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.
Nine people were killed in the attack on the vehicle that was carrying pilgrims from the Shiv Khori temple to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra. The 53-seater bus veered off the road due to indiscriminate firing by the terrorists and fell into the gorge near Teryath village in the Poni.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh told PTI that preliminary information from the scene suggests there was a minor altercation among some young boys, and within seconds, there was a stampede situation.
The Saturday stampede that killed 12 people occurred 'due to a scuffle between two groups of pilgrims', the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) said in a statement, emphasising only 35,000 pilgrims were allowed to proceed for the yatra against the normal capacity of 50,000 in view of the pandemic.
A voter turnout of 69.69 percent was recorded in the third and final phase of voting Tuesday in the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission said.
Rakesh started on the backfoot with Ken pulling off a perfect first end shooting 30 out of 30, while the Indian dropped a point.
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.
Two more Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including a district president, submitted their resignations from the primary membership of the party on Saturday, citing their resentment against the choice of candidates in their constituencies for the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
A day after 12 people died in a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Katra on Saturday, pilgrims thronged the temple for darshan following 'stricter' guidelines of the authorities.
The superstar was at the shrine around 11.30 pm and offered his prayers before returning.
18 years ago, an angry sea wreaked havoc across coastal Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
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.
'The feeling of love, brotherhood and composite culture exists among you all. I feel sad that the RSS and BJP are trying to break this culture,' Gandhi said in his address to Congress office-bearers and workers at a party function in Jammu on the second day of his two-day visit to Jammu.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that the county will never forget the sufferings of the Kashmiri Pandit families.
'India joined a select group of countries at the global level after this finding and it will fulfil the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India)'
A massive manhunt is underway for three foreign terrorists, possibly of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, responsible for the deadly attack on pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi that resulted in the loss of nine lives, including a two-year-old, officials involved in the investigation said on Monday.
The home minister also reviewed the preparations for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage scheduled to begin on June 29.
Following the massive fire that spread to several areas, the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board requested the Air Force to help douse the fire.
The president said he was hopeful that "all among us will fulfill the responsibility of securing our girl child".
Nine people including three women were killed and 33 injured as a bus carrying pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and Delhi plunged into a deep gorge after an ambush by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Sunday evening, police said, as political leaders cutting across party lines strongly condemn the dastardly attack.
The train will traverse through seven tunnels and over 30 small and large bridges.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration is planning to set up India's best mythological theme park near the famous Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district and has sought investors for the project, officials said.
In the North Western Railway (NWR) zone, rail traffic was affected in some sections in Rajasthan and Haryana with 18 trains cancelled, 10 partially cancelled and one diverted due to the protest.
A high-powered probe committee set up by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha visited the site and appealed to the general public to share videos, statements or any other evidence about the incident.
While inaugurating the 25-km long train, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it was his government's duty to ensure the development of the region and ensured that the task would be achieved. Mukhtar Ahmad reports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the inaugural train from Katra in Jammu, the base camp for Vaishno Devi shrine.
Mishra, the spokesperson of the state government, also said Padukone has been a supporter of the 'tukde-tukde gang' as seen in the JNU case.
Seven pilgrims from Uttar Pradesh and three from Delhi were among the 12 people who died in a stampede at Vaishno Devi shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir in the early hours of Saturday, officials said.
In the first week, there shall be a cap of 2,000 pilgrims each day, of which 1,900 would be from Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside.
The overall situation in Jammu and Kashmir came for a high-level review during a meeting in winter capital Jammu chaired by the Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram will chair a high-level security review meeting in Jammu next week to discuss the preparedness of Jammu and Kashmir Police and paramilitary forces ahead of this summer.
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, however, denied the charge, saying all necessary arrangements were made in view of the expected rush, while Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh blamed a minor altercation for the 'unfortunate' incident.
Hindu pilgrims from Pakistan called on Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Jammu on Wednesday, after completing their pilgrimage to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.The chief minister said that he would like to see pilgrims from Pakistan visiting the Amarnath shrine in Kashmir also. "The peace process initiated by the two countries had resulted in closing the mouths of guns and mortars on the border and opening of up a new phase of friendship," Azad said.
Pakistani troops fired 4-5 rounds on a forward post in Samba sector early Tuesday morning, a senior Border Security Force officer said.
A group of 52 Pakistani Hindu pilgrims on Monday thronged the holy cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raju has vast experience of dealing both with routine crime investigations and terror related policing.
Addressing the sixth convocation at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, the chief minister said the heinous act of the perpetrators "has shocked us as a society" and showed that the value system was facing a crisis.
The incident occurred at Dabbamore, about 45 km from Jammu.
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