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 LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | SPORTS WORLD PERSPECTIVE Delhi’s air pollution has a high economic cost BRIEFLY SC to hear CBI plea against bail for Kuldeep Sengar: New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Monday (29 December) a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) challenging the Delhi High Court’s order that granted bail to former Uttar Pradesh MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case. A vacation bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih, will hear the matter. The CBI has approached the SC through a Special Leave Petition against the High Court’s decision to suspend Sengar’s life sentence and release him on bail while his appeal against conviction is pending. Earlier this week, Delhi HC granted bail to Sengar after holding that the stricter provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Section 376(2) of the Indian Penal Code were not applicable in his case. Page 8 Ramesh warns of ‘disastrous’ impact of Aravalli redefinition BCCI secretary Saikia denies board approaching VVS Laxman for Test coach gig Page 5 ‘Territories, Zaporizhzhia NPP remain red lines for Ukraine in peace talks’ Page 12 NATION Page 9 Page 7 India denies Dhaka’s claim of Hadi killers fleeing across border UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Bangladesh rejects India’s concerns Shillong, 28 December T he Meghalaya Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) have rubbished claims made by Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) that two of the prime suspects in the Sharif Osman Hadi murder case have fled to Meghalaya. “We (Meghalaya Police) have not made any arrest of Bangladeshi nationals in Tura. We are not even aware if the two shooters (prime suspects in Hadi murder case) are in Tura,” a senior West Garo Hills police officer told UNI. “I don’t know why (they) are making false claims to the media and no Bangladeshi Police have communicated with us (Meghalaya Police). They may even say the two assailants have now fled to a third country,” the officer asserted. Bangladesh media, quoting Additional Police Commissioner (Crime and Operations) of DMP, SN Nazrul Islam, said, Monday, 29 December 2025 the two suspects ~ Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh ~ had crossed over to Meghalaya through Haluaghat border under Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district shortly after shooting Hadi on 12 December 2025. “The suspects entered India through the Haluaghat border. Bangladeshi nationals Philips and Sanjoy helped them to cross over and were received by Purti in India. Later, a taxi driver Sami transported them to Tura in Meghalaya,” Nazrul was quoted by Bangladeshi media as saying. Nazrul further claimed Purti and Sami have been arrested by Meghalaya police and DMP is in touch with Meghalaya police regarding the issue. Terming Nazrul’s statement as “fake propaganda”, Inspector General of BSF, Meghalaya Frontier, O P Upadhayay, said: “These are false and baseless allegations. The borders are sealed and the troops are on the highest alert due to the current hostile situation in Bangladesh. There is no evidence to suggest that any individual crossed the international border from the Haluaghat sector into Meghalaya.” New Delhi: Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday dismissed India’s concerns over recent attacks on Hindus and other minorities in the country, describing them as “exaggerated” and “motivated narratives.” In a statement, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said that comments made by India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the situation of minority communities in Bangladesh “do not reflect the facts.” “The Government of Bangladesh categorically rejects any inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of communal harmony,” it said while alleging “systematic attempts” to portray isolated criminal incidents as persecution of Hindus. Prez Murmu becomes 2nd head of state to undertake submarine sortie STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 28 December President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday undertook a sortie on board submarine INS Vaghsheer on the Western Seaboard, becoming only the second President of India to do so after Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, accompanied the President during the sortie. She embarked on the submarine at Karwar Naval Harbour in Karnataka. During the over two-hour-long mission, the President, who was wearing a naval uniform, interacted with the submarine’s crew and witnessed various operational demonstrations. She lauded their dedication, while describing the indigenous submarine as a shining example of the Indian Navy’s professional excellence and combat preparedness. This maiden embarkation onboard an indigenous Kalvari-class submarine reflects the continued engagement of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in operational activities. Later, in the visitors’ book, the President wrote: “It was indeed a very special experience for me to sail, dive and spend time with our sailors and officers onboard INS Vaghsheer. The multiple successful firings and challenging operations carried out by INS Vaghsheer demonstrate the crew’s exceptional preparedness and dedication, in accordance with its motto ‘Veerta Varchasva Vijaya’.” Expressing confidence in the Indian Navy, she added, “Witnessing the discipline, confidence and enthusiasm of the Vaghsheer crew assures me that our submarines and the Indian Navy are combat-ready against any threat and under all circumstances.” President Murmu is the second President to undertake a submarine sortie. In February 2006, J Abdul Kalam experienced a submarine sortie onboard INS Sindhu Rakshak. INS Vaghsheer, the sixth and the last submarine in the Scorpene-class, was commissioned by PM Modi on 15 January at the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai.