FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 11 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JUNE 25, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Neeraj returns to Ostrava - All Eyes on India’s 90m Superstar P.17 fp Briefs WINDS KNOCK OUT POWER The 12-day state Assembly monsoon session will begin on July 28 and end on August 8, said officials here on Tuesday. The session will have 10 sittings. The state government will present and seek approval for the first supplementary budget, said the notification issued by the Assembly secretariat. The last date for submitting the questions is July 11. NEW DELHI AI resumes flights to Middle East Air India and Air India Express on Tuesday progressively resumed their services to the Middle East, with flights to Dubai and Muscat, respectively, as countries in the region reopened their airspaces. With escalating tensions in the Middle East, especially after Iran launching missiles against US airbase in Qatar, some countries in the region shut their airspaces resulting in numerous flight diversions and cancellations, including by Indian carriers. BEIJING Shun double standards...: NSA Doval National Security Adviser Ajit Doval on Tuesday called for shunning double standards in combating terrorism and urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to hold accountable perpetrators, organisers and financers of crossborder terrorism, seen as reference to Pakistan. Doval made the remarks in an address at a meeting of the security council secretaries of the SCO in Beijing. BHOPAL MP: Three of a family burnt alive Three members of a family were burnt alive on Tuesday in Balaghat district after their motorcycle came in contact with a live high-tension power line. The incident occurred during morning hours, at around 8:30 am, in Sarra village, under the jurisdiction of the Lanji police station. The victims were en route to the Durga temple in Dewalgaon, according to police officials. iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Just ceasefire, not peace P.6 FTAs with US, EU soon: Sitharaman Cinema Kiara to play Meena Kumari? P.16 Govt plans underground cables in Bhopal, Indore Tripping cases cross 1.6 lakh in 15 days; energy department mulls permanent fix BHOPAL Assembly Session from July 28 ESTD-1983 Rajan Raikwar BHOPAL Frequent power outages in Bhopal and Indore during this summer, mainly caused by gusty winds, have prompted the state energy department to consider laying underground electricity cables in the two cities. The move aims to reduce power tripping cases that surge during extreme weather events. Sources in the energy department revealed that the situation worsened in May, with the highest number of electricity tripping incidents reported due to strong winds exceeding 50 km/h in many areas. The trend continued in June, with around 1.64 lakh tripping cases recorded in just the first fifteen days—an average of over 11,000 outages per day. From June 10 to 14 alone, 66,460 cases of tripping were reported. Officials noted that during four of those five days, the number of cases was significantly higher than usual. Bhopal and Indore, being urban hubs with dense populations and older infrastructure, were hit hardest. "Electricity towers were designed 10–15 years ago, based on climatic patterns of that time," an official explained. "But now the conditions have changed. Summers are witnessing prolonged periods of high-velocity winds, and our existing structures are strug- ON & OFF | Trump says truce is in effect after deal initially faltered IRAN, ISRAEL & THE ‘FAILED’ CEASEFIRE DUBAI Where did 400kg Uranium go? US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was in effect Tuesday after the deal initially faltered, and the American leader expressed deep frustration with both sides. Israel had earlier accused Iran of launching missiles into its airspace after the truce was supposed to take effect, and the Israeli finance minister vowed that "Tehran will tremble." The Iranian military denied firing on Israel, state media reported, but explosions boomed and sirens sounded across northern Israel in the morning, and an Israeli military official said two Iranian missiles were intercepted. Trump told reporters at the Iran still has stocks of enriched uranium - which is used to make nuclear weapons - and 'the game is not over', sources close to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told news agency AFP Tuesday. The location of a stockpile of 400kg of the material - enough to make up to 10 nuclear weapons - is unknown after the United States' weekend bombing of three Iranian facilities. The 'missing' uranium is 60% enriched. At 90, it can be used in nuclear weapons. Satellite photos and sources indicate that Iran most likely moved the uranium, and possibly some equipment to continue enrichment, to a secret location days before American B-2 'Spirit' bombers dropped 'bunker busters' on Fordrow, Natanz, and Isfahan, causing significant damage. AP Israeli soldiers work amid the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike that killed several people, in Beersheba, Israel ‘CEASEFIRE IS IN EFFECT’ SRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly "Plane Wave" to Iran. Nobody will be hurt, the Ceasefire is in effect! I n Donald Trump, US President White House before departing for a NATO summit that, in his view, both sides had violated the nascent agreement. 4Continued on | P8 Rs 20 crore education scam: ED raids rock Alirajpur FP News Service ALIRAJPUR In a chilling reminder of deeprooted corruption, the ED on Tuesday raided six locations linked to Kamal Rathore, a government official accused of siphoning off Rs 20.47 crore meant for students’ welfare in Kathiwada. From pensions to scholarships, fake bills and Shubhanshu’s flight to space stn likely today IANS NEW DELHI ghost accounts—135 in total— helped funnel public money, with 35 accounts tied to Rathore’s own family. Once a teacher, Rathore rose to power using political links. CRPF jawans guarded the raids. FIRs are filed, but locals await justice. Rathore, earlier arrested from Rajasthan, is out on parole. After being deferred multiple times, NASA on Tuesday announced a new date for Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's historic flight to the International Space Station. "NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting 2:31 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 25, for the launch of the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 4," NASA shared in its latest update on the social media platform X. 4Continued on | P8 PTI JAIPUR Full report on Page 5 Two youths beaten up, forced to eat cow dung Also coerced into wearing women’s outfits FP News Service SEHORE Two youths were beaten up and forced to eat cow dung in Bugwali village in Sehore district on Tuesday. The story did not end there. The duo were also forced to wear women’s clothes and tonsure their heads. A video clip of the incident went viral on social media, sending chills down the spine of many people across the state. Those who committed the crime belonged to the Beldar community. According to reports, both the youths hail from Raisen Udaipur shocker: French tourist ‘raped’ after being lured at party district, but the reason behind the incident was yet to be known as no complaint was filed. The police, however, took the video clip into consideration and began to probe the incident after registering a case against the culprits. Town inspector of Doraha police station, Rajesh Sinha, said he had seen a video of the incident and begun to probe the case, but nobody filed any complaint about the incident. Reacting to the incident, MPCC president Jitu Patwri tweeted, "A parallel justice system is prevailing in the state, which is nothing but an indication of Jungle Raj." A man allegedly raped a French tourist in Udaipur after luring her from a party to his apartment, the police said on Tuesday. The accused is currently absconding, and efforts are underway to trace him, the police added. The incident occurred on Monday in the Badgaon Police Station area. According to the police, the woman, who arrived in Udaipur from Delhi on June 22, was staying at a hotel in the Ambamata area. Udaipur SP Yogesh Goyal stated that the woman's medical exam was conducted, and a case was registered based on her statement. He added that a detailed investigation is underway to ascertain how the woman came in contact with the accused. The woman allegedly attended a party at The Greek Farm Cafe and Restro located at Tiger Hill, where she met the accused, identified as Siddharth, Station House Officer (SHO) Purna Singh Rajpurohit said. 4Continued on | P8 in a first India in top 100 of global SDG rankings gling to cope." To tackle this, a meeting was recently held under the chairmanship of Electricity Minister Pradhyuman Singh Tomar. During the meeting, officials recommended laying insulated underground cables in Bhopal and Indore, following the example of cities like Mumbai. “Underground cabling is far more expensive. One insulated underground cable costs about four times more than an overhead line. 4Continued on | P8 Black box of crashed AI plane is in India, being examined by AAIB: Naidu PTI PUNE Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Tuesday said the black box of the Air India plane which crashed in Ahmedabad earlier this month was being examined by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, and dismissed speculation that it would be sent abroad for an inquiry. The London-bound Air India flight crashed into a hostel complex in Ahmedabad moments after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport there on June 12 afternoon, killing 270 persons, including 241 on board. One passenger survived. The black box of Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane was recovered from the site on June 13. A black box is a small device that records information about an aircraft during its flight. It helps in the investigation of aviation accidents. Asked about some media reports suggesting the black box would be sent abroad for a probe into the incident, Naidu said, "...it is all speculation. The black box is very much in India and it it currently being investigated by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB)." 4Continued on | P8 NEW DELHI India has for the first time secured a place among the top 100 out of 167 countries ranked for their progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), according to a re- port published on Tuesday. According to the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network's 10th and latest Sustainable Development Report (SDR), India ranks 99th on the 2025 SDG Index with a score of 67, while China ranks 49th with 74.4 and the US 44th with 75.2 points. India ranked 109th in 2024, 112th in 2023, 121st in 2022, 120th in 2021, 117th in 2020, 115th in 2019, 112th in 2018 and 116th in 2017. Among India's neighbours, Bhutan takes 74th place with 70.5 points, Nepal ranks 85th with 68.6, Bangladesh 114th with 63.9 and Pakistan 140th with 57 points. India's maritime neighbours, Maldives and Sri Lanka, stood at 53rd and 93rd places, respectively. The SGDs were adopted in 2015 with the idea that to save the planet, no one should be left behind in the overall development matrix by 2030. The score measures progress on a scale of 0 to 100 where 100 indicates a country has achieved all 17 goals and 0 means no progress has been made. 7 DAYS TO FIX IT he civil aviation regulator has given airport operators in India seven days to fix critical safety issues after inspections found lapses at major airports. T PTI NEW DELHI Aviation watchdog DGCA has detected multiple violations related to airlines, airports, aircraft maintenance works, and repeated defects in multiple cases during its surveillance at major airports, an exercise carried out in less than two weeks after the Air India plane crash. Without disclosing names of the airlines, airports and other entities in relation to the defects, the regulator on Tuesday said surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) Rescue act turns fatal: Poisonous gas kills 5 systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations. From a faded centre line marking of a runway at an airport to non-updation of obstruction limitation data for three years to a scheduled carrier's domestic flight being held up due to worn tyres, the watchdog came across multiple defects in the aviation ecosystem. Noting that the comprehensive surveillance will continue in future to detect hazards in the aviation ecosystem, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the findings have been communicated to the entities concerned for taking corrective actions within seven days. 4Continued on | P8 YOU ARE WELCOME TO WRITE TO US: EC TO RAHUL PTI NEW DELHI ing. As the workers chased it away, the calf slipped and fell into a nearby well. In an attempt to save the animal, six villagers jumped into the well one after another. The well, with about 12-feetdeep water, seemed to contain poisonous gases, possibly carbon monoxide. One by one, the rescuers began losing consciousness. Panic spread as villagers called for help. The Election Commission has formally responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls, saying all elections are held strictly as per laws and candidates have presumably already moved court with issues about poll conduct. The poll panel said if the Congress leader still had any issues, he was welcome to write to the authority and the EC was also willing to meet him in person to discuss all issues. The entire poll exercise involves thousands of personnel. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 People stand around well in Dharnavada village FP News Service GUNA A tragedy unfolded in Dharnavada village of Guna district on Tuesday morning, when an attempt to rescue a drowning calf proved fatal for five villagers. The victims were believed to have died after inhaling toxic gases inside the well. Around 10 am, a calf wandered into a mango orchard where labourers were work- LOVE AND LUCRE BOTH DROVE SONAM, RAJ TO MURDER RAJA   Our Staff Reporter PTI DGCA audit finds worn tyres, faded runway marks INDORE It was not just love but also the ambition to expand their business that allegedly led Sonam Raghuvanshi and her partner Raj Kushwaha to murder her husband Raja Raghuvanshi. For the first time, it was also confirmed that the two confessed to being in love. East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem said, “There is a romantic angle behind the motive for the murder, but it is also claimed that both of them own separate companies. They wanted to expand their businesses and it appears that getting rid of Raja would have served their interests. There is no doubt they were in a relationship, and both admitted they loved each other. Beyond that, nothing more has been revealed. The investigation is ongoing and we are examining every possible angle.” 4Continued on | P8