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Kerala: 26-year old Doctor Shahana commits suicide after fellow Doctor E A Ruwais breaks marriage over dowry demand of BMW, Gold, and land

OpIndia Staff
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Kerala: 26-year old Doctor Shahana commits suicide after fellow Doctor E A Ruwais breaks marriage over dowry demand of BMW, Gold, and land

In a tragic incident that has been reported from the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, a postgraduate student at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, identified as Shahana, committed suicide due to dowry demands. The 26-year-old resident doctor who worked in the surgery department of the college was found dead at her rented apartment near the institute on Tuesday (5th December) morning.

Her relatives stated she committed suicide after her male friend, also a PG doctor walked away from the marriage proposal. According to the reports, the boy proposed to the girl for the marriage but demanded a substantial dowry, leading to emotional distress. 

The accused PG doctor has been identified as Dr E A Ruwais and has been taken into custody by the Police. He has been charged with abetment to suicide and under sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Police said that the decision to arrest him will soon be taken after questioning.

Ruwais’s family allegedly demanded a large dowry of gold, land, and a BMW car. Shahana’s family was unable to meet these requirements. The male doctor, who was also a representative of the Medical PG Doctors Association, ended the relationship as a result. 

Reportedly, Shahana’s family was already willing to give 50 sovereigns of gold, properties worth Rs 50 lakhs, and a car. However, the demands from the Ruwais’s family kept on increasing. The girl was left heartbroken after he walked out of the marriage.

A case of unnatural death has been registered by the Medical College police. The police also launched an investigation and stated that Shahana had been experiencing emotional distress, possibly as a result of alleged dowry demands. Though a note believed to be her suicide note mentioned that people were only concerned with money, it made no mention of the dowry fallout. In the note, Shahana also did not mention any names.

Relatives of the girl talked to the media and stated that the girl was distressed due to increasing dowry demands. “He came to us with the proposal and said he liked my sister. She also was agreeable. When we met his father, it was clear that he was someone who wanted more dowry. We said we could give what a family like us could afford. The discussions went on many times and finally, it was called off,” Shahana’s brother said.

“We had offered to give Rs 50 lakhs, 50 sovereigns of gold, and a car. But they were not satisfied with this. Her father died a few months ago and the family had some financial issues,” one of the other relatives spoke to the media. Reports mention that the victim’s father, who was working in the Middle East had died recently.

Meanwhile, Kerala Women’s Commission Chairperson Advocate Sathidevi, who met Shahana’s mother at her home, demanded that this matter be thoroughly investigated. The Women’s Commission will also request a police report.

Based on media reports, the state Minority Commission has also initiated its own case. The Medical PG Doctors Association has abdicated the accused doctor of all organsational responsibilities. He has been taken into custody and has been booked for abetment to suicide under sections of the Dowry Prohibition Act. Further investigations are underway.

Haryana Women’s Commission calls for FIR against Jindal University professor Sameena Dalwai for harassing students and breaching their privacy

OpIndia Staff
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Haryana Women’s Commission calls for FIR against Jindal University professor Sameena Dalwai for harassing students and breaching their privacy

Two weeks after OP Jindal University issued a warning to Professor Sameena Dalwai for discriminating against Hindu students, the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) has reportedly called for an FIR against the professor in the dating-app case. Notably, Dalwai did not appear before the commission on 6th December.

The HSCW said the “safety, security and dignity of the female students cannot be compromised with merely because she has chosen not to appear before the commission”.

In September, Dalwai allegedly violated the privacy of a student in the classroom by opening their Bumble dating-app account. Dalwai displayed the student’s private account on a Smart TV in a classroom full of students.

A video and screenshots of some chats doing rounds on X, formerly Twitter, showed the professor indulging in a detailed discussion about a dating account, which was allegedly a student’s.

Moreover, as per reports, when the students refused to open their profiles, Dalwai allegedly told them to create fake IDs and suggested using Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s picture.

The professor has been accused of breaching students’ privacy and the HSCW has ordered the professor to appear before it on 6th December. However, Dalwai skipped the hearing and sent her lawyer instead.

HSCW Chair Renu Bhatia rejected the application moved by Dalwai’s lawyer seeking that the professor be allowed to appear through video conference. This is the second time that Dalwai has skipped the hearing.

Dalwai reportedly wrote an email to the commission on 6th December saying that she assumed that the case has been closed as the university issued an action-taken report.

She reportedly said that her request for video-conference meant “she was ready to appear before the commission in good faith”.

The HSCW chairperson had taken cognisance of the incident and visited the university on 7th November and recorded the interviews of 180 students.

The commission also wrote a letter to the Sonepat Commission of Police on 6th December saying that creating a fake account in the name of a known political personality such as Rahul Gandhi amounted to “cheating, dishonesty and impersonation”.

The HSCW wrote, “We have solid evidence, including video recordings of students testifying before the commission, to support our claims. The students have bravely come forward to share their experiences and expose this egregious act of misconduct by the professor.”

On 13th November, the Vice-Chancellor of OP Jindal University, Professor C Raj Kumar issued a show-cause notice to Dalwai. “You (Sameena Dalwai) have failed in exercising due diligence and acted irresponsibly and thereby failed the university in its promise to create a safe space for its students,” the notice read.

“We have noted that you have realised this mistake. We extend a letter of warning to you so that it shall not be repeated in future and that there will be no further condonation on our part to such acts,” Kumar added.

In November, a talk was organised by the university titled ‘The History and Politics of the Palestinian Present’ by Professor Achin Vanaik, Retired Professor of International Relations and former Head of Department of Political Science at the University of Delhi, now an activist.

Naik made several anti-semitic, anti-Hindu statements and also attacked the Modi government. A shocking email also emerged which was written by Dalwai where she objected to those who opposed the lecture.

Dr. Sameena Dalwai also claimed that Hamas didn’t do any atrocities on Israeli civilians, and it was all ‘fake news by Indian troll armies’. She wrote, “India’s response has been sad. Fake news of Hamas atrocity is created by Indian troll armies. We know their power- many of us get trolled regularly for our writing.”

How The Hindu consoled itself and shielded Rahul Gandhi after electoral drubbing in 3 states: Blaming regional leaders, voters, Hindutva and more

S. Sudhir Kumar
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How The Hindu consoled itself and shielded Rahul Gandhi after electoral drubbing in 3 states: Blaming regional leaders, voters, Hindutva and more

By now, we are all used to the Congress party leaders crediting the Gandhi family for victories and blaming the regional leaders for their defeats. It is understandable why they are forced to do this. However, it is baffling that certain newspapers, that claim to be brave, daring, unbiased and whatnot, also willingly resorted to this same argument. Just to shield the Gandhi family.

The Congress party lost in Rajasthan (RJ), Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Chhattisgarh (CG) in the just concluded elections to these states. The Hindu, in a great show of loyalty towards the Gandhi family, asks us – Did overconfident regional leaders in the Hindi heartland pay no heed to Congress top brass?

That The Hindu wrote

We are told by the author that in these three states, “heavyweights took independent decisions often ignoring the high command”. Are we to seriously believe there are people in Congress who are capable of ignoring the Gandhi family and making decisions? The author cites the example of Kamal Nath cancelling an I.N.D.I Alliance meeting in Bhopal. Are we to believe that Rahul Gandhi had no role in the cancellation of such a meeting? However, in my opinion, the best argument by the author was about the CG election. He writes that “Though the AICC did replace over 20 MLAs to beat anti-incumbency, Mr Baghel could not effectively counter the allegations of corruption against his government by the BJP”. 

Cute, no? The Gandhi family thought their job ended with replacing MLAs. The job of winning the narrative is on the CM only though. Imagine if Congress had won. The same author would have written how the Gandhi family played a master stroke by replacing 20 MLAs! 

This article is not the only place where The Hindu has given us pearls of wisdom. Their editorial on the results of these elections was even better! We have been told that the victory was because the BJP’s campaign was “laced with communal propaganda” and therefore “had a more effective outreach to subaltern segments”. 

What The Hindu wrote

I like the choice of phrase – subaltern segments. It’s a posh way of insulting the intelligence of the voters. In this particular case, The Hindu is arguing that the voter chose BJP’s communal agenda over Congress’s caste agenda. In its entire (long) editorial, The Hindu makes no mention of governance-based reasons on why the voters were vexed with Congress in RJ and CG where it was in power; and why they didn’t see Congress as an alternative in MP where BJP has been in power for nearly 2 decades now. We are told that Ashok Gehlot is so awesome that even though he lost the election he prevented a complete washout! 

That The Hindu wrote

And just in case you forgot that they told you that the BJP won because of Hindutva, they repeat it once again in their (long) editorial. This time, they accuse women, youth and tribal communities of falling prey to “Hindu identity politics”. I wonder what wrong the men did, to not get this honour! 

That The Hindu wrote

The editorial is severely upset that the caste census idea of Rahul Gandhi did not resonate with the voters. The editorial takes up a lot of space and conveys very little. When you separate the wheat from the chaff, it is baffling how The Hindu always ends up arguing that BJP’s victories are always because of Hindutva and nothing else really matters. How they try to find solace in the performance of the Congress party is also very touching. Their front-page banner story also highlighted how despite losing, they had their vote share intact! 

That The Hindu wrote

I hope the Gandhi family realises how faithful the editors and owners of The Hindu are towards them and make such great efforts to make them look good. The effort the writers at The Hindu put up in finding new phrases and words to describe their disgust towards the voters is really praiseworthy! They have been resorting to the same argument ever since the 2014 Lok Sabha victory changed the political landscape of India. It’s been more than 9 years, but they are yet to get out of the shock! 

Google launches Gemini, its ‘largest and most capable AI model’

ANI
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Google launches Gemini, its ‘largest and most capable AI model’

 In its most ambitious effort to compete in the rapidly growing field of generative artificial intelligence (AI), Google has introduced ‘Gemini’ as the company’s “largest and most capable AI model”, CNN reported on Wednesday.

The report stated that Gemini is designed to compete with the likes of OpenAI’s GPT models and supercharge everything from Google’s consumer apps to Android smartphones and that foresees the tech giant’s model being used in every setting, from big companies to consumer devices such as the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Unlike existing AI models that typically deal with only one type of user prompt, such as exclusively images or text, Gemini was built to be “multimodal,” Google said. This means it accepts inputs that include multiple types of media, combining text, images, audio, video and programming code.

“This new era of models represents one of the biggest science and engineering efforts we’ve undertaken as a company,” said Google CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog post, according to CNN.

Google’s Gemini model outperformed rival AI models in testing across more than two dozen benchmarks commonly used by AI researchers to evaluate an algorithm’s reading comprehension, mathematical ability, and multistep reasoning skills, the company said.

“We do see it setting new kinds of frontiers across the board,” Eli Collins, vice president of product at Google DeepMind, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday.

In recognition of those risks, Google said Wednesday that Gemini Ultra, its most advanced version of the model, will only be released gradually to “select customers, developers, partners and safety and responsibility experts for early experimentation and feedback before rolling it out to developers and enterprise customers early next year”.

CNN reported that the Gemini Ultra is currently undergoing third-party safety evaluations, also known as red-teaming, in line with a commitment it made to the Biden administration earlier this summer.

Taking to X, Google CEO Sundar Pichai also shared about the launch of Gemini, posting, “Introducing Gemini 1.0, our most capable and general AI model yet. Built natively to be multimodal, it’s the first step in our Gemini-era of models. Gemini is optimized in three sizes – Ultra, Pro, and Nano.”

“Gemini Ultra’s performance exceeds current state-of-the-art results on 30 of the 32 widely-used academic benchmarks. With a score of 90.0%, Gemini Ultra is the first model to outperform human experts on MMLU,” the Google CEO 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)

US: Three killed, one injured after shooting on University of Nevada campus in Las Vegas

OpIndia Staff
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US: Three killed, one injured after shooting on University of Nevada campus in Las Vegas

At least three people were killed and one seriously injured following a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus in the US, CNN reported on Wednesday.

“According to our investigators at the scene, we have three deceased victims and one additional victim in critical condition at a local hospital. The suspect in this #activeshooter incident is also deceased,” the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department posted on X.

The victims were taken to hospitals and the suspected shooter on the campus “has been located and deceased”, CNN reported quoting the LAPD.

Authorities in Las Vegas were still evacuating buildings on the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus following a shooting, the University Police Services posted on X.

Authorities asked anyone on campus to continue sheltering in place until the area is cleared, and described the incident as an “active investigation.”

Earlier, on Wednesday, police responded to reports of a shooting with multiple victims on the campus, near Beam Hall, the home of the university’s Lee Business School, according to a social media post.

At 11.54 am (local time), the university posted an emergency notice online, saying, “University Police responding to report of shots fire in BEH evacuate to a safe area, RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”

Shortly after, the university informred that police were responding to “additional report of shots fired in the Student Union”, and advised people to evacuate the area.

“I was sitting outside, I was just having breakfast. I heard three loud booms and I was like, oh, what was that?” a student told CNN affiliate KVVU, adding, “Police showed up, then I ran inside.

“After two minutes, more shots. I ran into the basements, and I was there for 20,” the student said, adding, “I was just hearing a lot of shots.”

This latest incident comes as students are in the middle of a study week before taking final exams and going on winter break, in the same city that suffered the worst mass shooting in modern US history in 2017, CNN reported. (ANI)

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

“Sacrificing our love for our different religious beliefs”: Himanshi Khurana announces break up with Asim Riaz

ANI
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“Sacrificing our love for our different religious beliefs”: Himanshi Khurana announces break up with Asim Riaz

‘Bigg Boss 13’ fame Asim Riaz and Himanshi Khurana are no longer together in a relationship.

On Wednesday, Himanshi took to social media and announced her break up with Asim.

In a note, she confessed that they “sacrificed love for different religious beliefs.”

“YES, we are not together anymore, All the time we have spent together has been great but our togetherness comes to an end Now. The journey of our relationship was great and we are moving forward in our lives. With due respect to our respective religions, we are sacrificing our love for our different religious beliefs,” the note read.

She also asked everyone to respect their privacy.

“We request you to respect our privacy,” she added.

Himanshi, who belongs to a Punjabi Sikh family. On the other hand, Asim is a Muslim. He hails from Jammu. The two met during their stints in ‘Bigg Boss 13’ and soon fell in love with each other. After coming out from ‘Bigg Boss’, the duo also featured together in several love songs.

In another social media post, Himanshi wrote, “When we tried…But we could not find a solution for our life…You still love each other but luck is not supporting happily ever after…No hate only love…That’s called mature decision.”

However, Asim has not posted anything regarding the separation on social media yet.

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

‘Nobody invited me to the meeting, need to be informed at least 7 to 10 days in advance’: Mamata Banerjee on cancelled INDI Alliance meeting

OpIndia Staff
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‘Nobody invited me to the meeting, need to be informed at least 7 to 10 days in advance’: Mamata Banerjee on cancelled INDI Alliance meeting

On Wednesday, Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, revealed that when Rahul Gandhi contacted her two days prior, she informed him that she had not received an invitation to the INDIA bloc meeting at Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, which was subsequently cancelled.

Emphasising her commitment to future opposition bloc meetings, she stressed the importance of informing alliance partners at least seven to ten days in advance.

Mamata explained that she had communicated her unavailability for the recent meeting due to prior commitments, echoing the challenges faced by other chief ministers when not provided adequate notice.

Speaking at the Kolkata airport before embarking on her six-day tour of north Bengal, Mamata recounted her conversation with Rahul Gandhi and highlighted the necessity of timely communication for effective participation.

In response to the statement by Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh in Parliament, suggesting that the Chief Minister of Bengal should personally meet Narendra Modi to address the issue of pending dues from the Centre, Mamata Banerjee announced her intention to have a meeting with the Prime Minister soon.

She stated, “I have previously met the Prime Minister three times to protest against Bengal’s deprivation by the Centre. I have also written letters to him. We have organized our ‘Delhi Chalo’ program and have sought permission from the Delhi police for a sit-in demonstration event. We are awaiting permission. Once in Delhi, we plan to request time from the Prime Minister for the meeting.”

Following the Congress’s electoral setbacks in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan, Mamata was the first to criticize the party, attributing the defeat to the party itself rather than the people. She also held the Congress responsible for not collaborating on seat-sharing with partners of the INDIA bloc, formed to counter the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls next year.

Italy officially quits Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pet Belt and Road Initiative, informs China

OpIndia Staff
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Italy officially quits Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pet Belt and Road Initiative, informs China

Italy has officially informed China that it is quitting the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Reuters reported on Wednesday (6th December) citing Italian government sources. In 2019, the then-Italian government had joined the BRI project, and the accord was slated to expire in March 2024. But months before the accord would have automatically renewed, Rome had given a written warning at least three months in advance to the Chinese administration that it was pulling out of the project. 

A government source stated that Beijing had been given a letter “in recent days” informing the Chinese government that Italy would not be renewing the pact, the report added. 

Another government source said, “We have every intention of maintaining excellent relations with China even if we are no longer part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Other G7 nations have closer relations with China than we do, despite the fact they were never in (the BRI).”  

Italy is the only G7 nation to have entered the Belt and Road Initiative of China, a global trade and infrastructure plan modelled on the old Silk Road that linked imperial China and the West.

Rome joined the Chinese-led project dismissing concerns from the United States that the BRI project would enable China to gain control of Italy’s sensitive technologies and vital infrastructure.

While not discussed officially, Italy being part of the BRI had been a matter of concern among other G7 nations. Italy will be the G7 president next year, and it was expected that it would leave the Chinese initiative within this year. 

Additionally, when the incumbent Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni took office last year, she had announced that she wanted to withdraw from the deal stating that it had brought no significant gains to Italy. 

Subsequently, in September, Italy had informed China about its intention to leave the BRI. Back then it was reported that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni privately told Chinese Premier Li Quiang about Italy’s plan to pull out of the initiative during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Delhi.

Further, the expected announcement comes against the backdrop that Italy along with 7 other countries signed the MoU India – Middle East – Europe Economic Corridor, which has been viewed as an answer to the BRI of China.

Annamalai compares DMK’s ideology to that of Hitler after Senthilkumar’s ‘Gaumutra’ slur

ANI
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Annamalai compares DMK’s ideology to that of Hitler after Senthilkumar’s ‘Gaumutra’ slur

In a scathing attack on the DMK concerning MP DNV Senthilkumar’s ‘Gaumutra’ slur, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai compared the party’s “theory” to that of the late Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on Thursday. He called for the party to be ousted from the state.

“He (Senthilkumar) is a repeated offender. DMK’s theory is similar to Hitler’s theory. This theory has to be nipped in the bud. Politically, DMK should be thrown out of Tamil Nadu,” Annamalai told ANI.

He stated that Senthilkumar’s comment was a result of “seeing India in the wrong way.”

“If such words are said by mistake, then an apology can be accepted, but if the words are said because of a deep sense of insecurity, then nobody is going to accept the apology. The words uttered by the DMK MP came from a deep sense of seeing India the wrong way; they came from a deep sense of their faulty ideology,” Annamalai added.

On Tuesday, Senthilkumar triggered a political storm when he said that the power of the BJP in winning elections mainly lies in the Hindi heartland states, during which he used the pejorative.

“The people of this country should think that the power of BJP of winning elections mainly lies in the Hindi heartland States, what we generally call as … States. You cannot come to South India! You can see what happened in election results in all the States of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka. We are very strong over there. So we will not be surprised if you have an option of converting all these states into Union Territory…,” the DMK MP had said.

The DMK MP was quick to apologise for his comments in the Lower House saying that he was not using the term with any “intent”.

“Commenting on the results of the five recent state assembly elections, I have inappropriately used a word. Not using that term with any intent, I apologize for sending the wrong meaning across,” he said in a post on ‘X’.

The BJP however continued its attack on the DMK MP accusing members of the INDIA bloc of making divisive comments to vitiate the atmosphere.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launched an all-out attack on the Congress accusing them of conspiring to erase the country’s culture.

“After the defeat, they(Congress)have resorted to abuse, and their thinking very clear now…they slam EVMs…They’re conspiring to erase the culture and identity of our country…some people stand with the ‘Tukde-Tukde’ gang… but we won’t let this nation divide…Their thoughts are to insult Hindutva and Sanatan Dharma. Congress and their alliance (INDIA alliance) keep showing Sanatan Dharma in bad lights…Telangana CM designate made a statement that ‘Telangana’s DNA is better than Bihar’s DNA’…DMK leaders’ statements against Sanatan Dharma, Hindus and Hindi-speaking people are a well-planned conspiracy” the Union Minister said.

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

Supreme Court sets aside Gujarat HC’s 2017 order quashing FIR against Mehul Choksi and his wife in cheating and forgery case

ANI
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Supreme Court sets aside Gujarat HC’s 2017 order quashing FIR against Mehul Choksi and his wife in cheating and forgery case

The Supreme Court has recently set aside a 2017 judgement of the Gujarat High Court, which quashed an FIR registered by the State Police in 2015 against the fugitive businessman Mehul Chinubhai Choksi and his wife.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti asked Gujarat police to go ahead with the investigation.

“Investigation will continue without being influenced by any of the findings or observations made in the impugned judgment or the present order. We also clarify that while conducting the investigation, the Investigating Officer will keep in mind the rulings of this Court and High Courts interpreting Sections 406, 420, 464 and 465 etc of the IPC,” the order stated.

On the complaint of one Digvijaysinh Himmatsing Jadeja, the Gandhinagar police had registered an FIR for the offences of criminal breach of trust, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy for failing to return 24-carat gold bars in terms of agreements entered into 2013.

The complainant alleged that Choksi’s company failed to return to him gold bars and misappropriated them, violating the terms of the agreement.

The Gujarat High Court on May 5, 2017, had quashed the FIR on the ground that the complaint was mostly a civil breach of contract and no criminal offence was made out.

Reversing the High Court’s order, the apex court said the High Court’s judgement exceeded its jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by delving deep into the factual controversy.

“Suffice it is to observe that the High Court should not have examined and recorded a conclusion on the disputed fact to quash the FIR. At this stage, we record that under the registration of the FIR, the investigation had proceeded,” the order stated.

It allowed the investigation to continue without being influenced by any of the findings or observations made by the High Court or Supreme Court.

“The observations in this order will not be read as comments or observations on the merits of the case,” the bench stated in order of November 29.

Mehul Choksi, along with his nephew Nirav Modi, is wanted in the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam, where it is alleged that they defrauded the bank of more than Rs 14,000 crore. 

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

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