WEEKEND Vol. 13 No. 238 | Pages 24 | `̀ 5.00NEW DELHI, Saturday, July 11, 2020www.mailtoday.in / www.mailonline.in

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THE KILLING OF DON DUBEY

POLICESCRIPTRIDDLEDWITHGAPINGHOLES

COP REPORT

Why was Dubey’s car switched? Toll

plaza video purportedly showed him in

a Tata Safari, but the one that actually

overturned was Mahindra TUV 300.

The police said the gangster died

during treatment at hospital, but doctor

confirmed he had been brought dead.

If Dubey was running away, how was

he shot by the police in the chest thrice?

Was he handcuffed? If yes, then how

did he grab a police pistol? A day before,

his close associate was shot dead after

snatching a police gun the same way.

Why was media, following the STF

cavalcade, stopped just short of where

the police-Dubey ‘firefight’ took place? Police inspect the site where gangster Vikas Dubey was killedin an ‘encounter’ after a road accident, near Kanpur on Friday.

MIND THE GAPS

THE vehicle inwhich don VikasDubey was beingbrought from MP’s

Ujjain for court pro-duction overturnedon a rain-slickedhighway when thetired driver tried to

avoid a herd of cattle near Kanpuraround 6 am on Friday, said the Special Task Force(STF) of the UttarPradesh Police.

The gangster took advan-tage of the situation,snatched an injured cop’spistol and started to run,

Turn to Page 2

By Shivendra Srivastavain Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh)

‘‘

‘‘

Three sub-inspectors, a constable & two STF commandos

were injured in the incident on Friday. In the July 3 Kanpur

shootout case, three people havebeen arrested, six killed, seven sent

to jail, while 12 are absconding.

— PRASHANT KUMAR, UPADG (LAW & ORDER)

CHAINREACTION� The Congressdemands probe byan SC judge, otherOpposition partiesalso question the‘encounter story.’

� Petition in SCsays all of Dubey’saides were killedin fake encounters.

� NHRC has putUP govt on noticeover a number ofalleged ‘encounter’killings in the past.

Dubey was shot dead near Kanpurwhile fleeing and firing with a policeweapon he had snatched after thevehicle he was in overturned as thedriver tried to save a cattle herd on a rain-slicked stretch around 6 am.

FULL COVERAGE ONPAGES 2-7

SEE PAGE 8

C VID-19

PANDEMIC26,506 newcases in India,

total 7,93,802

475 moredeaths,

toll 21,604

2,089 newcases in Delhi,

total 1,09,140

42 moredeaths,

toll 3,300

“It’s about time the world learnt yogic conceptslike ‘Aparigraha’ (non-possessiveness) fromIndia in its pursuit to revive itself. India hasalways understood this.”

“Its philosophy and values have emphasisedthe sustainable way of life and a harmoniousrelationship between humanity and nature.”

PRINCE CHARLES,AT INDIA GLOBAL WEEK

� ICMR will conduct anationwide sero-survey(testing of blood serum)to assess the trend andspread of Covid-19.There’s a possibility thatthe coronavirus may haveevolved and, hence, newdata is needed to prepareeffective battle plans.

� Totallockdown inPune fromJuly 13-23.

Vikas Dubey

Continued from page 1

prompting those in another vehicle to chaseand ask him to surrender, the STF said.

“Dubey fired indiscriminately and copsretaliated in self defence, leaving himinjured. He was given first aid and rushed toa government hospital, where he died duringtreatment,” a police press release said.

“Three sub-inspectors, a constable and twoSTF commandos were injured in the acci-dent and the subsequent encounter. In theJuly 3 Kanpur shootout case, three peoplehave been arrested, six killed, seven sent tojail, while 12 are absconding,” said PrashantKumar, UP ADG (Law & Order).

This is the police’s story that seems to havemany gaping holes and has triggered a polit-ical firestorm. The Congress has demanded aprobe by a Supreme Court (SC) judge, whileother Opposition parties have questionedthe ‘police story’.

A petition in the SC alsoclaimed that Dubey’s five aideswere killed in fake encounters.Hours before Dubey’s killing, theplea sought protection for himover fears of a fake encounter.

The National Human RightsCommission (NHRC) has alsoput the UP government onnotice over a number of alleged‘encounter’ killings in the past.

GAPS GALORE The first question: Why wasDubey’s car switched? A tollplaza video purportedly showedhim in a Tata Safari when theconvoy set out from Ujjain, butthe one that was actually foundoverturned near Kanpur wasMahindra TUV 300. The UPPolice has denied any switchingof cars.

A police press release saidDubey was immediately takento Ganesh Shankar VidhyarthiMedical College, where he diedduring treatment. But its princi-pal Dr RB Kamal said he wasbrought dead to the hospital.

Another question: If Dubeywas running away, how was heshot by cops in the chest thrice?Another gunshot wound wasfound in one of his hands.

Questions were also beingraised over the police version,challenging the account of theattempted escape of a gangsterwho had made no attempt toflee when nabbed in Ujjain a day

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 NEWS2

earlier. There was also some skepti-

cism over the possibility ofsomeone managing to snatch apoliceman's weapon and thenextricating himself from an over-turned vehicle. It is known thatDubey’s one leg was broken afew years back and had a steelrod inside.

Was he handcuffed? If yes, thenhow did he grab a police pistol?

A daybefore, his

close associ-ate was shot

dead after he snatched a policegun the same way.

There were also allegationsthat the media trailing thepolice convoy was stopped for afew minutes before the“encounter” took place. Copssaid the media may have been

stopped for checks. Locals and eyewitnesses also

claimed that they heard gun-shots but were asked by thepolice to leave the area.

TOTAL RECALLA massive manhunt that beganto nab Dubey after he and hismen killed 8 UP cops in the July3 Kanpur ambush ended onThursday. His 6-day run across

four states was over when hewas nabbed from Mahakal Tem-ple in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain.

Action has been taken againstseveral cops for tipping off thegangster about the Kanpurpolice raid. He had about 60cases of murder, attempt tomurder, extortion and kidnap-ping pending against him.Dubey was also alleged to havelinks with some politicians.

(Top) Body of gangster Vikas Dubeybeing brought to hospital as policemen(Right) clear the site where the killingtook place on Friday.

UNANSWEREDQUESTIONS

Deafening silence at Dubey’s demolished houseTHERE was an eerie silence outsidethe demolished house of gangsterVikas Dubey where around 60policemen are keeping a hawk-eyed vigil after the news spreadthat he was killed in an encounteron Friday.

The policemen, most of whom aredeployed on daily shifts, were sit-ting on wooden beds under a Neemtree, watching a steady stream ofmediapersons arriving with a vari-ety of questions.

But the scribes are welcomedwith silence as the policemen andlocals are unwilling to speak. Abroken baseball bat, damagedtractors, and some two-wheelersand an SUV are seen as one entersthe house using a ramp -- signs ofwhat it was before the Kanpuradministration demolished it onSaturday.

Some statuette of Lord Shiva,Parashurama, goddess Durga and

Radha-Krishna are kept on anunused electrical equipment undera Neem tree. The walls of the houselay demolished, and the barbedwire used for fencing are on theground with damaged parts ofvehicles all around.

Among the debris lies a new mat-tress in a room that has a ceilingfan mounted.

The house is around 18 km fromChaubeypur police station, where anew station officer has taken over,after all the policemen postedthere were shunted out after theVikas Dubey gang ambushed andkilled eight cops who went toarrest him.

The new SHO, however, politelyrefused to speak. Locating Dubey's

house was not very difficult aseverybody in neighbouring villagesknows by now where the dreadedcriminal lived in the area.

They were willing to tell thedirection. But, the scene atDubey's village Bikru was quiteopposite: people remained indoorsand refused to speak about himand the killing of eight cops he wasalleged to have masterminded.

Somalu (50), when asked aboutthe incident, said that he is from aneighbouring village, and is alabourer and does not know much.

When asked whether he has gotany help from Vikas Dubey, he said,“No.”

He refused to speak further.Dogs barking at strangers and the

cry of peacock break the cycle ofsilence and uneasy calm the villagehas witnessed over the past fewdays.

— PTI

Nobody is willing to speakabout the police action

Police deployed at demolished residence ofgangster Vikas Dubey on Friday.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 3NEWS

A 12-hour journey thatended with don’s death

By Ankit Kumar, Arvind Ojha, Ravish Pal Singh and ShivendraSrivastava in New Delhi, Kanpur

and Bhopal

IT SEEMED that the focus of theUttar Pradesh Police team, takingVikas Dubey from Ujjain to Kan-pur, was more on the media crewschasing them, than the allegedgangster. Several teams of IndiaToday reporters pursued the con-voy of Special Task Force (STF) ofUP Police on their 12-hour-longjourney on Thursday evening. Thecrew members were obstructed,threatened and stopped by thepolice at multiple points duringalmost 650 km long journey, rais-ing suspicions over the encounter.

India Today learnt aboutthe movement of the STFconvoy from Ujjain ataround 7:30 pm andmanaged to spot the fleetat a toll plaza betweenMaksi and Shajapur ataround 9:35 pm onThursday. India Todayreporter Ravish Pal Singhfollowed the convoythrough Sarangpur bypassand Udankhedi. During thisjourney, the STF teamprevented the crew fromfilming the convoy.

At around 10:30 pm,after travelling over110 km from Ujjain, theIndia Today crew wasstopped betweenUdankhedi andPachore by the Policeand the car keys weresnatched from thedriver. Ravish and hiscrew could not followthe convoy further.

Another India TodaycorrespondentArvind Ojhamanaged tointercept the STFconvoy on Fridaymorning at 6:30 amnear Barajore TollPlaza, about 50 kmaway from Kanpur.India Today crewfilmed the policeconvoy taking VikasDubey and startedfollowing it towardsKanpur.

This crew wasovertaken byseveral vehicles,making it difficult tochase the STF team.Soon after crossingthe Barajore Toll,one of the vehiclesalmost hit the IndiaToday cab on thehighway.

Local police had furthercreated a road block atKanpur Jhansi highway,which let the STF convoypass but stopped othercars, creating a traffic jam.At around 6:50 am, IndiaToday crew was stoppedfor checking by the localpolice at a blockage point,the police official toldIndia Today reporter, “Itwas a COVID relatedcheckup”.

However, the police had no means to check upthe health status of the travellers, the IndiaToday team was neither asked to show theirhealth status on Aarogya Setu App nor theirtemperatures were taken. At around 7:12 am, after travelling 4 km furtheralong the highway from the Police road block,the India Today team found one of the STF carsoverturned along the road.

According to police, the car carrying Vikas had an accident and he triedto run away. “The car overturned, the accused tried to run away aftersnatching the pistol of injured policemen, police party tried to makehim surrender but he opened fire. In retaliatory firing, he was injured,”Anil Kumar, SP Kanpur West told reporters.Vikas Dubey was taken to the hospital where he was later declared

dead. Three police personnel were also injured but their condition isstable. “Bullets brushed by two of them. Vikas Dubey had 3 bulletinjuries on the chest and one on his arm,” said Dr RB Kamal, of LLRHospital, Kanpur.

‘‘‘‘

— PRAKASH SINGH, EX-DGP, UP

If this man had beeninterrogated, he would

have disclosed the namesof all those who werecolluding with him,

helping him, financinghim and protecting him.

The entire network couldhave been exposed andpolice would have been

able to take action againstall of them.

‘‘

‘‘

— KL GUPTA, EX-DGP, UP

On the face value, weshould accept what police

are saying. Why we alwaysstart with negativity and

dub police wrong.Encounters are not done,

they happen… He knew thelaw and also how to abuseit... Why he was out of jailfor years? His stay out of

jail would have meant thathe would commit more

crime.

PHOTOS: PTI

Police personnel at the Hallet Hospital where the body of gangster Vikas Dubey was brought for post-mortemin Kanpur on Friday.

4 SPECIAL REPORT Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, July 9, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

Congress demands

inquiry by SC judge,

other Oppn parties

shred police theory

By Anand Kumar Patel in New Delhi

OPPOSITION parties, led by theCongress, have called for aninquiry headed by a sittingSupreme Court judge into theencounter of gangster VikasDubey by Uttar Pradesh police on

Friday morning.The encounter drew sharp reactions from the

Gandhis as well. Both Rahul Gandhi and party’sUttar Pradesh in-Charge Priyanka Gandhitrained guns at Yogi Adityanath governmentalleging a cover-up to save politicians and cops

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

who had relations with thegangster.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhiused an Urdu couplet to take aswipe at the Uttar Pradesh gov-ernment, saying the silence of aperson has kept the respect ofmany questions. Rahul tweeted:“Silence better than answers.”This comes across as the Con-gress leader was referring to thekilling of gangster Vikas Dubey.

In her video message tweeted,Priyanka Gandhi said thatentire country is watching howBJP government has convertedUttar Pradesh into a crimestate. “As per UP government’sown statistics, it is number onein crime against children, Dalits,women, illegal arms and mur-ders. This is the situation in UPthat law and order has com-pletely collapsed,” she said.“Criminals like Vikas Dubeyhave been flourishing andthere’s no stopping them, every-one’s watching that they havebeen protected by those inpower,” she added.

The Congress leaderdemanded that justice to thefamilies of eight cops killed byVikas Dubey can only be handedout after a thorough inquiry intothe entire case headed by a sit-ting judge of the SupremeCourt. “Justice in this can berendered only once the nexusbetween the politicians andcriminals is exposed,” sheadded.

Addressing media persons,Congress national media in-charge Randeep Surjew-ala said the largestnumber of criminals,who are elected andare given tickets areby the ruling BJP,

that is the data that has beenreleased in public domain byindependent agencies.

“It raises a question on thecommitment of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to clean thepolitical system based on whichhe came to power,” he said.“Encounter of Vikas Dubey alsoraises a question of a seriousnexus between organised crime,between those enjoying politicalpower and between those whoare sitting on the highest eche-lons of law and order machin-ery,” he added.

“How and when and in whatfashion will this nexus beproved, will be found, will berevealed and will be punished, is

a question that the Home Min-ister Amit Shah and Chief

Minister of UP YogiAdityanath need toanswer to people ofUP and the coun-try,” he further said.

DUBEY’S KILLING TRIGGERSA POLITICAL STORM

Congress leader RandeepSingh Surjewala

‘Crimi-nal has gone,

but what aboutthose protecting him’

Akhilesh questions UP Police’sversion, Maya too seeks a probeBy Kumar Abhishekin Lucknow

ON FRIDAY morning when thenews of Vikas Dubey'sencounter broke out, Sama-jwadi Party supremoAkhilesh Yadav AkhileshYadav was the first big namewho tweeted on it. He ques-tioned the modus operandiof this encounter. Akhileshwrote: “Ye Gaadi nahin paltihai darasal sarkar palatne seraaj khulne se bachai gai hai(Actually, the car did not top-ple. It is an effort to save thegovernment which wouldhave toppled if facts came tolight).”

Talking exclusively to IndiaToday TV, Akhilesh said thatit's look like a fake encounterand there should be a judi-cial inquiry under a SupremeCourt judge.

BSP supremo Mayawati alsodemanded a fair probe andjudicial inquiry. There shouldbe an unbiased probe underthe supervision of theSupreme Court into thekilling of policemen in Kan-

pur and the encounter ofmain accused Vikas Dubeywhile he was trying to fleewhen the police vehicleoverturned, Mayawatitweeted in Hindi.

In a separate tweet, shesaid: “This high-level probe isnecessary for ensuring jus-tice to eight policemen killedin Kanpur and to identify thenexus between police andcriminal political elements.By such steps, UP can become

crime free.” The state government and

the BJP top brass chose tokeep mum on the encounter.However, BJP spokespersonDr Chandramohan attackedSP chief Akhilesh. He saidthat by questioning theencounter, Akhilesh is againgiving boost to the criminals.He also recalled VikasDubey’s mother statementwhere she said that Vikaswas with Samajwadi Party.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav BSP supremo Mayawati

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 5SPECIAL REPORT

SHIV Sena leader SanjayRaut on Friday said therewas no need to shed tearsover the killing of gangsterVikas Dubey in an encounterand wondered why thepolice action was beingquestioned.

Talking to PTI, Raut said,Dubey had killed eightpolicemen. Attack on theuniform means there is nolaw and order. Taking strictaction is the need of thatstates police be it in Maha-rashtra or Uttar Pradesh.There is no need to shedtears over the killing ofDubey in an encounter. Whyis the police action beingquestioned? the RajyaSabha MP asked. - PTI

SENIOR TMC leader and MPMahua Moitra came downheavily on the Uttar Pradeshgovernment on Friday overthe killing of gangster VikasDubey, asserting that justiceis the “only thing killed” inChief Minister YogiAdityanath's “encounterraj”.

Dubey was killed in anencounter earlier in the day,after a police vehiclecarrying him from Ujjain inMadhya Pradesh to Kanpurin Uttar Pradesh met withan accident in the Bhauntiarea of Kanpur district andhe tried to flee.

“It is the job of the courts todeliver justice. It is the job ofthe police to deliver theaccused. Shocking thatIndia under @BJP hasconfused the two,” Moitrasaid in a tweet.

“Only thing killed in

Yogiji's “encounter Raj” isjustice!” she added.

Dubey had allegedlymasterminded the ambushin Kanpur's Bikru village, inwhich eight policemen, whohad gone to arrest him, waskilled past midnight on July 2.

- PTI

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut

‘Justice is only thingthat has been killed under UP CM’s rule’

Why action ofpolice is beingquestioned,asks Shiv Sena

JULY 3Gangster Vikas Dubey fleeshis village in Kanpur aftereight Uttar Pradesh policepersonnel killed in anambush orchestrated byhim and his men. He hadreceived a tip-off about thepolice team coming toarrest him.

JULY 425 UP police teams start amassive manhunt to cap-ture Dubey.

An initial cash reward of Rs50,000 was announced forproviding information abouthim. Chaubeypur Station Officer (SO) Vinay Tiwari, suspected of tipping offDubey, was also suspended.

JULY 5Police arrested Dubey’saccomplice Daya ShankarAgnihotri after he sustaineda bullet injury

JULY 6A probe initiated against allChaubeypur police stationcops. Three cops were sus-pended as well. The rewardamount increased to Rs 2.5lakh.

JULY 7Police arrest Dubey’s

daughter-in-law, neighbourand maid. The three wereidentified as Shama, SureshVerma and Rekha, respec-tively.

A probe was initiatedagainst 200 cops for linkswith the Kanpur gangsters.

JULY 8Dubey gives UP Policeanother slip as he fled froma Faridabad hotel beforecops arrived.

The police, however,reportedly arrested oneof his accomplices whoconfirmed that VikasDubey was with him at theFaridabad hotel. His closeaide Amar Dubey was alsokilled by police in anencounter.

The bounty on Dubey’s head

was increased to Rs 5 lakh.Chaubeypur SHO and SIarrested for tipping off thegangster. Dubey’s brother-in-law was also detained inMadhya Pradesh.

JULY 9Two more aides of VikasDubey, identified as PrabhatMishra and Ranbir Shukla,were shot dead in separateencounters as they tried toflee.

Dubey was also arrestedfrom outside Mahakal temple in Ujjain (MadhyaPradesh) after six days.

UP police take custody ofthe gangster and prepareto bring him to Kanpurfrom MP. Vikas Dubey’s wife,son and servant were alsoarrested by Lucknowpolice.

Vikas Dubey’s wife RichaDubey was arrested fromher Krishna Nagar resi-dence by a team of the Spe-cial Task Force (STF) oncharges of harbouring thegangster and connivingwith him.

JULY 10Dubey was killed in anencounter after beingbrought to Kanpur.

ALL IN A WEEK’S TIME

TMC MP Mahua Moitra

Social workers garland policemen outside the mortuaryat the Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital in Kanpur on Friday.

SOME former police officersfrom Mumbai on Fridaypraised the Uttar PradeshPolice over the killing of noto-rious gangster Vikas Dubey inan encounter, saying that theaction was much needed tokeep the morale of the forcehigh.

Mumbai's former 'encounterspecialist' police officerPradeep Sharma defended theaction against the gangster.Talking to PTI, Sharma said,We should congratulate theUP police for this daringaction and this is a genuineencounter as four police per-sonnel also got injured in it.The man who killed eightpolicemen got what hedeserved. This action willboost the morale of the policeforce. No question should beraised over this encounter andif anyone does so, then theyshould first go and meet thefamily members of eight policepersonnel, who were killed bythe gangster, he said.

Another ‘encounter special-ist' Praful Bhosle said, in viewof the circumstances at the

time of the incident as descri-bed by the UP police, this act-ion was much needed'. Nobo-dy should dare to kill thepolice, who is performing dutyand this encounter can be alesson to criminals, he said.

Retired Assistant PoliceCommissioner Bharat Shelkesaid the action against gang-ster Dubey was muchexpected to keep the moraleof police force high. - PTI

FORMER MUMBAI COPSHAIL DON DUBEY’S DEATH

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 SPECIAL REPORT6

LAST-MINUTE PLEAIN SC TO ‘SAVE’DON

THE alleged encounter killingof dreaded gangster VikasDubey on Friday has kicked updust over his not being appar-ently handcuffed by the police,against the backdrop of theSupreme Court’s disapprovingthe practice in various orders,calling it “inhuman,unreasonable, overharsh and arbitrary”.

The apex courthas from time totime issued a slewof directives on theprocedure to befollowed whilehandcuffing anundertrial, main-taining that theinsurance againstescape does not compul-sorily require handcuffing.

The police however have allalong been supporting hand-cuffing at various judicialforums on the ground that thepractice has been quite helpfulin ensuring that a dreadedaccused or convict does not

flee the custody.According to police, Dubey

was killed after he tried toescape from the spot in Bhautiduring his transit from Ujjainto Kanpur and their car metwith accident.

It said the gangstersnatched a pistol from

one of the policemeninjured in the acci-dent and was shotwhen he openedfire while trying toflee, an accountbeing questionedby opposition par-ties in Uttar

Pradesh.Six policemen,

including two fromthe Special Task Force,

were hurt in the accidentand the exchange of fire around6 am, an official said.

With this incident, thedebate over handcuffing crimi-nals while taking them fromone place to another hasensued once again. —PTI

Handcuffing debategets hot once again

SC DIRECTIVES OVERHANDCUFFING■ Minimal freedom of move-ment cannot be cut down byapplication of handcuffs orother hoops■ Handcuffing of prisonerswithout judicial consent isillegal■ In cases where the policeor the jail authorities havewell-grounded basis of draw-ing a strong inference that aparticular prisoner is likely tojump jail or break out of thecustody then the said pris-oner be produced before theMagistrate concerned and aprayer for permission tohandcuff the prisoner bemade before the said judicialofficer■ The magistrate may thenconsider the prayer andgrant permission to handcuffthe prisoner

■ We clearly declare — and itshall be obeyed from theInspector General of Policeand Inspector General of Pris-ons to the escort constableand the jailwarder — that therule, regarding a prisoner intransit prison house and courthouse, is freedom from hand-cuffs and the exception, underconditions of judicial supervi-sion we have indicated earlierwill be restraints with irons tobe justified before or after.

■ Handcuffing is prima facieinhuman and, therefore,unreasonable, is over harshand at the first blush, arbi-trary. Absent fair procedureand objective monitoring toinflict “irons” is to resort tozoological strategies repug-nant to Article 21.■ The competing claims ofsecuring the prisoner fromfleeing and protecting his per-sonality from barbarity haveto be harmonised. —PTI

APEX COURT’S OBSERVATIONS:Policehave

maintained thatthe handcuffing

practice has beenquite helpful inensuring thataccused does

not flee

By Aneesha Mathur in New Delhi

EVEN as the news of VikasDubey’s killing broke out, a peti-tion has come up in theSupreme Court that sought pro-tection for the gang-ster. The petitioner

had demanded protectionfor Dubey saying several ofhis aides were killed in dif-ferent “fake encounters”by the UP Police.

The petition in Supreme Courthas said Dubey’s associates andaides were all “killed in fakeencounters”. Citing the numberof the encounters over the pastfew days in which many of hisaides were killed, the Mumbai-based petitioner sought protec-tion for the gangster.

The lawyer who filed the peti-tion in the Supreme Court alsodemanded that Dubey’s caseshould be transferred to CBI.

The petition said, “Direct UPPolice and government to safe-guard the life of accused VikasDubey and ensure that he is notkilled/encountered by policeand complete security arrange-ment is made for his safe pro-duction in the concerned courtfrom time to time and he is dealtwith in accordance with law.”

The petitioner also sought anFIR be registered over the dem-

olition of Dubey’s house andother properties by the UPPolice along with the killings ofhis associates.

“Register an FIR in the inci-dent of pulling down/demolish-ing the residential building,shopping mall of accused VikasDubey and so all his expensivecars/vehicles and various othermovable/immovable propertieswith the help of bulldozer, JCB,Proclain machines and furtherkilling of five co-accused, whowere alleged to be involved inkilling of eight policemen andgiving the said killing colour ofencounter,” said the petition.

However, even before thispetition could be heard incourt, Dubey was killed in anencounter by the UP STF onFriday morning when the forcewas bringing him to Kanpurfrom Ujjain.

UP Police has said after a carin the police convoy overturnedon the road, Dubey made anattempt to flee. He snatched arevolver from one of the police-men and opened fire. Dubey waskilled in retaliatory fire by theUP Police.

Forensic expertsinspect the site

where Dubey waskilled near

Kanpur on Friday.

Gangster Vikas Dubey being apprehended by policepersonnel in Ujjain on Thursday.

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 7SPECIAL REPORT

Hours before death,

a petitioner sought

protection for Dubey,

claimed aides killed

in fake ‘encounters’

THE killing of gangster VikasDubey and some of his hench-men in a series of allegedencounters in Uttar Pradeshis reminiscent of a similarincident in which four peo-ple, accused of rape and mur-der of a veterinary doctor,had met a similar fate inDecember 2019.

In the Cyberabad incident,all the four accused werekilled at one go in anexchange of fire. Police inboth the cases claimed thatthe suspects snatched theirweapons and opened fire atthem forcing them to retalia-tory action in self-defence.

Dubey was shot dead Fri-day by police, who claim hewas trying to flee after thecar carrying him fromUjjain overturned on the

outskirts of Kanpur. He wasthe sixth man to die in apolice encounter after theambush he allegedly mas-terminded in Kanpur’sBikru village past midnighton July 2, killing eightpolicemen who had come toarrest him.

Earlier, five members ofDubey gang were killed inseparate encounters. Sur-prisingly, in both the Kan-pur and Cyberabad encoun-ters, the accused were nothandcuffed while they werebeing taken in vehiclesbefore the alleged retalia-tory firing took place result-ing in their deaths.

The snatched weaponswere in unlocked positionand the accused were nothandcuffed when the firingtook place, the CyberabadPolice Commissioner VC Saj-janar had earlier said whenasked whether they werehandcuffed.

—PTI

THE National Human Rights Commis-sion (NHRC) had sent notices to theUttar Pradesh government over a num-ber of alleged encounter killings by thestate police in 2017-18. The issue hasgained significance in view of gangster

Vikas Dubey being shot dead Friday byUP police, who claim that he tried toflee after the car carrying him follow-ing his arrest in Ujjain, MadhyaPradesh overturned on the outskirts ofthe city.

NOVEMBER 2018: Noticessent to the UP chief secre-tary and the police chief ofthe state, taking suo motucognisance of a mediareport about a 20-year oldman, Irshad Ahmad of Muzaf-farnagar district, being shotdead in an alleged fakeencounter on November 27that year.

Reportedly, after Ahmad’sfather had said his son hadno criminal history and waskilled in cold blood in a fakeencounter, the rights panelhad said in a statement whileobserving that the contentsof the news report raisedserious questions about vio-lations of human rights ofthe victim and his family.

“It is the solemn duty of thepolice force to protect thepeople and not to createatmosphere of fear underthe garb of dealing withcrime. Any death caused inan encounter, if not justified,would amount to an offenceof culpable homicide,” theCommission had observed inits notice.

FEBRUARY 2018: Notices sentto the state’s chief secretaryand the police chief, takingsuo motu cognisance ofmedia reports that a 25-year-old man was shot inNoida allegedly by a sub-inspector of the UP police onthe night of the February 3that year, and that thepoliceman was reportedlyheard telling his colleaguethat the encounter wouldearn him an out-of-turn pro-motion.

However, reportedly, theNoida police had deniedreceiving any message of anencounter, the rights panelhad said in a statement.

The Commission, while issu-ing the notices in this case,had observed that it seemedthe police personnel in thestate of Uttar Pradesh arefeeling free, misusing theirpower in the light of anundeclared endorsement

RIGHTSBODYSTEPS IN

‘encounters’ occurredover a period of 6 monthsstarting from March, 2017(reported on Oct 5, 2017)433

alleged criminalskilled in theseencountersand 89injured, saidthe NHRC

19

officials werealso injuredand one died

98

people killed in ‘encounters’since the new govt came topower in UP, the rights bodysaid (as on Sept 16, 2017)15

It is not good for a civilised societyto develop an atmosphere of fear,emerging out of certain policiesadopted by the state, which mayresult into violation of their right tolife and equality before law.

NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

‘‘ ‘‘

ACCORDING to NHRC guide-lines for all states andUnion territories, in caseof custodial deaths therights’ body should be inti-mated within 24 hours, andwithin 48 hours of the inci-dent in case of anencounter death, in orderto protect and promotehuman rights.

encounter deathswere reported tothe NHRC by thestate police

authorities in 2017, as perits standing guidelines.

Watchdog guidelines

22

given by the higher ups.It had observed that the

police force is meant to pro-tect the people and incidentssuch as encounters sent awrong message to the soci-ety. Creating an atmosphereof fear is not the correct wayto deal with the crime, thestatement said.

NOVEMBER 2017: The humanrights watchdog had issued

notices to the state govern-ment and the DGP, taking suomotu cognisance of mediareports about the Adityanathgovernment allegedlyendorsing killings in encoun-ters by police to improve thelaw and order situation in thestate. The NHRC had soughtreplies from them, includinga detailed report on the issuewithin six weeks.

—PTI

NHRC sent many noticesto UP govt over ‘killings’

A reminder of lastyear’s Hyd killings?

4 accused of vet’s rape& murder killed in ’19

Police andmediapersons at

the site whereVikas Dubey was

killed nearKanpur on Friday

morning.

Policemen arrive at the scene to investigate after Vikas Dubey was shot dead bypolice on Friday.

8 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

HOW INDIA SANK DEEPER INCORONA CRISIS

Govt deporting Jamaatmembers from abroad

20% OF TOTAL CASES IN FIRST WEEK OF JULY

By Rahul Shrivastavain New Delhi

INDIA has started pushing outthe foreign nationals, a part ofthe Tablighi Jamaat, who werebooked for violating the Covid-19 lockdown rules and misusingvisas, on which they were inIndia. The first 16 foreigners,who are members of the TablighiJamaat, have already beendeported to their country.

Sources in the governmentsaid that last week a group of 16Malaysians, against whom caseshad been finalised, were allowedto leave for their country. As perinformation accessed by India

Today TV, cases against 60 for-eigners are in the final stages inSaharanpur. Once the compli-ance issues and legal obligationsare over, the Uttar PradeshPolice is expected to revoke theLook Out Circulars (LoCs)which were issued against them.

The government seems to havedecided that there is no point ingoing for a long legal procedureagainst these foreign nationalsand cluttering the prison setups, especially because socialdistancing norms are in place.

By Milan Sharmain New Delhi

ANOTHER nationwide sero-logical survey will be con-ducted by ICMR after theresults of the first one provedinconclusive to check forcommunity spread of thecoronavirus in India.

The new sero survey shallbe conducted to determinethe exposure of Covid-19among the country’s popula-tion and will be a follow-upto the one conducted in Mayearlier this year.

“The final results of the serosurvey conducted in May arestill under process,” saidRajesh Bhushan, special sec-retary, Health Ministry. Theearlier survey showed howdata compiled from 65 out of83 districts in the first partof the survey only 0.73 percent of the population wasexposed to the coronavirus.

The delay in data collec-tion may create discrepan-cies about the prevalence ofthe Covid-19 spread withinthe particular containmentzones. Sources also saidthere is a possibility that theSARS-CoV-2 virus may havegone through an evolutionand therefore, newer and lat-est findings will give moreanswers.

By Rukmini S in Chennai

JULY has been a tough month,particularly for some Indianstates, in terms of risingCovid-19 cases — and it hasjust been over a week. Indiaadded more than 1.5 lakh

coronavirus cases — or 20 per centof its total case load — in the firstweek of July alone.

In comparison, it had added less than halfthat number — 66,833 cases — in the firstweek of June. Testing, however, lags thisgrowth. India discovered 20 per cent of itscases in the last seven days, but conducted15 per cent of its tests in the same period.

So which state is having the hardest Julyso far? Meghalaya, Karnataka and Telan-gana are among states that have seen over40 per cent of their total cases over the lastweek alone, while for states such as Maha-rashtra and Delhi, this week has not beensubstantially worse than in the past.

States with the fastest growth in cases —Meghalaya, Karnataka, Telangana andAssam — are among those that did nothave a high burden until now, and wherecases have begun to surge. Meghalaya hasthe fastest doubling time of cases — lessthan eight days — followed by Karnataka(8.32), Telangana (9) and Assam (10.13).The national average is around 20 days.

But these states with rising cases are notmoving fast enough on testing. Meghalayaand Karnataka conducted 2 per cent oftheir total cases on July 7; Assam 3 per centof its tests and Telangana 5 per cent, aftermonths of extremely low testing.

DOUBLE WHAMMYAs dengue season sets in across large

parts of India with the onset of the mon-soon, scientists warn that Covid-19 and themosquito-borne disease have overlappingsymptoms and worry the country’s healthcare infrastructure would not be able tocope with this double whammy.

The impact of a dengue-coronavirus sea-son would entail two different diagnostictests and extract a huge toll on patientstoo, each disease making the other morecomplicated to deal with and perhaps morefatal. While the number of Covid-19 casesraces towards the 8,00,000-mark, the inci-dence of dengue is also high.

Based on 2016-2019 data, virologistShahid Jameel estimated that India getsabout 1,00,000 to 2,00,000 confirmed casesof dengue each year. According to theNational Vector Borne Disease Control Pro-gramme (NVBDCP), 1,36,422 dengue caseswere diagnosed in 2019 and an estimated132 people died. —Agency inputs

IIIT Delhibacks AIdrug hunt

ICMR’s serosurvey instates soon

By Ajay Kumarin New Delhi

IN a bid to counter thecoronavirus pandemic,Indraprastha Instituteof Information andTechnology (IIIT) Delhihas worked on compu-tational Artificial Intel-ligence (AI) model fordrug repositioning inthe Covid-19 treatment.

“Now, instead of man-ually going throughavailable drug andchecking its effective-ness against Covid-19,we can rely on AI tospeed things up andfind drugs which havethe highest probabilityof success against thedisease,” a spokesper-son of IIIT Delhi said.

A filephoto ofmembersof TablighiJamaat inDelhiearlierthis year.

EXCLUSIVE

— RAHUL GANDHI, CONGRESS LEADER

It’s unfair to conduct exams duringCovid-19 and UGC should listen to thevoice of students… UGC should promotestudents on basis of past performance.

‘

’

Karnataka CM BSYediyurappa has been

home quarantined and hisoffice-cum-house ‘Krishna’ inBengaluru has been sealed for

five days for sanitisationafter some of the staff testedpositive for Covid-19. This isthe second time in a monththat the office has been shut.

C VID-19

PANDEMIC

QAMAR SIBTAIN

A medic collectsswab sample froma man for testing,in South Delhi’sDefence Colony on Friday.

PANKAJ NANGIA

INDIA and China held the 16thvirtual Working Mechanism forConsultation and Coordinationon India-China Border Affairs(WMCC) meeting at the foreignministry level.

This was the second round of talksunder this format since the India-China stand-off at the border whereboth sides reaffirmed to ensure“complete disengagement” and fullrestoration of “peace and tranquil-ity” in the border areas.

The Indian delegation was led byJoint Secretary (East Asia) from theMinistry of External Affairs, whileDirector-General of the Boundary andOceanic Department of the ChineseMinistry of Foreign Affairs, Hong Liang,led the Chinese delegation. Reviewingthe situation at the border areas, the

Ministry of External Affairsstatement said, “Both sides willensure complete disengagementof the troops along the Line ofActual Control (LAC) and de-escalation from India-Chinaborder areas for full restorationof peace and tranquility in theborder areas in accordance withbilateral agreements and proto-cols. They also agreed that forthe overall development of bilat-eral relations it was essential tomaintain enduring peace andtranquillity in the border areas.”

The Chinese Foreign Ministryalso put said that the discus-sions were “frank” and “in-

depth”. Making “positive”progress in easing the situationon the ground, the statementsaid, “The two sides expressedthat they will seriously imple-ment the important consensusreached by the foreign ministersof the two countries and thespecial representatives on theborder issue, continue to prop-erly handle the relevant issues,jointly safeguard peace andtranquility in the border area,and jointly safeguard the overallsituation of bilateral relations.”

The Chinese side concurred

that the two countries wouldimplement the various consen-suses at reached during the mil-itary-level talks in easing the sit-uation on the ground. “Theyagreed to continue to maintaindialogue and consultations onthe military and diplomaticchannels, promote further cool-ing of the situation on theground, and strengthen confi-dence-building measures in theborder areas. Promptly andproperly handle border issues toavoid the rise of differences intodisputes,” said the Chinese For-eign Ministry statement.

The meeting comes only a dayafter there has been substantialpullback at the LAC which looksnear complete. The Indian side

will be monitoring the situationto ensure that the Chinese fol-low these decisions in letter andin spirit.

CHINESE ENVOY SAYS…Chinese ambassador, Sun Wei-

dong, put out an 18-minutevideo clip on India-China rela-tions on Friday. Hitting a recon-ciliatory note, he listed out fivepoints saying both sides:■ Should be partners, ratherthan rivals.■ Need peace rather thanconfrontation.■ Need to pursue win-win coop-eration instead of zero-sumgame.■ Need to build trust, ratherthan suspicion.■ Relations should move for-ward rather than backward.

9Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, December 14, 2019 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 NEWS

RAJNATH,ARMY’STOP BRASSREVIEW LADAKH SITUATIONDEFENCE Minister RRaajjnnaatthhSSiinngghh carried out a compre-hensive review of the situationin Eastern Ladakh on Fridaywith top military brass inview of the withdrawal oftroops from the friction pointsby China’s People’s LiberationArmy, government sources

said. Singh carried out thereview at a meeting with Chiefof Defence Staff, GeneralBipin Rawat, Army Chief,General MM Naravane, NavyChief, Admiral KarambirSingh, and Air Chief Marshal,RKS Bhadauria, besides othersenior military officials. —PTI

THE Chitrakoot administrationhas continued to keep a tightgrip on the village, fromwhere India Today TV hadshown how minor girls frompoor families have been fac-

ing sexual exploitation inexchange for their wages.

On Friday, a three-memberteam of the State Commissionfor Protection of Child Rights(SCPCR) arrived in the district

for a probe. And the StateWomen Commission memberwrote to the DGP, demandinga high-level inquiry in thematter, accusing the districtadministration of trying to“cover up” rather than taking

the matter seriously. Theteam spent at least five hoursin Chitrakoot and met districtmagistrate, Shesh ManiPandey, and other top offi-cials. The administration hassubmitted a report to the

SCPCR regarding the ongoingprobe on the India Today TVstory ‘Raped in Chitrakoot’.

After meeting the districtofficials, the commissionmembers — Dr Suchita, Dr JayaSingh, and Dr Neetu Sahu —went to the village andrecorded the statement of thevictims and their families.After a two-hour-long meet-ing, the commission said thatthe girls had denied any sex-ual assault, and so had thefamily members. However,several questions arise on whydid the commission not followits own basic principle ofenquiring independently?Would not the presence of apolice personnel and a leaderunsettle the girls?

A DOCTOR in AIIMS hasallegedly committed suicide onFriday. Preliminary detailsrevealed that he jumped off the10th floor of the AIIMS hostel.

Dr Anurag Kumar, 25, was a jun-ior resident in psychiatry depart-ment of AIIMS Delhi. His motherhas been staying with him, saidsources, adding that he was suf-fering from depression.

His mobile has been found atthe hostel’s rooftop. As per theadministration, the patient wasshifted to AIIMS casualty wardand his condition was critical.The incident took place around5.00 pm on Friday. Inquest pro-ceedings have been initiated byauthorities.

DAMAGE CONTROL BEGINS AFTERCHITRAKOOT HORROR EXPOSÉ

India, China hold

second round of

diplomatic talks

to ease tensions

A team ofthe StateCommissionforProtectionof ChildRightsarrives inChitrakooton Fridayfor probingthe matter.

AIIMS doctorjumps off the10th floor, dies

Child rights panel speaksto alleged victims, kin

Army trucks movetowards Ladakh, inKullu on Friday.

By Geeta Mohan in New Delhi

By Neelanshu Shuklaand Mausami Singh in Chitrakoot (UP)

THE US aerospace major,Boeing, delivered thefinal five of the 22 Apacheattack helicopters to theIAF around two weeksago, and the entire fleetis now part of the assetsdeployed in key air basesalong the LAC, officialssaid on Friday.

Boeing said it com-pleted delivery of all 22Apache and 15 Chinookmilitary helicopters tothe IAF and is fully com-mitted to meet the oper-

ational needs of thearmed forces. Both thejets have been pressedinto service as part of theIAF’s deployment alongthe LAC after the stand-off with China. —PTI

Boeing givesfive morejets to India

Both sides to disengagetroops fully along LAC

PHOTOS: AGENCIES

By Milan Sharma in New Delhi

Border brainstorm

10 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 COMMENT

HUMOURDAILY

Remember you areunique. Just like everyoneelse..

—Margaret Mead

Do not take life tooseriously. You won’t get out of it alive.

—Elbert Hubbard

Why be difficult when witha bit of effort you can beimpossible?

SO FUNNY

THE contest between Keir Starmer’smethodical democracy and Johnson’srightwing– will decide if the Tory holdover Britain continues. The contest hasincreasingly gone Starmer’s way. “Theopposition leader made an impressivestart,” said the Times.

Watching Starmer regularly dominateJohnson at prime minister’s questions,it’s possible to believe that the glibpopulism since the Brexit referendumis coming to an end. Starmer may bebecoming the sort of Labour leadercentrists have longed for.

Starmer may lack politicalconfidence. There is one more PMQsbefore parliament adjourns for the restof the summer. Starmer needs to makeit count.

If he does carry on badly damagingJohnson, it’s possible that by theelection Starmer will be dealing with adifferent Tory leader. The chancellor,Rishi Sunak, is being talked about byTories as Johnson’s successor. IfStarmer does end up facing Sunakthen seeming like a grownup will nolonger be enough for the Labour leader.He’ll need to sell voters a picture of adifferent Britain.

Labour leadermay need anew approach

DAY IN NUMBERS

AROUND THE WORLD

THE GUARDIANON UK OPPOSITION’S STRATEGY

`1.2 crworth of 10 lakh

cigarettes seized byCustoms officersfrom New DelhiRailway station

1.5 lakh migrant workers to

get free food kitsfrom Kerala govt

under Atma NirbharBharat programme

He might have to sell votersa different picture

” ”

The police baton charge Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists, protesting the Kerala gold smugglingcase, in front of the Collectorate in Kozhikode, Kerala, on Friday.

RULE OF THE CANEPTI

CHINA’S expansionismhas two aspects. Thefirst is militaristic,which involves Chinaturning up on patchesof land where not a

blade of grass grows (Ladakh),or islands like Senkaku in Japan,where no one lives. The eco-nomic aspect involves strategicinvestments in infrastructure,from Africa to Sri Lanka, and ofcourse Pakistan. China rode thewave of globalisation and hasdeep commercial links withmost countries around theglobe.

Little expansionismBut Chinese expansionism displays a

curious lack when it comes to culture.Culturally, it’s like a fishbowl that wantsto expand into an ocean. This is at oddswith most countries that have hadexpansionist ambitions. We knowAmerica is the world’s dominant cul-ture when it comes to movies andmusic. The Soviet Union flooded Indiawith beautifully produced volumes offairytales, Russian classics and balletproductions. Indians of a certain gener-ation know Baba Yaga the witch, as wellas they know their Panchatantra. Theother day, I was watching a coming-of-age show on Amazon Prime, TokyoAlice, about young Japanese flirting,kissing, romancing and working theirfirst jobs. The Chinese have nothingcomparable to offer the world, thoughI’m sure they have several shows forlocal consumption.

The only Chinese film that was broad-cast on Doordarshan when we weregrowing up was the Oscar winner Raisethe Red Lantern about wives and con-cubines, which only reinforced certainstereotypes about our neighbour—amysterious faraway land. There were, ofcourse, the martial arts films but theycannot strictly be considered Chinesesince they all came via Hong Kong.

China, in the Indian imagination,

especially in contemporary times, is ablind spot. Back in the day, we heardJohn Lennon’s Revolution : “You sayyou want a revolution/ We all want tochange the world/ But if you go carry-ing pictures of chairman Mao/ You ain'tgoing to make it with anyone, anyhow.”The song upset the New Left in theWest more than it did the Chinese.

The first depiction of China in main-stream Indian cinema came with VShantaram’s Dr. Kotnis Ki AmarKahani, released in Hindustani andEnglish. It’s based on the story of anIndian doctor who worked in China dur-ing the Japanese invasion of WW II.There were passing references in songslike Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi: ‘Jaate theJapan pahunch gaye Cheen samajhgaye na’, more wordplay than any sub-stantial reference. The same goes forthe track, ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’,sung by Helen’s character in HowrahBridge.

The stereotypeApart from this, China features in the

popular Indian imagination in twoways. Middle class Indians are fasci-nated by Chinese totalitarianism, espe-cially when it comes to ‘population con-trol’. The dark flip side of this ishighlighted in the Amazon Prime seriesOne Child Nation; the girl child wasoften abandoned in baskets in busymarkets. But Indians, with typicalhypocrisy, see this rule applying only toMuslims and not to Hindus. There isalso an interminable debate about thelink between Shaolin martial arts andkalaripayattu, which often degeneratesinto the Indian obsession with assert-ing that everything in the world wasinvented in India first.

There was a time when Chinese trav-ellers like Hiuen Sang and Fa-Hiencame to India and wrote entertaining

accounts that are still read. We weretaught about them in school. In college,many of us read Vikram Seth’s transla-tion, Three Chinese Poets, our only win-dow into China of a certain time. Morerecently, there is an obscure gem byIrwin Allan Sealy—The China Sketch-book. It was driven by the author’sbelief that a camera makes enemies buta sketchbook makes friends.

Food for thoughtIt would be fair to say that we know

more about China through its products.Products are cold things—we love thedevice that is the phone but we don’tfeel any emotional connect with whereit is manufactured. If you grew up in the1980s you will remember Chinese foun-tain pens, brand names like Wingsonand Hero. For the record, my Chinesefountain pen always leaked, staining mysatchel with Chelpark ink. Another Chi-nese product that Indians loved wasTiger balm, as ubiquitous in Indianhouses as Boroline. Chinese shoemak-ers too were held in high regard.

Chinese manufacturing in the lastthirty years has a double reputation.While it’s the world’s manufacturinghub, it’s also known for almost-realfakes and shoddy goods. The ten-rupeeChinese lighter is notorious for lastingfive clicks at the most. AtmanirbharBharat would do well to invest here.Viral Indian rappers often use lines like‘Chinese maal’ to emphasise and con-trast their authenticity. But China’sopportunism at times does make youmarvel; during Diwali, Vishal Megamartwas flooded with cut-price Hindu gods;the bazaars with Chinese crackers.

Finally, food. From lung-fung soup tochicken Manchurian, Indians cannothave enough of (Punjabi) Chinese food.When Yo!China opened in Dehradun,the queues matched those outside thefirst outlet of McDonald’s in Priya Cin-ema Complex. Any mention of Chinesefood reminds me of a line from theAmerican sitcom, Anything But Love:‘Chinese, Chinese, not even the Chineseeat so much Chinese.’

The writer is the author ofThe Butterfly Generation. The views

expressed are personal.

Britain and India will beenergetic champions offree trade, to boost small businesses, and to create the jobs of the future.

— DOMINIC RAAB, UK Secretary ofState for Foreign Affairs, on the

Annual UK-India Day

DAY IN WORDS

I want more representation.I’m a mom to two blackgirls, and I want them togrow up in a worldwhere they seethemselves. Andthat’s not just incinema.

I would have preferred mytime there to be longer. But itis my fault, I should have beenmore patient yet again.— MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN, midfielder, on

failing to make the grade at the Manchester United football club

— CHARLIZE THERON,actor, on the need

for diversity in Hollywood and

beyond

China and its popculture exports

by PalashKrishnaMehrotra

“ “

11Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

SLICE OF LIFESUVIR SARAN

SPOTLIGHT

ILLUSTRATION:

AAMIR RABBANI

�Based in New Delhi, SuvirSaran is a highly acclaimedand award winning chef,author, and public speakerworking to educate and inspirethrough partnerships with

business and governance,and through thought-

provoking exchanges withpersons from every walk of

life. He has most recentlypublished, Instamatic: A

chef’s deeper, more thoughtfullook into today’s Instaworld.

BEING at home in Delhi has meplaying around, discovering andexploring, living and loving, eat-ing and sharing.

All of this, in the lap of whatmight be the most spiritualcountry on this earth.

Rain or shine, day or night, upor down, rich or poor, North orSouth, East or West, home orwork, whatever one might be,wherever one is headed, onerealises rather quickly that thejourneys are different, the direc-tions separate, the languageschange, the attires are varied,the faces unique; yet the hopesand aspirations are always similar.

The falling rain, the blurrysights, the torrentially inspiredmoods, the sheltered freedoms,the privileged perch, the strug-gles of lives as they begin theirjourney, the adventurous bold-ness of youth, the challengesposed by poverty, the tragic faceof homelessness, are all realitiesthat are alive and thriving here.

They separate us into the fortu-

nate and those much less so.They compel us to see and think.They demand from us a dialoguewithin.

Offering us a chance to showour humanity.

Offering us, at the very least, achance to be grateful for whowe are and to come to thatawakening that might make usappreciate our lot and those ofothers.

When we have seen the truth,appreciated its complexities,found gratitude for our privi-leges, only then can we breachour self-protection and affectchange from within, change thatalters the lives of our fellowtravellers in this wondrous journey that is life.

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOPPING■ 6 to 8 cups/1.4 to 1.9 lvegetable oil■ 1 large red onion, halvedand thinly sliced■ 1/4 cup/4 g finely choppedfresh coriander/cilantro■ 2-inch/5 cm piece freshginger-root, peeled and thinlysliced into very thinmatchsticks■ 1 jalepeño, finely minced(remove the seeds for less heat)■ 1 tablespoon/15 ml lime juice■ 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala

FOR THE KHICHDI■ 1 cup/190 g split and hulledmung dal■ 2 tablespoons/30 g ghee orclarified butter■ 10 green cardamom pods■ 8 whole cloves■ 3 bay leaves■ 2-inch/5 cm cinnamon stick■ 1 teaspoon Panch Phoran■ 3/4 teaspoon turmeric■ 1/8 teaspoon asafetida■ 1 cup/185 g basmati rice■ 1/2 medium cauliflower,divided into very small florets■ 1 medium red potato, cutinto 1/2-inch pieces

■ 4 medium carrots, peeledand finely chopped■ 10-ounce/285 g bag frozenpeas

FOR THE FIRST TEMPERING■ 2 tablespoons/30 g ghee orclarified butter■ 1/2 teaspoon panch phoran■ 1/2 large red onion, halvedand thinly sliced■ 1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt■ 2 teaspoons groundcoriander■ 2 large tomatoes, finely diced■ 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

SECOND TEMPERING OIL■ 2 tablespoons/30 g ghee orclarified butter

■ 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds■ 1/4 teaspoon cayennepepper■ 1 pinch asafetida

METHODHeat the oil in a large Dutchoven (use enough oil to fill thesaucepan to a 2-inch/5 cmdepth) over medium-high heatuntil it reaches 350°F/177°C on aninstant-read thermometer. Addthe onions and fry until crisp andbrowned, about 2 minutes, turn-ing the onions occasionally. Use aslotted spoon or frying spider totransfer the onions to a papertowel-lined plate and set aside.

In a small bowl stir the cilantro,ginger, jalapeño, and lime juicetogether and set aside.

Place the mung dal in a largeskillet over medium heat andtoast it until it is fragrant andlightly golden, 3 to 5 minutes.Transfer the dal to a large plateand set aside.

Place the ghee, cardamom,coves, bay leaves, cinnamon,panch phoran, turmeric, andhing into the pan and roast itover medium heat until thespices are fragrant, about 2

minutes.Add the rice, toasted dal, the

cauliflower, potatoes, and carrotsand cook until the rice becomestranslucent and the cauliflowersweats, 3 to 5 minutes, stirringoften. Pour in 7 cups/1.65 l water,increase the heat to high andbring to a boil. Add the peas,bring back to a boil, reduce theheat to medium-low, cover, andsimmer for 20 minutes.

While the rice and dal mixturecooks, make the first temperingoil. Heat the ghee and panchphoran in a large skillet overmedium heat until the cumin inthe panch phoran begins tobrown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in theonions and the salt and cookuntil the onions are brownedaround the edges and soft, about10 minutes. If the onions begin toget too dark or stick to the panbottom, splash the pan with afew tablespoons of water andscrape up the browned bits. Stir

in the coriander and cook, stir-ring, for 2 minutes, and then stirin the tomatoes and thecayenne, cooking until the toma-toes are jammy, 6 to 8 minutes,stirring occasionally. Turn off theheat and set aside.

Once the rice and dal arecooked, remove the lid and use apotato masher to smash themixture until only a few carrotsand peas remain whole (removethe whole or large spices whilemashing if you like). Stir in thefirst tempering along with theremaining 3 cups/720 ml of water.Return to boil and cook for 2minutes. Turn off the heat.

Make the second temperingoil. Wipe out the pan from thefirst tempering oil and heat theghee for the second temperingoil over medium heat alongwith the cumin, cayenne, andhing and cook, stirring often,until the cumin begins tobrown, about 2 minutes. Imme-diately stir it into the rice anddal mixture.

Divide the khichdi between 6bowls and top with some of theginger mixture, a pinch ofgaram masala, and the friedonions and serve.

Shelter oughtto be a right

BIRBAL KI KHICHDI

Heat ghee and panchphoran in a skillet

AT HOME, RAIN OR SHINE

HAVING shelter oughtto be a right, not just aprivilege. Living a life ofwealth and access, withsocietal power andpolitical connections, is

a privilege. An appanage thatcould be inherited, granted, orearned and due.

Sitting in the car as the delugepours over Delhi, floods many ofits streets, showers the floraand fauna, and cleans up thealways greige cityscape, Irealise I have the privilege ofshelter and all that it brings.

Even inanimate buildingsand roads, ruins and rocks,have it tougher than I do.They are weathered by thestorm. I romance the weatherand its associated rituals. Fromthe perch upon which I sit, I findmyself a secure spectator.

Beyond the windshield, I know frommemory, and with my gift of sight, is a liv-ing world, doing its best to survive whilstalso being spectator to the augury that isme, and others like me, blessed with thehonour of shelter, even shelter on wheels.

Homeless, beggars, pedestrians, and

those caught unawares, all are true wit-nesses to whatever beauty or unsightli-ness that might be ascribed to the rain,depending from where one pivots to itsmajesty and its brute power.

Riding away, clicking my photos, beingriddled by pleasant memories past andmaking new ones for the future, I enjoythe rain whilst bone dry in the comforts ofthe car.

The driver braces the challengesposed by the traffic, the frame of

the vehicle provides me shelter,the seats luxury, and fellowpassengers comforting com-pany.

Why wouldn’t I be romanti-cising the storm? How couldI be anything but happy?What right do I have to be so

blessed? Looking outside, beyond the

beautiful impressionistic render-ing of the blur that life already is, is

the certainty that life is not a game ofblurring reality.

Life exists in all its many faces andforms. We exist in all ours.

Mindfulness ought to take us from priv-ilege to a consciousness of conscience.

Are we ready to embrace reality? Is therain going to flood us with humanity?

Sitting inthe car as the

deluge pours overDelhi, I realise I

have the privilegeof shelter and all

that it brings

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020

AUSTRALIA will halve thenumber of citizens allowed toreturn home from overseaseach week, Prime MinisterScott Morrison said on Friday,as authorities struggle to con-

tain a COVID-19 outbreak in thecountry’s second most populous city.

The state of Victoria reported 288 new caseson Friday, a record daily increase for any partof the country and sparking fears of a wave ofcommunity transmission in a country wheremost cases have involved returned travellers.

“The news from Victoria remains very con-cerning,” Morrison told reporters in Can-berra. Since March, Australia

has allowed only citizens andpermanent residents to enterthe country with some 357,000having returned to date. Aus-tralia will now impose a cap of4,175 people allowed to returneach week and those returningwill also have to pay for amandatory 14-day quarantine ina hotel, which until now hadbeen paid for by state govern-ments.

“The decision that we took...was to ensure that we could putour focus on the resourcesneeded to do the testing andtracing and not have to haveresources diverted to othertasks,” Morrison said. SinceMarch, Australia has allowedonly citizens and permanent res-idents to enter the country withsome 357,000 having returned todate.

Australia will now impose acap of 4,175 people allowed toreturn each week and thosereturning will also have to payfor a mandatory 14-day quaran-tine in a hotel, which until nowhad been paid for by state gov-ernments.

“The decision that we took...was to ensure that we could putour focus on the resourcesneeded to do the testing andtracing and not have to haveresources diverted to othertasks,” Morrison said. Neigh-bouring New Zealand also intro-duced measures this week tolimit the number of citizensreturning home, seeking toreduce the burden on its over-flowing quarantine facilities.

SECOND LOCKDOWNThe announcement of the newrestrictions comes days afterVictoria reimposed a lockdownin Melbourne for six weeks fol-lowing a surge in cases linked tosocial distancing breaches inhotels where returned travellerswere held in quarantine.

In addition to forcing 5 millionpeople to stay home for all butessential business, the flare-uphas led the rest of the country’sstates to ban Victorians fromentering and dealt a blow tohopes for a speedy recovery forthe nation’s economy. Thestate’s chief health officerwarned there would be a sharprise in hospitalisations, intensive

By Geeta Mohanin New Delhi

PRINCE Charles on Fridayhailed India's ‘sustainable’ wayof life as he advocated that people should look atrebuilding the world in thecurrent crisis by putting “peo-ple” and “planet” at the heartof their economy.

Speaking at India GlobalWeek through a virtual linkfrom London, the Prince ofWales said he spoke to PMModi on the importance of‘sustainable living’. Speakingabout the ancient yogic con-cept of ‘Aparigraha’, PrinceCharles said it was time that the world learnt theseancient wisdom from India asit seeks to revive itself. “Indiahas always understood this. Itsphilosophy and values have

emphasised the sustainableway of life and a harmoniousrelationship between human-ity and nature. For example,the yogic principle of ‘Apari-graha’ (the virtue of non-pos-sessiveness, non-grasping ornon-greediness) encouragesus to keep only that which isnecessary at a certain stage oflife. We could all perhaps learnfrom such examples of ancientwisdom,” he said.

“Having had the pleasure ofvisiting India so many times,I’ve always been struck by herextraordinary diversity andthe deep well of creativity andingenuity and resilience uponwhich she draws. This is asource of great inspiration tome personally, he added.

Charles hailsIndia over‘sustainableway of life’

A sanitation worker cleans a bench outside the single remaining public housingtower under a lockdown in response to the coronavirus in Melbourne.

The announcement

comes days after

Victoria reimposed

a lockdown for six

weeks as cases rise

File photo of BritishPrince Charles.

12 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

Hong Kong on Fridaysaid it is suspending

classes for students follow-ing a rise in virus cases. Officials reported 42 newcases on Thursday, 34 ofthem locally transmitted.W RLDLY

ISE

...We know it’s (Covid) very,very similar to the virus in thebat, but did it go through anintermediate species? This is aquestion we all need answered.

‘

‘

— MARGARET HARRIS, WHO SPOKESPERSON

REUTERS

C VID-19

PANDEMICAN advance team from theWorld Health Organizationhas left for China toorganise an investigationinto the origins of thenovel coronavirus whichsparked the globalpandemic, a spokeswomansaid on Friday.

The virus is believed to have emerged in a wholesale market inthe central Chinesecity of Wuhan latelast year. Thetwo WHOexperts,

specialists in animalhealth and epidemiology,will work with Chinesescientists to determine thescope and itinerary of theinvestigation, WHOspokeswoman MargaretHarris told a U.N. briefingin Geneva. “The WHO will have no role in anindependent panel,

announced onThursday, to review

the globalhandling ofpandemic, shesaid. —Reuters

WHO team on way to Chinato probe the virus origin

AUS TO HALVE NUMBER OFRETURNING CITIZENS

care cases and deaths in thecoming days as a result of thespike in infections.

Victoria on Friday also becamethe first state in the country tourge people to wear masks whenthey leave home. To ease thepain for businesses in Mel-bourne forced to shut again andholiday spots hit by cancella-tions, the state government alsosaid it would provide a furtherA$534 million ($371 million), ontop of A$6 billion already pro-vided.

Even with the latest outbreak,Australia has done relativelywell in controlling the novelcoronavirus so far, with around9,000 cases and 106 deaths.

Spike in cases as curbs eased in BrasiliaWHEN an 80-year-old womancollapsed last week in thestreets of the Brazilian capi-tal’s poorest and most popu-lous suburb, she was rushedto hospital and put on a ven-tilator, neighbors told localmedia. But this was not justany suspected COVID-19 case.

Maria Aparecida Ferreira isthe grandmother of Brazilianfirst lady Michelle Bolsonaro,who grew up in Ceilandia, asprawling, dusty satellite citythat has become a hot spotfor coronavirus contagionaround Brasilia.

The modernistic capital wasthe first big Brazilian city toadopt social distancingmeasures to curb the pan-demic in March and wasweathering the crisis well,until the lifting of quarantinerules triggered a surge incases, health experts say.

Among the city’s spate ofhigh-profile patients is Presi-dent Jair Bolsonaro himself,who said on Tuesday hetested positive for the novelcoronavirus after running a

fever. Under pressure fromBolsonaro, mayors and gov-ernors across Brazil are loos-ening isolation orders evenas confirmed infectionsexplode past 1.7 million

cases, with nearly 70,000dead – the world’s worst out-break outside the US.

Brasilia is a case study inthe risks of reopening. Thecapital now has more infec-tions per capita than anyother major city in Brazil,with 2,133 confirmed casesper 100,000 people. That ismore than two times higher than met-ropolitan Sao Paulo or Rio deJaneiro, according to HealthMinistry statistics.

Specialists say the recentexplosion in cases has clearlybeen driven by a prematurereopening.

It reported that coron-avirus is still spreading in thecity, though transmission hasslowed to 1.2 people gettingCOVID-19 for every confirmedcase, down from 2.1 in earlyApril. —Reuters

Members of the armed forces disinfect the entrance ofthe Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil.

Thevirus first

emerged in a wholesale marketin the city of Wuhan

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 13Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Thursday, August 24, 2017 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 W RLDLY WISE

ONE of South Korea’s mostprominent elected officials andlongtime mayor of the capital,Seoul, was found dead on Fridayafter his daughter reported him missing amid a criminalinvestigation and mediareports of alleged sex-ual harassment.

Officers usingdrones and snifferdogs found MayorPark Won-soon’sbody at Mt Bugak, in northern Seoul,shortly after mid-night following asearch involving hun-dreds of police, the SeoulMetropolitan Police said.

There was no sign of foul play and police did not give acause of death. The apparentsuicide came after one of Park’sformer secretaries filed a com-plaint on Wednesday allegingthe 64-year-old had sexuallyharassed her, the Yonhap newsagency reported.

Police confirmed a criminalcomplaint had been madeagainst Park but did not elabo-

rate on the nature of the allega-tions. “I apologise to everyone,”Park wrote in a note left on hisdesk and released by the citygovernment with the permissionof his family. I thank everyonewho was with me in my lifetime.I am so sorry to my family, to

whom I have only caused pain.”The note did not mention any

allegations. A representative ofPark’s family issued a statementon their behalf saying it was timeto let him go and urging peopleto avoid spreading “groundlessstatements”. —Reuters

THE US has imposed a ban onPakistan International Airlinesflights for at least six months,citing dubious pilots' licenses,according to a media report on Friday.

On Tuesday, the EuropeanUnion Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) ordered its 32 memberstates to bar Pakistani pilotsfrom working, followingreports of fake licensesbeing issued to them.

The decision hasbeen taken after262 Pakistani pilotswere grounded,whose licences the Aviation Minis-ter Ghulam SarwarKhan had termeddubious in theNational Assembly.

The Express Tribunereported quoting sources thatthe US authorities have notifiedthe national carrier of the banthrough an email. They addedthat the special flight licences

obtained by the PIA had alsobeen revoked. The US officialssaid that the ban had beenimposed because of the recentissue of suspected pilots'licences in PIA. PIA was allowedto operate 12 direct specialflights to the US of which theairline had operated sevenflights. The paper reported that

the permission for theremaining five flights

had now beenrevoked, accordingto the sources.

Pakistan hasalready suspendedlicenses of 34 morePIA pilots after the

national flag car-rier terminated the

services of 52 employ-ees on various charges,

including fake degrees. Thedubious license issue emergedafter the preliminary probereport of the Karachi planecrash blamed the pilots and theair traffic control. —PTI

US bans PIA ops for atleast six months over pilot licence scandal

China says it will

hit back against

new sanctions

over the alleged

rights abusesCHINA said on Friday it would take“reciprocal measures” against the United States after Washingtonimposed sanctions on senior Chineseofficials over alleged human rightsabuses against the Uighur Muslimminority.

Beijing described the new U.S. sanctionsas “deeply detrimental” to mutual rela-tions, already strained by differences overChina’s handling of the coronavirus andits tightening grip on Hong Kong.

Washington imposed sanctions on theautonomous region of Xinjiang’s CommunistParty Secretary Chen Quanguo, a member ofChina’s powerful Politburo, and three otherofficials. A senior U.S. administration officialdescribed Chen as the highest ranking Chi-nese official that the US has sanctioned. Thedecision is “no joke,” the U.S. official said. “Notonly in terms of symbolic and reputationalaffect, but it does have real meaning on a per-son’s ability to move around the world andconduct business.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman ZhaoLijian told reporters in Beijing the U.S. decision was a serious interference in Chineseaffairs. “In light of these wrong actions, Chinawill impose reciprocal measures on U.S. offi-cials and organizations that have displayedegregious behaviour on human rights in rela-tion to Xinjiang affairs,” Zhao said. “We urgethe U.S. to correct this wrongdecision. If the U.S. continues toproceed, China will take firmcountermeasures.”

Washington’s sanctions wereimposed under the Global Magnit-sky Act, which allows the U.S. gov-ernment to target human rightsviolators worldwide by freezingany U.S. assets, banning U.S. traveland prohibiting Americans fromdoing business with them.

Sanctions were also imposed onZhu Hailun, deputy secretary ofthe regional legislative body, the Xinjiang’s People’s Congress;Wang Mingshan, the director andCommunist Party secretary of theXinjiang Public Security Bureau;and the former party secretary ofthe bureau, Huo Liujun. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeosaid Washington was also barringChen, Zhu, Wang and their immediate families, and otherunnamed Chinese CommunistParty officials, from traveling tothe United States.

EXILE GROUP WELCOMESSANCTIONS ON CHINATHE World Uyghur Congress, themain exile group, welcomed themove and urged the EuropeanUnion and other countries to fol-low suit. U.S. Republican Senator

to slash birth rates amongstUighurs with forced birth control.China denounced the report asfabricated.

Despite Trump’s public remarksabout Beijing, former nationalsecurity adviser John Boltonalleged in his recent book thatTrump said Chinese President Xi

Jinping should go ahead withbuilding detention camps in Xin-jiang and sought Xi’s help to winre-election in November.

Trump said in an interview lastmonth he had held off on toughersanctions on China over Uighurhuman rights because of concernsthat such measures would have

interfered in trade negotiationswith Beijing. Chen is widely con-sidered the senior official respon-sible for the security crackdownin Xinjiang. United Nationsexperts and activists estimatemore than a million Muslims havebeen detained in camps in theXinjiang region. —Reuters

Marco Rubio, who sponsored legislation signed by PresidentDonald Trump in June that callsfor sanctions over the repressionof Uighurs, told Reuters the movewas “long overdue” and that moresteps were needed.

The Associated Press reportedlast month that China was trying

A forensic team carry the body of Seoul mayor Park Won-soonafter the rescue teams discovered his body in Seoul on Friday.

Sanctions were also imposed on Zhu Hailun (L) deputy secretaryof the regional legislative body, the Xinjiang’s People’s Congress.

CHINA on Friday rejected anyprospect of joining in nucleararms limitation talks with the US, calling reports fromWashington that it would doso a distortion of its statedposition.

Foreign Ministry spokesper-son Zhao Lijian told reportersthe US was neither seriousnor sincere in the proposednegotiations and shouldinstead respond to Rus-sia's call for an exten-sion to the existingNew START treatylimiting the num-ber of nuclear

warheads. China's objectionto the so-called trilateralarms control negotiations is very clear, and the USknows it very well.

However, the U.S. is persist-ent on the issue and even dis-torted China’s position, Zhaosaid at a daily news briefing.China, with the world'sbiggest nuclear arsenal afterthe US and Russia, has main-

tained it will not join intalks with Washing-

ton and Moscow on reducing itsnumber of war-heads. —PTI

NO NUCLEAR ARMS PACT

China, US spar overUighur crackdown

Seoul mayor found dead afterwriting apology to ‘everyone’

OnTuesday, the

EU Aviation SafetyAgency ordered its

32 member states tobar Pak pilots fol-lowing reports of

fake licenses

Chinasays it will not

join in talks with US on reducing its

number of warheads.

File Photo of Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian.

14 Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

US slams UNreport onIran GeneralUS Secretary of StateMike Pompeo has criticised an independ-ent UN human rightsexpert's report insistinga American drone strikethat killed a top Iraniangeneral in January wasa watershed event in theuse of drones andamounted to a violationof international law.

The report presentedby Agnes Callamard tothe UN-backed HumanRights Council on Thurs-day chronicled eventsaround the death ofIranian Gen. QassemSoleimani and the legalimplications of his killingas part of a broader lookon the use of dronestrikes. Callamard, thespecial rapporteur onextrajudicial, summaryor arbitrary executions,called the January strikein Iraq the first knownincident in which a stateinvokes self-defense asjustification for anattack against a govern-ment official outside adeclared armed con-flict. —PTI

Hagia Sophiato reopen as amosque now!

TURKISH President RecepTayyip Erdogan announcedFriday that the HagiaSophia, one of the architec-tural wonders of the world,would be reopened for Mus-lim worship, sparking furyamong Christian leaders andin neighbouring Greece.

His declaration came after atop Turkish court revoked thesixth-century Byzantine monu-ment's status as a museum,clearing the way for it to beturned back into a mosque.

The UNESCO World Heritagesite in Istanbul, a magnet fortourists worldwide, was first con-structed as a cathedral in theChristian Byzantine Empire butwas converted into a mosque afterthe Ottoman conquest of Con-stantinople in 1453.

The Council of State, Turkey'shighest administrative court, unanimously cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision and saidHagia Sophia was regis-tered as a mosque in itsproperty deeds, in itsdetailed reasoningseen by AFP.

Greece brandedTurkey's move anopen provocation tothe civilised world.The nationalism dis-played by Erdogan...takes his country backsix centuries, Culture Min-ister Lina Mendoni said in astatement. The Russian Ortho-dox Church said Turkey hadignored millions of Christians withits move.

Hagia Sophia has been a museumsince 1935 and open to believers of

all faiths. Transforming it from amosque was a key reform under thenew republic born out of the ashesof the Ottoman Empire. The land-

mark ruling will inflame tensionsnot just with the West and

its historic foe Greece butalso Russia, with which

Erdogan has forged anincreasingly closepartnership in recentyears. The UnitedStates has alsourged against alter-ing its status. TheUN's cultural agency

UNESCO earlier Fri-day warned Turkey

against converting HagiaSophia into a mosque, urg-

ing dialogue before any deci-sion was taken. Ahead of the courtdecision, Justice Minister Abdul-hamit Gul shared a picture of HagiaSophia on his official Twitteraccount, with a message: Have a

good Friday. Finance Minister Berat Albayrak,

Erdogan's son-in-law, tweeted thatHagia Sophia would be reopened toMuslim worship sooner or later,referring to a quote from Turkishpoet Necip Fazil Kisakurek.

The Council of State had on July 2debated a case brought by a Turk-ish group — the Association for theProtection of Historic Monumentsand the Environment, whichdemanded Hagia Sophia bereopened for Muslim prayers.

Since 2005, there have been sev-eral attempts to change the build-ing's status. In 2018, the Constitu-tional Court rejected oneapplication. Despite occasionalprotests outside the site by Islamicgroups, often shouting, Let thechains break and open HagiaSophia for Muslim prayers, author-ities had until now kept the build-ing as a museum. —AFP

People visit thehistoric Hagia

Sophia museum in Istanbul, on

Friday.

W RLDLY WISE

Greecebranded

Turkey's move anopen provocationto civilised world.Hagia Sophia hasbeen a museum

since 1935

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Wednesday, August 2, 2017 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 15COFFEE BREAK

TWO PAGES OF ASTROLOGY, PUZZLES AND GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

ARIES Apr 14-May 14

Romance is going to be at itsheight, embracing you withall the excitement it brings.

You’ve probably been craving forsome intimacy with the one you care so much for.

CANCER July 16-Aug 15

If you are unattached, youmay want to go out on a new

date. You could also be feeling quitespiritual and would like your partnerto be a like minded person.

LEO Aus 16-Sep 15

More communication isneeded with your lover sothat no misunderstanding

arises especially since you have beenstressed lately. This could have anegative impact on your relations.

SCORPIO Nov 16-Dec 15

With a little creative input,your love life can get much

better. It has been stagnating but thatcould be because neither of you mademuch effort to do anything.

AQUARIUSFeb 12-March 13

Your soul mate is going tofind you to be an amazing

partner. You will leave no stoneunturned to impress him/her. It is going to be a very happy day.

SAGITTARIUSDec 16-Jan 13

The day can begin on a negativenote with you being in a mood to

be difficult. However, your sweetheart willamuse you no end and soon you will begin to enjoy life once more.

GEMINI June 16-July 15

You and your partner will get

the chance to ventilate your

problems and this way you will get to

clear the air. Many problems can get

sorted out this way.

TAURUS May 15-June 15

You could get veryimpressed by someone you

meet who you will find incrediblyattractive. Before long you will bemaking plans to keep in touch andmaybe even go out.

VIRGO Sep 16-Oct 15

Don’t be afraid of therelationship ending. Youcould find yourself in a

challenging position but if you work in the right direction, everything will fall into place.

LIBRA Oct 16-Nov 15

Work is likely to keep youvery busy with hardly anytime to spend with your

loved one. You are going to make up for this by making the evening special.

PISCES Mar 14-Apr 13

If you are single, you couldmeet someone on a dating

site and begin a friendship. As a cou-ple, there is full scope for improve-ment and making a go of things.

CAPRICORNJan 14-Feb 11However hard you try, thepast seems to come back to

haunt you in some form or the other.As long as you remain in these shack-les, you will find romance difficult.

By Dr Ajai Bhambi

Co

ffee

Bre

ak

Difficulty Rating

Cross out numbers to create blanks. No digit canappear in a row or column more than once. No twoadjacent squares can be blacked out. All the squaresleft unblacked must be connected — vertically or horizontally — to form a single shape.

SCRABBLE GRAMS

DAILY JUMBLE MINI SUDOKU SUDOKU X

CODEWORDSUDOKU

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

Difficulty Rating

KAKURO SUDOKU CLASSIC HITORI

*Datesbased

on VedicSun Signs

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Wednesday, August 16, 2017 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 202016 COFFEE BREAK

by Manisha Koushik

FOCUSFOCUSASTROASTRO

ARIES Mar 21-Apr 20

At financial front you are going toenjoy your day as you know theright use of money thus you are

saving a lot. At work your helping nature willhelp someone finishing their project on time.

TAURUS Apr 21-May 20

Today you are like to get moneycoming from different sources,

which will make your life happy. If youare not feeling well then today you aregoing to see some respite from it.

GEMINI May 21-June 21

Today is your day and you will beenjoying it as you will see good

returns coming in your account from theearlier made investments. Today you areready to express your love feelings.

CANCER June 22-July 22

Today you feel enthusiastic asyou know how important it isto remain physically fit. Today

you will explore other opportunitiesto earn more money.

LEO July 23-Aug 23

You are well versed with the currentsituation and know how to save

money, this you have to follow today. If you arecompeting in some activity then there arechances that you might be winner.

VIRGO Aug 24-Sep 23

Today you are in best of your

health, enjoy this. Today is not a

very lucky day when it comes to

finances; you might have to make sacrifices.

At work today is a lucky day for you.

LIBRA Sep 24-Oct 23

Monetary today is one of the bestdays for you as you have enoughmoney to fulfill your desires. The

changing season always put you in somehealth problem, so take special care.

SCORPIO Oct 24-Nov 22

Financially is a good day foryou. If you are working in shiftsthen you might get overloaded

with work. To keep yourself healthy youhave joined a health club.

SAGITTARIUS Nov 23-Dec 21

Today financially a luck day for youas money will be flowing in. You have become health

conscious and thus started making efforts to get in shape.

CAPRICORN Dec 22-Jan 21

Today at work, you will completeyour work with full enthusiasm.Health wise a good day as you are

following your timetable thoroughly.Financially, a nice day ahead as youwill see money coming in.

AQUARIUS Jan 22-Feb 19

If you are not feeling well for awhile then first thing to do is tovisit a doctor. Finances can

restrict you from enjoying your lifelavishly.

PISCES Feb 20-Mar 20

Financially you should keepcontrol on your expenses. Today

you might be loaded with much physicalwork, and you will be able to complete itas you are physically fit.

KEN-KENEach row & column must contain numbers 1 to 4 (easy) or1 to 6 (difficult). The numbers within the heavily outlinedboxes must combine to produce the numbers in the top-left corner.

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS1 Abstains from producing such

musical pieces (8)

8 Father sees a deity in an

Eastern temple (6)

9 How to be put in false and

fictitious stories (6)

10 Cure made from unbleached

linen (4)

12 It got cast out and is

resting (6)

13 The IRA’s left with them for

training purposes (5)

14 A Chinese secret society in

Surbiton? Gee! (4)

16 Little brothers! Take notice!

They’re in your shoes! (5)

19 How they build things in

Crete (5)

21 Lied about being

unemployed (4)

23 Only a fool would be so

reserved! (5)

24 Les and Mac get together and

are seen to have the hump (6)

26 I get a lot of hard work! (4)

28 I’ll see that rat in the end -

burning! (6)

29 Len and Dee cotton on to it (6)

30 In a way, they’re only grey

sins! Doctors have to handle

them every day! (8)

DOWN

2 How can an alien perform? (5)

3 Told how he was connected with

the family (7)

4 The little one is in some cult! (6)

5 When you box you must expect to

take such raps! (4)

6 Being in favour of it, I donate to it

and overlook the outcome (7)

7 They stare in Pisa but they do

nothing to help! (9)

11 Four generals have an impulse to

show it (4)

12 Sure I’m to nab it as it goes

down? (9)

15 26 across is cut off in the quest for

Texas gold (3)

17 Dad met a poet and took him into

the family (7)

18 How to use your fist to sort them

out (4)

20 A sheepish start for fast Muslims

this month? (7)

22 I clear off with the cake! (6)

25 One weapon that’s sure to make

a clean break (5)

27 Does it produce lyric poetry? (4)

SUDOKUFill in all the squares in the grid so that each row, column and each of the 3X3squares contains all the digits from 1 to 9. Solutions are below.

Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating Difficulty Rating

TODAY’S SOLUTIONS

HITORI CRYPTIC CROSSWORDKAKURO

SUDOKU SUDOKU CLASSICMINI SUDOKU

QUICK QUIZ: 1. Alex Karev; 2. Liberty

Heights; 3. Another World; 4. Jennifer

Lopez; 5. d'Artagnan; 6. 2017; 7. Keisha

CODEWORD

Scrabble and scrabble tiles are registered trademarks. Allrights in the game are owned in the USA by Hasbro Inc., inCanada by Hasbro Canada Inc., and elsewhere by J.W. Spear &Sons Limited., a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc

SCRABBLE GRAMSSUDOKU X

KEN-KEN

1. American actor and former

model Justin Chambers is best

known for his role as a doctor in

the ABC medical drama series

Grey’s Anatomy. What is the

name of the character he

portrays?

2. Chambers made his feature

film debut with the supporting

role of Trey, in which 1999

comedy?

3. In 1995, Chambers started his

acting career by playing the

character Nicholas Hudson in an

NBC soap opera. What was the

name of this series?

4. Chambers played the role of

Massimo, who nearly marries

the protagonist Mary, in the

2001 movie The Wedding

Planner. What major Hollwood

actress played the role

of Mary?

5. What was the name of the

character portrayed by

Chambers in the 2001 movie

The Musketeer?

6. What year did Chambers win

the Best TV Network Drama

Actor at the People's Choice

Awards, for his role in Grey’s

Anatomy?

7. In 1993, Chambers married a

former model agency booker.

What is her name?

QUICK QUIZ

Justin Chamberswas born on July 11,1970

17

EVEN AFTER the Unlock-ing, there is still a sense oflife having come to a grind-ing halt. This is especiallytrue the art industry, as gal-leries and other mediums of

showcasing art work are still shut.However, as Gurgaon based seniorcurator Lubna Sen says, one cannotstop creativity. “If life goes on, artmust carry on as well,” she insists.

Sen has started a virtual exhibition, TheSpirit Remains Unlocked, on the digitalplatform The Art Route. Thirty artists,including one based in Singapore, havecome together to share their thoughts andideas in the lockdown under Sen’s direc-tion. Their works are on display in thisexhibition, which started on July 5. Senexplains, “It started on the Day of the lock-down, on March 25. On that day, I won-dered, what could be done, with every-thing having stopped. Thepeople who get most affectedare the artists, especially thosewho are upcoming and are free-lancers. They depend on physi-cal events to showcase their

work.” That’s when Sen decidedto create a community of artistsonline, and contacted the onesin her network. “It was almostlike an online residency, with 30artists. They shared theirthoughts, feelings, and theirprojects on the Art Route,” shesays. Sen adds, “The project wasto begin online and end online,and we wondered how to shareit with the world, and so the vir-tual exhibition came into being.”

Established senior artists suchas Vishal Joshi, Niloy Sen, andNeeraj Mittra were part of the

by Antara RaghavanONE THOUGHT that most people haveduring this time is that everyone is inthe same boat. It is a feeling thatmusicians, artists, and poets can con-vey most effectively. “Emotions suchas fear, anxiety, loneliness and rest-lessness are bursting and constantlybubbling up, especially in solitude,”says Abhishek Sharma, lead singer ofthe Delhi-based band AaGROH.

Sharma and his band have conveyedthese emotions and that solitude, intheir recent song Moonlight, with itsrecently-released accompanyingmusic video. The song is targetted atthe lockdown, and the first in a series.

The next two videos are yet to bereleased. Sharma explains, “It’s abouta girl who dreams of breaking freefrom society, but is still stuck. It’s likesomeone who is still stuck in the samejob. Many people have give up theirdreams because of the current situa-tion. Moonlight is for those who stillhave dreams and chase them.” It’salso about what people are doingindoors and how they are keepingthemselves occupied.

The instrumentals comprised, San-chit Agarwal on the keyboardand Vinod Arora playing theguitar. The the bass anddrums were also featured.

Sharma has been writ-ing songs during the

lockdown. One called Maane Na isabout the difficulty and pressure peo-ple face when trying to achieve agoal. Sharma relates to this as anindependent artiste. “It’s a strugglefor Indian artistes.”

AaGroh has been part of the inde-pendent rock music scene since 2011.Sharma says, “Our aim is for inde-pendent music to have more recogni-tion Bollywood, which is dominant, istoo outdated. Every Indian artiste hashis/her own unique essence.” He con-

cludes, “A culture where peoplefollow bands, rather than the

music in movies is needed.We’re trying to do what wecan to build that cultureand that scene.”

A song to combat lockdown blues

Townabout

Ittalks of what

people are doingduring the pandemic

Abhishek Sharma, lead singer of theDelhi-based indie rock band AaGROH

by Antara Raghavan

effort, as were more upcomingand contemporary artists.

Gurgaon-based self-taughtmosaic artist Kanika Singh elab-orates on the background ofhow the project came into being.“It was supposed to be a 21-daychallenge, but it then becamethe exhibition it is now.” Singh,who specialises in creating 3-D

relief form in mosaic, explainsthe nature of The Art Route,through her work in the exhibi-tion. “I made a mosaic muralcalled Filling Up my Blues WithSunshine, with hand-cut glassand ceramic tiles. It started withte story of sunflowers — whenthe sun shines, sunflowers looktowards the sun. On cloudy

days, they turn towards eachother to give each other energy.That is what we were all doingas artists, as we were all commu-nicating and sharing our work.We didn’t know each other, wehad very different mediums, butLubna brought us together andshe encouraged us to create,”she says.

Another artist, Harsh InderLoomba, based in Noida, agrees.“The Art Route was an excellentplatform. A few of my exhibi-tions at different galleries werecancelled, so this was a wonder-ful opportunity. It is amazinghow artists and artworks havecome together.” Loombadescribes how her works in theexhibition were inspired bynature. “I was reaching inwardlytowards nature. The works I’vemade reflect this, and hownature has come back to life.”

For his part, Delhi-based self-taught abstract artist SoumickNag sees the benefits of theexhibition during the stagna-tion in the lockdown. “It wasdifficult for me as an artist as Icouldn’t get hold of supplies. Itfelt as though everything hadstopped. One of my paintings,shows what happens when avibrant city like Delhi becamestill, like a cage. I tried to cap-ture the mood of the city.”

With content, like this, it iscertainly an exhibition to lookout for.

Birches in the Woods, acrylic oncanvas, by Harsh Inder Loomba

THE

The lockdown brought together 30 artists who shared their thoughtsand works through The Spirit Remains Unlocked, a virtual exhibition

ARTSHOW MUSTGO ON

HARSH INDER LOOMBAARTIST

SOUMICK NAGARTIST

KANIKA SINGHARTIST

LUBNA SENSENIOR ART CURATOR

The artists havetaken inspiration

from nature

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

Filling in the Blueswith Sunshine;

mosaic in glass andceramic, by

Kanika Singh

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Saturday, July 11, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 18

The govt has cutcorporate tax ratesfrom 30% to only 15%.Now it is up to theIndian corporates toshow the world byinvesting.

‘QUOTE OF THE DAY

$513 billion is India’s forex kitty as onJuly 3, an all-time high.

NUMBER OF THE DAY

Social media appTikTok said it removed

over 49 million videos thatviolated its guidelines orterms of service from itsplatform globally in the second half of 2019.

mybiz — ANURAG THAKUR, MoS FINANCE

TATA Sons Pvt Ltd has told theSupreme Court that it is not a'two-group company' andthere is no 'quasi-partnership'between it and Cyrus Invest-ments Pvt Ltd. Tata Sons Pvt Ltd(TSPL) said this in an affidavitfiled in the apex court whileresponding to the cross-appealfiled by Cyrus Investments PvtLtd seeking removal of allegedanomalies in NCLAT order forgetting representation on the

TSPL's board in proportion tothe stake held by his family.

The apex court had on Janu-ary 10 granted relief to Tatagroup by staying the NationalCompany Law Appellate Tri-bunal (NCLAT) order of Decem-ber 18 last year, by which CyrusMistry was restored as theexecutive chairman of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

A bench headed by Chief Jus-tice S A Bobde had on May 29issued notice to TSPL and oth-ers on a cross-appeal filed byCyrus Investments Pvt Ltd.Cyrus Mistry had also filed anaffidavit to the apex court say-ing the Tata Group had anadjusted net loss of Rs 13,000crore in 2019. — PTI

Mistry claimon Tata Sonsquestioned

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

THE income tax department onFriday asked officers toprocess returns filed up to theassessment year 2017-18 withrefund claims by October 31,2020. In an order, the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes (CBDT)extended the time given to thetax officers to process suchreturns, which were notpicked up for scrutiny, fromearlier date of December 31,2019.

CBDT said to mitigate genuinehardship being faced by thetaxpayers it has relaxed thetimeframe and directed thatall validly filed returns up tothe assessment year 2017-18with refund claims which couldnot be processed and whichhave become time barred canbe processed now with prioradministrative approval ofprincipal CCIT/CCIT concerned.Intimation of such processingcan be sent to the assessee byOctober 31, 2020, the CBDT said.

Breatheron old tax refunds

By Rajendra Jadhav, ArpanVarghese in Mumbai/Bengaluru

PHYSICAL gold sold at a premium in Indiathis week for the first time this year, drivenby plunging imports and a near halt insmuggling that offset the impact of highunemployment and a rise in domestic pricesacross Asia that could deter buyers.

India’s gold imports dived 86% year-on-year in June because of record high pricesand as international air travel was bannedin response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Demand is very weak, but dealersare still charging a premium due tolower imports and as smugglinghas nearly stopped,” said Har-shad Ajmera, a gold wholesalerin Kolkata.

In thin trade, dealers charged

premiums of up to $3 an ounce over officialdomestic prices, up from last week’s $22 dis-count. The domestic price includes a 12.5%import tax and 3% sales tax.

Local gold futures rose to a record 49,348rupees per 10 grams earlier this week.

In top consumer China, dealers describedtrade as weak and quiet as they sold at heftydiscounts of about $20-$25 versus globalbenchmark spot prices.

“The unemployment rate has been rising.Don’t think people will have the sentiment

to buy more jewellery. Besides, the stockmarket has been hot in China

recently, sucking more moneyaway from gold to stocks,” Sam-

son Li, a Hong Kong-based pre-cious metals analyst at Refini-tiv GFMS, said. Global spotprices breached the $1,800 anounce threshold this week.

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

THE governmenthas held backthe release ofcomplete dataon the country’sindustrial pro-

duction for the second con-secutive month in May, aseconomic activity hadcome to a near standstilldue to the lockdown trig-gered by the coronaviruspandemic.

Quick estimates released bythe Central Statistical Organisa-tion (CSO) on Friday show thatthe index of industrial produc-tion (IIP) for the month of May2020 stands at 88.4 as comparedto 135.4 in the same month lastyear, which works out to a con-traction of 34.7 per cent.

However, the index value at88.4 in May is higher than thecorresponding figure of 53.6 inApril, indicating a gradedpickup in industrial activity.

The CSO did not provide anycomparable percentage datawhile noting that it is not appro-priate to compare the IIP datawith the months preceding theCOVID-19 lockdown. The IIPdata comes with a lag of sixweeks.

I N VIEW of preventivemeasures and announce-ment of nation-wide lock-down by the governmentto contain spread of

COVID-19 pandemic, majorityof the industrial sector estab-lishments were not operatingfrom the end of March, 2020onwards.

This has had an impact on theitems being produced by theestablishments during theperiod of lockdown and the sub-sequent periods of conditionalrelaxations in restrictions, theministry of statistics said in apress release.

Last year in May, the IIP hadrecorded a growth of 4.5 percent.

The ministry said, “as men-tioned in the press release forthe IIP for April, 2020, it may notbe appropriate to compare the

IIP for May 2020 with themonths preceding the COVID2019 pandemic.

The number of units respond-ing has improved in May 2020 ascompared to the earlier monthsof lockdown. The weighted

response rate at time of QE ofApril 2020 was 87 percent whichis now revised upwards to 91percent at first revision.

The indices of industrial pro-duction for mining, manufactur-ing and electricity sectors forMay 2020 stood at 87.0, 82.4 and149.6 respectively.

According to use-based classi-fication, the indices stood at105.5 for Primary Goods, 37.1 forCapital Goods, 77.6 for Interme-diate Goods and 84.1 for Infra-structure/ Construction Goodsfor May 2020.

The indices for consumerdurables such as refrigeratorsand washing machines and con-sumer non-durables like soapsand cosmetics stood at 42.2 and132.3 respectively for May 2020.

2017-18 tax refunds can be taken up

Limited statistics show 35% contraction in May

Gold buying has taken a hit due to thelockdown to curb coronavirus.

‘

Performance in Maybetter than April

Gold prices increase despite subdued demand

File photo of a steel plant

Tata Group patriarchRatan Tata

Goldimports dived

86% in June overlast year

BANKS OKAY `1.2 L CR LOANS FOR MSMEsBy Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

THE finance ministry on Fri-day said banks have sanc-tioned loans of about Rs1,20,099 crore under the Rs3-lakh crore emergencycredit line guaranteescheme for the MSME sector.

However, only Rs 61,987.90crore of this amount was dis-bursed till Thursday underthe scheme for micro, smalland medium enterprises(MSMEs) which are strug-

gling to survive in the wakeof the disruption caused bythe Covid-19 pandemic. Thescheme is the biggest fiscalcomponent of the Rs 20-lakhcrore Aatmanirbhar BharatAbhiyan package announcedby Finance Minister NirmalaSitharaman in May.

The figures released by thefinance ministry, comprisedisbursements by all 12 pub-lic sector banks (PSBs), 22private sector banks and 21non-banking financial com-panies (NBFCs).

Govt holds backdata on factories

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 19MY BIZMY BIZ

A CLINICAL trial of Fujifilm Hold-ings Corp’s Avigan drug yieldedinconclusive results as a treat-ment of COVID-19, Japaneseresearchers said on Friday.

Although patients given thedrug early in the trial showedmore improvement than thosewho got delayed doses, theresults did not reach statisticalsignificance, Fujita Health University researcher Yohei Doisaid.

The results, announced at anews conference on Friday, fol-lowed the completion of a clini-cal trial conducted betweenMarch and May on 89 patientsacross Japan. Japanese PrimeMinister Shinzo Abe had said hehoped the drug would beapproved as a COVID-19 treat-ment in May, but a shortage ofpatients in Japan delayed theprogress of clinical trials. It hasbeen approved as a COVID-19treatment in Russia and India.

Doubts arise inJapan over Aviganas Covid cure

ADANI Enterprises’ Australianchief executive, Lucas Dow, willstep down, the company said onFriday, as sinking coal prices add toclimate change pressure to stretchthe development timeline of a coalproject in Queensland state.

Dow, who joined the company inApril 2018, steered the Carmichaelmine and railproject through adrawn-out andhotly contestedpermittingprocess, andthen its first yearof construction.The project hasprovoked bittercontroversy inAustraliabecause it would open up a newthermal coal basin at a time ofconcerns over global warming.

Current project director DavidBoshoff will take on the role ofchief executive, based inTownsville, the firm said.

Adani AustraliaCEO to resign ascoal prices tank

Lucas Dow

STATE-OWNED SAIL on Friday saidits consolidated net profitjumped multi-fold to Rs 2,647.52crore during the quarter endedMarch 31, helped by reducedexpenses.

The firm had posted a netprofit of Rs 548.20 crore in thecorresponding quarter of theprevious financial year, the com-pany said in a BSE filing. Its totalincome during the March 2020quarter stood at Rs 16,574.71crore, against Rs 18,719.29 crorein the year-ago period.

Chairman Anil Kumar Chaud-hary said SAIL continued to earnprofit consecutively for twoyears despite the challengingtimes. The government's sup-portive policies played a pivotalrole, he added.

SAIL net profitsoars to ̀ 2,647 crin Jan-March

—MT Bureau & Agencies

By Mail Today Bureau in New Delhi

SEVERAL insur-ance companieson Friday rolledout short-term'Corona Kavach'health insur-

ance policies to covertreatment expenses ofCOVID-19 patients withthe deadline fixed by theinsurance regulator forthese firms drawing to aclose.

Amid rising cases of coron-avirus in the country, the Insur-ance Regulatory and Develop-ment Authority of India (Irdai)had asked general and healthinsurance companies to launch'Corona Kavach' health insur-ance policy to provide adequatecover to consumers by July 10.

The number of COVID-19cases in the country has surgedto around 8 lakh and the num-ber of fresh infections has beenaccelerating in recent weeks asefforts are on to revive the econ-omy and minimise job losses.

According to the Irdai guide-lines, the short-term policy canbe of three-and-a-half months,six-and-a-half months and nine-and-a-half months with a suminsured ranging from Rs 50,000to Rs 5 lakh. The various brack-ets have been fixed in increas-ing multiples of Rs 50,000.

The rules also stipulate thatthe mode of payment should besingle and the same premiumshould be charged on pan-Indiabasis without any considerationof the geographic location.

Launching its Corona Kavachpolicy, HDFC ERGO said thenew indemnity health policywill offer cover against medicalexpenses incurred due to hos-pitalisation of individuals seek-ing treatment for COVID-19, onpositive diagnosis for the virusin a government authoriseddiagnostic centre.

In addition, the policy will alsocover expenses incurred ontreatment of co-morbidityalong with the treatment forCOVID-19, the company said. Itwill also cover road ambulanceexpenses, in case the service isused for the purpose of hospi-talisation due to the virus.

Home care expenses up to aperiod of 14 days will also becovered in the policy for thoseseeking treatment within thecomfort of their own homes, onthe advice of a medical practi-tioner.

In addition, expenses incurredfor inpatient care treatment

Sum insured under the Covid policy will range from `50,000 to `5 lakh.

taken under Ayurveda, Yoga,Naturopathy, Unani, Siddhaand Homeopathy (AYUSH)systems of medicines will alsobe covered under the policy, theHDFC ERGO statement said.

The policy, which will be avail-able for a minimum sum

insured of Rs 50,000 up to amaximum of Rs 5 lakh, can bepurchased online.

Bajaj Allianz General Insur-ance introduced its policy withthe premium for the base coverranging between Rs 447 to Rs5,630 excluding GST, which

varies depending on the age ofthe person, the sum insuredand policy period opted.

The premium varies depend-ing on the age of the person, thesum insured and policy periodopted, it added.

For instance, if a personbetween 0-35 years wants toopt for a base cover with a suminsured of Rs 50,000 for threeand a half months, he or sheneeds to pay Rs 447, excludingGST, the insurance companyexplained.

Krishnan Ramachandran, MD& CEO, Max Bupa HealthInsurance said, “The HealthInsurance awareness is at anall-time high and possibly thehighest we have seen in the lastdecade.”

Insurers rollout new coverfor Covid-19

Premium to be same pan-India

By Aditya Kalra in New Delhi

INDIA should set up a data regulator andrequire companies to disclose how they col-lect and store data devoid of personaldetails or which has been anonymised, apanel tasked to draw up such regulationshas said in a draft report seen by Reuters.

As India moves to tighten policies on itscitizens’ data held and processed by com-panies such as Facebook, Google and Ama-zon, it set up the panel last year to makerecommendations on the regulation of“non-personal data”.

This is a term for data viewed as a criticalresource by companies that analyse it tobuild their businesses and describes infor-mation that is independent of personaldetails such as names, or anonymised to

protect people’s identity.“There is a need to create a regulator or

authority for data business, which providescentralized regulation for all non-personaldata exchanges,” the government-appointed panel said in the report.

Such a regulator would be armed withlegal powers to request data, supervisedata sharing requests and settle disputes,it added.

Panel chief Kris Gopalakrishnan, afounder of Indian technology giant Infosys,declined to comment on the 30-page

undated draft, which has not previouslybeen reported.

The panel is in the final stages of deliber-ation on the report before it is submitted toIndia’s information technology ministry, aperson familiar with the discussions said.

A company collecting data beyond a yetunspecified threshold should register as a“data business” in India, the report said,with government bodies also subject to theneed to disclose what information they col-lect and store, and how they use it.

The panel consulted companies such asAmazon, Microsoft and Uber, as well assome international experts, in drawing upthe report, it said. Regulation of non-per-sonal data is just one of several areas forwhich India looks to hammer out policy,which will affect tech giants.

Panel wants new regulator for digital data

INSURANCE RULES TWEAKEDINSURANCE RegulatoryDevelopment Authority ofIndia on Friday permittedlife insurers to modify theterms of 'group credit lifemaster policies' of entitiesthat have availed morato-rium on repayment of loans

announced by the RBI in thewake of the COVID-19 pan-demic. The modificationshall be limited to the extentrequired to ensure that thecoverage under the schemematches the revised loanrepayment, Irdai said.

Facebook, Google & Amazonlikely to face closer scrutiny

Rush to meet regulator’s deadline

SENSEX36,737.69

FRIDAY’S CLOSE

36,594.33

THURSDAY’S CLOSE

10,768.05

THURSDAY’S CLOSE

H: 10,819.40

L: 10,713.00

-45.4010,813.45

TFRIDAY’S CLOSE

NIFTY

-143.36H: 36,748.89L: 36,401.11

MA

RK

ET

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BU

LL

ION

1 RELIANCE 2.95 1,878.50

2 SUN PHARMA 2.36 493.45

3 HUL 2.22 2,223.75

4 AIRTEL 1.03 574.70

5 TCS 0.78 2,221.65

% change Price (`̀)TOP GAINERS

% change Price (`̀)

TOP LOSERS

1 AXIS BANK -3.14 439.50

2 INDUSINDBNK -3.13 539.15

3 TITAN -3.01 961.75

4 HDFC -2.87 1,886.25

5 ICICIBNK -2.75 360.35 EX

CH

AN

GE

RA

TEFriday

(SILVER)

(GOLD)

Thursday Friday

Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri

100

90

80

70

60

Wed Thu Fri

$ YEN

DOLLAR,YEN

Wed Thu Fri

£

EURO,POUND

76

72

68

64

60

Dollar `̀74.98 `̀75.24

Euro `̀85.03 `̀84.88

Pound `̀94.87 `̀94.80

Yen (100) `̀69.91 `̀70.46

GOLD/10 gm `235 ̀ 49,113

SILVER/1 kg `310 ̀ 51,401

45,000

40,000

35,000

400

380

350

Mon Tues Wed Thu Fri

¤

20 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

SHANE Dowrich steered theWest Indies into a com-manding lead over Eng-land on the third day of thefirst Test at Southamptonon Friday. Dowrich made

61 after opener Kraigg Brathwaitehad top-scored with 65 in a total of318 all out. Stand-in captain BenStokes led England’s attack with 4-49 to follow his top score of 43 in thehosts’ 204.

But that left West Indies 114 runs ahead onfirst innings in a match that marks interna-tional cricket’s return from lockdown. And

they were still 99 runs in front after openersRory Burns and Dom Sibley survived a tricky10 overs to take England to 15-0 in their sec-ond innings at stumps.

Stokes’ haul included the wicket of WestIndies captain Jason Holder for just five,with the England talisman hav-ing fallen to his rival all-rounderduring the towering seamer'sTest-best 6-42 on Thursday.And when Stokes bowled tailen-der Alzarri Joseph, he had his150th Test wicket.

But wicketkeeper Dowrich heldfirm with a fine fifty until a 115-ball innings featuring eightboundaries ended when he wascaught down the legside byopposing gloveman Jos Buttleroff Stokes.

It was not the first timeDowrich had proved a thorn inEngland's side. Last year hemade 116 and shared a hugestand of 295 with Holder whenhis fellow Bajan made anunbeaten 202 during the WestIndies’ 381-run win over Englandin the first Test at their Kensing-

21Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Sunday, May 24, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020

Sports

MailBoxers face SAI ire after allegedviolation of quarantine norms

By Aditya K Halder in New Delhi

THE Archery Association of India (AAI),whose struggle for the sports ministryrecognition for the first time in eight yearscontinues, have formed 13 committees tofunction in an organised manner as a feder-ation after the new tenure under uniontribal minister Arjun Munda came topower earlier this year.

The 13 committees — includes finance,core, advisory, selection, para-archers,Ethics and discipline, constitution andrules, technical (which is segregated into

further sub committees including admin-istration and tribal) — are formed for aperiod of four years with the presidentMunda, general secretary Pramod Chan-durkar, and treasurer Rajendar SinghTomar will serve as their ex-officio mem-bers.

“We have formed all the general commit-tees such as core, financial and others.Apart from them, committees for tribal,social media, para-archers who have shownthat they are capable of winning medals forthe nation at the biggest of stages. Thesenew committees were formed in our

attempt to be in line with the new genera-tion which has prospered in all sport andnot just archery. These committees, con-sisting of former award winning athletesand coaches, will come up with their rec-ommendation for archery time to time andthe core committee will factor their recom-mendations in its decision,” AAI generalsecretary Chandurkar told MAIL TODAY.

Interestingly, the decision to form thecommittees was taken during a governingcouncil meeting soon after the new bodycame to power in February. However, thesenior official explained why the process

took time.“After election when our team came into

power, it was the same core team that wasfunctioning two-three years ago and whenwe resumed office after such a gap, werealised AAI’s way of functioning haschanged. When the council decided to formthe committees, we wanted to ensure thatformer athletes and coaches also get theirsay in the decision making and that’s whyit took some time to form the committees.Now we are hopeful of reaching our targetswith the committees in effect,” said Chan-durkar.

Dowrich andBrathwaite hit50s as Windiestake charge offirst Test

Archery Association forms 13 committees for four years

England’sBen Stokescelebrates Awicketagainst WestIndies onFriday.

Batsman Dismissal R B

Brathwaite lbw b Stokes 65 125

Campbell lbw b Anderson 28 36

Hope c Stokes b Bess 16 64

Brooks c Buttler b Anderson 39 71

Chase lbw b Anderson 47 142

Blackwood c Anderson b Bess 12 22

Dowrich c Buttler b Stokes 61 115

Holder c Archer b Stokes 5 14

Joseph b Stokes 18 12

Roach not out 1 7

Gabriel b Wood 4 5

Batsman Dismissal R B

Burns batting 10 26

Sibley batting 5 34

Bowler O M R W

Anderson 25 11 62 3

Archer 22 3 61 0

Wood 22 2 74 1

Stokes 14 5 49 4

Bess 19 5 51 2

Bowler O M R W

Roach 5 3 6 0

Gabriel 3 1 5 0

Holder 2 1 4 0

Extras: (lb 21, nb 1) 22Total: (102 Ov, Wickets 10) 318Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-102, 3-140, 4-173, 5-186, 6-267, 7-281, 8-306, 9-313, 10-318

Extras:Total: (10 Ov, Wicket 0) 15Fall of wickets:

ENG 1ST INNINGS 204/10WI 1ST INNINGS

ENG BOWLING

WI BOWLING

ENG 2ND INNINGS

SCOREBOARD

Stumps, Day Three

NO PAINNO GAIN

NUMBERS GAME OF DAY THREE

18The number of half-cen-turies scored by KraiggBrathwaite (65) in 60Tests. It was his 2nd

half-century v Englandin 10 Tests. Prior to this,

he has also hit 2cen-turies v England in Tests.

21After 21 innings

Kraigg Brathwaite(65) hit his first half-century. His last 50

plus score cameagainst Bangladesh inKingston in 2018 when

he scored 110 runs.

49.71Is the batting averageof Kraigg Brathwaite

England in England. In4 Tests/7 innings v

England in England, hehas scored 348 runs

with one century and 2fifties.

Compiled by Manoj Kumar

ton Oval home ground. That vic-tory helped West Indies regainthe Wisden Trophy but it is 32years since they last won a Testseries in England.

England dropped veteran pace-man Stuart Broad for this cur-rent match to play expressquicks Jofra Archer and MarkWood together for the first timein a Test. But Archer and Woodstruggled to make an impressionon a placid pitch.

They took just one wicketbetween them in a combined 44overs — and that was only whenWood bowled last man ShannonGabriel to end the innings. WestIndies resumed behind closeddoors on 57-1, with the first sunnyblue skies of the match providingideal conditions for batting. —AFP

West Indies’Shane

Dowrich ducksa ball.

Burns and Sibley then

guide England to 15/0

at stumps, 99 behind

Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Monday, May 25, 2020 Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 22 SPORTS

President Adille feels anIndian athlete can becomeOlympic champion soon

MAIL TODAY

EXCLUSIVE

AFI castsnet wide totrap talentBy S.Kannan in New Delhi

THE ATHLETICS Federationof India has cast its net wideto trap young and fresh tal-ent with the aimof producing anOlympic cham-

pion in the near future.In a chat with MAIL TODAY on

Friday, Adille Sumariwalla, pres-ident, Athletics Federation ofIndia, said the process ofunearthing new talent is a long-drawn one, the seeds of whichwere sown in 2019.

“When we returned from theJakarta Asian Games in 2018,there was a lot of thought anddeliberation on results achievedand what needed to be donenext. In athletics, we won ninegold medals and nine silvermedals. Mind you, even amongthose silver medal winners,some had lost to Indians in ear-lier rounds or strong worldchampions from the other Asiancountries who had importedathletes from Africa,” said

what we expect from them. Theplan is to visit every state, fromeast to west, and north to southand speak to state associationsand districts. Because of travelrestrictions now, we are doingmeetings on Zoom almost on adaily basis,” said Sumariwalla.

He feels each district has to beproactive. “Now we have around700 districts and if there arecompetitions in each one ofthem and later inter-districtmeets, talent will rise. I havetold them you do not need tohave all 48 events in athletics.Even if each district is able to do40 events, which is highly possi-ble, that will be good. There isno harm if you are unable to dopole vault and hammer throw,”he said. For the record, the AFIwill financially support eachstate association.

The AFI president says spot-ting talent in the under-14 andunder-16 categories at thegrass-root level is most impor-tant. “If we can build on thislarge base, which I am hopefulof, there is no reason why wecannot produce an Olympicchampion one day,” saysSumariwalla.

He is also very keen to havemore women in each state ath-letics associations in India.“Even now what we have is agood number and soon we maybe able to match what it is likein European countries,” Sumari-walla concluded.

Sumariwalla.The AFI think-tank decided

that these results were some-thing to feel happy about andmore could be achieved. “Wehad a high-level meeting in theend of 2018 in Patiala andfrom then on the processof what to keep doingnext has been our tar-get. Contrary to per-ception, even duringlockdown, we havebeen keeping our-selves busy in theAFI,” said the AFIpresident, himself anactive sprinter in yester-years.

He identifies drug abuse, agefraud, over-training and earlyspecialisation as the main rea-sons for Indian junior athletesnot doing well. “We have beenworking on these three aspects

constantly using various meansand methods and are happywith the progress. By going tovarious athletics meets in Indiawhich were being used to attract

talent for jobs, we were able toeducate youngsters. For

the age-related issues,we have been usingthe new bio-meth-ods,” added the AFI president.

At a time whenmost sports federa-tions in India have

poor quality coaches,the AFI has attached

great importance to thisaspect. Sumariwalla

minced no words when he talkedof coaches being produced bythe NIS system as archaic andnot up-to-date with modernmethods.

“We had a meeting with our top

coaches from India as wellincluding Bobby George, (Viren)Poonia and felt the coachingstandards in India have toimprove drastically. So what wehave done now is to raise thestandard of coaching in India.Today we have over 500 Level 1coaches under proper certifica-tion and an equal number inLevel 2. This certification is asper the world body norms(World Athletics),”said the AFIpresident.

Sumariwalla is impressed bythe turnout of athletes last yearat the junior nationals in Tiru-pati. Yet, the big challenge tounearth talent was to reach thestates and each district in it.

“Before lockdown happenedLalit (Bhanot) and I were ableto travel to Kerala and meeteach district's officials. We haveheard them out and told them

Thesenior

official citesdrug abuse, age

fraud & over train-ning as reasons

behind juniorathletes’

failure

AFI’s biggest talent scouting programme MiloNIDJAM, a district-level all India tournament forjunior athletes, was launched last year.

PHOTO: G RAJARAMAN

Mail Today, New Delhi, Saturday, July 11, 2020 23SPORTS

NIGOMBAM IS NEWHOCKEY INDIA PREZ

Mail Today Correspondentin New Delhi

HOCKEY India named Gyanen-dro Ningombam as the officiatingpresident at the Emergent Exec-utive Board meeting on Fridayafter Mushtaque Ahmad ten-dered his resignation. Ahmad hadbeen in his role as president of thenational sports body since 2018.He was earlier the secretary gen-eral.

In the Hockey India EmergentExecutive Board meeting,Ahmad’s resignation wasaccepted. The Executive Boardunder the rules and regulations ofconstitution subsequently nomi-nated and approved senior vicepresident Ningombam as the newofficiating president.

“Hockey India Executive Boardheld an emergent meeting todayand named Manipur’s Gyannen-dro Nigombam as the OfficiatingPresident of Hockey India,” HIsaid in a statement. “This was fol-lowing the resignation letter ofMushtaque Ahmad received byHockey India on July 7 whichcited personal and family com-mitments as the reasons,” it said.

Earlier this week, Sports Min-istry had asked Ahmad to stepdown, having declared that his2018 election was a violation ofthe National Sports Code’stenure guidelines.

It remains to be seen if theSports Ministry will take similar

action against erring federationslike the Equestrian Federation ofIndia, Indian Golf Union, Fenc-ing Association of India, the khokho body and Handball Federa-tion of India. All of them haveflouted the National Sports Code2011.

In a July 6 letter sent to HockeyIndia secretary general RajinderSingh, the Ministry asked the fed-eration “to conduct fresh electionfor the post of president” by Sep-tember 30 for the remaining term.

Prior to taking over the mantle in2018, Ahmad served the national

governing body in the capacity ofSecretary General. Under his Pres-identship, Hockey India went on tosuccessfully host the prestigiousFIH Men's World Cup in 2018 aswell as the FIH Olympic Qualifiersin 2019 where both the men andwomen's teams qualified for theTokyo Olympic Games.

“The Hockey India ExecutiveBoard expressed gratitude toAhmad for his commitmentshown towards the developmentof the sport,” the HI said in astatement.

Ningombam has for severalyears been associated withManipur Hockey and has beeninstrumental in supporting tal-ented players and the develop-ment of the sport at the grass-roots level.

SPORTS Authorityof India (SAI) isaiming to resume

national camps forwrestlers in Olympicweight categories. Ithas asked theWrestling Federationof India (WFI) to takeviews of the grapplerson the resumptionbefore taking a finalcall. While a decision inthis regard is likelynext week, a few elitewrestlers are expectedto skip the camp forvaried reasons.

Women wrestlers likeSakshi Malik and PoojaDhanda have alreadyexpressed their reser-vations citing theprevalent situation inthe wake of the pan-demic and the list isbound to swell asBajrang Punia (65kg)and Jitender Kinha(74kg) are also unlikelyto join the camp till themonth end. —Mail Today

‘‘

‘‘

— ADILLE SUMARIWALLA, AFI PRESIDENT

Hockey India’s new chiefGyannendro Nigombam

IOA executivemember appealsfor introspection

FOLLOWING the ongoingpower tussle within the IndianOlympic Association (IOA), anassociate Executive Councilmember of IOA, BholanathSingh has asked all the mem-bers for ‘introspection’.

Singh — in a letter marked tomembers of the IOA — said thatSecretary General Rajiv Mehta,Treasurer Anandeshwar Pandeyand Vice President SudhanshuMittal are “accusing the Presi-

dent of IOA, Dr Narinder DhruvBatra, on various irrelevantissues and use derogatory lan-guage”.

Singh has made a series of alle-gations against the trio inrecent days and went on torecount the allegations in theletter.

“Mehta’s continuation as Pres-ident Fencing Association ofIndia is illegal, as after being thePresident of Kho-Kho Federa-tion he cannot hold the post of

President in another Federa-tion. It has been noted that heon commercial/monetary con-siderations is managing winningof elections of certain business-men or place such businessmenotherwise in management ofFederations,” he said.

“Respected Sir, it may benoted that today the sports sec-tor is at a churning point/stagewhere we need to take a call onwhether to allow these inten-tional disruptions to the extentof maligning the image of IOA.”

—Mail Today

ATK MohunBagan FC is thenew name of ATK

and Mohun Bagan. Theclub was registeredunder the Ministry ofCorporate Affairs lastmonth, as ‘ATK-MohunBagan Private Limited’with five board mem-bers — ATK co-ownerUtsav Parekh, MohunBagan duo of SrinjoyBose and DebashishDutta, and two othermembers — GautamRay and SanjeevMehra. Later, Board ofControl for Cricket inIndia (BCCI) PresidentSourav Ganguly alongwith principal ownerSanjeev Goenka havealso been inducted onthe board. Dr. SanjivGoenka, PrincipalOwner ATK MohunBagan Private Limited,said, "My pronams tothe many legends whohave over decades con-tributed to the greatlegacy that MohunBagan is.”

—Mail Today

TOKYO 2020 isreportedly set tosecure all the

venues needed fornext year's OlympicGames.

Securing venues for2021 has been viewedas one of the biggestchallenges facingTokyo 2020 after thepostponement of theOlympics wasannounced back inMarch.

Last month, Tokyo2020 announced it hadmanaged to confirm80 per cent of venuesfor next year's Games,but negotiationsremained ongoing forthe Athletes' Villageand the Tokyo BigSight.

The Organising Com-mittee are now ontrack to secure allvenues originallyplanned for Tokyo2020, as reported byKyodo News.

Tokyo 2020 havedownplayed suchreports.

—Mail Today

BY the time TigerWoods (in pic) tees upnext Thursday at Muir-field Village, the PGATour in its re-birth inthe times of COVID-19will be five events old.Yet, there is a differentkind of excitement asthe 15-time Major win-ner tweeted to confirmhis participation at theMemorial next week.

The Memorial Tourna-ment in Columbus,Ohio, will be his firstevent in five monthsand he will have in hissights yet anotherrecord — that of goingpast Sam Snead’s markof 82 PGA Tour wins.

—V Krishnaswamy

‘‘— HOCKEY INDIA,

IN ITS STATEMENT

‘‘Hockey India ExecutiveBoard held an

emergent meetingtoday and named

GyannendroNigombam as the

Officiating President.

Bholanath feels

too much time

being wasted

The KhoKhofederationis alsounder thescanner fornotcomplyingwithNationalSports Code2011.

To raise the standardof coaching in India.Today we have over500 Level 1 coaches

under propercertification and an

equal number inLevel 2.

Neeraj Choprawas identified

by AFI coachRadhakrishnan

Nair at a veryyoung age.

All eyes onTiger’s return

REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO

REPRESENTATIONAL PHOTO

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Sports

MailBruno stars as Man Unitedthrash West Ham 3-0

Rafael Nadal was among front runners for theGrand Slams before it was called off in April dueto the Coronavirus pandemic.

THE All England Lawn Tennis Clubannounced Friday it will provide all620 players who would have qualifiedfor the 2020 Wimbledon Champi-onships a prize money payout.

Wimbledon, which was scheduledto run from June 29 through July 12,was canceled in April because of theCoronavirus pandemic. Here’s whateach player will receive based on theevent they qualified for (one pay-ment per person, even if they wouldhave been eligible for multiple brack-ets): Qualifying: $15,810 (approx to224 players), singles: $31,626(256players), doubles: $7,906 (approx tp120 players), wheelchair: $7,590(approx to 16 players), quad wheel-chair: £6,324(approx to 4 players).

It was earlier reported that tourna-

ment organisers have held COVID-19pandemic insurance for 17 years andthat the AELTC will receive a $141

million payment because of thisyear’s cancellation.

Chief executive Richard Lewis, who

was scheduled to step down afterthis year's Championships, said theinsurance kept the club in a solidfinancial situation.

“It won’t be severely impacted. Ifyou have to cancel, it’s great to haveinsurance,” he told Reuters. “We’restill in a very good position; we’refinancially very stable. British tennisis going to be pretty well protected.”

A total of $12,737,315 (approx.) willbe paid out to players following Fri-day’s announcement.

The AELTC also confirmed the2021 Wimbledon Championshipsremain on track to happen from June28 through July 11 next year.

Novak Djokovic is the two-timedefending champion in men’s singles.

—Mail Today

WIMBLEDON TO PAY PRIZE MONEY TO 620 PLAYERS

Red Bull principalHorner says no to four-timeworld champion

MAX Verstappen set the fastest time forRed Bull in second practice for the StyrianGrand Prix on Friday afternoon as formerteam-mate Daniel Ricciardo crashed earlyon.

In a session that could end up setting thegrid should qualifying be cancelled due toforecast rain, 2019 Austrian Grand Prixwinner Verstappen managed to edge outMercedes’ Valtteri Bottas for top spot inthe timesheets.

Verstappen recorded a best lap time of1m03.660s to take top spot for Red Bull,making the most of extended qualifyingsimulation running through FP2.

The session was red flagged after just 13minutes following a hefty crash for

Renault driver Ricciardo at the penulti-mate corner.

Ricciardo lost the rear-end of hisRenault R.S.20 car as he spin backwardsinto the barrier. —Agencies

Verstappen fastest in free practice

SEBASTIAN Vettel’s futurein Formula One is hangingby a thread after Red Bullboss Christian Horner shutdown the four-time cham-pion’s hopes of returning to

the Austrian team. The German, who will leave Ferrari at the

end of the season, said ahead of the weekend’sStyrian Grand Prix that he would jump at thechance of a Red Bull drive if it was offered.

“Unfortunately it’s not something we aregoing to be able to accommodate. That is adefinite no, I’m afraid. Sebastian I think isaware of that,” Horner told Sky F1 televisionat the Styrian Grand Prix.

Horner and Vettel linked up at Red Bull asthe German stormed to four consecutivechampionships between 2010 and 2013, dom-inating the sport before the ill-fated move toFerrari.

Frustration was the overriding emotion asmistakes, strategy flops and disappointingMaranello packages saw Vettel fail in hisambition to land the team their first title since2007.

With the announcement that McLaren’sCarlos Sainz will partner 22-year-old Mone-gasque driver Charles Leclerc at Ferrari in2021, Vettel has been left looking elsewhere.

Sainz’s deal created a domino effect in thedriver market, with Renault’s Daniel Riccia-rdo agreeing to replace the Spaniard atMcLaren next year before Fernando Alonsosealed a welcome return to F1 in place of theAustralian.

Vettel’s options look very limited, particu-

larly if he is set on driving a car capable ofchallenging for the title - with only an unlikelyMercedes drive capable of keeping him in themix. Red Bull currently boast a strong line-up, with 22-year-old Max Verstappen lookingthe most likely heir to Lewis Hamilton’s dom-inance in years to come, with Thai driver AlexAlbon impressing in their second car.

—Mail Today

$12m (approx) to be

given to all who would

have qualified

SebastianVettel will

leave Ferrariat the end of

the season.

Red Bull’sMax Verstap-pen laps1:03.660 secondsat the RedBull Ring.

Dream overfor Vettel

Unfortunatelyit’s not somethingwe are going to beable toaccommodate. That is adefinite no, I’m afraid.

‘

’— CHRISTIAN HORNER, RED BULL PRINCIPAL