HYDERABAD l saturday l september 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 18 l LATE CITY EDITION trai tightens rules to put end to spam calls and messages TRAI on Friday said that telecom companies will now use AI to detect suspected spam numbers and share this information with each other no blocking of banking, govt-tagged calls Under the amended regulations, if five or more numbers associated with a sender are flagged within 10 days, further investigation and graded action will follow, including KYC re-verification, physical verification, barring of outgoing services and disconnection for repeated violation. The order also said apps like Truecaller cannot block or tag 140, 1600, and 1601 calls ■ 15 days penalty for unsolicited, robo-calls ■ Entities using calls initiated by an application or software (A2P calls) will have to pre-declare their use and numbers to their provider, while calls made without such declaration will be treated as unsolicited A termination charge of up to 5 paise per minute has also been introduced for A2P calls, barring authority-authorised calls time given to consumers to file appeals against any resolution 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 sets aside Speaker’s order, disqualifies Danam as MLA T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad Sanchita Dey Pradhan withdraws her nomination from the Oct 6 bypoll race; Congress’ Milan Pradhan | PTI Central UCC unlikely, 21 states to adopt U’khand model PR E E T H A N AIR @ New Delhi THE Centre may do away with a national Uniform Civil Code draft, with the Uttarakhand UCC likely to serve as the template for similar laws in as many as 21 NDAruled states, highly placed law ministry sources said. Though the 22nd Law Commission, headed by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi, had been tasked with preparing a nationwide UCC draft—a long-standing electoral promise of the BJP—it could not submit the final document before Justice Awasthi was appointed a member of the Lokpal and its term ended on August 31, 2024. The Uttarakhand UCC law incorporated several recommendations from the nationwide UCC framework prepared by the commission, except for its contentious provision requiring the registration of live-in relationships, a senior official said. In January 2025, Uttarakhand became the first state after Independence to bring such a code into force. Though the assemblies of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam have passed UCC Bills, they are yet to implement them as Presidential nod is awaited. TMC’s Nandigram pick quits, Didi backs Cong, its nominee arrested Having lost the party its sym, bol and now its candidate, BanIN a theatrical turn of events, erjee said at her Kalighat resiTrinamool Congress candidate dence that she would support Sanchita Dey Pradhan, fielded the Congress candidate in by Mamata Banerjee for the Oc- Nandigram. “My party will tober 6 bypoll in Nandigram, never support the BJP,” she turned the tables on her men- said. “Today is a black day in tor by withdrawing her nomi- the history of democracy It is . nation papers on Friday after- unfortunate, unconstitutional, noon minutes after meeting anti-democratic and politically Chief Minister Suvbiased. It is just servendu Adhikari at the ing the interests of a state secretariat here. particular political T h e w i t h d r aw a l party she alleged. ,” came a day before the Today is a black day Faced with no in the history of last date for filing choice, Mamata annomination papers. A democracy, which nounced support for photograph of the is unconstitutional, Congress candidate anti-democratic meeting, which lasted Milan Pradhan. “We and biased. It’s just about an hour, went fulfilling interests are extending our supviral on social media, port to Congress in of a particular though this paper Nandigram. We are political party could not verify its doing this for the Mamata Banerjee authenticity . greater interest of the Sanchita’s movenation,” she said. ments had appeared mysteriThe impact of Sanchita’s ous since morning, according withdrawal was soon overshadto sources close to her. She did owed by Pradhan’s arrest, who not speak to the media when was picked up from a hotel in she left her residence. She with- Chandipur in Purba Medinipur drew her nomination at the of- district. Police sources said fice of the sub-divisional offic- Pradhan was arrested in an old er in Haldia, Purba Medinipur. murder case, apart from a case Her decision left the Mamata linked to his involvement in the Banerjee faction in dire straits. 2007 Nandigram land acquisiSince the party did not field a tion case. The Congress alleged dummy candidate, it can no vendetta and questioned the longer contest the seat. timing of Pradhan’s arrest. s u bhen d u m a i t i @ Kolkata EC allots new symbol to 2 factions The ECI allotted the Didi faction the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ and the ‘Football Player’ symbol, while the rival group led by Arup Roy got ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’ and ‘Envelope’ symbol for the Oct 6 bypoll | P9 Assam TMC withdraws candidate The Assam unit of Trinamool on Friday said the party will not contest the Nagaon Lok Sabha bypoll to protest the ECI’s decision to freeze the party’s original name and symbol diaspora comes to fore amid chaos Indraneel Das Express @ asian games Nagoya T he Union sports ministry, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) officials as well as the Indian diaspora in Nagoya have stepped in to ensure that Indian athletes and their coaches aren’t overly disturbed during the course of the Asian Games. Following various teething issues — including people stranded at the airport as well as spending a considerable amount of time without accommodation and food — the focus has now shifted to ensuring that athletes don’t suffer. During an informal chat with select mediapersons, sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, who is here for a few days, revealed their threepronged strategy. When he learnt about the ordeal faced by athletes upon landing in the city, as highlighted by this daily first, the ministry stitched together a mitigation plan. The first layer starts with two persons stationed at the airport who will fast-track their exit. The second would be at the village where three persons will help them with their accommodation. If these seem routine, the sports minister said that with the help of the India embassy, they have reached out to the 2,000-strong Indian diaspora. “There are more athletes who will come here and if they are short of rooms, we have identified some 10-15 houses in case athletes need to be adjusted or need to freshen up in case there is a delay,” he said. IOA chef de mission, Sahdev Yadav, had said how India were forced to book hotels at the last moment. “Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Organising Committee informed us that more than desired athletes had come and they would not be able to give accommodation,” The Telangana High Court on Friday set aside the order passed by the Assembly Speaker, acting as Chairman of the Tribunal under the Tenth Schedule, in the defection case involving Congress MLA Danam Nagender and declared his Assembly seat vacant. A bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin allowed separate appeals filed by BJP Legislature Party leader Alleti Maheshwar Reddy and BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy challenging the Speak, er’s decision. The Registry was directed to communicate the judgment to the Assembly Speaker and the Election Commission. The petitioners had sought Nagender’s disqualification, contending that he was elected to the Assembly on a BRS ticket in the 2023 elections, subsequently joined the Congress and, while still an MLA, contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as a Congress candidate. According to them, these actions attracted disqualification under the anti-defection provisions. Following directions issued by the Supreme Court, the Speaker, in his capacity as Chairman of the Tribunal, conducted an inquiry into the complaints and held that Nagender had not incurred disqualification on the ground of defection. Aggrieved by the finding, Maheshwar Reddy and Kaushik Reddy approached the High Court through separate petitions. After hearing the rival submissions, the bench had reserved its orders and pronounced its judgment on Friday, setting aside the Speaker’s order and disqualifying Nagender as an MLA. Counsel appearing for Nagender subsequently requested the bench to suspend the operation of its order for some time to enable him to approach the Supreme Court. It was submitted that sudden vacation of the seat would cause difficulties to the people of the constituency . Counsel for the petitioners opposed the request, contending that once the court’s disqualification order was pronounced, Nagender could not continue as an MLA even for a minute. The bench rejected this request and reiterated that his Assembly seat stood vacated. The Registry was directed to communicate the order to the Speaker and the poll panel. I r e d d y S r i n i v a s Re d d y @ Hyderabad The Telangana High Court verdict disqualifying Khairatabad MLA Danam Nagender has set off a fresh round of political calculations in the three major parties, with the BRS and BJP preparing for a possible byelection and the Congress weighing its options. The political discussions began soon after the court declared the Khairatabad seat vacant, with all three parties now tur ning their attention to the possibility of a fresh contest. For the Congress, the immediate question is how to handle Nagender’s political future. He had contested the Secunderabad Lok Sabha election in 2024 on a Congress B Form after leaving the BRS, while continuing as the sitting BRS MLA from Khairatabad. Congress circles are now discussing whether he could be given the party ticket for the byelection or accommodated in the Legislative Council or another position. At the same time, former Jubilee Hills MLA P Vijaya Reddy, daughter of late P Janardhan Reddy, is also understood to be interested in the Congress ticket. The party will have to weigh the competing claims as it works out its strategy for the constituency . The BRS, meanwhile, has begun discussing possible candidates. Party sources said MLC Dasoju Sra- Satyameva Jayate!! BRS MLA Danam Nagendar who defected to Congress got disqualified by the Hon’ble High Court today. The rest of the defectors will also meet the same fate soon KT Rama Rao, BRS working president At least now the Congress should change its attitude and ask the MLAs who have switched sides to resign and seek fresh mandate Alleti Maheswar Reddy, BJP Legislature Party leader van and Sai Kiran Yadav, son of Talasani Srinivas Yadav, are among those being considered for the seat. The party is, however, expected to wait before finalising its candidate and is focusing on preparations for a possible byelection. The BRS sees the contest as another opportunity to take on the Congress in Hyderabad, particularly after losing two of its sitting Assembly seats in the city — Cantonment and Jubilee Hills — to the Congress in byelections. The BJP is also working on its strategy. BJP MLA Alleti Maheshwar Reddy had filed the petition seeking Nagender’s disqualification, while BRS MLA Padi Koushik Reddy had also pursued the matter. BJP leaders are now looking at a possible byelection in Khairatabad as an opportunity to test the party’s strength in the constituency which , it won in 2014.  continued on P4 India rejects Pak allegations J AYA N T H J AC O B @ New Delhi he said. “We have booked 16 rooms and will book 10 more.” As of Friday , things are okay . As for Nagoya, there couldn’t have been a more disastrous start to the Games. First, a heavy downpour that submerged the city days ahead of the Games. Then, there was the logistical nightmare. Now? A threat of a severe storm with wind blowing at 100km per hour on Monday Howev. er, the organisers have said that all mitigation measures are in place. Danam Nagender, soon after his disqualification from the Assembly Verdict sets off fresh political calculations naval collision Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya with IOA President PT Usha in Japan | pti Everything will be decided in the people’s court and through elections. Contesting elections is not new to me. I have reached this position through several struggles. Whenever elections are held, I will fight with the support of the people and emerge victorious Action not acceptable Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson of MEA, said the “Pakistani Naval ship Hunain conducted itself in an unacceptable and unprofessional manner at sea that resulted in a collision.” INDIA on Friday rejected Pakistan’s allegations over the recent collision between an India n N av y w a r s h i p a n d a Pakistani naval vessel in the wester n Arabian Sea and termed Islamabad’s response “the usual prevarication”. In a press briefing on Friday , the Ministry of External Affairs said Indian Navy warship INS Kolkata was on a routine deployment when Pakistani naval vessel PNS Hunain carried out a “dangerous overtaking manoeuvre” that resulted in the collision. The MEA’s clarification came after Pakistan’s foreign ministry alleged that the collision took place in its exclusive economic zone after a “highly pro- vocative and unacceptable action” by the Indian vessel. “We have seen Pakistan’s response to the protest we had lodged. It is the usual prevarication that we expected. We reject the allegations and insinuations contained therein,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. India had on Wednesday summoned Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires Saad Warraich and lodged a diplomatic protest. Later, the Pak foreign ministry summoned Indian charge d’affaires Satyanjal Pandey . The collision happened on Tuesday night after the Pakistani vessel closed in on the frontline Indian Navy warship. The incident did not cause any major damage to INS Kolkata, which remains at sea. E x p r e s s Re a d Nithari killings accused found dead at tea stall Dehradun: Surendra Koli, who was acquitted in the last of the cases linked to the 2006 Nithari killings, was found dead inside a tea stall in Haridwar’s Bhupatwala on Friday. Police suspect it to be a case of suicide, though the cause of death is likely to be declared after postmortem examination | P10 Nilgiris maneater trapped after 29 days Nilgiris: The male tiger that killed and partially devoured two men in Gudalur in the Nilgiris in August was trapped in a cage set up by the forest department in the Silver Cloud region on Friday, ending a 29-day operation. The tiger was later relocated to the Arignar Anna Zoo Park in Chennai. Nine, including eight Bangladeshis, sentenced to life in human trafficking case E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Hyderabad A special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases at Hyderabad on Thursday sentenced nine persons, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, to life imprisonment in a 2019 human trafficking case involving Bangladeshi women who were trafficked into India and forced into prostitution. The court also imposed a total fine of `1,37,000, with three months’ simple imprisonment in default of payment. The convicts are:- Ruhul Amin Dhali (A2), Mohd Yousuf Khan alias Md Imran (A4), Bithi Begum alias Khadija Shaik (A5), Imamul Ghazi alias Mohd Rana Hussain (A6), Mohammed Al Mamun (A8), Sojib Shaik (A9), Suresh Kumar Das alias Sagor (A10), Mohd Abdulla Munshi alias Abdul Sarkar (A11) and Mohd Ayub Shaik (A12). According to an NIA official, “These girls are lured with promises of lucrative jobs and a better quality of life in India. They are also provided fake Indian identity documents and eventually forced into prostitution.” The investigation established that the accused were part of a network led by Ruhul Amin Dhali and Abdul Barik Shaik. Officials also found money transfers between Dhali and Abdul Barik as commissions paid to Dhali for trafficking people across the borders. The NIA said Dhali and 10 other accused had illegally entered India in the 1980s and established a prostitution racket with Yusuf Khan and Bithi Begum, a husband-and-wife duo, in various parts of the country The 12 ac. cused allegedly conspired with associates in Bangladesh to identify women aged 19 to 25 and traffic them into India via the Sonai River and Kolkata. The case was registered by Pahadi Shareef Police Station under the Hyderabad city commissionerate following an operation in September 2019, dur- ing which three Bangladeshi women were rescued from a brothel at Jalpally village and another woman from a house at Mahmood Colony Balapur. , The NIA took over the investigation and re-registered the case on October 12, 2019. It filed a chargesheet against 12 persons in October 2020. Three of them — Abdul Barik Shaik alias Abdul Bariq Sekh alias Raju (A1), Mohd Yousuf Khan alias Md Imran Shaik alias Samir Mondal alias Md Usope ali (A3) and Shareeful Shaik (A7) — were absconding. Ruhul Amin Dhali was arrested in another case on December 12, 2019, while the remaining accused were picked up from different locations in West Bengal and Telangana in 2019 and 2020. Following the trial, the court convicted nine accused.