FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 315 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | APRIL 29, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Preity Zinta reminisces first meeting with Virat P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema International Dance Day P.14 CHAOS UNFOLDS | Subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights, ATMs hit Mega blackout in Spain, Portugal AP A major power outage hit Spain and Portugal on Monday, including their capitals, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATMs. It is rare to have such a widespread outage there. Spanish generator Red Eléctrica said it affected the Iberian peninsula and the incident is being assessed. The countries have a combined population of more than 50 million people. It was not immediately clear how many were affected. Spain's public broadcaster SC notice to Centre over explicit OTT content (L) A market during massive power cut in Vigo, northwestern Spain. People queue to reach a bus stop in downtown Madrid as subway and trains are out of service RTVE said a major power outage hit several regions of the country just after midday local time, leaving its newsroom, Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Supreme Court on Monday called it an "important concern" and sought responses from the Centre and others on a plea seeking a ban on streaming of sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms. A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih said it was either for the legislature or the executive to come out with measures to deal with the issue. "This is not within our domain. As it is, there is lot of allegation that we are encroaching upon the legislative and executive powers," Justice Gavai said in an apparent reference to recent attacks on the judiciary. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the government would not take it as an adversarial litigation. 4Continued on | P8 Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a crucial meeting on Monday evening to expedite the development of Indore and Bhopal as metropolitan areas. It was decided that a draft proposal would be prepared within a week and presented to the Chief Secretary. The government plans to introduce a bill on Madhya Pradesh Metropolitan Planning in the upcoming monsoon session of the Assembly. The plan envisions Bhopal’s metropolitan region including Bhopal, Sehore, Biaora (Rajgarh), Mandideep (Raisen) and Vidisha. Indore’s metropolitan area would cover Indore, Ujjain, Dewas and Dhar. Sources said discussions were held on the extent of the areas to be included and panchayats that would fall under the new metropolitan jurisdictions. The Chief Minister stressed that all groundwork related to the metropolitan expansion must be completed quickly, with a detailed landuse plan. He also emphasised promoting industrial growth Cops await guidance from higher-ups Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Madhya Pradesh police is in a fix about what to do in cases wherein the woman is an Indian passport holder and her children are Pakistani- born kids. ‘We are still waiting to get guidance from higher ups in this regard,’ a senior police officer of Police Headquarters said. Meanwhile, he added that after getting exit notices, four people holding Pakistani passport, have moved out of Indore on Sunday and of them three have left India.’ An issue has cropped up in a case wherein the lady is an Indian citizen while her daughter is a Pak national. Due to this, she INDIAN HAVING PAK-BORN KIDS could not cross the border. Guidance has been sought in this case also,’ he said. Notably, in Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur, police came across such cases wherein women are Indian citizens and their children are Pakborn kids. In Bhopal, there is a lady who is an Indian citizen but has two kids who are born in Pakistan. Notably, after Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Indian government revoked visas issued to Pakistani nationals. They have been asked to leave India in a stipulated time limit. Liquor scam: ED conducts raids in Bhopal, Indore & Mandsaur Agencies/ Our Staff Reporter INDORE/ BHOPAL The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in the state as part of a money laundering probe linked to alleged about Rs 50 crore worth irregularities in liquor trade from 2015 to 2018. At least 11 premises belonging to different liquor contractors in Bhopal, Indore and Mand- ity network website showing demand across the country indicated a steep drop around 12.15 pm from 27,500MW to Bill to develop Bhopal, Indore as metros in monsoon session PTI NEW DELHI Spain's parliament in Madrid and subway stations across the country in the dark. A graph on Spain's electric- saur are being raided under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Officials informed that the money laundering case stemmed from a state police FIR filed against liquor contractors for allegedly causing loss of government revenue to the tune of Rs 49,42,45,615 through forgery and manipulation of treasury challans and for unlawfully obtaining a ‘No Objection Certificate’ (NOC) for the acquisition of liquor during the FY 2015-16 to FY 2017-18. The ED suspects that the accused liquor contractors used to prepare challans of small amounts and deposit them in the bank. In the prescribed format of the challan, there were ‘Rs. in figures’ and ‘Rs in words’ columns. The value was filled in with figures but blank space was left after the ‘Rs in words’ column, officials said. 4Continued on | P8 and ensuring strong transport connectivity, particularly focusing on strengthening railway links alongside roads. It was noted that Dewas and Sehore regions, lying adjacent, could create new opportunities for integrated development across the two metropolitan areas. Brand identity Discussions were held on whether the new metropolitan regions should adopt a name similar to Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) model 4Continued on | P8 Fourth victim in rape, blackmail racket case comes forward Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL In a shocking development, a fourth victim on Monday has come forward and filed a new complaint in rape and blackmailing racket case which was uncovered in the capital city just few days ago, Bagsewaniya police said here. According to DCP Zone 2 Sanjay Agarwal, a new complaint was registered under zero FIR at Bagsewaniya police station on Monday evening. The case will be transferred to Ashoka Garden police station for further investigation. Authorities have invoked charges under Religious Freedom Act and sections related to molestation. DCP Agrawal said media persons that the 4th complainant was allegedly taking dance classes which were operated by Sahil Khan, one of the main accused, who has been already arrested. He is also implicated in earlier cases. So far, four accused have been taken into custody in connection with charges of rape and blackmailing. Two others are currently absconding. Police believe more survivors may come forward as the inquiry progresses. Further investigations are underway. See Page 2 offgrid India among top 5 military spenders In 2024, India spent 9 times more than Pak PTI NEW DELHI India's military spending in 2024 was nearly nine times that of Pakistan's expenditure, according to a study released on Monday by a leading Swedish think-tank that comes amid growing tensions between the two countries over the Pahalgam attack. India's military expenditure, the fifth largest globally, grew by 1.6 per cent to USD 86.1 billion while Pakistan's spent USD 10.2 billion, ac- cording to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The top five military spenders -- the United States, China, Russia, Germany and India -- accounted for 60 per cent of the global total, with combined spending of USD 1635 billion, it said. China's military expenditure increased by 7.0 per cent to an estimated USD 314 billion, marking three decades of consecutive growth, the study noted. The communist nation accounted for 50 per cent of all military spending in Asia and Oceania, investing in the continued modernisation of its military and expansion of its cyberwarfare capabilities and nuclear arsenal, it said in the report titled "Trends in World Military Expenditure 2024". 4Continued on | P8 E-paper Edit Caution against bulldozer justice P.6 Attari border closure hits Afghan dry fruit supplies BARCELONA MUMBAI near 15,000MW. A couple of hours later, Spain's electricity network operator said it was recovering power in the north and south of the peninsula, which would help to progressively restore the electricity supply nationwide. In Portugal, a country of some 10.6 million people, the outage hit the capital, Lisbon, and surrounding areas, as well as northern and southern parts of the country. Portugal's government said the incident appeared to stem from problems outside the country, an official told national news agency Lusa. 4Continued on | P8 Avoid aggressive stance against India: Nawaz ISLAMABAD Three-time Pakistan Prime Minister and founder of ruling political party Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) Nawaz Sharif has advised his younger brother and current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to utilise all available diplomatic resources to restore peace with India, insisting that he is against taking an aggressive position. Both brothers met in Lahore on Sunday evening with Shehbaz briefing Nawaz Sharif about the decisions taken by his government against India. Govt blocks 16 Pak YouTube channels for anti-India content NEW DELHI The government has blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly disseminating "false, provocative and communally sensitive content" about India and has also strongly objected to the BBC's reportage on the Pahalgam attack, officials said on Monday. The government's move follows recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs in the wake of the April 22 terror attack in the upper reaches of the Kashmir resort town in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed. Besides, the Ministry of External Affairs will be monitoring reporting of the BBC, which termed terrorists as militants, officials said. The YouTube channels blocked are Dawn News, Irshad Bhatti, SAMAA TV, ARY NEWS, BOL NEWS, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Geo News, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, SUNO News and Razi Naama. "On the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India has Rajnath briefs PM Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh over the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in which at least 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed on Tuesday. In the around 40-minute meeting held at the prime minister's residence here, Singh briefed Modi about the current situation and the military's operational preparedness in the aftermath of attack, sources said. See Nation banned Pakistani YouTube channels for disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies in the backdrop of the tragic Pahalgam terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir," officials said. 4Continued on | P8 J&K passes resolution denouncing attack The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Monday expressing shock and anguish over the Pahalgam terrorist attack and resolved to fight resolutely to defeat the nefarious designs to disturb communal harmony and hinder progress. The resolution, moved by Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Choudhary during a special session of the Assembly, was passed by voice vote. See Nation India, France ink pact sealing Rs 64,000 cr Rafale jet deal PTI NEW DELHI India and France on Monday inked an intergovernmental agreement to procure 26 naval variants of Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 64,000 crore for the Indian Navy. The pact provides for setting up of a production facility for Rafale fuselage as well as maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for aircraft engines, sensors and weapons in India, according to the defence ministry. The agreement will also facilitate the transfer of technology for the integration of indigenous weapons in India, it said without elaborating. The ministry said the delivery of the aircraft would be completed by 2030, with the crew undergoing training in France and India. India is procuring the jets for deployment on board aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. Manufactured by French defence major Dassault Aviation, the Rafale-Marine is a carrier-borne combat-ready aircraft with proven operational capabilities in the maritime environment. 4Continued on | P8