The Congress hit out at the Centre on Friday over the farmers' protest against the new farm laws, with former party president Rahul Gandhi alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was "weakening" India by "attacking" farmers.

A court here has rejected the bail plea of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and Pinjra Tod member Devangana Kalita, booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a northeast Delhi riots case, saying the allegations against her are prima facie and provisions of the anti-terror law have been rightly invoked in the case.

 The CBI conducted surprise checks at 20 Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in Punjab and Haryana after getting a number of complaints regarding alleged irregularities, officials said on Friday.

Multi-layered security arrangements, barricades put everywhere and all entry points sealed, Singhu border, the nerve-centre of the ongoing farmers protest with thousands of security personnel seen marching at the site, turned into a fortress on Friday.

Several farmers from parts of Haryana on Friday decided to head towards Delhi's borders to join the ongoing agitation against agri laws, saying the government's moves against peasant leaders will not weaken their protest.

 The Supreme Court Friday observed that criticism of courts is growing and everybody is now doing it now, while giving three weeks to cartoonist Rachit Taneja to file her reply on the plea seeking contempt action for her alleged scandalous tweets against the judiciary.

Crowds swelled at the Ghazipur border on Friday as around 1000 farmers from western Uttar Pradesh joined the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) members who have stayed put on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to demand repeal of agri laws, while several farmers from Haryana decided to move towards Delhi borders to join the stir.

A group of people, not more than 200, threw stones and vandalised tents erected by farmers at the Delhi-Haryana border in Singhu, the epicenter of farmers' protests since over two months. The sudden violence at the protest site this afternoon, which has been tense since the Republic Day violence, prompted the police to use tear gas shells and farmers to appeal for calm.