SINGAPORE, WEEKEND OF FRIDAY,
SEPTEMBER
15,
20
2
3
ONAN ROAD CURRY
PUFF SHOP CLOSES
AFTER 81 YEARS
PAGE 7
HOCKEY RUNS
IN FAMILY’S
BLOOD
PAGE 12
MCI (P)
079/1
0/2022
KING KHAN
IS BACK
WITH A BANG
PAGE 8
REPORT ON PAGE 3
US cop ‘mocks’ Indian
student’s death
Jaahnavi Kandula died after she was hit by a police vehicle near her university in Seattle.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF SEATTLE TIMES
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Page 2
September 15, 2023
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INDIA
A prolonged dry spell in Jammu
and Kashmir has reduced water
levels in the Jhelum river and its
tributaries, causing concern
among the people, especially
farmers.
But the government pointed
out that this is a temporary
situation.
Jal Shakti department chief
engineer Sanjeev Malhotra told
the news agency KNO: “The
absence of rainfall has reduced
water flow in rivers and
tributaries, which may
consequently affect the supply
process. There hasn’t been a
significant impact so far and that
dry spell is a temporary issue.”
He appealed to the people to
use water judiciously until the
situation improves.
Farmers are worried that
their orchards will be badly hit if
the situation does not improve.
Jhelum river dries up in J&K
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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Wong Wei Kong
Editor
Jawharilal Rajendran
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Security officers,rebels killed in
gun battle in Kashmir
Three Indian security officers were
killed in a gun battle with rebels in
Kashmir’s Anantnag district, while a
soldier and two rebels were killed in a
separate gunfight in the border district
of Rajouri on Wednesday.
A joint party of the police and
army launched an operation on
Tuesday after receiving intel on the
suspected rebels who were reported to
have been spotted in the forests of the
Kokernag area of Anantnag.
The region’s police chief Dilbagh
Singh, responding to the death of the
officers, said “the perpetrators of the
criminal act would be brought to
justice soon”.
X labelled ‘habitual non-compliant
platform’ in court
India’s government has told a court
that X is a “habitual non-compliant
platform” and for years has not
followed many orders to remove
content, undermining the
government’s role.
The remarks were part of an Aug 24
non-public filing by India’s IT ministry
at the high court in Karnataka, which
is set to hear a challenge brought by
the social media platform over a
government fine in coming days.
X has an ongoing legal tussle with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s
administration over what New Delhi
alleges is non-compliance with content
removal orders.
Naidu to remain in jail as high
court defers plea
The Andhra Pradesh high court on
Wednesday adjourned to Sept 19 a
petition filed by Telugu Desam Party
president N. Chandrababu Naidu, who
is seeking to quash a case filed against
him by the Crime Investigation
Department (CID), the Hindustan
Times reported.
The former chief minister, who is
accused of being involved in a
multi-crore state skills development
corporation scam, said the First
Information Report filed by the CID
was politically motivated and the case
was brought at the behest of Chief
Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy for
political revenge.
Kashmir farmers protest tax cut
on US fruit imports
Apple farmers and political activists in
Indian Kashmir on Wednesday
protested against the Central
government’s decision to remove an
additional 20 per cent duty on the
fruit imported from the US, saying
cheaper American apples will hurt
local growers.
The decision was one of six World
Trade Organization disputes India and
the US resolved when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi visited Washington in
June, and it was implemented last
week.
India imposed the additional 20
per cent customs duty on apples from
the US in 2019, on top of an existing
50 per cent duty, as a retaliatory
measure for Washington increasing
tariffs on Indian steel and aluminium
products.
IndiGo gets regulatory nod to
wet-lease 11 A320 aircraft
IndiGo operator Interglobe Aviation
has been allowed to wet-lease 11
A320 aircraft, CNBC-TV18 reported
on Wednesday, citing sources at the
Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
This comes amid IndiGo grounding
nearly 40 planes due to a Pratt &
Whitney engine issue, the report said.
Pratt’s owner RTX on Monday said
it would have to pull a total of 600 to
700 engines off their Airbus A320neo
jets for lengthy quality inspections
between 2023 and 2026.
Afghan students urge India to
extend visas
Hundreds of Afghan college students
overstaying in India staged a protest
in New Delhi on Wednesday to urge
the Indian government to extend their
stay and allow them to resume their
studies.
India has in the past offered
scholarships to thousands of overseas
students from countries such as
Afghanistan to pursue undergraduate
and post-graduate degrees.
But after the return of the Taliban
in Afghanistan in August 2021, many
Afghan students in India were
reluctant to return home due to fears
of possible reprisals and a lack of
opportunities due to the country’s
economic crisis.
Firecracker ban reinstated to
combat pollution
New Delhi has reinstated a ban on
firecrackers ahead of the Deepavali
festival to curb air pollution in the
winter when air quality reaches
hazardous levels, the capital city’s
environment minister said on
Monday.
“Manufacturing, storage, sale,
online delivery and setting off of any
type of firecrackers is completely
prohibited in Delhi,” Minister Gopal
Rai said at a press conference, adding
that the police have been instructed to
stop issuing licences for fireworks.
Firecrackers are a part of
celebrations for the Hindu festival of
Deepavali, which falls in
mid-November this year.
India imposes anti-dumping duty
on Chinese steel
India on Monday imposed an
anti-dumping duty on some Chinese
steel for five years, according to a
government notification.
On Sept 4, India’s steel secretary
Nagendra Nath Sinha said New Delhi
was monitoring the steel import
situation after the steel industry
raised concerns over potential
dumping by Chinese sellers.
Between April and July, China was
the second-biggest steel exporter to
India, after South Korea, selling 0.6
million metric tons – up 62 per cent
from the same period a year earlier.
AR Rahman show organiser takes
full responsibility for fiasco
Days after AR Rahman’s Marakkuma
Nenjam concert in Chennai, the
organiser ACTC Events issued a
statement apologising for
mismanagement.
CEO Hemanth Raja posted on
Instagram a video urging people not
to blame AR Rahman and said he
took responsibility for the incident.
Tickets for the concert on Sunday
were allegedly oversold, leading to a
stampede at the venue. There were
also claims by women that they were
groped and harassed.
Hotel staff allegedly beats man to
death for asking for extra curd
A Hyderabad man was allegedly
beaten to death by restaurant staff on
Sunday after he asked for extra curd.
“The deceased, Mohammad
Liyaqat, along with his friend, visited
a restaurant in Panjagutta,” said
Inspector Durga Rao.
“The argument began when
Liyaqat asked for extra curd and the
waiter ignored his request, leading to
a scuffle. The victim died on the way
to the hospital and a case has been
registered against six people.”
$14m worth of drugs seized in
Mizoram
In one of the largest-ever seizures in
Mizoram this year, Assam Rifles
troopers seized drugs worth Rs87.84
crores ($14 million) from Champhai
district on Wednesday.
Methamphetamine tablets worth
Rs60 crore and 3.978kg of heroin
valued at Rs27.84 crore were found in
an abandoned house on World Bank
Road, bordering Myanmar.
The seized drugs, smuggled from
Myanmar, were handed over to
Zokhawthar police station.
A Seattle police watchdog agency has
launched an investigation into body-
cam footage showing a police officer
joking about the death of a 23-year-old
Indian student who was hit by a speed-
ing police patrol car earlier this year,
media reports said.
Jaahnavi Kandula was killed in Janu-
ary after she was struck by a police veh-
icle driven by officer Kevin Dave. He
was driving at 119kmh as he rushed to
check on a report of an overdose, The
Seattle Times newspaper reported on
Monday.
In the bodycam footage released on
Monday by the Seattle Police Depart-
ment, officer Daniel Auderer laughed
about the deadly crash and dismissed
any implication that officer Dave might
be at fault or that a criminal investiga-
tion was necessary.
In the clip, officer Auderer, the vice-
president of the Seattle Police Officers
Guild, was in a call with the guild’s
president Mike Solan. He laughed sev-
eral times and at one point said: “Yeah,
just
write
a
cheque,
US$11,000
($15,000). She was 26 (sic) anyway –
she had limited value.”
Officer Auderer said that Dave’s
vehicle had been “going 50” and that
“that’s not out of control,” NBC News
reported.
A police investigation report re-
ferred to prosecutors for review last
month said that officer Dave was driv-
ing at 119kmh and Ms Kandula’s body
flew more than 30m from the impact.
“That’s not reckless for a trained
driver,” officer Auderer said in the vid-
eo, adding that he did not believe she
was thrown that far either, the report
said.
“But she is dead. No, it’s a regular
person,” he added and laughed.
Only officer Auderer’s side of the
conversation was audible in the body-
cam footage.
In his defence, officer Auderer said
he made the comment to mock lawyers,
according to KTTH radio station in
Seattle.
He noted that Mr Solan “lamented”
the young woman’s death during the
two officers’ initial conversation, add-
ing that it was unfortunate that her
death would “turn into lawyers arguing
the value of human life”.
“I responded with something like:
‘She’s 26 years old. What value is
there? Who cares?’ I intended the com-
ment as a mockery of lawyers,” officer
Auderer was quoted as saying.
“I was imitating what a lawyer
tasked with negotiating the case would
be saying and being sarcastic to express
that they shouldn’t be coming up with
crazy arguments to minimise the pay-
ment.
“I laughed at the ridiculousness of
how these incidents are litigated and
play out as two parties bargain over a
tragedy.”
According to the report, officer Au-
derer acknowledged that anyone listen-
ing to the body-camera recording
“would rightfully believe I was being
insensitive to the loss of human life”,
and said the comment “was not made
with malice or a hard heart”.
The Office of Police Accountability
confirmed that an investigation had
been initiated after the agency received
a complaint on Aug 2 from an em-
ployee with the Seattle Police Depart-
ment.
The oversight agency, which investi-
gates police misconduct and recom-
mends discipline to the police chief, is
investigating the context in which the
statements were made and whether any
policies had been violated, the police
department said.
The Indian government has urged
the US to conduct a thorough investiga-
tion into the incident.
The Indian Consulate in San Francis-
co said the handling of Ms Kandula’s
death in a road accident was “deeply
troubling” and sought action against
those involved in the case.
“We have taken the matter up with
local authorities in Seattle and Wash-
ington State as well as senior officials in
Washington DC for a thorough investi-
gation and action against those in-
volved in this tragic case,” the mission
wrote on X.
“The consulate and embassy will
continue to closely follow up on this
matter with all concerned authorities.”
Ms Kandula, from Andhra Pradesh,
was pursuing her master’s degree at
Northeastern University in Seattle, ac-
cording to a GoFundMe fundraiser
launched to support her family.
“The family has nothing to say. I
wonder if these men’s daughters or
granddaughters have value. A life is a
life,” said her uncle Ashok Mandula.
Another Seattle police oversight or-
ganisation, the
Community
Police
Commission, described the audio as
“heartbreaking and shockingly insensi-
tive”.
“The people of Seattle deserve bet-
ter from a police department that is
charged with fostering trust with the
community and ensuring public safe-
ty,” it said in a press release.
“Especially in light of this video, the
hard work towards ensuring the Seattle
Police Department reflects the values
of the community it polices and em-
braces transparent accountability, will
remain a top priority for the Seattle
Community Police Commission.”
Indo-Asian News Service
Mocking lawyers, not victim, claims US cop
Jaahnavi Kandula, whose
death in an accident was
apparently mocked by
Seattle cop Daniel
Auderer.
PHOTOS:
X/SALONIVXRSE, GOFUNDME
“Yeah, just write a cheque,
US$11,000 ($15,000). She was 26
anyway – she had limited value.”
– Officer Daniel Auderer
NEWS
tabla
!
September 15, 2023
Page 3
India’s southern state of Kerala shut
some schools, offices and public trans-
port, the authorities said on Wednesday,
as it scrambled to rein in the spread of
the deadly brain-damaging Nipah virus
that has killed two people.
An adult and a child are still in hospi-
tal for infection and more than 700 peo-
ple were being tested for the virus,
which spreads via contact with the bod-
ily fluids of infected bats, pigs or people,
said a state health official.
The state government on Wednesday
evening said at least 706 people, includ-
ing 153 health workers, were undergo-
ing tests to check the spread of the virus.
“More people will be tested and iso-
lation facilities will be provided,” said
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,
who also discouraged public gatherings.
Two infected people have died since
Aug 30 in Kerala’s fourth outbreak of
the virus since 2018, forcing the author-
ities to declare containment zones in at
least eight Kozhikode villages.
“We are focusing on tracing contacts
of infected persons and isolating anyone
with symptoms,” said state Health Min-
ister Veena George, adding that the vi-
rus detected in Kerala was the same as
the one found earlier in Bangladesh – a
less infectious but more fatal strain
passed between humans.
“Public movement has been restrict-
ed in parts of the state to contain the
medical crisis,” she said, adding that
state epidemiologists were using antivi-
rals and monoclonal antibodies to treat
three people infected, including a med-
ical worker.
Strict isolation rules have been
adopted, with medical staff being quar-
antined after contact with the infected.
The first victim was a small landhol-
der in the district’s village of Maruton-
kara, a government official said. The
victim’s daughter and brother-in-law,
both infected, are in an isolation ward,
with other family members and neigh-
bours being tested.
The second death followed contact
in hospital with the first victim, doc-
tors’ initial investigation has shown.
The two were not related.
The Nipah virus was first identified
in 1999 during an outbreak among pig
farmers and others in close contact
with the animals in Malaysia and Singa-
pore.
In Kerala’s first Nipah outbreak, 21
of the 23 people infected died, while
outbreaks in 2019 and 2021 claimed
two more lives.
Reuters
Kerala shuts schools, offices to curb Nipah spread
Workers putting up a sign outside a Nipah isolation ward in Kerala on Sept 12.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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