New Delhi, April 15: A massive fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday in Delhi’s Rohini area, engulfing nearly half a dozen slums and leaving three members of a family dead, fire services officials said.

According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), the deceased include a husband, wife and their two-year-old daughter.

Officials said the fire erupted around 1:30 a.m. in a cluster of slums located near a 400-yard plot filled with plastic waste.

The presence of combustible material in the vicinity is believed to have contributed to the rapid spread of the flames, DFS officials stated.

Upon receiving information about the incident, teams from the fire services rushed to the scene and launched efforts to douse the blaze.

The blaze was reported to be extremely intense, making firefighting operations challenging for emergency responders.

After prolonged firefighting operations, the fire was eventually brought under control, officials said.

During the rescue operation, firefighters recovered three bodies from the site, which were later sent for postmortem examination.

Personnel from multiple agencies, including the fire department, local police, the Centralised Accident and Trauma Service (CATS), and the electricity department, were present at the scene.

Relief and rescue efforts continued for several hours following the incident.

In a separate incident earlier on April 12, a fire had broken out in bushes near the Rajghat bus depot in the national capital, prompting a swift response from the Delhi Fire Service.

The blaze, reported in a vegetated area adjacent to the depot, saw six fire tenders being deployed to the site to contain the flames.

The dense vegetation in the area posed challenges for firefighting teams in accessing certain pockets.

Police said that the fire was eventually brought under control and no injuries were reported in that incident.

New Delhi, April 14: Indian agencies have reported a sharp rise in counterfeit currency seizures, pointing to a renewed push by organised networks to expand operations.

Investigators say the syndicate linked to Dawood Ibrahim, operating from Pakistan, is increasingly directing operatives in India to print fake notes locally instead of relying on cross-border smuggling routes through Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The trend points to a deliberate attempt to scale up production, with signs of a coordinated effort to undermine the Indian economy. Recent months have seen multiple seizures in border regions due to tighter security. At the same time, attempts to drop counterfeit currency using drones are being detected and intercepted with increasing frequency.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that the syndicate is now directing its operatives in India to print fake notes locally and circulate them within the market. They have been advised to keep operations small but frequent to maintain overall volume while avoiding attention.

“To reduce the risk of detection, members are also shifting bases regularly, making it difficult for agencies to track and pin down a single location,” the official added.

The route through the Bangladesh border has also become increasingly difficult for smugglers to use. Enhanced security measures have tightened surveillance, making it harder for operatives to push counterfeit currency into India.

Another official said the strategy now is to expand printing across multiple states, including Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab. In the past, the syndicate had set up a localised unit in Malda, West Bengal, where high-quality counterfeit notes were produced and were difficult to detect.

“However, after the unit was uncovered, intensified action by agencies led to a sharp decline in operations,” the official said.

Another official said printing capacity in Malda has dropped by more than half after agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), intensified investigations and enforcement.

Officials added that efforts are underway to push in raw materials needed to set up fresh units to expand local production. If these consignments reach operatives in India, output could increase again. Even as the focus shifts to domestic printing, attempts to move counterfeit currency across the border using drones are expected to continue.

Last month, the Border Security Force (BSF) and Amritsar Police seized counterfeit currency worth Rs 2.5 lakh, which officials believe may have been a trial run. While drones have been intercepted carrying drugs, arms, and ammunition on several occasions, their use for moving fake currency has emerged as a growing concern.

Agencies said the syndicate is now relying on smaller consignments that are harder to detect on radar and surveillance systems. An official noted that operatives are adopting varied methods to increase the circulation of counterfeit notes.

Even as local production gathers pace, the use of drones is expected to continue. The broader objective, officials said, is to generate funds for terror activities and to inflict economic damage through the sustained circulation of fake currency.

Patna, April 13: A nine-year-old girl was killed and over a dozen school children were injured after a school van overturned in Bihar Nawada district on Monday morning, police said.

The incident occurred on Kamlapur Road in the Govindpur block around 8.15 a.m. on Monday, where the vehicle reportedly lost control, plunged nearly 20 feet off the road, and overturned multiple times.

Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene as the vehicle rolled repeatedly before coming to a halt. Local villagers — who were harvesting wheat in nearby fields — rushed to the spot upon hearing the crash. They played a crucial role in rescuing the children, pulling them out of the wreckage and transporting them to nearby hospitals.

According to the police, one student named Arohi Kumari (9) lost her life in this mishap, and two students have critical conditions at the moment. Other students are also under the close observation of doctors.

Preliminary findings suggest that the vehicle belonged to a private school. Local residents have alleged that the vehicle was overloaded beyond capacity. The vehicle has a capacity to transport 15 students, but it was carrying more than 25 at the time of the accident.

The eyewitnesses have also said that the driver of the vehicle was in an inebriated condition and travelling at high speed. These factors are believed to have contributed to the accident.

Police have reached the spot and initiated an investigation into the incident. Authorities are examining all aspects, including vehicle condition, driver’s conduct, and compliance with safety norms.

The Nawada police arrested the errant driver and lodged an FIR against him under the relevant sections of rash and negligent driving at the Govindpur police station. The district police will also conduct a medical check-up of the driver.

The incident has sparked widespread anger among villagers, who are demanding strict action against the school administration. Residents have emphasized the urgent need for enforcing safety regulations to prevent such tragedies in the future.