Shirsat in a videograb; and the bag full of cash COIMBATORE l saturday l july 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Sena minister caught on cam with cash, says it’s only clothes Shiv Sena (Shinde) minister Sanjay Shirsat is in the dock once again after a video of him with a bag full of cash lying near his bed surfaced i-t lens on mighty spike in declared assets bought a hotel at below-market rate The video surfaced a day after reports emerged of Shirsat facing scrutiny from the Income Tax Department regarding a significant increase in his declared assets, which surged from `3.3 crore in 2019 to `35 crore in 2024. The Opposition parties in Maharashtra have sought the resignation of Shirsat, who branded the video as a preplanned conspiracy to frame him ■ ■ Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, who first shared the video, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Devendra Fadnavis should take action against Shirsat Shirsat is also facing a probe into purchase of luxury hotel VITS at `65 crore against the market rate of `120 crore in Sambhaji Nagar `30 cr approximate value of the residence where shirsat lives 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 Dad blames barbs for murdering Radhika E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The post-mortem report of a 25-year-old former state-level tennis player, who was allegedly shot dead by her father on Thursday, revealed that she was hit by four bullets from behind in Gurugram’s Sector 57.Deepak Yadav, the accused, was remanded in one-day police custody on Friday . The autopsy was conducted by a board of three doctors. They recovered four bullets from the body After the exami. nation, the body was handed over to the family members who cremated her at their village in Wazirabad. Radhika was living with her parents in Sushant Lok-II, Gurugram Sector-57. She was shot dead by her father using his licensed firearm, the police said. A case regarding the murder was registered at Sector-56 police station based on the complaint of the victim’s uncle (the brother of the accused) and Deepak was arrested. His revolver and five empty cartridges were recovered from the crime spot. Deepak confessed he shot Radhika because he was often mocked at for living off her income, police sources said. Police also issued a statement claiming the tennis academy Radhika ran was the bone of contention between the father and daughter. The accused, who police said was depressed for the last 15 days, also felt he was financially well off and had good rental income so there was no need for his daughter to run an academy . In his complaint, Radhika’s uncle Kuldeep Yadav said her mother Manju was present on the first floor when she was shot dead. Deepak, Manju, and Radhika lived on the first floor, while he lived on the ground floor along with his family . Intensive interrogation of the accused is underway and all the possible angles in the case are being investigated, police said. 60K BEd grads in lurch as univ delays certificates for a year N DHAMOTHARAN @ Coimbatore Express Illustration Tennis academy With deadline looming for BEd graduates to submit their applications for recruitment of teachers for 1,996 vacancies in government schools, thousands of students are caught in a quandary. The Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University (TNTEU) has not issued their consolidated mark sheet and provisional certificate even after a delay of more than a year. According to sources, more than 60,000 students who had completed their two-year course (2022-2024) in May last year in 642 government and private teacher colleges across the state have not got their course credentials yet. These students may not be able to submit their application within the August 12 deadline fixed by the Teacher Recruitment Board (TRB) for filling the 1,996 postgraduate teacher posts. One Nation One Election Bill not unconstitutional but needs rework Ex-CJIs red flag sweeping powers of EC under ONOE PARVEZ S ULTAN @ New Delhi FORMER Chief Justices of India D Y Chandrachud and J S Khehar have flagged the sweeping powers that the One Nation One Election (ONOE) Bill seeks to confer on the Election Commission of India. According to sources, both ex-CJIs clarified that the bill for simultaneous elections does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution—as alleged by some Opposition parties—but suggested some tweaks in the language and provisions of the bill to check the unbridled powers of the Election Commission. On Friday, Chandrachud concluded his presentation before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) headed by BJP MP P P Chaudhary which , was entrusted with the task to review the Bill. Justice Khehar had already given his views on the legal and constitutional aspects of the proposed legislation. “The former CJIs told the JPC that though the Bill does not violate the basic structure of the Constitution, some of the proposed provisions may not get past judicial scrutiny. They also suggested the ways to address these issues. Both jurists suggested that there should be an ‘oversight mechanism’ on the conduct of elections,” said sources. Former Chief Justices of India D Y Chandrachud and J S Khehar Experts seek clarity on bill’s grey areas Experts have flagged several grey areas in the bill. What will happen if the govt at the Centre falls? Wouldn’t the synchronised election cycle be disrupted in the event of a national emergency or premature dissolution of assemblies? Meanwhile, Opposition members including Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and DMK’s P Wilson raised queries about the constitutionality of dissolving assemblies midway to synchronise their polls with Lok Sabha elections. Making his point before the JPC, Wilson argued that the aim is to curtail election expenditures but the proposed system would lead to numerous polls in the event of the fall of the government at the Centre. In such a scenario, the purpose of the Bill would be defeated, he pointed out. Several other MPs also pointed out the issue of mid-term elections, sources said. Justice Khehar suggested that Parliament or the Union Council of Ministers should have a say in taking the call on holding the election of an assembly as envisaged under Sec, tion 82A(5) of the Bill. The Section in its current form says, “If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the elections to any Legislative Assembly cannot be conducted along with the general election to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date.” Referring to another Section of the proposed law, Justice Khehar said it should also specify what will happen in case of an Emergency . After the meeting, Chaudhary said each aspect will be discussed and recommendations made. “We want a transparent discussion to take place… Parliament gave us the Bill so that it can be corrected. It was not given to us to return in the present form. We are making efforts on how simultaneous elections should be conducted in the national interest,” he said. Chaudhary said the panel welcomes divergent views as it will help the panel make good recommendations. Steps would be taken to issue mark sheets and provisional certificates to all the students within seven working days —TNTEU Registrar (in-charge) K Rajasekaran NET/SLET Association advisor AR Nagaraj told TNIE that UGC had already directed higher education institutions to award degree, mark sheet and other certificates to students within 180 days of declaration of result, but the Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department is casual in complying with the UGC’s stipulation. This affects students as they cannot get jobs, pursue higher education, or sit for competitive exams. “Officials must address this issue of recurring delay expeditiously Nagaraj said. ,” “Apart from the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) post, the posts of registrar and controller of ex- ‘Delimitation Commission Act is yet to come. Then why are they talking about it? It is because elections are coming in Tamil Nadu. It’s political We have a firm policy on running India using Indian languages. The fight is in the minds of those who still believe India should run on foreign languages’ Oppn manufacturing anxiety, says Shah express read Woman pushed off train: Man held guilty Tirupattur: Six months after a four-month pregnant woman was pushed off a running train, the Tirupattur District and Sessions Court on Friday held 28-year-old K Hemaraj of KV Kuppam in Vellore guilty of attempted rape and murder in the case. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced on Monday. The judgement was delivered by sessions Judge S Meenakumari | P2 E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi U nion Home Minister Amit Shah says the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which is under way in poll-bound Bihar, would be implemented in other states as well. “I think roll revision will be done across the country he remarked. ,” Speaking to this newspaper, Shah said the Opposition is manufacturing anxiety over the process to mask its lack of electoral winnability “If anyone has any . concerns over the process, they should approach the Election Commission, not with presumptions, but with examples of the outcomes of the process,” he said. Predicting a win for the BJP-led alliance not only in Bihar later this year, but also Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, among other states scheduled to vote for new assemblies beginpress Interview ning next year, Shah said this reflected the massive and ongoing popular endorsement of the 11-year-old Narendra Modi government. “The world looks up to India again. Under Modi ji, we have restored faith in India’s future. Today 140 crore believe India can be, come a fully developed nation by 2047. Every sector is filled with confidence about making India self-reliant,” Shah said. “Is there any area that has not seen improvement? Be it foodgrain production, advances in space, internal security , our global stature, reduction in corruption, our integrated approach to health?” In reply to a question, Shah predicted, “The AIADMK– BJP alliance will win by a landslide in the coming election in Tamil Nadu. The people are fed up with corruption, nepotism and the family feuds of the DMK.” On the Opposition’s apprehensions about the effect delimitation may have for the South Indian states, Shah asserted, “There is no need for anyone to feel anxious. I have said this categorically: There will be no injustice to the South.”  Full interview: P9 CM raises delimitation on Population Day CHENNAI: CM Stalin took to X platform on World Population Day to raise the issue of “unfair” delimitation planned by the centre. Listing out the progress made by the state in population control and women’s empowerment, he asked, “What do we get in return? Less funding, and a voice that is being pushed out of Parliament” | P4 ajit doval CHALLENGES WESTERN MEDIA AIADMK turf war: HC questions delay by ECI Oh Lord’s: Ladybird infestation & climate change E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai F i r o z M i r z a @ London The Madras High Court on Friday questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its “hesitation” in deciding on representations seeking freezing of AIADMK’s poll symbol ‘Two Leaves’ and election of Edappadi K Palaniswami as the general secretary of the party . There are multiple civil suits pending in courts regarding the issues. When the petitions filed by EPS seeking a direction to the ECI for speedy disposal of the representations, which were submitted by expelled AIADMK par ty men including former MPs P Ravindranath and KC Palanisamy and Surya Moorthy came up for hearing, , the ECI’s counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan told the HC that the commission would take a decision “as expeditiously as possible” and time frame need not be set by the court. The bench of Justices R Subramanian and K Surender said it could see “hesitation” on the part of the ECI and asked its counsel whether he wanted the It is not always that a game of cricket has been stopped due to a swarm of ladybirds invading the pitch. On Thursday, the first day of third Test in Lord’s between India and England, players including that of hosts encountered a peculiar phenomenon. A swarm of ladybirds flew over the ground, some even landed on the helmet of Ben Stokes. These are unusual and rare sights but are invariably tied to the usual suspect, climate change. Rising temperature and dry spell in England has already have had an impact on the playing conditions. The beetles are only adding to the woes. The game as of now doesn’t have a rule to stop because of insect attack. According to groundsmen, the rising temperature in England has led to swarms of these species of beetle to invade open areas including grounds. England batter Ollie Pope admitted this was the first time he had seen anything like this. “No, I haven’t (seen that before). It’s a first and the crowd got that. I bench to disclose why there is such a “hesitation”. Making an oblique reference to the timeline set by the Supreme Court to President regarding granting of assent to bills passed in State Assemblies in the Tamil Nadu Vs Governor RN Ravi case, the bench said, “If the President can be set a timeline, w hy c a n ’ t t h e E l e c t i o n Commission? It also asked, “Is the Election Commission above the President? The ECI counsel responded, “Everyone is equal in the Constitution.” The two-judge bench directed the counsel to file written instructions by July 21 on the time period by which it can take a decision on the representations and adjour ned the hearing. aminations have not been filled in TNTEU for more than five years. Hence, teaching staff of the university have been appointed to these posts in incharge capacity. These staff cannot make any financial and academic decisions independently As a result of this, admin. istration and academic works are affected. The state should at least fill these key posts with regular appointments,” Nagaraj added.  P7 bodyline Fly slip The National Security Advisor said India smashed nine terror targets with precision in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor. He dared the foreign media to show “even one image” of damage to any Indian structure in the war | P11 My home is bugged, says Dr Ramadoss (Top) Jasprit Bumrah tries to fend off ladybirds on the first day at Lord’s. He took five wickets on Friday. (Left) Joe Root celebrates ton against India | AFP didn’t even know why we stopped,” replied Pope when questioned about the interruption during media interaction at the end of day’s play . One of the ground staff said the menace will continue during the entire duration of the match as temperature is expected to only increase in the next few days. “It may touch 35 degrees (centigrade), which is unprecedented as the last time we witnessed this was during the first Covid wave in 2020. The insects though are harmless but can cause disruption if they come in a large number. We use spray to counter them but that will not be that effective if they swarm the venue,” said the staffer, who did not wish to be named. The extreme hot weather accompanied by dry patch also led to hosepipe ban in Yorkshire. The warm climate is responsible for the increase in the population of the ladybirds, who anyways are evolving to adapt to different weather patterns. The warmer temperatures mean the presence of aphids (garden pest), ladybirds primary source of food, that helps them to multiply exponentially . The recent incident at the Home of Cricket highlighted yet another reason how the sport is being challenged for its existence by external factors like extreme weather.  P15 Cuddalore: PMK founder S Ramadoss on Friday alleged that a high-end surveillance device was discovered concealed near a chair at his residence, raising serious concern about unauthorised eavesdropping | P4 HC: Block sites with videos of lady lawyer Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block all the websites which have been displaying the non-consensual intimate videos and images of a woman advocate | P2