Harini Amarasuriya sworn in as Sri Lanka’s new Prime Minister wednesdAY 25 The 54-year-old sociology lecturer was sworn in by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who appointed his cabinet of four, including himself september, 2024 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard vat i c a n pope offers refuge to suu kyi Dissanayake keeps key finance portfolio Pope Francis has offered refuge to Myanmar’s detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi refuge on Vatican territory, Italian media reported on Tuesday. Amarasuriya, who was first elected to parliament four years ago, is known for her activism on gender equality and minority rights issues. Amarasuriya, who studied sociology in Hindu College, is the third female PM in the country’s history and has been assigned the portfolios of education, labour, health, industries, investment, science and technology, and justice. Dissanayake has kept the key finance portfolio to himself | P9 The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday searched multiple locations across Tamil Nadu as part of its probe into an “anti-election campaign promoted by the Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist organisation seeking to establish Islamic rule in India”. NIA teams conducted extensive searches at the houses of 11 suspects in Chennai, Tambaram and Kanniyakumari, and seized various incriminating materials, including digital devices, unaccounted cash, and literature allegedly belonging to Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the central agency said in a statement. The case registered by NIA relates to causing and creating disaffection through various social media handles and campaigning against exercising electoral franchise/voting deemed un-Islamic/haram by the organisation. The Hizb-ut-Tahrir is a fundamentalist organisation engaged in instigating its followers to overthrow the lawfully established democratic government, the agency added. Hameed Hussain, a key conspirator in the case, had allegedly collaborated with five other accused persons to hold secret meetings for promoting the anti-India ideology of Hizbut-Tahrir. Probes in the case so far have revealed that the accused, along with several others, had carried out campaigns throughout TN to establish Khilafah/Islamic rule in India, among other such divisive activities, the agency said. Investigations in the case (taken over by NIA from Chennai police in July this year) are under way it added. , Siddu loses bout against Guv nod in Karnataka HC Court says CM was behind the smoke screen for every benefit to his wife in MUDA scam Yat h i r aju @ Bengaluru In a body blow to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday upheld the approval given by Governor Thawarchand Gehlot to conduct an investigation against him in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case. The court upheld the Governor’s approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act on August 16 to investig ate the alle g ations against the CM. Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition filed by the CM saying it lacked merit. The case pertains to allotment of 14 sites worth `56 crore to the CM’s wife Parvathy BM in the upscale Viajayanagar 3rd stage in Mysuru in exchange for the land relinquished at Kesare village, which was outside Mysuru city limits. The court noted that Siddaramaiah’s son and MLA Dr S Yathindra had participated in a meeting where a resolution was passed in 2020 to allot 14 sites to his mother on compensatory basis; but the resolution was withdrawn citing its illegality And yet the 14 sites had . remained with her. “What happens to the 14 sites which were granted to CM’s wife on the basis of illegal resolution is a matter of investigation to unearth how and why the rule was bent in favour of CM’s wife? If this does not re- l PAGES 12 l J8.00 J&K Phase II polls today quire investigation, the court fails to understand what other case can merit investigation, as the beneficiary is the wife of the CM and the benefit is by leaps and bounds, a windfall,” the court said. The bench said Siddaramaiah was “behind the smoke screen” for every benefit that has flown to his wife” in terms of the sites allotted to her. “The Gubernatorial order nowhere suffers from want of application of mind. It is not a case of not even a semblance of application of mind, by the governor, but abundance of application of mind,” the court said. In the opinion of the court, “The CM, a leader of the proletariat, the bourgeois and of any citizen, should not fight shy of any investigation.” The court observed that prima facie the CM’s family had obtained undue advantage because the compensatory sites were allotted in an upscale area for the land acquired in a downmarket area. “This is enough circumstance for undue influence,” that judge said. bandipora Three Jammu districts that faced a string of terror attacks in the past three years, are ready of the battle of the ballot. A look J&K kupwara 25.78 lakh 239 Voters eligible to cast their ballot; 13,12,730 of them male and 12,65,316 female ganderbal baramulla srinagar budgam pulwama poonch shopian kulgam kishtwar reasi ramban rajouri udhampur jammu samba kathua legend 1st phase 2nd phase 3rd phase Y e s h i S e li @ New Delhi BEFORE wrapping up his three-day visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the third , such meeting between the two leaders in about three months. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the UN’s Summit of the Future, was requested by the Ukrainian side. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri said the back-to-back interaction between the two leaders shows India’s commitment to finding a way forward and contributing in any way possible to a resolution of the conflict. In the meeting, Modi conveyed India’s readiness to provide all support to facilitate a lasting and peaceful resolution of the Ukraine-Russia conflict. The PM also reiterated India’s Narendra Modi Volodymyr Zelenskyy “clear, consistent and constructive approach in favour of a peaceful resolution of the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue as well as engagement between all stakeholders”. Recalling his recent trip to Kyiv, Modi said: “We are committed to implementing the outcomes of my visit to Ukraine to strengthen bilateral relations. Reiterated India’s support for early resolution of the conflict in Ukraine and restoration of peace and stability .” Modi had travelled to Kyiv in KERALa police on Tuesday swung into action on complaints against film personalities in the wake of revelations in the Hema Committee report as it arrested actor and CPI(M) MLA M Mukesh in a rape case and issued a lookout notice against another actor, Siddique, after the Kerala High Court denied the latter anticipatory bail in a similar case. However, actor-politician Mukesh was released shortly after his arrest was recorded by the Special Investigation Team 31 Polling stations on the border Omar Abdullah (National Conference vice president), Tariq Hamid Karra (J&K Congress chief), Ravindra Raina (J&K BJP president), Altaf Bukhar (Apni Party president) August to meet the Ukrainian leader, just weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. In June, Modi had held a bilateral meeting with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy . Zelenskyy thanked Modi for the peace efforts. “We are actively developing our relations and working to g ether to strengthen cooperation across various fields. The main focus of our conversation was on enhancing our interaction on international platforms, particularly at the UN and G20, as well as implementing the Peace Formula and preparing for the second Peace Summit. We had a substantive discussion on the available opportunities,” he wrote on X. Misri said the two leaders agreed to be in touch through visits and at other levels. p7 (With inputs from agencies) Law panel’s report on ‘one poll’ yet to be made public P r e e t h a Nai r @ New Delhi The government is yet to make public the 22nd Law Commission’s report on ‘One Nation, One Election’, which was submitted to the Union law ministry in March this year. According to law ministry sources, the 22nd Law Commission of India headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi submitted the final report on simultaneous elections before he demitted office in March. Justice Awasthi quit the panel after he was appointed as a judicial member of anti-corruption body Lokpal. It assumes significance as the Union Cabinet recently approved the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal of a highlevel committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind. Though the Law Commission began its work in November 2022 — much earlier than the Kovind panel — its final report has not yet been published or made available in public domain. It was in September last year that the government set up the Kovind committee. According to sources, the law panel recommended synchronising the terms of state assemblies in “two phases” in the next five years so that the first simultaneous elections could be held in May-June 2029. The report suggested that in the two election cycles, the tenure of some of the states may have to be extended while some may have to be curtailed through Constitutional amendments. It also suggested adding a chapter to the Constitution on ‘one poll’, with “power of nonextant” to override other provisions in the Constitution dealing with terms of assemblies. express read Principal kills 6-yr-old for resisting rape bid A 55-year-old school principal was on Tuesday arrested for suffocating a six-year-old Class 1 student to death after she resisted his rape attempt, in Gujarat’s Dahod district. In a separate incident, a 30-year-old man was held for assaulting a 10-month-old in Bharuch | P8 City records over 300 dengue cases in 1 week Delhi has reported over 300 new dengue cases last week, bringing the total number of cases this year to 1,229, as per official data. Malaria cases in the city have also surged compared to last year, with 363 cases recorded in September, up from 294 during the same period in 2023 | P3 2 laptops with videos seized Spy cams in bathroom of tenant, landlord’s son held U J W A L J A L A L I @ New Delhi The Exodus begins Residents in panic flee with their belongings in Beirut on Tuesday amid intense Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon | AP | p9 Actor-MLA Mukesh held, freed in rape case; Siddique on the run as he had obtained anticipatory bail from the Ernakulam district court on September 5. He was questioned for about three hours in connection with a complaint filed by an actress, who accused him of sexually assaulting her under the pretext of offering film roles and membership in the film artists’ association AMMA in 2016. Mukesh was grilled by a team led by AIG G Poonkuzhali in Kochi. He was also subjected to a potency test. Meanwhile, actor Siddique is absconding and is reportedly set to move the Supreme Court 3,502 Total polling stations Modi meets Zelenskyy in New York, offers India’s support for peace bid s h e k h a r s i n g h @ New Delhi E X P RESS NE W S SER V I C E @ Kochi Candidates in the fray Main contestants doda HC raps DU for inaction on property defacement The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued strong directives against the Delhi University (DU) and civic authorities for their failure to prevent the defacement of public property in the run-up to the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections. The HC criticised the authorities for not taking necessary steps to spare public places of graffiti and posters. A bench, led by Chief Justice-designate Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, asked DU to issue immediate disqualification notices to candidates responsible for defacing properties. The court also ordered the university to recover the costs of damage caused by such actions. “Issue them disqualification notices today itself and ask for recovery of funds for the defacement,” the bench said. It also asked Delhi Metro and the MCD to list the names of people involved in defacement. The judges expressed shock over the lack of coordination between government agencies. The court directive came on a petition filed by advocate Prashant Manchanda, who raised concerns about the deteriorating state of public spaces as a result of election campaigning. The HC summoned the Chief Election Officer of DU to appear before it on Wednesday The hearing will continue to address a . plea requesting strict compliance with anti-defacement guidelines for the DUSU elections. | p4 26 seats to witness polls, 15 in Kashmir region and 11 in Jammu region Three Jammu districts — Rajouri and Poonch and Reasi — and three central Kashmir districts of Srinagar, Ganderbal and Budgam go to polls on Wednesday | Report P7 Siddaramaiah | Vinod Kumar T $2.9 billion IMF’s bailout package for island nation, of which $770 million has been released anantnag e xp r e s s n e w s s e r vic e @ Chennai New Delhi Ka s h m i r ( P O K ) NIA searches houses of 11 suspects in TN l n O cc u p i e d Hizb-ut-Tahrir A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS ta Pakis Page 9 M Mukesh Siddique to evade arrest. He is accused of raping an actress in 2016. The SIT searched his residence in Kochi and other places, including hotels. His mobile phones were found switched off. “We have begun monitor- ing domestic terminals at the Kochi Airport. As per our information, his mobile tower location was found near the airport premises,” said a source close to the SIT. Earlier in the day, while dismissing Siddique’s anticipatory bail petition, Justice C S Dias of the Kerala High Court observed that overall scrutiny of the facts, and the nature, gravity and seriousness of the , accusations show prima facie his involvement in the crime. Hence, the petitioner’s custodial interrogation is inevitable for properly investigating the crime, especially since his defence is a total denial of the incident, and his potency test is to be done, the judge said. Dismissing the petitioner’s contention that the complaint lacks credibility as the survivor had earlier made allegations against 14 men, the court observed that the submission is “unwarranted and reflects an uncharitable view of the survivor’s circumstances”. The court noted: “The attempt to blame a woman for speaking out may be a strategy to silence her, which is hostile to the supremacy of the law.” A 30-year-old physically challenged man was arrested for allegedly installing spy cameras inside the room of his woman tenant, a senior Delhi Police officer said on Tuesday . The sensational case came to light when the woman, preparing for competitive exams, noticed suspicious activities on her WhatsApp. Upon checking, she found that her WhatsApp account was logged into an unknown laptop after which she logged out. The woman began searching her apartment and found a camera installed in the bulb holder of her bathroom. The woman, who lives alone at a rented accommodation in East Delhi’s Shakarpur, then approached the police, DCP (East) Apurva Gupta said. “During search, the police found another camera installed in her bedroom,” the DCP said. She told the police that she often gave the house key to the landlord’s son, Karan, who lives on a different floor of the same building. Karan was detained and during questioning, he revealed that the woman had handed over the key to him around three months back before going to her hometown in Uttar Pradesh. “Karan purchased three spy cameras and installed one in her bedroom and one in her bathroom,” Gupta said. As the cameras couldn’t be operated online, Karan used a memory card to store videos. He would request the woman to give him the key under the pretext of repairing electrical fixtures so that he could transfer the videos from the memory card to his laptop, the DCP said. The police seized a spy camera from Karan’s possession along with two laptops used to store the videos. Karan, too, was preparing for competitive exams.
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