KANNUR l saturday l may 04, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION May consider granting interim bail to Kejriwal due to polls: SC The Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it may grant interim bail to AAP leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in view of Lok Sabha polls Apex court to hear Arguments on May 7 Sec 70 of pmla covers political parties A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for ED, that the hearing on Kejriwal’s plea against arrest is likely to take time and therefore, the court was considering hearing arguments on interim bail on May 7. Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in the excise policy-linked money laundering case ■ “We are just saying we will hear on interim bail and not saying we will grant bail. We may or may not grant interim bail,” the bench clarified ■ The court rejected the argument of Kejriwal’s counsel A M Singhvi that Section 70 of PMLA (which deals with companies) would not cover political parties and hence the AAP convenor should not have been arrested Sec 19 of pmla Empowers ED to arrest persons based on the material in its possession 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 Amethi ticket to little-known Congman Nam i ta Ba j pa i @ Lucknow Congress leader Rahul Gandhi files his nomination papers for the Lok Sabha elections in Rae Bareli on Friday, as mother Sonia and sister Priyanka look on | PTI Closure report on Vemula puts T’gana in a spot Court nod to be sought to reopen case after closure report said he was not a Dalit: DGP “The deceased himself was aware that he does not belong to Scheduled Caste (SC) ... This Hours after a police closure could be one of the constant report in the Rohith Vemula fears as the exposure of the suicide case filed in the Telan- same would put him to loss of gana High Court on Friday his academic degrees that he claimed he was not a Dalit, the earned over the years and be Telangana police tried to con- compelled to face prosecutrol the damage by announc- tion,” the report said. ing it wanted to reSeveral individuopen the probe. als were accused in DGP Ravi Gupta the case, including said the police will the then Union file a petition in the HRD Minister Smcourt concer ned riti Irani and the seeking per misthen vice-chancelsion for further lor P Appa Rao. investigation. The closure reEarlier in the day , port was first filed the Gachibowli po- Vemula’s mother in March before the lice filed a closure questions probe jurisdictional report before the “As some doubts have court, four months high court citing been expressed by the after the Congress lack of evidence in mother and others of came to power in the 2016 suicide of the deceased Rohit the state in Decemthe University of Vemula... a petition ber 2023. After RoHyderabad PhD will be filed in the hith died by suischolar. It went on court concerned...to c i d e, C o n g r e s s to state that he did permit further leader Rahul Gannot belong to a investigation into the dhi too had visited Scheduled Caste case,” the DGP said the university hoscommunity. The tel, when the stuHigh Court then disposed of dents protests were at the peak. petitions related to the case. In 2023, in a resolution passed More than eight years after at its 85th plenary session, the Ro h i t h ’s s u i c i d e, wh i ch Congress said it would bring in sparked widespread protests a legislation called the ‘Rohith across the nation, the police, in Vemula Act’ to redress distheir closure report stated that crimination faced by SC, ST, the reasons for suicide are per- OBC and minority students in sonal and no one abetted it. educational institutions. E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Ending weeks of speculation, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi filed his nomination papers for the general elections from his family’s bastion Rae Bareli in the presence of his mother and former Rae Bareli MP Sonia Gandhi, sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday . This newspaper was the first to report on the buzz about Rahul entering the fray from Rae Bareli (April 30 edition). With Rahul opting for Rae Bareli, the party gave the Am- ethi ticket to family faithful Kishori Lal Sharma, 63. Little is known about him except that he is a low profile operative and an errand boy of the Gandhi family in Rae Bareli. He, too, filed his papers. Priyanka recalled her family’s long association with Sharma, adding, “he has been handling Amethi for a long time. When I had managed election for the first time in 1999, we had done it together. He knows every village and street of Amethi.” Rahul said, “I am happy that Kishori Lalji, who has been serving in the area for the Both seats are family: rahul “My mother has handed over the karmabhoomi of our family with great trust giving me an opportunity to serve it. Amethi and Rae Bareli are not different for me. Both are my family,” Rahul said. The seat was earlier held by his grand mother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi thrice (1967, 1971, 1980) and grandad Feroze Gandhi in 1952 and 1957 Scindia’s fight to reclaim lost Guna glory A n u r aa g S i n g h @ Bhopal WHEN Jyotiraditya Scindia lost the royal family bastion Guna in Madhya Pradesh to his protégé-turned-rival KP Yadav in 2019, it was largely attributed to his arrogance. Then, Scindia was an influential Congress leader and Yadav had just switched sides to join the BJP to emerge as a giant killer. Cut to 2024, Scindia is fighting to reclaim his lost glory on a BJP ticket while the Congress has taken a leaf out of the BJP’s book by fielding Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav, a former leader of the saffron party. Guna has been synonymous with Gwalior’s erstwhile royal Scindia family and Scindia has won four times – in 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2014 – on Congress ticket. Party insiders, when Scindia’s candidature was announced on March 2, there was considerable unease among party workers as well as the dominant Yadav voters over the denial of ticket to sitting MP In fresh trouble for Revanna, police file FIR on kidnap plaint e x p r e ss n e w s s e r v i c e @ Mysuru IN fresh trouble for Hassan NDA candidate Prajwal Revanna and his father H D Revanna, police on Friday filed a fresh FIR against H D Revanna based on a complaint filed in Mysuru. The father-son duo is facing criminal charges for sexually assaulting several women. The new complaint was filed by the son of a victim. The complainant alleged that his mother, who had worked as a domestic help at H D Revanna’s house and farm house for six years, was kidnapped by the politician and his aide Sathish Babanna. He said Sathish Babanna visited his house on April 26, saying Revanna’s wife Bhavani had invited his mother to her house. His mother was then taken to Revanna’s house and sent back. However, on April 29, Babanna visited again and allegedly forcibly took her on a bike. On May 1, some villagers told the son about a video of alleged sexual abuse of his mother by Prajwal. Disturbed by this, he contacted Babanna and asked him to bring his mother back. However, Babanna claimed the woman was involved in a case and she could not be sent back till she secured bail. Pookode lake ‘guard’ian Wayanad tourism’s unsung Nepali hero retires after 3 decades of service P o o j a Na i r @Kalpetta After an illustrious career spanning 33 years with the Kerala tourism department, Sona Lama, a native of Nepal, has retired, leaving behind a legacy of dedication and memorable experiences for tourists who visited Pookode Lake in Wayanad. Lama, who reached Kozhikode in 1989 in search of a job, moved to Wayanad in 1991, where he began working as a security guard at the scenic Pookode Lake at a modest daily wage of `20. Over the years, his presence became an integral part of the Pookode Lake experience, contributing significantly to its popularity and enhancement of tourist services. Remarkably, Lama, 58,— who retired on April 30 — was the first foreign national to be employed by the state tourism department, setting a precedent for inclusivity and diversity within the industry . His journey from a security guard under the Wayanad District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) to a key last 40 years, will represent Amethi this time.” Apparently, Rahul opted out of Amethi because he did not want the polls to be framed as a rematch between him and the BJP’s feisty Smriti Irani, who had defeated him in 2019. But by fielding the foot-soldier, the party appears to have thrown in the towel. When the SP allotted Amethi and Rae Bareli to the Congress, the understanding was the Gandhi siblings would enter the fray from there. Sonia had represented Rae Bareli in the Lok Sabha since 2004 before she vacated it. Wayanad Collector Renu Raj and DTPC secretary K G Ajesh along with Sona Lama on his retirement day at the collectorate My experience reflects a deep connection with the region and its people, a connection that has been both a source of inspiration and a support system throughout my years away from my native place Sona Lama personality at Pookode Lake is not just a tale of personal achievement but also a significant chapter in the history of the state’s tourism sector. “I had a long and eventful career in Wayanad, spanning over three decades. My experience reflects a deep connection with the region and its people, a connection that has been both a source of inspiration and a support system throughout my years away from my native place,” Lama told TNIE. “During my early days in Wayanad, I sometimes felt the strong urge to move back to my hometown since it was difficult to stay away from my family However, the people here and . the love they showed me motivated me to stay he said. ,” Lama said though retired, he doesn’t feel like quitting work as it is the only thing that would help him move on in life. “I have asked my family, comprising wife and three sons, to visit Wayanad one last time before I make any decision on returning to Nepal,” he said. “During my years at Pookode Lake, the worst time indeed was the pandemic period when the entire tourism sector was shut down due to Cov● More on P4 id outbreak,” he said. Jyotiraditya Scindia Yadvendra Singh Yadav Illustration: Mandar Pardikar K P Yadav. “The Yadavs are clearly siding with Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav. To complicate matters, Yadav is the son of former BJP MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav, a sworn adversary of the Scindia family. This makes Yadav acceptable even to nonYadav BJP voters,” said a senior BJP worker. While Yadav voters are opposed to Scindia, the other castes, including Lodhis, Kirars, Raghuvanshis, Vaishya, Brahmin, Kshatriyas, and tribals, are said to be backing the Union minister. ● More on P9 Intense heat kills 497 cows in state in past 2 months M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @ Kochi The sweltering heatwave conditions sweeping across Kerala has made life tough for not just humans but animals too. According to the animal husbandry department, 497 cows died due to stress caused by extreme heat and humidity during the past two months. Kollam district tops the list with 105 cow deaths during the period, followed by Palakkad where 67 cows died due to heat stress. An emergency meeting convened by Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying J Chinchurani on Friday directed the officials of animal husbandry and dairying department to conduct field visits and submit a report on the death of domestic animals due to heat stress within two days. “This is the first time Kerala is witnessing such huge number of cow deaths due to heat stress. We have taken this seriously and directed staff to conduct field visits and create awareness among farmers on ensuring proper care to cows. Not just cows, goats, buffalo, poultry and pigs are also dying due to intense heat,” Chinchurani told TNIE. Sh esaid immediate steps will be taken to provide compensation from the Disaster Management Fund to the farmers who lost their cows. ● More on P4
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