India news: Mumbai building collapse amid rains kills 6

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More than 9,000 Indian Army servicemen identified and added to WWI casualty records

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) on Monday announced "the largest single addition to its casualty records since the Second World War."

A total of 9,909 Indian Army servicemen previously missing from the CWGC's records have been added, "correcting a past historical omission that meant they were never formally commemorated."

This follows years of research by the CWGC, the UK Punjab Heritage Association and the University of Greenwich, digitizing and analyzing documents held at Lahore Museum, now in Pakistan, containing the names and service details of approximately 320,000 Punjabi recruits.

The predominantly Sikh Punjab region was a key recruiting hub for the Indian Army in the colonial era, in large part because of the existing Sikh martial traditions.

"Britain and Punjab share a long history, notably during the two world wars, and for over a hundred years, part of it was missing. These men were never commemorated — not because they didn't serve, but because a decision made a century ago excluded their sacrifice from the record. Putting that right means giving families around the world their history back, and properly and equally commemorating the men who died," Amandeep Madra, British historian, author and chair of the UK Punjab Heritage Association said.

More than 1.4 million men served in the Indian Army on all major battlefronts during World War I, around half a million of them from the Punjab.

Most of the almost 10,000 soldiers not logged in records at the time had died in non-operational zones within India during the war. At the time, this meant they were not included in casualty lists and their names were not shared with the CWGC.

The CWGC launched a special project in 2021, called the Non-Commemoration Program, seeking to identify soldiers missing from its register and address historical inequalities in the record keeping. This project is by far the largest contributor so far to a process that has added more than 20,000 lost names to the records.

Ram temple trust accepts resignation of general secretary amid embezzlement row

The Trust overseeing the Ram Temple in Ayodhya accepted the resignation of its general secretary on Monday amid an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of donations, news channel NDTV reported.

General Secretary Champat Rai had resigned on June 26, a day after police arrested eight people, including his driver, in connection with the alleged theft of temple donations.

The men are accused of embezzlement temple donation funds and police recovered about 7.98 million rupees ($85,000) from them after they were arrested last ‌week.

The case has sparked anger amongst the devotees.

According to media reports, trustee Anil Mishra's resignation was also accepted and the international general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) Bajrang Bagra appointed as the new general secretary

Investigators have questioned Rai and Mishra, but neither has been named as an accused or charged in the case.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2024. The temple trust was set up under the Home Ministry's notification, and its trustees include known associates of Modi and his government.

India's anti-terrorism agency charges LeT founder Hafiz Saeed over Pahalgam attack

India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday filed a supplementary chargesheet against Pakistan-based militant Hafiz Saeed, accusing him of orchestrating the cross-border conspiracy behind last year's deadly attack in Pahalgam, media reports said.

The chargesheet also detailed Pakistan's role in last year's attack, reports said.

The NIA said Saeed was charged both in his individual capacity and as chief of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy outfit, The Resistance Front (TRF), according to the reports. The TRF and the LeT are designated as terrorist organizations by the US and India.

The supplementary chargesheet expands on the agency's original 1,597-page chargesheet with details of Pakistan's alleged role, Saeed's involvement and evidence gathered during the investigation.

The 2025 Pahalgam attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, mostly Hindu men, which triggered a four-day conflict between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan.

Saeed is designated as a "most-wanted terrorist" in India and is accused of being behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

India's deportations split families after Kashmir attack

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Film on Sikh activist pulled off OTT two days after release

A film based on the life of a Sikh human rights activist during the northern state of Punjab's turbulent insurgency years has been pulled from the Zee 5 streaming platform just two days after its release, the platform announced on Sunday.

The film, Diljit Dosanjh-starred Satluj, is based on the life of Jaswant Singh Khalra, an activist who sought justice for the thousands of people who disappeared during Punjab's insurgency years from 1984-94 and questioned the role of the Punjab Police.

Khalra himself disappeared in 1995 and 10 years later, six Punjab Police personnel were sentenced to life imprisonment for Khalra's abduction and murder.

In 2022, when the movie was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for consideration, the film body asked for 127 cuts or changes to be made and asked for the initial title of the film Punjab '95 to be changed.

The movie was initially released on July 3 on Zee 5 without any cuts to a "truly overwhelming" audience response, the OTT platform said.

However, "in light of the current developments, Satluj will be unavailable in India until further notice" the company said in a statement without clarifying the exact reason.

The film is directed by Honey Trehan.

Modi embarks on three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand

Prime Minister Narendra Modi departed on Monday on a three-nation tour of Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand aimed at strengthening economic and strategic ties.

In a post on X, Modi said he would be attending various programs in the three countries over the next few days.

"The aim of these meetings would be to boost economic and strategic cooperation with these valued developmental partners and ensure the youth of our nation get more opportunities in the times to come," Modi posted.

Mob lynches man after 12-year-old girl's body found in West Bengal

A suspect was lynched by locals on Sunday after a 12-year-old girl's body was found stuffed in a sack in the outskirts of Kolkata in eastern West Bengal state, local media reports said.

The girl had gone missing on Saturday after leaving home to buy food, her family told local media.

Her body was recovered on Sunday, triggering violent protests in the South 24 Parganas district. The protesters blocked roads, burned tires and damaged police vehicles, reports said.

Police said four people have been arrested in connection with the girl's death.

The Telegraph newspaper reported that the mob also alleged police had released another suspect following the "intervention" of a local leader from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Authorities said they are investigating both the girl's death and the lynching.

Mumbai rains turn deadly as building collapse kills six

Five children were among at least six people killed after several buildings collapsed in the western Indian city of Mumbai on Sunday amid heavy rains, authorities said.

On Monday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a 'red' alert for Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts.

The incident on Sunday occurred in the city's eastern suburb of Mankhurd where two to three multi-story homes in a slum area collapsed, killing five children and one woman, civic officials said.

The heavy monsoon rains have disrupted transport and forced schools to close in the financial capital of India.

The downpour also triggered landslides along the expressway between Mumbai and neighboring Pune, forcing its closure and disrupting traffic between the two cities.

Flight operations were affected, while several long-distance train services, including routes linking Mumbai and Pune, were cancelled.

More than 100 mm (3.9 inches) of rain fell across Mumbai, with some areas receiving up to 161 mm (6.3 inches), officials said.

Local media reported that three other people have died since late last month after trees toppled during the monsoon.

Hello! This is Shakeel from DW's New Delhi Studio bringing you the top headlines from across India.

As monsoon rains hit parts of the country, once again it has brought death and devastation. ​At least six people, including five children, were killed when a group of buildings collapsed in Mumbai on Sunday.

In West Bengal, a suspect was mob lynched by angry locals after a 12-year-old girl's body was found stuffed in a sack in the outskirts of Kolkata.

Meanwhile, a film based on the life of Sikh human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who sought justice for the 25,000 people who disappeared during Punjab's insurgency years and questioned the role of the Punjab Police, has been pulled from an OTT platform.

For all this and more, stay tuned to our live blog.