bengaluru l friday l november 06, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 44 l late city EDITION ? Gadi Eisenkot set to secure majority to form govt in Israel Former Israel Defense Forces chief Gadi Eisenkot is frontrunner as the next Israel PM, after Arab parties recommended him to President Herzog FOR TNIE EDITIONS FOR TMS EDITION with 67 seats, eisenkot past halfway mark joint list, ra’am hold the reins Eisenkot is expected to receive 67 recommendations against 46 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose prospects suffered a setback after longtime ally United Torah Judaism decided to stay neutral. Netanyahu bloc’s strength dropped from 53 to 46 seats against 48 of Eisenkot’s bloc in 120-member Knesset. Arab parties emerged kingmakers with 19 seats ■ ■ Earlier in the day, Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas, whose party has eight seats, recommended Eisenkot and reiterated his support for a two-state solution and US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan The Joint List, the other major Arab political grouping with 11 seats, also recommended Eisenkot, promising outside support | P14 61 Seats are required for a majority in the knesset to form govt CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Election commission ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ravi Shankar as Editor and Kiran Prakash M S as Executive Editor of The New Indian Express and its Sunday edition. Oversight of poll body’s IT chief restored We are pleased to announce the appointment of Ravi Shankar as Editor and Kiran Prakash M S as Executive Editor of The Morning Standard and its Sunday edition. Ravi Shankar has been associated with the organisation for over two decades and was, until recently, Consulting Editor – Sunday Magazine. He brings with him rich experience in journalism and editorial leadership. Kiran Prakash M S has been with the organisation for over a decade and was previously Resident Editor – Keralam. He brings extensive experience in journalism and editorial management. They take charge from today. MANOJ KUMAR SONTHALIA Chairman and Managing Director Ghee price up by `100/litre, butter `80/kg B o s k y Kh a n n a @ Bengaluru Nearly a week after the rate of milk and curd was hiked, the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) on Thursday released a rate card announcing a hike of Rs 100 per litre of ghee. According to KMF officials, a 1-litre ghee sachet, which earlier cost Rs 750, is being sold at Rs 850. The new rate sheet was finalised on November 4, but made public on November 5. D at a shared by KMF showed that the basic price of a litre of ghee is Rs 735.93. Addition of Goods & Services Tax (GST) of Rs 36.80 along with a margin of Rs 77.27 brings the new retail cost to the customer to Rs 850. A litre of ghee in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle and tin will now cost Rs 870 in retail (inclusive of bottle price), against the basic price of Rs 753.25 (PET bottle) and Rs 739.80 (tin), respectively . KMF officials said a kilogram of paneer (cottage cheese) will now cost Rs 485, up from the earlier Rs 408. The basic rate is Rs 411.02 and margin component is Rs 73.98. CONTINUED ON: P4 press Intake Brace for 18-month traffic curbs on Ballari Rd | P2 Woman survives croc attack during suicide bid | P5 WITH THIS ISSUE CITY’S BEST WEEKEND GUIDE 44 PAGES, INCLUDING 24 OF INDULGE (TABLOID) Ravi Shankar has been associated with the organisation for over two decades and was, until recently, Consulting Editor – Sunday Magazine. He brings with him rich experience in journalism and editorial leadership. S u m i t k u m a r S i n g h @ New Delhi Kiran Prakash M S has been with the organisation for over a decade and was previously Resident Editor – Keralam. He brings extensive experience in journalism and editorial management. They take charge from today. cristiano bids farewell Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal legend and one of the greatest footballers of all time, announced his MANOJ KUMAR SONTHALIA international retirement on Thursday. The 41-year-old’s international career spanned over 23 years in which Chairman and Managing Director he won one European Championship and two Nations League titles for Portugal. His World Cup dream remained unconquered despite six attempts | afp/ap | P19 24 hrs from detention, not formal arrest: SC Flags potential for abuse in custody without oversight other orders pearing in clause (2) of Article 22 i.e. ‘arrested’ and ‘detained’ are synonymous,” said the Four men in Tripura were bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan stopped on suspicion of carry- and Atul S Chandurkar, disaping drugs at 2.00 pm on Septem- proving of orders from three ber 29, 2025. The search and sei- high courts that sought to difzure process was completed at ferentiate the two. The verdict 5 pm that day Their arrest was came on the appeal filed by the . recorded at 11.15 am the next four men held in Tripura under day and they were produced be- the NDPS Act, challenging defore a magistrate that evening. nial of their bail plea by the What happened in the Tripura HC. Ordering 18 hours between their release, it noted, search, and seizure “18 hours in custody and formal arrest? without judicial overCustodial In June 2025, a temsight is a long period, ple guard in Tamil violence is an with misuse and abuse Nadu was picked up unfortunate of authority a clear in a theft case by poreality of our possibility.” lice. After 12 hours in “The endeavour of custody — without country and is this Court has always judicially formal arrest — he been to eliminate cusdied, allegedly from acknowledged todial violence which torture. It is these inunfortunately takes Supreme Court stances that the Suplace during the time preme Court evoked when a person is under in its ruling on Thursday hold- detention and not shown as for, ing that the 24-hour deadline to mally arrested...” the court produce an accused before a said, adding that there is no magistrate begins from deten- such thing as a ‘temporary distion and not formal arrest. ruption of liberty’. If detention “The prescription of 24 hour- continues beyond 24 hours betime period would commence fore the person is produced bethe moment a person is de- fore the magistrate, he should tained by the arresting author- be released, the SC said, adding ity suspecting him to have com- that the detaining authority mitted an offence, when his must ensure detention does not liberty is effectively curtailed. exceed a reasonable period, To that extent, the words ap- even within the 24-hour limit. Express News Service @ New Delhi Tirupati laddu plea stays in AP The Supreme Court’s bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Thursday refused to entertain a plea for transferring trial in Tirupati ‘laddus’ ghee adulteration case out of Andhra Pradesh. Relief for Punjab chief secretary A Supreme Court bench of justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan stayed contempt proceedings initiated by Punjab and Haryana HC against Punjab’s chief secretary in a dearness allowance case. Reservation on right to bail in NDPS A bench of justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar on Thursday said that whenever there is a violation of Article 21, Section 37 of NDPS Act would have to give way. K’taka clears `20K cr road infra package D e v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i @ Bengaluru The state cabinet on Thursday approved an infrastructure development package involving investments of nearly Rs 20,000 crore, with a major thrust on upgrading state highways, major district roads (MDRs) and connectivity between district and taluk headquarters. Briefing reporters after the Cabinet meeting, RDPR Minister Eshwar B Khandre said the government had taken several decisions aimed at strengthening infrastructure, improving connectivity and accelerating development across Karnataka. “The state’s financial and economic situation is robust, with revenue collections — includ- ing GST and other incomes — meeting expectations across departments, allowing the government to fulfil its commitments,” he claimed. “The Cabinet has given approval for an extensive road development programme involving nearly Rs 20,000 crore. Our objective is to improve road connectivity across the state, K’taka hikes DA from 15.75% to 18% The state government has increased Dearness Allowance (DA) for its employees from 15.75% to 18% of basic pay. This will come into effect from July 1, 2026. Retired employees drawing pensions under UGC, AICTE and ICAR pay scales will also be covered under the order | P4 Panel: Few police excess complaints particularly between district and taluk headquarters, and strengthen the existing road network,” Khandre said. Under Phase V, Stage II of the State Highway Development Project, 1,897km of roads will be developed. The Cabinet has approved Rs 6,000crore under AppendixE for roads, bridges and building works in different Assembly constituencies. An additional Rs 3,000 crore has been earmarked for road development. Another major decision is a new Rs 6,000-crore programme to develop nearly 3,986km of roads connecting district headquarters with one another, district headquarters with taluk headquarters, and taluk headquarters with one another.  P4 Drought relief aid increased to Rs 5,000 The government has increased drought relief from Rs 2,500 to Rs 5,000 per farmer, limited to a maximum of two hectares. CM DK Shivakumar said as the Centre is yet to release drought relief funds, the state is providing compensation from its own resources | P4 SU C H ITRA KALYAN MO H ANTY @ New Delhi THE Election Commission has issued a fresh work allocation order that requires its top IT official Seema Khanna to route files through a senior deputy election commissioner. The new order restores a layer of oversight an earlier order had removed. An order dated July 28 had relieved Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar of the charge of IT and ICT and let DirectorGeneral (IT) Seema Khanna report directly to the poll panel. The decision was put in abeyance after the two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, objected. The latest order, issued on Wednesday, requires Khanna to route files through Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma. According to the poll panel’s submission to the Supreme Court, the July 28 order was not implemented. The Commission said the internal distribution of work “has been continuing” under an earlier office order dated September 23, 2025. It said the July 28 order was issued by an IAS officer who was on deputation to the Commission. Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan on July 29, saying Senior Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg issued the orders without the poll body’s approval. THE High-Powered Enquiry Committee (HPEC) constituted by the Supreme Court to probe alleged police excesses during the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests at Jantar Mantar told the top court on Thursday that it has received hardly any complaints from those affected. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi permitted the HPEC to examine all materials, including video clips, submitted by petitioners before the court on behalf of the victims. The committee, headed by former Supreme Court Judge R Subhash Reddy, informed the court that despite activating a portal and providing a dedicated email address for filing complaints online and physically, it had received hardly any responses. The SC had set up the panel to examine whether police used disproportionate force, whether protesters violated conditions, and what led to the escalation. The panel was also asked to suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future. Appearing for the Committee, its counsel said public notices had been issued, but the response was minimal. The bench observed that affected persons may not know about the Committee or may be apprehensive about deposing against police.