kannur l monday l march 25, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION At least 137 abducted School children freed in Nigeria abductions put pressure on president The Nigerian Army claimed the children were freed during a rescue operation on Saturday. President Bola Tinubu, under pressure to end abductions which has become common in the conflict-hit northern region of the country, had vowed to rescue them without paying ransom. Sources said the abductors were hiding in the region’s vast and ungoverned forests They were abducted over two weeks ago from their school in Nigeria’s northwestern state of Kaduna by a band of motorcycle-riding gunmen ■ 1,400 over 280 students were taken: teachers ■ It is not clear how many students were kidnapped. Teachers have said over 280 pupils between the ages of eight and 15 were taken. The government had initially said all of them had been freed Bandit gangs routinely attack communities and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom in northwest and north-central Nigeria | P9 Students have been kidnapped from Nigerian schools since 2014 CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI INDIA bloc to hold mega rally over Kejriwal arrest Oppn parties’ joint protest on March 31 in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan of Conduct being in place. Now the Congress’s accounts have UPPING the ante against the been frozen, so they won’t be arrest of Delhi Chief Minister able to run a campaign for the Arvind Kejriwal, the Opposi- polls,” Rai added. tion INDIA bloc said on Sunday Hitting out at the BJP, Delhi that it will hold a mega rally at Congress leader Arvinder Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Singh Lovely exhorted the pubMarch 31 to protest against the lic to join the proposed rally . BJP government’s alleged tarThe Opposition leaders also geting of political rivals using alleged Kejriwal was arrested federal agencies. after the State Bank of India Announcing the decision at a was forced to reveal the donajoint press conference in Delhi, tions the BJP received through Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader electoral bonds. One of the apand Delhi minister provers in the Delhi Gopal Rai said all INliquor policy case got DIA-bloc parties will bail after sending monhold the rally to safeey to the BJP, they Democracy and guard the country’s inalleged. terests and democracy the country are in . “There’s no levelTop leaders of several danger. All INDIA playing field for the opbloc parties will opposition parties inposition parties anytake part in this cluding the Congress, m o re. O u r l e a d e r ‘maha rally’ to TMC, CPI(M), Shiv Rahul Gandhi has safeguard the Sena (UBT), and Sama- country’s interests been trying to save the jwadi Party are expectdemocracy and we will and democracy ed to attend the rally . stand by the AAP to AAP leader Gopal Rai save the CM,” said “The Prime Minister has been acting like Lovely adding that a dictator and suppressing de- they are hopeful that the aumocracy to arrest Delhi CM thorities would allow them to Arvind Kejriwal. Whether it is hold the rally . Hemant Soren in Jharkhand or CPI(M) leader Rajiv Kunwar Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar or the said the fight is against the dicCM of West Bengal, all are be- tatorial rule of the Modi ing slapped with fraudulent government. cases to silence them ahead of Rallying behind Kejriwal, the Lok Sabha polls,” said Rai. several leaders including ConHe alleged AAP leaders are be- gress, TMC, and CPI(M) of the ing prevented from holding INDIA bloc had met the Elecprotests and Kejriwal’s family tion Commission on Friday and has been placed under house submitted a memorandum on arrest. “Our party office was the instances of central agensealed despite the Model Code cies targeting them. P REET H A NA I R @ New Delhi Delhi CM issues 1st order from custody: AAP A n u p v e r m a @ New Delhi The Aam Admi Party (AAP) on Sunday said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued his first order from Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody, instructing Delhi water minister Atishi Marlena to solve water and sewer problems in some areas of Delhi. “I might be in jail, but people of Delhi shouldn’t be inconvenienced,” he wrote in the order as per Atishi. However, the issuing of the order has raised legal questions. The ED has taken cognisance of Atishi’s statement. The ED will probe if the directions were in line with the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court’s order issued to the ED. Another question raised by Kejriwal’s order is whether he can continue as CM now that he is in custody Former Addition. al Solicitor General K C Kaushik said there is no bar on him continuing as CM for now as he has not been convicted yet. Joy & passion A child gestures excitedly to his father during the Palm Sunday service at the St Sebastian’s Church in Thodupuzha | Shiyami e x p r e s s r e ad Cong replaces Jaipur candidate after backlash New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday replaced its Jaipur candidate Sunil Sharma with former Rajasthan minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas. The move comes a day after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and several other leaders came down heavily on the candidate, who is allegedly linked with a Right-leaning digital platform, ‘Jaipur Dialogues’ Mahua knocks EC door after CBI raids New Delhi: A day after the CBI conducted searches at premises of TMC leader Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query case, she wrote to the EC accusing the probe agency of harassing her and throttling her poll campaign efforts. Kangana Ranaut, Naveen Jindal in BJP’s 5th list rajesh kumar thakur @ New Delhi After a week-long discussion, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday evening released its fifth list of candidates for 111 Lok Sabha seats in 17 states including Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh and in the process springing surprises yet again. The BJP retained a majority of its sitting MPs and has given seats to newly inducted members for various high profile seats. Sandeshkhali’s Rekha Patra, who raised voice against suspended TMC muscle man Sheikh Shahjahan, is fielded as the BJP’s candidate from Basirhat. Industrialist and former Con- Kangana Ranaut will contest from the Mandi seat in Himachal Pradesh gress MP Naveen Jindal on Sunday joined the BJP and was immediately named the party’s candidate for Kurukshetra seat in Haryana. He represented the seat between 2004-14. As was reported first by this newspaper, Pilibhit sitting MP Varun Gandhi was dropped and UP minister Jitin Prasada was fielded from the seat. Varun’s mother and Sultanpur sitting MP h u m an - W i l d c o n f l i c t s Some giving importance to animals over humans: Thattil E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kalpetta Human-wildlife conflicts found mention in the Palm Sunday message of Raphael Thattil, the Major Archbishop of SyroMalabar Church. Thattil, who was speaking at Holy Cross Church in Nadavayal, Wayanad, said some people gave more importance to animals than humans. “We suspect some people give more importance to wild animals than humans. Migrant families are not robbers of forest resources. They are people who work hard and produce food; that is, they deserve consideration. The Church prays for those who died in wild animal attack during the Holy Week,” he said. Thattil said migrants left their homelands and went to the hilly regions with the help of kings and the government of the time after their life became miserable. “They are not robbers or looters. They are the ones who turn this land into a farming paradise. We must remember how much migrant families contribute to our state. However, they are facing wild animal attacks. The issue needs permanent solution. Many are losing lives. The government should protect them,” Thattil said. Human-wildlife conflicts, which have claimed several lives, including three in Wayanad, this year alone, have become a major poll issue this Lok Sabha elections. Widespread protests against the attacks and resulting deaths have rocked the state, with the Church too taking it up. The Syro-Malabar Church had earlier criticised the government against recurring attacks. The Thamarassery Mananthavady and , Thalassery bishops had also termed the loss of human life in wildlife attacks as unacceptable. It was also alleged that the forest department and the government were not taking steps to prevent wildlife attacks. UDF complains Isaac violated model code of conduct, P’thitta collector seeks explanation Express News Service @ Pathanamthitta/Kochi In the wake of a complaint by the UDF alleging violation of model code of conduct by CPM Pathanamthitta candidate T M Thomas Isaac, the district collector has sought an explanation from the former finance minister. The complaint by Varghese Maman, district chairman of the UDF, said Isaac was using the staff of Kerala Development and Innovation Strategic Council (K-Disc) to offer various employment opportunities to youngsters. It also alleged that Isaac sought votes from members of Kudumbashree during an internal meet- K-Disc’s initiative to help youngsters to get jobs in various fields was a continuation of the initiative I had taken during the ‘Migration Conclave’ in Pathanamthitta from January 18-21, way before the elections were announced Thomas Isaac, CPM candidate in Pathanamthitta ing of the women empowerment group. It is learnt that Pathanamthitta Collector S Premkrishnan has given Isaac time till Tuesday to respond to the complaint. The former minister told TNIE that K-Disc’s initiative to help youngsters get jobs in various fields was a continuation of the initiative he had taken during the ‘Migration Conclave’ in Pathanamthitta from January 18-21, way before the elections were announced. “So, the steps to offer job opportunities is a follow-up of the migration conclave. And it’s done by the state government,” said Isaac, adding that there was nothing wrong in him taking credit for the initiative. On the allegation that he sought votes by attending a Kudumbashree meeting, the former finance minister said: “I had just gone to a Kudumbashree meeting, and if I have done anything wrong, I will be more cautious.” Maneka Gandhi will contest from the same seat again. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was field from Sambalpur LS seat while Sambit Patra from Puri in Odisha. Sita Soren, who joined recently from JMM, was named for Dumka LS seat. In Andhra Pradesh, state BJP chief D Purandareshwari was field from Rajamundry LS seat while Varaparasad Rao, who joined on Sunday, was fielded from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Former Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was fielded from Patna Sahib in Bihar while union minister RK Singh was repeated from Arrah. Ramayana serial actor Arun Govil, who played Lord Rama, was fielded from Meerut in UP . Surendran to take on Rahul, Annie Raja In a major surprise, the BJP has fielded its state president K Surendran from Wayanad, pitting him against Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and CPI’s Annie Raja for the upcoming general election. The party also announced candidates to the remaining three constituencies in Kerala. The party fielded Dr K S Radhakrishnan in Ernakulam constituency, actor G Krishnakumar in Kollam and Dr T N Sarasu in Alathur. P5 IIT-Guwahati student aspiring to join Islamic State arrested P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati One more suspect Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said there is one more radicalised student in the IIT, Guwahati. “Not one but there are two students. We got one and hopefully, we will get the other by today,” the chief minister said A student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and had gone missing was detained by the police on Saturday reportedly as he was on his way to join the terrorist group. The fourth-year student, hailing from Okhla in Delhi, was nabbed by the Assam Police in Hajo, about 30 km from Guwahati. “Reference @IITGuwahati student pledging allegiance to ISIS—the said student has been detained while travelling and further lawful follow up would take place,” Director General of Police GP Singh wrote on X. Before disappearing from the IIT campus, the student had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State through his social me- dia posts. In an email sent to the police, he said he has plans to join the terror group. “We immediately contacted the IIT-Guwahati authorities but they said the student was missing since noon. His mobile phone was also switched off,” additional superintendent of police Kalyan Kumar Pathak who is a part of Assam Police’s Special Task Force said. A black flag, resembling that of the Islamic State, was recovered from the student’s hostel room and sent for verification. Pathak said the police were trying to find the motive behind sending the email. The incident comes days after the Special Task Force nabbed ISIS India head Haris Farooqi and his associate soon after the duo had crossed over into Assam’s Dhubri district rom Bangladesh. Protest at NITC fizzles out as many students back out Night curfew On March 20, the dean of Students’ Welfare issued a circular outlining new regulations mandating students to return to their hostels before midnight. The circular also said the canteen will close by 11 pm. The protest which involved blockading all entrances to the campus was unfortunate and resulted in the prevention of the discharge of duties by the faculty, staff, students and others NITC management E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kozhikode The protest at the National Institute of Technology Calicut (NITC) has fizzled out with a majority of students who were part of the demonstration against the management’s decision to implement a night curfew on the campus backing out. Meanwhile, the institute management is firm on its decision to go ahead with night curfew and canteen restrictions. Sources said warning from parents might be one of the reasons why some students disassociated from the agitation. On March 20, the dean of Students’ Welfare issued a circular outlining new regulations mandating students to return to their hostels before midnight. The circular also said the canteen will close by 11 pm. According to the college management, the restrictions were introduced after giving utmost consideration to the health, safety and academic success of the student community “Late. night outings, that too beyond midnight, have impacted the long-term health, sleep pattern, well-being and academic performance of the students. Also, these raised significant safety Moscow Concert hall attack: Russia observes day of mourning and security concerns, exposing students to various risks, including substance abuse and alcohol consumption and academic performance. Therefore, the institute had instructed the students to return to the hostels by midnight,” said NITC management said in a statement. According to the management, the students’ protest is not only illegal but also a violation of various laws of the land. The protest which involved blockading all entrances to the campus was unfortunate and resulted in the prevention of the discharge of duties by the faculty staff, students , and others. The behaviour of around 150 students has also impacted the other 7,000-plus students and the institute’s reputation. It was painful to see the cancellation of the recruitment drives by the recruiting companies due to the denial of entry into the campus, it said. Director Prasad Krishna, along with other officials, held talks with the members of Students Affairs Council. Thereafter, the director along with the administration addressed students and replied to queries raised during talks, it said. Deputy PM Tatyana Golikova says 107 people are still in hospitals; Kyiv strongly denied any role in Friday’s assault even as Putin has vowed to punish those behind the “barbaric terrorist attack | P9
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