tiruchy l sunday l august 03, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION 18K organ transplants last year, but shortage persists As many as 18,911 organ transplants were performed last year in India, but acute shortage of organs remains, a report said on Saturday low organ donation rate a concern Delhi, tn lead in organ transplants The report, released by Union Health Minister J P Nadda, said although the number of transplants in India has significantly increased from 4,990 in 2013 to 18,378 in 2023 and 18,911 transplants in 2024 from January to December, the organ donation rate remains at less than 1 per million. This contrasts with the highest at 48 per million population in Spain ■ ■ India is the third highest in the world, after US and China, in total organ transplantation and first in total living donor organ transplant In 2024, there were 13,476 kidney transplants in the country, the most in Delhi, followed by TN, Maharashtra, Kerala, and West Bengal; similarly, there were 4,901 liver transplants, with Delhi and TN on top 63,000 individuals in india need kidney transplant at present 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 How SIT’s forensic tools helped send Prajwal to jail for life Soon after the court sentence, in an exclusive interview with THE Special Investigation this paper, the SIT chief said Team (SIT) probing the rape evidence in the rape case rested case against former Janata Dal on the “victim’s statement, fo(S) MP Prajwal Revanna was rensic science and tools includable to establish ing DNA profiling his culpability and matching of press from the leaked voice samples.” clusive The video had video of his sexual aggression Prajwal and the against his emvictim’s voice. ployee and her statement, said The former’s voice was forensiBK Singh, CID ADGP and the cally matched for identificaSIT chief. tion. The victim had already Prajwal was sentenced to life given her statement. Forensic imprisonment on Saturday . tools helped identify the perpeB a l a c h a u h a n @ Bengaluru trator from his body parts in the leaked video, said Singh. Narrating the trail of investigation, Singh said the video, with graphic details of the rape shot by Prajwal to blackmail and silence the victim, did not show his face. The SIT started looking for similar cases of sexual offences in which the face of the accused was not visible and what forensic tools were used to identify the perpetrator. “The team chanced upon two international case studies — ‘Forensic Science, Medicine & Pathology’ in Springer and CM launches ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ scheme amid HC bar on use of name Express News Service @ Chennai Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday launched the ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ scheme, a specialised health screening camp carrying his name, amid Madras High Court ruling against use of names of living personalities in government schemes. A modification petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government seeking clarification on the HC’s interim order on use of names is likely to be heard by the court on Monday . Launching the statewide scheme at the St Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Santhome, the CM urged doctors not to view all those who come to hospitals as patients but see them as beneficiaries of health programmes. “Those who come to the hospital should be seen as beneficiaries of health initiatives and not as patients by doctors,” the CM said. Expressing concern over thousands of cases pending in courts for decades across the state due to issues in executing non-bailable warrants (NBWs), the Madras High Court has directed subordinate courts and the Director General of Police (DGP) to strictly follow the orders and guidelines of the Supreme Court in this regard. Citing the report filed by the Registrar General, the judge said 73,699 cases are pending at the stage of execution of NBWs from 1985 to June 2025 across courts in Tamil Nadu. Commenting that pendency of warrants from 1985 “reflects a breakdown of the system”, Justice P Velmurugan appointed R Mahesh Babu, a retired chief administrative officer of district judiciary, as the nodal officer to review the situation court permission citing strong reasons for their request. With the court’s permission the photographs were taken and forensically examined to verify whether the male organ in the rape video was that of Prajwal,” he said. The morphological features of the accused and the one found in the video were compared to match his identity . “The photographs obtained from the video identified the perpetrator with the help of a dermatologist and urologist,” said Singh.  Continued on: P5 PM says India on track to become the third-largest economy Modi gives it Don claim on back to Trump Russian crude on economy rubbished N a m i ta B a j pa i @ Lucknow Participants at the ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin’ scheme launched by CM in Chennai | p ravikumar As part of the scheme, a total of 1,256 camps will be conducted across the state, and the first phase of the camps was conducted in various districts on Saturday Each camp will have . 200 medical personnel. Priority will be given to people suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure, people with mental disorders, heart patients, pregnant mothers, lactating mothers, children with special needs, differently-abled people, tribals, and socio-economically backward people, Stalin said. Apart from blood test, ECG, Echo, X-Ray, scan, screening for tuberculosis, leprosy cervi, cal cancer and breast cancer for women will also be done at the camps. Speaking at the event, the chief minister requested the people to make use of the camps, which will be conducted every Saturday  . P5 73K cases pending in TN over NBWs; HC appoints nodal officer, seeks report R SIVA K UMAR @ Chennai Prajwal Revanna being taken to a hospital in Bengaluru | PTI Turkiye Journal of Forensic Medicine & Forensic Sciences on forensic image comparison of penis in the identification of the sexual offender,” said ADGP Singh. The investigation hit the first roadblock when doctors at the government hospital refused to take photographs of Prajwal’s penis, citing violation of medical ethics. “Doctors medically examine a suspect or crime accused brought by the police.They are not authorised to take their photographs. The SIT sought in subordinate courts and submit reports. The judge, in the order passed on Friday while disposing of a batch of petitions seeking directions to the police to execute NBWs against accused persons and subordinate courts to take charge sheets on file, also told the DGP to file an action taken report in three months. The nodal officer will check whether all subordinate courts are complying with SC guidelines and HC circulars regarding NBWs, maintenance of registers and disposal of case properties, the judge said. Referring to the RG’s report, the judge said although the pendency for the current year — 12, 294 cases — may be within acceptable limits, the fact that over 61,000 cases have been remaining pending, several of them for decades, is deeply troubling.  e x p r ess r e a d Won’t accept import of voters from other states: DMK Chennai: Amid speculation over the inclusion of seven lakh migrant workers from Bihar in TN’s electoral rolls, Minister S Regupathy said “importing of voters” from other states will not be acceptable and DMK will raise the issue with the Election Commission if needed | P4 4,398 applications for PwD seats in local bodies Chennai: In the first phase of nomination of persons with disabilities to rural local bodies, a total of 4,398 applications have been received from 2,901 village panchayats in nine districts. The deadline for the submission of applications ended on July 31 | P4 bail granted to two nuns from Kerala They had been arrested in Chhattisgarh on charges of human trafficking and religious conversion | P5 US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he had heard about India stopping purchasing Russian crude, adding it would be a good step, a claim the government denied. Trump made the remark after announcing 25% reciprocal tariff on Indian imports, along with additional penalties linked to Russian crude imports. “I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard, I don’t know if that’s right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens,” Trump said. The petroleum ministry, however, clarified that India has not stopped importing Russian crude. A ministry official said Indian oil marketing companies (OMCs) continue to buy Russian oil, with supply decisions based on factors such as price, crude I understand grade, inventories, logistics, and other economic consid- that India is no erations. “These are long- longer going to buy oil from term oil contracts. It is not so Russia. That’s simple to just stop buying what I heard, I overnight,” the official said. don’t know if The official also emphathat’s right or not. That is a sised that Indian OMCs do good step not import crude from Iran or Venezuela — both sanctioned by the US. Russian oil, however, is not sanctioned by the US or the EU. Instead, it is subject to the G7-EU price-cap mechanism, which aims to restrict Russia’s revenue while ensuring global oil supplies continue. India has consistently complied with the US-recommended price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian oil. Recently, the EU proposed a lower price cap of  $47.6 per barrel, to be enforced from September. The official said India’s purchases remain legitimate and fully within international frameworks. All Quiet on the Northern Front R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi In his first public response to US president Donald Trump’s recent barb that the Indian economy was dead, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asserted that the country was on its way to become the third-largest economy amid global instability . “There is an atmosphere of instability across the globe. Every country is focused on its individual interests. India is set to become the third biggest economy in the world, and that is why India will have to stay alert as far as its economic interests are concerned,” Modi said. The PM’s statement without naming Trump came at a public rally at Banauli village in Sevapuri area of Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency. Modi advocated economic self-reliance, urging the people to take the pledge towards adopting swadeshi (made in India) as Those who want much as they could so as to India to become support nation’s farmers, the 3rd-largest economy in the small industries and youth. world should Modi added that the citiawaken the zens and the business comspirit of munity could support indigswadeshi among the enous production through a masses renewed commitment to the ‘vocal for local’ movement. “We will buy only those things that are made by Indians. We need to become vocal for local,” he urged the crowd. “Those who want the best for the country and want to see India as the third biggest economy in the world, be it any political party, should leave their differences aside and resolve to awaken the swadeshi spirit among the masses,” he added. Modi also appealed to the business community to prioritise the sale of domestic products in the wake of global disruptions. WITH THIS ISSUE INSIDE Oil imports from russia: crude facts & figures I P10 Trump tariff a blow to gems, handicraft I P8 PLUS 12 P AGES Don’t comment on ADGP, HC gags ‘Savukku’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Chennai The Madras High Court has issued a temporary gag order for four weeks restraining YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar from making defamatory statements against Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) S Davidson Devasirvatham in connection with the alleged custodial death of Ajith Kumar in Sivaganga district. ADGP S Davidson Justice P Kumaresh Babu on Friday issued the interim order on a civil suit and application filed by the police officer. “A reading of the statements made against the applicant (ADGP Davidson Devasirvatham) would prima facie conclude that they have been making statements in derogatory and defamatory manner, which would affect his reputation as he is holding a high office,” the judge said.  P5 dominant day Sun shines for India as Jaiswal-Akash deep cut for England TNIE in England Firoz Mirza @london M ake hay when sun shines. India literally lived those words in both letter and spirit, with a little help from England fielders on Saturday Till tea, England had . dropped 20 catches across India’s 10 innings in the fivematch Test series. Six of those chances were spilled in the last 24 hours helping India surge ahead in the fifth and final Test here at the Oval. Centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal got three reprieves while B Sai Sudharsan, Akash Deep, who went on to hammer his maiden Test half-century and Karun were also grassed once by the English fielders. Without their regular skipper Ben Stokes, the home team, led by Ollie Pope, gained upper hand when they dismissed India for 224 in their first innings. Openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley then gave them a flying start further tightening their grip over the contest. The dropped chances three on Friday and as many on Saturday - however, meant they let the game slip away from their hold. Struggling for form of late, Jaiswal made the most of the chances as he struck 118 off 164 including 14 fours and two six- India’s Yashasvi Jaiswal celebrates his century while Akash Deep bats on the applause after his maiden Test fifty on Day 3 of the fifth Test | pti/afp | P11 es to punish the English bowlers. Having miserably failed with the bat in the last five innings barring one fifty in Manchester, Jaiswal needed both runs and luck to get back to his groove. The generosity from his opponents offered him that chance and he grabbed it. England spilled three chances in Manchester offering life to captain Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja once. India managed an improbable draw. India dropped at least five catches with Jaiswal being the culprit four times in the first match at Leeds and went on to lose the contest despite being in a position of strength for the first four days. England may endure the same fate on Sunday .