BHUBANESWAR MONDAY JULY 21, 2025 `9.00 PAGES 12 LATE CITY EDITION UIDAI TO START BIOMETRIC UPDATE OF KIDS VIA SCHOOLS The UIDAI said it is working on a project to start biometric updates of children through schools in a phased manner PROJECT DEPENDS ON CONSENT OF PARENTS WILL HELP STUDENTS AVAIL MANY BENEFITS According to UIDAI, over 7 crore children have not updated their biometrics for Aadhaar, which is mandatory after attaining the age of 5 years. “The project will be done only after parental consent. We are at present testing the technology and it should be ready in 45-60 days,” PTI quoted UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar as saying ■ ■ Updating biometrics will ensure seamless usage of Aadhaar in availing services such as school admissions, registering for examinations, availing benefits of scholarships, DBT schemes, etc Under the project, the UIDAI will send biometric machines to each district which will be rotated from school to school AADHAAR CAN BE DEACTIVATED IF BIOMETRICS UPDATE IS NOT DONE BY AGE 7 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 Bihar poll roll revision, Op Teen airlifted to Delhi; DGP at crime scene Sindoor top House agenda A S I S H M E H TA @ Bhubaneswar In all-party meet, govt agrees to discuss all issues raised by Oppn 100 MPs sign petition calling for Varma’s impeachment R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi From left: Minister of state Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and J P Nadda and MoS L Murugan chair the all-party meet in New Delhi on Sunday | PTI R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi AMID persistent demand by the Opposition for debates on multiple pressing issues in the upcoming Monsoon session of Parliament, the BJP-led government on Sunday signalled its willingness to engage in discussions—particularly on the success of Operation Sindoor— provided all opposition party leaders adhere to Parliamentary traditions. The government dropped the hint during an all-party meeting, chaired by Union Minister J P Nadda, a day before the start of the Monsoon session. As many as 54 leaders of different parties and independent MPs attended the meet on Sunday . The Opposition demanded a statement from the PM on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls currently underway in poll-bound Bihar. There was also a strong call from the Opposition for a clarification from the government on the alleged US mediation during Operation Sindoor resulting in a ceasefire. According to sources, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju affirmed that the govern- PAPER LEAK Special OTET cancelled hours before exam The handwritten question papers that went viral on social media | EXPRESS E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Cuttack THE Special Odisha Teacher Eligibility Test (OTET)-2025 scheduled to be held on Sunday for in-service primary and upper primary school teachers across the state was cancelled by the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) over allegations of question paper leak. The announcement came late on Saturday night just a few hours before commencement of the exam leaving over 75,000 candidates in a quandary “The . Special OTET-2025 (Paper-1 and Paper 2) which was scheduled to be held on 20.7.2025 is hereby postponed until further notification,” read the notice issued by BSE. The Board, however, did not cite the reason that prompted it to take the decision of postponing the test. Sources, however, said the decision was taken after images of handwritten question papers, both in English and Odia, began circulating on social media from Saturday evening. CONTINUED ON P5 ment would respond appropriately when discussions take place on US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire assertions concerning the India-Pakistan conflict. Rijiju told reporters after the meeting: “There should be government-opposition coordination in running Parliament smoothly; not confrontation. The government is open to discussions within rules, conventions.” Many Opposition leaders also demanded a debate on the intelligence failure behind the Pahalgam attack. On these demands, Rijiju said the matters raised at the meeting would be taken up at the Business Advisory Committee of both houses, where a final decision would be taken. After the meeting, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi told reporters that his party sought Prime Minister Modi’s statement on Trump’s claims, “lapses” which led to the Pahalgam attack and SIR in Bihar. “We hope that the PM will fulfil his moral duty he said. ,” CPI(M)’s John Brittas and Supriya Sule of NCP-Sharad Pawar demanded that the PM respond on Pahalgam attack P7 and Bihar’s SIR. THERE appears to be no further doubt regarding the move to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma. The Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said over 100 MPs have already signed a notice to bring a motion in Parliament for the removal of Justice Yashwant Varma, crossing the threshold of support required for tabling the impeachment exercise in the Lok Sabha. “The signature (exercise) is underway and it has crossed 100 already Rijiju told report,” ers after the all-party meeting, while adding that it is for the Business Advisory Committee, a group of parties which finalises the agenda in their respective House, to decide when the motion will be moved. A motion for the removal of a judge has to be signed by not less than 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha and 50 in the Rajya Sabha. The motion is likely to be brought in the Lower House. With Parliament’s Monsoon Session beginning from Monday, the government has made it clear that it will bring the motion during this sitting of Parliament and has been receiving support from all parties. Varma, who has been kept off judicial work, has protested his innocence and has moved the Supreme Court against the in-house committee’s findings. A day after a 15-year-old girl was allegedly set afire by a group of miscreants in Balanga area of Puri district, she was on Sunday airlifted from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar to AIIMS-Delhi for better treatment. “The patient with 75 per cent burns was airlifted from Bhubaneswar and admitted to the hospital at 4.20 pm. She is currently admitted to the ICU in the Bur ns and Plastic Surgery block. Her condition is critical. She is on oxygen support and a team of doctors is closely monitoring her condition,” the medical cell of AIIMS-New Delhi said in the evening. Bhubaneswar police had created a green corridor for the The girl being taken from AIIMS-BBS to be airlifted to AIIMS-Delhi for advanced treatment on Sunday | DEBADATTA MALLICK smooth transit of the victim in an advanced life-support ambulance from AIIMS here to Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA). Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan met the family members of the victim at the hospital in Delhi and assured them all support from the government. Earlier in the day, AIIMSBhubaneswar executive director Dr Ashutosh Biswas told mediapersons that the girl was shifted to AIIMS-Delhi for better treatment. Some of the treating doctors accompanied her to Delhi along with her family members. Meanwhile, DGP YB Khurania, Central Range IG S Praveen Kumar and Puri in-charge SP Pinak Mishra visited Bhargavi river bed where the incident al- Physical and scientific evidences have been collected from the spot. We have certain clues and more information is being collected related to the case. Further investigation is underway – YB Khurania, DGP DFO lands in Vigilance net; found possessing 115 plots, mini armoury EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Bhubaneswar A mini armoury, 115 plots, a treasure of teak artefacts and property worth more than `10 crore were what the state Vigilance stumbled upon during a search on divisional forest officer (DFO) of Keonjhar Kendu Leaf division, Nityananda Nayak, on Sunday . Acting on allegations of amassing property and assets disproportionate to his income, the anti-corruption wing conducted raids at seven different locations and unearthed around 115 valuable plots - the highest number of land holdings detected by the agency in the name of any government officer and his/her family till now. The searches also found the Odisha Forest Service (OFS) officer in possession of a four-storey building spread over 9,000 sq ft in Angul and a mini armoury that included a rifle and DFO Nityananda Nayak, and his mini armoury an array of traditional hunting weapons. Officials said the raid was conducted at seven places including his parental house at Madanmohan Patna in Angul, government quarters in Keonjhar and residence of his son at Komanda in Nayagarh. The 115 plots detected during the search included 53 in the name of Nayak, 42 plots in the name of his spouse, 16 plots belonging to his two sons and four plots in the name of his daughter. As per the Vigilance officials, 64 plots were purchased when Nayak was the forest ranger in Khariar division between 2007 and 2015, while another 39 plots were bought during his stint as the assistant conservator of forests (ACF) in Khariar and Rayagada divisions between 2015 and 2022. “All plots were found to have been purchased in Chhendipada area of Angul between 1992 and 2024. The registered sale deed value of these plots is approximately `2.5 crore. However, the actual value of these land holdings is likely to be higher than `10 crore. A thorough probe has been launched suspecting undervaluation of these plots during registration,” a senior official said. Other assets unearthed by Vigilance include a treasure of teak artefacts, `1.55 lakh cash, 200 gram gold and two fourCONTINUED ON P5 wheelers. Expert panel to assess recurring natural disasters M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi TAKING note of the frequent, high-intensity natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh, the Centre will form a team of experts from various disciplines to assess the situation in the hill state and suggest measures to deal with cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides, and torrential rainfall. Confirming the development, officials said on Sunday that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has directed the formation of a multi-sectoral central team to visit Himachal Pradesh, which witnessed nearly 120 deaths and widespread damage to infrastructure, houses, and crops in the ongoing monsoon season. In the past month alone, the state has witnessed 33 flash Cloudburst aftermath at Thunag of Seraj valley, in Mandi on Wednesday | ANI floods, 22 cloudbursts, and 19 landslides. Estimates put the financial loss to the state at over `1,200 crore. According to the State Emergency Operation Centre, 146 roads are blocked, 28 power transformers out of service, and 58 water supply schemes affected. The central team will comprise experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roor- kee, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, a Geologist, and the Indian Institute of Technolo g y (IIT) Indore. “The home minister’s direction came following a recent meeting in which he was apprised that Himachal Pradesh has witnessed an increase in the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides and torrential rainfall, causing widespread loss of life, damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and environmental degradation,” a senior official of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said. The Centre has already deputed an inter-ministerial team for on-the-spot, first-hand assessment of the damages in the state. The team is currently visiting the affected areas. JAGAN MAY BE QUESTIONED BY S.I.T. ON LIQUOR SCAM Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Jagan Mohan Reddy is likely to be summoned for questioning in connection with the alleged multi-crore liquor scam during his regime, to trace the money trail | P5 MANCHESTER TEST Injury dampener for India; Reddy, Akash Deep latest concerns TNIE in England FIROZ MIRZA @MANCHESTER IT has been drizzling even on Sunday. Though sporadic, it rained too. The pitch in the middle of Old Trafford cricket ground is covered and is expected to be damp. The India team that reached here by train on Saturday evening had a closed-door practice session but indoors. It was gloomy and overcast, ideal conditions for pacers. However, for India, inside the dressing room it is less than ideal even after a fun-time spent at Manchester United’s training centre at Carrington. If the suspense over Jasprit Bumrah’s appearance in the fourth Test was not enough, India suffered a huge blow as Nitich Reddy is likely to be ruled out of the remaining two Tests on Sunday This is after Akash . Deep’s availability came under scanner due to injury Though . the nature of Reddy’s ailment is not known, Akash Deep ap- Ravindra Jadeja, Akash Deep, Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill at the Man United training centre | BCCI X parently has groin issue. With the fast bowling all-rounder seems unlikely to take the field, India would be worried right now. He lent stability to the lower order and also chipped in with wickets. Reddy claimed three wickets (all at Lord’s) in the two Tests he has played. Arshdeep Singh, another pacer, has already sustained a cut in his bowling hand in Beckenham a few days ago and is unlikely to make his debut here. They do have Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna yet the team management has flown in Haryana speedster Anshul Kamboj as a cover. Calling up a back-up bowler in the middle of a series usually don’t paint a very rosy picture. What makes it more intriguing is Manchester weather. The Met Department issued yellow warning for Sunday and Monday for heavy and perhaps thundery spells. There is forecast of light rain throughout the match as well. With the surface expected to be damp, India would be in a huddle to find their best possible combination P11 before Wednesday . legedly took place. “The investigation is continuing and two specialised teams of State Forensic Science Laboratory, and forensic/medicine of AIIMS visited the spot today for probe,” Khurania told the mediapersons. He said physical and scientific evidences were collected from the spot. “We have certain clues and more information is being collected related to the case. Further investigation is underway,” the DGP said. Sources said as of now investigation is being thoroughly carried out based on the victim’s statement but police are also looking into all possible angles. The minor girl was in trauma when her statement was recorded, they said. CONTINUED ON P5 SIT to probe Dharmasthala mass grave allegations V I N C E N T D ’ S O U Z A @ Mangaluru THE Karnakata government has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a comprehensive and impartial probe into a series of alleged crimes, including murders, sexual assaults, and disappearances of women and girls spanning over two decades in the Dharmasthala region of Dakshina Kannada district. The state government’s decision comes on the heels of a chilling testimony by a former sanitation worker employed by the Dharmasthala temple administration, who told the police he was forced to burn and bury the bodies of hundreds of women, including schoolgirls, between 1998 and 2014. He claimed the victims were raped and murdered before being disposed of in secret. The SIT will be led by Pranav Mohanty, DGP, Internal Security Division. The team includes IPS officers M N Anucheth, Soumya Latha, and Jitendra Kumar Dayama. The SIT will operate out of the Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police’s office and will have access to all district resources. It has also been granted authority to bring in additional personnel and officers as needed. The team is tasked with investigating the FIR registered at Dharmasthala Police Station, but also any related cases of unnatural deaths, sexual assault, murders and disappearances reported or discovered during the course of the investigation across other police stations in Karnataka. The SIT is required to provide regular updates to the Director General and Inspector General of Police, and submit a detailed investigation report to the government at the earliest. Calls for an SIT had been growing from multiple quarters, including the sanitation worker himself. Former Supreme Court Judge V Gopala Gowda also had urged the government to arrest those responsible without delay and ensure a transparent investigation through the SIT. Welcoming the SIT probe, Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala spokesperson K Parshwanath Jain said it bring facts to light and end speculations. DECISION AFTER WOMEN’S PANEL PUSH In a post on X, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the decision to set up an SIT follows a request from the Karnataka State Commission for Women, which has taken a serious note of the allegations and demanded an unbiased investigation. The Commission cited both the media reports and the court statement of the sanitation worker as deeply concerning and indicative of possible systemic criminal activity.
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