BHUBANESWAR THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 14 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 Rourkela shocker: Adolescent girl gangraped twice within hours P R A S A N J E E T S A R K A R @ Rourkela ROURKELA was rocked by yet another case of sexual assault as an adolescent girl was allegedly gangraped by five miscreants at two separate places on the night of September 22 (Sunday) in what is a grim pointer to the deteriorating law and order. The victim had been to a bar and restaurant at Civil Township within RN Pali police lim- its where two miscreants raped her. Another miscreant later joined the two in the heinous crime, police said. However, the girl’s ordeal did not end there as she was dumped on the road when two other miscreants picked her up in a motorcycle and raped her near the library and defunct millet cafe along ring road opposite the administrative building of RSP within Plant Site police limits. A scientific team and dog squad at the crime scene in Rourkela on Wednesday The second crime spot was developed under the city beautification project two years 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- Bharatpur IIC to undergo narco and polygraph tests at Gandhinagar SFSL A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar AMIDST nation-wide outrage, the former inspector-in-charge (IIC) of the police station, where the army officer and his fiancée were allegedly assaulted and humiliated in Bhubaneswar, gave his consent before a court to undergo narco analysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests on Wednesday . The tests will be conducted at the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar. The Crime Branch of Odisha Police, investigating into the sensitive case, approached the SDJM court in Bhubaneswar seeking permission to carry out all three tests of Dinakrushna Mishra, t h e fo r m e r I I C o f Bharatpur police station in the state capital. Mishra appeared before the court where he was explained the purpose of the proceedings and its legal consequences. He told the court that he was innocent and not involved in the offences as alleged against him. “I do not have any objection to undergo narco analysis, polygraph and brain fingerprinting tests. I am giving consent on my own accord and free will,” he told the court. The SDJM court said it was satisfied Mishra gave his consent for the tests on his own volition and allowed the prayer of the investigating officer (IO) to conduct the tests at the Gan- dhinagar SFSL. While the army officer’s fiancée has levelled serious allegations against Mishra, the accused officer reportedly denied the accusations during his questioning by CB officers. With no CCTV cameras in the police station or any eyewitness, CB decided to go in for legally admissible evidences. “As the incident took place inside the police station and there were no eye-witnesses, scientific methodology may give a proper direction to the investigating agency to unearth the truth,” sources added. Sources said the court directed the IO to conduct the tests as per the standard operating procedure and without any delay It also asked . for submission of the medical report of the accused officer after the completion of the tests. “The CB prayed before the court to carry out the tests in Gujarat as it has one of the best forensic science laboratories in the country The agency . also wants to maintain transparency in its investigation. It will request Gandhinagar SFSL to give a date to conduct the tests soon,” said sources. The SDJM court observed that it was relying on the Supreme Court suggestions that the investigating agency should adopt latest and advanced scientific technologies to arrive at the right conclusion. 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. back and is hardly 50 metre from the busy ring road. Three persons have been detained by Rourkela and are currently being interrogated. In his complaint, the victim’s father stated that the girl had left home on Sunday evening saying she was going to a shopping mall, said DIG Brijesh Kumar Rai who officiates as Rourkela SP . The incident occurred within 24 hours of the gangrape of two minors in the steel city on Friday . The case came to light after the victim’s father lodged a complaint on Tuesday and police along with a scientific team and dog squad inspected the crime spots on Wednesday . “After receiving the complaint, four teams were formed 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 | P9 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- IN a bizarre turn of events, Mukti Ray, the prime suspect in the sensational Mahalakshmi murder case of Bengaluru, allegedly died by suicide outside his house in Bhadrak district on Wednesday even as a police team from Karnataka was out looking for him in the state’s northern parts bordering West Bengal. Mukti’s body was found hanging from a tree. He is believed to have used a rope to end his life. Later in the evening, police recovered a note from his house in which he had reportedly confessed to killing the woman, police sources said. The maggot-infested body parts of Mahalakshmi, a sales- 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 . Amid Rahul poser, Kangana eats her words on farm laws 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 artiste, 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. Prime accused in Mahalakshmi murder ends life A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar inputs and more information. “Police are committed to ensure speedy justice to the victim,” he said. On September 21 evening, two adolescent girls aged 14 and 15 years were forcibly taken from Bisra Chowk and gangraped at a secluded spot just a few metres away from the ring road. The same day, a school girl was molested by a PET teacher at Guru Nanak Khalsa School along Gurudwara road. Phase II done, heartening to see Kashmiris casting their votes, say foreign diplomats HARPREET BAJWA & PREETHA N A I R @ Chandigarh/ New Delhi 50 DRUGS under an additional SP to ascertain the identity of the culprits and multiple raids were conducted on Tuesday night to nab them,” Rai said. SDPO of Panposh has been entrusted with monitoring of the case and the statement of the victim was recorded. On the day, a scientific team and dog squad visited the crime spots. The investigation is in primary stages and steps are being taken to avail technical woman by profession, were found stashed in the refrigerator at her one-bedroom apartment in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram area on September 21 after neighbours complained of stench emanating from the flat. She had apparently been chopped into 59 pieces. Kar nataka Home minister G Parameshwara had recently confirmed that main suspect Mukti was from Odisha but fled Bengaluru after the gruesome murder that sent shockwaves across the country . Sources said a five-member team of Bengaluru police arrived in Odisha on Tuesday and informed their counterparts here about the main suspect’s involvement in the coldblooded murder. The police team had no infor mation about Mukti’s exact address but quietly fanned out to two northern districts of Balasore and Bhadrak on Wednesday in an attempt to ensure that he did not get a whiff about the manhunt launched Preliminary investigation suggests Mukti died by suicide. However, investigation is underway from all angles, including probabilities of foul play. Required assistance is also being provided to Bengaluru police – Varun Guntupalli, Bhadrak SP to nab him. On Wednesday mor ning, Dhusuri police found Mukti hanging from a tree near his house and a case of unnatural death (UD) was registered in this connection. Postmortem was conducted and his body was handed over to family members later in the day . When Bengaluru police shared the details of Mukti with Bhadrak police, it turned out that he was the same person who had ended his life outside his house. Police sources said Mukti had likely got wind of the fact that Bengaluru police were zeroing in on him. Realising that he could not escape the repercussions, he may have ended his life, said the CONTINUED ON P7 sources. Misogynistic remarks must be avoided: SC S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Wednesday warned courts across India against making remarks that could be construed as “misogynistic” or directed towards a certain “gender or community”. “Courts, therefore, have to be careful not to make comments in the course of judicial proceedings which may be construed as being misogynistic or for that matter prejudicial to any segment of our society,” a five-judge bench of the court said while closing the suo motu proceedings over Karnataka High Court judge Justice V Srishananda’s alleged objectionable comments during his one of his court hearings. The bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandarchud advised judges to conduct proceedings conscious of the wider impact of casual observations on the community at CONTINUED ON P7 large.
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