Home Blog Page 2762

Uttar Pradesh: ED attaches 28 immovable properties worth Rs 10.12 crore of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, his aides

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uttar Pradesh: ED attaches 28 immovable properties worth Rs 10.12 crore of slain gangster Vikas Dubey, his aides

On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached 28 immovable properties worth Rs 10.12 crores belonging to gangster Vikas Dubey, his family, and his associates under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Dubey was gunned down by UP Special Task Force over two years ago.

According to the reports, ED had launched a money laundering investigation based on an FIR registered by the Uttar Pradesh Police. ED stated Dubey had acquired the properties out of illegal gains. “A provisional order has been issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for attaching a total of 28 immovable properties that are located in Kanpur and Lucknow”, the ED said in a statement.

“These assets worth a total of Rs 10.12 crore are in the name of Vikas Dubey, his family members, aide Jaikant Bajpai and his family members and his (Dubey’s) associates and have been derived from proceeds of crime earned by criminal activities of Vikas Dubey”, the agency added.

Dubey was killed in an encounter on July 10 two years ago when the Uttar Pradesh police vehicle transporting him from Ujjain to Kanpur collided and he attempted to flee from the scene in the Bhauti area. Reportedly, five of Dubey’s alleged associates were killed in separate police encounters before his encounter.

This came after 8 police officers, including DSP Devendra Mishra, were attacked while on their way to arrest Dubey in Bikru village in Kanpur’s Chaubeypur area and were killed by shells fired from rooftops shortly after midnight on July 3, 2020.

As per the agency, Dubey and his associates were involved in several crimes, including offenses like organized crime, land mafia, bribery, and embezzlement of funds intended for the public distribution system (PDS), among others. “The facts, evidence, and records cogently prove that the above-mentioned persons indulged in the commission of the offense of money laundering and have invested proceeds of crime in immovable properties mostly”, the ED noted.

The central agency had filed a money laundering complaint against Dubey and his associates after taking cognizance of multiple FIRs filed by Uttar Pradesh Police.

Freedom House, that downgraded India to ‘partly free’ and cited The Wire reports, fails to retract its pronouncements even after Tek Fog reports are withdrawn

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Freedom House, that downgraded India to ‘partly free’ and cited The Wire reports, fails to retract its pronouncements even after Tek Fog reports are withdrawn

US government funded human rights ‘watchdog’ Freedom House, that had downgraded India from ‘Free’ to ‘Partly Free’ and had cited The Wire’s Tek Fog ‘secret app’ has not yet removed references to the same. This, even after The Wire itself withdrew those stories pending internal review after allegations came up that their story on Meta, by The Wire associate, was based on fabricated documents. After allegations of forgery surfaced, The Wire, withdrew the story and are claiming they are carrying out an investigation. The Wire has filed a police complaint against their associate, Devesh Kumar, who was one of the authors for Meta stories, as well as Tek Fog stories, and have claimed he was mentally unwell.

Upon publishing of Tek Fog stories earlier this year in January by The Wire, the same were picked up by various international publications and ‘advocacy groups’, mostly to claim how democracy is in danger in India. In fact, as answered by Tek Fog team consisting of Devesh Kumar, Ayushman Kaul and The Wire Founding Editor Siddharth Varadarajan, they wanted international press to pick up the stories and were disheartened that Indian media was not picking them up as much. You can read more about their thoughts on the ‘secret app’ here.

Amongst other ‘advocacy groups’ that had picked up the Tek Fog fiction was Freedom House. The US government funded dubious Human Rights ‘watchdog’ that supported violent protests against a law that gave citizenship rights to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists and Christians from Islamic states neighbouring India, dropped the country from ‘free’ to ‘partly free’ in 2021. In 2022, too, the organisation maintained India as ‘partly free’, leaning on prejudiced reports and unfounded allegations, including The Wire’s story on Tek Fog, to claim that members of the BJP used it to shape public narratives and manipulate social media opinions.

Now that The Wire has withdrawn the stories, few other portals, too, have retracted their stories and opinions on them. US-based Bloomberg has been one of the few to do so. However, the other portals that used its syndicated feed for the said opinion piece, like Washington Post, ThePrint India, Times of India, have not yet withdrawn their stories. Neither has Freedom House removed reference from their report and apologised to the readers as well as Indians at large for not carrying out due diligence as a self appointed ‘watchdog’ themselves.

Essentially, the Freedom House has downgraded India based on facts that they did not find convenient and a fallacious narrative woven by left and Islamist elements in India who wanted to either shield the perpetrators or were an intrinsic part of the violence that erupted in India.

It is also pertinent to note that Freedom House has downgraded India based on the Supreme Court verdict that they did not approve of, based on their preconceived notions of the case. For example, the “activists” and “students” that they talk of are still in custody because the court of law, after reviewing the evidence filed, believed that there was enough material evidence for them to remain incarcerated in relevant cases. Even the case of BJP leaders being acquitted is a verdict that was delivered by the highest court of the land.

OpIndia has written to Freedom House for their comments on the same and have not yet heard back from them. We shall update the report if we hear back from them.

The truth about the Morbi tragedy survivor’s ‘bandage changed to plaster for Modi visit’ fake news spread by usual suspects

OpIndia Staff
-
0
The truth about the Morbi tragedy survivor’s ‘bandage changed to plaster for Modi visit’ fake news spread by usual suspects

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid a visit to the Morbi bridge collapse site and also met the survivors of the incident at the hospital on Tuesday. He assessed the situation and also spoke to people involved in rescue and relief efforts at the site of the unfortunate incident in Morbi.

After PM Modi’s visit, several left liberals took to social media to mock the victims of the incident and claim that the survivors of the incident at the hospital were planted ahead of PM Modi’s visit to the town. Several left-liberal social media users and journalists shared two juxtaposed images of a man, one with a gauze rolled around his right knee, and another with a plaster on his right leg, to insinuate that the survivors at the hospital were not real.

Twitter User Abhijit Dipke shared an image of a survivor and stated that he got a plaster overnight just because PM Modi was visiting. Vinod Kapri, a journalist turned filmmaker, repeated the same message from Abhijit by quoting it in a tweet.

Screenshot from Twitter

Abusive troll Swati Chaturvedi, who is referred to as a journalist, also took to Twitter and used the same image on similar lines in an attempt to tarnish the image of Gujarat and demean the visit by the Prime Minister. Swati wrote, “The permanent patient. How come the same gent met Vaghela & then Modi today? Is this the Gujarat model?”

Screenshot from Twitter

Rohini Singh, a ‘journalist’ working for The Wire, the left-leaning publication that made headlines for its hit job against Amit Malviya over its Meta stories, also partook in propagating the misleading claim. All these tweets had the same image implying that a survivor was planted and his leg was plastered before PM Modi’s visit of the hospital.

Screenshot from Twitter

However, victim Ashwin, whose image was shared on social media and who is undergoing treatment in the hospital at present, refuted the claims that he is a ‘planted’ patient at the hospital for the PM’s visit. He said that he is a victim of the bridge collapse, his leg was initially bandaged and later it was plastered after assessment by doctors. Ashwin revealed that the plaster was put up on his leg after the doctors carried out an X-ray and diagnosed a severe fracture in his leg. “Earlier, there was a small bandage. Later the doctors found out that my leg was fractured and so they put up plaster on my legs”, Ashwin said while talking to a Lallantop interviewer.

He also clarified that earlier he was allotted bed number 125 but now had been shifted to 126 as one of the patients in the ward had been discharged. “The doctors shifted one of the lady patients to another ward. So bed numbers of several patients including mine have been changed”, he stated. Further, he mentioned that PM Modi talked to him and also inquired about his health.

It is not sure why left-liberals would claim that the govt will plant fake patients in the hospital for the PM’s visit, or will apply unnecessary plaster, when the Morbi tragedy is real, where over a hundred people died and many more were injured, who are being treated. It is also common sense that when such incidents happen and a large number of injured people are admitted to a hospital, first all of them are given first aid, after that their medical conditions are assessed based on severity and only after that, their real treatment begins.

Therefore, it is quite normal that Ashwin, and perhaps many others, received only bandages and other such minor treatments at the beginning, and after that, they were examined and necessary additional treatments were prescribed. It is surprising that Modi-haters saw conspiracy in this tragic case also.

On Monday, hours after the suspension bridge over the Machchhu River in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed claiming around 135 lives and injuring several other persons, CCTV footage emerged showing that a few people were continuously shaking the bridge, moments before the unfortunate tragedy. The bridge collapsed at around 6:30 pm when around 400 people were on the bridge.

The bridge was closed for operational use about 7 months ago. A private company by the name of Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Private Limited) was given the contract in March of this year to renovate and maintain the said bridge. The suspension bridge, which is also known as the jhoolta pool, was reopened on the occasion of Gujarati New Year Day on October 26 this year after the completion of the renovation task of the bridge.

However, the Morbi Municipality said that the private firm threw open the bridge to the public without obtaining a fitness certificate from the Municipality. The 150-year-old bridge located 300 km from Vadodara could take the weight of only about 125 people but there were around 400 people on the bridge when the incident happened. Many of them were performing Chhath Puja rituals on the bridge. The death toll in the Morbi bridge disaster has risen to around 135 while a total of 180 were successfully rescued by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for each of those killed in the accident and Rs 50,000 for those injured. The Prime Minister also has announced monetary assistance of Rs. 2 lakh for each of the victims’ families.

As Pooja Bhatt joins Rahul Gandhi in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, here’s a throwback to the time when her father praised hate preacher Zakir Naik

OpIndia Staff
-
0
As Pooja Bhatt joins Rahul Gandhi in ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’, here’s a throwback to the time when her father praised hate preacher Zakir Naik

On 2nd November 2022, former Bollywood actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt joined Rahul Gandhi in his container rally called ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which is currently passing through Telangana. Pooja Bhatt joined the yatra in Hyderabad as she walked alongside Rahul Gandhi for some time on Wednesday morning. Pooja is the daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt and is the first noted Bollywood celebrity to join this Yatra.

It, therefore, becomes evident to recall the connection of the Bhatt family with hate preacher Zakir Naik and terrorist David Coleman Headley. Director Mahesh Bhatt had praised Islamist hate preacher and fugitive Zakir Naik while his son and Pooja Bhatt’s brother Rahul Bhatt was in connection with David Coleman Headley who had carried out the recce of Mumbai for Lashkar-E-Taiba before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.

Mahesh Bhatt praised Zakir Naik

Zakir Naik was denied entry to the UK in June 2010. Several videos of Mahesh Bhatt praising hate preacher and fugitive Zakir Naik surfaced online, ahead of the scheduled release of his film ‘Sadak 2’ on July 10. In one such video, Bhatt can be seen singing praises for the radical Islamist.

Mahesh Bhatt said, “At the onset, let me salute Dr Zakir Naik for daring to lock horns with the mighty British Empire… I salute his audacity which comes from his Imaan… If he had any grey spot in his heart, he wouldn’t have risked locking horns with these bullies… The world is becoming the most entertained and the least informed one… We, as Indians, owe it to our brother (Zakir Naik) who is national pride, (and) a prized treasure.”

He then went on a hysterical rant against the United States, United Kingdom (UK), and other Western powers and drew irrelevant analogies with the Persian Gulf War to substantiate his claim that Naik should have been allowed to preach in the UK. “They call Dr. Naik the warmonger but history knows who is the warmonger”, the director advocated.

He added, “Are you going to believe in the opinions of those people who have the means to lie, buy wordsmiths, get newspapers, have TV networks by their side to market lies, and hang a man like Dr Naik? I will say No.” Bhatt urged the Indian government to intervene, stand up for Zakir Naik and plead his case.

Pooja Bhatt’s father Mahesh Bhatt wanted to make a film on Zakir Naik

Mahesh Bhatt also expressed his will to make a film based on Zakir Naik. He made these remarks when he was speaking at an event organized by Peace TV. It is owned by Zakir Naik and fined £300,000 (around Rs 2.75 crore) for broadcasting hate speech. Mahesh Bhatt was invited as a guest on Zakir Naik’s Peace TV to address a group of Muslims. On being asked whether he would feature the hate preacher in his films, Bhatt stated, “The life of Zakir Saheb is a fascinating story in itself. It contains material for a feature film. I don’t know whether Zakir Naik will want to play the role of a hero in the movie. We can find someone to play his role, provided he gives me permission to do so. Please get the idea approved from him and then only I can make a film.”

Pooja Bhatt’s brother Rahul Bhatt was in contact with 26/11 terrorist

It may be noted that David Coleman Headley, an accused in the Mumbai terror attack case, was reportedly a close associate of Rahul Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt’s son. As per reports, a day prior to the deadly Mumbai attack in 2008, Headley had warned Bhatt and asked him not to go to South Mumbai on 26th November 2008, the day of the attack.

With Pooja Bhatt throwing her weight behind Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra, eyebrows are raised as her father openly provided an intellectual cover to a fugitive hate-preaching Islamist and her brother was reportedly known to be in contact with a terrorist who reconnoitred Mumbai before the 26/11 terror attack.

Morbi Bridge Collapse: Morbi and Rajkot Bar Associations decide not to represent nine accused from the Oreva Group

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Morbi Bridge Collapse: Morbi and Rajkot Bar Associations decide not to represent nine accused from the Oreva Group

On Wednesday, Morbi and Rajkot Bar Association informed that they have decided not to take up the case and represent the nine accused of Oreva company who have been arrested in the Morbi Bridge collapse incident which claimed 135 lives on Sunday.

Those arrested include managers from Oreva, the company that renovated the Morbi bridge, ticket takers, bridge repair contractors, and three security officers tasked with crowd control.

Morbi Deputy Superintendent of Police PA Zala, who is investigating the tragic bridge collapse, alleged on Tuesday that the British-era suspension bridge collapsed due to poor maintenance. Zala told the local court that the bridge’s cables were rusted and that if the cables had been repaired, the incident would not have occurred.

The bridge, which was over a century old, had recently reopened after its repair and renovation work. Noticeably, 400 people were on the bridge at the time of the incident, as the ancient bridge could not withstand the weight.

According to The Indian Express report, one of the managers of the Oreva company, which was tasked with bridge renovation, stated in court that the company was not at fault and that the unfortunate incident occurred due to God’s will. “It was God’s will (Bhagwan ni ichchha) that such an unfortunate event occurred,” Deepak Parekh stated in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate and Additional Senior Civil Judge MJ Khan. Parekh is one of nine accused held by the administration in the aftermath of the incident.

So far, the police investigation into the case has revealed that the contractors tasked with renovating the bridge were not qualified engineers. “They did the fabrication work.” “The investigation indicates that the bridge may have collapsed due to the aluminum planks on the bridge,” Public prosecutor HS Panchal confirmed on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Gujarat observed a day of mourning on Wednesday to remember those who died in the Morbi cable bridge mishap.

“Took part in a peace prayer in Ahmedabad for the souls of those who died in the Morbi tragedy and for God to give strength to their families to bear this trauma, and paid heartfelt tributes to the deceased. The entire state of Gujarat is mourning with the families of the deceased,” Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel tweeted.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Morbi bridge collapse site to assess the situation. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel joined PM Modi. Several NDRF and Indian Army teams have been deployed in the area where the search operation is taking place in the Machchhu River.

From ‘OMG cringe’ to ‘hope it is not anti-Pak or Islamophobic’, fans react as SRK drops Pathaan trailer on his birthday

OpIndia Staff
-
0
From ‘OMG cringe’ to ‘hope it is not anti-Pak or Islamophobic’, fans react as SRK drops Pathaan trailer on his birthday

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, celebrating his 57th birthday on November 2, unveiled the trailer of his much-anticipated movie ‘Pathaan’ on Wednesday morning.

The teaser was shared by Shah Rukh Khan and the production group YRF, wherein the actor pulls in a few deadly punches and dangerous kicks to subdue his enemies. The action-packed movie also stars John Abraham and Deepika Padukone and is directed by Siddharth Anand.

The trailer begins with a voiceover of a woman who says that Pathaan was caught by the enemies, tortured heavily on his last mission, and is assumed to have been killed. But Pathaan is not so easily killed. He soon breaks out of his prison cell after an impressive fight scene, which also includes a scene where SRK explodes one of his captors.

The trailer then shows a panoramic view of Paris, preceded by the introduction of a sultry Deepika Padukone, who is seen fighting a few criminals and romancing Shah Rukh Khan. John Abraham seems to play Pathaan’s nemesis as the two are seen fighting on trucks, fighter planes, tanks, bikes, snowmobiles, and other places. 

Here is the trailer of SRK-starrer Pathaan which is set to release on 25 January 2023. 

The trailer evoked mixed reactions on social media websites, where some users called it a cringe-fest that appeared as a rip-off and a cheap cross between Mission Impossible, Avengers, and other Hollywood blockbusters, while others were mightily impressed with the prospect of watching SRK on the silver screen after ages.

Social media users react to Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan trailer

A Twitter user commented, “Omggg omggg same expression same cringe acting! wow.”

Another one commented, “Gareebon ka James Bond”. 

Still another, ostensibly a Pakistani user, hoped that the movie is not anti-Pakistan or Islamophobic.

While many social media users were disappointed with the trailer, there were several others who were exuberant watching SRK back on the screen in what appeared a fast-paced globe-trotting action movie.

The Hindi teaser of the movie has crossed 2.6 million views in over two hours on YouTube. The movie will be released in theatres across India on 25 January 2023 in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.

Praveen Nettaru murder case: NIA declares cash rewards for information on 4 absconding PFI members

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Praveen Nettaru murder case: NIA declares cash rewards for information on 4 absconding PFI members

On Wednesday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) announced cash rewards to anyone who would provide information leading to the arrest of the absconding accused in the Praveen Nettaru murder case. The NIA said that the accused belonged to the now-banned Islamist terrorist organization named PFI and were absconding since the incident happened in July this year. NIA has announced Rs 5 lakh each for information on the two accused and Rs 2 lakh each for information on the two other accused, and therefore a total of Rs 14 lakh has been announced.

According to the reports, the accused PFI jihadis who are absconding in the case are identified as Mustafa Paijaru of Budu house in Bellare village of Sulya taluk (Rs. 5 lakhs cash reward), M.H. Tufail of Madikeri city, Kodagu district (Rs. 5 lakhs reward), M.R. Umar Farooq of Sullia (Rs 2 Lakh reward) and Abu Bakr Siddique alias Painter Siddique alias Gujari Siddique of Bellare village in Sullia (Rs. 2 lakhs reward).

The agency said that the accused went underground after committing the crime and have remained elusive despite an extensive search. It also said that anyone who obtains any information about the accused shall contact the office of the Superintendent of Police in Bengaluru. “The informant’s identity and personal information will be kept private”, the NIA stated.

On July 26, a Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha worker Praveen Nettaru was hacked to death by unidentified assailants. The killers came on a bike in Bellari, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, in the late evening and attacked Nettaru with sharp weapons. Nettaru, who ran a poultry business, was coming returning home when the attack happened. The assailants escaped after the attack. Nettaru was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.

However, two assailants identified as Zakir (29) from Savanoor in Haveri district and Mohammed Shafiq (27) from Bellare were arrested in July in the case. The case was then transferred to the NIA on July 29.

Bloomberg retracts column on Tek Fog, but the other publications like WaPo, Print which used syndicated feed, continue to peddle Tek Fog lies

Anurag
-
0
Bloomberg retracts column on Tek Fog, but the other publications like WaPo, Print which used syndicated feed, continue to peddle Tek Fog lies

On October 31, Bloomberg retracted the column on Tek Fog. For those unaware, the “imaginary” application The Wire claimed Bharatiya Janata Party uses to “manipulate” social media. The Wire retracted several reports on Tek Fog after its stories on Meta fell apart. One of the Meta stories authors, The Wire’s tech expert, had co-authored Tek Fog stories.

Tek Fog does not exist. The Wire’s claims about it were false.

Notably, The Wire pulled down Meta stories after the documents they presented as proof were proven fabricated. According to a complaint filed by The Wire, the author, Devesh Kumar, allegedly accepted he fabricated documents in Meta stories.

Bloomberg’s statement

In a statement, the media house said, “Bloomberg retracted an opinion column on India’s Tek Fog after the Wire removed a series of articles referenced in the piece.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Ruth Pollard is a Bloomberg Opinion editor. Previously she was South and Southeast Asia government team leader at Bloomberg News and Middle East correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald.”

The story that Bloomberg published is available on Archive.org that can be accessed from here.

Newslaundry also pulled down an interview done on Tek Fog. It said, “Newslaundry has taken down this interview in light of the Wire removing the series from public view.”

Editor’s Guild has retracted its remarks on Tek Fog after The Wire pulled the plug on the reports.

Moneylife also retracted a report and said, “Since the Wire has removed stories on Tek Fog as part of their internal review following serious questions on the veracity of their reporting, for the sake of brevity, we have unpublished this article.”

Media houses continue to peddle Tek Fog lies

Interestingly, The Washington Post published a report that Bloomberg retracted Tek Fog stories, but the media house itself continued to peddle Tek Fog lies. The report on The Washington Post dated January 12, 2022, titled “India’s Tek Fog Shrouds an Escalating Political War”, is up and running. There has been no mention anywhere that The Wire has retracted the stories on which WaPo wrote the piece.

The case is the same with The Print. The story was published on January 13 and titled “Tek Fog shrouds an escalating political war, firms need to retake control of technologies”. Notably, both WaPo and The Print pulled the story from Bloomberg.

Times Of India under TOI+ had published the same story from Bloomberg. It is available with the title “Tek Fog shrouds an escalating political war”.

NDTV published the story on January 13, which is available with the title “Opinion: BJP Accused Of Using App Tek Fog To Target, Intimidate Critics”.

These four media houses published the story from Bloomberg’s syndicated feed and have yet to retract it.

The Logical Indian published a report on January 7 on the matter. The story’s title was “Tek Fog: The Wire’s Investigation Reveals BJP Using The App To Temper Social Media Trends”. It continued to stay online by the time this report was published.

Quartz published a story on Tek Fog on January 6 titled “Right-wing Indians have their app to manipulate WhatsApp and Twitter”. The media house has taken no action following the retraction of the stories by The Wire.

The Quint also failed to act on The Wire’s retraction of the story. A report published on January 6 continues to run on its platform.

The Wire was forced to retract its false reports after their lies on Meta and the alleged special powers given to Amit Malaviya were thoroughly busted. Their alleged emails and screenshots were found to be fake and the entire story was based on false claims. Details on Meta Vs The Wire saga can be found here.

The Wire is now facing a criminal investigation after BJP’s Amit Malaviya filed a police complaint against them for forgery, cheating, and fraud.

OpIndia had fact-checked The Wire’s claims on Tek Fog and has categorically busted its lies. Our detailed article on how The Wire conjured up a non-existent superpower App out of thin air and took everyone on a ride can be read here.

Illegal mining: ED summons Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in money laundering case, asks to appear on Nov 3

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Illegal mining: ED summons Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in money laundering case, asks to appear on Nov 3

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for interrogation on November 3 in a money laundering case involving illegal mining in the state, the officials informed on Wednesday.

He has been summoned to appear before the investigation agency on Thursday at the ED’s regional office in Ranchi. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency intends to question and record his statement.

Notably, ED, in this case, has already arrested Soren’s political close aide Pankaj Mishra. Mishra who currently is in judicial custody was arrested on July 19 this year. It has also conducted numerous searches across the country in this case over the last few months. Mishra and his accomplices Prem Prakash and Bacchu Yadav were labeled as the main accused in the Rs.1000 crore scam in the ED’s 162-page charge sheet.

“The CM has been summoned to appear before the investigating officer for questioning on Thursday.” During our investigations against his aide Pankaj Mishra, some facts were revealed that need to be verified,” an ED official said.

To date, the ED has conducted 47 search operations and seized cash worth Rs 5.34 crore, bank balances worth Rs 13.32 crore, and an inland water vessel worth Rs 30 crore, in addition to five stone crushers, two trucks, and two AK 47 assault rifles which were later claimed by Jharkhand police as its own. Banking documents and cheques purportedly bearing the chief minister’s name were also recovered from the searched premises, according to officials.

On July 8, the ED raided Mishra and his associates in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki, and Barharwa in Jharkhand, covering 19 locations in the case linked to alleged occurrences of illegal mining and extortion and reportedly seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts of Pankaj Mishra. “The PMLA investigation revealed that Mishra, who wields political power as the chief minister’s representative, MLA from Barhait, Sahibganj, Jharkhand, controls illegal mining businesses as well as inland ferry services in Sahibganj and its surrounding areas through his associates.”

According to the agency’s prosecution complaint (the equivalent of a charge sheet) to a PMLA court, the MLA had a “fixed share almost in all mines” and material transportation and also controlled the installation of crushers. 

The ED also claims that Mishra and his associates used to undertake the illegal mining by intimidating district officials by using the CM’s name. They are also accused of using the Chief Minister’s political influence to avoid any action in the illegal mining case.

On August 25, the Election Commission recommended that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren be disqualified from serving in the State Legislative Assembly. In a report to the governor of Jharkhand, the EC recommended that Hemant Soren be removed from his position as MLA. This effectively means that Soren will have to step down as chief minister.

The nodal election body reportedly informed Soren that he used his position as Chief Minister to award himself a stone mining lease in June 2021. The Opposition BJP first raised the issue with State Governor Ramesh Bais. Following political outrage, Hemant Soren surrendered the land, and the Jharkhand Advocate General even told the State High Court that the State government had made a mistake.

Morbi bridge collapse: ‘It was God’s will’, says Oreva manager as Police alleges poor bridge maintenance, rusted cables

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Morbi bridge collapse: ‘It was God’s will’, says Oreva manager as Police alleges poor bridge maintenance, rusted cables

On Tuesday, Morbi Deputy Superintendent of Police PA Zala who is investigating the case of the tragic incident of the bridge collapse which happened on Sunday alleged that the suspension bridge crumbled due to its poor maintenance. Zala said to the local court that the cables of the bridge were rusted and that had the cables been repaired, the incident would not have happened.

The bridge over the Machchhu River in Morbi, Gujarat, collapsed on October 30, claiming at least 135 lives and injuring several other persons. The bridge, which was over a century old, had just been reopened following its repair and renovation work. Notably, around 400 people were on the bridge when the incident happened, as the ancient bridge could not bear the weight.

According to a report in The Indian Express, one of the managers of the Oreva company who was given the task of bridge renovation stated in the court that the company was not at fault and that the unfortunate incident happened because it was God’s will. “It was the will of God (Bhagwan ni ichchha) that such an unfortunate event happened”, said Deepak Parekh in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate and Additional Senior Civil Judge MJ Khan. Parekh is among nine persons who have been arrested by the administration in the wake of the incident.

Meanwhile, investigating officer Zala sought a 10-day remand of four out of nine arrested in the case and stated that the bridge was reopened to the public without determining the permissible capacity and without government approval. “No lifesaving equipment or lifeguards were deployed… As part of maintenance and repair, only the platform (deck) was changed. No other work was undertaken as per FSL (Forensic Science Laboratory) report by a team that came from Gandhinagar”, he said.

The officer reiterated that the cables of the bridge were rusted and that the incident would not have happened had the cables been repaired. “The bridge was on a cable, and no oiling or greasing of the cable was done. No documentation of what works and how it was done has been maintained. The material procured/used, if its quality was checked, remains to be probed”, the officer maintained.

The police investigation in the case so far reveals that the contractors who were given the task of renovating the bridge were not qualified engineers. “Fabrication work was done by them. The investigation indicates that the bridge might have collapsed because of the aluminum planks on the bridge”, confirmed Public prosecutor HS Panchal on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, advocate GK Raval who appeared for the four out of nine arrested managers of Oreva company said that the four had no role in ascertaining the safety of the bridge. One of the managers Deepak Parekh then said, “everyone worked very hard, from the managing director of the company to the lower level employees, but it was the will of God (Bhagwan ni ichcha) that such an unfortunate event happened”.

‘Make temporary repair and open bridge’

Raval further claimed that the contractors were only responsible for handling job tasks like welding and electrical fitting and that they did so based on the goods they received. Interestingly, a letter sent by Oreva Group to the District Collector of Morbi in January 2020 has appeared which showed that the company wanted a permanent contract for the bridge’s maintenance and that it would just do temporary repair work on the bridge until demands were fulfilled.

“We are reopening the suspension bridge by only doing temporary repairs”, the letter read. The private company was in charge of renovating the Morbi bridge, which collapsed on Sunday, killing around 135 people. It had signed a 15-year agreement for the bridge’s operation and maintenance. The contract was signed in March 2022 between Morbi Municipal Corporation and Ajanta Oreva Company and was valid until 2037.

1...2,7612,7622,763...7,624Page 2,762 of 7,624