DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES Gyanvapi: District court will decide today on course of action Punjab RPG attack: Probe zeroes in on 2 ‘paid’ men NAVJEEVAN GOPAL CHANDIGARH, MAY 23 TWO WEEKS after a rocket-propelled grenade attack on the state police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, two men, one from Jhajjar in Haryana and the other from Faizabad in UP, have been identified as those who carried out the attack and were likely paid to do it, top sources in Punjab Police told The Indian Express. While Mohali SSP Vivek SheelSoniremainedtightlipped, atleasttwo seniorpoliceofficers said the two men attacked the Mohali building with Charat Singh,a TarnTaranresidentwho first recced the area and accompanied them later. The three men remain at large, the officers said. AseniorPunjabpoliceofficer said the two men are “gangsters and have criminal antecedents”. This, the officer said, points to “a dangerous cocktail of terror operatives-gangster-drug smugglers” trying to destabilise Punjab. According to the officer, the“perpetrators carriedoutthe attack for the sake of money” and were likely paid. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Decide suit maintainability: mosque panel; Hindu applicants flag survey EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE LUCKNOW, MAY 23 DIRECTEDBYtheSupremeCourt to decide “on priority” pending proceedings related to the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath row, the Varanasi District Judge, who heard the matter Monday, will decide Tuesday the future courseof actionandthequestion of maintainability of the suit. Last Friday, the Supreme Court said the application filed by the Committee of Management of Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, Varanasi, challenging themaintainabilityof thesuitby five Hindu women, seeking the right to worship at Maa Shringar CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY IndiajoinsIndo-Pacificeconomic blocledbyUStocounterChina Biden warns: If China invades Taiwan, US will defend it militarily Will strengthen supply chain pillars — trust, transparency & timeliness: PM SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, MAY 23 COURT ALLOWS PLEA ON OWNERSHIP OF IDGAH LAND PAGE 5 In Kerala, a father’s 17-year wait for missing son ends in suicide SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MAY 23 MAY 18 marked 17 years since his seven-year-old son went missing from a playground near his home in Alappuzha. It was among the most sensational unsolved mysteries in Kerala, with the CBI called in to crack the case but finally submitting a closure report in court after hitting one dead end after another. On May 22, A R Raju ended MODI-BIDEN BILATERAL TODAY Rahul Raju went missing on May 18, 2005 his life — the quest for his son, Rahul, an unfulfilled dream. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MOVING TO provide an economic alternative to China’s strategic footprint in the IndoPacific, India and 12 countries led by the US Monday launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) that aims to strengthen economic partnership among participating countries to enhance resilience, sustainability, inclusiveness, economic growth, fairness, and competitiveness in the IndoPacific region. In Tokyo, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sat alongside US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State Antony EXPRESS NETWORK IN ANDHRA, YSRCP MLC ARRESTED FOR MURDER OF FORMER DRIVER PAGE 5 POLICE STATION SET ON FIRE AFTER DEATH IN CUSTODY: ASSAM POLICE SLAP UAPA PAGE 6 PM Narendra Modi with US President Joe Biden and Japan PM Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Monday. Reuters Blinken at the launch of the IPEF —NewDelhi’sparticipationatthe highest level displayed its commitment to join forces to take on Beijing’sgrowingassertivenessin the region and beyond. This economic initiative cameadaybeforethesummitof the Quad leaders in Tokyo — the second in-person meeting after the summit in Washington DC last September. Leaders and officials joined in virtually from Australia, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E E X P L A I NE D The intelligence office in Mohali that was attacked. File `7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, `12 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ● A coalition rises WITH CHINA weaponising its economic heft in the Indo-Pacific, the US has now put together what is being seen as a “coalition of the willing” to take on Beijing and provide alternatives. JOSH BOAK, AAMER MADHANI & ZEKE MILLER TOKYO, MAY 23 US PRESIDENT Joe Biden said MondaythatWashingtonwould intervenemilitarilyif Chinawere toinvadeTaiwan,sayingtheburden to protect Taiwan is “even stronger” after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Itwasoneof themost forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades. Biden, at a news conference in Tokyo, said “yes” when asked if he was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if China invaded. “That’s the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Flagging ‘forced’ service charge, Govt calls restaurant owners for meeting EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, MAY 23 STATING THAT consumers are being “forced to pay service charge, often fixed at arbitrarily high rates”, the Department of Consumer Affairs has called a meetingwithrestaurantowners on June 2. This comes days after Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh raised the issue in a letter to the National Restaurant Association of India. He told them that restaurants and eateries are collecting serv- ice charges from consumers by default, although it is supposed tobevoluntaryandatthediscretion of consumers. “It has been pointed out in the letter that consumers are forced to pay service charge, often fixed at arbitrarily high rates CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Vinai Saxena, Khadi panel chief, is new L-G of Delhi Succeeds Anil Baijal at Delhi Raj Niwas EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, AHMEDABAD, MAY 23 VINAI KUMAR Saxena, who is currently serving as chairperson of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), has been appointed as the new Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi by the President who also accepted the resignation of former L-G Anil Baijal. “The President of India has been pleased to appoint Vinai Kumar Saxena to be the Lt Governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi with effect fromthedateheassumescharge of hisoffice,”readanotereleased by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal welcomed the new appointment and assured the “full support” of his government. “The former L-G Anil Baijal and I worked together in Delhi on several projects and tried to solve many issues. He is a very goodman.Iwishhimthebestfor the future and wish him good health and a long life. I welcome the newly appointed L-G, Vinai Kumar Saxena, on behalf of the people of Delhi. He will get the full support of the cabinet for Delhi’s betterment,” Kejriwal posted on Twitter. In Delhi, which is a Union Territory with an assembly, law and order, land, police and services come under the control of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2