WEDNESDAY 10 MAY 2023 Pages 12 |` 5.00|LC www.thestatesman.com KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR P5 WEATHER MAINLY CLEAR SKY.STRONG SURFACE WINDS(SPEED 25-35 KMPH) DURING THE DAY. THE MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM TEMPERATURES WOULD BE AROUND 38 AND 21 DEGREES CELSIUS RESPECTIVELY. RAINFALL: Nil RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 86% P8 P10 ISLAMABAD, 9 MAY You have always showered me with love and affection, says Modi THUMBNAILS PM Narendra Modi shares a video message to the people of Karnataka for the State Assembly elections, in New ANI Delhi on Tuesday. SNS & AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 9 MAY A Aftab Poonawala charged with murder, disappearance of evidence: Delhi's Saket court on Tuesday framed murder charges against Aftab Amin Poonawala for killing Shraddha Walkar and causing the disappearance of evidence. Meanwhile, the accused has denied the charges and claimed a trial in the matter. Shraddha Walkar was allegedly murdered by Aftab in the Mehrauli area on May 18, 2022. Her body parts were thrown into the jungle of the Chhatarpur Pahadi area in the national capital and was arrested in November 2022. Pg2 day ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday wrote an open letter to the people of the State, highlighting his party's commitment to the state’s growth and development. “You have always showered me with love and affection. It feels like a divine blessing to me. In our ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Kaal’, we Indians have aimed to make our beloved country a developed nation. Karnataka is keen to lead the movement to realise its vision”, PM Modi said in his letter. “India is the fifth-largest economy. Our next aim is to reach the top three. This is possible only when Karnataka rapidly grows to become a USD 1 trillion economy,” the letter read. “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Karnataka received over Rs 90,000 crore annually as a foreign investment under the BJP government. It was just around Rs 30,000 crore under the previous government,” the PM wrote. “We want to make Karnataka number 1 in investment, industry and innovation and number 1 in education, employment and entrepreneurship,” PM stated, underlining his party's commitment. “We are working to empower the farmers with a 'Beej Se Bazar Tak' vision. Through new irrigation projects, expansion of stor- MP: 25 dead, 20 hurt after bus falls from bridge in Khargone STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE age facilities, increasing ethanol blending usage of nano area and modern technology such as drones, BJP is committed to making Karnataka the number 1 in agriculture,” the letter said. In his letter the PM further stated: “The BJP government will continue to work to create next-gen urban infrastructure in Karnataka, modernise transport, raise the quality of life in rural and urban areas, and create opportunities for women and youth.” “The dream of every citizen of Karnataka is my dream,” the PM wrote. “My appeal is for the bright future of Karnataka. It is for the bright future of your family, especially the younger generations,” the letter read. PM addressed 19 public meetings and held six roadshows in Karnataka during the campaign for the state Assembly election. Union home minister Amit Shah held 16 public rallies and 14 roadshows. BJP chief JP Nadda held 10 public meetings and 16 roadshows. Former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan, who was present at Islamabad High Court for two hearings on Tuesday afternoon, was arrested by police from the court’s premises, evoking an angry reaction from the High Court’s chief justice, and protests by his supporters across cities. Islamabad police released a statement quoting Inspector General (IG) Akbar Nasir as saying that Mr Khan had been arrested in relation to the Al-Qadir Trust case, in which the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief and his wife are accused of having obtained billions of rupees from a real estate firm for legalising a laundered amount of Rs 50 billion that was identified and returned to the country by the UK during the previous PTI government. The police chief also said that the situation in Islamabad was “normal”, adding that Section 144 had been imposed in the city and action would be taken against violators. Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that Imran had failed to appear before the court despite being issued several notices. “The arrest has been conducted by the National Accountability Bureau for causing losses to the national treasury,” he said, adding that Private security personnel escort former Prime Minister Imran Khan as he arrives to appear in a court, prior to his arrest, in Islamabad on Tuesday.  AP Mr Khan was not tortured. Mr Khan’s arrest warrant, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was dated 1 May and signed by NAB Chairman Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmed. It said that Mr Khan was accused of corruption and corrupt practices under Section 9(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999. The development comes on the heels of the military’s rejection of accusations Mr Khan made against DG-C Maj Gen Faisal Naseer. Mr Khan had accused the officer of involvement in the assassination attempt against him in Wazirabad. Mr Khan doubled down on the allegations in a video message today. The former premier’s detention also follows several unsuccessful attempts, including a police raid at his residence in Lahore’s Zaman Park, to arrest him which he had managed to evade. Confirming the arrest, PTI's lawyer Faisal Chaudhry said that as soon as Mr Khan arrived at the High Court, a large number of Pakistan Rangers personnel surrounded the court premises. “Imran Khan has been arrested by Rangers outside the IHC. Lawyers have been subjected to torture and PTI workers and supporters are also being arrested,” said Mr Chaudhry. The arrest on the court premises prompted Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq to direct the Islamabad police chief, the interior ministry secretary and the additional attorney general to appear before the court immediately. Situation improving in violence-hit Three flagship Manipur, curfew relaxed in 11 dists schemes of Modi govt complete 8 yrs SNS & AGENCIES BHOPAL, 9 MAY At least 25 persons, including women and children, were killed and about 20 injured when a bus fell off a bridge, plunging 50 metres into the rocky dry bed of a river in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh Tuesday morning. According to police, the mishap occurred at around 8.30 a.m. when the private passenger bus (MP 10 P 7755) of the Maa Sharda Travels Company was ferrying around 45 passengers from Shrikhandi village in Khargone district to Indore city. As the speeding bus got on the bridge on river Borad located between Dasanga and Dongargaon, the driver lost control of the heavy vehicle. The bus broke the railing of the bridge and plunged 50 metres into the rocky dry bed of the river. The body of the bus crumpled due the impact. Over half the passengers of the bus along with the bus driver, conductor and helper P12 DAWN/ANN Min: 20.7°C (-4) SUN SETS 19:02 hrs MOON SETS 09:20 hrs President Droupadi Murmu presents Shaurya Chakra to Naik Jasbir Singh, 6th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (Posthumous), at ANI Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday. ALCARAZ WINS BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR AWARD K’taka polls: PM writes Imran Khan arrested from Islamabad HC premises open letter to people Min. 29% TEMPERATURE Max: 37.2°C (-2) SUN RISES 05:34 hrs MOON RISES 00:05 hrs PUTIN TELLS WWII EVENT WEST IS WAGING A ‘REAL WAR’ ON RUSSIA ‘BEST TIME FOR STARTUPS, INNOVATORS’ NAVEEN MEETS NITISH; NOT POLITICAL, SAY CMs IMPHAL, 9 MAY STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 9 MAY were killed after sustaining fatal injuries from the mangled iron body of the bus and due to the impact of the vertical fall. Residents from nearby villages rushed to the rescue of the passengers and after some time ambulances and medical help reached the spot followed by police and district administration authorities. Khargone Superintendent of Police Dharamveer Singh Yadav said 11 seriously injured passengers were rushed to Indore for treatment while the bodies of the deceased were sent for postmortem. The officer confirmed that 22 people had died in the mishap. Sources said three more had succumbed later, taking the death toll to 25. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Chouhan announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each deceased. He also announced Rs 50,000 each to the injured. A sum of Rs 2 lakh each has also been announced from the PM relief fund for the families of the deceased passengers and Rs 50,000 to every injured person. Three flagship social security (Jan Suraksha) schemes of the Narendra Modi government complete eight years today. The three schemes are: Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY). Claiming that these three have enabled affordable insurance and security to people their achievements and salient features, the government today highlighted their achievements and features. All three schemes were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9 May 2015 from Kolkata. The three schemes are dedicated to the welfare of the citizens, recognising the need for securing human life from unforeseen eventualisation and financial uncertainties. In order to ensure that the people from the unorganised section of the country are financially secure, the government launched two insurance schemes ~ PMJJBY and PMSBY; and also introduced APY to cover the exigencies in old age. On the PMJJBY scheme, the finance minister said that it has provided crucial support to 6.64 lakh families who have received claims for Rs. 13,290 crore. The situation in strife-torn Manipur is improving, with no fresh reports of any untoward incident, while curfew has been relaxed in all the 11 districts where it was clamped, officials said on Tuesday. Mobile internet service will continue to remain suspended till 13 May. State Chief Minister N Biren Singh had on Monday said that 60 people were killed, 231 injured and 1,700 houses including religious places burnt in the ethnic violence that had rocked the state for the past few days. Relaxation in curfew was extended in the violence-ravaged districts of Manipur for the fourth day on Tuesday, citing an improved situation with the deployment of Army and central forces along with state forces in all the vulnerable and mixed-populated areas.“The situation is improving all over the state, with no reports of violence in the last Students from Bihar reach Jayprakash Narayan Airport after being rescued from Manipur, in Patna on Tuesday.  ANI 24 hours… The curfew has been relaxed for four hours in Imphal West and Imphal East from 5 a.m, today. Similar relaxation is being provided in the other nine affected districts,” a senior official said. Officials said that subsequent relaxations of curfew shall be reviewed and notified based on assessment of the prevailing law and order situation. Deployment of Army, central paramilitary forces will continue, mobile internet suspension will remain in place, and total public curfew under Section 144 of CrPC, 1973, prohibiting movement of any person outside his/her home, will remain imposed in several districts.Violent clashes broke out in the state after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts on 3 May to protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. ‘Vasundhara Raje is Gehlot’s leader, not Sonia Gandhi, claims Pilot Guj cops clarify over 39k STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE JAIPUR, 9 MAY Resuming his sniping at Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Sachin Pilot said on Tuesday that Mr Gehlot’s leader was not Sonia Gandhi, but the BJP’s Vasundhara Raje. Mr Pilot, speaking to the media at his residence here, questioned Mr Gehlot for allegedly praising former chief minister Vasundhara Raje in a speech in Dholpur on Sunday, while tarnishing the image of his own party’s MPs and MLAs. He was referring to Mr Gehlot’s accusing some Congress MLAs of having accepted horse-trading money from the BJP during the crisis that hit his government in 2020. Mr Gehlot, in his speech, asked any such MLA to return the money to BJP leader and Union home minister Amit Shah. Mr Gehlot had also praised Ms Raje’s and BJP leader Kailash Meghwal’s role in saving his government during the crisis. “For the first time I am seeing that someone is criticising the MPs and MLAs of his own party. The praise of BJP leaders and the insult of Congress leaders is beyond my understanding. This is completely deplorable, untrue, baseless and concocted,” Mr Pilot said. Since the Chief Minister has not taken any action against Ms Raje over graft despite his day-long ‘maun satyagraha’ on 11 April, Mr Pilot announced, he would launch a 'Jan Sangharsh Pad Yatra' from Ajmer to Jaipur from 11 May over the issue of corruption, competitive examination paper leaks and on youth issues. “I will take out the Padyatra of 125 kms, from outside the Rajasthan Public Service Commission office in Ajmer Congress leader Sachin Pilot addresses a Press conference, in Jaipur on Tuesday. ANI (whose member was arrested in a paper leak case) to Jaipur over five days,” he added. “My protest is not against any person or my own party. It is against the corruption cases and mass paper leak cases which spoiled the career of youth in the last two-three years,” Mr Pilot said. Mr Pilot said it has become clear from Mr Gehlot's speech at the Dholpur event why he took no action against the corruption during Ms Raje’s tenure. “If he (Gehlot) has any proof against his own MLAs on allegedly receiving money, he should ensure legal action against them. By making baseless allegationsy, he is insulting senior party lead- ers who have a long political career and a Congress base of 30-40 years like Hemaram Choudhary,” Mr Pilot said. “On one hand it is being said (by Mr Gehlot) that the MLAs tried to topple the government. On the other hand, it was said Vasundhara Raje was working to save his government. I want to make it clear that we wanted a change of leadership. So we went to Delhi. We met late Ahmed Patel and discussed it with him. Then a three member committee was set up. The CLP meeting called on the direction of Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the then Congress President, on 25 September last year, could not be organised under the guidance of Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Makan. It was the gross indiscipline and Gaddari committed by the Congressmen who tendered their resignations under pressure,” Mr Pilot said. "Many people talk a lot, gossip to please their leaders. Some said the MLAs’ resignations were submitted under Amit Shah’s and Narendra Modi’s influence. Such things are also said to me, but if I say this on stage, it does not suit,” Mr Pilot said. "Who has caused the indiscipline in the party (Congress) and put the government in turmoil? There has been no misconduct in the last three years since 2020. It is not graceful for Gehlot to commit character assissination by calling me nikkama, naakara and gaddar and Corona,” he said.On May 7 at a public meeting at Rajakhera, Mr Gehlot had asked any Congress leaders who had received cash amount in the range of Rs.10-20 crore for toppling his government in 2020, to return it to Amit Shah immediately, if they have not done so already. missing women traced STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, 9 MAY In the midst of media reports of more than 41,000 women from Gujarat going missing in five years from 2016, state police sources have clarified that about 95 per cent of them have been traced and returned to their families. Describing the media reports about missing women from Gujarat as ‘incomplete’, police said that as many as 39,497 of the 41,621 women who went missing were subsequently traced and reunited with their families. The Gujarat Police’s clarification through the social media platforms also said that the women going missing from the state were not trafficked anywhere but the cases were the result of family disputes, failure in exam- The reports about missing women from Gujarat came as sequel to ‘The Kerala Story’ film claiming that 32,000 women from the southern state were trafficked to serve as ‘Islamic terrorists’ inations and other such personal reasons. The reports about missing women from Gujarat came as a sequel to The Kerala Story film claiming that 32,000 women from the southern state were trafficked to serve as ‘Islamic terrorists’. Following protests, the director said later that the film was the story of just three women who met such a fate at the hands of terrorists.