KOZHIKODE l monday l august 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l city EDITION Telegram chief executive Durov arrested by French authorities The founder and CEO of the messaging service was detained at Paris-Le Bourget Airport late on Saturday upon his arrival from Azerbaijan Accused of failing to curb misuse of app Pavel Durov was arrested over allegations that Telegram has been used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing child sexual content, media reports said. He is accused of failing to take steps to curb criminal uses of his messaging service. The warrant was issued at the request of a special unit of the country’s interior ministry in charge of probing crimes against minors | P9 ■ 900 million Lawyer calls it attack on free speech ■ Durov’s lawyer has called his arrest an attack on freedom of speech. Russia, too, has condemned the arrest of the Franco-Russian billionaire Telegram, known for user privacy and strong encryption protocols, was founded by Durov and his brother in 2013. The messaging service has been criticised by the Western governments for its lack of content moderation monthly active users in Telegram, which has 1 billion overall downloads 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 7-member special team to probe sexual harassment allegations South Zone IG Sparjan Kumar-led investigation team has four women IPS officers E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Israeli Air Force intercepts a Hezbollah UAV over north Israel on Sunday; close-up of the projectile being blown into pieces | AFP Israel hits Lebanon with 100 fighter jets in ‘self defence’ A g en c i e s ISRAEL on Sunday launched its biggest air offensive in recent times as it sent over 100 fighter jets into Lebanon to destroy “rocket launchers aimed at Israel”, claiming Hezbollah was about to unleash a largescale attack against it. The Israeli military said its fighter jets had destroyed “thousands” of Hezbollah rocket launchers “aimed toward northern Israel and some were aimed toward central Israel”, far from the border. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Hezbollah rejected Israel’s claims of having thwarted its attack, saying it had fired 320 Katyusha rockets targeting “enemy positions” across the border. This, it said, was the first phase of its retaliation for Israel’s assassination of its commander Fuad Shukr last month. In a televised speech on Sunday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his group targeted a military intelligence base near Tel Aviv. However, Israeli sources said there were no hits on the base. Hezbollah’s claims The militant group said it targeted 11 bases, barracks and military positions in northern Israel and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, and dismissed Israel’s claim to have thwarted its attack. It, however, did not provide evidence for its claims Following the Sunday airstrikes, three deaths were reported in Lebanon. While Hezbollah clarified that it was not planning any further strikes as of now, Israel’s foreign minister said his country did not seek a full-scale war. Both sides claimed they had struck only military targets. The US helped track the barrage of rockets and drones launched by Hezbollah against Israel, but was not involved in strikes in Lebanon or in shooting down incoming projectiles, AFP reported quoting a US defence official. The Hezbollah has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces throughout the Gaza war, in a campaign it says in support of Hamas. According to experts, any major escalation in the fighting, which began in parallel with the war in Gaza, risks morphing into a regional conflagration drawing in Hezbollah’s backer Iran and Israel’s main ally the US. The situation remains tense though both sides hinted they have no immediate plans to continue strikes. P9 Under fire for its inaction on the Justice Hema Committee’s findings, the state government has finally woke up and formed a special police investigation team to probe the allegations of sexual harassment and exploitation in the Malayalam film industry . The seven-member team headed by South Zone IG G Sparjan Kumar has four women IPS officers on board. The other members of the team are Thiruvananthapuram Range DIG S Ajeetha Begum, Crime Branch S P Merin Joseph, Coastal Police AIG G Poonkuzhali, Kerala Police Academy Assistant Director Aishwarya Dongre, AIG Law and Order Ajith V and Crime Branch SP S Madhusoodanan. Crime Branch head ADGP H Venkatesh will monitor the proceedings. The decision to form the special team was taken during a meeting Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held with senior police officers on Sunday. The state government had so far maintained that it is open to probing the allegations if the survivors are ready to file complaints. Sources said the special team will not register FIRs suo motu, but would rather regis- ‘U’ in UPS stands for Centre’s U-turns: Cong New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday took a swipe at the Central government over its announcement of the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS), stating that the ‘U’ in UPS stands for Narendra Modi government’s U-turns. P7 MAKING A SPLASH Children perform ‘uriyadi’ at the Ernakulam Tirumala Devaswom Temple as part of Sri Krishna Jayanti celebrations in Kochi on Sunday | A Sanesh Expert team to assess post-disaster needs in Wayanad A 30-member team from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), along with an expert team from the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), will conduct a comprehensive Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) in Wayanad in the aftermath of the devastating register FIRs suo motu, but would rather register cases based on complaints they receive from the aggrieved persons, said sources SIT was constituted to encou- rage the victims to come forward and file complaints, they said. ter cases based on complaints they receive from the aggrieved persons. The formation of the SIT, sources added, was to encourage the victims to come forward and file their complaints. “You need a defacto complainant to take the case forward. So, one of the purposes behind the constitution of the probe team is to motivate the victims to officially lodge complaints,” said a source. The source said the SIT will probe instances of sexual harassment mentioned in the panel report if the survivors file complaints. It will also probe the complaints by members of the film fraternity regarding sexual harassment, the source added. Earlier, the government’s stance that probe will be conducted if survivors are ready to file complaints was flayed by the Opposition parties as well P4 as legal experts. Ranjith, Siddique resign amid scathing charges E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi/T’puram Rocked by the Justice Hema Committee report, the Malayalam film industry was pushed further into a corner on Sunday with two industry heavyweights quitting their respective posts following accusations of sexual harassment and misbehaviour by female actors. Filmmaker Ranjith, who was accused of misconduct by Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra, resigned as chairman of the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy, while veteran actor Siddique quit his post as general secretary of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) after actor Revathy Sampath accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2019. Meanwhile, two women from the film industry who had raised allegations of misconduct and sexual harassment against actors Mukesh and Alencier in the past, came out in the open again, joining several female actors who have gone public about disturbing experiences they have faced in the industry . Announcing his decision to resign, Ranjith, in a voice clip released to the media, termed the allegation by Sreelekha Mitra as part of a vicious plan by a “group of people” against him ever since he assumed the position as chairman of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy in January 2022. The misbehaviour, as alleged by Mitra, happened when she came to Kerala for the audition of Ranjith-directed 2009 film Paleri Mani k y a m : O ru Pa t h i ra k o l a p a t h a k a t h i n t e ● More on P4 Katha. S u d h i r s u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Zero-tolerance for narcotics: Amit Shah S h a i n u M o h a n @ T’Puram The special team will not Crime against women unpardonable sin: Modi EXPRESS READ Raipur: Union Home Minister Amit Shah called for ensuring a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against illegal drugs and stressed the need to dismantle entire narcotics network. “We can win the battle against drugs and its trafficking through a comprehensive strategy,” he said. P8 ‘No FIRs suo motu’ landslides. The week-long visit, which will begin on Monday is , intended to analyse the impact of the disaster to estimate longterm recovery and reconstruction needs. The state has already submitted the Relief Memorandum to the Union government. “The expert team will visit the affected site, engage with the impacted communities and local officials, and assess societal needs to formulate a report guiding the reconstruction of Wayanad. Its a multi-sectoral approach and PDNA will give a better perspective on the way forward to rebuild Wayanad,” KSDMA member secretary Shekar Lukose Kuriakose told TNIE. Kerala was the first state in the country to adopt PDNA during the 2018 floods. Accord- ing to experts, PDNA will give a more realistic picture of the disaster and how people are affected in various sectors. “The Relief Memorandum focuses only on the losses and damage caused by a disaster. The PDNA is a more scientific approach which assesses the impact and outlines a recovery strategy considering social and economic impact,” said an official. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said crimes against women are unpardonable sins and the guilty should not be spared. Modi was speaking at the ‘Lakhpati Didi Sammelan’ in north Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, days after the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Hospital and the sexual assault of two minor girls in Maharashtra’s Badhlapur, t r i g g e re d a n at i o n w i d e uproar. “The message should go from top to bottom. This sin is unpardonable. Governments will come and go, but protecting life and women’s dignity is a big responsibility of all of us, both as a society and as a government,” Modi said. Modi said the guilty should not be spared and those helping them should also be dealt with firmly . “Those helping the perpetrators of crimes against women should not be spared. Be it a hospital, school, government or police station, at whatever level negligence occurs, everyone should be held accountable,” said the prime The message should go from top to bottom. This sin is unpardonable. Governments will come and go, but protecting life and women’s dignity is a big responsibility of all of us, both as a society and as a government Narendra Modi, PM minister. Modi said Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which replaced the Indian Penal Code, will provide greater support to women in achieving justice. “Earlier, there were delays, and we have removed all this in the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita. If a woman does not want to visit a police station, she can file an e-FIR from her residence, and the police will have to act. There is provision for death penalty and life imprisonment for atrocities against women,” Modi said. 5-yr-old Punjab boy youngest Asian to scale Mt Kilimanjaro H a r p r ee t b a j w a @ Chandigarh 8 PAGES Special Supplement At the age of five, most children would not have heard of Mount Kilimanjaro. But for five-yearold Teghbir Singh from Ropar in Punjab, it was a year-old dream that came true when he reached Africa’s tallest peak on August 23. In doing so, he became the youngest person from Asia to scale the mountain located in Tanzania. After a year of preparation, Teghbir started the trek on August 18 and reached the Uhuru peak on August 23, battling fierce snowstorms on the way . He was accompanied by his father Sukhinderdeep Singh, two guides and supporting staff. “I was told to chant Waheguru when I felt tired and I did that. It helped me scale the summit,” Teghbir, a first-standard student of Shiwalik Public School at Ropar, told this newspaper over the phone. With this Teghbir Singh during his trek to Mount Kilimanjaro | special arrangement feat, he equaled the world record of summiting Mt Kilimanjaro at age five by a Serbia boy Ognjen Živkovi on August 6 last year. “Teghbir started preparing almost a year ago. He was trained by Bikramjit Singh Ghuman who helped him with the exercises to increase cardiovascular health and lung capacity to deal with altitude sickness,” Singh said. Commenting on his son’s The damage caused to me cannot be erased quickly. Still, I need to prove my innocence. I need to come clean before the larger public. Ranjith, filmmaker CBI conducts raids over irregularities in RG Kar S u l a g n a Sen g u p tA @ Kolkata peak of valour With this issue Siddique journey to the peak, Singh said, “Every day he trekked around 8-10 kilometers and temperatures dropped with every ascent he made. He walked and stayed in a low-oxygen altitude in a minus-grade temperature for almost a week”. The push to the summit was undertaken during fierce snowstorms. “It was a very challenging moment for the entire crew,” Singh said. Teghbir had treked to the Everest Base Camp in April. THE CBI’s anti-corruption unit on Sunday conducted searches on the premises of ex-principal of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital Sandip Ghosh, former medical superintendent cum vice-principal Sanjay Vashisth, and 13 others in and around Kolkata in connection with the probe into financial irregularities at the state-run institute. Officials said the CBI team reached Ghosh’s residence at 6 am but was made to wait for one-and-half hours before they were let in. The sleuths started questioning Ghosh at 8 am and it continued till late night. The CBI’s anti-corruption unit also searched the residences and offices of those engaged in supplying materials for the management and care of patients. Sources said the CBI team visited the premises of Dr Debasish Som, Sandip Ghosh’s close aide. He is the head of the department of forensic science at RG Kar. CBI sleuths called the head clerk of the forensic medicine department to know the whereabouts of the alleged organ racket. According to CBI sources, the racket sells body parts sourced from various state-run medical colleges; officials said Dr Sandip Ghosh and his allies have been giving cover to the racket. A senior officer said: “We have got lots of information regarding the illegal racket in the state. We are in search of other doctors who are involved in the scam. Several doctors working in private hospitals are also involved in the scam.” Meanwhile, the lie detection test on Sanjay Roy the main ac, cused in the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital, was conducted at Kolkata’s Presidency Jail where he is lodged.
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