DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022, PUNE, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 COUGH SYRUP HAI TO ALVIDA KHANSI For more information, please contact : +91 97792 14455, +91 73199 35154 (Whatsapp) / care@torquepharma.com RAJIV GANDHI ASSASSINATION CONVICT: SC USES SPECIAL POWERS UNDER ART 142 ` 152 per kilo ` 189 per kilo SC lets Perarivalan walk free, 24 years after death penalty Hardik quits Congress: Plays roadblock, leaders abroad when needed ANANTHAKRISHNANG BUSINESS AS USUAL NEWDELHI,MAY18 THE CITY THE MANY CASES AGAINST BUSINESSMAN HASAN ALI KHAN WILL ISSUE PRIOR NOTICE TO ACCUSED DOCTORS IN CASE OF ARREST: COPS PG 5, 6 THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday ordered the release of A G Perarivalan, one of the sevenconvictsintheRajivGandhi assassination case, exercising its specialpowersunderArticle142 of theConstitution. Theordercame24yearsafter Perarivalan was sentenced to deathinthecasebyalowercourt, and two months after he was granted bail by the apex court. Perarivalan was arrested on June 11,1991,attheageof19,weeksafter former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombattackatSriperumbudurin TamilNaduonMay21. “In exercise of our power under Article 142 of the Constitution, we direct that the Appellant is deemed to haveserved the sentence in connection with (the) crime. The Appellant, who is already on bail, is set at liberty forthwith.Hisbailbondsarecancelled,” the apex court ordered. ‘Leaders busy on mobiles, state unit in getting chicken sandwiches for them’ BY UNNY VAIBHAV JHA & LEENA MISRA AHMEDABAD, MAY 18 THE EDITORIAL PAGE MYMOTHERWAS MYHOPE BY A G PERARIVALAN PAGE 8 EXPLAINED SIMPLY PUT AGPerarivalanwithhismotherArputhamAmmalat Jolarpettai inTamilNaduonWednesday. PTI ‘You respected my fight’: His mother’s 31-yr wait is over ARUN JANARDHANAN HISROAD TO FREEDOM CHENNAI, MAY 18 “THE SUPREMECourt hasfinally orderedmyson'srelease.SoIam PAGE 10 CONTINUEDONPAGE2 standingheretothankeveryone. All of you know our fight for the past 31 years. I don't have to tell you abouthim. Youall respected my fight.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JOLTING THE Congress in the countdown to Assembly elections in Gujarat later this year, Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who was made working president of the state unit two years ago, resigned from the party Wednesday, saying its top leaders seemed more interested in “messages they had received on their mobile (phones)”, behaved as if “they hate Gujarat and Gujaratis” while state Congress leaders were “more focussed” in arranging chicken sandwiches for them. In his resignation letter, addressed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and posted on Twitter, Hardik took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi without naming him: “Whenever our country Days after Udaipur, a reality check for Congress MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, MAY 18 E faced challenges and when the Congress needed leadership, Congress leaders were enjoying abroad.” FROM INTROSPECTION to new resolve,whenthe Congress leader● ship deftly changed the format of the Udaipur Chintan Shivir, many pertinent questions remained unanswered. The much talked about “inaccessibility” of Rahul Gandhi, his frequent disappearances, the accountability of the Gandhis, their unilateral ways, the lack of collective decision-making etc, discussions on that were avoidedsincetherewasnopostmortem. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Hardik Patel joined Congress in 2019. File INSIDE AFTER METEORIC RISE, HARDIK DEALS BODY BLOW TO CONG PAGE 7 EXPLAINED ` 124 per kilo JOLT TO PARTY AHEAD OF GUJARAT POLLS Thinking of shutting Shivling claim site in down organ transplant Gyanvapi secured, no procedures, say Ruby restrictions on namaz Hall Clinic authorities DM says SC order complied with; do ANURADHA MASCARENHAS PUNE,MAY18 AUTHORITIES OF Ruby Hall Clinic are contemplating shutting down organ transplant procedures in the wake of alleged malpractice in a recent kidney transplant at the hospital. BomiBhote,CEOof RubyHall Clinic, told The Indian Express that after conducting more than 1,800 kidney transplants, the “entire effort seems futile when attempts are being made to defame the institution”. In the transplant surgery that was performed on March 24, a WORLD woman 'donor' posed as the recipient'swifeafterallegedlybeing promised Rs 15 lakh in return. On May 11, Pune City Police hadbooked15persons,including management authorities and doctorsatRubyHallClinic,inconnection with the controversial kidney transplant. It had also booked the kidney recipient, donor, members of their families andmiddlemen,andinvokedprovisions of Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994, along with Indian Penal Code sections related to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy. “We are considering a move to stop all organ transplants. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 wazu at home, says mosque panel LALMANI VERMA VARANASI, MAY 18 A DAY after the Supreme Court asked the Varanasi district magistrate to secure the wazu khana area where a Shivling was claimedtohavebeenfoundduring a videographic survey of the Gyanvapi mosque complex, without impeding or restricting therightsof Muslimstooffernamaz, the faithful flocked to the mosque for prayers and the mosque committee asked them to performwazu at home before heading there. In the adjoining Kashi Vishwanath complex, an idol of Nandi, gazing in the direction of the Gyanvapi mosque, has been drawing crowds ever since the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sheena Bora case: SC grants bail to Indrani, says over 6 years in jail too long EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SRI LANKA TO DEFAULT ON DEBT, NO MONEY FOR FUEL, MINISTER SAYS PG 14 Security presence stepped up outside the site. File NEW DELHI, MAY 18 THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday granted bail to former media executive Indrani She was arrested in 2015 in the Sheena Bora murder case Mukerjea, nearly seven years after she was arrested in the case over the alleged murder of her daughter Sheena Bora in 2012. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao, B R Gavai and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Inflation up, FMCG companies increase rates, reduce pack volume and weight PAGE 1 ANCHOR FEELING THE PINCH Item Oct ’21 Apr ’22 PRANAV MUKUL SOAPS NEW DELHI, MAY 18 Patanjali soap Neem Kanti 75 g 20 29 ASINFLATIONsoars,India’sconsumption trends are witnessing apalpableimpact.Withrawmaterial prices rising, fast-moving consumergoods(FMCG)companiesareincreasingproductprices — not just by directly raising the retail rates but also by reducing the pack sizes, an industry practicethatisknownas“grammage reduction”. On the consumer side, buyers of items such as Godrej No 1 Lime & Aloevera (3+1) 100g 18 26 ITC Fiama Di Wills Mild Dew 3 115g 46 57 13 17 Britannia Tiger 124g 8 10 Parle Glucose 120g 8 9 BISCUITS Britannia Good Day Butter 150g Normalised Price in `/100gm (adjusted for grammage changes) Normalised changes account for actual price hikes and grammage changes. Source: Company data/Kotak Institutional Equities soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, biscuitsetcare“downtrading”— meaning they are either opting for cheaper alternatives or smaller pack sizes. Even as the strategy to shave small quantities — few grams or millilitres—frombiscuitpackets andshampoobottlesisbeingdeployedacrosstheboardbyFMCG companiestodealwiththeinput costpressure,startingOctober1, thesecompanieswillhavetodisplay the unit sale prices of prepackaged items, according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in March. The companies will have todisplaypricespergramwhere CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pune