WEDNESDAY 11 ALL-CIVILIAN CREW BLAST OFF INTO SPACE FOR 1ST PRIVATE SPACEWALK SEPTEMBER, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in SpaceX on Tuesday launched its Polaris Dawn mission, carrying a 4-member civilian crew, for the first spacewalk by non-professional astronauts facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard EU FINE APPLE, GOOGLE TO PAY BILLION EURO U.S. BILLIONAIRE BANKROLLING THE MISSION The EU’s top court on Tuesday delivered victories in the bloc’s battle to rein in tech giants by ruling against Apple and Google in separate legal sagas. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 12 The mission, whose total cost is not known, is jointly funded by US billionaire Jared Isaacman and SpaceX. Isaacman, the CEO of US firm Shift4 Payments, is accompanied by SpaceX engineers Anna Menon and Sarah Gillis, and retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Scott ‘Kidd’ Poteet. The spacewalk is scheduled for late Wednesday or Thursday, midway through the flight | P9 Doctors defy SC fiat, reject Didi’s call If you (doctors) have anything to say, you are always welcome. You can form a team of 5 to 10 members and meet me — Mamata Banerjee Over 50 students hurt, Net banned in Imphal valley Protests in Manipur for second successive day in the wake of fresh spurt of violence Students clash with security forces personnel in Imphal on Tuesday | PTI TWO MORE BATTALIONS OF CRPF IN MANIPUR The Centre is deploying two fresh CRPF battalions comprising about 2,000 personnel in Manipur. While one is being moved from Warangal, the other will come from Latehar in Jharkhand. One battalion will be based in Kangvai (Churachandpur) while the second will be around Imphal JOINT TEAM TO PROBE DRONE BOMBING A joint team of officers drawn from the CRPF, the BSF and some independent technical experts will reach Manipur later this week for an analytical study of the drones and improvised rockets that have been used to launch attacks in some regions of the state over the last few days HI-TECH ROCKET TAILS RECOVERED: POLICE “There is evidence of drone and hi-tech missile attacks. Drones have been recovered. Tails of sophisticated rockets fired on civilian areas have been found,” Manipur IGP (Administration) K Jayanta Singh said. He did not elaborate from where these rockets and drones were procured P R A S A N TA M A Z U M D A R @ Guwahati MORE than 50 protesting students were injured in Manipur on Tuesday when the police used force to thwart their attempt to march to Raj Bhavan even as the state government imposed a five-day ban on internet services in five Imphal valley districts. The government also ordered the closure of all colleges till Thursday. Curfew was reimposed in Imphal East and Imphal West districts while prohibitory orders under Section 163 BNSS were clamped in Thoubal district. One of the injured students, a girl, sustained grievous injuries, a senior government official said, adding she was admitted in the ICU of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences in Imphal. For the second straight day on Tuesday, the students attempted to march to Raj Bhavan but they were stopped by security personnel. This led to scuffles and the personnel dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas shells. The students of Manipur University also took out another protest march. The protests on Monday had turned violent when the students pelted stones outside Raj Bhavan. The students are on the streets demanding the removal of state’s security advisor and director general of police for failing to protect the lives and properties of citizens. Hundreds of them have been camping at Khwairamband Women Market since Monday . In an order, the home department said internet services had been suspended “to thwart the design and activities of antinational and anti-social elements, maintain peace and communal harmony and prevent any loss of life or danger to public/private property .” Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya, who held a meeting with the representatives of students and women groups at around 6 pm on Tuesday called , for peace. “In the wake of the sudden spurt of violent incidents, Governor Shri Lakshman Prasad Acharya expressed deep concern. The Governor has said that violence is not the solution to any problem. Everyone will have to contribute and find ways to overcome this problem,” a statement issued by Raj Bhavan said. It further stated that the governor was constantly speaking to public leaders, students and people in general. “In view of the present situation, the Hon’ble Governor has appealed to all sections of the society, student organizations and public leaders to work together to establish peace and help Manipur to scale a new height of growth and development,” the statement added. Junior doctors march towards Swasthya Bhawan during a protest over RG Kar Hospital rape and murder incident, in Kolkata on Tuesday | PTI E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Kolkata tors but downright insensitive, adding: “We find no reason to PROTESTING junior doctors reply to this mail.” in West Bengal on Tuesday deAnother medic said: “We got fied the Supreme Court’s direc- the mail from the health secretive to resume work by 5 pm, tary, whose resignation we saying they would continue seek. This is an insult.” with their “ceasework” protest The medics, whose protest till their demands are fulfilled entered the 32nd day on Tuesand the rape-murder victim of day said they are open to talks , the RG Kar Hospital gets jus- with the authorities but the tice. The agitating doctors also agitation will continue till all rejected an email invite from a demands are met. state government official for The SC had on Monday ditalks with Chief rected the resident Minister Mamata SANDIP GHOSH doctors to join duty Banerjee to resolve by 5 pm, warning IN JUDICIAL the impasse, taking them that its protecCUSTODY exception to the contion from adverse A special CBI court on action by the state ditions for talks. An email sent by Tuesday sent Sandip government may be Ghosh, former Health Secretary N lifted in case of nonprincipal of RG Kar S Nigam to the procooperation. Medical College and testers on Tuesday Unimpressed by Hospital, to judicial evening read: “Your the SC’s tough talk, small dele gation custody till September the junior doctors 23 in a financial (maximum 10 peron Tuesday morning irregularities case sons) may visit Naset a similar deadbanna now to meet line for the state govgovernment representatives.” ernment to remove the Kolkata During the day, the protest- Police Commissioner and seving doctors had marched to the eral top officials of the health Swasthya Bhavan, the head- department by 5 pm. quarters of the health departAs the deadlock continued, ment, and staged a sit-in out- authorities of the RG Kar Medside the office building. One of ical College and Hospital isthe protesters said the official sued notices to 51 doctors, incould have come out and spo- cluding senior residents and ken to them in person, instead professors, accusing them of of sending an email. intimidation and disrupting Dr Debasish Halder, who or- the institution’s “democratic ganised a sit-in, said the lan- atmosphere”. They have been guage of the communication is asked to appear before an innot only disrespectful to doc- quiry panel on Wednesday . YECHURY MCD poll on Sept 26 to fill Standing Committe vacancy CPM leader Sitaram Yechury’s condition is critical and he is on respiratory support at AIIMS-Delhi, his party said. He has acute respiratory tract infection P R A B H AT S H U K L A @ New Delhi IN CRITICAL CONDITION AT AIIMS EXPRESS READ HC: No action against residents in Barapullah The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notices to authorities asking them not to take any action against the residents of Madrasi Camp in Old Barapullah Bridge area, who are facing eviction to make way for construction of a new flyover | P3 THE Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is set to hold its Standing Committee elections on September 26, officials said on Tuesday The vot. ing will be held during the MCD House meeting, which will convene on the same date, according to officials. The election was necessitated to fill the vacancy created after BJP councillor Kamaljeet Sehrawat recently became Lok Sabha MP . The process for electing the Standing Committee’s chairperson and vice-chairperson is expected to begin in October. These leadership roles are particularly influential as they play a key role in shaping the MCD’s operations, such as managing funds and supervising key development projects across the city. The Standing Committee, comprising 18 members, recently saw the BJP expand its foothold by winning seven seats in the ward committee elections. Of the 12 members appointed from the ward committees, seven belong to the saffron party . For the remaining six seats, both the BJP and the AAP secured three each in the previous Standing Committee elections in 2022. The Standing Committee wields considerable power within the MCD, holding the authority to approve projects with a budget exceeding `5 crore. Due to the political deadlock between the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP, the polls could not take place earlier. 3 MLAs dropped in BJP 2nd list of 21 Pinarayi says no RSS link IAF Wing Commander BJP turncoat gets ticket in as CPI steps up offensive booked for rape in J&K H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE BJP on Tuesday released its second list of 21 candidates for the Haryana assembly elections in which three more MLAs were dropped. The party has so far declared 87 candidates for the 90-member assembly . The BJP fielded Captain Yogesh Bairagi against Olympian wrestler Vinesh Phogat contesting from Julana on a Congress ticket. Pawan Saini, considered close to CM Nayab Singh Saini, will contest from Naraingarh and Satpal Jamba from Pundri. Yogender Rana has been fielded from Assandh, Pradeep Sangwan from Baroda, Baldev Singh Mangiana from Dabwali, Naseem Ahmed from Ferozepur Jhirka and Aizaz Khan from Punhana. BJP sources said the ongoing tussle between Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh and former CM M L Khattar camps delayed the announcement of the second list. The tussle is being blamed for non-allocation of ticket to party veteran Ram Bilas Sharma, who has announced to fight as an independent. CM Saini filed his nomination for Ladwa seat on Tuesday after holding a roadshow where he drove a tractor. He claimed that the Congress will face defeat as the BJP government had given the state a new direction under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi. “People will elect a double-engine BJP government in Haryana for the third time. PM Modi will be arriving in Haryana on September 14,’’ said Saini. AAP 2nd list of 9 nominees H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh THE AAP on Tuesday released its second list of nine candidates for the Haryana assembly polls, fielding former minister Chhatar Pal Singh from Barwala a day after he switched over from the BJP With this, the party has now declared . candidates for 29 of the 90 seats in the state. The party has announced that it will contest all 90 seats against 46 in the last polls. The second list has further bolstered the possibility of the party going it alone in the state. As per the list, Rita Bamaniya will contest from Sadhaura, Kishan Bajaj (Thanesar), Hawa Singh (Indri), Mukhtiyar Singh Bazigar (Ratia), Bhupendra Beniwal (Adampur), and Chhatar Pal Singh (Barwala, Jawahar Lal (Bawal), Pravesh Mehta (Faridabad), and Abash Chandela from Tigaon. It also included Thanesar, Bawal, and Faridabad three of the 46 seats that the party contested in the 2019 assembly polls. Two INDIA bloc allies — AAP and Congress — will take on each other in Bahadurgarh, Badli, Beri, Samalkha, Assandh, and Dabwali, as per their lists issued till now. “Unemployment is highest in Haryana and people have made up their mind for change,” AAP Haryana president Sushil Gupta said. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ T’Puram A section has been indulging in a major campaign that CPM has RSS links. It was the CPM which always resisted the Sangh Parivar... Pinarayi Vijayan Pinarayi Vijayan has surrendered before the RSS and has been its slave for long. Now, he’s on a rampage against others after his RSS links got exposed K Sudhakaran F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar ON the eve of an LDF meeting, in which the CPI is set to raise the controversy surrounding ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, CM Pinarayi Vijayan finally broke his silence on the charges of RSS links. In his first public response since the controversy over the ADGP-RSS meeting erupted almost a week ago, Pinarayi rejected Opposition’s charges of the CPM-RSS understanding. Speaking at a party function on Tuesday, Pinarayi unleashed a scathing attack on the Congress, listing out instances of the grand old party leaders’ leaning towards the Sangh Parivar. “A section has been indulging in a major campaign that CPM has RSS links. At no stage has CPM indulged in RSS appeasement. Everyone knows who said he has stood guard for RSS shakhas,” said Pinarayi, in an apparent reference to KPCC president K Sudhakaran. Pinarayi, however, maintained total silence on the charges levelled by Left MLA P V Anvar against the ADGP. Sudhakaran, however, said, “The CM has been living on the BJP’s mercy. Pinarayi has surrendered before RSS and has been its slave for long.” Earlier in the day, CPI said it would raise the ADGP meeting RSS leaders at the LDF meet on Wednesday. “What’s the reason for an ADGP in Kerala to engage in back-to-back meetings with RSS leaders? He should reveal the purpose of his visits,” said CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam. THE J&K police have registered a first information report (FIR) against a Wing Commander at the Air Force station here after a woman flying officer accused him of rape and mental harassment. The FIR was lodged at the Budgam Police Station under Section 376(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which pertains to aggravated rape by persons in positions of authority . An Inspector-rank police officer is overseeing the probe. The complainant alleged that she was sexually assaulted on December 31, 2023 during a New Year’s party held at the Officers’ Mess at the Air Force station in Srinagar. Both officers are posted there. “On the guise of giving me a gift, the Wing Commander asked me to collect the gift from his room. Once I went inside the room, the Wing Command- er forced himself on me and sexually assaulted me. I tried to resist it in all possible ways and managed to run away from the room after pushing him,” the survivor alleged. She said while she was afraid to report the incident, when the accused officer visited her office, she did not find any no signs of remorse on his face. The victim approached a few women officers who suggested she file a internal complaint. She did and a Colonel-rank officer was assigned to probe the assault, the FIR states. “The Wing Commander was made to sit down with me twice in January this year to record the statements. I objected to his presence,” she said and alleged that the probe was later closed. She then filed a fresh internal complaint. “However, the committee did not perform its duties properly Everyone was . aiding the sexual offender,” hence her police complaint.