eye MCS/204/2020-22RNINO.MAHENG2002/21899 THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE Life of Paps Paparazzi are everywhere the celebrity is. Their thriving business is now changing the rules of engagement between the two. MUMBAI, LATE CITY OCTOBER 13, 2024 18+4 PAGES, `6.00 DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA INDIA 2ND LARGEST CONTINGENT As UN peacekeepers come under fire, India backs joint statement against Israeli action Aligns with 34 UNIFIL countries after 2 Lanka soldiers injured in Israeli strike SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 12 A DAY after it expressed concern over the deteriorating security situation along the IsraelLebanon border, India Saturday joined the troop-contributing countries in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and aligned itself against Israeli military’s action that has wounded two UN peacekeepers in Lebanon. The Permanent Mission of India at the UN in New York, in a postonX,said:“AsamajorTroop Contributing Country, India aligns itself fully with the joint statement issued by the 34 UNIFIL troop contributing countries. Safety and security of peacekeepers are of paramount importance and must be ensured in accordance with extant UNSC Resolutions.” Two UN peacekeepers from Sri Lanka were wounded in an Israeli strike Friday near their watchtower in Naqoura in south Lebanon, Israel’s military said, while blasts shook the peacekeepers’ main base in the area THE WORLD ISRAEL BOMBS GAZA, UN PEACEKEEPERS IN LEBANON ARE HIT AGAIN PAGE 12 for the second time in 48 hours as Israeli forces battled the Hezbollah. The UNIFIL force called it a “serious development” and said thesecurityof UNpersonneland property must be guaranteed. The force has more than 10,000 peacekeepers from dozens of countries, and Indian troops account for the second largest number with about 900 personnel serving there. The joint statement by the troop contributing countries “stronglycondemned”theattacks on the UNIFIL peacekeepers and CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM IN RUN-UP TO MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS NCP leader Baba Siddiqui shot dead in Mumbai, 2 held Three-time MLA from Congress represented Bandra W from 1999 to 2014 VIJAY KUMAR YADAV MUMBAI, OCTOBER 12 NATIONALIST CONGRESS Party (Ajit Pawar faction) leader and three-time MLA Baba Siddiqui was shot dead by three persons in Bandra East on Saturday evening. The shooting occurred on a day when the city police wereonhighalertduetotwoannual Dussehra rallies held by the Shiv Sena. Siddiqui, 66, sustained multiple serious injuries and was rushed to Lilavati Hospital, 92 120 148 74 ABHINAYA HARIGOVIND NCP leader Baba Siddiqui was killed in Bandra East (right), Mumbai. Express where he was pronounced dead during treatment. He was electedasaCongressMLAthrice and represented the Bandra West constituency from 1999 until 2014; he served as a minis- ter in the Congress-NCP government from 2004 to 2008. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AHEAD OF POLLS, SENAS HOLD RIVAL DUSSEHRA RALLIES HOW KERALA IS BATTLING A RARE, FATAL DISEASE P 4, 6 Delhi raises attack on Dhaka pandal, Yunus visits temple EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 12 A DAY after the Indian High Commission in Dhaka flagged thetheftof thecrownof Goddess Kali from a Bangladesh temple, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)Saturdayexpressed“serious concern” over that incident as well as a reported “crude CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 12 THE NATIONAL Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has written to the chief secretariesof allstatesandUnion territories recommending that madrasa boards be “discontinued and closed down”, state funding to madrasas and madrasa boards be stopped, and children attending madrasas be enrolled in “formal schools.” WhileCongresssaiditwould comment after reading the letter, the party’s Cabinet Minister for Electronics, IT, Biotech, Rural Development and Panchayati RajinKarnataka,said,acommission should ideally give remedies than to ask states to stop funding and shut down madrasas. “And it is so ironic to see this development days after Maharashtra government decide to triple the salaries of madrasa teachers,” he told The Indian Express. BJP’s ally in the Centre, Lok JanshaktiPartyspokespersonAK Bajpayee, said: “If any madrasa is found running illegally, it should be shut down. But nothing should be done blindly.” He told The Indian Express he was not aware if NCPCR wrote the letterfollowingreceiptof anyadverse reports from states. “There should be proper survey of all madrasas to find if there are any irregularities. And they should be given ample opportunity to explain themselves if any illegality is found,” LJP’s Bajpayee said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Reach out to the Dalits, friendships forge harmony, says RSS chief NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 12 INSIDE NDA’s LJP says don’t do it blindly; Panel should give remedies: Cong DUSSEHRA SPEECH IN NAGPUR DEEPTIMAN TIWARY Child rights panel to states: Stop funding, shut down madrasas PRESIDENT, PM MARK DUSSEHRA 13/10/2024 FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Dussehra celebrations in New Delhi on Saturday. Praveen Khanna Army looks to hire civil choppers for logistics on northern borders AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 12 THE INDIAN Army is looking to hire helicopters from civil agencies to carry out a range of jobs along the country’s northern borders such as logistics supplies, carrying troops to forward locations and casualty evacuation when needed, The Indian Express has learnt. It plans to deploy these single-enginehelicoptersinspecific sectors in Jammu and Kashmir andLadakh,suchasDrass,Kargil, Ageing fleet of choppers THE ARMY operates the Chetak, Cheetah and variants of the indigenous ALH. It has around 190 Cheetah, Chetak and Cheetal choppers, of which around 25 are under maintenance at any point. These choppers are key for supplies and evacuations, but a majority is over 30 years old. Batalik, Doda, Kishtwar and Gurez. Barring the specific sectors, the helicopters will be mostlydeployedduringthewinters—fromNovembertoApril— for stocking of ration, fuel, other storesandoperationalpurposes. Bids have been invited from potential service providers for details of helicopters available for the purpose, including their rate per flying hour and additional flying hours. According to officials, this is a rare instance when the Army will hire helicopters for winter CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CLAIMING THAT a “Deep State” was at work to divide the nation on caste and community lines and that some political parties were helping it for their “selfish interests”, RSS chief Mohan BhagwatSaturdayurged“Hindu society” to overcome caste differences and reach out to Dalits and weaker sections. “Our diversity has become such that we have even divided our saints and deities. Why should Valmiki Jayanti be celebrated only in Valmiki colony? Valmiki wrote Ramayana for the entire Hindu society. So, all should celebrate Valmiki Jayanti and Ravidas Jayanti together. All festivalsshouldbecelebratedtogether by the entire Hindu society. We will go to the society with this message,” Bhagwat said delivering his annual VijayadashamispeechattheRSS headquarters in Nagpur. The RSS chief said that the first condition for a healthy and able society is social harmony andmutualgoodwillamongdifferentsections.“Thistaskcannot RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at the Sangh’s Vijayadashami event in Nagpur on Saturday. Deepak Joshi be accomplished by merely organising some symbolic programmes. In all sections of society, there should be friendship betweenindividualsandfamilies. Wherever I go and where I work, I should have friends among all kindsofpeople.Languagescanbe diverse, cultures can be diverse, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Acquitted after 10 years in jail over Maoist link charge, G N Saibaba dies VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA & SREENIVAS JANYALA NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 12 FORMER DELHI University professor G N Saibaba, who spent a decade in prison over alleged Maoists links before being acquitted earlier this year, passed away late Saturday evening. The 57-year-old died followingpost-operativecomplications afterundergoingsurgeryforgallbladder stones. The wheelchairbound Saibaba had been undergoing treatment at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad,wherehewasadmitted 10 days ago due to ill health. His aides said he suffered a heart attack around 8 pm and was declared dead at 8:30 pm. 57-yr-old Saibaba, a former DU professor, was released in March. Abhinav Saha/file Aformerprofessorof English, Saibaba was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A ‘revenge’ cake lands DJ in Sharjah jail for 25 years, his family wages lonely battle PAGE 1 ANCHOR MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, OCTOBER 12 IN DECEMBER 2023, as he sat across a table at Sharjah Central Jail during a visit, Clayton Rodrigues, 37, peered at his younger brother Malcolm’s feet. “I am just checking to see if you are wearing the shoes I had purchased. Don’t start wearing my new clothes, haan, in my absence. I will wear them once I return,” Malcom quotes his brother as saying. The joke and the loud guffaw that followed were typical of his brother, Malcom says, something that instantly lifted the stressoff themost nerve-wracking of situations. For nearly 20 months now, sinceFebruary2023,Claytonhas been languishing in a Sharjah jail, allegedly framed in a drugs case by Mumbai-based baker Anthony Paul. On April 1, 2023, actor Chrisann Pereira, also allegedly framed by Paul, was arrested in Sharjah. Though the Indian government managed to secureherreturninAugust2023 — she spent three weeks in a Sharjahjail—sincehercasehadn’t gone to court, Clayton was already convicted by then. WhilePaul,whowasarrested in April 2023, was released on bail on September 24 by the Bombay High Court, Clayton is serving a 25-year term given to him by a local Sharjah court in June 2023. Having lost an appeal in the Sharjah High Court in November 2023, Clayton’s only shotatfreedomnowisahearing before the Supreme Court there. When she is not juggling a 9to-5 job, taking care of their daughter, 11, and her paralysed father-in-law, 73, Clayton’s wife Falyn, 38, is putting on a brave Clayton Rodrigues (right) with his younger brother Malcolm faceasshecountspenniestopay the hefty legal fees involved in the process or tries to get the Indian government’s attention so it can raise her husband’s case with the UAE. Throughout this “nightmare”, she says, her brother-in-law Malcolm has been her constant companion. Seated next to Falyn in a house in Mumbai’s Vile Parle, Malcolm says they find solace in the fact that they can talk to Clayton over the payphone. “We usuallyspeaktohimonalternate days since ISD charges are quite high,” he tells The Indian Express. Falyn and Malcolm decide beforehand on what informa- tion to withhold from Clayton. “We don’t want to get his hopes up, only to have them dashed later. We try to sound cheerful, but I ask Malcolm to take over whenIfeellow.Attimes,Clayton is the one cheering us up. We all take turns being strong,” she says, holding back her tears. On his “bad days”, she says, all that Clayton mumbles into the phone is that he does not want to talk. “At times, he gets impatient and says we are not doingenough.Hewasthefamily troubleshooter...” says an emotional Falyn. Aftertheylearntabouthisarrest in February 2023, his family approached the Vile Parle police station for help and also tried to reach out to Indian officials in Sharjah,butinvain.Then,inApril 2023, Chrisann’s arrest made headlines. Her arrest saw the Mumbai Crime Branch start an investigation, leading to the arrests of Paul and his accomplice Rajesh Borate on April 24, 2023. AfterPaul’sfourotheralleged victims,includingClayton’sfamily, approached the police, the sleuths discovered how the baker had allegedly used the same modus operandi to exact his revenge — his accomplice Borate offered all his purported CONTINUED ON PAGE 2