TUESDAY IRAN’S HARDLINE PRESIDENT RAISI KILLED IN HELICOPTER CRASH 21 MAY, 2024 Ebrahim Raisi and foreign minister Hossein Amirabdollahian were found dead on Monday morning, hours after their helicopter crashed epaper.morningstandard.in 50 DAYS THE TIME FRAME WITHIN WHICH IRAN MUST ELECT A NEW PRESIDENT facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard I S L A N D N AT I O N TAIWAN ASKS CHINA TO STOP THREATS President Lai Ching-te said he wants peace with China and urged it to stop military threats to the self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own territory A CONFIDANT OF SUPREME LEADER KHAMENEI A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 11 NEW DELHI J8.00 PAGES 14 They were returning from 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 | P9, 11 Three Chautalas in race to win Hisar Gujarat cops nab 4 IS men from Lanka with plans to attack India H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh D I L I P S I N G H K S H AT R I YA @ Ahmedabad FOUR alleged Islamic State-affiliated 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. As per the police, the four arrived in Chennai from Colombo on Sunday. Subsequently, they traveled to Ahmedabad on an Indigo flight. “The ATS received a tip-off about the arrival of four terrorists by air or rail on May 18 and 19. Under discreet surveillance, they were apprehended at the (Ahmedabad) airport,” Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahai said. The four were being handled by one Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi, 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, Sahay claimed. Based on the geo-coordinates and photographs found on their mobile phones, the ATS team recovered three Pakistan(From top) made pistols and 20 cartridges Mohammad lying abandoned at a location Nusrat, Mohammad in the city’s Nana Chiloda area.“Their Pakistani handler Nafran, Mohammad had stashed the weapons at this Rasdeen, and location for the accused to use Mohammad in terrorist acts,” Sahai said. A flag of IS was also found at the Faris location, he said. A case has been registered under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Arms Act, 1959 and the probe is on. 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 E E 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 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 battle between the two factions of Shiv Sena. Voting in five seats in Bihar, three in Jharkhand and five in Odisha were also held. Bengal recorded a turnout of 73.14%. Key candidates include Piyush Goyal, Bharati Pawar and Rajnath Singh. MORE REPORTS ON PG 5, 6, 7, 9 & 10 LOAN APP 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 ASSANGE CAN APPEAL AGAINST EXTRADITION: COURT A London court on Monday ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, a decision likely to drag out an already long legal saga | P11 UJ WA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi DELHI Police has busted a gang of nine people who allegedly impersonated as stock market experts and duped people on the pretext of investment for high returns through a trading app, officials said on Monday adding , that the nine have been held. DCP (IFSO) Hemant Tiwari said they received complaint in January and later more regarding cheating through trading app CHC-SES. “It was alleged that they were added to the WhatsApp group, where online tutorials regarding ‘How to invest in trading for high returns’ were given. The complainants were induced to invest in multiple companies through their bank accounts amounting to `2.38 crore,” DCP said. A case was lodged and during the probe, it was found that cyber fraudsters allured to deposit cheated amounts in 25 bank accounts, the officer said. “One of the accused Munish Sharma, who was using the suspected mobile phones and had logged in the alleged Gmail ID linked with the alleged bank accounts was traced and arrested on the basis of technical surveillance. At his instance, eight more co-accused were nabbed,” the DCP said. “Their modus operandi was to win the confidence of people by offering them a handsome amount or commission for the amounts accruing in their accounts. The accused also collected their Aadhaar, PAN cards and KYC documents and floated bogus firms in the name of such people,” said the DCP . THE Enforcement Directorate has written to the Home Ministry alleging that AAP received more than `7 crore foreign funds in contravention of the FCRA, official sources said. A reference was sent to MHA in August 2023 informing it about Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) violations by AAP It is understood that the ED recently . shared fresh inputs in this case. The AAP dismissed the allegations. “They are deliberately targeting AAP. This is an old matter we have already clarified,” Delhi Minister Atishi said. Sources said that the FCRA violation and other irregularities emerged during the investigation into a case registered in Fazilka district of Punjab against an international drugs cartel involved in the smuggling of heroin from Pakistan. In that case former Punjab AAP MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira was made an accused after some incriminating documents containing details of foreign donations were found by the ED. Khaira, who was with AAP, was held by ED in 2021. He later joined Congress. An official said the federal probe agency came out with several instances of irregularities in the collection of foreign funds by AAP and its leaders and accused some of them, including AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, of siphoning the funds collected in Canada in 2016. The official said the probe also revealed that the AAP has set up a body, the AAP Overseas India along with volunteers in countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, whose primary task was to mobilize foreign funds. “It is also revealed that a target of overseas donation of `50 crore was fixed for these volunteers in the year 2016,” he said. UJ WA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi Home Minister Amit Shah addresses a campaign meeting in support of BJP’s South Delhi candidate Ramvir Singh Bidhuri in New Delhi on Monday | PTI | P6 EXPRESS READ Schools told to close for summer vacation The Education Department has advised the city’s private schools to close for summer vacation with immediate effect. “It has been observed that some of the government aided and unaided private schools are still open during the ongoing heat wave. All the heads of schools are advised to close for summer vacation with immediate effect,” the deparment said in a circular. P4 Graffiti against CM surfaces in metro trains The police have registered an FIR and started a probe after graffiti featuring messages against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was found inside metro trains and at stations, reports said. The AAP on Monday accused that the BJP was behind it. DCP (metro) G Ram Gopal Naik said the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has filed a complaint on defacement inside the metro coaches. P4 19 killed as pickup van tumbles into valley Nineteen tribal labourers, including 18 women, were killed and four others injured on Monday when a mini goods vehicle ferrying a group of tendu leaves collectors plunged into a valley in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, about 110 km from Raipur. The vehicle skidded off the road on Banjari ghat near Bahpani village, when the driver lost control. P9 ILLUSTRATION: MANDAR PARDIKAR staged a sit-in near the BJP HQ. As the cops had imposed Section 144, and the THE police on Monday recreated the party had not taken any permission for crime scene at the residence of Delhi the protest, the police have registered a Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal where case against those not obeying the Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal orders. was allegedly assaulted by the AAP said the BJP would get more CM’s close aide Bibhav Kumar. fake cases registered against it in SWATI “They remained there for the coming days. “BJP is losing. MALIWAL about an hour and later took They know it,” the party said. ASSAULT Bibhav to his own house, which The investigators are planCASE is located in the same area,” the ning to take Kumar to Mumbai officer said. as they suspect he has dumped Maliwal was allegedly assaulted his phone data on another system at the CM’s residence at Civil Lines on before getting it formatted. May 13 following which police arrested Meanwhile, Maliwal, who is being acBibhav. A court sent him to 5-day police cused by AAP of “working as a BJP custody The police have added charges agent”, said that when the truth would . of destruction of evidence in the FIR. come out, the AAP leaders wouldn’t be A day after Kumar’s arrest, AAP able to look in the eye. UJ WA L JA L A L I @ New Delhi AAP got `7 cr funds in FCRA violation, ED writes to MHA CAPITAL CAMPAIGN Sunaina Chautala (left), Ranjit Singh Chautala, and Naina Chautala independent 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. AAP workers booked, crime scene recreated at CM’s house ‘OLD MATTER’ Gang of ‘fake’ market experts busted, 9 nabbed 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
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