BHUBANESWAR l sunday l june 28, 2026 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 l LATE CITY EDITION cape Verde celebrate their greatest sporting night A small group of islands off Africa’s west coast continue World Cup fairytale; advance into knockout stage after 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia Cape Verde players rejoice after the match against Saudi Arabia on Friday | AP Meeting with Argentina awaits newbies Knockout rounds from today Nobody gave them a prayer when they qualified for the World Cup but the debutants, paired with former champions Spain and Uruguay as well as Saudi in Group H, equipped themselves well over their three group games. Players and support staff became heroes. A reward for finishing second in the group is a meeting in the first knockout tie against holders Argentina ■ ■ The first of the knockout ties will be held on Sunday night (IST) when hosts Canada face South Africa in Los Angeles Two-time champions Uruguay, meanwhile, lost to Spain and bowed out of the tournament at the first of asking. Belgium advanced after big win over New Zealand while Iran await fate | P11 1974 France first team to have 2 players on 4 or more goals in group stages since 1974 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 It’s official, Ram temple Trust gen secy & VHP V-P Champat Rai quits Pressure built up after RSS gen secy Hosabale questioned Rai over the alleged donation swindle Trust to meet on July 7 na m i ta b ajpa i @Lucknow Teachers’ test now put off after Maha paper leak S u d h i r S u r ya w ans h i @ Mumbai Weeks after the leak of NEE T- U G e x a m p a p e r kicked up a political firestor m, the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), scheduled for Sunday , was abruptly postponed after the police found leaked question papers during a raid at a hotel in Thane district on Saturday . The Maharashtra State Examination Council said the TET 2026 exam, scheduled for June 28 at 1,028 centres across the state, has been postponed to maintain the transparency and integrity of the examination process. Acting on a tip-off, the police conducted a raid at the Diamond Hotel in Bhiwandi, where they found certain individuals in possession of TET question papers. Three persons have been arrested. The Maharashtra State Examination Council officials were called to verify the material. After a close inspection, it was confirmed that several questions in the leaked paper matched those in the actual question paper. WITH THIS ISSUE Teaching No Lesson n India reat he G Education t Crisis PLUS 12 P AGES THE Shree Ram Janmabhumi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Saturday confirmed the resignations of general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Dr Anil Mishra following allegations of embezzlement of temple donation funds and valuables. In a letter released to the media, Trust treasurer Mahant Govind Giri said both leaders had submitted their resignations, which would be formally taken up at the next meeting of the Trust. Expressing shock and hurt over the allegations, Govind Giri emphasized the Trust’s commitment to a fair and transparent probe. “The temple trust assures devotees who have donated sil- Champat Rai ver bricks, ornaments and other valuables in the service of Lord Ram that their offerings are safe,” he stated. The resignations came on the heels of a Special Investigation Team unravelling mismanagement in donation collection in its preliminary report to the UP government. Based on its findings, the police filed an FIR and T ra n spare n c y push Needless secrecy over failures of PSLV: Scientists B o sk y k h anna @ Bengaluru THE Ministry of Science and Technology’s refusal to publicly share the Failure Analysis Committee (FAC) report on the back-to-back PSLV-C61 and C62 mission failures has sparked concern among space scientists and private industry players. Union Minister Jitendra Singh recently said the report was out and anomalies were detected, but that they cannot share it on a public platform. Singh also acknowledged that experts were working on resolving it. But scientists said such secrecy is counterproductive at a time when the government is actively seeking private sector participation in India’s space programme. Sources in Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) said the policy push includes Expression of Interest for transferring Launch Vehicle Mark-3 ( LVM-3) technology to private hands, following similar moves for PSLV and SSLV . A senior space scientist, speaking anonymously said the industry was invited because , ISRO demonstrated its strength and was prepping to focus on advanced projects. “But when basics go wrong and information is withheld, why would companies invest?” he asked. The PSLV-C61 mission on May 18, 2025 failed due to a pressure drop in the third-stage motor chamber, preventing the EOS-09 satellite from reaching its intended 534 km Sun Synchronous Polar Orbit. “The C-61 mission was not successful because of nozzle throat failure. The material was not right. Graphite was imported for the nozzle throat. This was changed to a carboncomposite component for C-62, which also did not succeed. The question which arose was whether it was fully ready for industrial use or not,” the space scientist said. VHP chief Alok Kumar said on Saturday that the Ram Temple Trust will meet in Ayodhya on July 7 to decide on the next course of action following the resignation of the two senior Trust functionaries. He said he hopes that a chief executive officer is appointed to manage the affairs of the temple. arrested eight persons. Though neither Rai nor Mishra was named in the FIR, their role in not reporting the matter on time came under scrutiny The eight arrested include . Rai’s former driver, who allegedly held the keys to the ‘hundi’ without authority. Rai is also VHP’s vice president. Highly-placed sources said the twin resignations followed intense pressure after a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) meeting in Haridwar on June 18-19. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale reportedly questioned Champat Rai and others over alleged irregularities. Even during Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Ayodhya on June 19, Champat Rai was kept away from official programmes. On Thursday night, he received calls from RSS and VHP leaders advising resignation to contain the controversy . On Friday morning, both Rai and Mishra submitted their resignations to Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at Mani Ramdas Ji’s camp. The Trust and VHP maintained silence through Friday evening. E x press N e w s S er v i c e @ New Delhi Bangladesh’s decision to hand over the development of an economic zone at Mongla Port to a Chinese state-owned company marks a significant shift in Dhaka’s strategic and economic engagement with China in the wake of the just-concluded visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to Beijing. The project will be developed on around 110 acres of land adjacent the Mongla Port in Bagerhat, land that was originally earmarked for an Indian eco- nomic zone but was later delisted under the Muhammad Yunus-led administration as India-Bangladesh ties deteriorated. Mongla, Bangladesh’s second-largest and second-busiest port after Chittagong, lies about 188 km from Kolkata and close to the Sundarbans, giving it considerable strategic heft. Sources familiar with the development said plans include setting up manufacturing industries, warehouses and storage facilities in the economic zone. The Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Civil Engineer- @ Bhubaneswar Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Saturday launched several MSME infrastructure projects and unveiled the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)-Odisha chapter to strengthen manufacturing and promote women-led enterprises across the state. The WEP-Odisha chapter, developed with support from NITI Aayog, was launched during the ‘Udyami Odisha MSME Programme’, marking the International MSME Day. Describing it as a mission to transform women into leaders of Odisha’s economic growth, Majhi said the platform would bring together Mission Shakti, MSME department, Startup Odisha, banks and industry associations to provide women entrepreneurs access to finance, markets, mentorship and skill development through a single-window ecosystem. “Our vision is to build an Odisha where women are not job seekers but job creators, not merely consumers but producers, and not just participants but leaders of development,” the chief minister said while unveiling the platform’s oneyear action plan. Highlighting the impact of the Subhadra Yojana, Majhi said more than one crore women have been empowered under the scheme. Citing findings from IIM Sambalpur, SBI and an AI voice bot survey he said , ISRO scientist women-led enterprises in the state have increased from 25 per cent to 53 per cent, while the average bank deposits of beneficiaries have risen by `6,887. Majhi also inaugurated and laid the foundation for several MSME infrastructure projects. These include a `24.18-crore The Bangladesh-China deal on Mongla Port economic zone is widely seen as a major policy shift in a region New Delhi has traditionally regarded as its immediate neighbourhood ing Construction Corporation. Beijing sought to downplay any geopolitical implications of its growing partnership with Dhaka. Responding to questions over India’s concerns, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “ChinaBangladesh cooperation does not target any third party and P R A S A N J E E T S A R K A R @ Rourkela Lack of clarity Chief Minister Majhi presenting the vision document to Lahiri as deputy CM Pravati Parida looks on Policy shift in Dhaka should be free from third-party influence.” The joint statement issued after the talks said both sides agreed to “jointly advance the Mongla Port Facilities Modernization and Expansion Project” and the development of the Chinese Economic and Industrial Zone in Chattogram. It added that the Chinese side would “provide support and help within its capacity to the Teesta River Comprehensive Management and Restoration Project”. The Teesta project has drawn close attention in India because the river flows close to the India-Bangladesh border and has implications for India’s northeastern region. Stalker hurls petrol into woman’s room, sets her ablaze near Rourkela miracle baby Videograb shows a newborn pulled out from under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Venezuela’s La Guaira after an emotional rescue on Friday night | X Majhi launches WEP, MSME clusters to boost industrial growth E x press N e w s S er v i c e Iran unleashed a drone assault on Bahrain and a ship was attacked in Hormuz on Saturday, hours after the US struck Iran over ‘truce violation’ | p9 India out, B’desh hands Mongla project to China When the basics are not right, why will some other company invest? Just as accuracy, quick technological advances and safety, transparency is also important Another senior ISRO scientist, refusing to be identified, said the PSLV twin failures raised questions if diagnosis done during C-61 mission was right and if the solutions listed were addressed in C-62. Fresh strikes by Iran, US amid Hormuz row rice milling cluster in Balasore which will promote rice bran oil production and a `17.70crore Rasagola cluster at Pahala, which is expected to raise daily production capacity from 7,000 kg to 11,000 kg. In addition, two multi-product MSME parks, each developed at a cost of `10 crore, were inaugurated at Barapali in Ganjam district and Kesinga in Kalahandi district. Majhi said every district in Odisha would eventually have a multi-product MSME park with engineering, printing and packaging, and cashew processing clusters planned for the next phase. He said over 4.32 lakh MSMEs in Odisha have benefitted from central and state government initiatives. Under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), 4,900 enterprises have received subsidy support of `146 crore, with women accounting for 42.5 per cent of the beneficiaries. More than `23,000 crore in collateral-free loans have also been extended under the Credit Guarantee Scheme while the state government is bearing interest costs under the CM-SRIM scheme. NITI Aayog vice-chairman Ashok Kumar Lahiri described Odisha as one of India’s fastestgrowing states. Odisha has topped NITI Aayog’s Fiscal Health Index 2026, he said. Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida and MSME minister Gokulananda Mallik were present. The medical treatment for the victim also took hours as In a horrific incident, a youth the family had to knock the allegedly set a 27-year-old doors of one hospital after anwoman ablaze while she was other. The father said she was asleep in her house at Jaratoli initially taken to the Rourkela hamlet under Santoshpur vil- Government Hospital (RGH) lage, around 25 km from Rour- only to be referred to the Veer kela, late on Friday Surendra Sai Institute of night. Medical Sciences and The victim is batResearch (VIMSAR) in tling for life with more Burla, about 200 km than 60 per cent burn away. Though RGH injuries at JP Hospital has a trauma and in Rourkela. Hours burns unit, it has limafter the crime, police ited facilities for criton Saturday evening ical care. arrested the accused, According to him, identified as Rajat they were informed Rajat Kiro, the accused, belongs Kiro, a tribal youth, at VIMSAR that no to the Kinjirkela from the Sonaparvat bed was available at area of the nearby police station area the burn centre. The in Sundargarh Lathikata block. Kiro family subsequently district. He was belongs to the Kinjirbrought her back to stalking the victim kela police station Rourkela and admitfor months area in Sundargarh ted her to JP Hospital Rourkela police district. He was stalkat around 10.30 am on ing the victim for Saturday . months, police said. The father said his daughPreliminary investigation ter, a graduate, was working revealed that the window of as a contractual employee at the room in which the woman the Bisra block office. He alwas sleeping had been left leged that the family had reopen. Taking advantage of cently learnt that Kiro was in this, the accused allegedly one-sided love with her which hurled petrol into the room she did not reciprocate. Despite her disinterest, Kiro and set it on fire, leaving the house gutted. The area comes allegedly continued to stalk and harass her. The father suspects under Bisra police limits. The victim’s father said the that the accused, unable to acincident occurred between 11 cept rejection, may have acted pm and 11.30 pm while his with malicious intent. He furdaughter was asleep in her ther said that shortly before the room and he and his wife had incident, a relative had noticed taken the verandah. Hearing Kiro standing near their house her screams, they rushed in but ignored it unaware of his evil design.  Continued on P5 and rescued her.