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 | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR TN Assembly mourns Karur victims Page 8 BRIEFLY SC to hear on 15 Oct plea of Wangchuk’s wife: New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred till October 15 the hearing on a plea filed by Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, challenging his detention under the National Security Act (NSA) and seeking his immediate release. A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria adjourned the matter at the request of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioner. “Due to paucity of time, the matter will be taken up tomorrow,” the bench said. Earlier, the court had sought responses from the centre, the Union Territory of Ladakh, and the Superintendent of Jodhpur Central Jail, where Wangchuk is lodged. Sibal has argued that the grounds of detention were never supplied to Wangchuk’s family, rendering the order illegal under Article 22 of the Constitution.Page3 Missing bodies of hostages top the list of uncertainties New Delhi, 14 October Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mongolian President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa on Tuesday held delegation-level talks here, further cementing the longstanding friendship between the two nations. The leaders exchanged multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering cooperation in humanitarian aid, heritage restoration, immigration, geology and mineral resources, cooperative Eradicating LWE will unlock huge economic potential Page 7 Seat-sharing tensions spark turmoil in Bihar BJP releases first list of 71 candidates IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 14 October I PM Modi and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar sharing a light moment during a public meeting. FILE PHOTO that the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement could be revisited. To counter the growing speculation, Union Minister Chirag Paswan posted a message on ‘X’ asserting NDA unity. He wrote: “The matter of seat allocation among NDA partners has been resolved amicably. Discussions about which party will contest on which seats are in the final stages and PM Modi, Mongolia President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa meet STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PERSPECTIVE PAGE Page 9 t was reportedly a sleepless night on Monday at the residences of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. While the INDIA bloc has yet to finalise seat sharing, turmoil has erupted within the NDA over the allocation of seats. By Tuesday morning, reports emerged that Nitish Kumar was upset with the BJP, as well as with his deputies ~ Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh and Sanjay Jha ~ for allocating nine JD(U)-held seats to the BJP. He reportedly insisted that these constituencies should remain with the JD(U). Meanwhile, speculation intensified after RJD’s de facto chief Tejashwi Yadav returned from Delhi without meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Soon after, the BJP moved into action mode, indicating promotion, and digital solutions. Marking the occasion, both leaders jointly released commemorative stamps celebrating the 70th anniversary of India-Mongolia bilateral relations, a milestone underscoring decades of close partnership. Speaking at a joint press conference, Mr Modi announced several key initiatives to deepen ties. “India has decided to provide free e-visas to Mongolian citizens to facilitate greater people-to-people contact,” he said. “Additionally, India will sponsor the annual visit of young cultural ambassadors from Mongolia to India, fostering cultural exchange and mutual understanding.” He described the India-Mongolia relationship as transcending diplomacy. “Our connection is not merely diplomatic; it is a soulful and spiritual bond rooted in shared history and values,” he stated. The Prime Minister also highlighted India’s role in Mongolia’s development, particularly referencing the Oil Refinery Project ~ a USD 1.7 billion Line of Credit initiative that stands as India’s largest development partnership globally. “This project will bolster Mongolia’s energy security and deepen our strategic partnership,” he noted. President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa expressed appreciation for India’s support and reaffirmed Mongolia’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation across diverse sectors. progressing positively. Under the leadership of Modiji and Nitishji, all NDA partners are fully united and prepared.” Union Minister and JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh accused the INDIA bloc of spreading misinformation. He claimed that INDIA leaders were not getting public support and were resorting to false narratives. Google to invest $15 bn in new AI hub in Vizag STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Hyderabad, 14 October US tech giant Google on Tuesday announced plans to invest $15 billion over the next five years to set up an Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam to enable it to deploy its full AI stack to accelerate AI-driven transformation across India. The new AI hub will be Google’s largest centre outside the USA, combining powerful AI infrastructure, data centre capacity, new large-scale energy sources and an expanded fibre optic network all in one place. Hailing the investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the hub will be a p owerful force in democratising technology and secure India’s place as a leader in global technology. Munir orchestrated Pahalgam attack to salvage his & Pak Army’s image: Lt Gen. Ghai PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 14 October Taking a sharp swipe at Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, former Director General of Military Operations Lt Gen. Rajiv Ghai on Tuesday accused him of having orchestrated the attack in an effort to salvage his declining image. During a session on Operation Sindoor at the ongoing United Nations Troop Contributing Countries (UNTCC) Chief’s Conclave 2025 here, he said the actions carried out by Field Marshal Munir and his army were to revive their reputation. “If you want to carry out an analysis of what happened and why it happened… The fact that the Pakistan army and its chief were under duress at the time it happened is known to everybody. And therefore, there was a need for him to revive not only his image, but that of the Pak Army itself. "And I think the best way and the only way that is known to Wednesday, 15 October 2025 SPORTS WORLD NATION | them was to do what they did, as cowardly as it may have been,” he remarked. “And the inevitability of the Indian response, I think was very much there, if you want to, if you were going to carry out this kind of an action in the manner that it was perpetrated... And of course, it does not take much to claim vict- ory, especially when there has not been kinetic contact. And that was more a result, because we were very clear as to what we were after,” he added. Lt Gen. Ghai said that the problem of cross-border sponsored terrorism started in the 1980s. “Since then, we have witnessed over 28,000 terror incidents. Since the 1990s, more than 100,000 people from minority communities have been forced to leave Jammu and Kashmir, over 60,000 families displaced. Around 15,000 innocent civilians and more than 3,000 security personnel have been killed, and the source of this violence is well known,” he said. • Related reports: Page 8 Patna: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its first list of 71 candidates for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections on Tuesday, amid ongoing political turmoil within the NDA over seat-sharing arrangements. The BJP’s first list has no major changes, except for denying a ticket to veteran leader and Assembly Speaker Nand Kishore Yadav. The party has fielded Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary from Tarapur and Vijay Kumar Sinha from Lakhisarai. Former Deputy Chief Ministers Tarkishore Prasad Yadav and Renu Devi were retained as candidates, from Katihar and Bettiah, respectively. Page 5 Rahul fifty helps India seal 2-0 clean sweep over West Indies Page 12 Rohtak cop found dead, leaves video, 3-page note accusing late IPS officer Y Puran Kumar of graft STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Chandigarh, 14 October Amid the controversy surrounding Haryana Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Y Puran Kumar's alleged suicide in Chandigarh last week, another police officer was found dead on Tuesday, leaving behind a purported three-page “suicide note” and a video in which he levelled corruption allegations against Kumar. The body of the officer, Assistant Sub Inspector Sandeep Lathar (photo), was found in a room near an agriculture field on the Ladhaut-Dhamar Road in Rohtak with a gunshot wound. The purported handwritten suicide note and the pre-recorded video message level corruption allegations against Y Puran Kumar, asserting that the IPS officer took his own life fearing exposure of alleged wrongdoing. The authenticity of the ‘suicide note’ and the video have not been verified. Lathar, who was investigating corruption charges against Kumar, an ADGP-rank officer, was posted in the cyber cell of Rohtak police. Police sources said Lather played a role in the arrest of head constable Sushil Kumar, an aide of Puran Kumar, in connection with a bribery case. The development came a week after Kumar himself was found dead at his Chandigarh residence in what is presumed to be a sucide, and a day after state Director General of Police Shatrujeet Kapur was sent on leave amid the demand of Kumar's family for action against him and other officers for harassing the deceased IPS officer. Kapur is among several IPS and IAS officers who are named in Y Puran Kumar’s purported suicide note as his key tormentors. The death of Puran Kumar, alleged to be a suicide, continues to generate political furore, institutional pressure and procedural standoffs in Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana. Six days after his death, the body of Kumar remains in the mortuary at PGIMER here, as the family has not given consent for the postmortem. The family is demanding that those named in the officer’s “final note” first be arrested, before a postmortem is permitted. Meanwhile, on the request of Puran Kumar’s wife, the police have amended the FIR to invoke the more stringent Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in addition to earlier invoked sections.