SAMBALPUR l thursday l november 13, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Inflation hits record low of 0.25% in Oct on back of GST cuts Tax cuts on nearly 400 mass-consumption items, coupled with subdued prices for vegetables, fruits and eggs helped push retail inflation to record low Food inflation stays in negative zone Fuels hope of further rate cut in December Food inflation remained negative at -5.02%, as prices of vegetables, cereals and pulses eased amid improved supplies and favourable weather. Vegetable prices fell 28% year-on-year, while pulses and spices declined by 16% and just over 3%, respectively. Clothing and footwear recorded only a 1.7% annual rise, thanks to GST rate cuts | P12 2024. The figure for this October was the lowest in the current series (base year 2012), which tracked data since January 2014 ■ The record low inflation raises hopes for another round of rate cut, when the RBI monetary policy committee meets in December ■ Inflation stood at 1.44% in September and 6.21% in October 8.56% the october inflation in kerala— the highest among all states 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 Cabinet resolution blames it on anti-national forces IT’S OFFICIAL: Red Fort blast was TERROR ATTACK MU K E S H R A N J A N , A n u p Ve r m a and N i t i n Ra w at @ New Delhi Two days after the Red Fort car blast, the government for the first time categorised it as a terror strike. A Union Cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday passed a resolution expressing profound grief over the loss of 12 lives in the explosion, describing it as an “act of heinous terror” by anti-national forces. The carefully worded resolution restricted itself to the phrase ‘anti-national forces’, stopping short of pointing fingers at any external elements. However, it said, “The Cabinet directs that the investigation into the incident be pursued with the utmost urgency and professionalism so that the perpetrators, their collaborators and their sponsors are identified and brought to justice without delay. The situation continues to be closely monitored at the highest levels of the government.” The Cabinet observed two minutes’ silence in honour of the innocent lives lost. It appreciated the prompt efforts of the medical personnel and emergency responders. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the LNJP Hospital after his arrival from Bhutan, and met the survivors of the blast. Expressing deep concern over the incident, he reaffirmed the government’s commitment to en- Red fort attack Day’s developments Red EcoSport (pic) registered in the name of Dr Umar Un Nabi, who died when his Hyundai i20 blew up near Red Fort, found in Faridabad Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets an injured victim undergoing treatment at LNJP hospital in Delhi on Wednesday following a blast near the Red Fort | PTI suring justice. “Those behind the conspiracy will be brought to justice,” he asserted. “Went to LNJP Hospital and met those injured during the blast in Delhi. Praying for everyone’s quick recovery Those behind the con. spiracy will be brought to justice!” Modi said in a post on X. In Faridabad, the police seized a red Ford EcoSport car in Khandawali village for which a lookout notice was issued earlier in the day as it said , to be registered in the name of Dr Umar Un Nabi, who possibly died in the Red Fort blast. The car will be checked for explosives by the forensics department. Police are trying to ascertain how it reached the village as also the whereabouts Woman doctor, brother planned lone-wolf strikes 31-member JPC on bills to remove PM, CMs formed N a m i ta b a j pa i @ Lucknow PR E E T H A N A IR @ New Delhi Two siblings, Dr Shaheen Shahid and Dr Parvez Sayeed, who were arrested over alleged links to a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror module, had been preparing to carry out lone-wolf attacks across the country for the past two years, sources said on Wednesday . The duo is being questioned by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and various central probe agencies. Dr Shaheen was arrested on Monday after police found arms and ammunition in a car registered in her name. During interrogation, she reve a l e d h e r yo u n g e r brother, Dr Parvez Ansari’s involvement in terror activities. Police subsequently searched Dr An- Radicalised sari’s residence in Madi- online aon, Lucknow, and seized his laptop, tablet and mo- According to investigators, the bile phones. The two admitted to be- siblings became ing in touch with terror self-radicalised suspects Dr Muzammil through and Dr Adeel Ahmad, who encrypted chat were also arrested on forums Monday through multiple advocating , encrypted communica- jihadist ideology tion platforms and foreign-based messaging apps. After each virtual meeting, they would delete chats, call logs and communication histories to destroy evidence and avoid tracking, sources added. The probe team managed to retrieve partial data fragments, which are now being analysed to trace their wider network. However, investigators believe that while the two were not under a structured command chain, they were ideologically aligned and motivated to act as lone-wolf attackers targeting public places or sensitive installations. THE Parliament on Wednesday constituted a 31-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that will scrutinise the bills on the removal of the prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers if they are arrested for 30 days straight on serious criminal charges. The committee will be headed by Lok Sabha member and BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi, as per a Lok Sabha bulletin. The panel comprises 21 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. Some of the Lok Sabha members in the panel include Ravi Shankar Prasad, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Pradan Baruah, Brijmohan Agrawal, Vishnu Dayal Ram and Harsimrat Kaur Badal. From the Rajya Sabha, the nominated members include Brij Lal, Ujjwal Nikam, Nabam Rebia, Dr K Laxman, Sudha Murty, Birendra Prasad Baishya, and S Niranjan Reddy . The committee has been mandated to submit its report Doesn’t blame external elements of its occupants who abandoning the vehicle. Back to the Cabinet resolution, it reiterated India’s commitment to the policy of ‘zero tolerance’ towards terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It also recorded its appreciation for the statements of solidarity from many nations across the world. Commending the role played by the probe agencies, it said, “The Cabinet notes with appreciation the timely and coordinated response of the authorities, security agencies and citizens, who acted with courage and compassion in the face of adversity. Their dedication and sense of duty are deeply commendable.” Mobile phone of Dr Muzammil Ganaie, arrested in connection with the terror module, showed he and Dr Umar conducted multiple recces of Red Fort area in Jan Passports of Dr Umar and Dr Muzammil show they had travelled to Turkiye Al Falah Univ says it has only professional association with 2 arrested docs Two cartridges, live ammo, and samples of two types of explosives found by FSL team at the blast site PM meets the injured HC cancels its own ASO written exam over ‘irregularity’ doubts H e m ant K u m a r R o u t @ Bhubaneswar splash of Joy, Dash of colour Girls take a break from selling balloons at Balijatra Ground near Jaripatana in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | DEBADATTA MALLICK SI exam scam: CB arrests close aide of Sankar Prusty from Berhampur E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar/Berhampur In a major breakthrough in the sub-inspector (SI) recruitment scam investigation, the state Crime Branch has arrested one Sagar Gouda, reportedly the principal associate of main accused Sankar Prusty . The 22-year-old Gouda is a native of Balipada area in Ganjam’s Berhampur. “Gouda has been identified as the principal associate and close aide of key accused Prusty, who was nabbed from the border area of India and Nepal on November 1 in connection with the combined police service examination (CPSE) 2024 scam,” CB officials said on Wednesday . As per reports, the CB team reached Berhampur on Tuesday night and apprehended Gouda from his house on MKCG medical college cam- The Congress termed the JPC a mockery saying the joint Opposition representing the majority of Indians is absent. The party alleged it is a “JPC of the BJP and its B-Team” in the winter session, scheduled from December 1-19. However, 340 members of the main Opposition parties including Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Left parties boycotted the panel. Last month, NCP (Sharad Pawar) broke ranks with the INDIA bloc and decided to be part of the panel. NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule, who is a member of the new panel, had earlier said that her party was not breaking ranks with the Opposition by choosing to be part of the committee. Apart from NCP (SP), AIMIM’S Asaduddin Owaisi, BJD, YSRCP, and SAD joined the panel. u-turn US lacks ‘certain talents’ and needs to bring them from other countries, US president Donald Trump said seeking to defend H-1B visas | P11 Odisha plans new railway corridors to boost coal despatch, economic growth e x p r e s s r ead Bhubaneswar: Tthe Orissa High Court has cancelled the main written exam for the posts of its assistant section officer (ASO), which was conducted on July 13 this year. The examination will be conducted afresh on December 7. “Since the Court entertains serious doubts in the conduct of the main written examination by the agency engaged for the said purpose, the Court has decided to cancel the same which was held on July 13, 2025 in order to ensure fairness in the examination process,” the notification read | P5 It’s a mockery as joint Oppn is absent: Cong Sagar Gouda Investigation has revealed Gouda played a pivotal role in supervising the entire operation at the Balasore module. Acting on Prusty’s instructions, he coordinated logistical arrangements and ensured execution of the plan on the ground - CB official pus. “Investigation revealed that Gouda played a pivotal role in supervising the entire operation of the Balasore module. Acting on Prusty’s instructions, he coordinated lo- gistical arrangements and ensured execution of the plan on the g round,” said a CB official. The official further informed that Gouda had visited Digha on September 29, where hotel accommodations had been booked by Aravinda Das, earlier arrested in the case, for the candidates. Gouda allegedly handled the entire operation on behalf of Prusty from , collecting money from the candidates to facilitating their accommodation for exam preparation. “Further probe indicated Gouda had been working closely with Prusty to facilitate several other aspects of the illegal activities linked to the examination malpractice,” CB officials said. The total number of arrests made so far in connection with the case comes to around 126 including 114 candiContinued on P7 dates.  3 more exit polls predict NDA Bihar sweep... Axis My India showedg a close fight for the ruling alliance and Today’s Chanakya forecast a big win for it over the Mahagathbandhan | P9 With Odisha strengthening the logistics infrastructure as part of its focus on port-led industrialisation, the state government is mulling development of new railway corridors in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode for driving economic g rowth in the hinterlands. Official sources said a new rail corridor has been planned for Talcher coalfields at an estimated cost of `4,882 crore along with Gopalpur-Rayagada-Jeypore economic corridor, which will have both road and rail networks. Besides, separate port-based rail corridors are also being planned in different regions. At a recent high-level meeting chaired by chief secretary Manoj Ahuja, it was decided to expedite both inner and outer rail corridor of Talcher for faster evacuation of coal. As per the proposed expansion plan of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, the coal despatch via railway is expected to A decision has been taken to execute the inner corridor phase-II at `1,404.36 crore and outer corridor at `3,477.67 crore in PPP mode through joint ventures or SPV Sources touch 88 per cent (162.8 MT) by 2029-30. While the phase-I (AngulBalram rail link) of the inner corridor has already been commissioned, the Railway Board has already been apprised about the inner corridor phase-II (50 km Balram-Putagadia-Tentuloi-Jharpada section) and 112.56 km outer corridor from Budhapanka to Luburi via Tentuloi. “The expanded board for railways (EBR), NITI Aayog and Network Planning Group (NPG) have already been appraised about the Talcher coalfields corridor. A decision has been taken to execute the inner cor ridor phase-II at `1,404.36 crore and outer corridor at `3,477.67 crore in PPP mode through joint ventures or SPV,” said the sources. It has been decided to convene a meeting with the Railway Board officials soon to deliberate and finalise suitable PPP modalities for these critical logistic projects. The Commerce and Transport department, Idco and East Coast Railway (ECoR) have been tasked to complete the groundwork for faster finalisation of DPR, alignment and land acquisition. The state government will soon constitute a special committee headed by additional chief secretary of Industries department Hemant Sharma with commissioner of rail coordination and representatives from ECoR and IDCO as members to finalise alignment, right of way related issues in Gopalpur-Rayagada economic corridor. Earlier, Adani Group had evinced interest to develop the 400 km economic corridor connecting Gopalpur port and Continued on P7 Jeypore.  Cow slaughter: Lifer to 3 in first-of-its-kind verdict D I L IP SI N G H K S H AT RI YA @ Ahmedabad IN possibly the first such verdict in the country the Amreli , Sessions Court in Gujarat has sentenced three persons to life imprisonment in a cow slaughter case and imposed a fine of `6.08 lakh each on them. “For the first time in the history of the country those guilty , of cow slaughter have been sentenced to life imprisonment. This is not just a verdict — it is a message. Those who commit injustice against the mother cow, a symbol of our faith and culture, will not be spared,” Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi posted on X. Hailing it as a landmark verdict, the state government said the ruling will go a long way in enforcing cow protection laws. Sources said this is the first time in the state’s history that such harsh punishment has been given in a single case. The verdict, delivered by S e s s i o n s Ju d g e Rizwanaben Bukhari on Tuesday, follows a year-long trial that shook the small town of Amreli and ignited statewide discussion on the provisions of the Gujarat Animal Protection Act. The court held the accused — Akram Haji Solanki, Sattar Ismail Solanki, and Qasim Solanki — guilty of slaughtering cows and trafficking beef. The case goes back to November 6, 2023 when Amreli police raided the house of Akram Solanki following on a tip-off and recovered slaughtered animal parts, tails, skins, and leg pieces. Qasim was nabbed on the spot but Akram and Sattar fled. They were caught later.