THURSDAY www.thestatesman.com 21 OCTOBER 2021 FIND US ONLINE Scan this with your smartphone twitter.com/TheStatesmanLtd facebook.com/thestatesman1875 Pages 12 |`5|LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR JAPAN GOES TO POLLS BYPOLLS CRITICAL FOR BOMMAI, SIDDU, AND SHIVAKUMAR P4 WEATHER Mainly clear sky. Mist in the morning. The maximum and minimum temperatures would be around 32 and 19 degrees Celsius respectively. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max: 91% P6 SC pulls up UP govt over delay in Lakhimpur case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 OCTOBER Min: 47% Min: 20.3°C (+2) SUN SETS 17:46 hrs MOON SETS 07:44 hrs THUMBNAILS Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the flagoff ceremony of Shobha Yatra on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti at the AICC office in the SUBRATA DUTTA Capital on Monday. Delhi HC blocks 'rogue websites' broadcasting ICC Men's T20 World Cup: As many as seven 'rogue websites' broadcasting ICC Men's T20 World Cup-2021 by infringing the rights of official broadcaster Star India Pvt Ltd have been blocked by the Delhi High Court. These websites are -- filmyclub.wapkiz.com, ipl.hitcric.tv, doratv-ipl.wapkiz.com, tamilblasters.win, thdtvworld.xyz, uptomovie.xyz and zolhdtv.com. The court asked the Internet Service Providers to block access to them in its directions dated 12 October. Priyanka Gandhi allowed to go to Agra T IANS he Supreme Court on Wednesday pulled up the Uttar Pradesh government for delay in recording statements of witnesses before a judicial magistrate in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case in which eight persons were killed, and also told the state government to dispel the impression that it is dragging its feet in the matter. The Uttar Pradesh government faced tough questions form the top court on the killing of farmers at a protest in Lakhimpur Kheri earlier this month. A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli told the Uttar Pradesh government counsel, "You are dragging your feet. Please dispel that impression". Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, submitted that a report on the incident has Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has finally been granted permission to go to Agra after being detained for nearly two hours in Lucknow. The Congress leader has been allowed to proceed to Agra with four persons since Sec 144 is in place. She has left for Agra with Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Kumar Lallu, Acharya Pramod Krishnam and Deepak Singh, MLC. Earlier, she told reporters, "Wherever I go, they stop me. Now they are saying that I cannot go to Agra. Should I sit in a restaurant because it suits them politically?" The Congress leader said that she will go to Agra and meet the family of Arun Valmiki who allegedly died in custody. She was earlier detained by Lucknow Police at the Lucknow Expressway while she was travelling to Agra to meet the family of a Dalit man who died in police custody. Her car was stopped at the first toll plaza on the LucknowAgra Expressway. After she was stopped, Priyanka Gandhi tweeted: "What is the government so afraid of? Arun Valmiki died in police custody. His family is seeking justice. I want to visit that family. What is the Uttar Pradesh government afraid of? Why am I being stopped? Today is Lord Valmiki Jayanti... Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke big on Buddha but this is attacking his message." been filed in a sealed cover. The top court was unhappy over the UP government submitting its report "last-minute". "No, that was not required and we have received it just now...we waited till 1 a.m. last night for any filing. But we received nothing," the bench replied, rebuking the UP government for its last minute submission of the probe report. The court never said anything about the sealed cover, Justice Kant said adding that. Salve informed the bench that four out of 44 witnesses in the matter have recorded their statements under section 164 (before a judicial magistrate), and 10 accused have been arrested so far. Salve said, “10 have been arrested. There are two crimes one is the crime where they drove a car into the people. The LUCKNOW, 20 OCTOBER HOLY DIP No bail for Aryan Khan, 2 others; to move Bombay HC on Thursday P12 second was when two of the people in the car were lynched. That is a little difficult to investigate because there was a huge crowd.” “Why haven't other witnesses recorded their statements?", the bench asked the Uttar Pradesh government counsel. On Salve’s reply that the probe is going on and that out of the ten accused, four were in police custody, the bench said, “What happened to the other six accused…You did not seek custody so they were sent to judicial custody. What is the situation in this case?" Salve submitted that the statements of other witnesses were being recorded, but the courts were shut."This should not be an unending story, this is all we want," the CJI said when Salve sought time in the matter. The apex court ordered the UP government to protect and record the statement of all witnesses and file a fresh status report on this case. The bench posted the matter for further hearing on 26 October. Soldier martyred, LeT terrorists killed in J&K STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, 20 OCTOBER An Army soldier was killed and two injured during two separate encounters on Wednesday in south Kashmir where in a major success the security forces gunned down four Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) terrorists who had last week shot dead a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh Sageer Ahmad Ansari in Pulwama and two Bihari labourers at Wanpoh in Kulgam. IGP (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said that LeT’s Shopian and Kulgam districts commanders Adil Ahmad Wani and Gulzar Ahmad Reshi were among the terrorists gunned down by security forces. Wani was active in terrorist activities since July last year. The two encounters broke out in Draghar area of Shopian and Kulgam. Troops of the Army, CRPF and J&K Police cordoned the Dragar village in the morning after getting credible inputs about the presence of terrorists. The two terrorists were gunned down within a few minutes of the encounter. The other terrorist is yet to be identified. Three soldiers were injured in the gunfight and one of them succumbed. The two others were receiving treat- HIGH ALERT Three soldiers were injured in the gunfight and one of them succumbed. Adil Ahmad Wani and Gulzar Ahmad Reshi were among the terrorists gunned down by security forces. The two encounters broke out in Draghar area of Shopian and Kulgam ment in the military hospital.Security forces appealed to the terrorists to surrender but they rejected the offer and opened fire leading to the encounter. The IGP said that 17 terrorists have so far been neutralized in two weeks. The encounter at Kulgam began in the evening and was over within ten minutes. Meanwhile, the encounter between the Army and Pakistan backed terrorists in the Mendhar area along the LoC in the Poonch district of Jammu onWednesday entered the tenth day without any success in gunning down even a single highly trained terrorist. The area has been cordoned and eight residents, including a woman, suspected to have provided logistic support to the terrorists have been detained for questioning. Punjab government forms SIT to probe Dalit man’s lynching at Singhu border 46 dead in U'khand flash floods: As many as forty six persons have reportedly died and 11 are reported missing in the heavy rains leading to flash floods and landslides in several parts of Uttarakhand. Rescue and relief operations are still awaited in many remote areas and villages. Nainital remains the worst-affected area in the state where 28 persons have reportedly died PG5 and several others are still missing. Jharkhand HC extends interim relief to Rahul in defamation case: The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday extended the interim relief of no coercive action to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi till 7 December in a defamation case filed against him over his alleged statement "why all thieves share the Modi surname." PAKISTAN, INDIA NEED A CRICKETING BOND: PCB CHAIRMAN P10 Top court to UP govt: You are dragging your feet. Please dispel that impression TEMPERATURE Max: 32.1°C (0) SUN RISES 06:26 hrs MOON RISES 18:21 hrs PUTIN ORDERS NON-WORK WEEK AS COVID CASES RISE IN RUSSIA STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, 20 OCTOBER Devotees throng Har Ki Pauri Ghat on the occasion of Sharad Purnima, on Wednesday. ANI On the directions of deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota onWednesday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of sister of Lakhbir Singh, who was murdered by Nihang at Singhu border. The SIT has been constituted under the Chairmanship of The SIT has been constituted under the chairmanship of ADGP-cumDirector, Bureau of Investigation, Punjab, Varinder Kumar. ADGP-cum-Director, Bureau of Investigation PunjabVarinder Kumar.Deputy Inspector General, Ferozepur Range, Inderbir Singh and SSP Tarn Taran Harvinder Singh Virk are its members. As per the information, Raj Kaur, a resident of Kassel in Tarn Taran, had alleged that her brother Lakhbir Singh (35) was allured by some unknown persons and taken to Singhu, where he was murdered by some Nihang Singhs on 15 October on sacrilege charges. Kumar may co-opt any other police officers posted in the state for the enquiry as per needs and requirements, reads the order adding that he would also be at libe- rty to obtain the support and assistance of any other Wing/Unit of the Punjab Police in this (MORE ON P3) regard. ‘BJP ready for alliance with ‘Govt to vaccinate entire adult population by ’21-end’ nationalist ex-Punjab CM’ P STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, 20 OCTOBER CHANDIGARH, 20 OCTOBER In a massive jolt to Aryan Khan, a special NDPS court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of the son of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the case related to the raid on a rave party aboard a cruise ship on 2 October. Special NDPS Judge V.V. Patil also declined the bail applications of Arbaaz Merchant an Munmun Dhamecha, the two others accused in the drug case lodg- ed by Narcotics Control Bureau. “Bail applications 2571/21, 2576/21 and 2583/21 stand rejected. Accordingly, bail applications are disposed IANS off," Patil said. A day after Captain Amarinder Singh said he would launch a new outfit and hoped to tie up with the BJP for the Punjab Assembly election, the saffron party on Wednesday expressed its openness for an alliance with the 'nationalist' former chief minister. “Captain Amarinder Singh is a patriot and the BJP is open to alliances with those who put national interests first,” BJP general secretary and Punjab in-charge Dushyant Gautam said. “Our main agenda is nationalism and keeping the nation first. All those parties who want to form alliances with us on this agenda are welcome," he added. Gautam said Amarinder Singh was once a soldier and his stand on the issues of national security should be praised"....He (Amarinder Singh) was a soldier. He knows about the threats to the country and how to secure it. He is patriotic. And whenever it was a matter of national security and security at the borders, we appreciated his stand," Gautam said, adding that nationalists are not "untouchables" to the BJP. Gautam, however, indicated that nothing has been finalised yet as "Amarinder Singh still needs to form his party and put forward his views". "Our doors are open for an alliance, though only our Parliamentary Board can take the decision,” he said. Meanwhile, Punjab's deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawacalled Amarinder an "opportunist" and claimed he is responsible for the increase in BSF jurisdiction on the border of Punjab."Captain Amarinder Singh has destroyed himself by announcing a seat arrangement with BJP whom he has , always abused," he said. INDO-ASIAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 OCTOBER The Central government has set a target of vaccinating the entire adult population of the country by the end of 2021, said Bharati Pravin Pawar, Union minister of state for health and family Welfare, here on Wednesday. More than 99 crore doses of vaccines have been administered in the country so far, the minister added. “Great responsibility lies on us to achieve the Prime Minister's dream of affordable, accessible, safe and modern healthcare in India," she said, 3,41,08,996 1,78,098 27,681 38,916 4,52,651 UNION HEALTH MINISTRY FIGURES AS OF 8.00 A.M. WEDNESDAY 20 OCTOBER 2021 adding that, "The Government of India has launched various nationwide programmes for prevention, control and eradication of communicable and non-communicable diseases and improvement of maternal and child health.”The minister said that while working towards the goal of achieving universal health coverage, the government has launched the world's largest public funded healthcare programme 'Ayushman Bharat' Mission. Daily cases up 12 %: India logged a 12 per cent increase in daily Covid cases onWednesday but active caseload continued to show a decline, at 1,78,098. it was the lowest in 229 days so far, according to Union health ministry data. Altogether 14,623 more Covid cases reported in last 24 hours, the data showed.With the new 197 fatalities, the overall death toll has increased to 4,52,651. Delhi cases: The number of fresh coronavirus cases dipped to 25 on Wednesday from 36 on Tuesday in Delhi . Negative test report must for international visitors: India on Wednesday issued a revised travel advisory for international visitors, making a negative RTPCR test report must for all. The advisory says that fullyvaccinated travellers coming from a country with which India has arrangements for mutual acceptance of WHO approved Covid-19 vaccines shall be allowed to leave the airport after producing a negative RTPCR test report, and will not have to undergo home quarantine and testing. The new guidelines will come into effect from October 25. India has agreements for mutual recognition of nationally or WHO recognised Covid19 vaccines with the UK, France, Germany, Nepal, Belarus, Lebanon, Armenia, Ukraine, Belgium, Hungary, and Serbia. IANS No safe haven for those committing crime against country: Modi PM inaugurates Kushinagar Int’l Airport STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 20 OCTOBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday stressing on his government's political will to “attack” corruption exhorted CVC and CBI sleuths to ensure there is no safe haven for people who deceives the country and its people. Modi' s comments came in his message to the joint conference of CVC and CBI officials at Kavadia in Gujarat via video conferencing. “In the last 6-7 years, the government has succeeded in instilling the confidence that it is possible to contain corruption,"Modi said adding, “Today there is political will to attack corruption and continuous improvement is also being carried out at the administrative level.” The Prime minister further called upon CVC and CBI to "ensure that there is no safe haven for anyone anywhere who deceives the country and countrymen.” “CVC and CBI and other anti-corruption institutions should remove such processes that come in the way of new India,” he said Modi said the new India is no longer ready to accept corruption. “New India Innovates, Initiates and Implements. New India is no longer ready to accept that corruption is part of the system. It wants its systems transparent, processes efficient and governance smooth,” the Prime Minister said. Elaborating on his government's efforts to combat corruption through reduction of government interference in the livesof common people, Modi said,"Government undertook the task of reduction of government interference in the lives of the common people in a mission mode by simplifying the government procedures.” He exhorted CVC and CBI officials to engage in preventive vigilance using technology to simplify their tasks. “Approach of trust and technology has strengthened efficient governance and ease of doing business.” “Along with technology and alertness- simplicity, clarity, transparency in the processes will go a long way for preventive vigilance. This will simplify our work and save the resources of the nation.” “Today, when India is moving towards attaining its grand goals during the Amrit Kaal. Today when we are committed to strengthen pro-people and proactive governance, your action-oriented diligence will give strength to the ideals of Sardar Saheb”, the Prime Minister told the gathering. He said that this government does not mistrust the citizens and that is why, many layers of verification of documents have been removed and many facilities like birth certificate, life certificate for pension are being delivered through technology without middlemen. Steps like abolition of interviews in Group C and Group D recruitment, online and faceless procedure in services ranging from gas cylinder booking to tax filing are reducing occasions for corruption. NEW DELHI, 20 OCTOBER Prime Minister Narendra Modi who on Wednesday inaugurated the Kushinagar International Airport in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar, termed it a tribute to the faith of Buddhist society around the world. Governor of Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel, chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Union aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia were among those present on the occasion. Sri Lankan flight carrying a delegation of Buddhist monks also became the first international flight that landed at Kushinagar on the occasion. Addressing the gathering Prime Minister Modi said that India is the centre of the faith of Buddhist society around the world. He termed the facility of Kushinagar International Airport, launched today as a tribute to their devotion. “This region," the Prime Minister said, "is witness to the entire journey from the enlightenment of Lord Buddha to Mahaparinirvana. Today this important region is getting directly connected to the world." Modi also highlighted the special focus on the development of the places associated with Lord Buddha through better connectivity and the creation of facilities for the devotees. He welcomed the Sri Lankan flight and delegation that landed at Kushinagar. The Prime Minister said that tourism in all its forms, whether for faith or for leisure, needs modern infrastructure complete with rail, road, airways, waterways, hotels, hospitals, internet connectivity, hygiene, sewage treatment and renewable energy ensuring a clean environment.On his government's drone policy, he said it is going to bring life-changing transformation in the fields ranging from agriculture to health, to disaster management to defence.
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