#OPINION | The Election Commission’s notes in late September amounted to first denying the problems and then announcing their solutions. Apart from an independent probe into its decisions and halt to SIR rollout while the probe is conducted, a state-by-state account of every deletion is needed.

#SIR

https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/2026/Oct/13/time-to-audit-the-auditor-of-electoral-rolls

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi accused Delhi Police of assaulting student activists and Youth Congress workers detained during protests against alleged electoral irregularities, alleging that a Delhi University student from Kerala had lost hearing in one ear after being struck by police personnel.


🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/she-is-deaf-in-one-ear-rahul-gandhi-accuses-centre-delhi-police-of-brutality-against-students

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke arrives in Delhi and says, "Is unfurling the Tricolour in this country a crime? Ashutosh and Saurav have been sent to jail for five days. Why? Because they went to Jantar Mantar and unfurled the Tricolour.


The last time this happened was when the British ruled us. During British rule, freedom fighters who unfurled the Tricolour in public places were arrested and jailed. Narendra Modi is doing something similar."

Meerut court sentenced Muskan Rastogi and her partner Sahil Shukla to death for murdering her husband, merchant navy officer Saurabh Rajput, in the case that came to be known as the 'blue drum' murder, as per reports.


🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Oct/14/meerut-court-awards-death-penalty-to-muskan-rastogi-sahil-shukla-in-blue-drum-murder-case

“We will show that waving a tiranga is not a crime”

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke called on citizens to gather with the national flag at Central Park in Delhi’s Connaught Place at 5 pm on Friday after party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were remanded to five days of judicial custody for allegedly entering Jantar Mantar, which has been denotified as an authorised protest venue.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/dipke-calls-for-tiranga-march-at-connaught-place-on-friday-after-cjp-leaders-are-sent-to-tihar

Dipke calls on supporters to gather at Connaught Place with tricolour on Friday

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has called on "patriots" to gather on Friday at Central Park in Delhi's business hub Connaught Place with the national flag, alleging that CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have been "jailed only for unfurling the tricolour".

India issued a fresh advisory asking its nationals in Saudi Arabia to stay indoors during aerial attacks, follow instructions from local authorities and refrain from circulating videos or news related to ongoing events.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/india-issues-fresh-advisory-for-nationals-in-saudi-arabia-amid-houthi-attacks

In this episode of #BookTalk, actor Shefali Shah opens up about her book, The Audacity of Being, and the experiences that shaped her life and career.

From childhood bullying and divorce to mental health, self-doubt, body image and the pressures of social media, Shefali speaks candidly about the realities behind a life in the public eye.


Watch the full conversation👇
🔗https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuN627yf7-U

“Dushyant Gautam should not be appointed governor until the CBI investigation is complete”

Ankita Bhandari’s mother broke down while appealing to the Centre and President Murmu not to proceed with the appointment before the probe concludes.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/ankita-bhandari-murder-parents-demand-stay-on-gautams-appointment-as-sikkim-governor-pending-cbi-probe

Three Indian nationals were killed and five others injured in a fire at a residential building in Bochum, Germany, early Tuesday, local media reported.

Police have arrested a 41-year-old Romanian national who lived in the building on suspicion of murder.

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/three-indians-killed-in-suspected-arson-at-german-residential-building-reports

The safety and security of Indian seafarers and tankers were raised during a phone conversation between NSA Ajit Doval and his Iranian counterpart Mohsen Rezaei on Oct 12, the MEA said, amid concerns over attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.


🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/14/doval-raised-safety-of-indian-seafarers-tankers-with-iran-attacks-on-civilian-infrastructure-unacceptable-mea

#TNIEexplainer | This is an unusual fake passport racket that the Madhya Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has uncovered, with investigators not ruling out national security ramifications.

They are probing how at least 76 passports were allegedly obtained using addresses linked to six Buddhist monasteries across the state.

The public interest lies in understanding how such documents could be issued, whether gaps in the verification process were exploited, and what the case reveals about safeguards designed to prevent the misuse of Indian passports.

This explainer separates what is known from what remains unproven and examines the leads being pursued by investigators.


https://www.newindianexpress.com/explainers/2026/Oct/14/the-mp-fake-passport-probe-and-the-questions-it-raises

A mother of two and her paramour are to hang for murdering her husband in Meerut. The chilling words of her six-year-old daughter—her father was inside the blue drum in the house—helped seal their fate.

On Wednesday, a Meerut court sentenced Muskan Rastogi and Sahil Shukla to death for murdering Saurabh Rajput, a merchant navy officer, and concealing his dismembered remains in a blue plastic drum.

#MuskanRastogi #SahilShukla #SaurabhRajput


🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/uttar-pradesh/2026/Oct/15/inside-meerut-murder-a-blue-drum-a-childs-words-and-two-death-sentences

#OPINION | The electronic voting machine continues to be blamed for technological troubles concerning conduct of elections. We must also look closely at the system that governs voter rolls.

#Elections

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/2026/Oct/14/the-crucial-voter-tech-we-arent-scrutinising

Air France, United Airlines and Smartwings have moved to comply with Israeli restrictions barring airline crew members of certain nationalities from operating flights to and from Tel Aviv, bringing renewed attention to nationality-based rules governing international aviation.

Pakistan is among 29 countries whose nationals could be barred from operating such flights under the restrictions, according to aviation intelligence company ch-aviation.

The move towards stricter enforcement follows an alleged attempted terror attack involving an Omani co-pilot aboard a FlyDubai flight on September 30, according to reports. Oman is among the countries whose nationals are covered by the restrictions.

#FlyDubai #Israel

https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2026/Oct/14/air-france-united-airlines-bar-pilots-from-29-countries-including-pakistan-on-israel-flights

Kolkata artist Chandra Nath Saha creates a Durga idol using 13,000 recycled-plastic pens.

#DurgaPuja

https://youtube.com/shorts/e_AaW62BDps

Actor Imran Khan has been issued a notice by Mumbai Police directing him to leave India by October 28 for allegedly violating the Immigration and Foreigners Act by participating in a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The police action comes after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya lodged a police complaint on Oct 12, following the actor's involvement in the protest.

#MumbaiProtest #ImranKhan #CJP

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/15/actor-imran-khan-told-to-leave-india-for-participating-in-october-10-mumbai-cjp-protest

The Supreme Court issued notice to the Election Commission of India and others on a petition filed by Opposition leaders led by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the poll panel’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The apex court sought responses from the ECI, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

#ElectionCommission #SIR

🔗https://www.newindianexpress.com/india/2026/Oct/15/sc-issues-notice-to-eci-on-rahul-gandhi-india-bloc-plea-against-sir-voter-deletions

#OPINION | Successful environmental treaties have a peculiar disadvantage: the disasters they prevent never become news. The Montreal Protocol, agreed in 1987, has put the ozone layer on the path to recovery. It has also helped avert a much hotter planet. Yet its capacity to do more remains underused, just when governments are starved for actionable ideas to slow warming.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/opinion/2026/Oct/15/climate-action-whose-time-is-here

India invited Bangladesh’s new PM Tarique Rahman months ago. He still hasn’t come.

Sheikh Hasina — ousted in 2024 and living in India — was sentenced to death in absentia. Dhaka wants her extradited before any summit. New Delhi says the request is under legal process and gives no timeline. The result? Eight months into the new government, the two prime ministers have not met.

Trade talks have just restarted after three years. The Ganges water treaty expires in December. Connectivity, border management, and trust remain stuck. Is Hasina the real reason for the delay, or the perfect political cover?

In this episode of #TNIEGlobalTalks, a former Indian ambassador to Bangladesh Pinak Chakravarty answers the sharp questions. No diplomatic language. Just the hard reality of a deadlock that neither side can ignore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iaUlIdzICs