FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS VOL. 14 NO. 355 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | JUNE 8, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Briefs RAIPUR 7 Maoists killed Five Maoists were killed in two encounters with security forces in an ongoing operation in the Indravati National Park area of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, police officials said on Saturday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has hailed the success and expressed his wish to meet the brave soldiers who are engaged in anti-Maoist mission.With the latest casualties, seven Maoists, including top leaders Sudhakar and Bhaskar, were neutralised in the operation in the last three days, they said. NEW DELHI Goldy Brar chargesheeted The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted five accused, including Canada-based Khalistani terrorist Goldy Brar, in the 2024 case relating to bomb attacks at two clubs in Gurugram, officials said on Saturday. The NIA has booked Satinderjit Singh alias Goldy Brar, along with Sachin Taliyan, Ankit, Bhawish and US-based Randeep Singh alias Randeep Malik, under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Arms Act, Explosives Substance Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in its charge sheet filed before a court in Panchkula on Friday, they said. BENGALURU KSCA secy, treasurer resign A Shankar and E S Jairam have resigned from their respective posts as secretary and treasurer of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), taking moral responsibility for the stampede that led to the death of 11 people during RCB's IPL trophy celebrations. In a joint statement, Shankar and Jairam said they had submitted their resignations on Thursday night to the KSCA president. NEW DELHI Axiom-4 lift-off on June 10 Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others are set to embark on the Axiom Space's fourth human spaceflight from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 10 and are likely to dock at the International Space Station on June 11. iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN WORLD Sports Ultimate Test awaits at Lord’s P.16 fp ESTD-1983 PUNE INDORE NASHIK Readers’ Corner Ahilyabai: The visionary... P.6 Musk deletes Epstein files post on Trump Cinema ‘I doubt it...’ P.14 Police job scam spreads to 9 districts; no SIT probe yet Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The 2023 police constable recruitment exam has been rocked by a major Aadhaar card fraud, with the scam now expanding across nine districts. Despite 21 FIRs being registered and 22 accused identified so far, no Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed, and CM warns of crackdown hief Minister Mohan Yadav took to social media to address the issue. He said, “On receiving information about fraud and irregularities in the process of Police Constable Recruitment -2023, I have directed to take strict action. Such criminal acts, in which injustice is done to eligible candidates, will not be tolerated in Madhya Pradesh.” He said, “Taking suo motu cognizance, biometric data and Aadhaar history of all successful candidates are being thoroughly examined by the Police Headquarters. If prima facie impersonation is found, case has been registered against candidates and strict action will be ensured.” C IG (law & order) Anshuman Singh addressing media persons on Saturday the case has not been handed over to the Special Task Force (STF). The police headquarters (PHQ) continues with the joining process for selected candidates. Of the 6,423 successful candidates—5,090 male and 1,333 female—only around 3,600 have turned up so far, which is roughly 70%, even though more than a month has passed since the orders were issued in March.Sources said that as of Thursday, only 198 appointment letters had been issued. MISSING COUPLE CASE | Yadav also speaks to Meghalaya CM CM urges Shah for CBI probe into Sonam case Our Staff Reporter Missing case BHOPAL n Indore couple Sonam and Raja Raghuvansi went missing on May 23 in Meghalaya n Raja’s body found on June 2 in a gorge, machete recovered nearby n No clue yet about Sonam's whereabouts or condition Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah that a CBI probe should be ordered into the missing case of Sonam Raghuvansi. In connection with the case, he has also spoken to the Meghalaya Chief Minister. He said the government is standing with Sonam’s family. Notably, newlywed couple from Indore—Sonam Raghuvansi and Raja Raghuvansi (29)—had gone to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. On May 23, the couple went missing, setting off alarm bells. Then, on June 2, Raja Raghuvansi’s decomposed body was found in a deep gorge nearly 20 kilometers from their Shillong homestay. A dao (machete) was also found near the spot, raising suspicion that he might have been killed. Bihar polls to be fixed like Maha: Rahul PTI NEW DELHI So far, there is no trace of Sonam. Whether she is alive, dead, or in someone’s captivity, no one knows yet. The family members of Sonam have been demanding a CBI probe for several days. Now, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has backed their demand. Local leaders from Indore are also supporting the Raghuvansi family. The day the couple last spoke to their family, they were exploring the natural beauty of the hilly area. Horror at Mhow Civil Hosp: Dog caught eating dead newborn Probe ordered Rahul Gandhi claimed on Saturday that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy", drawing rebuke from BJP president J P Nadda, who accused the Congress leader of "cooking up bizarre conspiracies" in his desperation after losing a series of elections. The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged in an article in the Indian Express that this poll "match-fixing" would next happen in the Bihar elections and "anywhere the BJP is losing". In a post on X, he said, "My article shows how this happened, step by step: Step 1: Rig the panel for appointing the Election Commission. Step 2: Add fake voters to the roll. Step 3: Inflate voter turnout. Step 4: Target the bogus voting exactly where the BJP needs to win. Step 5: Hide the evidence." As the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Sonam Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya deepens, a new development has come to light. A tourist guide on Saturday claimed that Sonam and her husband Raja were accompanied by three Hindi-speaking male tourists on the day they went missing from Sohra area while trekking back over 3,000 steps from Double Decker Living Root Bridge in Nongriat village. The guide has also provided this information to the police. The eyewitness, Albert Pde, the tour guide from Mawlakhiat village—the same village where the couple had parked FP News Service MHOW/INDORE In a disturbing incident at Madhya Bharat Government Civil Hospital in Mhow, a stray dog was seen clutching a dead newborn near the hospital toilet early Saturday. A female security guard managed to retrieve the body after scaring away the animal. Authorities confirmed that the baby was born to a 17-year-old girl who later fled from the hospital. Hospital in-charge Dr Hansraj Verma said CCTV footage showed the girl entering the toilet between 1:30 and 2:00 am. “She had been admitted at 9 pm on Friday with complaints of colic. We suspect she gave birth in the bathroom,” Verma stated. Shortly after the delivery, the girl reportedly left the hospital with an unidentified man. Officials believe that the infant, which was stillborn, was taken from the toilet by the stray dog before being recovered by hospital staff. Sources indicate minor was around 8 months pregnant and may have taken medication to induce labour The post-mortem was conducted on Saturday morning by a team of three doctors. We are awaiting the final report. CCTV footage is being provided to the police to aid the investigation,” Verma added. The girl, reportedly from a village in Mhow tehsil, registered at the OPD and was checked by a nurse in the women's ward before going to the bathroom, where she gave birth. She then escaped the hospital without informing staff. Sources indicate the minor was approximately eight months pregnant and may have taken medication to induce labour. The incident has prompted investigations by both hospital authorities and police. India's extreme poverty rate declined sharply to 5.3 per cent over a decade from 27.1 per cent in 2011-12 even as the World Bank revised upwards its threshold poverty line to USD 3 per day. Given India's inflation rate between 2017 and 2021, a revised extreme poverty line of USD 3 would constitute a 15 decreased from 16.2 to 2.3 per cent between 2011-12 and 2022-23, while the poverty rate at the lower middle income country (LMIC) line declined by 33.7 percentage points, it said. Free and subsidised food transfers supported poverty reduction, and the ruralurban poverty gap narrowed. The five most populous states account for 54 per cent of the extremely poor, it said. With regard to economy, the report said, real GDP of India was around 5 per cent below the pre-pandemic trend level as of FY25. Growth should gradually converge back to potential 44-yr-old woman dies post-delivery Will never equate perpetrators of evil with victims: EAM growth opportunities for British businesses are set to be at the top of the UK foreign secretary's visit to India. Before holding talks with Jaishankar, the British foreign secretary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his televised opening remarks at the meeting with Lammy, Jaishankar thanked the UK for its strong condemnation of the "barbaric" Pahalgam terror attack and London's solidarity and support to New Delhi's fight against terrorism. "We practice a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism and expect our partners to understand it, and we will never countenance perpetrators of evil being put at par with its victims," he said. It is understood that the Indian side explained its challenge of dealing with cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. PTI their rented scooter on May 22—told local reporters in Shillong that he saw the couple the next morning. “I started from the starting point around 7 am, and around 10 am, I encountered them. They were midway through the return trek from Nongriat and were accompanied by three other male tourists. Raja was walking with the three men, while Sonam was behind,” said Pde. He mentioned that nothing seemed suspicious at the time, as the group was conversing in Hindi, a language he doesn't understand well. “If they had been speaking in English, I might have understood what they were saying,” he added. A 44-year-old woman from Khargone, who had recently delivered a baby boy at MTH Hospital, died of COVID-19related complications at MRTB Hospital on Friday. The woman had delivered a healthy 3.1-kg male child via a cesarean section on May 28 but succumbed just eight days later. According to hospital authorities, the woman’s health began to deteriorate shortly after delivery. Following the onset of severe symptoms and a positive RT-PCR result on June 5, she was shifted to the COVID isolation ward at MRTB Hospital. Despite efforts by the medical team, she was declared dead the same day at 3:50 PM. This marks the second COVID-19-related death in Madhya Pradesh during the recent uptick in cases. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 India expects partners to understand its policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism, and it will never countenance "perpetrators of evil" being put on par with its victims, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday during extensive talks with his British counterpart David Lammy. Jaishankar's remarks, which seemed to be an attempt to send an unambiguous message to the global community, came against the backdrop of unease in New Delhi over several countries hyphenating India and Pakistan following their four-day clashes last month. Lammy arrived in New Delhi this morning on a two-day visit to review various aspects of the strategic partnership between the two countries. A British readout said bolstering economic and migration ties and delivering further India central to key supply chains: Carney on G7 invite to PM PM lays down 5 priorities for building disaster-resilient infra PTI NEW DELHI PTI OTTAWA India is the fifth largest economy in the world and it is central to a number of critical global supply chains, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said, arguing that the leadership of the country must be part of discussions at the upcoming G7 summit. Carney's comments came after some of his political opponents in Canada criticised him for inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit in view of a probe into allegations of Indian links to the killing of a Khalistani separatist in 2023. Prime Minister Modi accepted Carney's invitation to attend the G7 summit during a phone conversation on Friday. Canada is hosting the G7 summit in the Alberta province from June 15 to 17 in its capacity as the current chair of the grouping. To a specific question on the case of killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023, 4Continued on | P8 Extreme poverty down to 5.3% in 2022-23 per cent higher threshold than USD 2.15 expressed in 2021 prices and result in a 5.3 per cent poverty rate in 2022-23, the World Bank said in a report. In India, the report said, 54,695,832 people lived on less than USD 3 per day in 2024. Thus, the poverty rate at USD 3 per day (2021 PPP -percentage population) is 5.44 per cent in 2024. The extreme poverty rate 2nd Covid-related death in state NEW DELHI ‘Couple last seen with 3 Hindi-speaking men’ Our Staff Reporter 4Continued on | P8 Our Staff Reporter NEW TWIST IN CASE INDORE Irregularities span across several districts, with cases registered in Morena (7), Shivpuri (6), Sheopur (2) and one each in Indore, Datia, Gwalior, Alirajpur, Rajgarh and Shahdol. One accused was arrested in Patna, Bihar, and another in New Delhi. Despite the scale of the scam, IG (Law and Order) Anshuman Singh told Free Press that there is no need to form an SIT or hand over the investigation to the STF, claiming that the state police are doing an excellent job. INDORE World Bank report PTI E-paper Recruitment or racket: 21 FIRs, 22 accused identified 4Continued on | P8 NEW DELHI MUMBAI over 2027-28 assuming the current global uncertainties are resolved in an orderly fashion, it said. "The outlook, however, is subject to significant downside risks, as policy shifts may continue to unfold globally. Elevated trade tensions would dampen demand for India's exports and further delay the recovery in investment," it said. 4Continued on | P8 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday outlined five key global priorities for him to build disaster-resilient infrastructure, including a skilled workforce, a global digital repository to document best practices and innovative financing. In a video address to the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 2025, Modi said strengthening early-warning systems and coordination is another crucial aspect. He noted that India has es- tablished a tsunami-warning system benefitting 29 countries and that it recognises the Small Island Developing States (SIDA) as largeo c e a n countries and the need for special attention to their vulnerabilities. With the event being hosted in Europe for the first time, Modi thanked French President Emmanuel Macron and extended his best wishes to him for the upcoming United 4Continued on | P8 Nations Oceans Conference. In his remarks, he prime minister noted that the conference's theme is "Shaping a Resilient Future for Coastal Regions" and underscored the vulnerability of coastal regions and islands to natural disasters and climate change. He cited recent disasters, including Cyclone Remal in India and Bangladesh, Hurricane Beryl in the Caribbean, Typhoon Yagi in Southeast Asia, Hurricane Helene in the United States, Typhoon Usagi in the Philippines and Cyclone Chido in parts of Africa. 4Continued on | P8 ED attaches 25 assets worth Rs 2.98 cr in double money scam AP increases maximum working hours from 9 to 10 Our Staff Reporter AMARAVATI PTI BHOPAL The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bhopal has provisionally attached 25 immovable properties worth Rs 2.98 crore in connection with the infamous double money scam that took place in Balaghat, officials said on Saturday. The action was taken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, following an investigation triggered by three FIRs registered at two police stations in Balaghat district. The FIRs were filed under various sections of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act, 2019 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to officials, the accused — Somendra Kankrayane, Pradeep Kankrayane, Double money trap n 25 properties provisionally attached by ED n Rs 2.98 crore involved in the scam n Accused promised double returns, gave post-dated cheques n Assets bought using investors’ money, probe ongoing Tamesh Mansure and Rakesh Mansure — had lured innocent investors by promising to double their money in a short span of time. In some cases, they even issued post-dated cheques for the so-called maturity amount to gain trust of investors. However, the accused failed to return the promised amounts, leading to filing of multiple FIRs. The TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has decided to raise the maximum working hours from nine to 10 per day as part of ease of doing business and attracting investors. The Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Minister K Parthasarathy said that it has been decided to amend labour laws to make them 'favourable' to workers and investors. CPI state secretary K Ramakrishna criticised the move and said NDA governments at the Centre and state are pursuing 'anti worker' policies. "Relevant sections of laws which allow maximum nine hours of work a day has now been raised to 10 hours per day. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8