A look at the top headlines of the day:

  1. Violent protests against Agnipath scheme in many states, train coaches set on fire: The demonstrators demanded a roll-back of the reform, which is aimed at hiring young citizens for a fixed term for the armed forces.
  2. Pune Police planted fake evidence on devices of Bhima Koregaon accused, reports Wired: The recovery email id and phone number on accounts of Rona Wilson, Varavara Rao and Hany Babu were linked to a police officer, a cybersecurity firm has claimed.
  3. Demolitions should only take place as per legal procedures, says Supreme Court: The court was responding to a plea which argued that razing of houses of those who protested against remarks on Prophet Muhammad is illegal.
  4. ED defers Rahul Gandhi’s questioning to June 20: The Congress MP was supposed to appear on Friday, but he requested to postpone the interrogation as he wanted to stay with his hospitalised mother Sonia Gandhi.
  5. Saharanpur Police order inquiry into video showing officials beating men in jail: The men were allegedly involved in protests that broke out across the country on June 10 against the remarks made by BJP spokespersons about Prophet Muhammad.
  6. Assam floods toll rises to 44 after two minors die in landslide in Goalpara: In Meghalaya, a part of the National Highway 6, which connects Assam, Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Manipur to the rest of the country, was washed away.
  7. Marathi actor moves HC against her arrest for posting alleged derogatory post about Sharad Pawar: Ketaki Chitale was arrested on May 15 and granted bail on Thursday. However, she will remain in jail as there are over 20 cases pending against her.
  8. India registers 12,213 new Covid-19 cases, 38.43% higher than Wednesday: The single-day count of coronavirus patients crossed 10,000-mark for the first time since February 26.
  9. US Federal Reserve announces biggest interest rate hike in 28 years to control inflation: The latest hike comes five days after the country’s labour department said that inflation in the United States was at a four-decade high of 8.6% driven by high fuel and housing prices.
  10. Officials seize rainbow-coloured toys in Saudi Arabia, claim they promote homosexuality: The confiscated items “contradict the Islamic faith and public morals, and promote homosexual colours targeting the younger generation”, an official said.