Markets Slide Amid Global Cues; Insurance Stocks Plunge On Draft Norms

A minor girl in Bihar’s Samastipur was abused, harassed and molested by a group of men after they spotted her with a boy on a local embankment.

Crucial CCTV footage from an examination hall at IIT Bombay has surfaced amid the probe into the death of twenty-year-old student Sahil Wakhure. The video shows the student seated during his examination using a mobile phone, after which invigilator Professor Suryanarayana Dula approaches him, takes away his answer sheet, and escorts him outside. The student was later found dead in his hostel room in an alleged suicide. The Mumbai Crime Branch has taken over the investigation and is reviewing CCTV footage across the campus. IIT Bombay has constituted a ten-member high-level committee to examine the sequence of events and submit a report within seven days, while the professor has been sent on leave following allegations of caste harassment by the family.

The Karnataka government is contemplating moving the Supreme Court to challenge the Karnataka High Court order directing the constitution of a Special Investigation Team to probe alleged recruitment irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission. The state government maintains that the Criminal Investigation Department is already conducting an effective investigation, having uncovered money trails and arrested primary culprits involved in the jobs scam. A final decision on filing the petition before the top court is expected within forty-eight hours.

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has faced strong criticism following an Indian Express report detailing internal objections raised by two Election Commissioners regarding the special intensive revision process. Key concerns highlight modifications made to Form 6, the centralization of electoral roll data, and restricted portal access for Electoral Registration Officers. In response, opposition parties have strongly condemned the developments, demanding legal accountability, the immediate removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, and fresh elections in multiple states. Leaders accused the poll authority of compromising democratic integrity. Conversely, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party defended the commission, asserting that divergent viewpoints during internal deliberations reflect democratic functioning rather than institutional compromise. The party maintained that the legal validity of the exercise has been upheld by the Supreme Court and dismissed opposition claims as politically motivated.