A massive fire broke out at a Mercedes workshop in Balaji Market in Rajasthan’s Jaipur, destroying around eight cars along with expensive spare parts and accessories.

Thick smoke from the blaze was visible from nearly five kilometres away. The incident happened late Tuesday night.

The workshop falls under the jurisdiction of the Sanganer Sadar police station. Soon after the fire was reported, police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot and launched efforts to contain the flames. Power supply to the surrounding area was also cut off as a precautionary measure to prevent the fire from spreading.

More than 50 cars, including both new and old vehicles, were parked at the workshop when the fire broke out.

The intense flames engulfed around eight vehicles before firefighters could contain the blaze. Several other cars were moved out of the workshop in time by firefighters and police personnel, preventing potentially greater damage.

Fire Officer Usha Sharma said around 10 fire tenders were deployed to control the blaze. The fire tenders reportedly made more than two dozen trips while battling the flames for nearly two hours. Sanganer Sadar SHO Kamlesh Sharma said several vehicles were safely removed from the premises during the operation.

Also, no loss of life was reported in the incident.

Preliminary investigation suggests that a short circuit may have triggered the fire. However, the exact cause is yet to be formally established. Police and fire officials are assessing the extent of damage to the vehicles, spare parts and other material inside the workshop.

Further details are expected as the investigation progresses.

Earlier in the day, a fire had also broken out at a mall near Narayan Singh Circle in Jaipur at around 2 p.m., triggering panic among people inside the premises. The mall’s electricity supply was switched off immediately after the fire was detected. Two fire tenders reached the spot and brought the blaze under control after around 30 minutes.

New Delhi, Sep 22: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday questioned how former Congress president Sonia Gandhi got her name added in the 1980 electoral rolls despite not being a citizen of India at that time, while accusing the grand old party of “theft of democracy”.

This comes a day after a Delhi Court set aside a magisterial court’s order that had refused to filing of an FIR against Sonia Gandhi for allegedly getting her name added in the electoral rolls of 1980, three years before getting Indian citizenship.

Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said: “In 1980, Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India. So, a petition was filed in the court at that time questioning that when Sonia Gandhi was not a citizen of India, under what provisions was she allowed to vote?”

“Did they attempt forgery of documents, given that from 1980 to 1983, the Congress party was in power (at the Centre)? During hearing of the matter yesterday, the Sessions Court in Delhi ordered the magisterial court to investigate whether a cognizable offence has been committed—meaning, whether the Congress Party and the Gandhi-Vadra family used fake documents to make Sonia Gandhi, who was not a citizen of India in 1980, cast vote,” he said.

Bhandari underlined that if someone makes fake documents, then under Section 337 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), there can be a punishment of up to 7 years, and it is a cognizable offence.

Further, the BJP leader alleged: “Those making ‘vote chori’ allegations, are themselves involved in ‘theft of democracy’.”

“The prima facie observation of the court states that the magisterial court which had set aside the case, ‘did not use application of mind’ and it did not perform its core function of discerning the disclosure of a cognizable offence. This means that the sessions court also accepts that the ‘theft of democracy’ by Sonia Gandhi, should be probed,” he said.

Pradeep Bhandari also lashed out at Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over his ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ event in Indore, stating that individuals in public life cannot act as trolls and comedians.

“Rahul Gandhi can act like one, but a certain serious is required in public discourse which demands accountability from those holding public office,” he said.

The BJP spokesperson also asked the LoP to respond to the allegations against his mother, Sonia Gandhi.

“Rahul Gandhi, who goes around holding a copy of the Constitution, should reply regarding how Sonia Gandhi was able to vote in 1980? Did the then Indira Gandhi-led government help her by making forge papers?” he asked.

Patna, Sep 22: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday announced the schedule for biennial elections to the Legislative Council from Graduate and Teachers’ constituencies in Bihar.

Besides Bihar, the MLC elections for Teachers and graduates’ seats will also be held in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh on the same dates.

The elections are being held as the terms of sitting members from these constituencies are set to expire.

According to the Commission’s schedule, eight seats will fall vacant in Bihar, four in Karnataka, five in Maharashtra and 11 in Uttar Pradesh.

With the announcement of the election schedule, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force with immediate effect in the constituencies concerned.

According to the EC notification, the formal election notification will be issued on September 29, 2026, and the last date for filing nominations is October 6. The scrutiny of nominations will take place on October 7, and the last date for withdrawal is October 9.

The polling will be held on October 23, from 8 am to 4 pm, followed by the counting of votes on October 27 and the completion of the election process on October 31.

In Bihar, the terms of four Graduate and four Teachers’ constituency members are expiring on November 16, 2026.

The sitting members are Neeraj Kumar (Patna Graduate constituency), Sarvesh Kumar (Darbhanga Graduate), Banshidhar Brajvasi (Tirhut Graduate), Dr N.K. Yadav (Kosi Graduate), Naval Kishore Yadav (Patna Teachers), Dr Madan Mohan Jha (Darbhanga Teachers), Sanjay Kumar Singh (Tirhut Teachers), and Afaque Ahmad (Saran Teachers).

The Model Code of Conduct has been implemented in the respective constituencies since the announcement of the election schedule.

Political parties, candidates and other stakeholders will be required to follow the Commission’s election-related guidelines during the period.

The ECI stated that its instructions and guidelines related to elections are available through its official channels and are required to be followed by all concerned.