DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM CBC 15502/13/0018/2526 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES Manipur: Two Assam Rifles personnel killed, five injured as convoy ambushed on highway EFFORTS FOR EARLY CONCLUSION BEING INTENSIFIED: MEA Incident in Bishnupur district comes less than a week after PM visited state Jaishankar and Rubio also likely to meet in New York on UNGA sidelines Trade deal talks back on track, Goyal-led team in US next week RAVI DUTTA MISHRA & SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 19 A TEAM of officials led by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is expected to visit Washington next week to resume negotiations for a trade deal, two officials aware of the development told The Indian Express Friday. ThiscomesaftertheUSteam, led by Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South andCentralAsia,BrendanLynch, visited New Delhi earlier this week to meet his Indian counterpart. Official sources said the talks will also be carried on at the po- Goyal will be in Washington, Jaishankar in New York litical level by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio whentheymeetonthesidelines of the UNGA next week. Jaishankar’s travel plans to the US are being worked out and an official announcement is awaited. On Friday, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson fortheMinistryof External Affairs, said, “A team from United States Trade Representative, led by Assistant USTR Brendan Lynch, had meetings at the Ministry of Commerce on September 16 to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Security personnel at the site of the attack in Nambol Sabal Leikai area of Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Friday. ANI EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE IMPHAL, GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 19 TWO ASSAM Rifles personnel were killed and another five were injured in an ambush by “unidentified terrorists” in Manipur’s Bishnupur district on Friday evening. In a statement , a Defence spokesperson said the attack tookplacearound5.50pm,when TRUMP-XI PROGRESS ON TIKTOK DEAL, PLAN TO MEET IN SOUTH KOREA PAGE 14 CAG REPORT ON 2013-14 TO 2022-23 Fiscal health of states under strain as public debt trebles in 10 years HIGH DEBT-TO-GSDP RATIO: TOP 5 STATES Debt as % of GSDP Public debt* GSDP 2022-23 Punjab 40.35% `2,76,459 cr `6,85,147 cr Nagaland 37.15% `13,242 cr West Bengal 33.70% `5,10,763 cr `1,515,564 cr `35,642 cr Himachal Pradesh 33.06% `63,363 cr Bihar 32.58% `2,42,846 cr `7,45,440 cr *as on March 31, 2023 Source: CAG report on State Finances 2022-23 HARIKISHAN SHARMA NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 19 THE PUBLIC debt of all 28 states combined trebled in 10 years — from Rs 17.57 lakh crore in 201314toRs59.60lakhcrorein202223 — according to a first-of-itskind report by the Comptroller BY UNNY CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 THE WORLD State BUSINESS AS USUAL a column of the 33 Assam Rifles was moving along National Highway 2 in the Nambol Sabal Leikai area. “In the ensuing action, two personnel of Assam Rifles were martyred and five were injured, who have since been evacuated to RIMS (Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal) and are currentlystable,”thestatementsaid. Assam Rifles identified the personnel killed in the attack as `1,91,659 cr and Auditor General of India (CAG) that provides a decadal analysisonfiscalhealthof states. The report was released Friday by CAG K Sanjay Murthy during the State Finance Secretaries Conference. According to the report, the total public debt (internal debt CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BEFORE UNSC SANCTIONS COMMITTEE US, UK, France put on hold Pak bid to designate Baloch group as terrorists Need more information on links to Al Qaeda, ISIL, say permanent members SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 19 The US, France and the UK have teamed up to put a “technical hold” on Pakistan’s bid to list the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and its alias, Majeed Brigade,asterroristgroupsatthe UNSecurityCouncil’s1267sanctions committee. Pakistan, a non-permanent memberattheUNSC,hadChina, Officials and others carry a woman during a rescue operation following landslides and floods triggered by heavy rainfall in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Friday. PTI Nara Lokesh & the X factor: Wooing firms, much to Karnataka’s dismay SREENIVAS JANYALA & PUSHKAR BANAKAR HYDERABAD, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 19 WHILEHEisholdinginvestment roadshowsinLondonthesedays, a reply on X by him to a post by a start-up CEO from Bengaluru showed that Andhra Pradesh Information Technology He has been turning to social media to bring businesses to Andhra Minister Nara Lokesh is not averse to using unconventional ways to get business to his state. On Tuesday, Rajesh Yabaji, the co-founder and CEO of logistics start-up BlackBuck, expressed his frustration over Bengaluru’s pothole-filled roads in a post on X saying: “ORR Bellandur has been our office + home for the last nine years. But it’s now very, very hard to continue here. We have decided to move out.” Lokesh replied with an offer CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Zubeen Garg, Assam superstar who became voice of a generation, dies SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, SEPTEMBER 19 AS NEWS of Assamese superstar Zubeen Garg — the man who bound the state’s population together as his fandom — passing away in Singapore broke on Friday, tearful admirers began to gather outside his home in ZUBEEN GARG 1972-2025 Guwahati’s Kahilipara. Garg,52,knownsimplytohis followersasZubeenda,wasborn in Meghalaya’s Tura in 1972 and emerged as Assam’s most influential cultural icon over his three-decade long career as a singer, songwriter, actor, and even filmmaker. On Friday afternoon, he died CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Pak Defence Minister’s bombshell: If need be, our n-programme can be given to the Saudis SHUBHAJIT ROY TO THE RESCUE IN UTTARAKHAND a permanent member, backing theproposal,butthreeotherpermanentmembersof theSecurity Council said the BLA does not have links with Al Qaeda or ISIL. On September 17, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, had told a meeting of the UN Security Council: “Pakistan and China have jointly submitted to the 1267 Sanctions Committee a GOVT & POLITICS NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 19 CANADA MINISTER, NSA, WHO FUELLED INDIA ROW, HOLD TALKS IN DELHI BJP SLAMS PITRODA OVER PAK REMARK P6 IN REMARKS that are making world capitals sit up, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has said his country’s nuclear programme “willbemadeavailable”toSaudi Arabia, if needed, under their new defence pact. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Defencepact anumbrella arrangement, saysAsif Mohammed bin Salman signed the pact Wednesday with PakistanPrimeMinisterShehbaz Sharif inthepresenceof Pakistan CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PROTEST TO BEGIN TODAY Bengal govt on alert as Kurmis set for rail, road blockade in 3 states RAVIKBHATTACHARYA KOLKATA,SEPTEMBER19 FOR THE fourth time in as many years, Kurmis in West Bengal have revived their agitation for ScheduledTribe(ST)status,placing theTrinamoolCongress(TMC)governmentinaspotofbotheraheadof thefestivalseason. The Adivasi Kurmi Samaj, an umbrella organisation for the community, has called for an indefinite rail and road blockade in Jhargram, Banukra, Paschim Medinipur and Purulia districts from September 20, apart from protesting in parts of neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha. The protest comes even after the Calcutta High Court on September18declaredtheprotest programmeoftheKurmisas“illegal and unconstitutional”. However, Kurmi leaders, so far, have main- tained they will hold a “peaceful” agitation. The court’s ruling had come following a petition by the Purulia Chamber of Trade and Commerce. Adivasi Kurmi Samaj’s state youth president Parimal Mahato told The Indian Express over the phone from Bankura, “In 1931, we were categorised as STs, but we wereoustedfromtheSTlistin1950 without a notification. We are awareoftheCalcuttaHighCourtdirective. But who will we approach when the administration has turned a deaf ear? For the past six months, we have been writing to the state government, various district administrations. We announcedouragitationlongago.” “ Last year, we blocked railway stationsandthen,ontherequestof the administration, we lifted it. Later,ourrepresentativesmetChief Minister Mamata Banerjee. But nothing happened,” said the Samaj’s district youth president KalyanMahato. The protest organisers claim to havethesupportoftwoJharkhand MLAs — Jairam Kumar Mahato of theJharkhandLoktantrikKrantikari Morcha and Dumri MLA, who is popularly known as Tiger Jairam, and All Jharkhand Students Union leader and MLA from Dumia MLA Lambodar Mahato — apart from the backing of former MP Bidyut Baran Mahato. “We will hold a peaceful agitation tomorrow for our rights. The protests will take place in around 40placesinWestBengal,30places in Jharkhand, and some areas in Odisha,”saidKalyanMahato. The West Bengal government has placed the three districts on alert and has asked agitators to refrain from blocking roads and rail stations. Jhargram SP Arijit Sinha and CONTINUEDONPAGE2 After win in custodial torture case, Youth Cong leader seals it with a wedding ring PAGE 1 ANCHOR SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPTEMBER 19 HAPPINESS SHONE on the faces of V S Sujith, 29, and Thrishna, 22, as they tied the knot at Guruvayur temple in Kerala’s Thrissur district on September 15. Days earlier, Sujith, a Youth Congress leader, had another reasontorejoice—his30-month fightagainsthiscustodialtorture had finally led to the suspension of four police personnel. Throughout this fight, Thrishna, who plans to pursue her Master’s degree in psychology, stood by him. The couple had met five years ago at a templewhereSujith,presidentof the Youth Congress in Chovvannur mandalam of Thrissur’s Kunnamkulam town, worked as a priest. Congress leaders, including MP Shafi Parambil, former MPs T N Prathapan and V M Sudheeran,andformerMLAAnil Akkara, among others, attended the wedding. A week earlier, Sujith had got a gold ring as his wedding gift from AICC general- V S Sujith and Thrishna at their wedding. Facebook secretary K C Venugopal and a gold chain from Joseph Tajet, the Congress’sThrissurdistrictcommittee chief. Sujith’slong-drawn-outlegal battle over two years — during which he used the Right to Information(RTI)Acttoforcethe police to hand over the CCTV footage from the night of his assault —has ledtosimilarcasesof excesses becoming public. On April 5, 2023, Sujith was pickedupfromKanippayyurvillage in Kunnamkulam, allegedly after he intervened when the Kunnamkulampoliceattempted to take his friends into custody following a tip-off regarding a group consuming alcohol at a public place. Sujith was taken to theKunnamkulampolicestation in a jeep and allegedly assaulted by the personnel led by inspector Nuhman. Sujith says, “Since the police had accused me of consuming alcohol, I was taken for a blood alcohol test, which proved that I was sober. Then, I was taken to the magistrate’s court, where I submitted a written complaint on my custodial torture. That wasthebeginningof myfightfor justice.” Granted bail, Sujith was admitted to a hospital for four days after a medical examination at the court’s behest revealed signs of assault. Following his discharge from the hospital, he immediately filed a complaint against his alleged custodial torture with the offices of the Chief Minister, the Kerala police chief and the State Human Rights Commission. Sujith said he also moved an RTI application with the Kunnamkulam police station’s Public Information Officer, seeking the CCTV footage from April 5, 2023. “Exactly 30 days later, I got a reply that the footage cannot be shared due to the presence of a POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) complainant at the station. I didn’t recall seeing such a complainant when I was taken to the station (on April 5, 2023),’’ he says. Realisingthatthepolicewere just dragging their feet on handing over the footage, he filed an appeal with the city police commissioner’s office. Though his appeal was turned down on the same grounds, the city police launched a probe, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K C Sethu, into his torture complaint. The probe report, based on the examination of the CCTV CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata