FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 14 No. 362 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | JUNE 15, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN WORLD Sports Avani second, Diksha, Tvesa make cut P.15 PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK Cinema Parenting with KJo P.14 MIDDLE EAST ON EDGE | India says it did not participate in discussions, urges channels of dialogue and diplomacy towards de-escalation India distances itself from SCO statement on Iran-Israel conflict Agencies Israel apologises for incorrect map India said on Saturday that it did not participate in the discussions on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran and that channels of dialogue and diplomacy be utilised to work towards de-escalation. In its statement, Ministry of External Affairs said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had discussed this matter with his Iranian counterpart yesterday and conveyed the deep concern of the international community at the turn of events. The statement referred to India's stance articulated on Friday in which New Delhi had expressed deep concern at the recent developments between Iran and Israel. "The SCO has issued a statement on recent developments between Israel and Iran. India's own position on the matter had been articulated by us on June 13, 2025, and remains the same. We urge that channels of dialogue and diplomacy be 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs CHENNAI Four B'deshi nationals held In a joint operation, the Chennimalai police and the Tamil Nadu Q Branch arrested four Bangladeshi nationals for residing and working in the state without valid travel documents. The operation, was carried out following a tip-off about the presence of undocumented foreign nationals in the textile hub of Chennimalai, located in Erode district. PATNA Illegal gun factory busted The Israeli military on Saturday apologised for posting a map that incorrectly depicted Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan after objections from Indian social media users, clarifying that the image "fails to precisely depict borders" ‘Possibility of Modi brokering peace’ Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel Iran retaliates ‘Tehran will burn’ ran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes on Israel into Saturday morning, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, after a series of blistering Israeli attacks on the heart of Iran's nuclear programme and its armed forces. Israel's assault used warplanes - as well as drones smuggled into the country in advance, according to officials - to assault key facilities and kill top generals and scientists. Iran's UN ambassador said 78 people were killed and more than 320 wounded in the attacks D I efence Minister Israel Katz has warned Iran that "Tehran will burn" if it continues firing missiles at Israel as tensions escalated between the two nations. His comments came after Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Israel following Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear, missile and military complex. "The Iranian dictator is turning the citizens of Iran into hostages and creating a reality in which they, especially the residents of Tehran, will pay a heavy price for the criminal attack on Israeli civilians," Katz said Calling India a "good friend" of Israel which also has "a good dialogue with the Iranians", Israel's Ambassador to India Reuven Azar on Saturday did not rule out the possibility of PM Narendra Modi brokering peace between Tehran and Jerusalem 61 Rajasthanis stranded in Georgia Several countries have suspended flights due to heightened security concerns. This has left many Indians stranded, including 61 people from Rajasthan which also includes Mangalam Group Chairman NK Gupta & his wife Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Report to be submitted in three months Toll 270 The death toll in the London-bound Air India Flight AI-171 plane crash in Ahmedabad rose to 270 on Saturday Agencies NEW DELHI The government has constituted a high-level multi-disciplinary committee for examing the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, that left 241 people dead. "A High Level Multi-disciplinary Committee is constituted for examining the causes leading to the crash of the Air India Flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick Airport (London) on June 12, 2025. The 2 crashes, 2 survivors, one seat Thai actor-singer who survived a deadly plane crash 27 years ago noticed an eerie coincidence when he got to know about the Air India disaster: the lone survivor was seated in the exact same seat as he was, 11A. On December 11, 1998, 20-year-old Ruangsak Loychusak cheated death when Thai Airways Flight TG261 stalled and plunged into a swamp while attempting to land in southern Thailand, killing 101 of the 146 people on board. A Committee will examine the existing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued to prevent and handle such occurrences and suggest comprehensive guide- lines for dealing with such instances in the future," an order issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry read. 4Continued on | P8 from isolation to immortality South African players erupt in celebration as they lift the ICC WTC trophy at Lord’s, capping off a historic victory against Australia AP/PTI (Detail on Sports Page) Utkarsh Avadhiya from Indore has topped NEET UG 2025 in Madhya Pradesh with an All India Rank (AIR) 2 and 99.9 percentile. Aagam Jain from Bhopal is the city topper with AIR 45; his parents are doctors. Anubhav Pandey from Rewa and Mohit Bharti from Ujjain secured AIR 79 and AIR 82 respectively. These four stu- IANS NEW DELHI Amid escalating regional tensions, the Indian Embassy in Israel issued a fresh safety advisory on Saturday for Indian nationals residing in the country as the conflict between Iran-Israel escalates. In a post on social media platform X, the official handle @indemtel stated: "In view of the prevailing situation in the region, all Indian nationals in Israel are advised to remain vigilant and follow the safety protocols issued by the Israeli authorities and Home Front Command." The advisory further urged Indian citizens to exercise caution, avoid all non-essential travel within the country, and stay close to designated safety shelters. "We are continuously monitoring the evolving situation, including the safety and wellbeing of Indian nationals. In case of any emergency, please contact the Embassy's 24x7 Telephone: +972 54-7520711, +972 54-3278392, or email: cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in," it added. Earlier on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, briefing him on the "evolving situation" following the launch of a military operation by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) against Iran, earlier in the day. Four Maoists including 3 women killed Our Staff Reporter BALAGHAT GUNFIGHT BHOPAL In a major breakthrough in ongoing anti-Naxal operations, security forces in Balaghat gunned down four Left Wing Extremists (LWE) — including three women and one man — during a fierce encounter in the dense forests of Pachama Dadar range under Rupjhar police station area on Saturday. Director General (AntiNaxal Operations) Pankaj Shrivastava confirmed the development and said, “Three female and one male Maoist were neutralised in the encounter.” The joint operation was carried out by the Hawk Force and the local police based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area. According to officials, the security forces first launched an assault on the Maoist camp deep inside the forest. In the initial exchange of fire, three Maoists were killed. As others attempted to flee, security personnel chased them and another round of gunfire led to the death of the fourth Maoist. “The bodies of three women Maoists have been re- Bloody battle l Three women and one man neutralised in Pachama Dadar forest area. l Hawk Force and local police launched coordinated assault. l INSAS, SLR, .303 rifle, and combat gear seized. l Intelligence suggests 15+ Maoists still in the region. covered. Identification is yet to be confirmed. The fourth body is also being retrieved,” said Shrivastava, adding that heavy rainfall had briefly halted combing operation. He said that the operation is still in progress and the number of casualties could increase. Security forces are expected to resume their ground action on Sunday morning. It is believed that over 15 Maoist operatives are still present in the area. All the deceased are believed to be members of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit, which has a stronghold across Madhya Pradesh and adjoining Chhattisgarh. 4Continued on | P8 Lift-off on June 19 ShubIndian astronautand hanshu Shukla three others are expected to travel to the International Space Station on June 19 crack not been detected, the rocket could have suffered a major failure at lift off since liquid oxygen is highly inflam- mable. A day before the lift off on June 10, William Gerstenmaier, vice president for Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX 2519), Anushtha Singh (AIR 2629), and Manmeet Kaur Monga (AIR 2900). Madhya Pradesh has 4,938 medical seats across 30 colleges 2,488 seats in 17 government and 2,450 in 13 private colleges. Meanwhile, on orders from the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, results of 75 students have been withheld. NEET was conducted on May 4 this year. PM to take part in G7 Summit in Canada; visit Cyprus, Croatia PTI NEW DELHI PTI PATNA Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Saturday charged RJD president Lalu Prasad with having "insulted" Babasaheb Ambedkar by having a portrait of the Dalit icon placed at his feet. Addressing a press conference, Choudhary, who is a former state president of the BJP, also played a video clip of the incident that took place when the ex-CM was celebrating his 78th birthday earlier this week. In the video, the ailing leader can be seen seated on a couch with his feet placed on a sofa nearby. A supporter enters the room carrying the portrait and places it close to Prasad's feet before greeting the RJD chief. "This is testimony to the fact that Lalu Prasad holds Dalits in contempt and has no respect for the greatest leader from the depressed classes. (See Nation) ISRO intervention prevents space disaster search Organisation (ISRO) chairman Dr V Narayanan. The ‘leak’ has been fixed and the ISRO has confirmed a new launch date for the mission - June 19. The backand-forth between the ISRO and Axiom Space continued for several days. The mission was postponed five times before getting a new launch date. Experts said that had the dents from the state NEET results on are among the top Saturday. Stuti Pan100 nationally. dey from ChhindStudents from 15 wara scored AIR states feature in the 18,302, while Anutop 100. Delhi has rag Tomar from the highest number Morena secured 529 (17), followed by Raout of 720 marks. jasthan (14) and MaOther top perharashtra (11). formers from BhoMadhya Pradesh Utkarsh Avadhiya pal include ranks 10th in this list. Thakur Aryaman Singh (AIR The National Testing 568), Vishishtha Yadav (AIR Agency (NTA) announced 1709), Astha Choudhary (AIR Lalu’s video sparks outrage for insulting Ambedkar offgrid Online Report INDIA ISSUES FRESH SAFETY ADVISORY Govt forms high-level committee NEET UG: Indore boy tops MP with AIR 2 to probe Air India plane crash In a major crackdown on illegal activities, Nalanda Police of Bihar busted a mini arms-manufacturing factory operating from a residential area in Chiksaura on Friday night. The accused, identified as Shankar Vishwakarma, a resident of Chiksaura Bazaar, was arrested during the operation. The timely detection of a ‘crack in an oxidizer line’ in the first stage of the Falcon-9 rocket—which will take four astronauts, including India’s Shubhanshu Shukla, to the International Space Station— averted a major disaster. The fault was observed following a demand for due diligence from the Indian Space Re- E-paper Readers’ Corner Earth or Dustbin: Is... P.6 Tehran will burn, promises Israel NEW DELHI MUMBAI said, “We found a LOX (liquid oxygen) leak that was previously seen on the booster during its (Falcon-9) entry on the last mission and discovered that we had not fully repaired the booster during refurbishment, or we didn't find the leak and didn't get not correct it. 4Continued on | P8 message has been sent to those who bleed India,” Shah said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will undertake a threenation tour starting Sunday, during which he will take part in the G7 Summit in Canada, and visit Cyprus and Croatia to shore up India's bilateral cooperation with these two countries. "This will be the first ever visit by an Indian prime minister to Croatia, marking an important milestone in the bilateral relationship," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) announced on Saturday. Modi will first visit Cyprus on June 15-16 at the invitation of the country's president, Nikos Christodoulides. "This will be the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Cyprus in over two decades," the MEA said in a statement. While in Cyprus capital Nicosia, the prime minister will hold talks with President Christodoulides and address business leaders at Limassol, it said. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 ‘Sindhu water will reach Ganga Nagar in 3 years, Pak will beg for drops’ Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL/NARMADAPURAM Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said that within three years, water from Sindhu (Indus) river would flow to Ganga Nagar, ensuring irrigation across a vast area. Addressing the inaugural session of BJP’s three-day training camp in Pachmarhi, Shah said that Pakistan will struggle for every drop of water, linking it to recent geopolitical developments. “After the Pahalgam attack, we stopped Sindhu water agreement, which was signed during Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s time. A strong CM backs PM Modi’s record hief Minister Mohan Yadav, also present at the event, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11 years in power. He said India’s military had effectively dismantled terror camps supported by Pakistan. He credited Modi with bold decisions like building Ram temple and abrogating Article 370. C US lawmaker killed, another shot at AP BLAINE Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says former state House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in a politically motivated assassination, and a second lawmaker and his wife were shot and wounded. Authorities were actively searching for a suspect hours after the targeted killings. "We must all, in Minnesota and across the country, stand against all forms of political violence," Walz said at a press conference Saturday. "Those responsible for this will be held accountable." The wounded lawmaker was identified as state Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat first elected in 2012. He previously served as vice chair of the Anoka Hennepin School Board, which manages the largest school district in Minnesota. 4Continued on | P8