The Editorial Page: Sonia Gandhi writes — India remains silent on Gaza, world continues to speak up 8 SAtURdAY, JUNE 27, 2026 JournalISm of CouraGE AHMedABAd, lATe CiTy, 16 PAGeS ₹ 6.00 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 AyODHyA PRObE WIDENS, POlICE fORM SEPARATE TEAM lUNION HOME and Coopera- Theft at Ram temple: Police arrest eight, recover part of stolen money Track This andmoreon www.indianexpress.com Rs 79.8 lakh seized from 7 accused, role of bank staff under scanner tion Minister Amit Shah will begin a two-day visit to Gujarat. Shah will attend a public function at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar marking launch of cooperative taxi service, Bharat Taxi, in the state. business as usual By EP UNNY bhupendra Pandey & Deeptiman Tiwary Lucknow, New Delhi, June 26 A DAY after police in Ayodhya registered an FIR on a complaint alleging theft, misappropriationofcash,embezzlement offundsandvaluablesdonated totheRamtemple,alleightpersons named in the FIR were arrested and sent to judicial custody for three days. Police have so far recovered Rs 79.80 lakh from seven of the eight arrested men. Prosecu- HC raps govt, civic body over Surat demolitions: ‘Axe has to fall and it will’ Aditi Raja & Kamal Saiyed Vadodara, June 26 AFTER NEARLY 150 homes in Surat’s Nasirnagar were reduced to rubble in May, no authority has yet taken responsibility for the demolition — a gap that prompted the Gujarat High Court Thursday to question the state government, the municipal corporation, and even Torrent Power over who ordered the action and why due process was allegedly bypassed. Residents of Nasirnagar slum in the city’s Ved Darwaja area moved the Gujarat High New Delhi, Jaipur, June 26 THE UNIoN Health Ministry has asked the Rajasthan governmentforadetailedreporton women developing complicationsfollowingcaesareanoperations across several governmenthospitalsinthestate,with some resulting in casualties. Sources said the ministry sent a note after the World Health organization (WHo) sought information from the Indian government on the possible link of spurious oxytocin to the cases. The WHo soughtinformationtoascertain whether the issue was localised, or more widespread, with potentialriskatotherlocations, the source said. The Centre action followed the world Page 13 tion officer A K Verma said the recovered money was part of the donated funds allegedly stolen from the temple. The eight men — Avinash Shukla, Lavkush Mishra, Anu- kalp Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, RamashankarMishra,RamShan- express investigation union minister gets rs 99-lakh subsidy for his cucumber farm — from scheme under own ministry Court earlier this month, challenging the demolition of severalshanties,allegingthatbulldozers razed their homes Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, June 26 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 E. explained drug under spotlight Oxytocin is used to induce labour before a delivery and to contract the uterus for preventing blood loss after it. Many of the women who died or developed complications in Rajasthan saw excessive blood loss. after the Rajasthan government and the top drug regulator in the country cancelled licencesofaKota-basedwholesale drug distributor of oxytocin and two factories manufacturing the drug in Punjab and »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Union minister of state Bhagirath choudhary Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, Peeh (Rajasthan), June 26 IN A sprawling farm in central Rajasthan, where stone walls and barbed wire shield an orchard, artificial ponds and four large polyhouses, a white signboard spells it out: “Assisted by National Horticulture Board, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Govt. of India”. Thebeneficiary:“Mr.Bhagirath Choudhary”. The subsidy amount: “50% (99,60,000)”. It’s what the signboard does not say that is most telling. Choudhary is Minister of State in the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare. An investigation by The Indian Express reveals that he received the subsidy three months ago through a scheme underhisownministryandapproved by a board in which he is ex-officio Vice-President. The scheme to promote “commercial farming” — on a »CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 The signboard at Union mos Bhagirath choudhary’s farm in Peeh, deedwana-kuchaman district, rajasthan. HArikiSHAn SHArMA Among beneficiaries: wife, son, mother of IAS officer Harikishan Sharma New Delhi, June 26 IT’S NoT just the Union Minister. The mother, wife and son of a senior IAS officer are also among the beneficiaries in Rajasthan of the scheme under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare to promote commercial farming, records investigated by The Indian Express show. Records show the three family members of Naresh Pal Gangwar, a 1994-batch Rajasthan-cadre IAS officer, who is a Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, received a total ofoverRs1.16croreinsubsidies across five years under the scheme. Titled “Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and PostHarvest Management of Horticulture crops”, the scheme is run by National Horticulture Board (NHB) under the Union Agriculture Ministry. Accordingtorecords,Gangwar has disclosed details of only one project approved under the scheme in the mandatory annual declaration of immovable property with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for 2021-22. Gangwar told The Indian Express that service rules mandate that he declare only the »CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 INDIA HAS officially released the names of six Armed Forces personnel who were killed in action during operation Sindoor in May 2025. This is the first time that the names have been made public. ofthesix,fivewereArmysoldiers and one an Indian Air Forcepersonnel:SubedarMajor Pawan Kumar from Headquarters 10 Infantry Brigade; RiflemanSunilKumarfromthe 4thbattalionofthe Jammuand Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment; Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar from the 5 Field Regiment; Agniveer Mood Muralinaik from the 851 Light Regiment; Havildar Sunil Kumar Singh from the 237 Field Workshop; and Sergeant Surendra Kumar from the 39 Wing of the IAF. The majority of the Army casualties were in J&K during operation Sindoor. Rifleman Sunil Kumar is a Vir Chakra awardee, and SergeantSurinderKumarhasbeen awarded the Vayu Medal. on June 8, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Vir The names of the six personnel on a wall at the national War memorial, Friday. PTi Chakra (posthumous) to Sunil Kumar’s family at the Defence Investiture Ceremony. The names were released alongside the list of all soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice during various military operations in 2025. The names of these soldiers will remain permanently inscribed at the National War Memorial in the Capital. Their names have also been published in the Roll of Honour on the website of the National War Memorial. What is the scheme? “Development of Commercial Horticulture through ProductionandPost-HarvestManagementofHorticultureCrops” isasub-schemeunderNational Horticulture Board’s Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH). PURPOSE: Promotecommercial farming (for profit) of horticulturalcropson alargescale.The crops under the schemearethree types of vegetables: capsicum, cucumber and tomato; and eight varieties of flowers: anthurium,orchid,rose,lilium, chrysanthemum, carnation, gypsophila and gerbera. SUbSIDy: Upto50percentof the project cost, capped at Rs 1 crore per family, is available as subsidy under the scheme. bENEfICIARIES: Individuals, self-help groups, associations or groups of growers, trusts, cooperativesocieties,companies, farmerproducerorganisations, cooperative marketing federations, agricultural produce marketing committees, E. medical supplies and other relief material being sent to venezuela under operation amistad, on Friday. Ani relaTed rePorT, Page 13 Venezuela reels after deadly quakes, India sends transcontinental flights with medical aid Amrita Nayak Dutta New Delhi, June 26 THEINDIANArmedForcesFriday dispatched two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft carrying a specialisedmedicalcontingent, reliefsuppliesandmedicinesto assistVenezuelawhereback-toback earthquakes have killed over 900 people and left thousands injured and missing. Mounting operation Amis- tad(Spanishforfriendship),the IndianAirForceisundertaking oneofitslongesthumanitarian aid flights — Venezuela is around 15,000 km from India. The C-17 Globemaster III aircraft has spearheaded multiple global humanitarian and disaster relief (HADR) missions, delivering medical supplies, field hospitals and emergency aid to regions worldwide. »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 the bIg PICture how ImmIgrants are shaPIng the football world CuP Page 14 »CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 l BUilT Under sTaTe govT's aTal e-liBraries scheme, These FaciliTies sTock Books For comPeTiTive exams WhyHaryana’svillagesareturninglibrariesintogatewaystogovtjobs graduate and kabaddi player, tells The Indian Express. Since 2020, a quiet transformation has been unfolding AT 5 AM, before the rest of his across Haryana’s villages. Lifamily wakes up, Sahil Kumar braries and reading rooms, makes his way to the village li- such as the one in Pabra, have brary in Pabra. There, he mushroomed with one aim: spends the next few hours por- helping students like Sahil ing over books to crack competitive page 1 prepare for governexaminations. Built ment recruitment under the Haryana exams for Group C government’sAtaleand D jobs, along with dozens Libraries scheme, these facilof other aspirants. ities stock books for competi“It is centrally located, air- tive exams and attract conditioned and open round hundreds of government job the clock. We had to go all the aspirants, many targeting way to Hisar before. Now we Group C and D posts. can study here, cutting comAccording to officials, the mute time,” Sahil Kumar, a BA Haryanagovernmenthassetup Gorakhpur (Fatehabad), June 26 Israel, lebanon sIgn framework deal after talks medIated by u.s. Express News Service New Delhi, June 26 4steps,Rs1crore cap:Howthe subsidyiscleared around 150 homes in surat’s nasirnagar were razed in may.file Sukhbir Siwach ukraIne unleashes Its heavIest drone bombardments of russIa »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Agniveer among six Army, IAF personnel killed in Op Sindoor, names made public As MoS Agriculture, Bhagirath Choudhary is ex officio Vice-President of the board that approved his Rajasthan project for horticulture scheme; his is one of only 467 approvals last year; his aide says details will be disclosed to Govt Rajasthan C-sec deaths: Centre seeks report after WHO asks for info Anonna Dutt & Parul Kulshrestha Tinnu Yadav (centre), one of the eight men arrested, being produced in an ayodhya court, Friday. he used to work as a driver for ram temple trust general secretary champat rai. Ani relaTed rePorTs, Page 6 kar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav and Subhash Srivastav — were produced by police before a remand magistrate. Verma said they were sent to judicial custody for three days and will be produced again Monday before the PreventionofCorruptionActcourt for further proceedings. According to Verma, no cash or valuables were recovered from Srivastav while Rs 79.80 lakh was recovered from the other accused. TinnuYadavusedtoworkas a driver for Champat Rai, general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. According to an official, ever since the consecration of theidolin2022,Tinnuhadbeen involved in the functioning of affairs inside the temple. vIR CHAKRA fOR RIflEMAN SUNIl KUMAR anchor at a library in gorakhpur village of haryana’s Fatehabad. exPreSS 985 libraries, spending Rs 150 crore. For many rural youths, thelibrariesareasymbolofHaryana’s growing aspiration. “These libraries have been setupinchaupalsandcommunity centres,” an official from the Development and Pan- chayats Department says. “We've provided books, furniture and air conditioners to help students study.” The libraries have drawn thousands of students across thestate.onesuchvillageisGorakhpur in Fatehabad district, where two regulars cleared the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) examination for Group D posts Friday. The latest selections take the number of the library's regularswhohavesecuredgovernmentjobssinceitwassetup in october 2020 to 40. “We set up the library because youngsters, particularly girls,fromourvillagepreparing for competitive examinations Ahmedabad had to travel either 15 km to Bhuna town or 40 km to Hisar city to study,” says Satywan Numberdar, who played a key role in establishing the facility. “Today, around 70 students regularly study at the library.” Group C posts include positions such as junior engineers, clerks, excise and taxation inspectors, auditors, assistant managers, patwaris, and male and female police constables. Group D posts comprise entrylevel positions in government departments, including peons, animalattendants,helpers,gardeners,cooksandwatercarriers. According to locals, the demand for village libraries gathered momentum after nearly 18,000 candidates were recruitedforGroupDpostsinHaryana in 2018. A typical library has 40 to 100 seats. Some are government-run, while others are privately managed. Most are simply furnished with study tables and chairs, and many haveairconditionerstobeatthe summer heat. The panchayatsupported library in Pabra charges Rs 300 a month to covermaintenancecosts,while three privately run libraries in Pabra charge around Rs 800. Government libraries are funded under the Atal e-Libraries scheme, while private ones are financed by private »CONTINUED ON PAGE 2