Heavy rain, hail, and powerful winds battered several parts of Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) on Wednesday evening, providing much-needed relief from the scorching summer heat but also causing widespread disruption across the region.

Visuals from Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport showed continuous rainfall, while strong winds swept through central and western Delhi. Areas such as Gol Market and Lodi Road experienced a brief but intense hailstorm, adding to the dramatic shift in weather. In Noida, drivers reported navigating through sheets of rain and hail, leading to low visibility and waterlogged roads.

Security forces have seized contraband and cattle valued at Rs 3.94 crore in Manipur and Tripura during the past 24 hours, officials said, adding that four people were arrested in connection with the illegal trades.

A Defence spokesman said that based on specific intelligence, a joint operation was launched by a team of Assam Rifles and Manipur Police at Savomphai in Jiribam district, leading to the arrest of two drug peddlers.

The security personnel recovered 98 bags of foreign cigarettes, with each bag containing 1,000 cigarette packets and having an overall estimated value of Rs 2 crore.

Gujarat is set to witness an extended spell of pre-monsoon rainfall as an upper air cyclonic circulation continues to persist over the Arabian Sea.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), widespread light to heavy rain is expected across the state through May 27. The weather agency has issued a series of alerts, with orange warnings for parts of coastal South Gujarat and Saurashtra on May 23 and May 25, indicating the likelihood of heavy to very heavy downpours.

Yellow alerts have also been issued for multiple districts on other days, pointing to moderate rainfall and the possibility of thunderstorms. On May 22, the alert extends to Anand, Chhota Udepur, Narmada, Bharuch, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath, and Diu. An orange alert has been issued for Navsari, Valsad, Daman, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Amreli, and Bhavnagar on May 23, while a yellow alert remains in place for Rajkot, Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Bharuch, Surat, Narmada, Tapi, and Dang.

At least 17 school children sustained injuries after a pickup van transporting them plunged into a pond in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district on Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

According to local sources, the van was returning to the children’s village after school when the accident occurred near Khutra village in the Ichak police station area.

The vehicle, reportedly speeding, lost control while negotiating a sharp turn and veered off the narrow road, falling into a pond approximately 15 feet deep.

Upon hearing the crash, area residents rushed to the scene and began rescue efforts.

The Odisha Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has arrested two more accused -- Dwipika Bhanjo and Tandra Bhanjo -- from Kolkata in connection with a multi-crore ponzi scam, the agency said in a statement.

The duo was produced before the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Barasat, in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas on Tuesday and brought to Bhubaneswar on a three-day transit remand.

The case was registered based on a complaint by Bhubaneswar resident Manmohan Dora, who alleged that Harit Krishi Nidhi Ltd, Transvision Dream Multi Trade Pvt. Ltd., and its Director Tushar Bhanjo duped him and thousands of others by promising high returns on investments.

Maoist commander Gautam Yadav, who was injured in a recent police encounter in Jharkhand and had been on the run since then, was arrested from a hospital in Varanasi, officials said on Wednesday.

According to Palamu Superintendent of Police Rishma Rameshan, Gautam Yadav had checked into the hospital under a false identity, registering himself as Mithilesh Yadav to avoid detection.

He was undergoing treatment for a gunshot wound to the abdomen sustained during an encounter with security forces in Palamu district on May 15.

Yadav, a zonal commander of the banned Maoist outfit Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), was injured during a fierce gun battle between TSPC cadres and police in the forests of Baskatiya under the Manatu police station limits.

Multiple rounds were exchanged in the encounter, following which Yadav fled in an injured condition, reportedly aided by a relative.

The Maoists had gathered in the area to plan a major operation, according to police.

At least four people died after being electrocuted during Kashidas pujan celebrations in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur, officials said on Wednesday.

The tragic incident happened in Narwar village under the Mardah police station in the Ghazipur district. Three others sustained serious injuries and are currently undergoing treatment, officials said.

The incident occurred when villagers were preparing for the puja and erecting a pandal using green bamboo poles.

According to officials, one of the poles accidentally came into contact with a high-tension electric wire passing overhead, leading to a powerful electric current that proved fatal.

“While planting bamboo poles for the puja, a tragic accident occurred due to contact with an overhead high-tension line,” said SDM Sadar Manoj Pathak.

A tragic road accident involving an SUV, a bus, and a truck resulted in the death of six people in the Vijayapura district of Karnataka on Wednesday.

According to police, five people died on the spot while another succumbed to injuries at the hospital. The deceased have been identified as Basavaraja Rathod, a bus driver; T. Bhaskar, a bank manager; his family members Pavithra, Abhiram, and Jotsna; and the car driver, Vikas Mani, a resident of Horthi village.

The accident occurred near Managooli town, close to Basavana Bagewadi in Vijayapura district, on National Highway 50.

Bhaskar's family, hailing from Telangana, was returning after visiting tourist spots in coastal and southern Karnataka. The SUV was heading towards Vijayapura when the driver lost control, causing the vehicle to jump the highway divider and collide with a private bus coming from the opposite direction.

Three youths were killed and another injured in a collision between a car and a DCM van near Kuntloor village in Telangana's Rangareddy district on Wednesday, police said.

The accident occurred at Hayatnagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad around 5.45 a.m.

According to police, a car in which four persons were travelling collided head-on with a DCM van after the driver lost control of the vehicle near the AEGIS LPG bunk, close to Narayana College. Three of the occupants of the car died on the spot, while the fourth person was injured.

The deceased have been identified as Chandrasena Reddy (24), Chunchu Trinath Reddy (24) and Chunchu Harshith Reddy (23).

Alimeti Pavan Kalyan Reddy was injured in the accident and admitted to a private hospital in Hayathnagar.

The national capital endured another day of intense heat on Wednesday as soaring temperatures combined with high humidity made conditions nearly unbearable, although the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast light rain with thunderstorms, which may bring some relief.

According to IMD, several meteorological factors are contributing to this stifling weather pattern.

A series of western disturbances have been affecting northern India, bringing intermittent rainfall and thunderstorms. In addition, a cyclonic circulation over the Arabian Sea is pushing moist air into Delhi, raising humidity levels significantly.

Relief, however, could be on the horizon. The IMD has forecast thunderstorms accompanied by light rain for Wednesday, which could offer temporary respite from the heat. The minimum temperature is expected to be around 28 degrees Celsius, while the maximum is likely to hover near 39 degrees Celsius.