Manipur Police launched extensive raids in various places of Imphal East and Imphal West districts in connection with the selling of activated SIM cards on fake documents, suspected to be used by the underground militants and anti-social elements, officials said here on Thursday.

A police official said the selling of activated SIM cards came to light during an investigation of some cases relating to abduction, intimidation and forceful collection of ransom from traders, businessmen, government employees, contractors and selective common people.

The official said an FIR was registered at Porompat police station in Imphal East district on Wednesday for selling activated SIM cards on fake identity papers by impersonating someone else. “Such SIM cards are suspected to be used by underground militants, anti-socials and criminals for the purpose of extortion and intimidation to people of different walks of life. During the investigation of a recent criminal case, this facet came to light wherein the subscriber, on whose name the SIM card was issued, was not aware of it,” the official said.

The house of a person in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district was seized by police for providing shelter to terrorists, officials said here on Thursday.

A police statement said the residential house of Safdar Ali Dar in Modergam village of Kulgam district was seized for allegedly providing shelter to terrorists.

“The house was completely damaged during an encounter on July 6, 2024, in which a para commando and two terrorists were killed. Notably, a joint security operation was carried out last year in Modergam village, leading to an intense gunfight that resulted in the killing of Para Commando Lance Naik Pradeep Nain, as well as terrorists Adil Hussain Wani of Kutipora, Shopian and Faisal Bashir Lone of Kanipora, Shopian. Both terrorists were hiding in the said house when the encounter broke out," the statement mentioned.

Mizoram Police seized a large cache of sophisticated arms, ammunition and other items from the state’s Lunglei district, which shares a border with unfenced Bangladesh, officials said.

Three persons – two residents of Mizoram, and one inhabitant of neighbouring Tripura, who were carrying the arms and ammunition in the car, were also arrested. They belong to the Chakma community.

An official said that acting on a tip-off, police intercepted a car at Lunglei Bazar in southern Mizoram and recovered two AK-47 rifles, five US-made M4 carbines, 20 magazines, 504 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, and 4,675 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition.

The police personnel also recovered Rs 49,550 in cash, some documents, SIM cards, ATM cards and five mobile phones. The arms-laden car was coming from Thenzawl in central Mizoram’s Serchhip district, which shares a border with Champhai district, a hotspot for smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition and other contraband from Myanmar.

General Officer Commanding (GoC) of Nagrota headquartered White Knight Corps, Lt General, Navin Sachdeva on Wednesday led the wreath-laying ceremony of two soldiers, who were killed in an IED blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in Akhnoor sector.

The solemn wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi from Jharkhand's Ranchi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas from Jammu and Kashmir's Samba was held at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station before the mortal remains of the deceased were dispatched to their hometowns for the last rites.

Lt Gen. Sachdeva and other ranks laid wreaths at the Tricolour-wrapped coffins of the deceased.

Four days after V.C. Saji passed away after almost a month’s treatment at Medical College Hospital, her body was exhumed on Wednesday following a complaint by her daughter against her father.

Saji (48) has been under treatment at the hospital since January 8th, when her husband and daughter brought her following an injury. At that time, they told hospital authorities that she had fallen from the staircase and suffered a head injury.

However, following treatment, her health condition worsened and was put on the ventilator following which she passed away on February 9.

After the funeral, Sony (Saji’s husband) had a verbal duel with his daughter. Following the verbal duel, she approached the police and lodged a complaint against her father.

She lodged the complaint at Cherthala police station. In her complaint, she said that her mother was beaten up by her father and she was a witness to it when he banged her head against a wall.

She also told the police she did not disclose all these details to the hospital authorities as her intention was to save her mother’s life.

A violent clash broke out between two groups in the Domchanch area of Jharkhand’s Koderma district on Wednesday over the placement and removal of hoardings and banners near the Ravidas temple.

The altercation quickly escalated into stone pelting, leaving at least 15 people, including three policemen, injured.

According to reports, tensions flared when a group of people began removing hoardings and posters that had been put up near the Ravidas temple. These banners were related to the ongoing construction of a Durga Mata temple a short distance away. The removal was met with strong opposition from the other group, leading to heated arguments that soon spiralled into a physical confrontation.

Eyewitnesses said that as the situation worsened, both sides engaged in heavy stone pelting, causing injuries to several people. Among the injured were Domchanch Police Station in-charge Omprakash and two other policemen, one of whom sustained a head injury.

A former chief manager of a public sector bank in Ahmedabad was sentenced to three years' imprisonment by a Special CBI court with a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh in a fraud case involving the sanctioning of loans worth Rs 80 lakh based on forged documents.

Special CBI Court, Ahmedabad, sentenced Jeevangine Srinivasa Rao, then Chief Manager, Bank of India, S.M. Road Branch, Ahmedabad, after the CBI probed the matter and presented crucial evidence proving him guilty.

The CBI had registered a case on October 30, 2003, against the then bank Chief Manager and others on allegations of cheating, using forged documents as genuine for availing credit facility/loan, forgery of valuable security and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Two soldiers including an officer were killed on Tuesday in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast during patrolling near the Line of Control (LoC) fence in J&K’s Akhnoor sector.

A Defence Ministry Spokesman said that the suspected improvised explosive device blast was reported in Lalaeli in the Akhnoor sector during a fence patrol resulting in two fatalities.

“Troops are dominating the area and search operations are underway. White Knight Corps salutes and pays tribute to the supreme sacrifice by two gallant soldiers,” said the Spokesperson.

He added that a captain rank officer is also among the two martyred soldiers.

Three persons, including a woman, were killed while two others were injured in a road accident in Bihar’s Kaimur district on Tuesday morning.

The accident occurred at Muthani village under Mohania police station limits on NH-19 when an auto-rickshaw overturned after crashing into a parked truck.

According to the police, the victims were returning from Prayagraj after taking a holy dip in the Mahakumbh when the incident took place.

The auto driver allegedly fell asleep, leading to the collision with a stationary truck on the highway.

At least ten Kumbh pilgrims lost their lives in two tragic road accidents in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday morning, officials said.

Seven people were killed in a road accident in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur district on Tuesday morning. The mishap took place on National Highway-30 near Sihora when a vehicle carrying Kumbh pilgrims collided head-on with a truck that was reportedly coming from the wrong side.

According to information, the victims were returning from Prayagraj when their passenger vehicle was struck by a truck coming from the opposite direction. The impact of the collision was severe, leaving the vehicle mangled and resulting in the immediate deaths of seven occupants.

Several others sustained injuries and were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. The accident also involved two other vehicles. A car trailing the passenger vehicle suffered minor damage, but its occupants escaped major injuries due to airbags. Another vehicle was also affected in the crash.