Important News

New Delhi, The National Capital was plunged into panic on Monday evening after a powerful explosion rocked the busy area outside the Red Fort (Lal Quila) Metro Station, leaving at least Ten people dead and several others injured. The incident, which occurred in a parked vehicle, has prompted authorities to issue a high alert across Delhi and the surrounding NCR.   Explosion Rocks Old Delhi The blast was reported around 7:15 PM (IST) outside Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, a densely crowded stretch opposite the entrance to Chandni Chowk. Key Details of the Incident: Casualties: Officials at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital confirmed that at least eight people succumbed to their injuries after being brought to the facility. Several others are currently receiving treatment, with some reported to be in critical condition. Site of Blast: The explosion reportedly took place inside a parked car, which immediately caught fire. The resulting blaze quickly engulfed three to four nearby vehicles. Impact: Eyewitnesses from the Chandni Chowk trading community described the blast as “massive,” stating that tremors could be felt up to 900 metres away, causing buildings to shake. The explosion triggered immediate chaos as shoppers and commuters rushed to exit the area.   Investigation Underway Teams from the Delhi Police Special Cell, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) have rushed to the site, which has been completely cordoned off. Seven fire tenders were deployed and successfully brought the fire under control by 7:29 PM. The exact cause of the explosion is currently under intense investigation. Authorities are probing whether the blast was caused by a CNG cylinder explosion or if it was the result of an Improvised Explosive Device (IED).   High Alert Across the NCR In response to the tragedy and the sensitive location of the blast, a high alert has been sounded across the national capital and neighboring states, including Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Security has been ramped up at all major public places, transport hubs, and critical government installations. The incident occurs just hours after a major counter-terror operation in Faridabad, Haryana, where a huge cache of explosives and weapons linked to a terror module was recovered, highlighting the heightened security risks in the region. Entry and exit gates at the Red Fort Metro Station were temporarily restricted, though metro services remain operational. Police have urged the public to stay calm and cooperate with security checks as the investigation proceeds.

New Delhi,A routine Congress press conference on alleged electoral fraud in Haryana has suddenly become a global social media sensation, thanks to the unexpected involvement of a Brazilian woman whose photograph, a stock image, allegedly appeared on dozens of voter IDs in the state.1 Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, held a presser on Wednesday to unveil the “H-Files,” a dossier he claims proves large-scale “vote chori” (vote theft) in the recent Haryana Assembly elections.   The “Brazilian Model” Claim During the conference, Mr. Gandhi presented a section of the Haryana voter list showing the exact same woman’s face repeated multiple times under different Indian names, including ‘Seema,’ ‘Sweety,’ and ‘Saraswati,’ across various polling booths in the Rai constituency. Challenging reporters to guess the woman’s identity, Mr. Gandhi revealed that the image belonged to a Brazilian woman and was, in fact, a stock photograph misused on official electoral rolls.4 He claimed this was crystal-clear proof of a “centralised operation” to manipulate the voter database and alleged that nearly 25 lakh voters in the state were either fake or duplicated.   Internet Finds the Woman: Larissa Nery Reacts   The image immediately went viral, and the internet quickly identified the woman as Larissa Nery, a hairdresser and model from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.6 Within hours, a video of Nery reacting to the bizarre controversy began circulating widely on Indian social media platforms. In the video, Nery expresses shock and amusement: “Guys, I’m gonna tell you a joke — it’s too horrible! They’re using an old picture of me for elections in India, showing me as Indian. What a mess! I couldn’t believe it when a friend sent me the photo again.” Nery clarified that the image was an old stock photo from a photoshoot years ago, and she was completely unaware of its use in Indian politics.10 She also confirmed that she has never visited India.1 The Bigger Controversy   While the revelation of a foreign stock image being used on Indian voter rolls has sparked a meme frenzy, the core political issue remains serious. Congress Allegations: The Congress party maintains that the use of a stock image, which is easily available online, on multiple voter IDs points to an organized, top-down conspiracy to inject fake or duplicate votes into the system. Mr. Gandhi asserted that this mechanism was instrumental in converting a predicted Congress landslide into a loss.   Election Commission Response: The Election Commission of India has been questioned over the integrity of its data and the process of updating voter photographs. The Election Commission is yet to formally address the specific allegation of the Brazilian stock image. Local Voters Speak Out: Separately, media reports have tracked down some of the local voters whose names were attached to the viral photograph. Some women denied the allegations of fraud, claiming they had voted personally, and attributing the photo on their ID cards to a “printing error” or a long-standing photo misprint from a data entry operator. The political clash over the integrity of the voting process, backed by the unexpected testimony of a bewildered Brazilian woman, has ensured the debate over the “H-Files” remains at the forefront of the national political discourse. Watch the Brazilian Woman’s Response to the Controversy here: Brazilian Model Responds To Her Viral Picture During Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Press Conference This video provides the reaction of the Brazilian woman whose photograph was at the center of Rahul Gandhi’s press conference regarding the alleged voter fraud.  

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday escalated his campaign against alleged electoral malpractice, launching what he termed “The H-Files” and dropping a political bombshell that he had earlier dubbed a “hydrogen bomb.”1 At the heart of his stunning allegations of systematic voter fraud in the recent Haryana Assembly elections was the revelation that a single stock photograph—allegedly of a Brazilian model—was used to register 22 different voters across 10 different polling booths in the state. Gandhi’s press conference presented granular data, claiming that the manipulation was a centralized operation designed to “convert a Congress landslide victory into a loss” in Haryana, where the party ultimately lost by a narrow margin.   The ‘Brazilian Model’ and The 25 Lakh Fake Voters Addressing the media, Rahul Gandhi displayed an entry from the Haryana electoral roll showing the photo of a young woman.4 “Who is this lady? What is her name? Where does she come from?” Gandhi questioned, before alleging, “She votes 22 times in Haryana, at 10 different booths, and has multiple names: Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, Vilma…5 But turns out she is actually a Brazilian model. The model’s image, he claimed, was a stock photograph linked to a Brazilian photographer, Matheus Ferrero, and widely available on platforms like Unsplash since 2017.7 Gandhi used this as stark evidence of a deliberate, centralized scheme to manipulate the electoral rolls. The Congress’s larger claims, based on their analysis of the electoral data, include: Total Alleged Fraudulent Voters: Over 25 lakh (2.5 million) manipulated entries in Haryana’s electoral roll of approximately two crore voters. Ratio of Fraud: Gandhi claimed that one in every eight voters (12.5%) in Haryana were fake. Categories of Fraud: The 25 lakh figure allegedly includes over 5 lakh duplicate voters, 93,000 voters with invalid addresses, and nearly 19.3 lakh voters registered in bulk at single addresses. “Operation Sarkar Chori” Gandhi dubbed the alleged manipulation “Operation Sarkar Chori” (Theft of Government), arguing that the narrow margin of the Congress defeat in the state was directly attributable to this calculated inflation of the voter list.12 He also pointed to alleged irregularities in postal ballots, claiming that the numbers differed significantly from the actual votes cast—a phenomenon he called a historical first for Haryana. Gandhi appealed directly to India’s youth, saying, “This is about your future. I am questioning the Election Commission and the democratic process in India with 100% proof.” He further alleged that the Election Commission possesses software capable of deleting duplicate entries and cleaning up the rolls but has deliberately chosen not to use it to aid the ruling party. The Political Fallout The allegations come at a crucial time, just a day before the first phase of the Bihar polls, suggesting a national strategy by the Congress party to question the integrity of the electoral process based on technological and systematic lapses in the voter database. While Congress provided a QR code that confirmed the photo was a widely used stock image, the identity of the model herself remains unverified. The BJP and the Election Commission are yet to issue a detailed official response to this latest ‘H-Files’ presentation. However, BJP leaders have previously rubbished similar accusations by Gandhi, suggesting the opposition leader’s claims lack factual merit and pointing out that the Congress had not filed any formal complaints against the electoral rolls in question.17 The gravity of the “hydrogen bomb” now rests on whether the Election Commission will order a full-scale forensic audit of the Haryana voter database.