"Shocking To See...": Sanju Samson On Playing In Kerala Cricket League

Named in India's Asia Cup 2025 squad, Sanju Samson has started his preparations in full swing. The wicket-keeper batter decided to join the Kochi franchise in the Kerala Cricket League, a state-level T20 tournament, to claim top form ahead of the start of the Asia Cup next month. Samson scored a match-winning 121 off just 51 balls to help his team win the thrilling contest. After the match, Samson opened up on his stint for Kochi in the state league, saying he was shocked to see the sort of talent that exists in Kerala.

It was a nail-biting contest between Kochi and Kollam, which saw Samson's team emerge triumphant after batter Muhammad Ashik scored a last-ball six.

"It's not easy to lose a game in front of your home crowd. So I thank all the people who turned up in huge numbers," Samson said after the game.

Sanju Samson turning pressure into PLEASURE since forever #KCL2025 pic.twitter.com/YOvBLdFrB8

— FanCode (@FanCode) August 24, 2025

The wicket-keeper batter also had no qualms in admitting that he doesn't know much about his teammates but is getting to understand them better as he spends time with the them in the dressing room and on the pitch.

"To be very honest, I'm not much aware of the boys. But as much as I'm spending time with them, I'm getting very excited. Very exciting talent in the team. It's a bit shocking to see we have so much talent in Kerala cricket. I request that we have to put in some special eyes in the local games going on, especially all the players. In the next one or two years, we should see one more guy playing for the country. And I can see that happening. With this talent, I don't think that we are much far away," said Samson.

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Family Of Indian-Origin Truck Driver Behind US Crash Call For Light Penalty

'He is only 28', 'it was his bad luck' - the family and the entire village of Indian-origin trucker Harjinder Singh, who is staring at a potential 45-year jail sentence for allegedly causing a deadly crash in the US, is rallying behind him, calling for a lenient punishment.

A campaign has also been started online to generate support for the 28-year-old driver from Rataul village in Punjab's Tarn Taran district.

Harjinder (28) is facing charges of vehicular homicide in the US for allegedly causing a crash resulting in the death of three people on a Florida highway on August 12, according to a media report. He was driving a tractor-trailer and allegedly took an illegal U-turn.

After the accident, he fled to California but was brought back to Florida following the arrest, the New York Post reported on Thursday.

Dilbagh Singh, one of his relatives, said that Harjinder's family was not in a position to speak anything.

"The family is in shock," he said.

"We are also saddened over the death of three persons in the accident. Similar incidents have taken place earlier as well," Singh told reporters in Tarn Taran.

"His age is 28 years, and if he gets 45 years of jail, then you can imagine what will be the condition of his family," said Singh.

Singh appealed to the Sikh bodies to come forward to provide assistance to Harjinder.

He said that Harjinder had left for the US after mortgaging his land in 2018.

Harjinder's elder brother, Tejinder Singh, lives with his family and their mother in Tarn Taran. Their father is no more, and the family is engaged in farming.

Over a week after the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a pause to all issuances of commercial truck driver work visas.

The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on US roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers, Rubio posted on social media.

Many locals in Rataul village came out in support of Harjinder and called him a hardworking person.

Though they acknowledged that Harjinder committed a mistake, they demanded that the US authorities should not award harsh punishment.

Village sarpanch Jashandeep Singh said they stand with the family and appealed that no harsh punishment be given to Harjinder.

An elderly villager also sought that the US government should show leniency towards Harjinder.

It was his bad luck that such an accident took place, he further said.

Another villager said Harjinder did not do it intentionally. The accidents do take place, he said.

Though it was his mistake to make a U-turn, he should not be awarded any harsh punishment, otherwise his entire life gets ruined, he said.

Shiromani Akali Dal MP from Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, has urged External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to ensure counsellor access was provided to Harjinder, so that his case could be pleaded appropriately.

Meanwhile, a petition on an online platform change.org has been created by a group - Collective Punjabi Youth, calling for a reduced sentence for Harjinder, arguing that the tragic accident was not a deliberate act.

While accountability matters, the severity of the charges against him does not align with the circumstances of the incident, it said. It received over 18 lakh signatures in its support.

Badal has also urged the Centre to take up the issue of the freezing of work visas of all foreign truck drivers by the US following the fatal crash.

"Punjabi and Sikh drivers make up 20 per cent of the United State' trucking industry, with around 1.5 lakh Sikh drivers engaging in trucking in the US. Any mass-level action against them would have a detrimental effect on trucking families and would be discriminatory in nature, considering the fact that Punjabis have built and sustained trucking logistics and trucking networks over decades," she said.

Badal urged Jaishankar to convey to the US government that the Punjabi community had played a vital role in meeting the high demand for drivers and alleviating the stress of driver shortages on American consumers and its economy.

She said accordingly, it should be stressed that a mistake by one driver, which had resulted in a fatal accident, should not be used to punish the entire community.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Paramilitary Force CRPF's Former Chief Named Ajit Doval's Deputy

Former CRPF and ITBP director general Anish Dayal Singh has been appointed the new deputy National Security Advisor (NSA), with a mandate to handle internal affairs, official sources said.

Mr Singh, a 1988-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Manipur cadre, retired from service in December 2024.

He brings extensive experience to the role, having served for nearly 30 years in the Intelligence Bureau (IB) before heading the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), and most recently, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

According to officials, Mr Singh will be in charge of internal affairs of the country, including Jammu and Kashmir, and Naxal and Northeastern insurgency, as the deputy NSA.

Former RAW chief Rajinder Khanna is the Additional NSA, while retired IPS officer TV Ravichandran and former IFS officer Pawan Kapoor are the two serving deputy NSAs.

During his tenure as CRPF chief, Mr Singh was instrumental in a number of key initiatives, such as CRPF's strides in combating Naxalism, establishing over three dozen forward operating bases, and introducing four new battalions in the Left-Wing Extremism-affected areas.

He also oversaw the CRPF's role in ensuring security during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the first Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Internally, Mr Singh initiated a comprehensive realignment of over 130 CRPF battalions — the first such restructuring in eight years, which is aimed at improving operational efficiency and providing troops with more "family time," reducing the average distance between units and their parent centres from 1,200 km to 500 km.

He also introduced "samvaad" (dialogue) sessions with company commanders to gather feedback, a move widely appreciated within the force.

The appointment comes alongside the Union government's approval of granting honorary ranks to retiring personnel of the central armed forces, a policy Mr Singh championed.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order approving a policy aimed at boosting the morale of subordinate officers in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and Assam Rifles.

The proposal for this policy was originally moved by Mr Singh himself with a reasoning to overcome the long-standing issue of stagnation in promotional avenues, with some constables waiting as long as 20 years for their first promotion.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Pressure Builds, Kerala Congress MLA Accused Of Misconduct Refuses To Resign

Having stepped down as the Kerala Youth Congress president following allegations of misconduct against women, Palakkad MLA Rahul Mamkootathil is now facing growing calls for resigning from the state Assembly as well. The controversy, which began with a social media post, has now snowballed into a full-blown political crisis with leaked audio clips, WhatsApp chats and fresh testimony adding to Mamkootathil's troubles. 

The latest trigger was an audio clip, aired on Thursday by a television channel, in which a male voice, purportedly Mamkootathil's, is heard pressuring a woman to undergo an abortion. The woman, resisting the demand, asserts that she loves her unborn child and can raise it independently, without seeking his support. 

The male voice counters that the pregnancy would "destroy" his life and is even heard saying, "To kill you, what do you think, I just need a few seconds." The clip has caused widespread outrage, with women's groups, opposition parties, and even sections of the Congress party demanding accountability.

Early Allegations 

The latest controversy began when actor and former journalist Rini Ann George alleged that a young politician in Kerala had sent her inappropriate messages and invited her to a hotel room three years ago. While she did not name Mamkootathil, her suggestion that the politician's attitude was "who cares" was seen as a pointed reference to him, especially since the MLA had used the same phrase when dismissing previous charges.

After this, more allegations surfaced. Avantika, a transgender woman, alleged that Mamkootathil had made offensive remarks to her, expressing interest in what he termed "rape sex" and suggesting meetings in Bangalore or Hyderabad to fulfil his fantasies. She told NDTV that the MLA had shared his rape fantasies with her.

Screenshots of WhatsApp chats purportedly sent by Mamkootathil to another woman, asking if he could visit her when she was alone at home, also began circulating on social media.

The MLA, however, has consistently denied wrongdoing. On August 21, he resigned from all organisational posts in the Congress, including his position as state Youth Congress president, but insisted that the decision was voluntary and not forced by party leadership. 

"No one has filed a complaint against me. Anyone can cook up a story. I resigned so that my colleagues don't have to spend time defending me," he told reporters, adding that he would continue as MLA.

Political Fallout

The allegations against Mamkootathil have given fresh ammunition to rival parties ahead of Assembly elections in Kerala next year. The BJP and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth wing of the CPI(M), have staged protest marches in Palakkad, accusing the Congress of shielding him. 

BJP leaders said the allegations were too grave to be ignored and accused the Congress of "double standards," arguing that the party has previously demanded action against others based on public allegations, even in the absence of formal complaints. 

The CPI(M) has also mounted pressure, with DYFI workers taking to the streets demanding that Rahul step down. The DYFI argues that an elected representative facing such serious accusations cannot continue in office until an investigation clears him.

Voices against Mamkootathil are beginning to be raised within the Congress as well. Several senior leaders and Youth Congress workers are learnt to have conveyed to the leadership that Mamkootathil's continuation as MLA damages the party's credibility, especially in the run-up to local body and Assembly polls. 

Critics within the Congress have also pointed to the contradiction in the party's defence. They note that while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has publicly raised allegations against the Election Commission without filing a formal complaint, the party is now dismissing allegations against Mamkootathil by insisting that no case has been registered.

Defiance

Despite mounting pressure, the Palakkad MLA remains defiant. Speaking from his residence in Adoor in Pathanamthitta district, he said: "Resignation is not even in my thoughts." Reiterating that none of the women who levelled allegations have filed legal complaints, he added, "If the CPI(M) wants, they can fabricate one. Let them complain, I can prove my innocence in court."

He argued that stepping down as Youth Congress president was merely a tactical move to allow party workers to focus on campaigning without being distracted by the controversy and insisted that relinquishing his MLA seat is unnecessary since no official charges have been brought against him.

Growing Pressure

However, pressure on him is unlikely to abate. Women's rights activists have called the audio clips "deeply disturbing" and demanded that the state leadership act decisively rather than wait for legal proceedings to begin. Opposition leaders have also stressed that public trust in elected representatives is paramount, and even unproven allegations of this nature severely damage credibility.

Mamkootathil had won the Palakkad Assembly by-election in November 2024 after Shafi Parambil vacated it upon winning the Vadakara Lok Sabha contest. He secured victory with a record margin of 18,724 votes, defeating the BJP's C Krishnakumar and CPI(M)-backed P Sarin. That commanding win is now overshadowed by controversy, with Mamkootathil's political future hanging in the balance.

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'World Calling Me A Killer': Man's Post Before His Arrest For Wife's Murder

Seen in a video assaulting his wife and arrested for setting her ablaze, a man from Greater 
Noida has implied that she died by suicide, going on to say that the world is calling him a killer because "she left him".

The woman, Nikki, died of burn injuries on Thursday and videos show her being thrashed and her hair being pulled by her husband, Vipin, and another woman at their house in Greater Noida's Sirsa. Other videos show Nikki ablaze and limping down some stairs and, later, sitting on the floor with severe burn injuries all over her body.

Nikki's elder sister, Kanchan, who is married to Vipin's elder brother, said both sisters were tortured regularly for dowry and their in-laws demanded Rs 36 lakh. The torture began soon after their marriage in 2016 and Nikki, she said, was set ablaze by Vipin and her in-laws in front of her on Thursday.

In a post on Instagram around 1 am on Saturday, hours before his arrest for the murder, Vipin suggested that Nikki had died by suicide. 

With a mournful Hindi song as the background, Vipin, whose Instagram profile says he is an advocate, wrote, "Why didn't you tell me what had happened? Why did you leave me? Why did you do this? The world is calling me a killer, Nikki."

And then, the kicker, "'Mere saath bahut galat ho raha hai tere jaane ke baad' (I am being wronged since you left)."

In another post in the Instagram story, Nikki and Vipin can be seen smiling in a video. Their son, who also looks happy, is sitting with them. This video is captioned, "I am devastated ('main barbaad ho gaya'). I am left with nothing."

'Want Justice'

Both Kanchan and Nikki and Vipin's son have said she was set ablaze by her in-laws. 

"We were being tortured, our in-laws would tell us they did not get this or that during the wedding. They asked us to get Rs 36 lakh from our home. I was also assaulted between 1.30 am and 4 am on Thursday. They told me it would be better if I was dead," said Kanchan. 

"That same evening, they brutally assaulted my sister in front of me and the children. They then threw some liquid on her and set her ablaze in front of my eyes. I tried to save her but I could not. Someone took her to the hospital. I don't know who. I had fallen unconscious... I want justice. I want my in-laws to suffer the way they made my sister suffer," she added.

Nikki's son also said his mother was set ablaze, "They poured something on mumma, slapped her and then set her ablaze using a lighter."

Vipin's parents and his brother have also been named in Nikki's murder case and police are looking for them.

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Rohit Gets Stuck In Mumbai Traffic Jam, What He Does For Fan Wins Hearts

Rohit Sharma is currently enjoying some time away from cricket. The ODI cricket season is still some time away, and the India great, who has already retired from Tests and T20Is, is enjoying his time with family. Rohit is currently in Mumbai. Recently, a video of his was widely shared on social media. In the video, Rohit can be seen stuck in a traffic jam. When a fan noticed him, Rohit did not look away or ignore the follower; instead, he showed him a thumbs-up sign.

Rohit Sharma got stuck in Mumbai traffic in his new Lamborghini, but he still didn't forget to wave to his fans while heading home after finishing training.

The man with golden heart @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/ioJvh93h7b

— (@rushiii_12) August 22, 2025

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes that the 2027 ODI World Cup will be India's ODI captain Rohit Sharma's swansong. He expects that after Rohit's "last dance," the management will pass the baton to Shubman Gill.

Gill's rise in the captaincy pecking order has been nothing short of a fairytale. After the Border-Gavaskar Trophy turned out to be Rohit's last Test assignment, Gill was handed the mantle and led India to a memorable 2-2 draw in the exacting series in England.

After a fabled run with the bat that saw him rack up 754 runs, Gill was promoted to T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav's deputy for next month's Asia Cup. Amid Gill's rise, there have been speculations about Rohit's future, considering he has announced his exit from the T20I and Test formats.

While citing Gill's prolific run in the cash-rich IPL, Kaif expects him to emerge as an all-format captain. He said on his YouTube channel, "In the last three years, Gill has scored 2,000 runs. He is the future captain. He is the Test captain, and in T20Is, he is the vice-captain. Rohit is the ODI captain. He is almost 38 and I believe will retire after the 2027 ODI World Cup. When he steps away, Gill will become the captain."

Gill was a notable absentee from India's T20 World Cup-winning squad last year but was sent on the assignment to lead India for the five fixtures against Zimbabwe.

After the conclusion of the series, Gill was shifted primarily towards ODIs and Tests as T20 took a step back in his career trajectory. After being announced as the vice-captain, Gill will feature in his first T20I competition since July 2024.

During the squad announcement, chief selector Ajit Agarkar addressed Gill's sudden promotion and return to the shortest format of cricket.

"We obviously see some leadership qualities in him. And his form in England was what we were hoping for. He exceeded all our expectations with the kind of form that he showed with his bat, which is a great sign when there is so much pressure on you as a captain," Agarkar said while speaking to the reporters.

In 21 T20Is, Gill has made 578 runs in 21 innings at an average of 30.42, with a strike rate of 139.27. He has scored a century and three fifties, with a best score of 126*.

With ANI inputs.

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"Her Smile Was Pure Magic": Woman's Gesture To Elderly Lady Melts Internet

A heartwarming video of a woman offering a lift to an elderly lady has gone viral on Instagram, winning the hearts of millions. The video, shared by content creator Sanchita Agarwal, captures a brief yet touching moment that she has described as "straight out of a movie".

In the short clip, Sanchita pauses her car ride to offer the elderly woman a lift. The woman gratefully accepts, her face lighting up with a warm and innocent smile. When asked where she's headed, she gently replies, "Jeevan Bharti." As they part ways, Sanchita says, "Dhyaan rakho" (take care), and the woman responds with a smile that needed no words. An overlay on the video reads, "Her smile was pure magic."

The video, captioned "Sometimes, life offers us scenes straight out of a movie. This was my 'Yuhin Chala Chal Rahi' moment," has garnered over 2.5 million views and continues to receive praise for its genuine and emotional tone.

Watch the video here: 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Sanchita Agarwal (@littlesweet_family)

Many social media users praised the simplicity and kindness in the interaction, calling it a beautiful reminder of humanity.

"She was so elated to get a car ride...such a small thing can give someone such a big pleasure," commented a user.

"Whenever I go out and I am on my bike, if I find any person who looks like they are in need of a lift, I always do, and it gives the best feeling," wrote another user.

"I did this once, and the poor lady didn't know the address because she knows it only by walking. I went in circles till we found it with clues," commented a third user.

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