THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 67 No. 239 | MONDAY | JULY 8, 2024 | 24 Pages | `5 & for Pune `6 only www.freepressjournal.in EDITIONS: MUMBAI INDORE PUNE Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 BHOPAL NASHIK KONKAN E-paper GAMES NATION Maya seeks CBI probe; HC says Armstrong cannot be buried in Chennai party office Cinema Tahira on challenges while filming Sharmajee Ki Beti Abhishek Sharma’s blistering maiden 100 powers India to thumping win over Zimbabwe Edit Labour landslide unlikely to change Indo-British ties EERIE REDUX | 24-year-old rams BMW car into scooter, drags pillion rider for 1.5 km, killing her PUNE PORSCHE REPLAY IN CITY Ankit Salvi MUMBAI or a quarter of a century, SNEHA has worked to tackle malnutrition and gender-based violence in Dharavi. Turn to Mumbai page to read about how they succeeded. F fp Briefs JEALOUS WEST ‘IS WATCHING’ In a hit-and-run incident early on Sunday, eerily reminiscent of the Pune Porsche incident in May, a 24-year-old man speeding in his luxury car rammed into a scooter at Worli, injuring the driver and dragging the woman pillion rider for nearly 1.5 kilometres, killing her in the process.  The man allegedly driving the car, Mihir Shah, is absconding, and police have detained his father Rajesh Shah and the family driver Rajrishi Bidawat, who was accompanying the accused. Preliminary inquiries have found that Bidawat was in the front passenger seat when the accident occurred. Mihir’s father Rajesh Shah owns a construction business and is a deputy leader in the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), Palghar. Mihir, who has completed his SSC, assists his father in the family business.   Around 5.30am, Pradeep and Kaveri Nakhwa, fish sellers from Worli village, were returning home on the two-wheeler after purchasing fish from Sassoon Dock, Colaba. 4Contd on | Nation The death toll in the Surat building collapse has climbed to seven with the recovery of six more bodies overnight, the police said on Sunday. After three hours of operation under flood lights, the Heavy rainfall in State seen As heavy rain lashed Thane and Raigad districts overnight, the India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for parts of central Maharashtra on July 8. In fact, the state is likely to see very heavy rainfall over the next five days. According to the IMD, heavy rain is in the range of 64.5-115.5 mm, very heavy rain is 115.6204.4 mm, and extremely heavy rain is above 204.4 mm. Local train services between Kasara and Titwala stations were suspended on Sunday morning after a tree fell on the tracks. ■ Accused visited a Juhu pub where he ran a bill of `18,000 ■ Car owned by deputy leader of Eknath Shinde Shiv Sena ■ Car driver was in the adjacent seat at the time of mishap ■ Windshield had Sena sticker, which has been scratched I don’t want to make this political, whoever the driver is, should be arrested. – Aaditya Thackeray Biswajeet Banerjee HATHRAS In a dramatic development, AP Singh, the lawyer representing Bhole Baba, has claimed that the recent deaths in Hathras were caused by a toxic gas released from cans, which in turn triggered the stampede. Singh, addressing the media on Sunday, alleged that the incident 4Contd on | Nation A stampede-like situation almost developed during the annual Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in Puri on Sunday, injuring many devotees. One person was critically injured during the 'pulling of Lord Balabhadra's chariot.' Later, he is believed to have succumbed to his injuries. The yatra draws thousands of devotees who both witness and participate in the ceremony. Outraging of modesty rap on Moitra FPJ News Service A case related to outraging the modesty of a woman has been registered against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for a social media post on National Commission for Women chief Rekha Sharma. On July 3, when Sharma visited the Hathras stampede site, a person walking in the rear was seen holding an umbrella for her. Moitra, while responding to a post questioning why the NCW chief was not holding her own umbrella reportedly said 'she is too busy holding up her boss's pajamas.' Based on a complaint by Sharma, an FIR was registered by the special cell of the Delhi Police on Sunday under Sec- tion 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of woman) of the new criminal code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which has replaced the Indian Penal Code.  The National Commission for Women had immediately taken note of the remark and demanded that Moitra be booked. 4Contd on | Nation Tailpiece Nupur has a dig at Rahul remark F ormer BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma has referred to Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement on “violent Hindus” in a video, the authenticity of which FPJ cannot vouch for at the moment. In the video, Sharma has purportedly said: “When people in high positions claim that Hindus are violent, or when others say that ‘Sanatanis’ should be wiped out, one should understand this conspiracy.” Controversies are not alien to Sharma who was suspended from the party for her remarks on Prophet Muhammad in 2022, which had ignited a major row and even led to beheading of a tailor who had supported the BJP spokesperson. Gandhi had launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP, known for its pro-Hindu narrative and asserted that Hinduism is not about spreading fear, hatred and falsehoods but about nonviolence and resilience. off-grid Odds stacked against Macron Vikas Datta PARIS The French are voting on Sunday in the second round of the crucial parliamentary elections, with President Emmanuel Macron's centrists in a tacit alliance of convenience with the second-placed hard-left ensemble to ward off the far-right, which topped the first round. But does Macron's second risky gambit in two months - "a second grenade" - have any chance of success? The chances appear minimal in the high-stakes election, which will not only determine his -- and France's -- fate but is likely to impact that of Europe and the European Union. Smarting from his party's defeat to the far-right in the European Parliament elections in June, Macron took a major gamble. His largely unilateral decision to call Teen with internet gaming disorder can take re-exam FPJ News Service MUMBAI The Bombay High Court has permitted a 19-year-old boy to re-appear for the improvement exam for Class XII for which he failed to appear last year as he was suffering from depression and internet gaming disorder.  The court noted that the boy deserved an opportunity to appear for the improvement exam for his Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) in the interests of justice. The HC was hearing a peti- tion filed by the boy stating that he was an above-average student and would secure 8593 per cent marks till Class XI. However, he only managed to get 316 marks out of Lanka will lift port embargo on China PTI COLOMBO Sri Lanka has decided to lift from next year a ban on the visit of foreign research ships imposed after strong security concerns raised by India and the US following frequent docking requests from hi-tech Chinese surveillance vessels, the Japanese media has reported. The change in position was conveyed by visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry to the NHK World Japan. With the increased movement of Chinese research vessels in the Indian Ocean, New Delhi had expressed concern that those might be spy ships and urged Colombo not to allow such vessels to dock at its ports. After India raised concern, Sri Lanka banned the entry of foreign research vessels from docking at its port in January. snap parliamentary elections, which seemingly took even his own government by surprise -- was reportedly likened by him to throwing "an unpinned grenade at their (far-right's) feet". However, the explosion seems to have backfired -- quite spectacularly -on Macron and his party. Even if, the centrists and the resurgent left manage a majority, it makes for an uneasy alliance between the two forces, and in any way, hamstring Macron's ability to pass legislation. 4Contd on | Nation was a conspiracy against Baba owing to his growing popularity. "Witnesses have contacted me and reported seeing 15-16 people carrying gas cans, which were prised open at the conclusion of the satsang, leading to the stampede," he said. "The post-mortem reports show that the victims died due to suffocation, not from any other cause." Singh has further suggested 600 in his Class XII board exams in March 2023, as he was suffering from depression. From July to December 2023, he was being treated for depression and anxiety. His plea also said that he underwent treatment at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Hospital, and was diagnosed with internet gaming disorder, due to which he could not appear for the reexamination held in July 2023. 4Contd on | Nation SC will hear pleas on NEET retest today that vehicles were strategically placed to help those who released the gas escape from the scene. "We have evidence of this and will present it," he asserted. Singh also mentioned that the witnesses, who have requested anonymity, will need protection, and he intends to demand security for them. The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a batch of pleas related to the controversyridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh. The Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET-UG, recently told the apex court that scrapping the exam would be "counterproductive" and "seriously jeopardize" lakhs of honest candidates in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality. CUET-UG: The NTA will conduct a retest for CUET-UG candidates from July 15 to 19 if any grievance aired by them about the conduct of the exam is found to be correct, officials said on Sunday. The NTA also announced the answer key for the undergraduate entrance exam, paving the way for 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation 4Contd on | Nation Baba’s lawyer blames toxic gas for tragedy Touch & go NEW DELHI ■ Husband of deceased landed on car bonnet ■ Being ascertained if accused was drunk relief team also managed to rescue a 20-year-old woman. Meanwhile, a person who collected rent from the occupants has been arrested; he and the two owners of the building have been booked on charges of culpable Stuck tourists in Thane lifted The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescued 49 people from a water-logged resort in Thane and 16 villagers in Palghar amid heavy rains on Sunday, officials said. A team from the NDRF used boats and life jackets to rescue the visitors stranded at the resort due to flooding in the Shahpur area. The 16 villagers, in turn, got stranded when the area got flooded after water level rose precariously in the nearby Tansa dam. The catchment area had received heavy rain in the morning. Killer BMW, this time No one will be spared. Strict legal action will be taken. Everyone is equal before the law. – CM Eknath Shinde Death toll in Surat collapse touches 7 Agencies Kaveri Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah has been detained even as his son Mihir is untraceable I have two children, what will I do? These are big people, nobody will do anything, we will suffer. – Husband Pradeep SURAT Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on his two-day official visit to Russia from July 8 to 9 at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin for the 22nd India-Russia summit that will review the entire range of multi-faceted ties between the two countries. Putin will host a private dinner for PM Modi on the day of arrival. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said they are expecting a "very important and fullfledged visit," which the West was watching with "jealousy". “They are jealous — that means they are closely monitoring it. Their close monitoring means they attach great importance to it. And they are not mistaken, there is something to attach great importance to,” Peskov said in response to a question. Mihir Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (Jan to Dec 2023)