Gukesh draws with white in Game 13 Singapore: Indian GM D Gukesh tried his best but could not overcome a resilient Ding Liren of China and had to settle for a draw after 68 moves in the 13th and penultimate game of the World Chess Championship. With the scores tied at 6.5-6.5 and one classical game to go, it will be crucial for Gukesh to hold on with black pieces on Thursday | P11 SAMBALPUR l thursday l december 12, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l CITY EDITION 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 Rahul’s pitch to HC judge faces impeach bid Birla to make LS fully functional P reet h a N a i r @ New Delhi Urges Speaker to expunge BJP’s derogatory remarks; wants discussion on Constitution P reet h a N a i r @ New Delhi Gandhigiri to put BJP on the mat Rahul Gandhi and his party’s MPs were joined by some other INDIA bloc MPs outside Parliament in greeting BJP members with placards and the national flag, as they urged them to allow the LS to function Rajnath sidestep Rahul Gandhi also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and sought to present him the flag but the veteran leader moved on after exchanging pleasantries Amid continuing political showdown over Congress’ alleged links to US investor George Soros, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday and urged him to expunge remarks made by BJP MPs against him, and ensure the smooth functioning of Parliament. “I had a meeting with the Speaker and I told him that our party is saying that derogatory comments against me should be expunged. The Speaker said he will look into it. We want the House to function,” he said. Rahul accused the BJP of running away from discussion on the Adani issue, adding he would not be provoked by any of its charges. With the Opposition protesting outside Parliament demanding a discussion on the US indictment of the Adani group, the treasury benches stepped up their counter attack on the Congress’ alleged links to Soros inside the House. Rahul said the Congress wants a discussion on the Constitution in the Lok Sabha starting December 13, adding his party will ensure the House functions properly despite provocation, even though it is not their responsibility . He said BJP MPs can speak against “me on whatever issue, but the debate on the Constitution should happen”. On Tuesday Congress Deputy Leader in Lok , Sabha Gaurav Gogoi wrote to the Speaker, urging him to examine the party’s complaint against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s defamatory remarks against Rahul Gandhi and remove them from the record. Gogoi said after the Speaker announces his decision, the Congress would be keen to participate in the legislative business in Parliament. a day after the Supreme Court asked the Allahabad High Court to furnish details of the controversial speech delivered by Justice Shekhar Yadav at a VHP event, Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday started the process to move an impeachment motion against the HC judge. According to sources, more than 40 INDIA bloc MPs have signed the petition initiated by Rajya Sabha MP and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal. The motion is likely to be submitted on Thursday said , an opposition MP . The signatories include Congress MPs Digvijaya Singh, Vivek Tankha, Renuka Chowdhury, AAP’s Sanjay Singh, TMC’s Saket Gokhale and Sagarika Ghose, RJD’s Manoj Jha, SP’s Javed Ali Khan, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, A A Rahim, and CPI’s Sandosh Kumar and P P Suneer. The notice said by making divisive and prejudiced statements, Justice Yadav eroded public confidence in the judiciary. “His statements, which have been widely documented and reported, encouraged animosity and division among different religious and communal groups,” it said. The notice further said: “The remarks are in blatant violation of the Restatement of Values of Judicial Life, adopted by the Supreme Court in 1997, which mandates judges to maintain impartiality , equality and restraint, both in their judg, ments and conduct outside court.” 50 RS MPs need to sign the motion The motion will be moved under Section 3 (1) (B) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act. A complaint against a judge has to be made through a resolution signed by 100 members if moved in the Lok Sabha and 50 MPs if it’s in the Rajya Sabha Rape accused jumps bail, kills & dismembers victim PRASANJEET SARKAR Using technical forensics and CCTV footage of neighbouring areas, Kisan was identified and brought for interrogation. He then confessed to the murder and chopping off the girl’s body @ Rourkela/Jharsuguda In a horrific crime, a 24-yearold youth accused of raping a minor girl last year, jumped interim bail and murdered the victim before dismembering her body and disposed it of in Brahmani river at Rourkela. The incident came to light on Wednesday when Jharsuguda police brought the accused to Rourkela and recovered the body parts, including torso of the victim, with help of a forensic team and Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), from near Tarkera pump house. Search for the victim’s head was still underway . Before committing the heinous act, main accused Kunu Kisan kidnapped the victim from Jharsuguda town and Himanshu Lal, IG (Northern Range) Jharsuguda Police recover the victim’s body parts from Brahmani river in Rourkela on Wednesday | Express took her on a two-wheeler to a place under Lathikata police limits where he allegedly killed the 18-year-old girl. The two places are about 145 km apart. Kisan who was arrested in August last year on charges of raping the victim - a minor then - was granted interim bail three months later on December 4. However, as he jumped bail and did not appear before the court, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. IG (Northern Range) Himanshu Lal informed that the victim was staying at her aunt’s place at Jharsuguda and worked at a beauty parlour at Beheramal. After she went missing, a complaint was lodged with Jharsuguda police on December 7. Using artificial intelligence features of the CCTV system, police detected the girl riding pillion with two persons. “Using technical forensics and CCTV footage of neighbouring areas, Kisan was identified and brought for interrogation. He then confessed to the murder and chopping off the girl’s body before disposing of the parts in Brahmani river near Balughat and Tarkera nullah of Rourkela,” Lal said. The forensic team collected evidence including severed body parts, clothes and footwear of the victim along with the weapon used in the crime. The IG said Kisan told investigators he was apprehensive about being convicted in the rape case if the victim’s statement was recorded during the trial and decided to take the extreme step after failing to convince her to give a favourable statement on a previous Continued on P5 occasion.