Saturday, January 3, 2026 | Vol. 69 No. 76 | 41 Pages Reg.No MCS/048/2021-23; RNI No. 1541/1957 M.p.c.s office Mumbai. PIN 400001 THE FREE PRESS JOURNAL International Mind-Body Wellness Day INDIA EDITION | www.freepressjournal.in ● Leader in E-paper circulation GAMES NATION Rajnath flags ‘alarming trend’ of educated people indulging in anti-national activities Brief At 26,340, Nifty50 scales lifetime high Indian equity markets delivered a commanding performance on Friday, scaling fresh lifetime highs intraday before closing firmly higher, as sustained buying in banking, power and metal stocks reinforced confidence in the country’s economic and earnings outlook. The benchmark 50-share NSE Nifty rose 182 points to end at 26,328.55, after climbing to a record high of 26,340. The 30-share BSE Sensex also surged 573.41 points to close at 85,762.01, after touching a high of 85,812.27 earlier in the session. SEE MONEY Veteran Australia batter Usman Khawaja set to retire from international cricket after fifth Test Cinema Sana reveals why she walked out of her last relationship Edit Life with AI: When machines start to feel like companions EYE ON PAK | Can’t request us to share our water with you and also spread terror in our country: Jaishankar’s stern message India draws red line with bad neighbours FPJ News Service MUMBAI External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday sent an unambiguous message on India’s neighbourhood policy: cooperation is conditional, and countries that persist with terrorism cannot expect the benefits of good neighbourliness. Speaking at an interaction with students at IIT-Madras, Jaishankar said India has every right to defend its people and will not compromise on security when dealing with what he described as “bad neighbours”. Without naming Pakistan, the minister drew a sharp red line between neighbours who choose cooperation and those who continue cross-border terrorism. “You cannot request us to share our water with you and also spread terrorism in our country,” Jaishankar said, underlining that decades of violence make normal relations impossible. 4Contd on | nation When you have bad neighbours, and if a country decides that they will deliberately, persistently, unrepentantly continue with terrorism, we have a right to defend our people against terrorism. We will exercise that right. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister FPJ News Service MUMBAI INDORE The death toll in Indore’s Bhagirathpura contaminated drinking water tragedy rose to 15 on Friday, laying bare a devastating failure of civic governance in a city repeatedly showcased as India’s cleanest. What officials initially attempted to project as a contained outbreak has now unravelled into a full-scale public health disaster rooted in neglect, delayed response and crumbling infrastructure. The latest fatality triggered sweeping disciplinary action. Indore Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dileep Yadav was removed from his post, while Waterworks Department in-charge Additional The Centre on Friday issued a stern notice to Elon Musk–led X, asking it to immediately remove all vulgar, obscene and unlawful content, particularly material generated through its artificial intelligence service Grok, failing which strict legal action will follow. Commissioner Rohit Sisoniya and Executive Engineer (Water Supply and Narmada Department) Sanjeev Shrivastava were suspended. Disciplinary action was also extended to lower-level officials, with a zonal officer and an assistant engineer suspended and a sub-engineer terminated from service. For residents of Bhagirathpura, the action offers little comfort. Many say they repeatedly complained of foulsmelling, bitter water days before the outbreak spiralled, only to be ignored until hospitals filled and deaths mounted. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | nation Locked & loaded: Trump warns Iran over protests Agencies If Tehran ‘violently kills peaceful protesters’, the US ‘will come to their rescue’, Trump said as toll in stir over economy rose to 7 DUBAI US President Donald Trump and a top Iranian security official exchanged duelling threats on Friday as widening economic protests swept across parts of the Islamic Republic, killing 7 people and further escalating tensions between the two countries after America bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June. The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in capital Tehran but expanded elsewhere. The fatalities, two on Wednesday and five on Thursday, occurred in four cities, largely home to Iran’s Lur ethnic group. Trump initially wrote on his Truth Social platform, warning Iran that if it “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US “will come to their rescue”. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” Trump wrote, US lawmakers call for Umar fair trial Agencies NEW YORK After newly sworn-in New York mayor Zohran Mamdani penned a note of support to Umar Khalid, booked in 2020 Delhi riots case, eight US lawmakers have written a letter urging the Indian government to grant him a fair trial in under international law. US Representatives Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin are among the eight who expressed concern regarding the "prolonged pre-trial detention" of Khalid and others in the case. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch, Congress members Pramila Jaypal, Rashida Tlaib, Jan Schakowsky and Llyod Doggett are the 8 US leaders write a letter to Indian govt after NYC mayor Mamdani pens a note of support for Delhi riots accused other signatories of the letter. Their letter to the Indian Ambassador to the US, Vinay Kwatra, came after Khalid's partner Banojyotsna Lahiri posted Mamdani's note on X. "When prisons try to isolate, words travel. Zohran Mamdani writes to Umar Khalid," said the caption with Mamdani’s handwritten note. 4Contd on | nation without elaborating.        Shortly after, Ali Larijani, a former parliament speaker who serves as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, alleged on X that Israel and the US were stoking the demonstrations. 4Contd on | nation MAHA ORDER: STRAY DOGS OFF HIGHWAYS Ravikiran Deshmukh MUMBAI After directing that sports complexes and stadiums be kept free of stray dogs, the state government has now extended the mandate to state and national highways under the jurisdiction of the Public Works Department (PWD). In an order issued on Friday, the government instructed all PWD offices responsible for highway maintenance to launch a special drive through the District Road Safety Committees, in line with directions issued by the Supreme Court on November 7 last year. Officials have been asked to identify dangerous and sensitive locations where the presence of stray dogs and other animals is frequently reported. As part of the campaign, stray animals will be captured and shifted to shelter homes. Vigilance squads will also be formed to conduct regular inspections along highways. 4Contd on | nation 4See also | city Mamdani pledges ‘audacious’ agenda Agencies NEW YORK Indian-origin Zohran Mamdani vowed to govern "expansively and audaciously" and deliver an agenda of affordability for New Yorkers as he thanked his family from "Kampala to Delhi" after being ceremonially sworn-in as the 112th mayor of New York City. He was administered the oath of office by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont at a ceremonial inauguration outside City Hall on Thursday, the seat of New York City government. A day earlier, he was formally sworn-in by New York Attorney General Letitia James at a private ceremony in Baloch letter to Bharat raises fears of China boots on ground an old subway station. In his 25-minute speech, the first South Asian and Muslim mayor of largest US city, said that "beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try." He recounted a conversation with a supporter that has since gone viral. “I spoke to a Pakistani auntie named Samina,” he said, who told him the movement had fostered “softness in people’s hearts,” adding in Hindi, “‘Logon ke dil badal gaye hain’ (people’s hearts have changed).” 4Contd on | nation It also sought an action taken report within 72 hours, detailing compliance action, the role of the chief compliance officer, and steps taken to prevent further hosting, generation or transmission of obscene and sexually explicit material through AI-based services such as Grok. 4Contd on | nation SURVEY SIGNALS EVM TRUST, STIRS CONG-BJP FEUD Vinay Madhava Gowda & Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar K’TAKA FINDINGS BENGALURU/NEW DELHI Agencies Top Indore officials sacked Govt trains gun at as foul water toll rises to 15 lewd Grok content FPJ News Service Savitribai Phule Jayanti NEW DELHI In an open letter to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, a prominent Baloch leader has cautioned about the “escalating strategic alliance” between Pakistan and China, stating that if Balochistan’s defence capabilities are not bolstered, Beijing could deploy its troops there in a few months. In the letter dated January 1, 2026, Mir Yar Baloch also praised Operation Sindoor, saying the military action targeted “terrorism hubs facilitated by Pakistan” and demonstrated “exemplary courage and a steadfast commitment to regional security and justice” following the Pahalgam terror attack. Writing as a Baloch representative of the Republic of Balochistan, he cautioned that China could deploy troops in Balochistan if the region’s “defence and freedom forces” continue to be ignored. He described such a move as an “unimaginable threat” to the future of both "Bharat and Balochistan". Amid allegations of “vote chori” levelled by the ruling Congress against the BJP in two constituencies of Karnataka, a government-backed survey has shown that a large majority of voters in the State continue to repose strong faith in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) over the ballot paper system. The survey, conducted by the Karnataka Monitoring and Evaluation Authority under the Department of Planning Programme Monitoring and Statistics, revealed high levels of confidence in EVMs, particularly in districts represented by senior Congress leaders. According to the findings, 94.08 % of voters in Kalburgi district, the home district of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, and over 88.59 % of voters in Mysuru district, represented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, expressed confidence in the accuracy of EVMs. The survey was part of the Central government’s “Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation” initiative, aimed at understanding voter education, participation and behavioural changes. Although the survey was con- The findings are a slap on the face of Congress. R Ashok, BJP LoP Survey conducted by a Modi man who works in PMO. Priyank Kharge, Karnataka minister ducted by the State government, its report, published in August 2025, had not received public attention until now. Reacting to the findings, the BJP termed the survey an embarrassment for the Congress. Leader of the Opposition R Ashok took to X to say that for years, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that India’s democracy was in danger and that EVMs and institutions could not be trusted. “But Karnataka has just told a very different story,” he said, adding that the statewide survey showed people trust elections, EVMs and India’s democratic process. He described the findings as a “slap on the face of Congress”. 4Contd on | nation