chennai l friday l november 28, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 42 l late city EDITION WinZO Founders arrested on Money Laundering Charges assets worth `505 crore confiscated The searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Earlier, the agency had conducted search operations at four locations in Delhi and Gurgaon from November 18 to November 22 in an online betting case, and seized assets worth around `505 crore, a statement from Enforcement Directorate said Enforcement Directorate arrested directors of the online gaming platform—Saumya Singh Rathore and Paavan Nanda—from Bengaluru charge: customers pitted against bots ■ ■ The ED action is on the basis of FIRs filed against WinZO Games on grounds of cheating, blocking accounts and misuse of PAN It was found that WinZO was engaged in criminal activities and unscrupulous practices i.e. customers were made to play with algorithms/software without being made aware of that fact `489 cr was diverted to U.S. and Singapore under overseas investments: ed 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 Assam passes bill banning polygamy; UCC next Will put an end to K’taka ‘confusion’ soon, says Kharge Tug-of-war for CM POST express News Service @ Guwahati THE Assam assembly on Thursday passed a bill to ban polygamy making it an offence , which may lead to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment, barring some exceptions. People belonging to the Scheduled Tribe category and those living in areas under the Sixth Schedule have been excluded from the purview of the the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill, 2025. “Women’s rights will not be compromised. Through the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025, we secure legal protection, strict penalties and real accountability,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said after the bill was passed. The bill will cover people from Hindu, Muslim, Christian and all other societies, Sarma said. The bill will be sent for Presidential assent. After bringing laws against polygamy and child mar- riage, the BJP-led gover nment’s focus is now on Uniform Civil Code (UCC). Sarma “assured” the House that if the NDA retained power, it would bring UCC in Assam which is expected to go to polls early next year. “Stop me but if you cannot, I will bring UCC in the first session of the Assembly,” the chief minister said, challenging the Opposition. “Some people attributed our actions to politics but we had to take these…Child marriage and polygamy snatched Muslim women and girls’ minimum right to live,” he added. The bill proposes 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for offenders, a ban on contesting Women’s rights will not be compromised. Through the Assam Prohibition of Polygamy Bill 2025, we secure legal protection, strict penalties and real accountability Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam CM after the polygamy bill was passed India’s wait to be a $5-tn economy could get longer KA Sengottaiyan welcomed by chief Vijay at TVK headquarters | express Sengottaiyan gets chief coordinator post in TVK EXPRESS NE WS SERVI CE @ Chennai Former AIADMK minister and nine-time MLA KA Sengottaiyan, who joined Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) along with his supporters in the presence of TVK leader Vijay in Chennai on Thursday, was appointed as the chief coordinator of the par ty’s high-level administrative committee. Sengottaiyan will also serve as the organisation secretary of the TVK units in the four western districts of Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Nilgiris, and Erode (his home district). Accompanied by his supporters, including former AIADMK MP V Sathyabama, he reached the TVK headquarters in Panaiyur in the morning and was received by party general secretary N Anand and senior officebearers. Vijay later gave the membership card and welcomed Sengottaiyan — who carried the photo of J Jayalalithaa in his pocket in a show of loyalty to the late AIADMK leader — and his supporters into the party fold. P9 WITH THIS ISSUE CHENNAI’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 42 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID) boyZONE: World cup’s here IMF says it could take at least one more year than earlier projected to reach the milestone PUSHPITA DEY @ New Delhi 7 INDIA’s ambition of becoming a $5-trillion economy will take longer than earlier thought, according to the latest projections by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The delay has been attributed to slower nominal GDP growth and sharper depreciation of the rupee. India initially aimed to achieve the $5-trillion milestone by 2024-25, before revising the target to 2027-28. However, the IMF now estimates the economy to cross the $4-trillion mark only in FY26 and reach $4.96 trillion in FY28, falling short of the goal. India is projected to hit $5.46 trillion by FY29 and cross $6 trillion in 2030. The rupee’s weakness has particularly weighed on dollardenominated GDP figures. The currency has depreciated 4.26% so far this year. Lower inflation has also slowed growth in nominal GDP calculated at current , market prices. Subhash Chandra Garg, former finance and economic affairs secretary, warned that missing the target timeline could indicate the “Indian economy becoming stuck in the lower middle-income trap.” 6 SLOW AND STEADY 3 24 6.628 4.12 4.5 2025-26 26-27 The Junior Hockey World Cup begins in Chennai and Madurai on Friday. The final is on Dec 10. A quick glance... Teams 72 5.462 4.959 4 Jr India hockey captain Rohit Yadav & coach PR Sreejesh | P jawahar 6.016 5 I ndia’s GDP projection ($ trillion) Matches 7 Germany have won the seven times, the most by any team 28-29 29-30 2 India and Argentina have won the tournament twice each, the 2nd-most 1 Pakistan, Australia have won the crown once each More on p17 Source: IMF 27-28 elections to rural and urban local bodies, and deletion of names from list of beneficiaries of government schemes. Offenders will not be entitled to public employment and denied government scheme benefits. The bill defines ‘polygamy’ as an act of marrying another person when either of the parties already has a subsisting marriage or a living spouse from whom he/she is not legally divorced, or their marriage is not legally annulled. Repeat offenders will attract a jail term of 20 years. Deepti top earner this time at WPL auction 30-31 Despite this, India is still expected to overtake Japan this year to emerge as the world’s fourth-largest economy . IMF projections suggest India could close FY26 with a GDP size of $4.12 trillion. India’s real GDP is expected to grow 6.6% in 2025-26. The IMF noted that reforms like the goods and services tax (GST) will help cushion the economy from global trade shocks, including the recent 50% tariffs imposed by the US. “India’s economy has continued to perform well. Following economic growth of 6.5% in FY 2024-25, real GDP expanded by 7.8% in the first quarter of FY 2025-26,” the IMF said after completing its annual Article IV consultation for India. After releasing Deepti Sharma initially, UP Warriorz matched the Right to Match price of `3.2cr set by Delhi Capitals. The player of the World Cup is now 2nd-highest paid behind Smriti Mandhana at WPL DEVARA J B HIREHA L L I @ Bengaluru THE Congress high command, which has so far been silent on the power tussle between Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and deputy CM D K Shivakumar, seems to have finally woken up to resolve the tug-ofwar for CM post. On Thursday Congress chief , Mallikarjuna Kharge said both the leaders will be summoned to Delhi for talks and also to put an end to the ‘confusion’ over a possible change of leadership. Meanwhile, caste groups have rallied behind both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, complicating matters for the party’s central leadership. AHINDA (a Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalit communities) and Karnataka State Federation of Backward Class Communities have warned the Congress of adverse implications if Siddaramaiah was forced out to make way for Shivakumar. On the other hand, the Karnataka Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha has vowed to vehemently fight if injustice is meted out to the Shivakumar, a powerful Vokkaliga leader aspiring to become Karnataka CM. Besides, prominent Vokkaliga seer Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji, pontiff of Adichunchanagiri Math and with other Vokkaliga seers are in support of Shivakumar. Kharge, talking to reporters in Bengaluru before leaving for Delhi on Thursday said: “I will , heavy rain alert for three days Cyclone Ditwah hurtling towards TN-Pondy coast SV K RISHNA C HAITANYA @ Chennai The deep depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm, Ditwah, and is very likely to reach southwest Bay of Bengal near north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts early on Sunday morning, the Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said. ‘Ditwah’ or ‘Detwah’ refers to a lagoon on Socotra Island in Yemen. The cyclone, centred at 570 km and 670 km south-southeast of Puducherry and Chennai, respectively, as of 2.30 pm on Thursday is mov, ing steadily towards the north Tamil Nadu–Puducherry coast, setting the stage express read Voters off 2002/05 rolls can also submit SIR forms CHENNAI: Names of voters will be included in the draft roll if they submit the signed SIR forms before December 4 deadline even if their names or those of their family members are not spotted in the 2002/2005 poll rolls, Tamil Nadu CEO Archana Patnaik has said | P8 HC bats for separate SOP to regulate religious events Chennai: The Madras High Court on Thursday suggested that the state can frame a separate SOP for regulating religious events that attract large crowds on the lines of the draft SOP prepared for rallies and public meetings of political parties in the aftermath of Karur stampede | P8 Cyclone Ditwah’s core impact period could be between Nov 28 and 30 | imd for a prolonged spell of heavy to extremely heavy rain along the coastline over the next three days. The system is “very likely to continue to move northnorthwestwards across Sri Lanka coast and adjoining southwest Bay of Bengal and reach over southwest Bay of Bengal near North Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and ad- joining south Andhra Pradesh coasts by early morning of November 30,” the RMC said. Forecast models indicate a consistent movement towards north TN, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts. The system’s large wind field and slow progression along the Lanka coast are likely to enhance moisture convergence over the delta and north coastal districts, raising the risk of widespread flooding. Rain is expected to pick up across the southern and delta districts, with heavy rain likely in Ramanathapuram, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam. The core impact period, however, is expected to be between November 28 and 30.  P9 media rights in focus ICC warns members of 30% reduction in revenue next cycle ment published a few days ago. “The ICC,” a line in the docuCricket could be the biggest ment says, “have warned to exmoney spanner for India but pect a 30% revenue decrease in the International Cricket 2028 when their media conCouncil seems to be extracts come up for renewal. pecting a revenue cut Xpress This knowledge necessiin 2028. It has apparto prepare imSpecial tates KNCBand do everyently warned its memmediately bers to expect a reducthing we can to safeguard tion of up to 30 per cent in domestic and HP cricket by 2028 when the next media rights taking the necessary measures.” cycle is up for renewal. This This could have big ramificaline was contained in a Dutch tions up and down the food Cricket Board’s financial docu- chain, barring the Big Three of s w a r oo p s w a m i n at h a n @ Chennai India, England and Australia. Most of the other cricketing nations, be it Full Members or Associate, depend on ICC funding to meet a lot of the working capital expenditures. A 30% reduction in media contracts may be felt at all levels including player contracts, the capacity to host Test matches, running grassroot programmes and giving young players development-based contracts. Per the document, the KNCB, an Associate board, will aim to reduce their long-term dependency on ICC. To do this, some of the steps they will take are ‘attracting long-term private partnerships’ as well as ‘securing event specific partners’, including for next year’s men’s T20 WC. Qualifying for that World Cup in India has given them a significant boost. One reason why the ICC may expect a reduction in media rights in the next cycle is the merger between Disney Star and Jio. It could result in reduced competition within the India media rights market, which usually bids aggressively for India’s international as well as prominent ICC properties like World Cup. hasina handed 21-year jail term for graft A court on Thursday sentenced deposed PM Sheikh Hasina to 21 years in a corruption case; her son and daughter got a jail term of 5 year each | P15 Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar Face-off over promised ‘word’ The tug-of-war between Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar turned into a war of words on Thursday. Shivakumar insisted that “word power is world power,” prompting a repartee from the CM, who said: “A word is not power unless it betters the world for the people.” call three-four key leaders and discuss the way forward, and thereby put an end to the confusion.” He said Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar will be called for discussions across the table with Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. He said the central leadership will reach a decision after discussing with everyone. Sources said Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal had a meeting in Delhi on Thursday evening, and Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would soon be summoned for talks, tentatively to be held on November 29 or December 1. It was not immediately clear if Sonia Gandhi – who is currently abroad – will also be part of the meeting. Stalker stabs schoolteacher to death in TN Express News Service @ Thanjavur A 26-year-old teacher was murdered by a stalker when she was on her way to school around 9 am on Thursday . The victim, identified as P Kavya of Piranthai hamlet of Alangudi village panchayat near Thanjavur, died on the spot after being attacked on the head with a knife by K Ajith Kumar (29), a house painter. According to sources, Kavya, who was working as a temporary teacher at a government primary school in Alangudi, was riding to school on a twowheeler when Ajith Kumar accosted her near Mela Kothattai Colony and atP Kavya tacked her after a verbal altercation. Kavya collapsed on the spot and the suspect from Melakalakudi, who is said to be a distant relative of the victim, escaped. Acting on information, the Ammapettai police rushed to the spot. Ajith Kumar later surrendered at the Ammapettai police station and was arrested based on a complaint f r o m K av ya ’s f a t h e r Punniyamurthy . Police sources said Kavya’s mother P Santhosham was a former president of the Alangudi village panchayat.  P9 Dashwanth’s acquittal: SC junks tn’s review plea | P6 rly station murder: death penalty commuted | P6