HYDERABAD  THURSDAY  DECEMBER 26, 2024  `9.00  PAGES 16  LATE CITY EDITION ZELENSKYY BERATES PUTIN OVER ‘INHUMANE’ ATTACK ON CHRISTMAS Russia targeted Ukraine’s power infrastructure with more than 180 missiles and drones in a massive Christmas Day attack on Wednesday RUSSIA LAUNCHED 78 MISSILES, 106 DRONES: KYIV ONE POWER PLANT WORKER KILLED IN DONETSK “Putin deliberately chose Christmas to attack. What could be more inhumane?” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. As many as 78 air, ground, and sea-launched missiles, 106 Shaheds and other types of drones were used in the strikes that targeted multiple cities, Ukraine’s air force said. It claimed to have intercepted 59 missiles and 54 drones ■ ■ This is the 13th large-scale strike on Ukraine’s energy system this year. Ukraine’s biggest private energy company, DTEK, said Russia struck one of their thermal power plants in Donetsk, killing an employee Ukraine said one of the missiles fired by Russia passed through the airspaces of Moldova and NATO member Romania | P9 5 lakh PEOPLE ARE WITHOUT POWER IN KHARKIV REGION AFTER RUSSIAN STRIKES 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 ACB records Dana Kishore statement in E-Prix case I R E D D Y S R I N I V A S R E D D Y @ Hyderabad THE Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has started the ball rolling in the investigation of the Formula-E race case. The probe agency on Wednesday recorded the statement of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Principal Secretary Dana Kishore, who is the complainant in the case. The official reportedly gave a detailed account of how the financial irregularities that took place in the release of `55 crore in foreign exchange to a company based out of the UK for the conduct of season 11 of the Formula-E race in Hyderabad. The recording of the statement assumes significance since BRS working president and former municipal administration minister K T Rama Rao figures as the Accused No 1 in the case. The ACB team recorded the statement for over seven hours, which covered the entire gamut of the developments till October 23, related to conducting the Formula E Race. ACB sources said that Dana Kishore gave a graphic account of the violations that occurred while the HMDA transferred `55 crore to Formula-E Organisation (FEO) from its Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Himayatnagar branch in Hyderabad. The sources said that the ACB had inquired as to who had initiated the first and second agreements and why the sponsor stepped back for conducting the Formula-E race in Hyderabad. CONTINUED ON P4 RUSSIA-BOUND JET CHANGED PATH BEFORE CRASH 29 SURVIVE; 16 RUSSIANS AMONG 67 ON BOARD 38 KILLED IN KAZAKH JETLINER CRASH The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near Aktau airport | AP Flight-tracking service FlightRadar24 said in an online post that the airAT least 38 people were killed after a craft had faced ‘strong GPS jamming’ passenger jet flying from Azerbaijan to which ‘made the aircraft transmit bad Russia crashed near the city of Aktau ADS-B data’, referring to the informain Kazakhstan on Wednesday, accord- tion that allows flight-tracking webing to Kazakhstan officials. There were sites to follow planes in flight. Russia 67 people on board, including five crew has been blamed in the past for jammembers. Both pilots of the flight were ming GPS signals in the region. also reportedly killed in Reuters reported that the accident. A total of 29 the crash came shortly af‘BAD WEATHER’ survivors, including two ter drone strikes hit southAzerbaijani President c h i l d r e n , h ave b e e n ern Russian areas not far Ilham Aliyev said that it from Azerbaijan and Kazhospitalised. was too soon to The plane was originally kahstan and the nearest speculate on the reasons Russian airport on the scheduled to travel from for the crash. “The the Azerbaijani capital of plane’s flight path was Baku to the Russian city information provided to closed on Wednesday me is that the plane of Grozny in the North morning. FlightRadar24 Caucasus. According to changed its course due to data showed the aircraft worsening weather Azerbaijan Airlines, the making what appeared to conditions and headed Embraer 190 aircraft made be a figure-eight once nearan emergency landing to Aktau airport, where it ing the airport in Aktau, crashed on landing” 3 km from Aktau. Reports its altitude moving up and Aliyev said at a news said the pilot may have down substantially in the conference. chosen to divert to Aktau last minutes. after a bird strike on the Footage circulating onaircraft led to ‘an emergency situation line appeared to show the aircraft makon board’. ing a steep descent before smashing The airline said 42 passengers were into the ground in a fireball. Other footAzerbaijani citizens, 16 Russian nation- age showed part of its fuselage ripped als, six Kazakhstani, and three Kyr- away from the wings and the rest of the gyzstani citizens. aircraft, lying upside in the grass. AGENCIES HUMAN TRAFFICKING CANADIAN COLLEGES UNDER ED SCANNER M U K E S H R A N J A N @ New Delhi THE Enforcement Directorate (ED) is probing the alleged role of some Canadian colleges as well as Indian entities in a money laundering case linked to the trafficking of Indians into the US through the Canada border, officials said. The ED took up the probe after a four-member Indian family hailing from Gujarat froze to death while trying to cross the Canada-US border in January 2022. The ED case is based on an FIR by Ahmedabad Police against main accused Bhavesh Ashokbhai Patel and others, who allegedly arranged student visas for those willing to enter the US illegally . A senior ED official said the racket charged `55-60 lakh per person. As part of the probe, the ED conducted searches in Mumbai, Nagpur, Gandhinagar, and Vadodara. It found an entity based in Mumbai and another in Nagpur were offering admission for Indians in foreign universities on a commission basis. The ED said about 25,000 students are being referred by one entity and 10,000 students by the other to various colleges outside India every year. Over 150 Canadian colleges have an agreement with one entity and 112 with another. Their involvement is being probed, the ED said. EXPRESS READ Chargesheet filed against Jani Master in POCSO case Hyderabad: Cyberabad police have filed a chargesheet against choreographer Jani Master in the case registered against him at the Narsingi police station. Jani Master walked out of Chanchalguda jail after the High Court granted him bail in the case registered against him under the POCSO Act for allegedly raping his assistant over a period of five years. Police notice to BRS MLA for threatening inspector Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have issued a notice to BRS MLA Padi Kaushik Reddy, directing him to appear at 10 am on December 27 at the Masab Tank police station for questioning. The MLA is accused of abusing Banjara Hills Station House Officer (SHO) KM Raghavendra and obstructing him from carrying out his official duties | P4 Damage control: T’wood team to meet CM today E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Hyderabad A delegation from the Telugu film industry, including actors, directors and producers, led by Telangana Film Development Corporation (TGFDC) Chairman Dil Raju will meet Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Thursday at Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC), at 10 am. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, Health Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha and Minister of Cinemato g raphy Komatireddy Venkat Reddy are likely to join the CM during the meeting. This development comes in the wake of the state government announcing that it would not give permission for benefit shows and hike ticket rates following the Hyderabad police registering a criminal case TGFDC Chairman Dil Raju and film producer Allu Arvind speak to the media on Wednesday against Pushpa-2 actor Allu Arjun and Mythri Movie Makers for the stampede at the Sandhya Theatre in which a woman, M Revathi died, and her son Sri Tej suffered injuries. Dil Raju told media persons on Wednesday that the chief minister gave the delegation an appointment to meet him. He was speaking after visiting Sri Tej at KIMS Hospitals along with Allu Arjun’s father Allu Arvind and other film personalities. “We will meet the CM and as the TGFDC chairman, I will play my role as a bridge between the government and the film industry to improve our relations,” he said. CONTINUED ON P4 POLICE WARN NETIZENS AGAINST MISLEADING POSTS Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police on Wednesday issued a warning against social media accounts posting false or misleading videos and photos contradicting official statements about the Sandhya Theatre stampede | P4 Taliban vows to hit back after Pakistani strikes kill 46 in Af MODI SWIPE ‘Cong ignored contributions of Ambedkar’ AGENCIES E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bhopal AMID the Congress’ protests against Union home minister Amit Shah’s remarks on B R Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday sought to turn the tables on the grand old party accusing it of denying Baba Saheb credit for his contribution to the development of water resources in the country . “Baba Saheb was the first to understand the importance of river... He was a visionary... contributing to creation of dams,” Modi said while addressing a gathering in Khajuraho, after laying the foundation of the Ken Betwa river linking project. Without naming India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Modi said: “Out of intoxication of giving credit to just one individual the Congress never gave credit to Baba Saheb for his water conservation efforts and visionary thinking that led to creation of big dams.” Referring to the development projects carried out by the government of late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who envisioned the national riverlinking initiative in 2002, Modi said Vajpayee was a teacher for many Modi also released a . commemorative postal stamp and coin to mark Vajpayee’s birth centenary . Noting that the Ken-Betwa project will open gateways of prosperity and development for the Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Modi alleged Vajpayee’s efforts to address water related challenges were side-lined after 2004 by the Congress. PM Narendra Modi during foundation stone-laying ceremony of Ken-Betwa River Linking Project, in Khajuraho on Wednesday | PTI It was Dr Ambedkar’s vision which guided the major river valley projects in the country and the Central Water Commission was established due to his efforts Prime Minister Narendra Modi Project poses threat to tiger reserve: Cong New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday said the KenBetwa river linking project poses a serious threat to the biodiversity-rich Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. In a social media post, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the project will submerge the core area of tiger reserve, destroy vulture habitats, and a large number of felling of trees AFGHAN Taliban on Wednesday said 46 people were killed in Pakistani airstrikes in Barmal in eastern Afghanistan and vowed to retaliate. Pakistan carried out rare airstrikes inside Afghanistan on Tuesday, which Islamabad said targeted members of the Pakistani Taliban. Pak officials said the strikes were on “terrorist hideouts” and at least 20 terrorists of the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were killed. But an Afghan Taliban spokesman claimed most of the dead were children and women. Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry summoned the Pakistani envoy and lodged a protest. The Afghan Defence Ministry said, “The Islamic Emirate will not l e ave t h i s c ow a r d l y a c t unanswered.” The strikes come after the TTP claimed a raid on a Pakistan army outpost that killed 16 soldiers. A Pakistani official said the attack was “a significant trigger” for Tuesday’s strikes, which also come amid a rise in the number of TTP attacks in Pakistan, especially in its Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.