2 min readApr 7, 2026 06:40 AM IST
First published on: Apr 7, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST
Curfew was clamped on Garhshankar town in Hoshiarpur district following the mob violence, while the police were yet to make a breakthrough in the sensational terrorist action in Jalandhar in which six policemen were killed and three undertrials escaped.
Aircraft carrier deal
An agreement for the purchase of the British aircraft carrier Hermes will be signed this month. The carrier, to be purchased for about £25 million, will be refitted in Britain at a cost of £15 million before it joins the Indian Navy in 30 weeks, official sources said. Larger and far more sophisticated than Vikrant, Hermes, after refitting, will cost only 10 per cent of the price of a new aircraft carrier of its size and sophistication. Informed sources in the government explained that Hermes is intended to meet the urgent needs of the Navy until India is able to build its own aircraft carriers in about 15 years.
Zia’s accusation against India
President Zia-ul-Haq of Pakistan has accused India of violating the Simla Agreement by “unilaterally occupying” an area of the Siachen glacier and warned it could spoil India-Pakistan relations. Gen Zia said India was in a “spot” on the Siachen issue.
Panic in NOIDA
Panic gripped the residential colonies of NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) following rumours that the water supply to the area had been poisoned. Residents, who woke up to find a total power failure and dry taps, were soon “unofficially” informed that their drinking water had been poisoned. According to some of them, a mysterious handwritten note, which warned of the alleged poisoning, was passed from door to door. No one seemed to know who exactly the author was. What added to the panic was that neither the power supply nor the water connection had been restored to the colonies.
