FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR Transparency on Trial Page 6 UN approves Trump’s plan for the future of Gaza STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 18 November The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Jawad Ahmed Siddiqui, chairman of the Al Falah Group, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The arrest was made on Tuesday, 18 November 2025, following a detailed investigation and analysis of the evidence gathered during searches of premises linked to the group. The ED initiated its investigation based on two FIRs registered by the Delhi Police Crime Branch. The FIRs alleged that Al-Falah University in Faridabad made fraudulent claims of NAAC accreditation and UGC recognition under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act to deceive students, parents, and stakeholders for wrongful gain. The UGC has clarified that the university is only recognized under Section 2(f) BUSINESS India-US ties steady, trade talks on track: Goyal Page 10 Page 9 ED arrests Al Falah chairman in money laundering case as a State Private University, has never applied for 12(B) status, and is not eligible for grants. The Al-Falah Charitable Trust, established in 1995, names Jawad Ahmad Siddiqui as founding and managing trustee. The trust ultimately owns and controls all the group's educational institutions. While the group has seen a meteoric rise since the 1990s, this growth is not supported by adequate financial records. As part of the probe, the ED conducted search operations at 19 locations in Delhi today, including the university premises and residences of key individuals. The investigation has revealed that large amounts of proceeds of crime were generated. Evidence indicates that crores of rupees were diverted by the trust to entities owned by Siddiqui's family, with construction and catering contracts awarded to firms owned by his wife and children. Wednesday, 19 November 2025 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL | Germany, Netherlands punch FIFA 2026 WC tickets Page 12 Maoist commander Hidma, carrying bounty of `1 cr, killed ANINDITA CHOWDHURY/ SHISHIR ROY Hyderabad/Raipur, 18 November I n a signif icant breakthrough in India’s long running campaign against left wing extremism, security forces are believed to have killed the country’s most wanted Maoist commander, Madvi Hidma, during an intense exchange of f ire in the Maredumilli Mandal region along the Andhra Pradesh–Chhattisgarh border on Tuesday. The security forces gunned down Hidma and five others, including his wife, at Maredumilli while they were trying to enter the state through Alluri Sitharam Raju (ASR) district in Andhra Pradesh. Senior officials confirmed six Maoists were neutralised in the gun battle, and that preliminary indicators strongly Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P speaks to the media in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, regarding the killing of Maoist Madvi Hidma, his wife Raje Madvi, and four others in a gunbattle with security forces in Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday. AGENCIES suggest Hidma is among them. Combing operations continued through the day to secure the area and verify identities. The state police had been maintaining a steady surveillance on the borders after re ceiving cre dible information that the Maoists were trying to shift their base from Chhattisgarh, since the security forces have been keeping up the heat on the insurgents. Hidma’s death came as a serious setback to the Maoist movement in recent times after the killing of Basavaraj, the top leader of CPI (Maoists). According to police, at around 6 am, there was an exchange of fire between the Maoists and p olice at Maredumilli mandal, which saw Madvi Hidma, member of the Maoist Central Committee and the commander of the South Bastar First Battalion, eliminated along with his wife and armed guards. A few Maoists ran away during the exchange of fire and the security forces launched a combing operation to nab them. Among these, nine were bodyguards of the central committee member, Devji while the rest were members of battalions under the South Bastar Zonal Committee. They were trying to take shelter in Andhra Pradesh to regroup and revive Maoist activities in the state. Hidma was responsible for over two dozen deadly attacks, including the Dantewada massacre of 2010, in which 76 paramilitary personnel were killed and the Jhiram Ghati massacre, which saw the top state leadership of Congress wiped out. He carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore. PM ‘looking forward to hosting President Putin next month’: New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday told Nikolai Patrushev, aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is looking forward to hosting the Russian President in India in December. Modi conveyed his "warm greetings" to President Putin as Nikolai Patrushev, aide to the Russian President and Chairman of the Maritime Board of the Russian Federation, called on him in the national capital. According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), "The Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to President Putin and said that he looked forward to hosting him in India next month."