BHUBANESWAR l wednesday l september 09, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION SC to consider issues related to Delhi hostel collapse on Sept 10 The Supreme Court was hearing a plea seeking a direction for a time-bound inspection and safety audit of PG accommodations in Delhi sc likely to transfer case from delhi hc amicus curiae files status report An SC bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahdevan said it may transfer the case being dealt with by the Delhi HC. On Monday, the HC ordered a high-level inquiry into the tragedy. The SC bench on Tuesday said the issues dealt with by the Delhi HC are “serious” and overlap with the case already being heard by it on a pan-India basis ■ ■ Senior advocate Ajit Sinha, amicus curiae in the matter considered by SC, said she has inspected the site along with a professor from IIT and MCD officials and filed a status report in this regard Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Delhi government, termed the Sunday tragedy as “most unfortunate” 2022 Another satya niketan building collapse had left two people dead 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 Modi-Putin meet to lend big push to def, trade ties Bilateral meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on Friday ahead of the BRICS Summit, their second bilateral in weeks, with the talks set to give fresh momentum to the India-Russia par tnership across energy, defence, trade and strategic cooperation. The meeting comes amid record levels of Russian energy supplies to India, discussions on expanding defence cooperation and efforts to address longstanding payment issues in bilateral trade. Putin will attend the BRICS Summit on September 12-13. Ahead of the visit, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said India-Russia energy cooperation was continuing to reach new highs. “Every month we have a new record,” Peskov said, while declining to disclose figures. Defence cooperation is also expected to feature prominently with Russia signalling readi, ness to discuss the supply and possible technology transfer of A file photo of PM Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin | express Man fakes PMO ID card Mumbai police arrested two men at a PM Modi event venue after one of them, Rohan Parekh, used a forged PMO identity card to enter with bodyguard Dilip Kundre, carrying a licensed gun. The lawyer of the accused said his visit was only a “private” affair advanced platforms, including the Su-57 fighter and S-500 air defence system. “We have very good military equipment and are willing to offer it to the Indian side,” Peskov said. He indicated that Moscow was pre- Majhi reaches UAE on four-day visit, to meet investors, bizmen today E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Tuesday embarked on a four-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), leading a high-level business delegation to engage global investors, financial institutions and industry leaders as part of his second international investment outreach. After arrival in Abu Dhabi, the chief minister reviewed preparations for a series of business and investor meetings scheduled from September 9 to 11. He also met the Ambassador of India to the UAE and discussed strengthening economic and people-to-people ties between India and the UAE. He emphasised the need to provide continued support and facilitation to Odias working and residing in the region. “Odisha has entered a new phase of industrial growth and our engagement with the UAE is an important part of this journey. We have come here not only to invite investment but to build long-term partnerships based on trust, technology value creation and , employment,” Majhi said. CM Mohan Charan Majhi being received by an official of the Embassy of India in the UAE upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi, on Tuesday evening He said the state government’s focus is on converting investment interest into projects on the ground, generating employment and positioning Odisha as a competitive destination for global businesses. The first day of the outreach on Wednesday will include meetings with International Holding Company (IHC) and its business verticals, the Indian Business and Professional Group (IBPG), the UAE Minister of Investment and other senior investment stakeholders. A focused engagement with investors from the petrochemicals and chemicals sectors is also Continued on P5 scheduled.  pared to discuss India’s demand for technology transfer in connection with the Su-57. Peskov also suggested that the two countries could deepen joint defence production, citing the BrahMos programme as a model. The two sides are also working to resolve accumulated rupee balances arising from bilateral trade, while exploring closer cooperation in rareearth exploration, an area with growing strategic significance for both countries. Peskov also said Moscow broadly shares India’s position that the conflict must be resolved peacefully “We do want . a solution of the Ukrainian conflict by peaceful means.” The leaders are also expected to discuss security counterter, rorism, drugs and space cooperation. India has separately raised the issue of its nationals serving in the Russian military . Peskov said a list was being compiled and those identified would be sent home. On BRICS, Peskov rejected the characterisation of the group as antiWestern, saying it was based on trust, respect and benefit. flag meeting India, China hold talks in Arunachal J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi INDIA and China have held their first Corps Commanderlevel flag meeting in the eastern sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), with the first engagement taking place at Wacha on the Indian side in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday and the second talk at Damai on the Chinese side on Monday , the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday . The engagement, described by MEA as the first “Senior Highest Military CommanderLevel Flag Meeting” in the eastern sector, comes ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to India for the BRICS summit later this week, as New Delhi and Beijing seek to consolidate the thaw in ties following the 2020 military confrontation in eastern Ladakh. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the meetings followed understandings reached between the two countries in August last year and last month, and subsequent discussions held in Beijing and New Delhi in May and August this year. Lt Gen Girish Kalia, commander of the Army’s III Corps, led the Indian delegation. The Wacha-Damai engagement was held at a point in the Kibithoo sector, sources said. The five infant orangutans found huddled near a bush under Bichitrapur forest area in Balasore, on Tuesday. They were rescued by forest patrolling team | Express Orangutan mystery: Far from home, 5 baby apes ED seeks fresh FIR found in Balasore forest against Pinarayi in tional Park examined their health after which they were taken to the Balasore division ofLocals venturing into the Bi- fice,” he said. chitrapur casuarina forest in State Forest, Environment Balasore on Tuesday morning and Climate Change minister were in for an unusual sight of Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia, who five baby apes huddled near a was briefed on the unusual debush. velopment, said prima facie it The sight of the orange-furred appeared to be an act of botched primates, completely smuggling. alien to the landscape, “The species is nonleft the villagers starnative to India and tled. They immediately mostly found in the alerted forest officials, We are suspecting rainforests of Malaywho rushed to the spot sia, Indonesia and Suthat they were being smuggled and identified them as matra in Southeast through Odisha orangutans, a species Asia. We are suspecting native to the rainfor- and abandoned in that they were being the Bichitrapur ests of Southeast Asia. smuggled through Odiforest fearing The infant apes, aged sha and abandoned in detection between six months the Bichitrapur forest and action and one year, appeared fearing detection and Ganesh Ram to have been abanaction. The state govSinghkhuntia, doned in the forest. ernment will approach Minister They were then resWildlife Crime Control cued by the forest paBureau (WCCB) to introlling team from the Udayapur vestigate how the critically ensection of the Jaleswar range. dangered apes entered the state Regional chief conservator of and ended up in Bichitrapur forforests (RCCF), Baripada, Pra- est,” he said. kash Chand Gogineni told TNIE, Singhkhuntia added that the the forest personnel found the apes might have been brought to five orangutans in an abandoned the state by air, water or any othcondition. “All of them have er route, and the involvement of been brought to the Udayapur an international wildlife smugforest section. A team of veteri- gling racket can also not be Continued on P5 nary doctors from Simlipal Na- ruled out.  E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Balasore/Bhubaneswar CMRL bribery case J OS E K J OS E PH & SHA N A S @ Kochi/T’Puram the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked the Kerala Police to register a separate corruption case against Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his son-in-law and MLA P A Mohamed Riyas, and daughter T Veena over alleged bribe transactions linked to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL). The agency has forwarded its findings and supporting evidence from the money-laundering probe to State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar, seeking registration of an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other relevant provisions. Chandrasekhar told TNIE that he had received ED’s communication. “We are assessing the report and will seek legal opinion.” Though no formal announcement has been made, the government has, in-principle, decided to hand over the matter to the vigilance and anti-corruption bureau (VACB). Sources said legal opinion has been sought on whether the VACB can directly register a case under the PCA or it should conduct a preliminary inquiry before registering an FIR. Since Pinarayi and Riyas are public servants, a prior approval from the state government is required to conduct a probe against them. Government sanction is also required to register an FIR against them. The ED’s recommendation marks a major expansion of its CMRL-Exalogic probe, which initially focused on payments totalling `2.78 crore made by CMRL to Exalogic Solutions, a now-defunct company owned by Veena. The payments were shown as being towards IT and consultancy services, which the ED alleged were bribe money . express read SC slams Odisha govt for sitting on Dara Singh’s plea Risky Rescue op Video clip of a leopard knocking a forest dept official to the ground during a rescue mission in Karnataka’s Davanagere. The animal was hurt after it was hit by a car on a highway. The official’s team members quickly intervened and saved him | P5 | Express Cabinet nod awaited Decks cleared for satellite broadband services in India RAK E SH KU M AR @ New Delhi Eiffel Tower reopens after 1-day strike The monument was closed for a day after its staff went on strike over women being asked to leave during a visit by BAPS delegation | P7 IN a move that could bring satellite communication services closer to commercial launch in India, the Digital Communications Commission (DCC), the apex decision-making body for telecommunications and digital policies at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has approved a spectrum usage charge of 5% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for satellite communication services. Service providers await security clearance The Digital Communications Commission’s decision paves the way for the govt to allocate spectrum to Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications, subject to them meeting security and other regulatory clearances With this decision, the government can now move ahead with spectrum assignment for satellite communication companies such as Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Amazon Leo to launch commercial services in India. The charge will be lower at 4% of AGR for operators providing services in rural and remote areas. DoT will now move the proposal through the Inter-Minis- terial Committee and then seek Cabinet nod. The DCC has also approved spectrum assignment for five years with an option for a twoyear extension. Telecom regulator Trai had recommended 4% of AGR spectrum usage charge, along with an additional `500 per urban subscriber per year for nongeostationary satellite orbitbased satellite services with rural and remote subscribers being exempt from the additional levy . However, the DoT rejected the per-subscriber charge, citing difficulties in distinguishing between rural and urban users. It also rejected the proposal to subsidise rural users. New Delhi: Coming down heavily on the state government and the authorities concerned for sitting on the premature release/remission plea of Rabindra Kumar Pal, alias Dara Singh, serving life sentence for murder of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, the Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that Odisha cannot keep it lingering | P5 Govt forms special team to identify unsafe buildings Bhubaneswar: In the wake of the recent building collapse in Delhi that claimed seven lives, the government on Tuesday announced the formation of a special team to identify and act against unsafe and dilapidated structures across the state. Minister KC Mahapatra said the team will conduct a comprehensive assessment of buildings and submit its findings within 15 days | P3