Breaking News, June 20 | HIGHLIGHTS

The national capital has recorded at least 45 deaths due to suspected heat-related illnesses at Ram Manohar Lohia, Safdarjung and LNJP hospitals here, officials said on Thursday. Delhi has been battling searing heatwave conditions over the last few days.

Amid growing protests against alleged irregularities in NEET, NCP (SP) leader Amol Kolhe on Thursday said a state-level entrance exam for medical courses should be considered as an alternative. The MP from Shirur, who is a doctor by training, said the issue would be raised in Parliament.

An Uttarakhand-based YouTuber was detained by police and made to issue a public apology after a video of him distributing beer in a restricted area made rounds on social media. Ankur Chaudhry, a resident of Sidcul area here, was taken into custody, fined and made to apologise publicly for his conduct, police said.

President Droupadi Murmu has appointed BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab as Protem Speaker, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced.

"I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to protecting the interests of students. We will not compromise on transparency," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday embarked on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir where he will inaugurate or kick start projects worth Rs 1,500 crore and participate in the International Yoga Day.

The Election Commission has received eight applications from aggrieved candidates, including those from the BJP and the Congress, for verification of tampering or modification in micro-controller chips embedded in the EVMs post declaration of Lok Sabha election results on June 4. Terming the suspicion of manipulation of the electronic voting machines "unfounded", the Supreme Court had on April 26 rejected the demand for reverting to the old paper ballot system.

More than two dozen students from different universities and members of various students' outfits were detained on Thursday while they were protesting against the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination and irregularities in the NEET. The students were detained from outside the Ministry of Education as well as the Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's residence in central Delhi. A large number of students, including members of political outfits such as the Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Association (AISA), Democratic Students' Front (DSF), Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS), and Congress-affiliated NSUI participated in the protest.

Members of different student groups staged a protest outside the Lucknow University here against the central government over the cancellation of UGC-NET exam demanding resignation of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The students, mostly of the Samajwadi Chhatra Sangh and National Students' Union of India (NSUI), gathered outside Bhaurao Deoras Dwar of the Lucknow University and raised slogans against the Union Grants Commission (UGC), National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union education ministry.

The Navi Mumbai police have registered a case against a 31-year-old man for allegedly befriending a woman through a matrimonial site and raping her, an official said on Thursday. After allegedly assaulting the 30-year-old complainant on the pretext of marriage, the accused, a resident of Dombivli in Thane district severed ties with her, the official said citing the FIR.

Overage vehicles need to be parked in private spaces or be scrapped, Delhi government said in a public notice on Thursday. Vehicles found parked in public places in violation of the guidelines may be impounded, the notice said.

NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule on Thursday sought the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged irregularities in the NEET (UG) medical entrance test and other exams. Talking to reporters, she said that despite technology evolving constantly, several issues were cropping up in the conduct of various examinations like the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate).

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and other Supreme Court judges will participate in the 10th International Yoga Day celebrations to be held on Friday.

A complaint was lodged before a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Thursday against JD(U) MP Devesh Chandra Thakur who had recently vowed not to oblige people from communities which had supposedly voted for rivals in the Lok Sabha poll. The case was lodged by Dilip Kumar Kushwaha, a social worker based in Muzaffarpur, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court.

A 33-year-old fireman was injured and two vehicles were damaged on Thursday after a tree fell following heavy rains in Maharashtra's Thane city, civic officials said.

A total of 17 fatalities due to suspected heat-related illnesses have been recorded at Delhi's RML and Safdarjung hospitals in the last 24 hours, officials said on Thursday. Delhi has been battling searing heatwave conditions over the last few days. It got some relief on Thursday morning due to light rain.

The five MLAs of the National People's Party (NPP) on Thursday extended their support to the Pema Khandu-led BJP government in Arunachal Pradesh. NPP Arunachal Pradesh unit president Thangwang Wangham along with four other party MLAs in a letter to Khandu conveyed their decision to support his government.

The NCP on Thursday claimed Maharashtra's ruling Mahayuti alliance was "saved" in the Lok Sabha polls because of the "timely" entry of party leader Ajit Pawar. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) spokesperson Amol Mitkari wondered why attempts were being made by the BJP and Shiv Sena leaders to create a "discord" in the alliance. He was referring to Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam's claim made at a function on Wednesday that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar made a "backdoor entry" into the ruling alliance. The Mahayuti won 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Thursday claimed that the arrested prime accused in the NEET "paper leak" is linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, and demanded an investigation into it. Addressing a press conference, Sinha claimed that the official was in constant touch with Sikander Prasad Yadvendu, the arrested prime accused in the case.

Ministry of Education Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal says, "9 lakh students had participated in the UGC-NET exam that the NTA conducted on June 18... The ministry saw that there was a chance that the examination had been compromised. The ministry has decided to cancel the examination. The next date will be declared soon. The matter has been referred to the CBI..."

IMD scientist Soma Sen on Delhi-NCR weather | "There are pre-monsoon showers. Its impact will weaken from today. But easterlies will advance here due to which the temperatures won't go up a lot. Still, there is likely to be isolated heatwave on 23-24 in Delhi...There is a possibility of a thunderstorm activity today."

Prayagraj Development Authority begins the demolition of the house of Zainab Fatima, wife of gangster Atiq Ahmed's brother Ashraf.

PM Modi meets with bipartisan US Congressional delegation led by US Congressman Michael McCaul in Delhi.

NSUI (National Students' Union of India) held a protest outside Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s residence in Delhi over NEET and UGC-NET issues. The protesters were soon detained by Police.

On the cancellation of UGC-NET, ABVP National General Secretary Yagywalkya Shukla said, "The students now doubt the examinations. The credibility of the NTA is being questioned. The cancellation of UGC-NET raises questions about the preparations of the NTA... We request the Indian government to take steps and ensure that there remains no doubt within the students as far as examinations are concerned..."

Bengaluru Police detains BJP leaders and workers who were taking out a cycle rally in protest against the fuel price hike by the State Government.

Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has announced Rs 10 lakh each for the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for the people under treatment in the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy case. A one-man commission, comprising former judge Justice B Gokuldas, has been constituted to probe the case and will have to submit its report within three months.

Dwaraka Tirumala Rao has been appointed as the DGP of Andhra Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh | A fire broke out in a transformer in Lucknow last night. It was brought under control and completely doused off within half an hour. No injuries or casualties were reported.

Odisha | Fire breaks out at an apartment in Patia, Bhubaneswar. The residents are being evacuated in the presence of police and fire personnel. Fire tenders are present at the spot.

President Droupadi Murmu visited the Jagannath Mandir in Delhi and offered prayers today.

The Indian Embassy organised a Yoga session in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 15 ahead of International Day of Yoga. A large number of people participated in the Yoga session at The Wharf in Washington, DC.

Youth demonstrate different Yoga poses under the guidance of Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev ahead of the 10th International Yoga Day on June 21.

Several parts of Guwahati city are witnessing waterlogging following a spell of heavy rainfall.

Light to moderate intensity rain and winds would occur over and adjoining areas of few places of North Delhi, North-East Delhi, North-West Delhi, West Delhi, Central-Delhi, NCR (Loni Dehat, Hindon Air Force Station, Bahadurgarh, Ghaziabad, Indirapuram, Chhapraula) Sonipat, Rohtak, Kharkhoda (Haryana) Bagpat, Khekra, Modinagar, Pilakhua (U.P.) during next 2 hours, says IMD.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate, lay the foundation stone of multiple development projects worth over Rs 1500 crore in Jammu and Kashmir today.

In two separate incidents, BSF troops launched extensive search operations based on specific inputs. In the first incident, BSF troops recovered a drone from the village of Rattankhurd in Amritsar district. In the second incident, BSF troops and Punjab police recovered a drone from the village of Dal in Taran Taran district. Both drones are Chinese-made DJI Mavic 3 Classic models, BSF Punjab Frontier said.

People queue up near a water tanker to fill water in Sanjay Colony, Okhla Phase 2 area as the water crisis continues in the National Capital.