nagapattinam l tuesday l may 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION SC pulls up NTA over neet leak, says it has not learnt lessons NTA asked to detail steps taken since 2024 Pointing to the 2024 leak of the NEET paper, the Supreme Court asked the testing agency what steps it has taken since. “It’s sad they have not learnt their lessons. The matter travelled to this court earlier also. There was a committee which made some recommendations and they were accepted. We want the NTA to file an affidavit on the steps taken,” the court said | p7 The court on Monday sought the response of the Centre, NTA and CBI on pleas to replace the National Testing Agency with an autonomous one Pleas seek new body to conduct exam The court issued the notices while hearing a batch of pleas, including one by the Federation of All India Medical Association ■ The medical body has urged the court to issue a direction to restructure or replace NTA with a robust and autonomous system ■ The concerned parties have three days to submit their responses ■ Friday when the court will hear the matter again 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 CBI probe SC asks media not to record statements in Twisha case S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y Trump now ties deal with Iran to Abraham Accords Asks Arab countries, and Pakistan, to sign the Accords as part of peace pact @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Madhya Pradesh government to ensure that the alleged dowry death case of former Miss Pune winner, Twisha Sharma, is handed over to the CBI. Hours later, the CBI formally took over the probe. The court also urged the media not to record the statements of witnesses or any potential accused, saying it could prejudice the probe. During the hearing, a three- judg e bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court was pained by the narrative that the judiciary was shielding the accused. The remark came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the CBI will take over the probe. Mehta said, “For parents, it is better to have a divorced daughter than to have a dead one.” The court asked the victim’s family and potential witnesses to record statements before the probe agency not through media bytes. , Later in the day the MP High , Court adjourned to May 27 the hearing on pleas challenging the anticipatory bail granted to ex-judge Giribala Singh, booked for alleged dowry harassment of her daughter-in-law Twisha. US President Donald Trump tied the future of any Iran agreement to a dramatic expansion of the Abraham Accords, signalling a broader geopolitical push to reshape alliances across West Asia. The move came alongside Trump sharply recalibrating expectations around ongoing negotiations with Tehran, warning that any agreement with Iran would either be “meaningful” or there would be “no deal at all.” “The deal with Iran will either be a great and meaningful one, or there will be no deal,” Trump said. Earlier in Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei acknowledged progress in negotiations but cautioned against expectations of an imminent breakthrough. In a Truth Social post on Monday Trump , said he was “mandatorily requesting that all countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords” ­ a diplomatic framework — introduced during his first term to normalise ties between Israel and Arab states. The countries he referenced included Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan besides the UAE and Bahrain, both already signatories to the accords. The statement marked a shift in tone after Trump had earlier suggested that an agreement to end the nearly three-month conflict with Iran was “largely negotiated”. Besides, the inclusion of Pakistan in Trump’s list adds another layer of complexity. Islamabad has historically refused to recognise Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to temper speculation surrounding a breakthrough during his visit to India. He added that the US would either secure a “strong agreement” with Iran or confront the country “another way,” while insisting diplomacy would still be given “every chance to succeed.” Petrol, diesel prices increased yet again E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi `100 mark A litre of petrol now costs more than `100 across India We thought we might have some news (peace agreement) last night, maybe today... I wouldn’t read too much into it Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State Iranian team in Qatar for talks Iran’s parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, and central bank chief Abdolnaser Hemmati reached Qatar on Monday to discuss “the most sensitive unresolved issues” in reaching a potential deal with the US to end the three-month-old war. Reports said the delegation held talks with Qatar’s prime minister. Meanwhile, Trump said negotiations with Iran are “proceeding nicely” Three AIADMK MLAs quit posts, join TVK; EPS & Stalin slam horse-trading T M uru g anan d ham @ Chennai In a rapid sequence of developments that deepened the AIADMK’s internal turmoil, three of its MLAs who backed the TVK government in the May 13 confidence vote resigned from the Assembly and joined the ruling party on Monday . Speaker JCD Prabhakar accepted the resignations of Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam constituency), P Sathyabama (Dharapuram) and KS Jayakumar (Perundurai), saying that due process was followed. Madurantakam and Dharapuram are reserved constituencies. While the three constituencies are expected to be declared vacant soon by the Assembly secretariat, speculations are rife that a few more Maragatham Kumaravel, KS Jayakumar, P Sathyabama | Express AIADMK MLAs may also resign and join TVK. They may contest the by-elections on a TVK ticket. With the resignation of the three MLAs, the total strength of the House has come down to 230, thereby lowering the simple majority needed to clear a trust vote to 116. The move triggered strong criticism from the AIADMK, DMK chief Stalin, PMK, AMMK and even the VCK, which had joined the TVK government only a few days earlier. AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami lashed out at the “fraud jobs” of the TVK government, and said the TVK is engaging in unethical manoeuvres to protect its minority government. He said the three MLAs were made to resign in the speaker’s chamber and were inducted into TVK within minutes as part of a planned conspiracy . An AIADMK functionary, close to EPS, told TNIE, “It is clear that the MLAs resigned as they were certain of disqualification. We expect at least 10 more MLAs from the rival camp, led by CVe Shanmugam and S P Velumani, to come back to us within days.”  P5 Cumulative hike Petrol Diesel `7.35 `7.53 per litre per litre 4 Hikes in 11 days CHENNAI Petrol: `107.77 per litre Diesel: `99.55 per litre R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi Government-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) on Monday increased petrol and diesel prices for the fourth time in 11 days by `2.61 and `2.71 per litre, respectively, taking the cumulative increase to `7.35 per litre for petrol and `7.53 for diesel. With the latest hike, petrol prices have crossed the `100-per-litre mark across the country with Delhi recording `102.12. The prices vary in states due to local taxation. In Telangana, a litre of petrol will now cost `118.30 while the figure is `114.90 in Kerala. Petrol in Mumbai was priced at `111.21 and diesel `97.83, while Kolkata prices rose to `113.51 and `99.82, respectively . Diesel prices also crossed the `100 mark in Telangana (`106.7) and Kerala (`104.1). Monday’s increase came even as global oil prices fell sharply amid hopes for a deal to end the US-Israel war on Iran. Brent crude fell more than 5% on Monday . According to the government, however, OMCs still lose around `600 crore per day . E x p r e s s Rea d Man gets double death penalty in Thoothukudi teen’s rape-murder Thoothukudi: Three months after a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered at a Thoothukudi village, a Pocso special court in the district on Monday awarded double death penalty to M Dharma Muneeswaran (38), a native of Sayalkudi, in the case | P2 Couple killed as car submerges in flooded rly underpass in Salem Salem: An elderly couple died after their car got submerged in heavy rainwater at the railway underpass in Enathi near Omalur on the SalemBengaluru stretch, following intense overnight rain. The deceased were Venkatachalam (73) and his wife Radha (63), residents of Salem | P2 Mining rule violation: TN suspends licence of 18 quarries in Tenkasi Tenkasi: TN on Monday suspended licences of 18 out of 54 stone quarries in Tenkasi due to violations of mining rules based on inspections by three teams led by assistant collectors. Earlier in the day, Minister TK Prabhu inspected an interstate check post on Kerala border | P4 M i n i s te r Rame s h – T h a l a p at h y ’ s f o o t s o l d ie r From one-room home to Chennai’s corridors of power B A nbuselvan @ Chennai From the modest 250 sq ft house on temple land to the office of the TN Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister, S Ramesh’s journey is nothing short of phenomenal. The transition is a testament to his sheer determination and unwavering loyalty to the fan club of his matinee idol. Giving a clear picture of his dedication is a faded poster of 2012 Vijay starrer, ‘Thuppakki’, still adorning the iron bureau inside the one-room house in Maraimalai Nagar near Chengalpattu. The change in Ramesh’s life seems not to have an impact on the lives around him, as his father K Temple in Chengalpattu where the minister’s father works as priest; (inset) S Ramesh, K Srinivasan | b anbuselvan Srinivasan (65) still works as the priest at Sri Shiva Vishnu temple in Maraimalai Nagar, and his mother S Sumathi (55) commutes 44 km daily from Maraimalai Nagar to Mylapore for a cooking job. “I have always known my son as a big fan of Vijay He has been asso. ciated with the fan club since a very young age, and I heard that Anand (TVK general secretary) likes him,” said Srinivasan. After being sworn in as minister, Ramesh came to seek his parents’ blessings. “I’m happy thanks , to CM C Joseph Vijay Srinivasan ,” added. Ramesh (31) is the second son of the Srinivasan-Sumathi couple, and has two brothers — S Sudharshan (37) and S Aravind (29). A native of Nagapattinam, Srinivasan relocated to Chennai in 1995. About 15 years ago, he secured the job at the temple in Maraimalai Nagar, attached to the Sri Anantha Vijayagar Alaya Sangam, a private trust. Adjacent to the temple, the trust built a house and allotted a unit to him on the first floor. “For decades, my family has been living a modest life with limited means,” said Srinivasan.  P5 320 stranded mid-air for hrs in Gulmarg cable car F aya z wani @ Srinagar About 320 tourists were stranded mid-air for several hours after a technical glitch halted the gondola cable car system at the ski resort of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday afternoon. The panic-stricken tourists were rescued after an eighthour-long operation involving personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the Army, and the local police. Their work was hampered by heavy rains in the area. Rescue personnel reached people trapped inside 63 cabins of the gondola with the help of ladders. They were brought to the ground safely using ropes. Many cabins were hanging at a height of about 500 ft. Director General of Police (DGP), Nalin Bhagat, said the operation was completed in the evening, and all the tourists were rescued. There were no reports of any injury Officials . said an investigation will be launched to determine what caused the technical snag. The Gulmarg Gondola, one of the world’s highest cable car projects, operates in two phases. Phase 1 at Kongdori stands at 10,006 ft, and Phase 2 at Af- Rescue operation underway; (inset) a tourist being rescued | PTI Trapped 500 ft above Officials said since many cabins were hanging 500 ft above ground, rescue work took considerable amount of time farwat is 12,959 ft above sea level. The base station at Gulmarg is located at an altitude of 8,694 ft. Operations for both phases were immediately suspended. Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the rescue forces. “The nation salutes the forces for their valour and skill,” Shah said in a post on X.