hyderabad l sunday l december 21, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE City EDITION Slain Bangladesh youth leader laid to rest amid tight security The funeral of Bangladesh youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi (pic) was held in Dhaka on Saturday, drawing large crowds amid extra-tight security mohd Yunus, army chief attend funeral 24-hour ultimatum to govt to arrest killers Bangladesh’s interim government head Muhammad Yunus and army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman attended the funeral of the leader of the radical right-wing cultural group ‘Inqilab Mancha’. A candidate in the February 12 general elections, Hadi was shot in the head by masked gunmen on December 12 and died while being treated in Singapore | p9 ■ ■ Tens of thousands attended the funeral procession. Hadi was buried at Dhaka University’s central mosque. Later, Inqilab Mancha issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Yunus-led government to arrest his killers He was waging a campaign demanding Hasina’s return to Bangladesh to face death penalty after a special tribunal sentenced her to death 32-year-old Hadi was an outspoken critic of India 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 ‘Maha jungle raj’ in Bengal, says Modi December is important for us. It was in this month that Telangana formation was announced. Sonia Gandhi was born in December and Congress came to power in this month A Revanth Reddy, Chief Minister Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy takes part in the Christmas celebrations at LB Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday Slams Congress in Guwahati for ‘defending infiltrators’ Legislation against hate speech soon, promises CM E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The state government would bring a law against hate speech, on the lines of the legislation recently enacted in Karnataka, during the forthcoming Budget session, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy announced on Saturday . Speaking at the gover nment-organised Christmas celebrations at LB Stadium, Revanth said the proposed Act would provide for action against individuals making derogatory or disparaging remarks against any religion. He said his government was committed to governance that respects all faiths while maintaining public order. The state would study the Karnataka legislation and introduce a similar law tailored to Telangana’s requirements. Revanth spoke about the importance of December for both Christians and Telangana. He said the month marked the birth of Christ and the announcement on the formation of Telangana was made in December 2009. “Also, Sonia Gandhi was born in December. Although the Congress paid a political price in Andhra Pradesh for the formation of Telangana, she stood by her decision,” he said, recalling that the Congress came to power in the state in December 2023. Referring to governance, Revanth said the government drew guidance from the teach- ings of Jesus Christ, particularly those centred on love and peace. He said that despite attempts by some sections to create disturbances, the state government was working to ensure peace and communal harmony . He acknowledged the contribution of Christian missionaries in the fields of education and healthcare. Outlining welfare initiatives, Revanth said women in the state had saved `8,500 crore under the free bus travel scheme. He listed other programmes being implemented by the state government, including Indiramma housing, distribution of superfine rice to the poor, interest-free loans to SHGs, a `500 bonus per quintal of paddy and up to 200 , units free electricity . CM reviews GP polls, zeroes in on weaknesses | p4 New balance as Gill dropped, Kishan in firoz mirza/gomesh s @ Chennai It was a story of two players. Ishan Kishan until Thursday was playing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy scoring runs for Jharkhand including a hundred in the final. Closer to the India team, Shubman Gill, who has had a forgettable T20I season, was the vice captain. Little did the two know that their fortunes would take different course on Saturday when the India team for the all-important T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka was announced. Kishan, who was out of favour for two years found his way back into the team. Of course, it was all because of his tremendous form in recent months. On the other hand, contrary to belief, newlyappointed captain of the Te s t a n d O n e - d ay teams, did not find a place in the 15 despite he being with the India set-up during the South Africa T20I series until Friday . If Kishan was a natural selection, there were murmurs about Gill’s exclusion. There were multiple indications that suggested Gill was not informed of the decision until Saturday . With pressure piling on Gill and captain Suryakumar Yadav for their lack of runs, team management seem to have decided to take the harsh decision for the World Cup. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that the call was taken to accommodate keeper-batter at the top-order. “At the end of the day, you are looking to see what are the best combinations or different options that you can get as a squad to give you the best chance of doing well in the World Cup. Whether it is decided today, yesterday, one week earlier, it doesn’t really matter. Hopefully , we get it right come the World Cup,” Agarkar said in Mumbai. For Kishan, even he could be back up for Sanju, call-up comes as a timely boost. After being dropped rather unceremoniously in late 2023 when he asked for a break due to mental fatigue, Kishan lost the central contract before going back to domestic cricket. P11 Sonia Gandhi vowed to fight against the ‘black law’ | PTI E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Kosampudi Ravindra Nelluri Koteswara Rao ited, Uppal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The case was registered following a complaint from an investor who alleged that the accused induced people to invest money by projecting the company as a gold-based business venture offering high daily re- turns. The complaint stated that investments began from as little as `15,000 per person and were mobilised from thousands of individuals over a period of time. Investigators said the scheme was promoted through brochures and publicity material that highlighted gold trading as a secure and profitable option. The complainant alleged that women were a specific target group, with promoters appealing to their interest in gold and financial security. Homemakers and unemployed youth were also reportedly encouraged to invest by promising income that could range from `5,000 to `50,000 per day . The promoters allegedly Infiltrators are blessed by the TMC. The ruling party is opposing SIR to save the infiltrators. You (TMC) give go back slogans against the infiltrators not against me People listening to Narendra Modi speaking virtually in Nadia district | PTI S U B HENDU MAITI & P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Kolkata/ Guwahati Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal, likening it to Bihar’s past lawlessness and calling it a “maha jungle raj”. Virtually addressing a gathering at Taherpur in Nadia district, one of the Matua-dominated belts in the state, over phone from the Kolkata airport as his helicopter could not land there due to dense fog, Modi hit out at the alleged corruption, nepotism and politics of appeasement by the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state. “Because of the state government’s cut-money and commission culture, people of Bengal are being deprived of development schemes worth thousands of crores,” he alleged. Positive development in the state can happen if the BJP gets to form a double-engine government. “Give us chance to do so,” he urged the gathering. Citing the recent elections in Bihar, he said the massive win of the BJP-led NDA in the state will open the road for victory of the BJP in Bengal in the coming assembly polls, adding, “Maha jungle raj will come to an end with formation of BJP government in the state.” Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the 66.7-km four-laning of the Barajaguli–Krishnanagar section of NH-34 in Nadia district and lay the foundation stone for a 17.6-km four-laning of the Barasat–Barajaguli section in North 24 Parganas. In Guwahati, Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress for speaking up in defence of the “infiltrators” (illegal migrants) by criticising the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of poll rolls. Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the new terminal building of Lokpriya Gopinath Bardoloi International Airport in Guwahati, he said the government was working to stop infiltration and identify the infiltrators but the Congress and INDIA bloc openly adopt “anti-national agendas”. “The Supreme Court also spoke about removing the infiltrators but they (Opposition) are giving statements in defence of the infiltrators,” he alleged. “Such people will not protect Assamese interests. They will allow others to occupy your land and forests,” Modi warned. Narendra Modi Will serve Matuas, says PM “I assure every Matua and Namasudra family that we will always serve them. They are not here at the mercy of TMC,” Modi said. A section of the Matuas are upset as their names do not figure in West Bengal’s draft electoral rolls after SIR Govt bulldozed MGNREGA, says Sonia Gandhi P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi ACCUSING the Modi Government of bulldozing the MGNREGA, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday asserted that the party will fight against the “black law” that seeks to repeal the job scheme. Both Houses of Parliament passed the VB–G Ram G Bill on Thursday that seeks to replace the two-decades-old MGNREGA. The Opposition has urged the government to send the new bill to a standing committee saying that it’s a “conditional, centrally controlled scheme stacked against states and workers”. In a video message, Sonia Gandhi said the Centre has altered the structure of MGNREGA without any consultation, discussion or taking the Opposition into confidence, and even removed Mahatma Gandhi’s name, undermining the spirit and intent of the landmark legislation. “Twenty years ago, I fought to secure the right to employment for the poor. Today too, I am fully committed to this struggle,” she said. She alleged that decisions on who will get employment, where and how, will now be taken centrally from Delhi, ignoring ground realities and weakening the role of the gram panchayats. By weakening MGNREGA, the Modi government had attacked the interests of millions of farmers, labourers, and landless people, she said. “It is a matter of great regret that just recently, the government ran a bulldozer over MGNREGA,” the Congress leader said. Asserting that MGNREGA was never a party-centric initiative but a programme rooted in national and public interest, she said diluting the law amounts to an assault on crores of farmers, workers and landless rural poor. Speeding Rajdhani mows down herd of seven elephants in Assam district P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati THE Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express rammed into a herd of wild elephants in Assam in the early hours of Saturday, killing seven and injuring a calf in Assam’s Hojai district early Saturday . Five coaches of the train got derailed, but there were no human casualties. The accident occurred near a paddy field in the JamunamukhKampur section under Lumding Division of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), about 126 km east of Guwahati. The train connects Mizoram’s Two BJP leaders booked in `20 cr gold deposit case The Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) has registered a case against two senior BJP functionaries over an alleged investment fraud linked to a gold trading scheme that reportedly collected around `20 crore from investors. According to the police, BJP state executive committee member Kosampudi Ravindra and BJP Khammam district president Nelluru Koteswara Rao are among those named in the case. They are accused of promoting investment opportunities in a private firm, Siri Gold Merchants Private Lim- struggle to continue claimed that the company would establish gold shops and related business units, which would generate steady profits for investors. However, the complainant stated that neither the promised returns were paid nor were any gold outlets set up as projected. When investors sought explanations or refunds, there was reportedly no response from those associated with the scheme. Based on the complaint, CCS police registered a case under Sections 316(2) and 318(4), read with Section 3(5) of the BNS. Police officials said the provisions relate to cheating and criminal breach of trust involving multiple victims. A dead jumbo at the accident site in Hojai district of Assam | PTI Sairang (near Aizawl) to the Anand Vihar Terminal in Delhi. NFR said passengers from affected coaches were shifted to vacant berths in other coaches. After detaching the affected coaches, the train proceeded to Guwahati. “The incident was outside an elephant corridor. The loco pilot applied emergency brakes, but the elephants collided with the train,” NFR said. Helpline numbers (03612731621/2731622/2731623) were activated as senior officials rushed to the site. Restoration work was underway, with several trains cancelled or shortterminated. Locals said one dead elephant was pregnant. Dulu Borah of Hati Bondhu, an NGO, said an early warning system could have averted the tragedy . express read Weightage to citizens in Swachh survey V-P: India’s future hinges on its administrators NEW DELHI: The ministry of housing and urban affairs (MoHUA) has decided to give greater weightage to opinions of citizens in Swachh Survekshan. Starting this year, citizens will be able to share feedback round the year Vote For My City App and Portal, MyGov App, Swachhata App, and through QR codes Hyderabad: Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan on Saturday underlined that their effective implementation hinges on the quality of administrators being selected today. He was speaking at the valedictory session of the two-day National Conference of Chairpersons of Public Service Commissions held here | P4 WITH THIS ISSUE The dark underbelly of the sunshine state Go Goa Gone PLUS 12 P AGES FAITH & FOREST Devotees protest as foresters mark territory E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Jagtial Tension prevailed for some time at the Lord Anjaneya Swamy temple at Kondagattu in Malyala mandal after forest officials carried out fresh land markings, stating that parts of the temple’s associated structures fall within reserve forest limits. This led to protests by Hindu organisations and local residents. On Saturday, Ya g andla Laxminarayana, Mudiganti Raji Reddy and Bobbili Venkata Swamy Yadav staged a protest atop the hillock, demanding that the markings be removed immediately. VHP leader Vutukuri Radhakrishna Reddy and party members extended support. The protesters warned of intensified agitation if the markings were not withdrawn. The Lord Anjaneya Swamy temple complex is spread over about 22 acres, with another 363.22 acres recorded in the temple’s name. The surrounding hillocks include nearly 360 hectares of forest land, which forest officials have claimed in earlier instances. Around eight months ago, forest authorities attempted to put up fencing under the proposed Kondagattu Urban Park project and near the Y junction, citing forest ownership. The Endowments department objected, maintaining that the land belonged to the temple, following which the move was stopped.