WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM Sultan of Swag Remembering OP Nayyar, who infused sensuality into Hindi film music and whose songs never quite needed Lata Mangeshkar AHMEDABAD, jANUARY 18, 2026 DOWN IN JUNGLELAND BY RANJIT LAL Brahminy kites are common yet distinct with their russet wings and white heads LATE CITY 14+4 PAGES ₹6.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , Happening today lPM NARENDRA MODI will perform Bhoomi Pujan for the Kaziranga Elevated Corridor Project and also flag off two new Amrit Bharat Express trains in Assam’s Nagaon district. lINDIA AND NEW ZEALAND will play their third and final ODI at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. With the series tied 1-1 going into the decider, can the hosts keep their proud home record intact? lTHE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, kicks off in Melbourne. lCANADA'S PRIME MINISTER Mark Carney will meet with Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to drum up investment deals. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm Probingmurder oftwoRussian women,Goa copsbaffledby ‘athirdkilling’ Pavneet Singh Chadha C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NATION pagE 8 V A D O D A R A For December mess, DGCA fines IndiGo Rs 22 cr, warns top brass Told to pledge Rs 50 cr bank guarantee, relieve head of operations control Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, January 17 THE AVIATION regulator Saturdayslappedthecountry’slargest airline IndiGo with a Rs 22.20 crore penalty, asked it to pledge a Rs 50 crore bank guarantee, and warned its CEO andCOO,amongothers,forthe management’s poor preparation ahead of the implementation of the new pilot test rules, which led to a massive disruption in December with 2,500 flight cancellations and 1,850 delays. Theenforcementactionsby the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and strong strictures against the IndiGo management are based on the findings of a four-member inquiry committee tasked with a comprehensive review and assessment of the circumstances that led to the crisis in the first week of December. The panel had submitted a report to the DGCAonDecember26,andthe IndiGo flight disruptions affected thousands last month. FILE findingsandrecommendations were forwarded to the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA). The cumulative fine of Rs22.20croreisthehighest-ever regulatory penalty imposed by theDGCAonanairline,according to sources, and is slightly higher than IndiGo's average dailynetprofitforfinancialyear 2024-25. The Rs 50 crore bank guaranteepledgedtotheDGCA wouldbereleasedbyitinphases after the airline implements measurestoensurecompliance withDGCAdirectivesandlongterm systemic correction. BesidesthewarningstoCEOPieter Elbers and COO Isidre Porqueras, the DGCA also directed the airline to relieve Jason Herter, seniorvicepresidentofIndiGo’s operationscontrolcentre(OCC), ofcurrentoperationalresponsibilities. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In first R-Day after Op Sindoor, on display: How battle formations move Double-humped Bactrian camels of the Army take part in rehearsals for the 77th Republic Day parade, Saturday. PRAVEEN KHANNA PAGE 4 Amrita Nayak Dutta they would appear during actual combat. They will move down KarIN THE first Republic Day tavya Path in formations simiparadeafterOperationSindoor, lar to an actual battle scenario, Indiawillshowcase starting with reits military might, connaissance, folExPrEss includingitsnewlylowed by other raised Bhairav light military units such commando battalaslogisticsandperion and a range of indigenous sonnel accompanying these platforms, in a phased battle platforms, wearing battle gear. array format. Surveillance platforms are This will be the first time likely to be showcased first in that the public will get to see high mobility reconnaissance military assets in the sequence »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 New Delhi, January 17 exclusive A TRIAL court in Gujarat’s RajkotSaturdayawardeddeath sentence to a man convicted of raping a minor girl with an iron rod, prompting Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi to take to social media emphasising the state’s “zero tolerance policytowardsoffencesagainst minor daughters and women.” Day after, allies BJP, Shinde Sena both eye Mayor’s post E. Shinde signals ExPLAINED tough bargain, lottery to decide Fadnavis says will The Mumbai Mayor’s position is reserved on a decide together rotational basis for General THE DAY after a decisive Mahayuti victory in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), there is a tussle between the BJP and the EknathShinde-ledShivSenaover the prized post of the Mayor. Although the BJP emerged as the single largest party, it fell short of a majority on its own in the BMC and the Shinde Sena appears reluctant to hand over the Mayor’s post to the BJP on a platter. An indication of the contest within was evident Saturday whenShindeskippedaCabinet Category, Scheduled Castes, OBCs and women. The category is decided through a lottery, conducted by the state’s Urban Development Department. The formal process for this will start next week. meeting convened by Chief MinisterDevendraFadnavis.In thepast,ShindehasgivenCabinet meetings a miss to subtly convey his displeasure with decisions taken by the Fadnavis-led government. Some leaders see these developments as a signal of the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RElaTED REpORT, pagE 8 Shinde moves party TMC made infiltrators vote bank, corporators to hotel Bengal needs BJP govt, says PM Vallabh Ozarkar Mumbai, January 17 Says people, especially Gen Z, have faith in party’s development model Tanusree Bose Kolkata, January 17 PRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi on Saturday attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, saying that the party was using infiltrators as its vote bank and asserting that 40 days after crime, man who raped Gujarat minor using iron rod gets death The conviction comes within 40 days of the crime being committed. In a press conference, Vijay Singh Gurjar, Superintendent ofPolice(SP),RajkotRural,said the accused, a 32-year-old who hails from Madhya Pradesh, was convicted by the court on Monday. The First Information Report(FIR)inconnectionwith the incident, which took place on December 4, 2025, was filed CONTROL OF BMC Mumbai, January 17 DEPUTY CM HARSH SANGHAVI HAILS VERDICT Express News Service Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with the new US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in Mumbai on Saturday. ANI PAGE 6 Shubhangi Khapre PM Narendra Modi with students aboard the Howrah-Guwahati Vande Bharat sleeper train, in West Bengal’s Malda on Saturday. PTI Rajkot, January 17 Rs 2,000 TO fREE Bus TRavEl In aIaDmk’s pOll pROmIsEs P U N E , INDIGO SAYS COMMITTED TO TAKING FULL COGNISANCE OF DGCA ORDERS Panaji, January 17 THE MURDER of two Russian women in Goa has led police in thecoastalstateonahunttoascertain if the accused killed others too. Inhisdisclosuretothepolice, Alexei Leonov is learnt to have toldthepolicethathemurdered threewomeninthepastweek— twoRussiannationalsandanIndian national — in Goa. Two victims have already been identified — Elena Kasthanova(37)andElenaVaneeva (37). Now, police are also probing if Leonov is linked to the death of a 40-year-old woman fromAssam,whichwasfirstreported as an “unnatural death” on January 14. According to sources,heclaimstohavekilled her with a wooden stick and to have “drugged her”. Kasthanova worked as a gogo dancer and usher at weddings in Goa, where she arrived on December 24. Police said Leonov,afiredisplayperformer, cametoIndiain2023andgotacquainted with Kasthanova in Delhi earlier this year. She was found murdered at 9.15 pm on Thursday at her rented accommodation in Arambol. According to the FIR, Leonov allegedly assaulted P A T N A , four days later. The accused was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences(POCSO)Act,andwas arrested on December 9. The chargesheet was filed on December 19. “The survivor herself and other children playing with her gave statements before the court and the child who had gone through abject torture, »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 the state needed a change in government. Addressing a public rally in the state’s Malda district, Modi said, “Paltanodorkar,chaiBJP sarkar (Need a change here, need BJP government here).” The biggest challenge for West Bengal, Modi said, is infil- POLITIcs pagEs 9, 7 INsIDE pagE 8 mODI flags Off fIRsT vanDE BhaRaT slEEpER tration, and infiltrators cannot be sent back as long as the TMC is in power. “Even in developed countries, they are removing »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EVEN AS it remains part of the victorious Mahayuti alliance in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections, the Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena on Saturday began moving its newly elected corporators in Mumbai to a five-star hotel, signalling unease amid ongoing powernegotiationswiththeBJP. By 6 pm, 29 Shiv Sena corporatorsandafewpartyleaders BEfORE InspECTIOn, al falah hIRED DOCTORs: ED »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until he gets deal to buy Greenland Michael Martina & Jason Lange gOvT musT TakE REspOnsIBIlITY fOR InDORE DEaThs: Rahul had reached the Taj Lands End hotelinBandra,wheretheyare expected to stay for the next few days. Newly elected corporator and general secretary of Yuva Sena, Amey Ghole said the 29 Sena corporators were brought tothehotelforaworkshop.“The workshop, currently underway at Hotel Taj Lands End, will focus on familiarising corporatorswiththefunctioningofthe civic body, the city’s development plan, implementation of Washington, January 17 USPRESIDENTDonaldTrump on Saturday vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the USisallowedtobuyGreenland, escalating a row over the future ofDenmark’svastArcticisland. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said additional 10% import tariffs would take effect on February 1 on goods from Den- Trump named eight nations mark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Great Britain — all already subject to tariffs imposed by Trump. Thosetariffswouldincrease to 25% on June 1 and would continue until a deal was reachedfortheU.S.topurchase Greenland, Trump wrote. Trump has repeatedly said GreenlandisvitaltoUSsecurity because of its strategic location andlargemineraldeposits,and has not ruled out using force to take it. European nations this weeksentmilitarypersonnelto theislandatDenmark’srequest. “These countries, who are »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l CM ARRIVES TO DISPEL ‘CLAIMS’ OF HOLKAR STATUE DEMOLITION AS RESIDENTS AND CARETAKERS OF THE CREMATION GROUND WELCOME PROjECT TO BRING IN ‘MUCH-NEEDED’ FACILITIES At Varanasi’s Manikarnika Ghat, renovation row does not pause life — or death Manish Sahu Located next to the Kashi VishwanathTemplewhichsaw a major revamp as part of a proTHEOPPOSITIONpartieshave ject of the BJP governments at attacked the Yogi Adityanath the Centre and in the state, the government over the alleged ManikarnikaGhatiswaitingfor destruction of a statue of Rani its hour of change. Ahilyabai Holkar at Varanasi’s Vinay Tiwari, a local resiManikarnika Ghat as part of a dent who is at the ghat to beautification exerattend the final rites PAGE 1 cise, calling it of a relative, says: another blow to the “There is an urgent heritage of the need to renovate the ancient city by the BJP regime. cremation ground. There is no At the ghat where funeral properwaitingareaforfamilies, pyres are said to never go out, and because of the heavy rush, and have constantly burnt for they often wait hours.” centuries, life — and death — In Hinduism, Manikarnika, goes on as usual. one of Varanasi’s 84 ghats, is Lucknow, January 17 anchor consideredamongitsoldestand mostsacredcremationgrounds. Morethanahundredbodiesare brought daily to the ghat, with cremations held day and night. Given the pressure, apart from the open area, cremations are also held on the terrace of the main crematorium building. The Manikarnika renovation work, which is expected to cover an area of 90,000 sq feet and cost Rs 20 crore, is funded by a West Bengal firm as part of its ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’. It was launched in 2023, and the plan is to renovate the crematorium, with modern amenities, to create “a more or- An artist’s impression for the ghat after renovation. EXPRESS 8 FIRs FILED OVER MANIKARNIKA POSTS, PAGE 9 ganised, dignified, and humane environment”, for mourners who come from across the country. Thework,whichisexpected to be finished by September this year, had to be halted for sometimeafterrainsraisedthe Ganga waters. Construction resumed around two months ago, and about 20% of the work is done. But, word of it got around only after allegations surfaced regarding the demolitionofthestatueofHolkar,who is revered for funding the rebuilding of the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in the 18th century after its destruction by Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. This week, the Pal community, which claims deep association with Holkar, protested at thespotnearthecremationsite atManikarnikawherethestruc- ture was allegedly demolished. On Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took on the Opposition after offering prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, claiming that “conspiracies are being hatched to obstruct development projects” launched by his government. “It was necessary for me to come here today so that correct facts could be placed before the public.” Additional District Magistrate, Varanasi, Alok Kumar, told The Indian Express that while a statue was broken during the renovation, “a probe had been ordered to determine whose statue it was”. District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar said it were idols carved on the walls of a mani (platform) that had actually got damaged, and that other artwork had been “secured”bytheDepartmentof Culture and would be reinstalled later in its original form. Minister Ravindra Jaiswal told mediapersons in Varanasi that a mani is a platform at the Ghat for people to sit, meditate or do yoga, with idols on its walls. “The contractor did not noticethem…Thegovernment hastakennote,andtheidolsare safe and would be put back.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad