The Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said on Thursday that an air quality report card has revealed alarming pollution levels in West Bengal in the last six months.

In a tragic incident at the Vadakkekotta Metro Station in Kochi on Thursday, a young man jumped from the elevated metro track onto the road below, resulting in his death.

As many as 274 individuals stranded in disaster-hit areas of Uttarkashi have been rescued and brought to Harsil on Thursday, bringing the total number of rescued people to 409, officials involved in the ongoing relief and rescue efforts confirmed.

Apart from these, 135 people have already been evacuated to safer destinations, as operations intensify in the aftermath of the devastating flash floods triggered by cloudbursts. In total, 409 people have been rescued so far.

Two days after torrential rains caused destruction in the Uttarkashi region of Uttarakhand, relief operations are proceeding at full pace. People are being airlifted to safer elevations, while those injured are receiving prompt medical attention.

Three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were killed and 10 injured on Thursday in a road accident in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

Officials said that three CRPF jawans were killed and 10 others injured after the vehicle in which they were travelling plunged into a deep gorge in the Basantgarh area of Udhampur district.

The CRPF vehicle was on its way to a location in the hilly terrain when it went out of the driver's control, skidded off the road and rolled down into a deep gorge, leading to casualties, the officials said.

The rescue operation was immediately started, and all the injured were evacuated from the accident site.

Five among the 10 injured are critical and have been shifted to a hospital for advanced treatment.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow alert for Kolkata and several districts in South Bengal, forecasting light to moderate rain accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds (30-40 km/h) through the weekend.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre in Kolkata's Alipore, heavy rainfall is likely to occur in South Bengal districts like Hooghly, East Burdwan, Bankura, South 24 Parganas, and Nadia.

At the same time, light to moderate rain with thundershowers is likely at one or two places in Birbhum, Murshidabad, East Burdwan, Bankura, West Midnapore, and South 24 Parganas districts, as per the weather department.

At least 50 civilians, eight jawans and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) are still missing after a cloudburst triggered flash flood and landslides in Dharali in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district early this week.

After the cloudburst in the Dharali region near Harsil on August 5, the area remains largely inaccessible, with key road links at Bartwari, Linchigad, Gangrani, Harsil, and Dharali severely damaged.

Besides, around 180–200 tourists were stranded in Gangotri.

The Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel are providing the stranded tourists with food, medical aid, and shelter.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched a fresh crackdown in the Rs 800 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam, conducting raids at six locations across Ranchi.

The raids target individuals linked to Kolkata-based Shiv Kumar Deora, believed to be the mastermind behind the multi-crore scam.

One of the key premises searched includes the residence-cum-office of businessman Krishna Thakkar on the fourth floor of Krishna Apartment in the P.P. Compound area, a major residential and commercial hub in Ranchi. Simultaneous operations are underway at five other locations in the city.

Sources indicate that coordinated raids are also being carried out at locations in Kolkata and Mumbai. This fresh round of enforcement action follows evidence and documents gathered during the first phase of the investigation.

In a swift and courageous operation, the Indian Army sprang into action to contain a massive fire that broke out in Menchuka town of Shi Yomi district in Arunachal Pradesh, preventing a potential large-scale disaster in the remote region.

The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested a smuggler and seized gold worth Rs 62.68 lakh along the Indo-Bangladesh Border (IBB) in the North 24-Parganas district of West Bengal.

In a shocking broad daylight robbery, a gang of six armed criminals looted jewellery worth Rs 12 lakh in Bihar's Gopalganj district on Wednesday.