HYDERABAD  SUNDAY  JUNE 19, 2022  `12.00  PAGES 24  LATE CITY EDITION TWO DEAD AS BLASTS TEAR THROUGH KABUL GURDWARA At least seven persons were also injured in the latest attack to target the Sikh community in war-torn Afghanistan EXPLOSIVE-LADEN TRUCK STOPPED A series of explosions was followed by gunfights between terrorists and Taliban fighters, a Taliban spokesperson said without divulging any details about the attackers. Afghanistan’s interior ministry said a bigger tragedy was thwarted as secuirty personnel stopped an explosive-laden vehicle from reaching the Gurdwara. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack ■ 30 A CENTRE OF AFGHAN HINDUS, SIKHS ■ The early-morning attack killed a devotee and a secuirty guard. It happened in an area with a sizable Hindu and Sikh population Reacting sharply to the incident, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “The cowardly attack on Gurdwara Karte Parwan should be condemned in the strongest terms by all” PEOPLE WERE INSIDE THE GURDWARA AT THE TIME OF ATTACK 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 New sops include 10% vacancies reserved in CAPF, Assam Rifles and Coast Guard for Agniveers GOVT REFUSES TO YIELD ON AGNIPATH It is bringing revolutionary changes in the recruitment process in the armed forces. Some people are spreading misunderstanding about it C H A N DA N N A N DY & M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi Farooq bows out of Prez poll race RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi NATIONAL Conference chief and former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday declined the invite to be the Opposition’s candidate for President, dealing a blow to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s efforts to propose a consensus name. Thanking Mamata for the offer, Abdullah said he wants to remain in active politics as he has a lot more to contribute to the country “I withdraw my . name from consideration as a possible joint opposition candidate for the President of India. I believe that Jammu and Kashmir is passing through a critical juncture and my efforts are required to help navigate these uncertain times,” he said. Earlier, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, too, had declined the offer to be the Opposition’s consensus candidate for President. Apart from Pawar and Abdullah, Mamata-led Opposition meet on June 15 had also suggested former West Bengal governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi as the third choice. According to sources, both Pawar and Abdullah rejected the invite due to the Opposition’s weak electoral strength for Presidential polls. “Now, Gopalkrishna Gandhi is the only name in the race but he is yet say yes or no,” remarked a senior Congress leader. The next meeting of Opposition parties for the Presidential election may take place on June 20 or 21 in Mumbai or Delhi. “The final decision may come at this meeting. But, Abdullah’s refusal to be the consensus candidate has given a jolt to Didi’s effort,” remarked an opposition leader. UNDETERRED by the violent protests against the Agnipath scheme, the Centre on Saturday indicated it will go ahead with the recruitment as it announced a slew of new concessions for Agniveer aspirants. While the Home Ministry announced that 10% vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles would be reserved for Agniveers, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved a similar proposal for the new recruits once they complete their four-year tenure in the armed forces. The newly announced reservation will be applicable for the Indian Coast Guard, defence civilian posts and all 16 defence public sector undertakings. The reservation for Agniveers will be in addition to existing quota for ex-servicemen. The defence ministry said “necessary age relaxation provision will also be made” to effect this change. The fresh announcements follow the government’s one-time relaxation in the upper age limit for joining the armed forces this year, raising it from 21 to 23, in view of the freeze in recruitment drive in the past two years due to the pandemic. According to the Agnipath scheme announced on June 14, those between 17.5 and 21 years of age can apply to be Agniveers for four years. The Ministry of Home Affairs also decided to give three years age relaxation beyond the prescribed upper age limit to Agniveers for recruitment to CAPFs and Assam Rifles. For the first batch of Agniveers, the age relaxation will be for five years beyond the prescribed upper age limit. In addition, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam have announced preference to Agniveers in State police recruitment. “The state police forces will greatly benefit from the training and discipline inculcated to Agniveers by the armed forces and their capabilities in tackling insurgency Naxalism and natural disas, ters will be hugely augmented.” said the government in a press release. According to the government, several corporate houses and industry bodies have welcomed the new and transformative recruitment process for the armed forces. “The well trained, disciplined and techsavvy youth who finish their service in the armed forces will be a valuable asset to their organisations, they said. Apart from customised certificates, a bachelor’s programme by the IGNOU has also been planned for the Agniveers. The government is hopeful that financial institutions will also extend support. To identify the ways in which banks can support Agniveers on completion of their tenure of duty Secretary Department of , , Financial Services held a meeting with the heads of public-sector banks, publicsector insurance companies and financial institutions. In the meeting, it was decided that banks and financial institutions will explore employment opportuP7 nities for Agniveers. Rajnath Singh, defence minister AP cops nab coaching centre head Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh police have reportedly taken into custody one of the key conspirators of the attack on the Secunderabad Railway Station in Telangana on Friday in protest against the Centre’s Agnipath recruitment scheme. The accused runs a coaching centre that trains aspirants of defence services in Narasaraopet of Palnadu district. Ire at Rakesh pyre: Youths attack Central govt offices U M A H E S H @ Warangal EMOTIONALLY-charged youths tried to cause damage to Central government establishments on Saturday even as the funeral procession of Damera Rakesh, who fell to police bullets on Friday, was in progress to his native village Dabeerpet where his last rites were performed later in the evening. Rakesh received a gunshot wound in the police firing while demonstrating against Agnipath, a scheme meant for recruitment to Armed Forces, at the Secunderabad Railway Station. He was rushed to the Gandhi Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. The youths, who were seething REPORT: P5 10 IN BIHAR, which has seen some of the worst protests against the Agnipath scheme, the Centre has accorded VIP security cover to 10 BJP legislators in view of threats posed to them Roll back Agnipath scheme, TN CM Stalin urges Centre Chennai: Chief Minister MK Stalin urged the Centre to immediately roll back the Agnipath scheme. In a statement, he said: “You can’t expect a man who is joining the army for just four years on contract service to be committed to the extent that he can lay down his life for the country.” P5 The funeral procession of Damera Rakesh, who died of bullet injuries sustained during the protest at the Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday, on its way to his native village Dabeerpet where his last rites were performed on Saturday | P3 with rage at the new scheme, which they believed would deprive them of a career in the Ar my, and Rakesh’s death, broke away from the funeral procession into two groups and resorted to vandalism. Though Ministers Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Satyavathi Rathod, MP Maloth Kavitha, Government Whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar and MLA Challa Dharma Reddy and other leaders were present, the youths pelted stones at BSNL offices and tried to set fire to its signboards at Pochamma grounds here. Some also tried to attack the warehousing corporation shutters at Kasibugga. The funeral procession began at the MGM Hospital in Warangal after a number of youths from neighbouring villages and towns reached the hospital. The procession wound through Pochamma Maidanam, Kasibugga, Venkatrama Junction, Janapeerulu, Geeskodna Narasampet, and finally Dabeerpet, the native village of Rakesh. As the procession neared the railway station, some youths tried to force their way inside but the police, who were posted in good strength, foiled their attempts. They resorted to a mild lathicharge and dispersed the crowd as they appeared intent on resorting to arson and vandalism. Meanwhile, Minister Dayakar Rao and MP M Kavitha staged a protest against the Agnipath scheme sitting on the road at Kasibugga and Narsampet towns. They raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union government. Warangal district Congress president Naini Rajender Reddy and other leaders were taken into custody and sent to Parvathagiri police station to prevent them from joining the funeral procession. Police forces were deployed at the Hanamkonda BJP president Rao Padma Reddy’s residence at Hunter Road as a precautionary measure. CPI secretariat member Takkellapally Srinivasa Rao condemned the ruling TRS’ attitude as he said he suspected it was taking advantage of Rakesh’s death to turn the people against the BJP . 50 held for Sec’bad Rly stn attack, cops hunt for more ON THE EDGE RGUKT STUDENTS FEAR GOVT WILL BREAK UP PROTEST E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad / Nirmal STUDENTS of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT) Basara, on Saturday sent an SOS through the media, saying that they feared that the government would use force to break up their five-day long protest. The students cited the claim of Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy that they had agreed to call off their protest demanding basic infrastructure, amenities and faculty at the institution. Denying that they had given any assurance of this sort, the Students Governing Council (SGC) of RGUKT said that on the contrary, the authorities have threatened them with dire consequences, including rustication and filing of police cases, if they do not call off their protest. Earlier in the day, Indrakaran Reddy, along with Mudhole MLA Vittal Reddy, Telangana State Council for Higher Education Vice-Chairman Venkata Ramana, Nirmal district Collector Mushar- The authorities raf Ali Faruqui and other district who came for officials held extended talks with deliberations the students. While the final year threatened that engineering students took part in they would stop the deliberations, the remaining food, water and electricity to the students continued their protest, campus and braving the rain. deploy over 1,000 Talks successful, says Minister Soon after the talks ended, the Minister spoke to the media and SGC statement declared that the deliberations were successful and students will start attending classes from Monday He said that the government . will hire faculty and infrastructure. He said that the students had sought an assurance from IT Minister KT Rama Rao, even if it was in the form of a tweet. “KTR will soon tweet on the issue,” Indrakaran Reddy said. However, the students rejected the Minister’s version and released a video in which a police officer is seen snatching away the mike when a student representative demands appointment of a regular ViceP3 Chancellor. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad BY Saturday evening, Railway Police had arrested around 50 persons in connection with the acts of vandalism and arson at the Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday . Efforts are on to identify and take into custody others who were involved in the violence during the protest against the Union government’s Agnipath scheme. Police have also started searching for people from private army coaching centres who allegedly instigated the youths to resort to violence. Meanwhile, two more cases have been registered at the Gopalapuram police station, in connection with the damage to two TSRTC buses outside P3 the Secunderabad Railway Station on Friday . RGUKT students use umbrellas to shield themselves from the heavy rain as they continue their protest in Nirmal district on Saturday. WITH THIS ISSUE JUMBO TALE Odisha blows lid off pan-India elephant trafficking racket S I B A M O H A N T Y @ Bhubaneswar IN what could be of huge ramification, the Forest department of Odisha has blown the lid off a pan-India illegal elephant trafficking racket which attempted to use forged no objection certificates (NOCs) to s m u g g l e c ap t ive j u m b o s through the State to Gujarat. The Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) and Chief Wildlife Warden (CWLW) has alerted its counterparts in other states and the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) so that applications for transportation of elephants and their movement across the country can be closely monitored. The matter assumes significance in view of a proposed amendment by Centre to the Wildlife Protection Act which seeks to commercialise the Schedule – I species. There already exists a huge police personnel to throw us out nexus between capture of wild elephants and their demand by temples, religious institutions and even political parties. At least, eight cases of trafficking have come to fore last month. The CWLW of Odisha found racketeers tried to fake NOCs by using forged signatures. In all cases, the attempt was to allegedly smuggle elephants from Assam. Seven of these cases saw bids made to transport elephants to Gujarat’s Jamnagar for a temple trust, reliable sources told The New Indian Express. The first case related to trafficking of a jumbo to Odisha from Assam. Interestingly, the CWLW office in the State had earlier received an application for transportation of a captive jumbo from the Northeastern state to Koraput district. Upon verification it was found that the requisites were not met and the application was rejected. When a fake NOC reached the Assam CWLW, it sought clarification from its Odisha counterpart and the first case was detected. However, the CWLW office was perplexed when it received queries from its Gujarat counterpart about seven NOCs allegedly issued by the former for transportation of elephants. All the NOCs were identical – from applicant to destination. Only the description of the jumbos was different. In all, signs were reportedly forged to generate the NOCs. THE GREAT INDIAN JOB RACE PLUS 12 PAGES JAB-O-METER June 17 13,14,094 doses TAKE June 18 11,61,176 doses YOUR SHOT TOTAL: 196,13,24,182 NATIONWIDE JUNE 17 JUNE 18 TELANGANA JUNE 17 JUNE 18 Fresh cases 12,847 13,216 Fresh cases Recoveries 7,985 8,148 Recoveries Deaths 14 23 Deaths 279 119 00 247 116 00