Author: Agencies

JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Police have attached properties worth about Rs 65 lakh belonging to two alleged drug peddlers in Jammu and Rajouri districts under the NDPS Act as part of an intensified drive against narcotics trafficking, officials said. In Jammu, the police seized and froze illegally acquired movable properties worth over Rs 38 lakh belonging to Sharif Hussain alias Bachu, a resident of the Nikki Tawi area. The attached assets include cash amounting to Rs 14.15 lakh, a Mahindra Scorpio-N SUV valued at Rs 22.33 lakh and a Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle worth approximately Rs 1.50 lakh. Investigations established…

NEW DELHI: The Department of Space has revised the authority and procedure for accepting voluntary retirement and resignation requests from ISRO’s Group ‘A’ Scientific and Technical personnel, directing that such requests from scientists associated with the Gaganyaan mission and other important national projects should not be accepted as a matter of routine. In an Office Memorandum (OM) issued on July 14, the Department said the decision was taken after noticing a spate of voluntary retirement and resignation requests from scientific personnel, which was affecting the implementation of projects of national importance. “Of late, it has been noticed that there has…

NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday joined a high-level meeting of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Group of Ministers and floor leaders at the residence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. The meeting is being held to finalise the NDA’s strategy for the upcoming session, which is scheduled to commence on July 20 and conclude on August 13. According to officials, the government’s legislative agenda will prioritise two pending bills, the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, introduced earlier this year, and the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan…

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) on July 20, alleging “continuous, indiscriminate and intrusive surveillance” at the ongoing protest at Jantar Mantar here over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. The PIL by former JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh sought urgent hearing before a bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia. The senior counsel of the petitioner said that policemen were roaming with mobiles and cameras at the protest site, which, they claim, was breaking the morale of the protesting students. She claimed that the police’s conduct…

HARYANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said Jind has become a symbol of the BJP-NDA government’s model of good governance, asserting that Haryana has embarked on a new path of development over the past few years. Addressing the gathering in Jind after inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for multiple development projects, the Prime Minister said the day’s programme had injected fresh momentum into the BJP government’s development agenda. “Today, Jind is becoming a picture of the BJP-NDA’s model of good governance. Over the past few years, the entire state of Haryana has embarked on a new path of…

HARYANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for development projects worth around Rs 14,700 crore at Eklavya Stadium in Jind, in the presence of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Among the key projects, the Prime Minister dedicated them to the nation and laid the foundation stone for National Highway projects worth over Rs 12,470 crore in Haryana. He dedicated the 157.92-km-long four-lane, fully access-controlled Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway (Packages 1 to 5), developed at a cost of around Rs 9,680 crore. The Greenfield corridor forms part of the 667-km…

A bill seeking to impose 100 per cent tariffs on five countries, including India and China, for buying Russian oil, while exempting European nations purchasing gas from Moscow, was introduced in the US Senate with the support of over 60 lawmakers. The bill, introduced on Thursday, was conceived by Democrat Senator Richard Blumenthal and late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. It is designed to deprive Russian President Vladimir Putin of revenue used to finance the war against Ukraine by imposing mandatory sanctions on Russia’s political leadership, financial institutions, energy sector, and sanctions evasion networks. Blumenthal had said on Tuesday that the…

BENGALURU: An FIR was registered on Friday after a hoax bomb threat was received aboard a Bengaluru-Ahmedabad IndiGo flight shortly before its scheduled departure from the Kempegowda International Airport here, police said. The incident occurred on IndiGo flight 6E-6423, which was scheduled to depart from Bengaluru at 8 pm on July 16, they said. According to the police, a handwritten note stating, “Don’t go. Bomb Hai! Please,” was found by a crew member inside the forward lavatory at around 7.35 pm. Following the discovery, standard operating procedures were immediately initiated and a thorough security check of the aircraft was carried…

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Friday met activist Sonam Wangchuk, who completed 20 days of his hunger strike demanding Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation over the NEET-UG paper leak, and expressed concern over his health while extending support to his demand for accountability and transparency in examinations. Khera, who was among opposition leaders who met Wangchuk, criticised the government over its handling of democratic protests and alleged that it was “insensitive” towards students’ concerns. “We are all concerned about Sonam Wangchuk’s health. We are dealing with a highly insensitive government that fails to understand the language of…

HARYANA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off India’s first hydrogen-powered train from Jind in Haryana, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts towards green transportation and self-reliant technology under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative. The hydrogen-powered train will operate on the 89-km Jind-Sonipat section. It will connect Jind Junction, Gohana Junction and Sonipat while serving intermediate stations and is among the few hydrogen trains in operation globally. The launch places India in an elite group of countries using hydrogen technology for rail transport. Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw described the launch as a landmark achievement for Indian…