MONDAY 27 MAY 2024 www.thestatesman.com Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC INDIA’S NATIONAL NEWSPAPER SINCE 1818 Twitter.com/thestatesman Facebook.com/thestatesman KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR SUNAK VOWS TO BRING BACK MANDATORY NATIONAL SERVICE DON’T NEED MUCH ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN VARANASI: EAM P10 WEATHER PV SINDHU COMES UP SHORT KTR ACCUSES T’GANA GOVT OF `1,000 CR SCAM IN RICE PROCUREMENT P9 P4 P12 CM: We will scrap CAA, NRC & UCC REMAL LOOMS Generally cloudy sky. Rain/ thundershower with one or two intense spells (2-3 cm/hr) with Strong surface wind (70-80 Kmph) very likely towards evening. Maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 30 °C and 25 °C respectively. RAINFALL: 23.9 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY CM reiterated that INDIA bloc is coming to Delhi Max. 98 % Min. 68 % Max: 31.2°C (-3.9) SUN RISES 04:53 hrs MOON RISES 21:10 hrs Min: 26.8°C (-0.4) SUN SETS 18:15 hrs MOON SETS 06:53 hrs TEMPERATURE New Moon on 06 June THUMBNAILS Sunrisers Hyderabad's captain Pat Cummins and Kolkata Knight Riders' captain Shreyas Iyer pose for a picture with the IPL 2024 trophy ahead of the IPL 2024 final, at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. ANI Army chief Gen Pande gets one month extension: The Appointments Committee of Cabinet on Sunday approved the extension in service of Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj C Pande for a period of one month, beyond his normal age of superannuation on May 31 i.e. up to June 30, an official announcement said. STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 26 MAY Dark clouds hover over Vidyasagar Setu as Cyclone Remal approaches, in Kolkata on Sunday. As India Meteorological Department sounded the alarm over a cyclonic storm 'Remal', IMD scientist Somenath Dutta said it is likely to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and cross between Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts around 26 May midnight.As the clock for the cyclone Remal landfall ticked closer, the city got drenched with a rainfall of 13.5mm till 4.30pm. At 2.30pm, the system was situated 160 km southeast of Sagar Islands, 190 km south-southeast of Canning, 160 km of Khepupara (Bangladesh) and 220 km south of Mongla in Bangladesh with wind speed of 100-110 kmph gusting to 120 kmph prevailing around the cyclone centre. The storm, as per the forecast received till 6pm, was expected to move nearly northwards, intensify further and cross Bangladesh and adjoining West Bengal coasts between Sagar Island and Khepupara, close to southwest of Mongla around 11pm as a severe cyclonic storm with maximum sustained wind speed of 110-120 kmph gusting to 135 kmph.With the cyclone heading towards land, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation braced for the upcoming cyclone. (PAGE 3)  BISWAJIT GHOSHAL Six newborns charred to death in Delhi hospital fire PM Modi hails UP chief minister Yogi for his fight against mafia Swati Maliwal alleges rape & death threats AGRAJ PRATAP SINGH STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 MAY NEW DELHI, 26 MAY MIRZAPUR/ MAU, 26 MAY In a heart-wrenching tragedy, six infants were burnt alive in a devastating blaze that engulfed Baby Care New Born Hospital in theVivekVihar area of East Delhi. According to the police, at the time of the incident, which took place late on Saturday night, there were 12 newborn babies at the medical facility. Of them, six infants could be rescued from the building inferno. A child was already dead prior to the incident while six died after the fire broke out in the building and five are currently admitted to another hospital and are being treated. The seven bodies of the deceased infants were sent to the nearby GTB Hospital for postmortem, the police added. An inquiry has been initiated by the police into the matter while appropriate legal action is being taken against the owner of the facility by the Delhi Police. The call about the fire initially landed at the Police Control Room (PCR) at 11:30 Accusing the Samajwadi Party (SP) of running a mafia raj during its governance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleged that the mafia had become a vote bank for the party. Addressing an election rally in Majhwan in Mirzapur in favour of Apna Dal candidate Anupriya Patel from Mirzapur, Rinki Kol candidate from Robertsganj, and Shravan Kumar Gaur, a candidate for Duddhi (Sonbhadra) assembly by-election on Sunday, the prime minister hailed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for his deterrent action against the mafia. He said, “Yogi Adityanath has embarked on the cleansing campaign against the mafia in Uttar Pradesh taking a cue from my Swachhta Abhiyan. Such was the determination of the chief minister that the mafia is all but vanished from the scene.” Lauding the efforts of Chief MinisterYogi Adityanath pm prompting immediate action by local authorities, including the SHO and ACP of Vivek Vihar. The rescued infants were relocated at East Delhi Advanced NICU Hospital for treatment for special care. The rescue operation was carried out with the help of locals and a team of Shaheed Bhagat SIngh Seva Dal, including Jitender Singh Shunty, a local social activist and politician, who reached the spot with their ambulances. The infants were retrieved by the rescuers using ladders to reach out to them from back of the illfated building on fire with the help of the locals who had come forward for the rescue mission risking their own lives, local sources added. According to the locals, who witnessed the ghastly incident, it all started with the sounds of blast jolting them out of sleep. Centre issues directions for blocking incoming international spoofed calls STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 26 MAY The government on Sunday said it has issued directions for blocking incoming international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers. ''It has been reported that fraudsters are making international spoofed calls displaying Indian mobile numbers to Indian citizens and committing cyber-crime and financial frauds. These calls appear to be originating within India but being made by the cybercriminals from abroad by manipulating the calling line identity (CLI). Such international spoofed calls have been misused in recent cases of fake digital arrests, FedEx scams, drugs/narcotics in courier, impersonation as government and police officials, dis- As safety and security of the users is an integral part of vision of Digital India, the DoT has already taken many initiatives including citizen-centric Sanchar Saathi portal (https://sancharsaathi.gov.in/) to protect telecom users. connections of mobile numbers by DoT/TRAI officials, etc,” an official release said. Therefore, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have devised a system to identify and block such incoming international spoofed calls from reaching any Indian telecom subscriber. Now directions have been issued to the TSPs for blocking of such incoming international spoofed calls. The incoming international spoofed calls with Indian landline numbers are being already blocked by the TSPs as per the directions issued by the DoT. As safety and security of the users is an integral part of vision of Digital India, the DoT has already taken many initiatives including citizen-centric Sanchar Saathi portal (https://sancharsaathi.gov.in/) to protect telecom users. “Despite best efforts, there may still be some fraudsters who succeed through other means.” “For such calls, you can help everybody by reporting such suspected fraud communications at the Chakshu facility on Sanchar Saathi,”the press release added. in UP in this direction, he said the state government is about to accomplish the 'cleansing' campaign with great courage. During the SP rule, the public used to be scared of these criminals but today, under the BJP Government, it’s the mafia’s turn to shiver in fear. He pointed out that the SP has fielded Yadav candidates from the family (of Akhilesh Yadav, SP chief) in UP “The . Samajwadi Party has never followed the rule of law. The mafia was a vote bank for them. These people can go to any length to appease the vote bank. They want to encroach on the quota of SC/ST and OBC and give their share to Muslims,” he added. Mr Modi further said, “In its 2012 assembly man- ifesto, the SP had promised to give quota to Muslims. I belong to the most backward caste and know the pain. The court prevented them from doing so because the constitution does not allow quota on the basis of religion,” he said. The PM said that the SPCongress alliance is dedicated to the vote bank while “Modi is dedicated to the interests of the poor, Dalits and backward classes”. He alleged that the INDI Alliance is extremely communal, casteist, and familybased which wants to stab Baba Saheb in the back by implementing reservations on a religious basis. Modi said with the power of each and every vote of the people, on the one hand, Shri Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya, while on the other the grand Dham of Vindhyavasini is also being built rapidly. He said the Hindu month of Jyeshtha was auspicious because the Tuesdays in this month are meant for paying obeisance to Lord Hanuman. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal on Sunday said that she has been receiving rape and death threats after a “character assassination” campaign allegedly orchestrated by party leaders and volunteers. She said that the situation escalated after theYouTuber Dhruv Rathee posted a onesided video against her. “After the leaders and volunteers of my party, i.e., AAP orchestrated a campaign of character assassination, victim shaming, and fanning of emotions against me, I have been getting rape and death threats. This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a onesided video against me,” Maliwal wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday. Maliwal accused the party leadership of trying to intimidate her into withdrawing her complaint. She expressed disappointment with Rathee, saying that despite her efforts to contact him and share her side of the story, he ignored her calls AGENCIES and messages. rinamul Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee today urged the people not to vote for the BJP which has not paid , the dues of Bengal deliberately. “We have been deprived deliberately. The job card holders of the MGNREGA scheme did not get their dues. We have paid the money to 59 lakh workers. They have not paid the money under the Awas Plus scheme. We will pay the first instalment to the people by 31 December,” she said. Coming down heavily on Narendra Modi, she said, “ He (Modi) is saying that he has been sent by God to serve people. What has he done? In the past 10 years, they have sold the country. He has spoken a garbage of lies. Through advertisements, lies have been highlighted,” she said, adding, “Modi has not said a single word on unemployment. The students at IIT have failed to get jobs. Not a single word on unemployment or price rise, and he is speaking to divide society. He is setting one community against the other. He is demeaning the OBC, SCs, STs, and Muslims.” She was speaking at Barabhuter Math, which falls under the Jadavpur Lok Sabha seat. Trinamul has fielded Saayoni Ghosh, president of the Trinamul Youth Congress. Trinamul won the seat in 2019. The election here will be held on 1 June. Calling Modi “an expert in acting,” she said, “have you ever seen any God taking part in an election? Have you ever seen a God speak lies? Do not forgive him and defeat him handsomely,” she said. T She reiterated that the INDIA bloc is coming to Delhi. “Once we come to power, we will scrap the CAA, NRC and Uniform Civil Code that have been made just to divide people. They believe only in division. They believe in oppression. We, on the contrary, believe in inclusiveness. We love all and respect all.” Miss Banerjee said, “From some corners, notices have been generated asking the people living in the colonies to suspend construction. As the Land Reforms Minister, I have not issued the notice. It must have been issued by an officer having allegiance to CPIM.” Coming down heavily on the CPIM, she said, “For 34 years, the CPIM oppressed people. Now, their cadres have joined the BJP to unleash terror. In Sonachura yesterday, in some booths, they did not allow our polling agents to sit. I will take the necessary steps,” she said. She said the BJP has bought the media, which did not show the terror unleashed by the BJP and CPIM. “If we had created trouble, the media would have shown this throughout the day. Now, they are quiet as they show incidents that the BJP instructs them to show.” Miss Banerjee said CPIM had brought all the chit funds, including Sarada. “We were arrested, and the CPIM leaders were never touched. They have so much audacity that they want to topple the Bengal government,” she said. She urged Trinamul leaders to work together, and if anyone is engaged in anti-party activities, stringent action will be taken against the person. “Work together and ensure the victory of Saayoni,” she told her party leaders and workers. Gamezone fire: ` 99 scheme led people to death trap 35 dead, investigations reveal management’s negligence AGENCIES RAJKOT, 26 MAY As the death toll in fire tragedy at the Gamezone amusement park in Rajkot reached 35, it has emerged that the administrators took advantage of the weekend and launched a Rs 99 scheme, drastically reducing the entry fee from Rs 500 to lure the visitors. Sources said this ill-fated decision, driven by profit, pushed people into a death trap. According to sources, the Gamezone saw an overwhelming crowd due to the Rs 99 scheme. The entry fee was slashed from Rs 500 to Rs 99 to attract more holiday and weekend visitors. As a result, approximately 300 people had thronged the Gamezone when the fire broke out. It has come to light that the Gamezone management did not obtain a Fire No AGENCIES RAJKOT, 26 MAY Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi takes stock of the situation at the TRP Game Zone in Rajkot on Sunday.  ANI Objection Certificate (NOC). To avoid municipal approvals, the Gamezone was set up in a shed, and a three-story facility was launched after only acquiring a ride certificate. The officials responsible for issuing these certificates are now absconding. The fire reportedly started due to a welding spark on a ladder. With only one staircase available, people on the second and third floors were trapped, leading to a higher CMYK casualty rate. The fire spread rapidly due to the structure and materials used in the Gamezone. The Gamezone featured rubber and resin flooring, thermocol sheet partitions, and over a thousand tyres around the car zone, creating a highly flammable environment. Additionally, 1500 litres of diesel stored on-site exacerbated the fire, causing it to become fierce and uncontrollable, the sources added. Investigations into the TRP game zone tragedy in Gujarat's Rajkot that claimed 35 lives have revealed that the incident happened due to its management’s negligence. The investigations revealed that the TRP game zone had been operating illegally in a residential area for four years without the necessary No Objection Certificate (NOC). The amusement park was set up in a flimsy shed-like structure to bypass regulatory approvals, the sources said. Despite this, the sources shared that the facility continued to attract visitors, oblivious to the lurking dangers. Rajkot Additional Collector Chetan Gandhi did not respond to the media, while Executive Engineer of the Mechanical Department C. C. Patel has disappeared and is not responding to calls. The Road and Building Department officials are also untraceable, and the officers responsible for issuing the stability certificate are missing. It was found that the game zone managers had expanded the facility to three stories by obtaining a ride certificate. The sources added that they secured permission from the police for the amusement park and sought approval for rides from the mechanical branch, sidestepping comprehensive safety evaluations. Questions have been raised about the management and safety protocols at the Gamezone.