One person was killed, and more than 100 were injured in the traditional fight with sticks during the Dussehra celebrations in Andhra Pradesh Kurnool district.

Like every year, two groups attacked each other with sticks during Devaragattu Banni Utsav held as part of celebrations at Deveragattu village in Holagonda ‘mandal’ (block) late on Wednesday night.

The injured were admitted to hospitals at Adoni and Alur, and the condition of 10 of them is stated to be critical.

Those with simple injuries were treated at a temporary hospital set up by the authorities.

The deceased was identified as Potaraju (28) of Alur.

The stick fight is organised every year as part of the Dussehra celebrations at Mala Malleswara Swamy temple, located on a hillock. Like in the past, the villagers defied the police orders to organise the fight, which they claim is part of their tradition.

As part of the annual celebrations, people from different villages divide into two groups to fight with sticks to secure the idols of the deities Mallamma and Malleswara Swamy after their ceremonial wedding at midnight.

Both groups participated in the event with enthusiasm. The preventive measures taken by the police to stop the fight had no impact.

Every year, people from the villages around the temple divide into two groups and fight with sticks to take control of the idols.

Villagers from Nerani, Nerani Tanda and Kothapeta villages fight with devotees from Arikera, Aluru, Suluvai, Ellarthi, Nidravatti and Bilehall villages. They mercilessly attack each other with sticks, and in the fight, many receive grievous injuries. However, devotees consider these injuries as a good omen.

Attempts by authorities to dissuade villagers from organising the fight have not yielded results. Every year, the police deploy forces to prevent the fight, but the villagers defy the orders and organise the fight. This year, more than 1,000 police personnel were deployed.

Villagers believe that Lord Shiva took the form of Bhairava and clobbered two demons, Mani and Mallasura, with sticks. The villagers enact the scene on Vijayadashami day. A group of villagers from the demon’s side try to snatch the idols from the rival group, called the god’s team. They fight with sticks to take control of the idols.

Thousands of people from various parts of Kurnool, surrounding districts and neighbouring states like Telangana and Karnataka gather in the village to watch the traditional fight.

At least four passengers were injured on Thursday in Jammu and Kashmir Udhampur district when a sleeper bus collided with a tempo.

Officials said four female passengers sustained minor injuries after a sleeper bus and a tempo collided at Garnai in the district.

The accident reportedly occurred around 7.30 a.m. The injured passengers were shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC), Udhampur, for medical treatment.

“Police have taken cognisance of the incident, and further investigation has been started,” officials said.

On Wednesday, two passengers were killed and 15 others injured when a bus veered off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Latti-Basantgarh tehsil in Udhampur district.

Officials said the accident happened after a bus went out of the driver’s control, skidded off the road and then dropped into a deep gorge in the district. The bus was on its way from Poichound to Ramnagar when the accident occurred at Gulli Gala at around 8 a.m. Officials said locals started a rescue operation immediately after the accident.

They shifted 17 passengers to a primary health centre in Basantgarh. After first aid, all the injured passengers were shifted to Ramnagar hospital, where a woman and a 6-year old girl succumbed to critical injuries.

Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah offered condolences to the bereaved families and ordered the officials to ensure the best medical treatment for the injured.

Road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) stem from a combination of human error, difficult topography, and infrastructure challenges, as documented by the Motor Vehicles Department and traffic authorities.

The primary causes of road accidents are exceeding speed limits, rash driving, sudden manoeuvres, and reckless driving on highways and sharp curves.

Overloading by passenger and commercial vehicles, particularly in hilly districts like Doda, Kishtwar, and Rajouri, can cause the vehicles to lose balance and fall into gorges.

J&K features steep gradients, narrow carriageways, sharp blind bends, and long hill stretches where a minor loss of control can turn fatal.

Rain, heavy snowfall, dense fog, and recurring landslides reduce visibility and make road surfaces dangerously slick.

’Black Spots’, Inadequate parapet walls, missing crash barriers, insufficient signage, poor lighting, and unaddressed potholes increase the severity of accidents.

Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi made her social media debut on Thursday by joining Instagram and sharing a post on her upcoming book ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’.

Gandhi’s memoir is set for a worldwide release on November 10.

“Hello everyone, I’m truly grateful to share this moment with you all: the first look of Belonging: A Journey of Love. It is a story of love, duty, loss, and finding a place to belong. I look forward to sharing it with you,” Sonia Gandhi wrote on her first Instagram post, sharing the first look of her memoir.

In the video shared on Instagram, Sonia Gandhi is seen receiving the first copies of her book and sharing sweets with her daughter and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The two were also seen hugging.

The CPP Chairperson did not have a social media account until now. She has over 10,700 followers and follows her children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, as well as the Indian National Congress.

The book is set to launch on November 10, while pre-orders have been opened. The memoir is being published globally by Alfred A. Knopf, with HarperCollins India handling its release in the country.

In a post on X, HarperCollins India said that it will publish ‘Belonging: A Journey of Love’ by Sonia Gandhi. “The long-awaited memoir will be published in India on 10 November 2026,” it said.

The publishing house added, “One of the most anticipated political memoirs of our time, Belonging is a dramatic and deeply personal story of love, identity, duty and belonging, and offers a rare insider’s view of India’s journey.”

Earlier, reports surfaced that Penguin India refused to publish the memoir of a senior Congress leader over alleged disagreement over editorial changes, which were later refuted by the publishing house.

In a statement, Penguin Random House India said that it “is not the publisher of ‘Belonging’ in India”.

“Any suggestion that Penguin Random House India decided not to publish ‘Belonging’ because the author declined editorial changes does not accurately reflect the circumstances,” it said.

“As a publisher, it is both our prerogative and our responsibility to fact-check and provide authors with recommendations that are in the best interests of their books. This is a normal part of the publishing process. Throughout the relevant discussions, Penguin Random House India’s position was that we remained willing and keen to publish the book,” it added.

“We will not comment further on confidential discussions with the author,” said the publisher.