Mon Feb 17 00:40:00 UTC 2025: ## India News Roundup: Deportations, Stampede Probe, Earthquake, and More

**Amritsar, Punjab, India –** A flight carrying 112 deported Indian immigrants landed in Amritsar on Sunday, prompting Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to urge young people to avoid illegal immigration. This follows a separate incident where a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station claimed 18 lives, prompting a high-level investigation by the Railways.

**Delhi-NCR, India –** A 4.0 magnitude earthquake struck Delhi-NCR early Monday morning, causing tremors across the region. The quake’s epicenter was located in New Delhi at a depth of five kilometers.

**Poonch, India –** A brief exchange of fire occurred on the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch on Sunday. Indian Army officials reported that Pakistani troops initiated the firing, which was met with an appropriate response. No casualties were reported.

**International Relations:** External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with Bangladesh’s Foreign Affairs Adviser in Muscat to discuss bilateral issues. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed optimism about the textile sector reaching its export target ahead of schedule. Seven former Indian Navy officials, recently released from prison in Doha, have called for the repatriation of the last remaining Indian national still detained in Qatar.

**Global News:** Harsh weather in the U.S. has claimed at least nine lives, while the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce resulted in firings at the Food and Drug Administration. Rwanda-backed rebels seized control of the administrative office in Bukavu, eastern Congo, after encountering minimal resistance. Elon Musk announced the upcoming release of his xAI chatbot, “Grok 3,”.

**Sports:** The BCCI released the schedule for the 18th Indian Premier League, featuring 74 matches across 13 venues. The tournament starts on March 22nd.

**Note:** This news article omits details about the display of fifth-generation fighter aircraft at Aero India and the subsequent announcement of increased military sales to India. These details, while significant, are less time-sensitive than the other events reported.

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