The New Indian Express Wishes its readers HYDERABAD  WEDNESDAY  DECEMBER 25, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION CHAMPIONS TROPHY: INDIA AND PAKISTAN CLUBBED IN SAME GROUP The ICC finally announces the schedule for the global 50-over competition that begins from February 19 in Karachi RIVAL NEIGHBOURS PLAY IN DUBAI ON FEB 23 BOXING DAY TEST: INDIA HOPE FOR MCG HEIST India are clubbed with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh in Group A. Group B comprises South Africa, Australia, Afghanistan and England. India vs Pakistan is on February 23. If India progress to semis, they will play in Dubai on March 4. If Pak advance, they play in 2nd semis in Lahore next day. If India enter final, it will be in Dubai or else in Lahore on March 9 ■ ■ The Melbourne Cricket Ground pitch is expected to be seamer-friendly when India take on Australia in fourth Test on Thursday morning India are yet to decide on the final XI, but the Aussies have said they will hand 19-year-old Sam Konstas his debut. The visitors need a win to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Match live: 5 am | P11 1-1 THE FIVE-TEST SERIES IS LEVEL AT ONE A PIECE 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 Arif Mohd Khan R V Arlekar A K Bhalla Gen V K Singh H B Kambhampati GUV APPOINTMENTS, SHUFFLES Arif transferred to Bihar, Bhalla goes to Manipur Actor Allu Arjun reaches the Chikkadpally police station on Tuesday for questioning in the Sandhya Theatre stampede | VINAY MADAPU Grilled for over 3 hours, Allu Arjun files for bail Actor asked over 20 questions while his lawyers move court for relief C H I T H A LU R I R EVA N T H @ Hyderabad ACTOR Allu Arjun, Accused No. 11 (A-11) in the Sandhya Theatre stampede case, was on Tuesday grilled for more than three hours by the police while a bail petition was filed on his behalf in the Nampally court here. Arjun faces charges of culpable homicide in the case that led to the death of M Revathi and left her 8-year-old son M Sri Tej hospitalised in a critical condition. Meanwhile, advocates appearing for the actor filed a bail petition in the Nampally court which is expected to be heard in the next few days. The Nampally court has already granted bail to six persons in the case. It may be mentioned here that on December 13, the Telangana High Court granted interim bail to Arjun for four weeks. Arjun, accompanied by his advocate Ashok Reddy, father Allu Arvind and father-in-law Kancharla Chandrasekhar Tollywood bigwigs to meet CM Hyderabad: Asserting that the film fraternity stands by the family of M Revathi, Telangana Film Development Corporation chairman and producer Dil Raju on Tuesday said that he will lead a delegation of film industry bigwigs to meet Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy | P4 Reddy, reached the Chikkadpally police station at 11 am. At the police station, a team of police officials, led by Central Zone DCP Akshansh Yadav, questioned him regarding the stampede at Sandhya Theatre on December 4, which left a family shattered. According to sources, the police posed over 20 questions to Arjun regarding his visit to the theatre and the stampede. They disclosed that the actor was also asked about the police permission for a rally on the road. Some of the questions reportedly posed to Arjun were: Did the theatre management inform him about the denial of police permission? If they did, did they inform him or his team? “Did you, or your team, inform the theatre management about your arrival? Why did you come in a rally? While you were on the way to the theatre, why did you open the sunroof of your car and wave to the crowd? Were you made aware when you were inside the theatre that a person died due to that rally? Did the police inform you on that day about the death of a woman?” were reportedly some of the questions the police asked Arjun. The sources disclosed that during the questioning, the police showed some videos related to the stampede. They said that seeing the clips, Arjun became CONTINUED ON P4 emotional. R A J E S H K U M A R T H A K U R @ New Delhi STRIFE-TORN Manipur on Tuesday got a seasoned hand in former Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as its new governor. The state is yet to emerge from the ethnic conflict between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups that led to violence since May last year. Bhalla, the longest-serving Union Home Secretary completed his , five-year tenure on August 22 this year. He is known to be a tough administrator and a strategist. Bhalla is a retired 1984-batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre. If he manages to help bring some stability to Manipur, it would be a job well done. Till now, Assam Governor Lakshman Prasad Acharya was holding additional charge of Manipur. Bhalla was among the five gubernatorial appointments/transfers announced on Tuesday The other . big announcement was a swap between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and his Bihar counterpart Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. This newspaper had reported earlier that Arif would figure in the gubernatorial reshuffle this year. Khan’s appointment in Bihar is being seen as a strategic move ahead of assembly elections in the state in 2025 in which the BJP as a major ally of the Bihar NDA nurtures dreams of coming to power on its own. Khan is a liberal Muslim scholar who articulates the Centre’s policies upfront. He was forever on a collision course with Kerala LDF government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Retired General V K Singh was appointed governor of Mizoram. The BJP had denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha polls this year. Gen Singh replaces Dr Hari Babu Kambhampati, who has been transferred as governor of Odisha after incumbent Raghubar Das put in his papers citing personal reasons. Gen Singh’s name was doing the rounds for a gubernatorial assignment for long time and his appointment was expected to be either in J&K or Manipur but it went to Mizoram. Sources said many more gubernatorial appointments are on the cards for states like UP J&K, Ben, gal and some UTs. MANUSPEAK LAPSE YES BUT MOTIVATED Olympics double medallist Manu Bhaker said “there has been a lapse” from her side while filing nominations for awards but says she is motivated to win medals | P11 HC stays sessions judge decision on KCR, Harish EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad IN major relief to former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and former minister T Harish Rao, Justice K Lakshman of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday stayed a decision of the Jayashankar Bhupalpally district court to allow the numbering of a private petition against them. The high court criticised the sessions judge’s decision to review the chief munsif magistrate’s order in Bhupalpally and made it clear that the jurisdiction of lower courts to accept revision petitions is limit- ed as per Supreme Court guidelines. In addition, the court issued notices to the unofficial respondent, social activist Nagavelli Rajalingamurthy to file a , counter and scheduled the next hearing for January 7. KCR and Harish Rao had moved the high court arguing that the private petition filed by Rajalingamurthy seek, ing to add them as respondents in the Bhupalpally district court case, was not maintainable and should be dismissed. They contended that the sessions judge lacked jurisdiction to hear the private petition, as the munsif magistrate had originally dismissed it. ADIEU, SHYAM BABU The mortal remains of filmmaker Shyam Benegal being taken for the last rites, at a crematorium in Mumbai on Tuesday | ANI YEARENDER BLUES Property registrations in Hyderabad saw 12% dip in 2024 EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ Hyderabad PROPERTY registrations in Hyderabad declined by 12% yearon-year (YoY) to 5,516 units in November 2024, compared to 6,268 units in the same period last year. The registrations also dropped 6% month-on-month from 5,894 units in October 2024, according to the latest report released by Knight Frank India. The total value of home sales in November 2024 stood at `3,495 crore, marking a 7% YoY decline from `3,741 crore in November 2023 and a 3% MoM CRIME IN CYBERABAD SPIKES BY 64.8% Hyderabad: The Cyberabad police reported a steep increase in crime rate in 2024, with registered cases rising by 64.8% compared to 2023. A total of 37,689 cases were recorded in 2024, up from 22,859 in the previous year. The 11,914 cybercrimes cases accounted for 32% of the total, according to Cyberabad Police Commissioner Avinash Mohanty | P3 drop from `3,617 crore in October 2024. Despite the overall decline in registrations, there was an increase in the registration of high-value homes. The report highlighted a 3% YoY rise in the demand for premium homes priced above `1 crore. Properties priced under `50 lakh continued to dominate registrations, but the share of high-value properties rose from 12% in November 2023 to 14% in November 2024, reflecting a trend toward luxury property investments. In terms of property sizes, units ranging between 1,000 to 2,000 square feet accounted for 69% of all registrations. Among the districts, Medchal-Malkajgiri led with 42% of registrations, followed by Rangareddy with 41% , and Hyderabad contributing the remaining 17%. Between January and November 2024, Hyderabad’s home sales reached `43,574 crore, representing a 27% YoY increase compared to `34,205 crore during the same period in 2023. The number of units registered also rose from 64,658 in 2023 to 70,796 in 2024. Knight Frank India CMD Shishir Baijal said: “Property registrations in Hyderabad moderated in November 2024, but demand for high-value homes remains robust, reflecting a growing preference for larger and premium properties. This trend is driven by strong economic fundamentals and aspirations for improved lifestyles.” The Hyderabad residential market includes Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Medchal-Malkajgiri and Sangareddy districts, covering transactions in both primary and secondary real estate markets. BJP X’mas outreach hits Kerala wall K S S R E E J I T H @ T’Puram A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the Christmas celebration hosted by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) in Delhi, a senior Orthodox Church Bishop in Kerala on Tuesday openly questioned the saffron party’s outreach to the Christian community . “There (in Delhi), they honour the bishops and revere cribs. Here (in Kerala), they destroy the cribs,” the metropolitan of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church’s Thrissur Diocese, Yuhanon Mar Meletius, said in a Facebook post. The bishop’s sharp remarks come in the backdrop of the arrest of three VHP workers in Palakkad for trying to disrupt Christmas celebrations at a school and the destruction of a crib made by students of another school by unidentified persons. The two incidents sparked widespread protests in Kerala, where the state unit of the BJP had started its outreach programme in which leaders would visit church heads and 10 lakh Christian homes till December 30. BJP focuses According to sources, the central on panels leadership of the BJP asked Union With the minister George Kurian and state membership drive B J P p r e s i d e n t a resounding K Surendran to openly condemn success, the the act of the three VHP workers. Telangana unit of The powerful Syro Malabar the BJP has now Church is also not convinced by the shifted focus on BJP’s outreach bid. “This is part of constituting the a strategy to display dominance booth, mandal, over the minority community said ,” district and Fr Joby Kachappilly . constituency-level Political analysts view the develcommittees | P4 opments as an emerging paradox within the Sangh Parivar with regard to ideology and political correctness. “Lately RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat has been asking , various Sangh Parivar outfits to put a stop to their claims over mosques,” said political analyst Ajith Sreenivasan. However, the call was challenged by several Sangh Parivar organisations with seer bodies like Akhil Bharatiya Sant Samiti even criticising Bhagwat, Sreenivasan pointed out. In its pushback, the VHP said its workers only tried to question when small students were dressed up as Santas. “Parents of Hindu children had submitted petitions to the education department that their wards were paraded without consent,” said VHP’s state general secretary V R Rajasekharan. There (in Delhi), they honour the bishops and revere cribs. Here (in Kerala), they destroy the cribs Yuhanon Mar Meletius LOKPAL CALLS SEBI CHIEF FOR ORAL HEARING P R E E T H A N A I R @ New Delhi TAKING cognizance of complaints of impropriety and conflict of interest filed by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and two others, anti-corruption body Lokpal on Tuesday called Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch and the complainants for ‘oral hearing’ on January 28. The complaints were made on the basis of a report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research, according to an official order. In its report, Hindenburg alleged that Buch and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged money siphoning scandal involving the Adani Group. The Lokpal had on November 8 sought Buch’s ‘explanation’ on the complaints filed by Moitra and two others. In its order, the Lokpal asked the Registry to issue notices to the RPS (respondent public servant) as well as the complainant(s) to avail of the opportunity of oral hearing on January 28. “The RPS and complainants can authorise an advocate,” the order said.