PM Modi to visit Somnath Temple on January 11

Bharatiya Janata Party councillor here allegedly shot dead a 22-year-old ma who was visiting his house, police on Monday said. Councillor Amit Bisht, alias Chintu, has been taken into custody and is being interrogated, they said.

After a brief lull, a fresh death due to brain fever was reported in Kerala here on Monday, health officials said. The deceased was identified as Sachidanandan (72) of Puthiyangadi in Kozhikode district.

A man was shot dead by armed assailants near a grain market in Punjab's Ludhiana on Monday, police said. Jagraon SSP Ankur Gupta said Gagandeep Singh (32), a resident of Manuke village, was shot at point-blank range. He succumbed to his injuries on the spot.

A gas leak at an ONGC well here in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district operated by its production contractor sparked an inferno on Monday, leading to the evacuation of two villages within a four-km radius. However, no deaths or casualties have been reported so far, an official of the Maharatna public sector company said.

Piercing cold wave conditions gripped most parts of Himachal Pradesh on Sunday, with Tabo in Lahaul and Spiti district witnessing its coldest night of the year with the minimum temperature recorded at minus 10.2 degree Celsius. The mercury hovered around freezing point at several places. Kukumseri and Kalpa logged a minimum temperature of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius and minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, respectively, while Narkanda and Solan shivered at minus 1.5 degrees Celsius and minus 0.6 degrees Celsius.

The father of Nikitha Godishala, who was found dead in the US, here on Monday called for tough punishment for the person responsible for his daughter's death. Anand Godisala denied that Arjun Sharma, suspect in the alleged murder of Nikitha (27), was her ex-boyfriend and said he was her roommate earlier along with two others.

Two foreign nationals were detained by security agencies during a religious procession in the border sensitive area of Anupgarh in Rajasthan on Monday, officials said. According to officials, the action was taken by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) during the religious procession. After preliminary verification, the two foreigners were handed over to the local police, which detained them and initiated questioning.

Two undertrial inmates escaped from the district jail at Anaugi, around 25 km from the Kannauj district headquarters, by scaling the prison wall on Sunday night, police said. The escape came to light around 10 am on Monday during the routine headcount, when two prisoners were found missing, officials said.

A gas pipeline leakage at a well in Dr B R Ambedkar Konaseema district, operated by ONGC’s production contractor Deep Industries Ltd, caught fire on Monday. There were no reports of death or injury, according to preliminary information, an official of the Maharatna company said.

Rape convict and Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was released from Sunaria jail in Rohtak on Monday after being granted a 40-day parole, officials said. This is not the first instance of parole granted to the self-styled godman, whose temporary releases in the past have drawn political criticism and security concerns.

Outpatient department (OPD) services at state-run hospitals across Odisha were disrupted on Monday morning as government doctors staged a two-hour work boycott, pressing for the filling up of vacant posts and other long-pending demands. Members of the Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) abstained from OPD duties between 9 am and 11 am as part of their agitation, seeking implementation of a 10-point charter of demands.

OMSA president Kishore Mishra said doctors have been protesting since November 20. “In the initial phase, doctors reported to work wearing black badges. From December 26, OPD services were boycotted for one hour, which has now been extended to two hours,” he said.

Health Minister Mukesh Mahaling appealed to doctors to withdraw the agitation, stating that the government was “sympathetically considering” their demands. He said an inter-departmental committee had been formed to examine the issues raised.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit the Somnath Temple in Gujarat on January 11, officials confirmed today.

The visit will coincide with a series of year-long events at Somnath, organised to mark the ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv’, running from January 8 to 11, officials added. Highlighting the temple’s significance, Prime Minister Modi has described Somnath, rebuilt after repeated attacks by foreign invaders, as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Indian civilisation.

The Supreme Court said that the exercise undertaken does not weaken or dismantle the prosecution’s case of conspiracy, observing that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam stand on a qualitatively different footing compared to the other accused.

The Supreme Court today observed that the UAPA deviates from the general principles governing bail, but clarified that the law does not bar judicial review and does not require bail to be denied as a matter of course.

West Bengal Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari today said he has written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, strongly rejecting Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In a post on X, Adhikari alleged that Banerjee’s criticism of the SIR exercise and her appeal to halt it were “baseless” and aimed at derailing a legitimate Election Commission process. He claimed the exercise was exposing what he described as irregularities in the voter list, including fake voters, names of deceased persons and illegal migrants, which he accused the Trinamool Congress of shielding for years. Adhikari further alleged that the Chief Minister’s opposition to the SIR reflected political anxiety, asserting that the revision of electoral rolls could have a significant impact on the 2026 Assembly elections in West Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday extended birthday greetings to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, wishing her good health and a long life.

In a post on X, PM Modi said, “Birthday wishes to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Didi. I pray for her good health and long life.”

Banerjee, who was born on January 5, 1955, is serving her third consecutive term as the chief minister of West Bengal. A seven-time Lok Sabha MP, she has also held key portfolios as a Union minister and is the first woman to lead the state as chief minister.

IndiGo has issued a travel advisory warning passengers of disruptions in flight operations to and from Leh. The airline stated that “due to snowfall in Leh, flight operations, both take-offs and landings, have been temporarily put on hold. This may lead to extended wait times both onboard and on the ground.” Passengers travelling to the region are advised to check flight status before heading to the airport, as delays and cancellations are expected until conditions improve.

At least 142 people, including 11 in intensive care, remain hospitalised following a diarrhoea outbreak linked to contaminated drinking water in Indore’s Bhagirathpura area. Health authorities detected 20 new cases during screening of over 9,400 residents from 2,354 households in the neighbourhood, the epicentre of the outbreak.

The administration has confirmed six deaths, though local residents claim the toll could be as high as 16, including a six-month-old child.

A team from the Kolkata-based National Institute for Research in Bacterial Infections (NIRBI), affiliated with the Indian Council of Medical Research, has joined local authorities to assist in containment and technical support.