eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE The Journey Is Her Home AHMEDABAD,LATECITY Women from small town India are also travelling now — both solo and in groups FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT MARCH23,2025 14+4 PAGES,`6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA RSS flags role of ‘deep state’ in anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BENGALURU, MARCH 22 THE RASHTRIYA Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has raised strong concerns over what it described as the “unabated and systematic persecution” of Hindus in Bangladesh, attributing it to a largergeopoliticalconspiracy involving “Pakistan and the Deep State”. The Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha (ABPS), the highest decision-making bodyof theRSS,passedaresolution during its annual meeting in Bengaluru on Saturday, highlighting what it called the “institutionalized oppression” of Hindu and other minority communities in Bangladesh. The resolution alleged that radical Islamist groups, with implicit support from sections of Bangladesh’s administration, have been orchestrating targeted attacks on temples, religious institutions, and individuals from theHinducommunity.These include the alleged desecration of deities, arson, forced conversions,andinstancesof CONTINUEDONPAGE2 EXPLAIN CASH, HC CJ ASKED JUDGE; NOT MINE, HE SAYS Report on cash at Delhi High Court judge’s residence made public by SC CJI forms probe team, Justice Varma not to be assigned any work for now ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & APURVA VISHWANATH NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 IN THE first official confirmation that cash was found in the residence of Delhi High Court judge Yashwant Varma when a fire broke out on March 14, the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HC to Delhi Police: Give details for last 6 months of judge’s security staff MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 ON THE day Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna formed a threemember panel to investigate allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, the Delhi High Court contacted police authori- ties requesting comprehensive details about security personnel deployedatthejudge’sresidence, The Sunday Express has learned. A letter from Delhi High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyay's office, sources said, was received by the security division of the Delhi Police Saturday morning seeking CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A delegation led by Supreme Court judge Justice B R Gavai at a relief camp in Churachandpur on Saturday. ANI Citing ‘constitutional, moral duty’, judges from SC, Manipur HC visit relief camps SUKRITA BARUAH EXPRESS NETWORK STALIN LEADS CHENNAI MEET: JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE ON DELIMITATION SET UP Opp states pass resolution: Freeze Lok Sabha seats for another 25 years VINOD SHUKLA FIRST FROM CHHATTISGARH Except Andhra, TO WIN JNANPITH CMs, Dy CM of 4 AWARD south states attend; PAGE 2 MP from Pawan Kalyan’s party arrived in city, left before meet Mamata skips CBI files closure report in Sushant Rajput case: ‘Simple case of suicide’ The actor was found hanging at his Bandra home in June 2020 SAGAR RAJPUT & SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, MARCH 22 ALMOST FIVE years after actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging at his Mumbai home, the CBI has filed a closure report on its probe into his death, calling it a “simple case of suicide”. In a miscellaneous criminal application filed Friday before the Bandra magistrate court, the CBI,seekingtoclosethecase,has absolved all named in two FIRs filed in the case, including actor Rhea Chakraborty, her parents, brother; and Rajput’s sister Priyanka and a doctor, named in a counter FIR filed by Rhea, concluding that there was no in- A video released by the SC showed burnt cash at Justice Varma’s house Supreme Court Saturday released an internal inquiry report by the High Court. In the redacted report, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya in a letter dated March 21 asked Justice Varma to “account for the presenceof money/cash”intheroom located in his official bungalow. Justice Varma, in his official response to Chief Justice Upadhyaya has denied the allegations. “I would beseech you to bear in consideration that no currencywasrecoveredfromthe premises that we actually occupyanduseasafamily,”hesaid. volvement of these persons in abetment of the suicide. Rajputwasfoundhangingby his staff at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. “The CBI has filed a closure report stating that it is a simple caseof suicidebeforetheBandra court,” an official of the CBI told The Indian Express. Officials declined to give details on the reason for the closure report. The CBI has filed a list of documents CONTINUEDONPAGE2 GUJARAT HARD LOOK: MULTICRORE IRRIGATION PROJECT DISTRACTS DINO LAND P4 ARUN JANARDHANAN CHENNAI, MARCH 22 DESCRIBING AS “unclear and confusing”thepromiseof Union Home Minister Amit Shah that southern states will not lose a single seat in the Lok Sabha on a pro rata basis after delimitation, aJointActionCommitteeforFair Delimitation (JAC) led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin passed a resolution demanding thatthe“freezeonParliamentary constituencies based on 1971 CensusPopulationshouldbeextended by another 25 years”. The gathering of at least four CMs (Tamil Nadu, Telangana, KeralaandPunjab),DeputyChief MinisterofKarnataka,andsenior political leaders from multiple states including Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, raised a unified voiceagainsttheproposeddelimitation process, arguing it would disproportionately benefit the northern, Hindi-speaking states at the expense of the south and some other regions. “This is not just about numbers;thisisaboutourpower,our CONTINUEDONPAGE2 DELIMITATION SUITS ONLY BJP: PINARAYI FOLLOW VAJPAYEE WAY: REVANTH TO PM PAGE 9 Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Karnataka Dy CM D K Shivakumar and BRS’s K T Rama Rao. PTI Hindi belt Opp parties not on same page, TMC stays away; TDP silent MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, MARCH 22 THE LEADERSHIP of anti-BJP parties, including the Congress, from states in the South, Punjab and Odisha forged a broad coalition Saturday against the proposed delimitation exercise but thesilenceof theINDIAblocparties from the Hindi belt and Maharashtra and the TMC’s decision to skip the conclave convened by DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K StalinsignalthatOppositionparties are not on the same page on the issue. The states in the South, barring NDA constituent TDP-ruled Andhra Pradesh, have already voiced their concern that they may lose out on seats if popula- Opp dilemma in North INDIA bloc partners RJD and SP do not want to be seen opposing a delimitation move that guarantees their states — Bihar and UP — more seats in Parliament. Especially ahead of Assembly polls. tion is retained as the sole criterion in redrawing and redistribution of Lok Sabha seats. Delimitation of Lok Sabha seats is to happen post the Census after 2026. While Opposition parties in states in the South fear loss of seats, and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 JSP’s Tangella Uday Srinivas (left) with DMK’s P Wilson at Chennai airport ARUN JANARDHANAN & SREENIVAS JANYALA CHENNAI, HYDERABAD, MARCH 22 TANGELLA UDAY Srinivas, the Jana Sena Party (JSP) MP from Kakinada, arrived in Chennai on Friday night, ostensibly to attend theJointActionCommitteemeeting on delimitation being hosted by Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin. By Saturday morning, he was gone. The DMK had arranged for a warm welcome for Srinivas, whose party is a key NDA constituent and its chief, Pawan Kalyan, the Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Officially,theJSPsaidSrinivas had gone all the way to convey that the party would not be attending the meeting, but top sources said he had been asked to return because ally BJP had taken note of his presence in Chennai. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CHURACHANDPUR, BISHNUPUR, MARCH 22 WITH THOUSANDS of people in Manipur close to completing two years displaced from their homes, judges from the Supreme Court and Manipur High Court led by Justice B R Gavai visited relief camps in Churachandpur and Bishnupur on Saturday. Even in their visit, the deep fault lines persisting in the state were evident, with Justice N Kotiswar Singh — a judge from the Supreme Court delegation from the Meitei community — and two Meitei Manipur High Court judges, A Bimol Singh and A Guneshwar Sharma, skipping the visit to Kuki-Zo majority Churachandpur. The judges visited a relief camp each in Churachandpur and Meitei-majority Bishnupur as part of a delegation from the NationalLegalServicesAuthority (NALSA) and distributed relief materialssuchasmattressesand health cards. They also virtually inaugurated medical camps and 265 legal clinics in 109 locations across the state. “One of the most vulnerable sectionsof thesocietycomprises internallydisplacedpersonsdue tovariouscircumstancesbeyond their control. Many individuals and families have found themselves uprooted from their houses, struggling to rebuild their lives. It is our moral and constitutional duty to ensure thattheyarenotleftbehind...the legal aid will also play a crucial role in ensuring that displaced individuals receive their rightful entitlements, be it in matters of identity documentation, property rights or compensation claims,” said Justice Gavai, who is the executive chairman of NALSA, in Churachandpur on Saturday. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nagpur violence claims first life: 38-yr-old man succumbs to injuries MDP founder among arrested; rioters must pay for damages: CM Fadnavis ANKITA DESHKAR NAGPUR, MARCH 22 THE MARCH 17 violence that rocked Nagpur claimed its first victim Saturday when 38-yearold Irfan Ansari succumbed to injuries sustained during an attack by a mob. Irfan Ansari passed away Saturday afternoon, five days after being injured. His death was confirmed by Dr Sagar Pandey, DeputyMedicalSuperintendent attheIndiraGandhiGovernment Medical College & Hospital (IGGMCH). MaharashtraCMDevendra FadnaviswithNagpurPolice Commissioner. ANI Violence erupted March 17 over rumours that a holy book had been desecrated during a demonstrationinthecitybyVHP CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Hello unplugged music, goodbye printing press — The Beatles ashram revamp PAGE 1 ANCHOR AISWARYA RAJ DEHRADUN, MARCH 22 A CAFETERIA, a “satvik” kitchen, a tea pavilion, a venue for unplugged music, an exhibition on The Beatles in India, and a souvenir shop — these are some of the proposed upgrades to the Chaurasi Kutiya Swargashram, popularly known as The Beatles Ashram, situated inside the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh, The Indian Express has learnt. The consultancy firm HCP Design, Planning, and ManagementPrivateLimited,whichwas also behind the architecture of the Central Vista and the Kashi Vishwanath corridor project, is learnt to have submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the Uttarakhand government along with a final master plan report. These proposals feature in these documents, which the govern- ment will look into before the tender is floated for execution. While the Tourism Department bears the consultancy cost, the Forest Department will execute the project as the ashram is situated in the tiger reserve. The Indian Express first reported about the plan to revamp the ashram in October last year. The British band members George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney and John Lennon visited the ashram, at the time the home to Mahesh Yogi, in 1968. Chaurasi Kutiya Aiswarya Raj GeorgeHarrison,RingoStarr,PaulMcCartneyandJohnLennon visitedtheashraminsidetheRajajiNationalParkin1968 gets its name from the 84 meditation rooms — 42 on either side of a yoga centre. The complex hasnearly25buildings,of which 12 will be revamped in the upcoming project. With a budget of Rs 84 crore, the conceptual estimate by the consultant has a detailed proposal of retrofitting, repairing, andrebuildingseveralstructures, and the demolition of the iconic PrintingPress.Constructedinthe early 1960s, this press was used to print literature on “transcendental meditation”. The Science of BeingandtheArtof Livingand Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s commentary on the first six chapters of Shrimad Bhagavad Gita were printed in this building. This dilapidated building, now overrun by vegetation and plants, has been recommended to be turned into a souvenir shop. If executed, the concrete steel, roofing, doors, and windows will be demolished to accommodate the new structure. The other proposal at the Ashram, where the band composed White Album, which in- cludes Dear Prudence and Blackbird, is to turn the Ved Bhawan into a venue for unplugged music. Constructed in 1976, this building was used as a lecture hall and is currently a popularlocationinsidethecampus because of the famous graffiti of The Beatles. The structure has corrosion, cracks between themasonrywallandreinforced concrete column, algae growth in walls and columns and spalling of concrete. Currently, visitors cannot enter the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad