www.thehansindia.com CHARMED BY ETHNIC SPLENDOUR H Simultaneously published from Hyderabad | Warangal | Tirupati | Amaravati | Visakhapatnam | Khammam | Kurnool | Delhi H CBI GETS NEW CHIEF Says Michael Yorke – reputed anthropologist, award-winning ethnographic filmmaker and photographer. Yorke was a student and associate of the renowned anthropologist Prof. Christopher von Furer-Haimendorf during his study of Raj Gonds in Adilabad during 1976-78 n Congress leader Kharge dissents, govt hits back WINDOWS Russia suspends nuclear missile treaty after US move Moscow: President Vladimir Putin on Saturday said Russia was suspending its participation in a key Cold War-era missile treaty in a mirror response to a US move the day before. Moscow and Washington have long accused the other of violating the IntermediateRange Nuclear Forces agreement. President Donald Trump last year announced plans to withdraw unless Russia fulfilled its obligations. "Our American partners have announced they are suspending their participation in the deal, and we are also suspending our participation," Putin said of the agreement, following a US deadline for cooperation. Putin said during a televised meeting with foreign and defence ministers Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Shoigu that Russia would no longer initiate talks with the US on disarmament.8P10 SUNDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2019 KURNOOL | PAGES 20 | `5.00 Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu driving an auto at Undavalli on Saturday, when auto drivers came to meet him at his residence to thank him for lifting life tax. 8 Report: P4 CM smells polls after Parliament session HANS NEWS SERVICE Amaravati: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu feels that the notification for the general elections to State Assembly and Lok Sabha would be announced during the last week of February once the ongoing budget session of Parliament comes to an end. The TDP sources said Chief Minister had told them that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had already launched his poll campaign and has been visiting various states. He is also scheduled to visit Andhra Pradesh soon. Hence the party rank and file should not only be alert but should also intensify their campaign. He is learnt to have told them that they should be spending 90 per cent of their time with the people in their constituencies and explain to them about the various welfare measures the government has been taking despite difficult financial situation and non-cooperation from BJP. They have also been asked to explain in detail how the interim budget of the central government was more of propaganda but in real terms does not help any sector. While it had done nothing much for the farmer, even the so-called relief in income tax which would have benefitted the middle-class people was also just an eye wash. The Chief Minister has asked some senior officials from Planning department, Welfare department and other important departments to work for next couple of weeks without taking leave. He told them that the cabinet which met on January 31 had taken about 100 decisions and there was urgent need to implement them before the election notification was announced. Naidu also decided to enhance the leprosy allowance from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,000 per month. This would benefit around 5,000 leprosy patients. Continued on P11 New Delhi: Ending speculation, the government on Saturday appointed former Madhya Pradesh Police chief Rishi Kumar Shukla as the Director of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), weeks after controversial removal of Alok Kumar Verma from the post. The appointment was done following recommendation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee. According to a Personnel Ministry order, the appointment of 58-year-old Shukla, a 1983-batch IPS officer, will be for a fixed tenure of two years. The appointment of Shukla, who was removed as Madhya Pradesh Police chief earlier this week by the new Congress dispensation in the state, triggered a fresh war of words between the government and the opposition party. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, a member of the panel that decided on the appointment, sent a dissent note to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that the selection criterion was diluted in violation of law and Supreme Court judgements. However, Union Minister Jitendra Singh claimed that Kharge tried to "manipulate" the criteria with the ulterior motive of accommodating some of his preferred officers. Singh said that Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, who is part of the committee along with Modi and Kharge, had fully endorsed the objective criteria applied for selecting the head. Kharge's main objection was to the inclusion of investigation experience only, and not experience in investigating anti-corruption cases, in the criteria. Shukla takes charge of the country's premier investigation agency at a time it has been grap- Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation Director General Rishi Kumar Shukla at his office in Bhopal on Saturday Jitendra Singh Mallikarjun Kharge pled with controversies. The post of the CBI chief has been lying vacant since January 10 after the unceremonious exit of Alok Kumar Verma, who had been engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer and former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana over corruption charges. Both Verma and Asthana had accused each other of corruption. The Congress had then questioned the removal of Verma, alleging that he was targeted as the government feared a probe into the Rafale fighter aircraft deal. Shukla is at present chairman of Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation in Bhopal. From his first posting as the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Raipur (now in Chhattisgarh) to the head of Madhya Pradesh police, Shukla has worked in key positions in both at the Centre and in state police department. Shukla, who has for around 11 years worked with the Intelligence Bureau, was on Wednesday transferred from the post of DGP, Madhya Pradesh Police. He took over as the chairman of Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation from Thursday. He will take over the charge of CBI from M Nageswara Rao, who is working as the interim chief of the probe agency. The appointment was done following recommendation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modiled selection committee. Shukla's name was shortlisted during the second meeting of the selection committee held on Friday. The panel's first meeting on January 24 had remained inconclusive. The development assumes significance as on Friday, the Supreme Court had said it was "averse" to the arrangement of an interim CBI Director and the Centre should "immediately" appoint a regular chief of the probe agency. The post of CBI Director is "sensitive" and "important", and it is not good to keep an interim director of the agency for longer period, the top court observed and sought to know as to why the government has not made the appointment yet. Ousted CBI chief Alok Verma was removed after being engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana, who was then working as the special director in the probe agency, over corruption charges. India reaches Temporary HC building inauguration today out to students ‘trapped’ in US HANS NEWS SERVICE New Delhi/ Washington: India to remain in the US. "Our concern on Saturday issued a demarche over the dignity and well-being to the American Embassy in New of the detained students and the Delhi, expressing concern over need for immediate consular acthe detention of 129 cess for Indian offiIndian students in cials to the detainees the US, and sought was reiterated," the immediate consular A 24X7 helpline has MEA said. The minaccess to them. The been established in istry underlined to External Affairs the US Embassy Ministry said India the Indian Embassy that the students, in Washington for who may have been continues to closely monitor and take duped into enrolling assistance and proactive measures queries related to in the 'university', to address the situshould be treated the detention of ation arising out of differently from Indian students. the detention of sevthose recruiters eral Indian students who have duped The helpline in connection with "We numbers are: +1- them. the UShave their enrolment in urged side 202-322-1190 and to share full details a "fraudulent uni+1-202-340-2590 and regular updates versity in the US". As many as 129 of the students with and the email Indians are among the government, to address is: the 130 foreign sturelease them from cons3.washington detention at the dents arrested on @mea.gov.in. Wednesday by the earliest and not to Immigration and resort to deportaCustoms Enforcetion against their ment (ICE) agents will," the ministry for enrolling at a fake said. Continued P11 university, allegedly 24X7 Helpline Amaravati: The new judicial complex where Andhra Pradesh High Court of Andhra Pradesh would start functioning soon will be inaugurated on Sunday. Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi will be inaugurating the new building. The Chief Justice will also lay foundation stone for the permanent High Court building on Sunday. On his arrival in Vijayawada, Gogoi was received by Andhra Pradesh High Court Registrar-General Justice Ch Manavendra Nath Rai, Registrar Justice T Venugopal and State Legal Services Authority member secretary Judge PV Rambabu on Saturday. Supreme Court judges Justice NV Ramana, Justice Lavu Nageswara Rao, Justice R Subhash Reddy and others accompanied the Chief Justice. The Government of India had issued notification for bifurcating of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in the last week of December and from January 1 the High Court of Andhra Pradesh has been functioning from temporary building which was earlier the camp office of Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu. The new building of the High Court set for inauguration on Sunday is also a temporary building. Once the permanent High Court building is ready, this building will be converted into the city civil court. This building is constructed with most-modern facilities. It is centrally- airconditioned and has LED lights, canteen, 23 court halls, attached chambers and office rooms, ante room for Chief Justice, a reception lobby, ultra-modern toilets, and latest audio-visual system with huge libraries, halls for bar council, huge parking place and other modern facilities. Anna canteen has been set up for people who come to court. Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu and IT Minister Lokesh participating in the annual day celebrations of NTR Model School at Gandipet in Hyderabad on Saturday REPORT P11 Express TV boss murder: Nandigama cops sniff for clues in Hyd HANS NEWS SERVICE Hyderabad: Teams of Nandigama police, investigating the suspicious death of Coastal Bank MD and Express TV chairman Chigurupati Jayaram, made searches at his office-cum-guest house at Jubilee Hills Road No.76, his niece’s residence in Gachibowli and Daspalla hotel, where he had attended a meeting on January 31. He was found dead in his car on the Hyderabad- Vijayawada highway on same night, near Nandigama in AP. Police believe that someone else was driving his car, as CCTV footage from Panthangi Toll Plaza in Nalgonda district on the night shows someone in white shirt whose picture is not clear. The suspect killed and abandoned the car to make it look like an accident. Preliminary investigation also found empty liquor bottles in the car, suggesting that someone else was there. Jayaram’s visit to Shikha Chowdary’s residence in Gachibowli one day prior to his suspicious death has shifted the focus to Hyderabad and possible involvement of her. Besides taking into custody his niece Shikha Chowdary and her acquaintance and alleged boyfriend Rakesh Reddy for questioning over their possible role in the death of the businessman, the police as part of their investigation visited his office- Chigurupati Jayaram (File Photo) cum-guest house. While another team visited, the Daspalla hotel in Jubilee Hills and recovered CCTV footage for possible leads into his mysterious death. Jayaram had attended a pharma Shikha Chowdary company meeting on January 31, where he was seen with a man wearing white coloured shirt and the camera captured the images of both leaving the hotel. It is believed that the police also questioned the family members of Shikha, including her sister as part of investigation. According to sources, Shikha Chowdary rushed to Jayaram’s place in Jubilee Hills immediately after his death and entered the building premises to get some documents from his almirah. However, watchman and even one of his aides, Venkatesh foiled her attempts. Shikha, owed about Rs 4 crore to her alleged boyfriend, Rakesh Reddy, one of the accused. Jayaram promised to provide the money on the condition to stay away from the woman, but could not fulfil his promise. Police are investigating the case whether Jayaram was poi- soned as his body turned blue. They are analysing the call data of the victim and the CCTV footages for getting clues as part of investigation. Jayaram, who was director of Coastal Bank and Chairman of Express TV, is believed to have made huge investments in pharma companies. Another possible angle the police is focusing is on possibility of involvement of a close relative over sharing of property, following his mother’s death. It is believed that Jayaram took lead in distribution of property after his mother’s death, some two years back. Those who felt that injustice was done to them could be involved in his death.