THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l tuesday l January 21, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION National Company Law Tribunal orders liquidation of Go First The budget carrier had stopped flying three years ago after being bogged down by financial woes and filed for a voluntary insolvency resolution Liquidator to probe financial affairs Airline once Had a fleet size of 54 jets The resolution process did not take off and the tribunal has now ordered liquidation of the airline on an application by the Committee of Creditors (CoC). Dinkar Tiruvannadapuram Venkatasubramanian is the liquidator, who will continue to probe the airline’s financial affairs. He will submit a preliminary report within 75 days from the date of start of liquidation ■ ■ The airline reported a loss of I1,800 cr, including I800 cr notional loss due to accounting standards in the financial year ended March 2023 At its peak, Go First operated a fleet of 54 aircraft. In May 2024, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation de-registered all planes and by December lessors repossessed 28 aircraft and moved out of India 17 years No. of years Go First, earlier known as Go Air, remained in service 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 trump 2.0 begins National emergency declared at U.S.-Mexico border A raft of executive orders expected —Donald Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump takes the oath of office during the presidential Inauguration beneath the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Monday. As per convention, J D Vance was sworn in as the vice president just ahead of Trump | ap Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at the inauguration ceremony | ap donald Trump, 78, on Monday took his oath of office for a historic second term as US president, and pledged a blitz of immediate orders on immigration and the culture wars as he caps his extraordinary comeback. As per protocol, J D Vance was sworn in as Vice President first, followed by Trump’s taking oath as President. With one hand raised in the air and the other on a Bible given to him by his mother, the 47th US president took the oath of office beneath the huge Rotunda of the US Capitol. Trump started his inaugural speech with: “The golden age S u l a gn a S eng u p ta @ Kolkata A Sealdah court on Monday sentenced Sanjay Roy the lone , accused in the horrific rapemurder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in August last year, to life imprisonment till death. The court, however, rejected the prosecution’s demand for death penalty saying it was not a “rarest of the rare” crime. Additional District and Sessions Judge Anirban Das ordered Roy to pay `50,000 as penalty and directed the West Bengal government to give the victim’s family `17 lakh as compensation — `10 lakh for death and `7 lakh for rape while at work. But the victim’s father refused to accept it. He instead demanded capital punishment of the accused. The judge said, “I don’t think money can compensate for any death. It was the liability of state to protect your daughter as she was on duty (when the The golden age of America begins right now... I will very simply put America first Agen c ies @ Washington Jail till death for RG Kar accused of America begins right now,” adding that the US will “flourish and be respected”. In his fiery address, he said “America’s decline is over” as changes will come “very quickly”. Hitting out at the Biden administration for the migrant crisis, he promised to clean up the mess on a war footing. He said he was declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and would deploy troops there to deal with the crisis. He also listed a series of actions to be rolled out: renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and reclaiming the Panama Canal. On the international trade front, he promised a ‘complete overhaul’ by taxing foreign countries through tar- iff to enrich US citizens. Trump is expected to issue some 100 executive orders. A political outsider at his first inauguration in 2017, now Trump is surrounded by the wealthy and powerful. While Trump refused to attend Biden’s 2021 inauguration after claiming electoral fraud by the Democrat, this time Biden has been keen to restore the sense of tradition. Biden joined for mer presidents Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton at the Capitol. Former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush were there but ex-first lady Michelle Obama stayed away . Unusually for an inauguration where foreign leaders are normally not invited, this time Argentina’s hard-right president Javier Milei attended the event, along with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni. Chinese vice president Han Zheng represented his government. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar attended the ceremony as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special envoy Con. gratulating Trump, Modi wrote on X: “Congratulations my dear friend President Donald Trump on your historic inauguration as the 47th president of the United States! I look forward to working closely together once again, to benefit both our countries, and to shape a better future for the world. Best P9 wishes...”  Biden issues preemptive pardons Hours before Trump’s swearing-in, outgoing president Joe Biden on Monday issued pre-emptive pardons to Dr Anthony Fauci, retired Gen Mark Milley, and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan 6 attack on the Capitol Putin congratulates Trump, signals thaw Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated Donald Trump just before his swearing in. “We hear Trump’s statements about restoring direct contacts with Russia, which were halted by the outgoing administration... We welcome the approach,” he said Different strokes While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and junior doctors at RG Kar were unhappy with the verdict, the National Commission for Women welcomed it horrific rape-murder happened). This is a statutory provision. If you take it, you can use it. I gave whatever I felt. You can move a higher court.” Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she was not happy with the verdict, and so did junior doctors at RG Kar. The victim’s colleagues cited unresolved questions and the absence of action against other potential suspects. They wanted a more thorough probe, including the motive and the involvement of others. However, the National Commission for Women welcomed the ruling. Roy was convicted by a special court on Saturday, nearly six months after his arrest. U’khand cabinet clears UCC rules N A R E N D R A S E T H I @ Dehradun The Uttarakhand Cabinet on Monday approved the Uniform Civil Code’s (UCC) regulations, close to a year after the legislation was passed by the state assembly Chief Min. ister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the date of its implementation will be announced soon. Sources suggested it could be notified on January 26, a day after the results of the January 23 municipal elections are announced. A mock drill of a UCC portal set up by the government will be held on Tuesday Govern. ment officials tasked with managing the portal have already been given ample training. Uttarakhand’s UCC encompasses various aspects of personal law, including marriage, divorce, maintenance, property rights, adoption and inheritance. “The code recognises live-in relationships, ensuring that children born from such unions are entitled to equal inheritance rights,” an official stated. The UCC aims to establish a uniform legal framework applicable to all individuals, regardless of their religion, caste or community . However, the state’s tribals are out of its ambit. Greeshma sentenced to death for Sharon murder Applecart rocked? Satheesan draws flak at Cong PAC meet E x p ress N e w s S er v i c e @ T’Puram K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram Until recently, he was the toast of ordinary Congressmen and an influential section of party leaders. Buoyed by the Congress victory in a string of recent by-elections in the state, he was all set to lead the UDF in the 2026 assembly election, besides being tipped as the chief minister if the front forms the next government. But V D Satheesan’s apple cart was upset at the Congress Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting on Sunday with a slew of leaders, with the tacit backing of some veterans, unleashing a barrage of criticism at him, especially his “arrogant style of functioning”. According to leaders who were present, what emerged at the PAC meeting derailed the calculations of the leader of opposition and his supporters. The Satheesan camp was anticipating all-out criticism of KPCC president K Sudhakaran for his alleged laxity and senior leader Ramesh Chennithala for allegedly forcing a debate on the CM post. However, P J Kurien, who started the discussion, and AICC general secretaries Deepa Dasmunshi and K C Venugopal set the tone of the meeting, which was altogether different from what Satheesan and supporters had sought. “The silence of Satheesan campers like Shafi Parambil was ‘quite audible’. It was clear that the critics enjoy the silent moral support of top leaders,” a senior Congress leader told TNIE. “And worse still for him, the high command representatives remained passive spectators when his critics went on the rampage,” the leader said. It was senior leader Sooranand Rajasekharan who fired the first salvo. Unlike during the tenure of K Karunakaran, Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, Cantonment House, the official residence of the leader of opposition, has become inaccessible to ordinary Congress workers, he alleged. The tempo of the attack against Satheesan gradually attained momentum and peaked when A P Anilkumar, a confidant of Venugopal, spoke. He questioned Satheesan’s mandate to take decisions on important issues without holding ● More on P4 consultations.  The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court on Monday awarded death sentence to S S Greeshma, 24, for murdering her boyfriend Sharon Raj by administering him an ayurvedic concoction laced with a lethal herbicide in 2022. Pronouncing the verdict, Justice A M Basheer termed it a rarest of rare case as the entire act of Greeshma was “diabolical and revolting” which shook the collective conscience of society . Stating that Sharon Raj was killed “inch by inch”, the court in its verdict said “Greeshma actively sought to prolong the victim’s suffering, to cause extreme pain before death... such a person can’t be reformed”. The court had on Friday found Greeshma, a native of Ramavarmanchira in Kanyakumari district, guilty of all charges levelled against her, including murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence. Greeshma’s uncle Nirmalakumaran Nair, who was found guilty of destroying evidence, was given three years’ imprisonment. Greeshma’s mother Sindhu was earlier let off for want of evidence. With M o n d ay ’s ve r d i c t , Greeshma has become the youngest person in the state to receive the death sentence. She is the third woman to be awarded the death penalty in the state. While Greeshma remained impassive as the court sentenced her to death, Sharon’s parents, who were present in the court, broke down. Sharon’s mother later said: “My son has received justice.” ‘Rarest of rare case’ The court awarded capital punishment to Greeshma, terming it a rarest of rare case. What court said The entire act of Greeshma was “diabolical and revolting”, which shook the collective conscience of society Only one with the mind for extreme brutality can repeat a crime against a boyfriend or husband, while in love S S Greeshma being brought out of the Neyyattinkara Additional District Sessions Court after the pronouncement of the verdict on Monday | B P Deepu Sharon Raj, a 23-year-old BSc radiology student and a resident of Parassala, was admitted to the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram after he consumed the deadly concoction given by Greeshma on October 14 , 2022, and died of multiple organ failure 11 days later. The crime branch probe found that Greeshma killed Sharon to marry an Army man, with whom her family had fixed marriage. P4 EXPRESS READ ‘54 lakh pilgrims visited Sabarimala temple’ Kerala presence at World Economic Forum meet Mysterious illness: Ban on community feast Former cricketers rally behind Sanju Samson Sabarimala: Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prashanth said the mandalamakaravilakku pilgrimage season witnessed an unprecedented influx of devotees, with approximately 6.31 lakh more pilgrims turning up this year. The total number of devotees who visted the shrine stood at 53.99 lakh, compared to 46.77 lakh in the previous season. P5 Kochi: A delegation from Kerala is attending the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting at Davos, as the LDF government continues its efforts to engage with global leaders and MNCs to attract investment to state. This is the first time Kerala is taking part in a WEF meet. Minister P Rajeeve is leading the state delegation at the 5-day event that began on January 20. P5 Srinagar: Even as an interministerial team visited Budhal village in J&K’s Rajouri district on Monday to ascertain cause of the 17 deaths in three families due to a mysterious illness, the administration sealed the spring in the affected village after water samples from it tested positive for few pesticides and insecticides. It also banned community feast in the village. P8 Kochi: Former Kerala cricketers and association officials have rallied behind Sanju Samson who was not selected to Kerala team for Vijay Hazare Trophy. “To exclude Sanju from the team was not a wise decision from the part of KCA,” said P Balachandran, former state team coach. P2 16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express Sharon Raj was killed “inch by inch” Greeshma actively sought to prolong the victim’s suffering, designed to cause extreme pain before death using gruesome methods... and such a person can’t be reformed