BENGALURU  WEDNESDAY  JULY 17, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 20  LATE CITY EDITION BYJU’S FACES INSOLVENCY PROCESS FOR FAILURE TO PAY `158.9 CR TO BCCI The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday admitted BCCI’s plea against the Byju Raveendran-led ed-tech firm FIRM’S BOARD SUSPENDED, ASSETS FROZEN WILL SETTLE MATTER AMICABLY, SAYS BYJU’S The tribunal appointed Pankaj Srivastava as interim resolution professional, suspending the firm’s board of directors. Srivastava will be in charge of running the firm till the lenders form the Committee of Creditors. The firm’s assets will remain frozen while the proceedings continue. BCCI filed the plea last year against Byju’s parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd for defaulting on dues ■ The case pertains to the dispute around the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys. Byju’s said it wishes to reach an amicable settlement with BCCI. “Despite this order, a settlement can be reached,” it stated ■ Sources said Byju’s lawyers are reviewing the NCLT order and they are likely to challenge it before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal | P13 $22 billion ONCE INDIA’S MOST VALUED START-UP, BYJU’S VALUATION HAS GONE BELOW $3 BN 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 6 DIE IN U-K LANDSLIP, MORE TRAPPED UNDER RUBBLE Hillock comes down sweeping away hotel, several vehicles, part of four-lane highway SUBHASH CHANDRA NS @ Shirur (Uttara Kannada) MORE than 12 people were feared trapped under the rubble after a massive landslide at Shirur near Ankola on KarwarKumta Road (NH 66) on Tuesday morning. Among them, five are said to be members of a family who ran a hotel on the , highway . By evening, six bodies were recovered from the Gangavalli river below the highway Four . bodies have been identified as Lakshman Bommaiah Naik, 45, hotel owner, his wife Shanti Lakshman Naik, their son Ros h a n , a n d t r u c k d r ive r Chinnannan. Lakshman Naik’s daughter Avanthika Lakshman Naik, 6, their relative Upendra Naik, 50, and Jaganath Naik, 49, and Sanni Hanumantha Gouda, 65, were among those feared A FRANTIC SEARCH A stray dog which was adopted by Lakshman Naik, the hotel owner, was seen howling and frantically searching for its owner and his family members amid heavy rain and slush at the spot where the landslide took place at Shirur on Tuesday. A tanker stuck on NH66 following the landslide in Shirur on Tuesday trapped under the rubble. An entire hillock slid on the highway near Belase village adjacent to Kodasani bridge at Shirur around 8 am following heavy rain. The hotel on the highway and several vehicles, including a fuel tanker, were swept away . According to eyewitnesses, POST NEET SCAM Panel gets 37,000 suggestions for revamp of NTA the hillock came down all of a sudden and swept away the hotel, several vehicles and part of the four-lane highway. “A car was moving on this stretch when the landslide took place. We don’t know whether the driver and others in the car managed to escape,” said Raju, whose truck lay buried under the rubble. According to Raju, at least four trucks and two fuel tankers were parked near the hotel when the hillock came down. “Truck drivers usually stop here for tea,” he said. Residents of Shirur and Belase blamed a private company that built the highway for the landslide. “Unscientific construction work led to this disaster. The engineers of the company did not cut the hillock scientifically Pu,” rushottam Naik, a relative of Lakshman said. MORE ON: P5 @ Bengaluru ON a day the Tamil Nadu government convened an all-party meeting to discuss its next move on the Cauvery river water sharing issue, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who also holds the water resources portfolio, informed the Assembly on Tuesday that 1.5 tmcft is flowing to TN every day from Cauvery basin dams in Karnataka. According to the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC), 40 tmcft of water has TUESDAY’S landslide near Ankola on Karwar-Kumta road in which around 12 people are feared buried, has raised serious concerns. In the background of unprecedented and incessant rain and poor civil works, experts, geologists and civil engineers caution that unless required do not use the ghat roads till the monsoon ends. They say while taking up infrastructure works, various government and private agencies do mere soil testing, but do not conduct soil chemistry studies. An expert from Indian Institute of Science (IISc) recollected a conversation with a government official: “One of the engineers asked whether such a study is required, because it is not mentioned in their list of parameters. Soil testing is the only parameter given CONTINUED ON: P5 importance.” B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru (Clockwise from top-left) Captain Brijesh Thapa, Sepoy Bijendra, NK (OFC) Dokkari Rajesh and Sepoy Ajay Kumar Singh, who were killed in the Doda district encounter; and jawans carry the mortal remains of Sepoy Bijendra | PTI JAMMU TERROR July 16: 4 soldiers, including a Captain killed in gunfight in Desa forest of Doda July 8: Militants ambush Army convoy in Madeshi area of Kathua, killing five soldiers and injuring five others July 7: Soldier injured in militant attack on Army camp at Manjkote in Rajouri June 26: 3 Pakistani militants killed in encounter in Gandoh, Doda June 10-11: 2 Pak militants killed in two-day encounter in Hira Nagar area close to IB in Kathua. One CRPF man also killed June 12: Policeman injured in encounter at Kota Top area in Gandoh in Doda district June 11: Militants attack Army’s Temporary Operating Base in Chattargalla area of Doda, injuring five soldiers and policeman June 9: Militants attack pilgrim bus in Reasi, killing 9 persons and injuring 43 others to go to Biligundlu (in Tamil Nadu) till the month-end, and so far, 6 tmcft of water has reached the neighbouring state, Shivakumar, who is also the president of Karnataka Congress, elaborated. In the meantime, the meeting of the legislative party leaders in the Tamil Nadu Assembly decided to approach the Supreme Court, if necessary to get Cauvery water to , the state from Karnataka. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief MK Stalin vowed to take all necessary steps to protect the interests of the farmers of his state. P4 F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar EIGHT days after five soldiers were gunned down in an ambush on their convoy in Kathua, four Army men, including a Captain, were killed in an overnight gunfight with militants in the mountainous Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu-based defence spokesman Lt Colonel Suneel Bartwal said a joint operation was launched by Army and J&K Police at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest area in Doda district on Monday evening after receiving inputs about the presence of a group of militants there. “The search party established contact with the hiding militants in the forest area around 8.40 pm. In the militant firing, a Captain and three soldiers were injured,” he said, adding there was a brief exchange of gunfire. All the injured were evacuated to military hospital, where they succumbed to injuries. The deceased were identified as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, sepoy Bijendra and sepoy Ajay . The militants, taking advan- EXPRESS READ IMF upgrades India, China growth outlook Washington: The IMF is upgrading its economic outlook this year for China, India and Europe while modestly lowering expectations for the United States and Japan. But it says worldwide progress against accelerating prices has been slowed by inflation for services. P13 Probationary IAS officer’s training suspended New Delhi: Probationary IAS officer Puja Khedkar, embroiled in controversy over misuse of power and privileges, was recalled by the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration on Tuesday, with her district training programme being suspended. P10 tage of low visibility and the thickly forested and mountainous area, managed to escape after the encounter. “Additional troops and equipment have been inducted to track down the terrorists. Drones and other technical resources are being used to pinpoint their movement,” Lt Col Bartwal said. Sources said the elite para commandos have also joined the search operations, assisting the troops on the ground. “It is suspected that a group of four-five militants are hiding in the forest area. There has been no fresh contact with the militants after the initial gunfight,” they said. Doda is one of the heavily forested hilly districts in the Jammu region. Militants are making concerted efforts to shift their operations to the Jammu region from Kashmir. About 50 foreign militants are said to be operating in the Jammu region. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the attack, adding “We will avenge the death of our soldiers and thwart the evil designs of terrorists and their associates.” P9 “BRIJESH spoke to me last Sunday, July 14, at 9.30 am. He said he had just come down (from the higher reaches where militants are holed up) and that he has been asked to go back to the hills following an intelligence input. He said he would be leaving soon and I asked him to be careful,” Col Bhuwanesh Thapa, father of Captain Brijesh Thapa who died in a gunfight with terrorists in J&K’s Doda district on Monday night, told this newspaper over telephone. Col Thapa learnt about the loss of his son at 10.45 pm on Monday from the Army. “The CO called me and said that Brijesh fought The terrain is well but unfortunately difficult but when there is we lost him. As a former an intel Army officer and father I input, an always stressed upon BrArmy officer ijesh on how to operate in has to go. In insurgency-hit areas the Army, each time he spoke to things can go me,” the distraught but wrong proud father said. “I am proud of Brijesh. Col Bhuwanesh Thapa He fought from the front and gave up his life for the country He didn’t run away It’s a . . hard climb of six to seven hours, where they had to go up,” said Col Thapa. Brijesh is survived by his parents and an elder sister. “He was born in the military hospital in Jalandhar in January 1997. He had applied for short service commission (SSC) and joined the Army as an officer in September 2019 after completing BTech in computer science,” he added. Capt Brijesh’s mortal remains will be brought on Wednesday to his hometown Darjeeling. 3 accused in Gauri murder case get bail EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru THE High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday granted bail to three accused in journalist Gauri Lankesh murder case. The accused are Amit Digvekar alias Pradeep Mahajan, accused No 5, HL Suresh alias Teacher, accused No 7, and KT Naveen Kumar alias Naveen, accused No 17. Justice S Vishwajith Shetty who reserved his order on , the bail petition on July 2, granted bail to them through video conference from the Kalaburagi Bench of the high court. In December last, the high court granted bail to Mohan Nayak, accused No 11 in the murder case and the state government challenged this order before the Supreme Court. Gauri Lankesh was shot dead by two bike-borne assailants outside her house at Ideal Homes Layout in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in the city on September 5, 2017. Indian connection of Donald Trump’s veep running mate AGENCIES CAPT FOLLOWED THE CALL OF DUTY, SAYS PROUD DAD 1.5 tmcft flowing daily, says DKS; TN flays K’taka EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE B O S K Y K H A N N A @ Bengaluru Capt, 3 jawans killed in encounter E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi CLEAR guidelines on grace marks, what rules will apply in case of any lapse during examinations, proper communication about change in schedules, and infrastructure checks at exam centres are among the 37,000odd suggestions received by the highlevel panel tasked to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The government-appointed panel, headed by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan, received suggestions from a cross-section of stakeholders including students, parents, coaching institutions, school teachers, academic institutions, and even career counsellors. The Centre had formed the panel after controversies erupted over the conduct of the NEET-UG exam, including paper leak allegations, and arbitrary award of grace marks. The panel has been tasked with recommending reforms in the examination process, enhancing data security protocols and reviewing the structure and operations of the NTA. It has two months to file its report. Bulk of the suggestions came from students, who expressed concerns about several aspects of the examination process. Key issues highlighted include the need for clear guidelines regarding grace marks and examination centre infrastructure. Some suggestions called for eliminating the normalisation process altogether, while others requested greater transparency to prevent score inflation or reduction. Normalisation is the method by which the NTA calculates the percentile of for each candidate by comparing their raw marks with other candidates in the same session. ‘Soil chemistry studies must for infra projects’ REPUBLICAN presidential candidate Donald Trump’s decision to pick his former critic Senator J D Vance as his running mate has come as a surprise, but the spotlight seems to be on the latter’s wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance (38), a devout Hindu with Indian roots. According to media reports, Usha’s father Radhakrishna and mother Lakshmi ( both professors ) migrated to the US from Chilkur village in Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari district. Some reports say they belong to the Kamma community . Usha and Vance met at Yale Law School and got married in 2014, with a separate ceremony that was blessed by a Hindu pundit. While Vance is a Roman Christian, Usha is a practising Hindu. Both continu e t o f o l l ow t h e i r respective faiths after marriage, in a show of Republican V-P candidate J D Vance and pluralism. They have his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance | AP two sons — Ewan (6) and Vivek (4) —- and a daughter Mirabel (2). Usha was raised in a suburb of San Diego, California, with a strong emphasis on education and hard work. A law graduate from Yale, Usha’s last job was with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP as civil litigation attorney which she , resigned on Monday after her husband was picked as Trump’s running mate. Her professional credentials include serving as managing editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology and executive development editor of The Yale Law Journal. According to US media, Usha would be the first Hindu P11 spouse of a vice president. Donald Trump appears with bandaged ear at a Republican convention in Milwaukee | AP Hate speech: Spl court junks plaint against PM EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bengaluru THE Special Court for Elected Representatives in the city on Tuesday rejected a private complaint filed against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his alleged hate speech during BJP’s LS poll campaign in Rajasthan recently . Ziaurrahaman Nomani, who claims to be a human rights activist, had moved the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Court, urging it to take cognisance of the offence under Sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 503, 504 and 505(2) of the IPC or refer the matter for investigation by the local police. The court, which had reserved its order for Tuesday, rejected the complaint stating that it is “not a fit case to refer for investigation”. The complainant contended that Modi tried to divide the nation based on religion by stating that mangalsutras of women will be taken away and given to members of a particular community if Congress comes to power. “The PM also termed the community members as intruding usurpers,” the complainant’s advocate argued.