coimbatore l sunday l october 26, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION RoKo show: Duo prove their worth in final match of series Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli wound back the clock with a match-winning 2nd-wicket partnership to help India win against Australia Century for Rohit, unbeaten fifty for Kohli After an iffy start in Perth, Rohit has grown into the series. After a streaky 50 in Adelaide, he was at his best notching up his 33rd ODI 100 in trademark fashion. While Rohit played the aggressor, Kohli was equally solid during his unbeaten 74. After the game, Kohli spoke of his relief in making his first runs after being dismissed for zero in last two innings ■ 168 Life left in us, says Rohit after game ■ Though this could be their last appearance Down Under, in a special interview of the two with the broadcaster after the match, Rohit said there’s still some life left in the pair | Report on P11 Kohli got a standing ovation at the Sydney Cricket Ground when he came out to bat, a gesture that was in show in the two earlier games They put on an unbroken 168-run stand off 170 legal deliveries 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 India waits for clear US signals on Oz cricketers how Russian oil curbs will play out ‘stalked, one women’s team Trade pact talks stay the course; need more clarity on crude oil sanctions, say officials J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi As trade pact negotiations gain traction, India is pressing for a fair deal and clearer signals from Washington on sanctions related to Russian oil. In a key meeting India’s Ambassador to the US, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, met US Deputy Secretary of Energy James Danly to review the India–US energy security partnership and recent trends in bilateral energy trade. Sources said the talks also touched on how impending US sanctions could affect global oil flows, even as supplies remain stable. “These are early days and we need more clarity on the sanctions — that’s part of the ongoing conversation with the US. Our energy security is paramount and guided by market conditions, national interests, and domestic requirements,” a source familiar with the issue said. India’s attention is on US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, which supply most of its Russian oil, and the possible ripple effects of secondary sanc- Kwatra meets Lockheed CEO Ambassador Kwatra also met Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet and had a ‘productive’ discussion on bilateral defence industrial collaboration and opportunities under India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative tions. The fineprint is awaited. Germany recently took temporary control of three Rosneft subsidiaries to secure its own energy supplies -- a move that underscores the lack of a uniform Western approach to Russian oil sanctions. Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s renewed sanctions on Moscow are being viewed as a pressure tactic as well. Sources said a Russia– Had a fruitful discussion with Deputy Secretary James Danly on the energy security partnership —Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Indian envoy to the US Ukraine ceasefire would represent the best-case scenario for India, potentially paving the way for lifting the additional 25% tariff on Russian crude imposed by the US. With fears of secondary sanctions looming, India’s imports of Russian oil are expected to come down gradually, a shift that could push New Delhi to source more energy from the US as well. Sources believe this diversification would help off- set tarif f pressures and strengthen the foundation for an energy-focused component in the trade pact. While Nayara Energy maintains a term contract for Russian crude, most of India’s Russian oil purchases are spot deals. Sources noted that while sufficient alternative supply exists, Russia remains a key partner. They added that Washington is unlikely to push sanctions to the point of triggering a price surge, given the potential impact on global markets, particularly on supplies to China and India. Crude prices rallied sharply on Friday with Brent at $66.42, , after Washington sanctioned Rosneft, Lukoil, and Sovcomflot, removing nearly 4.5 million barrels per day from global markets. On October 23, Trump announced sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, giving companies until November 21 to wind down transactions. Earlier, on October 9, Washington imposed sanctions on Serbia’s Russianowned oil company NIS, one of Russia’s last remaining energy assets in Europe. Probe finds call centre was set up to facilitate Aland voter theft B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru capital in smog blanket Pedestrians walk along the Kartavya Path in New Delhi amid continuing thick smog on Saturday, following Diwali celebrations | Shekhar yadav TN drops move to allow colleges turn into private universities, withdraws bill E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Chennai The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday said the Bill introduced in the Assembly to allow existing private colleges to be converted into private universities will be withdrawn. The decision comes after strong opposition from various quarters, including the allies of the ruling DMK. An official press release from Minister for Higher Education Govi Chezhiaan said the state government will withdraw the amendment to the 2019 Tamil Nadu Private Universities Act. However, defending the Bill, the release said the amendment was introduced with the aim to increase the number of higher education institutions in TN as the percentage of student enrolment in higher education in the country is the highest in the state. The Bill introduced 10 days ago also wanted to simplify the existing procedures so that institutions could aspire to start private universities, the release said. Appropriate legal safeguards for teachers and nonteaching staff were put in place to ensure that they were not affected by the move, the release said, adding that the decision to withdraw it was taken as per the advice of CM MK Stalin. The amendment introduced a new “Brownfield University” category, which allowed the conversion of existing private colleges into universities.  P5 A call centre with around five computers was set up for the purpose of filing 6,018 fraudulent Form 7 applications on the Election Commission website for the deletion of names of voters in Karnataka’s Aland constituency sources said on condi, tion of anonymity, as the SIT investigation into the alleged voter theft gained momentum. The facility was run by four suspects—Akram, Ashfaque, Nadeem and Mushtaq. “Of the four accused, one is an online political surveyor/ manipulator, one a data operator and two others are well versed in filing online applications and providing logical support,” sources said. The Special Investigation Perpetrators used 75 phone numbers: SIT As per the SIT, the perpetrators used 75 mobile phone numbers belonging to people from vulnerable sections of society across the country to create login IDs for the 6,018 applications Team (SIT) is examining loopholes that were exploited to create login IDs with single-use one-time passwords (OTPs). “How did the perpetrators get these 75 mobile phone numbers? There has to be a network of people helping them with logistics. Each login was created using an OTP. How did they manage to get them? Did they hack the 75 mobile phones,” sources said. The SIT has questioned Akram, Nadeem and Mushtaq. Ashfaque is said to be in Dubai. “Ashfaque left for Dubai after being questioned in the same case in 2023 by the Kalaburagi police, which was initially investigating the case based on an FIR registered in Aland,” sources said. “Each of the four played an important role in the alleged fraud. The political analyst was roped in because he had past experience with party-wise surveys and the manipulation of political data. The data operator helped file applications. Who identified and approached the four men for the job is key to the SIT investig ation. T hey were paid `80 per online application of Form 7,” said sources. molested’ A n u r a a g S i n g h @ Bhopal In a shocking incident, two Australian women’s cricket team members were allegedly stalked and sexually harassed by a motorcycleborne man in Indore on Thursday The incident took . place in broad day light, 11 am to be precise, when the two players were walking from the Radisson Blu hotel (where the team was staying since October 17) to a popular café close by . The accused stalked the two players who were jogging to the café from the hotel. He followed the cricketers and first tried to grab one of them and drove off. Later, he came from behind again and molested the other woman cricketer. A case was registered on the complaint of the team’s security manager Danny Simmons at Indore’s MIG police station on October 23 night. The accused, identified as Aqeel Khan, was arrested the next day and booked for stalking and outraging a woman’s modesty, under BNS Sections 74 and 78. This was confirmed by additional DCP (ADCP-Crime) Rajesh Dandotiya who added that it was done based on the complaint filed by the Australian team management’s security in-charge Danny Simmons, about “inappropriate behaviour” with the team’s players. “Intensive strategic operation was carried out by multiple teams of five police stations, WITH THIS ISSUE Star Trek India faced intense international heat after over 100 children died due to contaminated cough syrups made by three phar ma companies in The Gambia and Uzbekistan. However, after the initial outrage, international alerts, and announcements of probe in 2022-2023, India’s drug regulator has refused to share the action taken against the pharma companies that were at the centre of the international storm, a latest RTI query revealed. Not only did the Central Drugs Standard Control Or- Stonewalling RTI query RTI activist Dr K V Babu said, “CDSCO refused to share the status of investigation and prosecution against the 3 pharma companies.” It shows there is “no visible action or prosecution by the authority against them.” ganisation (CDSCO) refuse to reveal the details of the investigation and the subsequent prosecution against the three firms — Maiden Pharmaceuticals, Marion Biotech Pharmaceuticals and Fourrts (India) Pvt Ltd — it also cited a section of the RTI Act to stonewall information. While Maiden was linked to the deaths of over 60 children in The Gambia, Marion was blamed for the deaths of 18 in Uzbekistan. Both syrups had dangerous levels of the toxins resulting in the tracing and arrest of the accused within six hours of lodging of the case,” Dandotiya told TNIE. The arrested man has been accused in ten cases of theft, robbery, drug peddling and attempt to murder from 2012 to 2024. “Protocols for the team’s security were set following a meeting between all stakeholders, including the BCCI and MPCA officials and the Indore Police Commissionerate,” Dandotiya added. The incident took place a day after the Aussies beat England. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) condemned the incident. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said “It is a very condemnable but stray incident. We have zero tolerance for such incidents,” he said. The Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association apologised to Oz team.  P11 Cyclone Montha may spare TN, likely to hit AP EXP R ESS NEWS SE R VI C E @ Chennai PLUS 12 P AGES Syrup deaths: Regulator blocks prosecution info K a v i ta B a j e l i - D at t @ New Delhi The accused at the police station after the arrest | express — diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG). Fourrts was flagged in 2023 for containing high DEG and EG. In its reply CDSCO, Chennai, , said on Fourrts, “no such information is available.” Besides, “The information sought by the applicant is exempted under Sec 8 (1) (d) (g) (h) of the RTI Act 2005.” CDSCO, Ghaziabad, said: “...stop production order, suspension, cancellation of licenses/product licenses etc. have been taken.” No word on prosecution. ““That’s the reason why the pharma companies continue to flout the laws,” RTI activist Dr K V Babu said. The cyclonic system ‘Montha’ developing over the southeast Bay of Bengal is heading steadily towards the Andhra Pradesh coast, with early forecasts suggesting that north Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, may escape major impact. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression, formed over the southeast Bay of Bengal, is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm by October 27 and further into a severe cyclonic storm by October 28, before crossing the coast between Machilipatnam and Kalingapatnam, near Kakinada (AP), with wind speeds of 90-100 kmph, gusting to 110 kmph. Weather models indicate two possible scenarios for Tamil Nadu’s rainfall prospects. One, the system moves away towards Andhra directly from the open seas without nearing the north Tamil Nadu coast.  P5