mangaluru l Thursday l June 18, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION Cyber criminals are parasites who dupe innocent investors: CJI Cyber criminals are parasites who take money from innocent investors and dupe them, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed we have to be very harsh, says justice Kant People across India are affected: SC “You people (cyber criminals) are parasites. We have to be very harsh. It is in the society’s interest that cyber criminals are kept behind the bars,” CJI Surya Kant said. Such strong language from the CJI comes weeks after he called the unemployed youth “cockroaches”. The court was hearing a plea filed by a cyber fraud accused seeking bail | P9 ■ ■ The CJI said victims of such crimes were always pan-India. “You cheat someone in Tamil Nadu, then you go to Jammu and Kashmir and then to the North-East,” the CJI said The court rejected the bail plea citing the gravity of allegations. The petitioner is accused of swindling over `3 crore from multiple people `22,495 cr lost to cyber fraud in 2025, as per government data 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 Council polls Cong can win 5, BJP 2; Will JDS keep its flock united? Modi urges max priority to seafarers’ safety in bilateral talks with Trump Stresses strategic importance of keeping Hormuz open; trade deal very close, says US President Indo prefix axed from name of US Pacific Command D eva ra j B H i r e h a l l i @Bengaluru The stage is set for biennial elections to seven MLC seats from the Karnataka Assembly on Thursday with eight candidates – five from the ruling Congress, two from BJP and one from JDS – being in the fray KPCC presi. dent BK Hariprasad is among the five Congress candidates. The polls will be a big test for Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, as these are his maiden polls after being elevated to the top post. He has fielded his close associate Vinay Karthik as the fifth candidate from the party . Each candidate needs 28 votes from as many MLAs and in the 222-member House, Congress has 135 MLAs, BJP 63 – including G a n g avat h i M L A G a l i Janardhan Reddy who merged his party with BJP – and JDS 18. Apart from them, there are three independents – Darshan Puttannaiah, Puttaswamy Gowda and Latha Mallikarjun – and three MLAs expelled from BJP – ST Somashekar, Shivaram Hebbar and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal. Congress can win four seats comfortably and expect to win the fifth too with the support of three independents and the votes of Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar, who met Shivakumar at a resort in Bidadi where Congress MLAs are huddled. | P4 J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump during a bilateral meet on the sidelines of the G7 Summit | AFP J aya n t h J a c o b @ New Delhi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday placed the safety of Indian seafarers at the centre of discussions on restoring peace and stability in West Asia, saying he was confident the issue would receive the “highest priority” in implementing a new agreement between the US and Iran aimed at ending the recent conflict, during his first bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump in 16 months on the sidelines of the G7 Summit. “You are aware that across the world, Indian seafarers and hundreds of thousands are working and performing their duties across global maritime trade routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, and their safety is of utmost importance to us,” Modi said. The PM linked the protection of seafarers directly to the implementation of the agreement between the US and Iran. “You made tremendous efforts to- Banned Telegram moves HC amid govt pushback U d aya n K i s h o r e & R a k e s h K u m a r @ New Delhi The Centre on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that there are “shocking activities” happening on Telegram after the messaging platform moved the court seeking a stay on the government order temporarily restricting access to the messaging app ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination. Telegram argued that the government should order the blocking of specific channels or groups rather than banning the entire platform, which has around 150 million users in India. “Just because some things are bad, you cannot block the entire platform,” the counsel said, adding that the company has been fully cooperative with the authorities. Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta countered Telegram’s argument, saying that simply blocking individual channels is ineffective. “If the court posts the matter tomorrow, then there is something shocking I can show. One channel starts, it is prohibited, and then another is started. And with a QR code, you can make a payment. This is continuous,” he said. Mehta told the court that the government had repeatedly warned Telegram about “shocking activities” happening on the platform. “I have given examples and shared them. There are many channels. What is being projected and what is being circulated is that if you give me this much amount, I will give you 5 questions,” Mehta told the court, referring to the NEET-UG leak. The court listed the matter for hearing on Thursday . Ties expanding on multiple fronts Trump said bilateral relations were expanding across multiple fronts, highlighting economic growth and investment flows between the two countries. “A lot of things are happening between the US and India. And the US is doing the best we’ve ever done.” wards reaching this understanding and this agreement,” he said. “I’m confident that the issue of seafarers will receive the highest priority during the implementation of this agreement,” Modi said in the backdrop of mounting concerns over the safety of Indian seafarers in West Asia, including the deaths of three Indian nationals in a US strike on a tanker off the Oman coast. Asked about the deaths of Indian sailors in US Navy strikes, Trump said: “It’s a rough pro- fession. This has been happening throughout time. I love all of those people,” Trump said. Modi also stressed the strategic importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open. The waterway is among the world’s most critical energy and trade chokepoints, carrying 20% of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Trump praised Modi as a “very tough negotiator.” Responding to questions on how close are two countries in finalising a trade deal, Trump said, “Very close. We have been there for a little while. He is a very tough negotiator; one of the toughest.” He then added, “He is the most beautiful looking man, he looks so nice, he is like an angel. But actually he is just tough, he is a killer… He looks so good, he gets you by surprise.” Trump said the US would support India in the event of an attack, even without a formal mutual defence treaty, while describing bilateral defence ties as strong. Messi threeller By implementing the developmental roadmap, the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region (BMR) could boost its economy by $390 billion to $420 billion by 2037 and create an additional 2.5 to 3 million jobs. BMR’s economy is now valued at $149 billion, contributing over 43% to Karnataka’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP). This was discussed at a high-level committee meeting on Tuesday chaired by Chief , Secretary Shalini Rajneesh. The region’s economic indica- tors outperform both state and national averages, with BMR’s per capita GDP at approximately $9,700 (Rs 9.15 lakh), nearly 1.9 times Karnataka’s average of $5,000 (Rs 4.7 lakh) and about four times India’s national average of $2,500 (Rs 2.35 lakh). The meeting decided to elevate BMR into a premier global hub for innovation, technology Artificial Intel, ligence, advanced manufacturing and sustainable urban development. The chief secretary reviewed the comprehensive roadmap Mbappe, Haaland join party Kylian Mbappe further enhanced his own legacy by scoring a brace of goals in the second half against Senegal. He moved to 14 goals, just two behind Messi and Klose. Erling Haaland, playing his first ever World Cup match, scored a brace against Iraq. 16 Messi equalled Miroslav Klose’s all-time goalscoring record in men’s World Cups Lionel Messi struck his first ever World Cup hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria. His wasn’t the only big performance from the big hitters on Tuesday. A look Long-ranger tops ’em all Lionel Messi was at his impervious best as he hit a hat-trick for Argentina. The attacker went through some of his biggest hits including a goal from outside the box | P13 Today’s Group A: Czechia vs South Africa 9.30 PM, Mexico vs South Korea 6.30 AM* matches Group B: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina, 12.30 AM*, Canada vs Qatar 3.30 AM* Govt aims to up B’luru economy to $390b by 2037 Express News Service @ Bengaluru The Trump administration has renamed its largest unified military command from the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) back to the US Pacific Command (PACOM), reversing an eight-year-old designation that had come to symbolise India’s growing role in Washington’s strategic thinking. The US said on Tuesday that the command would revert to the name it carried from 1947, adding the change was limited to nomenclature. USPACOM’s area of responsibility, stretching from the US West Coast to India’s western border, remains unchanged, as does its stated mission of working with allies and partners to maintain a free and open regional order. The announcement came a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France. The 2018 renaming had explicitly referred to the “increasing connectivity between the Indian and Pacific oceans.” It came as the first Trump administration was advancing its Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy amid growing competition with China. The change also coincided with the revival of the Quad. Questions over the future of the “IndoPacific” formulation had emerged last month during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth repeatedly referred to the “Pacific” while outlining Washington’s regional approach. India was described as a “critical anchor” in South Asia, a formulation that some observers noted differed from the broader language used by previous US administrations. presented by the Institute for Sustainability Employment and , Growth Foundation (ISEG Foundation). The state government signed a statement of intent with ISEG on May 5. It was mentioned that during 2015–25, BMR recorded a Real Gross Value Added Compound Annual Growth Rate of 9.7%, outpacing Kar nataka’s growth rate of 8.5% and Hyderabad’s growth rate of 7.5%. The region currently supports nearly 38 lakh jobs, accounting for about 16% of the total employment in the state. It houses over 20 lakh tech professionals, more than 1,000 Global Capability Centres, and over 13,000 startups. “The formulation of the Economic Master Plan is progressing on schedule. To ensure balanced urbanisation and relieve pressure on Bengaluru’s core areas, the government is planning new ‘Growth Centres’ both within and outside the city . These hubs will integrate industries, IT/BT, research, manufacturing, logistics, residential and commercial activities, spreading economic wealth to surrounding regions,” a press release said. | P7 * IST Friday LIVE on Unite8 Sports & Zee5 express read Rahul slams edu system in Kota, kicks off protest Jaipur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi used a major youth outreach programme in Rajasthan’s Kota on Wednesday to launch a critique of the education system. He said students and their families spend enormous amounts on competitive examinations, while receiving little assurance on the quality of education or employment. Addressing thousands of students at the “Chhatro ki Goonj” programme, Gandhi described the education model as a “rejection system, not a selection system”. | P10 Uddhav Sena stares at split, issues whip Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs Anil Desai, Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant address a press meet in New Delhi on Wednesday | Parveen Negi Akhilesh rejects SP split buzz Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party remains united amid claims by Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar that a major split in SP is on the cards and several of its leaders are ready to join the BJP | P10 Abhishek to meet Om Birla Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday invited Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee for a meeting on June 19 to hear his case on the split in the Mamata Banerjee-led party, sources said | P10 PREE T HA NAIR @ New Delhi in a rerun of the Trinamool Congress crisis, leaders of Uddhav Thackerayled Shiv Sena (UBT) as well as the rebel faction met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla separately on Wednesday, each staking claim to legitimacy . While the UBT camp urged the Speaker to prevent unlawful defections, the rebel group is learnt to have claimed the support of six MPs. As crisis deepened amid rumours of six MPs having switched to the ruling Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, a three-line whip was issued to all nine Sena (UBT) MPs, directing them to attend a meeting of its parliamentary party on Thursday . The party may initiate disqualification proceedings against those who fail to attend. The development came amid Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut’s allegation that MPs were being offered `50 crore to switch sides. Sources said a letter signed by the six rebel MPs has already been submitted to the Speaker and a formal announcement of the merger with the Shinde-led Sena will be made later. According to sources, the six MPs are Sanjay Jadhav, Bhausaheb Wakchaure, Sanjay Deshmukh, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar, and Sanjay Patil. MPs from the Uddhav camp who met Birla are Arvind Sawant, Sanjay Raut, and Anil Desai. Speaking to reporters, Anil Desai said: “Rebels can’t merge with a party even if they have the support of twothirds of MPs. Only the original party can merge.” Chinna did call me, I told SIT about it: Prakash Raj Express News Service @ Bengaluru With his name appearing in a petition filed at the High Court in connection with the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case, actor Prakash Raj on Wednesday admitted that Chinna CN, the complainant, had contacted him on phone and that he had immediately informed this to Special Investigation Team (SIT) chief Pronab Mohanty . Chinna claimed that Raj had dharmasthala Row instructed him to follow the directions of activist Girish Mattannavar and offered a hug if he did so. Raj said he never met Mattannavar. “As a social activist, I was concerned about the deaths linked to the Dharmasthala case. We also pressured the government to form an SIT and requested that a competent officer be appointed to lead it. Mohanty was selected to head the team,” he said. | P7