Days after 11 people lost their lives in a stampede during the Karnataka government-sponsored RCB felicitation event, it has now come to light that the police objected to holding the event at the Karnataka Vidhan Soudha.
The Congress government in the State wanted to capitalise on RCB’s victory in the 2025 IPL tournament. Two events were planned for this purpose. One was held at the Chinnaswamy stadium while the other was organised at the grand stairs of Karnataka Vidhan Soudha.
It must be mentioned that the Congress government approved holding the event at the Legislative Assembly on 4th June this year. According to India Today, the organisers were asked to pay a sanitation fee of ₹10000, a refundable deposit of ₹15 lakhs and take responsibility for any damage caused.
— ChristinMathewPhilip (@ChristinMP_) June 4, 2025
The government had prohibited use of plastic, gas cylinders, and drones at the site. It had directed organisers to coordinate with Public Works Department, police, BBMP, Fire Services and Health Department for smooth conduct of the event at the Vidhan Soudha.
It has now transpired that the Vidhana Soudha’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) MN Karibasavana Gowda had objected to conducting the RCB felicitation ceremony at the grand stairs of Karnataka Vidhan Soudha.
According to a report by NDTV, the DCP had highlighted security challenges, staff shortage at the Vidhan Soudha’s security wing, insufficent time for preparatory measures and lack of CCTV at the vital installation.
n a letter to the Congress government on 4th June, Gowda stated, “As the Royal Challengers Bangalore team has a large fan following across the country, holding the felicitation at the grand steps of Vidhana Soudha may attract lakhs of cricket fans, potentially creating security challenges due to a shortage of officers/staff in the Vidhana Soudha security wing.”
“The event is to be held at 4:00 PM on 04.06.2025. There is a high chance that Secretariat officers/staff may bring their family members to the venue. Therefore, it is requested that orders be issued prohibiting staff from bringing families and declaring an afternoon holiday for Secretariat staff on the said date. Further, they should be instructed not to attend the event venue,” the DCP pointed out.
He highlighted, “Coordination with the Law & Order and Traffic Police departments is essential for such a large-scale event, and the current time frame seems inadequate for full preparedness. All online and offline passes for public entry to Vidhana Soudha be completely restricted on that day.”
“Organisers should be informed to make the stage available for inspection at least two hours in advance. As electrical equipment will be used at the event, a fitness certificate must be obtained from the concerned PWD (Electrical) Assistant Executive Engineer. A formal letter should be sent to them for this purpose,” he added.
The DCP concluded his letter by pointing out that damage to Vidhan Soudha, a heritage building, must be prevented at all costs and the decision of the government should be final.
The RCB felicitation event was carried out both at the Vidhan Soudha and at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where 11 people died in a stampede outside the facility. But this did not stop the celebration of the Karnataka Congress government.
A 9-year-girl was brutally raped and murdered in the Dayalpur police station area of North East Delhi on Bakrid (7th June). Semi-nude, blood-soaked body of the minor girl was found stuffed inside a suitcase in a locked flat. The family of the victim suspect that a local resident named Naushad has committed the crime. Police is on a lookout for Naushad, who is on the run.
As per reports, the father of the victim, who lives in the Nehru Vihar area of Dayalpur, informed that the victim had gone to the house of a relative to give ice in the evening on Saturday. When she did not return after a long time, the family started searching for her.
दिल्ली के दयालपुर इलाके में 9 वर्षीय बच्ची से दुष्कर्म कर हत्या करने का मामला सामने आया है. दिल्ली के नेहरू विहार इलाके में शनिवार रात सूटकेस में गंभीर रूप से घायल बच्ची मिली। बच्ची अर्धनग्न हालत में थी। बच्ची के परिवार का आरोप है कि रेप के बाद उसकी हत्या का प्रयास किया गया।… pic.twitter.com/cMsj90nFnv
Someone told the family that the girl was seen going inside a flat located around 200m from her house. The family reached the house which was locked. The victim’s father broke the lock of the flat and entered inside where he found a suitcase. When he opened the suitcase, the victim was lying unconscious inside it.
She had no clothes on her lower body. Her father took her to a hospital where she was declared dead. The medical examination of the victim revealed that she was raped before being killed. The victim’s family have accused Naushad, who is on the run, of committing the crime.
North East District DCP Ashish Mishra said that the medical examination has confirmed that the girl was raped. There are injury marks on her face. The police has kept the body in the mortuary. The police is checking the CCTV cameras of the area and have assured that the accused will be arrested soon.
The ancient Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala is holding the ‘Maha Kumbhabhishekam’ ritual today (8th June) after a period of 270 years. The ritual will be accompanied by the re-installation of Vishwaksena idol, and the ‘Ashtabandhakalasam’ ritual at the Thiruvambady Sree Krishnaswamy Temple.
Kerala | Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple holds 'Maha Kumbhabhishekam' after 270 years. The ceremony will include the dedication of the domes in front of the main shrine, the re-installation of the Vishwaksena idol, and the ‘Ashtabandhakalasam’ ritual at the Thiruvambady Sree… pic.twitter.com/LGxzcUQu7c
A Kumbhabhishekam process is performed to restore or reawaken the spiritual energy of a shrine or a sacred place. It is a set of specific rituals prescribed by the Agama Shastras (scriptures in which details of temple construction, consecration, and worship are found), for the purification and consecration of a sacred space. The word ‘Kumbha‘ means a pot of water, and ‘Abhishekam‘ is the act of pouring consecrated water on Vigraha (idol) of deities, temple pillars and other parts of temple to re-energise them.
For a newly constructed temple, the consecration or the ‘life giving ceremony’ called Nutan Kumbhabhishekam, is conducted to purify the temple and establish the life energies of deities in the Vigraha. These life energies need to be re-awakened after a certain period, as prescribed in the Agama Shastras, for which the Kumbhabhishekam ceremony is performed. The standard period for the Kumbhabhishekam of a temple is 12 years, but it can take place sooner or later depending on various reasons.
Along with the Maha Kumbhabhishekam ritual at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Ashtabandhakalasam ritual at the Thiruvambady Sree Krishnaswamy Temple will also take place. Ashtabandhakalasam is a specific ritual in which a natural adhesive mixture, prepared from 8 herbs mixed with wood lac, limestone powder, resin, red ochre, beeswax and butter, is applied for fixing the idols of deities to their pedestals. The process is supposed to keep the energies of the Vigraha energised for a period of 12 years. And it is said that if Ashtabandhanam is performed with gold, the energy of the Vigraha lasts for a period of 100 years.
Maha Kumbhabhishekam heppening after 270 years
The Maha Kumbhabhishekam ceremony is being udertaken after a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee (2017), found that some Vigrahas in the temple were damaged. The work of the renovation of the temple began soon after the committee’s recommendations but were halted due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Temple manager, B Sreekumar said that, as part of the first phase of restoration, a silver staff was installed at the Thiruvambady Sree Krishnaswamy Temple four years ago. “The renovation has been carried out as per the directive of the Supreme Court-appointed expert panel in 2017. Though the work began soon after, it could not progress much further due to the COVID situation,” Sreekumar told PTI. The renovation work was completed in a phased manner from 2021 onwards.
Sreekumar highlighted the importance of the occasion, saying that the Maha Kumbhabhishekam is taking place after 270 years and it is unlikely to happen in the next several decades. “The comprehensive renovation and the related rituals are being held at the shrine after centuries. It is a rare opportunity for devotees of Lord Padmanabha across the world to witness these rituals after all these years,” he added.
Various other rituals, including Acharya Varanam, Prasada Shuddhi, Dhara, and Kalasam were held at the temple in the days leading up to the Maha Kumbhabhishekam.
It has been over two weeks since a couple from Indore went missing while on their honeymoon trip in Shillong, Meghalaya. About 10 days after the couple went untraceable, the police found the body of the husband Raja Raghuvanshi from a gorge. However, the police have not yet been able to trace the wife Sonam Raghuvanshi. Here is a timeline of events since the couple arrived in Shillong.
A timeline of what happened
Sonam and Raja Raghuvanshi got married on 11th May and boarded a flight to Shillong on 20th May.
May 21
The next day, in the evening, they checked into a guesthouse named Balaji Guest House in Shillong.
May22
They rented a scooter in the morning and went out on Keating Road. They returned to the guest house and checked out without having breakfast. They informed the manager of the guest house that they would return by 25th May and would call if they would need a room.
From Shillong, they travelled to a popular tourist spot called Sohra (Cherrapunji) carrying their luggage on a two-wheeler. Then, they arrived at Mawlakhiat village in East Khasi Hills and parked the scooter at a local parking spot. They hired a local guide to trek to Shipara Homestay at Nongriat village.
May 23
The couple checked out from Shipara Homestay and returned to Mawlakhiat village without the guide. Next, they set out from Mawlakhiat, and after that, they went missing. Police began a search to trace the couple and interrogated the guide who told them that the couple did not use his service for the return trek to Mawlakhiat.
May 24
The headman of Sohrarim village in East Khasi Hills informed the police that a scooter was found abandoned at their village.
May 25
Police traced the owner of the scooter, who came to Sohra police station and told the police that the couple had rented the two-wheeler from him. The police kept looking for the couple, who were still untraceable.
June 2
While searching for the couple, a police drone found a body in a gorge in Wei Sawdong Falls, about 20 km away from their homestay. The body was semi-decomposed and was identified by Raja Raghuvanshi’s family.
The Police said that Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered. His mobile phone and a stained machete, believed to have been used in killing him, was found by police near his body. A raincoat, reportedly having blood stains, was also found a few kilometres away from where Raja’s body was found.
According to Vivek Syiem, Superintendent of police, East Khasi Hills, Vivek Syiem, the police are investigating whether the raincoat belongs to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who remains missing. The police is also trying to confirm if the stains on the raincoat are blood. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are jointly conducting the search.
Sonam’s family suspects she was trafficked to Bangladesh
Sonam’s brother, Govind Raghuvanshi, has expressed fears of her being abducted and taken across the border to Bangladesh. Raja’s brother, Vipin, also raised the possibility of Sonam being trafficked To Bangladesh as the region is close to Bangladesh border.
As the police have not found any success in locating Sonam Raghuvanshi, her family is demanding the case to be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation CBI.
“It has been so many days and the search team has not got any clue. The rescuers have not yet found her phone or bag. So, this is kidnapping. We appeal to the police and the rescuers not to give up hope and change their tack to find her alive,” he said. Govind Raghuvanshi expressed disstisfaction over the efforts of the state government in locating Sonam. He said that authorities are looking for her sister as she is dead. “We strongly believe Sonam is alive. They are searching for her like she is dead,” Govind said.
CCTV footage shows the couple outside a homestay
As per reports, a CCTV footage of the couple from 22nd May, shows them arriving at a homestay with their luggage on a two-wheeler. In the footage, the couple is seen interacting normally. Raja walked into the homestay to talk to the staff while Sonam waited near the luggage. She was seen wearing a white shirt which is said to have been found later by the police near Raja’s body.
Tourist guide says he saw the couple with 3 men
According to reports, a local tourist guide Albert Pde, claimed to have seen the couple with 3 men on the day of disappearance when they were climbing over 3,000 steps from Nongriat to Mawlakhiat around 10 am on May 23. Pde said that he recognised the couple because a day before he had offered his services to them on their climb down to Nongriat.
“The four men were walking ahead while the woman was behind. The four men were conversing in Hindi but I could not understand what they were speaking as I know only Khasi and English,” Pde told PTI. “By the time I reached Mawlakhiat, their scooter was not there,” he added.
Madrasas are places of religious education, but the kind of news that keeps coming every day shows that they have turned into centers of terrorism and sexual exploitation. This is not the case only in countries like India, but the same situation is seen in Muslim-majority countries as well.
France 24 has published a report on the madrasas of Pakistan, which was created after partition in the name of Islam. This report shows that sexual abuse of children in the madrasas of Pakistan has taken an institutional form. Sexual abuse is so common that it seems it is not even seen as a problem by the people connected with the system there.
It is also worth noting that Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had recently described those studying in madrasas as the ‘second line of defense’ of his country. But the story of sexual abuse that these children have told France 24 shows that Pakistan’s ‘second line of defense’ is itself unsafe.
According to the report, more than 36,000 registered and unregistered madrasas are running in Pakistan. About 22 lakh children are studying in them. Most of them come from poor families. They are from rural areas and study while staying in madrasas. People associated with these religious institutions take advantage of this and commit sexual violence against children.
This report of France 24 includes the stories of dozens of victims. A 14-year-old victim shared that a teacher of the school raped him. He said that the village boys used to talk about sexual abuse in the madrasa, but he had not thought that this would happen to him as well.
Another victim said, “The head maulvi of the madrasa took me to his house on the pretext of cleaning it. As soon as I reached there, the maulvi locked the door of the room. He forcibly took off my pants. He beat me up. He raped me. He did horrible things. I was crying continuously.”
Another victim child said, “I went with him (maulvi) on the bike. He closed the door and forcibly removed my clothes. I kept crying, but no one came to help.”
Madrasas have become centres of sexual exploitation
Associated Press has already published a report on the condition of madrasas in Pakistan. Be it India or Bangladesh or Pakistan, the reality of madrasas in every country is almost the same. They become centres for sexual exploitation of children. The fear of the mullahs is such that only a few cases come to light. Most of them are suppressed.
Pakistan’s human rights lawyer Saif ul Mulk has also talked about this fear. According to him- Today everyone is afraid of the mullahs. You will not get justice if you accuse them of sexual misconduct. The police also help the mullahs and not the victims.
Nusrat was burnt to death in a madrasa
This fear can be understood from an incident in Bangladesh. On 6th April 2019, 80 percent burnt Nusrat Jahan Rafi was brought to Dhaka Medical College. She died on 10th April. 19-year-old Rafi had complained to the police on 27th March that the principal of the madrasa called her to the office and touched her inappropriately. She accused the principal of the madrasa of repeated sexual abuse. Other teachers of the madrasa also asked Rafi to keep quiet. She was pressured to withdraw the complaint. Then on the night of 6th April, Nusrat was called to the roof of the madrasa. She was asked to withdraw the complaint, but she refused. The attackers poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.
The three accused in Nusrat’s murder were her classmates. According to the police, the Maulvi had said to pressure her to withdraw the complaint, and if she did not agree, kill her. The plan was to make her murder look like a suicide. But this did not happen because the scarf with which Nusrat’s hands and legs were tied got burnt and she managed to run down the stairs.
Same situation in Pakistan even after 8 years
In 2017, voices were raised against madrasas in Pakistan. Then Kausar Parveen’s 9-year-old son returned home from the madrasa soaked in blood. According to reports, one night in April, when Kausar’s son, who lived in the madrasa, woke up, he found the Maulvi lying next to him. The child got scared seeing the Maulvi. The Maulvi then raped him. To ensure that the 9-year-old child could not scream, the Maulvi stuffed his own shirt in his mouth. But in this case too, what happened is what usually happens in most such cases, the Maulvi escaped any punishment. The report of ‘France 24’ informs that even after eight years, sexual abuse of children continues unabated in the madrasas of Pakistan.
The day was 8th June 1980. Hundreds of Hindu Bengali immigrants were butchered by violent tribal mobs in a pre-planned attack in Mandai village in the Northeastern State of Tripura. An estimated 350-400 Bengali Hindus were brutally killed in a single day, thus making the ‘Mandai massacre’ one of the deadliest ethno-religious episodes of violence in 20th-century Independent India.
The village of Mandai is located just 30 km away from Tripura’s capital city of Agartala. It had a substantial indigenous tribal population and a minority Bengali Hindu population, which had settled there for over 20 years by then. The Bengali Hindus were refugees from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
The regional politics of the 1970s and the large-scale influx of the Bengali Hindu population to Tripura, in the aftermath of the 1971 India-Pakistan War, saw renewed resentment among the tribal population for the incoming refugees. A radical tribal political party ‘Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS)’ had emerged by then based on this anti-Bengali sentiment.
Screengrab of an article published on the Mandai Massacre by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on 16th June, 1980
Other armed tribal extremist groups, Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) and Sangkrak Army (The Mighty One), also capitalised on the political rhetoric at that time to create a conducive environment for the massacre that followed in Mandai on 8th June 1980.
One event in particular became the precursor to the carnage. Some shopkeepers (presumably Bengalis) had assaulted a tribal boy in Lembucherra Bazar. Soon after, a mob of over 1000 tribals descended on the market area, vandalised shops and killed people. The Bazar remained closed for a week amid agitation by the ‘Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti (TUJS).’
The tribal extremist group ‘Sangkrak Army’, which had been procuring arms from the Mizo National Front (MNF), seized on the opportunity and attacked markets in Thelakung and Gulirai (about 30 km from Mandai). And then began the orgy of unprecedented violence.
On 8th June 1980, a strong mob of 1,000 tribals ambushed the Bengali residents of Mandai with guns, spears, swords, bows, arrows, and daos (scythes).
Screengrab of an article published on the Mandai Massacre by St. Joseph Gazette on 16th June, 1980 St. Joseph Gazette
The extremists first demanded money from the Bengali Hindu villagers, who handed over approximately $250 (all the cash the victims had in possession). The victims were gathered in the village market area and forced to watch their houses being burnt.
A report by Time Magazine (dated 30th June 1980) read, “In the worst massacre, in the village of Mandai, the tribals first demanded money, then corralled the Bengalis in the village market. The horrified settlers were forced to watch while tribesmen armed with guns, spears and heavy scythes called daos put the torch to dwellings and butchered their occupants.“
The extremists showed no mercy. The Indian army found at least 350 dead bodies of Bengali Hindus with crushed heads and severed limbs. Children were stabbed while some victims were chopped in half. Some decomposed bodies were found floating in rivers. A notable case was that of a 6-month-old infant whose body was dumped in pieces on either side of his mother’s corpse.
The Indian army soldiers were forced to bury the victims in shallow graves. Mandai was completely in ruins. All that remained were ashes, charred walls of houses, broken pots, and sewing machines. The victims had no police protection because the nearest police outpost was located 7 miles away in Jirania.
Screengrab of an article published on the Mandai Massacre by The Montreal Gazette on 17th June, 1980
Ex-Mandai MLA recounted, Manoranjan Debbarma. “Children were spiked to death and wombs of pregnant women were ripped open. We had lived through a horrific, difficult time.” While the official death toll is just 255, Army sources put the number of deaths at over 700.
In the days that followed the Mandai, arson attacks and violence followed in other districts of Tripura. The total death toll is estimated to be anywhere between 2000-10000. A whopping 1,50,000 to 2,00,000 victims (mostly Bengalis) were displaced due to the pre-planned attack by violent tribal mobs.
Major R. Rajamani, the commander of the Indian Army unit that reached Mandai on 9th June 1980, compared the brutality of the killings to the ‘1968 My Lai massacre‘ in Vietnam. While speaking to The New York Times, he remarked, “I have heard of My Lai. I wonder whether that was half as gruesome as here.“
He added, “That first day, I saw a six-month-old child chopped into two with each piece lying on either side of his dead mothe. I have never seen anything like it, nor do I want to.”
Screengrab of an article published on the Mandai Massacre by The Telegraph Herald on 17th June, 1980
“There were shallow graves from one of which a hand was visible,” a UNI reporter had noted. The then Inspector General of Police, Satyabrata Basu, dubbed the Mandai episode as an act of ‘genocide.’
Bengali Hindu victims narrate ordeal
One of the survivors of the Mandai massacre was a 20-year-old Bengali barber, Haradhem Seal. He lost his parents, 3 sisters and 3 brothers in the dastardly attack.
He told Time magazine, “There was blood everywhere. One man hacked at me with his dao. I collapsed, then several bodies fell on top of me. That was probably what saved me.”
Another survivor, Subarna Prabha Deb, recounted how her 2 daughters and a grandchild were hacked to death in Mandai. Her son was also seriously injured.
Another survivor Abani Dey (65) had narrated how he lost his parents and sister to violence by Muslim mobs in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
“When we came, the tribals here welcomed us and helped us to settle down. We thought we had found a safe place. Now this. Where can we go?” he told the media in the aftermath of the Mandai massacre, during which he lost his 15-year-old son.
“A tribal caught his hair and chopped off his head with a scythe. We were watching it from a distance,” he lamented. Another survivor, Nagendra Saha (45) narrated how his 2 sons were brutally killed.
“As the tribals came nearer we prayed aloud, ‘Oh God. Please save us. Once we were outside, they swung their daos at us. One man gave me a chop on my head and I fell unconscious. Before hitting me, I saw him force an old woman to lie on the ground and he smashed her head with the dao. My two sons died within seconds of one another,” he emphasised.
The 1980 Mandai massacre also led to subsequent attacks on tribals in Bengali-dominated pockets of Tripura. Reports of arson and the exodus of tribal refugees were also reported at that time. More than 12 refugee camps were set up for tribal community. One victim, Suhed Deb Burman, lamented, “We have become refugees in our own land.“
Political reaction to the Mandai massacre
The then Chief Minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakravarty had stated in no uncertain terms, “This looks like an absolutely pre-planned attack. They are on a killing spree…But no one could have anticipated this kind of massacre.“
He alleged that the Indira Gandhi government at the Centre did not send any army support amid growing tribal discontentment in Tripura. There were talks of dismissing the State government by the Centre but that did not materialise.
Union Home Minister Zail Singh had visited Tripura in the aftermath of the Mandai massacre to take stock of the situation. The Central government sent 5000 tonnes of rice and had assured to re-settle and rehabilitate the victims. Refugee camps were setup to temporarily house the survivors.
Screengrab of an article published on the Mandai Massacre by Sarasota Herald-Tribune on 17th June, 19
Changing demographics of Tripura
The ethno-religious tensions in Tripura have deep historical roots dating back decades.
The large-scale settlement of Bengalis in the Northeastern State, first through active encouragement by Tripuri rulers, followed by the Parition of 1947 and the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, had been a bone of contention in the State.
The relationship between the tribal communities (who were being rapidly converted to Christianity) and the Bengali Hindus became strained in the 1980s, resulting in escalated conflicts, violence and massacres.
As can be seen in the data shared below, the tribal population in Tripura was rendered a minority (28.95% in 1971).
The Bengali Hindu population (referred as non-tribal population) had no choice but to to flee to the Northeastern State to protect themselves from marauding Muslim mobs in 1947 and 1971.
But the growing dominance of the incoming refugees over the natives in terms of trade, services, economic progress, political power, and access to plains had led to growing discontentment and rise of tribal extremism.
The 1980 Mandai massacre wasn’t the last deadly episode of ethno-religious violence. 16 unarmed Bengali Hindus were ruthlessly killed in 2002 Singicherra massacre.
Terrorists belonging to the banned Christian Tripuri outfit, National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), gunned down Bengali Hindu refugees during the 2000 Bagber massacre as well.
End of tribal extremism in Mandai and a silver lining
The Mandai massacre left deep scars on the collective memory of both Bengali and tribal communities in Tripura. Most Bengalis living in the village fled after the violent incident.
Mandai remained the hotbed of insurgency and tribal extremism until at least 2009. However, since then, it has made great progress.
In November 2015, it was reported that Mandai block outperformed 6,835 other blocks in India in financial literacy and inclusion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has awarded the Mandai block during an event held in New Delhi.
Former DM (West Tripura) Abhishek Singh informed, “Mandai block has achieved over 100 per cent target in providing access to banking and financial services and has become a role model for the others. As a result of financial inclusion, more and more tribal people of the block are now connected to banks for access to Government aid.”
Ethno-religious conflicts in Tripura are now rare. Most tribal extremist outfits have surrendered and joined the mainstream.
Today, Tripura is ushering into a new era of progress and development, leaving its old scars behind forever.
On 6th June 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir. The moment marked more than the unveiling of the highest single-arch railway bridge in the world, it was part of the project that finally connected Kashmir to the rest of India by rail, it made Kashmir to Kanyakumari a reality for Indian Railways as well. It also stood as a quiet but profound tribute to the geotechnical engineering professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, who spent 17 years guiding the construction through every natural challenge. The name of the professor is Dr G Madhavi Latha.
The Chenab Rail Bridge stands at 358 metres above the riverbed. Towering 35 metres above the Eiffel Tower, it is 1,315 metres long. It links Katra with Qazigund as part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. The bridge has a lifespan of 120 years. The total cost of building the bridge came out to be Rs 1,486 crore. It is not an ordinary project and has been described by the government as the most formidable civil engineering challenge in Indian Railway history.
Dr Latha stands at the heart of the project.
Designing in real time amid fractured rocks and fierce winds
Dr Latha is an expert in rock engineering. She was brought on board by Northern Railways and Afcons Infrastructure to tackle the most complex issue of the Chenab Bridge, that is, building a foundation strong enough to survive steep Himalayan slopes, high seismic activity, wind speeds up to 260 KMPH, and extreme geological surprises.
Dr Latha’s team pioneered a “design-as-you-go” approach. They constantly innovated on site to address hidden cavities, fractured rock, changing rock properties, and hydrological hazards. Such a working style is adopted by few mega-projects of this scale.
In her landmark paper ‘Design as You Go: The Case Study of Chenab Railway Bridge’, Dr Latha wrote, “Construction of a civil engineering marvel like the Chenab bridge posed many challenges from planning to completion. A rigid design with fixed dimensions and pre-determined solutions would not have been feasible.”
Dr Latha’s team contributed to slope stability analysis, foundation designs, and slope stabilisation techniques. This included cement grouting and installation of tens of thousands of metres of rock anchors. These anchors ensured the massive steel arch would stand firm even under the most adverse conditions, despite the fact that for half of the kilometre, this arch has no support.
Engineering journey rooted in excellence
Dr G Madhavi Latha completed her BTech from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 1992 and graduated with distinction. She secured a gold medal in MTech from NIT Warangal. Later, she did her PhD in geotechnical engineering from IIT-Madras in 2000. She joined IIT Guwahati as a professor and taught there till 2004 before joining IISc.
Dr Latha is currently serving as Higher Administrative Grade (HAG) professor in the Civil Engineering department and Chair of the Centre for Sustainable Technologies at IISc. Her research includes sustainable soil reinforcement, earthquake geotechnical engineering, and macro and micro-level geomechanics.
She has received several prestigious awards, including the Prof SK Chatterjee Outstanding Researcher Award at IISc, the Woman Achiever award by Karnataka Book of Records, the SERB POWER fellowship, and the Best Woman Researcher in Geotechnical Engineering by the Indian Geotechnical Society in 2021. In 2022, she was listed among the Top 75 Women in STEAM fields in India.
Breaking ground as the first woman faculty at IISc’s civil department
When Dr Latha joined IISc, she was the only woman faculty member in the Civil Engineering department. Her first battle was not over lectures or laboratories but exclusive toilets for women. The IISc website quotes her saying, “Back then, there were no exclusive toilets for women in the department. I had to really fight to get a women’s toilet in the geotechnical engineering building.”
Her efforts resulted in bringing a more inclusive environment to the department. Today, she notes, the gender ratio is nearly 40 to 60. She takes conscious steps to support female students, including assigning helpers during physically demanding experiments. She says, “Being a woman, I make sure I understand what they need.”
A nation’s pride, a professor’s legacy
Dr Latha is the nation’s pride. Following the bridge’s inauguration, IISc acknowledged her contribution on social media and stated, “We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team’s contribution to the Chenab Bridge inaugurated by Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi. The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems, incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards.”
We are proud of Prof Madhavi Latha & her team's contribution to the #ChenabBridge inaugurated by Hon'ble PM Narendra Modi? The team worked on stability of slopes, design & construction of foundations, design of slope stabilisation systems incl. rock anchors to withstand hazards. pic.twitter.com/BApCSJTRZX
Economist and author Sanjeev Sanyal posted, “Madhavi Latha, one of the awesome engineers who helped build the Chenab bridge. She began looking at the issue 17 years ago! The bridge has four times the steel of the Eiffel Tower.”
Madhavi Latha, one of the awesome engineers who helped build the Chenab bridge. She began looking at the issue 17 years ago!! The bridge has four times the steel at the Eiffel Tower – held together in a mountainous, earth-quake prone zone. https://t.co/zS4rQzhf3r
Chenab Rail Bridge defied conventional timelines, budget, and designs. Dr Madhavi Latha’s role was not only technical but symbolic. She represented grit, adaptation, and the relentless pursuit of nation-building through science.
The Manipur government has ordered the suspension internet and mobile data services including VSAT and VPN services in five districts for five days with effect from 11:45 P.M. of June 7. The five districts are Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching & Bishnupur.
The decision was taken after violent protests erupted in Kwakeithel and Imphal West, in Manipur on Saturday night after a leader of the Meitei outfit, Arambai Tenggol, was arrested by security forces. The protesters belonging to Arambai Tenggol shouted slogans demanding the release of their leader and burnt tyres on the roads.
A curfew has been imposed in the Bishnupur district, and prohibitory orders have been issued in Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal, and Kakching.
“In view of the prevailing law and order situation in the State of Manipur especially in Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching & Bishnupur districts districts of Manipur, there is apprehension that some anti-social elements might use social media extensively for transmission serious of images, hate speech and hate video messages inciting the passions of the public which might have repercussions for the law and order situation in the State of Manipur, “Commissioner-cum-Secretary (Home) N Ashok Kumar said in an order.
“There is an imminent danger of loss of life and /or damage to public/private property, and wide spread disturbances to public tranquility and communal harmony, as a result of inflammatory material and false rumours, which might be transmitted/circulated to the public through social media/ messaging services on mobile services, SMS services and dongle services,” it added.
“To thwart the design and activities of anti-national and anti-social elements and to maintain peace and communal harmony and to prevent any loss of life or danger to public/private property, by it has become necessary to take adequate measures to maintain law and order in public interest, as Whats stopping the spread of disinformation and false rumours, through various social media platform such WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, on various electronic equipment like tablet, computer, demonstrators, mobile phone etc. and sending bulk SMS, for facilitating and/or mobilization of mobs of agitators and arson/vandalism which can cause loss of life and/or damage to public/private property by indulging in and other types of violent activities,” the order added.
“Therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under Rule 2 of Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017, having satisfied that the above situation is likely to cause serious disturbances to the peaceful co-existence and maintenance of public order, do hereby order suspension/curbing of internet and mobile data services including VSAT and VPN Bishnupur services in the territorial jurisdiction of Imphal West, Imphal East, Thoubal, Kakching & districts of the State of Manipur for 5(five) days with effect from 11:45 P.M. of 07-06- 2025 except for those cases whereby State Government exempts and allows for whitelisting,” it added.
In a shocking incident, a Muslim in Uttar Pradesh sacrificed himself on the occasion of Eid-al-Adha, a festival when Muslims slaughter various animals for sacrifice. 60-year-old Ish Mohammad slit his own throat on Saturday morning. Before killing himself, he wrote a suicide note saying he is sacrificing himself for Eid-ul-Azha. The incident took place in Udhopur village of Gauri Bazar police station area of Deoria in Uttar Pradesh.
As per reports, he went to the local mosque to offer Eid-ul-Azha (Bakrid) namaz, and returned home at around 10 AM. His wife Hajra Khatoon said that after returning, he went to a hut built near the house to keep goats. At that time, his sons had not returned from Eid celebrations.
After around an hour, she heard his groaning sound. When Hajra Khatoon rushed to the hut, she saw that his neck was cut and blood was flowing from the injury. A knife was lying nearby.
After the neighbours gathered hearing her screams, police were informed. Police took him to the hospital in an ambulance. Seeing his condition, he was referred to the Gorakhpur Medical College. But Ish Mohammad died during the treatment there.
Ish wrote letter before slitting his throat, confirming that he killed himself. In the letter addressed to the administering, he wrote, “A man sacrifices a goat by raising it like his son. It is also a living being. Sacrifice should be done. I am offering my sacrifice in the name of the messenger of Allah. No one has killed me.”
The letter
He wrote that he should be buried peacefully, adding “do not be afraid of anyone.”
After his death, police took the body into custody and sent it for postmortem. A case has been registered and the matter is being investigated.
As per reports, Ish Mohammad has three sons, and the two elder sons live with him in the village. The youngest son works in Mumbai.
Indian quantum deeptech startup QuBeats has won the prestigious ADITI 2.0 Defence Challenge to develop an indigenous Quantum Positioning System (QPS) for the Indian Navy.
The award, which comes with a grant of Rs 25 crore (USD 3 million), will enable QuBeats to build next-generation high-precision quantum sensors that promise accurate navigation in GPS-denied or spoofed environments – a critical capability for modern military operations.
QuBeats said in a release that it is disrupting conventional paradigms with its innovative quantum magnetometer technology in an era heavily dependent on satellite-based navigation like GPS.
“These high-precision sensors detect the Earth’s unique magnetic anomaly signatures, enabling navigation that is entirely independent of GPS systems–reliable by day or night, in any condition. This groundbreaking capability offers transformative benefits across both military and civilian domains, addressing a potential market of USD 10 billion. The startup is currently raising a seed round to accelerate its product research roadmap,” the release said.
“As one of the few quantum sensing companies of its kind in India, QuBeats is redefining the country’s strategic technological edge,” it said.
The release said the company has been founded by a stellar team of physicists, engineers, and defence technologists and is building a suite of quantum products that include Quantum Magnetometers, Quantum Gyroscopes, Miniature Atomic Clocks, Rydberg Radars, and highly sensitive target detection sensors for critical and strategic use cases.
“Winning the ADITI 2.0 Challenge is not just a validation of our unique technology approach, but a clarion call to India’s quantum aspirations. QuBeats is here to build the future–and build it from India,” said the founders in a joint statement.
The release said QuBeats is uniquely positioned with a first-mover advantage in India in an age where navigation sovereignty and sensor dominance define military superiority.
With foundational IP in quantum sensing, a strong R&D pipeline, and a global outlook, QuBeats aims to productize quantum sensing solutions for defence, aerospace, energy, and critical infrastructure.
The founding team includes Mallikarjun Karra – a PhD candidate at Max Planck Society, Madhu Talluri -postdoc from Lawrence Berkeley Lab, Shouvik Mukherjee – a finishing postdoc at Joint Quantum Institute at Univ of Maryland, US and Rajat Sethi – a graduate of MIT, Harvard and IIT Kharagpur.
The release said China and the United States are investing billions in quantum navigation and sensing. China’s PLA has integrated quantum magnetometers for stealth submarine detection, while the US is advancing chip-scale quantum clocks and gravity sensors for battlefield resilience.
It said QuBeats provides India a vital response to these developments. “By creating indigenous, battle-ready, and globally competitive quantum systems, QuBeats is India’s answer to strategic parity in quantum warfare,” the release said.
QuBeats said it proud to lead India’s charge “with vision, innovation, and the indomitable spirit of first principles” as quantum becomes the new high ground in defence and aerospace.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
