Country bombs hurled at police vehicle escorting history-sheeter in TN, three cops injured
Perambalur (PTI): Unidentified assailants hurled country bombs at a police escort vehicle near the Thirumandhurai toll plaza on the Chennai-Trichy National Highway on Saturday in an attempt to attack a history sheeter being transported in it, police said.
Three police personnel sustained injuries in the blast and the ensuing melee, they said.
The attack targeted 'Vellai' Kali, a notorious history-sheeter from Madurai with over 30 criminal cases including nine murders.
According to preliminary reports, as the police van approached the Perambalur district limits, a gang traveling in two cars intercepted the vehicle and hurled multiple country bombs, attempting to neutralise the police escort to reach the history-sheeter.
In self-defense and to prevent the prisoner’s escape or assassination, the police personnel reportedly opened fire at the vehicles, forcing the attackers to flee the scene.
A senior officer said the assailants fled towards Chennai.
The injured were immediately rushed to the Perambalur Government Hospital for treatment.
“They suffered minor injuries and are being treated at the moment,” the officer said.
The condition of 'Vellai' Kali is reported to be stable as the police successfully shielded him from the direct impact of the explosives.
The incident triggered a sharp political reaction.
Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) took to X (formerly Twitter) to condemn the DMK government.
He noted that while Chief Minister M K Stalin was “patting his own back” in the State Assembly, the state’s security apparatus was “shattered on the highways”.
EPS further alleged that criminals no longer fear the police under the current administration.
“A situation prevails where there is absolutely no fear of the police, who deal with crimes, or of this government. While the law and order situation is being made a mockery of, I do not know whom Chief Minister Stalin — who is rotating the wheels of administration in a lackadaisical manner — is going to blame for this incident,” wrote Palaniswami in his post.
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ISRO successfully conducts second integrated air drop test for Gaganyaan mission
New Delhi (PTI): Space agency ISRO has successfully conducted the second integrated air drop test (IADT-02) for the upcoming Gaganyaan mission at the space station in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota.
The system is essential to ensure a safe recovery of the crew module -- the capsule in which astronauts sit during a human flight -- during re-entry and landing.
Union minister Jitendra Singh congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for successfully conducting the test.
"Congratulations #ISRO for the successful accomplishment of Second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) for #Gaganyaan, India's first Human Space flight scheduled next year. The second Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT-02) was successfully conducted at Satish Dhawan Space Station Sriharikota," Singh said in a post on X.
The IADT-02 follows the successful completion of the first IADT, which took place on August 24, 2025, at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.
Air drop tests recreate the last leg of a spacecraft's return to Earth. An aircraft or helicopter drops the spacecraft from a height to test various systems under different scenarios.
These are the deployment of the parachute system in case the mission is aborted mid-flight, system performance when one parachute fails to open and the spacecraft's orientation and safety during splashdown etc.
In the IADT-02 test, a simulated crew module, weighing about 5.7 tonnes, was lifted by an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter to an altitude of about three kilometres and released over a designated drop zone in the sea, near the Sriharikota coast.
In a statement, the ISRO said, "Ten parachutes of four types were deployed in a precise sequence during the descent of the crew module, gradually reducing the velocity for safe touchdown. Subsequently, the simulated crew module was successfully recovered in coordination with the Indian Navy."
