The New Indian Express wishes its readers on the occasion of Onam. Our offices will remain closed today. There will be no issue of the paper tomorrow KOZHIKODE l wednesday l august 26, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Supreme cOURT directs Tejpal to surrender within THREE weeks SC directed journalist Tarun Tejpal to undergo his 10-year rigorous imprisonment in a 2013 rape case in which he was convicted by the Bombay High Court Appeal against hc order to be heard in sept Hearing subject to Surrender certificate A bench of Justice Alok Aradhe dismissed Tejpal’s plea seeking exemption from surrendering. “The application seeking exemption from surrendering is rejected. However, the appellant is granted three weeks’ time to surrender and file surrender certificate before this court,” the bench said in its order. SC posted his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence on Sept 22 ■ ■ “In case the surrender certificate is filed on or before September 21, 2026, the registry shall list the criminal appeal for hearing on September 22, 2026 before the regular court,” the bench said The former editor of Tehelka magazine was convicted of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in 2013 in Goa | P7 August 6 When Bombay hc convicted Tejpal to 10-year rigorous imprisonment 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 Missile tech transfer to pvt sector gets approval US sanctions 4 India-based entities over Iran imports Covers air-defence, air-to-air missiles & battlefield-strike weapons HOURS after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, the US on Tuesday sanctioned four Indiabased entities for importing petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran. Among those facing action is customs broker Portease Partners, along with its partners Indrismiya Ashrafmiya Sheikh and Harish Ramachandra Rangi. They facilitated the import of Iranian petrochemical products, according to the US State Department. The other India-based entities 1 Several DcPP programmes have moved forward. At a salvo launch of NASM-SR from Sea King helicopter in April, two missiles were fired in quick succession 2 The DRDO conducted first flight trial of TARA from a Jaguar, converting a 500-kg bomb into a guided stand-off weapon. Gaurav has completed release trials from Su-30MKI 3 File photo of a Pralay test-fire, a quasi-ballistic missile | PTI Astra Mk-2, with a range of 200+ km, is also learnt to be among the first major systems to be offered to pvt firms. COMM, Adani, Bharat Forge, Tata and Mahindra are among contenders per applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory The government on Tuesday requirements”, the ministry cleared the transfer of technol- said. The DRDO will retain reogy for all conventional missile sponsibility for design certifisystems developed by the De- cation and quality assurance. fence Research and DevelopIt marks a further shift away ment Organisation (DRDO) to from the traditional model unIndian industry for domestic der which a DRDO missile, afproduction, opening a wide ter completing development swathe of the country’s indig- and user trials, was assigned to enous guided-weapons portfo- a nominated production agenlio to private manufacturers. cy for series manufacture, a Defence minister Rajnath role state-run Bharat DynamSingh approved the transfer, in ics Ltd (BDL) has traditionally what his ministry described as held for much of the indigean “important milestone” in nous missile portfolio. expanding industry It also follows the participation in the government’s decision defence ecosystem. earlier this year to The ministry however, , open tactical missile did not specify the inproduction to the pridividual systems covvate industry under ered by the decision. the Development-cumOfficials in the deProduction Partner fence establishment (DcPP) model, which said the conventional brings companies into portfolio includes the The initiative aims a programme during to enhance Akash and Akash-NG development rather operational surface-to-air systems, capability, reduce than after it. DRDO VSHORADS, Astra import dependence has distributed around air-to-air missiles, the 10 to 12 tactical missile and increase domestic value Rudram anti-radiation programmes among addition family, anti-tank syspublic and private tems such as Nag, firms, with Adani DeDefence ministry SANT and the manfence and Aerospace, portable ATGM, the Bharat Forge, ICOMM NASM-SR anti-ship missile, in- Tele and Solar Defence and Aerdigenous land-attack cruise ospace as DcPPs. missiles and Pralay, the quasiAdani Defence is the DcPP ballistic weapon geared for con- for the Rudram anti-radiation ventional strikes. series, including the hyperson“Strategic missiles are a sepa- ic Rudram-II, which is to be rate category and will continue built at its Hyderabad facility, to be dealt with separately. and for NASM-SR. Bharat Hence, Agni and the K-series are Forge is a DcPP for the 1,000-kgnot part of this transfer. Simi- class Gaurav long-range glide larly BrahMos and MRSAM in- bomb and the TARA glide kit. , volve foreign partners and are It broke ground last month on governed by separate arrange- a `2,500-crore missile complex ments,” the official said. at Shivpuri in MP, with comCompanies will be able to posite-propellant and TNT promanufacture the systems “as duction planned at the site. Ja v a r i a Rana @ New Delhi are Sadashiva Overseas, PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra Impex. PP Softtech director Prashant Garg has also been sanctioned. Sheikh, Rangi and Garg are Indian nationals. Sadashiva Overseas imported Iranian-origin petroleum products worth $69 million from multiple companies, while PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra each imported products worth $25 million, the US said. The companies were designated for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran”. eXPR E SS n E WS s E RVIC E @ New Delhi Call to rework it after consultation Kharge, Rahul demand scrapping of Census questionnaire on caste P r eetha N a i r @ New Delhi Reiterating the party’s demand for a drop-down list of castes, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the scrapping of the existing questionnaire for it in the ongoing Census exercise and formulate a new one after consulting political parties, experts and the general public. Both leaders said they do not accept the caste census being conducted in the current manner and urged the government to take its cue from the caste surveys done in Telangana and Bihar. Briefing reporters on the letter, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s current efforts towards a caste census are just a “whitewash”. Ramesh said this is the third The conundrum The same caste is known by different names, sub-castes, and linguistic variations across regions. If members of the same caste are recorded under different names, the caste could be fragmented into thousands of distinct names letter written by the Congress leadership to Modi over the issue but have not received any reply . “Your government has opted for an open-ended question format to record caste details in t h e c e n s u s, which is misleading. Under this metho d , wh a t ever Patna erupts in chaos as job aspirants march to CM’s house, clash with cops R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna CIA chief in Moscow for rare in-person talks FlightRadar24 spotted C-17’s arrival in Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport. CIA boss John Ratcliffe was its pax | P9 Patna witnessed dramatic scenes on Tuesday as thousands of students and job aspirants clashed with police after they were stopped from marching towards the chief minister’s residence to press for their key demands, which included a single-stage exam for teacher recruitment instead of holding separate Prelims and Mains. The protesters were also seeking the cancellation of Combined Competitive Exams held by Bihar Pub- lic Service Commission earlier this year, alleging irregularities. The march, which started from the historic Gandhi Maidan that has witnessed many upheavals in the past, saw participation by a number of Leftwing activists affiliated with AISF and DYFI. Members of NSUI were also present. The protesters pulled down the metal barricades and tried to break the security cordon. Some protesters pelted stones on security personnel. Police personnel first used water cannons to disperse the crowd but later resorted to baton charge as the protesters refused to relent. In the melee that followed, several protesters and security personnel were injured. Later, an eight-member delegation of job aspirants met Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit in his office with a memorandum containing 15-point charter of demands. The chief secretary told the delegation that he would discuss with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and promised the matter would be settled in the next couple of days. spanning 25,000 sq ft A jumbo pookkalam to honour a gentle giant E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kalpetta In the scenic, rural heartland of Wayanad, the village of Irulam has transformed its local school ground into a sprawling, vibrant tapestry of petals. Spanning over 25,000 square feet, the monumental ‘pookkalam’, which cost `7 lakh, has captured the imagination of Onam revellers across the state. Yet, beyond its scale and vibrant design, this massive creation carries a deeply moving story of community resilience and an unforgettable tribute to a wild tusker named Maniyan. The grand endeavour was born out of a desire to unite the entire village under a single cultural banner. Organised by the Lions Club of Irulam in collaboration The 25,000 square feet floral carpet laid out at Government HSS ground, Irulam, in Wayanad with regional clubs, cultural organisations, and community members, the project evolved into the village’s first major public Onam festival. To cover the vast terrain of Irulam Gover nment HSS ground, the organisers procured 10 tonnes of fresh blossoms, including marigolds and globe amaranth, primarily sourced from Gundlupet in Karnataka. Over 500 volunteers, ranging from young children to senior citizens, joined hands — plucking petals, transporting flowers, and executing the sprawling layout. Achieving the feat was far from easy, as heavy monsoon rains repeatedly threatened to ruin the plans. Rain washed away the initial chalk outlines twice, forcing volunteers to begin sketching and laying flowers simultaneously on Monday evening. Working tirelessly through the night for over 11 straight hours, 40 core artists completed the masterpiece just as morning broke. The work also features an artistic homage to “Kattana Maniyan”, who inhabited the surrounding forests of Irulam, Pulpally and Sultan Bathery until his passing ● More on P4 in September 2019.  name an individual provides for their caste will be recorded as it is,” the leaders said in their letter. In India, the same caste is known by different names across different regions, they pointed out. Recording them as is would result in a list of hundreds of thousands of caste names, rendering the entire dataset useless. “An easy solution already exists: a drop-down list of castes should be created. This is the method adopted for the enumeration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Such a list can be easily compiled based on existing government lists such as those for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and the list from the Anthropological Survey of India,” they said. E X P R E SS R E A D India, China seek political settlement New Delhi: India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks in Beijing on Tuesday, with the two sides agreeing to continue dialogue on their boundary dispute and seek a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable” settlement. The discussions were described by Beijing as “comprehensive, friendly and candid”. P7 `5k per violation: MVD to tighten screws on illegal vehicle alteration E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram The pre-election promise of Chief Minister V D Satheesan to permit vehicle modifications notwithstanding, the motor vehicles department (MVD) is set to launch a major drive across Kerala against vehicles that resort to illegal tweaking. Following strict directives from the High Court, officers will inspect vehicles on the road and issue a fine of Rs 5,000 for every illegal alteration detected. Vehicle owners who pay the fine will still be required to remove all illegal fittings and submit their vehicle for an official re-inspection before it can be legally driven again. The High Court ordered tough measures after observing that certain popular alterations pose a severe hazard to road users. While use of extra wide tyres posed danger, powerful LED light bars and unauthorised coloured bulbs risk blinding oncoming drivers and pedestrians. Exhaust systems modified to produce excessive noise or blast sparks are also strictly prohibited under road safety guidelines.To ensure compliance, the transport commissionerate has directed all regional transport offices to submit an action report by September 3. ● More on P4