The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Investigation Agency (SIA) on Wednesday raided multiple locations in the union territory and Delhi in connection with a terror funding case, the agency said.

“Continuing with its endeavour to dismantle terror support systems in J&K, the SIA Kashmir conducted searches at houses and offices at 22 locations in J&K and Delhi,” the investigating agency said.

These locations include 18 in Srinagar, one each in Anantnag and Pulwama, and two in Delhi.

“The pre-dawn searches were carried out simultaneously by special teams of the SIA. During the search operation, incriminating material in the shape of bank documents, cash books, credit cards, debit cards, cheque books, invoices, mobile phones, SIM cards and passports etc., was seized, which will be analysed for further investigation,” the SIA said.

The case pertains to illegal raising, layering and laundering of proceeds of crime by the accused persons. These proceeds of crime might subsequently have been used in unlawful activities, including secessionism and terrorism, according to the agency.

The case was registered at SIA Kashmir police station on the basis of an inquiry.

During the inquiry, it was found that funds to the tune of Rs 85 crore were raised and laundered in less than two years, the SIA said.

The transactions were mostly cash-based to evade detection by law enforcement agencies. Based on the findings of the inquiry, case FIR No 08 of 2023 was registered under relevant sections of law, it said.

The raids were conducted on the strength of a search warrant issued by a special designated NIA court to collect evidence relevant to the ongoing investigation in the case, it said.

The SIA said it is committed to dismantling the terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir by choking terror financing channels, be it hawala, human cash couriers or banking channels.

More than 2,000 farm fires were reported from Punjab on Wednesday, a day after the Supreme Court issued directions to ensure stopping of crop residue burning “forthwith”.

Sangrur district, the birthplace of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, recorded the maximum number of stubble burning incidents in the state on Wednesday.

Many parts in Haryana saw air quality indices in the ‘severe’ and ‘very poor’ categories.

The total number of farm fires jumped to 22,981 in Punjab with 2,003 fresh such cases being reported on Wednesday, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data.

Out of the 2,003 stubble burning incidents, Sangrur continued to top with 466 such cases, followed by 221 in Bathinda, 216 in Barnala, 150 in Faridkot, 131 in Mansa, 106 in Patiala, 103 in Ferozepur and 96 in Ludhiana, according to the data.

Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav on Wednesday asked the police officers to work in tandem with the civil administration to prevent stubble burning in the state.

The DGP also appointed Special DGP (Law and Order) Arpit Shukla as the police nodal officer to monitor action against stubble burning, according to an order.

“The police nodal officer shall issue suitable directions, hold meetings, conduct tours and collect and collate relevant information and put up to the DGP Punjab and the Chief Secretary so that monitoring of the actions being undertaken by the police to ensure compliance of the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court is done in an effective manner,” the order read.

Out of total 22,981 farm fires recorded from September 15 till November 8, Sangrur is leading with highest number of stubble burning cases of 4,070, followed by 2,176 in Ferozepur, 1,888 in Tarn Taran, 1,719 in Mansa, 1,524 in Patiala, 1,454 in Amritsar, 1,436 in Bathinda, 1,129 in Barnala, 1,089 in Ludhiana and 1,014 in Faridkot.

Meanwhile, Haryana’s Fatehabad recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 451, followed by Faridabad at 425, Jind at 406, Bhiwani at 400, Gurugram 385, Kaithal 380, Rohtak 362, Hisar 332, Panipat 323 and Sisra 319.

In Punjab, Bathinda reported AQI at 348, followed by Mandi Gobindgarh at 338, Ludhiana 292, Patiala 267, Jalandhar 266, Khanna 253 and Amritsar 240.

The Union Territory of Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, saw an AQI of 201.

An AQI between zero and 50 is considered ‘good’, 51 and 100 ‘satisfactory’, 101 and 200 ‘moderate’, 201 and 300 ‘poor’, 301 and 400 ‘very poor’, and 401 and 500 ‘severe’.

Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.

As the window for wheat, a key rabi crop, is very short after paddy harvest, some farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear off the crop residue for sowing of the next crop.

Popular Brazilian influencer Luana Andrade has tragically died after undergoing liposuction surgery on her knee at a hospital in Sao Paulo. The 29-year-old influencer suffered from 4 cardiac arrests after complications arose during the cosmetic procedure. 

According to Marca, Ms Andrade’s heart stopped approximately two and a half hours into the surgery. The doctors stopped the fat removal procedure and tried to revive her. She was transferred to the intensive care unit. 

The media outlet further stated that the medical investigation revealed that the influencer suffered from a pulmonary embolism, which was associated with a thrombosis. 

The hospital in a statement said, “The surgery was interrupted and the patient underwent tests that revealed massive thrombosis. She was transferred to the ICU where she underwent medication and hemodynamic treatment.”

The influencer was pronounced dead around 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday. 

Her boyfriend, Joao Hadad wrote on Instagram, “I am torn apart and living my biggest nightmare. A part of me left.”

He added, “We built a beautiful story and lived our dreams intensely. In addition to being a girlfriend, you are and will always be a partner beyond life, my love. … You are my light, princess. I ask that you continue to watch over me and all of us from above. I will always love you, from now until eternity!”

Brazilian footballer Neymar also paid tribute to the influencer. “Sad day with two very bad news. First, it was the attack that Bru’s (Bruna Bincardi’s) parents suffered, but thank God everyone is fine!’ he wrote in Portuguese.  “Secondly, the death of a friend. My condolences to the whole family, may God receive Luana with open arms.”

The influencer had a massive social media following on Instagram and owned her clothing brand, Lukand. She worked as a stage assistant for Domingo Legal. She was also part of the reality show, Power Couple Brasil 6, which aired in 2022.