The twin-seat Jaguar fighter, belonging to the IAF’s operational squadron based in Jamnagar, was on a routine training mission when the accident occurred. Preliminary reports suggest that the aircraft experienced a technical malfunction, leading to the crash.

The senior pilot, an experienced instructor, managed to eject from the aircraft and survived with minor injuries. He has been rushed to a nearby military hospital for medical evaluation.

Tragically, the trainee pilot could not eject in time and succumbed to the crash. Local villagers near the crash site discovered the body and alerted authorities.

A team from the Indian Air Force, along with local police and disaster response personnel, reached the crash site quickly. The area has been cordoned off for investigation.

The IAF has initiated a detailed investigation to determine the exact cause of the crash. Technical failure, human error, or other factors will be examined.

Efforts are on to retrieve the aircraft’s flight data recorder (black box), which will provide crucial insights into the incident. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the young pilot. The IAF stated, “We stand with the family of the braveheart who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.”

Defense officials and political leaders expressed grief over the loss of the young pilot. The IAF has initiated an investigation to determine whether the crash was caused by technical failure, human error, or other factors.

This marks another unfortunate incident involving the IAF’s aging Jaguar fleet, which has seen multiple crashes over the years. The aircraft, originally of British-French origin, has been in service since the 1980s and has undergone several upgrades.

The identity of the deceased pilot has not yet been released, pending notification of the family. The IAF is expected to conduct a full review of safety protocols for training missions.

The Jaguar is a British-French origin deep-penetration strike aircraft, extensively used by the IAF since the 1980s. While the fleet has been upgraded over the years, aging airframes and technical issues have led to previous crashes. This incident raises fresh concerns about the operational lifespan of these jets.

This marks the first major IAF crash in 2025, following a year that saw improved flight safety records. Updates are expected as the investigation progresses.

The fire broke out due to an explosion in an AC compressor installed in the hostel.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and brought the blaze under control. All students were safely evacuated, though some suffered minor smoke inhalation.

Two trapped students, unable to exit through smoke-filled corridors, climbed down from their second-floor balcony. One girl lost her grip and fell, sustaining injuries. She was promptly taken to a nearby hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.

Pradeep Kumar, Noida Chief Fire Officer (CFO), confirmed the incident and stated that an investigation is underway to determine if safety lapses contributed to the accident.

Authorities are reviewing fire safety compliance in hostels and PG accommodations across Greater Noida. Parents and students have raised concerns over inadequate emergency exits and fire prevention measures in the hostel. The hostel management has assured cooperation with the probe and promised stricter safety protocols. This incident highlights the urgent need for regular electrical audits and fire drills in student accommodations to prevent such tragedies.

Former chief minister and BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai said that the honeytrap case has severely damaged Karnataka’s reputation across the country, lamenting that the state now has a “criminal cabinet” that has lost all moral standing. He called for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take moral responsibility and resign, arguing that the scandal unfolded right under his watch.

Speaking to the media in New Delhi on Friday, Bommai accused the Congress government of leading the state into a moral and ethical decline due to its unchecked greed for power. He claimed that in just two years of Congress rule, nearly ten scandals had emerged.“Wherever we look, there are scams. This is evident even in the legislative assembly. Until now, the state was battling a financial crisis, and now a ‘honey crisis’ has begun. This government is bankrupt both financially and morally. A cabinet minister himself has stated in the assembly that there was an attempt to honeytrap him. Even after 15 days of discussions in the assembly, the Chief Minister has remained silent. Now, the matter has exploded. When such incidents occur within the cabinet itself, what should we call this cabinet? This government has lost all moral standing and is nothing less than a criminal cabinet,” he said.

Bommai further insisted that, given these unethical activities are happening within his government, Siddaramaiah must take responsibility and step down. He warned that if he did not, the people of Karnataka would come to regret electing such an administration.When asked about Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna’s claim that there were as many as 48 CDs linked to the honeytrap case, Bommai said the minister may possess further knowledge about the matter and should submit all relevant details for investigation. He stressed that, regardless of political affiliation, anyone involved in such immoral acts should face strict legal consequences. He also demanded that the investigation be conducted under the supervision of either a sitting or retired High Court judge. Given the nationwide attention the case has garnered, he noted that central leadership had also taken note of the developments, and the case’s trajectory would depend on the investigation’s findings.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah firmly stated that there is no question of shielding anyone involved in the honeytrap case.Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka, along with Araga Jnanendra, MLA Sunil Kumar, and Minister KN Rajanna, raised the issue in the assembly, demanding accountability. They called for the dismissal of those responsible and pressed the Chief Minister to provide a response in the assembly to uphold its dignity. They also insisted on a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Addressing the concerns, Siddaramaiah reiterated that Home Minister G Parameshwara had already responded to the allegations made by Minister KN Rajanna, who belongs to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe leadership.The Chief Minister asserted that the government would ensure justice, and those found guilty would face legal consequences. If Rajanna were to file a formal complaint, the matter would be investigated at a high level, as assured by the Home Minister. He dismissed the need to revisit the issue without new evidence, emphasising that no one responsible for the honeytrap case would be protected.

Siddaramaiah also stated that mere allegations were not sufficient to warrant immediate action. Since Rajanna had not named any individuals directly, he argued that action could not be taken based solely on speculation. Reaffirming his stance, he concluded, “There is no question of protecting anyone involved in the case.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin is hosting today the first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting for the states to be affected by the delimitation exercise. The JAC meeting, which is being held at ITC Chola in Chennai, was called for after the all-party meeting on the same issue in Chennai on March 5.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Stalin wrote in a post on X welcoming all the participating leaders: “Today will be etched in history as the day when states that have contributed to our nation’s development came together to safeguard its federal structure by ensuring #FairDelimitation.”

The name cards of the political dignitaries were displayed in both English and their respective regional languages.

For example, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s name was written in English and Tamil, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s name appeared in English and Telugu, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s name was in English and Malayalam and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s name appeared in English and Punjabi.

Although Chief Minister Stalin addressed the gathering in Tamil, Kanimozhi and Udhayanidhi spoke in English. Kerala and Telangana Chief Ministers spoke in English.

STALIN: THREAT TO INDIA’S FEDERALISM

“We are not against delimitation, we are demanding a fair delimitation,” the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said.

Saying that the BJP historically sought to diminish the power of the state, Stalin called Amit Shah’s remarks in Coimbatore about delimitation on a “pro-rata basis” confusing. He pointed out that while the Union Home Minister assured that no state’s representation would be reduced, Shah did not provide any clarity.

He also moved a resolution to call the meeting ‘Fair Delimitation Joint Action Group.’

DELIMITATION LOOMS LIKE ‘SWORD OF DAMOCLES’

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised the Union government’s push for the delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies, calling it a move driven by “narrow political ends” rather than constitutional principles.

He warned that the exercise, if based purely on population, would significantly reduce parliamentary representation for Southern states, penalising them for successfully implementing population control policies.

Saying that the delimitation exercise was “hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles,” he said the exercise would disproportionately benefit northern states, where the BJP has greater influence. He said that Southern states, despite implementing national population policies effectively, would be unfairly punished.

“Now you have a smaller population, so now you deserve lesser funds and lesser representation. This is deplorable,” Vijayan said sarcastically.

You can hear Pinarayi Vijayan’s full speech here:

‘POPULATION SHOULD NOT BE THE ONLY CRITERION’

Former Odisha Chief Minister and Biju Janta Dal chief Naveen Patnaik, who attended the meeting virtually, emphasized the “injustice of linking parliamentary representation solely to population figures.”

He argued that states like Odisha, which have successfully controlled population growth in line with “national priorities”, should not be penalised.

According to Patnaik, if these states had not acted. “India would have faced a population explosion, derailing our developmental progress.”

He said that Odisha had “successfully reduced its fertility rate” over the years and if the “2026 projected population” is used for delimitation, Odisha will “lose seats” in both the Lok Sabha and state assembly.

‘SOUTHERN STATES ARE BEING PENALISED’

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, who spoke in English, said the southern states that have successfully implemented population control measures were at a disadvantage in the delimitation process.

BJP STAGES BLACK-FLAG PROTESTS

Meanwhile Tamil Nadu BJP held a black-flag protests across the state against the meeting. Addressing the media before the protest, state BJP chief Annamalai accused Chief Minister Stalin of doing political drama instead of discussing the state’s rights with other states, especially the issue of garbage dumping from Kerala and Mekedatu and Cauvery river water issue with Karnataka.

HOW THE JAC MEETING CAME ABOUT

The proposal for JAC came after the all-party meeting that was convened in Chennai’s Namakkal Kavignar Hall, where leaders from 123 political parties maintained Tamil Nadu’s opposition to delimitation, based solely on population figures from future censuses. However, the state BJP boycotted the meeting.

Stalin wrote to various chief ministers, including all south Indian states, along with his counterparts from West Bengal, Odisha and Punjab. Leaders from other parties from the invited states were also requested to attend the JAC meeting.

BJP leader Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda’s cryptic post along with a selfie with Shashi Tharoor has sparked a buzz in political circles, adding to the tensions between the Congress MP and the grand old party. Panda, who is the BJP vice president, said they were “finally travelling in the same direction”, drawing a swift clarification from Tharoor, well aware of the recent string of controversies.

“Fellow traveller only to Bhubaneswar! I am addressing the Kalinga LitFest tomorrow morning. And coming right back,” Tharoor tweeted.

The development comes at a time when Tharoor’s recent praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diplomatic strategies and selfies with BJP leaders have put the Congress in a tight spot.

Last month, Tharoor posted a selfie with Union Minister Piyush Goyal and praised the government for reviving the long-stalled free trade agreement (FTA) with the UK.

The former UN diplomat-turned-politician also lauded the outcome of PM Modi’s meeting with US President Donald Trump, underlining that several major concerns had been addressed.

“I am still wiping the egg off my face because… I criticised the Indian position in February 2022… the policy has meant that India actually has a prime minister who can hug both the president of Ukraine and the president in Moscow two weeks apart and be accepted in both places,” Tharoor said while speaking at the Raisina Dialogue.

The BJP pounced on Tharoor’s remarks to take a dig at the Congress, saying it would leave Rahul Gandhi “red-faced”.

The string of developments comes amid rumours that Tharoor was unhappy on being sidelined in the Congress. Last month, Rahul Gandhi held a closed-door meeting with the four-term Thiruvananthapuram MP in Delhi.

Even though Tharoor has denied speculation of him jumping ship, the leader has asserted that he had “other options”.

The bill proposes a 100% salary increase for the chief minister, raising it from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.50 lac, while ministers will see a 108% hike, from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.25 lac. Legislators’ salaries will double from Rs 40,000 to Rs 80,000. Additionally, the rental allowance for ministers has been revised from Rs 1.20 lac to Rs 2.50 lac.

The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of the Legislative Council will now receive a monthly salary of Rs 1.25 lac, up from Rs 75,000, while their allowances have been increased from Rs 4 lac to Rs 5 lac. Former legislators will also benefit, with their pensions rising from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000. The annual travel allowance for flights and railways has been increased to Rs 3.50 lac from Rs 2.50 lac.

The bill received Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot’s approval on Thursday and was tabled without delay. The government is expected to bear an additional financial burden of Rs 62 crore due to these revisions. This development comes after the previous salary revision in 2022 when the BJP-led government set a policy to review legislators’ salaries every five years. The demand for a pay hike had been raised in the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) before the bill’s introduction.

With 31 MLAs in Karnataka possessing assets worth more than Rs 100 crore, the state tops the list of richest legislators in India. This was revealed in a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR). Although Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, with wealth surpassing Rs 1,413 crore, is the richest in Karnataka, he is only the second richest in the country.

Karnataka also tops the list in terms of total declared assets among MLAs, amounting to Rs 14,179 crore.

Among India’s top 10 richest MLAs, four are from Karnataka; three appear on the list of MLAs with the highest liabilities.

The report also revealed that, of the 119 billionaire MLAs in India, 76—63 per cent—belong to just three states: Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Most of Karnataka’s wealthiest MLAs are from the Congress party. Shivakumar lost the title of India’s richest MLA to Parag Shah, a BJP legislator from Ghatkopar East in Mumbai.

Congress MLA Priya Krishna, representing Bengaluru’s Govindarajanagar constituency, declared assets worth Rs 1,156 crore, making him Karnataka’s third-richest MLA. However, he tops the national list of MLAs with the highest liabilities.

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh both have four legislators each in the top 10 richest MLAs in the country, including current and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Ministers N Chandrababu Naidu and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The wealth of the MLAs take centre stage as Karnataka government plans to table a bill which will double the salaries of the legislators along with providing them hefty allowances

A federal judge ordered President Donald Trump’s administration not to deport Badar Khan Suri, an Indian man studying at Washington’s Georgetown University whose lawyer has said the United States was seeking to remove him after it accused him of harming US foreign policy.

The order is to remain in effect until lifted by the court, according to the three-paragraph order by US District Judge Patricia Giles in Alexandria, Virginia.

Suri is living in the US on a student visa and is married to an American citizen and has been detained in Alexandria, Louisiana, according to his lawyer. He is awaiting a court date in immigration court, his lawyer said.

Federal agents arrested him outside his home in Rosslyn, Virginia, on Monday night. The lawyer welcomed Thursday’s ruling and called it “the first bit of due process Dr. Khan Suri has received since he was snatched from his family Monday night.”

The American Civil Liberties Union also defended Suri and said he was “transferred to multiple immigration detention centers” before being taken to Alexandria, Louisiana.

The case comes as Trump seeks to deport foreigners who took part in pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack. Trump’s measures have sparked outcry from civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups who accuse his administration of unfairly targeting political critics by invoking rarely used laws.

Suri is a postdoctoral fellow at Georgetown’s Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, which is part of the university’s School of Foreign Service.

Suri’s wife, Mapheze Saleh, is a US citizen, said his lawyer. Saleh is from Gaza, according to the Georgetown University website, which said she has written for Al Jazeera and Palestinian media outlets and worked with the foreign ministry in Gaza. Saleh has not been arrested, the lawyer added.

The lawyer had said on Wednesday Suri was being targeted for his wife’s Palestinian heritage and for his own pro-Palestinian views.

Some media outlets, including the Washington Post, reported that Ahmed Yousef, the father of Suri’s wife, was a former political adviser to Hamas. Yousef had also written for some Western publications like The Guardian.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration arrested and sought to deport Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil over his participation in pro-Palestinian protests. Khalil was moved to Louisiana and is challenging his detention in court.

A Delhi High Court judge was transferred following the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium after a large amount of cash was recovered from his bungalow after a fire incident. Justice Yashwant Verma has been sent back to his parent court, the Allahabad High Court.

Sources said a fire broke out at Justice Varma’s official residence while he was not in the city. His family members alerted the fire brigade and the police. After extinguishing the fire, the fire brigade personnel discovered a huge amount of cash in different rooms of the bungalow. The incident report mentioned the discovery of unaccounted cash in the bungalow.

SUPREME COURT’S SWIFT ACTION

After receiving the information, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna convened a meeting of the Collegium. It was unanimously decided to transfer Justice Verma back to Allahabad High Court, where he previously served till October 2021.

Sources said discussions were also underway on starting an investigation and initiating impeachment proceedings against Justice Verma.Some judges of the Collegium have voiced concern that merely transferring Justice Verma would tarnish the judiciary’s image and erode public confidence in the legal system. They have sought Justice Verma’s resignation voluntarily. If he refuses, the process of impeachment could be initiated in Parliament.

WHAT RULES SAY

As per the Constitution, an in-house procedure was formulated by the Supreme Court in 1999 to probe allegations of corruption, misconduct, or irregularities against any High Court or Supreme Court judge. As per the guidelines, the Chief Justice first seeks an explanation from the accused judge. If the response is unsatisfactory or a thorough probe is required, the CJI is required to form an in-house panel comprising one Supreme Court judge and two High Court Chief Justices. Based on the result of the investigation, the concerned judge may be asked to resign or face impeachment.

The accused, identified as Deep Raj Chandra, was employed in the Product Development and Innovation Centre Division at BEL and resided in the Mathikere locality of Bengaluru. Originally from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, Chandra’s role within BEL granted him access to critical defense-related information

Authorities are yet to disclose further details, and an official statement from central agencies is awaited. BEL, a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Defence, plays a crucial role in manufacturing advanced electronic systems for India’s defense forces.

Similar espionage cases in recent weeks

This arrest follows a series of espionage-related incidents in India. On Wednesday, the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested a junior works manager at the Kanpur Ordnance Factory for allegedly sharing classified information with a suspected Pakistani intelligence operative. The suspect, Ravindra Kumar, was taken into custody at the ATS headquarters in Lucknow on March 14.

Last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested two individuals in Karnataka’s Karwar for allegedly leaking sensitive details about the Karwar Naval Base to Pakistan. The suspects, Vetana Tandel and Akshay Naik, were tracked down after months of surveillance. Investigators believe they were targeted through honey trapping, with a Pakistani intelligence operative allegedly luring them via social media.

According to sources, the accused shared photographs and naval movement details in exchange for money. Their involvement came to light following the arrest of another suspect, Deepak, in Hyderabad last year. Investigators uncovered evidence of financial transactions linked to the espionage activities.

The Karwar Naval Base, home to aircraft carriers INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, is a strategically significant installation for the Indian Navy. It is undergoing expansion to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere.

Security agencies are intensifying their crackdown on individuals suspected of aiding foreign intelligence networks, emphasizing the growing threat of espionage targeting India’s defense sector.