HUBBALLI SATURDAY APRIL 13, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 18 CITY EDITION GOVT ASKS INDIANS NOT TO GO TO ISRAEL, IRAN AMID RISING TENSIONS CAUTION AGAINST TRAVEL WITHIN ISRAEL In its advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs urged Indians residing in Iran and Israel to exercise utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to a bare minimum. The US embassy in Israel has also curbed movement of its staff and their families “out of an abundance of caution” in view of a potential revenge attack by Iran on Israel | P9 MEA’s advisory comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia following Israel’s strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria on April 1 48 hours IRAN’S THREAT IS ‘REAL & VIABLE’, SAYS U.S. ■ The strike on Iran consulate in Syria killed 7 members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including two generals. Tehran has vowed to avenge the attack saying no Israeli mission anywhere in the world will be safe from now on ■ “We deem the potential threat by Iran to be real, to be viable,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday IRAN MAY HIT ISRAEL IN A MATTER OF HOURS, WALL STREET JOURNAL REPORTED ON FRIDAY 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 NIA nabs B’luru bomber, mastermind in Bengal Alleged bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazeb and mastermind Adbul Matheen Taha were staying in a lodge under false identities BALA CHAUHAN & MUKESH R A N J A N @ Bengaluru/ New Delhi THE National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two accused in the Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast — the alleged mastermind Adbul Matheen Taha and bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazeb — from West Bengal in the wee hours of Friday . The two were staying in a lowbudget lodge in Kanthi — a small town about 180 km from Kolkata in the state’s Purba Medinipur district. As per NIA, BOYCOTT OF COURTS HC to amend rules to act against errant advocates they were staying in the lodge under false names. The agency, in an official release, acknowledged the cooperation of central intelligence agencies and state police agencies of West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala in the professionally coordinated joint operation to nab the two terror accused. The NIA special court in Kolkata, where the accused were produced, granted three days transit remand to the agency to take them to Bengaluru. Taha’s arrest is a breakthrough for the NIA as his name Accused being taken to NIA court in Kolkata on Friday| PTI figured prominently as an accused in several terror-related cases in Karnataka since 2019. Hindu leader in Tamil Nadu. The Rameshwaram Cafe blast on March 1 in the IT hub of Bengaluru injured nine persons. Shazeb allegedly kept the bag containing the IED near the hand wash area of popular cafe. He was spotted de-boarding a bus before entering the cafe with the bag. On March 28, the NIA arrested Muzammil Shareef, an alleged key conspirator, from Bengaluru after massive raids across 18 locations in three states; 12 in Karnataka, 5 in Tamil Nadu and one in UP. RAMAKRISHNA BADSESHI @ Kalaburagi @ Bengaluru Congress in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge and DCM DK Shivakumar at a poll rally in Kalaburagi on Friday | EXPRESS India relocates diplomatic staff from Sittwe to Yangon E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi IN view of the precarious security situation in the Myanmarese city of Sittwe, India has relocated its staff from its consulate there to Yangon. According to reports, several parts of Myanmar have been witnessing intense fighting between the military junta and resistance forces, which have already captured several towns, including military bases. “We have temporarily relocated our staff at CGI (Consulate General of India) Sittwe to Yangon. Our Consulate in Mandalay remains fully functional,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday. He added that India is closely monitoring the ongoing conflict between the military junta in Myanmar and the ethnic armed organisations. Jaiswal said the security situation in Myanmar remains “precarious” and is deteriorating. “Necessary steps have been taken to ensure the safety of our citizens,” he said at his weekly media briefing. CONGRESS president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Friday that his party has implemented its guarantees promised during the last Assembly elections in Karnataka, but the BJP government at the Centre has not fulfilled its promises even after 10 years. Participating in a campaign meeting of Congress candidate Radhakrishna Doddamani, Kharge sought to know if the Modi government has fulfilled any of its promises. He said Congress has implemented its five guarantees and the people of Karnataka are enjoying their benefits now. “Are you enjoying the benefits of any guarantees of the Modi government?,” he asked the audience. Kharge said, “During the previous Lok Sabha elections, Modi promised people that if his party comes to power, it will create two crore jobs every year. Has he fulfilled this promise? Modi promised to bring back black money stashed abroad and give every Indian Rs 15 lakh. Has any body received Rs 15 lakh? Modi also promised to double the income of farmers. Has any farmer’s income doubled so far?” He claimed that only Congress fulfils the promises it makes. If I.N.D.I.A. comes to power, it will provide Rs 1 lakh each to a woman head of a poor family, it will give Rs 1 lakh each to youth who have completed one-year apprenticeship in any company for self-employment, it will legalise MSP for farm produce, and waive crop loans of farmers. Kharge alleged that the rail coach production unit, which he started in Yadgir district when he was Union minister, was stopped by the NDA government. His request to upgrade the ESIC Medical Complex in Kalaburagi to All-India Institute of Medical Sciences P6 was turned down. SITTING at a juice shop opposite Mecca Masjid near Charminar on Eid-ul-Fitr, Noor Mohammed, a businessman and resident of Moghulpura, lamented the lack of basic amenities and civic infrastructure in Hyderabad’s Old City , the bastion of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). “For two decades, [Asaduddin] Owaisi has been the MP from here. But the dingy lanes, traffic snarls, potholed passages and inundation of streets are testimony to the bad conditions in most areas under the constituency,” Noor remarked, drawing a comparison with Cyberabad and Secunderabad. Nevertheless, the 52-year-old businessman said the AIMIM boss wins because he voices the con- cerns of the Muslim community on a nationwide platform. The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency which has a Muslim ma, jority has been an AIMIM strong, hold for four decades since Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi first won as an independent in 1984. After six consecutive victories, son Asaduddin took over in 2004. In 2019, he defeated his nearest rival — the BJP’s Bhagavanth Rao — by over 2.8 lakh votes. Notably, the polling percentage (44.84%) in 2019 was the second lowest in the segment since 1957 when it was 41.1%. Six of the seven Assembly segments falling under Hy- 5.51 5.89 5.34 5.45 4.78 Mastermind Taha belongs to a self-proclaimed terror outfit ‘Al Hind IS’, which was formed in B’luru in 2019 He is said to be the common thread in almost all terrorist activities in Karnataka ever since 2019 ‘Campaign will be on guarantees’ Former minister Vinay Kumar Sorake said the party’s campaign focus will be on the five guarantees of the state govt and the 25 guarantees promised under 5 ‘nyays’ in the manifesto | P6 Modi promised to give every Indian Rs 15 lakh. Has any body received Rs 15 lakh? Modi also promised to double the income of farmers. Has any farmer’s income doubled? Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC president Combd Total 5.66 MAR 2023 Vote from home starts today in K’taka, to continue for 5 days Bengaluru: Voting in Karnataka, which comes under Phase-2 of the elections across India, starts from April 13 with Vote From Home (VFH) and will continue for the next five days. A total of 40,743 people have opted for VFH. Of them, 37,739 people are aged above 85 years of age and 13,004 are People with Disabilities (PwD) | P4 derabad are represented by AIMIM legislators. One, Goshamahal, is with the BJP, with T Raja Singh winning for the third time in 2023. With Feroz Khan, who contested from Hyderabad in 2019 on a Congress ticket recently indicating that dosti (friendship) has been forged between the AIMIM and the grand old party — the ruling party in the state is yet to even announce its candidate — Asaduddin’s main opponent will be the BJP’s new firebrand Madhavi Latha. Latha was arguably more popular outside the segment, at least till a recent TV interview. “I came to know about her only from Aap ki Adalat,” said a person at Alijah Kotla, one of the many singing Latha’s praises. The 49-yearold chairperson of Virinchi hospitals, who is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, told this newspaper that the entire neighbourhood — Secunderabad and Cyberabad — has gone much ahead. CONTINUED ON: P9 ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR Total 4.14 URBAN Combd 5.09 4.85 4ta FEB 2024 MAR 2024 (FINAL) (PROVISIONAL) M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi INDIA’s annual retail inflation declined to 4.85% in March, down from 5.09% in February according to government data released on , Friday. The consumer price based inflation has remained within the RBI’s target range. The data showed that food and beverage inflation fell to 7.68% in March from 7.8% recorded in February. Fuel inflation stood at -3.24%, a decrease from -0.77%. Cooking oil prices witnessed an 11.72% decline in March, while the price rise in spices slowed to 11.4% from 13.28% in February. The inflation in pulses decreased to 17.71% from 20.47% in January . However, vegetable prices shot up 28.34% in March, disturbing the kitchen budget of households. Cereal prices also rose 8.37% during the month. According to ICRA, the food & beverages inflation will remain above the 7% mark in April. It warns that the impending heatwave may push prices of perishables, heightening the criticality of a favourable monsoon in 2024 to keep food inflation in check. Meanwhile, another set of data showed India’s industrial production growth accelerated to a four-month high of 5.7% in February . Infrastructure and intermediate goods grew at 8.5% and 9.5%, respectively while consum, er durables contracted 3.8%. Visually challenged files papers Noted astrologer SK Jain passes away at 67 in Bengaluru Bengaluru: Noted astrologer Dr Surendra Kumar Jain passed away in Bengaluru on Friday due to pulmonary complications. He was 67. Jain had become a household name with his show telecast on a Kannada channel for over 20 years. Recently, the government conferred the Rajyotsava Award on him | P5 Combd Figures in % RURAL Retail inflation moderates to 4.85% in March EXPRESS READ Despite anti-incumbency, Owaisi is frontrunner A J AY T O M A R @ Hyderabad Decline in food and fuel prices helps cool inflation BIG CATCH ONLY CONG FULFILLS ITS PROMISES: KHARGE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE THE High Court of Karnataka has published a draft of the proposed amendment to the “Rules laying down conditions subject to which an advocate shall be permitted to practice in the high court and the courts subordinate thereto (Amendment) Rules, 2024” framed by it. The purpose of the amendment is to insert Rule 13, which deals with strike/boycott of courts by advocates. The rule proposes to consider strike by advocates as an interference with the administration of justice. Advocates participating in strikes by boycotting courts may be suspended from practising in lower or higher courts. The proposed rules will come into force from the date of their publication in the gazette. According to the draft published recently if advocates or , the association of advocates have grievances or complaints, they should submit a written representation to the chief justice or the grievance redressal committee (GRC) constituted by the CJ. If proceedings under the Act are registered, and if the CJ, pending such proceedings, is of the view that the acts of the advocates interfere with the administration of justice, may order their suspension. The chief justice is also vested with the power to revoke their suspension. The NIA announced a bounty of `10 lakh on credible information leading to the arrest of Taha and Shazeb. The two belong to Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district. “It was Taha who also worked on the escape plans of the duo and managed to evade arrest all these weeks,” a senior NIA official informed. In May 2020, the NIA had announced a reward of `3 lakh for information leading to Taha’s arrest in the Al-Hind Bengaluru module case. The module is said to be behind the murder of a A LITTLE COMFORT R A M A K R I S H N A B A D S E S H I @ Bidar Independent candidate for Shivamogga LS seat KS Eshwarappa arrives to file his nomination with PM Modi lookalike Sadananda Nayak of Udupi, on Friday | EXPRESS ‘Modi’ shines in KSE roadshow in S’mogga E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Shivamogga WHEN the issue of using PM Modi’s picture during poll campaign by independent candidate KS Eshwarappa is before a local court, the former deputy chief minister sprung a surprise on thousands of his supporters by bringing a man resembling Modi to file his nomination papers for Lok Sabha elections, in the city on Friday . Sadananda Nayak, the Modi lookalike, hails from Bommarabet- KSE FILES PAPERS AS INDEPENDENT tu village of Hiriyadka town in Udupi district. He is a cook and Shivamogga: started working after dropping out Senior BJP leader of school.Nayak took part in a mas- K S Eshwarappa sive procession taken out by Rash- filed his trabhaktara Balaga, which is sup- nomination p o r t i n g E s h w a r a p p a f o r papers as an independent Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat. A large number of supporters candidate from from different parts of the district the Shivamogga and also from Byndoor Assembly Lok Sabha constituency participated in the constituency on Friday. procession. Nayak stole the show as he marched with Eshwarappa in the city Waving at the . crowd, Nayak sought support for Eshwarappa with folded hands. Raising slogans in support of Eshwarappa, his supporters carried flags bearing the picture of Modi during the procession. “After winning the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat, I will go to New Delhi and take the blessings of PM Modi and support him,” Eshwarappa said after filing his nomination papers. PERHAPS for the first time in the history of Lok Sabha elections from Bidar constituency, a visually challenged candidate filed his nomination papers for the seat here on Friday . Deelip Nagappa Boosa from Kadawad village in Bidar taluk took oath as a candidate using the braille script. He filed his papers before Bidar deputy commissioner Govind Reddy who is , also the returning officer. Deelip, who studied up to Class 12, told TNIE that he got attracted to politics at a young age and wanted to contest elections. A musician by profession, Deelip said he opened a school for visually challenged people in Bidar a decade ago. However, with no support or grants from the government or NGOs, he had to shut the school. Deelip said he would visit villages in the constituency with his supporters and seek votes. He will also use social media to reach voters. He stressed the need to reserve some seats in the elected bodies, including Lok Sabha, for physically challenged people. Visually challenged candidate Deelip Boosa files his nomination papers for Bidar LS seat on Friday | EXPRESS
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