TIRUPATI l tuesday l may 21, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l ANANTAPUR EDITION Iran’s hardline President Raisi killed in helicopter crash Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were found dead on Monday morning, hours after their helicopter crashed a confidant of supreme leader Khamenei one-day state mourning In india today They were returning from the Azerbaijan border after inaugurating a dam. The crash happened in the Jolfa region of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province amid poor weather conditions. Raisi, who was close to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, took power in 2021. His tenure has seen Iran rocked by mass protests amid an economic crisis deepened by US sanctions ■ Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president on Monday. Mokhber has held top posts within the country’s power structure, especially in its influential charitable foundations ■ A one-day state mourning will be observed across India on Tuesday as a mark of respect for Raisi, the Union home ministry announced | P7, P9 50 days The time frame within which iran must elect a new president 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 Three Chautalas vie for Hisar LS seat CS submits SIT report to ECI, 33 cases booked in three districts HARPR E E T B A J WA @ Chandigarh E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy on Monday submitted the preliminary report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the incidents of violence reported on the day of polling (May 13) and the aftermath in the districts of Palnadu, Tirupati and Sri Sathya Sai to the Election Commission of India (ECI). During its two-day investigation, the 13member SIT found that many of these offences were ‘extremely serious in nature because a multitude of miscreants brazenly participated in the offences as two groups, pelting stones indiscriminately , Poll which potentially could violence lead to serious injury or 22 Cases in even death’. The SIT Palnadu also identified many lapses in the investiga4 Tirupati tion and gave clear in7 Anantapur structions to investigation officers to submit a Accused cited in compliance report at FIRs 1,370 the earliest. 731 identified In the 150-page report, SIT head Vineet 639 yet to be Brijlal mentioned that a identified total of 1,370 people 94 given notices were named as accused in 33 cases registered in 124 arrested the three districts in connection with poll related violence. The SIT sub-teams thoroughly reviewed the cases filed and the investigation done so far by going through the records, visiting the scene of offences, interacting with investigation officers and aggrieved parties, verifying the physical evidence collected, witness statements, whether appropriate sections of law were applied or not, whether all incidents were registered as cases or not and whether accused identiP4 fied were arrested or not. A first-time voter with grandma at a polling booth in Aska, Odisha | Shamim Qureshy 60% turnout in 5th phase of polls Baramulla polling at 59%, an all-time record P r ee t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The fifth phase of the Lok Sabha polls on Monday registered a 59.93% voter turnout at 11 pm, slowing closing in on the 61.82% tally for the same seats in 2019. With 49 seats across eight states and Union Territories voting, the fifth phase had the fewest seats in the seven-phase elections, which began on April 19. This phase wrapped up Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra and Ladakh. According to the Election Commission, Baramulla in J&K recorded a voter turnout of 59%. It is the highest-ever polling percentage in the constituency since 1984. Baramulla had witnessed a fierce three-cornered fight between National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah, People’s Conference President Sajad Gani Lone and jailed head of the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP) Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid. In 1984, Baramulla had recorded a turnout of 58.90%. Ladakh, too, registered a record voter turnout of 68.47% till 8 pm. This is the first major electoral battle in the region after it was carved out of J&K and granted Union territory status in 2019. Of the 49 seats in the fifth phase, the BJP had pocketed 32 in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The most watched would be the 14 seats in Uttar Pradesh, seven in West Bengal, and 13 in Maharashtra. All eyes are on UP’s Rae Bareli and Amethi, where Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his family loyalist K L Sharma are in the fray Rahul was fielded in . Rae Bareli after his mother Sonia Gandhi moved to the Rajya Sabha. In Amethi, Sharma is facing off against incumbent BJP MP Smriti Irani. The fifth phase is crucial for the Congress as the BJP had won 13 of the 14 seats going to polls barring Rae Bareli. In Maharashtra, 10 seats out of 13 witnessed a pitched battle between the two factions of the Shiv Sena. Voting in five seats in Bihar, three in Jharkhand and five in Odisha were also held. West Bengal recorded a turnout of 73.14%. Key candidates include Piyush Goyal, Bharati Pawar, Rajnath Singh and Chirag Paswan. Mohammad Nusrat, Mohammad Nafran (2nd row) Mohammad Rasdeen, and Mohammad Faris 4 IS men with plans to attack India nabbed D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Ahmedabad Available on Scan the QR code for further details *Basis lab test in controlled environment on protein damaged hair after five washes Four alleged Islamic Stateaffiliated terrorists from Sri Lanka, who had come to India to carry out terror attacks, were arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) at the Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad on Monday days , before the city is to host two key IPL matches. The four arrived in Chennai from Colombo on Sunday . Subsequently, they traveled to Ahmedabad on an Indigo flight. The four were being handled by one Abu Bakar alBaghdadi, based in Pakistan, who had given them four lakh Sri Lanka rupees to fund the operation. Abu Bakar encouraged them to carry out terrorist activities in India, to which they agreed, and even showed readiness to carry out suicide bombings, Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahai said. High drama is unfolding in Haryana’s Hisar Lok Sabha constituency, where three members of the influential Chautala family are locked in a multi-cornered fight. Two are bahus (daughters-in-law) while the third is a chacha-sasur (uncle-in-law). Indian National Lok Dal candidate Sunaina Chautala, wife of Ravi Chautala who is the son of INLD supremo Om Prakash Chaut a l a ’ s yo u n g e r brother late Pratap Singh Chautala, is pitted against Jannayak Janta Party (JJP)’s Naina Chautala, wife of JJP chief Ajay Singh Chautala, another son of Om Prakash Chautala. And taking on both of them is BJP’s Ranjit Singh Chautala, who is none other than the brother of Om Prakash Chautala. While the three close relatives are fighting among themselves, the Congress has fielded three-time MP Jai Prakash as its candidate. Although the three Chautalas have been following separate political paths, this is the first time they are contesting from the same seat. Naina, 57, is the mother of ex-Haryana deputy CM Dushyant Chautala while Sunaina, 47, is the general secretary of INLD’s women’s wing. Ranjit, 78, son of former deputy prime minister Devi Lal, is an inde- Sunaina Chautala (left), Ranjit Singh Chautala, and Naina Chautala pendent MLA who joined the BJP recently . While the Chautala family contest has evoked much curiosity the candi, dates are unfazed. “It is not a family war but a battle of principles,” says Sunaina, adding: “The main issues we are focusing on are inflation, unemployment, and water crisis.” Naina, a two-time MLA, is credited with holding statewide all-women rallies to create political awareness among women. She believes her rapport with women voters will swing the result in her favour. However, Ranjit asserts the BJP is poised to win all the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, just like last time, on the back of the Modi wave. As for Congress’ Prakash, he claims he has better connect with the people. In 1989, he had won the Hisar LS seat as a Janata Dal candidate and served as Union Minister. In 1996, he again won from Hisar on Haryana Vikas Party ticket. Later, he joined the Congress and got elected as the Hisar MP in 2004. Illustration: Mandar Pardikar express read Govt school students to get free textbooks by June 12 Thunderstorms at isolated places likely in next 4 days ICC prosecutor seeks arrest of Israel PM, Hamas leaders Vijayawada: The State government has taken all measures to distribute free textbooks to students of class 1 to 10 by June 12, coinciding with the reopening of schools after summer. The books for second semester, which starts in October, will be printed in July. Vijayawada: The IMD has predicted thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds at isolated places across the State for the next four days. Light to moderate rains lashed parts of Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions on Monday The Hague: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday applied for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top Hamas leaders on suspicion of war crimes in the ongoing conflict in Gaza | P9
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