kozhikode l saturday l june 18, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION China blocks Bid to add pak man to global terror list Beijing blocks proposal to list Lashkar-e-Toiba leader Abdul Rehman Makki as a global terrorist at the United Nations Technical hold in U.N. on India-u.s. proposal India slams chinese double standards China placed a “technical hold” on the joint proposal from India and US against Makki, who is a brother-in-law of 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed. A technical hold can last six months during which another proposal can’t be moved against him. Beijing claimed it was acting in accordance with the relevant “procedures and rules”, but did not specify what they were ■ ■ Indian officials called out China’s double standards, saying its action runs counter to its claim of fighting terrorism This is not the first time China has blocked action against Pakistani terrorists. In 2019, Beijing vetoed a proposal by India to list JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist at the UN 2010 When makki was listed as specially designated global terrorist by u.s. 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 Youth killed, trains set on fire HC stays trial in Madhu lynching case in Secunderabad as stir spreads E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce @ Kochi Widespread damage to public property as protests singe North E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce Fire and smoke billowing out of a Sabari Express bogie after a mob attack against the Agnipath job scheme, at Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday | VINAY MADAPU P i n t o Dee pa k @ Hyderabad The Secunderabad railway station resembled a battlefield on Friday after a mob, protesting against the Union gover nment’s Agnipath scheme, went berserk, torching seven trains and vandalising kiosks and cargo, forcing security personnel to open fire that killed one protester and left at least 12 others injured. While 25-year-old Damera Rakesh from Warangal district succumbed to bullet injuries, a number of personnel from the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Telangana Special Police Battalions and the Hyderabad Police were injured. Fortunately all passenger were safe. , By the time additional forces from the RPF and all wings of the Telangana police were rushed in, major damage had already been done. All platforms of Secunderabad railway station were ransacked, with kiosks, furniture, a majority of the CCTV cameras and other equipment damaged. Earlier in the morning, the mob marched to the end of the platform towards Kazipet while damaging trains stationed Now, CBI goes after Rajasthan CM’s brother E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce @ New Delhi The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday conducted raids at various locations linked to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot in connection with a fertiliser scam. Responding sharply to the raids, the CM accused the BJP-led Central government of practising vendetta politics. He sought to attribute it to his participation in protests in Delhi against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the National Herald case. The CBI raids were carried out across 15 locations in Rajasthan, Gujarat, and West Bengal linked to Agrasen and 14 others. The agency said it is probing the diversion of potassium chloride meant for farmers. It alleged Agrasen and others colluded with officials of the Central Board of Excise and Customs and the Indian Potash Limited to repackage the imported potassium chloride as feldspar and export them, causing a loss of `52.8 crore to the exchequer. The agency during a preliminary enquiry, found during that Muriate of Potash (MOP), which is supplied by Indian Potash Limited (IPL) to farmers through its authorised dealers at governmentsubsidised rates, was illegally exported as feldspar (aluminium silicate) and industrial salt. there. They went berserk, pelting stones from the tracks on the trains. After repeated attempts to calm the protesters down, the police opened fire to stop them from charging again towards the platform. This led to further stone pelting on the trains and security personnel. After much effort to pacify them, the protesters squatted on the tracks, raising slogans demanding cancellation of the Agnipath scheme. After consultations with the Army, the police invited 10 members from the crowd for talks with Army authorities, but the protesters refused to yield. After repeated attempts to convince them to come for talks failed, police and paramilitary teams as also the Rapid Action Force and RPF, surrounded the railway station from all sides and rounded up the protesters. They were whisked away and shifted to various police stations across the city . As for passengers already seated in trains, they panicked and ran for safety leaving their , luggage behind. Some claimed that they were dragged out of the trains before the coaches were set on fire. The firestorm of protests against the Agnipath defence recruitment scheme continued for the third consecutive day on Friday, taking several north Indian states in its sweep and spreading further afield to West Bengal, forcing the cancellation of over 200 trains and impacting the operations of 316 other trains. The situation in Bihar, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Long wait ends Madhya Pradesh turned grim as protesters ran amok, damin anguish aging public property and Kochi: The torching trains at several Agnipath scheme places. has poured cold But the Centre appeared dewater on the termined to push it through dreams of with IAF chief Air Marshal V thousands of R Chaudhari setting the timeyouths in the line for its rollout in his force state. The most — from next Friday June 24. , affected are those Coaches of seven trains who have been have so far been set ablaze by awaiting written protesters, officials said, addexams for the ing that coaches of three othpast one-and-aer running trains in the ECR half years | P2 and one empty rake in Kulharia, in the same zone, were damaged. Protesters’ fury raged across at least 12 districts of Bihar where, besides setting two coaches of the Jammu Tawi Express on fire in Samastipur district, the enraged youth attacked a BJP office in Lakhisarai district. Another train — the Islampur-Hatia Express — was torched at Nalanda. The house of Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Renu Devi was attacked in Bettiah. In UP besides setting trains on fire and vandal, ising them in Ballia, protesters also damaged buses, forcing the police to beat back angry crowds and firing teargas shells before taking 100 youth into custody Firozabad, Amethi, Varanasi, . Unnao and Deoria were the other districts from where incidents of violence were reported. E X PRESS RE A D Fund swindling: CPM initiates action against MLA, five others Govt cancels order to appoint BJP leader as govt pleader Kannur: The CPM district committee has taken disciplinary action against six leaders, including strongman T I Madhusoodanan, MLA, in connection with the fund swindling controversy under Payyannur area committee. Madhusoodanan has been relegated from the district secretariat to the district committee. P4 Idukki: The state government has cancelled the posting of a BJP leader as government pleader at the Devikulam subcourt following criticism from various sections, including CPM-affiliated All India Lawyers Union, Idukki unit. Vinojkumar P K was appointed additional government pleader at the court on June 9. P5 Adopted at 1 41 yrs after, ‘Belgian’ Kathy to be in Kerala in search of parents my dad and mom,” said Catherine, who had stayed with her Belgian parents unShe was just a year old when a Belgian til she turned 23. couple, Maurice and Liliane Pollet, Sr Angel, the incumbent mother supeadopted her from The Holy Angels Con- rior at The Holy Angels Convent, told vent’s orphanage in the state capital. TNIE that nearly 25 infants from the orForty-one years later, Catherine Pollett phanage were adopted by various Belhas set out in search of her biological gian couples in the early 80s. “Catherine mother Sarala and unknown father, who might have been one of them,” she she believes are f r o m said. Thiruvananthapuram. “I was a young nun back then and was Sister Mary of the convent, who acted studying at All Saints College. The oras a link during the adoption phanage was as old as the process, could have been CathHoly Angels Convent, the erine’s go-to person to trace 150th anniversary of which them, but she is no more. was celebrated in 2019. But Kathy, as she is called, has the orphanage is no longer the letters Sr Mary and the functioning. I got in touch Belgian couple had exchanged with a few senior nuns who in the 1980s and a few photos were close to the late Sr Mary , of the ayah, who had looked but they too are clueless about after her when she was a baby . Catherine’s parents. We don’t Catherine Pollett Catherine is keen to meet the know anything about the adopayah too. She told TNIE from tion register either,” said Sr Belgium that her adoptive mother never Angel. spoke about Kerala, its culture or her One of the documents Catherine has biological parents. shows she was administered a vaccine “I was told that my mother had left me from the Thiruvananthapuram Medical in a basket in front of an orphanage. College Hospital on April 3, 1981. The The reason I’m searching for my biologi- name written on the OP ticket is Regi cal parents is because I have certain while the place is Maruthankuzhy. It health issues. If for any reason my bio- should give Catherine some lead. She logical family doesn’t wish to see me, I has never been to India, but plans to viswould at least love to see the pictures of it Thiruvananthapuram soon. C y n t h i a C h a n d r a n @ T’Puram The Kerala High Court on Friday stayed the trial in the Madhu lynching case until further orders. The trial had on June 8 posted the case to June 20. The High Court issued the order on the petition filed by Madhu’s mother Malli seeking a directive to keep in abeyance all the proceedings in the case till the government decide on her plea to remove special public prosecutor C Rajendran. Malli had requested the government to hand over the case to additional special prosecutor Rajesh M Menon. The HC also sought the view of the government on her petition to replace the special public prosecutor. The tribal youth was lynched by a mob at Attappadi in Palakkad on February 22, 2018, allegedly for stealing rice from a grocery shop. There are 16 accused in the case who have been charged with murder and various sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. loka kerala sabha Yusuffali bats for expats, blasts UDF over splurge charge, boycott E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce @T’Puram The UDF came under sharp criticism on Friday from some unexpected quarters — NRI entrepreneur Yusuffali M A. He had two grouses against the Congress-led front — for abstaining from the Loka Kerala Sabha and also for levelling allegations of extravagance about the ongoing session. “The members (of Loka Kerala Sabha) arrived here to attend the conference by spending money from their pocket. What splurge are you talking about? Is it giving them accommodation and food? Please don’t sadden the expatriates by overstating unnecessary things,” he said. He was speaking at the inaugural session of the Loka Kerala Sabha. Coming from Yusuffali, a man known to have good equations with both the fronts, the criticism was quite a surprise for all and one. “Leaders from all parties are treated well when they visit foreign countries. We provide them food and travel facilities. They take it all for granted,’’ he blamed. “But when we come to the state as guests of the state, we get to hear allegations of extravagance on food. We do feel ● More on P4 sad,” Yusuffali said.  In the petition, Madhu’s mother alleged that the current special public prosecutor was conducting the trial at the Mannarkkad Special Court for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Atrocities Act in an inefficient manner and violating the basic rules pertaining to witnesses examination. The investigation officer had given a report to the district police chief on the lapses and foul play in the conduct of the trial, the petition● More on P4 er said.  In fear Koottickal, Kokkayar cry in pain Eight months after small and big landslides literally tore apart the panchayats that share borders of Kottayam and Idukki districts, clouds of uncertainty gather once again | P2 3,254 new CovidFriday cases on Kerala reported over 3,000 Covid cases for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. Total active cases in the state crossed the 20,000 mark on the day.