Protests erupted in Jammu and Kashmir following events in Iran, leading to heightened security measures and appeals for peace.
The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) rescued 60 people, including 40 soldiers, stranded in a snowbound area of Doda district, Jammu and Kashmir. The BRO also restored connectivity to strategic roads in the Rajouri district after heavy snowfall.
Heavy snowfall in the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region disrupted traffic and air services, leading to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar highway and cancellation of flights. Rescue and road clearing operations are underway.
The state health department teams are conducting door-to-door surveillance in Badhal village, and the medical teams present in the district are monitoring the situation closely. The Medical experts have advised residents not to panic.
A five-member team of experts from AIIMS Delhi, including specialists in toxicology, is investigating a mysterious illness that has claimed 17 lives in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. The team has spoken to 11 patients undergoing treatment and will collect samples from affected homes and surrounding areas to determine the cause of toxicity. Meanwhile, no new cases have been reported in the past nine days, and the village has been declared a containment zone with strict measures in place to prevent further spread.
In view of the 'unidentified illness' in Rajouri's Badhal village, the village has been declared a containment zone, and the affected families' homes sealed; a few patients brought to Government Medical College (GMC) in Rajouri on Thursday.
A mysterious illness has claimed 17 lives in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, with the latest victim being a young girl named Yasmeen Kousar. The deaths have sparked concern and an inter-ministerial team has been sent to investigate the cause. The patients experienced symptoms such as fever, pain, nausea, and loss of consciousness before dying within days of hospitalization. The J&K government has ruled out a communicable disease of bacterial or viral origin.
Authorities have sealed three houses belonging to the affected families and shifted 21 their close relatives to government accommodation to be kept under strict monitoring.
Over 2.5 million voters will decide the fate of 239 candidates in the fray for 26 Jammu and Kashmir assembly seats in the second phase of the election to be held in the Union territory on Wednesday.
Over 200 individuals in Rajouri, Jammu and Kashmir, have been quarantined after 17 people, including 13 children, died from a mysterious illness. The deaths have sparked concerns about the spread of the illness, and a medical emergency has been demanded by local officials. A central team is investigating the cause of the deaths, with over 230 samples sent for testing. Officials have identified a common factor among the deceased: brain involvement and damage to the nervous system. Three patients have been airlifted to a hospital in Jammu, and one patient has been airlifted to PGI Chandigarh for further treatment.
A high-level inter-ministerial team conducted a six-hour investigation in Badhaal village, Rajouri district, Jammu and Kashmir, to ascertain the causes of death of 17 members of three families under mysterious circumstances. The team, led by a director-rank officer in the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, collected samples and briefed by senior district, health and police officers. The team's visit follows the deaths of 16 people between December 7 and January 19. The investigation is ongoing, with authorities focusing on potential neurotoxins and a spring that tested positive for pesticides.
The BJP has emerged the second largest party by winning 29 constituencies in the maiden assembly polls post abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, improving its all-time high tally of 25 seats recorded in 2014 elections.
More than 40 per cent of the 908 candidates contesting the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are Independents, leading to claims that a large number of them have been propped up by the Bharatiya Janata Party to divide votes.
The first phase of polling, held on September 18, saw an estimated 61.38 per cent voter turnout, while the final phase is set to take place on October 1 in the crucial elections being held after 10 years.
Jammu and Kashmir BJP chief Ravinder Raina, seeking re-election from Nowshera assembly constituency of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, is facing a major challenge from his former party colleague Surinder Choudhary.
According to officials, 46 deaths have been recorded in terrorism-related violence since January this year in the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch and nearby Reasi district.
He said the search operation was launched after police received information about the movement of terrorists in the area.
A fresh exchange of fire took place on Thursday between terrorists and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, where four Army personnel were killed and two others were injured in an encounter, officials said.
The fierce gunfight was going on in the area with the induction of more troops to neutralise two terrorists trapped at the spot, they said.
Two terrorists, including a top Lashkar-e-Tayiba (LeT) commander trained in Afghanistan, were killed in a gunfight with security forces on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, officials said.
The Army on Friday said the search operation in the forest area of Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri to flush out any hiding terrorists was still underway, a day after two foreign terrorists of proscribed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) outfit including the mastermind behind various attacks were eliminated.
Security forces had launched a cordon-and-search operation in Nehama village of Kulgam following information about the presence of terrorists in the area on Thursday, the officials said.
The incident took place in Tuksan Dhok village and the captured terrorists included the most wanted LeT commander Talib Hussain, a resident of Rajouri district and the mastermind of the recent IED blasts in the district, the officials said.
A reduction of 7,255 cases has been recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours.
A gazette notification was issued after the panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, signed the final order giving Jammu six additional seats and one more to Kashmir.
A top commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen was on Saturday gunned down in the ongoing encounter between security forces and militants in the Budhal area of Rajouri district in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources in Jammu said.
National Conference chief Omar Abdullah has termed the good turnout of voters during the first phase of assembly election as a positive indication towards a better future and stability of Jammu and Kashmir.Huge turnout of voters is an eye-opener and proves that the people of the state want Kashmir issue to be resolved, Omar said while addressing public meetings at Kalakote and Budhal in Rajouri district on Tuesday.
Facing an acute power crisis in the state, Maharashtra government said on Monday a non-conventional power project, using tidal waves to generate 15 to 20 kilowatt of electricity, will become operational from next month.
Four of them belonged to the Hizbul-Mujahideen Pir Panchal Regiment while the rest were from the Lashkar.
In a boost to relief efforts in the flood-ravaged Kashmir Valley, the Jammu-Sringar National Highway on Tuesday reopened for traffic after remaining closed for 13 days due to landslides triggered by incessant rains.