The previous highest voter turnout in the Baramulla Lok Sabha constituency was witnessed in 1984 at 58.90 percent.
Voting for this crucial phase, covering 40 assembly segments across seven districts -- Jammu, Udhampur, Samba and Kathua in the Jammu region and Baramulla, Bandipora and Kupwara in north Kashmir -- is scheduled for October 1.
Former deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig was among the 24 candidates in Baramulla constituency whose deposits were forfeited.
An unidentified terrorist on Thursday killed in an encounter with security forces in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
Head constable Bashir Ahmad laid down his life and two officers -- a DSP and an assistant sub-inspector -- were injured in the encounter, he said, adding both the officers are stable.
Lt Colonel KS Natt was cremated with full military honours in Jalandhar earlier in the day.
The gunfight is over and the area is being sanitised, the official said.
A cold wave has intensified in most parts of north India, with temperatures in the Kashmir Valley dipping below freezing point. The national capital saw a brief respite from the bitter cold during the day, but cold conditions persisted in parts of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The weather department has issued a yellow warning for cold wave, ground frost and dense fog for some places in Himachal Pradesh. There is a possibility of rain and snowfall in parts of northwest India later in the week.
He said one civilian, Waseem Ahmad Mir, also sustained bullet injury 'in the nearby area' and later succumbed at a hospital on Friday.
After a brief gunfight, 'extreme restraint was exercised and opportunity given to the terrorists to surrender'.
A cold wave has gripped many parts of north and east India, with Srinagar recording a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius. Other areas experiencing below-freezing temperatures include Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Konibal, Qazigund, Kupwara, and Kokernag in Kashmir. Himachal Pradesh has issued an orange warning for severe cold wave conditions in several districts. Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5.9 degrees Celsius, while Faridkot in Punjab was the coldest in the region at 0 degrees Celsius. Extreme cold conditions also continued in parts of Rajasthan and Jharkhand. The Met office has forecast mainly dry weather until December 26, with the possibility of light snowfall in the higher reaches of Kashmir on the intervening night of December 21-22.
Despite temperatures dipping below 0 degrees soldiers paid their heartfelt respects to the Maratha warrior king of the 17th century, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashker-e-Tayiba on Wednesday claimed responsibility for the Kupwara encounter in which eight Army personnel, including a Major, and 17 militants were killed. The LeT also threatened to intensify attacks across the Kashmir valley."The LeT will continue to render sacrifices for the freedom of Kashmir," LeT spokesman Abdullah Gaznavi said.The spokesman said its fighters were involved in the five-day long encounter in Kupwara forest.
A youth died in clashes between stone-pelters and security personnel near the encounter site.
An unidentified militant was killed in an encounter with security forces near the Line of Control in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir as the operation against the ultras entered the third day on Tuesday.
Sub-Inspector Narendra Kumar died while five armymen and a BSF constable were missing after the avalanche struck this morning, a BSF spokesman said.
Nine security force personnel were injured in the firing by the terrorists, they said adding five of them succumbed to injuries.
Fresh encounter broke out between the army and militants in the Toot Maar Gali area in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Kalaroos village of the district following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists in the area, a police official said.
As she reached Ayodhya, she said, she felt a new sense of energy.
Asserting that human rights violations will not be tolerated, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday defended the firing by security forces on protestors in Kupwara.
The pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was on Monday detained by the police while on his way to Kupwara to meet the family of the 70-year-old Habibullah Khan, who was killed by the army last week.
At least two terrorists are believed to be hiding in the area. No casualties have been reported so far.
The infiltration bid was foiled in Tangdhar sector.
A senior police officer said Colonel Neeraj Sood, commanding officer of the 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR), was critically injured during an anti-terrorist operation.
They stated that when a soldier fights for the nation, he does so not as a Hindu, Muslim, or any other religion, but as a patriot.
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"Alert troops noticed movement of heavily armed militants along the Line of Control in Keran sector of Kupwara at around 2.30 am. The militants were challenged, triggering off exchange of firing between the two sides," an army official said.
Since September 10, more than 30 schools have been burnt by unknown persons in Kashmir which has courted condemnation from various quarters. High court too stepped in by taking a suo moto cognizance of the matter.
Five militants were killed in a day-long fierce gunfight in frontier north Kashmir Kupwara district on Saturday.
The arms were found by the 12 Kumaon Regiment near the Line of Control.
The army chief's visit comes a week after protests against alleged molestation of a girl by a soldier in Handwara and subsequent firing by security forces that left three persons dead.
"Heavy casualty is expected on the terrorist side. However, the operation is still in progress as intermittent exchange of firing is going on," a defence spokesman said.
Nearly 200 stranded passengers, including women and children, were rescued in a night-long operation in Jammu and Kashmir's frontier district of Kupwara, the police said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, four army personnel, including a captain, died after being injured in a gunfight with heavily armed terrorists in Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir.
Security expert B Raman on the encounter in Kupwara.
Army foiled second infiltration attempt along the LoC in Kashmir in three days, reports Mukhtar Ahmad from Srinagar
The encounter took place at village Malikpora in Vilgam area of Handwara, 85 km from Srinagar, when Army and police launched a joint search operation following information about presence of terrorists there, a senior police officer said.
Hundreds of locals assembled outside the police station at Lolab in Kupwara district, 120 km from Srinagar, and demanded that they be shown the bodies of the slain ultras, police sources said.
Indian and Pakistan troops exchanged heavy fire in the Nowgam sector of the Line of Control in north Kashmir Baramulla district on Wednesday after two paramilitary border security force troopers were injured in sniper fire from across the LoC.
