TIRUCHY l Thursday l january 28, 2021 l `7.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION VISA Biden nixes Trump bid to kill spouse work permits Joe Biden administration has withdrawn Trump’s proposal to refuse work authorisation to spouses of H1-B holders Obama era decision restored Indians among biggest beneficiaries Until 2015, H4 visa holders (spouses of H1-B workers) could not legally hold paid employment in the US. Former US President Barack Obama changed the regulation. However, the Trump administration proposed to reverse Obama’s decision, saying it is economically significant and is in line with the Buy American and Hire American executive order ■ ■ The decision to rescind Trump proposal came on the day Biden signed an executive order calling for racial equity in the country Indian and Chinese workers account for the majority share of H1B visas and H4 visas. Indians filed 74% of all H1B petitions in 2019 while the number was 11.8% for the Chinese 1,25,000 No. of H4 visas issued by the u.s. in 2019 calendar year CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Police go after farmer leaders Claim they instigated mobs, which triggered the violence; add their names to the FIRs; unions call off Parliament march slated for Feb 1 Figuring it out E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e police personnel injured @ New Delhi Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated the memorial constructed for former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa at the Marina in Chennai on Wednesday; (inset) Palaniswami pays respects to the late leader | p jawahar chennai gets another landmark in jaya’s memory E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai IN a massive show of strength, thousands of AIADMK cadre from all over Tamil Nadu flocked to the capital city on Wednesday for the inauguration of memorial constructed along the Marina Beach for former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami dedicated the phoenix-shaped memorial — built at a cost of `80 crore adjacent to the memorial of AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran — to the public after paying floral tributes to the late leader. He then vowed to form “Amma government” once again, by winning majority of seats in the upcoming Assembly elections. Deputy CM O Panneerselvam, Speaker P Dhanapal, ministers, AIADMK functionaries and thousands of cadre were present on the occasion. Palaniswami recalled Jayalalithaa’s contributions to both film industry and politics, while presenting Veda Nilayam not for public yet: HC to TN The Madras HC informed the State that Veda Nilayam, Jaya’s residence that is to be turned into a museum, could be inaugurated on Jan 28, but will not be open to public yet, as properties are not valued | P4 SC stays skewed HC judgment on groping E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed a Bombay High Court order acquitting a man accused of child abuse on the ground that groping a child’s breasts without skin-to-skin contact didn’t amount to sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India S A Bobde issued the order after Attorney General K K Venugopal said the judgment would set a dangerous precedent. “It is a very disturbing conclusion,” Venugopal said. The court allowed him to file a Special Leave Petition against the January 19 verdict of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court and also issued notice to the Maharashtra government and the accused. Several organisations have already moved the top court stating that the verdict contained observations about the victim modesty which were both deroga, tory and defamatory The verdict by Justice Pushpa . Ganediwala said that there must be skin-to-skin contact with sexual intent for an act to be considered a sexual assault. out & about Will see you all soon, Sasikala tells loyalists B a l a Ch a u h a n & T M u r u g a n a ndh a m @ Bengaluru/Chennai “I will see you all soon,” was the message from VK Sasikala to the people of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday , delivered hours after being released from judicial custody following a four-year sentence in prison after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case. The one-time confidante of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who now stands expelled from the AIADMK, conveyed the message through her counsel Raja Senthoor Pandian. According to sources, a prison officer and Pandian went inside the Trauma Care Centre at Victoria Hospital on Wednesday, where she is being treated for Covid, to get her signature on the formal release order. “All Covid formalities were followed while completing the formalities,” added sources. Speaking later to Express, Pandian confirmed the release. P4 a detailed account of how she moved up the political ladder through sheer hard work. He also recalled the landmark schemes and projects implemented by her for people’s welfare in all spheres whenever she assumed office as the CM of the State. Palaniswami said Jayalalithaa had carved a niche for herself in the minds of women in Tamil Nadu and they hold Amma (Jayalalithaa) as their role model. “Tamil Nadu excelled in all sectors — school education, infrastructure, health, transport, agriculture, water management, youth welfare, backward classes welfare, etc., during her regime,” the CM said. continued ON: P2 A day after Delhi convulsed as mobs resorted to violence amid the farmers’ tractor rally, the police on Wednesday launched a crackdown, adding names of several farmer union leaders to the 25 first information reports (FIRs) filed in connection with the riots. Delhi Police Commissioner S N Srivasatava squarely blamed leaders like Satnam Singh Pannu, Darshan Pal Singh and others for giving provocative speeches at Mukarba Chowk to instigate the mob. Others like Bhuta Singh and Bhurj Gill at the Tikri border and Rakesh Singh Tikait at Ghazipur instigated the people, which led to the violence, he charged. “No one will be spared and strict action will be taken against everyone involved, who incited the violence,” he said. As of now, the police have arrested 19 accused and detained 50 persons who were allegedly involved in the vandalism and clashed with the security personnel. The police are scanning CCTV footage and using the facial recognition tool to identify more culprits. As many as 394 police personnel were injured and many of them are in serious condition in the ICU. The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the umbrella body of agitating farmer unions, on Wednesday announced its decision to postpone the proposed march to Pools for all, more can watch movies 50% seating cap on cinema halls and theatres lifted, says the latest Union home ministry advisory. New standard operating procedure (SOP) to be issued by I&B ministry to lay down norms Swimming pools permitted for use of sports persons now open for all B2B exhibition halls already permitted, now all types of exhibition halls can function Further opening up of international air travel of passengers based on assessment of the situation Persons above 65 years of age, persons with co-morbidities, pregnant women and children below the age of 10 advised to take precautions while moving out 394 19 people arrested, 50 detained 25 FIRs filed so far leaders named 37 farmerin FIRs l Charges slapped include rioting, criminal conspiracy, robbery, attempt to murder and others under relevant IPC sections Vandalised ticket counters on the premises of the historic Red Fort bear testimony to Tuesday’s mob fury during the kisan tractor parade | Parveen Negi Parliament on February 1, the budget day and observe fast on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on January 30 as atonement. Bharatiya Kisan Union Punjab (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal said, “the morcha regrets the Red Fort incident and accept moral responsibility for it.’’ Rajewal and Swaraj Abhiyan president Yogendra Yadav alleged that Punjabi actor-singer Deep Sidhu and the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee were behind the mob violence and added that they would expose the ‘conspiracy’ of the government. In a related development, the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (RKMS) announced its withdrawal of support to the farmers’ agitation. “We cannot continue to join forces with people who have a different direction,” said VM Singh, its national president, in Ghazipur. l Leaders named in FIRs include Rakesh Tikait, Yogendra Yadav, Darshan Pal and Gurnam Singh Chaduni No FIR against Deep Sidhu, BJP silent on his party link H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh In his quest for his 15 seconds of fame, he was seen on social media instigating mobs to hoist a religious flag at the Red Fort on Tuesday. However, Punjabi actor Deep Sidhu stands today as the most reviled person, disowned by the farmer leaders, his own state and politicians across the spectrum. Some opposition parties accused the government of planting him to discredit the farmers’ agitation, while the BJP has sought to stay silent on the allegations. Curiously his name did not figure any of the FIRs filed so far , though many farmer leaders have been named in over 25 FIRs. Confirming that Sidhu has not been booked, DCP North Delhi, , Anto Alphonse said, “We are investigating the matter and the process is going on. We will share the details once done.” The Samyukta Kisan Morcha alleged ‘anti-social elements’ like Sidhu attempted to torpedo their peaceful agitation as part of a conspiracy hatched by the government. Pointing to his past links with the BJP farmer leaders alleged he misguided , some protesters. “Sidhu is an RSS man. Police let him go after he hoisted flag,” said farmer leader Darshan Pal. 2 killed in jewellery heist, suspect shot dead ANTONY FERNANDO @ Mayiladuthurai SIRKAZHI town woke up to a chilling crime scene on Wednesday morning. A group of armed robbers had brutally assaulted and killed two members of a jeweller’s family, and robbed them of 12 kilos of gold and about `6 lakh cash. An alleged suspect was gunned down in an encounter while three others were arrested later in the day . The robbers, identified as Mahipal (25), Manish (23), Ramesh (20) and Karnaram, had barged into the house of Dhanraj Choudary (52), who runs a jewellery store in Dharmakulam, at around 6.30 am, said sources. Choudary, who hails from Rajasthan, had settled in Sirkazhi about 20 years ago, and had been staying here with his wife Asha (45), son Akhil (28), and daughter-in-law Nehal. Akhil and Nehal have been married for over a year. According to sources, the robbers demanded the family to hand them the jewels they had in the house. Upon resistance, they slit the throats of Asha and Akhil, who later succumbed to their injuries. P5