Home Blog Page 6538

Former NCP deputy mayor of Kolhapur, Shama Mullah, among 15 held for attack on Police during raid on gambling den

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Former NCP deputy mayor of Kolhapur, Shama Mullah, among 15 held for attack on Police during raid on gambling den

The former NCP deputy mayor of Kolhapur, Shama Mulla along with 15 others were arrested at a gambling den in Yadavnagar of Kolhapur. According to police, on a tip-off, a team raided the Matka (gambling) den in Yadavnagar area, run by Salim Mulla, the husband of former deputy mayor Shama Mulla. Salim, who is currently absconding, attacked police officials and fled away with a pistol.

The police team which raided the den was led by Aishwarya Sharma. On the arrival of the police at the former deputy mayor’s residence, they found booking registers and other incriminating documents suggestive of rampant gambling practices.

Shama Mulla’s husband Salim Mulla and others attacked the Additional Superintendent of Police Aishwarya Sharma and tore down one of the constables’ clothes and snatched his service revolver.

Brandishing the revolver, Salim and his close aides roughed up the ASP and his team and fled from the place. A police constable has been seriously injured in the brawl.

Immediately, after finding information about this attack, Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh and Deputy Superintendent of Police Tirupati Kakade along with the reinforcements went to the spot and nabbed 15 people including Shama Mullah. The police then searched Mullah’s house and found objectionable documents related to gambling. Police is on a lookout against Salim and others who are still absconding.

Supreme Court asks ‘why government officials should manage temples’, bench talks about rampant idol theft in Tamil Nadu

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Supreme Court asks ‘why government officials should manage temples’, bench talks about rampant idol theft in Tamil Nadu

Taking a note on increased interference of the state in the affairs of Hindu temples, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned the rationale behind government officials managing religious places and temples in the country, reported Live Law.

According to the reports, a bench of Justices SA Bobde and SA Nazeer while considering the issue of harassment to several devotees visiting the Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha questioned as to why should government officials manage religious places and temples in the country.

“It is a matter of perspective. I do not know why government officials should manage temples?,” Justice Bobde observed while hearing a petition regarding the difficulties faced by the devotees at Jagannath temple and their alleged harassment and exploitation by the ‘sevaks’ (staff).

“In Tamil Nadu, there is theft of idols. These idols, apart from the religious sentiments, are priceless,” the bench said.

Attorney General K K Venugopal told the apex court that Kerala’s Sabarimala temple was being run by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) while board appointed by governments were managing several other temples in the country. KK Venugopal further asked, “How far the government, in a secular state, can control or manage a temple.”

Observing the report filed by the amicus curiae senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, the Supreme Court bench said “People (visiting the temple) are harassed due to several reasons. Priests restrict them. Lot of them do not have a voice. They are poor and uneducated.”

During the hearing, one of the lawyers, who had filed an intervention application in the matter, said the petition was not maintainable further angering Justice Bobde.

Justice Bobde in his reply said, “It is enough. You are behaving in the most undignified manner in the court. We do not want to be shouted out. We do not want somebody to speak out of turn. You will not use the tone in which you are addressing the court.” The amicus had earlier told the court that one of the major issues at the temple was lack of proper crowd management and absence of queue system for devotees.

However, the counsel representing the Odisha said it was not easy to have a “typical queue system” for the devotees at the shrine, as its architecture was different. In July last year, the top court had directed the Jagannath temple management to consider allowing every visitor, irrespective of faith, to offer prayers to the deity.

The observation of the Supreme Court is welcoming as the ‘secular’ state has been interfering the affairs of the Hindus since its independence. The government has always attempted to regulate the affairs of the Hindu temple as they generate huge revenue in the form of receipts through offers and donations.

The BJP manifesto hits the right chord on Kashmir even as the Muftis and Abdullahs sing a different and dangerous tune

Ashish Shukla
-
0
The BJP manifesto hits the right chord on Kashmir even as the Muftis and Abdullahs sing a different and dangerous tune

The BJP manifesto for the 2019 elections has hit the right chord on Kashmir. A tough task where BJP risks the opposition howling and crying incessantly, but the BJP stuck to its guns and took a much-needed principled stand. Even though abrogation of Article 370 has been a part of BJP manifestos in the past, the clear resolve to dump Article 35A shows a party which is willing to take a stand even if it means un-appeasing the Muslim minority.

In the same breath, there is a reason to stand up and applaud BJP for standing firm on NRC and Citizenship Bill – again no mollycoddling the separatist forces in Bengal, Assam and North-East.

Contrast this with Congress, TMC, BSP, SP, TDP, RJD or any other party which speaks of one India and united India but don’t have the guts to take a stand on Omar Abdullah’s despicable statement of a separate Prime Minister (and President) of  Jammu & Kashmir. For if they support Abdullah, it would write its’ own death warrant in 2019 Polls. If it opposes Abdullah, it would mean losing the Muslim votes.

Please also take note of the venom which dynasts Muftis and Abdullahs have spewed in the wake of BJP’s resolve. Mehbooba Mufti tweeted—and her words must be acid to every citizen of India—“Na samjhe gaye to mit jaugo aye Hindustan waalo. Tumhari dastaan tak bhi na hogi daastono mein (If you don’t pay heed you would be wiped out Indians. History books won’t even have your mention). Farooq Abdullah said, “it’s the wish of the god that we get freedom from them.”

(As an aside, it’s been over a day since Mehbooba Mufti tweeted so. Have you read these words in any newspaper of Lutyens Media? Aren’t they ashamed and angry? Why this implicit support to “tukde tukde gang”).

These despicable voices speak of an existential threat to Kashmiris, as Mahesh Jethmalani so aptly put, on the basis of two premises: One, that every piece of land of J and K at the time of accession to India is to be protected; two every Kashmiri must stand for rights of other Kashmiris. If it is so, why it never utters a word against Pakistan which has illegally captured a large part of Kashmir since 1947? Why no outrage when Pakistan gives control of Gilgit-Baltistan to China?

Omar Abdullah warns to BJP government that they must study the history to know the true facts of Article 370 and 35A. I challenge him for an open debate on the matter. I recommend readers to read this piece of mine to clear any doubts they have on Article 370 and 35A. Let Omar Abdullah pick up any point to contest. Any.

In any case, the clear stand of BJP in its manifesto makes it apparent that Article 370 and 35A are up for Constitutional revision. That it’s not cast in stone. No legal hawks and paid editorial writers could dress it up as a Constitutional violation. So far it remained in practice because it suited Congress. They either didn’t have the will or handled separatists with velvet gloves. There was no will to tell Pakistan: Stop exporting terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir.

Now that the threat is real the separatist forces are using language which but for Article 370 and 35A would’ve put them straight behind bars under Sedition laws. But I am thankful for such outpouring of poison: it tells the rest of the country that in the garb of being legitimate political parties and its leaders, these forces actually seek a break-up of India. Please also mark Congress and all other parties of “mahamilavat”: None of them would condemn Omar Abdullah for his “separate-prime minister-for-J&K” remark. Seriously, are you going to vote for parties who would rather have a separate Prime Minister for Jammu and Kashmir?

(Please also keep a watch on their fake protests against the ban to access to Baramullah-Udhampur Highway. Read everything about it here. Already five petitions have been filed in courts. All this has been without regard if Pulawama 2.0 could happen and a full-fledged war between India-Pakistan could ensue).

Special Indian team to assist UK authorities in London in contesting Vijay Mallya’s next appeal against extradition

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Special Indian team to assist UK authorities in London in contesting Vijay Mallya’s next appeal against extradition

India has decided to send a special team to London to assist the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in the oral hearing of the anti-extradition appeal of absconding fugitive liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya in the UK High Court after the court on Monday denied permission to appeal against the extradition order.


Prior to this India has fought extradition cases at the level of the Magisterial Court but in a first, a special Indian team will be fighting the anti-extradition appeal of absconding fugitive liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya in the UK High Court.

With this India intends to narrow down all possible avenues of relief for the 63-year-old former Kingfisher Airlines boss who had filed the application seeking “leave to appeal” in the High Court on February 14 against his extradition order issued by the UK government, which was signed by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

“The application for permission to appeal was refused by Mr. Justice William Davis on 05/04/2019,” said a spokesperson for the UK Judiciary adding that “the appellant (Mallya) has five business days to apply for an oral consideration.

Now that Mallya’s application has been rejected by Judge Davis, he has the option to submit for a “renewal” by April 12. The renewal process will lead to a brief oral hearing, which will include representations from the sides, Vijay Mallya and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on behalf of the Indian government. This process will determine whether the appeal can go for a full hearing.

Mallya is facing criminal charges of money laundering, fraud, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). Mallya has been based in the UK since March 2016 and remains on bail on an extradition warrant executed by Scotland Yard in April 2017.

Meanwhile, Mallya now has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court which may take at least another six weeks.

Back in India, the investigative agencies have come down hard against the liquor baron for defaulting on the loans borrowed by him. The investigating agency ED had informally conveyed to Heineken NV, the part-owner of United Breweries (UB), that it intends to allow banks to auction Vijay Mallya’s shares in the company that the banks had attached once the court grants its approval to the agency for the same.

Pakistan: Question paper asks ‘who is the worst animal before Allah’, students who choose ‘pig’ over ‘infidels’ get no marks

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Pakistan: Question paper asks ‘who is the worst animal before Allah’, students who choose ‘pig’ over ‘infidels’ get no marks

The state of education in a country often indicates how progressive societies are. In a dysfunction state like Pakistan, the system of education has become a casualty under the Islamists and religious fanatics, who are controlled by the Pakistan military establishment to further their political agenda.

An incident in the terror state of Pakistan has revealed the nature of religious intolerance that exists in the Islamist societies towards ‘non-believers’. Arshad Yousafzai, a Pakistani journalist in his post reported how Pakistan’s education system is itself promoting hatred against people from other religion.

In his tweet, Arshad Yousafzai mentions a recent SSC annual exams that held in Karachi, in which the examiner had asked a question in the exam of Islamic Studies to choose an answer for the worst animal before Allah. The options for the question were donkey, pig, infidels, or monkey.


Yousafzai further added that the students appeared before the exams were puzzled to pick the right choice as the examiner who had prepared those question papers believed that the right answer for the question was ‘infidels’, a person who has no religion or a non-believer according to Abrahamic religions.

According to the journalist, the religious scholar who had set the question paper mentioned a verse from Surat Al-Anfal, one of the chapters in the holy book of Quran, which has been used with translation in the textbook of Islamic Studies by Sindh Text Book Board. The verse said, “Indeed, the worst of living creatures in the sight of Allah are those who have disbelieved, and they will not [ever] believe”.

Quran sural al anfal kaffir worst animal
Surah Al-Anfal (meaning Spoils of war)

Arshad added that the religious scholar also cited a few verses related to the infidels. “Certainly, the worst of beasts in Allah’s sight are those who do not believe and they will not believe,” one of the verses that were quoted by the scholar according to Arshad.

The religious scholar further said that those candidates who have chosen the answer ‘Pig’ will not be awarded any mark while those students who had marked that infidels are the worst animal before Allah would be receiving one mark as it was the right answer.

When the reporter questioned the religious scholar on why don’t they teach and prepare questions as per syllabus, the scholar reportedly admitted his fault and vowed that he will review the question paper next year.

Indian Express, Times Now try to defend Kamal Nath, lie that BJP knew about the amount in IT raid in advance

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Indian Express, Times Now try to defend Kamal Nath, lie that BJP knew about the amount in IT raid in advance

In the ongoing income tax (IT) raids being conducted across 50 locations connected to Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath, till now, unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 281 crore has been detected. While the official figure came through a press release by the Income Tax department last night, the amount Rs 281 crore has been floating in the media as early as Sunday. A PTI copy from Sunday evening mentions that officials had said “documents relating to undisclosed transactions worth Rs 281 crore are being scrutinised and a number of them have been seized”.

Economic Times republished the PTI report which mentioned Rs 281 crore

However, Indian Express while reporting the ongoing raids tried to defend Kamal Nath by claiming that the BJP ‘had an advance estimate’ of the amount, thereby trying to cast aspersions that the IT raids are being carried out on behest of the BJP.

Indian Express front page on April 9

The article states that on Monday morning, hours before the CBDT issued a statement, BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted at 10.53 am, “Madhya Pradesh mein tabaadla express patri sey utarney key karan durghatnagrasth. Jaan ka koi nuksaan nahi lekin 281 crore key maal key nuksaan ka anumaan (The Transfer Express in Madhya Pradesh has derailed. No loss of life, but loss of 281 crore estimated).”


Times Now even goes ahead and says that Vijayvargiya had ‘claimed’ he knew 10 hours before the IT disclosure.


Times Now then questions how did the BJP knew in advance and reads about the 10:53 am tweet of Vijayvargiya which was posted “10 hours before” the CBDT disclosure.

Times Now forgets that while Vijayvargiya tweeted the Rs 281 crore figure before the official CBDT disclosure, it was about 12 hours after their sister organisation Economic Times published a PTI copy with the Rs 281 crore figure in it. Clearly, with Times Group, the left-hand does not know what the right-hand does.

It took us less than a minute to Google and find the PTI copy from Sunday evening which mentioned the Rs 281 crore figure which was quoted by Kailash Vijayvargiya. Indian Express and Times Now missing out on the basic research in a bid to sensationalise news is just an example of shoddy journalism.

I-T officers had conducted searches at the locations of CM’s OSD, and several other locations in Bhopal, Indore, Goa and Delhi. More than 300 officials of the Income Tax department took part in this massive operation.

The raids had revealed that Deepak Puri, the chairman of Moser Baer group and brother-in-law of Kamal Nath, was involved in converting Rs 242 into dollars by raising fake bills. A diary was recovered during the raids, which had revealed the trail of the money.

The Income Tax officials have detected a racket of collection of unaccounted cash through various persons, including businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats. The amount of such unaccounted case detected so far is Rs 281 crore. Unaccounted cash of ₹ 14.6 crore also has been found so far in the raids, along with liquor bottles, arms and hide skins of tiger.

A press release issued by the CBDT said that a part of this amount was transferred to the head office of a major political party located at Tughlaq Road in Delhi, which included Rs 20 crore transferred through hawala route. This amount was moved through a senior functionary of the party.

Bihar Mahagathbandhan ally RLSP’s Sitamarhi MP quits, accuses party chief Kushwaha of selling Lok Sabha tickets

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Bihar Mahagathbandhan ally RLSP’s Sitamarhi MP quits, accuses party chief Kushwaha of selling Lok Sabha tickets

The Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RSLP) suffered a major blow ahead of the Lok Sabha election as a sitting Member of Parliament (MP) of the party, Ram Kumar Sharma, has left the party to form a separate party of his own. The RSLP which is a part of the opposition parties alliance or Mahagathbandhan, was founded by Upendra Kushwaha, an MP from Karakat constituency, in March 2013.

Ram Kumar Sharma, who is an MP from Sitamarhi, accused Kushwaha of taking money for allotting tickets for the Lok Sabha elections. He said that Kushwaha is contesting from Ujiyarpur in addition to Karakat seat from where he is sitting MP because he was doubtful of his winning chances.

Sharma said that he has been denied the Lok Sabha ticket as he was against Kushwaha’s decision of quitting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and had warned him against falling into the trap of Congress Party and Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) Party leader Sharad Yadav.

“He denied me a ticket because I tried to stop him whenever he took suicidal decisions like falling into the trap of the Congress and Sharad Yadav and quitting the NDA. He falsely accused Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of using foul language against him”, said Sharma.

The Sitmarhi MP accused Kushwaha of taking money from three people for Motihari Lok Sabha constituency. Kushwaha allegedly took money from former General Secretary Pradeep Mishra and then he took money for the same seat from Madhav Anand and then ultimately he sold to the ticket to Akash Prasad Singh, who was not even a member of the party, as he paid the maximum price, accused Sharma.

It is notable here that in March, RLSP’s national general secretary Pradip Mishra had accused Kushwaha of taking Rs 90 lakhs from him for a Lok Sabha ticket. Mishra was expelled from the party.

Accusing Kushwaha of working in an undemocratic manner by neglecting the party workers, Sharma said that Kushwaha also sold the Betia seat to JD(U) leader Brajesh Kushwaha without calling a meeting of Parliamentary board and later gave him primary membership of the party.

Sharma said that he will not be contesting the election but he will campaign for the NDA candidate so that Narendra Modi becomes the Prime Minister again. Previously, MP Arun Kumar and MLA Lalan Paswan have left the party too. Ram Kumar Sharma has stated that Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had announced developmental programmes for Sitamarhi and Kushwaha did not want Sitamarhi MP Ram Kumar Sharma to become popular.

Live updates: Madhya Pradesh police misbehaved with CRPF personnel accompanying Income Tax officers during raids

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Live updates: Madhya Pradesh police misbehaved with CRPF personnel accompanying Income Tax officers during raids

The Income Tax department has conducted perhaps the largest raids right before 2019 Lok Sabha elections which is just days away. As we reported, senior AICC (All India Congress Committee) official, SM Moin’s resident in Delhi was raided by the Income Tax department. A Republic report said that Moin is under the scanner for receiving Rs 20 crore from Bhopal, and the raid was done pertaining that transfer.

We will be updating this article with all the latest information pertaining to this raid and the high political drama that is ensuing owing to these raids that might put Congress in the dock right before elections commence.

9th April 3:30 PM

CRPF Commandant MS Verma said that the Income Tax raids at the premises of Ashwin Sharma, an associate of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath’s OSD Praveen Kakkar, are over. He also said that state police officers misbehaved with the paramilitary force. “State police did not know that such operation is going to take place. SHO might have been insecure. He asked us why we are carrying out an operation in his area without his permission,” Verma told media. He said that Madhya Pradesh Police’s SHO Chouhan and DSP misbehaved with CRPF and hurled abuses at them. “Since the matter has gone to a higher level, if I am asked about it, I will definitely tell them,” Verma added.

Madhya Pradesh CM’s private secretary Praveen Kakkar’s residence was also raided by the department. The Income Tax department started raids at the residences of Kakkar in Indore, and RK Miglani’s residence in Delhi who is former advisor of Kamal Nath, on charges of alleged tax evasion.

9th April, 12:30 PM

CBDT Chairman PC Mody and Revenue Secretary AB Pandey have been called by Election Commission on the recent raid conducted on the close aide of MP CM Kamal Nath. Both the officials have given details about raids and recovery of items, to the Election Commission, as reported by ANI.

Visuals of the ongoing raids in Bhopal have also emerged where a close associate of the OSD of CM Kamal Nath is being raided.

9th April, 12:00 PM

Indian Express and Times Now were caught casting aspersions and lying that the BJP leaders knew the details of the Income Tax raid on Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath’s aide. They said that BJP’s Kailash Vijayvargiya tweeted the Rs 281 crore figure on Monday morning even before the official announcement was made by the CBDT. However, the said figure was already reported by the news agency PTI on Sunday itself.

9th April, 9:00 AM

Reports have now emerged that the Deputy Secretary of the Finance Ministry has written to the Election Commission regarding the Income Tax raids against AICC functionary and the revelation that the illicit money was transferred to a “major political party”. The letter to the Election Commission says that the Finance Ministry agrees with the observation that such malpractices need to come to an end. The letter said that the Finance Ministry agrees that such operations need to be conducted ruthlessly. The letter also says that the departments have always been fair and impartial. This letter comes after several questions have been raised on the impartiality of the Election Commission and Income Tax Department by members of the opposition and especially Congress which is now under the I-T scanner.

8th April, 11:00 PM 

While Republic TV reporter Amit Choudhry was trying to report the raids from the location of Moin’s residence, he was heckled, pushed, abused and assaulted repeatedly by supporters of Moin who were attempting to stop the reporter from doing his job. It is also reported that the mob also attempted to damage the camera and equipment of the media crew.

Read details: Freedom of press? Congress supporters attack Republic journalist who was covering the I-T raids on AICC official

8th April 2019

After the raids in Madhya Pradesh, Income Tax officials have detected a racket of collection of unaccounted cash through various persons, including businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats. The amount of such unaccounted case detected so far is Rs 281 crore. Unaccounted cash of ₹ 14.6 crores also has been found so far in the raids, along with liquor bottles, arms and hide skins of the tiger.

The residence of SM Moin in Delhi, who is a senior functionary of Congress, was raided by the Income Tax department. Moin is under the scanner for receiving Rs 20 crore from Bhopal, and the raid was done pertaining that transfer.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel rushed to the residence of Moin in Delhi when I-T officers were conducting search operations there. According to the website of the Congress party, SM Moin is the Administrative Officer of AICC. Therefore, it can be presumed that the major political party mentioned in the CBDT release is the Congress party.

A press release issued by the CBDT said that a part of this amount was transferred to the head office of a major political party located at Tughlaq Road in Delhi, which included Rs 20 crore transferred through hawala route. This amount was moved through a senior functionary of the party.

Read details: I-T dept says ‘major political party’ received Rs 20 cr through hawala, Ahmed Patel arrives at residence of AICC official being raided

7th April 2019

Income-Tax (IT) Department had conducted raids on more than 50 locations connected to Kamal Nath, MP Chief Minister’s OSD, Ratul Puri (Kamal Nath’s nephew), Amira Group, and Moser Bayer. The IT Department had recovered a diary during these raids, which has revealed the money trail between shell companies to convert crores of rupees into dollars using bogus bills. The seized diary suggests that nearly Rs.242 crores were transferred to five ‘shell’ companies owned by Parasmal Lodha. A Kolkata-based company was also used for infusion of bogus capital to the tune of Rs.125 crores. Reportedly, Moser Baer group also bought shares worth Rs.250 crores through shell companies from Mauritius. The diary also reveals that Deepak Puri had allegedly collected money from various sources to get it converted into dollars through issuing bogus bills.

The Income Tax department had conducted raids in over 50 locations with over 300 Tax sleuths

Read details: Brother-in-law of Congress leader Kamal Nath converted nearly Rs. 242 crores to dollars using bogus bills

Freedom of press? Congress supporters attack Republic journalist who was covering the I-T raids on AICC official

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Freedom of press? Congress supporters attack Republic journalist who was covering the I-T raids on AICC official

In another shameful incident where Congress and their supporters have indulged in blatant attack and assault on media persons, a Republic TV crew attempting to report the ongoing I-T raids at the residence of an AICC official named SM Moin.

As per reports, a team of I-T officials had raided the South Delhi residence of one SM Moin, a Congress worker who is under the scanner for allegedly receiving Rs 20 crores through hawala money from Bhopal.

The raids were in connection with the multiple raids on the aides and supporters of Madhya Pradesh CM Kamalnath, where the I-T department alleges that over 281 crores were allegedly collected through a well-organised operation.

When senior Congress functionary SM Moin was being raided by I-T officials, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel had also rushed to his residence in South Delhi. It was later reported that the raid at Moin’s residence, a cash book with records of Rs 230 crore, siphoning of more than Rs 242 crores using bogus bills and evidence of more than 80 companies in tax heavens were found in the raids. Income Tax officials also found several unaccounted and benami properties at posh locations in Delhi.

While Republic TV reporter Amit Choudhry was trying to report the raids from the location of Moin’s residence, he was heckled, pushed, abused and assaulted repeatedly by supporters of Moin who were attempting to stop the reporter from doing his job. It is also reported that the mob also attempted to damage the camera and equipment of the media crew.


It is notable here that the person Moin is listed in the official Congress website as an Administrative officer of the party.

As per reports, reporters from other media outlets were attacked too. A female reporter has stated that she was chased away from the location by supporters of Moin who used filthy abuses and misbehaved with her.

The I-T department had raided over 50 locations related to Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath on Sunday. Kamal Nath’s OSD, his brother in law Deepak Puri who is the chairman of Moser Baer group and several other locations in Bhopal, Indore, Delhi, and Goa were raided by over 300 I-T officials.

Documents seized from Deepak Puri’s location have revealed that the Moser Baer group had been involved in converting Rs. 242 crore of money to dollars by raising bogus bills, as reported by News18.

I-T dept says ‘major political party’ received Rs 20 cr through hawala, Ahmed Patel arrives at residence of AICC official being raided

OpIndia Staff
-
0
I-T dept says ‘major political party’ received Rs 20 cr through hawala, Ahmed Patel arrives at residence of AICC official being raided

Yesterday the Income Tax department started conducting raids at 50 locations connected to Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath. I-T officers had conducted searches at the locations of CM’s OSD, and several other locations in Bhopal, Indore, Goa and Delhi. More than 300 officials of the Income Tax department took part in this massive operation.

The raids had revealed that Deepak Puri, the chairman of Moser Baer group and brother-in-law of Kamal Nath, was involved in converting Rs 242 into dollars by raising fake bills. A diary was recovered during the raids, which had revealed the trail of the money.

Now, more details have emerged about the raids. According to CBDT sources, the Income Tax officials have detected a racket of collection of unaccounted cash through various persons, including businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats. The amount of such unaccounted case detected so far is Rs 281 crore. Unaccounted cash of ₹ 14.6 crore also has been found so far in the raids, along with liquor bottles, arms and hide skins of tiger.


The Income Tax department tweeted that meticulous records of collection & disbursement of cash in form of hand written diaries, computer files & excel sheets were found and seized during the raids, which corroborate the findings of unaccounted money transactions.


A press release issued by the CBDT said that a part of this amount was transferred to the head office of a major political party located at Tughlaq Road in Delhi, which included Rs 20 crore transferred through hawala route. This amount was moved through a senior functionary of the party.

Although the department didn’t name the political party and the functionary, it was reported that the residence of SM Moin in Delhi, who is a senior functionary of Congress, was raided by the Income Tax department. A Republic report said that Moin is under the scanner for receiving Rs 20 crore from Bhopal, and the raid was done pertaining that transfer.

Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel rushed to the residence of Moin in Delhi when I-T officers were conducting search operations there. According to the website of the Congress party, SM Moin is the Administrative Officer of AICC. Therefore, it can be presumed that the major political party mentioned in the CBDT release is the Congress party.

The searches in Moin’s residence yielded more evidence of unaccounted money. A cash book with records of Rs 230 crore, siphoning of more than Rs 242 crores using bogus bills and evidence of more than 80 companies in tax heavens were found in the raids. Income Tax officials also found several unaccounted and benami properties at posh locations in Delhi.

1...6,5376,5386,539...7,671Page 6,538 of 7,671