tuesdAY 16 september, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Nepal’s new ministers (from left) Kulman Ghising, Om Prakash Aryal and Rameshwor Khanal after being sworn in on Monday in Kathmandu | PTI UK three ministers inducted by nepal’s new PM Karki sworn in Sikh woman rape Suspect arrested The police investigating probing a racially aggravated sexual assault of a Sikh woman have arrested a man on suspicion of rape in Oldbury. Page 9 seasoned advocate is new home minister A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS l ‘Killer’ who fled Nepal jail during recent riots arrested I begged driver to take him to closest hosp: wife N I T I N R AWAT @ New Delhi e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Delhi Police has arrested a man at the Indo-Nepal border for allegedly killing his girlfriend eight years ago in the city. Thirty-one-year-old Arjun Kumar, alias Bhola, had been imprisoned in a Nepal jail for a similar offence and managed to escape during the recent agitation in the country officials said on Monday , . On November 17, 2017, a man filed a complaint at the New Ashok Nagar police station, saying that his daughter had been abducted. He raised suspicion about Bhola’s involvement. Later, the girl’s body was recovered from Bhola’s rented accommodation, but he was already on the run. A cash reward of `1 lakh was declared on his arrest. According to DCP (crime) Harsh Indora, it was learned t h at t h e a c cused was lodged in a Nepal jail. They received a tipoff regarding a jailbreak in Nepal in which Bhola had also escaped. Police found that Bhola had crossed the IndoNepal border through the Raxaul border, prompting a team to rush to Bihar. He was nabbed from the border while attempting to enter India. The DCP said that in Delhi, the accused and the victim lived in the same building and were in a relationship. Bhola had pressured her to elope, but she refused. In a fit of rage, Bhola killed her by slitting her throat on November 16, 2017. After escaping to Nepal, he befriended one Nausad, who was in a relationship with a married woman, which was opposed by her family Nausad . conspired with his cousin and Bhola to kill the woman’s mother. They slit her throat in the same manner that the accused had killed the woman in Delhi. All the accused were arrested and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment. New Delhi A day after a BMW car hit and killed a senior finance ministry official in Dhaula Kuan, a 38-year-old Gurugram-based woman was arrested and booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence on Monday. She was produced before a Delhi court, which sent her to two-day judicial custody . The woman has been identified by cops as Gaganpreet Makkar, who was driving the BMW at the time of the accident. Her husband, two children, and a domestic help were also in the car. She claimed to have a valid driving licence. 1 The victim, Navjot Singh, 52, was postGovt official ed as deputy secretary in the finance fatally struck ministry He and his wife, Sandeep Kaur, . A govt official was 50, residents of Pratap Nagar in west Delkilled after a BMW hi, were at Bangla Sahib Gurdwara hit his bike near around 12:30 pm. They later went on their Delhi Cantonment two-wheeler to RK Puram for lunch. metro station on According to the FIR, Singh was killed Sunday, police said when the BMW rammed into his motorcycle on Ring Road at around 1.30 pm on Sunday. His wife, Sandeep Kaur, sus2 tained multiple injuries and a fracture Victim taken to and remains under treatment. hosp 20 km away Police said they received the call about After the accident, traffic congestion on the Dhaula Kuan the victim, Navjot stretch around 2.20 pm. ADCP (SouthWest) Abhimanyu Poswal said that poSingh (52), was taken to a hosp 20 lice teams rushed to the spot, inspected the site, and checked CCTV footage. km away, raising Around 4.20 pm, a call was received from serious questions a hospital in GTB Nagar about an accident case, he added. 3 Meanwhile, Singh’s father, a retired Accused charged IAF officer, stated, “My wife and I were with homicide on the terrace when we saw him going to The BMW driver the gurdwara and waved.” He questioned was charged with why his son was taken to a hospital 20 culpable homicide km away in GTB Nagar when RR Hospinot amounting tal and RML Hospital were nearby . to murder and “It is basic that when an accident evidence tampering takes place, the victims are taken to a nearby hospital for first-aid. But they took them to a facility that is far away Later, we shifted my . daughter-in-law to Venkateshwar Hospital,” he said. The victim’s wife, a school teacher, said that she repeatedly pleaded with Gaganpreet and her husband to take them to a nearby hospital for first -aid, but to no avail. Police said when they asked Gaganpreet why the victim was taken to a hospital 20km away from the accident spot, she told them that she panicked and took them to GTB Hospital because her children had been admitted there during Covid. Police are verifying her statements. Eyewitness Mohammad Gulfam, a van driver, said that the BMW hit a divider and overturned. “I saw that the BMW hit a divider and turned upside down. I saw some people lying on the road, and their condition was bad. I took the victims (Singh and Kaur) in my van. Suddenly, a woman sat in my car and asked me to take the van to Azadpur. I took them to a hospital in GTB Nagar,” he said. More Reports on P3 unanswered questions l J8.00 l Om Prakash Aryal, an advocate known for cases tackling corruption and human rights, takes the critical home minister post, as well as law, justice and parliamentary affairs. Kulman Ghising, former director of Electricity Authority, has energy, infrastructure, transport and urban development, while Rameshwor Khanal, was handed the finance minister post | P9 PAGES 12 US team arrives for trade talks today PUSHP I TA D EY @ New Delhi US TikTok deal done, Trump-Xi talks on Friday US chief negotiator and Assistant Trade Representative for south and central Asia Brendan Lynch arrived in Delhi on Monday night to revive the trade talks that were stalled after the Trump administration waged a tariff war on Indian goods ostensibly to penalise India over its trade ties with Russia. Lynch and his team of negotiators will hold formal talks with Indian officials on the India-US bilateral trade agreement on Tuesday, confirmed US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday that Washington has reached a ‘framework’ deal with China on the ownership of TikTok’s American operations. US President Donald Trump will speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday to finalise the deal, he added | P9 Rajesh Agarwal, India’s chief negotiator and special secretary commerce ministry , . This will be the first in-person discussion between the representatives of the two countries after the US levied a 50% tariff on several Indian goods. While the exact agenda of the meeting has not been SC stays a few provisions of Waqf Amendment Act Abolition of ‘waqf by user’ prima facie not arbitrary: Interim order SUCH I T R A K A LYA N M OH A N T Y What ’s in, what ’s out @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the operation of the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, in its interim orderbut stayed the implementation of certain parts of the law to ‘balance the equities’ and ‘protect the interests of parties’, including the criteria of fiveyear practice of Islam for dedicating property towards waqf. “Section 3 of the Amended Waqf Act (AWA), which says, ‘any person showing or demonstrating that he is professing Islam for at least five years’ shall stand stayed” until rules are framed on how to determine whether a person has been practising Islam for at least five years, a bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice Augustine George Masih ruled. However, it is nondescriminatory the court said. , The bench stayed a provision on the District Collector adjudicating on the rights of individual citizens, saying it would violate the principle of separation of powers. Till a tribunal adjudicates on the matter, no SC says law can be stayed only in the rarest of rare cases Says number of non-Muslims in central waqf councils cannot exceed 4 out of 22 third party rights can be created against any parties, the court said. As for appointing nonMuslims to manage waqf properties, it allowed the Centre to nominate not more than three of them into the 11-member Central Waqf Council constituted under Section 14 of the AWA, and four non-Muslims out of 22 under Section 9 of AWA. The court refused to stay an amendment allowing the appointment of a non-Muslim as a CEO for the board, but suggested that every effort should be made to appoint a Muslim to the post. Refusing to stay the provision abolishing the concept of Khattar says Bhalswa landfill will be cleared within 1 year e x p r e ss n e ws s e r v i c e @ New Delhi The Centre on Monday announced to adopt the Bhalswa landfill site in the national capital and said that legacy waste from the site would be cleared within a year. Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that the work would begin from September 17, which marks the beginning of the 15-day ‘Swachhata Hi Seva 2025’ campaign. “I will visit Bhalswa on Wednesday to review plans for waste remediation and processing. We will initiate the cleanup process on that day itself. Given the space constraints for fur- ther waste processing at the site, I have requested DDA to help us in securing additional land,” he said. The minister said that he held meetings with various agencies three days back to coordinate the efforts for landfill clearance at three dumpsites — Okhla, Ghazipur and Bhalswa. Addressing a press conference, Union Minister C R Paatil said that the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva 2025’ campaign is an amalgamation of celebration with responsibility and urged people to participate in it. The campaign will culminate on October 2, with nationwide events promoting cleanliness. disclosed, the visit makes it clear that both sides want the talks to resume at the earliest. Negotiations were put on hold after US President Donald Trump announced higher tariffs on several Indian goods and India termed the move a ‘unilateral’ decision. The resumption of talks Provision on five-year practice of Islam for dedicating property as waqf stayed for want of rules, but it is not arbitrary or discriminatory Provision barring declaration of tribal lands as waqf properties upheld Deletion of ‘waqf by user’ provision prima facie not arbitrary ‘waqf by user’, the court said, the requirement of registration came in from the Waqf Act of 1923. If waqfs were not registered since 102 years, they cannot raise their grievance now, the court said. “If the legislature, on noticing misuse of the waqf properties, finds that after the enactment of the impugned Act all such applications should be accompanied by a copy of the waqf deed, the same cannot be said to be arbitrary the court observed. ,” If ‘waqf by user’ is abused to encroach government properties, the legislature can take steps to delete it. It approved the provision to abolish ‘waqf by user’ prospectively . express read Consider views to tackle ragging, SC tells UGC The Supreme Court on Monday directed the UGC to consider while framing the draft regulations suggestions to combat ragging, sexual harassment and caste bias, among other issues, in institutions of higher learning to prevent students suicides. Row as Centre denies nod for Sikh jatha to Pak pole star vaults to the sky Armand Duplantis created history by breaking his world record in pole vault again at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo on Monday. This is the 14th time the Swede has broken the world mark | AP Chandigarh: The Centre’s decision not to allow a Sikh jatha to Pakistan has triggered protests with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann saying cricket matches between with Pakistan are allowed but Sikhs are denied permission to access to their sacred shrines | P8 handshake gate Pakistan threatens to pull out of Asia Cup if match referee not removed F ir o z M ir z a @ Chennai A day after India refused to shake hands with Pakistan after recording a comprehensive win in the Asia Cup match, the issue snowballed into a major controversy . In a letter to the International Cricket Council, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) threatened to withdraw from the Asia Cup if their demand of immediate removal of match referee Andy Pycroft is not met. The letter was written soon after the match. Interestingly former , BCCI secretary Jay Shah is the ICC chair. “The ICC has been told specifically that if the match referee Pycroft will not be changed, Pakistan will not play any more Asia Andy Pycroft Cup match,” a PCB source told this daily Interestingly Pycroft . , was given the similar responsibility by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), which incidentally is headed by PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi, for the second match between Hong Kong and Sri Lanka on Monday . Besides, the PCB has also requested the ICC not to send the 69-year-old Pycroft, who is a former Zimbabwe player, to Pakistan for the upcoming tour of South Africa. The Pakistan board made the demand through a separate letter sent to the ICC on Monday morning. SA are scheduled to play two Tests, three T20Is and as many ODIs in Pakistan with the series starting with the fiveday match on October 12. The PCB held the match referee responsible for the ‘no handshakes’ fiasco wherein India players refused to shake hands with their Pakistan counterparts after Sunday’s match and alleged that Pycroft violated the spirit of cricket and MCC Laws hence failed in discharging his duties. The PCB alleged Pycroft took Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha to one side be- fore the toss and instructed him that there will be no handshakes at the toss. Pakistan may play India again and the PCB source said they have not decided on the future course of action. “We are waiting for ICC’s response. If that is accepted then we will decide on the future respecting the spirit of the game,” said the source. comes days after Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchanged positive assessment about the trade ties. The visit by the US team was originally scheduled for August 25-29, but it was called off amid high tensions over the massive US tariffs. Trump slapped an additional 25% tariff on August 6 and it became effective from August 27, taking the total tariffs on Indian goods to 50%. The US remains India’s largest trading partner with bilateral trade crossing $130 billion last year. ITR deadline eXTENDED by a day to Sept 16 Following widespread complaints of tech glitches on the tax portal, the tax dept on Monday extended the deadline for filing income tax returns by a day to September 16 | P10 Final hearing on October 7, SC verdict for pan-India SIR s u c h itra k a lyan m o h ant y @ New Delhi THE Supreme Court on Monday said it was presuming that the Election Commission, being a constitutional authority , was following the law during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and cautioned that the entire exercise would be set aside in case any illegality is found at any stage. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi fixed October 7 for hearing final arguments on the validity of SIR in Bihar, and refused to offer any “piecemeal opinion” on the exercise. The bench also emphasised that its “judgement in Bihar SIR will be applicable for pan-India SIR”. The court clarified that it can’t stop the poll panel from conducting a similar exercise for revision of electoral rolls across the country The bench, . however, allowed petitioners against the Bihar SIR exercise to also argue on the pan-India SIR on October 7. The publication of the final electoral roll on September 30 will not make any difference to the adjudication of the case, the bench said. “What difference will the final publication of the electoral roll make to us? If we are satisfied there is some illegality, we can set it aside,” the bench told the petitioners who have challenged the SIR exercise. The top court is currently hearing a batch of pleas — questioning the validity of SIR — filed by NGO ADR, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, RJD MP Manoj Jha, Congress leader K C Venugopal and Mujahid Alam. In another development in the same case, the court, while hearing a plea by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay refused to , modify its September 8 order directing the Election Commission to permit use of Aadhaar as the 12th document for proof of identity as part of SIR in Bihar. The bench said Aadhaar was made acceptable as an interim arrangement.