JAMMU/SRINAGAR : National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and J&K deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary escaped unhurt Wednesday evening after a man with a gun barged into a wedding venue in Jammu’s Greater Kailash and fired a gunshot before he was overpowered.“We are both safe but it is now police’s responsibility to say how it happened,” Choudhary told reporters, terming the attack “a big security lapse”. Sources identified the arrested assailant as Kamal Singh Jamwal, a resident of Jammu. He is being questioned by the police to ascertain the motive behind the attack, they said.

“It was a function where a former chief minister, a current deputy CM and the CM’s adviser were present and a person could enter with a gun. You can understand how much security there was,” Choudhary said.CM Omar Abdullah said his father “had a very close shave”. In a post on X, he wrote, “The details are sketchy at the moment but what is known is that a man with a loaded pistol was able to get within point blank range and discharge a shot. It was only the close protection team that deflected the shot and ensured that the assassination attempt failed. There are more questions than answers at the moment, including but not limited to how someone was able to get this close to a Z+ NSG protected former CM.”Omar’s adviser Nasir Aslam Wani, who was witness to how the episode unravelled, said the arrested assailant clearly came in with the intention of targeting Farooq. “He tried to fire at Farooq sahib from a revolver. I don’t want to draw any conclusions yet. It is by God’s grace that he was saved. He is fine and in good spirits,” Wani told TOI.

Amid the escalating conflict in West Asia, EAM S Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. He also had a similar conversation with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot.“A good telecon with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov of Russia. Shared our assessments on the West Asia conflict and related diplomatic efforts. Also took stock of our bilateral cooperation agenda,” Jaishankar said on X.According to a Russian readout, the ministers spoke in favour of the earliest possible normalisation of the Iran situation. “Emphasis was placed on supporting the contribution of SCO and BRICS towards efforts to de-escalate the situation and create conditions for achieving a sustainable settlement based on a balance of the legitimate interests of all parties,” said the readout.

NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party, Congress, TMC, Shiv Sena, JMM, IUML tore into Speaker Om Birla, as they accused him of being biased.SP’s Anand Bhadauria said the ruling BJP has torn to shreds the dignity of the Chair, and the removal notice against the Speaker is to save that high post.

Congress MP Jothimani and TMC’s Sayoni Ghosh slammed the Speaker for “grave allegations” that PM Narendra Modi faced threat from the women MPs. While Ghosh said “you turned us into terrorists”, Jothimani said the Speaker’s allegations were against first generation politicians from humble backgrounds, and amounted to “a grievous attack on every woman who earns a rightful place in public life.” “Don’t turn this House into the party office of one party,” Sayoni said.SP’s Bhadauria mocked that the PM decided to visit Israel when the war was imminent, but was afraid to come to the LS because of women MPs. The SP MP asked who had advised Modi to visit Israel at such a critical time and put his life in danger. Interestingly, he “saluted” Ayatollah Khamenei for not bowing to the US and accepting martyrdom, unlike the BJP.Slamming the denial of opportunity to Rahul Gandhi, he said Rahul is not just the LoP, but also the “collective voice of the marginalised sections and the INDIA bloc”.Charanjit Channi slammed Birla for not calling Amritpal Singh, the incarcerated Punjab MP, even once to the LS in two years. He said like Draupadi’s “cheerharan” was an attack on all norms of dignity, the throttling of opposition’s voice is an attack on the dignity of the people.JMM’s Vijay Kumar Hansdak said the most spoken word in the House under Birla is “No” for the opposition. IUML MP E T Mohammed Basheer said the opposition is in a “very difficult situation”.

DEHRADUN: The Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) has approved a proposal to bar “non-Sanatanis” – people who do not follow Sanatan Dharma – from entering 47 temples under its jurisdiction in Uttarakhand, including Badrinath and Kedarnath. The decision was taken at the temple committee’s budget meeting at its Dehradun office, chaired by BKTC chairman Hemant Dwivedi. The chairman had indicated in January that the committee was considering restrictions on the entry of non-Hindus at the Char Dham shrines. He said, “The decision was taken to ensure that only those who believe and have faith in Sanatan Dharma visit the Char Dham shrines and other temples.” He added that the restriction would apply to the innermost sanctum and the immediate temple premises. Dwivedi defended the move, saying it was aimed at preserving the sanctity of temples in Uttarakhand.

Temple committee approves Rs 121 crore for Char Dham yatra

During the same meeting, the committee approved the estimated budget for the next financial year, keeping in view preparations for the upcoming Char Dham yatra. Of the total allocation of Rs 121 crore for 2026-27, Rs 57.5 crore was earmarked for Badrinath Dham and Rs 63.6 crore for Kedarnath Dham.In another decision, the board approved the creation of a Teerth Purohit Welfare Fund aimed at improving the social and economic security of temple priests associated with the pilgrimage. Dwivedi said the fund would support welfare measures for teerth purohits, including financial assistance and other benefits.The portals of Kedarnath temple are scheduled to open on April 22, while Badrinath temple will open on April 23 for the 2026 pilgrimage season. The portals of Gangotri and Yamunotri shrines are set to open on April 19 on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya. Committee officials said preparations for the pilgrimage season were being intensified in view of the growing number of devotees visiting the Himalayan shrines every year.

SRINAGAR: The Ladakh govt Wednesday assured a delegation from Changthang region that it would study the proposed 13gw solar power project and examine how to take it forward after residents sought its implementation.The project, approved by the central govt on Oct 18, 2023, aims to develop transmission lines passing through Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, and be integrated with the national grid. It is to be implemented by Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, and get completed by 2029-30.A delegation from Korzok constituency of Changthang met chief secretary Ashish Kundra in Leh and pointed out that limited livelihood opportunities was forcing migration from villages. “They stressed the proposed solar power project was viewed as a transformative opportunity for the region and expressed concern over uncertainties and rumours regarding its possible relocation,” a spokesperson for the Ladakh administration said.With Changthang now a separate district, the solar power project holds significant potential for employment generation, revenue creation, and regional development, the spokesperson added.

JAMMU: A day after alert Army personnel gunned down a “Pakistan-sponsored” terrorist during an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in J&K’s Rajouri district, officials on Wednesday said the slain ultra was a senior operative of Lashkar-e-Taiba’s launchpad module, tasked with pushing armed terrorists into India from the launching pad in his area.Troops combing the site in Jhangar, Nowshera, where the terrorist was killed — while attempting to sneak into India along with an associate — recovered his ID card. It identified him as Hamza Yousaf, a resident of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “His associate managed to cross back to Pakistan during Tuesday’s gun battle,” a senior official said.Army men seized a cache of arms and ammunition from the spot of the firefight, including an AK-type rifle with two magazines, two pistols with four magazines, 58 rounds, and three hand grenades. Other items recovered included a mobile set, two SIM cards, a wallet, and Pakistani currency.A defence spokesperson said that troops had been reoriented to ensure relentless domination of the area, supported by integrated ground and aerial surveillance; a robust operational posture and heightened alert continued across the sector.Earlier this month, the Army had foiled an infiltration bid by a group of terrorists along the LoC in Rajouri district on March 4. Last month, soldiers had thwarted another infiltration attempt along the LoC in Nathua Tibba area of Sunderbani on Feb 19. Troops had recovered arms and ammunition during a subsequent search of the area the following day.

NEW DELHI: Union home secretary Govind Mohan on Wednesday chaired a review meeting with all the states and Union territories (UTs) on the LPG supply situation in view of the developments in West Asia, and advised the state/UT brass to protect the LPG supply chain by ramping up security of the concerned infrastructure and personnel, monitor LPG supplies on a daily basis and bust rumours in real time to avoid any panic. The meeting — attended by the state/UT chief secretaries and DGPs and the secretaries of Union ministries of petroleum and natural gas, information and broadcasting and consumer affairs – was called amid public apprehensions about restrictions on LPG supply in the market in view as the West Asia conflict has directly countries that are key suppliers of gas and oil.Sources told TOI that all states/UTs were briefed about the LPG Control Order dated March 8, 2026 that directs refineries and petrochemical complexes to maximise LPG production and prioritise domestic LPG supply for household consumers. It was clarified that restrictions on the distribution of LPG apply to commercial establishments, including hotels and restaurants, while excluding hospitals or educational institutions from the ambit of the order.All states/UTs were advised to ensure protection of the LPG supply chain by ramping up security for the concerned infrastructure and personnel. They were also advised to monitor local LPG supplies on a daily basis, take strict action against violators, and maintain law and order on the ground. The states/UTs were asked to undertake sufficient awareness drives — both directly and through oil marketing companies — to allay fears and counter rumours regarding LPG shortage, and spread the word on active measures being taken by the govt to ensure adequate availability of LPG for households.The states/UTs, said sources, were further advised to closely monitor social media platforms and take prompt action to remove fake news and false narratives about an alleged LPG shortage, by circulating old or unrelated material.The ministry of home affairs has meanwhile strengthened its control room, operating on a 24×7 basis, by including nodal officers from the I&B ministry and the petroleum and natural gas ministry. This arrangement has been made to enable fact-checking and the issuance of immediate clarifications to states and UTs on any matter pertaining to the current situation.