BHUBANESWAR l thursday l november 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late CITY EDITION Ready to launch first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission anytime: Isro Isro chairman V Narayanan said on Wednesday the space agency is fully prepared to launch the first of the three uncrewed missions any time Over 80,000 tests completed: V narayanan Launch in December, PM to finalise date Narayanan said that with 80,000 tests completed, about 85% of the work on the Gaganyaan mission is now done. The first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission is scheduled for December 2025 and will carry the humanoid robot Vyommitra. It will be the first of three uncrewed tests designed to validate the mission’s systems before the crewed launch ■ ■ The launch date for the first uncrewed mission will be finalised by the Prime Minister, Narayanan said at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025 The Isro chairman said India’s share in the global space economy is expected to rise to 11% by 2047, from the current 2%. He added Isro will launch around 50 satellites per year over the next five years 2027 when India aims to launch the first crewed ganganyaan mission 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 Act without any pressure, CM tells SPs Another form of Express News Service @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Wednesday laid down an eight-point mandate for SPs to follow and asked them not to buckle under any kind of pressure while going after the real culprits of crimes. Addressing the closing ceremony of the two-day collectors and SPs conference here, Majhi said law and order and crime control are top priorities of the state government. Collectors and SPs must work in tandem to ensure that development and security go hand in hand, he said. Majhi said a special strategy must be devised to increase conviction rate and suggested that separate investigation and prosecution wings be set up, wherever necessary. He said the SPs must ensure that all complaints are registered at the police stations and asked them to initiate strong action against erring police officials. The Chief Minister said common people coming to the police stations with grievances must be treated well and asked the SPs to visit police stations under their jurisdiction regularly . Stating that the collectors and the SPs should work as a team, the Chief Minister said they must also show zero tolerance against corruption. The SPs should be honest and lead by example. He asked the officers to be educated about Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita to stay a step ahead of the criminals, he said. Expressing satisfaction over the performance of Odisha Police, Majhi said since Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi addressing the concluding session of the two-day collectors and SPs conference on Wednesday | express the formation of the new government, police have brought laurels to the state by solving sensitive and impor tant crimes in a short span and displayed efficiency He said . that several steps have been taken to strengthen, modern- Both the collectors and SPs must pay special attention to ensure that infrastructure projects are not impacted due to small problems – Mohan Charan Majhi, Chief Minister ise and transform the police system. Stating that an environment of peace and good governance is prerequisite for Viksit Odisha goal and to attract investors, the Chief Minister said that both the collectors and SPs must pay special attention to ensure that infrastructure projects are not impacted due to small problems. Majhi urged police to make Odisha Naxal-free by 2026 and asked the SPs to crack down on illegal drug trade, land mafia and economic offenders. He said that police should conduct regular checking and patrolling at accident-prone places, prevent overspeeding and drunken driving and stop infiltrators along coastal regions. Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja and additional chief secretary to Home department Satyabrata Sahu also spoke. 200 Indian nationals deported from US, including wanted gangster Anmol H A RPREET B A J W A @ Chandigarh Nitish to take oath today for record 10th time JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar will take oath as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan at 11 am on Thursday Page 8 A special US deportation flight carrying 200 Indians, including Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother and close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, two other fugitives wanted in Punjab, and 197 undocumented migrants landed in New Delhi on Wednesday . Anmol is wanted in multiple criminal cases in India, including the murders of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022 and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in October 2024, and firing at actor Shah Rukh Khan’s residence in April 2024. As soon as the special US flight landed at the Indira Gan- Anmol Bishnoi being brought to the Patiala House Court | Parveen Negi dhi International Airport in Delhi, Bishnoi was detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He was later produced at Delhi’s Patiala House court, which sent him to 11 days NIA custody . “We are trying to find how he fled India,” Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi said, adding that Anmol will be produced before the court again on November 29 after completion of his NIA custody . Hailing from Punjab’s Fazilka, Anmol was Lawrence Bishnoi’s overseas handler and was directing extortion rackets, issuing threats, and coordinating assignments through encrypted channels. He reportedly slipped out of the country in April 2022 using a forged passport, accompanied by another wanted gangster Sachin Thapan. Sources said Anmol managed to get a fake passport in the name of Bhanu Pratap, a resident of Faridabad, and his father’s name was mentioned as Rakesh. talaq now under top court’s glare SC raps sending talaq-e-hasan notice via counsel; matter may go to 5-member bench SUCHITR A K A LYA N M OH A N TY @ New Delhi Eight years after it deemed instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddah) unconstitutional, the Supreme Court on Wednesday indicated it could go after talaq staggered over three months (talaq-e-hasan) — a form of divorce — by sending the matter to a five-member bench. Under talaq-e-hasan, a Muslim man can divorce his wife by uttering the word talaq once each for three months. A three-judge bench led by Justice Surya Kant was hearing a petition by journalist Benazeer Heena, who said her husband Ghulam Akhtar had sent unsigned talaq-e-hasan notices through his lawyer by Speed Post. “In the 11-page talaq notice, the sign of the husband is missing. Talaq was pronounced by the husband’s advocate,” her counsel said. In the absence of Akhtar’s signature, Heena has been unable to prove she is divorced, though he remarried. But if she is to wed again, Akhtar could accuse her of polyandry . Heena also had problems with her child’s school admission. Akhtar’s advocate said the practice of conveying talaq through legal notice was quite common in Islam. “How is this allowed in moder n society?” the bench that included justices Ujjal Bhuyan, and N K Singh wondered. “We are in 2025. How are you promoting this? `415 crore scam Inspector Ashish Sharma of the MP police’s elite Hawk Force anti-Naxal unit died on Wednesday after being injured in a gunfight near the Chhattisgarh-MP border | P8 Is this how the dignity of a woman is upheld? Should a civilised society allow this kind of practice?” justice Surya Kant asked. The bench went on to observe, “Society at large is involved. Some remedial measures have to be taken. If there are gross discriminatory practices, this court will have to interfere.” The court indicated that if required it could refer the matter to a five-member bench for consideration. “Give us broadly the legal questions that may arise. Then we will see how to resolve them,” the bench said. In her petition, Heena sought a declaration that talaq-e-hasan is irrational, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. SUCHITR A K A LYA N M OH A N TY @ New Delhi THE Supreme Cour t on Wednesday struck down key provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 related to the appointment and tenure of tribunal members, noting that these were in violation of the court’s earlier judgments, and directed the Centre to set up a National Tribunals Commission within four months. In a strongly worded verdict, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said the Centre brought back the provisions earlier read down by the apex court with minor tweaks. “The impugned provisions violated the principles of separation of powers and judicial independence, and they should not have been brought back,” the bench said. It said until a new legislation is put in place to give effect to the court’s order, the directions and principles laid down in its earlier judgments will govern all matters related to appointment, tenure and qualifications concerning tribunal members. The CJI, who authored the 137-page judgment, specifically invalidated Section 3 of thje law, which mandated a minimum age of 50 years for appointment as a chairperson or member. The court held that this section excluded young and competent advocates and experts. It also set aside Section 5 of the Act which fixed the tenure of chairpersons and members of tribunals at four years. The bench reinstated the five-year tenure rule to ensure security of service and institutional independence. 6K road fatalities in 2024, govt to start enforcement S u m i t K u ma r , Faya z Wan i & N am i ta B aj pa i MP officer killed During encounter with maoists The bench said it is not the question of striking down a prevalent religious practice but an issue which needs to be regulated as per the constitutional ethos. Heena’s PIL was directed to be listed on Nov 26, Constitution Day SC quashes Tribunal law provisions e x p r e s s r ead Ed gets 13-day custody of al Falah chief erated without valid accreditation is `415.10 crore. @ New Delhi/ Srinagar/ Lucknow Meanwhile, sources said around 10 people associated The Enforcement Directo- with the Al-Falah University , rate (ED), which is investi- including three from Kashgating the Al Falah group mir, are missing. Their mothat is at the centre of the bile phones are switched off. Delhi blast case for alleged Their disappearances came money laundering, has un- to light after a joint operacovered ‘tainted’ funds tion by the J&K and Haryaamounting to `415 na police. crore, sources said In J&K, the police on Wednesday . inspected lockers beThe agency has selonging to doctors in cured 13-day custody the Valley . of Jawad Ahmed Sid“All lockers were diqui, the chairman checked. Lockers and founder of the found unclaimed, imJawad Ahmed properly labelled or group, who was arSiddiqui rested on Tuesday . without ownership An official said the were documented,” Al Falah group generated an official said. “proceeds of crime” by deIn Uttar Pradesh, the state ceiving students through A n t i - Te r r o r i s t S q u a d false claims about the ac- launched a informationcreditation and recognition gathering exercise across of its institutions. eight districts, seeking deAccording to the ED, the tailed records of all students, total educational income ac- teachers and management cumulated during the years personnel associated with in which the institutions op- all operational madrasas. Regulation as per constitutional ethos GOVT cENSUREd gazing at uncertainty A girl, whose house was one among those demolished by the civic authorities in Salia Sahi on Tuesday, takes refuge in a tent, at a nearby playground in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday | DEBADATTA MALLICK 3 newborn girls of sexual assault victims in custody of child care home Bhubaneswar: Overspeeding, wrong side as well as drunken driving emerged as the three major reasons behind rising road fatalities, accounting for 75 per cent of accident-related deaths in Odisha, in 2024. The state recorded 12,375 road accidents with 6,142 fatalities, up by 7 pc, and the highest, so far, last year. Approximately 4,633 people were killed due to the three reasons. The November-March phase was found to be most vulnerable with 2,869 deaths. With rising road fatalities emerging as a major concern, the Odisha government will conduct a special enforcement drive from November to March | P2 Sambalpur: Three young women, reportedly victims of sexual assault, surrendered their baby girls to the government-run child care home (CCH) at Chachanpali under Maneswar block here on Monday. The three infants were born to young mothers including a minor from vulnerable backgrounds who were unable to raise the babies due to exploitation, age and socio-economic distress. The babies were born earlier this week. District social welfare officer Sanjukta Sahoo said all the three women were rescued by the staff of Sakhi-One Stop Centre around five to six months ago and accommodated at the Shakti Sadan | P4 Odisha govt and FHF sign pact, to set up Odia film archive centre A s i s h M e h ta @ Bhubaneswar To restore and preserve decades old classic Odia movies, a film archive centre will soon be set up in Odisha. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) and Odisha government in this regard here on Wednesday . Deputy chief minister KV Singh Deo and Handlooms, Textile & Handicrafts minister Pradeep Bal Samanta were present at the valedictory function of 10th Film Preservation and Restoration Workshop where the MoU was inked. Founder of FHF, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur told this newspaper that the foundation signed a very significant MoU with Odi- sha regarding restoration and preservation of Odia films as well as establishment of an archive centre in Bhubaneswar. “It was a very important step towards preserving and restoring Odia films and the cinematic art. As part of the MoU, FHF will set up the film archive centre with the assistance of Odisha gover nment,” said Dungarpur. He further said FHF will identify the Odia movies which created a benchmark and accordingly those will be restored and preserved. “We restored Maya Miriga, the film directed by Nirad Mohapatra and released in 1984. The process has already started to identify such highly acclaimed Odia movies,” he added. Deputy CM KV Singh Deo, Handlooms, Textile & Handicrafts minister Pradeep Bal Samanta and other guests at the function on Wednesday | express He also informed that the foundation will work on the modalities regarding the number of experts to be deputed in the proposed film archive centre. “Once the centre is set up, three to four experts will be initially deputed and then gradually the manpower will be augmented,” said Dungarpur. Commissioner-cum-secretary of Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts department Guha Poonam Tapas Kumar said as part of the MoU between the FHF and the state government, there is plan for a film archive centre and its further modalities will be decided in the days ahead. FHF will not only restore and preserve Odia movies, but there are plans it would also make new films. “Further details will be finalised after chief secretary holds discussions with Odisha Film Development Corporation Limited,” she said. Eminent actors Anu Choudhury and Akash Dasnayak, also a legislator, were present. Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi along with veteran actor Waheeda Rehman had inaugurated the workshop last week in which over 60 delegates from India and other countries like Japan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and United States had participated.