DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 20 PAGES 2025NOBEL PEACE PRIZE MARIACORINAMACHADO EXPLAINED PAGE16 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY JAISHANKAR HOLDS TALKS WITH TALIBAN FOREIGN MINISTER MUTTAQI IndiaresetstieswithTaliban-ruledKabul, toupgrade‘technicalmission’toembassy Two Afghanistan flags, no women journalists — and the Bamiyan Buddhas Kabul to send diplomats; won't let Afghan soil be used to threaten others: Muttaqi SHUBHAJIT ROY SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10 AS A first step towards normalising diplomatic ties with the Taliban since the group seized power in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of the US-led forces in 2021, India on Friday said it would upgrade its “technical mission”inKabultothestatusof an embassy. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made the announce- THE WORLD External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in New Delhi. ANI ment during his first meeting withTaliban-ruledAfghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who arrived in New DelhionThursday—thefirstvisit by a Taliban foreign minister. Muttaqi, on his part, said Kabul CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NOBEL PANEL PLACES POLITICSOVERPEACE: WHITE HOUSE PAGE 17 MINUTES BEFORE Taliban-led Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi walked into the Afghan embassy in Delhi, an angry young Afghan stomped out with a flag pole. “I will not let them hoist the Taliban flag as long as I am around,” he said. “Let the Indian government officially recognise the Taliban government, then they can hoist the Taliban flag,” said the youth, GOVT & POLITICS AMID TRUMP TARIFF TENSION, NEW U.S. ENVOY SERGIO GOR BEGINS INDIA VISIT AAP GOA WORKING CHIEF QUITS PAGE 12 GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 10 DAY OUT WITH THE BIG CATS President Droupadi Murmu poses for a picture during her visit to Gir National Park in Gujarat on Friday. ANI SP Group wants Tata Sons listed, underlines transparency, legacy GEORGE MATHEW MUMBAI, OCTOBER 10 THE SHAPOORJI Pallonji (SP) Group,whichisakeystakeholder in Tata Sons, has demanded the public listing of the Tata Group’s influential holding company — a move that comes amidst an ongoing dispute between two factions within Tata Trusts. In a statement Friday, the SP Group said listing Tata Sons was notmerelyafinancialreformbut a“moral”obligation.Itdescribed suchamoveasastepthatwould revivefounderJamsetjiTata’svision of transparency and restore faith among stakeholders, employees,investorsandthepublic. “The SP Group has consistentlyadvocatedthelistingofTata Sons,” it said in the statement. After PM meet, message to Secys: Push homegrown social media platforms NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10 PROMOTING “INDIGENOUS development” of digital and social media platforms was one of the key“action”pointsthatemerged from an interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government's top bureaucrats earlier this week, The Indian Express has learnt. PAGE 1 ANCHOR AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10 THEGOVERNMENTisworkingon anewpolicythatseekstocapthe numberandtenureofconsultants engagedbyministriesanddepartments, and also standardise their remuneration and approval process, The Indian Express has learnt. The Ministry of Finance is likely to steer the formulation of thepolicy,thoughotherministries mayalsoberopedin,government officials said. The proposal, which was discussed recently among departments and ministries, is likely to limit the engagement of Young Cab Secy T V Somanathan wrote to top officials on October 9 Sources told this newspaper thatthedirectivewasamong“28 points” that resulted from the meeting held in Delhi on October 6 between the Prime Minister and Secretaries helming ministries and departments in the Central Government. Three days later, on October 9, Cabinet Secretary Dr T V SomanathanwrotetotheSecretaries,asking them to “initiate action” on thesepoints,itislearnt. According to sources, Somanathantoldthetopofficials to promote an “ecosystem” for the indigenous development of CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 “The public listing of Tata Sonsisnotmerelyafinancialstep — it is a moral and social imperative. A transparent and publicly accountable Tata Sons would pavethewayforarobustandequitable dividend policy, thereby ensuringsustainedinflowstothe Trusts,” the SP Group said. “Our stance is guided by a simple yet profound CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK ‘THEIR GOVT’ VS ‘OUR GOVT’: SPARKS FLY IN TOP COURT OVER J&K STATEHOOD PANEL FOR GREEN NOD TO SAWALKOTE PROJECT PAGES 3, 13 UNION HOME Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the increase in the country’s Muslim population was not due to the fertilityratebutbecauseof largescale infiltration. Shah made these remarks while delivering the 'Narendra Mohan Memorial Lecture' on 'Infiltration, Demographic Change, and Democracy' organ- Union Home Minister Amit Shah delivers the Narendra Mohan Memorial Lecture in New Delhi, Friday. PTI High drama at sea: A hot chase and a fake storm alert ends in arrest of Gujarat rape accused ADITIRAJA VADODARA,OCTOBER10 ONTHEnightofOctober8,ateam of the Gujarat Police set off on an unusual hot pursuit – on board a trawler, tearing through the dark sea. Their chase ended 25 nautical miles deep with the arrest of three men wanted in a case of gangrape. AccordingtotheFIRregistered at the Navabandar Marine Police stationonOctober8,theaccused, in their 20s, had on October 1 allegedlyaccostedthevictim,a50year-old, and gangraped her in a coastal village in Gir Somnath. The Gir-Somnath Police, after establishing the identities of the accused, visited the village but couldn't trace them. “We learnt that the accused usually worked as labourers on fishing trawlers. We gathered that they were on two trawlers and would have been at sea for over two days before we began looking for them. We decided to chase them down butwehadtobediscreetandensure they were not alerted,” says Inspector N N Rana, who led the operation. After receiving a go-ahead from the Gir-Somnath Superintendent of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja, Rana dis- PROPOSED PAY CAP `70,000 for Young Professionals with over 5 yrs experience `1.2 lakh for those with 11–15 yrs experience. `1.8 lakh for those with 16–20 yrs experience `1.9 lakh for those with 21–25 yrs experience and PG or tech degree `50 cr or 2% of project cost for consultants hired through agencies Increase in Muslim population due to infiltration, says Shah NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 10 SUKRITA BARUAH HARIKISHAN SHARMA CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 MoF proposal: No more than 3 years in a department, total 5 years in govt EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE Singer died during an outing in Singapore on Sept 19 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 who has worked at the Afghan embassy here for several years. He requested anonymityfor fear of retribution back home. Amid the face-off with the visiting Taliban members, the Afghans stationed in Delhi stood their ground, not allowing them to hoist the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban call it Emirate, instead of Republic). This was the last pocket of resistance against the Taliban, who will now be allowedbytheIndiangovernment Govt plans uniform pay, cap on tenure and number for outside consultants CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Singapore, police probing Zubeen death as ‘coroner’s case’ A “CORONER’S CASE” into the deathofZubeenGargisbeingundertakeninSingapore,wherethe superstardiedduringayachtouting on September 19, The Indian Expresshaslearnt.Acoroner’sinquiry typically follows when a death is suspected to be caused by “unlawful act or omission”, where the cause is unknown, or where the circumstances surrounding it are suspicious. Garg, 52, was in the country as a cultural brand ambassador for the North East India Festival, Singapore, scheduled for September20-21.OnSeptember 19,hewentonayachtouting,reportedly with some members of theAssamAssociationSingapore, and lost consciousness while swimming. He was declared dead when he was taken to Singapore General Hospital, and the death certificate issued by Singapore authorities states that the cause `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 First such arrest in Gujarat Police history, says SP. Express patchedtwoteamsofmarinepolicepersonneltothesea.Toensure the accused did not escape, the policehituponanidea:citingbad weather, they relayed a message toallthetrawlersinthevicinityof theonestheyweretrackingtoreturn to the shore. The message was entirely believable – a warning for Cyclone Shakthi had been issued just days earlier. Asthetrawlerwithtwoof the accusedturnedaround,theteam of police personnel intercepted thevesselmid-seaandtookthem into custody. A second team took the third accused into custody from another trawler. “Although we had cited bad weather and told the trawlers to turn around, we did not want to risk the men jumping off into the sea.Whichiswhywehadtomeet them at sea,” says Rana. “Theyweretakenintothepolice boat from the intercepted trawler while still in the waters. This was to ensure that they had no chance to escape. It is for the first time in the history of the Gujarat Police that we have searched and tracked down accused at sea... 25 nautical miles intotheseaisalongdistanceaway from the coast,” said SP Jadeja. On October 10, in the remand applicationfiledinthecourtofthe Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate at Una, while seeking police custody of the three accused,policesaidthewomanwas raped allegedly by the three accused between 6.30 pm on October1and4amonOctober2. The three men, who were allegedly riding two motorcycles, accostedthevictimwhileshewas walking down a street in the villageandofferedtodropherhome, policesaid.Butaftershegotonto one of the motorcycles, the accused allegedly rendered her unconscious and took her to the home of one of the accused, wheretheytookturnstorapeher. The victim, who returned home onOctober2,approachedthepolice after an acquaintance, who was at sea at the time of the incident, returned to the village and urged her to file a complaint. On Friday, the court granted the Gir Somnath police a threedayremandof thethreeaccused. ised by Dainik Jagran. Referring to Pakistan, BangladeshandAfghanistan,the HomeMinistersaidthat“thedecline in the Hindu population in these countries was not due to conversion; many of them have sought refuge in India”. “On the other hand, the increase in the Muslim population in India is not due to the fertility rate but rather due to the largescale infiltration of Muslim individuals into the country,” an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WRONGFUL CONFINEMENT CASE 4 decades later, warrant against ex-IPS officer Former IPSofficer Kuldip Sharmawas KutchSPthen EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE AHMEDABAD, OCTOBER 10 A SESSIONS court in Kutch-Bhuj on Friday issued a non-bailable warrant against retired IPS officer Kuldip Sharma and retired deputy superintendent of police Girish Vasavada in connection with a four-decade old case of wrongful confinement of a local Congress leader back in 1984. Back then, Sharma was the SP of Kutch. The two were convicted and sentenced to three months’ imprisonment in the case in February this year by a magisterial court in Kutch. The two officers were convicted on the basis of a complaint filed by one Shankar Joshi. According to Joshi’s advocate RS Gadhvi, the incident dates back to May 6, 1984, when a delegation of local residents had gone to meet Sharma to make a representation on the alleged harassment faced by some people in connection with the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ‘Followed Ambedkar’s path’: IPS officer’s kin, friends demand justice NIKHILA HENRY & RAAKHI JAGGA HYDERABAD, LUDHIANA, OCTOBER 10 AT HIS Chandigarh house, next toagarlandedphotographof 52year-old Y Puran Kumar, a 2001batch IPS officer from the Haryanacadre,wasanotherportrait — that of Dr BR Ambedkar. This is how his family and friends wanted to bid farewell to Puran,whobelongedtotheMala community, a Scheduled Caste, “since his Dalit identity was the essence of his existence for the past many decades”. Puran was found dead with a gunshotwoundathisChandigarh residence on Tuesday. A batchmate who was present at his houseonFridaysaid,“Icannotbelieve that he is gone. What has happened is unfortunate.” When the news of Puran’s death broke, his wife, Amneet P Kumar, a 2001-batch IAS officer, was in Japan as part of an official delegation led by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. Currently posted as the Commissioner and Secretary of Haryana’sDepartmentofForeign Cooperation, she reached Chandigarh around noon on Wednesday. In an eight-page “suicide note”, Puran has reportedly ac- cused nine serving IPS officers of the Haryana Police, a retired IPS officer and three retired IAS officers of “caste-based discrimination”. A batchmates claimed that Puranwasoftenreferredtoasthe “Dalit boy who could get on your nerves”. He added, “This (incident)wassimplycasteistandresulted in his death.” A day before the officer’s death, the Rohtak Police had arrestedaheadconstablewhowas accused of demanding a bribe from a local liquor businessman — allegedly at “Puran’s behest”. Dismissingthecorruptionallegations,anotherbatchmatetold TheIndianExpressovertelephone, RelativesandfriendspaytributetoHaryanaIPSofficerYPuran Kumar,whoallegedlydiedbysuicide,inChandigarh “I remember Puran as someone who always followed rules.” While an FIR has been registeredinconnectionwithPuran’s death, his family members and friends said that charges under Sections related to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and abetment to suicideareyettobeaddedthecomplaintdespitetherecoveryof the suicide note. They also alleged that the officials accused by Puran in his note were not named in the FIR. His wife Amneet had alleged thatPuran’sdeathwastheresult of “systematic persecution” rather than a suicide. Demanding justice, Puran’s familyhasrefusedtocrematehis bodyorallowtheauthoritiesconcernedtoconductapost-mortem till the accused are arrested. His elder brother Y Vikram Kumar told The Indian Express over telephone, “Our mother is completely shattered by Puran’s death. We hope the justice system understands our plight and brings those who abetted his suicide to justice.” He added, “Our fight has the support of several of Puran’s batchmates and officers from across the country. Many of these people are camped at Puran’s house (in Chandigarh).” While Puran’s father, Y Vijay, a civil engineer in the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, passed away two years ago, his mother, Susheela, is a homemaker. The family originally hails from Secunderabad in Telangana. The second among threebrothers, Vikram said Puran was “always conscious” of his social position as a Dalit from a young age because their parents had taught them to follow the path laid down by Dr Ambedkar. Vikram added, “As children, we were told to not pay heed to any caste-based discrimination that we faced and to keep educating ourselves. Puran always followed this advice.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad