WEDNESDAY ‘A profound loss’: Hasina pays tribute to ex-PM 31 Deposed PM Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday expressed condolences over the death of her archrival Khaleda Zia, who dominated the country’s politics alongside her for decades. In a condolence message posted on the Awami League’s X account, Hasina described Zia as a significant figure. She added that Zia’s death marked “a profound loss for Bangladesh’s political life”. DECEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard SOUTH KOREA GOODBYE TO BEAR BILE FARMING Seoul said it’ll end its dwindling yet much-criticised bear bile farming industry this wk, though about 200 bears are kept in pens and raised for gallbladders. PAGE 11 A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  PAGES 14 B’desh terror module busted, 11 held Assam STF says arrests made for links with offshoot of Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ Guwahati As the year draws to a close, we take a deep dive into the events, stories, and faces that mattered A LOOK BACK Lucky after 27... govt on policy blitzkrieg | P4 The sultanate... Foul air quality belies vows | P6 IN CAPITAL Capital catalogue: Blast & white-collar crime | P5 2 police commissioners in 21 days for city | P5 NATION Migration, mobility and elections| P7 Federalism at crossroads | P9 BUSINESS Top trends that shaped the economy | P12 SPORTS How the year panned out for India in the world of sports | P11 RACIAL SLURS, MURDER OF ANGEL THAT SHOOK THE NATION The father of 24-year-old Tripura student Angel Chakma has levelled charges of negligence against the police in Dehradun | P10 ELEVEN people were arrested in Assam and Tripura for their alleged links with Bangladeshbased fundamentalist groups that were aiming to destabilise the Northeast, police said on Tuesday Assam’s Special Task . Force (STF) said the arrests were made for alleged links with Imam Mahmuder Kafila (IMK), an offshoot of Bangladeshi terror group Jamaat-ulMujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), which is banned in India. Ten among those arrested were nabbed from Assam’s Baksa, Barpeta, Chirang and Darrang districts, while one was held from Tripura’s West Tripura district on December 29 and 30, the police said. The IMK was founded in 2018 by Jewel Mahmud alias Sohail, a former JMB member. The Nasim Uddin, the kingpin, and Junab Ali Another Hindu man killed in Mymensingh A Hindu security guard, Bajendra Biswas, was fatally shot at a garment factory in Mymensingh on Monday, marking the third such incident targeting minorities in the country in two weeks STF dossier said senior leaders of JMB, Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) had issued directions to the 118 flights cancelled, dense fog expected to continue; light rain on New Year day E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ New Delhi FOR the second consecutive day Indira Gandhi Internation, al Airport bore the brunt of the severe fog, which started engulfing the capital early Tuesday A total of 118 flights were . cancelled to and from Delhi during the fog window of 4 am and 8.30 am and over 100 suffered delays. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the dense fog is likely to persist on Wednesday. The visibility at Safdarjung was recorded at 100 metres at 7.30 am and it improved to 200 metres by 8.30 am. At Palam, moderate fog was observed, with visibility 300 metres at 8.30 am. The minimum temperature is expected to settle at 80 Celsius and the maximum at 230 Celsius. It has forecast generally cloudy skies with light rain on New Year’s Day . Air India was the worst impacted airline, which cancelled 38 flights on Tuesday. “The 19 departures and 19 arrivals which did not operate were all planned cancellations. Since we received forecast of severe fog from the Met department early morning, we intimated passengers by Monday itself about the cancellations,” said an airline source. But inter national travelers were saved from inconvenience. “Since most of our international flights depart by late night, the morning flog didn’t impact,” the source said. IndiGo cancelled 15 flights across the country, with eight flights to and from Delhi airport getting impacted. Flights on the Delhi-Pune and Chennai-Kolkata routes were cancelled in both directions due to fog at the Delhi airport, the IndiGo website stated. IMK leadership to activate its Indian modules. Bangladeshi nationals Umar and Khalid were assigned to coordinate Assam-based activities. One Nasim Uddin alias Tamim of Barpeta Road is the head of the outfit’s Assam cell. After the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh in August last year, operatives of JMB, ABT and AQIS were activated, resulting in revival of their ideological influence and Indian networks, including through IMK-linked platforms, the STF said. “These elements were working under the direct orders from Bangladesh-based groups. Their main aim was to destabilise Assam and the rest of the Northeast,” STF chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta said. Those arrested from Assam were identified as Nasim Ud- CAPEX PUSH NEEDS TO CONTINUE din alias Tamim (24), Junab Ali (38), Afrahim Hussain (24), Mizanur Rehman (46), Sultan Mehmud (40), Md Siddique Ali (46), Rasidul Aalam (28), Mahibul Khan (25), Sharuk Hussain (22) and Md Dilbar Razak (26), he added. Jagir Miah (33) was nabbed from Tripura. The IMK module employs a systematic process to radicalise and recruit followers. The Indian members are identified through online jihadist channels and fed with propaganda materials (books and lectures). They are made to take a pledge of allegiance to the group’s chief, and footage of oath is then forwarded to him for verification and acceptance. “IMK also exploits social and religious gatherings,” the SFT said. At a December 28, 2024 meeting in Barpeta, IMK advocated armed struggle in India. In a pre-Budget meet with PM Modi, economists voice the need for higher capexto-GDP ratio and tweaking fertiliser subsidy models | P10 KHALEDA ZIA: 15 AUG 1945 – 30 DEC 2025 THE RELUCTANT POLITICIAN WHO SHAPED B’DESH Jaishankar to attend funeral Reflecting the importance New Delhi attaches to Khaleda Zia’s legacy, foreign minister S Jaishankar will represent India at her funeral. He will travel to Dhaka on Wednesday Pushed education reforms Khaleda Zia’s tenure as PM restored the parliamentary system and introduced compulsory, free primary education J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi K HALEDA Zia, Bangladesh’s first female prime minister, died in Dhaka on Tuesday at the age of 80. For more than three decades, her fierce rivalry with Sheikh Hasina shaped Bangladesh’s politics, dividing the nation between two dominant leaders whose personal animosity often mirrored the country’s deeper political fault lines. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Khaleda Zia, recalling her contribution to strengthening bilateral ties. Born on August 15, 1945 in Dinajpur, then part of British India, Zia entered public life reluctantly At 15, she married Ziaur Rah. man, who would go on to become a central figure in Bangladesh’s 1971 liberation struggle and become President in 1977. His assassination in 1981 pushed Zia into politics. During the nine-year military dictatorship that followed a 1982 coup, she emerged as a prominent face of resistance, boycotting army-backed elections and enduring repeated house arrests. Her uncompromising stance earned her a loyal following. Following the fall of military rule in 1990, the BNP won the general election, and Zia was sworn in as PM in 1991, becoming one of the few elected women in the Muslim world. Move to decriminalise minor offences A N U P V E R M A @ New Delhi IN a major step towards decriminalising minor offences, the government has approved the Delhi Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026, with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta saying it aims to simplify compliance procedures, reduce the burden on courts, and make the administrative machinery more effective. The objective is to decriminalise minor violations and simplify compliance, Gupta said, adding that it is in line with the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act implemented by the Centre. The government said it reviewed state laws and found in many cases, civil penalties were “more appropriate and practical than criminal punishment”. SEVEN LAWS TO BE AMENDED Delhi Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 proposes amendments to seven acts and aims to ensure proportionality in punishment and replaced with civil penalties, administrative fines Criminal proceedings for minor, technical and procedural violations will be discontinued The bill is likely to be taken up for passage in the upcoming winter session of the Assembly The CM said the bill is not meant to encourage lawlessness but to ensure proportionality in punishment. Under the proposed law, criminal proceedings for minor, technical, and procedural violations will be discontinued and replaced with civil penalties, administrative fines, and an appellate mechanism. Provisions related to serious offences, public health, CM Rekha Gupta says the bill will not impose any additional financial burden on the govt safety, and matters affecting life will remain unchanged. The bill proposes amendments to seven Acts: the Delhi Industrial Development, Operation and Maintenance Act, 2010; Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954; National Capital Territory of Delhi ‘Incredible India’ Bed and Breakfast Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2007; Delhi ‘Mind your own record’: MEA trashes Pak claim on ‘Muslim homes’ in K’taka M O H A M M E D YACO O B @ Bengaluru THE Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has trashed a Pakistan comment on demolitions at a slum in Bengaluru, saying “horrific victimisation” of minorities in the neighbouring country is an established fact. Pakistan on Monday issued a statement through its foreign office, stating that “Muslim homes were being razed with the backing of the state”. In response, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said the Centre would respond to Pakistan’s comments. Defuse demolition row ahead of Kerala polls: KC Congress general secretary KC Venugopal asked the Karnataka govt to defuse the demolition row ahead of Kerala polls in April-May next year. The Karnataka govt has now decided to provide accommodation to the evicted. In a strong reply, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We reject the reported remarks from a country whose abysmal record on this front speaks for itself. Pakistan’s horrific and systemic victimi- sation of minorities of various faiths is a well-established fact. No amount of finger-pointing will obfuscate it.” On evictees possessing ID cards from two states, Shivakumar said officials would probe it. Asked if all evictees will be accommodated, he said, “We will rehabilitate only genuine and eligible evictees.” The demolition also turned political with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan saying that Karnataka had brought UP’s ‘bulldozer raj’ to Bengaluru and accusing Congress of suppressing minorities and Dalits. ‘Fake’ wrestling coach forges letter for US visa F I R O Z M I R Z A @ Chennai HORSE RIDE President’s bodyguards during rehearsals ahead of the coming Republic Day celebrations at Kartavya Path on Tuesday | PTI SA M E FA M I LY, SA M E STAT E Gandhis, Vadras mark family moment among Ranthambore tigers R A J E S H A S N A N I @ Jaipur THE winter calm of Sawai Madhopur has been gently stirred by the arrival of the Gandhi–Vadra family . Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached the Rajasthan town, with family for a , private visit to Ranthambore National Park. They are at the Sher Bagh hotel till January 2, welcoming the New Year away from Delhi’s political bustle. Sources insist the visit is strictly personal. No meetings. No politics. Just family time, privacy and the forest—something , they seek there. Sonia Gandhi is not expected to join the trip. But the visit has inevitably drawn attention. Congress insiders say Priyanka may host a ring ceremony for her son, Raihan Vadra, and his girlfriend, Aviva Baig, during the Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1998; Delhi Jal Board Act, 1998; Delhi Professional Colleges/Institutions Act, 2007; and the Delhi Diploma-Level Technical Education Institutions Act, 2007. Minor offences under these laws will be decriminalised and converted into civil penalties. The bill also provides for an automatic 10% increase in fines every three years after implementation to keep penalties effective in line with inflation and rising costs. Gupta said the bill would not impose any additional financial burden on the government and would not require the creation of new posts. The bill is expected to be taken up for passage in the upcoming winter session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly . stay Members of the Baig fam. ily and a few close friends are said to be present. Everything, sources emphasise, is meant to be low-key. There is also buzz that Raihan and Aviva were already engaged on Tuesday Nei. ther family has confirmed or announced anything. The silence appears deliberate. For Raihan, Ranthambore is personal. He is known for his interest in wildlife. He often shares photographs of tigers from the reserve and has held an exhibition showcasing Ranthambore’s tigers. Sources say an emotional bond may have played a role in choosing the venue for such a moment. Raihan and Aviva have known each other since childhood. Aviva, whose family is based in Delhi, is a professional photographer. Rajasthan has always drawn the Gandhis—sometimes for solace, sometimes for controversy Many still recall how Ra. hul’s father, Rajiv Gandhi, faced criticism as prime minister for organising a Cabinet meeting at the Sariska Tiger Reserve. The decision was attacked as expensive and ostentatious. Years later, the setting remains the same. The state. The forest. The family And the spot. light that never quite fades. A bizarre query that could be linked with immigration racket left the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) stunned on Tuesday The consular section of the . US Embassy in New Delhi asked the federation about a wrestling coach who has claimed WFI’s backing for attending a training camp from January 10-28 at Mat Sense Academy (Oregon). According to the document submitted in the US Embassy, Sandeep, son of Bijender Singh, sought the US visa and submitted WFI’s sponsorship on its letterhead as a supporting document. The letter signed by R K Purushotham, WFI’s joint secretary claimed that the federa, tion will bear Sandeep’s travel expenses, accommodation and camp fees apart from providing him a daily allowance. Sandeep claimed that he is a wrestling coach at the SAI. The sponsorship and authorisation letter also mentioned three names apart from Sandeep. “We’ve informed the US Embassy that the person is neither empanelled as a coach with WFI or the world body, United World Wrestling,” WFI chief Sanjay Kumar Singh said.