FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 175 | INDORE | MONDAY | DECEMBER 1, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Nation Delhi MCD Bypolls: Voting smooth P.7 fp Briefs NEW DELHI Terror module busted, 3 held The Delhi Police's Special Cell has busted a Pakistan-backed international and interstate terror module allegedly operated by gangster-turned-terrorist Shahzad Bhatti, leading to the arrest of three key operatives involved in the grenade attack outside City Police Station in Punjab's Gurdaspur, on November 25. DANTEWADA 37 Naxalites surrender Thirty-seven Naxalites, 27 of them collectively carrying a reward of Rs 65 lakh, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday, police said. The cadres, including 12 women, turned themselves in before senior police and CRPF officials here as part of the "Poona Margem" (from rehabilitation to social reintegration) initiative, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said. All of them carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh each, the official said. 13 B’deshi fishers held Thirteen fishermen from Bangladesh were taken into custody by the marine police in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Sunday. The fishermen reached Musavanipeta of Etcherla mandal of the district after they were stranded at sea and ran out of fuel and food in the boat.According to the marine police, the boat reportedly drifted towards the West Bengal and Odisha coasts and later reached the Srikakulam coast. EDITIONS: INDORE WORLD UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK Agencies GONE IN GOA The Election Commission on Sunday extended by one week the entire schedule of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in nine states and three Union Territories amid allegations by opposition parties that "tight timelines" were creating problems for people and groundlevel poll officials. In a statement, the poll authority said the enumeration form distribution will now continue till December 11 instead of December 4. The draft electoral rolls will now be published on December 16 in place of December 9, while the final voters' list will be out on February 14, 2026 in place of February 7. Officials said the commission took the decision to extend the timeline for all phases of the SIR based on internal discussions with chief electoral officers of states and UTs where the exercise is underway. Alleging that at least 40 deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) during the SIR, largely Panaji: As many as 90,000 electors in Goa have either been found absent, shifted, deceased or possessing duplicate voter cards in the ongoing SIR, a senior official said on Sunday. ‘STRESS’ TOLL by suicides due to "stress of meeting tight deadlines", the opposition parties have questioned the timing of the voters' list revision. The EC has junked these charges, saying the exercise is going on smoothly. Reacting to the EC's decision to revise the SIR schedule, Congress leader Pramod Tiwari said it was an indication that the poll panel knew the timelines were not "practical". The decision to tweak the SIR schedule comes on the eve of the Winter Session of Parliament beginning Monday. The last session was a virtual washout over demands by the opposition for a debate on the SIR, then being held in Bihar. The EC had announced SIR in these states and UTs on October 27. Nearly 51 crore electors will be covered in the massive voters' list cleanup exercise. The states and Union Territories are: the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026. In Assam, where also polls are due in 2026, the revision of electoral rolls was announced separately. It is being called 'Special Revision'. 4Continued on | P8 E-paper Brand Sutra Digital Devotion P.12 EC extends SIR deadline NEW DELHI MUMBAI Edit Temporary truce in K’taka P.6 CLEANUP DRIVE | Distribution of enumeration forms will continue till Dec 11 and final voters’ list to be out on Feb 14 Jaipur: Anuj Garg, a 42year-old BLO, collapsed at home while uploading voter data and died late Saturday night, police said on Sunday. His family said he had been working under extreme pressure. At Baheri village of UP's Moradabad, BLO Sarvesh Singh, 46, hanged himself in his home because of work pressure, police said. TARDY WORK Ballia: District authorities have initiated action against 28 BLOs in UP's Bairia tehsil for completing less than 25% of their assigned work, SDM Alok Pratap Singh said. ALL-PARTY MEET SIGNALS HEATED WINTER SESSION Agencies NEW DELHI n While the Centre seeks Agencies India beat South Africa India sail past South Africa in a closely-fought encounter to grab a 17-run victory in the first ODI at Ranchi, take 1-0 lead in 3-match series on Sunday. Virat Kolhi celebrates after hitting his 52nd ODI ton. He scored 135 off 120 balls. 4 killed as SUVs collide head-on Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Four men died and two were seriously injured in a head-on collision between two SUVs under Berasia police limits late Saturday night. The victims were returning to Sheopur after attending a religious gathering addressed by Maulana Mahmood Madni in Bhopal. Police said five people were travelling in an SUV when a speeding vehicle from the opposite direction rammed them. The impact completely mangled the front portion of the SUV. Four occupants died on the spot, while the injured were rushed to a nearby hospital. The deceased were identified as Maulana Anees Sahab, Khalid, Sajid, and Naved, all residents of Sheopur district. Netanyahu seeks pardon in corruption trial SET FOR FIREWORKS The Winter Session of Parliacooperation for smooth ment begins on Monday under conduct of proceedings, the shadow of SIR with several the Opposition is firm in parties uniting against it and its demand for discussions threatening to stall proceedon SIR, Delhi blast and forings in both Houses if a diseign policy concerns cussion on it is not allowed. n The short session of 15 At an all-party meeting consittings instead of the vened by the Centre to seek usual 20 will see tabling the Opposition's support for of 14 Bills smooth functioning of Parliament, several parties raised n The key leagislations the demand for a discussion on include Atomic Energy SIR of electoral Bill, 2025, Higher Educarolls together with tion Commission of India issues of national Bill, 2025 and Jan Vishsecurity in the was (Amendment of wake of the Delhi blast and air pol- Scan & Watch Provisions) Bill, 2025 lution in the national capital. ting on bills passed by state Issues like foreign policy, legislatures and funds of Opprice rise, unemployment, new position-ruled states being held labour codes and federalism 4Continued on | P8 amid charges that governors sit- INDORE National Herald matter is a "completely bogus case" and justice will ultimately triumph. Terming the Congress' allegations "baseless", senior BJP leader and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said PM Narendra Modi was not at the helm at the Centre when a private complaint was filed in the matter against the Congress leaders. "The matter dates back to 2008," he told reporters. 4Continued on | P8 This is politics of vendetta... We never bowed down earlier, neither will we bow down now nor in the future. Pramod Tiwari Congress leader This is a clear case of loot. You will commit loot... and then you will allege that you are being implicated. Ravi Shankar Prasad BJP leader A fun outing on a new bike ended in tragedy when a 16year-old boy, a student of Class 8, died after his neck was slashed by Chinese manjha (kite string) on Sunday afternoon on the Bypass road. The victim Gulshan was returning from an outing at Ralamandal with his cousin and two friends when the deadly sharp string got entangled around his neck at Nemawar Bridge around 1 pm. Police recovered a piece of Chinese string from the spot. Tejaji Nagar police station in-charge Devendra Markram said that preliminary investigation suggested that one end of the Chinese string might have CM’s SON TIES KNOT IN MASS WEDDING TEL AVIV Rafaqat Gauri, alias King, the lone survivor from their vehicle, is receiving treatment at a Berasia hospital. 4Continued on | P8 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday asked the country's president to grant him a pardon from corruption charges - seeking to end a long-running trial that has bitterly divided the nation. Netanyahu, who has been at war against the country's legal system over the charges, said the request would help unify the country at a time of momentous changes in the region. But it immediately triggered denunciations from his opponents, who said it would weaken Israel's democratic institutions and send a dangerous message that he is above the rule of law. See world CM Mohan Yadav’s younger son, Dr Abhimanyu, tied the knot during a mass marriage ceremony in Ujjain on Sunday. Yoga guru Swami Ramdev conducted marriage rites of 21 couples. Pt Dhirendra Shastri of Bageshwar Dham urged wider adoption of mass marriages. The ceremony was attended by Governor Mangubhai Patel, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot, union ministers Jyotiraditya Scindia and Durga Das Uikey, Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar, MPs, MLAs and BJP leaders. See pg4 H-1B visa row ‘US gained big from talented Indians’ Agencies Elon Musk has said that the US has “benefitted immensely from talented Indians" who have moved to the country. The tech billionaire made the remarks during the latest episode of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s podcast, “WTF is", released on Sunday. He also said some of America's so-called anti-im- migration policies were triggered by the "misuse" of H1B visa programme and the previous government's "freefor-all" approach. His remarks come even as for thousands of Indians, the American dream of worldclass education, lucrative careers, better quality of life and social mobility is turning sour due to rising US visa restrictions and policy unpredictability, media reports said. The Tesla CEO added that such policies had encouraged illegal immigration and created what he called “a diffusion gradient" of people coming to the US, partly driven by financial incentives and government bene- fits. Talking about the perception of some Americans that somehow their jobs are being taken away by people from other countries, he said, "I don't know how real that is. My direct observation is that there's always a scarcity of talented people. So you know, from my standpoint, I'm like we have a lot of difficulty finding enough talented people to get these difficult tasks done and so more talented people would be good." Musk, who owns Tesla, SpaceX, X and XAI, also said that at his companies, the focus is on trying "to get the most talented people in the world". Musk advised Indian entrepreneurs to "be a bully", adding that anyone who aims to make more than they can take has his respect. 4Continued on | P8 Our Staff Reporter The five-day winter session of State Assembly will begin on Monday and end on December 5. On Sunday, Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar visited Vidhan Sabha and viewed the arrangements. The session will not be held on December 3 because of Bhopal Gas Tragedy anniversary. After the notification was issued, the Assembly secretariat received 746-unstarred questions, 751-starred questions, 194-call-attention motions, 6adjournment motions, 14-private member's resolutions, 52-zero hour notices, 2-Rule 129 mentions, 15-petitions and 2-government bills. Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar visits Vidhan Sabha on Sunday ahead of winter session Sikh couple comes to the rescue As Gulshan sustained a severe cut and blood began oozing from his body, the others panicked. A Sikh couple, who were going to Punjab, came to their rescue, stopping their car and helping them. They rushed Gulshan to a nearby hospital, from where they took him to MY Hospital. Despite their efforts, the bleeding was too severe, and he could not be saved. been stuck in something while its other end was snagged by a moving vehicle making it tight and the biker might have hit it due to the motion. See pg 3 4Continued on | P8 PM: Police image needs overhaul RAIPUR: PM Narendra Modi on Sunday stressed the urgent need to transform public perception of the police, particularly among the youth, by enhancing professionalism, sensitivity, and responsiveness. Addressing the 60th All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of Police, Modi also stressed on the importance of establishing mechanisms for the regular monitoring of banned outfits, ensuring the holistic development of areas freed from Left Wing Extremism, and adopting innovative models to strengthen coastal security. The PM directed police forces of states and UTs to adopt innovative strategies for integrating uninhabited islands, make effective use of databases under NATGRID, See Nation 11 dead, 20 hurt as 2 buses collide N Chithra CHENNAI MUMBAI Speaker views arrangements Chinese manjha kills Class 8 boy Our Staff Reporter NEW DELHI The BJP on Sunday dismissed as "baseless" the Congress' allegation of "vendetta politics" against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, and asked the Congress leaders to give an account of the "loot" they allegedly committed instead of giving speeches. With Delhi Police filing an FIR against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the National Herald case, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the "ModiShah duo" is continuing with its "mischievous politics of harassment, intimidation, and vendetta" against the party's top leadership. Condemning the action, the opposition party also said the Assembly winter session from today BHOPAL Fresh National Herald FIR stokes BJP-Cong slugfest A320 fleet gets software fix VISAKHAPATNAM iii QUALITY @ VALUE Trump ignites fireworks over Venezuela airspace NEW DELHI Aviation regulator DGCA on Sunday said Indian carriers have completed the software upgrades on 323 operational A320 family planes to address a potential issue related to flight controls. On Friday, Airbus said intense solar radiation might corrupt data critical to flight controls in a significant number of A320 family aircraft and that the software changes required to fix the issue would lead to operational disruptions. ESTD-1983 At least 10 passengers and a bus driver were killed in an accident involving two buses of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation in Sivaganga district on Sunday evening. Police said 20 passengers were injured, some of them severely. The victimes included eight women and a child. It is feared the toll could go up. According to reports reaching Chennai, a Devakottaibound bus from Karaikudi and another bus proceeding from Devakottai to Dindigul collided head-on near Nachiyarpuram in Sivaganga. “At least 11 persons have died so far. The injured have been rushed to government hospitals in Karaikudi, Tiruapathur and Sivaganga,” a police officer said. Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes immediately after the collision, with passengers crying for help, shattered glass scattered across the road, and locals breaking the bus doors to rescue those trapped inside. Expressing shock over the casualties, Chief Minister MK Stalin said he had asked local minsiter KR Periyakaruppan to rush to the aid of those injured and the families of the deceased.