The editorial Page: Behind israel’s West Bank push, an october story 10 THURSDAY, AUgUST 27, 2026 JournalisM of Courage KolKATA, lATE CITy, 16 pAgEs ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) 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 wrOTe Three leTTerS TO CJI wITh COPIeS TO COlleGIUM FlOOd alerT IN UTTar PradeSh aNd BIhar, addITIONal NdrF TeaMS dePlOyed Over 100 Indians among hundreds missing in Nepal flash flood fury SC judge accuses Rajasthan HC Acting Chief Justice of ‘misuse of powers’, demands his transfer Justice Sandeep Mehta says he got ‘several complaints’ which ‘raise doubts’ on judge’s ‘integrity’ Most Indians were headed to Kailash Mansarovar; death toll crosses 150, likely to climb ananthakrishnan G & hamza Khan yubaraj Ghimire Kathmandu, August 26 New Delhi, Jaipur, August 26 New Delhi, August 26 THe dAMAge caused by Ukrainian strikes to its oil refining infrastructure has forced Russia — one of the biggest crude producersandrefinersglobally — to import gasoline, or petrol, including from faraway India. While a bulk of Russian imports of petrol are from neighbouring Belarus and Kazakhstan, India is estimated to have dispatched over 1 million barrels over June and July, ship tracking data indicates. According to experts, this is the first instance of Russia impor- ting petrol from India. Tradesourcessaidthetrend has likely continued in August as well, although data is not yet available. nayara energy’s Vadinar refinery — which has significant Russian shareholding — is the main Indian supplier, they said. Meanwhile, largevolumes of Russian crude continue to arrive in India to feed Indian refineries, including the nayara energy facility, which means that some of the gasoline being supplied to Russia is being derived from its own oil refined in India. This marks a change in the »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 Kathmandu dhading india gandak river brothers in nepal at this difficult time. India is ready to »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 business as usual By EP UNNY E. »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 express special anjishnu das New Delhi, August 26 JAnTAR MAnTAR, Ranchi, and now Patna. Youth in different parts of the country have been on the streets since last month, making themselves heard and compelling political parties — from the BJP to the Congress—toreachouttothem. However, when it comes to political representation for the youth, the road ahead remains arduous,andananalysisbyThe Indian Express shows that even when you are young, it helps to be a political dynast. The key findings: lgen Z — defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, or in the 14-29 age band — have only26legislatorsinParliament and state Assemblies, showed an analysis by The Indian Express published on August 5. lHalf of them, or 13, are political dynasts. While five of the six gen Z lok Sabha MPs are dynasts, 8 of the 20 MlAs from this age group come from a political background, the latest analysis shows. lSincetheminimumageto contest elections is 25, a big »CONTINUed ON PaGe 3 145 out of 384 legislators aged 40 and under are dynasts dynasT mps, 40 & Below: parTy-wise percenTage dynasTmps,40andUnder TDp sp INC BJp Total mps in mps in the age lok sabha bracket 16 37 98 240 4 (25%) 7 (18.9%) 7 (7.1%) 9 (3.8%) Tdp sp inc BJp AMoNg DyNAsTs AgED 40 & BElow, BJp hAs lowEsT shArE IN pErCENTAgE TErMs dynasTmlasinassemBlies party sp JD(U) BJD INC BJp Total mlas in mlas who are assemblies 40 and under 104 87 50 662 1,811 CHIef JUSTICe of India Surya Kant has sought comments from “both sides” in the matter involvingSupremeCourtjudge JusticeSandeepMehtaandRajasthan High Court Acting Chief Justice S P Sharma. Justice Mehta had written to the CJI, seeking the transfer of Justice Sharma and the appointment of a permanent Chief Justice from another High Court. In his letters, Justice Mehta alleged “gross maladministration”, misuse of ad- ministrative powers and favouritism in the functioning of the Rajasthan High Court. It is learnt that the CJI soughtcommentsbecauseallegations were being made by both sides. Sources familiar withthedevelopmentssaidthe Collegium was already deliberating on the appointment of Chief Justices to the remaining High Courts. The CJI’s office issued a statement, underlining that he had“takennoteoftheconcerns raised in the letters” written by Justice Mehta while “stressing »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 India, China to advance boundary talks for ‘early harvest’, set up new LAC meeting points, hotlines New Delhi, August 26 lTheyoUngheirs party apurva Vishwanath New Delhi, August 26 Shubhajit roy For Gen Z and under-40, to be MP or MLA, it helps to be Gen D — dynast Youth may be finding their voice on streets, but in politics, representation remains limited, often runs in the family CJI seeks comments from ‘both sides’ while Collegium considers appointments to HCs Delhi, Beijing list eight outcomes of meeting between Doval and Wang 55.6% (5) Sukalp Sharma Trishuli river SCIenTISTS fRoM the International Centre for Integrated Mountain development (ICIMod),alongwithpartnerinstitutions in nepal and China, are investigating whether an ice-rock avalanche from a high-altitude area could be the trigger for the flash floods and mudslide on the nepalTibet border on Wednesday. ICIModisanepal-basedintergovernmental institution leading the global effort to protect the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. 12 (11.5%) 10 (11.5%) 5 (10%) 52 (7.9%) 121 (6.7%) dynasTmlas,40&Below: parTy-wisepercenTage 33.9% (41) Imports 1 million barrels in two months rasuwa Bhote Koshi river Nuwakot »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 “Preliminary assessment based on video footage and information from affected areas suggest that a large volume of ice and rock debris may have entered the lhende Khola, a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river.Researcherssaytheevent could have generated a sudden surge that carried water, sediment and large boulders downstream,” ICIMod saidinapressreleaseon Wednesday evening. early analysis of seismic records has also identified unusual signals recorded during the period of the disaster, but 57.1% (4) Russia turns to India to meet petrol demand after oil infra takes a hit in Ukraine strikes china (Tibet) n e pa l New Delhi, August 26 44.2% (23) Soon AfTeR Prime Minister narendra Modi called up nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah and conveyed India’s readiness to provide “all possible humanitarian assistance”, IndiaonWednesdaysentabout 10 tonnes of relief material, including medicines, in an Indian Air force (IAf) aircraft. “Spoke to Prime Minister Balendra Shah and conveyed condolences on the loss of lives due to the floods in nepal. The peopleofIndiastandinsolidarity with their sisters and Nikhil Ghanekar 85.7% (6) New Delhi, August 26 l affecTedareas 75% (9) Shubhajit roy & Mahender Singh Manral 80%(8) reLAteD rePorts, P 3, 12 Modi speaks to Balen, Ice-rock avalanche may offers all assistance, India have triggered surge in airlifts relief material border river, say experts 100% (4) »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 a videograb of the devastating flash floods in nepal on wednesday; at least five districts have been affected. pTI In A highly unusual development, Justice Sandeep Mehta of the Supreme Court wrote three letters to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant earlier this month, seeking the transfer of Justice S P Sharma, Acting ChiefJusticeofRajasthanHigh Court, to another High Court and the appointment of a new Chief Justice. In his letters to the CJI — these were written on August 2, August 10 and August 17 and also copied to other members of the Supreme Court Collegium — Justice Mehta accused Justice Sharma of “misuse of powers” and said he had received “several complaints” which “raise doubts” on the Acting CJ’s “integrity”. Justice Mehta, who also hails from Rajasthan, requestedthatJusticeSharmabe “forthwith transferred out of 100% (5) oVeR 150 people were killed whileatleast484,including105 Indians and 37 non-Resident Indians (nRIs), were reported missing after massive flash floods in nepal’s districts bordering Tibet on Wednesday. Accordingtoofficialfigures, 391 foreign nationals and 93 from nepal had been reportedmissinguntil7pm(local time). These included at least 60 working in hydel projects in the area. Sources said most of the Indians reported missing were headed to Kailash Mansarovar. The remaining tourists are from the United States, Malaysia,UnitedKingdom,SouthAfrica, Australia and the netherlands. Among the dead were 44 from nepal’s Army, 28 from the police and 13 from the Armed Police force. The authorities fearhighercasualtiesandwidespread destruction. Initial reports from the affected areas and the national disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority said the border river flood, which began a little after 9 am local time, swept away many settlements across the 60-km road from gyirong in Tibet, down to Rasuwa and dhading districts in nepal, both bordering Tibet, and nuwakot district. With these areas being part of nepal’s old trade route with Tibet, they are thickly supreme court judge justice sandeep mehta; (right) acting chief justice of rajasthan high court justice s P sharma BJd JdU sp inc BJp IndIA And China have decidedtoadvancediscussionson “an early and substantial harvest” of boundary delimitation and border management, and agreed on two new border military hotlines in the eastern and middle sectors, two new meeting points for military commander-levelmeetings,andon holding the trans-border river meeting next month. Theseformpartofeightoutcomes and consensus after the Special Representative-level talks between national Secur- happening today lPM NareNdra Modi will interact with youth at the ‘Khelo India Dialogue’. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com nsa ajit doval and chinese foreign minister wang yi in beijing, Tuesday. pTI fIlE ity Advisor Ajit doval and Chinese foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing Tuesday. A statement released Wednesday by both the Ministry of external Affairs and the Chinese foreign Ministry spoke of eight outcomes and consensus reached after the 25th round of talks between the Special Representatives where there was a candid and in-depth exchange »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2 inside PAGes 7, 12 MetA reAches $18 bn settLeMent over chiLDren’s sociAL MeDiA ADDiction MAMDAni oPPoses rss chieF’s event At MADison squAre GArDen l 24-year-oLd feared his GirLfriend wouLd forGeT him afTer securinG GovernmenT job ‘Breakup’ pushed man behind Maharashtra paper leak turn into ‘whistleblower’ Mohamed Thaver got the leaked paper from his friend, Rutuja, before the exam onMarch22.However,afterthe AnAllegedbreakuphaslent two broke up, police alleged a new twist to the investigation Patil approached the MPSC into the Maharashtra Public about the leak because he Service Commission (MPSC)’s feared she would secure a government job and fordrug Inspector reget him. cruitment exam’s page 1 The Mumbai paper leak, with the Crime Branch has man who alerted the also issued a notice commission about theleaknowamongsixpersons toRutuja,whosecuredseventh rank in the recruitment examarrested in the case. The Mumbai Crime Branch ination. CrimeBranchdCPRajTilak claimed whistleblower lokesh alias gaurav Patil, 24, himself Roushan said Patil, who inMumbai, August 26 anchor itially approached the MPSC claiming to have information about the leak, was found during the investigation to have been involved in the paper leak himself. “In all, six persons, including three MPSC employees, have been arrested. A notice has been issued to Rutuja,” Roushan said. The investigation found that ahead of the March 22 examination, Amrut Patil, Rutuja’s father, allegedly contacted a man named Pravin Patil, who is from nandurbar. Police said Amrut is a Lokesh alias Gaurav Patil, the ‘whistleblower’, being produced in a mumbai court in connection with the mPsc paper leak case. ExprEss teacheratazillaparishadschool in nandurbar and has in the past received the best teacher award by the government. Pravinisateacheratacoaching class and knew Amrut. Police are probing if the papers werehandedovertostudentsof his coaching class as well. gaurav worked with a pharmaceutical company and was preparing to give the drug inspector exam. Pravin allegedly knew three MPSC employees — assistant section officers Vishveshwar nakate, gopal Marate and Kolkata undersecretary Abhijeet lendave — who allegedly helped procure the question paper. According to police, Pravin allegedly paid Rs 5 lakh to the MPSC employees, with more money promised later. Amrut allegedly handed the paper to Rutuja a few days before the exam. Rutuja then passed on the paper to gaurav on WhatsApptwodayspriortotheexam. Rutuja subsequently appearedfortheexaminationand secured seventh rank. But by the time the results were declared, gaurav and Rutuja had broken up. Police alleged it was after the breakup that gaurav turned whistleblower as he fearedthatonceshebecamean officer, she would forget him. He emailed the MPSC claiming to be a friend of an applicant and alleged that the March 22 examination paper had been leaked. He followed up on the complaint, while nCP(SP)MlARohitPawarseparatelyraisedtheissuetowards the end of July, alleging that candidates at a coaching instituteinnandurbarhadreceived »CONTINUed ON PaGe 2