Vendetta behind Hadi’s murder in B’desh Student leader Sharif Osman Hadi was killed due to ‘political vengeance’ at the behest of the Awami League, the police said on Tuesday. Hadi was killed on the instructions of Md Taijul Islam Chowdhury Bappi, a former councillor, said Shafikul Islam, addl commissioner of the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, The Daily Star reported. The chargesheet mentions 17 people, including Faisal Karim Masud tadepalligudem l wednesday l january 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION 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 1 in 5 out of draft poll rolls in UP after first phase SIR RLIS a wasteful project: Min Nimmala Ramanaidu 2.89 crore deletions; voter count down by 18.7% compared to 2025 MUK E SH RAN J AN @ New Delhi About one in five voters in Uttar Pradesh found their names deleted in the draft electoral rolls published on Tuesday as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). In all, names of 2.89 crore voters stood deleted from the list of 15.44 crore electors in the politically sensitive state as on October 27 last year. The draft list cut the voter count by as much as 18.7%. The deletions included around 46.23 lakh of the deceased (2.99%), shifted 2.17 crore (14.06%) and duplicate voters 25.46 lakh (1.65%). The final electoral list will be published on March 6. The Election Commission of India said genuine electors from can still be added back in the electoral roll during the claims and objection period (0601-2026 to 06-02-2026) by filling up Form 6 along with the declaration form and other relevant documents. The poll body recently concluded the first phase of SIR in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, where the electoral roll deletions were 97 lakh and 74 lakh voters, respectively . While the first phase was originally scheduled to end on December 11, the state sought 15 days more after noticing that the names of a large number of voters, nearly 2.97 crore, were Figure it out Electors as on October 27, 2025 15.44 crore Deceased 46.23 lakh (2.99%) Shifted Electors in draft electoral rolls 2.17 crore (81.30%) (1.65%) (14.06%) Duplicate 12.55 crore 25.46 lakh Total deletions 2.89 crore (18.7%) getting excluded from the draft list. The poll body then extended the enumeration phase till December 26. The officials said, December 31 was initially fixed as the publication date of the draft roll, but parallel fieldwork and ECI instructions to rationalise polling stations led to a delay. “The Commission has capped voters per polling station at 1,200 instead of the earlier 1,500. To meet this requirement, around 15,030 new polling stations were created across the state,” a senior ECI official said, adding that it was approved on December 23. It then took about a week for the data to be migrated to online servers. Six more days were sought and the draft roll was published on January 6. ‘Art 324 grants ECI control over poll roll’ SU C HI T RA KALYAN M O HAN T Y @ New Delhi THE Election Commission of India (ECI) has the power and competence to undertake Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls, the poll panel told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Besides, it argued, there is a constitutional duty to ensure only Indian citizens are registered as voters. Appearing for the ECI, senior lawyer Rakesh Dwivedi told a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that Articles 324 and 327 of the Constitution separately give the Commission “control of the preparation of the electoral rolls”. “Citizenship is at the core of the electoral exercise. The EC has the power to check,” Dwivedi argued. The arguments were made during the hearing of a batch of pleas challenging ECI’s power to conduct SIR. The petitioners claimed only the Centre has the power to do the exercise. The arguments were inconclusive on Tuesday and would continue on Wednesday . S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada Firefighters pump water from nearby irrigation canals using 4 pumps, flames significantly reduced at gas leak site | Express ONGC Mori-5 blowout partially controlled, firefighting continues S T r i m u r t h u l u @ Amalapuram A massive gas blowout at ONGC’s Mori-5 well near Irusumanda village in Ambedkar Konaseema district has been partially brought under control after continuous firefighting efforts. The flames, which initially rose to nearly 25 metres wide and 20 metres high following the leak on January 5, have been reduced significantly, though the blaze is yet to be fully extinguished. Expert teams from Rajamahendravaram and Narasapuram, supported by ONGC and GAIL fire units, deployed six tankers to pump water onto the inferno. Using the Thermal Cooling System, they managed to lower the heat and redirect the flames vertically . Temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius spread to nearby villages, forcing the evacuation of around 600 residents from Lakkavaram, Irusumanda and Gubbalapalem. Coconut plantations, paddy fields and vegetable crops were scorched, with farmers reporting extensive damage and many trees completely burned. District authorities confirmed that thanks to timely alerts, no lives were lost. Victims have been shifted to rehabilitation centres and provided food and shelter. Amalapuram MP Harish Madhur said an inquiry will be conducted once the flames are fully extinguished. Razole MLA Deva Varaprasad criticized ONGC for failing to inform local representatives about redrilling operations, saying there was no clarity on the extent of oil and gas reserves underground. Regional Fire Officer Swamy noted that six tankers were deployed to maintain cooling and prevent the fire from spreading P4 further.  Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu has launched a scathing attack on the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS), describing it as a wasteful and ill-conceived project initiated by the YSRCP government without environmental clearances. Presenting a detailed PowerPoint at the Secretariat, the minister said nearly `990 crore of public money had been squandered, penalties were imposed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and `750 crore in debt remains — all while the project’s stated objective of lifting 34.3 TMC from the Srisaila m re s e r vo i r w a s n eve r achieved. He pointed out that Andhra Pradesh’s actual share of water from the reservoir is only 22.6 TMC, which could be lifted in a week without such an expensive scheme. “Instead of focusing on practical solutions, the previous government misled the people with false claims and wasted taxpayers’ money Ramanaidu ,” said, accusing YSRCP leaders of prioritizing political intere s t s ove r R aya l a s e e m a ’s welfare. He credited former Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao and the incumbent N. Chandrababu Naidu for conceiving and executing most of Rayalaseema’s P4 irrigation projects.  express read SIPB clears `19,391 crore investments, aiming 11,753 jobs Vijayawada: The 14th State Investment Board meeting, held under the chairmanship of CM N Chandrababu Naidu, approved investment proposals worth `19,391 crore for 14 projects aimed at creating employment for 11,753 youth. So far, the SIPB has given approvals worth `8.74 lakh crore, providing employment opportunities to 8.35 lakh people | P4 DCM pushes coastal forest protection, green wall plan Vijayawada: Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Forests and Environment Pawan Kalyan directed officials to accord priority to the protection of coastal forests and prevention of encroachments, and to fasttrack the Great Green Wall of Andhra Pradesh and 50 per cent green cover projects on a mission mode. The Great Green Wall project will be implemented in 3 phases | P4