TAPAN KUMAR DEKA HUBBALLI  SATURDAY  JUNE 25, 2022  `9.00  PAGES 12  CITY EDITION EX-IAS OFFICER PARAMESWARAN IS THE NEW CEO OF NITI AAYOG The former bureaucrat, who spearheaded the Swachh Bharat Mission, will replace incumbent Amitabh Kant SAMANT GOEL PARAMESWARAN IYER KNOWN FOR EXECUTING LARGE PROJECTS DEKA IB CHIEF, RAW’S GOEL GETS 1-YR EXTN Parameswaran Iyer, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, had resigned from civil service in 2009. He came back as Secretary in the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in 2016 and executed the Narendra Modi government’s flagship sanitation scheme. He resigned from the post in July 2020 and went on to work with the World Bank in the US ■ ■ In another appointment, Tapan Kumar Deka, the ‘crisis man’ who was put in charge of the counter-assaults during the 26/11 Mumbai attack, was named Director, Intelligence Bureau Meanwhile, the tenure of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) head Samant Goel has been extended by one more year 7 NUMBER OF OFFICERS DEKA HAS SUPERSEDED TO BECOME IB CHIEF CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■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 SC upholds SIT’s clean chit to Modi Uddhav tries to wrest initiative, urges cadre to rebuild the Sena from scratch S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai Sees no larger plot in the 2002 Gujarat riots EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @New Delhi Landmark abortion law in US overturned The US Supreme Court on Friday ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in the Roe v Wade case. The verdict is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the US states. The ruling came more than a month after the leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the overturning |P9 NATIONWIDE JUNE 23 JUNE 24 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 13,313 10,972 38 KARNATAKA JUNE 23 JUNE 24 Fresh cases Recoveries Deaths 858 682 1 JAB-O-METER TAKE YOUR SHOT 17,336 13,029 13 816 703 0 June 23 59,53,621 doses June 24 13,90,325 doses TOTAL DOSES 1,96,92,56,476 THE Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002 post Godhra riots in the state and dismissed a petition by slain Congress leader Ehsan Jafri’s wife Zakia Jafri. Bringing the curtains down on the bid to reopen the probe, a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar said the material collected during the investigation does not ‘give rise to strong or grave suspicion regarding hatching of larger criminal conspiracy at the highest level’ for causing mass violence against Muslims. The bench, also comprising justices Dinesh Maheshwari and C T Ravikumar, termed Zakia’s plea devoid of merit. It spoke of ‘the devious stratagem to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design’ and said all those involved in ‘such abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law’. The court also appreciated the SIT for its ‘indefatigable work’ in challenging circumstances and said it has come out with ‘flying colours unscathed’. The bench said no fault could be found with the SIT’s approach, adding its final report in 2012 is backed by firm logic, ‘expositing analytical mind and dealing with all aspects objectively for discarding the allegations regarding larger criminal conspiracy’. The bench upheld the decision of a magistrate in accepting the final report submitted by the SIT. Zakia Jafri had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s October 5, 2017 order rejecting her plea against the SIT decision. “We do not countenance the submission of the appellant regarding infraction of rule of law in the matter of investigation and the approach of the magistrate and the high court in dealing with the final report,” the bench said. Congress leader and former MP Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad’s Gulbarg Society during violence on February 28, 2002. ATTACKED The ransacked office of Wayanad Congress member of Parliament Rahul Gandhi in Kalpetta on Friday, after a protest march of the SFI, the students wing of ruling CPI(M) in Kerala, turned violent | EXPRESS |P5 IF the Congress cadre does not let go of exhibitionism and work hard at booth level, there is no way the party will be able to take on the BJP in the next polls, warned veteran Congress leader M Veerappa Moily. Mysuru helipad for PM ruins track for athletes KARTHIK K K @ Mysuru EXHORTING the importance of health and fitness, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the International Yoga Day celebrations in Mysuru. But his visit has deprived the athletes of their practising area as the helipad prepared for him at the Oval Grounds has made the area unfit for practice. A temporary helipad was prepared 100 metres from the venue at the Oval Grounds for Modi’s helicopter to land, which has left the running tracks damaged. The PM had travelled to the Maharaja’s Ground where he interacted with the beneficiaries of various government schemes. Sports persons, especially those studying in Mysore University and its affiliated colleges, practice at the ground. A national-level sportsperson and a student of Mysore University, requesting anonymity said that after Modi’s , visit, the track has become hard as the cinder has been blown away CONTINUED ON: P5 . EXPRESS READ Bad roads: BBMP, BWSSB in blame-game Bengaluru: Even as the offices of Prime Minister and Chief Minister have sought a report on the bad road condition in the city, especially in Kommaghatta and Mariyappanapalya and on Jnanabharathi campus, civic agencies are blaming each other, exposing their lack of coordination again | P2 Mincing no words at the Nava Sankalp Shibir held in Udupi on Friday, Moily said none of the protests held by Congress units at the national, state or district level will come to the party’s rescue if they try to settle for just protests and rallies. When some leaders present at the event tried to tell Moily that he should not be so critical of the party workers, the senior leader hardened his stance saying, ‘’This is why we get defeated in polls. In a workshop like this, it is key to discuss the reality before us. Mere sloganeering will not build a party .’’ P4 Back to the roots Of the total 96 Shakha pramukhs of the Sena, 85 attended the meet at Shiv Sena Bhavan at Dadar. Aditya Thackeray addressed them in-person while Uddhav spoke virtually discussed the Covid situation and a possible mask mandate in Mumbai, given that the infection count is going up. In the evening NCP patriarch Sharad Pawar called on Uddhav at his residence. NCP state president Jayant Patil and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar accompanied Pawar for the meeting. As for Shinde, he sought legal advice after Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal approved the appointment of Ajay Chaudhari as the Sena’s legislative party leader replacing him (Shinde), and Sunil Prabhu as the chief whip. The Shinde camp had written to Zirwal seeking the appointment of Bharat Gogawale as chief whip instead of Prabhu. P8 Seven foetuses found dumped in Belagavi drain EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Belagavi AS many as seven foetuses were found stuffed in five small boxes in an open drain near a bridge in Mudalgi near Belagavi on Friday. Many locals, with anxiety writ large on their faces, gathered on the bridge as the news spread like wildfire. Moily talks tough at Cong meet in Udupi EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Udupi TWO days after vacating his official residence in the wake of a massive revolt, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray sought to take back control by addressing a meeting of the party’s functionaries, invoking Shivaji Maharaj’s spirit to urge the cadre to rebuild the party from scratch. In his emotional address, he also said he was ready to step down as the Shiv Sena president if need be. He said he may have moved out of the official residence of the chief minister, but his determination to fight the crisis was intact. Saying he was pained by the desertion of the MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, he pointed out thet he gave him the plum portfolio of urban development and sent Shinde’s son to Parliament. “Despite this, they blame me for promoting Aditya Thackeray Every father will do . that for his son,” he reasoned. Uddhav also chaired a meeting of districts collectors and secretaries and asked them continue with development works related to welfare of the people irrespective of the political twists and turns. He also A team of officials from Health and Family Welfare Department visited the spot. According to the District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Mahesh Kone, the foetuses are about five to seven months old. The recovered foetuses will be brought to the forensic science laboratory in Be- lagavi for testing, he said, adding that a committee was being formed by the department to dig deep into the case and track the culprits. KMF Chairman and local MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi termed the incident “barbaric which makes the society bow its head in shame”. “I have already directed the police to take the issue seriously and ensure that all those involved in the illegal act are brought to book”, said Jarkiholi. Though the health department is yet to disclose the sex of the foetuses, it is suspected to be a case of of female foeticide. Mudalgi police have filed a case and are investigating.