FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLI No. 202 | INDORE | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Gavaskar delivers scathing critique of Pant; lauds Reddy P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Nation Congress leader Dikshit complains to Delhi L-G P.7 19 killed in clashes on Pak-Afghan border Cinema Bollywood’s lost year P.14 LAST RITES | Leaders, family pay last respects at the funeral of ex-PM Dr Manmohan Singh SEND-OFF WITH FULL HONOURS Probe anew, says court, rejects EOW’s Rahul sparks controversy closure report over Nigambodh Ghat Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI The last rites of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were performed with full state honours at the Nigambodh Ghat in Delhi on Saturday to the chanting of religious hymns by Sikh priests. The funeral pyre was lit by his eldest daughter, Upinder Singh. The cremation of Dr. Singh, who breathed his last at AIIMS Delhi on Thursday, night was attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and a large number of senior political leaders and foreign dignitaries. Following the funeral, Modi wrote on ‘X’: “Paid last respects to former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji. His service to India will always be cherished.” Earlier in the day, the mortal remains of Dr. Singh – who was Finance Minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996 and PM of the UPA government from 2004 to 2014 – were brought to the Congress headquarters. 4Continued on | P6 fp Briefs Putin apology for plane crash In a conversation with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev, the Russian president acknowledged the downing of the Azeri passenger jet as a 'tragic incident' but did not explicitly assume responsibility. Initial investigations point towards the plane being struck by the Russian air defense system. This incident occurred during an active Ukrainian drone attack on several Russian cities, prompting the air defense system's activation. Afghanistan retaliates The Afghan Defense Ministry announced on Saturday that Afghan forces conducted retaliatory strikes against "several points" within Pakistan. This action comes in response to recent aerial bombardments carried out by Pakistani aircraft inside Afghan territory. Jaishankar meets Waltz External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a meeting with the next US National Security Advisor, Michael Waltz on Friday evening during his visit to the United States. The two leaders held discussion on bilateral partnership and current global issues, and Jaishankar said that he is looking forward to working with Waltz. E-TENDERING CASE Our Staff Reporter Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI BIDEN PRAISE FOR MANMOHAN Lalit K Jha SAN FRANCISCO Mourning the passing of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, US President Joe Biden has called him "a true statesman" and credited his strategic vision and political courage for the unprecedented level of bilateral cooperation. "The unprecedented level of cooperation between the United States and India today would not have been possible without the Prime Minister's strategic vision and political courage," Biden said in a statement as he and the First Lady, Jill Biden, joined the people of India in grieving the loss of the former SIT probe into Anna varsity sex assault case Online Report CHENNAI The Madras High Court on Saturday directed that an all woman Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe the case of sexual assault of a 19-year-old Anna University student. The Bar and Bench reports that it also ordered the State to pay an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the victim for the lapse on the part of police in revealing her details in the first information report (FIR) published on the police website. The Court further directed the Police to provide protection to the victim and her family. A Bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice V Lakshminarayanan ordered that an SIT, comprising three officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) be formed. After highlighting various omissions in the ongoing probe, the court took a serious note of the police's victim blaming the 19-year-old. "Have you read the FIR? It is an example of victim blaming," the Bench told Advocate General (AG)P S Raman. The Court called it unfortunate that the leaking of the FIR itself led to victim shaming. "It has led to more mental agony for her," the Bench said. It is the incumbent duty of the State and the society to protect women, the Bench Madras High Court pulls up police for revealing victim's identity, orders interim compensation of `25 lakh stressed as it took serious view of the way the FIR was written. "This can't be done by blaming or shaming her. It is misogynistic. The Constitution doesn't differentiate between men and women and the society must feel ashamed to put down women," it observed. It further asked why a woman cannot walk alone freely, dress the way she wishes to or speak to a man without being judged. "A woman must rise above societal stigma. It was never her fault, only the society's that judged her," it said. Concluding that the contents of the FIR itself breached the victim's right to dignity and her right to bodily autonomy, the Court said, "In the present case, the victim's right under Article 21 is breached and thus, the Court contemplates awarding a compensation to the victim". The Court said since the victim is a student and only 19 years of age, it was the duty of the police to help her. 4Continued on | P6 prime minister. “From forging the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement to helping launch the first Quad between IndoPacific partners, he charted path-breaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations-and the world-for generations to come. 4Continued on | P6 Controversy followed the deceased Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after his funeral when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Centre “insulted” the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with his last rites being performed at Nigambodh Ghat, where ordinary citizens are cremated, instead of at a proper memorial site as had been the case with several former premiers. The Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comments on `X' fuelled a raging controversy about where former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserved to be cremated. “The great son of Mother India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji has been totally insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigambodh Ghat,” wrote an anguished Gandhi. He added that Dr. Singh “was the Prime Minister of India for a decade” and that “during Sharmistha peeved harmistha Mukherjee, the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee criticised the Congress party for not holding even a formal condolence meeting after her father's demise in 2020. Sharmistha told the IANS that “ When I saw a tweet by BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan highlighting the poor treatment of P.V. Narasimha Rao after his death, I was reminded of how my father's passing was handled by Congress. S 4Continued on | P6 his tenure the country became an economic superpower and his policies are still the support of the poor and backward classes of the country.” 4Continued on | P6 BHOPAL The District and Sessions Court, Bhopal, has rejected the closure report of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in an etendering case. Special judge (Prevention of Corruption Act) Ram Pratap Mishra passed the order. As per the order, the court has instructed to collect documents and information furnished by the Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC). “Collect evidence from internet service provider regarding traffic IP address 164:100196.120.” The EOW has also been instructed to collect evidence from tender’s logs details. The court, on its observation, said the case diary shows that evidence can be collected from VPN Logs, IP address and there is need for reinvestigation. The probe began in midJune 2019 over alleged irregularities in the tendering process. The then chief secretary, BP Singh, had asked the EOW to launch an inves- 8 hospitalised after chlorine gas leak FP News Service GAROTH Eight workers were hospitalised after a chlorine gas leak at Garoth Municipal Council's water filter plant on Saturday morning. The leak caused panic, leading to evacuation of nearby schools. The incident occurred around 9 am when the gas began leaking from an extra cylinder at the facility. The gas emission was re- Delhi breaks 101 year-old rain record duced with the quick thinking of employees as they managed to submerge the leaking cylinder in a water tank using an excavator. However, eight workers were already exposed to the toxic fumes and were rushed to Indira Gandhi Government Hospital in Garoth. The affected employees included Ankit Malvi, 26, Mahendra Malviya, 30, Rahul Ganawa, 29, Ashish Ganawa, 29, Pankaj Gwal, 26, Mangilal, 50, Vinod, 40 and Bunty, 42. The victims experienced respiratory distress, headaches, dizziness and eye irritation due to exposure to the gas. The incident also exposed signifi- AUSSIE IRE: REDDY JHUKEGA NAI Maiden century Nitish Reddy, an unknown entity in red ball cricket before the start of Border-Gavaskar series, virtually bailed India out with his dogged maiden Test century FP News Service NEW DELHI The National Capital Territory of Delhi recorded its highest single-day rainfall for December in 101 years on Saturday when 41.2 mm of precipitation brought both the temperature and the pollution levels down significantly. According to the Indian Meteorological Department, “the last record for December's single-day rainfall was set on December 3, 1923, when 75.7 mm of rain was recorded.” It added that “the cumulative 24-hour rainfall ending at 8-30 a.m. today (Saturday) is the second highest since 1901 at Safdarjung.” 4Continued on | P6 cant safety lapses in the council's handling of hazardous materials, particularly during cold weather conditions when gas dispersion is slower. Meanwhile, council president Rajesh Sethia ordered immediate closure of the nearby educational institutions, including CM Rise School and Saraswati School, as a precautionary measure. All affected individuals have since been reported stable. Unbeaten 105 Reddy's unbeaten 105 took India to 358 for nine, still 116 runs short of Australia's first innings score of 474 as rain brought an early end to the third day's play Rs 25 lakh cash award The Andhra Cricket Association on Saturday announced a cash award of Rs 25 lakh for young Nitish Reddy, acknowledging his maiden Test century effort 'A knock to remember' Nitish Reddy brushes his bat ala Pushpa style under his chin… photo is being widely trending and even Allu Arjun has also paid his salute to Reddy Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar showered praise on India's young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy after his gutsy maiden Test century on Day 3 of Boxing Day Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy tigation based on an interim report submitted by the former director of MPSED, senior IAS officer Manish Rastogi, after the cancellation of nine tenders. The EOW had registered a case under Section 420,467,471, 120-b of IPC, Section 66 of IT Act, various sections of PC Act. Sixteen people were made accused in the case, including M/s JVPR Engineers Limited(Hyderabad), The Indian Human Pipe Limited(Mumbai), M/s JMC Projects India Limited, M/s Ram Kumar Narwani, Madhav Infra Projects Limited, Max Mantena Micro JV Hyderabad, officials of the tender opening authority of MP Jal Nigam, MP Road Development Corporation’s tender opening authority officials, PWD tender opening authority officials, Sushil Kumar Sahu (Sabri Complex), MP Nagar –Zone-II, Kiran Sharma, MP Nagar, Ratnesh Sharma, Damoh, Virendra Pandey, PA Water resources, Nirmal Awasthi, PA of the then water resources minister, and other bureaucrats and politicians. 10-year-old boy stuck in 140ft borewell in Guna dist PTI BHOPAL A 10-year-old boy fell into a 140-feet borewell in Guna district on Saturday evening and a rescue operation was underway, an official said. Sumit Meena, the boy, slipped into the open shaft of the borewell at Pipliya village, about 50 km from Guna district headquarters, about 5 pm. He was trapped at a depth of around 39 feet, Raghogarh Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh told PTI from the spot. The borewell is around 140feet deep, Guna Collector Satendra Singh said. A parallel 25-feet deep pit has been dug to rescue the child, he added. The borewell did not strike water, and hence no casing had been put on it, the collector said. While police and other local agencies)started the rescue operation immediately, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also arrived from Bhopal late in the evening. Oxygen was being pumped into the borewell, he said. The family members of the boy turned panicky when they did not see him for a long time. A search was carried out and then they realised that he had fallen into the borewell, a local person said. offgrid French heresy: Non-alcoholic Bordeaux wine is here to stay! Online Report PARIS In the vineyards of Bordeaux, the unthinkable has happened. Wine without alcohol has arrived. The heresy of yesterday is now – thanks to science and economic crisis – the opportunity of today, reports the BBC. Wine estates which would have torched their grapes rather than submit to such ignominy, are now openly contemplating the boozefree bottle. And developers are fast creating wines that are deliberately designed to get the best from the de-alcoholisation process. "When we started a few years ago, what we were making was frankly rubbish," says Bordeaux oenologist Frédéric Brochet, who has helped create the Moderato range of no-alcohol wines. "But we have made great progress. And today we are getting nearer and nearer to our goal. I think it is going to be a revolution in the wine world." Bordeaux has just seen the launch of its first ever cave – wine shop – dedicated solely to no-alcohol wines, evidence of a shift in perceptions which has taken many in the industry by surprise. Several things have combined to make the moment opportune. Firstly, the French wine world is in deep difficulty. In the face of falling domestic consumption, and the shrinking Chinese market, President-elect Donald Trump is threatening new levies. Prized ancient vineyards across France are being ripped up by the roots. With consumption habits changing, especially among the young, supermarkets yield more space to beer than to wine. Most significantly, the youngsters, health conscious, are embracing the non-alcohol lifestyle. A full 10 per cent of the French beer market is alcohol-free. In neighbouring Spain that number is 25 per cent. And technology has improved by leaps and bounds. In the past – and still today for cheaper brands – the method has simply been to boil away the alcohol and then add compensatory flavours. The result – especially for reds – is at best mediocre. Now they do low-temperature vacuum distillation, and "capture" aromas for putting back into the de-alcoholised wine. The result: wines that can legally call themselves wines. Says Fabien Marchand-Cassagne of Moderato, "What you will get is a genuine wine moment. Bouquet, tannins, fruits, balance – it is all there to be enjoyed." At the Clos De Bouard estate near Saint-Emilion, fully a third of sales are now of the chateau's two – soon to be three – non-alcoholic brands. 4Continued on | P6