kollam l tuesday l march 21, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Gold prices at record high, cross K60,000 for first time With global financial markets in turmoil, gold prices have surged to a record high with investors increasingly turning to the traditional safe haven Silver prices also soar on global cues gold rally to continue, say experts On Monday, gold price rallied J1,400 to touch a life-time high of J60,100 per 10 grams in the national capital amid strong global trends. The precious metal had ended at J58,700 per 10 grams in the previous trade. Silver also zoomed J1,860 to J69,340 per kg. In overseas markets, both gold and silver were trading higher at $2,005 per ounce and $22.55 per ounce, respectively ■ According to market experts, the demand for gold usually surges whenever there is a crisis in other, riskier assets such as equities ■ Gold’s latest rally is on the back of the collapse of the mighty Credit Suisse, and reports that over 180 US banks are weak and may fail ■ Experts expect gold prices to continue to rise in the coming days | P10 US FED Meeting on Wednesday will weigh on which way gold prices go, say experts 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 NSA slapped against 5 aides, Rahul tears into RSS & BJP, Amritpal Singh still on the run says he does not fear them Harpreet Bajwa and Y e s h i S e l i @ Chandigarh/New Delhi With pro-Khalistani rabblerouser and self-styled preacher Amritpal Singh continuing to be elusive, the Punjab Police on Monday invoked the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against five of his close associates. Amritpal could also face charges under the NSA after his arrest, said Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill. Four of those booked under the NSA were shifted to the Dibrugarh Central Jail in Assam on Sunday to isolate them from the rest of their associates. The fifth is Amritpal’s uncle Harjit Singh, who surrendered on Sunday night Sikh people holding a Tricolour stir against supporters of Amritpal Singh in New Delhi on Monday | AFP near Jalandhar. He, too, has been taken to the Assam jail. The Punjab government also extended the suspension of mobile internet services till Tuesday noon. “We have evidence that the close associates of Amritpal were forming an Anandpur Khalsa Fauj (AKF). Bullet proof jackets with AKF written on them were recovered from his house,’’ Gill said. The police suspect the accused had foreign funding as they were using hawala channels for cash transactions. “Besides, we suspect an ISI (Pakistan’s deep state) angle in it,” Gill informed. While Punjab continues to be peaceful, small pockets of protests against the police action emerged abroad. Khalistani supporters vandalised the Indian High Commission in London, attacked the Indian Consulate in San Francisco in the US and staged a protest outside the Australian Parliament in Canberra. ED quizzes Kavitha for Inaction 10 hours, to grill her again by police comes to light, two cops suspended A M IT M U K H ERJEE @ New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned BRS leader K Kavitha for over 10 hours over her alleged role in the multi-crore Delhi excise policy scam case. The Telangana MLC reached the ED office in Delhi around 10.30am and left around 9.15pm, waving a victory sign. She has been asked to appear again before the ED on Tuesday . Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was first questioned in the case on March 11 for around nine hours, following which she was summoned again on March 16. However, she skipped the Home ministry for CBI probe against NGO of Harsh Mander A M IT M U K H ERJEE @ New Delhi The Union home ministry has recommended a CBI inquiry into alleged FCRA violation by Aman Biradari, an NGO run by former IAS officer and activist Harsh Mander. According to sources, the ministry wing that monitors foreign funding to NGOs operating in India, has detected non-compliance by the NGO. As per nor ms, all NGOs operating in India that receive foreign funding need to register under the FCRA guidelines, follow certain disc l o s u r e nor ms and obtain clearance from Harsh Mander the home ministry . Sources said Aman Biradari received crores of rupees in overseas funding from organisations including a well-known UK-based donor and a leading international organisation working for poverty alleviation and social injustice. However, there were alleged non-compliance and non-adherence of the requisite disclosure norms. Mander, who was a member of the National Advisory Council headed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi during the UPA regime, had faced a probe by the Directorate of Enforcement in September 2021 for alleged financial irregularities. deposition citing her pending plea before the Supreme Court against the ED action. The ED rejected her reason and directed her to depose on March 20, following which she appeared before the agency . The apex court will hear Kavitha’s petition on March 24. The ED has filed a caveat in the SC, requesting its submission be heard before passing any order on her petition. Sources said the ED is questioning the Kavitha over her alleged involvement in the Delhi liquor policy formulation, her association with other accused, and her link to the liquor cartel known as ‘South Group’, which is alleged to have been the biggest beneficiary of the policy . Officials did not register case or nab the culprit despite being informed of attack on a woman in T’Puram. Kerala women’s panel chief justifies police | P5 Sangh attacking nation’s constitutional institutions, says Wayanad MP Clerically ignited furore continues unabated Express News Service Express News Service @Kozhikode @Kozhikode/Kannur In his first public appearance after a police team visited his New Delhi residence to question him on his claim that women were still being sexually assaulted, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he will not stop speaking against RSS no matter how many times the sleuths are sent to his house. “Sending police to my house or slapping cases on me won’t stop me from speaking against RSS’ ideology of hate and its assault on constitutional institutions of the country,” Rahul said at a public function at Mukkam in Kozhikode. Flaying the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Wayanad MP said, “BJP, RSS and Modi are assaulting India by attacking its democratic structure and constitutional institutions.” He said Modi, BJP and RSS think they themselves are the nation. RSS has forgotten that there are 140 crore people in the country and they form the nation, he said. “The PM is one Indian citi- The uproar triggered by Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany continued unabated on Monday with his fellow prelate Remigiose Inchananiyil of Thamarassery coming out openly in support of him. Meanwhile, visuals of a meeti n g b e t we e n Pamplany and local BJP leaders, days before the bishop made the controversial remarks, have come into open. Pamplany had said on Saturday that if the Union government raised the price of rubber to `300 per kg, the BJP’s seat drought in the state would be resolved, implying the rubber farmers, majority of who hails from the Christian community , would help the saffron party win seats in Kerala. Bishop Inchananiyil said he will support any political party that tries to address their concerns. What is important is whether the BJP will consider the farmers, he said. ● More on P4 EXPRESS READ Fake caste papers: HC declares CPM MLA’s election void Kochi: The Kerala High Court has declared void the election of A Raja of the CPM from Devikulam, a reserved assembly constituency in Idukki. Justice P Somarajan observed that Raja is not a member of ‘Hindu Parayan’ within Kerala and is not qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the assembly reserved for the SC community. Hence, Raja’s election from Devikulam is declared void, the court said | P4 Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the function in Mukkam, Kozhikode, on Monday Will raise farmers’ issues, says Rahul Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday declared that he will actively be involved in the issues of Kerala farmers, like the fall in prices of rubber and coconut. The statement came even as BJP is trying to cash in on the rising disenchantment among farmers with the LDF and UDF over the fronts’ alleged failure in addressing their woes | P4 zen, not entire India, no matter how arrogant he is or what he thinks. There is no way that an attack on PM, the BJP or RSS is an attack on India,” the MP said. “(However) By attacking in- dependent institutions, they are attacking the country, he said, adding that he will not stop saying this. “Some people may be afraid of BJP and RSS, not me,” Ra● More on P4 hul said.