A civilian employee posted at Assam’s Chabua Air Force Station was arrested on Sunday for allegedly spying for Pakistan and sharing sensitive information with Pakistani handlers, said Rajasthan police.. The accused war detained in Chabua in a joint operation by Air Force Intelligence and Rajasthan Intelligence and was taken to Jaipur for questioning (Representational/HT photo). The accused was arrested in a joint operation by Rajasthan Intelligence and Air Force Intelligence, news agency PTI reported citing Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Prafulla Kumar.. Also read: Indian national injured in Abu Dhabi after ballistic missile debris falls in Al Shawamekh. How did the police arrest the accused?. The investigation which led to the arrest of accused, identified as Sumit Kumar (36), started after another suspect, Jhabararam, was arrested from Jaisalmer earlier this year in January.. After the arrest made in January, more investigation and interrogation led to revelation of Kumar’s involvement in spying activities for Pakistan.. Also read: BJP minister Nandita Gorlosa joins Congress day before Assam nomination deadline; to contest from Halflong. Kumar is a resident of Uttar Pradesh and was posted as a multi-tasking staff (MTS) in Chabua’s Air Force Station. He gathered information about the air force station using his position and used social media to pass it on to his Pakistani handlers.. During probe, Kumar was found to be in touch with Pakistani agents constantly.. Accused was sharing information for money since 2023. Kumar war detained in Chabua in a joint operation by Air Force Intelligence and Rajasthan Intelligence and was taken to Jaipur for questioning, where he revealed during joint interrogation that he had been in touch with and shared sensitive information with Pakistan intelligence agency since 2023 and received money in return.. Among the information the accused shared was sensitive details about the installations at the air force station, locations of fighter aircraft, missile systems, information related to personnel and more.. The accused even helped his Pakistani handlers to make social media accounts using mobile numbers that he registered in his name.. The case under was registered under relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, and the BNS, 2023. and further probe is underway.. (With inputs from ANI/PTI) 

 After being denied a party ticket for next month’s assembly polls, Assam BJP minister Nandita Garlosa joined the Congress late on Sunday night and would be contesting as its candidate for the Haflong (ST) constituency.. Nandita Garlosa joined the Congress in the presence of party leaders, including Assam Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Nirmal Langthasa. (HT Photo). The Congress had named Nirmal Langthasa as its candidate from Haflong in its fifth list released on Sunday. Following Garlosa’s induction, the party leadership replaced Langthasa and fielding her instead.. Garlosa joined the Congress in the presence of party leaders, including Assam Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Nirmal Langthasa.. ALSO READ | Assam assembly polls 2026: With a day left for nominations, all eyes on ‘rebels’. “We are very happy to announce that Nandita Garlosa has joined the Congress party….Congress will declare her as our candidate for Haflong seat tomorrow,” said Congress in a statement.. “Garlosa is set to contest the election in congress ticket from the Haflong seat as Sh Langthasa has proactively volunteered to vacate there seat in larger public interest. The formalities for the same will be duly completed shortly,” it added.. The switch happened before the last date for filing of nomination on Monday. Voting for the single phase assembly election to all 126 seats will take place on April 9.. A sitting MLA from Haflong, she was denied a ticket by the BJP, which fielded Rupali Langthasa from the seat after dropping several sitting legislators.. ALSO READ | Congress to fight 100 seats in Assam assembly elections after forging alliance with five other parties. She reacted soon after the BJP announced its candidate list on March 19. Senior leaders, including Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, had reached out to her.. Sarma visited Dima Hasao on Sunday before travelling to Silchar to meet party leaders. BJP leaders in Haflong said Garlosa did not attend the meetings during the visit.. Speaking to reporters in Guwahati late Sunday night, Sarma initially said only a few leaders had left the party and that Garlosa was not quitting the BJP. He later revised his statement after learning of her move.. “I had spoken to her and she seemed satisfied. The Congress had already announced its candidate from Haflong. I don’t know why she is joining that party,” he said.. Garlosa was elected in 2021 and was inducted into the state cabinet. She handled the mines, minerals and tribal faith portfolios.. In Barak Valley, the BJP has dropped three sitting MLAs from its candidate list. One of them, Nihar Ranjan Das, resigned from the party but later said he would not contest independently after meeting the chief minister.. Another former BJP MLA, Amar Chand Jain, has joined the Congress and has been named as its candidate from Katigorah.. In Katigorah, the BJP has fielded former Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha. The chief minister has said he 

 Union minister Piyush Goyal is scheduled to arrive in Chennai on Monday to finalise seat-sharing for the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Nainar Nagenthran said on Sunday.. File photo of union minister Piyush Goyal. (ANI). Addressing a press conference here, Nagendran stated that the party’s election manifesto and alliance specifics would be clarified following high-level discussions with the Union minister. “Union minister Piyush Goyal is coming to Chennai tomorrow (Monday). After his arrival, we will hold talks and announce the seat-sharing details,” Nagenthran said.. The announcement comes amid intensifying verbal volleys between the BJP and the ruling DMK. Reacting to chief minister MK Stalin’s repeated “Delhi” jibes, Nagenthran claimed that the DMK leadership is “trembling with fear” over the BJP’s growing footprint.. “I don’t know why the Chief Minister is so terrified of Delhi. Whether we hold our meetings in Bengaluru or Delhi, the DMK seems to be in a state of panic,” he remarked, dismissing allegations that the AIADMK or other parties were functioning as “slaves” to the national capital.. Defending the Centre’s contribution to the state, the BJP leader highlighted that the Modi government has sanctioned approximately ₹14 lakh crore to Tamil Nadu over the last decade.. He cited major infrastructure projects, including the ₹350-crore Thoothukudi airport expansion and the ₹650-crore Trichy airport project, as evidence of the union government’s commitment to the state’s development.. Nagenthran also launched a scathing attack on the state government over the prevailing law and order situation, specifically citing the “ganja menace.” He pointed to the seizure of 22,000 kg of ganja over the past five years and a recent brutal attack on a schoolgirl in Vilathikulam by a convict out on parole.. “The Chief Minister should focus on stopping the spread of drugs and improving public safety instead of constantly obsessing over Delhi,” he said.. On the emergence of a “fifth front” involving the PMK and Sasikala, the BJP state unit chief downplayed its potential impact, stating that in a democracy, anyone is free to start a party or form a front. “The only impact right now in Tamil Nadu is the impact of the summer heat,” he quipped.. Responding to queries about his own candidacy, the BJP leader expressed confidence in his rapport with the voters of Tirunelveli, noting his history of securing significant mandates across five assembly terms. He maintained that the party would contest based on developmental principles and the strength of the NDA alliance.. Chennai : The ruling DMK has offered five seats to its ally, CPI (M), for the forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the Left party’s State Secretary P Shanmugam said on Sunday.. Seat-sharing talks between the DMK and CPI (M), which have been going on for the last 20 days, saw a new development w 

 Supreme Court judge justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said that incarceration of citizens for dissent, and continuing atrocities against Dalits “cannot be a model of Viksit Bharat”.. Justice Bhuyan was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) conference in Bengaluru on the judiciary’s role in Viksit Bharat on Sunday.. Speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association’s (SCBA) conference in Bengaluru on the judiciary’s role in Viksit Bharat, Justice Bhuyan said, “While the government’s vision of Viksit Bharat, or, a developed India by 2047 is laudable and achievable, economic growth cannot come at the cost of civil liberties and dignity.”. “In Viksit Bharat, there should be more space for dissent and debate. Dissent cannot be criminalised,” he said, warning against the growing tendency to invoke criminal law in response to protests, student movements, and even social media expression.. He said the past few years have seen a pattern of “reckless registration” of criminal cases by the State, often in trivial matters. FIRs routinely filed for public demonstrations or online content, pushing individuals into prolonged investigations and incarceration, he said.. “The judiciary is not directing the State to register these cases. For trivial matters such as public demonstrations and agitations, even by students, sometimes even for memes and social media posts, FIRs are registered, investigation goes on, the matters come up to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court has to constitute special investigation teams,” justice Bhuyan said.. He, however, acknowledged that courts have not always acted as an effective check and said, “Many within the judiciary also suffer from the more loyal than the king syndrome. As a result, people continue to languish in jails for months and months together without bail and without facing trial.”. Justice Bhuyan also invoked the long-standing principle articulated by justice VR Krishna Iyer that “bail is the norm and jail the exception.” He said this doctrine has steadily eroded in practice and several cases under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were prime examples.. Citing data placed by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) before Parliament, justice Bhuyan noted that arrest rates under UAPA remain high while conviction rates are abysmally low, hovering between “1 to 6%” between 2019 and 2023. “This indicates overuse of the law,” he said, adding that when the likelihood of acquittal is overwhelmingly high, continued incarceration for five to six years raises serious constitutional concerns.. On atrocities against Dalits and caste-based discrimination, justice Bhuyan said a developed India cannot tolerate entrenched social hierarchies. “In Viksit Bharat, we cannot have parents saying their children will not eat food prepared by Dalits. We cannot have Dalit men being made to stand in corridors and have other men urinate on them. Respect for the individual 

 The India Meteorological Department on Sunday predicted isolated to scattered rainfall activity across several regions of India over the coming days. Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and gusty winds is expected across Northwest, Northeast, East and Central India, with isolated heavy rain in the Northeast and hailstorms in the eastern hills.. Light to moderate rain with thunderstorms and gusty winds is expected across Northwest, Northeast, East and Central India (HT Photo). In a weather bulletin, IMD said that light rainfall with occasional thunderstorms and winds reaching up to 30–50 kmph is likely over Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and parts of Rajasthan from March 23 to 26.. In East and Central India, light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms and gusty winds is forecasted over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, and Vidarbha.. Cloudy sky expected in Delhi. In Delhi, the maximum temperature on Sunday was recorded at 29.5 degrees Celsius, two notches below the seasonal average. The minimum temperature settled at 15.6 degrees Celsius, 1.1 degrees below the seasonal average, it stated.. Also read: Delhi logs coldest March day in six years, skies to remain cloudy in coming days | India News. The weather department has predicted a generally cloudy sky on Monday with maximum and minimum temperatures expected to hover around 30 degrees Celsius and 16 degrees Celsius, respectively. No weather alert has been issued by the met department yet.. The air quality was recorded in the ‘moderate’ category at 4 pm on Sunday, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) reading of 153, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data showed.. Lanslide in Himachal, yellow alert issued. Intermittent rain in Himachal Pradesh led to a massive landslide on Sunday, following which directions were issued to evacuate nine houses in Ropdu village, news agency PTI reported.. The regional met department has issued a yellow alert of thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds with speeds of 30-40 kmph at isolated places in Chamba, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi districts on Monday and Thursday.. It has also predicted a wet spell in the state over the next five days.. A landslide occurred in Kotli subdivision following intermittent rains over the past three days. A cow shed was completely damaged, while large boulders and debris remain precariously perched on the hillside.. Also read: Rain, snowfall likely in Himachal on Monday, yellow alert in 4 districts: IMD. Light to moderate rain in Maharashtra. IMD on Sunday predicted light to moderate rain or thundershowers at isolated places in the districts of South Madhya Maharashtra and Marathwada. It also said that light rain or thundershowers are likely at isolated places in the districts of North Madhya Maharashtra.. The regional met department issued a yellow alert in Latur, Satara, Sangli, Solapur, and Osmanabad for thunderstorms and lightning on March 23.. Also read: An AQI of 93, maximum