FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLI No. 273 | INDORE | TUESDAY | MARCH 11, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports CALM| SILENT HERO SHREYAS SEALS GLORY P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: INDORE UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit CPM aiming for hat trick P.6 Prices of veg, non-veg thali decline 5% in Feb Cinema What makes them couple goals P.14 14 HELD FOR VIOLENCE, ARSON IN MHOW Town peaceful but markets closed in protest against vandalism FP News Service MHOW Fourteen people were arrested on Monday after large-scale communal clashes, stone pelting and arson in this town on Sunday night, during India’s Champions Trophy victory celebration. However, the town remained peaceful on Monday, with heavy police force, including Quick Response Force (QRF) personnel, deployed at all sensitive locations. Indore SP (rural) Hitika Wasal told the media, “Fourteen people have been detained in connection with the stone pelting and arson.” The SP said 14 people were injured in stone pelting in all five incidents in Raj Mohalla, Taal Mohalla, Sewa Marg, Jama Masjid and Patti Bazar areas. “Police teams are checking all videos and more cases are being registered. Four cases have been registered so far, in which 28 people have been named while unidentified people have also been accused. Due to multiple incidents, more cases will be registered by Monday late night,” the official said. Wasal said Pankaj Verma of Raj Mohalla suffered severe head injury in the violence and was sent to MY hospital while Mukesh Jariya of Babu Gali, Pritam Solanki of Motimahal Talkies and Sagar Yadav of Gujarkheda sustained fractures. Sub Inspector Sandeep Akha- LANGUAGE ROW ESCALATES | Union Minister accuses Tamil Nadu govt of U-turn on National Education Policy Dishonest, says Pradhan; insult to Tamilians: Stalin PTI NEW DELHI Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday accused the Tamil Nadu government of being "dishonest" and doing a U-turn on the implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP), drawing a sharp retort from DMK and other opposition parties which alleged that he had hurt the state's pride. After protests and brief adjournment in the Lok Sabha, Pradhan withdrew certain words he had used for Tamil Nadu MPs and urged the DMKled Tamil Nadu government to rise above political interests for the benefit of students. The BJP stepped up its attack on the DMK, accusing it of opposing the NEP and delimitation out of fear of losing assembly elections due next year. Govt Dental College to offer 3D printing for dental care Arsh Rafik Visaal INDORE sign the MoU. But now they have changed the stand. Many non-BJP-ruled states, including Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, have signed the agreement," he said. Pradhan said: "They are dishonest and they are ruining the future of the students of Tamil Nadu. They are doing politics". The minister said at one point of time, the government of Tamil Nadu had agreed to the PM SHRI scheme and several (DMK) MPs, who came to see him, conveyed this to him. "But when they went back, they made a U-Turn. They are doing mischief with the lives of the students. They are misleading the people and doing injustice to the students of Tamil Nadu. They are undemocratic...," he alleged. diya of Mhow police station was surrounded by miscreants and was manhandled, leading to severe injury in his right leg. Earlier on Sunday night, police had to use lathi-charge and tear gas when hundreds of miscreants were on the roads, hell bent on taking law in their hands. While police were tackling the situation in Jama Masjid, Taal Mohalla and Raj Mohalla areas, some miscreants attacked two multistorey houses at the Patti Bazar crossing and set a Maruti Alto car and two bikes ablaze. 9 die, 13 injured in SUV-truck collision Dias collapses at Cong stir, many leaders hurt CM mourns deaths, announces ex gratia FP News Service SATNA Nine people were killed and 13 injured in a road accident on the Sidhi-Bahari road in Sidhi district at 2:30am on Monday when a sports utility vehicle collided head-on with a truck. In the vehicle, there were 22 people who were going to Sharda Temple to perform a tonsure ceremony of a member of their family.  When the accident occurred, the SUV was going towards Maihar, and the truck was coming from Sidhi. Nine of the injured, whose conditions were deteriorating, were sent to the Rewa hospital. The rest are being treated at the Sidhi district hospital. The police took the truck driver into custody and began an inquiry into the case. X outages or cyberattack? CM, SCINDIA INAUGURATE MADHAV TIGER RESERVE 4Continued on | P8 MUMBAI Indore’s Government Dental College is set to become the first in the state to introduce advanced 3D printing technology for dentures and jaw reconstruction. This breakthrough will provide customised, high-precision prosthetics at a lower cost, benefiting patients who cannot afford expensive private treatments. To establish the facility, the college has sought Rs 1.5 crore from the state government for equipment procurement. Some of the funds have been received and remaining is awaited. 4Full report on | P2 Our Staff Reporter X, formerly known as Twitter, suffered three major outages on Monday, leaving users worldwide unable to access the platform. The first disruption occurred around 3:30 PM IST, followed by a second at 7:00 PM IST and a third at 8:44 PM IST. The second and third outages were particularly severe, with over 40,000 reports flooding Downdetector during the second incident and another 35,000 during the third. Users complained that the website and app wouldn’t load at all. Hours after a series of outages on Monday that left X unavailable to thousands of users, Elon Musk claimed that the social media platform was being targeted in a “massive cyberattack.” We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources," Musk claimed in a post. "Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing” BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Assembly Speaker Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Madhav Tiger Reserve in Shivpuri on Monday. The occasion was marked by the release of a tigress into the wild, brought from Panna Tiger Reserve. The inauguration coincided with the 80th birth anniversary of late Madhav Rao Scindia, former Union Minister and father of Jyotiraditya Scindia. A 13 km protective wall was also dedicated as part of the event. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav called it a "historic day for wildlife", emphasising that the Chambal belt is now home to significant conservation projects, including India’s first cheetah reintroduction project at Kuno National Park. "Madhav Tiger Reserve will attract tourists and boost employment. MP already has the highest number of tigers, leopards and other wildlife species," CM Yadav said. With this, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav release tiger in Madhav Tiger Reserve in Shivpuri on Monday. has strengthened its position as a leading state in wildlife conservation, adding to its reputation as the Tiger State of India. Tigress leaps into wildAs soon as the gate of the cage was lifted, the tigress leaped out, growled for a while, and then sat down, observing its surroundings. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid ‘No new temples under BJP rule’ KK Muhammed slams govt’s cultural apathy Nirukt Bhargava UJJAIN Noted archaeologist and Padma Shri awardee KK Muhammed has raised questions over the BJP government’s approach to cultural heritage, stating that not a single temple has been built in the last 10 years. In contrast, he claimed, around 80 temples were constructed during the Congress regime. Speaking exclusively to Free Press on Monday, the former regional director of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) emphasised the need to separate mythology from historical facts. “Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga and Dwapar Yuga are not archaeological facts. Scientific dating methods like Carbon- 14 (C14) are the only valid tools. If, after a thousand years, people still seek religion, Hinduism will be the first choice because it is vast and liberal,” he said. While welcoming the resolution of the Babri Masjid dispute, Muhammed urged Muslims to give up claims on Gyanvapi in Varanasi and Mathura, stressing that these sites hold immense religious significance for Hindus. “Muslims cherish Mecca and Medina in the same way Hindus revere these places. These mosques have no connection to Prophet Mohammed—they are just District magistrate and collector Asheesh Singh said here on Monday that the situation in Mhow was peaceful and under control now after Sunday night’s violence and as a precaution, adequate security arrangements had been made. Action was being taken against the culprits and they would also be booked under the National Security Act (NSA). 4Continued on | P8 Earlier, replying to a question on the PM SHRI scheme in the Lok Sabha, Pradhan said the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has changed its stand on implementing the centrallysponsored scheme which envisaged strengthening the schools managed by central, state or local bodies. The state concerned has to sign an MoU with the central government that it would implement the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and in return, the central government provides the funds. "The Tamil Nadu government had initially agreed to FP News Service INDORE 4Continued on | P8 The Centre and the DMK government have been engaged in a heated exchange over these issue, with the DMK alleging that the BJP was imposing Hindi on the southern state through the NEP. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin lashed out at Pradhan, saying his remarks reflected arrogance. "You are insulting the people of Tamil Nadu. Does PM Narendra Modi accept this?" he said. The DMK said it had clearly told the minister "we cannot accept" the NEP "in full" and the three-language formula "is not acceptable to Tamil Nadu". 4Continued on | P8 NSA to be invoked on those involved places that can be relocated. Muslims should willingly leave these sites,” he suggested. At the same time, he advised the Hindu community to limit its claims to these two sites. “If a long list of disputed places emerges, it will lead to chaos. India could face conflicts like those in Syria and Afghanistan, which must be avoided,” he warned. 4Continued on | P8 Oppn had planned march to Assembly to highlight alleged failure of state govt Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In what the Congress is calling a conspiracy of the state government, over a dozen party leaders were injured when a stage collapsed at a protest event organised by the Kisan Congress on the first day of the state assembly’s Budget Session here on Monday. The incident took place when Congress leaders addressed protesters near the Rangmahal Square before a planned march to the assembly complex to highlight the BJP government's alleged failure and anti-farmer policies in the state. Former leader of opposition Dr Govind Singh has called it a BJP conspiracy. State Congress General Secretary Govt asks IPL to ban tobacco & alcohol ads New Delhi: The Health Ministry has instructed the Indian Premier League to ban all forms of tobacco and alcohol promotions, including surrogate advertisements, during the tournament beginning March 22. In a letter to IPL chairman Arun Dhumal, Director General of Health Services Atul Goel said cricket players, who are role models to the youth of India, should not be directly or indirectly connected to any form of tobacco or alcohol advertising. "IPL should strictly implement the regulations banning all forms of tobacco/alcohol advertising, including surrogate advertisements, within the stadium promises where the games and related IPL games/events are held as well as during telecast sessions on national television," Goel wrote. Cong gherao Vidhan Sabha between Roshanpura Square and Rang Mahal Talkies. (Inset) Former corporator Santosh Kansana sustains fracture (Organisation) Sanjay Kamle said among those injured was former organisation in-charge Rajiv Singh who was admitted in a serious condition to the nearby Siddhanta Hospital by state party president Jeetu Patwari. He said that the list of injured also included state incharge Harish Chaudhary, Ravi Joshi, Mahendra Singh Chauhan, Roshni Yadav, Yogesh Yadav, Mahendra Joshi, Manak Agarwal, Yadavendra Singh, Jayshree Harikaran, Shailendra Patel, MLA Bhairon Singh Bapu, and Rinki Raghuvanshi. Some of them are admitted to Siddhanta, Smart City Hospital, 1250 Hospital, and Bansal Hospital. 4Continued on | P8 Tariffs: India walks the talk n Commerce Secretary Clarifies n No Commitments Made Yet n Bilateral Trade Talks Ongoing n Sept 2025 Timeline Proposed FP News Service MUMBAI Contrary to US President Donald Trump’s claim that India has agreed to reduce tariffs “way down” on American goods, India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal has categorically denied any such commitment. Speaking before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, Barthwal clarified that negotiations with the US are still underway and that India has requested time until September 2025 to address Washington’s concerns. Sources privy to the meeting revealed that Barthwal informed the committee that while discussions with the US are ongoing India has not been formally targeted by any official American tariff impositions—unlike Mexico, Canada, and China. The committee was told that India is advocating for a long-term, mutually beneficial trade agreement with the US rather than immediate tariff reductions. 4Continued on | P8 Kapil Dev’s memorable gift stolen from former cricketer Hirwani’s house Thieves decamped with valuables worth lakhs Our Staff Reporter INDORE Thieves targeted the house of former international cricketer Narendra Hirwani under the Hira Nagar Police Station and decamped with valuables worth lakhs of rupees on Sunday. The two accused entered the house around 6 am by breaking the door lock with an iron rod and stayed inside for about 45 minutes. Along with jewellery and cash, the thieves also took away cherished gifts given to Hirwani by legendary cricketer Kapil Dev and other prominent personalities. Hirwani told the Free Press that at the time of the burglary, he, along with his wife and son, was sleeping inside. Two masked burglars broke into the house carrying an iron rod, and stole valuables from an inhabited room. His son waking up early raised an alarm, forcing the thieves to flee. 4Continued on | P8 Trophy in hand, legacy in heart Skipper Rohit Sharma poses for a picture with the Champions Trophy Agencies