Category: India

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said withdrawing the cases would help the accused rebuild their lives and careers, while prioritising justice and healing over prolonged litigation would foster peace, unity and harmony.

Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Wednesday announced the withdrawal of criminal cases against 20 people booked in connection with the violence that broke out in Leh on September 24 last year. He said the decision was taken “in the larger interest of peace, public tranquillity, and social harmony in Ladakh”.

Saxena said the move followed a comprehensive review, after which the Ladakh Police recommended a closure report for the 20 individuals in FIR No. 144/2005 registered at Leh police station under Section 360 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.

He said the decision would allow them to move forward with their lives and careers, and added that giving priority to justice and healing over prolonged litigation would help build a more peaceful, united and harmonious society in Ladakh.

In a post on X, the Lieutenant Governor also thanked Union Home Minister Amit Shah for his “constant guidance and sympathetic approach” in matters concerning victims and their families.

The Ladakh administration had said in August that it would file closure reports in cases lodged against certain individuals following the September 24, 2025 violence in Leh.

The announcement came a day after representatives of the Kargil Democratic Alliance and the Leh Apex Body met officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Leh, and a day ahead of the first anniversary of the incident.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ladakh-withdraws-cases-against-20-booked-over-leh-violence-ptag-3001390-2026-09-23

The UP STF has arrested Arun Kumar alias Devil in the SSC GD Constable exam manipulation case and seized multiple electronic devices from him. Investigators say the alleged network used proxy servers and custom hardware to remotely access candidates’ computers, and that he is also linked to an earlier exam fraud case.

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Arun Kumar alias Devil, a 30-year-old hacker involved in manipulating the online SSC GD Constable examination, from Delhi’s Shahbad. Police said he was wanted in a similar case.

Arun Kumar, son of Teja Yadav, is a BA graduate and a native of Patna, Bihar. He was arrested from Shahbad Dairy under Begumpur police station limits in Delhi.

The STF said Arun was part of a network that allegedly used proxy servers and hacking techniques to remotely control candidates’ computers during online examinations. Investigators also recovered several electronic devices used in the operation.

HOW THE SSC GD EXAM HACKING WAS CARRIED OUT

The case relates to malpractice in the online SSC GD Constable examination. On May 22, 2026, the UP STF raided Balaji Digital Zone in Greater Noida and arrested seven people, recovering Rs 50 lakh in cash and proxy server equipment.

Among those arrested at the time were alleged key accused Pradeep Chauhan and hacker Amit Rana. With Arun Kumar’s arrest, 12 accused in the case have so far been sent to jail.

During interrogation, investigators learnt that Amit Rana and Arun Kumar allegedly worked together to decode the source file of the examination server and create a script that connected clients to a proxy server.

According to the STF, the setup was then used to remotely control the computers of candidates from outside.

11 RASPBERRY Pi DEVICES, 12 TFT SCREENS RECOVERED

The STF said it recovered a large quantity of electronic equipment from Arun Kumar.

The seized items include 12 TFT screens, two laptops, 11 Raspberry Pi devices, 14 video capture devices, 13 HDTV VGA adapters and nine USB adapters.

According to the investigation, the Raspberry Pi devices and other equipment were used in the setup for manipulating and remotely accessing examination systems.

HOW ARUN KUMAR BECAME ‘DEVIL’

During questioning, Arun allegedly told investigators that he entered the hacking world in 2019 while preparing for competitive examinations in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi.

The STF said he came in contact with a man named Manoj, a resident of Darbhanga, during that period. Manoj allegedly introduced him to screen sharing and hacking techniques.

Arun gradually began making modified TFT screens and became known as ‘Devil’ in hacking circles, according to the STF.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/uttar-pradesh/story/ssc-gd-exam-hacking-mastermind-arun-kumar-devil-arrested-proxy-devices-3001491-2026-09-23

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US values international institutions like the UN, but believes the system is failing to fulfil its potential and addressing issues beyond its intended mandate.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the world currently lacks a sufficiently effective international system to deal with major conflicts, citing tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, the potential for conflict between India and Pakistan, and ongoing crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan and Rwanda.

Rubio said it “would be great” if a functional international mechanism existed to address such disputes, while arguing that the existing international order has moved beyond what he described as its original purpose.

Speaking to reporters in New York, Rubio said the US recognises the value of the international system and that institutions such as the United Nations have significant potential. However, he said the system was not delivering on that potential and had become involved in issues beyond its intended mandate.

“We see the utility in the international system. We’re here…I think the President has said that the United Nations, for example, has tremendous potential, but it’s not living up to it…,” Rubio said.

Rubio said there was broad agreement among leaders attending the high-level UN General Assembly session that the international system was not functioning effectively. He argued that the system needed to return to what he called its proper focus and role.

“I think multiple leaders…pointed to the fact that the international system is failing, and it’s failing because it has grown beyond its mandate. It has grown beyond its intent. It’s involved in all kinds of things that shouldn’t be involved in, and it’s unable to solve virtually any major conflict in the world,” he added.

Referring to recent and potential regional disputes, Rubio said a more effective international framework could have a role in addressing conflicts such as the fighting between Thailand and Cambodia and possible tensions between India and Pakistan.

“But it’s broken because it broke itself. It needs to be brought back to its proper focus and its proper role. It would be great if we had a functional international system, for example, that could deal with a war between Thailand and Cambodia that occurred, or a potential conflict between India and Pakistan…Right now, we don’t seem to have a functional international system that can address it,” he said.

Rubio also stressed that the US would continue to prioritise its own national interests in the absence of an effective international framework.

“I want to be clear because this is not an attack on the international system. But at the end of the day, the US will always act, at least as long as President Trump is in office, we will always act in the national interest of our country, not in the interest of the international order. We will never put the international order above the interest of the US,” Rubio said.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-pakistan-conflict-international-system-broken-marco-rubio-unga-3001547-2026-09-23

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has criticised the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, fueling an ongoing Opposition campaign against the electoral body.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP (Mamata Banerjee camp) Mahua Moitra has issued a sharp message on social media amid the ongoing Opposition campaign against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. She also attacked the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, amid the ongoing reports of an alleged rift within the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

In a post on X, Moitra wrote, “Beware – the revolution is coming! Everyone is going to hit the streets till we reclaim our democracy from the clutches of this Chor.”

Beware – the revolution is coming! Everyone is going to hit the streets till we reclaim our democracy from the clutches of this Chor https://t.co/U2p3Tp6uws

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) September 23, 2026

The TMC leader’s remarks come against the backdrop of growing Opposition criticism of the Election Commission over the SIR exercise and allegations concerning the functioning of the poll panel.

Opposition Goes Full Throttle After CEC

Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded scrapping of the SIR exercise and mounted a fierce attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that he was running the poll panel as a “one-man autocracy” and demanding his impeachment and arrest, after objections raised by election commissioners on the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists came into the open.
The ruling BJP, however, said that election commissioners sharing differing views in official deliberations shows the Election Commission (EC) is functioning in a democratic manner and demolishes the opposition parties’ allegation that it is “dictatorial”.

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/india/revolution-is-coming-mahua-moitra-warns-of-street-protests-vows-to-reclaim-democracy-article-156211255

 

At the UNGA, the Ukrainian President asked at least 47 countries, whose citizens were fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war, to protect their nationals.

Russia is luring Indians into its war against Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky has said. The Ukrainian President alleged that Moscow was recruiting nationals from 47 countries through “deception and tricks”.

At the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, Zelensky asked the other countries to prevent their citizens from being drawn into the Russia-Ukraine war.

“We know that Russia uses citizens of 47 countries in its war. Ghana, Nepal, Tajikistan, India, Yemen, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Belarus, Sudan, South Africa, many others… We also see people dying on the battlefield who are not Russians — people from your countries, 47 countries, who ended up in Russia through deception and tricks,” the Ukrainian president said.

Breaking: Ukraine President Zelensky directly raises Indians being trafficked to fight for Russian military along with nationals of 46 other countries https://t.co/H0gsvxFVYP

— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) September 23, 2026

Zelensky’s message to India, other countries

The Ukrainian president addressed representatives of the countries whose citizens he claimed were fighting in the war. He asked them to protect their nationals.

“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is always looking for someone who can help him kill more, kill more people for every kilometre of land, take more territory and take another country instead of simply stopping and running his own country,” Zelensky said at the UN.

“Do not let Putin drag you into this war. Limit his room to act, limit his money, limit his war,” he added.

51 Indians dead in Russia-Ukraine war: MEA

The Russian armed forced recruited 227 Indian nationals, according to figures released by the ministry of external affairs. Of these, 139 had been discharged, while 51 died, foreign secretary Vikram Misri said earlier this month.

Misri said New Delhi remained in discussions with Moscow to secure the release and repatriation of the remaining Indians, as per news agency ANI.

Zelenskyy calls for pressure on Russia’s war finances

Zelensky also called for measures to restrict Russia’s ability to finance and sustain the war. He said Moscow’s oil industry was facing significant pressure.

He clarified that Ukraine’s objective was not to target oil, fuel supplies, factories or ports for their own sake. Instead, he said Kyiv wanted to reduce Russia’s ability to generate revenue for the war.

“Oil itself is not Ukraine’s target, not our target, not gasoline or diesel, not factories or ports … Our target is Russia’s ability to finance this war, to drag it out, to make it more brutal and more destructive,” he said.

“Russia’s finances and Russia’s production are what must be stopped if Putin is to be stopped,” he added. Zelensky has also asked India, China and Turkey to reduce their energy trade with Russia.

“Russia is basing its economy on India, sometimes Turkey and China. And it is obvious if these guys stop their energy trade with Russia, then it (Russia) will have to stop fighting the war,” he told The Wall Street Journal.

India has maintained that its oil purchases are guided by market conditions and national energy-security requirements. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India’s energy decisions take into account the interests of Indian consumers and the economy overall.

North Korean troops and military cooperation

The Ukrainian president also accused North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of sending troops to Russia to support its military operations against Ukraine. Zelensky alleged that Pyongyang was receiving advanced military capabilities, including assistance related to ballistic missiles and drone technology, in return.

“Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine?” he asked. “Recently, we sent two North Korean prisoners of war to the Republic of Korea. These guys are not easy to capture alive,” he said.

 

During a meeting at the UN, India’s Jaishankar expressed concerns over US sanctions related to Russian energy purchases.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said he raised New Delhi’s concerns over Washington’s sanctions against Russian energy buyers in a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s High Level Week in New York.

The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act (SRIA) of 2026, signed into law last week, gives US President Donald Trump the authority to levy up to 100% tariffs on the top five purchasers of Russian oil and gas. India, China, Azerbaijan, Slovakia and Hungary are presently implicated by this provision.

‘Reiterated India’s interests,’ Jaishankar

“Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations,” Jaishankar said in a post on X on Wednesday.

In a statement after the meeting, Rubio said that the US is coordinating with India on “regional priorities” and “multilateral efforts”.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs, in a statement released after the law was signed, argued that the legislation could have implications for the India-US relationship as well as global energy markets.

“This issue has been discussed at high levels in recent months with various US interlocutors. Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side,” the MEA said in its statement on September 17.

New Delhi will safeguard the economy

The foreign ministry had said that New Delhi will take the necessary measures to safeguard its economy and work closely with trade and industry bodies. In addition, the MEA had said India would remain committed to ensuring energy security for its 1.4 billion people through diversified energy procurement based on market dynamics.

India’s concerns about the SRIA will also likely be discussed on Thursday, when foreign secretary Vikram Misri is expected to meet with his American counterpart Allison Hooker, who serves as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Additional high level meetings may also take place in New York this week.

“Great to meet with Indian External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar in New York today. Together, we are building on the U.S.-India strategic partnership and coordinating on key regional priorities and upcoming multilateral efforts,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X.

Trump is a very strong believer in tariffs: Rubio

Later, Rubio told reporters Trump is a very strong believer in tariffs as a tool of national policy and the Russia sanctions act gives him that authority to influence what happens in the Ukraine conflict. “The law gives the President tariff authority. It’s the first time I think in like 70 years that Congress has granted the President tariff authority. The President is a very strong believer in tariffs as a tool of national policy. So this is good,” Rubio told reporters. However, Rubio pointed out the law also gives the President national security waivers, which allows him to apply them as needed in individual cases.

The SRIA was signed into law by President Trump on Friday last week after its passage in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Senate had passed the SRIA in August by a decisive margin.

To be sure, the bill does not name any country as a target. Instead, it tasks the US Trade Representative, in consultation with the Secretary of State and Secretary of Energy, to identify the five largest importers of Russian crude and gas by total volume over the preceding 12 months, with the list reassessed every 180 days. The tariff rate – which can be set at any rate up to the ceiling 100% – is set at the president’s discretion. The President is not compelled by law to place tariffs on purchasers of Russian energy.

However, the legislation’s key backers – especially Senators Richard Blumenthal and Jeanne Shaheen – have stressed that India and China are among the major targets of the proposed tariffs.

“To China and India: You better clean up your act. Buy your oil and gas somewhere else,” said Senator Blumenthal on Wednesday after the bill passed in the House of Representatives.

Good to meet @SecRubio of the US #UNHighLevelWeek

Reiterated India’s interests and concerns with regard to SRIA. Also discussed the Gulf and Ukraine situations.

🇮🇳 🇺🇸 https://t.co/163YRVlMZG

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) September 23, 2026

The meeting comes days after US President Donald Trump signed the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act into law, giving him expanded authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, a list that currently includes India.

The legislation had been passed by the US House of Representatives two days before Trump signed it into law.

The Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 cleared the House on Wednesday by 262-159 margin, after passing the Senate 86-11 on August 7.

It grants Trump the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five largest purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas — a list that, by current import volumes, includes China, India, Slovakia, Hungary and Azerbaijan.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/jaishankar-meets-rubio-at-unga-raises-concern-over-100-russian-oil-tariff-bill-101790170898490.html

 

 

The West Bengal Cabinet has decided in principle to gradually shut down 250 government-recognised private madrasas citing low enrolment and inadequate infrastructure. The institutions will continue classes till December before closure. The Cabinet also approved recruitment of around 1.51 lakh personnel across departments, including 16,000 in police forces.

The West Bengal Cabinet on Wednesday took an in-principle decision to gradually shut down 250 government-recognised private madrasas, most of which have very low or negligible student enrolment and inadequate infrastructure, an official said.

Madrasas face closure

These madrasas across the state will be allowed to continue holding classes until December in the interest of the handful of students currently enrolled, after which they will be closed, he said.

The council of ministers also cleared a proposal for recruitment of around 1.51 lakh personnel across various government departments.

“The Cabinet decided in principle to close down 250 private madrasas that lack adequate infrastructure and have a negligible number of students. They will be allowed to function till December,” the official said.

The reports from these institutions are expected to be received before the Durga Puja festivities, following which necessary administrative action will be taken, the official said.

Survey prompts action

The move comes days after the state government ordered closure of 252 unauthorised madrasas and sent show-cause notices to around 100 others after a state-wide survey that found that several such institutions lacked requisite approvals and basic infrastructure.

Nearly 2,500 madrasas operating across the state without government registration may also be closed in phases in future, the official said.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to issue show-cause notices to 100 other madrasas over alleged irregularities, he added.

Government recruitment plan

The council of ministers cleared a proposal for recruitment of around 1.51 lakh personnel across various government departments, including 16,000 in the state and Kolkata police, the official said.

Of them, 12,000 personnel will be hired in the West Bengal Police and 4,000 in Kolkata Police.

“The government wants to expedite recruitment across departments and fill vacancies so that public services are not affected. The departments concerned have been asked to address issues holding up the recruitment process,” the senior bureaucrat said.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/west-bengal-cabinet-approves-closure-of-250-private-madrasas-clears-recruitment-of-151-lakh-personnel

Bypoll in Nandigram is slated for October 6. The campaign ends on October 4, and the counting of votes is scheduled for October 9.

The West Bengal Congress on Wednesday said it has moved the Calcutta High Court seeking bail for its Nandigram bypoll candidate Milan Pradhan, and also filed a writ petition challenging alleged discrepancies in the affidavit submitted by BJP nominee Hasirani Rath.

The party said the writ petition seeks judicial scrutiny of the alleged discrepancies and the Election Commission’s “action or inaction” in the matter.

Bypoll in Nandigram is slated for October 6. The campaign ends on October 4, and the counting of votes is scheduled for October 9.

Pradhan was arrested last week in connection with cases filed against him during the 2007 anti-land acquisition movement in Nandigram. He was sent to judicial custody by a court till October 3 in four pending non-bailable arrest warrants in the 2007 case. Another court remanded him to judicial custody till October 5, in a two-decades-old Arms Act case.

The Congress, in its writ petition, has pointed out that BJP candidate Rath’s affidavit stated that she was “60+ years” old and that she cleared Class 10 examination in 1965, revealing a discrepancy regarding her age and the time of attaining the educational qualification.

Rath has not mentioned her date of birth in the affidavit and said her age is “60+ years”.

In the educational qualifications column, Rath mentioned she cleared the Class 10 exam from Chowkhali Ganga Padma Milan Kanya Vidyapith (HS) in 1965.

The entries do not add up. If Rath was 60 years old in 2026, her year of birth would be around 1966, a year after she completed Class 10, as stated in the poll affidavit. If she was 65, her birth year would be around 1961, meaning she completed Class 10 at an age of around four years.

Conversely, if she completed Class 10 at the more usual age of around 14-16 years, the 1965 qualification year would place her birth around 1949-51, making her approximately 75-77 years old in 2026.

In a statement, the Congress said, “Acting on the instructions of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president Subhankar Sarkar, the party today moved the Calcutta High Court with a bail petition on behalf of Nandigram Congress candidate Milan Pradhan and a writ petition concerning the affidavit submitted by BJP candidate Hasirani Rath and the Election Commission of India’s response to the alleged discrepancies.”

For the writ proceedings, Sarkar authorised Mita Chakraborty to act as the state Congress’ attorney and representative, including executing the vakalatnama and engaging advocates, the statement said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/passed-class-10-before-birth-congress-goes-to-court-over-bjp-nandigram-pick-12089026?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The IIT Bombay student is seen seated in a front-row seat in the exam hall when an invigilator stops by and pulls him aside.

The IIT Bombay student, whose death by suicide has triggered an abetment case, was caught using a mobile phone in the examination hall, the institute had earlier said. The CCTV footage from the examination hall has now emerged, showing Sahil Wakode being pulled aside by an invigilator last Friday (September 18).

Wearing a black t-shirt, Wakode is seen seated in a front-row seat when an invigilator, Prof Suryanarayana Doolla, stops by and speaks to him. He gets up from the bench briefly, sits back, and then hands over his mobile phone to the invigilator, the CCTV footage shows.

The conversation between Wakode and Doolla then continues for some time before he starts gathering his belongings and appears to leave the examination hall.

Hours later, the 22-year-old second-year student was found hanging in his hostel room.

Condoling his death, IIT Bombay had said the student was found using his mobile phone during an examination earlier in the day. He had uploaded the question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers, a statement read, adding that no disciplinary action was initiated against him.

The CCTV footage serves as crucial evidence in the suicide case, with investigators trying to determine what had happened during the last 20 minutes of the exam.

Wakode’s parents later alleged he faced harassment at the institute and had told them about caste discrimination. His father, Ravindra Wakode, and mother, Sonali, have demanded the arrest of Prof Doolla, accusing him of discriminating against their son.

“Doolla used to discriminate against my son. My son had told me about this discrimination, but I told him it’s difficult to secure admission in IIT. I told him to bear with it,” Ravindra Wakode had told reporters.

The IIT Bombay’s faculty, however, came out in support of Prof Doolla, stating that he is being maligned for just doing his job.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/on-camera-iit-bombay-student-sahil-wakode-who-died-by-suicide-stopped-during-exam-pulled-aside-12088050?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

According to official classifications from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), no storm named Cyclone Arnab actually exists in the Bay of Bengal

Social media feeds and digital headlines are abuzz with warnings about “Cyclone Arnab” barrelling towards the eastern coast of India. However, according to official classifications from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), no storm named Cyclone Arnab actually exists in the Bay of Bengal.

The weather system currently impacting the region is scientifically classified as a “Deep Depression”. While it brings heavy deluges and gusty winds to Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal, it has not met the strict meteorological thresholds required to earn an official cyclone name.

The 63 km/h Line: How Weather Systems Are Classified

The distinction between a deep depression and a cyclonic storm comes down to wind speed and atmospheric pressure patterns. The India Meteorological Department follows precise scientific parameters to categorise low-pressure systems forming over the North Indian Ocean:

Bangladesh Prime Minister Rahman did not attend the recent BRICS Summit in Delhi, hosted under India’s chairmanship.

India desires positive, constructive and forward-looking ties with Bangladesh, and New Delhi is ready to discuss with Dhaka all bilateral issues within the existing structured mechanisms, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday.

The comment by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came during his bi-weekly briefing on multiple queries related to the current state of bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh, and whether External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is going to have a meeting with a Bangladesh delegation on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

“I do not have any information on whether the external affairs minister is going to have a meeting with the Bangladesh delegation, but I will keep you updated if there are any developments of this nature,” Jaiswal said.

Jaishankar reached New York on Sunday, leading the Indian delegation for the 81st session of the UNGA. He has held a series of bilateral meetings on the margins of the high-level session.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Monday left for New York on a five-day visit during which he will address the UNGA, attend UN programmes and hold bilateral and multilateral meetings.

The state-run BSS news agency of Bangladesh said that on the sidelines of the UNGA, Rahman would hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Pakistan, Bhutan, Thailand, Croatia, Haiti and the Crown Prince of Kuwait.

Jaiswal was also asked if Bangladesh’s foreign secretary Asad Alam Siam, who is set to be the country’s new high commissioner in New Delhi, as reported by several media outlets, indicated that the bilateral ties are “back on track”.

“On the trajectory of the bilateral relationship, we have said this in the past as well, India desires a positive, constructive and forward-looking relationship with Bangladesh. We are ready to discuss all the issues within the structured mechanisms that we have right now. We want to take this relationship forward in a positive and constructive direction, in a forward-looking manner,” Jaiswal said.

The relations between India and Bangladesh witnessed a major downturn after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus came to power following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024 in the face of a massive student-led agitation.

A new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, led by Prime Minister Rahman, came to power in February following the parliamentary elections.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/india-desires-positive-constructive-forward-looking-ties-with-bangladesh-mea-4155765

 

Sahil’s father also dismissed allegations that his son was cheated during a mid-semester examination.

The father of IIT-Bombay student Sahil Wakode, who was found dead in his hostel room last week, has alleged that his son was subjected to harassment because he belonged to a Scheduled Caste.

Sahil’s father, Ravindra Wakode, also rejected allegations that his son had cheated during a mid-semester examination, saying the claims should be backed by evidence.

“I had explained to him that he had got admission to IIT and told him to focus on his studies when he told me about these incidents. That was my fault. The investigation should be completed and the accused should be arrested. Action should be taken. They should give evidence and prove the cheating allegations,” Ravindra said.

He also questioned the institute’s statements surrounding the incident and alleged that his son had faced caste-based discrimination.

“It is suspicious that IIT-Bombay has changed its statement. ‘I am of a higher caste and you are of a lower caste’ — he was tortured this way. Sahil should be given justice. Action should be taken under the sections mentioned in the FIR, and against the accused. Doolla and the director Shireesh Kedare should also face action. He was tortured. I trust the Crime Branch,” he said.

Sahil Wakode, 22, a second-year BTech student in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found hanging in his hostel room on the Powai campus on September 18 evening, hours after he was allegedly caught using a mobile phone to access ChatGPT during a mid-semester examination.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/tortured-due-to-his-caste-iit-bombay-students-father-demands-action-against-director-prof-doolla-10346434.html

In 12 days, Delhi saw four rapes — from a 17‑year‑old attacked in Astha Kunj Park to a six‑year‑old near Deshbandhu Gupta Road.

One went to a temple to pray. One stepped out to buy a pencil and a notebook. One went to meet a friend. One was six years old. In 12 days, in Delhi, all four were raped, and one of them did not come home alive. Start with the latest. On Monday night, a 17-year-old and a male friend entered Astha Kunj Park near the Kalkaji temple. Three men allegedly approached them claiming to be policemen, accused the pair of “doing wrong,” separated them, and raped the girl in turns. The accused , Asif, Hemant and his brother Mukesh , were arrested early on Tuesday after an hours-long manhunt.

The same Monday, in another part of the city, a six-year-old was raped near Deshbandhu Gupta Road. The accused has been held.

Days earlier, on September 16, a Class 6 student in Sadar Bazar who had left home to buy stationery was tied up and raped inside a shop by its owner. He has since been arrested.

And on September 10, a 17-year-old in Swaroop Nagar went to meet someone she knew. She was gang-raped, stabbed and dumped; her body was recovered on September 13. Four people have been arrested , three of them minors.

What connects the four is not just their ages. It is where they were taken. A temple park after dark. A residential stretch a child should have been able to cross alone. A shopfront on a crowded bazaar lane. A patch of open ground. None of these are remote or lawless corners; they are ordinary Delhi, the kind of spaces the city fills with safety slogans and self-defence camps. The gaps that let these crimes happen were not exotic , poor lighting, thin patrolling, unwatched public spaces, and the plain absence of anyone to call in time.

That absence on the ground is only half the problem. The other half is what the law does once the harm is already done.

All four are being prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which covers every victim under 18. On paper, the law is strict: special courts, in-camera trials, a bar on identifying the victim, and a mandate to complete trial, as far as possible, within a year of cognisance. In practice, the gaps are wide. POCSO courts carry heavy pendency, and the one-year timeline is routinely breached, so “fast-track” justice can still run for years.

The starkest gap sits in the Swaroop Nagar case, where three of the four arrested are juveniles. Under the Juvenile Justice Act, a 16-to-18-year-old can be tried as an adult for a heinous offence only after a Juvenile Justice Board assessment; a child under 16 cannot be, however grave the crime. A juvenile not tried as an adult faces a maximum of three years in a special home , so in a rape-and-murder, the punishment can turn on the age of the accused, not the act.

The numbers frame the pattern. NCRB’s 2023 report logged 1,088 rapes in Delhi, the most of any metropolitan city in India. Its 2024 data placed the capital on top of 19 major metros, with 1,058 rapes and 13,396 total crimes against women. Delhi Police’s January 2026 figures, by contrast, claimed a 5-to-8 per cent fall in crimes against women and a solving rate above 95 per cent. NCRB’s full 2025 figures are not yet out.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/delhi-shame-returns-4-minors-raped-in-12-days-article-156205312

Mumbai FDA suspended licences or registrations of five food establishments over alleged food-safety and hygiene violations. At Gurukrupa Dairy Products in Malad East, officials seized 2,464.05 kg of allegedly adulterated and misleadingly labelled ghee, sunflower oil and vanaspati, along with equipment, valued at about Rs 15.15 lakh.

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the licences/registrations of five food establishments in Mumbai, including a restaurant operating inside the Royal Western India Turf Club at Mahalaxmi Racecourse and Dreamer Hospitality Pvt Ltd in Bandra West, over alleged violations of food-safety and hygiene norms.

Gallops Licence Suspended

The licence of BJRS (Gallops) Restaurant, located inside the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, was suspended forthwith after an inspection found blood and ketchup stains from non-vegetarian items on ice inside a refrigerator, raw material stored in torn or damaged packaging, grease accumulation in the kitchen, deteriorated walls, inadequate drainage covering and cockroach traps, as well as live cockroaches and ants. Water stagnation and absence of records of annual medical examination and vaccination of food handlers were also reported.

At Dreamer Hospitality Pvt Ltd, Bandra West, FDA officials found violations of hygiene and health-related provisions under Schedule 4 of the food-safety regulations. The licence was suspended and further legal action is being initiated as per rules.

The FDA also suspended the licence/registration of Mirari, located on St Dominic Road, Bandra West, after its inspection found violations under Schedule 4. Legal action has been initiated against the establishment.

Versova Eatery Ordered To Shut

At Gufran Seekh Corner, Versova-Yari Road, officials found the establishment operating without a valid food licence/registration. Violations included improper storage and segregation of food items, inadequate cleanliness of equipment and premises, pest-control deficiencies, potable-water testing issues and absence of required medical examination records of food handlers.

On September 22, the FDA issued a binding order directing the establishment to immediately cease operations and not resume business until a valid licence/registration is obtained and deficiencies are rectified.

Adulterated Ghee Seized In Malad

Amid festival season, in the most significant seizure, Gurukrupa Dairy Products in Malad East was found allegedly blending refined sunflower oil, vanaspati and branded ghee in two boilers to manufacture counterfeit white and yellow ghee. The products were allegedly being sold under the name “Pooja Ghee” with misleading labelling.

FDA officials also found rat and cockroach infestation at the premises. Around 2,464.05 kg of adulterated/misleading ghee, refined sunflower oil and vanaspati worth Rs 13.55 lakh was seized. Two boilers and a khoya-making machine valued at around Rs 1.60 lakh were also seized, taking the total value of seized stock and equipment to approximately Rs 15.15 lakh.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-fda-action-licences-of-5-food-establishments-suspended-1515-lakh-adulterated-ghee-stock-seized

Supreme Court protected schoolchildren who respectfully declined to sing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.

A “conscientious objector” should not be punished for refusing to sing Vande Mataram, the Supreme Court told the Centre on Tuesday while asking it to keep in mind a 1986 judgment protecting children who said no to singing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was hearing a petition by Carnatic vocalist T M Krishna challenging the law mandating singing of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, arguing that the last four verses violate the secular character of the nation.

Seeking the Centre’s response on the plea, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said it would expect the principle laid down by the apex court’s 1986 judgment in the Bijoe Emmanuel vs State of Kerala to govern the amended law.

In that case, the court protected schoolchildren who respectfully declined to sing the national anthem on grounds of conscience.

“… We are not inclined to issue notice. But we would expect that the law of the land, as declared by this court in Bijoe Emmanuel, will govern the (amended) Act,” Justice Bagchi observed orally while addressing Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

“What is the national song is not in dispute. The declaration of law in the Bijoe Emmanuel is not yet questioned. It is for the democratic state to decide what is the national song, whether two stanzas or four stanzas. But nobody who feels an infraction of Article 25 and 26 rights (fundamental right to freedom of religion) or a conscientious objector would be subjected to (penal consequences),” Justice Bagchi said.

Krishna’s petition challenges Section 3 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, amended in 2026, along with Ministry of Home Affairs orders dated January 28 and July 9, 2026.

The amended Section 3 provides for imprisonment of up to three years, or fine, or both, for anyone who intentionally prevents the singing of the National Anthem or national song, or causes disturbance to an assembly engaged in such singing.

Justice Bagchi said it is not the remit of the court to second guess what are the national sentiments or aspirations associated with Vande Mataram. That, he said, is for the state to decide.

The bench also indicated that it is not for the court to determine what constitutes the national song, saying it would examine whether the rights of a “conscientious objector”, particularly one who declines to sing on religious grounds, are protected under the law.

The court, Justice Bagchi asserted, is not examining what should constitute the national song.

Senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for Krishna, said the amendment does not define the expression “national song”, leaving scope for uncertainty and possible misuse. He said the amendment had been enacted without defining which version or stanzas constituted the national song.

He added that the MHA directions were issued through an office memorandum that had not been gazetted and contended that the government had altered the earlier understanding of Vande Mataram through executive instructions.

When Justice Bagchi observed that Vande Mataram was customarily understood as the national song, Muralidhar said the established understanding related to its first two stanzas.

The senior lawyer also submitted that the amendment had been enacted hastily and without what he described as a process of national consensus.

The solicitor general also urged the bench not to issue notice on the petition, saying doing so could “sensationalise” the issue.

According to Krishna’s petition, extending penal provisions to the national song, coupled with directions for rendition of all six stanzas of Vande Mataram, raises fundamental questions concerning freedom of speech and expression, freedom of conscience, equality, religious freedom and secularism.

The petition specifically challenges the requirement that the complete six stanza version be treated as the official version of the national song and that, where Vande Mataram and the national anthem are both sung or played, the former precede the latter.

An unpleasant exchange broke out between Muralidhar and the solicitor general during the proceedings.

Mehta opposed the petitioner’s submissions and submitted that “secularism cannot be this narrow”. At another point, he said “law making cannot be as per Naxalites idea”.

Muralidhar strongly objected to this and sought withdrawal of the remark, saying such a comment did not “befit” a law officer.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/no-punishment-for-not-singing-vande-mataram-supreme-court-to-centre-12084163?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The victim, Alwin Prakash Kunder, had been working at the Sharjah airport for the past 14 years

A man from Kundapur in Karnataka’s Udupi district was allegedly murdered in Sharjah in July, with the shocking incident coming to light after his body was found cut into nine parts, his brother said on Tuesday.

There was no official information yet, nor any clarity about his wife and son, who are missing since the murder as per some reports. The man, Alwin Prakash Kunder, had been working at the Sharjah airport for the past 14 years. He had visited his hometown in December last year before returning to Sharjah. His wife, Tina Kunder, who is originally from Udyavara in Udupi, works as a schoolteacher in Sharjah, and their son is currently studying in Class 10 there, said Alwin Prakash’s brother Anil Prashanth Kunder.

Anil met the Udupi Superintendent of Police on Monday and submitted a representation seeking action in connection with the death. Police were yet to issue a statement but were awaiting official communication from Sharjah, UAE.

A Mystery Message
Anil said he had called Alwin Prakash on July 20, but he did not answer. Instead, Anil got a message saying that he was fine. Anil said this was unusual as his brother never communicated with him in that manner. When he called again a week later, there was still no response. Suspecting something amiss, Anil contacted Alwin Prakash’s classmate Manohar, who was in Sharjah, and asked him to check on him.

Manohar reportedly went to the flat provided to the family by the company that employed him. The watchman told him that Prakash had gone to India, Anil said. He added that they then contacted the company’s HR department, which also initially told him that Alwin Prakash had returned to India.

Passport Check Gives Clue
Anil said he called the company again the following day and told them that Alwin Prakash had not returned to India and requested them to verify his whereabouts. The company subsequently checked his passport records and found that he was still in Sharjah. A missing-person complaint was then filed.

During the investigation, Alwin Prakash’s body was reportedly found inside a car parked along the route towards Oman, Anil said. The body had allegedly been cut into nine parts and packed in two bags.

Anil said the family received the post-mortem report only on Monday, after which they went to the local police in Udupi.

The circumstances surrounding the murder and the motive behind the killing are yet to be established. Further investigation by the Sharjah authorities is expected to establish the sequence of events and identify those responsible.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/karnataka-man-hacked-to-death-in-sharjah-uae-alwin-prakash-kunders-body-cut-into-nine-parts-12083334?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

It all began when a man identified as Arvind Singh returned home around 6 pm and found his wife engaged in a religious ritual with two priests.

A man who shot his wife, two priests, and took three children hostage in Uttar Pradesh’s Azamgarh on Tuesday has been killed in a police encounter. During a standoff with the police, the man also shot one of his children, a son. Both the man and his son were taken to the hospital where they died of their injuries, police said.

It all began on Tuesday evening when a man identified as Arvind Singh returned home around 6 pm and found his wife Babita Singh (32) engaged in a religious ritual with two priests — Mahendra Pathak (60) and Akhilesh Mishra (50).

A verbal altercation ensued. In a fit of rage, Arvind pulled out his licensed firearm and allegedly shot his wife first followed by the two priests. He then took his three children and locked himself with them in a room.

7-Hour Standoff
According to Naveen Arora, Additional Director General of Police (ADG) of the Varanasi Zone, the police initially exercised restraint as the accused, Arvind, refused to come out of the house and insisted that they wait until morning. The situation escalated after Arvind opened fire from inside the premises, forcing the police team to enter as a last resort.

“Even after a seven-hour siege, the accused refused to come out and kept insisting we wait until morning…Finally, when he (accused Arvind) opened fire from within, the SSP and three or four members of the Special Operations Group (SOG) team were compelled to break down the door and enter as a last resort,” Arora told reporters. “We used stun grenades and tear gas; as the team members, including the SSP, entered, they came under fire and were forced to return fire,” he added.

The police managed to rescue all three children and rushed them to a hospital.

“One child, a boy, had sustained a gunshot wound, a fact discovered only after entering the premises…The other two girls are in a state of trauma and suffering from dehydration. He was using his elder daughter as a shield,” Arora said.

“Arvind and his son died of their injuries during treatment,” Dr Anil Kumar, Senior Superintendent of Police, Azamgarh, said.

Evidence collection from the scene and other necessary legal proceedings are underway.

Arvind Was “Mentally Disturbed”, “Exhibited Aggressive Behaviour”

According to the police, Arvind’s mother and wife had previously complained about his conduct.

“After speaking with villagers, the accused’s family members, and an individual who survived the shooting unharmed, the investigation so far has revealed that Arvind was mentally disturbed and exhibited aggressive behaviour,” SSP Kumar said. “His mother and wife had frequently complained about him assaulting family members and engaging in such conduct. Distressed by this situation, his mother and wife had organised a religious ritual. They suspected he was under the influence of an evil spirit and arranged the ceremony in the hope of dispelling it.”

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/up-man-who-shot-wife-2-priests-took-3-children-hostage-killed-in-encounter-12084059?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon also reflected on the difficult refineries would face if they are forced to switch oil quickly.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon on Tuesday said that the United States shouldn’t punish India and global oil markets over Russian oil, even as it seeks to pressure Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Dimon is in India for JPMorgan’s annual investment conference hosted by the firm in Mumbai. He is also scheduled to meet executives from India’s top conglomerates during his trip.

In an interview with CNBC TV18 on Tuesday, Dimon spoke about the US’s new Russia sanctions bill and said that India and the world oil markets should not be punished over Russian oil.

Dimon said he understood the concern in America about people buying Russian oil, but he added that he thinks President Donald Trump doesn’t want to disrupt oil and other markets.

Tamil Nadu Minister Vanni Arasu said a section of government hostel students had sought beef on the menu, citing the high cost of mutton. He said a decision would be taken after discussions with officials. Puthiya Tamilagam chief K Krishnasamy opposed the proposal and demanded that the statement be withdrawn.

Tamil Nadu Minister for Social Justice Vanni Arasu on Friday said some students had asked for beef to be added to the menu in government hostels, and that a decision would be taken after discussions with officials. He said the request came from a section of hostellers, while views on the issue differed among students.

Speaking to reporters after reviewing facilities at the MC Raja Social Justice Hostel in Saidapet, Arasu said the department had been making changes to hostel menus based on student feedback. He also said another part of the existing menu had already been revised, with non-vegetarian options and a weekly biryani service in place.

Arasu said several students from rural backgrounds had sought the inclusion of beef along with the non-vegetarian items already being served. “Currently, mutton and chicken items are served and biryani will be served on Mondays in government hostels,” he said.

He added, “However, a section of students coming from rural areas pointed out that mutton remains relatively expensive, which was not consumed by them, and requested that beef be added to the menu.” He said, “Since opinions vary among hostellers, a decision will be taken after consulting with officials concerned.”

The minister also said the department had been reforming hostel menus item by item based on student feedback. He said dishes such as upma and semiya kichadi had been removed and replaced with breakfast items such as idli and dosa.

Meanwhile, Puthiya Tamilagam founder and president Dr K Krishnasamy strongly objected to the minister’s statement on the possible inclusion of beef in hostel menus. He warned that such a decision would have “serious consequences” and said hostellers needed balanced nutrition that included proteins and essential vitamins.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/tamil-nadu/story/tamil-nadu-government-hostel-menu-beef-request-vanni-arasu-ptag-3000637-2026-09-23

PM Modi is expected to travel to the US for the December 14-15 G20 Summit in Florida, with a possible Quad meeting and bilateral talks with Donald Trump, followed by a likely visit to Canada.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to travel to the United States in December to attend the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Florida, where US President Donald Trump will host the gathering of world leaders, according to people familiar with the preparations.

If PM Modi travels to Florida, he is also expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, which will take place from December 14 to 15 at the Trump National Doral Miami resort.

The government is yet to make a formal announcement on the visit, as it usually happens closer to the date.

The possibility of such a Modi-Trump meeting comes amid ongoing India-US engagement on trade and other areas of bilateral cooperation, and assumes added significance against the backdrop of the 100 per cent tariff threat on Indian imports over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil.

US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, speaking to India Today TV, recently indicated that PM Modi would be among Trump’s priority leaders to meet during the summit and suggested that the Indian Prime Minister’s visit could involve more than participation in the G20 meeting.

PM Modi and Trump last met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in France’s Evian in June. The two leaders reviewed developments in India-US cooperation, including trade, defence, energy and technology, and discussed negotiations for an interim bilateral trade agreement.

The India-US relationship has seen sustained high-level engagement in recent months, with trade, defence, technology, critical minerals and energy emerging as key areas of cooperation. The two countries have also been working towards a broader bilateral trade agreement. US officials have said bilateral trade is currently around USD 240 billion, with the two sides having set an ambition of taking it to USD 500 billion over the coming years.

Preparations are also underway for a possible Quad leaders’ summit on the sidelines of the G20 meeting, bringing together India, the US, Japan and Australia. The meeting comes amid renewed efforts to strengthen the Quad’s cooperation on areas including artificial intelligence, critical minerals, emerging technologies and disaster relief.

Following his possible visit to Florida, Modi is also likely to undertake a bilateral visit to Canada, according to diplomatic sources.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/pm-likely-to-visit-us-for-g20-summit-in-december-have-a-bilateral-meeting-with-trump-then-head-to-canada-3000735-2026-09-23

“PM Modi’s mother is no longer in this world. The remarks linked to his late mother amounted to an insult to Indian culture,” he said.

Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Monday dubbed an “insult to Indian culture” the remarks purportedly linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s late mother during a comedy performance at Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki Gunj’ event in Indore.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant also hit out at Rahul, saying political opposition should not descend into personal attacks on one’s parents or elders.

A controversy erupted after stand-up comedian Pulkit Mani mimicked PM Modi while performing a skit with Gandhi during his ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ youth outreach programme in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore city on Saturday. The Congress, which shared the video on social media, has defended it as satire/mimicry.

Speaking to reporters in South Goa, Meghwal said Indian culture teaches people to respect their mothers and elders.

“PM Modi’s mother is no longer in this world. The remarks linked to his late mother amounted to an insult to Indian culture. Rahul Gandhi, through ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’, insulted Indian culture by speaking lies,” he said.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/insult-to-indian-culture-meghwal-hits-out-at-rahul-over-comedy-skit-involving-pm-modis-late-mother-4154382

A case has been registered under relevant provisions of law, including those of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and efforts are on to identify and apprehend the accused, police said.

A 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three men who posed as policemen inside a park near Kalkaji Mandir here, police said on Monday.

According to the complaint, the girl went to Kalkaji Mandir with her 17-year-old male friend around 7 pm on Monday.

After offering prayers, the two went to a park near the temple around 7.30 pm, where the three accused, aged around 25 to 30 years, allegedly approached them and claimed to be policemen.

The accused allegedly threatened the two and raped the girl, police said.

A PCR call regarding the alleged rape at the park connecting Kalkaji Mandir and ISKCON Temple was received at 8.45 pm, following which a police team reached the spot, they said.

The girl, a Delhi resident, was taken for medical examination, police said, adding that further legal action is being taken on the basis of her statement.

Source : https://www.deccanherald.com/india/delhi/three-men-pose-as-policemen-rapes-teen-girl-in-delhi-4154421#google_vignette

The march comes amid protests on the IIT Bombay campus following a student’s death on Friday. The Faculty body on Monday defended Doolla, who has been named an accused in the case.

Amid outrage over the death of an IIT Bombay student, who was reportedly caught using ChatGPT during an exam, the institute’s Faculty Forum has expressed solidarity with Professor Suryanarayana Doolla, who is at the centre of the case.

The IIT Bombay Faculty Forum also held a campus march on Monday. All 750 faculty members were expected to join the march in support of Doolla, who has been named as an accused in the suicide case of BTech student Sahil Wakode.

The march comes amid protests on the IIT Bombay campus following Wakode’s death on September 18. The student was found dead in his hostel room hours after he was allegedly caught using ChatGPT during an examination.

Faculty Forum Defends Doolla

The Faculty Forum on Monday issued a press release defending Doolla and disputing reports that he had been suspended from IIT Bombay.

“The Faculty Forum of IIT Bombay stands strongly with our colleague Prof. Suryanarayana Doolla. We would like to clarify that:- 1. Contrary to several reports in the media, Prof. Suryanarayana Dolla has not been suspended from his service from IIT Bombay, and continues to be a member of the faculty of the institute in good standing. 2. We are given to understand that he has been temporarily relieved from his duties as Dean (Administrative Affairs) of the institute, to enable independent unbiased investigation of the unfortunate incident on 18th September 2026,” the Forum said.

The forum further described Doolla as a distinguished faculty member who has received several accolades, including two awards for excellence in teaching based on student feedback. It also highlighted his work as Dean (Student Affairs) and his contribution to student welfare initiatives.

“We are distressed by the vilification of our colleague’s reputation by false and misleading reports that have appeared in the media,” the statement further read.

The press release was issued in the name of Prof. Rajkumar S. Pant, President of the IIT Bombay Faculty Forum. The Faculty Forum is a formal body comprising around 750 institute faculty members and provides a platform for them to express views on matters concerning IIT Bombay and other institutions.

The professor was suspended from the deanship earlier in the day, following protests on the campus over the death of Wakode. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch is now investigating the case. Doolla was named as an accused in an FIR registered after the student’s parents alleged harassment and caste-based discrimination by campus authorities.

IIT Bombay Student Suicide Case

The suspension came amid sustained demands from protesting students for accountability over the circumstances surrounding the student’s death.

The Mumbai Police transferred the case to the Crime Branch on Saturday night, and officials said the professor and others were likely to be questioned as part of the investigation.

Source : https://www.news18.com/india/iit-bombay-faculty-forum-backs-professor-suryanarayana-dolla-in-student-suicide-case-plans-campus-march-10344108.html

When Washington sanctioned India after its 1998 nuclear tests, New Delhi did not back down. It kept its economy growing, diversified trade, and continued engaging with America. Three years later, the sanctions were waived. As India once again confronts the possibility of US sanctions, the old episode offers some important lessons.

US President Donald Trump has signed the Lindsey O Graham Sanctions Bill into law, effectively giving him the power to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries trading with Russia. The move leaves India, which sources more than half of its crude oil imports from Russia, exposed to potentially severe trade barriers in its largest export market. This, however, is hardly the first time India has found itself under the shadow of US sanctions.

Exactly 25 years ago, New Delhi came out on top after facing a similar set of punitive measures imposed by Washington.

The story goes back to the late 1990s, when India was in the midst of a heady transformation. The country was rapidly liberalising its long stagnant economy and opening up to the world. Economic growth was on the upswing, driven by strong foreign investment and growth of the IT and services sector. On the global stage, New Delhi’s once all-weather ally, the USSR, had been consigned to history, and India was in the midst of a rapprochement with the West, especially the US.

Then in 1998, the administration of then-US President Bill Clinton slapped a sanctions package on New Delhi that banned almost all foreign aid, financial assistance, military cooperation and technology transfer in a bid to clip India’s ambitions to become a nuclear power. But if the sanctions were an attempt to make New Delhi toe the Washington line, they failed. On September 22, 2001, President George W Bush waived his predecessor’s sanctions.

As fresh US sanctions loom over New Delhi, the 1998 episode offers a useful reminder of how New Delhi dealt with Washington’s pressure a quarter of a century ago.

THE NUCLEAR TEST BEHIND AMERICAN SANCTIONS

On May 11, 1998, at 3.45 pm, three underground nuclear detonations were carried out at an Indian Army firing range in Rajasthan’s Pokhran as part of Operation Shakti (also called Operation Pokhran-II), with then-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee shortly thereafter announcing that India was now a full-fledged nuclear power.

But while the news of the tests might have made Buddha smile, it wasn’t the case in Washington DC. Caught completely unawares, America’s reaction to India’s entry into the nuclear club was one of disbelief and anger. According to the US State Department Archives, then-President Clinton had stated that he was “deeply disturbed by the nuclear tests”, and that they were contrary to the goal “of building a safer 21st century”.

“This action by India not only threatens the stability of the region, it directly challenges the firm international consensus to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” Clinton had further added.

An American response was thus inevitable, and it came on May 13, 1998. That day, Clinton informed the US Congress that he had imposed sanctions on India, under Section 102 of the Arms Export Control Act, also known as the Glenn Amendment Act. The aims of the sanction package, according to the State Department Archives, were to force New Delhi, among other things, to not “deploy or test missiles or nuclear weapons”, and “cut off fissile material production for nuclear weapons”.

SANCTIONS CUT OFF FOREIGN ASSISTANCE, BLOCKED WORLD BANK FUNDING TO INDIA

 

The Election Commission has asked the Supreme Court to raise West Bengal’s SIR appellate tribunals from 19 to 42. It said the move is needed to clear over 37 lakh pending appeals and strengthen the review process.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that the number of appellate tribunals dealing with appeals arising from West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls should be increased from 19 to 42 to speed up the disposal of a massive backlog of cases.

In an affidavit filed before the top court, the poll body said one tribunal should be created for each of West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, arguing that the existing mechanism is struggling to handle the volume of appeals generated by the revision exercise.

According to the ECI, around 38.3 lakh appeals have been filed before SIR-related tribunals so far, but only 1,26,194 cases have been decided. More than 37 lakh appeals remain pending.

The Commission said the appeals are not limited to voters whose names were removed from the electoral rolls. Of the total appeals, over 22.2 lakh were filed by individuals seeking restoration of names deleted during the revision process, while around 16.1 lakh appeals challenge the inclusion of names in the voter list.

The ECI argued that portraying all appeals as cases of wrongful deletion presents an incomplete picture. It noted that objections to fresh inclusions form a substantial portion of the litigation arising from the SIR exercise.

The affidavit states that tribunals have so far ordered the restoration of 1,13,943 names to the electoral rolls. Of the appeals decided, more than 90 per cent resulted in names being added back, while 8,649 appeals were rejected.

Defending the revision process, the Commission rejected claims that large-scale deletions automatically indicate disenfranchisement of genuine voters. It said the exercise also identified entries classified as “Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate” and that deletion figures cannot be viewed in isolation.

The ECI also disputed allegations that the SIR process affected the outcome of the West Bengal Assembly elections. Petitioners had argued that in several constituencies the margin of victory was lower than the number of voters deleted from the rolls.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/eci-tells-supreme-court-over-37-lakh-bengal-sir-appeals-remain-pending-seeks-42-tribunals-2999912-2026-09-22

Uttarakhand suspended six engineers after contaminated drinking water in Jyolikot was linked to widespread illness and two deaths. The action came as the High Court pressed for clean water, medical relief and stricter testing.

Six engineers from the Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan and Peyjal Nigam have been suspended following an outbreak of illness linked to contaminated drinking water in Nainital district’s Jyolikot area, where two people have died.

The action was taken on the orders of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami based on a report submitted by the district administration. The engineers have been accused of negligence in discharging their official duties.

Those suspended include the in-charge Superintending Engineer of Jal Sansthan, Haldwani; an Assistant Engineer and an Additional Assistant Engineer of Nainital Jal Sansthan; and an Executive Engineer, in-charge Assistant Engineer and Junior Engineer of Peyjal Nigam, Bhimtal.

The Executive Engineer of Nainital Jal Sansthan has been warned of strict action if any negligence is found in the future.

TWO DEATHS AFTER CONTAMINATED WATER SUPPLY

The disciplinary action comes days after contaminated drinking water in Jyolikot and surrounding villages left a large number of people ill and triggered concern over a possible waterborne disease outbreak.

The affected areas included Beluvakhan, Jyolikot, Gethia, Sariyatal, Durgapur, Ganja, Veerbhatti and Chheena. Several cases of jaundice were reported, while the deaths of a 16-year-old student and a 26-year-old woman had sparked panic among residents.

The Nainital district administration had launched relief measures, with medical teams deployed across seven villages for door-to-door distribution of chlorine tablets and ORS. Eight doctors and an ambulance were also stationed in the affected areas.

HIGH COURT HAD FLAGGED ‘EPIDEMIC’

The suspensions follow scrutiny by the Uttarakhand High Court, which on September 8 directed authorities to ensure clean drinking water and adequate medical facilities for residents of Jyolikot and neighbouring villages.

The court described the situation as an “epidemic” and directed Nainital District Magistrate Lalit Mohan Rayal to personally oversee relief operations.

During the hearing of a PIL, Nainital’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Rashmi Pant told the court that contaminated water was responsible for the illnesses. The court also directed authorities to get drinking water tested by private laboratories rather than relying only on internal testing.

COURT ORDERS WATER, SEWAGE LINES TO BE CHECKED

The High Court directed the Jal Sansthan and Peyjal Nigam to ensure that sewage and drinking water pipelines do not mix. It also ordered inspections for water contamination and sewage leakage in Nainital city and directed officials to collect samples from 20 to 25 locations.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uttarakhand-government-suspends-six-engineers-two-contaminated-water-linked-deaths-nainital-jyolikot-2999898-2026-09-21

Social activist Prahlad Pandey has been on an indefinite fast in Indore for five days, demanding the removal of illegal hoardings, banners and posters. Rajeev Talwaar backed his campaign and praised his efforts. Pandey is also promoting ‘Jan Dharma’, urging citizens to regularly question authorities about civic issues, including potholes, teacher shortages, and the lack of doctors and medicines.

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Social activist Prahlad Pandey’s indefinite fast against illegal hoardings, banners and posters in Indore has received support from Rajeev Talwaar, who praised Pandey for raising public-interest issues. Talwaar said people like Pandey should enter politics to bring about change. Pandey, meanwhile, has vowed to continue his water-only fast until illegal displays are removed from the city’s streets, neighbourhoods and crossings.

Pandey has been sitting with his wife, Sangeeta Pandey, under the Gandhi statue near Regal Square for the past five days. His protest has also become a platform for his ‘Jan Dharma’ campaign, through which he is urging citizens to regularly question the government on public issues.

Rajeev Talwaar backs Pandey’s campaign

Speaking in support of Pandey, Talwaar said, “Aise mard jab tak Sansad, Adhikari, Vidhayak nahi banenge samaj ka bhala nahi hone wala hai. Bhai sahab sher hain aap.”
(Unless people like you become MPs, officials or legislators, society will not improve. Brother, you are a lion.)

Prahlad Pandey’s protest against illegal hoardings

Pandey, a leadership coach and behavioural trainer, said his main source of income is his professional work, but he remains deeply concerned about public issues.

Google said on Monday it has agreed to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Indian authorities.

Tech giant Google on Monday said it has proposed operationalising the sharing of information on cases involving child sex abuse material (CSAM) with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, signalling a shift away from sole reliance on international reporting channels.

“Google is deeply committed to fighting CSAM online and preventing its platforms from being used to create, store or distribute such material. We invest significantly to detect, deter, remove, and report child sexual abuse material. As part of our ongoing discussions with the Government of India, we have respectfully proposed to operationalize the provision of relevant information to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in cases related to child sexual abuse material,” a Google spokesperson said on Monday in response to a query.

Google considers direct reporting of CSAM cases to I4C
The Business Standard first reported the development.

This move comes days after Meta announced it would begin reporting child-safety matters directly to the Cyber Crime portal maintained by the I4C. Google’s plan, however, is still in the discussion stage.

It could not be immediately established which ministry or department Google made this proposal to.

Google currently reports CSAM through a process that involves the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), similar to Meta.

According to Google, when it detects CSAM on its platforms, it removes the material and makes a CyberTipline report to NCMEC or other relevant authorities. Such reports may include the offending content, contextual information and, where relevant, information identifying the user or the child victim.

NCMEC then forwards reports to law enforcement authorities around the world, as appropriate.

In a statement to HT on September 15, a Meta spokesperson said: “Protecting children on our platforms is a priority for us and we are committed to working with the government to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held responsible. To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cyber crime portal managed by I4C.”

Centre pushes platforms to report cases to Indian agencies
Increased government scrutiny on CSAM, specifically on Meta’s platforms like Instagram and Facebook, came after a BBC Eye investigation found advertisements on Instagram containing phrases such as “rape video” and “child video”, which directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling CSAM.

 

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/google-to-report-child-sexual-abuse-content-directly-to-indian-authorities-spokesperson-101790003322115.html

Kushwaha said the government and administration were looking into the matter and assured that those responsible would be arrested at the earliest.

 

“Recall Bihar before 2005,” JD(U) Bihar president Umesh Singh Kushwaha said while defending the state government’s response to the alleged harassment and molestation of two teenagers in Jamui. His remarks came as Congress and RJD attacked the BJP-led Bihar government over the incident.

The incident was captured in a video that was widely circulated on social media and triggered public outrage. Kushwaha said the government was sensitive to such incidents and assured that those responsible would be arrested at the earliest.

“The government is sensitive to any incident that occurs. Govt and Administration are looking into it. Recall the RJD rule, the time before 2005. Our government is sensitive towards all sporadic incidents that occur… The guilty will be caught by the Police at the earliest,” Kushwaha was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the Bihar government of allowing “goonda raj” to prevail in the state and criticised its handling of the incident.

The JD(U)-BJP coalition is in power in Bihar.

Umesh Kushwaha says remarks were ‘distorted’
Kushwaha later condemned the incident in a post on X and said an SIT had been formed to investigate the case. He also said three accused had been arrested and raids were underway to catch the others.

“The shameful and inhuman incident that has come to light involving a minor girl student in Jamui is extremely heartbreaking, reprehensible, and soul-stirring. An SIT has been formed in the case. Three accused have been arrested, and raids are underway for the arrest of the other accused,” he said.

“Criminals, listen with your ears wide open: there is no place for crime or criminals in Bihar. The government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring time-bound justice for the victim’s family. Such stringent action will be taken against the criminals that it will serve as an example in the future,” he added.

 

The ABVP described the result as a rejection of what it called the SFI’s “anti-student policies”. A representative of the organisation said the win at this college would give a strong boost to other ABVP units across Kerala’s campuses.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the BJP’s ideological parent, the RSS, has taken control of the Tripunithura Government Sanskrit College union from the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), winning every seat in the college union elections. The result brings an end to years of SFI dominance at a college long seen as one of its strongholds in Kerala.

The SFI had run the college union for years, but the ABVP swept the election this time, winning all six major posts. The win comes soon after another political shift in the area, the BJP recently took charge of Tripunithura municipality, ending 45 years of Left-led rule in the local body.

The ABVP has now made a similar breakthrough on campus, at a college that had remained under Left control for more than four decades.

ABVP Calls It A Rejection Of SFI’s Record
The ABVP described the result as a rejection of what it called the SFI’s “anti-student policies”. A representative of the organisation said the win at this college would give a strong boost to other ABVP units across Kerala’s campuses.

The representative also accused previous SFI-led unions of failing to promote Sanskrit, raised questions over how funds collected from students had been used, and alleged that enough student programmes had not been organised during the SFI’s tenure.

Snigdha M Hari was elected Chairperson, while Aditya T A won the Vice-Chairperson’s post. Vignesh Bhatt was elected General Secretary, Vignesh D became Magazine Editor, and Anjali T was elected Arts Club Secretary.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/abvp-breaches-left-bastion-sweeps-student-union-elections-in-kerala-tripunithura-college-12077876?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

A heated argument broke out between two Samajwadi Party leaders during a meeting attended by party chief Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow on Saturday.

As the argument escalated, the two leaders reportedly hurled abuses at each other. After witnessing the commotion, the SP chief reportedly asked the two leaders involved in the verbal spat to leave the meeting. The incident prompted the party to disband its organisational units in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah and Kasganj.

Why Did SP Leaders Clash?

The meeting, attended by around 250 senior leaders and office-bearers from the two districts, was held to assess organisational preparedness ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. A video of the clash has surfaced on Social media platform X.

According to a report in India Today, citing party sources, a disagreement between SP leader Manjeet Yadav and former Etah district panchayat chairman Jugendra Singh Yadav escalated into a verbal clash.

Manjeet Yadav, who is the nephew of former Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council chairman Ramesh Yadav, reportedly objected to remarks made by Jugendra Singh Yadav during the discussion.

The meeting was convened to review the SP’s organisational strength and election preparedness in Etah and Kasganj. During the discussion, Manjeet spoke about the party’s previous electoral performance before Jugendra Singh addressed the gathering. Manjeet objected to some of his remarks, triggering a heated exchange. Attempts by other leaders to intervene failed to calm the two. Soon after, the two leaders left the meeting. An hour later, the SP chief also left the meeting at party office.

Following the incident, the party dissolved the district committees of both Etah and Kasganj. The action also covers the frontal organisations in the two districts, according to reports.

SP Gears Up For 2027 UP Polls

The move comes as the SP intensifies its organisational preparations for the 2027 Assembly polls. Etah has four Assembly constituencies, all currently held by the BJP, while the BJP holds three of Kasganj’s four seats and the SP holds one.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/samajwadi-party-leaders-clash-abuse-each-other-in-front-of-akhilesh-yadav-he-reacts-10342680.html

When a mass grave was unearthed in northern Sri Lanka last February, it was not by design.

Workers were digging to extend a cremation ground in the Chemmani area of the Jaffna region when they suddenly discovered human remains, prompting an investigation.

By August, archaeologists had completed the third phase of the excavation at the site, during which they found the skeletal remains of 572 people, including children and infants.

Among the dead were artefacts from their lives – bangles, a school bag, a milk bottle.

It is believed to be the largest mass grave site ever uncovered in Sri Lanka.

There had been whispers of its existence before – a soldier on trial for the rape and murder of a young woman during the country’s devastating civil war, had spoken about a mass grave which contained hundreds of bodies. Rights groups said they were disappeared civilians

But there was no proof – until now.

And while the discovery is devastating, it has offered hope to people like Jeyaruby Jeyabalan, whose father was among thousands of people who disappeared during the decades-long war. Jeyabalan and families like his hope that answers about what happened to their loved ones lie among the bodies.

Many Tamils believe the grave holds the victims of extrajudicial killings carried out during the civil war. They are calling for an investigation – and for justice.

But the excavation process at Chemmani has moved slowly, testing the patience of families searching for answers about their disappeared loved ones.

The discovery of hundreds of remains near a previously identified mass grave has fuelled anger among the Tamils, who have long-demanded a thorough inquiry into disappearances.

Many fear the mass grave will eventually fade from public attention because of a lack of political will to pursue the truth – and so the grave has become a rallying point for renewed protests in Sri Lanka’s north.

Two decades waiting for answers
Sri Lanka, particularly the Tamil-dominated north and east, suffered decades of conflict. The war, which lasted from 1983 to 2009, divided the island-nation along ethnic lines. Tamil Tiger rebels fought for an independent state in the north-east of the country due to what they called systematic discrimination by the Sinhalese-dominated government.

The conflict lasted 26 years and the fighting killed an estimated 100,000 people. It also left about 23,000 – mostly Tamils – missing.

Both the security forces and Tamil Tigers are accused of atrocities and crimes.

In 1995, after a bloody conflict, the Sri Lankan army wrested control of the Jaffna Peninsula from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). It was seen as a key turning point in the war, which ended with the defeat of the Tigers in 2009.

As they extended control in the late 1990s, the entire Chemmani region became part of a high-security zone and was dotted with army camps, check points and security posts. There was an army camp in Chemmani close to the cemetery as well.

Some at that time described the Jaffna region as an “open prison” – and the security forces were accused of causing the disappearance of thousands of civilians, something Sri Lankan governments have always denied.

“I was 12 years old when my father was picked up by the Sri Lankan army at a checkpoint close to Chemmani area in September 1996. We still don’t know what happened to him,” Jeyaruby Jayapalan, who now lives in Jaffna, tells the BBC.

She recalls how, after learning of his disappearance, the family panicked and visited military camps and police stations across Jaffna in a desperate search for information without any luck. He never came back.

Her father, Kandaiah Jayapalan, was a government employee who also ran a roadside café not far from Chemmani.

“I went to Chemmani mass grave with many others hoping that I will find some answers. But we didn’t find any material evidence. We want a detailed forensic analysis of the human remains,” says Jeyaruby.

Two weeks before Kandaiah Jayapalan vanished, an 18-year-old Tamil school girl, Krishanthi Kumaraswamy, disappeared in the same area.

In 1998, a court in Colombo sentenced five soldiers to death for the rape and murder of Kumaraswamy and for killing three of her family members. The case drew global attention at that time. Their bodies were later found buried in Chemmani area.

It is among the most infamous cases from the conflict – and the grave currently under investigation is within 100 metres of the remains of Kumaraswamy and others were found.

In a startling court testimony, one of the convicted soldiers, Somaratne Rajapakse, alleged that between 300 and 400 people who had been killed in the mid-1990s were buried in Chemmani.

His claim led to the first excavation at Chemmani a year later, during which investigators unearthed more than 10 human skeletons. Human rights activists believed those remains were linked to people who had disappeared during the civil war, but there was little judicial follow-up.

Activists say that because the war with the Tamil rebels was ongoing, the then government didn’t pursue the investigation and did not explain why.

The discovery of another mass grave in the same area has revived calls for accountability.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm1j4kl80z56o

Police have arrested the last two absconding suspects in the Maharashtra TET paper leak case. The breakthrough completes the roundup of all 18 chargesheeted accused and exposes a wider interstate exam fraud network.

In a breakthrough in the Maharashtra Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) question paper leak case, Bhiwandi Police have arrested two absconding suspects from Beed and Bihar, an officer said on Sunday. With the arrest of Prakash Misal and Ashok Sav, all 18 accused named in the chargesheet have now been arrested.

The investigation by Thane City Police and officers from Bhiwandi Division (Zone II) has uncovered a multi-state examination fraud network spread across Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. “The two suspects- Sav and Misal- were tracked down through technical intelligence, financial transaction trails, and location logs monitored by the police SIT,” the officer said.

The racket came to light a day before the examination scheduled on June 28, after Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Pavan Bansod received a tip-off about three men trying to sell exam papers to a Bhiwandi resident. Police then laid a trap using decoy personnel in the Kongaon area, detained the suspects and seized four sets of question papers.

Police later verified the seized material with officials of the Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE), who confirmed that it matched the actual question paper. According to the chargesheet filed by Thane Police, the papers were smuggled out of a printing press in Agra by two employees, who hid them inside shoe insoles for Rs 8,000.

The chargesheet, submitted before a local court in Bhiwandi on Friday, names 18 accused, including alleged mastermind Bijendra Gupta, who had earlier been implicated in an Odisha paper leak. The accused have been booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) dealing with cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy, along with Maharashtra laws on examination malpractices and unfair means. With the latest arrests, all those named in the chargesheet are now in custody.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/maharashtra/story/maharashtra-tet-paper-leak-case-bhiwandi-police-arrest-final-two-accused-ptag-2999078-2026-09-20

A 14-year-old boy died after collapsing at a sports ground in Pithoragarh, and his mother died hours later after jumping into the Saryu River. The twin deaths have left their family and residents of Made village in shock.

A heartbreaking double tragedy has left a village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district in mourning after a mother took her own life just hours after the sudden death of her 14-year-old son.

The incident took place in Made village, near the Pithoragarh district headquarters. According to officials, 14-year-old Jatin Joshi had gone for his routine morning run at the Jhaulkhet sports ground around 6 am on Saturday. Shortly after completing his run, he suddenly fell unconscious on the field.

His mother, Poonam Joshi, rushed him to the district hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival. Preliminary reports suggest that the teenager may have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Devastated by the loss of her only son, Poonam reportedly went into deep shock. Instead of returning home from the hospital, she boarded a taxi headed towards Gangolihat. Nearly 30 kilometres away, near Ghat, she asked the driver to stop and suddenly jumped into the Saryu River.

The taxi driver and local residents immediately tried to rescue her and alerted the police. Teams from the police and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) launched a search operation and later recovered her body from the river.

Family members said Poonam had already suffered a personal tragedy two years ago when her daughter died. The loss of her son, followed by her own death within hours, has shattered the family and plunged the entire village into grief.

 

Keralam Railway Police and the RPF have intensified checks across Kerala after 34 kg of cannabis was seized on trains and at stations. The crackdown under Operation Toofan signals a sustained push to choke drug smuggling routes through the rail network.

The Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) have stepped up checks at railway stations and on trains in Keralam after 34 kg of cannabis was seized in separate incidents over the past few days. Three people, including a Keralam native, have been arrested in connection with the seizures, according to a state police statement issued on Sunday.

The searches are part of Operation Toofan, a drive by the Railway Police to detect drug smuggling into the state through trains. The statement said the Railway Police and the RPF are carrying out the checks jointly.

During checks on Saturday morning, two West Bengal natives, Shahidul Malik, 28, and Asim Sheikh, 23, were detained at Palakkad Junction railway station after they were found in suspicious circumstances near a toilet on platform number three, police said.

Police said 22 kg of cannabis was found when their bags were searched. They were arrested and a case was registered against them.

In another incident, a joint team of the Railway Police and the RPF found about 8 kg of cannabis abandoned in a sleeper coach of the Tata Nagar Express, the statement said. A case has been registered at the Ernakulam Railway Police Station and an investigation has been launched.

Earlier, on the morning of September 17, 19-year-old Nithin Thaddeus Antony was arrested with 4 kg of cannabis during a search on platform number six at Ernakulam Junction railway station, the statement said.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/kerala/story/kerala-railway-cannabis-seizure-operation-toofan-train-checks-ptag-2999094-2026-09-20

Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel defended Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme after BJP leaders criticised mimicry performed by comedian Pulkit Mani, alleging it targeted PM Modi and his late mother. Baghel accused BJP-RSS of insulting mothers, while Congress leaders defended satire but opposed abusive language. BJP’s Kapil Mishra hit back at Rahul Gandhi and Congress.

Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel on Sunday hit back at the BJP’s criticism of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme, saying that every person’s mother deserves respect and questioning why similar concerns were not raised when the mothers of Rahul Gandhi and other leaders were allegedly insulted.

The political storm erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared the stage with stand-up comedian Pulkit Mani on Saturday. BJP leaders sharply criticised the program, alleging that mimicry gestures performed on stage targeted the Prime Minister and his mother.

Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel’s Statement

“Everyone’s mother is a mother, not PM Modi’s mother alone. Why are their feelings not hurt when they insult Rahul Gandhi’s mother or other leaders’ mothers? This culture of insulting mothers was started by BJP-RSS and Mahamanav,” he said.

https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/1200-km-from-home-lost-punjab-pilgrim-reunited-with-family-after-chatgpt-search

Neeraj took the elderly man home, provided him food and shelter and kept him with his family for four days while trying to trace his relatives. Since Chaman Lal spoke only Punjabi, the village name became Neeraj’s main clue.

An elderly man from Punjab who went missing during a pilgrimage and travelled more than 1,200 km from home was reunited with his family after a Gaya resident spent days tracing his village with the help of online searches and ChatGPT.

Chaman Lal, a resident of Fatehgarh Gujran village in Ludhiana district, had travelled to Amritsar on September 11 to visit Sri Harmandir Sahib under the Punjab government’s Chief Minister Pilgrimage Scheme. His family said he has memory-related difficulties. During the visit, he reportedly became separated from his group and reached a railway station, where he boarded a train to Bihar.

He eventually reached Gaya, where local resident Neeraj found him distressed and hungry. Chaman Lal could not provide many details about himself, but repeatedly mentioned the name of his village, Fatehgarh Gujran.

Neeraj took the elderly man home, provided him food and shelter and kept him with his family for four days while trying to trace his relatives. Since Chaman Lal spoke only Punjabi, the village name became Neeraj’s main clue.

He searched the internet and used ChatGPT to identify the village, eventually locating Fatehgarh Gujran near Machhiwara Sahib in Ludhiana district after three days.

Neeraj then accompanied Chaman Lal on the journey from Gaya to Ludhiana and later to Machhiwara. There, he showed the man’s photograph to locals until Master Krishan Lal recognised him.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/1200-km-from-home-lost-punjab-pilgrim-reunited-with-family-after-chatgpt-search

 

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Delhi, on Sunday issued a clarification amid reports about notices being served to voters.

Union Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and several other prominent personalities are among voters issued notices as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi.

Jaishankar’s wife Kyoko S Jaishankar, Kejriwal’s family members, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and his family, CBI Director Praveen Sood and his family, former Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi and his wife, and former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and members of her family have also received notices, according to details cited in connection with the verification exercise.

The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Delhi, on Sunday issued a clarification amid reports about notices being served to voters. It said notices were being generated for electors who could not be linked with the electoral roll of the last intensive revision or whose records showed logical discrepancies in such linking.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, has called for reforms in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) and the resignation of its chairman, Vivek Bhimanwar.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Sunday demanded reforms in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) and the resignation of its chairman Vivek Bhimanwar over “allegations” of corruption against him.

During an interaction with aspirants of the state Public Service Commission in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the CJP founder asked them to post a two-minute video on Instagram for Bhimanwar’s removal. If 15-20 lakh youths are unemployed, it is not good for any state, he said.

“Bhimanwar (as a former Transport Commissioner) is facing several allegations of corruption in the RTO scam, licences, number plates. The question is how much cut did Devendra Fadnavis get out of this? But if Bhimanwar continues to hold his post, it would mean that he (Fadnavis) is getting those cuts (commission). Are they purchasing MPs and MLAs using this money?” Dipke asked. He demanded “reforms” in the Maharashtra Public Service Commission by making Bhimanwar resign.

The clarification came after notices were issued to several prominent political figures during the ongoing SIR in the national capital.

The Election Commission (EC) on Sunday said that notices issued to some voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls should not be interpreted as an indication that their names will be removed from the voter list.

The clarification came after several prominent political figures were issued notices during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Delhi. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her predecessor Arvind Kejriwal were among the 3.31 million electors who received notices over discrepancies in their details, according to election officials. The CEO’s office later clarified that Gupta’s name had been validated after verification.

BJP veteran LK Advani, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and BJP MLA Kailash Gahlot were also among those issued notices over “discrepancies” identified during the SIR, officials said.

Other prominent names on the list include External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and Election Commissioner SS Sandhu. They were issued notices over discrepancies in the details furnished during the electoral roll revision exercise.

The CEO office, however, stressed that no elector’s name can be deleted without providing an opportunity to be heard and issuing a proper, speaking and appealable order.

“All stakeholders are hereby informed that the issue of Notice does not mean that their names will be deleted from the electoral rolls of NCT of Delhi,” the CEO office said, adding that system-generated notices are being issued to correct data in ECINET.

“No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper speaking and appealable order,” it said.

The office also said there was “no existential crisis” arising from the notices, as reported in social and print media.

Why notices are being issued during Delhi SIR
The draft electoral roll was prepared using details submitted by electors through Enumeration Forms to Booth Level Officers (BLOs). It was published on August 31 and is available on the CEO Delhi website, at Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) offices, and at designated polling station locations.

The Election Commission of India announced the SIR in Delhi on May 14 with the objective of ensuring that “No eligible citizen is left out while no ineligible person is included in the Electoral Roll.”

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/notices-do-not-mean-deletion-election-commission-ec-clarifies-after-kejriwal-jaishankar-advani-get-sir-letters-101789919166051.html

Lakshmi Narayan Jhanwar died on the night of August 27 in a hit-and-run incident in Faridabad. Around 8.35 pm, a speeding car struck him and ran him over.

A speeding car killed a Faridabad man as he walked home from a temple last month, and his son has now accused the local police of moving too slowly on the case, with no arrests made so far.

Lakshmi Narayan Jhanwar died on the night of August 27 in a hit-and-run incident in Faridabad. Around 8.35 pm, a speeding car struck him and ran him over.

According to the police FIR, Jhanwar was walking home after visiting a temple when he was hit by a car roughly 100 metres from his house. The driver did not stop and left the scene. His daughter later filed a complaint, and an FIR was registered at Surajkund Police Station.

His son, Amit, who works at Facebook, says CCTV footage from the area shows the car was travelling at a very high speed, so fast that his father had no chance to get out of the way.

He is calling for a thorough investigation and strict action against those responsible, saying this is the only way his father can get justice. He has also asked whether the sections currently listed in the FIR go far enough, or whether the facts of the case call for additional charges to be added.

Amit has urged the Faridabad Police to identify everyone who was in the car at the time of the incident. He points out that the city has around 25,000 smart cameras that could help track down the people inside the vehicle.

He has also asked for an investigation into the driver’s identity and role, along with a check on whether the driver was using a phone or under the influence of alcohol when the crash happened.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/25-000-cctvs-0-arrests-faridabad-man-seeks-answers-after-fathers-death-12073541?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

The leader of opposition in Lok Sabha highlighted vacancy in teachers’ posts in the country, while stating that students are the “future of India.”

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the “system” had captured the country, adding that did “not want students who ask questions.”

At the latest ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ event in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, Gandhi flagged the vacancy in teachers’ posts in the country, while stating that students are the future of India. He further held an interaction with the students, wherein some of them also raised the issue of a 13 per cent quota in recruitment exams in Madhya Pradesh.

Responding to Gandhi’s speech, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav called him “a careless politician”, claiming he had visited the state “without adequate preparation.”

‘System feels threatened by students’: Rahul

While addressing the youth, Gandhi said, “The system feels threatened by students. Why? Because students ask questions.” He mentioned Union home minister Amit Shah during the speech.

“A student asks how Amit Shah’s son became the Chairman of the Cricket Association. A student asks how two individuals managed to capture the entire business landscape of India,” he said. Gandhi said students also question why “the judiciary and other institutions fail to do their jobs or why the Election Commission isn’t performing its duties.”

“That is why the system does not want students; it wants ‘andhbhakts’. An ‘andhbhakt’ is the antithesis of a student,” the Congress MP said. “While a student asks questions and remains curious, an ‘andhbhakt’ lives in a delusional world of their own,” Gandhi added.

‘Should have had factual information’: MP CM

Madhya Pradesh CM Yadav said Gandhi “should have had factual information” on the issue raised at the event. “The way he came to Madhya Pradesh without adequate preparation and conducted his programmes once again proved that he is a careless politician, which is consistent with his character,” Yadav said.

Yadav claimed that the questions raised by Gandhi “are issues for which his own governments were responsible”, saying that the UPA government was in power during 2012-2013.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rahul-gandhis-system-attack-in-indore-draws-madhya-pradesh-cm-mohan-yadav-careless-politician-retort-101789828572927.html

 

A suicide-abetment case has been filed, and an investigation is underway into specific roles after the parents of Sahil Wakode filed a complaint.

The mother of Sahil Wakode, the IIT Bombay student who died by suicide hours after being caught using AI during an examination, has alleged that her son was harassed, which caused his death. “My son has been killed. He was severely harassed. I want justice,” she said.

Mumbai Police have registered an abetment-of-suicide case on a complaint filed by Wakode’s father. Police said the father named several people in his statement and all of them are being investigated for their alleged roles.

Wakode, an MSc second-year student of the IIT’s Department of Energy Science and Engineering, was found dead in his hostel room on the institute’s Powai campus on Friday evening.

According to IIT Bombay, he was found using a mobile phone in the examination hall earlier that day and had uploaded the question paper on ChatGPT to seek answers.

What Institute Said

“No disciplinary action was initiated against the student. The matter was also discussed with the student by the instructor and the Head of the Department, who counselled him and assured him that the incident would not adversely affect his academic career,” the institute claimed in a statement. It said Wakode then returned to his hostel room, and “later in the evening, he was found dead in his room”.

“The circumstances surrounding the death are being looked into by the appropriate authorities,” the statement further said.

Students Protest, Raise Questions

But more than 400 students staged a protest on the campus and alleged that Wakode had been threatened with a one-year suspension, which would have required him to vacate the hostel and could have extended his course beyond four years. The protesting students also alleged that the institute had not disclosed the full circumstances of the death.

“We have come out to demand accountability and transparency from the administration. This isn’t the first incident,” a protesting student said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/my-son-was-killed-mother-of-iit-bombay-student-sahil-wakode-who-died-by-suicide-12069375?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

 

Speaking at the convocation of the IIT Roorkee, Doval described himself as a young IPS officer “in his twenties” who was new to intelligence work when he was posted to Sikkim.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval today recalled a tense episode from his early intelligence career when a team operating along the Sikkim-China border failed to return as scheduled, leaving him worried about the fate of its members and convinced that his own professional career was over.

Speaking at the convocation of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, Doval described himself as a young Indian Police Service (IPS) officer “in his twenties” who was new to intelligence work when he was posted to Sikkim during the territory’s transition into the Indian Union. His responsibilities included overseeing intelligence operations in the border areas and monitoring the movements and activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

“I was a young IPS officer, new to the intelligence profession. I was in my 20s, and I was posted as in charge of intelligence in Sikkim. That was not a part of India at that time. It was becoming part of India. I was part of that process where the merger was taking place. But my responsibility also included looking after the border areas and collecting intelligence about the movement of the PLA, activities of the Chinese Army,” Doval said at IIT Roorkee.

Sikkim became India’s 22nd state in 1975. For centuries, Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyal dynasty, whose monarchs were known as Chogyals, a title often translated as “God-Kings”.

According to Doval, an intelligence team dispatched across the border failed to return within the expected timeframe. Days turned into weeks, and Doval said he was left struggling.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/ajit-doval-nsa-they-are-in-chinese-custody-ajit-doval-recalls-sikkim-intelligence-crisis-12069560?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

PEOPLE from across the world have flocked to a remote village in northern India to seek blessings from a man whose parents say is the “incarnation of God”.

At first glance, Manpreet Singh looks like a happy toddler who responds to his mother’s words with a wide smile.

But a closer look reveals he is an adult trapped inside a pint-size body.

Manpreet, from Ramdittewala Village in Punjab, northern India, is a 31-year-old man.

He stands just 23 inches tall and weighs 7.5kg. He cannot talk or walk.

He suffers from an unknown condition that stunted his growth both physically and mentally a year after his birth, but his parents believe that Singh is gift from God.

“We had never heard of a child like him before or had seen anyone like him but we have accepted him as a God’s gift…he is a Sant (saint), an incarnation of God,” Manjeet Kaur, his mother, told The Sun.

Manpreet was born to Jagtar Singh, 54, a private driver and Manjeet, 50, in 1995, four years after their marriage.

Manpreet’s unique appearance initially drew taunts by villagers who would look down at him and his parents. But over the years, he has become famous in the region.

People from far and wide visit the family to seek his blessings, Jagtar said, adding that because of Manpreet, the family has flourished.

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/17027363/pint-sized-man-trapped-baby-body

Despite having no training, or even a pair of running shoes, Ramabai Ranveer sprinted barefoot to victory in her first-ever race in August.

The 47-year-old widow had entered a 3km (1.86-mile) community run with a single goal: winning the prize money to help pay for her two daughters’ education.

When she crossed the finish line first, Ramabai from Maharashtra in western India was delighted. The 3,000-rupee ($31; £23) prize would help her buy books and study materials for her daughters.

It was not much money. It would not come close to covering the cost of higher education in India, or even a course at the coaching centre where one of her daughters is preparing for a government recruitment examination.

But videos of her barefoot run spread rapidly on social media and in newspapers, striking a nerve as India’s education system faces unusual scrutiny.

“Is it glory or a source of shame for us as a society?” one social media user remarked.

Soon, a woman who had never imagined becoming a runner was being held up as a symbol of something much bigger: the extraordinary lengths some Indian families go to in the hope that education will give their children a better life.

For Ramabai, the decision to run was simple.

“My elder daughter came to me early in the morning and said, ‘Mummy, I want to take part in a running race’,” she told BBC News Marathi from her home in Beed district.

“I asked her where it was and she said it was nearby. She told me that if she won the prize money, it would help with her education.”

Her younger daughter, Arati, lives in Nanded and was struggling to afford books.

“I couldn’t send her money to buy books and because of that she didn’t speak to me on the phone for eight days,” Ramabai said. “So I decided I had to run and win the race.”

When her slippers kept slipping off, she removed them, gathered her sari and ran barefoot, pulling ahead to win the women’s 30-60 category.

Her elder daughter, Pooja, also won a prize after finishing second in her age group. But she reserved her praise for her mother, describing her as courageous.

Ramabai has been the family’s sole provider since her husband died in 2012.

“I did whatever work I could find,” she said. “I picked soybeans and chickpeas in other people’s fields. I also collected turmeric, processed it and sold it.”

She left school when she was 13. Her daughters, she says, should have the opportunities she never had.

“I believe that as long as I am alive, I should do everything I can to give my daughters a good education.”

That aspiration is shared by millions of Indian families. But getting a child through the education system and into a secure career can involve years of preparation, intense competition and, for many families, considerable expense.

One of Ramabai’s daughters is preparing for police recruitment and the other for the civil services – two fiercely competitive routes into the security and social status associated with a coveted and secure government job.

Millions of young Indians spend years preparing for such examinations, often paying for coaching and study materials. But faith in the system has been shaken by repeated allegations of question-paper leaks and other irregularities.

The controversies have fed a wider sense of frustration among young Indians over education, jobs and the increasingly uncertain promise of a secure future. That frustration has also fuelled student-led protests and youth movements demanding changes to India’s education system.

For families such as Ramabai’s, education is something they make sacrifices for every day.

After her husband’s death, she took whatever work she could find. She now cooks at the coaching centre where one of her daughters prepares for police recruitment.

Ramabai’s run also drew the attention of authorities. Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed local officials to provide her with financial assistance of 50,000 rupees.

But Sukhadeo Thorat, a former chairman of the University Grants Commission, says the family’s story points to broader structural challenges.

 

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw62m6z7m7zjo

Slamming Rahul Gandhi, BJP’s Sidharth Yadav said the ABVP victory reflected students’ rejection of “politics of lies, deceit and propaganda,”

While the ABVP – affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – marked a big win in Delhi University Students’ Union elections on Saturday, the NSUI – student wing of the Congress party – suffered a major setback as it drew blank.

ABVP’s Yash Dabas secured the president’s post and the RSS affiliate party also clinched two other top posts. Interestingly, Deepanshu Shokeen, who won the vice president post as an Independent candidate, was denied a ticket by the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI).

Dabas polled 24,576 votes, defeating NSUI’s Vijai Shankar Meena by a margin of 2,053 votes. Shokeen won the vice-president’s post with 30,615 votes. The NSUI drew a blank, though its candidates lost the posts of president and joint secretary by narrow margins.

ABVP’s Riya Chhawdi won the secretary’s post, while Lakshya Raj Singh secured the joint secretary’s post.

A closely watched contest in student politics, ABVP’s big win drew major political reactions as the BJP took potshots at the Congress given LoP Rahul Gandhi’s recent youth outreach campaign under ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’.

Saurav Das, co-convener of the Cockroach Janta Party, commented on the DUSU election results on Saturday.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convener Saurav Das, in the wake of the DUSU results, said that a majority of students are “against the present regime,” but because that vote was “fractured,” it benefited. Calling this a silver lining, Das said that those who have won positions must remember they are not kings or queens, as the majority did not vote for them.

“I’m sorry, but two observations from the DUSU results: A majority of students are against the present regime—but fractured, and hence it benefits the regime. But this is a silver lining. Those bagging positions must remember they are not kings or queens. The majority DID NOT vote for them,” Saurav Das posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The ABVP won three of the four central panel posts in the high-profile Delhi University Students’ Union election, while independent candidate Deepanshu Shokeen, who was denied an NSUI ticket, won the vice-president’s post.

Attacking the Opposition, Das said, “Instead of focusing on hounding the CJP, it will do well for the Congress and its bureaucratic wings to get their game sorted. That sorting game has been going on for 12 years now and people are losing patience—just like the rebel NSUI candidate who has won with a HUGE margin for VP on being denied NSUI ticket.”

To ensure subsidised cooking gas reaches eligible households, the government announced that domestic LPG consumers must complete biometric Aadhaar authentication for refill bookings starting October 1.

In an effort to ensure that subsidised cooking gas reaches only eligible households, the government on Saturday said that domestic LPG consumers will have to complete biometric Aadhaar authentication to book refills at the regulated retail selling price with applicable subsidy from October 1. Notably, the consumers who have already completed the authentication will not need to take any further action.

According to the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, 27.43 crore active domestic LPG consumers, or 89.9 per cent of the total, had completed biometric Aadhaar authentication as of September 19.

For those yet to complete the process, subsidised refill booking will be enabled once authentication is completed, the ministry said in a statement.

Why The Mandate?
The government said the measure is aimed at preventing diversion of subsidised domestic cylinders for commercial and industrial use, as well as eliminating duplicate and ineligible connections.
Consumers can complete the authentication during LPG delivery, at their distributor’s showroom or through the mobile applications of the three state-owned oil marketing companies – IndianOil ONE for Indane, HelloBPCL for Bharatgas and HP PAY for HP Gas.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/india/lpg-subsidy-rule-changes-aadhaar-biometric-authentication-mandatory-for-refills-from-oct-1-article-156188510

Union Home Minister Amit Shah skipped scheduled events in Hubballi and Belagavi during his Karnataka visit after suffering from food poisoning. BJP leader Pralhad Joshi said Shah experienced vomiting and weakness but was now “perfect”. The events were inaugurated by other BJP leaders, while Shah stayed at his hotel on doctors’ advice before heading to Delhi.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was visiting Karnataka to attend two events on Saturday, suffered from “food poisoning”, but was now “perfect”, senior BJP leader and central minister Pralhad Joshi said.

Shah, who was scheduled to inaugurate the new academic building of KLE Jagadguru Gangadhar Mahaswamigalu Moorusavirmath Medical College and the 1,200-bed KLE Hospital and Medical Research Centre at Gabbur in Hubballi, skipped the event earlier in the day. However, local leaders said he visited the campus in the evening before heading to the airport for Delhi.

Shah’ visit to Belagavi district, where he was scheduled to inaugurate the new headquarters building of Sri Beereshwara Cooperative Credit Society in Examba in Chikkodi taluk was cancelled.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organisation said the prevailing El Nino conditions were most likely to intensify into “a very strong event” in the coming months and continue through February 2027.

More than 180 scientists and ecologists in India have signed an appeal asking fellow researchers and field practitioners to prepare for an upcoming “super” El Nino event, warning that it could have devastating effects on the country’s natural systems.

In their appeal, the signatories called for stronger research and monitoring to better understand how extreme climate events affect nature and linked social systems.

Earlier this month, the World Meteorological Organisation said the prevailing El Nino conditions were most likely to intensify into “a very strong event” in the coming months and continue through February 2027.

El Nino is marked by the unusual warming of surface waters in the tropical Pacific Ocean. In the Pacific, temperatures have steadily risen above the 0.5 degrees Celsius threshold and crossed 2.6 degrees Celsius in August. Projections have reported possible anomalies of more than 4 degrees Celsius, the highest in the past 1,000 years.

“We call upon fellow ecologists to respond by strengthening and expanding our research and monitoring efforts to better understand the effects of extreme climate events on the natural world and connected social systems,” the signatories said in their appeal.

They said an El Nino event of this strength could have severe effects on India, its people and its ecology. These could include widespread coral bleaching and mortality, an increase in wildfires, and the death of large rainforest trees. There is also a high probability of drought and extreme heat conditions, which they said could be catastrophic for India’s farmers, fishermen and shepherds.

“In addition though, more subtle impacts on India’s nature — including delayed fruit production or changes in animal behaviour — could be equally important, but may be much less visible unless you are specifically looking for them,” the scientists and ecologists said. They urged fellow scientists to use the warning signs and mobilise as a community to document and study the impact of the event on India’s natural systems.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/super-el-nino-india-180-scientists-warn-severe-ecological-impacts-ptag-2998482-2026-09-19

At Sai University’s convocation in Chennai, N Chandrasekaran urged graduates to embrace setbacks and AI-led change. His message underlined lifelong learning and self-driven progress as India enters a high-growth phase.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Saturday told graduating students that they should not be discouraged by setbacks, but treat failures as chances to work harder and set bold goals as they enter the professional world.

Speaking as the chief guest at the third convocation of Sai University in Chennai, he said artificial intelligence and rapid technological change are reshaping the global economy, even as India is entering a phase of growth that could prove “unparalleled” in its history and across the world for decades to come.

Focusing on personal progress and dealing with adversity, Chandrasekaran said, “Prepare continuously for the careers and not be deterred by setbacks. You have got to measure yourself on progress, continuous improvement, push yourself towards what you want to do. View pressure as a privilege rather than being deterred by high-stakes environments or complex problem-solving.”

His remarks came days after the Tata Sons board, at its September 17 meeting, voted to give him a fresh five-year term. However, Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata voted against his reappointment.

He urged the graduating class to run “dual races” by balancing short-term achievements that build momentum with long-term career goals. He also said formal education should not be seen as a one-time achievement and stressed the need for lifelong upskilling in a fast-changing job market. “If you are not keeping pace, you will get outdated,” Chandrasekaran said.

“The world is full to the brim with possibilities. Five years from now, there will be industries that do not exist today, and we may not even know their terminology today,” he added.

On the use of AI in careers, Chandrasekaran said professionals should use such tools for administrative work, complex data processing and routine operations, so they can spend more time on strategic thinking.

“Creativity in business is at a premium,” he said, adding that graduates should position themselves as “early adopters” in emerging AI-driven areas instead of resisting technological change.

Drawing from his experience as a marathon runner, he told students to judge themselves by their own progress rather than by others. Quoting marathoner Juma Ikangaa, he said, “the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”

He said fear of failure holds back progress, and added that every failure is a step forward while every success builds confidence. “You must run your own race. Everyone has their own journey, skills, strengths, weaknesses and targets. Don’t get distracted by others, as they may have different goals. Measure yourself against yourself, towards what you want to achieve,” he said.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/n-chandrasekaran-urges-graduates-to-embrace-setbacks-ai-and-lifelong-learning-ptag-2998498-2026-09-19

Tamil Nadu has registered an FIR over the alleged illegal transfer of Sri Ranganathaswamy temple land. The probe will scrutinise old land records, registration lapses and possible official collusion.

Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister S Ramesh on Saturday said a formal police investigation has begun into the alleged fraudulent transfer of property belonging to the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple. He said an FIR has been registered and a multi-departmental inquiry launched to examine the illegal title transfer and identify any senior officials or influential people linked to the case.

Addressing reporters, Ramesh said a local DMK functionary had allegedly transferred the temple property’s title illegally and was now using the land as his party office. He said strict legal action would follow.

To support the claim that the land belongs to the Srirangam temple, the minister presented archival records. “The 1866 Title Deed and the Original land grant records confirmed temple ownership. The 1910 Inam Commissioner Report, land survey entries marking the plot under temple jurisdiction and the 1930 ‘A’ Register categorise the land as religious property,” Ramesh said.

He also said that in 2020, the Srirangam temple administration had sent a written request to the Registration Department, asking officials not to allow any sale, transfer or encumbrance of the plot. Despite this, he alleged, the title was changed after the accused created a fake certificate from a police station in Puducherry claiming that the original deed was missing. Using this fabricated document, the person bypassed normal registration procedures and transferred the property into private hands, he said.

“This level of systematic land grabbing could not have taken place without the active collusion or tacit backing of influential individuals and high-ranking officials,” Ramesh said. “It is a clear case of scientific corruption. The investigation is actively examining foundational land documents alongside registration logs to trace the procedural lapse,” he added.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/tamil-nadu/story/sri-ranganathaswamy-temple-land-fraud-tamil-nadu-fir-illegal-title-transfer-ptag-2998507-2026-09-20

Nithari case accused Surendra Koli was cremated in Haridwar after he was found hanging in a tea stall. The case has raised fresh questions over whether Koli died by suicide or was murdered weeks after his acquittal.

Surendra Koli, the main accused in the 2006 Nithari serial killings, was cremated in Haridwar on Saturday in the presence of his family members, police said. His body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination, and the last rites were performed at the Kharkhari cremation ground.

Police are awaiting the post-mortem report and suspect that Koli may have died by suicide after he was found hanging in his tea stall in Haridwar on Friday. At the same time, they have started an investigation into his activities since he arrived in the city and the circumstances leading to his death.

Those present at the cremation included Koli’s brother Harish Koli, his 20-year-old son Shivam, and former zila panchayat member Narayan Singh Rawat. Speaking to reporters after the last rites, Rawat called for an impartial police investigation and said it must be determined whether Koli died by suicide or was murdered.

Haridwar Deputy Superintendent of Police Shishupal Singh Negi told PTI that police have also begun examining Koli’s movements after they found that he had been living in Haridwar under a false identity for the past four to five months.

During this period, he worked as a security guard at two or three places, but kept changing jobs because he feared his real identity would be exposed when he was asked to provide identification documents.

Negi said police are also questioning the people who employed Koli and those who helped him rent a tea stall. According to the police, Koli had rented the stall from a man named Anil Sharma only four days before his death, using the alias Sadaram.

His real identity came to light only after his death, when police found his Aadhaar card and voter ID during a search. Police have denied reports that there was any dispute between Sharma and Koli over the shop.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/surendra-koli-death-nithari-case-accused-cremated-in-haridwar-suicide-angle-probed-ptag-2998619-2026-09-20

Hours after Congress Nandigram candidate was arrested, Rahul Gandhi questioned the BJP over the timing of the arrest, calling the episode the “murder of democracy”

Leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday questioned the arrest of Congress candidate for Nandigram bypoll Milan Pradhan, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has “no faith in fair elections”.

Gandhi, a Congress MP from Raebareli, described the episode as the “murder of democracy”, asserting that the party would continue to fight and win.

Milan Pradhan, the Congress candidate for the upcoming Nandigram bypoll, was arrested on Friday in a 2007 murder case linked to the anti-land-acquisition movement in the constituency.

Writing on X, Gandhi wrote: “The arrest of Congress candidate Milan Pradhan for the Nandigram by-election is no coincidence—it is political revenge, the murder of democracy. The BJP has no faith in fair elections—that’s why it wants to cling to power sometimes through vote theft, sometimes through stealing governments, and sometimes through stealing parties.”

“They don’t want to contest elections; they want to end the electoral fight altogether. The Congress will neither fear nor bow down. We will fight—and we will win.”

Milan Pradhan Arrested
Milan Pradhan was fielded by the Congress for the upcoming Nandigram bypoll scheduled to be held on October 6. He was arrested on Friday, September 18, hours after former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee affirmed her faction’s support for his candidature.

This came after Sanchita Pradhan Dey, who was fielded by Mamata’s faction for the Nandigram bypoll, withdrew her candidature after meeting Chief Minister and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari.

Source: https://www.news18.com/india/murder-of-democracy-rahul-gandhi-alleges-political-revenge-after-nandigram-candidates-arrest-ws-l-10339811.html

A police team was deputed to Uttarakhand, from where the Delhi man’s ex-colleague and her partner were apprehended.

A 31-year-old man from Delhi, who worked as an HR professional at a major realty firm in Gurugram and went missing over 10 days ago, was shot dead by a former colleague and her partner on September 6, police said, adding that the murder took place in a car and his body was dumped in a sewage-filled plot.

Gurugram police, upon recovering the body on September 10 from a sewer in Sector 70, had also cremated the remains on September 14, labelling it “unidentified”, after an autopsy. He was later identified as Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, who lived with his family in Sarita Vihar.

Victim, accused’s phones switched off
Manchanda’s family had filed a missing person complaint at the Lajpat Nagar police station on September 11. His sister, who had accompanied him for lunch on September 6, said he left around 4pm for a meeting in Gurugram. When he didn’t return, his family started looking for him and found that his mobile phone was switched off.

DCP (southeast) Vineet Kumar said, “We found Manchanda had last spoken to the colleague, Anya Vats. Her mobile phone was also switched off.”

Investigators said both Vats and Manchanda worked at another major realty group, but were removed in 2022 due to alleged financial irregularities. Manchanda got a job at another major realty firm as an HR manager, but Vats did not.

Delhi man shot dead after argument
“Vats emerged as a prime suspect. During surveillance, we detected a new mobile number being used by the suspect. Further analysis indicated her presence in Uttarakhand. A police team was deputed to Uttarakhand, from where Vats and her partner, Sanyam Sachdeva, were apprehended,” the DCP said.

Police said that questioning them revealed that they allegedly shot Manchanda dead after a heated argument, and they then fled to Uttarakhand.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/missing-delhi-man-found-dead-in-gurugram-was-shot-by-ex-colleague-her-partner-101789708571895.html

The Takeda vaccine, Qdenga, is likely to be introduced in India in the first half of 2027 and the price has not yet been decided

Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories will promote and distribute India’s first anti-dengue vaccine by Takeda Pharmaceuticals across India’s private market for paediatric and adult vaccination, the companies announced on Friday.

The Takeda vaccine—Qdenga—is likely to be introduced in India in the first half of 2027, they added. However, the vaccine’s price has not yet been decided.

“The approval for marketing authorisation was just granted in July. Hence, the immediate priority is to complete the necessary local processes required before commercial distribution can begin. It would be premature to speculate on pricing before the remaining local processes are complete,” said Mahender Nayak, head of intercontinental markets, Takeda.

He added that through the collaboration announced today, Takeda and Dr Reddy’s will support healthcare-professional engagement, disease awareness, promotion and distribution of Qdenga across India’s private market for paediatric and adult vaccination, in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

“While inclusion in India’s public immunization program remains an important long-term ambition, private-market availability through Dr. Reddy’s will provide a pathway for eligible individuals to access the vaccine once it becomes available. Further details will be shared at the appropriate time,” added Nayak.

The collaboration follows the approval of Qdenga’s marketing authorisation by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) in July for individuals aged between 4 and 60 years. Dengue remains a significant and evolving public-health challenge in India. According to a nationwide dengue surveillance study conducted by the Virus Research and Diagnostic Laboratory of the Indian Council of Medical Research, all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4) are co-circulating across multiple regions in India, with 1 in 14 patients being infected with multiple dengue serotypes concurrently.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/dr-reddy-s-to-distribute-qdenga-india-s-first-dengue-vaccine-101789725890237.html

The development comes after the Election Commission froze the original TMC name and its symbol amid a tussle between rival factions within the party.

Former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee on Friday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to bar her faction from using the original All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) name and its traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, news agency ANI reported.

The development comes after the Election Commission allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions after its interim decision on Thursday to bar both groups from using the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name and its reserved symbol while the dispute is examined.

The Arup Roy-led faction has been recognised as “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and allotted the envelope symbol. Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee’s faction will be called “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” with the football player symbol. Both groups have been recognised as political parties in West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura.

“Black day” in the country’s democratic history
Mamata Banerjee criticised the Election Commission over its decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress’ name and traditional ‘Flowers and Grass’ symbol, describing the loss of the party’s identity as akin to a mother losing her child and calling it a “black day” in the country’s democratic history.

Banerjee said she would not accept the interim arrangement as a settlement and would continue her fight to reclaim the party’s original identity and its ‘flowers-and-grass’ symbol through political, democratic and legal means.

“A mother understands the pain of losing a child, and a child understands the pain of losing a mother. Those who have not built this organisation through struggle cannot understand that emotional bond,” she said.

Banerjee also said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal had contacted her following the development.

Mamata’s TMC faction opts out of Nandigram bypoll
Banerjee on Friday also claimed that her faction had decided not to contest the Nandigram bypolls and would support the Congress candidate in the October 6 elections.

The development marks a rare move, as the TMC and Congress have generally contested elections in West Bengal independently despite being part of the INDIA alliance at the national level. The two parties last contested the 2011 Assembly elections in Bengal as allies.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mamata-move-supreme-court-against-ec-order-freezing-tmc-name-symbol-101789749683047.html

Manchanda’s relatives said they were unable to recover his ashes and belongings, while police maintained that the remains and personal items were preserved.

The family of 31-year-old Yuvraj Singh Manchanda, a real estate sales professional allegedly killed by his former colleague and her partner in Gurugram on September 6, has accused Gurugram Police of mishandling the investigation, alleging that the force “destroyed all evidence”, cremated him as an unidentified person and failed to preserve his belongings.

The allegations come days after Delhi Police arrested the two accused, Anya Vats, 35, and her partner Sanyam Sachdeva, 36, from Uttarakhand on Monday, 10 days after the murder.

“At that point, we were told that the Gurugram Police had the body since September 10 but didn’t upload anything on Zipnet or anywhere. They had just cremated the body. We still don’t have the ashes or his belongings,” alleged Manchanda’s sister Karishma.

Zonal Integrated Police Network (Zipnet) is an online platform used by police to share information on missing persons, unidentified and recovered bodies, stolen vehicles and other cases.

What is the SOP?
According to the standard operating procedure (SOP) issued under the Delhi Police’s “Duties of Police Regarding Missing Persons and Unidentified Dead-Bodies,” accessed by HT, police are required to photograph an unidentified body and the crime scene, collect evidence and upload details on Zipnet. “Hue-and-cry” notices and advertisements in local newspapers are also required. If a body remains unclaimed at a mortuary for 72 hours, police can proceed with the last rites, while belongings are required to be preserved.

Delhi Police officials alleged that Gurugram Police uploaded Manchanda’s details on Zipnet six days after his body was recovered and did not preserve his clothes.

Gurugram Police rejects family’s allegations
Gurugram Police, however, denied the allegations. Inspector Rajesh Bagri, SHO of Badshahpur police station, said details of the body were uploaded on Zipnet on September 16. He said the police control room was alerted about the recovery on September 10 and the information, including details of the body, was relayed to neighbouring control rooms.

To be sure, Karishma disputed this account. “They cremated the body on September 14… The investigators caught the accused on September 16 and they learnt that my brother was murdered on September 6 and that the body was in Gurugram. When I learnt of this, I rushed to Gurugram to collect my brother’s ashes. But after waiting at the Badshahpur police station for three hours, the police told me that the ashes had been discarded,” she said.

“In front of me, they uploaded details on Zipnet. Why did they put details on September 16? The body was found six days before! How is that possible? I am shocked,” she added.

Former Delhi cop calls alleged lapses a major violation
LN Rao, former DCP of the Delhi Police Special Cell and currently a practising lawyer, added, “This is a major violation on the part of the Gurugram Police. They cannot discard a victim’s clothing after a post-mortem in any circumstances, regardless of whether the clothes are torn or decomposing. Discarding evidence within three days is a violation. While not preserving ashes may be acceptable, failing to upload the information to Zipnet is another major lapse. We always broadcasted details of all UIDBs to all police stations in India to print media and Zipnet.”

DCP (south Gurugram) Hitesh Yadav said that as soon as body was recovered on September 10, alert was sent to every police station in Gurugram.

“Zipnet, which is an obsolete platform hardly used by three states, was checked on September 10 but no relevant information was found about any missing person till then. Gurugram police filled the UIDP performa for the body and uploaded all the information on the pan-India CCTNS network for identification on September 14, which is within mandatory time period,” he said.

Yadav added that advertisement and hue and cry notice were also issued from the police station within hours of the body recovery on September 10, along with alerts to all police stations in the district.

Manchanda was preparing for wedding before disappearance
According to the family, Manchanda was due to get married on October 25. He had gone to Lajpat Nagar with his sisters Karishma and Harsimran to buy a sherwani — the last time they saw him. He later left for Gurugram for what he told them was a work-related meeting.

When he did not return that night, his family called him repeatedly. The next day, they received a text from his phone saying he was finalising an important deal and would call soon. This continued until September 8, after which his phone was switched off.

His body was recovered from a sewer in Gurugram on September 10 and was cremated four days later, according to the family.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gurugram-cops-destroyed-proof-family-of-man-allegedly-killed-by-ex-colleague-her-partner-yuvraj-singh-manchanda-murder-101789754390819.html

The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has launched the “Adivasi School Theek Karo” campaign in Rajasthan’s tribal regions to document school infrastructure and facilities. The initiative begins in the Udaipur division and will cover areas including Dungarpur, Banswara and Sirohi. CJP said it aims to highlight education-related issues before authorities.

Amid the Rajasthan government’s month-long campaign to light an “Aashirwad ka Diya” (lamp of blessings) in schools and colleges to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has announced a parallel campaign to document the condition of schools in tribal-dominated areas of the state.

CJP launches school campaign

The campaign, titled “Adivasi School Theek Karo” (Fix Tribal Schools), will begin in the Udaipur division, with a CJP team leaving for the region on Friday and expected to start visiting schools from Saturday. The organization plans to expand the campaign subsequently to other tribal areas of Rajasthan.

CJP national convener Ashutosh Ranka said the organization would also light the government-promoted lamp at tribal schools, but with the expectation that the exercise would draw attention to their basic infrastructure and facilities.

CBI filed an FIR based on LIC’s complaint against Reliance Capital, Anil Ambani and others over alleged financial irregularities. The agency said LIC alleged wrongful loss of ₹2,684.57 crore after investing ₹3,900 crore in NCDs issued by RCAP. CBI stated the case involves alleged cheating, diversion of funds and falsification of accounts, with investigation continuing.

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR on the basis of a written complaint received from Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) against M/s Reliance Capital Limited (RCAP), Mumbai, Anil D. Ambani, former Chairman of RCAP, Satish Seth, Group Managing Director of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADA Group), unknown public servants and others.

LIC alleges losses linked to NCD investments

According to the CBI, it is alleged by the LIC that during the period from April 2012 to March 2018, LIC had subscribed to 5 Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) aggregating to Rs. 3,900 crores issued by RCAP for general corporate purposes, funding requirements and refinancing of existing debt.

“It is alleged by the LIC that the accused persons entered a criminal conspiracy and committed offences of cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal misconduct, diversion, misappropriation of funds and falsification of accounts, thereby causing wrongful loss to the tune of Rs. 2,684.57 crore to LIC and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves and other beneficiaries, by dishonestly inducing LIC to invest in RCAP through misrepresentation and thereafter fraudulently diverting the said funds, the agency said in a statement issued on Friday.

Probe to examine role of individuals and fund utilisation

The agency alleged that the accused were part of a wider conspiracy to support the banned terrorist organisation and establish a caliphate in India through violent jihad.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has charge-sheeted nine alleged ISIS members and supporters for conspiring to radicalise and recruit young people for terrorist activities, officials said on Friday.

The agency alleged that the accused were part of a wider conspiracy to support the banned terrorist organisation and establish a caliphate in India through violent jihad. Social media platforms, including Instagram, were allegedly used to identify, influence and recruit young people.

The charge sheet was filed before a special court in Vijayawada against Mohammad Rehmatullah Shariff, Mohammed Danish, Mirza Sohail Baig, Lucky Ahmad, Jishan Abdul Majid, Mir Ashif Ali, Abdul Salaam, Sharuk Khan and Shaikh Faiz ur Rehman.

Eleven accused and a child in conflict with the law have so far been apprehended in the case, the NIA said.

EXPLOSIVES, WEAPONS TRAINING PLANNED: NIA
According to the agency, the accused attempted to persuade young people to join violent activities and made preparations to manufacture explosives and undergo weapons training.

“It has been established that the accused persons motivated and radicalised gullible youths to join violent terrorist activities and also planned and prepared for making explosives and undertaking weapon training,” the NIA said in a statement.

The accused also allegedly developed and tested a secure application to communicate secretly while preparing for terrorist activities.

The case was initially registered at Vijayawada II Town police station on March 23, 2026, and was later taken over by the NIA.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/nia-isis-case-nine-charge-sheeted-for-youth-radicalisation-recruitment-via-instagram-ptag-2997963-2026-09-18

India condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, including the attempted strike on Makkah. The response underscored concern over regional stability and the safety of vital shipping lanes.

India on Friday condemned the attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia, calling them unacceptable and warning that they were undermining regional security and threatening freedom of navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb waterway. New Delhi also reiterated its condemnation of attacks on Saudi economic facilities and the attempted strike on the holy city of Makkah.

Responding to a question at his regular media briefing, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India was deeply concerned by the worsening security situation in Yemen and hoped for an early return of peace and stability in the region.

“We are deeply concerned at the escalation of the security situation in Yemen. We condemn the attacks on Saudi sovereign territory, especially the targeting of civilian and economic facilities, as well as the attempted attack on the holy city of Makkah,” Jaiswal said.

“Such attacks undermine regional security and stability and threaten freedom of navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb and are unacceptable to us. We hope for the early restoration of peace and stability in the region,” he said.

The overall situation in West Asia has deteriorated after Houthi militants carried out a series of attacks on Saudi oil installations and other civilian infrastructure. India on Wednesday had voiced deep concern over the attempted drone attack on Makkah. The Iran-backed Houthi group had also attacked Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, which is considered crucial for crude oil supplies. Since the conflict involving Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the East-West pipeline has served as a key alternative route for Saudi oil exports.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/india-condemns-houthi-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-warns-on-bab-el-mandeb-ptag-2997956-2026-09-19

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Sukriti Foods promoter Kailash Chand Mangla in the Tirupati Laddu ghee adulteration case. The agency alleges he helped source adulterants and disguise fraudulent supplies to TTD.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sukriti Foods promoter Kailash Chand Mangla in a money laundering case linked to the alleged adulteration of ghee used to prepare Tirupati Laddu prasadam. The agency said its investigation found that the ghee supplied as Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) was allegedly manufactured using refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein and various chemicals.

In a statement, the federal agency said Mangla was taken into custody by its Hyderabad office on September 17 in connection with the TTD ghee adulteration case. He was later produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Visakhapatnam, which sent him to judicial custody, the ED said.

According to the agency, the adulterated ghee allegedly used for Tirupati Laddu prasadam was manufactured using refined palm oil, palm kernel oil, palmolein and chemicals including MG-90, monoglycerides, Myvacet Soft 400 and acetic acid ester. It alleged that these were then supplied as Agmark Special Grade Cow Ghee to TTD.

The ED claimed that the alleged fraudulent supplies of ghee to TTD between 2019 and 2024 were valued at Rs 230 crore, and that adulterated ghee worth Rs 96 crore was manufactured by Mangla. The agency said Mangla was one of the co-conspirators in the case, facilitated the procurement of adulterants and manufactured adulterated ghee at his factory premises.

Notably, the new component to the tax demand comes in the middle of the financial year and without an official announcement

Bengaluru: The five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) have started levying a Rs 200 ‘software charge’ from property owners along with the annual property tax.

Notably, the new component to the tax demand comes in the middle of the financial year and without an official announcement.

The charge for commercial buildings has been reportedly fixed at Rs 1,000, it is learnt.

The Opposition parties, both the BJP and the JD (S), have raised questions on the new levy, terming it a day light robbery. Officials, however, said the charge was necessary to meet the recurring expenditure involved in maintaining the digital infrastructure used for property tax which has made easy for people to pay without visiting the corporation offices.

Source: https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/bengaluru/now-property-owners-in-bengaluru-have-to-pay-software-charge-along-with-property-tax-4151244

Sonam Wangchuk will lead a symbolic 20-km march in Leh on September 23 for Ladakh’s statehood and Sixth Schedule demands. The rescheduled programme will continue with a martyrs’ day event marking last year’s protest violence in Leh.

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk will lead a symbolic 20-km march in Leh on September 23 to press for Ladakh’s demands for statehood and inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. The march, originally planned for September 19, was postponed due to prevailing weather conditions.

Wangchuk announced the revised plan on Thursday, saying the march would be followed by a martyrs’ day event on September 24, marking the anniversary of last year’s violence in Leh in which four protesters were killed in security force action.

In a post on social media, Wangchuk said, “Due to prevailing weather conditions with cold nights, we’re making it into a symbolic 20 Km march on 23rd Sept. followed by martyrs day event on 24th.”

 

Wangchuk also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused by the change in plans and said he looked forward to joining people for the march.

A 13-year-old girl was rescued from a locked RO water plant in Chandauli after her family heard her cries. Police have arrested two men, with the case pointing to an alleged debt-linked abduction.

A 13-year-old schoolgirl was rescued from an RO water plant in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli district after she was allegedly kidnapped, police said on Thursday. Two men have been arrested in the case and sent to jail.

Police said the Class 9 student went missing on Wednesday after returning from school and going to a nearby grocery store. When she did not return for a long time, her family began searching for her.

During the search, the family heard cries coming from inside an RO water plant located between the school and the store. They immediately informed the police, following which a team reached the spot, broke open the lock of the plant and rescued the girl.

“The minor girl was found with her hands and feet tied inside the plant,” police said. After the rescue, the girl’s family submitted a written complaint alleging that the plant’s operator, Zubair Alam, and another man, Ikram, had held her hostage.

Shahabganj Station House Officer Arun Kumar Singh said preliminary questioning of the two men suggested that the matter was linked to a dispute over a debt of Rs 15,000. A case has been registered against both accused under Sections 137(2) (kidnapping), 127(2) (wrongful confinement) and 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, he said.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/chandauli-schoolgirl-rescued-from-ro-water-plant-two-arrested-ptag-2997209-2026-09-17

 

The woman, identified as Madhumitha, is from Kolkata and had been working as a nurse at the clinic for around one-and-a-half years.

Panic broke out in Bengaluru’s JP Nagar 3rd Phase on Thursday morning after a 26-year-old nurse was allegedly chased and attacked with a machete and acid by her husband following a marital dispute. The incident near a private clinic sent onlookers and passersby scrambling for safety.

The woman, identified as Madhumitha, is from Kolkata and had been working as a nurse at the clinic for around one-and-a-half years.

According to the police’s preliminary investigation, Madhumitha had stepped out for breakfast at around 9.15 am when her husband, Venkatesan, allegedly chased her to the basement parking area of the multi-storey building housing the clinic.

Police said Venkatesan, a native of Tamil Nadu, arrived on a motorcycle armed with a knife, machete and acid. He allegedly attacked Madhumitha with the machete before throwing acid at her and attempting to flee.

Mumbai petrol dealers have threatened to stop accepting UPI payments from October 15 over the revised MDR framework. They have sought an exemption from the charges, citing pressure on margins. The official framework provides for a flat Rs 5 MDR on fuel transactions above Rs 2,000, while customers are not to be charged directly.

Petrol pump owners in Mumbai have threatened to stop accepting UPI payments from October 15 if the Centre does not exempt fuel retailers from the revised merchant discount rate (MDR) on person-to-merchant transactions above Rs 2,000.

The Petrol Dealers Association of Mumbai has written to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Finance Ministry, seeking a complete waiver for petrol pumps.

Revised MDR Regime

The representation follows the Finance Ministry’s announcement of a revised MDR regime under which a uniform 0.4% charge will apply to P2M UPI transactions above Rs 2,000, with exceptions for small vendors and micro merchants.

Petrol dealers said the charge would put pressure on their already limited margins as fuel prices are regulated and transaction costs cannot simply be passed on to customers.

“Our retail outlets have achieved over 60% digitalisation of all fuel and diesel sale transactions through intensive infrastructural deployment under the explicit assurance of a zero-MDR environment. However, the revised implementation creates an existential crisis for retailers due to multiple critical constraints,” said Chetan Modi, president of the Petrol Dealers Association of Mumbai.

Dealers Cite Rising Costs

The association said petrol pumps have invested heavily in digital payment infrastructure as part of the Digital India push. Dealers also pointed out that their commission margins have remained largely unchanged for years while operational and compliance costs have increased. Even a concession on the proposed MDR, they said, would result in a substantial revenue outgo and further squeeze their margins.

UPI Withdrawal May Hit Motorists

The threat of withdrawing UPI payments could affect thousands of motorists who have increasingly shifted to digital payments. Bunty Singh, a vehicle owner from Poisar, said the move would inconvenience motorists who do not routinely carry cash.

“I often step out of the house without so much as a wallet and very little petty cash. A stoppage on UPI payments at petrol pumps would translate to more inconvenience for me,” he said.

The issue has also raised concerns in the transport sector. Bal Malkit Singh, adviser and former president of the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), said any additional transaction cost on fuel would ultimately affect transporters and consumers.

“Fuel prices are already under pressure due to the ongoing West Asia conflict, and any additional 0.4% surcharge on UPI fuel payments will further increase the cost burden on the transport sector,” he said.

He added that a shift back to cash could undermine the gains made in digital payments since demonetisation. “The transport sector largely depends on digital payments, including UPI for smaller vehicles. If a surcharge is imposed, it could push people back towards cash transactions and undermine the objective of Digital India,” he said.

Source: https://www.freepressjournal.in/mumbai/mumbai-petrol-pumps-threaten-to-stop-upi-payments-from-october-15-over-revised-mdr

Following a Supreme Court directive, the Centre has agreed to lower the qualifying percentile for NEET-SS from 50th to 30th to address the issue of unfilled super-speciality seats.

Days after the Supreme Court directed the Centre to reconsider its decision not to lower the minimum qualifying cut-off for super-speciality courses, it has agreed to reduce the qualifying percentile for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Super Speciality (NEET-SS) seats from the existing 50th percentile to the 30th percentile.

As reported by PTI, the Centre, in a note filed before the apex court, submitted that 1,857 super-speciality seats remained unfilled after the completion of the second round of NEET-SS counselling, noting that a significant number of vacant seats belong to highly specialised medical and surgical disciplines.

“The matter has since been reconsidered in consultation with the concerned stakeholders. In order to ensure that the available Super Speciality seats do not remain vacant and that the available training capacity is optimally utilised, it has been decided that the qualifying percentile for NEET-SS may be reduced from the existing 50th percentile to the 30th percentile for the purpose of the proposed Special Stray Vacancy Round,” the Centre told SC.

NEET-SS Cut-off Reduction to Make 6K+ Candidates Eligible for Counselling
The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, apprised the apex court that a reduction in the NEET-SS qualifying percentile would allow approximately 6,000 additional candidates to participate in the counselling process.

“This would provide a candidate pool of approximately three times the number of presently vacant seats, i.e. approximately 6,000 eligible candidates against 1,857 vacant seats.

“It was further decided that, in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court in relation to the State of Tamil Nadu and in the peculiar circumstances, the 40 vacant in-service seats pertaining to Tamil Nadu would be reverted to the State Government for the limited purpose of enabling the State to conduct and complete its own Stray Vacancy Round for a period of one week,” it said, according to PTI.

The Union government further told SC that seats remaining vacant even after the completion of the State’s Stray Vacancy Round would later be added to the vacant seats available with the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC). The Special Stray Vacancy Round in respect of these seats, along with the other vacant super-speciality seats, would be conducted and completed by the Committee in two weeks.

Source: https://www.timesnownews.com/education/centre-agrees-to-reduce-neet-ss-qualifying-cut-off-from-50th-to-30th-percentile-article-156178218

One accused, a 17-year-old boy, appeared to be the victim’s “friend” whom she had gone to meet, investigators said. The other accused were the boy’s friends.

A 16-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered by a group of four teenagers – three of them minors – who dumped her body in a field in outer Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar, police said on Thursday. Officials said that all accused are in custody – a 19-year-old man had been arrested, while three minors were apprehended.

Investigators said one of the accused, a 17-year-old boy, appeared to be the victim’s “friend” and that she had gone to meet him. The other three accused, police said, were friends of the 17-year-old.

At least two investigators familiar with the case, who asked not to be identified, told HT that the crime appears to have taken place on Friday.

The girl’s body was found in a highly decomposed state on Sunday morning after locals spotted dogs and other animals attacking it.

Right hand missing, face disfigured
Police said they received information on Sunday morning about a body lying in a field near Kushak Road in Swaroop Nagar. The body was mutilated, with the right hand missing and the face and abdomen disfigured by decomposition.

“Though it had been only two days, the body was decomposing very fast – likely due to how exposed it was to the elements. The face was not recognisable. The medical report confirmed rape and we found eight wounds on her body… It appears that she was murdered and dumped in the area where animals attacked the body,” said the first investigating officer.

Senior police officers said the girl could not initially be identified. Investigation teams were subsequently tasked with establishing her identity and tracing her family.

Based on the family’s statement and post-mortem findings, police registered a case of murder, rape and causing disappearance of evidence.

Investigators said the girl had suffered multiple stab wounds.

A team led by additional deputy commissioner of police (outer north) Lokeshwaran R and ACP Ravinder Ahlawat began investigating the circumstances surrounding the dumping of the body. Police said none of the local residents had reported seeing the girl on Saturday night or Sunday.

More than 50 CCTV cameras in the area were scanned as investigators tried to establish the movements around the field. During the exercise, they spotted a tempo moving near the location around the suspected time of the crime. The vehicle’s registration was not clearly visible but local enquiries eventually helped investigators identify the tempo.

Police picked up its driver for questioning, who told them that his younger brother, 17, frequently used the vehicle. “The footage also revealed the presence of four young boys inside the tempo. The boys were soon identified but had fled from their homes,” an investigator said.

Deputy commissioner of police (outer north) Shobhit Saksena said investigators analysed the tempo’s movement across multiple CCTV cameras and combined the footage with local enquiries to establish the route taken by the accused. “On the basis of the developed leads, a night-long search operation was conducted during the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday. The tempo was traced in Khadda Colony, Swaroop Nagar. Its driver was identified and questioned. Further investigation led to the apprehension of four persons,” Saksena said.

Teen raped victim first, then others followed
The accused were identified as Shivam Ganesh, 19, and three minors aged 17 and 16, police said. Investigators recovered two knives allegedly used in the crime and the clothes the accused were wearing. Two police officers confirmed to HT that at least three of the accused confessed to raping the victim.

A second investigator said: “From what we have learned so far, the minor had gone to meet the 17-year-old on Friday night. He was the first to rape her, after which she threatened to report the crime to authorities. He then called his friends who overpowered her and raped her. They were all under the influence of alcohol.”

“After the rape, they took her to a field and stabbed her more than six times. They tried to hide the body under leaves and mud. They later fled in the tempo. We are investigating whether the rape took place inside the vehicle or at the field,” the officer added.

Police said the girl was a school dropout who had moved to Swaroop Nagar a few years ago. She was looking for a job to support her parents and was living separately from them.

Parents didn’t know teen was missing
No missing-person complaint had been filed because her parents were unaware that she had gone out and had been missing for two days, police said.

Investigators eventually identified her with the help of local residents who had previously seen her in the area. “Further investigation is in progress to establish the complete sequence of events, ascertain the individual role of each apprehended person, verify all available forensic and technical evidence, and examine the involvement of any other person in the offence. The recovered exhibits have been preserved for forensic examination and necessary legal action will be taken accordingly,” Saksena said.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/went-to-see-friend-gang-raped-stabbed-over-6-times-teen-found-dead-in-delhi-swaroop-nagar-rape-murder-101789692435702.html

The Tata Trusts chairman stated that a public listing “would destroy the character and strike at the heart of this principle” of the Tata House.

Tata Trusts has pushed back against Tata Sons’ move towards a public listing, with chairman Noel Tata saying it would be a mistake for the firm.

Noel’s statement comes after Tata Sons announced the re-appointment of N Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for another five years, following his current term ending on February 20, 2027.

Why Tata Trusts against the IPO
In a statement on Thursday, the Tata Trusts chairman stated that a public listing “would destroy the character and strike at the heart of this principle” of the Tata House.

Adding that the Tata Model “needs to be saved,” Noel Tata stated that, under Ratan Tata, the matter of a public listing had reached a consensus in March 2024: the company will remain unlisted.

“In July 2025, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, also unanimously passed resolutions that the Company should remain unlisted, and the same was duly communicated to Tata Sons for necessary action. Accordingly, the position of the Tata Trusts has remained consistent and unchanged,” the statement from Tata Trusts added further.

“What makes the Tata operating structure unique is that it is premised on trust, and its majority shareholder is a charity. That charity funds hospitals, universities, and research from the dividends it receives. It exists for public purpose and for nation building,” the statement says, with Noel Tata adding that this was not a sentiment but rather the operating model of the House.

As per Noel Tata, if Tata Sons is publicly listed, the rights of Tata Trusts as a major shareholder will be “seriously impaired.”

“A listed Tata Sons would be accountable to institutional and foreign shareholders whose legitimate interest is financial return. It is doubtful that such shareholders would sanction the deployment of capital to rescue a Group company in distress, or the funding of a greenfield venture whose returns lie fifteen years away. That is not a criticism of them. It is a description of their mandate, which is not ours,” he told board members.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/business/tata-model-has-to-be-saved-noel-tata-pushes-against-public-listing-of-tata-sons-ipo-tata-trusts-n-chandrasekaran-rbi-101789660394907.html

The Russian leader described his recent talks with PM Modi as “substantive, frank, and productive” and said he is ready to continue cooperation between the two nations on bilateral and international issues.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended wishes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his 76th birthday, crediting him with strengthening the “special and privileged” strategic partnership between New Delhi and Moscow. The Russian leader thanked PM Modi for the hospitality extended to him and the Russian delegation during last week’s BRICS summit in Delhi.

The Russian Embassy in India shared President Putin’s message for PM Modi on Instagram with the hashtag ‘DruzhbaDosti‘ — a combination of Russian and Hindi words for friendship. Under the vision of Druzhba-Dosti, New Delhi and Moscow aim to strengthen their ties over the next decade.

“You are rightly enjoying deep respect from your compatriots and great authority on the global stage. It is impossible to overstate your personal contribution to strengthening the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia,” the Russian Embassy wrote, translating Putin’s message from Russian.

In the statement, the Russian leader described his recent talks with PM Modi as “substantive, frank, and productive” and said he is ready to continue cooperation between the two nations on bilateral and international issues.

View on Instagram

“As always, it was a genuine pleasure to talk with you, and our discussions once again demonstrated your extraordinary political wisdom and foresight. We will, of course, continue our constructive cooperation on pressing bilateral and international issues for the benefit of our friendly nations,” Putin added.

Putin was in India on September 12-13 for the 18th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi. During his trip, he held a meeting with PM Modi at Bharat Mandapam, where they discussed bilateral cooperation in key sectors and also the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and the Black Sea region.

The two leaders also travelled in the same car to visit the INNOPROM Exhibition, immediately after ending their bilateral discussions. The exhibition had been organised by the two countries’ ministries of industry and trade.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/druzhba-dosti-message-in-putins-birthday-message-for-pm-modi-12058788?pfrom=home-ndtvworld_world_top_scroll

A Thai woman’s viral video has highlighted a unique Ganesha tradition in Bangkok, where devotees offer bubble tea instead of laddus. At a shrine outside Union Mall, worshippers reportedly leave multiple cups of boba tea after their wishes come true, sometimes increasing the offering from three cups to hundreds. The practice reflects a distinctly Thai twist on Ganesha worship

A Ganesha shrine in Bangkok has caught attention online for an unusual devotional practice: devotees are offering cups of bubble tea to Lord Ganesha instead of the laddus traditionally associated with the Hindu deity in India.

The fascinating local custom was highlighted by Bangkok-based Instagram user Piya Ping, who shared a video from a shrine located outside Union Mall, a popular shopping centre in the Thai capital.

Bubble tea becomes a unique Ganesha offering

In her video, Piya showed several large cups of boba milk tea placed in front of a Ganesha idol. She also arrived at the shrine carrying bubble tea to offer to the deity.

The sight may be surprising to Indian devotees familiar with traditional Ganesha offerings, but Piya explained that worshippers in Bangkok have developed their own way of expressing devotion.

Bhopal’s Indrapuri Ke Raja pandal has recreated the mystical world of Kantara for Ganeshotsav this year. The unique setup features Lord Ganesha at the centre, with Guliga and Panjurli Devta on either side. Intricate artwork, traditional designs and folk-inspired decorations create a spiritual atmosphere. The grand arrival and aarti are scheduled at 8 pm.

Bhopal’s Ganeshotsav celebrations have taken a unique turn this year, with Indrapuri’s Ganesh pandal recreating the mystical world of South Indian movie Kantara. The Indrapuri Ke Raja pandal has been designed around the film’s cultural theme, featuring a rare combination of three idols: Lord Ganesha at the centre, with Guliga and Panjurli Devta placed on either side.

With detailed artwork, traditional designs and powerful expressions, the idols have become the centre of attraction for devotees visiting the pandal.

Lord Ganesha At Centre, Guliga And Panjurli Devta On Either Side
The highlight of the pandal is the unique idol arrangement inspired by the spiritual elements shown in Kantara. The central idol of Lord Ganesha features a detailed elephant face, decorated with golden ornaments, traditional jewellery and colourful attire. The idol has been crafted with intricate detailing, from the crown and accessories to the vibrant patterns on the lower portion.

On one side of Bappa stands Guliga, portrayed with a striking face, dramatic makeup, large expressive eyes and traditional styling. The idol features a dark textured appearance, red floral decorations and a traditional costume that reflects the powerful visual identity associated with the character.

On the other side is Panjurli Devta, depicted with a traditional warrior-like appearance. The idol has a bright face, elaborate headgear, jewellery and a symbolic weapon, giving it a divine and majestic look.

Kantara-Inspired Details Add To The Experience
The makers have paid attention to every detail to create a Kantara-inspired atmosphere. The backdrop, pillars and decorative elements around the idols have been designed to complement the theme, giving visitors the feeling of stepping into a traditional spiritual setting.

The idols also feature elements inspired by the folk traditions associated with coastal Karnataka, which were brought into the spotlight through the film Kantara. The combination of Lord Ganesha with Guliga and Panjurli Devta makes this pandal different from regular Ganesh decorations seen during the festival.

Source : https://www.freepressjournal.in/bhopal/ganesh-chaturthi-2026-kantara-inspired-pandal-in-bhopal-features-ganesha-guliga-panjurli-devta-video

Nita Ambani’s striking Ganpati celebration look was centred on a humongous maharani haar. But wait a minute, it’s not the first time a celebrity has been seen wearing it.

The first thing you probably noticed about Nita Ambani’s Ganpati celebration look wasn’t the vibrant silk saree. It was the necklace.

At the Ambani family’s annual Ganpati celebrations at Antilia in Mumbai, Nita Ambani wore a bright orange-and-magenta silk saree, but it was the enormous, shoulder-to-shoulder bib-necklace sitting across her neckline that had everyone do a double take. The piece was so expansive that it almost blurred the line between necklace and jewellery tableau.

Called Amrapali Bharatam, the one-of-a-kind piece is an assemblage of vintage ornaments from different parts of India, brought together into a single jewel.

Look closely and there is plenty to discover. A traditional Kerala necklace forms part of its upper structure, while old South Indian naths, jhoomars, earrings, billas and chandbalis have been repurposed within the composition. Pearls, coloured gemstones and diamonds add layers of colour and texture, while the different forms and motifs retain traces of the jewellery traditions they originally belonged to.

It is, quite literally, a collection of many pieces made to look like one.

Tarang Arora, CEO and Creative Director of Amrapali Jewels, explains that this kind of piece cannot simply be designed on paper and then made. The elements have to be physically brought together, balanced and adjusted so that everything falls correctly. Even the pearl strings at the back were added as part of that process.

And the work behind it is considerable. According to the brand, the antique and vintage components were collected over three years, before 14 master karigars worked on the final composition. The making itself took months, involving extensive research, trial and error, and painstaking work to make disparate pieces sit together as one.

That explains why the necklace doesn’t look conventionally symmetrical. Instead, it has an almost museum-display quality to it, with different elements competing for your attention. One moment you notice a pendant, then a string of pearls, then an old earring or a traditional form tucked into the larger structure.

But here’s the interesting part: this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this necklace. Can’t recollect yet? Will help you!

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/fashion/story/before-nita-ambani-sonam-kapoor-rocked-that-ginormous-maharani-haar-2995705-2026-09-16

The Bombay High Court upheld the cancellation of bail for the minor accused in the fatal Ghatkopar crash. The court said his stunt-driving, lack of parental control and bail breach warranted reformative custody.

The Bombay High Court has upheld the cancellation of bail granted to a minor accused in a fatal road crash in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar, observing that his repeated stunt-driving, lack of parental supervision and violation of bail conditions justified his placement in a reformative institution.

Justice Shivkumar Dige dismissed a criminal revision application filed by the minor, challenging a Sessions Court order that had revoked the bail earlier granted by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

During the hearing, advocates Atharva Dandekar, Ruben Mascarenhas and Tejas Gupta, appearing for the surviving victim, argued that the accused routinely performed dangerous stunts on two-wheelers and cars on public roads and uploaded videos of the acts on Instagram.

According to the submissions, the videos showed the teenager performing wheelies with multiple pillion riders without helmets and driving a car while a friend lay across the bonnet and windshield, reflecting a complete disregard for public safety.

The court noted that the minor had been driving vehicles without a valid licence before attaining the age of 18 and that his parents, despite being aware of his conduct, failed to restrain him.

Justice Dige held that releasing the minor would expose him to moral, physical and psychological danger, attracting the exceptions to bail under Section 12(1) of the Juvenile Justice Act.

The court also found that after obtaining bail from the JJB, the minor failed to reside at the address in Koparkhairane specified as a condition of his release and could not be traced during police verification.

“It shows that he has scant respect for the orders passed by lawful authority. Now, the applicant is a major. When he was a child, there was no parental control over him. The applicant would be exposed to moral, physical and psychological danger due to lack of parental control. He may again indulge in stunt act with his friends, causing danger to others. It will defeat ends of justice,” Justice Dige said.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bombay-high-court-upholds-bail-cancellation-for-minor-in-stunt-driving-crash-that-killed-one-2996393-2026-09-17

A Ganesh idol made with 21,000 living plants has become the focus of celebrations at a temple in Anakapalli district. The organisers say the display ties devotion to environmental responsibility by promoting greenery over waste.

A Ganesh idol made using 21,000 living plants and saplings has become the centre of attraction at the Sri Chintamani Ganapathi Datta Kshethram in Sirasapalli village of Parawada mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district.

Named ‘Sasya Ganapathi’, the unique creation uses live greenery to form the deity, giving the idol a distinctly natural appearance. Unlike conventional Ganesh idols made from clay and other materials, the initiative seeks to combine religious devotion with a message of environmental conservation.

The green Ganesha has emerged as the major attraction of this year’s celebrations, drawing devotees and visitors to the temple.

Odisha Governor Dr Kambhampati Hari Babu visited the temple and offered prayers to the deity. He also participated in special rituals and prayed for peace, prosperity and the well-being of people.

Anakapalli MLA Konathala Ramakrishna, along with temple trustees, local representatives and devotees from neighbouring villages, also participated in the celebrations.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/21000-living-plants-turn-ganesh-idol-into-a-green-message-in-anakapalli-2996395-2026-09-17

 

The incident came to light after the retired Army personnel received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on September 11. The message contained a link to an APK file named “Pension Card Verification Retired Personnel.”

A 65-year-old retired Army personnel from Maharashtra’s Pune lost Rs 28.7 lakh after cybercriminals siphoned off the money through nine transactions in around three hours, following a fake pension verification message, police said.

The incident came to light after the man received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on September 11. The message contained a link to an APK file named “Pension Card Verification Retired Personnel.”

Believing the message was related to his Army pension, the man downloaded and opened the file on his mobile phone.

Police suspect the APK was part of a remote-access fraud, in which cybercriminals attempt to gain access to a victim’s device and sensitive information by getting them to install a malicious application.

Soon after the file was opened, the man received a call from another number.

The caller introduced himself as a bank employee and told the retired soldier that he would assist him with formalities related to his pension account.

He was asked to keep his phone switched on.

Over the next few hours, the man received several OTPs on his mobile phone. The caller instructed him not to share the OTPs with anyone.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/maharashtra/story/fake-pension-verification-apk-scam-shirur-retired-army-man-loses-rs-28-7-lakh-2996412-2026-09-17

 

Two terrorists were killed in a late-night gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district. The terrorists are believed to be from Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)’s proxy outfit, Kashmir Tigers. Security forces are conducting a search and combing operation in the area.

Two terrorists were killed in a late-night gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district, officials said on Thursday. The terrorists are believed to be associated with the Kashmir Tigers, a proxy outfit of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and their identities are being ascertained.

The gunfight took place in the Majalta area after security forces launched a major cordon and search operation following inputs about the suspicious movement of terrorists in the forested area.

According to sources, the movements of the terrorists had been tracked in the forest area, which has been a favoured transit route for JeM-linked groups. A heavy exchange of fire followed after security forces closed in on the terrorists.

The bodies of two terrorists, believed to be foreigners, were recovered in the early hours of Thursday. Arms and ammunition were also seized from their possession.

The joint operation was carried out by the Rashtriya Rifles, Para (Special Forces) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

A search and combing operation remains underway in the area, with additional troops being mobilised to track down any other terrorists who may be hiding in the forests.

“In a joint intelligence-based operation during the intervening night of 16/17 Sep 2026, confirmed inputs indicated the presence of terrorists in the general area of Brattal, Udhampur. Despite hostile weather, difficult terrain and poor visibility, troops of #WhiteKnightCorps, @JmuKmrPolice and CRPF launched a targeted counter-terrorism operation, resulting in the neutralisation of two terrorists,” White Knight Corps wrote on X.

“The operation is still in progress, with search and surveillance operations continuing in the area. Security forces remain deployed to track and neutralise any remaining threat,” it said.

The Majalta area has witnessed several anti-terror operations in recent years. In February this year, two suspected JeM terrorists were also killed in a similar operation in the area.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/two-terrorists-killed-in-late-night-gunfight-with-security-forces-in-jks-udhampur-2996425-2026-09-17

Actor Anant Nag says PM Modi changed the award selection system through public participation, removing ‘nepotism’ and ‘favouritism’ from film awards.

Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for democratising the film awards process in India, saying he removed nepotism and favouritism from the process. The veteran actor has been announced as the recipient of the 2024 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest honour in cinema.

Anant Nag credits PM Modi for cleaning film awards

On Wednesday, hours after his name was announced as the recipient of the honour, the actor told PTI, “It was a very special category, you know; it was given nepotism and favouritism, and everything was there in this award-giving, as well. But Modi changed it. Modi was the only person who asked people to please recommend the name they had in their mind. That was the first time he brought it out into the public.”

The 79-year-old actor said he had not anticipated receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and was still coming to terms with the honour. He dedicated the win to the people of his home state, Karnataka. “Well, I didn’t anticipate that I would be given this Phalke Award, as such. So, I’m trying to come to terms with it. I would dedicate it to the people of Karnataka, and then thank Mr Modi, our dear Prime Minister, for this, because he tweeted it and announced this particular award. So I’m grateful to him, and grateful to this country which has provided me this opportunity,” he added.

Anant Nag, who has completed 50 years as an actor, has not confirmed whether he will attend the award ceremony in Delhi, as he is reluctant to travel. “If I’m asked to, then I cannot say no. When they’ve conferred such a big award on me, then I should go to it and take it,” he said. He will be conferred the award at the National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/others/pm-modi-removed-nepotism-favouritism-from-film-awards-anant-nag-after-being-honoured-with-dadasaheb-phalke-award-2024-101789610547761.html

The Supreme Court criticized the government’s failure to implement a 2015 Defence Ministry report recommending the withdrawal of cases denying disability benefits to injured soldiers.

The Supreme Court has pulled up the government for allegedly denying the disability pension to the disabled soldiers. The top, while highlighting a 2015 Defence Ministry report on denial of disability benefits to soldiers on hyper-technical reasons, rued the non-implementation of recommendation for immediate withdrawal of such cases by the government against disabled soldiers.

The government cut windfall tax on petrol, diesel and ATF exports from September 16, lowering duties amid continuing West Asia tensions and fuel-market concerns.

The government slashed the windfall gains tax on exports of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for the fortnight starting September 16. For diesel exports, the special additional excise duty (SAED), including the road and infrastructure cess, has been reduced to Rs 20 per litre from Rs 25. The SAED on ATF exports has also been cut to Rs 15 per litre from Rs19. Meanwhile, duty on petrol exports has been slashed to Rs 0.5 per litre effective September 16, from Rs 1.5 per litre in the previous fortnight.

The Finance ministry in a notification said the duty hikes will be effective from September 16. Amid escalating tensions in West Asia, the Government imposed an export duty on diesel and ATF on March 27 and revised the rate every fortnight.

Beginning May 16, the levy was imposed on petrol exports. The ministry also said that there is no change in the existing duty rates on petrol and diesel cleared for domestic consumption.

Notably, the windfall tax was levied to increase domestic availability of the fuel amid the war in West Asia. It was also aimed at preventing exporters from taking undue advantage due to price differences as global crude oil prices had risen since the war began. The windfall tax was intended to ensure domestic availability of petroleum products by disincentivising exports amid the West Asia crises.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, protested against a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department and the Late Lakshman Mankar Trust by tearing it up.

Announcing the launch of Cockroach Janta Party campaign ‘Adivasi School Thik Karo’ (improve the condition of schools for tribal children), CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, on Wednesday, tore up a copy of an MoU between the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department and the Late Lakshman Mankar Trust in connection with tribal hostels in a symbolic act of opposition.

Dipke was informed about the Memorandum of Understanding between the Tribal Development Department and Late Lakshman Mankar Trust during a meeting with tribal students in Maharashtra.

Supporting the demand for the cancellation of the MoU, he tore up a copy of the agreement.

BJP begins month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan to mark PM Modi’s 25 years of public service

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) begins its special month-long campaign titled ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’on Thursday, to mark the completion of 25 years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s public life and service.

September 17 marks PM Modi’s birthday, while October will mark the completion of 25 years of his public service.

Earlier on September 9, BJP National President Nitin Nabin, addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, announced that PM Modi will complete 25 years of public service on October 7, and to mark this occasion, the BJP will conduct a special month-long campaign, ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’.

“Prime Minister Modi’s journey of service began on October 7, 2001, when he assumed office as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Over the past 25 years, he has worked continuously, guided by the mantra of public service to national service,” Nabin said.

“The BJP observes Prime Minister Modi’s birthday as ‘Seva Diwas’ (Day of Service). In this spirit, a month-long ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’ will be organised this year from September 17 to October 17. It is the BJP’s responsibility to take the message of public service to as many people in society as possible. Through this campaign, Prime Minister Modi’s work spanning 25 years of public life — encompassing service, development, and nation-building — will be highlighted to the public,” Nabin said.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/bjp-to-launch-seva-sankalp-abhiyan-today-to-mark-pm-modis-25-years-of-public-service-12057119?pfrom=home-ndtvworld_icymi

The CAQM has directed Delhi and NCR governments to avoid organising physical sports activities and competitions during November and December due to air quality concerns.

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) has directed the Delhi government and governments of other NCR states to ensure that no physical sporting activities or competitions are organised during November and December, citing air quality trends during the period.

CAQM issued a similar direction last year following the Supreme Court’s order. In an order dated September 10, the commission said that competitions already scheduled during the period may be postponed. It also directed that students who are unable to participate because of the rescheduling should not be unduly disadvantaged.

“The govts should explore ways to reschedule such events or provide alternative opportunities for students to engage in similar activities at appropriate time, without compromising their health or academic progress,” CAQM said in its order.

The Supreme Court had last year raised concerns over the impact of poor and severe air quality on children taking part in sports competitions organised by schools.

According to CAQM, “The Supreme Court vide its order dated Nov 19, 2025, asked the Commission to issue appropriate directions to schools in Delhi-NCR to postpone sports and games competitions scheduled for Nov and Dec in view of the potential adverse health effects, especially on children, arising from participation in physical sports competitions held during the periods of adverse air quality.”

Source : https://www.timesnownews.com/delhi/no-sports-in-national-capital-caqm-directs-delhi-government-to-postpone-november-december-sporting-events-amid-air-pollution-article-156165705

The victim woman involved in a Gurugram hit-and-run incident lashed out at the accused and his supporters, asserting that she could have lost her life in the collision.

Woman biker, victim in the Gurugram hit-and-run case where a speeding car had rammed into her while she was riding near the golf course road, on Tuesday, lashed out at the accused and all those who were defending him, saying she “could have died” in the incident. The biker also hit back at the accused and his followers who alleged that she was playing a victim card to gain followers, saying that she is not bothered by all this. The victim demanded strict action against all the persons who were present in the car that hit her.

The woman biker – Shivani Chouhan — after recording her statements with the magistrate on September 15 said, “Whatever happened to me on Sunday morning was recorded on my video. I have told the Magistrate what I faced personally. I was chased, harassed, and intentionally hit; I could have died. I have given my statement. I have requested the strictest action in this case. MLC has been done. For a few injuries, MRI tests and X-rays have to be done tomorrow.”

The Congress party criticised the Indian government for introducing a 0.4% transaction fee on UPI payments exceeding Rs 2,000, labeling it a “Modi tax.”

The Congress, on Tuesday, hit out at the Centre over imposing transaction fee on UPI payments above Rs 2000 for merchants, terming the latest move of the government as “Modi tax”. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi also targeted the Centre and alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “compromised” and “once again surrendering” to American pressure.

Congress said the sequence of events on the UPI transaction issue shows that it is another example of the Modi government’s “FAST (First Announce, Subsequently Think) move”.

Tomorrow, the US House of Representatives votes on a Bill that introduces 100% tariffs on India. The US Senate has already approved this draconian law.

Meanwhile, the Trump regime has been cracking down on Indian immigrants and making tougher laws against them. H-1B visa costs have been increased and such holders could soon be deported immediately when out of a job. Such holders are mostly IT professionals.

Here, the Modi Govt has given into a US demand to get rid of zero MDR and charge for UPI. The U.S. Trade Representative earlier this year criticized UPI for being free and having driven out Visa and Mastercard.

Why 0.4% MDR? Is it because debit card MDR is also 0.4%? Is this being done to enable US card companies to compete with UPI?

Is this going to make UPI “sustainable” as the Govt claims? The estimated cost of running the entire UPI ecosystem is around Rs 20,000 crore annually. This is less than 10% of what the RBI has been transferring to the Union Govt in the past few years so as to show healthy public finances for the Modi Govt.

The PM has redefined NOTA— Narendra’s Ongoing Trump Appeasement.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 16, 2026

 

The Supreme Court has directed its five-member high-powered enquiry committee (HPEC) to begin its probe into the July protests.

The Supreme Court has directed its five-member high-powered enquiry committee (HPEC) to begin its probe into the July protests by examining the use of pellet guns, targeted violence and harassment of female protesters, injuries sustained by police personnel and destruction of property, while making clear that broader constitutional questions arising from the July protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will be decided by the court itself.

In a detailed order issued after the September 10 hearing, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also directed the committee to ensure protection and confidentiality for vulnerable witnesses, including keeping their identities undisclosed, and said a separate online portal could be created to enable them to submit evidence and documents.

American businessman, entrepreneur, and the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad has issued another major market warning, saying that the “BIGGEST CRASH IN HISTORY has started.” He has claimed that the crash has already begun in Japan and Europe and could spread across the world. “It’s caused by many factors, the AI frenzy, war in Iran, too much debt, and a retiring Baby Boom generation.” said Kiyosaki

Robert Kiyosaki, the author of the bestselling personal finance book Rich Dad Poor Dad, has once again raised concerns about the global financial system, warning that a major market crash could be underway. In a recent social media post, Kiyosaki also recommended Indian-origin author Mickey Maini’s book The Entropy Trap to his followers.

Kiyosaki described the situation in stark terms, stating that the “biggest crash in history has started.” His remarks come amid continuing discussions around market valuations, economic uncertainty, inflation, and the financial risks facing investors.

BIGGEST CRASH IN HISTORY has started.

In 2002 I released RICH DADS PROPHECY. This book was written to prepare people to profit and not be victims of the biggest stock and bond market crash in history…. a crash that was still coming.

In 2026, that crash started, in Europe and Japan and is spreading across the world.

It’s caused by many factors, the AI frenzy, war in Iran, too much debt, and a retiring Baby Boom generation.

If you have a 401k or IRA or Superannuation, or a RRSP you may be in trouble, especially if you’re over 40 years old.

The last depression lasted 25-years from 1929 to 1954.

For those who were prepared like the Kennedy family was prepared….the Grest Depression was the most prosperous time in their lives.

Please do not be a victim. There is still a little time before mom, pop and kids, wake up and the panic and bank runs begin.

For years I’ve been stating exactly what I have been doing to prepare and that is personal business, income producing real estate, investing in oil producing wells, saving not cash…. But gold, silver, and Bitcoin…. Knowing the fake money printing will begin.

I recommended this book before, The Entropy Trap, published this year, 2026, and it may be the most impotant book you can read this year. The author is Mickey Maini.

Please read it. It could be your best investment today.

Take care….

— Robert Kiyosaki (@theRealKiyosaki) September 15, 2026

Robert Kiyosaki raises concern over major market crash

American businessman, entrepreneur, and the author of Rich Dad Poor Dad has issued another major market warning, saying that the “BIGGEST CRASH IN HISTORY has started.” He has claimed that the crash has already begun in Japan and Europe and could spread across the world. “It’s caused by many factors, the AI frenzy, war in Iran, too much debt, and a retiring Baby Boom generation.” said Kiyosaki.

AI frenzy could make crash worse

Kiyosaki blamed the AI frenzy for adding to the financial risk. Talking about the AI frenzy, it is a massive global wave of excitement, heavy investment, and rapid tech development around artificial intelligence. For him, the AI boom is another major risk that could add more pressure to an already weakened market. He further said, “For years I’ve been stating exactly what I have been doing to prepare, and that is personal business, income-producing real estate, investing in oil-producing wells, saving not cash…. But gold, silver, and Bitcoin…. Knowing the fake money printing will begin.”

 

The consumer authority found Rapido’s pre-ride payment prompts used dark patterns, pressured riders to pay more and made unsupported claims that higher payments improved their chances of getting a ride.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Rapido, for misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices, an unfair contract and the use of dark patterns to prompt riders to pay more before their rides were confirmed.

The action against Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, the company operating the ride-hailing platform, follows a sector-wide examination by the consumer watchdog of cab and bike-taxi aggregators operating in India, focusing on practices related to pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing.

During its examination, the CCPA found that the Rapido app displayed prompts encouraging riders to increase the amount they were willing to pay while their booking was being processed.

Among the messages displayed on the app were:

“Higher the price, higher the chance of getting a ride.”

Another prompt said, “Captains aren’t accepting at Rs 60. Try adding +10, +20, +30.”

According to the CCPA, Rapido’s algorithm first quoted a fare to the rider. After the rider booked at that fare, the app prompted them to pay more, stating that drivers were not accepting the original price.

The authority said this created a false impression that a rider’s chances of getting a ride quickly depended on paying an additional amount.

The CCPA said that, once a rider had committed to a booking, there was limited scope for negotiation. The prompts could create a sense of urgency and fear of losing the ride if the consumer declined to pay more, it added.

The authority classified the practice as “Confirm Shaming”, a dark pattern identified under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

According to the CCPA, prompting consumers to make an additional payment after they had accepted the initially displayed fare could place them under psychological pressure.

This was particularly significant because the rider had already reached the booking stage and was relying on the platform to secure a ride, the authority said. A message suggesting that the chances of getting a ride were lower without an additional payment could therefore push the consumer towards paying more.

‘SET YOUR PRICE’ SLIDER UNDER SCRUTINY

The Consumer Protection Authority also examined Rapido’s ‘Set your price’ feature and raised concerns over how its pricing options were presented.

According to the authority, the slider used different colours to display options to increase or decrease the fare. When riders increased the price, the message ‘Higher chance of getting a ride’ appeared in green. When they tried to lower it, a warning appeared in red or orange.

The CCPA also noted that the slider offered more space to increase the price, while providing comparatively less scope to reduce it.

The authority classified this design as ‘Interface Interference’, another dark pattern, saying the interface influenced consumers towards choosing a higher amount.

CCPA QUESTIONS TIPPING BEFORE RIDE BEGINS

Uttar Pradesh is strengthening security at the Ram Temple and other sensitive sites with specialised sniper deployment and new surveillance equipment. Three sniper rifles will be procured for the Special Security Force, while security personnel guarding public representatives and three PAC women battalions will receive new firearms.

Uttar Pradesh is preparing to deploy specialised snipers at the Ram Temple and other high-security establishments as part of a major upgrade of the state’s security arsenal, with new sniper rifles, firearms and surveillance equipment being procured under the police modernisation scheme.

The security upgrade will see snipers deployed at sensitive locations including the Ram Temple, RRTS facilities, Lok Bhavan, metro installations and the Allahabad High Court. The government has approved the purchase of three sniper rifles for the Special Security Force (SSF), with each rifle costing around Rs 10.76 lakh.

The state will also procure 14 telescopic search mirrors to strengthen surveillance at these high-security locations.

The rifles being procured have been identified as ‘Vidhwansak’ anti-materiel sniper rifles. These heavy, multi-calibre weapons can be used with 12.7mm, 14.5mm and 20mm ammunition.

Depending on the calibre, the rifles have an effective range of around 1,300 to 2,300 metres and weigh between 25 and 29 kg. Unlike conventional sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles are designed to engage hard targets such as bunkers, lightly armoured vehicles and radar systems, among other critical installations.

The modernisation push, however, extends beyond sniper deployment.

The state has also decided to replace old weapons used by security personnel deployed with public representatives. As part of the upgrade, 800 9mm submachine guns and 2.56 lakh rounds of ammunition will be procured at an estimated cost of around Rs 5.59 crore.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/uttar-pradesh-security-upgrade-800-guns-sniper-rifles-vip-guards-pac-women-utrith-2995491-2026-09-15

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay’s planned public appearance near The Shard in London was cancelled after police flagged crowd safety concerns. The decision disappointed supporters who had waited for hours during his UK visit.

A planned public appearance by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay near London’s iconic Shard skyscraper was cancelled on Tuesday after police raised concerns over crowd safety, leaving hundreds of supporters disappointed.

Fans had gathered outside The Shard, the UK’s tallest building, hoping to catch a glimpse of the actor-politician during his visit to the European country. Many had reportedly been waiting for hours when organisers announced that the event would not go ahead.

Addressing the crowd through a loudspeaker, a member of Vijay’s team said the programme had been cancelled because the required permission could not be secured due to safety concerns.

The announcement drew disappointment from supporters, some of whom had travelled long distances and spent much of the day outside the venue.

“I think it’s reasonable, but all of these people have been waiting. This is hardly the kind of crowds we see in Tamil Nadu,” PTI quoted one fan as saying after the cancellation. The fan had been waiting at the actor-politician’s hotel for hours.

Vijay is currently in the UK leading a Tamil Nadu government delegation on an investment outreach mission aimed at attracting global investors to the state.

Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/hundreds-gather-for-tamil-nadu-cm-vijay-in-london-event-event-cancelled-over-safety-concerns-2995520-2026-09-16

If you are a customer paying at an outlet or someone sending money to another, you pay no charges on UPI transactions

Is the era of free click-and-pay transactions over in India? Yes and no. It depends on who you are and how much money you are sending or receiving. If you are a customer, you pay nothing. It remains absolutely free. There is no exception.

If you are a merchant, you pay a nominal 0.4% charge on receiving above Rs 2,000 in one go, with an upper limit of Rs 300. The charge is fixed at Rs 5 on some transactions like railway ticket booking and fuel payments.

If you are sending money to a friend or any other individual, it remains free.

You are shielded if you are an ordinary customer. Your small transactions at the grocery store or fuel pump will see no change. You pay nothing extra. If the bill is above Rs 2,000, the merchant pays.

For some transactions, like paying for railway tickets or refuelling, a flat rate of Rs 5 will be applicable for transactions above Rs 2,000. But again, you pay nothing. The seller does, and they cannot make you pay for it.

These charges are part of what the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) calls the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) framework for the Unified Payments Interface (UPI). It will become effective from October 15.

The government says the money will go to banks and app providers to sustain operations and help expansion.

What Remains Free

• All person-to-person UPI transactions irrespective of transaction value: The Finance Ministry clarifies that all transactions between individuals will remain “completely free”, no matter how much money is being sent or received. This accounts for 70% of the total transaction value. No transaction or platform fee, or other charge may be imposed on individuals for sending or receiving money through UPI, the ministry notes.
• Merchant Payments Up To Rs 2,000: No charge is involved for payments up to Rs 2,000 made by customers to merchants. So if your bill is Rs 1,000 at your local grocery shop, no charge is involved anywhere. Customers will not pay any charge for such transactions, authorities have clarified.
• Payments To Small Merchants: This is a big relief for small merchants, local shops, and street vendors who often transact in smaller values. They need not pay anything for receiving up to Rs 1 lakh per month.

Where Charges Are Levied

• Merchant Transactions Above Rs 2,000: Here’s where charges emerge. If you make a payment above Rs 2,000 at an outlet, a nominal 0.4% MDR will be levied. Such charges will be capped at Rs 300. The merchant must pay this. The government has advised the banks to ensure these charges are not passed on to customers.
• Transaction In Essential Sectors: A flat rate of Rs 5 will be levied on transactions above Rs 2,000 in essential and thin-margin sectors, including railways, telecommunications, insurance, fuel, and agricultural inputs.
• Capital Markets Transaction: If you are paying towards mutual funds, securities, stockbrokers, and dealers, such transactions will attract an MDR of 0.02%. This, too, is capped at Rs 300 per transaction.

Who Receives This Charge?

The government doesn’t collect this charge. Neither does the NPCI. This is not a tax. So who does it go to? This will be distributed among the payment ecosystem participants, including banks and payment application providers, to support the operation and continued expansion of the UPI ecosystem, the ministry says.

In A Nutshell: Case Studies

Let’s take four case studies to understand the impact of the new UPI charges.

Case 1: You get your car’s fuel tank filled. The bill shows Rs 5,000. What charge do you pay? Nothing, unless you run the petrol pump. A flat rate of Rs 5 is applicable in this case. The fuel company or the petrol pump operator pays that. As a customer, you pay only for the fuel and get going.

Case 2: You dine at a restaurant, and the bill is Rs 6,000. Again, you pay Rs 6,000, and that’s it. You don’t pay the applicable charge. At 0.4%, the MDR will be Rs 24. The restaurant pays that.

Case 3: You buy a mobile phone that costs Rs 30,000. You pay that exact amount. The MDR is calculated at 120, based on a Rs 0.4% rate. The seller pays this amount. Not you.

Case 4: A friend asks you to transfer Rs 10,000 for an emergency. Will you pay the MDR or your friend who receives the money online? Neither. This counts as a person-to-person transaction, covered under the zero-MDR framework.

Can Merchants Make You Pay?

Now arises the concern: what if the merchants try to pass on the charge to you? You may have already faced that while using credit cards to pay at merchant outlets. Boards are often put up outside shops stating that a 1-2% charge will be applicable if you pay using cards.

The government says this cannot be done while paying using UPI.

“Banks have been advised to ensure that merchants do not pass MDR charges on to customers. UPI application providers are expressly prohibited from imposing platform fees or hidden charges,” the Finance Ministry states.

In short, individuals will have unlimited free usage. There is no monthly quota, volume restrictions, or tiered caps on free UPI transactions.

While there are daily transaction limits prescribed by banks and NPCI, which generally range from Rs 1 lakh to 5 lakh depending on the transaction category, the government states these are security and risk-management safeguards and not charging thresholds. The transaction limits are not linked to charges.

Customers, Small Vendors Protected

The government argues that the Rs 2,000 threshold will keep 96% of all person-to-merchant transactions free. Data suggests that only the remaining 4% of merchant transactions will face the charges. Therefore, this framework will protect individuals, micro-enterprises, and small businesses, according to the government.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/upi-charges-explained-who-pays-for-upi-transactions-how-much-is-upi-charge-12051163?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal’s remarks came amid a sudden escalation in tensions in the Middle East, especially after the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia.

India on Tuesday expressed serious concern over Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s civilian infrastructure and economic assets, cautioning that such strikes undermine regional stability and threaten freedom of navigation through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal’s remarks came amid a sudden escalation in tensions in the Middle East, especially after the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia.

Jaiswal, responding to questions on the situation in the Middle East, said that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar discussed the latest developments during a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on the margins of the BRICS summit on Sunday.

“The issue of the Houthis was also discussed. As you know, recently there was an attack on Saudi Arabia which we have condemned. We are deeply concerned also with the escalation in the situation in the Red Sea region,” the spokesperson said.

“We have condemned the attack on the Saudi sovereign territory, including on the civilian infrastructure and economic assets. I would say that such attacks undermine regional stability and threaten freedom of navigation through the Bab-el-Mandeb,” he said.

“These are obviously unacceptable to us; we hope there is early restoration of peace and stability in the region. Having said that, let me say that we continue to receive energy supplies from that part of the world,” Jaiswal added.

The Iran-backed Houthi group had attacked Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, which is considered very crucial for the supply of crude oil.

Ever since the conflict involving Iran disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the East-West pipeline has served as a critical bypass for Saudi Arabia’s oil exports.

The Houthi attacks have also triggered concerns over the safety of the Bab-el-Mandeb shipping lane.

The Bab-el-Mandeb is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, located between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.

It connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

India last week condemned the latest wave of attacks on Saudi oil installations.

The attacks came amid the US ramping up its economic sanctions against Iran. The Houthis have been majorly operating from Yemen.

Responding to a question about an Indian who went missing last week following an attack on a Panama-flagged ship off the coast of Oman, Jaiswal said that the search and rescue operation continues.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-slams-houthi-attacks-on-saudi-arabia-undermine-regional-stability-bab-el-mandeb-navigation-houthis-12052109?pfrom=home-ndtv_topstories

Located in Colaba, Mondegar faced food safety inspections on Saturday, during which serious deficiencies emerged in safety and hygiene.

Mumbai’s iconic Cafe Mondegar is the latest eatery to face food safety action by Team Tukaram Mundhe. The licences of Mondegar and three other popular restaurants in the financial capital have been suspended by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after inspections exposed serious food safety and hygiene lapses.

Besides Mondegar, the three restaurants were Maharashtra Biryani Centre in Kandivali, Tribhuvan Dairy Farm in Ghatkopar West, and Mahavir Cashew and Foods Pvt Ltd in Ghatkopar East.

Located in Colaba, Mondegar faced food safety inspections on Saturday.

During the inspection, serious deficiencies emerged in safety and hygiene. The FDA said in a release that the lapses included a failure to store hot food at above 60 degrees Celsius and cold storage below 5 degrees Celsius.

Proper methods were also not adhered to for thawing food and cooling cooked food. Sanitation and other issues, the FDA said, exposed the restaurant to a risk of cross-contamination.

The four eateries were found in violation of Schedule 4 of the Food Safety and Standards Act that prescribes mandatory hygiene and sanitation rules.

Besides, action was also taken against nine food establishments in Mumbai for violations found during FDA inspections.

Those facing action are among the 38 food establishments inspected in the metropolis ahead of the festive season. As many as 47 food samples were collected during the inspections, including those of milk, khoya, and ghee.

Source : https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/mumbais-iconic-cafe-mondegar-loses-licence-over-food-safety-lapses-12051402?pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll