NEW DELHI 13 JULY 2025 SUNDAY `12 PAGES 24  facebook/TheMorningStandard  X.com/TheMornStandard https://epaper.morningstandard.in High Society, Low Ethics FREE ALL F B A G A L A V A N P E R I E R @ Cuddalore THE All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) will win the 2026 assembly polls with a majority and form the government, said par ty g eneral secretary and former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s remarks during an exclusive interview with this newspaper. Shah had said that NDA will get a landslide victory in Tamil Nadu and BJP will be part of the government. When asked about Shah’s remarks, Palaniswami responded tersely to reporters in P u d u c h e r r y, saying, “Have I not said it clearly? AIADPalaniswami MK will win with a majority and form the government. Thank you!” He did not elaborate or categorically rule out the possibility of including alliance parties in the government if the AIADMK secures a majority on its own. Palaniswami’s comment on Saturday is seen as his most unambiguous reaction so far to the idea of an alliance government, and indication of AIADMK’s reluctance to share power with the BJP . The idea of coalition gover nment has remained a thorny issue ever since the AIADMK renewed its partnership with BJP P7 . Anand Neelakantan Ravi Shankar Ajai Sahni Sathya Saran The Cop Who Shoots at Sight 01:38:42 pm Maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots Immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and 2 fuel cutoff switches transition from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another within 1 sec E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ New Delhi One of the pilots heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why did he cutoff the engines. The other says he didn’t 01:38:47 pm Ram Air Turbine gets deployed during initial climb immediately after liftoff as engines lose power 01:38:52 pm Engine 1 fuel cutoff switch transitions from CUTOFF to RUN ENGINE FUEL SWITCH L AND R 01:38:54 pm Engine 1 fuel inlet door begins to open Location of engine fuel switches in a Dreamliner. They were inexplicably shut 3 secs after liftoff in the ill-fated AI 171 IN THE COCKPIT 01:38:56 pm Engine 2 fuel cutoff switch transitions from CUTOFF to RUN Engine 1’s core deceleration stops, reverses, starts progress to recovery Engine 2 relights but could not arrest core speed deceleration; reintroduces fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration and recovery Capt Sumeet Sabharwal , 56, with 30 years of experience at AI. Had 15,638 flying hours, including 8,596 hrs on Boeing 787 01:39:05 pm One pilots transmits “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY” call. Plane crashes into a building No significant bird activity observed in the vicinity US VISA SCREENING ONGOING PROCESS The US embassy says screening does not end once a visa is granted and any violation of US rules may result in visa revocation. | P7 K A U S H I K P R A D H A N @ Kolkata has jurisdiction over IIM-C. However, in a new twist, the woman’s father later said that his daughter was not raped and that she filed a police complaint “by force” without explaining what it meant. “The incident is being investigated by police. I can’t comment on anything now,” Saibal Chattopadhyay IIM-C director, in-charge, told this newspaper. Police personnel deployed outside IIM Calcutta | PTI ‘Working with police’ In a statement, IIM Calcutta said that the institution is cooperating with police in the investigation Co-pilot Clive Kunder, 32, had 3,403 hours of total experience, with 1,128 on Dreamliner. Was flying AI 171 under Sabharwal’s watch Tragedy strikes as 6 of family die in house collapse N I T I N R A W AT @ New Delhi WITH a four-storey building collapsing in Welcome area on Saturday, tragedy struck the family of Abdul Matloob for the second time in the last six months. Matloob and five of his family members died in the building collapse. The family had a close shave when a cylinder exploded in February a day before the mar, riage of Matloob’s youngest daughter. Most marriage-related stuff were reduced to ashes in the blaze. Their house was also severely damaged. On Saturday, Matloob, his wife Rabia, sons Javed and Abdullah, daughter Zoobia, and granddaughter Fozia (2) died. Mehboob’s eldest son Parvez, who received injury on his head, told this newspaper, “I was sleeping on the third floor with my wife and son when the building suddenly came down. My neighbour Rizwan pulled me out from the debris. Other family members were sleeping on the first and second floors. My brother Naved was on the terrace.” CONTINUED ON P3 DUKES IN FOCUS Ball change to using buffalo hide in India INDIA IN COMMAND F I R O Z M I R Z A @ London JUST like the centuries of KL Rahul and Joe Root, even the Duke balls used during the Test series were in the news. They were changed twice on Friday — once when the new ball was taken after 80 overs and was only 63 balls old and the second time when the replacement ball was booted only 48 balls later. It was changed once on Saturday It made Root . to propose a limit to ball change. “I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that’s it,” he said on Friday. Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah added a new Caviar Kulchas, Hollywood Cameos Silicon, Scams, and a Spy Named Solly SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA SPEAKS Freedom from Conflicts of Opposites Whodunit: Fuel cut after 3 secs in air 01:38:39 pm Air India 171 lifts off IIM-C rape case: Student sent to police custody till July 19 A city court on Saturday remanded a student of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C), arrested in connection with a rape case, in police custody till July 19. According to sources, police arrested the student based on a complaint by a woman, a clinical psychologist by profession. The woman was allegedly called to the IIM-C boys hostel on Friday for a counselling session. She was allegedly given pizza mixed with drugs and fell unconscious. She later realised she was raped, sources said. The woman went to Thakurpukur police station to file a complaint but she was directed to Haridevpur station, which Shampa Dhar-Kamath Prabhu Chawla Shankkar Aiyar Anand Vasu Carpet Bombing Nostalgia PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BUREAU INDICATES AI 171 PILOT ERROR FATEFUL 26 SECONDS AIADMK will form govt with majority: EPS MAGAZINE The Empire Writes Back EXCLUSIVE VOICES The Turbulent State of Indian Aviation RESPONSE TO SHAH PLUS: 12 PAGES KL Rahul celebrates second hundred of series against England on Saturday | AFP dimension to it when he said excessive hot and dry weather could be one of the reasons. Incidentally, Dilip Jajodia, the manufacturer of the Dukes ball, termed dry weather as one possible reason. The material used to make the balls too was in focus. Jajodia said they have been using hide of Scottish cows in England however, in their India operations, because of religious reasons they shifted to buffalo hide. “Buffalo hide is used in India instead of cow. The leather is local. You know the religious aspect. It is unfortunate because what we are using from a cow is a waste product,” he said. P11 KL Rahul scores a hundred as India batters take control of the first innings on a placid Lord’s wicket on Saturday. Rishabh Pant and Jadeja chip in with halfcenturies as visitors look all set to go ease past England and put in a healthy score A month after a horrific Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad killed 260 people, including 19 non-passengers, a preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau in the wee hours of Saturday indicated possible human error as fuel supply to both the engines of the aircraft was stopped just three seconds after takeoff. The two fuel cut-off switches were activated to the CUT OFF mode within a gap of a second, resulting in engine deceleration and plane crash though the fuel switches were subsequently switched back to RUN. The 15-page report on AI 171 says the aircraft started rolling at 1.37 pm after receiving clearance from the Air Traffic Control. “The aircraft air/ground sensors transitioned to air mode, consistent with lift off at 1.38 pm. It achieved the maximim recorded air speed of 180 knots at 1.38 pm and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUT OFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec. The Engine N1 and N2 began to decrease from their takeoff values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off,” it said. The fuel cutoff appears to have shocked one of the pilots. “In the cock- pit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so,” the report states. AI 171 started losing altitude before it crossed the airport perimeter wall. CCTV footage showed Ram Air Turbine (RAM) getting deployed during the initial climb after takeoff and its hydraulic pump began supply hydraulic power at 1.38 pm. RAM provides emergency power if the main systems fail. The pilots then transitioned the fuel switch of Engine 1 back to RUN at 1.38 pm. Four seconds later, the Engine 2 fuel cut off switch also transitioned from CUTOFF to RUN. “When fuel control switches are moved from CUTOFF to RUN while the aircraft is in flight, each engine’s full authority dual control engine automatically manages a relight and thrust recovery sequence of ignition and fuel introduction,” the report says. While Engine 1’s deceleration stopped and it started to progress to recovery, Engine 2 could not arrest the deceleration and re-introduced fuel repeatedly to increase core speed acceleration, it added. By 1.39 pm, one of the pilots transmitted “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY”. The ATC inquired about the call sign, did not get any response but observed the aircraft crashing outside the airport boundary P7 . EXPRESS READ Coaching centres are poaching centres: V-P Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday expressed shock over the growth of coaching centres. “The coaching centres have turned out to be poaching centres. They have become black holes for talent... We must address this malice. We cannot allow our education to be so tarnished,” he said in Kota.