hyderabad l monday l December 22, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE City EDITION BJP emerges the largest party in maharashtra local body polls The BJP on Sunday said it won 133 out of 288 nagar parishads in the Maharashtra local body polls, even as the Opposition alleged foul play poor show by Maha vikas Aghadi continues BJP wins 3,325 councillor seats: Fadnavis The BJP’s alliance partner Shiv Sena won 46 nagar parishads, while the NCP secured 35. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi won just 48, with the Congress accounting for 34 and the Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) winning eight and six, respectively. “Grateful to the people of Maharashtra for blessing the BJP and Mahayuti,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X ■ ■ Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the BJP won 3,325 councillor seats. “The BJP alone has won 48% of councilors,” Fadnavis noted The latest results, coming a year after Mahayuti’s decisive victory in the state Assembly elections, will be a further jolt to the Opposition, which has accused the Election Commission of aiding BJP’s win | P8 2-phase local body elections in Maharashtra were held on December 2 and 20 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 India seeks action on B’desh lynching Suspends visa ops at Chattogram until further notice J AYAN T H J ACOB @ New Delhi INDIA on Sunday expressed deep concern over the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh and urged Dhaka to ensure swift justice as escalating unrest prompted New Delhi to suspend visa operations in the port city of Chattogram. Reacting to a question related to the killing of 27-year-old Dipu Chandra Das in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is closely monitoring the situation and has taken up the matter with Bangladeshi authorities. “India continues to keep a close watch on the evolving situation in Bangladesh. Our officials remain in touch with Bangladesh authorities and have conveyed to them our strong concerns at the attacks on minorities,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. The killing of Das, a garment factory worker, occurred amid widespread violence that erupted after the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, a prominent leader of last year’s student uprising and a candidate in the February 12 general election. Hadi’s shooting earlier this month sparked protests, vandalism and attacks across several parts of Bangladesh. Das’s father Ravilal Das said his son was beaten, tied to a tree, and set on fire by a mob. Against the backdrop of rising tensions, India has suspended visa operations at the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Chattogram until further notice. The decision fol- Army to get 1 L indigenous 9mm-pistols M aya n k S i n g h @ New Delhi The government has issued a request for information (RFI) to procure one lakh indigenous 9-mm pistols for the Indian Army. Nine-mm pistols are lighter and are particularly suited for closerange combat or urban warfare. According to the RFI issued by the Ministry of Defence, the government is also seeking to procure accessories, including night sights and targeting options. The plan is to replace the existing 9-mm semi-automatic, magazine-fed pistol from Rifle Factory Ishapore. The new pistols are expected to feature ambidextrous controls, suppressors and accessory rails to modernise older weapons. Currently, troops in special force units of the Army use imported 9-mm pistols. The DRDO and the Indian Army have already designed a 9-mm weapon for counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism operations. express read Tapgate: Sajjanar to quiz key accused Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar is likely to question former SIB chief T Prabhakar Rao, a key accused in the alleged phonetapping case, on Monday. It may be mentioned here that a nine-member SIT was formed under the supervision of Sajjanar to oversee the ongoing investigation | P4 Students during a silent protest to condemn the lynching of a Hindu man at Dhaka University. Inset: Dipu Chandra Das | AFP / x lows a security incident involving stone-hurling at the residence of the Assistant High Commissioner of India in the city “Due to recent security in. cident at Assistant High Commission of India Chittagong, Indian visa operations at IVAC Chittagong will remain suspended from 21/12/2025 until further notice,” the IVAC said, adding that reopening would be announced after a review of the security situation. Officials said the remaining four visa centres—in Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Sylhet— continue to function. India had briefly shut visa centres in Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Khulna last week after anti-India protesters attempted to march towards Indian missions. Operations in Dhaka resumed a day later, while security was tightened at Indian facilities in Sylhet on December 20. 12 arrested so far, say reports Revanth: Let’s debate KCR announces people’s river waters in Assembly movement over PRLIS M a n d a R a v i n d er R e d d y @ Hyderabad E x p ress Ne w s S er v i c e @ Hyderabad Stating that the government would convene the Assembly session from January 2, 2026, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy challenged BRS president K Chandrasekhar Rao to attend the House for a face-to-face debate on sharing of Krishna and Godavari waters under the theme “Neellu–Nijalu”. Describing KCR and BRS working president KT Rama Rao as “financial terrorists”, he alleged that the father-son duo had severely damaged the state’s financial system. Responding to KCR’s allegations during an interaction with the media at his residence on Sunday the chief , minister accused the BRS chief of betraying the people of Telangana. “I propose convening the Assembly session from January 2. Let us dedicate one day to discussing Krishna waters and another day to Godavari waters. I dare KCR to come to a debate,” he said, questioning the intent behind BRS chief ’s continued absence from the House and asking him to explain why he was avoiding the Assembly . CONTINUED ON P4 Expressing serious displeasure over the alleged stalling of the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) works for the past two years, BRS president and former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday declared that the BRS would launch people’s movements in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar, Rangareddy and Nalgonda districts, demanding that the government complete the project. He said village-wise awareness meetings with farmers would also be conducted. Speaking to reporters after a marathon joint meeting of the BRS Legislature Party and State Executive at Telangana Bhavan, KCR said that the sole agenda of the meeting was PRLIS. He stated that public meetings would be organised in all three districts and that he would personally attend them. Terming the present government as “passive” towards PRLIS, he said the BRS had given enough time to the ruling Congress and would not tolerate further inaction.  CONTINUED ON P4 Shell out more for train travel from Dec 26 R A J E S H K U M A R T HAK U R @ New Delhi With 2 more arrests on Sunday, police have so far detained 12 people for the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, media reports said THE Ministry of Railways on Sunday announced its second fare hike this year, expected to generate approximately `600 crore in additional revenue by March 31, 2026. Under the revised structure effective December 26, rail fares will increase by one paisa per km in ordinary class for journeys exceeding 215 km, two paise per km in mail and No breach at B’desh HC: MEA prez assent MEA said on Sunday that reports of security breach at Dhaka’s mission in Delhi are “misleading propaganda” Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Bill replaces the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act, which guarantees 125 days of employment annually to rural households | P8 to gramin Bill express non-AC classes, and two paise per km in AC classes. Passengers travelling 500 km in non-AC coaches will pay `10 extra. No increase will apply to suburban services or monthly season tickets. This follows the first hike announced on June 30 and implemented from July 1, which has generated `700 crore so far. The last hike in July came ahead of Bihar elections, while the second hike announced on Sunday comes ahead of Assembly elections in West Bengal. Railway officials justified the fare revision citing rising operational costs. Manpower expenses were `1,15,000 crore, pension costs `60,000 crore, and total operations `2,63,000 crore in 2024-25. The ministry said the railways is focusing on higher cargo loading alongside fare rationalisation. ECI to undertake SIR in TG soon e n s @ Hyderabad The Election Commission of India (ECI) will shortly undertake a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana, a critical exercise aimed at ensuring that only eligible voters remain on the electoral rolls, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said on Sunday Emphasising . the pivotal role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs), he said Telangana would soon showcase to the rest of the country how a comprehensive and transparent roll revision should be conducted. Addressing BLOs from across the state, the CEC said the upcoming SIR in Telangana would follow the model adopted in Bihar, which he described as a landmark success.  continued on p5