tirupati l wednesday l december 7, 2022 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l anantapur EDITION WHY is Christian Michel James still in jail, asks sc The AgustaWestland chopper scam accused is kept in jail just because he is a foreign national, the Supreme Court said Complete deprivation of liberty, says court UNHRC found detention illegal: Counsel How long can he be kept in custody and does his not being an Indian justify “complete deprivation” of his liberty, asked a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice P S Narasimha. James is a UK national and was extradited from Dubai in 2018. The bench noted that the co-accused govt officials have been granted bail for want of sanction for prosecution | P7 “The maximum sentence for the offence he is charged with is five years and James has been in custody for four years 10 months. Prior to extradition he was in custody for 120 days in Dubai,” said advocate Aljo K Joseph appearing for James, claiming his client has approached the UNHRC, which has held the detention as illegal `2,666 cr LOSS TO the EXCHEQUER DUE TO THE AgustaWestland DEAL, as per CBI 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 express read 62 I-T teams raid Vamsiram builders Seize treasure trove of documents; sleuths pay visit to YSRC leader Devineni Avinash office too Cyclone Mandous threat puts AP on high alert Vijayawada: The impact of the cyclone brewing in the Bay of Bengal, which will be named Cyclone Mandous when formed, is likely on four southern districts of Andhra Pradesh — Nellore, Prakasam, Chittoor, and Anantapur | P3 Belagavi tense as border dispute spirals The border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over claims for the border district of Belagavi intensified on Tuesday, as vehicles from both sides came under attack Subba Reddy and his family members are directors. Four I-T teams As many as 62 teams of Income conducted searches in the offices Tax sleuths conducted simultane- of YSRC leader Devineni Avinash ous searches in 35 locations hous- and relatives of Subba Reddy in Viing the offices and resijayawada and Nellore and dences of the directors of seized three hard disks. Vamsiram Builders in HyAlso among the places derabad, Vijayawada and searched was the residence Nellore through Tuesday . of Janardhan Reddy at The sleuths seized two Road No. 45, Jubilee Hills. briefcases full of docuJanardhan Reddy is the ments, hard disks, pen brother-in-law of Subba 18 firms drives and other incrimiunder lens Reddy. nating material from the Sources said that the According to possession of the compacompany signed MoUs sources, the ny’s managing director. An with private individuals searches I-T official said that the who invested money in its extended to company has lockers in construction business in properties seven banks in Hyderabad secret. According to I-T which are likely to be belonging to 18 sleuths, the number of companies of opened on Wednesday . these private partners runs which Subba Among the locations into hundreds. Reddy and his searched were the offices The I-T sleuths are befamily and premises of Badwelu lieved to have unearthed members are Subba Reddy, the MD of discrepancies in tax directors the firm, at Nandagiri Hills records and also diversion and near Peddamma Gudi of funds from the compatemple. The searches, which began ny’s construction business to other at 6 am, stretched well into the platforms. I-T sources told TNIE evening. they suspect the company used to According to I-T sources, the accept 60% payments in cash and searches extended to properties be- the remaining through cheques or P4 longing to 18 companies of which online.  S r i n i v a s R e d d y @Hyderabad Inflation, quota & jobs to dominate Parliament session P r e e t h a N a i r & R a j e s h K u m a r T h a k u r @ New Delhi The winter session of Parliament that begins on Wednesday can be expected to be stormy as the Opposition is gearing up to put the government on the mat over pressing issues like inflation, unemployment, the ChinaIndia border dispute and the EWS quota. 23 days, 17 At an all-party meet on Tuesday, Opposition parties sittings urged the government to ensure wider discussions over The winter burning issues facing the nation. They also demanded a session will have wider discussion over the alleged misuse of central in17 sittings over vestigative agencies against the Opposition parties. 23 days and will Leaders from more than 30 parties attended the meet. be held in the The demand for the women’s reservation bill will be existing back in focus as several Opposition parties that had Parliament blocked it earlier now want it introduced and passed in House this session itself. HC allows termination of 33-week pregnancy Ja i so n W i l so n @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court on Tuesday allowed a married woman to medically terminate her 33week-old cerebral abnormal foetus, recognising the mother’s choice as ultimate decision in such cases. In the 33-page order, Justice Prathiba M Singh noted there is considerable doubt and risk involved in the unborn child’s chances of leading a dignified and self-sustaining life. “The lingering question as to whether the child would be self- Trinamool’s Gokhale arrested for spreading fake news on Modi D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Neymar celebrates his goal against South Korea in Doha on Monday | AP Samba to the four Brazil enthralled with a performance of the highest magnitude as they beat South Korea 4-1. A look... First-half exhibition The five-time champions, who had scored only thrice coming into the round of 16, were all full of style and verve in a magisterial first 45 minutes. Flicks, tricks and skills were on full display as they scored four in the first 36 minutes. It was not just the number of goals but the way they scored them that caught the eye To play Croatia IN QUARTERS Their last eight encounter against Croatia, 2018 finalists, could be a markedly different affair. Brazil, for starters, do have a weakness against elite European teams (each of their last four World Cup KO defeats have come against them) and Croatia will reduce the tempo, make the game ugly and take it from there Extra Time The match between Morocco and Spain in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Doha has gone to P11 extra time with the score levelled at 0-0  Trinamool Congress spokesperson Saket Gokhale was on Tuesday arrested by the Gujarat Police for tweeting an alleged fake news on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Morbi following a tragic bridge collapse there. “Gokhale was arrested in Jaipur, Rajasthan, during the early hours on Tuesday by the Gujarat Police and brought to Ahmedabad,” based on a complaint filed by a citizen, the police infor med. An Ahmedabad court later remanded him in police custody for two days. Before entering the court, Gokhale told the media, “it was very sad that he was arrested for a tweet on the PM’s visit.” As many as 136 people had died in the bridge collapse on October 30. Gokhale tweeted an allegedly clipping in a Gujarati daily citing an RTI reply on the cost of that Modi’s visit to Morbi. But government officials denied putting out any information under RTI, and the newspaper denied publishing it, Assistant Commissioner of Police Jitendra Yadav said. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee stood by Gokhale saying he made no mistake and condemned what she called the BJP government’s vindictive attitude. Gokhale has been booked under IPC sections 469 (forgery), 471 (using forged document), 501 (defamation), and 505(b) (public mischief). tech danger Smartwatch brought killer to her doorstep E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Guntur Investigation into the murder of Tejaswi, a young medico, at Takkellapadu village in Guntur district on Monday night is throwing up ch il l i ng details. He r stalker Gnaneswar tracked her through her smartwatch after she shifted to her friend’s residence to avoid him. Gnaneswar (22), a software engineer, had befriended Tejaswi (20) on instagram a couple of years ago. He slit her throat on Monday night after she refused to marry him and attempted suicide. Gnaneswar was caught by locals and handed over to the police. During questioning, Gnaneswar told police that he had tracked the medico with the help of the smartwatch she was wearing. “The victim shifted to her friend’s house in Takkellapadu to avoid Gnaneswar. The accused, however, came to know about the whereabouts of Tejaswi with the help of the smartwatch she was wearing as it was connected to his mobile,” police said. According to police, Gnaneswar is a software engineer employed in Hyderabad but had been working from home in Vuyyur. Tejaswi was also a native of Vuyyur but used to stay with her aunt in Vijayawada as her parents moved to Mumbai. A few months back, Tejaswi decided to end their friendship and informed the same to Gnaneswar but the latter refused. The Nuzvid police have reportedly counselled Gnaneswar in the presence of his father and asked him not to trouble the girl as she wanted to end the friendship. Even after this Gnaneswar started pestering the girl to continue the relationship. Last week, Tejaswi moved to Takkellapadu to avoid the accused and to prepare for exams, police said. Speaking to TNIE, Pedakakani circular inspector Suresh Babu said parents of the victim were in shock not only because of her murder but also because she had never informed them that she was being harassed. “She spoke to her mother a few minutes before her death,’’ the police said. State Mahila Commission Chairperson Vasireddy Padma visited the Guntur GGH and consoled the bereaved family members on Tuesday . Padma termed the incident most unfortunate and assured Tejaswi’s parents that the culprit would be punished. She instructed the police to speed up investigation. Mother’s choice ultimate, says court The court said the right of a woman to terminate her pregnancy has been a matter of debate across the world. This right gives the woman the ultimate choice as to whether she wants to give birth to the child she has conceived. “India is among the countries which recognises this choice of a woman in its law,” the court said sustaining or not, tilts the court’s mind in favour of the plea of the petitioner,” the order said. The court said that it has clearly been able to gauge the mental trauma affecting the parents, their economic and so- cial conditions, and also the fact that the petitioner is taking a cautious and well-informed decision. “She has understood as to what termination of pregnancy entails at such an advanced stage. This court is convinced that, as a mother, she has weighed the same with the unpredictability and the risks involved, considering the condition of the foetus,” it said. The court also observed that the medical board, in the present case, has not been able to predict or give a categorical opinion as to the degree of handicap or as to the quality of life of the child after birth, with certainty In the mind of . the court, such unpredictability and risks ought to weigh in favour of the woman seeking termination of pregnancy .