Patna University expelled a student on Wednesday who was arrested in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old BN College student, beaten to death on the Patna Law College campus on Monday.

“Aditya Raj, also known as Chandan Kumar, a sixth-semester mass communications student at Patna College, has been expelled. Additionally, the university has decided to withhold his results until further notice,” stated a notification from Patna University.

In a separate directive, the university ordered all male students to vacate the hostels by 4 pm on May 31, stating that all hostels would remain closed until further notice.

Harsh Raj, a 22-year-old final-year BA student, was attacked by 7-8 masked men on May 27 as he exited an examination center on the law college campus. He was taken to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) where he later died.

Harsh Raj’s father, Ajit Kumar, a journalist with a Hindi daily, has called for a CBI investigation, alleging that his son was killed due to a political conspiracy, as Harsh had planned to run in the university elections.

A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the murder, conducting searches at multiple locations in Patna and Nalanda districts, including Patna University hostels, to apprehend the other suspects.

“During interrogation, the prime accused revealed the names of five others involved while he did not know the names of three other criminals. The motive behind the murder was a dispute from a Dandia night event last year,” said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajeev Mishra.

City SP (East) Bharat Soni stated that police conducted searches at five hostels but did not find the suspects.

According to police, Chandan and his associates confronted Harsh on May 24, leading to a heated argument. “They gathered near Patna Law College on the morning of May 27, and as Harsh left the examination hall, they attacked him with sticks,” Soni said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to embark on a 45-hour meditation at the Vivekananda Rock Memorial starting Thursday, following the conclusion of the election campaign. Extensive arrangements are being made for this significant event, with around 2,000 police personnel and security agencies deployed to maintain a tight vigil during PM Modi’s meditation, which will last from the evening of May 30 to the evening of June 1. The location was chosen because Swami Vivekananda is believed to have received his divine vision there.

From Thursday to Saturday, the beach will be closed to tourists, and private boats will not be allowed to operate, PTI reported.

PM Modi will arrive by helicopter, and a trial landing has already been conducted at the helipad. He will first reach Thiruvananthapuram and then take an MI-17 helicopter to Kanyakumari, with an estimated landing time of 4:35 pm. He will witness the sunset and then begin his meditation. He is scheduled to return from Kanyakumari on June 1 at 3:30 pm.

According to BJP leaders, the rock where PM Modi will meditate had a significant impact on Vivekananda’s life, akin to the importance of Sarnath for Gautam Buddha. Vivekananda arrived there after traveling across the country, meditated for three days, and envisioned a developed India.

“Meditating at the same place demonstrates Prime Minister Modi’s commitment to realizing Swami ji’s vision of a Viksit Bharat,” a BJP leader said, as quoted by PTI. The site is also referred to in holy texts as the place where Goddess Parvati meditated for Lord Shiva, the leader added.

“Prime Minister Modi is sending a message of national unity by going to Kanyakumari,” another leader said, highlighting Modi’s deep commitment and affection for Tamil Nadu by visiting the state even after the elections are over, PTI reported.

Police are prepared to arrest suspended JD(S) member Prajwal Revanna, who faces sexual abuse charges, upon his arrival at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport. The arrest warrant was issued earlier this month. Prajwal has booked a flight from Munich to Bengaluru on May 30, expected to land early Friday.

“He has booked a flight from Munich to Bengaluru with Lufthansa Airlines, departing Thursday afternoon and arriving at 12:05 am on Friday,” an official told PTI.

Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara confirmed on Wednesday that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) is ready to arrest the embattled JD(S) MP. “All necessary measures have been taken. A warrant has been issued against him. He will be arrested, and the SIT will take his statement and begin their process,” Parameshwara told reporters.

When asked if Prajwal would be arrested upon landing, Parameshwara said, “The arrest has to be done at the airport as a warrant has been issued. So he will be arrested there.”

Obscene videos allegedly showing Prajwal Revanna, a two-time MP from Hassan, sexually abusing several women surfaced in April, just days before his constituency voted in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He fled abroad on April 27 using his diplomatic passport shortly after the Karnataka State Commission for Women urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to investigate.

Two days ago, Prajwal released a video message promising to appear before the SIT on May 31 and cooperate with the inquiry.

On Tuesday, Parameshwara mentioned that further actions would be taken if Prajwal failed to appear for the probe on May 31. “I don’t know what prompted him to release that video… We will see what happens on May 31. If he doesn’t turn up, the next procedure will start,” he said.

Prajwal previously canceled flight tickets from Germany twice, PTI reported, citing informed sources. In a final attempt to avoid arrest, the Hassan MP sought anticipatory bail from a special court for public representatives, but his request was denied on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, India successfully conducted a flight test of the RudraM-II air-to-surface missile from the Su-30 MK-I platform of the Indian Air Force. The test took place off the coast of Odisha at approximately 11:30 am, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) announced on X that the flight test achieved all trial objectives.

“Indigenously developed Air to Surface RudraM-II missile was successfully flight-tested from Su-30 MK-I off the Odisha coast today. The flight-test met all the trial objectives, validating the propulsion system, control & guidance algorithm @DefenceMinIndia @SpokespersonMoD,” DRDO posted.

The missile’s performance was confirmed using flight data from range tracking instruments, including electro-optical systems, radar, and telemetry stations, which were deployed at various locations by the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, including an on-board ship, reported news agency ANI.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated everyone involved for the significant achievement. On X, the Office of the Defence Minister of India wrote, “Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh congratulated DRDO, IAF and industry on the successful test flight of RudraM-II from the Su-30 MK-I platform. He said that the successful test has consolidated the role of the RudraM-II system as a force multiplier for the Indian Armed Forces.”

Dr. Samir V. Kamat, Secretary of the Department of Defence R&D and Chairman of DRDO, also praised the DRDO team for their relentless efforts leading to the successful flight test, according to the Ministry of Defence, as reported by ANI.

The Ministry of Defence stated that RudraM-II is an indigenously developed, solid-propelled, air-launched missile system. It is an air-to-surface missile capable of neutralizing a variety of enemy assets. The missile system incorporates several state-of-the-art indigenous technologies developed by various DRDO laboratories.

The Delhi High Court granted bail to Sharjeel Imam on Wednesday in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case, which involved allegations of sedition, as reported by PTI on May 29. A Division Bench comprising Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain granted Imam statutory bail, according to Bar and Bench.

Imam had appealed against a trial court’s February 17 decision that denied him bail. He argued before the trial court that he had already been in custody for four years. The maximum sentence for the offense under Section 13 of the UAPA is seven years upon conviction.

Section 436-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) allows for the release of a person from custody if they have served more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offense.

Despite this bail, Imam will remain in jail as his bail petition in the police’s larger conspiracy case related to the Delhi riots is still pending before the High Court, as noted by Bar and Bench.

The prosecution alleges that Imam delivered speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and at Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he purportedly threatened to sever Assam and the North East from India, according to PTI.

The Delhi Police’s Special Branch initially booked Imam for sedition and later added charges under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He has been in custody since January 28, 2020.

On Thursday, the Election Commission ordered the immediate suspension of senior IPS officer DS Kuttey, who works in the Odisha chief minister’s office, for undue interference in the conduct of elections. The Commission also directed another IPS officer, Ashish Singh, to undergo a detailed medical examination by a special medical board constituted by the director of AIIMS over similar allegations.

The ECI’s order stated that DS Kuttey, a 1997-batch IPS officer and special secretary to the Chief Minister, would be suspended under relevant service rules for his undue interference in the election process. Kuttey’s headquarters is now fixed at the Office of Resident Commissioner Odisha in New Delhi, where he must report by the afternoon of May 29. The Chief Electoral Officer of Odisha will provide the Chief Secretary of Odisha with a draft of the chargesheet to be issued to Kuttey, and the chargesheet must be arranged under relevant service rules by 5:00 pm on May 30.

Regarding Ashish Singh, a 2010-batch IPS officer currently serving as IG (CM security), the ECI noted that since he has been on medical leave since May 4, he must present himself for a detailed medical examination by a special medical board constituted by the director of AIIMS, Bhubaneshwar, no later than May 30. The Chief Electoral Officer will coordinate to ensure the constitution of this special medical board to ascertain Singh’s illness and treatment.

The ECI also ordered a swift investigation into the case against Prashant Jagdev, a BJP MLA candidate from the Khordha assembly constituency, who was arrested on Monday for allegedly damaging an EVM in a polling booth. The BJP has claimed that Jagdev was illegally arrested, asserting that CCTV footage from the polling booth shows Jagdev did not handle the EVM.

Last month, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Kuttey of working for the Biju Janata Dal from the Chief Minister’s Office and demanded that his cellphones be seized and call details records (CDR) be retrieved. They also demanded action against Ashish Singh, alleging that he was unduly influencing the election even after being transferred from the post of IG Central Range.

Earlier this month, the Election Commission ordered the transfer of senior Odisha bureaucrat Sujata R Kartikeyan, wife of BJD leader VK Pandian, from the Department of Mission Shakti to a non-public dealing department after complaints of misuse of public office. The BJP alleged that Sujata, through the Department of Mission Shakti, was coercing women’s self-help groups (SHGs) by threatening to withhold government financial benefits, thereby influencing them to vote for the Biju Janata Dal in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The 7 lakh women SHG groups controlled by Mission Shakti have become an important vote bank for the BJD over the last two elections.