tirupati l thursday l may 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Prima-facie money laundering CASE ESTABLISHED AGAINST sONIA, rAHUL: ED The Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court that a prima-facie case of money laundering has been made out in the National Herald matter Court schedules Daily hearing from July 2 `142 cr rental income ‘proceeds of crime’ ED made the submission before Special Judge Vishal Gogne during the preliminary arguments on whether the court should take cognisance of the matter. The judge asked ED to provide a copy of the chargesheet to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, on whose private complaint the case was registered. The court also scheduled daily hearings from July 2 to 8 ■ ■ Additional Solicitor General S V Raju and advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, argued that the case involved proceeds of crime The ED told the court that key transactions involving Congress-linked company Young Indian were illicit and involved “proceeds of crime”​ including rental income of `142 crore received by the accused `2,000 cr Worth of properties sought to be usurped by senior cong leaders: ed 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 27 killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur-Bijapur region Supreme commander of Maoists eliminated E J A Z KAISER @ Raipur Security forces on Wednesday notched up their biggest strike ever by eliminating the supreme commander of the Maoist movement, along with 26 others, in a fierce encounter in the border region of Narayanpur-Bijapur, about 430 km south of Raipur. Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the supreme commander of the banned CPIMaoist since 2018, lived and died by the gun. General secretary of the CPI-Maoist, he carried a reward of `1 crore on his head in Chhattisgarh. He was also a Politburo member and headed the CPI’s Central Military Commission. B a s av a r a j u t o o k charge as supreme c o m m a n d e r s eve n years ago from Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, then aged 71, who stepped down due to agerelated issues. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, he did his BTech from Regional Engineering College, Warangal. Basavaraju was facing several cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His name is being linked with the killing of Telugu Desam Party MLA Kidari Sarvewara Rao of Araku c o n s t i t u e n cy i n A n d h r a Pradesh in September 2018. Union home minister Amit Shah applauded the operation as a major breakthrough in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. In a post on X, Shah said: “In an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security partial relief Ashoka Univ professor gets interim bail S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Incarcerated Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Wednesday got partial relief, as the Supreme Court granted him interim bail. It, however, refused to stay two first information reports filed against him for his social media posts on Operation Sindoor. Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. “The SIT will not have of ficers from Haryana or Delhi,” Justice Kant said. Mahmudabad had moved the court challenging his arrest for a Facebook Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad post on Operation Sindoor. While directing his release, the bench restrained him from making any further online posts or speeches on the issue. “He is retrained from making any comments on the crisis recently faced by India, which is a terrorist attack on Indian soil or the counter response given by our nation,” the court said. Taking exception to the language used by Mahmudabad in his posts, the court said some words could have dual meanings. While declining his plea to stay the probe, the bench said he had not made out any case for it. forces neutralised 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, general secretary of CPI-Maoist, topmost leader, and the backbone of the Naxal movement. This is the first time in three decades of Bharat’s battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralised.” Based on intelligence inputs about the movement of Central Committee and Politburo members of the banned outfit as well as senior cadre of Maad division and People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army a team of , District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Kondagaon was out on an operation to Abujhmad area for past three days, Sundarraj P inspector gener, al of police (Bastar Range), said. In the encounter on Wednesday several senior Mao, ist cadre have been killed or seriously injured in this operation in difficult geographical conditions amid multiple challenges. “So far, 27 bodies of Maoists have been recovered during search operations,” he added. A DRG personnel also died in the encounter. A huge cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the encounter site. Search operations are on. The identification of the bodies will be done after the operation is over. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai commended the security personnel involved in the operation. “This fight is not just Chhattisgarh narayanpur Encounter site Joined the banned CPI (Maoist) in 1970s, became its head in 2018 Chowdari Lakshmana Rao @ Srikakulam engineer who engineered attacks  A resident of Jiyyannapeta village in Srikakulam district, Basavaraju did BTech at REC, Warangal Bastar Bijapur Sukma dantewada Had various aliases — Prakash, Krishna, Vijay, Umesh and Kamlu Expert in imparting military training and handling explosives, including landmines Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our govt is committed to eliminating the menace of Maoism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people — Narendra Modi, PM Reports of rift in banned outfit Ganapathi may get back the mantle There have been reports of rift within the banned CPI (Maoist) owing to which it could not nominate a new secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee following the death of its DSZC head Ramanna in 2019 due to cardiac arrest Following Basavaraju’s death, speculation is rife that the ageing Ganapathi might get back the responsibility of secretary of the Central Committee. Given the rift, he could be an acceptable face within the CPI (Maoist) against Maoists but also in favour of peace and development,” he said. This year, 200 bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far in various encounters in Chhattisgarh, including 182 killed in the Bastar division. Techie-Maoist: Jiyyannapeta mourns death of Kesava Rao A 21-day long Operation Black Forest, a crackdown launched on April 21 at the Karreguttalu hilly expanse, was also commended as immensely successful when 31 Maoists were killed and their major base dismantled. A pall of gloom descended over Jiyyannapeta village in Kotabommali mandal, Srikakulam, the hometown of Maoist leader Namballa Kesava Rao, alias Basava Raju, after he died in a firefight with security forces in an encounter in the dense forests of Abhujmad on the trijunction of Narayanpur-Bijapur-Dantewada districts, Chhattisgarh. Srikakulam SP K V Maheswara Reddy confirmed the Maoist party general secretary’s demise to TNIE, citing official reports from security forces on Wednesday . Born in 1955 in Jiyyannapeta near NH-16, Kesava Rao was the second son of Vasudeva Rao, a late government teacher, and Lakshmi Narayanamma. He is survived by his elder brother, Dhilleswara Rao, a former kabaddi player and retired Port Blair sea port chairman, and younger brother, Ram Prasad, a Visakhapatnambased real estate businessman, and one of his two sisters. Kesava Rao, a skilled kabaddi and volleyball player, completed his B Tech at the Regional Engineering College, Warangal. While pursuing his M Tech, he joined the People’s War Group (PWG) in 1976 at the age of 21, drawn to the ideologies of leaders like Kondapalli Seetharamayya and K G Satyamurthy, and influenced by Srikakulam’s anti-landlord movement. After joining the PWG, which later became the Maoist party, Kesava Rao cut ties with his village and family, and remained P4 unmarried. demonetization Two yrs after ban, TTD still receives of `2,000 notes B M u r a l i @ Tirumala Two years after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced the withdrawal of `2,000 notes on May 19, 2023, the sacred Tirumala temple continues to receive these pink notes as offerings. The temple’s hundi alone collects approximately fifty `2,000 notes daily while oth, er temples managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) in and around Tirupati receive an additional 25 to 30 such notes each day As of May 7, 2025, . the total number of `2,000 denomination notes accumulated since November 7, 2023, stands at 46,024 (valued at `9,20,48,000). The RBI’s decision to recall `2,000 notes was aimed at curbing fake currency transactions and controlling circulation, a move described by the Regional RBI Chest Coordinator as a form of demonetization. Banks, both public and private, along with public sector institutions, were tasked with facilitating the exchange of these notes. However, the TTD continues to grapple with the inflow of these notes, which devotees offer as “kanukas” (sacred offerings) to Lord Venkateswara. This is not the first time the TTD has faced challeng- INSIDE @ New Delhi WAQF is not an essential Islamic religious practice though it is an Islamic concept, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Waqf means charity which is part of every , religion, and waqf bodies discharge secular functions. Therefore, it is necessary to include non-Muslims in waqf boards, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said in his arguments defending the Waqf (Amendment) Act. “Waqf is an Islamic concept. But it is not an essential part of Islam, unless that is shown. Other arguments fail. The judgments show that charity is part of every religion and can hap- pen for Christianity also. Hindus have a system of daan. Sikhs also have it,” Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih in response to a question whether the law infringed upon Articles 25 and 26 (freedom of religion and management of religious affairs) of the Constitution. He said ‘waqf by user’ is not a fundamental right but was created by a statute. If a right is conferred by statute, the right can always be taken away by a statute, he added. The law officer also drew the bench’s attention to the “historic misuse” of waqf by user to claim ownership of public or p r ivat e l a n d s w i t h o u t documentation. Mehta sought to distinguish between waqf and Hindu trusts and endowment boards that don’t allow non-Hindus to be members. He said Hindu endowment boards deal with religious activity whereas waqf bodies deal with secular activities. “Hindu endowment commissioner can go inside a temple. Pujari (priest) is decided by the state government. Waqf boards do not touch upon religious activity at all,” he said. es with demonetized currency In 2016, following the cen. tral gover nment’s demonetization of `500 and `1,000 notes, the TTD accumulated 8.14 lakh such notes, valued at `47.5 crore. By June 19, 2021, TTD records showed 1.8 lakh `1,000 notes (worth `80 crore) and 6.34 lakh `500 notes (worth `31.7 crore) stranded with the trust. Despite efforts by TTD officials and the Trust Board to exchange these notes with the Union Finance Ministry and banks, the attempts P4 were unsuccessful. probe sleeper cell activities: HC Waqf isn’t essential to Islam: Govt Naidu: Yoga Day will be a record-breaking spectcle SU C HITRA KA LYAN MOHANTY pink notes Date of Number of Notes Handover to RBI handed over to RBI Good Soiled/ Notes Cut Notes 07.11.2023 3,300 0 12.12.2023 5,283 22 12.01.2024 3,326 65 27.02.2024 4,025 33 23.04.2024 5,077 55 11.06.2024 4,598 86 01.08.2024 4,812 63 18.09.2024 3,395 16 21.11.2024 3,309 97 14.02.2025 4,455 107 07.05.2025 3,750 150 TOTAL 45330 694 Overall Total 46,024 (Good+soiled) S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is determined to organise the 11th International Yoga Day as a record-breaking event, with five lakh people performing yoga alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the seacoast of Visakhapatnam on June 21, and two crore people participating across the state. The Chief Minister aims to promote yoga on a large scale and plans to make it mandatory in schools. Naidu firmly believes that yoga can be a game-changer in improving people’s health. Describing yoga as a great gift India has offered to the world, he emphasised the need to make it a part of everyone’s daily life. He credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing global recognition to yoga. Speaking to media persons at his residence in Undavalli on Wednesday, Naidu announced that a special campaign titled Yogandhra-2025 will be held for one month, starting May 21. A mega event involving five lakh participants will take place on June 21, P4 stretching from RK Beach to Bhogapuram. cops uncover chilling plans P3 express read K’taka hands over four Kumki elephants to AP Bengaluru: Karnataka handed over four partially trained kumki elephants to Andhra Pradesh at a grand ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Two more will be given to AP in the days to come. The elephants were hand picked based on their behaviour and skills by a team of officials | P4 India expels Pak high commission staffer India on Wednesday expelled a Pakistan high commission official on charges of espionage, in the second such expulsion in a week, and asked him to leave India within 24 hours. The Ministry of External Affairs said the Pakistani official indulged in “activities not in keeping with his official status” Booker prize Heart Lamp lights up a thousand hearts G AYATHRI M KURU P @ Bengaluru on a divine path CM Nara Chandrababu Naidu, wife Nara Bhuvaneshwari present silk robes to Goddess Tirupati Gangamma on the final day of Jathara in Kuppam | Express IT was a moment that felt like “a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky” for Banu Mushtaq as she became the first Kannada writer to win the International Booker Prize. Her short story collection Edeya Hanate, translated into English as Heart Lamp by Deepa Bhasthi, won the title for Kannada language literature under the translated fiction category It made Bhasthi the first . Indian translator to win the prestigious award for 2025. Accepting the award at London’s Tate Modern Museum, the 77-year-old author said, “This story is a love letter to my idea that no story is local, that a tale born under the banyan tree in my village can cast a shadow as far as this stage tonight... You have made my Kannada language a shared home, a language that sings of resilience and nuance. To write in Kannada is to inherit a legacy of cosmic wonder,” Banu said. Banu started writing in 1990, the stories curated over 33 years, revolving around the lives of women in South Indian Muslim communities. In- spired by real life incidents, Banu had referred to her experiences as a ‘seed’ that grows with the imagination of the reader, in a previous interview with this newspaper. Banu managed to finally implant the seed in the hearts of all readers—a story every wom- This book is my love letter to the idea that no story is local Banu Mushtaq an could relate to, and every man could empathise with. Max Porter, chair of judges for the Booker prize, called the work as “something genuinely new for English readers: a radical translation” of “beautiful, busy life-affirming stories”. , Deepa Bhasthi, who selected and translated the original works, said, “The story of the world is a history of erasures, characterised by the effacement of women’s triumphs and the furtive rubbing away of collective memory of how women and those on the many margins in this world live and love. This prize is a small win in a long ongoing battle against such violences.”