A tragic stampede at the privately-run Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple, Kasibugga in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, on November 1 killed nine devotees—including eight women and a 13-year-old boy—and injured over 25 others. Many of the victims were economically disadvantaged: farm hands, vegetable vendors and a widow who could not afford a pilgrimage to Tirumala and instead visited the temple locally. The surge occurred during the Ekadashi observance when the crowd swelled to around 25,000 – far above the temple’s capacity of 3,000 – triggering a collapse of a railing in a narrow queue area. A government inquiry has been ordered and the temple builder booked under culpable homicide charges, highlighting ongoing crowd-management failures. 

A 27-year-old Indian migrant worker, Vijay Kumar Mahato from Dudhapania village in Jharkhand’s Giridih district, was killed in Saudi Arabia after being caught in a cross-fire between local police and criminals involved in the illegal liquor trade. Employed for about a year by Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company on transmission-line projects, he was struck by a stray bullet on October 15 while walking near his worksite. Before succumbing to his injuries, he reportedly sent a voice note to his wife saying “the bullet was meant for someone else.” Indian and Jharkhand authorities are working to repatriate his body and initiate an investigation amid family demands for employer compensation. 

A chaotic crowd surge at the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Kasibugga, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh, resulted in several devotees being injured. The incident occurred amidst heavy footfall, as large numbers of pilgrims gathered for a significant religious occasion. Emergency responders reached the scene, administering medical aid and transporting the injured to nearby hospitals. Preliminary reports point to insufficient crowd-management and a lack of smooth access channels. Authorities are investigating the cause of the crush, urging calm, and reviewing safety protocols to prevent recurrence. (PC: ANI)

The Sabarimala Temple gold-theft scandal deepened as the Special Investigation Team (SIT) arrested former executive officer Sudheesh Kumar, who served the shrine in 2019. He is accused of falsely recording gold-clad guardian-idol plates as copper, enabling alleged removal of the gold by the prime accused, Unnikrishnan Potti. The arrest marks the third in the case, following Potti and ex-administrative officer B Murari Babu. Investigators are probing two linked cases involving gold from the idol plates and the sanctum door frame. (PC: PTI)

Justice Surya Kant, born February 10, 1962, in Petwar village, Hisar district, Haryana, began his education in a rural school where students sat on sacks due to lack of benches. He graduated in arts in 1981 and earned an LLB in 1984, becoming his family’s first law graduate. He built a distinguished legal career: youngest Advocate General of Haryana in 2000, High Court judge from 2004, then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh HC in 2018, Supreme Court judge in 2019. Set to become India’s 53rd Chief Justice on November 24, 2025, Surya Kant’s rise from humble roots to the apex of the judiciary inspires many from under-resourced backgrounds. 

India has launched a large-scale tri-services exercise named Ex Trishul, deploying around 25 warships, more than 40 combat aircraft and at least 40,000 soldiers. The drills will include amphibious operations, cyber and space-domain components, and are taking place over the Arabian Sea, Gujarat and Rajasthan—including the Rann of Kutch and the disputed Sir Creek area. The exercise runs until November 13 and follows heightened regional tensions, with Pakistan also issuing air-space notices in response. (PC: ANI)

Kerala has officially become the first Indian state to eliminate extreme poverty, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced in the state assembly on Kerala Piravi Day. The achievement follows the Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP) launched in 2021, which targeted over 64,000 economically vulnerable families through measures such as housing, food security, livelihood support, and document regularisation. Vijayan hailed it as a milestone in Kerala’s welfare model. However, the opposition parties boycotted the session, calling the declaration politically motivated and demanding transparency in data verification. (PC: India Today)

The Supreme Court of India has overturned a 10-year sentence for a man convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in a case involving his now-wife, noting their 2021 marriage, their child and co-habitation. The bench emphasised the relationship was “love, not lust” and said the law must serve justice, not blind punishment. It placed the quashing on condition he continue to support his wife and child with dignity and warned the decision is not precedent for other POCSO cases. 

At Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai, customs officers intercepted two major smuggling attempts. In the first case, a passenger arriving from Bangkok was found carrying two baby Silvery Gibbon apes—one alive and one dead—hidden inside a basket in a trolley bag. The gibbons are an endangered species. In the second case, officers seized 7.97 kg of alleged hydroponic marijuana worth approximately ₹8 crore, also arriving from Bangkok via checked baggage. Both individuals have been arrested under relevant wildlife and narcotics laws. (PC: X)

In a dramatic incident in Mumbai, filmmaker Rohit Arya held 19 people — including 17 children — hostage in his Powai studio, demanding ₹2.4 crore from the Maharashtra government for his sanitation-project work. He contacted actor Ruchita Vijay Jadhav days earlier under the guise of discussing a film, according to her Instagram post. Police ended the crisis by fatally shooting Arya when he aimed a gun at a child; the hostages were safely freed. The government later clarified it owed him nothing and alleged he had collected fees from schools in the sanitation drive. (PC: NDTV)