FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 86 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | SEPTEMBER 9, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports GILL 77 | Kaka, Kohli & Kohinoor Shots — the making of India’s youngest Test captain P.15 Modi to be in MP for second time on his birthday Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in MP on his birthday for the second time. On September 17, Modi will be at Bhainsola village in Dhar district to launch the ‘Swasthya Nari Sashakta Pariwar (Strong Woman, Strong Family)’ campaign. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav held a meeting with the officials on Monday to discuss the preparations for the Prime Minister’s arrival. Modi will also lay the foundation of PM Mitra Park in Dhar. In 2022, Modi was in MP on his birthday to release cheetahs in Kuno National Park, Sheopur district. Yadav said that over three lakh people would get jobs in PM Mitra Park and that he was gearing up for giving a rousing reception to the Prime Minister. fp Briefs NEW DELHI Medha Patkar withdraws plea The Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar on Monday withdrew a plea from the Supreme Court against an order refusing her to examine more witnesses in a 25-year old defamation case she filed against Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. NEW DELHI Accept Aadhaar as valid ID: SC The Supreme Court on Monday directed that Aadhaar card "must" be included as an identity proof of voters in the special intensive revision exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar and asked the Election Commission to implement the direction by September 9. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government on Monday transferred 18 DIGrank officers across eight ranges and two SP-rank officers. AIG Mayank Awasthi and Rajiv Kumar Mishra have been posted as Superintendents of Police (SP) of Dhar iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Shooting attack at Jerusalem bus stop kills 6, injures 12 UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande win big P.16 19 KILLED IN NEPAL AS GEN Z PROTESTS SOCIAL MEDIA BAN Home Minister Lekhak resigns PTI KATHMANDU At least 19 people were killed and more than 300 others injured on Monday after police used force during protests by youths that rocked the Nepalese capital and other parts of the country over the government's ban on social media sites, officials said. Thousands of youths, including school students, under the banner of Gen Z, converged in front of the Parliament in the heart of Kathmandu and shouted antigovernment slogans demanding immediate revocation of the ban. The protests spread to Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Itahari and Damak. Nepal Police spokesperson Binod Ghimire said 17 people were killed in clashes in various parts of Kathmandu during the rally, and two protesters died in Sunsari district of eastern Nepal in police firing. Home Minister Ramesh Security tightened in UP’s border dists Security has been stepped up in several districts of Uttar Pradesh that share their borders with Nepal following violent youth-led protests in the Himalayan nation over the ban on social media platforms, officials said on Monday. In Balrampur, Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar said security has been tightened along the border and intelligence agencies instructed to maintain strict surveillance Lekhak, who represents the Nepali Congress party in the coalition government led by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli, has resigned on moral grounds, the Nepali Congress sources said. The Nepali Army was deployed in the capital after the situation intensified during the protest. The army personnel have taken control of the roads surrounding the parliament complex in New Baneshwor. The demonstration turned violent when some protesters entered the Parliament complex, prompting police to use Stone pelting on Ganesh idol sparks tension in Bhopal Protest erupts in DIG Bungalow area, police deployment stepped up, probe underway Idol damaged in stone pelting Ganesh Utsav Samiti president Charan Singh Kushwaha told Free Press that the immersion procession started from Nishatpura, when it neared the Arif Nagar metro construction site, four to five unidentified people hurled stones in the dark. The attack damaged the idol, breaking its hand, as the procession moved towards the DIG bungalow. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Tension gripped in DIG Bungalow area under Gautam Nagar police jurisdiction on Monday night after unidentified miscreants hurled stones at Lord Ganesh idol immersion procession, partially damaging the idol. The incident triggered protests by members of the Hindu community, who staged a road blockade, demanding immediate arrest of culprits and strict action. The incident took place near Arif Nagar. Eyewitnesses said that Ganesh Visarjan pro- cession was passing through the Arif Nagar towards DIG Bungalow square when stones were suddenly thrown by un- and Ashoknagar districts, respectively. Transfers of DIG-rank officers had been on the cards for a long time. Among those transferred, five DIG-rank officers were serving on the posts of SPs. DIG Chattarpur Lalit Shakyawar has been shifted as DIG at PHQ; DIG Balaghat range Mukesh Kumar Shrivastava as DIG at MP Human Rights Commission; DIG Sagar Sunil Kumar Pandey as DIG Bhopal; DIG Bhopal rural Omprakash Tripathi as DIG SAF central zone  Bhopal. 4Continued on | P8 5 IPS officers of 2010 batch get DIG postings F ive out of six IPS officers of the 2010 batch, who were promoted to DIG rank earlier this year, have now received new postings. At the end of last year, five IPS officers of the 2010 batch were elevated from SP to DIG rank.  They included Vijay Khatri SSP Radio Bhopal, Manoj Kumar Singh SP Dhar, Vineet Kumar Jain SP 4Continued on | P8 Protestors clash with the riot police outside the Parliament building in Kathmandu, Nepal, Monday Khade is Indore Comm, Verma Collector, Saxena CPR & Singh Ujjain comm Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Indian youth shot dead in US for objecting to public urination A 26-year-old man from a village in Haryana's Jind district was shot dead in California in the US allegedly by a local when he tried to stop him from urinating on the road outside the store where he worked, according to his family. The head of Barah Kalan village in Jind, Suresh Kumar Gautam, said on Monday that the youth, Kapil, from his vil- The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to pay compensation of Rs 25 lakh to a rape convict who continued in jail for over 4.5 years despite serving his seven-year sentence.  The bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan passed the order while hearing the case of Sohan Singh against the MP government.  Initially, when the notice was issued to the state government, the apex court noted that Singh had spent eight extra years in jail. However, Senior Advocate and Additional Advocate General for MP, Nachiketa Joshi, stated in court that while serving his sentence, the convict was also on bail for a period. The SC thus granted com- pensation considering the 4.7 years of extra confinement suffered by the convict. It also questioned the state's counsel for filing “misleading” affidavits in this matter.  The petitioner was convicted in 2004 by a sessions court in Madhya Pradesh for an offence punishable under Section 376(1) (rape) and 450 (house trespass) of the then IPC and was sentenced to The stage is set for a direct contest between ruling NDA nominee C P Radhakrishnan and joint opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy for Tuesday's vice-presidential election, with the BJP-led alliance having a clear edge in the poll necessitated due to the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar. Members of both Houses of Parliament will cast their votes in the Parliament House between 10 AM and 5 PM on Tuesday. Counting votes will begin at 6 PM, and the results will be announced late evening. Members of Parliament are not bound by party whips to vote in the vice presidential election, which takes place under a secret ballot system. The BJP-led NDA and the Congress-led opposition Forest dept’s notice to edu institution over tiger scare known persons, creating panic and outrage. PTI PTI NEW DELH Centre 59, Everest 102, KMC 37, Bir Hospital six, Patan Hospital four, Tribhuvan Teaching 18, Norvic three, BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences two, Gandaki Medical College one, Birat Medical College four, and Damak Hospital seven. The Himalayan Times newspaper said that hospitals, including Civil Hospital and Trauma Centre, are struggling to accommodate patients and have begun referring them to other facilities. The forest department has issued a notice to a higher education institution located near a tiger movement corridor in Bhopal, following recent sightings of a big cat in the vicinity. The notice directs the institution to take immediate steps to enhance campus security by constructing a 14-foot boundary wall and removing dense shrubbery from around the area. District Forest Officer (DFO) Lokpriya Bharti said the institution lies within an active tiger movement zone, making it responsible for ensuring safety of students, teachers and their families residing on campus. He said that while the forest department is cooperating fully, the onus lies on the CHANDIGARH Radhakrishnan vs Sudershan in today’s V-P poll water cannons, tear gas, and live rounds to disperse crowds, eyewitnesses said. Citing hospital officials, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported that eight people died at the National Trauma Centre, three at Everest Hospital, three at Civil Hospital, two at Kathmandu Medical College, and one at Tribhuvan Teaching Hospital. Citing the Ministry of Health, the paper said that hospitals across the country are treating at least 347 injured protesters Civil Hospital 100, Trauma lage, who had gone to the US nearly three years ago, was murdered on Saturday. "Kapil was shot dead by a resident when he tried to stop him from urinating in public," the village head said over the phone, quoting the victim's family. He said Kapil worked in the store's security in the US. "While Kapil was on duty, he saw a man urinating on the road outside the store where he worked and objected to it. 4Continued on | P8 ‘Pay Rs 25L to convict for extra 4.5 yrs in jail’ Our Staff Reporter E-paper Edit Seat sharing for INDIA in Bihar P.6 SC orders MP govt BHOPAL MUMBAI STIR TURNS VIOLENT | Thousands of youths converge in front of Parliament in Kathmandu, shout anti-govt slogans demanding immediate revocation of ban Govt reshuffles 8 DIGs, 2 SPs 20 IPS officers transferred; Awasthi posted as SP Dhar, Mishra as SP Ashoknagar ESTD-1983 life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 2,000. In 2007, the MP High Court partly allowed his appeal, reducing his sentence to seven years. However, it was only in June this year that the petitioner was released from jail, after allegedly spending an additional more than eight years in jail. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 14 IAS officers transferred, Collectors of 5 districts changed Our Staff Reporter ‘Trade must be fair & transparent’ NEW DELHI: The world is seeking a stable and predictable environment for trade and investment and economic practices should be fair, transparent and to everyone's benefit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, amid increasing global concerns over Washington's tariff tussle. In an address at a virtual BRICS summit, the external affairs minister said India strongly believes that the foundational principles such as open, fair, transparent and non-discriminatory approach of the international trading system must be protected. Jaishankar represented Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit that saw participation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and several other leaders of the grouping. grouping held separate meetings with their respective MPs on poll eve to sensitise them about the election process and also held mock polls. The MPs will be handed out ballot papers containing the names of the two contesting candidates and will have to mark their preference by writing the figure '1' opposite the name of the candidate of their choice. 4Continued on | P8 BRS, BJD to abstain BRS Working President K T Rama Rao on Monday said his party would abstain from the Vice Presidential election on September 9 as an expression of "anguish" felt by Telangana's farmers due to the shortage of urea in the state. Similarly, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), headed by former chief minister Naveen Patnaik, said it took the decision as part of its policy of "maintaining an equal distance" from both the BJP-led NDA and Congress-led INDIA bloc at the national level 16 SAS officers elevated to IAS cadre Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Indore Commissioner Sudam Khade and collector Shivam Verma (R) BHOPAL State government, late on Monday night transferred 14 IAS officers, including collectors of five districts. Public Relations Department commissioner Sudam Khade has been posted as Indore commissioner, while Indore Collector Asheesh Singh has been shifted to Ujjain as Commissioner and officer in-charge of Simhastha Mela. Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Shivam Verma will take over as Indore Collector. Katni Collector Dilip Kumar Yadav will take Verma’s place as IMC Commissioner and Additional Managing Director of Indore Metro Rail Company. Jabalpur Collector Deepak Saxena has been appointed as Public Relations Commissioner and Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Madhyam. Agar Malwa Collector Raghvendra CONTEST IN NUMBERS Electoral college: 781 MPs (238 from Rajya Sabha and 542 from Lok Sabha) Majority mark: 391 NDA: 436 INDIA bloc: 324 Public Relations Commissioner Deepak Saxena & Ujjain commissioner Asheesh Singh Govt’s displeasure with Deepak Singh Government’s displeasure with Indore Commissioner Deepak Singh is clearly evident. Singh has been posted as Secretary, State Election Commission — considered a sidelined position. Sources say the government was unhappy with Singh due to certain matters. Singh has been shifted to Jabalpur in same capacity. 4Continued on | P8 Sixteen officers of the state administrative services have been elevated to the IAS cadre. The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) issued a notification on Monday, promoting the officers, who were allotted 2023 and 2024 batches. The elevation of some officers was stopped because of inquiry. Because they had been given a clean chit after the inquiry, they were elevated. NP Namdev, Kailash Bundela, Nanda Bhalave Kushre, Anil Kumar Damor, Savita Jhania, Sarika Bhuria, Kamal Solanki and Jitendra Singh Chouhan got the 2023 batch. Santosh Kumar Tagore, Nisha Damar, Rakesh Kushre, Shaili Kanesh, Rohan Saxena, Kavita Bhatia, Sapna Jain and Ashish Kumar Pathak were allotted the 2024 batch. Some of the officers had to wait for promotion for a long time, which had an adverse impact on their seniority. All these officers are still on their present position. Zelenskyy backs US tariffs on countries over Russian ties PTI NEW YORK/WASHINGTON Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it is "right idea" to impose tariffs on the countries making deals with Russia without naming India. "I think the idea to put tariffs on the countries who continue to make deals with Russia.. I think this is right idea," Zelenskyy said in an interview aired on ABC News' "This Week" on Sunday. Zelenskyy was asked if he thinks that plan to put sanctions backfired when he saw pictures of Indian Prime Minister Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin. US President Donald Trump has doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". Zelenskyy had dialled PM Modi on August 30 two-days ahead of Modi's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin. He conveyed his readiness for a meeting with the top leadership of Russia and added that the end of the war must begin with an immediate ceasefire.