HYDERABAD l saturday l july 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE CITY EDITION land-for-jobs case: No relief for rjd supremo Lalu Yadav The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay trial proceeding against Lalu Yadav in a land-for-jobs case during his tenure as railway minister File Photo ‘No compelling reason to stay proceeding’ cbi found lalu misused ministerial post The former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo, Yadav had knocked the doors of the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to dismiss his plea seeking a stay on the trial court proceedings. On May 29, the Delhi High Court said that there were no compelling reason to stay the proceedings against the RJD (Rashtriya Janta Dal) leader ■ ■ CBI had registered the case on May 18, 2022, alleging that between 2004 and 2009, Yadav had exploited his ministerial position to secure land transfers for his family in exchange for Group D railway jobs Notably, these appointments were made without any public job advertisements, and did not align with Railways’ recruitment norms 77 other people apart from lalu yadav named in chargesheet CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI outfit behind pahalgam massacre proscribed amidst trade talks; E.U. goes for Rosneft jugular U.S. puts LeT To hurt Russia, proxy TRF on EU sanctions its terror list Guj refinery J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi RA K E SH K U M AR @ New Delhi In a significant development in counter-terror cooperation, the United States formally designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The announcement came amid intense IndiaUS trade talks to arrive at a deal ahead of the August 1 deadline to avoid reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio less than three months after a brutal April 22 terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed. The massacre marked the deadliest assault on Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “Today’s designations send a clear message: The US stands firmly against terrorism in all forms,” said Indicates Rubio. “We are committed to strong ties holding perpetrators and The gesture is their sponsors accountable, “A strong wherever they may be.” affirmation of TRF had initially claimed India-US responsibility for the Pahal- countergam carnage but later with- terrorism drew the statement at Paki- cooperation,” stan’s bidding. Probe by the said External National Investigation Agen- Affairs cy identified TRF command- Minister S er Sheikh Sajjad Gul as the Jaishankar architect of the attack. Rubio said the designations were made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, tools used by the US government to isolate and penalise foreign terrorist actors. The US also reiterated LeT’s longstanding status as a designated terrorist outfit. The US move is expected to add new pressure on Pakistan, long accused by India of harbouring, fostering and enabling anti-India terrorist networks. According to US intelligence and Indian counter-terrorism officials, TRF has been involved in a string of deadly ambushes against Indian security forces throughout 2024, indicating a pattern of coordinated proxy violence. IN a bid to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia over the Ukraine war, the European Union on Friday unveiled a fresh package of sanctions, including lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil and sanctioning Nayara Energy an India-based refinery with links to , Russian energy giant Rosneft. Nayara Energy, formerly known as Essar Oil, operates a 20-million-tonne-per-year refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat, and manages some 6,750 petrol pumps across India. Rosneft has a 49.13% stake in the firm. With sanctions, Nayara will no longer be able to export refined products such as petrol and diesel to European countries. “For the first time, we are designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief. In 2022, the G7 nations in- ‘Unilateral troduced a $60-a-barrel price sanctions’ cap on Russian oil sold to India does not third countries. The EU is subscribe to now pushing for a lower cap any “unilateral of $47.60 per barrel, closer to sanction current market prices. measures”, Under the price cap mech- the Ministry of anism, Western insurance External and shipping services can Affairs said in only be used if Russian oil is response to sold below the capped price. the EU’s The EU’s latest move is sanctions aimed at reducing Moscow’s war revenues and comes amid growing concern that Russia continues to earn significant revenue from its oil exports, despite existing sanctions. Ironically, a lower price cap may benefit countries like India and China, which have significantly increased their imports of Russian crude, as they stand to get Russian crude at lower prices. Russia is one of India’s top oil suppliers, accounting for as much as 35% of the total crude imports in the past two years. After Europe halted purchases of Russian oil and gas following the attack on Ukraine, Moscow redirected its energy exports toward Asian buyers such as India and China. Chaitanya Baghel being produced at PMLA court in Raipur on Friday | ANI ED arrests Baghel’s son in liquor scam E J A Z K AIS E R @ Raipur THE Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with an alleged liquor scam-linked money laundering case. Chaitanya was produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur, which sent him to ED custody for five days. On Friday morning, a team of ED sleuths reached the residence that Chaitanya shares with his father at Bhilai, about 30 km west of Raipur. According to official sources, the arrest was made on the basis of statements given by one Laxminarayan Bansal, a liquor businessman close to the Congress leader’s son. While Bhupesh Baghel left for Raipur to attend the ongoing Assembly session, the central agency continued with its raid amid heightened security outside the Bhilai residence. Bhupesh said the raid was carried out on the day of his son’s birthday. Terming it a birthday gift from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said: “I will remember them for life.” The alleged liquor scam was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was gover ned by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. A syndicate of politicians and bureaucrats allegedly ran a parallel liquor trade, where money was collected but not deposited to the exchequer, causing over `2,100 crore loss to the government. Meeting of AP, TG CMs was my initiative, says Kishan E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Union Minister G Kishan Reddy on Friday said he had taken the initiative to facilitate the recent meeting between the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil to discuss issues related to the Banakacherla project and other pending matters in the Krishna and Godavari river basins. Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office in Hyderabad, Kishan said he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi once and the Jal Shakti Minister three times over the issue. He asserted that the Centre would not act unjustly towards any state and treats both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh equally . Kishan also made it clear that the Centre would not issue directives or judgments on inter-state disputes but was providing a platform for discussions to enable a resolution without causing loss to any side. He rejected the Congress allegations that he was supporting or protecting former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao.  continued on p4 Vehicles caught in a traffic jam that stretched for miles following the heavy downpour in Hyderabad’s IT Corridor on Friday Boats out as heavy downpour brings Hyderabad to its knees S B a c h a n J ee t S i n g h A torrential downpour on Friday evening left Hyderabad and Secunderabad struggling under severe waterlogging, paralysed traffic, and widespread disruption across several parts of the city The rains, . which began in the late afternoon and intensified into the night, inundated roads and colonies, submerged low-lying neighbourhoods, and brought eve n i n g c o m m u t e s t o a standstill. Large stretches of arterial roads were rendered impassable, as vehicles crawled through waist-deep water in some areas or remained stuck for hours. Commuters were stranded across key junctions including Gachibowli, Madhapur, Lakdika-pul, Punjagutta, Raidurg, Miyapur, Kukatpally Tarnaka, , LB Nagar and Uppal. The impact was especially acute during peak office hours, with long tailbacks reported on thoroughfares connecting the IT corridor to residential zones. Rainwater gushed into cellars of several commercial and residential buildings. In localities such as Masab Tank, Ayyappa Society, Gajularamaram, Hafizpet and Hitech City , HYDRAA’s control room was inundated with distress calls. Emergency response teams were deployed to manage the situation, with Disaster Response Force (DRF) and monsoon emergency teams pressed into service. In one of the worst-affected pockets, the Patny Nala overflowed, submerging neighbouring colonies. At Prenderghast Road and Sindhi Colony rescue , teams deployed boats to shift residents who were trapped inside their homes. HYDRAA Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at a rally in Motihari, Bihar, on Friday | PTI E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad A day after participating in a meeting convened by the Union government to address river water disputes, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy urged his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu not to obstruct irrigation projects in Palamuru, located in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district. He also called on the AP government to halt the Rayalaseema Lift Ir- rigation Scheme, which proposes to draw 3 tmcft of water daily from the Srisailam reservoir. Revanth was addressing a public meeting, “Prajapalana Pragathi Baata” in Jatprole, Kollapur Assembly constituency, after laying the foundation stone for a Young India Integrated Residential School. The school is to be developed on 25 acres at an estimated cost of `200 crore. “We are making sincere appeals to support irrigation projects, including Bheema, Nettempadu, Koilsagar and Palamuru-Rangareddy . If our appeals go unheeded, we will strongly resist. I will take responsibility for leading that fight,” he said. Criticising the previous BRS government, Revanth said it had encouraged caste-based occupations, while the current Congress government was focused on promoting education. “We are setting up Young India Schools to educate people,” he said.  continued on p4 fury DRF Teams arranged boats to Rescue residents of Sindhi colony Sangareddy 120 mm Hyderabad 114.8 mm Medchal101.3 mm Malkajgiri City limits Maredpally 114.8 mm Balanagar 114.5 mm Uppal 101.3 mm Bandlaguda 97 mm Musheerabad 90.5 mm Yellow Alert in Telangana for 5 days – Heavy rain, thunderstorms and lightning expected across districts Hyderabad and other Telangana districts experienced heavy downpours, strong winds on Friday evening with the IMD issuing a yellow alert for the days ahead. Weather systems at play n Monsoon trough from Rajasthan to northeast Bay of Bengal n Cyclonic circulation over south Coastal AP n East-west trough along 13°N, at 4.5– 5.8 km altitude The forecast (next 48 hours) n Rain & Thunderstorms (evening/night) n Gusty Winds: 30–40 kmph n Hazy mornings n Max temp: ~32°C n Min temp: ~22°C n Humidity: ~90% n Wind direction: Westerly/ North-Westerly Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalaxmi urged residents to avoid venturing out unless necessary and to contact the GHMC helpline (040-21111111) or HYDRAA (9000113667) in emergencies. Commissioner AV Ranganath carried out inspections by boat and supervised relief efforts. Locals allege that repeated flooding in the Patny Nala region could have been avoided. Though widening works had been taken up, these were reportedly stalled due to opposition from a house owner. “We face this every year. The problem hasn’t been solved because the nala remains narrow at the bottleneck,” said a resident of Sindhi Colony . Meanwhile, the Bathukamma Kunta lake in Amberpet, currently being restored by HYDRAA, received a large volume of stormwater, with locals observing that the tank was helping avoid flooding in the immediate low-lying areas. Throughout the evening, traffic police and municipal staff issued alerts urging people to avoid unnecessary travel. Emergency personnel were stationed at flood-prone junctions to assist stranded motorists and redirect traffic. In several places, power outages compounded the disruption. The highest rainfall in the city was recorded at 114.8 mm in Maredpally followed by 114.5 , mm in Balanagar, 101.3 mm in Uppal, 97 mm in Bandlaguda and 90.5 mm in Musheerabad.   Related reports on P2 HYDRAA reclaimed assets worth `30K cr: Ranganath sounding the poll bugle Revanth asks Naidu to halt RLIS works Monsoon @ Hyderabad E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The Hyderabad Disaster Management and Asset Protection Agency (HYDRAA) on Friday marked its first year of existence with a public event at Bathukamma Kunta in Amberpet, where students joined hands with local residents to form a human chain. The location for the celebration was apt, as it symbolises HYDRAA’s efforts to reclaim and safeguard public assets. According to HYDRAA Commissioner AV Ranganath, the agency has reclaimed approximately 500 acres of public land, including water bodies, nalas, parks and open spaces. He estimated this reclaimed land to be worth over `30,000 crore. “In the past year, we have faced resistance and legal hurdles, but managed to recover and protect key public spaces,” Ranganath said. The agency, set up to address encroachments on public land, has focused on both recovery and development. Many of the reclaimed lakes are being restored to support rainwater harvesting and improve local ecosystems. “We are working to divert rainwater from roads and the Musi River back into city lakes to strengthen Hyderabad’s water resilience,” Ranganath said. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has been closely following the progress at Bathukamma Kunta and is expected to visit the site on September 21 for Bathukamma. Ranganath pointed out that the chief minister has tasked HYDRAA with not only to remove encroachments but also to ensure the long-term upkeep and usability of public infrastructure. On concerns raised by some residents regarding demolitions, Ranganath clarified that houses built before HYDRAA’s establishment have been exempted. He also reiterated that the agency operates within the legal framework laid out by the state government and the Supreme Court.  Continued on P2