chennai l tuesday l april 15, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Blue Origin launches all-woman celebrity crew on space flight Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an allfemale celebrity crew that included Katy Perry 10-minute-long flight took off from texas us’ first spaceflight with women crew The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles (105 kilometers) up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness. Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others for the 10-minute flight, packing on star power with Perry and Gayle King ■ ■ Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry The celebrity launch of the space flight was the nation’s first where an all-women crew filled seats. The other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was in 1963 helmed by Valentina Tereshkova 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company 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 India intensifies Now, Waqf Act protests spread bid to extradite to South Bengal fugitive Choksi Long way to go in building an egalitarian society: CM arson attack S u l a g n a Sen g u p ta @Kolkata E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday said that “there is still a long way to go in building an egalitarian society based on self-respect.” Addressing the Equality Day event organised by the government to commemorate the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar, the CM said that though he could proudly say that the rule under the “ D r av i d i a n model” government is the “golden age” in implementation of schemes for the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, his duty and journey won’t end with that. Stalin said that only a limited success has been achieved in the last 100 to 200 years in eradicating inequalities that have existed for thousands of years, Stalin said that it is his firm belief that politics of love is stronger and effective than politics of hate. Stressing that progressive and e g alitarian thoughts should take root in everyone, Stalin highlighted the need for working hard towards that goal.  Continued on p5 Honouring Babasaheb with grace President Droupadi Murmu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister J P Nadda, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Sonia Gandhi during a ceremony to pay tribute to B R Ambedkar on his birth anniversary, in New Delhi on Monday. There was a generous show of courtesy and grace from all sides at the event | PTI | P7 As promised, T’gana first off the blocks on SC sub-quota E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Group-1 @ Hyderabad Telangana on Monday became the first state in the country to implement SC categorisation, with the state government issuing GOs notifying the Telangana Scheduled Caste (Rationalisation of Reservation) Act, 2025, its guidelines as well as roster points. “On the auspicious day of the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar, the Telangana state government paid the best tributes by bringing into force a great Act of social justice addressing a long overdue demand of classification Break-up of 15% SC quota 1% reservation for 15 castes (3.2% of SC population) of SC sub-castes,” Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said in a post on social media. In its August 1, 2024 verdict, the Supreme Court had upheld the power of states to legislate separate quotas within the SC category. The same day, the chief minister declared in the state assembly that Telangana would lead the nation in legislating Group-2 Group-3 9% 5% reservation for 18 castes (62.74% of SC population) reservation for 26 castes (33.96% of SC population) sub-categorisation. The Act creates three distinct groups within the existing 15% SC quota based on population and socio-economic indicators (see graphics). This restructuring follows long-standing demands for equitable distribution of benefits, particularly from the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi. Smuggling of Chinese drones soaring in TN Siddharth Prabhakar 200 Drones seized in one year in Chennai Gold, wildlife, and narcotics have been the usual contrabands seized by Chennai Customs, but, of late, smuggling of Chinese drones into Tamil Nadu from Southeast Asian nations and Gulf countries through airports and seaports is on the rise. This is due to the soaring demand for the equipment in the grey market, sources said. According to a 2022 February notification of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, import of drones is completely banned in fully assembled Completely Built-up (CBU) form, fully disassembled Completely Knocked Down (CKD) form, or partially assembled Semi Knocked Down (SKD) Chennai: In the 2024-25 financial year alone, the Chennai Air Customs has seized at least 200 Chinese-made drones worth more than `2 crore from passengers who arrived from Singapore, Malaysia and UAE. Data sourced through RTI show that this is a significant increase from the 67 drones seized in 201920 and 30 in 2023-24 @ Chennai form, barring exceptions provided for Research and Development, Defence and security purposes. Sources said that in the last financial year, Chennai Air Customs had seized at least 200 Chinese-made drones worth more than `2 crore from passengers who arrived by air from Singapore, Malaysia and UAE. Data sourced through RTI show that this is a significant increase from the 67 drones seized in 2019-20 and 30 in 2023-24. This might just be the tip of the iceberg, say sources, pointing to the seizure of 4,240 toy drones worth `2.34 crore by the Chennai Seaport Customs on February 12. RTI data also show that drones are smuggled through Bengaluru airport too, with around 250 drones seized from 2019-20 to 2023-24. Multiple cases have also been busted by the Delhi Customs and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) teams across the country. Most of these drones have been sourced from DJI, a Chinese firm, sources said. Going by the thumb rule that Customs foils just 10% of all smuggling bids, the number of drones brought into the country could be significantly more.  Continued on p5 Team to travel to Belgium to seek custody of arrested diamantaire named in PNB scam j aya n t h j a c ob @ New Delhi THE Indian government has intensified efforts to extradite fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi following his April 12 arrest in Antwerp, Belgium. Sources said a multi-agency Indian team is likely to travel to Belgium to push for Choksi’s extradition in connection with the `13,000 crore PNB loan fraud case. The process will need to pass through Belgium’s domestic legal system. Earlier this year, India submitted an extradition request under a 2020 bilateral treaty after learning that Choksi was residing in Antwerp. Belgian authorities executed an Indian arrest warrant after the Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office deemed the foreign warrant enforceable. The arrest was carried out as Choksi was allegedly preparing to move to Switzerland. Choksi seemed to have submitted “forged documents” to obtain residency, concealing his Indian and Antiguan citizenship. “He is being detained and further judicial proceedings are awaited and as per the local law, access to his legal counsel has been assured,” sources said. “The India and Belgium treaty... covers fraud, money laundering, cheating and economic crimes related to taxa- File picture of Mehul Choksi. He is in Antwerp after being denied bail | ANI tion and revenue — many of them relevant in case of Mehul Choksi. We are working on the extradition process and we have already shared all the necessary documents with the Belgium authorities,” sources said. The ED and the CBI have been pursuing Choksi’s extradition. Choksi had fled India in 2018. Both Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted for allegedly defrauding Punjab National Bank (PNB) of over `13,500 crore in 2018. PNB had filed a criminal complaint naming Choksi, Modi, and the managing director of Gitanjali Gems, for orchestrating the fraud. Choksi’s lawyer Vijay Agarwal said the grounds for an appeal would be that Choksi is “not a flight risk, is extremely sick and undergoing treatment for cancer”. CLASHES erupted between police and Indian Secular Front (ISF) members protesting against the Waqf (Amendment) Act at Bhangor in South 24-Parganas district of West Bengal on Monday when police put up a barricade to stop the protesters from marching towards Kolkata. A large police force was deployed to bring the situation under control. “What started as a demonstration escalated and took a communal colour,” said an eyewitness. The situation in violence-hit Murshidabad was tense, yet under control after three days of protests. Many shops have reopened and families displaced by the clashes have started to return homes. Zafarabad, Suti, Dhuliyan, Shamsherganj, and Jangipur are the areas worsthit by the violence. In Zafrabad, a large number of houses and shops belonging to Hindus were reportedly set ablaze, forcing many to flee. Temples were vandalised during the unrest. The Calcutta High Court had to instruct that Central forces be deployed in Murshidabad along with the state police. Police vehicles set on fire by members of Indian Secular Front | PTI Man electrocuted at temple fest; wife and grandmom also die in attempt to save him E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Virudhunagar Three of a family including a , seven-month pregnant woman, were electrocuted to death as the woman’s husband collapsed after touching a high-tension power line and his wife and grandmother died in bid to save him at Kariseri village near Virudhunagar on Monday . According to sources, the deceased were identified as Tirupathi (28), an electrician 3 kids drown Cuddalore: Three schoolchildren, aged 8, 10 and 13, who went to take bath in Velliyankal stream near Kattumannarkoil in Cuddalore drowned on Monday evening | P5 who rented out audio equipment for functions and events, his wife Lalitha (25), and Pakkiyam (65). The accident happened when Tirupathi was installing decorative lamps for a local temple festival. “A wire accidentally came into contact with a high-voltage power line and Tirupathi was electrocuted. On seeing Tirupathi falling unconscious, Lalitha, Pakkiyam, and three others rushed to help him. In the process, Lalitha and Pakkiyam, too, touched the live wire and died on the spot,” sources said. Continued on p5 divine touch Prayer and devotional songs ahead of every match: LSG’s traditional touch FIR O Z MIR Z A @ Lucknow There are different rituals teams perform before a series or a season. And sometimes before every match. There are beliefs each team has. Lucknow Super Giants is one such team this IPL to follow a more traditional and pious path to invoke the spirits. Unlike other franchises, Lucknow Super Giants perform a Puja at the South Corridor, South Block here at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow followed by Ganesh A a r t i b e f o r e eve r y match. Even when Lucknow were to face Chennai Super Kings on Monday . The soothing voice of famous singer Anuradha Paudwal fills the air with devotional songs spreading positivity. “Yes, we perform Puja before every home match here at the venue,” Vinay Chopra, LSG’s chief executive officer, told this daily The practice is an attempt . to inculcate Indian tradition in the league. The puja is performed in the presence of whosoever is available in the team management. It’s not that other teams do not perform Puja or follow religious rituals. But most of them perform it at the beginning of LSG skipper Rishabh Pant on way to half century against CSK on Tuesday | afp the season. Take for instance, Punjab Kings, whose home games are being hosted in relatively newer venue Mullanpur, Chandigarh. They organised a Havan (a sacred fire ritual) at the venue with head coach Ricky Ponting, players and other support staff attending the customary practice. “Yes, we hold religious rituals ahead of the tournament seeking blessings of God. A prayer will also be organised before PBKS’s first game in Dharamsala,” a PBKS spokesperson told this daily . Given the importance of the Monday’s game, Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanathan has also accompanied the team to Lucknow. When asked about any customary practice the team follows at Chepauk, he said, “I am a devotee of Ganesha so I offer prayer everyday . There are individuals who like to pray before matches and they do so but collectively as a team we do not offer prayers.” LSG might be different in this sense but the pious beginning in following Indian traditions is certainly a commendable step. On the ground though things did not go the way they would have wanted. The visiting team restricted them to just 166 runs in their allotted 20 overs. CSK overhauled the target in the last over. The Lucknow team is fourth on the IPL points table.