MONdAY T20 World Cup: afghanistan stun 2021 champs australia 24 JUNE, 2024 Defending a par total of 148, bowlers deliver a clinical performance as the Rashid Khan-led side beat Oz by 21 runs... epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard 45 X.com/TheMornStandard nu k e - p o we r e d us aircraft carrier arrives in s korea Mohammad Nabi has been part of int’l wins against 45 countries The vessel was part of a threeway exercise involving Japan as they step up military training to counter escalated threats from North Korea since Russia pact A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 09 Security forces bust Maoist fake currency operation in C’garh E j a z K a i s e r @ Raipur Security forces on Sunday tracked down a Maoist-run facility in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh which was allegedly being used for printing counterfeit currency notes. On receiving a tip-off, a joint team of security forces comprising personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), District Reserve Guards of the Chhattisgarh Police, and Bastar Fighters — a special force formed in 2022 to fight Maoist threat — launched a joint search operation. “Recovered a cache of counterfeit notes, colour printers, more than 200 ink bottles, printer cartridges, rollers and other equipment,” Sukma police chief Kiran Chouhan said. He added that the ultras managed to escape into a nearby jungle as the forces were closing in on the facility . Sources said currency notes of denominations of `50, 100, 200 and 500 were recovered during a search. Chouhan said Maoists have resorted to printing fake currency notes to cope with a fall in cash flow amid aggressive counter-insurgency operations by the security forces. “The pressure had mounted on the extremists after several new security camps that were set up in remote areas started derailing their funding source,” Chouhan said. In a separate incident, two CRPF jawans were killed when the ultras blew up a truck with an improvised explosive device in the Sukma district. The deceased jawans were identified as constable Vishnu R, 35, from Kerala, and driver Shailendra, 29, from Uttar Pradesh. The two belonged to the force’s jungle warfare unit CoBRA. The incident happened near Timmapuram village between Silger and Tekalgudem camps of the security forces. Express read 13-yr-old behind Delhi-Dubai flight bomb hoax mail A 13-year-old boy, hailing from Uttarakhand, was caught for allegedly sending a hoax bomb threat email to the Delhi airport, in which he had claimed the presence of explosives inside a Dubai-bound flight. DCP (IGI Airport) Usha Rangnani said the boy had sent the mail on June 17 “just for fun” after being influenced by the news of another teenager who made a hoax bomb threat call a few days ago. Though the boy deleted the email soon after, a technical probe pointed to its origin. P3 Isro’s Reusable Launch Vehicle ‘Pushpak’ lands during Sunday’s final test | PTI Isro’s reusable launch vehicle test successful E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chitradurga It was super Sunday for the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) as it successfully conducted the Reusable Launch Vehicle Landing Experiment for the third consecutive time. The third and final Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) Landing Experiment (LEX) was conducted at 7.10 am at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Kudapura in Challakere taluk of Chitradurga. The mission demonstrated the autonomous landing capability of the launch vehicle under more challenging conditions at the ATR. The vehicle, Pushpak, was released from an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter at an altitude of 4.5 km. Pushpak autonomously executed cross-range correction manoeuvres, approached the runway and performed a precise horizontal landing at the centreline. Because of Pushpak’s low lift-todrag ratio aerodynamic configuration, the landing velocity exceeded 320 kmph, compared to 260 kmph for a commercial aircraft. After the touchdown, the vehicle velocity was reduced to nearly 100 kmph using its brake parachute. Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director S Unnikrishnan Nair said this success bolsters Isro’s confidence in critical technologies necessary for future orbital re-entry missions. l New Delhi @ New Delhi Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s interim stay on a trial court’s order granting him bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam. The High Court’s vacation bench of Justice Sudhir Kumar Jain on Friday stayed the trial court’s order till the pronouncement of its judgment on the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea seeking stay on the bail order. The bench said it would take two-three days to pronounce the order on Enforcement Directorate’s stay application. “In the meantime the petitioner and the respondent shall be at the liberty to file written submissions latest by Monday,” court noted in the order. J8.00 l PAGES 12 CBI takes over NEET-UG probe, registers FIR Special teams formed, dispatched to Bihar and Gujarat where cases of question paper leaks have been registered Poor turnout for retest as 50% candidates absent M U K E S H RA N JA N @ New Delhi THE Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday filed an FIR and initiated a probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEETUG held on May 5 on a complaint it received from the Union education ministry officials , said. The complaint by the Department of Higher Education, now part of the FIR, cites “certain isolated incidents” in a few states during the conduct of the examination. In its communication to the CBI, the education department sought a detailed probe into conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, breach of trust, and destruction of evidence by candidates, institutes and middlemen. The department has also requested the CBI to look into the role of public servants, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination. The central probe agency has sent its teams Bihar’s Patna and also to Godhra in Gujarat, where cases of question paper leaks have been registered by local police, officials said, adding that the CBI may take over those cases. “The probe agency has accordingly registered a criminal case and initiated an investigation. Special teams have been formed by it to investigate the matter on top priority. Teams are being sent to Patna and Godhra, where local police have registered cases in this regard,” a senior CBI official said. The allegations of irregularities sparked protests in several cities and a litany of litigation. Kejriwal approaches SC after HC stays trial court bail order in excise case s u c h i t r a k a lya n moh a nt y l Naib conjures magic in historic victory Afghanistan came close in the ODI World Cup, but couldn’t cross the line against Australia. On Saturday, however, the stars had aligned. Pat Cummins’ hat-trick didn’t matter. Neither did the fighting fifty from Glenn Maxwell. Naveen-ul-Haq (3/20) and Gulbadin Naib (4/20) rose to the occasion — sharing seven wickets between them — to take Afghanistan across the line. | P11 Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the ED in the HC, contended that the trial court’s order was “perverse” and that the findings were based on irrelevant facts. Kejriwal’s legal team told this newspaper that they would mention their appeal on Monday before a vacation bench of the top court and seek urgent listing and hearing in the case. “We have filed an appeal in the top court challenging the HC order staying the bail of Kejriwal,” lawyer Sanjeev Nasiar, a member of Kejriwal’s legal team, told this newspaper. On Thursday, Rouse Avenue court’s vacation judge Niyay Bindu had granted Kejriwal bail in the Delhi liquor case after directing him to furnish a personal bail bond of `1 lakh. Challenging the trial court order, ED appealed to Delhi HC seeking a stay on his bail. decision to award grace marks was strange, as the rule book clearly states that in the event THE NEET-UG retest for 1,563 of an exam delay, extra time candidates who were previous- should be granted at the centre. ly awarded grace marks saw The source highlighted that the poor turnout as only half of top 100,000 students from 4,750 them took the re-examination centres showcased the nationconducted on Sunday across wide desire to succeed. seven centres in Chhattisgarh, The re-exam saw varied atGujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, tendance rates across different and Chandigarh. According to states and centres. Gujarat reofficials, only 813 (52%) attend- corded the highest attendance ed the re-test, while at 100%, while Chan750 (48%) chose to digarh had the lowest 63 debarred skip it. at 0%. In Chandigarh Sixty-three The re-test was (UT), none of the two candidates have held on the orders of eligible candidates been debarred the Supreme Court appeared. In Chhatnationwide for following complaints tisgarh, of the 602 elimalpractices of irregularities in gible candidates, 291 during the NEETthe medical entrance (48.34%) appeared. UG, according to exam after 1,563 canGujarat’s Surat had the NTA. This didates were given one eligible candidate includes 17 grace marks to make who attended, achievcandidates from up for the loss of time ing a 100% attendi n s o m e c e n t r e s Bihar and 30 from ance rate. In Jhajjar, Godhra where the test started Haryana, DAV Police late on May 5. Public School and Apart from the controversy Kendriya Vidyalaya saw 287 out over the award of grace marks, of 494 (58.09%) eligible candithe coveted entrance test was dates attend. In Meghalaya, 234 also marred by allegations of out of 464 (50.43%) eligible canpaper leak, putting the Nation- didates appeared for the exam. al Testing Agency, which conEducation ministry sources ducted the tests, in poor. said that education had been Speaking to this newspaper, “unbundled” with exam coacha high-level source in the Union ing centres being at the foreeducation ministry admitted front, driven by parents’ desire that the NTA did not “instill for their children’s success. Ofconfidence” among the public. ficials rubbished rumours that The source mentioned that the NTA portal has been hacked. K E TA N N AR O T TA M TA N N A @ New Delhi Screen grab of CBI personnel confronted by villagers in Bihar’s Nawada district Probe team attacked in Bihar A team of CBI officials probing alleged irregularities in the conduct of the UGC-NET examination was attacked by a mob in Bihar’s Nawada district after which four persons were arrested by police on a complaint from the central agency, officials said Sunday. According to police, the villagers attacked the CBI team under the impression that they were imposters trying to harass them on the pretext of investigation. The incident occurred on Saturday evening when the CBI sleuths reached Kasiadeeh village. Some officials sustained minor injuries in the scuffle Opposition parties have also latched on to the issue to put pressure on the government ahead of Parliament session. Meanwile, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad questioned two teachers who run a private coaching centre in Latur in connection with the alleged irregularities. It is to be noted that besides NEET-UG, three other exams -UGC NET, CSIR-UGC NET, and NEET-PG -- have also faced controversy. The UGC NET was cancelled by the government a day after the exam, while the CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG exams have been postponed. To combat exam malpractice, t h e c e n t r a l g ove r n m e n t has also notified rules to implement the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024. This Act aims to prevent unfair practices in public examinations and address related issues. Also, high-level panel of experts chaired by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan has been formed to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations. P7 Parl session to begin today amid pro-tem speaker row P r eeth a N a i r @ New Delhi AMID the row over appointment of seven-term member Bhartruhari Mahtab of the BJP as pro-tem speaker, the inaugural session of the 18th Lok Sabha is set to begin on a combative note on Monday . The first day of the special Parliament session will see oath-taking by 280 newly elected MPs, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Council of Ministers. The remaining 264 parliamentarians including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will take oath on Tuesday The focus will be shift. ed to the election of the Lok Sabha Speaker on June 26 and President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of the both Houses on June 27. The row over pro-tem speaker is likely to escalate on Monday as three Opposition MPs consider pulling out of the panel of chairpersons to assist Mahtab in carrying out the proceedings of the House till the election of the Speaker. Early this week, President Murmu appointed Mahtab as pro-tem speaker and nominated a panel of senior MPs including Congress’ Kodikunnil Suresh, DMK MP T R Baalu, TMC’s Sudip Bandyopadhyay, and BJP leaders Radha Mohan Singh and Faggan Singh Kulaste to assist Mahtab. Speaking to this newspaper, K Suresh said a final decision on boycotting the panel will be taken on Monday . The Opposition is up in arms over Mahtab’s appointment. They allege the claim of K Suresh, an eighth-term MP, to the post was bypassed by the government. Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju says that Mahtab has had seven uninterrupted terms as a Lok Sabha member, making him eligible for the post and the Congress is trying to mislead people. The Opposition and the government are likely to lock horns over the election of the Speaker and deputy speaker posts. While the government remains secretive about its Speaker candidate, the Opposition stands firm on its claim to the deputy speaker post. The debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address, which begins on June 28, may also witness stor my scenes. The Opposition will try to pressure the government on various issues including NEETUG and UGC-NET exams, new criminal laws, and the Kanchanjunga Express accident. The PM is likely to respond to debate on July 2 or 3. Both Houses will go into a brief recess and re-assemble on July 22 for Budget. P7 Absconding ‘Lady Don’ spotted at Katra station u j w a l j a l a l i @ New Delhi on fire cost of negligence Heat-induced fire incidents have risen alarmingly in the capital. Encroachments and lack of fire-safety measures compound the problem | P4 Delhi’s gangwar: Police yet to arrest key accused The woman, who allegedly honey-trapped a young man killed in a shooting spree at a Burger King outlet, was caught in a CCTV camera at Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra railway station, officials said on Sunday . The woman, identified as Anu, a resident of Rohtak, could be seen carrying her luggage at the railway station on Thursday in a security camera footage while her face was covered with a scarf. Sources said the woman, who was sitting with Aman Joon when he was shot dead at a Burger King outlet, is a close aide of fugitive gangster Himanshu Bhau, who is suspected to be in Portugal now and has claimed responsibility for the attack through social media. The police say they have identified the shooters— two of them are from Rohtak. Aman Joon (26), a resident of Chhochhi in Jhajjar, was sprayed with 40 bullets by his assailants as he sat at a table at the Burger King outlet in west Delhi on June 18. Sources said Aman was probably called to the food outlet as part of a honey-trap. Anu was sitting with the deceased until moments before the shooting. Earlier, the ‘Lady Don’ was captured on multiple CCTV cameras, including when she was passing through the Automatic Fare Collection (AFC) gates of a metro station. The police suspect that she boarded a train bound for Mumbai at 10 am on Thursday . Sexual abuse Elder brother of Prajwal held, remanded in judicial custody e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ Hassan/Bengaluru Dr Suraj Revanna, a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) and grandson of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, was arrested by the Holenarasipur Rural police in connection with a case in which he allegedly forced a JDS male party worker into sodomy . The 36-year-old legislator is the elder brother of former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The JDS MLC was remanded in judicial custody after he was produced before a magistrate in Bengaluru on Sunday evening. The case has been taken over by the sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department. The 27-year-old victim from Arkalgud taluk had filed a complaint against the MLC for forcing him into homosexual acts at his farmhouse in Gannikada village of Holenarasipur taluk on June 16. Based on the complaint filed on June 22, the Holenarasipur Rural police took Suraj into custody from his farmhouse on charges filed under Sections 377 (unnatural offences), 342 (wrongful confinement) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC. The Hassan police, who seized Suraj’s mobile phone, questioned him at at the Cyber Economic and Narcotics police station before taking him to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences for mandatory medical examination. Later, the police brought him to Bengaluru and handed him over to the CID police, as the state government had issued orders transferring the case to CID.
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