The Ideas Page: message from the young — we don’t feel at home 9 SAtUrDAY, AUGUSt 8, 2026 JournalIsm of Courage AhmEdAbAd, lATE cITy, 22 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 lAAP will roll out a nation- wide campaign to interact with vehicle owners and gather feedback on issues arising from E20 ethanol-blended petrol. Track This and more on www.indianexpress.com THE BIG PICTURE AT WoRk In kAsHMIR: BEInG A MIGRAnT WoRkER In THE vAllEy PAGE 18 Ahmedabad Chief Fire officerheldfor ‘takingbribe’ Express News Service Ahmedabad, August 7 The GujaraT anti-Corruption Bureau (aCB) on Friday arrested amit Dongre, Chief Fire Officer (CFO) of the ahmedabad Fire and emergencyServices(aFeS),andaprivateindividualforallegedlydemanding and receiving a bribe of rs 36,000 in lieu of approving the Fire Safety Certificates (FSCs) of six buildings in the city. PoliCE look At PAk SPy riNG PuNjAb ASSEmbly Sukhbir-PM meet: Buzz of alliance in poll run-up IAF officer arrested for sharing defence information, booked under Secrets Act Arrested two months ago, Wing Commander now in judicial custody Sakshi Chand New Delhi, August 7 a WiNG Commander of the indianairForce(iaF)wasarrested two months ago by Delhi Police for allegedly leaking sensitive defence-related information. Theofficerhasbeenbooked under provisions of the Official Secrets act and is currently in judicial custody, The Indian Express has learnt. Senior sources in the Delhi Policesaidthearrestpointedto a “larger espionage network aimed at collecting strategic military intelligence”. Claiming that the Wing Commander had fallen victim to a “honey trap” orchestrated by Pakistani intelligence of- ficers, the sources said the arrested officer allegedly installed data-stealing software on a colleague’s mobile phone to gain control of the device. SourcessaidtheWingCommander was arrested on the night of May 31 after the iaF’s intelligence wing shared specific information related to the case with Delhi Police. “initially, he was taken into police custody after his arrest. hewaslatersenttojudicialcustody in Tihar jail. he has been booked under the provisions of theOfficialSecretsactforsharing classified information and confidential documents related to national defence,” the sources said. The iaF spokesperson said, “he was under active surveillance and was handed over to the suitable law enforcement agencies.” The police probe into the case has so far revealed that the officer had been going through a difficult phase in his personal »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 a waterlogged road in Gurgaon as heavy rainfall lashed the national capital region, Friday. Gurgaon was among the worst-hit, receiving 67.5 mm until 5.30pm. delhi received 59.2 mm. pTI No cover over House gate, Speaker asks CPWD to consider a porch Damini Nath New Delhi, August 7 Three yearS after the new Parliament building was inaugurated,LokSabhaSpeakerOm Birla asked the Central Public WorksDepartment(CPWD)this week to consider adding a porchoverMakarDwar,theentrancecurrentlyuncoveredand used by the majority of MPs, according to sources aware of »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 mPs at makar dwar of Parliament amid rainfall, Friday. ANI GoVt’S DEEP-tECH FuND the worLd Checks in place, in next batch only one firm with member stake: Govt sAUdI, TURkEy, PAk sIGn kEy dEfEnCE PACT Govt: No review of process needed, if ‘strengthening’ required, will address PAGE 19 Business as Usual By EP UNNY The aCB identified the other arrested person as Bhavsinh Pratap jhala (31), fromnearVijayCrossroadsand claimed that rs 36,000 paid to the duo as part of a bribe to approve FSCs for six buildings at rs 6,000 per building has been »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 New Delhi, August 7 uNDerLiNiNG ThaT its newly created fund to support deep tech companies had adequate safeguards to deal with conflict-of-interest situations, thegovernmentFridaysaid that inthesecondcohortoffirmsselected,therewasjustoneof13in which a selection committee member had a stake. The government was reacting to an investigative report The Indian Express report published on august 7 by The Indian Express published Friday that over 62 per centofthers2,192-croreofsoft »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 After lion sightings & a fatal attack, Gujarat to hire forest 25 trackers for Mount Girnar Parimal A Dabhi Ahmedabad, August 7 The GujaraT Forest Departmentwilldeploy25trackersexclusively for the Mount Girnar region to protect the pilgrims climbingthroughthestairways to the shrines above, after the fatal lion attack that killed a 12year-oldandlionsweresighted along the route, both in july. The authorities have received around 3,400 applications for the tracker posts on a video grab shows a lion crossing a staircase that is used by pilgrims . ExprEss Mount Girnar, one of the most revered pilgrimage sites in Gujarat. Nearly 10,000 steps lead to the peak of the mountain whichhasshrinesimportantto hindus and jains that can be accessedbythreestairways.Pilgrims usually climb through the night or early morning to reach the shrines through the Old Staircase, New Staircase and the Datar Staircase. as recently as Thursday (august 6) night, three lions were spotted crossing the old and new staircases, junagadh Deputy Conservator of Forests akshay joshi told The Indian Express. Forest officials maintained continuous vigil on the big cats till they crossed into the forest and there was no human-wildlife conflict, DCF joshi said in a statement. The Forest department authorities have also appealed to people to move only in groups in night time , not »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 l neTFlix co-ceo: don’T see TheaTres as comPeTiTion… whaT we comPeTe For is screen Time ‘India has a great storytelling culture, but under screened... we can solve that’ trisha mukherjee New Delhi, August 7 CONTrary TO popular belief that streaming is in competition with theatres, Netflix coCeO Ted Sarandos wants viewers to keep watching films on the big screen. “We don’t see it as a competition at all,” Sarandos said Thursday at the express adda in New Delhi. “People on Netflix love movies, (they) love to gotomoviesandwatchthemat home. an individual watches an average of seven movies in a month and sees one or two in the theatre. We are not saying netflix co-ceo Ted sarandos at express adda in new delhi, Thursday. rENukA purI one(medium)isbetterthanthe other. it is a rich, beautiful ecosystem and i want our viewers to go to the theatres because it strengthens their relationship with movies. That’s where we will benefit.” The Netflix co-CeO, who raakhi jagga & jatin Anand Ludhiana, New Delhi, August 7 ShirOMaNi akaLi Dal (SaD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament house in NewDelhionFridayafternoon, providing fresh impetus to speculationaboutapossiblerevival of the SaD-BjP alliance ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections. a senior akali leader called it a significant meeting, given that it came after years of little or no contact between the two parties. SukhbirBadal’sofficedidnot disclosetheagendaofthemeeting. however, sources in the SaD said the interaction was centred on issues concerning Punjab, including the law-andorder situation in the state and alleged corruption in welfare »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 Amitabh Sinha cFo amit dongre (left) and Bhavsinh Pratap Jhala after their arrest on Friday. ExprEss Voice of people that old alliance be revived, says Akali leader wasinconversationwithanant Goenka,executiveDirector,indianexpressGroup,said,“What we compete for is screen time. We want to become the first place you check for something greattowatchandthelastplace you would want to cancel.” Consideredoneofthearchitects of the streaming revolution,Sarandoshasplayedapivotal role in transforming Netflix into one of the world’s leading entertainment companies. expanding into all areas of entertainment programming, he led the company’s transition into original »CoNtiNuED oN PAGE 2 Ahmedabad shiromani akali dal president sukhbir singh Badal E. expLained Why BJP-sAd alliance works The BJP-SAD alliance was one of the longest-running political partnerships in Punjab. The two parties shared power in the state in 1997, 2007 and 2012, combining the SAD’s strong rural and Sikh support base with the BJP’s traditional urban support. With the footprint of the Akalis having shrunk in recent elections and BJP looking to make gains in the state, many leaders in both parties want a return of the alliance.