Champai Soren, veteran leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, will take oath today as the next Chief Minister of Jharkhand. The 67-year-old was invited by the Governor to take oath late this evening — almost 24 hours after the arrest of Hemant Soren in an alleged money laundering case.

The Governor CP Radhakrishnan’s move came hours after Champai Soren met him, pleading that he be called to take oath.

“There is no government for 18 hours. There is a situation of confusion. Being the constitutional head, we expect you will soon take steps for the formation of a popular government,” read his letter to the Governor.

The delay in the Governor’s decision — coupled with the slim margin in numbers — pushed the ruling alliance to move their MLAs, fearing an Operation Lotus by the opposition BJP.

But the weather played spoilsport. The plane — bound for Congress-ruled Telangana — could not take off and late in the evening, the MLAs were taken to a government guest house in the city.

Shortly after, Champai Soren got a call from the Governor.

The ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance of Jharkhand has 47 MLAs in the 81-member house, where the majority mark is 41. Currently 43 MLAs are backing Champai Soren.

The BJP has 25 MLAs and the AJSU, or All Jharkhand Students Union, has three. The remaining seats are divided between the NCP and a Left party (one each) and there are three independent MLAs.

The slim majority has given rise to concern in the ruling alliance. Since before Hemant Soren’s arrest on Wednesday, the leaders have been insisting they have the numbers to form government.

Today, Champai Soren said, “We have submitted the report with 43 MLAs in our support. We expect the number will reach 46-47… so there is no problem. Our ‘gathbandhan’ (alliance), is very strong”.

The Governor was also shown a 49-second roll-call video of the MLAs backing Mr Soren, sources said.

An Indian student was found dead in the US on Thursday making it the fourth such incident this year.

Shreyas Reddy Beniger was studying at the Linder School of Business in Ohio.

The Indian Mission in New York has expressed anguish over the incident and said a probe is on to ascertain the cause of Beniger’s death.

“Deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of Mr. Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, a student of Indian origin in Ohio. Police investigation is underway. At this stage, foul play is not suspected. The Consulate continues to remain in touch with the family and is extending all possible assistance to them,” the Indian Consulate in New York posted on X – earlier known as Twitter.

Deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of Mr. Shreyas Reddy Benigeri, a student of Indian origin in Ohio. Police investigation is underway. At this stage, foul play is not suspected.

The Consulate continues to remain in touch with the family and is extending all possible…

— India in New York (@IndiainNewYork) February 1, 2024

Earlier this week, Neel Acharya – a student at Purdue University – was found dead on Monday. Acharya was missing since Sunday. Hours later, a body was found on the university campus and was identified as that of Acharya.

His mother Gaury on Sunday put out a post on social media, informing that Acharya had been missing and was last seen by an Uber driver who dropped him at the campus. She sought help in finding him. Soon after, Acharya was confirmed dead.

In another case, Vivek Saini – a resident of Haryana’s Panchkula – was hammered to dead by a homeless man in Georgia’s Lithonia on January 16.

Vivek Saini, who was pursuing MBA in Georgia’s Lithonia, worked part-time at a convenience store that sheltered a homeless man Julian Faulkner. Saini had reportedly given the man chips, water and even a jacket. On January 16, the 25-year-old reportedly refused to give Faulkner free food and this led to the attack.

Another Indian student, Akul Dhawan, was found dead outside the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in January this year,

The 18-year-old’s autopsy suggested that he died from hypothermia.

However, Dhawan’s parents have filed a complaint, accusing the university’s police department of negligence and inaction after Akul Dhawan was reported missing. “This is bizarre, that a kid is never found who was just less than a block, like one minute away, sitting there, dead, frozen to death,” his father Ish Dhawan said.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – who had been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for the fifth time – today said that he will skip the questioning in the Delhi liquor policy case again.

He had been asked to appear before the probe agency at its Delhi headquarters today.

This comes after Arvind Kejriwal skipped January 19 questioning, saying that the summons issued by the ED were illegal and its only aim is to arrest him.

Mr Kejriwal, also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, had refused to appear before the probe agency on three earlier summons for November 2, December 21 and January 3 as well.