The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a Dasara tadepalligudem l tuesday l october 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Pragyan Ojha, who was interim chair after the departure of Agarkar, will now be permanent chair, based on seniority | EXPRESS Our offices and press will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Wednesday 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 Probe into Bishnoi gang Heli-mounted laser pods to zap drones link in Tiger firing widens press special 3, including a minor, arrested from Kota railway station in joint ops S u d h i r S u r ya w a n s h i , R a j e s h asnani and harpreet bajwa Timeline Oct 18, 2026 @ Mumbai/Jaipur/Chandigarh Three suspects, including a minor, were arrested at Rajasthan’s Kota railway station on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after shots were fired at actor Tiger Shroff ’s car in Mumbai’s Juhu area on Sunday. The suspects were travelling on the Pune–Jaipur Express. A railway police officer said the suspects were handed over to Rajasthan Police. A Mumbai Police team took custody of the suspects. Two of the accused are from Haryana and one from Bihar. They are reportedly associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. Police intercepted them when the train arrived at Kota station at 10:17 am. The suspects were identified as Hritik Kumar (alias Roshan Fighter), 22, from Begusarai, who lived in Andheri West, and worked as a bike-taxi driver; Rehan (alias Sukka), 18, from Sonipat, Haryana; and a 17-year-old, also from Sonipat. Mumbai Police, however, said all three were adults. The Kota police and Rajasthan’s Anti-Gangster Task Force, acting on tipoff from Mumbai Police, carried out the operation. Kota SP Tejaswini Gautam said the suspects fired five rounds at the actor’s BMW before abandoning their getaway motorcycle near Andheri West railway station. They then travelled to Surat, boarded the Pune-Jaipur Express and planned to take the Jaipur-Delhi route to cross into Nepal. No firearms were recovered from the suspects. Mumbai Police said two firearms Between 3 pm and 5.30 pm Tiger Shroff plays football match with film, TV stars in Juhu were allegedly used in the attack and registered a case of attempted murder and offences under the Arms Act. Mumbai Police said three men arrived on a motorcycle at 7 pm on Sunday and , two allegedly opened fire at the actor’s car. Shroff escaped serious injury, while his driver and an autorickshaw driver sustained gunshot wounds. The shooting has drawn attention to a link with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang after a social media post and an audio clip purportedly associated with the gang circulated online, claiming responsibility for the attack. In Chandigarh, the incident has renewed scrutiny of shootings allegedly carried out in the gang’s name, including firing outside a money-exchange office in Panipat in March and a shooting outside a gym linked to singer Guru Randhawa in Delhi in June. Gangster Anil Pandit, an alleged member of the Bishnoi gang, has emerged as the common thread in these incidents. A man claiming to be Pandit warned Bollywood stars against working with Salman Khan, reportedly saying, “Sabka number aayega” (“Everyone’s turn will come”).  P8 Around 7 pm Fans gather around his BMW while he is getting in; 3 men arrive on a motorcycle and open fire, targeting windshield and side windows Tiger escapes unhurt, but driver, an auto driver injured Assailants flee the spot, catch a train Oct 19 Mumbai Police records statements of eyewitnesses and the injured driver 10:17 am: Three accused held at Kota station while they were attempting to flee on Pune-Jaipur Superfast Express 3 PM: Kota SP says one of the accused was in touch with Anil Pandit, an aide of Lawrence Bishnoi J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi The Defence Research and Deve l o p m e n t O r g a n i s a t i o n (DRDO) has begun work on a helicopter-mounted laser weapon to neutralise hostile drones, with development scheduled for completion by 2029-end, sources said. Two DRDO laboratories and a private industry partner are involved in the project. The Hyderabad-based Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS) is developing the laser directedenergy weapon (DEW), while the Dehradun-based Instruments Research and Develop- ment Establishment (IRDE) is developing the stabilised gimballed pod housing its sensors and directing the beam. Weighing up to 180 kg, the pod will carry a thermal imager, day camera and eye-safe laser rangefinder to detect and track drones up to 5 km away, before engaging them from up to 2 km. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s advanced light helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and its armed variant Rudra are being considered as platforms. “The detailed technical requirements have been shared with the industry partner and work has begun. The real challenge will be to keep the beam locked on a small, fast-moving drone even as the helicopter vibrates and manoeuvres,” a SRI RAJA RAJESWARI DEVI O n the last day of Dasara festivities at the Kanaka Durga Temple atop the Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada on Tuesday, the presiding deity will be adorned as Sri Raja Rajeswari Devi. In this attire, the deity will be seen sitting on the throne holding ‘Ikshu Khanda’ (sugarcane) in one hand and giving blessings to devotees with the other in ‘Abhaya Mudra’ (no fear). Sweet juice of sugarcane symbolises the juice of bliss (Atma Gnana - the self-realisation). She whips the wicked and arrogant people. The deity is known as Aparajitha Devi, one who cannot be defeated. Rajarajeswari Devi is the embodiment of wisdom. The Trimurthis - Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the lords of Ashta Digpalakas. They are called Rajeswar, and the Goddess who rules over them is called Raja Rajeswari. Manmanidweepa Sri Nagara Sthitha Chintamani Griha is Her residence. She lives there along with all Parivara Devata and makes Mahakameswara’s Anka as her Nilaya (home) | P3 DRDO drill Demonstrates 30-kW vehicle-mounted Mk-II(A) laser at Kurnool last April, bringing down fixed-wing, swarm drones More powerful 50-kW and 100-kW laser systems under development to build a multi-layered air defence shield The 300-kW Surya laser, designed to strike targets up to 20 km away, on the drawing board source said. A prototype is expected to be integrated with the CHESS laser within two years, followed by flight-safety trials and airworthiness certification by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification. The project’s urgency stems from the growing use of inex- pensive drones in modern conflicts. During Operation Sindoor, Pakistan launched waves of drones at Indian military installations and civilian areas. The West Asia war has highlighted the cost asymmetry of conventional air defence, with drones costing $20,000-$50,000 forcing the US and Israel to expend interceptor missiles worth $1 million-$5 million. DRDO estimates that firing its laser for a few seconds costs roughly as much as a couple of litres of petrol. “No military can sustain a war in which a missile worth crores is expended on a drone worth a few lakh. A heli-borne laser also brings mobility since it can be rushed to forward areas,” the source said. Express read SEC notifies polls to ZPTC, MPTC seats Visakhapatnam: The State Election Commission (SEC) has notified elections to 659 ZPTC and 9,829 MPTC seats across Andhra Pradesh, with 2.81 crore voters eligible. Mydukuru elections were halted over nomination violence P4 Today’s Issue includes a 20-page booklet Mighty Maa Durga VIJAYAWADA OCTOBER 2026 Elevated oil prices bring down Sensex and Nifty New Delhi: Indian equities came under selling pressure, as elevated crude oil prices and profit-booking in private banking stocks following Q3 results impacted investors’ decisions. Nifty50 declined 1.11% to close at 22,888, while BSE Sensex fell to 73,852 mighty Maa Durga VIJAYAWADA, OCT-2026 1