VOTE DAY PEACEFUL IN SRI LANKA, TURNOUT ESTIMATED TO BE 75% BENGALURU SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2024 `12.00 PAGES 30 LATE CITY EDITION Anura Kumara Dissanayake A largely peaceful voting concluded at 4 pm on Saturday in the island nation’s first presidential poll since its worst economic meltdown in 2022. The voter turnout is estimated to be around 75%, an election official said in the evening. Polling concluded with no violence or security breaches. But, the police imposed a curfew from 10 pm on Saturday to 6 am on Sunday as a precautionary measure to prevent any untoward incidents during the counting. The people were urged to remain indoors | P14 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 Guv seeks another report, tiff with CM may escalate DEVA RA J B H IR EH ALLI @ Bengaluru THE existing friction between G ove r nor T haawarchand Gehlot and the Congress government led by CM Siddaramaiah may escalate further as the former has sought the Justice HS Kempanna commission report on denotification of the Arkavathy Layout (known as re-do case). This could mean more trouble for Siddaramaiah, who is already facing allegations in the MUDA site allotment se. After the governor’s letter to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, the Urban Development Department submitted four volumes of the original report, running into 1,861 pages, to Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development minister DK Shivakumar on September 11. The DCM’s office confirmed it and the Urban Development Department too filed a note on September 20 confirming the handing over of the document. It is to be seen whether the government will table the report before the cabinet or during the legislature session as opposition BJP has been demanding it for a long time. It was in 2014 when Siddaramaih was CM for the first term that large tracts of land (541 acres), acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority P4 (BDA), was denotified. Chopped woman’s body found in fridge in city PRAVEEN KU MAR & RA KSHITH GOWDA @ Bengaluru IN one of the most-chilling murders, Bengaluru has witnessed in the recent past, the body of a 29-year-old woman was found chopped into over 40 pieces and stuffed inside the refrigerator of her house house in the Vyalikaval police l i m i t s o n S a t u r d ay afternoon. The single-bedroom house is located on the first floor of a three-storeyed building on 6th Cross, Pipe Line Road near Veeranna Bhavan in Vyalikaval. The victim, Mahalakshmi -- who hailed from Nepal, had married Hemanth Das five years ago, but had estranged from him early this year. Her fouryear-old daughter was staying with Das. Every fortnight, Das, who works at a mobile accessory shop in Nelamangala, would come to her house with his daughter to allow Mahalak- shmi to spend some time with the child. Das stays with his parents in the city . On Saturday afternoon, Mahalakshmi’s sister, who stays in the same building, and mother came to her house as she was not answering her mobile phone. Using a spare key, they opened the locked house only to find the floor sticky and the entire house filled with a foul smell. As blood and other body fluids were seen flowing out of the fridge -- which is a single-door, 165-litre model -- the two opened it only to see Mahalakshmi’s body parts stuffed inside. Mahalakshmi’s mother screamed in horror and ran out of the house, while t h e p o l i c e we r e a l e r t e d immediately . The police said, “Mahalakshmi’s phone had been switched off since September 2. As she was not reachable, her mother and sister were worried and P3 came to the house.” JAYWALKING JUMBOS Dasara elephant Dhananjay chases Kanjan, as they fight on the Mysuru Palace premises on Friday evening | P7 EXPRESS READ Atishi takes oath as Delhi CM, slams BJP NEW DELHI: AAP MLA Atishi took oath as Delhi CM on Saturday and requested people to ensure that her predecessor, Arvind Kejriwal, returns to the post again. Atishi also hit out at the BJP for allegedly hatching a “conspiracy” against Kejriwal | P11 PRESS INTAKE K’taka BJP files plaint against Rahul over his remarks in US | P4 Quality test of prasadams of all temples soon: AP CM | P7 Must build real capacity in engg colleges: DRDO chief | P12 THIS JUST WON’T DO IN NAMMA BENGALURU P2 India, US closer than ever: Biden US Prez hosts Modi at his private residence Y ES HI SEL I @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in the US on Saturday for a three-day visit, met US President Joe Biden at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden welcomed Modi with a warm hug and held the Indian PM’s hand as he led him into the house. While the US side termed the meeting ‘private’, sources said the two leaders discussed the ways to strengthen the bilateral ties and also shared their views on some of the important global issues including the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “Discussions focused on ways to further deepen the India-US bilateral partnership in areas of mutual interest. Leaders exchanged views on global and regional issues, including the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The meeting lasted about an hour. “The United States’ partnership with India is stronger, closer, and more dynamic than any time in history Prime Min. ister Modi, each time we sit down, I’m struck by our ability to find new areas of cooperation. Today was no different,” Biden wrote on X. Modi and Biden will have formal bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Quad summit. According to sources, some key US President Joe Biden receives PM Narendra Modi at his residence in Wilmington, Delaware on Saturday | PTI pacts are likely to be signed. The PM was accompanied by foreign minister S Jaishankar, foreign secretary Vikram Misri and India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra. The US team included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs T H Jake Sullivan, and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti. Modi has a packed schedule in the US, with the first day dedicated to meetings with Biden and other Quad leaders. On Sunday, Modi will travel to New York to attend an Indian community event at Long Island. He will also hold an interaction with the CEOs of leading US-based companies working on new technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and semiconductors. WITH THIS ISSUE THE PARTITION OF PAKISTAN PLUS 12 PAGES Odisha Patnaik non-committal on ‘One Nation, One Poll’ The former CM, addressing the Odisha Literary Festival, adopted a non-committal approach on ‘one nation, one poll’ proposal of the Centre, and said details will have to be studied first | P7
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