TIRUCHY l saturday l june 13, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l LATE CITY EDITION Indian shooting’s father figure Jaspal Rana passes away One of the shooters responsible for putting India on the global map in the sport, died following cardiac complications after a heart attack Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker pays tribute to her coach Jaspal Rana at his residence in Dehradun. Rana breathed his last in Delhi on Friday | PTI champ shooter, coach: man of many hats From Uttarakhand, he burst into the limelight as a teen at the Asian Games in 1994. His rich medal hauls inspired his peers to achieve similar feats. Then, he donned the role of coach-cum-mentor to ready India’s next generation of shooters. Manu Bhaker, who won two Olympic medals in 2024, was a protege of Rana’s. He also oversaw India’s junior programme ■ 13 he helped shape Indian shooting: Bindra ■ Abhinav Bindra, who was a former teammate of Rana’s, said he was part of a generation that helped shape Indian shooting. He was gifted, and carried the pride of the country A teenager (Rana after his 1994 Asiad gold) had shown the whole country that an Indian could rule this sport: Gagan Narang | P13 he won 13 gold across asian (4) and Commonwealth games (9) 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 US diplomat rapped again over killing of 3 seafarers India shares concern over use of deadly force against civilian ships j aya n t h j a c o b @ New Delhi Retail inflation at 16-month high, touches 3.93% in May P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi rETAIL inflation rose to a 16-month high of 3.93% in May primarily due to the in, crease in fuel prices and cost of services such as restaurants and accommodation, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday showed. Despite the uptick, inflation remained well within the Reserve Bank of India’s target of 4%. According to MoSPI, the rise in headline inflation was driven by higher prices in food and beverages, personal care, social protection, restaurants and accommodation services, as well as tobacco and intoxicants. While rural inflation rose to 4.25% in May from 3.85% in April, urban inflation increased to 3.53%. Food inflation, measured by the All India Consumer Food Price Index, touched 4.78%. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor at State Bank of India, attributed the increase to higher fuel prices and supply-side disruptions. “The impact of increased petrol and diesel prices was clearly visible, with transport inflation rising by 176 basis points to 1.8% in May while a slight , LPG shortage pushed inflation in restaurants and accommodation services up by 154 basis points to 5.7% from 4.2% in April.” He said the impact of exchange-rate fluctuations and external shocks, such as supply-chain disruptions, is now beginning to reflect in India’s CPI. Debopam Chaudhuri, chief economist at Piramal Finance, said indications are that retail inflation could move above 5% in June. Today's matches (IST) (Jun 14, Sunday) Group B: Qatar vs Swiss 12.30am; Group C: Brazil vs Morocco 3.30am; Haiti vs Scotland 6.30am; Group D: Australia vs Turkiye 9.30am INDIA on Friday escalated its diplomatic response to a series of attacks on commercial vessels off the coast of Oman by summoning United States Chargé d’Affaires Jason Meeks for the second time in two days and lodging a strong protest over incidents that have now claimed lives of three Indian seafarers. The strong protest with the US was launched a day after all three Indian crew members who had been reported missing following the attack on the Palau-flagged tanker MT Settebello were confirmed dead. “The Ministry once again conveyed its deep concern over the use of lethal and deadly force against civilian shipping. Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the safety secu, rity and stability of international maritime commerce in a sensitive region at a difficult time,” the MEA said. It added that the Chargé d’Affaires had been requested to convey India’s concerns to Washington and ensure that US forces operating in the re- Jason Meeks, US Chargé d’Affaires | X Sharif: Both sides OK with peace deal text “Peace has never been this close,” said Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif, adding that the text of the ‘final’ US-Iran peace deal has been agreed upon by all parties. This preceded Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the MoU has “never been closer” | P11 gion take all necessary measures to prevent further loss of civilian life. The diplomatic protest follows a series of attacks on merchant vessels linked to the escalating US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf region. The most serious incident involved MT Set- tebello, a tanker carrying 24 Indian crew members that was struck earlier this week off the coast of Oman. While 21 crew members were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation involving Indian and Omani authorities, three sailors were later found dead. India had already summoned the US Chargé d’Affaires on Wednesday following the attack on MT Settebello, but the second summoning marked a further hardening of New Delhi’s position after confirmation of the fatalities. The deaths come amid a troubling pattern of attacks on merchant shipping in the region. On June 8, MT Marivex, carrying 24 Indian nationals, was struck by US forces after allegedly attempting to proceed towards an Iranian port despite a naval blockade. All crew members were rescued by Omani authorities. A day later, MT Settebello came under attack, where three Indian sailors died. On Thursday another ves, sel, MT Jalveer, came under attack off the Omani coast, with reports suggesting 20 Indian crew members were on board. `28-cr bribe DVAC to restart probe against former minister E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai The Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) on Friday told the Principal Sessions Court in Chennai that it would reinvestigate the `27.9 crore bribery case against former minister and DMK MLA R Vaithilingam. Several opposition parties, including the BJP and the AIADMK, had heavily criticised the then DMK government for “washing machine” politics after the DVAC had sought to close the case shortly after Va i t h i l i n g a m joined the DMK R Vaithilingam in January 2026. The case pertains to an FIR registered against Vaithilingam for allegedly accepting the bribe from a private housing promoter in exchange for planning permission to raise additional housing units at a site in Perungalathur near Chennai. The alleged bribe was paid when Vaithilingam was serving as Minister for Housing and Urban Development between 2011 and 2016 in the AIADMK government led by for mer chief minister J Jayalalithaa.  P7 Reply sought from four ex-AIADMK MLAs Chennai: TN Assembly Speaker J C D Prabhakar on Friday directed the four ex-AIADMK MLAs, who defied the party whip and supported the TVK govt during the trust vote on May 13, to submit their explanations within a week in response to notices issued on the AIADMK’s petition seeking their disqualification. The AIADMK had objected to the speaker’s acceptance of the resignations of the MLAs, calling the move hasty, given the disqualification petitions were pending | P4 Mentally ill held for 10 yrs, HC orders jail checks Madurai: Shocked to find that a man with chronic mental illness has been detained in jail for the past 10 years despite being acquitted in a murder case in 2016, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has directed the state government to form a legal team to inspect all prisons in Tamil Nadu. The team must check if any other person with mental illness is languishing in jail even after acquittal, the HC said | P4 Longer wait for final AI-171 crash report S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi Family members of the AI 171 crew, who died in the air crash, pay tribute during a memorial service on the first anniversary of the tragedy, in Mumbai on Friday; and (inset) a distraught relative | PTI Exactly a year after Air India flight 171 crashed during takeoff at Ahmedabad, killing 260 passengers and crew, there was no closure for the family members of the victims as the much-awaited final probe report remained elusive. Instead, the Aircraft Accident Investigations Bureau put out an interim statement, saying “The Final Report will be released upon completion of all investigative activities and the requisite international review and consultation processes prescribed under ICAO (International Civil Aviation Significant progress in probe, claims AAIB AAIB’s interim statement claimed significant progress in the examination and analysis of AI-171’s systems, flight recorder data, engine-related components, maintenance and operational records, and other relevant evidence. “The evidence gathered and the results of various examinations are currently being analysed” Organisation) Annex 13.” The final report will take two-three more months for wrap-up, said a source familiar with the developments. Asked about ICAO’s recommendation on the final probe report into any major accident within 12 months of the incident, the source said, “It only encourages the submission of the report. It is not binding on us. Interim reports also can be submitted or statement on the progress too can be furnished, which is what we have done.” When asked what part of the report was pending, the source said since there was massive condemnation after the preliminary report was released on July 12, 2025, which attrib- uted the accident to human error, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had decided to carry out an inspection of the Boeing’s Fuel Control Switch (FCS) in the US to be doubly sure as multiple reports and experts repeatedly spoke of its malfunctioning. AI-171’s fuel switch moved to OFF shortly after take-off, resulting in the crash. Another Air India Boeing flight AIC 132 was grounded on Feb 2, 2026, after pilots reported that the FCS slipped from RUN to CUT OFF when pushed slightly as it did not lock securely “The DGCA visit . will happen soon,” he added. Cabinet Secretary reviews NEET-UG re-test prep CM announces `135-cr Kuruvai special package Pa r ve z S u lta n & S L a l i t h a @ New Delhi FOUR weeks after the NEETUG paper leak scandal forced its cancellation, the government on Friday signalled it was leaving nothing to chance, with the Cabinet Secretary chairing yet another review and the NTA quietly rolling out a series of candidate-friendly changes for the June 21 NEET reexamination. Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, who has now held three rounds of preparatory meetings since June 1, reviewed examination readiness with NTA Director General Abhishek Singh and warned that wrongdoers would face the full force of law. “The full might and weight of law will fall on any person trying in any manner to distort, disrupt, or tamper with the integrity…of the re-examination,” he said. Central and state governments, district administrations and central armed forces are all being co-opted for the exercise, a note from the government said. More rough sheets Explaining the rationale behind changing the paper layout by splitting the rough sheets, a top official told this paper, “A little over three lakh who attempt the June 21 exam will use their left hand to write it. This puts them at a disadvantage. We decided to double the rough sheets.” The Ministry of Home Affairs has specifically asked the CRPF and CISF to guard question paper consignments in transit. For its part, the NTA has made quiet but meaningful changes to the exam format. Rough sheets per booklet have been doubled from two to four, with the additional sheets now split between the front and back portion of the booklet. This was done keeping in mind nearly 15% of candidates who are left-handed and who previously struggled with sheets bunched at the booklet’s end. Based on feedback from students, the exam will run 15 minutes longer, from 2 pm to 5.15 pm, with PwDs getting 4 hours and 20 minutes in total. Women make up 58%, or 13.31 lakh, of the 22.79 lakh registered candidates. to address bottlenecks Tasmac to automate bottle buy-back with deposit machines S G U R U VANM I K ANATHAN @ Chennai The Tasmac bottle deposit machine to be installed in Chennai | Express E x p r e s s Re a d The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) is planning to introduce bottle deposit machines at its retail outlets across the state to collect empty liquor bottles. As a pilot project, the corporation is likely to install the machines in selected outlets in Chennai within the next few days. The move is aimed at streamlining the collection and recy- cling of used bottles and strengthening of existing buyback system that faced stiff opposition from the Tasmac staff. At present, empty bottles are collected manually under the bottle buy-back system, which was introduced following directions from the Madras High Court. Consumers returning empty bottles at Tasmac outlets receive a refund of `10 per bottle in cash. “Though the HC directed Tasmac to implement the bottle buy-back system, its effective rollout across the state has not been possible due to manpower shortage. Employees are also reluctant to handle the collection of empty bottles. Therefore, the corporation has decided to introduce these bottle deposit machines,” a senior official told TNIE. The official added that similar bottle deposit machines are already in use in Delhi and Goa. Sources said Tasmac has already procured a few such machines, which are ready for installation. The process is expected to reduce manual handling and improve monitoring of return of bottles. Each machine can store up to 3,000 empty liquor bottles. Once the storage capacity reaches 80%, the system will generate an alert, following which the machine will be replaced or emptied, the official said.  P7 E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday announced a `134.83-crore Kuruvai Special Package for farmers to support paddy cultivation in delta and non-delta districts. The announcement comes amid concerns over delayed southwest monsoon, low inflows into the Mettur dam, and uncertainty over water release for Kuruvai cultivation. In a statement, the CM said inflows into the Mettur dam remain low due to the delayed southwest monsoon, with the water level standing at 79.56 feet (41.52 tmcft). The meteorological department has also forecast that rainfall during the season could be 90% of the Long Period Average due to the El Nino phenomenon, he said. “Opening Mettur dam on the traditional date of June 12 has not been possible. Consequently the usual Kuruvai cultivation on , over 5 lakh acres in the Cauvery delta is unlikely However, cultivation is expected to be . taken up on 3.55 lakh acres using filter point wells,” he said. The CM has also promised farmers uninterrupted three-phase power supply for 18 hours a day . While farmers’ associations welcomed the package, they sought enhanced subsidies and compensation for farmers affected by the water shortage. Meanwhile, opposition parties have expressed concern over the water situation and criticised the TVK government’s handling of the issue. PMK chief Anbumani Ramadoss urged the government to include input subsidy of `5,000 per acre in the package.  P7 Usual Kuruvai cultivation on over 5 lakh acres in delta unlikely. Cultivation is expected to be taken up on 3.55 lakh acres using filter point wells CM C Joseph Vijay `77.5 crore for delta farmers The special package includes `77.50 crore to encourage the farmers take up Kuruvai cultivation in delta districts using filter point wells, and `57.33 crore to promote Kar, Kuruvai and Sornavari paddy cultivation in nondelta districts