A thick blanket of smog covered the Taj Mahal on Thursday morning as the pollution levels worsened in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra. Visuals showed the UNESCO World Heritage site disappearing behind the smog, making it barely visible to tourists.

In one of the pictures, tourists can be seen walking towards the Taj Mahal, but with no visibility in front of them.

According to the Central Pollution of Control Board (CPCB) data, the air quality index in Agra stood at 193 in the ‘moderate’ category.

The minimum temperature in Agra stood at 17 degrees Celsius, while the maximum temperature is likely to settle around 30 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The weather department, in its bulletin, said that fog or mist would occur on Thursday. The dense fog is expected to continue till Monday, it said.

The increased smog and pollution are due to the rising stubble burning in nearby areas.

Last week, the Centre doubled the stubble burning fine in Delhi and adjoining areas due to the plummeting air quality. According to the new rules, farmers having land of less than two acres shall pay an environmental compensation of Rs 5,000, while the fine will be Rs 10,000 for farmers having land of two acres or more but less than five acres. Farmers having land of more than five acres shall pay an environmental compensation of Rs 30,000.

A MiG-29 fighter jet of the Indian Air Force crashed today near Agra in Uttar Pradesh after “encountering a system malfunction”. The pilot ejected safely from the aircraft.

Visuals show the aircraft up in flames in an open field in the Songa village of Agra and people standing several feet away from the burning aircraft. People were seen holding equipment resembling an ejection seat.

The Indian Air Force in a statement said, “A MiG-29 aircraft of the IAF crashed near Agra during a routine training sortie today, after encountering a system malfunction. The pilot manoeuvred the aircraft to ensure no damage to life or property on the ground, before ejecting safely. An enquiry has been ordered by the IAF, to ascertain the cause of the accident.”

MiG-29, NATO name ‘Fulcrum’ and Indian name ‘Baaz’, is an air superiority fighter jet originating in Soviet Russia. It was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force in 1987. They have a relatively safer track record. 

Reports say this was the upgraded version of the fighter jet – the MiG-29 UPG. This is the second MiG-29 crash in two months. Earlier in September, a MiG-29 faced a technical snag in Rajasthan’s Barmer during a routine night sortie and crashed. The pilot ejected safely.

The MiG-29 Ejection Seat

The Zvezda K-36D zero-zero ejection seat is onboard the MiG-29 fighter jet. It is considered one of the most advanced ejection seats in the world and is also deployed on Air Force Su-30MKI fighter jets. 

Read more: NDTV Explainer: How Pilots Eject From An Unrecoverable MiG-29 Jet

The seats are designed to eject pilots from zero position, i.e. stationary position to a considerable height to deploy parachutes. Zero position refers to zero altitude or zero speed. The development of Martin-Baker zero-zero ejection seats by the British (the West) eventually led to the development of zero-zero seats by the Soviets. The Tejas fighter jet has the Matin-Baker zero-zero ejection seat deployed. 

The zero-zero capability was developed to help pilots escape unrecoverable situations during low-altitude or low-speed flights and ground mishaps during takeoff or landing.

An Indian Army Captain died by suicide after her husband and Indian Air Force Flight Lieutenant’s death in Agra.

Renu Tanwar, was found hanging inside a room at Delhi’s Army Cantonment officer’s guest house on Tuesday. The suicide note found in the guest house mentioned her will to be “cremated hand-in-hand” with her husband Deendayal Deep.

Delhi Police said the suicide likely occurred on the intervening night of October 14 and 15.

Deep, a native of Bihar, was posted at Agra’s Air Force Station.

Agra:

Dressed in plain clothes and disguised as a tourist, a senior woman cop in Agra traveled alone in an auto late at night to check women’s safety in the city. Sukanya Sharma, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), also called 112 to assess the emergency response support system number in the city.

Standing outside the Agra Cantt Railway Station, the 33-year-old officer posed as a tourist in the city that houses the famous Taj Mahal and called the police for help.

She told the cops she needed their help as it was late at night and that she was scared because of the deserted road.

The helpline operator asked her to stand at a safe place and took information about her whereabouts.

She then received a call from the women’s patrolling team, who said that they were coming to pick her up.

Ms Sharma, however, then told them that she was checking the emergency response system and that they had passed the test.

She then took an auto to check the women’s safety.

She told the driver her drop-off location and boarded the auto after he told her the fare.

Without revealing her identity, she also spoke to him about the women’s safety in the city. The driver told her that the police had verified him and soon he would start driving the auto in a uniform.

He then dropped her off at her location safely, passing the safety test.

Activist Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj praised Ms Sharma and said that this is actually the “first right step towards women’s safety”.

“Police in every city should do this. Become a common man and experience the city yourself to know the problems people face at night. Good Job by Dr Sukanya Sharma,” Ms Bhardwaj said on X.

Agra (UP):

A private school teacher was arrested on Monday for allegedly beating a student of Class 2 for not reciting the table of seven, police said on Monday.

The accused was identified as Ashok, a resident of Torda village, police said.

According to the complaint filed by the boy’s father, Pramod, his 8-year-old son returned home severely bruised, police said.

Pramod alleged that Ashok, his son’s school teacher had asked him to recite the table of seven. But when he could not, Ashok beat him mercilessly, they said.

“He complained to me about the incident, when he reached home after school. He had bruises on his buttocks. When I went to complain to Ashok, he slapped me and threatened future consequences,” Pramod told the police.

Based on his complaint, an FIR was lodged under sections 115(2) (causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Ashok was arrested and further investigation is underway, police added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Agra:

A 5-year-old girl was allegedly kidnapped from her home in Agra on Monday and later killed after her family failed to pay the ransom, the police said. The kidnappers had reportedly demanded Rs 6 lakh from her family.

The girl, identified as Pallavi, was allegedly kidnapped by people from her village who were unable to repay their loans.

Realising their daughter was missing, the family reported the incident to the police and lodged a missing person’s complaint, following which the police launched a manhunt for the girl.

The police arrested two suspects and took them into custody. During the interrogation, they confessed to their involvement in the girl’s kidnapping and her subsequent murder.