bhubaneswar l tuesday l january 31, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l jeypore EDITION 47 killed in Taliban suicide bomb attack in pak mosque The blast during afternoon prayers in the high-security zone in Peshawar left over 100 people, most of them policemen, injured It’s a revenge attack, says Pak taliban Outfit known for targeting forces The blast occurred inside the mosque around 1.40 pm when the bomber, who was present in the front row, blew himself up. Sarbakaf Mohmand, a commander of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack on Twitter. He said the bombing was part of a revenge attack for his brother, who was killed last August in Afghanistan ■ ■ TTP has carried out a number of suicide attacks in the past, targeting security personnel. In 2014, it stormed the Army Public School in Peshawar, killing 150 people, including 131 students The outfit had threatened to carry out a series of attacks after ending its ceasefire with the Shehbaz Sharif govt last year | P9 400 Estimated No. of policemen in the mosque when the blast took place 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 Aimed to save liberal, secular ethos: Rahul Rahul says, aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy country; Call to end J&K violence as yatra concludes F aya z Wan i @ Srinagar Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said the aim of his 4,000 km long Bharat Jodo Yatra was to save the liberal and secular ethos of India. Addressing a rally here to mark the end of the yatra, he called for the end of violence in the Valley saying phone calls an, nouncing deaths of loved ones — whether of a soldier, a CRPF jawan or any Kashmiri, should stop. “No child, mother, son or any other family member should take this phone call. My aim is to stop this call,” he said. Striking a bond with Kashmiris, he said they gave him hearts full of love and not hand grenades, adding no BJP leader can walk like he did, as they are scared. “I have not done this yatra for Congress but for the country Our . aim is to stand against the ideology that wants to destroy foundation of this country. We should stand united with love and affection against them,” Rahul said. Amid heavy snowfall, Rahul said while the BJP has shown a path of politics, the Congress wants to show the country a different route — of dignity, love Pujari gets Health charge ‘End these phone calls’ Rahul said, “I can understand the pain of Kashmiris as I have seen the violence.” He recalled when he was informed about the killing of his grandma (Indira) and dad (Rajiv) over phone, adding he wanted to end such calls Rahul Gandhi (second-left) Opposition political leaders at a public rally at the end of his 145-day Bharat Jodo Yatra | PTI and affection. “Nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukan kholne ki koshish ki hai (attempted to open a shop of love in a market of hatred.” Rahul said he was warned that if he walked in Kashmir, he could be attacked. “However, I walked for four days. I thought those who hate me, let me give them an opportunity to ASI Gopal Das dismissed Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday allocated the Health portfolio to Finance and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Niranjan Pujari. Deceased minister Naba Kishore Das was in charge of the Health portfolio since May 2019. The number of members in the council of state ministers now comes down to 21 after the demise of Das. Health Minister Naba Das’ murder accused ASI Gopal Krushna Das was on Monday dismissed from service by SP Jharsuguda. Das, who has been arrested for killing Das, was interrogated by ADG Crime Branch Arun Bothra. CM Naveen Patnaik offering floral tributes to the mortal remains of Naba Das in Bhubaneswar | Shiba Prasad Sahu Odisha govt requests HC to monitor CB probe el of transparency in the investigation process. Meanwhile, accused ASI ODISHA government on Mon- Gopal Krushna Das conday moved swiftly and request- fessed to killing the minister ed the Orissa High Court to before the Crime Branch ofmonitor the investigation of ficers but persisted with the Naba Kishore Das murder theory that he is suffering case amid a massive outrage from mental health issues. and opposition demand for an CB sources said his claims impartial probe. are being verified. In a letter to the registrar Fifty three-year-old Gopal of the Orissa High was questioned by Court, the home deCrime Branch ADG partment requested Arun Bothra in t h e i nve s t i g at i o n presence of NorthThe claims of the into the killing of ern Range IG Deepaccused are being the minister should ak Kumar at Reserve verified and his either be monitored Police Line in Sunmedical history by a sitting/retired dargarh earlier in under judge of the High the day. The accused examination. Court or by a district claimed that he is unArun Bothra, ADG judge. der medication and Crime Branch C u r r e n t l y, t h e has even been conCrime Branch of the s u l t i n g a state police is probing the psychiatrist. sensational incident in which “The claims of the accused an assistant sub inspector of are being verified and his medpolice (ASI) shot dead the ical history under examinaminister at Brajrajnagar in tion. The motive behind the Jharsuguda on Sunday. murder is yet to be established The home department let- and further investigation is ter stated that murder of the continuing,” said Bothra. He, health minister is a sensitive however, did not disclose issue in which a policeman is whether the accused has reinvolved. Hence, there is a vealed that it was a pre-planned need to maintain highest lev- murder or not. Continued on P5 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar VVIP security to be reviewed A s i s h M e h ta @ Bhubaneswar ODISHA government will comprehensively review the security provided to all the VVIPs, including top functionaries of the state. A day after health minister Naba Kishore Das was shot dead in full public glare in Jharsuguda district’s Brajrajnagar by an assistant sub-inspector of police, official sources said the government is reviewing the security arrangements. “We will take stock of the situation to analyse what went wrong and to ensure such an incident never recur,” Director General of Police Sunil Kumar Bansal told The New Indian Express. The State Security Committee takes a call on the security of VVIPs. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s security is managed by the Special Branch, while Commissionerate Police makes arrangements for Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal. Sources said there are about 200 people in Odisha who are provided different levels of security like X,Y, Z and Z+ considering their respective threat perceptions. The CM is provided Z+ security which includes officers in uniforms and plain clothes. “The security arrangements of the VVIPs are decided after a lot of deliberations. We will review the existing arrangement,” said the Continued on P5 DGP  . Didi calls on Amartya to express solidarity on Univ land row, announces Z-plus cover P r o na b M o nda l @ Kolkata Two days after Visva Bharati, a Central university, directed Nobel laureate Amartya Sen to return part of a plot where his residence is located in Santiniketan, saying he was occupying it illegally, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called on him to express solidarity and announced Zplus security cover for him. Mamata and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee are the only other persons in the state with Z-plus security . During her visit to Birbhum on Monday, Mamata met Sen at his residence and also gave him the original records of his land that were in the government’s possession. “People of Bengal are unhappy with the way Nobel laureate has been humiliated. Allegations of land grabbing against him (Sen) are baseless. It is an attempt to malign his reputation. No one has the right to insult him. We won’t tolerate it. I have collected the original records of his land and handed over to him. Z-plus security will be provided for him,’’ said Mamata after the meeting. The letter to Sen issued by Visva Bharati on January 27 said, “You are in possession of 1.38 acre of land which is in excess of your legal entitlement of 1.25 acre. Kindly return the land to Visva Bharati as early as possible since application of the laws of the land will cause embarrassment to you and also t o Vi s va B h a r at i which you endear so much.’’ This was the Visva Bharati’s second letter to Sen asking him to handover the excess leased land in his possession. The chief minister said her government will decide the next course of legal action to protect Sen’s rights once she is back in Kolkata. Timing on the missive curious Visva Bharati’s letter came days after the Nobel laureate’s remark that Mamata has qualities to become the prime minister of the country. Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre, Mamata said, ‘’I want Visva Bharati to run properly instead of attempts at saffronisation.’’ change the colour of my white Tshirt to red...Kashmiri people did not give me a hand grenade but gave me love and warmth,” he said. The rally was meant to be a show of strength for the Opposition, but many leaders could not make it due to adverse weather and most locals chose to say indoors. Apart from the Congress leaders, Farooq and Omar Abdullah of National Conference, Mehbooba Mufti of PDP D Raja , of CPI, RSP’s Premchandran, and leaders from DMK, JMM, BSP VCK and IUML participated , in the rally . Guj court convicts Asaram in 2nd rape case D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad The Gandhinagar sessions court on Monday convicted self-styled godman Asaram in a rape case filed by a Surat-based woman in 2013. The quantum of sentence is likely to be pronounced on Tuesday . Sessions court judge D K Soni acquitted six other accused, including Asaram’s wife Laxmiben, their daughter, and four disciples who were accused of aiding and abetting the crime, for want of evidence. Asaram’s lawyer said his client will challenge the order in the Gu- jarat High Court. The complainant, one of Asaram’s former devotees, accused the influential spiritual leader of raping her on several occasions between 1997 and 2006 when she was staying at his ashram at Motera. Special public prosecutor R C Kodekar and public prosecutor Sunil Pandya told the media that they will try to get maximum punishment for the accused. Notably the complainant’s young, er sister had accused Asaram’s son, Narayan Sai, of sexually exploiting her when she was staying in Asaram’s Jahangirpura ashram in Surat between 2002 and 2005. Sai, too, was booked for rape and has been awarded life imprisonment by a Surat court. The 81-year-old godman is currently serving a life sentence in a Jodhpur jail for raping a minor girl at his ashram in Rajasthan in 2013. His two accomplices were sentenced to 20 years in jail by the court in the same case for their roles.