visakhapatnam l wednesday l january 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late 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 ■ 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 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 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 MU 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%) (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’ S UCHI T R A K A LYA N MOH A N 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 . express read Probe on slogans in JNU against Modi, Shah New Delhi: A protest at JNU sparked a controversy with ‘objectionable slogans’ targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah being raised over the denial of bail by the Supreme Court to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 riots conspiracy case. The varsity said an FIR has been registered and strict action will be taken against those concerned S G u r u S r i ka n t h @ Vijayawada 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 s u c h a n e x p e n s iv e scheme. “Instead of focusing on practical solutions, the previous gover n- ‘tG’s internal fight for pol benefits’ 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 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 re-drilling operations, saying there was no clarity on the extent of oil and gas reserves underground. A day after US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs if New Delhi continues to buy Russian oil, Reliance Industries on Tuesday vehemently denied a Bloomberg report that claimed that the Mukesh Ambani-led firm continues to import crude oil from Russia. “He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is not that happy with me because they’re paying a lot of tariffs now because they’re not doing the oil but they are... they’ve now reduced it very substantially, as you know, from Russia,” Trump said while speaking at the House GOP Member Retreat on Tuesday . RIL said it has not received any cargo from Russia in the past three weeks, adding no such deliveries are expected this month. ministry kick-off ISL dribbles past ‘paywall’ to set Feb 14 date i n d r a 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 be- gin 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 match- 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 Chandrababu Naidu for conceiving and executing most of Rayalaseema’s ir rig ation projects. NTR’s Telugu Ganga initiative to divert Krishna waters was described as a “historic decision”, while Chandrabab u ’s w a t e r m a n a g e m e n t ensured reservoirs today hold more than 80 per cent of their capacity . Ramanaidu underscored the coalition government’s effective water management, citing current storage levels: major reservoirs are 86 per cent full, medium reservoirs 67 per cent, minor irrigation tanks 53 per cent and overall capacity stands at 464 TMC, of which 366 TMC (79 per cent) is currently P6 stored.  ONGC Mori-5 blowout partially controlled R A K E S H K UM A R @ New Delhi HIps don’t lie! ment misled the people with false claims and wasted taxpayers’ money,” Ramanaidu said, accusing YSRCP leaders of prioritizing political interests over Rayalaseema’s welfare. He credited for mer Chief Minister N.T. Rama Rao and the i n c u m b e n t N. Ramanaidu dismissed arguments on RLIS raised in Telangana as that state’s internal affair. “They are focused more on political benefits than on benefits to Telangana. YSRCP is trying to take advantage of it here, which is ridiculous. It is a fact that 3,000 TMC of water is going into the sea and we want to utilise it. They went to court on it. What we are looking for is not disputes, but water for Andhra Pradesh,” he said. No Russia crude in January, says RIL 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 on 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 Nimmala: ‘RLIS a wasteful project’, slams YSRCP es live. He also told the clubs that if they begin the league now, with or without commercial partner, they would get a one-year 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 `3.2 crore for P13 I-League.  Regional Fire Officer Swamy noted that six tankers were deployed to maintain cooling and prevent the fire from spreading further. Konaseema Joint Collector T. Nisanthi told reporters that a “water umbrella” was created to reduce temperatures and protect surrounding vegetation. She said ONGC, revenue, police, SDRF and Red Cross teams are working together, with expert reinforcements arr iv i n g f r o m D e l h i a n d Mumbai. ONGC senior management has now assumed operational control of the site. Director (Technology & Field Services) and Crisis Management Team experts from Delhi finalized a comprehensive blowout control plan. Firefighters constructed a temporary canal from a nearby P6 irrigation source.  SIPB clears H19,391 cr investments 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