The Editorial Page: As US-China recalibrate ties, India’s strategic space is narrowing 8 SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹5.00 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 REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR PROMISES REWARD FOR CAPTURE OR KILLING OF CREW First time, Iran downs US India inducts third n-sub, jet, one of two crew rescued strengthens deterrence 98 126 155 62 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 double-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 Providesafe transportfor schoolkidsin Sahyadriarea: HC toMaharashtra Chandan Haygunde Kolhapur, Pune, April 3 THE KOLHAPUR bench of the Bombay High Court (HC) has given ad-interim directions to theMaharashtraForestDepartment and government administration to provide safe transport for schoolchildren and an ambulance for people residing in the buffer zone of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR) to thwart casualties due to mananimal conflicts. Justice Madhav Jamadar andPravinPatilpassedtheorder onThursdaywhilehearingaPIL byHarishKambleofUkhaluvillage in Kolhapur district. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY INS ARIDAMAN, STEALTH FRIGATE INS TARAGIRI COMMISSIONED 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 Days before gherao, judicial officers wrote to Malda DM, flagged security concerns Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra 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. 2026 WEST B ENGAL NIA team reaches incident site, begins probe PAGE 6 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 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 Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, April 3 INDIA FRIDAY inducted its third nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Aridaman, significantly strengthening its sea-based nucleardeterrentcapabilities.The IndianNavyalsocommissioned theadvancedstealthfrigateINS Taragiriataseparateceremony. 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 Sabah Virani Mumbai, April 3 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 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 INS Aridaman. Singh, in a oneline cryptic post on X Friday morning, said: “Shabd nahi, shaktihai‘Aridaman’”–“Aridamanisn’tjustaword,itispower.” At the commissioning ceremony of INS Taragiri, the fourth vessel of Project 17A of theNilgiri-classstealthguidedmissile frigates, Singh said it is a unique platform, as it fits perfectly into every role – from high-intensity combat to maritime security, anti-piracy operations to coastal surveillance, and humanitarian missions. WithINSAridaman’sinduction, India will have three operationalballisticmissilesubmarinesatseaforthefirsttime.The indigenousSSBNisdesignedto 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 13 carrymorelong-rangenucleartipped missiles than INS Arihant and INS Arighaat, which were commissioned in 2016 and 2024, respectively. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Force majeure: How a distant war is stalling Mumbai’s big infra push DECISION In a letter dated March 23, addressedtoDistrictMagistrate RajanvirSinghKapoorandrouted through the district judge, theofficerssaidthatwithpublication of the supplementary Defence Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the commissioning ceremony of India’s latest stealth frigate, INS Taragiri, in Visakhapatnam, Friday. 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 ThE BIg PICTURE SARMA’S SCRIPT The relentless rise of the Assam CM PAGE 11 A GLOBAL conflict entering its second month is starting to showuponthebuildingsitesin Mumbai, which is in the middle of one of its most ambitious public infrastructure build-outs in decades. Contractorsonatleastthree major projects — the SewriWorli Connector, Metro Line 6, and the Thane depot for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train — have invoked force majeure, an uncontrollable and unavoidable event that affects work,warningthatshortagesof LPG and imported construction material could push up costs and blow past deadlines. Others, not yet in writing, have told The Indian Express that the price variation clause will be invoked when bills are due. Thetriggeristheblockadeof the Strait of Hormuz, which has forced cargo ships onto the longerCapeofGoodHoperoute, adding 6,000-10,000 nautical miles, up to 20 extra days at sea, From dismantling of Elphinstone bridge to the bullet train depot in Thane, building sites battle rising cost Gas cutters are used to dismantle 112-year-old Elphinstone bridge in Mumbai. EXPRESS andRs1.5-3.5lakhpercontainer. Research firm ANAROCK Group, in a March 19 report, estimated steel costs have risen 20%, withcascadinghikesacrossaluminium, bitumen, tiles, ceramicsandmore.Forhigh-rises, the added burden works out to Rs 50 per square foot. On the ground, the consequences are more immediate. At the dismantling of the 112-year-old Elphinstone bridge — a critical component oftheSewri-WorliConnector— »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 CM Vijayan, rides on ‘anti-incumbency’ Shaju Philip thalmanna constituency of the Muslim-dominated Malappuram district. The61-year-oldLeaderofthe AFTER WAITING for him for Opposition(LoP),Satheesanhas more than two hours, a quiet been spearheading the Concrowdsuddenlyseemstocome gress-led UDF’s campaign for alive as an announcetheApril9KeralaAssemment is made: “Janably elections. The nayakan (people’s IUMLhasbeenamajor leader) is coming.” constituentoftheUDF. In an open jeep, HundredsofIUML seniorCongressleader workers join SatheeV D Satheesan arrives san's roadshow in at the rally, accompatwo-wheelerswiththe DECISION niedbytheIUML’ssitparty's green flags. As ting MLA and current hestepsoutofthejeep candidate Najeeb amid loud sloganKanthapuram. He shouting by the UDF waves to people lined workers, a group of uponeithersideofthehighway IUML activists lift him over at Karinkallathani in the Perin- their shoulders and carry him Perinthalmanna (Malappuram), April 3 2026 KERALA through the large gathering onto the stage. As the district Congress and IUML leaders have already addressed the meeting, Najeeb just says, “We (UDF) are going tocometopowerwith100-plus seats (of the state's 140).’’ The crowd bursts into cheers. The IUML leader then claims, “There is no doubt that Satheesanwillbeatthehelmof the new UDF government.” He alsopresentshisconstituency’s demands before Satheesan, underlining that many youths have been forced to migrate from there in search of jobs. It is another matter that even the polls, leave aside their results, have yet to take place. The LoP begins his speech Satheesan on the campaign trail in his home constituency Paravur. by highlighting the pledges of theUDFmanifesto,whichhereleasedearlierinthedayinKochi before heading to Malappuram for campaigning. “Our manifesto has been prepared after two years of homework. No otherOppositioninthecountry has taken up such a task so meticulously,” he says, adding that “We have the will power to implement its promises”. He then takes a dig at Chief Minister and CPI(M) stalwart Pinarayi Vijayan over his claim that he was ready for a debate with the LoP. When Satheesan acceptedhischallenge,Vijayan said there was no need for a “face to face debate” as it could be done through social media. “Vijayan has disappointed me,”saysSatheesan.“Hecannot directly take our questions. He can answer only on Facebook. That is what he is doing now.’’ With the CPI(M)-led LDF running a social media cam- paignagainstSatheesan,calling him a leader who speaks “lies”, the latter trains his guns on the CM, alleging that Vijayan has been “lying” about the number of houses for the poor constructedduringthetenureofthe previousCongress-ledUDFgovernment. “We built 4.43 lakh housesinfiveyears,whereasthe LDF government has been able to construct only 5 lakh houses in 10 years,” he says. Rejecting Vijayan's charge that the Congress has joined hands with the Muslim outfit Jamaat-e-Islami for electoral gains, the LoP accuses him of betraying“doublestandard’’by ignoringthe“CPI(M)'slinkswith Jamaat-e-Islami and RSS”. He says:“Ireleasedavideoinwhich Vijayan welcomes Jamaat-e-Islami's support to his party.’’ He also cites the infidelity row involving Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar, saying that Vijayan has not dropped him from his Cabinet. “In 2013, when Vijayan was the state CPI(M) secretary, Ganesh Kumar was a minister in the then Oommen Chandy-led governmentandfacedasimilar allegation. Then Vijayan demandedGanesh'sremoval,and Chandy got his resignation letter the next day. Now, Ganesh is facing a more serious charge. I thought he would fire Ganesh, but the CM says it is only a family matter. This is called double standards.” »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2