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Arvind Kejriwal approaches Delhi High Court challenging his arrest and remand order in liquor police case

ANI
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Arvind Kejriwal approaches Delhi High Court challenging his arrest and remand order in liquor police case

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Arvind Kejriwal, has moved to the Delhi High Court, challenging his arrest and the order of remand passed by the trial court on March 22.

This comes a day after the Rouse Avenue Court sent Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till March 28.

CM Kejriwal’s legal team said that his plea in Delhi HC stated that both the arrest and the remand order are ‘illegal’ and he is entitled to be released from custody immediately.

An immediate hearing has been sought from the Acting Chief Justice, preferably by Sunday, March 24.

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Kejriwal on Thursday in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy case.

CM Kejriwal is in ED custody till March 28, following his arrest on March 21 evening in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case.

The AAP Chief was produced before Rouse Avenue Court under tight security on Friday.

While entering the court complex, Kejriwal told reporters, “My life is dedicated to the country, whether I am inside or outside the prison.”

The ED arrested Kejriwal after the Delhi High Court refused him interim protection from coercive action in connection with the excise policy case.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi excise policy case 2022, which was later scrapped.

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

“India in no mood to overlook terrorism”: EAM S Jaishankar slams Pakistan and China from Singapore

OpIndia Staff
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“India in no mood to overlook terrorism”: EAM S Jaishankar slams Pakistan and China from Singapore

On Saturday (23rd March), External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar launched a scathing attack on India’s neighbours Pakistan and China during an event held in Singapore. While he slammed China for staking claims over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Jaishankar stressed that India cannot “overlook” terrorism to resume ties with Pakistan.

Notably, Dr. Jaishankar is currently in Singapore on a three-day visit. On Saturday, he delivered a lecture at the prestigious NUS Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore. 

During a Q&A session, he criticised China for repeatedly making claims on the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and dismissed Beijing’s claims as “ludicrous”. The Foreign Minister asserted that the frontier state was a “natural part of India”.

Responding to a query on Arunchal Pradesh, Jaishankar said, “This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today as it is a natural part of India.” 

Reportedly, it was the first public comment by the Indian Foreign Minister in the wake of frequent claims by Beijing over the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and its opposition to Indian leaders visiting the Indian frontline state.  

Earlier, India had dismissed China’s “absurd” claims. The MEA stated that we have noted the comments made by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Defence Ministry advancing absurd claims over the territory of the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh.

In a statement, the MEA asserted, “Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity. Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Its people will continue to benefit from our development programmes and infrastructure projects.”

The development came after the Chinese foreign ministry had objected to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh. 

In a separate response last week, the MEA responded stating, “We reject the comments made by the Chinese side regarding the visit of the Prime Minister to Arunachal Pradesh. Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other States of India.” 

Pakistan sponsoring terrorism as state-craft on ‘industry level’, India ‘will not overlook’ it: Dr. Jaishankar in Singapore

While responding to a query on Pakistan, the Indian Foreign Minister underlined that Pakistan has been sponsoring terrorism and using it as an “instrument of statecraft”. He added that Pakistan has sustained terrorism at an industry level with proper assembly line (of terrorists to harm India). He further asserted that people and government in India are no looking in mood to overlook it. 

Regarding India-Pakistan ties, he pointed out that every country wants a stable neighbourhood…if nothing else everyone want at least a quiet neighbourhood. However, unfortunately, it is not the same with India, he added. 

Jaishankar asked, “How do you deal with a neighbour who does not hide the fact that they use terrorism as an instrument of statecraft? It’s not a one-off happening…but very sustained, almost at an industry level…So what we have come to conclude is that we have to find a way of addressing (the menace), that dodging the problem gets us nowhere, it only invites more trouble.”

The Minister further stated, “I don’t have a quick instantaneous fix (to this issue). But what I can tell you is that India will not skirt this problem anymore. We are not going to say, ‘well, that happened and let’s continue our dialogue’…we have a problem and we must be honest enough to face up to that problem, however difficult it is…we should not give the other country a free pass, saying there’s nothing they can do about it or it’s a very hard problem, or there’s so much else at stake that let us overlook.” 

He emphasised that in India now the mood is not to overlook terrorists.

During a panel discussion earlier this month, Jaishankar said that India never “closed doors” to talking to Pakistan regarding the ties between the two neighbours. However, he emphasised that the terrorism issue should be “fair, square at the centre of the conversation”.

He said, “It is the major issue…I am not saying there are no other issues. But I am not going to duck that issue for the sake of talking.” 

Meanwhile, at the event, Jaishankar stated that there is a momentum in India today that has to be experienced to be believed, and he emphasised that the country is poised to become a much larger economy in the coming years.

“Today, it’s a country that builds eight new airports in a year, 28 km of highways every day and for the last 10 years, it has built 2 colleges a day,” Jaishankar said while speaking on his ‘Why Bharat Matters’.

Arvind Kejriwal was directly involved in formulating excise policy, taking bribes and using the money, money sent to Goa via Hawala: Here is what ED told the court

Raju Das
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Arvind Kejriwal was directly involved in formulating excise policy, taking bribes and using the money, money sent to Goa via Hawala: Here is what ED told the court

The court of Judge Kaweri Baweja of Rose Avenue Court in Delhi on Friday sent Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to ED custody till 28th March, a day after his arrest in the Delhi liquor policy scam. OpIndia has accessed the application filed by the Enforcement Directorate with the court seeking his 10-day custody, and the application reveals significant details of the case, including the direct involvement of Kejriwal with the scam.

As per ED, the liquor wholesalers who won L-1 licenses under the now-scrapped policy had issued credit notes to the retailers with an intention to divert money to officers, and they made false accounting entries to keep their records in order. Amit Arora and Arjun Pandey are close associates of Manish Sisodia and they were actively involved in managing and diverting the money collected from the liquor vendors to public servants.

ED has cited banking transactions showing how money from the L-1 licence holders was moved to people linked to Delhi govt officials.

The Delhi Excise Policy

Giving the background of the case and the policy, ED states the new excise policy was implemented to eradicate the sale of spurious and non-tax paid liquor, to transform consumer experience, and also to simplify the complex heavily regulated previous excise regime. Its objectives included the prevention of monopolies, ensuring equitable access to liquor supply, ensuring accountability, checking smuggling and bootlegging etc.

One of the main features of the new Excise Police was that an entity holding an L-1 wholesale licence can’t be a manufacturer/winery/brewery/ bottling plant etc anywhere in the country, either directly or through sister entities. Similarly, the policy said that an entity holding a wholesale license shall not hold any retail license directly or indirectly, and the wholesalers will only supply to zonal retail licence holders, which included L-7Z, L-7V & L-7SP1 licences.

The wholesale licences were issued by the Excise Department on an application basis and the retail licences for 32 zones were issued on the basis of tender floated by the Excise Department.

As per the policy, if the same entities hold both wholesaling and manufacturing/retail licences, there is a possibility of the formation of syndicates, leading to unethical trade practices like overcharging, pushing certain brands etc. However, it was decided that no entity will be allocated more than 2 zones to ensure that there is no market capture and cartelization.

The scam

However, when the new excise policy was implemented, it violated the norms of the policy from the beginning. It was found during the investigation that cartels were formed, and single entities effectively controlled manufacturing, wholesale as well as retail entities in the liquor business. As per ED, Manufacturers, wholesalers and Retail zone licensees were involved in the cartels. “Each cartel Consists of huge no. of entities, persons, etc. including proxy ownership, sleeping partners, hidden investments etc,” ED further stated.

Talking about CM Arvind Kejriwal’s role in the scam, ED said that he “is the kingpin and key conspirator of the Delhi Excise Scam in collusion with Ministers of Delhi Govt, AAP leaders and other persons.” The agency alleges that Kejriwal was involved in the conspiracy of formulation of the Excise Policy 2021-22 to favour certain persons and also involved in demanding kickbacks from liquor businessmen in exchange for favours granted in the policy.

ED further alleges that Arvind Kejriwal is involved in the use of proceeds of crime in the Goa election campaign of the AAP, to which he is the Convenor and the ultimate decision maker.

Giving details of the role of Kejriwal, ED says that he was involved in the formulation of the Excise Policy 2021-22, and it was drafted considering the favours to be granted to the South Group. Vijay Nair, Manish Sisodia and members-representatives of the South Group were directly involved in the formulation of the police, ED says.

As evidence of these charges, ED cites the statement of C Arvind, then secretary of Manish Sisodia, who revealed that in March 2021, Sisodia had called him to the CM’s residence and handed over 30 pages of document, which was a draft Group of Ministers report on excise policy. Satyender Jain, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal were present at this meeting. Sisodia told C Arvind that the final GoM report is to be made on the draft report given to him.

The draft said that wholesale licences should be given to agents (private players) of manufacturers one wholesale licensee can be a distributor for any number of manufacturers and the wholesale profit margin was fixed at 12%. These things were never discussed in the GoM meetings and went directly against what was decided regarding the policy earlier.

The secretary prepared the report as directed and handed it over, after which the same was finalised by the Delhi govt.

ED further states that Buchi Babu, CA of BRS leader K Kavitha, has revealed that Arun Pillai was working with Vijay Nair on the policy formulation and was offering provisions for favouring K Kavitha. And, Nair was working for Sisodia and Kejriwal for the same. This has been corroborated by the WhatsApp messages retrieved from the mobile phone of Buchi Babu. In the messages, certain provisions of the Excise Policy were found 2 days before the Excise Policy document was finalised by the GoM and the Council of Ministers of the Delhi govt.

Budhi Babu told ED that these portions of the upcoming policy were sent to him and Arun Pillai by Viyay Nair. The chats also show that Nair was proposing favours in the policy for the South Group, ED adds.

Demanding bribe for election funding

Not just formulating the policy designed to favour certain entities, Arvind Kejriwal was also actively involved in demanding money in exchange for this favour, ED alleges in the remand application. YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy told ED that when he saw that Delhi was privatising the liquor business, he decided to apply for a licence as they had been in the same business for 71 years in South India.

In this regard, Telangana CM K Chandrshekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha met him, and talked about paying ₹100 crore to AAP in exchange of getting a licence. She told him that her team was already in Delhi working on the matter. He then met Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi, and they had a cordial talk, where the CM said that his govt welcomes everyone to do business in Delhi. During the meeting, Arvind Kejriwal told him that K Kavitha will talk to him about it in detail.

Later, Kavita met Reddy and told him that Kejriwal has spoken to her about him, and asked him if he could arrange ₹50 crore for AAP to fight elections, out of a total ₹100 crore needed to be paid. As Reddy was busy with work as an MP, he asked his son Raghav Magunta to deal with Kavitha. After some time, Magunta said that he had agreed to pay ₹30 crore to K Kavitha. Later Raghav Manuta paid ₹25 crore to Kavita’s aides Buchi Babu and Abhishek Boinpalli.

Raghav Manuta has also confirmed the same, saying that he paid ₹25 crore in cash to Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu as per the agreement between K Kavitha, himself and his father Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy. He said that the payment was made in two batches, ₹10 crore on 28 March 2021 and 15 crore in June 2021. Notably, both Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and his son Raghav Manuta have turned approvers in the case.

Raghav further said that K Kavitha’s team was working with Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia on the new excise policy, and Vijay Nair was coordinating among them.

Sarath Reddy, the director of Aurobindo Pharma, has also revealed details about the scam. He said that he met Arvind Kejriwal in Vijay Nair’s house who was residing near the Delhi CM’s residence. Kejriwal asked him to trust Nair regarding the liquor licence, talked about the new policy and said that it would be win-win for both.

As per ED, Vijay Nair is not in any official post, and he was working as a broker/liaison/middleman on behalf of the top leaders of the AAP, especially Arvind Kejriwal, for getting bribes/kickbacks from various stakeholders in the Delhi Liquor business in exchange of favourable changes in the Delhi excise policy. Nair even threatened that those who don’t agree will not get any favours.

Vijay Nair has revealed that he lived at a government bungalow without any official authorisation, and the house close to the Bungalow of Arvind Kejriwal was officially allotted to Cabinet Minister Kailash Gehlot. Moreover, Vijay Nair operated from the Camp office of Arvind Kejriwal. Nair was the man who received ₹100 crore from the South Group on behalf of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP.

In exchange for the kickbacks, the South Group members got control of the wholesaler business Indo Spirits and even retail zones and got the business of Pernod Ricard. They were granted an L1 license despite multiple complaints and being in violation of the Excise Policy 2021-22, the ED said.

Use of bribe money

The Delhi CM also was involved in the utilisation of money received as a bribe from the liquor cartel. ED has found evidence showing that ₹45 crore from the bribe money was used in the election campaign of AAP in Goa. This was done by ‘part cash part bill’ payments to vendors by Mis Chariot Productions, the agency engaged by AAP for the outdoor campaign in Goa. The vendors made bills for only a part of the total due amount, and the rest amount was paid in cash.

ED has produced chats between a vendor Sparks Entertainment with Chariot, where the vendor was told that payment would be made in both modes, cash and billing. While the vendors received the billed amount via regular channels, they received the cash portion through the Hawala route. Islam Qazi of Grace Advertising confessed that he was paid ₹6.29 crore through Hawala operators in Mumbai’s Malad. Several other vendors who received cash payments from AAP via hawala are mentioned in the ED remand application.

When the Income Tax department raided the Goa office of Angadiya operator R Kantilal, the seized documents revealed that approximately ₹45 crore was transferred to Goa via Hawala. The Hawala train of this amount was also probed by the CBI, which have been mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the agency.

An employee of Chariot Productions has also revealed that he handed over huge cash amounts to three persons who were working on AAP’s election campaign in Goa. The ED has found that the money reached Goa in four routes, approximately ₹12 Crore from Ashok Chandu Bhai of Asheel Corporation, ₹7.1 Crore from Devang Solanki of K S Enterprise, ₹16 Crore from Kirti Amba Lal, ₹7.5 Crore from Neelkanth and ₹2 Crore Ma Ambey. The relevant persons have confirmed the same in their recorded statements.

Apart from agencies, individuals working on the AAP campaign also have said that they were paid in cash. People working as Survey workers, Area managers, Assembly managers etc. were paid through cash. They were working in Vijay Nair and Delhi AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak. Moreover, an AAP candidate for Goa election has also confirmed receiving cash for election expenses.

Crime under PMLA

ED has said that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the Delhi Liquor Scam. Apart from ₹45 crore from it for Goa elections, the party and Arvind Kejriwal is also guilty of money laundering under Section 70 of PMLA.

Section 70 of PMLA states, “Where a person committing a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rule, direction or order made thereunder is a company, every person who, at the time the contravention was committed, was in charge of and was responsible to the company, for the conduct of the business of the company as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished according.”

The ED has explained in detail that AAP fits with the definition of ‘company’ as per the act, and as the National Convenor and member of the National Executive, Arvind Kejriwal was ultimately responsible for the funds being used in the election expenses including their generation.

“Arvind Kejriwal was and is not only the brain behind the AAP but also controls its major activities, he was also one of the founding members and was also involved in the decision-making of the policy as evident from the statements of the witnesses. He is also involved in demand of kickbacks which have inter-alia generated further proceeds of crime,” ED states in the remand application. He in charge of the party when the crime took place, therefore he shall be deemed to be guilty of offences punishable u/s 4 of PMLA and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished as provided u/s 70 of PMLA, the ED has argued.

The agency states that the violation of PMLA took place with Kejriwal’s knowledge and he didn’t do anything to prevent it. The ED stated before the court, “it is established that Sh Arvind Kejriwal who is the ultimate in charge of the AAP and was intrinsically involved in the acts of policy formulation, kickback scheme and the final use of the proceeds of crime thus generated including conspiracy thereof. Therefore, he is also liable for use of the PoC of Rs. 45 Cr in the election campaign of the AAP in Goa under section 70(1) of PMLA, 2002 apart from his role in his personal capacity.”

While ED sought 10 days custody of Arvind Kejriwal, the court granted them 6-day custody of the CM, up to 28 March.

As CID files chargesheet against 3 Muslim girls in Udupi bathroom case, read how Zubair and left-liberals downplayed the heinous crime

OpIndia Staff
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As CID files chargesheet against 3 Muslim girls in Udupi bathroom case, read how Zubair and left-liberals downplayed the heinous crime

On Wednesday (20th March), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) filed a chargesheet against three female Muslim students of Netra Jyoti College in Udupi city of Karnataka for secretly recording one of their classmates in the girl’s washroom.

The incident dates back to July last year when the accused Shabanaz, Alfiya and Alimath Ul Safa placed their mobile phones in the bathroom to videotape their classmate. Later, they deleted the video to destroy the evidence.

While the three Muslim girls are out on bail, they have been charge-sheeted under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 204 (secretly destroying electronic record), 509 (intending to insult the modesty of any woman) and Section 66 E of the Information Technology.

When the matter was raised by the likes of Hindu activists Shefali Vaidya and Rashmi Samant, Alt News co-founder randomly came forward and dubbed the case as ‘misinformation.’ He launched a vicious attack against the duo for raising their voices against the heinous incident.

When Zubair was called out, he played the victim card and cried foul over accusations of dog whistling.

Mohammed Zubair relied heavily on a report published by The News Minute (TNM). Shockingly, TNM tried to whitewash the incident as a “prank”.

The report quoted the chairman of the college, who said the accused female students said that it was meant to be a prank, and they deleted the video in front of the victim.

The same ‘prank’ argument was presented by India Today during the report, where Rashmi Samant was also present as a panellist. India Today’s anchor said the police said it was “meant to be a prank”.

On similar lines, Anusha Sood of The South First, a left-wing portal that claims itself to be a media organisation but more often than not acts as a mouthpiece of the Congress party, shared an article whitewashing the criminal act of the three Muslim girls in Udupi as a mere ‘prank’ and blamed those demanding action against the culprits of adding communal colour to the incident.

Tweet by Anusha Sood

Their entire propaganda fell like a house of cards when after widespread outrage, the Karnataka police grudgingly filed an FIR against the 3 Muslim women and the university administration – for making the secret videos, destroying evidence and failing to provide evidence and documents to the police.

Even after the FIRs, Zubair, Sood and others continued to peddle half information to further their lies about the case, leaving out crucial information about the FIR. The details of that propaganda can be read here.

With the CID now failing a chargesheet in the Udupi bathroom case, all attempts by the likes of Zubair and other left-liberals to whitewash the crime ended in vain.

Drama on steroids: AAP leader screams “shoot me shoot me” while lying on the road, Atishi yells at a cop looking amused by the whole thing

OpIndia Staff
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Drama on steroids: AAP leader screams “shoot me shoot me” while lying on the road, Atishi yells at a cop looking amused by the whole thing

The arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boss and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by the ED in the Excise Policy scam has provided his loyalists with a golden opportunity to re-indulge in theatrics, which has long been Kejriwal’s go-to tactic for getting media attention or deflecting criticism for the corruption and scams his party has engaged in.

While the party workers and leaders have been creating a ruckus and disrupting traffic on the busy roads of Delhi, AAP leader and Delhi cabinet minister Atishi Marlena has taken to X to share a video showing her party worker screaming “shoot me shoot me” as he lies on the road while she quarrels with a police officer for merely performing his duty.

Before we move ahead, it is important to note that the Delhi police have imposed Section 144 in several areas of central Delhi, including DDU Marg where the BJP headquarter and AAP office are located. The police were forced to take action after several AAP leaders and supporters blocked the road and created a ruckus near the BJP headquarters on Friday (March 22), after the court remanded AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in ED’s custody for 6 days in connection with the money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam case.

Today, March 23, Atishi Marlena posted a video. She is seen sitting in the front seat of her car at the beginning of the 3.49-minute video when a police officer pulls over and politely asks her where they’re headed. Despite the fact that the policeman seemed to be very polite and composed, Atishi is seen stepping out of her car, choosing to initiate an unnecessary fight.

Rather than just answering the officer’s direct question, Atishi yells at the officer for intercepting her car. She dramatically asks the cop to accompany them in her vehicle. Just then, another AAP leader gets out of the vehicle grinning and unexpectedly, goes and lies down on the street and starts yelling “shoot me, shoot me”.

Atishi is seen continuously bickering with the police, despite the latter’s best efforts to remain composed. He politely tries to explain that he is just doing his job. Atishi, however, unfazed, keeps shouting and screaming at the cops. She yells and informs the officers that she is going to her house and insists that they accompany her.

At this point, the officer urges Atishi to leave but she keeps screaming and yelling at him. In fact, Atishi becomes so angry that she hurls the water bottle she was holding onto the road and continues shouting at the on-duty police officers.

The officer, looking rather amused by the leaders’ continued antics, proceeds to respond politely until the leader who was until now lying in the middle of the road gets up and starts yelling, “hum aatankvadi hai..hum aatankvadi hai…kyun pucha (are we terrorists… how dare you questioned us)”.

By now the cop seems to get a little irritated, but he tries his best to remain calm and requests the leader to stop yelling and leave. He reminds the AAP leaders that they had given a call to gather at Shaheedi Park to protest against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal despite Section 144 being in place, which is why they were duty-bound to stop the car and ask them where they were going.

After screaming, yelling, and obstructing traffic for several minutes, the AAP leaders ultimately get into the car and drive off.

The most hilarious part of the entire saga, though, was when Atishi Marlena, who for the entirety of the 3.49-minute video was seen acting at an Oscar-caliber level, told the police officers before leaving, “tamasha bana diya hai” (you guys created a scene).

In her subsequent post, Atishi reposted the video and wrote, “Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, Adil Khan and myself were heading peacefully to my residence. After seeing us in the car, @DelhiPolice stopped our car. What kind of a dictatorship is this? Now opposition leaders won’t be allowed in their party office? Now we won’t be allowed to move freely on the streets of Delhi?”

Undoubtedly, Atishi shared the video in an attempt to win over some sympathy, but her attempts boomeranged when people on social media saw through her antics.

“This lady is dangerous for the society, how cleverly she is trying to play the victim card No wonder why she is in Kejriwal’s team. Whole party is like a drama company. Thanks god people are understanding their lie and drama. No more vote for Kattar Corrupt Party. SHAME ON CARRYMINATI #SunitaKejriwal#ArvindKejriwal,” wrote X user @PhogatFilms, quipping how the AAP leader outperformed the famous comedian Ajey Nagar, better known as CarryMinati.

Another social media user remarked that all this drama was being staged to get their hands on the Delhi CM’s chair, which will fall vacant with Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest.

“Video clearly shows how well trained you are in drama . Police is not doing anything and you are telling them “ Goli Maro Goli Maro”. Lots of respect to @DelhiPolice for showing patience & handling situation creates purposely by you in humble way,” remarked another X user Vikram Pratap Singh.

“It’s really amazing how @ArvindKejriwal has hand picked drama artists. I love the entertainment tbh,” wrote another amused X user.

Interestingly prior to this splendid performance on the streets of Delhi, Atishi Marlena claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party’s head office was sealed, and the party would approach the Election Commission. Atishi, in a post on X, said the move, which comes just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha election, was against the “level playing field” promised in the Constitution.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also claimed that the Centre had closed all access to the AAP head office at ITO, which lies in the heart of Delhi.

On Friday, several workers and leaders protested outside the BJP headquarters in opposition to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest causing the AAP office to also be blocked. The BJP headquarters, located in DDU Marg, is just a few metres ahead of it. After the ruckus in central Delhi, where Section 144 has been imposed, Delhi police detained Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and several AAP leaders but later released them.

The AAP supremo has been remanded in Enforcement Directorate custody till March 28.

West Bengal: ED searches residence of TMC minister Chandranath Sinha, earlier summoned in Coal and Cattle smuggling cases, in SSC scam

OpIndia Staff
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West Bengal: ED searches residence of TMC minister Chandranath Sinha, earlier summoned in Coal and Cattle smuggling cases, in SSC scam

On 22nd March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC) leader and West Bengal minister Chandranath Sinha’s home in Bolpur, West Bengal’s Birbhum district. The central agency is conducting the raids as part of its investigation into the School Service Commission (SSC) recruitment scam. After arriving at his place at around 9:15 in the morning, the ED team began the raid with the support of a significant number of central forces. The state minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and textiles wasn’t home at the time.

According to sources, Sinha, who was approximately 90 kilometres away at the ancestral residence in Murarai in the same district, however, returned to his home as soon as he heard about the news of the raid. Sinha’s two sons and wife were also questioned by the ED. The raid continued for over nine hours.

“The search is in connection with the investigation of the alleged irregularities in the school recruitment scam. The minister is not present at his residence, we are talking to his family,” informed an officer. Chandranath Sinha assured reporters he would assist the investigators as he was going for Bolpur. “I have never been associated with any corruption and have not done any wrong. I learnt about the raid from my son. Unless I reach there and talk to them I will not be able to tell what is happening. I will cooperate with them in every possible way,” he claimed.

The CBI has previously called Chandranath Sinha in relation to the scams involving the smuggling of coal and animals. According to authorities, the ED was also conducting simultaneous searches at the homes of a few businesses in various parts of Kolkata including Lake Town, Chetla, and Ballygunge concerning the SSC scam. An officer said, “They were suspected to be helping in transferring funds illegally from India to other countries. We are talking to them, and looking into some documents.”

CBI raids TMC leader Mahua Moitra’s residence

Earlier in the day, the Central Bureau of Investigation conducted raids at Trinamool Congress leader and former Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra’s house in the cash for query case. The CBI filed a formal complaint (FIR) against her on 21st March following orders from Lokpal, the anti-corruption ombudsman. The Lokpal had given the agency directions after examining the results of the CBI’s preliminary investigation into the accusations made against her by BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey. The Lokpal granted the CBI six months to thoroughly look into every aspect of the complaints made against her.

Mahua Moitra was expelled by the Lok Sabha on 8th December 8th in accordance with the Ethics Committee’s recommendations in a cash-for-query case. The development transpired hours after the Ethics Committee report was presented to the lower house.

Nishkant Dubey wrote to the ethics committee, requesting an investigation into Mahua Moitra on the “cash for query” controversy. He based his complaint on a letter from Supreme Court attorney Jai Anant Dehadrai, who said that businessman Darshan Hiranandani benefited directly or indirectly from the majority of the questions posed by the TMC MP in the Lok Sabha. An additional layer of intrigue to the matter was created when Jai Ananad Dehadrai accused Mahua of “kidnapping” his pet dog “Henry” which was eventually returned.

Further cracks in I.N.D.I. Alliance: Congress leaders unhappy with RJD over seat sharing in Bihar, RJD upset over inclusion of Pappu Yadav in Congress

OpIndia Staff
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Further cracks in I.N.D.I. Alliance: Congress leaders unhappy with RJD over seat sharing in Bihar, RJD upset over inclusion of Pappu Yadav in Congress

At least three senior Congressmen have expressed dissatisfaction with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for unilaterally selecting candidates for four seats slated for election in the first phase on the 19th, amidst a standoff between the senior Mahagathbandhan member and the Congress over seat-sharing negotiations in Bihar, ensuing further split in the I.N.D.I. Alliance. The Congress’s decision to welcome Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, a former party MP to the party has additionally led to resentment in the RJD.

Insiders close to both the Congress and the RJD indicated that despite the former’s desire for more than ten tickets, the Lalu Prasad Yadav-led party was only prepared to grant Congress five or six seats. Congress candidates contested in nine constituencies in 2019 while the RJD fielded its leaders in 19 constituencies. The remaining seats were given to Upendra Kushwaha’s Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), Mukesh Sahani’s Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) and Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular).

Candidates for Aurangabad (Abhay Kushwaha), Nawada (Shravan Kushwaha), Gaya (Kumar Sarvajeet) and Jamui (Archana Ravidas) were announced by the RJD on 21st March. The All India Congress Committee (AICC) NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar, a Communist Party of India (CPI) nominee who finished second in the seat five years prior, was expected to be the candidate from Begusarai, while the Congress had been requesting Aurangabad for former MP Nikhil Kumar. Awadhesh Rai, a former MLA for the CPI, will run from Begusarai this time.

82-year-old Nikhil Kumar was among at least three prominent Congress leaders who voiced their displeasure with the RJD for “not adhering to coalition dharma.” He stated that “regional parties” would suffer greatly if the Congress and RJD’s partnership “fell apart.” The former Nagaland governor and commissioner of the Delhi Police conveyed, “Coalition dharma is being violated. Tickets are being distributed (by the RJD) without finalising seat-sharing with alliance partners.”

The constituency holds great significance for his family. The constituency was represented by his father, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, a former chief minister, from 1971 to 1984 and his late wife, Shyama Singh was the MP for Aurangabad from 1999 to 2004. He also poked fun at RJD candidate Abhay Kushwaha, calling him an “outsider” and charging the party with “not keeping the winnability factor in mind.” He added that if they are operating under the belief that they can capture more seats, they should keep in mind that RJD did not win any seats in Bihar while the Congress managed to secure one 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

He mentioned, “I hope that our state president, who is known for his excellent relations with the RJD, will ensure that the interests of the Congress are protected.” Bihar Congress president Akhilesh Prasad Singh joined the party a decade ago. He was earlier in the RJD and was also a minister in the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from his quota. Akhilesh Pratap Singh, however, alleged at a press conference that he was not aware of RJD giving tickets to candidates and that the grand alliance would announce its seat sharing in a day or two.

Tariq Anwar, a former MP from Katihar also highlighted his dismay with the RJD’s “unilateral seat-sharing.” He accused, “The way RJD chief Lalu Prasad has been distributing party symbols is not a good sign for the alliance. This is against coalition ethics. This is not the way our alliance should function,” before the media on 21st March.

Anil Sharma, a former president of the Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC), has also criticized the RJD leader for the “unilateral seat-sharing decision” for constituencies in the first round. He had already taken issue with Akhilesh Prasad Singh, the current head of the BPCC, inviting Lalu Prasad Yadav to the Congress office in the state in Patna.

The handing over of the Begusarai seat to CPI is reportedly another RJD decision that irked the Congress. Awadhesh Rai has declared his candidacy for the position, according to CPI General Secretary D Raja, who recently met with Lalu Prasad Yadav and Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav. RJD national spokesperson Subodh Kumar Mehta informed, “We have allotted party symbols to only those seats that we have been contesting traditionally. As for Aurangabad, it was Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) in 2019. The top leaders of the alliance have been discussing seat-sharing and we will soon announce it.”

The RJD, on the other hand, is not happy with the Congress for welcoming Pappu Yadav into its fold, according to a senior leader of the grand old party in the state. Pappu Yadav, a five-time member of parliament, unified his Jan Adhikar Party (JAP) with Congress on 20th March. He is recognized for possessing power in the Seemanchal and Kosi areas of Bihar and is the spouse of Congress Rajya Sabha MP Ranjeet Ranjan. He was sacked by the RJD in 2015 for persistently criticizing Lalu Prasad Yadav about the party’s succession issue.

Notably, Aam Aadmi Party Punjab and Trinamool Congress have already decided to go solo in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar returned to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. Tensions between Congress and its coalition partners including Samajwadi Party and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regularly make headlines in the media.

Income Tax Dept issues 5 new notices to propaganda outlet Newslaundry, CEO Abhinandan Sekhri claims total count reached 55

OpIndia Staff
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Income Tax Dept issues 5 new notices to propaganda outlet Newslaundry, CEO Abhinandan Sekhri claims total count reached 55

On Saturday (23rd March), the CEO of Newslaundry Abhinandan Sekhri informed that the Income Tax (IT) Department sent five new notices to the leftist propaganda outlet a week ago.

He claimed that the total count of all IT Department notices has reached 55. Sekhri made the revelations during his unhinged rant on Newslaundry’s YouTube channel on Saturday.

At about 2:48 minutes into the programme, he said, “…A full one week before, News Laundry got the journalism ka asli award, which is five income tax notices. Five brand new notices, that’s right. Thus, taking a total income tax notice count to 55, or more or less, give or take, two, or three.

“These include show cause notices, other notices which are accusing us of basically everything. Income gadbad hai, expense gadbad hai, valuation gadbad hai, mujh par criminal action karna chahata hai, matlab traffic light violation and over speeding bhi dal dete hai. I have done everything,” he brazened out.

Later in the video, Abhinandan Sekhri alleged that the IT Department sends notices to Newslaundry like sweets distributed on the occasion of Holi (Holi ki mithai).

“Actually, now that I think about it, maybe Income Tax notices were a signal ki bhai, electoral bonds khareed lo (buy electoral bonds). See, Modi ji, this scheme is too subtle for us,” the CEO of the propaganda outlet claimed.

At the end of his 24-minute-long rant, he said, “Because while there is enough to be miserable about, there is always something to look forward to, even if it’s income tax notices. Have a fantastic weekend.”

In September 2021, the Income Tax Department raided the office of Newslaundry. One Newslaundry employee had told then, “So far the raid is only at one office of Newslaundry.” The employee also said that the media outlet’s “financial records are being checked”.

“Blatant Interference”: India lodges strong protest with Germany over remark on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, summons its Deputy Head of Mission

OpIndia Staff
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“Blatant Interference”: India lodges strong protest with Germany over remark on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, summons its Deputy Head of Mission

On Saturday (23rd March), India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior diplomat of the German Embassy, Georg Enzweiler, after the German Foreign Ministry commented on the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The MEA lodged a strong protest over the country’s remark describing it as “blatant interference” in India’s internal affairs. The ministry issued a statement saying, “The German Deputy Chief of Mission in New Delhi was summoned today and conveyed India’s strong protest on their Foreign Office Spokesperson’s comments on our internal affairs. We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary. India is a vibrant and robust democrary with rule of law. As in all legal cases in the country, and elsewhere in the democratic world, law will take its own course in the instant matter. Biased assumptions made on this account are most unwarranted.”

Notably, responding to a media query on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest during a press conference, a spokesperson stated, “We have taken note, India is a democratic country. We assume and expect that the standards relating to independence of Judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case. Like anyone facing accusations, Mr Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial, this includes he can make use of all available legal avenues without restrictions. The presumption of innocence is a central element of the rule of law and must apply to him [sic].” 

Following the German Foreign Ministry’s remark, India summoned its senior envoy to register a protest against ‘blatant interference’ in India’s internal affairs.   

ED arrest Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Liquor policy scam case

On 21st March, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal after questioning him and conducting a search at his house in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. He was arrested after he ignored nine summons by the financial probing agency and his request for ‘no-coercive’ action was turned down by the Delhi High Court.  

A day later, the Rouse Avenue Court on 22nd March granted 6 days of custody of Delhi CM and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate in this case. 

While seeking his 10-day custody, the probing agency told the Rouse Avenue court that Kejriwal was the “kingpin” and “key conspirator” in the Delhi liquor policy scam. 

According to the agency, Kejriwal was the middleman between the ‘south group’ and other accused, including ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia (arrested last year) and AAP officer Vijay Nair. The total proceeds of the alleged scam exceeded Rs 600 crore, including Rs 100 crore allegedly paid by the ‘south group’, as per the ED.

The scam case pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped following intense criticism.

Gangster Prasad Pujari extradited from China, brought to Mumbai by Crime Branch officials

OpIndia Staff
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Gangster Prasad Pujari extradited from China, brought to Mumbai by Crime Branch officials

The Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch secured the extradition of notorious gangster Prasad Vitthal Pujari from China and landed at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport early on Saturday morning (23rd March).

Pujari, originally a resident of Mumbai’s Vikhroli suburb, was immediately taken to a police lock-up after the Mumbai Crime Branch officials brought the 44-year-old from China. Notably, Pujari is reportedly the first-ever fugitive to be extradited from China.

The Police stated that Prasad is wanted in 15 to 20 cases, mostly of extortion and issuing threats, one murder case, and three attempts to murder cases. 

According to the Police, Prasad is a former member of deported gangster Kumar Pillai and he had been on the run since 2010. The Police said that he split from Pillai and formed his own gang after the former was extradited from Singapore in 2016. 

As per reports, Pujari has connections to other notorious criminals like Chhota Rajan and Ravi Pujari. 

On the request for anonymity, an IPS officer said, “It’s a major success that we have been able to get hands on Chhota Rajan, Ravi Pujari, Bunty Pandey, and now Prasad Pujari. Officers from several agencies have been working hard to bring these gangsters back to India to face the trial.” 

After fleeing to China in 2010, Prasad got temporary residency which expired in March 2012. He reportedly lived in the Luohu district of Shenzhen city, Guangdong province, and is believed to have married a Chinese national.

The notorious gangster, Pujari was arrested in February 2023 after an Interpol notice was issued against him. 

He was also linked to a failed assassination attempt on a Shiv Sena activist. It is alleged that in 2020, Pujari, along with his mother Indira Vitthal Pujari, and two others, masterminded the abduction of a builder to extort Rs 10 lakh.

During the same year, the Crime Branch of the Mumbai Police arrested his mother, Indira Vithal Pujari, in connection with an extortion case. 

Police stated that Indira (62) and two accomplices were accused of demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from a Mumbai-based builder. The two arrested suspects were identified as Sunil Angane (56) and Sukesh Kumar (28).

A case was filed under pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOC) Act.

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