kalaburagi l wednesday l march 26, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION U.S. embarrassed as secret plan to attack Yemen leaked to media A journalist was accidentally included in a group chat where top US officials were discussing upcoming strikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels ‘Highly damaging’ situation barely avoided Why was signal, a commercial app, used? The plan was leaked to The Atlantic magazine’s editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, who was inadvertently added to a Signal app chat with top officials like VP J D Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. The leak could have been highly damaging if the enemy somehow accessed to the plan ■ ■ Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X on Tuesday that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed” and “no classified material was sent” But top Democrats condemned the breach, saying it was illegal and calling for an investigation to find out why officials were using a commercially available app for sensitive discussions | P11 2 days before the actual airstrike was when Goldberg was added 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 Now, AI-based attendance for govt staff Frosty ties Intent, ability in India to interfere with polls: Canada J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi India has the ‘intent and capability’ to interfere in Canadian communities and democratic processes, a media report said quoting Vanessa Lloyd, the deputy director of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Lloyd claimed that China, Russia and Pakistan too could interfere in the federal election campaign. She was addressing a media briefing on Monday on efforts to protect the integrity of the general election, voting for which takes place on April 28. Lloyd added that “hostile state actors” were increasingly leveraging AI to meddle in the polls announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday . Under a federal protocol int ro d u c e d i n 2019, the news channel CTV News said, a panel of bureaucrats had the power to warn the public if it decided one or more incidents threaten Canada’s ability to hold a free and fair vote. Most threat actors ‘likely have adapted their tradecraft to conceal foreign interference activity, making it even more challenging to detect’, Lloyd mentioned, adding that it was ‘highly likely’ China would use social media to promote narratives favourable to its interests and target Chinese ethnic, cultural and religious communities in Canada using “clandestine and deceptive” means. The ministry of external affairs has so far not responded to these charges. But in January the nation rejected “insinu, ations” levelled by a Canadian commission report of interference in the 2022 election of Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader. A s h w i n i M S r i pa d @ Bengaluru Himachal Pradesh HC Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia, a member of the panel set up by the SC, arrives at Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence, in New Delhi on Tuesday | pti Marking attendance by signing the ledger or placing the finger on the biometric device could soon be passe. The state government is all set to introduce the Karnataka Advanced Attendance Management System (KAAMS) at all its departments which is enabled by artificial intelligence and geographic information system. Employees will have to mark their attendance by clicking a selfie from their mobile phone on their office premises and their attendance is captured real time. This AI-enabled SC panel begins ‘currency stash’ probe, visits site Waste collection Committee inspects Justice Varma’s house where burnt cash was allegedly discovered allegations of corruption following the discovery of cash at his home following a fire incithe Supreme Court-appointed dent on the night of March 14. committee on Tuesday began Justice Varma, who has since its probe into the discovery of been de-rostered by the Delhi cash from the residence of Del- High Court, has denied the alhi High Court judge Yashwant legations against him terming Varma, even as the Allahabad the whole affair a conspiracy . High Court Bar Association The SC Collegium on Monstarted an indefinite strike in day confirmed that it had recprotest against the proposed ommended Justice Varma’s transfer of the tainted judge to transfer to the Allahabad HC, the Allahabad HC. triggering fiery proT he probe panel tests from the bar assomembers—Justice ciation, which urged Sheel Nagu, Chief Jus- There have been the Central gover ntice of the High Court ment not to clear the attempts to of Punjab and Harya- cover up... Until a Collegium’s decision. na; Justice G S SandhaBar association chief resolution is walia, Chief Justice of Anil Tiwari said the reached, we won’t resume the High Cour t of protest is not against Himachal Pradesh; and work, no matter any court but against consequences Anu Sivaraman, Judge those who betrayed the of the High Court of judicial system. Allahabad HC Karnataka—reached Meanwhile, Rajya Bar Association Justice Varma’s official Sabha Chairman Jagresidence at 30, Tughlak Cres- deep Dhankhar on Tuesday cent, in Delhi at 1 pm. They held a meeting of floor leaders spent around 45 minutes there to discuss judicial accountabiland examined the room where ity in the wake of the developthe stash of cash was allegedly ments. The meeting came a day found, sources said. after Dhankhar interacted with It was not immediately Leader of the House J P Nadda known whether Justice Varma and Leader of Opposition Malwas at his residence when the likarjun Kharge, and referred inquiry panel visited. to the mechanism for judicial The panel’s findings will be appointments after the passage crucial in deciding the fate of of the NJAC Act in 2014, which Justice Varma, who is facing the SC later struck down. Su c h i t r a Ka lya n M o h a n t y & Nam i ta Baj pa i @ New Delhi / Lucknow Free Speech Fury Kamra Defies Summons, refuses to apologise Su d h i r Su r yaw a n s h i @ Mumbai The Mumbai Police on Monday summoned stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for questioning the next day over a case registered against him for lampooning Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during a recent performance in Mumbai. However, Kamra refused to appear immediately, citing death threats and concerns for his safety He reportedly request. ed a week’s time to comply Kamra also took . to social media and said he had no reason to apologise since he had only repeated what deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar had already said. The police, investigating whether Kamra was compensated to mock Shinde, have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and are examining his phone and call records. The controversy erupted after Kamra’s performance, in which he parodied the song Bholi Si Surat to call Shinde a gaddar (traitor), referencing his 2022 rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray. Following the video’s release, Shiv Sena workers vandalised a comedy club and demanded its closure. Eleven workers were arrested and later granted bail. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) also demolished part of the club. Kamra defended the comedy club, saying a venue is not responsible for a comedian’s words. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut defended Kunal Kamra saying he had not said anything new. “...Kamra has spoken and repeated the truth and fact only,” Raut said. may be hit in B’luru as truck drivers plan stir E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c @ Bengaluru Waste collection is likely to be hit across Bengaluru from Wednesday as thousands of cleaners and drivers with the Bangalore Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML), a waste management wing of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), have threatened to go on an indefinite strike, seeking regularisation of their services. Thyagaraj, president of the Karmika Samrakshane organisation fighting for their cause, said DCM and Bengaluru incharge minister DK Shivakumar had promised to look into their issue four months ago. But there has been no progress and that is why they are going on strike, he added. Around 10,000 cleaners and drivers are working on contract basis, he said. “We have been neglected by the government and BBMP We . keep the city clean and risk our lives, but there is no hope of the government making them either permanent staff of the BBMP’s solid waste management division or give them direct payment,” said Thyagaraj. These workers are now paid by BBMP garbage contractors. attendance system is said to be first of its kind for any government office in the country . The state government has over 70 departments where over five lakh employees work. Most departments now have the biometric attendance system, where employees swipe their card or keep their finger on the biometric device to mark attendance. A few departments, where teachers are working (both in government schools and colleges), still manage with the traditional method of signing the ledger. Sources said it is possible to manipulate the biometric attendance system. Staff may damage the equipment or resort to some other tactic to hide their irregular attendance. But the latest KAAMS, developed by the Centre for e-Governance at the Department for Personnel and Administrative Reforms (DPAR), is geofence-enabled, making it almost impossible to tamper with. Pankaj Kumar Pandey, Principal Secretary DPAR (e-govern, ance), said this system enables real time attendance and gives no scope for manipulation. Cauvery water goes waste Police did not as KRS crest gate opens file FIR soon after widow was stripped E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c @ Mysuru More than 1,000 cusecs of Cauvery water wastefully flowed into the river for more than a day after a sluice gate s u d d e n ly o p e n e d at t h e Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir on Monday night. Farmers alleged that officials failed to attend to the crisis immediately and did not close the gate to save precious water. Many wanted to know whether the fifth crest gate opened on its own due to a technical fault or because of the callousness of employees assigned to monitor the gauge and operations of sluice gates. They asked as to why the officials did not act in time to control the damage. A few officers suspect that the gate might have opened because of the motor switch reversing or the irrigation department staff pressing the gate switch. Sources said officials struggled for hours to close the crest gate on Monday night as the reservoir level is around 106 ft as against the maximum of 124.8 ft. Superintendent Engineer Raghuram said the gate opened because of a technical snag, and a report has been sought to know how and who opened the gate. He said that around 750- E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c @ Belagavi File pic 1,000 cusecs of water flowed into the river. This was in addition to the irrigation department discharging 1,750 cusecs of water every day into the river. The farmers need not worry as the gate has been closed, he said. Farmers alleged that irrigation department officials discharged water to Tamil Nadu for the last three days and failed to give a proper reason, citing technical issues. The farmers charged that the gate was closed only after they got into a wordy duel with irrigation staff. They alleged that the gover nment and of ficials stealthily released water overnight as they were not meeting Tamil Nadu’s requirement. express read Honeytrap row: Rajanna submits plea to Dr G Bengaluru: Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna submitted a petition to Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara alleging a honeytrap attempt on him and sought an investigation. Rajanna had alleged recently in the Assembly that 48 MLAs have been honeytrapped | P4 India, China hold diplomatic talks I do not fear the mob. I wouldn’t go under my bed waiting for the controversy to die down Kunal Kamra Kamra trolls BMC Addressing trolls, Kunal Kamra left a voicemail featuring his song, Hum Honge Kangaal (we shall be bankrupt) and mocked BMC by saying that his next show be held at place which needs to be razed New Delhi: India and China on Tuesday held diplomatic dialogue in Beijing, focusing on effective border management and early resumption of cross-border cooperation and exchanges including on trans-border rivers and Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra. on an ‘iyer’ note Punjab Kings’ batters Shreyas Iyer and Shashank Singh walk off the field after their innings during the IPL 2025 match against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Punjab scored 243, aided by Shreyas’ 97. They won the match by 11 runs | pti Will meet revenue targets despite tax relief: FM E x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ New Delhi THE government could ‘realistically’ achieve personal income tax collection targets despite offering huge tax relief, Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman said on Tuesday while responding to the debate on Budget in the Lok Sabha. The House passed the Finance Bill 2025— the piece of legislation that gives legal backing to the tax proposals and other fiscal meas- ures announced in the Budget—with 35 amendments. “The Finance Bill provides unprecedented tax relief to honour taxpayers. We have recognised their contribution,” Sitharaman said. In the FY26 Budget, the government increased the The pilot was run at some places in the health department. Shreevyas HM, Project Director, Artificial Intelligence Cell, CEG, told The New Indian Express that in some government hospitals and primary health centres, doctors were not available at designated places. But with the new system, they had to mark their attendance in person and they could not fabricate it. Explaining how it works, Shreevyas said employees have to download KAAMS, a mobile application, and have to register o n e t i m e t h ro u g h t h e i r Aadhaar.  P5 threshold for income tax rebate to `12 lakh per from `7 lakh earlier. For salaried taxpayers, this threshold jumped to `12.75 lakh per year after taking into account `75,000 standard deduction. The government also tweaked the tax slabs to benefit a large section of taxpayers. New income tax bill in monsoon session Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the new Income Tax Bill, which has been referred to a standing committee of Parliament, would most likely be taken up for discussion in the monsoon session of Parliament The changes would lead to loss of tax revenue of `1 lakh crore. However, the government has increased the personal income tax collection target for FY26 by 14.14%. “The projected tax collections for FY26 are based on solid data,” Sitharaman said. With the passage of the Finance Bill 2025, the Lok Sabha completed its part of the Budgetary approval process. The Budget process for FY26 will be complete after the Rajya Sabha also approves it. It has come to light that the Belagavi district police did not register a case in connection with an incident that took place at Harlapur, near Saundatti, where a widow was allegedly stripped and assaulted by a group of people during a fight between them over a land dispute a month ago (February 20). When a section of the media reported on how the woman was stripped and assaulted by the group, the CM’s Office took serious cognisance of the incident and directed the Belagavi police to file an FIR. The widow, talking to TNIE, alleged that the group of people which was brought by her relatives tore her clothes and assaulted her. She said some of her family members who came to her rescue were also assaulted. She charged that she went to the local police station in Saundatti taluk soon after the incident, but the police failed to register a case. But Belagavi SP Bhimashankar Guled said the woman was not stripped when she got into an argument with the group, which objected to her claims over owning a piece of agricultural land at Harlapur. Guled said police officials from Saundatti taluk registered an FIR and a team of police officials rushed to the spot after the incident at Harlapur. Sources said the woman was stripped and assaulted after she stopped the group from entering the land where she was farming. The group that involves her relatives had staked claim to the same piece of land and that led to the clash. Sources said the woman also tried to set herself ablaze during the clash. A release from the CM’s office on Tuesday stated that a widow was stripped and assaulted by a group of people over a land dispute at Harlapur. “A section of the media had reported about the failure of the police to file an FIR even after the widow had gone to the police station in torn clothes. An officer from the CM’s office took a serious cognisance of this incident and directed police officials in Belagavi district to file an FIR. Eventually, the police filed an FIR against the accused,’’ it stated. SAMSUNG SLAPPED WITH $601 MN TAX CLAIM The government has ordered Samsung and its executives to pay $601 mn in back taxes and penalities for evading tariffs on imported telecom equipment | P12