FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 196 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 29, 2024 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Gavaskar delivers scathing critique of Pant; lauds Reddy P.15 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD UJJAIN PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema Bollywood’s lost year P.14 ADIEU | PM Narendra Modi, Bhutan King and others attend last rites Ex-PM cremated with state honours Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar The last rites of former prime minister Manmohan Singh were performed with full state honours at 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 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 and foreign leaders. 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 PV Narasimha Rao government No condolence meet by Cong after baba's death: Sharmistha President Droupadi Murmu pays her last respects to former prime minister Manmohan Singh at Nigambodh Ghat, in New Delhi, on Saturday PTI from 1991 to 1996 and prime minister of the United Progressive Alliance government from 2004 to 2014 -- were brought to the Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road from his 3 Moti Lal Nehru Marg residence in a flower bedecked Army vehicle. A large number of Congress workers and senior leaders including its parliamentary party leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, his sister and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid their last respects to Dr. Singh here. 4Continued on | P6 GOVT INSULTED SINGH: CONG DIRTY POLITICS, SAYS BJP The Congress on Saturday accused the Centre of insulting Manmohan Singh, the country's first Sikh prime minister, by carrying out his last rites at the Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated spot that could later become his memorial. The opposition party had written to the Centre for identifying a designated place for Singh's last rites, where a memorial could be set up for him. As politics over the matter erupted, the Centre said a decision to set up a memorial has already been taken and a trust would be formed to identify the place soon. BJP National Spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Saturday slammed the Congress party for engaging in what he termed "dirty politics" following the demise of former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He also reaffirmed the Modi government's commitment to allocating space for a memorial in honour of the late leader. Trivedi said, "The entire nation is mourning the passing of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The BJP-led NDA government is committed to building a memorial in his honour.” fp Briefs BHOPAL Day temp drops 11°C in Umaria Bhopal received rain on Saturday as occurrence of rain and hail were reported across the state leading to sharp drop in day temperature. On Saturday, Bhopal recorded drop of 5.1 degrees in day temperature that settled at 23.4 degrees Celsius. Umaria recorded 11-degree drop while Jabalpur, Damoh, Satna, Guna recorded drop of more than 10 degrees in day temperature. (P-3) SRINAGAR No flights to Kashmir As Kashmir valley remained snowbound on Friday with intermittent snow and rain lashing J&K during the day, all flights to and from Srinagar International Airport were cancelled while train service was restored to the valley in the afternoon. NOTICE Due to unavoidable circumstances, the 2025 calendar could not be distributed on Saturday in Bhopal. It will now be available on Sunday. Readers can collect their copy from the vendor. The calendar costs Rs 10. New Delhi: Sharmistha 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. She also called for bestowing former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh with Bharat Ratna honour, for his monumental contributions to country's development. The unprecedented level of cooperation between the United States and India today would not have been possible without the Prime Minister's (Ex) strategic vision and political courage Joe Biden, US President 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- 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- Saurabh Sharma left for Mumbai 3 days before raid His life is in danger, says mother Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Former constable of the Transport Department Saurabh Sharma had left for Mumbai three days before the Lokayukta Special Police Establishment carried out raids on his residential premises. Sharma’s domestic hand Gopi made the statement to media persons on Saturday. After the raids, Sharma left for Dubai. Such information about him has come to light after the raids. Nevertheless, it is not yet known whether Sharma left for Dubai after the raids or he had gone there before the raids. Gopi said that Sharma’s mother used to live in Gwalior and that Chetan Singh Gaur and Sharad Jaiswal frequented his residence. Sharma’s mother, Uma Devi, said that the life of her son was in danger. She told media persons that it had been made a high-profile case. The matter has been sent to the court where she put her side of the story, Uma Devi said. She also said she had no interaction with her son and knew nothing about him. The family is cooperating with the probe agencies, she said, adding that she is a heart patient. 4Continued on | P6 ED raid concludes 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. Twin brothers' trick busted: One stole, other created alibi Online Report MAUGANJ Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have found digital evidence and concluded their raid on Friday night at eight premises linked to former RTO constable Saurabh Sharma, the officials said here on Saturday. The sleuths had launched the raid on Friday morning in three cities— Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur. Sources said the agency found many important digital evidence. 4Continued on | P6 An extraordinary case of theft involving identical twins has emerged in the state, leaving the police puzzled. The twin brothers used a clever trick to mislead the police and carry out robberies. According to authorities, while one brother committed the crimes, the other ensured he was captured on CCTV cameras at a different location, creating an alibi. If the person involved in the robbery was caught, he would claim innocence by presenting the CCTV footage as evidence to prove he was not at the crime scene. 4Continued on | P6 SpaDeX ISRO set for space docking feat IANS NEW DELHI While India has proved its prowess in precision landing with Chandrayaan-3, the impending SpaDeX mission will achieve a historic space docking feat, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Saturday. The Indian Space Re- search Organisation (ISRO) aims to launch the Space Docking Experiment (SpaDeX) mission, aboard the PSLV-C60 rocket, at 21:58 IST from Sriharikota on December 30. The mission aims to dock two satellites in space, a challenge only mastered by the US, Russia, and China, so far. "ISRO's year-end mission is going to be a historic one as it will seek the rare feat of docking or merging or joining together two satellites in space," Singh said, adding that "the indigenous technology used for this mission is called the 'Bharatiya Docking System'". "SpaDEX will mark a milestone, showcasing India's expertise in spacecraft docking technology," Singh noted. The success of this mission is vital for India's future space ambitions. Docking technol- E-paper Nation Congress leader Dikshit complains to Delhi L-G P.7 19 killed in clashes on Pak-Afghan border NEW DELHI MUMBAI ogy will help upcoming missions like Chandrayaan4 and the planned Indian space station, expected to be ready by 2035. It is also crucial for the eventual manned Gaganyaan mission, expected to launch in 2026. With SpaDeX, "ISRO will attempt to dock two satellites orbiting at speeds of 28,800 km/h". 4Continued on | P6 AAP scheme faces probe over 'illegal data collection' PTI NEW DELHI Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena has ordered an inquiry against private persons allegedly gathering personal details of women in the name of Mahila Samman Yojana, his office said on Saturday. The AAP alleged that the BJP wanted to stop its scheme and is afraid of a defeat in the Assembly polls scheduled in February. The LG also said that the chief secretary of the Delhi government may bring the matter to the knowledge of the Election Commission of India through the chief electoral office given that such canvassing is happening ahead of the election. The inquiry was ordered based on a complaint by Congress leader and party's New Delhi Assembly seat candidate Sandeep Dikshit, who recently met Saxena at Raj Niwas. E-TENDERING CASE Probe anew, says court, rejects EOW’s closure report Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The District and Sessions Court, Bhopal, has rejected the closure report of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in an e-tendering 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 investigation 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. 4Continued on | P6 Highest single-day Dec rainfall in Delhi in 101 yrs PTI NEW DELHI Delhi recorded 41.2 mm rain in the past 24 four hours till 8.30 am on Saturday, marking the highest single-day December rainfall in 101 years, the weather department said. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the capital recorded the highest-ever rainfall on a single day in the month on December 3, 1923, at 75.7 mm. Anna Varsity rape case: HC orders SIT probe IANS NEW DELHI/CHENNAI The Madras High Court on Saturday ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged sexual assault of an Anna University student. Pulling up the Chennai Police for revealing the contents of the FIR on its website, including the rape survivor's identity, a Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and V. Lakshminarayanan ordered the Tamil Nadu government to pay an interim compensation of Rs. 25 lakh to the victim. It clarified that its present order will not prejudice the victim's right to seek compensation under the criminal law. The Madras HC also asked the state government to consider taking appropriate action against the Police Commissioner for holding a press conference regarding the case without prior permission. 4Continued on | P6 NCW panel to visit Chennai PTI CHENNAI/NEW DELHI The National Commission for Women on Saturday constituted a two-member factfinding committee to investigate the alleged sexual assault on a student of the Anna University. The commission's chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has set up the panel comprising member, NCW, Mamta Kumari, and retired IPS officer and former DGP of Maharashtra, Praveen Dixit, to "investigate and recommend action," a statement said. The fact-finding committee is likely to visit Chennai on December 30, 2024. "The committee will investigate the case, examine the circumstances leading to the incident, and assess the actions taken by the authorities. It will also interact with the victim, her family, friends. The rains also made December 2024 the fifth-highest in terms of monthly rainfall since records began in 1901, an official from the weather department said. 4Continued on | P6 Putin apologises over Azerbaijani plane crash AP MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a "tragic incident" following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. The plane was flying on Wednesday from Azerbaijan's capital of Baku to Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, when it turned toward Kazakhstan and crashed while making an attempt to land. There were 29 survivors. In an official statement Saturday, the Kremlin said air defence systems were firing near Grozny due to a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land, but stopped short of saying one of these hit the plane. According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin apologised to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace." 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 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' Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar showered praise on India's young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Nitish Reddy brushes his bat ala Pushpa style under Reddy after his gutsy maiden Test his chin… photo is being widely trending and even century on Day 3 of Boxing Day Allu Arjun has also paid his salute to Reddy Test of Border-Gavaskar Trophy