hyderabad l sunday l march 29, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Nepal’s ex-pm oli arrested over 2025 Gen Z protest crackdown Nepal’s former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli was arrested on Saturday over the brutal crackdown of anti-government protests last year start of justice, says new home minister oli, Lekhak faces up to 10 years in jail Oli was arrested at the Gundu area of Bhaktapur district, 12 km east of Kathmandu, early Saturday morning, the police said. “We have taken under control former Prime Minister K P Oli and former Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak. This is not a revenge against anybody, just the beginning of justice,” Nepal’s Home Minister Sudhan Gurung wrote on social media | P9 ■ ■ A probe panel had recommended legal action against Oli and Lekhak under criminal offence over their involvement in the crackdown Nepal’s new government, led by Balendra Shah, in its first cabinet meeting on Friday, decided to immediately implement the panel’s recommendations, which includes three to ten years of jail sentence 76 people killed during the crackdown on gen-z protests in September 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 Red Sea worry as Houthis join conflict for first time Turkmenistan Caspian Sea Turkey Afghanistan Syria Choking Bab el-Mandeb Strait could haemorrhage economy Israel a Se ed eR Th 2nd chokepoint The Bab al-Mandeb Strait is a narrow waterway that controls traffic toward Suez Canal Bab al-Mandab Strait NoidA airport opening Strait of Hormuz Arabian Sea Yemen Gulf of Aden Ethanol blend eased fuel crisis pressure: Modi a g e n c i e s @ Tehran WITH THIS ISSUE The Grey Emergency PLUS 12 P AGES Engine failure scare for IndiGo flight S l a l i t h a @ New Delhi An IndiGo flight from Visakhapatnam to New Delhi, carrying 160 passengers, was forced to make an emergency landing at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International A i r p o r t o n S at u rd ay after one of its engines failed mid-air. All passengers and crew were evacuated safely from the Boeing 737 aircraft upon landing. Flight 6E 579 departed from the Visakhapatnam International Airport at 8.48 am. A full emergency was declared at 10.39 am after one of the engines failed. The pilots requested the Delhi ATC for priority landing. “As soon as the message was received, Runway 28 was allotted for priority landing for the aircraft. Emergency was declared there from 10.45 am to 10.55 am. All necessary protocol was followed with fire and medical teams kept on standby an airport ,” official said. The plane landed at 10.54 am, the official said. After evacuation, passengers were assisted by the airline and airport staff, the official added. An IndiGo spokesperson attributed emergency landing to a “technical snag”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Centre was taking all possible steps to ensure that the ongoing West Asia conflict does not impact the common man. After unveiling the first phase of the Noida International Airport at Jewar, Modi commended sugarcane farmers for reducing India’s dependence on crude oil by helping scale up ethanol production. “Without the increase in ethanol production and its blending with petrol, India would have had to import an additional four-and-a-half crore barrels, approximately 700 crore litres of crude oil annually,” he said. “The hard work of our farmers has given the country PM speaks enormous relief during this time of crisis.” Ethanol has to Saudi not only benefited the country prince but also the farmers, with apPrime Minister proximately `1.5 lakh crore Narendra Modi worth of foreign exchange bespoke to Crown ing saved, he elaborated. Prince and PM Stating that he discussed of Saudi Arabia, the West Asia crisis in detail Mohd bin Salman, in Parliament as also as with on the ongoing all chief ministers the previconflict in West ous day, he appealed to the Asia and agreed people to face the situation on the need to ensure freedom of with a calm mind and remain patient. “What is in the internavigation est of Indians and in the interest of India, that alone is the policy and strategy of the Government of India,” he said. He expressed confidence that all political parties would back the country’s efforts. As for the Noida airport, he said it is the symbol of a developed UP as it will connect North India to the entire world. “A plane would take off every two minutes from here in the future,” the prime minister said, adding, “the airport will benefit a vast region encompassing Agra, Mathura, Aligarh, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Etawah, Bulandshahr, and Faridabad.” 29 The 11 seats reserved permanently at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in remembrance of lives lost during the stampede at RCB’s IPL celebrations in 2025 | Kevin nashon WHEN Ishan Kishan was appointed interim captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise in the lead-up to the 19th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), it was a small but significant in the competition’s history. It meant captains of all franchises would be Indians, at least to begin the season. Taken in isolation, it may not mean a lot. But pull back the curtains a little bit and analyse it at the macro level. It suggests several things. Mainly the , league, firmly in its adulthood from this year, is willing to experiment in terms of how they appoint captains. Earlier, captains and experience went hand in hand. Captains and the biggest overseas stars of those teams went hand in hand. Not anymore. Some franchises are beginning to get smarter. It’s not a surprise because this is how leagues evolve, mirroring the format’s international growth, penchant for data and the need to keep pushing the boundaries wherever possible. Of course, this doesn’t mean any Indian player will be considered for the post of captain but now Indians are more likely to be  Private sector employees in Telangana  Local body representatives and staff To the district collector, designated as the authority in each district  MLAs and MLCs What happens next?  Employees of State  The authority must decide within 60 days  If the claim is valid, the authority orders the appointing authority (employer) to transfer monthly a fixed portion of salary to the parent’s bank account If delayed?  Appeal can be filed before the Senior Citizens Commission within 45 days 60 days for the commission to decide on the appeal What happens in special cases? Withdrawal Parents can withdraw applications or seek cancellation at any stage Death of a parent  Surviving parent can seek transfer of the apportioned amount  If both parents die, the employee can apply to stop deductions Oversight structure District level  Collector acts as the designated authority State level  Senior Citizens Commission (appellate authority)  State-level monitoring body to track implementation Public Undertakings and corporations Commission Composition Chief Commissioner Retired High Court judge Up to two commissioners with relevant experience Tenure: Three years Both the Commission and the designated authority will exercise quasi-judicial powers, with authority similar to a civil court under the BNSS, 2023, including summoning individuals, examining evidence and calling for documents Govt tables bill on salary cuts for parental neglect Debate in ongoing session; move to ensure right to dignity of elderly M a n da Rav i n d e r R e d dy @ Hyderabad Framing it as a measure to address rising cases of elderly neglect, the state government tabled a bill proposing salary deductions from employees who neglect their parents in the Legislative Assembly on Saturday . SC, ST Welfare and Senior Citizens Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar introduced The Telangana Employees Accountability and Monitoring of Parental Support Bill, 2026. It is expected to be taken up for discussion during the ongoing session. The bill provides for deduction of up to 15% or `10,000 — whichever is lower — from the gross salary of employees found to be neglecting their parents. The deducted amount will be paid directly to the parents. Telangana Assembly adopts a resolution approving takeover of Hyd Metro Phase I from L&T page 3 homegrown captains in focus as league enters new era @ Bengaluru employees Where to apply? make in india s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n  State government Parents who lack adequate means to maintain a dignified livelihood Inside Prime Minister Narendra Modi with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and others, during the inauguration of the Noida International Airport, in Jewar on Saturday | PTI Ambit of the law Who can complain? S L a l i t h a @ Noida YEMEN’S Houthi rebels entered the West Asia war on Saturday by launching a ballistic missile towards Israel, as the world struggled to contain the economic damage of a conflict on verge of entering its second month. The intervention of Iran’s Yemeni allies into Tehran’s conflict with Israel and US raised concerns about disruption to Red Sea shipping, with trade from the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz already choked off. With no end to the conflict in sight, despite US President Donald Trump’s optimism that US forces have oblitday erated Iran’s military, a spokesman for the Houthis issued a video statement declaring that the group had launched Iran ballistic missiles at Israel. sceptical Israel’s military said it had on talks intercepted a missile. During Iran is sceptical Israel’s recent war on Gaza, about recent the Houthis, claiming solidardiplomatic ity with the Palestinians, atefforts to stop tacked shipping in the Red the war in the Sea and Gulf of Aden. But, Middle East, its until Saturday, had sat out Foreign Minister this conflict. Experts warn Abbas Araghchi that the Iran-backed Houthis told his Turkish have the potential to create a counterpart in disastrous economic shock a phone call on around the world. Saturday | P9 If the Houthis ramp up their role in this conflict by targeting vessels in the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait off the Red Sea, it would not only further push up oil prices but destabilise “all of maritime security,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a research institution. “The impact would not be limited to the energy market.” As Iran strangles Hormuz, countries have scrambled for alternative routes. Bab el-Mandeb is particularly crucial as it controls traffic for vessels heading to the Suez Canal through the Red Sea. Dignity for all named as captains when compared to earlier. Then, there used to be a demand in franchise cricket to spend extra for the purpose of picking a captain. Boffins of teams in the bigger leagues have realised that specialist captains, in general, do not contribute extra points in a season. It’s why, over the last few seasons, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel and, recently Rajat Patidar (Royal , Challengers Bengaluru) and Kishan were handed the gigs. Outside Gill, none of them were the biggest names of the side when they were given the job for the first time. This is an intriguing development for a league which was infatuated with its biggest stars. But after 19 years, it doesn’t need hand-holding anymore. Its scope extends beyond government staff to include private sector employees and public representatives such as MLAs, MLCs, corporators, councillors and sarpanches. In the Statement of Objects and Reasons, the state government said instances of neglect of elderly parents are on the rise, and argued that enforceable measures are required to reinforce family responsibility in a changing socioeconomic context. The bill states: “Article 21 of the Constitution of India asserts that the right to life includes the right to live with dignity. Parents are an inseparable part of the Indian family system. It is therefore considered necessary to provide enforceable norms among employees who neglect their parents and to ensure that every employee acts as a role model in society .” CM orders CID to probe mining E N S @ Hyderabad After a heated debate on illegal mining in the Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday ordered a CID probe into mining leases granted and alleged illegal mining during the previous BRS tenure. He said a detailed report would be tabled in the next Assembly session. The announcement came after former minister and MLA T Harish Rao raised allegations against Raghava Constructions and sought a probe by a sitting judge or a House Committee. Responding, Revanth said the CID inquiry would probe illegal mining and lease allocations since the formation of Telangana, including the allegations related to the firm.  continued on P4