kollam l tuesday l October 13, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Retail inflation rises to 5.54 pc in September on high onion price Retail inflation rose sharply to 5.54 per cent in September on the back of high onion and other food prices, government data showed | P10 Just within the RBI’s tolerance band Rural inflation crosses 6 per cent The consumer price index (CPI) based headline inflation was 4.83 per cent in August. The latest figure is just within the RBI’s tolerance band of 6 per cent. Food inflation rose to 7.74 per cent from 5.97 per cent the previous month. The top items with high inflation were onion (108.09 per cent), silver jewellery (87.8 per cent) and ginger (62.85 per cent) ■ ■ The top five states with high inflation were Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The figures for rural and urban areas are 6.08 per cent and 4.88 per cent, respectively Commenting on the data, Dipti Deshpande of CRISIL said food inflation is likely to remain firm as weak rainfall weighs on agri output 5.2 per cent The projected retail inflation for 2026-27 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 Rahul leads ‘1 protest’ march to SC Pinarayi & kin booked; graft, Says anyone committed to protect Constitution has the Opposition INDIA bloc’s support Jantar Mantar denotified as designated protest venue E x p r e s s ne w s s e r v i c e @ New Delhi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Karnataka CM D K Shivakumar and others during INDIA bloc’s march to the SC | Sayantan Ghosh Rahul challenges legality of SIR ‘Didn’t approve or disapprove Form 6’ LoP Rahul Gandhi’s writ petition in the SC challenges the legality of the SIR, alleging largescale deletion of genuine voters. It seeks a direction to the ECI to place on record relevant ECINET and ERONET access logs and the complete file recording the decision to commence the SIR across India | P7 Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the SC had neither approved nor disapproved the revised Form 6. The court said the ECI cannot claim judicial endorsement for its revised form and that earlier orders (from Bihar SIR case) cannot be cited as approval for a form introduced later | P7 E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ New Delhi Opposition leaders, party workers and members of the public took to the streets of central Delhi on Monday as the INDIA bloc intensified its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging electoral irregularities, and demanding an end to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The ‘Chalo Delhi — March for Democracy,’ was later followed by the filing of a joint petition in the Supreme Court seeking judicial intervention over the allegations. Led by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the march began near the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction and moved towards the SC. Opposition lead- ers, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule and CPI general secretary D Raja, joined the mobilisation. Police stopped the march after a brief stretch, with security tightened across central Delhi. The petition challenges alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process. The INDIA bloc has also demanded Kumar’s resignation, the suspension of the SIR exercise, a return to ballot papers and electoral reforms. Addressing a reporters ahead of the march, Gandhi said the opposition’s campaign was a collective effort to defend democratic institutions. “There are no parallel protests, there is one protest,” he said, adding that anyone committed to protecting the Constitution would have the Opposition’s support. Directly addressing the CEC, he said, “Resign, turn approver; you have made a mistake but you are not the mind behind the mistake.” He said the campaign would continue until the Election Commission’s leadership changed, the Constitution was upheld and the electoral system was overhauled. On X, Gandhi said the INDIA bloc had written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who declined to meet the leaders but had said they could approach the court through a petition. Gandhi urged people across political affiliations to join the campaign, describing it as a broader struggle over democratic rights. “We want India to believe that India is not scared of anything,” he said, adding that the Opposition was fighting on multiple fronts. He said the agitation would continue beyond the march. “This fight is not going to stop. It will continue even if it takes days or years,” Gandhi said. The Delhi Police on Monday de-notified Jantar Mantar as a protest venue and named Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground as the new designated sites for holding protests and demonstrations in the national capital. According to the order issued by Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, the Union home ministry had constituted a committee to examine alternative proper venues for citizens’ right for organising protest and demonstrations in place of the existing “designated site”. “Based on the Committee’s recommendations, Jantar Mantar as a protest venue has been de-notified. Three new venues viz Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground, East Delhi have been designated as new venues for organising protest/demonstrations,” the order stated. Criticising the decision, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “It is a definite sign of the extreme panic that has gripped the PM-HM duo that the historic Jantar Mantar will no longer be a place where our democracy is given a daily booster dose.” Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das called the decision an “assault” on the fundamental right to protest and assemble peacefully . “Why is Narendra Modi scared of Jantar Mantar? The Jantar Mantar belongs to THE PEOPLE OF INDIA. Did the Ministry of Home Affairs consult with the people of India?” he wrote on X, adding that “we do not accept this arbitrary decision.” Case against 3 bars for serving liquor to driver in Nedumbassery crash E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @ Kochi The excise department on Monday re gistered cases against licensees and managers of three bars for reportedly serving liquor to 19-year-old Suhail Sajeev, who was behind the wheel of the car involved in the Nedumbassery accident in the early hours of Sunday that claimed the lives of three youngsters. Authorities of establishments in Kadavanthra, Palarivattom and Nedumbassery were booked under Section 15B of the Kerala Abkari Act, which prohibits the sale of liquor to persons below the prescribed legal age of 23. They have also been booked under Section 56(b) for violating conditions of their bar licences. “We are relying on CCTV footage as key evidence. The age of the accused driver was confirmed as 19 after examining his Aadhaar card. Liquor cannot be sold or served to anyone below the age of 23, and they are also prohibited from consuming it,” an excise official said. The department has issued show-cause notices to the three outlets, seeking explanations on why liquor was allegedly Two more arrested Kochi: Nedumbassery police on Monday arrested two more persons in connection with the road accident that killed three youth near Nedumbassery in the early hours of Sunday. Ameer and Joel S Anto, both 19-year-old college students and natives of Alappuzha, were also in the Mini Cooper driven by Suhail Sajeev, 19, when it rammed the victims’ scooter. served to a person below the legal drinking age. “If a customer appears to be below the prescribed age, the establishment should verify their age before serving liquor. Providing alcohol to someone below the legal age is a violation, and the establishments must explain why they did so,” the official said. The department will seek the custody of the accused for interrogation and submit an investigation report to the excise commissioner, officials said. Under the applicable provisions, the establishments could each face a fine of up to `25,000. The excise commissioner can also suspend their licences if the allegations are established, sources said. House collapse Videograb of several houses collapsing in the Ganga following riverbank erosion at Mahadevpur Ghat in Bihar’s Bhagalpur on Monday | PTI conspiracy charges invoked of `5 lakh as IT and marketing consultant, and Legal and political hailnone of the services were stor m is brewing for rendered. The FIR added former chief minister Pithat “by obtaining undue narayi Vijayan as the Vigadvantage for himself ilance and Anti-Corrupand for others through P A Mohamed Riyas corrupt and illegal means, Veena T tion Bureau on Monday Pinarayi Vijayan registered FIRs against Pinarayi has committed him and family members criminal misconduct and Two FIRs on charges of corruption and has intentionally enriched criminal conspiracy in conhimself illicitly during the peThe VACB registered two nection with the Exalogic-CMriod of his office”. FIRs in the CMRL-Exalogic RL payoff case. The FIR has listed five other payoff allegation. The first The VACB has registered names, including Exalogic, FIR lists Pinarayi Vijayan as two separate FIRs in which PiCMRL and CMRL’s MD Sasidprime accused, while the narayi and his son-in-law and haran Kartha, as accused. second FIR lists P A former minister P A MohamThe second FIR, which lists Mohamed Riyas as first ed Riyas are the first accused. Riyas as the first accused, stataccused. In both FIRs, In both cases, Pinarayi’s ed that he “intentionally encharges of graft and daughter Veena T has been riched himself illicitly during conspiracy are invoked. listed as the second accused. the period of his office”. It also The Enforcement Directorate accused him and wife Veena (ED) could now open a case on and her company -- Exalogic of conspiring with five of his its own against the CPM Solutions. Consequently, Vee- associates to funnel the illicit strongman on money-launder- na and her firm were paid `3. cash abroad though unlawful ing charges as it can term the 28 crore by Cochin Minerals means. corruption charges levelled by and Rutile Limited (CMRL) It said crores of rupees that the VACB as a predicate and its associate concern Em- was amassed from the country offence. power India Capital Invest- was laundered into foreign or The FIR in the case in which ments “under the guise of in- domestic assets through benaPinarayi is the first accused f o r m a t i o n t e c h n o l o g y mi persons and offshore arstated that he abused his offi- consultancy and marketing rangements. Sections pertaincial position and adopted cor- Services”, the FIR said. ing to corruption and criminal rupt and illegal means for obIt stated that the firm was conspiracy have been invoked taining illicit pecuniary paid `3lakh per month, while against Riyas and others in ● More on P4 benefits for himself, daughter Veena was paid a monthly fee the case. S h a n A S @ T’Puram Om Prakash Mathur appointed new governor of Keralam RA J E SH K U M AR T HA K U R @ New Delhi PRESIDENT Droupadi Murmu on Monday appointed governors for six states, transferring Om Prakash Mathur from Sikkim to Keralam, naming Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar as the regular governor of Tamil Nadu, and appointing Sudha Yadav as Karnataka Governor. Mathur, a BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan, succeeds Arlekar in Keralam. He assumed office as Governor of Sikkim in July 2024. Mathur has held several organisational positions in the BJP, including as national vicepresident and general secretary and , served two terms in the Rajya Sabha. He was also associated with the par- Former RS MP ty’s election management in several Mathur has held crucial states. several organisational Arlekar has been in charge of positions in the BJP, Tamil Nadu following R N Ravi’s including as national transfer as Governor of West Bengal vice-president and in March. general secretary, and Braj Mohan Ram has been apserved two terms in pointed Governor of Odisha, Dhal the Rajya Sabha.He Singh Bisen in Uttarakhand and was also associated Dushyant Gautam in Sikkim. with the party’s Ram, a former Lok Sabha MP from election management Jharkhand’s Palamu, succeeds Hari in several crucial Babu Kambhampati in Odisha. Sudha states. Yadav, a former BJP MP from Mahendragarh, Haryana, and member of the National Commission for Backward Classes, succeeds Thaawar Chand Gehlot as Karnataka Governor. She entered politics after the martyrdom of her husband, a deputy commandant in BSF, in the Kargil war when Narendra Modi, then BJP’s Haryana in-charge, proposed her candidature from Mahendragarh. Northeast monsoon poised to set in over state Yellow alert S h a i nu M o h a n @T’Puram After a deficient southwest monsoon, Keralam is likely to witness a spell of widespread rain from Thursday as conditions become favourable for the onset of the northeast monsoon over the southern peninsula in the next two to three days. However, the seasonal outlook points to an uneven distribution of rainfall, with central and south Keralam likely to receive above-normal rain while the northern districts may get comparatively less rain. Thursday Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki Friday: Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Wayanad The state received 1,446.5 mm of rainfall against the normal 2018.6 mm between June 1 and September 30, making the 2026 southwest monsoon the seventh lowest since 1901 and fourth lowest since 2001, ac- cording to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Its forecast on Monday said the southwest monsoon is continuing to withdraw from the remaining parts of the country and the transition is expected to coincide with the arrival of northeast monsoon rainfall over southern India. The IMD expects widespread rainfall across Keralam between October 15 and 18, with isolated heavy rain during the period. “The long-range forecast indicates above-normal rainfall in central and south Keralam during the season, while it may be relatively less in north Keralam,” said IMD director Neetha K Gopal. She said rainfall is likely to remain relatively subdued over the next two days before intensifying from Thursday . CPM worker gets life term for murder of BMS activist E x p r e s s N e w s Se r v i c e @Kannur In a significant verdict in the 2009 murder case of Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) activist V C Vinayan, a CPM worker was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined `2 lakh by a Thalassery court on Monday. The court found Jammindavida Biju, 45, of Champad in Panoor, guilty of murdering Vinayan, 36. The Third Additional District and Sessions Court Judge Ruby K Jose pronounced the sentence. The case dates back to the night of March 12, 2009, when Vinayan was hacked to death. Panoor police had registered a case in connection with the incident. The prosecution alleged that the murder was driven by political enmity . The incident occurred around 6pm when Vin aya n w a s walking with two persons — Dileep Kumar and Satheesan K V — at Ku richikkara in Pannyannur. Dileep testified that a silvercoloured Innova arrived at the scene and five or six people got out. However, he did not identify any of the attackers in court. His testimony nevertheless supported the sequence of events leading to the attack on Vinayan. Satheesan identified Biju in court and testified that Vinayan was intercepted and that Biju caught hold of him. He further said he and Dileep were threatened and told to leave the place, following which they moved away . Another prosecution witness, Murali, testified that he saw Biju and three or four others attacking Vinayan around 6.30 pm on the day while he was , returning home from work. The remaining seven accused, K Shaji alias Chetti Shaji, 49, T K Rajeesh, 47, P M Arun Kumar, 48, Rinil T, 48, Bigesh J, 42, Ashkar, 42, and Rajendranath, 55, were acquitted due to a lack of evidence.