kannur l Sunday l august 03, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l 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 | P9 ■ ■ 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 Sharp voice in Kerala’s literary & social circles, M K Sanoo no more E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi A follower of Sree Narayana Guru, M K Sanoo always believed in equality and social justice. The prolific writer, orator, activist and teacher, who passed away on Saturday, penned more than 70 books and was a constant presence in Kerala’s social and cultural sphere. Sanoo, who taught at Maharaja’s College for decades, had a wealth of students who went on to excel as writers, politicians, bureaucrats and actors. “Gurudevan taught us that humaneness should be our religion and I have followed his preachings all my life. Maybe, the ideology is ingrained in my blood,” Sanoo had once said. The 97-year-old, who suffered a hip-bone fracture after he tripped and fell in his house ‘Sandhya’ in Kochi on July 25, breathed his last at a hospital around 5.35pm on Saturday. The body will be brought to his house at 8am on Sunday and will be kept for public homage at the Ernakulam Town Hall from 10am to 4pm. The funeral will be held at Ravipuram crematorium at 5pm. Born to M C Kesavan and K P Bhavani of Thumpoli in Alappuzha on October 27, 1928, Sanoo was deeply in- M K Sanoo 1 92 8 - 2 0 2 5 fluenced by the teachings of Guru. Growing up facing discrimination in a casteist society, Sanoo was a liberal in thoughts and raised his voice for the rights of the underprivileged. He was elected to the state assembly from Ernakulam as a Left-backed independent in 1987, but politics was never his forte. “I am a supporter of the leftist ideology but I always want, ed to stay away from politics. My friends convinced me to contest the election, but later I realised that politics was not my cup of tea. Leaders of all political parties visit me,” he told TNIE in an interaction two years ago. A voracious reader, Sanoo was has authored books on a wide range of topics, including literary criticism, children’s literature, interpretations, travelogues, biographies and essays. Sanoo started his career as a Malayalam lecturer at Sree Narayana College in Kollam in 1955 and later shifted to Maharaja’s College in 1957. His students revered him as their guide and mentor. He retired from service in 1983 and was elected president of the Progressive Literary Writers Forum in 1984. He also served as the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi and the director of Kerala University Sri Narayana Study Centre. Though a leftist, Sanoo was against using literature for propaganda. “Literature is not for politics, revolution or religion. It has its own autonomy ,” ● More on P2 he used to say . Curtains have come down on a life that has enriched contemporary Kerala society through his speeches, writings and actions. His death is a huge loss to the state in general and progressive institutions in particular — Pinarayi Vijayan Nuns released after 9 days Film as C’garh court grants bail policy to be rolled out in 2 months, says minister E j a z K a i s e r @ Raipur Having spent nine days in judicial custody, two Malayali nuns walked out of the Durg Central Jail on Saturday after being granted bail by an NIA court in Bilaspur, bringing relief and sparking joyous scenes in Kerala and Chhattisgarh alike. Sisters Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis were received outside the jail by political leaders from Kerala who had reached Chhattisgarh, pressing for their release. The nuns were arrested on July 25 at the Durg railway station along with a tribal youth, Sukaman Mandavi, on charges of human trafficking and forced religious conversion. Granting conditional bail to the trio, Principal District and Sessions Judge (NIA Court) Sirajuddin Qureshi made strong observations, stating: “It transpires from the case diary that the FIR registered is primarily based on mere apprehension and suspicion of the commission of an offence by the accused persons.” The court noted that the accused had no criminal history and that the parents of the three alleged victims — tribal girls from Narayanpur — had filed affidavits affirming that The state is all set to introduce a comprehensive film policy which will address a host of concerns — from casting couch to compensation and working hours to labour contracts | P6 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 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: P7 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 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 P12 Trump tariff a blow to gems, handicraft I P10 PLUS 12 P AGES E X P R E S S R E AD Monsoon ‘normal’ in state despite 9% deficit T’Puram: Kerala received 1,190.5 mm of rainfall between June 1 and July 31, against the normal rainfall of 1,301.7 mm — marking a 9% shortfall. Most districts experienced normal monsoon with only three recording a deficit of over 20%: Malappuram (21%), Idukki (29%), and Wayanad (38%). P7 VC postings: Guv, govt to begin discussions T’Puram: With the Supreme Court directing both the state government and the Chancellor (Governor) to kick-start the process to appoint permanent VCs in universities at the earliest, both sides are set to begin discussions to arrive at a consensus on the matter. P7 ‘No permission for Yemen visit in Nimisha case’ New Delhi: The External Affairs Ministry has denied permission to the Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council to send a five-member delegation to Yemen to negotiate the release of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse on death row in the conflict-ridden country. P9 dominant day Sisters Preethy Mary and Vandana Francis being welcomed after they were released from Durg Central Jail in Chhattisgarh on Saturday | PTI there was no coercion or inducement involved. Two of the girls had also told police they had been practising Christianity since childhood, and had willingly accompanied the nuns, it said. The judge further noted that the investigating agency had not sought custodial interrogation, nor submitted evidence justifying the continued detention of the accused. The court imposed bail conditions, including the surrender of passports, `50,000 bail bonds, and fortnightly appearances before ● More on P7 local police. Sun shines for India as Jaiswal-Akash deep cut for England TNIE in England Firoz Mirza @london T ill tea, England have 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 sixes to punish the English bowlers. Having miserably failed with the bat in the last five innings barring that fifty in India’s first innings of the Man- 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 chester Test, 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 with both hands.England spilled three chances in Manchester offering life to captain Shubman Gill twice and Ravindra Jadeja once in their second innings. Both went on to slam a century each as India managed an improbable draw to keep the series alive. 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 .
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