FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 175 | BHOPAL | SUNDAY | DECEMBER 7, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 4 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL NATION Sports From Hammered to Heralded P.16 Babri-model mosque sets off political firestorm UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK The government on Saturday capped the airfares in the range of Rs 7,500 to Rs 18,000 depending on the distance amid soaring air ticket prices due to the IndiGo flight disruptions. The fare limits, excluding applicable charges, are not applicable for business class and UDAN flights, the civil aviation ministry said in an order. However, the order did not provide clarity on whether the caps are applicable for economy class tickets or both economy and premium economy class tickets. Under the limits, for a flight flying up to 500 kilometres, the fares are capped at Rs 7,500 and for 500-1,000 kilometres, the ticket price cap is Rs 12,000. For flights operating 1,0001,500 kilometres, the fares are limited at Rs 15,000 and for above, 1,500 kilometres, the cap is Rs 18,000. The cap means that for a Delhi-Mumbai flight, which is covered in a distance of over 1,300 kilometres, the fare for at least the economy class is capped at Rs 18,000. The limits will be in place till the situation stabilises, the ministry said in a statement. 4Continued on | P8 fp Briefs NEW DELHI India, US talks from Dec 10 India and the United States are scheduled to hold trade talks in New Delhi starting December 10, government sources said on Saturday. The discussions aim to take forward negotiations on the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between the two countries. SEOUL India, South Korea space cooperation Indian Ambassador to South Korea Gourangalal Das and Korea Aerospace Administration (KASA) Administrator Yoon Youngbin on Saturday explored areas of space cooperation and ways to build business-to-business (B2B) engagements in both countries. 800 flights cancelled Domestic carrier IndiGo cancelled over 800 flights on Saturday, the fifth day of the ongoing crisis. The airline's on time performance from six metro airports plunged to 3.7 per cent on Friday, as per the civil aviation ministry website. The government said regulatory action will be initiated against the airline in case of any non-compliance. The airline had cancelled over 1,000 flights on Friday Passengers wait counters of the IndiGo airline, at Terminal 1 (T1) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Friday IndiGo told to complete refunds by 8 pm today DGCA forms four-member panel to review disruptions The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday has directed In the wake of recent disruptions, Union Minister of IndiGo to clear all pending passenger refunds by 8 pm State for Civil Aviation and Cooperation Murlidhar on Sunday. This comes amid the ongoing disruption of Mohol on Saturday said that the DGCA has set up a IndiGo flights, which continued for its fifth confour-member committee to review the operational secutive day, with a total of 405 domestic flights disruptions in IndiGo Airlines. The committee will cancelled. In a statement, the Ministry "mandated look into issues like crew planning, operational that the refund process for all cancelled or disreadiness, and compliance with new flight duty rupted flights must be fully completed by 8:00 time regulations to prevent such incidents in the Scan & Watch PM on Sunday, December 7". "Airlines have also future. Mohol also assured that the Ministry is takbeen instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges ing all necessary steps to ensure smooth travel for pasfor passengers whose travel plans were affected by cansengers. In a post on X, Murlidhar Mohol wrote, "DGCA cellations," it added. The Ministry has clarified that "any has constituted a four-member committee to review delay or non-compliance in refund processing will invite the factors behind the recent large-scale operational immediate regulatory action". In addition, the governdisruptions in IndiGo Airlines. The committee will asment has also directed IndiGo to trace and deliver bagsess gaps in crew planning, operational preparedness gage separated from passengers to their residential or and compliance with revised FDTL norms to prevent chosen address within the next 48 hours such incidents in the future." IANS Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government suspended In-Charge Assistant Commissioner, Excise of Dewas district, Mandakni Dixit, with immediate effect on Saturday. The action follows allegations made by liquor contractor Dinesh Makwana, who before committing suicide, recorded a video accusing her of demanding illegal payments. The officer was suspended on CM’s order, and a departmental inquiry was also initiated against her. The Commercial Tax Department found the allegations of a serious nature. According to the suspension order, her actions violated Rule 3 of Madhya Pradesh Civil Service (Conduct) Rules, 1965. Suspension has been initiated under Rule 9 of Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Classification, Control & Appeal) Rules, 1966. During her suspension, her headquarters will be Excise Commissioner, Gwalior. She will continue to receive livelihood allowance as per rules. 4Continued on | P8 Another video referring to Rs 2 cr ‘settlement’ viral Demand allegedly made on behalf of contractor’s mother Our Staff Reporter INDORE The suicide case of liquor contractor Dinesh Makwana has taken a new turn following revelations that Makwana’s mother had allegedly demanded Rs 2 crore from Dewas’s assistant excise commissioner Mandakini Dixit as part of a settlement. An audio and video clip purportedly referring to a financial settlement between Makwana’s mother and excise officer Dixit became viral on Saturday. However, Free Press is not in a position to authenticate the audio or video. In these recordings, a woman believed to be excise officer Mandakini Dixit is allegedly heard speaking to the deceased contractor’s mother, Santosh Makwana, expressing her inability to arrange Rs 2 crore, while another man, 4Continued on | P8 Russian President Vladimir Putin’s just-concluded trip to India for a bilateral summit underscored New Delhi’s commitment to strategic autonomy and its freedom of choice in foreign policy, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Saturday. His remarks came in the back- drop of US pressure on India to scale back purchases of Russian oil and defence equipment. Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi, EAM Jaishankar stressed the importance of keeping India’s key relationships “in good place” as the country rises on the global stage. 4Continued on | P8 ‘Hasina has to make up her mind’ Responding to questions about former Bangladesh PMr Sheikh Hasina, EAM Jaishankar said, "I think that circumstance clearly is a factor in what happens to her. But again, that is something in which she has to make up her mind." Suspended TMC MLA lays ‘Babri-style’ mosque foundation PTI Agencies BENGALURU BAHARAMPUR Suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir on Saturday laid the foundation stone for a mosque modelled on Ayodhya's Babri Masjid at Rejinagar in Murshidabad district amid unprecedented security, injecting fresh political heat into an already polarised West Bengal ahead of the assembly polls due early next year. (See PG-7) The Karnataka High Court on Friday orally observed that although Indians often accuse others of racism and apartheid, they themselves form “one of the most racist societies in the world”. (Sudhir Chaudhury v. State of Karnataka and a connected case). Justice MI Arun said this mindset fuels communitybased politics and appeasement policies. “The problem with Indian India to produce Russian military hardware, spare parts PTI Russia agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of military hardware and spare parts for maintenance of Russian-origin arms and defence equipment. Ways to bolster overall bilateral defence cooperation figured prominently during summit talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL More than 5,000 Home Guards will be recruited for the upcoming Simhastha 2028, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced while addressing a function marking the 63rd Foundation Day of Home Guards at Home Guards Parade Ground on Saturday. Moreover, a company will be formed to train tribal youths from Baiga, Bharia and Saharia communities for recruitment into security forces. The CM lauded Home Guards for their selfless service, describing them as “good Samaritans” who save lives during crises. He also announced the “Mukhyamantri Adamya Sahasik Karya Puraskar”, under which 10 rescue teams saving lives and property under challenging conditions will receive Rs 51,000 annually. Teams from Indore, Shivpuri, Guna, Raisen, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Rewa, Chhattarpur, Tikamgarh and Ujjain were felicitated. The Chief Minister announced that the mandatory two-month “Call Off ” period would be done away with, compassionate assistance would be increased to Rs 360 and permission was granted to create 488 Home Guard posts for security arrangements at Ujjain’s Mahakal Temple and Mahakal Lok. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. It has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that the supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time, affecting the maintenance of military systems procured from that country. "Both sides agreed to encourage joint manufacturing in India of spare parts, components, aggregates and other products for maintenance of Russian origin arms and defence equipment under Make-in-India programme through transfer of technology," a joint statement said. It said both sides also agreed to set up joint ventures for meeting the needs of the Indian armed forces as well as subsequent export to mutually friendly third countries. The joint statement said the India-Russia defence partnership is being reoriented to take up joint co-development and co-production of advanced defence technology and systems. In their meeting on Thursday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrey External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that a significant share of India's challenges, including terrorism, stems from the Pakistani Army, asserting that while the threat exists, New Delhi will "deal with it". Asked about Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir, the minister stated, "Like there are good terrorists and bad terrorists, there are good military leaders and not-so-good ones." SIMHASTHA LAND POOLING New draft ready, 155 hectares to be acquired BKS warns of agitation Nitendra Sharma BHOPAL A fresh draft about land pooling for Simhastha has been prepared after a series of protests by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangathan (BKS). According to the new draft, only 155 hectares will be acquired for roads and other work for Simhastha. In the previous draft, there was a proposal for the acquisition of 2,376 hectares. But Chief Minister Mohan Yadav decided to scrap the proposal after the BKS’s protest against it. But after Yadav’s decision, an order issued by the government indicated that the Ujjain Development Authority was to modify the scheme. The BKS, protesting the order, demanded the cancellation of the land pooling scheme. The Urban Development Department has prepared a fresh draft, and efforts are being made to persuade the farmers to accept the fresh draft. According to the draft, 155 hectares will be acquired for constructing roads, sewage systems, and other important work. The farmers will get double compensation for the land Belousov resolved to expand bilateral defence cooperation. In the meeting, the Indian side showed keen interest in procurement of additional batches of S400 missile systems from Moscow to Scan & Watch bolster its combat prowess. 4Continued on | P8 Justice Arun says although British colonisation ended, India is now “in an era of neo-colonisation through companies and corporate sectors” society—across communities—is that we don’t understand that there is only one animal species called homo sapiens. We feel each community is a separate species, Agencies Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin blamed US President Donald Trump for damaging Washington’s relations with New Delhi, claiming Americans are “flabbergasted” by the reversal in ties. Rubin suggested Trump’s actions may have been influenced by “Pakistan’s flat- The government intends to acquire land to develop roads, sewage systems, and other work through the land pooling scheme so that it does not have to start the process under the Land Acquisition Act. If the government starts the land acquisition process afresh, it may take six months, which it cannot afford, because the date for Simhastha is not very far. under the Land Acquisition Act. It has been mentioned in the draft that the compensation will be given to the farmers after holding talks with them, which means the government may give them more compensation. Except for 155 hectares, the rest of the land will be out of the land pooling scheme, which has also been mentioned in the draft. Once the BKS accepts the draft, it will be notified in the gazette. The BKS recently warned the government of a statewide agitation unless the land pooling scheme was completely scrapped. 4Continued on | P8 Jaiswal gets maiden ODI ton as India win series against SA Agencies VISAKHAPATNAM Yashasvi Jaiswal’s maiden ODI ton powered India’s Runstorm as the Ro-Ko carnival with Rohit Sharma (75) and Virat Kohli (65*) guided a dominant 271/1 chase in just 39.5 overs to seal the series 2-1 against South Africa. Quinton de Kock’s 106 and fourwicket hauls each from Kuldeep Yadav and Prasidh Krishna went in vain as India crushed the Proteas with nine wickets to spare. (Sports Page) leading to discrimination,” he remarked. He noted that political parties frequently prioritise a candidate’s community over merit, adding, “Tell me which political party says, ‘I believe in Article 14, 19(1)(a) and 21,’ and contests elections?” He added that in a democracy, citizens ultimately get the leaders they deserve. Justice Arun further said that although British colonisation ended, Hindu rate of growth used to malign faith: PM PTI NEW DELHI tery or bribery,” leading to India moving closer to Russia. He called the alleged shift a “disastrous bribe” that could harm US strategy for decades. Rubin also criticised the US for “hypocrisy” in lecturing India over Russian oil purchases, noting that Washington itself trades with Moscow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged people to completely rid the country of the slave mentality in the next 10 years, asserting that every sector today is shedding the colonial mindset and aiming for new achievements with pride. He also said the term Hindu rate of growth was used when India was struggling for 2-3 per cent of growth. "The policy of Macaulay, which sowed the seeds of mental slavery in India, will complete 200 years in 2035. This means there are 10 years left. Therefore, in these very 10 years, we all must come together to free our country from the slave mentality," he said. "Linking the growth of the country with the faith of its people, with their identity... this was the symbol of the mindset of colonialism," he said addressing the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. An attempt was made to prove that the reason for India's slow growth was Hindu culture, Modi said. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 ‘US-India ties derailed by Pakistan’s flattery’ WASHINGTON DC What is govt’s intention? RO-KO CARNIVAL PAINTS VISAKHAPATNAM BLUE ‘India one of most racist societies; we are now in neocolonialism era’ offgrid NEW DELHI Over 5K Home Guards to be recruited for Simhastha Dewas excise officer No country has veto over suspended after India’s ties with others: EAM ‘Terrorism emanate contractor’s suicide from Pak Army’ NEW DELHI P.6 Cinema Malti calls Amaal a ‘liar’ P.14 CENTRE IMPOSES AIRFARE CAPS AMID INDIGO FIASCO NEW DELHI E-paper Readers’ Corner Dharmendra: The He-Man... FLIGHT DISRUPTIONS | For flights operating 1,000-1,500 kms, fares have been capped at Rs 15,000 and for above 1,500 kms, the maximum fare is Rs 18,000 PTI MUMBAI