KYIV TARGETS MOSCOW WITH 34 DRONES Russia said it downed 34 Ukrainian attack drones targeting Moscow, the largest attempted attack on the capital since 2022. It forced the temporary closure of three airports. The picture on the left shows a car damaged in the attack. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched 145 drones at Ukraine overnight | AFP | P9 HYDERABAD  MONDAY  NOVEMBER 11, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 12  LATE CITY EDITION 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 EXPRESS READ Trump wins all 7 swing states, bags 312 electors US President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday added Arizona to the list of states he won. The seven battleground states in this election cycle were Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia | P9 JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA TO TAKE OVER AS CJI TODAY Justice Khanna will succeed Justice D Y Chandrachud, who retired on Sunday. He will be the 51st Chief Justice of India and his tenure will end on May 13, 2025 | P7 From `9K cr to `15K cr: North section of RRR sees rise in costs M A N DA RAV I N D E R R E D DY TO BE EXECUTED IN 6 PACKAGES THE estimated project cost of the northern segment of the Hyderabad Regional Ring Road (RRR) has escalated significantly beyond the initial estimates provided in the Detailed Project Report (DPR). According to the DPR accessed by TNIE, the project was originally estimated at `11,961.48 crore. However, due to delays in execution, the cost has now increased to approximately `15,000 crore. In 2018, the then BRS government proposed the RRR project with an initial budget of `9,164 crore. After the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) approved the proposal, a consultancy was appointed in 2022 to prepare the DPR, which was submitted in March 2023 with an updated cost estimate of `11,961.48 crore. Since PACKAGE 1 Start: Girmapur village (near Sangareddy) End: Reddypalli Length: 34.5 km @ Hyderabad PACKAGE 2 Start: Reddypalli village End: Islampur Length: 26 km PACKAGE 3 Start: Islampur village End: Gundanpalli Length: 23 km PACKAGE 4 Start: Gundanpalli village End: Turkapalli Length: 29 km PACKAGE 5 Start: Turkapalli village End: Edullagudem Length: 31.1 km PACKAGE 6 Start: Edullagudem village End: Near Choutuppal Length: 17.9 km then, officials have revised the estimate to around `15,000 crore due to rising material costs, particularly for cement and steel. The northern section of the RRR extends from Sangareddy to Choutuppal, while the southern section runs from Choutup- pal back to Sangareddy with a , total length of 158 kilometres. Approximately 1,900 hectares of land will be required for the project. As per the DPR, the northern segment is to be executed in six packages, designed for speeds of up to 120 kmph. CONTINUED ON P4 Army officer killed during encounter in Jammu F AYA Z W A N I @ Srinagar A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army was killed during an encounter with terrorists in Jammu’s Kishtwar district on Sunday . “Based on specific intelligence input regarding the presence of terrorists, a joint operation was launched by security forces in Bhart Ridge, Kishtwar. Contact was established and fight ensued,” the Army’s Jammu-based White Knight Corps said in a post on X. During the gunfight, JCO Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (SF) was killed and three para commandos were injured, Army officials said. “A group of three to four militants are trapped in the area. It is the same group that had abducted and killed two village defence guards in Kishtwar two days ago,” an official said. More troops have been rushed to the area to strengthen the siege. Forces are using drones and other surveillance equipment to track down the terrorists hiding in the dense forest. In all, three encounters took place in Jammu and Kashmir since Saturday night. In another incident, security forces and terrorists exchanged fire in the forest area of Zabar- wan in Ishber Nishat in Srinagar. The gunfight erupted after terrorists fired indiscriminately at a search party comprising police, CRPF and Army personnel, an official said. The security agencies suspect two or three terrorists are hiding in the forest area of Zabarwan. Earlier, a terrorist was killed in an overnight encounter with security forces in the Rajpora area of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district. Nijjar’s aide Arsh Dalla arrested by Canadian police Dalla, designated as a terrorist by India, nabbed over a shooting incident in Ontario by Halton Regional Police, along with another person. CANADIAN police have deMeanwhile, the Punjab Police tained Arshdeep Singh Gill ali- said on Sunday that they have as Arsh Dalla, a close aide of arrested two members of Dalslain Khalistani terrorist Hard- la’s Canada-based gang in Moeep Singh Nijjar, in connection hali for their alleged involvewith a shootout case, sources ment in the murder of a Sikh said on Sunday. The Union activist last month. home ministry had designated The Delhi Police had said last Dalla as a terrorist year that Dalla had Wanted under the Unlawful links with internain India Activities Prevention tional terror outfit Act last year. The Punjab Police Lashkar-e-Taiba and Government sourcPakistan’s Inter-Servsaid preliminary es said New Delhi ices Intelligence. He investigations would not seek his ex- revealed Arsh Dalla was a key member of tradition as ties with e x t re m i s t g ro u p s tasked Navjot Canada are cold after Singh alias Neetu, Khalistan Tiger Force the latter’s accusation and the International a resident of of India’s involve- Kharar, Punjab, to Sikh Youth Federament in the killing of tion. Sources said he target Gurpreet Nijjar, who was shot lives in Surrey in Singh Hari Nau, dead last June. “ExCanada’s British Cowho runs a tradition is going to lumbia province with YouTube channel be tough, as under the under the name of his wife and a minor present situation it is daughter. Hari Nau Talks going to be almost imIn a Facebook post, possible. And also, the Dalla had taken reCanadian authorities have not sponsibility for the murder of arrested him so far, only de- an electrician, Paramjeet Singh, tained him,” an official said. from Punjab’s Jagraon. His asAccording to intelligence of- sociates had shot dead Manohar ficials, information related to Lal, a Dera Sacha Sauda followDalla’s detention in Ontario er in November 2020. He was came shortly after reports of also involved in hatching a conhis involvement in a shootout spiracy to kidnap and kill one on October 28. He was detained Shakti Singh. M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi Woman’s father injured in airgun attack by stalker E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad A 24-year-old stalker allegedly tried to kill the victim’s 54-yearold father using an airgun in Venkateshwara Colony Saroor, nagar, on Sunday afternoon. According to police, the accused, Gogikar Balveer, a mentally unstable person, shot two rounds at Renuka Anand, the father of Unnathi. The cops added that Balveer and Unnathi were friends in school, but he had been harassing her. A few months ago, the 24-year-old confronted Anand at his home and allegedly threatened to kill him. Subsequently, Anand summoned Balveer’s parents and counselled him in their presence. However, on Sunday, as Anand was parking his car at his apartment, Balveer allegedly fired two shots with the airgun, one of pellets hit Anand near his right eye. Despite the injury Anand managed to drive , to the police station for assistance and was later taken to a private hospital for treatment. After the shooting, Balveer reportedly vandalised Anand’s car, shattering all the windows before fleeing the scene. While rumours circulated that Anand had sent his daughter abroad in a bid to stop her and Balveer from interacting with each other, police clarified that only Balveer was harassing Unnathi under the garb of love. Saroornagar police have registered a case against Balveer under Sections 109 and 324(4) of the BNS and Section 25(1)(B)(a) of the Arms Act, 1959.