DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE `5.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 ALONG WITH 60 CADRES RBI supervision for EPFO, Post Office bank on cards after Centre’s nudge Majorsetback toMaoistparty asideological headsurrenders AANCHAL MAGAZINE & ANIL SASI Relatives and friends of ASI Sandeep Kumar at his uncle’s home, where he lived, in Rohtak’s Ladhot village. Manoj Dhaka Another suicide in Haryana: ASI dies, leaves note saying officer was corrupt Probing graft charges, Rohtak ASI had arrested policeman close to IPS officer EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 14 IN A new twist to the case of suicide by Haryana cadre IPS officer YPuranKumar,apoliceassistant sub-inspector in Rohtak was found dead with a gunshot wound Tuesday, allegedly a suicide,andleftbehindanotelevelling allegations of corruption against the IPS officer and seeking a probe into the assets of the family. According to Rohtak police, ASI Sandeep Kumar was posted in the Cyber Cell. “Yes, he is no more.Primafacie,itislearntthat hehasdiedbysuicide.Weareinvestigatingthematter,andgathering more details,” a senior po- ASI Sandeep Kumar; IPS officer Y Puran Kumar, who was found dead on Oct 7 lice officer said. The incident took place a day after the Haryana government sent Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur on leave. It had earlier transferred Rohtak Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarniya following an CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14 TWOSTATE-OWNEDinstitutions critical to India’s social security net — Post Office Savings Bank (POSB)andEmployees’Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) — could come under the Reserve BankofIndia’soversight,withthe Government writing separately to the country’s top banking regulator seeking a supervisory intervention in both. In case of the Department of Posts, the missive came in the wake of a scam involving the siphoningoff of Rs96croreof publicmoneyovera24-monthperiod uptoMay2024duetofraudulent activities in the operation of the PostOfficeSavingsBankschemes. Following this, it has reached out to the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance seeking a supervisory pact with the RBI for undertaking a review of internal controls, sources told The Indian Express. The Ministry of Labour and Employment,meanwhile,wrote to the RBI in February this year seeking advice on aspects pertaining to fund management CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPRESS NETWORK BENGAL RAPE CASE: VICTIM’S FRIEND ARRESTED ELEPHANT NUMBERS FALL NEARLY 18%: SURVEY PAGE 15 Months before March 2026 deadline set by Amit Shah to wipe out Naxalism JAISALMER BUS FIRE: 20 FEARED DEAD Around 20 people were feared dead and several others injured after an AC sleeper bus caught fire on the Jodhpur Highway in Jaisalmer on Tuesday. PTI REPORT,PAGE15 TIES UP WITH ADANI, AIRTEL; WILL CREATE 1.88 LAKH JOBS: NAIDU Google pledges $15 bn for AI hub in Andhra, its largest outside US SOUMYARENDRA BARIK & SREENIVAS JANYALA NEW DELHI, HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 14 GOOGLE WILL invest $15 billion overfiveyearstosetupanartificial intelligence (AI) data centre in Andhra Pradesh, in what would beitsbiggestinvestmentyetinthe country. The tech giant has partnered with the Adani Group and Airtel to build the infrastructure for the project, which also includes the construction of a new international subsea gateway. The investment commitment comes amid soured ties between India and the United The similarities: In each case, a ‘final note’, shot As Gaza awaits first step, in head, no eyewitness India looks to send aid, join reconstruction effort VARINDER BHATIA ‘Will be a powerful force in democratising technology... AI for all’ ‘Landmark development... we will bring industryleading technology...’ NARENDRA MODI SUNDAR PICHAI PRIME MINISTER GOOGLECEO States, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi having called for people to prioritise local, or swadeshi, products, with key membersof hisCabinetpromoting domestically made communication and navigation apps. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 ANKITA DESHKAR, NIKHILA HENRY & SREENIVAS JANYALA Mallojula Venugopal Rao, alias Sonu, 70 NAGPUR, HYDERABAD, OCTOBER 14 THE MAOIST movement was dealt one of its most severe blows on Tuesday when Mallojula Venugopal Rao alias Sonu (70), a member of the CPI (Maoist)’s Politburo as well as its Central Military Commission, surrendered in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli alongside 60 other cadres. Others who surrendered include two Zonal Committee members, 10 Divisional Committee members, and members of various dalams. Gadchiroli police sources said they handed over 54 weapons. Sonu’s surrender, which comesmonthsbeforetheMarch 2026 deadline set by Home Minister Amit Shah to wipe out Naxalism from the country, marks the close of a long chapter in Maoist history. According to intelligence sources, he was the ideological head of the party, a communication specialist, and the thread that connected it to the world outside the forests of EXPLAINED WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2025, AHEMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 22 PAGES E What next for ● group WITH SONU’S surrender, the weight of the banned CPI (Maoist) rests on the shoulders of Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji (62) and Madvi Hidma alias Santosh (51), both of whom have only headed the military wing of the party. According to intelligence officials, the path ahead is complicated since “neither is ready to lay down arms” and “some factions in South Bastar support them”. Chhattisgarh. A BCom graduate hailing fromPeddapalliinTelangana,his CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 14 A WEEK separates their deaths butthereareuncannysimilarities in the alleged suicides by Rohtak police ASI Sandeep Kumar TuesdayandHaryanaIGPYPuran Kumar on October 7 – both left behind letters titled ‘final note’, both were found dead with a gunshot wound in the head, and no eyewitness in each case. WhileYPuranKumarleftbehind a typed eight-page note, blamingnineservingIPSofficers including DGP Shatrujeet Kapur (sent on leave Monday) and SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 14 (Top) The IPS officer’s 8-page note; the ASI’s 4-page note Rohtak SP Narendra Bijarniya (transferred last Saturday), Sandeep Kumar left behind a CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 WITH MINISTER of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singhrepresentingthecountryat the Sharm el-Sheikh peace summit on Gaza, India is looking to sendreliefmaterialashumanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza in the coming days and weeks. It is also considering contributingtotherebuildingofGaza. Delhi’s immediate effort, it is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Destroyed buildings in Gaza on Tuesday. Reuters PAGE19 Nitish and Lalu houses have sleepless night as tempers boil over on election tickets BUSINESS AS USUAL SANTOSH SINGH & HIMANSHU HARSH BY UNNY PATNA, OCTOBER 14 THREE DAYS ahead of the end of deadline to file nominations for 121 seats which vote in the first phase of the DECISION Bihar Assembly elections, both 2025 the NDA BIHAR and Mahagathbandhan are struggling CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 JD(U) ticket aspirants protest outside the home of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna. Rahul Sharma MOREREPORTS,PAGE17 Diamond exports to US shrink by over 50%, industry sees hope in other countries PAGE 1 ANCHOR KAMAL SAIYED SURAT, OCTOBER 14 EXPORTSOFcutandpolisheddiamonds (CPD) to the United States, a major market for the gemstone,fellbyovermorethan half this year compared to the corresponding first half of the previous financial year (AprilSeptember 2024) while exports to the United Arab Emirates The US is the largest export market for cut and polished diamonds. (UAE), Hong Kong and the United Kingdom surged, as per data released by the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) on Tuesday. The highest surge was seen in the UAE market that grew by 65.23 per cent (nearly $1,300 million) followed by an 18 per cent rise in the Hong Kong market at $2057 million and the UK, which saw a 17 per cent rise valued at $155.50 million, as comparedtothe53.62percentfallin the US market ($1,175 million), a statement issued by the Council said. The US is the largest export market for CPD, accounting for nearly a third of India's annual gems and jewellery exports valued at nearly $10 billion of its total exports in this sector, which was badly hit after the new tariffs imposed in the sector by President Donald Trump which kicked in from August. AstatementfromtheCouncil said that overall the gems and jewellery export witnessed a growth of 3.66 per cent valued at $14.09 billion in the AprilSeptember 2025, compared to exports worth $13.60 billion in the same period last year. However, the US, which is CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad