3 Things

First, back in October last year, the Financial Times reported that the US had prevented a conspiracy to assassinate Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil. According to US authorities, an Indian official named Nikhil Gupta was implicated in the plot to kill Pannun. Gupta was arrested in Prague last June and has been in custody, undergoing trial ever since. To know more about the charges against him, my colleague Niharika Nanda speaks to Indian Express' Chief of the National Bureau Ritika Chopra.

Second, with the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, parties will be making promises as they want to come to power. Promises that will include the implementation of direct benefit transfer schemes.Now over the years, these schemes have been criticised for making people lazy, and simply increasing the government’s spending. But is that really the case? To find that out, we speak to Indian Express’ Udit Misra in this segment.

Lastly, Indian Express’ Parthasarthi Biswas explains the reasons behind the skyrocketing garlic prices.

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Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda and Rahel Philipose

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 11th of January and here are the headlines.

The police told The Indian Express that Suchana Seth, the Bengaluru-based CEO arrested for allegedly killing her four-year-old son in a Goa hotel, had booked the room from 6th to 10th of January, but checked out earlier. According to police, at 9.10 pm on 7th of January, she told the staff of the service apartments in North Goa’s Candolim that she wanted to check-out since she had "urgent work in Bengaluru" and requested them to arrange a taxi. The FIR stated that she left at 12.30 am.

Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande today flagged that there have been infiltration attempts along the Line of Control, which the Army has foiled. He said that India is continuing to hold "talks at military and diplomatic levels to find resolution to balanced issues" in eastern Ladakh, where Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a standoff that began in 2020. Last week, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had also stated that though China’s relationship with India was "not normal", the two sides have continued to hold talks.

The US government has objected to providing defence materials to Indian national Nikhil Gupta, detained on murder-for-hire charges in a foiled assassination attempt on a Khalistani extremist. The US government said it will provide the information only upon his appearance in a New York court and arraignment in the case. Gupta is cuurently being held in Prague and the US government is seeking his extradition to America.

Indore and Surat have been adjudged India’s cleanest cities as part of the Swachh Survekshan 2023 Awards given out by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry. Navi Mumbai was named the third cleanest city in the country. Meanwhile, Maharashtra bagged the cleanest state award, followed by Madhya Pradesh.

The Karnataka Police arrested two people in connection with a case where an interfaith couple was attacked by a six-member gang during their stay at a hotel in Haveri. A police officer said that a Muslim married woman was having a consensual relationship with a Hindu man and the couple had checked into the hotel on 7th of January when they were assaulted. The woman along with her husband claimed that the accused later took her to an isolated place and gangraped her.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

We are taking a break from our regular programming today to present a special feature story about a woman who might just have the most unique job in the world — Melody G Fanai, who through her voice, mends relationships and brings people together.

Reported by Tora Agarwala
Hosted, written and produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

(This episode was originally published on the 3rd of November, 2023)

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 10th of January and here are the headlines.

While inaugurating the 10th edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit in Gandhinagar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Central government is working towards making the country a developed nation in the next 25 years. He said, quote, "We have the goal of making it a developed country by the time it celebrates 100 years of independence. Therefore, these 25 years is India’s Amrit Kaal." Unquote. Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial summit organised by the Gujarat government with a focus on bringing investment from other states and countries.

The police questioning of Suchana Seth, a Bengaluru-based start-up CEO who allegedly murdered her four-year-old son at a Goa hotel in Goa, and the child’s post-mortem has revealed that the boy was "smothered". A Karnataka government doctor who conducted the post-mortem, said the body did not show signs of rigor mortis – stiffening of the limbs of the corpse caused by chemical changes in the muscles. This indicated that the alleged murder took place at least 36 hours earlier.

While Republic Day preparations are on full swing at the Kartavya Path in New Delhi, several Opposition-ruled states and the Central government have been engaged in a war of words over their tableaus being rejected. While Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has called the Centre’s move as an insult towards Kannadigas, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said that the Central government was suffering from an anti-Punjab syndrome". The Centre, however, has stuck to its decision, issuing clarifications regarding the disqualifications.

A senior police official in Dahod has said they have not yet received any information about the surrender of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano gangrape case after the Supreme Court quashed the Gujarat government’s decision to grant them remission. A police force remains deployed in the area where the convicts are living in order to maintain peace. He also said the convicts are "not incommunicado" and some of them are visiting relatives.

Flagging concerns regarding the "influence" that social media platforms can have on democratic processes, Union Minister of Communications, IT and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said that while India currently has a regulatory framework that can deal with the issue to an extent, a "much more comprehensive legal structure" was needed.Speaking at The Indian Express Idea Exchange event, he also emphasised that there is a need for these platforms to be subjected to increased accountability.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, the Enforcement Directorate, has been attempting to summon Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. But, both Chief Ministers have consistently refused to appear before the ED. To understand if individuals can simply refuse to appear before the ED, Indian Express’ Deeptiman Tiwary joins us in this segment.

Second, for nearly a century, debates have raged about the Indus valley Civilization's script's linguistic basis, the number of symbols it contains, and whether it is based on a language at all. To help us understand the challenges behind deciphering this script, Indian Express' Adrija Roychowdhury joins us in this segment.

Lastly, a team at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital has been developing an AI algorithm that specializes in detecting early-stage cancer. In this segment, The Indian Express’ Rupsa Chakraborty joins us to talk about this new AI tool, and why we need it.


Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda and Rahel Philipose
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 9th of January and here are the headlines.

A 39-year-old CEO of a Bengaluru-based AI startup was arrested last night for allegedly murdering her four-year-old son at a service apartment in Goa. Police said the accused, Suchana Seth, was caught in Karnataka while trying to flee in a cab with her son’s body stuffed in a bag. Though the exact motive for the murder is yet to be established, during preliminary interrogation the accused woman mentioned ‘estranged relationship’ with her husband as one of the reasons.

While dense fog and cold wave warnings have been issued in parts of northern India, the Met Department said that parts of the south will continue to be lashed by heavy rains today. The weather agency has issued ‘Cold Day’ to ‘Severe Cold Day’ warnings today for parts of Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan. Moreover, ‘Cold Day’ warnings in Rajasthan have been extended till 10th of January. The desert state will also witness ‘Cold Wave’ conditions till 13th of January.

Marking a ‘historic’ visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a delegation led by Union Minister for Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs Smriti Zubin Irani and Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri V. Muraleedharan visited the city of Madinah. Two days earlier, India and Saudi Arabia signed a bilateral agreement under which New Delhi has been allocated a quota of 1,75,025 pilgrims for this year’s annual Haj pilgrimage.

With the country’s first centrally-funded cow sanctuary ready to be opened in Uttar Pradesh by the end of January, Union minister Sanjeev Balyan has embarked on a new mission — seeking bhusa (fodder) donation from across villages. Speaking to The Indian Express, he said the sanctuary, built over an area of 50 acres, can shelter up to 5,000 stray cattle. Stray cattle have become a big problem in Uttar Pradesh, as they damage crops and attack people.

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry has condemned the derogatory social media posts made by three now-suspended Maldivian ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India. In a statement, the Association called India as one of Maldives’ "closest allies" and the "first responder" in times of any crisis in the island nation.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, we discuss the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the remission granted to the Bilkis Bano convicts last year, and directing the men to report to jail authorities within two weeks.

Next, Anjali Marar, who writes on science for the Indian Express, informs us about India's participation in the international mega-science project, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), which will be the world's largest radio telescope (12:25).

Lastly, Indian Express’ Shantanu Chowdhury tells us about the incident in West Bengal where the Enforcement Directorate officials were attacked by a mob, and he provides insights into the BJP's latest response to the matter (21:46).

Hosted by Shashank Bhargava
Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

his is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 8th of January and here are the headlines.

The Supreme Court today struck down the remission granted by the Gujarat government to 11 convicts, who are out of jail, in the Bilkis Bano case. The court also directed them to report to jail authorities within two weeks. The bench said the Gujarat Government had no jurisdiction to entertain the application for remission of the convicts or to pass orders granting them remission as it was not the "appropriate government" to do so under the relevant provisions of the law.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, will visit Jammu tomorrow to review security and the progress of development works initiated in Jammu and Kashmir. Shah’s visit also comes weeks after four Indian Army personnel were killed and three others injured in a militant attack in the Poonch district on the 21st of December. Three civilians, who were picked up for questioning by the security forces after the attack, also allegedly died in custody.

The High Commissioner of Maldives to India Ibrahim Shaheeb met officials of the Ministry of External Affairs today amid a row over remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a number of Maldivian ministers on social media. Reportedly, MEA officials conveyed concern over the remarks. On Sunday, the Maldives government of President Mohamed Muizzu suspended three ministers for making derogatory remarks about PM Modi and the people of India.

Though no ‘Cold Wave’ warnings have been notified by the Met Department in the coming days, ‘Cold Day’ and ‘Severe Cold Day’ alerts have been issued over parts of north India like Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Rajasthan. Fog and dense fog conditions are likely to prevail in the mornings over Punjab, Haryana-Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and isolated parts of Bihar from 8th to 10th of January. The weather agency predicted chances of rainfall in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Lakshadeep, Puducherry, and Karaikal.

The Supreme Court today stayed the judgement of the Bombay High Court that had directed the Election Commission of India to immediately conduct a bypoll for the Pune Lok Sabha seat. It became vacant after the death of MP Girish Bapat. The SC bench issued notice to respondents in an appeal made by ECI challenging the Bombay HC order and said they will "lay down the law in March or April". This means the bypolls for Pune Lok Sabha seat cannot be held until SC decides the matter in March or April.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, we discuss how ISRO's project to study the sun, Aditya-L1 successfully reached its designated L-1 point. To help us understand what makes the project so unique, and what all ISRO plans to study through it, Indian Express' Anonna Dutt joins us in this segment.

Second, we talk about a book titled 'Four Stars of Destiny,' authored by Former Army Chief, General MM Naravane. The Indian Army is now reviewing the book since it offers insights into India's military standoff with China in eastern Ladakh that started in 2020, including details about the Galwan Valley clashes and the Agnipath recruitment scheme. The Indian Express’ Amrita Nayak Datta, joins us in this segment to share everything that's been happening regarding the book.

Lastly, we talk about the Maldives government's suspension of three deputy ministers after they took to social media to make derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and Produced by Rahel Philipose, Niharika Nanda, and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.

It’s the 5th of January and here are the top stories of this week.

Tsunami waves hit several parts of Japan’s coastal areas and urgent evacuation warnings were issued after a 7.6-magnitude earthquake shook the country’s north-central region on Monday. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a televised address, asked citizens to follow evacuation orders closely and warned that more powerful quakes and tsunami waves might follow the initial ones. At least 48 people were killed as relief and rescue operations continued. Thousands of rescuers struggled to reach the worst-hit area in the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture due to badly damaged and blocked roads.

The truck drivers’ associations called off their nationwide protest against the new penal provisions regarding hit-and-run cases in the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita on Tuesday. This came after the Ministry of Home Affairs held discussions with representatives of the All India Motor Transport Congress on the second day of the strike. The strike saw vehicles lined up outside petrol pumps as fuel supply was impacted in cities across the country.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to grant interim relief to Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who has challenged her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. The court, however, sought a reply from the Lok Sabha Secretary General on Moitra’s plea. The Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it would hear the matter again in the week commencing 11th of March.

The chief of Israel’s Mossad intelligence service vowed on Wednesday that the agency would hunt down every Hamas member involved in the 7th of Oct attack on Israel, no matter where they are. His pledge came a day after the deputy head of the Palestinian militant group was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Beirut. Israel has refused to comment on reports it carried out the killing, but the comments by David Barnea appeared to be the strongest indication yet it was behind the blast.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi went snorkeling to explore the undersea life during his recent visit to Lakshadweep, and posted pictures of his adventure calling it an "exhilarating experience" of the sojourn in the islands located in the Arabian Sea. Modi was in Lakshadweep on 2nd and 3rd of January to inaugurate the Kochi-Lakshadweep Islands Submarine Optical Fiber Connection and lay foundation stone for the renovation of primary healthcare facility and five model Anganwadi centers.

This was the Catch up on 3 Things by The Indian Express.