KANNUR l friday l January 16, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l city EDITION x brings in measures to prevent inappropriate editing using grok Elon Musk has introduced technological measures to prevent its AI platform, Grok, from creating inappropriate or obscene content ONLY PAID SUBSCRIBERS CAN have EDIT option Child sexual abuse content banned Restrictions for explicit material apply to all users, including paid subscribers. However, the platform said that image creation and the ability to edit images via Grok are now only available to paid users. The Indian government warned X, asking it to comply with the IT Act, 2000. Countries like Brazil, Malaysia, and Australia have initiated inquiries. ■ Action will be taken against high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material and non-consensual nudity ■ Accounts seeking Child Sexual Exploitation materials will be reported to to law enforcement authorities as necessary. This does not change its existing safety protocols, X said in a statement | P10 600 accounts deleted and 3,500 pieces of obscene content removed CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Agency moves top court alleging obstruction of probe by Bengal CM during its January 8 raids on TMC’s political consultatant I-PAC SC issues notice to Didi, stays action against ED Bengal Brawl at the Bench S uchitra K alyan M ohanty @ New Delhi West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suffered a setback in the Supreme Court on Thursday when it issued notice to her and senior state officials on the petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its raids on I-PAC, Trinamool Congress’s political consultant. The court asked Banerjee, along with DGP Rajeev Kumar and Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma, among others, to respond within two weeks. The bench, headed by Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and also comprising Justice Vipul Pancholi, used strong words about the clashes between Central and state agencies, saying that if the court did not examine the issue, it could create lawlessness. “We are of the prima facie view that the present petition has raised a serious issue relating to the investigation by the ED or other Central agencies and interference by state agencies. There would be lawlessness in the country if the court doesn’t examine the issues raised by the ED,” it said. The court also stayed the FIRs registered by the state against ED officials. The ED petition alleged interference by the West Bengal government and its agencies in the raids the probe agency had launched against I-PAC and its director Pratik Jain. The SC also issued notices to the Centre along with asking the state government to preserve the CCTV footage of the premises searched in the January 8 raids. The ED had first filed a petition in the Calcutta High Court on January 9, but a large number of people gathered in the courtroom, creating commotion. It prompted the court to ad- ED’s Case Bengal govt obstructed its raids at I-PAC premises, seeks CBI probe against DGP Rajeev Kumar, other top cops Solicitor General Tushar Mehta says Mamata has a pattern of indulging in obstructive acts against Central agencies’ operations West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee | File pic journ the matter. The Supreme Court took a strong view of the unmanageable crowd, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “I have placed on record WhatsApp chats of the law wing of the party in power. This was not spontaneous, and they were instructed by the legal cell of the party to go there.” Justice Mishra then remarked, “Come everyone? As if it’s Jantar Mantar!” Through a fresh plea filed, the ED sought the suspension of top officials of West Bengal police, including Kumar, alleging that they aided Banerjee in the obstruction of investigation and evidence theft. Banerjee’s counsel Kapil Sibal, however, argued that the ED wanted to obtain access to information pertaining to the Trinamool Congress strategy for the upcoming election, which was in the I-PAC premises, as the political consultancy is the campaign partner of the party Sibal said . that Banerjee went to the I-PAC office after receiving information that certain unauthorised persons had entered Jain’s office. He added she went there as the head of the party , and not as the chief minister. ASG S V Raju calls Mamata’s act of taking away material from I-PAC premises “a case of theft, robbery and dacoity” Mamata’s Defence ED plea not maintainable, as Calcutta HC should hear the matter; ED indulging in parallel proceedings Kapil Sibal says ED has a pattern of interference in the name of investigation exactly when elections are due ED case was registered in 2020, last statement recorded in 2024, but action taking place now before election CM took no devices from I-PAC premises as confirmed by the ED panchnama ED tried to access info related to TMC poll strategy SC Observations Prima facie, ED petition has raised very serious issue of interference in Central agencies’ work If the issue is not settled, it could lead to “a situation of lawlessness” EC told to publish names off Kerala draft rolls S U C H I T R A K A LYA N M O H A N T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make public the names of people excluded from the draft electoral rolls published after the special intensive revision (SIR) process in Kerala, so that affected voters can raise objections. The SC also asked the poll panel to consider extending the deadline for filing objections, preferably by two weeks. A Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the SIR exercise in Kerala. The petitioners contended that the revision process, as carried out, risks The Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to consider extending the deadline, preferably by two weeks, for filing objections against the deletion of names in Kerala. disenfranchising a larg e number of voters due to technical errors and the absence of a robust grievance redressal mechanism. During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioners submitted that nearly 24 lakh names had been deleted from the draft rolls.It was argued that while voters are required to file objections against deletions, the list of excluded voters has not been made available, denying them a chance to contest the removal of their names. “They have to list objections, but the list of those persons deleted is not available. Now people have to go back and file objections stating why have you deleted me… that opportunity is missing for us,” a lawyer said. Taking note of the submissions, the SC directed that the names of excluded voters, if not already displayed, must be exhibited at public offices in villages, and uploaded on official websites. “Meanwhile, having regard to the dif- ficulty being experienced by the people at large, the ECI may consider the desirability of extending the date,” it said. The petitioners said several voters were wrongly marked as deceased or shown as residing outside the state. The lack of transparency they argued, has , caused hardship, particularly in rural areas. The Bench was told that the ECI had earlier extended the deadline for submission of enumeration forms from December 4 to 11, and then to December 18, after the court’s observations. The petitioners include the State of Kerala, P K Kunhalikutty of IUML, M V Govindan of CPM, Sunny Joseph of Congress, and the CPI State Council. India readies evacuation of nationals stranded in Iran; 1st flight likely today J ayanth J aco b @ New Delhi The government has begun drawing up contingency plans to bring back Indian nationals stranded in Iran amid mounting safety concerns as unrest continues in large parts of the country sources said. , “In view of the evolving situation in Iran, the External Affairs Ministry is making preparations to facilitate the return of Indian nationals who wish to travel back to India,” sources said. Students from Golestan University, along with a small number from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences, are expected to form the first evacuation batch. Sources said the first group of evacuees could be flown out as early as Friday subject to secu, rity clearances and the availability of flight routes. “All students have been registered, the Indian embassy has Demonstration erupts in Berlin in support of the ongoing protests in Iran | PTI First batch ready Students from Golestan University, along with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences, are expected to form the first evacuation batch. collected their details and passports, and the first batch has been told to remain ready by 8 am,” the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association said. The Indian embassy in Tehran has intensified efforts to contact Indian students and other nationals to assess who wishes to return. Officials said the exercise is being carried out largely through physical outreach, as internet services remain suspended in several areas and telecommunication networks are unreliable. Evacuation planning is being complicated by disruptions to air travel. Air India has cancelled three US-bound flights and warned of possible delays on some Europe-bound services after Iran shut its airspace for four hours. Iranian airspace has since been reopened. source code transfer non-negotiable for 114 jets The transfer of source code will be non-negotiable in the Indian Air Force’s upcoming contract for 114 multi-role fighter aircraft, officials confirmed. The new jets will integrate indigenous weapons and maintain seamless communication with foreign-origin aircraft | P9 Internal dissent over switching alliance puts KC(M) in a spot e x p r e ss r e a d SDPI: IUML misused religion for poll gains Kozhikode: Accusing the Indian Union Muslim League of continued provocations even after the elections to local bodies, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has blamed the IUML of misusing religious institutions and symbols on the campaign trail. P6 A b hilash C han d ran @Kottayam Vigilance registers case in ghee scam T’Puram: The VACB has registered a case in connection with the alleged irregularities in the sale of ‘Adiya Sishtam Ghee’ in Sabarimala. S P Mahesh Kumar will monitor the team, while Pathanamthitta Vigilance DySP K B Manoj Kumar will be the probe officer. P7 Consider extending deadline, says SC resilience personified Students of Presentation HSS, Kozhikode, perform a group dance (HS category), themed on sacrifice and endurance of women, at the Kerala School Kalolsavam in Thrissur on Thursday | T P Sooraj | full coverage: P2, P3 Consensus eludes top leaders of the Kerala Congress (M), compelling the leadership to decline a call from the UDF, even as pressure mounts on the party from the powerful Christian community including C at h o l i c C h u rch t o switch its political alliance. A l t h o u g h KC ( M ) chairman Jose K Mani was reportedly open to rejoining the UDF, stringent objections from top leaders, including its minister Roshy Augustine, Government Chief Whip N Jayaraj and Ranni MLA Pramod Narayanan, put the party chairman on backfoot. The divide was starkly evident during its parlia- mentary party meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram last week, where these three out of five MLAs of the party reportedly opposed accepting the UDF’s invite, leaving the chairman in a difficult position. Meanwhile, there were reports that Roshy had the backing of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. This has forced Jose to withdraw from the move. Amid the buzz, a crucial meeting of the KC(M) steering committee will be held in Kottayam on Friday. This is the first meeting of party’s larger body after public discussions over shifting party’s political alliance surfaced. The meeting is expected to be clamorous with two opinions persisting in the party over shifting political allegiance ahead of the assembly elections. While a section of leaders is strongly advocating for moving to the UDF, citing a possible anti-incumbency wave against LDF government, others led by Roshy, Jayaraj and Pramod are opposing the move. “If we examine the local body election results in detail, there wasn’t any anti-incumbency factor. Moreover, we cannot change the alliance based on a single electoral defeat. Do we change schools if student fails an exam? If the UDF is confident of winning the election through anti-incumbency factor, why are they seeking KC ( M ) ’s s u p p o r t ? a s ke d ● More on P6 Jayaraj. double-whammy Recalled midair, AI flight engine sucks in baggage container, damaged Female SAI trainees found dead in hostel S L alitha @ New Delhi Kollam: Two teenage girls undergoing training at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Kollam centre were found hanging in their hostel room on Thursday morning. The deceased have been identified as Sandra, a native of Kozhikode, and Vaishnavi, 16, of Thiruvananthapuram. P7 In a rare and alarming incident at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on Thursday morning, an Air India Airbus A350-900 faced a double setback—engine damage after ingesting a cargo container, just hours after being rerouted midair due to the sudden closure of Iranian airspace. The Flight AI101, bound for New York with 240 passengers on board, took off at 3:13 am but was forced to return to Delhi after Iran closed its airspace for four hours. The aircraft landed safely at 5:47 am, only to encounter another misfortune while taxiing toward the apron. According to DGCA sources, Engine No. 2 ingested a cargo container, causing damage. All the passengers were safe, but for AI101, Thursday proved to be a day of unexpected turbulence—first in the skies over Iran, and then on the taxiways Damaged engine of the aircraft after ingesting a cargo container of Delhi airport. Investigations indicate that ground handling company Bird Worldwide Flight Services was moving containers near Bay 242 when one toppled onto the taxiway after a dolly wheel came off. Though the operator quickly cleared nearby equipment, the container remained there and was sucked into the engine intake. Air India described the incident as a “foreign object strike in foggy conditions” and added that the aircraft has been safely positioned at stand 244. Repairs and a detailed probe are underway and the airline warned of , potential disruptions on select long-haul A350 routes. Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan said, “The groundhandler could be at fault. There are yellow lines clearly marked beyond which the trolley or containers cannot be taken. This is because the pilot cannot view the engines from his position.” This incident follows other similar events at airports, including Mumbai, highlighting the critical importance of coordinated ground operations. The DGCA’s Air Safety Division (Northern Region) will lead a probe to determine precise causes and prevent future occurrences.