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Wednesday,07-May-2025
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57.70 per cent voter turnout recorded in Delhi Assembly polls

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New Delhi, Feb 5: Voting to pick a new 70-member Delhi Assembly continued peacefully on Wednesday as the turnout touched 57.70 per cent till 5 p.m. with the ruling AAP eyeing a fourth straight win and the BJP putting up a tough fight to return to power after 1998.

As the turnout continued to rise after a slow start, there were allegations of a model code violation after a brief commotion at a polling booth in Seelampur where a bogus voter was caught casting a vote on someone else’s identity. The incident occurred at Aryan Public School, Booth Level Officer, Seelampur, Gayatri, said.

BJP nominee from the seat, Anil Gaur, accused the rival Congress and the AAP of bringing 300-400 fake voters from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

Special Commissioner of Police D.C. Srivastava confirmed getting complaints of attempted bogus voting. “Two persons have been detained on the allegation of bogus voting. The facts are being verified.”

Till 5 p.m., Mustafabad seat recorded the highest turnout of 66.68 per cent followed by Seelampur with 66.41 per cent.

The New Delhi seat of AAP convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recorded a turnout of 54.27 per cent by 5 p.m. The Greater Kailash seat of Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj recorded 52 per cent voting, Rajinder Nager recorded 57.88 per cent, Patel Nagar 54.63 per cent, R.K. Puram 51.81 per cent and Delhi Cantonment seat recorded 57 per cent voting till 5 p.m.

Chief Minister Atishi’s constituency recorded a turnout of 51.81 per cent till 5 p.m. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s Jungpura seat recorded 55.23 per cent voting till 5 p.m.

Other turnout trends till 5 p.m. were Sangam Vihar 57.41 per cent, Badarpur 54.51 per cent, Tughlakabad 53 per cent, Okhla 52.77 per cent, Kasturba Nagar 51.70 per cent, Malviya Nager 52.07 per cent, Chhatarpur 60.53 per cent, Ambedkar Nagar 56.98 per cent, Deoli 56.8 per cent and Mehrauli 50.59 per cent.

Till 5 p.m. the turnout in Central Delhi’s Matia Mahal was 61.40 per cent, Ballimaran 59.56 per cent, Burari 56.16 per cent, Sadar Bazar 57.06, Timarpur 53.29 per cent, Karol Bagh 47.40 per cent, Chandni Chowk 52.76 per cent.

In West Delhi, the turnout till 5 p.m. in Janakpuri was 59.28 per cent, Rajouri Garden 58.96 per cent, Madipur 58.13 per cent, Hari Nagar 57.92 per cent, Moti Nagar 55.21 per cent, Nangloi Jat 56.20 per cent and Tilak Nagar 56.65 per cent.

AAP Jangpura nominee Sisodia alleged that rival parties were giving money to voters, a charge which was dismissed by police as ‘unsubstantiated’.

His party colleague and AAP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that at many polling booths in the New Delhi constituency, the party’s polling agents and their relievers faced problems in entry.

AAP MP Sandeep Pathak raised the issue of slow voting in some constituencies, claiming that the party has raised the matter with the EC.

Union Minister Harsh Malhotra accused the AAP of trying to use goons and money on election eve to influence voters. “They want a street fight and vitiate the atmosphere out of fear of a big loss,” he said.

On the eve of voting, the Delhi Police seized Rs 23.76 lakh, six illegal firearms and 4,119 litres of illegal liquor, said a police official.

Earlier, former Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal and his wife gave up their car and walked down to their polling booth. Both of them escorted their parents, both in wheelchairs, to the booth at a school close to their Ferozeshah Road residence.

Kejriwal’s BJP rival Parvesh Verma performed religious rituals on the Yamuna bank before proceeding to cast his vote with his wife and daughter at the Nirman Bhawan booth.

Congress candidate from New Delhi Sandeep Dikshit cast his vote at a polling booth on Rahim Khan Road and later accompanied voters from the party and members of the Gandhi family – Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra – to their respective booths.

The turnout in the 2020 Delhi Assembly election stood at 62.82 per cent, 4.65 per cent lower than 67.47 per cent in 2015. In 2013, the turnout was 66.02 per cent, 8.42 per cent higher than 2008’s 57.6 per cent.

In 2020, the AAP won 62 out of 70 seats with a vote share of 53.57 per cent. The BJP won eight seats with a 38.51 per cent vote share. The Congress got 4.26 per cent of votes and others polled 3.66 per cent votes.

National News

Mock Drills In India Today: Know Timings, Locations And Answers To All Queries About ‘Operation Abhyas’

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New Delhi: Today, Civil Defence Mock Drills are being conducted in 244 districts nationwide to prepare for potential threats. Public cooperation is encouraged during these exercises, which involve various local authorities and volunteers. ‘Operation Abhyaas’ occurs at 55 locations in Delhi, while Punjab, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat also participate with specific drills aimed at enhancing disaster response readiness.

A large-scale mock drill, dubbed Operation Abhyas, will take place on Wednesday, May 7, across 244 locations in India as part of a nationwide preparedness exercise. Initiated by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the drill aims to enhance readiness for potential India-Pakistan conflict amid rising political tensions, particularly following the recent terror attack in Pahalgam. The simulation will include air raids, blackouts, evacuations, and emergency rescue operations, designed to prepare both citizens and local authorities for possible war scenarios.

Drills are scheduled to commence at 4 PM, with timings varying by location. In Delhi, the drill will last from 4 PM to 7 PM; Jhansi will conduct its session at the Reserve Police Lines; Bareilly will experience a brief blackout; and in Kerala, multiple drills across 14 districts will start at the same time. Additionally, air raid simulations will occur in Visakhapatnam and sirens in Dehradun. This initiative strengthens civil defense capabilities and raises public awareness for emergencies, contributing to the Integrated Response System (IRS) to protect citizens during crises.

The central government has mandated nationwide civil defence mock drills on May 7 to prepare states and UTs for potential “hostile attacks,” particularly following the Pahalgam terrorist incident that claimed 26 lives. The drills will occur across over 250 districts in response to escalating tensions with Pakistan, triggered by a shooting in Jammu and Kashmir where terrorists, reportedly linked to Pakistan, attacked tourists.

These mock drills are designed to assess India’s readiness for emergencies such as air raids, blackouts, and evacuations, serving as crucial components of the nation’s passive defence strategy. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs, maintaining optimal Civil Defence preparedness is essential given the current geopolitical landscape.

Despite public concerns, schools, colleges, banks, and government offices will remain open during the drills, ensuring daily routines continue with minimal disruption. Brief blackout drills may occur at select locations to simulate emergency shutdowns aimed at enhancing safety during potential air raids. These measures are crucial for reducing visibility and casualties in real threats.

During the mock drills, several key activities will take place as outlined by the government notice. These include activating Air Raid Warning Sirens, establishing communication links with the Indian Air Force, and manning control rooms. The drills will also involve training civilians and students on civil defense techniques for self-protection during hostile situations. Additionally, civil defense services, including firefighting and rescue operations, will be activated. Other tasks will encompass implementing crash blackout measures, camouflaging essential installations, updating defense plans, and rehearsing evacuation strategies, as well as cleaning bunkers and trenches.

Participants in the drills will include Civil Defence volunteers, Home Guards, the National Cadet Corps (NCC), the National Service Scheme (NSS), local police, and students, necessitating cooperation across various agencies, with civilians potentially joining in. However, the public need not be alarmed, as the drills are a pre-scheduled exercise, not an emergency. There is currently no indication that mobile or internet services will be disrupted during the May 7 mock drills, and citizens are encouraged to remain calm and follow authorities’ instructions. The drills primarily aim to evaluate response mechanisms and preparedness for any hostile attacks.

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National News

Operation Sindoor: Pakistan floods social media with misinformation

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New Delhi, May 7: As Indian armed forces successfully struck 9 high-value terror targets across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) under ‘Operation Sindoor’, a barrage of misinformation emerged from Pakistani media outlets and government-affiliated sources, attempting to distort the narrative of India’s counterterrorism operation.

Multiple Pakistani government-linked media houses and social media accounts began circulating unverified and misleading claims in the hours following the surgical strikes.

Many of these claims were quickly flagged as fake by independent analysts and India’s official fact-checking mechanisms.

Among the most prominent falsehoods was the claim that Pakistan had responded with missile strikes on 15 locations within Indian territory.

Several other posts falsely alleged that the Pakistan Air Force had targeted the Srinagar Airbase and that an Indian Army Brigade Headquarters had been destroyed.

These claims were aggressively pushed on X, especially by accounts with substantial followings tied to Pakistan’s military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

However, neither visual nor satellite evidence was provided to corroborate any of these claims. Official fact-checks revealed that many of the visuals used to support the misinformation were not only unrelated but also outdated.

“In a video shared by several pro-Pakistan handles, it is being falsely claimed that the Pakistan Air Force has targeted Srinagar airbase. The video shared is old and NOT from India. The video is from sectarian clashes that took place in the year 2024 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Rely only on official Government of India sources for authentic information,” the Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check division posted on X.

In another post, the PIB Fact Check said, “Social media posts falsely claim that Pakistan destroyed Indian Brigade Headquarters. This claim is FAKE. Please avoid sharing unverified information and rely only on official sources from the Government of India for accurate information.”

Numerous images and clips shared in the wake of the operation were later identified as either digitally altered from unrelated past events or archival footage being repurposed to create a false sense of retaliation.

Despite the clear absence of substantiation, these fabricated narratives were amplified by several mainstream media outlets in Pakistan, indicating a coordinated attempt to control the post-operation discourse and project a retaliatory posture.

The Indian government has urged citizens and the media to rely solely on authenticated information issued by official sources.

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Nine terror hideouts hit between 1.05 -1.30 AM: Women officers give account of ‘Operation Sindoor’

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New Delhi, May 7: Under ‘Operation Sindoor’, India has bombed multiple terror bases and camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) as well as Pakistan, two women officers of the Indian Armed Forces informed the media on Wednesday.

Colonel Sophia and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh, in a press conference with Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, said that the military strikes were carried out between 1.05 to 1.30 a.m. in the wee hours on Wednesday on credible intelligence inputs and the purpose was to decimate and destroy the terror infrastructure, terror launching pads and indoctrination centres across the border.

The women officers also documented the details of calibrated and measured retaliation and gave a detailed account of terror factories operating from those centres.

Terror camps bombed in PoK

Sawai Nala, Muzaffarabad – This was situated about 30 km from the Line of Control (LoC) and was a training centre of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

Those who carried out terror strikes in Gulmarg in 2024, those who unleashed mayhem in Pahalgam on April 22, got trained at this centre.

Syedna Bilal, Muzaffarabad was a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp, which stands decimated now.

Kotli Gulpur was a noted Lashkar base. The operatives trained here used to inflict terror in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri and Poonch regions. The terrorists, who were trained here, had attacked the Amanath pilgrims last year.

Barnala, Bimber, another terror camp in PoK is 9 km away from the LoC. This used to serve as a storage centre for IED and weapons.

Kotli Abbas camp, located at 13 km from LoC was a Lashkar-e-Taiba base, and fidayeen bombers were trained here.

Terror Targets in Pakistan

Sarjal, Sialkot, located about 6 km from the International Border (IB), used to train terrorists. In March 2025, 5 J&K cops were killed, and the perpetrators who did it were trained here.

Bahalwapur, the headquarters of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was a hiring centre and indoctrination centre.

Mehmoona Joya, Sialkot, situated 8 km from IB, served as the Hizbul Mujahideen centre. Terrorists trained here had carried out attacks in Pathankot.

Markaj Taiba, Muridke, about 18-25 km from the IB. At this centre, 26/11 killers were trained, including Ajmal Kasab and David Headley.

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