The Jharkhand government has appointed Anurag Gupta, a 1990 batch IPS officer, as the acting DGP of Jharkhand replacing Ajay Kumar Singh.

Ajay Kumar Singh, a 1989 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Jharkhand Police Housing Corporation Limited. He was appointed as the DGP of Jharkhand on February 14, 2023, based on seniority.

Anurag Gupta has previously served as the Director General of CID and ACB. He has held several significant positions in the Jharkhand police, including SP of Garhwa and Hazaribagh, SSP of Ranchi, and DIG of Bokaro Range.

He has also served as ADG of the Special Branch at the Jharkhand Police Headquarters.

A woman, working as a manager with a leading non-banking finance company attached to its Thrissur branch, is presently reported missing and has been booked for swindling Rs 20 crore.

Police have registered a case and a probe is currently on.

The accused, identified as Dhanya Mohan, has been working with a leading private financial institution for nearly two decades.

After Mohan went missing, it was found that she had been misappropriating funds since 2019.

With intermittent heavy rain continuing to lash the Sahyadri ranges leading to floods and dam water release, the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments are in touch and monitoring the situation closely.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also handles the Water Resources department, said the state is in constant touch with Karnataka over the unfolding developments, which have created tricky situations in the past.

“The Government of Maharashtra is in constant touch with the Government of Karnataka. Constant communication is being maintained with the Additional Secretary of Karnataka and the Chief Engineer of the Almatti Dam. A maintained water level (FRL) of 517.5 meters has been asked and accepted by the Government of Karnataka,” Fadnavis said in a social media post.

At least three persons, including a Nepali, were killed in Pune city and another three were trapped in their posh villas after a hill slide in Lavasa city in rain-related havoc here, the Pune Disaster Control said.

In the first incident, three mobile snack stall owners were electrocuted when they attempted to shift their handcart to safety from the flood waters near the Z bridge around 3 a.m.

They were rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed during treatment, and are identified as a Nepali youth Shiva Jidbahadur Pariyar, 18, Akash V. Mane, 21, and Abhishek A. Ghanekar, 25, said the officials.

In the second disaster, a hill slide triggered by heavy rain in Lavasa city in Mulshi buried at least three villas, trapping around three persons this morning. An NDRF team has been rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations, and the identity of the victims is not yet available.

A 65-year-old Catholic priest was found hanging in the church compound on Thursday, said police here.

The priest was identified as the Vicar of the Church- Fr Joseph Kuzhikannayil.

The body was first noticed by a local labourer, who came to the Vazhakulam St George Forane Church at Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district in the morning.

The labourer immediately alerted the parish members and the local police.

The J&K Police on Thursday claimed a breakthrough in the Kathua terror attack by arresting two Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) associates who facilitated the terror attack.

Police sources said that two JeM associates have been arrested from the hilly area of Kathua district.

“Sustained questioning of these two terror associates is likely to lead to more arrests of the persons involved in giving strategic and logistic support to the terrorists,” sources said.

More details are awaited.

A day after Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman allocated Rs 26,000 crore for three expressway projects in Bihar, these initiatives are expected to significantly boost the economy of at least 20 districts in the state.

The central government has proposed expressways connecting Patna to Purnea, Buxar to Bhagalpur, and Bodh Gaya (Gaya) to Darbhanga districts.

Although the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for these projects have not yet been completed, it is anticipated that these expressways will enhance connectivity and economic development across a substantial portion of Bihar.

The Patna-Purnea Expressway will traverse Vaishali, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Saharsa and Madhepura, and culminate in Purnea, touching at least seven districts.

The soldier injured in an encounter with the terrorists on Wednesday in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, succumbed to injuries in the hospital.

Officials identified the soldier as Dilawar Singh of 28 Rashtriya Rifles. He was injured in the gunfight with the terrorists in the Kowut Trumkhan forests of the district.

One terrorist has been killed in this ongoing gunfight so far although the body is yet to be recovered.

Security forces had started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kowut, Trumkhan forests of Kupwara district on Tuesday evening after getting information about the presence of terrorists there.

Officials said as the security forces closed on the hiding terrorists, they fired triggering the encounter.

One terrorist was killed and a soldier injured on Wednesday in an ongoing encounter in J&K’s Kupwara district.

Security forces had started a CASO (Cordon & Search Operation) in Kowut, Trumkhan forests of Kupwara district on Tuesday evening after getting information about the presence of terrorists there. Officials said as the security forces closed on the hiding terrorists, they fired triggering the gunfight.

The Army’s Srinagar-headquartered Chinar Corps posted on its X handle, “OP KOWUT-Kupwara Based on specific input regarding presence of terrorists in general area Kowut, Kupwara, a Joint Search Operation was launched by #IndianArmy & @JmuKmrPolice on days leading upto 23 July 24."

Alert troops of the Army foiled an infiltration bid on Tuesday in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district during which a soldier was injured, officials said.

Nagrota (Jammu) headquartered White Knight Corps of the Army said on Tuesday in a post on social media platform X that the terrorists attempted to infiltrate the Battal sector of Rajouri district.

"Alert troops foiled an infiltration bid by effectively engaging infiltrating terrorists with effective fire in the Battal Sector at 3 a.m. During the exchange of heavy fire, one braveheart has been injured. Operations are continuing," the Army said.