Indore collector draws flak for visiting RSS office; Cong calls him ‘BJP worker’
Indore (PTI): The Congress has criticised the collector of Indore for visiting the local office of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, dubbing him a “BJP worker.
Indore, Madhya Pradesh’s commercial capital and the country’s cleanest city for almost a decade now, is in the news for seven deaths due to water contamination in its Bhagirathpura area.
Collector Shivam Verma is “working like a BJP worker”, MP Congress president Jitu Patwari said on Thursday.
Verma, along with Indore Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, had visited the “Sudarshan” office in Pant Vaidya Colony here on Wednesday night and discussed various issues, including the Bhagirathpura contaminated water tragedy, with RSS Malwa prant pracharak Raj Mohan Singh, claimed Patwari.
Pictures and videos of the visit went viral on social media.
“Bhargav took Verma to the RSS office. The collector has shown he is not an administrative officer. He is working as a BJP member. If you go to the offices of political parties while on duty, remember, Congress workers will correct your working style,” Patwari said while addressing his colleagues in Sanwer.
“The collector should be working in his office, meeting with the chief secretary, and discussing matters with ministers and officials. People are dying in Indore, there is contaminated water everywhere, and the level of corruption is unimaginable. However, the collector is not working. He is going to the RSS office to mark his attendance for the BJP,” Patwari alleged.
Verma could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.
Amid claims by residents that 17 persons died due to water contamination, the MP government distributed compensation to 18 affected families on Tuesday.
Patwari himself had put the death toll at 20 in an X post.
Meanwhile, state minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, who sparked a row with his remarks on the water contamination deaths, on Thursday held discussions with the BJP’s organisation general secretary Hitanand Sharma at the party office here.
Vijayvargiya did not speak to reporters after the discussion with Sharma.
Some leaders said Vijayvargiya had come to the state office as part of the regular programme for ministers to listen to the problems of party workers. Vijayvargiya also listened to the problems of the workers under this programme, they added.
Vijayvargiya, the state urban development minister, had landed in controversy for using objectionable language on camera regarding the Indore water-related incident.
After facing sharp criticism, he had expressed regret for his remarks. Bhagirathpura is part of Vijayvargiya's Indore-1 assembly constituency.
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Naval information leak case: Fourth accused held
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Udupi police have arrested another accused in a case involving the alleged transmission of confidential information related to the Indian Navy to Pakistan, taking the total number of arrests to four, officials said on Thursday.
The arrested accused has been identified as Alif Islam (21), a native of West Bengal, who was presently residing at Marayur village in Idukki district of Kerala, they said.
He was apprehended in connection with the alleged leak of a confidential list containing identification numbers of Indian naval vessels, police said.
According to investigators, the accused are suspected to have shared sensitive information through WhatsApp and Facebook with contacts in Pakistan without authorisation.
The case was registered at Malpe police station in 2025 following a complaint regarding the alleged illegal transmission of naval-related data, officials said.
Police said the investigation pertains to the alleged sharing of a classified list of ship numbers linked to the Indian Navy.
In November 2025, two accused -- Rohit and Santri from Uttar Pradesh -- were taken into custody in connection with the same case. Later, Hirendra Kumar from Gujarat was arrested in December 2025.
With the latest arrest, the number of persons held in the case has risen to four.
Police said one more accused is yet to be apprehended. The operator of the Facebook page allegedly used to transmit the information also remains at large.
Investigators suspect that Islam may be a Bangladeshi national, and efforts are on to verify his citizenship and other credentials.
Further investigation is under way, police added.
