DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, PATNA, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘MARKETS, GLOBAL CIRCUMSTANCES GUIDE ENERGY PURCHASES’ 88 116 142 62 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY MEA dials down Trump noise: India, US weathered challenges, focus on future On swipe against India-Russia, says: Bilateral ties not through third country prism TRUMP TARIFF RATES (IN %) 40 39 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 The ED had searched 35 locations linked to the industrialist on July 24 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Source: White House * New tariffs to come in effect on Augt 7 *EU, South Korea, Japan struck trade deal with US ECONOMY 50 COUNTRIES WITH LOWER U.S. TARIFFS PAGE 17 EXPLAINED HEALTH OF INDIA’S ECONOMY PAGE 13 Why Trump talk of Pak’s ‘massive oil reserves’ is hot air — not much else SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 US PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s announcementonThursdaythat AmericawillworkwithPakistan to develop the latter’s “massive” oilreservescameasabitof asurprise, as Pakistan is not exactly a countrysynonymouswithoilexplorationandproduction,unlike Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Venezuela. Infact,Islamabaddependsheavily on energy imports, hasdwindlinghydrocarbon production, and a rather inconsistent and uninspiring record of oil and gas exploration. There have been a few preliminary studies and reports of potential reserves over the years, but they have re- A DAY after the Special Court acquitted seven accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, allegations by a former Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer that he was asked to arrest RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat found mention in the detailed judgment,a copyof whichwasmade available on Friday. The court, however, said that since he was PAGE 1 ANCHOR RAVI DUTTA MISHRA NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 WITHPRESIDENTDonaldTrump setting a higher tariff on India (at 25percent)thanonover50other countries—includingBangladesh and Vietnam, which, together withChina,areamongthetopapparel exporters to the United States — domestic apparel exporters have expressed concern and sought government intervention.Thenewtariffsaresetto come into effect from August 7. “We request immediate government intervention to offset this huge setback. Exporters have their back against the wall and will have to sell below cost to keep their factories running and avoid mass layoffs,” Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), said in a statement. The Confederation of Indian CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HIMANSHU HARSH PATNA, AUGUST 1 THEELECTIONCommission(EC) on Friday announced the publication of Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, compiled as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Commission said the lists are now available for download on its portal and are being distributed in both physical and digital formats to all recognised political parties across the state’s 38 districts. Data released by the EC showed that while over 7.24 crore enumeration forms were successfully received and incorporated,morethan65lakhwere not received. The EC said the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar and all 243 electoralregistration officers (EROs) are now inviting claimsand objections fromelectors and political parties to be submitted between August 1 and September 1. “Any elector from an Assembly constituency or any recognised political party may submitclaimstoincludemissing eligible electors, remove ineligiblenames,orcorrectanyinaccuracies in the draft rolls,” Bihar CEO Vinod Singh Gunjiyal said. Throughout the one-month claimsperiod,electorsandpolit- Case 1 of 3: Former JDS MP Prajwal Revanna found guilty of rape A SPECIAL court for elected representatives in Bengaluru on Friday pronounced former Janata Dal Secular MP Prajwal Revanna, 34, guilty in one of the three rape cases registered against him in Karnataka's Hassan district last year. The quantum of the sentence will be declared on Saturday. The conviction will attract a sentenceof 10-14yearsinprison forthegrandsonof formerprime ministerHDDeveGowda,sonof Karnataka ex-minister H D Revanna and nephew of Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy. Following the verdict, Prajwal Actor and activist Kal Penn in conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, at Express Adda in Mumbai on Friday. Narendra Vaskar RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat notexamined as a witnessin the case, and his statement was made before a Solapur court, it cannotbeconstruedasevidence. The order, which has a separate section titled “Directions to arrest RSS chief”, states that the lawyer of one of the accused, Sudhakar Dhar Dwivedi, had, during the trial, brought a statement made by the former ATS officer, Mehboob Mujawar, in a Solapur court which said: “The senior ATS officers had given directions to him (Mujawar) to arrest Mr Mohan Bhagwat (RSS chief) by taking him in custody.” According to the statement, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 COURT: NO EVIDENCE ON PRAGYA’S CLAIMS OF TORTURE PAGE 4 BIG PICTURE PAGE 15 ‘DRIVEN OUT LIKE CATTLE’ Panic as drive against illegal Bangladeshi migrants sets off a wave of detentions of migrant workers from Bengal JAMMU, AUGUST 1 THREE MONTHS after revoking all short-duration visas issuedto Pakistani nationals and deporting nearly 60 individuals to the neighbouring country, the Government of India has decided to issue a visitor’s visa to 63-year-old Rakshanda Rashid, the wife of a retired government official, so that she can return from across the border and rejoin her family in Jammu and Kashmir. The woman, a resident of Jammu’s Talab Khatikan area, was deported to Pakistan on April 29 via the Atari-Wagah border in the aftermath of the Pahalgamterrorattack.Herhusband, Sheikh Zahoor Ahmed, andfourgrown-upchildrencontinuetostayinJ&Ksincetheyare Indian nationals. The matter came up in the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on July 30, with the Solicitor Generalof India, Tushar Mehta, saying that “after much deliberations and considering the peculiarity of facts and unusual factual position obtaining in the mater, an in-principle de- NOT COUNTINBIHAR ‘ATOM BOMB’ PROOF AGAINST EC: RAHUL CONGRESS LEADER Rahul Gandhi claimed his party has an “atom bomb” of evidence to prove “vote theft” by the EC for the BJP. THE EC said it “ignores baseless allegations”. REPORT, PAGE 9 ical parties can file the relevant formswiththeEROs.Theprocess willbeoverseenby243EROsand 2,976assistantelectoralregistration officers (AEROs) stationed across the state. The EC clarified that under SIR guidelines, “no name can be deleted” from the published CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Passenger’s big headload fell on others, led to stampede in Delhi: Vaishnaw NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 Former JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna at the court in Bengaluru on Friday. PTI was seen in tears as he was escorted out of the court hall. He is also facing a fourth case related to charges of alleged sexual harassment. “Acting under Sec 235(2) of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 63-yr-old woman sent to Pak after Pahalgam to return to J&K family ARUN SHARMA WHAT WILL DHEERAJ MISHRA BENGALURU, AUGUST 1 Claim of order to arrest Bhagwat: Court says can’t take as evidence MUMBAI, AUGUST 1 With US their key market, worried apparel exporters seek Govt help EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE MALEGAON BLAST: EX-ATS OFFICER MADE CLAIM IN ANOTHER COURT SADAF MODAK & MOHAMED THAVER CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 AN ADDA WITH KAL PENN NEW DELHI, AUGUST 1 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 mained inconclusive, and the world’s oil majors have so far largely steered clear of hydrocarbon exploration in Pakistan. But Trump went to theextentof sayingthat ● “maybe” Pakistan will be “selling oil to India some day”, a remark that many have interpreted as a veiled jibe E EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE SEVEN DAYS after searching multiple locations in Mumbai linked to Anil Ambani, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned the industrialist on August 5 to join the investigation into a money laundering case linked to a multi-crore bank loan fraud involving companies of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The ED has also issued a Look-out Circular (LOC) to prevent him from travelling abroad, officials said Friday. TheEDisinvestigatingallegations of illegal diversion of loans wortharoundRs3,000croredisbursedbyYesBanktothegroup’s companies between 2017 and 2019.Theprobeagencyisalsoexamining whether there was a quidproquoinvolvedintheloan —specifically,if bribeswerepaid to bank officials, including Yes Bank promoters. 20 20 20 20 19 19 15 15 15 EXPLAINED Loan ‘fraud’: ED summons Anil Ambani on Aug 5, issues look-out notice OVER30remarkscreditinghimself for the India-Pakistan ceasefire, referring to India as a “dead economy,”droppingthe25%tariff bombshell and a Russia penaltyevenastalksareon—US President Donald Trump’s diatribe was met Friday by diplomatic pragmatism from the Ministry of External Affairs. Underlining that the IndiaUS partnership has “weathered several transitions and challenges,” the MEA said that New Delhi will remain “focused on the substantive agenda” even as itflagged thatitsfriendshipwith Russia was “time-tested.” This response came the day Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs on dozens of countries including 25 per cent for goods from India. Responding to a question, 30 25 Myanmar Switzerland South Africa India Vietnam Bangladesh Sri Lanka Taiwan Pakistan Philippines EU Japan South Korea 02/08/2025 EC publishes draft electoral rolls in Bihar, objections allowed until Sept 1 cision is taken by the authority to grant a visitor’s visa to the respondent”. “Thereafter, she may even, if so advised, pursue the two applications that are purportedly moved by her and pending with the respective authority as regards acquiring Indian citizenship as also the long-term visa,’’ he said. Mehta had hinted on July 22 that there could be a reconsideration at the Centre’s level, as he had requested the court to defer theproceedingstoenablehimto explore if the respondent could CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 A BIG headload being carried by a passenger fell on others, causing the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station on February 15 in which 18 people were killed, Railway Minister AshwiniVaishnawinformedthe RajyaSabhaFriday,citingaprobe report. He said that a high-level inquiry committee constituted to examine the circumstances leadingtothestampedehassubmitted its report. “As per the findings of the report, an unfortunate incident on 15.02.25happened on FootOver Bridge (FOB)-3 stairs connecting Platform 14/15 at New Delhi Railway Station. On the day of the incident, sufficient crowd management protocols were in place to handle the overall volumeof passengersatthestation. There was a gradual increase of passengerdensityontheFOBafter 20.15 hrs,” said Vaishnaw in a written reply to questions asked by Samajwadi Party MP Ramji Lal Suman. Passengers were trying to boardPrayagraj-boundtrainsfor the Mahakumbh when the incident occurred. Sharing the findings of the probe report, Vaishnaw said, “Many of the passengers were carrying big headloads affecting smooth movement on the FOB. There was a big headload falling from one of the passengers and the pressure was passed on to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Karnataka temple town in grip of rumours, charges — and skeletons AKRAM M DHARMASTHALA, AUGUST 1 SINCE TUESDAY, July 29, in the forests along the banks of the Netravati in Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district, police officers, a few workers, a small earthmover and a masked man have been part of an unusual exercise: turning the wet earth inside out to see if it holds secrets — and skeletons. With Dharmasthala in the grip of hysteria around rumours and allegations by a former sanitation worker, identified on social media by the pseudonym ‘Bheema’, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by the Karnataka government has identified 13 locations that will be dug up to look for possible human remains. Thesearelocationsidentified by the sanitation worker — who was once employed at Dharmasthala — as spots where, between 1995 and 2014, he allegedly secretly buried bodies of victims of assaults and murders in the region. The burials, he alleged,werecarriedoutatthebehest of an influential family in the temple town. While the first two days of the SIT investigation yielded lit- tle, on July 31, Day 3 of the exercise, parts of a human skeleton were collected from one of the spots. “He has not mentioned the exact number of bodies he has buried.Evenif hisallegationsare true, the police have to verify everything before going forward,” said Dakshina Kannada Superintendent of Police Dr K Arun who supervised the investigation before the SIT took over. The discovery of these remains has given a fresh momentumtotheallegationslevelledby the sanitation worker. Amid rumours that his allegations might trigger more revelations came a One of the 13 locations in Dharmasthala that is being dug up for possible human remains. (Right) The sanitation worker who has alleged that he secretly buried bodies. Express complaintfiledonJuly15bya60year-old woman, Sujatha Bhat, whoearlierworkedasastenographer in the CBI. Bhat alleged that herdaughter,afirst-yearmedical student at a college in Manipal wentmissingatDharmasthalain 2003, and that she wasn’t allowed to file an FIR then. She has now sought a search for her daughter’s remains. A police complaint has not yet been registered in the case, with police still verifying Bhat’s allegations. “Her request relies on the assumption that one of thebodies(claimedtohavebeen buriedbythesanitationworker), if exhumed, will turn out to be her daughter’s, which has to be verified by DNA testing,” said SP Arun. Dharmasthala Grama Panchayat vice president Srinivas Rao dismissed the sanitation worker’s allegations as “purely imaginary”. He said the administration has had an arrangement with the gram panchayat since 1986-87 to disposeof unknownbodies.“Thisis doneonlywithpoliceclearances after a post-mortem is conducted.Thebodyisburiedbythe Health Department or the Grama Panchayat,” Rao said. On an average, 10-12 unclaimedbodiesare buriedannually in the region after following all procedures and conducting a panchnama. The administration isintheprocessof compiling the list of all bodies buried so that unverified claims can be put to rest, he said. Dharmasthala, nestled in the foothills of the Western Ghats in CONTINUED ON PAGE 12