Haryana govt seeks 2nd extension for chief secy
With the Haryana Chief Secretary, 1990 batch IAS officer Anurag Rastogi’s term ending on June 30, the state government has sought a second service extension for him. If the Centre approves the proposal, Rastogi will continue as the state’s top bureaucrat until June 2027. Even as the two senior-most officers of the 1990 batch, Sudhir Rajpal and Sumita Mishra, and another senior officer in the CM’s office have been doing the rounds, the names of two other officers have also been floated. But the government was keen on retaining Rastogi, appointed Chief Secretary on October 31, 2024. Rastogi reached the age of superannuation on June 30, 2025, and got a one-year extension.
Saini stops cavalcade to help accident victims
Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini assisted two youths who were seriously injured in a road accident on the Ladwa-Babain road in Kurukshetra district. He promptly halted his convoy and asked his personal physician to provide first aid to the injured. He also ensured that both the injured were taken to the hospital in an advanced life support ambulance accompanying his cavalcade. He also spoke to both of the injured to check on their condition. As a public representative, Saini emphasised that it is our primary duty to assist those in need. The injured were identified as Amit (27) from Beed’s Kalwa village and Rajat Kumar (30) from Surajgarh.
Deepfakes emerge as new political weapon
With less than a year left for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, deepfakes and AI-generated content is increasingly being used to target and marginalize religious heads and political leaders through derogatory memes and fake videos. Thus, there are growing calls for legal action against users and platforms hosting such content. After hurling blasphemy allegations against each other, the ruling AAP and the SAD are now indulging in an ugly political deepfake war on social media. Now, in the latest of the past few days, objectionable AI-generated videos of Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj have surfaced on social media, triggering a row.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh
hsbajwa73@gmail.com