FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI SPORTS WORLD US completes Iraq troop withdrawal, ending 12-year mission against ISIS EDITORIAL Heat warning | Thursday, 01 October 2026 India bag four golds as medal tally rises to 60 at Asian Games LAW The machine as an author Page 12 Page 9 Page 6 Page 11 Israel-bound flight diverted to Saudi Arabia after pilot stabbed Modi, Trump review India-US ties, reaffirm strategic partnership UNITED NEWS OF INDIA Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday held a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump during which the two leaders reviewed the progress of India-US bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, energy and critical technologies, besides discussing regional and international developments and efforts to advance global peace and security. In a post on social media platform X, Mr Modi described the conversation as “productive” and said the two leaders had agreed to maintain close engagement to take forward the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. “Had a productive conversation with President Trump. We reviewed our bilateral cooperation in trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas. We agreed to maintain close engagement to take our Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership forward,” Mr Modi said. Tel Aviv, 30 September A FlyDubai passenger aircraft bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after transmitting emergency signals, including a code associated with a possible hijacking. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that one of the pilots stabbed another and then apparently tried to crash to aircraft, which was carrying dozens of Israelis. Passengers and crew subdued the attacker and the plane eventually made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The captain of the aircraft, who was stabbed, is identified as an Indian national, Captain Smit Machchhar (photo, inset), while the second officer is said to be an Omani national. Flight-tracking data showed Security forces kill senior LeT Commander Musa in J&K that the aircraft initially transmitted squawk code 7700, the internationally recognised signal for a general emergency. It later switched to 7500, a code used to indicate unlawful interference, including a possible hijacking, before reverting to 7700. Israeli fighter jets were scrambled after the emergency signal was sent, a military spokesperson said. The Boeing 737 MAX 8, operating as flight FZ1073 from Dubai International Airport to Ben Gurion Airport, Jharkhand CM faces charges in Bargain land case STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 30 September In an intelligence-led joint security forces operation, senior Lashkar- e -Toiba Commander Musa aka Asif Fauji was killed at Gurwatkalan under Khansahib police station of Budgam District, J&K. The security forces were pursuing Musa for long, and, recently a specific all-stakeholder plan for his neutralisation was put in place after technical and human intelligence about his movement and presence were received. The killing of Musa by Indian security forces is a serious blow to LeT ecosystem in the Union Territory of J&K. With Musa’s killing, the entire group of four senior LeT commanders operating in the Unipn Territory since 2022, and responsible for several sensational attacks, stands neutralised. was carrying more than 100 passengers, including a large number of Israelis. The aircraft landed at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. A passenger on board the FlyDubai flight told Israel’s i24 channel that one of the pilots on the flight was stabbed and there were moments when she believed she was going to die. “We just heard screams, and then the cockpit door opened, and we saw a huge amount of blood,” the passenger, STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Ranchi, 30 September A special PMLA court in Ranchi on Wednesday framed charges against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the alleged money laundering case linked to 8.86 acres of land in the Bargain area, paving the way for a trial. Mr Soren appeared before the court through video conferencing. During the charge-framing proceedings, the prosecution read the charges to him. He then denied the allegations and stated he was innocent. The court directed the prosecution to produce its witnesses and set 30 November for the next hearing, according to his counsel. With charges framed against Mr Soren, all 17 accused in the case have now faced the charge-framingprocess,according to the defence. The Enforcement Directorate’s case relates to the alleged fraudulent acquisition of 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain circle. The agency alleged manipulation of land records and illegal acquisition of the property. Mr Soren has denied the allegations. OnWednesday,theJharkhand High Court heard Mr Soren’s challenge to the continuation of proceedings before the PMLA court. The division bench sought a supplementary affidavit from the Enforcement Directorate and fixed 28 October for further hearing on the maintainability of the petition. The High Court had declined to stay the trial proceedings in the case on 18 September, allowing the charge-framing process before the special PMLA court to proceed. identified only as Miriam, told the channel. “The aircraft has landed safely in Tabuk (TUU), and all passengers are safe and accounted for,” the airline said in a statement. “Our teams are working closely with the relevant authorities. Further updates will be issued as additional confirmed details become available.” According to reports citing Israeli security officials and passengers, the emergency followed a violent confrontation between two pilots in the cockpit. The reports said one pilot stabbed another with a knife, while passengers and other crew members intervened and helped restrain the attacker. The aircraft also lost a significant amount of altitude during the incident. CNN, citing flight data, reported that the plane descended from about 34,000 feet to approximately 17,400 feet in less than two minutes. Israeli authorities believe the incident could have been “a terror attack attempt,” according to officials. An Israeli passenger quoted by The Jerusalem Post said passengers near the front of the aircraft rushed toward the cockpit after hearing the shouting. The passenger said they helped remove the attacker from the cockpit, allowing another pilot to regain control of the aircraft. The incident prompted the Israeli Air Force to scramble fighter jets as a precaution, according to Israeli media reports. Israeli airspace was also temporarily closed before being reopened after the aircraft landed safely in Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held consultations with defence officials as the situation unfolded. “The incident is under control, and all measures are currently being deployed in order to return the Israeli passengers safely to Israel,” the Prime Minister’s Office said. New Delhi, 30 September A curative petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking recall of its 23 September split verdict and common order in the challenge to the law governing the composition of the committee for selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, alleging that one of the two judges ~ Justice Satish Chandra Sharma ~ who heard the matter was in a conflict-of-interest situation. Petitioner Jaya Thakur has contended that Justice Satish Chandra Sharma ought to have disclosed that his son, advocate Siddharth New Delhi, 30 September STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 30 September The INDIA bloc on Wednesday announced a nationwide campaign against the Election Commission of India, including week-long district-level demonstrations from 2 to 8 October and a march by Opposition MPs to the poll panel’s headquarters on 6 October. Following a meeting of leaders of the bloc at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, announced the unanimous decision of the Opposition parties to seek the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Opposition leaders held nearly three hours of deliberations on what they described as threats to the integrity of the electoral process. Mr Kharge said the alliance had decided to fight the issue collectively and would involve people, youth organisations, civil society groups and organisations committed to “unity and democracy” in the campaign. Addressing a joint press conference after the meeting, Mr Kharge said the INDIA parties have agreed to hold a week-long “Save Democracy March” and demonstrations outside District Magistrates’ offices across the country from 2 to 8 October. On 6 October, all Opposition MPs will march together to the Election Commission of India’s office and seek an appointment to formally present their grievances. The bloc will also seek an appointment with the President in the second week of October to raise its concerns over the functioning of constitutional institutionsc. Mr Kharge said the INDIA bloc had “collectively decided to fight” what he described as the “killing of democracy” and added that the parties would remain united on the issue. “All the parties spoke about fighting this battle that disclosure before commencement of the hearing was necessary to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice. Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Rupa Ashok Hurra, the petitioner has contended that non-disclosure of a connection with a party in the lis under adjudication can furnish a ground for invoking curative jurisdiction and that the the PMO said. The conversation comes as India and the United States continue to engage across a wide range of strategic and economic areas, with trade, defence cooperation, energy and emerging technologies forming key components of the bilateral relationship. The two countries have also maintained high-level consultations on developments in the wider Indo-Pacific and other international issues. The PMO said the two leaders agreed to remain in touch, underlining the importance attached by both sides to sustained high-level engagement in advancing the bilateral partnership appearance of bias, rather than proof of actual bias, is relevant to such a plea. Senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who settled the curative petition and certified it as fit for consideration, has stated that there was no doubt that Justice Sharma decided the case on its merits. He has, however, submitted that, applying the principle that justice must not only be done but also appear to be done, recusal would have been appropriate. The petition has also sought exemption from first filing a review petition, contending that such a plea would ordinarily come before the same bench. On 23 September, a bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma delivered differing opinions on the Centre’s plea to refer the challenge to the 2023 law to a five-judge Constitution Bench. Justice Datta rejected the request, holding that the controversy involved application of settled constitutional principles, while Justice Sharma favoured consideration by a Constitution Bench. Despite their differing views, both judges directed that the matter be placed before Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for constitution of an appropriate bench to examine the challenge to the 2023 law. unitedly,” he said. Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who attended the meeting, also stressed the unity of the opposition alliance, saying, “India bloc is very much together.” The Congress president made the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar a central demand of the campaign, alleging that the Election Commission had been compromised by political interference. Referring to reports that Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had raised questions over aspects of the voter-roll revision process, Mr Kharge said Mr Kumar “stands totally exposed” and demanded that he resign. “If he has even an iota of Constitutional or moral shame left in him, he will resign himself and turn approver against the powers who are interfering in our electoral rolls,” he said at the meeting. The Opposition parties also demanded a complete rollback of the SIR exercise and called for electoral rolls prepared before the revision to be used for future elections. Mr Kharge argued that the burden of ensuring that genuine voters are not excluded should rest with the electoral system rather than with citizens. “No genuine Indian citizen should be forced out of the electoral process through an opaque, arbitrary or inadequately supervised exercise,” he said, adding that if names were deleted, voters should be told “who was deleted” and “why”. The bloc further demanded complete transparency in every revision of electoral rolls, including constituency-wise and booth-wise information on additions, deletions and corrections, as well as prior notice, reasons for deletion and an effective mechanism for appeal. Mr Kharge also called for protection of eligible voters who could otherwise be excluded because of administrative failures, inadequate documentation or lack of awareness. Govt issues fresh Russia travel advisory over armed forces recruitments STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Sharma, has been serving as standing counsel for the Election Commission of India before the Madhya Pradesh High Court since July 2024. The plea seeks recall of the order and a fresh hearing before an appropriate bench. It contends that Siddharth Sharma’s engagement as ECI counsel gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias and raised an issue of judicial propriety, irrespective of whether the case was decided on merits. According to the petition, Ms Thakur learnt about Siddharth Sharma’s engagement as ECI counsel only through media reports on 25 September. It argues The Prime Minister added that the two leaders also “exchanged views on regional and international issues, including ongoing efforts to advance global peace and security.” The Prime Minister’s Office, in a statement, said Mr Modi and the US President reviewed progress in bilateral cooperation across trade, defence, energy, critical technologies and other areas of mutual interest. “Both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership and agreed to maintain close engagement to deepen cooperation for the benefit of the people of both countries,” INDIA bloc announces nationwide ‘Save Democracy’ stir against ECI Curative plea seeks recall of ECI case order, cites alleged conflict of interest involving Justice Satish Chandra Sharma PARMOD KUMAR STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 30 September The government on Wednesday issued a fresh travel advisory for Russia in the wake of reports that Indian nationals continue to be recruited into the Russian armed forces fighting the war against Ukraine. “It has also come to our notice that foreign nationals are being recruited to serve in the Russian armed forces by non-public entities including voluntary groups. Indian nationals are advised to exercise due diligence before accepting job offers from such agents which are not registered with the Ministry of External Affairs,’’ a press release issued by the MEA said. It said the government has A PRESS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE MEA SAID THE GOVERNMENT HAS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS UNDERLINED THE RISKS AND DANGERS INHERENT IN THIS COURSE OF ACTION AND ADVISED INDIAN CITIZENS FROM TIME TO TIME TO BE CAUTIOUS on several occasions over the past two years underlined the risks and dangers inherent in this course of action and advised Indian citizens from time to time to be cautious while pursuing job opportunities abroad and not get lured by any job offers from unverified individuals. “We have also come across numerous instances wherein individuals are willingly seeking out offers to join the Russian armed forces with an understanding that they would b e able to avail concomitant monetary benefits, and later secure release by approaching the Indian Government. It is reiterated that this is a dangerous path and is strongly discouraged by the government,’’ the MEA added. It said there have also been numerous instances wherein individuals have approached Indian authorities to willingly give up their Indian citizenship, avail a Russian passport and then get recruited in Russian armed forces. Some have already done so without consulting Indian authorities, having been lured by temporary monetary benefits.