HYDERABAD WEDNESDAY MARCH 27, 2024 `9.00 PAGES 18 LATE CITY EDITION FIVE CHINESE NATIONALS KILLED IN SUICIDE ATTACK IN NORTHWEST PAK A vehicle loaded with explosives rammed into a bus carrying the Chinese nationals in Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Its driver too died NO OUTFIT CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR ATTACK MILITANTS TARGET NAVAL BASE IN BALOCH The vehicle carrying the Chinese engineers fell into a gorge after the bast and caught fire. Rescue workers reached the spot and put out the fire. The bodies of the Chinese nationals — four men and a woman — were being taken to Islamabad. The foreigners were working on the Dasu hydropower project. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack till now | P11 ■ ■ Pakistan security forces on Monday night foiled an attack at a naval air base in Turbat district of Balochistan, killing at least four militants. In the exchange of fire, one security personnel was killed Militants attacked one of the biggest naval air bases from three sides, but their attempts were foiled by Pakistan’s security forces DOZEN BLASTS WERE HEARD IN TURBAT TOWN DURING THE ATTACK ON NAVAL BASE 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 AT LEAST 6 MISSING AFTER SHIP SMASHES KEY U.S. BRIDGE 1 2 3 4 A large ship hit the Francis Scott Key bridge in the port of Baltimore at 1:27 am on Tuesday, causing it to collapse, sending cars and people plunging into the Patapsco River Talks with SAD fail, BJP to go it alone in Punjab Demand for assurance on farmers and Sikh political prisoners were the sticking points H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh EFFORTS to stitch up an alliance between the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Punjab for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections broke down on Tuesday with the saffron party announcing its decision to go it alone. There was a similar collapse of talks in Odisha between the BJP and the ruling BJD a few days ago. The breakdown in Punjab was not about the seat-sharing ratio. The BJP wanted six of the 13 Lok Sabha seats while the SAD was willing to part with five. But an agreement was around the corner. The sticking points instead were the SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s insistence that the BJP offer some assurance to the protesting farmers so as to help his Akali party sell the alliance to its rural voter base. The SAD had snapped its alliance with the BJP in September 2020 after three farm laws were rammed through in Parliament, which triggered a massive nationwide agitation. The other demand was for some commitment on the release of Sikh political prisoners (Bandi Singhs). But the BJP refused to yield on both the hot button issues. Announcing his party’s decision, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar said, “The decision has been taken in the interest of a safe and secure border state. I am sure people will support the BJP in the June 1 election.’’ Badal hit back, saying the “Shiromani Akali Dal is not just a political party driven by number games, unlike some national parties. We are a 103-yearold movement with a clear vision and we have always stood by and for principles. That will continue to be our goal.” When the alliance talks were on, both Jakhar and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh who is a national executive committee member of the BJP, had said building a SAD-BJP bond was the emotion of the people of Punjab. This will be the first LS polls since 1998 that both the BJP and SAD will contest separately. In the previous LS poll coalitions with the SAD, the BJP had contested from three constituencies. As for the 2022 assembly polls, they went it alone and got humiliating single digit scores of two (BJP) and three (SAD) in the 117-member House. BJP FIELDS TURNCOATS IN HIMACHAL, GUJ BYPOLL The BJP on Tuesday named six disqualified Congress MLAs as its candidates for the Himachal Pradesh Assembly bypolls, triggering a rebellion by party leaders who expected the tickets. Former Himachal Pradesh minister and BJP leader from Lahaul and Spiti assembly constituency, Ram Lal Markanda, quit the party to protest the fielding of Congress rebel Ravi Thakur who had defeated him in the constituency in the last assembly elections. In Gujarat, four Congress turncoat MLAs, including former leader of opposition Arjun Modhwadia, were fielded by the BJP in the assembly bypolls EXPRESS READ ED raids firms, finds cash in washing machine Hyderabad: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted searches under the provisions of FEMA, 1999 at the premises of M/s. Capricornian Shipping & Logistics Pvt Ltd. The probe agency also searched the offices of the directors of several other firms. During the searches, unaccounted cash of `2.54 crore, part of which was hidden in a washing machine, was seized | P2 City to host first IPL 2024 match today Hyderabad: With the city set to host its first IPL match of the year on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Uppal, an elaborate bandobast arrangement has been made in coordination with different wings, said Rachakonda Commissioner of Police Tarun Joshi. “A total of 2,800 police personnel are deployed for bandobast,” the CP told the media on Tuesday | P3 Congress to clear candidates for TG today Hyderabad: The AICC’s Central Election Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday in New Delhi where it is expected to finalise the candidates for the remaining eight Lok Sabha seats in Telangana. The party has already cleared nine candidates for the state. The CEC meeting will be attended by CM A Revanth Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy | P6 8 workers fixing potholes on the 2.57-km long bridge and several cars fell into the frigid river below, at 8˚C. Two were pulled out; one seriously hurt. Search on for the rest The 948-ft ‘Dali’ container ship’s crew issued a ‘Mayday’ call before the accident, helping officials to slow traffic flow and prevent more vehicles from falling into the cold river All 22 Indian crew members of the Maersk-operated ship are safe. The ship’s owner is Singapore-based Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, founded by Capt Rajesh Unni | P11 Govt mum as US does a Germany, says it encourages fair legal process on Kejriwal Y E S H I S E L I @ New Delhi THE US on Tuesday became the second country after Germany to ‘encourage a fair legal process’ following the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. While the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had described the German foreign office spokesperson Sebastian Fischer as an interference in India’s internal affairs, it is yet react to the US comment. “We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” said a US State Department spokesperson on Monday to an email query by Reuters. The US embassy in Delhi, too, has not reacted to the remark. A few days ago, a German foreign ministry official said Ke- LIQUOR SCAM KAVITHA SENT TO 14-DAY JUDICIAL CUSTODY E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi A court here on Tuesday sent BRS leader K Kavitha to judicial custody till April 9, noting that the investigation regarding her role in the alleged Delhi excise policy scam was pending and that the purported offence, being economic in nature, was more complex than an ordinary crime. The court also allowed the Enforcement Directorate to file a reply to Kavitha’s interim bail plea by April 1. “Since the investigation into the role of the arrestee is pending and further keeping in view the submissions that the offence, being economic in nature, and thereby being more complex than the ordinary crimes...the accused is remanded to judicial custody till April 9,” Special Judge Kaveri Baweja said. The court directed that Kavitha be produced before it on April 9 at 11 am. Kavitha, who was produced before the court after the expiry of her ED custody, told reporters outside the courtroom that it’s not a money laundering case but a “political laundering case”. “This is not a money laundering case. It is a political laundering case. One accused has already joined BJP the second ac, HOME FOOD cused is getting a BJP IN TIHAR ticket and the third acDelhi: The court cused has given `50 crore has directed in electoral bonds. It is a Tihar jail fabricated and false case. officials to I will come out clean. Jai permit Kavitha Telangana,” she said to have while being brought to home-cooked the courtroom. food, mattress, During the proceedings slippers, on Tuesday Kavitha’s ad, clothes, vo c at e N i t e s h R a n a bedsheet, books sought interim bail on and blanket, the grounds of her minor pen, paper. son’s exam. Countering it, the ED sought time to file its reply to the bail plea. In its order, the court said, “The ED is granted time to file its response by April 1 and ensure supply of an advance copy of its reply to counsel for accused.” On a separate application filed by Kavitha, the court allowed her to have access to certain items in jail under judicial custody due to her medical condition. “The Tihar jail superintendent concerned is directed to permit the accused to have home-cooked food, mattress, slippers, clothes, bedsheet, books, blanket, pen, paper, medicines and wearing jewellery, in accordance with rules,” it said. Inputs from agencies jriwal is entitled to a fair and an impartial trial and can make use of all the existing legal remedies without restriction. The response of MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was caustic. “We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary he said. ,” Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted, Jaiswal added. ACB likely to probe arrested cops for graft in phone-tapping case S W E T H A V I M A L A M @ Hyderabad TWENTY-three days after former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) DSP D Praneeth Rao was arrested in the phone-tapping case, the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday reportedly sought to probe the accused officers for their alleged corrupt deals. The ACB’s move comes after revelations that apart from tapping phones, the accused allegedly threatened and extorted hundreds of crores from jewellers, realtors and hawala operators during the BRS regime. It is believed that the accused used the extorted money to purchase villas and other real estate properties on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The ACB is therefore expected to start investigating the accused officers soon, sources said. Meanwhile, a local court adjourned the hearing to Wednesday on the petition filed by the police seeking five-day custody of A-1 Praneeth Rao and Additional Superintendents of Police (ASPs) Bhujanga Rao (A-2) and Thirupathanna (A-3). The counsels for the accused sought time for filing counter affida- Court to hear custody plea of police today Hyderabad: A local court adjourned the hearing to Wednesday on the petition filed by the police seeking five-day custody of Praneeth Rao (A1) and Additional SPs Bhujanga Rao (A-2) and Thirupathanna (A-3). vits. All the three accused have been lodged in Chanchalguda jail. The seven-day custody of Praneeth Rao was over on Tuesday and the police sought the custody of three accused for further investigation into the alleged extortion. The accused, according to sources, tapped the phone conversations of the businessmen and used the audio clips to demand money from them. Meanwhile, the ruling Congress and BJP accused the K Chandrasekhar Rao government of tapping phones of not only the leaders of Opposition parties but also the then Finance Minister T Harish Rao’s wife and MLC K Kavitha’s husband. CONTINUED ON P5
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