HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9 pm: NATION DEL91 LDALL DELHI VIOLENCE Delhi violence: Toll rises to 42, some signs of return to normalcy New Delhi: The death toll in Delhi's communal violence rose to 42 on Friday as the situation showed some signs of returning to normalcy and clouds of smoke cleared to reveal the extent of the damage from the worst riots in the city in over three decades DEL81 DEF-2NDLD-RAJNATH Pak will think 100 times before any misadventure against India: Rajnath New Delhi: India's surgical strikes and Balakot bombings sent a strong message to Pakistan that terror infrastructure across the border cannot be used as safe haven to wage a low-cost war against India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday.

DEL41 MHA-DELHI-3RDLD-CP S N Shrivastava given additional charge of Delhi Police New Delhi: Senior IPS officer S N Shrivastava, who was appointed the special commissioner of Police (Law and Order) of Delhi Police this week, has been given the additional charge of the Delhi Police commissioner with effect from Sunday, an official order said CAL12 OD-SHAH-LD CAA Opposition inciting riots over CAA: Shah Bhubaneswar: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday accused opposition parties of inciting communal riots over the CAA by spreading "misinformation" that Muslims will lose their citizenship because of the new law.

DEL88 DL-SEDITION-JNU Delhi govt gives permission to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar in sedition case New Delhi: The Delhi government has given a go-ahead to the city police to prosecute former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and two others in connection with a 2016 sedition case, sources said on Friday DEL103 POL-LD BJP-CONG BJP, Cong trade charges over 'rajdharma' New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused the Congress of backtracking on 'rajdharma' by opposing the CAA after seeking citizenship for refugees from neighbouring countries, but the opposition party insisted it followed the 'rajdharma' of equality and harmony while the Modi government has a "divisive mindset".

BOM10 MH-LD MUSLIM QUOTA NCP, Sena ministers speak in different voices on Muslim quota Mumbai: An NCP minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra announced on Friday that a law will be enacted to give five per cent quota to Muslims in education, but a senior Shiv Sena minister said later that no such decision had been taken DEL54 CBI-GST-LD PANDIT CBI books GST Asst Commissioner Deepak Pandit, a close relative of film personality Ashoke Pandit New Delhi: The CBI has booked Deepak Pandit, an Assistant Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, on corruption charges for amassing assets worth over Rs 3.96 crore which are 376 per cent above his known sources of income, officials said on Friday. By Abhishek Shukla MDS9 DEF-TN-2ND LD VESSEL Coast Guard''s latest offshore patrol vessel ''Varad'' commissioned Chennai: Enhancing Indian Coast Guard's rescue and surveillance capabilities, its latest multi-mission offshore patrol vessel 'Varad', equipped with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment, was commissioned by Union Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya here on Friday.

LEGAL LGD51 SC-2NDLD NIRBHAYA Nirbhaya case: Fourth death row convict Pawan Gupta files curative plea in SC New Delhi: Just four days ahead of the scheduled hanging, one of the four death row convicts, Pawan Kumar Gupta, in the 2012 Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case moved a curative plea in the Supreme Court on Friday claiming juvenility to seek commutation of his death penalty into life imprisonment LGD35 DL-HC-2ND LD HATE SPEECHES HC seeks Centre's response on plea for FIR against Gandhis, others for alleged hate speech New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday sought the response of the Centre, the Delhi government and the police on pleas seeking FIRs against political figures, including Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for allegedly making hate speeches.

BUSINESS DEL79 BIZ-GROWTH-FINMIN With GDP growth at 7-yr low, FinMin says slowdown has bottomed out New Delhi: The decline in the economic growth has bottomed out, said the finance ministry on Friday as the GDP growth slowed to a nearly seven-year low of 4.7 per cent in the quarter ending December 2020. DEL98 BIZ-RAJAN-GROWTH Govt focussing more on political, social agenda than economy: Rajan New Delhi: Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan has said slowdown in growth is due to the current government focussing more on meeting its political and social agenda rather than paying attention to the economy. FOREIGN FGN66 UNHRC-INDIA-2NDLD PAK India at UN asks Pak leadership to stop terror funding, dismantle militant camps Geneva: India on Friday asked Pakistan's top leadership to stop terror funding and dismantle terrorist camps operating from its soil and territories under its control while criticising Islamabad's bid to derail the positive developments in Jammu and Kashmir by supporting militant groups FGN20 US-INDIA-VIOLENCE Delhi violence: US urges India to 'protect and respect' right to peaceful assembly Washington: The US has urged India to "protect and respect" the right to peaceful assembly of people and hold accountable those perpetrating violence following the Delhi riots over the amended citizenship act, saying that Washington has raised the issue at the highest level with New Delhi. By Lalit K Jha..