BHUBANESWAR l saturday l February 28, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION pakistan says it is in ‘open war’ against neighbour afghanistan Pak army claims it killed 274 taliban men Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan on Friday, and said the neighbours are in “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes Mast Qalandar vs ‘reaching their collar’ Pakistan Army spokesperson Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said his forces “killed 274 Taliban personnel, while 400 were injured”. Twelve Pakistani soldiers were killed, while 27 others injured, he added. AFP journalists heard shellfire and gunfire in Torkham, with Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier after overnight bombardment by Pakistan ■ ■ “Our patience has run out. Now it will be Dama Dam Mast Qalandar,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in a post on X However, Taliban govt spokesman Mujahid said the recent strikes were intended to send a clear message that “our hand can reach their collar.” He claimed Taliban had seized 19 Pakistani military posts 55 pakistani soldiers killed in latest round of attacks, says taliban 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 Kejri, others let off in excise scam GDP projected to Special judge Jitendra Singh raps CBI for procedural lapses, refuses to put accused on trial It’s a historic verdict. The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are kattar imaandar (staunchly honest). I challenge the PM to hold fresh polls in Delhi. If BJP wins over 10 seats, I will quit politics UD AYA N KISHORE @ New Delhi 23-yr-old raped & thrown to death from roof, two held a m a r n at h pa r i d a @ Paradip The woman who fell to death from a four-storey house in Tarenigada area on February 23 was raped twice by two different persons before being pushed off the building rooftop, said Paradip police on Friday . The 23-year-old victim was first raped by her male friend Somanath Ojha of Dhinkia who deserted her after committing the crime. She was later picked up by Suva Kumar Singh (24) of Dhanbad in Jharkhand and taken to the building at Tarenigada. Singh sexually assaulted her there and pushed her off the roof, said Jagatsinghpur SP Ankit Verma. Police said last Sunday (February 22), the woman went to visit Sarala temple with Ojha. At a secluded location, Ojha allegedly raped the woman and later dropped her at Rahama bus stand before fleeing. The same night, Singh was returning from Angul on a motorcycle when he found the victim standing alone at Rahama. He brought her to his rented house at Tarenigada and took her to the rooftop where he allegedly raped her. After committing the crime, he pushed her off the roof in an attempt to portray the incident as a case of suicide. The next day, local residents found the victim’s semi-naked body lying near the gate of the four-storey building. As her dress was stuck on a gas pipeline running along the wall of the house, it was suspected she fell from the building rooftop. Her identity could not be established then as local residents were unaware of her background. Police seized the body and questioned seven youths including Singh who were living in the house on CONTINUED ON P5 rent. A Delhi court on Friday discharged former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and 22 others, including deputy CM Manish Sisodia and ex-BRS leader K Kavitha in the alleged excise scam, finding it unworthy of trial as it junked the CBI chargesheet. Hours later, the CBI moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court order. Trial court special judge Jitendra Singh also pulled up the CBI for procedural lapses, violation of constitutional principles and relying on hearsay evidence. He also found the ‘South Group’ label for the excise policy accused particularly inappropriate, adding he will recommend a de par tm e n t al inquiry against the investigating officer of the case. — Arvind Kejriwal, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal gets emotional as he addresses the media on Friday | PTI “Prosecution case, as presented in the chargesheet, rests largely on surmises, conjectures, and inferential leaps unsupported by cogent material,” the judge said. Singh said that the policy was the outcome of a structured gov- Satyamev Jayate (truth alone triumphs). This (case) was a web of lies. Judiciary has cut right through it. Who will account for the time that I lost with my kids (due to her incarceration for five months)? — K Kavitha, Telangana Jagruthi president ernmental process involving multiple departments, expert committees and cabinet-level approvals, and the decisions, even if later withdrawn or criticised, “cannot by themselves give rise to criminal liability unless supported by clear evidence Class X student denied Urdu option, forced to write HSC paper in Odia A r a b i n d a Pa n d a @ Cuttack In a bizarre incident, a Class X student was allegedly prevented from appearing for his General Science test in Urdu, which he had opted for, and compelled to write the paper in Odia, prompting his father to submit a petition to the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) in Cuttack. Embarrassed, the BSE has ordered a probe into the incident, which took place during the ongoing annual High School Certificate (HSC) examination on Wednesday The examinee, a student of Brahman. jharilo Nodal High School under Cuttack Sadar block, is presently appearing for the HSC examination at Laksheswar Nodal High School in Phulnakhara. The student’s father, Mohammed Shamim, in his petition said his son had officially opted to write the three non-language subjects General Science, Mathematics and Social Science - in Urdu medium, which was duly recorded in the board’s documents. “However, during the General Science examination, after submitting the optical mark recognition (OMR) answer sheet, when he began writing the subjective answers in Urdu script, the invigilator forcibly stopped him. He directed him to cut the answers already written in Urdu and compelled him to write the paper in Odia instead,” Shamim stated in his petition. He also lodged a police complaint in connection with the incident. Terming it a clear procedural irregularity and denial of the candidate’s approved examination medium, the father said the sudden compulsion caused mental stress, loss of valuable writing time and academic disadvantage to his son. “As Urdu is his mother tongue and he is comparatively weak in Odia, this forced change may affect his performance,” the petition stated. Since the test has concluded and the answer booklet has been despatched for evaluation, Shamim requested fair and unbiased evaluation of his son’s General Science paper, considering the circumstances under which he was compelled to alter the medium. “The Mathematics and Social Science tests are ahead. I earnestly request that necessary written directions be issued to the centre superintendent to allow my son to write his answers in Urdu script as per the approved option, without any obstruction or harassment,” Shamim stated in his petition submitted to the BSE president. BSE president Srikant Tarai said the examinee would not be allowed to suffer any loss of marks for the fault on the part of the invigilator. “We have taken cognisance of the matter, which will be placed before the examination committee for compensating and awarding marks to him in the General Science subject. The interest of the examinee will be protected,” said Tarai. On the day a special squad was , deputed to the examination centre to ensure the candidate writes the Social Science paper in Urdu medium, the board chief informed. District Education Officer (DEO) Nityananda Barik said a show-cause notice has been issued to the centre superintendent to explain why and under what circumstances the student was compelled to write the paper in Odia instead of the Urdu medium he had opted for and which was approved by the board. “A probe has begun and, after receiving the clarification, necessary action will be taken,” said Barik. ‘extra-marital affair’ Just before polls, Vijay’s wife calls it quits P r a b h a k a r Ta m i l a r a s u @ Chennai SANKGEETHA Vijay, wife of actorpolitician and Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay Chandrasekar, has filed a divorce petition before the Chengalpattu court alleging cruelty and adultery The family . court has summoned Vijay to appear before it on April 20. Sankgeetha accused her husband of having an extra-marital relationship with an actress and that he has subjected her to “persistent mental cruelty neglect and desertion”. , If required, she said she would implead the actress as second respondent. She urged the court to hold incamera proceedings to protect the privacy and dignity of the parties and their children. On December 3 last, Sankgeetha filed the petition before the Principal District Judge Court, Chengalpattu, under provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954. The petition was transferred to the family court on February 24. After Vijay Sankgeetha ‘Withdrew emotionally, distanced himself’ In her petition, Sankgeetha alleged that Vijay “gradually withdrew emotionally, distanced himself from conjugal life and excluded her from his social and professional engagements” the first hearing in the case on Thursday, the family court adjourned the matter to April 20 and directed Vijay to appear in person. In her petition, Sankgeetha said the marriage was first registered in the UK on July 10, 1998, and later solemnised according to Hindu rites in Chennai on August 25, 1999. The petition stated that the marriage was initially cordial and that she devoted herself to family life and raising their children while supporting Vijay’s professional commitments. However, she alleged that in April 2021 she discovered that Vijay was involved in an adulterous relationship with an actress, which caused “deep emotional pain and mental suffering”. Despite assurances that the relationship would end, she claimed their association continued. Sankgeetha also contended that attempts to resolve the dispute amicably through legal notices and personal discussions between 2021 and 2025 failed. She alleged that financial restrictions were imposed on her and that the marital relationship had irretrievably broken down. Seeking dissolution of marriage, she has requested permanent alimony residence at matrimonial home or , an equivalent accommodation. of quid pro quo, personal gain, or misuse of office”. Prosecution case does not disclose even the threshold of prima facie suspicion, far less the “grave suspicion” mandated by settled principles of criminal jurisprudence, the court said. Observing that the judicial task was not to secure a convenient outcome or to endorse a dominant narrative, but to uphold the rule of law, the judge refused to put the accused on trial. The judge rejected the charge that Kejriwal as the then CM exercised overarching control over the conspiracy relating to the formulation and implementation of the excise policy say, ing the only principal material relied upon to implicate him was the statement of approver, which was “without any independent corroboration”. E x p r e s s Re a d Angul horror: 12-yr-old girl raped & murdered in Kaniha, accused held Angul: Shockwaves spread in Kaniha area of Angul district after a 12-year-old girl was found raped and murdered in a bush near a village under NTPC police limits on Friday morning. Police said the girl, a Class VIII student of the local school, had gone to collect leafy greens from a nearby field | P4 grow 7.6% in FY26 under new series P USH P ITA DEY @ New Delhi THE Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday released a new series of annual and quarterly National Accounts with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the 2011-12 series, and raised India’s real GDP growth estimate for FY26 to 7.6% from 7.4% projected earlier. Quarterly data showed that real GDP growth in Q3 of 2025-26 eased to 7.8% from 8.4% in Q2. In the corresponding year-ago period, the Old Revised economy recorded 8% growth. Real GDP growth (%) Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said that given the revised data, strong Q3 performance, and an improving outlook for capital flows and trade frameworks, FY27 real GDP FY24 FY25 FY26 growth projection was revised upNominal GDP growth (%) ward from 6.8-7.2% range to 7-7.4% with upward risk. The CEA added that with full-year growth estimated at 7.6% for FY26, the economy would need to expand by over 7.8% in Q4 to meet the projection. The base year revision aims to FY24 FY25 FY26 better capture structural changes in the economy, incorporate new data sources, refine estimation methodologies, and enhance coverage and accuracy . MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg highlighted the adoption of double deflation in the new series. “Earlier, single deflation methods were used in several sectors. Now, double deflation has been implemented in agriculture and manufacturing. This means more accurate measurement of real value added.” Old Vs New Series 9.2 7.2 6.5 7.1 7.4 7.6 11 12 9.8 9.7 8 8.6