05:17⇢Murder Contract for 20 Lakh
⌨The newspapers report extensive new details about Sonam Raghuvanshi's murder conspiracy, revealing she planned her husband's killing just three days after their wedding and negotiated a contract killing for 20 lakh rupees (Aaj Tak, ABP Live, India Today, Jagran, NDTV, Times of India, Zee News). Chat messages between Sonam and her lover show her expressing disgust at physical intimacy with Raja and plotting his elimination during their honeymoon trip. Police sources indicate Sonam ordered an axe online for the murder and maintained her live location sharing with her lover throughout the fatal trip to Meghalaya. In a macabre twist, her lover consoled Raja's father at the funeral while knowing his role in the crime. Now in custody, Sonam claims she was drugged and brought to Uttar Pradesh against her will, denying knowledge of how she reached Ghazipur (Jansatta). Separately, India moves forward with a 30,000 crore military procurement to strengthen Army air defense systems (Firstpost), while the Coast Guard continues battling a cargo ship fire off the Kerala coast (Mathrubhumi, The Hindu).