tadepalligudem l wednesday l august 19, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION nO KHEL RATNA, PRUNED LIST FOR NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS The 2025 National Sports Awards will not have a Khel Ratna as the sports ministry on Tuesday came up with a pruned list after revaluation Tejaswin Shankar | AFP heartbreak for shooter Mehuli TEJASWIN, DIVYA AMONG 17 ARJUNA AWARDEES As many as 24 names were recommended for Arjuna Awards by the selection panel more than six months ago but the ministry struck out seven names. Prominent among them was shooter Mehuli Ghosh, the 2024 Paris Olympian and former World Championships medallist. The 10m air rifle shooter from West Bengal expressed shock on her exclusion ■ ■ Among those who were named for the Arjuna Awards are World Cup winning chess player Divya Deshmukh, decathlete and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar and shuttler Gayatri Gopichand It was learnt that no name was recommended for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by the selection panel 2014 The last time khel ratna award was not given to any athlete 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 Expert panel today on police excess I-T heat on 394 SC to announce committee to examine violence; protest hijacked by anti-socials, say cops Bihar govt transfers SPs of Siwan, Bhojpur 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 Tuesday said it will constitute a high-powered committee to examine allegations of police excesses against student protesters on July 20 in Delhi. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said an order constituting the committee, comprising retired judges, a former DGP an ex-CBI director , and others, will be passed on Wednesday after getting suggestions from political parties on additional members to be included. The court said it will direct that video footage and CCTV recordings of the violence during the July 20 Parliament march be handed over to the panel for examination. The matter relates to allegations of excessive force used by Delhi Police during the protest at Jantar Mantar. During the hearing, CJI Kant said the committee can submit interim reports on urgent issues instead of waiting for a final report. The bench also indicated that states can submit a list of FIRs involving only students/ protesters. The court had sought the list of FIRs so File photograph of police action on protesters in Delhi on July 20 | Express Committee to comprise eminent persons. We are considering former senior police/CBI officers among its members ... — Supreme Court-bench led by CJI Surya Kant that it can consider invoking Article 142 to quash them, while cases involving those with serious criminal antecedents can be dealt with separately It asked all parties to suggest . priority issues and terms of reference of the panel. The bench also pointed out that the allegations concerning sexual assault, molestation and online harassment of women and other vulnerable persons will also be examined. The court said constitutional ques- tions concerning facial recognition technology surveillance, , allegations of sexual assault and online harassment of women will ultimately be decided by the court itself, and not by the committee. It will then fix a date for further hearing while the committee begins its work. For its part, the Delhi Police strongly defended the use of force during the Parliament protest on July 20, telling the court that the agitation was hi- Marching orders were issued for SPs of Siwan and Bhojpur districts in Bihar over police action during their stint. While Siwan SP Puran Jha has been kept in waiting at the state police headquarters, Bhojpur SP Raj is now SP of Rohtas district. It was Jha under whose command an AK-47 rifle was used during a student protest in Siwan on July 25, while the encounter of activist Bharat Tiwari in Bhojpur forced a public outcry and Raj’s transfer jacked by “anti-social elements”. In an affidavit filed by DCP Sachin Sharma of New Delhi district, police said the protest “led to a breakdown of law and order in which 240 personnel were injured”. The response justified the use of standard lathis, facialrecognition cameras, and plainclothes spotters, while denying use of nail-fitted batons. The affidavit was filed in response to pleas alleging excessive use of force against protesters. Tirupati cops crack `1.5-cr mobile heist Express News Service @ Tirupati In a dramatic six-day chase stretching across several States and closing in on the Bangladesh border, Tirupati police have busted an interstate gang involved in stealing high-end smartphones from large showrooms, and smuggling the booty across the international border. The gang committed a filmy-style burglary at Sonovision Mobile Showroom on the AIR Bypass Road in Tirupati in the early hours of August 8 after drilling a hole through the wall. It decamped with 195 mobile phones and five Apple iPads worth around `1.50 crore. After constituting special teams headed by Additional SP (Admin/Crime in-charge) Arla Srinivasulu, Tirumala Additional SP I Ramakrishna and Tirupati DSP Bhaktavatsalam, Tirupati District Superintendent of Police L Subbarayudu personally monitored the probe.  P4 BC leaders thank Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu for enhancing quota to Backward Classes in the local body polls | Express Cabinet nod to raise quota for BCs to 34% in RLBs & 33.33% in ULBs S G u r u S r i k a n t h @ Vijayawada The State Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday approved sweeping elector, al and administrative reforms governing Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and Rural Local Bodies (RLBs). The Chief Minister later briefed the Legislative Assembly on these monumental decisions aimed at empowering Backward Classes (BCs). Fulfilling a major election commitment, the TDP-led NDA government finalised a revised reservation framework, approving enhanced BC quotas of 34% in RLBs and 33.33% in ULBs. Recalling the TDP’s historic Direct elections for civic chief posts In a major structural shift aimed at fostering administrative stability and direct democratic accountability, the Cabinet decided to introduce direct elections for top executive posts in urban local bodies bond with BCs since party founder NT Rama Rao introduced BC quota in local bodies in 1984, Naidu asserted that the decision reflects the NDA government’s core political ideology of sharing decision-making power with BC communities, who form the backbone of the State’s economy . Detailing the statutory backing behind the reservation framework, he explained that the 34% quota for BCs in RLBs aligns with the AP Panchayat Raj Act, 1994. Recalling his previous tenure as the Chief Minister, Naidu pointed out that this quota structure was first successfully executed in 1995, and subsequently maintained through the 2001, 2006, and 2013 local body polls. The Chief Minister launched a scathing attack on the previous YSRCP regime for dismantling this framework by issuing GOs 559 and 560, which slashed BC reservation to 24.15%, and effectively denied political opportunities to nearly 16,800 BC leaders across the State.  P4 entities sending money abroad D I PAK MO N D AL @ New Delhi THE income tax department has launched a nationwide campaign against suspicious outward foreign remittances, focusing on shell companies, persons behind them, and professionals associated with them. It has identified 394 entities that transferred large amounts outside India over the past three years, including 117 entities located in states along India’s land borders. It has also identified 36 professionals for scrutiny . The tax department said on Tuesday that it has uncovered a nationwide network of entities engaged in remitting funds abroad during a search operation targeting a group of fictitious charitable trusts involved in providing accommodation entries against bogus donations and contributions. Preliminary ground verification found that many of such entities had either filed no income-tax returns at all or filed returns reporting very small turnovers. “The turnovers had no apparent correlation with the large amounts of money being remitted abroad,” it said, adding that the transactions did not appear to match the stated purposes of the remittances, including payments for freight, software imports and consulting services. It was also found that some of these entities were not operating from the addresses declared by them. The tax department is also looking into the role of a small group of professionals, including chartered accountants, who issued Form 15CB, which is a CA’s certificate on the taxability of a foreign remittance. A former Enforcement Directorate official told TNIE that suspicious foreign remittances are already under the ED’s lens, particularly those involving cash purchases of real estate abroad. According to the official, such transactions are sometimes carried out in the names of drivers and domestic workers to circumvent the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, under which individuals are permitted to remit up to $250,000 a year. The ED had earlier detected a similar modus operandi in cases involving under-invoicing. FOR a decade, the senior Indian men’s hockey side haven’t lost to Pakistan. 19 matches, 17 wins and two draws. The dominance has been near total. And matches have spanned multiple events: Asian Games, Asian Champions Trophy, Asia Cup, Commonwealth Games and FIH events. Forget the hype that’s already been visible on TV screens over the last few days. Thanks to the difference in the skill levels between the two nations, the gap is embarrassingly yawning. But it’s time to forget all of that and treat the 90 minutes at the Wagener Stadium on Wednesday as a standalone event where history, form and recent meetings have no bearing. But this is exactly the kind of situation that India will have trained for in the lead-up to the Last five matches 2026 Pro League: Ind bt Pak 7-1 2026 Pro League: Ind bt Pak 4-3 2024 Asian Champions Trophy: Ind bt Pak 2-1 2023 Asian Games: Ind bt Pak 10-2 2023 Asian Champions Trophy: Ind bt Pak 4-0 World Cup. When they were reduced to 10 men at the Olympics quarterfinal against England, the players could have easily been rattled. Instead, they knew what to do because they had prepared for that scenario. Similarly, Paddy Upton, Border point The tax department has identified certain entities located in districts along India’s land borders. They transferred significant amounts of money abroad within the past three years. Many of them have not filed tax returns A multi-agency search has been launched off the AP coast to locate eight fishermen who went missing at sea after venturing out from Odalarevu in Konaseema district | P3 express read GOVERNOR’S QUOTA NDA finalises Varla & Dalavai for MLC posts Vijayawada: The NDA government has finalised Varla Ramaiah from the SC community and Dalavai Ramadevi from the BC Vaddera community for nomination to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota. The two names have been approved by the State Cabinet and sent to the Governor for formal approval | P4 Harmanpreet & Co prepared for high-stakes Pak clash @ Bengaluru As part of the drive, the I-T department is examining the role of CAs who issued Form 15CB certificates. The I-T department said CAs are required to properly examine the underlying transactions and relevant facts before certifying remittances Searchmissing fishermen launched for eight hockey world cup s w a r o o p s w a m i n at h a n CAs under the radar the side’s mental conditioning guru, will have war-gamed this exact scenario. Play a match against Pakistan at the World Cup knowing only a win will seal qualification. As long as India don’t go away from the basics of the sport, this is a game they will back themselves to win 95 times out of 100. Their penalty corner battery is worldclass and it’s currently purring with Harmanpreet Singh finding some form in this bash. BJP president Nitin Nabin takes part in a party meeting in Vizag | Express Take Central schemes to people: Nabin to BJP cadre U s h a P e r i @ Visakhapatnam BJP national president Nitin Nabin, on his first visit to Andhra Pradesh after assuming charge, urged party workers to strengthen the organisation at the grassroots and maintain regular engagement with people to build support for the BJP’s development agenda. Addressing the State executive meeting at the Vizag Convention Centre on Tuesday, Nabin called upon the cadre to take the party’s programmes to every village and polling booth. He noted that the NDA’s performance in the 2024 elections, winning 21 of 25 Lok Sabha and 164 of 175 Assembly seats in the State, had placed a greater responsibility on the alliance to deliver on public expectations. Nabin stressed that the BJP’s objective extended beyond electoral politics, and cited the principles of Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Deendayal Upadhyaya and Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the ideological foundations of the party He urged workers . to communicate Central and State government welfare and development initiatives to the public through sustained outreach. He also highlighted projects, including Alluri Sitarama Raju International Airport, Amaravati development, the RaipurVisakhapatnam Greenfield Expressway and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme as initiatives with potential to contribute to Andhra Pradesh’s growth. On youth engagement, Nabin called for greater awareness of opportunities in startups, manufacturing, research, engineering, medicine, AI and other P4 emerging sectors.  Constitutional Question PIL on death penalty by lethal injection rejected any person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he be hanged by the neck IN a significant judgment, the till he is dead. Supreme Court on Tuesday reThe bench, however, did not jected a PIL seeking removal of treat the dismissal as permathe present mode of execution nently foreclosing the constituof death row convicts by hang- tional question. It clarified that ing from the statute. scientific and medical de“We are not persuaded velopments could alter that a case has been the factual foundation made out for reference on which the earlier of the decision of the judgment proceeded. three-judge bench in “Constitutional inDeen Dayal Upadhyay terpretation is organic case to a larger bench and must remain refor reconsideration of sponsive both to the the constitutional va- Any such exercise evolution of constituwould lie within lidity of Section 354(5) tional opinion and to of the CrPC/Section the domain of the the advances in scienExecutive and the 393(5) of the BNSS,” tific knowledge,” the Legislature and said a two-judge bench may be undertaken bench said. headed by justices Malhotra argued as a policy Vikram Nath and Santhat 49 of 50 states in Supreme Court deep Mehta. the USA have adopted The court dismissed death by lethal injecthe petition filed by lawyer Ri- tion. “The lethal injection is shi Malhotra, who sought a ju- quick, humane and decent, as dicial direction to the govern- opposed to hanging, which is ment to adopt the use of lethal cruel, barbaric,” he argued. injection instead of hanging as The Centre had, in its affidathe mode of execution in death vit filed last year, submitted penalty cases. that hanging is far safer and Section 354(5) says that when quicker than injections. express news service @ New Delhi