Mumbai: A major fire erupted in a residential high-rise, Sorrento Tower, located on Veera Desai Road, Andheri West on Thursday morning,  in which several people were stranded. The incident of fire was reported to Mumbai Fire Brigade at 10.05 am. 

Over 40 residents from the upper floors who were stranded at upper floors were rescued by the firefighters. Due to swift action by the authorities, no injury was reported and all residents were evacuated safely.

“The incident took place in Sorrento Tower, Veera Desai Road, near country club, Andheri West. Total 30-40 people from 16th floor refuge area are safely rescued through staircase. Two males and one female safely rescued from flat no 1503 on 15th floor using BA set.”

“The fire was confined to electric wiring, electric installation etc in electric shaft from 10th floor to 21st floor and router, shoe rack, wooden furniture etc near electric duct on various floors of Stilt+ 4 Podium+ 5th to 22nd floors residential building,” the report from BMC disaster management said.

Agencies including Mumbai Fire Brigade, Police, staff from concerned Electricity Distribution Company, ambulance and Ward staff are deployed on the spot.The fire was declared Level 1 on 10.20 am and doused at 11.37 pm. No injuries were reported.Further details are awaited in the incident. The authorities are investigating the cause of fire.

Bhopa/Maihar, Dec 25: Three young labourers lost their lives in a devastating road accident near the Gujra toll plaza in Madhya Pradesh’s Maihar district.

A speeding motorcycle carrying the trio collided violently with a tractor-trolley parked on the roadside close to the Indian Gas Agency under the Mukundpur police outpost of the district.

The impact was catastrophic, destroying the motorcycle completely and throwing the riders onto the road, where they succumbed to their injuries instantly.

The deceased have been identified as Ankit Sodhia, Deepak Kol, and Nagendra Kol, all residents of Jamuna village, police officials said.

They were returning home after a day’s work as labourers in Rewa when tragedy struck on the Bela-Govindgarh road near the Gujra petrol pump.

Preliminary police investigation points to high speed and possible negligence as the primary cause. Also, the trolley had no reflector on it.

Authorities are also probing whether the riders were under the influence of alcohol, a factor that could have impaired their judgment in the dark hours.

Upon receiving information, Tala police station officers promptly arrived at the scene with their team. The bodies were taken into custody, the necessary formalities completed, and sent to Amarpatan hospital for post-mortem examination.

The police are further examining why the tractor-trolley was stationed on the highway without adequate warning red reflectors, a practice that has become a recurring hazard. Local residents have expressed growing frustration over heavy vehicles parked on roadsides at night, which often lead to such fatal mishaps due to poor visibility.

Villagers have urged the district administration to enforce strict measures, including mandatory reflective signs, lights, or barriers for parked vehicles, especially on busy stretches. They have further urged the authorities to take immediate action, as during winters, dense fog adds to trouble for vehicle riders, more so in dark hours.

New Delhi, Dec 25: The ISI’s role in attempting to fan an anti-India sentiment in Bangladesh is most certainly confirmed, given the rhetoric by some Pakistan news outlets and a few leaders. Some media outlets have recklessly blamed India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) for the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. The claim has been made at a time when the Bangladesh authorities themselves are unclear about the killers and their motive.

Adding to the fire is a fiery video message by Kamran Sayeed Usmani, a leader of Pakistan’s ruling party, PML-N, who went on an anti-India rhetoric.

While blaming New Delhi for the mess in Bangladesh, he threatens that missiles would be directed at India. Officials say that these are reckless messages only aimed at ensuring that the violence continues in Bangladesh.

The official further pointed out that there is a pattern to such messaging. The intention is to internationalise the domestic problems in Bangladesh, and by dragging India into it, these elements are trying to achieve just that. Not a single country except Pakistan has blamed India for the mess that is on in Bangladesh. In fact, it was the Pakistan deep-state that orchestrated this mess by first ensuring that Sheikh Hasina was ousted and the Jamaat-e-Islami was in the driver’s seat. The international community is aware that the Jamaat is a puppet of the ISI.

Following the Liberation War, it was the ISI and Jamaat which planned large-scale illegal immigration into India so that demographic changes could be executed. Intelligence Bureau officials who are keeping a close watch on the developments in Bangladesh say that the ISI is playing two games here.

Pakistan has been desperately seeking revenge against India since it lost the 1971 war, which led to the creation of Bangladesh. Hence, there has been the manufacturing of a false narrative so that the people of Bangladesh are pitted against India.

The ISI realises that it would need a Jamaat government or one backed by it to be in power. Parties like the Bangladesh National Party (BNP) have been showing signs of moving away from the Jamaat and ISI, as the party wants a developed and not a radical nation.

The signs became clear when the BNP distanced itself from the Jamaat and decided to contest the elections on its own.

This shift has hurt the ISI and made it insecure, as the BNP does have every chance of winning the elections. Pollsters have predicted a win for the BNP in the absence of the Awami League, which has been banned from contesting the elections.

Former Prime Minister and BNP chief Khaleda Zia is unwell, and this could well be a sympathy factor for the party in the February 2026 polls. The BNP cadre will also be bolstered by the return of Zia’s son, Tarique Rehman, who is set to visit Bangladesh after 17 years in exile.

All these factors have made the ISI and Jamaat uneasy, and they feel that the elections can slip out of their hand.

Bangladesh watchers say that the elections are unlikely to be put off as pressure from the international community is building up. Experts say that the elections in Bangladesh are most likely to go as per schedule, but the fairness of it remains a question mark.

Intelligence agencies say that the violence is being fanned by the Jamaat-controlled groups so that the people do not come out and vote in large numbers. They want to create fear in the minds of the people so that they stay indoors when the elections are on.

Many Awami League supporters are unlikely to vote as the party is banned. Some are likely to shift their loyalties to the BNP, and if this does happen, then the party’s chances of winning the elections will only increase.

Analysts say that there is either a chance of a short postponement of the elections or a completely unfair one being conducted.

The ISI is doing everything possible to rig the polls by inciting violence. While trying to rig the polls, the ISI is also dishing out a false narrative to create an anti-India sentiment among the people.