kannur l saturday l july 19, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION land-for-jobs case: No relief for rjd supremo Lalu Yadav The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay trial proceeding against Lalu Yadav in a land-for-jobs case during his tenure as railway minister File Photo ‘No compelling reason to stay proceeding’ The former Bihar chief minister and RJD supremo, Yadav had knocked the doors of the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to dismiss his plea seeking a stay on the trial court proceedings. On May 29, the Delhi High Court said that there were no compelling reason to stay the proceedings against the RJD (Rashtriya Janta Dal) leader ■ 77 cbi found lalu misused ministerial post ■ CBI had registered the case on May 18, 2022, alleging that between 2004 and 2009, Yadav had exploited his ministerial position to secure land transfers for his family in exchange for Group D railway jobs Notably, these appointments were made without any public job advertisements, and did not align with Railways’ recruitment norms other people apart from lalu yadav named in chargesheet 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 Feel people’s pulse like Oommen Chandy did: Rahul to Cong leaders @Kottayam Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pays homage at the tomb of former CM Oommen Chandy at St George Orthodox Church in Puthuppally on Friday | Vishnu Prathap Avoid overconfidence, state Cong leaders told T’Puram: Rahul Gandhi on Friday asked the Congress state leadership to eschew overconfidence stemming from the Nilambur by-election victory, when the party takes on CPM and BJP in the assembly polls next year. His advice came during a discussion with senior leaders at the residence of A K Antony, whom Rahul visited on his way back to New Delhi. P4 tradition of having such people,” he said. Rahul described Chandy as a ‘guru’ of his and many other politicians in Kerala. “ guru is someone who shows A direction through his actions. In many ways, Oommen Chandy has been a guru for me and many people in Kerala. He showed us the direction, not through mere words or theories, but through his actions,” he said. ● More on P4 ED arrests Baghel’s son in liquor scam S u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday arrested Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with an alleged liquor scamlinked money laundering case. Chaitanya was produced before the special PMLA court in Raipur, which sent him to ED custody for five days. On Friday morning, ED sleuths reached the residence that Chaitanya shares with his father at Bhilai, about 30 km west of Raipur. Sources said the arrest was made on the basis of Chaitanya Baghel statements given by one Laxminarayan Bansal, a liquor businessman close to the Congress leader’s son. While Bhupesh Baghel left for Raipur to attend the assembly session, the central agency continued with its raid. Bhupesh said the raid was carried out on the day of his son’s birthday. Terming it a birthday gift from PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, he said: “I will remember them for life.” ATTORNEY General R Venkataramani on Friday informed the Supreme Court that it would be best if only family members of Nimisha Priya were involved in discussions with the victim’s family in Yemen to seek pardon. “Only the family of Nimisha Priya should talk with the victim’s kin and an intervention by any other organisation would unlikely be fruitful,” AG Venkataramani told a two-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. The bench was informed that Priya’s execution had been stayed. Highlighting that the government wants Priya to come back safely , the AG submitted that the govt was doing its duty at each and every step. Counsel appearing for petitioner organisation “Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council”, which is extending legal support to assist Priya, had sought a Centre-appointed delegation to go to Yemen to meet the victim’s family for negotiation. Senior RAK E SH KU M AR @ New Delhi In a significant development in counter-terror cooperation, the United States formally designated The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The announcement came amid intense India-US trade talks to arrive at a deal ahead of the August 1 deadline to avoid reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. The decision was announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio less than three months after a brutal April 22 terror attack in J&K’s Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians were killed. The massacre marked the deadliest assault on Indian civilians since the 2008 Mumbai attacks. “Today’s designations send a clear message: The US stands firmly against terrorism in all forms,” said Rubio. “We are committed to holding perpetrators and their sponsors accountable, wherever they may be.” TRF had initially claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam carnage but later withdrew the statement at Pakistan’s bidding. Probe by the National Investigation Agency identified TRF commander Sheikh Sajjad AG: Best if only Nimisha’s kin are part of negotiation E J A Z KAIS E R @ Raipur US puts LeT proxy TRF on terror list EU sanctions on Gujarat refinery with Russia link J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday called on Congress leaders and members to emulate the legacy of former CM Oommen Chandy by striking an emotional chord with the people. Speaking after inaugurating a public meeting held to mark Chandy’s second death anniversary in Puthuppally, Rahul expressed his aspiration to cultivate more leaders like Chandy and told the attending leaders to “touch the feelings” of people to become a leader. “If you do not feel for the people or are unable to connect with them or hug them, you may not be a leader. Unfortunately, the real tragedy in Indian politics is that very few people care for others. Listen to them or touch them. Oommen Chandy was one of the masters of political feeling I have come across in my political life,” he said. Rahul also alleged that Chandy faced brutal and unfair political attacks during his career. “He endured criminal assaults. Non-stop lies were spread against him. Yet, I never heard him respond with anger. Oommen Chandy is a special person in Kerala politics. Kerala has a outfit behind pahalgam massacre proscribed amidst trade talks KU impasse to end soon as VC, Syndicate decide to work together lawyer R Basant, appearing for the petitioner, said, “First, the family has to forgive us. After that, the discussion on blood money will come into the picture... Yemen is a country where not just anybody can go. ” Basant requested the court that a delegation of SNPIAC and a representative of Sunni cleric Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar, whose intervention reportedly led to the stay of execution, should be sent for talks. The court, however, did not pass any order and posted the matter for hearing to August 14. The bench also said the petitioner could approach the government.When the bench asked whether the execution was stayed indefinitely the , petitioner’s counsel said no date was given as of now. “Which means something is working,” the AG said. The Supreme Court was hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save Priya, 38, facing execution in Yemen. Priya was found guilty of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017 in Yemen, and is currently in prison. Vice-Chancellor-in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal on Friday met Minister R Bindu at the latter’s residence. She later said both sides have expressed willingness for a consensus | P4 Descendants of the Prophet From Yemen they came with ‘dua’ of peace M P P r a s h a n t h @ Kozhikode Sunni scholar Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musaliyar’s efforts to mediate the release of Nimisha Priya —who is on death row in Yemen — by payment of diya, or blood money, have become the talking point across the state. And, in the process, it has highlighted the centuries-old ties between Kerala and the West Asian nation. “Though geographically removed, Yemen is close to the hearts of the Sunnis in Kerala. They recite the Rathib al-Haddad and Al Wird AlLatif, compiled by Yemeni Sufi scholars every night. The Ba Alawi order, which originated in Yemen, has been a major source of spirituality here,” says Nuaiman K A, a researcher who 30 kabeelas There are around 30 kabeelas (families) of syeds from Yemen in Kerala. Syed Muhammad bin Hamid alias Valiya Seethikoya Thangal was the first Hadrami Syed to arrive in Koyilandi in 1701, says Moyin Malayamma, who authored a book on Panakkad Thangals has extensively studied the Yemeni tradition in Kerala. The ancestors of Panakkad Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, Samastha Kerala Jem-Iyyathul president Syed Muhammad Jifri Thangal and Kozhikode Qazi Syed Muhammad Koya Jamalullaili all hail from Yemen. “The syeds, who are the descendants of Prophet Muhammad, migrated from Medina to Yemen around 10th century AD. Syed Ahamdul Muhajir left for Hadramout in Yemen in AD 931 and settled there. According to available evidence, Syed Sheikh bin Abdillah al-Aydarusi was among the first Hadrami Syeds who arrived in India in 1513,” says Moyin Malayamma, who authored a book on Panakkad Thangals. There are around 30 kabeelas (families) of syeds from Yemen in Kerala. According to Malayamma, Syed Muhammad bin Hamid alias Valiya Seethikoya Thangal was the first Hadrami Syed to arrive in Koyilandi in 1701. “Syed Abdurrahman al-Aydarusi was the first from the Aydarusi kabeela to reach Kerala. Syed Sheikh Jifri arrived in Kozhikode in ● More on P4 1746,” he says.  Today’s designations send a clear message: The US stands firmly against terrorism in all forms Marco Rubio Gul as the architect of the attack. Rubio said the designations were made under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, tools used by the US government to isolate and penalise foreign terrorist actors. The US also reiterated LeT’s longstanding status as a designated terrorist outfit. The US move is expected to add new pressure on Pakistan, long accused by India of harbouring, fostering and enabling anti-India terrorist networks. According to US intelligence and Indian counter-terrorism officials, TRF has been involved in a string of deadly ambushes against Indian security forces throughout 2024, indicating a patter n of coordinated proxy violence. IN a bid to put economic pressure on Russia, the European Union on Friday unveiled a fresh package of sanctions, including lowering the price cap on Russian crude oil and sanctioning Nayara Energy, an Indiabased refinery with links to Russian energy giant Rosneft. Nayara Energy formerly Essar Oil, oper, ates a 20-million-tonne-per-year refinery in Vadinar, Gujarat, and manages 6,750 petrol pumps across India. Rosneft has a 49.13% stake in the firm. With sanctions, Nayara will no longer be able to export refined products such as petrol and diesel to European countries. In 2022, the G7 introduced a $60-a-barrel price cap on Russian oil sold to third countries. The EU is pushing for a lower cap of $47.60 per barrel. Under the price cap mechanism, Western insurance and shipping services can only be used if Russian oil is sold below the capped price. The EU’s latest move—aimed at reducing Moscow’s war revenues—comes amid growing concern that Russia continues to earn significant revenue from oil exports. Ironically, the lower price cap may benefit India, as it stands to get Russian crude at lower prices. Russia is India’s top oil supplier, accounting for 35% of the total crude imports in the past two years.