A gunfight started on Wednesday between joint security forces and the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district.

Officials said the security forces moved in after getting specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the Jopher village of the district under the jurisdiction of the Ramnagar police station.

“As the teams of police and the security forces moved in, they were fired upon by the terrorists triggering an encounter, which is now going on,” the officials said.

Further details were awaited.

At least seven people lost their lives in separate lightning strike incidents triggered by heavy rains in Bihar’s Madhubani and Begusarai districts over the past 24 hours, officials said.

In Madhubani, three people were killed in different parts of the district on Wednesday morning. In the Alpura village of Rudrapur, under Andharathari block, 62-year-old Zakir and his 18-year-old daughter Ayesha died while trying to cover a wheat stock in their field with a tarpaulin during a sudden downpour.

In another incident, Rekha Devi, wife of Revan Mahato from Pipraulia village under the Jhanjharpur police station area of Madhubani, was struck by lightning and died while she was near the fields.

Panic gripped residents of Jaora town in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam district after an ammonia gas leak from an ice factory late on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred around 10.30 p.m., sending residents in nearby colonies, including a police residential complex, into a state of alarm.

The leak was first detected by police personnel on night patrol near a public garden located just a few yards from the factory.

The officers reportedly experienced intense eye irritation and a pungent smell, prompting them to investigate further.

Upon inspection, they found that ammonia gas was leaking from the ice manufacturing unit.

As temperatures rise abnormally in several parts of Rajasthan, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for heatwave conditions in 20 districts on Wednesday.

The yellow alert has been sounded in districts -- Hanumangarh, Bikaner, Churu, Nagaur, Sikar, Alwar, Jaipur, Pali, Dausa, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Karauli, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Baran, Kota, Bundi, and Jhalawar -- while an orange alert has been issued in Sri Ganganagar and Jhunjhunu.

According to the Meteorological Centre, a new western disturbance is expected to impact the state starting April 10. This system will likely bring thunderstorms, lightning, and wind speeds of 30-40 km/h, accompanied by light rainfall in several districts.

A special court in Rajasthan on Tuesday sentenced four terrorists to life imprisonment in the case of live bombs found during the serial bomb blasts in Jaipur in 2008.

The court issued a 600-page verdict on Tuesday.

On May 13, 2008, there were eight serial blasts in Jaipur, and the ninth bomb was discovered near a guest house in Chandpole Bazaar. It was defused just 15 minutes before it could explode.

The court remarked, “The greatest court is our mind… our mind knows what is right and what is wrong… punishment has been given, which means the crime has been committed.”

Earlier on Tuesday, during the sentencing debate, government lawyer Special PP Sagar Tiwari called for life imprisonment for the accused, stating, “The act of the culprits is the most serious crime. They cannot be treated with leniency under any circumstances.”

In a major breakthrough, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police has arrested Ravi Bhushan, the alleged mastermind behind the Community Health Officer (CHO) examination gang, along with his close aide Shashi Ranjan, in Patna district.

The arrests were made in connection with the July 2024 CHO recruitment exam, which had advertised 4,500 vacancies under the Bihar State Health Society.

The exam was conducted in 12 online centres through the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, managed by ‘We Shine Tech Pvt. Ltd’.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday searched multiple locations, linked with Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Satinderjit Singh aka Goldy Brar, across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

NIA teams conducted extensive searches on the premises belonging to suspects and accused associated with Goldy Brar and US-based gangster Randeep Malik in the case relating to the December 2024 grenade attacks at Warehouse Club and Human Club in Sector 29 in Gurugram.

Several electronic and other incriminating materials were recovered during the searches conducted at eight locations in various districts of the two states, the NIA said in a statement.

The materials are being examined by the NIA for clues to the entire conspiracy behind the bombing incident, in which arms, ammunition and explosive materials were seized from the accused involved in the attack.

Soon after the grenade attack, gangster Rohit Godara had taken responsibility through a social media post.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) has forecast rainfall across Tamil Nadu until April 13, citing the formation of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal as the primary cause.

According to B. Amudha, Deputy Director General of the RMC, the low-pressure area formed over the central parts of the southern Bay of Bengal is expected to move northwestward over the southwest Bay of Bengal and gradually shift northwards over the west-central Bay of Bengal.

The Weather Department has also predicted heavy rainfall in some southern and delta districts of Tamil Nadu.

Districts such as Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai are likely to experience heavy rainfall at isolated locations on Tuesday. Chennai and its suburbs may also receive light rain in some areas.

Four members of a family were killed after their SUV plunged into a pond in Bihar’s Gaya district, officials here said on Tuesday.

The accident occurred near Dakhingaon Bridge under the Wazirganj police station area around midnight.

The deceased have been identified as Shashikant Sharma (43), a well-known farmer from Sahawajpur village, his wife, Rinki Devi (40), and their two sons -- Sumit Anand (17) and Balkrishna (5).

The SHO of Wazirganj police station confirmed the incident. He said the family was returning from a Shraddha Karma ceremony held in Bihar Sharif when tragedy struck.

In a hit-and-run case, a high-speed SUV driven by a drunk factory owner created chaos on the roads in Jaipur, killing three people and injuring six others.

The vehicle sped uncontrollably for seven kilometers through a crowded area of the city, causing significant destruction. The out-of-control SUV struck nine pedestrians and cyclists, resulting in three fatalities, including a woman. Six others sustained serious injuries. The tragic incident occurred around 9.30 pm on Monday.

According to police reports, the first information came in about a high-speed car colliding with vehicles on MI Road. The vehicle then proceeded into the narrow streets of the city. The most damage occurred in the Nahargarh police station area. About a kilometre from there, the car got stuck in the narrow streets, and with the help of locals, the police were able to apprehend the driver.