DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2025, KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `6.00 (`12 IN NORTH EAST STATES, `20 IN ANDAMAN) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM CBC 15502/13/0012/2526 SINCE 1932 INDIA, CHINA WORK ON FIRST STEPS More reliance on surveillance among measures to reduce trust deficit at LAC Radhakrishnan takes oath as 15th V-P, tells Opp he will ensure ‘fair justice’ Says his uncle was Cong MP, grandfather Communist: ‘Know how it is being in Opp’ Monitoring infra being strengthened in eastern Ladakh to reduce additional patrolling deployment in the long run NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 INDIAN TROOPS deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh are working onreducingthetrustdeficitwith Chinese troops on the ground by implementing additional confidence-buildingmeasures,which include greater reliance on the technicalsurveillanceinfrastructure that has been put in place over the last five years. According to sources, since 2020 when the military standoff began in eastern Ladakh, India hasestablishedacomprehensive surveillance network to extensively monitor the LAC and surrounding areas round the clock. This is being further upgraded andstrengthened,withthelongterm aim of reducing additional patrolling effort. SAU terminates prof for ‘inciting students’ during 2022 protest over stipend NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 THE SOUTH Asian University (SAU) has terminated the services of Associate Professor Snehashish Bhattacharya, two yearsafterhewassuspendedfor “inciting students” during the stipend protests in 2022-23, The Indian Express has learnt. Bhattacharya was among four faculty members suspended by the SAU in 2023 for “inciting students against... the interestof theuniversity”.Asper documents, two of the faculty members wrote a “submission of regret” to the administration in March 2024, following which the SAU revoked their suspension. The third, a contractual faculty member, is learnt to have left the varsity after his contract ended. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 Moving to ● repair ties A SERIES of meetings over the last 10 months, including one between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the SCO recently, have signalled efforts by India and China to repair ties after a five-year military standoff. The next steps involve border management mechanisms and discussions on de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. Currently, Indian patrols go out at regular intervals to dominate the LAC and conduct CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Newly elected Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan with former V-Ps Jagdeep Dhankhar, Venkaiah Naidu and Hamid Ansari during his swearing-in ceremony on Friday. Renuka Puri MANOJ CG NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 CPRadhakrishnanwasswornin as the country’s 15th VicePresident in a brief ceremony at theRashtrapatiBhavanonFriday. President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to the 67-year-old at an event at- tended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers, and other dignitaries. Hours later, Radhakrishnan met the floor leaders of political parties in the Rajya Sabha — the V-P is the ex officio Chairman of the Upper House — and the Opposition's representatives were in for a pleasant surprise. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HE CHATTED with his predecessor M Venkaiah Naidu, indulged in a chit-chat with MPs who walked up to him to exchange pleasantries, and surprised many by staying back for a customary high tea. On Friday, Jagdeep Dhankhar made his first public appearance since stepping down as Vice-President almost two months ago at the swearing-in ceremony of his successor C P Radhakrishnan. Dhankhar was seated alongside his predecessors Naidu and Hamid Ansari. “He was engaged in a discussion with Naidu,” said a leader who attended the event. Dhankhar had not been seen in public since his July 21 resignation,despitespeculationabout his surprise exit and the Opposition’squestionsabouthis whereabouts. Recently, he vacated the Vice-Presidential bungalow and moved to Indian National Lok Dal chief Abhay Singh Chautala’s farmhouse in Chhatarpur in South Delhi, where he will stay till his official residence is ready. Some of the MPs present at the oath ceremony said they did notexpecttheformerV-Ptoturn up, given the political controversy over his exit. He had congratulated Radhakrishnan after his victory, saying that with his “vast experience in public life”, the office of the Vice-President would achieve “greater venerationandglory”.That washisfirst public statement after his resignation. “He was pleasant, smiling, and jovial. There was no awkwardness as we all expected … he was behaving as if nothing had happened. In fact, I should say he never looked healthier in his life. And he even stayed back CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Nepal gets its 1st woman PM, Sushila Karki India welcomes new interim govt, says hope it brings peace and stability YUBARAJ GHIMIRE & SHUBHAJIT ROY KATHMANDU, NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 ENDINGTHEpoliticalvacuumin Nepal following the fall of the K P Sharma Oli government after violentprotestsearlierthisweek, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Sushila Karki was sworn in as the interim Prime Minister on Friday night, making her the first woman to lead the country. Karki, 73, was administered the oath of office by President Ramchandra Paudel who also dissolved the House of Representatives. The interim government has been asked to hold elections to Parliament in six months. Karki is likely to expand the Cabinet on Saturday with Kul Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel administers the oath of office to Sushila Karki as interim PM in Kathmandu. Reuters RELATEDREPORTS,P4 Man Ghising as the new Energy Minister. An engineer, Ghising, as Chief Executive Officer of the Nepal Electricity Authority, wascredited with effective power management and distribution. He was later sacked by Oli. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JU student found dead in pond on campus; probe on SWEETY KUMARI KOLKATA, SEPTEMBER 12 THEBODYof athird-yearEnglish student of Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata was recovered from a pond on the campus on Thursday night, raising concerns aboutstudentsafetyandsecurity. While the exact circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear,thebodyhasbeensentfor apost-mortemexaminationtoascertain the cause of death, the Snehashish Bhattacharya suspended in June 2023 VIDHEESHA KUNTAMALLA MANOJ CG E EXPLAINED AMRITA NAYAK DUTTA Dhankhar present, aide jots down names of MPs who want to call on him PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED police said. Theincidentoccurredduring a Drama Club event featuring a performance by Gaur Das Baul andGroup,nearGateNo4,which students and alumni attended. The student was found unconscious by students around 10.30 pm. Despite immediate attempts by fellow students to perform CPR and drain water from her lungs, she could not be revived, the police said. She was rushed CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 IN FIRST VISIT AFTER CONFLICT, WILL MEET DISPLACED PEOPLE PM in Manipur today, officials roll out red carpet, navigate red flags Says committed to inclusive, all-round development SUKRITA BARUAH CHURACHANDPUR, IMPHAL, SEPTEMBER 12 FOR DAYS, the government in Manipur had been preparing for a “VVIP visit”, but both the Centre and state government had refrained from any official confirmation on Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the strife-tornstate,hisfirstsincethe ongoing conflict began in May Banners welcoming the PM in Churachandpur. Sukrita Baruah 2023. However, on Friday morning, residents found posters CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 RELATED REPORTS PAGE 7 IPR No 2 In despair after Osama killing, Pak leaders met at 6.30 am: Zardari aide PAGE 1 ANCHOR RITU SARIN NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 12 OVER 14 years ago, on May 2, 2011,theUSNavySealspulledoff one of their most audacious operations — in Abbottabad, a military cantonment in Pakistan — and slipped away with a prized trophy, the body of the world’s most wanted terrorist, al-Qaeda CONTINUEDONPAGE2 A book on Asif Ali Zardari’s first stint as Pakistan President from 2008-2013, by his close aide Farhatullah Babar Rupa; the Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was killed in 2011. Reuters Kolkata