The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out a major crackdown on a massive Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud, conducting raids at nine locations across Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The operation is part of the agency’s investigation into an alleged scam involving fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) claims worth over Rs 800 crore.

According to sources, ED teams launched simultaneous searches at four locations in Jharkhand -- including three in the capital, Ranchi, and one in the industrial hub of Jamshedpur.

Five other locations were raided in neighbouring West Bengal. To ensure the safety of officials conducting the searches, personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed at the sites.

A day after India's Operation Sindoor, the 1,037 km-long border that Rajasthan shares with Pakistan has been sealed, and the security significantly tightened. The Border Security Force (BSF) and Indian Air Force (IAF) are on maximum alert, conducting round-the-clock surveillance and combat patrols amid escalating regional tensions.

All Western Sector airbases, including Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Nal, Phalodi, and Uttarlai, are on high alert. Fighter jets, including Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs armed with advanced weaponry, are patrolling the skies from Sri Ganganagar to the Rann of Kutch.

On the ground, the BSF has intensified patrolling near the zero line. Additional troops have been deployed to sensitive sectors to ensure a swift response to any suspicious movement. Soldiers have been granted the authority to engage immediately, even at the slightest provocation.

A high alert has been issued in districts near the Rajasthan border following India's airstrikes on nine terror bases in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. As a precautionary measure, all flight operations at Kishangarh and Jodhpur airports have been suspended until May 10.

Rajasthan shares a 1,037-km border with Pakistan, which has been sealed with the Border Security Force personnel maintaining high vigilance. The Indian Air Force is also on high alert.

All government and private schools, along with anganwadi centres in the border districts of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner, and Sri Ganganagar have been declared closed until further notice.

The government employees in these areas have had their leaves cancelled and were instructed to remain at their headquarters.

Five tourists were killed and another was injured as a helicopter, in which they were travelling, crashed near Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi on Thursday.

The incident occurred around 9 am near Gangnani when the private company helicopter was flying from Dehradun to Gangotri.

Those travelling on the plane were identified as Vinit Gupta, Arvind Agarwal, Vipin Agarwal, Pinki Agarwal, Rashmi, and Kishore Jadhav.

Police, Army Force, Disaster Management team, and ambulances have left for the spot near Uttarkashi.

The cause of the accident is yet to be identified.

After hearing about the accident, locals and police reached the spot and launched the rescue operation. State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Quick response teams, 108 ambulance vehicles, and other officials have rushed to the spot.

Gujarat is bracing for intense rainfall, thunderstorms, and strong winds over the next 24 hours, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for several districts.

The warning follows the simultaneous activation of multiple weather systems influencing the region.

According to the latest IMD bulletin, districts under the red alert include Bhavnagar, Amreli, Ahmedabad, Anand, Valsad, Daman, and Dadra Nagar Haveli.

These areas are expected to experience severe thunderstorms, lightning, and surface winds reaching 60-70 kmph in gusts, along with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations.

Superintendent of Police and Nodal Officer for Community Policing, Pankaj Chaudhary (IPS), on Wednesday, conducted a series of awareness and training sessions on a possible enemy attack preparedness across schools and slum areas in Jaipur.

The programme aimed to educate students, teachers, and local residents on emergency response measures such as air raid sirens and blackout procedures.

The first session was held at 9:30 AM at The Cambridge School, Mahesh Nagar, as part of a public awareness campaign. The event began with the National Anthem and was attended by the school staff, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, social workers, media personnel, and the Mahesh Nagar Police Station team.

Seven civilians were killed and 38 others injured on Wednesday in indiscriminate mortar shelling by the Pakistan Army on the Line of Control (LoC) as Lt Governor Manoj Sinha ordered the evacuation of the civilian population from vulnerable areas to safer locations.

The L-G said on X, "Took stock of the situation in border districts of J&K UT with all the senior administrative, police & district officials including DCs of all the border districts. I'm closely monitoring the situation & govt is fully prepared to deal with any eventuality. I've also directed the DCs for shifting of villagers from vulnerable areas to safer locations and ensuring boarding, lodging, food, medicare and transportation. We will ensure safety of every citizen.”

A high alert has been sounded in all border areas of Rajasthan after India's airstrikes on Pakistan-based terror bases. Also, Bikaner and Jodhpur airports have been closed.

At the same time, a holiday has been declared in schools today in border cities, including Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer, on the orders of the District Collector. In Bikaner, government employees' leaves have been cancelled, and they have been ordered not to leave the headquarters.

India has carried out airstrikes at nine places in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Bahawalpur, Pakistan, was attacked, where hideouts of the terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed are located.

Bahawalpur is about 100 km from the Rajasthan-Pakistan border.

Meanwhile Air India in its tweet said, "In view of the prevailing situation, Air India has cancelled all its flights to and from the following stations – Jammu, Srinagar, Leh, Jodhpur, Amritsar, Bhuj, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Rajkot – till 12 noon on 7 May, pending further updates from authorities. Two international flights en route to Amritsar are being diverted to Delhi. We regret the inconvenience caused due to this unforeseen disruption."

The northeastern states would join in the nationwide civil defence mock drill on Wednesday.

The mock exercise is being conducted at more than 244 locations across the country on the directive of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) as part of heightened security measures following the April 22 terror attack at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 26 innocent civilians, mostly tourists, were killed.

As per the MHA directives, the civil defence mock drill would be conducted in 52 districts in eight northeastern states.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday conducted extensive raids at five different locations across Chennai, targeting environmental consultancy firms and individuals linked to the healthcare sector.

The searches, carried out simultaneously in Koyambedu, Ashok Nagar, Saidapet, Virugambakkam, and Mylapore, were part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial irregularities.

Separate ED teams, accompanied by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, reached the targeted locations early in the morning.

Among the prominent sites searched was the office of EHS360Labs Pvt Ltd in Ashok Nagar. ED sleuths also raided the residences of Alankanathan, Director of Alenkar Infra Business Alliance and Ensys Technologies, located in Saidapet.