HYDERABAD WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 07, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE CITY EDITION ELEVEN PERSONS KILLED IN MP EXPLOSION; 174 OTHERS INJURED WIN DELIVER WHEN NEEDED MOST The explosion at a crackers factory in Harda district in Madhya Pradesh triggered a massive blaze. Reasons for the fire are not known yet 97 under pressure ess in the first innings, Ashwin was India’s urth innings of the Test. So much that endent on how he went on Monday AGAINST TEST WICKETS FOR ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURUASHWIN CHENNAI ■ MADURAI(3/72) d just that, taking three crucial wickets ENGLAND IS THE MOST BY AN INDIAN 46) took over the proceedings | P13 BALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM NAM ■ THRISSUR KALABURAGI ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTI ■ ath ex ho odi SC sesstel deplay,ssaypose kin lap ; foul 0 years inese, Ruscans’. Nehru ficate to the le Indians.” ition parties etite to fight resigned to itting in ops for a very eral leader s change their Parlia ment a Sabha,” he ing from the hes on his sich as the Maand wome n . rence to Conhul Gandh i, ngress shop is losure’ as the ing the same d again.” A SESHACHARYULU @ Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri THE alleged suicide of two SSC girl students at Bhuvanagiri Scheduled Caste girls hostel on Saturday has exposed the shortcomings in the administration of state-run SC hostels. It is alleged that an auto-rickshaw driver used to sneak into the hostel in the dead of the night. Shockingly, the CCTV cameras in the hostel are nonfunctional and the hostel has only one watchman. The parents of the deceased students alleged that the suicide notes, purportedly written by the girls, were forged. The parents also alleged that the signat ures on the “suici de notes” do not tally with the signatures of the students. They SUICIDE PREVENTION HELPLINE 040-66202000 & 66202001 (Call between 11 am and 9 pm) said that they suspected the role of the staff behin d the death of the girls. The police registered cases under CrPc Section 174 against six persons, including hostel staff. Meanwhile, no counselling sessions could be conducted for the students in the hostel to instil confidence among them. There are around 110 students in the hostel studying Class VI to SSC. After the tragedy, all these students vacated the hostel on Sunday and left for their native places. CONTINUED ON P5 Probe ordered, counselling for students MY MOMENT of SC girls hostels INSIDE Sudha, Mohanmas. The album June 30, 2023. tance speech , adeva n said, ys, and thank friends, and Ind of you, India. dedicate this e, to whom every c is dedicated.” CHAMPAI SOREN EASILY WINS TRUST VOTE IN JHARKHAND ASSEMBLY, HEMANT SOREN TAKES PART IN VOTING I P9 Zakir Hussain bagged two more Gram mys in differe nt categories. He won the award for Best Global Music Perfor mREVANTH MEETS SONIA ance for the song Pashto, alongIN DELHI, INVITES HER side Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer TO CONTEST FROM and Rakesh Chaurasia. They TELANGANA, LAUNCH in the catwon another award `500 LPG CYLINDER AND @ Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri P4 FREE 200 UNITS OF egory, Contemporary InstruPOWER SCHEMES I mental Album, for the album As We Speak. A SESHACHARYULU THE state government on Tuesday appointed Women and Child Welfare department joint director (schemes) KRS Lakshmi Devi as the inquiry officer to investigate the death of two girl students in Bhuvanagiri SC hostel on Saturday Or. ders to this effect were issued by Women and Child Welfare secretary Vakati Karuna. Meanwhile, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district collector Hanumanthu K Jendage issued an order suspending hostel warden R Shailaja. The collector also issued an order appointing special deputy collector Nagalakshmi to probe the incident. Speaking to TNIE, he said that counselling will be conducted for students of eight girls hosExpress tels run by the SC Welfare department. Impact Earlier in the day Wom, en and Child Welfare Minister D Anasuya (Seethakka) directed Vakati Karuna to order a probe into the incident. The minister also directed the officials to complete the inquiry post-haste and take steps to punish those responsible for the deaths of the two students. Meanwhile, parents are not willing to send their wards back to the hostel following the alleged suicide of the two Class X girl students. B Kasaiah from Rayagiri said that he will not send his daughter, studying in Class VIII, to the hostel. He also said that most of the other parents share his point of view. “I will send my daughter only if the authorities shift the hostel to another building,” RELATED REPORT ON P2 Kasaiah said. ■ HOSPITALS ON HIGH ALERT FOR BURN VICTIMS Fire brigade from Harda, adjoining districts and Indore were pressed into service to put out the blaze. Hospitals in Bhopal and Indore were put on heightened alert to deal with the sudden flow of critically injured persons from Harda. Besides fire brigades, ambulances, doctors, NDRF and SDRF teams were rushed from neighbouring districts to speed up rescue efforts ■ 11 am FACTORY IN RUBBLE; BODY PARTS SCATTERED ■ A video shot from a helicopter, carrying cabinet minister Uday Pratap Singh showed the factory reduced to a rubble Videos on social media showed the intensity of the explosions was so high that the body parts of the victims were flung far off and people can be seen collecting what appeared like human remains | P8 FIRE BROKE OUT AND THE ENTIRE AREA FELT TREMORS BECAUSE OF EXPLOSION VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOGGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Uttarakhand’s UCC bill tabled, live-in registration mandatory Opposition seeks more time to study legislation; wants it sent to House panel for vetting KEY FEATURES N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun AMONG the major talking points of the Uniform Civil Code bill that was tabled in Uttarakhand’s special assembly session on Tuesday was the stipulation that live, in partners must register themselves within a month with district officials or face imprisonment. Anyone in a live-in relationship for more than a month without getting it registered could face up to three months in jail or a fine of up to `10,000 or both. Those providing false information could be asked to cough up `25,000. On the flip side, children born of such relationships will be considered legitimate and deserted women will be entitled to maintenance from their partners. Live-in partners cannot be under 18. If any one of them is under 21, the registrar would be mandated to inform their parents or guardians, bill states. During the debate on the bill, the opposition Congress pressed for it to be sent to a House panel for review. The bill was originally stated for debate and passage on Tuesday But since the op. position demanded more time to study it, Speaker Ritu Khanduri said the discussion will continue on Wednesday . The bill proposes a uniform process for the registration of marriage and divorce. Couples and officials have also been assigned responsibilities and accountability. Failing to register a marriage or not complying with the rules would attract a maximum fine of `25,000. Uniform divorce law across all religions Provision for compulsory registration for live-in relationships Across-the-board bar on polygamy Consistent regulations for post-divorce financial support Uniform adoption law irrespective of religious beliefs Equal property rights for girls across the board Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami holds a copy of the Constitution at Vidhan Sabha Bhawan Among the other significant recommendations made by the UCC panel were the prohibition of practices such as polygamy halala, iddat, and child marriage, , the establishment of a uniform age for marriage for girls regardless of religion, equal inheritance rights for all genders. Members of the ruling BJP referred to the Shah Bano case several times during the discussion, accusing the Congress of changing the law instead of respecting the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Shah Bano case. The BJP 47 MLAs in the 70-member assembly . Education minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat said, “The UCC committee visited various regions of the state and sought suggestions from people in open meetings before framing the bill. It received a total Legal marriage age for girls to be set at 18 years universally Tribal communities exempt from UCC of 2,32,961 suggestions.” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prem Chand Aggarwal said, “Nothing contained in this Code shall apply to members and group of persons belonging to Scheduled Tribes whose customary rights are protected.” During the 2022 assembly elections, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had set up a committee chaired by Justice Ranjana Desai to oversee the implementation of the UCC. Initially set up for a sixmonths, the panel got four extensions before submitting its final report. Coming as it does ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the bill fulfils one of the key promises of the BJP in its manifesto. It is the first of its kind legislation the country since independence. POLL VAULT IMMUNITY PEDDAPALLI MP DUMPS ARGUMENTS REJECTED Donald Trump may face trial on charges that he plotted to overturn the results of 2020 election, rejecting his claims that he is immune from prosecution | P9 Hockey player Varun Kumar booked under POCSO Act E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru BENGALURU Police has booked feted hockey player Varun Kumar under the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint by a 21-year-old woman, who accused the Arjuna awardee of sexually abusing her when she was a minor. The woman, who hails from Hyderabad and is currently working with an airline, said she met Kumar in 2018 when he was training at the Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru, where she was also training for volleyball. She said Kumar later contacted her through Instagram and insisted on meeting her. He then allegedly proposed to her and started physical relationship with her with the promise of marriage. In her complaint to police, the woman said that in July 2019, Kumar took her to a hotel in Bengaluru on the pretext of having a discussion about their marriage and got physically intimate with her despite her resistance. She said she continued their physical relationship for over five years based on his promise to marry her. She finally filed a complaint when he allegedly stopped responding to her calls and messages and also refused to marry her. Accused currently in Odisha Varun is currently training with the national squad in Bhubaneswar for the upcoming FIH Pro League. India are scheduled to face Spain in their opening encounter on February 10 BRS FOR CONGRESS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad IN yet another setback to the Opposition BRS, Peddapalli (SC reserved constituency) MP Borlakunta Venkatesh Neta joined the ruling Congress in the presence of AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday barely months , ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Recently former deputy chief minis, ter Tatikonda Rajaiah resigned from the primary membership of the BRS. In an official statement, the Chief Minister’s Office conveyed Venkatesh Neta’s dissatisfaction with the “uncooperative attitude” of BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao and his son KT Rama Rao, who is also the working president of the pink party . Sources said that multiple legislators of the BRS — MLCs, MLAs and MPs — are in touch with the Congress and poised to follow Venkatesh Neta into the grand old party soon. Additionally , the sources said a former minister in the BRS government will likely join the Congress ranks “very soon” to cont e s t t h e u p c o m i n g L o k S ab h a elections. With the electoral battleground looming, the Congress is eyeing lead- ers from both the BRS and the BJP set, ting off speculation regarding the potential defectors and the impact they could have on the political landscape. Several BRS MLAs recently visited the chief minister’s residence. While they vehemently denied that they planned to defect, the meeting indicated that the BRS leaders are exploring political alternatives. A senior Congress leader said that as many as 26 leaders, both MLAs and MPs, are in touch with them. Alongside Venkatesh Neta, M Jeevan Reddy, a former TTD board member from the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district, also joined the Congress in the presence of KC Venugopal. Following their induction, the newly joined leaders paid a courtesy call on Kharge, accompanied by Venugopal and Revanth Reddy . Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, MLAs Yennam Srinivas Reddy (Mahbubnagar), Janampally Anirudh Reddy (Jadcherla), G Madhusudan Reddy (Devarakadra) Veerlapalli Shankar (Shadnagar) and special representative of the state government in Delhi Mallu Ravi, former minister G Chinna Reddy CWC special , invitee Challa Vamsichand Reddy and others were present. Congress plans Priyanka meeting to checkmate BRS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad THE Congress has invited AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to address a massive public meeting in the state to counter the narrative of the Opposition BRS and also launch two of the ruling party’s six guarantees — LPG refill at `500 and up to free 200 units of electricity to eligible BPL families. Earlier on Tuesday, BRS supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao acCongress cused the state government of shortlists deciding to hand over projects 3 names for on the River Krishna to the each seat Krishna River Management Of the 309 Board (KRMB) and announced a applicants for protest in Nalgonda on Februtickets to the 17 Lok ary 13. Sabha seats in The Congress plans to counter Telangana, the this narrative of the BRS with Pradesh Election its own public meeting. Committee (PEC) is Chief Minister A Revanth believed to have Reddy is learnt to have told the shortlisted three Pradesh Election Committee names for each (PEC) that met in the Gandhi segment during the Bhavan on Tuesday that the BRS meeting. Notably, was trying to divert the attencandidate selection tion of the public from the lapsfor certain es and corruption in the Kaconstituencies was leshwaram Lift Ir rig ation learnt to have been Scheme (KLIS). deferred, allowing The PEC meeting was attendroom for new ed by AICC general secretary entrants to join and Telangana in-charge Deepa the party. Dasmunshi, Screening Committee members Harish Choudhury and Jignesh Mewani, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy TPCC working president and , MLC B Mahesh Kumar Goud and several other senior leaders. The meeting also delved into discussions regarding the chief minister’s request to Sonia Gandhi to contest from CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 the state. EXPRESS READ ED raids premises linked to AAP MP, Kejriwal’s secretary New Delhi: The ED on Tuesday carried out searches here at over a dozen locations, including premises of AAP MP and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal secretary, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board’s (DJB) tendering process. The residences of CM’s aide Bibhav Kumar, former DJB member Shalabh Kumar, AAP Rajya Sabha MP N D Gupta, chartered accountant Pankaj Mangal and others associated with the ruling party in Delhi were raided at 7 am, sources said. Kejriwal said 23 ED officers carried out raids at the house of his PA. They also searched the premises of Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh. Goa-based Nigerian peddler nabbed In jolt to Pawar Sr, ECI holds Ajit-led group as real NCP in Hyd with drugs worth `8 crore E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad PUNJAGUTTA police and Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB) sleuths on Tuesday apprehended Iwuala Udoka Stanley a 43-year-old , Nigerian national, for allegedly peddling drugs and seized narcotics worth `8 crore from his possession. The seizure included 557 grams cocaine and other drugs. Briefing reporters here, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone) SM Vijay Kumar said that 557 grams of cocaine, 902 pills of Ecstasy weighing 390 grams, 105 LSD blots, 215 grams of charas, 21 grams of heroin, seven grams of am- phetamine, 45 grams of OG weed, 190 grams of weed and eight mobile phones were seized from his possession. The drugs would have been enough for approximately 4,000 addicts, police said. The DCP said that Stanley had close to 500 customers, of which seven were from Hyderabad. “He was into the readymade clothing business and turned into a peddler supplying cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, ganja, weed oil and more,” he said. Stanley came on the radar of the police during an investigation into an NDPS Act case registered in SR Nagar police station in 2023 and a team had kept watch on CONTINUED ON P2 him for over a month. PA R V E Z S U LTA N & S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ New Delhi/Mumbai IN a major setback to Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday recognised the faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar as the real NCP and allowed it to use the party’s symbol Wall Clock. Sharad Pawar will have to apply for a new party and symbol by Wednesday 4.00 pm; otherwise, his MLAs will be recognised as independents. While adjudicating the matter in favour of the Ajit camp, the ECI said Sharad Pawar failed to prove he enjoys the support of a majority of NCP legislators. The ECI followed three tests — test of aims and objectives of party constitution, test of party constitution, and test of majority — to adjudicate the case. Both factions failed to pass the first two tests, while the Ajit-led group passed the third test of majority . The ECI found that Ajit enjoys the support of 41 MLAs and 5 MLCs in Maharashtra, 7 MLAs in Nagaland, one MLA in Jharkhand, and two Lok Sabha MPs and one Rajya sabha MP. Sharad Pawar has got the support of 15 MLAs and 4 MLCs in Maharashtra, two MLAs in Kerala, and 4 Lok Sabha MPs and 3 Rajya Sabha MPs. One Lok sabha MP has given affidavits for both sides. Reacting to the decision, NCP MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule said they will move the Supreme Court within two days. “We are clearly doing two things. First, we are going to the Supreme Court in the next 48 hours. Second, the Election Commission has given us an option to give them three names and three symbols by tomorrow (Wednesday) evening, so we will of course do that…What was done with Shiv Sena earlier is happening with us now. It is not a new order. Only the name has changed but the content is the same,” she said. Ajit Pawar had split the NCP in July last year after he walked away with a majority of MLAs and joined the Eknath Shinde government as deputy CM along with eight other NCP legislators as cabinet ministers.
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