TIRUCHY  TUESDAY  SEPTEMBER 29, 2026  `9.00  PAGES 14  LATE CITY EDITION SENSEX TANKS 1,124 PTS TO 6-MONTH LOW AMID SURGING CRUDE, FII EXIT Sensex plunged 1,124 points to a six-month low on Monday amid a broader sell off triggered by Iran war uncertainties and weak global cues OIL SPIKES AFTER U.S. REJECTS IRAN TRUCE Analysts said surging crude oil prices following the US-Iran stalemate over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and foreign fund outflows hit investor sentiment, triggering the selloff. Brent crude jumped 3.81% to $108.3 per barrel. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth `3,693.93 crore on Friday amid a sharp rise in US bond yields ■ 29 `17.17 LAKH CR INVESTOR WEALTH WIPED OUT ■ With the Monday’s slump, Sensex and Nifty have fallen by over 5% over the past month, wiping out `17.17 lakh crore of investor wealth Wall Street stocks fell in early trading on Monday. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index ended lower while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled higher OF 30 SENSEX STOCKS IN RED, WITH INFOSYS BEING THE SOLE GAINER IN THE PACK 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 Teen gangrape in Delhi park has Nirbhaya parallel, says SC bench Bench led by Justice Pardiwala takes suo motu cognisance, seeks status report in 4 weeks Repeat offenders S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi New Pocso case on Veeramani, SIT announces helpline number EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai THE Greater Chennai Police on Monday registered a fresh case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against GEM Granites chairman R Veeramani (84), based on a complaint lodged by the mother of a minor girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted by him. The police have also launched a dedicated WhatsApp helpline, 9345319676, for the public to share information with the Special Investigation Team (SIT). Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) took suo motu cognisance of the case based on media reports and said in a statement that a fact-finding team will visit Chennai soon to conduct an inquiry . On Monday the mother of , the minor submitted the complaint to the SIT following which the team took up the case and launched a probe. A senior police officer told TNIE that the complaint is different from the one lodged on Friday by another woman, pertaining to her daughter’s death by suicide in 2003 after alleged sexual assault by Veeramani. She had earlier lodged a complaint after her daughter’s death but had approached the police again on Friday with a fresh complaint. P7 WORRIED over recent reports of sexual violence cases in the Delhi-NCR region, the Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognizance of the alleged gangrape of a 17-year-old in a park near Lady Sri Ram College, and observed that “painful parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case were unavoidable.” A bench of justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran expressed concern over rising crimes against minor girls and women in the capital and directed the court registry to register a suo motu public interest litigation in the matter. “One cannot help but draw painful parallels with the 2012 Nirbhaya case, raising the question of whether systemic law-enforcement mechanisms The bench sought a report on the manner in which the National Database on Sexual Offenders is being utilised by Delhi Police. “Whether the database is being regularly accessed for identification of repeat sexual offenders?” the court asked. have made any meaningful progress in the decade since then,” Justice Pardiwala said. “The safety concerns emerging from this incident, however, cannot be viewed in isolation. This incident has also brought to light pre-existing complaints of recurrent sexual harassment faced by students of Lady Shri Ram College, situated in the vicinity of Aastha Kunj Park. Regrettably, these prior grievances failed to serve as a wake-up call for the police or the local administration,” the court said. On September 21 evening, three men — Asif, Hemant and his brother Manish — posed as police personnel and allegedly took turns to rape the 17-yearold girl inside the Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir. It was also submitted before the court that at least 13 cases of sexual assault have been reported in the national capital this month. In another case last month, a NOEL PROPOSES MAJOR TATA SONS REJIG TO STAY PRIVATE B E N N K O C H U V E E D A N @ Mumbai TATA Trusts on Monday proposed restructuring Tata Sons by merging two privately held arms — Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers — with the group holding company to take , it outside the RBI’s definitions of an NBFC and a Core Investment Company (CIC). Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, which owns 66.6% of Tata Sons, has opposed the listing, while the Tata Sons board recently decided to comply with the RBI’s September 11 directive to go public. The restructuring is meant to turn Tata Sons into an operating firm alongside its role as the group’s holding company while staying private. However, it requires approval from the Tata Sons board and a prior no-objection certificate from the RBI. The Trusts said it has asked the Tata Sons board to consider and approve the plan and apply to the RBI for the necessary noobjection certificate. “Tata Trusts, along with Tata Sons, will engage with the RBI on all aspects of the proposed reorganisation,” it said in a statement. Unlike a breakup or demerger of Tata Sons, the proposed restructuring would enlarge the holding company by absorbing two operating, non-financial businesses. This would give it substantial operating revenue in addition to income from its investments in Tata group companies. The resultant entity would have aggregate net assets of `2,00,158 crore, of which `1,77,120 crore, or about 88.5%, would comprise investments in group companies. This would keep the proportion below the 90% threshold applicable to CICs, according to the statement put out by the Trusts. S Chandrasekaran Noel Tata 16-year-old girl, who boarded a sleeper bus in Greater Noida, was allegedly gang raped by its conductor and driver and abandoned near Kashmere Gate, more than 40 km away in Old Delhi, on August 4. The two accused have been arrested. In the third case, a 17-year-old girl was gang raped and killed in Swaroop Nagar area. The bench said the right to live a fear-free life with dignity is an integral part of the fundamental right under Article 21. The court ordered certain immediate interim measures shall be undertaken within four weeks. It asked the police commissioner to form teams for each police district, headed by an officer not below the rank of DSP to conduct a survey of , parks, roads, public transport facilities, markets and educational institutions. AVOIDING LISTING Tata Sons classified as an Upper Layer NBFC, triggering RBI listing requirement Restructuring plan by merging Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers with Tata Sons Merger will give Tata Sons better operating revenue, reducing its reliance on financial investments Merged entity will have `1.05 lakh crore in operating revenue, against `40,072 crore from financial assets Group investments will account for less than 90% of net assets, taking it outside the CIC definition Restructuring will require RBI’s NOC under its 2025 voluntary amalgamation directions Launching the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday presents a gold ring to an infant at Madurai GRH | EXPRESS CM keeps promise, launches gold ring scheme for babies E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Madurai FULFILLING a key poll promise of the ruling TVK, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday launched the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam (TTMT) at Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) in Madurai, and presented one-gram gold rings to 37 newborns at the facility. Vijay offered gold rings to three babies — Muthu Yazhini, Mohammed Shahisha and Joval — on the stage at the auditorium, 24 to parents of babies seated among the audience and later walked to the CEMONC block and presented rings to 10 other babies in the Vijay opens maternity ward. Gandhi The state government has allocated `755.83 Museum crore for the scheme for the 2026-2027 fiscal year, and 1.28 lakh, 22-carat gold rings have After the gold been made ready in the first phase. The ring scheme scheme applies to eligible babies born on or launch, CM Vijay after June 22, 2026 in all state-run hospitals. inaugurated Addressing the gathering after the launch, the renovated Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dr Gandhi Memorial KG Arunraj said, “The primary goal of the Museum and scheme is to uphold the role of government offered prayers at the Meenakshi hospitals in maternal care. Every year, 7.8 lakh deliveries are registered in Tamil Sundareswarar Nadu. Of them, 4.2 lakh deliveries take place Temple | P4 in government facilities. However, 10 years ago, the government facilities recorded more deliveries.” “In 2025, the 80th round of the countrywide National Sample Survey (NSS) survey found that the money spent on a delivery at government hospitals stood at `1,412, whereas it was around `69,914 in private hospitals,” he said. “By choosing government hospitals, families save an average of `68,500. If an additional one lakh mothers opt for government facilities, it would save families approximately `685 crore annually,” the minister added. Speaking to reporters later, Archana Devi, whose baby received the first gold ring, expressed her joy, “I am incredibly P7 happy to receive this gold ring for my daughter.” Cutoff slashed, but 33 SS INDIA BLOC MEET TOMORROW med seats in TN vacant CEC in crosshairs of CWC meet today S I N D U J A J A N E @ Chennai TANKER DISASTER AVERTED BY COAST GUARD The force rescued a foreign tanker after it developed engine failure and rapid ballast tank flooding off Odisha EXPRESS READ EXPRESS READ THIRTY-THREE out of 43 super speciality postgraduate medical seats exclusively meant for in-service doctors in Tamil Nadu remained vacant after a special stray vacancy round conducted online on Saturday and Sunday by the selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research. Though the cutoff was reduced from 50th percentile to 30th percentile, only 10 of 43 seats returned to the state by the centre got filled this year. The seats were left unfilled even for much-needed specialities, including cardiothoracic surgery paediat, ric surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, and neurology . According to the selection committee officials, 30 seats remained vacant after counselling, and three people did not join college. The unfilled seats will be surrendered back to the Union P7 Health Ministry . 1-vote loss: HC rejects Periyakaruppan’s plea Chennai: The Madras HC on Monday rejected a plea filed by DMK leader KR Periyakaruppan seeking to declare void the victory of TVK MLA Seenivasa Sethupathi by one vote against him in Tirupattur seat in the 2026 Assembly polls | P2 HC refuses to bin order on nanoplastic warning Chennai: The Madras High Court on Monday dismissed a review petition filed by the FSSAI seeking to recall its order on mandatory warning on the presence of micro/nano plastics in water bottles and packets of sugar and salt | P2 ‘No change in TVK stand’ PA R V E Z S U LTA N @ New Delhi THE Congress Working Committee will meet on Tuesday to chart the party’s action plan to further pressure the Centre on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s exit. The Opposition has demanded Kumar’s removal since media reports revealed differences in the EC over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday told reporters he had called for the CWC to meet and discuss the issue. The INDIA bloc is likely to TN Minister A Rajmohan on Monday said TVK’s stand on SIR remained unchanged, but the party would not “fall prey to the diversionary tactic” of seeking ouster of one person from ECI | P4 meet on this on Wednesday . “This issue concerns the entire country, the existence of our democracy and the survival of our country The EC’s own ... people have exposed them,” he said. Referring to a former Keralam official’s claim, Kharge said Kumar had become a BJP worker. Preparations for polls in five states are also on the CWC agenda. Meanwhile, the Congress staged protests in several cities. General secretary KC Venugopal on X said workers protested in over 1,000 districts and called on the Centre to sack Kumar. BRONZE SHOW God by her side, Vithya breaks oldest nat’l record in athletics H ER initial target to break the women’s 400m hurdles national record — the country’s longest-standing and one of its most famous athletics records — was at the India Athletics Final Series in Delhi on September 10. Vithya Ramraj stumbled on a hurdle and missed out. If she had succeeded in Delhi, the natural progression would have been a sub-53s here. But God had other plans as Vithya broke PT Usha’s record set in INDRANEEL DAS EXPRESS @ ASIAN GAMES NAGOYA 1984 LA Games at the Asian Games here on Monday . The conditions were not ideal. Rain was battering the sprawling Paloma Mizohu Sports Park arena. Vithya, a firm believer, had only one wish: for the rain to stay away . When she was warming up, it An emotional Vithya Ramraj with her bronze medal on Monday | PTI had already started raining. However, God did answer her prayers when she needed it the most. The interlude was enough for her to complete the race; the initial burst off the blocks was slow, but she picked up her rhythm in the next six hurdles. With the crowd breaking into a cauldron of noise, the runners picked up the pace. The giant display board displayed her timing: 54.75s. The smile never left when she walked into the mixed zone. “I prayed to God,” she kept repeating. It took the athlete from Coimbatore three years to break the record after equalling Usha’s record at the Hangzhou Asian Games. In the end, a bronze medal was a fine reward. Vithya’s personal coach Nehpal Singh had told her that she would break the 55-second barrier. “When my coach said you are around 55s, I never believed him,” she said. “But today (Monday), I believed him. My coach is with me, my God is with me.” Class 6 too to get relaxation under three-language policy, says SC EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi IN a major development on the implementation of the National Education Policy in schools, the Supreme Court on Monday directed that the relaxation given to classes VII, VIII and IX under the three-language policy be extended to Class VI as well. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant did not accept the Union government’s plea that relaxation was not needed for Class VI. The direction comes as a breather for around 28 lakh Class VI students. The Centre, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, argued that of 28,819 affiliated schools, only 1.2% had reported issues with the implementation. The court’s order ensures that under the transitional arrangement, the third language will remain part of studies but students will not have to write a separate Board examination in Class X for it. Schools will assess the subject internally and no student’s promotion will be stopped. The bench also allowed students already learning two non-native languages to continue them and add a native language as the third option.