Major cash haul at Assam officer’s house Nupur Bora THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l september 17, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Wads of unaccounted cash and jewellery recovered from the residence of Assam Civil Service and Revenue Circle Officer Nupur Bora (inset) in Guwahati. Raids by the CM’s Vigilance and AntiCorruption team recovered D92 lakh in cash and jewellery valued at nearly D2 crore from her premises. Her assets were 400 times more than her known sources of income | PTI 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 Ashok transfer PM, Home minister extend support Tribunal stay leaves govt embarrassed Dehradun: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inspected the affected areas. Following this, he briefed PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, who assured him of full support in rescue operations P Ramdas & Jose K Joseph @Kochi/T’Puram In a major setback for the state gover nment, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday stayed till September 22 the transfer of principal secretary B Ashok to the personal and administrative department (P&ARD). This is the second time in eight days that the tribunal’s Ernakulam bench is staying the senior bureaucrat’s transfer. Ashok can now stay on in agriculture department. The CAT intervention— coming just days after Ashok rejoined the agriculture department following the tribunal’s stay of an earlier government order appointing him as chairman and managing director of the Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC)— has not only brought the simmering power struggle within the state’s IAS cadre into the open, but also delivered a major blow to the government and plunged Chief Secretary A Jayathilak deeper into the controversy . The bench observed that the government’s latest transfer order was issued while a stay was already in effect on an earlier directive appointing Ashok as the CMD of the KTD● More on P4 FC.  16 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express 200 kids trapped in campus rescued A ravaged section of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, on Tuesday after the downpour; a school bus stranded on a damaged road | PTI Doon deluge kills at least 13 Most rivers in spate; 16 people still missing N a r e n d r a s e t h i @ Dehradun HEAVY rain overnight left a trail of destruction in Uttarakhand’s capital Dehradun and several other parts of the state on Tuesday as swollen rivers washed away buildings, roads, and bridges, leaving at least 13 people dead, 16 missing and more than 600 stranded across the hill state. Most rivers were in spate following the downpour. Tamsa river, also known as Tons river, inundated the famous Tapkeshwar temple on its bank, submerging a Dehradun: About 200 children trapped by waterlogging at the Devbhoomi Institute campus in Paundha area of Dehradun were rescued by an SDRF team Officials fear death toll could rise significantly gigantic Hanuman statue near its entrance up to the shoulders. The temple’s priest, Bipin Joshi, said, “I’ve not seen the river waters rise so high in the past 30 years.” Officials fear the death toll could rise significantly with pre, liminary estimates suggesting at least 25 fatalities. “The administration has confirmed 13 deaths, while 16 individuals remain unaccounted for,” a district official stated. The Sahasradhara and Maldevta regions bore the brunt. The bridge near ‘Nanda ki Chowki’ on the Dehradun-Paonta National Highway was washed away, halting traffic, while the Mussoorie-Dehradun road has been closed at multiple points due to landslides. Rivers like Rispana and Bindal were flowing above danger levels. Dehradun reported three rainrelated fatalities, one each from Jharipani, Mussoorie diversion and Kalsi. Nainital reported two deaths — one each from Garudi stream and Bhowali, while one was reported from Pithoragarh. Seven people were swept away in separate incidents in Dehradun district alone. The search for them continues. Besides Sahasradhara and Maldevta, Santla Devi and Dalanwala were also worst hit, according to the district disaster management office. Sahasradhara received 192 mm of rain, followed by Maldevta (141.5 mm), Hathi Barkala and Jolly Grant (92.5mm each) and Kalsi (83.5 mm). In Himachal Pradesh, three of a family were killed as rain triggered landslides. EXPRESS READ Oppn stir against police brutality T’Puram: Two UDF MLAs launched an indefinite ‘satyagraha’ at the entrance of the assembly on Tuesday demanding action against cops who allegedly committed various excesses | P4 Trump greets PM hours after ‘positive’ trade talks J AYA N TH J ACO B @ New Delhi PRIME Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump on Tuesday held their first direct conversation since the US imposed 50% tariffs on key Indian goods. The call came on the eve of Modi’s 75th birthday and both leaders reaffirmed their com- mitment to strengthening the India-US strategic ties and discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. “Thank you, my friend, President T r ump, for your phone call and greetings on my 75th birthday Like ... you, I am also fully committed to taking India-US Comprehen- sive and Global Partnership to new heights. We support your initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict,” Modi wrote on X. The call marks a thaw in diplomatic ties and follows renewed efforts to rebuild economic bridges between the two nations. Earlier in the day, trade officials from both sides met in Delhi to revive stalled talks on a bilateral trade agreement. The Ministry of Commerce said that the discussions were “positive and forward-looking”. “It was decided to intensify efforts to achieve early conclusion of a mutually beneficial trade agreement.” it added. Apollo Tyres Team India jersey sponsor E x pr e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai THE Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has managed to plug some of that gaping `1,000 crore hole the change in government policy created last month after banning real money gaming companies. Indian firm, Apollo Tyres, which counts Manchester United among its clientele, inked a three-year deal worth `580 crore. The deal will cover over 120 bilateral games and over 20 ICC matches. The deal is set to expire in March 2028. The BCCI said: “... a landmark partnership with Apollo Tyres, a leader in the global tyre industry, as the new lead Sponsor of Team India. This marks Apollo Tyres’ first-ever foray into India cricket...”