A four-member team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) conducted a survey of the recently-discovered Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, five pilgrimage sites, and 19 wells in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, India. The survey followed the discovery of three damaged idols inside a well of the Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened after being shut for 46 years. The Shri Kartik Mahadev temple, also known as the Bhasma Shankar temple, was reopened on December 13 after authorities found the covered structure during an anti-encroachment drive. The temple houses an idol of Lord Hanuman and a Shivling and had remained locked since 1978. The district administration has requested carbon dating of the temple, including the well, from the ASI. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has restrained courts across India from entertaining new lawsuits or passing any orders in pending ones seeking to reclaim religious places, especially mosques and dargahs, until further notice. This action halts proceedings in approximately 18 lawsuits filed by Hindu parties seeking surveys to determine the original religious character of 10 mosques, including the Gyanvapi at Varanasi, the Shahi Idgah Masjid at Mathura, and the Shahi Jama Masjid at Sambhal, where four individuals died in clashes. The Supreme Court will examine the legality, scope, and boundaries of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, which prohibits the conversion of places of worship and ensures the preservation of their religious character as it existed on August 15, 1947.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of a "scam" after the poll panel admitted to the existence of duplicate voter ID numbers. The ECI has said it will address the issue in the next three months. TMC leader Saket Gokhale alleged that the ECI is trying to "protect" someone and demanded answers about the extent of the duplication and why it took 25 years to address the problem.
Heavy rains across India have led to widespread flooding, causing damage to infrastructure, displacement of residents, and disruption of normal life. Rescue efforts are underway in affected areas.
Heavy rains and landslides in Himachal Pradesh have resulted in multiple fatalities and widespread disruption, including road closures and train cancellations.
Land sinking in a village in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district has damaged about 50 structures, mostly residential houses. A minister has assured relief and rehabilitation.
Does voter deletion controversy expose critical gaps in ECI verification procedures and safeguards protecting electoral roll integrity?
As an IAS officer in Kerala, Gyanesh Kumar -- who the Congress described as Amit Shah's 'right hand man' -- had a good working equation with the state's Congress and Left leaders.
'You cannot 'clear' your way to peace.' 'You need intelligence, calibrated force, impartial law enforcement, political neutrality, humanitarian returns and a sustained reconciliation plan.'
Forced to make an emergency landing in a remote village near Munsiyari due to bad weather on Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar spent the night in an uninhabited house in sub-zero temperature along with two pilots and two poll officials.
The police have arrested the 29-year-old relative, the husband of the class 10 student's paternal aunt, under various sections of the BNS and POCSO Act.
'If this is true, the Election Commission should come forward with data and officially confirm it.'
'JP opened up about all the betrayals, the betrayal of the Jan Sangh and the RSS, how they ganged up with Sanjay Gandhi and pulled down the Morarji Desai government, how they destroyed the Janata Party.'
The Nagpur municipal chief has offered an unconditional apology to the Bombay High Court for the demolition of houses belonging to accused in a riots case, citing ignorance of Supreme Court guidelines on such actions. The civic officials were unaware of the Supreme Court's order, which mandates procedural safeguards before demolishing properties linked to riots accused, the commissioner stated in an affidavit. The court has granted the Maharashtra government two weeks to respond to the matter.
The administration is working to catch the attacking wolves, with four already caught, she said, however the problem is there are more than hundred revenue villages and the wolves are attacking new villages within a span of four to five days.
At a time when the finance ministry is focusing on addressing employee grievances, the number of employees in most public-sector banks (PSBs) has declined over the last three financial years.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday said that the 'unelected nominees of New Delhi locked up the elected representatives' of the people of Jammu and Kashmir after prominent leaders from ruling and opposition parties were not allowed to leave their houses to prevent them from visiting the graveyard of 1931 martyrs in Srinagar.
Protests broke out in the TDI society in Moradabad, India, after a resident sold his house to a Muslim doctor. Residents, citing the society's primarily Hindu demographic, protested the sale, fearing a change in the community's character. The society chairman and several residents joined the protest, expressing concerns over potential disruptions to the social fabric. The district magistrate has been trying to mediate a solution.
There were three people on board the helicopter apart from the pilot. They are all safe and waiting for the weather to clear up to return to Munsiyari, the DM said.
The state assembly had passed the Haryana Prevention of Unlawful Conversion of Religion Bill in March this year.
'My brother was mentally tortured and harassed.'
Protesters in Imphal, Manipur stormed the residences of two ministers and three MLAs, demanding justice for the murder of three people in Jiribam district. The mob attacks prompted authorities to impose curfew in Imphal West district. The protests followed the discovery of three bodies, suspected to be of six missing people from Jiribam district, near the Manipur-Assam border.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said they were in agreement with the single judge who had earlier rejected the petition.
Around 400 people of Lapangap and other villages, backed by members of several social organisations of Meghalaya, went to the plantation area, uprooted the saplings and burnt the wooden structure around 11 am, claiming that Assam was trying to encroach into their state by carrying out the plantation.
Prashant Kishor, founder of the Jan Suraaj Party, has been on a fast-unto-death protest in Patna, demanding the cancellation of the BPSC exam due to alleged question paper leaks. The presence of a luxury 'vanity van' near his protest site sparked controversy, with Kishor arguing that the focus should be on the future of the exam aspirants rather than his personal amenities. The district administration has declared the protest illegal and has threatened action against Kishor and his supporters.
A pack of stray dogs in Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, has killed a 12-year-old girl and injured 14 people in the past 10 days. The situation has escalated to the point where the administration is advising residents to carry sticks when venturing out in the evening and urging parents not to allow children to go outside alone. The administration is conducting awareness campaigns and a sterilization drive to control the stray dog population. Authorities have also emphasized proper waste management to prevent strays from scavenging for food.
Nitish thought that his stakes as chief minister were far greater than his stakes in protecting one of his party MLAs. He could not allow his rule-of-law train to be derailed by a small rock on the track. On the contrary, if he removed it to keep the train moving at a steady speed he would gain strong public admiration and sympathy that would help him take the masses along in carrying out other tasks. A fascinating excerpt from Arun Sinha's Nitish Kumar And The Rise Of Bihar.
A probe team has been formed to investigate the matter and it will submit its report within 24 hours, District Magistrate Manoj Kumar said.
Amid heightened security across Jammu and Kashmir after the recent bombing of an IAF station by armed drones in Jammu, authorities in the border district of Rajouri on Wednesday ordered ban a on the storage, sale or possession and use and transport of the flying machines.
A wedding held at a 200-year-old temple in Madhya Pradesh's Indore has kicked up a row, prompting the authorities to order a probe into the matter, officials said on Monday.
A delegation from the National Commission for Women (NCW) visited a relief camp in Malda, West Bengal, and reported that women were being harassed and threatened by police. The NCW team, led by chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar, met with those displaced by riots in Murshidabad and alleged that the women were being coerced to return home without proper safety measures. The team is scheduled to travel to Murshidabad and Kolkata to continue their investigation.
During his temporary release period, Singh will go to the Dera ashram in Barnawa in Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat, they further said.
An advisory issued by the Delhi development commissioner said that residents can distract the locusts by making high-decibel sound through beating of drums, utensils; playing high-volume music, bursting crackers, and burning neem leaves.
In the purported video, Israr claimed that he had recently published a news report on an alleged corruption in the Barkheda nagar panchayat, which he claimed caught the attention of the Chief Minister's Office.
One of Surajpal's three brothers died and he set up a Trust and appointed a caretaker for his property in Bahadurgarh where his ashram is located, the CO said.
The orders under Section 144, Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), will remain in force for a month in Kishtwar and for 15 days in Ramban district of Jammu, an official spokesperson said on Saturday. In Bihar, the administration imposed Section 144 of CrPC in Sheohar, Banka, Gopalganj and Samastipur districts on Saturday.
He also appealed to the Muslim side for a peaceful solution for all these three temples.
Ten-month-old Neetika is the lone survivor of her family after a cloudburst in Mandi district. Her father died, and her mother and grandmother are missing. Neighbors are caring for the infant, and authorities are offering assistance.
In the last few years, a number of similar incidents have taken place in various parts of the state, and though no fatalities have been caused, these have led to questions being raised on the quality of public works in the state.
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate is under fire after a video surfaced allegedly showing him playing rummy on his phone during a legislative session. The opposition accuses the government of being insensitive to farmers' issues.
Weeks after violent clashes over a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, the district administration in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, has launched a campaign against encroachments and illegal power theft in the area around the historic mosque. The administration began removing encroachments on Sunday morning, focusing on clearing drains outside houses and shops. The operation uncovered an illegal stockpile of domestic gas cylinders in a house, and the electricity department unearthed illegal connections in four mosques and a madrasa. The Bhasma Shankar temple, which was reopened by the district administration, has resumed regular worship.
