DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025, LATE CITY KOLKATA, 16 PAGES SINCE 1932 `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM TWO WEEKS AFTER IMPOSITION OF PRESIDENT’S RULE Manipur ethnic militia turns in huge cache of looted weapons EXPLAINED 246 weapons surrendered by Arambai Tenggol as Governor’s deadline ends Weapons surrendered by the Arambai Tenggol militia in Imphal, Thursday. Express SUKRITA BARUAH GUWAHATI, FEBRUARY 27 ON THURSDAY, the last day of the deadline Manipur Governor AjayKumarBhallasetforsurrendering weapons looted from the state’sarmouriesduringtheconflict,Imphalsawanunusualpro- BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY cession — a stream of vehicles of the radical armed group Arambai Tenggol packed with guns of varying sizes. The group surrendered246weaponsatthe 1st MR complex in Imphal West. This mass surrender of weaponsbythegroupcametwo days after its members met Governor Bhalla in Raj Bhawan. It is the largest such surrender of illegally held weapons so far in the strife-torn state. On February 20, the Governor appealed to people of all communities to surrender such weapons to their nearest security establishments within seven days, stating that no punitive action would be taken. INDIA-PAK MATCH Gave no notice, razed shop due to complaint, crowd: Civic chief of Malvan MOHAMED THAVER & SADAF MODAK MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 27 APART FROM demolishing the tin shed scrap shop of the father of the 15-year-old, held after police said they received a complaint that the boy raised “antinational” slogans during the India-Pakistancricketmatchlast Sunday, authorities in Sindhudurg’s Malvan also razed the nearby shop of his father’s elder brother. No notice was served before razing the shops. When contacted,MalvanMunicipalCouncil chief officer Santosh Jirage told CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 However, he said that “strict action” would be taken for possessing such weapons after this period ends. Around 6,000 weapons have been looted from state armouries during the conflict, which began in May 2023. Twenty-one months later, there CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Mamata hits out at EC over ‘fake voters’: Won’t allow it in Bengal KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 27 TUHIN KANTA PANDEY APPOINTED NEW SEBI CHIEF P 13 GETTING ARMED groups to surrender weapons is one among a series of measures being taken by the Centre via the Governor to restore law and order in Manipur. There are plans to crack down on militias, remove illegal checkposts and escort convoys transporting people and goods. SETS 2015 PLUS-SEAT TARGET FOR 2026 RAVIK BHATTACHARYA ECONOMY E First of many ● measures SETTING THE tone for the 2026 Assembly polls in West Bengal, Chief MinisterMamataBanerjee on Thursday exhorted Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers to win more than 215 seats, at least one more than the previous election tally in the 294-member state Assembly. Shealsodirectedpartyworkers to physically verify the electoral list, alleging that the BJP in “collusion” with the Election Commission was adding faker voters to the list as “witnessed in the recent Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Delhi”, where the BJP came to power. Addressing TMC workers West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee waves a list of alleged fake voters at TMC meet on Thursday. Partha Paul and leaders at Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata, the TMC supremo said: “They (BJP) manipulatedthevoters’listwiththe Mujib downsized, India’s role in liberation war cut: Dhaka rewrites textbooks RAVIK BHATTACHARYA KOLKATA, FEBRUARY 27 ■ Photographs and text on former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, ousted in August 2024, dropped entirely from all school textbooks. ■ Content on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Hasina’s father and the nation’s founding President, dropped or scaled down. ■ India’s role in the freedom movement retained, but photographs of Indira Gandhi with Mujibur Rahman dropped. ■Hasina’s message for students on the back cover of textbooks replaced with photographs of graffiti from the 2024 July upris- blessings of the Election Commission. (Non-BJP) Parties in Maharashtra could not catch this. Parties in Delhi also could not catch this. That is how they (BJP) won in Maharashtra and Delhi. But we caught it.” Challenging the BJP, Mamata said: “After Maharashtra and Delhi, now you are targeting Bengal. We will give you a befitting reply. Once again ‘khela hobe’. I am asking party workers to hit the ball harder this time.” “We will win over 215 seats and further diminish the BJP's numbers. The BJP will be defeated decisively," she said, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 3 India a trusted friend, looking to elevate strategic ties: EU President SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 Pakistan’s surrender to India in Dhaka, 1971 ing against her regime. THESE ARE among the most drastic changes made to school textbooksinBangladeshthisyear by its National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) — alterationsthatalmostobliterate CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CALLING INDIA a “trusted friend” and “a strategic ally”, EuropeanCommissionPresident Ursula von der Leyen, who reached New Delhi Thursday with the European Union’s College of Commissioners, said she will discuss with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on “how to take our strategic partnership to the next level”. Modi and von der Leyen are to meet Friday. Her visit to India is taking place at a time when CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 How Bofors Deep Throat stuck neck out — to reveal truth, nail lie of Cong govts PAGE 1 ANCHOR COOMI KAPOOR NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 27 THE TERM, Deep Throat, has become part of our vocabulary in recognitionof thewhistleblower whoprovidedinvaluableleadsto The Washington Post reporters in the Watergateinvestigations.But despite the reams of publicity on the Bofors affair over nearly 30 years, few are aware of the identityofthelowkeyseniorSwedish Journalist and author Chitra Subramaniam with Sten Lindstrom police officerwhosurreptitiously handedoverscoresof secretdocuments to investigative journal- ist Chitra Subramaniam, which conclusivelynailedtheliesofsuccessive Congress governments that no kickbacks were involved in the Bofors field gun purchase. Subramaniam nicknamed her principal source simply as “Sting’’. His real name, Sten Lindstrom, surfaced for the first timein2012andeventhenwent largely unnoticed. The fascinating story of the whistleblower, who stuck his neckoutandprovidedaplethora of evidenceof paymentsincommissions in Swiss banks in the $1.3-billiongundealistoldindetail for the first time in Subramaniam’snewbookBofors Gate (Juggernaut). CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Kolkata