HIGHLIGHTS

New Delhi, Mar 21 (PTI) Following are the top stories at 1.30 pm: NATION PAR1 RS-HC JUDGE

'Recovery of cash' from residence of judge: Issue raised in Rajya Sabha New Delhi: The matter pertaining to alleged recovery of cash from the residence of a sitting Delhi High Court judge was raised in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, with Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar saying he will find a mechanism for holding a structured discussion on the issue.

DES11 DL-AAP-APPOINTMENTS

Saurabh Bharadwaj appointed Delhi AAP chief, Sisodia to head Punjab unit New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday announced a major organisational rejig by appointing former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj as the new president of its Delhi unit and senior leader Manish Sisodia as its in-charge for Punjab.

DEL9 AVI-LONDON HEATHROW-AIR INDIA

London Heathrow airport: AI says services disrupted; flights diverted, cancelled New Delhi/London: Air India on Friday said its operations to and from the London Heathrow airport have been disrupted, with one flight returning to Mumbai, another diverting to Frankfurt and other flights remaining cancelled due to temporary suspension of operations at the airport.

MES3 KA-ASSEMBLY-CHAOS

Pandemonium in Karnataka Legislative Assembly as BJP stages protest Bengaluru: The Karnataka Legislative Assembly witnessed pandemonium on Friday with opposition BJP MLAs staging a protest by climbing on the podium where the Speaker's chair is placed and throwing papers at Speaker U T Khader as the Assembly passed the budget.

BOM7 MH-HC-RECCE ACCUSED

HC refuses bail to ‘JeM operative’ accused of conducting recce of Hedgewar memorial Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday denied bail to a J-K resident, accused of being a Jaish-e-Mohammed operative and conducting a recce of the memorial of RSS founder Dr K B Hedgewar here.

BOM5 MH-BANK FRAUD-PROBE

New India Coop Bank case: Accused Hitesh Mehta to undergo brain-mapping test Mumbai: Hitesh Mehta, the key accused in the Rs 122-crore embezzlement at New India Cooperative Bank, will undergo a brain-mapping test in the next couple of days, a police official said on Friday.

DEL7 ED-SDPI-ARREST

ED makes fresh arrest from Tamil Nadu in PFI-SDPI case New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has arrested a man from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu after fresh round of searches in a money laundering case against the SDPI, the political outfit of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), official sources said.

BOM4 GA-BLAST

Massive blast destroys warehouse storing explosives in Goa Panaji: A huge blast occurred in a warehouse stocked with explosives for a private small calibre ammunition factory in South Goa, a senior police official said on Friday. No one was injured in the explosion at the facility in the Naqueri-Betul area around 10.30 pm on Thursday. It also triggered a fire, the official said.

LEGAL LGD7 SC-COLEGIUM-JUSTICE VARMA

SC collegium begins process to transfer Delhi HC judge embroiled in cash recovery row New Delhi: The Supreme Court collegium is stated to have initiated the process to transfer Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma to the Allahabad High Court following a major controversy over the alleged recovery of a large stash of cash from his official residence here.

LGB1 MH-COURT-POCSO-CONVICTION

Man from Thane district sentenced to 20 years in jail for rape, assault on child Thane: A court has convicted and sentenced a man from Maharashtra’s Thane district to 20 years in prison for rape and assault on a seven-year-old girl about six years ago.

FOREIGN FGN21 US-LD RANA

US Supreme Court justices to hear Tahawwur Rana's renewed application seeking stay of extradition to India  New York: US Supreme Court justices will hear next month Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s renewed application, submitted to Chief Justice John Roberts, seeking a stay of his extradition to India.

FES13 SINGAPORE-INDIAN-DJ

Indian-origin Singaporean Radio DJ charged for sex-related offences Singapore: A Singaporean Indian-origin Radio DJ and Tamil-language actor was on Friday charged with sex-related offences, including having sexual communication with a minor. Gunalan Morgan, 43, was handed seven charges at the State Courts, four of which are related to sex offences.

FGN18 US-2NDLD INDIAN STUDENT

Judge blocks deportation of Indian student at Georgetown University New York: A US federal judge has blocked the deportation of an Indian student at Georgetown University who was arrested after federal authorities accused him of “actively spreading Hamas propaganda”.

FGN6 PAK FORCES-LD OPERATION

Pak Army captain, 10 terrorists killed in operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar: A Pakistani Army captain and at least 10 terrorists associated with a banned outfit were killed during a gunfight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) has said.

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Source: PTI