Breaking News, July 23 | HIGHLIGHTS

A Delhi Traffic Police constable was placed under suspension after a video surfaced on social media purportedly showing him taking Rs 5,000 in cash from a South Korean national for a traffic rule violation without providing a receipt, the force announced on Sunday. It was alleged that the policeman, named Mahesh Chand, did not give any receipt for the money. The foreigner was reportedly charged for driving on a wrong carriageway. The video was posted on Twitter on July 20.

A married Indian woman has travelled to Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to meet her friend whom she befriended and fell in love with on Facebook, police said on Sunday. Anju, 34, was born in Kailor village in Uttar Pradesh and lived in the Alwar district of Rajasthan. She is now in the Upper Dir district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to meet her 29-year-old Pakistani friend Nasrulla. Nasrullah, who works in the medical field, and Anju became friends on the social media platform Facebook a few months ago, ARY News reported. Anju is visiting Pakistan for a month and has not come here to marry him, The Indian woman was initially in the custody of the police but was released after her travel documents were verified by the district police.

An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 on the Richter Scale hit Myanmar today at around 10:01 pm: National Centre for Seismology.

A 22-year-old man was swept away in a river in Amravati district of Maharashtra on Sunday, an official said. The incident occurred in Chandurbazaar taluka in the evening when the victim went to Bramhanwada river, he said. He lost balance and was swept away by the strong currents, the official said, adding that the district disaster management team was carrying out a search operation. Amaravati and other districts in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra have been getting heavy rains since the past few days.

A 20-year-old degree student from Andhra Pradesh allegedly died by suicide here after he suffered huge losses in cricket betting, police said on Sunday. He took the extreme step by hanging himself at his hostel room on Saturday night, they said. Based on preliminary investigation, police said he had incurred huge losses after betting during IPL cricket matches and he had also taken loans. He was in depression and ended his life, they said. A case was registered at Chikkadpally police station.

A 21-year-old woman allegedly died by suicide by consuming poison in Alwar district of Rajasthan, police said on Sunday. Pooja Meghwal consumed a poisonous substance on Saturday night. She was rushed to the district hospital where she died during treatment, police said. Ramgarh Station House Officer (SHO) Surendra Kumar said it was not immediately clear as to why Meghwal took the extreme step. The body was handed over to family members after post-mortem on Sunday. The matter is being investigated, the SHO added.

Security was beefed up across Mizoram on Sunday ahead of state-wide protests by Mizo organisations against violence in Manipur and amid reports of Meiteis leaving the state after a statement by an ex-militant group, police said. While 78 people flew to Manipur on Sunday in three flights, 65 people travelled to the neighbouring state on Saturday. However, it was not immediately clear how many of these people were regular passengers, and how many were fleeing out of fear as these were scheduled commercial flights, officials said.

A convict serving life sentence in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case was arrested from Gujarat's Dahod rpt Dahod district a year after he jumped parole, police said on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off that Kasim Abdul Sattar was living in Limkheda in Dahod, the parole furlough squad reached there on Saturday and arrested him, a release from police stated. He was handed over to the City B division police so that he can be taken to Sabarmati central jail in Ahmedabad to serve the remainder of his sentence, the release added.

The bodies of three people who were swept away along with their roadside eatery in a flash flood were recovered from the Pabbar river in Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, police said. They said, however, 11 passengers of a Punjab state transport corporation bus, which was swept away in Manali on July 10, were yet to be traced. The wreckage of the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC) bus was found 300 metres down from the green tax barrier of the Allo (potato) ground in the middle of the Beas river in Manali on Saturday and a search is on for the 11 passengers.

Rumours of a fire in the Lucknow-Chandigarh Sadbhawana Express created panic among passengers on Sunday near Raisi station in Laksar area of the district. As the train stopped shortly afterwards at a railway bridge over the swollen Banganga river, the panic stricken passengers got down and crossed the bridge on foot at the risk of their lives.

Heavy downpour over the past two days in many parts of Karnataka, especially the coastal and southern region, brought hopes of a good harvest for farmers staring at a drought-like situation due to inadequate rains in the last two months. According to Meteorological Department, there were heavy rains as southwest monsoon was active over the state and rainfall occurred at most places over coastal Karnataka, south interior region and at many places over northern areas.

A 25-year-old man was arrested from northeast Delhi's Jafrabad area for allegedly dealing in Chinese manjha, police said on Sunday. Based on a tip-off, a trap was laid near the Madina Masjid here on Saturday and Zakhir was caught red-handed selling the banned kite string. A total of 60 rolls of the Chinese Manjha were recovered from him, the police said.

Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday visited the Baltal base camp in Ganderbal district for Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra. At the base camp, the Lt Governor interacted with the pilgrims, service providers and officials and reviewed the arrangements for the ongoing yatra. "Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra is making significant contribution to tourism, employment generation and revenue. Human spirit soaring to great heights, cultural diversity, communal harmony is being strengthened," Sinha said.

A team of mountaineers from the army's Dagger Division has achieved a historic feat by climbing the 7,077-metre high Mount Kun in record seven days to mark Kargil Vijay Diwas celebrations. "The journey commenced on July 8 when the team was flagged off from Baramulla by Maj Gen Rajesh Sethi, GOC, 19 Infantry Division. Setting off from the base camp on July 11, the intrepid mountaineers led by Col Rajneesh Joshi achieved their long-awaited victory as they summited Mount Kun on July 18 at 11:40 am," a defence spokesman said here.

At least 16 people were killed in rain-related incidents in parts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the last 10 days, where nearly 4,500 houses were damaged due to heavy rains, officials said on Sunday. The downpour in the last few days also affected nearly 54,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which more than 53,000 hectares land is located in the Amravati division alone, where 2,796 people were shifted to safer places, mostly in Yavatmal district.

A girl was attacked by a pack of stray dogs in Kannur district of Kerala on Sunday morning while she was about to enter her home after alighting from a vehicle, local residents said. Eleven-year-old Ayisha, a resident of Pilathara town in Kannur district, was bitten on her leg by a stray dog and was shifted to a nearby hospital. A local resident told PTI that she got down from an autorickshaw, which came to drop her home and was walking the short distance to her house when the canines pounced on her.

A farmer and a shepherd were killed in separate incidents of lightning strike here, police said on Sunday. As many as 35 goats also died during another lightning strike incident, they added. The first incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when Radhashyam Mali (35) was working in a field in Tolia village in the Kanwas area here, Kanwas SHO Ramesh Chand said. Mali was rushed to a local hospital, where he was declared brought dead, Chand said, adding that the body was handed over to family members after post-mortem.

An unidentified person allegedly shot and injured a history-sheeter in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Sunday. The incident took place in the limits of Badlapur police station around 10 pm on Friday, an official said. The victim Sunil Prajapati was drinking alcohol with his friends at an open ground near Panvel highway when a quarrel erupted with another group of people, senior inspector Anil Padwal said. Prajapati went to resolve the matter, following which one of the men whipped out a revolver and fired at him, he said.

At least nine people were killed and nearly three dozen wounded in a building collapse, Cameroonian authorities said on Sunday. A four-story building collapsed onto a smaller one early Sunday morning in Douala, the country's economic centre and largest city, 130 miles (210 km) west of the capital, Yaounde. “The casualty figures may be higher. Rescue workers, assisted by Cameroon government troops, are still digging the wreckage to see if more bodies can be recovered,” said Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, governor of Cameroon's Littoral region.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the state government was fully alert to tackle issues caused by excessive rains. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, he said some parts of the state had received average rainfall of 15 to 20 days in a matter of just two to three days. Weather alerts are being given to the administration of areas where heavy rainfall is expected and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their state counterpart SDRF were being quickly deployed as and when required, he said.

A 26-year-old man was injured in an attack by a wild bear in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said. The incident took place at the Kavbati block of Kastigarh in the morning when the victim, Jaswinder Singh, was going towards a forest area near his home, Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda, Abdul Qayoom said. He said local people rescued him after he raised an alarm and the bear returned to the forest.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said disruption and disturbance in temples of democracy cannot be weaponised as a political strategy. Addressing a convocation of the Jamia Millia Islamia here, he said education is important for the growth of society and asked the youth to empower themselves. "Democracy is about dialogue, discussion, deliberation and debate to secure public good. Surely, Democracy cannot be about disruption and disturbance," Dhankhar said. "I am pained and anguished to indicate to you that disruption and disturbance have been weaponised as strategic means to taint the temples of democracy," he added. The vice president said empowerment of human resources is a vital ingredient in nation building.

Morna river flooded in Maharashtra's Akola due to continuous rainfall.

Congress Seva Dal holds a protest in Jammu over the Manipur situation.

 Manipur: Temporary shelter homes being constructed for displaced families in Thoubal district.

West Bengal: Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “West Bengal's law and order situation has worsened and this is what is reflected in Malda's incident. Not just Malda but various other places in Bengal have witnessed atrocities post the Panchayat elections...Crime against women is saddening & strict action should be taken against the perpetrators.”

Manipur: DCW chief Swati Maliwal reaches Imphal airport.

Fire breaks out at Spencer Mall in Asansol, West Bengal. More details are awaited.

"Bill seeking to replace Delhi Ordinance unconstitutional," AAP MP Raghav Chadha writes to Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, urges him to not allow its introduction in the House.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel about the flood-like situation occurring in various parts of the state due to the recent heavy rainfall.

Bihar: A child fell into a borewell in Kul village of Nalanda. A rescue operation is underway.

PM Modi likely to inaugurate redeveloped ITPO complex, which will host G20 leaders' meet, on July 26, said official sources.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah participates in an event with local BJP leaders in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

NIA conducts searches at multiple locations across Tamil Nadu in connection with the 2019 murder of a former Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) functionary Ramalingam in Thanjavur district.

BJP has called a meeting of all its MPs from Uttarakhand in Delhi. CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and state president Mahendra Bhatt will also be present in this meeting. The party leadership will discuss the role of MPs on various organisational issues with all.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal enroute to Manipur.

Maharashtra: NDRF continues search, rescue operation at Raigad Irshalgad landslide-hit area.

Kerala: Customs seized 1.005 kg of gold worth Rs 48 lakhs at Cochin International Airport. Further investigation is underway.

Delhi: Yamuna's water level crossed the danger mark, recorded at 205.81 meters at 7 am today. 

The water level of river Yamuna in Delhi increasing again, water level recorded at 205.75 m