DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ‘Gangrape’ case: Friend of MBBS student held after police reconstruct crime scene TANUSREE BOSE KOLKATA, OCTOBER 14 Relatives and friends of ASI Sandeep Kumar at his uncle’s home, where he lived, in Rohtak’s Ladhot village. Manoj Dhaka Another suicide in Haryana: ASI dies, leaves note saying officer was corrupt Probing graft charges, Rohtak ASI had arrested policeman close to IPS officer EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 14 IN A new twist to the case of suicide by Haryana cadre IPS officer YPuranKumar,apoliceassistant sub-inspector in Rohtak was found dead with a gunshot wound Tuesday, allegedly a suicide,andleftbehindanotelevelling allegations of corruption against the IPS officer and seeking a probe into the assets of the family. According to Rohtak police, ASI Sandeep Kumar was posted in the Cyber Cell. “Yes, he is no more.Primafacie,itislearntthat hehasdiedbysuicide.Weareinvestigatingthematter,andgathering more details,” a senior po- ASI Sandeep Kumar; IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who was found dead on Oct 7 lice officer said. The incident took place a day after the Haryana government sent Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur on leave. It had earlier transferred Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya following an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HOURS AFTER reconstructing the crime scene with one of the five accused and the male friend of the MBBS student, who was allegedly gangraped on Friday night in a forest area near the medical college in Paschim Bardhaman district of West Bengal,thepoliceonTuesdayarrested the friend. “The friend (of the medical student),whohadaccompanied herthatnight,hasbeenarrested. Further investigation is going PAGE 3 Policemen with the student’s friend (seen in blue t-shirt) at the crime scene on Tuesday. PTI TIES UP WITH ADANI, AIRTEL; WILL CREATE 1.88 LAKH JOBS: NAIDU Google pledges $15 bn for AI hub in Andhra, its largest outside US SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & SREENIVAS JANYALA ‘Will be a powerful force in democratising technology... AI for all’ ‘Landmark development... we will bring industryleading technology...’ NARENDRA MODI SUNDAR PICHAI PRIME MINISTER States, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having called for people to prioritise local, or swadeshi, products, with key membersof hisCabinetpromoting domestically made communication and navigation apps. NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14 TWOSTATE-OWNEDinstitutions critical to India’s social security net — Post Office Savings Bank (POSB)andEmployees’Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) — could come under the Reserve BankofIndia’soversight,withthe Government writing separately to the country’s top banking regulator seeking a supervisory intervention in both. In case of the Department of Posts, the missive came in the wake of a scam involving the si- CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ELEPHANT NUMBERS FALL NEARLY 18%: SURVEY GOOGLECEO RBI supervision for EPFO, Post Office bank on As Gaza awaits first step, cards after Centre’s nudge India looks to send aid, join reconstruction effort AANCHAL MAGAZINE & ANIL SASI phoningoff of Rs96croreof publicmoneyovera24-monthperiod uptoMay2024duetofraudulent activities in the operation of the PostOfficeSavingsBankschemes. Following this, it has reached out to the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance seeking a supervisory pact with the RBI for undertaking a review of internal controls, sources told The Indian Express. The Ministry of Labour and Employment,meanwhile,wrote to the RBI in February this year seeking advice on aspects pertaining to fund management and investment practices of EXPRESS NETWORK 20 FEARED DEAD IN RAJASTHAN AS PRIVATE BUS CATCHES FIRE NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 14 GOOGLE WILL invest $15 billion overfiveyearstosetupanartificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Andhra Pradesh, in what would beitsbiggestinvestmentyetinthe country. The tech giant has partnered with the Adani Group and Airtel to build the infrastructure for the project, which also includes the construction of a new international subsea gateway. The investment commitment comes amid soured ties between India and the United Majorsetback toMaoistparty asideological headsurrenders Months before March 2026 deadline set by Amit Shah to wipe out Naxalism CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 FULL COVERAGE ALONG WITH 60 CADRES CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PM MEETS MONGOLIA PRESIDENT, HAILS RELATIONS PAGES 7, 9 ANKITA DESHKAR, NIKHILA HENRY & SREENIVAS JANYALA Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, 70 NAGPUR, HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 14 THE MAOIST movement was dealt one of its most severe blows on Tuesday when Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu (70), a member of the CPI (Maoist)’s Politburo as well as its Central Military Commission, surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli alongside 60 other cadres. Others who surrendered include two Zonal Committee members, 10 Divisional Committee members, and members of various dalams. Gadchiroli police sources said they handed over 54 weapons. Sonu’s surrender, which comesmonthsbeforetheMarch 2026 deadline set by Home Minister Amit Shah to wipe out Naxalism from the country, marks the close of a long chapter in Maoist history. According to intelligence sources, he was the ideological head of the party, a communication specialist, and the thread that connected it to the world outside the forests of EXPLAINED WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES E What next for ● group WITH SONU’S surrender, the weight of the banned CPI (Maoist) rests on the shoulders of Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji (62) and Madvi Hidma alias Santosh (51), both of whom have only headed the military wing of the party. According to intelligence officials, the path ahead is complicated since “neither is ready to lay down arms” and “some factions in South Bastar support them”. Chhattisgarh. A BCom graduate hailing fromPeddapalliinTelangana,his CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14 WITH MINISTER of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singhrepresentingthecountryat the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit on Gaza, India is looking to sendreliefmaterialashumanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza in the coming days and weeks. It is also considering contributingtotherebuildingofGaza. Delhi’s immediate effort, it is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Destroyed buildings in Gaza on Tuesday. Reuters PAGE12 Nitish and Lalu houses have sleepless night as tempers boil over on election tickets BUSINESS AS USUAL SANTOSH SINGH & HIMANSHU HARSH BY UNNY PATNA, OCTOBER 14 THREE DAYS ahead of the end of deadline to file nominations for 121 seats which vote in the first phase of the DECISION Bihar Assembly elections, both 2025 the NDA BIHAR and Mahagathbandhan are struggling CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JD(U) ticket aspirants protest outside the home of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna. Rahul Sharma MOREREPORTS,PAGE6 Ruins of Delhi’s first city to Buddha relics: Monument gets ready for Piprahwa gems PAGE 1 ANCHOR DIVYA A NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14 TUCKED AWAY in a corner on a busy road in South Delhi’s Mehrauli, the park looks like any other urban park, save for the massive statue of 12th century rulerPrithvirajChauhanperched atop a recently constructed hall. In the days to come, this nondescript 12th-century monument,whichcontainstheruinsof The recently constructed hall at the 12th-century monument in Mehrauli, Delhi, where the exhibition will be held. Divya A thefirstcityofDelhi—RaiPithora — will make its mark in public memory for another reason: as the spot where Lord Buddha’s Piprahwa relics will be exhibited for the first time since they were excavated from ancient Kapilvastu nearly 130 years ago. Likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month, the Qila Rai Pithora exhibition, being put up by the Ministryof Culture,willboastyet anotherfirst—thePiprahwajewels will be displayed alongside CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata