As Gujarat continues to experience intense heat, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted that temperatures will rise by an additional 2-3 degrees Celsius in the coming days, till April 30.

As per the IMD report issued on Saturday, Rajkot recorded the highest maximum temperature at 43.0 Degrees Celsius, a staggering 3.1 degrees above normal, while Ahmedabad followed closely with a maximum of 41.7 Degrees Celsius, 1 degree above the seasonal average.

“Bhuj registered a high of 41.5 degrees Celsius, marking a 2.4-degree departure from normal, while Amreli and Deesa recorded 41.1 degrees Celsius and 40.5 degrees Celsius, respectively,” said the weather department.

It added that these temperatures suggest that the region is grappling with a prolonged and persistent heatwave.

The IMD expects the mercury to rise further in the next few days.

In a major operation against terror networks, the Jharkhand Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday conducted raids at multiple locations across the state, detaining four individuals -- three men and a woman. The team also seized laptops, smartphones, diaries, and other incriminating materials during the raids.

The crackdown follows the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, which claimed the lives of 26 people.

In response to potential links and heightened security concerns, Jharkhand ATS teams launched coordinated raids in Dhanbad and Koderma districts.

In Dhanbad, raids were carried out at Wasseypur, Pandarpala, Azad Nagar, Aman Society, and A Block of Bhuli.

At least 20 employees were injured in a boiler blast accident that occurred on Saturday at the Windsor Company located in Noida’s Sector-63, officials said.

According to the police, of the 20 injured, eight -- Sachin (18), Kuldeep (21), Ravikant (25), Akash (20), Mohit (19), Alam (29), Prakash (52) and Seema (42) -- were admitted to a private hospital in Sector-71.

The remaining 12 -- Pankaj (26), Manoj Paswan (35), Sunita (40), Asha Rani (27), Bhumi (19), Kalp Singh (19), Pramod (38), Rajneesh (18), Lokesh (19), Satendra (35), Pushpendra (27) and Atul (30) -- were taken to another private hospital in Sector-63.

A soldier sustained injuries when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded, striking his leg during an intense operation against Maoists on the Karregutta Hills area of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh.

The explosion caused significant damage, but his fellow soldiers acted swiftly, evacuating him from the danger zone and transporting him to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp for immediate medical attention, police officials said.

This region has become a battleground, with security forces and Maoists locked in a fierce encounter at Karregetta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.

Six Maoists were reportedly killed in the ongoing intermittent firing. Among them, the police have recovered the bodies of three female Maoists, along with a significant cache of weapons.

The operation spans a vast and challenging terrain, with security forces navigating dense jungles and rugged mountains for the past three to four days, the officials said.

The soldier was injured while advancing to encircle the Maoists, who have heavily fortified the area with IEDs as a defensive measure.

The police officers of Jalpaiguri district police, on Saturday, busted a major Indian Premier League (IPL) betting racket at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and have arrested two persons in this connection, police said.

The development took place just hours before the crucial IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Punjab Kings at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Saturday evening.

The two persons arrested in this connection have been identified as Milan Sen (28) and Mrinmoy Sen (21).

They were operating from a cyber cafe located in the Senpara area of Jalpaiguri town.

Two smartphones, a personal computer, and a motorcycle have been seized from their possession.

Milan is also employed as a data entry operator at Jalpaiguri Medical College and Hospital.

A devastating explosion ripped through an illegal firecracker factory in Uttar Pradesh's Deoband area in Saharanpur on Saturday morning, killing several people and leaving many buried under the debris. According to local reports, nine workers were inside the factory when the blast occurred. The impact of the explosion was so intense that body parts were flung as far as 200 metres from the site.

Eyewitnesses described horrific scenes, with half of a person’s body discovered far from the site and a severed palm found 150 metres away.

Rescue operations are currently underway as police teams have cordoned off the area. The factory, which was operating illegally on a one-bigha plot near National Highway-59, was completely flattened in the explosion.

Local residents, shocked by the incident, rushed to the site and were seen grieving and protesting.

Grief-stricken family members of the victims arrived at the scene and many of them were inconsolable. The explosion triggered widespread anger among the villagers, leading to a blockade on the highway and heated arguments with police personnel.

At least 12 people, including four cops, were injured in a violent scuffle between police and villagers in Dhankhora police station limits of Bihar's Katihar district on Saturday.

The incident occurred after police arrested a known liquor smuggler, Suraj Kumar from his native village Raipur, and detained him at the Dhankhora police station. Following his arrest, around 100 villagers stormed the police station, demanding his immediate release.

As the situation turned tense, villagers allegedly resorted to vandalism and attacked police personnel. In response, police took self-defence measures by firing at least six rounds in the air to control the crowd.

Despite this, four policemen sustained injuries in the confrontation. Villagers alleged that the police were harassing them unnecessarily, which fuelled their anger.

The Karnataka Police, on Saturday, shot two accused persons involved in an ATM robbery case in the leg in Kalaburagi district.

Kalaburagi Police Commissioner S.D. Sharanappa has told the media that the police opened fire in self-defence when the accused attempted to attack them with sharp weapons.

The accused who were shot in the leg have been identified as Tasleem and Sharif.

Police Sub-Inspector Basavaraj and Constables Raju, Manjunath, and Firoz were also injured in the incident.

The injured accused and policemen were shifted to the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) and are currently undergoing treatment, the Police Commissioner said.

Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, which was effectively retaliated by the Indian Army.

"On the night of April 25-26, unprovoked small arms firing was carried out by multiple Pakistan Army posts all across the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

"Own troops responded to the ceasefire violations appropriately with small arms. No casualties have been reported," the Defence Ministry spokesman said.

The Pakistan Army also resorted to small arms firing at some places along the LoC on April 24. The same was effectively retaliated.

Tensions mounted between the two countries after Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists sponsored and aided by Pakistan killed 26 innocent civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, on April 22 in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

Following the recent terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K) Pahalgam area in which 26 people were killed and scores were injured, Rajasthan authorities have initiated the process of identifying and sending back Pakistani citizens currently residing in the state.

This action comes after clear directives to this effect from the Central government.

It has been reported that over 400 Pakistani nationals are staying in Rajasthan.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has instructed Chief Ministers across the country to take immediate action in this regard, with specific emphasis on Rajasthan to ensure the return of all Pakistani citizens present within its borders via the Attari border, which remains open for their return.

In response to these directives, the Rajasthan Intelligence Department and the state police have been actively working to identify individuals who arrived from Pakistan on various visas.