vijayawada l sunday l january 19, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION Rohit & Co turn to experience for Champions Trophy 2025 Mohammed Shami returns amid concern over Jasprit Bumrah’s participation as India gear up for ODIs vs England and CT in February spinners and all-rounders in focus Arshdeep picked ahead of siraj The selection committee has picked four spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja with India playing all their games in Dubai. The three spin-bowling all-rounders along with Hardik Pandya, who can exploit the conditions with his cutters, will be in focus as India look to win their first 50-over ICC title since 2013 ■ ■ With uncertainity over Bumrah’s injury, India have gone for Arshdeep instead of Siraj in what is his best format Calling it unfortunate, Rohit Sharma said that Singh’s ability to bowl in the back end was cruical considering Bumrah’s situation. India play three ODIs against England and CT in Dubai next month | P13 2013 The last time India won the champions Trophy 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 Rape-murder accused in RG Kar case guilty: Court Some relief Centre offers talks, Dallewal on drips after accepting aid Quantum of sentence on Monday; victim’s family seek further probe S u l a g n a Se n g u p ta @ Kolkata Huntings Horizon GES PLUS 12 PA A Sealdah court on Saturday held 33-year-old former civic volunteer Sanjoy Roy guilty in the August 9, 2024 horrific rapemurder of a 31-year-old doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, under three sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on Monday . In a chilling reminder to the 2012 Nirbhaya case in Delhi, the gruesome rape-murder of the post-graduate trainee doctor shook the nation’s consciousness, with massive and sustained protests erupting across West Bengal and the country The state almost came . to standstill with people from all walks of life joining the protests against the ghastly crime and the administration’s alleged apathy and inaction. Roy who was produced in the , packed courtroom amid tight security, was found guilty under Sections 64 (rape), 66 (punishment for causing death), and 103(1) (murder) of the BNS. Section 103(1) carries a possi- File picture of accused Sanjoy Roy Accused could get death penalty or life Maximum sentence for the accused is death penalty or imprisonment for life as he has been convicted under Section 103(1). Punishment under Section 64 is at least 10 years and can go up to life ble punishment of death or life imprisonment. The in-camera trial ended on January 9. In the court, Roy reiterated that he was being framed while his lawyers tried to calm him down. When he was being taken out of the court, he claimed that a “certain IPS” knew everything. In his 160-page judgment, the judge said, “You (Roy) sexually assaulted the doctor. You throttled her and covered her face and she ultimately died owing to the attack. On the basis of these allegations, charges were framed against you under Sections 64, 66 and 103(1) of BNS. On the basis of the statements of the witnesses and the documents produced in this matter, your guilt has been proved.” After the order, the father of the deceased doctor said, “The trust we had placed in you, you have honoured it completely.” However, her mother said justice had not been fully served. The junior doctors, who led the protests, called for further probe into the larger conspiracy and said their agitation would continue. Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Suvendu Adhikari said likewise. “We welcome the judgment. But we would have been happier if the former principal of R G Kar hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and former Kolkata Police Commissioner Vineet Goyal were also punished today he said. ,” 1,200 Israel-Hamas truce kicks in today Ceasefire will start at 6.30 am GMT (12 pm IST) on Sunday Among the 33 Israeli captives being freed in the first phase, 9 ill and wounded will be freed first in exchange of 110 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences Hamas has agreed to free killed in israel after hamas’ october ’23 raid three female hostages on Day 1 of the deal, four on Day 7, and the remaining 26 over the following five weeks  After the last hostage release in stage one, on day 42, Israeli forces will begin their withdrawal and complete it in no later than day 50 | P11 46K Israeli troops return from Gaza Strip on Saturday | AP palestinians killed by israel since octob er ’23 h a r p r ee t b a j w a @ Chandigarh Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and IT Minister N Lokesh at Undavalli on Saturday | Express Elevate Lokesh as Deputy CM, TDP leader urges Naidu D S u r e n d r a K u m a r @ Tirupati Promoting Lokesh as Deputy Chief Minister will inspire the youth and bring hope for the Telugu Desam Party’s future Srinivasulu Reddy, TDP Politburo member Naidu pays tributes to NTR CM Naidu paid tributes to NT Rama Rao on his 29th death anniversary, and urged party workers to continue NTR’s legacy Denmark shuttler complains of smog, bird-droppings a n m o l g u r u n g @ New Delhi Pollution and lack of hygiene — two most infamous reared their heads during India Open badminton here on Saturday The elite in. ternational badminton (BWF Super 750-level) event came under criticism for ‘bird-dropping’ on courts and ‘dirt’. There have been instances when international cricket matches were affected due to pollution but the concern here is the conditions inside the indoor hall. Denmark shuttler Mia Blichfeldt, World No 23, termed the conditions at the KD Jadav Stadium to be ‘unhealthy and unacceptable’. She lost 12-21, 21-16, 21-8 Sixty hours on, Saif attack suspect held in C’garh rly station E j a z k a i s e r @ Raipur Saif Ali Khan Special teams Mumbai Police, which had formed 30 teams to nab the suspect, had collected CCTV footage from a shop in Dadar visited by the man The intruder was not part of any gang, and was not even aware whose house he had entered Mumbai police IN a breakthrough that came after more than two days, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) detained a suspect in connection with the knife attack on Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan. The accused, identified as Aakash Kannojia, 32, a resident of Mumbai, was apprehended after he got down from the Jnaneshwari Express at Durg station on Saturday . Acting on inputs, the RPF had shared the suspect’s image and mobile number with neighbouring states and RPF teams. A team of RPF personnel searched for the suspect at Rajnandgaon station but couldn’t locate him. However, another team at Durg station successfully detained Kannojia from the general compartment of the train. The suspect is believed to have activated his mobile phone at Dongargarh station, about an hour before the train reached Rajnandgaon. The suspect, who was traveling without a ticket, told RPF cops that he was headed to Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. However, sources said that Kannojia was actually on his way to visit his maternal grandmother in Janjgir-Champa, about 120 km from Raipur. Mumbai Police are expected to arrive in Durg late on Saturday to probe Kannojia’s involvement in the attack on the actor. against China’s Wang Zhi Yi in the 2nd round and during an interaction revealed about falling sick. “Finally home after a long and stressful week in India. It’s been 2 years in a row now that I get sick during the India Open. It’s really hard to accept that many weeks of work and preparing gets wasted because of bad conditions,” Bli- chfeldt posted on her official Instagram handle. “It’s not fair to anyone that we have to train and play in smog, birds shitting on the courts and dirt everywhere. These conditions are too unhealthy and unacceptable. @bwf...” The Badminton Association of India said that they are exploring alternate venues for next edition. TDP Politburo member Reddappagari Srinivasulu Reddy on Saturday called for the promotion of party general secretary and IT Minister Nara Lokesh to the position of Deputy Chief Minister of the State.   He made this proposal in the presence of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during a ceremony held at Mydukur in YSR district to mark the 29th death anniversary of TDP founder and former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao. Srinivasulu’s proposal reflects the sentiments of party activists, many of whom have been advocating for Lokesh’s promotion to Deputy Chief Minister, with some seeking a higher role for him. Justifying his request, Srinivasulu remarked, “After 43 years since the formation of the TDP , Lokesh’s entry as a third-generation leader marks a significant milestone for the party Pro. moting him to Deputy Chief Minister will inspire the youth and bring hope for the party’s future.” He emphasised that elevating Lokesh would not only strengthen the foundation of the Telugu Desam Party, but also open up new opportunities for young people in emerging P4 sectors.  THE ongoing protest by farmers on the Punjab border took a new turn with the Centre proposing talks and Jagjit Singh Dallewal, who is on a fast unto death, accepting their request to at least take medical aid. With Dallewal relenting, he was immediately put on drips by a new team of doctors that was formed to attend on him. The Centre will hold a ministerial level meeting with the protesting farmers on February 14 in Chandigarh to discuss their demands. A delegation led by 1988 batch Indian Forest Service officer Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary in Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare department, met D a l l e w a l a t Jagjit Singh Khanauri on Dallewal the PunjabHaryana border apart from leaders of other unions. “We requested Dallewal to break his fast and take medical aid and participate in talks on February 14,” an official said. Following the announcement, farmer leaders appealed to Dallewal to at least take medical aid. Farmer leader Abhimanyu Kohar said Dallewal told them he would decide on their appeals after they speak to the other 121 farmers, who are also on a protest, about their views. For their part, the 121 farmers said they were with Dallewal and will accept his decision. The farmers are demanding a legal guarantee for MSP .