visakhapatnam l friday l november 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION ED attaches properties worth `11.14 cr of dhawan, raina Enforcement Directorate has said it has attached assets of ex-cricket stars Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of a money-laundering probe Shikhar Dhawan Suresh Raina stars endorsed knowingly, says agency The ED’s probe has found that the former cricketers ‘knowingly’ entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet and its surrogates. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to attach a commercial land in Delhi of Dhawan worth `4.5 cr and a mutual fund of Raina worth `6.64 cr ■ `1,000 cr Assets considered as proceeds of crime ■ The ED considers the two ex-cricketers’ assets as “proceeds of crime” of illegal betting. ED order can be appealed before Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA and other legal forums ED also said it has detected 6,000 mule bank accounts. Multiple police FIRs formed the basis for ED to launch the probe | P7 expected to be total amount involved in the scam 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 Pune land scam puts Ajit Pawar’s son in trouble Govt bid to delay S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai In a major embarrassment to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his elder son Parth on Thursday faced charges of grabbing 40 acres of prime land in Pune at a throwaway price of `300 crore against the market rate of `2,000 crore. The land in question is part of ‘Mahar Vatan’, which was distributed by the government to landless Dalits for cultiva- Secretary Vikas Kharge into tion on the condition the scam. An FIR was that it can’t be bought also registered against or sold. Yet, Parth manboth the buyer and the aged to acquire the land seller, and a revenue deparcel from Gaikwad partment official was families. placed under suspenWhile Ajit Pawar sion for waiving stamp claimed he had no idea duty and land registraParth Pawar about the land deal, tion fees. Chief Minister DevenJust a few months dra Fadnavis ordered a high- ago, Parth and his relative, level probe by Additional Chief Digvijay Amarsinh Patil regis- tered an infotech firm called Almada and passed a resolution on April 22 to develop an IT park in Pune. Almada then submitted a proposal to develop an IT park on that 40-acre parcel of land, saying it will generate thousands of jobs. Almada paid just `500 as fees for the land title, against `25 crore as real stamp duty and registration fees. Uddhav raps Fadnavis Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray attacked the Fadnavis government for the land scam. He said while farmers are struggling, the ministers’ children are grabbing the prime land at throwaway prices. “Earlier, scams against DCM Eknath Shinde’s group were coming out; now, Ajit Pawar is on target from the BJP, Uddhav alleged no loss of life Rayalacheruvu breach causes flash floods Express News Service @ Tirupati Voters wait in a queue to cast votes at a booth at Danapur in Patna during the first phase polling on Thursday | PTI Record 64.7% turnout in 1st phase of polling Bihar Phase 1 Population distribution by social group(%) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (top) and others after casting their votes in Patna; RJD’s Tejashwi with Lalu Prasad and Rabri Devi | PTI comparison of bihar Assembly voter turnout 3 Hindu ST 23.3 Phase 1 Hindu SC Highest voting (%) Muzaffarpur Begusarai 47.2 69.27% Lowest voting (%) Bhojpur Patna 57.93% 15.5 0.03 Non-Muslim and non-Hindu 11 Muslim Source: NFHS 2019-21 Highest 62.04 62.57 57.29 57.28 61.79 56.91 52.73 56.27 51.51 44.47 46.5 2005 2020 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1977 1972 1969 1967 43.24 2015 Feb 45.83 OCT 42.6 2010 50.51 Lowest CHIEF Justice of India B R Gavai on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over the Centre’s repeated attempts to seek adjournment of the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. The matter was slated for hearing on Friday. On Thursday additional solicitor gener, al Aishwarya Bhati moved a request for adjournment on behalf of Attorney General R Venkataramani, citing the latter’s international arbitration commitments. Making a sharp observation, Gavai said it looks like the government is trying to avoid the bench headed by him since he has only a few days left for retirement. Gavai will demit office on November 23. Mentioning the matter before the bench, Bhati said the case is important and requires the A-G’s assistance and hence the adjournment request be accommodated. “We have accommodated you twice already How many more? . If you want it after November 24, tell us then. Very unfair to the court. Every time you seek accommodation for international arbitration. You have a CJI irked by repeated adjournment pleas A request for adjournment was made on Monday as well, when Attorney General R Venkataramani raised a preliminary objection saying the matter needs to be referred to a larger bench. However, the CJI rejected it, saying it should have been raised at an earlier stage battery of lawyers and then you file midnight applications seeking reference to larger benches!” said the bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and Vipul M Pancholi, adding that the court does not expect the Union “to indulge in such tactics”. The bench eventually asked senior advocate Arvind Datar representing one of the petitioners, to continue with his submissions on Friday and accommodate the A-G’s submissions on Monday “If he (A-G) . does not come, we will close the matter,” the CJI said. E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Vijayawada 58.27% Hindu Others @ New Delhi ward Secretariats should function as Vision Units: CM Samastipur 70.63% Hindu OBC SUCHITRA K ALYA N MOHA N T Y data-driven governance 70.96% 52.79 1957 THE first phase of the Bihar assembly election on Thursday recorded a voter turnout of 64.66% at the close of polling in 121 constituencies in 18 districts, marking a largely peaceful exercise. This is the highest turnout since 1951 in Bihar. Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said polling was conducted at 45,341 booths, including 36,733 in rural areas. The election follows a special revision of electoral rolls, which now lists 7.24 crore voters — around 60 lakh fewer than before the exercise. Wo m e n v o t e r s turned out in large numbers, outpacing men at several booths. Many first-time voters also flocked enthusiastically to polling stations, officials said. A minor incident occurred when Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha’s convoy was attacked with slippers and stones in Khoriari village, Lakhisarai. Sinha, who is contesting from Lakhisarai, alleged that RJD supporters were behind the attack and demanded the deployment of special forces. Local residents said the protest reflected anger over poor roads and civic neglect. In another incident, CPI(ML) candidate from Manjhi, Satyendra Yadav, faced stone pelting in Saran’s Jaitpur area. No injuries were reported, said Add i t i o n a l D G P Ku n d a n Krishnan. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cast his vote in Bakhtiyarpur, while RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav voted in Patna, asserting that ‘badlaav hoga’ (there will be change). Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, and MP Misa Bharti also cast their votes early in the day . Rabri Devi extended good wishes to both her sons as they contest separately from Mahua and Raghopur. For the first time in 20 years, voters in Naxal-hit Bhimbandh of Munger participated in polling. Voting had been suspended there since 2005 following the killing of SP C Surendra Babu and seven policemen. The RJD alleged deliberate power cuts in Mahagathbandhan strongholds to slow down voting, a charge the CEO dismissed as baseless. Prominent candidates in this phase include Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD–Raghopur), Samrat Choudhary (BJP–Tarapur), Maithili Thakur (BJP–Aliganj), Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD–Chhapra), and Ritesh Pandey (Jan P8 Suraaj–Kargahar). 1962 r a m a s h a nk a r @ Patna Phase 2 : Nov 11 Phase 1 Convoy of Deputy CM attacked in Lakhisarai; RJD claims ‘discrepancies’ in its strongholds 1951 The Rayalacheruvu breached at Patapalem in KVB Puram mandal of Tirupati district around 5 am on Thursday, flooding adjacent villages. The tank bund breached, resulting in flash floods, inundating Patapalem, Kalatturu and surrounding villages. However, no casualties were reported. Several head of cattle were swept away in swirling water. Tirupati District Collector S Venkateswar and SP L Subbarayadu visited the inundated villages to oversee relief operations. Police teams from KVB Puram, Satyavedu and Pichatur, led by Puttur DSP Ravi Kumar, were deployed for relief and rescue operations. The Collector interacted with the villagers, and assured them of government help. Villagers alleged that the tank bund, which was repaired during 2014-19 under the Neeru-Chettu scheme, was not strengthened subsequently. People climbed to rooftops for safety following submergence of villages. Having learnt about the flooding of villages, Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy, who is in Delhi, spoke to the Collector and the Sullurpet RDO directing them to provide immediate relief to the affected people. The MP released `20 lakh from MPLADS funds towards relief measures in the flooded villages. He also instructed the officials to set up temporary shelters for the evacuated people, and arrange food. The MP urged the State government to pay a compensation of `5 lakh each to the affected families. hearings to avoid my bench: Gavai Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has declared “One Vision - One Direction” as the foundational principle of the NDA government, urging the administrative machinery to align with the Swarna Andhra @2047 roadmap. Chairing a high-level conference on data-driven governance at the State Secretariat on Thursday, Naidu emphasised that the village and ward secretariats henceforth should function as “Vision Units” to implement development goals at the grassroots level. Ministers, Principal Secretaries, Heads of Departments, District Collectors and Superintendents of Police take part in the session via video conference. Naidu’s directives focused on leveraging data analytics for swift decision-making, enhancing public services, and fostering a technology-enabled administration to deliver efficient governance. “We must formulate plans aligned with long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals to provide superior administration to citizens, which is the coalition government’s aim,” Naidu said, underscoring the need for monthly and P4 quarterly targets to track growth.  unstoppable human-animal conflict Take a bow as Sheetal matches the able-bodied AI-powered surveillance to drive away wild elephants yields results in Chittoor c h a nd r a p r a b h u @ Chennai Sheetal in English translates to ‘cool’, ‘calm’ and even ‘peaceful’. Employing the bow with her leg and string pulled by mouth, she is all of the above while releasing the arrow. Sheetal Devi doesn’t have hands to pull and shoot but compensates with other limbs and whatever means she can to pursue her passion — archery . The para-archer who has broken quite a few glass-ceilings in her short but astonishingly successful career set another gold standard on Thursday She . became the first para-archer in the country to secure a place in the junior able-bodied India team for the Asia Cup Stage 3 to be held in Jeddah next month. Any player would have been satisfied with a para-world archery championships gold. But Sheetal has not stopped with para-Olympic and para-World Championships medals. Because of her exceptional talent, she was adamant on competing with able-bodied archers. She shifted her base from Katra in Jammu to Patiala and started training with renowned coach Gaurav Sharma. She was very clear — she wanted to model herself with her hero Oznur Sheetal Devi | PTI Cure Girdi of Turkey who also , competes with able-bodied archers. “I didn’t make it at first, but I kept going, learning from every setback. Today, that dream is one step closer,” she wrote on social media. Sharma later gave an insight to her resolve and resilience. She competed alongside 60 archers over four days. “She was coming back from a month’s break and we wanted to take part in some competition,” said the coach. “We did not think beyond that. All she wanted was to perform well. She worked hard and her qualification is a result of it.”  P11 Nethaji Kumaramangalam @ Tirupati To mitigate human-wildlife conflict, and prevent damage caused by wild elephants straying into forest-fringe villages, the State gover nment has rolled out an AI-powered surveillance system. The setup, featuring infrared cameras linked to floodlight reflectors, and powered by solar energy was successfully imple, mented on a pilot basis at Kalluru in Pulicherla mandal of Chittoor district. The AI-powered surveillance system installed at Kalluru in Chittoor district under a pilot project to drive away wild elephants | Express For decades, farmers have endured sleepless nights, haunted by wild elephants trampling crops. On October 24, technology emerged as a vigilant guardian. The pilot project had yielded good results on that night. Infrared cameras, scanning a 1200 arc up to 60 metres, captured an elephant’s advance. AI swiftly identified it amid shadows. Floodlights illuminated softly triggering deterrents, police , siren, drum rolls — over 100 sounds mimicking nature’s warnings, all harm-free.  P4