FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 176 | BHOPAL | MONDAY | DECEMBER 8, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Virat, Sundar seek blessings at Simhachalam temple P.14 fp Briefs HYDERABAD Road to be named after Trump The Telangana government, on Sunday, proposes to name the road leading to US Consulate General building in Hyderabad after the US President Donald Trump, government officials said. The high-profile road along the US Consulate General is set to be called 'Donald Trump Avenue'.According to a statement from Chief Minister's Office (CMO), the state government will write to the Union Ministry of External Affairs and the US Embassy, informing them about the plans. JAMMU Fire triggers landmine blasts A forest fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K's Poonch district on Sunday triggered several landmine blasts, officials said. Officials said that more than half a dozen landmines exploded due to the forest fire in Poonch."Forest fire broke out in the Balakote forest along the zero line at around 10 am, detonating over six landmines in the anti-infiltration obstacle system," an official said."There was no report of any damage in the explosions," the official added. iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY Gold prices may stay positive as traders await Fed’s decision UJJAIN PUNE INDORE NASHIK A jampacked nightclub in North Goa turned into a death trap after midnight on Sunday as a massive fire tore through it, claiming 25 lives and leaving six injured while raising serious questions about `illegal' operations and flouting of safety norms. While the police said earlier in the day that a cylinder blast seemed to have started the blaze, a tourist who survived the tragedy claimed that fireworks were set off when dancers were performing, and it was the likely cause. Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation, as the victims, many of them employees, got trapped on the ground floor of `Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub at Arpora, 25 km from Panaji, a fire official said. While Chief Minister Pramod Sawant vowed action against officials who allowed the Fireworks likely cause of fire Goa CM Pramod Sawant on Sunday said four staff members of the `Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub have been arrested. Preliminary inquiry revealed that "electric firecrackers" were set off inside which started the blaze, he said, adding that club owners Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra would soon be arrested club to operate despite flouting safety rules, and an FIR was registered against the owners, a village official claimed that the structure itself was illegal. The deceased included four tourists and 14 staff members, while the identity of the re- 10 Naxals with Rs 2.36cr reward surrender before CM Yadav urges LWEs to embrace rehab Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL maining seven was yet to be established, police said. The establishment did not possess even an NOC from the fire department or the permission to sell liquor, a Congress leader alleged. "We have registered an FIR (First Information Report) against Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners, under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita sections," a senior police officer told PTI. 4Continued on | P8 Ten Naxalites, including four women, surrendered before Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Balaghat on Sunday. CM integrated them into the mainstream by presenting them with a copy of the Constitution. The surrendered Naxalites handed over their weapons. These Left Wing Extremists have a combined reward of Rs 2.36 crore announced by different states. CM Mohan Yadav said that Madhya Pradesh is committed to becoming Naxal-free in line with goals set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “No one will be allowed to take up arms,” he said, urging Naxalites to embrace government rehabilitation programmes. He assured efforts to secure their lives, ensure development and integrate them into mainstream society. While encouraging officers and security forces, the CM Surrendered Naxals » Surendra alias Kabir alias Soma Sodhi, 50, Pulmapadh, Sukma, Chhattisgarh » Rakesh OD alias Manish, 42, Jhandepar (Botteksa), Gadchiroli, Maharashtra » Lalsingh Maravi alias Singa alias Praveen, 30, Chhote Gudra, Dantewada, Chhattisgarh » Shilpa Nuppo, 26, Budia Battum, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh » Salita alias Savitri Alawa, 26, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh » Naveen Nuppo alias Hidma, 30, Sukma, Chhattisgarh » Jayshila alias Lalita Oyam, 26, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh » Vikram alias Hidma Vatti, 30, Sukma, Chhattisgarh » Jarina alias Jogi Musak, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh » Samar alias Samaru alias Raju Atram, 32, Bijapur, Chhattisgarh said anti-Naxal operations are being continuously strengthened. Fifteen new temporary camps and 882 posts for the Special Support Squad have been sanctioned. Continuous monitoring, intensive investigations, and actions have significantly reduced Naxalite presence. 4Continued on | P8 IndiGo refunds Rs 610 cr, flight Cold wave sweeps MP, 4.3°C in Shahdol 5.4 in Pachmarhi, ops move towards normalcy 7°C in Bhopal PTI MUMBAI IndiGo has processed refunds totalling Rs 610 crore so far against cancelled or severely delayed flights, and delivered 3,000 pieces of baggage to passengers across the country as of Saturday, the government said on Sunday. It also said the aviation network is moving swiftly towards full normalcy, and all corrective measures will remain in place until operations stabilise entirely. On Saturday, the govern- ment had directed the airline to complete the ticket refund process for the cancelled flights by Sunday evening, and ensure baggage separated from travellers are delivered in the next two days. Further, the civil aviation ministry said the airline should ensure that baggage separated Senior Trump admin official begins 5-day visit to India PTI from passengers due to flight cancellations or delays should be traced and delivered to them in the next 48 hours. "IndiGo has so far processed refunds totalling Rs 610 crore. No additional fees are permitted for rescheduling travel impacted by cancellations. Dedicated support cells have been created to proactively assist passengers so that refund and rebooking issues are resolved without delay or inconvenience," the aviation ministry said in a release. 4Continued on | P8 Our Staff Reporter A cold wave sweeping down from the north intensified winter conditions across Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, pushing minimum temperatures sharply lower and prompting weather alerts for the coming days. Icy wind coming from northern belt has infused cold wave in central parts of the country including Madhya Pradesh. In last 24 hours, impact of cold wave prevailed in Bhopal and Shahdol district. Cold day prevailed in Shajapur, Speeding truck kills cheetah cub Vehicle stopped in Kota, driver taken for questioning NEW DELHI Our Staff Reporter wedding is called off. I would like to close this matter here and implore all of you to do the same," she wrote. "Over the past few weeks there has been plenty of speculation around my life and I feel it is important for me to speak out at this time," she said in an Instagram post. Calling herself a "very private person", Mandhana said the need to set the record straight compelled her to speak. She requested fans and the public to "respect the privacy of both families" and allow them the "space to process and move on". Allison Hooker, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, is on a five-day visit to India from Sunday to advance bilateral strategic and economic ties. Hooker's trip to New Delhi and Bengaluru comes amid increasing strain in ties between the two countries after Washington slapped a whopping 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including 25 per cent levies for India's procurement of Russian crude oil. The US embassy said Under Secretary Hooker's visit marks another step forward in advancing President Donald Trump's priorities for a strong US-India partnership and a free and open IndoPacific. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 BHOPAL/GWALIOR A 20-month-old cheetah cub from Kuno National Park died after being hit by a speeding truck at National Highway 46, near Ghati Gaon, in Gwalior early Sunday morning. The incident comes a day after a 10-month-old cub from the park died shortly after being released into the wild. According to officials, around 6.30 am, two cubs (KG3 and KG4) of female cheetah Gamini were seen crossing the Agra-Mumbai National Highway when a speeding truck hit KG4. The cub died on the spot, they added.  The suspected truck was later traced to Kota district in Rajasthan and the driver was taken for questioning.  A forest offense case KG3 and KG4 were seen crossing the Agra-Mumbai National Highway when a speeding truck hit KG4 (number 708/ 20) has been registered in connection with the incident, officials said. Kuno National Park officials added that the both cubs were being monitored by the cheetah tracking team and the local forest staff. The tracking team attempted to stop the speeding vehicle to save the cub but to no avail. Earlier, the cubs had killed cattle. The recent deaths have brought down the number of cheetahs at Kuno National Park to 27 — eight cheetahs and 19 cubs.  Domestic defence production hits Rs 1.51L cr domestically but has witnessed a paradigm shift due to sustained efforts over the last decade. "Due to our hard work in the last 10 years, our defence production, which was approximately Rs 46,000 crore in 2014, has now grown to a record Rs 1.51 lakh crore. "Our defence exports, which were less than Rs 1,000 crore 10 years ago, have now reached nearly Rs 24,000 crore," Singh said Defence exports, which were less than Rs 1,000 crore 10 years ago, have now reached nearly Rs 24,000 crore after inaugurating 125 strategically significant infrastructure projects of Border Roads Organisation (BRO) here. Spread across the Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and seven states including Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, City Shahdol Pachmarhi Umaria Mandsaur Rajgarh Rewa Bhopal Majajhkhand Mandla Khajuraho Indore Gwalior Chhindwara Raisen Betul BHOPAL offgrid Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said India's defence production has risen from Rs 46,000 crore in 2014 to a record Rs 1.51 lakh crore and the country that was import-dependent has emerged as a producerexporter. He said India once lacked a robust system to manufacture arms and equipment P.10 PTI PANAJI PTI PTI E-paper Brand Sutra From Bottoms To The Top P.12 25 KILLED, 6 HURT IN GOA NIGHTCLUB BLAZE NEW DELHI LEH MUMBAI Edit India’s tough balancing act TRAGIC | Most of deaths caused by suffocation as victims got trapped on ground floor of ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub Mandhana calls off wedding with Palash India batter Smriti Mandhana on Sunday announced that her wedding had been called off and urged fans and media to stop the speculation, while music composer Palash Muchhal confirmed that he had "decided to move on" from the relationship. Muchhal also warned of legal action against those spreading defamatory rumours. Mandhana, one of India's most prominent women cricketers, issued her first public statement on social media after rumours about her personal life had intensified over the past month. She was supposed to marry Muchhal on November 23 but the wedding was postponed after Mandhana's father, Shriniwas was hospitalised due to a heart ailment. "I need to clarify that the ESTD-1983 West Bengal and Mizoram, these projects -- 28 roads, 93 bridges and four miscellaneous works -- have been completed at a cost of Rs 5,000 crore. Lauding the BRO for making great progress in technological innovation, Singh asserted that advanced engineering methods are accelerating the completion of infrastructure projects. 4Continued on | P8 Narsinghpur and Betul district. A yellow alert has been issued for cold wave in Bhopal, Indore while cold day is likely to occur at isolated places in Dhar, Nars- inghpur and Shajapur. Bhopal shivered at minimum temperature of 7 degrees Celsius on the intervening night of Saturday Deg/Cel 4.3 5.4 6.1 6.3 6.6 6.8 7.0 7.1 7.4 7.8 8.4 8.4 8.4 8.6 8.7 and Sunday. It was 5.1 degrees below normal. 4Continued on | P8