New Delhi: Front-line bases of the Indian army and the air force along the nearly 3,500 km de-facto border with China were Wednesday put on high alert because of the worst border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galway Valley in eastern Ladakh that left 20 Army personnel dead, official sources said.

The Indian Navy has also been asked to raise its alert level in the Indian Ocean Region where the Chinese Navy has been making regular forays.

The decision to raise the alert level of the three forces were taken at a high-level meeting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held with Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs, sources said.

The Army has already rushed in additional troops to all its key front-line bases and formations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh, they said.

The Indian Air Force has already raised the alert level in all its front-line bases tasked to keep an eye on the LAC, the de-facto border.

The sources said the Navy is increasing its deployment in the Indian Ocean Region to send across a strong message to the Chinese Navy.

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Nainital (PTI): A 55-year-old advocate allegedly died by suicide after shooting himself inside his car at the Nainital district court parking lot here on Monday, police said.

According to the police, Puran Singh Bhakuni, a resident of Mallital, was found in the rear seat of his vehicle with a gunshot wound to his temple.

Police recovered a licensed pistol from his hand and a suicide note from the car’s dashboard. The note stated that Bhakuni was unwell and suffering from depression.

"We received information through lawyers around noon. The deceased was lying in the back seat with a pistol in his hand and blood near his ear," Circle Officer Anjana Negi said.

Forensic teams and ballistic experts reached the spot to collect evidence, as no witness reported hearing the gunshot.

Government counsel Sushil Sharma stated that Bhakuni left home at 9 am and was found dead at 9.30 am.

Sharma raised concerns over the circumstances, noting that the body was in the rear seat, and demanded a thorough probe to rule out foul play. Bhakuni, who worked as a notary, had married six months ago, he said.

Police took the body into custody and sent it for a postmortem to confirm the cause of death.

The forensic laboratory will examine the suicide note and the ballistics of the weapon, the police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.