eye THE SUNDAY EXPRESS MAGAZINE More Than Sushi NEWDELHI,LATECITY AUGUST24,2025 Ramen bars, kawaii-themed cafés: India is in the middle of a Japanese dining boom 18+4PAGES,`7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, ` 15 SRINAGAR) EXPRESS NETWORK ‘ILLEGAL’ BETTING: KARNATAKA CONG MLA ARRESTED DELHI: 6.52 LAKH FREE RATION BENEFICIARIES FOUND INELIGIBLE PAGES 11, 6 After ED, CBI moves against Anil Ambani with ‘`2,929-cr bank fraud’ case Selectively singledout... deniesall charges:His spokesperson MAHENDER SINGH MANRAL NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 THE CENTRAL Bureau of Investigation(CBI)Saturdayfiled a case against industrialist Anil Ambaniandconductedsearches athisresidenceandthepremises of Reliance Communications in connectionwithanallegedbank fraudwhich,theagencyclaimed, caused a loss of over Rs 2,929 crore to State Bank of India (SBI). The CBI obtained the search warrants from a Mumbai court Friday. “The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a criminalcaseonAugust21against M/sRelianceCommunicationLtd (RCOM),Mumbai,itsDirectorAnil D Ambani, unknown public servantsandunknownothersonthe allegations of defrauding the bank,andtherebycausingwrongful loss of Rs 2,929.05 crore to the bank,”aCBIspokespersonsaidin a statement. A spokesperson for Anil Ambani said the industrialist had been “selectively singled out”and“stronglydeniesallallegations and charges”. The CBI move comes days after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) registered a case against Anil Ambani and questioned him over an alleged “Rs 20,000 croreloanscam”.Atthetime,the Anil Ambani group had denied the charges and said that it CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘NO U.S. PRESIDENT CONDUCTED FOREIGN POLICY SO PUBLICLY’ Jaishankar hits out at US tariff, says talks on, ‘lines not cut’ Tariff unjustified & unfair... India red lines on farmers: EAM DIVYA A NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 DAYS AFTER he targeted President Donald Trump's administration from Moscow over the additional tariff on India for Russian oil purchase, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday reiterated that the US tariff was “unjustified and unfair”, and said it was being ‘Tariff being presented as oil issue’ wrongly “presented as an oil issue”. He also underlined that India has certain “red lines” and would not compromise on protecting the interests of its farm- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trump names key White House aide as envoy to India with regional role SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 SEVEN MONTHS afterassuming office for a second term, US President Donald Trump has nominated a key member of his White House team, Sergio Gor, as the new US ambassador to India. Gor will also be Trump's X/SergioGor Sergio Gor is a key member of the White House team Screen Awards 2025 to go digital with YouTube tie-up EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MUMBAI, AUGUST 23 ADOPTING A digital-first approach, The Indian Express Group is bringing back the prestigiousScreenAwards thisyear in collaboration with YouTube, offeringopenaccess to global audiences. For the first time ever, Bollywood’s biggest stars will share the spotlight with YouTube’s most influential creators, who will be woven into every leg of this three-month-long festival — from red carpet andbehind-the-scenes content to creator-led storytellingandfanengagement. The winners will bechosenbytheScreenAcademy, an independent, not-for-profit body of acclaimed filmmakers, artists and cultural voices. Speaking on the collaboration, Gunjan Soni, Managing Director — India, YouTube said: “We are thrilled to be the digital home for the Screen Awards, bringing a cultural icon to its next chapter. YouTube is wherebillionsof fansconnect with the entertainment they love, and we’re excited for them to experience one of cinema’s biggest nights in an immersive way. By bridging Bollywood’s biggest stars with YouTube’s most influential creators, we are buildinganengagedcommunity for an iconic event and unlocking CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Truck accident has ripples in US policy — and in a village in Punjab KAMALDEEP SINGH BRAR & ANJU AGNIHOTRI CHABA AMRITSAR, CHANDIGARH, AUGUST 23 THE FAMILY of Harjinder Singh, who was involved in an accident inFloridathatkilledthreepeople, acasethatledtotheUnitedStates haltingvisasforcommercialtruck drivers, is still grappling to come to terms with the news playing outthousandsofkilometresaway. ers and small producers. Jaishankar,however,saidtalks on the India-US trade deal were ongoingdespitetensions.“Weare two big countries, we need to haveconversations...andthelines are not cut, people are talking to eachother,andwewillseewhere that goes,” he said. Earlier, the US negotiators’ visit to India, scheduledforthesecondhalfofAugust, was “halted” for now. Harjinder Singh allegedly took an illegal turn on Florida Turnpike, killing 3 “We don’t want to keep talking about it. We are sorry for the three deaths in the accident. He made a mistake, but it wasn’t an intentional crime,” said his brother,Tejinder.“Hecanbepunished for the mistake, but it shouldn’t be treated as if he intended to kill.” OnAugust12,Harjinder(30), who migrated to the US in 2018 throughthedunki route— anetworkof humansmugglingoperations — allegedly took an illegal CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Special Envoy for South and CentralAsianAffairs,indicatinga wider role. The 38-year-old's nomination comes at a critical juncture when bilateral ties have nosedived after the Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on India, mainly citing the purchase of Russian oil. Gor's CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ex-sanitation worker behind Dharmasthala secret burial claims held EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE BENGALURU, AUGUST 23 A FORMER sanitation worker at the temple town of Dharmasthala, who claimed to havecarriedoutdozensof secret burials of bodies there between 1995 and 2014, has been arrested by a Special Investigation Team of the Karnataka police for allegedly providing false information after SIT searches for bodies yielded no results. The former sanitation worker, C N Chinnaiah, 45, was arrested on Saturday morning. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed the arrest and stated that it was part of effortstofindthetruthbehind theallegationsof "secretburials" in Dharmasthala. The arrest of the former sanitationworker,wholedtheSITon a two-week search of the bodies in forests around Dharmasthala between July 29 and August 12, comes at a time when the opposition BJP in Karnataka has proposed a state-wide protest over what it calls the anti-Hindu stance of the Congress government because of the probe. Several aspects of the “secret burials” investigation, which began in July, have been unravellingoverthelastcoupleof weeks on account of the lack of evidence to substantiate claims — including that of an elderly woman who has filed a complaint stating that her daughter, a medical student at Manipal, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Spotted by Dhanraj, India women team goalkeeper puts Gujarat on hockey map PAGE 1 ANCHOR MIHIR VASAVDA MUMBAI, AUGUST 23 THE TWO Ds synonymous with Surat — dhandho (business) and diamond — never interested BansariSolanki.Growingup,she wanted to be an engineer like her father. “Aeronautics,” she smiles. Sport — hockey, specifically — was not even an afterthought. Until, after a few twists of fate, Bansari Solanki (2nd from right) with other goalkeepers and Dutchman Dennis van de Pol, the goalkeeping coach. Express she was spotted and mentored by the legendary India forward Dhanraj Pillay, then nurtured by Olympian Romeo James to become one of India’s finest goalkeepers currently. A decade after her seemingly improbable journey began, Solanki has put Gujarat, a state with little-to-no tradition in the sport, on the world hockey map. According to hockey historian K Arumugam, the 24-yearold, who ispartof the India team for next month’s Asia Cup in Hangzhou, China, is the first woman from the western state CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Tariff fallout: India suspends most postal services to US from August 25 RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 THE DEPARTMENT of Posts, under the Ministry of Communications, on Saturday decided to temporarily suspend the booking of all types of USbound postal articles with effect from August 25, except letters, documents and gift items up to $100 in value, an official statement said. This comes after the US, on July 30, withdrew the duty-free de minimis exemption for goods valued up to $800 from August 29. This means that all international postal items destined for the US, regardless of their value, will besubjectto customs duties CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD AFTER GAZA FAMINE REPORT, U.S. STAYS MOSTLY SILENT, ISRAEL DEFIANT P 14 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM FOUR-PAGE PULLOUT Negotiations to start soon on GE engine for Tejas Mk2 jets French major Safran to power indigenous 5th-gen AMCA AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 23 TWO YEARS after state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and US defence major General Electric (GE) Aerospace signed a pact to jointly produce fighter jet engines, the two sides will begin commercial negotiations on the deal shortly, The Indian Express has learnt. Additionally, the Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO)hasfinalised FrenchmajorSafrantojoinhands with the Bengaluru-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment E E X P L A I NE D DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA Keyto fighter jet ● squadron INDIA HAS been making efforts to produce combat jet engines by partnering with a global engine manufacturer and, in this light, the HAL-GE pact was seen as historic. However, the delay would have a cascading effect on India’s LCA Mk 2 programme, key to building its fighter jet squadron strength to manufacture an advanced jet engine in India which will power India’sindigenousfifthgeneration Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Officials familiar with developments on the HAL-GE pact said the aim is to conclude commercial negotiations within the next three months and finalise the deal to co-produce the F414 engines, which will power the Light Combat Aircraft Mk2 jets for the IAF. In June 2023, GE Aerospace signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HAL to produce fighter jet engines. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 TWO VILLAGES AS PHASE-2 DEADLINE NEARS One village readies papers, another asks: Why are they making us do it? SANTOSH SINGH PURNIA, AUGUST 23 IN HIS white kurta and dhoti, Biranchi Paswan, 75,looks every bit a politician. Nephew of Bihar’s first Dalit Chief Minister Bhola Paswan Shastri, Biranchi, a small farmer, has never dabbled in politics, but the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has given him a cause. Thesedays,hehasbeenrallyingpeopleinBairgachhi,avillage that’s barely six km from Purnia town and the ancestral base of his famous uncle, to ensure that WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR every elector whose name has made it to the draft roll submits her documents to one of the three Booth Level Officers (EC- Voters submit their papers at Bairgachhi. Santosh Singh appointed BLOs) in the village. As part of the second phase of the SIR, electors have time CONTINUED ON PAGE 2