BHUBANESWAR l monday l may 25, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION Cbse says Glitch led to incorrect fee deduction, will issue refunds The board said on Sunday it will issue refunds to students who were overcharged during Class 12 post-result process due to technical issues Technical issues with post-result portal Experts from two iits roped in On May 21 and 22, certain technical issues led to incorrect fee deductions from students who were applying for scanned copies of evaluated answer books, the CBSE said. “In some instances, excess payment was deducted, while in others, lesser amounts were charged,” it said. The board said those who were charged more will get back the excess amount they paid | P7 ■ The CBSE will engage experts from IIT-Madras and IIT-Kanpur to tackle issues in its post-result services portal, the government said ■ “The expert team will implement focused technological improvements of the systems and technical workflows and will specifically examine portal stability and server performance,” the education ministry said 18,57,517 Students registered to appear for class 12 exam, the CBSE said 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 Iran peace deal in sight but not rushing it, says Trump Breakthrough imminent, claims Rubio; Iran yet to publicly commit to giving up its uranium Talking points The pact being negotiated would extend truce by 60 days, creating space to resolve key issues before a final agreement is reached, according to US officials quoted by AP and Axios Strait of Hormuz The US would lift its blockade of Iranian ports Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow free passage for all ships US would allow Iran to resume oil exports through sanctions waivers Tehran would suspend nuclear enrichment and agree to give up highly enriched uranium stockpile The mechanism for Iran surrendering its highly enriched uranium stockpile would be finalised through further talks during the 60-day period Washington and Tehran would negotiate sanctions relief and the release of Iran’s frozen funds worth $100 billion during the 60-day period US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Sunday | pti J AYAN T H J A C O B @ New Delhi clear weapon,” Rubio said. “The ultimate goal is to make sure Iran THE US and Iran on Sunday ap- could never have a nuclear peared to edge closer to a break- weapon.” through agreement that could end According to Axios, CNN and months of conflict in West Asia, The New York Times reports, negoreopening the Strait of Hormuz tiators are finalising a 60-day ceaseand imposing fresh curbs on Te- fire arrangement that would imhran’s nuclear programme, even mediately reopen the Strait of as differences persisted over ura- Hormuz and create a window for nium enrichment and regional broader negotiations over dismancontrol. tling parts of Iran’s nuclear US President Donald Trump said programme. negotiations were progressing in a However, conflicting messages “constructive manner” and insist- from Iran suggested major disaed Tehran “must undergreements remain unrestand” that it cannot desolved. The Iranian Emvelop a nuclear weapon. bassy in Delhi said Trump also confirmed The negotiations are Tehran has the right to the US blockade linked “peaceful use of nuclear proceeding in an to the ongoing conflict science and technology” orderly and would remain in place constructive manner, and that “Iran will never u n t i l a d e a l w a s and I have informed relinquish this lawful my representatives reached. and internationally recnot to rush into a The remarks came ognised right”. deal because time is amid hectic parleys inIranian state media on our side volving the US, Israel also disputed Trump’s Donald Trump, and Iran after three claim that the Strait US president months of confrontation would be fully reopened that disrupted shipping under the proposed through the Strait of Hormuz and arrangement. rattled global markets. I love India and PM Modi: Trump Earlier in the day, during a joint Trump on Sunday made a surpress conference with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in New prise live video appearance at an Delhi, US Secretary of State Marco event in Delhi attended by Rubio, Rubio claimed a breakthrough is praising Prime Minister Narenimminent. “There is the possibility dra Modi as a close friend and asthat in the next few hours the world serting that India-US ties had “never been closer”. Speaking on will get some good news,” he said. Rubio said progress had been a giant screen installed at the made over the past 48 hours on a event marking the 250th anniverframework that could stabilise the sary of the US Declaration of Independence, Trump described Strait of Hormuz. The US administration has re- himself as a “big fan” of the Inpeatedly maintained that prevent- dian Prime Minister. “I love the ing Iran from obtaining a nuclear Prime Minister. Modi is great. weapon remains its central objec- He’s my friend,” Trump said durP9 tive. “Iran can never possess a nu- ing the virtual address.  We’ve made tremendous progress and I think we’re going to wind up with a trade agreement between the United States and India that’s going to be enduring, beneficial to both sides and sustainable Marco Rubio ‘US, too, has stupid people’ Rubio defended America’s image as a welcoming country when asked about racist remarks targeting Indians in the US, saying such comments reflected the actions of some “stupid people” and not American society at large. “Every country in the world has stupid people… stupid people in US make dumb comments all the time,” he said US pushes trade pact, India flags visa concerns J AYAN T H J A C O B @ New Delhi india and the US on Sunday sought to project continuity and momentum in their strategic partnership despite unease over trade talks and tightening American visa policies, with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raising concerns over difficulties faced by legitimate Indian travellers seeking entry into the US. Addressing a joint press conference in Delhi alongside US Secretary of State Marco Rubio after delegation-level talks, Jaishankar said the two sides had made progress on trade negotiations and remained committed to deepening cooperation in energy, technology, mobility and regional security . “We spoke about the value of concluding at an early date the final text of the interim agreement regarding reciprocal and mutually beneficial trade,” Jaishankar said, and referred to efforts to operationalise the bilateral trade framework envisioned during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington earlier this year. An Indian delegation had recently travelled to the US, he said, while an American team was expected in India soon. Rubio confirmed that both sides were “on the verge” of reaching a durable agreement. Energy security emerged as another major focus of the talks. Jaishankar underscored that India’s priority remained ensuring affordable and accessible supplies. Flagging concerns about delays in US visa processing, the minister said “People-to-people ties are at the heart of the relationship... I apprised Secretary Rubio of challenges that legitimate travellers face in respect of visa issuance.” In response, Rubio said the recent visa policy changes were not aimed at India. Youth suffers burns while Four dead, over 50 ill after taking selfie atop rail wagon feast in Sundargarh district S u d a r s a n M a h a r a n a @ Bhubaneswar E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i ce @ Rourkela/Jharsuguda The craze for taking dangerous selfies almost claimed the life of a 19-year-old youth, who suffered severe burn injuries from the highvoltage overhead electric (OHE) wire atop a stationary rail wagon at Mancheswar railway station on Sunday . The victim Rajesh Dashore is a native of Rajasthan and had come to Bhubaneswar for skill development training at Mancheswar industrial estate. After arriving at the Mancheswar railway station in the early hours, Dashore climbed atop a loaded wagon standing on track no-07 to click selfies and make reels for social media during which he came dangerously close to the highvoltage wire. He suffered serious burn injuries from electric shock and fell down beside the track. On-duty railway protection force (RPF) personnel immediately rescued Dashore and shifted him by ambulance to a railway hospital for emergency treatment. After preliminary medical care, he was re- At least four persons died and over 50 others have taken ill after partaking in a post-death ritual feast at Nuadihi village under Hemgir police limits of Sundargarh district, which was held on Thursday . While food poisoning is suspected to be the primary cause of the mass illness, a cholera outbreak has not been ruled out as the host of the feast had reportedly been suffering from a diarrhoeal infection prior to the incident. Stool samples of the affected villagers are being collected to ascertain the exact cause of the disease. While two of the deceased belonged to Nuadihi village, two others were from Sunakhaen village under Lakhanpur block of Jharsuguda district. Four persons from Sunakhaen have also been admitted to the hospital with symptoms of severe diarrhoea and vomiting. Sundargarh district health officials said a woman, Raibari Pradhan (50), was admitted to Hemgir community health centre (CHC) on Saturday evening and died within an hour. Another villager, Mangal Singh Naik (50), died during treatment at VIMSAR, Burla on Sunday morning. The victims from Sunakhaen village have been identified as Ullas Khadia (41) and Sukanti Khadia (65). Jharsuguda chief district medical officer (CDMO) Dr Shashi Shekhar Seth said four critically ill patients, including Ullas and Sukanti Khadia, were admitted to the DHH around midnight on Saturday As Ullas’ condition deteriorated, he was shifted . to VIMSAR, Burla, where he succumbed during treatment. Sukanti Continued on P5 died at the DHH at around 5.30 am on Sunday  . The injured youth Rajesh Dashore The OHE system used for train operations carries extremely high voltage electricity and can cause severe injuries or death even without direct physical contact – Railway officials ferred to SCB Medical College and Hospital at Cuttack. However, as his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the burn unit of AIIMS Bhubaneswar, government railway police officials said. Railway police have launched an investigation into the matter and informed his parents about the incident. Dashore’s friends are also present in the hospital, police Continued on P5 said.  After 12 days and a second autopsy, Twisha laid to rest ANURAA G S IN G H @ Bhopal A team of doctors from AIIMS Delhi completed the second autopsy of 33-year-old model-actor Twisha Sharma in Bhopal on Sunday The process lasted three hours. . The AIIMS team will submit its report in a sealed envelope to the Special Investigation Team, as directed by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Twisha was found hanging at her matrimonial home in Bhopal’s Katara Hills area on May 12, with her family accusing her in-laws of dowry harassment and abetment to suicide. Her in-laws, however, a l l e g e d s h e s u f f e re d f ro m d r u g addiction. Two hours after the second autopsy was completed, and 12 days after she was found dead, Twisha’s body was cremated on Sunday afternoon. Her brother Harshit Sharma, an army officer, performed the last rites, including rendering ‘mukhagni’ to the body at the Bhadbhada Vishram Ghat in Bhopal. Emotions were high. Twisha’s mother and other members of her family were inconsolable as the funeral pyre was lit. No one from her husband’s family, including the ex-judge mother-in-law Giribala Singh and brother-in-law Siddharth Singh, an Indian Air Force officer, attended the funeral. Meanwhile, sources said Twisha’s husband Samarth Singh is not fully cooperating with the Bhopal Police’s Special Investigation Team. The investigators are not convinced by certain answers he has given. While the focus is on the events of May 12, the SIT is looking into every aspect of Samarth and Twisha’s life, right from the time they became close through a dating app in Case in SC today The Supreme Court is set hear the Twisha Sharma death case on Monday. The court had taken suo motu cognisance of the case on Saturday. A three-judge bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, will hear the matter 2024. It is also trying to determine where Samarth was hiding and what role his mother had played in helping him. Sources said the initial questioning of Samarth has revealed that Twisha wasn’t keen to lead a family life. There was a drastic change in her behaviour after her pregnancy was confirmed on April 17, sources said. On Saturday Twisha’s father submitted , a detailed representation along with a copy of the high court order to the medical board, raising several concerns regarding the first autopsy . Among the concerns raised were alleged blunt force injuries on Twisha’s left arm and forearm, lack of detailed dissection to determine the depth and age of injuries, and absence of radiological examination of the neck and cervical structures. BJP Sweeps falta re-poll 24 dead in Pak blast Paramilitary forces and volunteers try to recover victims after a powerful explosion ripped through a shuttle train in Pakistan’s Balochistan province on Sunday. At least 24 people were killed and dozens injured | AFP BJP candidate Debangshu Panda won West Bengal’s Falta assembly seat on Sunday by 1.09 lakh votes. The Trinamool Congress candidate Jahangir Khan slipped to fourth position in the re-poll. With the win, the BJP’s strength in the House rises to 208 | P8