HYDERABAD l tuesday l september 30, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION India to build two cross-border rail links to Bhutan for `4,000cr Under the project, the two Bhutanese cities of Gelephu and Samtse would be connected with Kokrajhar in Assam and Banarhat in West Bengal ‘relationship of trust, mutual respect’ Vaishnaw: big push for bhutan’s economy The details of the project were made public by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday. Under the two projects, 89 kms of railway lines will be laid and work is expected to be completed in the next four years. “India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect, and understanding,” Misri said ■ ■ India’s announcement of the railway projects have come amid efforts by China to increase its geo-strategic influence over Bhutan Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said it is crucial to have a good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow as most of the trade of Bhutan is done through Indian ports | P7 `10K Cr is india’s assistance to bhutan for its ongoing 13th five-year plan 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 Comprehensive security doctrine on final leg S u m i t K u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Top leadership of Maoists heavily depleted Its apex body is left with just 13 leaders — four members of the Politburo and nine of the Central Committee — as others have been eliminated or arrested or surrendered, a govt dossier revealed | P7 India’s first comprehensive security doctrine — the National Security Strategy (NSS) — is expected to be completed by December this year. The National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has almost finalised the doctrine, which provides multi-dimensional understanding on external and internal security challenges and threats together with real-time preparedness. “Last-minute deliberations are on. The secretariat has received all the relevant inputs from stakeholders. Once approved, the draft will be placed before National Security Council (NSC) — chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for approval,” said a senior government officer. Defence modernisation, tech- Economy, defence, diplomacy, AI pose existential threats. New NSS is needed It is encouraging that the National Security Doctrine is likely to be finalised by year-end NSS will provide provide guidance to all organs of the govt on policy directions AP Maheshwari, ex-CRPF chief Prakash Singh, ex-DGP Lt Gen (Rtd) D S Hooda nological advancement, cyber resilience, internal security hybrid , threat management, economic stability and strategic diplomacy will be interlinked pillars of the holistic security doctrine so as to anticipate, respond and mitigate threats comprehensively . The process to formulate the NSS and the National Defence Strategy began under National Security Advisor Ajit Doval’s watch in 2018. NSCS was made the nodal body responsible for drafting the NSS. Deputy NSAs, domain experts, and retired military and senior police officers were drafted for the exercise. India has not had a security doctrine 26 years since the Kargil war. It’s not that India has never attempted such a doctrine before. 3-phase local body polls from Oct 31: SEC E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The State Election Commission (SEC) on Monday announced the schedule for the second ordinary elections to rural local bodies in Telangana. However, a case in the high court, scheduled for hearing on October 8, has raised uncertainty, as the outcome could affect the conduct of polls. Polling for gram panchayats will be conducted in three phases on October 31, November 4 and 8, with votes counted and results declared on the same day . Mandal and Zilla Parishad polls will be held in two phases on October 23 and 27, and counting will take place on November 11. Ballot boxes and papers will be used, with boxes being sourced from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. The state government recently issued GO Ms No. 9 providing 42% reservations for Backward Classes (BCs) in rural and urban local bodies. Based on this, the state government finalised the reservation roster for Mandal and Zilla Praja Parishads and gram panchayats through two GOs issued last week. The GO on reservations has been challenged in the high court, and the verdict is expect- Disqualification hearings against 10 ‘defector’ MLAs begin All in the box 31 31,300 E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e Mandals: 565 ZPTCs: 565 MPTCs: 5,749 Districts @ Hyderabad MPTC polling stations n Wards: 1,12,288 n  Polling stations (total): 1,12,474 15,302 n  polling locations: 15,522 GP MPTC/ZPTC Rural voter strength: polling Male: locations n  81,65,894 n  Female: 85,36,770 12,733 n  Others: 504 Gram Panchayats Total: 1,67,03,168 Dates to remember Gram panchayats (three phases) Notice by RO: Oct 17, 21, 25 Last date for nominations: Oct 19, 23, 28 Withdrawal of candidates: Oct 23, 27, 31 Polling & counting: Oct 31, Nov 4, 8 MPTC and ZPTC (two phases) Notice by RO: Oct 9, 13 Last date for nominations: Oct 11, 15 Withdrawal of candidates: Oct 15, 19 Polling: Oct 23, 27 Counting: Nov 11 ed to impact the election process.  CONTINUED ON P4 In sync with a record Women dance around the 63-foot Bathukamma in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record, at Saroornagar Stadium in Hyderabad on Monday | vinay Madapu  | P2 Curtain call Cybercrime cops bust India’s biggest film piracy racket S i d d h a r d h a G at t i m i @ Hyderabad Cybercrime police have dismantled what they describe as the largest movie piracy network in India, arresting five key members across multiple states. Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand said the racket was responsible for leaking hundreds of films online. Anand stated that the Telugu film industry alone lost about `3,700 crore to piracy in 2024, while the wider Indian film industry recorded losses of nearly `22,400 crore in 2023 from pirated content across theatres and OTT platforms. T h e s y n d i c at e o p e r at e d through hacked servers, hidden The so-called ‘free’ content comes at a heavy cost. Many files carry malware, leading to identity theft, financial fraud and cyber scams – CV Anand, Hyderabad Police Commissioner Hyderabad Police Commissioner CV Anand briefs members of the Telugu film fraternity on how the pirates were traced and arrested at ICCC in the city on Monday cameras in theatres, Telegram channels and cryptocurrency payments, fuelling what the city police chief called India’s “multibillion-rupee piracy economy .” Investigators traced the network over two months, following a complaint from the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce’s Prakash Singh, former member of the National Security Advisory Board, said governments at different periods constituted committees that drafted them. “But they were never approved by the political establishment as they did not want to be bound down by any well-defined policy Instead, they . wanted to retain the discretion to deal with matters in the most politically convenient matter.” Major General (Rtd) Ashok Kumar said, “NSS is one of the most sought after documents by most countries. While its predictability is good, it also puts a strain for countries like India where emerging threats taking a different shape with every passing day Lt .” General (Rtd) Deependra Singh Hooda said, “The formal articulation of NSS is a very welcome step.” anti-video piracy cell in June. Films such as #Single and HIT: The Third Case were found on piracy websites like 1TamilBlasters, 5MoviezRulz and 1TamilMV within hours of release. Later, Kubera was uploaded online on the same day it premiered.  CONTINUED ON P2 4 linked to iBomma site arrested On the status of cases against mirror websites like iBomma and Bappam, Anand said police had so far arrested four people connected to iBomma. “We are tracing the main accused, who is likely abroad and running the website,” Anand told TNIE. The Telangana Legislative Assembly on Monday began hearings on disqualification petitions filed under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution against 10 BRS MLAs accused of defecting to the ruling Congress. Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar, acting as the Tribunal, presided over the proceedings. Petitioners and respondents, along with their counsel, presented arguments and underwent crossexamination. Meanwhile, outside the Assembly, BRS leaders reiterated their demand that the legislators resign and seek a fresh mandate. The Tribunal first took up the petition filed by Kalvakuntla Sanjay who was cross-examined , by the counsel for respondent T Prakash Goud. This was followed by the hearing of a petition by Chinta Prabhakar, questioned by the counsel for respondent Kale Yadaiah. In the afternoon, two more petitions were heard. Chinta Prabhakar and Palla Rajeshwar Reddy w e r e cross-examined by the counsel for Gudem Mahipal Reddy and Bandla Krishna Mohan Reddy, respectively . Tight security was in place at the Assembly, with visitors and media personnel barred. Press briefings were not allowed from media points. Former MLAs, former MLCs and former MPs were restricted from entry while , serving legislators were permitted access only to their party offices. The Assembly Secretariat also directed that members and their advocates should not carry mobile phones into the court hall, warning of confiscation and removal from the proceedings in case of violations. Hearings will continue on October 1. Speaking to the media after the session, Kalvakuntla Sanjay said the defected legislators had openly joined the Congress but denied it in affidavits before the Speaker and the courts.  CONTINUED ON P4 Leh Apex Body to pull out of Oct 6 talks F AYA Z WANI @ Srinagar THE Leh Apex Body (LAB) said on Monday that it would stay away from talks with the Centre till peace and normalcy is restored in Ladakh. “Dialogue cannot be held under the shadow of fear and repression,” said LAB chairman Thupstan Chhewang. The Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), which along with LAB is spearheading the protests for special rights to Ladakh, also supports the decision to suspend talks, a KDA leader said. The next meeting of the High Powered Committee (HPC), through which the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) holds talks with the Ladakhi groups, is scheduled on October 6. LAB demanded a judicial probe into the violence in the September 24 protests, in which four persons were killed and 80 injured, and the release of activist Sonam Wangchuk and others detained in connection with the protests. LAB co-chairman Chering Dorjay accused the police and CRPF of using excessive force against the protesting youth. Late in the evening, the Home Ministry issued a brief statement saying the government is always open to dialogues on Ladakh matters with LAB and KDA. “We would continue to welcome the discussion with LAB and KDA through the HPC on Ladakh or any such platform,” it said adding, “We are confident that continuous dialogue would yield the desired results in near future.” LAB leaders Thupstan Chhewang and Chering Dorjay at a press conference in Leh | express Canada lists Bishnoi gang as terror outfit H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh CANADA on Monday listed the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity for creating a “climate of fear and intimidation”. A terrorist listing means anything Lawrence Bishnoi owned by that group in Canada — property, vehicles, money — can be frozen or seized, and gives law enforcement power to prosecute terrorist offences, including those related to financing, travel and recruitment. “The Bishnoi Gang is a transnational criminal organization.. engages in murder, shootings and arson, and generates terror through extortion and intimidation,’’ read a statement by Canadian government. The Bishnoi gang, which was implicated in Baba Siddique’s murder in Mumbai, has grown into a transnational crime syndicate with footprints in Canada and the US and active presence in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP and Rajasthan with over 700 sharp shooters.