FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 224 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | JANUARY 26, 2025 | Pages 18+4 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Cinema ‘Many films I should have got an award for. But it’s okay’ P.15 Indore, Udaipur join list of Wetland Cities Our Staff Reporter INDORE HOLIDAY NOTICE Offices of Free Press will remain closed on Sunday on account of Republic Day. Therefore, there will be no edition on Monday. Readers can stay in touch with news online through www.freepressjournal.in iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK RANA TO BE EXTRADITED The US Supreme Court has turned down a review petition by terror accused Tahawwur Rana, dismissing his last legal challenge against his extradition to India in connection with the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. "Petition DENIED," the Supreme Court said. The apex court's order came on January 21, a day after Donald Trump was sworn in as the US Presi- Three from MP get Padma Shri Our Staff Reporter dent. Earlier, Rana lost legal battles in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, on November 13 filed a "petition for a writ of certiorari" before the US Supreme Court to review the lower court's ruling. Rana, who is currently detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Headley obtained Rana's consent to open an office of First World Immigration Services as a cover for his activities in India. Earlier, the US government had argued in the court that the petition for a writ of certiorari should be denied. US Solicitor General Elizabeth B Prelogar said this in its filing before the Supreme Court on December 16. She said Rana was not entitled to relief from extradition to India in this case. 4Continued on | P7 No law to prohibit anyone from consuming liquor in MP BHOPAL Our Staff Reporter Three personalities from Madhya Pradesh have been feted with Padma Shri Awards 2025, announced late on Saturday evening.  They include devotional folk singer Bheru Singh Chouhan, novelist Jagdish Joshila and social entrepreneur Sally Holkar. Bheru Singh Chouhan, 64, who is known as Nirgun Bhakti Ke Bheru from Malwa has been upholding oral traditions of folk for 50 years. Full Report on P3 BHOPAL Gujarat and Bihar are having total ban on sale, transportation and consumption of liquor as they are having the prohibition act but Madhya Pradesh is having the excise act. Henceforth, there could be ban on sale of liquor in any specific areas such as 17 religious places declared by the government on Friday but there could be no ban on consumption of liquor in individual capacity. Excise Commissioner, Abhijeet Agrawal said that as the state is not liquor prohibitory state like Bihar and Gujarat, hence as per legal point of view in current situation, there is no law to prohibit any one from consuming liquor in in- E-paper Sports Iyer, Patidar help MP dominate P.17 26/11 MUMBAI ATTACK | US court turns down review plea, dismissing Rana’s last legal challenge against extradition to India WASHINGTON MUMBAI Readers’ corner The long road to accountability P.10 PTI’s conditional offer to tresume talks with govtt PTI Indore achieved yet another milestone as the city was declared a prestigious ‘Wetland City’ by the Ramsar Convention on Saturday. Ramsar released a list of 31 ‘Wetland Cities’ worldwide, honouring them for their exceptional contributions to wetland preservation and urban development. For the first time, two Indian cities—Indore and Udaipur—were included in the list. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav hailed the recognition as a moment of pride for the state and the nation. ESTD-1983 dividual capacity. Notably the New Liquor Policy issued by the government on Friday only speaks about closing liquor shops and bars in limits of 17 religious urban bodies 4Continued on | P7 LoP targets govt Leader of Opposition (LoP) Umang Singhar took government on target over banning sale of liquor in 17 religious cities by stating that the government shall have done liquor prohibition in the entire district area of religious cities. He added that what is the sense of banning sale of liquor, if persons can get it at a distance of two kilometres IYe E½fa Four Jabalpur schools fined, asked to refund Rs 38.9 crore Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Jabalpur district administration has asked four private schools to refund Rs 38.9 crore, which was collected through illegal fee hikes, to parents within 30 days. Moreover, the schools have been fined Rs 2 lakh each.The district committee, headed by Collector Deepak Saxena, declared the fee hikes imposed by these four schools as invalid. The four schools are St. Joseph Convent Girls Senior Secondary School (Cantt), Gabriel Higher Secondary School (Ranjhi), Delhi Public School (Mandla Road), and Royal Senior Secondary School (Sanjeevani Nagar). The school managements have been instructed to deposit the fine amount into the HDFC Bank account of the Commissioner, Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI) within 30 days and provide the receipt to DEO's office. Collector Deepak Saxena said, "A total of 32 private schools have been penalised so far, with a total fine of Rs 265 crore for charging illegal fees in violation of the Madhya Pradesh Private Schools (Regulation of Fees and Related Matters) Act, 2018." Fire ravages 3-storey bldg, many rescued Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL A massive fire broke out early Saturday morning at a threestorey building in the Khanugaon area, destroying goods worth several lakh and forcing evacuation of over two dozen people. The fire originated at a stitching centre on the first floor and rapidly spread to the upper floors. Fire tenders from across the city were deployed to control the blaze. Saurabh Patel, Fire Officer at Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC), said that initial investigations suggest the fire was caused by a short circuit in the wiring. The building, owned by Yunus Qureshi, housed both a stitching centre and residential units for eight families on the upper floors. At around 8 a.m., the fire broke out at the stitch- ing centre where about 10 workers were sleeping. The workers managed to escape and raised an alarm, but the fire quickly spread to other floors. Many of the residents, who were still asleep at the time, were rescued by locals who rushed inside the building. Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after receiving the distress call and evacuated several women and children from the building. They also safely removed LPG cylinders to prevent explosion. The fire raged for over three hours, with flames reaching heights of 10 to 20 feet, causing widespread panic among the locals. The fire was finally brought under control with the assistance of more than two dozen fire tenders and tankers from various fire stations across the city. 4Continued on | P7