hyderabad l tuesday l june 30, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION India’s Index of Industrial Production expands 5.1% in May Industrial output, measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), accelerated to 5.1% in May, official data released on Monday showed strong Push from power, manufacturing Easing w asia tensions to support growth The numbers were boosted by strong performance in manufacturing and electricity & gas supply sectors, which recorded 5.5 per cent and 9.9 per cent growth, respectively. Within manufacturing, 16 out of 23 industry groups recorded a positive growth in May. The overall IIP stood at 122.7, up from 116.7 in the corresponding month last year, data showed ■ ■ The latest figures are based on the newly introduced Output Producer Price Index, which the National Statistics Office said provides a more granular price structure than the earlier used Wholesale Price Index Analysts are cautious given the below-normal monsoon forecast. However, a fall in crude prices could help generate growth, they said 4.9 per cent was the Index of Industrial Production figure for april 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 battle-ready GWMC polls semi-finals, BJP chief tells party U M a h e s h @ Hanamkonda Terming the forthcoming Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) elections as the semi-finals and the 2028 Assembly elections as the finals, BJP national president Nitin Nabin called upon the people of Telangana to work towards establishing a ‘double engine sarkar’ in the state. Highlighting the party’s decades-long association with the state, Nabin recalled that when the BJP had won only two Lok Sabha seats in the country one , was from Telangana. He addressed a meeting of booth-level presidents at the Arts & Science College grounds in Hanamkonda on Monday. BJP Telangana president N Ramchander Rao, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy Minister of , State Bandi Sanjay, MPs and other party leaders were present. Nabin said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was working round the clock for the nation, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was only a part-time politician. Referring to the Telangana statehood movement, he alleged that the Congress had not supported the demand for a separate state for a long time, while late MP Sushma Swaraj had strongly backed Telangana in Parliament. He claimed that the Congress eventually introduced the Telangana Bill in Parliament with the BJP’s support. The saffron party chief also said the BJP-led Union government had allocated crores for Telangana’s development over the past 12 years. Referring to projects in Warangal, Nabin said the longpending Railway Manufacturing Unit at Kazipet had been sanctioned and would begin operations soon. continued on p4 WB okays law on Ayodhya police question Rai for 2 hrs arrest without trial for a year N a m i ta B a i pa i @ Lucknow Draconian bill aims to curb anti-socials; passed in House amid TMC walkout s u b h e n d u m a i t i @ Kolkata IN a significant move to crack down on organised crime and public disorder, the newly formed BJP government in West Bengal led by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Monday introduced the West Bengal Public Safety and Control of Anti-Social Activities Bill, 2026, in the Assembly . The legislation empowers authorities to detain individuals suspected of anti-social activities for up to 12 months without trial. Under the bill, a DM, Police Commissioner, or an officer not below the DIG rank can restrict a “goonda” from entering specified areas, districts for a maximum of one year if they suspect involvement in criminal acts. Tabled by Minister of State for Home Bishal Lama, the bill was passed by a vote of 176 in favour and 41 against, with 20 MLAs from the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress abstaining. The House witnessed noisy protests by opposition members during the introduction of the bill. Defending the bill, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari launched a sharp attack on the previous TMC regime, accusing it of patronising violence. Adhikari recounted specific cases, including the burning of the Beldanga and Rejinagar railway stations, looting of shops, and torching of public buses near Nabanna. “Criminals will be jailed and their assets seized under this new law,” he said, adding that the existing laws were inadequate to tackle organised anti-social elements involved in extortion, land grabbing, illegal mining, and smuggling. The new bill grants police extensive powers of search, seizure and arrest, with offences made cognisable and non-bailable. A second bill, West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which holds individuals financially accountable for damage to public and private property during riots, unlawful assemblies, and violent protests, was passed by a voice vote. It amends the West Bengal Maintenance of Public Order Act, 1972. The former CM had provoked the fire of violence. Since then, WB is burning... existing laws were inadequate Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal CM ‘Goonda’ in WB The bill defines ‘goondas’ to include habitual offenders and those involved in criminal activities like extortion, land grabbing, illegal mining, smuggling, and offences under arms, narcotics, and explosives laws last minute euphoria When Japan’s Kaishu Sano made the first strike, it came as a vital blow to Brazil. And it seemed like they could be on their way out at half-time. But Casemiro rose to the occasion, heading Brazil’s equaliser. When it looked like the match was going into extra time, Gabriel Martinelli put Brazil at ease with a crucial goal in injury time, taking the scoreline to 2-1 and his team into Round of 16. Today’s matches Norway vs Ivory Coast 10.30 PM, France vs Sweden 2.30 AM*, Mexico vs Ecuador 6.30 AM* (* IST Wednesday) As part of the probe being carried out by the three-member Special Investigation Team into the embezzlement of donations at the Ram Temple, the Ayodhya police have recorded the statement of former general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, sources said on Monday . A police team, led by a Deputy Superintendent of Policerank officer, questioned Rai for more than two hours, sources said. Investigators reportedly sought detailed information on the entire donation management process—from the receipt of cash and valuables offered by devotees, the counting process, their safekeeping, to their eventual deposit in designated bank accounts. Sources said the interrogation was aimed at understand- p r e e t h a n a i r @ New Delhi THE Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining bills seeking to introduce simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies is unlikely to submit its report during the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, according to sources. Though the Lok Sabha had extended the tenure of the panel until the last day of the monsoon session, the committee is yet to complete its nationwide consultations and is expected to seek more time before finalising its recommendations, sources privy to the developments said. The delay is significant amid speculation that the Centre is keen to push crucial constitutional amendment bills such as delimitation exercise and the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill during the monsoon session, expected to begin in the third week of July . The 39-member JPC, led by BJP MP PP Chaudhary is cur, rently reviewing the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories e x pr e s s r e a d Man learns how to kill from YouTube Karimnagar cops on Monday arrested 40-year-old Gangarapu Mahesh for the murder of Paithari Mogili on Saturday. Mahesh watched YouTube videos on how to commit murder before executing his plan | P3 NTA tested with 10K challenges; results likely by July 20 AS the National Testing Agency gears up to declare NEETUG 2026 retest results by July 20, it may have to race against time with students sending over 10,000 challenges to the answer keys released last week. “NTA is confident of releasing the results before July 20. But the immediate priority for us is to respond to the 10,000odd challenges we have received from the aspirants to the provisional answer keys which we made public on June 25,” sources told this newspaper. Over 20 lakh candidates have appeared for the re-test held on Paper leak: Judicial custody extended A Delhi court extended the judicial custody of 10 accused arrested in connection with the NEET-UG 2026 examination leak till July 11. Special Judge Vijeta Singh Rawat allowed the CBI’s plea to extend their custody for further investigation. Three other accused have already been sent to judicial custody till July 8 June 21 across 5,440 centres in India and 14 abroad. The re-exam had to be held due to the cancellation of the May 3 medical entrance test. Many students have put out multiple challenges to the answer keys. “It will be a humongous task. We need to scan all the challenges one by one, read them thoroughly, examine the supporting evidence and respond to each one of them,” said an official. The NTA had released the provisional answer keys on June 25 and candidates were A Supreme Court bench refused to hold an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a time-bound investigation by a CBI-led multi-disciplinary team into the allegations. It said the matter will be listed for hearing when the court reopens after summer break on July 13. “Heavens are not going to fall. What is the urgency?” the bench observed orally CHAMPAT RAI ing the institutional mechanism gover ning temple donations, identifying the responsibilities of various officials at different stages of the process, and examining if any procedural lapses might have created opportunities for the alleged embezzlement. Investigators are corroborating Rai’s statement with financial records, bank documents, CCTV footage, electronic evidence and other materials. Meanwhile, a special court in Ayodhya remanded all eight accused to 14 days of judicial custody after the police did not ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill JPC may miss monsoon session deadline NEET - U G R ETEST S LALITHA @ New Delhi ‘Heavens won’t fall’: SC on urgent plea given time till June 28 (11.50 pm) to challenge them. A fee of `200 is to be paid per question which would be refunded if the challenge by the student proves to be correct. When asked about the examiners who will be checking the answer sheets, an official said: “A confidential team has been set up to do the job. Nothing more can be revealed. The security apparatus during the process will be as stringent as the one we had put in place for the exam with CCTVs and a centralised monitoring system. The examiners will be working almost 24x7 to meet the deadline.” ‘Simultaneous polls unlikely before 2034’ The JPC, which will visit the Delhi Assembly on Wednesday to interact with stakeholders, has so far visited 10 states. Consultations with several other states are pending. The panel chairman has hinted that even if the legislative process is completed, simultaneous elections are unlikely before 2034 Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 to hold simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. The bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, was sent to the Joint Committee of both Hous- es for further examination. The Centre has maintained that holding simultaneous elections would reduce the financial burden of frequent polls, minimise disruptions caused by the Model Code of Conduct and enable governments to focus on governance. However, Opposition parties have raised concerns over its impact on the federal structure and constitutional rights of states. According to sources, the government is actively exploring the possibility of coupling the delimitation bill with the simultaneous elections proposal to maximise political support and legislative momentum for its ambitious projects. In the previous Budget session, the constitutional amendment linking delimitation to the women’s reservation bill was defeated in the Lok Sabha by a united Opposition. The government, however, is keen to pass the delimitation bill to implement women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha ahead of the 2029 general election. The NDA will need 360 to get a two-thirds majority in a House of 540 members. seek extension of their custody . The accused were produced before Special Judge Rajat Verma of Special Court No. 1 (Prevention of Corruption Act) through video conferencing. In another development, the Faizabad Bar Association, in its general body meeting held on Monday, resolved not to defend any of the accused in the case. A resolution was passed that any member who would try to plead on behalf of any of the accused would be slapped with a penalty of `5 lakh. Lawyers demanded that Rai, Anil Mishra, and Gopal Rao leave Ayodhya. They warned that if the trio did not leave within three days, the entire city would be brought to a standstill, a siege would be laid, and no one would be allowed to enter. Association president Kalika Prasad said that it will also move the high court seeking a CBI probe. HC: Consider Enumeration Forms in Urdu T G N a i d u @ Hyderabad The Telangana High Court on Monday refused to grant interim relief in a writ petition challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to print and physically distribute Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 enumeration forms exclusively in Telugu outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits. However, the court observed that the ECI may consider supplying forms in Urdu in areas where more than 20% of the population comprises Urduspeaking residents. Justice B Vijaysen Reddy was hearing a writ petition filed by MA Mujeeb Ayyub, an advocate from Karimnagar, who challenged the printing and distribution of SIR enumeration forms only in Telugu. The petitioner sought directions to the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Telangana, to print and distribute the forms in both Telugu and English across the state during the ongoing revision exercise scheduled from June 25 to July 24, 2026. continued on p2 Nearly 40 students booked in drug cases every month in TG in ’26 alone C h i t h a lu r i R eva n t h @ Hyderabad Official data accessed by TNIE reveals a worrying trend, with 204 students from educational institutions across Telangana booked in NDPS cases between January 1 and June 11 this year, averaging nearly 40 students every month. The figures may actually not tell the full tale, since the police do not book all students caught consuming drugs, preferring to let some off with a warning. The students were booked under various categories, including drug consumption, peddling, drug supply and other related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. With the number of students figuring in drug cases remaining high, the Elite Action Group for Drug Law Enforcement (EAGLE) is strengthening its focus on the demand side, while continuing its crackdown on suppliers and peddlers. Officials said enforcement efforts over the years have Devil lies in details Students involved in NDPS cases Category 2024 Consumer 118 Peddler Nil Supplier 43 Consumer & 12 Supplier Consumer & 24 Peddler Peddler & 1 Supplier Consumer, Supplier & 6 Peddler Transporter 5 & Consumer Transporter 2 & Supplier Transporter, Peddler & 1 Consumer Grand Total 212 Sent for de- Nil addiction largely focused on dismantling the supply chain by 2025 2026* Total 340 156 614 Nil 2 2 22 4 69 16 15 43 Nil 24 48 3 Nil 4 Nil Nil 6 25 2 32 Nil Nil 2 Nil 1 2 406 204 822 89 103 192 *Up to June 11, 2026 apprehending peddlers and suppliers. However, investigations often end with the ped- dlers, making it difficult to trace those operating the larger networks behind the trade. Following an assessment of recent cases, the police have concluded that curbing demand among young users is equally important. Officials believe that reducing drug use among students through early intervention, counselling and rehabilitation will complement the ongoing action against suppliers. According to police analysis, many students begin by smoking ganja before graduating to other narcotic substances. Officials said preventing substance abuse at the school and college level is key to stopping students from slipping into addiction. “If we are able to stop this in schools, then we can tackle this menace. We have to prevent them from falling into addiction and send them to de-addiction centres for rehabilitation,” an official said. Police said students identified as drug users are referred to de-addiction centres and remain under follow-up even after treatment. continued on p5