The Editorial Page: As US-China recalibrate ties, India’s strategic space is narrowing 8 SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2026 JOuRNALISM of COuRAgE AHMEDABAD, 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 13 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, jet, one of two crew rescued strengthens deterrence 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 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 BENGA L 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 ‘Why are you afraid to question BJP?’: Gloves off in AAP-Raghav Chadha feud Jatin Anand, Kaunain Sheriff M & Gayathri Mani New Delhi, April 3 A DAY after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) removed Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, the MP from Punjab warned his party not to take his silence for a defeat — becausehewasthe“riverthatturns into a flood when it is time”. In response, senior AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj AAP removed Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in RS. PTI mocked Chadha for avoiding taking on the BJP, telling him “jo darr gaya samjho marr gaya” — those who are afraid are as good as dead. AAP leaders spoke of the “logical possibility” of Chadha joining the BJP, and accused the MP of trying to “enhance his profile in Rajya Sabha” at a time when his party faced an existential crisis after the arrest of almost all its top leaders in »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 l CLASS 12 STUDENT’S HEART, HANDS, LUNGS, KIDNEYS & CORNEAS DONATED, BENEFITING AT LEAST 6 PEOPLE As family performs last rites, Ahmedabad boy’s heart still beats — in another teen Nishant Bal survive, then at least he can give life to others,” Dr Akbari said. WHEN THE Akbaris, a family The family donated his orwith several medical practi- gans, benefiting six other tioners in Ahmedabad, came to people, three of them teenknow that their 17-year-old son agers. KrishAkbariwasdeclaredbrain “Even as his last rites were deadbydoctorsatahospitalfol- beingperformed,hisheartconlowing a road accident, they tinuedbeatinginsidea13-yearknew that nothing can be done old boy from Bhavnagar in an to save him. operating theatre,” PAGE 1 HisfatherDrRavi Dr Ravi Akbari says. Akbari, a practising “By the time the physiotherapist,says cremation was over, afterdiscussions,the the transplant of his family decided to donate heart was complete. In a way, Krish’s organs. my son is still alive,” “We thought, if he cannot he said. Ahmedabad, April 3 anchor Krish Akbari, 17, was declared brain dead by doctors following a road accident. His hands were donated to someone in Faridabad and lungs to a 22-year-old in Ahmedabad. His kidneys went to two teenagers,andcorneaswillgive sight to someone. A Class 12 science student, Krish was riding a two-wheeler to his tuition centre on a busy road on March 28 when a mini truck on the opposite lane blew the horn to drive away a blue bull (Nilgai) on the road. The startled animal jumped across the divider onto the boy. “Krish had no time to react. Theweightandforceoftheblue bull was so much that it directly »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad 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 14