tirupati l thursday l november 24, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Scottish govt loses court battle for referendum Britain’s Supreme Court has ruled that Scotland’s government can’t hold an independence referendum without UK’s consent Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader and first minister of Scotland | AP U.K. Parliament REFUSES TO GIVE CONSENT Rishi Sunak welcomes ‘Definitive ruling’ The Scottish National Party (SNP) wanted a second referendum on October 19, 2023 but the UK Parliament refused to grant a formal consent. Supreme Court president Lord Reed said the laws that created the devolved Scottish Parliament in 1999 meant it does not have power over areas of the constitution including the union between Scotland and England | P9 ■ ■ Welcoming the verdict, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak termed it a “clear and definitive ruling from the Supreme Court” SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said her party respects the court’s decision but added that the next general election in 2024 will be a ‘de facto referendum’ where people will express their will 2014 THE sCOTS REJECTED THE FIRST REFERENDUM, HELD WITH THE U.K.’S APPROVAL, BY 55-45% 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 seeks files related to EC Arun Goel’s appointment Model code case: UP court declares BJP MP absconder Constitution bench says it wants to know if there was any ‘hanky panky’ in the process; government has to submit the papers today N a m i ta B aj pa i @ Lucknow A district court in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur on Wednesday declared BJP parliamentarian Arun Sagar an absconder following no-shows in court in connection with a case of violation of model code of conduct during the last Lok Sabha polls in 2019. Sagar is accused of getting a wall of Shahjahanpur painted without seeking the administration’s permission. According to Nilima Saxena, special public prosecutor of the Shahjahanpur MP/MLA court, Sagar had used campaign material without permission of the concerned officials in the 2019 polls. He was repeatedly summoned to appear in court but he failed to turn up. Arun Kumar During the Sagar 2019 general elections, the then SDM (Sadar)/Assistant Returning Officer Ved Sigh Chauhan was taking a round of Dadraul, a Vidhan Sabha segment, when he spotted campaign material of Sagar in Rasoolpur village. When Chauhan came to know that the campaign material was transported without prior permission, he lodged a complaint in the Kant police station. While phone calls to Sagar drew no response, BJP leader Dr Chandra Mohan said, “This often happens during elections. I won’t say much about it since the matter is sub-judice. However, law will take it own course and the MP concerned would abide by it.” NO entry to u.a.e. if passport has single name Indians will need to have their full names printed on passport to enter the Gulf nation. The new rules that came into effect on Monday, however, exempt those travelling on residential or employment visas the bench that Goel, a 1985 you are claiming that everybatch IAS officer of Punjab thing is going on smoothly We . TAKING note of the alacrity cadre and a secretary-level of- don’t think it’s a matter where with which the government ficial, was given VRS on Friday we should be withholding ingranted VRS to former bureau- and appointed as EC on Satur- formation. This is not matter crat Arun Goel and appointed day to enable him to start work- related to appointment of milihim as election commissioner, ing from Monday . tary person.” a five-judge Constitution bench “The government appointed The bench also observed that of the Supreme Court on someone in a single the Chief Election Wednesday ordered the Centre day and no one knows Commissioner should to submit all the original files what process was folbe a strong-willed perrelated to the appointment. lowed or what safeson who will not hesiThe five-judge bench headed guards were taken,” tate to act even against by Justice K M Joseph said it Bhushan said. the prime minister, if wants to know if there was any Asking attor ney need be. “hanky panky” because Goel’s general R Venkatara“Suppose there is appointment happened while it mani if the governsome allegation Arun Goel was hearing a plea seeking a ment has any hesitaagainst the prime mincollegium-like system for the tion in presenting the file, the ister and the CEC has to act. Election Commission of India. bench observed that the ap- But the CEC is weak-kneed. He The Centre should not have any pointment was inappropriate does not act. Is it not a complete problem submitting the rele- as the matter was being heard breakdown of the system? The vant files if everything was by the Constitution bench. CEC is supposed to be insulated done as per procedure, the When the AG objected to from political influence and bench observed. The court gave Goel’s appointment being should be independent,” the the Centre time till Thursday to dragged into a case where the bench remarked. produce all the relevant files. court is considering a larger isVenkataramani told the The direction came after ad- sue, Justice Joseph said, “We bench that there had to be a vocate Prashant Bhushan told would like to know… because trigger point for the top court to interfere in such matters. The AG also told the bench that ‘nEED A cec WHO CAN ACT EVEN AGAINST THE PM’ the appointments were on the The Constitution bench said the person appointed as the Chief Election basis on seniority and there Commissioner must be independent and should be willing to act even was no separate appointment against the Prime Minister in the event of serious allegations procedure for CEC. S H R U T I K A K K A R @ New Delhi Japan’s Ritsu Doan (R) scores his team’s first goal against Germany at the Khalifa International Stadium on Wednesday | afp Land of rising sons E x p r e ss N e ws Se r v i c e Silence speaks louder Germany’s players covered their mouths for their team photo before the match in an apparent rebuke of FIFA’s clampdown on plans to wear armbands to protest discrimination in Qatar | AP Japan’s players did not know what to do apart from run in all directions. Some of them were going right, some were going straight, others left. All of them, though, had their arms outstretched. You didn’t need to know the scoreline. Japan had upset World Cup royalty, Germany The four-time champions . failed to kill the match and the Asian powerhouse won 2-1. Il- kay Gundogan had converted a first-half penalty and it was smooth sailing until Japan, who had the reached the last 16 in 2018, went for the jugular in the second half. They rung in the changes and drove at the heart of Germany’s creaking midfield till it crumbled like a house of cards. The defeat leaves Germany needing a result against Spain on Sunday. Or, it could be an early exit. More on: P11  Ban orders under Sec 30, 144 in Tirupati till Nov 30 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati Tirupati police invoked Section 30 of the Police Act and Section 144 of the CrPC prohibiting all kinds of meetings, rallies and gatherings at public places till November 30. An order to this effect was issued by Tirupati East SDPO T Murali K r i s h n a o n Wednesday . Under the Police Act, organisers intending to hold any political or public meeting, stage protest demonstration and take out rallies in Tirupati district should take prior permission from the police department. In a statement, the police said ster n action will be taken against violators of the order. Bhu Hakku will ensure foolproof land admin: CM “The imposition of the 30 Police Act is part of a routine and regular policing to keep unchecked and unauthorised demonstrations in the temple town, which usually create inconvenience to citizens in the form of traffic jams,” Tirupati SP P Parameswara Reddy told TNIE. The police appealed to all the political parties and people to refrain from participating in unwanted gatherings, bursting crackers and using loud musical instruments. The imposition of prohibitory orders comes ahead of the scheduled ‘Idemi Karma’ protests by the opposition TDP from December 1 against the YSRC government policies. E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Srikakulam Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said the YSR Jagananna Saswatha Bhu Hakku Mariyu Bhu Raksha Scheme will usher in a land administration system that has no room for corruption, tampering, land grabbing, duplication of records and civil disputes in the State. Registration services will begin at the secretariats in 2,000 villages where the resurvey of land has been completed. Addressing a public gathering after handing over the land title deeds to property owners at Narasannapeta on Wednesday, the Chief Minister said the scheme launched at Jaggayyapet in Krishna district two years ago, will be implemented in five phases to benefit 7,92,238 land owners in 17,850 revenue villages in the State. As part of the resurvey completed in 2,000 villages in a record time of just nine months, two lakh mutations have already been carried out in 4.31 lakh sub divisions automatically resulting in total , savings of `27.80 crore for farmers. In the first phase of the scheme, farmers of 2,000 villages will be handed over permanent title deeds in the next fortnight. The distribution of land ownership documents covering 4,000 villages will be completed by February 2023 under the second phase. The third phase covering another 6,000 villages will be completed by May 2023, fourth phase covering 9,000 villages by August 2023 and the fifth phase covering the rest of the villages by December 2023, he explained.  P4 express read Stents in essential drugs list, to get cheaper New Delhi: The Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) 2022, making these lifesaving devices more affordable. The decision to retain coronary stents in the list was taken following recommendations of the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) | P7 Naidu invited to PM’s meet on December 5 Vijayawada: TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu will leave for Delhi on December 5. He will attend the meeting of all-party leaders to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. TDP sources said apart from sending an invitation, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi spoke to Naidu over phone | P4 murders most foul Shraddha’s 2-yr-old SOS to Drug addict out of rehab kills CI, SI suspended for altering police revealed Aaftab design four of his family in Delhi two cases after holding probe U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi U j w al J alal i @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kurnool/Chittoor The horrific case of murder and dismemberment of a woman in Delhi by her live-in partner took a new turn on Wednesday after the copy of a letter she wrote to the Maharashtra police exactly two years ago revealing his threats to “kill and cut her into pieces” surfaced. “Aaftab Amin Poonawala has been abusing me and beating me up. Today he tried to kill me by suffocating me and he scared and blackmails me that he will kill me cut me up in pieces and throw me away wrote Shraddha Walker ,” in a hand-written letter dated November 23, 2020. Shraddha was allegedly strangled on May 18 this year, her body chopped into multiple pieces and disposed of. Shraddha’s letter is now a crucial piece of evidence to establish Aaftab was a repeat offender and had a history of domestic violence. While the Palghar police acknowledged receipt of her letter, they claimed she had a subsequently written another letter withdrawing the complaint. “We went to their house twice. They told us that they have nothing against each other and had decided to withdraw the complaint as well. Therefore, after 26 days, we disposed of the complaint,” a police official said. Her letter revealed that Aaftab’s parents were aware of their son beating her up. “His parents are aware that he beats me and that he tried to kill me. They also know about us living together and they visit on weekends,” Shraddha’s letter read. A drug addict just out of rehab allegedly went on a killing spree, stabbing four members of his family in southwest Delhi’s Palam area, the police said on Wednesday . The mass murder took place late on Tuesday night. “A person made a PCR call around 10.30 pm claiming he was hearing sounds of quarrel in his neighbourhood after which the police immediately rushed to the location,” Deputy Police Commissioner (Southwest) Manoj C said. Accused Keshav (25) was caught by neighbours and the police while he was trying to bolt. He hacked his 75-yearold grandmother Diwano Devi, parents Dinesh and Darshan, and sister Urvashi with a sharp-edged weapon. One of the family members, while speaking to this newspaper, said the accused spent more than 30 months at a rehabilitation centre and had recently come out of it. “He was a drug addict and had frequent fights with his family. He used to nag them for money,” said Keshav’s cousin Kuldeep Saini, who stayed just a floor below. On Tuesday night, he heard a noisy quarrel and climbed the stairs to check. “I heard screams of my cousin Urvashi after which I rushed upstairs and started banging the door to know her welfare but none opened,” Kuldeep said. Keshav responded from inside asking him to buzz off as it was his family matter. “There was complete silence for 15 mins but in the meantime I had called the police. When the police arrived, Keshav jumped from the second floor to escape but we caught him,” Kuldeep said. Four police personnel, including one Inspector of Police (CI) and two Sub-Inspectors (SIs) and a constable of Kurnool and Chittoor districts have been suspended under various grounds.   In Kurnool, Adoni III Town CI Chandrababu and SI Chinna Peeraiah were suspended for allegedly altering the murder of a 44-year-old woman into a suicide case at Brahmanakotkur police station and altering the case of a Veda Patasala boy at Srisailam, who died of starvation after he was deprived of food by his teacher, was tweaked into an accidental death at Srisailam police station in 2020. Kurnool Range DIG S Senthil Kumar issued orders suspending the two officers after an internal investigation conducted by the department found lapses with the case records and the postmortem reports. According to sources, CI Chandrababu when he worked as an SI at Brahamankotkur police station altered the murder case of the 44-year-old Sk Fathima, who was killed by her husband at Damagatla village, into a suicide case. SI Chinna Peeraiah when he worked at Srisailam police station, altered the death of the Veda Patasala boy into an , accidental death case. Meanwhile, Somala SI Lakshmi Nayak was sent to vacancy reserve in Chittoor and constable Manjunath Reddy was placed under suspension for failing to respond to a complaint raised by a woman through Disha App. Shraddha Walkar Fadnavis orders probe into letter Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday ordered a probe after this letter surfaced. “Had they (police) taken prompt action, Shraddha would have been alive today,” he said (Clockwise from top left) Accused Keshav, his mother, grandma, father and sister | PTI Cousin threatened When police took Keshav into custody, he threatened Kuldeep of dire consequences. “Once I’m out of jail, you will be next.” Inaction costs dearly for SI, cop Somala SI Lakshmi Nayak was sent to vacancy reserve in Chittoor and cop Manjunath Reddy was placed under suspension for failing to respond to a complaint raised by a woman through Disha App. Reportedly, she complained to the DGP office about the delay in acting on her complaint. DGP office is said to have directed Chittoor SP to conduct a probe and take action