Six killed in violence as Imran supporters clash with police kochi l wednesday l November 27, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Four paramilitary soldiers among the dead. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif alleged the protesters rammed the troops with a convoy of vehicles Protest in response to ‘final call’ by Khan The protesters, who have been marching towards Islamabad since Sunday, are demanding the release of ex-PM Imran Khan. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf founder is serving a three-year jail term for corruption—a charge he denies. On November 13, he issued a ‘final call” to his supporters, urging them not to relent until govt meets all demands. Pak Army issues shoot-at-sight orders According to reports, the violence erupted at the end of a march led by Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi. The Pak govt has sought the intervention of the Army, which has issued shoot-at-sight orders. ■ 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 lorry runs over group sleeping on closed road, 5 dead E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E Constitution a progressive, live document, says Murmu Addresses House on 75th anniversary of the adoption of Constitution @Thrissur E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Five members, including two children, of a nomadic family from Palakkad were run over by a lorry carrying timber while they were sleeping on the closed lane of an underconstruction road at Nattika in Thrissur on Tuesday . The deceased are one-yearold Viswam, four-year-old Jeeva, Kaliyappan, 50, Nagamma, 39 and Bangazhi, 20. Six others were injured. The police said around 20 people were sleeping on the lane when the lorry, carrying timber from Kannur to Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, lost control and ran over them around 3.50am. The police have arrested Alex, the cleaner of the lorry who was behind the wheel at the time, as well as lorry driver Jose, who was in an inebriated state. It is suspected Alex was drunk too. Residents said they heard It is the responsibility of the executive, legislature and judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday . Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament to mark 75 years of the adoption of the Constitution, Murmu said the fundamental duties of every citizen had been clearly defined in the country’s founding document, which lay stress on protecting the nation’s unity and integrity, promoting harmony and ensuring the dignity of women. “Constitutional ideals get strength from the active participation of the executive, legislature and the judiciary , as well as all citizens,” she said. Describing the Constitution as a living and progressive document, she said, “In accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the ex- Ishwari, a relative of Kaliyappan, one of the deceased, waits with her son in front of the Thrissur General Hospital mortuary for the mortal remains of the accident victims | S Lal screams and rushed to the spot. “It was horrifying. The sight of scattered body parts and crushed bodies of little children froze us in terror. I somehow mustered up courage and called the 108 ambulance,” said Ajosh, who had been on his way to Thriprayar temple at the time.  ● More on P4 President Droupadi Murmu addresses Parliament to mark Constitition Day at Samvidhan Sadan, in New Delhi on Tuesday | PTI ecutive, legislature and the judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better.” The President also recalled the contribution of the 15 women members of the Constituent Assembly in framing the Constitution. The Constitution makers, she added, had given a directive for India to play an important role in the promotion of international peace and security . The Constitution, in one sense, was the outcome of nearly three years of deliberations by some of Shinde push for Mahayuti convenor if denied CM’s post S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai The slugfest over the new Maharashtra government’s leadership continued on Tuesday with caretaker chief minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde reportedly rejecting offers from the BJP to either take a Cabinet position in the Union government or deputy chief minister- ship in a Devendra Fadnavis-led government. Highly placed sources said Shinde’s counter was that if he does not get the chief ministerial position, he should be made the convener of Mahayuti government, and his son Dr Shrikant Shinde, Lok Sabha member from Kalyan, the deputy chief minister. The BJP is yet to respond to the counter, said sources adding that it has delayed the swearing in ceremony It could happen on . Friday or the first week of December. In the morning, Shinde resigned as chief minister and was requested by the governor to continue in that posi- tion as caretaker. A Shiv Sena leader requesting anonymity said if the BJP does not concede the chief ministerial post to Eknath Shinde, it would validate Uddhav Thackeray’s charge of the BJP’s use-and-throw politics. That will give Uddhav a fillip after being thoroughly trounced in the recent assembly elections. the greatest minds, but, in the true sense, it was the outcome of the long freedom struggle. “The ideals of that incomparable national movement came to be enshrined in the Constitution,” she said. Meanwhile, DMK leader T R Baalu wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla saying some salient features of the Constitution, including the words ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’, were not at all mentioned in the address of the president, “drafted and approved by the government”. P7 express read SC rejects petition for ballot voting New Delhi: The SC has rejected a PIL filed by an evangelist seeking reintroduction of paper ballots in elections in India, saying allegations about EVM tampering are raised only when people lose polls. P8 16 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Seniors skip BJP meet amid discontent rumours E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi Giving credence to reports of growing discontent within the BJP against state president K Surendran, senior leaders P K Krishnadas, A N Radhakrishnan and M T Ramesh stayed away from Tuesday’s crucial state-level leaders’ meet in Kochi K Surendran to discuss the party’s performance in the just-concluded by-elections. Krishnadas is BJP national executive member, Radhakrishnan state vice president and Ramesh state general secretary . However, Surendran, put up a brave face, and claimed that there was nothing unusual in the trio’s absence. “All members may not be able to participate in all meetings. There is no 100% attendance even in the Parliament,” he said. “The media is speculating that Krishnadas, Radhakrishnan and Ramesh are working as a faction. There is only one group in the party and that is BJP,” he asserted. Ramesh told TNIE that he couldn’t attend the meeting due to personal commitments. “It was a meeting of the returning officers and district presidents to discuss the performance of the party in the by-elections. My presence ● More on P4 was not essential,” he said.