Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday expressed deep sadness over the death of Indian Air Force (IAF) officers Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar in the crash of a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft.

Taking to his social media platform Facebook, LoP Rahul Gandhi said, “The news of the martyrdom of Indian Air Force soldiers Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar in a plane crash is deeply saddening and painful.”

He also paid tribute to the deceased officers and extended condolences to their families.

“I pay my heartfelt tribute to these brave sons of India and express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The entire nation stands with them in this hour of grief,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the IAF confirmed the loss of Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the crash of a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft. The IAF also expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased officers.

Taking to its social media platform X, the IAF said, “IAF acknowledges the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the Su-30 crash. All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences, and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.”

The Su-30MKI fighter jet, which was on a routine training mission, crashed in the Karbi Anglong area of Assam, approximately 60 km from Jorhat. Search operations are currently underway in the region.

On Thursday, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft had lost radar contact during a sortie over Assam’s Karbi Anglong district, defence officials said.

According to the Defence Public Relations Officer (PRO), the fighter aircraft went missing from radar contact during what was described as a routine mission, prompting an immediate response from the Air Force and other security agencies.

“An IAF Sukhoi-30 aircraft has lost radar contact. Air Force teams have been launched to ascertain the facts and verify the situation,” the PRO said.

Search and rescue teams from the IAF, along with personnel from the local administration and other security agencies, had been mobilised to locate the aircraft and verify the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

Officials had said more details regarding the aircraft’s last known position and the number of personnel on board were being ascertained.

The Sukhoi-30MKI is among the IAF’s frontline multi-role fighter aircraft and forms a crucial component of India’s overall air defence capability.

Incidents involving Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft have occurred in the past as well.

In August 2019, an IAF Sukhoi-30MKI crashed in a paddy field near Tezpur in Assam during a routine training mission. Both pilots managed to eject safely and were later rescued.

Earlier in May 2015, another Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft crashed around 36 km south of Tezpur Air Force base shortly after take-off, with both pilots ejecting safely before the crash occurred.

Kavinder Gupta has been appointed the new Governor of Himachal Pradesh, following a gubernatorial reshuffle announced by the President of India.
The appointment was made by President Droupadi Murmu and notified through an official communiqué issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Gupta will succeed Shiv Pratap Shukla, who had been serving as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh after taking oath on February 18, 2023.
The change will take effect from the date Gupta assumes charge of office.
Before this appointment, Gupta was serving as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh from 2025 untill his resignation on Thursday.

His transfer to Himachal Pradesh comes less than a year after he took over the constitutional post in the union Territory.
A senior political leader associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Gupta has had a long career in public life, particularly in the former state of Jammu and Kashmir.
He served as Deputy Chief Minister of the state in 2018 during the coalition government led by Mehbooba Mufti.

Earlier, Gupta had also served as the Speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly from 2015 to 2018. Over the years, he has held several organisational and legislative positions and has been associated with the party’s political activities for decades.
His appointment to the constitutional post in Himachal Pradesh is being seen as part of the Centre’s broader administrative reshuffle of governors in several states and union Territories.

Himachal Pradesh, which attained full statehood in 1971, has had a succession of Governors appointed by the Centre over the decades. With the appointment of Kavinder Gupta, he will become the 23rd Governor of the state.

Following directions from the Supreme Court of India, around 200 judges from neighbouring states will arrive this week in West Bengal to assist in resolving discrepancies in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls.
Sources in the Election Commission of India said that 100 judges each from Odisha and Jharkhand are expected to reach West Bengal on March 7.

These judicial officers will examine and adjudicate cases related to factual inconsistencies in the voter lists prepared under the SIR exercise.
After arriving in the state, the judges will undergo a two-day training programme before starting their assignments from March 9.

Once they begin work, a total of 732 judges will be engaged in handling cases linked to electoral roll discrepancies across West Bengal.
According to Commission sources, accommodation arrangements have been made for the visiting judges in areas close to major transit points including the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Sealdah Railway Station and Howrah Railway Station in Kolkata.
In addition, some judges will be stationed in key districts such as Bardhaman, Asansol, Kharagpur and Siliguri to facilitate the disposal of cases across different regions of the state.

The decision to involve judicial officers in the process came after the Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction over the conflict between the state administration and the Election Commission on the resolution of discrepancies in the voter lists.
The apex court subsequently directed that the matter be handled through judicial intervention.

As per the court’s directive, the task of adjudicating discrepancies will be undertaken by judges and judicial officers appointed by the Calcutta High Court.
The court also allowed the appointment of retired judges for the purpose.
Acting on this, Chief Justice Sujoy Paul held several rounds of meetings with officials from the state administration and the Election Commission before appointing judicial officers to handle the work.
The Supreme Court also indicated that additional judges could be brought in from other states if required.

Following this, requests were made to Odisha and Jharkhand for judicial officers. Sources said that more judges may be sought from these states if the workload increases.
The first phase of the revised electoral roll under the SIR exercise was published on February 28.

However, the list remains incomplete, with around 60 lakh voter entries still marked as “under adjudication”.
With the West Bengal Assembly elections approaching, uncertainty remains over whether these cases will be resolved in time and whether those voters will be able to exercise their franchise if the issue remains pending.

Meanwhile, Central armed forces have already started arriving in the state and are conducting route marches in several districts as part of the election preparedness.
Adding to the political momentum, the full bench of the Election Commission is scheduled to arrive in West Bengal on March 8 to review the progress of poll preparations and the status of the ongoing voter roll revision exercise.

The two main accused in the murder of a promoter in West Bengal’s Howrah district were arrested from Delhi on Thursday by a state police team, an official said.

Harun Khan and Rohit Hossain were arrested in the national capital’s Jama Masjid area and are being brought back to Kolkata on transit remand, Howrah city police’s ACP, North-I Division, Shaik Habeebulla, said.

The arrested will be handed over to the West Bengal CID, which is conducting the investigation in the case.

Howrah Police said that after the murder of promoter Shafiq Khan in Peelkhana under Golabari police station area in Howrah on February 25, the two had fled from Kolkata to Bihar and then to Delhi.

The Howrah city police were searching for the two after collecting information from various sources. Advanced technology was also being used to track them. The two were finally arrested from Delhi after watching the CCTV footage installed at the station and receiving information through sources.

On February 28, the police had recovered the firearms used to kill the 27-year-old promoter.

According to the police, officers of Golabari police station recovered two firearms and two rounds of bullets from the water tank of the house of arrested Mohammad Wakil alias Munna in Boubazar in central Kolkata.

According to police, after shooting Shafiq Khan dead, Khan and Hossain took shelter in the house of their accomplice Wakil in Boubazar. The firearm was hidden in the water tank of that house.

Joint efforts of Howrah City Police and Golabari police station had led to the arrests of Wakil, as well as Mohammad Bilal, and Dildar Hossain for indirectly being involved in the murder case.

However, the main accused remained missing. Meanwhile, the state government ordered a CID investigation into the incident.

A manual scavenger died on Thursday while cleaning a manhole in Ward No. 12 of Serampore Municipality in West Bengal’s Hooghly district. Two other workers also fell sick while working inside the same manhole.

After receiving information that three workers had fallen sick while working in the manhole, firefighters and local residents rushed to the spot, rescued them and took them to Serampore Walsh Hospital.

One of them was declared dead by doctors at the hospital. The deceased has been identified as Sheikh Mustafa, aged 34. The other two workers are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Local residents said that work under the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) water project was underway in the underground sewer at Ram-Sita Lane in Serampore.

Several workers employed by a contractor were engaged in cleaning the manhole there as part of the project work.

According to the police, one worker first fell ill while working inside the manhole on Thursday. Two other workers also fell ill while trying to rescue him.

“All three workers were rescued and taken to Serampore Walsh Hospital. However, one of them was declared brought dead. The other two are undergoing treatment there,” said a senior officer of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate.

Serampore Municipality Chairman Giridhari Saha said that work related to a KMDA project was being carried out in the municipal area.

“Three contract workers fell ill during the work. The death of one person is extremely tragic. The deceased’s house is in the Maheshtala police station area in South 24 Parganas district,” Saha said.

According to him, following Thursday’s incident, special precautions will be taken to prevent such accidents in the future.

He said steps will be taken to ensure that workers do not get trapped inside manholes and that they can be quickly rescued if they fall sick during the work.

“It is our responsibility to ensure proper safety for these workers during work that requires them to go down into manholes. Therefore, a decision has been taken to use strong ropes and other safety equipment so that they can come out quickly if they feel unwell,” a Serampore Municipality official said.

The mega rally of the West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at Brigade Parade Ground in central Kolkata, which is scheduled to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this month as part of the party’s campaign build-up for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year, might be advanced by a day.

“Initially, it was decided that the event would be organised on March 15. However, at that particular point in time, we made it clear that the schedule would remain subject to possible last-minute changes from the Prime Minister’s Office. As per the latest and once again tentative schedule, the rally might now be advanced by a day, that is on March 14,” said a state committee member of the BJP in West Bengal.

According to him, the Prime Minister is expected to arrive in Kolkata on the night of March 13 and, after addressing the rally on the afternoon of March 14, he is likely to return to New Delhi later the same day.

The said rally, which will be addressed by the Prime Minister, will also bring an end to the ongoing Parivartan Yatra organised by the West Bengal unit of the BJP, which had started from March 2.

Several senior BJP leaders and prominent members of the Union Cabinet, including Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, and the BJP’s national president Nitin Nabin, have already participated in different phases of the Parivartan Yatra.

He also said that the state leadership is simultaneously working to complete the final list of recommendations of party candidates for the 294 Assembly constituencies in the state and forward the same to the central leadership so that the latter can take a final decision in the matter.

“This time, the state unit of the party will send two separate lists for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies in West Bengal to the party’s central leadership. One list will contain three names of preferred candidates, while the other list will include three names that are not preferred at all as candidates,” the state committee member said.

At the same time, he added that the state leadership this time is attempting to focus on recommending names of party candidates in a more organised and structured manner by giving greater emphasis to leaders emerging from grassroots levels rather than celebrities, especially those coming from the silver-screen world.

In an unprecedented development ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Thursday resigned from his post.

Ananda Bose is currently in New Delhi, and he tendered his resignation to the office of President Droupadi Murmu there.

Although no official confirmation in the matter had come from the office of the Governor in the matter at the time the report was filed, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee issued a statement confirming the Governor’s resignation.

In her statement, the Chief Minister had claimed that the news of the resignation of Bose had been confirmed to her by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had also told her that the current Tamil Nadu Governor, R.N Ravi, will be West Bengal’s new Governor.

However, it is not clear whether Ravi would join as the acting or the full-time Governor.

“I am shocked and deeply concerned by the sudden news of the resignation of Shri C. V. Ananda Bose, the Governor of West Bengal. The reasons behind his resignation are not known to me at this moment. However, given the prevailing circumstances, I would not be surprised if the Governor has been subjected to some pressure from the Union Home Minister to serve certain political interests on the eve of the forthcoming State Assembly elections,” Cm Banerjee said in a statement shared on her X handle.

In her statement, the Chief Minister also claimed that the Union Home Minister never discussed the replacement of Ananda Bose with Ravi with her.

“Union Home Minister just informed me that Shri R.N. Ravi is being appointed as Governor of West Bengal. He never consulted with me as per the established convention in this regard,” the Chief Minister said, stressing that such actions undermined the spirit of the Constitution of India and struck at the very foundation of the country’s federal structure.

“The Centre must respect the principles of cooperative federalism and refrain from taking unilateral decisions that erode democratic conventions and the dignity of states,” Banerjee added.

Bose took charge as the Governor of West Bengal on November 17, 2022. His term was till November 2027. But he left office 20 months before the end of his tenure.

As Governor, Bose was vocal on several issues of the state from the very beginning. He has publicly criticised many policies of the West Bengal government.

A Booth Level Officer (BLO) and an elderly person died in West Bengal on Thursday. Family members of the deceased alleged that they died due to workload and panic arising out of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and the voters’ list in the state.

According to the police, the name of the BLO who died in West Midnapore district is Subimal Karak. He was 58-years-old and lived in Hatimari area of ​​​​Shalboni police station.

He was working as a teacher at Sabli Primary School and also as the BLO of Hatimari booth.

The family stated that Subimal was reluctant to take up the SIR work-related responsibility from the beginning due to his age and ill-health. Still, he was given the responsibility of BLO. The family claimed that he was under mental stress for a long time due to it.

Subimal suddenly fell ill on Thursday morning and the family members quickly rushed him to a local doctor. However, he was declared dead.

Local Trinamool Congress MLA, Sujoy Hazra, went to the deceased man’s house on Thursday afternoon after receiving news of the incident. He said, “This is not the Election Commission, but the Torture Commission. People will never forget this torture. The Election Commission is responsible for this.”

The deceased man’s daughter Suchandrima Karak told reporters, “Father was under a lot of pressure. He used to work all day, he had to work even late at night. Father already had heart problems. That’s why he didn’t want to take the responsibility. Now everything is over for us.”

After this, questions were raised about the workload of the BLOs. However, BJP spokesperson for Midnapore organisational district Arup Das said, “Any death is unfortunate. But now Trinamool is putting the blame on the Election Commission whenever someone dies. This dirty politics should stop.”

Meanwhile, the name of the deceased in Ranaghat of Nadia district is Jaydev Dutta. He was 62-years-old. The family claimed that his name was not in the final voters’ list published on February 28 post the SIR exercise.

They said that Jaydev was worried about that and he died of a heart attack on Thursday morning.

According to family members, Jaydev did not have his father’s complete documents. He gave some of his own documents in the SIR hearing. But after the final list was published, he was mentally distressed after seeing his name under the deleted category.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that the Commission’s full bench, which will visit West Bengal for a two-day tour next week, will have a packed schedule.

According to the schedule, the full bench headed by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar will arrive in Kolkata on the night of March 8. Over the next two days — March 9 and March 10 — the Commission will review both the ongoing process of judicial adjudication of voters’ documents classified under the “logical discrepancy” category and the preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal later this year.

An insider from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that on March 9 the Commission’s full bench will hold meetings with representatives of different registered political parties from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, with each party being allotted 10 minutes.

“At around 12.30 p.m., the CEO Manoj Kumar Agarwal will give a presentation to the Commission’s full bench on the situation relating to judicial adjudication and poll preparedness. The presentation will last for around 30 minutes,” the CEO’s office insider said.

Thereafter, between 1.15 p.m. and 1.30 p.m. on March 9, the Commission’s full bench will hold a meeting with representatives of different security and investigating agencies, both from the state and the Centre.

“Approximately 24 agencies will be represented at the meeting, along with district magistrates and district police superintendents,” the CEO’s office insider said, adding that the day’s schedule will conclude with that meeting.

On March 10, the Commission’s full bench will hold meetings with top bureaucrats and senior police officers of the state government, including Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and the state’s acting Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey.

“That meeting will start at 10 a.m. and is expected to continue for around 10 hours. After that, the Commission’s full bench will meet electoral registration officers, assistant electoral registration officers and booth-level officers,” the CEO’s office insider said.

The Commission’s full bench will return to Delhi later on March 10.

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday cornered the Central government after the US permitted Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, which he believed is “American blackmail” on India.

In a post on X, Jairam Ramesh penned a short prose while attaching the post of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing the 30-day waiver amid a crisis in the Gulf hampering shipping routes that pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Trump’s new game Told the Delhi friend You can get oil from Putin, How long will this continue? This American blackmail,” he wrote.

This comes after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.”

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea. India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he added.

The waiver comes at a time when India continues to face potential risks linked to energy supply disruptions in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures.
India sources nearly 40 per cent of its oil imports from the region, with a significant portion transported through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has rejected reports claiming it could join efforts against Iran, saying the allegations are “completely unfounded” as fighting between Iran, Israel and the United States intensifies in the region.

In a statement posted on X, Peshawa Hawramani, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government, said the administration had no role in any plan involving Kurdish opposition groups operating against Iran.

The remarks come as the conflict in the region enters Day 6, with the United States and Israel continuing air strikes on Iranian targets while Iran responds with attacks on American assets in the region.

“Reports that speak about a role of the Kurdistan Region and the allegations claiming that we are part of a plan to arm and send Kurdish opposition parties into Iranian territory are completely unfounded,” Hawramani said in the post.

He added that the claims were being circulated “deliberately and maliciously.”

The spokesperson stressed that the Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it were not involved in any campaign aimed at expanding the war.

“We categorically deny them and affirm that they are being published deliberately and maliciously. At the same time, the Kurdistan Regional Government and the political parties within it are not part of any campaign to expand the war and tensions in the region. On the contrary, we call for peace and stability in the region. We strongly condemn the cowardly attacks targeting the Kurdistan Region, and we call on the federal government and the international community to intervene to stop these assaults and protect our land, our people, and our region,” said Hawramani.

Also Read: Kurds loyal to US may be America’s boot on ground in Iran

Reports of Kurdish mobilisation surface amid war

The denial follows international media reports suggesting that Kurdish forces could become involved in the widening conflict.

A report in The Economist had suggested that Kurdish forces were building up strength near the border as Israeli and US forces continued attacks on Iranian targets.

Another report by CNN said the CIA was working to arm Kurdish forces in a move aimed at triggering a broader uprising inside Iran.

According to the report, Iranian Kurdish armed groups already maintain thousands of fighters along the Iraq-Iran border.

CNN also cited a senior Iranian Kurdish official as saying that US President Donald Trump had spoken with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI) president. The KDPI has previously been targeted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have signalled readiness for a prolonged confrontation.

Brigadier General Ali Mohammad Naeini, spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Iran was preparing for a long war and could soon deploy a new generation of strategic weapons.

According to Iranian statements, the attacks carried out under “Operation True Promise” have so far used only a portion of the country’s military capabilities.

“Iran’s new initiatives and weapons are on the way,” the IRGC spokesperson said, warning that adversaries should expect stronger strikes in future phases of the conflict.

Iraqi First Lady issues sharp message on Kurdish role

Amid the speculation, Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed, First Lady of the Republic of Iraq, issued a strongly worded statement urging all sides to keep the Kurds out of the widening conflict.

In the statement, she said, “Leave the Kurds alone. We are not guns for hire,” while warning against attempts to draw Kurdish groups into a larger regional war.

She also referred to the long and painful history of Kurdish communities being used during moments of crisis and then left exposed. “Too often, the Kurds are remembered only when their strength or sacrifice is needed,” she said.

In another pointed line, Ahmed said it was “very difficult, indeed impossible, for Kurds to accept being treated as pawns by the world’s superpowers.”

The strong winds that have been blowing for the past several days have had a positive impact on the air quality in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). In most areas of Delhi, Noida, and Ghaziabad, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has reached the moderate category i.e. the Yellow Zone. This has provided significant relief from pollution, and people in the NCR are breathing cleaner air. However, the mercury has continued to rise in the region, giving indications of a scorching summer ahead.

According to the latest data from monitoring stations, air quality in various parts of Delhi has been recorded at moderate levels. The AQI recorded was 155 in Alipur, 229 in Anand Vihar, 149 in Ashok Vihar, 135 in Aya Nagar, 160 in Bawana, 132 at Burari Crossing, 140 in the Cantonment area, 181 in Chandni Chowk, 140 at the Commonwealth Sports Complex, and 142 in the CRRI Mathura Road area. Most of these areas fall in the Yellow Zone, though pollution levels remain relatively higher in places such as Anand Vihar and Chandni Chowk.

Looking at the monitoring stations in Noida, the AQI was 158 in Sector-125, 141 in Sector-62, 160 in Sector-1, and 160 in Sector-116. All these figures also fall within the moderate category, indicating an improvement in air quality in Noida as well.

Air quality in different areas of Ghaziabad has also remained in the moderate category. The AQI recorded was 155 in Indirapuram, 213 in Loni, 173 in Sanjay Nagar, and 159 in Vasundhara. Among these, Loni recorded relatively higher pollution levels, while the other areas remained in the moderate range.

According to the Meteorological Department, strong winds have reduced the accumulation of pollutant particles, which has helped clear the air. However, temperatures are expected to rise in the coming days.

As per the weather forecast, on March 6 the maximum temperature is expected to be around 34 degree Celsius and the minimum around 16 degree Celsius. On March 7 and 8, the maximum temperature may remain close to 34 degree Celsius while the minimum could rise to around 17 degree Celsius.

The sky is expected to remain mostly clear during these days, and no weather warnings have been issued. Experts say that as temperatures rise, the weather will gradually move toward the summer season.

For now, the drop in pollution due to strong winds has brought relief to residents of Delhi-NCR, and people are experiencing relatively better air quality since around the time of Holi.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday carried out searches at several premises linked to industrialist Anil Ambani and Reliance Power Ltd in Mumbai, according to reports.

The action comes as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected financial transactions and fund transfers connected with the power company. News agency IANS mentioned agency sources as saying that the searches were conducted simultaneously at around 10 to 12 locations across the city.

Officials said nearly 15 specialised teams of the financial probe agency began the operation early in the day. The searches were focused on offices as well as residential premises connected with individuals linked to the company.

The ED has not issued an official statement on the development as yet.

Previous probe into Reliance group entities

The searches come amid a series of investigations involving companies linked to Anil Ambani.

Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached a luxury residential property named ‘Abode’ in Mumbai’s Pali Hill area, valued at Rs 3,716.83 crore, in connection with a bank fraud case involving Reliance Communications Ltd.

According to an official statement issued earlier by the agency, the property was attached under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. Part of the same property, worth Rs 473.17 crore, had already been attached in the case earlier.

Separately, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also conducted searches last month at the residence of Anil Ambani and at the offices of Reliance Communications (RCom) after registering another case against the company.

The case was filed following a complaint by Bank of Baroda, which alleged that the bank suffered losses exceeding Rs 2,220 crore in connection with loans extended to Reliance Communications.

According to the FIR, the loans were allegedly diverted and misused through fictitious transactions involving related entities. Investigators also alleged that the company’s accounts were manipulated to conceal irregularities.

Following the registration of the case, the CBI carried out searches at the residence of Anil Ambani and the registered offices of Reliance Communications and recovered documents related to the loan transactions, the agency said.

Israel had decided months in advance to eliminate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the plan first approved during a closed security meeting last November, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has said.

The disclosure offers the clearest indication yet that the killing was not a sudden battlefield decision but part of a longer strategic calculation by Israel’s leadership. According to officials, the operation’s timeline was later brought forward amid rising tensions and internal unrest in Iran.

Speaking to N12 News on Thursday, Katz said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set the objective during a restricted security consultation late last year.

“Already in November we were convened with the prime minister in a very tight forum and the prime minister set the goal of eliminating Khamenei,” Katz said.

The operation had originally been planned for around mid-2026. However, according to The Jerusalem Post, Israel later moved the timeline forward after sharing its strategy with the United States earlier this year.

Katz said Israeli officials feared that pressure on Iran’s clerical leadership could trigger attacks on Israeli or American targets across the Middle East.

Also Read: US-Israel attack plan on Iran DECODED: From DECAPITATION of Khamenei to wider destruction

Strike carried out during opening phase of operations

The strike that killed Khamenei was conducted in the early hours of Operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury, which began on Saturday.

The attack marked an unprecedented moment in modern conflict as it was the first time the top leader of a sovereign country was killed in an airstrike.

Israel has repeatedly argued that its military campaign is aimed at neutralising what it describes as an “existential threat” from Iran’s ballistic missile programme and nuclear ambitions. Israeli officials have also suggested that the military push may not stop at neutralising immediate threats. Some in the government believe sustained pressure could weaken the leadership in Tehran and potentially trigger wider political shifts inside the country.

Israel steps up airstrikes in Tehran

Following the initial strike, Israel expanded its operations with fresh air raids across Tehran. The military said the attacks were aimed at facilities linked to Iran’s security and defence network.

On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had carried out its 12th round of strikes in the Iranian capital, targeting installations connected to the country’s military and internal security apparatus.

Among the sites targeted was the headquarters of a special internal security unit in Alborz province.

In a statement posted on X, the Israeli Air Force said the facility oversees special units across the region and directs the regime’s armed internal security forces.

The strikes also hit facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Basij paramilitary force.

Israeli aircraft additionally struck a central command centre used by Iran’s internal armed security forces, along with multiple locations believed to store or manufacture weapons.

“The IDF continues to deepen the impact on all the mechanisms of the Iranian terror regime in Tehran,” the Israeli Air Force said.

Retaliation spreads across the region

The strikes come amid a rapidly widening conflict in the Middle East.

Following Khamenei’s death, Iran launched waves of drones and missiles targeting American bases and Israeli assets across several Arab countries.

The attacks marked one of the most direct retaliatory moves by Tehran in recent years and signalled the possibility of a wider regional escalation.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday said that two of its pilots died after a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter aircraft crashed during a training sortie in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district. The officers were identified as Squadron Leader Anuj and Flight Lieutenant Purvesh Duragkar.

The confirmation from the Air Force came a day after the aircraft lost contact with radar during a routine mission over the region. Rescue teams were sent to the area soon after the aircraft went missing.

In a message posted on X, the IAF acknowledged the deaths of the two officers and said the force stands with their families in this difficult time.

“IAF acknowledges the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar, who sustained fatal injuries in the Su-30 crash. All personnel of the IAF express sincere condolences, and stand firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted on X: “Deeply saddened by the loss of Sqn Ldr Anuj and Flt Lt Purvesh Duragkar in the tragic Su-30 crash. Their courage and service to the nation will always be remembered with pride and gratitude. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The nation stands firmly with them in this hour of grief.”

Aircraft lost radar contact during routine sortie

According to defence officials, the Sukhoi Su-30MKI had been on a regular training mission when it disappeared from radar over Karbi Anglong district, around 60 kilometres from Jorhat in Assam.

The Defence Public Relations Officer earlier said that Air Force teams were immediately deployed to determine what had happened. Personnel from local authorities and other security agencies also joined the effort to locate the aircraft.

Su-30MKI remains key fighter aircraft for the IAF

The Sukhoi Su-30MKI is one of the Indian Air Force’s main combat aircraft and plays an important role in the country’s air defence capability.

There have been a few incidents involving the aircraft in the past. In August 2019, a Su-30MKI crashed in a paddy field near Tezpur in Assam during a training sortie, though both pilots ejected safely.

In another incident in May 2015, a Sukhoi fighter jet went down around 36 kilometres south of the Tezpur Air Force base shortly after take-off. The pilots managed to eject before the aircraft crashed.

The United States military has targeted an Iranian ship, characterised as a “drone carrier”, which is reportedly “is now on fire” following a maritime engagement.
The strike was confirmed by US Central Command (CENTCOM) through a statement on X, occurring as the combined US-Israeli military offensive against Iran reaches its seventh day.

In its communication, CENTCOM asserted that “US forces aren’t holding back on the mission to sink the entire Iranian Navy.” The command further detailed the scale of the vessel, describing the targeted drone carrier as “roughly the size of a WWII aircraft carrier.”
While the exact location of the naval engagement was not specified in the official post, the military command released footage of the operation. The video provided by CENTCOM depicted the alleged Iranian ship being “engulfed in thick smoke” after sustaining a direct hit from US forces.

Complementing these naval strikes, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper stated that America has struck nearly 200 targets inside Iran over the past 72 hours. He noted that these actions have significantly degraded Tehran’s missile and drone attack capabilities.
Speaking during a press conference on Thursday, Cooper detailed the scale of the ongoing military operation, titled ‘Operation Epic Fury’, which specifically targets Iranian missile launchers and infrastructure.

“In just the last 72 hours, America’s bomber force has struck nearly 200 targets deep inside of Iran. In just the last hour, U.S. B-2 Spirit bombers dropped dozens of 2,000lb Penetrator bombs targeting deeply buried ballistic missile launchers,” Cooper said.
According to the commander, these strikes have sharply reduced the scale of Iranian retaliatory attacks since the operation began. He noted that compared to the start of the mission, ballistic missile attacks have decreased by 90 per cent and drone attacks by 83 per cent, adding, “we’re now up over 30 ships [destroyed].”
Cooper also revealed that ‘Operation Epic Fury’ has expanded to target the long-term capacity of Iran’s missile programme, following instructions from US President Donald Trump.

“President Trump gave us another task to raze or level Iran’s ballistic missile industrial base,” he said. “We’re not just hitting what they have, we’re destroying their ability to rebuild. We will systemically dismantle Iran’s missile production capability for the future, and that’s absolutely in progress.”

The CENTCOM chief also highlighted a unique programme involving a captured Iranian drone design, named LUCAS, which has been reverse-engineered and redeployed by US forces.
“LUCAS — indispensable… This was an original Iranian drone design. We captured it, pulled the guts out, sent it back to America, put a little ‘Made in America’ on it, brought it back here, and we’re shooting it at the Iranians,” Cooper stated.
These remarks come amid escalating tensions in West Asia following a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28. That operation resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran.

In retaliation, Iran has launched waves of drone and missile attacks targeting American military bases across multiple Arab countries as the conflict enters its seventh day. Simultaneously, Israel is continuing its strikes on Tehran and widening the conflict to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor pushed for diplomacy and negotiated settlement as the West Asia Conflict continued to escalate, hampering the trade through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tharoor, noting that Iran has the capacity to close the Strait of Hormuz, hoped that it would relent and let the ships go through.

“It affects us too because there have been a lot of consequences already… The sooner this war ends, the better for everyone… The need for diplomacy and for a negotiated settlement is very urgent… We’d be stuck like everybody else is stuck because Iran has the capacity to close the straits. Eventually, we hope that Iran will relent and let ships go through. But at the moment, I don’t think India alone can do anything… India has already called for de-escalation and diplomacy, which are the only ways forward,” he said.
Meanwhile, the US said it has allowed a 30-day waiver for India to purchase Russian Oil to meet its energy requirements.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.”

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea. India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” he added.

The waiver comes at a time when India continues to face potential risks linked to energy supply disruptions in the Middle East amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures.
India sources nearly 40 per cent of its oil imports from the region, with a significant portion transported through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.