KOZHIKODE l saturday l October 19, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Hamas confirms Sinwar’s death, says hostages won’t be released Hamas on Friday confirmed that Israeli forces killed its leader Yahya Sinwar. It added the Israeli hostages won’t be freed until there is a ceasefire No 2 Al-Hayya in line to take the reins Israel to continue Gaza offensive “Those prisoners will not return before the end of the aggression on Gaza and the withdrawal from Gaza,” said Khalil al-Hayya, who was Sinwar’s Qatarbased deputy. With Sinwar’s death, Al-Hayya is the seniormost Hamas leader and is among the probables who could head the outfit. In a video message broadcast by Al Jazeera, Al-Hayya said Hamas would continue its activities ■ ■ Sinwar, the mastermind of the brutal October 7 attack that claimed over 1,200 lives, was killed in a targeted ground operation by Israeli forces in Rafah in southern Gaza. His identity was confirmed through a DNA test Announcing the Hamas leader’s killing on Thursday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel’s war is not over yet | P9 101 Number of hostages still held by Hamas, of whom 30 are feared dead 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 Personal laws can’t stunt child marriage Act: SC ADM Naveen Babu’s 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 Friday held that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) cannot be stunted by personal laws and marriages involving children violate the free will to have a partner of choice. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued a slew of directions to strengthen the legal framework to eradicate child marriages in the country These include set. ting up special courts to hear child marriage cases, empowering magistrates to pass injunction orders against reported violations, and formation of dedicated police units to prevent such crimes. Writing the judgement for the bench, CJI Chandrachud said child marriage violates the right to life and liberty ensured under Article 21 of the Constitution. “All children married as minors are denied their right to choice and autonomy right to edu, cation, right to sexuality and the right to development of the Arrest warrant issued against ex-RAW agent Federal warrant on Oct 10; second unsealed indictment identifies him as Vikash Yadav is entitled,’’ Attorney General Merrick B Garland said. For its part, the Federal BuA day after the US said India reau of Investigation (FBI) ishad ‘removed’ a Research and sued a wanted poster of Vikash Analysis Wing (R&AW) agent Yadav and added him to their Vikash Yadav for a murder-for- most-wanted list. hire plot to eliminate KhalistaThe US Drug Enforcement ni radical Gurpatwant Singh Administration (DEA) alleged Pannun on American soil, the that Yadav was the mastermind Department of Justice has of the plot. “We charge that Yaidentified him as Vikash Yadav. dav, an employee of the Indian On October 10, a fedgovernment used his eral arrest warrant position of authoriwas issued for Yaty and access to condav by a New York fidential informacourt. tion to direct the The second indictattempted assassinament unsealed on tion of an outspoken Friday revealed the critic of the Indian murder-for-hire and government _ here Provided money laundering on the US soil,’’ it key info charges against Visaid. Vikash Yadav kash Yadav, 39, also The indictment allegedly provided known as Vikas and claims that on June information, such as 19, 2023, a day after Amanat. the victim’s Yadav described the Nijjar murder, residential himself as a field ofGupta had told an addresses, phone ficer previously servundercover DEA ing with CRPF and numbers, and other agent — who he identifying directed the plot thought was the asinformation, to from India. The insassin-on-hire — that Nikhil Gupta for dictment claims YaNijjar was also their furtherance of the dav was the co-contarget and that they plot to murder spirator of Nikhil had many such hit Pannun, says FBI Gupta, 53, who was jobs in the pipeline. charged and extraGupta added that dited to the US. there was no further need to “ alleged last year (first in- wait to bump off Pannun. As dictment) we foiled an attempt The charges, if proved, can by Vikas Yadav, an Indian gov- carry a penalty of 10 years in ernment employee and his co- prison for conspiracy and 20 conspirator Nikhil Gupta to as- years for money laundering. sassinate an American citizen In July 2020, Pannun was deson US soil. Today’s charges dem- ignated a terrorist by the Union onstrate that the Justice Depart- Ministry of Home Affairs. He is ment will not tolerate attempts the founder of a US-based sepato target and endanger Ameri- ratist group, Sikhs for Justice, cans and to undermine the which was declared a banned rights to which every US citizen outfit by India five years ago. Ye s h i Se l i an d H a r p r eet Ba j w a @ New Delhi/Chandigarh Slew of steps to prevent child marriages States, Union Territories to appoint Child Marriage Prohibition  Officers at district level; quarterly reports should be released Magistrates to focus on ‘auspicious days’ known for mass weddings,  to take proactive measures to prevent child marriages Create a designated portal for online reporting of child marriages  child. Girls who are married as children are denied their right to health,” it said, adding that the children who are thrown into forced marriages are deprived of their right to development. While noting that the issue of whether the PCMA would prevail over personal laws was pending with Parliament for consideration, the bench suggested that the House may also consider outlawing child betrothals, which rob children of their free will to choose a partner. Keeping in mind the delicate socio-economic interplay in the matter, the bench emphasized on a community-driven approach for the success of the efforts to eradicate child marriage in the country “The law . will only succeed when there is a multi-sectoral coordination. Training and capacity building of the law enforcement officers needs to be there,” Chandrachud said. The order came in a public interest litigation filed by the NGO, Society for Enlightenment and Voluntary Action (SEVA), and activist Nirmal Gorana, saying PCMA was not being implemented in letter and spirit. Kerala can use `783 crore in SDRF for Wayanad relief: Centre in HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi The Union government on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that `782.99 crore is available in the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) which can be used for Wayanad landslide rehabilitation work. Additional Solicitor General A R L Sundareshan made the submission while the court was considering a case initiated suo motu following the July 30 Wayanad landslides. The Centre, in a statement, informed the court that `782.99 crore — including `388 crore (central share of `291.20 crore and state’s share of `96.80 crore) allocated for 2024-25 — is available in the SDRF account. It said the allocated amount in SDRF can be used for the relief work in Wayanad. The Centre’s submission is based on inputs from the Disaster Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs, detailing the funds allotted to the state. As per the statement, after the Wayanad landslides, the Union government released both installments of the central share of the SDRF in advance on July 31 and October 1, amounting to `145.60 crore each. Also, the Principal Accountant General, Kerala, reported a balance of `394.99 crore in its SDRF account as of March 31, 2024, bringing the total available amount in the account to `782.99 crore. However, the State Disaster Management Authority submitted that the balance amount of `394.99 crore from the previous year in the SDRF account is earmarked for the payment of work undertaken during that period. Also, `388 crore allotted for the current year is a routine allocation for overall disaster management activities. The state maintained that it requires special financial assistance, specifically for rehabilitation efforts in Wayanad. Sundareshan stated the Centre normally receives a Post Disaster Needs Assessment report, which includes a detailed memorandum from the state seeking further assistance. The state’s request will be considered after PDNA is submitted. The Centre clarified that as per the existing guidelines, there is no provision to declare any calamity as a ‘National Disaster’. The primary responsibility for disaster management is upon the respective state, it stated. The bench comprising Justices A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and V M Syam Kumar adjourned the petition to next Friday . death: Focus shifts to ‘conspiracy’ angle E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kannur After the removal of P P Divya from the post of the president of the Kannur district panchayat the focus is now on the alleged ‘conspiracy’ behind the whole episode that led to the death of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu. Demands have been raised from different corners to probe the role of District Collector Arun K Vijayan, who was present at the farewell meeting where Divya reprimanded the ADM. Extending support to Naveen’s family the , CPM Pathanamthitta committee on Friday stated that those involved in his death should be punished, while seeking a probe into the Kannur collector’s alleged role in the incident. CPM Pathanamthitta district secretary K P Udayabhanu said there are allegations of a conspiracy behind the incident and people believe that the collector has a role in it. The time of the ADM’s farewell function was changed from morning to evening, he said. CPM Konni area committee member and CITU state committee member Malayalapuzha Mohanan said the collector had invited Divya to the function and he did not respond when she was making the al- Kannur collector apologises to Naveen’s family Pathanamthitta: The family of Naveen Babu has refused to accept an apology sent by Kannur Collector Arun K Vijayan expressing grief over his colleague’s death. In the letter delivered to the family by the Pathanamthitta sub-collector personally, Arun conveyed his remorse regarding the events surrounding the send-off meeting. P4 Sack-CM call by Manipur BJP MLAs? EXPRESS READ CPM fields Sarin in Palakkad T’Puram: The CPM on Friday announced P Sarin, former KPCC digital media cell convenor, as an independent candidate for the Palakkad seat. The party has also announced former MLA U R Pradeep as its candidate in the reserved Chelakkara constituency. P4 P r a s anta M a z um d a r @ Guwahati Vedanta to invest L1 lakh cr in Odisha Bhubaneswar: Metal and mining major Vedanta Limited announced a fresh investment of Rs 1 lakh crore in Odisha to set up a 6 mn tonnes per annum alumina refinery and a 3 mtpa ‘green’ aluminium plant, which will be powered by renewable energy. fiery celebration SFI activists celebrating their victory in the union elections in colleges under the Kerala University in front of the Govt Women’s College in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. University College, Thiruvananthapuram, voted in a woman chairperson for the first time in its 158-year-old history. N S Farishtha led the SFI panel to a clean sweep in University College | B P Deepu real-time reporting E l a t h u r t ra i n ars o n c as e Wanted: Hindi-speaking psychiatrist to examine Saifi ‘Citizen’ is ‘Sentinel’ with new T o b y A nt o n y @Kochi The prison department is in desperate search of a Hindispeaking psychiatrist/ psychologist to examine the mental status of New Delhi resident Shahrukh Saifi, who torched a coach of Alappuzha-Kannur Express at Elathur, claiming three lives in April last year. After the initial attempt to find such a psychiatrist failed, the NIA Court directed the superintendent of High-Security Prison, Viyyur, to search for such a person in the entire state. It all started last month when the counsel of Saifi approached the court requesting his mental status examination to be con- psychiatrist who can interact ducted by a psychiatrist/psy- with him in Hindi. chologist who is well converOn September 11, the NIA sant with Hindi and who can Court in Kochi directed the jail communicate with superintendent to the accused freely . conduct a mental caNIA probing the pability examination case had conducted on Saifi with the help the mental capacity of a Hindi-speaking test on Saifi thrice as psychiatrist. Howevpart of the investigaer, last week the jail tion. In all these tests superintendent filed he was found normal. a report that he could However, Saifi’s counnot find a psychiatrist sel argued that in prewho could converse vious tests, the psy- Shahrukh Saifi | file pic i n H i n d i . T h e y chiatrist did not searched for a Hindicommunicate with the accused speaking psychiatrist in Thrisin Hindi. Saifi knew only Hindi sur district but could not find and a fresh examination should one. However, the court refused be conducted with the help of a to accept the report and direct- legations at the function. A revenue department staff member who participated in the farewell function on October 14 confirmed to TNIE that it was the collector who informed Divya about the meeting. “None of the staff were aware that Divya will be attending the function. However, the collector and deputy collectors were aware of it. The collector met with Divya in the morning during an event, and they talked about the meeting. So, there is no doubt that Divya came to know about this programme from the collector,” the staffer told TNIE. He also confirmed that the collector was aware about the rift between Divya and Naveen. “Divya had come to the meeting along with the crew of a local television channel, but the collector didn’t stop mediapersons,” he said. There is also an allegation that Divya herself ensured that other media also got visuals of her remarks against the ADM. Meanwhile, Divya on Friday moved the Thalassery Sessions Court seeking anticipatory bail after the police booked her on charges of abetment of suicide under section 108 of the BNS. In the plea, Divya said the district collector had informed her about the farewell function.  ● More on P4 ed to find out a Hindi-speaking psychiatrist soon. “Now we are checking for a psychiatrist who can speak Hindi in the entire state. The communication has been passed on to all districts to search for such a psychiatrist. If not available, we will look for a psychiatrist from other states who can speak Hindi and English well. We have time till the first week of November for the purpose,” a jail official said. It was on April 2 that 27-yearold Saifi boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express from Shor nur and sprinkled petrol on passengers and set them on fire when the train reached Elathur. app to report traffic violations E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Any citizen can now step into the shoes of law enforcement to detect and report traffic offences in real time. The state’s motor vehicle department (MVD) on Friday launched a mobile application that facilitates the reporting of live traffic violations by clicking a picture or taking a video and then uploading it for enforcement officials to take legal action. Now, Kerala becomes the third state, after Chhattisgarh and Odisha, to launch the mParivahan ‘Citizen Sentinel’ app, developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), but with several added features that, among other things, allow for the uploading of pictures and videos from mobile phone galleries. The NextGen mParivahan app can be downloaded from both App Store and Google Play. Members of the public can report live traffic violations by uploading the offences onto the ‘Citizen Sentinel’ section of the mParivahan app. MVD will verify their veracity and take necessary legal action, including levying fines or s e i z i n g t h e i nvo l ve d ● More on P4 vehicles.  Nineteen BJP MLAs of Manipur have reportedly written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking the removal of Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Two leaked pages of their purported six-page letter are circulating on social media. However, it was not clear if the letter was at all submitted to the PM. One of the pages bears the purported signatures of Assembly Speaker Th Satyabrata Singh and senior ministers Th Biswajit Singh and Y Khemchand Singh. Neither they nor the CM has commented on this so far. The BJP has 37 MLAs in the state. The CM had around 5 pm on Friday uploaded a clip of a local news channel on his WhatsApp status, which reported the demand of the 19 MLAs urging the PM to sack Biren. He deleted it about half an hour later. The MLAs expressed deep concerns over the situation in Manipur. “We, as fervent supporters of the BJP and having won the mandate of the people, feel that we have the responsibility of saving Manipur along with saving BJP from downfall in Manipur. At this juncture, taking a cue from the dynamics of the conflict and strife between the two communities, we strongly feel that removal of CM is the only solution,” the letter read.