BHUBANESWAR l monday l december 29, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Pak President says he was asked to ‘hide in bunker’ during Op Sindoor Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari revealed that he was advised to ‘hide in a bunker’ when India launched Operation Sindoor in May this year ZARDARI SAYS HE TURNED DOWN THE ADVICE ‘KNEW THAT TENSIONS WOULD ESCALATE’ “My MS (military secretary) came to me and said, ‘Sir, the war has started. Let’s go to a bunker’,” Zardari said. He was speaking at an event in Sindh province to mark the 18th death anniversary of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Zardari claimed he refused to move to a bunker, quoting himself as saying: “If martyrdom is to come, it will come here.” ■ India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist ■ Zardari said he knew in advance that a conflict was about to break out. “I told him four days earlier a war was going to happen,” he said infrastructure in Pakistan and Pak-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack of April 22, which killed 26 civilians 4-day Op Sindoor is the most serious conflict between India and Pakistan in decades 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 BSF rejects B’desh claims about Hadi killers No arrests have been made, says Meghalaya DGP on Bangladesh’s claim that student leader’s killers entered India Dhaka terms attacks on Hindus ‘isolated crimes’ express news service @ Guwahati express read Prez goes underwater on submarine sortie New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday undertook an over two-hour sortie onboard the indigenously built submarine INS Vaghsheer on the Western seaboard, signalling India’s focus on boosting undersea warfare capabilities. Murmu is the second President to experience a submarine sortie | P7 Postings to state boards soon: Samal Bhubaneswar: As the possibility of a cabinet expansion in the near future appears remote and party leaders aspiring for political rehabilitation increasingly getting restive, the BJP is planning to complete the longpending appointments to different state boards at the start of the new year | P3 THE Meghalaya Police on Sunday dismissed media reports in Bangladesh that two suspected killers of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi had fled to the northeastern state and that, two persons, who helped the fugitives, have been arrested/detained here. Quoting a senior official in the country, the Daily Star reported that suspects Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh had crossed over into the Indian territory of Meghalaya with the help of local associates. “According to our information, the suspects entered India via the Haluaghat border. After crossing, they were initially received by an individual named Purti. Later, a taxi driver named Sami transported them to Tura city in Meghalaya,” the newspaper quoted Additional Commissioner S N Nazrul Islam in a press conference. The report further stated that Purti and Sami had been detained by authorities in India. Some other media houses reported that the duo had been arrested. However, Meghalaya Director General of Police Idashisha Nongrang said, “No arrests have been made.” express news service @ New Delhi Border Security Force personnel patrol along the India-Bangladesh border on the outskirts of Agartala in Tripura | PTI Another senior police official said Meghalaya Police had not received any formal or informal communication from Bangladesh Police or other Bangladesh authorities in this regard. The BSF also dismissed the reports. “We learnt about the news circulating in media and Dhaka-karachi flight Direct flights between Dhaka and Karachi will start from January, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider said on Sunday, during a meeting with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus social media handles. We verified at our end. This is completely false,” a senior BSF official told this newspaper. He further stated that the demography along the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border is such that an outsider is easily identifiable. “There have been many instances where the villagers have identified such persons and helped the BSF,” the official stated. Inquilab Moncho leader Hadi (32) was shot in Dhaka by two motorcycle-borne assailants on December 12 during an election campaign. On December 15, he was airlifted to Singapore for treatment but died three days later. His death triggered nationwide violent protests. DHAKA on Sunday strongly rejected India’s concerns over the safety of religious minorities in Bangladesh and said recent incidents involving members of the Hindu community were “isolated criminal acts” and not reflective of any systematic persecution. The response came amid international reactions and parallel diplomatic engagements in Dhaka. Responding to a query from IANS, a US State Department spokesperson said the United States “unequivocally condemns religious violence in all its forms” and supports religious freedom, freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly, adding that Washington welcomed steps taken by Bangladesh’s interim government to ensure safety and security of all communities. Reacting to Das’s killing, Indian-origin US Congressman Ro Khanna called the lynching Railway Board clears 4 new Y-plus security to lines worth `9K cr for Odisha West Bengal CEO H e m ant K u m ar R o u t @ Bhubaneswar In a significant development, the Railway Board has approved four new railway lines in Odisha. The new projects totalling a distance of 312 km will be executed at a cost of around `9,020.58 crore in public private partnership (PPP) mode. The broad gauge lines include the 101km Jajpur Keonjhar Road-Dhamra, 112.5-km Luburi-Tentuloi-Budhapank, 49-km Tikiri-Kutrumali and 49.58-km Balaram-Putagdia-Tentuloi under East Coast Railway (ECoR). A part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Purvodaya vision, the line between Jajpur Keonjhar Road and Dhamra Port will connect important religious and tourist destinations in Jajpur, Bhadrak and Kendrapara districts. Estimated at `2,987.13 crore, the project will have 10 stations between the originating and destination stations. The line will provide direct rail connectivity to Maa Biraja temple, one of the oldest religious Shakti Peethas at Jajpur Town, famous Shaivite shrine of Baba Akhandalamani at Aradi in Bhadrak and Bhitarkanika National Park in Kendrapara. The remaining three are part of the dedicated freight corridors, which will be developed to facilitate faster evacuation of goods. While the proposed Balaram-Putagdia-Tentuloi line is part of the inner corridor and Luburi-TentuloiBudhapank forms the outer corridor of Talcher coal belt, Tikiri-Kutrumali line will facilitate transport of bauxite ore from Kutrumali and Sijumali mines in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. The government has decided to expedite both inner and outer rail corridors for faster transportation of coal. As per the proposed expansion plan of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd, the coal despatch via railway is expected to touch 162.8 MT by 2029-30. While the inner corridor (phase-II) and outer corridor of Mahanadi Coal Railway Limited (MCRL) will be developed at an estimated cost of around `1,404.36 crore and `3,477.67 crore respectively , the Tikiri-Kutrumali line will be taken up at `1,151.42 crore, all through joint ventures or special purpose vehicle (SPV). “The ECoR has been advised to conduct necessary consultation with stakeholders or potential investors for design and financial structuring of the projects through PPP mode. The Board has also directed to scrutinise other proposed projects for which DPRs have been completed or are under preparation for implementation,” sources told TNIE. The zonal railways have been instructed to constitute a PPP facilitating unit at SAG level, consisting of engineering, finance and traffic officers to plan and monitor PPP projects. amid row over SIR E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi THE Centre has provided Y-plus category security cover to West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal in view of safety concerns due to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, officials said on Sunday . A team of 11-12 armed personnel of the CISF security wing has been deployed for the CEO’s personal and house security The team has taken charge. . The move follows an order issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 26. Sources said there were intelligence inputs about potential threats to the officer. The SIR exercise to update the electoral rolls is currently underway in West Bengal. On December 16, the poll panel published the draft electoral rolls, deleting over 58 lakh voters from the list due to death, migration, and non-submission of forms. It has triggered intense political friction with the ruling Trinamool Congress targeting the Election Commission. On Saturday, the party accused the poll panel of deleting lakhs of voters from the rolls to benefit the BJP ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Meanwhile, an association of West Bengal government officers raised objections to deletion of voters bypassing the statutory role of Electoral Registration Officers. The association also made a representation to Agarwal saying on the date of the draft publication, a considerable number of electors whose forms have not been returned on alleged grounds such as death, migration, absence, or duplication have been deleted from the draft electoral rolls. tragic tale 5-yr-old boy spends night in forest beside dying parents Mayank B h u san Pani / A sh o k N an d a @ Deogarh A five year-old child had to spend a cold night in a forest as his parents lay beside him writhing in agony after consuming poison in a suicide bid, under Kundheigola police station area of Deogarh district. The couple from Jiantapali village took the extreme step following a quarrel on Saturday night. Having undergone the ordeal the whole night, the little boy how, ever, displayed immense fortitude when he rushed out of the forest at daybreak and alerted the locals of the incident. The parents, though, could not be saved. According to sources, the deceased Dushmant Majhi, his wife Rinki and their son were returning home on Saturday evening from the woman’s parental house when a quarrel reportedly broke out between them. As tension escalated, they parked the motorcycle near Dalak roadside and walked into the nearby forest where they consumed poison. The little child witnessed the incident helplessly as Dushmant and Rinki struggled for life and then went still. The child remained beside his father and mother throughout the night inside the forest. On Sunday morning, he came out of the forest and stopped passersby on the road, narrating the incident. Locals immediately informed the police outpost under Kundheigola Police Station. Acting on the information, police rushed to the spot and found Dushmant dead, but Rinki in a critical unconscious state. They rescued the couple and the child around 10 am and shifted them to Chhendipada hospital in Angul district. Doctors declared Dushmant dead on arrival, while Rinki was referred in a critical condition to Angul district headquarters hospital for treatment. She also succumbed in the afternoon. Suspecting that the child may have also consumed poison, doctors provided medical care to him as well. Additional SP Dhiraj Chopdar said, “The couple were in their 30s. Investigation is underway to ascertain under what circumstances they took the extreme step and which poison did they consume. The custody of the child has been given to his maternal grandparents. While the post mortem of the man was conducted today, the woman’s autopsy will be conducted on Monday .” “horrific” and urged people to speak out against “vile acts of hatred and bigotry”. Dhaka said that all crimes, regardless of the victim’s faith, would be addressed under the rule of law. India’s Ministry of External Ministry had earlier described the continuing violence against minorities in Bangladesh as a matter of “grave concern” and condemned the December 18 lynching of 27-year-old Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh city over allegations of blasphemy . Bangladesh said there were “systematic attempts” to portray isolated criminal incidents as evidence of persecution of Hindus, alleging such narratives were being selectively amplified in parts of India to spread antiBangladesh sentiment and undermine bilateral relations. Bangladesh foreign ministry also disputed India’s reference to another recent death of a Hindu man in Rajbari, saying the man was a “criminal.” French cinema icon Brigitte Bardot dies at 91 In a cinema career spanning some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot symbolised a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability, and became one of France’s best-known stars | P9 Amid Congress unease, Digvijaya backtracks on BJP-RSS praise P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi Even as the Congress grapples with internal unease triggered by Digvijaya Singh’s remarks praising the organisational power of the RSS and the BJP, the senior leader on Sunday went into damage control mode, saying there were no ideological differences within the party and that it stood firmly united under the Nehru-Gandhi leadership. Speaking to the media, Singh sought to clear the air on suggestions of factionalism and accused the BJP of attempting to create discord within the NehruGandhi family “There is no dif. ference in ideology. We are all united. The Nehru-Gandhi family is one in which two members have been martyred. I strongly condemn the BJP’s attempts to create divisions within this family,” he said. The former chief minister also appeared to walk back his earlier criticism of the party’s lack of decentralisation. “Rahul Gandhi has started the decentralisation process from the district level and below. The work is underway and will be completed soon,” he added. Singh reiterated his opposition to the BJP-RSS ideology, saying there was nothing to learn from “Gandhi’s killers”. “I oppose RSS and BJP ideology,” he said. Singh’s earlier remarks did not go down well with several leaders as the BJP seized on them to attack the Congress, terming it as an ‘open dissent’ against Rahul’s leadership. Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor extended a guarded support, saying that it is only logical for an organisation to have discipline and be strengthened.