FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 56 | INDORE | MONDAY | AUGUST 4, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD Money TRUMP’S TARIFF TANTRUMS:PAINTS A SOBERING PICTURE ESTD-1983 P.11 Drone attack sparks huge fire at Russian oil depot UJJAIN PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit BJP, DMK vie for Chola legacy P.6 Brand Sutra Baggage, Reclaimed P.12 Centre cuts prices of Oppn sharpens attack on 35 essential medicines SIR STANDOFF | Congress says poll panel’s ‘neutrality’ under cloud as INDIA bloc plans August 8 rally to intensify protest roll review, EC hits back FP News Service S udhir Bhai Goyal, Sewadham Ashram founder, has been serving the abandoned, destitute and disabled for the last five decades. Turn to Indore page to find out how. SEE P3 fp Briefs NEW DELHI AI flight faces tech snag Air India cancelled its flight from Singapore to Chennai on Sunday as the Airbus A321 plane operating on the route developed a technical snag. Air India said in a statement that the flight AI349 scheduled to operate from Singapore to Chennai has been cancelled due to a maintenance task identified prior to departure, which required additional time for rectification." BALLIKURAVA 6 workers die in rock collapse Six migrant workers from Odisha were killed and at least three others injured after a massive granite rock fell on them at a quarry in Andhra Pradesh's Bapatla district on Sunday. According to the police, the accident occurred around 10.30 am when 10 to 15 workers were engaged in mining works. NEW DELHI The Congress on Sunday questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission and reiterated the opposition's demand for a discussion in Parliament on the revision of the voters' list. Sources said that leaders of the INDIA bloc are expected to hold a dinner meeting on August 7, followed by a protest march to the Election Commission office the next day. The move aims to intensify their objection to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The demand comes amid a continued standoff over the SIR process during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which has seen repeated disruptions and limited legislative activity. The opposition’s call for a debate on the issue has so far met with resistance from the ruling alliance. Senior Congress leader Gau- Dheeraj Kumar PATNA A day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed that his name was deleted from the draft electoral rolls, the Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to him seeking details of the EPIC number he had mentioned during a press conference. The draft electoral roll was published as part of the SIR of the electoral rolls. On the other hand, BJP demanded registration of an FIR against former Bihar deputy CM for holding two EPIC cards as it was a ‘Murderous assault’ on airline staff, FIR against Army officer Bomb threat to Gadkari’s house Police on Sunday arrested a man for issuing a bomb threat to Union minister Nitin Gadkari's residence in Nagpur, which later turned out to be a hoax, officials said. criminal offence. Electoral registration officer (ERO) of Digha assembly constituency, who is also the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Patna Sadar, issued the notice asking Yadav to make available the details of EPIC card along with the original copy of the card so that a through probe into the matter could be conducted. 4Continued on | P8 MEA fact-check: Not reviewing bilateral pacts with US FP News Service NEW DELHI was told to pay for extra cabin baggage, it added. Video clips of the incident shared on social media showed the passenger assaulting the staff and one of them being hit with a queue stand at the airport. The injured were taken to the hospital and are undergoing treatment. "A passenger grievously assaulted four SpiceJet employees at the boarding gate of flight SG-386 from Srinagar to Delhi on July 26, 2025. Our staff members suffered a spinal fracture and serious jaw injuries after being attacked with punches, repeated kicks and a queue stand," SpiceJet said in a statement. The Ministry of External Affairs has refuted media reports claiming that India is reviewing the list of US goods that are exempted from tariffs. The reports surfaced as India is currently weighing its response after US President Donald Trump imposed 25% tariff on goods coming in from India. The fact-check unit of the ministry rejected the claims in a post on X, also dismissing rumours that India is reviewing its bilateral agreements with the US and considering suspending them “if hostile economic policies continue.” The government maintains that both nations are "intensely engaged in efforts" to establish a mutually beneficial trade agreement. The Centre had earlier said that "India and the US share a comprehensive global strategic partnership anchored in shared interests, democratic values, and robust people-topeople ties." 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Rly personnel dies in IED blast NAGPUR 4Continued on | P8 2 voter IDs? Notice issued to Tejashwi BHUBANESWAR A railway personnel was killed in an IED blast on a railway track near OdishaJharkhand border in Sundergarh district on Sunday, police said. The deceased was identified as Itua Oram, working as a 'key man' in the Indian railways, the police said. Police suspected involvement of Maoists in the blast as Maoist posters were found near the blast site in Sundargarh district. rav Gogoi, who is also the deputy leader of the party in Lok Sabha, questioned the Centre's decision not to allow a discussion on the EC even though the Chief Election Commissioner is appointed by it. "Today, there is a question mark in the minds of the people regarding the neutrality of the EC. That is why we want a discussion in Parliament. The government is trying to hide something. What is it? Is it their manipulation in the last assembly polls and Lok Sabha election?" Gogoi asked in Guwahati. Agencies NEW DELHI A senior Army officer was charged with "murderous assault" after an issue regarding excess baggage with SpiceJet turned violent at the Srinagar airport last week. The airline said on Sunday that the officer, who was to board a flight to Delhi, assaulted four airline ground staffers on July 26, causing a spinal fracture to one of them. An FIR has been registered with the local police and the airline has initiated the process to place the passenger on the no-fly list in accordance with civil aviation regulations, SpiceJet said. The incident happened after the passenger ‘No appeals yet from parties’ he EC on Sunday said no political party in Bihar has so far approached it for inclusion or removal of names from the draft electoral roll published on August 1. Between 3 pm on August 1 and 3 pm on August 3, no demand under claims and objections has been received, it said. But individually, 941 claims and objections have been received from voters for the inclusion of names in the voters' list or for the removal of those they claim are ineligible. Political parties and voters have time till September 1 to demand inclusion or removal of names from the list. The EC maintains that it has ensured that no eligible person will be left out of the final electoral roll to be published on September 30. T FP News Service Four senior citizens of Indian origin who went missing during a road trip in the US five days ago were found dead on Sunday in a tragic car crash. The Marshall County Sheriff's Office confirmed that all four victims, aged in their 80s, died when their vehicle veered off the road and crashed down a steep embankment in a remote area. Among the deceased was 89-year-old Kishore Divan, a retired anesthesiologist who lived and worked in Williamsville, New York. The other victims were his wife Asha Divan (85), Shailesh Divan (86), and Gita Divan (84). Authorities located their light green Toyota Camry, bearing a New York licence plate, in a severely mangled condition near Big Wheeling Creek Road in Marshall County, West Virginia. Due to the rugged and isolated terrain, it took rescue teams over five hours to reach the crash Says Malegaon verdict a slap on faces of those who coined ‘saffron terror’ narrative Seeds of seabuckthorn and buckwheat grown in the cold desert of Ladakh are part of the experiments on board the International Space Station flown by NASA's Crew-11 mission. Seeds procured from 11 nations across five continents are part of the study spearheaded by US-based bioastronautics firm Jaguar Space, which plans to expose the seeds to microgravity conditions for a week. The seeds are part of the "Emerging Space Nation's Space for Agriculture & Agriculture for Space" payload that flew to the ISS along with NASA's Crew-11, which lifted off from Florida on Friday and docked onto the orbital lab on Saturday. The seeds will be brought back by the Crew-10, which is expected to return to Earth later this month. The seeds grown in Ladakh were sourced by Bengaluru-based space start-up Protoplanet. "We will study how the seeds react to micro-gravity conditions and their potential use as a food source for long-duration space missions," Siddharth Pandey, Director, Protoplanet, told PTI. Pandey stated that Proto- Medicine Price Aceclofenac-ParacetamolTrypsin Chymotrypsin (Akums) Rs 13 Aceclofenac-ParacetamolTrypsin Chymotrypsin (Cadila) Rs 15.01 Diclofenac Injection Rs 31.77 per ml Atorvastatin 40 mg and Clopidogrel 75 mg Rs 25.61 Other medicines include Cefixime and Paracetamol combinations, Cholecalciferol drops for Vitamin D supplementation now been fixed at Rs 13, while the same formulation marketed by Cadila Pharmaceuticals is now priced at Rs 15.01. Similarly, a tablet containing Atorvastatin 40 mg and Clopidogrel 75 mg, widely used for cardiovascular conditions, is priced at Rs 25.61.Oral suspensions for paediatric use - Cefixime and Paracetamol combinations have also been included, along with critical medications like Cholecalciferol drops for Vitamin D supplementation and Diclofenac Injection, which has been priced at Rs 31.77 per ml. The official order states that retailers and dealers must display these updated price lists A woman applying tilak on forehead of ex-MP Pragya Thakur at her residence on Sunday Our Staff Reporter Recently acquitted by Mumbai’s NIA court in Malegaon blast case, former BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur returned to her residence in Bhopal on Sunday. Speaking to media, she launched a scathing attack on Congress, accusing it of fabricating the idea of ‘saffron terrorism’, and de- clared: “A Hindu can never be a terrorist. He is tolerant by nature.” She said the court verdict is 11 killed as SUV plunges into canal prominently in their premises. Failure to comply with the notified prices may attract penal provisions under the DPCO, 2013, and the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, including recovery of overcharged amounts with interest. The NPPA clarified that the prices fixed were exclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST), which may be added, if applicable. Manufacturers are required to comply with all statutory requirements, issue updated price lists in Form V through the Integrated Pharmaceutical Database Management System and submit the information to the NPPA and state drug controllers. a slap in the face of those who labelled her and others as part of a Hindu terror plot. "Congress tried to establish the narrative of Hindu terrorism, but failed. They tortured people like us to break our spirit. But truth has finally prevailed—Satyamev Jayate,” she said. Thakur alleged that the entire ‘saffron terror’ narrative was politically scripted. “The script was weak, and it collapsed,” she said, adding that Hindus had been targeted for years. 4Continued on | P8 Aiyar targets Shashi Tharoor Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW In a tragic incident in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, 11 people, most of them from the same family, lost their lives after a Bolero vehicle carrying 15 passengers veered off the road and fell into the Saryu canal on Sunday. The accident took place around 10 am in the Motiganj police station area when the group was on their way to offer prayers at the Prithvinath temple. The vehicle site. Sheriff Mike Dougherty offered his condolences to the family and stated that the cause of the crash remains under investigation. The group was last seen on the morning of July 29 at a Burger King on Peach Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. reportedly lost control and skidded into the canal, trapping those inside. Eyewitnesses said villagers rushed to the spot after hearing screams for help. Within ten minutes, more locals and police personnel reached the Tiger poached in Balaghat, 2 forest officials suspended 4Continued on | P8 Ohio’s Indian-origin Solicitor General faces backlash over ‘bindi’ IANS WASHINGTON planet has contributed sea buckthorn and Himalayan tartary, nutrient-rich plants native to high-altitude regions. The Himalayan tartary is a variety of buckwheat that is nutrientrich and gluten-free. On return from space, the seeds will be studied by Indian researchers. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 site and began rescue operations. However, the doors of the vehicle were jammed shut, making it extremely difficult to rescue the passengers. NEW DELHI: Former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has attacked Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, saying that the Operation Sindoor outreach delegation led by him did not quite convey India's message to the world and claimed that none of the countries the delegation visited said that Pakistan had a role to play in the Pahalgam terror attack. "No one believes our version. We don't have any evidencse that can convince the world as to which Pakistani agency plotted it," Aiyar said. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Two forest officials have been suspended following suspected poaching of a tiger in the Lalbarra range of Balaghat district. The incident came to light after wildlife activist Ajay Dubey alerted the Head of Forest Force (HoFF) about an alleged cover-up by local forest staff. According to sources, Dubey informed the HoFF that, based on inputs from his network, a tiger had been illegally killed by poachers in the area, and some forest officials were allegedly trying to suppress the matter. Acting on the complaint, the HoFF ordered an internal probe, which led to suspension of two officials. Ladakh-grown seeds join ISS experiment PTI In a move to make medicines more affordable for patients, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has reduced the retail prices of 35 essential drugs sold by leading pharmaceutical companies. The formulations, which will now cost less, span a wide range of medicines including anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, antibiotic, anti-diabetic and psychiatric medicines. The Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers notified the order based on price regulation by the NPPA. The price reductions, which apply across drugs, are expected to bring relief to consumers, particularly those managing chronic conditions. The key formulations covered by the price control order include fixed-dose combinations of Aceclofenac, Paracetamol and Trypsin Chymotrypsin, Amoxycillin and Potassium Clavulanate, Atorvastatin combinations and newer oral anti-diabetic combinations like Empagliflozin, Sitagliptin, and Metformin. The price of one Aceclofenac-Paracetamol-Trypsin Chymotrypsin tablet manufactured by Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals and marketed by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has BHOPAL offgrid NEW DELHI Failure to comply may attract penal provisions under DPCO, 2013, and Essential Commodities Act, 1955 Hindu can never be terrorist: Sadhvi Pragya 4 elderly PIOs killed in US road crash MUMBAI IANS NEW DELHI Indian-origin Mathura Sridharan has been appointed Ohio's 12th Solicitor General, the Attorney General's office announced in a statement on X. However, her appointment faced backlash with trolls questioning why a 'non-US citizen' was selected for the position, with some even pointing to her bindi, saying "This one has a perma-dot, huh." In a post on X, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office stated: "AG Yost today named Mathura Sridharan as his pick for Ohio’s 12th solicitor general, the state’s top attorney for appeals in state and federal courts." In response to the announcement made on X, some of the online users criticised her appointment. One user said, "Couldn’t find a citizen and native of the United States for the job?" Another user wrote, "Native Ohioans can’t even get jobs with the state. Who is this foreigner? Did Ohio run out of Americans?" Another social media user wrote, "Nothing says 'Ohioan' like a dot right on the forehead", while another wrote: "This one has a permadot, huh." 4Continued on | P8