Several members of Bhartiya Janta Party were detained by Rajasthan Police on Saturday in Jaipur after the party organized a major demonstration against the Congress government protesting against the arrest of widows of martyrs of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. The BJP leaders were marching towards CM Ashok Gehlot’s residence as part of their protest when they were detained by police.
Rajasthan | BJP holds a protest in Jaipur over the matter of protest by widows of the jawans who lost their lives in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack. pic.twitter.com/wz77cEgpqo
Rajendra Rathore, the deputy leader of the opposition (LoP) in the legislative assembly, Satish Poonia, state BJP chief, as well as a few other members and office bearers of the party have been taken into custody by the police.
Rathore declared that ‘we started the protest today and we will keep going’. He added that the state government’s actions were an affront to democracy and that we will continue our protests against them throughout the entire state.
We have initiated the protest today and we will continue it. The kind of behaviour the state govt is showcasing is an insult to democracy, we will take the protest against the govt further in all corners of the state: Rajasthan Dy LoP Rajendra Rathore pic.twitter.com/wDFwU2vwrK
Satish Poonia proclaimed that their protest is in response to the insults directed at the party leaders and the wives of the Pulwama martyrs. He announced that they will organize a ‘Jana Aakrosh’ campaign in the state where the party will bring up issues like corruption and swindling of farmer loans.
Rajasthan | Our leaders & wives of Pulwama martyrs were insulted, we’re staging a protest against this. There will be a ‘Jana Aakrosh’ campaign in Rajasthan in upcoming days where we will raise issues like weaving off farmers’ loans, corruption: Satish Poonia, Rajasthan BJP chief pic.twitter.com/onwUPanDY3
The BJP called for a protest after its Rajya Sabha Member Kirodi Lal Meena got into an altercation with the police while he was on his way to meet the widows of the three Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, yesterday.
दुर्भाग्य है @PoliceRajasthan ने आज मुझे सामोद हनुमानजी के दर्शन नहीं करने दिए व शिष्टाचार को भूल मुझसे अभद्र व्यवहार किया है। मेरा अपराध केवल इतना है कि मैं वीरांगनाओं के साथ खड़ा होकर उनके आंसू पोंछ रहा हूं।
The senior BJP leader was rushed to Sawai Man Singh (SMS) hospital in Jaipur after he reportedly sustained injuries. The party has been at the forefront of the protest.
वीरांगनाओं के अधिकार के लिए शांतिपूर्ण तरीके से आंदोलन कर रहे राज्यसभा सांसद @DrKirodilalBJP जी के साथ पुलिस की ज्यादती अलोकतांत्रिक है; गहलोत सरकार का तानाशाही रवैया दुराचार की पराकाष्ठा है। आज सवाई मानसिंह अस्पताल पहुँच डॉ. किरोडी लाल मीणा जी की कुशलक्षेम जानी। pic.twitter.com/jE3um9vFCE
The widows were taken into custody early on Friday morning while they were protesting outside the house of Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot. The police sent them back to their towns.
The state government recently come under fire for assaulting the protesting widows when a video of the violence went viral on social media. Rekha Sharma, the chairman of the National Commission for Women (NCW), wrote to Umesh Mishra, the director general of police (DGP) for Rajasthan, asking that he personally look into the matter.
The widows of soldiers who lost their lives in the Pulwama terror attack in 2019 are protesting against the non-fulfillment of promises made to them by the Rajasthan government. The women have been protesting since February 28 and launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding a change in rules so that their relatives and not just children can get government jobs on compassionate grounds.
A 27-year-old married lady from Saundana village in Beed, Maharashtra, was brutally raped, starved, and her menstruation blood was sold for Rs 50,000 to be used in some witchcraft procedures. The state officials on Friday confirmed the event.
Manisha Kayande, an MLC for the Shiv Sena (UBT), brought up the matter in the Maharashtra Legislative Council and called for severe punishment for those responsible for the crime, which strangely surfaced on the eve of International Women’s Day on Tuesday.
According to the reports, the Vishrantwadi police station in Pune has filed an FIR against seven suspects, including the victim’s husband and his parents. This is after the woman’s maternal family’s insisted and sought justice in the case.
“The victim has stated in her complaint that she was starved for three days during her monthly periods and her menstrual blood was collected and sold to someone for Rs 50,000 for some black magic purposes,” Kayande said.
The woman mentioned in the complaint that since their love marriage in 2019, her husband and in-laws had been abusing her for a variety of reasons, while the specific justifications, such as dowry demands or other factors – were unknown.
“After this she filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband and mother-in-law. Following a police complaint, her in-laws took her into custody and took her to her native village in Beed district for burial in 2021. In 2022, while the woman’s husband was out for work, her mother demanded her menstrual blood. After hearing this strange story, the woman asked how can you ask me for such things,” informed the police.
She said that recently, while she was having her monthly periods, her in-laws had tied her up, collected her menstrual blood using cotton swabs, and then sold it for Rs 50,000 to a witchcraft practitioner.
The Pune police have booked all the suspects under sections 377, 354 (a), 498 (a), 504, 323 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and the Black Magic Act. Further inquiry in the case seems to be on. Chandrakant Patil, the BJP’s Pune Guardian Minister, has also expressed outrage at the occurrence of the incident and has instructed the police to implement the toughest laws for all those guilty.
On Friday, 10th March 2023, a Delhi court remanded former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till 17th March 2023. The federal investigative agency, which is probing the money laundering angle in the excise policy scam, in its remand notice presented before the court while seeking the custody of the AAP leader on March 10, revealed that Sisodia tweaked the excise policy according to the whims of the ‘South Group‘ in exchange for an upfront advance kickback of Rs 100 crore.
The money was allegedly given to one Vijay Nair, the communication incharge of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), at a South Delhi hotel by representatives of the ‘South Group’.
The policy, which was later scrapped, was designed to provide undue benefits to ‘South Group’, the liquor cartel, comprising of Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, a YSR Congress MP from Ongole constituency in Andhra Pradesh; his son Magunta Raghava Reddy; Sarath Reddy, a non-executive director, of Aurobindo Pharma; and K. Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
“Proceeds of the crime of at least Rs 292.8 crore (calculated as on date which is likely to increase during the course of the investigation) is attributable in respect of the role of Manish Sisodia…”, the ED said in its remand papers while seeking his custody.
The ED further said that Sisodia, “conspired with other persons and was actively involved in the formation of faulty policy against kickbacks…Sisodia has played role in the generation, transfer, and concealment of the proceeds of crime and projected the same as untainted.”
The ED claimed in a small tabular column that while Rs 100 crore was received as kickbacks from the liquor cartel’s ‘South Group,’ an accused company in the case, Indospirits, made a profit of Rs 192.8 crore from the proceeds of crime generated by the irregularities in the excise policy 2021-22.
Screenshot from the ED remand notice presented before the court
The remand notice further revealed that Sisodia, on the recommendation of the ‘South Group’, changed the profit for wholesalers from 5% to 12% besides providing for higher turnover eligibility.
How it all began
In 2020, an expert committee was constituted to make suggestions for the new excise policy. The Expert Committee was chaired by Ravi Dhawan, the then Excise Commissioner. The other members were Deputy Commissioner (Excise) and Additional Commissioner (Trade & Taxes). The committee submitted the report with its recommendations on 13th October 2020.
The committee recommended:
Separating the manufacturer from wholesale operations and handing it to one government entity which will handle the entire wholesale operation in Delhi.
Individual-run private retail liquor vends were to be opened through a lottery system.
The limited entity model in retail (wherein a limited number of entities of a pre-defined net worth and solvency are allocated retail licenses through a bidding process) was rejected as the same would lead to cartelization.
These recommendations were not to the liking of Manish Sisodia so the mechanism of GoM was adopted to change the recommendations of the expert committee. The GoM constituted Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain (ex-Delhi Health Minister, currently in jail in connection with a money laundering case) and Kailash Gehlot (Minister of Transport).
The Enforcement Department in the remand notice said that the GoM arbitrarily prepared the draft and placed it before the council of Ministers in March 2021 and directed the excise department to implement the report and prepare the Excise police 2020-2021.
However, during the investigation, it was discovered that, contrary to the recommendations made in the GoM report, a number of cartels were formed in the Delhi liquor business during the implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, in which one group/person effectively controlled manufacturing, wholesale, and retail entities in the liquor business, and the majority of the manufacturers, wholesalers (L1), and Retail zone licensees (L7) were involved. Each cartel was made up of a large number of entities, people, and so on, including proxy ownership, sleeping partners, concealed investments, and so on.
“Moreover, public opinion/comments were not sought on the report of the GoM that was placed on March 22, 2021, even though the GoM revamped the excise policy framework completely and had a considerable time gap (3 months) between when the policy was finalised and uploaded on July 5, 2021, which exposes the mala fide intention and conspiracy of Sisodia and reflects that he was seeking the public comments and suggestions as merely an eyewash,” the ED claimed.
Manish Sisodia’s role in the creation and implementation of Excise policy to permit unlawful earnings to specific parties in exchange for kickbacks
“Manish Sisodia got the policy formulated and implemented in a way so as to allow illegal gains to certain persons/entities against kickbacks. He took various decisions as a part of GoM and as the Excise Minister which ultimately resulted in huge loss to the exchequer and illegal gains to specific persons/entities against kickbacks,” the ED remand notice read, as it presented a table highlighting how the recommendations made by the expert committee was not taken into consideration by Manish Sisodia in the GoM report.
Manish Sisodia went against the expert committee’s recommendations and changed the profit margin for wholesalers to 12% from the previous profit margin of 5%.
Screenshot from the ED remand notice presented before the court
“The deviation from the Expert committee is not a simple policy matter but is surrounded by conspiracy, kickbacks and undue favours. The proposed deviations were to give undue/illegal benefits to the certain manufacturers/wholesalers/retailers as a result of conspiracy against kickbacks,” said ED highlighting some of the grave irregularities committed in the formulation and execution/implementation of Excise Policy found during the course of investigation most of which were against the recommendations of Expert Committee
Giving wholesale business to private entities
Allowing huge benefits to retailers
Allowing huge benefits to wholesalers
The ED said the objectives of the excise policy were made to appear grand but were diluted in the L1 terms and conditions.
“Sisodia/GoM gave the wholesale business to private players and fixed the profit margin to 12 per cent without any valid reasons with an intent to benefit the South Group to enable them to recoup the bribes,” it said.
Seeking public opinion a mere eyewash, tweaked definition of existing terms in the policy to allow cartelization
The ED said that though the total sales of liquor “actually increased in the new policy period (17.11.2021-31.08.2022) as compared to the similar period in the last 3 years, it led to a reduction in the licence fee to be deposited by license holders as they got relief of Rs 719 crore from the excise department on the ground that they were not able to open shops in non-conforming areas.
It added that Manish Sisodia went against the suggestions of the expert committee and the public comments.
“Manish Sisodia went against the suggestions of the expert committee and public comments. Moreover, public opinion/comments were not sought on the report of the GoM that was placed on 22nd March, 2021, even though the GoM revamped the Excise policy framework completely had considerable time gap (3 months) between the policy was finalized and uploaded on 05.07.2021, which exposes the malafide intention and conspiracy of the Sh. Manish Sisodia and reflect that seeking the public comments and suggestions was merely an eyewash,” the federal investigation department concluded.
The central agency further alleged that Manish Sisodia tweaked the definitions of some important existing terms for example ‘Related Persons’ in the new excise policy with criminal intent and in conspiracy with the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers to allow cartelization. The cartels thus formed were intentionally promoted to receive kickbacks in return.
Revealing how Manish Sisodia tweaked the 2020-2021 Excise policy without taking the expert committee recommendations into consideration, the Enforcement Directorate remand note stated that Sisodia had called C Arvind, ex-excise commissioner and secretary to Sisodia, to the residence of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 18, 2021, and handed over to him a 30-page document of recommendations which were never discussed in the GoM meetings and directed C Arvind to prepare the first draft of the new excise policy based on this document.
The ED disclosed that this document indicated that wholesale licences be granted to manufacturers’ representatives (private players), that one wholesale license holder can be a distributor for any number of manufacturers, and that the wholesale profit margin be set at 12%. “These points were never discussed in the GoM meetings and it was the first time that he (C Arvind) saw these points mentioned in the document handed over to him at CM’s residence.”
“In view of the above, the conspiracy of Sh. Manish Sisodia to give wholesale business to private entities and fix 12% margin to get 6% kickback out from the same is clear as there was neither any discussion in the GoM meetings about giving wholesale to private entities nor fixing 12% profit margin for them,” the remand notice read.
Screenshot from the ED remand notice presented before the court
Manish Sisodia’s role in the conspiracy to allow illegal benefits in lieu of advance kickback of Rs 100 crores
According to the remand note, Manish Sisodia and other AAP leaders entered into an agreement with the ‘South Group’ through their representative Vijay Nair in which the South Group was allowed to get illegal benefits such as a partnership in Indospirits (L1), making Indospirits the distributor of one of the largest manufacturer Pernod Ricard, allowing South Group to control multiple retail zones, and so on.
The ED outlined the chronology of events surrounding the conspiracy in the subsequent pages of the remand note. It said that the Excise Policy Scam includes many branches, involving numerous corporate firms, individuals, groups, senior government officials, and a slew of middlemen.
The scam began with the drafting of the Excise Policy for 2021-22, by Sisodia and other AAP leaders, with the goal of generating illegal funds, which was followed by a nexus/understanding between key players in the South Group and Vijay Nair, of payment of advance kickbacks from the former to the latter in exchange for undue favours.
Next, for the hidden goal of recouping and recovering the kickbacks paid, apparently simple business entities are used.
The plot was masterminded by Vijay Nair (representative of Manish Sisodia and other AAP leaders) and the South Group (comprising of Sarath Reddy, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, Raghav Magunta and K Kavitha, who were represented by Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally and Buchi Babu).
The new Excise Policy for 2021-22 established an extraordinary 12% profit margin for wholesalers and about 185% profit margin for retailers. As part of the scheme, 6% of the 12% margin was to be collected from wholesalers as a kickback to AAP leaders. The South Group, on the other hand, paid this bribe to the tune of 100 crores in advance to Vijay Nair, who was managing this scheme and conspiracy on behalf of the AAP officials.
In exchange for this advance kickback payment, Vijay Nair ensured that the South Group secured shares in wholesale enterprises, despite the fact that they had no hold/base in the Delhi liquor market. He made certain that they were permitted to have several retail licences in excess of what was permitted under the Excise Policy, as well as that they were granted other undue privileges.
One of the entities that partook in the sharing stakes with the South Group was M/s Indo Spirits of Sameer Mahandru. Sameer Mahandru formed this firm with a 65% partnership given to the representatives of the South Group who represented K Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy/Raghav Magunta respectively in this partnership firm.
Basically, Indo Spirits was one of the vehicles created in order to facilitate the recoupment of the kickbacks paid in advance by the South Group.
Screenshot from the ED remand notice presented before the court
Notably, the fact that Vijay Nair has been working on behalf of Manish Sisodia has been also disclosed in his statement dated March 6, 2023, by Arun Pillai who was the representative of K. Kavitha in Indospirits. Butchi babu (representative of South Group), meanwhile, had disclosed in his statement dated February 28, 2023, that the total amount paid through Hawala channels in this deal was around Rs. 100 crores.
Nexus between Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha
Revealing the nexus between Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Butchi babu said that K Kavitha met Vijar Nair on March 19-20th, 2021. Out of the deal that was between K Kavitha and top AAP leaders, she was given stakes in partnership with Sameer and distribution of Pernod Ricard, read the document.
Notably, on March 10, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) interrogated MLC K. Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, in Delhi. According to the Enforcement Directorate, she is a member of the ‘South Cartel,’ which allegedly received payments in the case.
The ED further shared screenshots of chats that happened between Butchi babu (representative of South Group) and Vijay Nair on Signal App, to reveal how the kickback money was transferred through Hawala.
AAP demanded advance kickbacks amounting to 100 crores from South Cartel to fund Goa and Punjab elections: ED
Dinesh Arora, a close aide of Manish Sisodia and Vijay Nair’s key planner, who was tasked with coordinating kickbacks and bringing them to Delhi, told the Enforcement Directorate that the advance kickback of Rs 100 crores was given to the Aam Aadmi Party as they needed to fund the elections in Punjab and Goa and the fund requirement was urgent.
Notably, Dinesh Arora had become a government approver last year.
Arora told ED that Vijay Nair told him the excise policy was designed with a 12% profit margin for Ll wholesalers in mind. Of this 12% profit, 6% was set aside as a kickback to the AAP. All Lls were meant to offer a 6% kickback in principle, but the major focus was only on the top three wholesalers.
He further said this kickback money would normally have gone to the AAP after the business’s operations, but the party’s demand was for supporting the elections in Punjab and Goa, and the finance requirement was urgent.
As a result, Vijay Nair reached an agreement with Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally, and Buchi Babu (who were the representatives of South Group led by K Kavitha, MSR and Sarath Reddy). The south group paid Rs. 100 Cr to Vijay Nair (for AAP) and they were supposed to recoup this money from the 3 major wholesalers. Further, Indo Spirits itself was an entity controlled by the South Group, therefore the recoverable money was directly in control of them.
Further, Dinesh Arora and Arun Pillai, a part of the ‘south group’ that allegedly sent kickbacks worth Rs 100 crore to the Aam Admi Party (AAP) leaders, in their statements dated March 3, 2022, and November 11, 2022, respectively revealed that there was a meeting that took place in April 2022 at Oberoi Maidens, New Delhi. In this meeting, Dinesh Arora, Arun Pillai, Vijay Nair and K Kavitha were present. The agenda of the meeting was the recovery of the kickbacks that were paid in advance by the South Group to Vijay Nair. The meeting was further confirmed by the Hotel records from Oberoi Maidens.
ED used a chart to explain how the kickback was used for campaigning in Goa.
Destruction of digital evidence in order to obstruct the inquiry and erase evidence
The ED also alleged Sisodia used/changed/destroyed 14 phones/IMEIs and only 2 phones could be recovered during raids conducted by the CBI in this case.
The AAP politician, it said, not only used SIM subscribed in the name of his PS Devender Sharma but also used handsets purchased under various names.
“The sole purpose of using a SIM card and handset registered in the name of another person was to deny that the data connected with the SIM and stored in the phone belongs to him (Sisodia). This is a typical case of storing and using equipment owned in benami names,” the ED said.
The ED concluded that while Rs 100 crore was received as kickbacks from the liquor cartel’s ‘South Group,’ an accused company in the case, Indospirits, made a profit of Rs 192.8 crore from the proceeds of crime generated by the irregularities in the excise policy 2021-22.
“Manish Sisodia has conspired with other persons and actively involved in formation of faulty policy against kickbacks. By such acts, proceeds of crime (POC) to the tune of at least Rs. 292.8 cr has been generated and Sh. Manish Sisodia has played role in generation, transfer, concealment of the proceeds of crime and projected the same as untainted.”
“His statements under Section 50 of PMLA 2002 has been recorded on 07.03.2023 and 09.03.2023. He is not revealing the truth by giving evasive replies and hence he is not co-operating with the investigation for taking it to logical end. Hence, Custodial Interrogation of Manish Sisodia is need of the hour to unearth this multi crore scam, since the same is more elicit in nature.”
“Hence, on the basis of the investigation conducted so far and on the basis of material available it is clearly indicated that Sh Manish Sisodia is actually involved in the process and connected with the proceeds of crime and therefore, Manish Sisodia is guilty of the offence of money laundering. Further, he has withheld information which is in his exclusive knowledge and extremely relevant to the investigation. Accordingly, Sh. Manish Sisodia, is arrested under the provisions of Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002 at 06:20 PM on 09.03.2023 in Jail no 01, Tihar Prisons, New Delhi in the interest of investigation and after following due process of law,” the ED remand note read.
The ED claimed in its application for a 10-day remand of Sisodia that the vast digital/physical records recovered during 189 search operations conducted by this Directorate under Section 17 of the PMLA, 2002, must be confronted with Manish Sisodia. Also, he must be questioned about additional associates/entities participating in the Cartelization and Kickbacks, among other things.
Furthermore, he must be questioned in order to determine the entire extent of the offence and to unearth the complete Proceeds of Crime involved. As a result, the federal agency stated that it is critical in the interest of the inquiry that ED is granted 10 days of custody of the AAP leader.
After hearing the matter, a Delhi court, on March 10 remanded former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia to Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till 17th March 2023.
After receiving the detailed post-mortem report of veteran actor Satish Kaushik, the Delhi Police is examining seven hours of CCTV footage at the farmhouse in Delhi where the actor celebrated Holi.
According to police, the detailed post-mortem report of Kaushik confirms that the death was a “natural” one and occurred due to cardiac arrest. According to the post-mortem report, the cause of death was cardiac arrest due to coronary artery blockage which is associated with coronary artery diseases. Death appears to be natural in manner.
The viscera has been preserved and photography, videography has been done, the police said. The police have so far not found anything suspicious.
Satish Kaushik had a medical history of hypertension and sugar, the police said.
Days after the demise of the 66-year-old veteran actor, a crime team of Delhi’s South-West district police visited the farmhouse, where the deceased actor was staying, sources said on Saturday.
As per sources, the probing team recovered some ‘medicines’ from the farmhouse. The medicines have been sent for examination and the report is yet to come.
According to sources, no banned medicine has been found, however, it is being ascertained which salts were found in the medicine.
The police are waiting for the viscera report. Only after the report is examined, it will be known what Satish Kaushik had eaten.
According to sources, the owner of the farmhouse is Vikas Malu. Vikas Malu is the owner of the Kuber Group and a family friend of Satish Kaushik. Vikas owns Malu Farm House in the Pushpanjali Farm House area of Bijwasan, Delhi.
According to police, the party held at the farmhouse on the day of Holi was attended by 20 to 25 guests.
Satish Kaushik celebrated Holi with his friends, and danced, after which he went to sleep at around 9:30 pm and at around 12 am his health deteriorated. He called the manager and told him that he was having difficulty in breathing. His manager took him to Fortis Hospital in Gurugram where he died at 1.43 am despite being given Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
According to the police, the second wife of Vikas Malu had filed a rape case last year against him. The second wife had also filed a case against the daughters of Vikas Malu in the rape case along with Vikas Malu.
On the other hand, the minor son of Vikas Malu’s first wife had lodged an FIR against Vikas Malu’s second wife under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
The video is also with the police, the police said. After receiving complaints from both sides, the police registered FIRs against both parties but did not arrest them.
On the other hand, on the orders of the court, the police opened a Lookout Circular (LOC) on the orders of the court, written by Vikas Malu. But later, on the orders of the court, Vikas Malu’s LOC was closed, but before that, his passport was deposited with the police.
In this case, the police are in contact with Vikas Malu.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
In an update to the Umesh Pal murder case, it has been revealed that Gangster turned politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were in touch with each other through iPhone’s FaceTime application. The Police also revealed that the gangster planned the murder from within the jail and also made all the preparations to save his son Asad Ahmed from the case and showcase his presence in Lucknow.
Atiq Ahmed is lodged in Sabarmati Jail in Gujarat while his brother Ashraf is in Bareilly jail in UP. According to reports, Ashraf’s brother-in-law Saddam used to go to Bareilly’s jail to meet Ashraf and make him talk to Atiq. STF was keeping an eye on Saddam’s activities and was continuously listening to the conversation between Atiq and Ashraf. After this, the duo started using the FaceTime app. According to the reports, Atiq had also communicated with the murderers of Umesh Pal.
As per reports, most of the time the two conversed about land deals and litigation. Ashraf was angry at Umesh Pal’s increasing interference in some matters and was asking Atiq to ‘settle the account’. At the same time, Atiq talked about solving the matter through mediators.
Also, the gangster had made all the arrangements to execute the murder of Umesh Pal and save his son Asad. According to police sources, the location of Mohammad Asad’s mobile was in Lucknow at the time of the incident. Not only this but money was also withdrawn from Asad’s ATM in Lucknow during the incident.
The police have examined the CCTV footage of the murder and have identified Asad in the video. However, as per the Police Asad deliberately left his phone and ATM card in Lucknow to deviate from the evidence in the case.
Umesh Pal, a key eyewitness in the 2005 murder of the then BSP MLA Raju Pal, was shot dead at his residence in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on February 24. Umesh Pal was taken to a hospital immediately, but he passed away while receiving treatment. After reviewing the CCTV video from the crime scene, the Prayagraj Police have identified the criminals. According to authorities, a list of suspects and other information has been compiled for further necessary action.
Further based on the complaint launched by Umesh Pal’s wife Jaya Pal, police booked Atiq Ahmed, his brother Ashraf, his wife Shaista Parveen, two sons, aides Guddu Muslim and Gulam, and nine others. It is notable that Atiq and Ashraf are the prime accused in in the Raju Pal murder case.
The accused have been booked under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Explosive Substances Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act.
On Saturday, March 11, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and MLC K Kavitha appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy Scam.
Arun Ramachandran Pillai, another accused in the scam who is already in custody was confronted with K Kavitha who arrived at the ED headquarters located on APJ Abdul Kalam Road from her father’s official residence on Tughlak Road at around 11 am. A woman ED official was present during the questioning.
Reportedly, Kavitha was questioned about the alleged destruction of a phone she used during the time the scam took place.
Arun Ramachandran Pillai has withdrawn his statement before the Enforcement Directorate. The ED now relies on Gorantla Butchi Babu, Kavitha’s former auditor, who admitted to attending multiple meetings with Kavitha and engaging in WhatsApp chats.
Arun Ramachandran Pillai moved a city court accusing the ED of fabricating his statements in the case. According to the ED, he is a close aide of K Kavitha as well as an alleged frontman for the “South Group” liquor cartel.
The major accusation against Kavitha is that she had a benami interest in Indospiritis, a liquor company that was involved in the scam. Arun Ramachandran Pillai is accused by the ED of representing K Kavitha.
BRS protests against BJP’s Bandi Sanjay Kumar
Meanwhile, several BRS workers staged a protest against BJP’s Bandi Sanjay over his alleged derogatory remarks against K Kavitha.
Leaders of BRS held protests in Hyderabad and New Delhi seeking strict action against the BJP leader.
Several BRS women leaders from the Secunderabad Cantonment filed a complaint with the Begumpet police station, demanding that the police take action against him. Other police stations also received complaints, including Vanasthalipuram and SR Nagar. Party leaders and members of the cadre also staged protests at other intersections. The protesting BRS members raised slogans against Bandi Sanjaya and demanded the BJP state president apologize to Kavitha Kalvakunthla.
Telangana | BRS cadres protest against State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay over his reported derogatory comments against BRS MLC K Kavitha. The protesters also burnt his effigy. pic.twitter.com/DCLXJZGy7S
The BJP president reportedly told the reporters, “Would they kiss her if not arrest her,” in response to a question on whether Kavitha will be arrested in connection with the Delhi liquor scam.
BJP hits back
According to a clarification from Bandi Sanjay’s office, the BJP leader used a standard Telugu expression to ask if it would be appropriate to reward or punish someone for committing a crime.
Some of Bandi Sanjay’s statements from three days ago are being blown out of proportion. According to a statement from the Telangana BJP president’s office, this common Telugu expression refers to whether to reward or punish a person who has done some crime.”
The CM’s daughter has been called by the ED in accordance with the Delhi Excise policy case, therefore this is a distraction tactic to incite unrest in the state, the statement said.
In a tweet posted on Friday, Bandi Sanjay Kumar called the Kalvakunthla family ‘hypocrites’.”Women politicians are unsafe from BRS predators. Ironically TS CM’s daughter is protesting in Delhi, even as KCR fails to take action against BRS legislators being accused of sexual harassment by women leaders. Kalvakuntla Family of Hypocrites,” Bandi Sanjay tweeted.
Women politicians are unsafe from BRS predators.
Ironically TS CM’s daughter is protesting in Delhi, even as KCR fails to take action against BRS legislators being accused of sexual harassment by women leaders.
Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia took a dig at K Kavitha over her alleged involvement in the Delhi excise policy scam saying that she will only play the victim card.
“If it is an honest person, who is not involved in any law-defying act, they’ll clearly say so without ifs or buts. But K Kavitha is being questioned & she hasn’t said anything like that. They’ll play the victim card but won’t answer the public’s questions. So, it should be asked again if she has anything to do with Indospirits. She will have to say if she has anything to do with Buchi Babu. It seems that this corruption is so massive that when all links are getting connected, people too are pained that these corrupt people looted them & filled their own coffers,” Bhatia said in a press conference on Saturday.
So, it should be asked again if she has anything to do with Indospirits. She will have to say if she has anything to do with Buchi Babu. It seems that this corruption is so massive that when all links are getting connected, people too are pained that these corrupt people looted… https://t.co/cxBNGaRuWm
It is notable that a Delhi court on Friday remanded former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia to ED custody till 17th March 2023. its remand notice presented before the court while seeking the custody of the AAP leader revealed that Sisodia tweaked the excise policy according to the whims of the ‘South Group’ in exchange for an upfront payment of Rs 100 crore.
According to the agency, the “south group” includes K. Kavitha, the leader of the BRS, and others in addition to Aurobindo Pharma promoter Sarath Reddy and YSR Congress member Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy from the Ongole Lok Sabha constituency. K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha.
Gary Lineker, former professional English footballer and host of the ‘Match of the Day’ program, has been asked to stay away from his hosting duties by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for his criticism of the anti-immigration policy of the Rishi Sunak-led-UK government.
In a statement on Friday (March 10), the national broadcaster of the United Kingdom informed that Lineker has been asked to ‘step back’ for breaching its social media usage guidelines.
BBC claimed that the ex-footballer was told to not take sides on ‘party political issues or political controversies.’ It said that until a clear position is reached on Lineker’s social media use, he will not be leading the sports coverage on BBC.
Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity.
The censorship of one of its popular show hosts by the BBC was met with an immediate public backlash. Support poured in for Gary Lineker from all corners, including from fellow pundits on the highly popular Match Of The Day, such as Ian Wright and Alan Shearer.
“Everybody knows what Match of the Day means to me, but I’ve told the BBC I won’t be doing it tomorrow. Solidarity,” tweeted Ian Wright. “I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow (March 11) night,” the holder of premier league goal-scoring record Alan Shearer said in a tweet.
Soon after, other presenters, Alex Scott, Micah Richards, and Jermaine Jenas also joined hands in extending their support to Gary Lineker. Scott, Richards, and Jenas were not scheduled to appear on BBC this Sarturday but they made their feelings known regardless.
I have informed the BBC that I won’t be appearing on MOTD tomorrow night.
It must be mentioned that the British Broadcasting Corporation has been infamous for mouthing platitudes about press freedom and upholding free speech.
However, it has acted in stark contrast to its assumed position on such matters as it censored one of its long-standing hosts, and one of the most popular football voices over his criticism of the government.
On multiple occasions, the UK’s national broadcaster had attempted to tarnish India’s image and cry foul over the supposed lack of press freedom in the country. BBC, however, is not ready to walk the talk while it continues to virtue signal others on journalistic ethics and principles.
The Background of the Controversy
On Tuesday (March 7), Gary Lineker reacted strongly to a video by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman wherein she announced plans for ‘swiftly’ deporting illegal immigrants who arrive on British shores in small boats.
“Last year, over 45,000 people made the unsafe, unnecessary and illegal journey across the (English channel). Our asylum system has been overwhelmed. We are now spending almost £7 million pounds (₹69.02 crores) a day on hotels,” she was heard as saying.
“Stopping the boats is one of the 5 promises the Prime Minister has made to the British people. And it’s my top priority. That’s why today I am announcing a new Illegal Migration Bill to do exactly that,” Braverman further added.
She announced that the new bill would ensure swift detention and deportation of illegal immigrants back to their home country (if safe) or to a third safe country (such as Rwanda).
“It’s not fair that people who travel through a string of safe countries and then come to the UK illegally can jump the queue and game our system. This bill will bring an end to that,” Suella Braverman concluded.
A miffed Gary Lineker responded to the video, “Good heavens, this is beyond awful.” He then compared the policy-making decision of the incumbent British government to that of the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler in Germany in the 1930s.
There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?
“There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s, and I’m out of order?” he had tweeted.
Soon after the BBC de-platformed him for hitting out at the government’s policy, citing its social media usage policy on ‘impartiality.’
Australia won’t tolerate any extreme actions and attacks that took place in religious buildings, and there is no place for such action against Hindu temples, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, an official statement said today.
Responding to a media query about the assurances that the Australian PM gave to his Indian counterpart, Albanese said, “I gave him the assurance that Australia is a country that respects people’s faith. That we don’t tolerate the sort of extreme actions and attacks that we’ve seen on religious buildings, be they Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches. This has no place in Australia.” “And we will take every action through our police and also our security agencies to make sure that anyone responsible for this faces the full force of the law. We’re a tolerant multicultural nation, and there is no place in Australia for this activity,” the statement quoted him saying.
Earlier, India-Australia: Exchange of Agreements and Press Statements on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Australian PM, in light of the recent attacks on temples in Australia, has assured that the safety and well-being of the Indian community in Australia is a priority for him.
“Since the last few weeks, news of attacks on temples in Australia are coming regularly. It is natural that such news worries people in India. I have raised these concerns with Prime Minister Albanese who has assured me that the safety of the Indian community is a special priority for him,” PM Modi said.
Recently, in the first week of March, Shree Laxmi Narayan Temple in Australia’s Brisbane was vandalised by pro-Khalistan supporters.
Temple President Satinder Shukla while speaking to The Australia Today said, “Temple Priest and devotees called this morning and notified me about the vandalism on the boundary wall of our temple.”
Sarah Gates, who is the Director of Hindu Human Rights said, “This latest hate crime is a pattern of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) globally, clearly attempting to terrorise Australian Hindus. Coupled with a barrage of propaganda, illegal signs, and cyberbullying, the organisation intends to present all-pervasive threats, fear, and intimidation,” to The Australia Today.
In January, Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple in Australia’s Carrum Downs was vandalised with anti-Hindu graffiti.
The act came to notice on January 16 after temple devotees came for ‘darshan’ amid the three-day long “Thai Pongal” festival which was celebrated by Australia’s Tamil Hindu community, The Australia Today reported.
On the evening of January 15, 2023, Khalistan supporters tried to draw support for their referendum through a car rally in Melbourne. However, they failed miserably as less than two hundred people gathered out of an almost 60,000-strong Melbourne community, according to The Australia Today.
A week before the above incident, On January 12, the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Australia’s Mill Park was smeared with anti-India and anti-Hindu graffiti.
The temple was vandalised by anti-India elements with anti-India slogans written on the temple’s walls, located in the suburb of Mill Park, The Australia Today reported. Patel, an onlooker shared how he witnessed the vandalised walls of the temple when he visited the site.
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
On Saturday, the Jharkhand Police said that a 17-year-old boy had murdered his girlfriend by banging a metal rod on her head after he learned that she was parallelly talking to some other boy through Instagram. The incident is said to have happened on Wednesday, March 8 at Urjanagar in Godda district.
The dead body was recovered from a field in Jharkhand’s Godda district on Thursday morning. The police also recovered the phone of the girl, which was lying beside her dead body.
According to the reports, the girl from the Mahagama police station area was reported missing on Holi, March 8. When she didn’t return after leaving the house for playing Holi, and her phone was found switched off, her family members searched for her everywhere, but could not locate her. After that, her father lodged a complaint with the police.
On Thursday morning, some people saw the body of a girl lying in a field in Govidpur village and informed the police. Police then called the family of the girl, who reached the spot and identified the victim. Following this, the police launched a probe and caught the boy after suspecting his involvement.
“The boy and the girl, who studied in the same class at a reputed English medium school in Urjanagar, were in a relationship. Infuriated after getting to know that she was talking to another boy on Instagram, he hit her with an iron rod on Wednesday evening when she was on the way to her friend’s place to celebrate Holi,” a police officer said.
The Police identified the accused who confessed during interrogation that he killed the girl. “The metal rod used in the crime and the girl’s mobile phone were found a few metres away from where the body was found,” confirmed Superintendent of Police Nathu Singh Meena. He also said that there were injury marks on the girl’s body.
The accused boy has been sent to a remand home. Further investigations into the case are underway.
The girl’s father works as a dumper operator in the Rajmahal project of Eastern Coalfields Limited and lives with the family in Urjanagar Colony.
Notably, a similar crime was reported from Jammu and Kashmir where a 26-year-old professional Dr Sumedha Sharma was murdered by her male best friend over a minor argument on the day of Holi. The boy identified as Johar Mehmood Ganai stabbed Sharma with a butcher knife and later tried to kill himself. However, he survived the incident after the Police arrived at the spot.
Selena Gomez acknowledged her gratefulness to her best friend Francia Raisa, who donated her kidney to Gomez.
While appearing on the latest episode of Apple TV+’s documentary series, Gomez, reflected on receiving a kidney transplant from Francia, in 2017, when she struggled with life-threatening health issues due to complications from lupus, reported People, a US-based media company.
“My best friend. Her name is Francia. She said, No, I am absolutely getting tested,”recalled Gomez as she spoke about her journey with the autoimmune disease. “And within three days, she went to get tested, and she was a match. And it was one of those moments where I felt watched over. I know I was so so so lucky.”
The ‘Only Murders in the Building’ star continued: “I understand that that doesn’t happen for a lot of people, and I know the outcome of some of those situations and how serious they are, so I do not take it lightly that it’s happened to me that way.”
The decision, added Gomez, has made her “in debt” to Raisa.
“I will never ever, ever be more in debt to a person than Francia,” she added. “The idea of someone not even second-guessing to be a donor was unbelievably overwhelming.”
In March 2021, nearly four years after she received her friend’s kidney, the “Lose You to Love Me” singer reposted a thread written by Raisa in honour of World Kidney Day.
“If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I’ve kept my kidney donation process pretty private,” Raisa wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of herself in the hospital. “However, I think I’ve gotten to a point in my life where I feel comfortable and confident in speaking about my experience and using my platform to raise awareness for the various kidney diseases that affect our population.”
She continued, “So, in honour of World Kidney Day, let’s talk about the impact of kidney disease and how we can work to ensure those living with kidney disease are living well.”
(This news report is published from a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has not been written or edited by OpIndia staff)
