At least 15 passengers were killed and 60 others injured as three rear coaches of the Sealdah-bound Kanchenjunga Express derailed after colliding with a freight train in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Monday morning. Hours after the incident, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was seen riding a bike to reach the accident site. According to railway officials, the death toll may rise as several state and central agencies are working on a war footing along with locals to rescue passengers who may still be trapped inside. The deceased include the pilot and co-pilot of the freight train and the guard of the passenger train.

This incident spread panic among the people present there.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Monday held wide-ranging talks with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, primarily focusing on the implementation of the ambitious India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET). The two top security officials are also understood to have deliberated on global and regional issues of mutual interest. Sullivan, accompanied by a delegation of senior US officials and industry leaders, is on an official visit to New Delhi from June 17-18. Following the launch of ICET by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden during the Quad summit in Tokyo in May 2022, the two NSAs have made a concerted effort to engage in identified areas of cooperation in diverse areas of new and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, defence innovation, space and advanced telecommunications. NSA Sullivan also met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday. “Glad to welcome US NSA @JakeSullivan46 in New Delhi this morning. Had extensive discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues,” Jaishankar said on ‘X’. He said, “I am confident that the India-US strategic partnership will move forward from strength to strength in our new tenure.”

Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep reacted to the arrest of fellow actor Darshan. Speaking to the media, he also demanded justice for the late victim Renukaswamy’s wife and their unborn child.