BHUBANESWAR  TUESDAY  MARCH 18, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  JEYPORE EDITION CHEETAH GAMINI CAN NOW BE SPOTTED BY TOURISTS IN SAFARI South African cheetah Gamini and her 4 cubs were released into the wild in the Khajuri forest area at Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on Monday 17 BIG CATS NOW RELEASED INTO THE WILD PROJECT GOING STRONG FOR OVER 2 YEARS Their release raised the number of cheetahs in the wild to 17. Nine others are still in the enclosures. On February 21, cheetah Jwala and her four cubs were released into the wild in KNP. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav hailed the development as an important day in the cheetah project and wildlife conservation ■ ■ PM Modi initiated the translocation project with eight cheetahs brought from Namibia released into KNP in September 2022. This marked the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the big cats Gamini gave birth to six cubs in her first litter on March 10, 2024, officials said. Two of the cubs, however, died in subsequent months 26 CHEETAHS IN KNP NOW, INCLUDING 14 CUBS BORN ON INDIAN SOIL 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 Ex-Union min Dr Debendra Pradhan passes away GOVT TURNS THE SCREWS ON KHALISTANI RADICALS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar VETERAN BJP leader and former Union minister Dr Debendra Pradhan passed away at the official residence of his son Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan in New Delhi on Monday He was 84 and suffer. ing from age-related illness. A qualified doctor, Dr Pradhan had served as a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet and also held high positions in the BJP including being the national vice-president and a threetime state president of the party . Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home minister Amit Shah, national BJP president JP Nadda, several Union ministers and leaders visited the residence of Dharmendra Pradhan to pay their last respects to Debendra Pradhan the departed. Born on July 16, 1941, Dr Pradhan got his MBBS degree from SCB Medical College, Cuttack in 1966 and started his career as an assistant medical officer in Talcher. He, however, quit the government job in 1973 to pursue social service and agriculture. One of the main architects of building BJP organisation in Odisha, Dr Pradhan, joined the saffron party in 1983. He was appointed as president of the party’s Talcher Mandal the same year, a post which he held till 1985. He entered electoral politics in 1984 with the party nominating him from the Deogarh Lok Sabha seat, which he lost. He was elected as BJP’s state president for two consecutive terms from 1988 to 1993 and again a third term from 1995 to 1997. A close associate of former BJP president Kushabhau Thakre, Dr Pradhan, after two defeats in 1991 and 1996 general elections, finally tasted success in 1998 from Deogarh seat and became the Surface Transport m i n i s t e r i n Va j p a y e e government. CONTINUED ON P5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon in New Delhi | SHEKHAR YADAV Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during a meeting with USA’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard | PTI ‘Rein in anti-India Gabbard urged to elements in NZ’ ban Pannun’s SFJ J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi M AYA N K S I N G H @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised the issue of pro-Khalistan elements freely carrying out anti-India activities in New Zealand during his bilateral meeting with the Pacific island nation’s PM Christopher Luxon. Modi called for strict action against those guilty of terrorist attacks. “We will continue to cooperate together against terrorist, separatist and radical elements,” he said. Separately, the Ministry of External Affairs said the issue of Khalistan supporters getting space in New Zealand was discussed between the two leaders. “This was an issue that came up. We do alert our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other demoWe have shared our cratic freedoms to glorify terror- concerns about antiIndia activities by ism, and to threaten attacks against certain illegal our diplomats or our parliament or elements in New our events in India. So these were Zealand. We’re also conveyed,” said Jaideep Mazconfident we will umdar, secretary (east) in the Minreceive the full istry of External Affairs, adding cooperation of the New Zealand was receptive to InNew Zealand govt dia’s concerns. India has been flagNarendra Modi ging various pro-Khalistan activities, including the so-called ‘referendum’ for an independent Sikh homeland organised by the pro-Khalistan group, Sikhs for Justice, permitted by New Zealand authorities under the guise of ‘freedom of speech’. Modi and Luxon held wide-ranging talks with a focus on ramping up overall bilateral ties. The two sides also inked six pacts to firm up defence and security ties, and cooperation in education, sports, agriculture and climate change. India and New Zealand have also decided to start negotiations for a free trade pact. “This shall increase the potential for bilateral trade and investment. Mutual cooperation and investment shall be encouraged in fields such as dairy, food processing, and pharma,” Modi said. New Zealand is keen to have greater access to India’s lucrative dairy market, which has been traditionally protected to support farmers. Luxon arrived in Delhi on Sunday on a five-day visit to explore ways to deepen ties. DEFENCE Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday conveyed to US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, India’s concerns over activities of Khalistani separatist group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), on American soil and urged her to declare it as a designated terrorist entity, sources said. In an over 30-minute meeting at his office in the Raisina Hills, Singh apprised Gabbard about SFJ’s alle ged links with Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as well as its “collaboration” with the Babbar Khalsa terrorist group, and pressed for action against it, sources said. Singh flagged concerns over the SFJ, headed by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, vandalising various HinDrawing from the du religious structures in the US joint statement issued after the and said such radicalism must be recent Modi-Trump stopped, the sources said. The SFJ meeting, the is a banned organisation in India. discussions Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is reaffirmed the wanted by Indian probe agencies growing strength of on various terror charges. During the India-US bilateral the discussion, both countries defence partnership also explored avenues for collaboMinistry of Defence ration in cutting-edge defence innovation and niche technologies. In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said, “Drawing from the joint statement issued after the recent meeting of PM Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump, the discussions reaffirmed the growing strength of the India-US bilateral defence partnership.” Both leaders emphasised that strategic security remains a vital pillar of the comprehensive global strategic cooperation between the two nations. “Rajnath and Gabbard reviewed the significant strides made in the areas of military exercises, strategic cooperation, integration of defence industrial supply chains and information-sharing cooperation, especially in the maritime domain, between India and the US,” MoD added. The two leaders addressed key areas such as enhancing interoperability and fostering greater integration of defence industrial supply chains to bolster resilience and innovation. PARKING BRAWL Army Col, son assaulted by Punjab cops, 12 suspended H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh A serving army Colonel and his son were allegedly assaulted by Punjab Police personnel in Patiala in the wee hours of March 14 over a parking dispute. The incident, caught on CCTV left the Colonel with a fractured arm and his son , with severe head injuries. Following an outrage over the incident, Punjab Police on Monday suspended 12 policemen, including three inspectors, and ordered a departmental probe against them. Sources said Colonel Pushpinder Bath, presently posted at the Army headquarters in New Delhi, said he was assaulted on the night of March 13 when he, along with his son, were allegedly attacked by policemen posted in Patiala. The incident took place outside a roadside eatery near the hospital where Bath and his son had stopped for refreshments. It is alleged that three police personnel in plain clothes asked the army officer to remove his car so that they could park their vehicle. When Son of Colonel the officer objected to their tone, the Pushpinder Singh Bath at a hospital. The cops allegedly assaulted him and his Patiala SSP issued an son with baseball bats and sharpapology to the officer’s edged weapons. family | X One of the policemen claimed that it was the Colonel and his son who attacked them first. “They were inebriated and attacked us,” he claimed. Jaswinder Bath, Col Bath’s wife, claimed that the family is being asked to compromise or face dire consequences. This comes two days after the Patiala police registered an FIR against unidentified men for a brawl near Rajindra Hospital, based on a written complaint from the army officer. Manipur tense as Kuki-Zo leader mugged, prohibitory orders out P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati PROHIBITORY orders under Section 163 of BNSS were clamped in Manipur’s Kuki-dominated Churachandpur district following a senior Kuki-Zo leader’s assault. Richard Hmar, general secretary of Hmar Inpui and a member of Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF), was assaulted by unknown miscreants late on Sunday inside the campus of VK Montessori School in Zenhang. He is undergoing medical treatment due to excessive bleeding and injuries. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) empowers district magistrates to issue preventive orders in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger to prevent har m to individuals or public safety Authorities clamped prohibitory orders following reports from the Churachandpur SP. Unauthorised processions or unlawful assemblies of five or more persons were banned, as well as carrying of arms or objects which can be used as weapons. District magistrate Dharun Kumar S said, “…Our attention has been drawn to incidents where disputes are escalating in some areas, leading to unrest that threatens the peaceful co-existence of our citizens.” Throughout the day protesters at, tempted to enforce a shutdown, urging shops to close immediately. Groups of ONE POLL UNCONSTITUTIONAL, SAYS AP SHAH Deposing before the JPC examing the one nation, one poll Bill, former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court submitted a 12-page note asserting that the Bill is violative of the Constitution | P7 ETHNIC VIOLENCE CASE MOVED TO GUWAHATI The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the trial of the Manipur ethnic violence cases, probed by the CBI, will take place in Guwahati, Assam, where they were transferred to earlier. The court has instructed the Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court to assign judicial officers to manage these cases men patrolled the streets with sticks, while clashes between the Hmar and Zomi communities led to stone pelting in multiple areas of the district headquarters. Personnel of the Central security forces intervened, firing gunshots in the air to disperse mobs, officials said. The Hmar Inpui said the victim was caught by a group of men on his way home, blind-folded and beaten up even after he had revealed his identity. The organisation asked the perpetrators to give in or face consequences. The Thadou Students’ Association expressed concern over escalating tensions between different groups among the nonNaga tribal communities, particularly between Kuki/Kuki-Zo, Hmar and Zomi groups. The ITLF has also condemned the incident. EXPRESS READ Govt clear projects worth `6,117 crore Bhubaneswar: The state-level single window clearance authority (SLSWCA) approved 19 industrial projects with an investment of `6,117 crore which have potential to create employment opportunities for over 17,286 people | P2 Trump-Putin talks on ending war today Washington: US President Donald Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as efforts continue to end the war in Ukraine, a move that could represent a possible pivot point in the conflict and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy | P9