eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE The Stories that Choose Us NEWDELHI,LATECITY MARCH24,2024 How advertising in India has seen a visible shift in the narrative 14+4PAGES,`7.00 (`8 BIHAR & RAIPUR, ` 12SRINAGAR) DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA After incentive for Tests, BCCI working out fee hike for Ranji players CONCERT HALL ATTACK TOLL 133, ALL 4 GUNMEN HELD; UKRAINE REBUTS RUSSIA CHARGE DEVENDRA PANDEY MUMBAI, MARCH 23 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A day after the blast, emergency workers clear rubble at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow on Saturday. Reuters Moscow massacre: ISIS-K claims it did it, Russia pursues Ukraine ‘link’ GUY FAULCONBRIDGE, ALEXANDER MARROW & MARK TREVELYAN MOSCOW, LONDON, MARCH 23 RUSSIA SAID Saturday it had arrested all four gunmen suspected of carrying out a shooting massacre in a concert hall near Moscow — the deadliest terror attack in a decade — as President Vladimir Putin pledged to track down and punish those guilty. Militant Islamist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for Friday’s rampage but there were indications that Russia waspursuing a Ukrainian link, despite emphatic denials fromUkrainianofficialsthatKyiv had anything to do with it. The four suspected gunmen are all foreign citizens, Russia's Interior Ministry said. The state InvestigativeCommitteesaid133 peoplehadbeenkilledandmore than 120 were wounded. State TV editor Margarita Simonyan, without citing a source, had earlier given a toll of 143. In a televised address, Putin said11peoplehadbeendetained, includingthefourgunmen.“They CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E REPORTS,P10 Warning from ● Washington US OFFICIALS confirmed the ISIS claim that it was behind the concert hall attack. A fortnight ago, the US had intelligence that Islamic StateKhorasan, the branch based in Afghanistan, was planning an attack on Moscow and had issued a warning. PREMIER B-SCHOOLS SAY THEY ARE WORKING ON DIVERSITY Changing IIM: Over 2 decades, more women; engineers still dominate but their share dips After cross-voting in RS elections, 6 Cong MLAs, 3 Independents join BJP IN A boost for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, six disqualified Congress MLAs and three Independent MLAs from Himachal Pradesh — who had cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha electionslastmonth—joinedthe party in New Delhi on Saturday. The BJP’s decision to induct Will be back soon… don’t hate BJP for this: Wife reads Kejriwal message Berlin flags due process, Delhi protests: ‘Do not interfere’ NEW DELHI, MARCH 23 The Cong rebels with Union Minister Anurag Thakur and BJP leaders Jai Ram Thakur and Arun Singh in Delhi. Praveen Khanna NEW DELHI, MARCH 23 DAY AFTER ED GETS CUSTODY UNTIL MARCH 28 SHUBHAJIT ROY HIMACHAL PRADESH VIKAS PATHAK & MANOJ C G FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT Delhi CM moves HC against arrest; no one has sympathy for him, says BJP E X P L A I NE D WEEKS AFTER it decided to increase the payments to Test cricketers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is working out a similar remuneration plan for the Ranji Trophy, the country’s premier domestic red-ball tournament, it is learnt. This comes as the BCCI scrambles to cap the trend of players picking the cash-rich IndianPremierLeague(IPL)over domestic cricket. “After the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, the BCCI is working out how wecan reward players who play red-ball Ranji Trophy cricket. The BCCI is planning to increase the match fees to give more importance to redball cricket,” a BCCI official told The Indian Express. Under the Test Cricket Incentive Scheme, announced by the BCCI earlier in March, players will now get up to Rs 45 lakh incentive per Test match in addition to the Rs 15-lakh match fee. For Ranji, the BCCI currently pays between Rs 40,000 and Rs 60,000 per day as match fee, depending on the number of games a cricketer has played across seasons. For instance, a WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM the Congress rebels and Independents is not just a psychological blow to the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh, led by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, but will also ensure that the state governmentremainsonedgefor the next two months, until the bypolls are over. Following the cross-voting last month, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajanhadwonthe loneRajya CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Shareof womendoublesin5of theoldIIMs;atAhmedabad, athirdof 2022-24batchnon-engineers,was5%adecadeago YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW E AN XPRESS RTI APPLICATION RITU SHARMA AHMEDABAD, NEW DELHI, MARCH 23 TRADITIONALLY DOMINATED by men and engineering graduates, classrooms of the country’s premier business schools, the IndianInstitutesof Management (IIMs),arechangingwithasharp increase in women’s enrollment and a steady decline in the share of engineers over the last two decades. From 13% of the intake 20 INCREASING GENDER DIVERSITY AT IIMs IIM-Ahmedabad IIM-Bangalore IIM-Calcutta IIM-Kozhikode IIM-Indore Male 89% 83% 89% 95% 83% 2002 Female 11% 17% 11% 5% 17% Male 77% 70% 71% 50% 67% 2022 Female 23% 30% 29% 50%* 33% Source: RTI (IIM-L witnessed drop in women students from 36% in 2013 to 30% in 2022) *Approximate years ago, women students now make up almost a third (31%) of the students at the first-generation IIMs. Also, while students from engineering backgrounds stilldominatetheseschools,they are down from 90% a decade ago to 66% now. The Indian Express analysed admission data, obtained under the Right to Information Act, of the flagship two-year postgraduateprogramme (PGP)at the six CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 DRajaandotherCPI leaders withArvindKejriwal’swife,Sunita Kejriwal,anddaughterHarshita. X/ @ComradeDRaja REPORTS,P4 JATIN ANAND NEW DELHI, MARCH 23 SEEKINGBLESSINGSforherhusband and asking the people to defeatpowersthatare“weakening Bharat”, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjiwal’s wife Sunita went public to convey the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief’s “message from prison” in a video Saturday. Meanwhile, Kejriwal moved the Delhi High Court on Saturday, challenging his arrest as“illegal”. According to sources, thematterisunlikelytobeheard before March 27, when the HC CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GERMANY HAS “taken note” of thearrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and hopes that the standards relating to independence of judiciary and basic democratic principles will be applied. Responding to this, India summoned the German deputy chief of mission in New Delhi on Saturday and lodged a strong protest against the German Foreign Ministry's remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest. This is the third face-off between the German Foreign Ministry and the MEA in the last CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WHAT ELECTORAL BOND DATA, ED REMAND REVEAL Aurobindo donated to BRS, TDP, BJP pre-director’s arrest; only to BJP after KAUNAIN SHERIFF M & ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, MARCH 23 A SCRUTINY of the Enforcement Directorate’sremandapplication seeking custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal juxtaposed with bond purchases by Aurobindo Pharma reveals: i) purchases made before the arrestof thecompany’sdirector by the ED were encashed by multiple political parties — BRS, TDP and BJP, and ii) purchases made after his arrest, statement to ED, and turning an approver, were CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BONDS PHARMA FIRM BOUGHT, AND WHEN APRIL 2021-OCTOBER 2022 Aurobindo Pharma purchases bonds worth `22 crore; BRS encashes `15 crore, BJP `4.5 crore, TDP `2.5 crore NOVEMBER 10, 2022 P Sarath Chandra Reddy, Aurobindo’s non-executive director, arrested by ED in excise policy case NOVEMBER 15, 2022 Aurobindo Pharma purchases electoral bonds worth Rs 5 crore NOVEMBER 21, 2022 BJP encashes Aurobindo bonds worth `5 crore APRIL 25, 2023 Reddy records key statement before ED about meeting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal JUNE 1, 2023 Reddy turns approver in the excise policy case NOVEMBER 8, 2023 Aurobindo purchases electoral bonds worth `25 crore NOVEMBER 17, 2023 BJP encashes `25-crore bonds donated by Aurobindo ‘Cash-for-query’ case: CBI searches premises linked to Mahua Moitra MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL & SWEETY KUMARI NEW DELHI, KOLKATA, MARCH 23 DAYS AFTER it registered an FIR against former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, the CBI on Saturday conducted searches at multiple premises linked to her, across different locations in West Bengal, in connection with the alleged cashfor-query case. Sources said the CBIteamswereaccompaniedby cyber security experts. The CBI registered an FIR on Thursday, two days after the Lokpal ordered a formal investigation in the case and told the agency to submit a copy of its report within six months. “The CBI came home & to my electionoffices today. Were very polite.Searched.Foundnothing,” Moitra posted on 'X' at night. Moitra has been accused of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CAA: Initial euphoria fades, Matua leaders tell community not to apply yet PAGE 1 ANCHOR ATRI MITRA & RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, MARCH 23 QUITELIKEAssam’sBarakValley where its Bengali-speaking Hinduswhohavemigratedfrom Bangladesh are not rushing to register under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, in the Matua community in West Bengal, the initial euphoria over the implementation of the legislation has given way to apprehension. Now, Matua community leaders have issued statements askingtheirmemberstowaittill the elections are over, and the confusion over the papers to be submitted is sorted. BJP leaders have reached out to Delhi saying that a clause in the rules seeking proof of residence in neighbouring Bangladesh, Afghanistan or Pakistanbedoneawaywith.And manyMatuafamiliesaremaking frantic calls to relatives back in Bangladeshinadesperatesearch for the papers they might need. Having passed the CAA in 2019, the Narendra Modi gov- ernment notified the rules only on March 11, days ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll schedule. With the BJP hoping to cash in on the Matua vote in Bengal, which is among the high-priority states for the BJP, Trinamool Congress supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was among the first to caution the Matuas not to apply under the CAA. “I will be happy if anyone get citizenship, but the BJP is fooling people,” she said. “The moment one applies for citizenship, they will be identified as intruders. Matua members celebrate after the Centre notified the CAA rules on March 11, in North 24 Parganas district. File After this, the NRC (National Register of Citizens) will be implemented, and these people willbesenttodetentioncamps.” The message has hit home, among people who are used to promises drying up. “I came to India in February 2004 and my mother came two months later. Now I have been making frantic calls to Bangladesh, where her sisters live, to get documents provingthatsheoncelivedthere. They do not have them,” says Sujan Haldar (32), a resident of Bongaon,whocametoIndiafrom Barisal province in Bangladesh. Haldar adds: “My family and I will not apply right now... there are a lot of unanswered questions. We bought land in 2004 and built a house here in 2005. Thatwasonthebasisof thevoter card and other documents we made here. Once we apply (under the CAA), will the land deed be valid? Will my graduation certificate be?” A 43-year-old state government employee who came to India from Faridpur province in Bangladesh in 2001 says: “Have you heard of Sindel Chor? These thieves dig a hole through the mud floor of a village house, and first push through an earthen, black, round pot. If the pot is not detected, then they slip in. This is our condition too. We are all waiting for others to apply and see what happens.” On Tuesday, the Matua Mahasangha, the largest organisation of the community in Bengal, said the CAA rules notified recently need rectification, and that community members whowanttoapplyundertheCAA shouldwaittilltheformationof a new government at the Centre. Matua Mahasangha general secretary Mahitosh Baidya told The Indian Express: “Some CONTINUED ON PAGE 2