Headlines on Saturday: Paramilitary jawans killed in action to get martyr status if we come to power: Rahul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said people from across the world must also come to see Indias parliamentary elections which are the "kumbh of democracy". He was Addressing delegates from 181 countries who visited the Kumbh mela in Prayagraj.

A 28-year-old man was arrested on Saturday after he was found carrying a country-made pistol inside a metro station on the Blue Line of the Delhi Metro, police said.

The accused was held by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials when the firearm was detected in his bag by a scanning machine at the Noida Sector 15 metro station, a police official said. He has been identified as Ankit Kumar Singh, 28, a resident of Palam village in Delhi.

The Maharashtra government plans to make Mumbai and Thane kerosene-free in the next two months, Kailash Pagare, Rationing Controller for the two cities, said on Saturday.

He said demand for kerosene had gone down considerably in the two cities and stood at 1,896 kilolitres (kl) against 5,839 kilolitres in June last year. The drop in kerosene usage had saved the government Rs 12.14 crore as it cost Rs 19.5 per litre, Pagare informed.

Air India's Mumbai control centre on Saturday received a phone call threatening to hijack its plane, following which Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) ordered all airlines and CISF to follow specific enhanced measures to ensure security, according to an official note.

"A telephonic message received by the station duty office, AI (Air India) AOCC (Airport Operation Control Centre) Mumbai, stating information regarding a threat to Indian Airlines flight getting hijacked to Pakistan on 23.2.2019," stated the BCAS note dated February 23

Four people were killed in an explosion at a shop which caused three houses to collapse in Uttar Pradesh's Badohi city on Saturday afternoon, officials said.

It is suspected that people are trapped under debris. A rescue operation has been launched, they said.

The explosion took place at the shop in Rohta Bazaar. The shop owner has been identified as Kaliyar Mansoori, District Magistrate Rajendra Prasad said.

A powerful explosion on the outskirts of Nepal's capital Kathmandu has killed at least one person and left two others injured, police said Saturday.

The incident occurred outside the headquarters of Ncell, a telecommunications company mostly owned by Malaysia-based Axiata Group Berhad.

According to eyewitnesses, a loud explosion was heard at around 7:55 PM at Nakku in Lalitpur, located in the south-central part of Kathmandu. A bomb disposal unit was rushed to the spot following the explosion, a senior police officer said.

Days after being prevented by the Uttar Pradesh government from flying to the city on grounds of law and order, SP president Akhilesh Yadav Saturday said here that the BJP government was functioning in an "autocratic" manner.

The former chief minister is in Allahabad to visit the family of CRPF personnel Mahesh Yadav, who was killed in the Pulwama attack, and Samajwadi Party youth wing members injured in clashes with police during a protest against their chief being stopped from visiting the city on February 12.

The SP leader also asked students to become "booth soldiers" and give a befitting reply to the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. "Now it's your (students) responsibility to give a befitting reply to the BJP government, which is functioning in an autocratic manner. You all become 'booth soldiers' and ensure BJP's defeat," Yadav said.

A major fire broke out on Saturday at the parking area of the Yelahanka Air Force station, where the 12th edition of Aero India is underway, official sources said. No casualties were reported, they said.

"Totally about 100 cars burnt in the fire. Fire spread is controlled by creating a gap by removing adjacent cars. Fire under control now. No injuries or any harm to people reported.Likely cause: dry grass fire aided by heavy winds," DGP Fire Services M N Reddi said in a tweet.

A blanket of thick black smoke engulfed the area causing panic among locals and those visiting Aero India on its fourth day. On Tuesday, a day before the opening of the Aero India show, two aircraft of the IAF's aerobatic team Surya Kiran had crashed, after grazing each other mid-air. A pilot was killed and two others were injured in the accident.

Kumar Ravi, District Magistrate Patna says, "A missing report for the seven girls has been registered. We're trying to locate the girls.

AIADMK Lok Sabha MP S Rajendran died on Saturday after a car in which he was travelling rammed into a road median at Tindivanam, police said.

The 62-year old MP representing Villupuram suffered serious injuries and died on the spot this morning, they said.

“Government must make bank loans easily available, introduce more universities, which hasn’t happened at all in the last five years. There has been a steep decline in the amount of money being spent by the government for the education sector,” said Rahul Gandhi.

Richa from Miranda House, a first time voter, believes that dialogues such as the one today with Congress president Rahul Gandhi are very important for her to make up her mind on who to vote for.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi will interact with students in New Delhi on Saturday. He will address students at ‘Shiksha Disha or Dasha’ event at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Police swooped on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir members in Kashmir during the intervening night of Friday and Saturday, and detained around two dozen of its cadres, including its chief Abdul Hamid Fayaz, officials said here.

Though police termed the detentions as routine, officials privy to the developments said this is the first major crackdown on the organisation that is part of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, a separatist conglomerate.

The Jamaat issued a statement condemning the detentions and said "...The move is a well designed conspiracy to pave way for further uncertainty in the region." The Jamaat claimed that during the intervening night of February 22 and February 23, police and other agencies launched a mass arrest drive and raided many houses in the Valley, wherein dozens of its central and district level leaders were arrested, including its Ameer (chief) Jamaat Dr Abdul Hamid Fayaz and advocate Zahid Ali (spokesperson). The Jamaat cadres were picked up from various places, including Anantnag, Pahalgham, Dialgam, Tral -- all in south Kashmir.

Over hundred US-based Indians protested outside the Pakistan consulate in New York, on February 22, in the wake of the Pulwama attack