FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 47 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | AUGUST 1, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports India, Eng will be toughest to beat: Healy P.13 fp Briefs NEW DELHI Nod to Rs 11K cr railway projects The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday approved four multitracking railway projects with a total investment of Rs 11,169 crore, according to a cabinet communique. These projects are the Itarsi-Nagpur 4th Line, the Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar)-Parbhani Doubling, the Aluabari Road-New Jalpaiguri 3rd and 4th Line, and the Dangoaposi-Jaroli 3rd and 4th Line. NEW DELHI India, Morocco sign agreement In a significant step towards enhancing bilateral legal ties, India and Morocco have signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation in judicial and legal spheres. The agreements aim to strengthen institutional linkages, facilitate legal modernisation, and deepen mutual understanding between the two countries. CHENNAI Ex-TN CM snaps ties with NDA Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam-led AIADMK Cadres Rights Retrieval Committee on Thursday walked out of the BJP-led NDA coalition, a year after joining the bloc. Incidentally, the deposed AIADMK leader twice met DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin in the day. He later told reporters he was not insulted in NDA. Panruti S Ramachandran, a veteran leader and advisor to the Committee announced the decision to leave NDA. ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK Our Staff Reporter The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday asked the state government to submit a plan for disposing of 900 metric tonnes (MT) of ashes generated from the incineration of 350 MT of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) waste  at Pithampur. The directive was issued by the division bench of Justices Atul Shreedharan and Anuradha Shukla. Cinema Deepika backs SC guidelines P.14 2008 MALEGAON BLAST CASE | Court flags several loopholes in prosecution's case and investigation carried out, says accused deserved the benefit of doubt Court acquits all 7, says strong suspicion, not enough to punish PTI BJP: ‘Hindu terror’ Cong conspiracy MUMBAI Nearly 17 years after the Malegaon blast claimed six lives, a special court on Thursday acquitted all seven accused, including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit, noting there was "no reliable and cogent evidence" against them. No religion teaches violence, the court said. Terrorism has no religion, but the court cannot convict on mere perception, it added. Special Judge A K Lahoti, assigned to hear cases of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here, flagged several loopholes in the prosecution's case and the investigation carried out, and said the accused persons deserved the benefit of doubt. An explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in the town, located about 200 km from Mumbai, on September 29, 2008 killing six persons and in- PTI NEW DELHI Five of the seven accused including, from left, Sameer Kulkarni, Major (retired) Ramesh Upadhyay, Lt Col Prasad Purohit, former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Ajay Rahirkar Uma only BJP leader to celebrate Pragya’s acquittal BHOPAL: Former CM Uma Bharti was the only BJP leader to openly celebrat acquittal of Pragya Thakur in Malegaon blast case on Thursday. Pragya, Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal since 2019, was acquitted along with six others by a special NIA court. While several BJP leaders commented on Mumbai High Court verdict and condemned Digvijaya Singh for setting narrative of Hindu terrorism parallel to Islamic terrorism and insulting Hindus, none came forward to celebrate Sadhvi Pragya Thakur’s acquittal. A Madhya Pradesh resident, Pragya started political innings with ABVP, the RSS student wing. She was prime accused in Malegaon case and first person arrested by Maharashtra ATS. Former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur had contested 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Bhopal parliamentary constituency, defeating Digvijaya Singh, who faced criticism from Hindu outfits for his narrative equating Hindu terrorism with Islamic terrorism. juring 101 others. Besides Thakur and Purohit, the accused comprised Major Ramesh Upadhyay (retired), Ajay Rahirkar, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni. (Pg8) 4Continued on | P8 Brijesh Chaudhary of Madhaugarh came to Jalaun’s Government Medical College to treat a swollen pair of eyes and nearly left with an unwanted surgery and a medical mystery of “operation kis baat ka tha?” It started off as a routine 4Continued on | P8 EC finalises Electoral College for V-P poll PTI NEW DELHI The Election Commission on Thursday said it has finalised the Electoral College for the vice presidential election, necessitated due to the resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar from the post. The vice president of India is elected by an Electoral College comprising the elected members and nominated members of the Rajya Sabha and the elected members of the Lok Sabha. In a statement, the poll authority said it has finalized the Electoral College list for the Vice Presidential Election, 2025. The Electoral College list will be available for purchase at a counter set up in the Election Commission office from the date of notification, which is likely to be announced soon, the poll body said. CAG REPORT EXPOSES IRREGULARITIES PTI WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI India and Russia can take their "dead economies down together", US President Donald Trump has said in a fresh attack on the two countries for their close trade ties even as New Delhi continued to analyse the possible impact of his decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods. In its reaction, India said it will take all necessary steps to safeguard and promote national interest and that the implications of the tariffs are being examined. The US president's diatribe came hours after he announced 25 per cent tariffs against India from August 1, along with an unspecified "penalty" to punish New Delhi for continuing to procure crude oil from Russia notwithstanding the Western sanctions. "I don't care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he said. "We have done very little business with India, their Tariffs are too high, among the highest in the World," he added. Russia remained India's top oil supplier in the last few months. "The government attaches the utmost importance to protecting and promoting the welfare of our farmers, workers, entrepreneurs, exporters, MSMEs and all sections of industry. We will take all necessary steps to secure and advance our national interest," Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said in Parliament. Hours after Trump criticised India for its trade links with Russia, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said everybody except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman knows that the country's economy is "dead". 4Continued on | P8 Medvedev reminds Don about dangers of ‘dead hand’ PTI MOSCOW Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday warned US President Donald Trump not to ignore the peril posed by those he labels "dead", as the two leaders exchanged barbs on social media. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump mounted a sharp attack on India and Russia for their close ties and said the two countries can take their "dead economies down together". Hitting out at Moscow, Trump added: "Russia and the USA do almost no business together. Let's keep it that way, and tell Medvedev, the failed former President of Russia, who thinks he's still President, to watch his words. 4Continued on | P8 without permission Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The government has incurred a loss of Rs 1,000 crore because of the mining and liquor contractors. The CAG report for 2021-22 brought this fact to light on Thursday. According to the CAG report, 45 contractors, who acquired leases for mining, dug BGIA has requested to add 2 independent technical experts, who the court will hear at next hearing The court had summoned the technical officers of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) for technical information regarding the disposal of toxic waste. Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group of Information and Action (BGIA), an organisation working with Bhopal gas tragedy survivors, said, “NEERI, MPPCB, and CPCB could not answer why 900 MT of toxic ash is being dumped near the human population after burning 350 MT of toxic waste of UCC.  4Continued on | P8 check-up. Brijesh was admitted on Monday with a promise from doctors: “You will be discharged tomorrow.” But by Tuesday morning, he found himself in the operation theatre (OT), dressed like a surgeon’s dream—green gown, slippers, and confusion. Before he could blink (read swollen eyes), he had been given two injections and placed under the bright OT lights. He politely asked, “Why am I being operated on?” Irregularity of Rs 93cr in PWD CAG pointed out rip-off of Rs 93 crore in PWD. According to the report, the officers paid more than the contract amount without permission. The office of the chief engineer spent Rs 30 crore without any reason. The contractors were paid an additional sum of Rs 3.68 crore. Extra payments were made for recovery of observation fee, non-payment of amount to the parent department and changing design. out more grit, red sand, marble, sand and dolomite than prescribed by the government. The mining department could neither recover royalty nor imposed a penalty on the defaulters. As a result, the government incurred a loss of Rs 630 crore. Three IPS officers shifted, Varun Kapoor is Director General Jail Shahid Absar made ADG Selection Recruitment Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government shifted three IPS officers on Thursday and appointed 1991 batch IPS officer Varun Kapoor as the new Jail Director General (DG). Kapoor, currently serv- ing as the Special DG in Rustomji Armed Police Training College (RAPTC), Indore has replaced 1989 batch IPS officer Govind Pratap Singh, who retired on Thursday. The additional charge of RAPTC, Indore has been handed over to IG SAF, Chandrashekhar Solanki.  The state government has handed over the responsibility of ADG Selection and Recruitment to Mohammad Shahid Absar (1996 batch), who was ADG in the Economic Offenses Wing. The post was lying vacant after Sonali Mishra was made the Director General of Railway Protection Force (RPF). Absar has also been given the additional charge of ADG PTRI and Director Police Academy Bhauri.  Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi (2010 batch) has been sent as DIG EOW. He was serving as DIG in the Cyber Cell of PHQ. courtesy call Chief Minister Mohan Yadav calls on PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday Full report on Pg3 The staff, equally polite, replied, “Because it is your operation.” That is when Brijesh did what most patients do not— he ran. In full surgical attire, he dashed out of the theatre, shouting like a man who had just escaped a horror movie… or worse, a hospital mix-up. His family, stunned, con- fronted the doctors. The explanation? Casual at best. “Galti ho gayi... The surgery was meant for someone else,” a doctor shrugged, conveniently blaming a nurse for the blunder. Meanwhile, the hospital tried its best to put a bandage on the embarrassment. 4Continued on | P8 C AG reports also referred to a loss of Rs 87 crore for not harvesting of produce on time, encroachment, less production of bamboo, and non-recovery of lease rent and dividend. Ten leaseholders were digging those mines for which there was no permission. 4Continued on | P8 ISRAEL-PALESTINE CONFLICT ‘India always supported negotiated 2-state solution’ PTI NEW DELHI It said the second issue is if the Rohingyas are not refugees and are illegal entrants, whether the action of the Centre and states in deporting them was justified. "Even if the Rohingyas have been held to be illegal entrants, can they be detained indefinitely or they are entitled to be released on bail, subject to such conditions as the court may deem fit to be imposed?" it asked. The court said the other issue raised in the petitions is whether the Rohingyas, who have not been detained and are living in refugee camps, have been provided basic amenities like drinking water, sanitation and education. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 PTI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Thursday said the first major issue to be dealt with in cases concerning Rohingyas is whether they are refugees or illegal entrants. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and N Kotiswar Singh said once that is decided, the other issues might be consequential. The court observed this while hearing a batch of pleas concerning Rohingyas in the country. "The first major issue is simple, are they refugees or illegal entrants," Justice Kant observed. The bench took note of the broad issues that arise for its consideration in the pleas relating to Rohingyas. "Whether the Rohingyas are entitled to be declared as refugees? If so, what protections, privileges or rights they are entitled to?" the bench said. Rs 87crore India has always supported "a negotiated two-state solution" that would see the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, living side by side in peace with Israel, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was asked whether India's support for the Palestinian cause has been an "integral part of our foreign policy". "India's policy towards Palestine has been longstanding. India has always supported a negotiated twostate solution, which would see the establishment of a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine within secure and recognised borders, living side by side in peace with Israel," Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in a written response to the query. India has "strongly condemned the terror attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 and the loss of civilian lives in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict", he said. "India remains concerned at the security situation and has called for a ceasefire, release of all hostages and peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy," Singh added. Major issue whether Rohingyas refugees or illegal entrants: SC Man flees OT to escape wrong surgery Biswajeet Banerjee The BJP alleged on Thursday that the Congress manufactured the theory of "Hindu terror" when it was in power to stop the rise of the saffron party and Narendra Modi, and appease its Muslim vote bank, as the ruling party welcomed the acquittal of all the seven accused in the Malegaon blast case. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ravi Shankar Prasad demanded that the discharged accused, including former party MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit, should be compensated and the prosecution should apologise for allegedly using torture and planting evidence to frame them. Nat’l interest first, says Goyal as Mining, liquor contractors deceive govt of Rs 1K cr Forest department Trump fires dead economy jibe Illegal mining 3 yrs suffers loss of continued for eye shapath JALAUN E-paper Edit Standing up against the bully P.6 Trump’s perception of ‘dead economy’ misplaced: Analysts HC seeks plan for disposal of 900 MT ash after UCC waste incineration BHOPAL MUMBAI