Tapan Kumar Deka KOCHI l saturday l june 25, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE 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of Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) head Samant Goel has been extended by one more year 7 Number of officers Deka has superseded to become ib chief CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■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 SFI ravages Rahul Gandhi’s office, clean chit to Modi Cpm disowns its student outfit E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Sees no larger plot in the 2002 Gujarat riots E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @New Delhi Reshuffle: Venu new home secy E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram In a major bureaucratic reshuffle, the state government on Friday posted Additional Chief Secretary Venu V as the Home Secretary The 1990-batch . IAS officer was secretary of the higher education department. Ishita Roy replaces him as higher education secretary She . will also continue as agriculture production commissioner. Health secretary Rajan Khobragade has been transferred to water resources department. Tinku Biswal replaces him as the new health secretary . Khobragade will continue to hold additional charges of the Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation and agriculture department, while Biswal will hold additional charge of Ayush and Ports De● More on P4 partments.  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. diverse roles Khaki wave in Mollywood as more cops turn actors, scenarists S h a n A S @T’Puram Malayalam movies are being increasingly applauded. Riding on fresh themes, quirky narrative styles and mind boggling artistry, the industry has largely warmed up to new entrants, including men in uniform, all of whom have helped enrich the industry’s vividness and diversity . While a bunch of serving police officers have associated themselves with films in recent times, more are in line. They include about 10 who are part of Ila Veezha Poonchira, a new flick starring Soubin Shahir that is slated to hit the screens soon. Shahi Kabir, a senior civil police officer who penned critically acclaimed Joseph and Nayattu, is directing the film. Officers Nidheesh G and Shaji Maraadu have written the screenplay, while no less than six personnel, including a woman officer, will share screen space. Though several policemen have been a part of industry before him, Shahi is was the one who blazed the trail ● More on P4 in films.  @Kalpetta/T’Puram SFI workers vandalised the office of Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi in Kalpetta on Friday, sparking statewide protests by the UDF and drawing rebuke from CPM leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Kalpetta DySP Sunil M D was suspended for the failure to prevent the protesters from entering the building and the ADGP, headquarters, was tasked with probing the incident. The student outfit took out the march against the MP’s failure to intervene in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) issue that is raging in Wayanad. They entered the office after overpowering the police personnel at the spot and went on to smash the door and windows of the building, besides destroying furniture. A staffer at the office, Augustine Pulpally, was also manhandled. Condemning the incident, Pinarayi said the government will take strict action against the culprits. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the SFI attack could not be justified. Uddhav urges cadre to rebuild Sena S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai 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, Uddhav 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, Uddhav pointed out that 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. 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. p8 E X PRE S S READ Medisep insurance scheme from July 1 Medisep, the new health insurance scheme for state government employees and pensioners, will come into effect on July 1. The threeyear scheme will cover nearly 1,920 medical procedures. Nearly 11 lakh beneficiaries and their dependents (about 18 lakh) have enrolled in it. P2 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express SFI workers scale the walls of Rahul Gandhi’s office in Kalpetta | Express Aftermath The government will take strict action against the culprits. Everyone has the right to protest, but it shouldn’t result in any excesses. This is a wrong tendency Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister Congress workers take out protest marches in various districts, two members injured in clash with CPM activists in Kottayam Kalpetta DySP Sunil M D suspended SFI state leadership condemns incident Says Wayanad unit acted without nod. Promises to conduct organisational probe into the incident and take action against those responsible The SFI attack cannot be justified at any cost. This is not how a political organisation should function, or register its political disagreement — Sitaram Yechury, CPM general secretary The Congress blamed the CPM, with AICC general secretary K C Venugopal alleging that the attack was a means devised by the CM to appease Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan alleged CPM aimed at creating law and order problems in the state to protect the CM who was facing serious charges. Wayanad SP Arvind Sukumar said 70 police personnel were deployed in front of the MP’s office when the SFI march turned violent. The police caned the protesters, injuring many of them. Later, 19 protesters, including a woman SFI worker, were taken into custody . Soon after, Congress workers thronged the spot and raised slogans against the police inaction. DYFI and SFI workers too reached the spot adding to the tension. The incident sparked protests across the state. While Congress workers in Thiruvananthapuram organised marches to the secretariat and AKG Centre, two Congress leaders were injured in a clash with CPM workers at Thirunakkara in Kottayam. In Palakkad, police arrested Youth Congress workers, including state president and MLA Shafi Parambil for blocking the national highway. In Kozhikode, Youth Congress workers burnt tyres and destroyed flex boards of ● More on P4 the CM.