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New rail line project to connect 2 states, religious sites

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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a new rail line project to connect more regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, aimed at providing connectivity and improve mobility to the people of those areas.

The alignment of the proposed doubling will traverse through Sirohi district of Rajasthan and Banaskantha and Mahesana districts of Gujarat.

According to a statement, Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line would provide connectivity and improve mobility to people of the region.

This line will facilitate faster movement of agricultural and local products and also provide improved mobility of the people in the region within the state of Gujarat and Rajasthan and also to other parts of the country.

Ambaji is a famous important pilgrimage destination and is one of the 51 Shaktipeeths in India and attracts millions of devotees from Gujarat as well as other parts of the country and abroad every year.

The construction of this line will facilitate easy travel for these millions of devotees, the statement said.

Further, the devotees visiting the Ajitnath Jain temple (one of the 24 holy Jain Tirthankaras) at Taranga Hill would also be greatly benefitted by this connectivity.

This railway new line between Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road will connect these two important religious sports with the railway’s main network.

The construction of a new rail line will attract investment and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the construction of Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line to be constructed by the Ministry of Railways at an estimated cost of Rs 2,798.16 crore.

“The total length of the new rail line will be 116.65 km. The project will be completed by 2026-27. The project will generate direct employment during construction,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said.

The government said that in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a New India, the project is going to enhance connectivity and improve mobility leading to overall socio economic development of the region.

This project will also provide alternative routes for the existing Ahmedabad-Abu Road railway line, the statement added.

Entertainment

Sajid Nadiadwala’s Production House Buys 2 Luxury Apartments Worth ₹36.57 Crore In Mumbai’s Prabhadevi

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Mumbai: Bollywood filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala’s production house Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. purchased two high-end apartments in the upscale Prabhadevi area of South Mumbai for a combined value of Rs 36.57 crore, according to property registration documents reviewed by real estate platform Square Yards. Both transactions were registered in October 2025 on the Maharashtra government’s Inspector General of Registration (IGR) website.

Located in one of Mumbai’s most sought-after neighbourhoods, Prabhadevi is known for its premium residential towers, commercial spaces, and proximity to major business hubs like Lower Parel, Nariman Point, and the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC). The locality, home to landmarks such as the Siddhivinayak Temple, is well-connected via Veer Savarkar Marg and offers convenient access to lifestyle destinations, hospitals and educational institutions, making it a preferred address for Mumbai’s elite.

According to IGR data reviewed by Square Yards, the first apartment was bought in Hubtown Twenty Five South North, a luxury residential project in South Mumbai. Valued at Rs 18.57 crore, the property has a RERA carpet area of 222.13 sq. m. (2,390 sq. ft.) with an additional area of 19.40 sq. m. (208 sq. ft.), and includes two car parking spaces. The transaction attracted a stamp duty of Rs 1.11 crore and registration charges of Rs 30,000.

The second apartment, also in the same building, was purchased for Rs 18 crore. It has a RERA carpet area of 221.30 sq. m. (2,382 sq. ft.), along with 12.86 sq. m. (138 sq. ft.) of additional space and two car parking slots. The buyer paid Rs 1.08 crore in stamp duty and Rs 30,000 in registration fees.

Founded by filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment is one of India’s leading production houses with a legacy of blockbuster films across genres including action, romance, and comedy. The studio is known for high production values and collaborations with top-tier actors and directors. Some of its most successful franchises include Housefull, Baaghi and Kick.

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National News

Organisational rejig, bureaucratic reshuffle before SIR, poll process viewed as part of Trinamool’s 2026 gameplan

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New Delhi, Oct 28: With Assembly elections expected in West Bengal by May-June next year, every move made by Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Chairperson Mamata Banerjee will be under public scrutiny. Thus, the large-scale bureaucratic reshuffle carried out by her government hours before the Election Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the country, is suspected to be linked with the upcoming polls.

As is the ongoing organisational rejig seen as a move to strengthen a party facing incumbency, with alleged corruption, indiscipline, and infighting – sometimes leading to physical altercations – charges after about 14-and-a-half years in power.

The administrative order involves hundreds of officers being relocated or reassigned across several districts which the government described as routine, claiming that many of them had completed three years at their postings, requiring a move.

Technically, it is a norm at preventing any single officer from becoming a long-term local power broker. But in this case, the decision is being considered in certain sections as redeployment of key officials to place administrators with proven loyalty, competence, or responsiveness in critical districts before the SIR process begins.

Trinamool leaders have publicly criticised the Election Commission’s decision to conduct SIR in West Bengal, arguing the exercise risks wrongful deletion of legitimate voters and could be used to target specific communities for political advantage.

They framed the process as “politically-motivated” and warned of protests if valid electors were removed. They questioned the impartiality of the process and linked the timing of the exercise to heightened political stakes ahead of the 2026 Assembly polls.

However, the poll body clarified that as per law, electoral rolls have to be revised before every election or as per requirement, where SIR has been done eight times from 1951 till 2004, with the last taking place over two decades ago in 2002-2004.

Some changes, like frequent migration resulting in voters getting registered at more than one place, names of those deceased, including fraudulent entry of foreign nationals, among other, cannot be made in electoral rolls in the usual revision process. Such an exercise requires door-to-door visits at the booth level.

Reports – both administrative and media – have shown a demographic change in West Bengal, especially in districts bordering Bangladesh, due to decades of influx through porous borders and alleged political complicity.

Economic dominance and population growth among Muslims are allegedly altering local life, triggering tensions, as was reflected in this year’s violence in Murshidabad over the Waqf Amendment Bill.

Ruling party leaders publicly claim their absolute dominance in such areas, with poll results indicating the trend. There have been reports of certain immigrants holding voters’ identity card and participating in the poll process, without citizen status. Such voters can be identified through the process of SIR; though oversight or deliberate interference on ground level cannot be totally ruled out.

Meanwhile, in recent months, the Trinamool has undertaken widespread organisational changes at the district level to balance veteran leaders and emerging younger leaders.

The reshuffle aims to reduce factionalism, impose stricter controls, and future-proof the party machinery for securing a fourth term in power.

There also appears an attempt at a strategic recalibration from the “old vs. new” debate to a mix of prominent longstanding figures with younger faces in organisational committees and lists of future poll candidates.

The efforts involved restructuring, sometimes even abolishing, district presidents in favour of small, handpicked core committees. In Birbhum, Kolkata North, for example, district-level leadership has been moved from a single strongman to collective committees.

The party’s organisational moves may be viewed as a strategy to recentre control, reduce factionalism, and improve candidate quality – changes expected to influence party decision at considering tickets for the 2026 Assembly polls.

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Crime

Fake ‘acid attack’: Delhi Police gives clean chit to 3 ‘accused’; woman, kin under scanner for staging incident

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New Delhi, Oct 28: Delhi Police has given a virtual clean chit to a painter and two others accused by a woman of throwing acid on her in North Delhi’s Ashok Vihar last week, Special Commissioner of Police Ravindra Singh Yadav said on Tuesday.

Yadav expressed satisfaction over preventing injustice being meted out to the three “innocents” as the alleged attack has turned out to be an incident staged by the complainant woman and her family to settle scores with the “suspects”.

Yadav told IANS that technical analysis, CCTV footage and physical evidence proved that the three accused were not at the spot where the alleged “acid attack” took place on October 26 near Laxmi Bai College.

“It has turned out to be a case of old enmity related to a plot owned by the father of the woman who levelled false allegations of ‘acid attack’ on the accused,” he said.

The Special Commissioner of Police said the investigation is still underway but prima facie the conspiracy was hatched by the 20-year-old woman, her father, brother and uncle to try and implicate the three men in a false case of “acid attack”.

The two families have a history of litigation and criminal complaints against each other.

Investigators also revealed that the “acid attack” victim’s father Akil Khan, 45, now under custody, was accused of sexual harassment by the painter Jitender’s wife a few days before the October 26 staged episode of ‘acid attack’.

Yadav said the police are seeking legal opinion on the next step as the matter involves two separate issues.

“One, is the ‘acid attack’ and, the other, is the allegation of rape against the father of the ‘acid attack’ victim,” he said.

Yadav said, “For the time being, it is a matter of satisfaction for the police to have foiled the conspiracy by the woman’s family to implicate three innocent people.”

He said the police will now consider acting against the woman’s family for filing a false case.

Yadav said an investigation is still on to verify the woman’s statement that she and her family members had carried toilet cleaner from home to stage the ‘acid attack’ and subsequently report at a hospital with ‘acid attack burns’ on her hands.

The Special Commissioner of Police said they will soon share details of the alleged roles played by the family members of the woman in staging the ‘acid attack’ and attempting to implicate painter Jitender and his two aides, Ishan and Arman.

Yadav said in matters related to crimes against women the police promptly register a case on receiving a complaint and this is what happened in this matter. A case under Sections 124(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered as FIR No. 605/2025 on the woman’s complaint which named the three ‘suspects’.

However, investigations revealed that the allegation against the three “acid attackers” were false and they were physically not present on the spot where the incident was staged, the police said.

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