DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES AN EXPRESS INVESTIGATION Disquiet in film board: ‘Censorship raj’, no meeting in 6 years, no reports, term lapsed `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 DEMAND FOR INCLUSION OF LADAKH IN SIXTH SCHEDULE 4killedinpolicefiringinLehas statehoodprotestturnsviolent Over 50 injured, BJP office torched in violence ahead of talks with Govt Centre: Bid to sabotage talks, mob was incited by Wangchuk BASHAARAT MASOOD EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE FOUR PERSONS were killed and at least 50 injured in Leh Wednesdayaspoliceopenedfire after protesters, demanding statehoodandseekingextension of Sixth Schedule protections to Ladakh, turned violent. The BJP office in Leh was also torched. Following the violence, climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike for the past 35 days in support of Ladakh’s demands, called off his fast. The Leh administration has restricted the assembly of four HOURS AFTER the violence and police firing in Leh Wednesday, the Centre said the “mob was incited” by activist Sonam Wangchuk’s “provocative statements”.Itsaid“certainpolitically motivated individuals were not happy with the progress” in the ongoing talks between the representatives of the government and Ladakh groups, and “have been trying to sabotage the dialogue process”. In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs, while urging people not to circulate “old and SRINAGAR, SEPTEMBER 24 India’s 2026 Oscar entry Homebound and Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files (right). Both faced the board’s cuts Turbulence over Oscar-bound Homebound; I&B Ministry says CBFC functions as per rules, online smooth JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 24 LATE LAST week, India nominated the globally acclaimed Homebound, which lists legendary American filmmaker Martin Scorsese as an executive producer, as its official entry for Oscars 2026. Behind the curtains, the announcement marked another twist in the movie's turbulent journey within its own country — marred by a series of cuts that appeared to rattle the film's makers so much they omitted Scorsese's name from the first set of posters before restoring it CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 INSIDE ON CBFC’S CHOPPING BOARD: CASTE, MYTHOLOGY, POLITICS — AND PUNJAB PAGE 2 in later versions. For three years, a film on Punjab’s days of militancy, Punjab ’95, starring global star Diljit Dosanjh is in deep freeze after the director put his foot down to the board’s demand for over 100 cuts. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 24 People gather outside the BJP office building after it was set ablaze by protesters in Leh Wednesday. PTI EXPLAINED,P18 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Man accused of killing 25-yr-old out for birthday bash killed in ‘police encounter’ EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, SEPTEMBER 24 VIPUL ALIAS Neel Vishnu Parmar, accused of killing a 25year-old man and stabbing his woman friend early morning on September 20, was shot dead in an alleged police encounter after he “snatched a gun from a cop and shot at police” when he was taken to the crime scene near Ambapur village along the Narmada canal in Adalaj, Gandhinagar, on Wednesday, police said. The alleged encounter took place when the Local Crime Branch (LCB) personnelof theGandhinagarPolice were conducting a crime scene reconstruction, police said. An LCB constable, Rajendrasinh, was injured in the encounter. He underwent a surgery at Apollo Hospital and remains under treatment. Parmar was accused of attacking and killing Vaibhav Manvani during an alleged loot attempt at an isolated place along the Narmada canal when the 25-year-old was with a friend in his car around 1.15 am on Saturday. According to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Gujarat Cabinet clears 17 new talukas, reshapes 34th dist of Vav-Tharad EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE GANDHINAGAR,SEPTEMBER24 THE GUJARAT government on Wednesday announced the composition of the 34th district of the state Vav-Tharad which will share a tiny part of its borderwithPakistanatSuigam,and hasbeencarvedmainlyfromthe Banaskantha district. The government also announced 17 new talukas, taking the total number to 265 from 248, across 11 districts largely in Central and South Gujarat. The decision of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief MinisterBhupendraPatelcomes ahead of the local body elections scheduled early next year. On January 1, the Gujarat government had announced the bifurcation of Banaskantha district into two – Banaskantha and Vav-Tharad.HealthMinisterand spokesperson of the government Rushikesh Patel said the number of talukas in proposed Banaskantha will now be 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 GUAJARAT AS A RIVER FLOWS AGAIN, TURTLES CROCODILES GET 2ND CHANCE PAGE 6 Ahmedabad