Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced a two-day work-from-home policy for government employees each week as part of fuel-saving measures. The Delhi government will also promote online meetings, reduce the use of official vehicles and discourage foreign travel by officials. Private companies have been advised to adopt similar work-from-home arrangements, with the labour department monitoring compliance. The measures follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce petroleum consumption as tensions in the Middle East disrupt oil supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns over a possible energy and fuel crisis. (PC: HT)

The Election Commission of India on Thursday announced Phase 3 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 16 states and three Union Territories, including Delhi and Maharashtra. The exercise will cover nearly 36.73 crore voters, with over 3.94 lakh Booth Level Officers conducting door-to-door verification between May 30 and October 14. The EC said the revision aims to remove duplicate, bogus and ineligible entries from voter lists. After Phase 3, the entire country will be covered under SIR except Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. (PC: HT)

The West Bengal government has issued fresh rules making fitness certificates mandatory before the slaughter of cows, bulls, buffaloes and related animals. Authorities said slaughter will only be allowed if the animal is over 14 years old or permanently unfit due to injury, disease or age. The order also bans slaughter in public places and directs that certified animals be taken only to authorised slaughterhouses ahead of Bakrid later this month. Officials have been empowered to inspect premises without obstruction. Violators can face up to six months in jail, a fine of ₹1,000, or both under the West Bengal Animal Slaughter Control Act, 1950. (PC: X)

The BJP-led governments in Bihar and West Bengal have begun linking welfare benefits with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, aiming to remove duplicate, deceased and ineligible beneficiaries. Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said people deleted from voter lists would lose access to ration and welfare schemes, while West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari announced stricter verification for social benefits. The move has triggered political controversy, with opposition leaders questioning whether deletion from electoral rolls should determine access to government welfare schemes and citizenship-linked entitlements. (PC: India Today)

A 30-year-old factory worker was allegedly abducted and gang-raped inside a moving sleeper bus in northwest Delhi’s Rani Bagh area, police said on Thursday. According to investigators, the woman was returning home on May 11 when a sleeper bus stopped near Saraswati Vihar. She alleged that after asking a man near the bus for the time, she was pulled inside and sexually assaulted by two men as the bus travelled towards Nangloi. Police later rescued the woman near Nangloi Metro station. The Bihar-registered bus has been seized, CCTV footage is being examined, and the accused driver Umesh and conductor Ramendra have been arrested. (PC: HT)

A 30-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped inside a stationary sleeper bus in Delhi’s Rani Bagh area, with police arresting the driver and conductor in the case. The survivor, who works at a factory in Mangolpuri, was returning home on the night of May 11 when the bus stopped near Saraswati Vihar. According to police, she approached a man near the bus door to ask the time before being allegedly forced inside. The accused then allegedly drove the bus towards Nangloi, where the assault took place. Police have seized the bus, registered an FIR and launched further investigation. The incident has triggered political outrage, with AAP leaders comparing it to the 2012 Nirbhaya case. (PC: NDTV)

The Centre clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent appeal to reduce fuel consumption, avoid unnecessary gold purchases and limit foreign travel is not an austerity drive but a call for “wise spending” during global uncertainty caused by the Iran conflict. Government sources said there will be no cuts in welfare schemes, subsidies or public expenditure. Modi urged citizens to conserve fuel, use public transport, work from home when possible and reduce imports that pressure India’s foreign exchange reserves. The government also stressed that there is no immediate fuel crisis, though rising crude oil prices remain a concern amid tensions in West Asia. (PC: India Today)

The post-mortem report of Prateek Yadav, son of late Samajwadi Party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, revealed that a blood clot in the lungs caused cardiorespiratory collapse leading to his death at age 38. Doctors also found six antemortem injuries on his chest, arms and wrist, with some injuries reportedly several days old. Authorities said no immediate signs of foul play were detected, though viscera samples have been preserved for further investigation. Prateek, husband of BJP leader Aparna Yadav, had reportedly been suffering from long-term lung-related complications and was undergoing treatment in Lucknow. (PC: NDTV)

Investigators probing the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak found that an MBBS student studying in Kerala allegedly forwarded a “guess paper” to friends in Rajasthan before the examination. Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group discovered that over 100 questions closely matched the actual NEET paper, raising suspicion of a larger leak network. Authorities believe the material spread through coaching and student groups across multiple states. The case has now been handed over to the CBI, while the National Testing Agency cancelled the May 3 examination and announced a re-test to ensure fairness and transparency for lakhs of medical aspirants. (PC: PTI)

Tamil Nadu CM Vijay renewed long-standing demand to abolish NEET admissions on Tuesday after the 2026 paper leak controversy triggered nationwide outrage. In a statement posted on X, Vijay urged the Centre to allow states to admit MBBS, BDS and AYUSH students based on Class 12 marks instead of the national entrance examination. He said repeated paper leak incidents exposed “structural flaws” in NEET and highlighted that the exam disadvantages rural, government school, Tamil-medium and economically weaker students. Vijay recalled that a 2024 leak had already led to FIRs and a reform panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan before another cancellation emerged this year. (PC: X)