madurai l Thursday l September 26, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION India engaging Russia and Ukraine to help end war, says Jaishankar India has been holding talks with both countries to see if there is something it can do to initiate negotiations between them, the minister said talks exploratory, no peace plan India uniquely placed to facilitate talks Jaishankar said India does not have a peace plan or any suggestions on how to end the conflict. Rather, it is having conversations about ending the conflict with each of the two sides and keeping each apprised of what the other side is saying. He said to end the war there must be serious negotiations between the two, and these talks aim to initiate that ■ ■ Highlighting India’s unique position, the external affairs minister said there are not many countries that have the ability or the willingness to engage both Moscow and Kyiv at the same time India has not taken sides in the war. Instead, it has been engaging both countries, urging them to end the conflict through negotiations Zelenskyy says he has already invited India to the second peace summit 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 Chennai corpn’s UPHC staff ‘diverted’ for work at IAS officers’ homes N i r u pa m a V i s w a n at h a n & P r a v e e n a S A @ Chennai Image of the duty roster prepared for sanitary workers | Express The Greater Chennai Corporation has recently instructed 29 sanitary workers and staff nurses from 13 of the city’s short-staffed Urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) to skip their regular duty and instead work in shifts at the homes of two senior IAS officers. While one officer is a Princi- Lokayukta police to probe MUDA dirt against Siddu Special court directs the SP to register a case under land grab law Yat h i r a j u @ Bengaluru A day after the Karnataka High Court allowed investigation against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam case, a special court directed the Lokayukta police to probe the allotment of 14 compensatory sites to his wife Parvathy B M. The Lokayukta police has been asked to submit its report within three months. The special court in Bengaluru, which exclusively deals with criminal cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs, also directed the Superintendent of Police, Mysuru Division of Karnataka Lokayukta, to register a case under the provisions of the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act and the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act. This is in addition to provisions under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (conspiracy), 166 (disobeying law), 403 (misap- Siddaramaiah ‘Not scared of probe’ Siddaramaiah said he is ready to face any probe and will continue the legal fight. “We are not scared of investigation and are prepared for the legal fight. I said it yesterday and am reiterating it today,” he said propriation), 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 426 (mischief), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery of an electronic record), 340 (wrongful confinement), 351 (use of criminal force) and oth- Supreme Court tells lower courts to avoid misogynistic remarks on social media, Justice Sris@ New Delhi hananda was seen making some objectionable comments T h e S u p r e m e C o u r t o n against a woman lawyer when Wednesday war ned courts she intervened in an ongoing across India against making re- hearing. The bench said it remarks that could be construed frained from any further proas “misogynistic” or directed ceedings against Justice Sristowards a certain “gender or hananda considering that he community”. had apologised, and to “Courts, therefore, maintain the dignity have to be careful not of the judicial system. to make comments in Regarding Justice It is important the course of judicial Srishananda’s remarks proceedings which that every judge calling an area in Benmay be construed as should be aware galuru as ‘Pakistan’, of their own being misogynistic or the bench said, “No predispositions. for that matter prejuone can call any part The heart and soul dicial to any segment of India as Pakistan. It of judging is the of our society,” a fiveis fundamentally need to be judge bench of the impartial and fair against the territorial court said while closintegrity of the Supreme Court ing the suo motu pronation.” ceedings over KarnaThe bench also retaka High Court judge Justice jected demands by various secV Srishananda’s alleged objec- tions of the Bar to halt the live tionable comments during his streaming of Karnataka High one of his court hearings. Court proceedings. The deThe bench headed by Chief mands were raised citing misJustice D Y Chandarchud ad- use of court videos on social vised judges to conduct pro- media. “The answer to sunlight ceedings conscious of the wid- is more sunlight, not to super impact of casual observations press what happens in the on the community at large. courts,” the Chief Justice In video clips that went viral said. S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y 50 drugs Including paracetamol tablets and pan d fail regulator’s quality test The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation issued a ‘Not of Standard Quality’ alert for over 50 medicines. Telma H, Glimepiride and Shelcal C are among them | P7 er relevant sections of the IPC, under Section 9 (bribing public servant) and 13 (criminal misconduct) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In his order, Special Court Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat ordered registration of a private complaint against Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-inlaw Mallikarjuna Swamy, and one Davaraju J, among others, in connection with the MUD’s illegal allotment of the compensatory sites. The case pertains to 14 sites worth `56 crore being allotted illegally in an upscale Vijayanagar 3rd Stage for the land acquired at Kesare village, a down market area on the outskirts of Mysuru, due to alleged undue advantage taken by Siddaramaiah when in power. On Tuesday, the Karnataka High Court had upheld Governor Thawarchand Gehlot’s approval to conduct a probe into the MUDA case and the allegedly illegal allotment of 14 sites to the CM’s wife. express read Caste clash: TN student carries sickle, rod in bag Tirunelveli: Following a recent caste-based clash in an aided school, a student involved was caught carrying weapons — a sickle, two knives and an iron rod — in his bag as ‘protection’ and was expelled on Tuesday. Four others have been suspended | P2 Five found dead in car in suspected suicide in TN Pudukkottai: Five members of a family from Salem were found dead in a car near the TiruchyRameswaram NH early on Wednesday. Based on a note recovered, police suspect they died by suicide due to financial trouble. Further probe is on | P4 pal Secretary, who has served as Commissioner of the GCC in the past, the other has served in four departments since the present government came to power. TNIE has independently verified that at least one worker reported for work at the former’s address located on the ground floor of a twostorey apartment in Anna Nagar F Block. GCC officials have prepared and shared unsigned rosters, press clusive which TNIE has seen, listing staff names, their phone numbers and the date and time during which they need to report for this work at the specific address until the end of October. A WhatsApp group was also created for coordinating this work. TNIE spoke to more than 20 of the staff designated for this duty, who confirmed that they were instructed to prepare themselves to work at the IAS officers’ homes. TNIE visited the Anna Nagar address and found the principal secretary’s name board at the entrance of the house. The service expected from the workers, primarily involved providing care to an elderly woman residing there. It is, however, unclear whether Phase II done, heartening to see Kashmiris casting their votes, say foreign diplomats F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar The second phase of polling for 26 assembly seats in J&K on Wednesday recorded a healthy 56.05% tur nout, which could go up further. While brisk polling took place in five districts, there were no long queues in Srinagar, where the poll percentage for eight seats stood at 29.24%. However, 4.41% more voters turned up to vote in Srinagar as compared to the Lok Sabha polls in April-May when the percentage was 24.83%. A team of foreign diplomats visited a few polling stations and found it “heartening” to see Kashmiris casting their votes after 10 years. US Deputy chief of Mission Jorgan K Andrews, who was among the visiting diplomats Foreign diplomats after visiting a polling booth in Srinagar, for a first-hand assessment of the assembly elections in J&K on Wednesday | Zahoor Punjabi said, “It has been excellent and fascinating to see how India organises its elections and how thorough the preparations are. It has been very inspiring.” It looks very healthy and democratic, he added. The turnout was good in the three violence-hit districts in the Jammu region Reasi (74.14%), Poonch (73.78%) and Rajouri (69.84%) Even Ganderbal (62.63%) and Budgam (61.31%) in the Kashmir re- Amid Rahul poser, Kangana eats her words on farm laws Harpreet Bajwa & Preetha N a i r @ Chandigarh/ New Delhi A day after BJP member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut’s statement that the three controversial farm sector reform laws repealed in 2021 should be reinstated, made her party squirm and the Opposition go ballistic, the actor and newbie neta was forced to to eat her words. “I withdraw my remarks. I have to keep in mind that I am not just an artist, but a party worker of the BJP My opinion . should not be personal and my actions should align with the party’s stand. I regret and take my words back,” she said. Kangana emphasised the importance of respecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to repeal the laws that were intended to benefit farmers but faced intense opposition. Kangana Ranaut Rahul Gandhi Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi sought to put the government on the mat, demanding an explanation from Modi whether he was opposed to the comments or is he “up to some mischief ”. “BJP people keep testing ideas. They ask someone to voice an idea among the people and wait for the reaction... Modi ji you must clarify, whether you are against this or you are again up to some mischief,” he asked. “Who is deciding the government’s policy? A BJP MP or Prime Minister Modi?” he poked. Rahul said the Opposition INDIA bloc will oppose any move to bring back the black farm laws. “Will the three farm laws be revived or not? If you do so, I guarantee you that the INDIA bloc will together stand against it,” he warned. The extent of damage Kangana’s loose talk could cause in poll-bound Haryana is unclear, but farmers form a sizeable section of the voters in the state. BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia distanced the party from Kangana’s statement, saying it was her personal comment. “She is not authorised to make such a statement on behalf of the BJP and it does not , depict the party’s view on the farm bills. We disapprove of this statement,” he said. 6 die, 16 injured as van carrying pilgrims rams tree express news service @ Kallakurichi Six people died and 16 others were injured in a road accident near Ulundurpet early on Wednesday after their van crashed into a roadside tree. Initial inquiry suggests that the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, Thirunavalur police said. Chief Minister M K Stalin expressed his condolences and announced a solatium of `2 lakh each to the families of the deceased and `50,000 each to the injured persons. According to police, 23 people from Mambakkam in Ranipet district and Ladavaram in Tiruvannamalai district had travelled to Thiruchendur on a pilgrimage on Tuesday. They the IAS officer himself resides in the house. While one of the GCC staff went to the house for work on Monday, the work has since been put on hold after stiff resistance from the workers. The staff objected as it is not part of their official work, besides expressing concerns over safety, disapproval from their spouses and the extended work hours, which could go from 8 pm to 8 am.  P5 According to Thirunavalur police, 23 people were returning from a pilgrimage to Thiruchendur when the accident took place early on Wednesday | Express started their return journey the same night in the van owned by Pillaiyar (58) of Mambakkam, with Vasanthkumar (22) driving the vehicle. The accident occurred at Mettathur near Ulundurpet in Kallakurichi district when the van lost control and crashed into a roadside tree. Passengers R Murugan (44), M Sakthi (20), P Selvam (50), R Durai (35), K Ramalingam (48), and G Ravi (60) died on the spot. Sixteen others, including driver Vasanthkumar and van owner Pillai- yar, escaped with injuries. The injured were rushed to the Government Villupuram Medical College Hospital in Mundiyampakkam. After the hospital refused to accept the bodies for autopsy citing juris, dictional issues, police transported them to the Kallakurichi Government Medical College Hospital 85km away . “The bodies were not accepted for autopsy as the accident spot comes under the Kallakurichi district limits and not Villupuram,” said a senior doctor of the Villupuram Medical College Hospital. Kallakurichi SP Rajat R Chaturvedi visited the spot and conducted an inquiry Thiruna. valur police have registered a case and are investigating the incident. gion did well. “The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi seat in Reasi district recorded the highest voter turnout of 79.95%,” informed J&K Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) P K Pole. In Srinagar, which has remained a hot bed of separatist politics, people came out to vote for first Assembly polls without any poll boycott or militant threat. “It is first time that I am casting a vote. There are no jobs, power bills are very high and youth are falling to drugs. We hope that the elected government will provide some relief to the population,” said Javed Ahmed, a resident of Nowhatta area of Srinagar. Nowhatta was once a stronghold of militants and separatists where stone pelting used to take place every Friday . ‘Savukku’ steps out of jail after SC orders his swift release express news service @ New Delhi/Madurai Y ou T ub e r ‘ S a v u k k u ’ Shankar, who has been incarcerated for months in various cases, walked out of jail on Wednesday after the Supreme Court ordered his release “forthwith”. The apex court ordered his immediate release after the Tamil Nadu government told the court the state’s advisory board had revoked his detention under the Goondas Act. “Acting on the opinion of the Advisory Board, the state has revoked the order of detention today … In view of the aforesaid, the detenue Shankar @ ‘ S av u k k u ’ Shankar shall be released forthwith, if not required in any other case,” a twojudge bench, led by Justice ‘Savukku’ Shankar J B Pardiwala, said. After dictating the order, the judges told the senior advocates appearing for Tamil Nadu that if the order of detention was not withdrawn, they would have come down hard on the state government. Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Siddarth Luthra appeared for the state government. Meanwhile, speaking to reporters outside the Madurai Central Jail after being released on Wednesday ‘Savukku’ , Shankar charged that there is no freedom of press in Tamil Nadu. “I suffered severe humiliation and mental stress during police interrogation. My arm was broken in three places,” Shankar said.  P5