DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 DAYS BEFORE TRUMP INAUGURAL SUBMARINE, DESTROYER, FRIGATE COMMISSIONED Phased deal: 6-week initial ceasefire, pullout of Israeli forces from Gaza Spirit of development, not expansionism, is our country’s intent, says Modi Israel, Hamas reach deal on ceasefire, release of hostages 3 warships join Navy, PM says India key to global security COMMITTEE HAS SUBMITTED REPORT: MHA Pannun plot: Govt panel for legal steps against ‘individual’ with ‘criminal links’ Panel set up after US shared inputs on alleged role of ex-official Vikash Yadav MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, JANUARY 15 Supporters of Israeli hostages react to the ceasefire news during a protest in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. Reuters DOHA, DUBAI, JERUSALEM, JANUARY 15 NEGOTIATORS REACHED a phaseddealonWednesdaytoend the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, an official briefed on the negotiations said, after 15 months of conflict that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and inflamed the Middle East. Theaccord,whichhasnotyet been formally announced, outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradualwithdrawal of Israeliforces from the Gaza Strip and release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, the official told Reuters. US President Joe Biden later confirmed a deal had been struck. Phase one entails the release of 33 Israeli hostages including all women, children and men over 50. Negotiations on implement- THE WORLD CELEBRATIONS BREAK OUT IN GAZA, TEL AVIV OVER PEACE PACT PAGE 12 ing the second phase will begin bythe16thdayof phaseoneand it is expected to include the release of all remaining hostages, a permanent ceasefire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The third phase is expected to address the return of all remaining dead bodies and the startof Gaza'sreconstructionsupervised by Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations. The agreement follows months of on-off negotiations conducted by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, with the backing of the United States, and comes just ahead of the January 20inaugurationof USPresidentelect Donald Trump. Hamas, Gaza’s dominant Palestinian militant group, told CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK CHHATTISGARH: ED ARRESTS FORMER MINISTER TRAIN TO KASHMIR SOON AS LAST LEG GETS NOD PAGE 6 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, JANUARY 15 AS THREE frontline vessels were commissioned together into the IndianNavy,ahistoricfirstforthe country,PrimeMinisterNarendra Modi said Wednesday that India isgoingtoplayamajorroleingiving direction to “global security, economics and geopolitical dy- namics”.Healsosaidthecountry works “in the spirit of development, not expansionism”. Thevesselsthathaveentered the Navy are the destroyer INS Surat, the last of the four Visakhapatnam-class stealth guided-missile destroyers; the frigateINS Nilgiri,theleadshipof a new class of seven stealth guided-missile frigates being built under Project 17 Alpha; NEW DELHI, JANUARY 15 JUST OVER a week after US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Washington was finalising steps to remove “longstanding regulations that have prevented civil nuclear cooperation between India's leading nuclear entities and US companies”, the US Bureau of Industry andSecurity(BIS)removedthree Indiannuclearentities—Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research(IGCAR)andtheIndian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) — from its ‘Entity List’. The US Entity List is a list of foreign individuals, businesses and organisations that are sub- ject to export restrictions and licensingrequirementsforcertain goods and technologies. The list — compiled by the BIS of the US Department of Commerce — is ostensiblyusedtopreventunauthorised trade in items that could be diverted to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programmes, or other activities that are perceived by the US as going against its foreign policy or national security interests. “The removal of Indian entities Indian Rare Earths, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) will support US foreign policy objectives by reducing barriers toadvancedenergycooperation, including joint research and de- THREE CHEERS FOR NAVY PAGE 9 and,thesubmarineINSVagsheer, the sixth and the last of the first batch of the Kalvari-class dieselelectric attack submarines. Speakingatthecommission- ing ceremony at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, the Prime Minister called it a “giant leap forward” in the Navy’s empowerment and self-reliance. Describingitasahistoricday, Modi said, “Today’s programme connects our glorious heritage with the aspirations of the future. We have a rich history in long sea voyages, commerce, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Fighting BJP, RSS and the Indian State, says Rahul; draws BJP fire EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, JANUARY 15 A POLITICAL firestorm erupted Wednesday after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said his party was “fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself” since the ruling establishmenthadcaptured“everysingle institution”. Hisremarksdrewstrongcriticism from the BJP with its chief J P Nadda saying everything the Congress leader does or says is “in the direction of breaking India”and“dividing”thesociety. Rahul: Every institution captured The BJP alleged it was “not a secret” that Gandhi and “his ecosystem” have “close links with Urban Naxals and the deep state who want to defame, demeananddiscreditIndia”.Itsaid Gandhi’s statement was straight out of the “George Soros playbook”. Earlier, Gandhi, while ad- velopment and science and technology cooperation, towards shared energy security needs and goals,” the BIS said in a statement. “The US and India share a commitment to advancing peaceful nuclear cooperation and associated research and development activities, with strengthened science and technology cooperation over the past several years that has benefitted both countries and their partner countries around the world,” it said. “The removal of the three Indian entities will enable closer cooperationbetweentheUSand India to secure more resilient critical minerals and clean energy supply chains... This action CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY dressing party leaders after the inauguration of the new Congress headquarters at 9A, Kotla Road in New Delhi, said: “Do not think that we are fighting a fair fight. There is no fairnessinthis.If youbelievethatwe are fighting a political organisation called the BJP, that we are fighting a political organisation called the RSS, you have not understood what is going on. The BJP and the RSS have captured every single institution of our country.Wearenowfightingthe BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Behind the move: Clean slate with Trump Govt, show of due process SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 15 THE MINISTRY of Home Affairs’ statement on the committee recommending “legal action againstanindividual”comesjust days before Donald Trump is sworn in as the next US President on January 20. The government has not taken any names, but the US had earlier alleged the involvementof VikashYadav,aformer Indian official, in a foiled plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York in 2023. Whileitisnowuptothegovernment to accept the commit- tee’s recommendations, the decision to announce the report at this point is guided by at least sevenfactorsthatmakeitimportant in terms of its timing and what it means. ■ First, the timing of the report suggests that India wants to approach the new Trump administration with a clean slate — so that the baggage of the previous administration doesn’t cast a ● shadowonfuturebilateral ties. The fact that the government hosted outgoing National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan in Delhi in early January and External AffairsMinisterSJaishankarmet the incoming NSA-designate E INSIDE SC PULLS UP ED FOR REMARKS P7 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Now at Kumbh: Tours through akharas for a glimpse into lives of sadhus, starting Rs 2,000 Nuclear deal in mind, US removes curbs on BARC and two others SHUBHAJIT ROY EXPLAINED EXPLAINED ANDREW MILLS, NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI, CLAUDA TANIOS & NAYERA ABDALLAH Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated three frontline vessels — INS Surat, INS Nilgiri and INS Vaghsheer — to the nation on their commissioning in Mumbai Wednesday. Amit Chakravarty A HIGH-POWERED committee set up by the Union government to examine inputs provided by the United States on an alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has submitted its report and recommended “legal action against an individual”, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a press statement on Wednesday. While the statement does not identify the individual in question, this is the first admission by the Centre of an Indian nationalbeinginvolvedinthealleged plot. TheUSauthoritieshadearlier shared inputs with the Indian government on the alleged involvementof VikashYadav,aformerIndianofficialwhohasbeen officially indicted by the public prosecutor in the US for “directing a foiled plot to assassinate a UScitizeninNewYorkCity”.Last October, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson had said that Yadav “is no longer anemployeeof theGovernment of India”. The high-level committee was set up by the Centre in November 2023 to look into relevant aspects of the matter and inputs shared by the US on the alleged plot. In its statement on Wednesday, the MHA said the committee was set up “on receiptof information providedby US authorities regarding activities of some organised criminal groups, terrorist organisations, drug peddlers, etc., who undermined the security interests of both India and the US”. This committee, the MHA said,“conducteditsowninvestigation, and also pursued leads provided by the US side”. “It received full cooperation from US authoritiesandthetwosidesalso exchangedvisits.Thecommittee PRITAM BANERJEE SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS RUN UP TO BUDGET 2025-26 PAGE 13 UTTAR PRADESH SC JUNKS PIL AGAINST SETTING UP MAYA STATUES P4 different experience can opt for a yoga tour package for Rs 5,000 or a photography package for Rs 2,500 per person. Days before the Maha Kumbh, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had drawn a link between faith and the economy when he used the MAULSHREE SETH LUCKNOW, JANUARY 15 THE AKHADAS of Kumbh and thelivesof NagaSadhus,Aghoris and Kalpavasis who live there so far remained a mystery to the common masses, who are apprehensive of venturing into these oft-restricted zones. That is set to change this Maha KumbhastheUttarPradeshgovernment seeks to link the mega event to the state’s economic growth, as part of which it will offerpaidtoursof theakharasfor anywherebetweenRs2,000and Rs 3,500. The tour will take twoand-a-half tofivehours,depending on the package one opts for. Those looking for a slightly CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE Sadhus at the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. Vishal Srivastav YOGI’S ‘SAMTA’ PITCH TO MODI POSTER: BJP’S MAHA KUMBH OUTREACHTO DALITS AND OBCS PAGE 6 6 years, Rs 65 cr and many red flags later, how a bridge hit a wall PAGE 1 ANCHOR BRENDAN DABHI AHMEDABAD, JANUARY 15 DESPITE SEVERAL red flags, an overbridge built by the Railways andtheAhmedabadUrbanDevelopment Authority (AUDA) has run into a wall — quite literally. Builtatacostof morethanRs 65 crore over six years, the railway overbridge (ROB) that links areas to the north and south of expanded Ahmedabad, passes over the Gora Ghuma rail yard. Whilethenorth-endrampof the bridge opens to the BopalGhuma road, the ramp on the south end almost hits the boundary walls of private propertiesintheManipur-Shilajarea. The Indian Express has accessed five letters sent by the Railways to the AUDA between September 2023 and December 2024—whilethebridgewasunder construction — stating that the road connecting the southendrampof theROBtotheShilaj mainroad,2kmaway,wasyetto be built. AvisitbyTheIndianExpressto thespotrevealedthattherampof theROBwaswithintouchingdis- A BRIDGE TO NOWHERE Dirt track Railwaycrossing LC-16A Prathana Upvan Road The south-end ramp of the Railway overbridge between Ahmedabad’s Bopal and Shilaj. Bhupendra Rana ROBends hereabruptly Shilaj mainroad PRIVATE PROPERTY Railway Overbridge GoraGhuma RailwayYard Ghuma lake Bopalroad Railway underpass LC-15B tanceoftheboundarywallsofthe private properties. The ROB further leads into a six-metre-wide dirttrackthatisflankedbytheprivate properties. This dirt track winds its way for about 2 km before joining the Shilaj main road. AUDA chairperson Devang P Desai told The Indian Express, “The area beyond the south end of the ROB remains an agriculturalzone.Untilthegovernment decides to convert the zone, it is not possible to make a town planning scheme (a readjustment mechanism to change the zone and facilitate the construction of the road in agricultural land) there.” A dead-end, multiple reminders Originally planned as a Railway Under Bridge (RUB), the plan was changed to a Railway OverBridge(ROB)andapproved by the Railway Board in Delhi in January 2018. TheROB’sdeadendislocated nearly 200 metres from LC-16A. The extended waiting time for vehicles at the level crossing had resulted in the proposal for the overbridge, officials said. Nearly 1 km from LC-16A lies LC-15B, another level crossing over a very narrow underbridge that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow