A village sarpanch was shot dead in Punjab's Moga district, with police suspecting personal rivalry as the motive. This marks the third such killing in the state in recent months, raising concerns about law and order.
Animal rights activists allege that 300 stray dogs were killed in Jagtial district, Telangana, bringing the total toll to 900. The killings are suspected to be linked to promises made by elected representatives during village elections.
Goa government takes action against officials after a magisterial inquiry reveals negligence in connection with a nightclub fire that killed 25 people.
In a fresh incident of stray dog killings, around 200 canines were allegedly killed in Telangana's Kamareddy district, taking the toll to about 500 in the last one week, police said on Tuesday.
A woman sarpanch and six others have been arrested in Chhattisgarh for allegedly killing a tiger. The arrests followed the discovery of a tiger carcass with missing body parts and evidence linking the accused to the crime.
A court in Beed district, Maharashtra, has granted temporary release to Jairam Chate, an accused in the Santosh Deshmukh murder case, to attend his brother's post-death rituals under police protection. The decision has sparked controversy and objections from the victim's family.
A Pakistan-based gangster posted a video on social media purportedly showing the killing of a police officer in Gurdaspur, near the Indo-Pak border. A terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the incident, prompting a thorough investigation by Punjab Police.
A man from Maharashtra, aspiring to contest local body elections, allegedly killed his six-year-old daughter by throwing her into a canal in Telangana to circumvent rules regarding the number of children allowed for candidates.
Two Naxalites, carrying a collective reward of Rs 7 lakh, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh. The operation was launched based on inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area.
The fresh incident follows killing of nearly 500 stray dogs in different districts of Telangana since January 6.
Punjab Police have arrested the third suspect involved in the murder of two policemen in Gurdaspur. The accused, Inderjit Singh, was apprehended in Amritsar. The killings allegedly involved Pakistan-based handlers and the ISI.
Ajay Pandita, sarpanch of the Larkipora area in Anantnag district and a member of the Congress party, was shot at by terrorists in his native village at around 6 pm, a police official said. He said Pandita was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.
Terrorists struck at two places in Kashmir on Saturday night, killing a former sarpanch in Shopian and injuring a tourist couple from Rajasthan in Anantnag, two days ahead of Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla.
The original owner of the land where the Goa nightclub fire occurred claims he had flagged illegalities and fought a legal battle for 20 years.
A magisterial inquiry report reveals that the Goa nightclub where a deadly fire killed 25 people was built illegally on salt pan and operated without a valid trade license, indicating serious lapses and collusion at multiple official levels.
A jampacked nightclub in North Goa turned into a death trap around midnight as a massive fire tore through it, claiming 25 lives and bringing to the fore illegalities along with the laxity of government officials in enforcing rules.
A survivor recounts the chaotic scene at a Goa nightclub fire that resulted in 25 deaths, citing fireworks and a stampede as contributing factors.
A fire at a nightclub in North Goa killed 23 people, many of whom were trapped in the kitchen while trying to escape. Fire safety violations are suspected.
A Special Investigation Team of Maharashtra Police told a court at Beed on Wednesday that Santosh Deshmukh was killed because he was thought to be an obstacle in a plan to extort Rs 2 crore from an energy firm, and Walmik Karad was in contact with his killers when the crime was executed.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said no one will be spared in the Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case even as he defended his party and cabinet colleague Dhananjay Munde.
The resignation followed a vociferous demand by the opposition for Munde's removal from the cabinet.
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday said 'vested interests' were responsible for the recent killings of Sarpanches and Panches even as it said it is duty-bound to empower Panchayats in the state and has taken steps in this regard.
A preliminary inquiry suggests electric firecrackers caused a devastating nightclub fire in Goa, resulting in 25 deaths. The incident has exposed illegalities and lax enforcement of safety rules.
A petition filed by murdered sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's brother in the Bombay high court, seeking a direction to the Maharashtra government to remove Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde from the cabinet, has been withdrawn.
A video clip of three accused in an extortion case linked to the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, walking together has emerged on social media. The video also shows a suspended police officer in the group accompanying the accused. The video has sparked controversy and raised questions about the involvement of the police in the case. BJP MLA Suresh Dhas has demanded that the suspended police officer be named as a co-accused in the case and that action be taken against other police officers who have been accused of wrongdoing.
A village sarpanch was gunned down by unidentified militants in north Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday evening. Militants shot from a close range at Ghulam Ahmad Yatoo, sarpanch of Palhallan village located on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, said a senior police official.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will come to know 'in a few days' if his Nationalist Congress Party and cabinet colleague Dhananjay Munde has any link to the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case, claimed Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Suresh Dhas on Friday.
The chargesheet in the murder case of Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, reveals horrific details of the torture he endured at the hands of his abductors. The accused recorded 15 videos, clicked eight photos, and even made two video calls, documenting the brutality. Deshmukh was abducted and killed in December for attempting to foil an extortion bid on an energy company. Seven men, including a close aide of state minister Dhananjay Munde, have been arrested so far.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will ask NCP minister Dhananjay Munde to step down if any evidence is found linking him to sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh's murder, his cabinet colleague Chandrakant Patil has said. A comprehensive probe is being conducted into the murder of Deshmukh, BJP leader Patil told reporters in Sangli on Sunday. Walmik Karad, an associate of minister Munde, has been arrested in an extortion case linked to the sarpanch's killing. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed district, was abducted, tortured and killed on December 9 for trying to stop an extortion attempt against an energy firm operating a windmill project there. Munde, the NCP MLA from Parli in Beed district, is under attack from some of the ruling alliance colleagues and the opposition over his links with Karad. The Maharashtra government has already seized properties of the accused in sarpanch Deshmukh murder case. Stringent charges have been invoked and the probe is going on, the BJP leader said. The police machinery is actively investigating the case, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also been formed for a probe into it, Patil said. Additionally, a committee headed by a retired judge has been constituted to oversee the inquiry, the minister said. Steps are being taken, including invocation of the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Walmik Karad and other accused, Patil pointed out. The process of seizing Karad's assets is also underway, he added.
The SIT will be headed by Crime Investigation Department's (CID) Deputy Inspector General Basavraj Teli, said an order issued by the state Home department.
Police are examining the past records of the arrested men in the sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case and a related case of extortion to decide if the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) should be invoked, sources said on Thursday. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had requested senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam to appear as a special prosecutor in the murder case. The Crime Investigation Department (CID) has sought old case papers and chargesheets against the arrested men. Deshmukh, the sarpanch of Massajog village in Beed, was abducted and brutally killed on December 9, allegedly for opposing an extortion bid by some persons who had demanded money from a windmill company. Beed Police has put up posters seeking information about whereabouts of three wanted accused in the murder case. CM Fadnavis said he spoke to BJP MLA from Beed, Suresh Dhas who demanded that Nikam be appointed as special public prosecutor in the case. Nikam was a special public prosecutor in several high-profile cases, including the 26/11 terror attacks and 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar claimed that "smaller fish" could be killed in fake encounters to save the "big fish" involved in the Deshmukh murder and extortion cases. Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra legislative council Ambadas Danve said the trial in the case should be conducted outside Beed district. NCP leader Dhananjay Munde, who has come under fire after the alleged involvement of his aide Karad in the extortion matter came to light, said those who murdered Santosh Deshmukh should be tried in a fast-track court and "hanged till death." The government on Wednesday set up a 10-member SIT to probe the case, headed by Deputy Inspector General -CID Basavraj Teli.
Manzoor Ahmad Bangroo was shot at by the ultras at Goshbug in Pattan area officials said, adding he was rushed to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
Thousands of people gathered in Maharashtra's Beed city on Saturday to protest against the brutal murder of Massajog sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh as even MLAs from ruling parties demanded the sacking of Nationalist Congress Party minister Dhananjay Munde.
A regular morning alive with the chatter of students assembling for prayers quickly turned into tragedy on Friday when a portion of their government school building collapsed, killing seven children and injuring 27, some of them critically.
Before going to the police, Karad posted a video on social media, announcing that he would surrender and claimed he was being linked to the murder case due to political vendetta.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has demanded the death penalty for those involved in the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, calling the crime "heinous." Shinde said that no one involved in the case, including Walmik Karad, a close aide of NCP minister Dhananjay Munde, will be spared. Deshmukh was abducted and tortured to death on December 9 after he resisted an extortion attempt targeting an energy company operating a windmill project in the area. Karad was arrested in the extortion case linked to the murder after he surrendered to police in Pune on December 31.
Before her flight to London, Air India crew member Maithili Patil had made a final, comforting promise to her father, Moreshwar Patil, that she would call him once she reached the city. But the call did not come.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party over Operation Sindoor on Wednesday, saying this is the first time that Indian representatives have been sent abroad to convey about the country's victory in an armed conflict.
Walmik Karad, a close aide of Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde, has been charged with ordering the murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh, who allegedly opposed Karad's extortion bid targeting a wind energy company. According to a chargesheet filed by the state Crime Investigation Department (CID), Karad allegedly asked his associates to "eliminate" anyone who interfered with their extortion attempt. Deshmukh was abducted, tortured, and murdered in December 2024 after he attempted to stop the extortion bid. Karad and several others have been charged with murder, extortion, and organized crime.
Police personnel in Maharashtra's Beed district will now put up their name plates without surnames, in an attempt to eliminate caste-based discrimination. This follows an earlier directive by the Superintendent of Police (SP) Navneet Kanwat in January to address each other by their first name, and not surname. The move comes in the wake of the murder of a village sarpanch, allegedly by members of a dominant community, which had a caste angle. The new policy is being implemented across police stations and offices in the district, with nearly 100 name plates distributed so far.
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