FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 39 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JULY 23, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Warriorz FC ready to roar again P.16 E-Rickshaw banned on key VVIP routes Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PUNE INDORE NASHIK fp Briefs BHOPAL Sibi removed from CM Secretariat Sibi Chakravarthy has been removed as Secretary, Chief Minister. He will continue to function as MD, Madhya Pradesh Building Development Corporation. The buzz is this that Sibi failed to strike chord with CM and after arrival of Additional Chief Secretary, Neeraj Mandloi at CM Secretariat, changes have started to take place. Earlier Alok Singh was brought as Secretary, CM Secretariat. NASHIK Minister calls govt ‘beggar’ Maharashtra minister Manikrao Kokate, who has been accused of playing rummy on his phone in the legislature, on Tuesday waded into another controversy as he termed the government a "beggar" while trying to clarify an earlier comment on farmers. E-paper Edit The curious case of Dhankhar P.6 No revenue shortfall seen, aim to achieve deficit target: MoS Fin Cinema ‘They treated me like a superstar’ P.14 SC directs eateries to display licences, registration EC set to trim Says ‘Consumer is the king’ KANWAR YATRA If one hotel was earlier serving nonvegetarian, and for the purpose of better business they serve only vegetarian during the yatra, it will be an issue for the consideration of the consumer. The choice is of the consumer. Consumer is the king PTI To enhance public safety and streamline traffic movement, traffic police has banned e-rickshaws across several prominent VVIP routes of the city. The decision is in compliance with District Road Safety Committee’s June 27 recommendation and aims to address congestion concerns and prioritize smooth transport flow along key administrative and public service corridors. The banned routes include--Raj Bhavan to Polytechnic Crossing, Polytechnic Crossing to State Hangar, Boat Club area, Hamidia Road – from Alpana to Bhopal Talkies, Apex Bank to Roshanpura, Link Road 1 – from Board Office Square to Apex Ban, Katju Hospital Tiraaha to Rangmahal Tiraaha, Vande Mataram to 10 Number Stop,10 Number Stop to National Hospital,10 Number to 10½ Number, Center Point to Roshanpura and GG Flyover. Additionally, District Collector has barred e-rickshaws from transporting schoolchildren. Traffic Police has launched an awareness drive across the city to educate drivers and schools about this new directive. MUMBAI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to stay the "QR" code directive for eateries along Kanwar Yatra route in UP, Uttarakhand and directed all hotel owners along the route to display their licences and registration certificates in line with the statutory requirements. 4Continued on | P8 Kanwariyas gather to collect the Ganga water on eve of conclusion of Kanwar Yatra during the holy month of Shravan, at Har Ki Pauri, in Haridwar Uttarakhand ASI kills self, alleges harassment by cops Video of allegations goes viral, SP orders probe BLOW | ITAT dismisses party's claim for exemption due to late filing of IT returns No relief for Cong in `199 cr tax case Online Report T FP News Service DATIA An assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of Gondan police station, Datia district, died by suicide after releasing a video exposing corruption in police department. ASI Pramod Pawan has made serious allegations of mental harassment and involvement in illegal activities against Gondan police station in-charge Arvind Bhadauria, Tharet police station in-charge Anfasul Hasan, constable driver Rupnarayan Yadav and constable Arvind Yadav. In the video, Pramod Pawan can be heard saying that he was opposing irregularities going on at the police station regarding gambling, satta and illegal sand mining for the past several days, due to which he was being harassed. As soon as the information of the incident was received, senior police officers and FS team reached the spot. The body was sent for postmortem, and officials have launched an investigation into both the suicide and the serious allegations made by the deceased officer. 4Continued on | P8 he Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has dismissed an appeal by Congress, upholding a Rs 199.15 crore tax demand. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal or ITAT has dismissed the party's claim for exemption due to late filing of IT returns and violations of cash donation limits. "The assessee's return filed on 02.02.2019 is not within the 'due' date to make it eligible for the impugned exemption," the tribunal noted. The Congress had filed its income tax return on February 2, 2019 - well beyond the due date of December 31, 2018 -- and declared nil income. It also claimed an exemption of QUALITY DATA CENTRE IN STATE GETS CABINET NOD   Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In a big leap towards data storage, the state cabinet on Tuesday approved the data strengthening scheme on Tuesday. Under this, a quality data centre will be established in the state, which will serve necessary data to government departments and help in making schemes or plans accordingly. This data centre will be one of the best in the country.  Recently, chief minister Mohan Yadav visited Spain n SC Bench ‘NO PROBLEMS FOR FARMERS’ uring the cabinet meeting, CM Mohan Yadav asked ministers to ensure uninterrupted fertilizer supply to farmers in their districts. He instructed that farmers should not face any problems in getting fertilizers. D where he saw a world level data centre and was highly impressed. After this, the state government decided to have its own high quality data centre. The cabinet also approved the proposal to renovate Gandhi Sagar hydel power plant and Rana Pratap Sagar hydel power plant, Rajasthan. The project is a joint venture of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The estimated cost for renovation of five units (5x23 MW) of Gandhi Sagar hydel power plant is Rs 464.55 crore. The four units (4.43 MW) of Rana Pratap Sagar hydel power plant would come up at an estimated cost of Rs 576.76 crore. 4Continued on | P8 Rs 199.15 crore. But in September 2019, the Assessing Officer found out during scrutiny that the party accepted Rs 14.49 lakh in cash donations - many of the donations exceeding the Rs 2,000 per donor limit under the law. Donations above Rs 2000 are to be paid through banking channels like cheques or bank transfer. Tax was accordingly levied on the whole amount. When the Congress sought exemption, the IT department denied the claim in 2021. In March 2023, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) upheld the decision. The Appellate Tribunal, which the Congress had since approached, refused to provide any interim relief last year. PTI An Air India A321 plane's auxiliary power unit caught fire after landing at the Delhi airport on Tuesday afternoon, and all passengers and crew members are safe. "Flight AI 315, operating from Hong Kong to Delhi on 22 July 2025, experienced an auxiliary power unit (APU) fire shortly after it had landed and parked at the gate. The incident occurred while passen- gers had begun disembarking, and the APU was automatically shut down as per system design," an airline spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson said there was some damage to the aircraft, while passengers and crew members disembarked normally and are safe. "The aircraft has been grounded for further investigations and the regulator has been duly notified," the spokesperson added. 4Continued on | P8 IANS WASHINGTON Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will be stepping down from her role in August 2025 to return to academia at Harvard University, the IMF announced. Gopinath, a trailblazer in international economics, will be taking on the role of the inaugural Gregory and Ania Coffey Professor of Economics at Harvard. 4Continued on | P8 Harivansh chairs proceedings amid speculation over sudden move Agencies NEW DELHI President Droupadi Murmu has accepted the resignation of Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while in the Chair. The announcement came just before the House was adjourned until 2:00 PM. Deputy Chairman Harivansh Finally, ‘Tanks in The Air’ are here Boeing delivers three Apache choppers to Army PTI NEW DELHI American aerospace major Boeing on Tuesday delivered three Apache attack choppers to the Indian Army, officials said. The company delivered the AH-64E Apaches choppers as part of a contract to supply six helicopters to the Indian Army. The AH-64 Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters and is flown by the US Army. 4Continued on | P8 Goodbye, old warrior: MiG-21 to retire after 62 yrs ANI The Indian Air Force will be phasing out its MiG 21 fighter jet aircraft by September 2025, and replace them with the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark 1A, defence officials said on Tuesday. First inducted in 1963, these jets will be retired after 62 years of service with The Election Commission of India has u n c o ve re d significant discrepancies in B i h a r ’s voter rolls as part of its o n go i n g Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, revealing that over 52 lakh electors are either deceased, have shifted constituencies, or are enrolled in multiple locations. The findings, released in a press note dated July 22, underscore the scale of the clean-up ahead of the draft electoral roll publication scheduled for August 1. The SIR process has mobilised an extensive network of nearly one lakh Booth Level Officers (BLOs), four lakh volunteers, and 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by district presidents According to the Commission, 18.66L voters have been confirmed deceased 26.01L Have permanently shifted to other constituencies 7.5L Are enrolled at more than one location. of 12 major political parties. Their coordinated effort aims to ensure that all eligible voters are accurately represented in the upcoming draft roll. 4Continued on | P8 Aadhaar, voter, ration cards considered only for identification: EC justifies SIR he Election Commission of India has justified its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar saying it adds to the purity of the election by "weeding out ineligible persons" from the electoral rolls. The affidavit filed by the poll panel in a plea challenging the June 24 order directing SIR of electoral roll pan-India starting from Bihar, said despite legal concerns Aadhaar, voter card and ration card were already being considered by the commission for the limited purpose of identity during the SIR-2025 exercise. T Dhankhar’s sudden resignation Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s unexpected resignation came after he accepted a motion by opposition MPs seeking the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma— under scrutiny after large sums of cash were allegedly found at his residence. Sources said Dhankhar not only approved the motion but kept the government uninformed, upsetting the Centre, which intended to lead the action in the Lok Sabha with support from both sides. His move was seen as undercutting the government’s strong anti-corruption stance. 4Continued on | P8 Narayan Singh was seen presiding over proceedings after Dhankhar’s exit. The Ministry of Home Affairs, through a notification, conveyed that the res- ignation had been accepted under Article 67A of the Constitution, effective immediately. 4Continued on | P8 State opposes separate hearing of MP-CG’s OBC reservation wheels up, one last time NEW DELHI IANS NEW DELHI Gita Gopinath to Prez accepts Dhankhar’s resignation step down from as V-P, RS Chair informs House IMF, set to Deputy Chairman Tension over judicial motion behind rejoin Harvard Close shave as AI flight catches fire on landing NEW DELHI 52L names from Bihar voters list the indigenously developed Tejas aircraft replacing them in all the current squadrons. The squadrons operating the MiG 21 plane are currently in Rajasthan's Nal Air Force base. "Indian Air Force to phase out the MiG-21 fighter jet by September this year. The squadrons operating the aircraft are currently in Nal air base in Rajasthan. The LCA Mark 1A aircraft would be replacing the MiG-21s in the IAF," a defence official said. The MiG 21 is India's first ever supersonic jet, acquired as part of a deal with the erstwhile Soviet Union in 1963. The aircraft has had limited use in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, but was subsequently used multiple military conflicts since, including the 1999 Kargil War, 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Notably, the aircraft was also used during the 2019 Balakot airstrike against terrorist camps in Pakistan. During the operation, one MiG 21 was downed, leading to the capture of Wing Commander Abhinadnan. The present Air Force Chief of Air Staff, AP Singh, also flew the MiG 21 aircraft recently. 4Continued on | P8 Seeks implementation of OBC quota similar to CG Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh government has opposed the separation of OBC reservation of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh during hearing in the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The government further said that SC had provided relief to CG for implementation of 58 per cent OBC reservation and it is expected the same for Madhya Pradesh to clear way for recruitment. The petitioners said that cases in both the states are different. In Chhattisgarh there is 58 per cent OBC reservation while in Madhya Pradesh an act for 27 per cent OBC reservation (previously 14 per cent), has been passed in 2019 while 13 per cent posts in the gov- ernment are still on hold. In CG, the state government had issued notification for 58 per cent OBC reservation in 2012 but the HC had rejected it saying that reservation cannot exceed the 50 per cent mark. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta presented the government's side in the court and said that Madhya Pradesh government wants to continue the recruitment process under 27 per cent OBC reservation. Citing the reservation model implemented in Chhattisgarh, he advocated its implementation in Madhya Pradesh as well. Senior advocate Rameshwar Thakur, who appeared from the petitioners’ side said, ‘The results of selected OBC candidates have been kept on hold for many years. Due to this, no government recruitment is being completed in Madhya Pradesh, which is causing hindrance in government work. The court has directed the government to clarify the situation through an affidavit.’