Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday, 14 May sharply questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latter's recent appeal asking Indians to conserve fuel and avoid buying gold, asking why the government waited until after election results to acknowledge the gravity of the economic situation.

Pawar said if the country was indeed facing such a serious crisis due to the escalating West Asia conflict and global instability, the government should have alerted people earlier instead of waiting until the elections were over.

“Why did the prime minister take so long to make these decisions? Why wait till the election results? Why were people not made aware during the elections themselves?” Pawar asked at a press conference held at Modi Baug in Pune.

Against the backdrop of rising tensions in West Asia and fears of a wider economic fallout, Modi recently urged citizens to save fuel and avoid unnecessary gold purchases. Referring to the situation as serious and potentially damaging for the economy, Pawar said the prime minister must convene an all-party meeting immediately and attend it personally.

“Over the past three-four years, all-party meetings have been held. But the prime minister did not attend any of them. If he is now trying to tell the country that the situation is grave and may have serious consequences, then his personal presence becomes important,” Pawar said.

He added that Modi’s warnings should not be dismissed lightly and described the present circumstances as “worrying”. But Pawar reserved some of his sharpest criticism for what he called the performative reactions of ministers and leaders in Maharashtra’s ruling alliance following the prime minister’s appeal.

“I have been watching television since morning. Some people are riding motorcycles to Mantralaya (the Maharashtra secretariat) with the chief minister. Some are walking. One minister even said though he is a minister, he has reduced his convoy from 17 vehicles to eight,” Pawar said. “I was stunned. Why did he need 17 vehicles in the first place? It is beyond my understanding.”

In a pointed swipe at the political theatrics surrounding the austerity appeal, Pawar remarked sarcastically that people would take the exercise seriously only if the chief minister began travelling to Mantralaya by motorcycle every single day.

“If this is merely for one or two days, it means nothing. Do not make a spectacle of cuts and savings,” he said, questioning how long ministers would actually follow the prime minister’s advice.

Pawar said India had faced similar crises in the past and stressed that there were several ways for governments to reduce administrative expenditure meaningfully instead of resorting to symbolic gestures.

The NCP (SP) chief also criticised Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over his recent remarks against Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. “I saw the Maharashtra chief minister’s statement yesterday and today. The language he used for Rahul Gandhi was inappropriate,” Pawar said.

“Rahul Gandhi is the Leader of the Opposition. He is also a member of Parliament. The post of Leader of the Opposition is a constitutional position under the Lok Sabha. A chief minister should not use such language for a person occupying that office.”

Pawar also raised concerns over the weakening rupee and asked whether the economic turbulence could be blamed solely on tensions involving Iran. “The rupee is falling against the dollar. Why is this happening? We need to think about it,” he said. “It is true that there is an issue involving Iran and there are side effects because of that. But is that the only reason? And if that was the reason, why were these decisions not taken immediately after the war began?”

In another pointed remark aimed at the government’s messaging on austerity, Pawar referred to Modi’s recent visit to the Somnath temple after turning 75. “There is nothing wrong in visiting the temple,” he said. “But six Air Force aircraft participated in the programme overhead. The question is this: if the situation is truly serious, then everyone must display seriousness.”

The drama over the lack of an official broadcaster for the FIFA World Cup in India, with less than a month to go for the world's largest football extravaganza, seems like a poor reflection on the country’s desire to be seen as a sporting nation. A visit to the FIFA website shows that more than 100 countries have finalised their broadcast deals with the world governing body, but India does not feature among them.

With the days ticking by and the absence of any takers, the matter has now reached Delhi High Court, which on 11 May issued a notice to Prasar Bharati over a plea seeking directions to ensure that the marquee event is broadcast in India, especially through free-to-air platforms like Doordarshan and DD Sports.

Advocate Avdhesh Bairwa had filed the writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution, raising fears that millions of football fans in India could miss out on live telecast of the ‘greatest show on earth’.

There are reports that Prasar Bharati has held exploratory discussions with FIFA as a fallback option should commercial negotiations with private broadcasters fail, which may see a throwback to the days when only knockout matches were beamed on Doordarshan. The world governing body, which initially sought close to $100 million for the combined India media rights package for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups, is reported to have lowered it to the region of $35 million, but still there are no takers.

JioStar, formed through the Reliance-Disney merger, reportedly offered around $20 million for the upcoming edition but the bid was rejected and the impasse continues. The question that is quietly doing the rounds is: while the broadcasters would certainly be looking at a return on investment (RoI), are the exorbitant price tags to acquire media rights for cricket properties like ICC events or the IPL coming in the way of someone like JioStar playing ball?

The answer is yes and no. Despite the Indian media rights landscape being dominated by cricket, Viacom 18 had acquired the rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar for a reported price tag of $60 million. JioCinema, which provided free live streaming in India on its mobile app and website, recorded more than 110 million digital viewers during the tournament, with the Argentina vs France final alone drawing 32 million viewers.

‘’The match timings in India are making a huge difference in terms of marketability unlike the Qatar edition. Most of the matches have kick-off times of 12.30 am, 3.30 am or 6.30 am, and this is making broadcasters wary,’’ a well known industry insider told National Herald.

While the argument holds, he also broke down why it’s quite challenging to monetise a football match. ‘’Any broadcaster depends on two avenues for revenue generation from a sporting event — commercials and subscription. While the match timings for this World Cup are inconvenient in our time zone, FIFA has certain restrictions against pop-up ads etc during a game. Hence, the only window is half-time, but viewers mostly take a break rather than listen to experts,’’ he observed. ‘’It’s also not very tenable to levy additional subscription charges when people already have Jio connections.’’

What has also not helped is that since the merger between Viacom18 and Disney Star, JioStar now controls a dominant share of India’s sports broadcasting ecosystem and enjoys almost near-monopoly leverage in rights discussions. There have been reports that Sony explored the possibility of bidding, but eventually decided against a formal offer.

Football fans live in hope that there could be a late compromise between FIFA and JioStar. Reacting to a query on the subject, All India Football Federation deputy secretary-general M. Satya Narayan said: ‘’See, the AIFF has no role in this but we feel India is too big a market for FIFA to finalise a plan without us on the radar. The hesitation on the part of the broadcasters could be because of timings but hopefully, there will be a solution soon so that the million of football fans here are not deprived.’’

Key regional broadcasters:

USA: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock, Universo

Canada: CTV, TSN, RDS

UK: ITVX

Sub-Saharan Africa: SuperSport

Australia: SBS

Germany: ARD, ZDF

India: No official broadcaster yet; negotiations ongoing with broadcasters like JioStar

Digital and Global

YouTube: Will air live match action, including the first 10 minutes of games as an appetizer, in addition to select full matches per a March 2026 deal

FIFA+: FIFA's direct-to-consumer platform is available for streaming

At least five people, including a 12-year-old girl, were killed after Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile assaults on Ukraine since the start of the war, with residential buildings in Kyiv among the targets.

The large-scale overnight bombardment came days after a three-day US-brokered ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine collapsed, with Moscow resuming major aerial attacks across multiple Ukrainian cities.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russia launched more than 670 drones and 56 missiles overnight, targeting over 180 locations across the country and damaging more than 50 residential buildings.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian air defences intercepted around 93 per cent of the incoming aerial threats but described the assault as among the heaviest since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Apartment block hit in Kyiv

In Kyiv, rescue teams continued searching through the rubble of a partially destroyed nine-storey residential building after a direct strike overnight.

Police said the bodies of two men aged 21 and 30 and an unidentified woman were recovered from the debris of the collapsed section of the building. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko later confirmed that the body of a 12-year-old girl had also been recovered nearby.

Another man reportedly died in hospital after a petrol station came under attack during the strikes.

Officials said more than 1,500 emergency responders and police personnel were deployed across affected areas, including nearly 600 in Kyiv alone. More than 10 people were feared trapped under rubble as rescue operations continued.

The strikes also damaged schools, veterinary clinics and water infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital.

Attacks spread across Ukraine

Apart from Kyiv, attacks were reported in Kremenchuk, Bila Tserkva, Kharkiv, Sumy and Odesa regions.

Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko appealed for stronger international air defence support, saying Ukraine urgently needed assistance to protect civilians and cities.

Zelenskyy urged allies to maintain pressure and sanctions on Moscow, saying the scale of the assault contradicted suggestions that the war was nearing an end.

“This is definitely not the actions of those who believe the war is coming to an end,” he said.

There was a time when Kerala’s political class feared uttering the words “lottery mafia” too loudly. The network was believed to be too wealthy, too politically connected and too deeply embedded within the system. By the mid-2000s, the interstate lottery business had grown into one of Kerala’s most shadowy underground economies, thriving on desperation, poverty and false hope.

Daily wage earners across villages, coastal settlements and working-class neighbourhoods spent precious earnings on lottery tickets sold through sprawling networks that critics alleged operated beyond effective regulation.

Allegations surfaced about fake Bhutan lottery tickets, forged printing systems, benami operations, tax evasion and money laundering linked to Tamil Nadu-based lottery baron Santiago Martin. Politicians spoke privately about the syndicate’s influence over sections of politics, media and the state machinery, but few were willing to confront it openly.

It was during this period that a young Congress MLA from Paravur, V.D. Satheesan, began relentlessly pursuing the issue inside the Kerala Assembly. Armed with documents, financial records and painstakingly collected evidence, Satheesan transformed what many considered a politically dangerous subject into one of Kerala’s defining public confrontations.

He alleged that the lottery business had evolved into an organised exploitation racket that preyed upon the poor while corrupting public institutions. He demanded investigations into fake Bhutan lottery operations, questioned the legality of interstate lottery mechanisms and repeatedly highlighted the nexus between business interests and politics.

Unexpectedly, Satheesan found an unlikely ally in Kerala’s then chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan. Though ideological warmth across political lines was rare in Kerala, the veteran Marxist appeared to recognise in the young Congress legislator a seriousness that transcended party divisions.

Achuthanandan, who had built his own political career fighting entrenched interests, understood that Satheesan was not merely performing outrage for television cameras. He genuinely believed the lottery network represented a dangerous political and financial menace.

The relationship between the two remained politically adversarial, yet marked by unmistakable respect. Achuthanandan had already initiated strong action against illegal interstate lottery operations and supported investigations into alleged irregularities involving Bhutan lotteries and forged tickets. Satheesan’s interventions strengthened that campaign.

Political observers at the time described the anti-lottery movement as a rare bipartisan moral confrontation against organised financial exploitation — an unusual moment in Kerala’s deeply polarised political culture, where a communist chief minister and a Congress opposition MLA effectively reinforced each other’s battle.

That confrontation altered Satheesan’s political trajectory permanently.

It transformed him from a promising legislator into one of Kerala’s most respected political figures, a leader whose credibility rested not merely on rhetoric but on preparation, persistence and legislative rigour.

Today, as Satheesan joins the ranks of Kerala chief ministers alongside leaders such as E.M.S. Namboodiripad, C. Achutha Menon, E.K. Nayanar, K. Karunakaran, Oommen Chandy and Achuthanandan himself, what distinguishes his journey is the absence of inevitability.

His rise did not follow the familiar route of dynastic inheritance, factional entitlement or organisational patronage. For years, Kerala politics described his career using the Malayalam expression 'between cup and lip', because power repeatedly appeared within reach only to slip away at the final moment.

To understand Satheesan’s political personality, one must return to the social and emotional landscape of his childhood. Born in 1964 in Nettoor near Kochi, he grew up in a middle-class family shaped by discipline, modesty and the values of education. His father worked in the public sector, while the family remained deeply connected to ordinary Kerala life, where social mobility depended heavily upon education, reading and hard work.

Unlike many future politicians who inherited visible political capital from influential families, Satheesan grew up without the aura of political privilege. What his upbringing offered instead was seriousness and aspiration.

Friends and contemporaries remember him as intensely curious, observant and deeply drawn to reading. He was interested not merely in electoral politics but in ideas themselves. Literature, constitutional debates, economics, political history and social theory attracted him early. That intellectual curiosity later became one of the defining characteristics of his public life. Even ideological rivals would eventually admit that Satheesan rarely entered a debate without studying every possible dimension of an issue.

His educational journey reflected that temperament. He studied at Sacred Heart College, Thevara, before pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work from Rajagiri College. Later, he studied law and practised in the Kerala High Court.

The combination of social work training and legal education shaped his political approach significantly. Social work exposed him to questions of inequality, marginalisation and public policy, while legal training sharpened his argumentative precision and documentary discipline. Together, they produced a politician capable of combining emotional politics with constitutional and legal clarity.

Politics entered his life through student activism rather than privilege. During his years in the Kerala Students Union and later the NSUI, Satheesan developed a reputation not only as a fiery activist but also as a meticulous organiser. He became chairman of the Mahatma Gandhi University Union during 1986-87 and gradually emerged as one of the articulate young faces of Congress student politics in Kerala.

Those years shaped traits that still define him. One was discipline. Another was democratic instinct. Satheesan never evolved into the feudal-style Congress politician insulated by sycophancy and distance. Party workers often speak of his accessibility. Young leaders could disagree with him. Journalists could question him sharply. Grassroots workers could approach him directly.

Yet behind that accessibility lay strict expectations regarding preparation, seriousness and organisational discipline. He demanded hard work not only from himself but from those around him.

His personal life too remained relatively grounded despite his political ascent. Those close to him describe a family-oriented man deeply attached to his wife and daughter, someone who maintained emotional balance even during turbulent political phases. Friends often remark that his family environment helped preserve stability in a profession marked by insecurity, betrayal and exhaustion.

Unlike several Kerala politicians who consciously cultivate flamboyance, Satheesan’s public style remained restrained and understated.

Interestingly, his electoral journey began with defeat. He first contested from Paravur in 1996 and lost. But the setback neither embittered nor discouraged him. Five years later, he returned stronger, winning the constituency and eventually transforming it into one of the Congress party’s safest strongholds.

Across six consecutive victories, Satheesan steadily built the image of perhaps Kerala’s most research-driven MLA. His Assembly speeches drew attention not merely because they were aggressive but because they were layered with data, audit references, documentary evidence and legal scrutiny. He possessed a rare ability to simplify highly technical subjects for ordinary public understanding.

His interventions covered some of Kerala’s most difficult public questions. He repeatedly raised the suffering of Endosulfan victims in Kasaragod, foregrounding human tragedy rather than administrative language. He intervened forcefully on coastal erosion, fisherfolk rehabilitation, wetland destruction and hill cutting. Long before environmental politics became fashionable within mainstream parties, Satheesan had already begun framing ecology as a democratic and livelihood issue.

His opposition to the SilverLine semi-high-speed rail corridor became especially significant. Satheesan recognised early that the project was not merely about infrastructure but also about debt, ecology, displacement and democratic consent. He travelled extensively across affected regions, met families facing displacement and converted scattered anxieties into a broad political movement.

The anti-SilverLine campaign eventually became one of the defining struggles that helped revive the Congress-led Opposition after years of drift and demoralisation.

Yet throughout this rise, power inside the Congress repeatedly eluded him.

When the Congress-led UDF returned to office under Oommen Chandy in 2011, Satheesan was widely regarded as among the most deserving younger legislators for cabinet entry. But factional calculations, caste-community balancing and entrenched organisational structures denied him ministership. The episode became symbolic of his political journey: admired publicly, resisted internally.

For decades, Kerala Congress politics revolved around entrenched factions and delicate community equations. Satheesan never fully belonged to those traditional structures. His independence strengthened his public credibility but complicated his organisational prospects. Several senior leaders admired his intellect while simultaneously remaining wary of his bluntness and assertiveness.

Even his eventual elevation as Opposition Leader after the Congress defeat in 2021 came only after intense internal resistance. Senior leaders were reluctant to yield space to a younger generation. But once Satheesan assumed leadership, the emotional climate within the Congress changed rapidly.

He transformed the Opposition from a defensive coalition into an aggressive political force. Congress workers who had psychologically collapsed after repeated defeats suddenly rediscovered confidence and energy.

Well-known academic and political observer Prof. M.N. Karassery believes Satheesan’s democratic instinct distinguishes him from many contemporary politicians. “Kerala respects leaders who can take clear positions despite pressure,” Karassery says. “Satheesan earned hostility from influential communal and caste leaderships because he refused to reduce politics into appeasement management. That gave him moral legitimacy.”

Satheesan’s confrontations with influential social figures such as Sukumaran Nair, Vellappally Natesan and Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliyar strengthened his image among younger voters seeking leaders willing to move beyond old identity vetoes.

His rise also cannot be understood without examining his complicated but ultimately important relationships with Congress organisational general-secretary K.C. Venugopal and senior colleague Ramesh Chennithala. Both were rivals at different moments. Both also became crucial to his eventual ascent.

Chennithala represented organisational continuity and grassroots networks. Venugopal represented national influence and Delhi access. Satheesan represented issue-based politics, public credibility and generational transition. The Congress ultimately needed all three. Their collective involvement helped deliver the UDF’s landslide victory in this election.

K.P. Noushad Ali, the newly elected Congress MLA from Ponnani and one of Satheesan’s strong supporters during the chief ministerial contest, believes workers identify emotionally with Satheesan’s struggles. “He never behaved like power was his birthright,” Noushad Ali says. “Even when repeatedly sidelined, he continued working with the same intensity. That resilience inspired younger Congress workers.”

Lakshmi Subhash, social activist and assistant professor at an aided college in Palakkad, sees in Satheesan a rare combination of intellect and empathy.

“Students and younger professionals connect with him because he reads seriously, studies deeply and prepares thoroughly. But he is also emotionally accessible. That combination is uncommon in contemporary politics.”

Congress leader Soya Joseph from Thrissur believes Satheesan restored emotional confidence within the party itself. “After repeated defeats, many workers had psychologically surrendered. Satheesan changed that mood completely. He convinced the party that survival itself required unity, clarity and fighting spirit.”

Perhaps that is the central meaning of Satheesan’s rise. He arrives at Kerala’s highest office not as a leader manufactured smoothly through patronage systems but as the product of a long political struggle shaped by exclusion, delay, resilience and recovery.

Like Achuthanandan before him, he discovered that political integrity can command respect even across ideological boundaries. Like Oommen Chandy, he cultivated accessibility. Like Achutha Menon, he developed a reputation for intellectual seriousness and administrative engagement.

But fundamentally, Satheesan’s authority emerged through legislative politics itself: through research, argument, democratic confrontation and relentless public engagement.

For a state that takes immense pride in political literacy, that may be the most significant aspect of his story.

A simmering rebellion against British Prime Minister Keir Starmer burst into the open on Thursday, 14 May, with one senior minister resigning from the cabinet and another positioning herself for a possible leadership bid amid mounting unrest within the ruling Labour Party.

Health secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior minister to quit Starmer’s cabinet, in a move widely seen as the opening salvo in a potential challenge to the prime minister’s leadership.

The resignation comes days after Labour suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections, intensifying pressure on Starmer to step aside less than two years after leading the party to a landslide general election victory.

In a sharply worded resignation letter, Streeting praised Starmer’s foreign policy handling while accusing him of failing to provide political direction at home. “You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage — not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran,” Streeting wrote. “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election.”

Streeting, long viewed as harbouring leadership ambitions, is considered one of the strongest potential contenders to replace Starmer. Another likely challenger, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, also made a significant political move on Thursday after revealing that she had resolved outstanding issues with tax authorities that had forced her to leave the cabinet last September.

Speaking to The Guardian, Rayner said Starmer should “reflect on” his position and indicated she would be prepared to enter a leadership race if one were triggered. She said she was ready to “play my part” in any contest that might follow Streeting’s resignation.

Discontent within Labour has grown rapidly since last week’s election setbacks, which exposed voter frustration over the government’s failure to improve living standards and revive economic growth. A sluggish economy and persistently high inflation have hampered the government’s ability to deliver on promises made during the 2024 election campaign, fuelling criticism from within the party.

Despite the growing revolt, Starmer has insisted he will remain in office, warning Labour MPs that a leadership battle would throw the government into “chaos” at a time of economic strain and escalating tensions in West Asia.

The prime minister received a modest boost on Thursday after official figures showed Britain’s economy had grown by 0.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year, compared with 0.2 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the data demonstrated that the government’s economic strategy was beginning to work. She argued that renewed growth would allow increased spending on public services and support programmes aimed at easing the cost-of-living crisis.

“But that is only possible because of the economic stability that we have brought back to our economy,” Reeves told BBC. “And we shouldn't put that at risk by plunging the country in chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world.”

There was also encouraging news for Streeting politically, as National Health Service waiting lists — a central focus of his tenure as health secretary — fell for a fifth consecutive month.

Streeting and Starmer both belong to Labour’s moderate wing, while Rayner has stronger backing among the party’s left flank and has repeatedly called for higher taxes on the wealthy and stronger measures to raise wages.

Under Labour Party rules, any challenger seeking to force a leadership contest must secure the backing of at least 81 of Labour’s 403 MPs in the House of Commons. More than that number have publicly urged Starmer to resign in recent days.

Speculation has also grown around other possible contenders. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has increasingly been mentioned as a potential candidate, although he would first need to return to Parliament before mounting a formal challenge.

According to allies, a sitting Labour MP could resign to allow Burnham to contest a by-election and re-enter the House of Commons. Burnham added to the speculation this week by cancelling his regular Thursday appearance on a local BBC radio programme in order to “prioritise discussions arising from last week's elections”.

With AP/PTI inputs

Nearly 14 years after the brutal 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape shook the country and triggered sweeping reforms in India’s sexual assault laws, another alleged rape inside a moving bus in Delhi has revived painful memories of the case and renewed questions over women’s safety in the national capital.

A 30-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped inside a moving sleeper bus on Monday night while travelling through parts of west Delhi, police said. Two accused — identified as bus driver Umesh and conductor Ramendra — have been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

According to investigators, the woman, who works at a factory in Mangolpuri and lives in Pitampura, was waiting near the B-block bus stand in the Saraswati Vihar area when a Bihar-registered sleeper bus stopped nearby.

Police said the woman approached a man standing near the vehicle to ask for the time, following which she was allegedly forcibly pulled inside the bus.

Investigators said the bus then continued moving towards Nangloi while the woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by two men inside the vehicle.

A police officer involved in the probe said the sleeper bus had curtains covering its windows, making it difficult for outsiders to notice what was happening inside.

The woman was later allegedly abandoned near Nangloi Metro station after the bus stopped there. She subsequently contacted police, who shifted her to Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital for medical examination.

An FIR has been registered under gang rape charges and relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Opposition draws parallels with Nirbhaya case

The incident has triggered sharp political reactions, with opposition leaders comparing it to the December 2012 Nirbhaya case, in which a 23-year-old medical student was brutally gang-raped and assaulted inside a moving private bus in south Delhi.

The assault had sparked nationwide protests and led to major legal reforms relating to crimes against women.

Sanjay Singh drew parallels between the two incidents and questioned the state of women’s safety in Delhi.

“A gang rape inside a moving bus, a repetition of the Nirbhaya case… Is this the state of security in the national capital? Is this the safety being provided to women and girls?” Singh said.

The latest incident has once again brought focus on the effectiveness of safety measures introduced after the Nirbhaya case, including stricter rape laws, enhanced policing and surveillance mechanisms in public transport systems.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought seven days’ police custody of four men arrested in connection with the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak case, telling a Delhi court that the medical entrance examination was compromised through the online circulation of question papers before the test.

In its remand application filed before Special Judge (CBI) Ajay Gupta, the agency said the accused — Yash Yadav, Mangilal Khatik alias Mangilal Biwal, Vikash Biwal and Dinesh Biwal — were arrested in Jaipur on 13 May.

The CBI alleged that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on 3 May, had been compromised after question papers were circulated in PDF format through WhatsApp and Telegram ahead of the examination.

The agency registered an FIR on 12 May based on a complaint lodged by Varun Bhardwaj, director of the Department of Higher Education’s NTA division.

According to the CBI, a preliminary inquiry conducted by Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) confirmed the authenticity of some of the leaked questions, prompting the government to cancel the examination.

“In April 2026, one Shubham of Nasik informed Yash Yadav that Mangilal had approached him for arranging leaked NEET-UG 2026 question papers before the examination for his younger son for Rs 10-12 lakh,” the remand application stated.

The probe agency alleged that on 29 April, Yash Yadav shared leaked Physics, Chemistry and Biology question papers in PDF format through Telegram.

According to the CBI, Mangilal allegedly procured the papers from Yadav as part of a Rs 10 lakh deal and later distributed printed copies among NEET aspirants, including his son Aman Biwal, relatives and acquaintances.

The agency further alleged that Vikash Biwal contacted several candidates and shared their details with Yadav via WhatsApp and Instagram to facilitate circulation of the leaked papers.

“On April 29, 2026, Shubham allegedly informed Yash Yadav that he would provide leaked question papers of Physics, Chemistry and Biology papers, which will have approximately 500-600 questions capable of securing very good marks and ensuring admission in reputed medical colleges,” the CBI said.

The agency told the court that incriminating chats, leaked question papers and other digital evidence had been recovered from the accused persons’ mobile phones. It added that some deleted data would require forensic examination.

Seeking custodial interrogation, the CBI argued that police custody was necessary to identify other accused persons, trace the source of the leak, analyse digital and financial trails, recover further evidence and examine the possible involvement of NTA officials.

“The arrested accused persons are required to be taken under police custody for custodial interrogation to prevent further commission of similar offences involving leakage of question papers, and to identify and apprehend other co-accused persons involved in the offence,” the agency said in its remand plea.

With PTI inputs

At least three workers were killed and around 15 others injured after an explosion triggered a major fire at a firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district on Thursday, 14 May, officials said.

The incident took place at a firecracker manufacturing unit in the Tonk Kalan area. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Dewas and Indore for treatment.

Dewas collector Rituraj Singh, who visited the site after the incident, confirmed that three people had died in the blaze.

Visuals from the aftermath, which surfaced on social media, showed thick plumes of white smoke rising from the factory premises near the Agra-Mumbai national highway. Videos also captured frantic efforts by locals and rescue personnel to shift the injured to hospitals amid cries for help. Human remains were seen scattered across the site following the explosion.

The collector said the fire had been brought under control and the administration had secured explosives stored at another location within the factory premises.

According to officials, the unit belonged to a man identified as Anil Malviya and had started manufacturing small firecrackers only around 15 days ago. The factory had a valid licence, Singh said. He added that a detailed investigation had been launched to ascertain the cause of the explosion.

Chief minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the deaths and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of those killed. He also said all injured persons would receive free medical treatment.

“I have directed deputy chief minister and Dewas district guardian minister Jagdish Devda, the home secretary and senior officials to visit the spot. An inquiry has also been ordered into the incident,” Yadav said in a post on X.

Local residents described the explosion as extremely powerful, claiming body parts of victims were flung far from the site due to the impact. They also said construction work was underway at the premises and several sheds were being built within the factory complex.

With PTI inputs