vijayawada l saturday l september 14, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Centre renames A&N Capital Port Blair as Sri Vijaya Puram Territory was Chola Empire’s Naval base The capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands has been renamed to free India from colonial imprints, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said While the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in India’s freedom struggle and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ unique role in it, the home minister said. The island territory that once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is now poised to be the critical base for India’s strategic and development aspirations, he added | P7 ■ 572 Hosted the first unfurling of tiranga ■ It is the place that hosted the first unfurling of Tiranga by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and also the cellular jail in which Veer Savarkar and other freedom fighters strived for an independent nation, Shah said Being a Union Territory, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands come under the direct administrative control of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs Total number of islands in the Union territory, of which 38 are inhabited 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 Prolonged incarceration is unjust deprivation of liberty, says court Ticks off CBI saying it must dispel notion of being a ‘caged parrot’ SC raps CBI, grants bail to Kejriwal E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Mumbai IN a dramatic volte-face, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday threw out its own case against the NSE and its past management led by then CEO Chitra Ramakrishna and vice-chairman Ravi Narain in the co-location case, citing lack of evidence. This paves the way for India’s largest bourse to resume its public listing plan, which has been stalled since 2016 due to the co-location controversy . The case relates to the alleged preferential access given to certain broking firms, including OPG Securities, at the NSE to connect across the colocation facilities. According to Sebi, there may have been lapses at the NSE’s colocation facility but not enough evidence to establish collusion between the NSE and S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy case filed by the CBI, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar jail, and said, “the thick walls of prison cannot break me.” While granting him bail, justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan differed on the legality of his arrest. Justice Kant held that there was no impediment in arresting a person already in the custody However, . Justice Bhuyan castigated the CBI, saying it should not be seen as a ‘caged parrot’. Justice Kant said although the procedure for the Kejriwal’s arrest meets the requisite criteria for legality and compliance, his continued incarceration would infringe upon established legal principles and his right to liberty Rejecting the CBI’s contention of . influencing the outcome of the trial, he said all evidence and material relevant to the agency’s disposition is already in their possession, negating the likelihood of tampering by the CM. Setting aside the Delhi HC’s August 5 verdict, the SC said, “The appellant shall not make any public comments on the merits of the CBI case, it being sub judice... This condition is necessitated to dissuade a recent tendency of building a self-serving narrative on public platforms.” Slamming the CBI for its belated arrest, Justice Bhuyan said, “Like Caesar’s wife, an investigating agency must be above board. Not long ago, this court has castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot. It is imperative that CBI dispels the notion of it being a caged parrot. Rather, the perception should be that of an uncaged parrot.” Emphasising that personal liberty is sacrosanct, Justice Bhyuan said, “I am of the unhesitant view that the belated arrest of the appellant by the CBI is unjustified and the continued incarceration of the appellant in the CBI case that followed such arrest has become untenable.” He pointed out that that the CBI did not arrest Kejriwal for 22 months till his release was ordered in the ED case. It appears that only after the Special Judge granted regular bail in the ED case on June 20, CBI became active and sought Kejriwal’s custody Justice Bhuyan , pointed out, adding the CBI did not feel the need to arrest him for over 22 months. Kakinada visit Jagan terms Yeleru floods man-made E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada Holding the TDP-led NDA government responsible for floods to Yeleru, YSRC chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday said the State gover nment failed to take preventive measures despite early warnings for heavy rains. Terming the floods in the district as man-made, Jagan lashed out at Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for the mismanagement of the Yeleru Reservoir. During his visit to the floodaffected villages of Madhavapuram, Nagulapalli, and Ramanakkapeta in Pithapuram constituency of Kakinada district, the former Chief Minister interacted with villagers and enquired about the losses they suffered due to the severe flooding caused due to heavy i n f l o w s t o t h e Ye l e r u Reservoir. While speaking to mediapersons in Ramanakkapeta village, Jagan raised concerns over the State government’s handling of the flood situation in Kakinada district. He alleged that neither review meetings were held nor special officers were appointed to manage the crisis. Further, he questioned the poor management of Yeleru Reservoir, which has a capacity P4 of nearly 23 TMC.  Sebi sees no NSE co-location scam Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters outside Tihar Jail after getting bail | Parveen Negi These anti-national forces that are trying to weaken the nation, divide the nation... I have always fought them and will continue fighting against them Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi chief minister What it means The bench of justices Surya Kant an Ujjal Bhuyan relaxed Kejriwal’s bail conditions It dropped the bar on the CM from going to the Secretariat or signing files. Both were imposed by a coordinate bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on May 10 and July 12 Justice Khanna had also specified that the conditions can be recalled or modified only by a larger Constitution bench It means Kejriwal will have to seek modification of these restrictions by approaching the CJI to set up a larger bench Such conditions were not imposed on Hemant Soren when the SC granted him bail, so he quickly took oath as Jharkhand CM again Kejriwal’s bail will give a filip to the AAP’s poll preparations in Haryana Preferential access The co-location case pertains to the alleged preferential access given to some broking firms in the form of ‘dark fibre’ at the NSE to connect across the co-location facilities faster than others, giving the former unfair advantage Chitra Ramakrishna Chitra Ramkrishna was ousted from NSE in 2016 for her role in the co-location case. In 2022, Sebi charged her with using a ‘Himalayan yogi’ to advise her on important decisions OPG Securities. “It is held that due to the absence of sufficient material/evidence/objective facts on record in this case, the test of ‘preponderance of probability’ fails to produce enough justification for the establishment of collusion/connivance between OPG and its directors with Noticees,” Kamlesh Varshney, whole-time member, Sebi said in an 83-page order. Varshney added: “There is Raghavulu leads the race to succeed Yechury ANIL S @ T’Puram THE demise of Sitaram Yechury has triggered speculations on the next CPM general secretary. According to sources, the party will go for a stop-gap arrangement by nominating a senior leader as the general secretary incharge till the 24th Party Congress scheduled for next April in Madurai. Yechury’s third term was to end in April. Sources said former general secretary Prakash Karat could be asked to handle the party affairs for the time being. A section feels that Brinda Karat, too, could be given interim charge as she’s a prominent woman face in national politics. If the party decides to go for a new face as a full-time general secretary, then M A Other contenders Kerala leader M A Baby and Nilotpal Basu from West Bengal are also among possible choices. Party sources said a relatively junior A Vijayaraghavan from Kerala could also emerge as a front runner Baby or B V Raghavulu (pic) could be chosen. The CPM politburo, set to meet after Yechury’s public homage on Saturday, will take a call in this regard and will present its recommenda- Naidu calls for expediting enumeration of losses E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e EXTENT OF DAMAGE @ Vijayawada Emphasising the need for last mile distribution of humanitarian aid to flood victims, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday announced that if the assessment of damage caused by the rains and deluge is completed soon, assistance will be provided to the victims by September 17. During a meeting held at the State Secretariat to review the distribution of flood relief, Naidu stressed that the enumeration of losses should be conducted properly and subsequently assistance should reach the last affected person. Stating that the people were happy with the relief measures, the Chief Minister instructed officials to prepare the list of victims scientifically, particularly with respect to payment of compensation. Further, officials explained in detail about the procedure 36,923 Twowheelers 2,000 cars and other vehicles 26,545 20,000 Televisions Washing machines 31,000 Fridges `5,000 crore Agriculture losses If the assessment of damage caused by the rains and deluge is completed soon, assistance will be provided to the victims by September 17. Enumeration of losses should be conducted properly N Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister of enumeration of losses. It has been estimated that at least 2,13,456 houses and thousands of two-wheelers were submerged in the deluge. The State government is planning to announce assistance not only to those whose houses were totally submerged, but no dispute that the NSE did not have a defined policy for the use of colo (co-location) facility . It even failed to monitor the use of the secondary server by TMs (brokers) without having sufficient reason.” Apart from Ramkrishna and Narain, Sebi has also dropped charges against Anand Subramanian, Ravindra Apte, Umesh Jain, Mahesh Soparkar, and Deviprasad Singh. Earlier this year, Sebi had rejected a settlement plea by the NSE in the co-location case. The co-location scam refers to some brokers gaining an unfair advantage by accessing the NSE’s systems, data, and trading facilities by allowing them to place their servers right in the NSE premises. The case came out in 2015 after three whistleblowers alerted Sebi. In 2019, Sebi passed an order directing the NSE to disgorge `625 crore plus interest, and also imposed a penalty of `1,000 crore on the exchange for not ensuring equitable access to the facility to all trading members. The Sebi order was later set aside by the Securities Appellate Tribunal, following which the regulator moved the Supreme Court. In 2023, the SC directed Sebi to refund `300 crore to NSE from `1,107 crore the exchange had deposited with it. wheelers got damaged in the floods. Municipal Administration and Urban Department (MAUD) Minister P Narayana, who reviewed the flood situation in Vijayawada, said enumeration of losses in flood-affected areas will be completed by Saturday evening. He added 10 streets and 1,500 houses in wards 61, 63 and 64 were still under water. Ministers Vangalapudi Anitha, Payyavula Keshav, Anagani Satya Prasad, P Narayana and Nadendla Manohar and officials of various departments were present at the meeting. `186 cr for road repair works also to those who stay on the first and second floors. Additionally, new houses will be built for those whose houses were completely damaged. Further, the State government has announced that proper compensation will also be paid to individuals whose two- Announcing that a sum of `476 crore will be sanctioned for repairing roads that have been damaged due to the unprecedented rains and floods, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said `186 crore has been released immediately P4 to take up the works.  tion before the central committee on September 27. “Since the Party Congress is around the corner, a senior leader will be given temporary charge. The party set the age criteria to infuse new blood into the PB and CC,” said a senior leader. Going by the existing age cap of 75 years, PB members Prakash, Brinda, Manik Sarkar, Surjya Kanta Mishra, and Subhashini Ali are likely to give way for new faces at the Party Congress, which can give exemption to a leader if need be. “It would be wise to go with Brinda, as it would send out a message... The party needs a leader acceptable to other Opposition parties,” said a central committee member. The backing of the Kerala unit is crucial for a decision. express read Jaishankar says concerned over RG Kar New Delhi: Women’s safety is a cause for concern in India, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. “I don’t think there can be a single person in the country who wasn’t outraged by the RG Kar (Kolkata rape-murder case involving a trainee doctor) incident. You can see that on the streets,” said Jaishankar while speaking in Geneva on Friday | P7 One boat removed from Prakasam Barrage gate Vijayawada: Irrigation Department officials and workers engaged in removing the three iron boats stuck at the 69th gate of the Prakasam Barrage achieved a breakthrough on Friday evening. The team, led by Dharmadi Satyam, managed to cut one of the three boats and drag it away from the barrage. Workers are using a traditional rope-and-pull method to bring it closer to Durga Ghat | P3 An APSRTC bus collided with two trucks near Mogili Ghat in Palamaneru constituency on Friday | Express 7 killed, 31 hurt as bus collides with 2 trucks E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chittoor Seven people were killed and 31 others injured when an APSRTC (Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation) bus collided with two trucks on the Chittoor-Bengaluru main road near Mogili Ghat in Bangarupalyam mandal of Palam a n e r u c o n s t i t u e n cy o n Friday . The accident took place when the RTC bus, travelling from Tirupati, collided head-on with a truck coming from Palamaneru. Following the initial impact, the bus rammed into another truck. Six people in the bus, including the driver and helper, died on the spot. The injured were shifted to Palamaneru Area hospital. While 25 of them are said to be in stable condition, the severely-injured persons were transferred to a hospital in Vellore, Tamil Nadu for better treatment. S Vijayamma (53) of Pakala mandal in Tirupati, Hansika Yadav (6) of Maharaj Ganj in Maharashtra, Balaraju from Siddipeta in Telangana, Sonu Kumar (31) of Baliya in Uttar Pradesh, bus driver Tirupathi and truck driver S Manoharan (56) of Chamanthipuram were among those who lost their lives in the accident. Chittoor District Collector Sumit Kumar and SP Manikanta Chandolu rushed to the spot and monitored the rescue opP4 erations.  Agitating doctors seek President Murmu’s intervention to render justice S u l a g n a S e n g u p ta @ Kolkata With the stalemate between the protesting junior doctors and the Bengal government continuing for the third consecutive day, the agitators on Friday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, urging her intervention to render justice to the rape-murder of a trainee doctor at the RG Kar hospital here on August 9. In their letter, they mentioned the security lapses inside the hospital and how they feel insecure in the premises. They sought an appointment with her to discuss the matter. Addressing the media later, the junior doctors reiterated the need to speak to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to end the deadlock, but refused to Junior doctors take cover during rains as they continued their sit-in protest against the rape-murder at RG Kar for the third consecutive day, in Kolkata on Friday | PTI yield on the demand for live streaming of the talks for transparency . Meanwhile, a Sealdah court rejected the CBI’s request to subject the lone accused the rape-murder case, Sanjay Roy, to narco analysis test as he refused to give his consent. The agency wanted to use the narco test to verify Roy’s statements. “The test would have helped de- termine if Roy is telling the truth,” an officer said. Roy had initially agreed to take the test but later changed his mind, CBI sources claimed. The Sealdah court judge spoke to Roy to find out whether he had any objection to what is also called a truth serum test. “In most cases, the accused gives the true information,” the officer said.