HYDERABAD  SATURDAY  DECEMBER 14, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 18  LATE CITY EDITION CHAMPIONS TROPHY: HYBRID MODEL AGREED IN PRINCIPLE ICC likely to announce CT formula on Saturday after Pakistan and Indian cricket boards reportedly agree in principle to play at neutral venues DUBAI MOST-LIKELY VENUE FOR INDIA It is understood that India could play in Dubai during the CT next year to be held from February 19 to March 9. Reports indicate that when India host 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup and 2026 men’s WC, Pakistan will not travel here and play their matches at a neutral venue (could be Colombo for men’s WC). If India reach final then it could be at a neutral venue ■ 8 OTHER SEVEN TEAMS TO PLAY IN PAK ■ ■ The CT features eight teams, divided into two groups and all countries, except India, have agreed to play in Pakistan The PCB had said that it was willing to accept the hybrid model only if the same arrangement will be made for all ICC events India have not travelled to Pakistan since the 2008 Asia Cup NUMBER OF TEAMS TO PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONS TROPHY 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 Allu Arjun gets bail, spends night in jail ‘Technicality’ delays release after HC’s interim relief to actor arrested in stampede case T G N A I D U @ Hyderabad THE Telangana High Court, hearing a quash petition, on Friday granted actor Allu Arjun interim bail for four weeks, hours after he was arrested in connection with the death of a woman at the Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of his movie Pushpa-2 on December 4. However, Arjun would have to spend the night in Chanchalguda jail as the jail authorities did not receive the copy of the high court order till 10.30 pm. By the time the order copy was finally uploaded online, Arjun’s advocates handed over a hard copy to the jail authorities. Director General ( P r i s o n s ) S o u m ya Mishra verified the physical copy of the HC order, as the Chanchalguda jail superintendent is on leave. However, the jail authorities found that there were mistakes in the order copy . Arjun will be released on Saturday once the rectified order copy was submitted to the jail authorities. Also, the surety amount of `50,000 was not submitted on Friday . M Revathi was crushed to death when the crowd at the theatre surged forward towards Arjun, while her 8-year-old son sustained critical injuries. As part of the bail conditions, Justice Juvvadi Sridevi directed Arjun to furnish a personal bond of `50,000 and to refrain from influencing witnesses. The actor was also instructed to file a fresh petition for regular bail in the trial court. The next hearing is scheduled for December 21, 2024. The police, acting on the complaint lodged by Revathi’s husband alleging negligence on part of the event organisers and Arjun, arrested the actor from his Jubilee Hills residence in the afternoon. He was then taken to Gandhi Hospital for medical checks before being produced before the Nampally court. The Nampally court then sent him to 14 days remand. Fortunately for Arjun, the high court’s order granting him interim relief came almost at the same time as the Nampally court’s order. Hearing the petition filed on Arjun’s behalf, Justice Sridevi ruled that the Sections the actor was booked under — 105(B) and 118(1) read with 3(5) of the BNS — included culpable homicide and voluntarily causing grievous hurt, were not applicable in this case. The judge noted that Arjun could not be prima facie held responsible for the stampede, as he had attended the event after obtaining the requisite permissions. She also made it clear that Arjun’s fundamental right to life and liberty could not be CONTINUED ON P6 overlooked. Actor Allu Arjun waves to fans after emerging from the Gandhi Hospital where he was taken by the police for a medical examination following his arrest, on Friday. Arjun, right, consoles his wife moments before being taken into custody by the police in Hyderabad. Will withdraw plaint: Victim’s husband Hyderabad: M Bhaskar, husband of M Revathi who lost her life in the stampede at the Sandhya Theatre, on Friday said that he was ready to withdraw his police complaint “as Allu Arjun had nothing to do with the incident”. “Allu Arjun came to the theatre but there was no fault of his. I am ready to withdraw my complaint,” Bhaskar stated. Meanwhile, advocate Vijay Gopal told TNIE that even if the complainant wanted to withdraw the complaint, it would not be possible in cases where the charges against the accused in non-compoundable offences, cannot be withdrawn. Twists, turns and a never-ending wait V V B A L A K R I S H N A @ Hyderabad ANY filmmaker would have been elated if he had been handed a script with the twists and turns that Friday threw up for Allu Arjun, except perhaps the Pushpa-2: The Rule actor himself. He was arrested from his Jubilee Hills residence in the afternoon and sent to Gandhi Hospital for a medical examination. A lower court ordered him to be jailed, and he was sent to Chanchalguda jail, even as the High Court granted him inter- im bail. However, he had to spend the night in jail due to “technical reasons.” When the police went to his residence at 11.45 am, the actor questioned them how they could enter his bedroom and why they were not giving him time to even change. When his queries were brushed aside, Arjun kissed and patted his wife Sneha Reddy and encouraged her to be brave. Accompanied by his father and film producer Allu Arvind, he was taken to Chikkadapally police station at 1 pm. The police later sent him to Gandhi Hospital for health checks. He was produced before the Nampally court at 3 pm. T he Nampally court remanded him to 14 days judicial custody and he was shifted to the Chanchalguda jail. Almost parallelly the Te, langana High Court, hearing his petition seeking quashing of the case against him, granted interim bail to Arjun for four CONTINUED ON P6 weeks. E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad ASSERTING that the law would take its own course, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday made it clear that there was no role of the state government in the arrest of actor Allu Arjun for the death of M Revathi at the Sandhya Theatre. The chief minister’s reaction came during a chit chat with the media in Parliament premises. He made it clear that the government would not support anyone, however famous he or she may be, when it comes to keeping the law. Revanth also said that the police will take action as per the law, in both the Pushpa-2 incident and in the Manchu Mohan Babu case. Later in the day the chief minis, ter told a television news channel that “Arjun didn’t simply return to his home after watching the film (at Sandhya Theatre)”. “They are not going to fight on behalf of the country on the IndiaPakistan border. They made the film, they will make money and leave, that’s it,” he said. Revanth said that Arjun greeted his fans at the theatre, waving to them from his vehicle and due to this gesture, the situation went out of control. “This was why he was made A-11 and not A-1,” the chief minister said. CHARGES ACTOR FACES  Section 105 of BNS: Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for a term not less than five years which may extend to 10 years  Section 118(1) deals with punishment for intentionally causing hurt using dangerous weapons or harmful means “Constitution is the same for the common man and the prime minister. We permitted the producers (of Pushpa-2) to screen benefit shows and raise ticket charges to `1,300. It’s been 13 days since the death of a woman and hospitalisation of a child. Police met Allu Arjun after 10 days. He himself went to the police station from where the police produced him before the court,” the chief minister said. He added: “A life has been lost and if we don’t take action, people would say that the government is not doing anything as the matter is related to film stars, and wonder if there was a separate Constitution CONTINUED ON P6 for the rich.” The death of Revathi in the stampede is an irreparable loss to her family. Allu Arjun behaved in a responsible manner and announced that he would stand by the family. I condemn his arrest YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, former AP chief minister Allu Arjun’s arrest is irresponsible and unwarranted. The intent behind this arrest seems motivated. Responsibility of law and order lies with the police. The arrest reminds us of the targeting and witch-hunting of cine artists in the state Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy Congress has no respect for the creative industry and the arrest of Allu Arjun proves it yet again. The mishap was a clear case of poor arrangements. To deflect that blame, they are indulging in such publicity stunts. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway Minister It’s a disgraceful act. A star of his stature deserves better treatment. The death of a woman is deeply unfortunate, but it only underscores the Congress government’s failure to manage the massive crowd Bandi Sanjay, Union Minister of State for Home I condemn the arrest of Allu Arjun. I demand the government be held responsible for allowing the premiere show without taking proper precautions T Harish Rao, BRS leader and former minister Rajnath, Priyanka trade barbs Guv’s green flag to ACB probe against KTR likely P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi I R E D DY S R I N I VAS R E D DY @ Hyderabad IF highly placed sources are to be believed, Governor Jishnu Dev Varma is set to give his consent to a request by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) seeking permission to register a case against former minister and BRS working president KT Rama Rao for alleged misuse of power and diversion of funds — sanctioned bypassing established procedures — for conducting the Formula-E race. The sources confided that the Governor was likely to approve the ACB’s request under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Charges of misappropriation of public funds and conspiracy may be included in the case, the sources said. If consent is granted by the governor, the ACB is likely to move quickly by registering the case, issuing notices, and possibly conducting raids on certain private individuals and officials connected to the alleged scam. CONTINUED ON P4 They are making films, not fighting on Indo-Pak border: CM Treating Allu Arjun as a common criminal is uncalled for, especially for something he is not directly responsible for. Revanth Reddy too should be arrested for the death of 2 innocent people due to the fear psychosis caused by HYDRAA KT Rama Rao, BRS working president CORONATION DAY D Gukesh receives the World Chess Championship trophy during a closing ceremony in Singapore on Friday. He won the match on Thursday | FIDE EXPRESS READ Switzerland withdraws MFN status for India New Delhi: Switzerland has withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to India, which will result in higher tax implications for Indian companies operating in the central European country. The Swiss action came after India’s Supreme Court rejected automatic applicability of MFN clause under the bilateral tax treaty in a case related to Swiss firm Nestle | P9 THE much-anticipated debate to commemorate the 75th year of the Constitution kicked off on Friday with the ruling BJPled NDA and Opposition INDIA bloc sparring over Constitutional values, its relevance and key political issues. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh attacked the Congress saying a particular party always tried to ‘hijack and appropriate’ the framing of the Constitution. Rajnath said the Congress made 28 Constitutional amendments during Indira Gandhi’s tenure and 10 during Rajiv Gandhi’s rule. And the Manmohan Singh government made seven amendments. The BJP has never compromised the independence and autonomy of institutions and always adhered to the Constitution, Rajnath said. The Constitution talked about religious freedom and it had been specified that the state would not have a religion but be secular, he added. “Opposition leaders carry the Constitution in their pockets, they have done this for generations, but the BJP holds it to its forehead,” Rajnath said. Rajnath Singh and Priyanka Gandhi participating in a debate in LS on Friday | PTI PRIME MINISTER EXPECTED TO SPEAK TODAY The eight-hour long fiery debate saw heated exchanges on Constitutional values in the Lok Sabha. On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to speak in the Lower House Deliberating on the democratic journey of the country, he said the ideas of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Veer Savarkar have strengthened the basis of the Constitution. This invited protests from the Opposition. Opening the debate for the Opposition, Congress MP Priy- anka Gandhi Vadra rebutted Rajnath’s criticisms. “Treasury bench members keep talking about the past and Nehru. Why don’t you talk about the present? Tell the country what you are doing. Is everything Nehru’s responsibility?” she asked in her first address in Parliament. Priyanka also hit out at the government over the Adani issue, which invited protests. “Farm laws have been changed for industrialists. Cold storages in Himachal Pradesh were given to Adani by the Centre. Ports, airports, factories, mines and public sector units are controlled by one person. The poor are getting poorer, while the rich are getting richer,” she alleged. Referring to Rajnath’s criticism of Emergency, Priyanka said, “Learn from what happened in 1975. Why don’t you go back to ballot paper?” Striking an emotional chord, Priyanka said she had met the rape victims in Unnao and the Sambhal violence victims. “They told me they will fight for justice till the end. They derive strength from the Constitution,” she said. “The prime minister is not bothered about Manipur or Sambhal. Maybe he hasn’t understood that this is the Constitution of India, not the Sangh’s,” she added. Responding to Rajnath’s barb on caste census, she said the Lok Sabha results forced the government to talk about Constitution. “They would have changed the Constitution, if the Lok Sabha results were in their favour. People want caste census,” she alleged.