kozhikode l wednesday l January 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Vendetta behind Hadi’s murder in B’desh, reveals chargesheet Student leader Sharif Osman Hadi was killed due to ‘political vengeance’ at the behest of the Awami League, the police said on Tuesday formal charges pressed against 17 people fatal attack on grocer Moni Chakraborty 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 prime accused Faisal Karim Masud, a member of the Bangladesh Chhatra League ■ Another member of the minority community, Moni Chakraborty, a grocer, died after unidentified persons struck him with a sharp weapon in Narsingdi city of lawless Bangladesh. He was 40 ■ Business owners in Narsingdi district formed a human chain demanding justice for the murder of Moni, eyewitnesses said five Hindus killed in Bangladesh ever since the murder of Hadi | P9 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 2.89 crore deletions; voter count down by 18.7% compared to 2025 M U K E S H R A N J A N @ 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%) ‘Art 324 grants ECI control over poll roll’ S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y (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. @ 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 . e x pr e ss r e a d Ex-minister Ebrahim Kunju passes away Kochi: Former Kerala minister and senior IUML leader V K Ebrahim Kunju passed away in Kochi on Tuesday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital for multiple ailments. He was 73. Ebrahim Kunju entered public life through the Muslim Students Federation and later the Muslim Youth League. He was minister in UDF cabinets in 2005 and from 2011 to 2016 | P5 Court grants more time to Sonia to file response New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted time till February 7 to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi to file her reply to a plea challenging a magistrate’s order refusing to probe the allegation that she was included in the electoral roll three years before acquiring Indian citizenship in 1983. On December 9, Judge Gogne had issued notice to Sonia Gandhi seeking her response HIps don’t lie! Videograb of a thief being rescued after he got wedged in an exhaust fan window while trying to break into a house in Kota, Rajasthan, on Tuesday; and (inset) the stuck thief | PTI Sabarimala gold theft part of larger conspiracy: SIT E x p ress Ne w s S er v i ce @Kochi The theft of gold from Sabarimala is part of a larger conspiracy and an organised crime committed by the accused persons, the SIT probing the cases infor med the Kerala High Court on Tuesday It said the ac. cused had a wider plan to dismantle other gold-clad items of the temple’s sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) and to extract the gold for misappropriation. The SIT filed a report objecting to the bail pleas of Karnataka jeweller Roddam Pandurangaiah Naga Govardhan and former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president A Padmakumar. It said Govardhan, the tenth accused, along with ninth accused Pankaj Bhandari, first accused Unnikrishnan Potti, and others, hatched a conspiracy to misappropriate the gold cladded on two copper plates each depicting the Dasavatharam and Rasi symbols, one copper plate of the upper door frame, and copper plates of Prabhamandalam, including Sivaroopam and Vyaliroopam, over the door frames (7 plates) installed in front of the sreekovil. An analysis of call data records of Govardhan, Potti and Bhandari revealed they met secretly in Bengaluru in October 2025 when the gold theft case was considered by the High Court, the SIT said, adding that the meeting was a post conspiracy to conceal the crime they committed in 2019. The report said the accused ‘Padmakumar committed grave misconduct’ Kochi: The SIT on Tuesday informed the HC that former CPM MLA A Padmakumar, who was the TDB president, committed grave official misconduct by deliberately making false entries in official correspondences, which ultimately led to the misappropriation of gold | P7 misappropriated the cladded gold without considering its immense aesthetic value and religious sanctity . “As that property belongs to Lord Ayyappa and TDB is its custodian, the warranty certificate had to be issued in the board’s name. However, it has not done so. The gold-plated door frame plates were brought back to Sabarimala by Potti, that too without a TDB escort, and no mahazar was prepared either at Smart Creations, Chennai, or Sabarimala. The plates’ weight was not recorded during reinstallation. All these depict the connivance, conspiracy and involvement of accused in the commission of the offences,” the SIT said. ● More on P6 Generic meds as effective as pricier variants, says study U n n i kr i sh n a n S @T’Puram When it comes to medicines, a higher price tag doesn’t mean better quality . In what could go long way in cutting down medicine expenses—in some cases up to `66,000 a year—a first-of-itskind study has challenged the long-held belief among doctors and patients that generic drugs are inferior to branded medicines. Conducted by the Mission for Ethics and Science in Health (MESH), a non-profit organisation, the crowd-funded research has found that generics are equally effective as their branded counterparts, despite being 5 to 14 times cheaper. The study compared 131 medicines across 22 therapeutic categories, including treatments for chronic illnesses requiring long-term medication. Drugs supplied through Jan Aushadhi stores and the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) passed rigorous quality tests. “The most important finding is that quality is not linked to price. A tablet costing `1 performed just as well in lab tests as the one costing `10. This disproves the myth that cheaper means worse,” said Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, clinician-scientist and president of MESH. “Our study shows the overall quality of drugs is good. More importantly, it eliminates fear about generics. Patients who cannot afford branded medicines can safely opt for branded generics or free drugs provided by the Kerala gover nment,” he said. Take for instance Metform- Rate comparison Generic* vs branded medicine Ailment (Drug) Diff in price Pain/fever (Acetaminophen) 2.3 times Antibiotic (Amoxicillin) 2.4 times Cholesterol (Atorvastatin) 6.4 times Calcium+Vitamin D 13.7 times Heart (Clopidogrel) 4.1 times Gout (Febuxostat) 8.9 times Allergy/asthma (Montelukast) 9.5 times Acidity (Pantoprazole) 13.9 times Liver health (UDCA) 3.8 times *Sourced from Jan Aushadhi outlets C15,000 cr 62% Kerala’s drug market of household healthcare spending in India goes towards medicines in, a widely-used drug for diabetes the KMSCL provides for free. At Jan Aushadhi, a strip (10 tablets?) costs `6.60, while the branded versions are sold for `21.20 in privately-run pharmacies. In some cases, such as calcium supplements or acid reducers, patients end up paying nearly 14 times more for branded names, the study says. For long-term users, the savings are substantial. Choosing the cheapest option across categories could reduce annual drug expenses by over `66,000, said Dr Philips. “Generic medicines from government sources offer massive savings, costing about 82% less than branded alternatives in many cases. Of course, they should be purchased through proper channels,” he said. For the study, MESH researchers, between October Annual savings with cheapest generics Liver medicine L16,000 Antibiotic L10,000 Overall (diabetes, heart disease, infections, pain, stomach issues) L66,000 and December 2025, collected 131 medicine samples representing 22 treatment types, including diabetes, heart disease, infections, pain and stomach ailments. To reflect real-world buying patterns, they acted as “mystery shoppers”, sourcing drugs from seven types of outlets. All samples were tested at Eureka Analytical Services, an accredited laboratory approved by the Union government and the US FDA, against Indian Pharmacopoeia 2022 standards. The study, touted as the largest crowd-funded research on generics globally, was made possible by over 1,000 contributors who raised `27 lakh in just one week following Dr Philips’ call on social media. The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal in the coming months. No Russia crude in January, says RIL in pushback R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi A day after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs if New Delhi continues to buy Russian oil, Reliance Industries (RIL) on Tuesday vehemently denied a Bloomberg report that claimed it continues to get crude oil from Russia. “A news report in Bloomberg claiming ‘three vessels laden with Russian oil are heading for Reliance Industries’s Jamnagar refinery’ is blat a n t l y untrue,” the Mukesh Ambani-led firm stated. Bloomberg cited data from oiltracking firm Kpler to report that three oil tankers carrying 2.2 million barrels of Russia’s Urals crude were on the way to the Jamnagar refinery . RIL, whose Jamnagar refinery is the world’s largest, said it has not received any cargo from Russia in the past three weeks, adding no such deliveries are expected this month. Reports said RIL had signed a long-term supply agreement with Russia’s Rosneft in 2024 to import 500,000 barrels per day . Mohanlal to ‘accompany’ KSRTC on ISL dribbles past ‘paywall’ to set Feb 14 date revival journey as goodwill ambassador m i n istr y k i c k - o f f i n d ra n ee l d as @ Chennai Finally, after months of uncertainty the Indian Super League is back on track and this time it seems to be with purpose. This was possible after a meeting between sports ministry the All India Football , Federation (AIFF) and representatives of clubs on Tuesday . Though there were opposition from some clubs, it is learnt that the ministry told them that the league has to run and needed the confirmation from the clubs before making the announcement. Sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya was quite clear during the meeting that the league has to take place and the clubs have to cooperate. He also said that because of Supreme Court intervention, there were impediments but AIFF has found a way to resolve the crisis. After the meeting, Mandaviya announced the dates for the delayed ISL. It will begin on February 14 and will run until June 15. There will be a total of 91 matches and they will be played on home and away basis. The ISL that was supposed to begin in October was delayed after FSDL, the commercial arm of the AIFF that runs the league did not want to continue with the contract in its existing form especially paying an annual fee of `50 crore to AIFF. Mandaviya during the meeting with the 14 clubs and AIFF said that they may not have a commercial partner but they should not worry about media rights either. He told the clubs that he would request Doordarshan to air matches We have been able to speak to all stakeholders and the issue has been resolved, ISL will be held this year. The country does well in the sports sector only when our athletes get a chance to play regularly. Mansukh Mandaviya, sports minister (in pic) live. He also told the clubs that if they begin the league now, with or without commercial partner, they would get a oneyear window to find a commercial partner. The AIFF chief too assured the clubs that their commercial interests would be looked after. As for the revenue share, the AIFF would foot 40 per cent of the `25 crore central pool, which comes to around `10 crore, while each of the 15 clubs will share the remaining amount. The I-League division 1 and 2 will be merged and a total of 40 teams across five zones will compete. The Indian Women’s League (IWL) will also take place. The AIFF will contribute P13 `3.2 crore for I-League.  E x p ress Ne w s S er v i ce @T’Puram On a revival path, the KSRTC is set to get a major boost with actor Mohanlal joining the state-run carrier as its goodwill ambassador. The Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient has agreed to associate with the KSRTC as its goodwill ambassador, Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar said on Tuesday. Mohanlal will feature in KSRTC advertisements and promotional campaign. Notably he has chosen to , do so without charging any remuneration. Leading filmmakers will be engaged to produce high-quality advertisements to enhance KSRTC’s public image, the minister said. Meanwhile, Ganesh Kumar also announced that KSRTC achieved a record daily collection of `12.18 crore from ticket sales on Monday January 5, op, erating 4,952 buses to carry 27 lakh passengers. Its previous record of `11.53 crore was achieved on December 15. Upon adding nonticketing revenue, the total collection of January 5 crossed `13 crore. Ganesh Kumar said increase in revenue is not solely due to the Sabarimala season, though collections during the pilgrimage period rose by `2 crore compared to last year. He also said the era of trade union dominance in KSRTC was over and urged leaders to remain silent. On e-buses, he said the vehicles are expensive when considering maintenance and electricity rates. KSRTC now plans to introduce a business-class service, with talks underway to procure premium Volvo buses. Two are expected initially with the first , service operating between Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam, stopping at Kollam and Alappuzha bypasses. Pathanapuram plan On his assembly election plans, Ganesh Kumar said he will contest from Pathanapuram and win with a large majority .