THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l friday l October 25, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION PAC meet postponed as SEBI chief Madhabi Buch doesn’t turn up The Sebi chairperson skipped a Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee meeting on Thursday, prompting panel head K C Venugopal to put it off Buch cites ‘exigencies’ to skip meeting Furore over jpc head Venugopal’s fiat Venugopal said the panel received a message from Buch at 9.30 am that she and her team wouldn’t be able to appear before it due to “exigencies”. The panel’s proceedings remained deadlocked even during its second sitting amid the NDA members’ demand that Venugopal allow a vote on agenda items like summoning heads of regulatory bodies, an idea opposed by Cong MPs ■ ■ BJP member Nishikant Dubey moved a motion to drop five of the 161 subjects picked by the panel for its annual agenda, and called for a vote With NDA members in majority, Venugopal didn’t allow the motion. BJP members accused him of not letting them air their views. They later met Speaker Om Birla to protest against Venugopal’s unilateral decisions Trai chairman Briefly Appeared before jpc but the meet was called off due to protests 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 Pullback begins from Depsang and Demchok Forces have moved away from stand-off points but remain in the vicinity, say sources M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi Ground situation DAYS after India and China disclosed that an agreement has been reached to de-escalate the border tension, sources said on Thursday that troops from both sides have begun disengaging from the standoff points in Depsang and Demchok in Eastern Ladakh. The troops have moved away from the points near the Y-Junction in Depsang and Charding Nullah Junction in Demchok, it is learnt. “But the troops remain in the vicinity sources said, ,” indicating that both sides are treading cautiously . In other words, although troops have moved away from the standoff points, there is no real change in the overall troop deployment in the area. Broadly, the infrastructure also remains the same as only the temporary structures such as tents and shades have been dismantled. “The withdrawals are mutual. Patrolling may take some time to resume because it will depend on the removal of the structures which came up since the April 2020 clashes,” said an official. Speaking at an event in Delhi on Thursday Un, ion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said a broad consensus has been achieved, which includes patrolling and grazing in traditional areas. This is the power of engaging in dialogue, he said. While grazing grounds are only towards Demchok with the nullah in the vicinity the landform , is rugged and rocky towards Depsang, where there are significant patrolling points. Monday’s agreement was about the two friction points, Depsang and Demchok. The strategic importance of Depsang is underscored by its proximity to the Y Junction, which is just 20 km from Daulat Beg Oldi airfield. Control over Y Junction enables China to obstruct India’s movements, which also serves as a link towards Siachen and the DBO airfield. The standoff at Depsang was significant, as the Chinese troops had blocked access to Patrol Points 10, 11, 11A, 12, and 13, covering an area of approximately 952 sq km. A broad consensus has been achieved by India and China on restoring the ‘ground situation’ along LAC, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said The agreement includes patrolling and grazing in the traditional areas Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister EXPRESS READ No fault on part of ADM: Probe report T’Puram: There was no fault on the part of former Kannur ADM Naveen Babu in giving permission to the petrol pump, the probe report by Joint Land Revenue Commissioner Geetha A has said. The report was submitted to revenue principal secretary on Thursday. P7 2 soldiers & 2 porters killed in terror attack Srinagar: An army vehicle was ambushed by militants near the Line of Control (LoC) in Gulmarg sector in Jammu and Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Thursday evening. The attack killed two army men and two porters, injuring 3 soldiers. P10 18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express ‘Tour’ turns surprise raid; GST officials seize 108kg gold T o b y A nt o n y @ Kochi When they left their homes for Ernakulam on Wednesday morning, the officers of the intelligence wing of the State GST (SGST) de par tment thought they were going for a two-day training at the private college where they were told to gather. Similarly, training was on the minds of officers of the SGST’s audit wing, who were told to assemble at Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) in Thrissur around the same time. However, the officers, numbering around 700, gathered at the two locations were in for a surprise. They were about to 700 Officers involved in operation kept in dark Around 700 officials of the SGST’s intelligence and audit wings, who had gathered in Ernakulam and Thrissur, were told that they were being taken for a tour as part of training. 1 2 Officials who got into hired tourist buses were dropped at places where raids were planned. They were barred from using phones. be part of perhaps one of the largest raids ever conducted by the SGST department in Kerala. Code named ‘Torre del Oro’ (Tower of Gold) — after a monument in Seville, Spain — the raids by the SGST officers on 73 locations linked to jewellers in Thrissur led to the seizure of 108kg of gold over tax evasion. M P P rashanth @Kozhikode PDP leader Abdul Nazar Madani played an important role in radicalising Muslim youth in Kerala and that could be the reason why he is labelled the ‘ambassador of extremism’, says CPM state committee member P Jayarajan. The controversial reference to Madani appears in Jayarajan’s latest book ‘Keralam: Muslim Rashtreeyam, Rashtreeya Islam’, which will be re- leased by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kozhikode on Saturday . It may be recalled that PDP has been supporting the LDF after Madani was released from the Coimbatore jail. Pinarayi himself shared the stage with Madani during the campaign in Ponnani for the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Jayarajan’s remarks are likely to ruffle feathers in the PDP and among the Muslim organisations in general. Cyclone Dana 3.5 lakh evacuated in Odisha Odisha braced for impact as severe cyclonic storm Dana, packing strong winds, headed towards the coast where it is likely to pelt heavy showers post landfall well past Thursday midnight | P7 Rly projects worth `6,798 cr gift-wrapped for Bihar, AP five years will provide connectivity, facilitate ease of travel, reduce oil imports In a big push for infrastructure develop- and lower carbon emissions. ment in the NDA-ruled Andhra Pradesh The projects involve doubling the and Bihar, the Union Cabinet Narkatiaganj-Raxaul-Sitamaon Thursday approved one rhi-Darbhanga and Sitamarhimega Railway project each Muzaffarpur sections, covering with a total estimated cost of 256 km in Bihar with an esti`6,798 crore. In another decimated cost of `4,553 crore, and sion, the Cabinet approved the the construction of a new line establishment of a Venture between Errupalem and NamCapital Fund worth `1,000 crore buru via Amaravati in Andhra for the space sector under the Pradesh, covering 57 km with aegis of IN-SPACe to promote Ashwini Vaishnaw an estimated cost of `2,245 and oversee private sector parcrore, the minister said. ticipation in the sector. The doubling of the rail line is expectBriefing the media after the Union ed to strengthen connectivity to Nepal, Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on the Northeast and the border areas. Economic Affairs met, Information & The new Errupalem-Amaravati-NamBroadcasting Minister Ashwini buru rail line will traverse through NTR Vaishnaw said, the two mega railway Vijayawada and Guntur districts of APa projects scheduled to be completed in and Khammam district of Telangana. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Senior rail officers tasked with inspection R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi 48 Derailments 40 *2024-25 36 40 35 (Up to August) 27 25 22 18 *2024-25 2023-24 2022-23 Data based on RTI reply 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 17 Accidents sale in Thrissur for the past seven months. The raids were carried out within a 1km radius of Thrissur city As thor. ough preparatory work was carried out, we did not want anyone to leak the information about the operation. Only four senior officers knew about it. All others were kept in the dark,” he said. The raids were conducted on godowns, manufacturing units, shops and residences of 35 jewellers in Thrissur. “We selected Thrissur as it is the hub of gold jewellery manufacturing in the state. Four jewellers were slapped with a fine of `5.03 crore for GST evasion,” he said. ● More on P4 Madani played key role in radicalising Muslim youth: P Jayarajan e n h a n c i n g sa f e t y Total train accidents, 55 Derailments The raids that lasted till Thursday after noon were planned and executed in complete secrecy, with only four senior officers kept in the loop. “After all the officials gathered at the college in Ernakulam and KILA in Thrissur, they were told that a tour was arranged as part of the training. Believing that they were headed for a tour, the officials got into hired tourist buses and were dropped off at places where the raids were planned. It was only after reaching the locations that the officials were informed about the raids. They were also told not to use their mobile phones so that no information is leaked,” a top official who supervised the raids told TNIE. The search was conducted after much preparation and planning to ensure that there were no loose ends. “We have been conducting a preliminary inquiry into tax evasion by people engaged in gold jewellery manufacturing and its Amid a spate of derailments, the Ministry of Railways has decided to involve its senior administrative grade (SAG) officers to conduct inspections to enhance safety . From now on, SAG officers will carry out two night inspections per month at roadside stations, level-crossing gates, or on footplates. This is in addition to regular daytime inspections of maintenance practices across all departments, which may include monitoring crew operations and visits to running rooms. They also have been tasked with conducting “ambush checks” at unmanned level crossings in collaboration with the police to check if safety measures are in place. The decision follows a safety review meeting on October 8, where a system was suggested for assigning officers for night inspections and to monitor the inspections carried out by other nominated officers. The ministry directed General Managers (GMs) and Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) to implement this system and ensure daily oversight of night inspections. “A number of these accidents are avoidable as they are on account of failure of railway staff. It is essential that constant monitoring is done at all levels of the implementation of follow-up on laid down safety rules and procedures.” All SAG officers at the headquarters of the departments eligible to be posted as DRMs/GMs may be utilised for inspections, the ministry said. File photo of Abdul Nazar Madani with Pinarayi Vijayan at the election campaign in Kuttipuram in 2009 “The series of speeches delivered by Abdul Nazar Madani throughout Kerala after the demolition of the Babri Masjid played an important role in kindling extremist thoughts among the Muslim minorities. Madani tried to fuel extremist thoughts through his emotional speeches,” Jayarajan said in the book. He went on to add that the Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS) formed by Madani to take on the RSS provided arms training to Muslim youths. “The speeches during the march to the Thiruvanathapuram airport were extremely provocative,” the book says. Citing police reports, Jayarajan says that Thadiyatavide Nazeer, who is involved in many terror cases, was deeply attracted by Madani’s emotional speeches. He, however, added that there was a change in Madani’s stand after he was acquitted in Coimbatore blast case in 2007. The book also discusses in detail the ‘theocratic ideology’ of Jama’at-e-Islami and its role in radicalising Mus● More on P4 lims.