BHUBANESWAR l friday l august 07, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l late city EDITION Indian-origin astronaut Anil Menon conducts spacewalk NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir began a spacewalk on Thursday to carry out modifications for a future power upgrade at ISS Duo performs ISS power system upgrades menon’s first spacewalk, Meir’s sixth The spacewalkers spent hours in the vacuum of space, carrying out necessary modifications for future installation of Roll-Out Solar Arrays on the International Space Station. The arrays are expected to provide additional power to support critical station operations, NASA said. This was the 281st spacewalk in support of ISS maintenance and upgrades ■ ■ Menon was born in Minnesota in 1976 to Indian and Ukrainian immigrants. This will be his first and Meir’s sixth spacewalk Menon was SpaceX’s first flight surgeon, helping to launch its first humans to space during the Demo-2 mission. He joined NASA in 2014 as a space surgeon and began a two-year astronaut training in 2022 6 pm IST When the two astronauts stepped outside THE iss to carry out tasks 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 HC hands 10-yr RI to Tejpal in 2013 rape case S U D H I R S U R YA W A N S H I @ Mumbai survivor. The case dates back to 2013, five years after a trial court when Tejpal was accused of sexacquitted journalist Tarun Te- ually assaulting a junior coljpal in a 2013 sexual assault league in an elevator of a highcase, the Bombay High Court on end hotel in Goa during an event Thursday set aside the decision organised by the magazine. The and sentenced the former editor Goa Police registered an FIR to 10 years of rigorous impris- against Tejpal for various ofonment. The HC also imposed a fences, including rape. He was fine of `10.21 lakh on the former arrested in November 2013 and editor of Tehelka magazine and released on bail in July 2014. said the money would go the The trial commenced in 2017. survivor. The judgment was pronounced A division bench of in May 2021 by Addijustices Neela Gokhational Sessions Judge le and Amit JamsandKshama Joshi, who ekar pronounced the acquitted Tejpal. verdict on the appeal During the hearing filed by state of Goa in in HC, Solicitor Gen2022 against the trial eral Tushar Mehta, court verdict. “We appearing for the state have set aside the of Goa, argued that judgment and order the trial court wrongTejpal to and convicted Tejpal. ly focused on the commove SC We have convicted plainant’s character Tarun Tejpal him under Sections instead of the conduct called himself a 376(2)(f) and (k), 354A, of the accused. He “political victim” 354B of Indian Penal said the trial court inand pleaded for Code (IPC),” it said. correctly relied on the leniency, saying While handing complainant’s lifehe was 62 years down the minimum style, WhatsApp chats, old and the sentence of 10 years’ and ‘normative’ befather of two rigorous imprisonh av i o u r t o i n f e r girls. He said he ment, the bench noted consent. would approach that the incident took Senior advocate AaSC to challenge place 13 years ago and bad Ponda, representhis conviction Tejpal had not coming Tejpal, argued that mitted any other crimthe acquittal was corinal offence. The maximum rect because the complainant’s punishment for rape is life account was inconsistent with imprisonment. objective evidence including the The court gave Tejpal four lift mechanics and CCTV footweeks to surrender. age. He further argued that the During the hearing, the bench victim’s behaviour and convertermed the trial court’s judg- sation on text messages did not ment “perverse” and coloured suggest deliberate concealment by prejudice a g ainst the or coaching. FCRA bill to have prospective effect, debate on Aug 12: Shah to Mizo CM M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi The controversial Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, will be taken up for discussion and passage in Parliament on August 12, but its provisions will not apply retrospectively Mi, zoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma said on Thursday after meeting Union home minister Amit Shah. Lalduhoma, accompanied by a delegation of church leaders from Mizoram, met Shah in Parliament to press for changes to several contentious provisions of the bill, which seeks to tighten oversight of foreign-funded organisations. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Lalduhoma said: “We raised six issues. He assured us that this bill will not have retrospective effect. On the remaining concerns, he Committee and the repeal of the existing Section 15 Lalduhoma said Shah informed the of the Foreign Contribudelegation that the bill would be debated in tion (Regulation) Act, 2010, Parliament on August 12. The government is so that no provision for the expected to seek its passage before the vesting of foreign contriMonsoon session concludes on August 13 bution or of assets survives in any form”. said he would respond in Introduced in the Lok Sabwriting.” ha in March 25, the bill proAt a separate meeting with poses sweeping changes to Shah, a delegation of church the FCRA, which governs the functionaries led by DMK MP receipt and utilisation of forP Wilson submitted a memo- eign donations by individurandum seeking withdrawal a l s , a s s o c i a t i o n s a n d of the FCRA Amendment Bill companies. 2026 in entirety . The most contentious proAlternatively, the memo- vision of the bill empowers a randum demanded “the government-designated aureference of the thority to take custody of forFCRA Amendment eign funds and assets creatBill 2026, together ed through such with a comprehencontributions if the FCRA sive review of the registration and orworking of the ganisation is canPrincipal Act, celled, surrento a Joint Pardered or ceases liamentary to exist. Passage by Aug 13 Making a splash A scooterist makes way through the flooded NH-16 on Jaydev Vihar overbridge in Bhubaneswar | DEBADATTA MALLICK Capital goes under water as heavy rain lashes overnight E x p ress N e w s S ervi c e @ Bhubaneswar Residents in several parts of the capital city woke up to flooded homes and waterlogged roads on Thursday as heavy overnight rains under the influence of two active cyclonic circulations caused widespread inundation, especially the low-lying areas. The downpour, which started around 11.30 pm on Wednesday lashed through , the night into early morning, inundating roads and entering houses in many areas. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the city as a whole recorded about 110 mm rains in about 12 hours, with several localities experiencing heavy downpours within a short span of time. Among the localities which suffered heavy deluge were Madhusudan Nagar (107 mm rains), Nayapalli (97.2 mm), Jagmohan Nagar (90.4 mm), Laxmisagar (90 mm), Saheed Nagar (83.2 mm) and Khandagiri (73.2 mm). The worst-hit areas includ- A woman wades through a waterlogged path in Bhubaneswar on Thursday | DEBADATTA MALLICK ed Shantipalli Basti in Saheed Nagar, where knee-deep rainwater entered homes, submerging household furniture and belongings, and disrupting daily activities of residents. Parts of Rasulgarh, GGP Colony, Nayapalli, Chandaka and other low-lying pockets of the city were also inundated. While the severe waterlogging situation across the city exposed its poor drainage system, residents had to bear the brunt. “We have been experiencing waterlogging every monsoon for the last 40 years. Drain number 10 frequently floods the area during heavy rains. However, the civic authorities have turned a blind eye to our problems,” said a resident of Shantipalli Basti. Another resident of the locality expressed concern over the increased risk of snake encounters due to the waterlogging, stating it has created panic in the neighbourhood. Situation in some areas, though, showed some signs of improvement later in the day as rain intensity eased and water receded. Responding to complaints, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Odisha Fire and Emergency Service deployed pumps to drain water from residential colonies, houses and major roads. Fire services personnel rescued at least half a dozen occupants of an apartment in Alasua village after an overflowing canal in the area inundated its ground floor.  Continued on P5 Rain fury  Capital city records 110 mm rains in about 12 hours  Heavy deluge reported in Madhusudan Nagar (highest 107 mm), Nayapalli (97.2 mm), Jagmohan Nagar (90.4 mm) etc  Worst-affected areas include Shantipalli Basti in Saheed Nagar  Parts of Rasulgarh, GGP Colony, Nayapalli and Chandaka also inundated Top gun Indian Air Force gets its first woman fighter combat leader J A V A R I A R A N A @ New Delhi Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth has become the first woman to clear the Fighter Combat Leader (FCL), the toughest course for fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. She successfully completed FCL at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment (TACDE) in Gwalior last week. FCL is among the most prestigious badges for fighter pilots. Only a small fraction of IAF’s aircrew, about 1%, get picked for the five-month rigorous programme, which trains the selected pilots in advanced air combat tactics and turns them TACDE: Training the best to become better TACDE is a crucial unit of the IAF that trains top-tier fighter pilots to push their limits. Beyond running the FCL, the unit develops the tactical procedures and standard operating manuals used across the force, and puts newly inducted aircraft, radars and weapons through rigorous evaluation into the specialists who set the template for how frontline squadrons fight. Graduates return to their units as in-house authorities on weapons employment and combat manoeuvring. Reaching that level closes a loop Sqn Ldr Kanth helped open a decade ago. In June 2016, Kanth, Avani Chaturvedi, and Mohana Singh, were commissioned as the IAF’s first women fighter pilots, after t h e g o ve r n m e n t opened the combat stream to women on an experimental basis. I n M ay 2 0 1 9 , Kanth became the first Indian woman cleared to fly fighter combat missions by day, then on the MiG-21 Bison, before converting to the Su30 MKI. She has since featured in a Republic Day parade tableau and was conferred the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2020. Sqn Ldr Kanth, who hails from Darbhanga in Bihar and has trained as an engineer before joining IAF, is part of a cohort that keeps posting firsts. Sqn Ldr Mohana Singh, commissioned alongside her, went on to become the first woman to fly the indigenous Tejas in a frontline squadron. Gen Z outreach Protests lawful form of dialogue to build consensus: RSS head S udhir S ur ya w anshi @ Mumbai Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Thursday described protests as a form of dialogue that should be used to evolve consensus rather than creating divisions in society Addressing a gathering of about 2,000 stu. dents here, he said Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most honest of generations. He said people of his generation, when they were young, follow the directions of elders, but today’s generation has strong opinions and needs logical answers. Addressing a wide array of questions, Bhagwat said if people’s voice is not heard in a democracy, they could use protest as a medium to talk to power. “Protest is a way of dialogue. In a democracy, there are many ways to arrive at a consensus. It is true that there is a need to do a lot of reform in Indian education. If there is no dialogue, then protests happen. I will not say Gen Z should not protest, but there are ways to protest. If Gen Z is upset, then we need to pay attention. The recent agitation took place because of lack of attention. Their issues can be sorted out through dialogue,” Bhagwat said. He also emphasised that Gen Z is not anti-national; instead they are the future of the country . “I have not called anyone anti-national. In fact, today’s generation is the most honest. We can trust them blindly Children are the gift of God,” . Bhagwat said. Why, then, were they caned and fired at with pellet guns at Jantar Mantar during a protest march? Bhagwat said he was not aware about cause of the violence. Responding to another question on the government’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ pitch though there was no proper infrastructure in schools and high teacher vacancies, Bhagwat said that the government needs to pay attention to these issues by increasing the education budget. He said that the education department’s allocation can go up to 6% of the GDP as recommended by various ex, pert committees. “Education is everyone’s responsibility If an. yone is not discharging his duty, then there is a problem in the system. But at the same time, people have to also extend support. Besides, education should not be treated as a commercial venture,” he said. Bhagwat speak On protest: legitimate form of dialogue. Purpose is to build consensus, not create divisions Edu sector spending: support demand to raise it to 6% of GDP Gen Z: seeks logical answers to queries with warmth and respect Social media ban: not the solution to its harmful effects Tech misuse: Don’t trust social media content without verification Leadership: not about just delivering speeches or winning elections, but about working from behind, sharing success and fame LGBTQIA+: part of society but institution of marriage should not be tampered with Conflicts with Pak, China: should not permanently disrupt dialogue or people-topeople ties