The Editorial Page: IDBI disinvestment opens the door wider to winds of reform 12 TUESdAY, OCTOBER 20, 2026 JourNalISm of CouragE AhMeDAbAD, lATe CITy, 20 PAgeS ₹5.00 l www.indianexpress.com DA I ly F r o M : A h M e DA b A D , C h A N D I gA r h , D e l h I , J A I P u r , Ko l K ATA , l u C K N o w , M u M b A I , N Ag P u r , PAT N A , P u N e , vA D o DA r A U.S. SeCreTary of STaTe’S viSiT ComeS amid TenSion in TieS over viSa reSTriCTionS, Tariff THreaTS Eve of visit, Rubio links pause on Russia sanctions to India-US deal ‘Trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now... we are very close’ Energy, trade, tech on table at meeting with Jaishankar today ravi dutta mishra Mumbai, October 19 DAYS AfTer the uS signed a diesel purchase deal with russia and announced a pause on the Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning russia and Iran Act of 2026,unitedStatesSecretaryof State marco rubio on monday said the decision to waive russia oil sanctions also took into account the India-uS trade deal, which is close to conclusion. rubio’s comments come uS SeCreTArY of State marco rubio’s visit to India comes amid the tension in relations betweenthetwocountriesover visa restrictions and tariff threats. his meeting with external AffairsministerSJaishankarin mumbaionTuesdayafternoon is being seen as an attempt to repair ties. Indian officials said the two sides are expected to discuss “energy, trade and investment, defence, critical and Shubhajit roy New Delhi, October 19 Us secretary of state marco rubio at registan square in samarkand, Uzbekistan on monday. AP ahead of his scheduled visit to mumbai on Tuesday, where he will be holding talks with externalAffairsministerSJaishankar. “wehavehadtowaivesanctions over the past few months, looking at the global supplies, lookingatglobalprices,andthe impact it was having on other countries. I know diesel prices are high in the united States, »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 2 months after he walked out of TMC, Gujarat clears allotment of disputed plot to Yusuf Pathan In 2024, Yusuf was told to remove ‘encroachment’ from 978-sq-m plot. Now, Govt resolution says 500 sq m to be allotted as gift, 478 sq m to be transferred at concessional rate happening today lUnion Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Punjab. lTHe indian women’s team will take on Zimbabwe in the final T20 International match. lTHe india-new Zealand Free Trade Agreement comes into effect. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com aditi raja emerging technologies”. with prime minister Narendra modi expected to travel to the uS for the G20 leaders summit in December, the meeting will also lay the groundwork for his visit. Thechoiceofvenueisbeing seen as an outreach to India’s businesselite,whichisbasedin mumbai. returning to India after less than five months, rubiowillnotbegoingtoDelhi. he will, instead, head to Jamnagar on wednesday. Accordingtotheministryof »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 Business as usual By EP UNNY Hired Cab To SUraT, THen boarded Train, Say PoLiCe Tiger Shroff shooting: 3 held from train in Kota Two accused daily wage workers, 3rd was Rapido bike rider; planned to flee to Nepal: Police mohamed Thaver & Hamza Khan Mumbai, Jaipur, October 19 The Three men accused of firingfiveroundstargetingBollywood actor Tiger Shroff in mumbai’s Juhu on Sunday evening were arrested aboard the pune-Jaipur Superfast express in rajasthan’s Kota on mondaymorning,afteratip-off from mumbai police triggered a coordinated operation. The accused had fled mumbai after theshootingandwereallegedly planning to travel to Delhi and then Nepal, police said. mumbai police identified theaccusedasphoolSingh(18), hrithik mahto (22) and rehan rahisuddin (18). mahto was allegedly riding the motorcycle used in the attack while the other two opened fire at Shroff’s car. rehan and Singh aredaily-wagelabourers,while mahto worked as a rapido bike rider based in Andheri over the past year, officers said. »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 Why Mumbai Police can’t get Bishnoi brothers’ custody Page 16 Vadodara, October 19 TwO mONThS after Yusuf pathan broke away from mamata Banerjee’sTrinamoolCongress (TmC),theGujaratgovernment has decided to allot to the former cricketer a disputed 978-square-metre Vadodara municipal Corporation (VmC) plot over which he was served an encroachment notice two years ago. The VmC, which is controlled by the BJp, served the notice on pathan in June 2024, daysafterhewontheBaharampurLokSabhaseatinwestBen- gujarat Page 3 RoW oveR ‘non-Hindus Must leave’ ReMaRk: activists seek Police action the world P 17 afteR Riots, fRencH PM calls foR PaRtial cuRfeW HoutHis stRike MilitaRy caMP in yeMen, at least 50 killed The plot is adjacent to the bungalow in which former cricketers Yusuf and Irfan pathan live with their families. bhuPeNDrA rANA gal on a TmC ticket. In June 2026, a little over a month after the BJp came to power in Bengal, pathan was among the 20 TmCmpswhobrokeawayfrom the party and merged with the little-known Nationalist »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 SC stays execution of death sentence of convict in 2008 Ahmedabad serial blasts Press Trust of india New Delhi, October 19 The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence handed down to an Indian mujahideen operative for his role in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts that left 56 people dead. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath,SandeepmehtaandAparesh Kumar Singh agreed to hear a plea filed by convict mohammad Tanvir, who has challengedtheGujarathighCourt's July 7 verdict. On July 7, the high Court The serial blasts in ahmedabad in 2008 killed 56 persons. FIle upheld the death sentences of 38 operatives of terror outfit Indian mujahideen in the serialbomb-blasts case. »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 Manipur again: Three men killed, attack triggers protests, revives fears Jimmy Leivon Imphal, October 19 Three meITeI men were killed and three others injured in an attack by suspected Kuki militantsnearNongshumhills in Imphal east district on monday, raising fears of renewed violence between the two communities after a brief period of relative calm between them. The incident occurred around 9 am at Khongban Sunurok,underthejurisdictionof Sagolmang police station. The site of the attack lies along the boundarybetweenImphaleast and Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. Women vendors protest at a market in Imphal on monday. ANI The deceased have been identified as Arubam ronil, 35, of Nongshum mayai Leikai; Lairenlakpam Inaobi, 44, of Nongshum Awang Leikai; and »ConTinUed on PaGe 2 Ahmedabad Two of the three accused arrested on monday. ANI CCTV shows shooters came for actor last week, but he skipped football manish Kumar Pathak Mumbai, October 19 The Three men who opened fire at Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff outside a Juhu football ground Sunday were also at the spot a week earlier, on October 11, hanging around for some time, CCTV footage and call data records show. police suspecttheyhadcometocarryout theattackontheactorthen,but leftbecausehedidn’tturnupto play that day, an officer told The Indian Express. “Shroff loves playing football and comes to pushpa Narsee Ground between 5 pm and 7 pm every Sunday. he hardly misses any Sunday,” a friend, INSIDE THe ediToriaL PaGe ShooTINg IN Juhu IS A wArNINg For MuMbAI page 12 A CAll To CAbbIe: how PolICe TrACKeD ATTACKerS who Are The 3 ACCuSeD FroM hAryANA, bIhAr how u.S.-bASeD ANIl PANDIT beCAMe lAwreNCe bIShNoI gANg’S Key hANDler page 8 who was with him this Sunday too and who did not wish to be identified, said. »ConTinUed on PaGe 2