confirmed with mre record date is 10th nov ..., page-9

short covering. not shorting.

People with existing short positions may have been keen to close them out rather than deal with additional complications caused by the rights issue.

As I understand it, shorters who had borrowed shares ( possibly months ago ) and short sold them, would have to compensate the party which they had borrowed the shares from for the rights issue. It may be simpler for the holder of the short position to close out the position rather than deal with it.