‘DON’T RESTRICT CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TO MAHARASHTRA’ 13 APRIL 2025 ‘ALLIANCE OF DOOM BIRTHED BY CORRUPTION’ POORAN POWERS LSG TO BIG WIN OVER GT www.thestatesman.com X.com/thestatesmanltd. Fb/thestatesman1875 PAGE 5 PAGE 4 PAGE 12 SINCE 1818 PAGES 12 |` 5.00 |LC KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR WEATHER Partly cloudy sky. Possibility of rain or thundershower towards evening. Maximum and Minimum Temperature most likely to be around 33˚C and 23˚C respectively. RAINFALL: 0.0 mm RELATIVE HUMIDITY Max. 88% Chief minister Mamata appeals for peace, restraint; BSF out in trouble-hit areas STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE KOLKATA, 12 APRIL Min. 53% TEMPERATURE Max: 34.2˚C (-1.5) SUN RISES 05:19 hrs MOON RISES 17:27 hrs Waqf protest violence: 3 dead in Murshidabad Min: 26.4˚C (+0.8) SUN SETS 17:56 hrs MOON SETS 04:43 hrs Full Moon on 13 April THUMBNAILS People wearing traditional attire dance in a field on the eve of the Baisakhi festival, in Jalandhar on Saturday. nANI JCO killed in gunfight with Pak-based terrorists near LoC: A junior commissioned officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was killed in a gunfight with Pakistanbacked terrorists attempting to infiltrate across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu’s Akhnoor sector during the early hours of Saturday. The JCO and his team foiled the infiltration bid during which he suffered critical injuries. (Page 5) A t least three persons were killed in Murshidabad district amid violent clashes linked to protests against the newly promulgated Waqf Amendment Act, even as chief minister Mamata Banerjee made an earnest appeal for peace and warned of action against those inciting riots. In an incident in Shamsherganj, a father and son were murdered at their residence in the Dhulian area. Local sources said the two were hacked to death after they put up resistance to a group of people who had broken into their home with the intent to loot and vandalise. On Friday, three persons, including a minor, were shot during clashes. One of them died later. The deceased, a teenager, succumbed to his injuries in Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital after being shot in Suti’s Sajur More area. Following the outbreak of violence, a heavy police contingent has been deployed across the affected areas. To further tighten security, seven companies of the Border Security Force (BSF) have been stationed in Dhulian, Suti, and Shamsherganj. Tensions flared again on Saturday morning after a brief lull. Protesters reportedly vandalised parts of Dhulian Municipality and targeted the residence of former Shamsherganj Block President Kawsar Ali. In the melee, Malda Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Jamal sustained injuries while trying to control the mob. Amid the unrest, chief minister Banerjee took to social media platform X to make an appeal for peace and restraint. Miss Banerjee said the “ My sincere appeal ... Please remain calm, remain restrained. Do not engage in any irreligious behaviour in the name of religion. law was made by the Centre and answers should be sought from it. “My sincere appeal to people of all religions, please remain calm, remain restrained. Do not engage in any irreligious behaviour in the name of religion. Every human life is precious; do not incite riots for the sake of politics. Those who are inciting riots are harming society,” she stated in a post on X. “Remember, we did 26/11: Questioning of Rana focusses on key individual in Dubai STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, 12 APRIL Extradited 26/11 accused Tahawwur Hussain Rana is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency to extract information from him regarding a key individual he met in Dubai who was aware of the attack Digital payments via UPI back on track after technical glitch AGENCIES NEW DELHI, 12 APRIL Digital payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) returned for most users on Saturday after the popular service suffered a nationwide outage affecting millions of users. Although the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was yet to confirm the restoration of UPI services, users in Delhi-NCR reported successful digital payments via smartphone apps. Earlier in the day, digital services on several online payment platforms were disrupted across the country, hindering local shopping, bill payments and business transactions. According to the outage tracking platform Down Detector, there were 2,358 complaints by 1 p.m. Most reported problems were for payments (81 per cent) and fund transfers (17 per cent). The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which operates the UPI services, posted on X social media platform that the disruptions were due to technical issues. “NPCI is currently facing intermittent technical issues, leading to partial UPI transaction declines,” the NPCI, shared in a post on social media platform X. “We are working to resolve the issue and will keep you updated. We regret the inconvenience caused,” it added. Major banking apps from SBI, ICICI, and HDFC were also affected, pointing to a broader issue within the UPI network infrastructure. plan, sources said on Saturday. The agency may also question him on the Pakistan links to the terror attack, as David Coleman Headley, another accused in the case, had allegedly received training from Lashakr-e-Taiyyaba members in Pakistan and was in direct communication with the LeT about the plans to attack Mumbai, the sources said. It is said that Headley got Rana to meet the unknown individual in Dubai. Rana is currently in the custody of the NIA following his extradition from the USA. His questioning, said sources, could reveal information regarding linkages to one of the worst terrorist attacks in the country's history. Headley had reportedly informed Rana about the LeT's plan to send him to India for reconnaissance under the guise of working for Rana's firm. not make the law over which many are agitated. The law was made by the central government. So the answer you want should be sought from the central government," the CM said. “We have made our position clear on this matter ~ we do not support this law. This law will not be implemented in our state. So what is the riot about?” she asked. Miss Banerjee said legal action will be taken against those inciting riots. “We do not condone any violent activity. Some political parties are trying to misuse religion for political gain. Do not give in to their persuasion,” she said. Meanwhile, the Additional Director General of Police of West Bengal, Javed Shamim, informed media persons that a total of 118 persons have been arrested so far in connection with the violence at Murshidabad. In another development, a special division bench of Calcutta High Court asked the state government to deploy central forces in violent-hit Murshidabad with immediate effect. India, Italy decide to take forward India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor proposal: India and Italy have renewed their commitment to take forward the strategic initiative, India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC), which aims to bolster economic development by fostering connectivity and economic integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe. (Page 5)