THRISSUR l wednesday l October 02, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION India tear up script, win Test & series against Bangladesh After losing two days to rain and a dodgy outfield, hosts go on supercharged mode with both bat and ball to emerge victors in Kanpur solid all-round performance A match over in seven sessions With the added context of World Test Championship (WTC) points, the hosts knew they had to chase the win to get points, even if there were only 35 overs bowled across the first three days. After making light work of Bangladesh on the fourth morning, the batters broke several records before the bowlers turned up and did their thing again. They were also aided by some really good close-in catching ■ ■ R avindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and R Ashwin, three of India’s biggest bowling  match-winners, turned up on the morning of Day 5 to dent the visitors’ efforts. O nce they were bowled out in the first session, a target of 95 was never  going to trouble the Indians. India need to win three of their remaining eight matches in the current cycle to seal a place in next year’s final at Lord’s | P11 18 No. of consecutive Test series India have won in 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 63.5% overall, turnout Crime rate: Malappuram fourth in state betters LS polls in J&K T o b y A n t o n y @ Kochi Highest voting in separatist bastion of Sopore in 30 yrs F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar The third and final phase of assembly polls in 40 seats in J&K on Tuesday witnessed 68.72% voter turnout, two percentage points more than the recent Lok Sabha elections. With the first and the second phases recording 61.38% and 57.31% polling respectively the , overall percentage was 63.45%, up from 59.65% in the Lok Sabha elections. Brisk polling was reported in all separatist bastions in north Kashmir while there was greater enthusiasm in the Jammu region, where the West Pakistan Refugees, Valmikis and Gorkhas got to exercise their franchise for the first time in the assembly polls. While counting of votes is scheduled for October 8, exit poll outcome would be known by October 5 (Saturday) evening, after elections conclude in Haryana. In all separatist bastions, including Palhalan, Pattan, Baramulla, Rafiabad and Sopore, voters made a beeline at polling stations. These and many other areas in north Kashmir used to witness low turnout in the past A woman shows her inked finger in Shadipora in Sumbal area of Bandipora district on Tuesday | Zahoor Punjabi but this time there was enthusiasm among the voters who eagerly waited to exercise their democratic right. In the apple town of Sopore, another stronghold of separatists and militants, the polling was moderate. But it was for the first time that people in Sopore openly came out to vote. “This is the first time we are voting without fear,” said retired government teacher Abdul Aziz. The Sopore constituency recorded 41.44% turnout, which is the highest there in over three decades. Aijaz Guru, the brother of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, was in the fray in Sopore as an independent candidate. Maximum polling in Samba district Samba district recorded the highest turnout at 73.45%, followed by Udhampur (72.91%), Kathua (70.53%), Jammu (66.79%), Bandipora (64.85%), Kupwara (62.76%), and Baramulla (55.73%). At a time when criminal cases in Malappuram have become a hot political controversy, data shows that the district stands only fourth in terms of the crime rate in the state, with 32,651 FIRs this year till August 31. Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kollam districts are in the top three positions, with 50,627, 45,211and 35,211 FIRs, respectively, an in-depth analysis by TNIE of cases registered at each police station in Kerala has found. But there is a catch. The Malappuram police district has the highest number of FIRs registered in Kerala during the period, followed by Kottayam (28,091), Thiruvananthapuram Rural (27,711), Alappuzha (27,631), Ernakulam Rural (26,977), and Palakkad (22,300). This discrepancy in data happens because the state has 20 police districts, but only 14 revenue districts, which makes comparisons a challenge. Malappuram tops the list because a few districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kollam and Kozhikode have multiple police districts within them. Malappuram’s crime data is from 37 police stations, including Vanitha, Coastal, and Cyber police stations. EXPRESS READ LAC situation stable but not normal: Army chief New Delhi: The situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh is stable but not normal and remains sensitive, Chief of Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi said on Tuesday amid the dragging standoff between Indian and Chinese militaries in the region. `145 cr allotted to Kerala as disaster relief Iran fires dozens of missiles at Israel Jerusalem: Iran said it fired dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday as the monthslong fighting between Israel and Iran’s proxies in the region — Hezbollah and Hamas — escalated. Israel asked residents to remain close to bomb shelters as air raid sirens were sounded across the country. P9 The Centre released a total of I5,858.60 crore to 14 flood-affected states as its share from SDRF and an advance from NDRF. Kerala had sought I2,000 cr aid for compensation and rehab of Wayanad landslides victims | P4 As per the data collated by TNIE, cognisable IPC cases in Malappuram in 2024 (till June) stand at 12,536, and cognisable cases under special laws are 10,280. Since 2022, the police have seized a total of 147.79 kg of gold in the state, with 124.47kg from Malappuram district alone. In the past three years, the police seized hawala money totaling `122.5 crore in the state, of which `87.22 crore was confiscated from Malappuram. As many as 5,906 narcotics cases were registered in the district from January 2023 to May 2024 — 5,120 for abuse of narcotic substances and ● More on P4 786 for drug peddling.  Remarks wrongly attributed: CM Kozhikode: A day after the chief minister’s alleged statements on Malappuram triggered a controversy, Pinarayi Vijayan clarified that the remarks were wrongly attributed to him. He said he had not mentioned any specific district or community in the interview. He emphasised that his opposition to communalism should not be considered as that against any particular group. P4 MUDA acts swiftly, cancels 14 sites allotted to Siddu’s wife E x p r e s s New s Se r v i c e @ Mysuru The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) on Tuesday cancelled the sale deeds of 14 sites that were returned by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi, just 24 hours after her request was made public. These sites, granted under the 50:50 compensation scheme for acquisition of 3.16 acres of land owned by Parvathi, snowballed into a major controversy and the Lokayukta police filed an FIR against the CM and his relatives, following an order by a special court. Confirming the cancellation, MUDA Commissioner AN Raghunandan said Congress MLC Yathindra Siddaramaiah, on behalf of Parvathi, gave us a letter at 9.30am on Tuesday After consulting le. gal experts and following certain procedures, we officially cancelled the sale deeds. The local sub-registrar has been asked to cancel the deeds related to the 14 sites.