FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 15 No. 206 | BHOPAL | WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 7, 2026 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Anahat storms into British Junior Open U-19 final P.14 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL MONEY INDORE IMAGE DENTED, SAYS HC; SUMMONS CS IMMEDIATE DIRECTIONS Our Staff Reporter INDORE n Supply safe drinking water STATEWIDE IMPLICATIONS Observing that water contamination is not confined to Indore alone, the HC directed the chief secretary to personally address the court via video conferencing on the next date of hearing. CHIEF SECRETARY has been asked to inform the court about state-level measures being taken to prevent similar incidents across Madhya Pradesh. The court FIXED RESPONSIBILITY on senior officials, including the Indore commissioner, district collector, municipal commissioner, health officer, chief medical and health officer, PHE chief engineer and joint director (urban development), to ensure strict compliance with interim directions before the next hearing. Respondents have been directed to PRODUCE FILES related to tenders for fresh drinking water pipelines and the MPCB water quality reports of 2017–18. NEW DELHI Row erupts over slogans A protest at JNU sparked a controversy as objectionable slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were allegedly raised over the denial of bail by the SC to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 riots conspiracy case, prompting the Delhi Police to launch a probe into the matter. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL Under the e-cabinet concept, tablets were distributed among ministers during the cabinet meeting here on Tuesday. The proceedings of the next cabinet will be carried out through electronic medium. CM Mohan Yadav himself gave tablets to his cabinet colleagues, saying that e-governance was being promoted in the state and the e-cabinet application could be used anywhere by the ministers. Suresh Kalmadi passes away PUNE: Congress veteran and former Union minister Suresh Kalmadi, known for a multifaceted career that intertwined politics and sports administration, passed away in Pune early Tuesday following a prolonged illness at the age of 81, family sources said. Kalmad breathed his last at around 3.30 am. He had served as Union Minister of State for Railways and was a former president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). Born in Madras in 1944, Kalmadi studied at Fergusson College in Pune, the city he went on to represent in the Parliament. Tablets were also provided to in-charge secretaries of the cabinet. The e-cabinet application will not only provide in- Dense fog hits air, train traffic City PTI The Supreme Court on Tuesday said prolonged incarceration of an undertrial, without commencement or reasonable progress of trial, cannot be countenanced, as it has the effect of converting pretrial detention into a form of punishment. A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe made the remarks while granting bail to former Amtek Group chairperson Arvind Dham in a money laundering case related to Rs 27,000 crore bank fraud. While setting aside the August 19, 2025 order of the Delhi High Court denying bail to Dham, the bench said, "Prolonged incarceration of an undertrial, without commencement or reasonable progress of trial, cannot be An American lobbying firm hired by the Indian embassy in Washington has disclosed in a public filing that it helped the mission engage with the Trump administration on a range of issues, including the proposed trade deal and the "media coverage" of Operation Sindoor. The firm SHW Partners LLC submitted the details to the US Department of Justice (DoJ) under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). In its reaction, the Indian embassy said it is a standard practice for foreign missions and business organisations in the US to hire the services of lobbyists and consultants. The filings made by the SHW Partners LLC, available on FARA website, men- tioned assistance rendered to the Indian Mission for the period between April and December 2025. The details showed the firm helped the embassy in reaching out to four Trump administration officials -White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Ricky Gill (National Security Council) on May 10 -to "discuss media coverage of Operation Sindoor". India and Pakistan had ended their four-day mili- Pachmarhi 5.4 2.0 Shahdol 2.8 Chhindwara 5.4 The state capital shivered at 3.8 degrees Celsius, the lowest temperature of the current winter season, on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. In previous years, the lowest temperature in the city had hit 3.6 degrees on January 8, 2025 and it was 0.6 degrees Celsius on January 18, 1935. Similarly, in December 2025, the lowest temperature had plummeted to 4.6 degrees Celsius. Bhopal recorded day temperature at 21.8 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according Shajapur 3.7 Damoh DEEPAM ROW Madras HC upholds order allowing lighting of lamp on hilltop PTI countenanced, as it has the effect of converting pretrial detention into a form of punishment. Economic offences, by their very nature, may differ in degree and fact, and therefore cannot be treated as a homogeneous class warranting a blanket denial of bail." Noting that Dham was arrested in 2024, the bench said, "The continued incarceration in such circumstances, particularly where the evidence which is primarily documentary in nature, is already in custody of the 4Continued on | P8 No mention of Trump mediation in lobbying firm filings PTI 4.9 Malajkhand 5.3 Rajgarh op sindoor NEW DELHI Mandla Temp Our Staff Reporter 4Continued on | P8 SC made remarks while granting bail to former Amtek Group chairperson Arvind Dham in a money laundering case Chill chart BHOPAL SC: Right to speedy trial not eclipsed by nature of offence NEW DELHI E-paper Bhopal shivers at 3.8°C, season’s lowest 4Continued on | P8 Sonia Gandhi hospitalised Amendment in MP Motor Vehicle Taxation act to allow plying of city buses till suburban areas MUMBAI Cinema Varun Dhawan on Border 2 prep P.16 formation pertaining to cabinet agenda but also about decisions taken previously. Amend. in MP Vehicle Taxation Act 1991 The cabinet approved the necessary amendments under section 23 of the first and second schedule of the MP Vehicle Taxation Act 1991. These amendments will help in operation of public buses. NEW DELHI Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has been admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here after she suffered respiratory discomfort, sources said on Tuesday. At present, she is doing fine, and her condition is "absolutely stable", they said. The veteran Congress leader has been kept under observation by a chest physician. NASHIK The Madras High Court's Madurai bench on Tuesday upheld a single judge's order allowing the lighting of a lamp on the Thirupparankundram hill here, and slammed the DMK government, saying the apprehension about law and order due to this religious practice is nothing but an "imaginary ghost" created by them for the sake of their convenience. The bench, comprising Justices G Jayachandran and K K Ramakrishnan, also made it clear that the spot on which the stone pillar (Deepathoon) is located belongs to the Sri Subramania Swamy Temple and that the Waqf Board, as of date, has no locus in this matter. "It is ridiculous and hard to believe the fear of the mighty State that by allowing representatives of the Devasthanam to light the lamp at the stone pillar near the top of the hill located within its territory of Devasthanam land, on a particular day in a year, will cause disturbance to public peace. Another woman from Bhagirathipura has allegedly died due to diarrhoea caused by contaminated water. However, the authorities are not treating the incident as a water-contamination-related death. Family members claimed that the woman, identified as Harkuwar Grairaiya, was suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, which led to her death on January 1. They added that initially they did not realise that her condition was caused by consuming contaminated water. Tablets given to ministers under e-cabinet concept Briefs INDORE MADURAI Another woman dies of diarrhoea 4Continued on | P8 fp through tankers or packaged water at government cost in affected areas n Stop the use of contaminated sources, including specific pipelines, overhead tanks, borewells and rivers n Organise health camps and medical screening for residents n Provide free treatment in government as well as empanelled private hospitals n Conduct water quality testing at multiple points through NABL-accredited laboratories n Repair or replace pipelines, especially where sewer and water lines run parallel n Implement chlorination and disinfection protocols n Install online water quality monitoring systems n Prepare a long-term water safety plan for Indore city PUNE Edit Liberty on deferred trial P.6 Ind-Ra sees reforms, trade pacts cushioning economy, lifting growth BHAGIRATHPURA TRAGEDY | Article 21 includes right to clean drinking water, says Indore bench of MP High Court Terming the Bhagirathpura water contamination tragedy ‘a public health emergency’, Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday held that the right to clean drinking water is an integral part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court summoned the chief secretary to be present via video conferencing on January 15, the next date of hearing. Hearing a bunch of writ petitions, including public interest litigations, relating to water contamination tragedy in Bhagirathpura (Ward No 11) and other parts of Indore, a division bench of Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi issued a series of immediate and preventive directions to the State government and Indore Municipal Corporation. The petitions alleged that negligence, mismanagement, corruption and a lackadaisical approach by authorities led to the contamination, resulting in several casualties. UJJAIN tary conflict on that day. The assistance provided by the firm included arranging meetings, phone calls and emails between Indian and US officials. "It is a standard practice for embassies, private and business organisations in the USA to hire the services of lobbyists and consultants to augment outreach," the embassy said. 4Continued on | P8 5.6 Mandsaur 3.8 Dhar 5.9 Bhopal 3.8 Shivpuri 6.0 Sehore 3.9 Raisen 6.4 Rewa Datia 6.5 Satna 6.7 Umaria to the meteorological department officials. Dense fog disrupted flight services and the Bhopal-Pune flight was cancelled while Hyderabad-Agra flight was diverted to Bhopal at 13:51 hrs and took off at 15:00 hrs. Due 4.2 Khajuraho 4.4 Tikamgarh 6.8 to poor visibility, landing was delayed in the morning. Visibility improved and first landing was at 8:55 AM. Similarly, Bhopal-bound trains were also late due to dense fog. In Datia, visibility was less than 50 metres while in Raj- 4.6 garh and Khajuraho, it was 50200 metres. Indore recorded day temperature at 26.0 degrees Celsius and night temperature at 8.6 degrees Celsius. 4Continued on | P8 2 girls die in Dhar amid neglect, inadequate emergency care FP News Service DHAR/BADNAWAR The severe cold wave in Dhar district claimed the lives of two young girls on Tuesday, exposing glaring gaps in school safety and emergency healthcare. At 7:15 am, 13-year-old Nisha Suryavanshi, a class VI student of Navodaya Vidyalaya, Multhan, collapsed during morning PT. Teachers and classmates rushed her to Badnawar Civil Hospital, but with no doctor on duty, she could not receive timely treatment and died of a silent heart attack. Attempts to reach CMHO Anita Singare reportedly failed. In a related tragedy, 10-year-old Lakshmi of Jamuniya Naka fell ill after prolonged exposure to freezing tem- Nisha peratures. She developed a high fever and was referred from Badnawar Hospital to Ratlam Medical College, but later died at a private hospital. STRAY DOGS MATTER So many applications don’t even come in cases of humans: SC PTI NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Tuesday took note of the number of interlocutory applications being filed before it in the stray dogs case and said that so many applications normally don't come even in cases of humans. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made the observations when two lawyers mentioned the stray dogs matter before it. One of the lawyers said they have filed an interlocutory application in the case. "So many applications normally don't even come in cases of humans," Justice Mehta observed. The bench said the stray dogs matter is slated to come up for hearing before the apex court on Wednesday. When another lawyer mentioned a transfer petition in the matter, the top court said many pleas would be taken up for hearing on Wednesday, and the bench will hear all the lawyers. A three-judge special bench comprising Justices Nath, Mehta and N V Anjaria is slated to hear the matter on Wednesday. Taking note of the "alarming rise" in dog bite incidents within institutional areas such as educational institutions, hospitals and railway stations, the apex court on November 7 last year directed forthwith relocation of stray canines to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination. The bench also said the stray dogs so picked up shall not be released back in the place they were picked up. 4Continued on | P8 Villagers alleged delays and inadequate treatment contributed to her death. Despite extreme cold, schools remained open with only minor timing adjustments. Human Rights activist Jayesh Rajpurohit urged the Dhar collector to declare holidays, warning that children’s lives remain at risk. However, Collector Priyank Mishra said that he was following Education Department orders. 2.89 cr names removed from UP draft voter list Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW The Election Commission on Tuesday released the draft electoral roll for Uttar Pradesh after completing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), revealing that 2.89 crore names, nearly 18 percent of the electorate, are missing from the draft list. Official data show that the deletions include 46.23 lakh deceased voters, around 2.17 crore voters who have shifted out of their constituencies, and 25.47 lakh duplicate entries. Uttar Pradesh earlier had about 15.44 crore registered voters. After the revision, the electorate stands at around 12.55 crore. State Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said voters can directly check their names on the Election Commission’s website. He said the SIR process began on October 27, 2025, and the first phase of field work started on November 4, when the state had 15,30,92,000 registered voters. “Enumeration forms were printed for all voters and distributed door to door,” Rinwa said. HC orders school to add biological father’s name in child’s records Our Staff Reporter INDORE Gwalior bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed a private school in Gwalior to include the biological father’s name in the academic records of his minor son, ruling that schools governed by the Right to Education (RTE) Act perform public duties and are subject to writ jurisdiction. Division bench comprising Justice Anand Pathak and Justice Anil Verma allowed a writ appeal filed by Vickramh Kalmady, setting aside an earlier order of the writ court which had dismissed his petition on grounds of maintainability. The petitioner is the biological father of an eight-year-old child studying at Little Angels Court emphasised that accurate school records form foundation for future public documents such as Aadhaar High School, Gwalior. He approached the High Court after the school allegedly refused to record his name as the father in school documents and denied him access to his child’s academic records and school application login credentials. Earlier schools in Bengaluru had recorded his name as the father. The petitioner submitted that he is involved in ongoing matrimonial and custody proceedings, has visiting rights granted by the Karnataka High Court and has been regularly paying the child’s school fees. He argued that denial of access to academic information and exclusion of his name violated his parental rights and statutory obligations under the RTE Act. While the writ court had relied on a Supreme Court ruling to hold that a writ petition against a private unaided school was not maintainable, the division bench held that the decision was wrongly applied. The HC observed that the RTE Act and Rules mandate maintenance of proper records of children, including details of parents or guardians, and this obligation applies even to unaided schools. 4Continued on | P8