FRIDAY ALL EYES ON BIHAR AS ASSEMBLY POLL VOTE COUNTING TODAY 14 Elaborate security arrangements have been made for Friday’s counting of votes polled across 46 centres in 38 districts of Bihar NOVEMBER, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard 4 3 - D AY US SHUTDOWN ENDS, FUNDING BILL INKED President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill on Wednesday, ending a 43-day shutdown that caused financial stress for federal workers PAGE 9 All counting centres under drone watch A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS  NEW DELHI  J8.00  Bihar had registered a historic voter turnout of 67.13 per cent in the elections to the 243-member assembly in two phases on November 6 and November 11. Some 7.45 crore voters were eligible to decide the electoral fate of 2,616 candidates. DGP Vinay Kumar said all counting centres will be guarded by Central Armed Police Forces and will be aided by drones | P8 PAGES 12 ‘Situation very, very serious,’ says SC on pollution SUC HITRA KALYAN MOH ANT Y @ New Delhi EXPRESSING grave concern over the deteriorating air quality in the national capital, the Supreme Court on Thursday observed that even wearing masks may no longer provide adequate protection against Delhi’s toxic smog. The situation is “very very serious”, the , court remarked. The observation came during a hearing unrelated to the pollution matter, when a twojudge bench headed by Justice P S Narasimha noted the se- vere pollution levels and urged lawyers to attend proceedings virtually . During the hearing, the bench questioned the lawyers present why they were in the FORENSIC AUDIT OF RECORDS OF UNIV ORDERED, ED TO TRACE MONEY TRAIL courtroom when there is a facility for virtual hearings. “Please avail it. This will cause permanent damage,” the bench said. Responding to the bench, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who was present in court, said: “My Lords, we were using masks even inside the courtroom.” Justice Narasimha replied, “Even masks are not enough. They will not suffice. We will discuss this with the Chief Justice as well.” He observed, “The quality of air in Delhi had reached a point when masks may no longer be enough to protect citizens. The situation is very, very serious.” The Air Quality Index (AQI) in DelhiNCR has once again plummeted to the “severe” category with , large parts of the capital region shrouded in thick, grey smog. In a separate case concerning Delhi’s pollution crisis, the Supreme Court had earlier pulled up authorities for failing to curb air pollution and sought accountability from the Punjab and Haryana governments for crop residue burning, identified as a key contributor to seasonal smog. UMAR HAD VIOLENT CHILDHOOD; JAISH DREW HIM BEFORE PAHALGAM ATTACK Heat on Al-Falah’s connections Umar body language shows Jaish training as a suicide bomber B A L A C H A U H A N @ Bengaluru Forensic officials inspect a red car in Faridabad, suspected to be linked to the Red Fort blast | PTI EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE lected from the Red Fort blast site confirmed that Dr Umar Un Nabi was driving the car THE Centre on Thursday or- that exploded on Monday. dered a forensic audit of all Umar, who was known as an records of Al-Falah University academically accomplished in Faridabad, which is under professional in his circle, allegscanner following a recent car edly turned radical over the blast near Delhi’s Red Fort that past two years, police said. killed 13 people. Investigators found that Parallelly, the Enforcement three of the accused — Dr Directorate and other financial Umar Un Nabi, Dr Muzammil investigation agencies were di- Ahmad Ganaie and Dr Shaheen rected to trace the money trail Shahid — allegedly used a of the Haryana-based institu- Switzerland-based encrypted tion, even as investigators link messaging app to plan and coseveral of its alumni and staff ordinate their activities related to an alleged “white-collar” ter- to the terror conspiracy . ror network. The police said the suspects Further, the Association of had pooled more than `26 lakh Indian Universities suspended in cash, which was handed over Al-Falah University’s to Dr Umar for operational membership after a sususe. Using the pooled picious car, a Maruti money, the group alBrezza, bearing a doclegedly bought around RED tor’s logo was found 26 quintals of NPK FORT on its Dhauj (Faridafertiliser in GuruATTACK bad) campus on gram, Nuh, and nearThursday. The vehicle by towns. The fertilisis said to be registered in the er, mixed with chemicals, name of Dr Shaheen Shahid, is commonly used to manufacwho is allegedly part of the ter- ture Improvised Explosive Deror ring. vices (IEDs). Besides, the National AssessMeanwhile, a medical college ment and Accreditation Coun- professor and a cardiology stucil (NAAC) issued a show-cause dent, both from J&K and Al notice to Al Falah for fraudu- Falah alumni, were detained in lent certification on its website. UP. Dr Farukh, an assistant In its show-cause notice, NAAC professor of obstetrics at said the university is neither Hapur’s GS Medical College, accredited nor has applied for was detained on Wednesday accreditation by NAAC. night. Mohammad Arif Mir Investigators from Delhi are (32), a first-year cardiology stuin touch with police in Indore’s dent of GSVM Medical College Mhow town to dig deep into the in Kanpur and from J&K’s past of Al-Falah University’s Anantnag, was picked up on founder Jawad Ahmad Siddiq- Thursday as he was on the ATS ui. Police sources said Jawad’s radar following former GSVM brother was accused in cases of professor Dr Shaheen Sayeed’s investment fraud in in 2000. disclosure to police during her The DNA test of samples col- interrogation. P3 & P7 @ New Delhi Day’s developments NAAC has issued a show-cause notice to Al Falah University for displaying false certification on its website A severed hand was found on the roof of a shop near the Red Fort blast site on Thursday morning The UP ATS and NIA have arrested Dr Arif from Kanpur and Dr Farooq from Hapur, both Al-Falah alumni J&K police have approached Interpol for a Red Corner Notice against Dr Muzaffar Rather, Dr Umar’s aide in the blast DR Umar Un Nabi, who blew up a white Hyundai i20 car with him behind the wheel near Red Fort on November 10, was “probably recruited and later trained as a fidayeen (suicide bomber) by the Masood Azhar-led Jaish-e-Mohammed much before the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam,” said well placed sources on condition of anonymity Born on February 24, 1989, Umar com. pleted his MD in Medicine at the Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, and later served as a senior resident at GMC, Anantnag before moving to Delhi. “He was psychologically assessed during his tenure at GMC, Anantnag. It was found that he had very strong and inflexible ideological beliefs and had the potential to take extreme steps to execute his radical designs,” said sources. “Umar hails from a deeply disturbed background; of violence and abuse at home. In January this year, he had reportedly justified the concept of suicide bombing in closed circles,” said sources. Recruitment in Jaish is a not easy Only those . with a pathological hatred towards India, who manage to clear tough assignments, are elevated, the sources informed. “That Umar was trained to be a fidayeen was also evident in his body language as he drove from Masood Azhar (top) Badarpur to Red Fort. He looked and Umar Un Nabi calm and undisturbed — a typical characteristic of a suicide bomber,” they added. As for Umar parking the i20 near the Red Fort for three hours, sources said, “He may have waited final instructions (to blow up). For a terror attack in Delhi/NCR, the final green light has to come from the highest echelons of the Jaish.” The Red Fort blast also killed Umar. DNA samples from the human remains in the car matched with that of his mother. Multiple agencies are investigating the manner in which the explosive laden car was detonated, said sources. On the arrest of Dr Shaheen Shahid from Lucknow, sources said Jaish’s recruitment of women is “inter-alia in response to Operation Sindoor in which India deployed its women officers from the armed forces to brief the nation on the details of the four-day precision strike on the terror infrastructure across the border, including Jaish’s headquarters in Bahawalpur.” AQI remains ‘severe’, smog to continue for next few days A dense haze blanketed Delhi on Thursday morning as pollution levels showed little sign of easing, extending the city’s streak of “severe” air quality into the third consecutive day. Officials have warned that Delhi’s air quality will likely stay in the “very poor” to “severe” range over the next six days unless stronger winds arrive to flush out the pollutants. Light northwesterly winds, often dropping below 10 kmph during morning and night, are allowing particulate matter to accumulate. | P4 Pak-backed grenade module busted in Punjab before attack, 10 arrested H A R P R E E T B A J W A @Chandigarh THE Punjab Police on Thursday unearthed a grenade attack module backed by Pakistan’s spy agency ISI and arrested 10 key operatives. The police have seized an 86P Chinese hand grenade, a black kit, two foreign-made .30-calibre pistols, live cartridges and a pair of gloves in two separate operations. “In a major breakthrough, Ludhiana Commissionerate Police busts an ISI-#Pakistan backed grenade attack module and arrests 10 key operatives of foreign-based handlers (sic),” Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav shared on X. A preliminary probe has revealed that the accused were in touch with Pakistan-based handlers through three operatives based in Malaysia to coordinate the pickup and delivery of a hand grenade. The handlers had allegedly assigned the group to carry out an attack in a populated area to create unrest in the state, Yadav said. SETBACK FOR BSY K’TAKA HC REFUSES TO LIFT POCSO CASE J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi IN a setback for former Karanakata chief minister and veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday refused to quash the POCSO case registered against him for allegedly molesting a minor girl during a meeting at his residence on February 2, 2024. The HC upheld the order passed by the trial court on February 28 taking cognisance of the offences and issuing summons to Yediyurappa and three others. However, it asked the trial court not to insist on the presence of Yediyurappa during the trial, considering his age. Justice M I Arun passed the order, disposing B S Yediyurappa of two separate petitions filed by the former chief minister and three others, questioning the legality of the trial court’s order. The three other petitioners were Aruna M, Rudresha Marulasiddaiah and Mariswamy G, who are accused No. 2 to 4. The single-judge bench also made it clear that the trial court should decide the case based on evidence during the course of the trial, without being influenced by the observations made by the high court in earlier orders. BANGLADESH’S International Crimes Tribunal will on Monday deliver its verdict in the case of crimes against humanity filed against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Prosecutors have sought death penalty for Hasina, now in India, accusing her of ordering lethal force against student protesters in July last year. Former Bangladesh home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and ex-inspector general of police Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun were also charged. Both Hasina and Kamal were tried in absentia. Al-Mamun later turned approver. According to a UN repor t, 1,400 people were killed in the Dhaka unrest, while government figures show Sheikh Hasina 800 deaths. Chief prosecutor Mohammad Tajul Islam alleged Hasina and her aides incited violence, ordering police and Awami League supporters to use deadly weapons against the demonstrators. The charges include murder, torture, extermination, and other inhumane acts. The tribunal concluded its 28-day hearing on October 23. Judges will now determine if Hasina and her coaccused orchestrated state violence against civilians. Meanwhile, tensions have soared across Bangladesh ahead of the verdict. The Awami League has called a nationwide shutdown, leading to transport chaos and widespread school closures. EXPRESS READ Rubio lauds India on blast investigation 8 dead as car crushed between 2 trucks in Pune US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has lauded India for its measured and professional handling of the ongoing investigation into the Red Fort blast. He also noted that the blast was a “terrorist attack”. Eight persons were killed and 14 others injured after a car got crushed between two large container trucks with a huge fire engulfing all three vehicles on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway in Pune on Thursday evening. 16th century work by Bengal’s 1st woman poet’s work on Sita in Malayalam EVER heard of a lyrical retelling of Ramayana from Goddess Sita’s perspective? A Sita, who even while bemoaning her fate as an orphan and a castaway, chose to walk into Mother Earth’s bosom, rather than return to take her rightful place as the Queen of Ayodhya? Chandrabati Ramayana, a 16th century work by Bengal’s first woman poet Chandrabati is one of the first versions of the epic that retells it from Sita’s perspective. And now, it is available in Malayalam, as Chandrabati Ramayanam, thanks to writer Geethanjali Krishnan, who learnt Bengali and translated the work direct- ly to Malayalam. In accordance with the erstwhile oral poetic traditions handed down generations and cutting across native tongues, Chandrabati Ramayana captures life through the female gaze, and reflects upon the trials and tribulations rural women were so accustomed to. Chandrabati’s take on Sita is in stark contrast with the widelypopular version. That it hardly contains any references to the battles waged in the course of Lord Ram’s life makes it unlike Valmiki’s rendition. With its origins in folklores, Verdict against Sheikh Hasina set for Monday E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Bengaluru CHANDRABATI E X P R E SS N E WS S E R V I C E @ T’Puram Given the sensitivity of the matter, special teams have been constituted under the supervision of the DCP (Investigation) and DCP (City) to ensure swift and effective action. Those arrested have been identified as Kuldeep Singh, Shekhar Singh & Ajay Singh of Muktsar, Amrik Singh, Parminder, Vijay, Sukhjit Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Karanveer Singh and Sajan Kumar. The accused have been brought on production warrants from different jails for their role as couriers and facilitators. The DGP said the police force is committed to eliminating terrorism and dismantling cross-border terror networks. such works tend to incorporate the poet’s name into their creations. Almost every section of the poem hence ends with “so says Chandrabati”, allowing the creator to voice her take on the events unfolding in Sita’s life. Geethanjali took it upon herself to translate Chandrabati’s work into Malayalam. In Geethanjali’s own words, it took her almost three years, one to learn the language including the alphabets, and another two to translate. “By 2024 end, I completed the work. Learning Bengali was not difficult, as it shares similarities with Hindi and Malayalam. Bengali, Malayalam and Sanskrit have many Pali words,” she said.