LATE CITY, 20 PAGES, AHMEDABAD, `4.00 ● TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM TheIndian EXPRESS DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE ROUND 1 OF FOUR PHASES RAPE BACKLASH IN GUJARAT J&K local polls: Just 8% turnout in Valley, nearly 70% in Jammu 80 held for rioting in last 24 hours, CM appeals for calm Polls held in 149 wards in Valley, no vote in 92 and no candidate in 23 Over 430 people arrested till now, Mehsana on edge EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE GANDHINAGAR, AHMEDABAD, OCTOBER 8 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE JAMMU, SRINAGAR, OCT 8 THE FIRST phase of local body polls in J&K, being held after 13 years amid calls for a boycott from militants, presented a stark contrast in voting patterns Monday with the Jammu region recording a turnout of nearly 70 per cent while the Valley logged just 8.2 per cent. The first of the four-phase polls saw voting in 17 cities and towns in the border districts of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch, and eight districts of the Kashmir division, including Leh and Kargil and three wards of Srinagar. The Kashmir division recorded an overall turnout of 18.6 per cent. Apart from threats by militants, the two major local political parties, National Conference (NC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stayed away from the polls, leaving the BJP, the Nishant Aggarwal, from his Facebook page BrahMos engineer held for leaking sensitive data RASHMI RAJPUT MUMBAI, OCTOBER 8 A SENIOR systems engineer with BrahMos Aerospace was arrested on Monday on espionage charges in a joint operation carried out by the Uttar Pradesh Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Military Intelligence (MI). The agencies are probing if Nishant Aggarwal (27) leaked sensitive data pertaining to the supersonic cruise missile, Brahmos, to his ‘handler’, who is suspected to be from Pakistan. BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia’s Military Industrial Consortium, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 14 WORLD SHARIF, ABBASI APPEAR IN COURT IN TREASON CASE J&K LOCAL BODY POLLS PHASE II - OCTOBER 10 Congress, Sajad Lone’s Peoples’ Conference and Independents in the fray. In Jammu district, the highest turnout of 89 per cent was witnessed in Jourian, followed by Gho Manasa (86.21), Bishnah (85.44), Khour (82.13), R S Pura (80.14), Akhnoor (80.49), Arnia (80.16) and Jammu Municipal Corporation (61.92). Rajouri district’s Thanamandi, which was once a hotbed of militancy, registered the highest voting percentage of 90.23. This area falls on the Mughal Road connecting Poonch and Rajouri districts to the Valley. The second highest Sabarimala: Review pleas filed in SC, Pinarayi says will follow court order EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCTOBER 8 EVEN AS Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reiterated that his government would follow the Supreme Court’s order on allowing women of all ages to enter the Sabarimala temple, some organisations on Monday filed petitions in the apex court seeking review of its September 28 verdict. Stating that his government would not file a review petition, Vijayan said: “The government has already informed the court that it would implement the order. The government cannot backtrack from that affidavit.’’ He said “deliberate efforts” were being made to destroy the state’s unity and “secular fabric”. “The government does not want to clash with the faithful. At the same time, the government will not succumb to the attempts of the politically moti- BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY voting percentage in the first phase here, 89.63, was registered in Sunderbani, followed by Kalakote (86.25), Nowshera (86.01) and Rajouri (74.41). 10 THE EDITORIAL PAGE CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BY MRINAL PANDE #MeToo ripples: AIB’s CEO steps aside, its co-founder sent on leave MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 8 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In adjoining Poonch district, Surankote, which also witnessed militant activity in the past, registered 89 per cent polling. In Fight the good fight EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE vated forces who want to foment tension in society. The government will go ahead in upholding the reformative tradition of the state,’’ he said. His statement came a day after the priest of Sabarimala temple and the erstwhile royal family of Pandalam opted out of talks with the government on implementing the Supreme Court’s order, demanding that MORE REPORTS, P 12 IN THE wake of sexual harassment allegations levelled by women on social media as part of the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, Mumbai-based comedy collective AIB announced Monday that its CEO Tanmay Bhat will step aside and founding member Gursimran Khamba will go on temporary leave. Later, Hindustan Times said that Prashant Jha had stepped down as the paper’s ChiefofBureau and National Political Editor. Days after it cut all ties with writer-comedian Utsav Chakraborty following allega- tions of sexual harassment and drew sharp criticism for not acting on complaints, AIB said that Bhat will be “stepping away” as his role in the controversy could not be “overlooked”. Khamba, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct, has been asked to go on temporary leave and issued a separate statement denying the allegation. Earlier, AIB had issued an apology for not taking action when the complaint was made two years ago and for continuing to collaborate with Chakraborty. In a statement titled “We’re sorry”, Bhat and AIB apologised for not taking action despite complaints against Chakraborty. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Citing 9/11, CISF signals a shift at airports: From ‘broad smiles’ to ‘sufficient smiles’ DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 8 INDIAN TOURIST AMONG TWO KILLED IN THAILAND SHOOTOUT Outside an empty polling station in Baramulla, Monday. Shuaib Masoodi THE CENTRAL Industrial Security Force (CISF) may be in for a paradigm shift in its approach to aviation security. The specially trained force is responsible for security at as many as 60 airports across the country and has always emphasised the need to improve soft skills to make security checks passengerfriendly and welcoming. All that may change soon. CISF DG Rajesh Ranjan, citing an “over-friendly” approach as among the reasons for the 9/11 attacks in the US, now plans to temper “friendly smiles” to focus more on its core duty: security. And with the introduction of new technologies such as body scanners and body-worn cameras soon, the CISF is now C R Sasikumar expected to become more vigilant than friendly. “We cannot be over-friendly with the passengers because one of the reasons cited as to why 9/11 (the 2001 terror attack on the World Trade Centre in the US) happened... was excessive reliance on passenger-friendly features where security personnel went out of the way to ensure that the passenger is facilitated, thereby compromising on security,” said Ranjan. He was speaking to reporters Monday ahead of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ● PAGE ONE ANCHOR FISH VENDOR MOTHER , LABOURER FATHER & A VILLAGE WAIT FOR JUDO SILVER WINNER NITIN SHARMA CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 8 THE DELIGHT at their daughter Thangjam Tababi Devi (16) winning a silver medal in judo at the ongoing Youth Olympics Games in Argentina was accompanied by a sense of worry for parents Thangjam Thoiba Singh, a daily wage labourer, and Thangjam Ongbi Kamala Devi, a fish vendor. It had been a slow start to the week for the couple. Their collective earning for Monday was Rs 240, of which about Rs 20 was spent on commuting to Imphal, 24 km from their village Kokchai Makha Leikai in Manipur’s Mayang. The medal was expected but what the family didn’t factor in was the additional cost of getting a gift for their daughter and a feast for the village. “Gold ka bola tha. Coaches bata rahe hain ki silver aya hai. Hamare liye toh silver bhi gold ke barabar hai. (They had said gold. The coaches said she won silver. For us, a silver is as good as gold). When she started judo, sometimes we did not have money for dinner. I would keep one or two fishes on the side for her. This meant little or no profit on certain days. Both of us earned Rs 240 today and we will keep part of this money as a gift for her,” an emotional Kamala told The Indian India’s Thangjam Tababi Devi (left) won the silver medal in judo at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires Express from her village. As for the funds needed for the feast the villagers expect from the family, she was clueless. But that was only until the academy her daughter trains at de- cided to chip in. Mayang village is now busy preparing to welcome their star judoka. Her father, Thoiba says his wife has kept the best fish aside for their daughter. But the parents are relieved that they don’t need to worry about funding the feast. “I have been told that every trainee from the academy will bring 1 or 2 kg of rice for the village celebration,” says Thoiba. But for now, the mother of five is more keen to talk about her oldest daughter, who was introduced to the sport at the Judo Federation of India’s Mayai Lambi Sports Academy in her village. She talks indulgently about CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EVEN AS Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Monday appealed for peace and said that the state has not witnessed any attack on migrants in the last 48 hours, police in Ahmedabad city arrested 80 people for rioting and lodged five FIRs in the last 24 hours till Monday evening. Since a 14-month-old girl was raped allegedly by a migrant labourer from Bihar in Sabarkantha district on September 28, six districts, mostly in north Gujarat, have witnessed sporadic incidents of violence against Hindi-speaking people. Speaking in Rajkot on Monday, the CM said, “Due to intense efforts by police, the situation is under control, and no attack on migrants has happened in the last 48 hours. We are committed to maintaining law and order, and people can call police in case of trouble. We will provide them security.” Rupani, who assured the chief ministers of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of migrants’ safety in the state, also told them that “there has been no incidents of violence in the last three days”, as quoted by Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath on Monday. Addressing a press conference first time after the spate of attacks, Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja on Monday said that police have registered 56 FIRs in 11 districts — with Mehsana and Sabarkantha districts having highest number of cases — and arrested around 400 people. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Migrant workers at a camp in Ahmedabad. Ritu Sharma In Ahmedabad city, migrant workers find shelter in ‘secret’ camp RITU SHARMA AHMEDABAD, OCTOBER 8 NOT FAR from a gateway marking the entrance to this village in Ahmedabad district, a stronghold of the Thakor community, a group of 25 young migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh have found refuge in a farm house since Sunday evening. On the gateway, which is an arch made of stone, a banner has been put up by the Kshatriya Thakor Samaj demanding capital punishment for the migrant worker from Bihar accused of allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl in Sabarkantha on September 28. But the two-storey farm house — surrounded by fields, enclosed by boundary walls and secured by an iron gate — is not easily visible from the main road. This is one of the “secret” camps set up in the district by Uttar Bhartiya Vikas Parishad, a social welfare trust, to shelter migrant FULL COVERAGE workers from UP, MP and Bihar, following the widespread attacks against them in Gujarat since the alleged rape. “Temporary arrangements have been made for their stay till the situation is under control. We don’t want to disclose these locations. A careful recce was conducted before shortlisting these areas,” says Shyam Singh Thakur, who heads the Parishad. By Monday, the men from UP, in the age group of 18-28, had settled down on the terrace of the farm house. “This is the safest place for them. This village is part of the Vatva assembly constituency of Gujarat’s MoS for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja, so there will be no breach in law and order. Also, the public here is educated and there have been regular meetings between residents, police and our organisation members,” says Deepak Dubey, a Parishad member. Formed in 2016, the Parishad is based in Ahmedabad, and run CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 3 ● CONG-BJP WAR OF WORDS ERUPTS ● NITISH, YOGI SPEAK TO RUPANI ● GCCI SEEKS PROTECTION OF WORKERS Rupani in Rajkot, Monday