India

Jaipur, Dec 24 (PTI) An Indian Air Force fighter plane crashed in Jaisalmer on Friday night, a senior police officer said.

The plane crashed in the Desert National Park area under the Sam police station, Jaisalmer SP Ajay Singh told PTI.

The SP said local police reached the spot and he is also on the way to the crash site.

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Two militants were killed in a gunfight at a village in the Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday, a police official said.

The police official said, "Two militants were killed today in a fierce gunfight at Chowgam," a village in Shopian district, about 52 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Atal Bihari Vajpayee introduced policy corrections that reflected the end of the Cold War and the new global balance, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday and noted that the former prime minister sought a modus vivendi with China that was based as much on mutual respect as on mutual interest.

Jaishankar also said the winds of change are most apparent in the Indo-Pacific and it is there that the diplomatic creativity which Vajpayee inspires should be most strongly applied.

Muzaffarnagar (UP), Dec 25 (PTI) Two people were arrested here for allegedly drugging a Class 10 student and gang-raping her, police said on Saturday.

The minor girl had gone for tuition classes on Thursday from where two people allegedly drugged her and took her to a forest area near Sadpur village, according to a complaint lodged by her family.

Two more people were waiting there and all four allegedly raped her, as per the complaint.

New Delhi, Dec 25 (PTI) The Christian community in the national capital celebrated Christmas on Saturday with caution as fewer people reached churches amid concern over the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

On Wednesday, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) had directed district magistrates to ensure that no Christmas and New Year gatherings take place in the national capital.

Kanpur: Cash recovery of approximately Rs 150 crores from searches in Kanpur at several locations related to Trimurti Fragrance has been reported.

Vivek Johri, the Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs on Friday said that this is the "biggest haul ever".

The teams remained at various premises of businessman Piyush Jain counting cash.

According to media reports, Piyush Jain's son, Pratyush Jain, has been taken into custody by the DGCI officials.

Kanpur; 25 Dec 2021 (UMMN): Researchers from the Indian Institutes of Technology, Kanpur, said that third Covid wave will hit  the country in February 2022.

Scientists urged people not to panic and take necessary precautions for their safety as this wave is likely to be a mild one.

A group of scientists from IIT- Kanpur deployed a statistical methodology on the basis of an algorithm for clustering to estimate the parameters.

New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) India recorded 122 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in a span of 24 hours, the highest so far, pushing its tally in the country to 358, 114 of which have either recovered or migrated, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

The 358 Omicron Covid variant cases have been detected across 17 states and union territories so far, it showed.

Maharashtra has recorded the highest number of 88 cases of the Omicron variant, followed by Delhi with 67, Telangana 38, Tamil Nadu 34, Karnataka 31 and Gujarat 30.

Agra (UP), Dec 24 (PTI) A private bank automated teller machine (ATM) carrying Rs 8.20 lakh was stolen under Tajganj police station limits on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, police said.

According to sources, the ATM kiosk was located just 400 metres away from the police post in Kalal Kheria area.

Agra Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sudhir Kumar Singh told reporters on Friday that the incident took place around 2.45 am and that four teams have been constituted to nab the accused.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- At least two persons were killed and four others injured in a blast in India's northern state of Punjab on Thursday, said a state government official.

The blast took place inside a court complex in the state's Ludhiana district.

The explosive material was reportedly kept inside a bathroom. Following the blast, walls of the bathroom were damaged and window glasses shattered.

According to media reports, there was a lawyers' strike at the court, and hence only a few people were present in the premises when the blast took place.