Daily Briefing: New Delhi’s worry over February polls as violence in Bangladesh escalates

With that, let’s move on to the top five stories from today’s edition:

🚨 Big Story

As Bangladesh witnesses a fresh round of turmoil which has threatened the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and its Assistant High Commissions across the neighbouring country, New Delhi’s concern is deepened by the imperative that its interests are linked to Bangladesh’s elections in February next year. The spark for the latest violence is the December 12 shooting of 32-year-old Sharif Osman Hadi. Hadi, who died on December 18, had participated in the movement against Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina leading to her ouster from office on August 5, 2024. Bangladesh Police claim they have identified Hadi’s two assailants and that they escaped by crossing the border to India.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s interim government has urged citizens to resist mob violence, blaming “a few fringe elements” for the overnight unrest, as security forces were deployed across Dhaka and other cities. In a statement, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’s office condemned “all acts of violence, intimidation, arson, and destruction of properties.” “This is a critical moment in our nation’s history when we are making a historic democratic transition. We cannot and must not allow it to be derailed by those few who thrive on chaos and reject peace,” the statement read.

⚡ Only in Express

With the government announcing the opening of the Delhi-Dehradun Expressway soon, many in Landour wonder where that road would take them as the hill town grapples with surging tourist inflows and unregulated construction. It’s a common concern in Dehradun, Landour, and Mussoorie, made more urgent by recent headlines of land subsidence. Can the hill town cope with more? “Earlier, we used to take the children for outings on Saturdays. Now, you can’t imagine doing that. We do take the children out, but not as often. It has been getting progressively worse over the last eight years,” a teacher at one of the boarding schools in Mussoorie told The Indian Express.

💡 Express Explained

The Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025, which was passed in Parliament Thursday, allows private players to enter the operations side of the tightly-governed nuclear power sector. The Bill will redraw India’s N-power regime, tweaking norms regarding who can build and operate plants, how accident liability is capped, the role of the safety regulator, and mechanisms for dispute resolution and compensation. The Centre presents the Bill as a key step towards achieving India’s target of 100 gigawatt of nuclear power capacity by 2047. Here’s how it will overhaul the country’s n-power sector.

✍️ Express Opinion

In our Opinion section today, Jean Drèze argues for the need of a renewed political commitment to MGNREGA, pointing out that the Centre will have full powers without serious obligations under the VB-G RAM G Bill 2025. Drèze writes: “The Centre’s discretionary powers begin with the power to decide where and when the scheme is to be implemented. This “switch-off clause” defeats the purpose of the employment guarantee. It is like providing a work guarantee without any guarantee that the guarantee applies.”

🎬 Movie Review

Wondering what to watch this weekend? Well, we’ve got your covered. Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte-starrer Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders is now streaming on Netflix, with the small town cop Jatil Yadav and his trusty phatphatiya solving the most foul murders. With an ensemble much bigger than the 2020 thriller Raat Akeli Hai, as Shubhra Gupta writes in her review, the most affecting parts of this film “involve Jatin and his love-hate-love relationship with his mother (Ila Arun) and his spiky romance with Radha (Apte, reprising her role from the first film).”

That’s all for today, have a lovely weekend!

Until next time,
Ariba

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