Champions Trophy: Hybrid model agreed in principle ICC likely to announce CT formula on Saturday after Pakistan and Indian cricket boards reportedly agree in principle to play at neutral venues Dubai most-likely venue for india It is understood that India could play in Dubai during the CT to be held from February 19 to March 9 next year. Reports indicate that when India host 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup and 2026 men’s WC, Pakistan will not travel here and play against India at a neutral venue (could be Colombo for men’s WC). If India reach final then it could be at a neutral venue kochi l saturday l December 14, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l late city EDITION The CT features eight teams, divided into two groups and all countries, except India, have agreed to play in Pakistan 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 Allu Arjun arrested, granted bail T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad actor Allu Arjun was on Friday arrested in connection with the death of a woman at Hyderabad’s Sandhya Theatre during the premiere of Pushpa-2 on December 4. He was produced before the Nampally court, which sent him to 14 days judicial custody. Later in the day, the Telangana High Court granted him interim bail for four weeks. H o w e v e r, Ar jun will have to spend the night in Chanchalguda jail as the prison authorities did not receive the copy of the HC order till 10.30 pm. By the time the order copy was uploaded online, Arjun’s advocates handed over a hard copy to the jail authorities. The jail authorities found there were mistakes in the order copy . Arjun will be released on Saturday once the rectified order copy is submitted. Also, the surety amount of `50,000 was not submitted on Friday . While granting interim bail, the HC asked the actor to file a fresh petition for regular bail in the trial court. The next hearing is on December 21. The case is related to the death of M Revathi in a stampede when the fans rushed to catch a glimpse of the actor at the film’s premiere. Rajnath, Priyanka trade barbs Fiery debate in the House of the People to commemorate the 75th year of the Constitution P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi The much-anticipated debate to commemorate the 75th year of the Constitution kicked off on Friday with the ruling BJP-led NDA and Opposition INDIA bloc sparring over Constitutional values, its relevance and key political issues. Initiating the debate in the Lok Sabha, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh attacked the Congress saying a particular party always tried to ‘hijack and appropriate’ the framing of the Constitution. Rajnath said the Congress made 28 Constitutional amendments during Indira Gandhi’s tenure and 10 during Rajiv Gandhi’s rule. And the Manmohan Singh government made seven amendments. The BJP has never compromised the independence and autonomy of institutions and always adhered to the Constitution, Rajnath said. The Constitution talked about religious freedom and it had been specified that the state would not have a religion but be secular, he added. “Opposition leaders carry the Constitution in their pockets, they have done this for generations, but the BJP holds it to its forehead,” Rajnath said. Deliberating on the democratic journey of the country, he said the ideas of Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Lala Lajpat Rai, Sardar Bhagat Singh and Veer Savarkar have strengthened the basis of the Constitution. This invited protests from the Opposition. Opening the debate for the Op- Rajnath Singh and Priyanka Gandhi take part in a debate in LS on Friday | PTI position, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra rebutted Rajnath’s criticisms. “Treasury bench members keep talking about the past and Nehru. Why don’t you talk about the present? Tell the country what you are doing. Is everything Nehru’s responsibility?” she asked in her first address in Parliament. Priyanka also hit out at the government over the Adani issue, which invited protests. “Farm laws have been changed for industrialists. Cold storages in Himachal Pradesh were given to Adani by the Centre. Ports, airports, factories, mines and public sector units are controlled by one person. The poor are getting poorer, while the rich are getting richer,” she alleged. Referring to Rajnath’s criticism of Emergency, Priyanka said, “Learn from what happened in 1975. Why don’t you go back to ballot paper?” Striking an emotional chord, Priyanka said she had met the rape victims in Unnao and the Sambhal violence victims. “They told me they will fight for justice till the end. They derive strength from the Constitution,” she said. ‘politricks’ should be banned, not campus politics: HC Police need not wait for the principal’s consent to intervene during a law-and-order situation in college, says HC | P6 Even in final journey, the four are inseparable A b d u l N a z e r M A @ Palakkad lifetime honour Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan interacts with director Ann Hui, who was presented the IFFK Lifetime Achievement Award, during the inaugural ceremony of 29th IFFK in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. Actor Shabana Azmi, the chief guest of the ceremony, and ministers Saji Cherian and V Sivankutty look on | B P Deepu | P7 In Cherully, it was a day unlike any other in the recent past. For once, Ridha Fathima, Nidha Fathima, Aysha, and Irfana Sherin returned to their homes separately. Even the most loquacious of the lot, Ridha, was silent. The quiet mirrored the quietude, only to be broken by the hum of vehicles. As four ambulances arrived in procession, a sombre cloud hung over the Kalladikode hills, in Karimba, enveloping those gathered in a pall of grief. But the heavens held true. And as the large RG Kar ex-head, cop get bail in rape-murder case S u l agna S e ng u p ta @ Kolkata A Sealdah court on Friday granted bail to Sandip Ghosh, former principal of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and Abhijit Mondol, former officer in-charge of the Tala police station, in the horrific rape-murder case of a junior doctor on August 9. While Mondal was accused of delay in filing the FIR in the case, Ghosh was charged with tampering evidence. The court granted them bail as the CBI failed to submit its chargesheet within the mandatory 90 days. For its part, the CBI said its probe against the accused is ongoing. The shocked parents of the RG Kar hospital victim said: “We thought the CBI would speed up the probe. But now, with the accused being granted bail, it feels like the system is failing us.” A day after the horrific rapemurder, the police had arrested Sanjay Roy a civic volunteer. The CBI has , filed its chargesheet against Roy . Switzerland withdraws MFN status from India DI PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi in a retaliatory action, Switzerland has withdrawn the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to India, which will result in higher tax implications for Indian companies operating in the central European country. The Swiss action came after India’s Supreme Court rejected automatic applicability of MFN clause under the bilateral tax treaty in a case related to Swiss firm Nestle. In its order dated December 11, the Swiss government said the SC’s ruling shows Switzerland’s interpretation of MFN clause under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement is not shared by Indian side. Therefore, it said it was waiving its unilateral application of MFN clause with effect from January 1, 2025. Accordingly, income accruing on or after January 1, 2025, may be taxed in Switzerland at higher rates. The applicable residual rates on dividend paid by Indian firms in Switzerland would now be 10% instead of the 5% under the MFN clause. The MFN clause provides for lowering of rate of taxation at source on dividends, interest, royalties, or fees for technical services similar to concessions given to other countries with similar tax treaties. 18 pages, including 4 pages of KOCHI Express Classmates break down as the mortal remains of one of the victims of the Panayampadam accident are brought home on Friday | Express crowd united to pay their final respects to the deceased, the sluice gates to their hearts opened. Tears flowed, drowning them in a deluge of distress. The ambulances, carrying the bodies of the friends who had died after a lorry overturned and fell on them at Panayampadam on Thursday, left Palakkad district hospital around 6.40am. Bowing to the families’ wishes, the four were first taken to their houses to allow loved ones to say their final farewells. The ambulance sirens were greeted by wailing in four homes, all located within ● More on P6 a 100m radius.