The editorial Page: When corruption does not make a political noise 8 ThURSDAY, JUlY 9, 2026 JouRnalism of CouRaGe MUMBaI, laTe CITy, 18 PageS ₹5.00 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 reG.no. mcs/067/2018 - 20 rnI reGn. no. 1543/57 OPeratiOn ‘hardball’: 37 charged in U.s. indictMent 130 158 197 92 happening today lwhile englandhas gained a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, India are set to face them for the 4th T20I in Bristol after a 125-run defeat in the 3rd match. Under captain Shreyas Iyer, the team is yet to win a T20 international. lVice President C P Radhak- rishnan will begin his official visit to Bhubaneswar, during which he will also release the ‘Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission Document’, a roadmap designed to elevate local fishing capabilities while preserving marine ecosystems. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com rescue operations underway at the site in pune. exPReSS 7rescuedafter wastemountain bringsdown buildinginPune Nijjar killing: US charges Bishnoi, Brar; no India govt link: Canada PunjabPolice inspectornamed inextortion racket,Usto seekextradition Dept of Justice: 24 linked to 3 Indian crime syndicates held in coordinated action by US, Canada & Europe divya a & shubhajit roy New Delhi, July 8 aLMoSt tHree years after the then Canadian prime minister Justin trudeau alleged a “potentiallink”betweenIndian government agents and the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh nijjar, bringing bilateral ties to a standstill, the US has charged gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and aide Goldy Brarwithorderingtheassassination. Later, Canadian police said there was “no evidence” of any official involvement from India in the killing. the latest twist in the nijjar case came after a US-led operation against three criminal gangsinvolvedintransnational crimes, including one led by Bishnoi (33) who is lodged in a Gujarat jail. the two other gangs indictedbytheUSDepartmentof Justice (DoJ) include one headed by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria (38) from Punjab, a Bishnoi associate-turned-rival who is lodged in an assam jail, and another led by Canada-based ravinder Singh Dhanda (57). Called“operationHardball”, the coordinated action by law enforcement from the US, »cOntinUed On Page 2 officers conduct a raid in southern california as part of ‘operation hardball’. ReUTeRS E. expLained Long-term effect Canada’s statement on the Nijjar killing removes a major irritant in bilateral ties with India. The joint US-Canada-Europe operation also signals deepening international cooperation against Indian-origin gang networks spanning continents and entangling members of the Indian diaspora. reLaTed reporT p7 canadIan scrUtIny to FBI’s op: how net tIghtened aroUnd Lawrence BIshnoI Indian agencies shared, verified list of names and hideouts with US lawrence Bishnoi is in a jail in Gujarat; (right) Goldy Brar Mahender singh Manral New Delhi, July 8 In tHe run-up to operation Hardball, US law enforcement officials held several meetings with multiple central agencies inIndia,wheretheysharedand verified information on gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, rohit Godara, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and their associates, The Indian Express has learnt. Sources said that Indian »cOntinUed On Page 2 Thane doctor assault triggers protests, Sena corporator, 3 supporters arrested Inspector Gurinderjit singh nagra was posted as an sho in Tanda in hoshiarpur district Man aman singh chhina Chandigarh, July 8 a PUnJaB Police Inspector is among those named in the US federal indictment, for alleged links with a criminal group and attempting to implicate the family of a US-based person in a murder case as part of an extortion racket. addressing a press conference in Los angeles, First assistant United States attorney Bill essayli said they would seekthepoliceofficer’sextradition from India. Inspector Gurinderjit Singh nagra, posted as Station House officer (SHo) in tanda, in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab, was shifted to Police Lines on wednesday, and a probe has been ordered into the charges. »cOntinUed On Page 2 ‘New Zealand, working with India, needs to remake case for a rules-based system’ shubhajit roy New Delhi, July 8 new ZeaLanD Prime MinisterChristopherLuxonsayshe is confident of the strength and potential of ties between his countryandIndia,asnarendra Modi arrives in auckland Friday for the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to new Zealand in four decades. In an exclusive interview withTheIndianExpress,outliningeconomic,defence,security, andpeople-to-peopletiesasthe three pillars of India and new Zealand ties, Luxon set this againstthe“inflectionpoint”in global geopolitics where the world has moved from “a rulesbased system to a power-based system,amultilateralsystemto a multipolar system”. “we see an america that is talking america first with a fix- By EP UNNY The worLd Pune, July 8 Mumbai, July 8 eIGHteen PeoPLe were trapped after a large portion of athree-storeyedbuildingatthe Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation(PCMC)’swaste-toenergy facility in Moshi collapsed on wednesday afternoon, brought down by an adjacent large mound of waste that fell on the building like a landslidefollowingheavyrains. Sevenpersonswererescued in a multi-agency search and rescue operation, while efforts are underway to extricate the remaining 11. the seven rescued persons wererushedtotheYashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital. It wasnotclearhowmanyofthem were injured and the nature of theirinjuries.officialssaidthey were in touch with the 11 still trapped inside the collapsed structure. all the 18 people are »cOntinUed On Page 2 tHe aLLeGeD assault on doctorsandnursesatacivichospital in Dombivli snowballed into a statewide confrontation betweenthemedicalfraternityand the Maharashtra government, evenasthemainaccused—Shiv SenacorporatorrameshMhatre —surrenderedbeforethethane police following the arrest of three of his associates on wednesday. resident doctors and nurses have announced protests across the state, while healthcare organisations have warned of an indefinite agitation if strict action is not taken against those responsible. the Maharashtra State association of resident Doctors (Central MarD) welcomed Mhatre’s arrest and said resident doctors in all government medical colleges and hospitals would wear black ribbons on thursday while continuing medical services. It stressed that the agitation is aimed at seeking long-term measures to curb the rising incidents of violence against healthcare workers across Maharashtra. the Maharashtra State nurses association (MSna) said nurses across the state would begin a three-day blackribbonprotestfromJuly10and warned that it would intensify the agitation after July 13 if no concrete action was taken. the Maharashtra Senior resident Doctors’ association (MSrDa) and the BMC MarD also condemned the incident, sought Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s intervention and demandedazero-tolerancepolicy against violence in hospitals. In separate memoranda to the chief minister, the doctors’ and nurses’ organisations described the alleged assault as an attack on the dignity of healthcare workers and the »cOntinUed On Page 2 christOPher lUxOn New ZealaND PRIMe MINISTeR page 11 ation on the western Hemisphere.weseeChinawantingto have influence in our IndoPacific region. we also see russiaillegallyinvadingasovereign nation in Ukraine and wanting to dominate in europe, and so it'snaturalthatthereisarealinflection point,” Luxon said. »cOntinUed On Page 2 page 14 accord to end Iran war Is ‘over’, wILL LaUnch new strIkes: trUmp ribbon protest across state today express news service interview Business as Usual Efforts on to rescue remaining 11 trapped Resident doctors, nurses call for black sushant Kulkarni & shubham Kurale express l ‘I don’t want to deal with them... They’re scum,’ said Trump when asked if the MoU was over. lBrent crude futures leapt more than 5%, the most in a day since late May, to $78.48 a barrel. shastrinagar hospital in dombivli, Thane; (right) shiv sena corporator ramesh mhatre. relaTed reporT, page 3 ‘I fear for my safety’: Assaulted doc resigns Purnima sah Mumbai, July 8 For two days after he was assaultedinsideKalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation's (KDMC) Shastrinagar Hospital byShivSenacorporatorramesh Mhatre,the26-year-oldresident medical officer (rMo) says he lived in fear, constantly changing locations after allegedly re- ceiving threatening phone calls and messages, and being followed by unknown persons. on tuesday, he, and four other staff members who were assaulted, submitted their resignation letters, and have not returned to work since. "we don't want to work in a place where there's no assurance of security and no respect for us. »cOntinUed On Page 2 Accused in minor girl’s rape-murder killed in Bengal police ‘encounter’ ravik bhattacharya & atri Mitra Kolkata, July 8 PraBHaSH MonDoL, the main accused in the gangrape and murder of an 11-year-old in west Bengal’s Baruipur, was shot dead in an encounter late tuesday night. according to the police, Mondol had been taken to the crime scene to reconstruct the crime as part of the investigation. Police alleged that he snatched a policeman’s fire- The spot where the accused was killed in a ‘police encounter’ in West Bengal’s Baruipur Tuesday. exPReSS; relaTed reporTs, p 12 arm, fired once at the police party, and tried to escape. Policeclaimedtheyopenedfirein retaliation, injuring Mondol. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead. theencounterspotisbarely 100 metres from where the girl’s body was found inside a pond. according to officials, Mondol was taken there around 12.45 am. they said it had rained and the area was dark, and Mondol allegedly snatchedtheserviceweaponof »cOntinUed On Page 2 l 14 prIsons house 19,500 prIsoners, almosT douBle The sancTIoned capacITy From Tihar to Rohini prisons: To decongest, Delhi Govt looks for land in 48 urban villages sakshi chand tion of Delhi’s prisons as well as for setting up a training institute,”agovernmentsourcesaid. tHe DeLHI government has thethreeprisoncomplexes commissioned a survey of the in Delhi are bursting at the 48recently-declared‘urbanvil- seams — according to official lages’toidentifyland figures, their 14 for the relocation prisons together page 1 andexpansionofthe house 19,500 capital’sprisoninfraprisoners, almost structure, The Indouble the sancdian Express has learned. tioned capacity of 10,026. Sourcessaidtheofficeofthe tihar is already one of the Director General (Prisons) has largestprisonsintheworld.the issued an order constituting rohini Central Jail was estabfivecommittees,eachcompris- lishedinBadli,northwestDelhi, ing four members, to carry out in2004asanextensionoftihar. the survey. “the purpose is to a third jail complex with six identify land for the deconges- prisons and a capacity of 3,776 New Delhi, July 8 anchor inmates opened in Mandoli in northeast Delhi in 2016. the five committees have been assigned four specific tasks, officials said. “First, they will conduct a surveyofavailableland.Second, they will identify suitable land parcelsfortherelocationandexpansion of Delhi’s prisons. third,theywillcoordinatewith the agencies concerned to collect and verify land-related information. Fourth, they will submit a detailed report along with their recommendations within the stipulated timeframe,” said a top source. The Indian Express had re- Tihar is one of the largest prisons in the world. exPReSS FIle portedinMaythattheStanding Committee, the highest decision-making body of the Mu- nicipal Corporation of Delhi, had taken the decision to declare the last remaining 48 vil- lagesinDelhias‘urbanvillages’. once a village is declared as ‘urban’, it ceases to be governed by the agricultural land-use norms of the Delhi Land reformsact,1954(DLract),which prohibits landowners from usingagriculturallandforhousing, commercial, and industrial activity. also, the village comes under the purview of the DMC act and the DDa act, and Gram Sabha land is transferred to the Delhi Development authority (DDa)undertheUnionMinistry of Housing and Urban affairs. rural groups had long demanded changes in the DLr act,arguingthatfarmingwasno longeraviableeconomicactivity in the capital. with the restrictions having been lifted, landowners in these 48 urban villagesnowhavegreaterflexibility touseorselltheirlandforarange of development projects. Delhi has both the largest number of central jails in the country as well as the highest occupancy rate of 194.6% as of December 31, 2024, according to the Prison Statistics India 2024 report of the national CrimerecordsBureau(nCrB). Delhi also has the highest numberofundertrialprisoners (3,979,or11.3%ofthetotal)after Haryana (4,358, or 12.4%), the nCrB data show. In april 2025, the Delhi Prisons Department had writtentoDDaaskingtheauthority to identify and allot 400 acres of land for a new prison complex. the proposal had come after Chief Minister rekhaGuptaannouncedinthe 2025-26Budgetthatthegovernment intended to shift tihar Jail out of its current location. Prison officials have said that the large population of inmates puts great pressure on thewatersupply,sewerage,and wastemanagementsystems,as well as on the healthcare and rehabilitation programs.