FP The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms Vol. XLII No. 191 | INDORE | WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 17, 2025 | Pages 16 ` 3 | Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2024-2026 | RNI No. 38281/83 FREE www.freepressjournal.in DECISION REVERSED| Farmers’ opposition prompts govt rethink Simhastha Land Pooling Scheme axed Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state government has finally cancelled the Simhastha land pooling scheme. The land pooling plan, introduced by the Ujjain Development Authority for permanent construction related to Simhastha, has been scrapped. According to the order issued by the Urban Development Department, Schemes 8, 9, 10, and 11 brought by the Ujjain Development Authority in the Simhastha area had earlier been modified; these schemes have now been completely cancelled. The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh had been opposing the Simhastha land pooling scheme. The farmers’ organization had also warned of launching a “Ghera Dalo, Dera Dalo” agitation starting December 26. Due to the opposition from the Kisan Sangh, the government convened a meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence on November 17 and announced the cancellation of the scheme. However, in the order is- CBI court awards 5-year RI to 10 in Vyapam Patwari Exam scam CM Mohan Yadav had recently stated that any work related to Simhastha would be carried out only with the consent of farmers sued on November 19, the scheme was modified instead of being cancelled. The Kisan Sangh opposed this order as well and again warned of an agitation. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had recently stated that any work related to Simhastha would be carried out only with the consent of farmers. Owing to the farmers’ opposition, senior BJP leaders had also advised the government to cancel the scheme. With the cancellation of this scheme, permanent construction work at the Simhastha site will no longer be possible. Now, keeping Simhastha in view, the state government will have to acquire land under the Land Acquisition Act for roads, sewerage, and other works. P.14 INDORE UJJAIN PRESS PUNE BHOPAL NASHIK MUMBAI E-paper Edit Pak exposed, terror proven P.6 Cinema 2025 Music Rewind P.16 MP’s MEGA `37.1 CR IPL AUCTION HEIST DHANVARSHA | SIX FRANCHISES, TEN PLAYERS, ONE DOMINANT CRICKET CORRIDOR Our Sports Reporter INDORE Country’s heartland, Madhya Pradesh has officially arrived on the big stage of Indian cricket. The state scripted a blockbuster takeover of the IPL 2026 auctions, with 10 MPgrown players raking in a massive Rs 37.1 crore, underlining the state’s transformation into India’s newest cricket powerhouse. From marquee retentions to fierce bidding wars, MP talent ruled the room as six franchises went shopping down the state’s ever-expanding cricket corridor - turning Indore and its talent hubs into the heartbeat of this year’s auction narrative. RETENTION ROYALTY At the forefront of MP’s auction onslaught stood Rajat Patidar, retained by defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a commanding Rs 11 crore. Trusted as a leader and batting lynchpin, Patidar’s valuation signalled MP’s emergence as a source of IPL-ready captains. Backing him was pace ace Avesh Khan, snapped up by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 9.75 crore, reaffirming his status as one of India’s most reliable fast-bowling assets. Veteran all-round dynamo Venkatesh Iyer, meanwhile, fetched Rs 7 crore from RCB, further strengthening MP’s presence at the elite level. NEW AUCTION ICONS The spotlight wasn’t limited to proven names. The auction room crackled when franchises locked horns for emerging MP stars. Mangesh Yadav ignited a bidding war before landing a Rs 5.20 crore deal with RCB. Akshat Raghuvanshi, one of MP’s brightest young batters, secured Rs 2.20 crore from LSG. Our Staff Reporter BHOPAL The state cabinet on Tuesday decided to reduce the number of categories of sanctioned permanent and temporary posts in government offices from 10 to five. Officials said the move will help in addressing issues faced by government employees during probation period and after retirement. Interacting with media persons after a cabinet meeting at the Mantralaya, Deputy Chief Minister Rajendra Shukla said that the 10 categories of government posts have been re- HYDERABAD/MANILA/SYDNEY Permanent Panel Delay 4Continued on | P8 6-member panel to probe HIV blood transfusion BHOPAL: Health department has constituted a six-member committee for investigation of HIV blood transfusion in Satna. The committee will give report in seven days. The members of the committee are Dr Satya Awadiya, regional director, Rewa division; Dr Rubi Khan, deputy director (health); Dr Romesh Jain (AIIMS), Dr Sima Naved (BMHRC); Sanjiv Jadon (senior drug inspector, Hoshangabad) and Priyanka Chaubey (FDA inspector, Bhopal). See Page 5   The Telangana police have confirmed that Sajid Akram, one of the two gunmen responsible for the deadly terror attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, was originally from Hyderabad, India. In a statement on Tuesday, Telangana Director General of Police B Shivdhar Reddy confirmed Sajid Akram’s Indian roots. “Sajid Akram, 50, completed his B.Com in Hyderabad and migrated to Australia in search of employment in November 1998,” he said. Sajid migrated to Australia 27 years ago and had limited contact with his family in Hyderabad, India and last visited Hyderabad in 2022, the Telangana DGP added. The Telangana police confirmed Sajid had no criminal record in India. His family in Hyderabad reported limited contact over 27 years (he visited India six times, mainly for family matters). They expressed no knowledge of his radical mindset, and Indian authorities stated his radicalization has “no connection with India or any local influence in Telangana”.  The alleged father and son gunmen travelled to the Philippines in the weeks leading up to the attack and may have been inspired by the ISIS terrorist organization, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Australian investigators and officials have described the incident as an anti-semitic terrorist attack. Induction of temporary employees into permanent posts was delayed due to long gaps in permanent committee meetings. Many missed annual increments as meetings were not held on time. Mantralaya Employees Union leader Sudhir Nayak said that since 2000, these meetings were irregular, though they were supposed to be held annually. duced to five as the of the rest categories were not necessary for departments. Earlier, the 10 types of categories included ‘contractual employees’, ‘outsource employees’ and ‘work charged employees’. During the meeting, the cabinet gave its approval for necessary provisions in service recruitment rules to convert existing sanctioned temporary posts into permanent posts.  The government also decided to declare all posts under the ‘work charged’ and ‘contingent establishment’ categories as non-sanctioned and not to make new appointment to these new posts.  As per a finance department proposal, ‘work charged’ and ‘contingent establishment’ and ‘sthayikarmi’ posts have 13 dead in fog-triggered pile-up on Yamuna E-way PTI Father Sajid Akram originally from Hyderabad, India. He travelled on an Indian passport to Philippines 3 Indians hurt in Oz Three Indian students were among the 40 people injured in the terrorist attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach in Australia, according to a media report on Tuesday. Two out of these three students are believed to be receiving treatment in the hospital, The Australia Today news portal reported. The names of the Indian students injured during the attack have not been disclosed yet. Thirteen people died of burns, and 43 sustained injuries when a vehicle pile-up in dense fog on the Yamuna Expressway here early Tuesday turned into an inferno, according to police. Eight buses and three smaller vehicles collided with each other in the thick fog around 4.30 am, the officer said. The incident occurred under the Baldev Police Station jurisdiction. "The vehicles collided due to low visibility on the Agrato-Noida side of the Yamuna Expressway. Some vehicles also caught fire. All injured have been sent to the hospital," Mathura Senior Super- Our Staff Reporter Appearing for the state during the hearing of a petition filed against the government over the new promotion policy, senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan on Tuesday requested the Madhya Pradesh High Court to fix another date for the case hearing as physical appearances were essential for the arguments in the case. PM announces Rs 2L ex-gratia PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in a tragic multi-vehicle accident on the Yamuna Expressway in Mathura district of UPand announced ex-gratia assistance for the victims from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund intendent of Police Shlok Kumar said. Two of the deceased were identified as 44-year-old Akhil- Indore’s Riddhi is MP topper in CLAT Secures AIR-6 whereas Bhopal’s Parth bags AIR-11 Speedster Kuldeep Sen added firepower to Rajasthan Royals for Rs 75 lakh, while teenage sensation Madhav Tiwari earned a Rs 40 lakh contract with Delhi Capitals, underlining the depth of MP’s youth pipeline. (More IPL report on Sports Page) Our Staff Reporter  “It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organization, by ISIS,” Albanese told reporters at a Tuesday press conference. 4Continued on | P8 4Continued on | P8 NEW PROMOTION POLICY Vaidyanathan requested the bench that arguing the case through video conferencing (VC) was not possible and requested that another 4Continued on | P8 A Delhi court on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering complaint in the National Herald case, allegedly involving Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. Special Judge Vishal Gogne of the Rouse Avenue Courts pronounced the order, holding that the prosecution complaint filed by the ED was not maintainable in law as it was not based on a First Information Report (FIR) relating to a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Live Law reports. The court noted that the money laundering proceedings were founded on a cognisance and summoning order passed on a private complaint filed under Section 200 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) by Dr Subramanian Swamy, and not on an FIR. “Since the prosecution complaint pertaining to the offence of money laundering is founded on cognisance and summoning order upon a complaint under Section 200 CrPC filed by a public person, and not upon an FIR, cognisance of the present complaint is impermissible in law,” the judge ruled. While pronouncing the order, the court observed that the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing has already lodged an FIR in the case. It said that in view of this, it would be premature to adjudicate on the ED’s arguments on merits at this stage.The court further held that an investigation and the consequent pros- date be fixed. When asked by the HC bench about the time he would need for arguments, Vaidyanathan said one hour.  The arguments from the petitioners’ side have concluded and now the state government has to present its arguments, but the Advocate General expressed his inability to argue on behalf of the government. 4Continued on | P8 NATIONAL HERALD CASE Reprieve for Sonia, Rahul after Rouse Avenue court says ED’s plaint not maintainable in law ecution complaint for the offence of money laundering under Sections 3 and 4 of the PMLA cannot be sustained in the absence of an FIR relating to a scheduled offence, leading to the dismissal of the ED’s complaint. The ED had filed a fresh prosecution complaint against Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi under Sections 44 and 45 of the PMLA, 2002, alleging commission of the offence of money laundering as defined under Section 3 read with Section 70 and punishable under Section 4 of the Act. The case relates to the acquisition of Associated Journals Limited (AJL), the publisher of the now-defunct National Herald newspaper. In 2010, a newly formed company, Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YIL), acquired AJL’s debts from the Indian National Congress for Rs 50 lakh. Subsequently, YIL took control of AJL’s assets, which were valued at over Rs 2,000 crore. 4Continued on | P8 Luthra bros deported, taken into cops’ custody GOA NIGHTCLUB FIRE PTI Indore lass Riddhi Agrawal was state topper in the State in Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) 2026. She brought pride to Madhya Pradesh by securing All India Rank (AIR) 6 and All India Women Rank 2. Bhopal lad Parth Jedhe, who secured Madhya Pradesh Rank 2, secured AIR 11.   The CLAT 2026 results, which were declared on Tuesday by Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs), once again highlighted Indore’s strong presence among the country’s top law aspirants. After hearing the argument, the Jabalpur bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court fixed Thursday noon as the date of next hearing.  endra Pratap Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj, and 75-year-old NEW DELHI INDORE Govt requests physical appearance during hearing, HC fixes new date BHOPAL Rs 37.1 crore – Total value unleashed 10 Players – From teen prodigies to titans Rs 11 crore – Captaincy ace Rajat Patidar (RCB marquee retention) 6 Franchises – RCB, LSG, GT, DC, SRH, RR scouting MP's corridor Rs 9.75 crore – Pace king Avesh Khan (LSG) Rs 7 crore – Veteran power Venkatesh Iyer (RCB) FP News Service been declared as ‘dying cadre’ (supernumerary) posts. Mantralaya Employees Union leader Subash Verma told Free Press that the government’s decision “will render these posts into oblivion once the employee retires from service”. “The decision will not benefit the employees of such categories much,” he added. Officials, on the other hand,  told Free Press that the said decision will help the employees of dying cadre categories in doing away with many kinds of problems they face after retirement and during their probation period as well. MATHURA In a significant verdict in the infamous Vyapam recruitment scam, a CBI special court in Indore on Tuesday sentenced 10 accused to five years of rigorous imprisonment each for cheating and using forged documents in the Patwari Recruitment Examination, 2008. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on each of the convicts. Those sentenced include Rameshwar, Rakesh, Devendra, Chetan, Balram, Harpal, Gopal, Jitendra, Dinesh and Digvijay Singh Solanki. The case pertains to largescale irregularities detected in the Patwari Recruitment Examination conducted by the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board (Vyapam) in 2008. During investigations, it emerged that several candidates had resorted to impersonation and submitted forged educational certificates and documents to fraudulently secure selection. THE MP MONEY METER Cabinet erases distinction b/w Delhi court throws temporary & permanent posts out ED complaint FP News Service & Agencies INDORE EDITIONS: Rupee risks breaching 92/USD as capital flight deepens mkt jitters Hyderabad angle to shooter’s origins Our Staff Reporter iii QUALITY @ VALUE MONEY Sports BACK AT THE PINNACLE ESTD-1983 NEW DELHI Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa, where a massive fire killed 25 people, were taken into police custody on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand and landing in Delhi. They arrived on an IndiGo flight and were immediately handed over to authorities for further legal proceedings, 10 days after the blaze tore through the nightclub in Ar- pora in North Goa. The Goa Police took Gaurav, 44, and Saurabh, 40, on custody after a Delhi court order. They were questioned at the airport, with the formalities taking several hours. Several reporters and camerapersons were travelling on the same flight. As the plane landed in Delhi, a TV reporter attempted to Scan & Watch record the 4Continued on | P8 PM for integration of UPI and CliQ FP News Service MUMBAI PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday pitched a deeper digital and economic partnership with Jordan, proposing the integration of the West Asian nation’s fast payment platform CliQ with India’s UPI and setting an ambitious target of $5 billion in bilateral trade over the next five years. Concluding a two-day visit to Amman, Modi said linking CliQ with UPI would ease crossborder remittances and mer- Jordan’s Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II chant payments, underlining tions. personally drove PM Modi to the Jordan Museum and India’s broader push to export The PM held talks with King later bid him farewell on Tuesday its digital public infrastructure Abdullah II, during which both to partner countries. India has leaders agreed to expand coopalready linked UPI with fast eration across trade and investpayment systems in several na- ment, defence and security, renewable energy, fertilisers and agriculture, innovation, IT and digital technologies, critical minerals, infrastructure, health and pharmaceuticals, education, tourism, culture and people-to-people ties. Bilateral trade stood at $2.67 billion in 2024-25, with India importing $1.91 billion worth of goods, mainly phosphates and potash fertilisers, from Jordan. India is currently Jordan’s third-largest trading partner. 4Continued on | P8