Morning Pulse: A Navratri-night robbery-murder greets Gujarat's home minister in Rajkot

Gujarat's party politics stayed quiet for a second night. The news that moved came from Rajkot, where a man carrying gold for a jewellery firm was shot dead in a robbery on Wednesday evening, in the middle of Navratri. Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who also handles home affairs, is due in the same city today for a ceremony planned well before the shooting. The overnight thread is the state's basic promise of safety, tested in Rajkot, in a Vadodara labour office and in an Ahmedabad drain.

The Rajkot attack happened near the Aji industrial area between about 7 and 8 pm, TV9 Gujarati reported, citing the police timeline. TV9 Gujarati and GSTV identified the victim as Lalji Sardhara, an employee of the jewellery firm Tanvi Gold, who was riding a two-wheeler with gold and silver. Three or four men in a car tried to grab his bag, both outlets said. When he resisted they fired, hitting him in the chest. GSTV and ETV Bharat reported that he died in hospital. The outlets give different figures for the haul. TV9 put it at about 800 to 900 grams of gold and 3 kg of silver, while GSTV and ETV Bharat valued it at roughly Rs 1 crore.

Police threw a cordon around the city overnight. ETV Bharat reported that the police commissioner and senior officers went to the scene, that a citywide naka bandi was set up, and that five teams, including the Crime Branch and the SOG, are on the case. TV9 Gujarati reported that forensic teams were deployed and that police are checking whether someone inside the firm was involved, because the attackers appeared to have studied the route. That line of inquiry is unconfirmed. By 7:44 this morning, TV9's live updates reported no arrests. ETV Bharat said the Rajkot Gold Dealers Association had called a one-day shutdown in Sardhara's memory.

Sanghavi's visit was announced before the shooting. DeshGujarat and Gujarat First reported that he will hand Indian citizenship certificates to 319 refugees at the Pramukh Swami Auditorium in Rajkot today: 259 from Rajkot district, 53 from Morbi, six from Kutch and one from Surendranagar. The certificates are being issued under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, both outlets said. This is the third such ceremony in Gujarat since 2024. The robbery means he arrives in a city expecting answers from its police.

In Vadodara, the Anti-Corruption Bureau laid a trap on Wednesday at the labour office in Shramyogi Kalyan Bhavan after a complainant said officials had asked for Rs 70,000 to issue a labour licence. DeshGujarat and ETV Bharat both reported that Assistant Government Labour Officer Ranjitsinh Jadhav was caught accepting the full amount. DeshGujarat reported that Assistant Labour Commissioner Deepak Chauhan, who it says demanded the money, was also arrested. ETV Bharat said only that Chauhan's name had come up in the case. Neither officer's response was reported.

Now the loops from last night. In Ahmedabad, the visually impaired ten-year-old who fell into an open drain near Pirana on Saturday had still not been found more than 90 hours later, Gujarat Samachar reported early on Thursday. We found no report of an inquiry ordered by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation or of any public statement from it.

In Gandhinagar, we found no announcement of a mayor or a date for the new board's first meeting. We also found no formal reply from the Congress or AAP state leadership to Amit Shah's remarks, and no public response to Rajya Sabha MP Mukesh Rathwa's comments in Chhota Udepur.

One more thing for the festival week. DeshGujarat reported the India Meteorological Department's forecast of dry weather until 18 October, then light to moderate rain at isolated places on 19 October in Navsari, Valsad, Amreli and Bhavnagar, along with Daman and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. TV9 Gujarati reported the same forecast this morning.