The Editorial Page: Not inviting Leader of Opposition makes Government look small 10 MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2025 Journalism of Courage NEW DELHI, LATE CITY, 18 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 PM offERs CoNDoLENCEs; CM oRDERs PRobE oN THE boARD ARE foRMER CHIEfs of sEbI, IAf, NITI AAYoG AND U.s. AVIATIoN ADMINIsTRATIoN Question mark over role of IndiGo high-profile board, its risk committee in run-up to crisis Last two years’ annual reports make no mention of new pilot rules Four arrested; warrants out for owners: CM Aanchal Magazine & sukalp sharma New Delhi, December 7 THE CRISIS at IndiGo that has causedwidespreaddisturbance in passenger movement over the last five days has put a question mark on the effectiveness of the airline’s board,whichamongstothersincludes a former capital markets Pavneet singh Chadha Panaji, December 7 E. »CoNTINUED oN PAGE 2 Passengers search for their luggage at Terminal-1 of Delhi’s IGI Airport, Sunday. ABHINAV SAHA MORE REPORTS, PAGES 3, 13 happening House panel likely to call top IndiGo today officials; nobody will be spared: MoS lPM NARENDRA MoDI will ini- tiate a day-long discussion on Vande Mataram in Lok Sabha. ThE IDEAs PAGE ThANk yoU DhArAm, for ThE LIghT yoU cArrIED So LIghTLy PAgE 11 25 dead in Goa club fire; FIR flags lack of licences, exits Deeptiman Tiwary New Delhi, December 7 EVEN AS IndiGo’s operations showedsignsofstabilisingwith the airline saying it was operating 1,650 flights Sunday amidst 650cancellations,thecountry's largest carrier is set to face further scrutiny over the massive disruption across the past week with the Parliamentary CommitteeonTransport,Tourism and Culture likely to summon its top officials. Sources said the committee has not yet fixed a date but the issueis“firmlyonitsmind”and may be taken up in its next sitting.IndiGo,meanwhile,saidit is expecting to stabilise its network by December 10. The Parliamentary committee, chaired by JDU MP Sanjay KumarJha,isalsolikelytoquestion officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to know “what they have been doing” and representativesofotherprivateairlines “to find out how they got their act together but IndiGo failed”, the sources said. “Quite a few members are saying that this matter should be taken up by the committee. »CoNTINUED oN PAGE 2 Business as Usual By EP UNNY A MIDNIGHT fire at a club in Goa’s Arpora village, set off by fireworksthatturnedthebuilding into a death trap, claimed the lives of 25 people early Sunday morning, including four tourists from Delhi and 21 employees of the establishment. According to police, the control room received the first distresscallattheclub,Birchby Romeo Lane, at 12:02 am and the emergency response system was activated. The fire put the spotlight on an establishment that appeared to have turned a blind eye to the many corners that had been cut — from the club lackingrequisitelicencestored flags that had been ignored to a woeful absence of fire safety measures. Addressing a press conference on Sunday evening, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that a preliminary inquiry indicatedthefirewascausedby “internal electrical fireworks”. »CoNTINUED oN PAGE 2 Flames engulf the nightclub in North Goa’s Arpora village. PTI Most victims migrant workers, kin ask: Why did no one save them? Pavneet singh Chadha Panaji, December 7 “KAuN GOA nahi aana chaahta (who doesn’t want to come to Goa)?” asked Ashish Rawat, sitting outside the mortuary of Goa Medical College and Hospital on Sunday. His cousin, Jitendra Singh (24), came to the coastal state from their home in Uttarakhand’s Tehri Garhwal district six months ago and got a job as New Delhi INsIDE ThE NIghTcLUB fAcED rED fLAgS SINcE 2023 P 3, 7 a chef. Jitendra was among the kitchen staff who died in the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa’s Arpora village. »CoNTINUED oN PAGE 2