TUESDAY 14 OCTOBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard JOEL MOKYR TOLL RISES TO 64 AFTER RAINS PAGE 9 PETER HOWITT ECONOMICS NOBEL TO 3 FOR WORK ON INNOVATION-DRIVEN GROWTH MEXICO The death toll from last week’s torrential rains in Mexico jumped to 64 on Monday, as searches expanded to communities previously cut off by landslides PHILIPPE AGHION Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt won Nobel prize in economics for their research explaining how tech drives economic growth UNDERSTANDING SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  American-Israeli economic historian Mokyr showed that for innovation to continue, people need more than just proof that something works, they also need to understand how and why it works. Aghion and Howitt studied “creative destruction”, which happens when a better product replaces an older one, causing the older businesses to fall behind. PAGES 12 SC orders CBI investigation into Karur stampede, ex-judge to monitor probe Slams HC judge for entertaining plea and ordering SIT, suspends inquiry panel formed by TN S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi A Palestinian prisoner, who was released on Monday, gestures as he and others disembark from a bus at Ramallah Cultural Centre in Ramallah, West Bank; (inset) released Israeli hostage Alon Ohel gestures to well wishers | AFP ALL LIVING ISRAELI HOSTAGES, 1,968 PALESTINE PRISONERS FREED ling the war that began when Hamas militants attacked US President Donald Trump southern Israel on October 7, and several other world lead- 2023, could finally be ending. US President Donald Trump ers on Monday signed a Gaza ceasefire deal during a peace also addressed the Israeli summit in Egypt after Hamas Knesset (Parliament) on Monday where he hailed , freed all 20 living an end to a “painful hostages and Israel nightmare”. “For so released 1,968 Palesmany families across tinian prisoners unthis land, it has been der the US-brokered Their freedom agreement. stands as a tribute years since you’ve known a single day In Tel Aviv, Israeto the courage of lis erupted in cheers their families, the o f t r u e p e a c e, ” as hostages were unwavering peace Trump said. “Not c o n f i r m e d f r e e, efforts of President only for Israelis, but Trump and the also for Palestinians while Palestinians strong resolve of and for many others, in the West Bank Prime Minister the long and painful and Gaza greeted Netanyahu nightmare is finally buses of released Narendra Modi over,” he added. prisoners with Trump was greeted celebrations. The skies are calm, Under the deal, Hawith a standing ovathe guns are silent, mas is also required the sirens are still tion by Israeli lawto return the bodies makers as he entered and the sun rises of 28 hostages who on a Holy Land that the Knesset. died or were killed in is finally at peace While Hamas has captivity . handed over the bodDonald Trump The Israeli miliies of four captives, tary said on Monday it was not immedinight that the bodies of four ately clear when the rest deceased hostages were hand- would be released. ed over to the Red Cross by “Hamas is required to abide Hamas. by the agreement and make Speaking to Israeli lawmak- the necessary efforts to return ers, Prime Minister Benjamin all the bodies,” the Israeli milNetanyahu said he was “com- itary said. MORE REPORTS ON P11 mitted to this peace,” signalAGENCIES ‘BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA’ “We hope this will mark the beginning of a global partnership to end the era of terror in the region,” Nechemia J Peres, son of Israeli ex-PM Shimon Peres, writes | P7 ‘HOPE ISRAEL WILL ABIDE BY DEAL’ We hope Israel will abide by terms of peace plan, even though it is vague and lacks a clear timeline, writes Palestinian diplomat Manuel Hassassian | P7 THE Supreme Court on Monday ordered a CBI investigation into the Karur stampede in which 41 people died and over 100 were injured during a rally organised by actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on September 27. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria said the incident has shaken the nation’s conscience, left an imprint in the minds of the citizens throughout the country, and deserves a fair and impartial investigation. The bench, in its interim order on a plea by the TVK and three others seek- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ New Delhi LESS than a month before Bihar goes to polls, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi, and son Tejashwi Yadav were on Monday charged by a Delhi court in the IRCTC hotels-forland scam. The move comes as the party gears up for the twophase Assembly elections on November 6 and 11, potentially adding a legal twist to the poll narrative. Special Judge Vishal Gogne said that “there existed a prima facie case and grave suspicion regarding the land transfers involved in the matter.” The judge framed common charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, while Lalu was additionally charged under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. After the charges were read A five-year-old boy was run over by a water delivery e-rickshaw in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar area, police said on Monday. An inquiry revealed that a water delivery e-rickshaw parked in the lane was accidentally started by another child. The boy got trapped underneath and sustaining fatal injuries. The body has been sent to AIIMS for an examination. out in court, all three leaders pleaded not guilty and sought a trial. The court said the trial is likely to commence in the last week of October. “We will challenge the order on charge before the high court H A R P R E E T B A J W A @ Chandigarh The Supreme Court overturned the Calcutta HC’s decision to restore land to a private firm based on the 2016 Kedar Nath Yadav vs State of West Bengal precedent, and ruled that land acquired for Tata motors’ Nano project in Singur will not be restored to industrial entities. The court said the relief was meant only for vulnerable farmers, and not commercial enterprises. Child run over by water delivery e-rickshaw RJD chief Lalu Yadav, Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav at Rouse Avenue Court in New Delhi on Monday | PTI as soon as we get the copy of the order,” senior advocate Maninder Singh, counsel for the Yadavs, said. The case, being pursued by the CBI, stems from alleged irregularities in granting contracts for two IRCTC hotels in Puri and Ranchi to a private firm, Sujata Hotels Private Limited. According to CBI chargesheet, the alleged conspiracy took place between 2004 and 2014, when BNR hotels were first transferred from Indian Railways to IRCTC and later leased to Sujata Hotels for operation, maintenance, and upkeep. CBI alleged that the tender was manipulated, with conditions tweaked to favour the Patnabased private firm. Other accused in the case include former IRCTC officials V K Asthana and R K Goyal, Sujata Hotels’ directors Vijay Kochhar and Vinay Kochhar, Lara Projects and Sujata Hotels. citizens about the impartiality and fairness of the ongoing investigation. The court observed that, according to the petitioners, an investigation undertaken by the same police force whose top officials had publicly exonerated their subordinates by asserting that adequate steps had been taken, would lack the element of fairness and impartiality . It also criticised Justice N Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court for entertaining petitions on the September 27 incident, ordering an SIT probe, and making observations against TVK and its members without making them a party to the case. P7 Retail inflation cools to 8-year low of 1.54% P U S H P I TA D E Y @ New Delhi INDIA’s retail inflation fell to an eight-year low of 1.54% in September, falling below the lower tolerance limit of RBI’s 2-6% target band. The fall is driven by lower food prices. Food inflation fell to -2.28%, marking the fourth consecutive month of negative food inflation. Vegetable prices plunged dramatically—down 21.38% year-on-year—while pulses fell 15.32%. “Vegetables, edible oils, fruits and pulses led the decline,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist, Crisil. The headline inflation for rural areas stood at 1.07%, while urban inflation moderated to 2.04%. Amid this backdrop, core inflation (excluding food & fuel) rose, reaching 4.5%, partly fuelled by surging gold prices. Economists expect the inflation to remain low in the coming months, on the back of the GST reforms. IPS officer’s autopsy held up for 7th day Land acquisition can’t be challenged after relief: SC The ED on Monday searched nine premises of Tamil Nadu Drugs Control Department officials and Sresan Pharmaceuticals as part of a money laundering investigation related the probe into the deaths of 22 children in MP due to the consumption of Coldrif cough syrup. Sources hint at evidence of collusion between two drug inspectors & the pharma firm. P5 frame,” the bench said. Suspending the Madras HC’s direction to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT), and inquiry commission headed by former HC judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan appointed by the Tamil Nadu government, the top court asked the state to extend full cooperation to the officers of the central agency . Explaining the rationale for ordering the CBI probe in the case, the Supreme Court observed that the comments made by senior TN police officers before the media regarding the Karur stampede may create doubt in the minds of Charges framed against Lalu, Rabri, Tejashwi in IRCTC scam EXPRESS READ ED raids cough syrup pharma premises in TN ing an independent probe, also set up a three-member supervisory committee headed by retired SC judge Justice Ajay Rasto gi to monitor the CBI investigation. The committee will include two IPS officers of Tamil Nadu cadre who are not natives of TN. “The officers of the CBI are directed to submit a monthly progress report of the probe to the committee, which may be placed for consideration before this court as and when required. We request that the investigation be completed as expeditiously as possible within the statutory time WI IN ‘DEEP’ TROUBLE Kuldeep Yadav celebrates a wicket in the second Test against West Indies in New Delhi on Monday. He picked three wickets in the second innings as India need another 58 runs to win on final day to complete a clean sweep | SAYANTAN GHOSH | P11 THERE is no breakthrough in the deadlock over the post-mortem of Haryana IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, as his family refuses to cooperate with authorities until their demands are met. On Monday the family , reiterated the arrest of senior officers named in the FIR, declined to hand over Kumar’s laptop to the Chandigarh Police and also refused to meet the BJP ministers. The family refused consent for a post-mortem or cremation. Sources said the family insists the only way out is the arrest of Haryana DGP Shatru- jeet Kapur and others booked. His widow, Haryana cadre IAS officer Amneet P Kumar, refused to hand over his laptop, which the police seek to retrieve digital evidence and verify the timeline of a ‘final note’ allegedly emailed by Kumar. The FIR was lodged on October 9 based on this note. Kumar, a 52-year-old 2001-batch IPS officer, allegedly shot himself at his Sector 11 residence in Chandigarh on October 7. Police warn that further post-mortem delay could compromise forensic evidence, like gunpowder residue and ballistic markings. Chandigarh Police have asked the Haryana government for documents needed to investigate. Amneet Kumar declined to meet the BJP cabinet ministers who called on her. During an interaction at her residence, she said, “What have you done so far? What do you want to say? We don’t want anything from you.” Several political leaders visited the family to offer condolences, including Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. SOCIAL TRICKS Insta ‘tantrik’ ghosts on woman after charging for managing ghosts N I T I N R A W AT @ N E W D E L H I A tech-savvy tantrik with a fake Instagram profile duped a vulnerable Delhi woman of `1.14 lakh for ridding her house of ghosts and spirits and then ghosted on her. The victim, a resident of Chankyapuri, approached the Delhi Police last month, after which it formed a team to analyse the tantrik’s social media and web presence and nab him. The accused tantrik goes by the name of “Surendra Bera” on Instagram and has a sizeable number of followers, but the police say his real name is Rahul. He also runs multiple channels on YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp and hosts a functional website. The Delhi Police pinned him down in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan, on October 9, after he changed locations multiple times to evade arrest. The 20-year-old Rahul was a prolific content creator, making reels and shorts on the aghori tantrik practices and offering spiritual solutions to gullible victims for their personal and family-related problems, the police said on Monday. He claims to be a black magic practitioner and has uploaded edited photographs, reels and posts to portray that he has supernatural powers. The complainant told the police that she came across the accused’s Instagram page, adding that the accused manipulated her by instilling fear in her about her house being haunted and demanded money for performing special rituals to clear the house. To convince her, he even sent fabricated photos to the victim, which depicted ghostly figures. Trusting him, the victim transferred `1.14 lakh into his account for conducting the rituals. However, after receiving UPI FOR THE SPIRITS The police claim that the tantrik has cheated more than 50 people so far using social media by collecting payments through UPI linked to his and his family’s bank accounts, while offering to fix the insecurities of hapless victims through black magic. the money the accused stopped , responding to her. During investigation, the police analysed the details of Rahul’s bank and related mobile numbers. It found the amount credited to Rahul’s multiple bank accounts. The principal mobile number linked with the social media profiles was registered in his name, while other associated numbers were found to be registered in the names of his father and brother, an officer said.