An Indian Air Force (IAF) training aircraft crashed into a pond near KP College ground in the George Town area here on Wednesday, officials said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Manish Shandilya said the pilot ejected safely and there were no reports of casualties or damage to civilian property.

According to officials, the aircraft went down after its engine developed a sudden technical snag during the training sortie.

The area has been cordoned off by authorities, and an investigation has been launched to ascertain the exact cause of the crash, officials added.

Punjab Police on Wednesday said it has unearthed a cross-border illegal arms trafficking module linked to Pakistan-based smugglers with the arrest of two persons in Amritsar.

The Amritsar Commissionerate Police recovered six sophisticated pistols, including two Glock pistols and four .30 bore pistols, along with two cartridges, Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said.

According to the DGP, the arrested accused were involved in illegal arms trafficking and were supplying weapons to gangsters on the directions of foreign-based handlers.

An FIR has been registered under the Arms Act at Police Station Islamabad in Amritsar, and further investigations are underway to trace forward and backward linkages of the module, Yadav said in a post on X.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attempting to centralise power and dilute welfare protections for the poor, alleging that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) had been systematically weakened.

Addressing Congress workers during his visit to Raebareli, his parliamentary constituency, Gandhi said the government had not only “insulted” MGNREGA by changing its name but had also withdrawn the security it provided to marginalised sections, which he termed an assault on the foundations of democracy.

“The Congress is running a nationwide movement to protect MGNREGA. We stand with labourers and are committed to safeguarding their rights,” he said.

The Congress leader further alleged that the Prime Minister was working to concentrate the country’s wealth in the hands of a few industrialists, naming Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani.

“On one side, we are protecting the people, while on the other, Narendra Modi is diverting the country’s entire wealth to a select few,” Gandhi claimed.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi inaugurated a cricket tournament in Raebareli and later held meetings with party office-bearers and workers. He is on a two-day visit to the constituency.

Meanwhile, Parliament on December 18, 2025, passed the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) [VB-GRAM-G] Bill, replacing the 20-year-old MGNREGA. The new legislation guarantees 125 days of rural wage employment annually.

The bill was passed amid strong opposition protests, with Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stating that the move was necessary to address shortcomings in the earlier scheme. Opposition parties objected to the removal of Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the legislation and alleged that the Centre was shifting the financial burden onto states.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday alleged that the sharp rise in gold and silver prices was a result of what he termed the BJP’s “new economic concept” of converting ill-gotten cash into precious metals.

In a post in Hindi on X, the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said that unlike established economic principles, rising prices of gold and silver were increasing demand instead of curbing it, which he described as the “solidification of corruption” under the BJP-led government.

“The corrupt BJP’s new economic concept. Solidification of corruption means converting money earned through corrupt means, in the form of liquid cash, into precious metals,” Yadav said.

“Under BJP rule, a rise in prices does not reduce demand but instead pushes it higher, which then leads to further price increases,” he added.

Yadav alleged that the surge in precious metal prices was also having serious social consequences, including a rise in incidents of theft, burglary, robbery and snatching in residential areas, markets and commercial establishments.

He claimed that the increased need for security due to such crimes was placing additional pressure on an already weakened police system, resulting in ineffective policing and emboldening criminal elements.

“This further burdens the already weak policing system under BJP rule, making criminals more active,” the SP chief said, adding sarcastically that the government could even conduct an AI-based analysis to understand the phenomenon.

His remarks came amid a sharp rally in precious metal prices. Silver prices crossed the Rs 3 lakh per kilogram mark for the first time in futures trade on Monday, driven by safe-haven demand amid global trade tariff tensions and a weak US dollar.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver futures surged by Rs 16,438, or nearly 6 per cent, to hit a record high of Rs 3,04,200 per kg. Gold prices also strengthened, with the February contract rising Rs 2,983, or 2.09 per cent, to Rs 1,45,500 per 10 grams. Over the past week, gold prices gained Rs 3,698, or 2.7 per cent, on the MCX.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine whether the Enforcement Directorate (ED) can file writ petitions before high courts under Article 226 of the Constitution for enforcement of its rights as a ‘juristic person’.

A juristic person is a non-human legal entity recognised by law and entitled to legal rights and duties similar to those of a natural person.

A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma issued notice to the ED on appeals filed by the Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments, which have challenged a Kerala High Court order upholding the agency’s locus standi to move writ petitions under Article 226.

Article 226 empowers high courts to issue writs for enforcement of fundamental rights and for other legal purposes.

The challenge stems from a September 26, 2024, order of the Kerala High Court, which upheld a single-judge decision staying a judicial inquiry into the ED’s probe of the 2020 gold smuggling case, involving the illegal import of gold through diplomatic channels.

The judicial inquiry commission was constituted by the Kerala government following allegations that ED officials had coerced accused persons to implicate political leaders, including the Chief Minister, in the gold smuggling case.

Dismissing the state government’s appeal against the interim stay, the High Court held that the plea lacked merit and that the single bench had committed no error in entertaining the ED’s writ petition and staying the inquiry.

The case originated from a May 7, 2021, notification issued by the Kerala government ordering a judicial inquiry under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952, into allegations against ED officials.

A former High Court judge, Justice V K Mohanan, was appointed to head the inquiry commission. The commission was tasked with examining evidence, including an audio clip allegedly featuring accused Swapna Suresh and a letter written by accused Sandeep Nair, both claiming coercion by ED officers.

An ED Deputy Director subsequently approached the High Court, questioning the state government’s authority to order a judicial inquiry against a central investigating agency. On August 11, 2021, the single bench held that the ED had the right to approach the court and granted an interim stay on the inquiry, prompting the state government to move the appellate bench.

The Supreme Court’s decision to examine the issue is expected to have wider implications on whether central investigative agencies can independently invoke constitutional remedies before high courts.