Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled Iran president Ebrahim Raisi’s death and said he was deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic demise. The PM also said contribution to strengthening India-Iran bilateral ties will always be remembered.

Taking to social media X, formerly Twitter, PM Modi said deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic passing of Iran’s president, Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. He also said, he will never forget his contribution to the bilateral ties between Iran and India. The PM said his heartfelt condolences are his family and the people of Iran, he added. PM Modi wrote, India stands with Iran in this time of sorrow.

Ebrahim Raisi was found dead a day after his helicopter went missing. He reportedly died in a chopper crash in the mountainous region of the country.

The helicopter crash claimed the lives of officials, bodyguards, and Iran’s foreign minister in addition to Raisi.

State television announced on Monday that Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi, the servant of the Iranian nation, has achieved the highest level of martyrdom whilst serving the people, and Mehr news agency confirmed his death.

The missing helicopter was being looked for by Iranian authorities since Sunday afternoon.

Reportedly, the crash occurred in the East Azerbaijan province of Iran and claimed the lives of nine individuals, including Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

There was no proof that the passengers were still alive, according to reports from Iranian media.

Out of the three helicopters in his convoy, only two made it to their destination, including Ebrahim Raisi. He had traveled to the northwest province to join President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan at the inauguration of a dam project in Jolfa.

It was anticipated that Raisi, a devout conservative, would succeed the eighty-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Since 2021, Ebrahim Raisi has served as Iran’s president. He replaced Hassan Rouhani, the centrist president.

Under his leadership, the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian-Kurdish woman who had been detained for violating the Iranian dress code for women, sparked widespread public unrest throughout the nation.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with his wife Savitri Singh, cast their votes on Monday in Lucknow during the 3rd phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Singh, who is the sitting MP and BJP candidate from the Lucknow constituency, appealed to voters all over India to exercise their franchise.

Rajnath Singh said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) aims to cross 400 seats this time. He did not wish to predict the exact number of seats at this moment. In the ongoing Lok Sabha election in Lucknow, Singh is contesting against Samajwadi Party candidate Ravidas Mehrotra. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has fielded Sarwar Malik. After casting their votes, the couple showed their inked fingers, symbolising their participation in the democratic process.

Rajnath Singh’s son Pankaj Singh an MLA from Noida also cast his vote and called on voters to come out in large numbers He requested all voters to vote in record numbers. The more the voting, the stronger the democracy will be. He urged all young voters and Nari Shakti to come forward in large numbers to cast their votes. He said voting is important to build a self-reliant and developed India.

Earlier, while addressing a public meeting in Lucknow, Rajnath Singh said that he tried to fulfil the dreams of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and had left no stone unturned for the city’s development.

He said they have diligently worked towards realising Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji’s vision for Lucknow, and BJP remains committed to advancing it further in the future.  He said Lucknow currently ranks 10th globally, and BJP aims to elevate it to the 5th position.

There are 5 assembly constituencies under the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat. These include Lucknow West, Lucknow East, Lucknow North, Lucknow Central and Cantt Assembly seats. There are a total of 39.33017 lakh voters in Lucknow Lok Sabha seat.

An earthquake of 4.0 magnitude shook the Union Territory of Ladakh on Monday morning. The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) stated that the earthquake occured at a depth of 10 kilometres at 5:49am. 

It added that the seismic activity was recorded at 35.93 degrees north latitude and 73.95 degrees east longitude. So far, no casualties and damages have been reported yet. The tremors instilled fear among the residents, causing many to hurriedly evacuate their homes and gather in open spaces for safety. Meanwhile, voting for the Lok Sabha elections commenced early at 7 AM. Despite the scare, the electoral process continued as planned.

Earlier this year, the Union Territory also faced an earthquake of magnitude 3.5 that occurred on 6 April 2024. Furthermore, an earthquake of magnitude 3.4 on the Richter scale struck Ladakh on December 2. Reportedly, the tremors were felt in the region at 8.25 a.m. The epicenter was situated at a latitude of 35.44 and a longitude of 77.36, with a depth of 10 km.

Notably, Leh and Ladakh both lie in the Siesmic Zone-IV of the country, which states they are at a very high risk in terms of vulnerability to earthquakes. Lying in the tectonically active Himalayas region, Leh and Ladakh are prone to frequent tremors.

The earthquake-prone regions of the country have been identified based on scientific inputs related to seismicity, earthquakes that occurred in the past and the tectonic setup of the region. On the account of these inputs, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has grouped the country into four seismic zones viz. zones V, IV, III and II. It is reported that Zone V expects the highest level of seismicity whereas zone II is associated with the lowest level of seismicity.