SAMBALPUR TUESDAY AUGUST 27, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 12 CITY EDITION AMID DEMAND FOR STATEHOOD, LADAKH GETS 5 NEW DISTRICTS Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday announced the creation of five new districts in Ladakh, raising the total number to seven MOVE EXPECTED TO IMPROVE GOVERNANCE LOCAL ORGANISATIONS WELCOME DECISION The new districts are: Zanskar, Drass, Sham, Nubra, and Changthang. At present, Ladakh has two districts—Leh and Kargil. Due to its size—it is the largest UT in terms of area—and difficult terrain, the UT faces administrative challenges. The move to have more districts could address this. Locals have welcomed the decision with the hope that it will improve governance ■ Congress’ Ladakh chief Nawang Rigzin Jora said: “Creating five more districts further strengthens our demand for statehood because the UT of Pondicherry with only four districts has a legislative assembly.” ■ Ladakh Buddhist Association president Chering Dorje Lakrook said: “This will benefit people in far-flung areas by getting all facilities at their doorstep.” 86,904 sq km TOTAL AREA OF LADAKH, WHICH HAS A POPULATION OF 2.74 LAKH (2011 CENSUS) 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 Rally to Secretariat illegal: Kolkata Police Swarm of people in RG Kar’s seminar hall seen in purported new vid S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata A purported video showing several outsiders, including the police, private security guards, lawyer Shantanu Dey, forensic expert Debasish Shome and hospital staff, at the seminar hall of the RG Kar Medical College on August 9 — the day a trainee doctor’s body was found there — but not the victim’s family members, has emerged, raising serious questions over crowding the crime scene and tampering of evidence. Meanwhile, a ‘Nabanna (Secretariat) Abhijan’ rally planned , by students under the ‘Sangrami Mancha and Chhatra Samaj’, seeking Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation, was illegal, the West Bengal police, adding that no permission was sought for holding such a protest on Tuesday and that there were inputs over possible unrest during the march. The 43-second video raised questions on who called the lawyer and why the hospital authorities failed to file a case of unnatural death. This newspaper could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip. The Kolkata Police, however, claimed that the seminar hall was cordoned off. “The seminar room measures 51’ X 32’. The place where the victim’s EXPRESS READ TN smugglers’ Malaysian connect under scanner Chennai: Indian investigators have linked Tamil Nadu’s star tortoise smugglers to Southeast Asia’s largest turtle smuggling syndicate ‘Ninja Turtle Gang’ which faced a crackdown from Malaysian wildlife authorities last month | P5 Modi, Biden discuss Ukraine, situation in Bangladesh New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to US President Joe Biden and briefed him about his visit to Ukraine. The two leaders also discussed the ongoing situation in Bangladesh, Modi said on X BJP distances itself from Kangana gyan H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh A day after versatile actor and newbie BJP Lok Sabha member Kangana Ranaut’s foot-inthe-mouth statement on the 2020 farmers agitation, the national party leadership disowned her statement, adding she is neither permitted nor authorised to comment on the party’s policy matters. Kangana had posted a clip of an interview in which she suggested that a “Bangladesh-like situation” could have erupted in India following the agitation against the three controversial farm laws, had the country’s leadership not been strong. She went on to allege that “bodies were hanging and rapes were taking place” during the farmers’ protest and pointed fingers File photo of BJP MP Kangana Ranaut during the Parliament session | PTI at a larger conspiracy at the behest of America and China behind the agitation. Sensing the damage it could cause to the party, its central leadership put out a rather harsh statement, saying: “On behalf of the party Ms Ranaut , is neither permitted nor authorised to comment on policy matters. The Bharatiya Janata Party has directed Kangana Ranaut to not make any statement of this kind in future.” The party apparently is worried over its possible fallout in the Haryana assembly elections slated for October 1, as farmers and Jats are already unhappy with the BJP in the state, though the party is pulling out all the stops to woo them. This is not the first time Kan- The BJP does not agree with Kangana’s statement on the farmers’ agitation... The BJP is committed to following the principles of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’ and social harmony - Statement by BJP’s central media gana made adverse remarks against the farmers’ protests. She dissed the agitation in the past as well, which provoked a CISF lady constable to slap her at the Chandigarh airport a few months ago. All India Kisan Sabha president Ashok Dhawale described Kangana’s remarks as highly condemnable. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, who is a Lok Sabha member, lashed out at her, saying she is “mentally ill”. The Punjab unit of AAP described the BJP reprimanding Kangana as a strategic move ahead of the elections. Senior spokesperson Neel Garg said the BJP has historically rewarded loose cannons like Kangana and and Ajay Mishra Teni. Junior doctors protest against the rape-murder of a trainee doctor, in Kolkata | PTI NEW PRINCIPAL OF RG KAR CALLED TO CBI OFFICE The CBI has named Sandip Ghosh, former principal, in the FIR in connection with its probe into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. On Monday, new principal Manas Kumar Bandhyopadhyay and new deputy superintendent Saptarshi Chakraborty were called by the CBI at their office in Salt Lake body was found inside the seminar room was cordoned off using curtains. There is no question of anyone entering that area. People, who can be seen gathering in the video, were all outside the cordoned off area,” said a senior officer. However, the state BJP president Sukanta Majumdar said, “The video shows that the crime scene had almost become a fair ground.” Kolkata Mayor and TMC minister Firhad Hakim, in his rebuttal said, “Some over-enthusiastic people may have gathered there. Later, police sealed the crime scene.” As for the proposed rally on Tuesday, ADG (Law & Order) Manoj Kumar Verma said, “Nabanna is a restricted area. So far no one has sought our permission to hold protest near Nabanna.” J&K CONTEST POLL NC TO 51 SEATS, CONG 32 After hectic negotiation, the NC and the Congress on Monday agreed to contest 51 and 32 seats, respectively, for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir. PDP is not part of the alliance as of now. The Mehbooba Muftiled party said it will join in if its agenda gets support | P8 Govt to make judicial probe report on Laxmanananda Saraswati public EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar THE state government is planning to make public the judicial inquiry report on the murder of VHP leader and seer of Jalespata Ashram in Kandhamal district, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said on Monday . Saraswati and four of his associates were gunned down at Jalespata Ashram during Janmashtami celebrations on August 23, 2008, leading to widespread communal violence that resulted in 39 deaths and rendered thousands homeless. Speaking to mediapersons on the occasion of the 16th death anniversary of Saraswati, Harichandan said Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has already discussed the issue and a decision will be taken soon. The then BJD-BJP coalition government under Naveen Pat- Saraswati and four of his associates were gunned down at Jalespata Ashram on August 23, 2008, leading to widespread communal violence that resulted in 39 deaths Official records naik had set up a judicial commission of inquiry in September, 2008. Retired high court judge Justice Sarat Chandra Mohapatra was assigned the job to probe the assassination of the VHP leader and the subsequent communal clashes in the district. However, Justice Mohapatra passed away in June 2012 before submitting the report and another retired judge of the Orissa High Court Justice AS Naidu took up the case in October that year. The Justice Naidu Commission of Inquiry submitted its report to the state government in December, 2015. The BJD government, though, did not table the report in the Assembly despite repeated demands from Opposition BJP for the same. Before the submission of the judicial probe report to the state government, the special additional sessions court, Phulbani had convicted eight persons including a Maoist leader in the murder and awarded them life sentence. Those awarded the life term were Duryodhan Suna Majhi, Munda Bada Majhi, Sanatan Bada Majhi, Garnatha Chalanseth, Bijay Kumar Samseth, Bhaskar Suna Majhi and Budhadev Nayak and Pulari Rama Rao alias Uday, a Maoist leader. Not satisfied with the Crime Branch inquiry into the murder of the 89-year-old seer, the VHP and other organisations affiliated to RSS have been demanding a CBI probe. A protest march on the issue was organised in the city on August 23 t h i s ye a r by s o m e R S S CONTINUED ON P5 affiliates. Maha embarrassment as Chhatrapati Shivaji statue inaugurated by PM Modi collapses in nine months S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Remnants of the Shivaji statue at Rajkot Fort. Inset: before the collapse A giant statue of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023 in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, came crashing down on Monday. The 35-foot statue broke into several pieces around 1 pm at Rajkot Fort in Malvan, officials said. Following the incident, the opposition parties slammed the BJP-Shiv Senaled state government, accusing it of using low-quality material for the statue. Taking potshots at PM Modi, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar said no work done un- der him is of good quality. “The BJP government and its leaders are high on publicity stunts and low on good quality delivery,” he said. NCP(SP) leader Jayant Patil said: “The Maharashtra government accepts commissions and gives contracts accordingly .” Meanwhile, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde blamed it on the gusty winds and vowed to rebuild the statue. “The wind was blowing at a speed of 45km per hour, which caused the statue to fall... It was designed and built by the Navy We will . rebuild it even stronger... Navy officials will also take part in the rebuilding,” he said. BIG CONSIGNMENT ‘50 KG GOLD, 200 KG SILVER’ HELD BY TAXMEN NEAR BPIA EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar A large consignment of gold and silver, possibly over half a quintal, was detained by the state commercial taxes and GST officials near Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Monday . Although an official said the packages comprised about 50 kg gold and 200 kg silver ornaments, it was being verified. Sources said the consignment was reportedly transported from Mumbai to be delivered to various jewellery stores in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. “As per documents, the stock consists of 50 kg to 60 kg gold and more than 200 kg silver ornaments. Initial investigation suggests it arrived from Mumbai airport. Documents like GST invoices and bills are being exam- Gold and silver ornaments | EXPRESS ined,” said an official. The gold and silver ornaments were being transported in two vans of a logistics company headquartered in Mumbai which provides logistic services of jewellery items in various parts of the country Four persons travel. ling in the vans were detained by GST officials and being questioned. CT and GST commissioner Yamini Sarangi told TNIE that the exact weight of the packages is being ascertained and verification of documents is underway De. tails will emerge after investigation, she added. A senior GST official said the stock and the documents were being examined to ascertain lapses or gaps in transportation to evade taxes. If any discrepancy is found, a penalty will be imposed on violators, he said. A noted jewellery store owner said most consignments generally arrive by air and carry details of those supposed to receive the packages sent by traders. The two companies are engaged in delivering gold and silver ornaments at various jewellery stores in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, said Viren Sanot, owner of Mehta Jewellers in Cuttack. TEN SOLDIERS AMONG 49 KILLED IN PAK ATTACKS KRISHNA IN KASHMIR Separatist militants killed at least 39 people in “coordinated” attacks in southwestern Pakistan on Monday that largely targeted ethnic Punjabis, government officials said. Ten soldiers were also killed in the attack | P9 Devotees celebrating Janmashtami, at Lal Chowk in Srinagar on Monday | PTI Lending interface ease of credit B E N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai IN a bid to help smaller borrowers, especially those in rural areas, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plans to launch a Unified Lending Interface (ULI). The RBI is currently piloting an application for ‘frictionless credit’ and it will be launched nationwide soon; it will become the UPI on the credit side, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said. The new technology is aimed at reducing the time taken for appraisal, especially for smaller borrowers and those in rural areas, he added. “The Reserve Bank had last year started a tech platform for enabling frictionless credit. The central bank proposes to call it a Unified Lending Interface. The initiative is still in pilot stage and will be launched This platform facilitates seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including even land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders RBI governor Shaktikanta Das in due course,” Das said while delivering the keynote address at the Global Conference on Digital Public Infrastructure and Emerging Technologies, a part of RBI@90 initiative, in Bengaluru Monday He empha. sised that the ‘new trinity’ of JAM-UPI-ULI will be a revolutionary step forward in India’s digital infrastructure journey . The ULI platform facilitates seamless and consent-based flow of digital information, including land records of various states, from multiple data service providers to lenders. This is expected to cut down the time taken for credit appraisal, especially for smaller and rural borrowers. The RBI governor said the banking regulator is constantly working on devising new policies, systems and platforms to make financial sector stronger, nimble, customer-centric. Das also noted that UPI has the potential to evolve into a cheaper and quicker alternative to the available channels of cross-border remittances.
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