Daily Bulletin: Nation rejoices as IAF pilot returns; J&K sees heavy shelling once again; India to play Aussies; day's top stories

Nation heaves sigh of relief as IAF pilot returns Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman returned to India from Pakistan via the Wagah border to a hero’s welcome. Wearing blue blazer and grey trousers, he crossed over into India from the Attari-Wagah border at 9.20 pm. He was handed over by the Pakistan Rangers to the Border Security Force (BSF) following paperwork. [caption id=“attachment_6181031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman as he is released by Pakistan authorities. PTI[/caption] He was taken to Delhi on Friday night for health checkups and debriefing procedures. Among those to join in the celebratory fervour was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who hailed the Indian Air Force pilot’s exemplary courage on Twitter. Politicians from across the spectrum, sportspersons, those in the military and in showbiz displayed an outpouring of joy and support at the return. China welcomed Pakistan’s decision to release Abhinandan and France, which takes over presidency of the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, also voiced relief at the de-escalation of tension between India an Pakistan. Fresh casualties reported in heavy overnight cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir Shelling from the Pakistan side killed a family of three, including a nine-month-old child, in Poonch of Jammu and Kashmir, early on Saturday, reported News18. Heavy shelling was seen in Poonch and Rajouri sectors, with multiple ceasefire violations by Pakistan in as many as eight locations. Five security personnel  including a Central Reserve Police Force officer were killed in an encounter with terrorists in Handwara in Jammu and Kashmir. Two terrorists were killed in the same encounter. The gunfight, which started at 5 am on Friday, is still afoot. Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Babagund area of Kupwara following information about presence of militants there, they said. A gunfight started after the militants opened fire on the security forces, who retaliated. Congress Election Committee to meet The Congress Election Committee will meet on Saturday to decide on candidates on the basis of inputs from states. Congress president Rahul Gandhi is also set to address a Parivartan Ulgulan Rally in Ranchi in the afternoon. Rahul is likely to meet Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad to resolve the issue of seat sharing problem between the two parties. Pawan Kalyan claims he knew about ‘war’ Actor-turned-politician and Opposition leader in Andhra Pradesh, Pawan Kalyan, has claimed he was told two years ago about an impending war ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a gathering at Allagadda, Kurnool, the Jana Sena Party chief was quoted by News18 as having said, “Today, there is a war-like situation along the borders. I was told two years ago that there would be a war ahead of the general elections. Now, you can understand what kind of a situation we are in.” He also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), saying that patriotism does not belong only to the BJP. Delhi courts to hear several key cases The Delhi courts will hear a number of key cases on Saturday. With interim protection granted to Manoj Arora ending on Saturday, both he and Robert Vadra will appear before the Patiala House Courts. Vadra, through his counsel, had petitioned to see the documents filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The mother of “Nirbhaya”, the woman who was gang-raped and killed in New Delhi, sparking national outrage, has moved a plea requesting the court to direct concerned authorities to take the necessary steps to ensure that the death sentence given to the accused is executed. Rajiv Saxena will record his statement before a magistrate in the AgustaWestland case after moving a plea to turn approver in the case. Gautam Khaitan’s bail plea will also come up for hearing. The Muzaffarpur shelter house will be heard at the Saket court. A defamation case lodged against Congress leader Jairam Ramesh will come up for hearing. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s son Vivek had moved the plea. Jet Airways grounds two more planes Jet Airways said on Friday that two more of its aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals. With this, the total number of aircraft taken out of operations due to cash crunch in the airline and its subsequent failure to pay rentals to various lessors has gone up to 21 so far. In a filing to the stock exchanges, the full-service airline said, “An additional two aircraft have been grounded due to non-payment of amounts outstanding to lessors under their respective lease agreements.” The carrier is actively engaged with all its aircraft lessors and regularly provides them with updates on the efforts undertaken to improve its liquidity, the filing said. Aircraft lessors have been supportive of the company’s efforts in this regard, it said. The company said it is making all efforts to minimize disruption to its network due to the the grounding of these planes and is proactively informing and re-accommodating its affected guests. India to play Australia in first ODI today at Hyderabad After suffering 0-2 drubbing at the hands of Australians at home in the T20I series, Virat Kohli and Co will look to better their performance in the five-match ODI series that starts in Hyderabad on Saturday. The series provides the hosts last chance to zero in on their last couple of slots for the World Cup which starts in May. The Australian team will look to to continue the momentum it has gained in the T20I series.