More than 15 Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces on Wednesday in the forests of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district bordering Telangana where a massive counter-insurgency operation is underway, a senior police official said.

The Supreme Court-appointed panel has confirmed the cash discovery allegations against Allahabad High Court's Justice Yashwant Varma in its inquiry report, sources have said. Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna is also learnt to have nudged the judge to step down in view of the critical findings in the report.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday directed chiefs of all paramilitary forces to call back their personnel who are on leave in the wake of the strikes carried out by the Indian armed forces in Pakistan as a retaliatory action against the Pahalgam terror attack, sources said.

The Jammu and Kashmir police detained a journalist, Hilal Mir, for allegedly spreading “anti-national content”.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday applauded the government and expressed solidarity with the armed forces, while asserting that India has behaved in a manner that would not justify further expansion of the conflict.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the 'Operation Sindoor' is Bharat's response to the brutal killings of innocent people in Pahalgam.

This is a time for unity and solidarity and the Congress is standing firmly with the armed forces, the party said on Wednesday as Indian armed forces carried out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

Indian airlines have cancelled their flights to and from various cities, including Jammu and Srinagar, amid airspace restrictions in the wake of Indian armed forces carrying out missile strikes on terror targets in Pakistan.