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Congress expels its official Mathura mayoral poll candidate Shyam Sundar Upadhyay, claims he submitted fake party ticket

OpIndia Staff
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Congress expels its official Mathura mayoral poll candidate Shyam Sundar Upadhyay, claims he submitted fake party ticket

On Tuesday, Shyam Sundar Upadhyay alias Bittoo was named as the official Congress candidate for the Mathura mayoral election. Now, in a surprising action, the party has expelled him from its primary membership for six years with immediate effect, for his allegedly anti-party activities.

A statement issued by the All India Congress Committee said, “Hon’ble Congress President has expelled Shri Shyam Sundar Upadhyay ‘Bittoo’ from the primary membership of the party, for six years, for his anti-party activities, with immediate effect.” Upadhyay has been expelled from the party to favour Raj Kumar Rawat, another Congress candidate for the polls, who also filed a nomination under a Congress ticket for the same election.

Both Shyam Sundar Upadhyay and Raj Kumar Rawat had filed nominations with Congress tickets. But now Uttar Pradesh Congress State President Braj Lal Khabri has alleged that Shyam Sundar Upadhyay obtained the party’s ticket without authorisation and used that to file the nomination for the election to the post of Mayor of Mathura Vrindavan Municipal Corporation. According to the party, he applied as a Congress candidate using forged documents.

The Congress party has informed that Raj Kumar Rawat will be its candidate for the elections. However, Shyam Sundar Upadhyay will still be considered the Congress candidate officially, and therefore Rawat will be considered an independent candidate. Both the candidates had filed nominations with Congress tickets, but as Upadhyay filed his nomination first, he is the official party candidate.

Scrutiny of nomination papers was done on Tuesday after the last date for filing nomination papers on Monday. After that, the Returning Officer considered Shyam Sundar Upadhyay Bittu as the authorized candidate for Congress. 

According to Vijai Shankar Dubey, Additional District Magistrate (ADM) and the election officer for the mayoral election, Raj Kumar Rawat will run for office as an independent candidate, on May 4. He stated that Rawat and Upadhyay had received form 7A from Brijlal Khabri, the head of the Uttar Pradesh Congress on April 16. He hadn’t, however, cancelled or withdrawn the form against anyone in the allotted period.

At 3 PM On April 17, the last day of nomination, Brijlal Khabri cancelled the letter of the authorized candidate for Upadhyay but did not issue the authority letter in favour of the other candidate. But Upadhyay had already filed his nomination before that, at around 11 AM, therefore the authority was valid at that time.

When more than one candidate has been granted form 7A, the person who files his nomination papers first is considered the official nominee of any party, as per the statutes governing the elections, reported the officer.

He remarked that because Upadhyay submitted his nomination paperwork first, he was recognised as the Congress’ official candidate. He informed that former BSP MLA Rawat, who recently switched to the Congress, will now have to contest the election as an independent.

Later the state Congress president wrote a letter to the returning officer saying that Raj Kumar Rawat is the official candidate of the Congress party. He also write that form 7A submitted by Upadhyay was unauthorised. However, for the Election officials, it was not acceptable as it came late, and therefore Upadhyay remains the official Congress party.

INX Media money laundering case: ED attaches Karti Chidambaram’s properties worth Rs 11.04 crore

OpIndia Staff
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INX Media money laundering case: ED attaches Karti Chidambaram’s properties worth Rs 11.04 crore

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday attached four properties worth Rs 11.04 crore belonging to Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Karti Chidambaram in the INX media money laundering case.

In a press release on Tuesday, the ED stated that four properties, three movable and one immovable, in the Coorg district of Karnataka had been attached in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. According to the agency, a complaint under the PMLA has been filed against Karti Chidambaram, M/s Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL), and others.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR for the conduct of offences punishable under different provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which served as the foundation for the beginning of the proceedings, which were started by recording an ECIR.

According to the agency, it was discovered during the ED investigation that several shell companies regulated, beneficially owned, or used by another accused Karti Chidambaram received illegal gratification (proceeds of crime) from M/s INX Media Pvt. Ltd., to which the accused P Chidambaram had granted FIPB approval as the Union Minister of India under UPA rule.

“Illegal gratification was received in the company of the accused in the name of providing consultancy by the entities from INX Media. The total proceeds of crime laundered over a period of time are Rs 65.88 Crore. The money was routed to overseas accounts and investment was made in various overseas properties and shares of companies through various shell companies directly or indirectly controlled by Karti P Chidambaram and through his confidants,” the official statement by ED read.

Notably, Karti Chidambaram’s father and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram are also the primary accused in the INX media case filed by the CBI and the ED. In 2021, the ED also filed a chargesheet in the case in which it said that emails were recovered from seized digital devices that disclose Karti used to consult his father regarding matters related to a company ASCPL “beneficially owned” by him in the past and involved in this case.

In February 2018, Karti was arrested by CBI in the INX media case. Further in October 2018, the ED had attached Karti’s immovable properties worth Rs 54 crore in Delhi, Ooty, Kodaikanal, London and also Spain. An FIR was registered in May 2017, where CBI had alleged there were irregularities in Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance granted to INX media for foreign funds worth Rs 305 crore.

Indrani Mukerjea, owner and founder of INX media, had alleged that one of Karti Chidambaram’s companies benefitted in exchange for the approval. P Chidambaram had spent over 100 days in custody in a money laundering case filed by Enforcement Directorate (ED) based on FIR by CBI. The father-son duo are also named as accused in Aircel Maxim Scam.

Now, you will not be kicked off Twitter if you call a biological man who identifies as a woman a man: Here’s what has changed

OpIndia Staff
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Now, you will not be kicked off Twitter if you call a biological man who identifies as a woman a man: Here’s what has changed

On April 8, Twitter made a significant change in its policy by removing the aspect of the “Hateful Conduct” policy under which a Twitter user might get suspended if he or she was found misgendering or deadnaming transgender individuals. The change was noticed by social media users and media houses only on April 18, when it made headlines. Some reports suggest that such changes would make Twitter “less safe for marginalised groups”.

Twitter has changed its policy against deadnaming transgenders and non-binary. Source: Twitter/WayBackMachine.

The policy against deadnaming or using a transgender’s name from the time before transitioning, as well as purposefully using “wrong gender” for someone, was considered to be a form of harassment on the social media platform since 2018.

Furthermore, Twitter has announced it will be adding warning labels on some tweets that might violate the rule against hateful conduct. Earlier, the tweets were removed without warning. Twitter will now initially reduce the reach of the Tweet. The user will be able to appeal against the decision to limited visibility. However, the illegal content will be removed, and bad actors will be suspended as per the regulations set by Twitter.

What changed in the policy?

In November 2018, Twitter introduced a section in its policy against Hateful Conduct that read, “We prohibit targeting individuals with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to dehumanise, degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.”

Interestingly, you can still report a tweet over misgendering or deadnaming, as it has not been removed from the list of reasons for reporting a tweet.

You can still report a tweet for misgendering or deadnaming a person. Source: Twitter

Deadnaming is using a transgender or non-binary person’s name that they used before transitioning, such as a birth name. It remained part of the policy for almost five years and was removed in April 2023 without making much noise by the social media platform.

US bans use of ‘monovalent’ Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines. Here is what it means

OpIndia Staff
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US bans use of ‘monovalent’ Moderna and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines. Here is what it means

On Tuesday (April 18), the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked the authorisation of ‘monovalent’ Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, which were earlier in use against Covid-19.

In a statement, it said, “The monovalent Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States.”

Meanwhile, FDA has authorised ‘bivalent’ vaccines to be used for all doses given to individuals 6 months of age and older. It must be mentioned that ‘monovalent’ vaccines contain only one strain of a virus whereas ‘bivalent’ vaccines contain two strains of the virus.

The current bivalent Covid-19 vaccines, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, contain both original and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains. Given that the virus that causes Covid-19 has mutated over the years, the efficacy of the monovalent vaccine (containing only the original strain) had reduced.

According to the Washington State Department of Health, initial data [pdf] has shown that bivalent Covid-19 boosters provided broader protection than monovalent boosters.

While speaking about the matter, Peter Marks said, “At this stage of the pandemic, data support simplifying the use of the authorized mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccines and the agency believes that this approach will help encourage future vaccination.”

Marks, who serves as the Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, added, “Evidence is now available that most of the U.S. population 5 years of age and older have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, either from vaccination or infection that can serve as a foundation for the protection provided by the bivalent vaccines.”

Pune school used by banned terror outfit PFI as training camp attached by NIA, read details

OpIndia Staff
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Pune school used by banned terror outfit PFI as training camp attached by NIA, read details

On Sunday, April 16, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) attached two floors of the Blue Bells School building in the Kondhwa area of Pune, Maharashtra where the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly organized camps to radicalize and indoctrinate Muslim youth and train them for committing targeted killings and attacks against leaders and organizations of a ‘particular community’.

In a press release issued on Monday, the NIA stated that the PFI used the fourth and fifth floors of the school to organize and prepare for carrying out terrorist actions with the intention of jeopardizing India’s unity, integrity, and security.

The agency continued by alleging that the PFI was teaching unarmed and armed youths to kill or assault people who resisted the establishment of Islamic Rule in the nation by 2047, as well as recruiting Muslim youths into the organization on the premises of the school.

According to a press release, on September 22 of last year, the NIA searched 93 locations in 15 states, including Maharashtra, for the homes and offices of top PFI leaders and members “following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI was involved in funding terrorist activities, organizing training camps for providing armed training, and radicalizing people to join banned organizations.”

Incriminating documents were also recovered during the agency’s investigation of the school’s two floors. The NIA stated that the said property was “used by the accused, found to be associated with the PFI, for organizing arms training for its cadre.”

It is further stated that these ‘training camps’ were used to instigate innocent Muslim youths against leaders and organizations of a particular community as well as the government. They were also provoked to indulge in violent Jihad and commit terrorist activities. 

Moreover, the new recruits were also provided with weapon training. The Muslim youths were trained in the use of dangerous weapons like knives, sickles, etc to attack and murder the people opposing the ideology of the PFI of establishing Islamic rule in India. 

The NIA investigation had revealed that the accused – all senior PFI cadre/national executive committee members – were part of a criminal conspiracy “to establish Caliphate and Islamic rule in India by waging a war against the country and toppling the democratically elected government”, the release further added.

It is notable that an 8-page PFI document was seized by the Bihar Police last year, in the document named ‘India Vision 2047’, PFI has circulated internally among its cadre that they aim to completely dominate the ‘coward Hindus’ and subjugate them and this goal will be achievable even with 10% of Muslims rallying behind PFI. 

Islamist violence against Hanuman Janmotsav procession: VHP, Bajrang Dal call for strike in 14 districts of Odisha, Sambalpur still under curfew

OpIndia Staff
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Islamist violence against Hanuman Janmotsav procession: VHP, Bajrang Dal call for strike in 14 districts of Odisha, Sambalpur still under curfew

Days after the vicious stone pelting and arson attacks on the Hanuman Janmotsav processions in Odisha’s Sambalpur city, the VHP and Bajrang Dal have called for a 12-hour bandh across 14 districts of Western Odisha.

The Sambalpur city is still under curfew and the internet has been shut down in the district even after 4 days. The police and district administration has been vigilant and dozens of arrests have been made. However, the Hindu outfits Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad have stated that the government and city administration could have prevented the attack and violence if they wanted to.

The VHP, and Bajrang Dal have called for a 12-hour bandh in the western districts of Sambalpur, Debgarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Subarnapur, Boudh, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Koraput, Nabrangpur, Malkangiri, and Rayagada.

Shops have been closed and the movement of vehicles has been restricted in most of the places. Educational institutions and many offices have been closed. The BJP has extended support to the bandh call and in many cities, citizen groups and local organisations have joined in too.

BJP’s official letter supporting the bandh call

In an official statement, the BJP stated that a peaceful procession by Hindus came under repeated attacks in Sambalpur by a particular community and the local administration was unable to prevent it. In the subsequent incidents of violence, a tribal man named Chandramani Mirdha has been brutally killed by goons while many Hindu leaders and police personnel have been injured. The BJP has condemned the law and order situation in the state under the BJD government.

Police action in Sambalpur violence, 85 arrested so far, internet still shut down, city under curfew

On April 18, the Sambalpur district administration announced some relaxation in curfew hours to allow citizens to carry out essential activities. The public movement has been allowed from morning 7 am to 1 pm and in the afternoon from 3.30 to 6 pm.

However, internet services have been restricted for another day citing social media misuse.

Acting on the violence so far, the city police have arrested around 85 persons. Over the stone pelting incident of April 12, and April 14, and incidents of vandalism, 6 more persons have been arrested on April 17. The police FIR copy in the incident states that over 150-160 people were involved in the attacks.

Sambalpur violence

On Wednesday evening, April 12, a bike rally organised by ‘Hanuman Jayanti Samanyoy Samiti’ and Bajrang Dal came under violent stone pelting when it was passing near a masjid in the Dhanupali area, triggering clashes. The violence soon spread, resulting in vandalism, arson and many incidents of clashes.

As per the FIR filed by complainant Dhirendra Kumar Swain, who was stationed at Motijharan Chowk along with Sub-Inspector Dharmendra Bhoi to maintain law and order during the Hanuman Jayanti procession, the procession was chanting slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’, ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ and that was when the Hindu procession came under attack from around 200 Islamists.

As per the FIR, the Islamists attacked the members of the rally with iron rods, lathis, and swords, with the intention to kill. During the attack, apart from shouting obscenities, Islamists were shouting ‘kafir log’, ‘sale logo ko kaat denge’, ‘salo ko India wapas nehi jaane denge’, etc.

Indian Youth Congress sends legal notice to Angkita Dutta for accusing close Rahul Gandhi aide Srinivas BV of abusive behaviour

OpIndia Staff
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Indian Youth Congress sends legal notice to Angkita Dutta for accusing close Rahul Gandhi aide Srinivas BV of abusive behaviour

On April 18, Roopesh S Bhadauria, National Chairman of the Indian Youth Congress Legal Cell, sent a notice to Dr Angkita Dutta over the allegations she levelled against IYC National President Srinivas BV. The notice was sent on behalf of Srinivas. In the notice, it was claimed that Srinivas was a “well-known public figure”, and the allegations levels by Dutta in tweets and other statements were “sexist, chauvinistic, false and frivolous”, and the language used was “unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory and malicious”.

The notice noted that Dutta was appointed as Vice President of Assam PYC in June 2018 and later President in 2021, pertaining to the 33 per cent reservation for women across party posts. However, it has been claimed that Dutta could not discharge her duties ably and constantly refrained from “participating and cooperating with the inquiry committee”.

Furthermore, her name coming up in Sharda Chit Fund Scan and ED/PMLA cases was also mentioned in the notice. Interestingly, it appears Congress did not take any action against her after the allegations were raised against her in the scams.

Accusing Dutta of being in touch with BJP, the notice read, “It is also reliably learnt that you are in constant touch with Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM of Assam, and you have been undertaking this exercise of maligning and defaming simply to create an atmosphere of leaving the Congress Party with an objective to join the BJP, the ruling dispensation at the State and the Centre and consequently to have a closure of these cases.” It claimed that the allegations were levelled at the behest of the BJP.

IYC Legal Cell threatened to file a case against her under relevant Sections of the Information Technology Act and the Indian Penal Code. The notice read, “Defaming the character of my client by making false statements and allegations clearly shows slander as well on your part, and if these activities are not stopped immediately, then we will be moving a petition against you in the court of law to make sure that such things are stopped with immediate effect, and you will be made liable for all these acts, and further you will be required to pay compensation to our client.”

Dutta has been asked to apologise to avoid legal action against her.

Angkita Dutta’s allegations against Srinivas

The Assam Youth Congress President took to Twitter to post multiple tweets on her timeline where she opened up about the alleged harassment she has been facing at the hands of National Indian Youth Congress President Srinivas BV and the lack of interest shown by higher-ups in her case.

She alleged that even though it has been six months since she first complained to the party bosses about Srinivas BV, Rahul Gandhi and others have not initiated an enquiry against Srinivas BV and are instead forcing her to keep quiet.

In her subsequent tweets, she elaborated how she had raised the issue with the higher-ups in the party, but no action was taken against Srinivas BV. She questioned why Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who frequently advocate for women’s empowerment, have maintained a stoic silence on her issue.

Dutch intel agency calls China “biggest threat to economic security”

ANI
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Dutch intel agency calls China “biggest threat to economic security”

Netherlands intelligence agency and Service warned about the increasing internal and external threats against the rule of law and also called China “the biggest threat to the Netherlands’ economic security,” Anadolu Agency reported. 

Speaking at the press conference on the report, Erik Akerboom, Monday, director-general of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) said that China is the biggest economic threat to their country. He further stated that China is targeting new technologies in the Netherlands and is constantly trying to steal these technologies. 

In the AIVD 2022 report, the officials said that the threats to the country have increased due to the war in Ukraine, spying activity and cyberattacks, according to Anadolu Agency.

Earlier, the Dutch government said that they have imposed restrictions on the export of chip manufacturing equipment and raw materials used in chip making to China. 

The report also said that radical ideologies, terrorist threats, cyber-attacks, sabotage and organized crime undermine the rule of law in the country. 

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reacting to the Netherlands intelligence claim, called Dutch “irresponsible for relevant Dutch authorities to frame such mutually beneficial cooperation as an issue about security.” 

While responding to a media query during the press conference on Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Wang Webin said, “This could sour the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation and does not serve the interest of the Netherlands,” as per the statement released by Chinese Foreign Ministry. 

“We hope the Netherlands will abandon the Cold War mentality, stop creating hypothetical pretexts to smear Chinese companies, academic institutions and their personnel, and be open-minded, rational and objective about having normal economic and academic cooperation with China,” he added. 

(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)

Rajasthan: Another Korean blogger sexually harassed while shooting live blog, man flashes genitals at her on camera, arrested

OpIndia Staff
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Rajasthan: Another Korean blogger sexually harassed while shooting live blog, man flashes genitals at her on camera, arrested

On Tuesday, the Rajasthan Police arrested a man for harassing a Korea-based blogger in the city of Jodhpur. The man showed his private part to the woman as she was shooting a blog of herself and capturing the beauty of the city. The Police took cognizance of the event only after the video of the said incident went viral over social media.

The woman in the video could be seen capturing the beauty of the blue city while shooting a video blog of herself. The accused man as seen in the video followed the woman and kept a watch on her. Later he displayed his genitals to the woman on camera forcing her to scream aloud for help. The man then kept laughing and made lewd gestures at the woman.

The Police arrested the man and confirmed that the foreign blogger was sexually harassed by the accused. “A woman foreign tourist blogger had put up a post on her social media that a man had sexually harassed her. Taking cognizance of this information, we identified the man and arrested him,” said Jodhpur East DCP Amrita Duhan.

The incident triggered widespread condemnation on social media. Taking swift action, the Jodhpur police have identified and arrested the man seen in the video. The man has been identified as Jodhpur resident Deepak Jalani. The police have reportedly stated that there have been some claims that Jalani may be mentally ill. So he would be subjected to a medical examination too.

The incident comes months after another South Korean travel influencer was sexually harassed by two men in Mumbai’s Khar area. The two men were identified as Mobeen Chand and Mohammad Naqeeb Sadrealam Ansari from Bandra and were arrested by the Police in swift action.

Shaista Parveen likely using ‘underworld’ connections to evade arrest by UP STF

OpIndia Staff
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Shaista Parveen likely using ‘underworld’ connections to evade arrest by UP STF

Days after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed, the search is on for Atiq Ahmed’s wife Shaista Parveen, who is a co-accused in the Umesh Pal murder case and is currently on a run. According to reports, Shaista, who has a reward of Rs 50,000 on her head, is suspected to be in the Mariyadeeh area in Prayagraj, while Guddu Muslim might be in Karnataka. The ‘underworld’ is apparently helping Shaista Parveen to elude the Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police.

It is also being speculated if Guddu Muslim informed the UP STF about Asad Ahmed and Ghulam’s whereabouts, who were gunned down by the UP STF on April 13 in an encounter in Jhansi. It is also being said that Guddu Muslim might have been involved in the murder of the mafia brothers as well. 

Asad Ahmed’s threat call to builder Mohammad Muslim

Recently, an audio chat between Asad Ahmed and builder Mohammad Muslim went viral. In the audio clip, Asad Ahmed can be heard threatening Mohammad Muslim. In a conversation that reportedly took place on January 9, Asad threatened builder Mohammad Muslim for not picking up his call. Later, Muslim gave Rs 80 lakh to Asad Ahmed. This money was reportedly used in Umesh Pal’s murder. 

Shaista Parveen handling Atiq Ahmed’s business

Meanwhile, it has been reported that the UP STF has found significant information regarding the ‘real estate’ businesses run by Shaista Parveen. It has come to the fore that Parveen has real estate companies spread from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to Gurugram in Haryana.

Shaista Parveen also manages Atiq Ahmed’s ‘businesses’ which include investing in multiple businesses and launching new projects as well as collecting accounts from associates of partner companies. Numerous such real estate businesses operating out of Gurugram, Haryana, and registered under the name Shaista have been identified by the STF.

According to the information gathered by the STF, Fanaa Associated Private Limited is being run out of Gurugram under the name Atiq. Shaista is listed as the owner of another business with the same name. Shaista Parveen also owns M/s Jafri State Limited in Gurugram.

The STF has obtained information about the operation of four companies under the names of Shaista’s brothers Farooq and Zaki in Gurugram, MJ Infra Land LLP, MJ Infra Green Pvt Ltd, MJ Infra Housing, and MJ Infra State Housing Pvt Ltd.

Atiq and Shaista’s major residential projects include Alina City Phases I and II, which cover 700 hectares in Birampur, Prayagraj, Bakshi Modha, and Ahmed City, which covers 300 hectares in Damupur.

Atiq Ahmed also owned several more projects, including Asad City in Saidpur Bakshi Village, Saidpur Housing Scheme, Saidpur Housing Scheme Karehda, Lakhanpur Housing Scheme, and Sai Vihar Housing Scheme Rawatpur Ko. Atiq Ahmed’s under-construction shopping complex in the Roshanbagh area is also under STF’s scanner.

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