NEW DELHI: A special investigation team of Delhi Police returned to the capital on Tuesday after recording the statement of at least 10 people and conducting an in-depth, two-day probe at the residence of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in UP’s Gonda district. There are indications that the police are on the verge of finalising their report regarding the allegations of sexual abuse and harassment levelled by seven wrestlers.
The police’s visit to Gonda, sources said, was to verify the allegations by one of the wrestlers that she was sexually harassed when she went to meet Singh at his residence last October. During his questioning in early May, Singh had claimed that he was not in Gonda on the given dates. The cops recorded the statements of some people in this connection.
While the police remained tight-lipped, sources said that there was considerable speculation that this report may not be filed under the POCSO Act.

There have been conflicting reports on the claim that the wrestler who initially claimed to be a minor had turned out to be a major, according to a birth certificate recovered by the team from Rohtak. While sources linked this to another claim that the wrestler had retracted her statement against Singh, the cops said they would not comment on an ongoing investigation.
The police have maintained a studied silence since the reports of the wrestlers meeting home minister Amit Shah emerged. The news of the meeting was followed by reports that the wrestlers had resumed duty in their government jobs.

If the police’s report doesn’t contain charges under the POCSO Act, it will mean that the cops will then move an application to close one of the two FIRs. The second FIR is on the complaint of the six other wrestlers who are major.
“As far as the complaints of other women wrestlers are concerned, Delhi Police has done a detailed investigation in the first FIR. We have recorded the statements of around 200 people connected with every allegation,” said a source.
Those who have recorded their statements include officials, coaches and players besides others. “For example, we recorded the statement of people present when the allegations of harassment in Kazakhstan were levelled. The statement of every person present at the spot was taken on the allegation that the Singh had touched the wrestler while putting the medal on her,” said another source.
Sources in Lucknow said that an Olympian, a CWG medallist, an international referee, and a state-level coach were questioned separately. Some of them are WFI office-bearers, said a highly-placed source. During Brij Bhushan’s tenure as WFI chief for over a decade, Gonda emerged as a major training centre for wrestlers.
“Police questioned a few employees and associates of Singh, including his driver, and recorded their statements. Besides, the police also recorded the statements of 14 other local residents and collected their Aadhaar and mobile numbers. The statements will now be cross-checked with evidence.

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday asked Germany to get its companies to invest in the Indian defence production sector and help build resilient supply chains to reduce reliance on China, while also stressing that Pakistan cannot be trusted with high-end military technologies because of its deep-seated collusion with Beijing.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh highlighted the new opportunities in defence production, including the possibilities for German investments in the two defence industrial corridors in UP and Tamil Nadu, during the delegation-level meeting with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius here.
“India’s skilled workforce and competitive costs along with Germany’s high technologies and investment can further strengthen ties,” Singh said, adding that the bilateral strategic partnership should be bolstered with “a more symbiotic defence relationship” based on “shared values of democracy and common positions on several international issues”.
Germany is keen to bag India’s over Rs 42,000 crore contract to build six stealth diesel-electric submarines, equipped with both land-attack cruise missiles as well as air-independent propulsion for greater underwater endurance, in collaboration with defence shipyard Mazagon Docks or private L&T shipyard. But Indian officials say it’s an open competition with German firm ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), Navantia (Spain) and Daewoo (South Korea) being the main contenders for the ‘Project-75-India’ submarine programme. “The revised bid submission date is August 1,” an official said. Pistorius said, “We are talking about the deal of TKMS for six submarines. The procedure is not finished yet, but I think the German industry is at a good place in that race.”
During the meeting, sources said India underlined China’s expansionist policies along the LAC, the Indian Ocean Region and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region. “It was also conveyed that Pakistan is drawn into China’s ambit due to its internal and strategic imperatives. Western countries should not trust Pakistan with sophisticated defence technologies because they will be shared with China, which will reverse engineer them,” a source told TOI.
Singh said Indian defence companies could participate in the supply chains of the German defence industry, add value to the ecosystem, and contribute to the resilience of supply chains. “Germany was told India is a responsible and functional democracy, unlike China or Pakistan, and should be treated as a privileged and reliable partner,” the source said.
On Indo-Pacific, Pistorius said there was agreement about German and European role. “I think we should, and we can, and we ought to do more in the region in partnership with India,” he said.

NEW DELHI: In what seems to be an inter-departmental disagreement over the cause of the Odisha train accident, a senior railway engineer who was among the signatories to the ‘joint inspection report’ on the mishap has given a dissent note. While the inspection report blamed signal failure for the crash, the officer referred to a ‘datalogger’ report to claim that the signal was green for Coromandel Express to take the main line and not the loop line.
Railway ministry officials said disagreement among different departments at the stage of preliminary inquiry is quite normal as each can have a different perspective. The final assessment will have to wait until the inquiry by the commissioner of rail safety is over, they added.
A datalogger is a microprocessor-based system that monitors the railway signalling system. It scans, stores and processes data and can be used to generate reports.

AK Mahanta, senior section engineer of signals and communications (Balasore), whose department is under the scanner, in a single-page note disputed the stand of the other four members of the panel that the accident happened because the driver of Coromandel Express was signalled to take the loop line where it ran into a stationary goods train.
“Point No. 17A was found set for Up Loop Line (in reverse condition) of Bahanaga Bazar station,” the joint inspection report said. Setting point in ‘reverse’ condition means an approaching train is allowed to enter the loop line whereas setting point in ‘normal’ condition signals the train to take the main line. In this case, point No. 17A is where Coromandel Express entered the loop line.
“I did not agree with (the part of the report) which mentions that point No. 17A was found set for Up Loop line. Based on the observation from the datalogger report, point 17 was set for the normal side. It may be reverse (sic) after the derailment,” Mahanta said in his note.

Significantly, Mahanta had earlier agreed with the others on the panel that the accident took place because of the misleading signal, leading many to speculate as to what could have led him to change his stand so dramatically.
Railway officials maintain that the accident occurred because of “deliberate interference with the electronic interlocking system”. Rinkesh Roy, divisional railway manager, Khurda, said, “You get green signal only after fulfilling all the pre-conditions such as whether the route is set and everything is right. Even if there is a minor problem, technically, there cannot be a green signal in any circumstance; it becomes red. It can’t go green unless and until someone has tampered with it, someone has physically tempered with it. The loco pilot and the assistant pilot (of Coromandel Express) have said that the signal was green. Even the data logger, which records every event, shows the signal was green.”

Mahanta also claimed that the point of derailment (of Coromandel Express) was before the level crossing gate “that is before point No. 17A” — a claim that provoked a strong response from railway officials who said there was no evidence to suggest that the ill-fated train had got off the track before hitting the goods train.

BHOPAL: Massive rescue operations were on to save a 3-year-old girl who fell into a borewell in Sehore district on Tuesday. The incident took place at Mungaoli village at around 1.30pm.
The girl, identified as Shristhi, daughter of Rahul Kushwaha, fell in a 300-feet deep borewell situated in a farm outside her house. The girl is said to be stuck between 25 and 30 feet depth. The girl was playing outside her house, while her elderly grandmother was also sitting nearby.

Senior officials of police including DIG Monika Shukla, sub-divisional magistrate, Aman Mishra rushed to the spot. Rescue teams were roped in and a parallel well at a distance of 5 feet from the borewell is being dug using JCB machines.
“After we reached close to 20 feet, layer of hard rock has been found. So the work has now slowed down and rock drilling machines are now being used instead of JCB machines. Camera has been put inside the borewell and oxygen supply has also been ensured. The girl’s condition is being regularly monitored. Rescue works are going on,” SDM Sehore, Aman Mishra told TOI.
Taking cognizance of the incident, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted, “Got sad news of a daughter falling into a borewell in Mungaoli of Sehore district. Rescue teams are on the spot and rescue work is going. I have instructed the local administration to take appropriate measures and I am in contact with the administration.”

Meanwhile the farm in which the borewell was situated is said to be of another villager, who had not closed the well.
Mungaoli village panchayat secretary, Sitaram Meena said, “The land belongs to some other villager in which the borewell is situated”.

NEW DELHI: Novak Djokovic overcame a challenging first set to defeat Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 and secure a spot in the French Open semi-finals. The victory keeps Djokovic on track to potentially claim his record-breaking 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title.
Although Khachanov showcased a formidable serve in the opening set, Djokovic managed to turn the tide after winning the second set tiebreak.

From there, Djokovic’s consistent and precise game took control, leaving Khachanov with few answers to halt his opponent’s march to the semi-finals.
Djokovic will now eagerly await the outcome of the match between world number one Carlos Alcaraz and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, as the winner will be the last obstacle standing between Djokovic and a seventh French Open final.

As the match unfolded on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic displayed his trademark metronomic style of play.

Despite facing a lack of break opportunities and a sluggish start, he found his rhythm and overwhelmed Khachanov with his superior performance.
Khachanov managed to break Djokovic’s serve and secure a lead in the first set, but Djokovic’s resilience and determination shone through in subsequent sets.

The Serbian star broke Khachanov’s serve multiple times, ultimately sealing victory and advancing to the next stage with an ace.

“I think he was a better player for most of the first two sets,” said Djokovic.
“I was struggling to find my rhythm. I came into the match quite slow but played a perfect tie-break and from that moment onwards played a couple levels higher.
“It’s a big fight, something you expect in the quarter-finals. You’re not going to have your victories handed to you, you have to earn them.”
Djokovic improved his record at Roland Garros to 90-16 after denying Khachanov his spot in a third successive Grand Slam semi-final. He will return to number one if he wins the title in Paris.
With his relentless pursuit of success, Djokovic continues his pursuit of tennis history and further cements his status as one of the sport’s all-time greats.