hyderabad l friday l november 14, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 38 l late 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 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 67.13% Jubilee HIlls bypoll result likely by noon ■ Trends for the Jubilee Hills bypoll expected by 10 am and result by noon While 58 candidates are in the fray, exit polls suggested a victory for Naveen Yadav of the Congresss with Maganti Sunitha (BRS) and Lankala Deepak Reddy (BJP) the other top contenders | P6 ■ 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 forensic audit of records of Univ ordered, ED to trace money trail 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 ala Cha u han @ 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 (Faridafertiliser in Guruattack bad) campus on gram, Nuh, and nearThursday. The vehicle by towns. The fertilisis said to be registered in the er, mixed with chemicals, name of Dr Shaheen Shahid, is commonly used to manufacwho is allegedly part of the ter- ture Improvised Explosive Deror 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 has applied for was detained on Wednesday accreditation 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 2000. disclosure to police during her The DNA test of samples col- interrogation. e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi Verdict against Sheikh Hasina set for Monday J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi 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. According to a UN re port, 1,400 people were killed in the Dhaka unrest, while government figures show 800 Sheikh Hasina deaths. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam alleged Hasina and her aides incited violence, ordering police to use deadly weapons against the demonstrators. The charges include murder, torture and other inhumane acts. The tribunal concluded its 28-day hearing on October 23. Judges will now determine if Hasina and her co-accused orchestrated state violence against civilians. 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 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 awaited 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 explosiveladen 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.” Mukul Roy disqualified The Calcutta High Court on Thursday disqualified senior leader Mukul Roy as a member of the West Bengal Assembly under the anti-defection law for switching over to the ruling TMC, after having been elected on a BJP ticket in the 2021 polls CM invites world-class varsities, tech giants to help reshape Hyd E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has extended an invitation to leading global academic institutions like Harvard, Stanford and Oxford to establish offshore campuses in Hyderabad, positioning the city as an emerging hub for worldclass education. Speaking at the annual conclave of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Delhi on Thursday, he said, “Once Harvard, Stanford or Oxford sets up an offshore campus in Hyderabad, many students from the Global South can attend these Ivy League programmes because of easier visa rules and lower costs.” Revanth also announced that the government plans to name major roads in Hyderabad after corporates. “In India, most roads are named after political leaders. Let us change that in Hyderabad to have Google, Meta, TCS or Infosys Street,” he said, urging global investors to tap into Telangana’s growing potential as part of his $1 trillion state economy vision by 2034 and $3 trillion SGDP target by 2047. The chief minister also highlighted the favourable investment climate in the state and assured consistent political support for investors. “We have had several governments Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy attends the US–India Strategic Partnership Forum meeting in Delhi on Thursday meta makeover CM plans to name city roads after major companies like Google, Meta, TCS and Infosys Targets $1 trillion state economy by 2034 and $3 trillion SGDP by 2047 Telangana aims to be “global answer to China+1” for manufacturing Highlights Bharat Future City on 30,000 acres and Musi riverfront rejuvenation Focus on Hyderabad Metro Rail expansion, regional ring road, dry port and manufacturing zone Notes Telangana’s stable political climate, strong infrastructure and central location run by the Congress or other parties, but we have all supported investments and inves- Nagarjuna withdraws case Setback for BSY K’taka HC refuses to lift POCSO case after Surekha’s apology E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Actor Akkineni Nagarjuna on Thursday withdrew his defamation case against minister Konda Surekha after she issued a public apology . The actor had filed a complaint with the Special Junior First Class Magistrate, Hyderabad, on October 3, 2024, over her alleged remarks against the Akkineni family . On Thursday, Nagarjuna filed a petition under Section 280 of the BNSS before the same court, informing it virtually about his decision to withdraw the case. The court subsequently accepted his petition and closed the proceedings. A day earlier, on Wednesday , Konda Surekha had posted on X that she had no intention of hurting or defaming Nagarjuna or his family . E XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC E @ Bengaluru In a setback for former Karnataka chief minister and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to quash the POCSO case registered against him for allegedly molesting a minor girl during a meeting at his residence on February 2, 2024. The HC upheld the order passed by the trial court on February 28 taking cognisance of the offences and issuing three other petitioners were summons to YediyurapAruna M, Rudresha pa and three others. Marulasiddaiah and However, it asked the Mariswamy G, who are trial court not to insist accused No. 2 to 4. on the presence of YediThe single-judge yurappa during the tribench also made it clear al, considering his age. that the trial court Justice M I Arun should decide the case passed the order, dis- B S Yediyurappa based on evidence durposing of two separate ing the course of the petitions filed by the former trial, without being influenced chief minister and three oth- by the observations made by ers, questioning the legality of the high court in earlier the trial court’s order. The orders. USISPF members to attend Telangana Rising Global Summit on December 8–9 in Hyderabad In India, most roads are named after political leaders. Let us change that in Hyderabad to have Google, Meta, TCS or Infosys Street A Revanth Reddy, chief minister tors for the last 35 years,” the chief minister said.  Continued on P6 express read Arjun enters chess World Cup pre-quarters World No.4 Arjun Erigaisi defeated former classical world championship challenger Peter Leko 2-0 on Thursday in the Round of 32 rapid tiebreaks of the FIDE Chess World Cup in Goa. The Warangal ace is one of only two Indians still left in the tournament along with P Harikrishna after R Praggnandhaa, Pranav V and Karthik Venkataraman were all knocked out. Arjun, seeded second in the World Cup, is also the last among the top 6 seeds still standing | P13 SPEED B U M PS RE M O V ED NGT balances development and greenery in NH-163 expansion order E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Southern Zone has permitted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to resume work on the Hyderabad–Warangal highway (NH163) expansion project, but only under stringent environmental conditions. The tribunal directed that 765 banyan trees along the route be retained and around 150 translocated a few metres away under expert supervision to minimise ecological disturbance. The order, delivered on November 12, followed a year-long series of hearings after the tribunal identified major deficiencies in the project’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In its earlier order in March 2025, the NGT had directed NHAI to re-examine the alignment and conduct scientific studies to safeguard biodiversity and heritage trees before AT A GLANCE Original plan proposed felling of over 900 banyans 765 banyan and nearly 10,000 other trees to be trees; revised design reduces retained; 150 to loss significantly be translocated under expert BSI identified 915 supervision banyans; 412 viable for to minimise relocation, with Mudimiyal ecological Reserve Forest approved for disturbance safe translocation proceeding further. Responding to those directions, NHAI carried out fresh assessments through the Zoo- NHAI to build four wildlife underpasses and multiple culverts for animal movement Compensatory afforestation to use native species like banyan ( Ficus benghalensis ), palash ( Butea monosperma ), and bahera ( Terminalia bellirica ) logical Survey of India (ZSI), Botanical Survey of India (BSI), and other expert agencies. The revised plan now significantly reduces tree loss — retaining 765 banyan trees in situ and proposing the translocation of only 150 — compared to the original plan that would have led to the felling of over 900 banyan trees and nearly 10,000 other trees. The BSI study identified 915 banyan trees along the corridor, of which 412 were found viable for relocation. The Mudimiyal Reserve Forest was approved as a suitable translocation site, with detailed procedures laid out for safe transfer and post-care maintenance. The tribunal noted that the revised alignment and biodiversity plan reflected a balanced approach between infrastr ucture expansion and environmental protection. The Zoological Survey of India report found no active heronries (bird-nesting sites) along the highway but mandated that any tree later found hosting protected species be retained.  Continued on P7