KOZHIKODE l saturday l January 18, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION former pakistan pm Imran Khan, wife sentenced for corruption A Pakistani court sentenced jailed former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison respectively in a graft case Imran Khan (right) with his wife Bushra Bibi | file photo all about the al-qadir trust case pti cadres livid; imran can file appeal The couple are accused of accepting a gift of land from Malik Riaz, a realty tycoon. The case centres on allegations that $240 million, returned to Pakistan by the UK as part of a settlement with Malik Riaz, was misused. Instead of going into the national treasury, the funds were redirected to benefit the businessman who helped Khan and Bibi establish a university ■ ■ The judgment comes amidst the ongoing negotiation between the government and Khan’s PTI to address the instability in Pakistan Shortly after the verdict, lawmakers from Khan’s PTI protested outside Parliament in Islamabad, saying the former PM had been wrongly punished. Khan can file an appeal against the order | P9 $240 mn said to be misappropriated by khan and his accomplice 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 Israel nod to truce deal a step away Greeshma guilty of First hostages to be freed on Sunday; Hamas required to furnish hostage names by Saturday Naysayer in cabinet a p & a g en c i e s @ Jerusalem ISRAEL’s security cabinet on Friday recommended approval of a ceasefire deal after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza and release dozens of hostages held by militants there. Mediators Qatar and the US announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal was uncertain as Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute snags he blamed on Hamas. The truce deal now goes to the full Israeli cabinet for its final approval. The cabinet is Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to quit if a ceasefire is approved, although his resignation wouldn’t derail the ceasefire deal. His resignation could, however, destabilise the coalition govt cobbled together by Netanyahu expected to approve the pact. Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive hostages returning from Gaza, and said their families were informed about the deal. The prime minister’s office said the ceasefire could start Sunday when the first hostages are freed. Under the deal, 33 of some 100 hostages in Gaza will be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. As for Israel, its forces will have to pull back from many areas in Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what’s left of their homes. The remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the deal at the security cabinet, but were in a minority . Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of Palestinian prisoners slated for release in the first phase. The list includes 95 women and children held in Israeli jails. The deal stipulates that Hamas provide Israel with names of the hostages it will release by Sunday . Several clues found in Saif case, says CM A g en c i e s @ Mumbai A day after actor Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times in Mumbai home, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the police have found several clues in the case and will arrest the culprit soon. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, said: “Police investigation is going on....they have got many clues and I feel the police will very soon zero in.” More than 30 teams are on the lookout for the culprit. And minister ruled out an underworld link to the brutal attack. The police picked up a carpenter as he resembled the intruder, and brought him to the Bandra police station for questioning, but released him later. “This seems to be a stray incident. The intruder was not working for any gang as per prima facie investigation. He probably was not even aware whose house he had entered in,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity . khel ratnas President Droupadi Murmu confers the Khel Ratnas to (from left) Paris Olympic double medallist Manu Bhaker, Paris Para-Olympics gold winner Praveen Kumar, Paris hockey medallist Harmanpreet Singh and world chess champion D Gukesh | PTI | P11 Budget session to begin on January 31 Parliament’s Budget session will begin on January 31. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table her 8th straight budget on February 1 | P7 BJP decides to go all out on one-nation-one-poll plan RAJ E SH KUMAR T HAKUR & JAYA N T H JACOB @ New Delhi Signalling its resolve to roll out the ‘one nation, one election’ plan, the BJP has constituted a high-powered committee chaired by Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to shape public opinion and align its own state and local body governments with the importance of the idea. BJP leaders Sunil Bansal, Om Prakash Dhankhar, Surendra Nagar, Kamakhaya Prasad Tasa and Anil Antony are the other members of the panel. The six-member team will plan th e outre ach p rogrammes and campaigns in this regard even as a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the matter, chaired by BJP leader P P Chaudhary, is deliberating the issue. In March last year, a panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind proposed the idea of holding state and general elections simultaneously in its 18,626-page report. An introductory meeting of the Chauhan-led committee has already been held, and a detailed meeting will take place in the coming days, where the complete roadmap for the plan will be chalked out, sources told this newspaper. The committee may also be expanded, they added. According to a BJP functionary, the plan is to draw a strategy to bring on board every stake holder as the party is confident of getting past the hurdles for passing the necessary constitutional amendments. The BJP wants to have a synchronised approach from its leaders, office-bearers, legislators, and local body representatives to “constantly and comprehensively” address the topic in public forums. The party also intends to engage Bar Associations, Chambers of Commerce, women’s self-help groups and various student organisations in the campaign. Shivraj Singh Chauhan Chauhan to lead outreach Six-member panel to direct campaigns and outreach initiatives to bring on board stakeholders Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to head the panel BJP believes constant poll preoccupation is disrupting the country’s development Triple murder: Probe reveals accused was fully conscious of gruesome act E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Refuting the claims that the accused in the Chendamangalam triple murder case is mentally unstable, the police investigation has revealed that the 28-year-old man who killed his neighbours was fully conscious of the crime he was committing. Terming the crime “intentional”, the police said the accused, Rithu Jayan, was not in an intoxicated state either. On Thursday evening, Rithu bludgeoned his neighbours Venu, 65, his wife Usha, 62, and their daughter Vinisha, 32, of Kizhakkumpuram, Chendamangalam, to death using an iron rod. Vinisha’s husband Jithin suffered grave injuries in the attack. “Our initial probe revealed that the accused reached Venu’s house with the intention of killing Jithin. Vinisha’s daughter and sister break down when the bodies of the victims of the triple murder were brought to a relative’s house at Karimpadam, Chendamangalam | T P Sooraj He was holding an iron rod and also carried two kitchen knives in his pocket. He confessed to the crime during the interrogation. There were altercations between the two families on several occasions. He was also agitated about Venu and family filing a police complaint against him,” said a police officer. Earlier in the day police took Rithu , for medical examination. “The results revealed that he was not intoxicated while committing the murders. Whether the accused is mentally unstable will be checked during investigation. However, as of now, there is no such indication. He is cooperating with the investigation,” said Jayakrishnan S, DySP Munambam, who is investigating the case. Following the triple murder, residents had claimed that Rithu had earlier escaped severe police action citing mental instability  ● More on P4 . MUDA scam Sharon Raj murder, sentencing today ED attaches `300 cr worth assets in case linked to Siddu E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ T’Puram @ Bengaluru The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court has found Greeshma, a native of Ramavarmanchira in Kanyakumari district, guilty of murdering her boyfriend Sharon Raj, 23, by administering him an ayurvedic concoction laced with a lethal herbicide in 2022. The court found the 24-yearold guilty of all charges levelled against her, including murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence. Greeshma’s uncle Nirmalakumaran Nair was convicted on charges of destroying evidence, while her mother Sindhu was let off for want of evid e n c e. T h e q u a n t u m o f punishment will be announced on Saturday . Sharon Raj, a BSc radiology student and a resident of Parassala, died while undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Sharon had suffered irreversible damage to his liver, kidney and lungs after he consumed the deadly concoction given by Greeshma on October 14 , 2022. The drink was THE Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru, has provisionally attached 142 immovable properties with a market value of about `300 crore under the money laundering Act, in connection with a case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others. The attached properties are in the names of individuals working as real estate businessmen and agents, according to a statement issued by the ED. The ED launched an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Lokayukta Police, Mysuru, under various Sections of IPC, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Siddaramaiah and others. The Lokayukta Police are investigating the MUDA sites allotment case against Siddaramaiah and others. It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get 14 compensation sites in the name of his wife B M Parvathi in lieu of 3 acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA. The land was acquired by MUDA for `3,24,700. Greeshma Sharon Raj DEADLY DRINK On October 14 , 2022, Greeshma administered Sharon Raj an ayurvedic concoction laced with a lethal herbicide, said prosecution Eleven days after, Sharon, who suffered irreversible damage to his liver, kidney and lungs, died while undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram MCH prepared by mixing paraquat dichloride with an ayurvedic medicine. Sharon died of multiple organ failure 11 days later. The crime branch that probed the case found that Greeshma bumped off Sharon to marry an Army man from Nagercoil. According to the prosecution, Sharon and Greeshma had been in a relationship since 2021. ● More on P4