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 LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI ‘Delhi Assembly is showing the way’ Trump announces Hamas disarmament deal NATION Om Birla cautions MPs against banners, costumes in LS Page 9 Page 11 STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE S Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he had a telephonic conversation with newly-elected United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham. During the call, the two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across sectors and fully leverage the opportunities created by the recently operationalised India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). “Delighted to speak with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Andy Burnham. Congratulated him on assuming office and conveyed my Page 16 ‘`15,000 crore revenue lost, Mamata looked other way’ Kolkata, 31 July New Delhi, 31 July India strike double gold in judo as Asmita, Harsh top podium Page 5 PM, UK’s Burnham pledge to strengthen strategic partnership STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Saturday, 01 August 2026 SPORTS SATURDAY INTERVIEW WORLD | best wishes for a successful tenure,” Mr Modi said in a post on social media platform X. Mr Modi said both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to expanding the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership by strengthening collaboration in key areas including technology, innovation, defence, security, clean energy and education. He also said India and the United Kingdom would work closely to maximise the benefits of the recently operationalised India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, focusing on boosting trade, investment and economic growth in both countries. tating that the illegal stone mining and smuggling racket that thrived in Birbhum district caused around Rs 15,000 crore loss to the state exchequer under the previous dispensation led by Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday alleged that pilferage of such a magnitude could not have taken place without her “direct concurrence”. “The state had lost a revenue of about Rs 15,000 crore because of the racket during the then Trinamul Congress dispenation led by Mamata Banerjee.... A racket of such a magnitude, where cash to the tune of Rs 93 crore has been frozen so far, could not have been possible without the direct concurrence of the former chief minister, who had looked the other way for so many years,” Mr Adhikari said while addressing a media conference at the state secretariat Nabanna. He said: “If you take strict action from the top, that should percolate down to the bottom to see action on the issue, But in this case just the opposite happened. The former chief minister. Instead of taking any action, had kept her eyes shut and encouraged the crime to go on unchecked”. Listing out the seizures so far, the chief minister said PM says he forgives students who abused him Back in Bengal Exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin arrives at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata on Friday, marking her return to the city after nearly 20 years. BISWAJIT GHOSHAL (Report on Page 3) New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said he was forgiving the students who hurled abuse at him and his late mother during the Jantar Mantar protest, saying mistakes happen in childhood and that they should be guided rather than punished. In a video message shared on social media, Mr Modi said the language used by some protesters “would not suit any civilised society”, but said they should be shown the right path rather than punished. “These are misguided children, and showing them the way is our duty; we will not be able to change circumstances by punishing them, making them run around the courts, or harassing them,” he said. Hockey India chief says saffron jersey switch approved without Executive Board’s knowledge Delhi riots: Tahir Hussain, four others get life terms in Ankit Sharma murder case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hockey India president Dilip Tirkey (photo) on Friday questioned the decision to replace the Indian hockey team’s traditional blue jersey with a saffron kit for the upcoming FIH Hockey World Cup, saying the move was implemented without the knowledge or approval of the federation’s Executive Board. In emails sent to senior office-bearers and Executive Board members on Friday, Mr Tirkey said the decision was taken without being discussed by the elected leadership. A screenshot of one of the emails has since surfaced on social media. “I wish to bring to your attention the recent change in the colour of the Indian national team's jersey. This decision appears to have Six years after Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma was killed during the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, a Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment. The court observed that “the barbarity with which this horrendous crime was committed is nauseating and sickening,” while ruling that the convicts were not beyond reformation and therefore did not deserve the death penalty. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court sentenced Hussain, along with Nazir, Asim, Javed and Anas, after convicting them of murder and other offences under the Indian New Delhi, 31 July New Delhi, 31 July been taken and implemented without being placed before the Executive Board for discussion and without my prior knowledge,” Mr Tirkey wrote. He clarified that his objection was not to the saffron jersey itself but to the process through which the decision was made. “...a decision of this significance, involving the identity and representation of our national team, should ideally have been discussed with the elected leadership and the Executive Board before implementation,” he said. Penal Code, including rioting, promoting enmity between groups, unlawful assembly, kidnapping and disobedience of prohibitory orders. Rejecting the Delhi Police’s plea for capital punishment, the court ruled that although the murder was exceptionally brutal, the prosecution had failed to establish that the convicts were beyond reform. Describing the circumstances surrounding Sharma’s death, the court said: “The savagery did not end there. Instead, the body was strapped like an animal as if the hatred had still not been satiated. The body was then thrown into the nallah (drain). The barbarity with which this horrendous crime was committed, is nauseating and sickening. Therefore this is an aggravating circumstance of immense magnitude... The crime test, thus, tilts the case towards the rarest of rare cases.” besides the freezing of Rs 93 crore kept in bank accounts belonging to the prime accused illegal stone baron Md Nazimuddin alias Tulu Mandol, cash amounting to Rs 53 lakhs has been impounded, and gold worth Rs 50 crore recovered. He said in volume terms, 268 grams of gold, 400 grams of silver, and 23 grams of platinum have been recovered. These apart, three cash counting machines, one computer, two pen drives and one Central Processing Unit (CPU) has been confiscated.. Mr Adhikari said around 21 properties spread over nearly 300 bighas, including two petrol pumps, a farmhouse, seven houses, three stone quarries and two stone crushers, belonging to Mondal and his relatives have been seized. Besides, 242 vehicles and 83 trucks belonging to Tulu Mandol have been confiscated. Taking a dig at the earlier dispensation on the revenue loss to the state exchequer, the chief minister alleged that the annual revenue from Birbhum’s stone mining sector used to be between Rs 6080 crore. In contrast, after the BJP government came to power, between 11 May and 11 June, about Rs 83 crore has been earned as revenue from stone quarries in Birbhum, with the figure now approaching Rs 100 crore a month. • Related report: Page 2 Two migrant labourers shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir's Kulgam: Jammu: Two migrant labourers from Chhattisgarh were on Friday evening shot dead by terrorists in South Kashmir's Kulgam district. The two workers, Deepak and Bhupinder were reportedly targeted at a brick kiln in a village of Kulgam. This is the first incident of terrorists targeting migrant labourers after a lull of about four years. One of the victims died on the spot, while the other succumbed in hospital, reports said. Security forces have cordoned the area and launched a large-scale search operation following these killings.