mangaluru l friday l november 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION all eyes on Bihar as assembly poll vote counting today Elaborate security arrangements have been made for Friday’s counting of votes polled across 46 centres in 38 districts of Bihar all counting centres under drone watch Postal ballots first, followed by evm Bihar had registered a historic voter turnout of 67.13 per cent in the elections to the 243-member assembly in two phases on November 6 and November 11. Some 7.45 crore voters were eligible to decide the electoral fate of 2,616 candidates. DGP Vinay Kumar said all counting centres will be guarded by Central Armed Police Forces and will be aided by drones ■ ■ Counting of votes will commence at 8 am. Postal ballot counting will begin first, and will be followed by counting of EVMs from 8.30 am The fate of 2,616 candidates is locked in the EVMs. Among key contenders are Samrat Choudhary, Tejashwi Yadav, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Lesi Singh, and Mangal Pandey | P10 67.13% was the voter turnout—the highest since 1951— in two phases 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 SC bins TN’s pleas against K’taka’s Mekedatu project SUCHI T RA K ALYAN M OHAN T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain two applications filed by Tamil Nadu against Karnataka’s move to construct a new reservoir at Mekedatu across the inter-state river Cauvery calling them ‘premature’. While the first application challenged the permission granted by the Central Water Commission (CWC) to Karnataka for preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR), the second application was against the execution of the Mekedatu project, seeking a direction to the CWC to return the DPR submitted by Karnataka. The Karnataka government had submitted a DPR regarding the Mekedatu project to the CWC in 2018. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice NV Anjaria on Thursday said the plan would be approved only after considering the objections of Tamil Nadu as well as the opinion of expert bodies such as the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Manage- forensic audit of records of Univ ordered, ED to trace money trail ment Authority (CWMA). “At this stage, the CWC order only permits the preparation of the DPR, that too after taking into consideration the objections of Tamil Nadu, and the expert opinion of the CWMA and CWRC,” the bench pointed out. “It is further to be noted that the CWC had further directed that the prior approval of the CWMA and CWRC would be a prerequisite for the consideration of the DPR. In that view, we find the present application is at a premature stage,” the bench said. The court also referred to its order passed in August 2023. “We reiterate what was observed in our order that we don’t possess expertise. This court time and again has reiterated that this court should refrain from areas which are best reserved for experts,” the bench observed. UMAR had violent childhood; Jaish drew him before Pahalgam attack Heat on Al-Falah’s connections Umar body language shows Jaish training as a suicide bomber B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru Forensic officials inspect a red car in Faridabad, suspected to be linked to the Red Fort blast | PTI lected from the Red Fort blast site confirmed that Dr Umar Un Nabi was driving the car THE Centre on Thursday or- that exploded on Monday. dered a forensic audit of all Umar, who was known as an records of Al‑Falah University academically accomplished in Faridabad, which is under professional in his circle, allegscanner following a recent car edly turned radical over the blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that past two years, police said. killed 13 people. Investigators found that Parallelly, the Enforcement three of the accused — Dr Directorate and other financial Umar Un Nabi, Dr Muzammil investigation agencies were di- Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Shaheen rected to trace the money trail Shahid — allegedly used a of the Haryana-based institu- Switzerland-based encrypted tion, even as investigators link messaging app to plan and coseveral of its alumni and staff ordinate their activities related to an alleged “white-collar” ter- to the terror conspiracy . ror network. The police said the suspects Further, the Association of had pooled more than `26 lakh Indian Universities suspended in cash, which was handed over Al‑Falah University’s to Dr Umar for operational membership after a sususe. Using the pooled picious car, a Maruti money, the group alBrezza, bearing a doclegedly bought around Red tor’s logo was found 26 quintals of NPK fort on its Dhauj campus fertiliser in Guruattack on Thursday The ve. gram, Nuh, and nearhicle is said to be regisby towns. The fertilistered in the name of registered er, mixed with chemicals, in the name of Dr Shaheen is commonly used to manufacShahid, who is allegedly part ture Improvised Explosive Deof the terror ring. vices (IEDs). Besides, the National AssessMeanwhile, a medical college ment and Accreditation Coun- professor and a cardiology stucil (NAAC) issued a show-cause dent, both from J&K and Al notice to Al Falah for fraudu- Falah alumni, were detained in lent certification on its website. UP. Dr Farukh, an assistant In its show-cause notice, NAAC professor of obstetrics at said the university “is neither Hapur’s GS Medical College, , accredited nor applied for ac- was detained on Wednesday creditation by NAAC”. night. Mohammad Arif Mir Investigators from Delhi are (32), a first-year cardiology stuin touch with police in Indore’s dent of GSVM Medical College Mhow town to dig deep into the in Kanpur and from J&K’s past of Al-Falah University’s Anantnag, was picked up on founder Jawad Ahmad Siddiq- Thursday as he was on the ATS ui. Police sources said Jawad’s radar following former GSVM brother was accused in cases of professor Dr Shaheen Sayeed’s investment fraud in in 2000. disclosure to police during her The DNA test of samples col- interrogation. P9 express news service @ New Delhi Day’s developments NAAC has issued a show-cause notice to Al Falah University for displaying false certification on its website A severed hand was found on the roof of a shop near the Red Fort blast site on Thursday morning The UP ATS and NIA have arrested Dr Arif from Kanpur and Dr Farooq from Hapur, both Al‑Falah alumni J&K police have approached Interpol for a Red Corner Notice against Dr Muzaffar Rather, Dr Umar’s aide in the blast Dr Umar Un Nabi, who blew up a white Hyundai i20 car with him behind the wheel near Red Fort on November 10, was “probably recruited and later trained as a fidayeen (suicide bomber) by the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed much before the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam,” said well placed sources on condition of anonymity Born on February 24, 1989, Umar com. pleted his MD in Medicine at the Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, and later served as a senior resident at GMC, Anantnag before moving to Delhi. “He was psychologically assessed during his tenure at GMC, Anantnag. It was found that he had very strong and inflexible ideological beliefs and had the potential to take extreme steps to execute his radical designs,” said sources. “Umar hails from a deeply disturbed background; of violence and abuse at home. In January this year, he had reportedly justified the concept of suicide bombing in closed circles,” said sources. Recruitment in Jaish is a not easy Only those . with a pathological hatred towards India, who manage to clear tough assignments, are elevated, the sources informed. “That Umar was trained to be a fidayeen was also evident in his body language as he drove from Masood Azhar (top) Badarpur to Red Fort. He looked and Umar Un Nabi calm and undisturbed — a typical characteristic of a suicide bomber,” they added. As for Umar parking the i20 near the Red Fort for three hours, sources said, “He may have waited final instructions (to blow up). For a terror attack in Delhi/NCR, the final green light has to come from the highest echelons of the Jaish.” The Red Fort blast also killed Umar. DNA samples from the human remains in the car matched with that of his mother. Multiple agencies are investigating the manner in which the explosive laden car was detonated, said sources. On the arrest of Dr Shaheen Shahid from Lucknow, sources said Jaish’s recruitment of women is “inter-alia in response to Operation Sindoor in which India deployed its women officers from the armed forces to brief the nation on the details of the four-day precision strike on the terror infrastructure across the border, including Jaish’s headquarters in Bahawalpur.” express read Cabinet gives nod for IT, space tech policies Bengaluru: The Cabinet on Thursday approved a series of policies aimed to strengthen Karnataka’s position as a technology hub. Prominent among them is the Karnataka Information Technology Policy, 2025-2030. The Cabinet also approved the Karnataka Space Technology Policy, 2025-30, and sanctioned setting up of Centres of Excellence (CoE) for AI & Computing Centre | P4 K’taka cabinet discusses way forward for project Bengaluru: The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court order on Mekedatu and discussed measures to implement the balancing reserviour project. “The cabinet discussed how to go about the project, as there are many steps to be initiated... we also have to prepare the DPR,” Law Minister H K Patil said. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar termed the SC order as a victory for all Cauvery riparian states, as it would benefit both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu | P4 K’taka HC upholds trial court order, BSY to be tried in POCSO case E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Bengaluru In a major setback to former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to interfere with the cognisance of offences taken by the trial court against him, under the provisions of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for allegedly molesting a minor girl. Upholding the order passed by the trial court, taking cognisance of the offences and issuing summons to Yediyurappa and three others, the high court said the trial court should not insist on the pres- ence of the former CM, considering his age and peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, unless it is necessary during the trial. Justice MI Arun passed the order, disposing of two separate petitions filed by the former CM and three others, questioning the legality of the order dated February 28, 2025, passed by the trial court. The three other petitioners were Aruna M, Rudresha Marulasiddaiah and Mariswamy G, who are accused No. 2 to 4. “It has to be borne in mind that the trial court need not conduct a mini-trial while taking cognisance. It has been Verdict against Sheikh Hasina set for Monday J AYAN T H J ACO B @ New Delhi One of the sugarcane-laden tractors set on fire outside Godavari factory in Mudhol taluk of Bagalkot district on Thursday | EXPRESS Protesters torch 100 cane tractors in Mudhol F i r o z R o z i n d a r @ Bagalkot The protest by sugarcane farmers in the district demanding Rs 3,500 a tonne took a violent turn on Thursday with the protesters torching nearly 100 sugarcane-laden tractors parked outside Godavari sugar factory in Sameerwadi village of Mudhol taluk. According to reports, the incident flared up after several farmers, ready to supply sugarcane to the factory start, ed taking out tractors towards the factory. This irked the protestors, who had earlier called a bandh on Thursday, and started marching towards Sameerwadi. In the village, an argument broke out between the two groups which escalated with throwing stones and torching of the parked tractors. Videos of the tractors in flames went viral on social media. While there were no confirmed reports of the exact number of tractors that were burnt, unconfirmed reports suggested that at least a hundred vehicles were set on fire and several motorcycles parked nearby were damaged in the fire. Fire and emergency personnel rushed to the spot to douse the fire.  CONTINUED ON: P6 gold rush State’s Mission Gold raises hopes of mineral riches, job prospects A s h w i n i M S r i pa d @Bengaluru Karnataka is the largest producer of gold in the country and it is digging for more. The State Department of Mines and Geology and related agencies are carrying out a large-scale exploration at 16,350 hectares in 19 locations to identify deposits of gold along with uranium, bauxite, copper and other minerals. The ongoing exploration is said to be the largest in the state so far. The exploration has struck gold in some of these locations, including Haveri, Koppal, Mandya, Chitradurga and Ballari. “Of the 16,350 hectares, we are exploring for gold in close to 14,000 hectares. Though the initial estimation is that there is gold, we do not know to what extent the mineral is available. We will get a clear picture only after we finish the exploration,” an official from the state mining department said. Kar nataka has two key gold mines—Hatti, and Kolar Gold Field, which is not functional at present. The exploration activities are funded by the state govern- considered whether there are sufficient materials produced for proceeding against the accused. It is required to apply its mind and form an opinion by analysing the materials produced before it. The impugned order shows the trial court has done so. I do not see any error in the manner in which the trial court has taken cognisance of the offences alleged against the accused...” the judge observed. The HC made it clear that the trial court should decide the case based on evidence, without being influenced by the observations of this court in earlier orders, as well as these petitions. P4 ment and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET). Public sector units Mineral Exploration and Consultancy Limited and Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited are part of the exploration. Officials from the State Mining Department said that the agency carries out a set of surveys. It starts with Re- connaissance Surveys, which will be on larger land parcel and sampling test will be done at the outset. It will be followed by preliminary exploration (survey will be done within a few kms or 10 kms) and general exploration (survey will be done for one km or less than one km) and the last one is detailed exploration where ore reserves estimated. P7 Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal will on Monday deliver its verdict in the case of crimes against humanity filed against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Prosecutors have sought death penalty for Hasina, now in India, accusing her of ordering lethal force against student protesters in July last year. Former Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were also charged. Both Hasina and Kamal were tried in absentia. Al-Mamun later turned approver. According to a UN repor t, 1,400 were killed in the Dhaka unrest, while government figures show Sheikh Hasina 800 deaths. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam alleged Hasina and her aides incited violence, ordering police and armed Awami League supporters to use deadly weapons against the demonstrators. The charges include murder, torture, extermination, and other inhumane acts. The tribunal concluded its 28-day hearing on October 23. Judges will now determine if Hasina and her coaccused orchestrated state violence against civilians. Meanwhile, tensions have soared across Bangladesh ahead of the verdict. The Awami League has called a nationwide shutdown, leading to transport chaos and widespread school closures.