FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 172 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | DECEMBER 4, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Players’ complaints over ‘Dictatorial’ coaching style force Harendra’s exit P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY Rupee crashes to new depths as US Dollar surge intensifies UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit No Saathi for govt on Sanchar P.6 Cinema Aamir announces Vir Das directorial P.14 ‘Stop forced caesarean delivery in pvt hospitals’ Child crimes soar CM tells officials that staffers of 108 Ambulance Service take patients to private hospitals Our Staff Reporter that staffers of remuneration. The medical stuMerge dist co-op banks to form new bank BHOPAL the 108 Ambudents, whose fees are paid by the Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said there are complaints that the private hospitals are forcing the pregnant women to undergo caesarean delivery, which should be immediately stopped. Yadav issued the directive at a review meeting of the health department on Wednesday. There are also complaints lance service are taking the patients to private hospitals, and officials should act against it, he said, adding that irregularities will not be tolerated. The hospitals, where treatment is not available under Ayushman, should be included in the scheme, and the help of Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said the employees and office-bearers of the Cooperative Department should furnish the details of their properties every year. Yadav made the statement at a meeting with the Cooperative Department. If there is any report of shortage or rip-off, the money should be recovered by auctioning the properties of the guilty, he said and added that a plan should be made to set one big cooperative bank by merging all district cooperative banks, keeping in mind all financial aspects for doing the work. private doctors should be sought to run the community health centres, he said, adding that such doctors will get attractive PRIVACY CONCERNS| Govt says snooping neither possible nor will happen, reverses pre-install directive after Oppn’s pressure CENTRE ROLLS BACK SANCHAR SAATHI ORDER Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Under sustained Opposition pressure and rising public criticism, the Centre on Wednesday withdrew its order mandating the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi safety app on all new smartphones. The reversal came hours after Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told Parliament that “snooping was neither possible nor would take place through the app,” rejecting allegations that the directive was a covert attempt to monitor citizens. In a statement following Scindia’s remarks, the Ministry of Communication defended the original mandate, asserting that the app was introduced “with an intent to provide access to cyber SC defers OBC quota hearing amid state lawyers’ absence Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in Lok Sabha on Wednesday security to all citizens.” It emphasised that Sanchar Saathi was “secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world.” The ministry added that the app promoted jan bhagidari by enabling users to report cyber-fraud attempts while protecting themselves from scamsters. Reiterating that the app had no surveillance functions, the government said users were free to delete it at any time—reflecting Scindia’s clarification a day earlier that the app was optional. However, despite these assurances, the Centre announced on Wednesday that “given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance,” it had decided not to make pre-installation mandatory for mobile manu- Scan & Watch facturers. 4Continued on | P8 OPPN CHARGE: MANDATORY PRE-LOADING VIOLATED PRIVACY AND CONTRADICTED DOT’S OWN DIRECTIVE. 200 IndiGo flights cancelled, flight duty audit blamed Agencies THE APP A government mobile safety app designed to help users report cyberfraud and identify suspicious numbers. ADOPTION STATS 1.4 crore downloads so far 2,000 cyber-fraud reports generated daily 6 lakh registrations in one day after controversy GOVT CLAIMS No snooping capability Users can delete the app anytime Enables public reporting of fraud incidents Restricting talent flow will hurt nations: EAM PTI NEW DELHI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court postponed hearing on 27 per cent OBC reservation to Thursday. It was originally listed for Wednesday, but designated lawyers of the state government and unreserved category were not present, citing other work. They sought more time, but after protest from OBC lawyers, SC fixed the next hearing for December 4. The OBC reservation case has been pending for six years, putting future of selected candidates at stake. In 2019, Madhya Pradesh government amended the law to raise OBC reservation from 14% to 27%. 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs MUMBAI Rupee breaches 90/dollar The rupee breached the 90a-dollar level for the first time to settle at a fresh all-time low of 90.15 on Wednesday, down 19 paise from its previous close, amid sustained foreign fund outflows and higher crude oil prices. Uncertainty over the India-US trade deal, along with the lack of RBI effort to stop the slide in the local unit, put further pressure on the rupee, according to forex traders. IndiGo, India’s largest airline, faced a major operational meltdown for the second consecutive day, with nearly 200 flights cancelled and hundreds more delayed across major airports on Wednesday. The crisis follows a sharp drop in the carrier’s on-time performance, which plunged to 35% on Tuesday, indicating delays in over 1,400 flights. Airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad reported heavy disruption, with passengers stranded for hours. A primary cause is a severe crew and pilot shortage after the rollout of the revised Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) norms last month, which mandate longer rest hours and more humane rosters. IndiGo has been struggling to recalibrate its vast network of over 2,200 daily flights, sources said. 4Continued on | P8 Glitch hits airport check-ins Check-in systems at multiple airports faced disruptions on Wednesday morning due to a technical glitch, delaying several flights, a source said. A message at Varanasi airport attributed the issue to a “Microsoft Windows outage”, but Microsoft denied any such problem. Four airlines — IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa Air and Air India Express — were affected and shifted to manual check-in. Delhi airport said domestic carriers were experiencing “operational challenges” and working to stabilise services. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday cautioned that countries creating excessive roadblocks to the movement of professionals across borders will ultimately be “net losers”, especially as advanced manufacturing increasingly demands highskilled talent. Speaking at a conclave on mobility, Jaishankar’s remarks came amid concerns over the US decision to impose additional fees on H-1B visas under President Donald Trump’s ongoing immigration tightening. Without naming any country, he said India must persuade partners that cross-border talent mobility yields “mutual benefit”. Those driving entrepreneurship and technology, he noted, usually favour mobility, while political constituencies tend to resist it. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid King Kohli silences critics with back-to-back tons IANS NEW DELHI The king is back, and his bat is doing all the talking. In a stunning resurgence that has electrified cricket fans, Virat Kohli, at 37, has smashed back-to-back centuries—135 in Ranchi and 102 in Raipur—against South Africa, sending a thunderous message to his critics and reclaiming his throne with undeniable authority. In an era where every innings is scrutinised, Kohli’s timing has been impeccable. Just weeks after debates swirled over his future in ODI cricket—including whispers about the 2027 World Cup—he has answered with the eloquence of his willow. Crafted with trademark control and burning hunger, these centuries are not just runs; they are a manifesto of his undiminished fire. “Form regained, fitness intact, and motivation burn- ing as brightly as ever,” noted a team insider, reflecting the mood in the camp. Adding grit to grace, Kohli has doubled down by committing to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, likely playing three matches for Delhi in Bengaluru. In a time of managed workloads, this move underscores a work ethic that remains uncompromising and a spirit that refuses to fade. His Raipur century didn’t just light up the scoreboard— it set social media ablaze, with fans and experts alike hailing the return of a champion rewriting his own story. 4Continued on | P8 government, and the doctors who have signed bonds should be asked to serve the MP government, Yadav said. Such doctors should be paid attractive remuneration for serving the people in far-flung places and tribal areas in the state, the Chief Minister said. 4Continued on | P8 `2cr assets of drug company’s director attached Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Enforcement Directorate has attached property worth Rs 2.04 crore belonging to director of Sresan Pharmaceuticals, whose Coldrif syrup led to deaths of more than 20 children in Chhindwara district, officials said on Wednesday. CHHINDWARA COUGH SYRUP CASE Probe found the manufacturer used industrial-grade raw materials instead of pharma-grade, without proper quality checks, to prepare the medicine. ED claimed that annual inspections of Sresa Pharmceuticals were not conducted. 4Continued on | P8 in MP & Maha IANS Russia’s Duma clears major logistics pact with India PTI NEW DELHI NEW DELHI Crimes against children have surged sharply across the country, with India recording 4,89,188 cases between 2021 and 2023. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra led the list in 2023, reporting 22,393 and 22,390 cases respectively, the Union government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Uttar Pradesh followed with 18,852 cases, while Rajasthan (10,577) and Bihar (9,906) also reported high volumes. West Bengal and Odisha remained among states consistently registering significant numbers. In total, Madhya Pradesh recorded 61,981 cases across the three years, followed by 60,413 in Maharashtra and 54,372 in Uttar Pradesh. A substantial share of offences involved kidnapping and abduction, followed by cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Notably, cases filed under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act saw an alarming spike in 2023 — 6,038 cases, compared to 1,002 in 2022 and 1,050 in 2021, marking an unprecedented rise. Alongside child crime, the country also registered a worrying volume of offences against women. Between 2021 and 2023, 13,21,745 cases were filed by women, with numbers rising steadily from 4,28,278 in 2021 to 4,48,211 in 2023. On the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s arrival in New Delhi, Russia’s State Duma on 2 December ratified the Reciprocal Exchange of Logistic Support (RELOS) agreement, a major military logistics pact with India. Signed on 18 February, the pact was forwarded for approval last week by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the ratification marks “another step toward reciprocity” in the “strategic and comprehensive” India–Russia partnership. A Cabinet note on the Duma website said the agreement will allow mutual use of airspace and port facilities by Indian and Russian warships and military aircraft, enhancing operational coordination. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Rubio flags Trump’s India-Pak role Says Prez deserves credit for mediating high-risk conflicts PTI NEW YORK/WASHINGTON US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said President Donald Trump deserves “tremendous credit” for brokering several high-stakes peace agreements, including what he described as “very dangerous ones like India and Pakistan.” Speaking at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Rubio said Trump had reshaped American foreign policy by focusing solely on whether decisions made the US “safer, stronger and more prosperous,” calling this clarity “transformational.” Rubio praised Trump for mediating multiple global disputes, echoing the President’s own claims made earlier in the meeting. Trump asserted that he had resolved conflicts between India and Pakistan, Thailand and Cambodia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Kosovo and Serbia, Egypt and Ethiopia. 4Continued on | P8