The New Indian Express Wishes its readers a Happy Ayudha Pooja Our offices and press will remain closed today and there will be no issue of the paper on Wednesday kozhikode l tuesday l October 20, 2026 l `10.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Powar appointed to selection committee, joins Ojha and Co The BCCI on Monday named Ramesh Powar in the men’s senior selection committee after an interview by the board’s cricket advisory panel Mumbaikar will replace Agarkar Ojha new chair of selection panel Powar will fill the vacancy of Ajit Agarkar, who was chairman till earlier this month. Powar had played for India in Tests, ODIs and has held various coaching roles. When he was Indian women’s team coach, they had won the Asia Cup and a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. The panel comprises Pragyan Ojha, Shiv Sundar Das, RP Singh, Ajay Ratra and Powar. ■ ■ Pragyan Ojha, who was interim chair after the departure of Agarkar, will now be permanent chair, based on seniority. With the squad for the New Zealand tour already picked, Ojha & Co.’s first major test will come when they pick the squad for the five-Test series against Australia next year. 33 No. of India matches Powar played in (2 Tests and 31 ODIs) 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 sors and directing the beam. Weighing up to 180 kg, the The Defence Research and De- pod will carry a thermal imagve l o p m e n t O r g a n i s a t i o n er, day camera and eye-safe la(DRDO) has begun work on a ser rangefinder to detect and helicopter-mounted laser weap- track drones up to 5 km away, on to neutralise hostile drones, before engaging them from up with development scheduled to 2 km. Hindustan Aeronaufor completion by 2029-end, tics Limited’s advanced light sources said. Two DRDO labo- helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and its ratories and a pria r m e d va r i a n t vate industry Rudra are being press partner are inspecial considered as platvo l ve d i n t h e for ms. “The deproject. The Hytailed technical derabad-based Centre for High requirements have been shared Energy Systems and Sciences with the industry partner and (CHESS) is developing the laser work has begun. The real chaldirected-energy weapon (DEW), lenge will be to keep the beam while the Dehradun-based In- locked on a small, fast-moving struments Research and Devel- drone even as the helicopter viopment Establishment (IRDE) brates and manoeuvres,” a is developing the stabilised source said. A prototype is exgimballed pod housing its sen- pected to be integrated with the J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi 3, including a minor, arrested from Kota railway station in joint ops S u d hi r S u r ya w a n s hi , R a j e s h a s n a n i a n d h a r p r ee t b a j w a Timeline Oct 18, 2026 Between 3 pm and 5.30 pm Tiger Shroff plays football match with film, TV stars in Juhu @ 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 biketaxi driver; Rehan (alias Sukka), 18, from Sonipat, Haryana; and a 17-yearold, 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 PuneJaipur 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 were allegedly used in the attack and Three Meiteis were killed and three others injured in an attack by “armed miscreants” in Manipur on Monday morning, prompting protesters to leave the bodies of two victims at the gate of Chief Minister Yumnam Khemchand Singh’s official bungalow in Imphal’s Babupara area. Police fired teargas shells to disperse the crowd and shifted the bodies to a hospital. It was not immediately known whether Singh was at his residence at the time. One of the injured said that a group of 16 had gone to the hills, near the border of Meiteimajority Imphal East and Kuki-majority Kangpokpi districts, to collect firewood and were loading it onto a vehicle when they came under attack. The deceased are Arubam Ronil (35), Lairenlakpam Inaobi (44) and Kshetrimayum Sushil (32). Two of them died on the spot. The CM later visited the injured at a hospital, met their family members and assured them that the gover nment would bear all medical expenses. He then chaired a security meeting attended by Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam, senior police and administrative officials, and representatives of the Ar my and paramilitary forces. Condemning the killings, Singh directed officials to strengthen security measures in vulnerable areas. The last major attack targeting Meiteis took place on April 7 this year, when two children were killed in a bomb attack in Bishnupur district. 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 More powerful 50-kW and 100-kW laser systems under development to build a multilayered air defence shield The 300-kW Surya laser, designed to strike targets up to 20 km away, on the drawing board 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 Selling in pvt banks and elevated oil prices bring down Sensex and Nifty E NS E co n omic B u r e a u @ New Delhi Indian equities came under selling pressure on Monday as , elevated crude oil prices and profit-booking in private banking stocks following quarterly results impacted investors’ decisions. Nifty50 declined 1.11% to close at 22,888, while BSE Sensex fell 1.17% to 73,852. The broader market also witnessed pressure, with Nifty Midcap 100 declining 1.09% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 falling 1.01%. Ajit Mishra of Religare Broking said that global and domes- tic macroeconomic concerns weighed on sentiment. “Brent cr ude remained elevated around $107-108 per barrel amid geopolitical tensions and supply-side uncertainties, raising concerns over imported inflation. Investors also remained watchful of foreign fund flows and global market trends,” he said. Shares of Axis Bank fell more than 4% on Monday after its net profit narrowly missed analyst estimates. The lender reported a net profit of `7,003 crore in the July-September period, marking an increase of 38% from `5,090 crore in the same period last year. Shares of HDFC Bank also plunged over 2% on Monday following its Q2 results. Other top laggards in the Nifty50 pack were Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle, Infosys and Bajaj Finance. Monday’s selling came after the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty gained about 3% each last week. Vinod Nair of Geojit Investments put it on global signaling. way home from work. “Many daily commuters travA train station is not what el to work on trains. They could comes to mind when one thinks find it convenient to pick up about shopping for groceries. groceries from the stations on Yet, it may become a new nor- their way home. Depending on mal for Keralam. how successful the outlets Passengers may soon be able are, the initiative will be exto pick up everyday essentials tended to other stations,” said a such as rice, senior official pulses, sugar with the Southand other groern Railway’s ceries from commercial r a i lw ay s t a division. tions. For startThe outlets ers, the Southwill stock eveern Railway is ryday grocery planning to essentials. open grocery Southern Railstores at Erway had intronakulam Town Proposed design of grocery stalls duced similar and Aluva stastores in the tions in about a month. Chennai division, which is part The Thiruvananthapuram of the same zone, last year. division has invited tenders for “Many passengers can disetting up the outlets, spanning rectly purchase essentials 60 sq ft, on the platforms. The when they get down at a stastores are expected to be opera- tion. It is a good initiative that tional within a month, said can make railway stations more railway officials. passenger-centric by introducThe initiative aims at mak- ing facilities such as grocery ing railway stations more pas- stores and perfume outlets,” senger-friendly Daily commut- said Varghese S Edayady state . , ers in particular could benefit president, Thirukochi Rail Pasby picking up groceries on their sengers Association. ● More on P4 T I N I S H A RA C H E L SA M U E L @Kollam Piecing it back together A city hall employee removes a graffiti from the Bartholdi Fountain at Place des Terreaux in Lyon, France, on Monday, two days after riots and looting occurred on the sidelines of nationwide cost-of-living demonstrations | AFP e x p r e ss r e a d SC spl bench to hear Pinarayi’s plea New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s vacation bench will hear on Wednesday former CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s plea challenging the Kerala HC order directing registration of an FIR against him and his family in the CMRL-Exalogic case. P4 KAAPA against illegal spa operators Kochi: With allegations of flesh trade and extortion bringing spas under increased scrutiny, the police are planning to invoke the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA) against repeat offenders operating such establishments. P5 from the growing use of inexpensive 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. CJP reacts Das, Ranka to stay in jail till Wednesday UDAYAN K I S H O R E @New Delhi Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka will have to stay in jail after a Delhi court on Monday extended their judicial custody by two more days for alleged violation of peace. Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) at Mandir Marg Police Station extended the custody of Das and Ranka, after they were produced in court following the expiry of their five-day police custody They will now be pro. duced on Wednesday . After the verdict, CJP’s legal affairs’ head Ratna Singh said the magistrate had rejected their sureties on “vague grounds”, while terming the proceedings at SEM court as “circus” as she called for an enquiry into its affairs “crushing people’s liberty”. The CJP alleged that the bail proceedings were deliberately delayed to prevent the release of its two co-convenors. “Police did not provide any argument to show that there would be any more protest, or Das and Ranka may breach the peace. Entire time they made provocative statements,” Singh said. She claimed the SEM was on phone “entire time” the proceedings were going on and while he was writing the order. She said SEM courts “should be abolished because they’re compromised”. “There is no apprehension, no threat, and they were still sent to two days’ judicial custody. They (police) have nothing to do with someone’s liberty, or past conduct. They just have to give excuses. This entire system is there to crush us. I don’t think it will. Youth are watching. They’re watching how they (police) are misusing the power, misusing the law. But they’re not realising all these are making them (Das, Ranka) stronger,” she said. NSO survey Ekm leads nation in proportion of youth engaged in work, studies R a j e s h R a v i @ Kochi With nine in 10 of its young people either working, studying or undergoing training, Ernakulam has the lowest youthnot-in-employment-educationor-training, or NEET, rate among India’s 100 most populous districts. The National Statistical Office (NSO), in its first districtlevel labour market estimates under the redesigned Periodic NEET rate of Keralam’s selected districts District Rate (%) Ernakulam 9.6 Thrissur 17.8 Kozhikode 19.3 T’Puram 21.3 Alappuzha 22.2 Kannur Palakkad Kasaragod Kollam Malappuram Keralam Labour Force Survey (PLFS), positions Ernakulam’s NEET rate for the 15-29 age group at 23.0 23.8 25.8 28.5 32.2 21.5 Source: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati Tiger escapes unhurt, but driver, an auto driver injured Demonstrates 30-kW vehiclemounted Mk-II(A) laser at Kurnool last April, bringing down fixed-wing, swarm drones Arriving shortly: Grocery stores at railway stations Claps & Gaps 3 killed, 3 others injured in Manipur armed attack 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 DRDO drill 9.6%. Keralam as a whole reported a NEET rate of 21.5%, with Malappuram returning the highest value in the state at 32.2%. Nationally Coimbatore ranks , next to Ernakulam at 14.5%, followed by Bengaluru Urban at 15%. Thrissur also figures among the top 10 districts with 17.8%, giving Keralam two entries in the list. Across the country 45.9% of , districts have NEET rates between 20% and 30%, while 23.7% have rates above 30%. Lekha Chakraborty of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy attributes Ernakulam’s performance to high educational retention and a diversified economy . “Keralam’s strong enrolment in professional, technical and paramedical courses around Kochi keeps many young people in education. The city’s port and logistics sector, IT industry , healthcare, tourism, retail and gig economy offer avenues for those entering the workforce,” she said. Lekha noted that education retention is the larger contributor, with better matching between education and employment preventing youth from slipping into NEET status. The findings appear to challenge Keralam’s longstanding problem of educated unemployment, but Lekha pointed out that the two indicators measure distinct dimen● More on P4 sions.