MANGALURU l wednesday l august 26, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l CITY EDITION Supreme cOURT directs Tejpal to surrender within THREE weeks SC directed journalist Tarun Tejpal to undergo his 10-year rigorous imprisonment in a 2013 rape case in which he was convicted by the Bombay High Court Appeal against hc order to be heard in sept Hearing subject to Surrender certificate A bench of Justice Alok Aradhe dismissed Tejpal’s plea seeking exemption from surrendering. “The application seeking exemption from surrendering is rejected. However, the appellant is granted three weeks’ time to surrender and file surrender certificate before this court,” the bench said in its order. SC posted his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence on Sept 22 ■ ■ “In case the surrender certificate is filed on or before September 21, 2026, the registry shall list the criminal appeal for hearing on September 22, 2026 before the regular court,” the bench said The former editor of Tehelka magazine was convicted of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator in 2013 in Goa | P9 August 6 When Bombay hc convicted Tejpal to 10 years rigorous imprisonment 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 Missile tech transfer to pvt sector gets approval Covers air-defence, air-to-air missiles & battlefield-strike weapons 1 Several DcPP programmes have moved forward. At a salvo launch of NASM-SR from Sea King helicopter in April, two missiles were fired in quick succession 2 The DRDO conducted first flight trial of TARA from a Jaguar, converting a 500-kg bomb into a guided stand-off weapon. Gaurav has completed release trials from Su-30MKI 3 File photo of a Pralay test-fire, a quasi-ballistic missile | PTI Astra Mk-2, with a range of 200+ km, is also learnt to be among the first major systems to be offered to pvt firms. COMM, Adani, Bharat Forge, Tata and Mahindra are among contenders CID to now probe Hanur shooting case B o s k y K h a nn a @Bengaluru The state government ordered a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry into the shooting case at the Hanur division of Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), in which three suspected poachers were killed by forest officials on August 14. The government issued the orders on Monday . Forest, Environment and Ecology Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Tuesday said, “After discussing with the chief minister and home minister, it was decided to hand over the case to the CID for investigation. The forest department, however, will continue to investigate the aspect pertaining to the wildlife offence under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.” Following the orders, Director General and Inspector General of Police MA Saleem directed the Chamarajanagar superintendent of police to send the investigating officer to personally hand over all the case files to the CID investigating officer. Saleem told the Director General of Police, CID Special Units and Economic Offences, to make arrangements to take up further investigation. “Once the investigation is over, the detailed report be sent to the DG&IGP office,” Saleem stated in the order. The cases filed at Ramapura, Hanur and Kollegal police stations on the use of weapons and damage to forest department property will be investigated by the CID.  P6 per applicable qualifications, certifications and regulatory The government on Tuesday requirements”, the ministry cleared the transfer of technol- said. The DRDO will retain reogy for all conventional missile sponsibility for design certifisystems developed by the De- cation and quality assurance. fence Research and DevelopIt marks a further shift away ment Organisation (DRDO) to from the traditional model unIndian industry for domestic der which a DRDO missile, afproduction, opening a wide ter completing development swathe of the country’s indig- and user trials, was assigned to enous guided-weapons portfo- a nominated production agenlio to private manufacturers. cy for series manufacture, a Defence minister Rajnath role state-run Bharat DynamSingh approved the transfer, in ics Ltd (BDL) has traditionally what his ministry described as held for much of the indigean “important milestone” in nous missile portfolio. expanding industry It also follows the participation in the government’s decision defence ecosystem. earlier this year to The ministry however, , open tactical missile did not specify the inproduction to the pridividual systems covvate industry under ered by the decision. the Development-cumOfficials in the deProduction Partner fence establishment (DcPP) model, which said the conventional brings companies into portfolio includes the The initiative aims a programme during to enhance Akash and Akash-NG development rather operational surface-to-air systems, capability, reduce than after it. DRDO VSHORADS, Astra import dependence has distributed around air-to-air missiles, the 10 to 12 tactical missile and increase domestic value Rudram anti-radiation programmes among addition family, anti-tank syspublic and private tems such as Nag, firms, with Adani DeDefence ministry SANT and the manfence and Aerospace, portable ATGM, the Bharat Forge, ICOMM NASM-SR anti-ship missile, in- Tele and Solar Defence and Aerdigenous land-attack cruise ospace as DcPPs. missiles and Pralay, the quasiAdani Defence is the DcPP ballistic weapon geared for con- for the Rudram anti-radiation ventional strikes. series, including the hyperson“Strategic missiles are a sepa- ic Rudram-II, which is to be rate category and will continue built at its Hyderabad facility, to be dealt with separately. and for NASM-SR. Bharat Hence, Agni and the K-series are Forge is a DcPP for the 1,000-kgnot part of this transfer. Simi- class Gaurav long-range glide larly BrahMos and MRSAM in- bomb and the TARA glide kit. , volve foreign partners and are It broke ground last month on governed by separate arrange- a `2,500-crore missile complex ments,” the official said. at Shivpuri in MP, with comCompanies will be able to posite-propellant and TNT promanufacture the systems “as duction planned at the site. J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi Scrap census questionnaire on caste: Cong P r e e t h a N a i r @ New Delhi Reiterating the party’s demand for a drop-down list of castes, Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding the scrapping of the existing questionnaire for it in the ongoing Census exercise and formulate a new one after consulting political parties, experts and the general public. Both leaders said they do not accept the caste census being conducted in the current manner and urged the government to take its cue from the caste surveys done in Telangana and Bihar. Briefing reporters on the letter, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the government’s current efforts towards a caste census are just a “whitewash”. Ramesh said this is the third letter written by the Congress leadership to Modi over the issue but have not received any reply . “ Yo u r gover nment has The conundrum The same caste is known by different names, sub-castes, and linguistic variations across regions. If members of the same caste are recorded under different names, the caste could be fragmented into thousands of distinct names opted for an open-ended question format to record caste details in the census, which is misleading. Under this method, whatever name an individual provides for their caste will be recorded as it is,” the leaders said in their letter. no relief for state CWMA asks K’taka to release 11 tmcft to TN in 15 days J i t e n d r a C h o u b e y @New Delhi The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Tuesday upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) order and directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs of Cauvery water, to be measured at Biligundlu, for 15 days. Karnataka will be required to release a total of 11.66 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu. Since June 1, Karnataka has released around 24 tmcft, which is less than onethird of the mandated 75.7 tmcft of water to be released to Tamil Nadu. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the total rainfall deficit in the southern peninsula is around 22% as of August 24. Rainfall activities will continue to diminish in the coming weeks, data shows. K’taka to move SC Karnataka Water Resources Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy on Tuesday said the state government will approach the Supreme Court next week seeking a reduction in the quantum of Cauvery water it has been ordered to release to Tamil Nadu | P4 On Monday, the CWRC ordered Karnataka to release 9,000 cusecs. It was challenged at CWMA, but CWMA Chairman Saumitra Kumar Haldar upheld the CWRC order and rejected the Karnataka government’s claim that reservoir water levels are at a record low. The current water level at the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) dam is at 56% capacity , while at Kabini it is 58%. However, smaller reservoirs have recorded better water levels with Harangi at 98% and Hemawati 82%. The Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu is at 54% of its total full reservoir level, while it was almost full last year. CWMA stated that rainfall has improved in August but remains below expectations. Currently, there is no shortage of drinking water. “We need to be watchful as the situation is not normal. While there are no issues with drinking water, we must be sensitive to agricultural needs,” said a senior CWMA officer. The IMD bulletin does not present a positive outlook for rainfall improvement in the southern peninsula, as the Southwest Monsoon is nearing its end, with indications of an early withdrawal this season. Bengaluru: Following the state cabinet’s nod, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has suspended Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) Chairman Shivashankarappa S Sahukar. The governor directed the senior-most member of the KPSC to act as chairman until further orders | P6 Bengaluru: A Bengaluru court on Tuesday accepted the approver plea filed by accused number 14, Pradosh S Rao, in the Renukaswamy murder case involving actor Darshan. Pradosh’s statement could bring a major twist to the case, as he may disclose crucial details about the murder | P7 Woman rescued after jumping into Tunga with 3 kids; 2 missing Shivamogga: A 28-year-old woman jumped into the Tunga river from a railway bridge with her three children on Monday evening following a marital dispute. Two youth jumped into the river and rescued the woman and her 11-month-old baby, but her two other children are yet to be traced. Patna erupts in chaos as job aspirants Man can’t command wife march to CM’s house, clash with cops to do chores at home: HC RAMASHA N KAR @ Patna Express News Service Patna witnessed dramatic scenes on Tuesday as thousands of students and job aspirants clashed with police after they were stopped from marching towards the chief minister’s residence to press for their key demands, which included a single-stage exam for teacher recruitment instead of holding separate Prelims and Mains. The protesters were also seeking the cancellation of Combined Competitive Exams held by Bihar Public Service Commission earlier this year, alleging irregularities. The march, which started from the historic Gandhi Maidan that has witnessed many upheavals in the past, saw participation by a number of Left-wing activists affiliated with AISF and DYFI. Members of NSUI were also present. The protesters pulled down the metal barricades and tried to break the security cordon. Some protesters pelted stones Anyone, including a husband, cannot command and demand any female, including his wife, to do household activities and to look after his parents, observed the Karnataka High Court, dismissing a revision petition filed by a man. The court further said household activities have to be shared by men and women equally. If the parents have to be looked after, the primary duty vests upon the son or daughter as the case may be, but not the son-in-law or daughterin-law. Looking after the inlaws should be a voluntary act and not by force, it stated. Justice Chillakur Sumalatha made the observations while passing the order dismissing the revision petition filed by the husband (36), working as a coolie in Bengaluru. He had challenged an order passed by the family @Bengaluru on security personnel. Police personnel first used water cannons to disperse the crowd but later resorted to baton charge as the protesters refused to relent. In the melee that followed, several protesters and security personnel were injured. A female demonstrator was seen lying unconscious. Several protesters were also detained. Later, an eight-member delegation of job aspirants met Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit in his office with a memorandum containing 15-point charter of demands. The chief secretary told the delegation that he would discuss with Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and promised the matter would be settled in the next couple of days. in-person talks FlightRadar24 spotted C-17’s arrival in Moscow’s Vnukovo international airport. CIA boss John Ratcliffe was its pax | P11 US sanctions 4 India-based entities over Iran imports @ New Delhi Renukaswamy case: Court accepts approver plea of Darshan aide Police personnel use water cannons to disperse protesters in Patna on Tuesday | PTI CIA chief in Moscow for rare e X P RESS nEWS s ERVI C E express read Guv suspends KPSC chairman after state cabinet gives nod In India, the same caste is known by different names across different regions, they pointed out. Recording them as is would result in a list of hundreds of thousands of caste names, rendering the entire dataset useless. “An easy solution already exists: a drop-down list of castes should be created. This is the method adopted for the enumeration of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Such a list can be easily compiled based on existing government lists such as those for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes and the list from the Anthropological Survey of India,” they said. court in November 2025, asking him to pay Rs 9,000 as maintenance to his wife (33), staying at a village in Tumakuru district with his minor daughter. The husband contended that he and his wife lived happily for about six months of marriage. But after that, his wife changed her attitude towards his father and mother. He contended that she did not look after his parents and failed to do household work. Also, she went to her parents’ home without his or his parents’ permission, he alleged. The court observed that these averments will make anyone feel as if the husband, as an employer, employed the wife to do household chores and to look after his parents. His version that his wife left to her parents’ house without his and his parents’ permission reveals the mindset of the husband and exhibits his desire to command and control the behaviour and wishes of his wife, it added.  P7 HOURS after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, the US on Tuesday sanctioned four India-based entities for importing petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran. Among those facing action is customs broker Portease Partners, along with its partners Indrismiya Ashrafmiya Sheikh and Harish Ramachandra Rangi. They facilitated the import of Iranian petrochemical products, according to the US State Department. The other India-based entities are Sadashiva Overseas, PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra Impex. PP Softtech director Prashant Garg has also been sanctioned. Sheikh, Rangi and Garg are Indian nationals. Sadashiva Overseas imported Iranian-origin petroleum products worth $69 million from multiple companies, while PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra each imported products worth $25 million, the US said. The companies were designated for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran”. The sanctions are part of ‘Operation Economic Outcast’, announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday. The fresh measures are aimed at cutting off potential sources of revenue for Iran. The US has also warned countries to reduce economic ties with Tehran or face action. Bessent termed the move an unprecedented campaign to sever Iran’s financial lifelines. Entities that continue to do business with Tehran may attract secondary sanctions.