kalaburagi l friday l november 07, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION ED attaches properties worth `11.14 cr of dhawan, raina Enforcement Directorate has said it has attached assets of ex-cricket stars Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina as part of a money-laundering probe Shikhar Dhawan Suresh Raina stars endorsed knowingly, says agency Assets considered as proceeds of crime The ED’s probe has found that the former cricketers ‘knowingly’ entered into endorsement agreements with foreign entities for the promotion of 1xBet and its surrogates. A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to attach a commercial land in Delhi of Dhawan worth `4.5 cr and a mutual fund of Raina worth `6.64 cr ■ ■ The ED considers the two ex-cricketers’ assets as “proceeds of crime” of illegal betting. ED order can be appealed before Adjudicating Authority of the PMLA and other legal forums ED also said it has detected 6,000 mule bank accounts. Multiple police FIRs formed the basis for ED to launch the probe | P13 `1,000 cr expected to be total amount involved in the scam 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 Pune land scam puts Ajit Pawar’s son in trouble Govt bid to delay S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai In a major embarrassment to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his elder son Parth on Thursday faced charges of grabbing 40 acres of prime land in Pune at a throwaway price of `300 crore against the market rate of `2,000 crore. The land in question is part of ‘Mahar Vatan’, which was distributed by the government to landless Dalits for cultiva- Secretary Vikas Kharge into tion on the condition the scam. An FIR was that it can’t be bought also registered against or sold. Yet, Parth manboth the buyer and the aged to acquire the land seller, and a revenue deparcel from Gaikwad partment official was families. placed under suspenWhile Ajit Pawar sion for waiving stamp claimed he had no idea duty and land registraParth Pawar about the land deal, tion fees. Chief Minister DevenJust a few months dra Fadnavis ordered a high- ago, Parth and his relative, level probe by Additional Chief Digvijay Amarsinh Patil regis- tered an infotech firm called Almada and passed a resolution on April 22 to develop an IT park in Pune. Almada then submitted a proposal to develop an IT park on that 40-acre parcel of land, saying it will generate thousands of jobs. Almada paid just `500 as fees for the land title, against `25 crore as real stamp duty and registration fees. Uddhav raps Fadnavis Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray attacked the Fadnavis government for the land scam. He said while farmers are struggling, the ministers’ children are grabbing the prime land at throwaway prices. “Earlier, scams against DCM Eknath Shinde’s group were coming out; now, Ajit Pawar is on target from the BJP,” Uddhav alleged Curb on RSS events: HC rejects plea to vacate stay E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hubballi Phase 1 Population distribution by social group(%) 3 Hindu ST 23.3 Phase 1 Hindu SC Highest voting (%) Muzaffarpur 70.96% Samastipur 70.63% Begusarai 47.2 69.27% Hindu OBC Lowest voting (%) Bhojpur 58.27% Patna 57.93% 15.5 Hindu Others 0.03 Non-Muslim and non-Hindu 11 Muslim Source: NFHS 2019-21 Highest 62.04 62.57 57.29 61.79 56.91 52.79 50.51 46.5 45.83 Feb 42.6 2000 1995 1990 1985 1980 1977 43.24 2005 2020 44.47 OCT Lowest 52.73 56.27 51.51 2015 57.28 2010 comparision of bihar Assembly voter turnout Phase 2 : Nov 11 Phase 1 Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (top) and others after casting their votes in Patna; RJD’s Tejashvi with Lalu and Rabri Yadav | PTI 1972 THE first phase of the Bihar assembly election on Thursday recorded a voter turnout of 64.66% at the close of polling in 121 constituencies in 18 districts, marking a largely peaceful exercise. This is the highest turnout since 1951 in Bihar. Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said polling was conducted at 45,341 booths, including 36,733 in rural areas. The election follows a special revision of electoral rolls, which now lists 7.24 crore voters — around 60 lakh fewer than before the exercise. Wo m e n v o t e r s turned out in large numbers, outpacing men at several booths. Many first-time voters also flocked enthusiastically to polling stations, officials said. A minor incident occurred when Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha’s convoy was attacked with slippers and stones in Khoriari village, Lakhisarai. Sinha, who is contesting from Lakhisarai, alleged that RJD supporters were behind the attack and demanded the deployment of special forces. Local residents said the protest reflected anger over poor roads and civic neglect. In another incident, CPI(ML) candidate from Manjhi, Satyendra Yadav, faced stone pelting in Saran’s Jaitpur area. No injuries were reported, said Add i t i o n a l D G P Ku n d a n Krishnan. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar cast his vote in Bakhtiyarpur, while RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav voted in Patna, asserting that ‘badlaav hoga’ (there will be change). Rabri Devi, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav, and MP Misa Bharti also cast their votes early in the day . Rabri Devi extended good wishes to both her sons as they contest separately from Mahua and Raghopur. For the first time in 20 years, voters in Naxal-hit Bhimbandh of Munger participated in polling. Voting had been suspended there since 2005 following the killing of SP C Surendra Babu and seven policemen. The RJD alleged deliberate power cuts in Mahagathbandhan strongholds to slow down voting, a charge the CEO dismissed as baseless. Prominent candidates in this phase include Tejashwi Prasad Yadav (RJD–Raghopur), Samrat Choudhary (BJP–Tarapur), Maithili Thakur (BJP–Aliganj), Khesari Lal Yadav (RJD–Chhapra), and Ritesh Pandey (Jan Suraaj–Kargahar). 1969 r a m a s h a nk a r @ Patna 1967 Karnataka Startup Policy 2025-2030 aims to establish up to 25,000 startups, including 10,000 outside Bengaluru, over the next five years. A budget of Rs 518.27 crore has been approved for the policy | P4 Bihar Convoy of Deputy CM attacked in Lakhisarai; RJD claims ‘discrepancies’ in its strongholds 1957 cabinet approval Record 64.7% turnout in 1st phase of polling 1962 startup New policy gets Voters wait in a queue to cast votes at a booth at Danapur in Patna during the first phase polling on Thursday | PTI 1951 THE State government suffered a setback with the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court rejecting the government’s plea to vacate the stay given by the single bench on restriction of private events in public places. A division bench comprising Justices SG Pandit and Justice Geeta KB asked the government to go back to the single bench to get the stay vacated. The government had recently issued an order restricting private events in public places in a move to curb the RSS’s activities in the state. The government’s decision was challenged in the Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court by Punaschetana Seva Sangh, VK Foundation, Rajiv Malhar Kulkarni and Uma Chavan. Justice M Nagaprasanna on October 28 issued a stay saying , that the government’s order was against Article 19(1) AB of the Constitution. The government then filed a petition on Tuesday challenging the single , bench’s order before the division bench. The bench had reserved its verdict on Tuesday . hearings to avoid my bench: Gavai SUCHITRA K ALYA N MOHA N T Y @ New Delhi CHIEF Justice of India B R Gavai on Thursday expressed strong displeasure over the Centre’s repeated attempts to seek adjournment of the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Tribunal Reforms Act, 2021. The matter was slated for hearing on Friday. On Thursday additional solicitor gener, al Aishwarya Bhati moved a request for adjournment on behalf of Attorney General R Venkataramani, citing the latter’s international arbitration commitments. Making a sharp observation, Gavai said it looks like the government is trying to avoid the bench headed by him since he has only a few days left for retirement. Gavai will demit office on November 23. Mentioning the matter before the bench, Bhati said the case is important and requires the A-G’s assistance and hence the adjournment request be accommodated. “We have accommodated you twice already How many more? . If you want it after November 24, tell us then. Very unfair to the court. Every time you seek accommodation for international arbitration. You have a CJI irked by repeated adjournment pleas A request for adjournment was made on Monday as well, when Attorney General R Venkataramani raised a preliminary objection saying the matter needs to be referred to a larger bench. However, the CJI rejected it, saying it should have been raised at an earlier stage battery of lawyers and then you file midnight applications seeking reference to larger benches!” said the bench, also comprising justices K Vinod Chandran and Vipul M Pancholi, adding that the court does not expect the Union “to indulge in such tactics”. The bench eventually asked senior advocate Arvind Datar representing one of the petitioners, to continue with his submissions on Friday and accommodate the A-G’s submissions on Monday “If he (A-G) . does not come, we will close the matter,” the CJI said. risking the river Upa Lokayukta questions spending `1.50 cr grant on Cauvery retaining wall Yat h i r a j u @ Bengaluru THE Upa Lokayukta has questioned why Rs 1.50 crore was spent in 2008-09 as government grant-in aid to construct a 255-metre-long retaining wall along the Cauvery and, in the process, changed the river’s course. In a report submitted to Justice B Veerappa, the authorities of Srirangapatna taluk, irrigation and forest departments said the retaining wall was built to protect the buildings of Chandravana Ashrama near Bangaradoddi canal. The report also has a map to show the change in the course of the Cauvery near the Ashrama. The Upa Lokayukta had ordered removal of encroachment of the buffer zone and eco-sensitive zone of the river. The report, however, said the encroachments in the Kharab land have not been removed. The retaining wall was constructed by the Minor Irrigation department in 2008-09 to protect the buildings within the Ashrama, even though ‘no objection certificate’ was not issued either by Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited or by the Major Irrigation Department, said the report. The Upa Lokayukta has directed the authorities to produce all relevant documents in respect of the said constructions. CONTINUED ON: P7 No food or care: Nutri centre for kids Take a bow as Sheetal matches the able-bodied in Mys Cheluvamba Hospital defunct unstoppable c h a nd r a p r a b h u @ Chennai Sheetal Devi | PTI Sheetal in English translates to ‘cool’, ‘calm’ and even ‘peaceful’. Using the bow with her leg and string pulled by mouth, she is all of the above while releasing the arrow. Sheetal Devi doesn’t have hands to pull and shoot but compensates with other limbs and whatever means she can to pursue her passion — archery . The para-archer who has broken quite a few glass-ceilings in her short but astonishingly successful career set another gold standard on Thursday She . became the first para-archer in the country to secure a place in the junior able-bodied India team for the Asia Cup Stage 3 to be held in Jeddah next month. Any player would have been satisfied with a para-world archery championships gold. But Sheetal has not stopped with para-Olympic and para-World Championships medals. Because of her exceptional talent, she was adamant on competing with able-bodied archers. She shifted her base from Katra in Jammu to Patiala and started training with renown coach Gaurav Sharma. She was very clear — she wanted to model herself with her hero Oznur Cure Girdi of Turkey who also , competes with able-bodied archers. “I didn’t make it at first, but I kept going, learning from every setback. Today, that dream is one step closer,” she wrote on social media. Sharma later gave an insight to her resolve and resilience. She competed alongside 60 archers over four days. “She was coming back from a month’s break and we wanted to take part in some competition,” said the coach. “We did not think beyond that. All she wanted was to perform well. She worked hard and her qualification is a result of it.”  P13 K a r t h i k K K @ Mysuru In a disturbing revelation that exposes the state of child healthcare in Mysuru district, the Nutritional Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) operating at Cheluvamba Hospital was found virtually defunct, with empty kitchen boxes, no food, and not a single malnourished child admitted. The shocking discovery came during a surprise inspection by Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR) in-charge chairman Shashidhar Kosambe, who was disturbed by what he saw. The KSCPCR in-charge chairman Shashidhar Kosambe inspects Cheluvamba hospital in Mysuru on Thursday | Udayashankar S centre, meant to provide nutritious food and medical care to malnourished children under the National Health Mission (NHM), is lying idle, its purpose defeated. The inspection team, which included KSCPCR member Tippeswamy and District Health and Family Welfare Officer Dr Kumaraswamy found the NRC , kitchen in complete disuse -- no food is cooked, there is no activity in the ward, except two patients from the OPD made to rest there. Officials, including head of the department of pediatrics and superintendent of the hospital accompanying the chairman, were left embarrassed when questioned about the non-functioning facility P6 .