DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA Chushul leader tells Rajnath: Need infra, see cell towers across LAC NIRUPAMA SUBRAMANIAN MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 18 ALADAKHpoliticianrepresenting Chushul, along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh, urged Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Thursday to provide infrastructure, telecommunication and otherfacilitiesinnationalsecurity interest in the villages of the area to make them comparable to the onesthattheChinesearebuilding to assert territorial claims. Konchok Stanzin, Chushul councillor in the Leh Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, handed over a threepage list of facilities required for a “smart security policy” in the area when he met Singh in Chushul for the Rezang La anniversary. TheBattleof RezangLa isone of the most heroic episodes of the1962Sino-Indianwar,andits commemoration this year comesamidstcontinuingborder tensions with China and reports of war-like preparations including the building of border villages. “Ihavereadinthepapersthat China is building hundreds of border villages along the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh and other places. Here, on our side of the LAC,alreadythevillagesexist,we just need to develop the infrastructure and give people good facilities so that they stay in the villages. Empty villages are not good for our border security,” Stanzin told The Indian Express. He said there was only one 4G mobile tower in Chushul and CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 INDIA, CHINA: NEED EARLY RESOLUTION ON LAC PAGE 9 SINCE 1932 FIRST EXHUMATION SINCE POLICE STOPPED HANDING OVER BODIES Under fire over Srinagar killings, J&K admn orders probe, exhumes 2 bodies L-G orders magisterial inquiry, seeks report in 15 days NAVEED IQBAL & BASHAARAT MASOOD SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 18 THE J&K administration on Thursday exhumed the bodies of the two civilians killed in Monday’s shootout with police and ordered a magisterial inquiry, after protests over the incident spread across the Valley. Till late on Thursday night, the bodies of Altaf Bhat, a businessman, and Dr Mudassir Gul, a dentist, had not been handed over to the families. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 ANANTHAKRISHNAN G & DEEPTIMAN TIWARY NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18 THE SUPREME Court Thursday gave a go-ahead to the Centre to disinvestits29.54percentresidual shares in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL). At the same time, it directed a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the process of disinvestment of 26 per cent BUSINESS AS USUAL CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 INSIDE BY UNNY CHANNI, MINISTERS OFFERS PRAYERS AT KARTARPUR GURDWARA PAGE 10 Allahabad HC: Registration of interfaith union can’t wait for conversion nod ASAD REHMAN LUCKNOW, NOVEMBER 18 THEALLAHABADHighCourthas directed that the marriages of 17 interfaith couples in Uttar Pradesh should be registered without insisting on or waiting forapprovalfromthecompetent district authority with regard to the couples’ conversion of faith. The court said that while the state’s Unlawful Conversion Act doesnotprohibitinterfaith marriages,individualsmarryingoutside their religion “can be subjected to harassment”. Justice Suneet Kumar passed the order on Thursday in a batch of petitionsfiledby17adult couples who said they had entered into interfaith marriages after changing their religion “on free will”.However,“theyapprehend threat to their life and liberty at the hands of their parents, relatives and other family members in connivance of the State machinery,” the order said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 WORLD GERMANY SEES RECORD DAILY COVID NUMBERS, MOVES TO TIGHTEN RULES PAGE 16 Ruthless, inhuman to deny bodies to families: Parties EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 18 The grave of Altaf Bhat, one of those killed, being readied as his family awaits his body. AP THE EXHUMATION of the bodies of the two civilians who were killed in Monday’s shootout with police in Srinagar followed condemnation by parties across the political spectrum, particularly over the refusal of authorities to hand over the remains to the families. The PDP, National Conference,PeoplesConference, aswellasboththefactionsof the separatist Hurriyat Conference, also criticised the manner in which police forcibly removed the families sitting on protest on Wednesday midnight. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, who was not allowed to join the families at the protest site, tweeted Thursday: “Instead of handingoverthemortalremains of the innocent civilians, police have arrested the family members for demanding the bodies of their lovedones.Unbelievably ruthless and insensitive.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 Centre works on tax framework to regulate cryptocurrencies SC for CBI probe into HZL stake sale, Shourie points to closure report government shares in the company in 2002. A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and B V Nagarathna said that after the 2002 disinvestment, HZL had ceased to be agovernmentcompany within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1956, and was only a shareholder in the company and, therefore, entitled to sell its shareholding. `6.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SUNNY VERMA, AANCHAL MAGAZINE & PRANAV MUKUL NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18 The seven who were shot are in judicial custody. Express 13 shots, 7 hit, same injury: UP probes ‘encounter’ after shunted SHO puts it in a spot AMIL BHATNAGAR NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18 ALL SEVEN of them sit crowded on a stone bench in the hospital, a leg each bandaged at almost the exact same spot — a few inches below the knee — a cannula in their hand, blood spots on their clothes and around them. As per the Ghaziabad police, the injuries are the result of an “encounter”, and the seven involved in “cow slaughter”. A week later, the seven Muslimyouths continue to be in judicial custody, and a probe is looking into the encounter that reportedly took place at 6.10 am on November 11 near a scrap godown that was raided in BahetaHajipurof Loni—andhas raised questions given the similar nature of the injuries. Police ordered the probe after Loni Police Station SHO Rajendra Tyagi, who led the “operation”, was shifted out and left behind a written note in the General Diary saying he was being targeted due to the “encounter”. Among other things, CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 AS INDIA seeks global collaborationonregulatingcryptocurrencies, with Prime Minister NarendraModiidentifyingthem attheSydneyDialogueThursday one of the key areas where democracies should work together, the Centre is deliberating on a taxation framework for the sector following concerns that digitalcurrenciesareskirtingthe banking system. GovernmentofficialstoldThe Indian Express that the Finance Ministry is leading these discussions, and the question of bringing thesector undertheambit of direct and indirect taxes are among the issues under active discussion. Theissueofregulatorygapsis also being discussed in meetings involving the Government and regulators such as the Reserve BankofIndia(RBI),anofficialsaid. For holders and traders of digital currencies, deliberations areunderwaytoexplorethepossibility of imposing short term and long term capital gains tax, officials said. For service providers in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the option of imposing GST at the rate of 18 per cent, in line with the rate for most services in the financial sector, is being explored, they said. According to the officials, a key aspect being considered tobring cryptocurrency players under the regulatory ambit is broadening the definition of a CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 PM: JOIN HANDS ON CRYPTOCURRENCY PAGE 9 Paytm crashes on listing day, 1/4th investor wealth eroded ENS ECONOMIC BUREAU MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 18 INDIA’S LARGEST IPO (initial publicoffering)floatedbyOne97 Communications which owns Paytmdisappointedinvestorson Thursday with the shares closingatadiscountof 27.24percent to the issue price of Rs 2,150 per shareonthefirstdayof listingon the stock exchanges. Paytm got listed at Rs 1,955, a discount of 9 per cent, on the BSE and plunged to close at Rs 1564.15, down by 27.24 per cent from the IPO price. It hit the 20 per cent lower circuit from the opening price and trading was stopped.Marketparticipantsaid an inflated valuation and a large float mainly contributed to the weak listing. The company launched its IPO on November 1 and concluded on November 3 with a price band of Rs 2,080- Rs 2,150 a share. The size of the IPO was Rs 18,300 crore — Rs 8,300 crore through fresh issue of equity shares and Rs 10,000 crore E CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 E X P L A I NE D JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2021, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 26 PAGES Investors not ● enthused INDIA’S LARGEST Initial Public Offering sailed through, but investors made losses on the listing day. The reasons for discounted listing include expensive pricing, concerns over growth and Indian retail investors basing the stock on conventional metrics.