vijayawada l sunday l april 14, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l LATE CITY EDITION 6 dead after knife-wielding man goes on stabbing spree in Sydney 5 women and a man died and 8 others, including a 9-month-old baby, were injured in the attack at a busy Sydney shopping centre on Saturday Cops tight-lipped about killer’s identity ‘motive unclear but No terror angle’ The 40-year-old man began stabbing people at the sprawling Westfield Bondi Junction mall complex, which was packed with thousands of Saturday afternoon shoppers, before a police inspector shot him fatally. The killer, whose identity has not been revealed, did not even spare a small baby. The baby is in emergency surgery while its mother died, police said ■ New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the assailant acted alone and that the police is not treating it as a terrorism incident for now ■ “We are confident that there is no ongoing risk, and we are dealing with one person who is now deceased,” Webb said in a press briefing. She added that the police has started the work to determine the killer’s motive for the attack 35 WERE shot dead on April 28, 1996 by a lone gunman in Port Arthur, Australia 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 CBI books BJP’s top donor MEIL in bribery case FIR says Hyderabad-based firm paid `78 lakh to officials to get bills worth `174 crore cleared MUK E SH RA N JA N @ New Delhi Tribals stage protest in Arla, demand polling station E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam Tribals residing in Arla panchayat of Rolugunta mandal in Anakapalle district staged a protest on Saturday, demanding the authorities to establish a polling station in their panchayat for the upcoming elections.  Additionally the women of , the community also conducted a ‘doli yatra’, urging the district and Election Commission officials to address their concerns. The residents of six hilltop villages and another two villages in Arla panchayat are forced to trek approximately 15 kilometres to reach the nearest polling station in Sarabhavaram to cast their votes. The villages, including Neellabanda, Pedagaruvu, Kotha Losingi, Patha Losingi, Aarla, Pitrigedda, Gurralabailu, and Gadabapalem, have historically faced challenges in exercising their Right to Vote. Despite the formation of Arla panchayat in 2020 and the subsequent conduct of new panchayat elections within its boundaries, the issue of polling stations still persists. Tribal women expressed disappointment upon discovering that their names were listed under Sarabhavaram panchayat for the upcoming elections instead of Arla.  P3 THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against Hyderabad-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Ltd (MEIL), which was the biggest donor of electoral bonds to the BJP at `586 crore, in an alleged bribery case. In the FIR, seen by TNIE, the CBI has also named eight officials of the NISP and NMDC and two officials of MECON. The FIR alleges the officials received bribes of `78 lakh for clearing MEIL’s bills worth `174 crore in connection with works related to Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur integrated steel plant. According to the electoral bonds data released by the Election Commission following a Supreme Court ruling, MEIL was the second biggest buyer of electoral bonds at `966 crore. Apart from contributing to the BJP, the firm also donated `195 crore to the BRS, `85 crore to DMK, and `37 crore to YSRCP. The TDP got about `25 crore from the company, while the Congress got `17 crore. The JD-S, Jana Sena Party and the JD-U got smaller sums ranging from `5 crore to `10 crore. In the FIR, the CBI has said it had registered a preliminary enquiry (PE) on August 10, 2023 regarding the alleged bribery in `315 crore project related to works of intake well and pump house and cross-country pipeline at the integrated steel plant of the NMDC in Jagdalpur, which was awarded to the company . “Based on the findings of the PE, a recommendation was made on March 18 to register a regular case into the alleged bribery which was filed on March 31,” the FIR read. The CBI has named eight officials of NISP and NMDC Ltd — retired executive director Prashant Dash; director (production) D K Mohanty; deputy general manager P K Bhuyan; D M Naresh Babu; senior manager Subro Banerjee; retired CGM (finance) L Krishna Mohan; general manager (finance) K Rajshekhar; and manager (finance) Somnath Ghosh, who allegedly received `73.85 lakh in bribe. Preliminary enquiry filed in Aug 2023 According to the FIR made public on Saturday, CBI had registered a preliminary enquiry on August 10, 2023 about alleged bribery in `315 crore project related to works at the integrated steel plant Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh FIR names MECON officials CBI also named two MECON officials — AGM Sanjeev Sahay and DGM K Illavarsu — who allegedly got `5.01 lakh against the payment of `174.41 crore by NMDC to MEIL via 73 invoices Scores of people greet CM Jagan as his bus yatra entered Vijayawada Central constituency on Saturday; The YSRC president sustained an injury above his eyebrow | Express Jagan hurt in stone pelting in V’wada E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Narendra Modi, PM @narendramodi In a clear case of security breach, a stone was pelted at Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Vijayawada during his ‘Memanta Siddham’ bus yatra on Saturday. The YSRC president sustained an injury above his eyebrow and was immediately administered first aid. There was also a mild swelling on his face. T he incident happened around 7.30 pm when Jagan’s cavalcade was passing through the Kandrika area in Vijayawada Central constituency. The Chief Minister was greeting people from atop his caravan when a stone hit his forehead. It is suspected that a slingshot was used to hit him. Security officials immediately brought Jagan into the caravan. Former minister and YSRC candidate for Vijayawada Central Assembly constituency Velampalle Srinivas also suffered an inju- I pray for the speedy recovery and good health of Andhra Pradesh CM @ysjagan Garu. MK Stalin, Tamil Nadu CM @mkstalin I condemn the stonethrowing on Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh CM Thiru @ysjagan. Political differences should never escalate to violence. Let’s uphold civility and mutual respect as we engage in the democratic process ry Security was beefed up fol. lowing the incident. However, Jagan continued his roadshow. Later in the night, on the advice of doctors, he went to the Government General Hospital in Vijayawada for treatment. A plastic sur- geon closed the wound by placing two fine stitches. Medication was also administered to treat the swelling. On the advice of doctors, Jagan will take a break from poll campaigning on Sunday . A senior police officer, who Iran seizes Israel cargo vessel, 17 Indians detained Y e s h i Se l i @ New Delhi a day after India issued an advisory asking its citizens not to travel to Iran and Israel in view of heightened tensions in West Asia, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday seized a Portugal-flagged cargo ship near the Gulf of Oman near Strait of Hormuz with 17 Indians on board. A video of the capture showed two soldiers sliding down from a helicopter through ropes on the deck of the ship in the Gulf of Oman. “We are aware that a cargo ship ‘MSC Aries’ (Mediterranean Shipping Company) has been taken control by Iran. We are in touch with Iranian authorities through diplomatic channels, both in Tehran and Delhi, to ensure the safety welfare and ear, ly released of Indian nationals,’’ an official said. Sources said Iran’s military seized the ship carrying a total of 25 crew members as it was suspected to have an Israeli connection. The vessel is associated with London-based Zodiac Maritime, owned by Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer. Iran generally doesn’t target cargo vessels though they have targeted oil tankers in the past. On Saturday the forces were on the look out for , ships linked to Israel travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, which led to the seizure. The MSC is one of the world’s biggest cargo shipping lines. The seizure follows Iran’s threats to respond to a suspected Israeli air strike on April 1 on Iran’s consular building in Damascus, Syria. summer showers A man covers his child with a cloth as rainfall lashed Vijayawada on Saturday | Prasant Madugula thanks to its alliance with either the AIADMK or the DMK. Two days before she rejoined the party, Tamilisai resigned as the Governor of Telangana and Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry a move that surprised many , and signalled the BJP’s intentions to field its heavyweights in key constituencies to tur n the tide in t h is L o k Sabha election. Despite losing the AIADMK from its alliance, the BJP is hopeful of significantly increasing its vote share, owing to the growth the party believes it has achieved in the Dravidian land in recent years. The saffron party is banking on Tamilisai’s relative popularity and down-to-earth personality besides a significant presence of Brahmins and an upwardly-mobile population to shake up Chennai South, which has predominantly favoured the DMK. Her primary battle is against Illustration: Mandar Pardikar DMK’s incumbent MP and poet Thamizhachi Thangapandian. If Tamilisai translates to Tamil music, Thamizhachi means Tamil woman. Prior to kick-starting a fierce battle on the ground, Tamilisai and Thamizhachi shared a moment of camaraderie when they hugged each other after filing nomination papers around the same time on the same day The . campaign has since heated up. The DMK is making full use of its organisational strength to canvas votes. Tamilisai is compensating for the lack of an equivalent organisational capacity through an enthusiastic door-to-door campaign and personal interactions with the voters in a bid to endear herself as their Akka (sister). Her campaign’s tagline is Akka vanthachu (sister has come). WITH THIS ISSUE On March 20, Tamilisai Soundararajan entered the state headquarters of the BJP, Kamalalayam, after a gap of nearly five years, to rejoin the party After col. lecting her membership card, she said in her booming voice, “Tamizhagathil Thamarai Malarum, Malarndhe Theerum” (Lotus will bloom in Tamil Nadu, it will inevitably bloom), revitalising a catchphrase she popularised when she was the party’s state president from 2014 to 2019. However, the bloom is yet to happen. Tamil Nadu has eluded the BJP so far with the party winning only eight MP seats out of the 105 Lok Sabha contests since 1984. Seven of these victories were I strongly condemn the attack on @ ysjagan. I request the @ECISVEEP to initiate an impartial and unbiased inquiry into the incident and punish the responsible officials tension in west asia Tamil vs Thamizh in spirited south Chennai fight S u b a s h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Chennai N Chandrababu Naidu, TDP supremo @ncbn Dog in the Fight PLUS 12 PAGES was a part of the Chief Minister’s security, told TNIE that they tracked the route of the stone that hit Jagan. He said they are verifying CCTV footage to identify the miscreants, who resorted to stone pelting. Condemning the incident, YSRC leaders alleged TDP’s role in the stone attack on Jagan. Describing it as a cowardly act, they said, “Fear of defeat seems to have forced leaders of the tripartite alliance to resort to such underhand methods.” YSRC activists and supporters staged protests across the State. In some places, portraits of Naidu were burnt. Later, TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu took to social media platform X and said, “I strongly condemn the attack on YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. I request the Election Commission to initiate an impartial and unbiased inquiry into the incident and punish the responsible ofP4 ficials.”  Congress manifesto axed CAA in last hour P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi After mounting fierce attacks against the Modi government on implementing the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Congress appears to have developed cold feet on the law in its recent election manifesto. T hough ‘re pealing and amending of CAA’ figured in the original draft of the manifesto, the party leadership decided to drop it just before releasing the document, said sources. Instead, the party made an omnibus promise in the manifesto that it would repeal all anti-people laws passed by the NDA if the INDIA bloc came to power. “The original draft of the manifesto said the draconian CAA would be repealed and amended. However, at the last minute, they decided not to list any laws and dropped the mention of CAA,” said a leader privy to the developments. However, when asked about nixing the CAA, a member of the manifesto committee told TNIE that under a section called ‘reversing the damage’, the party had promised to repeal various anti-people laws passed by the BJP/NDA without proper parliamentary scrutiny and debate. However, in this section, the party talked about reviewing and amending laws relating to workers, farmers, criminal justice, environment & forests, and digital data protection. The section has no mention of repealing CAA.