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.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi and state BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma on Thursday extended birthday wishes to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, highlighting his role in internal security, the fight against narcotics and the cooperative sector.

CM Patel, in a post on social media platform X, described HM Shah as a son of Gujarat and a public-oriented Member of Parliament from Gandhinagar.

He also referred to HM Shah’s responsibilities as Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation.

“Heartfelt birthday wishes to Amit Shah, Gujarat’s illustrious son, the public-oriented Member of Parliament from Gandhinagar and the country’s distinguished Home and Cooperation Minister, who has strengthened India’s internal security and transformed the country’s cooperative sector,” CM Patel said.

The Chief Minister said HM Shah’s policy of “zero tolerance” towards crime had strengthened the law-and-order environment in the country and helped advance the goal of a “drug-free India”.

He also credited HM Shah’s leadership and organisational skills with contributing to national progress and security.

CM Patel said Gujarat had continued to receive HM Shah’s guidance and support, and prayed to Somnath Mahadev for his good health and long life.

Deputy CM Sanghavi, in his birthday message, highlighted HM Shah’s commitment to strengthening internal security, safeguarding the country’s unity and sovereignty, and building a drug-free India.

“Your decisive leadership and steadfast resolve in upholding the nation’s interests continue to motivate countless Karyakartas like me to work with greater dedication and commitment towards the service of Bharat,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He also wished HM Shah good health, a long life and the strength to continue serving the country and its people.

State BJP chief Vishwakarma said India’s internal security had become stronger under HM Shah’s leadership and that the “morale of the country’s security forces had reached new heights”.

Vishwakarma described HM Shah as a “skilled strategist” and a symbol of determined leadership.

He credited the Union Home Minister’s leadership with the abrogation of Article 370 and the campaign against Naxalism, adding that India is moving towards its goal of becoming drug-free.

Vishwakarma also highlighted the transformation of the cooperative sector, saying: “It is contributing to rural growth and helping lift people out of poverty.”