chennai l Thursday l January 09, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l vellore EDITION Bombay HC grants bail to wilson, Dhawale in elgar parishad case The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case Rona Wilson Sudhir Dhawale Trial unlikely to conclude soon: high Court Bail granted so far to 10 of 16 arrested The Bombay High Court noted the two had spent more than six years in jail as under-trial prisoners. “Even the charges in the case are yet to be framed,” a division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata observed, adding the trial is unlikely to conclude in the near future. The court clarified it was not dealing with the merits of the case at this stage ■ ■ The NIA said Wilson was an urban Maoist leader and Dhawale a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). The NIA didn’t seek a stay to the order. So far, 10 have gotten bail in the case The case pertains to provocative speeches delivered at 2017 Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima 2018 when rona wilson and sudhir dhawale were arrested 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 JPC begins with Women among six killed in robust exchange ticket counter of ‘1 poll’ views stampede Race against time to save trapped miners TIrupati darshan P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati The body of one of the nine miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao was retrieved on Wednesday even as hopes of rescuing the others began fading. The deceased was identified as Ganga Bahadur Srestho from Nepal. The state government had on Tuesday stated that three bodies had been seen in the mine. Rescue efforts by a joint team comprising the Army, Navy and disaster response forces are on, but senior officials said that the murky and acidic water has made the task of rescuers Herculean. Special DGP Harmeet Singh said the Navy’s remote underwater vehicle has recceed the shaft but didn’t find anything. He said efforts were on to drain the mine. “It seems the well is connected below with some water source because of which even though we are pulling out water, its level is not receding,” he said. The BJP-ruled North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council, under which Dima Hasao district falls, and the state’s BJP government are facing the heat after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the mine appeared to be illegal. Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, while demanding an investigation, said, “It is shocking that rat-hole coal mining continued unabated in Assam despite a ban by the National Green Tribunal.” New Revenue secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey was on Wednesday appointed new revenue secretary, replacing Arunish Chawla, who has been appointed as DIPAM secretary EXPRESS NEWS SERVI C E @ Tirupati Oppn members say it’s an attack on basic structure of the Constitution and federalism P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Mega roadshow Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his deputy Pawan Kalyan participate in a roadshow in Vizag on Wednesday. The was Modi’s first visit to the state after he won the third consecutive mandate to lead the country | G SATYANARAYANA PT Usha at loggerheads with ministry on sports governance Express News Service @ Chennai When Mansukh Mandaviya took office, he was one of the few sports ministers to visit the Indian Olympic Association Bhawan in Delhi last year. He met IOA president PT Usha and had the sports secretary and other officials along with him. Just about six months down the line, the IOA and ministry seemed to be at loggerheads. All this over the recognition of Indian Golf Union — both ministry and the IOA have recognised different IGUs. The controversial elections of the IGU that was held in December last year saw two different factions claiming to be legitimate. While IOA recognised Harish Kumar Shetty-led faction and the ministry backed Brijinder Singh, who was reelected as president. The ministry took exception and shot a letter questioning Big-time jeweller held over obscene remarks against Kerala actress E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi The Kerala Police on Wednesday arrested businessman Boby Chemmanur for making obscene remarks against actress Honey Rose. Boby was taken into custody from his estate in Meppadi, Wayanad, and brought to Ernakulam. The Ernakulam Central Police in Kerala’s Ernakulam district had on Tuesday booked Boby under Section 75(1)(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for making sexually coloured remarks and Section 67 of the IT Act for publishing and transmitting obscene material in electronic form. The action followed a complaint lodged by Honey Rose against Boby on Monday accusing him of repeatedly making obscene remarks against her. In August, Boby had publicly made obscene remarks against Rose when she reached Alakode in Kannur district to inaugurate his jewellery shop. After registering the case, the police began tracking Boby’s location and learnt he was at his estate in Wayanad. The information was passed to the Wayanad police, which confirmed his whereabouts. The police said Boby moved to his estate anticipating a case would be registered against Boby Chemmanur being brought to Ernakulam Central Police Station on Wednesday | T P Sooraj Rolling in Luxury Boby Chemmanur is a prominent Kerala businessman who is the director of Chemmanur International Jewellers. He also owns resorts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A huge fan of Diego Maradona, he brought the Argentine football legend to Kerala in 2012 to inaugurate one of his jewellery showrooms in Kannur. He grabbed attention in 2022 for his gold-coated Rolls Royce Phantom as a taxi him. By morning, the Kochi City police team reached the estate, took him into custody . “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Boby told reporters. The police said they detained him due to apprehension that he may abscond. He was to inaugurate a shop in Coimbatore on Wednesday and was nabbed just before starting his journey . P T Usha and Mansukh Mandaviya the action of the IOA. What seemed to have irked the IOA president was the tone and tenor of the letter and that it was sent by an under-secretary. The sports ministry had pulled up PT Usha and the IOA on January 2 for recognising Shetty faction. One must also take into consideration that Usha and the executive council members are caught in a bitter in-fighting and most of the decisions are being taken by Usha. In her strong worded reply Usha said, “The manner in , which this letter has been issued appears procedurally in- correct and reflects a lack of verification of the facts on record and a complete non application of mind by the Under Secretary. Sir, since I have assumed office in the lOA, it has become more and more apparent that the staff of the Ministry deliberately never appraises the true and correct facts to the Hon’ble Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports.” Copies of the letter have also been marked to the Inter national Olympic Committee and International Golf Federation. Usha also claimed that the ministry’s concerns that the IOA recognition of the IGU elections violates the National Sports Code ‘unfounded’. In fact, she gave examples of several NSFs which have failed to conduct elections even after completion of their terms. Usha also said selective application of norms undermines credibility of sports governance.  More on P11 crime of prison staff in jails shocking: HC The first meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) bills on Wednesday saw strong exchanges of opinion from both the opposition and ruling NDA’s members on simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. According to sources, several opposition MPs including Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, DMK’s P Wilson and TMC’s Kalyan Banerjee questioned the claim that simultaneous polls cut expenditure. The 39-member committee is headed by former Union minister P P Chaudhary . Priyanka asked if the Election Commission has any estimate on the cost of a general election after the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, when electronic voting machines (EVM) were used for the first time in all 543 parliamentary seats. She and DMK’s Wilson sought evidence to establish the claim that ONOE would cut cost. The opposition said the bills are an ‘attack on the basic structure of Constitution as well as federalism’. Defending the bill, BJP MPs, including Anurag Thakur, argued that a continuous cycle of elections disrupts development and is a drain on the exchequer. NDA ally JD(U)’s Sanjay Jha recalled incidents of booth capturing in Bihar when ballot papers were in play to pushback on demands , to revert to that mode. However, Jha also expressed apprehensions, including whether a government elected for a short term would have the required governance focus that an incumbent with a five-year term has. Earlier, in a letter to the panel chairman, DMK’s Wilson shared a slew of suggestions and concerns regarding the need for a rigorous, transparent and inclusive approach in the deliberations on the bill. “Extensive hearings should be conducted across all states and Union Territories, and the committee must prepared and share a detailed schedule outlining a systematic and inclusive consultation process,” he said. Chaudhary earlier said, “We will make an effort to listen to all stakeholders.” All get patient hearing An opposition MP told this paper that adequate time was given to members to express their views irrespective of the political affiliation. “The chairman gave a patient hearing,” the member said YSR cong changes stance Vijayasai Reddy (YSR Congress) argued that ONOE will marginalise regional parties, dilute diversity of representation and focus on local issues. YSRCP had earlier backed ‘one poll’ SIX devotees, including five women, died in a stampede during distribution of tokens for Vaikuntha Dwara darshan at Ramanaidu Municipal School in Bairagipatada area of Tirupati on Wednesday . As many as 16 people were injured and rushed to SVR Ruia Government General Hospital and Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS). A large number of devotees had gathered at several token distribution centres, leading to a chaotic situation. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) had set up nine centres with 94 counters for token distribution, scheduled to start at 5 am on Thursday But devotees began arriv. ing in huge numbers on Wednesday evening itself. Chaos prevailed at the Bairagipatteda centre when a staff member fell ill, prompting officials to open a separate space for his evacuation. Mistaking it as a queue for token distribution, devotees surged forward, leading to the stampede. Eyewitnesses said inadequate security measures led to the crush and deaths. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed shock over the tragedy, and offered condolences to the bereaved families. He conducted a review meeting with top officials on the stampede. YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called the deaths deeply saddening. He urged authorities to ensure urgent medical care for the injured. AU rape: Stalin defends govt, says accused will get maximum penalty T M u r u g a n a n dh a m @ Chennai Breaking his silence on the Anna University rape case, Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday assured the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the government will file chargesheet against the accused within 60 days and ensure maximum punishment for the perpetrator through a special court. If anyone else’s involvement is found during the investigation, stern action will be taken against them irrespective of their background. The government has no other objective, and I would like to make this clear, firmly and categorically , the CM asserted. Replying to the discussion on a special mention under Rule 55 of the Assembly the CM said , Gnanasekaran, the accused who was swiftly arrested after R SIVA K UMAR @ Chennai Expressing shock over prison officials swindling funds and committing irregularities by fudging documents, the Madras High Court on Wednesday wanted the state government to take stringent action, including suspension, against the officers and staff responsible for such illegalities. “The prisoners (offenders) are sent to the prison, which also provides correctional services, for reformation. When the prison authorities commit an offence, it is worse than the offence committed by offenders (prisoners),” a division bench of justices S M Subramaniam and M Jothiraman observed while hearing a petition regarding non-payment of wages to a prisoner at the Puzhal Central Prison. During an earlier hearing, the petitioner’s counsel brought to the bench’s notice irregularities committed by the Madurai Central Prison authorities. Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran submitted the status report on behalf of the home department.  5 P The CM speaking during Wednesday’s Assembly session | Express the incident and has since been booked under the Goondas Act as well, was a DMK sympathiser but not a member of the party. He said the government would have taken stringent action even if he was a DMK member. Stressing that the state police acted expeditiously after the affected student lodged a complaint on December 24, Sta- lin said Gnanasekaran was arrested the very next morning. The CM said his government can be faulted if it had failed to take proper action, but the opposition parties were levelling allegations despite the government taking swift action. The opposition is raking up the issue only to gain political mileage and not out of genuine concern, he said.  P5 a ta l e o f p e rs i st e nc e Tiny TN village celebrates meteoric rise of son to ISRO top job M Abd u l R a b i @ Kanniyakumari As the small Mela Kattuvilai village of around 100 families near Nagercoil in Kanniyakumari district celebrates its moment in history as its illustrious son V Narayanan took over as the new chairman of ISRO, his family members reminisced his perseverance, faith in education and personal sacrifices. Narayanan was born in 1964 as the elder son of C Vanniya Perumal and S Thangammal. Hailing from a poor family, he studied in Tamil medium up to Class 5 at the government primary school at Keezha Kattuvilai (1969-1974) and then from Class 6 to 10 at LMS higher secondary school at Zionpuram (1974-1979), located three km from his village. He later completed DME (diploma in mechanical engineering) at Konam government polytechnic in Nagercoil. In 1989, he completed M Tech in Cryogenic Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur, and PhD in V Narayanan, ISRO’s new chairman, with his family | Express Aerospace Engineering in 2001. Speaking to TNIE, V Gopalakrishnan, Narayanan’s brother who works as an executive engineer in TWAD board in Nagercoil, said his elder brother who secured a BE seat after completing his DME sacrificed the seat for him. “After completing his diploma, my brother got a job through campus placement. In 1982, we both secured BE admission. My brother got into Anna University, Guindy. But since my father could not financially support both our education, my brother sacrificed his engineering dream and asked me to join BE. He took the job in TI Cycles, and supported me to pursue BE,” Gopalakrishnan said. He always stood first in studies right from his school days, the other brother V Krishna Mani who is working with Joy University recalled. “Sadly our , , parents did not live long enough to see their son reach towering heights,” he lamented. P5