FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 62 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | AUGUST 19, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports National triple jumper suspended after positive test P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PRESS PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit EC must rectify, not retaliate P.6 ‘India emerging as world’s most preferred investment destination’ Cinema Zakir Khan creates history P.14 TUG OF POWER | India navigates among Moscow, Beijing and Washington amid global power play DRI busts Rs 92crore mephedrone factory Juggling Act: Putin dials, Wang Yi visits, US warns Our Staff Reporter FP Desk BHOPAL 7 held under ‘Op Crystal Black’; links to Mumbai, Surat revealed NEW DELHI/WASHINGTON On a day marked by highstakes diplomacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar urged Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to ensure calm at the border, and in Washington White House trade adviser Peter Navarro warned that India’s oil trade with Moscow was funding Russia’s war. Together, the three developments underscored the tightrope India is walking in balancing ties with rival powers. Modi’s conversation with Putin came just days after the Russian leader met former US President Donald Trump in Alaska to discuss a permanent end to the Ukraine conflict. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi underlined India’s long- fp Briefs NEW DELHI Rs 6,487 cr for electrification The government has approved works worth Rs 6,487 crore under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to electrify 13.59 lakh households across the country, the Parliament was informed on Monday. The move is aimed at ensuring that every family, even in the remotest corners, has access to electricity, Minister of State for Power, Shripad Yesso Naik, said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. INDORE Two minor sisters drown Two girls, aged 12 and 15 drowned in a deep pit dug for the construction of a culvert under Sanwer police station limits on Sunday afternoon. The tragic incident believed to have occurred when the girls were playing near the pit and accidentally fell into it. According to police, the deceased were identified as Bashkanya and her sister Anushka, daughters of Bhagwan Chauhan, a resident of Chimli village. My friend, President Putin, for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska Narendra Modi Prime Minister External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in New Delhi on Monday. standing call for peace and told Putin that New Delhi would “offer its full support” for efforts to resolve the war, raging since February 2022. He later posted on X, thanking “my friend, President Putin, for sharing insights on his recent meeting with President Trump in Alaska,” and reaffirmed India’s commitment to backing all peace efforts. The two leaders also discussed bilat- Zelenskyy brings Europe’s top leaders with him to meet Trump AP WASHINGTON eral cooperation and agreed to remain in close touch. Meanwhile, across Delhi, Jaishankar held talks with Wang Yi and stressed that “the basis for any positive momentum in our ties is the ability to jointly maintain peace and tranquility in the border areas.” He said the de-escalation process along the Line of Actual Control must move forward, and added that India CM YADAV MEETS PM FOR SECOND TIME IN 19 DAYS Will suspense over CS end? CS was in Delhi for 2 days, met Governor on return Chief Secretary Anurag Jain was in Delhi for two days. He went to Delhi on Sunday morning and returned from there on Monday evening. Jain met Governor Mangubhai Patel at Rajbhawan after returning from there. Our Staff Reporter Ukraine's future could hinge on a hastily assembled meeting Monday at the White House as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy brings with him an extraordinary cadre of European leaders to show US President Donald Trump a united front against Russia. The European political heavy-hitters were left out of Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, and they are looking to safeguard Ukraine and the continent from any widening aggression from Moscow. By arriving as a group, they hope to avoid any debacles like Zelenskyy's February 4Continued on | P8 BHOPAL Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second time in 19 days. Yadav met Modi at the Parliament House on Monday. Before this meeting, Yadav and Modi held talks for 45 minutes on July 31. A decision on the Chief Secretary, together with other issues, may have figured in the talks between Yadav and Modi. Chief Secretary Anurag Jain is retiring on August 31.  There is confusion over whether a new CS will be appointed or Jain will get an extension. After the CM’s meeting with the PM, there is hope that the mist over the issue may disperse. Yadav also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and it was his fourth trip to Delhi in the past 20 days. As Jain was the centre’s choice as CS, it is the Central Government which will decide the issue of his extension. 4Continued on | P8 CM invites PM to MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the state. He requested Modi to inaugurate the metro rail in Bhopal and Kisan Sammelan. Yadav informed the Prime Minister that Swadeshi Abhiyan had been launched in the state. In the past one year and four months, his government launched a major campaign for industrialisation. He said MOUs over Rs 30,00,000 crore had been signed with industrial houses, which would generate jobs for 21 people. Oppn mulls impeachment of CEC, says he acted like BJP spokesperson Hamas accepts 60-day Gaza ceasefire PTI Online Report NEW DELHI Opposition parties on Monday accused the Election Commission of failing to discharge its constitutional duty of ensuring a free and fair electoral system, and did not rule out moving an impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom they alleged was acting like a "BJP spokesperson". Addressing a press conference here, representatives of eight prominent parties -Congress, TMC, SP, DMK, RJD, CPI(M), AAP and SS-UBT -said the CEC had "failed" to answer their questions on the EC makes public names of 65L deleted voters The Election Commission on Monday said it has made public the names of nearly 65 lakh people, which were deleted from the draft electoral rolls published in Bihar as part of the special intensive revision (SIR). In pursuance of the Supreme Court order last week, the EC made available the names, booth wise, on its website, besides putting up printouts at each polling station Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and issues related to voter list irregularities and chose to attack them at his presser on Sunday. The EC has "completely failed" in discharging its constitutional duty of ensuring a free and fair electoral system in the country. It has now become clear that the EC is not Shubhanshu meets PM; gifts Tri-colour that travelled to space PTI NEW DELHI Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla who became the first Indian astronaut to travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Shukla, who was part of the Axiom-4 commercial mission to the ISS from June 25-July 15, met the prime minister at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence. and China must be guided by “mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interest.” The two sides also reviewed trade, connectivity, pilgrimages, river data sharing and global issues. Wang will meet NSA Ajit Doval for boundary talks on Tuesday before calling on Modi. But even as India tried to balance its two giant neighbours, criticism came from Washington. In an opinion piece in the Financial Times, Navarro accused India of acting as a “global clearinghouse for Russian oil” and warned that its closeness with both Moscow and Beijing made it risky to transfer advanced US military technologies to New Delhi. Taken together, the phone call, the border talks and the American warning reflect the delicate act of diplomacy India now faces — engaging Russia, managing China, and convincing the West of its reliability. Modi welcomed Shukla, who was wearing an ISRO astronaut's jacket, with a warm hug and walked with him with his arm on the astronaut's shoulder. Shukla gifted the prime minister the mission patch of the Axiom-4 mission and the Indian tricolour that he had taken with him to the ISS. This Indian tricolour was fluttering in the background on the ISS when Shukla interacted with Modi on June 29. 4Continued on | P8 being led by officers who can ensure a level playing field, a joint statement on behalf of 20 opposition political parties alleged. "The right to vote is the most important right given by the Constitution to a common citizen. 4Continued on | P8 Hamas on Monday said it had accepted a proposed hostage release deal that includes a 60day ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, news agency Reuters reported, amid continued fighting in the region. However, according to Saudi channel Al Arabiya, the proposal represents a compromise between a full ceasefire and a temporary truce, which includes the release of the remaining hostages and a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli military from Gaza. The development came as thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in eastern areas of Gaza City. In a major crackdown, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a mephedrone manufacturing unit worth Rs 92 crore in Bhopal, arresting seven people in raids conducted across Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The operation, code-named ‘Operation Crystal Black’, was carried out with help from police units in Surat and Mumbai. The illegal drug unit was unearthed in Jagdishpur (Islamnagar), Huzur tehsil on August 16, where officials seized SC calls for insurance for cadets disabled during training Mumbai connection In swift follow-up action, DRI apprehended a key cartel member from Basti, Uttar Pradesh, who oversaw supply of raw materials from Bhiwandi (Mumbai) to Bhopal. Two more suspects—chemical suppliers from Mumbai— were also arrested, along with a transporter who moved the chemicals to Bhopal. Investigations revealed a hawala network was used to transfer funds from Surat and Mumbai to Bhopal. One person handling the financial transactions was held in Surat. 61.20 kg of mephedrone in liquid form, along with a cache of chemicals and processing equipment. The raided facility was a se- 4Continued on | P8 After failed NSUI, YC experiments, Rahul turns to Cong PTI Nitendra Sharma NEW DELHI BHOPAL The Supreme Court on Monday said it wants defence forces to have "braveheart cadets" who should not be deterred by injuries or disabilities suffered during training and directed the Centre to explore the possibility of providing them with insurance covers for such exigencies. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan, sought response of the Centre and defence forces in a suo motu case on difficulties faced by cadets, who were medically discharged from military institutes on account of disabilities suffered during training programmes. "We want these braveheart cadets to be in the forces. We don't want injuries or disability to be any kind of deterrent to these cadets, who undergo training after clearing various competitive examinations," the bench observed. The Centre, the top court said, should explore the possibility of granting an insurance The former president of the Congress and present Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha has launched a ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan (organisation restructuring campaign).’ The party’s district unit presidents have been elected through this campaign. The observers sent by the party to districts to select candidates submitted their reports. The issue was discussed with various leaders of the party. Finally, it was the AICC that selected the DCC presidents. In the selection process, based on Rahul Gandhi’s plan, the state party unit did not have any role in many places. This is the third experiment of Rahul that he is doing with the Congress. He has already used the formula to reorganise the NSUI and Youth Congress. Rahul started holding internal elections in both these organisations. An NGO conducted the elections in the 4Continued on | P8 cluded structure, carefully shielded from public view to avoid detection. DCC DISPARITY There is disparity in selecting DCC presidents In some places, very strong candidates have been given the charge, but there is adjustment some places NSUI. In the Youth Congress, too, the election process was held. The Congress’s new leadership emerged from the NSUI and Youth Congress. Mukesh Nayak, Jitu Patwari, Rajkumar Patel and many other senior Congress leaders have the NSUI background, but strong leadership has stopped emerging from these two organisations. In appointing the district presidents, Rahul did the same experiment with the party as he did with the NSUI and Youth Congress. 4Continued on | P8 FIR against Cong MLA Masood in 3 days; college can run: HC Constitutes SIT led by ADG, to file report in 45 days Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The Principal Bench of the High Court in Jabalpur on Monday instructed the Bhopal Police Commissioner to register an FIR against Congress MLA Arif Masood within three days.  Masood is the secretary of the Aman Education Society, which runs the Indira Priyadarshani College of Management. The court is hearing a petition over the college operating for the past 20 years on fake documents. Also, taking note of its ap- COLLEGE ON FAKE DOCUMENTS proximately 1,000 students, the court stated that the college can continue to operate as long as it does not accept new students for the upcoming academic year.  A Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by ADG (communication) Sanjiv Sami, has also been constituted and asked to submit its report within 1-½ months.  A complaint was filed against the college in 2024, triggering a full inquiry. The Higher Education Department inquiry revealed that two solvency certificates were not issued at all, and four solvency-related registries were fake. Based on this, the college’s recognition was withdrawn earlier in 2025. 4Continued on | P8 offgrid Putin’s bodyguards carried ‘poop suitcase’ to Alaska meet Agencies MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin's bodyguards reportedly carried a "poop suitcase" to collect his faecal waste during the Friday Alaska summit with US President Donald Trump, as reported by The Express US. The unusual security measure was said to be aimed at preventing foreign powers from obtaining in- formation about the Russian leader's health. "Putin's bodyguards collect his faecal waste and bring it back to Russia when the leader travels abroad," The Express US reported. During Putin's meeting, strict security measures were in place to protect Putin. He was surrounded by bodyguards, and a number of steps were taken to protect him and Russian intel. Citing investigative jour- nalists Regis Gente and Mikhail Rubin in the French publication Paris Match, The Express US reported that members of the Russian President's Federal Protection Service (FPS) collect his human waste, including his faeces, store it in special bags, and carry it in dedicated briefcases. The measure reportedly dates back several years, including Putin's visit to France in May 2017, The Express US reported. It is suspected that the surprising security measure is undertaken to stop foreign powers from taking samples of Putin's human waste, potentially gaining information on the Russian leader's health. Journalist Farida Rustamova also reported that such measures existed during Putin's visit to Vienna, where he used a portable toilet. "She said that a source revealed the president has carried out the practice since he began his leadership in 1999," The Express US reported. 4Continued on | P8