FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms FREE PRESS Vol. 14 No. 360 | BHOPAL | FRIDAY | JUNE 13, 2025 | Pages 14 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 www.freepressjournal.in Sports Cdr Gauri Mishra pedals to glory at World Masters Games 2025 P.12 ESTD-1983 iii QUALITY @ VALUE EDITIONS: BHOPAL UJJAIN MONEY PUNE INDORE NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit When love becomes a lie P.6 ‘Digital infra devpt game-changer’ Cinema ‘It’s your choice of focusing... P.14 HEART-WRENCHING | London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashes at civil hospital and BJ Medical College outside Ahmedabad airport 241 DEAD IN AI PLANE CRASH SEAT SWAP SAVED LONE SURVIVOR? PTI AHMEDABAD A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex here and burst into a ball of fire on Thursday moments after takeoff, possibly killing almost everyone on board in one of the country's worst air disasters. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani was among the dead, according to BJP leader C R Patil. There were also reports of one passenger identified as Vishwash Kumar Ramesh and seated on 11A of the ill-fated Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) having survived miraculously. There was no official count of those killed even hours after the twin-engine wide bodied aircraft crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College outside the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport perimeter. As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died. According to Air India, of the 230 passengers, 169 were Indians, 53 British, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. The other 12 people on board were two pilots and 10 crew members. The pilot issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said. The search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments of the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport. The 11-yearold aircraft could be seen from miles away, losing altitude rapidly and combusting in a fiery blaze that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air. 4Continued on | P8 KOLKATA 40 held over WB clash Forty people have been arrested in connection with a violent clash between two groups in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, which left several police personnel injured and prompted the administration to impose prohibitory orders, an officer said on Thursday. Amid the grim recovery efforts and the sombre news of widespread casualties, reports emerged that one individual, Ramesh Viswashkumar, aged around 40, miraculously survived the crash. News18 has found that in the flight manifest, Ramesh is marked against seat 11J, though his boarding pass says 11A. The question then is, did a last-minute seat change lead to his miraculous escape? Details surrounding Ramesh Viswashkumar’s survival are still emerging and are, understandably, scarce. However, initial police statements confirmed that Ramesh Viswashkumar was found in seat 11A of the aircraft. He was reportedly among the very few individuals who showed signs of life amid the wreckage. 230 PASSENGERS WERE ON BOARD ILL-FATED FLIGHT Former Gujarat CM dies INDIAN: 169 Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani died on Thursday after an Air India aircraft carrying him and 241 others crashed in Ahmedabad in the afternoon, Union minister C R Paatil said. Rupani, 68, was CM for two terms from August 7, 2016 to September 11, 2021, after winning from Rajkot West seat British : 53 5 dead at medical student hostel Five medical students died and many suffered injuries after Air India flight crashed into the hostel of the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. This includes, four undergraduate students and a postgraduate resident. In pictures from the ground, plates with food left uneaten and glasses can be seen lying on the tables in the hostel canteen, indicating medical students were having lunch at the time of the crash. The picture also shows with people standing near the damaged wall of the hostel mess. "We are deeply shocked about the news of AI plane crashing in Ahmedabad. News have become more gruesome after finding out that flight had crushed in BJMC, Hostel & many MBBS students have also been injured!!!! We are monitoring the situation closely & are ready for any help!" the FAIMA Doctors association said Portuguese: 7 A "Mayday" distress call was issued by Air India's AI 171 flight, minutes before it crashed after taking off from Gujarat's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Thursday. The Londonbound aircraft did not receive any response from the Air Traffic Control (ATC), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement A video of two British citizens preparing to return home via the doomed flight AI-171 has taken the social storm by storm. The video of two Britons namely Jamie Meek, a London-based Yoga enthusiast and Fiongal Greenlaw-Meek has gone viral. This is said to be their last Instagram post before heading to London via the ill-fated plane Retail inflation falls to 6-yr low of 2.82% Sonam hid in Indore for 14 days after Raja’s murder PTI NEW DELHI In a move that seeks to enshrine the memory of the heroes of the Ram Mandir movement, the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has decided to name several major buildings within the Ram temple complex after prominent leaders who played pivotal roles in the decades-long struggle. This initiative is aimed at Air India 1800 5691 444 Civil Aviation Ministry 011-24610843 & 9650391859 Air India announced two special relief flights -one each from Delhi and Mumbai -- to Ahmedabad. Our Staff Reporter INDORE Smita BHOPAL not only paying tribute to these figures but also inspiring future generations with their stories of sacrifice and determination. The decision was taken during a Trust meeting where trustees deliberated on the naming of an auditorium, service centers, and other key buildings. They unanimously agreed that the structures within the complex should reflect the spirit and legacy of the movement. GROUND REALITY l Without a boundary wall, the field is used as a road, cattle grazing ground and garbage dump l Players suffer allergic reactions in summer and injuries during monsoon when the field turns slushy l 80 national-level players have emerged from the area, mostly from tribal and Dalit communities l Renovation plan has been pending with the Sports Department for over a year Trust has decided to name major buildings within Ram temple complex after leaders who played pivotal roles in struggle The temple complex will also have four grand entrance gates, which had already been designated to be named after revered Jagadgurus. The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating - Keir Starmer, UK PM Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran on Thursday announced that the company will provide Rs 1 crore to the families of each person who lost their life in the tragic crash of Air India Flight 171 in Ahmedabad. He also said that the Tata Group will cover the medical expenses of those who were injured and ensure they receive full care and support road and a dumping yard. 4Continued on | P8 Retail inflation dipped to an over six-year low of 2.82 per cent in May due to subdued food prices, remaining below the RBI's median target of 4 per cent for the fourth consecutive month, according to government data released on Thursday. Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation was 3.16 per cent in April and 4.8 per cent in May 2024. The previous low was in February 2019 at 2.57 per cent. On easing inflation, the Reserve Bank effected a jumbo rate cut of 50 basis points last week, taking the total to 100 bps since February. Ayodhya to honour Ram temple movement icons Biswajeet Banerjee Please convey my sympathy and support to the families of those killed and my wishes for a swift recovery to those injured in the crash - Vladimir Putin, Russian President Goodbye India...: Britons’ last post Proposal for stadium stuck for over a year and passersby. The very field that has produced 80 nationallevel players is now a makeshift The pain and anxiety the families of the passengers and crew must be feeling is unimaginable. My thoughts are with each one of them in this incredibly difficult moment - Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Mayday call, then silence offgrid AYODHYA HELPLINE NUMBER The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us. It is heartbreaking beyond words - Narendra Modi, PM Tata announces Rs 1 crore aid PM’s ‘Mini Brazil’ stars cry foul over ruined ground In the heart of Shahdol district, a group of tribal teenagers—hailed as the rising football stars of Madhya Pradesh—are training not on turf, but on dust, mud and trash. Welcome to Vicharpur, famously dubbed Mini Brazil for its deep-rooted football culture. But the ground where nearly 200 boys and girls hone their skills lies in a state of neglect: uneven, dusty, without a boundary wall and routinely invaded by cattle, cars, garbage Canadian: 1 THE GRIEF Among the new buildings, a 500-seat auditorium under construction on the southern side of the Ram Janmbhoomi complex will be named after Ashok Singhal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader who played a strategic and inspirational role in mobilizing support for the temple movement. The auditorium is scheduled to be completed by April 2026. The main entrance to the pilgrim facility center will bear the name of Baba Abhiram Das, who is credited with placing the idol of Ram Lalla inside the disputed structure on the night of December 22–23, 1949. The pilgrim facility center itself will be named after Mahant Avaidyanath, a central figure in the temple movement and the spiritual guru of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. 4Continued on | P8 In a chilling twist to the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case, Meghalaya police revealed on Thursday that his wife and prime accused Sonam Raghuvanshi lived undetected in Indore for 14 days—watching the investigation unfold from the shadows. After the murder on May 23, Sonam vanished from Shillong in a hired taxi wearing burqa. Her escape route was serpentine: first to Guwahati, then a bus to Patna via Siliguri. From Patna, she reached Bihar’s Ara district before taking a train to Lucknow. Finally, she arrived in Indore by bus on May 26— three days after the crime. The most chilling detail: Sonam was in Indore on June 2, when Raja’s body was discovered in a deep gorge in Meghalaya’s Sohra. She remained here silently until June 8, monitoring developments from a rented flat. Sources said it was her lover and co-accused Raj Kushwaha who made all arrangements— food, groceries worth ?5,000 delivered to her door, a hideout flat, and steady communication. While the city reeled in shock, Sonam lay low. hatched a plan to have Sonam Raghuvanshi reappear in Siliguri—dressed in black, disheveled, and claiming she had been abducted and trafficked to Bangladesh. It was meant to be a masterstroke of misdirection. “They were banking on Raja’s body decomposing over time,” said East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem. “With Sonam emerging days later as a supposed trafficking victim, they thought she’d escape suspicion entirely.” The conspirators hoped the investigation would drag for months. But Meghalaya Police stayed one step ahead—and unravelled the script before it played out. Was to pose as abducted victim Victim act cut short In a darkly premeditated twist, the murder accused had Sonam Raghuvanshi was en route to Siliguri to pose as an Pained beyond words by the tragic plane crash in Ahmedabad. Disaster response forces have been quickly rushed to the crash site - Amit Shah, Union home minister abduction victim when her scripted escape went awry. On June 8, Raj arranged a vehicle from Indore to Ghazipur, where she would eventually “resurface” with a false tale of abduction. But fate flipped the script. That same night, Meghalaya and UP Police arrested Akash Rajput, one of the co-accused. Raj panicked. Fearing the web collapsing, he called Sonam and told her to inform her family she’d “escaped.” She called her brother Govind—and surrendered to Ghazipur police. “I was forced to marry Raja” “I was forced to marry Raja,” Sonam allegedly confessed during interrogation, shedding light on what she claimed led her to betray and eliminate her husband. According to East Khasi Hills SP Vivek Syiem, Sonam told police that she never loved Raja and had been married against her will. “She loved someone else,” said Syiem. “The marriage was imposed on her, and this emotional entrapment pushed her into joining the plot.” Authorities believe this was a key factor behind her involvement in the murder that shocked the nation—an act driven, as she claimed, by a heart silenced too long.