tadepalligudem l saturday l september 27, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION MiG-21, the iconic jet of Indian air force, makes its last flight MiG-21, for long the primary aircraft of the Indian Air Force, was decommissioned on Friday after serving the country for more than six decades Played key roles in wars with Pakistan A workhorse with troubled safety record MiG-21, inducted into the IAF in the 1960s, played crucial roles in the India-Pakistan wars of 1965, 1971, and 1999, as well as in the 2019 Balakot air strikes. Speaking at the decommissioning ceremony, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh called the “mighty machine” a symbol of India’s pride. The event featured aerial displays, including formation take-offs by MiG-21s ■ ■ The ceremonial switch-off of six MiG-21 aircraft in the presence of dignitaries marked the culmination of the aircraft’s operational service While it was hailed as a “workhorse” for its long years of service, the Soviet-era interceptor had a troubled safety record and was involved in multiple crashes, earning it the nickname “flying coffin” | P8 870 Mig-21 fighter aircraft procured by India since 1960s 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 Wangchuk held Govt nails NATO chief Rutte lie on oil diplomacy under the NSA, flown to Jodhpur J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Home Ministry says activist ‘incited mob that went on rampage’; Opposition cries foul F aya z w a n i @ Srinagar noon. An FIR against Wangchuk has been filed under SIX years after he praised Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NSA in connection for granting Union Territory with incidents of rioting and status to Ladakh, Magsaysay arson on Wednesday . awardee climate activist SonUnder the NSA, a person can am Wangchuk, 59, was arrested be detained for 12 months withon Friday and booked under out a trial. Wangchuk, accordthe stringent National Security ing to sources, has been moved Act (NSA) for allegedly ‘insti- out from Ladakh and shifted to gating and inciting violence Jodhpur in Rajasthan. and unrest in Leh through proThe Ministry of Home Afvocative statements’. fairs blamed Wangchuk’s Parallelly, the govspeeches for instigaternment rescheduled ing unrest in the rea preparatory meeting gion. “It is clear that between Ladakh leadthe mob was incited by ers and Union home S o n a m Wa n g c h u k ministry officials in through his provocaNew Delhi to Septemtive statements,” MHA ber 29 so as to prepare said in a statement. the ground for the OcThe FCRA licence of Mehbooba tober 6 talks. Leh Apex slams move Wangchuk’s NGO, the Body (LAB) co-chairStudents’ Educational PDP president man Chering Dorjay and Cultural MoveMehbooba told this newspaper ment of Ladakh (SECMufti said the that the that a sevenMOL), was cancelled arrest of Sonam member delegation of on Thursday . Wangchuk is Ladakh leaders, inWangchuk has de“deeply cluding three each nied the allegations disturbing”, from LAB and Kargil and termed it “scapeterming him Democratic Alliance goating” and “witch as a lifelong and the Ladakh MP, hunting”. Immediateadvocate will participate in the ly after the arrest, auof peace September 29 talks. thorities suspended The meeting will mobile internet servdiscuss the agenda for the Oc- ices in Leh district, where curtober 6 talks between the La- few remained in force for the dakh leaders and the Union third consecutive day . home ministry in New Delhi. Opposition parties, including Wangchuk’s arrest comes the Congress and Trinamool two days after violent protests Congress slammed the Centre in Leh over demands for state- over the arrest, alleging that hood and Sixth Schedule status the move “clearly exposes the left four persons dead and 80 government’s witch-hunting injured on Wednesday . agenda” and its “abysmal failSources said Wangchuk was ure” to maintain law and order taken into custody by police in the Union Territory of from his residence in the after- Ladakh. India on Friday strongly rejected remarks made by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte suggesting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to clarify his stance on Ukraine and termed the statement as “factually incorrect and entirely baseless.” Speaking to CNN, Rutte claimed that India had been in contact with Moscow and Prime Minister Modi had con- fronted Putin over the Ukraine war, linking it to economic fallout from US tariffs. “Delhi is on the phone with Putin, and Narendra Modi is asking him to explain his strategy on Ukraine because India is being hit with tariffs,” Rutte alleged. In a sharply worded rebuttal, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed the comments as false and irresponsible. “We have seen the statement @ Chennai Ahead of their first-ever Asia Cup final in 41 years of tournament history on Sunday India’s , captain Suryakumar Yadav and Pakistan’s pacer Haris Rauf have reportedly been fined 30 per cent of their respective match fees by ICC match referee. Pakistan batter Sahibzada Farhan, however, escaped with a warning for his gun-shot celebration after completing his fifty in the Super Fours match against India. It was also learnt that the Indian cricket board (BCCI) has appealed against the ICC’s verdict. While the global body didn’t issue any statement in this regard, sources claimed that Suryakumar attended the hearing on Thursday while the hearing for the Pakistan duo was conducted at the team hotel on Friday . The Indian skipper dedicated his team’s win over Pakistan on September 14 to the victims of the Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had lodged a complaint against him for making a political state- Demonstration called off Police, locals clash Shops vandalised Over two dozen held Clashes erupted in UP’s Bareilly after a demonstration in support of “I Love Muhammad” campaign was called off on Friday As a large crowd marched towards the Islamia Inter College ground, police tried to stop them, leading to clashes at Khalil Tiraha Police in anti-riot gear used force to disperse the crowd, which reorted to stone pelting and vandalism of shops and vehicles More than two dozen people have been detained. No official figures were available about the number of injured people High alert in coastal ap as depression intensifies IMD has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall in Krishna, NTR, Guntur, Palnadu, Prakasam, Kurnool, and Nandyal, and light to moderate showers in other districts | P3 India captain Suryakumar Yadav (L) and Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf | AFP ment. It was also learnt that Suryakumar has been asked not to make any statement that could be construed as political during the remainder of the tournament. Meanwhile, Rauf was fined for allegedly engaging with the Indian fans during the Super Fours match on September 21. The pacer allegedly mimicked a jet going down. The BCCI had complained against the duo. It all started with the first match between the two archrivals on September 14 when Suryakumar didn’t shake hands with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Ali Agha after the toss. The India team then refused the solidarity handshake with Pakistan players after the match, escalating the tension further. 4,71,574 jobs created within 15 months: CM E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada In a significant achievement, the NDA government has provided employment to 4,71,574 people in the State within 15 months of assuming office. Speaking during a short discussion on ‘Logistics, Industries and Employment Opportunities’ in the State Assembly on Friday Chief Minister Nara , Chandrababu Naidu highlighted the government’s initiatives to achieve the target of creating 20 lakh jobs. He said 15,941 teachers were appointed through Mega DSC, 9,093 posts in various government departments, and 6,100 in the Police Department were also filled. Additionally, 92,149 people secured jobs through the skill development pro- grammes, and job fairs, while 5,500 got work-from-home opportunities. The private sector played a pivotal role, generating 3,48,891 jobs in industries such as food processing, tourism, IT, MSMEs, and renewable energy As. suring transparency , Naidu said the job data, including beneficiaries’ names, locations, and roles, would be available online via a dedicated pects better from a leader of such a key international body . “We expect the leadership of an important institution like NATO to exercise greater responsibility and accuracy in public statements. Speculative or careless remarks that misrepresent the Prime Minister’s engagements or suggest conversations that never occurred are unacceptable.” The controversy comes against the backdrop of rising trade tensions, with US President Donald Trump last month sparks fly in Bareilly amid ‘I Love Muhammad’ row Surya, Rauf fined; BCCI appeals against verdict E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e by NATO Secretary-General Mr Mark Rutte regarding a purported phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin. The statement is factually incorrect and entirely baseless,” said Jaiswal. “At no point has Prime Minister Modi spoken with President Putin in the manner suggested. No such conversation has taken place.” Jaiswal added that the Government of India ex- portal. The Chief Minister also highlighted the government’s achievement in attracting investments, noting that 10 State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meetings in 15 months secured `6.23 lakh crore investments across 125 projects, which are expected to create 6.29 lakh jobs. Major companies like ArcelorMittal, Bharat Petroleum, LG, IBM, TCS, Google, NTPC, and Reliance are investing in Andhra Pradesh, a stark contrast to the previous regime, which held only 13 SIPB meetings in five years, he said. To bolster growth, the government has laid emphasis on logistics development. A blueprint to enhance cargo and passenger transport through ports, airports, roads and railways has been evolved, he said.  p4 125 projs to provide 6.29L jobs The NDA government has held 10 State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) meetings in 15 months, clearing `6.23 lakh crore investments across 125 projects, which are expected to create 6.29 lakh jobs. The private sector has created 3.48 lakh jobs India sees low impact of 100% tariff on branded pharma export to US P u s h p i ta D e y @ New Delhi Indian pharma exporters are expected to face minimal impact from the US decision to impose a 100% tariff on patented medicines, as the country’s $30 billion-plus pharmaceutical exports are largely driven by generics.   India shipped $10.5 billion wor th of drugs to the US in FY25, accounting for nearly 40% of America’s generic prescriptions. According to Aditya Jhaver, director at Crisil Ratings, the replacement risk for Indian generics in the US remains low, given the country’s limited local manufacturing capacity. “India delivers significant healthcare savings to the US, with manufacturing costs 3540% lower than those in the US,” he said. Mankind Pharma chairman Ramesh C Juneja noted that the tariff is likely to have less than a 0.5% impact on Indian expor ters. “There are very few companies that send patented products to the US, and most of them already have manufacturing facilities in America,” he added.Still, exporters cautioned that India must remain alert in case complex generics, or even parts of the generic supply chain, come under tariffs or other restrictions in the future. doubling tariffs on key Indian goods to 50%, citing India’s continued imports of Russian oil. Reiterating India’s energy policy, the MEA spokesperson stressed that its purchases are guided solely by national interest, market conditions and economic considerations. Answering a question on the European Union calling upon India to cut energy imports from Russia, Jaiswal pointed to President Trump statement that the EU, G7, NATO also needs to stop Russian energy imports. HC orders CBI probe into arrest of SM activist E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada The Andhra Pradesh High Court has ordered a CBI probe into the alleged illegal arrest of social media activist Soundar Reddy alias Saveendar Reddy . A division bench, comprising Justices R Raghunandan Rao and T Chandra Dhana Sekhar, issued the directive on Friday citing pre, liminary evidence of unlawful detention, and discrepancies in police reports. CBI Joint Director has been added as a respondent, and instructed to conduct a preliminary inquiry, and submit a report. The next hearing is scheduled for October 13, with the court halting any process to produce Soundar Reddy before a magistrate until then. The court stated that Soundar Reddy was falsely implicated in a ganja case, violating the Supreme Court arrest protocols outlined in the DK Basu case. The bench noted inconsistencies in the police remand report, which claimed the arrest occurred at 8.30 pm on September 22, while a mediators’ report was prepared at 7.30 pm, raising questions about the p4 timeline.