DAILY FROM: AHMEDABAD, CHANDIGARH, DELHI, JAIPUR, KOLKATA, LUCKNOW, MUMBAI, NAGPUR, PATNA, PUNE, VADODARA JOURNALISM OF COURAGE THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2025, NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 26 PAGES BIHAR REVISION OF ROLLS: HEARING IN SUPREME COURT TODAY EC doesn’t follow own practice, puts onus on voters, ignores existing rolls Records show in earlier revisions, EC put primacy on self-declaration; it was for ‘objector’ to prove non-citizenship Protagonist named after Sita, questioned by man of another faith: Censor to HC SHAJU PHILIP THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 9 AMONG THE objections the Censor Board had to the Malayalam film Janaki v/s State of Kerala was that the protagonist Janaki, who was fighting for justice in a rape case, was crossexaminedincourt byaperson of another faith, the Board’s affidavit filed in the court shows. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) had denied the film certification on the grounds that Janaki is also a name associated with Goddess Sita. This had prompted the producers of the Suresh Gopi-starrer to approach the High Court. The counter-affidavit, submitted by CBFC CEO (Mumbai) Rajendra Singh, states, “In the film, when the lead character, who is named after Goddess WHAT WILL NOT COUNTINBIHAR AN EXPRESS SERIES PART 7 der — it was upheld by the Supreme Court — that underlinedtheimportanceof self-declaration and made it clear that the“questionof citizenship”didn’t arise during the preparation of the draft roll. The poll watchdog has undertaken “intensive revision” of the electoral roll for all or some CONTINUEDONPAGE2 LEADER OF Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the MaharashtraAssemblyelections last year were “rigged” in the BJP’s favour and that the people of Bihar would not allow that to happen in the Assembly elections later in the year. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav share the stage with other Opposition leaders at the protest in Patna. Rahul Sharma Long hours, slow internet and few papers: BLOs scramble on ground SANTOSH SINGH PATNA, JULY 9 BIHAR'S 77,895-ODD Booth LevelOfficers(BLOs)arethefootsoldiers in the Election Commission's unprecedented Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls that has set off widespread confusion and apprehensionacrossthestate.They have a deadline of July 25 to upload voterenumeration formsin theirrespectivejurisdictions.But tonight, like most nights, the in- ternet is in no hurry. To get a sense of the formidable challenge of the task and to see how hapless residents are at its receiving end, The Indian Express followed a BLO through his day — and long night. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Canteen staff assaulted Vedanta shares plunge by Shinde Sena MLA, after US short-seller licence also suspended flags ‘unsustainable debt’ Selectivemisinformation,saysVedanta VALLABH OZARKAR MUMBAI, JULY 9 EVENAS a rulingShivSena MLA, SanjayGaikwad,cameunderfire after a purported video clip of him assaulting an employee at the MLAs' Hostel canteen in Mumbai surfaced on social media, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) suspended the canteen operator's licence on Wednesday. With the MLA alleging that he was served stale food, the JAY MAZOOMDAAR NEW DELHI, JULY 9 Video grab of MLA Gaikwad punching the canteen staffer State FDA collected samples from the canteen and sent them for testing earlier in the day. CONTINUEDONPAGE2 THE SHARES of Vedanta Ltd plunged by as much 8.7 per cent to Rs 421 intraday, and that of Hindustan Zinc by 5 per cent to Rs 415, after Viceroy Research, a short-sellerandUS-registeredfinancial research group, flagged the Vedanta Group for carrying “unsustainabledebt”. Theshares recoupednearlyhalf of thelosses by the time the market closed. The research group claimed thattheVedantaholdingcompanies — Vedanta Resources Limited (VRL) along with intermediate holding companies aboveVedantaLimited(VEDL)— resemble “a financial zombie” with “approximately $4.9 billion in gross interest-bearing liabilitiesasofFY25”but“nosignificant operations of its own,” being “propped up entirely by cash CONTINUEDONPAGE2 BUSINESS AS USUAL BY UNNY CONTINUEDONPAGE2 Yatris are hurrying to Amarnath: ‘Weather getting unpredictable... Shivling melting faster’ Pilgrims trek to the Amarnath shrine. Anand Mohan J EXPRESSAT AMARNATHYATRA ANAND MOHAN J AMARNATH TEMPLE (PAHALGAM), JULY 9 SANKET YADAV from Jaipur and hisgroupof 12maketheirwayto 12 killed as vehicles fall into river after bridge collapses in Vadodara PATNA, JULY 9 NEW DELHI, JULY 9 ‘JANAKI v/s STATE OF KERALA’ CASE ‘Maharashtra model won’t work in Bihar’: Rahul protests EC drive SECTION OF BRIDGE OVER MAHISAGAR RIVER GIVES WAY SANTOSH SINGH RITIKA CHOPRA THE ONGOING Special Intensive Revision (SIR)of electoralrollsin Bihar that comes up in the Supreme Court Thursday amid widespread apprehension across the state marks a sharp departure from previous such drives in two key aspects. One,forthefirsttime,theSIR, essentially a fresh preparation through door-to-door enumeration, places the burden of proof on already-enrolled voters (on the question of citizenship) at the draft roll stage. And, two, it disregards the “sanctity”of theexistingelectoral roll — something the Election Commission (EC) had consistently instructed its officers to uphold in all earlier revisions, an analysisof pastECrecordsbyThe Indian Express reveals. This despite a High Court or- `7.00 (`8 RAIPUR, `15 SRINAGAR) WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM SINCE 1932 the inner sanctum, towards the rapidly shrinking ice stalagmite shielded by a silver trident and encircled by steel railings. After their brief “darshan”, they exit quickly, retrieve their mobile phonesandbags,andpreparefor thedescent.Speakingtohisrelatives on the phone, Yadav warns thatthe ice insideis melting fast. “Aap dekh lijiye aana hai toh CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 TOP SKILLS. TOP ROLES. TOP PACKAGES. 55 LPA Highest Package 300+ Companies and many more!! 27th Km Milestone, Delhi-Meerut Expressway, P.O. Adhyatmik Nagar, Ghaziabad - 201015 At the bridge collapse site in Vadodara Wednesday. Bhupendra Rana Inquiry ordered by CM as rescue teams search river for missing ADITI RAJA VADODARA, JULY 9 AT LEAST 12 people, including three of a family, were killed and nine injured after multiple vehicles fell into the Mahisagar River and a tanker hung precariously on the edge, when a 43-year-old bridgeinGujarat’sVadodaradistrict collapsed around 7.30 am Wednesday. Around 8 pm, Vadodara Superintendent of Police Rohan Anandputthedeathtollat11.An hour later, rescue teams recovered one more body — of one of the three feared drowned, officials said. The personnel of CONTINUEDONPAGE2 RELATEDREPORT,PAGE13 ‘Vibrations, dangerous’: Alarm rang 3 years ago; 7th incident since 2021 ADITI RAJA & PARIMAL A DABHI VADODARA, AHMEDABAD, JULY 9 NEARLY THREE years ago, officials from the Vadodara division of Gujarat's Roads & Buildings (R&B) department were alerted in a letter about “unusual vibrations” being felt on the MujpurGambhira bridge and that it was in a “dangerous” condition. On Wednesday, the 43-year-old bridge collapsed, killing at least 12 people. “Despite our warnings, the R&B department did not act on the matter,” Harshadsinh Parmar, a Vadodara District panchayat member from Mujpur who had sent that letter to local officials on August 4, 2022, told The Indian Express. The paper trail, reviewed by TheIndianExpress,showsthatthe Additional Chitnis (Revenue Officer) to the District Collector directed Parmar's letter to the then Executive Engineer in the R&B department. When contacted, the current Executive Engineer Nainish Nayakawala said, “In our (inspection) report of thebridge,therewasnomajor damage indicated. It was not dilapidated. The bearing coat was damaged and the repair had CONTINUEDONPAGE2