hyderabad l sunday l may 17, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l late city EDITION Top Islamic state leader killed in Joint raid by U.S., Nigeria forces US and Nigerian forces killed Abu Bakr al-Minuki in a covert operation launched late on Friday night in northeastern Nigeria’s Lake Chad Basin Trump calls him group’s second-in-command Spotlights growing US-Nigeria partnership US President Donald Trump said a “meticulously planned and very complex mission” eliminated the world’s most active terrorist. Al-Mainuki was seen as a key figure in IS organisation and finance, and had been plotting attacks against the US, an official said. Trump called him the group’s second-incommand globally, a claim many analysts are sceptical about ■ ■ The Nigerian military said the latest operation was the culmination of months of intelligence gathering and reconnaissance It puts spotlight on the US-Nigeria security partnership launched last year amid complaints from the Trump administration that the Nigerian government is not doing enough to combat terrorist groups 2023 when the U.S. imposed sanctions on Al-Minuki 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 Bandi’s son sent to judicial custody 3rd language must While Sanjay claims Bhageerath surrendered, police say that he was arrested in POCSO case C h i t h a l u r i R e v a n t h @ Hyderabad A week after a POCSO case was registered against him, Bandi Sai Bhageerath, the son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, was sent to judicial custody for 14 days following his arrest. Sanjay however, said that his , son had surrendered before the Pet Basheerabad police station. Advocates also accompanied him at the time of surrender, the MoS said in a press release. However, the Cyberabad police stated that Bhageerath was apprehended near Tech Park in Manchirevula under the limits of Narsingi police station at 8.15 pm on Saturday following a naka-bandi organised near the Telangana Police Academy based on reliable information. Cyberabad Police Commissioner Mastepuram Ramesh told TNIE that Bhageerath was arrested in connection with the POCSO case registered at Pet Basheerabad police station on May 8. After Bhageerath was taken into custody he was shift, ed to the Pet Basheerabad police station and examined by the investigating officer in the presence of panch witnesses, a statement by the police com- INSIDE THE Narcotics Control Bureau has busted an international drug syndicate involved in the trafficking of Captagon and seized approximately 227.7 kg of the ‘jihadi drug’ worth `182 crore, the Union Ministry of Home Af fairs (MHA) said on Saturday . This is the country’s first-ever seizure of the drug, a highly addictive synthetic stimulant often referred to as ‘Jihadi drug’, since it is popular among them. One foreign national linked to the trafficking network was also arrested. Calling the seizure a landmark success in India’s anti-drug campaign, Union home minister Amit Shah reiterated the government’s commitWITH THIS ISSUE Bandi Sanjay posted this picture of Sai Bhageerath on Saturday evening missioner said. Following his medical examination, he was produced before a magistrate, who remanded him to judicial custody it said. , On Friday night, the High Court had declined to grant interim relief in his anticipatory bail petition in the case. Confir ming that his son was in police custody, Sanjay said that he had handed Bhageerath over to the police in light of the allegations against him “out of respect for the law”. The MoS said he had initially considered making his son surrender after the complaint was lodged. However, Bhageerath repeatedly told him that he had done nothing wrong. Sanjay said he then consulted lawyers and presented the evidence to them. “They told me that the court would grant bail based on the evidence. Due to this, there was a delay in his surrender,” the press note stated. Sanjay added that he had faith in the law and that the high court was likely to pass orders on the bail petition on Monday  Continued on P4 . After consulting legal experts and placing before them the evidence available, we were advised that the matter would be addressed through the legal process, due to which there was a delay in his surrender – Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Minister of State (Home) All about Captagon Captagon is the street name of Fenethylline, a synthetic stimulant originally developed during the 1960s for treatment of attention disorders and narcolepsy. Because of its highly addictive nature and widespread abuse potential, it was banned. Today, most Captagon tablets are produced clandestinely using methamphetamine, caffeine and other synthetic stimulants ment to a Drug-Free India and praised the agency for dismantling the network. Sharing details of the operation, officials said NCB received a tip from a foreign drug law enforcement agency and raided a house in Neb Sarai, New Delhi. They recovered 31.5 kg of Captagon tablets on May 11. The drug was meant to be sent to Jeddah. The house was rented by a Syrian national. Poll panel lays out SIR roadmap in TG E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state will begin on June 25, 2026. Announcing this at a press conference here on The schedule Saturday, Chief Electoral  House-to-house Officer C Sudharshan Redvisits by BLOs: June dy said that the house-to25 to July 24, 2026 house enumeration exer-  Draft electoral cise was being conducted rolls publication: in Telangana for the first July 31, 2026 time in 25 years. The last  Claims and such exercise was carried objections period: July 31 to out in undivided Andhra August 30, 2026 Pradesh in 2002. Sudharshan Reddy said  Notice, hearing and verification the objective was to ensure phase: July 31 to that no eligible citizen was September 28, 2026 left out of the electoral rolls while names of ineli-  Final electoral rolls publication: gible persons, including October 1, 2026 the dead, shifted and migrated, were removed. As part of the pre-SIR exercise, Booth Level Officers have been instructed to complete 90% voter mapping by the end of this month. Of the 3,39,24,664 electors in Telangana, 2,18,39,741 electors have already been mapped.  related report on P4 300-yr wait for Chola plates ends J aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi The Return of Sanskrit PLUS 12 P AGES E x p r e s s Re a d AP to give incentives for third and fourth child Srikakulam: Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has announced incentives of `30,000 for the birth of a third child in a family, and `40,000 for the fourth child. Speaking at a public meeting as part of the Swarna Andhra - Swachh Andhra programme at Narasannapeta here on Saturday, Naidu said, “Children are the true wealth of the nation. Efforts should be made to turn the population into an asset for the country through better management.” | P5 A magistrate at the Medchal court on Saturday recorded the statement of the survivor under Section 183 of the BNSS. Police had earlier recorded the girl’s statement after registering the case. Initially, the case was registered under Sections 74 and 75 of the BNS and Section 11 read with Section 12 of the POCSO Act. However, based on the survivor’s statement and statements of other witnesses recorded during the investigation, police altered the charges and added Section 64(2)(m) of the BNS and Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Spotlight on Bandi’s future in Union Cabinet amid berth pangs in telangana BJP First-ever haul of ‘jihadi drug’ in India, 1 held m u k e s h r a n j a n @ New Delhi Magistrate records girl’s statement The Netherlands on Friday formally returned the 11th-century Anaimangalam Chola Copper Plates to India, marking the culmination of a 14-year diplomatic effort to reclaim one of the most important surviving records of the Chola Empire and a prized symbol of Tamil heritage held overseas. The handover took place in The Hague in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten. Known in Europe for centuries as the Leiden Plates, the artefacts date to the reign of Emperor Rajaraja Chola I, the builder of the Brihadeeswara Temple at Thanjavur and among the most powerful rulers in South Asian history . The 21 copper plates, weighing nearly 30 kg and bound together by a bronze ring bearing the royal Chola seal, are more than royal records. They preserve the memory of a maritime empire deeply connected to trade, diplomacy and religion across the Indian Ocean. One section of the plates, inscribed in Sanskrit, traces the genealogy and divine lineage of the Chola dynasty . The Tamil section records a striking act of medieval religious pluralism and international engagement, with Rajaraja Chola I granting revenues from villages near Anaimangalam to support a Buddhist vihara in Nagapattinam built by the Srivijaya kingdom of Southeast Asia. Anaimangalam Chola Copper Plate. The 21 copper plates carry the imprint of two generations of Chola power | x In Netherlands since 1700 Historians believe the plates reached the Netherlands around 1700 through Florentius Camper, linked to a Christian mission during Dutch control over Nagapattinam. P4 for Class IX: CBSE appearing in the Class X Board examinations because of R3. The Central Board of SecondAccording to the circular, ary Education (CBSE) on Sat- schools can choose any lanurday announced that the study guage from the CBSE-approved of three languages will become list of subjects, provided that compulsory for students from at least two of them are Indian Class IX beginning July 1, languages. Foreign languag2026, in accordance with es may only be taken as the National Education the third language if Policy (NEP) 2020 and the first two are Indian the National Curriculanguages, or they may lum Framework for be opted for as an adSchool Education ditional fourth (NCF-SE) 2023. language. In a circular issued As part of the transion Friday, the Board tion process, CBSE said clarified that students students entering Class must study three lan- All assessments IX in 2026 would initialfor R3 (third guages — referred to as ly study from Class VIR1, R2 and R3 — with language) shall level textbooks for the be entirely at least two of them bethird language until school-based ing native Indian lanspecialised secondaryand internal. guages. However, to relevel textbooks are deThe d u c e a c a d e m i c performance of veloped and intropressure, the CBSE students in R3 duced. Schools have will be duly stated that there will also been encouraged be no Board examina- reflected in the to enrich classroom tion for the third lan- CBSE certificate teaching with local and guage at the Class X regional literary mateCBSE circular level. rial to promote cultural The Board said all and linguistic assessments for the third lan- diversity . guage (R3) would be conducted The implementation of the internally by schools. Students’ three-language formula has performance in the subject will raised concerns among some still be recorded and reflected schools regarding teacher in the CBSE certificate, but no a v a i l a b i l i t y and student will be prevented from infrastructure. I f r a h M u f t i @ New Delhi