kalaburagi l thursday l november 20, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Ready to launch first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission anytime: Isro Isro chairman V Narayanan said on Wednesday the space agency is fully prepared to launch the first of the three uncrewed missions any time Over 80,000 tests completed: V narayanan Launch in December, PM to finalise date Narayanan said that with 80,000 tests completed, about 85% of the work on the Gaganyaan mission is now done. The first uncrewed Gaganyaan mission is scheduled for December 2025 and will carry the humanoid robot Vyommitra. It will be the first of three uncrewed tests designed to validate the mission’s systems before the crewed launch ■ ■ The launch date for the first uncrewed mission will be finalised by the Prime Minister, Narayanan said at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2025 The Isro chairman said India’s share in the global space economy is expected to rise to 11% by 2047, from the current 2%. He added Isro will launch around 50 satellites per year over the next five years 2027 when India aims to launch the first crewed ganganyaan mission 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 Posing as RBI officials, gang robs `7 cr Another form of E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru In a daring heist executed in broad daylight in Bengaluru on Wednesday afternoon, five to six criminals, posing as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials, intercepted a cash-intransit vehicle (CITV) carrying Rs 7.11 crore and escaped with the money after abandoning the vehicle and its four staff members. The four staff members of the money transfer operator company have been taken into custody, suspecting their involvement. The heist took place around 12.30 pm near Jayanagar’s Ashoka Pillar. The suspects, travelling in an SUV intercept, ed the cash vehicle (GJ-01-HT9173) from Cash Management Services (CMS) company. Claiming to be RBI officials, they told the staff that they needed to verify cash that was being transported in the com- Police inspect the cash-in-transit vehicle after the robbery in Bengaluru on Wednesday pany vehicle. They took three staff members to their vehicle, leaving the driver back in the cash van. The miscreants then instructed the driver to drive the CITV towards the Dairy Circle flyover. There, they allegedly threatened him with a pistol, unloaded the cash along with the Digital Video Recorder (DVR) installed in the van and fled from the spot. The driver alert- ed the CMS security head, who in turn informed the police. The van had collected Rs 7.11 crore from a private bank in JP Nagar and was heading towards HBR Layout, with multiple scheduled ATM stops to deposit the cash. The four CMS staff members on board were identified as Binod Kumar (driver), Rajanna and T hammayya (ar med guards), and Aftab (cash custodian), the police said. A senior police officer said the Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO) and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) teams inspected the van and lifted fingerprints. The four staff members of CMS have been taken into custody for questioning, while CCTV footage too is being analysed, he added. The police strongly suspect the involvement of an insider, who might have passed critical information about the movement of the cash van. “The statements of the driver and the three staff members have been inconsistent, raising suspicion” the officer said. The three staff members, who were taken by the criminals in their vehicle, were dropped off in Jayanagar, but they did not alert their company or anyone else after their release, the officer said. The driver claimed that he did not know the three staff members had been abandoned in Jayanagar. US deports 200 Indian nationals, including gangster Anmol Bishnoi H ARPR E E T B A J WA @ Chandigarh Nitish to take oath for record 10th time today JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar will take oath as Bihar chief minister for a record 10th time at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan at 11 am on Thursday Page 10 Road sweeping machines to be rented at `613cr, oppn sees scam E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru Brushing aside serious questions raised by the Opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular), the state gover nment on Wednesday gave administrative approval for renting 46 mechanical road-sweeping machines for seven years at a whopping Rs 613 crore to clean roads under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). The Opposition questioned the logic of paying huge sums for renting the machines that can be purchased for a fraction of that amount. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, however, dismissed the allegations made by JDS and BJP and dared them to lodge a complaint with Lokayukta if there is corruption. He told the media that if there is corruption, JDS leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje should file a complaint with the Lokayukta. “We have moved forward with sweeper machine rentals after a thorough study This is not a project . which started now, but it is seven years old. We are ready for any investigation,” he said. BJP contended that as per the Union government’s emarketplace portal, each of those machines cost around Rs 2.5 crore, and if the government purchases 46 machines (as approved by the cabinet), the total cost would be around Rs 115 crore. P4 A special US deportation flight carrying 200 Indians, including Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother and close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, two other fugitives wanted in Punjab, and 197 undocumented migrants landed in New Delhi on Wednesday . Anmol is wanted in multiple criminal cases in India, including the murders of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala in May 2022 and Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in October 2024, and firing at actor Shah Rukh Khan’s residence in April 2024. As soon as the special US flight landed at the Indira Gan- Anmol Bishnoi being brought to the Patiala House Court | Parveen Negi dhi International Airport in Delhi, Bishnoi was detained by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He was later produced at Delhi’s Patiala House court, which sent him to 11 days NIA custody . “We are trying to find how he fled India,” Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi said, adding that Anmol will be produced before the court again on November 29 after completion of his NIA custody . Hailing from Punjab’s Fazilka, Anmol was Lawrence Bishnoi’s overseas handler and was directing extortion rackets, issuing threats, and coordinating assignments through encrypted channels. He reportedly slipped out of the country in April 2022 using a forged passport, accompanied by another wanted gangster Sachin Thapan. Sources said Anmol managed to get a fake passport in the name of Bhanu Pratap, a resident of Faridabad, and his father’s name was mentioned as Rakesh. talaq now under top court’s glare SC raps sending talaq-e-hasan notice via counsel; matter may go to 5-member bench S U C H I T RA K ALYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi Eight years after it deemed instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddah) unconstitutional, the Supreme Court on Wednesday indicated it could go after talaq staggered over three months (talaq-e-hasan) — a form of divorce — by sending the matter to a five-member bench. Under talaq-e-hasan, a Muslim man can divorce his wife by uttering the word talaq once each for three months. A three-judge bench led by Justice Surya Kant was hearing a petition by journalist Benazeer Heena, who said her husband Ghulam Akhtar had sent unsigned talaq-e-hasan notices through his lawyer by Speed Post. “In the 11-page talaq notice, the sign of the husband is missing. Talaq was pronounced by the husband’s advocate,” her counsel said. In the absence of Akhtar’s signature, Heena has been unable to prove she is divorced, though he remarried. But if she to wed again, Akhtar could accuse her of polyandry Heena . also had problems with her child’s school admission. Akhtar’s advocate said the practice of conveying talaq through legal notice was quite common in Islam. “How is this allowed in moder n society?” the bench that included justices Ujjal Bhuyan, and N K Singh wondered. “We are in 2025. How are you promoting this? Regulation as per constitutional ethos The bench said it is not the question of striking down a prevalent religious practice but an issue which needs to be regulated as per the constitutional ethos. Heena’s PIL was directed to be listed on Nov 26, Constitution Day Is this how the dignity of a woman is upheld? Should a civilised society allow this kind of practice?” justice Surya Kant asked. The bench went on to observe, “Society at large is involved. Some remedial measures have to be taken. If there are gross discriminatory practices, this court will have to interfere.” The court indicated that if required it could refer the matter to a five-member bench for consideration. “Give us broadly the legal questions that may arise. Then we will see how to resolve them,” the bench said. In her petition, Heena sought a declaration that talaq-e-hasan is irrational, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. `415 crore scam Inspector Ashish Sharma of the MP police’s elite Hawk Force anti-Naxal unit died on Wednesday after being injuried in a gunfight on the Chhattisgarh-MP border | P10 S U C H I T RA K ALYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Cour t on Wednesday struck down key provisions of the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 related to the appointment and tenure of tribunal members, noting that these were in violation of the court’s earlier judgments, and directed the Centre to set up a National Tribunals Commission within four months. In a strongly worded verdict, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said the Centre brought back the provisions earlier read down by the apex court with minor tweaks. “The impugned provisions violated the principles of separation of powers and judicial independence, and they should not have been brought back,” the bench said. It said until a new legislation is put in place to give effect to the court’s order, the directions and principles laid down in its earlier judgments will govern all matters related to appointment, tenure and qualifications concerning tribunal members. The CJI, who authored the 137-page judgment, specifically invalidated Section 3 of thje law, which mandated a minimum age of 50 years for appointment as a chairperson or member. The court held that this section excluded young and competent advocates and experts. It also set aside Section 5 of the Act which fixed the tenure of chairpersons and members of tribunals at four years. The bench reinstated the five-year tenure rule to ensure security of service and institutional independence. DKS hints at stepping down as KPCC chief Bengaluru: DCM DK Shivakumar on Wednesday hinted at stepping down as the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), but assured party workers that he would be in the “frontline leadership” of the party. “We need to give a chance to others. However, I will be there in the frontline leadership,” he said | P4 Sum i t K um a r , F aya z W a n i & N a m i ta B a j pa i MP officer killed During encounter with maoists SC quashes Tribunal law provisions express read Ed gets 13-day custody of al Falah chief erated without valid accreditation is `415.10 crore. @ New Delhi/ Srinagar/ Lucknow Meanwhile, sources said around 10 people associated The Enforcement Directo- with the Al-Falah University , rate (ED), which is investi- including three from Kashgating the Al Falah group mir, are missing. Their mothat is at the centre of the bile phones are switched off. Delhi blast case for alleged Their disappearances came money laundering, has un- to light after a joint operacovered ‘tainted’ funds tion by the J&K and Haryaamounting to `415 na police. crore, sources said In J&K, the police on Wednesday . inspected lockers beThe agency has selonging to doctors in cured 13-day custody the Valley . of Jawad Ahmed Sid“All lockers were diqui, the chairman checked. Lockers and founder of the found unclaimed, imgroup, who was arJawad Ahmed properly labelled or rested on Tuesday . Siddiqui without ownership An official said the were documented,” Al Falah group generated an official said. “proceeds of crime” by deIn Uttar Pradesh, the state ceiving students through A n t i - Te r r o r i s t S q u a d false claims about the ac- launched a informationcreditation and recognition gathering exercise across of its institutions. eight districts, seeking deAccording to the ED, the tailed records of all students, total educational income ac- teachers and management cumulated during the years personnel associated with in which the institutions op- all operational madrasas. GOVT cENSUREd KDA chief: Yakshagana artistes homosexuals showstopper A robo dog was the star of the show, enthralling visitors with its antics, at Bengaluru Tech Summit on Wednesday | Nagaraja Gadekal | P2 Mysuru: Kannada Development Authority (KDA) chairman Prof Purushotham Bilimale has sparked a controversy, saying that most Yakshagana artistes are homosexuals. “In Yakshagana, homosexuality is unavoidable,” he said | P6 eco violations Ballari jeans industry hit as KSPCB shuts 36 units K i r a n B a l a nn a n a v a r @ Ballari When the production is high ahead of the coming festive season, the KSPCB has ordered 36 jeans washing units in Ballari to shut shop for discharging untreated wastewater directly into the drainage. The move by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has triggered panic in the sector that employs over 10,000 workers directly and indirectly and comes just ahead of the Christmas, Pongal and New Year business season. Though 36 units are shut, notices have been issued to 63. Unit owners are disappointed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s promise in the run-up to Karnataka Assembly elections that the industry would be supported has not been honoured. They said the closure orders have added to the distress of an already struggling sector. They urged the state government to intervene immediately, ne gotiate with KSPCB and give extra time to comply with the norms. They appealed for temporary per- A jeans washing unit in Ballari | EXPRESS mission to resume their operations to avoid further loss. Pollux Mallikarjun, a jeans unit owner, said Ballari has over 500 readymade garment units that produce more than 50,000 jeans daily and that doubles during festivals. The industry once employed over a lakh people, but it has been struggling in recent years because of the rising cost of production, water shortage, power issues and labour constraints. The washing units, crucial for finishing denim products, form a critical part of the supply chain. Their closure could bring the entire industry to a standstill during its busiest period, they warned. P7