kottayam l friday l april 11, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION White House clarifies tariffs on China are now at 145% The US-China trade war intensified on Thursday, sending the global economy into a tailspin after US said Chinese imports will face 145% taxes e.u. suspends its tariffs on u.s. for 90 days china reaches out to asean, e.u. nations Amid questions over how far Trump is ready to push, the European Union welcomed the US president’s partial row-back on his original threat to impose 20 per cent tariffs against the bloc. The 27-nation grouping suspended for 90 days its proposed tariffs on US goods. “We want to give negotiations a chance,” EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement ■ ■ Meanwhile, China is reaching out to other nations apart from ASEAN and the EU as the US layers on more tariffs in what appears to be an attempt to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat Chinese Foreign Ministry said they will not sit idly and let legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people be taken for a ride 1,700 points dip for dow jones after u.s. clarified 145% tariff on china 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 NIA takes formal custody of 26/11 co-conspirator at Delhi airport Produced before patiala house courts amid watertight security Tahawwur Rana arrives to face full force of law M u k e s h Ra n j a n & S h e k h a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, landed in Delhi on Thursday, ending years of diplomatic and legal effort for his extradition from the US. The 64-year-old Canadian citizen of Pakistani descent arrived aboard a special chartered flight under tight security escorted by a joint team , of Indian investigators. Rana’s extradition marks a significant milestone in India’s pursuit of justice for the 166 lives lost in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, often dubbed as India’s 9/11. As part of the extradition arrangement, India gave broad assurances to US authorities concerning Rana’s treatment while in custody According to . sources, these assurances include guarantees that he would not be subjected to torture, receive adequate protection in prison, and prosecuted solely for the charges on which the extradition is based. Rana provided crucial support to Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) operative David Coleman Headley by facilitating travel documents and shelter through his immigration business in Chicago, which was allegedly used as a front for terror planning. The NIA took custody of Rana as soon as he emerged from the aircraft at the Palam technical airport. His medical examination was done at the airport due to security reasons before he was produced before Special NIA judge Chander Jit Singh at the Patiala House courts 20 km away later. Senior advocate Dayan Krishnan and special public prosecutor Narender Mann represented the NIA. A 12-member NIA team led by its director general Sadan- Rana in NIA custody after landing in Delhi upon his extradition from the US | pti CALLS DURING VISITS 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 6th 8th 32 23 40 37 33 66 TIMELINE Rent extension Initial plans included targeting Chabad Houses across India, as ISI suspected they were Mossad bases Rent extension of ‘Immigrant Law Centre’ in July 2008 was arranged to support Rana’s India visit, showing coordination with LeT handlers Pak disowns him, says Canadian nationality clear and Date was formed to interrogate Rana. The team included two IGs, one DIG, one SP. The Union home ministry has appointed advocate Narender Mann as the Special Public Prosecutor in 26/11 terror con- Terror footprint Rana helped David Headley obtain an Indian visa by providing fake documents Established ‘Immigrant Law Centre’ in Mumbai, which served as a front for Headley’s ops and snooping COMMUNICATION WITH HEADLEY Headley visited India 8 times, and remained in touch with Rana, making over 200 calls INTEL LINKS Rana was in communication with ISI Hours before Rana’s arrival, Pakistan’s Foreign Office disowned him, saying he had not renewed any Pakistani documentation in the last two decades and that his Canadian nationality was very clear. He worked in Pak Army’s medical corps before relocating to Canada spiracy case. Date, a 1990 batch IPS officer from the Maharashtra cadre was injured during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. He was among the first responders to confront terrorists Kasab and Ismail. Years later, his leadership at the NIA was a key factor in securing US approval for Rana’s extradition. A veteran of the Mumbai Police and the CBI, Date received the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry P7 . Consider waiving loans of landslide victims: HC MUDA scam: Lokayukta police accept explanations of all accused E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i ce @ Kochi The Lokayukta police, who recently filed a closure report in the MUDA site allotment scam, seem to have “accepted” all explanations given by the accused, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The ‘B’ (closure) report, which has been challenged by the Enforcement Directorate before the court, states that Siddaramaiah, his wife Parvathy BM, his brother-in-law Mallikarjunaswamy and Devaraju J were asked 76 questions. The Lokayukta police report said they found the explanations ‘acceptable’, ‘accepted’ or The Kerala High Court has directed the Union government and NDMA to check whether the Disaster Management Act provisions can be invoked for waiving off loans availed by victims of Wayanad landslides. “Kerala Bank has waived off the loans of the affected persons completely. Considering the nature of the disaster and its categorisation by the Unio n g over nment as a ‘severe disaster’, one would expect the banks concerned to emulate the example of Kerala Bank and write off the loans availed by the people of the affected area,” said a division bench comprising Justice A K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Easwaran S, while hearing a case initiated suo motu following the July 30 landslides. It asked the Centre and NDMA to deliberate on whether the provision of section 13 of the Disaster Management Act can be invoked to direct banks to waive loans given to landslide victims.  ● More on P4 Yat h i r a j u @ Bengaluru ‘can be accepted’. There is no ed that the charges were not mention of cross-questioning proved against the accused, but as is done in other cases. This recorded that financial losses has raised eyebrows as were caused to MUDA they accepted the exthrough allotment of planations or contencompensatory sites to tions of the accused ‘as Parvathy by Natesh, they are’. Around 24 t h e t h e n M U DA questions were posed commissioner. This apart, the total to Siddaramaiah, 14 to loss caused to MUDA Parvathy, 16 to Malcan be assessed by unlikarjunaswamy and Siddaramaiah, dertaking a probe into 20 to Devaraju and K’taka CM allotment of sites to their statements were various persons illegalrecorded. Snehamayi Krishna, the complainant, and ly by predecessors and succesthe ED protested against the fi- sors of Natesh between 2016 and nal report that gave a clean chit 2024, before and after allotment to the accused. In the report, of sites in the ratio of 50:50 to the Lokayukta police conclud- Parvathy, the report stated. Rape victim ‘invited trouble’, claims Allahabad HC order n am i ta b a j pa i No criminal record @ Lucknow THE Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a man accused of raping a postgraduate student of a top private university campus in Noida, stating that the victim had “invited trouble” upon herself. The accused was arrested in December 2024 for allegedly raping the woman twice at a relative’s apartment in Gurgaon after getting her intoxicated. The court said the woman, a post graduate student, was competent enough to understand the “morality and significance of her act” as disclosed by her in the FIR. As per the victim’s version, she, of her own volition, went to a bar in Delhi along with three female friends, where they consumed alcohol. The judge said the accused, with no criminal record, had been in the jail since December 2024 and if granted bail, he would cooperate in the early disposal of the case She remained at the bar till 3 am and during her time there, the accused kept on insisting that she should accompany him to his house. As she was in need of rest due to her condition, she agreed to go with him to his house, the FIR said. She alleged that the accused, Nischal Chandak, touched her inappropriately on the way and instead of taking her to his home in Noida, he took her to a relative’s flat in New excise policy Raising a glass to making toddy family friendly M S v i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram The state government on Thursday announced its new Excise Policy focusing on branding toddy as familyfriendly and relaxing dryday restrictions to promote tourism. Announcing the policy, Excise Minister M B Rajesh said Kerala is losing substantial revenue due to dry-day curbs, which tend to deter foreign tourists. The policy aims to modernise toddy shops and make them accessible to families, Rajesh said. Standard design with quality amenities will be set and cleanliness will be ensured at outlets. They will also serve traditional food. Hotels in the category of three star and above at notified tourism destinations will be allowed to start toddy parlours for foreign tourists, Rajesh said. The deputy excise commissioner can grant sanction for a fee — amounting to `2 per litre. These hotels can also buy toddy from shops in the same excise range to supply to its guests. “The policy promotes export of toddy and value-added products. Technology is yet to be developed for bottling toddy for export purposes,” the minister said. The previous Excise Policy had allowed high-end hotels to tap toddy from trees on their premises. But it was not a success, he said. The dry-day relaxation is aimed at promoting tourism, he said. Hotels in threestar category and above, heritage and boutique hotels included, will be allowed to serve liquor for MICE what it means Dry day relaxation for luxury hotels Toddy parlour at luxury hotels Modernisation of toddy shops Walk-in facility at more Bevco outlets Closed Bevco shops will be reopened as premium outlets Liquorserving licence to be granted to private cruise vessels registered with the Maritime Board (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) events subject to certain conditions, according to the policy . The relaxation is applicable only for the dry day on the first of every month. Hotels which have scheduled such events can apply for a temporary one-day licence on payment of Rs 50,000. Applications are to be submitted to the excise commiss i o n e r s eve n d ay s i n advance. Rules will be framed for serving liquor at designated places in IT parks. Brewery licence will be granted to eligible applicants., the policy states. Sanction will be accorded to produce beverages with less alcohol content from farm produce, except ● More on P4 cereals. Gurgaon and raped her. “Even if the allegation of the victim is accepted as true, it can be concluded that she herself invited trouble and was also responsible for the same. Similar stand has been taken by the victim in her statement. In her medical examination, her hymen was found torn but doctors did not give any opinion about sexual assault,” Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed, while granting bail to Chandak. While the incident took place on September 21, 2024, the victim filed an FIR on September 23 in Gautam Budh Nagar. Justice Singh said even if her allegations were true, the “victim’s actions, including going to a bar and consuming alcohol with friends, contributed to the situation.” India, Pak hold flag meet to ease border tensions Faya z Wa n i @ Srinagar THE armies of India and Pakistan held a brigade commander-level flag meeting on Thursday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district to ease border tensions even as two anti-militancy operations launched by security forces in Udhampur and Kishtwar district of J&K continued for the second day . The flag meet was held at the Chakan-Da-Bagh cross-point in the Poonch sector. “Our side raised the issue of infiltration attempts, planting of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) near the border, using drones to drop weapons and drugs and sniper firing from across the border. We told them clearly that any violation of the border ceasefire will be met with heavy retaliatory action from our side,” a Jammu-based defence spokesman said. He added that flag meetings are routine on the LoC for border management process in accordance with an understanding between both the sides. “Today’s meeting was conducted to discuss routine issues along the LoC,” he said. This is the second flag meeting between Indian and Pakistan army officials at Chakan-DaBagh crossing point in Poonch this month. Earlier, on April 2, the flag meeting was held during which both sides stressed the need to adhere to the November 2003 border ceasefire pact. Meanwhile, security forces continued anti-militancy operations on Thursday in Jopher forest of Udhampur district and Chatroo area of Kishtwar district province after receiving inputs about the presence of three militants. panchayat blamed Poonjar farmer struggles to make his fishpond ‘waste-free’ A b h i l a s h C h a n d r a n @Kottayam The fishpond seen filled with the waste, washed into it from the collection centre “If garbage is thrown into public places, water sources or private lands, legal action will be initiated under sections 219 S and 219 T of the Kerala Panchayat Raj Act 1994,” reads a notification board installed on the way to the house of C D Adarsh Kumar, a fish farmer in Poonjar Thekkerkara grama pan- chayat in Kottayam. While the board mentions the many actions taken by the government to secure the coveted ‘garbage-free’ status — Kottayam has already achieved it — Adarsh’s ordeal paints a different picture. For the past one year, he has been struggling to get the fishpond on his property cleaned as it has become an unofficial landfill due to the negligence of panchayat authorities. It all started a few years ago when the Suchitwa Mission established a Material Collection Centre in an abandoned anganwadi building near Adarsh’s house at Kallekkulam in Poonjar South to store the garbage collected by Haritha Karma Sena. While carrying out the maintenance of the building a year ago, the accumulated garbage was relocated to an open area near an adjacent stream. However, in the subsequent monsoon season, the garbage washed into the stream, eventually finding its way to Adarsh’s fishpond and disrupting his farming activities. “The pond is now filled with a large pile of waste, including plastic and glass bottles, sani- tary napkins and other plastic items. I have nowhere to relocate it, even if I clean the pond myself. Also, the negligence of the panchayat has led to this crisis. Hence, it should find a solution,” says Adarsh. Adarsh had constructed the pond on 30 cents of land availing a bank loan of `10 lakh and received `75,000 as a subsidy for fish farming in 2018-19.  ● More on P4