mCS/204/2020-22 RNI No. mAheNG 2002/21899 www.INDIANexPReSS.Com The Boy Who CoulD Be KIng At 15, cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s game has a fearful symmetry that has cricket’s greats applauding the ‘new six machine’ mumbai, may 31, 2026 BOOKs Ruskin Bond on turning 92, his new book and why he can’t stop writing LATe CITY 16 + 4 PAGeS ₹6.00 D A I L Y f R o m : A h m e D A B A D , C h A N D I G A R h , D e L h I , j A I P u R , k o L k A T A , L u C k N o w , m u m B A I , N A G P u R , P A T N A , P u N e , V A D o D A R A Pete HeGsetH in sinGaPOre GaPs in nta LeaDersHiP anD suPervisiOn at CritiCaL POints in testinG PrOCess 108 136 168 80 Happening today lGujarat titans will face defending champions RCB in the IPL final. The Titans entered the final after defeating Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in the Qualifier 2. lLt Gen N S Raja Subramani (retd) will take charge as the country’s next CDS after General Anil Chauhan superannuated. Gen Chauhan took charge as the CDS in September 2022. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com inside PAGE 6 MEthAnol in PunE hooch dEAths trAcEd to coMPAny in BhiwAndi Sealed room, leadership vacuum: How NEET 2026 breached safeguards put after 2024 leak Accused worked under ‘CONOPS’ (confidential operations) protocol, premises were self-contained with strict rules; at least one arrested had also worked on the 2025 NEET ritika Chopra New Delhi, Mumbai, May 30 DeePinSiDethenationaltestingAgency’spaper-settingoperation is a highly secured premises in new Delhi that was not supposedtobebreached.it’seffectivelysealedofffromtheoutside: no phones, no laptops, no devices, no internet, air-gapped computers, logs tracking every document, mandatory shreddingofallnotes.itwasdesigned, after the neet leak of 2024, to be the last word in securing the medical entrance test. the people at the centre of the neet-UG 2026 leak investigation were trusted insiders embedded in the most protected phase of the examination process. And at least one of those arrested had worked on last year’s neet paper, too. that the leak happened despite this has rattled the Government. the cBi has arrested 13 people so far, including paper translators, subject experts and intermediariesaccusedofcirculating sections of the question paper before the May 3 exam, taken by over 20 lakh students. interviewswithoveradozenofficials,ntAinsidersandexperts associatedwithneet-UG2024, 2025 and 2026 by The Indian Expressrevealthere’sabroadinternal consensus on an institutional failure that created conditions for the leak. two things, they believe, went wrong. One, the security framework built after the 2024 controversy, known internally as “confidential operations” or »COntinueD On PaGe 9 Another NTA exam mess: Tech glitches disrupt CUET, retest for over 3,700 sophiya Mathew us defence secretary pete hegseth at shangri-la dialogue in singapore, saturday. AP New Delhi, May 30 A technicAl glitch hit the Saturday morning shift of the cUet-UG 2026, the nationallevel examination for admission to undergraduate programmes in participating universities, leading to confusion and panic among candidates at the affected centres. the national testing Agency (ntA) later announced a one-time re-test for 3,765 candidates who had completed their biometric registration but hadlefttheexaminationcentres before the test could resume. Flags Javelin co-production with India, urges Asian allies to up defence spend amrita nayak Dutta New Delhi, May 30 VIVek PRAkASh kRIShNA outside a cueT-uG exam centre in new delhi, saturday. the ntA said about 95 per cent of candidates were able to complete the examination oncetheissuewasresolvedand the test resumed. »COntinueD On PaGe 9 In multi-state op, police say Pak-backed terror group busted, 8 held Planned attacks on key installations in Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab: Delhi Police Pragynesh New Delhi May 30 the Delhi Police said Saturday it had uncovered a Pakistan iSi-underworld terror module and arrested eight persons, including a nepali national, who were allegedly planning attacks on vital installations, security establishments and police personnel in Delhi, Mumbai, chandigarh and cities in Punjab. Police officers said the arrestsoftheeight,somelinkedto fugitive underworld gangster The accused being brought to patiala house court. ANI Dawoodibrahim,weremadein acoordinatedmulti-stateoperation, uncovering a conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by »COntinueD On PaGe 2 Pakistan’s Shahzad Bhatti, his network show up on terror radar Mohamed thaver & Zeeshan shaikh Mumbai, May 30 FOR yeARS, Shahzad Bhatti cultivated an image as a social media personality, businessmanandself-styleddefenderof religion. through videos posted online under the ‘333’ banner, the Pakistani national ‘No China hegemony, India critical anchor, helps maintain balance of power’ built a following by commenting on religious controversies, influencer feuds and indiaPakistan relations. today, Bhatti, said to be around 45 years old, finds himself at the centre of multiple investigations by indian security agencies which believe he is a key player in a growing »COntinueD On PaGe 2 Vinesh phogat was knocked out of the asian Games trials in new delhi, saturday. GAjeNDRA YADAV Comeback ends in heartbreak, Vinesh steels resolve: ‘I will be back, Olympics my target’ Battling opponents and a hostile WFI, loses in the semis of Asiad trials nihal Koshie New Delhi, May 30 “the SySteM is against me today, it will be against me tomorrow, but if i continue to believe in myself, i can overcome the system. the los Angeles Olympics (2028) remains my target.” this was wrestler Vinesh Phogat, moments after she was knocked out of the Asian Games trials in new Delhi, on Saturday,havingfoughtagainst the odds to be allowed to participate in the first place. She lost 4-6 in the semifinalstoup-and-comingwrestler Meenakshi Goyat, an Asian championship silver medalist. But Vinesh, the mother of a 10-month-oldson,saidshewas not as heartbroken as she was at the Paris Olympics after failing to make the weight cut by 100 grams ahead of the final and missing out on a medal. “this loss does not hurt. i am proud of being able to take care of my son, keep him healthy and return to the mat to fight. i hope that i am an inspiration to women,” she said. She remained defiant even indefeatinthe53kgsemifinals, walking in the direction of WFi president Sanjay Singh and pointing towards the mat in a gesture that appeared to send a message to officials who left no stone unturned to stop her comeback. “i will be back,” she said. the legal battle to secure participation in the Asiad trials after the WFi deemed her ineligible, coupled with court hearings following her accusations of sexual harassment against »COntinueD On PaGe 2 inAnexpansivearticulationof American strategic intent in the indo-Pacific, US Defence Secretary Pete hegseth Saturday described india as a “criticalanchor”to“holdtheline”in South Asia and that a “powerful”india,actinginitsownselfinterest, “advances our shared goal of maintaining a balance of power across the region.” Speaking at the Shangri la DialogueinSingaporeSaturday, he framed the balance of power inAsiaasone“inwhichnostate, includingchina,canimposeits hegemonyandholdthesecurity or prosperity of our nation and our allies in question.” At the same time, though, he struck a softer note on Beijing saying Washington was not seeking confrontation despite concerns over china’s military build-up. And that under US President Donald trump, USchina relations were “better than they’ve been in years.” hegseth noted india’s modernisationofitsmilitarytobear E. explained the balancing act Hegseth framing of India as an Indian Ocean anchor and defence co-production partner may be a bid to reassure Delhi that its engagement with Beijing does not come at India’s expense. At the same time, he flagged a Pacific dominated by any hegemon (read China) would “undermine the equilibrium we all seek to preserve.” itsshareofthesecurityburden, particularly in the indian Ocean,andpraiseditseffortsto build “heavy industrial and logisticscapacitytosustainhighend military operations, includingtheabilitytorepairand maintainsharedplatformsand support US navy vessels operating forward in the theatre.” the Defence Secretary announced that the US had »COntinueD On PaGe 2 Abhishek gets CID summons, attacked by mob hours later tanusree Bose Kolkata, May 30 tRinAMOOl cOnGReSS (tMc)MPandnationalgeneral secretary Abhishek Banerjee was heckled and eggs tossed at him Saturday evening while visiting Sonarpur to meet the family of a party worker who was allegedly a victim of postpoll violence. the incident marked Banerjee's first public appearance sincethetMc'sdefeatintherecent West Bengal Assembly elections. the same day, the West Bengal ciD summoned Banerjee, asking him to appear before it on Monday. Banerjee allegedly came Tmc mp abhishek banerjee after the attack in sonarpur, south 24 parganas, saturday. exPReSS under attack while on his way tomeetthefamilyofSanjuKarmakar, a tMc worker who was murdered allegedly during post-poll violence. As he entered Sonarpur on a motorcycle, protesters allegedly »COntinueD On PaGe 2 l Their real esTaTe company promised luxurious homes on fooThills of The himalayas, buT six years afTer They fled The counTry, buyers are in limbo; lasT monTh, one of Them was arresTed in dubai Champagne parties to Interpol notice: Rise and fall of a Dehradun power couple aiswarya raj torswouldgetadiscount.Atthe endoftheparty,whichfeatured a performance by a Bollywood itWASataglitzyeveningevent singer, the guests were sent in February 2015 where busi- home with gift bags carrying nessman Deepak Mittal made bottlesofpremiumchampagne. hismarkonDehradun’shighsoAround the same time, Mitciety. Around 1,200 guests, in- tal, then the managing director cludingseniorofficials,attended ofPushpanjaliRealmsandinfrathe party in the tech, also city to launch launched plans page 1 whatMittalpromfor luxurious flats ised would be an tucked away in eliteandexclusive thefoothillsofthe club – the canyons club, with himalayas. the launches and membership by invitation only parties firmly established 48andcostingRs7.5lakh.Members year-old Mittal and his wife, wouldneedtohaveatleastdone Rakhi, also 48, as prominent theirgraduation,whilegazetted members of Dehradun’s elite. government officers, defence theinaugurationoftheclubwas personnel and practising doc- scheduledforFebruary2018,the Dehradun, May 30 anchor same year flats of the flagship housing society, Orchid Park, launched by Mittal, were to be handed over for occupation. Soon afterwards, around 90 newbuyersapproachedthefirm to book a flat in Orchid Park — a 339-unit, eight-tower project — whichwastocomeuponDehradun’s Sahastradhara Road. the cost ranged from Rs 46 lakh for a1BhKtoRs1.1croreforathreebedroom apartment. the dream flats, however, were never completed. in 2020, facing allegations of money laundering, Mittal left the countrywithhiswife—shewas arrestedbytheDubaipolicelast month — and their two adult children. When he left, the un- (left) incomplete towers at orchid park on sahastradhara road in dehradun; (above) md of pushpanjali realms and infratech, deepak mittal, and his wife rakhi mittal. finishedOrchidParkprojectwas already two years past its completion date. Another of his real estate projects in Dehradun, eminent heights, was also facingallegationsthatflatswere sold to multiple people at the same time. the canyons club project was never officially inaugur- ated either. Vivek Kumar, Additional SP of the Special task Force, said, “We are coordinating with the central agencies in extradition proceedings.” to establish credibility, Mittal had named several co-directors for the club, including prominent advocates, a senior staff member of an elite boarding school, entrepreneurs, and senior iPS officer Amit Sinha. Sinha, now a Special Principal Secretary in the Uttarakhand government, said he had joined astheclub'sdirectortopromote sports in the region. “i was not aware of Deepak’s background. there were four of us, like-minded people, who wantedtogetsquashandtennis courts in the area for practice. Whenisawthattheclubwasnot getting inaugurated and there was an unaccounted delay, i stepped down in 2019,” he told TheIndianExpress. Fall of a power couple Beforetheallegationsgained steam and the Mittals fled the country,thecouplewashobnobbingwithfilmdirectors,bureaucrats and other prominent citizens.theyhadmultipleprojects in the city. Apart from helming Pushpanjali Realms and infratechandservingasadirector at canyons club, Mittal also headed Rasayana infra Design andQKhotelsandRestaurants. RakhiwasadirectoratRasayana and QK hotels. the Mittals also own the Kanatal Resorts in Dehradun. »COntinueD On PaGe 2