FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 16 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | SILIGURI | BHUBANESWAR | Wednesday, 15 October 2025 SPORTS WORLD NATION TN Assembly mourns Karur victims Page 6 BRIEFLY Cop found dead, leaves note, video accusing Y Puran Kumar of corruption Chandigarh: 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 “suicide note” and a video in which he levelled corruption allegations against Kumar. The body of Assistant Sub Inspector Sandeep Lathar, 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. Page 7 Missing bodies of hostages top the list of uncertainties Siliguri, 14 October Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday lashed out at Opposition leaders, particularly those from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing them of exploiting the recent floods in North Bengal for political mileage. The Chief Minister alleged that certain groups, backed by BJP funding, were attempting to mislead and frustrate flood-affected residents in Maynaguri and Dhupguri blocks of Jalpaiguri district. Eradicating LWE will unlock huge economic potential Page 9 Page 11 Seat-sharing tensions spark turmoil in Bihar BJP releases first list of 71 candidates IMRAN MOJIB Patna, 14 October I t was reportedly a sleepless night on Monday at the residences of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and RJD supremo Lalu Prasad. 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). Soon after, the BJP moved into action mode, indicating that the NDA’s seat-sharing arrangement could be revisited. Union Minister and LJP (RV) chief Chirag Paswan later 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 progressing positively. Under the leadership of Modiji and Nitishji, all NDA partners are fully united and prepared.” Meanwhile, speculation intensified after the RJD’s de facto chief Tejashwi Yadav returned from Delhi without CM slams BJP over ‘politics of disaster’ in relief operations STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE PERSPECTIVE PAGE Speaking to reporters before leaving Sukhia Pokhri for Darjeeling, Miss Banerjee said: “My representatives officially visited the relief camps in Maynaguri and Dhupguri and made all necessary arrangements. Most affected families have already returned home, and government relief has reached them multiple times. Despite this, some leaders are deliberately spreading misinformation to discredit our efforts.” Taking a sharp dig at her political rivals, the Chief Minister added: “They are doing politics with financial support from the BJP. If you want to do your ‘business’, do politics ~ but at least stand by the people at this critical moment.” Accusing the Opposition of indulging only in optics, Miss Banerjee remarked: “BJP leaders visit for a day, take photos, and then leave. The Centre has no real role here ~ it’s all politics and big talk. They, too, have responsibilities.” Criticising attempts to undermine the state’s post-disaster work, she said: “We are providing relief, rebuilding damaged roads and bridges, and taking every step needed after the disaster. Yet they only blame and mislead the people instead of helping them.” Reiterating her commitment to ground-level engagement, the Chief Minister said: “I am always with the people and have been visiting even the remotest areas ~ places other political leaders have never set foot in.” meeting Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The cause for the haste, according to reports, was the fact that Tejashwi’s father and RJD chairperson Lalu Prasad had allotted tickets to at least seven party leaders without consulting Tejashwi, even as seat-sharing among the Mahagatbandhan allies was yet to befinalised.ReportssaidTejashwi frantically summoned back the leaders to the Yadav residence over the course of the night. PM Modi and Mongolian President hold talks, sign multiple MoUs STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE 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 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. Munir orchestrated Pahalgam attack to salvage his & Pak Army’s image: Lt Gen. Ghai PARWINDER SANDHU New Delhi, 14 October In a swipe at Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, Deputy Chief of Army staff and former Director General of Military Operations, Lt General Rajiv Ghai, on Tuesday accused him of having orchestrated the Pahalgam terror 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 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 report: Page 6 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 16 20 passengers killed as moving bus catches fire in Jaisalmer STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE Jaipur, 14 October At least 20 people were killed and several others sustained grievous injuries after a moving bus caught fire in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district on Tuesday. The sleeper coach, carrying 57 passengers from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur, was passing near the Army Station area when it suddenly caught fire. The flames quickly engulfed the entire vehicle, turning it into a moving inferno. According to official reports, rescuers have so far recovered 19 bodies from the charred remains of the bus, while the death toll is feared to rise further. The burnt bodies ~ most of them unrecognisable~ have been kept at the Army Station. Officials said the remains will be handed over to the families after DNA testing and matching with samples provided by claimants. The final toll will be confirmed after this process, an official added. A three-member team of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts has been sent from Jaipur, while another team has arrived from Jodhpur to assist with identification and investigation. The injured passengers were rushed to nearby hospitals, with at least 16 critically injured persons referred to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Jodhpur. Authorities created a Green Corridor between Jaisalmer and Jodhpur to ensure the speedy transfer of the injured. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Officials suspect a short circuit could have triggered the blaze, though some reports suggest that firecrackers might have been part of the bus’s cargo. Police, fire brigade personnel, and other emergency agencies rushed to the site for rescue and relief operations. District Collector Pratap Singh supervised the rescue efforts, assisted by Army personnel. Jodhpur Divisional Commissioner Pratibha Singh also left for Jaisalmer to oversee the situation. Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade and Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma expressed deep shock over the tragedy. The Chief Minister directed officials to provide all possible assistance to the injured and later left for Jaisalmer.