Thursday, July 17, 2025 | 28 Pages | `5 & for State (+4 pages) `6 Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL Vol. 68 No. 244 | Leader in E-paper circulation l www.freepressjournal.in ● EDITIONS: ● MUMBAI ● INDORE ● PUNE ● BHOPAL ● NASHIK ● KONKAN ● E-paper ● Member: Audit Bureau of Circulation (July to December 2024) MONEY NATION CM Banerjee leads march in Kolkata, warns that protests will rage if Bengalis are targeted Victim’s brother wants Nimisha to be executed Talal Mahdi’s relatives refuse pardon, insist on retributive justice under Islamic law FPJ News Service MUMBAI The family of Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni national allegedly killed by Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya in 2017, has firmly declined any offer of pardon or blood money Nimisha with husband (diyat), demanding her execu- Tomy Thomas tion in line with Qisas — a form of retributive justice permitted under Islamic law. In an interview with BBC Arabic on July 14, Talal’s brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, dismissed all prospects of reconciliation. He stressed that no financial compensation could equate to the loss of his Murdered: Talal Mahdi brother, calling the act “deliberate and savage.” gued that no personal or busiAbdelfattah also pushed ness conflict could justify such back against reports in Indian a killing. Nimisha Priya, an Inmedia suggesting that his dian nurse from Kerala, has brother had abused Priya or been on death row in Yemen withheld her passsince 2018 after being port. He accused Inconvicted of murdian outlets of dering a Yemeni naportraying a contional in 2017. She is victed murderer as a currently lodged in victim and misreprethe Central Prison in senting the facts. Sanaa. Brother: According to AbPriya first moved Abdelfattah delfattah, the relato Yemen in 2008 to Mahdi tionship between his work as a nurse at a brother and Priya began pro- government hospital in the fessionally, developed into a capital. In 2011, she briefly rebusiness partnership, and turned to Kerala to marry eventually led to a brief mar- Tomy Thomas, after which riage lasting about four years. she and her husband settled He said the crime involved in Yemen. “gruesome mutilation and disposal of the body” and ar- 4Contd on | nation Briefs Pahalgam terrorists identified J&K LG Manoj Sinha declared the Pahalgam attackers have been identified and won't survive long. Speaking at Gandhi Smriti, he said Operation Sindoor sent a strong message to Pakistan. He cited massive development post-Article 370 and claimed the Valley has seen peace, with no bullets fired during elections and stonepelting becoming a thing of the past. Agri scheme cleared The Cabinet on Wednesday (July 16, 2025) approved Prime Minister Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana for a period of six years, covering 100 districts with an annual outlay of Rs 24,000 crore. The programme will converge 36 existing schemes and increase adoption of crop diversification. SEE NATION Cinema Sidharth, Kiara Advani become parents to baby girl Govt enhances NTPC’s investment limit to `20k cr, allows NLC to pump in `7k cr in RE projects Edit The Indian dilemma: How to balance a bipolar world? HYPOCRITICAL THREAT | Bloc’s secretary general warns of 100 per cent secondary tariffs over oil imports from Moscow NATO chief wants India to back off from Russian oil Ashwin Ahmad NEW DELHI Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte issued a blunt warning to India over its continued oil imports from Russia. In a press conference held with US Senators in Washington, Rutte said that Brazil, China and India could face 100% secondary sanctions from the West if they continued to do so. “If you are the President of China, the PM of India, or the President of Brazil, and you continue to trade with Russia and buy their oil and gas, then you know: if the man in Moscow doesn’t take the peace negotiations seriously, I will impose 100% secondary sanctions.” Rutte said. “My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is: if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this because this might hit you very hard.” Rutte’s warning comes in the wake of recent pressure by President Trump on Russia to end the Ukraine war. Speaking to the press at the White House, Trump expressed his disappointment with President Putin and stated that 100% secondary tariffs would kick in if a deal on Ukraine was not worked out soon. “I’m disappointed in President Putin because I thought we would have had a deal 2 months ago, but it doesn't seem to have got there. So based on that we’re going to be doing secondary tariffs if we don’t have a deal in 50 days. It will be at a 100%.” While India has not yet officially responded to the remarks by the Nato chief or President Trump, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has it clear on many occasions that India reserves the right to buy oil wherever and from whomever it chooses to do so. 4Contd on | nation If you are the President of China, the Prime Minister of India, or the President of Brazil, and you continue to trade with Russia and buy their oil and gas, then you know: if the man in Moscow doesn’t take the peace negotiations seriously, I will impose 100 per cent secondary sanctions. Mark Rutte I don't want to sound argumentative but tell me is buying Russian gas not funding the war? It’s only Indian money and oil coming into India which funds the war but not the gas coming into Europe? Let’s be a little even-handed here. S Jaishankar CONG SEEKS EXPLANATION FOR POOR SHOWING IN ASSEMBLY Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI Aghast over the way little of no opposition was offered by party MLAs during the passage of the Public Safety Bill in the state assembly on Thursday, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has asked its state unit to seek clarification from its legislature wing. According to sources, the Wadettiwar himself was absent from the House when the Public Safety Bill was passed. The party has 16 members. But only seven MLAs were present. Congress Legislature Party has been asked to clarify the role its MLAs played when the bill was introduced for passage and put to a vote. The letter, written by Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Cabinet lauds Shux Shinde ties ‘watershed’ mission up with Committee (MPCC) chief Harshwardhan Sapkal, was dispatched on Wednesday to Vijay Wadettiwar, the leader of the party in the state legislature. Wadettiwar himself had not been present in the House when the bill was passed by a majority. He was away in Chandrapur, his home district, to oversee District Cooperative Bank elections, it was said. The party has 16 members in the House. But only six or seven Congress MLAs were present in the house when the bill was approved, a leader told FPJ. 4Contd on | nation CDS places stress on drones, self-reliance PTI NEW DELHI Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan on Wednesday said recent conflicts globally have demonstrated how drones can "shift tactical balance disproportionately", and asserted that self-reliance in UAVs and Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-UAS) is a "strategic imperative" for India. Addressing an event held at Manekshaw Centre here, Gen Chauhan also said Operation Sindoor has shown why indigenously developed Unmanned Aerial Systems The CDS said during Operation Sindoor Pakistan used unarmed drones and loiter munitions on May 10. But "none of them could actually inflict any damage to Indian military or civilian infrastructure." "Most of them were neutralised through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic means. Some of them could be recovered in almost intact conditions," Gen Chauhan said. Kalpesh Mhamunkar The Union Cabinet on Wednesday passed a resolution welcoming the return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from International Space Station and described the moment as one of “pride, glory and joy for the entire nation”. The Cabinet joined the nation in celebrating Shukla’s return to Earth following the successful completion of his 18day mission aboard the ISS. Shukla was launched on June 25 as Mission Pilot, the Cabinet note said, adding that “this mission marked a watershed MUMBAI US President Donald Trump has said that a proposed trade agreement with India is being modeled on the recently finalised US-Indonesia pact. That deal offers the US full access to Indonesia’s market, while Indonesian goods face a 19% import duty in America. Indonesia moment -- the first time an Indian astronaut travelled to the International Space Station.” Stating that the mission “heralds a new chapter in India’s space programme and gives a golden glimpse of our future space programme,” the Cabinet also commended the Indian Space Research Organisation and community of Indian scientists and engineers whose efforts made the achievement possible. During his stay in the ISS, Shukla worked with fellow members of the Axiom-4 Crew and Expedition 73. Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena has announced an alliance with the Republican Sena, headed by Anandraj Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, significant since it comes ahead of the local body elections in Maharashtra. This new partnership is being seen as a move by the Shinde faction to strengthen its position amid speculation that the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) may also join forces before the polls. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde made the announcement at a joint press conference with Anandraj Ambedkar, where both leaders emphasized ideological alignment and shared goals. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation FPJ News Service also committed to purchase $15 billion in US energy, $4.5 billion in agricultural products, and 50 Boeing jets. Under the deal, which was finalised after Trump spoke with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, goods that have been transshipped to avoid higher duties will face steeper levies. “They are going to pay 19% and we are going to pay nothing … we will have full access into Indonesia, and we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced,” Trump said outside the Oval Office earlier. "India is basically working along that same line," Trump told reporters, asserting that US tariffs had helped gain access to previously closed markets. 4Contd on | nation Rajesh Moudgil CHANDIGARH: He had purchased a white Toyota Fortuner (PB-20-C7100) from a Kapurthala resident, which police identified as the SUV which hit the 114-year old Fauja Singh. The police claimed to have tracked down the SUV via CCTV footage from the area. The first clue were pieces of broken headlight and the bumper of the vehicle which had fallen off in the impact. They were recovered from the accident site and gave an indication as to the kind of vehicle they should be looking for, which they found after scanning CCTV footage. Once they found a match, police teams got in the touch with the (registered) owner of the SUV, Varinder Singh, based on its registration number. Varinder, resident of Kapurthala, told the police that he had sold the SUV to Dhillon, an NRI, about two years ago and that Dhillon had recently returned from Canada. Police said the SUV had been sold twice in the past. Dhillon reportedly told po- We're very close to a deal with India, where they open it up. We've made deals with a lot of great places. We have another one coming up maybe with India. I don't know, we're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal. Donald Trump No FIR in Ghai family dispute Bring in J&K FPJ News Service MUMBAI The Marine Drive police have determined that the bitter family dispute within the Ghai family is civil in nature and has declined to register a criminal FIR in the matter. The high-stakes family conflict pitted father against son in a legal battle over control of one of Mumbai’s well-known hospitality businesses. Ravi Ghai, founder of the Graviss Group, which owns Hotel Intercontinental at Marine Drive, Kwality restaurants etc, had accused his son Gaurav Ghai and other family members of forging his signature to take over control over the company assets. Gaurav had vehemently denied the allegations and said his father had on his own volition signed the relevant documents. Ghai Sr had even issued public notices against Gaurav and others adding to the acrimony of the dispute. lice that when he was driving from Bhogpur to Kishangarh village he had he hit an elderly person (Fauja Singh) on the highway when traversing Bias village where Fauja Singh lived. He had been returning from Mukerian town after selling his mobile phone when his Fortuner struck Fauja. He said that he was not aware at the time of the accident that he had hit the legendary marathoner and learnt about it only from the news the next day. 4Contd on | nation FPJ News Service The SC on Tuesday pulled up the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad over allegedly objectionable social media posts, stating the SIT was "misdirecting itself" and that there was no need to summon him again. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bag- FPJ News Service MUMBAI chi reminded the SIT that its investigation must remain confined to the two FIRs filed against the professor and directed that the probe be completed within four weeks. “You do not need him, you need a dictionary,” Justice Kant remarked sharply when the government counsel suggested the professor might need to be summoned again. 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation 4Contd on | nation Ashoka Univ probe MUMBAI statehood bill: Cong letter to PM The Congress on Wednesday shot off a missive to PM Narendra Modi, calling for a legislation in Parliament's Monsoon Session granting full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir. In their joint letter, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi -- leaders of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, respectively -also demanded another legislation to bring the Union Territory of Ladakh under the Constitution's Sixth Schedule. For the last five years, the people of J&K have been consistently clamouring for restoration of statehood, the letter said, asserting that the demand was both legitimate and firmly grounded in their constitutional and democratic rights. NRI held for Fauja Singh hit-and-run death SC slams SIT over Punjab police announced the arrest of a 30-year-old man from Canada for the hit-andrun which led to the death of veteran marathoner Fauja Singh on Monday. The accused, identified as Amritpal Singh Dhillon, a nonresident Indian (NRI), was arrested late Tuesday night from Dasupur village of Kartarpura town of Jalandhar district. Dhillon was said to have come from Canada few days ago. 4Contd on | nation ‘No drone damage’ MUMBAI NEW DELHI (UAS) and C-UAS "built for our terrain and our needs are crucial". Indonesia-type trade deal awaits India Ambedkar Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar Dependence on foreign technologies weakens preparedness, limits ability to scale up production, results in a shortfall of critical spares for sustenance and roundthe-clock availability. Gen Anil Chauhan