DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2025, AHMEDABAD, LATE CITY, 26 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 Don’t suspect 19 NEW MINISTERS INDUCTED IN MAJOR GUJARAT CABINET REJIG foul play in Zubeen death, say police in Singapore GUWAHATI, OCTOBER 17 THE SINGAPORE police, in a statement issuedonFriday,have said that “based on preliminary investigations”,they“donotsuspect foul play” in singer Zubeen Garg’s death. Garg, 52, died in Singapore on September 19. He was there as a cultural brand ambassador for the North East India Festival, Singapore,whichwasscheduled to take place on September 20 and 21. Before the festival began, on September 19, he went on a yacht outing with members of the Assam Association Singapore, and lost consciousness while he was swimming. He was declared dead when he was taken to Singapore General Hospital. The death certificate issued by Singapore authorities states that the cause of death was “drowning.” In a statement issued on Friday,theSingaporePoliceForce stated, “The case is currently 6 ministers retained from previous Cabinet, 10 dropped; 12 new MoS AANCHAL MAGAZINE & ANIL SASI PARIMAL A DABHI GANDHINAGAR, OCTOBER 17 THE BJP brought in a new Cabinetof 25ministers swornin underChief MinisterBhupendra Patel on Friday, with Harsh Sanghavi being elevated as DeputyChief Minister,andthree women ministers - including cricketer Ravindra Jadejas's wife Rivaba - being newly inducted, in a move largely seen as checking anti-incumbency ahead of the local body polls due by yearend or early next year. Of the 16 ministers who submitted their resignations to the CM on Thursday, six, including Sanghavi,wereretained,with19 new ministers being inducted. Sanghaviisonlythethirdperson to hold the post of Deputy CM in Gujarat till date. NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 17 Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Rivaba Jadeja during the swearing-in ceremony in Gandhinagar on Friday. Bhupendra Rana FULLCOVERAGE,PAGE4 Harsh Sanghavi in Gandhinagar on Friday. ANI The new team gives more representationtoDalitsandtribals, with three MLAs from reserved Scheduled Caste seats CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Dy CM Harsh Sanghavi: Rising star in BJP, helped bring CWG to Ahmedabad LEENA MISRA GANDHINAGAR, OCTOBER 17 AS THE newly inducted minis- ters in Gujarat took their oaths on Friday, they walked up to greet Governor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and also proceeded to- wards the new Deputy CM, Harsh Sanghavi. The smiling 40year-old just about raised his hand as if to signal them not to CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 `58-cr digital arrest: Victim was targeted months after he got `50 cr from shares MOHAMED THAVER MUMBAI, OCTOBER 17 JUST MONTHS before a 72-yearold man in Mumbai fell prey to a Rs 58-crore digital arrest scam, one of the largest cyber cons in the country, he received Rs 50 croreforliquidatinghissharesin a pharmaceutical company where he was a partner, The Indian Express has learnt. While the money came into hisaccount“earlierthisyear”,officers associated with the probe told this newspaper, the man was first contacted via video call by digital scamsters on August 19. Subsequently, sources said, the scamsters forced the victim tovisitfourbankswhereheheld accounts for 27 days across a 40day period to transfer money to various “mule accounts” while they listened in on an “active phone call” to "keep a tab". INSIDE ‘ASSAULT ON RULE OF LAW’: SC SEEKS CBI & GOVT RESPONSE PAGE 12 “The victim fell for the scam becausehebelieveditwaslinked to the money he had received earlier this year,” an officer said. The Maharashtra Cyber police, which is probing the case, arrested seven persons in the case on Wednesday and Thursday. “The fake video calls, we suspect, were made from Rajasthan and Gujarat while the seven persons arrested so far in the case are from in and around Mumbai. These are basically people who provided their bank accountstomovemoneyaround in exchange for a commission,” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 EXPLAINED CLIMATE BEHIND THE UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN CO2 LEVELS PAGE 19 Backchannels, firm line and oil prices behind return to India-US talks table A CONVERSATION WITH SKY Anant Goenka, Executive Director, The Indian Express Group, and Devendra Pandey, Deputy Associate Editor, The Indian Express, with India T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav at the Express Adda in Mumbai on Friday. Amit Chakravarty WITH INDIAN negotiators back inWashingtonthisweekforarenewed push to seal the India-US tradedeal,thereareatleastthree factors that seem relevant to these fresh deliberations. One, “backchannel” talks, as part of the diplomatic spadework, are learnt to have continued even when trade relations deteriorated. Moreover, on the defence and strategic dialogue, sources said, it has been “very good business as usual.” This is onekeyreasonwhystrategicties are on track even if trade talkssputteror face hurdles. New Delhi’s ● expectation is that if all goes wellwiththetradenegotiations, Indiacouldseethetwosetsof US tariffs, adding up to 50 per cent, being replaced by a “much lower” number. Two, the Indian position has been adequately clarified to the Americans that there are certain things which India will not yield on, even if there is a cost to pay for it and that New Delhi is willing to bear some pain on certain issues of principles, a government official said. And that India’s stance of passive resistance, while not being an aggressive stance like that adopted by China, is ostensibly working. New Delhi’s view is that it will not compromise on its strategic autonomy and will not be dictated to by anyone on whom it should be doing business with, particularly when it comes to Russia, a key and timetested strategic partner. Three, while the economic advantages are less compelling E US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office. AP BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY EXPLAINED SUKRITA BARUAH CM’s team of 25 sworn in: A young deputy, more women, Dalits & tribals INDIAN NEGOTIATORS IN WASHINGTON now to pick up Russian crude now when prices are hovering around $65 a barrel, as compared to nearly double these rates when India started buying Russian oil, there is a tapering that has already commenced. It is the private companies such as Reliance Industries and Rosneft-owned Nayara Energy that are picking up Russian oil, and the US side is learnt to have initiated separate talks with Indian private refiners on this. President Donald Trump’s statement Wednesday did nuance the warning this time over the tapering of Russian oil, saying this is “a process” and indicating it could take time. The problem in completely CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Seat pact eludes Mahagathbandhan, Metres apart, RJD office keeps all parties go their own way in phase 1 waiting, BJP HQ in full poll mode SANTOSH SINGH & ASAD REHMAN PATNA, NEW DELHI, OCT 17 REFLECTING THE confusion and thetusslewithin,theOpposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar failed to announce a seat-sharing pact Friday as nominations closed for the first of the twophase Assembly elections in the state. Partners of the alliance filed nomination papers for all 121 seats going to polls in the first phase — the total strength of the DECISION 2025 BIHAR ●TicketstoMuslims shrink,Nitish,Chirag say‘resolveintact’ ●Seemanchal heavyweight’ssonshead foraclash ●WhyMaithiliThakur standsoutinfieldfull of Bhojpuristars PAGE23 Bihar House is 243 — while talks continued to end the deadlock over seats. The last date for filing nominations for the remaining 122 seats in the second phase is Monday. The Mahagathbandhan, comprising the RJD, Congress, CPI (ML-L), CPI (M), CPI and VikassheelInsaanParty(VIP),still has to resolve the fight for seats in over a dozen constituencies. While the alliance is still intact, parties have unilaterally released their lists. Sources in the RJD told The Indian Express that CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 HIMANSHU HARSH PATNA, OCTOBER 17 THE FINAL nomination day for 121 seats in the first phase of Biharelectionscomingtoaclose Friday,theofficesof thetwomain parties of the two main camps, located metres from each other onPatna’sBeerChandPatelPath, are pictures in contrast. A man leans against a huge replica of the party’s lantern symbol at the RJD headquarters, his voice cutting through the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Bihar CM Nitish Kumar in Patna on Friday. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and DY CM Samrat Choudhary are also seen. PTI Curb on use of ‘ORS’ term brings to light Hyderabad doctor’s 8-yr fight PAGE 1 ANCHOR ANONNA DUTT NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 17 ADIABETICchildfromChennaiis rushedtotheICU,severelydehydrated. His parents had done everything right — or so they thought. They had given him a tetra-pack “ORS” drink after he beganvomitingandpassingloose stools.Bythetimehereachedthe hospital, his condition had spiraled into an emergency. In another part of the coun- try, a young girl recovering from burn injuries suddenly becomes critical because of dehydration. Her caregivers, too, had been faithfully administering a storebought “ORS” product. The common thread in both stories? Packaged, flavoured drinks that claimed to be “ORS solutions”. For years, Hyderabad-based paediatrician Dr Sivaranjini Santhosh has been collecting stories like these — heartbreaking accounts from parents, colleagues and anxious relatives who reach out to her through her social media platforms. Her aim has been to ensure that chil- dren with diarrhoea do not end up consuming flavoured, sweetened beverages in place of the genuine Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), a landmark discoveryinmedicinepioneeredby Dr Dilip Mahalanabis. OnWednesday,thecountry’s food regulator issued an order banning all beverages from using the term ORS in their trademarked name, withdrawing an earlier order allowing the term with disclaimers. Over the last decade or so, several tetra-pack products claiming to be ORS have entered the market without actually adhering to the sugar and salt ra- tios needed for a person to effectively absorb the water they are drinking, Dr Santhosh told The Indian Express. Her journey started with educating people on social media around eight years ago — she saw children coming to her clinics who were severely dehydrated despite being given what the parents assumed was an ORS solution. But she knew that was not enough. These products were not only giving children excess sugar, they were actively harming their health. “Even if a product carries the warning ‘not ORS’ — which many of the new products do not — people still think Hyderabad paediatrician Dr Sivaranjini Santhosh thatitisanORSsolutionbecause that’swhatthebrandnamesuggests. It misleads people into choosing products that can actually worsen the diarrhoea in children and may even lead to deaths if timely medical intervention does not happen,” said Dr Santhosh. “ORS is a medical product that has saved millions of lives. Around13%of thedeathsinchildren under the age of five years happen because of diarrhoea and ORS is an effective tool for preventing these deaths. There is a fixed formula for how much glucose, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride has to be there in the ORS solution. This formula is such that the sugar and salt actually pull water with them into the body and rehydrate a person. Any excess sugar will actually pull the water back into the gut and worsen the diarrhoea,” she explained. In her eight-year long journeytoensurethatpeoplearenot misled, she went to the Telangana High Court, wrote to the health minister and the prime minister. “I knew I had to stopthiswhenIsawseverelydehydrated children coming into my clinics, when my colleagues reported that children ended up in ICUs because they were given these tetra-pack solutions that did not really help.” But there were several ups and downs. At first, she did not even know who she should reach out to.“Beingamedicalproduct,Iassumed that the drug regulator (Central Drugs and Standards Control Organisation) would regulate these products. When theywrotebacktome,Iwassurprised to find out that it was actually the food regulator.” Dr Santhosh also wrote to medical associations to discontinue sponsorships from these products. “I was isolated, people CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ahmedabad