Cyclone Arnab nears the coast; Andhra Pradesh and Odisha step up evacuations

Cyclone Arnab has intensified over the Bay of Bengal, and Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have stepped up evacuations. The Cabinet Secretary chaired a National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) meeting on 26 October to review preparedness. The IMD expects landfall on the Andhra Pradesh–Yanam coast between Bapatla and Visakhapatnam around 28 October.

ECI tells Supreme Court the CEC can be removed only like a Supreme Court judge

On 26 October, the Election Commission of India (ECI) filed a joint affidavit in the Supreme Court defending Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. It said the CEC can be removed only in the manner of a Supreme Court judge. It also said all three orders on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were issued unanimously, rejecting claims of unilateral action.

India slams Pakistan at the UN, calls the military its “real ruler”

On 24 October, India hit back at Pakistan in the UN General Assembly's Third Committee during a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues. Raghoo Puri, First Secretary at India's Permanent Mission to the UN, accused Islamabad of painting a "propagandist" picture of India. He said Pakistan's "Form 47 government" dare not override instructions from the military, which he called the country's real rulers.

Karnataka SIR: poll officials filed 61,000 Form 7 applications, none citing a reason

The Hindu reported on 26 October that about 61,000 Form 7 applications in Karnataka, roughly one-third of all such forms in the State, were filed by poll officials themselves. None of them records a reason for deletion. The finding comes amid the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and an ongoing row over bulk Form 7 filings.

RAF rushed to Arunachal Pradesh amid protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project

The Ministry of Home Affairs said on 24 October that two Rapid Action Force (RAF) companies of the CRPF, about 250 personnel, would be airlifted from Navi Mumbai to Pasighat on an IAF aircraft. Violence broke out in Pasighat after a 12-hour bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts against the proposed 11,200-MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). The bandh itself had been peaceful.

Operation Trident: 18 held, ₹100 crore hawala traced in Northeast drug raids

The Union Home Ministry said on 25 October that "Operation Trident" busted a narco-hawala network running drugs from Myanmar into the Northeast. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) led raids at 38 locations in Assam, Mizoram and Manipur with State police and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Eighteen people were arrested and about ₹100 crore of hawala transactions were detected.