www.thestatesman.com | FOLLOW US: India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Evolve @TheStatesmanLtd Pages 20 | ` 5.00 @thestatesmanltd | LC | People’s Parliament, Always in Session thestatesman1875 KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI 8th Day The deep blue sea BHUBANESWAR | 31 August 2025 S P O RT S The Grass is Greener Page 15 | Page 13 US Open: Djokovic advances to 4th round with win over Norrie Page 20 BRIEFLY Court convicts three for Bihar scribe’s murder: Patna: Nine years after the murder of senior journalist Rajdev Ranjan in Bihar's Siwan, a Special CBI Court in Muzaffarpur on Saturday convicted three accused while acquitting three others. On 13 May 2016, Rajdev Ranjan, then bureau chief of a leading Hindi daily, was shot dead in Siwan. While suspicion pointed towards jailed RJD strongman and former Siwan MP Mohammad Shahabuddin, the CBI, which took over the case, filed a charge sheet against seven accused, excluding Shahabuddin. Of the six adults tried in the case, the court found three, Vijay Kumar Gupta, Sonu Kumar Gupta and Rohit Kumar Soni, guilty, while Azharuddin alias Laddan Mian, Rajesh Kumar and Rishu Kumar Jaiswal were acquitted for lack of evidence. The seventh accused is a juvenile, whose case is being heard separately. PM Modi arrives in China for SCO summit, to meet Prez Xi PM speaks to Zelenskyy, reaffirms support for Ukraine peace settlement New Delhi, 30 August P Prime Minister Narendra Modi is welcomed by members of the Indian community at a hotel in Tianjin on Saturday. DPR PMO/ANI PM Modi has emphasised the importance of stable India-China relations for regional peace and prosperity. In a recent interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun, he stated that “stable, predictable, and amicable bilateral relations between India and China can have a positive impact on regional and global peace and prosperity.” The meeting between PM Modi and President Xi Jinping will be closely watched, given the current state of the relationship between the two nations. PM Modi has reaffirmed India’s commitment to respecting sovereignty, international law, and peaceful resolution of disputes, particularly in the Cloudburst, landslide kill at least 11, including 5 children, in J&K STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Jammu, 30 August At least 11 people, including 5 children, were killed and four are feared washed away in two separate incidents of cloudburst and landslide Less than 50 weapons fired in Op Sindoor to achieve conflict elimination: IAF AGENCIES New Delhi, 30 August The Indian Air Force has shed further light on the military operation that followed the devastating 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed 26 lives. Speaking at the NDTV Defence Summit on Saturday, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari showed new footage and revealed operational details of Operation Sindoor, India's precision strikes against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Planning began almost immediately after the attack. On April 23, all three armed services convened at their respective headquarters to assess options. By April 24, a high-level team had reviewed a range of contingency plans, many of which had been prepared in advance for rapid deployment. Tactical planning intensified over the next few days, and by April 29, nine key targets had been finalised. The strike date was set for May 5. Between May 6 and 9, Indian forces executed a series of calculated strikes," he said. According to Air Marshal Tiwari, fewer than 50 weapons were used to achieve what he described as "conflict elimination". After four days of intense cross-border drone and missile exchanges, both nations reached an understanding on 10 May to end hostilities. triggered by incessant rain on Saturday in Reasi and Ramban districts of Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir. In Reasi district, 7 members of a family were buried under debris after their house collapsed due to a landslide in the Mahore STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Kolkata, 30 August SHAHID K ABBAS rime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday arrived in Tianjin, China, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, marking his first visit to China in seven years. During his visit, he will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and other world leaders. “Landed in Tianjin, China. Looking forward to deliberations at the SCO Summit and meeting various world leaders,” PM Modi said in a post on X. Mr Modi landed in China after his two-day visit to Japan. The SCO summit is crucial for India, especially after the US imposed 50 per cent tariffs, including a 25 per cent punitive tariff on India for buying Russian crude oil. SSC publishes list of 1,804 ‘tainted’ teachers after top court prod sub-division of Reasi. The bodies of those killed were retrieved from the debris by residents of the village who initiated a rescue operation immediately after the incident. In Ramban, four people lost their lives and four others went missing after a cloudburst in the higher reaches of Rajgarh unleashed flash floods. The gushing waters swept away houses and damaged several structures, according to officials. Rescue and relief operations are in progress. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held a telephonic conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during which he reaffirmed India’s consistent position for peaceful settlement of the ongoing conflict in Europe and support for efforts aimed at the earliest restoration of peace. PM Modi is in China’s Tianjin to attend the two-day Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, beginning Sunday. In a post on X after his telephonic conversation with the Ukraine President, PM Modi said: "Thank President Zelenskyy for his phone call today. We exchanged views on the ongoing conflict, its humanitarian aspect, and efforts to restore peace and stability. India extends full support to all efforts in this direction." context of China's military expansion in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The SCO Summit also marks a significant moment in India-Pakistan relations. PM Modi will share the stage with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which will be the first time since Operation Sindoor, the punitive strikes launched by India on terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir in May 2025 in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. • More reports on Page 5 The West Bengal School Service Commission (WBSSC) on Saturday finally made public the list of 1804 ‘tainted’ teachers from the selection panel of the State Level Selection Test held by it in the year 2016 by releasing their names. The WBSSC released the list four days before the deadline of 3 September set by the Supreme Court. It uploaded the list of 1804 candidates in alphabetical order in its official website at 8 p.m. giving their names, serial number and roll number. The commission was prompted to release the list after the Supreme Court on 28 August directed it to publish the list on its official website in the next seven days. With the official publication of the list no ‘tainted’ candidates would be allowed to appear Teachers belonging to Jogya Shikhika and Shikshak Adikar Mancha organise a ‘SSC Bhawan Chalo’ protest demanding recruitment, in Kolkata. ANI FILE PHOTO in the fresh recruitment process scheduled on 7 and 14 September for the post of assistant teachers. The commission also cancelled around 2,000 admit cards of 1,400 'tainted' candidates who had applied for the fresh recruitment exam. It has released a second list of cancelled admit cards of these candidates. • More details on Page 3