BHUBANESWAR SATURDAY JUNE 22, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 14 JEYPORE EDITION JAIL TERMS FOR FOUR MEMEBERS 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 ■ ■ 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 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-Kash. mir 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 Jammu 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. 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 Prime Minister Narendra Modi performs yoga during celebration of Int’l Day of Yoga, in Srinagar | PTI Odisha govt extends Hockey India sponsorship till 2036 CM Mohan Majhi, Sports minister Suryabanshi Suraj with HI delegation | EXPRESS EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar REAFFIRMING the state’s commitment to development , of hockey in the country Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday announced that the newly-elected BJP government in Odisha will extend its support to Hockey India for another three years till 2036. The earlier government under former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had been a key promoter of Indian hockey and been sponsoring the national men’s and women’s teams since 2018. The sponsorship deal was last year extended by 10 years till 2033. The government had committed `434.12 crore through its public sector enterprise Odisha Mining Company for the purpose. Meeting a delegation of Hockey India led by its presi- 2036 marks the centenary year of Odisha’s formation as a separate state in 1936. The state will extend its sponsorship to Hockey India by another three years Mohan Charan Majhi, CM dent and Indian hockey legend Dilip Tirkey, Majhi assured government’s continued support and assistance to advancement of the sport in the state. “ 2036 is a landmark year and holds special significance for Odisha as it marks the centenary of its establishment as a separate state in 1936. The state will extend its sponsorship to Hockey India by another three years,” he said. Minister of state for Sports and Youth Services Suryabanshi Suraj said, “Hockey is an integral part of the people of Odisha. Respecting people’s sentiments, the chief minister took the decision of extending the sponsorship to Hockey India.’’ Speaking about the meeting and their partnership with the Odisha government, Tirkey said, “We had a productive meeting with the chief minister and sports minister. We discussed about advancement of the sport and strategies to elevate hockey to new heights. We are thankful to the government of Odisha for its steadfast support and commitment to Indian hockey This partner. ship has played a pivotal role in uplifting the sport across our nation.” Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh and chief secretary Pradeep Kumar Jena along with Sports department officials were present in the meeting. Odisha has played a proactive role in backing India hockey both at national and international level in the recent years while dreating worldclass infrastructure and facilities. Along with hosting two back-to-back hockey world cups, it has also organized several international tournaments and leagues. The state government has also built the world’s largest hockey stadium at Rourkela in Sundargarh district - which is famed as the cradle of hockey in India with over 20,000 seating capacity . EXPRESS READ Defer new criminal laws: Mamata Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to defer the implementation of the three “hurriedly passed” criminal laws that are set to be rolled out on July 1. Banerjee stressed having a fresh review of the laws by Parliament India flays Canada for honouring Nijjar New Delhi: India on Friday strongly objected to Canadian parliament observing ‘one minute silence’ in memory of Canada-based Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed last year. Canada must act against anti-India elements, said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal Woman held for faking her own kidnapping to extort brother E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhubaneswar A 35-year-old woman and her two associates were arrested on Thursday night for allegedly faking her own kidnapping in a bid to extort `1 crore from her brother by posing as members of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi’s group. The accused Smruti Rekha Pani of Chandaka and her accomplices Pradeep Ola (27) and Devi Lal (27), both natives of Rajasthan, were nabbed from Nayagarh by joint teams of Chandaka police and the special squad. Police said Pradeep and Devi contacted Smruti’s brother Subhasis Pani, a stock trader staying in Bengaluru, over WhatsApp voice call on Wednesday and claimed they had kidnapped his sister. The duo demanded `1 crore ransom from Subhasis to release Smruti. Initially, Subhasis transferred `12 lakh into the bank account of Pradeep. He also informed his father Satya Narayan Pani that Smruti was held captive by some unidentified miscreants. Unaware about Smruti’s plot, her family members lodged a complaint with Chandaka police on Thursday and informed the cops about the ransom call. Basing on the complaint, police registered a case and started investigation. Police commissioner Sanjeeb Panda said, “Initially police received informa, tion that the accused travelled towards Charichhak in Boudh and then to Nayagarh. During road blocking in Nayagarh, Pradeep was nabbed while Smruti and Devi managed to escape after hitting the officers deployed on the spot with their car.” A policeman sustained fractures in the incident. Police pursued Smruti and Devi and after some distance, spotted their abandoned car. The cops searched the area and apprehended the duo while they were trying to find a place to hide. After interrogating the trio, police established that Pradeep was also a stock trader and known to Subhasis. He suffered huge losses a few months back and hatched a plan to extort money from Subhasis who was making good profit CONTINUED ON P7 in stock trading. Most centres for NEET-UG retest on Sunday changed EX PRESS N EWS SERVICE @ New Delhi WITH the embattled National Testing Agency (NTA) preparing to conduct the NEET-UG retest for 1,563 students on Sunday it became known that it has , changed six of the total seven centres and issued admit cards to the candidates. These students were beneficiaries of grace marks because of loss of time. After it created a national uproar, the compensatory marks were scrapped and a retest window opened with the proviso that the score in the fresh test alone will be considered for those who take it. The only exam centre that was not changed is in Chandi- garh, where only two students will sit for the retest. Officers of the NTA and the education ministry will be present at the new centres to ensure fairness amidst concerns of paper leak. When asked about the expected turnout for Sunday’s retest, an official responded, “Admit cards have been issued Joint CSIR-UGC-NET exam postponed The NTA on Friday announced the postponement of the Joint CSIRUGC-NET, scheduled to be held between June 25 and June 27, citing unavoidable circumstances and logistic issues to all. We will only know the turnout only on Sunday .” Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to defer the NEET-UG counselling, scheduled to begin on July 6, saying it is not an “open and shut” exercise. The Opposition continued to put the government on the mat with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying he will personally raise the NEETUG issue in Parliament demand justice for students. Meanwhile, Sanjeev Mukhiya alias Lutan, the kingpin of the NEET-UG paper leak in Bihar, is still on the run. The Economic Offences Unit of the Bihar Police has intensified raids to arrest him. Police detain Congress workers who were staging a protest against the NEET-UG, in Mumbai on Friday | PTI 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. POLL SEASON EC to update voter list in J-K, 3 other states M U K E S H R A N J A N @ 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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