SAMBALPUR l tuesday l april 30, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Centre to permanently deploy CISF in ED offices in select cities The decision was taken in view of a threat assessment report by the Intelligence Bureau after the Sandeshkhali mob attack | P7 Initial deployment in seven cities SC’s poser on Bengal govt’s plea The force will be deployed at the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) offices in Mumbai, Jalandhar, Kolkata, Jaipur, Ranchi, Raipur and Kochi for now. Highlevel talks are on to weigh deploying them in more cities, sources in the Union home ministry said. A mob linked to a local Trinamool Congress leader attacked ED officers in West Bengal’s Sandeshkhali on January 5 ■ ■ The SC on Monday asked the Bengal govt why it has come in as petitioner for “protecting the interest” of some private individuals in the Sandeshkhali case, alluding to the arrest of Shahjahan Sheikh It was hearing the state’s plea against CBI probe into allegations of crimes against women and land grabbing in Sandeshkhali 500+ cases registered every year by the ED over the past 10 years 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 u.p. Diaries Kashi: A Date With The Present Antiquity aside, various modern ages seem to coexist Santwana here. Baba Vishwanath’s Bhattacharya temple has an expansive, spanking new, 21st century Editor corridor. Its high walls, with stone cut in rectangular patterns, also strangely remind Varanasi: In the mind of you of Soviet architecture. India, Varanasi or Kashi is The Banaras Hindu Univeran ancient space suspended sity exudes a century old in an unbroken continuum, Indo-Gothic charm. The Gynot a project under construc- anvapi mosque’s 17th cention. Its life is in the cultural tury architecture, of course, imagination, entwined with is often the subject of frontcenturies-old personal socio- page headlines. Negotiating religious histories—cycles its place under the scorchof birth and death—embed- ing sun, caught between ded far more deep than Ayo- Hindutva and high-rises, dhya. The locals breathe this Varanasi balances itself beair too. Real antiquity is a tween an old-world raison historical detour d’être and a newwhen you keep enfound VIP-ism, like countering the rea trapeze artist. frain: Paanch hazIt’s an uneasy aar saal purana cohabitation. The sheher. Navigating new tourism boom between those ‘five has steadily enthousand years’ and croached upon the First of A the five-year cycles old spiritual amof modern democ- Four-part series bience, which is racy is, then, the peslowly fading culiar fortune of Kashi. away Just like a lot of old In. It’s 2024, and elections to dia. In a 15-minute walk up the 18th Lok Sabha are ap- from Dashaswamedh ghat proaching. A different kind alone, about 300 new guestof continuity unfolds here houses have come up to catoo, of course—a prime min- ter to the new rush of reliister is going for his third gious tourists—a good win. A sense of assuredness number of young among spreads up from the ghats, them—from Pune, Rajkot, as it were, which stand like Meerut, Coimbatore, even watchful sentinels of a lived Seoul. Evening time, they experience. Lifted up into settle on plastic chairs to the city proper, you are witness a Gang a aarti thrown headlong into a bus- through bulb-lit bamboo tling desi lifescape in all its arches. This new spiritualicontemporary variety Here, ty is not quiet: mantras, . what you find is continuity bhajans and then the Maha in conversation with change Tandav Aarti ring out from a t m a n y t a l k a t i v e modern music systems. Continued on: P9 streetcorners. WaPost names former RAW official in Pannun assassination plot in US Report claims India-based official passed on the New York address of the Khalistani leader Ex-RAW boss named Y E S HI S E L I @ New Delhi THE Washington Post on Monday disclosed the identity of ‘CC-1’, the New Delhi-based Indian official who allegedly forwarded the details of Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, including his New York address, to Nikhil Gupta, an alleged middleman who was enlisted to hire a contract killer. The Post named Indian intelligence official Vikram Yadav in the ongoing investigation in the US against the plot to kill Pannun. This is the first time the name is made public. “Yadav’s identity and affiliation, which have not previously been reported, provide the The report claims that ex-RAW chief Samant Goel was under “extreme pressure to eliminate... Sikh extremists overseas”. It says US agencies also assessed the role of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval but there was no proof most explicit evidence to date that the assassination plan — ultimately thwarted by US authorities — was directed from within the Indian spy service,” the report claimed. The US indictment unsealed in November 2023 had withheld the name of the Indian official who allegedly conspired to kill Pannun, referring to him as CC-1. 17 parties from 9 countries to learn Indian poll lesson Nearly 20 representatives of political parties from nine countries will be on a 5-day visit to India to understand the nuances of BJP’s political and electoral strategies | P10 Rahul may contest from Rae Bareli Hooligans barge into Nandankanan, terrorise staff as cops wait outside P ree t h a N a i r @ New Delhi THE Congress is likely to field Rahul Gandhi from Rae Bareli and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may not contest in this year’s Lok Sabha elections, sources in the party said, amid continuing suspense over who would get the Rae Bareli and Amethi nominations. It was widely speculated that Rahul would contest from Amethi. However, sources said the party may field late Congress leader Sheila Kaul’s grandson in that seat. Kaul, a sister-inlaw of Jawaharlal Nehru, was a five-time member of Parliament and Union minister. Sources said who contests from Rae Bareli is important for the Congress as it has been a party bastion since 1951. After serving four consecutive terms as the Rae Bareli MP, Sonia Gandhi vacated the seat to become a Rajya Sabha MP. However, Priyanka’s unwillingness to fight the elections and the BJP’s constant attack on the Gandhis for turning away from the “family bastions” has put the party in a spot. “As Priyanka is unwilling to contest, the party has no other Sunstroke claims 2 lives as state grapples with heatwave option than fielding Rahul Gandhi. The seat was held by former PM Indira Gandhi three times and Indira’s husband Feroze Gandhi also represented the seat in 1952 and 1957,” said a party leader. An announcement on Rahul’s candidature from Rae Bareli is likely on Tuesday, a party leader said. The Congress has very little time left to make the announcement as the last date to file the nomination papers for both seats is May 3. Voting for Amethi and Rae Bareli constituencies will be held on May 20. Meanwhile, the Congress said its Central Election Committee has authorised party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to decide the candidates. e x p r e ss r e a d MP native held for swindling `9.56 crore from DMF fund Bhubaneswar: The EOW of Crime Branch arrested a native of Madhya Pradesh for allegedly siphoning `9.56 crore from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund of Mayurbhanj. The accused, Pomesh Tembhare was hiding in a village affected by left-wing extremism to evade arrest | P2 E xpress N e w s S er v i c e @ Bhubaneswar The blistering heatwave that has ravaged the state for the last over a fortnight has claimed two lives. The special relief commissioner’s (SRC) office on Monday confirmed that a 50-year-old man died of sunstroke in Dhenkanal district. On April 19, the government had confirmed the first sunstroke death in the state from Balasore district. SRC officials said they have received eight reports of suspected sunstroke deaths from different parts of the state and they are being examined. Three c a s e s h ave been reported from Balangir district and one each from Cuttack, Ganjam, Kalahandi, Mayurbhanj and Kendrapara. Health department officials said around 257 people were hospitalised due to sunstroke or heat-related illness in different parts of Odisha. Sundargarh reported 60 cases, the highest in the state, followed by Mayurbhanj (40) and Khurda (36). Of the total 36 cases reported in Khurda district, 18 are undergoing treatment at Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar. Meanwhile, 32 places recorded 40 degree C or more. Baripada sizzled at 44.8 degree C and its day temperature was above nor mal by 7.3 Continued on P5 degree C. “The assassination is a priority now,” the Post report quoted Yadav as saying to Nikhil. The US newspaper report also claimed that Yadav’s mission was approved by the then RAW chief Samant Goel. The report says Yadav was a CRPF officer who was deputed to RAW He was sent back to the . CRPF after the case unravelled. When asked for comment, CRPF officials said there is nothing to comment on “an unconfirmed news report”, adding that deputation of security personnel in intelligence agencies is classified. The Post claimed the report is part of its investigation series about “a global surge in campaigns of cross-border repression.” It added that for the India story its reporters spoke , to various sources in New Delhi, Washington, Ottawa, London, Prague, and Berlin. The Washington Post report also says that the Joe Biden administration has so far refrained from pressing charges against Yadav. Canadian envoy gets MEA summons over Trudeau speech silhouette A perfect summer sunset forms the backdrop of a Dandi March statue at Tankapani in Bhubaneswar | Shiba Prasad Sahu New Delhi: The Canadian Deputy High Commissioner was on Monday summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) over the raising of separatist slogans on ‘Khalistan’ at an event in Toronto on Sunday, which was attended and addressed by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau | P9 An armed miscreant raises a sharp weapon to attack an official in the deputy director’s office at Nandankanan zoo in Bhubaneswar on Monday | EXPRESS A s i s h M e h ta @ Bhubaneswar IN a brazen act of hooliganism, two armed youths stormed into the office of the deputy director of Nandankanan Zoological Park, terrorized and assaulted the staff while vandalising property at will, here on Monday afternoon. The zoo staff called a PCR van for assistance but bizarre as it may seem, the police team stayed put outside the office premises without bothering to act and even watched the miscreants flee the spot. The duo, brandishing sharp weapons, created havoc on the office premises, punching and slapping defenceless officials, breaking mobile phones, electronic items and other furniture before leaving the spot. The incident has raised serious questions as it occurred amidst heightened security for elections. The fact that the Nandankanan Police Station is a stone’s throw away was indica- tive that the miscreants did not care two hoots about police presence. Sources said the anti-socials barged into the office at around 5 pm. They created a hostage like situation and terrorised almost all senior officials present in the office. The armed goons went inside office chambers one after the other and targeted two assistant conservators of forests (ACFs). The manhandled biologist Dr Rajesh Mahapatra, ACFs Sudipta Kumar Panda and Dr Rashmi Ranjan Swain and Ashutosh Campa, audit officer in Forest, Environment and Climate Change department. Zoo officials said they were clueless as to why the duo went on a rampage, smashing computers, laptops, printers, TV and furniture. For some, the ordeal did not end there as the miscreants re-entered into the chamber of one of the officials, snatched his mobile phone and Continued on P5 broke it. Voters split down the middle in Baramati’s Pawar vs Pawar contest S U D HI R S U R YA W A N S HI @ Mumbai THE contest in Maharashtra’s Baramati Lok Sabha constituency is one of the most highprofile fights that is going to be keenly watched. This time, three-time MP Supriya Sule, daughter of veteran politician and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, is facing tough challenge from her cousin Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra, who is contesting for the first time. Baramati is a traditional NCP stronghold and Sharad Pawar used to end his election campaign with a rally in this city However, this time the con. test is so close that senior Pawar is not taking any chance and is spending every second day in Baramati to ensure victory for his daughter. On the other hand, Ajit Pawar is also leaving no stone unturned to get his spouse elected to the Lok Sabha. The stakes are also high because this is the first election after the NCP split last year. According to sources, Sharad Pawar is using his experience and connections to win over the voters, while Ajit Pawar is putting his power and influence to use to turn the tide. However, things are complicated on the ground. “Ajit Pawar now works with his past political rivals. But on the ground, party workers are not ready to bury past animosity Ajit Pawar may face vote . transfer during polling,” said an NCP(SP) leader. As for Ajit Pawar, he doesn’t mince words so that the message is clear. “If any one goes against me, development will be stopped. Funds will not be released. If you want development, then choose my side,” he said bluntly in one of his speeches while campaigning. A local journalist said businessmen are under pressure. “Small businessmen, whose livelihood is at stake, and big business- men, whose business can be easily destroyed by the government machinery, are rallying behind Ajit Pawar,” he added. A political observer said voters are split down the middle. “Those who got some tender work with the blessings of Ajit Pawar are standing with him. These are mostly middle-aged men. But the young crowd who are yet to taste power are with Sharad Pawar. So are those above 50 years, who grew with Sharad Pawar’s politics and development in Baramati,” he said. The Baramati Lok Sabha segment has six Illustration: Mandar Pardikar assembly seats, where Ajit Pawar has the support of four BJP, NCP MLAs. Supriya Sule has the support of two Congress MLAs. In the past three elections, Ajit Pawar was handling all election machinery on the behalf of Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule. This time, Sule and her father don’t have that structural advantage. Sharad Pawar’s grand-nephew and young NCP MLA Rohit Pawar donning that role this time. Sharad Pawar was not much active in past poll campaigns as his nephew Ajit Pawar was doing it on his behalf, though the latter’s brazen nature was often a topic of discussion.
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