TUESDAY 06 AUGUST, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MARKET FRAUD VIETNAMESE TYCOON GETS 21 YRS JAIL TERM Trinh Van Quyet was among 50 defendants found guilty in what is the latest corruption case targeting the communist country’s business elite. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI   J8.00 Ex-PM moved to safe house in Delhi-NCR Indian cultural centre, four temples attacked BSF keeps close tab on movements on border Train, air services to Dhaka suspended Sheikh Hasina was moved to a safe location within the DelhiNCR region, sources said. She wanted to fly to London, but her demand not to be tried in the UK for alleged rights violations, was not accepted Mob vandalised the Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre located in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi area on Monday. Four Hindu temples were also targeted. The temples suffered minor damage, a community leader said Border Security Force is on high alert along the 4,096-km IndiaBangladesh border. “A high alert has been issued and we are keeping a close tab on the movement in the bordering areas,” a BSF official said Indian Railways supended all train services, including freight operations, between India and Bangladesh indefinitely. Air India and IndiGo cancelled scheduled flights to and from Dhaka with immediate effect PAGES 12 TIMELINE 10-11 am: Protests begin in various parts of Dhaka 2 pm: Mobile internet restored 2.30 pm: A military chopper with Sheikh Hasina and her younger sister takes off 3-3.30 pm: Protesters storm Sheikh Hasina’s official residence 3.25 pm: Hasina has resigned, says Bangladesh Army chief Waker-uz-Zaman FLEES TO INDIA PEOPLE’S POWER SHEIKHS HASINA Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi BANGLADESH’s longest-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday resigned and fled the country amid violent protests against her government, bringing an end to her 15-year rule. The move came after around 300 people were killed in the past two weeks during clash between protesters and security forces. Bangladesh Ar my Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman said that the Army has taken over and an interim government would be formed. According to sources, Sheikh Hasina, 76, left Dhaka on Monday afternoon on a chopper and reached Tripura’s capital Agartala. From there, an Indian Air Force aircraft took her to the Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad on the outskirts of Delhi. From Delhi, Hasina plans to fly out to Belarus on a char- tered aircraft. However, sources said she would remain in Delhi for a day or two. Hasina is said to have made huge investments in Belarus. Soon after she landed in Hindon, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited Hasina. Later, Doval attended a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and briefed him about the unfolding situation. The meeting was also attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and Finance Minister Nir mala Sitharaman. Earlier in the day, unruly mobs in Bangladesh went on a rampage after news spread that Hasina resigned. Her official residence Ganabhaban, Parliament, the Supreme Court, and even the offices of some media outlets I’m taking all responsibility (of the country). Please cooperate — Bangladesh Army Chief General Waqar-uz-Zaman were ransacked and looted. Even the police headquarters was not spared as violent mobs burned down the building, forcing the Police Commissioner to be airlifted. In view of the volatile situation, India has issued an advisory for its nationals in Bangladesh and asked them to exercise caution. Meanwhile, the BSF has beefed up patrolling around the India-Bangladesh border. According to some political observers in Dhaka, the dramatic way with which the protests — which began as an agitation against a job quota scheme but quickly morphed into a mass movement demanding Hasina’s ouster — shows the involvement of a hand, probably the US. Hasina’s growing proximity to China may not have gone down well with the US, they argue. Meanwhile, reports say that some senior officials, including judges, have taken refuge in the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. P7, 9 The interim govt, with leaders from all political parties barring Awami League, will run the country for now – under Army’s supervision Professor Nazmul Ahsan Kalimullah Ex-PM released Bangladesh President Mohammed Shahabuddin ordered the release of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia from jail 4 pm: Awami League’s Dhaka office set on fire 5.36 pm: Plane carrying Hasina lands at Hindon Air Base Uncertainty rules FIRST PERSON A N I N D O B A N E R J E E @ Dhaka T HE situation was turning volatile as the day began. From my accommodation in an upscale Dhaka locality, I could see thousands of youths thronging the streets since morning. They stormed Ganabhaban, the prime minister’s residence, and took their spoils of war with whoops of joy . Others projected the war outwards and took on everything that came their way, looting shops and ransacking houses — their own country became like Rome to the Vandals. The only certitude was that the regime had collapsed, otherwise uncertainty reigned. Even at the basic level of the idea of Bangladesh: Market crash wipes Setback to AAP as SC backs L-G’s out `15 lakh crore right to nominate MCD aldermen A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi MIRRORING the meltdown in key markets worldwide, India’s equity markets on Monday fell sharply, wiping out investor wealth to the tune of `15 lakh crore. The overall market cap of the firms listed on the BSE slipped to `442 lakh crore from `457 lakh crore in the previous session. Several factors came into play in pulling down the Indian markets. These included concerns related to an appreciating Japanese Yen and its impact on the global economy, looming fears of the US sliding into a recession, rising tensions in West Asia, and India Inc giving below-par earnings results in the June quarter. On Monday, the BSE Sensex nose-dived 2,222 points or 2.74% to close at a month’s low of 78,759.40. At one point, the index plunged more than 3% to hit the day’s low of 78,295. The NSE Nifty50, too, cracked 662 points or 2.68% to settle at 24,055. It plunged as much as S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi -12.4% -8.8% BIG FALL -2.74% -2.68% Nikkei Kospi (Japan) (S Korea) BSE NSE 3.33% to hit the day’s low of 23,893. The broader market underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices falling by 3.55% and 4.57%, respectively . The selling pressure was so intense that 45 out of the 50 Nifty stocks closed in red, with Tata Motors, ONGC, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, and Hindalco being the top laggards, each falling more than 7%. In the 30-share Sensex pack, 28 shares ended lower. Only two FMCG stocks, Hindustan Unilever and Nestle India, closed in green. Market experts said the sell-off is more of a short-term volatility by way of profit booking. EXPRESS READ HC turns down Kejriwal bail petition In a major blow to the chief minister, the Delhi High Court on Monday upheld the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI in connection with the excise policy case. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, presiding over the case, dismissed Kejriwal’s plea contesting his arrest, stating that it was conducted with justifiable reason. Alongside this, the court disposed of Kejriwal’s bail plea, advising him to seek relief from the trial court. P5 Haryana nod to 10 more crops at MSP The Haryana Cabinet on Monday gave approval to the proposal of buying 10 more crops at the minimum support price (MSP). This came a day after Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini announced at a rally in Kurukshetra that the state government would buy all crops at the MSP. Besides this, he had also announced waiving outstanding canal water irrigation charges. The state will go to elections scheduled later this year. P5 IN a setback to the AAP government in Delhi, the Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the law “expressly enables” the Lieutenant Governor to nominate aldermen to the MCD and that he is not bound by the advice of the council of ministers in the matter. “The L-G has the power to nominate members to the Delhi Municipal Corporation, and this is a statutory power and not an executive power. Hence, the L-G can act as per his discretion and not as per the aid and advice of the Delhi government,” the threejudge bench, led by CJI DY Chandrachud, said. This order means that the LG is free to nominate the 10 aldermen to the civic body . The SC verdict came after it reserved it for nearly 15 months. The MCD has 250 elected and 10 nominated members. In December 2022, AAP defeated the BJP in the civic elections, winning 134 wards and ending the saffron party’s 15-year run at the civic body . The bench consisting of two other judges, Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala, said that Parliament has the power conferred on the L-G to nominate 10 aldermen to the civic body . Protesters celebrate PM Sheikh Hasina’s resignation in Dhaka on Monday. Army chief said a caretaker government will be formed | AP Justice Narasimha said that once such powers are conferred on the L-G, the AAP government can’t have a say in the matter. The AAP government in its plea alleged that giving the L-G the power to nominate aldermen to the MCD would mean he could destabilise an elected civic body . “He (L-G) has ignored the aid and advice of the state cabinet,” senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi representing the government told the court. He argued that for the past 3 decades, the practice of L-G nominating aldermen on the aid and advice of the city government has been followed. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, appearing for the L-G’s office, submitted that just because a practice was followed for 30 years did not mean it was correct. protesters were, after all, even going for the statue of its architect, ‘Banga Bandhu’ Sheikh Mujibur Rehman, with hammer blows. Is history being rewritten — or even unwritten — for this small nation, no stranger as it is to juntas and assassinations? I could see a strange irony playing out: a moment of joy for a whole mass of people out there, and yet streaked through with contrary emotions like despair and doubt. The Army chief says he has spoken to all parties, barring the deposed Awami League, and his words signal at an interim government. Yet, perhaps he too has little clarity about how events will unfold. I have been in Dhaka — the city of mosques and muslin — for one-and-half years. Of late, the city has resembled a northern Indian city of the early ’90s, roiled by the anti-Mandal Protesters vandalise the statue of Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka on Monday agitation. This too started as an anti-quota protest. But its joyous climax has descended ominously into chaos — which comes in to fill the gap at all points when authority collapses. On Sunday, more than 100, including cops, had died across the country. Monday being the ‘Long March’ day , I was afraid a lot of blood would be spilt on Dhaka streets. Fortunately that didn’t happen. ‘Coaching centres have become death chambers’ S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi “COACHING centres have become death chambers and are playing with the lives of the students,” the Supreme Court observed on Monday as it issued , notices to the Centre and the Delhi government on three IAS aspirants drowning in the flooded basement of an institute here. The SC took suo motu cognisance of the incident after hearing the Coaching Federation of India’s plea challenging the High Court’s order directing the Delhi govt and MCD to close down the institute in the Rajinder Nagar area as it was operating without a valid no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Fire Department after the Mukherjee Nagar fire incident. Issuing notices to the Centre and Delhi government, the SCsought their detailed responses on the measures taken. A twojudge bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan said the recent incident in Delhi was an eye-opener for all. The SC sought to know from these two governments what kind of adequate safety norms were being followed in all the coaching centres across the country. It asked them to bring on record the steps taken by them after citing the tragic death of three IAS aspirants. Shreya Yadav (25) of Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana and Nevin Delvin (24) from Kerala were the students who lost their lives in the drowning incident. On Friday, the HC transferred the probe from the city police to the CBI. Wayanad rehabilitation next major challenge A R U N M @ Chooralmala (Wayanad) WITH the search operations in Chooralmala and Mundakkai villages in Wayanad in the final phase, rehabilitation of those affected by the catastrophic landslides is the major challenge ahead for the authorities. Though the Kerala government has announced plans to establish a township in a secure area for those affected, identifying suitable land for the purpose could prove to be a daunting task. Also, several people in the affected areas have aired their concerns over relocating to new places. Even a week after the tragedy, confusion prevails on the exact number of deceased, though official records put the toll at 226, with around 200 people missing. Also, the estimation of the loss and the extent of the disaster is yet to begin. On Monday, the funeral of unidentified bodies and body parts was held at the mass burial site in Puthumala, following prayers of all religions. As many as 30 unclaimed bodies and 154 body parts were buried. Each body and body part was buried in separate pits, with DNA identification numbers marked on top of the graves. Currently, 889 people—from 274 families—who were rescued or evacuated from the disasterstricken areas are housed in eight relief camps in Meppadi. The state government has entrusted the land revenue joint commissioner and former Wayanad district collector A Geetha with the task of finding land for rehabilitating the survivors. But many residents have ex- pressed concerns over shifting to a new place. According to them, many of them earned a livelihood by working locally and in tea estates, and relocating to a new area would make it difficult for them to find a source of income. “We did small-time jobs in Chooralmala and nearby areas. If we are relocated, it will take us a long time to find jobs. How can anyone identify a safe location in Wayanad when all areas are vulnerable to landslides,” asked Unnikrishnan, a resident whose wife is missing. Minister M B Rajesh said local bodies will ensure the coordination of rehabilitation schemes for the affected. RIOTERS TO FACE CRIMINAL ACTION: STARMER UK PM on Monday vowed swift criminal sanctions following an emergency meeting on the far-right riots that broke out across England last week over the murder of three children | P9