TIGRESS RETURNS DRACULA’S STORY 20 APRIL 2025 GUJARAT RIDE BUTTLER SHOW TO THRASH DELHI www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 PAGE 20 SINCE 1818 PAGES 20 |` 5.00 | LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 34˚C and 26˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 91% Govt condemns minority RSS, BJP are instigating leader's killing in B’desh communal violence: CM The killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities: MEA Min. 59% TEMPERATURE Max: 33.4˚C (-2.2) SUN RISES 05:13 hrs MOON RISES 23:39 hrs Min: 25.2˚C (-0.9) SUN SETS 17:58 hrs MOON SETS 09:25 hrs New Moon on 28 April THUMBNAILS STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 19 APRIL The Indian Air Force's Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) perform during an air show, at Namkum Army Ground in Ranchi on Saturday. nANI 'Shut Parliament if SC makes laws': BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday stirred controversy with a sharp attack on the Supreme Court, saying Parliament should be closed down if the apex court is making the laws. In remarks to news agencies, Dubey accused the court of arrogating to itself Parliament's legislative powers by striking down laws that Parliament had passed, and giving directions to the President of India. (Page 7) At least eleven killed, over a dozen injured in building collapse in Delhi STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 19 APRIL At least eleven people were killed and nearly a dozen injured as a four-storeyed residential building collapsed in north-east Delhi’s Mustafabad early this morning, police said. Police said they were informed about the incident at around 3:02 a.m. The building, which is said to have some unauthorised construction, belongs to one Tehsin, who also died in the collapse. According to the Delhi Fire Service (DFS), they were alerted about the incident at 02:50 a.m, following which nine fire tenders were rushed to the spot. So far, 22 people have been rescued and shifted to the GTB Hospital, out of which 11 were declared brought dead by the attending team of doctors, a police official said. Among the deceased were the owner of the building, 60-year-old Tehsin, his wife Zeenat, son Chan and Daughter in law Chandani. The other deceased were identified as Danish (23M), Naved (17M), and Reshma (38F), Nazeem (30M), Tehsin (60M), Shahina (28F), Afreen (4F), Afan (2M), Ishaq (75M) and six-year-old Anas. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Raman Lamba told The Statesman that the rescue operation was completed in the evening, which was carried out by Delhi Police, NDRF and DFS. I ndia on Saturday strongly condemned the abduction and brutal killing of a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh and reminded the interim government in Dhaka to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions. “We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a social media post on the X platform. He said: “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.” Roy was a resident of Basudebpur village under Shatagram Union and served as vice-president of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad. He was widely respected within the local Hindu community. The post mortem of Roy, who was allegedly abducted and beaten to death earlier this week in Dinajpur district, Biral upazila, Bangladesh, has been completed, police said on Saturday. According to reports, Roy had received a phone call around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. His wife, Indian student killed by stray bullet in Canada shooting STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 19 APRIL An Indian student was killed in the town of Hamilton in Ontario, Canada, after being hit by a stray bullet during a gangland-style shooting, Hamilton police said. She has been identified as Harsimrat Randhawa from Punjab. According to police, Randhawa was studying at Mohawk College and was standing at the bus stop on her way to work when she was killed. The tragic incident took place on 17 April at approximately 7:30 p.m. (local time). The Indian student was hit on the chest. She was taken to a hospital, but succumbed to her injuries during treatment. “Hamilton Police are investigating a homicide after an innocent female bystander was struck by a stray bullet during gunfire on Upper James. On April 17, 2025, at approximately 7:30 p.m, Hamilton Police received reports of a shooting near Upper James and South Bend Road. When police arrived, they found a 21-year-old female with a gunshot wound to the chest. She was transported to hospital and later died from her injuries,” the police said. The police said that a passenger of a black Mercedes SUV fired at the occupants of a white sedan in a ganglandstyle shooting. One of the bullets hit Randhawa, an innocent bystander. After the shooting, both the cars fled the scene. Some of the bullets also pierced the window of a nearby residence where the occupants were watching television a few feet away. Fortunately, no one was injured in the home. The police have started an investigation into the case and efforts are on to catch the occupants of the cars involved in the firing. The Consulate General of India, Toronto, said that they were saddened by the tragic death of the Indian student and that they are extending all necessary assistance. “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Indian student Harsimrat Randhawa in Hamilton, Ontario. As per local police, she was an innocent victim, fatally struck by a stray bullet during a shooting incident involving two vehicles. A homicide investigation is currently underway. We are in close contact with her family and are extending all necessary assistance,” the Indian mission said in a post on ‘X’. Shantana Roy, told a local daily that the call was allegedly made by the perpetrators to confirm his presence. About 30 minutes later, four men arrived and forcibly took him. Witnesses said he was taken to Narabari village and brutally assaulted. That evening, his unconscious body was returned to his family in a van. Locals helped rush him to the Biral Upazila Health Complex and later to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. (File photograph for representation) NEW DELHI, 19 APRIL A team of negotiators, led by Commerce Secretarydesignate Rajesh Agarwal, is likely to travel to Washington, DC, next week to advance discussions on the proposed India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA). The high-level meetings are expected to take place over three days starting 23 April, according to reports. As per officials, the agenda for the talks has been finalised and will cover an extensive range of issues spread across 19 chapters. These include key areas such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers, rules of origin, trade in goods and services, customs facilitation, and regulatory cooperation. This round of talks is being closely watched, with both New Delhi and Wash- ington aiming to conclude an early harvest agreement before the fall deadline. India and the US have targeted to conclude the first phase of the BTA by the fall (September-October) of this year, with an aim to more than double the bilateral trade to $500 billion by 2030, from about $191 billion currently. Both the nations are working to sign the first tranche of a BTA to bring down tariffs before the agreed timeline of the fall of 2025 as the the terms of reference for the pact have already been finalised. “India and US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) terms of reference have been finalised when the US team was here. The first tranche negotiations will start virtually on the various chapters within this week, and the talks in the physical mode may start at the end of the month," KOLKATA, 19 APRIL West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday held the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP responsible for instigating communal violence in the state. “RSS and BJP are the ones who are instigating communal violence in West Bengal. People of the state should be extremely careful not to get trapped in their provocations,” Miss Banerjee wrote in an open letter tonight. “BJP and its allies have suddenly become very aggressive in West Bengal. These allies include RSS. I have not taken the RSS's name earlier, but I am being forced now to identify them. Together, they all have initiated a vicious false campaign in the State. “These forces are using the backdrop of an unfortunate incident that happened on provocation. They are using the backdrop to play divisive politics. They are planning to play the 'divide and rule' game. This is sinister,” Miss Banerjee wrote. “In response, I have an appeal to make... My appeal is: please remain calm. We condemn communal riots and must curb them. The criminals behind the riots are being strongly dealt with. But, simultaneously, we must avoid mutual mistrust and distrust. The majority and the minority communities must work together and take care of each other,” she wrote. Attacking the BJP and the RSS, Miss Banerjee said: “They had originally planned to use the Ram Navami day for playing with fire, but the Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal have been most peaceful. Then they tried to use some subsequent matters relating to the agitations against the Waqf (Amendment) Act.” Miss Banerjee said the BJP and its allies are defaming the universal Hinduism epitomised by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda in the name of their political agenda. “(W)hat the BJP and their allies are propagating are false and narrow. Their utterances are garbage of lies, based on misquotes. Please do not trust them. They want to incite riots, and riots can affect everyone. We love all. We want to stay together. We condemn riots. We are against riots. They want to divide us for some narrow electoral politics,” Miss Banerjee wrote. The Chief Minister added that for maintaining law and order and for saving human lives and dignity, the state government has taken strong actions. “Two police officers-in-charge have been removed. And the police are further investigating the case. Further actions will be taken,” the Chief Minister said. PM to visit Saudi Arabia next week Putin declares Easter truce in Ukraine conflict NEW DELHI, 19 APRIL Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a unilateral Easter truce for the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, media reports said. The truce will start from 6:00 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Saturday and last Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay an official visit to Saudi Arabia on 22 and 23 April at the invitation of Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman. This will be the PM's third visit to the Kingdom. His previous visits took place in 2016 and 2019. The visit follows the state visit of Prince Salman to New Delhi in September 2023 to attend the G20 Summit and co-chair the first meeting of the India-Saudi Arabia Strategic Partnership Council. “The visit of the PM reflects the importance India attaches to its bilateral relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will provide an opportunity to further deepen and strengthen our multi-faceted partnership,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. SNS India-US trade talks: Key negotiations to begin in Washington next week AGENCIES STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Additional Secretary, Commerce, Rajesh Agarwal said this week "India has decided to go for a path of trade liberalisation with the US," Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal told journalists. He said both India and the US would benefit if the trade deal is wrapped up before the fall of 2025. "When we said we want to do a first tranche of BTA with the US by fall, that doesn't mean we can't do it before fall. If we end up doing the BTA before fall, then it will be good for both India and the US," he added. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is also set to embark on an official visit to the USA and Peru, beginning 20 April, where she is slated to participate in multilateral dialogues to showcase India’s economic dynamism. UNITED NEWS OF INDIA MOSCOW, 19 APRIL until midnight on Sunday into Monday (2100 GMT on Sunday). “I have ordered a complete cessation of hostilities during this period,” Putin was quoted by the Kremlin's Telegram account as saying at a meeting with Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, according to Xinhua news. Mr Putin also noted that Russia hopes Ukraine will follow suit and cease hostilities during the period, media reported. “Our armed forces must remain on high alert to repel possible ceasefire violations, provocations and any aggressive actions by the enemy,” the Russian president added.