After eight people died in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Patharpratima in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, the role of the local panchayat has come under the scanner of investigating officials.

The blast took place on Monday night. District administration sources said that it had been revealed that the Banik family, at whose residence the illegal firecracker was being run, had secured an ordinary trade license from the local panchayat, which did not come with the permission to run a firecracker manufacturing unit.

Now, questions are being raised about how even that ordinary trade license was granted by the local panchayat, especially in the backdrop of criminal antecedents of one of the two arrested accused in connection with the blast, Chandrakanta Banik.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said on Wednesday that the Pakistan Army intruded into the Indian side and also violated the ceasefire by opening fire along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

“The violation took place at 1.10 p.m. on Tuesday, and the Indian troops responded with controlled and calibrated retaliation,” the spokesman said.

The defence spokesman made no mention of any casualties on the Pakistani side of the LoC due to Indian retaliation, but official sources said five enemy soldiers were injured in the explosion and the subsequent firing between the two sides.

Two Maoists have been neutralised in a major encounter near the Kanha Tiger Reserve in the Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh.

According to police sources, both individuals were women and had been involved in nefarious Maoist activities. A significant cache of weapons was recovered from the location.

The Director General of Police, Kailash Makwana, confirmed the incident on his X handle, stating, “Two female Naxalites were killed in a police-Naxalite encounter this morning under the jurisdiction of Bichhiya police station in Mandla district. Recovered items include an SLR rifle, another rifle, a wireless set, and various daily-use items. The search operation is still underway.”

At least 18 workers were killed following an explosion at a firecracker factory located on Dhunwa Road in Deesa town of Gujarat’s Banaskantha district. The death toll may further rise as rescue operations are underway.

The blast caused a massive fire, leading to chaos in the area as emergency teams struggled to douse the flames and recover survivors from the rubble.

Reacting to the tragedy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called for strict enforcement of safety regulations in firecracker factories. In a statement on social media, he expressed condolences to the affected families and demanded a thorough investigation to hold those responsible accountable.

“Such accidents frequently occur in these factories, and poor workers lose their lives while earning their livelihood. Safety rules must be strictly enforced, and clear accountability must be established to prevent such tragedies,” he wrote on X.

The bodies of a woman and her two children were discovered in a village in Jharkhand's Giridih district on Tuesday, officials said.

The deceased have been identified as Renu Tudu and her six-year-old son, Sachit Hembram, who were found hanging from a tree near the pond in Bardauni village in Tisri block of Giridih. The body of her eight-year-old daughter, Sarita Hembram, was found floating in the pond’s water.

Police said they have detained the woman’s husband, Charo Hembram, in connection with the case.

The incident came to light when villagers noticed the bodies hanging from a tree. As the news spread, a large crowd gathered at the scene. Soon after, the body of the girl was spotted floating in the pond, and the villagers themselves retrieved it.

Upon receiving the information, Lokai-Nayanpur police reached the site and later detained Charo Hembram for questioning.

A mine blast occurred near the Line of Control (LoC) in J&K’s Poonch district on Tuesday, leading to retaliatory firing from the Indian Army personnel in the area, officials said.

Officials said that a mine blast occurred under suspicious circumstances near the LoC in the Krishna Ghati (KG) sector of Poonch.

The army resorted to retaliatory firing. There is no casualty or damage reported from anywhere in the sector so far," an official said, adding that the cause of the suspicious blast is being ascertained.

The Poonch incident came amid an extended anti-terrorist operation going on in the Kathua district since March 23.

Following the reports of three terrorists still remaining untraced in Kathua, security forces have heightened vigil in the border districts of Poonch, Rajouri, Samba, Jammu, and Kathua districts of Jammu division.

Two terrorists were killed in the forest area of Saniyal in Kathua, where a group of five terrorists had been spotted.

Women participating in a Kalash Yatra in Chhatarbar village in Jharkhand's Koderma district were attacked with stones on Tuesday.

The women, carrying urns on their heads as part of a religious ritual, were seeking alms when unidentified individuals pelted stones from rooftops, damaging several urns.

Upon learning about the incident, hundreds of villagers gathered on the spot in protest, escalating tensions in the area.

At least seven workers were killed and several injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory and godown on Dhunwa Road in the Deesa town of Gujarat's Banaskantha district on Tuesday.

The blast was suspected to have been triggered by a boiler explosion early morning.

The blast triggered a massive fire, causing widespread panic in the area as emergency personnel battled to control the blaze and search for survivors trapped under the debris.

Eyewitnesses reported multiple explosions, with the intensity of the blast leading to the collapse of the factory’s roof, trapping several workers inside.

Starting April 1, the price of a 19-kg commercial LPG cylinder in Rajasthan has been reduced to Rs 1,790, down from the previous Rs 1,830.50. However, there is no change in the price of domestic LPG cylinders, which will continue to be available at Rs 806.50.

The Oil marketing companies have announced a Rs 40.50 reduction in the price of commercial LPG cylinders. This follows a Rs 7 decrease in February and a Rs 62 hike in December. The new rate in Delhi is Rs 1,762, while in Jaipur, it is Rs 1,790.

According to Deepak Gehlot, State President of the Rajasthan LPG Distributors Association, commercial gas prices saw an increase of Rs 6 in March, while there were reduction of Rs 14.50 in January and Rs 6 in February.

Domestic consumers can breathe easy as there has been no change in household LPG prices.

After enduring a spell of intense summer heat, Tamil Nadu is set to receive a much-needed respite with light to moderate rainfall expected across the state from April 2 to 4, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC).

The change in weather is attributed to multiple meteorological factors, particularly a cyclonic circulation over the southwest Bay of Bengal and a wind discontinuity over peninsular India. These systems are forecast to trigger rain and thunderstorms across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal.

Over the past week, temperatures soared across the region, with Vellore and Madurai hitting a scorching 40 degrees Celsius -- the highest in the state so far this year this season. However, meteorologists predict a dip of 2 to 3 degrees in maximum temperatures as rainfall activity picks up.

The interior and western parts of Tamil Nadu are expected to benefit the most from the showers. Districts such as Coimbatore, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Theni, and Dindigul are likely to see rain on April 2.