chennai l thursday l july 18, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION Railways rescued 84,000 at risk children from trains and stations The Railway Protection Force rescued 84,119 children who were at risk in stations and trains since 2018, the Union railways ministry said 70% of children had run away from home more than 4,600 rescues this year Close to 70% of the children rescued under ‘Operation Nanhe Farishtey’ had run away from their homes for various reasons including parental abuse and poverty. Among the rest, some had been kidnapped and others were left behind by their parents or got lost. The ministry said the RFP is raising awareness about the persistent issue of child runaways | P9 ■ ■ So far this year, the force has rescued more than 4,600 children. About 3,400 of them have been identified as runaways The railways has established child helpdesks at over 135 railway stations. When a child is rescued, they are handed over to the District Child Welfare Committee, which hands them over to parents 17,756 Children rescued in 2022, the highest since operation Nanhe Farishtey was launched 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 gadchiroli 12 Naxals dead in encounter with police S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai At least 12 Naxalites, including a Senior Divisional Committee Member (DVCM), were killed by police at Wandoli village on the MaharashtraChhattisgarh border on Wednesday . The Gadchiroli police received information about 12-15 Naxals camping near the Wandoli village. An operation was launched around 10 am on Wednesday and C-60 commandos led by Deputy Superintendent of Police (Operations) were sent to the area. Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police said a heavy exchange of fire broke out in the afternoon between the commandos and Naxals in Wandoli village, which continued for six hours. A police sub-inspector of C-60 and a jawan were injured. “The injured persons include a sub-inspector of C 60 and one jawan. They are out of danger, evacuated from the spot, and s h i f t e d t o N a g p u r, ” t h e SP said. The C-60 is a special unit of the Maharashtra police formed to counter Naxal violence in the Gadchiroli district. After the encounter, the police found 12 bodies of Maoists at the spot. They also recovered seven automatic weapons, including 3 AK-47s, 2 INSAS rifles, a carbine and an SLR, an official said. One of the slain Naxals was identified as DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, incharge of Tipagad Dalam. Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared a `51 lakh reward for C-60 commandos and Gadchiroli Police, Nilotpal said. Further identification of Maoists and area search is continuing. K’taka job bill on ice after uproar Prez declines assent Business leaders pan Karnataka govt’s move to impose reservation for locals in pvt firms E X PRESS NEWS SER V ICE Talking points @ Bengaluru TWO days ater clearing a controversial bill to provide employment reservation for Kannadigas in private companies, the Karnataka government on Wednesday night decided to put it on hold following backlash from corporate leaders. “The bill is still in the preparation stage. A final decision will be taken after a comprehensive discussion at the next cabinet meeting,” Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories & Other Establishments Bill, 2024 proposes 50% reservation in jobs in the private sector in the management category and 75% in non-management category for Kannadigas. After the Cabinet cleared the bill on Monday industry bodies , K’taka CM posted on X that 100% C and D grade posts would be reserved for locals. He later deleted the post including Nasscom had urged the state government to reconsider its decision. They pointed out that the proposed 100% reservation of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ jobs for Kannadigas violated the constitutional provisions. Industries minister M B Patil, who is currently abroad, said the CM has taken due cognizance of the matter. “The bill is withheld until further con- The bill says 50% of the posts in the management category must be reserved for Kannadigas. This will be 70% for non-management jobs The bill defines Kannadigas as those staying in the state for at least 15 years and capable of speaking, reading and writing Kannada. There will be a test sultations and due diligence. Industry leaders need not panic. The government is committed to creating more jobs, and furthermore for Kannadigas, however, in a more amicable manner,” the minister said. The government’s decision to withhold the bill came after concerns expressed by many industry leaders. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Bio- 8 Indian crew of capsized ship rescued, search on for others Y e s h i S e l i & M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi Eight Indian and one Sri Lankan crew of an oil tanker that capsized off the coast of Oman three days ago were rescued on Wednesday . “Search and rescue operations to find the remaining crew members will continue in the area,” a source said adding that those rescued are recovering at a hospital in Muscat. The ship had 16 crew members, including 13 Indians. The Indian Embassy in Oman is in constant touch with the authorities there. “Search and rescue operation for the seafarers, coordinated by the Oman Maritime Security Center (OMSC) is on,” a source said. The Indian Navy’s warship INS Teg and maritime patrol aircraft P81 have joined the search. The Comoros Flagged vessel, M T Falcon, which was heading to a port in Yemen, sent a distress call on Sunday night. It capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah in Oman’s Wilayat Duqm on Monday . Rough seas The Indian Navy said on Wednesday night that the search and rescue operations are progressing amid challenging weather conditions. The area being searched is experiencing rough sea and strong winds Five killed after mini-truck rams pilgrims on padayatra Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Thanjavur Five persons, including four women, died and another woman was injured when a speeding mini-truck rammed into a group of devotees, who were undertaking a padayatra to the Samayapuram Mariamman Temple, on the Thanjavur-Tiruchy National Highway at Valambakkudi in Thanjavur on Wednesday morning. According to sources, 87 people from Kannukudipatti village near Gandarvakkottai of Pudukkottai embarked on the annual padayatra on Wednesday the first day of the Tamil month Aadi. , The devotees were walking in small groups of two to three persons on the far left side of the NH. When they were passing via Valambakkudi, the driver of a speeding mini-truck lost control of the vehicle and mowed down a few groups of devotees, before coming to halt. In the impact, C Muthusamy (60), M Rani (37), R Mohanambal (27), and K Meena (26) died on the spot. S Dhanalaksmi (36) and K Sangeetha (26), who were grievously injured, were rushed to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital.  P7 rAIN POUNDS OOTY A fire services personnel helps a woman move to a safer place at Iruvayal near Gudalur on Wednesday | Express | P5 Security cover Indian canines on Paris Olympics duty Ex p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi In a first-of-its-kind cooperation with France, 10 speciallytrained commandos of the Central Ar med Police Forces (CAPFs) along with a sniffer dog squad are in France to provide security cover to various venues of the Paris Olympics that will begin on July 26. Following a request from France, the government deputed 10 Indian K9 (canine) teams that will undertake sniffing and patrolling at various venues of the Paris Olympics. The entire squad was given a special 10-week training before leaving for Paris, officials said. K9 teams along with their handlers have been drawn from the CAPFs like the Central Reserve Police Force, the Sashastra Seema Bal, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Assam Rifles and the National Security Guard. The K9s are from the sturdy Belgian Malinois breed, which undertakes infantry patrol and anti-sabotage sniffer tasks to detect bombs, impro- vised explosive devices and trouble makers in Naxal-affected areas, the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir. The handlers of the canines have undertaken refresher physical training apart from a special capsule of basics of the French language for this assignment. CRPF’s canines Vast and Denby, along with three handlers, in Paris on Wednesday | X Belgian Malinois The Belgian Malinois are the most preferred combat dogs by security forces. They shot to fame after news broke on them assisting US special forces in locating Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in Pak. The CRPF sent two canines trained in its dog school in Taralu near Bengaluru con, said: “As a tech hub, we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy .” Former chief finance officer of Infosys Mohandas Pai said the bill should be junked, terming it anti-Constitution. Brand specialist Harish Bijoor posted, ‘’We don’t want recruitment Raj in Karnataka. Government’s work is God’s work! This is not!” Meanwhile, labour minister Santosh Lad said the proposal won’t be imposed on firms. Information technology bio, technology and science & technolo g y minister Priyank Kharge said the government will consult industries to ensure a favourable environment for investments and job creation for locals. Armstrong 3 MORE HELD in murder case All the arrested are lawyers. Two held based on monetary transaction between them & a suspect already in custody | P2 to bill on axing guv as Punjab chancellor H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh Kerala Kerala govt moves SC on March 23, 2024 against President Murmu’s decision to withhold assent to bills Tamil Nadu SC raps TN Governor on Dec 1, 2023 for referring bills to the President after withholding assent for a long time West Bengal Bengal assembly on June 14, 2022, passes bill saying CM should be made chancellor. Governor rejects it. WB goes to SC A bill that sought to replace the Punjab governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of staterun universities was recently sent back by President Droupadi Murmu without giving her assent, official sources said on Wednesday . In 2022, the West Bengal assembly had passed a similar bill at the height of the confrontation between the then governor Jagdeep Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Sources said the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was sent back last week to Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The status of two other legislations, Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sent along with the universities bill to the President is unclear. In all, four bills, including the one on universities, had been passed by the Punjab Assembly in a two-day session in June last year. It led to a major confrontation with the governor calling the session “patently illegal”. The Supreme Court, however, found it constitutionally valid and directed the governor take his call on the bills. As for the fourth bill, the governor granted assent to the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, which was aimed at streamlining the functioning of the Punjab Educational Tribunal for aided private colleges. The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was aimed at ensuring a free-to-air telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar while the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was to pave the way to bring about an independent mechanism for selection and appointment of DGP .