THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l monday l march 27, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION ISRO’s heaviest LVM3 rocket puts 36 satellites into orbit The 43.5-metre tall rocket, carrying internet satellites of UK-based OneWeb group, lifted off from Sriharikota at 9 am isro Complex manoeuvres in final stage oneweb ready to deliver global services The rocket deployed the first set of 16 satellites around 20 minutes after the lift-off with the rest deployed in later stages. As per NewSpace India Chairman and Managing Director D Radhakrishnan, the mission’s highlight was that the LVM3 performed a series of complex manoeuvres during the cryogenic-powered final stage to place satellites into indended orbits | P8 ■ This is the second dedicated mission of NewSpace India Ltd, the commercial arm of ISRO. OneWeb group’s first batch of 36 satellites were launched by the Indian space agency in October last year ■ The ones launched on Sunday were the final set of satellites OneWeb needs to deliver a broadband internet connection anywhere on Earth 616 number of satellites OneWeb has on the orbit after sunday’s launch 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 Rahul martyr’s son, can’t Versatile Innocent is no more betray country: Priyanka Actor to be laid to rest at the St Thomas Cathedral in Irinjalakuda at 10am on Tuesday E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Kochi Congress holds ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ protests across the country It’s a brazen display of sheer arrogance: BJP RAJ E SH KU M AR THAKUR @ New Delhi Priyanka Gandhi at the party’s ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’, to protest Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification as MP, outside Raj Ghat in New Delhi on Sunday | Parveen Negi ruling dispensation get away with their words and deeds. CONGRESS leader Priyanka “You don’t get a sentence of Gandhi Vadra on Sunday tore two years, you are not thrown into the BJP for calling her out of Parliament, you are not brother Rahul Gandhi a ‘trai- barred from contesting elector’ and casting aspersions on tions for eight years,” she said, the Nehru-Gandhi family . adding the family has kept quiAddressing a gathering at et till now but not any longer. the ‘Sankalp Satyagraha’ out“My brother even hugged the side Rajghat, she said BJP lead- PM and told him that he doesn’t ers have repeatedly inharbour any hatred tosulted her f amily, wards him. How much whose members have will you insult one sacrificed their lives man?” she asked. You (BJP) call us for the country . Launching a broaddynasts. Will you The Congress organ- call Lord Ram and side against Prime ised similar satyagra- Pandavas dynasts Minister Narendra has across the country then? Should we Modi, Priyanka said: on Sunday to protest be ashamed that “You can slap a case on our family Rahul’s disqualificame and put me in jail. members tion from Parliament. But the truth is that sacrificed their In Delhi, the party the PM is a coward. He lives for the wanted to hold the prois hiding behind country? test at the Rajghat but power.” Delhi police declined Taking a dig at BJP Priyanka Gandhi, permission. Following leaders for portraying Congress leader this, the leaders decidRahul Gandhi as ‘Paped to sit outside the memorial. pu’, Priyanka said the govern“You call my brother, a mar- ment is scared of him after latyr’s son, a traitor and your khs of people joined his Bharat minister insulted my mother in Jodo Yatra. Parliament. One of your chief She added: “Our family memministers said Rahul Gandhi bers shed blood for this flag and doesn’t even know who his fa- the land. Those who think that ther is. Your PM asks why this they can threaten or put us in family does not keep the sur- jail are wrong. We are not name of Nehru... you have in- scared. We will continue to sulted the entire family,” she fight for the democratic values said, adding that leaders of the of the country she said. ,” PR E E THA N AIR @ New Delhi Catching Arikomban won’t help, relocating 301 Colony will: Greens M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @Kochi While the Rapid Response Team (RRT) of the forest department makes preparations to catch Arikomban, the rogue tusker that has caused mayhem in Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara areas of Idukki, conservationists have opposed the move. They said removing the jumbo from Anayirangal won’t end human-elephant conflict. They said a permanent solution would be to relocate the residents of 301 Colony and declare the area as Chinnakkanal sanctuary . Meanwhile, residents have launched a protest demanding steps to catch Arikomban. Presidents of Chinnakkanal and Santhanpara panchayats will on Monday file applications to implead in the case pending be- fore the High Court, which has stayed till March 29 the operation to capture the jumbo. Environmentalist M N Jayachandran said people demanding Arikomban’s capture should prove it is a rogue elephant and caused human death. “The residents say two other elephants, Mottavalan and Chakkakomban, killed around 15 people. So after Arikomban is caught, their next demand will be to catch the two jumbos. Catching elephants and making them kumkis amounts to cruelty. We have to find other ways to address human-jumbo conflicts,” he said. The origin of the problem, he said, dates back to 2002, when the then A K Antony regime allotted land to 301 tribal families in Chinnakkanal, a natural wild jumbo habitat.  ● More on P4 Settlement trivia: There are three kinds of settlements in Anayirangal. The muthuvan tribal colonies have been around for over a century. Then there are non-tribal settlements like Singukandam, Thidir Nagar, B L Ram Suryanelli, Chinnakanal, Moolathara colony, Muthama Colony, Thondimala and Thalakkulam that were established about 35-40 years ago. The third is 301 Colony. THE BJP on Sunday lashed out at the Congress for its ‘Satyagraha’ against Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification from Parliament following his conviction in a defamation case. BJP national president J P Nadda said the Congress protest is aimed at supporting a convicted person. “The court asked Rahul Gandhi to apologies but he did not do it because of his arrogance,” he said. Speaking in similar vein, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi termed it ‘a brazen display of arrogance. “It is against the country’s Constitution and the court’s verdict against Rahul Gandhi to justify his remarks against the ‘entire backward community’ of the country he said. ,” Dubbing the agitation as an insult to Mahatma Gandhi who organised Satyagrahas only for social causes, he said the Congress is doing it for political and personal causes of a convicted person. He alleged the Sankalp Satyagraha has nothing to do with fighting for truth, adding that Rahul was convicted by a court after due legal process and his disqualification as Lok Sabha MP came as a natural corollary . Questioning the real purpose of the Satyagraha, the BJP leader said: “Is it to justify the way you insulted the entire backward community of the country, or against the court which sentenced you, or against the provision under which you have to be disqualified?” Trivedi alleged that some Congress leaders, who were allegedly involved in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, participated in the party’s agitation. Superb Sunday 4 Veteran actor Innocent, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kochi since March 3 for breathing issues, passed away on Sunday night following multiple organ failure and a heart attack. He was 75. Versatility was his second name. The remarkable ease with which Innocent portrayed roles, ranging from comedian to villain, in over 500 movies in a career spanning over four decades is testament to it. The thespian effortlessly donned the role of an organiser, politician and parliamentarian in the final decade of his life. He represented Chalakudy in the Lok Sabha as a CPMbacked independent from 2014 to 2019, and was the president of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) for several years. The actor was a cancer survivor who was diagnosed with the disease in 2012. He is survived by wife Alice, and son Sonnet Thekkethala. His body will be kept at the EXPRESS READ Another fire at Brahmapuram Kochi: The garbage heaps at Brahmapuram dump yard in Kochi caught fire again on Sunday, triggering panic among the city residents. The fire, which was noticed around 4.30pm, was quickly doused using two fire tenders stationed at the plant as a precautionary measure. Rahul issue: Cong holds satyagraha T’Puram: State Congress President K Sudhakaran accused the BJP of digging the grave of democracy while inaugurating a day-long satyagraha in East Fort against the BJP government’s vendetta politics aimed at Rahul Gandhi | P4 This was India’s fourth gold at the world women’s boxing championships. The last time India had won four gold medals was in 2006 (New Delhi) innocent ( 1948 - 2023) Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Kadavanthara in Ernakulam from 8 am to 11 am and at Irinjalakuda Municipal Town Hall from 1 pm to 3.30 pm on Monday for the public to pay homage. He will be laid to rest at the St Thomas Cathedral in Irinjalakuda at 10am on Tuesday Innocent, who carved a style Innocent was an artist who left an indelible mark in the minds of the audience with his inimitable acting style. A Leftist at heart, he became a candidate in the Lok Sabha election on LDF’s request... He raised Kerala's demands effectively in Parliament, which the state remembers with gratitude — Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister Coast Guard helicopter crashes at Kochi airport, services hit for 2 hrs E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Flight services at Kochi airport were disrupted for nearly two hours after an advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv of the Coast Guard out on a training sortie crashed near the main runway on Sunday. There were no human casualties. The chopper, which was carrying three trainee pilots, crashed at the rear end of the runway around 12.25pm while taking off. One of the pilots suffered minor injuries, and the other two escaped unhurt. “Immediately after take-off, when Coast Guard 855 was about 30-40ft above the ground, its cyclic controls (which con- mumbai high Nikhat stars Nikhat Zareen dug deep in the final to claim her second world title. Fighting in 50kg for the first time in the the event, she got the better of Nguyen Thi Tam of Vietnam 5-0. She had won the 2022 edition in 52kg Lovely Borgohain Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Lovlina Borgohain also had a gruelling fight. She was tested to the extreme by Australia’s Caitlyn Parker in the 75kg final. But her hand was raised after an absorbing final to make it four out of four for the hosts. This is her third medal and first title in the worlds Satwik-Chirag’s swiss victory Men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat China’s Ren Xiang Yu and Tan Qiang in the final of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament. The 2022 World Championships bronze medallist beat the world No. 21 pair 21-19, 24-22 of his own with his Thrissur dialect, peaked as an actor from 1985 to the late 1990s, when he played a string of roles representing a wide range of characters for directors like Priyadarshan, Sathyan Anthikad, Fazil, and Kamal. His performances in blockbusters like Kilukkam (Priyadarshan, 1991), Manichithrat- hazhu (Fazil, 1993), Azhakiya Ravanan (Kamal, 1996), Ramji Rao Speaking (Siddique-Lal, 1989), Nadodikkattu (Sathyan Anthikad, 1987), and Devaasuram (I V Sasi, 1993) are still talked about, decades after their release. However, he got his first big recognition with Mazhavil Kavadi, the 1989 film directed by Sathyan Anthikad, for his protrayal of the grim character ‘Kalarickel Kizhamkamthudiyil Shankarankutty Menon’, in a full-fledged role alongside the hero, played by Jayaram. The role fetched him the state government’s best supporting actor award. Innocent struggled during the dubbing of the film finding it difficult to get his timing and emotions in sync with the dialogues. Finally, Sathyan Anthikad told him that he would be forced to pray at the Mookambika temple to get Innocent going. To this Innocent, then slowly finding his feet in the industry, retorted, half-jokingly “Who asked you , to cast me in this role? You could have cast some famous ● More on P5 actors.”  Fire and Rescue Services personnel removing the advanced light helicopter of the Coast Guard that crashed near Kochi airport runway | T P Sooraj trol the longitudinal and lateral movement) did not respond. The helicopter veered to the left and crashed on the left side of the main runway Its rotors and . Ekm man’s custodial death kicks up storm, SI suspended E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by seven wickets to lift the first Women’s Premier League Sciver-Brunt again After restricting Delhi Capitals to 131/9 in the final, Mumbai overhauled the target with three balls to spare. Nat Sciver-Brunt led the charge with an unbeaten 60, while MI skipper supported her with a well-made 37. MI’s Issy Wong got two wickets of three balls in her first over to put brakes on Delhi Capitals | P11 Overall, it was the fifth career world tour title for the Indian pair, who had claimed the India Open and French Open last year, besides securing the Thailand Open in 2019 and Hyerabad Open in 2018 airframe were damaged,” the Coast Guard said in a statement. An inquiry to determine the cause of the accident has been ordered, it said. ● More on P2 The alleged custodial death of the father of two school-going children at Tripunithura Hill Palace police station on Saturday night has rocked the state. As per eyewitnesses, Manoharan Chathanvelil of Irumpanam was slapped by a policeman during a vehicle inspection, before being taken to the station. Manoharan, the sole breadwinner of his family was , declared dead at Ernakulam Medical Trust hospital within an hour of being taken to the police station. Following the uproar, SI Jimmy Jose, who allegedly slapped the 53-year-old, was suspended. Manoharan, who ran a small spare-parts shop in Manjummel, was reportedly dragged to the police station though he was neither riding his motorcycle under the influence of alcohol nor speeding. “Manoharan could not stop his bike immediately after he was flagged down. His vehicle ground to a halt a few metres ahead of the parked police vehicle, but he proceeded to back up his bike. One of the officers questioned his inability to stop sooner. As soon as Manoharan removed his helmet, one of the officers slapped him,” said Rema Devi, a neighbour who witnessed the high-handedness in front of ● More on P4 her house. New Christian evangelical sects denied forward community tag S h a n A S @ T’Puram In a decision that could send tremors through the state’s socio-political circles, a statutory commission constituted by the Kerala government has refused to recognise newly-established Christian evangelical groups as forward community . Such groups have converts from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Communities among their fold, Kerala State Commission for Economically Backward Classes among Forward Communities Chairman Justice (retd) C N Ramchandran Nair told TNIE. The commission is responsible for reviewing the requests of communities that want to be identified as forward commu- nities. The economically backward classes among forward communities, also known as economically weaker sections (EWS), have been earmarked 10% reservation in the state since 2020, which has enhanced interest among religious groups to be accepted as forward communities. However, the Commission decided not to endorse the applications of new Christian prayer groups, which allow conversion of SC, ST and OBC members to their fold. By doing so, the groups relinquish their right to be called as a forward community. According to the government definition, communi- ties that do not fall in the SC, ST and OBC categories alone can be termed as forward communities. “Church disputes are going on, and the unhappy ones form new prayer groups and churches. They now want to be affiliated as forward communities claiming that their members are all migrants from forward Christian communities,” Justice Nair said.  ● More on P4