi.
From Sultanpur, BJP can-
didate Maneka Gandhi is
vying for her ninth entry into
the Lok Sabha. The former
Union minister is competing
against the Samajwadi Par-
ty’s Ram Bhual Nishad and
the Bahujan Samaj Party’s
(BSP) Uday Raj Verma.
In Azamgarh, incumbent
MP Dinesh Lal Yadav Nira-
hua is hoping to retain the
seat for the BJP against the
Samajwadi Party’s Dhar-
mendra Yadav. Jaunpur will
see former Maharashtra
minister Kripashankar Singh
of the BJP contest against
Samajwadi Party candidate
Babu Singh Khushwaha and
the incumbent MP Shyam
Singh Yadav of the BSP.
Around 82.16 lakh vot-
ers, including 40.09 lakh
females, are eligible to cast
their votes in the constitu-
encies of Giridih, Dhanbad,
Ranchi, and Jamshedpur
in Jharkhand. From Ran-
chi, Congress’s Yashaswini
Sahay, daughter of former
Union minister Subodh Kant
Sahay, is contesting against
the BJP’s incumbent MP
Sanjay Seth.
OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: A 34-yearold
neighbor was arrested by
the Delhi Police for sexual-
ly assaulting, kidnapping,
and killing a 3-year-old girl,
then dumping her body in a
marshy drain in Southwest
Delhi’s Kapashera area.
The arrested accused was
identified as Anil (34), a res-
ident of Gali no. 9, Kapash-
era, New Delhi. According to
the Police, on the evening of
Wednesday, a distressing
PCR call was received by the
Delhi Police at 8:51 pm.
The caller was identified
as the mother of the victim,
who reported that her three-
year-old daughter, who was
playing in front of their home
in Kapashera, had been kid-
napped by a neighbour. The
child was last seen wearing
a Shiva ji t-shirt and shorts.
Police promptly arrived at
the scene and initiated a
search operation.
The mother, residing in
a rented accommodation
for the past five years and
the victim was identified
as three-year-old daugh-
MOTHER-DAUGHTER WERE TRAPPED AFTER CAR COLLIDED WITH TRACTOR
YEIDA CEO calls for ban on entry of tractor
trolleys after accident on Yamuna e-way
OUR CORRESPONDENT
GREATER NOIDA: A 58-year
old woman and her 30-year
old daughter were stuck in-
side their car for a couple of
hours after the car collided
into a brick-laden tractor
from behind on the Yamu-
ter. She alleged that Anil, a
neighbor, had abducted the
child around 6 pm.
Following the complaint,
an FIR was registered, un-
der Section 363 of the IPC
at the Kapashera Police
Station. The police began an
extensive search operation
for the girl.
CCTV footage from the
vicinity revealed that at ap-
proximately 7:05 pm, Anil
was seen walking towards
Ganda Nala with the girl.
Around 7:25 pm, he was
captured returning alone.
Anil was then seen flee-
ing Delhi towards Sohna
through further technical
was badly damaged in the
collision. They were safely
rescued with the help of lo-
cal people. They were admit-
ted to hospital for treatment
and further investigations
are underway,” said Sanjay
Kumar Singh, Station House
Officer (SHO), Dankaur. “No
investigation. The police
tracked his movements and
set off in his direction with
his photograph. Multiple
buses and vehicles were
checked along the route.
The suspect Anil was fi-
nally apprehended at 11:55
pm inside a bus heading
towards Kanpur. Due to the
gravity of the crime, Anil was
interrogated immediately
on the way back to Kapash-
era. Initially, he denied any
involvement in the kidnap-
ping.
However, under sustained
questioning, he confessed
to killing the girl after sexual-
ly assaulting her and dump-
ing her body in a marshy
drain at the border of Guru-
gram and Kapashera. Anil
led the police team to the
drain, where a search op-
eration commenced in the
dark.
After over an hour of
searching through dense
bushes and heaps of gar-
bage, the girl’s body was
recovered from the marshy
area.
During this operation, Anil
attempted to escape by
grabbing a police officer’s
loaded service revolver and
firing at the police team.
In the ensuing confronta-
tion, the police fired back
in self-defense, injuring
Anil. He was quickly taken
to a hospital for treatment.
Crime scene and forensic
teams were summoned to
the site where the girl’s body
was recovered.
The body was examined
by the Forensic Science Lab-
oratory (FSL) and the crime
team. Anil was arrested and
is now in judicial custody. A
medical board has conduct-
ed the post-mortem of the
young victim.
ries, and 7,625 accidents
on the expressway. As
many as 3,364 accidents
occurred on the e-way just
because the driver dozed off
while driving. A total of 552
deaths have been reported
due to this.
The data has been re-

PM has accepted excise policy case is ‘fake’,

na Expressway, in Dankaur complaint has been re- vealed by the RTI query
area of Greater Noida, on ceived so far by the police which was filed by Agra-
Thursday. However, the mat- and the injured are out of based road safety activist

all arrested should be released: CM Kejriwal

OUR CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has accept-
ed that the excise policy
case is “completely fake”
and hence everyone arrest-
ed in the matter should be
released, Delhi Chief Minis-
ter Arvind Kejriwal claimed
on Friday.
Addressing a press confer-
ence virtually, Kejriwal said
minister said. “They say that
we took a bribe of Rs 100
crore, and just a few days
somewhere,” he added. But
the central agencies have
not find any account of the
expenditure either in all the
raids that they conducted,
he said.
“With this Rs 100 crores,
Rs 1100 crore, some jew-
ellery, land, property must
have been purchased. Cash
would be found somewhere,
bank account was not found
anywhere, not a single pen-
said that no evidence was
found because Kejriwal is
‘an experienced thief’,” he
claimed.
Modi had in an interview
described Kejriwal as an “ex-
perienced thief”, claiming
that as an ex-IRS officer he
knew how probe agencies
work and had tried to cover
his tracks in the case. Kejriw-
al asked the PM whether the
ED, CBI officers are useless.
ter came to light after videos
of accident were widely cir-
culated on Friday. According
to the police, the incident
took place near Sports City
Cut at Yamuna Expressway.
Shikha, a 30-yearold wom-
an, and her mother, both
residents of Delhi, were trav-
eling in a Hyundai Creta car.
“Police received informa-
tion through a passerby
around 9 am on Thursday
and reached the spot. Both
the women were stuck in-
side the vehicle as the car
danger,” the SHO added.
A video of the incident is
widely being circulated on
internet showing the front
portion of the car complete-
ly crushed, trapping the
woman and her daughter
inside the Hyundai Creta.
Ropes and iron rods were
used to rescue the duo.
Following the incident,
the Yamuna Expressway
Industrial Development Au-
thority (YEIDA) has written
a letter to concessionaire
of Yamuna Expressway,
Jaypee Infratech to ban en-
try of tractor trolleys and
other agri vehicles on the
expressway in order to curb
road accidents. Over 1200
deaths have been reported
on the accident prone 165-
km long Yamuna Express-
way in past 12 years, since
it was inaugurated, the data
issued by YEIDA reveals. Ac-
cording to the data, between
2012 and 2023, there were
1,321 deaths, 11,168 inju-
and Supreme Court lawyer
Kishan Chand Jain. YEIDA’s
data reveals that the second
biggest factor of 293 casu-
alties on the expressway
was negligent driving, fol-
lowed by 201 deaths due to
overspeeding. In 12 years,
the expressway registered
over 23.21 crore vehicular
movement. But it also wit-
nessed 90 deaths in 781
road accidents caused by
tyre burst and 266 drunk-
en driving accidents which
killed 89 people.

IGIA Police foils major document forgery scam

the BJP has been screaming
that there has been a scam
in the formulation and the
execution of the Delhi Excise
Policy for 2021-22.
“They arrested me, Sanjay
Singh, Manish Sisodia, con-
ducted more than 500 raids
all over the country. I do not
know how many more peo-
ple they arrested,” the chief
ago, they said that there is a
scam of Rs 1,100 crore.
A big question arises that
if there is a scam of Rs 100
crore or Rs 1100 crore, then
the money must be kept
somewhere. They conduct-
ed more than 500 raids,
they did not find a single
penny anywhere. We must
have spent (that money)
ny was found anywhere,” he
charged.
The chief minister, who is
out on interim bail till June
1, said that in an interview,
Prime Minister Modi ad-
mitted in front of the whole
country that the liquor scam
is “completely fake”, and no
evidence has been found in
it. “The prime minister has
“The truth is that Modiji is
making this an excuse that
Kejriwal is an experienced
thief to justify my wrongful
arrest. I appeal to the prime
minister that when you have
already admitted that the li-
quor scam is fake and there
is no recovery, then release
all the people arrested in
this case,” he said.
OUR CORRESPONDENT ranging Ali’s illegal entry into
India and obtaining fraud-
NEW DELHI: The IGI Del- ulent Indian documents.
hi Airport Police team Using a combination of hu-
has arrested an agent for man intelligence and tech-
making counterfeit Indian nical surveillance, the police
documents to obtain the eventually located and ar-
passport. An anonymous rested him in West Bengal.

Cyber Cell busts WhatsApp trading fraud, 2 arrested

source tipped the IGI Police Mulla confessed to his
Station about the criminal. involvement in the scam,
The arrested accused revealing his long-standing
OUR CORRESPONDENT a person named Meera, pos- the scammers’ presence in was identified as Rashid rived at IGI Airport to board a aiming to secure a work visa operations in creating fake
ing as an assistant to Profes- Jaipur, Rajasthan. Through Sirajul Mulla (37), a resident flight to Kuwait via Bahrain. in Kuwait. Upon interroga- documents for Bangladeshi
NEW DELHI: The Cyber Cell sor Mark Bilson. meticulous groundwork and Dakshin Village Bagundi, Suspicious during the immi- tion, Ali disclosed the elab- nationals to secure Indian
of the Delhi Police has arrest- When the victim request- social network analysis, the Bashirhat, 24 Pargana, gration clearance, officials orate scheme orchestrated identities and passports.
ed a duo and dismantled a ed to withdraw his profits, he police identified and arrest- West Bengal. According to discovered Ali’s true identity. by Mulla, who had been Mulla’s background showed
highvalued WhatsApp trad- was asked to pay a tax of Rs. ed Jai Pal and Bhupendra. the Police, the incident un- Further investigation re- living illegally in India since a history of illegal activities,
ing scam. The police were 35.33 lakh, leading him to The duo, who were residing folded on the night of No- vealed Ali had entered India 2003-04. including duping people
informed about the scam Bilson Institutional Strategist suspect fraud. The Delhi Po- in Jaipur to evade capture, vember 22-23, 2023, when illegally in September 2022 Mulla, leveraging his with promises of work visas
through a complaint regis- Center,” where he was per- lice team of the Cyber Police confessed their involvement Rahamat Ali, posing as an with Mulla’s assistance. He network and experience, abroad.
tered at the Cyber Police Sta- suaded to invest in stocks via Station, North, swiftly initiat- and revealed connections to Indian national with a fraud- had acquired fake Indian charged Ali Rs 8 lakh taka
tion. their website. ed an investigation, utilising a broader network of fraud- ulent Indian passport, ar- documents and a passport, for his services, including ar- Owner, Publisher,
The arrested accused were Initially, small profits were advanced data collection sters. Printer Jamil Ahmad, 5,
identified as Jai Pal (26), and
Bhupendra (24), both resi-
delivered to build trust,
prompting the victim to in-
and technical analysis.
Within a month, the mon-
Jai Pal was the main ac-
count holder where the
Bhibhav Kumar in 4-day judicial custody Shahanajaf Road (Bheri
wali Kothi) Lucknow.
dents of Rawatshar, Hanu- vest a larger sum of Rs. ey trail was traced, call detail defrauded funds were de- OUR CORRESPONDENT on May 13. He has been the investigation. “That the Printed at National
mangarh, Rajasthan. Accord- 23.30 lakh. records analysed, and the posited, and Bhupendra under police custody since recovered network video Art Press 207, New
ing to the Police, the victim The funds were transferred movement of funds across NEW DELHI: A Delhi court
managed the accounts used Saturday. Metropolitan Mag- recorders (NVRs) stated to Hyderabad, Lucknow.
was lured into a WhatsApp through RTGS to various ac- bank accounts scrutinised. on Friday sent Chief Minister
for transferring the scam istrate Gaurav Goyal allowed contain relevant materials Published from 5,
trading group named “Mark counts under the guidance of The investigation pointed to money. Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide the prosecution’s plea seek- concerning the present case Shahnajaf Road (Bheri wali
Bibhav Kumar to four-day ju- ing Kumar’s judicial custody have been seized as per the Kothi) Lucknow.
PEOPLE ANGRY OVER MALIWAL INCIDENT: BJP dicial custody in connection for four days. In their remand procedure and have been Editor
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Friday slammed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the Swati Maliwal assault case and with the alleged assault on application, the Delhi Police, sent for examination, opinion, Shabana
claimed that his AAP will suffer such a defeat in the Lok Sabha polls here that deposits of its candidates will be AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati who arrested Kumar on May and analysis by the forensic
forfeited. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will lose at the hustings as people are angry over the incident, the BJP Maliwal. Kumar, the personal 18, said electronic, scientific experts, which is awaited and Mobile: 9450364562
E-Mail:
claimed, referring to the alleged assault on Maliwal by Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar at the CM’s assistant to Kejriwal, allegedly and medical evidence along expected to be received with- jamilindia@gmail.com
residence on May 13. Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters a day before polling in Delhi, party assaulted Maliwal at the chief with statements of witnesses in shortest possible time,” the LucknowNews1@gmail.com
national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged that the chief minister is trying his best to save Kumar. minister’s official residence have been collected during application said.