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Cyclonic storm Vayu is to intensify further, likely to hit Gujarat coast by Thursday

OpIndia Staff
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Cyclonic storm Vayu is to intensify further, likely to hit Gujarat coast by Thursday

Cyclonic storm Vayu is expected to hit the coast of Gujarat by Thursday. This morning at 8 am, India Meteorological Department announced that a deep depression over the Arabian Sea over the past two days has intensified into a cyclonic storm. Cyclone Vayu is expected to intensify further.


The cyclone would have a mild impact on Lakshadweep area, Kerala, Karnataka and south Maharashtra coasts. IMD has said that Cyclone Vayu is expected to hit the coast of Gujarat between Porbandar and Veraval on June 13 early morning with a wind speed of 110-120 Kmph gusting to 135 Kmph.

The Gujarat government has deployed 15 NDRF teams in the coastal regions of Saurashtra and Kutch. The Army, the Navy, and the Coast Guard are also put on alert. Schools and colleges would be shut on June 13.

“All NDRF teams are fully equipped with various types of cutting, flood rescue equipment, V-SAT & Satellite communication equipment for rescue and relief operations,” the NDRF said in a statement.

Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, chaired a high-level meeting today to review the preparedness of all agencies involved in mitigating the incoming cyclonic storm.


In the meeting, all senior officers were directed to ensure the safe evacuation of people and a 24X7 functioning of control rooms. They were also directed to ensure regular maintenance of all essential services such as power, telecommunications, health, drinking water etc and speedy repairs when required.

Last month the extremely severe Cyclone Fani had hit the state of Odisha. The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (ODRR) has praised India for achieving a minimal loss of life from Cyclone Fani.

The Judiciary and its inconsistencies when it comes to the principles of Freedom of Expression

K Bhattacharjee
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The Judiciary and its inconsistencies when it comes to the principles of Freedom of Expression

The Judiciary’s inconsistency in matters of contentious issues has been an intensely debated topic in recent times. The Supreme Court’s judgments and comments in matters of free speech certainly highlight the urgent necessity for some major introspection.

Article 14 of the Indian Constitution declares that every citizen of the country shall be treated equally before the Law. However, often, the judgements of the courts in matters concerning Article 14 display glaring inconsistencies.

The latest instance which has sparked the debate is the case of Prashant Kanojia who was arrested for objectionable social media posts on Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath. In the case of Kanojia, whose release was ordered today, Justice Banerjee of the Supreme Court waxed eloquence on the virtues of personal liberty. She said, “Liberty is a guaranteed by the Constitution and the fundamental rights are sacrosanct and non-negotiable.”

Contrast this to the opinions of the same Justice in the matter of BJP Karyakarta Priyanka Sharma’s arrest by the West Bengal Police for sharing a meme that was a caricature of Mamata Banerjee. The esteemed Justice Banerjee had then opined that although Freedom of Expression was non-negotiable, it cannot infringe upon another person’s rights.

Moreover, the Supreme Court insisted that Sharma apologize to Mamata Banerjee for sharing the meme. Initially, it had even said that she could be granted bail only after she made an apology. The apology was later waived off as a necessary condition for bail. However, the point still stands, it appears Sharma and Kanojia have been treated quite differently.

It’s not the only instance where the Supreme Court’s inconsistent stand on Freedom of Expression was on display in all its glory. When defence analyst Abhijit Iyer was arrested for hurting religious sentiments of Hindus by the Odisha government, the Court had denied him bail and said that the safest place for him to be was in jail.

Such inconsistencies by the highest Court of the country reflect extremely poorly on the esteemed institutions of the country.

Justice Chandrachud had once famously said, “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy.” The remark was made in connection with the ‘Urban Naxals’ case, something which had absolutely nothing to do with freedom of expression at all.

The inconsistencies are not restricted to matters of Free Speech alone. In the Sabarimala Temple verdict, the popular opinion was that the Supreme Court seemed overeager to trample upon the traditions of the Hindu faith. However, when it comes to Islamic practices, the same Court’s commitment appears to quiver.

In the matter of Diwali as well, firecrackers were banned last year by the Supreme Court allegedly, without taking into consideration the cultural significance and the livelihood that could be affected by its verdict. In March this year, however, the same Court asked why were people seeking a ban on firecrackers when automobiles appeared to cause more pollution. Experts believe that the Court banned firecrackers without any comparative study on their effects on pollution.

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of these seeming inconsistencies is that people are of the opinion that faith in our great Judiciary seems to be waning, and there can be no greater tragedy in a vibrant democracy like India.

Congress leadership does not consult us, they are responsible for election loss, says party leader from UP

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leadership does not consult us, they are responsible for election loss, says party leader from UP

The internal rift in the Congress Party that became visible after the party lost miserably in the recent Lok Sabha elections seems to be widening. Recently some Congress leaders were seen arguing and pushing one another publically in Delhi. The Congress leaders who had arrived there to attend a review meeting on election results on UP broke into an argument after the meeting. A Congress leader called the spat their internal matter.


Talking to ANI, Congress leader K K Sharma said that he had to wait for hours to take part in the review meeting. He said that he had been waiting for the meeting from 10 a.m. but the meeting took place at 3 p.m.


Sharma held the higher leadership of the party responsible for the election results alleging that the decisions are taken by the higher leadership without consulting other members. He said that he had informed Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia that he wanted to discuss over several issues regarding senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

It is notable here that Jyotiraditya Scindia and Priyanka gandhi were appointed the general secretaries for Uttar Pradesh before the Lok Sabha elections. Congress has faced a brutal routing in Uttar Pradesh. 63 of the 67 candidates fielded by Congress had lost their security deposits. Sonia Gandhi was the only Congress candidiate who won.

Congress Party is experiencing similar conflicts in its organisation in the States of Rajasthan and Karnataka too.

Congress leader Hardik Patel claims China has abducted the crashed AN-32 plane, urges PM Modi to do surgical strike to bring back the soldiers

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Hardik Patel claims China has abducted the crashed AN-32 plane, urges PM Modi to do surgical strike to bring back the soldiers

A team of Indian Air Force (IAF) have come across the wreckage of the IAF jet AN-32 today that went off the radar on June 3, while there still isn’t any confirmation of the 13 personnel who were travelling from Assam’s Jorhat Mechuka Advanced Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh when it went missing around 12:25 pm, half an hour after it took off.

Though the IAF confirmed that debris of the jet has been spotted 16 kilometres north of Lipo in Arunachal Pradesh, Congress leader Hardik Patel, who seems to be on his own trip, claimed that China had seized the Indian jet and its passengers.

In a tweet, the convicted felon and the Congress leader, Hardik Patel claims that the AN-32 and the 13 personnel travelling in the plane are with China. Condemning China suggesting that they have abducted the plane, Hardik urged them to return our jet and passengers. He has also asked PM Narendra Modi to conduct a surgical strike on China and get back our officers.


What is amusing here is that Hardik in his urgency to take a dig at Modi forgets that he was demanding a surgical strike for technically an ‘accident’. Moreover, it is interesting to note here, that if one goes by the Congress leader’s Tweet, Arunachal Pradesh which is very much an integral part of India suddenly becomes a part of China.

Not coming as a surprise though, the Congress leader here spoke much in the lines of China, who have claimed the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of China and has depicted it on its official maps as a part of south Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). They regularly refuse visa to residents of Arunachal travelling to China, saying they do not require visa to visit their own country.

Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, the IAF informed, “The wreckage of the missing #An32 was spotted today 16 Kms North of Lipo, North East of Tato at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft by the #IAF Mi-17 Helicopter undertaking search in the expanded search zone.” The force added that “efforts are now continuing to establish the status of occupants & establish survivors”.


Recently, Hardik Patel was dealt with a severe blow in his political aspirations when the controversial Patidar leader was barred under the Representation of People Act, 1951, from contesting the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections.

He had led the Patidar agitation in Gujarat in 2015 bringing the State to a standstill to demand reservation for Patidars. Around 9 people had lost their lives in the ensuing violence and the Army had to be deployed to take control of the situation.

Last year in the month of July, a Sessions Court in Visnagar had found Patel guilty of causing a riot in Mehasana and sentenced him to 2 years in prison. He was convicted of offences of arson and creating ruckus at the office of BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel. Out of 17 accused, only three were found guilty by the court including Hardik Patel. Apart from the jail term, they were also fined Rs 50,000 each. But the court had granted them bail against bonds of Rs 15,000.

Other than the riot case where he has been convicted, Hardik Patel is also facing a sedition case in Gujarat which carries the maximum punishment of life imprisonment. The case was filed after he had called for ‘killing cops’ in 2015. A case of insulting the national flag was also levelled against him, which was later withdrawn.

Kolkata: Mob violently attacks doctors at NRS Hospital after Mohammed Sayeed’s death, police mute spectators, allege students

K Bhattacharjee
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Kolkata: Mob violently attacks doctors at NRS Hospital after Mohammed Sayeed’s death, police mute spectators, allege students

NRS Medical College and Hospital was attacked by a violent mob on Monday night following the death of an old patient. Mohammed Sayeed, a resident of Tangra in Kolkata, was brought to the hospital in a critical condition on Sunday night. Although he was admitted to the Emergency immediately, family members claim that no proper care was given. The deceased is a local imam, claim sources.

While reports claim that the deceased was 75 years old, people from the fraternity claim that he was actually close to 85. The Hospital turned into a battleground after family members assaulted junior doctors at the institution. The Police, when it arrived eventually, had to resort to Lathicharge to bring the situation under control. Doctors at the institution have now shut down its gates demanding protection, the Police said on Tuesday.

The situation of at least two of the injured junior doctors is said to be critical. Social Media is flooded with images of the injured interns. Images of one of the injured intern’s volume rendering CT are doing the rounds of the internet which show a horrible wound on his skull.

The story is even more distressing than it sounds. Allegedly, rioters came in two lorries to attack the doctors at the institution. The Police has been accused of being mute spectators while the mob was thrashing the doctors. There were nearly 200 rioters who descended on the campus to assault the doctors.

Images are also circulating about alleged calls that were made for violence and incitement on social media. The individual whose posts are being circulated appears to be a radical Muslim fundamentalist.

A student at the institution OpIndia.com spoke to said, “The Kolkata Police were standing as mere eyewitnesses while the mob was beating us. My friends were thrashed while they lay on the ground. The Police were watching all of this. They pelted stones and bricks at us, and need I even mention punches and kicks? They came in trucks to attack us.”

Meanwhile, Health Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya says that 4 people have been arrested in connection with the incident. An investigation is also required into the conduct of the Police and if allegations against them is found true, then punishment is necessary for them as well.

Meanwhile, the students at the institution are protesting against the violence and have shut down services. It appears to be spreading to other institutions as well. There have been previous instances of violence following the death of a patient in Kolkata. Students in other hospitals are also shutting down services in protest and solidarity with the victims of the mob violence at NRS Hospital.

The violence at NRS hospital marks the continuous degradation of the law and order situation in Bengal under Mamata Banerjee. While students are demanding security for themselves, the Chief Minister of Bengal is busy unveiling Vidyasagar’s Bust at College Street.

Adnan Sami’s Twitter account hacked by pro-Pakistan Turkish hackers

OpIndia Staff
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Adnan Sami’s Twitter account hacked by pro-Pakistan Turkish hackers

Hours after Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan‘s Twitter account was hacked by pro-Pakistan Turkish hackers, the same group hacked into singer Adnan Sami’s Twitter account and posted pro-Pakistan tweets and messages.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

The hacker first changed Adnan’s Twitter handle to @AdnanSamiLiveTR (from @AdnanSamiLive) so that the verified badge gets removed. The hacker then tweeted that whoever betrays the ‘brother’ country Pakistan will see Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s photo as profile picture.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

They then claimed they’d be happy to visit the brother country Pakistan and have a cup of tea with Imran Khan whom they refer to as ‘esteemed Prime Minister’.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

The Turkish hacker group claimed responsibility of the hacking.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

The hacker then posted a screenshot of a conversation between two people on Instagram where the hacker (presumably) extended support for any kind of help.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

The hackers then condemned ‘behaviors of Iceland republic towards Turkish footballers’.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

This was followed by a screenshot of their Instagram account with an appeal to follow them on Instagram.

Tweets by Adnan Sami’s compromised account

That was followed by a tweet mocking Adnan Sami.

Turkish hackers posting Salman Khan songs

And toward the end, for some strange reason they posted a Salman Khan song ‘chunri chunri’ where a bunch of television actors are dancing on the tunes. This song was not even sung by Adnan Sami (it was sung by Abhijeet Bhattacharya).

At the time of this report, Sami’s account has not yet been restored.

CPI-M refuses to learn lessons after political annihilation, shifts blame to NDA, just like 2014, after ‘analysing’ 2019 electoral loss

OpIndia Staff
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CPI-M refuses to learn lessons after political annihilation, shifts blame to NDA, just like 2014, after ‘analysing’ 2019 electoral loss

After the humiliating loss which almost wiped off the Communists in the national political scene, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has come up with their analysis for their debacle.

According to Indian Express report, the central committee has gone back to their 2014 conclusions of shifting the blame to others by claiming that the left parties lost more ground to last five years due to NDA’s money power, which according to them swung the elections in the favour of the latter.

Reportedly, Prakash Karat, the then party general secretary had spoken of the alleged role of the NDA’s “money power’’ in swinging the elections in 2014 as well. Sitaram Yechury, the current general secretary of the CPI-M has also spoken of the systemic erosion of Left supporters and blamed the “violence unleashed by the Trinamool Congress’’ for its losses in West Bengal. Even in 2014, Karat had pushed the blame claiming “communal polarisation” of the electorate led to the NDA’s victory. Interestingly, five years later after the severe losses in 2019, Yechury has fallen back to the same alibi.

Yechury on Monday said the CPM’s first order of the day is to “get in touch with all our cadres’’ and bring them back into the fold. In 2014, Karat had said the party had decided to “examine why there has been an alienation of sections of the people from the Party’’.

Speaking to the media, Yechury confirmed that it was true that despite huge numbers turning up to their movements and marches, they were not translated electorally. He further added that they will be analysing the issue over the next two months.

Yechury further blamed the “big corporate money – both Indian as well as international’’ for funding the campaign of the NDA. He claimed that in the elections in West Bengal and Tripura were held under the fear of “terror and violence’’.

“This along with the use of institutions such as the EC, CBI, RBI and ED has aided the NDA victory,” said Yechury. “We are disappointed but we are far from being disarmed. The only way to counter a right-wing political offensive is with a Left-wing political offensive, which the CPI(M) will do now,’’ he said.

The CPM general secretary added that his party was in the process of devising a new political strategy. “We have only done a preliminary review so far as we are yet to receive more detailed booth reports from the states,” he added.

Yechury also indicated that the opposition alliance or mahagathbandan narrative of “saving India” from communal forces and protecting the country’s Constitution and institutions had gained little traction on the ground.

Yechury also took a dig at the Congress, stating that, “The opposition parties, the Congress, in particular, failed to put in place the unity of secular opposition parties that were being projected in the run-up to the elections. A campaign to safeguard secularism as against the communal offensive was not conducted. Soft Hindutva is not the answer for hardcore Hindutva. The ideological battle between Hindutva and secularism was not forcefully conducted. The voters in Kerala felt that Congress will be in a better position for the formation of an alternative secular government.”

The Communist Party of India-Marxist further added that the Congress did not co-operate with the left front on seat sharing in West Bengal, which led to the rise of the BJP in the state.

“In West Bengal, elections were held in a highly polarized atmosphere. There was a high anti-incumbency against the TMC. The CPI(M) and the Left Front were not seen as the alternative and this led to a shift in a section of our traditional votes. The Congress’s refusal to accept the Left’s proposal for maximizing the pooling of anti-BJP, anti-TMC votes bolstered this binary narrative,’’ said Yechury.

Wreckage of the missing IAF AN-32 found in Arunachal, no clarity yet on 13 persons on board

OpIndia Staff
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Wreckage of the missing IAF AN-32 found in Arunachal, no clarity yet on 13 persons on board

The Indian Air Force has confirmed that the wreckage of the missing AN32 aircraft which was carrying 13 members on board has been found 16 Kms North of Lipo and North East of Tato, in a remote area in Arunachal Pradesh.

As per local sources, the wreckage is found in Gate village in Payum area of West Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh. It was spotted by the IAF Mi-17 helicopter, 16Km North of Lipo, at an approximate elevation of 12000 ft. The IAF has stated that efforts are on to estabilish the status of any possible survivors.


The IAF has found the debris of the AN-32 aircraft after 8 days of search. The aircraft had gone missing on June 3 after it got airborne from Jorhat in Assam at around 1225 hrs for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh. It was reportedly carrying 13 people on board.

However, the IAF has so far not mentioned about the fate of the 13 people on board. The IAF carried out intense search operations since the aircraft had gone missing. After 8 excruciating days of search operations, the wreckage of the aircraft has finally been spotted.

The families of the 13 missing personnel have been stationed in Assam in anticipation of any news about the jet or its passengers. The IAF is now continuing its efforts to establish the status of occupants and ascertain survivors.

As per ANI’s report, the location where the parts of the AN-32 aircraft have been spotted is approximately 15-20 KMs north of the flight path to Arunachal Pradesh.


While the ground operations continued, the aerial search operations were stalled for 2 days this week due to inclement weather conditions. The Air Force had on Saturday announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh to anyone providing with the whereabouts of the missing AN-32 aircraft.

Was Editors Guild more upset about arrest of Prashant Kanojia than murder of DD cameraman?

Abhishek Banerjee
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Was Editors Guild more upset about arrest of Prashant Kanojia than murder of DD cameraman?

Freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar of democracy. It’s a non-negotiable. Whether it is a BJP worker arrest in West Bengal or a liberal “journalist” arrested in Uttar Pradesh, speech should never be prosecuted, criminally or otherwise (with obvious exceptions for credible threats of violence).

Period.

That said, the intensity of people’s reaction generally varies depending on the magnitude of what has gone wrong. For example, a murder on the road in broad daylight might get people all riled up. Someone crossing the same road without waiting for the signal, while also wrong, would probably not cause as much of a reaction.

Let me share with you, therefore, the statement made by the Editor’s Guild of India about the arrest of journalist Prashant Kanojia in Uttar Pradesh.

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“Authoritarian misuse of laws”

“Brazen misuse of law”

“Condemnable misuse of law”

The Editor’s Guild insisted on making its point known by repeating essentially the same expression three times!

An unequivocal, no holds barred, stinging statement spanning four full paragraphs and 291 words. All governments in power need to read this.

Now let me show you the statement issued by the same set of people at the Editor’s Guild when a Doordarshan cameraman was murdered by leftists in Chhattisgarh last year.

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Wow, that is heartfelt!

One measly paragraph. That’s not a lot of paragraphs.

And 93 words. That’s less than one-third of the 291 words that the statement in support of Prashant Kanojia got.

Notice how the victim who was murdered by leftists is only referred to as “cameraperson of Doordarshan”. If this unfortunate victim had a name, the Editors Guild certainly could not be bothered enough to find out what it was. In contrast, Kanojia’s name is mentioned multiple times in the June 9 statement.

And notice how the second statement does not contain the word “condemn” anywhere. Apparently, the Editors’ Guild did not find that necessary. However, the statement on Kanojia did call the police action a “condemnable misuse of law”.

And when you read the one paragraph statement about the murdered DD cameraman, it becomes even more clear just how little thought they put into it.

The Editors Guild offered “condolences to the deceased”. What does that even mean? The condolence usually goes to the family and friends of the deceased and not the deceased themselves!!! It’s the sort of embarrassing grammar mistake that happens when someone is writing a half-hearted statement, without thinking. And doesn’t care enough about the whole thing to spend 30 seconds proofreading what has been written.

You tell me: what do you think the Editors Guild cares about more? A DD cameraman getting murdered by Naxals. Or a “journalist” arrested in UP over a tweet?

In order to have a thriving democracy, it is important that respected institutions such as the Editors Guild be always seen as fair and even-handed. And I would suggest that the Editors Guild learns from the most respectable of our institutions: the Hon. Supreme Court.

Here is the view of the Hon. Supreme Court in the case of BJP worker Priyanka Sharma arrested over a Facebook post.

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And now here is the Hon. SC deciding on the case of Prashant Kanojia arrested over a tweet.

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And here is Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which promises Equality before the law.

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Many thanks to the Hon. SC for clarifying the meaning of Article 14. While apologies might be required for Facebook posts, it seems they are not required for Twitter posts. Get it?

Everyone, including the Editors Guild, can learn something here.

I-T Department files four charge sheets against VVIP Chopper Scam co-accused Gautam Khaitan

OpIndia Staff
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I-T Department files four charge sheets against VVIP Chopper Scam co-accused Gautam Khaitan

Four fresh charge sheets have been filed by the Income Tax Department against lawyer Gautam Khaitan on the charges of tax evasion and possession of undisclosed bank accounts in Singapore. The charge sheets were filed on the basis of fresh evidence that he was maintaining three bank accounts in Singapore in his own name. Khaitan is alleged not to have disclosed to the tax authorities about the ownership of these bank accounts and about the substantial credit entries in these accounts.

The four supplementary charge sheets were reportedly filed against Khaitan before a Special Court last week for offences under sections 276C(1) (Wilful attempt to evade tax) and 227 (Giving false statement on an oath) of the Income Tax Act. Last year and the year before, the I-T Department had filed at least nine charge sheets against Khaitan for possessing undisclosed foreign assets and non-disclosure of all assets and income before the tax authorities. This brings the total number of charge sheets filed against him so far to 13.

Five complaints were filed against Khaitan and his wife last year under the Anti-Black Money law for the possession of undisclosed assets abroad. In 2017, four charge sheets were filed against him for allegedly maintaining four bank accounts in Singapore in the name of British Virgin Islands-based shell companies and his own name.

According to Enforcement Directorate (ED), Khaitan has been a beneficiary of Rs 850 crore generated out of defence deals. He is alleged to have been involved in several defence deals during the tenure of the UPA.

Gautam Khaitan has been accused of allegedly receiving kickbacks in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper purchase deal. The I-T department confirms that they have various details and proof that Khaitan was allegedly involved in several other defence deals during the UPA tenure and he may have received kickbacks in those deals also. The I-T Department had raided 20 locations related to Khaitan for his involvement in defence deals in the month of January this year. He was arrested in the same month by the ED.

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