shivamogga l sunday l september 07, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l city EDITION out: a negative list that’s detrimental to image of police The Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) has come out with a list outlining acts and behaviour damaging the image of police flags misconduct, insensitive practices ‘no room for aggressive behaviour’ The list, compiled by the police research organisation over a period of one year, highlighted systemic shortcomings in the police machinery, which include ‘misconduct and insensitive practices’ that erode public trust and undermine credibility leading to weakening of the relationship between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve ■ ■ BPR&D has suggested that DGPs give special attention to the way police interact with the public, and warned that aggressive or insensitive behaviour “leaves a lasting impact on public perception” Report says that delays in registration of FIRs, misuse of preventive measures, and false cases lead to erosion of public trust | P9 2024 at last year’s dgp conference, bpr&d was tasked with the list 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 Possible thaw as PM reciprocates Trump positivity friction between the two countries, including the US decision In a sign of a possible thaw to double tariffs on key Indian amid ongoing trade tensions goods to 50%. The move, linked and tariff pressure, Prime Min- in part to India’s continued purister Narendra Modi on Satur- chase of Russian crude oil, has day reaffirmed India’s commit- been termed by New Delhi as ment to its partnership with “ u n f a i r, u n j u s t i f i e d a n d the United States, responding unreasonable”. positively to the remarks by US Responding to a question on President Donald Trump. his post suggesting the US was Taking to X, Modi said: “Deep- “losing India and Russia to Chily appreciate and fully recipro- na,” Trump said, “I don’t think cate President Trump’s senti- we have. I’ve been very disapments and positive assessment pointed that India would be buyof our ties. India ing so much oil and the US have a from Russia.” very positive and Despite these difforward-looking ferences, both sides Comprehensive have emphasised and Global Stratetheir long-ter m gic Partnership.” strategic relationModi’s reship. External Afsponse came fairs Minister S Special bilateral hours after PresiJaishankar on Satrelationship: Don dent Trump deurday underscored “I get along very well scribed the Indiathe importance with Modi as you US relationship Modi places on the know... India and the as “very special” US partnership. He US have a special during a White said “PM Modi atrelationship. There is House press brieftaches enormous nothing to worry ing, during which importance to our about,” Trump said he said: “I’ll alpartnership with ways be friends the US. Where with Modi. He’s a President Trump is great prime minister.” However, concerned, he (PM Modi) has Trump also added: “I just don’t always had a very good personal like what he is doing at this par- equation with President Trump. ticular moment.” But the point is that we remain When asked whether he was engaged with the US, and at this open to resetting ties, Trump time, I can’t say more than said: “I always will. I’ll always that.” be friends with Modi... But InThe latest comments come dia and the US have a very spe- weeks after Modi, Russian Prescial relationship. There is noth- ident Vladimir Putin, and Chiing to worry about.” nese President Xi Jinping were The exchange comes against seen together at the SCO sumthe backdrop of rising trade mit in Tianjin, China. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Committed to tripartite talks for political deal: Kuki-Zos Express News Service @ Guwahati The Kuki National Organisation (KNO) and United People’s Front (UPF) – umbrella organisations of Kuki-Zo rebel groups – on Saturday said the reopening of National Highway-2 in ethnic violence-hit Manipur “must not be misinterpreted as an endorsement of unrestricted movement between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas”. KNO and UPF recently signed a deal with the Centre to extend the Suspension of Operations agreement. In a joint statement, they sais contrary to “misinformed” narratives, the KukiZos never closed or blocked NH-2. “KNO and UPF reiterate that this gesture must not be misinterpreted as an endorsement of unrestricted movement across buffer zones between Meitei and Kuki-Zo areas. The sanctity of these zones remains paramount, and the responsibility for securing the highway lies with the Government of India and its deployed force,” they said. They added that they would uphold the people’s aspiration in future political dialogues for the creation of a Union Territory with legislature for the Kuki-Zo people within the Constitution of India. Stating that the path forward lies in dialogue and not division, the statement said the government, KNO and UPF reaffirmed their commitment to a structured and time-bound tripartite dialogue for a negotiated political settlement under the Constitution. Meitei organisation Arambai Tenggol welcomed the tripartite peace agreement. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi lights the lamp to inaugurate the Odisha Literary Festival 2025 as TNIE CEO Lakshmi Menon, Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla and Resident Editor Siba Mohanty look on, in Bhubaneswar on Saturday; and (left) actor and director Amol Palekar speaks during the session ‘Comrades in Arts: Love, Life, and Literature’ at the event | Shamim Qureshy/ DEBADATTA MALLICK | P7 ECI to meet all CEOs on SIR on Sept 10 MUKESH R A N J A N @ New Delhi UNDETERRED by the huge controversy over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission of India has called a meeting of all Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of states and Union Territories on September 10 to discuss preparedness to conduct similar exercise elsewhere across the country, officials said on Saturday . Apart from SIR for other states, the meeting would also discuss issues relating to hold- ECI is likely to launch SIR for the rest of the country with the qualifying date of January 1, 2026. In an order on June 24, ECI had hinted nationwide SIR, but only rolled it out for Bihar ahead of Assembly election in the state ing upcoming assembly elections later this year in Bihar and in few other states including West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pudduchery next year. The meeting is going to be the third of its kind since Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar took charge on February 19 this year, and will be attended by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi apart from CEC Kumar. A senior poll panel official said, “Even as the final agenda for the meeting is yet to be finalised, during the deliberations, it is expected that the Commission is going to make Smaller parties see advantage in GBA Senthil files suit against move to up number of wards to 500 Reddy in D’sthala case political jackpot A k n i s r e e Ka r t h i k @Bengaluru WITH the formation of Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and five corporations and the total number of wards in the city to be around 500, it is a jackpot for smaller parties to make a mark in the upcoming elections to the corporations. Each ward will be carved to have approximately 20,000 population and parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Karnataka Rashtra Samiti (KRS) and Bengaluru Navanirmana Party (BNP) see the elections a great opportunity and say that this is the right time for the fresh faces to enter political arena and win. They said that from the political perspective, smaller wards are advantageous to smaller parties. National Joint Secretary of AAP, Prithvi Reddy, said, “Politicians from traditional parties had a lot of advantages. Even if the wards were reserved for women, they fielded their wives to continue their domination with money and muscle power. Their fiefdom will be challenged with existing 198 wards split into 500 new wards. It will be a level playing ground with the bigger parties and their candidates not having major advantages on their side like earlier.” “Each ward is expected to have around 20,000 population, with around 10,000 voters, which means candidates have to visit approximately 2,000 houses. Even if a candidate visits 50 houses in person in a day for his door-todoor campaign, he can cover 2,000 houses in about 40 days, a time given from the election notification to the day of voting, without spending a lot of money”, Reddy said.  P7 risky bet Students cross highway as school has no toilet Ra g h o t ta m K o p pa r @Gadag NATURE’S call is an irritating subject at Lingappa Shankarappa Mailar Government High School in Hombal, near Gadag. The mixed school where more than 200 students attend has a pink toilet but no running water, forcing the wards to open defecation at an open ground after crossing Nargund Road, a busy state highway . When the school was set up in 1990 there were two small toilets. Over the years the toilets were not maintained well. Sheets covering the roof were flown away during heavy rain- Buzz on nationwide SIR from January 1 Students of the government school in Hombal cross the highway to attend nature’s call fall and wind. Parents worry that their children cross the highway for open defecation. Some girls go to their homes or go elsewhere outside. With parents putting pressure, the school committee had requested the local government for ensuring functioning toilets in the school. The school authorities said they had approached the local gram panchayat several times on the issue. Parents say teach- ing standards and extra-curricular activities are fine at the school. Basavaraj Timmagonnavar, a local, said: “Parents are worried as the students have to cross the busy highway. We have requested the school committee to build toilets for both girls and boys.” Rupeshkumar, a senior teacher, said: “As per the instructions of the Education department, the principal has submitted a memorandum to the gram panchayat but no action has been taken.” An official from the education department said gram panchayat is responsible for the toilet. Express News Service @ Bengaluru A political drama has erupted as Congress MP Sasikant Senthil has slapped a criminal defamation case against Gangavathi MLA and former BJP minister G Janardhana Reddy , who has been accused of dragging his name into the murky Dharmasthala burial case. The case, filed before the 42nd Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) court, will be heard on September 11. Senthil, a former IAS officer, claimed that Reddy’s statements are nothing short of cheap slander and a character assassination attempt. He was a strong critic of saffronisation and he resigned after the abrogation of Article 370 that granted a special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. He had then called it a broader fascist strategy that would undermine India’s democratic fabric over time. Reddy had alleged that Senthil was the “mastermind” behind the burial site scandal, and W IT H T H IS ISS U E Made in Japan PLUS 12 P AGES also charged that the former IAS officer was the one who sent the “mask man” to claim that hundreds of bodies of rape victims and others had been buried at Dharmasthala village. Senthil, who was a deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, hit back, saying. “Why drag my name into this? I haven’t had contact with these people in years. This is a reckless stunt. I will fight in court for the truth.” He branded Reddy once jailed in mining scams, , as a man with no moral right to accuse others. He alleged, “He looted crores of Karnataka’s wealth, went to prison, and now spins wild stories. I trust the law to strip this farce bare.” Reddy alleged that Senthil, a pawn in Tamil Nadu politics, was weaponised for religious manipulation. Senthil condemned the remark as an attempt to inject communal poison into an already volatile issue. “This is bigger than me. This is about fake narratives fed with fear and faith. Karnataka’s people know better,” he added. drug bust materials worth `12,000 cr seized Maharashtra police have unearthed a synthetic drug manufacturing unit in Hyderabad that was allegedly supplying narcotic to the state | P7 an assessment of the preparedness of different states to take up SIR exercise, as after Bihar the next round of intensive revision exercises are going to be taken up in those states, which are scheduled to go for assembly polls next year.” They, however, confirmed that all the CEOs have been asked to make presentations with regards to the number of electors and the details of the last SIR conducted in their respective states and UTs. Opposition parties including RJD, Congress, CPI, CPM, TMC, SP and DMK are against a nationwide SIR. New Canada report traces Khalistani terror finance h a r p r e e t b aj w a @ Chandigarh AT least two Khalistani extremist groups have received financial support, originating from Canada, for politically motivated violent activities, according to a new Canadian government report on terror financing. The report titled ‘2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada’ has identified the Khalistani extremist groups receiving financial support originating from Canada as Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation. These groups, categorized under Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE), are suspected of exploiting funding networks, including non-profit and charitable sectors, to suppor t their objectives. The report classifies terrorist threats into three categories: Ideologically Motivated Violent Extremism (IMVE), PMVE, and Religiously Motivated Violent Extremism (RMVE). While IMVE attacks by lone actors have caused the most fatalities in Canada over the past decade, PMVE and RMVE groups rely on sophisticated international financing networks. PMVE groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and Khalistani extremists, are noted for abusing the banking infrastructure, cryptocurrencies and charitable organisations, the report said.