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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 24th of May and here are the top stories of the week.

The voter turnout in the fifth phase of Lok Sabha elections in 49 constituencies on Monday was higher than the polling in the same seats in 2019, as per provisional figures at 10.30 pm on Tuesday. Though the final turnout figure is expected to be released by the Election Commission today, the EC’s Voter Turnout app, showed Monday’s turnout at 62.15%, higher than the 2019 final polling figure of 61.82%.

Six people were killed and 48 were injured in a boiler blast at a chemical company in Mahrashtra's Thane on Thursday afternoon. According to officials, the number of deceased and injured may go up as several workers and residents were feared trapped in the factory in Dombivli’s MIDC phase-2 region. Officials of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation said a massive blast occurred in the Amudan Chemicals Pvt Ltd. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the deceased.

Days after a recent Porsche car accident in which a minor, driving under the influence of alcohol, killed two techies, the Regional Transport Office Pune has decided to cancel the car's temporary registration for 12 months and has also decided not to give a licence to the 17-year-old boy till he turns 25. Meanwhile, the JUvenile Justice Board remanded the minor to an observation home until 5th of June.

Former PM H D Deve Gowda warned his grandson and Hassan JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is facing several sexual abuse allegations, that he would be isolated from the family if he did not return and surrender before the police. In a letter, the JD(S) national presidentsaid, quote, "This is not an appeal that I am making, it is a warning that I am issuing. If he does not heed to this warning, he will have to face my anger and the anger of all his family members. The law will take care of the accusations against him, but not listening to the family will ensure his total isolation,” Unquote.

Iran interred its late president Ebrahim Raisi at the holiest site for Shiite Muslims in the Islamic Republic today. Raisi's burial at the Imam Reza Shrine in Iranian holy city of Mashhad caps days of processionals through much of Iran after the crash that killed him, the country's foreign minister and six others earlier this week. Many thousands of mourners packed the streets of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad. World leaders paid their respects to Raisi and met Iran's supreme leader and interim president at University of Tehran, before the burial.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express' Partha Sarathi Biswas joins us to talk about the the horrific case where a minor mowed down two people with his Porsche. Partha Sarathi talks about the verdict of the Juvenile Justice Board and everything that has been happening since the incident.

Next, Indian Express’ Shantanu Chowdhury and Apurva Vishwanath talk to us about the Calcutta High Court's decision on the West Bengal government issuing OBC certificates to people from 77 Muslim communities since 2010. (13:08)

And in the end, we talk about a massive blast that happened in a chemical company in Maharashtra's Thane that killed six people. (21:08)

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Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 23rd of May and here are today's headlines.

Tensions flared in Nandigram in West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district today. Hours after a woman worker of the BJP was killed and seven others were injured after being attacked on Wednesday night, days before the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the state. As the BJP took to the streets in protest today by torching shops and blocking roads using trees and setting them on fire, security was beefed up with Rapid Action Force and central forces being deployed, apart from the police.

A senior Kolkata police officer said that the initial probe into the “murder” of Bangladesh MP Anwarul Azim Anar revealed that one of his friends had paid around Rs 5 crore to kill the neighbouring country’s parliamentarian. Anar, who went missing in Kolkata since 13th of May, was found murdered and three people have been arrested, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had said on Wednesday. The West Bengal Police had said investigation of the case has been taken up by the state CID.

Recent heavy showers have caused significant destruction in Kerala, and resulted in at least four deaths. The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Ernakulam, Thrissur, Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad districts today. With heavy rainfall forecast, the weather department has also issued a yellow alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Kannur and Kasargod districts. An ‘orange’ alert is an indication to be prepared and warns of waterlogging and major traffic disruptions.

Frontline equity index NSE Nifty 50 hit an all-time high of 22,880.55, going past the previous mark of 22,794.  30-share BSE Sensex, along similar lines, is trading 873.12 points, or 1.19 per cent higher, at 75,061.74 points.Among the Sensex firms, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Titan and Bharti Airtel were the major gainers. On the other hand, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, Power Grid, and Tata Steel were the laggards.

Norway said it will further tighten its restrictions on the entry of people from Russia. It further stated that those with tourist visas issued by Norway before regulations were tightened in 2022 or issued by another European country will be barred from entering the Scandinavian country as of next week. Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said the tightening was a response to “Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.” Norway has a 198-kilometer (123-mile) -long border with Russia in the Arctic.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express’ Sujit Bisoyi discusses the biggest narratives dominating the Odisha polls and explains why Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, despite facing the toughest challenge in over 20 years, is still not worried.

Next, Indian Express’ Rural Affairs Editor Harish Damodaran explains why India’s wheat production has hit a 16-year low and highlights the two states that helped avert a crisis (15:12).

And in the end, we provide a brief update about the Election Commission issuing notices to the BJP and Congress Party (23:25).

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Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 22nd of May and here are today's headlines.

Almost a month after issuing notices to Bharatiya Janata Party president J P Nadda and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge over alleged Model Code of Conduct violations by their star campaigners, the Election Commission of India today directed BJP star campaigners not to make communal speeches and those of the Opposition party to refrain from saying the Constitution may be abolished. While the EC did not name PM Modi or Rahul Gandhi, it asked Nadda and Kharge for their “comments” on the “star campaigners” alleged MCC violations.

The Supreme Court today declined to entertain former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s plea seeking interim bail on money laundering charges in a land scam-related case to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections. The court said his bail plea was pending before the trial court when he approached the apex court seeking the relief. The bench was upset that Soren had not disclosed to it that the trial court had taken cognisance of the complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Three days after two young software engineers were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car, allegedly being driven by a 17-and-a-half-year-old boy, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) today issued a notice to him to appear before it. According to sources, the JJB, which had earlier granted him bail, issued the notice to the boy, the son of a city-based realtor, through his lawyers and that he would appear before the Board.

Questioning Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s silence in the case filed by Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal against Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant today claimed Kejriwal is putting pressure on Maliwal for a “compromise” in the matter. Sawant said, quote, “While campaigning, people have asked me only one question. Why is Kejriwal silent on the Maliwal case for the past nine days? He should give some clarification. His silence on this issue reveals everything. AAP has become an anti-Delhi and an anti-women party now.” Unquote.

Bangladesh MP Anwar Ul Azim, who has been missing for the past eight days from Kolkata is feared to have been murdered, police said today. Though police sources said that blood stains were found at Azim’s flat, they are still searching for the MP’s body. They have collected CCTV footage from the flat. The police said the legislator of Bangladesh’s ruling Awami League came to Kolkata on May 12 through the Gende border in West Bengal’s Nadia district and first went to the house of one of his friends.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Nandagopal Rajan, COO, The Indian Express Online is joined by Anand Trivedi,  Director, CyberProof, a UST company, to talk about the menace of deepfakes that has surfaced in the process of the Lok Sabha elections. 

Next, Indian Express’ Asad Rehman talks to us about the influence that Bahujan Samaj Party and Mayawati have in Uttar Pradesh as the state approaches the sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections on 25th of May. (16:30)

And in the end, we talk about Singapore Airlines aircraft that encountered turbulence so severe that it resulted in the death of a passenger. (23:31)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar