kochi l Sunday l december 29, 2024 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city edition Afghanistan hits several sites in Pakistan in retaliation Afghanistan’s defence ministry said on Saturday that its forces hit several sites inside Pakistan in retaliation for airstrikes earlier this week 19 Pakistani soldiers killed, claims media Taliban defence ministry said its forces targeted Pakistani points that served as centres and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organised and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan. Media outlet Hurriyet Daily News citing ministry officials said that 19 Pakistani troops and three Afghan civilians were killed in the assaults ■ 383 Afghans in Khost city stage protest ■ Earlier this week, Pakistan’s attack on Afghanistan had killed 46 people in airstrikes near the border in Paktika. Pakistan accused the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border militant activity In Khost city, hundreds of Afghan citizens on Saturday protested the Pakistani attack, calling for accountability for civilian deaths pakistani soldiers killed in various clashes in 2024 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 Periya murders: CPM ex-MLA among 14 convicted CBI court acquits 10 24 accused faced trial that began in Feb 2023 E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @Kochi Accused persons after the verdict in Kochi on Saturday (right) former CPM MLA K V Kunhiraman | Jyothish Krishnan P J Murdered in retaliation Charges Eight accused directly involved in the crime found guilty under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147, (rioting), 201 (destruction of evidence), 148 (rioting while armed with a deadly weapon), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 120(b) criminal conspiracy. Four found guilty under IPC Section 225 (obstructing lawful apprehension of accused). Two found guilty of conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and obstructing lawful apprehension of the accused. Youth Congress leaders Sarath Lal K P, 23, and Kripesh, 19, waylaid and attacked by eight men at Periya in Kasaragod on February 17, 2019, Later, on the Kerala HC’s directive, CBI took over and arraigned 10 more, including CPM leaders. Murder in retaliation to attack on first accused Peethambaran and co-accused Surendran on January 5, 2019, by Sarath and others following a clash between KSU and SFI members. State government challenged the HC directive in Supreme Court, but it did not get favourable decision. Crime branch arraigned 14 people. During the trial, which commenced in February 2023, 154 witnesses, 495 documents and 83 material objects were examined. The CBI court in Kochi on Saturday found 14 people, including former CPM MLA K V Kunhiraman, guilty of murdering Youth Congress leaders Sarath Lal P K, 23, and Kripesh, 19, at Periya in Kasaragod on February 17, 2019, a case that came to be known as the Periya twin murders. As many as 10 people were acquitted. A Peethambaran (for mer CPM Periya local committee member), K Manikandan (Kanhangad block panchayat president), K V Kunhiraman (former Udma MLA and CPM Kasaragod district secretariat member), Raghavan Velutholy alias Raghavan Nair (former CPM Pakkam local secretary), be- Cremation over, political row over memorial isn’t Kripesh & Sarath Lal P K sides Saji C George, Suresh K M, Anil Kumar K alias Abu, Gijin Gangadharan, Shrirag R alias Kuttu, Aswin A alias Appu, Subeesh alias Mani, Ranjith T alias Appu, A Surendran alias Vishnu Sura, and K V Bhaskaran (all CPM sympathisers), have been convicted. The court will announce the sentence on January 3. The acquitted persons are Murali A, Pradeep alias Kuttan, Manikandan B, Balakrishnan N, Madhu A alias Sastha Mad- hu, Reji Varghese, Hariprasad A, Rajesh P alias Raju, Gopa Kumar V alias Gopan Velutholy and Sandeep P V alias Sandeep Velutholy The murder was com. mitted in retaliation to an attack on first accused Peethambaran and co-accused Surendran on January 5, 2019, by Sarath and others at Kalliot in Kasaragod following a clash between KSU and SFI members. After Sarath was released from jail in the assault case, Peethambaran and Gijin Gangadharan, a schoolmate who nursed a grudge against him, decided to retaliate. Sarath and Kripesh were waylaid and attacked by eight men beside the Kalliot-Thannithode road that passes by the arecanut plantation owned by Gijin’s fam● More on P4 ily  . Kashmiriyat on show amid 1st big snowfall F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar People in the Valley showed what Kashmiriyat is all about by opening their homes and mosques to tourists stranded at different places following the season’s first major snowfall on Friday . While the plains had moderate to heavy snowfall, the upper reaches, including tourist resorts of Gulmarg in north Kashmir, Sonamarg in central Kashmir and Pahalgam in south Kashmir experienced heavy snowfall. As a result, tourists were stranded at many places, including at Gund in A visitor takes pictures at Dal Lake after the season’s first snowfall in Srinagar | PTI central Kashmir, Tangmarg in north Kashmir and Pahalgam and other areas in south Kashmir. Locals rose to the occasion in the Gund area of Ganderbal district by offering shelter to Box office duds cost Mollywood I700 cr ANNA J O SE @Kochi President Droupadi Murmu pays her last respects to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the state funeral, at Nigambodh Ghat in New Delhi on Saturday | PTI P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Hours after the cremation of Manmohan Singh on Saturday , political tussle over a memorial for him escalated after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of “total insult” of the former prime minister since his last rites were performed at Delhi’s Nigambodh Ghat instead of a designated burial site. In a post on X, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said, “The great son of Mother India and the first Prime Minister of the Sikh community, Dr Manmohan Singh ji, has been insulted by the present government by performing his last rites today at the Nigam Bodh Ghat.” Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, too, attacked the government saying the Centre should have thought ‘beyond politics and narrow-minded- ness’ in this matter. “By not providing an adequate place for the cremation of former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, the government has not done justice to the dignity of the post of former PM, the personality of Manmohan Singh, his legacy and the self-respecting Sikh community she wrote on X. ,” In his pushback, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra lit into Rahul for politicising the issue, saying the Centre has already written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Dr Singh’s family conveying the Union Cabinet’s decision to allocate space for the memorial. A government statement said the funeral could be held as the process of setting up a trust and allotting land for the me- morial could take a while. Kharge had on Friday written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting to hold the funeral at a place where his memorial could be built. BJP president J P Nadda, too condemned Rahul and Kharge for politics in the name of memorial. “When the entire nation mourns the demise, the Congress is busy turning this moment of grief into an opportunity to fulfill their political agenda,” Nadda alleged. Congress leader K C Venugopal hit back at Nadda and the BJP, alleging they crossed all boundaries of decency. The “shoddy arrangements and the conduct of the cremation were deeply insultP7 ing”, he charged. Dr Manmohan Singh deserves our highest respect and a memorial. The government should have shown respect to this great son of the country and his proud community — Rahul Gandhi, Congress leader Final journey to Nigambodh Ghat Manmohan Singh’s body, placed in a flower-bedecked casket and carriage, was taken from his 3, Motilal Nehru residence in New Delhi to the Congress headquarters. Final journey then started from the AICC office to the Nigambodh Ghat, where the procession reached around 11.30 am Eldest daughter lit funeral pyre The funeral pyre was lit by Manmohan Singh’s eldest daughter, Upinder Singh, at Nigambodh Ghat. Priests and family members recited religious hymns from the holy Gurbani. Chants of Satnam Waheguru filled the air, as Singh was cremated From Bramayugam, a period folk horror in black and white, to Mohanlal’s directorial debut Barroz, besides remasters of old classics, Mollywood tried several experiments and innovations in 2024. However, it had a disappointing box office run. In fact, the industry incurred an estimated loss of `700 crore, according to the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA). As per the figures released by the association on Saturday, 199 new films and five remastered versions were released in theatres in 2024, totalling an investment of `1,000 crore. WITH THIS ISSUE “However, 26 films made a profit of `300-350 crore, the rest suffered a loss of `650700 crore,” said B Rakesh, KFPA secretary . “There were only about 26 films that can be categorised as superhits, hits or average hits. The rest were not even noticed by the audience,” he said. A few films stood out. Manjummel Boys, Blessy’s Aadujeevitham, Mammootty-starrer Bramayugam, Fahadh Faasil’s Aavesham, besides Premalu, starring Naslen and Mamitha, entered the `100-crore club. “In 2023 too, 200 films were released and the industry faced losses,” Rakesh said. Small-budget films fared bet● More on P5 ter this year.  Ad You Like It PLUS 12 PAGES Fourth Test Reddy, steady, go: Emotional hundred lifts India at MCG Go m e s h S @ Melbourne It was tense. It was emotional. The scenes had all the ingredients of a blockbuster Tollywood movie. The protagonist on the field was plying his trade. Enacting one of India’s greatest fightbacks. The celebrations too had sprinkling of movies. Nitish Kumar Reddy first imitated the famous gesture from Pushpa after completing his fifty and later when he reached his maiden Test hundred it was Bahubali scene. India were still on the ropes, but thanks to Reddy and Washington Sundar, India can at least breathe with ease at 358 for 9 in reply to Australia’s first innings’ 474. In the stands were his family members sobbing. Father Mutyala Reddy and his wife were in attendance. Sometime later, Mutyala, his wife and daughter were waiting eagerly for the hotel door to open. Just as the door opened and the 21-year-old cen- turion emerged, Nitish’s mum embraced her son. Even though she tried to control, his sister hugged him saying, “so proud, so happy .” The most emotional moment was that of Mutyala who buried his face in Nitish’s shoulders and cried. He has sacrificed a lot. Even gave up his job so that he could ferry his son from practice to home. He even faced criticism for not having a job. But he had faith in Nitish. As the father kissed his son and hugged him tight in the video shared by BCCI.tv, they lived a dream. The Andhra all-rounder (from Vizag), with his unbeaten 105, saved the day for India. It was MSK Prasad, former India selector, who spotted him in the early 2010s. He used to be a toporder batter bowling seamup for Andhra age-group cricket. If Prasad played his part, Hanuma Vihari, (2021 Border Gavaskar Trophy team- member), too had a hand in helping Nitish make his state debut as a teenager. “Vihari always came forward and groomed him. I feel that Vihari has got the knack of supporting the right talent,” Prasad tells this daily . Vihari credits the youngster and his family for what he has done. “I always thought he would be playing at this level. But coming so soon and being able to perform in Australia is unbelievable. I felt really emotional today Vihari said.  P11 ,” the stranded tourists at their homes and mosques. They were also provided food and heating facilities. At the Jamia Masjid in Gund, the locals burnt the traditional hamam at night to ensure warmth for the tourists accommodated in the mosque. Videos of the tourists spending the night in the mosque and at the houses of locals have gone viral on social media. “We stayed the night in the mosque in Gund. The locals have given new life to us by providing us food and heating arrangements in the mosque,” said a group of tourists from Punjab. Putin says sorry for Azerbaijan plane crash agencies Vladimir Putin obliquely admitted on Saturday that Russian air defence had by mistake shot down an Azerbaijan Airlines plane that tried to land in Grozny before crashing, breaking the Kremlin’s silence as speculation mounted over R u s s i a n culpability . The Russian leader called his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev, apologising for the shocking error of judgement in Russian airspace, while stopping short of saying Russian air defence had shot it down. The phone call between the allies came three days after the plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people of 67 onboard. President Putin told Aliyev the plane had tried to land in Grozny “several times.” “During this time, Grozny (the town of) , Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones and Russian air defence was repelling these attacks,” Putin said. The European Union called for a swift, independent international inP9 vestigation.  02 kannur sunday 3 days to go 29 12 2024 l day etched in l agony A baby being rescued by Kerala Fire and Rescue Services personnel following the MundakkaiChooralmala landslides, which were triggered torrential downpour by in Wayanad. The disaster, which killed over 250 people, was the deadliest in the state’s history 2 days to go As the curtain falls on 2024, we take a look at the stories that defined the year, through the lens of TNIE photographers clogged lives a shot An NDRF team in Thiruvananthapuram searches for the sanitation worker who scavenging, which is . His body was recovered after a 46-hour went missing while cleaning the Amayizhanchan banned in the country, Canal remains a reality in operation. The incident brought to light the state how manual hug of a lifetime at a master’s story feet Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi share a hug filed her nomination before she bypoll at Gudalai. She papers for the Wayanad LS marked her official won the by-election, which entry into electoral politics the modi effect Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the venue of the women’s conference waves as women shower marigold petals of women participated organised by the BJP in Thrissur. Thousands in the event As the curtain falls on 2024, we take a look at the stories that defined the year, through the lens of TNIE photographers | P2 M T Vasudevan Nair function held as partreceives a hug from actor Mammootty during The master storytellerof the former’s 91st birthday celebration a passed away on December in Kochi. eternal void in the state’s 25, leaving behind an cultural realm Actor Mohanlal seeks Sreekumaran Thampi the blessing of lyricist-music director after Award from Chief Minister receiving Sreekumaran Thampi Foundation Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram embracing new beginnings ‘port’al to future taste of victory Flanked by wife Radhika, son Madhav and daughter his victory from the Bhagya, Suresh Thrissur workers and photojournalistsLok Sabha constituency by distributing Gopi celebrates payasam to BJP at his home in Sasthamangalam, The BJP finally opened its LS account in Kerala Thiruvananthapuram with the victory mammoth task cause for paws Madhu, a 73-year-old a few puppies that Pandalam native, carries Mahadeva temple to were stranded at Aluva safety after in the Periyar rose following water levels heavy rain MV San Fernando seen berthed at Vizhinjam semi-automated container International port, in Thiruvananthapuram Seaport, India’s first arrived from China, . The 300m-long ship, was the first mothership that to dock at the port tearful adieu Daughters of late Kannur are taken for cremation ADM Naveen Babu break down as his mortal at Malayalapuzha in dead at his official residence Pathanamthitta. Naveen remains after disparaging remarks was found public by former Kannur district panchayat president were made against him in P P Divya hand in hand new horizons come rain, come After a 16-hour effort, elephant that fell into the forest department rescued a wild Human-wildlife conflict a well at Kottappady near Kothamangalam. is triggered protests byseeing a steep rise in the state, which has people living on the forest fringes The de Havilland Canada Environmentalists argue DHC6 Twin Otter aircraft lands off Bolgatty as part of in ecologically sensitive that the seaplane service, introduced its trial flight. as a measure highlands, could have devastating consequences to boost tourism for animal habitats pain Intense rainfall lashed and displacing many Thiruvanthapuram, inundating from various parts of Killiyar river, Amayizhanchan the capital city. Canal and other stormwater drains overflowed and waterlogged, affecting submerged roads. Many shops were business hours PicS : t P sooraj, a sanesh, Vincent Pulickal, B P deePu, e gokul, Greetiya Biju, a student with visual impairment, guide runner Anjali and her Under-14 100m race Shibu hit the tape in first position in the at The state government the Kerala State School Sports Meet. this year, a historical introduced Inclusive Sports in the meet first for the event shaji VettiPuram | Layout: shery james | EditEd by : megha kurian .