THIRUVANANTHAPURAM l wednesday l may 28, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE city EDITION 65 injured as car Ploughs into Liverpool victory parade At least 65 people, including four children, suffered injuries on Monday evening when a 53-year-old white British man drove over people Vehicle entered street shut to traffic Car sped up when angry crowd blocked it The horrific incident happened around 17.00 GMT Monday when thousands of people were on the streets of Liverpool to celebrate Liverpool FC winning the Premier League. As the parade wound up, a Ford Galaxy drove into Water Street, which had been shut to traffic. The car, blocked by bystanders, suddently accelerated, knocking over people ■ ■ ■ Police said the roadblock on Water Street had been lifted temporarily just before the incident to allow an ambulance to pass through The Ford Galaxy car followed the ambulance onto Water Street, when an angry crowd blocked the car and opened the driver’s door The car then sped up, veering into people on both sides of the street no terror Police quickly disclosed the suspect’s details to refute Islamic terror angle 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 Maoist angle Truck-load of explosives looted in Odisha Prasa njeet Sarkar & Asish M eh ta @ Rourkela/Bhubaneswar Unidentified persons, suspected to be Maoist operatives, on Tuesday looted a truck-load of explosives from a remote and forested area located about 90 km from Rourkela, in Sundargarh district. The area where the loot took place connects to Saranda forests in the adjacent West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, considered the hotbed of Maoists. The truck, sources said, was on its way to Banko area under K Balang police limits, where a stone quarry is located. Eight armed persons hijacked the truck around 10 am and drove it to the nearby forest where the explosive packets were unloaded. As per preliminary information, the truck was carrying about 150 packets of gelatin sticks of Prime make. DIG (western range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said the truck was intercepted near Banko and forcibly taken 1 km inside the forest, where the explosives were unloaded in presence of another 10-15 persons who then vanished into dense forests with the packets. Rai said the role of Maoists has not been ruled out. Sundargarh SP Pratyush Diwaker said probe is on. From the modus operandi and precision of action, sources pointed out that it appeared to be a handiwork of the Maoists. In the event these explosive packets reaching the hands of the Maoists, it may have devastating impact since the left wing ultras are battling for existence in Jharkhand. ‘Shocking’ jailing Bunked class? You could lose US visa of student over Sindoor post: HC J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Grants bail, says such ‘radical’ reactions by state will only radicalise young people SUDHIR SURYAWA N SHI @ Mumbai Reform young minds The Bombay High Court observed that educational institutions’ responsibility is not limited to imparting academic education. Institutes should also help students learn from mistakes and reform, the bench added National interest safe HC rejected the college’s argument that the student’s anti-national sentiments posed a risk to campus community, saying mere critical social media posts cannot weaken national interest THE Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered the immediate release of a 19-year-old engineering student arrested for sharing an Instagram post on Operation Sindoor and slammed the Maharashtra government and state police for their ‘radical reaction’ to a critical comment. While granting bail, a bench of justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan said it was “absolutely shocking” that the student was treated like a hardcore criminal even after she apologised and deleted the social media post. “It is shocking that an FIR was lodged against her on May 9 without even considering the fact that she had deleted the post and even apologised,” the court said, while observing that the girl’s act of sharing the post can only be termed as “act of indiscretion” by a young student. “How can the state arrest a student like this? Does the state want students to stop expressing their opinions? Such a radical reaction will further radicalise the person,” the court observed. The bench also pulled up the college authorities for rusticating the student without giving her an opportunity to give an explanation. “How can you rusticate? Did you call upon an explanation? What is the purpose of an educational institution? Is it only to educate academically? You need to reform a student or make a student into a criminal?” Justice Godse told the counsel appearing for the college. The court suspended the rustication order. Noting that the student missed some of her exams while in custody it issued directions to permit her , to appear for the remaining papers. As for the papers missed, the student can make appropriate representations before the authorities. During the hearing, the court enquired about the girl’s mental and emotional status and directed the police to provide protection to the student. “Give her a separate classroom for writing exams,” the bench told the college. The allegation against the girl was that her social media post caused tension between two groups and posed threat to public peace. In her plea, the student said she shared a post without any ill intent and deleted it immediately after receiving a barrage of threats. The United States has issued an advisory to international students in the country includ, ing Indian nationals, urging them to strictly comply with the terms of their student visas. The US embassy in New Delhi warned that students who violate visa norms risk immediate consequences, including visa revocation and ineligibility for future US visas. “Always adhere to the terms of your visa and maintain your student status to avoid any issues,” the embassy stated in its Freeze on visa interviews? A late-night US media report claimed that the Trump administration has ordered all US embassies to halt new interviews for student visas as it intends to expand social media screening of the candidates. The US embassy in New Delhi denied receiving the order notice on Tuesday “If you drop . out, skip classes, or leave your program of study without informing your school, your student visa may be revoked, and you may lose eligibility for future US visas,” it added. Non-compliance of norms by students could result in im- mediate termination of their F-1 visa status, which may jeopardise their legal stay in the US and impact any future study or immigration benefits. According to the Open Doors 2024 Report on International Educational Exchange, the number of international stu- Unni Mukundan refutes assault charges, seeks anticipatory bail E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kochi Pahalgam Pedalling J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah cycles after chairing a Cabinet meeting at Pahalgam in Anantnag district on Tuesday. A month after a deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, he interacted with the locals and assured them of reviving tourism | PTI express read MIn: Changes made to lottery prize structure FDI inflows surge 14% to $81 billion in FY25 Tie-up to deploy early landslide alert system Finance Minister K N Balagopal said changes have been made in the state lottery prize structure to benefit agents, sellers and people. Prize money will be hiked from D5,000. Previously discontinued D2,000 prize category will be reinstated | P4 New Delhi: Data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, shows that gross FDI inflows rose 14% to $81 billion during the year, up from $71.25 billion in FY24 | P12 T’Puram: With unseasonal extreme rain events posing landslide risks in hilly regions, the state government is planning to tie up with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham to implement its state-of-the-art early warning system in Wayanad | P7 Mystery surrounds hazardous cargo that went down with ship M a n o j V i s w a n at h a n @Kochi 1 more dies, train services hit Train services, including that of Vande Bharat Express, were disrupted after trees fell on tracks Houses completely destroyed 81 in Ernakulam 42 in Palakkad 25 in Idukki 10 in Alappuzha ALERTS FOR TODAY A 16-year-old boy died in Thiroorangadi, Malappuram, after coming into contact with a live wire that snapped in the heavy rain and strong winds | P7 Red: Kozhikode, Wayanad Orange: Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kannur, Kasaragod Yellow: T’Puram, Kollam, Alappuzha Two youths on a handmade raft help another youngster cross a flooded field in Kozhikode amid heavy rain on Tuesday | E Gokul dents enrolled at US colleges and universities reached a record high of 11,26,690 in 202324. India was the leading contributor with 3,31,602 students during that period — a 23% jump compared to the previous academic year. However, failure to follow the rules can have serious repercussions under Trump’s rule. Violations such as poor academic performance, unauthorised absence, or failure to report employment under Optional Practical Training can lead to deportation and termination of work authorisation. Three days after Liberiaflagged container vessel MSC Elsa 3 sank in the Arabian Sea off Kochi coast, the authorities have been unable to allay concerns over the hazardous cargo that went down with the vessel. As per information provided by the Coast Guard, the ship was carrying 643 containers, including 13 carrying hazardous cargo and 12 holding calcium carbide. However, there has not been any clarification from Mediterranean Shipping Company, the owners of MSC Elsa 3, the port authorities, or the customs department regarding the cargo, adding to the mystery . “The swift action of the Coast Guard helped contain the oil Container vessel MSC Elsa 3 that sank in the Arabian Sea on Sunday | File pic spill. Experts said the pollution and environmental impact of calcium carbide will be limited to a few nautical miles and it will dissolve as the sea is turbulent. However, there is no word on the 13 containers carrying hazardous cargo. It is for the Director General (DG) of Shipping to clear doubts and convince the fishermen who are concerned about their livelihood,” said a fisheries department official. The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) officials in Kochi held discussions with representatives of the shipping firm on Tuesday and demanded the cargo manifest. They also recorded the statements of the captain of the sunken ship. Officials from the DG Shipping’s office also reached Kochi on Tuesday, and will hold a meeting with the state government and top brass of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard on Wednesday morning. Meanwhile, efforts to salvage the floating containers are on by representatives of MSC and T&T Salvage, a team engaged by the firm. In a bid to dispel fears, Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian will meet representatives of fishermen bodies in T h i r u va n a n t h ap u r a m o n ● More on P4 Wednesday  . Hours after he was booked for the alleged assault of a former associate, Malayalam actor Unni Mukundan on Tuesday denied the “absolutely false and untrue” allegations. The Infopark police registered the case against Unni on the complaint of Vipin Kumar, a Changanassery native who claimed to be the actor’s former manager. Vipin alleged that Unni verbally abused and assaulted him for praising Narivetta, starring Tovino Thomas, on social media. Unni, who moved an anticipatory bail plea in the Er nakulam district court, termed the allegations an attempt to “threaten and harass him for undue gain and benefits”. Vipin told reporters that after seeing his post, Unni contacted him and said he was dismissing him as his manager. He said the actor asked him to come to the parking area of an apartment complex in Kakkanad where he verbally abused and physically assaulted him. Dismissing the entire narrative by Vipin as baseless, the Marco actor said, “I have always maintained a professional relationship with my colleagues, but he (Vipin) is extremely poisonous. Every word he said is a complete lie.” Unni accused Vipin of spreading malicious rumours about him. “At one point, he even contacted a female actor and urged her to marry me, which triggered a major confrontation between us. That was when I decided to meet him in person,” he said. “There was no physical attack at any point as he claims. The allegations are absolutely false and untrue. The area where the incident allegedly occurred is fully covered by CCTV cameras,” he said. Unni said he had never appointed Vipin as ● More on P4 his manager. 18 pages, including 4 pages of THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Express step towards unified system Revenue dept issues order, flat owners can now pay land tax & get receipt sEPT 15 NEW DEADLINE FOR ITR FILING The I-T deparment has extended the due date to file income tax return for FY25 from July 31, 2025, to September 15, 2025 | P12 K S SR E E JITH @T’Puram In a landmark move, the revenue department has decided to issue land tax receipts to flat owners. The decision comes after the government decided to bring in a unified system for mutation and receipt of land tax for flats from individual owners. Until now, when a part of the land is handed over to the buyer, and if the land is not divided individually, the landowner would pay the tax as undivided share. However, flat owners face an issue when they approach banks or other financial institutions for loans. The lenders ask for a land tax receipt and the flat owners find that their names are not included in the land tax receipt. In undivided share, only the name of the landowner is mentioned as the land is not divided individually . With several complaints in that regard coming to the notice of the revenue department, Revenue Minister K Rajan convened a meeting of officials from the revenue, survey, and law departments. In an order issued subsequently, the revenue department has instructed A backlog entry system should be created so that existing landowners can pay the land tax. This facility will be applicable to flats occupied by tsunami-affected people. The tax should be levied according to the tax rates existing in each local body —Revenue dept order that where the land tax is being paid in the name of the landowner, the transfer of flat ownership be permitted only if land ownership is also duly transferred. The officials must ensure whether the land transfer has actually been done by examining the title deed. In these cases, the mutation must be done in the name of the flat owner. For example, if individual ‘A’ and individual ‘B’ buy flats un- der the thandaper ‘100’, ‘A’ should be given the thandaper number 100/1 and ‘B’ thandaper number 100/2. The survey numbers included in the original thandaper (revenue record of property) must be included in the subthandaper too. When creating new sub-thandapers, the land area should also be deducted from the original thandaper, the revenue department order said.