BENGALURU  SUNDAY  JANUARY 19, 2025  `12.00  PAGES 30  LATE CITY EDITION ROHIT & CO TURN TO EXPERIENCE FOR CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2025 SPINNERS AND ALL-ROUNDERS IN FOCUS Mohammed Shami returns amid concern over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation as India gear up for ODIs vs England and CT in February ARSHDEEP PICKED AHEAD OF SIRAJ The selection committee has picked four spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja with India playing all their games in Dubai. The three spin-bowling all-rounders along with Hardik Pandya, who can exploit the conditions with his cutters, will be in focus as India look to win their first 50-over ICC title since 2013 ■ ■ With uncertainity over Bumrah’s injury, India have gone for Arshdeep instead of Siraj in what is his best format Calling it unfortunate, Rohit Sharma said that Singh’s ability to bowl in the back end was cruical considering Bumrah’s situation. India play three ODIs against England and CT in Dubai next month | P17 2013 THE LAST TIME INDIA WON THE CHAMPIONS TROPHY 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 Rape-murder accused in RG Kar case guilty: Court Quantum of sentence on Monday; victim’s family seek further probe S U L A G N A S E N G U P TA @ Kolkata HUNTINGS HORIZON S GE PLUS 12 PA A Sealdah court on Saturday held 33-year-old former civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy guilty in the August 9, 2024 horrific rapemurder of a 31-year-old doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, under three sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Monday . In a chilling reminder to the 2012 Nirbhaya case in Delhi, the gruesome rape-murder of the post-graduate trainee doctor shook the nation’s consciousness, with massive and sustained protests erupting across West Bengal and the country The state almost came . to standstill with people from all walks of life joining the protests against the ghastly crime and the administration’s alleged apathy and inaction. Roy who was produced in the , packed courtroom amid tight security, was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the BNS. Section 103(1) carries a possi- ISRAEL-HAMAS TRUCE KICKS IN TODAY Ceasefire will start at 6.30 am GMT (12 pm IST) on Sunday Among the 33 Israeli captives being freed in the first phase, 9 ill and wounded will be freed first in exchange of 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences Hamas has agreed to free three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7, and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks 1,200 KILLED IN ISRAEL AFTER HAMAS’ OCTOBER ’23 RAID 46K After the last hostage release in stage one, on day 42, Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it in no later than day 50 | P12 PALESTINIANS KILLED BY ISRAEL SINCE OCTOB ER ’23 Israeli troops return from Gaza Strip on Saturday | AP Shuttler complains of smog, bird-droppings A N M O L G U R U N G @ New Delhi POLLUTION and lack of hygiene reared their heads during India Open badminton here on Saturday . The elite international badminton (BWF Super 750-level) event came under criticism for ‘birddropping’ on courts and ‘dirt’. There have been instances when cricket matches were affected due to pollution but the concern here is the conditions inside the indoor hall. Denmark shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, World No 23, termed the conditions at the KD Jadav Stadium to be ‘unhealthy and unacceptable’. She lost 12-21, 2116, 21-8 against China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the 2nd round and during a postmatch interaction revealed about falling sick to BWF. “Finally home after a long and stressful week in India. It’s been 2 years in a row now that I get sick during the India Open. It’s really hard to accept that many weeks of work and preparing gets wasted because of bad conditions,” Blichfeldt posted on her Instagram handle. “It’s not fair to anyone that we have to train and play in smog, birds shitting on the courts and dirt everywhere. These conditions are too unhealthy and unacceptable...” Badminton Association of India said they are exploring alternate venues for next edition. “As the host..., BAI gains access to stadium and its infrastructure only four days before the event.” The stadium is maintained by SAI. EXPRESS READ Now, all eyes on Lokayukta report on MUDA site ‘scam’ Bengaluru: After the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) attached 142 immovable properties worth Rs 300 crore on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the Mysuru Urban Development Authjority (MUDA) case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others, all eyes are now on the Lokayukta report on the alleged MUDA site allotment scam. The High Court of Karnataka has directed the Lokayukta Police to submit its report by January 27. DETAILED REPORT ON PAGE 4 File picture of accused Sanjoy Roy Accused could get death penalty or life Maximum sentence for the accused is death penalty or imprisonment for life as he has been convicted under Section 103(1). Punishment under Section 64 is at least 10 years and can go up to life ble punishment of death or life imprisonment. The in-camera trial ended on January 9. In the court, Roy reiterated that he was being framed while his lawyers tried to calm him down. When he was being taken out of the court, he claimed that a “certain IPS” knew everything. In his 160-page judgment, the judge said, “You (Roy) sexually assaulted the doctor. You throttled her and covered her face and she ultimately died owing to the attack. On the basis of these allegations, charges were framed against you under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of BNS. On the basis of the statements of the witnesses and the documents produced in this matter, your guilt has been proved.” After the order, the father of the deceased doctor said, “The trust we had placed in you, you have honoured it completely.” However, her mother said justice had not been fully served. The junior doctors, who led the protests, called for further probe into the larger conspiracy and said their agitation would continue. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said likewise. “We welcome the judgment. But we would have been happier if the former principal of R G Kar hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal were also punished today he said. ,” Sixty hours on, Saif attack suspect held in Chhattisgarh A section of employees from a few government departments are not getting salaries on time for various reasons. For no fault of theirs, those who have taken loans from Karnataka Government Insurance Department (KGID), or have to pay their monthly contributions to KGID policy, have ended up paying ‘’penalty interest” for delays in their payments. Now they have approached senior authorities in the state government to rectify levying more interest for delayed payments. Government employees of a few departments in some dis- Centre offers talks, Dallewal on drips after accepting aid E J A Z K A I S E R @ Raipur Saif Ali Khan SPECIAL TEAMS Mumbai Police, which had formed 30 teams to nab the suspect, had collected CCTV footage from a shop in Dadar visited by the man The intruder was not part of any gang, and was not even aware whose house he had entered Mumbai Police H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh IN a breakthrough that came after more than two days, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained a suspect in connection with the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan. The accused, identified as Aakash Kannojia, 32, a resident of Mumbai, was apprehended after he got down from the Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station on Saturday . Acting on key inputs, the RPF had shared the suspect’s image and mobile number with neighbouring states and RPF teams. A team of RPF personnel searched for the suspect at Rajnandgaon station but couldn’t locate him. However, another team at Durg station successfully detained Kannojia from the general compartment of the train. The suspect is believed to have activated his mobile phone at Dongargarh station, about an hour before the train reached Rajnandgaon. The suspect, who was traveling without a ticket, told RPF cops that he was headed to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. However, sources said that Kannojia was actually on his way to visit his maternal grandmother in Janjgir-Champa, about 120 km from Raipur. Mumbai Police, who had escalated the search after a furore over the stabbing attack on the celebrity are expected to arrive in Durg late on , Saturday to probe Kannojia’s involvement in the attack on the actor. The actor was rushed to Lilavati hospital after being stabbed on Thursday morning and underwent surgery . THE ongoing protest by farmers on the Punjab border took a new turn with the Centre proposing talks and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast unto death, accepting their request to at least take medical aid. With Dallewal relenting, he was immediately put on drips by a new team of doctors that was formed to attend on him. The Centre will hold a ministerial level meeting with the protesting farmers on February 14 in Chandigarh to discuss their demands. A delegation led by 1988 batch Indian Forest Service officer Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary in Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare department, met D a l l e w a l a t Jagjit Singh Khanauri on Dallewal the PunjabHaryana border apart from leaders of other unions. “We requested Dallewal to break his fast and take medical aid and participate in talks on February 14,” an official said. Following the announcement, farmer leaders appealed to Dallewal to at least take medical aid. Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal told them he would decide on their appeals after they speak to the other 121 farmers, who are also on a protest, about their views. For their part, the 121 farmers said they were with Dallewal and will accept his decision. The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee for MSP . Salary delays force interest miseries on govt employees A S H W I N I M S R I PA D @ Bengaluru SOME RELIEF tricts, including Zilla and Taluk Panchayat, Health, Education , Women and Child Welfare and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, have not been receiving salaries on time. In many cases, it is delayed by days, in many others by months. This issue has been continuing over several years. The government-sanctioned posts are 7.7 lakh, of which around 5.4 lakh posts are filled. The shortage has resulted in the government depending on a large number of contract employees, especially guest lecturers, pourakarmikas and others, who too are not getting salaries CONTINUED ON P4 on time.