Pakistan would be given a befitting reply if it does not stop sending terrorists across, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said today adding that India's initiative for friendship should not be construed as its weakness. 

A 20 member team of NIA led by an IG ranking officer has been camping at Pathankot since January 2 to supervise the on-going investigations. 

JUST IN: Around 600 car owners in Delhi fined for violating even-odd plan till 6 pm.

Just In: CBI mentions Nalini Chidambaram's name in the Saradha chargesheet, Times of India reports. 

JUST IN: Three terrorists killed during retaliatory operation by Afghan police outside Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif: official sources.

Arun Jaitley on the closed-door meeting held by PM Modi in the aftermath of the Pathankot attacks.

The PM discussed the Mazar-e-sharif, Pathankot terror attacks and the
North East earthquake at the National Security Council meeting, says Jaitley.

"The terror strike at the Pathankot airbase was a fidayeen attack; the objective was to cause loss to its strategic assets.

"We are at a stage when ops are still on and only when they get over we will decide on Indo-Pak talks.

"Terrorists were well trained. Lesson from 26/11 helped us avert a massacre.

"Combing ops still underway."

During the operation, one Garud commando, one NSG officer and five personnel of Defence Security Corps were martyred.

Seventeen security personnel were also injured.

Lt Col E K Niranjan, a member of the NSG's Bomb Disposal Squad and a Kerala resident, died yesterday after he sustained injuries while he was trying to retrieve a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist. Four other security men were also injured in this explosion.

Three Defence Security Corps personnel also succumbed to injuries during the intervening night of January 2 and 3. Garud commando Gurusewak Singh and two members of the DSC were killed in the gun battle on Saturday at the air base, located barely 35 km from the Indo-Pak border.

The terrorists who had stormed the Pathankot air base were "well trained" and "strongly stocked" with arms and ammunitions to inflict heavy damage to the assets stationed there and that explains the long counter terror operations going on against them, top  government sources said.

They also attributed the long period of operation, which has lasted for three days, to strict instructions by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar not to take "unnecessary risks" to avoid casualties. They added that the effort was also to catch at least one of the terrorists alive, if possible.

And the humorist Rofl Gandhi @RoflGandhi This is Rajiv Chowk metro station at the moment, no mad rush, business as usual. #PropgandaBusted

And this is the real picture of Rajiv Chowk metro station today. 

On the day of the first real test for Delhi's odd-even car rationing scheme, a picture of Rajiv Chowk metro station has gone viral. The picture shows an extremely crowded metro station with thousands of commuters scrambling to enter the train. Even by Mumbai local train standards during peak hours, the number of people in the picture was at least 20 times more.

Journalists Rajdeep Sardesai and Pallavi Ghosh tweeted: @sardesairajdeep  Reports from metro at Rajiv Chowk not encouraging.Overcrowding leading to some chaos.Public transport still not ready for odd/even it seems.

‏@_pallavighosh  tweeted :Those who tweeting away the success of odd-even claiming all cool: this is what rajiv chowk stn looking like ."

While Gappistan Radio ‏@GappistanRadio  said, "Rajiv Chowk is the Kumbh Mela of metro users."

The image proved to be a missile in the hands of the critics who used it to target the Delhi government for the shoddy public transport arrangements and pushing people into inconvenience. The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government had described the scheme as a success on the first day - January 1. "Delhi has done it! Reports so far very encouraging. Delhiites! you give me hope that you are capable of achieving big challenges," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal had then said.


A few hours later in the day, the Twitter was on course correction.

Arvnd Kejrwal ‏@ArvndKejrwal  tweeted that the pictures from Rajiv Chowk were in fact fake and were taken during Diwali.
"Pics from Rajiv chowk today: Pic 1 As per BJP and congis (captured  on #Diwali)
Pic 2 Reality."

Only cars with an even number registration plates were allowed on roads today, January 4.

The picture was in fact an old 2014 picture tweeted by the Hindustan Times during Diwali. @htTweets "Heavy rush at Delhi's Rajiv Chowk Metro Station on the eve of Diwali. (Photo: Sunil Saxena/Hindustan Times) #ht ."

Shahid Ferozie ‏@saferozie  Shahid Ferozie added, "This photo being shared as Rajiv Chowk metro station Even-Odd driven chaos today is a @Httweets photo from Oct 2014."

This morning, Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues vowed to make the ambitious plan a success. Minister Kapil Mishra tweeted a photo of him travelling to work by bus.

Around 200 traffic challans were issued before noon as Delhis road space rationing scheme faced a big test on Monday, the first full working day after an extended weekend since the implementation of the odd-even campaign on January 1.

While Delhi tourism minister Kapil Mishra took a bus to the Delhi Secratariat, with the national capital allowing only cars with even-numbered licence plates on the streets, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal car-pooled with Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai and home minister Satyendra Jain to the Delhi Secretariat in Rais Tata Nano. 

The Kashmir-based conglomerate of militant outfits -- United Jihad Council -- has claimed responsibility for the Pathankot airbase attack. The total number of security personnel killed in the operation went up to seven -- Lt Col Niranjan Kumar of the National Security Guard (NSG), five Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel and an Air Force Garud commando. Six terrorists were killed in the operation. The United Jihad Council is headed by terrorist Syed Salahuddin and is an umbrella group of Pakistan based terrorists. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with top officials, including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar to discuss the attack, on Sunday night. Earlier in the day, Modi was briefed by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.


Pic: Daughter of Subehdar Major (Retd) Fateh Singh carries her father's coffin in Gurdaspur. Major Singh was martyred in the terror attack.

Bahraini minister of media affairs says island kingdom severing diplomatic ties with Iran: AP

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran on Sunday, as an escalating war of words between the two arch rivals threatened to derail a renewed international bid to halt the conflict in Syria.Riyadh gave Iranian diplomats 48 hours to leave Saudi Arabia after Iranian leaders condemned the execution of a popular Shiite cleric, Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, and after protesters stormed the Sunni kingdom's embassy in Tehran in anger over his death.The rupture between Saudi Arabia and Iran came at a delicate moment in the fledgling diplomatic effort to launch peace talks later this month between the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and opposition representatives. Read more

The last rites of Subehdar Major (Retd) Fateh Singh in Gurdaspur #Pathankot

Daughter of Subehdar Major (Retd) Fateh Singh pays tribute to her father in Gurdaspur #Pathankot

This photo being shared as Rajiv Chowk metro station Even-Odd driven chaos today is a @Httweets photo from Oct 2014 during Diwali.

Pathankot terror strike: Security forces had to blow up part of the building where the two terrorists were holed up in the stand-off.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake which rocked the Eastern region states this morning claimed one life in Bihar's Kishanganj district, an official said. The 60-year-old man Harishankar Sah suffered a cardiac arrest at his home in Garban Danga village under Karuamani panchayat in Dighalbank block and died on the spot, the Circle Officer Rakesh Kumar said. 

JUST IN: According to sources, the government is considering putting off Indo-Pakistan foreign secretary-level talks, NSAs may meet first to discuss Pathankot. 

Biggest international story comes from Middle East according to the CNN-IBN twitter feed: Saudis break diplomatic ties with Iran and give Iranian diplomats 48 hrs to leave.

Three people arrested with arms, ammunition and a Pakistan mobile SIM card in Mohali (Punjab).

#PathankotAttack: Reports coming in that the sixth terrorist, believed to be the last, has also been killed. The 5th terrorist was killed a few hours ago. A powerful explosion today shook a double storeyed building at the Air Base where two terrorists are still holed up as the operations intensified to flush them out.

As the operation against the terrorists entered the third day, NSG, IAF and Army officers said there was no collateral damage to the strategic Air Force assets.

Inspector General NSG Maj General Dushant Singh told a press conference that the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base hid in a building where India Air Force personnel live with their families.

Terming the internal security situation as "serious", Congress President Sonia Gandhi today voiced hope that the Centre was taking all necessary steps to neutralize the terror threats and ensure adequate security of citizens and strategic assets.

Gandhi, who paid homage to martyrs of Pathankot terror attack, expressed her "deep concern" for the safety of families as also strategic assets of Air Force in view of the fact that counter terror operations are continuing for last 48 hours, a party statement said.

"Gandhi saluted the valor of our security forces and paid homage to the seven martyrs, who made the supreme sacrifice while neutralising Pakistani terrorists in Pathankot," it said.

"She hoped that Union Government is seized of the serious internal security situation amidst emanating intelligence reports of more terrorist modules and is taking all necessary steps to neutralize the terror threats besides ensuring adequate security of citizens and strategic assets," the party statement said.

Four Army soldiers killed in avalanche in Ladakh: Defence Spokesman

The Borivali court today sent artist Chintan Upadhyay to judicial custody in connection with the killing of his estranged wife and her lawyer.

Metropolitan Magistrate Prasad Kulkarni ordered Chintan to be sent to judicial custody till January 11 with the other accused.

On December 12, bodies of artist Hema Upadhyay and her advocate Harish Bhambhani were found stuffed in two boxes in a drain in Kandivali.

On December 28, Chintan was arrested in connection with the murder and was in police custody.The other four accused in the murder - Pradip Rajbhar, Vijay Rajbhar, Shivkumar Rajbhar and Azaad Rajbhar - are also currently lodged in judicial custody till January 11.

However, the main accused, Vidyadhar Rajhbhar, is still at large.The Kandivali police has found several sketches, a diary and a pen drive from Chintan's residence but maintain that the cause of death of the two is not known and await forensic and chemical analysis reports.

This is what Rajiv Chowk metro station in New Delhi looks like. The picture has been trending on social media, but cannot be verified. Today is the fourth day of Delhi's odd-even car rule.  

An Istanbul-bound flight of Turkish Airlines carrying 332 passengers on board was called back from the runway here this morning after an "unclaimed" mobile phone was found on a seat of the Boeing 777 plane, delaying the take off by over four hours. The Boeing 777-300ER plane, which was scheduled to take off for Istanbul at 0650 hours, left for its destination at around 1130 hours, sources said.

"Turkish Airlines' Bombay-Istanbul flight (TK721, Boeing 777-300ER Aircraft, carrying 332 passengers) has returned to parking area in Bombay after push-back due to an unidentified cell phone found onboard," Turkish Airlines senior vice president for media relations Ali Genc said in a statement.

He said the plane continued its flight to Istanbul after necessary security checks were carried out. The aircraft was brought back to the bay after a mobile phone was found on one of the seats and all the passengers were deplaned for a thorough frisking. "Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul was called back from the runway at Mumbai airport after a suspicious object was found in the aircraft," a Mumbai Airport spokesperson had said earlier.

After an earthquake of 6.7 magnitude hit Tamernglong district in Manipur at 4.35 am on Monday, Cabinet Secretary, P K Sinha, chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) on Monday morning to review the situation and provide Central assistance for relief and rescue operations in the affected areas.

Pic: An Indian Air Force aircraft arrives in Imphal with an NDRF team and supplies for those affected by the earthquake.

Just in: PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan says we oppose giving extension to Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presided over a high-level meeting to discuss the ongoing operation at Pathankot air base to flush out holed up terrorists and the attack on Indian consulate in Afghanistan.

Top security officials, including NSA Ajit Doval, are learnt to have briefed Modi on the ongoing operation in Pathankot as well as the terror strike at the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif yesterday.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, both members of the Cabinet Committee on Security, were also present at the meeting.

Soon after returning from his two-day visit to Karnataka, Modi had chaired a similar meeting last night of top officials, including Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.

The operation against militants holed up at the air base entered the third day today after explosions and firing continued intermittently overnight. Security forces had yesterday killed one of the at least two terrorists on the second day of the attack in which seven security personnel lost their lives, including a Lieutenant Colonel of the NSG. Four terrorists were eliminated on Saturday when they had struck at the air base.

"That the Islamic State has made violent use of history shouldn't come as a surprise. Perhaps more surprising is that in all those places where a modern nation has been grafted onto an ancient culture, history has returned with a vengeance. From Confucian China to Buddhist Myanmar to Hindu India, history has become the source of a fierce new conservatism that is being used to curb freedoms of women and stoke hatred of minorities. As the ultimate source of legitimacy, history has become a way for modernizing societies to procure the trappings of modernity while guarding themselves from its values."

Read Aatish Taseer's column for the New York Times.

Martyr Gursewak Singh's body consigned to flamesin Ambala.

The Modi government has to walk the tightrope on appointments of two vice chancellors -- one for the Jawaharlal Nehru University and the other for the Delhi University.

Academicia has expressed apprehension that any appointment at this stage is all set to be a repeat of the FTII Pune appointment as Left elements will make life of the appointees miserable. FTII students went on a 139-day strike, which ended in October, over the removal of Gajendra Chouhan as chairperson of the institute and cancelling of the appointments of four members to the FTII society. The goverment has refused to pay heed to their demands.

Four names are being considered for Delhi VC -- Bidyut Chakaborty, Yogesh Tyagi, Hemchand Gupta and RNK Bamezai

By mid January, the government has to arrive at a decision. 

Fire erupted at a slum in Mahim area of Mumbai today in which some hutments suffered minor damage, officials said. No one was reported hurt or killed in the mishap, they said. The blaze occurred at a slum establishment on S L Raheja road in Mahim. The control room got a call at around 11 am about the blaze following which five fire tenders were immediately rushed to the site, he said. Efforts were on to douse the flames, he said adding that the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Pic: Smoke emanates from some of the hutments in Mahim. Hitesh Harisinghani

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has cancelled his scheduled Tuesday visit for talks with top officials in Beijing to deal with the Pathankot terror attack.

Officials in Beijing said Doval's visit was on Monday cancelled. The NSA was earlier scheduled to leave for Beijing on Tuesday morning. Officials said the NSA's visit would be rescheduled at a mutually convenient date.

Former Chief Justice of India, RM Lodha, submitted his report on the various aspects of reforms in the BCCI to the Supreme Court on Monday. The report culminates the panel's exhaustive investigations into how the game is run in the country and what could be done to ensure that transparency and accountability is the rule and not the exception in the administration of cricket in India.

The Lodha panel proposes the constitution and establishment of a players association. Justice Lodha proposes limited autonomy for IPL Governing Council. BCCI has to now decide,idea is to keep governance and management separate. The Lodha Committee recommends relegation of Railways, Services and Universities as Associate members. They also lose voting rights. The Lodha panel recommends separate governing bodies for the IPL and BCCI. One Association of each State will be full-member and have the right to vote, Lodha panel recommends.

The NSG briefs the media on the Pathankot attack: Highlights from the press conference...

-- Operation still on at Pathankot air base.
-- NSG Garuds and the army confined the terrorists to a specific area.
-- Currently operations are in progress to clear the building where the terrorists are holed up. Some terrorists holed up in two-storey building.
-- Would like to assure everyone that all personnel and strategic assets are safe.
-- Four terrorists have been eliminated, operation to eliminate 2 more possible terrorists are in the final stages.
-- Terrorists were holed up in building which was living quarters of air force personnel.
-- All strategic assets at the air base are safe.
-- Primary concern was security of air assets, we ensured there was no collateral damage,  civilians weren't hurt.
-- Major blast in the holed up area of militants at the air base.
-- Want to compliment agencies participating in this operation, salute personnel who lost their lives or are wounded.

The operation against terrorists holed up at Pathankot air base entered the third day on Monday after explosions and firing continued intermittently overnight.

Security forces had on Sunday killed one of the at least two terrorists on the second day of the attack in which seven security personnel lost their lives including a Lieutenant Colonel of the National Security Guard. Four terrorists were eliminated on Saturday when they had struck at the air base.

The operation stretched through the night with sounds of gunfire and explosions continuing till around 10 am on Monday after which they have ceased. Attack helicopters were still flying over the area.

Just in: Suicide bomber detonates explosives near Kabul airport

One question has been rearing its head through the sound of explosions in Pathankot: what exactly was the role played by Salwinder Singh? Salwinder was the superintendent of police in Gurdaspur (headquarters) till recently. Now he is on course to take over as the assistant commander of the 75th Battalion of the Punjab Armed Police.

It was on Salwinder's blue-beaconed car that the attackers are suspected to have reached somewhere near the Pathankot air force base.

The Punjab police are portraying Salwinder as a hero who managed to hoodwink the terrorists, slipped out of their hands and alerted the security establishment, which helped save the "high-value assets" in the air base. Read more

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi is meeting top Union ministers and bureaucrats on the Pathankot terror attack, there is no sign of the Cabinet Committee on Security meeting to direct the operations.

Some Union ministers alerted the Prime Minister's Office to convene a CCS meeting and it is now likely that the PMO will convene a CCS meeting tomorrow. The President's secretariat is also keen to have updates on the Pathankot attack from the government.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh conducts a helicopter survey of the Bangladesh border in the Karimgunj area. A powerful earthquake struck the north-east before dawn today, killing at least five people and injuring nearly 40, though the toll was expected to rise, with rescue efforts hampered by severed power supplies and telecommunication links.

The US Geological Survey said the quake of magnitude 6.8 was 57 kilometres (35 miles) deep and struck 29 kilometres (18 miles) west of Imphal, the capital of Manipur on the border with Myanmar.

The PM has asked the home minister, who is in Assam, to oversee the situation.

Heavy fighting was on today hours after militants attempted to storm the Indian diplomatic mission in the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif as special forces carried out clearing operations with India's Ambassador here saying all were safe in the consulate.

Clearing operations in Mazar-i-Sharif on by special forces, Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha said.

"Heavy fighting going on," he said, adding that Balkh province's Governor Atta Muhammad Noor was personally monitoring the situation. Sinha, in a tweet, said all were safe in the consulate. Explosions and gunfire rang out last night as militants attempted to storm the Indian diplomatic mission in Mazar-i-Sharif. Indian and Afghan security forces were jointly engaged in a gun-battle with at least two unidentified attackers, who attempted to strike the Indian consulate here.

In all 4-5 attackers were believed to have launched the attack, sources said. The sources said a contingent of Afghanistan security forces and India's Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) were retaliating and combating intermittent gunfire that is emanating from a building near the consulate since last night and it is believed that at least 2-3 attackers are still active out of the total of 4-5 who attempted to storm the heavily guarded complex.

"Two attackers are believed to be killed after security forces engaged them," they said. The operation to completely neutralise the attackers, who first hit at about 2115 hours IST yesterday, is still on and gunfire is being exchanged between the two sides even as Afghan forces are trying to get into the consulate building, the sources said. "All the Indian staff is safe," they said.

Officials said the gunmen yesterday tried to enter the consulate from its rear end and fired an RPG round which got mis-directed and hit a building called the Alamas wedding hall, about 100 metres from the Indian Consulate building. At least 4-5 rocket rounds and numerous bullet rounds have been fired towards the Indian complex, they said, but none of them hit the building.

"A tight cordon has been created by the Afghan security forces on the outside and Indo-Tibetan Border Police personnel in the proximate circle of the consulate," the sources said. The forces have been asked to ensure zero movement outside the consulate. No group claimed responsibility for the attack which came just a day after Pakistani terrorists attacked an IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab. The attack also comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Kabul on a brief visit on December 25 during which he inaugurated the new building for Afghan Parliament built by India at a cost of USD 90 million.

The body of Lieutenant Colonel E K Niranjan, a bomb expert with the National Security Guard who was killed while defusing a grenade at the scene of the terror attack at Pathankot IAF base, was brought to Bengaluru today. The last rites will be performed at his hometown Palakkad in Kerala later today. "

The body arrived at Bengaluru International Airport early this morning between 12.40 am and 1 am. We brought the body wrapped in the Indian Tricolor to our house," E K Sivarajan, the martyr's father, told reporters.

The body is being taken to BEL grounds for the public to pay their last respects, Sivarajan said, adding that around 3 pm it will be flown to his Palakkad residence for the last rites. "He was always interested in the army. I am proud of his sacrifice," Sivarajan said. Niranjan's sister said, "I look at him as Arjuna (3rd of the Pandava brothers) who fought for his karmabhoomi."

Fellow Army officers in uniform and many prominent and eminent personalities including Rajeev Chandrashekhar, MP, paid tributes to the martyr at his residence.

Thirty two-year-old Niranjan, who has his family in Bangalore, was commissioned in the Engineers Regiment of the Army in 2004. He hailed from Palakkad in Kerala and is survived by his wife Dr Radhika and a 18-month-old daughter. Niranjan, head of the elite bomb squad of the NSG, was killed while defusing an IED at Pathankot IAF base, yesterday. He was among seven security personnel killed in the terrorist attack there.

The operation against militants holed up at Pathankot air base entered the third day today after explosions and firing continued intermittently overnight.


Security forces had yesterday killed one of the at least two terrorists on the second day of the attack in which seven security personnel lost their lives including a Lieutenant Colonel of the NSG.


Four terrorists were eliminated on Saturday when they had struck at the air base. The operation stretched through the night with sounds of gunfire and explosions continuing till around 10 am today after which they have ceased.

Attack helicopters were still flying over the area. More quick response teams have been rushed to the site. Defence sources had last night said that one more terrorist was killed while another was injured. The holed up militants were discovered in the forested area on the backside of the air base from where they are reported to have entered.

In a startling revelation, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has claimed that Bollywood's veteran actress Asha Parekh had come to him seeking to be recommended for the Padma Bhushan saying that she was 'entitled' for one.

Addressing an event in Nagpur, Gadkari said that giving out awards was creating a 'headache' these days and he was being 'chased' for recommendations. He further said that the celebrated actress had done the same.

"Film actor Asha Parekh came to me for recommending her name for Padma Bhushan. The lift of my apartment was not functioning properly, so she climbed 12 floors to meet me in person and I really felt bad about it," the Union Minister said.

Gadkari added that Parekh said that she was entitled for the Padma Bhushan due to her massive contribution in Indian Film industry.

Parekh was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award in 2014 and in 1992 she was awarded the Padma Shri.

Why lakhs of Indians celebrate the British victory over the Maratha Peshwas every New Year. Read

JUST IN: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweets, "My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Manipur and other north eastern states affected by the earthquake this morning."

The National Investigation Agency, mandated to probe terror cases, will register a case on Monday to probe the conspiracy of Pakistan-based terrorist group, believed to be Jaish-e-Mohammed, behind the strike at the IAF base in Pathankot in Punjab. 

Facebook activated the "Safety Check" feature for its users in Manipur and other areas of North East early on Monday to provide them with a way to reassure loved ones that they are safe in the quake-hit city. Facebook's Safety Check feature allows people to mark themselves as "safe" from the quake. Facebook's Safety Check feature has now been deployed on several occasions, the most recent being last month's terrorist attacks in Paris.

A Turkish airline flight to Istanbul was called back from the runway at Mumbai airport after a suspicious object was found on the aircraft. Passengers on board have been evacuated and are being frisked again. According to airport sources, it was an unclaimed mobile that triggered the threat. 

School children and locals are lining up at Bengaluru's BEL Ground to pay their tribute to slain NSG Lt Col Niranjan Kumar before his remains are cremated later in the day. 

Gearing up for what it sees as the "real test" for the odd-even formula today , the Aam Aadmi Party government has made it clear that violators will not be spared, starting today. "We have implemented one day of odd and one day of even number vehicle restrictions. Now no one can say they are not aware of the plan. So, violators will have to face the consequences from Monday. 

A day seven soldiers were killed while 20 others injured in an attack on Pathankot airbase in Punjab, the Indian government is likely to raise the issue of the attack with the Pakistani government on Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar of the National Security Guard, who died during combing operations at the Pathankot air base which was struck by a terror attack on Saturday, will be cremated today in his home town in Kerala's Palakkad. Lt Col Kumar's body was brought to Bengaluru last night and has been kept at his residence where people paid tributes to the martyr this morning. 

A high-intensity earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.7 on the Richter Scale, hit the north-eastern region of the country early today, the epicentre of which was in Manipur, according to the ministry of earth sciences.