New Delhi, Oct 21: Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director Dr Mahesh Dixit on Wednesday paid rich tributes to police personnel across the country who laid down their lives in the line of duty, revealing that 154 police personnel died serving the nation over the past year and 36,852 have made the ultimate sacrifice since Independence. He was addressing a gathering on Police Commemoration Day at National Police Memorial in New Delhi.

Highlighting the solemnly and historic origin of the day, Dr Dixit recalled the brave sacrifice of CRPF personnel in 1959 that led to the annual commemoration across India.

“Today, on Police Commemoration Day, we have gathered at the National Police Memorial to pay tribute to those brave police personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty over the past year. We have also assembled to honour all our fallen comrades who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty since India achieved independence. On this day, October 21, 1959, ten valiant CRPF personnel led by Karam Singh, DCIO of the Intelligence Bureau, sacrificed their lives while confronting an armed Chinese military contingent along the India-China border. Since then, we have observed this day every year as Police Commemoration Day,” Dr Dixit said.

Detailing the nationwide observance and the week-long commemorative events scheduled to follow, the IB Director noted the active participation of central armed forces and the families of the fallen personnel.

“On this day, tributes are paid to our fallen comrades through various programmes held in state capitals, districts and at police stations At the national level, a joint commemorative parade has been organized here today, featuring personnel from the BSF, CISF, ITBP, SSB, NSG, Assam Rifles, RPF, NDRF, and the Delhi Police. In accordance with the recommendations made by the Prime Minister during the 2019 Conference of Directors General and Inspectors General of Police, various commemorative events will be organized at this National Police Memorial by different Central Armed Police Forces from October 22 to October 30. The families of our fallen comrades will also participate in these events. Over the past year, 154 police personnel have laid down their lives in the line of duty. Since independence, a total of 36,852 police personnel have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving to uphold the nation’s unity and integrity and ensure the safety of its citizens,” he added.

New Delhi, Oct 21: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to interfere with the judicial custody of Cockroach Janta Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, as it asked them to await the outcome of the hearing scheduled before the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM), and approach the appellate court if their grievance continues.

The hearing before the SEM is scheduled later in the day.

Justice Subramonium Prasad permitted the CJP co-conveners to withdraw their plea and observed that a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution was not an appropriate remedy for a “repeat case” of violating a ‘peace’ bond.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma said the matter is listed before the SEM regarding the furnishing of fresh sureties.

The case was taken up by the court after the CJP leaders sought an urgent hearing in the high court, which is shut due to the Dussehra break.

Along with other CJP workers, Das and Ranka displayed the national flag at Jantar Mantar, which had been denotified as a protest site, and shouted slogans against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar before being detained and placed under preventive arrest on October 13.

A SEM first sent them to judicial custody for five days on October 14.

Advocate Abhik Chimni, appearing for the petitioners, argued that they ought to be released on a personal bond as the SEM has no jurisdiction to extend their judicial custody.

He further argued that the SEM’s insistence on a surety was not sustained in law.

Justice Prasad, however, observed that the petitioners allegedly violated a bond tendered by them for maintaining tranquillity by entering a de-notified protest site, and questioned whether the authorities were not entitled to seek a “stricter” surety in a “repeat case”.

The judge remarked that the questions surrounding the locus and motive of the petitioners were also significant and have to be looked into by the appropriate authority, considering that while they were initially involved in a student protest, there was now a different cause and a statement about “regime change”.

“Now there is another cause. People remain the same, causes change. All these questions assume significance so to who you are; what is your motive; what are you trying to do? You suddenly hear something like a regime change.. you suddenly hear something (against) which we normally do by a ballot. In a hearing like this, it is not necessary for us to go into this. Keep the debate for an appropriate proceeding,” the judge said.

On being informed that Das and Ranka were 27 and 31 years old, respectively, the court remarked, “That means you are not Gen-Z.”

“They are an inspiration,” the lawyer responded.

The court also emphasised that the purpose behind a police permission for a protest is not to stop anyone but prevent “unwanted persons” from joining the protest group and ensure that a peaceful agitation does not escalate into violence.

“The two petitioners here are at the forefront. When you go and break a barricade, the chances of 10 or 20 more people violating the 163 (prohibitory order) are very bright. There might be persons who might not be in your control and who might do things. We have seen it happening outside our country. Student protest has now gone into arson, looting, burning,” it added.

While permitting Das and Ranka to withdraw the case, the judge clarified that he has not made observations on the merit of the matter.

Das and Ranka assailed the SEM’s October 19 order remanding them to two days’ judicial custody in the high court.

They were taken into custody on October 13 after they allegedly climbed over a locked gate to enter Jantar Mantar, which had earlier been denotified as a designated protest site, and were sent to five-day judicial custody.

A newly-appointed Special Executive Magistrate at Mandir Marg police station on Monday ordered their judicial remand till October 21 after they were produced before him.

In their petition, the CJP leaders argued that the SEM’s order is illegal, arbitrary and liable to be set aside.

Their petition asserted that Das and Ranka continue to remain in custody for six days despite submitting the required sureties multiple times.

“The mandatory procedure under Section 140 BNSS was not followed for rejecting the surety showing complete misapplication of the law in the impugned order. That delay and obstruction in the acceptance and verification of sureties frustrates the very purpose of release,” the plea said.

“The learned SEM has arbitrarily exercised their powers to extend judicial custody of the petitioners under Section 135(3) BNSS. This is because the basis of judicial custody is ‘in default of execution of the bond’. However, the basis is incorrect in view of the petitioner’s sureties produced on 19.10.2026 being in accordance with law,” it added.

New Delhi, Oct 21: The country’s largest bank, SBI, on Wednesday said it is investigating the suspected exposure of 3,897 customer records containing personally identifiable information on the dark web, following alerts it received on October 16 from its threat intelligence service provider, the Defence Cyber Agency, and CERT-In.

A preliminary analysis of around 3.75 lakh records available on the dark web identified 3,897 customer records containing sensitive information, including registered mobile numbers, dates of birth, names, gender, email addresses and residential addresses, State Bank of India (SBI) said in the regulatory filing on Wednesday.

The exposed information reportedly also included branch and Customer Information File (CIF) identifiers, lead IDs, and metadata associated with loan and lead records and other related files.

It said a detailed investigation was required to establish the authenticity and completeness of the exposed data, determine the potential source and extent of the exposure, and assess the associated risks to customers and the bank.

SBI said it had promptly activated its cyber incident response and containment protocols. It had also engaged an independent cybersecurity agency empanelled by CERT-In to conduct a comprehensive assessment and investigate the alleged compromise.

The incident has had no material impact on the bank’s core business operations, financial performance or business continuity, the filing said, adding that its core business functions continued to operate normally without disruption.

A detailed assessment is underway, and the bank is implementing appropriate remedial and preventive measures, it said.

SBI added that it was closely monitoring the situation and taking all appropriate measures in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements.

Last week, CERT-In had issued a ‘critical’ advisory warning that autonomous AI agents have accessed live systems and confidential data of Indian organisations without authorisation.

In its advisory (CIAD-2026-0049) titled ‘AI Agents as Attack Vectors’, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) highlighted two distinct categories of incidents targeting the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure of Indian entities.

In the first set of incidents, AI model providers voluntarily disclosed that autonomous AI models and agents undergoing research and evaluation had exceeded the authorised scope of their assigned tasks and reached live systems belonging to Indian organisations.

During these operations, the AI agents read business records containing personal data and confidential material, using credentials and connection settings left exposed in application configurations, public code repositories and overly permissive cloud service roles, the agency noted.

CERT-In also said eMudhra Ltd, an India-based Certification Authority (CA), reported a compromise of private keys linked to eight intermediate CA certificates in its public key infrastructure (PKI), including six TLS certificates and two code-signing certificates.

The affected private keys were generated with insufficient cryptographic randomness, it said.

An attacker with these private keys could issue fraudulent certificates for domains they do not control, it said, adding that such TLS certificates could impersonate legitimate websites and enable man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, potentially intercepting or modifying encrypted communications.

The compromised code-signing keys could also be used to issue fraudulent code-signing certificates, it added.

Delhi, Oct 21: The Army Commanders’ Conference, the apex-level biannual forum of the Indian Army, commenced today.

Chaired by the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), the conference is being held in New Delhi from 21 to 23 October 2026. It brings together the senior leadership of the Indian Army, to deliberate the evolving security environment, operational preparedness, capability development and future-ready transformation initiatives.

The conference will be addressed by Rajnath Singh, the Raksha Mantri.

Further, the Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff, Secretary (Electronic and Information Technology), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will deliver talks on contemporary security-related issues.

A key highlight of the conference will be the release of the Land Warfare Doctrine by the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri. The doctrine will provide an overarching framework to prepare the Indian Army to meet the challenges posed by the evolving character of warfare and future conflicts. The Hon’ble Raksha Mantri will also unveil the annual United Nations Journal and felicitate Indian Army personnel who have made notable contributions while serving as United Nations peacekeepers, recognising their exemplary service, professionalism and contribution to international peace and security under the United Nations banner.

To recognise excellence in environmental sustainability, resource management and the promotion of a strong aviation safety culture, the COAS will also confer awards for Green Military Stations and Aviation Flight Safety.

With its comprehensive agenda, the conference will provide an important forum for the senior leadership of the Indian Army to review ongoing initiatives, identify future thrust areas and formulate appropriate policy directions towards building a progressive, adaptive, technologically enabled and future-ready Indian Army.

New Delhi, Oct 21: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday called upon police forces across the country to intensify efforts against drug abuse and trafficking, setting December 31, 2029, as the target to free India from the drug menace.

Addressing a Police Commemoration Day ceremony at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi, Shah urged police forces to work towards implementing the roadmap for a ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’ prepared under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shah also flagged off a nationwide motorcycle rally carrying the message “Fight Against Drugs” as part of the campaign against substance abuse.

The rally features around 90 riders from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi, along with personnel from the Central Armed Police Forces and other central police organisations.

The riders will proceed to Ekta Nagar in Gujarat to participate in the Ekta Parade-2026.

Shah said drug abuse and trafficking threatened the future of younger generations, placed an unnecessary burden on the economy and could provide financial support to organisations with anti-national intentions.

He called for coordinated efforts over the remainder of 2026 and the next three years to achieve the drug-free India target.

At the ceremony, the Home Minister paid tribute to police personnel who laid down their lives in the line of duty, saying their sacrifices had laid the foundation for India’s security and progress.

He described 2026 as a significant year for the Indian police, stating that the country had achieved freedom from Naxalism on March 31, 2026.

According to Shah, more than 3,600 security personnel and nearly 13,700 civilians lost their lives during the decades-long Naxal conflict.

He said the sacrifices of security personnel had contributed to the country’s progress and expressed gratitude to the families of those killed in the line of duty.

Recalling the origins of Police Commemoration Day, Shah said October 21 marked the anniversary of the 1959 incident in the Hot Springs region of Ladakh, where 10 CRPF personnel laid down their lives while resisting an attack by Chinese troops.

The National Police Memorial, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018, honours police personnel who sacrificed their lives in service of the nation. Shah said citizens visit the memorial to pay tribute to 36,852 police personnel.

He described police service as one of the most challenging government services, noting that personnel often remain on duty during festivals and other occasions to maintain public safety and internal security.

Shah also praised the Central Armed Police Forces for their role in securing borders, managing elections and maintaining public order. He said the forces had helped ensure that the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections were conducted without a single fatality.

The Home Minister further said that Kashmir, the North-East and areas affected by Left-Wing Extremism, which had faced prolonged internal security challenges, were witnessing peace and moving towards development.

He credited security forces with curbing terrorism in Kashmir, advancing peace in the North-East and tackling Naxalism.

Police Commemoration Day is observed annually on October 21 to honour police personnel who have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.