BENGALURU MONDAY JUNE 24, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 16 LATE CITY EDITION T20 WORLD CUP: AFGHANISTAN STUN 2021 CHAMPS AUSTRALIA Defending a par total of 148, bowlers deliver a clinical performance as the Rashid Khan-led side beat Oz by 21 runs... NAIB CONJURES MAGIC IN HISTORIC VICTORY WHO NEEDS TO DO WHAT TO QUALIFY? Afghanistan came close in the ODI World Cup, but couldn’t cross the line against Australia. On Saturday, however, the stars had aligned. Pat Cummins’ hat-trick didn’t matter. Neither did the fighting fifty from Glenn Maxwell. Naveen-ul-Haq (3/20) and Gulbadin Naib (4/20) rose to the occasion — sharing seven wickets between them — to take Afghanistan across the line | P11 ■ ■ For Australia, its simple. They have to beat India by a significant margin. If it is a close result, they need Bangladesh to beat Afghanistan in the evening match Afghanistan will know what they need to do when they take the field. There is a chance of three teams finishing with 2 points each 45 MOHAMMAD NABI HAS BEEN PART OF INT’L WINS AGAINST 45 COUNTRIES 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 takes over NEET-UG probe, registers FIR Special teams formed, despatched to Bihar and Gujarat where cases of question paper leaks have been registered Poor turnout for retest as 50% candidates absent M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot flags off the ‘Ride Safe India’ campaign, an initiative of TNIE and Hero MotoCorp, at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on Sunday | NAGARAJA GADEKAL Road safety a shared responsibility, says guv EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru AS part of the week-long ‘Ride Safe India’ campaign, an initiative of The New Indian Express in collaboration with Hero MotoCorp to promote road safety as the topmost priority among road users, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot flagged off a bike rally from Raj Bhavan on Sunday. The rally saw participation of over 250 people from diverse backgrounds. The governor appreciated the campaign for road safety through education and awareness and noted that road safety is a crucial issue in Bengaluru, which is developing at a rapid pace with the number of twowheelers on the roads increasing. He highlighted that traffic jams are a significant concern for Bengaluru residents and listed causes for road accidents, including speeding, use of mobile phones, drunk driving, wrong side or lane driving, lack of discipline, jumping red lights, not using safety devices like helmets and seat belts, vehicle conditions, weather conditions, road conditions, and mistakes by drivers, cyclists or pedestrians. The governor stressed that road accidents kill millions of people worldwide and seriously injure countless others, making it necessary to adopt road safety measures. He emphasised that it is everyone’s responsibility to follow road safety rules and r a i s e aw a r e n e s s among others, as it requires collective effort and cooperation. “By prioritising road safety, lives can be made safer,” the gover nor added. He noted that the government and police are working together with voluntary organisations to ensure the safety of every person on the road and to reduce the number of road acCONTINUED ON: P2 cidents. THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday filed an FIR and initiated a probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEETUG held on May 5 on a complaint it received from the Union education ministry officials , said. The complaint by the Department of Higher Education, now part of the FIR, cites “certain isolated incidents” in a few states during the conduct of the examination. In its communication to the CBI, the education department sought a detailed probe into conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes and middlemen. The department has also requested the CBI to look into the role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination. The central probe agency has sent its teams to Bihar’s Patna and also to Godhra in Gujarat, where cases of question paper leaks have been registered by local police, officials said, adding that the CBI may take over those cases. “The probe agency has accordingly registered a criminal case and initiated an investigation. Special teams have been formed by it to investigate the matter on top priority. Teams are being sent to Patna and Godhra, where local police have registered cases in this regard,” a senior CBI official said. The allegations of irregularities sparked protests in several cities and a litany of litigation. Security forces bust Maoist fake currency ops in Chhattisgarh Suraj Revanna arrested, sent to judicial custody E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur Dr Suraj Revanna, a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) and grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, was arrested by the Holenarasipur Rural police in connection with a case in which he allegedly forced a JDS male party worker into sodomy The JDS MLC was . remanded in judicial custody after he was produced before a magistrate in Bengaluru on Sunday evening. The case has been taken over by the sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The 27-year-old victim from Arkalgud taluk had filed a complaint against the MLC for forcing him into homosexual acts at his farmhouse in Gannikada village of Holenarasipur taluk on June 16. Based on the complaint filed on June 22, the Holenarasipur Rural police took Suraj into custody from his farmhouse on charges filed under Sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. SECURITY forces on Sunday tracked down a Maoist-run facility in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh which was allegedly being used for printing counterfeit currency notes. On receiving a tip-off, a joint team of security forces comprising personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), District Reserve Guards of the Chhattisgarh Police, and Bastar Fighters — a special force formed in 2022 to fight Maoist threat — launched a joint search operation. “Recovered a cache of counterfeit notes, colour printers, more than 200 ink bottles, printer cartridges, rollers and other equipment,” Sukma police chief Kiran Chouhan said. He added that the ultras managed to escape into a nearby jungle as the forces were closing in on the facility . Sources said currency notes of denominations of `50, 100, 200 and 500 were recovered during a search. Chouhan said Maoists have resorted to printing fake currency notes to cope with a fall in cash flow amid aggressive counter-insurgency operations by the security forces. . In a separate incident, two CRPF jawans were killed when the ultras blew up a truck with an improvised explosive device in the Sukma district. The deceased jawans were identified as constable Vishnu R, 35, from Kerala, and driver Shailendra, 29, from Uttar Pradesh. The two belonged to the force’s jungle warfare unit CoBRA. The incident happened near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of the security forces. EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hassan/Bengaluru EXPRESS READ Kejri moves SC against Delhi HC’s stay on bail NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order that stayed his bail in the excise case. The Delhi High Court’s vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain had on Friday stayed the trial court’s order granting bail to Kejriwal and reserved judgment on the ED’s appeal, stating that he will pass the order in 2-3 days, possibly on Tuesday. This prompted Kejriwal to move the top court on Sunday. @ New Delhi Screen grab of CBI personnel confronted by villagers in Bihar’s Nawada district PROBE TEAM ATTACKED IN BIHAR A team of CBI officials probing alleged irregularities in the conduct of the UGC-NET examination was attacked by a mob in Bihar’s Nawada district after which four persons were arrested by police on a complaint from the central agency, officials said Sunday. According to police, the villagers attacked the CBI team under the impression that they were imposters trying to harass them on the pretext of investigation. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the CBI sleuths reached Kasiadeeh village. Some officials sustained minor injuries in the scuffle Opposition parties have also latched on to the issue to put pressure on the government ahead of Parliament session. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad questioned two teachers who run a private coaching centre in Latur in connection with the alleged irregularities. It is to be noted that besides NEET-UG, three other exams— UGC NET, CSIR-UGC NET, and NEET-PG—have also faced controversy. The UGC NET was cancelled by the government a day after the exam, while the CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG exams have been postponed. To combat exam malpractice, the central government has also notified rules to implement the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. This Act aims to prevent unfair practices in public examinations and address related issues. Also, high-level panel of experts chaired by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan has been formed to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinaP7 tions. Parl session to begin today amid pro-tem speaker row P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Police take MLC and JDS leader Suraj Revanna for medical check-up after his arrest, in Hassan on Sunday | PTI The Hassan police, who seized Suraj’s mobile phone, questioned him at at the Cyber Economic and Narcotics (CEN) police station before taking him to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences for mandatory medical examination. Later, the police brought him to Bengaluru and handed him over to the CID police, as the state government had issued orders transferring the case to CID. The 36-year-old legislator is the son of Holenarasipur MLA HD Revanna and elder brother of former Hassan MP Prajwal CONTINUED ON: P4 Revanna. decision to award grace marks was strange, as the rule book clearly states that in the event THE NEET-UG retest for 1,563 of an exam delay, extra time candidates who were previous- should be granted at the centre. ly awarded grace marks saw The source highlighted that the poor turnout on Sunday as only top 100,000 students from 4,750 half of them turned up at the centres showcased the nationseven re-examination centres wide desire to succeed. spread across Chhattisgarh, The re-exam saw varied atGujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, tendance rates across different and Chandigarh. Officials said states and centres. Gujarat re813 (52%) of the eligible candi- corded the highest attendance dates attended the reat 100%, while Chantest while 750 (48%) digarh had the lowest 63 debarred chose to skip it. at 0%. In Chandigarh Sixty-three The re-test was (UT), none of the two candidates have held on the orders of eligible candidates been debarred the Supreme Court appeared. In Chhatnationwide for following complaints tisgarh, of the 602 elimalpractices of irregularities in gible candidates, 291 during the NEETthe medical entrance (48.34%) appeared. UG, according to exam after 1,563 canGujarat’s Surat had the NTA. This didates were given one eligible candidate includes 17 grace marks to make who attended, achievcandidates from up for the loss of time ing a 100% attendi n s o m e c e n t r e s Bihar and 30 from ance rate. In Jhajjar, Godhra where the test started Haryana, DAV Police late on May 5. Public School and Apart from the controversy Kendriya Vidyalaya saw 287 out over the award of grace marks, of 494 (58.09%) eligible candithe coveted entrance test was dates attend. In Meghalaya, 234 also marred by allegations of out of 464 (50.43%) eligible canpaper leak, putting the Nation- didates appeared for the exam. al Testing Agency (NTA), which Education ministry sources held the tests, in bad light. said that education had been Speaking to this newspaper, “unbundled” with exam coacha high-level source in the Union ing centres being at the foreeducation ministry admitted front, driven by parents’ desire that the NTA did not “instil for their children’s success. Ofconfidence” among the public. ficials rubbished rumours that The source mentioned that the NTA portal has been hacked. K E TA N N A R O T TA M TA N N A AMID the row over appointment of seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJP as pro-tem speaker, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha is set to begin on a combative note on Monday . The first day of the special Parliament session will see oath-taking by 280 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers. The remaining 264 parliamentarians including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will take oath on Tuesday The focus will be shift. ed to the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of both the Houses on June 27. The row over pro-tem speaker is likely to escalate on Monday as three Opposition MPs consider pulling out of the panel of chairpersons to assist Mahtab in carrying out the proceedings of the House till the election of the Speaker. Early this week, President Murmu appointed Mahtab as pro-tem speaker and nominated a panel of senior MPs including Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, DMK MP T R Baalu, TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and BJP leaders Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste to assist Mahtab. Speaking to this newspaper, K Suresh said a final decision on boycotting the panel will be taken on Monday . The Opposition is up in arms over Mahtab’s appointment. They allege the claim of K Suresh, an eighth-term MP, to the post was bypassed by the government. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says that Mahtab has had seven uninterrupted terms as a Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post and the Congress is trying to mislead people. The Opposition and the government are likely to lock horns over the election of the Speaker and deputy speaker posts. While the government remains secretive about its Speaker candidate, the Opposition stands firm on its claim to the deputy speaker post. The debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, which begins on June 28, may also witness stor my scenes. The Opposition will try to pressure the government on various issues including NEETUG and UGC-NET exams, new criminal laws, and the Kanchanjunga Express accident. The PM is likely to respond to debate on July 2 or 3. Both Houses will go into a brief recess and re-assemble on July 22 for Budget. Third, final landing of Pushpak gives wings to ISRO EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chitradurga IT was super Sunday for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as it achieved a success, for the third consecutive time, in the Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing Experiment by demonstrating the autonomous landing capability of the launch vehicle under more challenging conditions at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Kudapura in Challakere taluk of Chitradurga. Isro’s Reusable Launch Vehicle ‘Pushpak’ lands during Sunday’s final test | PTI At 7.10 am, the winged vehicle successfully conducted the third and final Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment (LEX). The RLV LEX-03 mission demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the RLV un- der more challenging release and severe wind conditions. The vehicle, Pushpak, was released from an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4.5 km. Pushpak autonomously executed cross-range correction manoeuvres, approached the runway, and performed a precise horizontal landing at the runway centreline. “With the objectives of RLVLEX accomplished, ISRO embarks into RLV-ORV the orbit, al reusable vehicle,” ISRO posted on X. Because of Pushpak’s low lift-to-drag ratio aerodynamic configuration, the landing velocity exceeded 320 kmph, compared to 260 kmph for a commercial aircraft and 280 kmph for a fighter jet. P5 A STEP CLOSER Metro Phase-3 gets green signal from Centre’s investment board S L A L I T H A @ Bengaluru IN a significant fillip to Bengaluru Metro’s Phase-3, which will run for 44.65 km, the central government’s Public Investment Board (PIB) recently cleared the project, said multiple sources. The project, which will cost Rs 15,611 crore, now awaits the green signal from the new Union government. Phase-3 will have two elevated stretches — one of 32.15 km, connecting JP Nagar Fourth Phase on the Western side of Outer Ring Road and the other of 12.5 km on Magadi Road connecting Hosahalli and Kadabagere. It will have 31 stations. A reliable source told TNIE, “The PIB has okayed the project and the file has been sent to the Union Cabinet for approval. It is expected to happen anytime soon.” Another source said, “The PIB consent is crucial before the final clearance. This marks a significant breakthrough for Phase-3.” A previous meeting between PIB and Metro officials before the recent Lok Sabha elections had been postponed. The state government had given its nod for the revised project cost of Rs 15,611 crore on March 14 this year and announced that it would be completed by 2028. It has also decided to bear 80% of the cost of the project unlike in the past. The state initially approved the project on November 18, 2022 at a cost of Rs 16,328 crore with a 20% share to be borne by Karnataka and the rest by the Centre through external borCONTINUED ON: P2 rowings.
Express Network Private Limited publishes thirty three E-paper editions of The New Indian Express newspaper , thirty two E-paper editions of Dinamani, one E-paper edition of The Morning Standard, one E-paper edition of Malayalam Vaarika magazine and one E-paper edition of the Indulge - The Morning Standard, Kolkatta.