Mehul Vavalia, brother of Aam Aadmi Party councillor Dharmendra Vavalia, was arrested by Kapodra police in Surat after a divorced woman accused him of raping her. A case was lodged against him at Kapodra police following which he was arrested.
As per reports, Mehul entrapped the woman after he came to know that she was seeking to learn to drive. Mehul reportedly lured the woman into travelling with him to Navsari by promising to get her a license there. On their way to Navsari, Mehul allegedly raped the woman.
Following the incident, BJP workers took out a rally outside the Aam Aadmi Party office in the Hirbagh area in Surat, demanding justice for the victim. A large number of BJP workers gathered on the streets and slammed the councillor for the sexual assault allegedly carried out by his brother. The protest also saw participation from the BJP’s women wing, who called for exemplary action accused Mehul.
AAP councillor Dharmendra Vavaliya, the brother of accused Mehul, also gave his reaction on the matter. Distancing himself from his brother, Dharmendra said although Mehul is his brother, the two of them have not been in contact with each other for years now. He further demanded severe punishment for Mehul if he is found guilty of raping the woman.
“Mehul is my brother and he has not been with me for many years now. I demand strict punishment for my brother if he is found guilty of any wrongdoing. He should be punished severely if charges against him are proved to be true. I urge Kapodra Police and the Commissioner of Police to take strict disciplinary action against the perpetrators of such acts,” Dharmendra said.
Australian police on Saturday employed harsh measures, including the use of rubber bullets and tear gas, to disperse crowds that had gathered on roads in a nationwide protest to oppose the imposition of lockdown by the government.
Widespread protests were witnessed in Australia over the weekend as thousands of unmasked protesters carried out anti-lockdown rallies in various cities throughout the country in defiance of the restrictions imposed by the government in the wake of the resurgent coronavirus outbreak.
Violent clashes erupted between protesters and law enforcement officials in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney as the latter accused the former of having “violence in mind”. Hundreds of protesters were detained and seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes a day after the country saw its highest-ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases.
The scene of violence and chaos were particularly stark in Melbourne, where more than 4,000 people had come out to oppose the coronavirus-induced lockdown in the country. Victoria police arrested 218 protesters and six police officers were hospitalised in a series of altercation that ensued between the two sides.
The police also issued 236 fines and kept three people in custody for assaulting police. The arrested people face fines of A$5,452 ($3,900) each for breaching public health orders.
The Victoria police later issued a statement, defending its ham-handed measures against the protesters, whom they claimed were so hostile and aggressive that the police officials had no option but to use all tactics available to them.
Videos of the clashes that have gone viral show police officials using tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper-spray to break the crowds. Some of the videos show protesters, cheering, hurling objects at police officers and letting off flares during the demonstrations.
Crazy scenes in Victoria right now. Melbourne anti-lockdown protests have turned violent. Dozens of police officers seen pepper spraying and tackling demonstrators @abcnewspic.twitter.com/X27qKS6igE
The protests in Melbourne took place after Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, announced that the strict lockdown imposed in the city would be extended across the entire state. The state recorded 77 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday.
Much like the anti-lockdown rallies in Melbourne, protesters in Sydney also took to streets to register their protest against lockdown. More than 1,500 officers were deployed in the city to control to the demonstrations. Taxis and Ubers plying in the city were banned until 3 pm on Saturday. Trains were not allowed to stop at city centre stations. About 137 tickets were issued by the police after stopping around 38,000 cars approaching Sydney.
The New South Wales Police issued a statement saying they made 47 arrests and issued at least 261 penalty infringement notices across the Sydney CBD and regional NSW.
Similarly, thousands of protesters also demonstrated on the streets of Brisbane in Queensland after restrictions were imposed in the city to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
Police officers said actions taken by demonstrators would most likely prolong the lockdown instead of cutting them short. There was a general resentment among people after The Australian government and local administration resorted to imposing lockdown as vaccination has continued at a snail’s pace.
“The actions they have taken are likely to prolong the very lockdown they were protesting about.”
South Australia police said no arrests were made at an anti-lockdown protest in Rundle Park in Adelaide.
The Bhartiya Janta Party and Akali Dal have trained guns on the newly-appointed Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu for his silence over Malvinder Singh Mali, one of his four advisors. Mali had made a controversial remark on August 17th on Kashmir being a separate country and India and Pakistan being illegal occupants of Kashmir.
Irked by Navjot Singh Sidhu’s decision to appoint Malvinder Singh Mali as his advisor and his silence over the matter, senior BJP leader Vineet Joshi called Navjot Singh Sidhu an “unstable politician”.
“BJP gave him a political identity. His wife was given a party ticket and then he switched his loyalties and joined Congress. The infighting within the Punjab Congress unit is the outcome of the unfulfilled political ambitions of Navjot Sidhu. He can go to any length and now he is trying to sprinkle salt on the wounds of martyrs’ families,” Vineet Joshi stated.
He claimed that the appointment of Mali as an advisor, signalled where Sidhu was headed in political discourse.
“Many Army and allied forces personnel, besides the Jammu and Kashmir police, have sacrificed their lives to save Kashmir from Pakistan-sponsored terrorists. A number of martyrs belong to Punjab. Mali is trying to shrink the supreme sacrifices made by these martyrs,” Vineet Joshi said.
SAD slams Navjot Singh Sidhu, questions Congress scion Rahul Gandhi
Similarly, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Majithia also slammed Malvinder Singh Mali’s for his inflammatory social media post which he said was an attempt to insult martyrs who had sacrificed their lives fighting for India in Kashmir.
“He [Mali] said that Kashmir is the country of Kashmiris, which means Kashmir is a separate country. He also said that India and Pakistan have illegally encroached upon Kashmir. Rahul Gandhi, is this not an insult to martyrs?” Bikram Majithia said.
Taking a dig at the Gandhi scion, Majithia added: “If he [Rahul Gandhi] endorses Mali’s views, then the real face of the Congress will be exposed. If not, what action will he take against Mali?”
Further, raking up the old controversy around Sidhu’s Pakistan visit, Bikram Majithia scorned him for his affinity towards Pakistan: “While Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has been accusing Pakistan of disturbing the peace in Punjab, Navjot Singh Sidhu is hugging Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.”
BJYM planned to gherao Sidhu’s residence
The Amritsar Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) leaders also protested against Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Navjot Singh Sidhu claiming that his advisor’s remark amounted to sedition.
Led by state BJYM in-charge Rajesh Honey and state president Bhanu Partap, the activists planned to gherao Sidhu’s residence in Holy City, a private township. Police, however, stopped them at the entrance to the complex by installing barricades and locking the main gate.
“Mali must be tried under sedition for his anti-national view on J&K,” claimed BJYM district president Gautam Arora, adding: “Every Indian will be enraged to see the post of Mali, as he doesn’t consider J&K to be an integral part of the country. It also shows that Sidhu in inclined towards Pakistan. Sidhu supports Pakistani extremists and separatists of Kashmir. He must tender an apology to the country.”
Sidhu faces the wrath of Netizens
Besides, Sidhu has also faced the wrath of Netizens for the silence he has maintained over his advisor’s controversial remark.
Shocking & Treacherous ! Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisor Malwinder Mali saying-“Kashmir is separate country..india captured it..” It again proved that Sidhu is working on instructions of Imran & Gen Bajwa@RahulGandhi आपकी पार्टी के लोग क्यों देश को तोड़ना चाहते हैं ? pic.twitter.com/9KNe3kAoed
@sherryontopp siddhu is phuddu!!! He sold Indian’s interests to Bajwa. Now Malwinder Singh Mali, advisor to Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, just confirm that by calling Kashmir a separate country and India as an occupier @RahulGandhi just promoted Siddhu to do this
Malvinder Singh Mali claims Kashmir is a separate country
The controversy erupted after Navjot Singh Sidhu’s advisor Malvinder Singh Mali wrote in his Facebook post that Kashmir is a separate country and that India captured it.
Malvinder Singh Mali in his August 17 post wrote, “Kashmir is a separate country and India and Pakistan are illegal occupants. It belongs to the people of Kashmir.”
He spoke about the 1947 agreement made with Kashmir’s King Hari Singh. The Congress leader’s post also attacked the Union Government’s decision to scrap Article 370 and questioned: “What was the meaning of Article 370 and 35 A, which gave special state status to Kashmir in the Constitution of India?”
“Kashmir is a country of Kashmiri people, on the rules set to leave India in 1947, on the decisions of UNO, on the decisions made by India, Kashmir is divided into two pieces by Pakistan and India on top of that Occupied,” read Malvinder Singh Mali’s post.
Mali courts controversy soon after being appointed as advisor by Navjot Singh Sidhu
This is not the first time the Congress leader has sparked a row, earlier on August 13, Mali had accused CM Amarinder Singh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of creating communal tensions in the state. This statement came hours after Malvinder Singh, who is a staunch critic of the Punjab CM, was named by Navjot Sidhu as one of his advisors.
A Congress leader in Andhra Pradesh has been suspended by the party for his stunt of frying a ‘Twitter bird’ in protest of Twitter locking Rahul Gandhi’s account. The Andhra Pradesh Congress suspended the youth leader G V Sriraj on Friday from the primary membership of the party for tarnishing the image of the party. The party took the step after the video of the ‘protest’ had gone viral on social medial.
The letter addressed to Sriraj mentions that he had recently joined the party, and he has become disrespectful to the party and Rahul Gandhi. The party said that he had tortured a bird in the name of Twitter bird in public, and he tarnished the image of the party, which beliefs in nonviolence, with this act.
The letter states that any person in the party should abide by the party’s ideology, and his act has caused a great deal of disapproval among the people. It also mentions that Sriraj has become accustomed to using Rahul Gandhi’s name in a way that degrades the values of the party.
The party says that the act was done by the Congress leader independently and without prior approval or intimation of the party, and therefore he has been suspended from the party’s primary with immediate effect.
GV Harsha Kumar is the son of former MP and Congress leader GV Harsha Kumar. On Monday, he had fried a quail bird, symbolising the Twitter bird, in oil in public in protest against locking of the Twitter of Rahul Gandhi by the company for violating its rules. Sriraj and some other Congress workers fried the bird at Rajahmundry of East Godavari district. Later he had also couriered the fried bird to the Twitter offices in Mumbai.
After Rahul Gandhi violated the law of the land by revealing identity of the minor rape victim, his account was locked by Twitter. However, the Congress workers and leaders have been protesting against it, alleging that Twitter had this on the behest of Modi government. The account has been unlocked since then.
In order to examine the potential ramifications of the re-establishing of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, one must first address the speed of the reconquest. While US intelligence reports up until only a few days ago were suggesting that the Afghan government could hold up for another 3 months or so, the Taliban rampaged to the Presidential Palace in Kabul in about a week.
The second coming of the Taliban has similarities to its rapid conquest in the mid-1990s, marked by Mullah Omar donning the rarely seen cloak of Prophet Muhammed that is housed in a Kandahar mosque. The fact that the Taliban could conquer the country in a week’s time shows that it cemented its position during its 20 years out of power, and had broad support within large sections of the population.
There are a few key lessons for various stakeholders.
For the US, the lesson is that no amount of physical and intellectual development (education) assistance in building up state capacities is capable of overpowering an armed force that has wide support within the population. The US poured trillions into Afghanistan to help build the State but paid no serious attention to reforming the mindsets that helped bring the Taliban to the forefront. ‘Nation building’ is an idea that should firmly be cast to the dustbin.
The takeaway for Indian liberals (the true liberals, not the anti-Modi, anti-Hindu bigots) should be that Muslims in the region see no boundary between religion and state. According to a Pew survey from 2017, 99% of Afghanis support making Sharia the official law in their country. This support is not unique to Afghanistan, as an overwhelming majority of Muslims within Pakistan (84%), Bangladesh (82%), and India (74%) support this position. For India to progress as one nation, critical work needs to be done to forge the Muslim identity into the Indian one. Madrassa reform, removal of special ‘rights’ that minorities enjoy over the majority, and an iron hand when dealing with violence regardless of the originator are just some of the priority areas.
The takeaway for Indian defence and foreign affairs thinkers is that contrary to popular belief, the re-establishment of Taliban rule can lead to positive outcomes for India. Many commentators are lamenting the surge in support for jihadi terror including the setting up of training camps within Afghanistan that will accompany the new Taliban. However, Pakistan is a fully functioning terror factory with state sponsorship for an alphabet soup of terror groups. A much poorer country such as Afghanistan will not add much weight to the support already in place.
Pakistan’s glee at the return of the Taliban will be short-lived, as the Pashtun nationalism sentiment will be reinvigorated and demands for a fully Sharia-compliant Pakistani government will become louder. Look for a resurgence of the ‘bad Taliban’, Tehrik-I-Taliban on the Pakistan side. India would be well served to overtly and covertly support the demands of an independent Pashtun state (along with a Baloch, Sindhi, and other carved-out nations) while breaking off all formal relationships with Pakistan.
For the Hindu ‘right’ in India, the return of the Taliban should be seen within the broader landscape of losses of dharmic lands and peoples for several centuries now. While there have been sparks of resurgence, the demographic tide, and with it, the geographical losses continue. There needs to be a recalibration of both offensive and defensive strategies to bring more people to the Hindu fold, while more directly countering the rhetoric and conversion push of the Abhramic religions.
The US was able to keep a lid on the Taliban over the past 20 years due to its overwhelming military superiority. The Taliban’s resurgence should drive introspection on how to counter an ideology that makes people prefer the Taliban’s brutality over a US-backed, semi-functioning state. It is this ideology that needs to be countered, and urgently, by all stakeholders.
Karad Urban Co-Operative Bank has filed a defamation case against Sony Pictures Network India and others alleging that the makers of the web series ‘Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story’ used the logo pf the bank without permission and caused financial and social hardships for them.
Consequently, Sony Pictures Network India moved the Bombay High Court seeking the dismissal of the FIR and an interim stay on the probe. Earlier, the Pune Police had booked Sony Live Channels, Applause Entertainment and two YouTube channels under section 500 of the Indian Penal Code.
Sony Pictures contended that the FIR was ‘baseless and absurd’ and claimed that they were only streaming the show which was owned and produced by Applause Entertainment. The show is said to be an adaptation of the book The Scam: Who won, Who lost, Who got away.
The petition said, “However, for ulterior motives, the complainant appears to have zeroed in with a laser beam on the fleeting display of a logo appearing on a calendar at the back of actors in a scene and registered the FIR…The FIR is filed at the behest of the respondent Bank with a motive of coercing the petitioner with ostensible deep pockets into an undeserved settlement. Allegations made are absurd and baseless and are an abuse of the process of law.”
It also claimed that the ‘Bank of Karaj’ used in the series was a pseudonym for ‘Bank of Karad’, whose alleged involvement in the scam was confirmed by the Reserve Bank of India. “There was no intention or conspiracy, as is being hinted at, to malign the name of the respondent bank,” said the petition. The petition also said that all necessary disclaimers were added.
“The petitioner seek the indulgence and protection of this court because genuine and honest businesses and professionals like them ought not to be harassed and arm twisted by threats of criminal prosecution where a possible civil remedy, if at all lies,” the petition added further.
The Bombay High Court bench has asked the police to not take any coercive action until the next date of the hearing, which is on Monday.
A sensational Wikileaks disclosure has revealed that Sweden Armed Forces wanted to use the Afghanistan war to market their fighter jets across the world.
According to a Wikileaks cable, some of the member countries of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), a NATO-led military mission in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, used the war to demonstrate the capabilities of their high-tech weapons and fighter aircraft.
Wikileaks has published a confidential cable by the US Ambassador to Sweden, Robert Silverman, to the NATO forces in Afghanistan asking them to urge Sweden to contribute more to the US-led war against the Jihadist organisation in Afghanistan.
In his classified letter, Charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Sweden, Robert Silverman, wrote to the NATO forces in Afghanistan asking them to put pressure on Sweden to provide more to its ISAF operation in Afghanistan with additional manpower and resources, possibly including medevac helicopters, JAS Gripen fighters, and Operational Mentor and Liaison (OMLT) teams.
“Sweden makes a substantial contribution to ISAF efforts in Afghanistan, leading the PRT in Mazar-e-Sharif with 365 Swedish troops. Noting shortfalls in ISAF contributions from NATO allies (ref A), we should ask the Swedes, the leading NATO Partner for Cooperation, what additional contributions they may be able to make in Afghanistan,” the Wikileaks cable said.
Wikileak reports
Citing the statements from Sweden’s Armed Forces, the US acting Ambassador to Sweden further pitches for the deployment of Swedish weapons and aircraft for a possible role in operations and suggests that Sweden could possibly deploy its other potential assets such as newly acquired HKP 10 Super Puma Medevac Helicopter or JAS Gripen fighters in Afghanistan.
Robert Silverman argued that Sweden’s Armed Forces has publicly suggested sending JAS Gripen fighter aircraft to Afghanistan, thus revealing that the Swedish military lobbied for the deployment for a possible combat experience, which could be good for the Swedish Air Force to market the Gripen fighter aircraft.
Essentially, Robert Silverman was hinting that Swedish Air Force wanted utilise the Afghan war to demonstrate its fighter aircraft Saab JAS 39 Gripen, a light single-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab AB. As “combat experience” for any military platform enhances the marketability of the product, Sweden intended to use the Afghan wars to further their economic interest.
As the terror groups operating in Afghanistan do not have any Air Force, the question of air-to-air combat did not arise, and the “combat experience” that the Sweden Air Forces was referring to essentially meant surgical strikes operations against the Jihadi outfits.
Fourteen people have been arrested from different places in Assam for their social media posts supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Assam police informed on Saturday that the arrests were made since Friday, and all of them have been booked under different sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, IT Act and CrPC.
A senior police officer said in Guwahati that they were on alert and monitoring social media for inflammatory posts. The arrests are made from as many as ten states in the state. Two people each were arrested from Kamrup Metropolitan, Barpeta, Dhubri and Karimganj districts. While one person each was arrested from Darrang, Cachar, Hailakandi, South Salmara, Goalpara and Hojai districts, the Assam police informed.
Reportedly, the arrested persons include several maulanas. A medical student named Nadim Akhtar Laskar also has been arrested, who is studying MBBS at the Tezpur Medical College. Laskar was arrested from his home in Hailakandi district.
Some others arrested have been identified as Majibuddin and Martuja Hussain Khan from Karimganj district, Majidul Islam and Farukh Hussain Khan from Barpeta district, Saeed Ahmed and Arman Hussain from Dhubri, Khandakar Noor Alam from South Salmara, Maulana Yasin Khan from Goalpara, Maulana Badaruddin Laskar from Hojai, Maulana Faisul Karim from Darrang, Afga Khan and Saidul Haque from Kamrup, and Javed Majumder from Cachar.
They have posted various comments and videos on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook hailing the victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The arrested persons are being interrogated by the police to find out any possible link with the Islamist group.
#assampolice are taking stern legal action against pro #Taliban comments in the social media platform that are harmful to the National Security. We’re registering criminal cases against such persons. Please inform the police if any such thing comes to your notice
Violet Baruah, Deputy Inspector General of Assam Police, tweeted that the Assam Police is taking stern legal action against pro-Taliban comments on social media that are harmful to national security. “We’re registering criminal cases against such persons. Please inform the police if any such thing comes to your notice,” she added.
Assam police have also obtained information of three persons from the state staying outside India who have supported the Taliban.
Local journalists in Afghanistan had claimed that around 150 Indians had been kidnapped by the Taliban from the Kabul Airport. Later, Taliban had rejected the allegations and denied the report. Now, the media reports that all the Indians are safe.
#Breaking: All #Indians are safe. and the people who took them collecting their passports and checking them and investigating. a source told @Etilaatroz abductors told them that all will move back to the #kabulairport. now they are in a garage close to the #kabulairport
Journalist Aditya Raj Kaul said that sources in the Indian Government have informed that all the Indians in Kabul are safe and in touch with Indian diplomats. The evacuation process is underway, they said.
All Indians in Kabul are safe and in touch with Indian diplomats. Evacuation process is underway. – Indian Government sources.
Sources have confirmed to OpIndia as well that all the evacuees are safely boarding the flight.
It is pertinent to recall that Taliban was reported to have helped Indians evacuate after the fall of Kabul a couple of days back. The Indian govt had reportedly approached the Taliban to allow the Indians to leave the country after the Indians were unable to reach the airport due to the road blockades put up by the Taliban.
Around 50 people who had gathered at the Indian embassy after the Taliban reached the city were already evacuated on Sunday itself, and the rest around 150 people were scheduled to be evacuated on the next day as the Indian govt had decided to close the mission in Kabul.
In the first action under Benami Transactions Prohibition Act, the IT Department has provisionally attached the south Mumbai building named Al-Jabriya Court. The sea-facing building in Mumbai’s Marine Drive belonging to a Kuwaiti royal family is a Rs 100 crore property. The property has also been under the Enforcement Department (ED) scanner in an alleged money laundering case against out on bail NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer over alleged irregularities in the construction of Maharashtra Sadan.
Mumbai | Income-tax Department has provisionally attached the Al-Jabriya Court building at Marine Drive under the Benami Properties Act. The building was also probed by the ED in an alleged money laundering case against NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal
The IT department has initiated action against Aslina Agro & Horticulture Private Limited, the company associated with NCP leader’s aide Arshad Siddique, that had bought the said property from the Royal family. The IT department, however, hasn’t summoned Bhujbal or his nephew in the said matter as the present investigation focuses on the company and its directors.
Al-Jabriya Court under ED scanner in a money laundering case against NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal
For the uninitiated, the Al-Jabriya Court has also been under the ED scanner. The financial investigation agency has been probing whether the Maharashtra State Minister of Food and Civil Supply, Consumer Affairs- Chhagan Bhujbal, used money from the Maharashtra Sadan scam to purchase the sea-facing building in the name of his political aide and businessman Arshad Siddique.
Earlier, ED had found substantial evidence to show that Siddique along with Bhujbal’s nephew Sameer has travelled to Kuwait in 2013 to meet the royal family which owned the Rs 100 crore property and work out a deal. The royal family occupied only the top floor of Al-Jabriya Court while other flats were rented out. The family reportedly sold their entire rights in the building allegedly to Bhujbals. The NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal was a minister in the previous government in the state then.
The agency had initiated the probe against Aslina Agro & Horticulture Private Limited as it had evidence that it did not have adequate funds to purchase the building whose market valuation is over Rs 100 crores.
According to reports, the NCP leader’s associate had paid around Rs 22 crores to the Royal family to purchase the Al-Jabriya Court, whose market value is 100 crores. The EC is firstly probing whether the royal family had also received payment from any other source or mode. Secondly, they are investigating whether Siddique had made the payment on behalf of the NCP leader.
Meanwhile, Siddiqui, who had run into a controversy in 2005 for his alleged link with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his aide Jamiruddin Ansari alias Jumbo, has been denying the allegation of being used by Bhujbal for money laundering.
The ED got a suspicion about the Al-Jabriya Court deal when they learnt that Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer often paid visits to the Kuwaiti royal family living on the top floor of Al-Jabriya Court and had even planned to shift there before they were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in March 2016.
Criminal charges against NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal
Here it becomes imperative to recollect that the former Deputy CM of Maharashtra, Chhagan Bhujbal was arrested for several criminal offences including criminal misconduct, conspiracy, and cheating, among others. According to reports, the Bhujbal family allegedly had conspired along with several others to divert or ‘launder’ kickbacks to a tune of Rs 870 crore, received by Chhagan Bhujbal, when he was the state Public Works Department minister. The ED claimed that part of this money was parked abroad and also routed into India through various shell companies located across the country.
Several series of raids were conducted at the properties owned by Bhujbal and his family across Maharashtra. The agency issued a provisional attachment order then, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), against the two assets which are owned by Bhujbal’s firm, which was estimated to be at Rs 55 crores. ED sent the NCP leader to jail, who spent two years there before he was released on bail in May 2018 on the condition that he will have to appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning whenever he is summoned.
