FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. XLII No. 46 | INDORE | THURSDAY | JULY 24, 2025 | Pages 18 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 www.freepressjournal.in World US Signs trade deal with Japan, lowers tariff To 15% P.12 Briefs NEW DELHI PM embarks on UK, Maldives visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday left on a four-day visit to the UK and the Maldives, expressing confidence that this will boost India's ties with the two countries. In his departure statement, Modi said India and the United Kingdom share a comprehensive strategic partnership that has witnessed significant progress in recent years. BEIJING Visas resumed for Chinese citizens India has announced resuming issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals from this week, a move that comes as part of efforts to repair bilateral ties that came under severe strain following the military clashes in Galwan Valley. India had suspended issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals in 2020 largely due to Covid-19 pandemic but the restrictions continued in view of the eastern Ladakh border row. ADELAIDE Indian student assaulted A 23-year-old Indian man, Charanpreet Singh, was brutally assaulted and left unconscious on a street in Adelaide after a group of men allegedly hurled racist abuse and attacked him over a car parking dispute. The incident took place on Saturday night (local time) near Kintore Avenue in the heart of the city. Kusmaria appointed Chairman of Backward Class Commission Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government appointed Ramkrishna Kusmaria as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Backward Class Welfare Commission on Wednesday night. He has been appointed for the remaining tenure of the Commission. Along with this, the government also appointed Mausam Bisen, daughter of former minister Gaurishankar Bisen, as a member of the Commission. These appointments have been made as the government is required to submit its report on 27% reservation for the Backward Classes to the Supreme Court. iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: UJJAIN INDORE MONEY PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit VS: Of the people, for the people India Ratings cuts India FY26 GDP forecast by 30 bps Now, govt English teachers to learn English MP School Edu Dept heeds to Rahul’s advice Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The State School Education Department is following the advice of Rahul Gandhi. There was a heated exchange between Home Minister Amit Shah and Rahul over their statements on the English language. At an event, Shah said, “Those who speak English in the country will soon feel ashamed.” Reacting to Shah’s statement, Rahul said, “Speak- ing English is no shame. It’s strength. It is not a dam but a bridge.” In today’s world, learning the English language is as important as learning one’s mother tongue, because learning English creates job opportunities and boosts confidence, Rahul said. Every Indian child should learn English, he said. The School Education Department has begun to follow Rahul’s advice. Now, the department will teach English to the government teachers. The Supreme Court is to constitute a bench to hear Justice Yashwant Varma's petition challenging the inhouse inquiry committee's report which indicted him in the cash-at-residence case. The matter was mentioned on Wednesday before the bench of CJI BR Gavai, Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Joymalya Bagchi., report Live Law and the Bar and Bench Senior Advocates Kapil India rebukes Pak at UNSC FP News Service NEW YORK The UN Security Council on Tuesday unanimously adopted a resolution sponsored by Pakistan on “Strengthening Mechanisms for Peaceful Settlement of Disputes.” India, in a sharp rebuttal during the same session, delivered a fiery response to Pakistan, stating that the country remains "steeped in fanaticism and terrorism." The remarks came in direct response to what India described as “juvenile disinformation” spread by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. Dar brought up the Kashmir and Indus water treaty during the discussion on the resolution, and India hit back, calling out its support for cross-border terrorism and reaffirming its commitment to peace, multilateralism, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. UNSC Resolution 2788 (2025) calls on member states to settle disputes through dialogue, diplomacy, and cooperation, avoiding the threat or use of force. It urges effective implementation of existing Security Council resolutions related to peaceful dispute resolution and encourages greater involvement of regional and sub-regional organisations in these efforts. 4Continued on | P8 Kothari, Uma shunted out after SEIAA dispute 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 SC refuses provisional nod for counselling Quo warranto plea in SC seeks min Shah’s ouster NEW DELHI Chandramauli gets additional charge as addl secretary to CM Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Navneet Kothari Uma Maheshwari The state government has removed two officers after the dispute over the deemed permission in the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). The dispute between SEIAA chairman SN Singh Chouhan, principal secretary of environment Navneet Kothari, and executive director (ED) of Environmental Planning and Coordination Organisation (EPCO) Uma Maheshwari continued for several days. The state government on Wednesday transferred Kothari and sent him to Raj Bhawan as principal secretary. Additional chief secretary Ashok Barnwal was given the additional charge of the environment department. Maheshwari has been deprived of the charge of ED of EPCO. Maheshwari will be posted as director of the Indian medicine system. The chief executive officer of the Rural Road Development Authority (RRDA), Deepak Arya, has been given the additional charge of EPCO. In its July 16 edition, the In its July 16 edition, Free Press mentioned that Kothari and Maheshwari would be removed because of the SEIAA dispute Free Press mentioned that Kothari and Maheshwari would be removed because of the SEIAA dispute. Additional chief secretary (ACS) to the Governor, KC Gupta, has been transferred to the Cottage and Village Industries Department on the same post. Managing director of MP State Industrial Development Corporation, Chandramauli Shukla, has been given the additional charge of additional secretary in the CM s Secretariat. During the SEIAA dispute, Chouhan s room was put under lock following the instructions from Kothari. After the incident, the row intensified. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav, who was on a foreign trip, was angry about it. Afterwards, it was certain that both Kothari and Maheshwari would be removed. The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant its provisional nod for appearing in counselling of NEET-UG2025 to two candidates, who faced power outage in their examination centres in Madhya Pradesh. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar, however, listed petitions of Navya Nayak and S Sai Priya for further hearing on July 25. The candidates have challenged the July 14 order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court POWER OUTAGE IN NEET-UG 2025 refusing to order a re-test for them. The counsel for the petitioners submitted a notification was issued for the counselling and sought a provisional permission to participate in it. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Testing Agency, said one of the prayers in both the petitions for a re-test couldn't be allowed as it would affect lakhs of students, who wrote the examination. The bench declined issuing interim directions and deferred the hearing. On July 16, the top court agreed to hear the plea of the candidates who appeared in the examination and suffered power outage in certain centres. 4Continued on | P8 From Ghuwara with Pace Kranti scripts history with record-breaking six-fer Agencies CHESTER-LE-STREET A storm brewed in England, and it came from small village of Madhya Pradesh, "Ghuwara". Kranti Goud, the 21year-old pacer from a quiet village near Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh, etched her name in Indian cricket folklore by becoming the youngest Indian fast bowler to take NAME Deepti Sharma Kranti Goud Nooshin Al Khadeer Jhulan Goswami AGE BOWLING FIGURES 18 years, 179 days 6/20 21 years, 345 days 6/52 21 years, 348 days 5/14 23 years, 12 days 5/16 a five-wicket haul in Women’s ODIs. Her magical spell of 6/52 in 9.5 overs dismantled England’s chase of 318, sealing a 13-run victory and a 2-1 series win for India. This was only Goud’s fourth ODI appearance — and yet, her figures stand among the best ever by an Indian woman, putting her in elite company with the likes of Jhulan Goswami, Deepti Sharma, and Mamatha Maben. With this feat, she also surpassed Goswami's Yaseen is the nephew of Shariq Machhli, whose name surfaced in a rape and blackmail case at TIT College. Although no case was registered against Shariq, his restaurant, Club 90, was demolished by the administration after it came to the fore that the prime accused, Farhan, and his aides raped the victims there. Yaseen’s father, Shafiq Ahmad aka Shafiq Machhli, is a BJP Alpsankhyak Morcha leader. 4Continued on | P8 n Constitutional issues involved: Petitioner tional issues. If it can be listed as early as possible," Sibal said. "It will not be possible for me to take up this matter because I was also part of the committee. We will list it," the CJI said. CJI Gavai was possibly referring to his involvement in the process of initiating inhouse action against Justice Varma during the tenure of former CJI Sanjiv Khanna. Justice Varma has also challenged the recommendation made by the former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to the President and Angle of rape & blackmail the Prime Minister to initiate impeachment proceedings against him. Justice Varma stated in the petition that the in-house inquiry committee made the findings without giving him a fair opportunity to respond. n Plea filed on behalf of Allahabad HC judge Sibal, Mukul Rohatgi, Rakesh Dwivedi, Sidharth Luthra and Siddharth Aggarwal, Advocates George Pothan Poothicote, Manisha Singh amongst others appearing for Justice Verma submitted, "we have filed the petition on behalf of the Allahabad High Court Judge. Some constitutional issues are there. I request you to constitute a bench as soon as possible. Chief Justice of India (CJI) B R Gavai recused from hearing the plea filed by Justice Yashwant Varma. "This raises some constitu- Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Two days after Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar tendered a surprise resignation, citing health reasons, the Election Commission (EC) announced that it has initiated the process for electing his successor. The EC said on Wednesday it has started key preparatory activities such as constituting the electoral college comprising elected and nominated members of both Houses of Parliament, and finalising the appointment of the returning and assistant returning officers. A formal schedule for the election will be announced shortly. n CJI Gavai recuses himself from the case Online Report The English Learning Training Institute, a state-level educational teaching training institute, will be asked to teach English to the teachers. A calendar has been set for the current academic session. How much English a teacher knows will also be assessed as part of the scheme. Teacher training will also be held in villages and in the areas dominated by the tribal people. SEX RACKET, EXTORTION IN DRUG PROBE Trailing a drug syndicate, cops have unearthed a more disturbing racket involving not only abduction and extortion but also sexual exploitation of girls and women.  Interrogation of Saifuddin and Shahrukh alias Ashu, arrested on July 18, led to the arrest of two more persons, Yaseen and Shahwar, with MD (Mephedrone) powder, a pistol, and two vehicles. Police officials said Yaseen aka Mintu (25), a resident of the Budhwara area, was arrested near Gamon Mall on Tuesday. Yaseen, who tried to escape in his SUV, was caught with 1.05 grams of MD powder and a semi-automatic pistol.  Later, his uncle, Shahwar Ahmad (42) of the Gandhi Nagar area, was arrested with 2.052 grams of MD powder and an SUV.  Yaseen is a DJ and organises parties, while his uncle is in the real estate business, they added. It is the phones of these two that have revealed disturbing images and videos of substance abuse, assault, and the exploitation of women. Additional DCP (crime) Shailendra Singh Chauhan said the cops got the first clue of the drug syndicate on February 9 this year, following the arrest of two drug peddlers, Sameer Uddin and Sohail Khan, of the Budhwara area. SC to set up Bench to hear Justice Varma petition NEW DELHI P.14 Cinema Saiyaara’s GenZ frenzy P.18 AI generated fp ESTD-1983 OPPONENT Sri Lanka England England England YEAR Feb 2016 July 2025 Jan 2003 Dec 2005 long-standing age record by over a year. Goud’s performance wasn’t just about pace — it was heart, heritage, and hunger rolled into one. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 EC gears up for VP polls Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar NEW DELHI Accused of violating constitutional oath over Colonel Sofia Qureshi remark Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL A quo warranto petition has been filed in the Supreme Court demanding removal of minister Vijay Shah over his controversial remarks against Colonel Sofia Qureshi, an Army officer. The petition, filed by advocate Jaya Thakur, senior advocate Rameshwar Thakur and others, argues that Shah’s comments violate oath of office under Article 164(3) of Constitution. The petitioners have sought a writ of quo warranto to declare Shah unfit to hold ministerial office. The controversy stems from a statement made by Shah on May 11 during the Operation Sindoor event in Raikunda village of Mhow, Indore, where he allegedly referred to Colonel Sofia Qureshi as “sister of a terrorist.” During earlier hearings, Jaya Thakur had filed a caveat in the Supreme Court on May Lodonia ‘Envoy’ of fraud arrested Cops to probe vidhansabha pass Police officials are also investigating about the vidhansabha pass found on the SUV of Yaseen. Officials said during police remand, Yaseen will be questioned that who helped him getting the pass. It is worth mentioning that a ‘media’ logo was also found on his SUV. Cops urge survivors to report Police officials have urged the victims or individuals with relevant information to report incidents directly to the Crime Branch or nearby police stations, or share details via phone, to help initiate appropriate legal action. 28, requesting that no decision be taken in the matter without hearing her side. Advocates Varun Thakur, Vivek Tankha and others also appeared on her behalf. Petitioners questioned the conduct of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), pointing out that it had informed the court that the FSL lab in Madhya Pradesh lacked capability to examine video evidence. The SIT had sought additional time, raising doubts about the investigation’s intent, they argued. 4Continued on | P8 AI-171 CRASH Body mix-up claims in UK FP News Service LONDON/NEW DELHI plates and fluttering foreign flags. His micronations of choice? Westarctica—a frozen Antarctic fantasy claimed by precisely no one. Another favourite: Seborga, a picturesque Italian hamlet with more goats than voters. Yet Jain flounced about as their ambassador, offering fake IDs and diplomatic jobs as if they were Diwali discounts. British families grieving the loss of loved ones in the tragic Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad have been left distraught after discovering that the remains repatriated to them were misidentified. In one case, the remains of more than one person were mistakenly placed in a single casket, an aviation lawyer representing the families has said. The news came before the start of a twoday state visit to London by India’s PM on Wednesday. India has strongly denied the allegations. Responding to the Daily Mail report, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “All mortal remains were handled with utmost professionalism and with due regard for the dignity of the deceased.” “We have seen the report and have been working closely with the UK side from the moment these concerns and issues were brought to our attention,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “We are continuing to work with the UK authorities on addressing any concerns related to this issue.” 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 Biswajeet Banerjee GHAZIABAD When your neighbourhood “diplomat” claims to represent Lodonia, Westarctica and Seborga, it's not international relations—it’s international farce. Meet Harshvardhan Jain, 47, an MBA-holder, compulsive name-dropper and now the dethroned ‘High Excellency’ of Ghaziabad’s poshest scam. Jain wasn’t your average conman. He styled himself like a method actor— decked out with luxury cars bearing bogus diplomatic plates, a rented bungalow-turned-“embassy” in Kavi Nagar, 12 forged passports from fantasy nations not recognised by anyone except Google, and ₹44.7 lakh in cash nestled between gold-lettered name- MBA-toting fraudster Harshvardhan Jain ran a fantasy embassy with forged flags, fake photos, and flashy lies.