visakhapatnam l tuesday l august 04, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Encroachment-free footpath must on every road: SC to govt The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to ensure every road has an encroachment-free space for pedestrians Ensure proper demarcation, govt told ‘space must make pedestrians feel safe’ “Without any big investment and construction, just ensure that proper demarcation is done of walkers’ space. Wherever there is a road, there should be a walkers’ space. Do it with a rope or anything and ensure it is not encroached,” a bench of justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe told Additional Solicitor General K M Nararaj, who appeared for the Centre ■ ■ The bench said pedestrians should have confidence that the space is meant for them and they can walk freely without fear of vehicles. It was hearing a suo motu case concerning the right to safe footpath The direction comes weeks after the top court on June 19 held that the right to walk on a demarcated footpath is a fundamental right 2 weeks later is when the supreme court will hear the matter again 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 Court acquits Brij Bhushan, appalled Phogat to fight on ‘We haven’t lost hope’ UDAYAN K I S HOR E & H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ New Delhi/Chandigarh A Delhi court on Monday acquitted ex-BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh in a 2023 sexual harassment case filed by six women wrestlers, including celebrated grappler Vinesh Phogat, citing lack of evidence. The court also granted relief to former WFI assistant secretary Vinod Tomar in the case. “Both accused stand acquitted,” Chief Judicial Magistrate Ashwini Panwar said in a verdict pronounced in-camera. A separate FIR lodged by a minor wrestler was closed by court in May 2025 following a police investigation. The court had accepted a closure report filed by police in the case. In the present case, Phogat revealed she was one of the six victims in a video message posted on X on May 3, 2026. In the verdict passed on Monday, the court accepted the defence counsel’s arguments about inconsistencies and contradictions in witness testimonies, improbability and ground of ‘alibi’ and acquitted , the accused, said advocate Rajiv Mohan, who represented both Singh and Tomar. Reacting to the verdict, wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia said they were “deeply saddened” but will continue the legal fight. In a joint statement, they said the complainants have instructed lawyers to appeal the verdict. The police filed a chargesheet against Singh and Tomar in June 2023 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354A (sexual harassment), 354D (stalking) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. In May 2024, the court framed charges of sexual harassment, intimidation and outraging women’s modesty against Singh, and criminal intimidation against Tomar. Vizag, Moscow sign smart transport pact E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Visakhapatnam The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and the Government of Moscow have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to collaborate on urban transport, digital innovation and industrial development. GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg and Maksim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow and Head of the Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development, signed the agreement during the 5th International Transport Summit held in Moscow, Russia, in the presence of Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat. The Commissioner said the partnership would help Visakhapatnam adopt global practices in sustainable urban transport, smart mobility, digital technologies, technology transfer and industrial cooperation. He added that the cooperation would support the development of the Visakhapatnam Economic Region (VER) as a centre for economic growth and technological innovation in Andhra P4 Pradesh.  Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat with GVMC chief Ketan Garg at the 5th Int’l Transport Summit in Moscow | Express Wrestlers Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia said they were “deeply saddened” by the court’s decision but will continue the legal fight. “We have not lost hope and the wrestlers will continue their fight.” Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh shows victory sign after his acquittal | PTI I said on the very first day that if the allegations are true, I will hang myself. I am very happy that I have been acquitted today Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh Wake-up call for Bihar CM as PK grabs BJP safe seat Cong holds on to Datia in bypoll, BJP retains Manjalpur in Gujarat ramashankar, Anuraag singh & D i l i p S i n g h K s h at r i ya @ Patna/Bhopal/Ahmedabad SHATTERING BJP’s more than three-decade winning streak in the Bankipur assembly by-election in Bihar, Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Monday emerged victor, defeating his BJP opponent by a margin of 19,324 votes. In two other assembly bypolls, the Congress retained Datia in Madhya Pradesh while BJP retained Manjalpur seat in Gujarat. While Kishor polled 64,151 votes, his closest rival Neeraj Kumar Sinha of BJP secured 44,827 votes. RJD’s Rekha Gupta stood third with 14,273 votes. Kishor was ahead of the BJP candidate throughout the counting process. The defeat is a significant blow to BJP national president Nitin Nabin, who had held the Bankipur seat for five consecutive terms, and to Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, who faced his first electoral test after taking the baton from JD(U) boss Nitish Kumar. Kishor had cast the bypoll as a referendum on Choudhary’s leadership, accusing the BJP of “arrogance” in treating Bankipur as an unassailable bastion. A political analyst said that there was a feeling among a large section of the electorate that BJP should taste defeat this time. He claimed that the Gen Z demonstrations at Jantar Mantar and later in Patna over Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor with supporters in Patna on Monday | Express No alliance with any party: Jan Suraaj Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor on Monday ruled out the possibility of joining any political alliance. “We shall have no alliance. Our alliance shall be with the people of Bihar. People of Bankipur have voted for us, giving up on established parties,” said Kishor when asked about a rethink on his earlier stance of going it alone in elections leak of NEET question paper had affected the Bankipur election even as the controversial Bhojpur police encounter, that claimed the life of Bharat Bhushan Tiwari, not only rattled upper castes and supporters of BJP but also other social groups, who do not generally vote for the party . Campaigning on jobs, education and governance rather than caste or religion, Kishor forged a connect that delivered Jan Suraaj its first-ever electoral win. Kishor also dented both BJP and RJD’s traditional vote banks. While upper-caste Kayasthas largely stuck with BJP, other upper-caste and OBC voters appeared to have drifted to- ward Kishor, as did sections of RJD’s Muslim-Yadav base, with some Muslim voters backing him as the candidate best placed to defeat the BJP . In Madhya Pradesh, Congress retained the prestigious Datia seat, winning the by-election by 6,016 votes. Congress candidate Kunwar Ghanshyam Singh defeated first-time BJP contestant Ashutosh Tiwari by polling 66,757 votes against Tiwari’s 60,741. BJP’s saving grace was Gujarat, where it retained the Manjalpur assembly seat in Vadodara. Its candidate Satish Govindbhai Patel won the bypoll, defeating Congress’ former minister Bhikhabhai Rabari by 30,630 votes. Naidu orders steps to avert drinking water crisis S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday directed officials to take proactive measures to prevent a drinking water crisis in the State amid severe drought conditions triggered by the El Niño phenomenon. He asked them to continuously monitor the drought situation and assess water availability in reservoirs and other sources to ensure an uninterrupted drinking water supply . Chairing a review meeting on the functioning of various departments at the RTGS Centre in the Secretariat, Naidu directed officials to effectively utilise floodwaters entering the Krishna basin from upstream regions through proper water management. He also cautioned that prolonged drought conditions could lead to a shortage of cattle fodder and instructed the departments concerned to take advance measures to address the issue. The Chief Minister stressed the need for frequent drinking water quality tests in both urban and rural areas and directed officials to make laboratory test reports public. paper leak protests State govts can close or withdraw FIRs: SC S u c h i t r a K a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday said state governments are at liberty to withdraw or close FIRs registered against students who participated in the NEET paper leak protests. A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also clarified that the expression “crimi- Meta tells Parl nal antecedents” in its July 28 order on panel it’s ready releasing student protesters referred to apologise only to those involved in grave and hei- Meta told a nous offences. parliamentary panel On July 28, the court ordered the re- on Monday that it is lease of all student protesters, except ready to apologise for those with “criminal antecedents”. Mon- the brief restriction on day’s clarification came after petitioners a post by Prime Minister raised concerns that the expression Narendra Modi recently “criminal antecedents” could impede the on Facebook | P10 withdrawal of FIRs. “It is clarified for the July 28 order that NCT of Delhi and any other State shall be at liberty to close/withdraw FIRs against protesters. The word criminal antecedent is to be read as grave and heinous offences,” the court said. During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said FIRs against more than 2,700 people with antecedents involving grave and heinous offences would not be withdrawn. During the hearing, the CJI observed that police officers who indulged in brutalities should not be protected. He also instructed them to conduct field inspections and regularly monitor Anganwadi centres. Officials informed the Chief Minister that rainfall in the upstream catchment areas is ex- Godavari flood raises bund safety concerns E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Rajamahendravaram The Godavari flood may have receded, bringing relief to lakhs of people in the delta, but it has left behind a stark warning. The recent flood has exposed several weak stretches of river embankments across the Godavari delta, prompting irrigation engineers to call for urgent, perma- `300 cr sought nent strengthening works before for bund repairs the next flood season. About `300 crore is According to officials, the lat- needed to strengthen est flood served as a stress test flood banks across the for the river bunds, revealing Godavari delta, vulnerable locations that could Dowleswaram Barrage pose a serious threat to hun- Superintending dreds of villages and thousands Engineer G Srinivasa of hectares of farmland if left Rao said. A detailed proposal has been unattended. The erstwhile Godavari dis- submitted to the Water tricts have nearly 537 km of Resources Department, flood embankments safeguard- he added ing habitations and agricultural lands. Of these, about 80 km lie along the main Godavari from Polavaram to Dowleswaram. The Gowthami branch has 68 km of left-bank and 80 km of right-bank embankments, while the Vasishta river accounts for nearly 180 km. The Vainateya and Vrudda Gowthami rivers have 56 P4 km and 40 km of flood banks, respectively  . pected to improve water availability in the Krishna basin. They said inflows into the Krishna River had increased in recent days and also briefed him on the prevailing flood situation in the Godavari River. Observing that there was a possibility of fodder scarcity in the coming days due to the lack of rainfall, the Chief Minister asked officials to take the necessary measures to tackle the situation. Officials also briefed the Chief Minister on the Transport Department’s reform agenda. Chief Secretary K Sai Prasad attended the meeting. Genuine synergy Military-civilian integration a must: Rajnath j a v a r i a r a n a @ New Delhi TAKING the government’s integrated agenda beyond the three armed forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday called for integration between the military and civilian wings of the defence establishment, arguing that the two can no longer operate in silos. Addressing the AFHQ Civilian Services Day here, Singh said deeper institutional integration between the uniformed services and civilian officials was critical to creating genu- ine synergy, improving decision making and responding more effectively to rapidly evolving security and technological challenges. The interface between the military and the civilian bureaucracy has long been regarded as one of the weak links in India’s higher defence management. To narrow that gap, the defence minister advocated structured cross-exposure through joint training pro- grammes and developmental assignments, allowing officers from both sides to gain a better understanding of each other’s roles, expertise and institutional strengths. “Military and administrative integration cannot advance on separate tracks,” he said, adding that as India moves towards joint and integrated military structures, closer coordination will be required across policy formulation, HR, and institutional knowledge. Express Read Situation under control in Alur: Police Heat pushes up lemon prices in Gudur market PM lauds V’nagaram water-saving drive Kurnool: Political tension continued in Alur after the arrest of YSRCP MLA B Virupakshi over recent clashes. While TDP and YSRCP traded allegations, police said the situation was under control. Leaders of both parties visited affected villages | P4 Nellore: Lemon prices have surged in the Gudur wholesale market due to prolonged heat, poor rainfall and seasonal demand. Wholesale rates touched `70 a kg, while retail prices reached `120. Traders expect prices to rise further during the Shravana month | P4 Vizianagaram: Prime Minister Modi praised Vizianagaram’s Jaladhara-Jalaharati programme in Mann Ki Baat, recognising it as a model for water conservation. The district completed 8,973 works worth `318.57 crore, generating 1.28 crore person-days | P5 “Military officers bring operational experience, command perspective and an understanding of warfare, while civilian officers contribute administrative continuity policy , expertise, knowledge of government processes and institutional memory. Together, these strengths lead to more informed and effective decision making,” he said. Singh also urged the AFHQ Civilian Services to evolve beyond a purely administrative role and emerge as the “strategic brain” of defence domain. 6.5% LIC stake to be sold by govt at `382/share Govt to sell up to 6.5% stake in LIC through a twoday offer for sale, expects to add `31,000 crore to its disinvestment kitty | P10