The Editorial Page: IDBI disinvestment opens the door wider to winds of reform 10 TUESdaY, OCTOBER 20, 2026 JourNalISm of CouragE NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 20 PAgES ₹7.00 (₹8 rAIPur, ₹15 SrINAgAr) 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 Tiger Shroff shooting: 3 held from train in Kota Energy, trade, tech on table at meeting with Jaishankar today ravi dutta mishra Two accused daily wage workers, 3rd was Rapido bike rider; planned to flee to Nepal: Police Shubhajit roy ‘Trying to finalise a trade deal with India right now... we are very close’ mohamed Thaver & Hamza Khan Mumbai, October 19 New Delhi, 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 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 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 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 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- The ciTY Hired Cab To SUraT, THen boarded Train, Say poliCe 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 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 13 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, 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 CJP leaders’ JudiCial Custody extended By tWo days Manipur again: Three killed, attack triggers protests, revives fears The world Jimmy leivon Page 4 P 14 after riots, frenCH PM Calls for Partial CurfeW HoutHis strike Military CaMP in yeMen, at least 50 killed Imphal, October 19 Three MeiTei men were killed and three others injured in an attack by suspected Kuki militantsnearNongshum hills in imphal east district on Monday, raisingfearsofrenewedviolence 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 Women vendors protest at a market in imphal, monday. ANI and Kuki-dominated Kangpokpi district. The deceased have been identified as Arubam ronil, 35, »ConTinUed on page 2 lrs 104-cr piloT projecT, 40 siTes idenTified; aims To cuT pm levels by 20% Delhi turns to pvt firms to test pollution-control solutions Sophiya mathew New Delhi, October 19 The DeLhi government is turning to private firms and startups to tackle the city’s air pollution.for the first time,it is inviting paGe 1 them to test new technologiesat40sitesunderars104crore pilot project that aims to cut PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels by 20% at each location. The sites, spanning 1 to 1.5 acres each, will serve as testing grounds for pollution-control anchor l 40‘TesTinGGrounds’ caTeGorY Commercial72.5%(29) Hospitals 10% (4) Transport hubs 7.5% (3) Touristsites7.5%(3) Education hubs 2.5% (1) solutions. The firms will also have to maintain the reduction in these locations, said officials in the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). Zones Central&South47.5%(19) Westand South-West22.5%(9) North&North-West 17.5%(7) East(Trans-Yamuna) 12.5%(5) “open or semi-enclosed public spaces in Delhi” have been shortlisted, including at KhanMarket,ConnaughtPlace »ConTinUed on page 2 New Delhi INSIDE THe ediTorial page SHooTINg IN JuHu IS A WArNINg For MuMbAI page 10 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