62 MONDAY 14 APRIL, 2025 BEATS PER MINUTE IS THE HEART RATE OF DONALD TRUMP AS PER REPORTS epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard FACES RISK OF ELEVATED BLOOD PRESSURE X.com/TheMornStandard ISRAEL OFFENSIVE GAZA HOSPITAL HIT IN STRIKES Israel struck a hospital in northern Gaza early Sunday, forcing patients to evacuate as attacks intensified. One patient, a girl, died during the evacuation. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 09 NIA seeks voice samples of 26/11 co-conspirator NEW DELHI A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi TO ease traffic flow in the national capital, the Delhi government is planning to construct new flyovers and underpasses. The flyovers include connecting Adchini to Lado Sarai, a flyover at Metcalf House near Chandgi Ram Akhada, the doubling of the Savitri flyover and underpasses at Peera Garhi and Andheria Mor. According to the initial plan, the PWD proposed a new flyover in Delhi to connect Adchini to Lado Sarai. This project is MUKESH RANJAN @ New Delhi tics. It is learnt that at least two officers of the NIA Kochi unit are part of the team of 12 investigators questioning Rana. Investigators are also examining if Rana was connected to Dawood Ibrahim or his criminal network based in Dubai. Rana is being questioned not just for his role in the Mumbai attacks, but also to see if he was involved in planning similar terror attacks in other cities, sources said. Keeping this in mind and to retrace events that took place 17 years ago to unravel the conspiracy, the sources said, the NIA probe team may take Rana to several other locations across the country . Besides informing the NIA team about his origins in Pakistan, family, education, immigration to Canada with his wife and opening a travel agency in Chicago, Rana largely remained uncooperative, sources said, adding that he has so far claimed his inability to recall the chain of events but confirmed his presence in Mumbai one week before the attack. EXPRESS READ Assam Waqf Act protest turns violent A rally against Waqf (Amendment) Act turned violent in Assam’s Silchar town in Cachar district on Sunday. The rally, taken out by Muslims from the Berenga area of the southern Assam town, was peaceful until some protestors pelted stones targeting police personnel after the latter attempted to disperse the crowd, SP Numal Mahatta said. | P8 The Delhi Police has busted a suspected infant trafficking syndicate that operated in Gujarat, Rajasthan and DelhiNCR, an officer said on Sunday. Three accused — Yashmin (30), Anjali (36) and Jitender (47) — were arrested and a male infant was rescued during the operation. J8.00  PAGES 12 Test reports of Donald Trump said he has dropped 20 pounds since his last physical test in 2020. He now weighs 224 pounds UNDERWENT COLONOSCOPY, EYE SURGERY In July 2024, according to the report, Trump had a colonoscopy that found a benign polyp and a condition called diverticulosis. It’s a common condition in which the walls of the intestine weaken with age. It can lead to inflammation, though most people with it never experience any problems. Trump also had cataract surgery part of a broader effort to ease congestion on Aurobindo Marg and will involve an elevated corridor and underpasses. The elevated section will be 3 kilometres long and six lanes wide, running from Mother’s International School to Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The Expenditure and Finance Committee (EFC) of Delhi government is set to meet on Tuesday to decide the projects. If EFC approves the plans, detailed project reports will be prepared. After that, Cabinet approval is required. Once the Cabinet gives its approval, tenders will be invited, sources said. Another PWD project aims to double the one-way Savitri Cinema flyover along the Outer Ring Road in South Delhi. Once completed, the expanded flyo- ver will help ease traffic around Chittaranjan Park, Greater Kailash, and Nehru Place. The PWD also plans to build underpasses at two of Delhi’s busiest junctions— Peeragarhi Chowk in West Delhi and Andheria Mor in South Delhi. Peera g arhi Chowk is a major intersection on the Outer Ring Road and a significant traffic bottleneck, handling vehicles moving between North and West Delhi, as well as commercial traffic from industrial areas. Meanwhile, Andheria Mor handles traffic heading to Indira Gandhi International Airport, Gurugram, and the Qutub Minar area. “There have been attempts to decongest Andheria Mor in the past, but none have had lasting success. Anti-encroachment drives are periodically carried out, but their impact is shortterm. A proper design solution is needed,” sources said. Another PWD project involves the construction of a 680-metre, six-lane flyover at Metcalf House T-junction in North Delhi. ZERO LEVY Trump tariff fiat gives Indian electronics 20% advantage over China R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi RUSSIAN MISSILES KILL 30 IN UKRAINE Firefighters try to put out the blaze following Russia’s missile attack that killed at least 30 civilians in Sumy, Ukraine | AP | P9 AIADMK’s induction gives NDA comfortable majority in the RS RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi Infant trafficking racket busted  TRUMP FULLY FIT TO DON ROLE OF COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF: DOCS Govt lines up flyovers, underpasses to ease city traffic snarls Probe team also plans to take Tahawwur Rana to Kochi to confront ‘mystery witness’ IN a bid to corroborate call recordings in possession of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the probe team is looking to collect voice samples of Tahawwur Rana, the extradited co-conspirator of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. The agency is also preparing to take him to different places across India, including Kochi, which he had visited multiple times before and after the terror attack on November 26 that year, sources said. Before taking his voice samples, investigators would need Rana’s consent. If he refuses, the NIA team can approach the special court. Once the court’s permission is obtained, experts from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory will be roped in to collect the voice samples, they added. The voice samples could then be used for matching with Rana’s call records to figure out if he was on the phone giving instructions to the 10 terrorists who attacked Mumbai from November 26 to 28. According to sources, a ‘mystery witness’, who is in NIA custody, belongs to Kochi and investigators plan to take Rana to the southern city to confront him. The ‘mystery witness’ had helped Rana and David Coleman Headley, another accused in the case, in arranging logis-  His blood pressure was 128 over 74. That is considered elevated, and people in that situation are likely to develop high blood pressure unless steps are taken to control the condition 9 held in MP over attack on religious procession Nine persons, all from the minority community, have been arrested so far in connection with the alleged attack on a Hanuman Jayanti procession — which was being taken out without permission of authorities — in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh on Saturday evening. WITH the AIADMK joining the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) a few days ago, the ruling alliance now has a comfortable majority in the Rajya Sabha. “The addition of four AIADMK MPs has solidified the NDA’s support in the Upper House. Our aim is to get the One Nation, One Election (ONOE) and other important bills passed in the House as soon as possible,” said a senior Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, requesting anonymity . While the Rajya Sabha has a total of 245 seats, nine of them are vacant and are expected to be filled through nominations in the coming days. “In ef fect, the working strength of the Rajya Sabha now is 236, and the simple majority stands at 119. That was where the NDA stood before it stitched up an alliance with the AIADMK. The AIADMK has four members in the Upper House — C V Shanmugam, M Thambidurai, N Chandrasegharan and R Dharma. Its induction raised the NDA’s count to 123.” Add to that the support of seven other MPs — six nominated and one Independent. That takes the effective strength to 130. T h e n t h e re i s A n d h r a Pradesh, where one Rajya Sabha seat is vacant. It was earlier held by the YSR Congress. With the party routed in the assembly elections, the seat is likely to go to the ruling TDP, which is a key NDA ally . Four seats remain vacant for nominated MPs, which the BJP may want to pocket. Four other seats are vacant from J&K. The BJP hopes to take at least one of them whenever polls are held, given its strength of 29 MLAs in the 90-member J&K assembly . If things pan out as expected by the BJP, the NDA’s strength could reach around 140. It would be the first time since 2014 that the NDA would have a clear majority in both Houses of Parliament. “If that happens, the NDA would easily be able to get important bills like the ONOE passed in the Rajya Sabha comfortably,” remarked noted political analyst Dr R K Verma. INDIA’S exports of iPhones and other electronics items — such as smartphones, laptops, and tablets — to the United States will be 20% cheaper compared to those from China, according to the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA). While the US has exempted reciprocal tariffs on electronic imports from most countries, Chinese electronics — particularly iPhones and related devices — continue to face a 20% tariff. India and Vietnam — two major iPhone manufacturing hubs — now benefit from zero tariffs on exports of iPhones, smartphones, laptops, and tablets to the US. The US had said reciprocal tariff on Indian electronics exported to the US was set at 26%, while China faced a 145% tariff and Vietnam 46%. A week later, the US postponed the imposition of these tariffs for 90 days, excluding China. On Friday the US , Customs and Border Protection published a notice LIFELINE CHANGING TERRAINS OF DELHI’S URBAN COMMUTE stating that electronic items — including smartphones, computer monitors, and other gadgets — would be excluded from the reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration. This included the removal of the 26% tariff on Indian products and the 145% tariff on Chinese goods. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple accounted for more than half of smartphone sales in the US last year. As a result, Apple may accelerate its plans to shift and expand its manufacturing operations in India. The tariff exemption brings relief to India. India’s mobile phone exports hit an all-time high of `2,00,000 crore in FY 2024–25, a spike of 55% over the `1,29,000 crore recorded in FY 2023–24. India’s total mobile phone production is estimated to have reached `5,25,000 crore in financial year 2024-25, up from `4,22,000 crore in last fiscal year. Currently, t h re e m a j o r iPhone manufacturers operate in India: Foxconn (67% share), Pegatron (17%), and Tata Electronics (16%). Its growing network improving last-mile connectivity in the capital, Delhi Metro is redefining urban transport as key pillar of the city’s infrastructure | P4 Capital crime graph dips, women’s safety up 7 months on, Law Commission may get S H E K H A R S I N G H @ New Delhi THE capital registered a marginal decline in overall crime levels up to March 31, 2025. However, certain areas remain a concern, most notably murder, which has shown a slight increase. According to Delhi Police data, murder cases rose to 107 in the first three months of 2025, up slightly from 105 in the same period last year. In contrast, attempted murders saw a fall, with 168 incidents reported in 2025 compared to a staggering 203 cases in 2024. Robbery cases also declined notably, with 315 reported incidents against 424 during the same time frame in 2024. However, the most substantial improvement came in snatching cases, which dropped sharply to 1,199 from 1,925. Crimes against women revealed a promising trend. Reported cases of rape fell to 370, down from 455 during the first Rape cases down to 370 POLICE DATA (FROM JAN 1 TO MAR 31) CRIME TYPES YEAR WISE DATA 2023 2024 2025 Rape 422 455 370 Molestation 547 444 379 Eve-teasing 98 74 63 1,385 1,393 1,360 Murder 115 105 107 Attempt to murder 158 203 168 Robbery 375 424 315 1,812 1,925 1,199 Crimes against women revealed a promising trend. Reported cases of rape fell to 370, down from 455 during the first quarter of 2024. Kidnapping & Abduction Snatching quarter of 2024. Similarly, molestation cases declined to 379 from 444, and incidents of eveteasing reduced to 63 from 74. A senior police officer credited the overall dip in crime to smarter policing and community-focused operations. “En- Enhanced patrolling and technology-driven surveillance played pivotal roles in crime prevention.” Delhi Police hanced patrolling, community engagement, and technologydriven surveillance played pivotal roles in crime prevention,” the officer said. “The integration of digital tools with traditional policing methods has also ensured quick- er response times and better resource allocation,” the officer added, underlining the capital’s move towards a more responsive and data-driven law enforcement system. Earlier this month, the Delhi Police had organised a drug destruction event as part of its ongoing campaign against narcotics, destroying 1,643 kg of seized drugs worth `2,622 crore. According to police, a large quantity of drugs, including 529.456 kg of cannabis, 27.347 kg of charas, 11.58 kg of heroin, 517.87 kg of cocaine, 15 grams of MDMA, 542.3 kg of poppy straw, 8 kg of ketamine, and 6.5 kg of ephedrine, was disposed of. These substances were seized by the Crime Branch, South, Rohini, and West districts, as well as the Special Cell. “The total weight of the drugs destroyed was 1,643.074 kg, with an estimated international market value of `2,622 crore,” said Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) D C Srivastav. new head in retd SC judge Maheshwari P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi AFTER remaining headless for over seven months, the 23rd Law Commission may get a new chief this week. According to highly placed sources, former Supreme Court judge Justice (retd) Dinesh Maheshwari is likely to head the law panel. Along with Justice Maheshwari, two more members will take charge. One of them could be Prof D P Verma, former member of 22nd Law Commission, sources said. A formal notification announcing Justice Maheshwari’s appointment is expected in a couple of days, sources said. The 23rd law panel was set up on September 2 last year for a period of three years. Though there is a provision to appoint serving Supreme Court and high court judges as its chairperson and members, usually Dinesh Maheshwari retired top court judges and exchief justices of high courts get to hold that high office. According to its terms of reference, the commission is also tasked to examine whether a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) can be introduced in the country . Justice Maheshwari retired from the Supreme Court in May 2023. He took oath as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court in September 2004 and was transferred to the Allahabad High Court in 2014. Justice Maheshwari was promoted as the chief justice of the Meghalaya High Court in February 2016. Two years later, he was transferred to the Karnataka High Court as chief justice. In 2019, he was elevated to the Supreme Court. According to law ministry sources, the new panel will be mandated with the completion of the draft UCC among other terms of reference. Sources said that the 22nd Law Commission hadn’t finalised its report on the UCC. The law panel was headless after Justice Rituraj Awasthi resigned as its chairperson in March this year after he was appointed as a judicial member of the Lokpal. Implementation of a central UCC was one of the main poll planks of the BJP during its campaign in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.