hyderabad l sunday l october 19, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION SC expresses alarm over 8.8l pending execution petitions The Supreme Court directed high courts to take action after observing that 8,82,578 execution petitions remain pending before district courts Extends compliance deadline by six months Maharashtra leads with 3.4l petitions The Supreme Court expressed concern over the large number of pending execution petitions, despite its earlier direction to high courts to ensure their disposal within six months. The court, in its order on October 16, directed all high courts to formulate a procedure and guide their district judiciary to ensure expeditious disposal of these petitions over the next six months petitions, with 3.4 lakh cases, followed by Tamil Nadu with 86,000, Kerala with nearly 83,000 and Andhra Pradesh with 68,000 ■ An execution petition is a legal request to enforce a court order, ensuring that the winning party receives relief granted ■ Maharashtra has the highest number of pending execution April 10 When the supreme Court will hear the matter again 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 Paras to go after Chirag nominees in chacha-bhatija duel RA J E S H K UMAR THA K UR @ New Delhi Dhaka airport on fire A massive fire at the cargo complex of the international airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Saturday, forcing authorities to suspend flight operations for hours | AP/PTI | P9 Full Pak in BrahMos range, says Rajnath Defence minister warns neighbour against misadventurism n a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow 8-mth pregnant woman killed over perceived ‘honour’ S R a j a R e d d y @ Adilabad A 20-year-old woman, eight months pre gnant, was hacked to death by her father-in-law at Gerre village in Dahegaon mandal of Komaram Bheem Asifabad district on Friday, in what police described as a suspected case of honour killing. The victim, Thalandi Shravani alias Rani, had married Shivarla Shekhar, a driver, in October 2024. The marriage, an intercaste union between a Pardhan (ST) woman and a Besta (BC) man, had taken place against the wishes of Shekhar’s family . According to police, the couple had been living with Shekhar’s parents, believing the hostility had subsided. But on Friday, when no one else was at home, Shekhar’s father, Shivarla Sathaiah, allegedly attacked Shravani from behind with an axe, striking her neck. She collapsed in a pool of blood and died on the spot. Neighbours alerted the police, who reached the scene and shifted the body for postmortem examination. Dahegaon police registered a case and launched an investigation. Shravani was expecting her first child. EVERY inch of Pakistan’s territory lies within the range of BrahMos and Operation Sindoor was just a trailer, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday in a stern warning to Pakistan. The Union minister, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, flagged off the first batch of BrahMos missiles manufactured at the BrahMos Integration and Testing Facility Centre in Lucknow. Singh described the missile as a symbol of India’s rising strength and proof of India’s strategic confidence. “India’s defence capabilities now serve as a powerful deterrent,” the minister said. “Every inch of Pakistan’s territory lies within the range of BrahMos... Operation Sindoor ... made Pakistan realise that if India could create Pakistan, then if the time comes... I need not say more, you all are wise enough,” he said. “Maintaining this confidence is now our collective responsibility he said. ,” “The entire world now recog- Operation Sindoor is proof that victory has become a habit for us, and we must enhance our capabilities. It made Pakistan realise what might follow IN an escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has warned that Pakistan’s expanding military capabilities could “shatter the misconceived immunity of India’s geographical warspace.” His statement, delivered during a high-profile address at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Kakul, signifies yet another round of nuclear sabre-rattling by Islamabad. This time, it comes against the backdrop of ongoing Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan civilians near the border. Cricketers killed, Af board exits series in pak F i r o z M i r z a @ Chennai nises India’s capability. BrahMos has strengthened our belief that India can turn its dreams into reality,” he said. The indigenously developed BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles were used by India to destroy Pakistan’s air bases during Operation Sindoor in May this year. Inaugurated on May 11, 2025, the state-of-the-art BrahMos Aerospace unit houses all modern facilities for missile integration, testing and final quality checks. After successful testing, the missiles are prepared for deployment by the Indian armed forces. The defence minister said that BrahMos has proved that Made-in-India is now a global brand even as India strengthens its security and has emerged as a credible partner in defence and technology . Contracts worth crores Rajnath Singh said in Lucknow that the BrahMos team has wrapped up contracts worth approximately `4,000 crore with two countries in the last one month Self-reiiance a reality: Yogi Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath said a self-reliant India is now a reality. Adityanath made the remark while kicking off a programme at the BrahMos unit Can shatter the image of Indian immunity: Munir j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi From left: Kabeer Agha, Haroon and Sibghatullah Munir, addressing graduating cadets, asserted that even a “minor provocation” from India would invite a “decisive, beyond proportions” response from Pakistan. “Should a fresh wave of hostilities be triggered, Pakistan would respond much beyond the expectations of the initiators,” he said. Munir went on to warn of “deeply hurting retributive military and economic losses” and said the responsibility for any future escalation, potentially with “catastrophic consequences for the region and beyond” would rest solely with the neighbouring India. Asim Munir Not the first time from Munir This isn’t the first time Pakistan army chief Asim Munir has resorted to inflammatory language. Days before the dastardly Pahalgam attack last year that killed 26 civilians, Munir had referred to Kashmir as Pakistan’s “jugular vein.” After featuring in a domestic tournament in Sharana of Paktika province of Afghanistan, local cricketers were having a get together in their home district, Urgun when three of them were killed in air strikes reportedly carried out by Pakistan. Condemning the incident and terming it cowardly Afghanistan Crick, et Board (ACB) has withdrawn its team from the tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka to be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from November 17 to 29. The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Indian cricket board (BCCI) expressed solidarity with the ACB. The ICC in a statement said it is deeply saddened and appalled by the tragic deaths of three young and promising Afghan cricketers, Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, who lost their lives in a recent air strike. “It was a local event in Sharana, the capital of the Paktika province. One of the teams has come from far away district named Urgun. After the game, they returned to Urgun. The players were having a get together after when they were targetted by Pakistan state,” Sayed Naseem Sadaat, ACB spokesperson, told this daily “Not only . once, three times the same area was attacked. A number of our innocent civilians and three cricketers were martyred in this attack. The ACB management has decided to withdraw from the tri-series planned by the PCB,” he added. Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan stood by ACB and posted on X: “It is absolutely immoral and barbaric to target civilian infrastructure... I welcome the ACB’s decision.” His teammate Mohammad Nabi termed it heinous. WITH THIS ISSUE Bling in the New PLUS 12 P AGES hi g h - f l ier Khammam cops nab ‘five-star’ thief, ready ‘luxury package’ for him E x p r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Khammam He preferred five-star suites, luxury cars and scenic vacations, but there was just one minor glitch: his income came from other people’s lockers. Meet Mikkili Vamsikrishna, alias Sam Richard (42), a self-proclaimed patron of fine living whose business model was simple: rob, relax, repeat. Khammam Town ACP Ramana Murthy, said on Saturday that Vamsikrishna’s journey from small-town dreamer to full-time “entrepreneur” in theft reads like a crime soap screenplay . Born in Vetapalem of Guntur district, he ran away to Hyderabad at 17 chasing dreams of grandeur. A xerox shop job was hardly the empire he had in mind, so he took the entrepreneurial leap — into burglary . His “clients” included residents of LB Nagar, Saroornagar, SR Nagar, Kukatpally Jeed, imetla and Narsingi. The police, ever loyal, kept him on their recurring guest list. After each release, he resumed his luxury circuit — Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad — his stays sponsored by other people’s savings. Once Hyderabad police recognised his travel pattern, he diversified into Vijayawada and Khammam. In Khammam, he is suspect- ed to have committed around 20 burglaries in various localities. His grand run ended, rather unceremoniously, at a police checkpoint near SR Gardens on Friday evening. Police recovered 452 grams of gold ornaments and a car worth `15 lakh, totalling `66 lakh. Vamsikrishna’s next stay will have room service in khaki. Among the interesting contests brewing in the Bihar elections is the one between two different parties that share the same political legacy. While one of them is led by the chacha (uncle) and the other is run by the bhatija (nephew). The chacha is Pashupati Kumar Paras, brother of late Ram Vilas Paswan, whose son Chirag Paswan is the bhatija. Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party suffered a vertical split after his death, with Paras floating the Rashtriya Lok Janshakti Party (RLJP), while Chirag chose to name his faction as Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). With the NDA being extra generous this time in allotting 29 seats to Chirag’s party Par, as has threatened to play spoiler by fielding candidates against almost all of Chirag’s nominees, apart from entering the fray from other seats. Paras initially wanted to enter the fray as part of the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan. But since Chirag Paswan, Pashupati Kumar Paras seat-sharing talks failed, he decided to go it alone. Chirag has fielded five candidates so far, and so has Paras from the same seats. The most interesting of the five contests is in Mahua in Vaishali district, where Paras fielded Shamsuzzama against Chirag’s Sanjay Kumar Singh. Others in the fray include RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, and RJD’s Mukesh Raushan. Shamsuzzama is expected to damage Sanjay Kumar Singh’s prospects, due to the division in Paswan and other Dalit votes. The Paswan vote bank constitutes 5.31% of the state’s population. During the 2020 polls, Chirag had fielded candidates ag ainst the ruling JD(U) and damaged its prospects of picking up more seats. Bandhs & buses RTC buses remain parked at depots as services were suspended in response to the bandh called by BC organisations and backed by all political parties, at the MGBS in Hyderabad on Saturday. Bus services resumed by afternoon | vinay madapu | P4 Law soon to cut salary of staff neglecting parents E x p r e ss N e ws S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday said the state government would bring in legislation to deduct 10–15% of the salaries of government employees who neglect their parents. The deducted amount would be credited directly into the parents’ accounts, he said. Revanth directed Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao to form a committee, comprising newly recruited officers, to prepare the draft note for the proposed law. Urging the youth to care for their parents, he said, “You have become officers because of your parents’ hard work and sacrifices. Never forget your background or where you came from.” Revanth was speaking after distributing appointment letters to 783 newly selected Group-II officers at Shilpakala Vedika in Hyderabad. Criticising the previous BRS government, Revanth said it had failed to address unemployment. Indirectly referring to former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, he said, “They competed with the Nizam, Adani and Ambani in amassing wealth. During his 10 years in power, KCR dreamt of making his son-in-law an Ambani and his daughter a Birla.” Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy hands over an appointment letter to a candidate as ministers Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Ponnam Prabhakar look on He alleged that Rao had confined political opportunities to his family while ignoring unemployed youth. “The previous government did not fill even a single Group-I post,” he said. Referring to the Kaleshwaram project, Revanth said, “If they had worked with commitment, the project would not have collapsed. No other state or country has witnessed such a failure. K Chandrasekhar Rao claimed he earned `1 crore per acre through farming. Why hasn’t he shared this secret with farmers?” he asked, accusing BRS leaders of looting the state. Revanth said over five lakh candidates had applied for Group-II posts, and about two lakh appeared for the exam, of whom 783 were selected by the TGPSC.  continued on P4