BJP candidate Agnimitra Paul's car was pelted with stones and its rear windowpanes were shattered near Rahmat Nagar in her Asansol Dakshin Assembly constituency on Thursday, police said.

 West Bengal recorded brisk polling on Thursday with over 62 per cent of the 3.60 crore electors in the first phase of the Assembly elections exercising their franchise till 1 pm amid sporadic incidents of violence, voter intimidation and assault on a BJP candidate.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius in Berlin on Wednesday to bolster strategic partnership, and the two sides inked an agreement for a defence industrial cooperation roadmap, officials said.

The Karnataka School Examination and Evaluation Board (KSEAB) has recorded a 94.10% pass percentage in the SSLC Annual Examination-1 for the academic year 2025-26.

Clashes broke out between supporters of the Aam Janata Unnayan Party (AJUP) and the ruling TMC in Naoda area in West Bengal's Murshidabad district on Thursday, prompting police and central forces to resort to baton charge to disperse the mob, officials said.

Two days after the blast at a fireworks manufacturing unit at Mundathicode here that claimed 14 lives, a police forensic team is examining what chemicals were being used to make the crackers and whether any of them were prohibited.

Polling in 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu on Thursday witnessed enthusiastic participation, as nearly 38 per cent of the about 5.73 crore voters exercised their franchise by 11 am, the EC said.

Police have arrested another accused in connection with the murder of rowdy-sheeter Arif Hussain on the Thokkottu flyover.