The Editorial Page: Sleepwalking into catastrophe — silence is as alarming as the war 10 THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 JOURNALISM of COURAGE KOLKATA, LATE CITY, 18 PAGES ₹6.00 (₹12 in North East states, ₹20 in Andaman) l www.indianexpress.com DA I LY F R O M : A H M E DA B A D , C H A N D I GA R H , D E L H I , j A I P U R , KO L K ATA , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N AG P U R , PAT N A , P U N E , VA D O DA R A Happening today lCAPACITY BuILDINg Com- mission, the custodian of the Mission Karmayogi framework to drive civil service reforms, will launch ‘Sadhana Saptah’, a collaborative capacity-building exercise. lCHINESE VICE FOREIgN Min- ister Sun Weidong will visit Bangladesh, the first high-level trip by a Chinese oficial since the BNP government assumed ofice in February. lNEPAL’S NEW HOuSE OF representatives will hold its first meeting after the recent elections, in which Balendra Shah became Prime Minister. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm Business as Usual By EP UNNY wOrlD ARTEMIS II SETS OUT ON HISTORIC LUNAR MISSION TODAY PAGE 12 SCALES uP THREAT TO PuLL OuT OF NATO; WILL ADDRESS AMERICA TODAY Trump’s latest: May exit Iran war soon, return for spot hits PM Narendra Modi chairs a CCS meeting, Wednesday. @NARENDRAMODI Says Tehran has sought ceasefire, won’t consider until Hormuz open; Iran denies Sources of LPG, LNG diversified: At CCS, PM flags efforts to ‘safeguard’ citizens Steve Holland, Alexander Cornwell & Yomna Ehab Washington, Tel Aviv, Cairo, April 1 THEUNITEDStateswillendits war on Iran fairly soon and could return for “spot hits” if needed, President Donald Trump told Reuters on Wednesday, hours before he was scheduledtomakeaprimetime address to the nation. Trump also said he would state in the speech, which is due at 9 pm EDT, that he was considering withdrawing the US from the NATO alliance. Trumpsaidseparatelyonsocial media that Iran had asked foraceasefirebutthathewould notconsiderituntiltheStraitof Hormuz was open. “Iran’s New Regime President, much less radicalizedandfarmoreintelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of Americaforaceasefire,”Trump said, but did not specify who he hadspokento.HesaidWashingtonwouldconsidertheceasefire request“whenHormuzStraitis open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion”. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Trump’s statement about a ceasefire request was false and baseless. Asked when the US would consider the Iran war over, Trump told Reuters: “I can't tell you exactly... we’re going to be out pretty quickly.” Earlier, he told reporters “we'll be leaving (the Iran conflict) very soon... within two weeks, maybe two weeks, »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 WEST ASIA WAR FALLOuT Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, April 1 A LONg WAIT FOR COOKINg gAS: A large queue near a gas agency in Delhi’s Masoodpur locality, Wednesday. People, including daily wage workers, elderly individuals and women with children, have been thronging the gas agency from early morning for the last several days, many of them saying the cylinders they booked had been delayed and they had come to enquire when they would be delivered. TASHI TOBGYAL Why crude oil price may remain elevated for months after war in West Asia ends Anil Sasi New Delhi, April 1 USPRESIDENTDonaldTrump told reporters at the White House that the US “will be leaving (Iran) very soon” and US military action could end as soon as “two or three weeks”. If that were to prove true, it is still likely that the price of crude will remain elevated, possibly around $100 per barrel, for months after this war indeed draws to a close. There are multiple reasons for this: Supply disruptions will take many months to unwind, even if the Strait of Hormuz, tionsassoonasthepassagewere to open up, new shipments on that route could likely take longer to get going. That is because shipping contracts, marine insurance and other supporting factors would have to be redrawn now, adjusting for the newrealitiesand the lingering threats that could progressively ebb over time. Then there’s the issue of damage suffered to oil infrastructure in the entire region, which could take months to E. Jag Vasant, a tanker carrying LPG which transited the Strait of Hormuz, docked in Mumbai on Wednesday. AMIT CHAKRAVARTY throughwhichroughlyafifthof the world’s oil trade traverses, were to open up fully. While tankersstrandedatseaoneither sideoftheStraitcurrentlycould maketheirwaytotheirdestina- 7 judicial officials gheraoed for BENgAL S.I.R. 8 hours in Malda, NH-12 blocked SC says 47 lakh cases »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 TAKING STOCK of government efforts to source LPG and LNG supplies from different countries and ensuring availability of power and fertilisers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesdaydirectedalldepartments concerned to “take all possible measures to amelioratetheproblemsofcitizensand sectors affected by the ongoing global situation” in the wake of the war in West Asia. At a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by the Prime Minister, CabinetSecretaryTVSomanathan briefed members on the action being taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularlyLNG/LPG,andsufficient power availability. This was the second special meetingoftheCCSonthisissue. A statement from the Prime Minister’sOfficesaidthePrime Minister “assessed the availability of critical needs for the common man” and “discussed availability of fertilisers in the country and steps being taken to ensure its availability in the kharif and rabi seasons”. “He said all efforts must be made to safeguard citizens fromtheimpactofthisconflict. Prime Minister also emphasised smooth flow of authentic information to the public to prevent misinformation and rumour mongering,” the PMO said. »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 The War DAY 33 lIran’s Supreme Leader lDrones attacked an Iraq lPM Keir Starmer said UK lIn UAE, a Bangladeshi Mojtaba Khamenei vowed his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in West Asia will host an international diplomatic conference this week on ways to reopen Strait of Hormuz fuel warehouse linked to British oil and gas giant BP; a tanker was hit off Qatar’s coast national was killed while an Indian was injured due to shrapnel from intercepted Iranian projectiles MORE REPORTS ON WORLD, PAgE 12 I&B NOW PROPOSES 10 POSTS INSTEAD OF 40 MEA returns I&B proposal to post adjudicated: ‘Expected IIS officers at foreign missions to wrap up by April 7’ Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri Mitra Divya A Sujapur (Malda), April 1 SEVEN JUDICIAL officers engaged in adjudication of logical discrepancy cases of over 60 lakh voters in poll-bound West Bengal were held inside a BDO office in the Kaliachowk area of Malda district on Wednesday evening, as residents gheraoed it from outside. Among the sevenjudicialofficials,threeare women, said sources. After eight hours, a team of police rescued them. While they were being taken away in a police van, the mob pelted stones.Sourcessaidnoonewas injured. People protesting the deletion of names from the voters’ Express News Service New Delhi, April 1 A road blockade in Mohobbotpur in Malda on Wednesday. PARTHA PAUL list, meanwhile, blocked National Highway 12 at multiple crossings. Thiscomesamidtherelease of supplementary voters’ lists by the Election Commission (EC) following the ongoing ad- judication of over 60 lakh electors whose names were put under scrutiny during the SpecialIntensiveRevision(SIR) exercise. The EC has not disclosed the number of names »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 THE SUPREME Court on Wednesdaysaiditis“happyandoptimistic” that judicial officers deputed to decide cases of logical discrepancy in the Special IntensiveRevision(SIR)ofelectoral rolls for West Bengal have sofaradjudicatedabout47lakh of the 60 lakh such cases and are expected to complete the exercise by April 7. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, presiding over a threejudge bench also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, said the Cal- New Delhi, April 1 cutta High Court Chief Justice had communicated this on March 31. The bench also refused to entertainobjectionstotheElection Commission extending time for filing Form 6 to add new voters. The CJI said it is “absolutely not unusual” and “happens in every state”. He added that it, however, cannot be done in a hidden manner and there is a right to raise objections. Ontheadjudicationofcases of logical discrepancies, the bench said that the Calcutta High Court CJ communication »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 THE PROPOSAL by the MinistryofInformation&Broadcasting (I&B) to post Indian Information Service (IIS) officers at 40 Indian missions abroad has not found favour with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), The Indian Express has learnt. The I&B ministry, in a fresh proposal, is learnt to have scaled down the number of such posts to 10. As reported by The Indian Express on March 18, the I&B ministry had sent a proposal to the MEA for creation of a new global outreach unit within the PressInformationBureau(PIB), The Indian Express report on March 18 about the proposal starting with 40 cadre posts for IIS officers in foreign missions tohandlemediaandcommunications, with the aim to project India’s growth story and counter adverse narratives. TheMEAislearnttohavereturnedtheproposal,citingtechnical issues including lack of language expertise and overlap on certain key areas that diplomats are already tasked with. The I&B ministry is now learnt to have sent a fresh proposal last month, scaling down the number of such posts to 10 to start with, in global capitals and business hubs where there is a growing interest in the Indiastory,includingWashingtonDC,London,Brussels,Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo and Dubai. Sources said the new »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2 l ACCUSED FILMED APOLOGISING FOR MAKING REELS THAT GLORIFY GANGSTERISM Nashik Police flaunts ‘walk of shame’ as crime deterrence, critics flag violation Mohamed Thaver & Zeeshan Shaikh been filmed in similar circumstances, flanked by cops, apologising on camera for making Mumbai, April 1 reels that glorify gangsterism. THESCENEoutsidetheNashik The slogan has changed to Police Crime Branch office has “Thane zilla kaydyacha balebecome familiar. An accused is killa(Thanedistrict,afortressof brought out, sometimes limp- law and order).” In Akola, the ing, sometimes held up by po- localpolicehavebeenuploading licemen on either side, and theirownbefore-and-afterreels madetofacethecameras.Then in the same format. comestheline:“NasSaid a Mumbra PAGE 1 hik zilla kaydyacha officer: “While we balekilla(Nashikdiswould take action against those intrict, a fortress of law and order).” volved in such reels earlier, the It has happened scores of way the video is shot and the times in six months. And it is balekilla reference is from Nasnow happening elsewhere too. hik police,” he said. Maharashtra Inspector Outside the Mumbra police station in Thane, accused have General (law and order) Manoj anchor KumarSharmatoldTheIndian Express that no instructions had been passed to create such videos and that such acts were not encouraged. Nashik Commissioner Sandeep Karnik makes no secret of having started the trend. The slogan, he says, came from the accused themselves. In one of the first videos to go viral, a group of youths had declared Nashika“fortressofcrime.”Police tracked them down and turned the phrase on its head. “Thisiswherewegottheslogan from. Henceforth, anyone arrestedinsuchcrimeswasmade to say Nashik zilla kaydyacha balekilla. That this city is a fortress of law and order,” he told A clip of some of the accused on Nashik Police’s Instagram handle The Indian Express. Those subjected to this “walkofshame”inNashikspan a sweeping range: from alleged street-level offenders and youngsters accused of glorify- ing crime online to politically connected figures, among them former corporator and RPIleaderPrakashLondheand his sons, BJP functionary Mama Rajwade, and, most recently, self-styled godman Ashok Kharat facing allegationsofsexuallyexploitingseveral women. For many residents – and the police – this signals swift, exemplary justice. For critics, this is public humiliation and a violation of due process. An analysis by The Indian Express of over 50 such videos shows that while only a few appeared on the Nashik Police's official Instagram handle, which has nearly 70,000 fol- Kolkata lowers, dozens surfaced through local news channels and private accounts. The clips largely show accused persons outside the Crime Branch office,ofteninvisiblediscomfort. In some cases, they are seen on their haunches, holding their ears and apologising while repeating the slogan. Several videos are structured in a beforeand-after format. The first part shows the alleged offence framed as a reel, the second shows the accused arrested, apologising,andcallingNashik “a fortress of law and order.” Over the past decade, Nashik, with manufacturing clusters in areas such as Satpur and Ambad, has emerged as one of the fastest growing urbancentresinthestate.However, rapid urbanisation and the decline of stable industrial employment, have affected many families. In localities such as CIDCO, once home to industrial workers, this has been linked to a rise in crime, including gang activity among unemployed youth. Like elsewhere, Nashik has seen the growing influence of social media, with youngsters posting reels that often glorify crime or local gang culture. To curb this trend, the Nashik Police, under Commissioner Karnik, launched a crackdown. ThepushintensifiedafterChief »CONTINuED ON PAgE 2