KOTTAYAM l wednesday l October 23, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Foreign Institutional investors withdraw K82,000 cr from India This is the highest outflow of funds in a single month. The FIIs offloaded equities worth K2,261 crore on Monday alone, provisional data showed Large investors shifting focus to China Indian markets tank amid sell-off According to market watchers, Indian stocks may be falling out of favour with FIIs, which are reportedly re-routing their funds to Chinese stocks. The foreign investors’ focus seems to have turned to Beijing after President Xi Jinping announced his plan to create a ‘high-quality market’ that gives the best bang for investors’ buck, followed up by a stimulus package unveiled this month ■ ■ Amid the massive sell-off, the Indian stockmarkets tanked on Tuesday, with the Sensex falling 930.55 points, or 1.15%, to settle at 80,220.72 Data showed the market cap of BSE-listed firms shrank I9,19,374 crore to I4,44,45,649 crore ($5.29 trillion) on Tuesday. This is interpreted as erosion of I9.19 lakh crore in investors’ notional wealth in a single day A61,973 cr The previous highest monthly FII outflow, recorded in March 2020 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Modi, Xi talks today B  ilateral dialogue before BRICS Summit opens at Russia’s Kazan, says government N  eed to restore mutual trust to go back to status quo ante: Army Chief Gen Dwivedi We are trying to restore the trust. That will happen once we are able to see each other and reassure each other that we are not creeping into buffer zones that have been created Gen Upendra Dwivedi billion+ countries India and China have a population of over a billion. “Anybody who is predicting developments of this century cannot leave India and China out of that equation,’’ External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said economic ties up Economic ties are improving. China is India’s largest trade partner with $118.4 billion twoway trade in 2023-24. This was slightly higher than the bilateral trade between India and the US at $118.28 billion in the same year E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Kalpetta Y es h i S el i a n d M AYAN K S IN G H @ New Delhi Setting all speculation to rest on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping holding a bilateral meeting in Russia’s Kazan, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said it will be held on Wednesday ahead of the BRICS Summit. “I can confirm that there will be a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Jinping tomorrow,” Misri said. This will be their first meeting after bilateral relations went south following a bloody clash of soldiers at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. Their meeting will not only signal to the world that the BRICS grouping is more powerful than perceived but also show India in a much stronger collaborative position with the China, Russia and Iran. Back home, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi pointed to trust issues with China, saying, “We want to go back to the status quo of April 2020. Thereafter we will be looking at disengagement, de-escalation and normal management of LAC... This has been our stand since April 2020.” Gen Dwivedi was delivering the Colonel Pyara Lal Memorial Lecture on Indian Army’s Decade of Transformation in Delhi. He felt that both sides need to reassure and convince each other to move forward with the subsequent phases of disengagement. This newspaper had on Monday brought out the trust concerns with China as several sources said there was nothing on the ground to suggest China was willing to blink. The new agreement addresses two key friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The military has remained consistent in its interpretation of the disengagement processes from areas such as Galwan, Gogra, Hot Springs, and the north and south banks of Pangong Tso, while also asserting that this does not affect India’s claim over the LAC alignment. According to sources, previous disengagements were carried out on the principle of mutual and equal security with no prejudice , to either side’s claims over the LAC. However, the standoff at Depsang remains significant, as Chinese troops have blocked access to Patrol Points (PPs) 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, which cover an area of approximately 952 sq km. These PPs, located east of the strategic SubSector North road, are not directly on the LAC but lie within Indian territory Sub-Sec. tor North is crucial due to its terrain, which allows large-scale armoured operations. Priyanka reaches Wayanad for poll debut, roadshow today Russian President Vladimir Putin embraces Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of BRICS Summit at Kazan on Tuesday | AP/PTI Iran Prez seeks support to end conflict in bilateral talks tional North South Corridor. Discussions were also held on Afghanistan and humanitarian Prime Minister Narendra assistance provided to the peoModi on Tuesday held bilateral ple there. “Had a very good meetings with Iran’s new Presi- meeting with the President of dent Masoud Pezeshekian and Iran, Mr Masoud Pezeshkian. Russian President We reviewed the full Vladimir Putin upon range of relations behis arrival in Kazan, tween our countries. ahead of the 16th We also discussed All our efforts give ways to deepen ties in BRICS Summit. priority to “Prime Minister futuristic sectors,” Modi had his first-ever humanity; India is Modi later said. meeting with Presi- ready to provide As for the first bilatall possible dent Pezeshekian after eral, Putin joked that cooperation to he won the elections in Russia-India ties are end Ukraine war Iran. The two leaders so strong that he felt Narendra Modi, spoke about the need Modi would underPrime Minister to de-escalate tensions stand his comments in West Asia. Iran without a translator. sought India’s help in the resoOn the war in Ukraine, Modi lution of the conflict as it was said, “I have been in touch with acquainted with leaders across Putin. I would want a peaceful the world,” Foreign Secretary resolution keeping in mind the Vikram Misri said. humanitarian crisis. India will Modi also spoke about the extend all possible support for Chabahar port and the Interna- the peace process.” E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is making her electoral debut in the bypoll from Wayanad, reached the constituency on Tuesday evening. Her mother and Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi accompanied Priyanka on her maiden poll tour. Priyanka will file her nominations on Wednesday . Priyanka and Sonia reached Mysuru by a special flight at 6.15pm, and straight away headed to Sultan Bathery by road. Sonia is visiting Kerala after a gap of 10 years. The by-election was necessitated after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, vacated the Wayanad seat after winning simultaneously from two constituencies in the last Lok Sabha elections. Rahul and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will Heeding to the request of an ex-serviceman to visit his ailing mother, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra calls on his family at Sultan Bathery on Tuesday | express join Priyanka and Sonia on Wednesday during a 1.5km roadshow before submitting nomination papers. The roadshow will begin from the New Bus Stand premises at Kalpetta at 11am. Priyanka will address the public at Gudalai, opposite Kerala Water Authority office at 11.45am. Hours before Priyanka reached Wayanad, Rahul posted on X that he could not imagine a better representative from the constituency than 40 more flights get hoax bomb threats S H E K HAR S IN G H & U J WA L J A L A L I @ New Delhi HOAX bomb threats continued to keep the security agencies on their toes and inconvenience passengers on Tuesday as about 40 more flights received threat emails. Three CRPF schools, including the one in Rohini where an explosion happened two days ago, also received threats on Tuesday On Tuesday a CRPF school in Dwarka and another . , one Hyderabad also received hoax bomb threats. The emails, reportedly sent late in the night on Monday in, dicated a potential bomb explosion in classrooms at 11 am on Tuesday Officials said a de. tailed probe is underway, with senior officers of the CRPF, Intelligence Bureau, and Delhi Police reviewing the situation. Between Monday and Tuesday, at least 70 flights belonging to Air India, Vistara, IndiGo, and Akasa Air faced fresh bomb threats through social media, bringing the total number of such threats in the past eight days to 160. Sources put the security threats for Air India at 13, Vistara 11, and Akasa Air 12 on Tuesday Meanwhile, IndiGo said 23 of . its flights—both domestic and international—were targeted on Monday and Tuesday. It said three Jeddah-bound flights were diverted to Riyadh, Medina, and Doha. State cyber cops blacklist 22k phones in 1 year S h a n A S @ T’Puram Ordnance factory blast Officials at the blast site of the Khamaria ordnance factory in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Two persons were killed and 15 others suffered injuries; three are critical | PTI The cyber division of the state police has blacklisted more than 22,000 smartphones involved in cyber fraud and rendered them inoperable in the past one year, amid a surge in cyber financial crimes that have resulted in losses amounting to millions of rupees in the state. The phones were locked by the Department of Telecom (DoT) at the request of the cyber division by blacklisting the IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity), which is u n i q u e fo r e a ch m o b i l e phones. As many as 13,000 SIM cards used for fraudulent activities were also blocked during the same period. Police sources said the phones that were rendered unusable were the ones that were verified to be used to commit cyber fraud. After verification, the IMEI details of the phones are sent to the DoT, which conducts a checking on its own before blacklisting the devices permanently. Once the IMEI is blacklisted, the device cannot be connected to any network, rendering them useless as a communication device. According to a source, initially, fraudsters used highend smartphones for cyber fraud. “But with the IMEI blacklisting becoming a prevalent mode of anti-cyber fraud operation, the cybercriminals are now using low-end phones, knowing well that their devices could get locked,” the source said. Though there are options to get the device unlocked by spoofing the IMEI, the cops said it was technically challenging, and hence, scammers rarely resort to such methods. The state police, however, had no data on the number of phones operated from Kerala that were blacklisted. The Union government documents revealed that around 4,800 mobile phones that operated in Kerala were blacklisted from January 2023 to May 2024. During this period, around `800 crore was swindled from the state by cyber fraudsters. A cyber division official said blocking SIM cards and locking phones have a deterrent effect on the scammers. “Without a smartphone and SIM card, they cannot pull off the scam. They need to make calls and engage with their victims on social media platforms. By keeping a tight leash on illegal sale and use of SIM cards and blocking phones, we can contain the scammers to an extent,” the official added. mistaken identity School students enter excise office, ask for matchbox to light ‘ganja beedi’ E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @Idukki “Do you have a matchbox,” asked a group of school students after entering a building in Adimaly reckoning it to be a , workshop. They asked for the matchbox to light a beedi rolled with ganja. However, much to their shock, the ‘workshop’ turned out to be the office of the Excise Narcotic Enforcement Squad. Realising their folly, the students – who were on a study tour to Munnar – attempted to flee but were duly caught. On inspection, the officials recovered five grams of ganja and a gram of hashish oil from two students. According to narcotic squad officials, the higher secondary students from a school in Thrissur had arrived in Adimaly in two separate buses on Monday . They stayed at a hotel near the Narcotic Enforcement Squad office. After having breakfast at the hotel, 10 boys reached went to the back side of the hotel to smoke the beedi rolled with ganja, the officials said. Narcotic enforcement squad CI Raghesh B said there were several confiscated vehicles on the premises of the building and the students did not notice the name board at the front. “Thinking it was a workshop, the students entered the of fice through the back door and asked the officials who were taking rest after duty for a matchbox. It was only later that the boys noticed the officials in uniform sitting in other rooms,” he said. Sensing trouble, the boys ran out of the office. However, they were held by the officers later. According to the circle inspector, the students had bought the ganja beedis pooling in their pocket money to enjoy their trip before they started from Thrissur. He said most of the boys in the team were smoking it for the first time. The officer said a case has been registered against the two students from whom ganja was seized. Besides, the school authorities were informed about the incident. The parents of the two students were summoned to the office in Adimaly The students . were later sent with their parents after counselling. According to the officials, the Juvenile Justice Board will take up further proceedings. his sister. “The people of Wayanad hold a special place in my heart, and I can’t imagine a better representative for them than my sister, Priyanka. I’m confident she will be a passionate champion of Wayanad’s needs and a powerful voice in Parliament. Join us tomorrow, 23rd October, as she files her nomination for the Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency. Together, let’s ensure Wayanad continues to be represented with love,” he wrote. Meet on Waqf turns ugly as TMC member smashes bottle PR E E T HA NAIR @ New Delhi THE meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill witnessed high-voltage drama on Tuesday as Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee smashed a glass bottle during a heated exchange of words with BJP member and former Calcutta High Court judge Abhijit Gangopadhyay, injuring himself in the process. Banerjee was suspended for one day from the committee after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to suspend him for his unruly behaviour. The motion was backed by nine members while eight voted against it, following which chairperson and BJP Lok Sabha MP Jagdambika Pal issued the suspension order. The meeting was adjourned briefly following the incident and Banerjee, who hurt his thumb and index finger was taken away for medical aid. The incident took place when the panel was listening to the views of two Odisha-based organisations that included retired judges and lawyers. The opposition MPs including Banerjee questioned the organisation’s stake in the bill. According to a member, though Banerjee was given an opportunity to speak during the proceeding, he sought another turn to speak. However, Gangopadhyay objected to the repeated disturbances and a heated exchange erupted between the two. Sources claimed both MPs used abusive language and Banerjee grabbed a glass water bottle and smashed it on the table. A source told TNIE that Banerjee lost his cool when Gangopadhyay allegedly made some remarks about his mother. TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee injured his hand when he smashed a glass bottle | PTI