BYJU’s in trouble as SC junks NCLAT order on insolvency The Supreme Court also annulled the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s approval of Byju’s `158.9 crore dues settlement with the BCCI A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the cricket board to deposit the settlement amount of `158.9 crore with the committee of creditors. Now, Byju Raveendran and his brother Riju Raveendran stand to lose control over Think and Learn Pvt Ltd or Byju’s—a company engaged in providing online educational services MANGALURU l thursday l october 24, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION 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 Meaningful accountability sought by US Facilitate mutual aspirations: Xi Both sides must facilitate each other’s development aspirations, Xi said. They must strengthen communication and properly manage differences and disagreements, he added Friction points part of the pact Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi The US has said it would not be fully satisfied until there is “meaningful accountability” resulting from India’s investigations into the foiled murderfor-hire plot against Khalistani radical Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. “We continue to expect and want to see accountability based on the results of that investigation, and certainly the United States won’t be fully satisfied until there is meaningful accountability resulting from that investigation,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said. He said this in the context of the US visit of an Indian enquiry committee on the case for talks last week. Of the two main players in the alleged plot, Nikhil Gupta is in a US jail as Prague extradited him months after his arrest. The US recently named former RAW field officer Vikash Yadav as Gupta’s handler and the alleged mastermind in the conspiracy Yadav . no longer works for RAW In an . unrelated case of extortion and kidnapping, Yadav was arrested by the Delhi Police in December last year and lodged in Tihar Jail for over four months till he managed to get regular bail. Patel said that there was “valuable engagement with India’s inquiry committee last week”. Information, he said, was also exchanged between “our two governments to further our respective investigations.” The recent patrolling and disengagement agreement will cover the remaining friction points at Depsang and Demchok, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with President Xi Jinping Modi, Xi lay BRICS to normalcy Special representatives to oversee peace and tranquility on border Y e s h i S e l i @ New Delhi Taking off from the recent agreement on patrolling and disengagement along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday initiated steps to normalise bilateral relations by issuing directions to revive various dialogue mechanisms. The talks happened on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Kazan for about 50 minutes, almost five years after a bloody faceoff at Galwan in eastern Ladakh in 2020. “India-China relations are important for the people of our countries, and for regional and global peace and stability Mu. tual trust, mutual respect and mutual sensitivity will guide bilateral relations,” said Modi. Welcoming the agreement for complete disengagement and resolution of issues that arose in 2020 along the LAC, Modi underscored the importance of properly handling differences and disputes and not allowing them to disturb peace and tranquility . “The two leaders agreed that the Special Representatives on the India-China boundary question will meet at an early date to oversee the management of peace and tranquility in border areas and to explore a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question. The relevant dialogue mechanisms at the level of Foreign Ministers and other officials will also be utilised to stabilise and rebuild bilateral relations,” according to the foreign office. The two leaders affirmed that stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China, as two neighbours and the two largest nations on earth, will have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity . Closer India-China ties will also contribute to a multi-polar Asia and a multi-polar world. The leaders underlined the need to develop bilateral relations from a strategic and longterm perspective, enhance strate gic communication and explore cooperation to address developmental challenges. Later, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said both Modi and Xi stressed that India and China can have a “peaceful, stable and beneficial bilateral relationship” with maturity and wisdom, and by showing mutual respect for each other’s sensitivities. He said peace in the border will create space for returning towards normalisation of bilateral relations. Yogeshwara Cong’s Ch’patna candidate B a n s y K a l a p pa @ Bengaluru In an expected development, for mer BJP MLC CP Yogeshwara, popularly known as ‘Sainika,’ rejoined Congress on Wednesday Subsequently Con. , g ress announced that Yogeshwara will be its candidate in the coming byelection to the Legislative Assembly from Channapatna constituency . His return has sent ripples across the political spectrum, with many insiders suggesting that his move would give Congress an advantage in Channapatna. However, some political analysts opine that something unexpected could happen in Channapatna like in Bangalore Rural, where Deputy Chief Minister and Vokkaliga strongman DK Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh lost to BJP’s Dr CN Manjunath, a political novice, in the recent LS elections. According to experts, the factors that led to his return to Congress are the party’s vote base in the constituency which is esti, mated to be between 30,000 and 40,000, is expected to back him. Yogeshwara’s strong political background is hard to ignore. In 2018, Yogeshwara secured 66,000 votes. In 2023, that number increased to 80,000, despite BJP’s core vote base in the constituency being less than 20,000. Normally the party that is in power , is expected to win the bypoll. However, Yogeshwara’s journey back to Congress is not without controversy His political ca. reer has been marked by alliances with many parties, including Congress, BJP and SP His victo. ry in Channapatna twice in 2004 and 2008 under the Congress banner was followed by losses in the 2018 and 2023 elections, raising questions about his ability to regain the trust of voters.  P4 Polluted water: Toll rises to five A m i t S U pa d h y e @ Hubballi Three more people, who were admitted to a government hospital in Davanagere after drinking contaminated water, died on Tuesday night. With this, the death toll has gone up to five in Harapanahalli taluk of Vijayanagara district. Local panchayat development officer K Srinivas has been suspended for delay in assisting people. The deceased have been identified as Gowramma, 60, Hanumantappa, 38, and eightmonth-old Gagan, all from Tambigeri village in Harapanahalli taluk. Lab reports confirmed that the deaths were due to consumption of contaminated water. Suresh Bhovi, 35, died in a private hospital in Manipal on October 17 and Mahantesh Bhovi, 45, at Chigateri Government Hospital in Davanagere on October 21.  P5 B’luru building collapse toll rises to 8 R a k s h i t h G o w d a @ Bengaluru With rescue teams recovering seven more bodies on Wednesday from under the debris of the under-construction residential building that collapsed in the city on Tuesday, the death toll has gone up to eight. Efforts were on to trace two more people trapped under the debris. Meanwhile, Hennur police arrested three people in connection with the incident. The deceased have been identified as Armaan, 26, Mohammed Sahil, 19, Sri Ran Kirupal, 35, and Solo Paswan from Bihar; Manikantanan, 26, and Satyaraju, 25, from Tamil Nadu; and Tulasi Reddy and Pulchan Yadav of Andhra Pradesh. Of the 14 workers rescued, six are being treated in various hospitals in the city The teams . used earth movers, iron cutters and other equipment in the rescue operation. Sniffer dogs and DRDO’s ‘Divine Eye’ device helped the teams in tracing the trapped construction workers. Police said, “Efforts are on to trace construction workers Elumalai and Gajendra trapped under the debris.” Residents of the locality however, expressed , fears that a woman and her child were inside a temporary shed on which the building collapsed. Police said that the building had approvals from civic agencies for ground and three floors.  P5