DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PUNE, VADODARA ● POSTAL REGN. NO. JAIPUR CITY/001/2024-26 JOURNALISM OF COURAGE FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2025, JAIPUR, LATE CITY, 16 PAGES `6.00 WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 CBC 17101/13/0015/2526 Ideas Unlocked India has world’s third largest startup ecosystem, 1.6+ lakh startups across India ARREST REPRESENTATIVES OF RCB, KSCA, EVENT MANAGEMENT FIRM: SIDDARAMAIAH CMsuspendstopcop,ordersjudicialprobe; policebookRCB,statecricketassociation Countdown to tragedy: State, RCB insisted on own events, security was stretched thin Day after 11 died in stampede, HC takes suo motu cognizance, seeks report by June 10 AKRAM M, KIRAN PARASHAR & ARNAV CHANDRASEKHAR DEADLY WEDNESDAY: HOW IT UNFOLDED BENGALURU, JUNE 5 KARNATAKA CHIEF Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday ordered the suspension of Bengaluru City Police Commissioner B Dayananda and several other senior officers in connection with Wednesday’s stampede near the Chinnaswamy stadium that left 11 people dead. A day after the stampede, which occurred when lakhs of people gathered to celebrate Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning the IPL, police booked RCB, event management company DNA and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) administration. CM Siddaramaiahlateraskedpolicetoarrest representativesof RCB,DNA,and KSCA. Earlier on Thursday, the Karnataka High Court took suo motu cognizance of the stampede and directed the state government to provide a status report by June 10. 3 AM: Policemen were up until early hours after RCB’s IPL win 7 AM: RCB’s Insta post announces Victory Parade for team 10.30 AM: Plan to felicitate RCB at Vidhana Soudha announced The grieving grandmother of 14-year-old Divyanshi BS, who was among those killed in Wednesday’s stampede, in Bengaluru on Thursday. AP BUSINESS AS USUAL EXPRESS NETWORK BY UNNY ‘Will give `50 lakh. Can they bring my son back?’ Schoolgirl to engineering student, the 11 who died PAGE 11 CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 From OTT to air & train travel portals: Govt eyes new data sources to calculate inflation NEW DELHI, JUNE 5 THEINDIANstatisticsministryis looking to use a host of alternative data sources such as overthe-top (OTT) platforms and online portals for air and rail travel as part of the new Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based retail inflation series and other official statistics,SecretarySaurabhGarg told The Indian Express in an interview. At the same time, Niti Aayog Vice Chairperson Suman Bery wondered if the statistics ministry should even be working on suchalternativedatasets,asking if the workshouldinsteadbeleft to think-tanks. Garg told The Indian Express: E EXPLAINED AANCHAL MAGAZINE & SIDDHARTH UPASANI Tharoor-led group meets US V-P Vance, focus on cooperation in counter-terror Moveto getmore ● robustdata ALTERNATIVE DATA sources such as online platforms for air and rail travel, data from OTT platforms and fuel price numbers could add to the efficiency and comprehensiveness of price data collection. The possibility of collecting price data from e-commerce websites is also under consideration, according to the statistics ministry. “For the new CPI series, MoSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation) is expanding its approach by exploring alternative data sources, such as online platforms for airfare, rail fare, OTT platforms and administrative records for price data of petrol, diesel and LPG. Discussions are ongoing with IRCTC, under the Ministry of Railways, and the PPAC under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas for direct transfer of data for integration in CPI.” The MoSPI is also exploring the use of scanner data and web scrapingwithanaimtoenhance the accuracy, efficiency, and comprehensivenessof pricedata collection, Garg said. “The possibility of collecting price data from e-commerce websites is also being considered,” he said. Among other alternative datasets being tapped by the CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 2.05 PM: RCB team arrives JOHNSON T A BENGALURU, JUNE 5 AS THE Karnataka government ordered a probe into Wednesday’s stampede at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, where 11 fans of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru weretrampledtodeathbythousands of RCB fans trying to get intothestadiumtocelebratethe team’s first IPL win in 18 years, thefirstdetailsonwhatprobably led to the tragedy pointed to the RCB’srefusaltostalltheeventun- Made-in-India Rafale fuselage from 2027-28: Tata, Dassault ink pact for Hyderabad facility SUKALP SHARMA NEW DELHI, JUNE 5 IN A boost to defence and aerospace manufacturing in India, the country is set to become the firstnationoutsideFrancewhere the fuselage of the Rafale fighter aircraft will be manufactured. Underapartnershipbetween Dassault Aviation and Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), the latterwillsetupa“cutting-edge” productionfacilityinHyderabad forthemanufactureof keystructural sections of the Rafale, including the lateral shells of the rear fuselage, the complete rear section,thecentralfuselage,and the front section. The first fuselage sections are Rafale fighter aircraft. File expectedtorollofftheHyderabad assemblylineinthefinancialyear 2027-28, with the facility expected to deliver up to two completefuselagespermonth.Thefacility will cater to India as well as otherglobalmarketsofthemultirole combat aircraft. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 at HAL airport from where they go to hotel US Vice President J D Vance with the multi-party delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor. @IndianEmbassyUS 3.30 PM-4.30 PM: Thousands surge toward stadium, stampede occurs 4.30 PM: Team reaches Vidhana Soudha for felicitation 5.30 PM: Team leaves in bus for stadium til Sunday and the state government’s insistence on sharing the spotlight the same day. Multiplesourcesinthepolice and state government, a police FIR on the stampede case, submissions made by the state before the Karnataka High Court which took up the case suo motu, allrevealedthat resources toprotectthelifeandlimbof RCB CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 PEOPLE’S LIVES MORE IMPORTANT: GAMBHIR PAGE 15 EXPRESS NETWORK SHUBHAJIT ROY NEW DELHI, JUNE 5 SEEKING TO rally support for India against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism, the multi-party political delegation led by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor met US Vice President J D Vance in Washington DC on Thursday and discussed “cooperation in counter-terrorism domain”. Vance was in India when the Pahalgam terror attack took place on April 22; he and his family had met Prime Minister Narendra Modiin NewDelhi the previous day. He had later called upModitoexpresscondolences, afterUSPresidentDonaldTrump had called up the PM. On May 9, Vance had called up Modi to share intelligence that Pakistan was preparing for a massive attack. So, he has been at the centre of the Trump ad- INSIDE UNEASE IN INDIA AS PAK PICKED FOR KEY UNSC ANTI-TERROR PANELS PAGE 6 ministration’s engagement with India, in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor launched on May 7, that led to four days of military confrontation between India and Pakistan. “ExcellentmeetingwithVice President @JDVance today in Washington DC with our delegation... We had comprehensive discussions covering a wide array of critical issues, from counter-terrorism efforts to enhancing technological cooperation. A truly constructive & productive exchange for CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 After Trump-Xi phone call, US & China agree to revive trade talks ANA SWANSON & DAVID PIERSON PRAN PRATISHTHA OF RAM DARBAR PERFORMED AT AYODHYA TEMPLE RAMSAR TAG FOR KHICHAN IN PHALODI, MENAR IN UDAIPUR PAGES 5, 7 EXPLAINED WATER RESOURCES HYDROLOGYOF THEBRAHMAPUTRA PAGE 10 WASHINGTON, HONG KONG, JUNE 5 CHINAANDtheUnitedStateson Thursday agreed to hold more trade talks in hopes of breaking animpasseovertariffsandglobal suppliesof rareearthminerals,a movethatcameaftertheleaders of the two countries had a “very positive” phone conversation. President Trump said in a post on Truth Social that his call with Xi Jinping, China’s top leader, had lasted for around an hour-and-a-half and had focused entirely on the trade relationship between the two nations, which has been souring in recent months amid a growing disputeovertheexportof critical minerals used in a wide array of industries. Call with Xi lasted for about an hour-and-a-half: Trump “I just concluded a very good phone call with President Xi, of China,discussingsomeof theintricacies of our recently made, and agreed to, trade deal,” Trump said. The call, he added, “resulted in a very positive conclusion for both countries.” Trump also implied that the two leaders had resolved issues surrounding the exports of rare earthmineralsthatChinahadrecently halted to the US, though CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 In Ghaziabad, an interfaith love story and a 3-yr-old marriage, interrupted PAGE 1 ANCHOR NEETIKA JHA GHAZIABAD, JUNE 5 THEYWEREneighbours,wentto the same school, and fell in love six years ago. On August 29, 2022, the couple went to the office of the District Magistrate in East Delhi and married under the Special Marriage Act. Yet, on May 24, Akbar Khan, 29, and Sonika Chauhan, 25, by then married for three years, were reduced to their only identity — their faith. On May 25, Sonika’s father, LaxmanSinghChauhan,wentto theIndirapurampolicestationin Ghaziabad district of UP and accused Akbar of kidnapping his daughterandwrongfullyconfiningher.Adaylater,theGhaziabad Police first arrested Akbar's two sisters, a sister-in-law, a neighbourandthen,him.WhileAkbar andhistwosistersarenowinjudicialcustody,theotherswerereleased a week later. The couple’s friends and Akbar's family members say the “two were together all the time” so the relationship didn't come as a surprise. “It was a colony romance. Sonika and Akbar grew up at Nyay Khand in Indirapuram and went to the same school in Khoda (Ghaziabad). Later, when Akbar joined Shyam Lal College in Shahdara, Sonika shifted to Vigyan Vihar School in Indirapuram,” says Ashish Bisht, 23, a common friend of the couple. After college, Akbar, along with his brother Mohammad Arif, ran a couple of Jan Sewa Kendras (community centres that provide essential public services such as Aadhaar, PAN Akbar Khan’s shops in Indirapuram were vandalised on May 26, a day after his arrest. Gajendra Yadav etc) in Indirapuram, and Sonika, after working at an established salon chain in Delhi, set up her ownbeautyparlournext doorto Akbar’s shops. In 2022, the two got married under the Special Marriage Act. Akbar’s family shared photographs, which they claimed were taken after the wedding, in whichSonika’s brother,23-yearoldSahil,isseenwiththecouple. Sonika’s father, however, says he has no idea of their relationship or that they were married. “I only knew of Akbar as Sonika’s acquaintance. I got to know of the marriage only on Jaipur May 24,” he says. While Sonika’s father didn’t reveal the circumstances which led to him “finding out” about her relationship or marriage to Akbar, Praveen Nagar, an “active member” of the Bajrang Dal and RSS in Indirapuram, says, “On May 23, we got to know of this interfaithcoupleandwenttothe police around 8.30 pm. I was among those at the police station.” The FIR was registered the following day. Akbar’s family says they always knew the two were a couple. “Wewerenotevensurprised when they told us they wanted to get married,” says Akbar’s brotherArif,31,theeldestof four siblings. Akbar’s family originally belonged to Bihar’s Purnia district and had shifted to UP’s Ghaziabad almost 40 years ago, whileSonika’sfamilyhailedfrom Uttarakhand’s Pauri Garhwal. “It was sometime in 2013 or 2014 that we got to know about their relationship. They have been together since childhood – first in the same colony, then the same school. We never objected… Sonika was like our CONTINUED ON PAGE 2