HUBBALLI l Monday l November 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION India, China made some progress in disengagement, says Jaishankar India and China have made ‘some progress’ in disengagement, the foreign minister said while interacting with the Indian diaspora in Brisbane It opens up possibility for other steps: EAM India has big role to play in west Asia “In terms of India and China, yes, we have made some progress,” he said, adding that the disengagement of troops in eastern Ladakh, agreed by India and China, is a welcome step. S Jaishankar said it could open up the possibility that “other steps could happen” that would improve the ties further. He arrived in Australia on Saturday and will fly to Singapore later ■ ■ Jaishankar said India is “trying to do something” to bring peace in both Ukraine and West Asia. In case of the latter, India is one of the few countries that can mediate between Israel and Iran to stop a wider war He said there’s genuine goodwill and desire among nations to work with India. “We see a sentiment overall for India to succeed,” Jaishankar said Fourth Indian consulate in Australia to be inaugurated in Brisbane by Jaishankar 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 12 injured as terrorists lob grenade on Srinagar crowd CRPF vehicle was the target; L-G asks forces to crush terror outfits F AYA Z W A N I @ New Delhi A day after Srinagar witnessed the first encounter in two years, militants on Sunday carried out a grenade attack at the crowded flea market in the city , injuring 12 people, including two women. The condition of one person is critical. After the attack, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha directed security officials to use full force and crush the terror outfits. Sources said militants lobbed a grenade towards a vehicle of paramilitary CRPF at Sunday Market near Tourist Reception Centre. The attack happened in the afternoon when the place was crowded with people thronging the flea market to buy woollens and other items. “The grenade missed the intended target and exploded on a road. It caused splinter injuries to those present on the spot,” a police official said. The injured were evacuated to nearby SMHS hospital, where doctors attended to them. Medical Superintendent Dr Tasneem Showkat told this newspaper that of one the injured is in critical condition while the rest are stable. The grenade attack caused panic in the area with the people running helter-skelter. The grenade attack took place a day after an encounter Will implement UCC, tribals to be exempt: Shah M U K E S H R A N J A N @ Ranchi Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Sunday that the BJP will implement the Unifor m Civil Code (UCC) in Jharkhand if it wins the upcoming Assembly elections in the state, but would keep the tribals out of the law’s ambit. “Uniform Civil Code will definitely be introduced in Jharkhand, but the tribal community will be kept out of its ambit,” Shah said. “They (The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Congress) are spreading rumours that if the UCC is intro- them.“If the BJP forms government, we will make a law to return the land to the innocent tribals of Jharkhand,” Shah said. Training his guns on Soren, Shah said the chief minister insulted Champai Soren by unceremoniously removing him from the post of CM to satisfy his lust for power. Reacting to Shah’s promise to implement the UCC, Soren vowed that neither the UCC nor the National Registry of Citizens will be implement- Winter session likely from Nov 25, Centre may introduce Waqf bill Forensic team collects samples from the attack site in Srinagar on Sunday | PTI P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi in Khyanyar area of Srinagar in which a top Lashkar commander was killed. There has been a surge in militant violence and attacks in Jammu and Kashmir after the civilian government led by Omar Abdullah took charge as chief minister on October 16. THE winter session of Parliament is likely to commence on November 25 and will continue until December 20, according to sources. During the session, the government will introduce the contentious One Nation One Election and Waqf bills. The results of the Jharkhand and Maharashtra assembly elections, which will come on November 23, will also have a significant bearing on the session. Still smarting from the Haryana defeat, the Congress and its allies in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are pinning their J&K Assembly session starts today The legislative assembly of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir will meet for a five-day session on Monday. NC leader Abdul Rahim Rather is set to be the speaker “The last few days have been dominated by headlines of attacks and encounters in parts of the Valley Today’s news of a . grenade attack on innocent shoppers... is deeply disturbing. There can be no justification for targeting innocent civilians,” Omar Abdullah said. Lt Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to DGP Nalin Prabhat and senior security officials. “Terrorists targeting citizens will have to pay a very heavy price for their actions. You have full freedom to crush terror outfits and leave no stone unturned to complete this mission,” Sinha told the senior security officials. hopes on wresting power in Maharashtra while retaining the Hemant Soren-led government in Jharkhand. The results will dominate the tone and tenor of the session. Sources said the government may also pass a resolution to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, a crucial step towards reinstating constitutional rights and safeguarding the unique identity of the region’s residents. Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issues related to the Union Territory in, cluding early restoration of statehood. According to sources, a special joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament will be held on November 26 to mark the 75th anniversary of adopting the Constitution of India. The joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is likely to be held in the Central Hall of the Samvidhan Sadan, where the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution on November 26, 1949, and it came into effect on January 26, 1950. If the government introduces the One Nation, One Election Bill in Parliament, it will face stiff resistance as several opposition-ruled states are opposed to the proposal, saying it is against the Constitution. New study: King cobra has 4 variants, not one Body in Kodagu: Accused flees from police in Hyderabad A mit S U pa d hye @ Hubballi E x press N ews S er v ice @ Madikeri A m u rd e r a c c u s e d , wh o was arrested in Uttar Pradesh in filmy style, has escaped from the clutches of Kodagu police. Ankur Rana, who hailed from Haryana, was arrested in Uttar Pradesh by the Kodagu police. The police had garnered much appreciation after they cracked an inter-sate murder quickly . A businessman, Ramesh Kumar (45), had been murdered in Hyderabad and his burnt body was found inside an estate at Suntikoppa in Kodagu. Following several clues, the Kodagu police nabbed the victim’s second wife Niharika and her two acquaintances Ankur Rana and Nikhil Maireddy . While Niharika and Nikhil were arrested from Bengaluru, Ankur was nabbed in filmy style in Uttar Pradesh. When the Kodagu police took him for the spot mahazar in Hyderabad, he managed to escape. As confirmed by SP K Ramarajan, the Kodagu police, along with the three accused, ar rived in Hyderabad on October 31 and carried out the mahazar at the crime spot on Uppal-Bhuvanagiri National Highway. The police then stayed at a private hotel in Hyderabad for the night. However, Ankur broke out of the hotel after unlocking his handcuffs. He is said to have escaped from the window of the hotel room on the third floor. Sources confirmed that he escaped with a police communication system. Search operations are going on to nab the accused, and SP K Ramarajan expressed hope that Ankur will be nabbed soon. duced in the state, the art and culture of the tribal population will be ruined,” he said. Releasing the BJP’s manifesto, ‘Sankalp Patra’, for the upcoming elections in Jharkhand, Shah alleged that the JMM-led state government has failed to protect the tribal land from ‘intruders’. He said if the BJP forms gover nment in the state, it will bring laws to prevent the transfer of tribal land to infiltrators and take back the land already g rabbed by RUSH season People wait for trains to reach their hometowns ahead of the Chhath Puja festival, at New Delhi railway station, on Sunday | PTI e x p r e ss r e a d Waqf row: BJP protests politically motivated, says Siddaramaiah Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah said that the protests by BJP at taluk offices on Monday over the Waqf issue was politically motivated. “Even after our government ordered withdrawal of notices issued to farmers, BJP leaders persist in their protests. Their motives are political, with no genuine interest in protecting the welfare of our farmers,” he said P4 Naxalites attack 2 cops, flee with AK-47, SLR in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma Sukma (Chhattisgarh): Two Chhattisgarh police constables were injured when Naxalites, dressed as civilians, attacked them with sharp weapons at a weekly market in the insurgency-hit Sukma district on Sunday morning, an official said. The Naxalites also took away the service rifles of the two personnel following the incident. In ground-breaking research, well-known wildlife biologist P Gowri Shankar from Agumbe has proved that king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) -- the longest venomous snake in the world, has four different species. The discovery comes 185 years after it was first described in 1836. The king cobra has so far been considered all over the world as a single species. Gowri Shankar, who is known for his work on king cobra conservation, has led the study that spread across several countries in South and South East Asia and took 10 long years. Gowri Shankar looked at widespread distribution of king cobras and hypothesised that king cobras could have multiple species. Many scientists had proposed similar hypotheses earlier, but could not establish them and this led to Gowri Shankar’s PhD research. In 2012, he teamed up with various organisations and universities to plan and execute P Gowri Shankar with a king cobra his study . Under the supervision of Dr Kartik Shanker from IISc, Dr SK Dutta (Prof. Emeritus) and Prof Jacob Hoglund from Uppsala University Sweden, he col, lected tissue samples of king cobras in different habitats to establish the different variants. Priyanka Swamy supported the DNA analysis and SR Ganesh, a taxonomist, supported with morphological characters.  P5 ed in the state. Senior BJP leaders including Jharkhand election in-charge Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Assam Chief Minister and co-election in-charge Himanta Biswa Sarma attended the function to launch the ‘Sankalp Patra’. Shah said the BJP will launch ‘GoGo Didi Yojna’ in the state if elected. Under the scheme, `2100 will be transferred to poor women on the 11th day of every month. Besides, free LPG cylinders will be given to poor households on Diwali and Raksha Bandhan, he said.  P8 Film director Guruprasad found hanging E x press N ews S er v ice @ Bengaluru Renowned Kannada movie director, 52-year-old Guruprasad was found dead in an apartment complex in Madanayakanahalli police limits on the outskirts of the city on Sunday . The decomposed body of the director was found hanging from the ceiling fan hook. He is suspected to have died by suicide. He was staying in a flat at Tata New Haven apartment in Dasanapura for the last eight months. The incident came to light around 11 am on Sunday after a security guard, who sensed a foul smell, put out a message in the apartment WhatsApp group. Initially it was sus, pected that the smell was from the garbage. But later it was confirmed that it was from the director’s flat. One of the guards, using a ladder, checked the director’s flat and found him hanging. Guruprasad’s birthday was on November 2. Guruprasad, who hailed from Kanakapura, directed five movies, including actor Jaggeshstarrer ‘Mata’. The director, who was arrested in a cheque-bounce case in January 2023, is suspected to have taken the extreme step due to financial issues. After a dispute with his first wife, he had married again. He was reportedly staying alone at the flat. The police suspect that he might have taken the extreme step a few days ago.  P5 23 goals India launched an updated biodiversity action plan, outlining 23 objectives to reduce threats to biodiversity, ensure sustainable use of resources, and enhance tools for implementation in next five years | P7 humiliation at home Gone with the spin in less than 10 days: Why India crumbled G o mesh S @ Mumbai INDIA did not have any tangible answer to New Zealand’s, what seemed like, an infinite variety of cricket. If the hosts perished to some immaculate pace bowling under overcast conditions, almost England– like in Bengaluru, and later, on turning tracks in Pune and Mumbai, the batters scratched their heads like students struggling to find solutions to multiple problems. Only Risabh Pant stood among the ruins. The ending seemed inevitable on Sunday. After all, for the nine days of cricket India and New Zealand have had in this series, the visitors outperformed India in almost every single one. The tenth day (of the three-Test series) was no different either as New Zealand became the first team to beat India in three consecutive Tests at home. While Tom Latham’s side was spot on in every move, captain Rohit Sharma’s every move seemed to have backfired. He admitted as much after the loss here. “Something like this will be a low point in my career. I fully take responsibility for that as a 92 New Zealand’s Ajaz Patel (3L) and Devon Conway (L) shake hands with India’s Virat Kohli (2R) and captain Rohit Sharma (2L). Ravindra Jadeja is also seen in the picture (extreme right) | AFp India have been clean swept in a Test series at home (3 matches or more) for the first time in 92 years of their history captain. I have not been at the best of my abilities right from the start of the series. With the bat, I have not been good enough,” Sharma said. It all began in Bengaluru when Sharma misread the pitch and opted to bat. The chances of recovery were slim after the 46 all out in the first innings. In search of a win, India opted for a surface that would assist spinners in Pune. However, it was Mitchell Santner who outfoxed the host batters. The second Test loss exposed the struggles of the most experienced batters against spin. In Mumbai, on another rank turner, India went into self-destruct mode. On Sunday, too, the collapse began with Sharma’s miscued pull against Matt Henry. They slumped to 29/5 and eventually fell short by 25 runs while chasing 147. India are in transition where the seniors, including Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, are in the November of their careers. India’s last home series defeat came 12 years ago. The dominance that followed and the fall in the last three weeks would make this one of the lowest phases in the history of Indian cricket.  P11