THE SUNDAY Vol. 37 No. 04 | Sunday, October 19, 2025 32 Pages | `5 & for State `6 | Reg. No. MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 46955/1988 M.p.c.s. office Mumbai-400001 FREE PRESS JOURNAL CBC 15502/13/0036/2526 INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation FULLY COVERED | Rajnath Singh flags off the first batch of missiles produced in Lucknow ‘Every inch of Pak in BrahMos’ reach’ Biswajeet Banerjee LUCKNOW Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday warned Pakistan that “every inch of its territory is now within the reach of the BrahMos missile,” declaring that India’s military strength has reached unprecedented levels. Speaking at the BrahMos Aerospace facility in Lucknow, Singh said that the recent “Operation Sindoor” was only a “trailer” of India’s capability to act decisively against terrorism. “Operation Sindoor has proven that victory is no longer a rare event for us. Victory has become our habit,” Singh said, addressing a large gathering after flagging off the first batch of BrahMos missiles produced at the Lucknow plant. The event, attended by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, marked a major milestone in India’s defence manufacturing journey. Rajnath Singh, who also represents Lucknow in Parliament, described the BrahMos missile system as a “symbol of India’s growing indigenous defence capability.” He said the state-of-the-art missiles are now ready for deployment across the armed forces. 4Contd on | Nation 4See also | Nation ‘Af-Pak easy to solve’ A mid escalating hostilities between Afghanistan and Pak, Trump on Friday claimed that the conflict between the two neighbouring countries would be an “easy” one for him to solve, “if” he had to. Speaking to the media Trump said, “I do understand Pakistan attacked or there is an attack going on with Afghanistan, that's an easy one for me to solve if I have to solve that.” 4Contd on | Nation Munir threatens India’s geographic vastness I n yet another bout of antiIndia bluster, Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday warned that his forces would “shatter the misconceived immunity of India’s geographic vastness,” threatening a “decisive response” to any provocation. Addressing a passing-out parade at the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) in Abbottabad, Munir said that “there is no space for war in a nuclearised environment,” while cautioning India’s military leadership against “coercion or rhetoric.” 4Contd on | Nation Dheeraj Kumar PATNA The opposition Mahagathbandhan, or grand alliance, in Bihar appears to be on the verge of collapse ahead of the state polls, with signs of serious internal discord among its partners. At least ten constituencies are likely to witness “friendly contests” between alliance candidates unless last-minute compromises are struck, sources said. The Mahagathbandhan, which includes the RJD, Congress, CPI (ML), CPI, CPI (M) and VIP, has failed to reach consensus on several key seats, raising fears that vote splits could benefit the ruling NDA. 4Contd on | Nation UP anti-conversion act: SC quashes multiple FIRs Donald Trump reasserts oil claim FPJ News Service Not so grand alliance in Bihar WASHINGTON NEW DELHI The Supreme Court on Friday (October 17, 2025) quashed multiple FIRs registered in Uttar Pradesh against Dr Rajendra Bihari Lal, Vice-Chancellor of Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences (SHUATS), and other university officials, holding that the cases were based on “completely incredulous material” and amounted to an abuse of criminal process. The Court concluded that the material collected “lacked credibility and fell hopelessly short of the standard necess- The Court concluded that the material collected “lacked credibility and fell hopelessly short of the standard necessary for permitting criminal prosecution to proceed.” ary for permitting criminal prosecution to proceed.” A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra delivered the ruling while hearing a batch of appeals arising from criminal proceedings lodged under the U.P. Prohibition of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Act, 2021, along with offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It said that religious gatherings or charity work cannot be treated as offences under the UP Act or the IPC, reportedLive Law. It noted that one of the FIRs was barred by law because it was not lodged by a victim. Other FIRs were found to repeat the same allegations. The Court found that the witness statements were “mechanically reproduced” with identical wording and even identical mistakes, suggesting that the investigation lacked credibility. 4Contd on | Nation Prince Andrew renounces titles FPJ News Service MUMBAI Britain’s Prince Andrew, younger brother of King Charles III, has relinquished his title as Duke of York and surrendered all royal honours following what Buckingham Palace described as a “dis- cussion” with the monarch. The move comes amid renewed scrutiny of the 65-year-old prince’s ties to disgraced American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, long dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct, had already ceased using the “His Royal Highness” title after stepping back from public duties in 2019. In a statement issued on Friday, he said his remaining honours and titles would now become inactive, though he will continue to “vigorously deny” all accusations. 4Contd on | Nation Agencies US President Donald Trump reiterated that India will not be buying oil from Russia, saying that New Delhi has already "deescalated" and "more or less stopped" its oil purchases from Moscow. At a bilateral lunch with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on Friday, Trump said, “India will not be buying oil from Russia, they have already de-escalated and they have more or less stopped." "They are pulling back. They have bought about 38 per cent of the oil, and they won't be doing it anymore," Trump said while replying to a question. On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Radhir Jaiswal had deflected attention by claiming that he was not aware of such a telephone call. 4Contd on | Nation India will not be buying oil from Russia, they have already de-escalated and they have more or less stopped. – Donald Trump