HYDERABAD l tuesday l may 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION SC pulls up NTA over neet leak, says it has not learnt lessons 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 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 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 RA 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 XPR E SS N E WS S E RVIC 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” BRS govt had approved smart meter plan in 2017, diverted funds: Officials M a n d a R a v i n d e r Re d d y @ Hyderabad Amid criticism from BRS leaders over the state Cabinet’s decision to join the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the state government on Monday alleged that it was the previous BRS government that had laid the groundwork for the implementation of smart meters in Telangana by signing the UDAY scheme agreement with the Centre in 2017. Officials said the BRS was now trying to fault the Congress government while concealing decisions taken during its own tenure. According to officials, a tripartite agreement was signed on January 4, 2017, between the Ministry of Power, the Telangana government and the state DISCOMs to join the UDAY scheme. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Telangana government by the then Energy Department Special Chief Secretary Ajay Mishra, while G Raghuma Reddy signed for the Southern Power Distribution Company and Gopal Rao signed for the Northern Power Distribution Company . Officials said the agreement itself contained provisions relating to feeder metering, distribution transformer metering and smart metering. Under the agreement, the previous government had committed to completing 100% feeder me- tering and distribution transformer metering by June 30, 2017, to identify power supply patterns, losses and misuse. They recalled that timelines had also been fixed for smart meter installations. Consumers using more than 500 units of power per month were to be equipped with smart meters by December 31, 2018, while those consuming more than 200 units but less than 500 were to receive smart meters by December 31, 2019. Officials alleged that the previous government not only joined the UDAY scheme but also diverted funds released by the Union gover nment for clearing DISCOM debts towards other schemes for nearly five years, pushing power utilities further into losses. CONTINUED ON P2 Cumulative hike Petrol 4 Diesel `7.35 `7.53 per litre Hikes in 11 days per litre HYDERABAD Petrol: `115.58 per litre Diesel: `103.74 per litre RA K E S H K U M AR @ 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 . War of words on procurement The Centre is not procuring even 30% of harvested produce. It’s only the state government that is procuring every grain produced by farmers A Revanth Reddy, chief minister TG asked Centre to permit procurement of additional paddy, but no approval was granted. State govt is carrying out procurement on a war footing Ponnam Prabhakar, transport minister Govt must expedite the procurement process. There are no tarpaulins and gunny bags at procurement centres N Ramchander Rao, state BJP president Uttam says only 90 lakh MT of paddy will be procured but the yield is 1.4 cr MT. Should farmers sell the remaining to middlemen? T Harish Rao, BRS mla A farmer collapsed due to heatwave during a protest against the delay in paddy procurement in Nirmal district P4 CM to SHGs: Take on corporates with super bazaars E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad Loans assured Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has asked Self-Help Group (SHG) women to set up Mahila Shakti Super Bazaars across the state on the lines of supermarkets operated by corporate companies, promising a corpus fund for the purpose. He also advised them to establish rice mills and large godowns, assuring interest-free bank loans. Additionally he announced an increase in , bank linkages for SHGs from `5 lakh to `10 lakh. On Monday, the chief minister, along with Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and ministers D Seethakka and Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy virtually laid , the foundation stone for the construction of 8,000 SHG buildings across the state. The chief minister assured interestfree loans for SHGs to establish godowns and corpus fund for setting up Mahila Shakti Super Bazaars Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy releases the designs of Indiramma sarees to be distributed to women’s groups On the occasion, he appealed to every SHG member to invest `5,000 or `10,000 in setting up a Super Bazaar, assuring them that the government would allot land in towns on a 30-year lease for a nominal rent. He suggested establishing one Super Bazaar in each constituency in Phase I and advised SHG members to compete with large retail outlets such as Big Bazaar and D-Mart. He explained that the objective was to provide quality products to consumers, create markets for farmers’ produce and generate income for SHGs. The state government itself would become a stakeholder in these Mahila Shakti Super Bazaars, ensuring that quality agricultural produce, organic products and essential commodities reach consumers directly, he added. Revanth also suggested that SHG members establish rice mills and construct large godowns to store paddy so that they could supply rice directly to the government. He expressed hope that women would ensure accountability for every grain and that the system would become more transparent and responsible under their management. CONTINUED ON P4 320 stranded mid-air for hrs in Gulmarg cable car F aya z w a n i @ 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 injuries. 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 a 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.