Continuing their efforts to combat the drug menace, the Jammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday seized two vehicles of peddlers in Srinagar city.

A police statement said, “Continuing its efforts to eradicate the menace of drugs from the society, police in Srinagar have seized two vehicles acquired through proceeds of illegal narcotics trade. Srinagar Police have seized two vehicles, a Corolla bearing registration number DL4CNE 6086 and a BMW bearing registration number JK01AF-0047 in case FIR No. 36/2024 u/s 8/21 NDPS Act of Police Station Chanapora from the accused person namely Mudasir Ahmad Wani, son of Gulam Rasool Wani, resident of Stadium Colony, Chanapora."

Mudasir Ahmad Wani has already been arrested in a drug case a few days ago.

The seizure of vehicles acquired by illegal means through narcotics trafficking has been made under the provisions of the 68 NDPS Act, said the officials here.

The police in its statement reiterated its "commitment to eradicate the drug menace and dismantle the infrastructure supporting narcotics trafficking”.

Delhi Metro services on the Blue Line experienced disruptions on Thursday as a result of cable theft that occurred between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar stations, leading to considerable delays for passengers.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) informed passengers about the issue through posts on X, advising them to plan their journeys accordingly.

"There is a delay in services on the Blue Line due to a cable theft between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar. The inconvenience is regretted," the DMRC stated.

In another update post, DMRC clarified that the cable theft issue could only be resolved after the operational hours of the metro.

"The cable theft issue on the Blue Line between Moti Nagar and Kirti Nagar will be rectified only after the end of operational hours in the night," it said in the post.

The earthquake that hit Telangana on Wednesday morning was the second earthquake of over 5 magnitude on the Richter Scale in the region in the last 55 years.

According to the National Center for Seismology, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude was felt at 7.27 a.m. on Wednesday with Medaram in Mulugu district of Telangana as the epicentre.

The region experienced an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.7 on April 13, 1969, with Bhadrachalam as the epicentre.

According to scientists, both earthquakes were linked to the Godavari rift valley, which is a fault zone.

The tremors on Wednesday were felt in parts of both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and also in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. The tremors were also felt in Hyderabad and surrounding districts.

The depth of the earthquake was 40 kilometres and it was experienced in an area of 225 km. There were no reports of any loss of life or damage.

Commuters faced a massive traffic jam at the Ghazipur border on Wednesday morning after police barricaded the area to prevent Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi and others in the party's delegation from entering Uttar Pradesh.

The blockade was put in place ahead of the Congress delegation's visit to Sambhal in UP to meet the families of victims of the violence in which five youths were killed.

Long queues of vehicles could be seen at the border, leaving commuters frustrated. Security has been tightened at the Delhi-Ghazipur border, adding to the delays.

LoP Rahul Gandhi, and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who were heading to Sambhal district of UP on Wednesday, were stopped at the Ghazipur border on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.

A massive fire broke out on Lalji Hirji Road, a prime commercial hub in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, around 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

The blaze reduced at least 12 shops to ashes, causing extensive losses, officials said.

Fire brigade teams were immediately deployed to control the flames.

The affected building housed several hardware, battery, and plywood shops.

Preliminary reports suggest that a short circuit in one of the shops triggered the fire, which quickly spread throughout the building. Towering flames and thick smoke created panic in the area, but fortunately, all occupants were evacuated safely on time.

Cold wave tightened its grip on Kashmir Valley as the minimum temperature dropped to minus 2 degrees Celsius in Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city on Wednesday.

Director of the local Meteorological (MeT) Department, Mukhtar Ahmad told, “Minimum temperature dropped to minus 2 degrees Celsius in Srinagar city today increasing the cold wave. Dry weather is expected in J&K till the evening of December 8.”

Gulmarg recorded minus 3.5 while Pahalgam recorded minus 4.8 as the minimum temperature.

Jammu city had 8.4, Katra 10, Batote 6.5, Banihal 3.2 and Bhaderwah 1.4 as the minimum temperature.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold known locally as the ‘Chillai Kalan’ starts each year on December 21 and ends on January 30.

Parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were jolted by an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude on the Richter Scale on Wednesday morning.

The tremors were felt in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and other parts of the two Telugu states at around 7.27 a.m. There were no reports of any loss of life or property.

People in a few places ran out of their houses in panic as the earth continued shaking for 3 to 5 seconds.

According to the National Centre for Seismology, an earthquake of 5.3 magnitude was felt at 7.27 a.m. with Mulugu in Telangana as the epicentre at 7.27 a.m. CSIR-NGRI scientists said the tremors were felt in an area of 225 km around the epicentre.

The intensity of tremors was high in districts along the banks of the Godavari River in both the Telugu states.

In a shocking case, three members of a family were found murdered in their home in South Delhi’s Neb Sarai area on Wednesday.

A man, his wife and their daughter were found stabbed to death in their home. The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning while the man's son was out for a morning walk.

According to initial reports, the victims were identified as Rajesh (55), his wife Komal (47), and their daughter, who was 23 years old. Around 5.00 a.m., Rajesh's son left the house for his routine morning walk. When he returned home, he found the lifeless bodies of his parents and sister, all stabbed to death.

A neighbour, while speaking, shared, "The boy left the house at 5 a.m. His mother was awake at the time. When he returned, he discovered the murders and informed the police."

A major road accident claimed five lives early Wednesday morning when a canter and an SUV collided head-on on the Churu-Hanumangarh highway in Rajasthan's Churu district.

Two others were seriously injured in the collision, officials reported.

According to SHO Arvind Kumar, the accident occurred when a Tata Safari travelling from Sardarshahar to Hanumangarh collided with a canter coming from the opposite direction. The impact severely damaged the Safari, trapping its occupants.

Upon receiving the information, Sardarshahar police, along with local residents worked to rescue the victims. A crane was also used to entangle the vehicles. The injured were rushed to the hospital in a police vehicle, while a two-hour effort was required to extricate two individuals trapped in the wreckage.

The police on Tuesday arrested two female terror associates under the Public Safety Act (PSA) in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district.

The two women have been identified as Maryama Begum, wife of Mohd Shafeeq of Loudhara, Basantgarh; and Arshada Begum, wife of late Jamal Din of Rai Chak in Basantgarh, said the officials here.

“They were assessed to be posing a significant threat to the safety and security of the state. They were found to be involved in providing logistic support to terrorists and working as their guides/facilitators for terrorist organisations. Their continuous actions posed a serious risk to public safety and tranquillity. To prevent further criminal activities detrimental to the security of the state and keeping in view their activities both were ordered to be detained under the PSA,” officials said earlier.