IBTimes

Ladakh has created Sankoo as its eighth district by reorganising parts of Kargil, fulfilling a long-standing demand for decentralised governance in Suru Valley. The administration has also constituted the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council for Sankoo, redrawn tehsil boundaries across five districts and delegated additional administrative powers to the SDM of Durbuk to improve public service delivery.

Supreme Court has referred actor Rajpal Yadav's cheque-dishonour dispute to mediation after he deposited Rs 2 crore. It also directed the trial court to release his passport for professional travel abroad, subject to conditions, as he challenges his conviction and three-month sentence.

A heated exchange erupted in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly over the functioning of unregistered social media news handles, with Social Welfare Minister Sakina Itoo alleging that a domestic worker associated with the family of a sitting legislator was running a Facebook news page allegedly used to target political opponents.

Security forces killed Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Mohammad Asif alias Hashim Moosa in an overnight operation in the Yousmarg forests of Budgam district. Moosa, a former Pakistani Army commando, was reportedly involved in several attacks on security forces in Rajouri, Poonch, Kulgam and north Kashmir. Weapons and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday withdrew a Bill seeking amendments to the salaries and allowances of legislators after strong opposition from BJP MLAs in the Assembly. The BJP members demanded that the government should first regularise daily wagers, while Omar said he had decided to withdraw the Bill if even one member opposed it.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has widened its investigation into the R.S. Pura Observation Home escape case to probe alleged links between local gangsters and Dubai-based gangster-turned-terror operative Shahzad Bhatti.

APHC chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has questioned the Jammu and Kashmir Government's removal of 4,249 books from college and higher educational institution libraries, calling for disclosure of the titles and reasons for their withdrawal. The government said the books were removed after screening for objectionable content, including material allegedly glorifying terrorists and anti-national elements.

Nearly 6,000 Kashmiri Pandit employees working under the Prime Minister's Rehabilitation Package have sought immediate security after the United Liberation Council allegedly issued its sixth threat in 40 days. The employees have warned of an indefinite hunger strike from October 1 and mass resignation if safe housing and security are not provided by September 30.

Handwara Police, along with the 21 Rashtriya Rifles and 92 Battalion CRPF, busted a Hizbul Mujahideen terror module in north Kashmir by arresting an ex-terrorist allegedly operating as a hybrid terrorist. The accused, identified as Manzoor Ahmad Bhat, was arrested from Handwara town, with a Chinese-made pistol, two magazines, and 16 rounds of ammunition recovered from his possession.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the J&K Police Crime Branch has arrested Junaid-ul-Islam from Bengaluru in connection with an alleged Rs 2-crore investment fraud case. The accused allegedly collected money from several people in Kashmir by promising monthly returns of 10 per cent while claiming an association with an e-commerce company.

J&K Transport Minister Satish Sharma has reportedly sought the immediate removal of Transport Commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan, accusing him of defiance, insubordination and bypassing the ministry. The letter, dated August 6, has gone viral on social media, though the government has neither confirmed nor denied its authenticity.