DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY ‘JANAKI v/s STATE OF KERALA’ CASE Protagonist named after Sita, questioned by man of another faith: Censor to HC SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 9 AMONG THE objections the Censor Board had to the Malayalam film Janaki v/s State of Kerala was that the protagonist Janaki, who was fighting for justice in a rape case, was crossexaminedincourtbyapersonof another faith, the Board’s affidavit filed in the court shows. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had denied the film certification on the grounds that Janaki is also a name associated with Goddess Sita. This had prompted the producers of the Suresh Gopi-starrer to approach the High Court. The counter-affidavit, submitted by CBFC CEO (Mumbai) Rajendra Singh, states, “In the film, when the lead character, who is named after Goddess Sita/Janaki, is raped, she is aided by a man belonging to a particular religious community and is cross-examined and asked harrowing questions by a person belonging to another religious community. This religious dichotomy in the treatment of the character bearing Goddess Sita’s sacred name has the potential to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 BIHAR REVISION OF ROLLS: HEARING IN SUPREME COURT TODAY EC doesn’t follow own practice, puts onus on voters, ignores existing rolls Records show in earlier revisions, EC put primacy on self-declaration; it was for ‘objector’ to prove non-citizenship SANTOSH SINGH RITIKA CHOPRA PATNA, JULY 9 NEW DELHI, JULY 9 THE ONGOING Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar that comes up in the Supreme Court Thursday amid widespread apprehension across the state marks a sharp departure from previous such drives in two key aspects. One,forthefirsttime,theSIR, essentially a fresh preparation through door-to-door enumeration, places the burden of proof on already-enrolled voters (on the question of citizenship) at the draft roll stage. And, two, it disregards the “sanctity”of theexistingelectoral roll — something the Election Commission (EC) had consistently instructed its officers to uphold in all earlier revisions, an analysisof pastECrecordsbyThe Indian Express reveals. This despite a High Court or- Bihar won’t allow Maharashtra model to work: Rahul leads EC drive protest WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR AN EXPRESS SERIES PART 7 der — it was upheld by the Supreme Court — that underlinedtheimportanceof self-declaration and made it clear that the“questionof citizenship”didn’t arise during the preparation of the draft roll. The poll watchdog has undertaken “intensive revision” of the electoral roll for all or some CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 LEADER OF Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the MaharashtraAssemblyelections last year were “rigged” in the BJP’s favour and that the people of Bihar would not allow that to happen in the Assembly elections later in the year. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav share the stage with other Opposition leaders at the protest in Patna. Rahul Sharma Long hours, slow Internet and few papers: BLOs scramble on ground SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JULY 9 BIHAR’S 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are the footsoldiers in the Election Commission’s unprecedented Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that has set off widespread confusion and apprehensionacrossthestate.They have a deadline of July 25 to uploadvoterenumerationformsin theirrespectivejurisdictions.But tonight, like most nights, the in- ternet is in no hurry. To get a sense of the formidable challenge of the task and to see how hapless residents are at its receiving end, The Indian Express followed a BLO through his day — and long night. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SECTION OF BRIDGE OVER MAHISAGAR RIVER GIVES WAY INSIDE NAMIBIA TO ROLL OUT UPI AFTER MEETING WITH MODI CANTEEN STAFF ASSAULTED BY SHINDE SENA MLA, LICENCE SUSPENDED 12 killed as vehicles fall into river after bridge collapses in Gujarat JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, JULY 9 THE SHARES of Vedanta Ltd plunged by as much 8.7 per cent to Rs 421 intraday, and that of Hindustan Zinc by 5 per cent to Rs 415, after Viceroy Research, a short-sellerandUS-registeredfinancial research group, flagged the Vedanta Group for carrying “unsustainabledebt”. Theshares recoupednearlyhalf of thelosses by the time the market closed. The research group claimed thattheVedantaholdingcompanies — Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL) along with intermediate holding companies aboveVedantaLimited(VEDL)— 2 IAF pilots killed near Churu in Jaguar crash, third since March AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA & PARUL KULSHRESTHA NEW DELHI, JAIPUR, JULY 9 TWO INDIAN Air Force (IAF) pilots were killed when a Jaguar trainer aircraft crashed near Churu in Rajasthan on Wednesday -- the third Jaguar fighter jet crash since March this year. In a statement, the IAF said the aircraft was on a routine training mission when it met with the accident. “Both pilots sustained fatal injuries in the accident. No damage to any civil property has been reported,” it said in the statement posted on X, adding that a court of inquiry would ascertain the cause. The IAF did not release the names of the pilots. Churu Superintendent of Police Jai Yadav said the jet crashed at around 12.30 pm, near Bhavana Badavane village in the district. Local sources said the aircraft was flying at a low EXPLAINED E VICEROY RESEARCH’S report on the Vedanta Group comes two years after Hindenburg Research, also a US-based short seller, targeted the Adani Group, wiping out billions in market value from the Group’s stocks. Its report sparked a debate on corporate governance and regulatory oversight in India. In January this year, Hindenburg announced its disbandment. resemble “a financial zombie” with “approximately $4.9 billion CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RUSSIA HITS UKRAINE WITH 700 DRONES PAK, TURKEY AGREE TO DEEPEN DEFENCE TIES PAGE 10 PAGES 5 & 6 2 yrs after ● Hindenburg level when it crashed. Defence officials said lowlevel sorties -- where an aircraft flies at a height of 150 metres from the ground or less -- are especially challenging, as the jets aremorepronetobirdhitsorunmarkedobstructionslikemobile towers or windmills. ThisisthethirdJaguarfighter jet crash since March. On March 7, a jet crashed near Panchkula, shortly after taking off from the Ambala air base in Haryana. The pilot managed to eject safely. On April 2, a pilot was killed and another sustained serious injuries when a jet crashed near Jamnagar in Gujarat. One of the oldest fighter jets in the IAF inventory, the AngloFrench origin aircraft is a twinengine, single-seater deep-penetration strike aircraft, with a maximumspeed of 1,350 kmph. The first Jaguars were inducted on July 26, 1979 in the 14 Squadron, ‘The Fighting Bulls’, at THE WORLD Vedanta shares plunge after US short-seller Viceroy Research flags ‘unsustainable debt’ Vedanta:Selective misinformation, baselesscharges The spot where the IAF aircraft crashed during a routine training mission near Churu. ANI Over 400 migrant workers detained in Odisha, Bengal govt demands their release Rescuers search for survivors at the site of the bridge collapse in Vadodara. Bhupendra Rana Inquiry ordered by CM as rescue teams search river for survivors ADITI RAJA VADODARA, JULY 9 AT LEAST 12 people, including three of a family, were killed and nine injured after multiple vehicles fell into the Mahisagar River and a tanker hung precariously on the edge, when a 43-year-old bridgeinGujarat’sVadodaradistrict collapsed around 7.30 am Wednesday. Around 8 pm, Vadodara Superintendent of Police Rohan Anandputthedeathtollat11.An hour later, rescue teams recovered one more body —of one of the three feared drowned, officials said. The personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force are scouting the river for survivors, officials added. Acaseof accidentaldeathhas been registered, and police will begin a probe after rescue operations are over. “We will also seek an inquiry report from the District Collector,” Anand said, addingthatthebodieshavebeen taken to Padra Referral Hospital for autopsy. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also directed an inquiry by the Roads and Buildings Department, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi called CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Vibrations, dangerous’: Alarm rang 3 years ago; 7th incident since 2021 ADITI RAJA & PARIMAL A DABHI VADODARA, AHMEDABAD, JULY 9 NEARLY THREE years ago, officials from the Vadodara division of Gujarat's Roads & Buildings (R&B) department were alerted in a letter about “unusual vibrations” being felt on the MujpurGambhira bridge and that it was in a “dangerous” condition. On Wednesday, the 43-year-old bridge collapsed, killing at least 12 people. “Despite our warnings, the R&B department did not act on the matter,” Harshadsinh Parmar, a Vadodara District panchayat member from Mujpur who had sent that letter to local officials on August 4, 2022, told The Indian Express. The paper trail, reviewed by The Indian Express, shows that the Additional Chitnis (Revenue Officer) to the District Collector directed Parmar's letter to the then Executive Engineer in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUJIT BISOYI & RAVIK BHATTACHARYA RELATED REPORTS BHUBANESWAR, KOLKATA, JULY 9 WITH THE West Bengal governmentseekingimmediaterelease of over 400 people detained in Jharsuguda,Odisha,onsuspicion of being illegal Bangladesh migrants, Odisha Police on Wednesday said the verification process is going on and those submitting the required valid documents, will be released. The West Bengal government has said the detained people hail from various districts of West Bengal, including Nadia, Murshidabad, Malda, and Purba Medinipur. A fresh round of raids in Jharsuguda on Monday led to the detention of over 200 people. So far, 444 people have been HOW ASSAM NOTICE UPTURNED A BENGAL MAN’S LIFE WILL FILE HABEAS CORPUS PETITION IN EVERY COURT OF THE COUNTRY: MAHUA PAGE3 detained and kept at two holding centres in the district on suspicion of being “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘How long will Muslims of Bengal listen to mandir-masjid stories?’ DAYSAFTERtakingchargeasthe new West Bengal BJP president, Samik Bhattacharya, Rajya Sabha MP, has sought to reach out to Muslims and a section of theLeft,doneabalancingactbetween different factions in the state party unit, and invoked the deitiesof Bengal.ABJPold-timer with an RSS background, Bhattacharya, 61, has his task cut out in the run-up to the state Assembly polls slated early next year, when the party would again take on the incumbent Trinamool Congress (TMC) led by three-term Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an interview with Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra, Bhattacharya speaks on multiple issues, ranging from the prevailing situation in the state to the BJP's roadmap for the 2026 polls. Excerpts: With the Bengal Assembly polls round the corner, what is the BJP's plan? Theplanissimple.Wherever we could not dent them (TMC), we will have to, and wherever there are misunderstandings andcommunicationgapswithin us, we will have to fix them. People have made up their mind to get rid of the current situation in Bengal under any circumstances.AndWestBengalwillre- main West Bengal and not become West Bangladesh. From the RSS to becoming a BJP worker and now elevated to the state party chief's position – how do you look at your journey? Politics is not a highway like the golden quadrilateral. A political worker is always a political worker, be it inside or outside AssemblyorParliament,beitthe state party president or a primary worker. A worker is only focused on bringing the party to power and executing its ideology. The path is a straight line, but the journey varies. My rise THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW WITH SAMIK BHATTACHARYA BENGAL BJP CHIEF Newly appointed West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya at his Kolkata residence. Partha Paul and fall is linked with the rise and fall of the party. After putting up a good show in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP failed to oust the TMC from power in the 2021 Assembly polls, going on to lose several bypolls thereafter. Could you spell out five reasons for it? I cannot tell you the reasons like that. Every election is different. We made some mistakes, there is no denying it. From every election, the party takes a lesson. From that elections too (2021 polls), we have learnt a lesson – we had some drawbacks. We had detailed discussions over it, but I cannot reveal it. Regarding the Bengal bypoll results, the less said, the better. We could not make people “bhoy mukto” (fearless). However, the manner in which we are now moving forward after a detailed homework and discussions with central leadership,webelieveitispossible to oust TMC from power. There are 78,000 booths in Bengal, half of which do not have an active committee of the BJP. How will you deal with it? It is true that we do not have visible active members in all booths. It is also true that our workers are facing threats and terror at the grassroots level. But CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Kolkata