HYDERABAD l saturday l september 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION AFspa extended for six more months in parts of 3 states The Centre has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, in specified areas of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur Move follows review of L&O situation A Gazette notification published on Friday said the Act, which gives special powers to the Armed Forces, will remain in effect in the specified areas for six months from October 1, unless withdrawn earlier. This follows a review of the law and order situation. The “disturbed area” declaration has been extended across Manipur, barring areas under 13 police stations Four nagas killed in Manipur ■ ■ Four Nagas were killed in a cross-border attack allegedly by Myanmar-based alleged Kuki insurgents on Thursday afternoon at Pilong near the India-Myanmar border in Manipur’s Kamjong district The Working Committee of the Tangkhul Naga Long held the govt responsible and called for a 24-hour shutdown from 7 am Friday | P8 Sec 3 of AFSPA empowers the centre to declare “disturbed areas” 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 NDA allies’ turn New model investment treaty coming to seek clarity from Gyanesh P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi Chirag, Kushwaha, Devarayalu urge him to publicly address misgivings in poll process Pa r v e z S u lta n & R a m a s h a n k a r @ New Delhi/Patna HC fiat to meta platforms The Delhi HC on Friday directed Meta Platforms to remove a woman’s morphed picture with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ordered police to provide protection to the victim | P7 e x p r e s s r e ad 14 girls bitten by rodents at Gurukul Jangaon: Fourteen students of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential School and College for Girls in Palakurthi were allegedly bitten by rodents on Thursday. They were given treatment at the Palakurthi CHC | p2 Expedite drainage study: TG to MoJS Hyderabad: The state government on Friday urged the Ministry of Jal Shakti to expedite drainage congestion studies to protect Bhadrachalam from submergence caused by the backwaters of the Polavaram project in Andhra Pradesh | P4 Amid mounting Opposition attacks on the Centre and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of arbitrary decisions in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, three BJP allies — the Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV), Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) — on Friday sought clarity on the electoral process to “dispel misgivings” among voters. In a related development, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the decisions, guidelines and software changes allegedly made by the CEC without the concurrence of the two election commissioners, saying they violate the statutory requirement of collective decision-making. LJP-Ram Vilas chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan urged the Election Commission (EC) to publicly address concerns about the electoral process and dispel misgivings among voters, while RLM chief Upendra Kushwaha pressed for an immediate clarification. TDP’s floor leader in the Lok Sabha Lavu Srikrishna Devarayalu said transparency from the poll panel would boost confidence in the constitutional institution. “If questions are being raised about the Election Commission, which is an independent constitutional body the responsi- When he was , bility lies with the CEC to present his named in a stance clearly,” Paswan said. He added suicide note that the poll panel should clarify its posi- Present CEC tion before the public, rather than address- Gyanesh Kumar ing the concerns only to Congress leader was in 2006 Rahul Gandhi. named accused in a Devarayalu said that while the SIR was suicide note. He conducted transparently in Andhra was Kerala Works Pradesh, a clarification from the EC would Secretary when a be beneficial. Malaysian project “From the perspective of Andhra officer died by Pradesh, having closely observed the SIR suicide after exercise, I can say that the process was accusing Kumar conducted in a transparent manner. Ade- and others of quate opportunities and sufficient time harassment and were provided to every voter to participate delays in payments and raise concerns,” he said. to his company for Kushwaha said, “A great deal of confu- a road project | P5 sion has arisen regarding the SIR exercise. To dispel the confusion, the Election Commission should immediately issue a clarification on the correct position.” As for the Congress, it held protests across states, with demonstrations turning violent at some places. There were reports of clashes between the protesters and the security personnel. The security forces had to use teargas and water cannons to disperse the protesters at some places. According to Congress general secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal, as part of the second phase of the protests, all District Congress Committees will organise similar marches to their respective District Collectorates on Monday  . P7 President sends anti-Goonda bill back to West Bengal S UBHENDU MAITI @ Kolkata IN a setback to the BJP-led West Bengal government, President Droupadi Murmu has sent the controversial West Bengal Public Safety and Control of AntiSocial Activities Bill back to the state for reconsideration. Opposition parties on Friday welcomed the development. The ‘anti-Goonda’ bill was passed by the West Bengal Assembly in June. The bill was criticised by Opposition parties alleging the Suvendu Adhikari government would misuse its expansive provisions. However, it was sent to Rash- An updated model framework for bilateral investment treaties (BITs) is awaiting Cabinet approval, sources said. It is expected to incorporate changes negotiated with countries such as the UAE and Qatar, while Canada will also be covered. The Cabinet is likely to approve it soon, the sources said, adding India has already begun negotiations with several nations under the new framework. Several foreign companies have criticised India’s existing BIT framework, particularly the dispute resolution mechanism, which they say is time- consuming and creates a significant impediment to further investment. Under India’s current model, foreign investors are generally required to pursue remedies in Indian courts for five years before initiating international arbitration. India terminated BITs with more than 70 countries in 2016 and 2017 and adopted a more restrictive model treaty that narrowed the definition of investment, removed most-favoured-nation provisions and excluded protection against retrospective taxation and certain regulatory measures. Analysts identified the existing framework as one of the factors for stagnat- @ Khammam Kamaljeet and Suruchi Singh (R) celebrate their gold medal success. The duo posted the Asian Record in the final | pti Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya The two are young and are playing their first Asian Games. Nerves are raw and emotions high as the two went about their campaign. Just like the two shooters, the game too is being played at the Asian Games for the first time. Friday was different. A new The immersion procession for Khairatabad ‘Bada Ganesh’ began around 9.30 am, nearly three-and-ahalf hours behind schedule Around 2.15 pm, the 69-ft idol was lowered into the Hussainsagar Thousands of devotees gather for a final glimpse of Khairatabad ‘Bada Ganesh’ in Hyderabad on Friday | Sri Loganathan Velmurugan Delay in reaching the hospital proved fatal for a two-yearold in Khammam, with his parents alleging that a Ganesh immersion procession on Wednesday night held up their critically ill son’s journey due to traffic restrictions and congestion. The child died before receiv- idol immersion procession. Saidulu said he pleaded with police personnel and organisers to clear a passage, explaining that his son was critically ill. With traffic not clearing, he got out of the vehicle, lifted Vaibhav onto his shoulders and carried him through the crowd towards the hospital, he added. At the second private hospital, the family said the child tions. We have negotiations with 20-25 countries as per the BIT framework of 2016. But later, during our negotiations with UAE and Qatar, we moved far away from the previous framework,” a finance ministry official said. However, the domestic judiciary will not be bypassed. The new framework will also maintain certain safeguards for India’s policy-making space. “The framework will be designed in a way to ensure some red lines will not be crossed,” the sources said, adding that tax-related provisions would be excluded from the model BIT. Gross FDI fell to less than 1% of GDP in 2025, compared with a peak of 3.6% in 2008. Nippon notes Satwik and Chirag shocked by Thai pair Doubles specialists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a first-round defeat in the men’s doubles category. Satwik and Chirag, who were the defending champs, lost 12-21, 21-19, 21-14 against Thailand’s Pakkapon Teeraratsakul and Peeratchai Sukphun. Baranica vaults to historic bronze Faith & farewell tion worsened, they brought him to Khammam. The family first approached a private hospital near the old bus stand, where they alleged that the child was not admitted or provided treatment. They then headed to another hospital, but their vehicle got stuck in traffic near Mustafanagar and Gurram Junction due to the Ganesh ing foreign investment flows. The government is now seeking to update it based on its experience in negotiating treaties with the UAE and Qatar. “Four BITs will be finalised soon and people are already going to different countries for negotia- s URUCHI Singh slept for 13 hours after finishing 25th in the women’s individual 10m pistol qualification eve n t o n We d n e s d ay. Kamaljeet did not get a chance to brood over his so-near-yet-sofar moment in the men’s individual 10m pistol qualification event on Thursday . Despite getting to know that he would be part of the mixed team on Friday, he did not get proper sleep. He was tossing and turning; he was borderline obsessed with the mixed 10m air pistol event at the picturesque Aichi Prefecture Shooting Range. Though Suruchi had been a constant in the team, Kamaljeet was a late inclusion. The shooting team has had one of the worst outings in recent times. If things had gone as per calculation, India would have won more gold before the start of F r i d ay ’ s m e d a l e v e n t s . The results have betrayed the team. With such a predicament, they started the mixed team campaign. Suruchi and Kamaljeet had shaken off the qualification blues. A pep talk from mother and coach, solitary walks and quiet times were enough for them to recoup. trapati Bhavan for approval. In its note before returning the bill, the Centre said it may overlap with the PITNDPS Act. “Section (B) of the proposed Bill, insofar as it includes within the definition of ‘goonda’ a person who commits, attempts to commit, abets, promotes, finances or facilitates any offence punishable under the NDPS Act, 1985, may overlap with the preventivedetention framework provided under the PITNDPS Act, 1988, which is a specific Central legislation dealing with preventive detention of persons engaged in illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances,” it said. ing treatment, his parents said, alleging that two hospitals had also refused to treat him. The toddler, Vaibhav Naik, of ST Colony in Bonakal, had been suffering from fever for four days. His parents, Bhukya Saidulu and Vijayalakshmi, initially admitted him to a hospital at Vatsavai in NTR district of Andhra Pradesh. As his condi- The new framework will not include tax concessions or provisions that could expose India’s sovereign taxation powers to international arbitration. “Tax will not go into the model BIT. It’s our sovereign right to tax, and that can’t be open to arbitration,” a source said darkness to light: Golden hit after second chance Critically ill two-year-old boy dies as traffic blocks route to hospital B S at ya n a r aya n a R e d d y No tax component was again not treated despite their pleas. Saidulu reportedly pleaded with the doctor to attend to his son. Doctors eventually examined Vaibhav and declared him dead. Speaking to TNIE, Saidulu alleged that the delay in receiving medical attention contributed to his son’s death. He said he had not lodged a police complaint as he had no faith that it would bring justice. day and a new beginning as Suruchi and Kamaljeet went about their chores in the final hall after a record performance during qualifications. With four teams in the final, India were the favourites to win gold. It was just a matter of time. “I always dreamt about winning a medal in the Asian Games,” said Kamaljeet. For Suruchi, it was exorcising the ghost of the qualification. More than them, India needed the gold in shooting. Baranica Elangovan of Tamil Nadu scripted history on Friday. She captured a bronze medal for India in the women’s pole vault here. It is India’s first-ever medal in pole vault (women) event. The 29-year-old had a best effort of 4.15m. Two good: Gulveer captures silver Long-distance runner Gulveer Singh won a silver medal in the men’s 10,000m, becoming the first athlete from the country to achieve podium finishes twice in the said discipline in the history of Asian Games. Shot putter Manpreet Kaur also won a bronze. CM: Stand with Gandhi Parivar to defeat the Sangh E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Alleging that the Sangh Parivar was the greatest threat to the country and democracy, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday said he was ready to sacrifice his life for the Gandhi Parivar to save the country . “The entire nation should stand with the Gandhi Parivar to defeat the Sangh Parivar,” he asserted. Revanth received the ‘Aryadan Muhammad-2026’ Best Public Servant Award in Kerala on Friday. Addressing the gathering later, he said, “Today the fight is between the Sangh Parivar and th e Gandhi Parivar.” He alleged that the Sangh Parivar was trying to divide the nation on the basis of caste, religion, region and language, while the Gandhi Parivar had sacrificed for the country. He cited the deaths of Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and stated that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi had sacrificed positions including that of prime minister and party president. “As the fight is between the Sangh Parivar and Gandhi Congress hawa has started here (Kerala). We have to turn it into a tsunami across India and see Rahul Gandhi as prime minister. We have to stand with Rahul and take this political tsunami to every house, street, village, city and state. We have to create a tsunami wave for Congress to win. Winds of change are blowing. Every part of India is listening to the goonj of Rahul Gandhi’s words of hope. Let us stand with Rahul until we secure India from communal forces A Revanth Reddy, chief minister Parivar, I am asking this nation to stand with the Gandhi Parivar to defeat the Sangh Parivar, which is the biggest threat to this country and democracy. I am there to sacrifice my life for the Gandhi Parivar to save this country,” he said. The chief minister asserted that Kerala would lead this “war” and referred to the state’s electoral history, linking Congress victories in Kerala with subsequent changes at the Centre. continued on p4