DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FIRST BILATERAL TALKS WITH TRUMP ADMINISTRATION US flags irregular immigration; always open to return: India At the accident site in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra. PTI Passengers get off after chain-pulling, passing train runs over 12 on tracks Were spooked by rumour of fire in train: Minister MAHARASHTRA SITE Jalgaon Karnataka Express SWEETY ADIMULAM & DHEERAJ MISHRA MUMBAI, NEW DELHI, JAN 22 AT LEAST 12 passengers of Mumbai-bound Pushpak Express, who got off the train after an alarm chain-pulling incident, were run over by another train coming from the opposite direction on the adjacent tracks in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district Wednesday evening. Ten more passengers were injured, four of them critically. Jalgaon Guardian Minister Gulabrao Patil said the passengers, mostly from the general compartment, were spooked by a rumour that the train had Pushpak Express Maheji Accident site Pardhane Pachora Junction caught fire, and jumped out of the train. “There was a chain-pulling incident that caused the train to come toanabrupthaltwhenthe emergencybrakeswereapplied. The friction from the brakes caused sparks to fly from the tracks. Passengers in the general compartment, fearing the train had caught fire, jumped from CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD 23/01/2025 98 126 155 72 Levels of trust very high, says EAM Jaishankar SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 NEWLY-APPOINTED US Secretary of State Marco Rubio raised the issue of “irregular immigration”inhisveryfirstmeeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Washington DC Wednesday. While there was no word on the discussion on tariffs, Rubio underlined the new administration’s desire to “advance economic ties”. The two sides are also discussingthepossibilityof ameeting between Prime Minister NarendraModiandUSPresident Donald Trump on the sidelines of the AI summit in Paris on February 11-12, sources said. Jaishankartoldreportersthat “levelsof trustareveryhigh”and “the trust is a more systemic sentiment”. “There’s a very visible chemistry between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, and that also, in a sense, percolates CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pickingup the threads AS DELHI engages the new US administration, the focus will be on deepening ties especially over critical and emerging technologies, defence, energy. It was Trump who, in his first term, revived the Quad grouping to counter China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. His administration also backed India during the crises over Doklam, Pulwama, Balakot and Galwan. TRUMP DELIVERS FRESH TARIFF THREATS PAGE 14 He left without legal papers, called after incident: Father of Saif stabbing accused Quad message to China: Oppose External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Quad counterparts Penny Wong of Australia, Marco Rubio of the US and Takeshi Iwaya of Japan in Washington, DC. PTI any action to change status quo Leaders of grouping will meet in India later this year; summit may be advanced if Trump’s calendar permits SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 US SECRETARY of State Marco Rubio held his first multilateral meeting as Foreign Ministers of the Quad grouping gathered in Washington DC and pledged to “strongly oppose any unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion”. This resolve was directed at Chinaanditsassertivebehaviour in the Indo-Pacific region, from Taiwan to the Sino-Indian border.ThefactthattheQuadmeeting was the first meeting for the newly-appointed Secretary of Statesignalsthe priority givento the grouping. India will be hosting the Quad leaders’ summit this year, and efforts are underway to schedulethetripbyUSPresident BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Donald Trump to India, sources said. While there is expectation that the visit is expected to take placeinthelatterhalf of theyear, there are indications that it can beadvancedtoasearlyasApril if Trump’sdiplomatic travelcalen- dar allows that. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington DC, hosted by Rubio on his first day in office, the four nations said officials would meet regularly to prepare for an upcoming leaders’ summit in India expected this year. “We, the Secretary of State of theUnitedStatesandtheForeign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan, met today in Washington DC to reaffirm our shared commitment to strengthening a Free andOpenIndo-Pacificwherethe rule of law, democratic values, sovereignty, and territorial integrity are upheld and defended.” The references to rule of law, democratic values and defence of territorial integrity and sovereignty are oblique references to China’s behaviour in the region. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 As Punjab VIPs join AAP campaign, Delhi Police seeks their travel details NEW DELHI, JANUARY 22 DELHI POLICE has asked its Punjabcounterpartsto“intimate tour plans and security details” of protectees during the AssemblyelectionsandRepublic Dayfunctioninthenationalcapital.Following this,Punjab Police appointedanAssistantInspector General (AIG) as the nodal officer to maintain “liaison and coordination” between the two, sources said. Punjab Police has also written to all its protectees, includingstateministersandMLAs,requesting them to provide their tour details to the nodal officer, the sources said. According to the sources, on January10,aletterwassentfrom DelhiPolice'ssecurity divisionto itscounterpartunitinPunjabled by the Additional Director General, highlighting an “area of concern relating to security of protected persons”. The letter states that in view of the heightened security alertnessinconnectionwithRepublic Day and the Delhi Assembly elections, the Punjab Police should provide information regarding tour programmes of its protectees and accompanying securitycomponentswhiletravelling to Delhi. Incompliancewiththeletter, the Punjab Police replied to the Delhi Police Commissioner and statedthatithasaskedtheADGP, Security, to maintain liaison and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MUMBAI, JANUARY 22 THIRTY-EIGHT HOURS after he allegedly stabbed Saif Ali Khan at the actor’s Bandra residence, Mohd Shariful Islam called his father back home in Jhalokathi, Bangladesh. Shariful told his father he had transferred 10,000 Taka to the latter’s account. Shariful said he had Rs 3,000 in savings, enough to buy food for the next few days, his father, Md Ruhul Amin Fakir, recalled while speaking to The Indian Express over the phone. Two days later, Ruhul, a clerk in a jute company, saw his son’s face splashed across news channels and social media. “Iamastonished…Wedonot haveanyfinancialproblems,and committing such a crime is not somethinganyof uscould imagine,” Ruhul said. The 54-year-old wondered how the family can help with legal aid when Shariful is “thousands of kilometres away”. Shariful, 30, dropped out of schoolafter Class10andentered Mohammed Shariful Islam of Bangladesh, held for attacking actor Saif Ali Khan India illegally in April last year through an agent in Bangladesh in search of better job prospects, his father said. In Rajabaria village, Shariful earned a living for the last six years ferrying people on his motorcycle before he decided to move to India. “Due to increasing political instability here, he felt his future wasbleakinthisvillage,soheleft without any legal documents with the help of a middleman,” his father said, claiming that his eventual aim was to earn enough and move out of India. Shariful worked in a hotel in West Bengal for about a month CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 STF mourns fallen veteran: Injured in gunbattle with UP gang, Inspector dies POLL SEASON RUSH ALOK SINGH SAGAR RAJPUT & NAYONIKA BOSE NEETIKA JHA NOIDA, JANUARY 22 THE UP CABINET AT MAHA KUMBH Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his Cabinet colleagues take a dip at the Sangam during the Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj on Wednesday. PTI THOSE WHO knew him never called him ‘Sir’. To his colleagues and juniors in the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF), he was ‘Dadu’, aterm of endearment for the one who put them at ease. At 2.30 pm Wednesday, Inspector Sunil Kumar breathed his last, two days after he was shot at, allegedly by members of the Mustafa Kagga gang during an encounter in Shamli district of western UP. Kumar, 53, was hit by three bullets in the abdomen during a gunfight between 11 pm and 11.30 pm Monday at the BidoliChausana Road in the Jhinjhana area, the UP STF said in a statement. He was taken to Inspector Sunil Kumar had 3 bullet injuries Amritdhara Hospital in Karnal, where doctors referred him to the Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. He underwent a sixhour surgery Tuesday. According to sources,Kumar, who was leading a team of 12 police personnel, was not wearing a bullet-proof jacket when the gunfight broke out. Neither was anyone else in the team. Amitabh Yash, Additional Director General of Police, UP STF,LawandOrder,said,“Hewas one of the bravest in the team. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ayodhya a year later: A city, its officials trying to keep pace with the rush PAGE 1 ANCHOR MAULSHREE SETH AYODHYA, JANUARY 22 AYEARafterthegrandconsecration ceremony for the Ram Temple,Ayodhyaisacityintransition. All across what used to be a Nagar Palika Parishad with an estimated population of about 80,000, the makeover to a major pilgrimagesitethatgetsasmany visitors every day — going up to three times — is on. The construction of the tem- ple has had to accommodate for this large footfall, even as the new deadline for its completion is now March 30, 2025. Aroundthecity,roadsarebeing laid, flyovers being built, a struggling traffic police,new hotelsindifferentstatesof completion, restaurants that have replacedthelocalhalwai,andbrisk sales of replicas of the idol installed at the Ram Temple. Change is also visible in the menuof roadsidedhabas,where idli-sambhar has replaced purisabji as the crowd favourite, as numbers from the South surge. With the authorities putting the footfall between 80,000 and 2.5 lakh per day, locals whose anger at their displacement due to the Ram Temple project was believed to have contributed to the BJP’s shock defeat from the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat, feel that the pace of the construction works is crawling since the elections. Ram Prakash, who runs a "chakki" in a lane near the Ram Pathfroma rented accommodation, talks about his constant strugglewithtrafficandparking. Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathisays:“Allthemajorcivic works are complete, so are the major paths leading to the temple… The works that are on will IN THE WORKS ■ Completion of Ram Temple, its percota ■ A ring road ■ 4 railway overbridges ■ Second phase of Ayodhya airport development Three Parikrama Marg Devotees flock to Ayodhya to offer prayers at the Ram temple, which opened a year ago. Vishal Srivastav 5 kosi 15 kosi 84 kosi also be completed soon.” Nripendra Misra, the chairperson of the construction committee of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, just spent three days in Ayodhya reviewing the progress of the construction work at the temple. After this, he says, he arrived at the date of March 30, 2025,forcompletionof themain temple, and of July 2025 for the construction of the temple’s 1.1km long “percota (periphery)”. The works have to keep the rush of devotees in mind, Misra told The Indian Express. Currently,thenumbersareaveraging more than two lakh a day as many pilgrims are coming to Ayodhya from the Maha Kumbh atPrayagraj.OnMauniAmavasya day, falling on January 29, the numbers in Ayodhya could rise beyond 3 lakh, say authorities. “There are issues in terms of very specialized work but overall the construction is going smoothly. The security of the devotees is the first priority, and we are trying to achieve the best results without compromising on that,” says Misra. After completion of the main temple, including the ‘Ram Darbar’ on the first floor — the idols in white marble which will CONTINUED ON PAGE 2