The Editorial Page: Between US and Saudi Arabia, Israel is the elephant in the room 10 WEDNESDAY, NOvEMBER 19, 2025 JournalIsm of Courage MUMbAi, lATE CiTy, 20 PAgES ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA i ly F R o M : A h M E DA b A D , C h A n D i gA R h , D E l h i , j A i P U R , ko l k ATA , lU C k n o W , M U M b A i , n Ag P U R , PAT n A , P U n E , VA D o DA R A reg.NO. MCs/067/2018 - 20 rNi regN. NO. 1543/57 Happening today lUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is going to Turkey, where he will meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff in an attempt to jump-start negotiations on ending Russia’s invasion, which began nearly four years ago. lChairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, S Mahendra Dev, will speak on Day 1 of the Delhi School of Economics’ Public Policy Conference. traCk this and more on www.indianexPress.Com for tHe record the 6th ramnath goenka lectUre: excerPts Page 12 Business as Usual By EP UNNY resPonsiBle for sPate of deadly attaCks on seCUrity forCes Most wanted Maoist commander Hidma killed in Andhra forest op Had fled Chhattisgarh; was shot dead along with his wife and four others Ruthless tactician, biggest influence on cadre: Killing a big blow to Maoists sreenivas Janyala, Jayprakash s naidu & nikhila henry Jayprakash s naidu, deeptiman tiwary & srinivas Janyala Hyderabad, Raipur, November 18 MaDVI HIDMa (51), the most wanted leader left within the naxal ranks and the man responsibleforsomeofthebloodiest attacks on security forces, was killed in an encounter in andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning. amit Bardar, Superintendent of Police, alluri Sitarama Chhattisgarh Mathili Sukma Dornapal Odisha Area of the encounter Maredumilli Andhra Pradesh Raju district, told The Indian Express that Hidma alias »ContinUed on PaGe 2 tHe big picture Raipur, New Delhi, Hyderabad, November 18 FoR nEaRLy three decades, the name Madvi Hidma had travelled through the forests of Bastar. on Tuesday, that shadowy figure, the Maoists’ most feared battlefield commander and their only tribal leader to rise from a child recruit to the organisation’s top deci- mohamed thaver Mumbai, November 18 139 172 86 sion-making bodies, was killed in an encounter with the andhra Pradesh police. His death, officials say, may be the single biggest blow to the banned CPI (Maoist)inthelast20years,not merely because he was a ruthless tactician responsible for the bloodiest attacks on »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Deportation process Spl court frames charges against over, Anmol Bishnoi Nawab Malik, 2 others in ED case to be brought back Mumbai, November 18 111 Top Maoist Madvi Hidma E. express news service 19/11/2025 hUnt for hidma: ‘he was oUr nemesis once’ P13 anMoL BISHnoI, who has beennamedasthemainplotter by the Mumbai police in the murderofnCPleaderBabaSiddique in 2024, is set to be brought to India soon as his deportationprocesshasbeencompleted, sources said Tuesday. a senior officer told The IndianExpressthattheprocessof deporting anmol to India from the US had been completed. The officer stated that anmol has several cases registered against him across the country, and the Centre will decide who should have his custody first. Baba Siddique’s son Zeeshan Siddique also told The Indian Express that he received anemailfromUSofficialsTuesday, informing him that gangster Anmol Bishnoi has several cases registered against him across the country, an official said. FilE “anmol Bishnoi has been removed from the US by the federalgovernment”.anmol isthe brother of jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.The Indian Express viewed the email. “My e-mail had been registered with the US authorities since I am from the victim’s »ContinUed on PaGe 2 a SPECIaL court in Mumbai Tuesday framed charges against former Maharashtra minister and nationalist CongressParty(nCP)leadernawab Malik and three others, including two firms linked with his family in the money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2022. Malik, who was present before SC recalls own order barring retrospective green clearance for projects the court, pleaded not guilty. Special judge SR navander said that there is sufficient material on record to frame charges against all the accused for the trial to proceed. The chargeswereframedunderSection 3, read with Section 70, of thePreventionofMoneyLaundering act (PMLa). Chargeswereframedagainst Malik, two firms — Malik Infrastructure and Solidus Investments—andSardarKhan,who is serving life imprisonment in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case in a jail in Chhatrapati Sambhaji nagar. Khan was produced before the court via video-conference. Malik and the two firms, through their directors or partners, pleaded not guilty in the case, paving the way for the trial against them under sections of the PMLa. Khan, too, pleaded not guilty. “It is evident that accused »ContinUed on PaGe 2 awami leaGUe in exile Hasina party leaders slam death term: ‘India must help our fight’ Say want to go back, contest polls — ‘if there is a level-playing field’ ritu sarin New Delhi, November 18 aDayafterformerBangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina was awarded the death penalty by an International Crimes Tribunal, and Dhaka asked Delhi to send her back, leaders ofherawamiLeaguepartywho are in undisclosed locations said they can only return if there is “political inclusion” and that they expect India to continue giving her shelter, as wellas“honour”and“security”. The Indian Express spoke to several awami League leaders and former MPs – about hundred of them are living in exile, withanequalnumberalongwith thousands of party cadres behindbarsinBangladesh. Four-time MP nahim Razzaq,whotalksabouttheattempt to “finish off” awami League with a ban, criminal cases against its leaders, targeting of »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Boundless Love, Selless Service ananthakrishnan G New Delhi, November 18 On Umar phone, a video in which he speaks of suicide bombing alok singh & Bashaarat masood New Delhi, Srinagar, November 18 Inavideoclipthathassurfaced onsocialmedia,Umarnabi,the doctor who drove the car that exploded near the Red Fort on november 10, is heard talking about“martyrdomoperations” and “suicide bombing”. In the 1-minute-20-second clip, Umar, sitting on a chair in a room, is heard saying “one of l Blast accused Umar Nabi the most misunderstood concepts is the concept of suicide bombing… It is a martyrdom operation. When a person as- sumes that he is certain to die at a particular place and time, he goes against the presumption that he will die in a specific situation”. While the Delhi Police said it is verifying the video clip, investigators probing the terror module that Umar was part of saidthecliphadbeenextracted from his mobile phone. Highly placed sources told The Indian Express that Umar had handed over the phone to »ContinUed on PaGe 2 CITIng PUBLIC interest and legal flaws, the Supreme Court, in a 2-1 decision Tuesday, recalleditsMay16rulingthathad struck down a Central government notification allowing grant of environmental clearance (EC) for projects ex post facto — in short, clearance for projects after commencement. While Chief Justice of India B R gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran backed the recall, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan dissented saying the majority decision “overlooks the very fundamentals of environmental jurisprudence” and “is a step in retrogression”. The matter will now be placed before the CJI for further action. »ContinUed on PaGe 2 FilMMAker’s sON sAys wAs TO sHOwCAse digiTAlly resTOred versiON AT FesT PeterBrook’sTheMahabharataout ofIFFIwithCBFCexemptionpending divya a New Delhi, November 18 “IT’S aS if someone invited me for dinner and made other plans,” says Simon Brook. Daysfromnow,Brookwasto present a digitally restored version of his father Peter Brook’s acclaimed film The Mahabharata at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in goa. However, the screening of the film, which was cited by the nDa government while re- The Mahabharata last screened in india around two decades ago warding Peter Brook with a (CBFC), which func- weekend that since the film Padma Shri in 2021, pAge 1 tions under the In- had not got CBFC exemption now stands canformation and yet, and IFFI was to begin in celledowingtosome Broadcasting Minis- days, the screening would not issues pertaining to be happening this time. “CBFC exemption”, Brook tells try. Sources say the film was Sources said it is usually a The Indian Express over the screened for an internal review quick formality. phone from Paris. after weeks of back and committee twice before it was a CBFC exemption is an exemption from standard cer- forth on the issue, which left selected for the Restored Clastification granted to films for him “feeling confused about sics Section of IFFI. on october screening in India by the Cen- thewayforward”,Brooksayshe 30, IFFI posted on its X handle tral Board of Film Certification was finally informed over the about showing the film on no- anchor vember 24, saying: “Discover how the 8K restoration of Peter Brook’s The Mahabharata (1989)redefinescinematicpreservation and connects ancient epics to the modern world.” Emails sent to the offices of CBFC Chairman Prasoon Joshi and CBFC CEo Rajendra Singh regarding CBFC exemption, as wellastotheIndianHighCommissioner in London, did not get a response. Brook, who is also a filmmaker, says that it was in July this year, after the classic — digitally restored in 8K — was showcased and had its premiere at the Indian Film Festival in London, that he was contacted about a possible screening at IFFI. The film festival is the annual flagship event of the I&B Ministry. Inaugust,Brookgot anofficial invite over email from the festival organisers, saying they »ContinUed on PaGe 2 Centenary Celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Release of Commemorative Coin, Postal Stamp and Special Address By Sri Narendra Modi Ji Honourable Prime Minister November 19, 2025 at 10:30 am Hill View Stadium Puttaparthi Janmaboomi and Karmaboomi of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Live Telecast on DD News Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi, Sri Sathya Sai District, Andhra Pradesh, India.