kochi l saturday l june 22, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Jail terms for Four members of UK’s hinduja family in Switzerland A Swiss court on Friday sentenced four members of the wealthy family to between four and 4 1/2 years in prison for exploiting their domestic workers Guilty of exploiting workers at swiss villa Accused of ‘profiting from misery’ The court said the four were guilty of exploiting workers and providing unauthorised employment. Indian-born tycoon Prakash Hinduja, his wife, son and daughter-in-law brought people from India to be employed at their luxurious lakeside villa in Geneva. They paid their staff a pittance and gave them little freedom to leave the house, the prosecution argued | p9 ■ ■ Prakash and wife Kamal Hinduja each got four years and six months, while their son Ajay and his wife Namrata received four-year terms Household staff were paid between 220 and 400 francs a month, far below what they could earn in Switzerland. “They’re profiting from the misery of the world,” Geneva prosecutor Yves Bertossa argued $20 billion the current net worth of the hinduja family as per forbes 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 HC stays trial court’s order on Kejri’s bail wORLD SEES yOGA AS AGENT OF GOOD: PM F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar Reserves verdict; asks all parties to file submissions by Monday S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi With the Delhi High Court on Friday staying a trial court’s order to release AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on bail, the chief minister will have to stay in Tihar jail till the judge pronounces his order. Staying the trial court’s order, a vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain reserved his judgment on the Enforcement Directorate’s appeal, adding he would pass the order in twothree days, possibly Tuesday. “Till the pronouncement of this order, the operation of the impugned order shall remain stayed,” Justice Jain said and asked the parties to file written submissions by June 24. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, for the ED, argued that the trial court’s bail order was perverse as it was contrary to the mandate of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. “We are not given an opportunity to represent our case in the trial court. When I tried to submit, the trial court said I have to deliver judgment. Be brief,” he said. Senior advocate Vikram Chaudhari, appearing for Kejriwal, raised a preliminary objection to the listing of the matter during vacation because the trial judge had granted bail through a resend order. “What is the justification of approaching the HC,” he asked. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singvhi described the ED’s approach as deplorable. “The accused cannot be kept indefinitely in jail... It is very unfortunate that the ASG is maligning the judge merely because an adverse order was passed,” he said. Opposing the ASG’s argument that he was not given an opportunity to argue, Singhvi said the hearing in the trial court lasted five hours out of which ED took 3.45 hours. “Where is the question of the ED being denied the opportunity to present its case,” Singhvi argued. Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga during celebration of Int’l Day of Yoga, in Srinagar | PTI tHE world is looking at yoga as a powerful agent of global good, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday on the occasion of the 10th International Yoga Day. Choosing the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre on the picturesque banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar to lead the nation in celebrating, Modi said the ‘yoga economy’ has immense potential for employment generation as there is a growing global demand to learn authentic yoga from India. “Yoga helps us live in the present moment without the baggage of the past,” he noted, while observing that Jam- Union tourism ministry steps in Law to curb cheating in as Varkala Cliff erosion worsens exams comes into effect R a j e s h K u m a r T h a k u r @ New Delhi S h a i n u M o h a n @T’Puram On-site inspection The Ministry of Tourism has directed the district collector and Geological Survey of India officials to conduct an onsite assessment of the collapsing cliff on Saturday With the Varkala Cliff — an iconic national geological structure and geo-heritage site — eroding at an alarming rate, the Ministry of Tourism has stepped in, directing the district collector and Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct an on-site assessment on Saturday . Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi will also take part in the site inspection and assessment of the degradation of the cliff. In the latest collapse, a major portion of the Varkala Cliff caved in near the Edava beach last Friday, raising safety concerns further. The heavy rains that lashed the district in the past couple of months have accelerated the erosion of the Varkala Cliff, setting off alarm bells. The decision of the district collector to knock down a portion of the cliff near the Bali Mandapam had invited widespread criticism and prompted the GSI authorities to step in and fight for the conservation of the cliff. Following directives from the district collector, the Varkala municipality has decided to take steps to remove the unauthorised structures on the cliff, which are a threat to its stability . There are around 250 commercial establishments, including restaurants, handicraft shops and others, on the North Cliff. It is learnt that 80% of them are unauthorised. Sanjay Sahadevan, advisor to the Varkala Tourism Development Association (VTDA), said they have requested the authorities to grant permission to reconstruct the pathway on the North Cliff. “We are ready to cooperate with the municipality,” ● More on P4 said Sanjay . Coming soon: Kerala’s own T20 premier league E x p r e s s New s Se r v i c e @T’Puram Kerala will soon have its own cricket league on the lines of the immensely popular Indian Premier League (IPL). The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) on Friday announced that the franchise model cricket league will be conducted in the Twenty20 format and will begin in September. A total of six teams will compete in the state premier league which will be held under the rules and regulations of the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC). The event will begin as soon as the Twenty20 cricket league in the neighbouring Karnataka concludes. “We will call for expression of interest from franchisees next week. A base price of `1 crore has been fixed for the franchisees to participate in the bidding process,” KCA president Jayesh K George said. The matches will be telecast on Star Sports 2, and in its HD format as well, Jayesh said. Digital streaming of matches is also being planned. The proposed state league will be held over a period of 19 days, including two reserve MVD initiative Kanavu project ‘drives’ Marayur tribal women’s ‘dreams’ for a better life Ne j m a S u l a i m a n @ Marayur ‘Kanavu’ has allowed them to ‘dream’ of a better life. Tribal women of the remote village of Marayur have unearthed newfound mobility, freedom, self-esteem and prosperity all thanks to , a rigorous empowerment project launched by officials of the subregional transport office in Devikulam. Marayur, located in the Devikulam taluk of Idukki, is home to two major tribal groups — the Muthuvans and the Hill Pulayas. Though the Hill Pulayas are relatively progressive, the Muthuvans continue to lead a more secluded life in their forest settlements. In fact, as many as 18 of the 25 settlements in the panchayat are so off the beaten track with only an isolated stretch of winding mud road linking them to the outside world. The seclusion got to many of the residents, especially the women, who believed they will never mu and Kashmir can benefit by attracting more yoga tourists. The PM took part in a yoga session, which was delayed by over an hour due to rains. The event was scheduled to be held in the open but had to be shifted indoors due to incessant showers. Unmindful of the rain, scores of students joined the PM in performing various asanas on the occasion. He expressed gratitude for being present in Jammu and Kashmir, the land of Yog and Sadhna, on International Yoga Day “The atmosphere, energy . and experience from yoga can be felt in Jammu & Kashmir today he said. After the event, ,” PM Modi interacted with the yoga practitioners. Tribal women in Marayur being imparted driving lessons under the leadership of Devikulam MVD officials have access to a healthy life and better opportunities. This was relayed to officials of the Devikulam transport office when they visited the settlements as part of the Akshaya Big Campaign for Document Digitisation (ABCD) programme launched by the district administration last March. “Though our mission was to empower the residents by imparting free two-wheeler driving instructions, a woman named Suganthy, from Alampettikudi, surprised us all by clearing her driving licence test. This got us thinking about expanding the programme to include more women, which shaped the ‘Kanavu’ project, perhaps the first of kind in the state,” Deepu N K, a motor vehicle inspector with the Devikulam office, said. The initiative included counselling of the women, convincing chiefs and parents, medical examination of applicants, fund sourcing, and training, before finally getting to the actual test. “Despite the herculean tasks, the results have been very rewarding as the department was able to issue driving licences to as many as 41 women in the first year of the project,” he said. Devi Ponnisami, a widow and mother of two from Nellikkampetty, is one of those driving the ● More on P4 change. days, in which six teams will play a total of 33 matches. The matches are planned to be held at The Sports Hub at Kariavattom, which has hosted many international cricket matches. According to officials of the Kerala Cricket Association, the matches are scheduled to be held at 3pm and 7pm. Only players registered in Kerala will be able to play in the league. Min’s ‘relief’ gift to teen also goes cycle thieves’ way A n u K u r u v i l l a @ Kochi June began on a glad note for 15-year-old Avantika C J as she received a brand new bicycle as a gift from General Education Minister V Sivankutty to replace the one that had been stolen. Sadly though, , the happiness was a short-lived. Thieves struck again and made away with her beautiful new pink Pop Star Florence model bicycle. According to Gireesh Madhavan, Avantika’s father, CCTV footage shows the thief in the act around 4:30am on Friday . “The house next to our rented building has a CCTV camera. We approached the owner, who consented to our request for the footage. Even in the previous instance, we had provided CCTV footage to police. I hope that this time around the cops will nab the thief,” says Avantika, whose family lives in Palarivattom. According to her, the face of the thief, who was wearing a raincoat, is not clear in ● More on P4 the image. 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Amid continuing uproar over the NEET-UG paper leak, the Centre on Friday brought the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 into effect. It was passed by the Lok Sabha in February this year. All offences under this Act are cognizable, nonbailable, and non-compoundable. Those found guilty of the offence can be sentenced to jail for 3-5 years. The law is aimed at curbing paper leaks and checking malpractices in recruitment exams like the Union Public Service Commission, Staff Selection Commission, and entrance tests such as National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), Joint Entrance Examination and Common University Entrance Test. As for the NEET-UG paper leak’s kingpin Sanjeev Mukhiya, who is still on the run, the Bihar police has intensified raids to nab him. On Sunday, a NEETUG retest window will open for 1,563 students. Six of their total seven centres have been changed by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and admit cards issued to the candidates. These students were beneficiaries of grace marks because of loss of time. Poll season EC to update voter list in J-K, 3 other states MU K E SH RANJAN @ New Delhi A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicated that preparations for Jammu and Kashmir elections were underway, the Election Commission on Friday set the ball rolling for holding the electoral exercise by ordering a special summary revision (SSR) of the electoral rolls in the Union Territory . The poll panel has also ordered updation of electoral rolls in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Jharkhand, where Assembly elections are due this year. SSR involves reviewing the voter list and unveiling a draft electoral roll. It is usually held prior to polls to ensure the list is as updated as possible. The process involves adding newly eligible voters and removing duplicate and deceased voters, and those who have moved out of the constituency . In identical official communications to the chief electoral officers of the three states and Jammu and Kashmir, the poll panel said the revision exercise would start from July 25 and culminate on August 20. July 1 will be the qualifying date for roll updation. Before the revision exercise, the poll panel would carry out pre-revision activities in the poll-bound states from June 25 to July 24. The draft rolls would be published on July 25, after which electors can file claims and objections till August 9. The publication of the final electoral roll will be done by August 20. The Supreme Court had in December last year directed the Election Commission of India to hold assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir by September 30.
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