DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA ● REG.NO. MCS/067/2018 - 20 RNI REGN. NO. 1543/57 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE MONDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2025, MUMBAI, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES `5.00 ● WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 FESTIVAL OF SAVINGS, SEASON OF JOY GST relief for beneficiaries of PM Awas Yojana (Urban) Utsav BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY Amid uncertainties, our ties a foundation for stability, development: PM to ASEAN SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 26 SAI PARANJPYE FILMMAKER-SCRIPTWRITER SAVINGS OF UP TO ₹600 ON SAND-LIME BRICKS WORTH ₹10,000 SAVINGS OF ₹30 PER CEMENT BAG DECLARES 2026 AS ASEAN-INDIA YEAR OF MARITIME COOPERATION US ties with Pak not at expense of deep relationship with India: Rubio Looking to India for solutions to our common concerns: Marcos ‘When film censors feel they have the power to negate something with a pen or a stamp, it’s often misused’ in addition to assistance of up to ₹2.5 lakh WITH ASEAN countries careful not to pick sides between the US and China despite being mauled by the Trump tariffs, Prime MinisterNarendraModitoldthe region’s leaders Sunday that the India-ASEANpartnership,representing nearly one-fourth of the world’spopulation,is“emerging as a robust foundation for global stability and development” in “this era of uncertainties”. And with China in mind, he declared 2026 as the ‘ASEANIndia Year of Maritime CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PAGE 12 IndiacuttingbackRussianoilpurchasescompletely:Trump PM Modi virtually addresses the ASEAN-India Summit. ANI Relations with East ASEAN is India’s fourth largest trading partner and India is the grouping’s sixth largest trading partner. At the 25th commemorative ASEAN -India summit in New Delhi in January 2018, leaders of all 10 ASEAN countries were chief guests at the Republic Day parade. US President Donald Trump dances during a welcoming ceremony at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. AP U.S.,CHINAAGREEONTRADEDEALFRAMEWORK,PAGE14 In Patna, voices for change but Nitish seen ‘First-ever household as its agent — more than his challengers income survey to be MoSPI SECRETARY SAURABH GARG toughest; awareness and anonymity key’ AANCHAL MAGAZINE & SIDDHARTH UPASANI P15 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 26 THE FIRST ever, pan-India National Household Income Survey (NHIS), slated to begin in February, may be one of the “toughest” surveys the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has done and key to its success will be raising public awareness and gaining their confidence, MoSPI Secretary Saurabh Garg told The Indian Express. “Globally,incomesurveysare thetoughest.That’sthereasonwe havetriedthreetimesinthepast and then we had to back out. But we are going to go ahead with this,butlet’sseewhattheresults come out to be. We can’t predict THE EXPRESS INTERVIEW SAURABH GARG SECRETARY, MoSPI that, but we are hopeful”, Garg said in an exclusive interview. The NHIS is set to be launched in February 2026 and its results should be available by the middle of 2027. Past efforts to measure incomes of Indian households have not led to pilot surveys CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 VANDITA MISHRA SEAT WATCH MOTIHARI Winnerin2020: Pramod Kumar (BJP), INSIDE 27/10/2025 113 141 175 78 VIJAYVARGIYA ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF AUSTRALIA CRICKETERS IN MADHYA PRADESH: ‘LESSON FOR ALL, INCLUDING PLAYERS’ PAGE 6 winning since 2005 Runner-up: Om Prakash Chaudhary (RJD) Margin: 14,645 votes NAUTAN Winnerin2020: Narayan Prasad (BJP) Runner-up: Sheikh Mohammad Kamran (Congress) Margin: 25,896 votes THE BID to fraudulently delete namesfromvoters’listsaheadof the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls may not have been restricted to Aland constituency. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police investigating the case has found that a datacentreusedtoillegallymake online applications for deletion of namesmayhavebeenusedto also “manipulate” voters’ lists in at least two other seats falling in Kalaburagi district. Sources said that it were primarily BJP leaders in Kalaburagi regionwhoapproachedthedata centre for its services. And that “an agreement was signed for changes to voter lists on behalf of acandidatefromanotherconstituency in the Kalaburagi region with the data centre”. Asperanofficial,“Inoneconstituency (of Gulbarga city) as many as 35,000 voter names DECISION 2025 PATNA, OCTOBER 26 TO COME to Patna amid the countdown to the upcoming assemblyelectionistocomeacross lingering stories about a Bihar that was; a palpable sense that the state has come a long way from its past; a tangible DECISION fearof backsliding, 2025 atentativeneedto BIHAR play it safe — and also, a Bihar that is restless,wantingandwaitingfor more. In a state of poor urbanisation, Patna has become an island of visible development and change. It has seen, in the last few years, the creation of urban Leaders of at least 2 other constituencies in Kalaburagi may have used data centre at the heart of allegations, probe finds BENGALURU, OCTOBER 26 NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 26 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Voter list ‘fraud’: SIT finds attempt made in other seats besides Aland in Karnataka JOHNSON T A SHUBHAJIT ROY AHEAD OF his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Kuala Lumpur Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has described US-India relations as “deep, historic and important” and underlined that his country’s ties with Pakistan do not come at the expense of its “relationship” and “friendship” with India. This outreach comes at a time when ties between Delhi and Washington have been public spaces that other state metros have long taken for granted and that have taken a longtimetocometoBihar’scap- ital — from the glitzy mall to the spacious and elegant museum, from the vibrant cafe with loud music that opens till late to the ● Will bin Waqf law if INDIA bloc comes to power in Bihar: Tejashwi PAGES 10, 11 “marine drive” by the riverside, where the young come to enjoy a nightlife. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 In Champaran, PK party resonates, but a refrain: ‘It will take some time’ DEEPTIMAN TIWARY CHAMPARAN, OCTOBER 26 MAKING A campaign stop in Motihari in Bihar’s East Champaran district last Friday, Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishor beseeched people to vote for “good candidates”, saying peoplemadethewrongchoicesearlier because of a lack of alternatives. This time, they do not have that excuse anymore, he CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Prashant Kishor in Motihari, Friday. Deeptiman Tiwary CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 SUSPECTS IN JEWEL HEIST AT LOUVRE MUSEUM ARRESTED ● RJDhopesforaKhesari hitinLalubastion wrestedbyNDA ● Morewomenturnout tovote,butfewermake ittoAssembly (primarily minorities) were manipulated.” The SIT probe has reportedly found that funds were transferred through an accountant in Kalaburagitotheoperatorsof the datacentre.“Theaccountantwas akeyplayer,”sourcessaid,adding that his laptop has been seized. The Indian Express reported earlierthatstaff attheKalaburagi data centre were paid Rs 80 for every online application made, andthatitwasbeingoperatedby a local resident, Mohammed Ashfaq, along with an associate, MdAkram.Bothwerequestioned in2023,andAshfaqsubsequently moved to Dubai. The three data entry operators have also been questioned and investigated. Sources familiar with the SIT probe said that in the case of Aland, “key evidence required to prosecute the case” had been found. However, the probe team does not at present have a mandate to investigate alleged vote manipulation in other THE WORLD BIHAR The Ashok Rajpath double-decker flyover in Patna, the first of its kind in the state, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in June. Rahul Sharma CBC 15502/13/0043/2526 Bachat Now our dream of owning a home is coming true, with added savings! PAGE 14 Ex-BJP MP’s name being linked with Satara doc’s suicide for no reason: Fadnavis after Opp ire EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE PUNE, OCTOBER 26 DAYSAFTERthesuicideof adoctor in Satara district, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sundaythrewhisweightbehind a former BJP MP who has been accused by the Opposition of “pressuring” the doctor. The 29-year-old doctor’s body was found in a hotel in Satara’s Phaltan town on Thursday night. In a five-page letter,purportedlywrittenbyher before her death, she claimed to havebeenpressuredbyaformer MP to alter the medical reports of an arrested person. Opposition leaders have alleged that the former MP was Ranjitsinh Nimbalkar. Fadnavis arrived in the town CMDevendraFadnaviswith formerMPRanjitsinh NimbalkarinPhaltan. Express Sunday to inaugurate developmentprojects.Theeventwasorganised by Nimbalkar himself. TheChief Ministerbackedhis party colleague and said politics was being played in the wake of the suicide. Fadnavis said: “The name of Ranjitsinh is being linkedwiththecasewithoutany CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 50 Haryana men deported from US: ‘Took dunki route, our agents cheated’ PAGE 1 ANCHOR SUKHBIR SIWACH CHANDIGARH, OCTOBER 26 THEY LEFT to chase the American dream, selling land, mortgaging homes and trusting agents who promised a better life. Early Sunday, 50 men from Haryana, aged between 25 and 40, returned home — deported, disillusioned and, many of them claim, in debt, after being swept upintheUScrackdownonillegal immigrants. According to officials in Haryana, 16 of those deported are from Karnal, 14 from Kaithal, five from Kurukshetra and one from Panipat. They said all of them had taken the “donkey” or “dunki” route — the chain of human trafficking trails through South and Central America — to cross into the US. Some had spent years there, others only months. Several had been jailed before deportation. Among those on the flight was Ankur Singh (26), a resident of Rahra village in Karnal, who says he spent Rs 29 lakh to reach theUSinOctober2022.Hisjourney, routed through “many South American countries”, had taken “nearly four months”. “I had taken the dunki route and it went well until February this year, when I was arrested in Georgia while working at a liquor shop,” Ankur told The Indian Express. “After that, I was put in a camp. We boarded the plane on October 24 to return to India. Apart from nearly 50 persons from Haryana, there were youthsfrom Punjab, Hyderabad, Gujarat and Goa on our flight,” he said, adding that before leaving for the US, he had been pursuing a “BSc at DAV College in Karnal”. Sixteen of those deported are from Karnal district, 14 from Kaithal, 5 from Kurukshetra and one from Panipat. Sunil Ravish According to the Ministry of External Affairs, nearly 2,500 Indian nationals have been deportedorrepatriatedfromtheUS sinceJanuary2025througheight military,charter,andcommercial flights. The first of these — a US Air Force C-17 carrying 104 Indians — landed in Amritsar on February 5, the longest deportation flight ever undertaken by American authorities. Most of those deported are men from Punjab, Haryana, and Gujarat. Also in Sunday’s group was Husan(21),fromPopravillagein Karnal’s Gharaunda block. The only brother to three sisters, Husan studied up to Class 12 be- fore leaving for the US in September 2024. His uncle, Surender Singh, said the family had sold three acres of land to payRs45lakhtoagents.“Hewas arrested as soon as he entered theUS.Itwasahugeshockforus. They reached Delhi airport after 1 am on Sunday. They were handcuffed with their legs also in shackles,” Surender said. Harish, from Kalsi village in Karnal,hailsfromanSCfamilyof labourers. “He had gone to Canada on a work visa in 2023. But after spending nearly a year there, he moved to the US in August and started working at a store. He was arrested in February this year,” Harish’s brother, Rinku, said. Naresh Kumar, a resident of Taragarh village in Kaithal, returnedafteroverayearindetention. “We were handcuffed during the journey but they did not mistreat us. I was in jail there for 14 months before being deported,” he said. “I left Delhi on January 9, 2024, and reached the US via Brazil after 66 days. Our agents cheated me. They took Rs 57.5 lakh.Theyfirstpromisedto send me for Rs 42 lakh but kept askingformore.Isoldoveranacreof land, borrowed Rs 6 lakh more CONTINUED ON PAGE 2