INDIA

India witnessed 21,803 deaths in 24,678 railway accidents in 2023, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), underscoring persistent safety challenges on the country’s rail network. As per the data, majority of fatalities were caused by passengers falling from moving trains or being struck while crossing tracks, with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh reporting the highest numbers. The year 2024 also saw incidents contributing to the toll. On June 17, a collision between a goods train and the Sealdah-Agartala Kanchanjunga Express near Rangapani railway station in West Bengal claimed 11 lives and injured over 60 passengers. Eyewitnesses described chaotic scenes as rescue teams worked to evacuate people trapped in derailed coaches. Another accident occurred on October 11 near Kav...

The ancestral home of Padma Shri Olympian Mohammad Shahid, India’s famed “Wizard of Hockey,” was demolished on September 28 in Varanasi’s Kachari Golghar area as part of a road-widening project. The three-storey house made way for a 26-metre-wide, four-lane road connecting Kachari to the Police Line intersection, executed by the Public Works Department (PWD). The project, which affects 69 houses in total, has already seen 35 homes demolished last week. Shahid, who led India to a gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, is remembered for his speed, dribbling skills, and pivotal contributions to Indian hockey. Awarded the Padma Shri, he brought international acclaim to the country before his passing in 2016. Shahid’s family expressed deep anguish over the demolition. His brother said thei...

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has ordered a suspension of all mobile internet and public Wi-Fi services in Leh district, citing public safety and security concerns. According to the official notification, mobile data services, including 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G, as well as public Wi-Fi networks, will be unavailable from 6:00 pm on September 29 until 6:00 pm on October 3, 2025. The move has been implemented under the Telecommunication Act, 2023, and the Telecommunications (Temporary Suspension of Services) Rules, 2024. Authorities said that the suspension was necessary due to “unavoidable circumstances” to prevent potential public unrest and curb possible incitement of offences. The order, approved by the competent authority, will remain in effect across the entire Leh district until furt...

Senior Ladakh leader and Buddhist figure Chering Dorje Lakruk has acknowledged that while people in Ladakh once opposed Article 370, in retrospect, they now see it as a safeguard that protected their land, culture, and livelihoods for decades. In an interview with The Indian Express, Lakruk, Co-chairman of the Apex Body, Leh (ABL) and president of the Ladakh Buddhist Association, said the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 left Ladakh vulnerable to outside interests. “We used to curse Article 370 because it was an obstacle in our way to becoming a Union Territory. But it protected us for 70 years. Our land was totally safe. Now Ladakh has been opened up for the entire India. We have no safeguard,” he said. Lakruk warned that outsiders are purchasing land, hotel chains are expanding in...

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said India’s vision of Viksit Bharat must be guided by ecological and economic integrity, calling biodiversity protection a national mission that requires collective action. Speaking at the Pride of Jammu and Kashmir award ceremony organised by Network 18 in Srinagar, Sinha felicitated Army personnel, NDRF and SDRF teams, J&K Police, NGOs, and civil administration officials for their exemplary service during recent natural disasters in the region. He praised their courage and dedication in rescue and relief operations, saying their efforts provided hope amid devastation. Reiterating the Centre’s commitment to development in the region under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, Sinha said Jammu Kashmir’s growth momentum was bein...

Jammu Kashmir Crime Branch has arrested a serving Army trooper in connection with the August 21 incident at a physiotherapy center in Jammu’s Sainik Colony. The firing left a Mumbai woman, Mahjabeen Aqeel Sheikh, dead and two other women seriously injured. According to official sources, the arrested soldier has been identified as Naik Sher Singh, posted at the Army’s Movement Control Office (MCO). A resident of Hisar, Haryana, he was on duty at Jammu Tawi Railway Station. Reports available with The Kashmiriyat suggest that he he fired eight rounds, though it is yet to be confirmed whether the pistol used was official or privately owned. Police officials said initial investigation revealed that Sher Singh allegedly wanted to marry a colleague working at the physiotherapy cent...

Leh Apex Body (LAB) has strongly criticized claims suggesting foreign involvement in the recent Leh violence, terming such assertions as baseless and misleading. Ashraf Ali, a senior member of LAB, said that the protests which turned violent on September 24 were driven by local frustration and had no external influence. “To project the agitation as being controlled by foreign hands is not only untrue but also an insult to the people of Ladakh,” he stated. He added that some non-local labourers from Nepal, Doda, and other areas were caught in the clashes, with several sustaining injuries. According to Ali, nearly 90 civilians were injured during police action on the day of the violence. LAB has reiterated its demand for a judicial inquiry into the incident to ascertain accountabili...

India achieved a significant milestone in its strategic capabilities by successfully test-firing the Agni-Prime (Agni-P) missile from a rail-based mobile launcher. This development places India among a select group of nations, including Russia, the United States, China, and possibly North Korea, that possess the technology to launch long-range ballistic missiles from rail platforms. The test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with India’s Strategic Forces Command (SFC). The Agni-Prime, an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a strike capability of up to 2,000 kilometers, was launched from a specially designed rail-based mobile launcher integrated with India’s extensive railway network. This mobility allows for flexibi...

Renowned climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk was arrested on Friday under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and later shifted to Jodhpur in Rajasthan, NDTV reported. The NSA allows preventive detention for extended periods without bail. His arrest comes just two days after violent protests in Leh by supporters of the Ladakh statehood movement left four people dead and nearly 90 injured. The agitation, led by local groups, has been demanding statehood, inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, and constitutional safeguards for Ladakh’s fragile environment. Wangchuk had begun a fast on September 10 to press for these demands but ended it on September 24, as violence erupted across the region. Following his arrest, authorities suspended internet services in Le...

Amid intensifying protests in Ladakh, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has cancelled the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) license of activist Sonam Wangchuk’s NGO, even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues its probe into alleged irregularities. According to sources, the CBI has been scrutinising Wangchuk’s Himalayan Institute of Alternative Learning (HIAL) for the past two months over suspected violations of FCRA norms. However, no preliminary enquiry (PE) or regular case has been registered yet. In August, the Ladakh administration revoked the land allotted to HIAL, citing that the institute had failed to utilise the land for the stated purpose and had not executed a lease agreement. Officials said the CBI may initiate a formal enquiry once the ongoing fact...