SATURDAY GOVT ASKS INDIANS NOT TO GO TO ISRAEL, IRAN AMID RISING TENSIONS 13 APRIL, 2024 MEA’s advisory comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia following Israel’s strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria on April 1 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard C O N S E R VAT I V E L AW POLAND MAY EASE ABORTION LAW SOON 4 bills tabled by the ruling coalition to relax the abortion ban on Friday passes first hurdle PAGE 11 CAUTION AGAINST TRAVEL WITHIN ISRAEL A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS NEW DELHI J8.00 In its advisory, the Ministry of External Affairs urged Indians residing in Iran and Israel to exercise utmost precautions about their safety and restrict their movements to a bare minimum. The US embassy in Israel has also curbed movement of its staff and their families “out of an abundance of caution” in view of a potential revenge attack by Iran on Israel | P11 PAGES 14 NIA nabs B’luru bomber, mastermind in Bengal Alleged bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazeb and mastermind Adbul Matheen Taha were staying in a lodge under false identities BALA CHAUHAN & MUKESH R A N J A N @ Bengaluru/ New Delhi THE National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two accused in the Bengaluru Rameshwaram Cafe blast — the alleged mastermind Adbul Matheen Taha and bomber Mussavir Hussain Shazeb — from West Bengal in the wee hours of Friday . The two were staying in a lowbudget lodge in Kanthi — a small town about 180 km from Kolkata in the state’s Purba Medinipur district. As per NIA, they were staying in the lodge under false names. The agency, in an official release, acknowledged the cooperation of central intelligence agencies and state police agencies of West Bengal, Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala in the professionally coordinated joint operation to nab the two terror accused. The NIA special court in Kolkata, where the accused were produced, granted three days transit remand to the agency to take them to Bengaluru. Taha’s arrest is a breakthrough for the NIA as his name Accused being taken to NIA court in Kolkata on Friday| PTI figured prominently as an accused in several terror-related cases in Karnataka since 2019. P R I YA R AT H N A M @ Hyderabad EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE IN view of the precarious security situation in the Myanmarese city of Sittwe, India has relocated its staff from its consulate there to Yangon. According to reports, several parts of Myanmar have been witnessing intense fighting between the military junta and resistance forces, which have already captured many towns, including military bases. “We have temporarily relocated our staff at CGI (Consulate General of India) Sittwe to Yangon. Our Consulate in Mandalay remains fully functional,” Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, said on Friday He add. ed that India is closely monitoring the ongoing conflict b e t we e n t h e military junta in Myanmar and the ethnic armed outfits. The anti-junta forces seized control of many military bases and a command centre at Myawaddy last week. Myawaddy is Myanmar’s main transit point for trade with Thailand. Jaiswal said that the security situation in Myanmar remains “precarious” and is deteriorating. “Necessary steps have been taken to ensure the safety of our citizens,” he said at his weekly media briefing. On the reports of abduction of three Indians, Jaiswal said, “Our embassy is seized of the matter. They are working on it and hopefully, we will be able to get them out.” Myanmar has been witnessing widespread violence demanding restoration of democracy since the military seized power in the coup on February 1, 2021. Sisodia moves court seeking interim bail to join poll campaign E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is in judicial custody in the alleged Delhi liquor scam, on Friday moved a city court seeking interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Special judge Kaveri Baweja of Rouse Avenue Courts sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the interim bail plea and listed it for hearing on April 20. While special counsel Zoheb Hossain represented the ED, advocate Vivek Jain appeared for Sisodia in the case. Earlier, the ED had contested the AAP leader’s regular bail plea, citing no delay on the prosecution’s part but rather attributed the delay to frivolous applications filed by the accused in the case. Sisodia has argued that trial proceedings are progressing sluggishly . This is his latest attempt after his bail pleas were rejected by the trial court, Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court in both ED and CBI cases. On October 30, 2023, the apex court refused to grant bail to the former Delhi deputy chief minister. The AAP leader was arrested by the ED on March 9, 2023, in connection with the 2021-22 excise policy following an earlier ar, rest by the CBI on February 26, 2023, for his purported involvement in the matter. Both the probe agencies have alleged irregularities in the modification of the excise policy, including the extension of undue favours to licence holders, waiver or reduction of licence fees, and extension of licences without proper approval. Besides him, CM Arvind Kejriwal and BRS leader K Kavitha are in judicial custody in connection with the same case. Kavitha in CBI custody till April 15 A city court on Friday sent BRS leader K Kavitha to CBI custody till April 15 in the alleged excise policy scam. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja passed the order after hearing arguments of the CBI as well as Kavitha’s counsel. Kavitha was arrested by CBI in Tihar jail, where she was lodged after her arrest by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, on Thursday. The CBI told the court she was not cooperating in the probe. P3 FORMER officer on special duty (OSD) for the Task Force P Radha Kishan Rao confessed that he helped the ruling BRS on several occasions and also deputed Task Force team to transport `1 crore cash and hand it over to former IAS officer and now Medak Lok Sabha BRS candidate P Venkata Rami Reddy The . money was transported during Assembly elections held in November. He confessed that all the postings in the Task Force were based on caste equations. During elections, Radha Kishan Rao, according to the remand report, transported huge cash amounts of money from Yashoda Hospital to various locations utilising Task Force vehicles. The remand report highlights the confessions from two inspectors and a sub-inspector, alongside Radha Kishan Rao’s BIDEN VOWS SUPPORT TO PHILIPPINES US president hosted his Japanese and Philippine counterparts at the presidential residence, where he pledged security commitments in the South China Sea. Repeated confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels have stoked fears of a wider conflict | P11 admission of his actions. On November 4, 2023, it was reported that while Praneeth Rao destroyed hard disks in the SIB logger room, Radha Kishan Rao proceeded to format his two mobile phones, which were subsequently confiscated by authorities for data retrieval. According to the remand report, Radha Kishan confessed that he used Task Force vehicles to ferry cash to hoodwink Flying Squad Teams and Static Surveillance Teams deployed by the Election Commission during the Assembly elections. Rao admitted that he assigned the task of carrying cash to Sai Kiran, a sub-inspector working in the Central Zone Task Force, on two separate occasions in a government vehicle from different locations to be delivered to Divya Charan Rao, a retired police officer associated with Yashoda Hospital. Decline in food and fuel prices helps cool inflation 5.51 5.89 5.34 5.45 4.78 BIG CATCH Mastermind Taha belongs to a self-proclaimed terror outfit ‘Al Hind IS’, which was formed in B’luru in 2019 He is said to be the common thread in almost all terrorist activities in Karnataka ever since 2019 CONFESSIONS After the formation of the BRS government in 2014, T Prabhakar Rao was appointed DIG in the Intelligence department on caste equations During this time, he trusted subordinates of his community The hand-picked police officers by Prabhakar Rao — Praneeth Rao, Bhujanga Rao, Venugopal Rao — on equations of caste Radha Kishan Rao confessed that he was posted as DCP Task Force as recommended by Prabhakar Rao in 2017 to maintain a hold on Hyderabad city for political reasons Combd Total 5.66 MAR 2023 Combd Total Figures in % RURAL 4.14 URBAN Combd 5.09 4.85 4ta FEB 2024 MAR 2024 (FINAL) (PROVISIONAL) Retail inflation moderates to 4.85% in March M O N I K A YA D A V @ New Delhi INDIA’s annual retail inflation declined to 4.85% in March, down from 5.09% in February according to government data released on , Friday. The consumer price based inflation has remained within the RBI’s target range. The data showed that food and beverage inflation fell to 7.68% in March from 7.8% recorded in February. Fuel inflation stood at -3.24%, a decrease from -0.77%. Cooking oil prices witnessed an 11.72% decline in March, while the price rise in spices slowed to 11.4% from 13.28% in February The inflation in puls. es decreased to 17.71% from 20.47% in January . However, vegetable prices shot up 28.34% in March, disturbing the kitchen budget of households. Cereal prices also rose 8.37% during the month. According to ICRA, the food & beverages inflation will remain above the 7% mark in April. It warns that the impending heatwave may push prices of perishables, heightening the criticality of a favourable monsoon in 2024 to keep food inflation in check. Meanwhile, another set of data showed India’s industrial production growth accelerated to a four-month high of 5.7% in February . Infrastructure and intermediate goods grew at 8.5% and 9.5%, respectively while consum, er durables contracted 3.8%. `34 cr blood money raised for Kerala man lodged in Saudi jail for 18 years Accidental death E X P R ESS N E WS S E RV I C E @ Kozhikode MALAYALIS from around the world have joined hands to provide a new lease of life to a 44-year-old Kozhikode man imprisoned in Saudi Arabia capital of Riyadh. The crowdfunding campaign for the release of Abdul Rahim proved successful with contributions from across the state and around the world. The blood money for Rahim, who is facing the death sentence in the kingdom, was collected two days ahead of schedule. A total of `34.45 crore has been raised as part of the initiative. The primary fund collection was carried out through the ‘Save Abdul Rahim’ campaign. It raised `31.93 crore through bank transfers while the re- Abdul Rahim was held guilty for causing the accidental death of 15-year-old paralysed son of his employer. A Riyadh court sentenced him to death. After several attempts, the boy’s family agreed to accept `34 crore as blood money maining `2.52 crore was handed over to Abdul’s mother by private individuals and voluntary groups. On Friday alone, more than `10 crore was collected. “I’m very happy and grateful for the support we received for the release of my son. I never thought I would see my son again. But the love of the people has reignited my hope,” said Ameena, Rahim’s mother. The blood money collected for Rahim’s release will be handed over to the victim’s family in Saudi Arabia through the Indian embassy . In 2006, Rahim, who had just arrived in the kingdom on a driver’s visa, was accused of causing the accidental death of a 15-year-old Saudi boy. Rahim also worked as the caretaker of Faiz, his sponsor’s paralysed son. The incident occurred when Rahim accidentally dislodged Faiz’s life-support device while taking him for a car ride. Faiz lost consciousness and later died. Rahim was arrested and charged with murder. A Riyadh court sentenced him to death. After several attempts, Faiz’s family agreed to accept `34 crore as blood money . Despite anti-incumbency, Owaisi is frontrunner PUNJAB POLL MUSIC TO THE EAR Hindu leader in Tamil Nadu. The Rameshwaram Cafe blast on March 1 in the IT hub of Bengaluru injured nine persons. Shazeb allegedly kept the bag containing the IED near the hand wash area of popular cafe. He was spotted de-boarding a bus before entering the cafe with the bag. On March 28, the NIA arrested Muzammil Shareef, an alleged key conspirator, from Bengaluru after massive raids across 18 locations in three states; 12 in Karnataka, 5 in Tamil Nadu and one in UP. Former OSD of Task Force helped channel `1 cr to BRS candidate India relocates diplomatic staff from restive Sittwe to Yangon @ New Delhi The NIA announced a bounty of `10 lakh on credible information leading to the arrest of Taha and Shazeb. The two belong to Thirthahalli in Shivamogga district. “It was Taha who also worked on the escape plans of the duo and managed to evade arrest all these weeks,” a senior NIA official informed. In May 2020, the NIA had announced a reward of `3 lakh for information leading to Taha’s arrest in the Al-Hind Bengaluru module case. The module is said to be behind the murder of a A LITTLE COMFORT A J AY T O M A R @ Hyderabad Hans Raj Hans Sarabjit Singh Justice Jora Singh Md Sadique Karamjit Anmol There’s an interesting potpourri of candidates in Faridkot fray — sufi singer, actor-cum-comedian, folk singer, judge, and son of one of the assassins of Indira Gandhi PAGE 7 SITTING at a juice shop opposite Mecca Masjid near Charminar on Eid-ul-Fitr, Noor Mohammed, a businessman and resident of Moghulpura, lamented the lack of basic amenities and civic infrastructure in Hyderabad’s Old City , the bastion of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). “For two decades, [Asaduddin] Owaisi has been the MP from here. But the dingy lanes, traffic snarls, potholed passages and inundation of streets are testimony to the bad conditions in most areas under the constituency Noor remarked, ,” drawing a comparison with Cyberabad and Secunderabad. Nevertheless, the 52-year-old businessman said the AIMIM boss wins because he voices the concerns of the Muslim community on a nationwide platform. The Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency which has a Muslim ma, jority has been an AIMIM strong, hold for four decades since Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi first won as an independent in 1984. After six consecutive victories, son Asaduddin took over in 2004. In 2019, he defeated his nearest rival — the BJP’s Bhagavanth Rao — by over 2.8 lakh votes. Notably, the polling percentage (44.84%) in 2019 was the second lowest in the segment since 1957 when it was 41.1%. Six of the seven Assembly se gments falling under Hy- derabad are represented by AIMIM legislators. One, Goshamahal, is with the BJP, with T Raja Singh winning for the third time in 2023. With Feroz Khan, who contested from Hyderabad in ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR 2019 on a Congress ticket recently indicating that dosti (friendship) has been forged between the AIMIM and the grand old party — the ruling party in the state is yet to even announce its candidate — Asaduddin’s main opponent will be the BJP’s new firebrand Madhavi Latha. Latha was arguably more popular outside the segment, at least till a recent TV interview. “I came to know about her only from Aap ki Adalat,” said a person at Alijah Kotla, one of the many singing Latha’s praises. The 49-yearold chairperson of Virinchi hospitals, who is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, told this newspaper that the entire neighbourhood — Secunderabad and Cyberabad — has gone much ahead. CONTINUED ON P5 ADHIR’S DAY OUT Congress candidate Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during his campaign in Murshidabad, on Friday. The Bengal Congress chief is contesting from Murshidabad for the sixth time | PTI | MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10
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