DHARMAPURI l thursday l may 30, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION CRPF seeks 35 new battalions to boost anti-terror operations The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) seeks the Union home ministry’s approval to raise 35 new battalions, senior officials said on Wednesday Strength of force to grow by 35,000 First capacity expansion since last year If the Centre approves the proposal, the total strength of the force will increase by 35,000. Presently, the CRPF has 246 battalions. With the added strength, the force aims to raise specialised units with a particular emphasis on tackling terrorist threats in Jammu and Kashmir. It comes at a time when the Central force is tightening its noose around Maoists in insurgency-hit areas ■ ■ The decision to raise new battalions comes amid a sense of career stagnation among officers of the CRPF with many working in the same post for years. Some have left the force as a result Last year, the government approved the creation of two Signal Battalion headquarters for the CRPF, in first expansion since 1988 3.13 lakh The total strength of the CRPF as per the union home ministry 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 PM sees plot in Patnaik ‘ill health’ Mirzapur weighs the hat-trick question Cites video of Odisha CM’s aide V K Pandian grabbing his boss’ hand to make the charge Odisha CM’s pushback WITH Narendra Modi leading the BJP’s charge to wrest power from the BJD in Odisha, the prime minister on Wednesday made a rather unusual remark on the health of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. Modi wondered if there was a conspiracy behind the ‘deteriorating health’ of the Odisha CM. The statement came a day after a video of Naveen’s close aide V K Pandian grabbing the CM’s left hand at an election rally went viral. “I want to bring to your notice a very grave concern about Naveen Babu. Well wishers of Naveen Babu are worried at the sudden deterioration of his health in the last one year. People who have long been work- premeditated 17-year-old may be tried as adult in murder case A n t o n y F e r n a n d o @ Karaikal A day after a 17-year-old was arrested by the Karaikal police on the charge of murdering his 13year-old neighbour, police have decided to make a request to try the juvenile as an adult in the case. Police said the crime was a premeditated murder and the accused had bought knife and a pair of gloves from an online portal to commit the crime and conceal the evidence. According to police sources, the juvenile, who was also booked under Pocso Act for sexual assault of the victim’s 10year-old sister, had been quarrelling with the boy for more than a week over the sexual assault incident. The victim, a Class 8 student, who was missing since Monday afternoon, was found dead with multiple stab injuries at the house adjacent to his home by the victim’s family members. The Neravy police later arrested the 17-year-old juvenile near Mayiladuthurai on Tuesday. Police said on Wednesday that the accused had stabbed the victim multiple times to death. “The juvenile had misbehaved with the victim’s sister. The boy objected to this and went to the house of the accused and confronted him. Infuriated by this, the suspect stabbed the boy to death on Monday Karaikal SSP Manish ,” told TNIE on Wednesday . According to sources, the families have been living next to each other for the past two years. Continued on p5 Modi at a rally in Balasore district | PTI “Let me assure the PM that I am in perfect health and I have been campaigning for the last month,” Naveen told the media in his pushback. He blamed the BJP for spreading rumours about his health ing with him now say Naveen Babu can’t do anything on his own. They also speculate that it could be a conspiracy,” Modi said at the three public meetings he addressed at Baripada, Balasore and Kendrapara on the day “Is there a lobby behind . this, the one which is enjoying power in the state taking advantage of Naveen Babu?” the PM wondered. In his rather sharp rebuttal, Naveen said: “If the PM is so concerned, all he had to do was to pick up the telephone and ask, as he had stated publicly before that he was a good friend of mine.” Modi went on to claim that when BJP forms government in the state, a special committee will be formed to investigate the issue. “We will make 52.9ºC J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi Delhi hit an all-time record with the weather station at Mungeshpur on Wednesday recording a maximum temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius, triggering concern across the country . However, scientists at the Indian Meteorological Department are examining sensors and data of the weather station for any potential error or a local factor for the reading spike. During the day the maximum , temperature over other parts of the city varied from 45.2°C to A NUR A A G S IN G H @ Varanasi the findings of that report public,” he said. It was Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma who started the row by posting the video on micro-blogging site X on Tuesday “After today’s viral . video, there is no need for a medical report on Naveen Babu’s health. Our issue is not with Naveen Babu but with Pandian who is illegally controlling Odisha,” he alleged. Sarma, who has been campaigning extensively in the state, claimed a retired officer has tried to physically control the hands of a sitting CM for the first time in the history . On Wednesday he posted an, other such video, which was mentioned by BJP national vice president Jay Panda at the Kendrapara event of the PM. Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel, 43, is braving the heat and dust of Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur to reach out to the constituency’s voters who elected her in 2014 and 2019. She is eyeing a third term to boost the prospects of her party Apna DalSonelal, which has grown to become a staunch ally of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Daughter of Apna Dal founder and OBC leader Sonelal Patel, Anupriya is pitched ag ainst Ramesh Bind, the sitting BJP MP from adjoining Bhadohi who joined the SP after the saffron party denied him a ticket. According to observers, Anupriya’s hat-trick chances are not that strong as she is facing multiple challenges including anti-incumbency, allegations of bias towards her Kurmi vote base, and a possible electoral backlash from the Thakur community following her remarks against Raghuraj Pratap Singh ‘Raja Bhaiya’. Mirzapur has a chequered history having sent the likes , All-time record as Delhi sizzles 49.1°C. In the evening, drizzles accompanied by winds brought some relief for the people in the area adjoining Delhi-NCR. North India has been reeling from an unprecedented heatwave with temperatures soaring to record-breaking highs in many cities. In the past few days, many weather stations in the northwestern region have reported temperatures close to 50°C. In many places, the heat was about 8 degrees above normal. In Bihar, over 50 students reportedly fainted on Wednesday due to the heat. In Rajasthan, the deaths of at least 33 people over the past week are blamed on the prevailing heatwave. Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena directed officials to ensure a paid break for labourers from noon to 3 pm. The weather office has predicted that the prevailing heatwave conditions over the northwest are likely to reduce from May 30 on account of a western disturbance that will bring light to moderate rainfall in the region. Thereafter, heatwave days will continue in June. In the south, Kerala is expected to welcome the southwest monsoon on Thursday . TWO youth on a bike were killed after thet were hit by a speeding SUV that was allegedly part of the convoy of Karan Bhushan Singh, the BJP candidate in Kaiserganj, on Wednesday in UP’s Gonda district. Karan Singh is the son of sitting MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, former chairman of Wrestling Federation of India who faces allegations of sexual harassment. Police have seized the SUV and arrested the driver. It was not immediately known if the Bhushans were in the convoy . Karnalganj SHO Nirbhay Narayan Singh identified the deceased as Shehzad Khan (20), who was riding the bike, and his cousin Rehan Khan (17). After ramming the bike, the SUV also hit Sita Devi (60), who was walking on the roadside. She has been hospitalised and police personnel have been deployed in the area to ensure law and order. The speed of the vehicles in the convoy was above 100 kmph, said an official. army men in J&K Four policemen were allegedly beaten up by army personnel in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir over a dispute Anupriya Patel (C), Ramesh Bind (L) and Manish Tiwari ‘EC must stop PM’s meditation plan’ Chennai: TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai said the decision of the PM to meditate at Vivekananda rock is an act of ‘political fraud’ that violates poll code. “The ECI must bar Modi from going ahead with his plan,” he said | P4 TN elephant calf rescued in 8-hr op Nilgiris: An elephant calf that fell into a 30-ft well in Nilgiris was rescued by officials on Wednesday after an 8-hour struggle, with the help of two earthmovers, amid heartrending display of affection by its mom | P2 45% jump in applicants for RTE seats in TN schools S u b as h i n i V i j aya k u m a r @ Chennai *Basis lab test in controlled environment on protein damaged hair after five washes Available on Scan the QR code for further details Na m i ta Ba j pa i @ Luncknow 4 cops beaten up by express read Applications for admissions in private schools under the Right to Education (RTE) Act have increased by around 45%, with the school education department receiving 1.58 lakh applications this year compared to 1.1 lakh applications received in 2023. Under the RTE Act, 25% of seats in entry-level classes in private schools are reserved for students from economically weaker sections. The trend shows the appeal for private schools among parents and their belief about better quality education being offered by them compared to government schools. This year, the department has received 1,74,756 applications for the 84,765 RTE seats through its single-window portal. Only schools following state syllabus were included and not those following CBSE or other boards. Chief Education Officers scrutinised the applications from May 10 to May 27. After rejecting applications for lack of documents or failure to meet criteria, 1,57,767 applications were deemed eligible. P5 of Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi and dreaded dacoit Shiv Kumar Patel’s brother Bal Kumar Patel to Parliament in the past. The constituency has a good number of OBCs, SC/ST communities, Thakurs and Brahmins, and the caste dynamics can influence the results. Anupriya’s recent statement that “now kings are born from EVMs and not the wombs of queens” triggered a controversy as it was interpreted as targeting the powerful Thakur politician Raghuraj Pratap Singh, descendent of an erstwhile royal family. His supporters are now campaigning against Patel. However, some see the controversy as a blessing in disguise for Anupriya, who was earlier facing polarisation of backward sections towards SP’s Bind. “Now there is reverse polarisation of Brahmins, OBCs and most backward voters in support of her,” says senior journalist Neeraj Pandey . Also, such a reverse consolidation in Patel’s favour could damage the poll prospects of BSP candidate Manish Tiwari. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar B i j o y P r a d h a n @ Bhubaneswar Bhushan’s convoy hits bike, kills 2
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