Mumbai, Oct 30 (PTI) Following are the top stories from the Western Region at 1700 HRS.

BOM20 MH-KIDS-RESCUE

Mumbai: Over 20 children `held hostage' in Powai area rescued Mumbai: More than 20 children held hostage by a man inside a studio in Mumbai's Powai area were safely rescued by police and fire brigade teams on Thursday, an official said.

BOM9 MH-LOAN WAIVER-MINISTER

Govt to provide loan waiver but will ensure only genuine, eligible farmers benefit: Bawankule Mumbai: Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday said the state government will definitely implement a farm loan waiver scheme but only after ensuring that it benefits genuine and eligible farmers.

BOM13 MH-HC-KADU-PROTEST

Bachchu Kadu's protest: Highway and blocked roads restored, Nagpur police tell HC Nagpur: A national highway and other roads in Nagpur, where former MLA Bachchu Kadu and his supporters were agitating for a farm loan waiver, have been cleared of the protesters, police informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday.

BOM10 MH-HC-MARATHI MOVIE

Nobody has exclusivity over Shivaji Maharaj’s name, says HC; grants nod to Manjrekar’s film Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has ruled that the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj “in any form cannot be the subject matter of exclusivity”, clearing the path for Mahesh Manjrekar’s new Marathi movie, “Punha Shivaji Raje Bhosale”, for release on Friday as scheduled.

BOM16 GJ-SARDAR PATEL-ANNIVERSARY

PM Modi to lead grand celebration of Sardar Patel's 150th birth anniversary in Ekta Nagar Ahmedabad: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Friday at Ekta Nagar in Gujarat's Narmada district, home to the 'Statue of Unity', the world's tallest statue honouring India's first home minister.

BOM5 MH-SEC-VVPAT

No provision for use of VVPATs in local body polls: Maharashtra SEC Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Election Commission (SEC) has said there is no provision in the laws or rules governing local body elections for the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

BOM18 MH-KADU-LD PROTEST

Ex-MLA Kadu to meet CM Fadnavis on farmers' issues; Jarange extends support to protest Nagpur: Former MLA Bachchu Kadu, who is leading a massive protest for farm loan waiver, on Thursday said he will meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai later in the evening and is hopeful of a good decision.

BOM15 MH-VOTERS LIST-OPPN-MARCH

Thackeray cousins, Pawar to lead Oppn's protest march against 'irregularities' in voters' list Mumbai: Top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi allies, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray, will lead the Opposition's November 1 protest march in Mumbai against alleged irregularities in voters' lists.

BOM17 MH-AADHAAR-ROHIT PAWAR-LD CASE

FIR filed after MLA Rohit Pawar shows creation of fake Aadhaar card in Trump name Mumbai: Police have registered an FIR in Mumbai against unidentified persons after Maharashtra NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar showed the preparation of a fake Aadhaar card in US President Donald Trump's name and its use to register bogus voters, officials said on Thursday.

BES5 MP-RSS-MEET

3-day RSS executive body meet begins in Jabalpur; to focus on nationwide Hindu conferences Jabalpur: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s annual national executive meeting began in Jabalpur on Thursday, with a functionary saying that the three-day event will focus on organising nationwide Hindu conferences.

BOM7 MP-WINTER SESSION

MP assembly winter session from December 1-5; Oppn demands extension Bhopal: The winter session of the Madhya Pradesh assembly will be held from December 1 to 5, an official said on Thursday.

BOM4 MP-ACCIDENT-CRANE

2 killed as crane falls on truck at under-construction rail bridge in MP's Dhar Dhar: Two persons were killed and some others feared trapped after a crane engaged in railway bridge construction overturned and fell onto a truck in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district on Thursday, police said.

PTI RSY

Electoral procedure: Maharashtra SEC finds no legal basis for VVPAT use in local body polls, affecting vote verification processes. The Maharashtra State Election Commission found no legal provision for VVPAT use in local body polls, defining the legal framework for vote-verification tools. Police filed an FIR after a fake Aadhaar card was demonstrated as used to register bogus voters, raising identity-fraud and electoral-offence enforcement issues. The Bombay High Court held that the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj cannot be exclusively owned, clearing commercial exclusivity claims over a historical name.