Nagpur, Dec 27 (PTI) The Bombay High Court has taken suo motu (on its own) notice of an incident where a sessions court judge was allegedly assaulted by an assistant public prosecutor on the court premises.

Vacation judge Justice R K Deshpande of the high court's Nagpur bench said Wednesday that such incidents are a "threat to independence of the judiciary".

Assistant public prosecutor Dinesh Parate allegedly slapped senior civil judge K R Deshpande outside a lift on the seventh floor of the Nagpur District and Sessions court around noon Wednesday.

New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) The government has banned Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) for its involvement in several killings, bombings and other terror activities during its violent campaign for "secession of Punjab".

The decision to ban the outfit under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) comes in the backdrop of agencies unearthing several KLF modules in recent months which has led to apprehensions that it is attempting to revive militancy in the state.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) The Union Cabinet Friday approved the Gaganyaan project under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The project will cost Rs 10,000 crore, he said at a press conference here.

The Gaganyaan project was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech.

He had said the mission will be undertaken by 2022.

India has already inked agreements with Russia and France for assistance in the ambitious project.

Noida (UP), Dec 27 (PTI) A 30-year-old woman received severe burn injuries after she was allegedly set on fire by her in-laws over dowry in Greater Noida, police said Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday at Kalupura village under Rabupura police station limits, a police official said.

"A complaint was made by the woman's brother, who has alleged that her in-laws tried to kill her for dowry," the official said.

New York, Dec 27; PTI:A 33-year-old Indian-origin police officer in the US state of California has been killed after being shot by an "armed" unidentified gunman while he was conducting a traffic stop.

Corporal Ronil Singh of the Newman Police Department was shot and killed during a traffic stop when he was "working overtime on Christmas night to provide the best for his family."

"A few moments later he called out 'shots fired' over the radio,"the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department said in a statement, which is leading the investigation.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday announced a Rs 4,500 crore financial assistance to Bhutan for its 12th five-year plan after holding wide-ranging talks with his Bhutanese counterpart Lotay Tshering.

In his media statement, Modi said hydro power cooperation with Bhutan is a key aspect of bilateral ties and that work on the Mangdechhu project will soon be completed.

New Delhi, Dec 27(PTI) Train 18, India's fastest train, will begin operations in January 2019 at a curtailed speed of 130 kmph, sources said Thursday.

Train 18, which is set to replace the Shatabdi series, has the potential to run between 160 kmph to 200 kmph. At trials, it breached the 180-kmph mark.

New Delhi, Dec 27 (PTI) Lok Sabha proceedings were again disrupted on Thursday as vociferous protests and sloganeering over various issues forced Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to adjourn the House till noon.

Despite repeated warnings from Mahajan, Congress, AIADMK and TDP members continued to stand in the Well of the House and sought to raise various issues, including Rafale deal.

Soon after the Question Hour began, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge wanted to raise the issue of Rafale deal but Mahajan said the matter can be raised during the Zero Hour.

Siliguri , December 27; GANASHAKTI:   Over Thirty thousand farmers and agricultural labourers   from 6 North Bengal districts today afternoon  met in a long march cum encroachment programme at Siliguri in North Bengal, with determination and dedication to tear open  the anti farmer policies of the Modi led Union Government and the West Bengal State Government.  Crossing the initial estimate of 10,000 particpants the long march evinced huge interest in North Bengal  and over 30000 peasants joined the March at the call of All India Kisan Sabha- All India Agricultural Workers Union Combine .

Kanpur (UP) Dec 28 (PTI) A minor girl was allegedly gang raped by four students at an apartment in here, police have said.

The accused persons -- a bachelor of business administration and three engineering students -- were detained, Superintendent of Police (City) Sanjiv Suman said.

They will be put under arrest after their interrogation is completed, he said Thursday.

The girl alleged that on Tuesday, she had gone with her friends for shopping when she met one of the accused persons, he said.

KANPUR: Two cases of swindling have been reported. One man was swindled in Maharajpur of Sarsaul Block while a Munshi’s bag was divested of money in Cooper Ganj here.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) Over 1.9 lakh children went missing in the last three years, the Lok Sabha was told Friday.

From June 2, 2015, to December 21, 2018, a total of 1,91,679 children have gone missing, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar told the Lok Sabha.

The highest number of children went missing from Gujarat at 37,063 followed by Madhya Pradesh 32,925 and West Bengal 25,275, he said.

The number of children tracked using the Khoya Paya, a child tracking portal, is 5,828, Kumar said.