The Congress will challenge in the Supreme Court the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s decision to strike down the state’s 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), party leaders said on Saturday. The High Court on Friday struck down the 2019 law raising OBC reservation from 14 per cent to 27 per cent, ruling it unconstitutional and contrary to the 50 per cent reservation ceiling. MP Congress chief Jitu Patwari and Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar accused the BJP government of failing to effectively defend the quota in court.
Two Dalit men in Tamil Nadu’s Erode district were allegedly forced to prostrate before members of a dominant caste during a dispute over access to a burial ground, police said Saturday. The incident occurred after members of the Scheduled Caste community brought a 90-year-old man’s body for burial on October 5, but were allegedly stopped by the dominant community. Police said the two men were threatened with an economic boycott and forced to fall at the others’ feet. A video of the incident later went viral, following which Thingalur police booked two people under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The burial was completed under police protection.
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Assam student found dead near railway track in AP, SIT probes case
An Andhra Pradesh Police SIT is investigating the death of Assamese student Himsri Boro, whose body was found on October 7 near a railway track in Srikakulam district. Boro, who was studying BBA in Guwahati, had travelled to Visakhapatnam with a 10-member dance group and was trying to return to Assam when she boarded the late-running Vivek Express alone in the early hours of October 7. She later called a friend alleging misbehaviour by some boys before the call was disconnected. Police said a passenger later claimed she had fallen from the moving train, while her luggage was recovered from the S2 coach. A postmortem has been conducted and clues, forensic, dog and drone teams are assisting the probe.
Rahul Gandhi to meet Tamil Nadu CM Vijay, address students in Chennai
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay in Chennai on Saturday and later interact with students at the ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ event, the Congress said in a post on X. The visit comes amid the Opposition’s ongoing campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over its allegations of irregularities in voter rolls, and call for protest on Saturday at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
1,000 detained overnight in Delhi ahead of CJP protest against CEC
At least 1,000 people were detained overnight in Delhi ahead of Saturday’s protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-All India Students’ Association demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. As of 12:30 am Saturday, around 250 detainees were from South-East Delhi, particularly Shaheen Bagh, while more than 100 were from Shahdara and East Delhi. Police said the detentions were preventive, targeting people identified as having a history of mobilising protesters. More than 30,000 personnel have been deployed across the capital, with border areas heavily guarded and 13 detention centres earmarked.
‘She did not deny’: Rahul Gandhi after Opposition meets President over EC
After a nearly hour-long meeting with President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi said she “did not deny” the Opposition’s allegations of “vote chori” and irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. Gandhi said the President asked the Opposition to provide proof, while he maintained that the alleged irregularities were already known. The meeting came after three days of INDIA bloc protests in Delhi demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, including sit-ins at Akashvani Bhavan and Raj Ghat.
Kolkata model held for extortion as police probe 11 ‘false’ complaints
A 31-year-old Kolkata model and television actor has been arrested in an alleged extortion case after police identified 11 rape and sexual harassment complaints she had filed against around 14 people since 2024. Police said two extortion cases have been registered against her by people who alleged they were targeted through such complaints. She was arrested on September 18 after a dentist’s wife filed an extortion complaint and was sent to 14-day judicial custody after her bail plea was rejected on October 6. Police said five of the 11 complaints were filed in 2026 and are investigating the circumstances behind them.
