source: x chennai l Monday l January 12, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Paatal Lok 2 actor Prashant Tamang dies of cardiac arrest Prashant Tamang, winner of Indian Idol 3 and acclaimed for his role as an assassin in Paatal Lok 2, died of cardiac arrest on Sunday morning Prashant Tamang (4 January 1983 — 11 January 2026) Shot to Fame After Winning Indian Idol 3 Death puts spotlight on heart health Tamang, 43, passed away around 9 am at his Delhi residence, his close friend and singer Mahesh Sewa said. Tamang was born on January 4, 1983. Encouraged by friends, he auditioned for the reality singing show Indian Idol in 2007 and went on to win it. He then came out with his first album Dhanyavaad in 2010 and began performing at concerts worldwide ■ Tamang’s sudden death comes amid a rising number of young people succumbing to cardiac arrest and heart-related ailments ■ Bigg Boss 13 winner and actor Sidharth Shukla, Kannada actor Puneet Rajkumar, and filmmaker Raj Kaushal are among several young celebrities who have died from cardiac arrest 2010 when tamang’s first film Gorkha Paltan was released 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 Big push to strategic ties as Modi, Hand over case Merz set for talks in Ahmedabad to a neutral probe Alliance pact: Ramadoss demands ECI action on son E X P RE S S NE W S S ERV I C E Sabarimala gold theft German Chancellor’s visit to India first in Asia after taking office last year; to visit B’luru too @ Chennai J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi PMK founder S Ramadoss has petitioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking legal and criminal action against his son Anbumani Ramadoss for holding alliance talks with the AIADMK, claiming that the latter is not even a member of the party. He also alleged that Anbumani had forged the documents related to the extension of his party presid e n c y, w h i c h were submitted before the commission. In his S Ramadoss letter to the ECI, dated January 10, the veteran leader said the attempt by Anbumani (to forge an alliance) with the AIADMK is not merely illegal but also merits civil and criminal action for impersonating him and the PMK. “Kindly take appropriate legal action for the same, apart from registering a criminal case for the unauthorised use of my party name for political gain by Anbumani and others at the earliest,” Ramadoss said. P5 SIGNALLING New Delhi’s intent to deepen partnerships with key European powers amid shifting global geopolitics and growing economic uncertainty , Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold comprehensive talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Ahmedabad on Monday . Merz’s January 12-13 visit, his first to Asia since taking office eight months ago, comes in a backdrop of global challenges including Washington’s 50 percent tariff on Indian goods, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and a fractious global politico-economic order. The talks are expected to focus on expanding cooperation in trade, investment, critical technologies, defence, and skill development. Germany is India’s largest trading partner in the European Union, with bilateral trade reaching around $50 billion in 2024-25. Germany accounts for roughly one-fourth of India’s EU trade and is the ninth-largest foreign direct investor with cumulative investments exceeding $15 billion. Over 2,000 German companies operate in India. The two leaders will review the IndiaGermany Strategic Partnership, which completed 25 years last year, and discuss ways to enhance cooperation in education, skilling and mobility, science and innovation research. Chancellor Merz’s Ahmedabad programme includes visiting Sabarmati Ashram, participating in the International Kite Festival, attending a skill development event, and talks with PM Modi at Mahatma Mandir. He will travel to Bengaluru on Tuesday to visit Bosch and Centre for Nano Science and Engineering. Days after Merz’s trip, EU leaders will visit New Delhi, where they may wrap up India-EU free trade agreement, to be followed by French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit. E X P RE S S NE W S S ERV I C E @ T’Puram naval officer posting Germany has agreed to deploy a Naval Liaison Officer at the IFCIOR, a key informationsharing hub for maritime security in the region | P7 PM Narendra Modi addresses a gathering at Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference | PTI PM: iNDIA on FAST track to be 3rd largest economy Di l ip S i n g h Ks h at r i ya @ Rajkot Bullish on growth In a message to investors, Modi said amid global uncertainty India offers predictability, political stability and rising middleclass purchasing power PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday declared that India is rapidly advancing towards becoming the world’s third largest economy, citing controlled inflation, macro stability and global confidence as key drivers amid worldwide uncertainty . “Inflation is under control, macro stability is strong, and India today stands out with unprecedented certainty,” Modi said at the Vibrant Gujarat Regional Conference in Rajkot, contrasting India’s political stability with tur moil in neighbouring countries. Highlighting India’s economic trajectory, he said, “India is the world’s fastest growing economy . Global hopes are rising.” Modi listed milestones including India being the world’s largest milk producer, number one in generic medicines and vaccines, biggest mobile data consumer, top digital payment platform through UPI, second largest mobile manufacturer, and among top three in solar power and aviation markets. “This is why global institutions are bullish on India,” he said. “The IMF calls India the engine of global growth. S&P has upgraded India after 18 years. Fitch praises our macro stability and fiscal credibility .” Modi stressed that amid global uncertainty India offers predict, ability political stability and ris, ing middle-class purchasing power. Govt to ask manufacturers to pre-install Prasar Bharati’s OTT app on new TVs express read Stalin urges centre to protect Lankan Tamils Chennai: In a letter to the PM, CM MK Stalin on Sunday said the new Constitution for Sri Lanka could further marginalise SL Tamils, and urged the centre to initiate diplomatic steps to safeguard their rights | P4 Kohli’s 93 helps India win over New Zealand Vadodara: A majestic half century from Virat Kohli helped the hosts take the first game of the three-match ODI series against the visitors. Chasing 301, the ace batter’s 93 helped India to a 4-wicket win | P11 International reach Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi Waves has a robust international presence with users in 181 countries, according to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. While India remains the leading market with over 4.2 million users, significant traction has been recorded in the USA, UK, UAE, Australia and France Buoyed by the growing popularity of WAVES, Prasar Bharati’s over-the-top (OTT) application, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is set to write to television manufacturers, urging them to pre-install the app on smart TVs. Currently most smart , TVs come pre-loaded with major OTT apps such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. It comes weeks after the Ministry of Communications mandated the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones, but later withdrew the order following pushback from phone makers. WAVES was launched in November 2024. It combines live TV, ondemand videos, radio, games, ebooks, and e-commerce in a single platform. It has already made strong inroads, recording over 3.8 million downloads and 2.3 million registered users in less than a year. WAVES currently offers at least 65 channels, including 40 live services featuring news and entertainment networks, movies, TV shows, and games in ten languages, including Hindi, English, Marathi, Tamil, and Assamese. The content includes classics from the Doordarshan and Akashvani archives, along with new programming available on the application. Prasar Bharati also recently invited licensed linear satellite TV channels to join its OTT under a revenue-sharing commercial framework. With the objective of bringing quality content to WAVES, the public broadcaster introduced a PayPer-View Content Sourcing Policy in October. gift bonanza Eye on ballots, Pongal goodies drive TN poll campaigns With Pongal round the corner and the 2026 state Assembly elections just months away, the harvest festival has become an early political battleground in central Tamil Nadu. Major parties have begun distributing premium gift hampers to reach out to voters through high-profile drives led by DMK and AIADMK leaders. In Tiruchy West, (Minister KN Nehru’s constituency), Pongal kits are being delivered across over 23 wards through DMK ward secretaries and councillors, targeting both traditional DMK supporters sourav roy P e a r s o n L e n e k a r S R @ Tiruchy and others willing to accept them. A DMK ward secretary said the instruction was clear: not to refuse agency, says Shah anyone. “Even voters from other parties should be given gifts if they are ready to accept it,” he said. Over the past two days, scenes of residents approaching to collect gift boxes and cadres moving from door to door have become the new normal across several wards. Party workers said that additional stocks were being issued whenever the units ran out of gifts. Unlike earlier years when Nehru restricted Pongal gifts to basic items such as pots or sugarcane, this year’s package is markedly more premium, combining pants, shirts and sarees with stainlesssteel kitchenware, including four plates, four tumblers and two cooking pans, all packed in boxes carrying the images of Chief Minister MK Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, KN Nehru and MP Arun Nehru. While residents who received the kits said its combined market value easily crossed `2,500 per household, a DMK functionary pointed out that the scale is far larger than before. “In just one ward, we are planning to distribute between 2,500 and 3,000 gift hampers. When you multiply that across all 23-plus wards in Tiruchy West, you can understand how massive this is,” he said.  P5 UNION Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that the Sabarimala gold theft case must be investigated by a neutral agency to bring out the whole truth, alleging that the CPM-led government in Kerala is trying to protect the real culprits. Shah said the case cannot be treated as a local issue as it is closely watched by people across the country adding that the BJP , will organise protests in Kerala until a neutral agency is assigned to conduct a probe into the matter. “I demand that the Chief Minister hand over the probe to a neutral investigation agency. The BJP will carry out protests and door-to-door awareness campaigns,” Shah said while addressing the newly elected local body members of the party in Thiruvananthapuram. “The controversy is not just an issue of the state, but is closely being observed by people throughout the country. Can people under whom the assets of Sabarimala are unsafe protect our faith?” he said. Shah expressed doubts about an investigation conducted by state police being impartial, saying that people associated with the ruling CPI(M) are under suspicion. He further alleged that even the Congress could not be absolved, claiming that evidence had emerged of the involvement of its leaders. Shah said he had seen the FIR Union Home Minister Amit Shah greets newly elected local body members, in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday | B P DEEPU ‘BJP CM in Kerala’ Amit Shah told party workers that the local body election victory was not the final goal and that they must work further to achieve the objective of having a BJP Chief Minister in Kerala in the case and alleged that the manner in which it was drafted made it clear that it was aimed at protecting the accused. His comments came two days after Sabarimala Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru was arrested by the Special Investigation Team constituted by the Kerala High Court in connection with the case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also looking into the financial trail in the case. The ED has registered an Enforcement Case Information Report under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.