DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY IN JAGDEEP DHANKHAR’S SHADOW Justice Varma’s removal: Process to begin, Speaker to name probe panel EC sets ball rolling for V-P election, says schedule to be released soon Birla,officiatingRSChairmanHarivansh meet;bothwilldiscusspanelcomposition Women constables protest at UP training camp, 2 officers suspended, DIG moved out MANISH SAHU LUCKNOW, JULY 23 HOURS AFTER a group of newly recruited women constables, undergoing training at the 26th Battalion PAC Centre in Gorakhpur,protestedover“poor water and electricity arrangements” and alleged “lack of privacy” while bathing, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesdaysuspendedtwosenior police officers for “failing to address the grievances in a timely manner.” The government also removed DIG, Police Training School (Gorakhpur), Rohan P Kanay, and placed him on a waiting list. In a statement, the UP Police saidCommandantAnandKumar and Physical Training Inspector SanjayRai,bothsuspended,used “inappropriate language” with the women recruits. The protest began Wednesday morning, two days after the training began for the newlyrecruitedbatch.Of the600 women recruits assigned to the centre,598reportedfortheninemonth training programme. Inspector General (PAC) Preetinder Singh said after some of the women raised concerns, seniorofficersreachedthetraining centre and found that a “technical fault” had caused a “temporary disruption” in the power supply, which impacted CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 SPORT LIZ MATHEW NEW DELHI, JULY 23 THE PROCESS of removal of Justice Yashwant Varma will be set in motion in the Lok Sabha soon with Speaker Om Birla expected to announce the constitution of a statutory committee to investigate the grounds on whichtheremovalof thejudgeis sought, The Indian Express has learned. BirlaandRajyaSabhaDeputy Chairman Harivansh met Wednesday with Secretaries General of both the Houses and theofficialsdiscussedthemodalities to finalise the procedure. UnionHomeMinisterAmitShah also joined the meeting later. Thediscussionstookplaceon a day the Supreme Court said it willsetupabenchtohearJustice Varma’s plea challenging the legal validity of the in-house inquiry committee which confirmed charges of recovery of Justice Yashwant Varma unaccounted cash from his official residence in Delhi. This comes in the shadow of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s surprise resignation Monday evening and, as The Indian Express reported Tuesday, hoursafterhisdecisiontoaccept the Opposition’s notice on Justice Varma had rubbed the government the wrong way. Thishadcreated“confusion,” government sources said, becauseBirlahadreceivedasimilar notice from Lok Sabha MPs with 145 signatures around 12.30 pm Monday,hoursbeforeDhankhar made the reference to the Opposition notice in the Rajya Sabha. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, JULY 23 Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge during a ceremony to pay tribute to Bal Gangadhar Tilak on his birth anniversary, at the Old Parliament Building on Wednesday. PTI At RS council meet, Cong rubs it in, wants Dhankhar farewell No other Opp member backs proposal, Govt not in favour MANOJ C G NEW DELHI, JULY 23 TWO DAYS after raising questions on the sudden resignation of JagdeepDhankharastheVicePresident and saying that there was something more to it than meets the eye, the Congress on Wednesday went a step ahead, proposing at a meeting of the Rajya Sabha’s Business Advisory Council (BAC) that Dhankhar, who was also the ex-officio Chairman of the Upper House, be given a farewell. Sources said Jairam Ramesh, the Congress’s chief whip in the Rajya Sabha, made this proposal at the BAC meeting, but the government was learnt to be not in its favour. The Upper House is set to give a farewell to seven retiring members Thursday, which CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE OPP SEEKS DEBATE ON BIHAR SPECIAL REVISION, HOUSE DISRUPTED PAGE 6 SC TO SET UP BENCH TO HEAR JUSTICE VARMA PLEA PAGE 4 THE ELECTION Commission on Wednesday announced that it had started the process for holding the election for the post of Vice-President, two days after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s sudden mid-term resignation on Monday evening. Inastatement,theECsaidthe Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) hadnotifiedDhankhar’sresignation on Tuesday. “The Election Commission of India, under Article 324, is mandated to conduct the election to the office of the Vice President of India. The election to the office of the Vice President of India is governed by the Presidential and VicePresidential Elections Act, 1952, and the rules made thereunder, namely the Presidential and Vice-PresidentialElectionsRules, 1974. Accordingly, the Election Commissionof Indiahasalready startedthepreparationsrelating totheVice-PresidentialElections, 2025,” the EC said. Itsaidthatoncepreparations arecomplete,theelectionschedulewouldbeannouncedassoon as possible. Among the activities that have commenced are the preparation of the electoral college,finalisationof theReturning Officer/ Assistant Returning Officer(s), and preparation and dissemination of background material on all previous CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Westarctica’: Ghaziabad conman held for running fake embassy GHAZIABAD, JULY 23 PAGE 16 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE 16-HOUR DEBATE ON SINDOOR NEXT TUESDAY SAMAN HUSAIN DIVYA DESHMUKH ENTERS 2025 FIDE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FINAL `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 UTTARPRADESHPolice'sSpecial Task Force (STF) has busted a fake embassy operating in Ghaziabad, and arrested a 45year-old man who claimed to be the “Ambassador of Westarctica”. Operatingfromarenteddouble-storey bungalow in Kavi Harsh Vardhan Jain Nagar neighbourhood, Harsh Vardhan Jain allegedly ran an NEW DELHI, JULY 23 JD(U) MP from Bihar's Banka, Giridhari Yadav, is known to speak his mind. On Wednesday, he broke ranks with his party and its ally BJP to criticise the Election Commission’s (EC) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar just ahead of the Assembly elections,referringtoitasa“Tughlaqi farman (ill-conceived diktat)”. In an interview with The Indian Express, Yadav speaks on the issues with the SIR and its potential outcome. Excerpts: The Opposition is protesting against the SIR in Bihar. How do you see it? My first point is there is very little time given by the EC for suchahumongousexercise.This is a time for farming in Bihar, peoplearebusywithagricultural THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW GIRIDHARI YADAV JD(U) MP FROM BANKA, BIHAR CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Expressed satisfaction with peace, tranquility in border areas, says MEA DIVYA A NEW DELHI, JULY 23 INDIA AND China on Wednesday reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and prepared the ground for the next round of Special Representatives' talks to be held in India later this year. In a related development, as part of the ongoing efforts to repair bilateral ties, India said it wouldresumeissuanceof tourist visas to Chinese nationals from Thursday,afteragapof fiveyears. Thiscomesalmostamonthafter resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra on June 30. The two sides reviewed the situation at the 34th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation & Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairsinNewDelhi,fourmonths after the last such meeting was held in Beijing. “The two sides reviewed the situation in the India-China border areas. They expressed satis- E Towards normal ● ties THE LATEST move is part of a series of confidencebuilding measures that the two countries have been taking in recent months. Besides resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, the two sides have also said that direct flights will restart soon. The de-escalation of troops on the LAC remains on the agenda. faction with the general prevalence of peace and tranquility in theborderareas,leadingtogradual normalisation of bilateral relations,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, adding that India and China agreed to maintain regular exchanges and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD 15 PALESTINIANS STARVE TO DEATH IN GAZA ICJ: INACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE VIOLATION OF LAWS PAGE 10 CBDT CHIEF INTERVIEW To nudge taxpayers, I-T dept tracks online visits and filters PANs AANCHAL MAGAZINE NEW DELHI, JULY 23 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 work. But you are making them run around for documents. This is also a time when parts of the state face floods. Villages get washed away. These people struggle to get their lives together. It is a bad time to do such an exercise. TheECissayingthereisonline provision (for filling the forms). But many of the people in Bihar are unlettered. They migrate out ofthestatetoearnalivingandare After 5-yr gap, India resumes tourist visas for Chinese; border meeting held too How many times taxpayer accessed statements, high-value transactions elaborate con built on forged documents, a fake embassy, and claims of global influence, police said. Around 11.30 pm Tuesday, the Noida unit of the STF raided the bungalow and arrested Jain. The bungalow, just a few buildings away from Jain's ancestral home, had been converted into what he called the "Embassy of Westarctica" — its name possibly inspired by a ‘Took me 10 days to get papers for EC drive... a year since LS polls, what was poll panel doing?’ DEEPTIMAN TIWARY SETS STAGE FOR SR TALKS EXPLAINED THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025, LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES ON 2-NATION VISIT Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves on a four-day visit to the UK and the Maldives, Wednesday. India and the UK are likely to sign the Free Trade Agreement during his visit. PTI P7 FROM TRACKING the number of online visitsof users on its portal to flagging high-value transactions and filtering out PANs involved in wrongful claims, the Income Tax Department is now leveraging artificial intelligence to identify patterns in taxpayer behaviour. For instance, repeated online access to Annual Information Statement, which is a detailed summary of a pre-filled Income Tax Return, could point to a tax return that needs to be filed, but isnotbeingfiled.Or,itisjustpossible that the taxpayer is unable to file returns correctly despite multiple attempts. The I-T Department can use this informationtointerveneandhelpthe taxpayer. The idea is to progressively create a 360-degree profile of taxpayers’transactionsandidentify patterns and nuances in the filing of tax returns, said Central CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Agrawal in an interview to The Indian Express. The department is a repository of rich data — as many as 40 crore AIS were generated from an estimated 650 crore financial transactions in the last financial year. Based on AI-linked data analysis, the Department is of the view there is scope for improvement in the total number of returns being filed. Whileninecrorereturnswere filed by taxpayers last year, about 7.42croretaxpayersarerecorded ashavingviewedtheirAIS,returningasmanyas3.5timesonanaverage to see their statements. AI is also helping raise “red flags”inhigh-valuetransactions, but where returns are not being CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sealed after ’84 riots, gates to Varanasi premises with temple, gurdwara reopened PAGE 1 ANCHOR MANISH SAHU LUCKNOW, JULY 23 ONWEDNESDAYmorning,social worker Pradeep Narayan Singh stepped inside a plot of land in Jagat Ganj, an area located in the heart of Varanasi, that was overrun with thick vegetation and crumbling structures. Over 40 years ago, this plot of land — donated by his ancestors hundredsof yearsagofortheconstruction of a temple and a gurd- wara — was locked up by the district administration to “prevent escalation” after Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on October 31, 1984,wasshotdeadbytwoof her Sikh bodyguards. On Monday, July 21 this year, the rusted locks on the orange gates to this 4,000-square-foot plot were finally broken in the presence of the members of the Shri Bade Hanuman Mandir ManagementCommitteeandthe VaranasiGurdwaraManagement Committee. Dileep Kumar Mishra, Station House Officer, Chetganj Police Station, confirmed that the main gate of the disputed site was opened on Monday. Asthevisiblyelatedmembers of thetwocommitteesexchanged garlands and sweets soon after the locks were broken on Monday, thanks to Singh’s mediationeffortsforovertwomonths, they also announced the “amicable” resolution of the 42-yearold dispute. SpeakingtoTheIndianExpress over telephone, Singh says, “Around the time this complex was locked up by the district administration, the gurdwara was just a small structure and the templewasamakeshiftstructure. Then, Mrs Gandhi was assassinated. Since a gurdwara and a Social worker Pradeep Narayan Singh points to the gurdwara that stood at the site in Varanasi’s Jagat Ganj. Special Arrangement temple stood on the same plot of land,topreventanyuntowardincident,thedistrictadministration decided to seal the site.” As time passed,headded,adisputebroke out between the members of the Sikh and Hindu communities in Varanasi over possession of that land. Since then, the matter has been pending in a local court. Though attempts were made toresolvetheissueovertheyears, they always fell through for one reason or another, said Singh. Sourcesaddedthatmakeshift structures would crop up along thedisputedsite’sboundaryfrom time to time, leading to the breakdown of ongoing media- tion efforts. Then, around two months ago, the two committees approached Singh once again to help them resolve the issue. “After several rounds of discussions, both parties agreed to submit a settlement letter in court. As part of this mutual understanding,thelandhasbeendivided equally between the two committees,” Singh says. Calling the resolution to the 42-year-old dispute “important”, Paramjeet Singh Ahluwalia, vicepresident, Gurdwara ManagementCommittee,Varanasi,says, “Afterbothcommitteesagreedto resolve the dispute amicably, we approached the court concerned for a settlement. Then, we went to senior district officials. After a thoroughverificationprocess,the site was finally reopened.” Devendra Kumar, Additional City Magistrate, Varanasi, whose court has been hearing the matter, confirmed the submission of a settlement letter by the two committees on the resolution of the dispute. On the historical and spiritual significance this gurdwara holds for the Sikh community, Ahluwaliasays,“Thisgurdwarais nearly 300 years old. It is revered by the community because Guru CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Lucknow