The Editorial Page: As US-China recalibrate ties, India’s strategic space is narrowing 10 SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE LUCKNOW, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today lPRIME MINISTER Narendra Modi will hold a closed-door meeting with BJP leaders in Chennai ahead of the April 9 Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Puducherry. l IN THE IPL season’s first dou- ble-header, a blockbuster in the capital will pit Delhi against Mumbai. Both teams have made a winning start to the season. In the second match, it will be a repeat of the 2022 final as Gujarat take on Rajasthan. lLEADER Of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will hold public meetings in Alappuzha, Idukki and Ernakulam as part of the Assembly poll campaign in Kerala. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPRESS.COM ThE BIg PICTURE SARMA’S SCRIPT The relentless rise of the Assam CM PAGE 15 PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR PROMISES REWARD fOR CAPTURE OR KILLING Of CREW INS ARIDAMAN, STEALTH fRIGATE INS TARAGIRI COMMISSIONED First time, Iran downs US India inducts third n-sub, strengthens deterrence jet, one of two crew rescued India-boundoil tankerwithIran crudechanges course,heads toChinaport F-15E shot down in Iran southwest, US conducting search operations Phil Stewart Washington, April 3 A US fighter jet has been shot down over Iran and searchand-rescue efforts have so far recovered one of two crew members who ejected, a US official told ReutersFriday, in the first known incident of its kind inthenearlyfive-week-oldwar. The Pentagon and US Central Command did not respond to requests for comment. TwoUSofficialssaidtheaircraft was an F-15E fighter jet, which has two seats: one for a pilot and the second for a weapons systems officer. It was unclear which of the two was recovered, and the US official who confirmed the recovery didnotofferanydetailsonhow it took place. The prospect of a US pilot being alive and on the run inside Iran raises the stakes for theUSinaconflictthat,according to opinion polls, has struggled to win popular support among Americans. It also presents a challenge to the US military, which faces the twin goals of trying to save »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Sukalp Sharma New Delhi, April 3 At the Imam Ali Hospital in Iran’s Karaj Friday after the US hit a key bridge. Eight people were killed in the strike, Iran said. REUTERS Iran mission uses donations to buy 40 tonnes of medicine, unable to send them home Divya A New Delhi, April 3 ACONSIGNMENTof40tonnes of medicine bought in India is lying with the Iranian embassy in New Delhi, waiting to be sent to Iran. Ever since a Mahan Air aircraftthatwastocometoIndiato fetchtheconsignmentwasdamaged in an air strike at Mashhad airport last week, the embassy has been trying to find a way to sendthemedicineshome,anof- ficial told TheIndianExpress. “Theplanethatwasattacked by US-Israeli forces was scheduledtolandinNewDelhitocollectthe40-tonnecargoofmedicines that the embassy had bought.Wearenowtryingtofigure out an alternative arrangement which is not easy in these circumstances,”theofficialsaid. “Two smaller batches of medicinesboughtinIndiawere earlier sent to Tehran through the Armenian route. This »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANOILtankercarryingIranian crude that was on course for India changed its declared destination to a Chinese port after coming quite close to Gujarat, according to ship tracking data Friday. For nearly seven years now, IndiahasnotboughtIranianoil. This was to be the first delivery. Eswatini-flagged tanker Ping Shun, which was approaching the Vadinar port in Gujarat, later signalled Dongying in China’s Shandong province as its destination, according to data from commodity market analytics firm Kpler. Tradesourcessaidpaymentrelated issues could be the reason behind the diversion. The tanker, carrying about 600,000 barrels of Iranian crude, had taken a path that was headed to Vadinar, and as of Thursday afternoon, it was indicatingarrivalattheGujarat port between late Thursday and early Friday. Later, it took a »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the commissioning ceremony of India’s latest stealth frigate, INS Taragiri, in Visakhapatnam, Friday. PTI Other than guarding coastline, ensure l Amoreadvanced nuclearsubmarine security of sea lanes, choke points, l INS ARIDAMAN, a 7,000-tonne vessel, has eight vertical launchdigital infrastructure, says Rajnath Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, April 3 INDIA FRIDAY inducted its thirdnuclear-poweredballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Aridaman, significantly strengtheningitssea-basednucleardeterrentcapabilities.The Indian Navy also commissioned the advanced stealth frigate INS Taragiri at a separate ceremony. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the commissioningceremonies.Theinductions signify a major enhancement in India’s naval strength and maritime combat capabilities. There was no official statement on the commissioning of INS Aridaman. Singh, in a oneline cryptic post on X Friday morning, said: “Shabd nahi, shaktihai‘Aridaman’”–“Aridamanisn’tjustaword,itispower.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ing system tubes — double the number of its predecessors. l CAN CARRY more K-15 (range 750 km) and K-4 (range 3,500 km) ballistic missiles. E. l POWERED BY advanced reactor which can keep it submerged for longer durations. l A fOURTH submarine of the Arihant- class is currently under construction. ExPLAINED, PAGE 9 Days before gherao, judicial officers wrote to Malda DM, flagged security concerns Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra DECISION Malda, April 3 DAYS BEFORE they were gheraoedinsidetheofficeoftheKaliachak-II Block Development Officer (BDO) in Malda, four of the seven judicial officers engaged in adjudicating electoral rolls for the Mothabari constituency ahead of the West Bengal polls had flagged security concerns to the District Magistrate—andsoughtrelocationof their office, The Indian Express has learnt. Business as Usual By EP UNNY 2026 WEST B ENGAL NIA team reaches incident site, begins probe PAGE 5 In a letter dated March 23, addressedtoDistrictMagistrate RajanvirSinghKapoorandrouted through the district judge, theofficerssaidthatwithpublication of the supplementary »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SIR adjudication documents being shifted to a hotel in Malda town where judicial officers are now stationed, Friday. PARTHA PAUL ‘Did recce of key places, political figures’: UP ATS arrests four youths over ‘ISI link’ Express News Service Lucknow, April 3 THEUTTARPradeshAnti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested four youths, accusing them of being in contact with a Pakistani-based ISI handler and other radical groups through social media platforms and engaging in anti-national activities. The accused conducted reconnaissance of key institu- The photos of the accused released by ATS. tions and political figures, shared sensitive information with the handler, and planned attackstocausedamagetovariousestablishments,theagency said in a statement. The arrested accused have been identified as Vikas Ghelawat (27) and Lokesh alias Papla Pandit (19) of Gautam Buddha Nagar,SaqibaliasDevil(25)and Arbaab (20) of Meerut, said police. Saqib and Arbaab are »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l FRONT RUNNER IN CONGRESS RACE FOR CM POST, SATHEESAN IS SPEARHEADING THE UDF POLL CAMPAIGN Satheesan throws down the gauntlet to Vijayan, rides on ‘anti-incumbency’ Shaju Philip Kanthapuram. He waves to peoplelineduponeithersideof the highway at Karinkallathani in the Perinthalmanna constituency of the MuslimAFTER WAITING for dominated Malappuhimformorethantwo ram district. hours, a quiet crowd The 61-year-old suddenly seems to Leader of the Opposicome alive as an antion (LoP), Satheesan nouncement is made: hasbeenspearheading “Jananayakan the Congress-led (people’s leader) is DECISION UDF’s campaign for coming.” the April 9 Kerala AsIn an open jeep, sembly elections. The seniorCongressleader IUMLhasbeenamajor V D Satheesan arrives constituentoftheUDF. at the rally, accompaHundreds of IUML workers nied by the IUML’s sitting MLA »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 and current candidate Najeeb Perinthalmanna (Malappuram), April 3 2026 KERALA Satheesan on the campaign trail in his home constituency Paravur. Lucknow