WEDNESDAY 01 APRIL, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard MORE HEATWAVE DAYS THAN USUAL THIS APRIL-JUNE, CAUTIONS IMD MASOOD AZHAR BROTHER DIES MYSTERIOUSLY Above-normal heatwave days are likely over east, central, northwest and the southeast between April and June, the IMD said Tuesday Jaish-e-Mohammed chief’s elder brother Mohammad Tahir Anwar died in Pakistan under mysterious circumstances, media reports say Predicts above normal rainfall in April A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 9 Himachal rolls back vehicle entry tax hike H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh FOLLOWING protests, the Himachal Pradesh government has withdrawn the proposed hike in entry tax for vehicles coming from other states, which was to come into effect from Tuesday midnight. Addressing the assembly on Tuesday Chief Minister Sukh, vinder Singh Sukhu announced the rollback, which means fiveseater vehicles will be charged `70 and those with six to 12 seats `110. The government had earlier decided to increase the entry tax for five-seater vehicles to `170 and those with six to 12 seats to `130. The entry tax hike decision had triggered protests in Punjab and Haryana. Despite the announcement, the protesters decided to continue their agitation until an official notification is issued. “We will continue our dharna on Wednesday and take a final decision only after examining the notification issued by the Himachal government,” Sangharsh Morcha leader Paramjit Singh Pamma said. He added, “Either Himachal should exempt border areas of Punjab from the entry tax, or the Punjab government should impose a reciprocal tax.”  NEW DELHI  J8.00  The IMD said normal to above-normal rainfall is likely over most parts of the country except Northeast India in April. Currently, neutral El NinoSouthern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are prevailing over equatorial Pacific. ENSO-neutral conditions are most likely to continue between April and June. Thereafter, El Nino conditions could develop gradually, it said PAGES 12 Go get your own oil: Trump Won’t help you, a livid Trump tells allies who are not supporting the US in its war with Iran First oil cargo from Iran headed to Guj DAY 32 A G E N C I E S @ Dubai EGGED by a massive wave of disapproval for US-Israel’s unilateral decision to invade Iran, President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed frustration with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil” as the conflict with Iran and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz roiled global markets. The president’s social media tirade came after US strikes hit a city home to one of Iran’s main nuclear sites, sending a massive fireball into the sky. Iran rubbished this claim and soon attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. Trump, who has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to expand the war, directed blame at US allies like the UK and France that have refused to enter a war with no clear endgame that they were not consulted on. “You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the R A K E S H K U M A R @ New Delhi A screengrab from a video shared by US President Donald Trump which shows a US military strike in Isfahan, Iran, on Tuesday | X US IT firms on Iran’s radar Iran said Tuesday it would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta in the Gulf if more Iranian leaders were killed. It listed the names of 18 firms and asked their staff to leave the region Airfares hit roof on all routes Airfares across key metro routes and popular tourist destinations are registering a sharp spike in the backdrop of West Asia conflict. On metro routes, airfares have risen by 15–20%, and over 35-40% for last minute bookings | P10 USA. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!” Trump wrote. Iran approves Hormuz toll Iran’s Parliament approved the Strait of Hormuz Management Plan, which includes measures to impose a rial-based toll system on the waterway, security arrangements, ship safety and financial arrangements He singled out France for not letting planes fly over French territory saying Paris has been , “VERY UNHELPFUL,” and that “The USA is going to REMEMBER THIS forever!!!” INDIA is set to receive the first Iranian cargo since 2019 as the vessel Ping Shun carrying 600,000 barrels of Iranian crude is headed towards a port in Gujarat. According to commodity market analytics firm Kpler, the vessel is expected to reach Vadinar on April 4. “As per @Kpler tracking, the vessel Ping Shun carrying ~600 kb of Iranian crude is currently signalled for discharge at India. Given the past pattern of frequent destination changes, the final discharge location remains uncertain,” Sumit Ritolia, lead research analyst, refining & modeling at Kpler, posted on X. Iran was once a major oil supplier to India, but imports from Tehran were halted after US sanctions were imposed. At present, nearly 90% of Iranian oil exports are directed towards China. So far, six cargoes have reached India from the Strait of Hormuz. IndiGo taps IATA chief Walsh as CEO A R S H A D K H A N @ New Delhi INTERGLOBE Aviation, the parent company of India’s largest airline IndiGo, on Tuesday appointed seasoned William Walsh as CEO. Walsh, popularly known as Willie, is currently the directorgeneral of International Air Transport Association (IATA) and was formerly CEO of British Airways and International Airlines Group, a holding company which owns Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia, Level and Vueling. His tenure at IATA comes to a close on July 31, 2026 and he is expected to join IndiGo not later than the August 3. IndiGo’s appointment of a new CEO comes weeks after the sudden departure of Pieter Elbers. The airline’s promoter and MD Rahul Bhatia has taken interim charge of the company’s management. The changes in top-level management came three months after operational disruptions at the airline that crippled India’s aviation sector. Last week, IndiGo had apWilliam Walsh pointed Air In- Vir Vikram Yadav is the new DGCA chief The Centre on Tuesday appointed Vir Vikram Yadav as the Director General of Civil Aviation, replacing Faiz Ahmed Kidwai who has moved to the Department of Personnel & Training as additional secretary. Yadav, an IAS officer of 1996 Odisha cadre, is currently an additional secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change. P7 dia Express MD and CEO Aloke Singh as chief strategy officer. In his new role, Walsh will be responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the airline with a focus on transformational initiatives to strengthen the operational performance, advance the company’s network and commercial strategy while enhancing customer experience. “The aviation landscape is evolving rapidly, and IndiGo is well-positioned to be at the forefront of this change,” Walsh said. POWER DRIZZLE Delhi residents enjoy ‘unusual’ rains at Kartavya Path on Tuesday. The city got respite from days of heat | PARVEEN NEGI | P3 EXPRESS READ Govt to introduce bill to name Amaravati as AP capital in LS The Union government is set to introduce the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, which will officially declare Amaravati as the capital of the state and provide statutory backing to the ongoing greenfield capital city project. P5 Anti-terror operation launched in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said. The forces cordoned off the Arahama area for carrying out searches. Officials said firing shot were reportedly heard near the cordoned area. Reinforcements have been rushed to the spot. At least 9 dead in temple stampede at Nalanda Poor crowd management led to the tragedy: Locals R A M A S H A N K A R @ Patna AT least nine devotees, eight of them women, were killed and 10 others injured in a stampede at a temple in Bihar’s Nalanda district on Tuesday . The incident took place around 8.30 am when a large number of devotees gathered at the Maa Sheetla Mandir located at Maghra village to offer morning prayers. Nalanda district magistrate Kundan Kumar said eight women died on the spot, while a man succumbed to his injuries later. The condition of four persons is critical. “When devotees were entering the temple, several women Official sources said nearly 30,000 people assembled at the temple on the last Tuesday of March, considered an auspicious day. Locals alleged there were not enough policemen to manage the crowds and authorities were busy with the security arrangements for President Draupadi Murmu’s visit to Nalanda University Scene at the Maa Sheetla Mandir after the stampede on Tuesday morning | PTI collapsed due to dehydration and suffocation,” he said. The district administration has suspended four policemen, including the SHO of Deepnagar police station, under whose jurisdiction the temple comes. Six of the deceased have been identified as Rita Devi, Kanti Devi, Rekha Devi, Revanti Devi, Malo Devi and Kinta Devi. The Bihar government has announced an exgratia of `6 lakh. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said a special investigation team would be set up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced `2 lakh to each deceased from the PM’s National Relief Fund. FCRA BILL DEBATE IN LOK SABHA The House is likely to take up the controversial bill for passage today. The revised list shows it will be moved by Union Home Minister Amit Shah | P7 Woman sent to jail for 10 years, fined `70k in rape case U D AYA N K I S H O R E @ New Delhi THE Delhi High Court has awarded a 10-year jail term to a woman for abetting the rape of a girl by her minor brother in 2013, noting that she lured the survivor, was present during the act, and threatened her into silence. Justice Chandrasekharan Sudha took into account the convict’s criminal record, including a murder case, observing that No leniency for the present case formed part of a serial criminal “continuing pattern of criminal The High Court behaviour rather than an isolatrefused to adopt a ed incident”, with no sign of soft approach reformation. towards the convict, The court found that the conas it was a case vict conspired with her brother “where the convict and lured the survivor to a secontinues to be cluded spot in Najafgarh on the involved in serious false promise of employment, criminal activities”. where the offence was commitThe court ordered ted. It said she had “betrayed” extra compensation the trust placed in her. for the victim because The court held that a soft apshe suffered trauma proach in a case “where the conin quest for justice. vict continues to be involved in serious criminal activities would ASSEMBLY be wholly misplaced”. ELECTIONS In its March 25 order, the court also imposed a fine of `70,000, directing that `50,000 be paid to the survivor as compensation. The court directed the Delhi BJP TALKS ‘LAND State Legal Services Authority to JIHAD’ IN ASSAM award additional compensation, MANIFESTO I P8 noting that the survivor had endured significant emotional, HC DISMISSES TMC mental, and physical trauma PLEA ON IAS, IPS TRANSFERS I P8 while pursuing justice for over a decade. The court held that while NDA TRYING the brother—a child in conflict TO DISTURB TN, with the law—committed the SAYS STALIN I P5 rape, the evidence established that the convict “intentionally aided and facilitated the commission of the offence”. The High Court noted that she “induced the survivor through deceit, brought her to a secluded place, remained present during the assault, prevented resistance, and guarded the area”. Real love lost to artificial intelligence: Techie, live-in partner die by suicide EXPRESS NEWS S ERVI CE @ Bengaluru A 31-year woman software engineer died by suicide by jumping from an upscale apartment complex in Bengaluru on Monday morning, moments after seeing her live-in partner hanging dead in their flat. It is said that the man, R Bhanu Chander Reddy Kunta, 32, was working in the US in the software industry and is suspected to have lost his job to AI. He had returned to India in June last year. He and his live-in partner, M Bibi Shaziya, 31, had started living in an eighth floor apartment after moving to the city in August. Both were from Telangana. Kunta, who was severely depressed over not finding a job, is suspected to have hanged himself on Sunday Shaziya, . who had gone to see her mother, returned on Monday morning and knocked on the flat door. As there was no response, she got the door opened with the help of security guards and saw Kunta hanging from the ceiling. Im- mediately after, she went to the 11th floor of the apartment complex and jumped to her death, the police said. Kunta has left behind a suicide note in which he has blamed himself for the extreme step. He has specifically mentioned that Shaziya had nothing to do with his suicide. Shaziya was working in Hyderabad when Kunta returned from the US. After moving to Bengaluru, Shaziya took up a job in the city He was said to be . severely depressed as he could not find a job, which took a toll on his health.