FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 120 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | OCTOBER 13, 2025 | Pages 12 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Stojkovic resigns as Serbia coach following defeat to Albania P.11 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY PTI PATNA fp Briefs KOLKATA Stampede at Bardhaman JDU supporters purchase election material at the campus of the Janata Dal United office in Patna on Sunday. Janata Dal (United) will not be contesting more seats than the BJP in alliance, a clear signal of the acknowledgement within the ruling bloc of the regional party's decline and the BJP's growing heft. The BJP had contested one more seat in the state than the JD(U) in the 2024 Lok Sabha Oppn seat-sharing likely this week The opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' alliance in Bihar is likely to finalise its seat-sharing in the next few days and may announce its candidates along with a joint manifesto this week. Top sources said talks between the RJD and Congress are underway, and their leadership may meet on Monday as RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Tejashwi Yadav are in the national capital polls, also a first. Pradhan said all National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners have completed the seat-distribution exercise in a cordial manner. He said, "Leaders and workers of all NDA parties welcome this with happiness. Bihar is ready for another NDA government." Paswan, who seems to have drawn the best bargain, and Kushwaha echoed Pradhan's message. Manjhi, whose quota of seats is far short of his public posturing, had in a post a few hours before Pradhan's announcement asserted his loyalty to Prime Minister Narendra Modi till "my last breath". Bihar will again have ModiNitish government, Manjhi added. Manjhi later told reporters that he will accept the decision of BJP's leadership but added in the same breath that his party has been undervalued which might have repercussions for the NDA. 4Continued on | P8 Requests opening of Wagha border Agencies NEW DELHI RAIPUR Kabul says 58 Pakistani soldiers killed Security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district arrested eight active Maoists during a joint operation conducted on Sunday. The operation was carried out by personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Basaguda Police Station, and the 168th Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The arrests took place near Polampalli, along the route from Putkel to Polampalli, under the jurisdiction of Basaguda Police Station. KYIV Russia attacks Kyiv power grid Russia attacked Ukraine's power grid overnight into Sunday, part of an ongoing campaign to cripple Ukrainian energy infrastructure before winter. This came as Moscow expressed "extreme concern" over the United States potentially providing Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine. Kyiv regional Gov. Mykola Kalashnyk said two employees of Ukraine's largest private energy company, DTEK, were wounded. NASHIK Modi gets invite for Gaza peace meet, MoS Singh to represent India PTI Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has invited India to invest in the country's minerals and requested New Delhi to help facilitate trade through the opening of the Wagah border, calling it the "fastest trade route" between the two countries. Adressing a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, Muttaqi said, "I met the Min- Pak captures 19 Af security posts Women journalists attend Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi second media briefing in New Delhi on Sunday after 'exclusion' row ister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and talked about economy, trade, and other issues." "During the meeting, the EAM announced the upgrad- E-paper ing of their mission in Kabul to Embassy level and the diplomats of Kabul will arrive in New Delhi," he added. Futher, Muttaqi stated that After Chhindwara, 110 bottles of Coldrif found in Seoni Our Staff Reporter NEW DELHI Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh is set to represent India at a peace summit in Egypt's Red Sea resort city of Sharm elSheikh on Monday, people familiar with the matter said. It is learnt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited for the summit that is expected to be attended by US President Donald Trump and nearly 20 other world leaders. However, New Delhi deputed Singh to attend the summit. The 'Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit', being hosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will discuss ways to bring lasting peace to Gaza as well as to the wider MiddleEast. It will be co-chaired by al-Sisi and Trump. Minister of State for External Affairs Singh will represent India at the peace summit, the people cited above said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are among leaders attending the summit. both countries had reached an agreement on "trade and economy." Highlighting sectors for potential collaboration, Muttaqi said that Afghanistan had extended a formal invitation to India to invest in areas such as minerals, agriculture, and sports. "We also invited the Indian side to invest, particularly in minerals, agriculture, and sports. We also discussed the Chabahar port... We also requested the opening of the Wagah border as it is the fastest and easiest trade route between India and Afghanistan," he said. 4Continued on | P8 Following incidents in Chhindwara and Jabalpur, 110 bottles of Coldrif cough syrup from Sresan Pharma have been seized in Seoni. The stock, held by a local wholesaler, has been frozen, and eight bottles have been sent for testing. The results are awaited. A Drug Inspector in Seoni toldFree Press that on a tip-off, four wholesalers of Sresan products were searched on October 5. Around 110 bottles were recovered from Sriram Medical Agency, all with batch number SR 039 and purchased last year. No bottles were sold before the seizure. Other Sresan products from remaining three wholesalers KOLKATA Pakistan seized 19 Afghan military posts and "terrorist hideouts" in response to what it termed "unprovoked" attacks by Afghan forces in the border areas, security sources said on Sunday, while Kabul claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 30 others injured during the retaliatory operations. The Taliban-led government's Defence Ministry confirmed the attacks early Sunday, saying that its forces had conducted "retaliatory and successful operations". "If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan's territorial integrity, our armed West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a shocking statement on Sunday as she advised colleges not to allow girls to go outside at night after the alleged gangrape of a medical student in Durgapur. "I'm shocked to see the incident, but private medical colleges also should take care of their students, and especially girls. The girls should not be allowed to go outside (college) at night. They have to protect themselves also. There is a forest area. Police are searching all the people," Mamata Banerjee said. A second-year student of a private medical college was al- Our Staff Reporter Damoh police have arrested two accused in the feet-washing and drinking case, while two others remain on the run, officials said on Sunday. The main accused has been taken into custody. SP Shrutkirti Somwanshi said the controversy began after villagers of Sataria had decided on total prohibition of liquor in the village during a meeting on September 14. On October 6, Anuj Pandey allegedly broke the agreement and used abusive language against villagers. The next day, villagers asked Anuj to apologise at Shankar temple, but he failed to appear. A protest rally was held. On October 8, Purshottam Patel, using AI, prepared a photograph showing Anuj wearing a garland of shoes. DURGAPUR GANGRAPE legedly gangraped in Durgapur. The survivor is from Jaleswar, Odisha. Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident and assured that strong action would be taken against the perpetrators. "Nobody will be excused. Whoever is guilty will be punished strictly. Three people have already been arrested. We will take stringent action... When it happens in other states, it is also condemnable," she said. The West Bengal CM drew parallels with crimes in other states, questioning the silence over them. 4Continued on | P8 Preparations were underway on Sunday for a rampup of aid entering the war-battered Gaza Strip under a new ceasefire deal that many are hoping will signal an end to the devastating 2-year-long war. The Israeli defence body in charge of humanitarian aid in Gaza, COGAT, said that the amount of aid entering Gaza Strip is expected to ramp up on Sunday to around 600 trucks per day, as stipulated in the agreement. Egypt said it is sending 400 trucks carrying aid into Gaza on Sunday. The trucks will have to be inspected by Israeli forces before being allowed in. Associated Press footage showed dozens of trucks crossing the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing. Drug Inspectors in Jabalpur conducted surprise inspections at medical shops on Sunday. Shop owners were instructed to follow norms strictly, ensure syrups carry the required warning for children under four and display awareness pamphlets on safe usage of cough syrups. On October 10, the act was carried out at the temple. Some villagers recorded and circulated a video of incident Villagers called him to the temple and asked him to delete the photograph and pay Rs 5,100, which he did. The Brahmin community then demanded that Purshottam should apologise to Anuj by washing his feet and drinking the water. On October 10, the act was carried out at the temple, and some villagers recorded and circulated a video of the incident on social media. Damoh police registered a case against Anuj Pandey and three others. So far, two accused, including Anuj, have been arrested, and the remaining two are being pursued. See World PTI SHIMLA Congress leader P Chidambaram said Operation Blue Star was not the right way to capture militants holed up in the Golden Temple in 1984, due to which the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, "paid with her life". "There was a way to retrieve and capture all militants but Operation Blue Star was the wrong way and I agree that Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for the mistake but the mistake was cumulative decision of the Army, intelligence, police and civil defence and you cannot completely blame (just) Mrs Gandhi," the former home minister said during a book launch in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli on Saturday. Chidambaram made the re- offgrid BSF air wing gets first woman flight engineer The Border Security Force (BSF) air wing has got its first woman flight engineer in its over 50 years history following completion of a first in-house training capsule. Inspector Bhawna Chaudhary along with four male subordinate officers were recently awarded their flying badges by BSF director general Daljit Singh Chawdhary. The border force is tasked Surprise checks in Jabalpur 2 held, 2 on run in Damoh feet-washing, drinking incident BHOPAL plied bottles that reached Chhattarpur, where at least 22 children died after consuming the toxic syrup. DGCA asks AI to reinspect RAT on planes PTI MUMBAI Aviation safety regulator DGCA has directed Air India to reinspect the RAT (emergency power source) for stowage on all aircraft whose power conditioning module was replaced by the Tata Group-owned airline in recent times. At the same time, the aviation safety regulator has sought a "comprehensive report" from the US aircraft maker Boeing on the preventive measures to be implemented with respect to the un-commanded Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deployment incident. The development comes in the wake of two back-to-back incidents involving Air India 787 aircraft recently, and the pilots' grouping Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), writing a letter to the Civil Aviation Minister, urging the government to ground Air India's entire B787 aircraft fleet, besides a special audit of the airline. 4Continued on | P8 AP ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR PTI were also frozen. The supply to Seoni came via Jabalpur stockist Kataria Pharmaceuticals, which had earlier sup- CAIRO Agencies NEW DELHI P.9 Aid trucks roll Girls should not be Op Blue Star mistake, Indira allowed to go outside into Gaza at night: Mamata paid with life: Chidambaram PTI 4Continued on | P8 MUMBAI BHOPAL AF INVITES INDIA TO INVEST IN MINERALS A major accident occurred at Bardhaman railway station on Sunday evening after a stampede broke out amid a heavy rush of passengers. At least 10 to 12 people were injured in the chaos, railway officials said. Six of the injured, including both men and women, have been admitted to Bardhaman Medical College and Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment. Eight Maoists arrested INDORE World Trump directs Pentagon to pay troops NDA PACT: BJP, JDU TO CONTEST 101 SEATS EACH Chirag’s party gets 29 seats PUNE Edit A Talibani diktat in India P.6 Global trade war roaring back BIHAR ELECTIONS | 243-member assembly will go to the polls in two phases on November 6 and 11, results on 14 The BJP and the JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while Union minister Chirag Paswan-led Lok Janshakti Party will field its candidates on 29 seats, Union minister and BJP's Bihar polls in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Sunday. In a post on X as the meeting of the BJP's Central Election Committee, which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders, started, Pradhan said Union minister Jitan Ram Manjhi-led Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) and Upendra Kushwaha-led Rashtriya Lok Morcha will field their candidates on six seats each. This is the first assembly poll since Chief Minister Nitish Kumar led the NDA to end the 15-year reign of the RJD-led government in 2005 that his UJJAIN to operate the aviation unit of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) since 1969 and it caters to the operational requirements of all the paramilitary forces and special forces like the NSG and the NDRF. Officials told PTI that five subordinate officers were "trained ab-initio by the instructors of the BSF air wing and they recently completed their two-month long training." The five personnel were skilled for 130 hours during the two months in- wing flew operational sorties including during the recent floods in Punjab and other states. "The BSF air wing has been facing a critical shortage of flight engineers in its Mi-17 helicopters fleet. "The Indian Air Force (IAF) trained the first batch of 3 subordinate officers but the second batch of five personnel could not get a training slot there due to various constraints," an official said. house training starting August and they also had real exposure to the work as various assets of the BSF air 4Continued on | P8 There was a way to retrieve and capture all militants but Operation Blue Star was the wrong way P Chidambaram Former home minister marks during a conversation with journalist and author Harinder Baweja on her memoir 'They Will Shoot You Madam: My Life Through Conflict' at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival. Operation Blue Star was a military operation held between June 1-10, 1984, to remove Damdami Taksal leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site among Sikhs. Later that year, Indira Gandhi, the prime minister at the time, was assassinated. Chidambaram said, "No disrespect to any service or military officer, but Operation Blue Star was not the right way to retrieve the Golden Temple and about 3-4 years later we showed the right way by keeping the Army out in Operation Black Thunder." 4Continued on | P8 EU’s digital entry system kicks in for all travellers PTI LONDON Travellers to Europe, including Indians, will be subject to new entry registrations from Sunday under a phased implementation of the European Union's new digital border system. The EU's Entry Exit System (EES) requires non-EU citizens to register at the border when entering any of the EU countries by scanning their passport and having their fingerprints and photograph taken. EES will be a requirement when entering Schengen area countries including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, with Ireland and Cyprus exempt. For travellers using the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or Eurostar at St Pancras International in London, the process will take place at the border before they leave the UK. 4Continued on | P8