The editorial Page: For the indo-Pacific, a ‘g minus 2’ strategy 8 WEDNESDAY, JUlY 8, 2026 Journalism of Courage AhMedABAd, 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 PhARAohS, oN BRINk of AN INCRedIBLe woRLd CUP UPSet, CRUmBLe At CLoSING Messi Magic Steals Egypt Dream Two goals down and 11 minutes to go, Argentina script heart-stopping fightback express aT World Cup Sandip G New York, July 7 YeaRs, and maybe decades, later, Lionel Messi would remember the game of wildly fluctuating fortunes in graphic detail.Thepenaltyhemissedin the first half, the free-kick that cannoned off the post, egypt’s counter-attacking goals, Cristian Romero’s goal that fired the comeback, his own equaliser on the half-volley, the heart-stopping moments during the VaR check of enzo Fernandez’s headed winner. and, after all that, the night he cried like a child when he heard the final whistle. He would recollect it as one of the greatest comebacks he and his country has made, the afternoonhecouldseedarkness creeping through the roofed canopy of the arena in atlanta. Just 11 minutes remained Pm meetS INdoNeSIA PReSIdeNt Missiles, minerals, a port: Delhi and Jakarta seal key deals Shubhajit Roy New Delhi, July 7 IndIa and Indonesia signed pacts on the supply of BrahMos and air-to-air missiles, along with cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths, maritime security, and space and agriculture as Prime Minister narendra Modi met Indonesian President Prabowo subianto in Jakarta on Tuesday. Modi also addressed the In- donesian Parliament as part of his two-day visit, making a thinly veiled reference to China’s assertive behaviour in the Indo-Pacific. “India is a strong advocate of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. India believes in freedom of navigation in the IndoPacific... India is a nation that follows the path of development, not expansionism,” he said. Modi said, “In recent years, »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 On table: Two BrahMos missile batteries worth $200 million Amrita Nayak dutta New Delhi, July 7 IndIaIssettosupplyIndonesia with two batteries of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles valuedat$200millionaspartof several landmark defenceagreementssigned between the two countriesonTuesday,including astra air-to-air missile systems, major defence technology transfer, and maritime security cooperation, officials told The Indian Express. The BrahMos missile has been operationalised in India across all the three defence services and played a key role in striking designated targets inside Pakistan during Operation sindoor. a BrahMos battery typicallycomprisesfour launchers and 12 readyto-fire missiles, along with other equipment and vehicles, though the composition can vary between E. the big picture »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 business as usual By EP UNNY the scotland redemption:murder in glasgow, arrest in mumbai page 14 messi celebrates his goal during the match against egypt, Tuesday. ReUTeRs more reporTs, p 17, 18 for egypt to close out a game theyweredeservedlyleading20.Theystoppedeverythingbut not the iron-clad resolve of argentina, the impenetrable genius of Messi, and their own muddled thinking, their naivety on the biggest stage. Cruel as the 3-2 reversal was for egypt, they lost to a team that isshapingitsowndestiny,carving its own legacy. egypt’s resistance would not be forgotten, but argentina’s comeback would acquire epic status. The match wouldbeatouchstoneforfightbacks in the tournament’s history. and another occasion to celebrate Messi and argentina. The champions never lost »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 AhmedABAd teRRoR AttACk thAt kILLed 56 18yearslater,GujaratHC upholds38deathsentences Parimal A dabhi & Leena misra Parimal A dabhi Ahmedabad, July 7 Ahmedabad, July 7 outside Gujarat hc on Tuesday. BhUpendRA RAnA relaTed reporTs, p4 thebannedoutfitsIMI,andhad planned the blasts as “revenge” forthe2002post-Godhrariotsin Gujarat and to overthrow an elected government. a division Bench, comprising Justices a Y Kogje and samir dave, also dismissed the appeals filed by the accused against the trial court’s judgment of February 2022. The High Court directed the state government to pay compensation to the victims in the case -Rs 10 lakh each in cases of death, Rs 5 lakh for grievous injury and Rs one lakh for minor injury — by March 2027. among those facing the death row, at least 14 are from Gujarat, followed by eight from uP, six from Maharashtra, five from MP, two each from Kerala and Karnataka, and one from Hyderabad. as many as 22 bombs went off in ahmedabad on July 26, 2008, at various spots, including the state government-run civil hospital, the ahmedabad Municipal Corporation-run LG Hospital, on buses, parked bicycles, in cars and other places. Two other bombs, at Kalol and naroda, did not go off. »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 YasHVYaswasjusteightyears oldwhenhelosthisfatherdushyant and older brother Rohan in the bomb blasts that ripped through the ahmedabad Civil Hospital’s trauma centre on July 26, 2008. He survived with injuries. Welcoming the Gujarat High Court verdict, Vyas, 28, told The Indian Express on Tuesday, “The judgment is appropriate. My father, my brother and many others were killed in the blasts.” His father wasanemployeeatthehospital and was at work when he was killed. Vyas earlier told this newspaper, “The two of us (he and his brother) were with our father to learn how to ride a bicycleintheopenareathere.We »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 Man lynched over rape-murder of Happening today minor was innocent: Bengal CM lA two-dAy BRICS Women Ravik Bhattacharya Kolkata, July 7 TWO daYs after a 26-year-old man was lynched in Baruipur, in south 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, on suspicion of being involved in the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl, Chief Minister suvendu adhikari on Tuesday said a preliminary police probe has found that he was “innocent”. On Monday, adhikari had said that “the lynching had a communal angle”. maulshree Seth express Ayodhya, July 7 aMId THe Ram Mandir donation row, which has led to a major organisational shake-up in the shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, treasurer Govind dev Giri on Tuesday told The Indian Express that work shouldhavebeendecentralised and red flags addressed earlier. However, he asserted that bureaucratsassociatedwiththe Trust and sBI officials were equally expected to ensure administrative oversight and flag shortcomings before the situation escalated. On Monday, the Trust accepted the resignation of its generalsecretary,ChampatRai, and member, anil Mishra, and appointedseniorRssfunctionary and retired Indian Forest service (IFos) officer Krishna Mohan as interim general secretary. It also announced the creation of a new chief executive officer (CeO) post. speaking to The Indian Ex- ‘Appropriate, l Templeledger fair, just’: Kin of ₹250.04 cr victims hail ruling Total income (FY 2025-26) Court also confirms life imprisonment for 11 other convicts THe GuJaRaT High Court on Tuesday upheld the sentence awarded by a special trial court four years ago in the 2008 ahmedabad serial blasts case, confirming the death penalty for 38 of the 49 convicted and life imprisonment for the remaining 11. The blasts on July 26, 2008, had killed 56 persons and injured over 200. speaking to The Indian Express after the verdict, special Public Prosecutor in the case, Miteshamin,saidthisisthefirst instance in the country where a high court has simultaneously confirmed death sentences for as many as 38 persons. The prosecution had contended during the trial that the accusedwereassociatedwithIndianMujahideen,anoffshootof ‘Bureaucrats also had responsibility… Champat Rai’s trust in driver misplaced’ chief minister suvendu adhikari in Baruipur, Tuesday. expRess speaking to mediapersons on Tuesday, he said: “I held a detailed meeting with the police. according to them, IndrajeetMondol,theyouthwhowas the victim of mob lynching in Baruipur, was innocent. Those who are involved in the incident will be charged with murder and arrested.” The CM has also directed director General of Police (dGP) siddh nath Gupta to submitareportwithin72hours on possible lapses in the police probe into the rape-murder. “after the girl went missing »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 Ministerial Meeting begins in Kerala. It will provide strategic direction for enhancing cooperation among member countries under India's leadership. lA CommIttee preparing the draft Uniform Civil Code for Rajasthan will hold a public hearing for Kota division. The draft Bill is likely to be presented during the next session of the state Assembly. Track These and more on www.indianexpress.com Counters donation box Online mode Foreign currency ₹21.05 cr ₹66.55 cr ₹9.70 cr ₹0.94 cr donatedpreciousmetals (up to March 31, 2026) pure silver, silver-like items 1,518.925 kg Gold-like items 32.259 kg interview SwAmI GovINd dev GIRI RAM TeMple TRUsT TReAsUReR explained with ceo post, how ram temple trust is changing page 13 naTion sit flags ‘lapses’ by former trustee anil mishra page 10 press, Giri defended Rai’s personal integrity and said his “working style” rather than his »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 BAlAnCe sheeT ₹422.74 cr capital expenditure (includes temple construction) ₹91.76 cr revenue expenditure (includes bhog, prasad, puja, maintenance) ₹1,876.30 cr Total funds with temple trust l Fixed deposits: ₹1,771.22 cr l Mutual funds: ₹87 cr source: details of donations and expenses were shared during the Trust’s meeting on July 6 mINIStRy of eNvIRoNmeNt, foReSt ANd CLImAte ChANGe Congress questions ‘clean sweep’ in Union Minister’s office as four key aides removed express News Service New Delhi, July 7 WITH THe Ministry of environment, Forest and Climate Changesimultaneouslyremoving four key aides of union Minister Bhupender Yadav, the Opposition Congress on Tuesday questioned the reason behind the unusual move. TheIndianExpressreported on Tuesday that the Minister’s Private secretary and additional Private secretary had beenshuntedout,whiletheappointment of another additional Private secretary had been “terminated” in separate orders dated July 3. Ithasnowlearntthattheappointment of his assistant Private secretary, siddharth union minister Bhupender Yadav Yadav,wasalso“terminated”in anotherorder,alsodatedJuly3. “In pursuance of department of Personnel and Training’sO.M...dated3rdJuly,2026, and with the approval of the competent authority, the appointment of shri siddharth Yadav as assistant Private secretary to the Hon’ble Minister for environment, Forest and »CoNtINUed oN PAGe 2 l proposal in final sTaGes, was discussed aT hiGh-level meeTinG where cm was presenT Kejriwal’s former residence will be Delhi state guest house and cultural centre To have rooms for guests, conference hall, meeting spaces and an auditorium for various cultural and artistic events Gayathri mani aaP government was made a major issue by the BJP before the 2025 assembly election. THe deLHI government will The bungalow, described as developtheofficialresidenceof “sheeshMahal”bytheBJP,has former Chief Minister arvind remained unoccupied since Kejriwal as a “delhi state Guest October 2024 when Kejriwal House-cum-Culmoved out. tural Centre”, The “The proposal express Indian Express to develop the has learned. Civil Lines bungaThe renovalow is in the final tion and beautifistages. It was discation of the bungalow at 6 cussed in a high-level meeting Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines in where Chief Minister Rekha north delhi by the previous Gupta and senior officials were New Delhi, July 7 special present. The Public Works department (PWd) has been asked to submit details of the present condition of the property,” a source in the delhi government said. according to officials, the bungalowwasontheagendafor themeetingofthedelhiCabinet lastweek,butitcouldnotbediscussedbecausethegovernment was focused on rolling out the electric Vehicle (eV) policy at the time. “The proposal will be taken up for final approval soon,” a senior official said. kejriwal’s official residence was dubbed ‘sheesh mahal’ by BJp unlike other states, delhi does not have a designated state guest house or bhawan to host guests and national and international delegations. Turning the bungalow into a state guest house has been among the options on the government’s table, but it has now been decided to include a culturalcentre,andtoalsodevelop the premises next door to build a larger complex, officials said. “Whenever there is a meeting or event with guests from elsewhere in the country or abroad, the government has to make arrangements for their stayandhospitality,”thesenior official said. “as this property is readily available, it was proposed to develop it into a state guest house,” he said. “There is space at the back which will be developed. The aaP government was also constructing a building next to this Ahmedabad bungalow,whichtoowillbedeveloped,” the official said. The premises would have rooms for guests, a conference hall, meeting spaces, and an auditorium in which various cultural and artistic programmes, exhibitions, and official ceremonies can be held, officials said. Kejriwalandhisfamilylived in the bungalow for almost a decade from 2015. Following allegations of irregularities in its renovation and construction, the directorate of Vigilance had opened an investigation, and the BJP had sought to portray the so-called “sheesh Mahal” as an example of the alleged corruption of the aaP government. during the 2025 election campaign, the party had displayed miniature replicas of the bungalow at its rallies and public meetings. Therenovationofthepremises led to its built-up area increasing by more than a third from 1,397 sq m to 1,905 sq m, and the PWd had revised its preliminary estimates of the cost of renovation four times. a report by the Comptroller and auditor General (CaG) put the cost of the renovation at Rs 33.66 crore, more than 340% higher than estimated. Of this, Rs18.88crorewasspenton“superior specifications, artistic, antique and ornamental” items, the CaG said.