chennai l tuesday l june 03, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 20 l late city EDITION IPL 2025 final: upbeat punjab face bengaluru might today Fresh from its incredible win against Mumbai, Shreyas Iyer set to lead the team against resurgent Royal Challengers in Ahmedabad Shreyas Iyer Rajat Patidar ‘Sarpanch’ Shreyas comes to the fore trophy hunting in 18th edition for No 18 The Punjab skipper is the title-defending captain but with a different franchise. He led Kolkata Knight Riders to the title last year, but was not retained. He came into the auction with a statement to make. He has led from the front, inspired a bunch of uncapped Indian players to rise to the occasion. Can he go all the way against Bengaluru? It has been the narrative from the beginning of the season. Will RCB finally win an IPL title? They had a new captain in Rajat Patidar, built a strong squad around Virat Kohli (Jersey No. 18) and have dominated the season like never before. The bowling attack has played a crucial part as well. Come Tuesday, expect a massive support for Kohli and Co P15 2022 last time a team (Gujarat Titans) won their first IPL title 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 in kumari Man sacrifices life to save two from drowning Express News Service @ Kanniyakumari In a supreme act of kindness, a 60-year-old man sacrificed his life to save two boys from drowning in the Thamirabarani river at Kuzhithurai in Kanniyakumari late on Sunday. Fire and rescue services personnel retrieved the body of M Peter Johnson, a daily-wage worker from Kuzhithurai, on Monday afternoon. M Alex, Peter’s younger sibling, said his brother made a living by stitching old bags. “My brother was poor, but never short on compassion. He gave his life to save the two boys he never knew, but there is no one now to take care of his family of wife and two children,” Alex said. Fire and rescue services said due to the incessant rain M Peter Johnson over the past week, water level had increased multifold in Thamirabarani. On Sunday afternoon, two boys — Akilesh (13) of Marthandam and I Mano (17) of Vayakkaraivilai —fell into the river accidentally when they were walking on the small bridge built over the check dam on the river at Kuzhithurai. The boys were walking on the overpass to reach a ground to play cricket when the younger one accidentally fell into the river, sources said. The senior boy jumped immediately into the river to save his friend, said Kuzhithurai fire station officer K Chandran. Seeing the boys struggling in water, Peter, who was washing his clothes nearby jumped into the river.  P7 , Anna varsity rape Tesla won’t make in India: HDK convict gets 30-yr New EV scheme 4,150 jail, no remission crore Only wants showrooms; but Merc, VW, Skoda, Hyundai, Kia interested in manufacturing EVs D I PA K MONDA L @ New Delhi R S I VA K UMAR @ Chennai The convict in the sensational Anna University sexual assault case, A Gnanasekaran (37), was sentenced to life imprisonment for a minimum period of 30 years without any remission of the jail term by the Chennai Mahila Court on Monday . Judge M Rajalakshmi said the perpetrator of such a grave offence cannot be shown any leniency Gnanasekaran, a bir. yani stall owner, had raped the second-year engineering student on the Anna University campus on December 23, 2024, claiming himself to be a university staff member and had videographed the act. A total fine of `90,000 was slapped on the convict, and the judge ordered the amount to be paid to the survivor. The court also ruled out the involvement of any other accused, widely attributed as “sir”. The court announced the quantum of punishment on Monday four days after holding the accused guilty on all 11 counts of charges, including rape. “The convict is sentenced to life imprisonment for a minimum period of 30 years without remission with a fine of Gnanasekaran leaving the court after the sentence was pronounced | express `25,000 under section 64 (1) (rape) of the BNS. In default, he has to undergo simple imprisonment for three months,” the judge said in her 207-page order. Pointing out that 37 other criminal cases were pending against Gnanasekaran, the judge said “no leniency” could be shown to such an offender. The other charges he was punished with imprisonment are 329, 126 (2), 76, 127 (2), 75 (2), 76, 351 (3), 238 (b) of BNS and BNSS and Section 66 E of Information Technology Act for criminal trespass, wrongful restraint, using criminal force to disrobe a woman, and videographing a woman by violating her privacy  . P7 Elon Musk-promoted Tesla is not interested in manufacturing electric vehicles in India, Union heavy industries minister H D Kumaraswamy said here on Monday, adding that the US firm seems interested only in opening showrooms in India. However, other global players including Mercedes, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia have shown interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India, he added. The minister’s comments came while announcing the guidelines for the Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electric Passenger Cars in India (SMEC). He, however, added that the real intention of companies will be known only when the application window for the scheme opens. SMEC—meant for attracting investment from global EV manufacturers—will allow companies to import complete- Notified by the Union heavy industries ministry, the scheme aims to bring global investments and tech to India 10k crore Annual revenue plus `3,000 cr global asset base needed for cos to apply Lower import duty of 15% (down from 70%) for EVs priced above $35,000 25% domestic value addition must be achieved in 3 yrs, and 50% in 5 yrs Must be invested in India within 3 years of getting approval Import quota capped at 8,000 cars per year, for 5 yrs. Unused quota can be carried forward to next yr ly built units of EVs priced below $35,000 at 15% import duty against the currently applicable rate of 70% for green cars. Government officials said Tesla, which had initially shown interest in setting up manufacturing units in India, attended only the first stake- holders’ consultation meeting to discuss the details of the scheme. They skipped subsequent meetings. US president Donald Trump, who is against American firms setting up factories abroad, has very close links with Musk. When asked about Musk’s sikkim Landslide kills 3 jawans, 6 others missing 1,859 clear jee in TN As many as 7,787 students from Tamil Nadu appeared for the JEE Advanced 2024, the results of which were declared on Monday. Divyanth Jayakumar emerged as TN topper | P2 Kamal moves HC for Thug Life release, K’taka film chamber says apologise first The co-producer of Kamal Haasan-starrer Thug Life on Monday moved the Karnataka High Court over the proclaimed ban on the release and distribution of the movie in the state by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) in connecton with the actor’s controversial statement that ‘Kannada was born out of Tamil’. The HC is likely to hear the petition on Tuesday . In its petition seeking the court’s intervention in ensuring smooth release of the film in Karnataka, Chennai-based Raajkamal Films International said KFCC’s decision infringes the fundamental right to free speech and expression. The film producers said they Actor Kamal Haasan | Express have spent over `300 crore on the movie, which is slated to be released worldwide on June 5. The petition contended that Kamal’s statement on Kannada during the audio launch of Thug Life in Chennai was meant to express cultural solidarity and affection between the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. But that remark was deliberately misinterpreted, leading to an unwarranted backlash, including the call for a ban on the release and distribution of the film, it alleged. Meanwhile, KFCC doubled down on its stance saying it will not allow release of the film in Karnataka unless the actor apologises for his remark. “Let Kamal Haasan go to court. We have not done anything illegal. But we will not allow the screening of Thug Life in Karnataka unless he apologises,” PTI quoted KFCC president M Narasimhalu as saying. “This is not a film industry matter anymore. It has become a question of language and state pride,” he added. The film, which got the censor certification in May, is directed by Mani Ratnam. It also stars Trisha Krishnan and T R Silambarasan in the lead roles with music by A R Rahman. The site of the landslide (above) that hit a military camp at Chaten in Sikkim; and rescue operations (left) in progress | PTI Express News Service @ Guwahati A landslide struck an Army camp at Chaten in Sikkim’s Lachen district, killing three personnel. Four individuals were rescued while six other personnel were reported missing, a defence ministry statement said. The incident occurred on Sunday evening. The deceased were identified as Havaldar Lakhwinder Singh, Lance Naik Munish Thakur and porter Abhishek Lakhada. All three bodies were recovered. “Rescue teams are relent- lessly working around the clock under extremely challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions to locate and rescue the six personnel who remain missing,” the statement stated. “The Indian Army remains steadfast in its commitment to ensure the safety and well- Thousands of tourists evacuated Most of the over 18,000 tourists stranded in Sikkim’s Lachung and Chungthang towns following landslides were evacuated on Monday. Over 100 others are still stuck in Lachen being of all its personnel, demonstrating its unyielding spirit and dedication to duty even in the face of nature’s fury the statement added. ,” With rainfall in recent days exceeding 130 mm, roads to key tourist destinations, including Lachen, Lachung, Gurudongmar, the Valley of Flowers and Zero Point, suffered major damages. As emergency work is underway following a sudden increase in river Teesta’s water level, the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd restricted vehicular movement along National Highway 10. cosy at a cost Fewer sleepers, more AC rakes in popular TN trains B A n b u s e lv a n @ Chennai classes calling Students of Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Govt Girls School at Ambattur in Chennai, catch up with friends as schools reopened on Monday | P Jawahar Southern Railway has decided to reduce the number of sleeper (SL) coaches in popular express trains such as Cheran Super Fast (SF) (Chennai to Coimbatore), Chennai Thiruvananthapuram Mail, Nilgiri SF (Chennai-Mettupalayam), Nellai SF (Chennai-Tirunelveli), Pothigai SF (Chennai-Sengottai) and Chennai-Mangaluru SF that operate daily with high patronage and instead replace them with three tier (3AC) or two tier (2AC) AC coaches. Tharoor versus Bhutto as India, Pak delegations on US outreach J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi RAJIt gupta from IIT delhi zone tops test Yat h i r a j u @ Bengaluru plans to manufacture in India, Trump had said it would be “very unfair”. Meanwhile, India and the US are negotiating a trade deal under which India is expected to lower the import duty on American cars, which at present is in the range of 70-100%. Under the recently concluded India-UK trade deal, India has agreed to reduce the tariff on cars to 10% in 10 years. However, small EVs have been kept out of the purview of the deal. The application widow under SMEC will open next week, and won’t shut for 120 days. However, the Centre can reopen the window as and when required till March 15, 2026. On the likely chances of BYD applying under the scheme, officials said the Chinese EV maker is very keen but the Indian government has no plans to grant permission. The government estimates a revenue loss of `6,484 crore per applicant under the scheme. While the total number of coaches in all categories will remain 22 in each of these trains, seven to nine sleeper coaches will be reduced to six to seven sleeper coaches, in order to replace them with either two 3AC coaches or one 3AC trains targeted name Cheran SF Express (Chennai-Coimbatore) Chennai Thiruvananthapuram Mail Chennai Mangalore SF Express Nilgiri SF Express (Chennai - Mettupalayam) Nellai SF Express (Chennai - Tirunelveli) Pothigai SF Express (Chennai - Sengottai) Coaches fares ( ) Removed Added SL SL- 2 SL- 2 SL- 1 SL- 1 SL- 1 SL- 1 2 AC - 1, 3 AC - 1 2 AC - 1, 3 AC - 1 3 AC - 1 3 AC - 1 3 AC - 1 3 AC - 1 325 490 475 350 395 400 3AC 835 1,285 1,255 915 1,040 1,045 and one 2AC coach. This would mean that 80 to 160 sleeper berths, which have an affordable fare in each of these trains, will be replaced with costlier 3AC or 2AC berths. (Refer table) The move, which is expected to be implemented from first week of August, comes a few years after a similar reduction in other popular express trains such as Pandiyan, Rockfort, and Cholan Express. In the Cheran and Chennai Mangaluru SF trains, sleeper coaches will be reduced from nine to seven.  P7 As diplomatic efforts intensify , delegations from both India and Pakistan are arriving in the US this week, seeking to shape political opinion among American lawmakers and officials. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is leading an Indian all-party team back to Washington on June 3, after an outreach tour across Latin America. Meanwhile, a Pakistani delegation, headed by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, begins its US leg in New York and Washington this week. Bhutto-Zardari’s nine-member delegation includes prominent figures such as former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar, ex-information minister Sherry Rehman, former defence minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, and former foreign secretaries Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua. Their visit extends beyond the US to London and Brussels, acc o rd i n g t o a statement from Shashi Tharoor Pakistan’s foreign ministry . The Indian delegation had initially touched down in New York on May 24, ahead of the MeBilawal morial Day holiday when the US Bhutto-Zardari , Cong ress was out of session. With lawmakers now back in Washington, the Indian team is expected to hold engagements with members of influential Congressional committees, key US lawmakers, and some Trump administration figures. It remains unclear whether the Indian and Pakistani delegations will be in the same city at the same time. During a New York event last month, Tharoor had said: “India has demonstrated Pakistan will have to pay an increasingly higher price for backing terror attacks against the country,” adding that Islamabad “has not shown any seriousness about tackling terrorism.” Pakistan has pitched its diplomatic push as a counter to India’s recent global outreach. It announced two delegations would travel to North America, Europe and Russia.