RJD Alleges that the EC ‘Sneaked In’ EVMs Into Bihar Counting Centres; Young Kashmir Doctors Under Suspicion as Car Explosion Probe Widens; Why So Much Rides on Bihar – Particularly for the BJP

RSS Appoints Law Firm to Lobby US Congress, US Sanctions Indian Firm for Helping Iran’s Ballistic Missile Programme, Prominent Mumbai Citizens Oppose ‘Monetisation of Public Land’

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Snapshot of the day

November 13, 2025

Sidharth Bhatia

As Bihar awaits the counting of votes on Friday following the completion of the two-phase election, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged that the district administration “sneaked” Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) into a counting centre in Rohtas district without any prior notice. The party claimed that in Sasaram, a truck “loaded with EVMs” arrived at the counting centre around 3 a.m. without intimation, that the drivers fled when questioned, and that CCTV cameras had been switched off since 2 a.m. The party also shared a video on X, insisting that the full CCTV footage be made public and questioning why a truck allegedly carrying EVMs was brought to the centre without transparency, why the drivers were allowed to flee without being questioned, and why the CCTV feed had been switched off since the afternoon.

They also alleged that CCTV cameras number 7 and 27 at the counting centre in Bhagalpur district, both cameras from which the feed of the strong room containing EVMs for the Kahalgaon assembly constituency was being received, had been off for hours. Congress Bihar X handle also alleged “Godi media has started beating the drums of victory, now the Election Commission wants to catch that tune, So that dishonesty can be portrayed as the “verdict of the people”! But the people of Bihar are vigilant. This time “No game of exit polls, the government’s exit will happen!” [See Item 1]

Three days after the car explosion near Delhi’s Red Fort, investigators across Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir are piecing together a widening probe that now spans multiple states. The investigation has traced a trail of doctors, reconnaissance vehicles, and digital footprints, even as the death toll climbs to 13. Among those under the shadow of suspicion are young Kashmiri doctors once seen as symbols of hope and perseverance — Umar Nabi, remembered by his neighbours for his grit, and Muzammil Ganie, known for his kindness and devotion. While officials have yet to formally connect the Delhi blast to the recent arrests in what’s being called the ‘J&K terror module,’ the families of the accused say their world has already collapsed. “We are doomed — what more can be said,” one relative said, their disbelief mirroring the fear that has settled over their community, reports Jehangir Ali.

The car explosion in Delhi — with few credible details available so far — and the alleged involvement of doctors, along with the predictable wave of bigoted reactions from right-wingers, together offer a grim reminder of the 2002 anti-Muslim massacres in Gujarat, where, disturbingly, several doctors were among the “prominent masterminds”:

“One of the most disturbing and sinister truths about some prominent master-minds behind the Gujarat carnage was the fact that many of them hailed from the medical profession and, despite their professional allegiance to the Hippocratic oath, violated it to lead mobs to rape, pillage, maim and kill and that too, in the most barbaric ways. Dr. Praveen Togadia, Dr. Jaideep Patel, Dr. Amita Patel and Dr. Bhartibehn, Dr. Maya Kotdani (the latter three are BJP MLAs) are all doctors by profession who were named by victims as masterminds and leaders in brutal crimes.”

A day after the Delhi Red Fort explosion, hateful anti-Muslim graffiti reading “Muslims and dogs should not enter the premises” and “No dogs and Muslims” surfaced on the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) campus in Kolkata, Alt News reports. The graffiti was smeared across both sides of the main entrance door of the boys’ hostel, the CV Raman Hall. On one side, an old message reading “Dog shouldn’t enter the premises,” scrawled in black years ago, had been altered after someone added the words “Muslims &” in white chalk, changing it to “Muslims and dog shouldn’t enter the premises.” On the other side of the door, fresh graffiti declared “No Muslim” and “No Muslim allowed.” The railing of the hostel’s east-wing staircase was also defaced with the message, “No Dogs and Muslims.”

In other news, a collective of Indian Muslims has condemned the Red Fort explosion, terming