FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Friday, 23 January, 2026 SPORTS WORLD BUSINESS India, US work overtime to seal ‘Good Trade Deal’ India condemns vandalism at its Embassy in Croatia’s Zagreb: New Delhi: Condemning the incident of trespassing and vandalism at the Indian Embassy in Croatia's Zagreb by anti-India elements, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said under the Vienna Convention, diplomatic premises are inviolable and must be protected. The MEA said India has taken up the matter strongly with the Croatian authorities. “We condemn the incident of trespassing and vandalism at our Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia by anti-India elements,” the MEA said. “Under the Vienna Convention, diplomatic premises are inviolable and must be protected. Accordingly, we have taken up the matter strongly with Croatian authorities, both in New Delhi and in Zagreb and asked them to hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible and illegal actions,” it said. I don’t have a lot of shots: Abhishek keeps it simple to thrive in T20Is Page 8 Page 16 EDITORIAL Page 12 Page 13 BRIEFLY Managed Transition Trump signs Board of Peace charter at Davos; 22 nations sign up B’desh board sticks to stance, won’t play matches in India TRIDIB BAPARNASH New Delhi, 22 January B angladesh have maintained their refusal to travel to India for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, even after the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday warned that the team could be replaced if it continued to push for an alternative venue. The position was reaffirmed following a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday involving Bangladesh’s sports adviser Asif Nazrul, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Aminul Islam, CEO Nizamuddin and several national team players. The outcome leaves Bangladesh facing the possibility of missing the tournament, which begins on 7 February. A group of senior players, including Nurul Hasan, Shamim Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Jaker Ali and Saif Hassan, attended the meeting, underscoring the seriousness of the situation as the deadline set by the ICC approaches. Addressing the media after the meeting, BCB president Aminul said the board would continue to push for a venue change. “We will go back to the ICC with our plan to play in Sri Lanka,” Aminul said. “They did give us a 24-hour ultimatum but a global body can't really do that. ICC will miss out on 200 million people watching the World Cup. It will be their loss.” Mr Nazrul escalated the standoff with the International Cricket Council by accusing the global body of failing to deliver justice over the country’s security concerns ahead of the T20 World Cup in India. “I think we did not get justice from ICC. Whether we will play in the World Cup or not is entirely a government decision. Nothing happened in India in the recent past that suggests things have changed there (security- wise). We hope ICC will give us justice.” In the original schedule released by the ICC, Bangladesh are placed in Group C alongside England, Italy, West Indies and Nepal, and are set to play their first three matches in Kolkata before concluding the group stage in Mumbai. Their opening fixture is against West Indies on 7 February, the first day of the tournament. If Bangladesh are removed from the tournament, Scotland are the frontrunners to take their place in Group C. Scotland narrowly missed qualification for the 2026 T20 World Cup, finishing behind the Netherlands, Italy and Jersey at the European Qualifier. The issue of security was raised by the Bangladesh government and BCB, a day after a directive from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on January 3, asking Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to release Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman from their IPL 2026 squad. Top Maoist Anal Da among 15 killed in Saranda operation STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ranchi, 22 January Security forces on Thursday killed CPI (Maoist) central committee member and top leader Anal Da, carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, in a fierce encounter in the Saranda forests of Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district. Reports indicate that at least 14 other Maoists were also killed in the operation. Confirming the development, IG (Operations) Michael Raj said Anal Da, also known as Patiram Manjhi, was killed during a prolonged gunfight between Maoist cadres and joint security forces. The encounter took place near Kumbhdiha village within the Chotanagra police station limits. According to Jharkhand Police headquarters, the exchange of fire began around 6 a.m. on 22 January after specific intelligence inputs suggested that a Maoist squad led by Anal Da was planning a major strike. Acting on the information, joint teams of CoBRA, Jharkhand Jaguar and the CRPF launched a coordinated operation in the Saranda forest belt. During search operations following the encounter, security forces recovered 15 bodies along with a large quantity of arms and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles, SLRs and hundreds of rounds. The identification process is underway with the assistance of local villagers. Maoists Rajesh and Bulbul, each carrying a reward of ₹2 lakh, have been identified among the dead. Anal Da was regarded as one of the most influential Maoist leaders operating in the Jharkhand-Bihar region. A native of Giridih district, he was associated with the CPI (Maoist)’s Jharkhand-Bihar Special Area Committee and had been active in the Saranda forests for several years. With his death, only two Maoists carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore are believed to be active in the state. (Representational image)