BHUBANESWAR  WEDNESDAY  JUNE 25, 2025  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION FIVE HUNDREDS TO INDIA, 1ST TEST MATCH TO ENGLAND Despite Indian batters scoring five hundreds in the two innings, they lost the first Test against England by five wickets at Leeds Ben Duckett (left) and Joe Root help England beat India on Tuesday | AP DUCKETT, ROOT GUIDE ENGLAND HOME INDIA PREFER BATTING DEPTH TO BOWLING As he ever so often does, Ben Duckett came to the fore for England with a sensational second innings hundred. He smashed a stellar 149 and, along with Zak Crawley, set up the chase before Joe Root took over. Even as wickets kept falling at other end, Root held fort (53 n.o from 84 balls) to take England over 371-run target with five wickets in hand ■ ■ In what was one of the driest springs in England, India’s team management decided to go with Shardul Thakur as their fifth bowler instead of adding one more spinner — Kuldeep Yadav It backfired and India did not use Thakur enough in both the innings. The second Test will be begin on July 2 | MORE ON P11 Seven INDIA HAVE NOW LOST SEVEN OF THEIR LAST NINE TEST MATCHES 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 From July, rail fares may go up R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi Police resort to lathi charge to disperse the BJP, BJD workers on Tuesday SDPO, 6 cops hurt in clash among BJP, BJD workers at Athagarh EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE raising slogans of ‘Raja @ Cuttack Swain Zindabad’. Soon, both the groups began peltAT least seven police per- ing stones and eggs at each sonnel sustained injuries, other. three of them critically af, Police rushed to the spot ter allegedly being attacked to bring the situation under by BJP and BJD workers control and in the process, during a clash in front of seven cops sustained injuthe Athagarh block office ries. The matter escalated on Tuesday . to such an extent that the Police said, the clash administration had to erupted as some BJP work- clamp prohibition order ers were trying to under section 163 prevent Athagarh of the BNS Act. MLA Ranendra Three platoons of Pratap Swain from police forces were We had to resort entering the block deployed to avert to lathi charge to office to attend a any further untodisperse the panchayat samiti ward incident. “We tried to pacmeeting. Athagarh groups. Around 50 workers of both ify both the groups SDPO Biswajit Mothe political but they did not hanty, and sub-inparties who were heed our requests spector of Tigiria involved in the and continued peltpolice station clash and attacked police ing eggs and stones Biswajit Jena and have been at each other. EvenOSAP constable arrested tually we had to re, Abinash Veer who sort to lathi charge sustained serious Police officer to disperse them. injuries were Around 50 workers rushed to the SCB medical college and hospi- of both the political parties who indulged in the viotal here. According to reports, lence and attacked the powhen the senior BJD leader lice have been arrested,” a n d f o r m e r m i n i s t e r said a senior police officer. After the situation was reached the venue, he was brought under control, confronted by a group of BJP workers. The latter, Swain participated in the shouting slogans of ‘Raja meeting. Local units of both Swain go back’, tried to stop the BJP and BJD accused him from entering the block each other of starting the office to attend the meeting. violence and demanded The BJD workers, in a bid strong action against their to counter them started rivals. Juvenile among 9 arrested for torturing two dalit men EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Berhampur AMID the nation-wide outrage over brutal torture of two dalit men on cow smuggling suspicion, Dharakote police in Ganjam district on Tuesday said nine persons of Jahada village including a juvenile have been arrested for their involvement in the shocking crime. Ganjam SP Subhendu Patra said Sibasankar Mohanty, Satya Sahu, Bainath Bisoyi, Omm Gouda, Ganapati Palei, Santosh Dakua, Sankar Das, Narayan Dakua and the juvenile were arrested for assaulting and torturing Babuli Naik and Bulu Naik of Singipur village within Gangapur police limits. Patra said Babuli and Bulu filed a complaint in Dharakote police station on Sunday stating they were transporting a cow and two calves to their village on a cargo auto-rickshaw when a group of locals intercepted them at Kharigumma. Accusing them of transporting the cattle illegally, the group snatched their mobile phones and cash and demanded `30,000 to release the animals. CONTINUED ON P5 MAHA POLLS KOSHER: ECI ECI writes to Rahul Gandhi rejecting all allegations of rigging in the 2024 Maharashtra polls | P7 THE Railway Ministry is considering increasing fares of non-AC class in Mail/Express trains by 1 paisa and AC classes by 2 paise per kilometre from July 1, 2025, officials said on Tuesday . There is no fare hike being planned for suburban trains and monthly season tickets in the interest of daily commuters. “There is a strong chance of no fare hike for ordinary second class tickets for journeys up to 500 km... after crossing 500 km, the railways may charge half-paisa per km,” a well-placed source said. He added that the slight in- crease of 1 paisa per kilometre being considered for non-AC classes, and 2 paisa per kilometre for all AC classes is being done keeping in mind passenger interests. This hike, if implemented, would be the first since the pandemic and could generate additional annual revenue of around `10,000 to `12,000 crore. According to sources, the hike is being planned to ensure it does not cause a burden to passengers. “The revision for the slightest addition in the fare is likely to come as part of the Railways’ ongoing efforts to manage operation- al costs without burdening passengers, especially re gular commuters and those travelling short distance,” said the senior official, suggesting an formal notification may be issued soon. On average, 2.5 crore passengers travel daily on more than 13,000 trains, including 4,111 Mail and Express trains, covering 69,000 kilometres, managed under 17 zones and 69 divisions. “Railways is leaving no stone unturned to provide infrastructure, safety and comfort. For all these, the revenue rise is needed,” said a source. EXPLOSIONS IN TEHRAN AS ISRAEL HITS RADAR STATION TRUMP BRISTLES AT VIOLATION OF PEACE PACT Shaky start to Trump ceasefire as Iran, Israel hold off for now AGENCIES THE dramatic ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump on Tuesday got off to a rocky start as both Iran and Israel continued air strikes and accused each other of flouting the truce pact. Trump later claimed the ceasefire became fully operational. T r ump’s unilateral announcement came a day after Iran fired a handful of interceptable missiles at a US military base in Qatar, without harming anyone or damaging anything, in retaliation for the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday . Shortly after Trump announced the peace deal through his social media platfor m Truth Social, Israel’s air defence systems were activated to intercept missiles from Iran. The Israel Defense Forces said two missiles were shot at the country’s north around 10.30 am, over three hours after the ceasefire ought to have begun. Israel retaliated by striking an Iranian radar installation near Tehran but backed out from further attacks after Trump expressed displeasure at the ceasefire violation. An angry Trump used an expletive on live television when reporters asked him about the fresh flare-ups. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f**k they’re doing,” he said during a press gaggle at the White House before leaving for The Hague to attend the NATO summit. Castigating both Iran and Israel for violating the ceasefire, Trump said he is even more unhappy with Israel for its reckless behaviour. Later, he spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin I’ve got to get Israel to calm down... as soon as we made the deal, Israel dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before Israel “refrained” from further strikes after a call between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu If the Zionist regime (Israel) does not violate the ceasefire, then Iran will not violate the peace agreement either US President Donald Trump Netanyahu’s office Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command unit work at the site struck by an Iranian missile, in Beersheba on Tuesday | AP Netanyahu to ask him to fall in line. Following this, Trump stated: “ISRAEL is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home... Nobody will be hurt.” As for Israel, Netanyahu said all of his country’s war goals have been achieved. These include removing the threat of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, taking out Iran’s military leadership, and having control over Tehran’s skies. He categorically added that Israel will “respond forcefully to any violation of the ceasefire”. Rejecting Israel’s accusa- tions, Iran said it did not launch any attack after the ceasefire was announced, adding that it will stand down as long as Tel Aviv respects the peace pact. Iranian officials said their immediately priority is rebuilding the residential areas and public infrastructure damaged in the air strikes. “We witnessed attacks on residential areas, as well as on scientific centres, research institutes, healthcare facilities and civilians... We are facing a major task ahead in terms of reconstruction,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told state TV . Meanwhile, there are concerns that the ceasefire may not hold for long due to trust deficit between Tehran and Tel Aviv. It took hours for Israel and Iran to even acknowledge they had accepted the ceasefire that Trump claimed to have brokered. Also, Israel has only promised to scale down their air strikes against Iran, not wind up the operation. Trump said he is not interested in toppling the regime in Iran. “Regime change takes chaos and ideally we don’t want to see chaos,” he told reporters on board Air Force One heading to the NATO summit. P9 No alternative to talks, India ready to play its part: Govt J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi INDIA on Tuesday welcomed the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, expressing deep concern over recent hostilities and reiterating its readiness to “play its part” in promoting dialogue and long-term stability in the region. Acknowledging the role of the US and Qatar in securing the truce, the External Affairs Ministry emphasised that diplomacy remains the only viable solution to the multiple conflicts that confront West Asia. “We have been following developments overnight relating to the conflict between Iran and Israel, including the US action against Iran’s nuclear facilities and Iranian retaliation against US military bases in Qatar,” a statement issued by the MEA said. “While we remain deeply concerned about the prospects for overall and sustained regional security and stability we , welcome reports of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel and the role played by the US and Qatar in bringing it about,” it added. India also stressed the importance of diplomatic engagement over military escalation. “We wish to reiterate that there is no alternative to dialogue and diplomacy in order to address and resolve the multiple conflicts in the region.” Meanwhile, 594 Indian nationals have been safely evacuated from Israel so far under Operation Sindhu, amid escalating tensions in the region. Indian Air Force C-17 aircraft played a key role in the evacuation ef forts, transporting stranded citizens via Jordan and Egypt. These Indian nationals had crossed over from Israel into these neighbouring countries by land before being airlifted. Two flights from Iran too landed in Delhi today . Man shot dead in fight over goat theft at Baripada NO ‘SINDOOR’ IMMUNITY, EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Baripada TENSION flared up in Baripada town after a 32-year-old man was shot dead and his mother injured in an attack over allegations of goat theft which snowballed into a bloody clash on Tuesday . Three others also suffered serious injuries in the incident. All the four were admitted to Pandit Raghunath Mur mu Medical College and Hospital in the town before being shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack when their condition reportedly deteriorated. The deceased was identified as Raju Ghadei. The critically injured included Raju’s mother Sabitri Ghadei (53), Kundan Mukhi (22), Akash Mukhi (21) and Sipun Mukhi (21) of Kalikapur area in Baripada town police limits. Police have detained four persons over the clash. A platoon of police was deployed on the medical college premises to prevent any deterioration in law and order as both groups reached the campus. Trouble had been brewing since Monday after the two groups had a stand-off over goat theft. Biju, younger brother of Raju, accused Kundan, Akash, Sipun and Jitun of stealing their goats. He said, Raju and Sabitri had confronted the four and demanded that the animals be returned lest Police have detained four persons over the clash. A platoon has been deployed on the medical college premises to prevent any deterioration in law and order as both groups were on campus – Sources the matter would be reported to police. A PCR team also reached Kalikapur but the matter remained unresolved as the Mukhis rubbished the allegations and the cops returned. On Tuesday, a group of 25 people reached the Ghadei household where both the sides were involved in a clash. Sabitri and her two sons were at home when the incident took place. Biju said he had run away when he heard a gun-shot. Upon his return, he found his mother and sibling in a pool of blood. Both were rushed to the medical colle ge. Kundan, Akash and Sipun were apparently caught by locals who reached the spot. DIG (Eastern range), Satyajit Naik, SP Varun Guntupalli and IIC KK Rout camped at the hospital after the incident. Nayak said that basing on a complaint by Biju, a case of murder was registered. SAYS SC IN DOWRY CASE EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi NOTING that serving in ‘Operation Sindoor’ does not give him immunity, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed a Black Cat Commando to surrender in a case relating to dowry death linked to the killing of wife over 20 years ago. He was convicted in the case under Section 304B of the IPC (dowry death) and had approached the court with an exemption plea that he had served in Operation Sindoor and worked as a commando for the last 20 years. A divi- sion bench was hearing a petition filed against a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had dismissed the convict’s appeal and upheld the sentence of rigorous imprisonment of 10 years. When the petitioner said, “I am a participant of Operation Sindoor. For the past 20 years I am a commando posted in Rashtriya Rifles,” the bench retorted, “That doesn’t give you immunity from committing atrocity at home. This goes to show how physically fit you are, and the manner in which alone you could have killed your wife, strangulated your wife.”