hubballi l Friday l January 09, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l city EDITION Sonam Wangchuk’s speech aimed to quell violence, Wife tells SC Jailed activist Sonam Wangchuk’s wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, told the SC on Thursday that facts are being manipulated to portray him as a criminal ‘not given full grounds of detention’ leh DM sticks to charges against activist Angmo said Wangchuk was neither given the “complete grounds” of his detention, not an opportunity for a representation against his arrest. “The tenor of the speech is not in any sense threatening the security of the state or that I will continue such activities or to propagate violence, but to quell it.” Wangchuk was detained under the NSA unfortunate events of violence in Leh on September 24 cannot be attributed to actions or statements of Wangchuk in any manner ■ The Leh District Magistrate had earlier told the court Wangchuk “indulged in activities prejudicial to the security of the state” ■ Angmo, in her plea through senior advocate Kapil Sibal, said the 12 months is the maximum detention period under the stringent nsa 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 More tariff terror Didi crashes ED’s I-PAC raid party, seizes key documents as Don OKs bill on Russia curbs SUBH E N DU M AITI @ Kolkata Trump greenlights bill that could impose 500% levy on India for buying Russian oil Ukraine is making concessions for peace and Putin is all talk, India could face punitive US continuing to kill the innotrade action in the form of tar- cent,” Graham said. iffs as high as 500% after PresiThe bill has been spearheaddent Donald Trump reportedly ed by Graham alongside Demoagreed to let a long-pending leg- cratic Senator Richard Blumenislation on Russian sanctions thal and has accumulated move forward, potentially set- dozens of co-sponsors in the ting up a Senate vote as early as Senate, with a companion measnext week. ure introduced in the House of Republican Senator Lindsey Representatives. Its stated aim Graham said on Wednesday that is to choke off funding for ‘RusTrump had “greenlit” sia’s war efforts’ by the bipartisan bill aftargeting energy revUS exits the ter they met at the Solar Alliance enues that have reWhite House. “Presimained more or less In a setback to dent Trump will allow steady despite earlier global climate the sanctions bill to Western sanctions. move forward,” Gra- cooperation, Trump Under the proposal, ham said, and added formally withdrew the US would impose the US from the that a vote could come tariffs of at least 500% soon, though the bill’s International Solar on all Russian goods Alliance, a flagship and services importfate in Congress rerenewable energy ed into the United mains uncertain. The legislation, for- initiative co-led by States. Crucially, the mally titled the Sanc- India & France | P7 same level of duties tioning Russia Act of would also apply to 2025, seeks to impose steep tar- imports from countries that iffs and secondary sanctions, “knowingly” purchase Russianrunning as high as 500%, on origin oil, gas, uranium and pecountries that continue to do troleum products. business with Russia, particuThe bill also mandates visa larly those importing Russian bans and asset freezes on senenergy. India and China, the ior Russian officials and forworld’s two largest buyers of eign entities found to be supplydiscounted Russian crude since ing defence equipment to the start of the Ukraine con- Moscow, while directing the flict, would be directly in the Treasury Department to sancfiring line. tion Russian state-owned finan“This will be well-timed, as cial institutions. J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee comes out of I-PAC chief Pratik Jain’s house with a green folder in hand, which she said contained her party’s documents | pti AS part of its land reclamation drive, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) on Thursday demolished over 60 houses at Thanisandra in Bengaluru North. The reclaimed property is said to be worth around Rs 80 crore. On Thursday around 150 po, lice personnel, 50 BDA staff, including revenue officers and land surveyors, carried out the demolition drive, deploying bulldozers to raze the structures. “Since it is a BDA property it is , not mandatory for notice to encroachers,” said an official. The drive was halted in the evening, leaving barely a few houses in 2 acres untouched. The BDA officials said that it has arranged shelter for the evictees at Hegde Nagar Community Hall and would deploy mobile toilets. “Food and water will also be provided temporarily said an official. ,” The residents, however, contested the BDA action and claimed they have been paying property taxes. Senior BDA officials, who were monitoring the demolition drive, said that 22 unauthorised constructions had come up on two acres, as part of Arkavathy Layout. “The land survey numbers 28/1 and 28/2 in Saraipalya, Thanisandra Village were acquired in 2004 by the BDA from Muni Sonne Gowda, son of Thamme Gowda. SC slams Cab Sec for not filing K’taka to challenge affidavit on pvt univ regulation new scheme in courts On passing the baton E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Bengaluru THE State Cabinet on Thursday decided to challenge the Centre’s new employment guarantee scheme, VB-G RAM-G Act, in courts. The decision gains significance with the Congress set to launch ‘MGNREGA Bachao Sangram’ agitation against the Centre. The State government has also decided to hold special gram sabhas to create awareness against the ‘anti-people’ legislation. “The Cabinet considers the VB-G RAM-G Act as an infringement of the constitutional right of the people for employment. The Cabinet unanimously decided not to accept the Act and challenge the same in the court of law,” said Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister HK Patil. With a few of the Gram Panchayats coming forward to challenge the Act, the government would consult the Advocate General on approaching the High Court or the Supreme Court.  govt to issue A-Khata for 10L properties: P4 As many as 33 persons, including Sonne Gowda, filed a petition before the court in 2014 challenging the acquisition, claiming that they had purchased sites from the land owner (Gowda). P6 A child watches as a BDA bulldozer demolishes his house in Thanisandra on Thursday | Kevin Nashon M a d h a v G a d gi l ( 2 4 M a y 1 9 4 2 – 7 J an 2 0 2 6 ) People’s scientist who gave Nature a voice Dr Vinitaa H Apte Founder & Director, TERRE policy centre M adhav Gadgil, the ecologist many called the people’s scientist, passed away in Pune on the night of January 7, after a brief illness. He was 83. With him goes a rare kind of public intellectual — one who believed that science must walk hand in hand with society That na. ture is best protected when people are trusted as its custodians. Gadgil lived by the ethic he quietly embodied: simple living and high thinking. A Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, and a recipient of the United Nations’ Champion of the Earth Award, he was globally respected, teaching and lecturing in 16 countries. Yet his work remained deeply rooted in India’s landscapes — its forests, hills and villages — and in the lives of those who depend on them. She then proceeded to the IPAC office in Salt Lake and spent an hour there. Her security personnel were seen taking away several files. The ED said the raids were not against any political party , adding that simultaneous searches were conducted at 10 locations in Delhi and West Bengal in connection with a multi-crore coal scam. Later in the day, the ED moved the Calcutta High Court against Mamata alleging interference in its investigation. The HC is expected to take up the matter on Friday . VB-G RAM-G Act BDA bulldozes 60 houses in Bengaluru North M o h a mme d Ya c o o b @Bengaluru THE Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s raids at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain in Kolkata on Thursday in connection with a money laundering probe turned into high drama as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stormed in and took away some documents. Mamata, who entered Jain’s house at Loudon Street with police escort while the ED searches were still going on, came out with a green folder, which she claimed contained details of TMC candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls. “They were confiscating my party’s documents and hard disks, which have details about our party candidates for the assembly polls. I have brought those back,” she said. I-PAC, which offers political consultancy to the TMC, also manages the party’s IT and media operations. Banerjee alleged ED officials walked away with TMC’s internal strategy documents. “Is it the duty of the ED to collect political party data?” she asked. He founded the Indian Institute of Ecology and was instrumental in shaping India’s environmental consciousness. The Silent Valley movement, widely regarded as the country’s first major environmental movement, bears his imprint. Later, as chairman of the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, he led the preparation of a report that continues to challenge policy-makers and citizens alike. It asked difficult questions about development, biodiversity and justice — and refused easy answers. What set Gadgil apart was his ex- traordinary accessibility He spoke in . simple, lucid Marathi, translating complex ecological science into ideas communities could claim as their own. Knowledge, he believed, must never remain locked in institutions. His research consistently foregrounded marginalised voices and championed community-led conservation across forests, wetlands and fragile ecosystems. One of his most enduring contributions was the establishment of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in 1986, now India’s largest protected area. It reflected his conviction that conservation thrives when people are partners, not obstacles. To students, whom he mentored generously he of, fered the same message: begin with what surrounds you. Observe closely and care deeply . Gadgil is survived by a son and a daughter. His wife, Sulochana Gadgil, a distinguished meteorologist, passed away in July 2025. His final rites were held at Pune’s Vaikuntha crematorium on January 8. SUCHITRA K ALYA N M OHA N T Y “We are creating the future of the country. Whatever we do today is meaningless if the baton is not passed to the right hands,” Justice Amanullah observed The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the Cabinet Secretary to the Union of India for flouting its directions to file an affidavit in connection with the regulation of private universities in the country . “We are really surprised as to how the Cabinet Secretary was under the misconception that despite a categorical order of the court that the affidavit has to be affirmed by him, he has @ New Delhi not filed it and has instead been filed by the Secretary of the Higher Education Department,” a bench of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and N V Anjaria said. They had in November 2025 directed a nationwide audit of private universities after it found that Amity University had harassed a student for changing her name. The court said it is getting loads of letters and petitions, some of them with evidence, from across India on the matter. in s i d e India needs localised, ethical AI:PM Narendra Modi | P9 `2,000 crore midday meal scam in Rajasthan | P10