FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 166 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | NOVEMBER 28, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Don’t blame Gambhir players must deliver P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Nuclear power sector to open for pvt players soon PTI Skyroot’s orbital rocket unveiled Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India's tightly controlled nuclear power sector will soon be opened for private players, a move that will give new strength to the country's energy security. The prime minister made the remarks during a function to inaugurate Skyroot Aerospace's Infinity campus here. "We are moving towards opening the nuclear sector as well. We are laying the foundation for a strong role for the private sector in this field too," Modi said in his address through video conferencing. The government has set a target of generating 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047, a more than 10-fold increase from the fp Briefs BHOPAL New childcare leave rule PM Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled space startup Skyroot's first orbital rocket and praised Gen Z professionals for creating new technologies. The PM virtually inaugurated Skyroot's Infinity Campus here. The company's orbital rocket Vikram-I has the capability to launch satellites to orbit. Modi said today, Gen Z engineers, Gen Z designers, Gen Z coders and Gen Z scientists are creating new technologies. In his address, the PM highlighted the government's 'historic' space reforms and said that opening up the space sector to private players has resulted in Skyroot and others coming up with such innovations current capacity of 8.8 GW of atomic energy generation. "This will create opportunities in small modular reactors, advanced reactors and nuclear innovation. This reform will give new strength to our energy security and technological leadership," Modi said. The government has listed The Atomic Energy Bill, 2025 for introduction during the Winter session of Parliament beginning December 1. The Bill seeks to open up the nuclear power sector for private sector participation. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting the General Budget in February this year, had also announced plans to amend the nuclear lia- bility law. The Atomic Energy Act, 1962 prohibits the participation of the private sector or even state governments in the nuclear sector. Under this law, the power to operate nuclear power plants is vested in the central government and companies or corporations established by it. RAIPUR/BIJAPUR Maoists’ memorials razed In a major blow to Maoist propaganda machinery, Basaguda police station, along with security forces, on Thursday demolished four Naxalite memorials constructed deep inside the forests of Bijapur district. NEW DELHI India, UAE discuss FTA India and the UAE have discussed issues related to market access, data sharing, allocation of gold import quota, and anti-dumping matters, services to boost economic ties, the commerce ministry said on Thursday.These issues were discussed during a meeting of the Joint Committee under the India-UAE CEPA. INDORE NASHIK If reply to notice is not satisfactory, govt will act: Shukla COMMENTS ON BRAHMIN GIRLS Our Staff Reporter Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla has also plunged into action against the AJAKS president and IAS officer Santosh Verma’s statement on the Social media content guidelines in final stage: Centre tells SC IANS NEW DELHI The Centre on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is in the final stages of preparing a regulatory framework to address explicit and harmful content on social media platforms. Seeking an additional four weeks, the Union government apprised a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the proposed guidelines would soon be placed in the public domain to invite suggestions from citizens, experts, and other stakeholders. Brahmin girls. Shukla wrote a post on so- cial media that the IAS officer’s comments were highly objec- Two cops injured in attack by villagers Villagers say they mistook policemen for kidnappers CM sends Gaur to VIT, campus looks deserted FP News Service Police register cases against management and students GUNA A 50-year-old woman farmer died after waiting in line for two consecutive days at a fertiliser distribution centre in Guna district. The tribal woman identified as Bhuriya Bai from Kushepur village reached Bageri distribution centre on Tuesday to purchase urea. When she failed to get it, she returned to the queue on Wednesday only to be left waiting again. With no certainty of her return and bitter cold settling in, she stayed outside the centre overnight. Later at night, her health deteriorated sharply; she began vomiting and collapsed. Her family called for an ambulance, but none arrived. A farmer eventually rushed her to a health centre in his private vehicle. Doctors referred her to the district hospital, but she died after reaching there. 4Continued on | P8 Two policemen sustained injuries when a group of people attacked cops with the sticks and rods in Abhaypur village under Khilchipur police station on Thursday when they went there to arrest a wanted criminal. The villagers tore the clothes of the policemen and damaged a vehicle. According to reports, the policemen from Pachore police station went to Abhaypur in civil dress and in a private vehicle to arrest the criminal. The cops almost took the criminal into their custody, but some people suddenly attacked them. The villagers said that since the policemen were in civil dress, they mistook the cops for kidnappers. They also said some people had kidnapped a youth from the village. 4Continued on | P8 Minorities targeted during Ram temple donation drive: Diggy HC reserves verdict on PIL Our Staff Reporter INDORE Former chief minister Digvijaya Singh appeared before Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court in connection with a PIL related to alleged irregularities and violence during the donation drive for Ram Temple construction. Singh alleged that minorities were attacked by some outfits in the name of donations for construction of Ram temple. Before the hearing began, Singh raised objections over the misuse of live-streaming in this case and urged the court to stop it. The court accepted his request and immediately discontinued the live-stream. tionable, insensitive, and divisive. Such comments against the girls of a particular community show the sick mentality of the person, Shukla wrote. According to Shukla, such remarks coming from a person holding an important position only affect the decency of the post. 4Continued on | P8 B’desh court sentences Hasina to 21 yrs in jail in corruption cases PTI FP News Service Singh’s appearance came in compliance with the court’s earlier direction issued during the November 10 hearing, when advocate Ravindra Chhabra informed the bench that Singh wished to personally present certain facts. The court had then asked him to appear on November 27. 4Continued on | P8 A Bangladesh court on Thursday sente n c e d deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in jail in three corruption cases related to irregularities in allocations of land in a government housing project. Judge Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun of Dhaka Special Judge Court-5 sentenced 78-year-old former premier to seven years each in three cases of corruption in the Rajuk New Town Project in Purbachal, totalling 21 years. The judge said Hasina would serve them consecutively. The judge also fined Hasina Taka one lakh in each case, or 18 months more in prison if she failed to submit the amount. Judge Mamun also sentenced Hasina's son Sajib Wajed Joy and daughter Saima Wazed Putul to five years imprisonment each in the cases filed against them in the housing project near the capital. Joy and Putul were fined Taka one lakh each, or one month more in case of default. offgrid Woman traced to B’desh 20 yrs after going missing IANS KOLKATA A woman from Madhya Pradesh, presumed missing at the Gangasagar Mela in West Bengal nearly 20 years ago, has been traced to Bangladesh. Efforts are now underway to bring her back to India and reunite her with her family. This miracle was made possible by amateur radio operators of the West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC), who are constantly engaged in reuniting missing people with their families by using their wide network. "Our contacts in Bangladesh informed us about this woman named Radhika, aged around 70, who was found begging on the streets. When asked about the name of her husband, she remained quiet. The only word she uttered was ‘Sagar’. The first thing that we did was check if anybody of that description had gone missing from Sagar Island in the southernmost tip of West Bengal. We extended our search after confirming that she is not from the island," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, WBRC. The HAMs then started checking places in India named Sagar. That is when they got information about a woman from Khajra village in the Sagar district of Madhya Pradesh, who went missing during her pilgrimage to Gangasagar. E-paper Waiting in queue for 2 days to get fertiliser, tribal woman dies DHAKA RAJGARH MUMBAI Cinema ‘Main ab TV serials nahi karungi’ P.14 Dy CM calls IAS officer man of sick mentality BHOPAL The state government is going to implement the new leave rules from January 2026. The 48-year-old leave rule is being followed in the state. The cabinet has recently approved new leave rules, which will be implemented from the New Year. The government has issued a notification of the new leave rules. Pg2 PUNE Edit What matters is merit not faith P.6 2 National Guards shot at by Af man near White House MEGA N-SHIFT | PM Modi says the move will give new strength to the country's energy security HYDERABAD UJJAIN "The woman had travelled to Gangasagar with a team of pilgrims. She got lost somehow and joined another group of pilgrims from Bangladesh. In those days, pilgrims from Bangladesh would clandestinely travel to Sagar Island by trawlers. Radhika seemed to have got into one of those trawlers and reached Bangladesh. Unable to fend for herself, she took to begging," Nag Biswas said. FP News Service BHOPAL/ASHTA/SEHORE Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has instructed the in-charge minister of Sehore, Krishna Gaur, to visit the campus of the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) on the Indore-Bhopal highway, which witnessed a rumpus on Tuesday night, but it wore a deserted look on Thursday. The students went on the rampage and torched vehicles parked on the institute premises to protest over the illness of over 32 students caused by contaminated water. They also clashed with the security ABVP raises slogans, gives memo to Gaur Teacher’s death is not related to violence: VIT The members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) raised slogans against the management of VIT college and submitted a memorandum the Sehore in charge minister Krishna Gaur, demanding stern action against those who beat up students. The management of VIT said that the death of a 43year-old teacher of the institute, Sangram Kesri, was not related to the incidents of violence on the college campus. Dean Suresh M said that he had died in his rented house. The death has nothing to do with the violence, he said. guards. In a tweet on Thursday, Yadav directed Gaur to in- teract with the students and the university management and settle the issue so that such incidents should not take place in the future. No room on trains, buses Nearly 12,000 students of VIT left for their homes. As a result, the Sehore railway station witnessed a crowd of students, and there was no room on trains and buses. Woman receives rape, death threats over hijab reels Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Hijab-clad Instagram reels posted by a Muslim woman in Bhopal have sparked a wave of rape threats, death threats and abusive harassment, prompting Police Commissioner Harinarayanchari Mishra to order a Crime Branch investigation. Yasmeen (30), originally from Murwas in Vidisha and currently residing in Bhopal’s Huzur area with her husband, a BHEL employee, told police she was targeted by several men, including some relatives, simply for posting personal reels and replying to obscene comments on Instagram. According to her, harassment intensified after she uploaded a video addressing vulgar remarks. She alleged that a man named Farooq from Vidisha contacted her via Instagram call and threatened to rape and kill her. Yasmeen said the group abused her, accused her of “supporting Hindus” and used communal slurs while intimidating her. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 HC halts tree felling across state Directs govt to frame first transplantation policy Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Madhya Pradesh High Court has imposed a statewide halt on cutting, pruning or transplanting trees without prior approval from the committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the designated Tree Officer. The order, issued on Thursday after a hearing on Wednesday, comes amid petitions alleging largescale tree felling for development projects in Bhopal, Sagar and other districts. The court made it clear that no tree of any kind may be cut anywhere in the state until further orders, unless proper permissions are obtained. Senior officials from Gati Shakti, Railways, Bhopal Municipal Corporation, Forest Department, and Vidhan Sabha appeared during Wednesday’s hearing. The state government admitted irregularities and ac- Mandate for 5 yrs: Sidda hits back at DKS’ ‘word’ dig knowledged that Madhya Pradesh currently has no official tree-transplantation policy. The High Court directed the government to formulate the state’s first such policy immediately. Photographs submitted by the state showing transplanted trees were deemed “far from reality,” with poor survival rates. The court also sought full disclosure from all concerned departments, requiring them to report the number of trees already cut, those proposed for cutting or transplantation, locations planned for transplantation, plans to restore green cover and details of the age, size and type of trees proposed for replantation. The matter will be heard again on December 17, 2025, with compliance reports due before the next hearing. 4Continued on | P8 NEPAL CURRENCY ROW ‘Enlargement of territorial claims untenable’ Online Report NEW DELHI PTI BENGALURU The tug-of-war between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar over the CM post turned into a war of words on Thursday as the two faced off over keeping up a promise. Amid intensifying power tussle, Shivakumar insisted that "word power is world power," prompting a witty repartee from Siddaramaiah who said, "A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people." While Siddaramaiah is asserting that he would complete five years term, Shivakumar wants to replace him to hold the coveted post as the Congress government completed half of its five years term on November 20. "The mandate given by the people of Karnataka is not a moment, but a responsibility that lasts five full years," the Chief Minister made it clear in a post on 'X'. Shivakumar on Thursday wrote on social media, "keeping one's word is the greatest strength in the world! Word power is world power." In the same post, he added, "The biggest force in the world was to keep one's word." "Be a judge, president or anyone else including myself, everyone has to walk the talk. Word power is world power," Shivakumar added. The cryptic post is seen as his reminder to the Congress and Siddaramaiah about a rumoured power-sharing agreement between the two in 2023 when both vied for the CM's chair after the party swept the state polls. In his post explaining how he "bettered the world", Siddaramaiah spoke about the five guarantee schemes -Shakti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi, Anna Bhagya and Gruha Jyoti. Nepal unveiled a new 100rupee note on Thursday that features a revised national map, including disputed areas such as Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. These are regions that India maintains are its own. The External Affairs Ministry has denounced Nepal's map and said that it is a 'unilateral act' that "does not change ground reality". The row regarding the map has been ongoing since a year now, and India had cautioned Nepal that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable. The new note bears the signature of previous Governor Maha Prasad Adhikari. The date of issuance of the banknote is 2081 BS, which denotes the previous year, 2024. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal has in the past that the issue is being discussed between the countries, and that the "dialogues between Nepal and India regarding boundary, border areas, are ongoing within that framework".