Trinamool Congress MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha to protest against the Election Commission’s decision to replace several top officials in West Bengal shortly after the schedule for the Assembly election was announced.

Among those removed from their posts by the poll panel were Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey, Kolkata Commissioner of Police Supratim Sarkar and Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty.

The Election Commission directed that those transferred out of their positions should not be posted in any election-related assignment till the polls are completed.

The election will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The result will be announced on May 4. Read on.

The Haryana government told the Supreme Court that it will not grant sanction to prosecute Ashoka University Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in a case related to his comments about the press briefings on Operation Sindoor. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi then quashed the criminal proceedings against Mahmudabad, but cautioned him to act “prudently” in the future.

The state’s decision, described as “one-time magnanimity”, was communicated to the court by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.

Mahmudabad had been booked in May for a social media post highlighting the apparent irony of Hindutva commentators praising Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, who had represented the Indian Army during the press briefings. He was arrested on May 18, but was granted bail by the Supreme Court three days later.

Of two cases filed against him, one was filed based on a complaint by Yogesh Jatheri, general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s state Yuva Morcha, while the second was based on a complaint by Haryana Women’s Commission Chairperson Renu Bhatia. Read on.

Flights at Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates were temporarily suspended when a drone struck one of the fuel tanks in its vicinity amid the conflict in West Asia. Later in the day, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority announced the “gradual resumption of some flights” to selected destinations.

Some flights were diverted from the Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum International Airport on the outskirts of the city.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates ordered the arrest of 25 persons, including 17 Indians, for posting allegedly misleading or fabricated videos on social media amid the conflict. This is in addition to 10 persons, including two Indians, who were arrested on Saturday for similar offences. Read on.

Ten patients died and several were injured after a fire broke out in the trauma care intensive care unit of the Srirama Chandra Bhanja Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Cuttack. The fire was reported at about 3 am.

While the exact cause of the fire has not been confirmed, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said it may have been triggered by a short circuit.

Around 23 patients were admitted in the unit and an adjacent intensive care unit at the time of the incident, Majhi said. Many of them were on ventilator and oxygen support, making it difficult for the authorities to shift them quickly after the blaze erupted.

SCB Medical College and Hospital is the largest government healthcare facility in Odisha. Read on.

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