FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. 15 No. 138 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | OCTOBER 31, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 FREE www.freepressjournal.in Sports Training tragedy stuns cricket again P.13 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL WORLD Hostage drama ends: 17 kids rescued, accused shot PTI Video goes viral Arya released a video which Mumbai Police on Thursday went viral on social media. "I rescued 19 persons including 17 am Rohit Arya. Instead of children from a studio in Powai (committing) suicide, I area while the man who had made a plan and have taken held them hostage succumbed a few children hostage....I to bullet injuries sustained durhave very simple demands. ing the operation, officials said. Very moral, ethical deRohit Arya (50), who remands. I have some quesleased a video statement durtions. I want to speak to ing the hostage drama that some people and on their went on for about an hour, sayanswers, if there are any ing he wanted to "ask questions counter-questions, I to some people", was want to ask them. But I shot by police when he want these answers," he said. tried to harm the children with an air gun and later died at building. The Mumbai hospital, officials said. Police team conducted a "At about 1.30 pm, rescue operation and Powai police station re- Rohit Arya safely freed all the ceived information that children. During the opa person had taken 17 children eration, while rescuing the hostage at Mahavir Classic children, the person got in- The building in Powai in which Rohit Arya held several children hostage jured, was immediately rushed to the hospital and later declared dead," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Datta Nalawade. "All the children are safe," said Satyanaranyan, Joint Com- INDIA DETHRONE AUSTRALIA HISTORY IN MUMBAI | Hosts chase record 339 in epic semifinal, set to meet SA in final on Nov 2 NAVI MUMBAI: In a performance that will be etched in cricketing folklore forever, the Indian women's cricket team scripted a historic chapter by storming into the ICC Women's World Cup final, dethroning defending champions Australia by five wickets with 9 balls to spare in a nerveshredding semifinal at the DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. Chasing a record 339 runs – the highest successful chase in Women's World Cup knockout history – India rode on Jemimah Rodrigues' magnificent 127 off 134 balls to break Australia's 25-year stranglehold on the trophy and set up a title clash with South Africa. (Australia Innings on Sports Page) Justice Surya Kant appointed next CJI Justice Surya Kant was on Thursday appointed as the 53rd Chief Justice of India and he will assume charge on November 24. 3rd India have qualified for the Women’s ODI WC final for the third time; they’d finished runners up in 2005 and 2017. 2nd India’s 341/5 today is also the second-highest score in a Women’s ODI run-chase, after their own 369 all-out against the same team in Delhi last month. Jemimah Rodrigues in action during the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 semifinal @BCCIWomen IANS Two killed as crane collapses on vehicles CBSE board exam datesheet out The CBSE has released the final date sheet for the 2026 board exams for both Class10 and 12. According to the final CBSE board exam datesheet, exams start from February 17, 2026 for both classes. FP News Service PITHAMPUR Two persons were killed after a crane collapsed during girder installation work on an under-construction railway bridge in Sagore, Pithampur Sector 3, on Thursday morning. The incident occurred around 9:15 am when two cranes were lifting heavy slabs on the bridge. Suddenly, one of the cranes on the Sagore side tilted and fell, crushing two loading vehicles, passing through the diversion road. Ajay Kumar, a tire shop worker from Sehore residing in Betma and Kalyan, a truck driver from Sagore Thana Road, were trapped under the heavy crane and died before rescue teams could reach them. Their bodies were retrieved after two hours of effort. Preliminary investigation revealed that no support plates were placed beneath the crane’s legs, causing the soil to subside under its weight. 4Continued on | P8 State boasts of best Naxal surrender policy, but no takers Rajesh Thakur BHOPAL Despite Madhya Pradesh having one of the most liberal and attractive Naxal surrender policy in the country, not a single Naxalite has laid down arms in state in recent years. In contrast, neighbouring Chhattisgarh has seen over 2,000 Naxalites surrender since January 2024. Within just two days this month, 258 Naxals surrendered in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Three districts of Madhya Dindori out of list According to a post on X by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on April 1, 2025, only Balaghat now features among the 38 Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts in the country. The district has been reclassified from “Most Affected” to “District of Concern.” Mandla figures in the “Others” list, while Dindori has been declared free from Naxalism. Only 3 Naxals from MP Only three Naxals operating in the forests of Balaghat district are from Madhya Pradesh — Deepak from Taligonda, and Sampat and Sangeeta from Rashimeta. Pradesh — Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori — are considered affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). The state has deployed CRPF, Hawk Force, PRESS PUNE Cobra Battalion, SAF and district police to counter the problem. 4Continued on | P8 missioner of Police (Law and Order). Arya had called the children -- boys and girls around 15 years old -- for an audition for a web series. The auditions were going on for the last two days, police officials said. Besides an air gun, he was carrying some chemicals, they added. Initially, police did not mention that there had been a firing during the operation. Arya was declared dead at 5.15 pm, officials said. After receiving a call about a man holding children hostage inside R A Studio in Mahavir Classic building, Powai police officials along with a Quick Response Team (QRT), Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad and a fire brigade team reached the spot, said DCP Nalawade. 4Continued on | P8 FIRs over child abuse videos on social media Probe across eight stations Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Multiple FIRs have been registered in Bhopal after obscene videos involving minors were found circulating on social media platforms. The action followed a central agency alert that flagged objectionable content and shared details of those involved. According to officials, the agencies had written to DGP in March 2025, after receiving information from social media companies including Meta. The companies provided IP addresses and mobile numbers linked to the upload and sharing of material. 4Continued on | P8 INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Pay Commission has task cut out P.6 Trump rates meeting with Xi a 12 out of 10 MUMBAI HORROR | Hostage-taker had called children—boys and girls around 15 years old—for an audition for a web series MUMBAI UJJAIN Cinema Mumbai feels Enrique’s magic P.12 Ayurvedic cough syrup claims 5-month-old girl in Chhindwara Six-month US sanctions waiver for Chabahar port Our Staff Reporter PTI CHHINDWARA NEW DELHI There seems to be no end in sight to cough syrup deaths in the Chhindwara district. After 27 children died consuming toxic cough syrup recently, an Ayurvedic cough syrup and some packets of Ayurvedic medicine claimed the life of a five-month-old girl child, Ruhi Minote, on Thursday. According to reports, Ruhi, the daughter of Sandeep Minote, was down with a seasonal cough and cold on October 27. The family members bought cough syrup from a local medical shop in the Bichhua area in the city. The medical store owner prescribed Kasamrita, a cough syrup, and gave 16 small packets of medicine. The condition of Ruhi began to deteriorate after she consumed the medicines. She was admitted to a primary health centre at 4:30am on Wednesday. Sandeep told media persons that when he had brought his daughter to the health centre, the doctors were not available. The US has granted India a sixmonth exemption from American sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran, the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) said on Thursday. The sanctions were to come into effect from September 29 but following talks between the two sides, an exemption of one month was granted. The fresh exemption of the sixmonth period will be effective from October 29. "For Chabahar port in Iran, we have been granted exemption for a six-month period from the US sanctions," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. Last month, the Trump administration announced its decision to revoke the 2018 sanctions waiver with regard to the strategically-located Chabahar port in Iran. India is a major partner in development of the Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Balochistan province Iran's southern coast. It is currently operating the Shahid Beheshti terminal at the port. The US State Department 4Continued on | P8 ‘Committed to Af sovereignty’ India on Thursday threw its weight behind Afghanistan in the face of its border conflict with Pakistan and said Islamabad's efforts to "practice" crossborder terrorism with "impunity" is unacceptable to its neighbours. New Delhi's comments came amid the stalled peace talks in Istanbul between Afghanistan and Pakistan which were aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the conflict between the two countries. ‘Engaged with US on trade deal’ India on Thursday said its crude oil purchases are based on securing energy security from "diverse" sources at affordable prices and it is studying the implications of the latest US sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft. Jaiswal said India and the US are engaged in negotiations for the proposed trade deal. "We continue to remain engaged with the US side to conclude a trade deal and these discussions are continuing," he said. US ends automatic renewal of work permits for migrants The US Department of Homeland Security has announced an interim rule to stop the automatic extension of Employment Authorisation Documents (EAD) of migrant workers, a move that is likely to impact thousands of foreign employees, including Indians who make up a large portion of the expat workforce. In a statement on Wednesday, the Department said "Aliens who file to renew their EAD on or after Oct. 30, 2025 (Thursday), will no longer receive an automatic extension of their EAD." See World had said last month that people operating the Chabahar Port and engaging in other related activities will face sanctions under the US Iran Freedom and CounterProliferation Act (IFCA) starting September 29. 4Continued on | P8 Unseasonal rains damage Rs 5K-cr paddy, maize Our Staff Reporter Rabi sowing delayed BHOPAL Unseasonal rain has caused extensive damage to paddy and maize crops worth around Rs 5,000 crore across 22 districts of Madhya Pradesh. Both crops were in the harvesting stage and lay exposed in open fields, making them highly vulnerable to heavy rain and strong winds. The untimely showers have also delayed sowing of Rabi crops, dealing a blow to farmers on both fronts. Farmers said the worst-af- Joint Director (Agriculture) Rewa Singh Sisodiya told Free Press that unseasonal rain has not only damaged standing paddy and maize crops but also delayed sowing of Rabi crops such as gram and wheat across the state fected districts include those in the Chambal, Jabalpur, and Narmadapuram divisions, notably Bhind, Morena, Sheopur, Jabalpur, Katni, Narsinghpur, Seoni, Balaghat, Chhindwara, Mandla, Dindori, Hoshangabad, Harda, Betul, Sehore, Raisen, Ashok Nagar, Guna, Barwani, Khargone and Dhar. Farmer Rahul Dhoot said, “The rain has damaged up to 70 per cent of maize and paddy crop in some areas. The losses could increase if the spell of rain and thunderstorms continues.” Another farmer Kedar Si- rohisaid, “The Guna belt is known for maize cultivation. The crop, which was nearly ready for harvest, has suffered heavy damage due to rainfall. Paddy fields too have been hit badly, and quality of produce has deteriorated.” 4Continued on | P8