FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 ` 5.00 | | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 17 December 2025 SPORTS WORLD Zelenskyy says peace plan may reach Russia within days NATION Shah kickstarts BJP’s 2029 push in Hindi heartland PERSPECTIVE If I don’t fight, who will? BRIEFLY Page 12 Page 7 Page 9 Page 5 Top cops face show cause notice over Salt Lake stadium mayhem VB-G RAM G Bill, 2025 introduced in Lok Sabha: PM Modi, Jordan King pledge to deepen economic cooperation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 16 December I n an unprecedented move, Director General of Police Rajeev Kumar and Mukesh Kumar, Commissioner of Police, Bidhannagar, have been issued show- cause notices for dereliction of duty in connection with the chaos at Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan (VYBK) on 13 December during the visit of Lionel Messi. Rajesh Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary of the Youth Affairs and Sports Department, has also been served a similar notice. Aneesh Sarkar, DCP, has been suspended until completion of the inquiry into the incident for reported negligence in his duties and Kolkata: Bengal Sports and Youth Services Development Minister Aroop Biswas on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, expressing his desire to be relieved of the sports portfolio to facilitate an independent probe into the fiasco at Salt Lake Stadium during the Lionel Messi GOAT India Tour event on Saturday. In a letter submitted on Monday, Mr Biswas said that stepping aside would help ensure the judicial inquiry ordered by the chief minister proceeds in a fair and transparent manner. He added that the move was intended to uphold accountability and public trust. Mr Biswas’s resignation has been accepted and he has been relieved of the sports portfolio, though he retains the housing and power portfolios. Page 3 responsibilities. Deb Kumar Nandan, retired WBCS officer and CEO of the stadium, has been removed from his post with immediate effect. The administrative action follows the recommendation of a three-member committee PM arrives in Ethiopia: New Delhi, 16 December Sports minister Biswas submits resignation to Chief Minister: New Delhi: The Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025, was introduced on Tuesday in the Lok Sabha amidst strong Opposition protests. The bill, hyped as a major legislative effort to revamp India’s rural employment framework, was moved for introduction by Union Minister of Rural Development Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The VB–G RAM G Bill aims to overhaul and strengthen the existing Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The Bill has drawn sharp criticism from Opposition parties, who have collectively demanded that it be referred to a Standing Committee of Parliament for detailed scrutiny. Page 5 How IPL’s pay-cap rule changes KKR’s record deal to acquire Green led by Justice (Retd) Asim Kumar Roy, based on the preliminary report into the chaos at VYBK on Sunday. The other members of the committee are Manoj Pant, Chief Secretary, and Nandini Chakrabarty, Home Secretary. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jordan King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein on Tuesday reaffirmed their determination to expand cooperation between their two countries and to stand together as trusted partners, with the Indian leader proposing to double bilateral trade to USD 5 billion over the next five years. The Jordan King observed that his country’s Free Trade Agreements and India’s economic power could be combined to create an economic corridor between South Asia and West Asia and beyond. In a joint statement issued at the end of PM Modi’s two-day visit to Jordan, the two countries acknowledged the importance of direct connectivity in fostering bilateral relations. ‘ ’It is an important cornerstone New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ethiopia on Tuesday evening on the second leg of his three-nation tour to strengthen India’s links with one of the oldest independent nations in the African continent. Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Ali received Mr Modi at the Addis Ababa airport and, in a unique gesture, drove the Indian leader to his hotel. The two leaders then went into informal talks. This is the Indian leader’s first visit to Ethiopia. The formal talks between the two sides will be held on Wednesday. Mr Modi will also address a joint session of the Ethiopian Parliament. for promotion of trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges and helps in cultivating deeper mutual understanding. In this regard, they agreed to explore the possibility of enhancing direct connectivity between the two countries,’’ the statement said. “My visit to Jordan has been immensely productive. I thank His Majesty King Abdullah II and the people of Jordan for their exceptional friendship,’’ the PM wrote on the ‘X’ platform as he left for Ethiopia on the second leg of his three-nation overseas trip. Fraud cloud over Mohta’s `600-crore project STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE valuable plot of land in the city’s Anandapur area, where the Rs 600-crore Merlin Niyasa project is coming up. Holding that a prima facie case had been made out, Mr Subhradip Mitra, District Judge, South 24-Parganas, has in an order dated 6 December, restrained the former Director, Shanti Ranjan Paul, and Merlin Projects, and their men and Kolkata, 16 December The Merlin group and its Chairman Sushil Mohta are once again embroiled in a land dispute where it is alleged that in collusion with a former director of the DC Paul Group, Merlin had fraudulently entered into a Joint Development Agreement in respect of a a fo assigns, from acting in terms of the JDA and a Power of Attorney executed in favour of Merlin by Paul until 7 January 2026. The petitioners, D C Paul Group Construction Private Limited and Adhira Commercial Private Limited, have alleged that Shanti Ranjan Paul, on the basis of forged documents – a Memorandum of Agreement and a Board Resolution – had executed the JDA with Merlin, and executed a power of attorney in favour of Mohta’s company. The petitioners alleged that Merlin knew or ought to have known that Paul never had the authority to execute the JDA or POA, as these were the result of forgery, fraud and deception, and that there was thus an obvious nexus between the two. It was alleged that Merlin as a seasoned real estate developer knew fully that Paul was neither a shareholder or director of the plaintiff companies. The plaintiffs said: “But for the collusion and conspiracy, Defendant No. 2 (Merlin), without verification of the plaintiff ’s directors and shareholders, would not have in the normal course entered into such JDA and the POA.” Merlin Niyasa comprises more than 150 high- end apartments priced at between Rs 3.8 crore and Rs 4.8 crore and is said to be located off the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, and is located close to Ruby Hospital and Taj Vivanta hotel. Two other major projects of Mohta’s group are under a cloud. In August, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court had ordered demolition of a 26-storeyed tower promoted by Mohta and two others in New Town, Kolkata, and ordered criminal proceedings. In September, another Division Bench had issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation seeking to halt all construction at Merlin Avana, a project promoted by Mohta in the Barisha area. l isi t a at rd sive cons o i o n t m a t tions. or lion s g e r i p oach a re C o e efi e y er n or ’ es i ti ga d e i ur t - r l ar r it us- e t life e a t ni ri re i o o cl t n es n en g p e o p s t . t th l an k ind n if u l, t h or a en pressive letel t e as t st a n e ul silien ba o es fo ft e Th tr eE es t o b h th ure ear an impro u foo al tc ea rom ha e us t si en vity wi ic n cer n an ti one of th India. R es lude rin s o en at n us i h cha gg , u i essi’ it r lob c m yo at o rt r ” s. t d, t o g