More than 10,000 security personnel, returning officers, and other support staff will oversee the counting of votes for the Himachal Pradesh assembly polls on Thursday.
Amid this unrest came the verdict of the Allahabad high court on June 12, 1975 that found Gandhi guilty over discrepancies in the electoral campaign, which led to the Emergency on the night of June 25.
Rains failed to dampen the spirit of Beating Retreat ceremony held at the historic Vijay Chowk in New Delhi on Sunday as Indian classical tunes played by bands of the armed forces filled the air, marking the end of Republic Day celebrations.
'When so many young Baloch men and women are willingly volunteering as fighters and even suicide bombers.'
While the saffron camp questioned the administrative capabilities of the Mamata Banerjee-led state government, the Trinamool Congress claimed that BJP leaders "behaved like good boys" this time.
The Assam police has summoned Mizoram's lone Rajya Sabha MP K Vanlalvena on August 1 for questioning over his alleged "threatening statement" over Monday's violence along the interstate border, and pasted a notice at his Delhi residence.
Nearly 13.04 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am on Wednesday in 43 assembly constituencies in Jharkhand where voting is underway in the first phase, officials said.
The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said.
The government has provided Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar with a Z-category VIP security cover of armed commandos in view of potential threats against him, official sources said on Tuesday.
A leading Kuki-Zo organisation in Manipur has demanded a judicial probe into the killing of 10 youths in a gunfight with the CRPF, raising questions about the paramilitary force's neutrality. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) also reiterated its demand for a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo community in the state, where ethnic violence between Kuki tribals and Meiteis has claimed over 250 lives since May last year. The ITLF claimed the post-mortem reports showed the youths were shot from the back, suggesting they were not engaged in a gunfight when they were killed. The organisation further alleged that CRPF personnel stationed nearby refused to intervene during an attack on Zairawn village, where a woman was killed. The ITLF has called for a political solution to the ongoing conflict, urging the Union Home Minister to consider a separate administration for the Kuki-Zo people.
'We need to be very vigilant as we are passing through some fraught times.'
Officials said that 100 more companies are expected to be sent to the valley.
The three-page guidelines, issued by the home ministry recently and notified to Central Armed Police Forces headquarters in New Delhi, speak specifically of instances where force personnel have used personal cell phones to click pictures of an ongoing or concluded ambush or operation
The funeral of 12 Kuki-Zo youths, including 10 killed in a gunfight with the CRPF in Jiribam district, will take place in Churachandpur on Thursday. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) has called for a complete shutdown in Churachandpur in honour of the deceased men. The funeral will be attended by Mizoram Chief Minister's Adviser H Ginzalala.
The top cop of the state said despite the verdict coming out last week every district is on a "high state of preparedness" and no untoward incident has been reported so far.
A full-fledged training, intelligence and combat module on Taliban, its leadership and their modus operandi is being prepared apart from specific case studies that have taken place in that country and the region, he said.
'It is ensured that no adversaries or people who oppose Tahawwur Rana's philosophy are housed in the same ward or jail.' 'Additionally, it is ensured that he does not have any prior contacts within that jail.' 'So, the lodgment of such a high-profile prisoner is done very carefully.'
The officials said the jawan was the youngest to die among the CAPFs. All other fatalities were over 45 years, they said.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred 26 Shaurya Chakras (seven posthumous) to personnel of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces and state/Union Territory Police during a defence investiture ceremony.
The defence ministry said Maharashtra was voted as the best tableau among the states/union territories in the popular choice category.
From massed band's 'Shankhnaad' to Navy's lilting 'Mission Chandrayaan', mellifluous tunes reverberated across the Raisina Hill in the heart of Delhi as India's rich heritage and towering accomplishments were celebrated during the Beating Retreat ceremony on Monday.
In the combined raid of the navy, armour and engineering forces, along with air force support, about ten tunnel shafts were destroyed, and four buildings of associated terrorist infrastructure were destroyed, the IDF said.
The action followed Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's directions during his last week's review meeting on law and order with senior officials.
The funeral of 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who were killed in an alleged gunfight with CRPF, has been delayed pending the release of post-mortem reports. The Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF), representing the Kuki-Zo community, is exploring the possibility of conducting a second autopsy in Churachandpur. The youths' bodies were airlifted to Churachandpur from Assam's Silchar town on Saturday. The incident follows a series of clashes between security forces and militants in the region. The post-mortem examination of the 10 Kuki-Zo youths, who ITLF claimed were village volunteers as against the Manipur government's assertion that they were militants, was conducted at Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH) in Assam. The bodies have been kept in the local hospital morgue for the time being.
It is often alleged that half the Indian Army is based in J&K. It is bewildering why there has been no rebuttal or clarification of this issue from the central or state governments, or from the army itself, wonders Ajai Shukla.
To ensure free, fair and transparent assembly elections next month in Punjab, the police have intensified search operations, especially in the border districts, to keep a vigil on illegal activities in vulnerable areas.
An armymen's trust has moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the central government to remove the disparity in the pensionary benefit and to extend the old pension scheme benefits to the personnel of the armed forces under both the ministry of home affairs and the ministry of defence.
The security cover of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has been upgraded from the 'Y' category to 'Z', official sources said on Thursday.
'It was felt that the counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist grid is intact in the UT and these additional units that were sent in last year can be de-inducted giving them the much required rest, recuperation and training'
The Assam government has asked the Centre for 600 companies from the armed forces to be deployed during the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
An order issued by the ministry of home affairs on Wednesday said Deputy Inspector General Meena has been "recalled" by the Central Reserve Police Force. Another CRPF DIG, Rajeev Ranjan Kumar, will be the new CEO of the canteens board with immediate effect for a period of three months, it added.
In a statement, the ministry of defence said the official winners were picked by panels of judges.
Eight firearms and 112 rounds of ammunition were recovered from different districts of violence-hit Manipur during search operations by security forces, police said.
The ceremony will begin with the massed band's "Agniveer" tune which will be followed by the enthralling tunes like "Almora", "Kedar Nath", "Sangam Dur", "Queen of Satpura", "Bhagirathi", "Konkan Sundari" by pipes and drums band, the defence ministry statement said.
The Election Commission is making sure that the winds of potential change cause no disruption in the counting process.
Army chief General Bipin Rawat had visited Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to review the operational preparedness of the troops deployed in the state.
A 32-year-old man chargesheeted in the deadly terror attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district five years ago has died of a heart attack in the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, officials said.
He said in the last five years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, the role of zonal councils has changed from advisory nature to action platforms.
The Indian Army guards the Line of Actual Control -- India's border with China -- along with the ITBP.
Autopsy reports of the victims of the Jiribam killings in Manipur have revealed brutal injuries, including multiple bullet wounds, severe trauma, and missing body parts. The reports, released on Wednesday, detail the horrific injuries suffered by the victims, including a 10-month-old infant, who had both eyeballs missing and a bullet injury to the knee. The killings, which took place in November, are part of the ongoing ethnic violence between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups in Manipur.
