bengaluru l thursday l june 12, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 22 l late city EDITION aadhaar-authenticated users can only book tickets from july 1 Tatkal tickets through IRCTC is only for users who have completed their Aadhaar authentication, Railway ministry announced on Wednesday aadhaar-otp needed to book from july 15 agents can’t book for first 30 minutes The ministry informed all zones that the decision was made to ensure that the benefits of the Tatkal Scheme are received by common end-users. Subsequently, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication shall also be made compulsory for Tatkal bookings from July 15, 2025, onwards. Wide publicity will be given to these modifications, the Ministry said | P11 ■ ■ Authorized ticketing agents will be restricted from booking Tatkal tickets for AC classes from 10am to 10.30am and for non-airconditioned classes from 11am to 11.30am, a circular read Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and IRCTC have been directed to make the necessary modifications for the general public 6.6 crore registered users on irctc portal and app as of JUne 11, 2025 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 Grilling in hills: Sonam reaches Shillong India hopes for trade fair and square with US A n u r a g S i n g h & P r a s a n ta M a j u m d a r @ Bhopal/Guwahati After Trump’s breakthrough deal with China, nation eyeing to wrap 1st phase of deal in July trade, and tariff on agriculture and allied goods. The two teams EVEN as India is racing against reportedly discussed the issue time to clinch a trade deal with of a 50% tariff on steel and aluthe US before expiry of the July minium. India has threatened 9 deadline, when the 90-day ex- retaliatory action against the emption period for implemen- US over doubling tariffs on tation of reciprocal tariff gets steel and aluminium. over, sources say that the first India has so far resisted givphase of the deal would only ing easier access to agriculture address the low-hanging fruits. and dairy imports. But the gov“The trade talks will be in mul- ernment hinted it might relent tiple phases, but the first phase on the issue with the US. should end before July 9,” said A Niti Aayog report recently an anonymous argued that the US government is expected to resource. main a big market With US presifor export of surdent Donald plus food from InTrump announcdia, and all efforts ing a deal with need to be made to highlights China on Wedneskeep a favorable enUS, China finalised a day, India would vironment for extrade deal Wednesday, be in a hurry to ports to the US. The with China agreeing to conclude the first report, while arguphase before July cut export restrictions on ing for protecting rare earth minerals 9. The US has also sensitive products finalized a trade like dairy and poulIndia wants to seal a deal deal with the UK. try makes a case for , with US before reciprocal India was the lowering tariffs on tariffs kick in first country to imports of comstart negotiating modities in which a trade deal with the US. In an India enjoys supply advantage. interview with French newspa- The two countries have also per Le Figaro on Tuesday For- discussed non-tariff barriers , eign Minister S Jaishankar had with the US raising concerns said he is hopeful of reaching over India’s quality control an agreement with US before measures and local procurethe reciprocal tariffs kick in. ment conditions for manufacA US delegation which visit- turing. The US has raked up ed India had a four-day meeting India’s famr subsidy too. with Indian negotiators. The A top commerce ministry ofmeeting ended on Tuesday The ficial told this newspaper that . talks veered from tariff rates, the negotiations are on and it is better market access, digital not fair to divulge details. d i pa k m o n d a l @ New Delhi express read TG HC suspends Gali’s sentence in mining case Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Wednesday granted former minister Gali Janardhan Reddy bail by suspending his conviction and jail sentence in the illegal iron ore mining case | P7 Women avail 474.82 cr free rides through Shakti Bengaluru: The Shakti scheme completed two years on Wednesday, clocking 474.82 crore free rides availed by women in non-premium state buses across Karnataka, in that period | P2 Challenges galore before fresh survey Bengaluru: With the CM and DCM agreeing for a fresh socioeconomic survey in the next 90 days, the government has a series of challenges to overcome, including finding enumerators | P4 Sonam Raghuvanshi’s brother Govind breaks down while consoling Raja’s mother in Indore on Wednesday | PTI Brother wants death sentence Sonam’s brother Govind Raghuvanshi visited the home of Raja on Wednesday and said that the evidence clearly suggested that she had got it done.... “she should get the death sentence”. ‘Cong united despite NDA’s ED action’ B o s k y K h a n n a @ Bengaluru A technical glitch put off the launch of Axiom-4 space mission for the second time in a week. It had been postponed from June 10 to June 11, citing bad weather. A couple of hours before the scheduled launch at 2.52 pm IST on Wednesday Axiom , Space, conducting the space mission, postponed it because of a leak of liquid oxygen (LOx) identified during the post-static fire booster inspection. The next date for the launch has not been announced. Sources in NASA and ISRO, who are part of the Ax-4 mission, along with SpaceX, a private firm providing space rocket information and services, told TNIE about issues in the steering system of the rocket, because of which the mission was postponed. The Ax-4 is a low-Earth Orbit mission to be launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre. The Falcon-9 rocket will launch SpaceX Dragon spacecraft for a 14-day space mission to the International Space Station (ISS).  P7 Yat h i r a j u @ Bengaluru STATE TO HC Public Processions (Bengaluru City) Order, 2009, the whole event is illegal and a violation of the order, which is punishable under Section 223(B) of the BNS and Karnataka Police Act, the state argued before court. As per the tripartite agreement between Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and RCB, the management of the stadium, including gates and private security, is the responsibility of RCB, which it is not admitting, the state argued.  CONTINUED ON P3 Celebrations announced without planning, adequate security, crowd management measures by RCB, DNA, KSCA No permission was obtained for celebrations Around 6.30pm June 3, a DNA staffer intimated police of plan to hold parade. He submitted an intimation letter on behalf of KSCA CEO Shubhendu Ghosh to Cubbon Park police inspector High temp, floods predicted for Himalayas Perilous outcome ing hot tt e 0.5 to 2˚c r te Brace yourself for a more intense monsoon this year as hotter temperatures, heavier rains, and a spike in climate-related risks are forecast for India and its Himalayan neighbours, according to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The Hindu kush Himalayan (HKH) region, which includes India, Nepal, Pakistan, and parts of China, may see temperatures climb up to 2ºC above normal along with widespread above-average rainfall. ICIMOD utilised data from global and national meteorological agencies to compile its predictions and concluded that it could lead to an increase in heat stress, outbreaks of waterborne diseases like dengue, and a surge in floods, landslides, and glacial hazards. “The forecasts are unanimous in predicting hotter conditions and more rainfall across much of the HKH,” said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, senior advisor at ICIMOD. Floods remain the leading cause of disaster-related deaths in the region, with over 72 percent occurring during the summer monsoon. Meanwhile, water-scarce Afghanistan may receive less rainfall, worsening food and water insecurity w . G J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @ New Delhi from Shillong to Sohra on May 23. The scooter was found abandoned some distance from the place where he was murdered. Who took that scooter there? Also, CCTV grabs of nearby areas a short while after the killing show Sonam on a scooter (possibly the same rented scooter) probably accompanied by Vishal, the man who actually attacked Raja with the machete.” “They attacked Raja, but he resisted two of them, seeing the two attackers being overpowered by Raja, the third attacker Vishal attacked on his head with the Dao (machete),” said the source. Earlier in the wee hours, Sonam was brought to the hill station and had a medical examination.  P12 Axiom-4 launch ED raids 4 Congress MLAs, Ballari MP postponed again RCB celebrations held illegally, ended in stampede: Govt to HC The RCB victory celebrations in the city were held illegally as no permission was obtained, except intimating local police at 6.30pm on June 3 about possible celebrations in the event of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) emerging victorious. Back-to-back posts by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) on its social media platforms, inviting fans from dawn to dusk, led to huge gatherings, resulting in the stampede that claimed 11 lives and injured over 60 people at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the state government contended before the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday . As no permission was obtained under the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Govind, brother of Sonam As the SIT of Meghalaya Police probing the May 23 honeymoon killing of Indore tourist Raja Raghuvanshi started quizzing the five arrested accused, including Raja’s wife Sonam, there were a series of unanswered points that seemed to hold the key to investigations. A local court in Shillong on Wednesday sent Sonam and four others, including prime accused Raj Kushwah, to eightday police remand. Though there were reports of Sonam confessing to the crime, the police urged the media to not jump to any conclusions. Meanwhile, Sonam’s brother Govind visited Raja’s home on Wednesday and broke into tears after hugging his slain brother-inlaw’s mother, Uma Raghuvanshi. One unanswered point seems to be Sonal’s trolley bag? “Why was she carrying a trolley bag while going with Raja to the monsoon tourism hotspot Sohra (Cherrapunjee) on a short visit? Have you seen any couple carrying a trolley bag on a short trip riding a scooter?” a source told TNIE. “Where are Sonam’s cellphones she was carrying during the trip? There were at least two iPhones, one of which seemed to have been destroyed after the murder. All others are switched off,” the source added. “Raja rented a scooter to go The entire Himalayas, from the Hindu Kush, will have above normal temp this summer Above-normal monsoon precipitations across much of South Asia leaves Himalayas vulnerable to hazards like floods, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods Precipitation pattern It will vary across the ranges with wetter monsoon predicted for Tibetan Plateau, India, Nepal & Pakistan AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge said the ED targets Congress MLAs and MPs as the main intention of the NDA is to divide the party, but it stands united. P4 K i r a n B a l a n n a n a v a r @ Ballari THE Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Wednesday raided the offices and residences of four Congress MLAs and Bellary MP E Tukaram in Ballari and Vijayanagara districts in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (KMVSTDC). The raids targeted Ballari va l m i k i c o r p n s c a m Rural MLA and former minister B Nagendra, who was earlier arrested and now out on bail; Ballari MLA Nara Bharath Reddy; Kampli MLA JN Ganesh, and Kudligi MLA Dr NT Srinivas. Police sources said the ED might take Bharath Reddy and Tukaram into custody . In the scam, funds from the corporation’s bank accounts were diverted to private accounts and it was alleged that over Rs 20 crore was used for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The alleged scam came to light after Chandrashekaran P , who was working as superintendent at the corporation, died by suicide, leaving behind a death note. BJP has alleged that funds from the corporation were diverted for Lok Sabha polls.  CONTINUED ON P4