tirupati l sunday l december 07, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l anantapur EDITION pregnant deportee from bengal returns to india on orders of sc torture living in solitary cell: sunali Sunali, who is in an advanced stage of pregnancy, was a migrant resident of Murarai in West Bengal’s Birbhum. She was admitted to the Rampurhat hospital in Birbhum, where she will remain under observation. “It was a torture living in a solitary cell of the Bangladeshi prison,” she said, recounting her hundred days at a correctional facility in Bangladesh Sunali Khatun, arrested by Delhi Police on suspicion of being a Bangladeshi and deported in June, was repatriated via Malda border trinamool calls it victory of oppressed ■ ■ Trinamool Congress MP Samirul Islam, who steered the legal battle for Sunali and the five other deportees, described her return as “a victory of the oppressed against the might of the Central government” Delhi Police had arrested Sunali, husband Danesh and her minor son in June and branded them “illegal immigrants” before expelling them 6 months is the time the woman from birbhum stayed away from india 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 Maintaining pricing discipline The objective is to maintain pricing discipline, prevent any exploitation of passengers in distress, and ensure that citizens who urgently need to travel are not subjected to financial hardship, the Union govt said Up to 500 km `7,500 500-1,000 km `12,000 Fare caps exclude User Development Fee, Passenger Development Fee & other taxes 1,000-1,500 km `15,000 They do not cover Business class tickets and flights operated under UDAN scheme Sanctions Sikh tied to it T i c k e t ava i l a b i l i t y Airlines must maintain ticket availability across all fare buckets. They may increase capacity on high-demand sectors, govt said over 1,500 km `18,000 Ticket price before fare cap kicked in No clarity yet on whether the caps for economy class tickets apply for premium economy as well Govt caps fares, wields whip IndiGo CEO gets DGCA show-cause notice; 800 cancellations on Sat; ticket refund by Sun S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi WITH THIS ISSUE Looming Large PLUS 12 P AGES Four from AP among five killed in TN road mishap E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ Ramanathapuram/Vizianagaram Four Ayyappa Swamy devotees from Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh were among five killed in a ghastly accident on the East Coast Road near Keelakarai in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, in the early hours of Saturday Seven . others sustained severe injuries in the mishap. According to the police, a car carrying devotees from Vizianagaram, who were returning home after visiting Sabarimala in Kerala, stopped on the roadside around 1.50 am. The occupants were asleep when a speeding vehicle, driven by Mushtaq Ahmed (34) of Keelakarai, rammed into it from behind. Ahmed and three devotees died instantaneously due to the severe impact of the collision. Another devotee succumbed to injuries at hospital. The deceased devotees were identified as Vangara Ramakrishna (55), Maradana Ramu (60), Maripena Appalanaidu (35) of Korapu Kothavalasa in Dattirajeru mandal, and Bandaru Ramachandra Rao (42) of Marupalli in Gajapathinagaram. The condition of another devotee, Sri Ram (40), who was rushed to Ramanathapuram Government Medical College Hospital, P4 was said to be stable.  The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Saturday stepped in to address the greed of some airlines exploiting the IndiGo mess as fares went beyond 8X on some sectors. It imposed strict caps on domestic fares with the maximum of `18,000 for an economy class ticket. Later in the day the , Director General of Civil Aviation slapped a show-cause notice on IndiGo’s CEO to respond within 24 hours why action should not be taken against him for the massive chaos. The ministry also directed IndiGo to clear all pending passenger refunds for all cancelled or disrupted flights by 8 pm on Sunday 7 December. , The fare cap of `7,500-18,000 (see graphic) prescribed by the ministry was still on the higher side, with fliers being made to pay for the needless chaos. These caps will remain in place “until fares stabilise or till further review”, the ministry said. The caps exclude levies like Airlines have also been instructed not to levy any rescheduling charges for passengers whose travel plans were affected by cancellations - Ministry of Civil Aviation’s order A passenger rests while waiting at Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport for her flight, in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI User Development Fee, Passenger Development Fee and other taxes. They do not cover Business class tickets and flights operated under the regional connectivity scheme (UDAN), the order stated. As for refunding, the ministry cautioned that any delay or non-compliance by Indigo would l invite immediate regulatory action. The system of automatic refunds will remain active until operations stabilise completely . Indigo quickly responded with a “No questions asked. All refunds for your cancellations will be processed automatically to your original mode of payment.“ The airline also announced full waiver on all cancellations/reschedule requests of bookings made between De- cember 5 and December 15. In another directive, the ministry directed IndiGo to ensure that all baggage that was separated from passengers due to cancellations or delays be traced and delivered to each passenger’s residential or chosen address within 48 hours. IndiGo for the first time obliquely quantified the day’s cancellations — around 800. “By the end of day, we would have operated over 1,500 flights. With regards to destinations, over 95% of network connectivity has already been re-established as we are able to operate to 135 out of the existing 138 destinations in operations. There is a recovery IndiGo said. ,” In a first, UK goes after terror outfit Babbar Khalsa E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi The UK Treasury imposed sanctions on a British national and an organisation for alleged terrorist activity in India and support for the Sikh extremist group Babbar Khalsa. This is the first time London has used its domestic counter-terrorism framework to target the pro-Khalistan group, officials said. The measures include an asset freeze and director disqualification against Gurpreet Singh Rehal, who is suspected of involvement in organisations carrying out terrorist activities in India. The Treasury also imposed an asset freeze on Babbar Akali Lehar, an organisation accused of promoting and supporting Babbar Khalsa. According to the UK Treasury Rehal is involved in Bab, bar Khalsa and Babbar Akali Lehar’s activities, including recruitment, financial support, and procurement of weapons and military material. Babbar Akali Lehar, the Treasury said, engages in similar activities by promoting, encouraging, and recruiting for Babbar Khalsa. All Jagan’s remark trivialising Parakamani theft hurt millions of devotees: CM len Parakamani money was re@ Vijayawada turned, there was no wrongdoing, terming it highly unethical. Chief Minister N Chandraba- “Such statements amount to bu Naidu strongly condemned trivialising the sacred offerings the remarks made by former made by devotees to Lord Chief Minister and YSRCP Venkateswara. People across chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy regions, communities, and pothat Tirumala Parakamani litical affiliations are condemntheft was a small incident. ing Jagan’s remarks, and exDuring an informal pressing anguish,” he interaction with mesaid. diapersons at the TDP The Chief Minister headquarters on Satasserted that there is urday, Naidu said Jano compromise in efAll sections of gan’s remarks fective maintenance people are happy shocked everyone, beof law and order in under the NDA sides deeply hurting government. Only a Andhra Pradesh. The the sentiments of mil- few individuals are previous YSRCP relions of devotees of unable to digest the gime tur ned even Lord Venkateswara. economic progress peaceful regions into of the State “Jagan has no regard crime hubs by encourfor god, no respect for Chandrababu Naidu, CM aging and protecting the faith of devotees criminals. “Have we of Lord Venkateswara, ever heard of lady and no concern for the sanctity dons in places like Nellore? of temples,” he observed. Who fostered such a criminal “A person who tried to ‘settle’ culture?” he asked. even his own uncle’s murder, Naidu mentioned that disalso tried to settle the sacred tricts like Vizianagaram and Tirumala Parakamani theft. Nellore were once known for What could be more atrocious?” peace and tranquillity, but the he questioned. previous administration alNaidu criticised Jagan for lowed criminal elements to P4 contending that since the sto- spread their tentacles.  Try mediation, says SC in case of sexual abuse e x p r e ss n e w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e India team celebrates 2-1 ODI series win against South Africa in Visakhapatnam on Saturday | g satyanarayana ODI BALM FOR TEST SCAR g o m e s h s @ Chennai AFTER the famine, the feast? Not quite but Indian cricket, after enduring a shambolic 0-2 Test series defeat against the visiting South Africans, has something to smile about after a 2-1 ODI series win. After sitting through the disappointments of Kolkata and Guwahati, Indian fans would have welcomed the familiar rhythms of watching Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma playing pivotal roles in the wins. Of course, this is nothing new. India continues to enjoy unparalleled dominance in white-ball cricket at home. Sure, one can argue that the three-match ODI series was almost devoid of context as the 50-over World Cup is two years away in very different conditions. But this win is a reminder of the talent that exists in India across formats even if they were missing multiple players either through rest or injury . Question marks will persist over the medium-term futures of Kohli and Sharma but they know that as long as they perform, they will be undroppable whatever the manage- ment and the selectors think about them keeping in mind the World Cup in 2027. If the seniors led the way, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal staked their claim in the team with a century each. The former was asked to bat at No 4 by the management and he delivered with a ton in the second match. Jaiswal’s hundred came as the icing on the cake on Saturday Kohli and Shar. ma have three more ODIs to look forward to before disappearing from the national setup for at least six months. As of now, it’s over to the T20Is for India. performance feedback Srikalahasti temple tops pilgrim satisfaction survey in State D S u r e n d r a K u m a r @ Srikalahasti The mangled remains of car which met with an accident in TN I express The sacred Srikalahasteeswara Swamy temple at Srikalahasti, popularly known as Dakshina Kashi, has clinched the top spot in the State’s latest temple performance feedback survey With a pilgrim satisfac. tion score of 72.7%, second only to Tirumala, the Srikalahasti temple’s achievement high- lights both its timeless traditions, and recent service upgrades. One of India’s most revered Shaivite shrines, the temple continues to uphold age-old customs. Each day begins with the first puja offered to Bhakta Kannappa, the devoted hunter who sacrificed his eyes for Lord Shiva. In continuation of this tradi- funds and economic resources in the UK owned, held, or controlled by Rehal or Babbar Akali Lehar are now frozen. UK individuals and entities were prohibited from dealing with these assets or providing financial services to them without a licence from the Treasury. Rehal was also barred from acting as a company director or participating in company management, directly or indirectly . Economic Secretary to the Treasury Lucy Rigby said: “We will not stand by while terrorists exploit Britain’s financial system. This landmark action shows we are prepared to use every tool at our disposal to choke off funding for terrorism -wherever it occurs and whoever is responsible. The UK stands firmly with peaceful communities against those who promote violence and hatred.” The sanctions were imposed under the Counter-Terrorism (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which empower the Treasury to freeze assets and restrict individuals or entities suspected of involvement in terrorism, safeguarding the UK’s financial system. tion, priests carry Kannappa deity from the Alankara Mandapam to the summit of Kannappa Konda in a ceremonial procession, accompanied by Vedic chants. The temple’s global prominence has grown especially through the Rahu-Ketu Sarpa Dosha Nivaran Puja, which draws thousands of devotees daily, including many foreign- ers seeking the blessings of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Pilgrims praised the temple’s quicker darshan process, improved queue management, clean surroundings, and courteous staff. The introduction of transparent ticketing, allowing `500 ticket holders into the inner sanctum, was welcomed as P4 a major reform.  THE Supreme Court on Friday urged parties involved in a sexual harassment case against Venu Gopalakrishnan, CEO of Kochi’s Litmus 7 Systems Consulting, to explore mediation to resolve their dispute. A bench comprising Justices B V Nagarathna and K V Viswanathan said, “...We find that in the interest of all parties, there ought to be a settlement. The matter is referred to the Supreme Court Mediation Centre. The parties are directed to appear before the Centre on 07.01.2026 in person or through videoconferencing.” On September 11, the Kerala High Court had denied anticipatory bail to Gopalakrishnan, citing the “very serious” nature of allegations. The other accused in the case — Jacob P Thampy, Eby Paul, and Bimalraj Haridas — were granted anticipatory bail. Gopalakrishnan had approached the Supreme Court, which on September 26 stayed all coercive actions against him. Senior counsels Mukul Rohatgi and Raghenth Basant, representing the petitioner, said the complainant, a former employee, had filed the charges after getting bail in an extortion case initiated by Gopalakrishnan. Justice Nag arathna expressed skepticism about the harassment claims. The accused alleged the woman and her husband had demanded `30 crore during a hotel meeting on July 23, including an immediate `10 crore transfer, with `50,000 transferred from Venu’s account on July 28. The couple was arrested for extortion soon after. The woman denied knowledge of the `50,000 transfer and alleged sexual harassment. The next hearing is on February 2.