1st Layer MULTI-LAYERED COUNTER DRONE AND AIR DEFENCE GRID Counter-drone & Man-Portable Air Defence Systems 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 ■ 2nd Layer Point Air Defence & Short Range Surface to Air Missiles ■ 3rd Layer Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles 4th Layer Long Range Surface to Air Missiles KOttayAM l tuesday l may 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION The ocean, unmoved by polite requests, remained obstinate for three days. Then Lord Rama, in anger, said - without fear, love does not arise - Air Marshal A K Bharti quoting a verse from Ramcharitmanas When the courage is high, even the destination touches your feet 4 3 2 - Rajiv Ghai, DG Military Operations 200 KM Ak a s h ai rd e fe nc es ys t Suspected drone activity in Punjab, Jammu em 1 It’s Only a pause: Modi Says Operation Sindoor new norm; future talks only on terror, returning PoK; nuclear blackmail won’t work asserting that “nuclear blackmail” will not work against India, and stressed that New Delhi in a televised address to the na- is no longer restrained by outtion on Monday Prime Minister dated strategic hesitations. Modi , Narendra Modi delivered a clear went on to reinforce the new and uncompromising message paradigm: “This is a new norto Pakistan: the halt in India’s mal. India will strike at the military operations is a pause, heart of terror decisively if our not an end—and going forward, citizens are attacked.” any engagement with Islama“Terror and talk cannot go tobad will be limited to Pakistan- gether; terror and trade cannot occupied Kashmir (PoK) and go together. And water and blood terrorism. also cannot flow to“Operation Singether,” Modi said. door has not ended; “The terrorist it will be a continuwho dared to wipe DAY 6 ing and decisive acthe sindoor from tion against statethe foreheads of sponsored terror our sisters — that’s attacks on Indian w hy I n d i a d e citizens,” Modi asstroyed the very serted in his first headquarters of remarks since the terror in Pakistan,” military strikes on he added. terror infrastrucHe detailed the ture in Pakistan impact of India’s and PoK. military strikes on Modi made clear terror infrastrucThis is not the era of war, that the decision to ture to respond to but it is not the era of pause retaliatory the Pahalgam, sayterrorism either o p e r at i o n s fo l ing that the strikes Narendra Modi, Prime Minister lowed Pakistan’s sent shockwaves assurances to cease through Pakistan’s further terrorist and military leadership. activity “In the coming days, we . While condemning Pakistan’s will measure every step taken retaliation—targeting religious by Pakistan on the basis of the sites, schools, and military and attitude it adopts on terrorism,” civilian installations—Modi he warned. said India struck “strategically ,” Framing the operation as far hitting the core of Pakistan’s more than a military offensive, terror infrastructure. Issuing a the PM described it as a doctri- stark warning to Islamabad, nal shift in India’s national se- Modi said: “The way Pakistan curity posture. “Operation Sin- army and Pakistan government door was not just an operation are encouraging terrorism, it but a doctrinal change and a will one day destroy Pakistan policy against terror,” he said. itself. If Pakistan wants to surHe dismissed Pakistan’s long- vive, it will have to destroy its used tactic of nuclear posturing, terror infrastructure.” Drones were reportedly sighted over Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur in Punjab shortly after PM’s address to the nation. There was blackout in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and parts of Jalandhar. The Amritsar International Airport was also briefly shut for civil operations. Reports said Security forces engaged suspected drones in Samba district of Jammu region TARGETS ENGAGED BY IAF in pakistan ta n RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR sentencing today Cadell guilty of murdering his family E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @T’Puram A court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday found Cadell Jeansen Raja guilty in the 2017 Nanthancode family massacre — one of the most chilling murder cases in the state’s recent history. With the Sixth Additional Sessions Court set to pronounce the sentence on Tuesday the case is drawing to a , legal closure after eight years of investigation, psychiatric evaluations, and court proceedings. The case involves the murder of four family members, including his parents. Cadell was found guilty of multiple charges, including m u r d e r, d e struction of evidence, wrongful confinement, use of weapons, use of petrol, and arson. The motive, as established by the prosecution, was a deep-seated grudge against his parents. Medical experts testified that he did not suffer from any mental health disorders. In April 2017, the bodies of Cadell’s mother Jean Padma, 58, father Raja Thangam, 60, sister Caroline, 26, and his visuallychallenged aunt Lalitha, 70, were found in their house in Nanthancode. Police probe revealed that the murders happened over two days, April 5 and 6. Three of the bodies were found burnt, while one was found in a mutilated and decomposed state, infested ● More on P5 with maggots.  Lahore Pakistan India Karachi From left: Possible debris of a Chinese PL -15 LR air-to-air missile; long range rockets; loiter munitions and unmanned aerial systems downed by Indian air defence systems Did biz-ceasefire tradeoff: Don J ayan t h ja c o b @ New Delhi US President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that his administration averted a potential nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan by brokering a “full and immediate ceasefire” and offering increased trade as an incentive for de-escalation between the neigbours. “On Saturday my administra, tion helped broker a full and immediate ceasefire, I think, a permanent one, between India and Pakistan, ending a dangerous conflict of two nations with lots of nuclear weapons. And they were going at it hot and heavy and it was seemingly , not going to stop,” Trump said in remarks from the White House, calling the halting of military action between No reference to trade issues, says India Sources in Delhi denied that the US broached trade issues after Operation Sindoor. “There was no reference to trade in those discussions.” two countries one of the “historic events that took place over the last few days.” Trump claimed that US economic leverage played a key role in persuading the two sides to step back from the brink. “We helped a lot, and we helped also with trade. I said, ‘Come on, we’re going to do a lot of trade with you guys. Let’s stop it. If you stop it, we’re doing trade. If you don’t stop it, we’re not going to do any trade,’” he said. In a bid to highlight his unique approach, Trump added: “People have never really used trade the way I used it, that I can tell you, and all of a sudden they said, ‘I think we’re going to stop,’ and they have,” he said. Trump then said: “I think it could have been a bad nuclear war. Millions of people could have been killed. So I’m very proud of that. I also want to thank Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Rubio for their work and efforts — they worked very hard on that.” Indian sources in New Delhi have maintained that the de-escalation agreement was a bilateral initiative between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of India and Pakistan sans third-party involvement. Eye in the sky: In T’Puram man’s startup, Op Sindoor finds a credible ally R A J E S H A B R A H A M @ Kochi As Operation Sindoor unfolded with strategic precision across India’s western front, a lesser-known yet critical player emerged from the digital shadows. Kawa Space, an Indian spacetech startup founded by Thiruvananthapuram native Kris Nair, emerged as one of the most credible sources of satellite-based intelligence during the campaign. While misinformation spread rapidly on social media, many turned to maps and images released by Kawa Space and its enigmatic founder. Their X (formerly Twitter) handles consistently shared high-resolution satellite imagery showing the extent of damage inflicted on Pakistani targets. Crucially these images have not , only added credibility to India’s claims but also served as visual proof of the impact of its operations. The images, shared with credible defence-related websites including Alpha Defence — an independent firm known for its high-quality commentary on defence, aerospace and geopolitics — have become an essential tool in decoding the progress of Operation Sindoor. On Sunday evening, Nair hinted at a significant development: “The next image analysis report is one hell of a banger.” The following day, he posted a cryptic line: “O Black Mountains, what are you hiding in your shadowed heart?”— accompanied by a wideangle satellite image believed to show the Kirana Hills, a remote and rocky region in Pakistan’s Punjab province long rumoured to house nuclear infrastructure. While it remains unclear whether the location was targeted, the post sparked intense speculation and drew attention to the growing role of India’s private space sector. Founded in March 2019, Kawa Space was envisioned as a critical application and infrastructure layer for the global space industry . Originally built to serve the broader geospatial tech ecosystem, it has now repositioned itself as a global intelligence and defence space company “We don’t do civil. ian industry stuff anymore,” Nair stated bluntly — a clear signal of the company’s pivot towards highstakes, security-focused opera● More on P4 tions. walks into sunset Kohli leaves behind a Virat void E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai AND so, just like that, the king bids adieu. For over a decade, Virat Kohli was synonymous with Test cricket because of the way he lived, breathed and cared for it. He put his heart and soul into the game’s oldest format and it became richer because of it at a time when there were questions aplenty about the primacy of the five-day game. So, it was no coincidence that Kohli engineered India’s rise up the rankings thanks to the way he believed in approaching — 20 wickets first, batters next Islamabad af gh an is @ New Delhi — Tests. If Kohli the white-ball captain had an asterisk next to it, Kohli’s red-ball leadership was embellished every time he walked out for the toss. There was the time when he instructed his bowlers to give England ‘hell’ at Lord’s in 2021 (India won that game). There was the time when he whipped up the crowd, his bowlers and the fielders in a rabble-rousing display of us v. them in an electric Test against Australia at Bengaluru in 2017 (India won). There were memorable 100s in winning causes, losing causes as well as leading a team to a first series win in Australia. Above all, there was an indescribable light around the 36-year-old whenever he strode out to the centre with his whites. It’s no exaggeration to say that that light has now left the building and India will struggle to replace him for multiple reasons. One is Kohli the batter. The next is to find somebody who can transmit that same energy. When he announced his retirement on Insta, the accompanying choice was Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’. “I have lived it My Way, I travelled each and every highway, And more, much more than P13 this, I did it my way”.  As I step away from this format, it’s not easy ‘ but it feels right Virat Kohli, ex-captain DGMOs smoke peace pipe in first talks after ‘truce’ M AYA N K SI N G H @ New Delhi THE Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India on Monday agreed not to initiate aggressive and inimical actions. According an Indian Army readout, in the talks between Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai and Major General Kashif Chaudhry held at 5 pm, “Issues related to continuing the commitment that both sides must not fire a single shot or initiate any aggressive and inimical action against each other were discussed.” During the talks over the hotline, the two military officials also agreed that both sides consider immediate measures to ensure troop reduction from the borders and forward areas, the Army statement added. The talks were initially scheduled for 12 noon on Monday but were deferred to the evening, though the reason for the delay was not conveyed by the Indian armed forces. It was on Saturday that both sides had announced an agreement to cease all firings and military actions on land, air, and sea, effective immediately . Hours later, Pakistan breached the pact. The talks followed the relentless military operations carried out between the armed forces of the two countries. Indian armed forces launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ on May 7 to destroy nine terror camps located in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.