tirupati l sunday l november 16, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Trump scraps tariffs on some items including coffee, fruits The abrupt retreat from his signature tariff policy comes amid mounting pressure on his administration to combat high consumer prices Admits levies causing prices to shoot u-turn after party’s election losses The president signed an executive order on Friday that removes tariffs on coffee, tea, beef, fruit juice, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and certain fertilisers imported into the US. “We’ve just made a slight rollback on some foods,” Trump said. He acknowledged that his tariff policy has contributed to a rise in consumer prices in “some cases” | P10 ■ ■ The reversal comes after voters in off-year elections this month cited economic concerns as their top issue, resulting in big wins for Democrats in Virginia, New Jersey and other key races around the US “The president is finally admitting what we always knew: his tariffs are raising prices for the people,” senior Democrat Don Beyer said $2,000 The amount trump proposed to give each American as tariff dividend 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 CM expected to dissolve House, stake fresh claim on Monday daughter quits lalu family, politics S V i s w a n at h @ Vijayawada R a m a s h a n k a r @ Patna A day after the Rashtriya Janata Dal-Congress-led Mahagathbandhan’s crushing defeat in the Bihar Assembly elections, a feud erupted within RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s family, with his daughter Rohini Acharya announcing that she was quitting politics and severing all ties with the family . “I am quitting politics and also disowning my family. This is what Sanjay Yadav and Rameez had asked me to do. I am taking all the blame,” Acharya wrote on X. Sanjay Yadav is an RJD MP and a close confidant of Lalu’s younger son, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, while Rameez is Tejashwi’s friend from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh. Neither Sanjay nor Rameez reacted, deepRohini Acharya ening the mystery and fuelling speculation of pressure within the party and the family . Rohini Acharya had previously made headlines when she donated one of her kidneys to her ailing father, Lalu Prasad. Responding to Rohini’s announcement, her brother Tej Pratap, who himself was expelled from the party a few months back, said: “Those who are trying to harass my sister will not be spared. ‘Jai Chand’ (traitor) will be taught a lesson at an appropriate time.” JD(U) MLC Neeraj Kumar said, “The daughter who saved the life of Lalu is now saying in pain that she is stepping down from politics and snapping ties with the family It is a big question on . Lalu and Rabri Devi.” CII Summit a big hit, 613 MoUs worth `13.25L cr signed: Naidu LJP(RV) chief Chirag Paswan greets Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna | PTI Mind games by Nitish before 10th term shot RA J E SH KUMAR THAKUR @ New Delhi A day after the NDA registered a stunning landslide victory in the Bihar elections, there was no doubt in anybody’s mind that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will get a record 10th term at the government’s helm. But Nitish being Nitish, he could suggest to the BJP that it should lead the government since it emerged as the single-largest party For its . part, the BJP could graciously insist that the mandate was for Nitish in the hot seat and should stay that way . In 2024, when he returned to the NDA after walking out of the Mahagathbandhan, Nitish enacted the same drama of asking the BJP to stake its claim for chief ministership, but the BJP respectfully turned it down. Of course, the final call will be taken by the BJP’s national leadership. “But, there is no chance of the BJP leading the government; it will send a wrong message within the NDA. The current arrange- ment is working fine,” remarked a senior BJP leader. The swearing-in ceremony is tentatively expected between November 18 and 21, depending on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s availability . Given the solid performance of Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV) at the hustings — 19 out of 25 seats it contested, it could be rewarded with a deputy chief minister’s position. As for the BJP, it could name a Yadav leader from the party like Ram Kripal Yadav for the second deputy CM’s slot. The idea is to consolidate the BJP’s position in the Yadav vote bank, especially after making inroads into this demographic this time around. A state cabinet meeting on dissolving the outgoing assembly is expected on Monday, after which Nitish will submit his resignation to the Governor. Later, a meeting of the NDA legislative party will elect Nitish as its leader. Nitish will then return to Raj Bhavan and stake his claim to form the new government. BJP suspends R K Singh | P8 The Andhra Pradesh government has attracted a record `13.25 lakh crore investments by signing 613 MoUs at the two-day 30th CII Partnership Summit 2025 held in Visakhapatnam. Rejoiced by the overwhelming response not only in terms of attracting huge investments but also with the participation of a large number of investors, and exchanging ideas on various issues, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu described the summit as historic. He announced that the CII Partnership Summit will also be held on the same dates (November 14 and 15) in 2026. Naidu is of the opinion that Partnership Summits should not limit to exchange of mere MoUs, but should be the plat- Kolkata/Chandigarh/Srinagar MORE arrests continue in the Delhi car blast case with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) detaining Zanishar Alam, a 2024 MBBS graduate of Al Falah University, from his village in Suryapur market of Dalkhola in West Bengal’s North Dinajpur district on Saturday . The man had returned home on November 12 to attend a wedding before his arrest. NIA officials traced him from Ludhiana, where his father lives. Acting on a tip-off, NIA officials contacted Touhid in Ludhiana and collected details of MHA probe into nowgam blast The Home Ministry (MHA) said a probe has been ordered to determine the cause of the Nowgam police station ‘accidental’ blast that killed 9 people, including cops, on Friday his son. They came to know about Zanishar’s location from his father and then rushed to Dalkhola, sources added. Al Falah University and its land records are also under scrutiny by revenue officials. Meanwhile, a surgeon from Pathankot linked to Al Falah University and two doctors and fertilizer store owners from Haryana was also detained. Official sources said that 45year-old Dr Rayees Ahmad Bhat, presently associated with White Medical College in World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Saturday to establish a Centre for Energy and Cyber Resilience in the State. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said green energy has become a global priority and Andhra Pradesh aims to play a leading role in this transition form for knowledge exchange. Elaborating on the deliberations that took place during the summit to mediapersons on Saturday, the Chief Minister said it was a super hit with the participation of over 4,975 industrialists, including 640 international delegates. In all, 41 business sessions were held with 91 speakers, besides 16 business meetings with eight countries. Naidu participated in 24 bilateral meetings. The investment proposals will generate employment for 16.31 lakh people in the State. The NDA government has attracted investments of more than `20 lakh crore in the last 17 months, he highlighted. The summit was not confined to attracting investments, and it was organised in a hybrid model with knowledge sharing sessions and discussions on global industrial scenarios. In addition, 450 students were selected to participate in the summit, and develop them as prospective entrepreneurs. Ratan Tata Innovation Hub is serving as a platform for proP4 spective entrepreneurs.  Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu addressing the media at the CII Partnership Summit in Vizag on Saturday I Express e x p r ess r e a d Korean firm ditched TN for AP: Minister Chennai: Industries Minister TRB Rajaa, reacting to the decision of Hwaseung Enterprises to move its proposed investment in nonleather footwear manufacturing from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh, has said TN will resist temptation to join the incentive battle among Indian States | P5 Pathankot, was detained by NIA and is being questioned after investigators found that he was allegedly in touch with Dr Umar Un Nabi, the Delhi blast kingpin. Sources said Bhat was taken into custody to ascertain whether he was part of the “white-collar” terror module managed by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. The NMC has cancelled the registrations of the four doctors — Dr Muzaffar Ahmad, Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather, Dr Muzamil Shakeel and Dr Shaheen Saeed with immediate effect — for their alleged involvement in the terror module. Section 354 of IPC over woman’s modesty cannot be invoked sans intent: HC E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Vijayawada In a significant ruling, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Saturday held that an accidental touch or push during a quarrel or confrontation could not be construed as an act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. The court made it clear that such incidents, occurring without deliberate intention to demean a woman, do not attract charges under Section 354 of IPC. Delivering the verdict in a case, Justice Tallapragada Mallikarjuna Rao, said there should be clear evidence of intent to outrage a woman’s modesty to invoke Section 354 of IPC. The court made the observation on an appeal filed by police against a 2006 verdict of the Ongole Additional Assistant Sessions Judge, who acquitted four youths charged with obstructing a government servant on duty, and insulting the modesty of a woman. The incident dated back to June 16, 2005. Mastan Vali, a home guard attached to Nagulappadu police station in Prakasam district, received a complaint that four youths were creating obstruction to vehicular movement near the bus stand. When he went to the spot, a scuffle broke out between Vali and the quartet. Vali’s mother, who arrived there, fell down during the pushing and shoving. Subsequently, police re gistered a case against the four youths under charges, including insulting the modesty of a woman. In 2006, the sessions court acquitted all the four accused, noting that the prosecution had failed to produce adequate evidence to substantiate the charges. Challenging the acquittal, the police filed an appeal in the High Court in 2009. After examining all evidence, Justice Mallikarjuna Rao upheld the sessions court verdict. t r a d in g z o ne Samson to CSK, Jadeja RR dominate buzz; KKR brace for auction E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Chennai The trading window of the Indian Premier League has shown signs of maturity as the tournament has evolved over the years. With the window closing on Saturday, most teams seemed to have covered their bases, especially Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru making most of it. Going by the money left in the purse, Kolkata Knight Riders, after a poor outing last season, are looking to rebuild the team. CSK too are following a similar script. The two are expected to engage in a fierce battle to secure the choicest of players, especially Australian all-rounder Cam Green. Interestingly, most of the players released by teams will go into the auction pool. KKR are looking for a captain as well. The central figures on the last day of trading were Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja. The wicket-keeper batter was traded with the left-armspinning all-rounder. Samson landed with CSK for a figure of `18 cr while Jadeja left for Rajasthan Royals, surprisingly on a pay cut – `14 crore. For CSK, the 6 arrested in Madanapalle kidney racket E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Tirupati More arrests in terror module case e x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ AP signs MoU with WEF to set up Energy Centre move would help consolidate their fanbase and fortify their keeping with icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni, at 44, not growing any younger. CSK’s Sam Curran’s move to RR too was part of deal. Remaining Purse CSK have managed to free up some `40 crore after releasing a host of players, including stars like New Zealand’s Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, Deepak Hooda and Matheesha Pathirana. Similarly, KKR have 13 slots open, including six `64.30cr `43.40cr KKR CSK overseas. Mohammed Shami was bought in an all-cash deal by Lucknow Super Giants from Sunrisers Hyderabad. Though MI, the five-time champs, have a smaller purse (`2,75cr), they have already got a balanced team after securing Shardul Thakur, Sherfane Rutherford and Mayank Markande. Same is the case with RCB and PBK. Auction will be held at Abu Dhabi on Dec 16. In a major breakthrough, police arrested six persons on Saturday in connection with a kidney racket at Global Multi-Speciality Hospital in Madanapalle. On November 9, 2025, an unauthorised kidney transplant was performed at the hospital with the involvement of a surgical team from Bengaluru. The kidney transplant was allegedly arranged by Dr Kampa Anjaneyulu, owner of the hospital, and Annamayya District Hospital Services Co-ordinator, without obtaining mandatory approval under the Human Organ Transplantation Act, 2011.  Two women from Visakhapatnam underwent surgery Ya. muna, one of them, developed severe complications after the surgery and died the following , morning. Based on a complaint lodged by Suramma, mother of Yamuna, the police had registered a case, and took up investigation. Dr Anjaneyulu, Bala Rangadu, dialysis unit manager of Madanapalle government Hospital, Meharaj, dialysis unit manager of Kadiri government hospital, Pilli Padma, donor/ recipient agent, Visakhapatnam, Kakarlapalli Sathya, a middlewoman, and Suribabu, live-in partner of Yamuna, who allegedly pressured her to undergo surgery, were arrested. Padma and Sathya, along with the dialysis unit managers, had identified vulnerable kidney donors and recipients. They coordinated with the Global Hospital’s management, and arranged for an external surgical team from Bengaluru to perform kidney transplants. Under the supervision of SP Dheeraj Kunubilli, DSP S Mahendra led multiple police teams to crack the kidney racket. The accused were apprehended at Chekalabailu. The police seized six mobile phones from the accused. Some more accused are still at large. “The accused not only performed illegal kidney transplants but also exploited vulnerable individuals for money ,” the DSP said. WITH THIS ISSUE Devil’s Doctor d e M in e th nsid of the I Urban Terrorist PLUS 12 P AGES