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Delhi and adjoining NCR witnessed light to moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and gusty winds on Monday morning, pushing the temperatures several degrees down and rendering the air cleaner.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded widespread precipitation across various parts of Delhi-NCR from Sunday night. Safdarjung, the city’s base observatory, recorded 14 mm rainfall in the 24 hours until 8.30 am on Monday. Palam and Lodi Road logged 16.2 mm and 17.3 mm of rainfall respectively during the same period.

As per the IMD’s three-hourly rainfall data, Najafgarh saw the highest spell at 5.5 mm between 2.30 am 5.30 am on Monday, followed Safdarjung at 4.4 mm rainfall, and Palam, Pusa and Narela at 1 mm rain each.

The rainfall led to a notable drop in day temperatures on Monday. According to the IMD, the minimum temperature recorded at 8.30 am at Safdarjung station was 24 degrees Celsius, 3.9 notches below the season’s average.The air quality improved slightly, though the Air Quality Index (AQI) continued to stay in the ‘satisfactory’ category. The AQI recorded was 73 at 9 am on Monday, against 83 on Sunday evening.

According to the Central Pollution Control Board, an AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

The IMD had issued a nowcast warning for Monday morning, forecasting light rain and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds with speeds up to 30-“40 kilometres per hour across all four sectors of Delhi –” northwest, northeast, southwest and southeast. Parts of NCR, including Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Faridabad, also experienced similar conditions.

Riddled with debt, a businessman here allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison along with his wife and minor daughter, a police official said on Monday.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, the incident happened at his ancestral residence at Ashrafabad area in Lucknow.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

DCP Srivastava told PTI that on Monday morning, the police received information that a cloth businessman in Talkatora area has consumed poison along with his family. The minor daughter informed her uncle about the incident, but by the time he reached there, their condition had deteriorated.

Mr Srivastava said the trio were taken to the Trauma Centre of King 

Riddled with debt, a businessman here allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison along with his wife and minor daughter, a police official said on Monday.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, the incident happened at his ancestral residence at Ashrafabad area in Lucknow.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

DCP Srivastava told PTI that on Monday morning, the police received information that a cloth businessman in Talkatora area has consumed poison along with his family. The minor daughter informed her uncle about the incident, but by the time he reached there, their condition had deteriorated.

Mr Srivastava said the trio were taken to the Trauma Centre of King.

Tragedy repeated itself in a family here, eerily in a similar manner, after two years and claimed the life of a girl child on each occasion.

Shailendra, a native of Jhansi, and his wife, who run a roadside stall selling street food in the Duddhi bazaar area of Sonbhadra district, lost their one-and-a-half-year-old girl after she accidentally fell into a boiling pot of chickpeas at their home, police said on Monday.

This incident is strangely similar to another tragedy which the family was struck by two years ago when the couple lost their elder daughter, who, too, fell into a hot cooking vessel.

The mishap took place at around 9 am on Friday when Shailendra was preparing chickpeas in a pot for his food stall. While he and his wife were momentarily engaged in other tasks, their toddler daughter, Priya, who was playing near the utensil, accidentally fell into the hot pot, police said.The child was rushed to the Duddhi Community Health Centre, where doctors referred her to the district hospital for further treatment.

However, despite medical efforts, the child succumbed to her injuries on the same day, officials said.

Shailendra buried her daughter the next day near the banks of the Kanhar River in Duddhi.

He recalled that two years ago, his elder daughter, Saumya, aged around two at the time, also died in similar circumstances after she accidentally fell into a hot pot of utensils.

That, too, was an accident, he said.

Duddhi Station House Officer (SHO) Manoj Singh said the incident was not initially reported to the police.

“However, upon receiving information and conducting an inquiry, it was found to be an accident,” he said.

In a viral post, a customer has accused a movie theatre in Lucknow’s Hazratganj of overcharging for movie tickets. The woman shared a video, allegedly showing a multiplex charging significantly higher prices at the counter than those listed on online booking platforms.

The woman spoke about trying to buy four tickets for Vicky Kaushal-starrer Chhaava at Saharaganj Hall. She first checked the ticketing platform BookMyShow, where the ticket price was Rs 160 per ticket, making the total Rs 640. With BookMyShow’s convenience fee, the final amount was Rs 758.

She said since they were already at the cinema, it made no sense to pay over Rs 100 in convenience fees. Instead, she decided to buy tickets directly from the counter.

She says she was shocked when the staff quoted a price of Rs 1,038 – charging them Rs 259 per ticket instead of Rs 160. When she asked why, the counter staff claimed the amount included GST and other charges.The group confronted the counter staff, pointing out that GST was already included in the ticket price displayed on BookMyShow.

“What scam is this?” they asked and threatened to take the theatre to consumer court.

The counter staff appeared nervous in the video. The staff removed a “combo” offer (which the group had never asked for) and reduced the bill to Rs 938 – still much higher than the original Rs 640.

When the customer insisted on a proper breakdown and refused to pay for any additional charges, the counter worker allegedly showed irritation, threw her pen, and walked off to talk to her manager. When she returned, she finally charged the correct price of Rs 640 – proving, according to the customer, that the additional charges were illegal.

The post included a screenshot of the tickets, which clearly had CGST, GST, and service charges included within the Rs 160 per ticket price.

In view of Alvida Juma, the last Friday of Ramzan, security has been significantly increased across Uttar Pradesh, police officials said.

Giving details of the security arrangement, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abhishek Bharti outlined the security measures, mentioning that Quick Reaction Teams (QRT), along with Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and the Rapid Action Force (RAF), have been deployed in sensitive areas to maintain law and order.

“The entire city has been divided into sectors and zones in view of the Alvida prayers. QRT teams have been deployed in sensitive areas. PAC and RAF are also being stationed. Surveillance is being conducted using drones. Foot patrols are being carried out,” DCP Bharti told ANI.

Meanwhile, Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Babloo Kumar, added that over 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in Lucknow for security. He further mentioned that monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones.

“Proper security and traffic arrangements have been made in Lucknow in view of Alvida Namaz. More than 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in the district. Proper traffic diversions have been made to ensure the smooth flow ofMeanwhile, Joint Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Babloo Kumar, added that over 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in Lucknow for security. He further mentioned that monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones.

“Proper security and traffic arrangements have been made in Lucknow in view of Alvida Namaz. More than 1000 police personnel and nine companies of PAC have been deployed in the district. Proper traffic diversions have been made to ensure the smooth flow of traffic. Police officials also held peace committee meetings with the religious leaders and also appealed to offer namaz in their religious places. Monitoring will be done through CCTV cameras and drones,” Joint CP Law Kumar said.

Alvida Juma, which falls on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramzan, holds special religious significance for Muslims.

Ramzan, also known as Ramadan, Ramzaan, or Ramazan, is the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar that falls in the ninth month of the Hijri (the Islamic lunar calendar). During this holy period, Muslims observe fasting from dawn until sunset, a practice called Roza, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, signifying values of devotion, self-restraint.

The body of a Public Works Department (PWD) engineer, who had been missing for two days, was found in a canal here on Thursday, police said.

His wife had filed a missing persons report two days ago, prompting the police to launch an investigation, police said.

DCP (Lucknow East) Shashank Singh said, “A body was found in the Indira Nagar canal near the Gosainganj area. It has been identified as that of Vivek Kumar Soni, an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department.” According to Singh, Soni’s wife had reported him missing on Tuesday at the Ashiana police station, stating that he had left home and not returned.

Further investigation revealed that his motorcycle was found near the Indira Canal on Wednesday.

Acting on suspicion, police called in the SDRF team to search the canal, leading to the recovery of his body on Thursday.The body has been sent for post-mortem after completing legal formalities. Further action will be taken based on the autopsy report,” Singh added.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Congress criticised the state’s law and order situation in connection with the incident.

The party posted on social media platform X, “PWD engineer Vivek Soni, who was working in Lucknow, was found dead in Indira Dam today. He had been missing for two days. The police remained clueless from the time he disappeared until his death. No one is safe in the state, and this is the only achievement of ‘power-hungry’ Baba Ji (Yogi Adityanath) in eight years.”

Doctors, paramedical staff and the hospital superintendent worked together to shift all patients to other hospitals. Firefighters are present and making efforts to bring the fire under control,” he added.A fire broke out at a hospital on Monday night, prompting the evacuation of nearly 200 patients, officials said. No casualties have been reported.

Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak told PTI Videos that smoke was first noticed on the second floor of Lok Bandhu Raj Narayan Combined Hospital.

“After smoke was seen emanating from the second floor, evacuation of patients was immediately initiated. Approximately 200 patients in all have been moved to safety,” he said.

Mr Pathak confirmed that no one was injured in the incident and fire brigade teams were working to douse the flames.

“Doctors, paramedical staff and the hospital superintendent worked together to shift all patients to other hospitals. Firefighters are present and making efforts to bring the fire under control,” he added.

An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) with the CBI was attacked by a former railway gangman with a bow and arrow outside the agency’s office in Hazratganj here following which the accused was arrested, police said on Saturday.

ASI Virendra Singh (55), who suffered a chest injury in the incident on Friday, had investigated a case related to corruption in the Railways in 1993 after which the accused was dismissed from service. The accused, identified as Dinesh Murmu, had also attacked a policeman in 2005, they said.

SHO of Hazratganj police station Vikram Singh told PTI that “Dinesh Murmu (65), a resident of Munger (Bihar), attacked ASI Singh with a bow and arrow outside the CBI office located on Naval Kishore Marg”.

The ASI is undergoing medical treatment in Lucknow, and his wound was about five centimetres deep, he said.

The Station House Officer (SHO) said that Murmu has been booked for the offence of attempt to murder under the BNS and has been arrested. After completing the legal process, the accused will be sent to jail today.

The SHO said that Murmu was a railway gangman when Singh had investigated a case related to corruption in 1993 and the accused was dismissed from service.

According to police sources, Murmu had gone to Delhi to meet a CBI officer in 2005 and attacked a policeman, after which he was sent to jail.

In 2015, he was also arrested after a dispute with a GRP jawan at Jaunpur railway station and remained in jail for about three and a half years.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

Riddled with debt, a businessman here allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison along with his wife and minor daughter, a police official said on Monday.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, the incident happened at his ancestral residence at Ashrafabad area in Lucknow.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

DCP Srivastava told PTI that on Monday morning, the police received information that a cloth businessman in Talkatora area has consumed poison along with his family. The minor daughter informed her uncle about the incident, but by the time he reached there, their condition had deteriorated.

Mr Srivastava said the trio were taken to the Trauma Centre of King George Medical University, where doctors declared them dead.

A bottle of sulphas was recovered from the residence, he said, adding that the victim was troubled by a bank loan.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

Riddled with debt, a businessman here allegedly committed suicide by consuming poison along with his wife and minor daughter, a police official said on Monday.

According to Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishwajeet Srivastava, the incident happened at his ancestral residence at Ashrafabad area in Lucknow.

The dead have been identified as Shobhit Rastogi (48), his wife Suchita Rastogi (44) and daughter Khyati Rastogi (16).

DCP Srivastava told PTI that on Monday morning, the police received information that a cloth businessman in Talkatora area has consumed poison along with his family. The minor daughter informed her uncle about the incident, but by the time he reached there, their condition had deteriorated.

Mr Srivastava said the trio were taken to the Trauma Centre of King George Medical University, where doctors declared them dead.

A bottle of sulphas was recovered from the residence, he said, adding that the victim was troubled by a bank loan.