Breaking News, June 4 | HIGHLIGHTS

Nearly 80 girls were poisoned and hospitalised in two separate attacks at their primary schools in northern Afghanistan, a local education official said Sunday. It is thought to be the first time this kind of assault has happened since the Taliban swept to power in August 2021 and began their crackdown on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls. Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade, including university, and women are barred from most jobs and public spaces. The education official said the person who orchestrated the poisoning had a personal grudge but did not elaborate.

Three people were killed and five others injured after their auto-rickshaw hit a truck parked on the roadside in Odisha's Sambalpur district on Sunday, police said. The accident happened near the Padhanpali toll plaza on the Sambalpur-Rourkela Biju Expressway in the Sason police station area, they said. The deceased were identified as Punam Bag, 13, her sister Nemsika Bag, 8, and their relative Benudhar Bag, 19. They were residents of Bhamarmal village in Kesinga police station area of Kalahandi district.

Union minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for questioning the official death toll in the Odisha train accident, and said nobody should play politics over the tragedy. At least 275 people were killed and 1,175 injured in the triple train accident that occurred in Odisha's Balasore on Friday. Three trains - Shalimar-Chennai Coromandel Express, Bengaluru-Howrah super fast and a goods train - were involved in the accident, now being described as one of India’s worst train accidents.

Earlier in the day, Mamata Banerjee questioned the death figures given by the Ministry of Railways in the triple train crash, stating that 61 people from her state were dead and 182 were still missing. "If from one state, 182 are missing and 61 are confirmed dead, then where would the figures stand?" she asked while speaking to reporters in Kolkata.

Sweltering heat scorched Bihar on Sunday with the mercury crossing 43 degrees Celsius in at least five districts, officials said. Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in most parts of the state for the next five-six days, they said. Bhagalpur and Khagaria recorded 43.2 degrees Celsius, Bhojpur recorded 43.1 degrees Celsius, and Aurangabad and Banka were at 43 degrees Celsius. State capital Patna recorded a maximum of 42.5 degrees Celsius.

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday reached Hindaun city of Rajasthan's Karauli district for a six-day visit to the state.  He reached Hindaun from New Delhi by train and was welcomed by RSS functionaries at the railway station, sources said.  Kshetra Sanghchalak Ramesh Agrawal said Bhagwat will be present at a training camp of RSS volunteers below the age of 40 till June 7. He will be in Udaipur on June 8 and 9 for another camp for volunteers of above 40 years.

A meeting of opposition parties, which was scheduled to be held in Patna on June 12, has been postponed, sources said on Sunday.
With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and some other key opposition figures unavailable for the meeting, there is a view to hold the deliberations at a later date so that they could also participate, giving the event due prominence. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin were also finding it difficult to attend the meeting on June 12 due to prior commitments. Gandhi is currently in the US.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the people and the government of India following the tragic train accident in Odisha that killed around 275 people. Wickremesinghe extended his condolences to the Government of India and the bereaved families who have suffered an unimaginable loss, Daily Mirror Newspaper reported on Sunday. Addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the president said the thoughts and prayers of Sri Lanka were with the families of the victims and hoped that they would find the strength and resilience to overcome their grief.

An under-construction bridge over the Ganga river collapsed in Bihar’s Bhagalpur district on Sunday, prompting the state government to direct the building construction department to initiate an enquiry into the incident, an official said. No casualties were reported in the collapse of the Aguwani -Sultanganj bridge that connects Bhagalpur with Khagaria district, he said. "The incident occurred when four-five pillars of the Aguwani-Sultanganj under-construction bridge collapsed into the Ganga river," the official said.

Revenue Intelligence officers have seized over 10 kg gold worth about Rs 6.2 crore in two separate cases at Mumbai airport and arrested four persons, the finance ministry said on Sunday. In the first case, based on specific intelligence, two passengers arrived from Sharjah to Mumbai by Air India Express and were intercepted. During the examination of the said passengers by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officers, 8 gold bars of 24 karat having foreign markings weighing 8 kg were found concealed inside their clothes around their waist. Acting swiftly on further intelligence, one more associate of the passengers was apprehended.

Police have arrested a doctor following the death of a 30-year-old pregnant woman at his private nursing home in the Bairia area of this district, officials said on Sunday. Circle Officer (CO) Mohammad Usman told PTI, "We have registered a case under Section 304 (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code against Dr Chandra Shekhar over the death of Poonam Yadav." The FIR was lodged on the complaint of Poonam Yadav's husband Raju Yadav. "The accused doctor was arrested on Sunday," Usman said.

Ahead of the Madhya Pradesh assembly polls, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Sunday said the birthday of Lord Parshuram will be a public holiday, a move apparently aimed at reaching out to the Brahmin community. Addressing “Brahmin Mahakumbh” at Jamboree Ground in BHEL township of Bhopal, Chouhan also said a lesson on the life of Lord Parshuram will be included in textbooks of schools. Lord Parshuram is viewed as a Brahmin warrior avatar of Lord Vishnu. On the occasion, Chouhan reiterated that priests of temples will be given an honorarium and students of Sanskrit schools will be provided with incentives. "The state government has decided to declare a public holiday on Lord Parshuram Jayanti," he said.

The railways has cancelled 123 trains, diverted 56, short-terminated 10 and rescheduled 14 trains due to the accident in Odisha in which 275 people were killed. These trains include those with journey commencing from June 3 to June 7. The cancelled trains include Sealdah-Puri Duronto, Howrah-Chennai Mail, Kanyakumari-Howrah Express, Shalimar Express, Tirupati Weekly Superfast Express, SMVT-Bengaluru Superfast Express, Santraganchi AC Superfast, Purulia-Villupuram.

General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) Northern Command Lt General Upendra Dwivedi called on Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan here on Sunday to discuss the security scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, an official said. Lt Gen Dwivedi also briefed the Lt Governor on the elaborate arrangements made by the security forces for the Amarnath Yatra, 2023, an official spokesperson said. The spokesman said Sinha appreciated the role played by the army in restoring and preserving peace in the Union Territory. Lt General Amardeep Singh Aujla, GOC 15 Corps and Lt Gen Sandeep Jain, GOC 16 Corps accompanied the GOC-in-C Northern Command.

The principal of a government school in Rajasthan's Dungarpur district has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting six students aged between nine and 12, police said on Sunday. Ramesh Chandra Katara, who was arrested on Saturday, was sent to a day's police remand by a district court. He has been booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, they said.

Four people died and seven others were seriously injured when a car crossed the centre line of a Missouri highway and struck five motorcycles. The accident happened on Saturday afternoon on Missouri Route 39 near the southwestern Missouri town of Aurora. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a Toyota Corolla crossed the centre line of the two-lane highway and struck the motorcycles, ejecting the drivers and passengers on each motorcycle. One of the motorcycles caught fire.

Five persons were killed and a girl was seriously injured after the car they were travelling in collided with a passenger bus in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra on Sunday, police said. The accident took place at Kanpa village under Nagbhid police station limits, approximately 115 km from the district headquarters, around 4 pm, they said. "Six persons were travelling in a car from Nagpur to Nagbhid when their vehicle rammed into a passenger bus coming from the opposite direction. The impact of the collision was so severe that four occupants of the car died on the spot and their bodies had to be extricated by cutting through its mangled remains," a police official said.

At least two tribal women were killed on Sunday after a mound of clay fell on them while digging amid gusty winds in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh and as many others were rescued, police said. The incident occurred when at least six women and children were digging the clay out of a quarry at Chhoti Bhadwali village, located about 25 km from the Khargone district headquarters, for building kuccha houses.

Olympic medal-winning grappler Bajrang Punia on Sunday announced wrestlers will hold a mahapanchayat of their own soon, speaking at a gathering where former J&K Governor Satya Pal Malik and RLD Chief Jayant Chaudhary shared the stage. Malik, who has of late been a vocal critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, castigated the central government over its handling of the wrestlers' demands, as he urged the people to throw out the government in the next Lok Sabha election. Addressing a 'Sarv Samaj Samarthan Panchayat' in support of the wrestlers at Mundlana in Sonipat district, Punia requested speakers at the event not to announce any decision, saying grapplers will be calling a Mahapanchayat in another 3-4 days.

Three fire incidents, including one that razed 60-70 shanties in Jahangirpuri, were reported in Delhi on Sunday, officials said. However, there were no reports of casualties due to any of the blazes. A fire broke out in a shanty in northwest Delhi's Jahangirpuri at 10.23 am. Eleven fire tenders were rushed to the spot, the officials said. Around 60 to 70 shanties in a 3,000-square-yard area were gutted in the blaze. The fire caused several cylinders to explode. The blaze was brought under control at 12.30 pm, they said. At the Maulana Azad Medical College, a fire broke out at the old boys' hostel around 6.10 am.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in India on Sunday on a two-day visit to explore ways to further strengthen bilateral defence cooperation, especially in areas of transfer of critical technologies for co-development of military hardware. Secretary Austin's trip comes over two weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington during which the two sides are expected to unveil initiatives to expand the India-US global strategic partnership.

Two days after one of India's worst train accidents at Bahanaga Bazar in Odisha's Balasore district, two railway tracks have been made fit to carry trains after bulldozers and cranes removed capsized coaches on the main trunk line connecting eastern and southern India. The Railway Board Sunday also recommended a CBI probe into the Balasore train pile-up. The government on Sunday said both the Up and Down railway tracks at Balasore accident site have been repaired.

A 29-year-old man, who worked as a labourer, was arrested on Sunday for allegedly raping a minor girl, police said. The accused identified as Vikram alias Vicky of village Bahal near Cheeka was arrested by the Pehowa police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Friday.

At least four soldiers were killed on Sunday when their truck fell into a ravine in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The accident was reported from the Changan area in the Neelum Valley, when the cargo truck was moving from Batrasi to Mandkaro.  Local police told the media that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it plunged into a deep gorge.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday spoke to his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and conveyed to him condolences to the families of the victims of the devastating train accident in Odisha. In a tweet, Jaishankar, who is currently on a visit to Namibia, said such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time. "Thank @SecBlinken for the phone call expressing his support and sympathy on the Odisha railway accident. Such sentiments are deeply valued at this difficult time," the external affairs minister tweeted. Earlier on Sunday, Blinken said the US stands with the people of India in this "tragic moment".

There are sometimes "things bigger than politics" when one steps outside the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, days after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeatedly attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government during his ongoing visit to the US. Addressing Indian Americans in Santa Clara in the US earlier this week, Gandhi, a former Congress party president and an ex-MP, criticised Prime Minister Modi and also attacked the government's policies on various fronts. Speaking at a diaspora event in Cape Town after attending the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers on Saturday, Jaishankar said that he can talk for himself and does not do politics while travelling abroad.

An unidentified miscreant broke into the ATM of a nationalised bank and decamped with Rs 20 lakh in Palghar district of Maharashtra on Sunday, police said. The incident took place at an ATM kiosk in Gulani Naka of Vasai in the morning, an official said. An unidentified man entered the ATM kiosk, broke open the machine using some tools and decamped with cash worth Rs 20 lakh, he said. A CCTV footage from the area shows the accused sporting a red scarf and wearing a mask, the official said, adding that a case has been registered with Valiv police station.

Three bike-borne men were killed allegedly after being hit by a speeding car in Rajasthan's Udaipur district, police said on Sunday. The accident happened on the Udaipur-Banswara mega highway on Saturday night, killing Kesar Singh (26), his uncle Umme Singh (40) and Hamir Singh. While Kesar died on the spot, Umme and Hamir succumbed in the hospital, police said. The bodies were handed over to the family after post-mortem, they said. A case has been registered against the driver and the car has been seized, police said.

Three people, including two motorcyclists, were killed in a collision between two trailer trucks on the Banda-Bahraich Highway near the Burhwal crossing here, police said on Sunday. The driver of a speeding truck lost control over his vehicle, which jumped the divider and collided with another truck on the other side of the highway, they said.

Three persons were charred to death and one suffered from injuries when a truck and a tanker caught fire after colliding head-on in Gujarat's Vadodara district on Sunday morning, police said.

A case has been registered against five persons for allegedly abetting the suicide of a 21-year-old woman in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Sunday. The victim, Aditi Nangnure, hanged herself in her apartment in Nalla Sopara area of Vasai (east) on Friday evening, an official said.

Auditor Deloitte has flagged inappropriately approved vendors and excess payments at BharatPe, where its former MD and co-founder Ashneer Grover has been accused of cheating and embezzlement of funds.

Fire broke out at a hostel of the Maulana Azad Medical College here on Sunday morning but there was no loss of life, officials said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will maintain the policy repo rate at 6.5 per cent during its upcoming June 8 announcement, considering the easing of retail inflation in April and the potential for further decline, indicating the effectiveness of previous policy rate actions, anticipate experts.

Asserting that India deserves to have international non-stop connectivity to more destinations, Air India chief Campbell Wilson has said the country has in some respect not been able to control its own destiny as a consequence of not having a healthy domestic airline industry.

India's import of cheap Russian oil scaled another record in May and is now more than the combined oil bought from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE and the US, industry data showed.

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a 30-year-old man to life imprisonment for pushing to death a person from the second floor of a building after a quarrel in 2016.

President Droupadi Murmu left the national capital for a six-day visit to Suriname and Serbia on Saturday.This is her maiden visit to Suriname and also her first state visit since assuming office in July 2022.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin is set to arrive in India on an official visit, on Sunday, starting the third leg of this four-nation tour.He will depart from Singapore and will reach New Delhi to meet Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with an aim to expand defence-industrial partnership.

Odisha: Aerial visuals show the restoration work that is underway at the site where the deadly Balasore Train Accident took place.

Medical assistance was given to the survivors of the triple-train crash in Odisha who arrived at Chennai railway station via a special train.

A fresh spell of rain lashed the national capital on Sunday bringing relief from the sweltering heat.

Some of the survivors of Balasore train accident, arrive at Chennai railway station on a special train from Odisha.

US President Joe Biden condoles tragic train accident that took place in Odisha.

Odisha: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw takes stock of the restoration work that is underway overnight at the site where Balasore train accident took place.

Helpline numbers for Balasore, Odisha Train Accident.

Odisha: Restoration work underway at the site of horrific Balasore Train Accident. As per the Railway Ministry, 1000+ manpower engaged in the work. More than 7 Poclain Machines, 2 Accident Relief Trains, 3-4  Railway and Road Cranes deployed for early restoration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the accident site. He also met some of the injured in the hospital. Later, he lauded the teams of railways, NDRF, ODRAF, local authorities, police, fire service, volunteers and others, who helped in the rescue and restoration work at the accident site in Balasore. 

"I commend each and every person belonging to the teams of railways, NDRF, ODRAF, local authorities, police, fire service, volunteers and others who are working tirelessly on the ground and strengthening the rescue ops. Proud of their dedication," he tweeted.