HYDERABAD l thursday l may 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION Prima-facie money laundering CASE ESTABLISHED AGAINST sONIA, rAHUL: ED The Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court that a prima-facie case of money laundering has been made out in the National Herald matter Court schedules Daily hearing from July 2 `142 cr rental income ‘proceeds of crime’ ED made the submission before Special Judge Vishal Gogne during the preliminary arguments on whether the court should take cognisance of the matter. The judge asked ED to provide a copy of the chargesheet to BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, on whose private complaint the case was registered. The court also scheduled daily hearings from July 2 to 8 ■ ■ Additional Solicitor General S V Raju and advocate Zoheb Hossain, representing the ED, argued that the case involved proceeds of crime The ED told the court that key transactions involving Congress-linked company Young Indian were illicit and involved “proceeds of crime”​ including rental income of `142 crore received by the accused `2,000 cr Worth of properties sought to be usurped by senior cong leaders: ed 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 27 killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur-Bijapur region Supreme commander of Maoists eliminated E J A Z K AIS E R @ Raipur Security forces on Wednesday notched up their biggest strike ever by eliminating the supreme commander of the Maoist movement, along with 26 others, in a fierce encounter in the border region of Narayanpur-Bijapur, about 430 km south of Raipur. Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the supreme commander of the banned CPIMaoist since 2018, lived and died by the gun. General secretary of the CPI-Maoist, he carried a reward of `1 crore on his head in Chhattisgarh. He was also a Politburo member and headed the CPI’s Central Military Commission. B a s av a r a j u t o o k charge as supreme c o m m a n d e r s eve n years ago from Muppala Lakshmana Rao alias Ganapathy, then aged 71, who stepped down due to agerelated issues. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh, he did his BTech from Regional Engineering College, Warangal. Basavaraju was facing several cases in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. His name is being linked with the killing of Telugu Desam Party MLA Kidari Sarvewara Rao of Araku c o n s t i t u e n cy i n A n d h r a Pradesh in September 2018. Union home minister Amit Shah applauded the operation as a major breakthrough in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. In a post on X, Shah said: “In an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security partial relief Ashoka Univ professor gets interim bail S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi Incarcerated Ashoka University associate professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad on Wednesday got partial relief, as the Supreme Court granted him interim bail. It, however, refused to stay two first information reports filed against him for his social media posts on Operation Sindoor. Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter. “The SIT will not have of ficers from Haryana or Delhi,” Justice Kant said. Mahmudabad had moved the court challenging his arrest for a Facebook Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad post on Operation Sindoor. While directing his release, the bench restrained him from making any further online posts or speeches on the issue. “He is retrained from making any comments on the crisis recently faced by India, which is a terrorist attack on Indian soil or the counter response given by our nation,” the court said. Taking exception to the language used by Mahmudabad in his posts, the court said some words could have dual meanings. While declining his plea to stay the probe, the bench said he had not made out any case for it. forces neutralised 27 dreaded Maoists, including Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, general secretary of CPI-Maoist, topmost leader, and the backbone of the Naxal movement. This is the first time in three decades of Bharat’s battle against Naxalism that a general secretary-ranked leader has been neutralised.” Based on intelligence inputs about the movement of Central Committee and Politburo members of the banned outfit as well as senior cadre of Maad division and People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army a team of , District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Kondagaon was out on an operation to Abujhmad area for past three days, Sundarraj P inspector gener, al of police (Bastar Range), said. In the encounter on Wednesday several senior Mao, ist cadre have been killed or seriously injured in this operation in difficult geographical conditions amid multiple challenges. “So far, 27 bodies of Maoists have been recovered during search operations,” he added. A DRG personnel also died in the encounter. A huge cache of arms and ammunition were also recovered from the encounter site. Search operations are on. The identification of the bodies will be done after the operation is over. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai commended the security personnel involved in the operation. “This fight is not just Chhattisgarh narayanpur Encounter site Bastar Bijapur engineer who engineered attacks Sukma dantewada A resident of Jiyannapeta village in Srikakulam district, Basavaraju did BTech at REC, Warangal Joined the banned CPI (Maoist) in 1970s, became its head in 2018 Had various aliases — Prakash, Krishna, Vijay, Umesh and Kamlu Expert in imparting military training and handling explosives, including landmines Proud of our forces for this remarkable success. Our govt is committed to eliminating the menace of Maoism and ensuring a life of peace and progress for our people — Narendra Modi, PM Reports of rift in banned outfit E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Owing to inclement weather and moderate rainfall, the helicopter carrying Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy made an emergency landing in Kodad, Nalgonda district, on Wednesday . The minister was en route to Mellacheruvu from Hyderabad to review the MBC lift irrigation scheme when officials cautioned about the inclement weather. Due to moderate rain in the Kodad area, the helicopter landed as per official guidance. Uttam then proceeded to Mellacheruvu by road and conducted the scheduled review of irrigation works. Several districts, including Hyderabad, experienced CM directs officials to be on alert for rains Hyderabad: With heavy rains forecast for the next three days, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy instructed officials to be alert. The CM also directed district collectors to shift procured paddy to mills to prevent damage. He instructed officials to ensure low-lying areas do not suffer due to waterlogging. With regard to Hyderabad city, he directed close coordination between GHMC, Law & Order and Traffic Police and Electricity departments to address the problems caused due to rains. moderate to heavy rain on Wednesday The weather de. partment has forecast moderate to heavy rain over the next four days.  continued on P5 Following Basavaraju’s death, speculation is rife that the ageing Ganapathy might get back the responsibility of secretary of the Central Committee. Given the rift, he could be an acceptable face within the CPI (Maoist) against Maoists but also in favour of peace and development,” he said. This year, 200 bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far in various encounters in Chhattisgarh, including 182 killed in the Bastar division. A 21-day long Operation Black Forest, a crackdown launched on April 21 at the Karreguttalu hilly expanse, was also commended as immensely successful when 31 Maoists were killed and their major base dismantled. Waqf isn’t essential to Islam: Govt SUCHITRA K ALYA N M OHA N TY @ New Delhi WAQF is not an essential Islamic religious practice though it is an Islamic concept, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Waqf means charity which is part of every , religion, and waqf bodies discharge secular functions. Therefore, it is necessary to include non-Muslims in waqf boards, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said in his arguments defending the Waqf (Amendment) Act. “Waqf is an Islamic concept. But it is not an essential part of Islam, unless that is shown. Other arguments fail. The judgments show that charity is part of every religion and can hap- Moderate rains force diversion of Uttam’s chopper Ganapathy may get back the mantle There have been reports of rift within the banned CPI (Maoist) owing to which it could not nominate a new secretary of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee following the death of its DSZC head Ramanna in 2019 due to cardiac arrest inclement weather pen for Christianity also. Hindus have a system of daan. Sikhs also have it,” Mehta told a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih in response to a question whether the law infringed upon Articles 25 and 26 (freedom of religion and management of religious affairs) of the Constitution. He said ‘waqf by user’ is not a fundamental right but was created by a statute. If a right is conferred by statute, the right can always be taken away by a statute, he added. The law officer also drew the bench’s attention to the “historic misuse” of waqf by user to claim ownership of public or p r ivat e l a n d s w i t h o u t documentation. Mehta sought to distinguish between waqf and Hindu trusts and endowment boards that don’t allow non-Hindus to be members. He said Hindu endowment boards deal with religious activity whereas waqf bodies deal with secular activities. “Hindu endowment commissioner can go inside a temple. Pujari (priest) is decided by the state government. Waqf boards do not touch upon religious activity at all,” he said. Commuters caught in heavy rain in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Bandlaguda in the city received 88.8 mm, Amberpet 85 and Saidabad 83.8 mm | Vinay Madapu State to deploy 12 quick-response SDRF units for rains E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasting an early monsoon and normal to above-normal rainfall across Telangana, the state government has decided to deploy 12 State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams. Also, three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams will be stationed in Hyderabad for immediate response to any contingency . Each SDRF team, consisting of 100 personnel from the Telangana State Police (TGSP), will be placed strategically This will enable these . teams to respond within an hour to events involving heavy rainfall or flooding. A memo issued on Wednesday by Special Chief Secretary (Disaster Management) Arvind Kumar says that the government has provided accommodation for the NDRF teams in the city and requested deployment of additional NDRF personnel to vulnerable districts during the upcoming rainy season. The memo referred to delays experienced during the August–September 2024 rains, when NDRF units had to travel from Vijayawada, resulting in the loss of the crucial “golden hour” for rescue.  continued on p5 Tragedy could have been averted, believe experts C h i t h a l u r i Re v a n t h @ Hyderabad The fire that killed 17 members of a family that owns a jewellery business in Gulzar Houz could have been prevented if basic electrical safety protocols had been followed, investigators believe. Experts who assessed the site on Wednesday pointed to an electrical short circuit in the inverter circuit of the Krishna Pearls shop as the probable cause of the blaze. Mahipal Reddy Fire Engineer , from Hyderabad and Nilesh Ukunde, Chief Investigator, Forensic Fire and Cyber Investigators, Nagpur, visited the premises to conduct a detailed inquiry Their final report is ex. pected to be submitted to the Fire department DG within two days. Preliminary findings suggest that although the regular power supply had been turned off, a routine practice, the inverter circuit remained active. The fire reportedly began in an LED display unit connected to this circuit, then spread rapidly through the shop. Fire department DG Y Nagi Reddy said that the fire originated in the Krishna Pearls outlet and engulfed the entire floor. An air conditioning unit in the same room is believed to have caught fire or malfunctioned, contributing to its rapid spread. Combustible materials such as plywood furnishings, chairs and other items added to the intensity of the blaze. At the time of the incident, 23 persons were present in the building—19 family members and four workers. The fire was first noticed at approximately 5 am by a worker, who alerted the rest of the occupants. While all family members were on the first floor, three workers attempted to extinguish the fire on the ground floor using buckets of water, as instructed by the family . This continued for about 40 minutes before the situation worsened.  continued on P5 express read India expels Pak high commission staffer India on Wednesday expelled a Pakistan high commission official on charges of espionage, in the second such expulsion in a week, and asked him to leave India within 24 hours. The Ministry of External Affairs said the Pakistani official indulged in “activities not in keeping with his official status” Booker prize Heart Lamp lights up a thousand hearts GAYATHRI M K URUP @ Bengaluru Nose damage The damaged nose of a Delhi–Srinagar IndiGo 6E2142 flight with over 220 on board after it hit turbulence mid-air due to inclement weather on Wednesday. The pilot managed to land the plane safely in Srinagar at 6.30 pm | PTI IT was a moment that felt like “a thousand fireflies lighting up a single sky” for Banu Mushtaq as she became the first Kannada writer to win the International Booker Prize. Her short story collection Edeya Hanate, translated into English as Heart Lamp by Deepa Bhasthi, won the title for Kannada language literature under the translated fiction category It made Bhasthi the first . Indian translator to win the prestigious award for 2025. Accepting the award at London’s Tate Modern Museum, the 77-year-old author said, “This story is a love letter to my idea that no story is local, that a tale born under the banyan tree in my village can cast a shadow as far as this stage tonight... You have made my Kannada language a shared home, a language that sings of resilience and nuance. To write in Kannada is to inherit a legacy of cosmic wonder,” Banu said. Banu started writing in 1990, the stories curated over 33 years, revolving around the lives of women in South Indian Muslim communities. In- spired by real life incidents, Banu had referred to her experiences as a ‘seed’ that grows with the imagination of the reader, in a previous interview with this newspaper. Banu managed to finally implant the seed in the hearts of all readers—a story every wom- This book is my love letter to the idea that no story is local Banu Mushtaq an could relate to, and every man could empathise with. Max Porter, chair of judges for the Booker prize, called the work as “something genuinely new for English readers: a radical translation” of “beautiful, busy life-affirming stories”. , Deepa Bhasthi, who selected and translated the original works, said, “The story of the world is a history of erasures, characterised by the effacement of women’s triumphs and the furtive rubbing away of collective memory of how women and those on the many margins in this world live and love. This prize is a small win in a long ongoing battle against such violences.”