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ED under the FEMA imposes over Rs 14 lakh penalty on Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani

OpIndia Staff
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ED under the FEMA imposes over Rs 14 lakh penalty on Kashmiri separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani

Hurriyat Conference leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani has been charged with a penalty of over Rs 14 lakh by the Enforcement Directorate under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) for illegally possessing foreign exchange of USD 10,000.


The ED has also ordered confiscation of the forex of USD 10,000 (nearly Rs 6.8 lakh based on existing exchange rates) that were seized in the year 2002 from his premises during an Income Tax raid at his residence in Srinagar’s Hyderpora area.

The case investigated by the ED under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) pertains to Geelani in illegal possession of foreign exchange.

The agency had issued a notice under various sections of FEMA to the 87-year-old separatist leader. Earlier, last year, the ED summoned Syed Ali Shah Geelani for adjudication proceedings related to the foreign exchange violation case.

The case was taken up by the ED on the basis of an Income Tax Department complaint against Geelani.

A similar proceeding against former Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik, who was recently booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) and transferred to a Jammu Kot Balwal jail, is also underway.

According to recent reports, the Enforcement Directorate, which is also probing charges of money laundering against the separatists based on an NIA FIR that alleged their activities were being funded by money from Pakistan-based terror groups, are likely to attach the properties of these Kashmir separatists.

The ED had identified properties belonging to accused such as Zahoor Watali and some others associated with Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. “These properties will be attached in due course,” an ED official had said.

In the aftermath of the Pulwama attack, the NIA tightened its noose on the Kashmiri separatists, following Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s media address in which, making obvious reference to these separatists he asserted that there are some elements which are in connivance with terrorist organisations and are involved in terror conspiracies. He had furthered that these links would be probed.

Following this the NIA on February 26, the day the Indian Air force conducted ariel airstrikes bombing Jaish terror camps in Pakistan, conducted raids in seven locations including residences of Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik, in Srinagar.

Apart from these, houses of Muhammad Ashraf Sehrai, Zafar Akbar Bhat, Naseem Geelani, son of the senior separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Masrat Alam, and Shabir Ahmed Shah were also raided.

These raids were in connection to the agency’s investigation in the alleged terror-funding case. A statement by NIA said that letterheads of different terrorist organisations, as well as documents relating to recommendations for a visa for admission in Pakistan educational institutions, were found during the raids.

In the massive crackdown, almost the entire leadership of Jamat-e-Islami and several other top separatist leaders had been detained. The security cover provided to separatists was withdrawn too.

‘Yeddyurappa diary’ a creation of Congress, to conceal Steel Flyover diary that listed Congress leaders: MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar

OpIndia Staff
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‘Yeddyurappa diary’ a creation of Congress, to conceal Steel Flyover diary that listed Congress leaders: MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Mounting an offensive against the BJP, the Congress party today convened a presser to attack the BJP and its senior leaders in a supposed ‘corruption case’ published in a report by the Caravan. The Caravan claimed that a diary with notes of Yeddyurappa having paid over Rs 1,800 crore to national BJP leaders such as Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, and Rajanath Singh as well a Chief Justice of India is in possession of the Tax department since 2017.


Citing the report that was published yesterday, the Congress spokesperson insinuated BJP’s top brass of being corrupt and beneficiaries of money to the tunes of Rs 1800 crores allegedly funneled by Yeddyurappa. Surjewala alleged that PM Modi didn’t order an investigation despite the diary being with the Tax department since 2017. He further demanded the case be referred to the newly constituted Lok Pal.

However, BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar had yesterday rubbished the Caravan’s story claiming that the ‘diary’ has been in the rounds since early 2018 and it is a creation of Rahul Gandhi’s aide DK Shivakumar to counter the Steel Flyover Diary, recovered from a Congress MLC in 2017, that bears entries of payoffs granted to senior Congress leaders.

Rajeev also slammed the journalist who published the story in the Caravan, claiming that whenever Rahul Gandhi and his aides are asked tough questions, a “friendly” journalist comes up with distracting lies and misleading stories to ward off threats away from the Gandhi family.


Rajeev has also alleged that DK Shivakumar has been involved in IT and money laundering cases and is being prosecuted for many things including destroying evidence. Rajeev had also reposted the petition filed by him to the Lokayukta about the Steel Flyover Diary confiscated from Congress MLC K Govindraj’s home which had notings of kickbacks being paid to SG, RG, AP, MV etc.

Hitesh Patel, accused in the Sterling Biotech case, detained in Albania, likely to be extradited soon

OpIndia Staff
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Hitesh Patel, accused in the Sterling Biotech case, detained in Albania, likely to be extradited soon

The Enforcement Directorate sources have reported that Hitesh Patel, one of the promoters of Sterling Biotech, has been detained in the European country of Albania. Patel, along with several others, is accused of loan fraud against a consortium of banks led by Andhra Bank to the tune of Rs 5500 crore.


A Red-Corner notice was issued against him on the 11th of March. He has been detained by Albania’s National Crime Bureau-Tirana. He is also expected to be extradited to India soon.

Hitesh Patel is the brother-in-law of Nitin Sandesara and Chetan Sandesara, the main accused in the case. All of the promoters had fled the country after the Sterling Biotech fraud exploded, to evade investigation.

In October last year, ED had filed a plea before a special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking to declare all accused, including Patel, as fugitives under Section 4 of the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.

ED in the charge sheet filed under PMLA had charged Sandesaras and others with money laundering and siphoning of bank loans. According to the complaint, the Sandesaras and others had hatched a criminal conspiracy to cheat banks and obtain a higher amount of loan. These loans were allegedly diverted for other purposes through a web of shell companies. Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s name has also surfaced in the case.

ED has so far confiscated assets worth Rs 4700 crores belonging to the Sterling Biotech group.

The agencies have been able to nab four people in the case, including a man named Rajiv Dhawan who was alleged to have sent Rs 25 lakhs to the house of Congress leader and Gandhi family loyalist Ahmed Patel’s home. An employee of Sandesara group, Sunil Yadav too had alleged the involvement of Patel, his son, Faisal Patel, and his son-in-law, Irfan Siddiqui in the same fraud. Other people arrested include Delhi businessman Ranjeet Malik, former director of Andhra Bank Anup Garg and director of Sterling Biotech RB Dixit.

Netizens share hilarious ‘diary entries’ to mock Congress’ latest shoddy allegations against BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Netizens share hilarious ‘diary entries’ to mock Congress’ latest shoddy allegations against BJP

In a bizarre allegation against the BJP, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala today shared a ‘diary’ alleging former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa made payouts to senior BJP leaders during his tenure Karnataka Chief Minister. Surjewala then held up a photocopy of a paper which had handwritten notes, allegedly written and signed by Yeddyurappa where he had mentioned amounts given to senior BJP leaders.

A note which Congress claims is written by BS Yeddyurappa

No sooner than the ‘note’ was published, trying to implicate BS Yeddyurappa, many Twitter users pointed out how the ‘evidence’ presented appears so absurd.


Soon, people started sharing their own versions of diary entries to mock Congress’ ‘diary’ allegations.


As it can be seen above, it is alleged that OpIndia CEO Rahul Roushan was paid Rs 25 crore by UnReal Times for reasons best known to them. Soon, armed with these allegations, wellwishers started tagging employees of OpIndia trying to instigate them to revolt against Roushan for not being paid a penny from the above Rs 25 crore.

However, as revealed by OpIndia employees, OpIndia CEO Rahul Roushan actually takes money from his employees to let them keep their jobs.


Soon, other such diary entries were also shared by twitterati.


Meanwhile, the BJP has called the diary fake and shared handwriting and signature of BS Yeddyurappa to show how it doesn’t match the one shared by Congress even by a far stretch of the imagination.

Arun Jaitley takes ‘Guru-Shishya’ jibe on Rahul Gandhi after his mentor Sam Pitroda’s remarks against Indian airstrikes

OpIndia Staff
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Arun Jaitley takes ‘Guru-Shishya’ jibe on Rahul Gandhi after his mentor Sam Pitroda’s remarks against Indian airstrikes

Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s mentor and senior Sam Pitroda today stirred a hornet’s nest by questioning the death toll of terrorists in Balakot airstrikes and calling it was ‘not right’ to attack Pakistan for an action committed by a few.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was at an event welcoming former cricketer Gautam Gambhir’s into the BJP. When asked about Pitroda’s remarks, Jaitley responded, “Jab guru aisa ho toh shishya kitna nikamma niklega ye desh ko aaj bhugatna pad raha hai.” Jaitley further added that no country in the world, including the countries part of OIC (Organisation of Islamic Countries), felt that the action we took against the Terror camps in Pakistan was wrong, only Pakistan had this view. Congress ideologues seem to have a similar stand as that of Pakistan, he said.


Pitroda had attempted to normalise the terror incidents by callously claiming that such attacks happen regularly. “It happened in Mumbai as well, we could have sent a plane to attack Pakistan, but that’s not the right approach,” he said in an apparent bid to defend Congress inaction following the attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008.


PM Modi too slammed Congress party for insulting India’s Armed Forces alleging that their courtiers have kick-started Pakistan National Day celebration on behalf of Congress. In a series of tweets posted by PM Modi, he blasted at the Congress party for being terror apologists and undermining the security forces of the country. He further asserted that people will not forgive such treacherous behaviour exhibited by Congress and its loyalists.

BJP’s aggressive candidate list for 2019 election like a blizzard on Congress led by Rahul Gandhi

Ashish Shukla
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BJP’s aggressive candidate list for 2019 election like a blizzard on Congress led by Rahul Gandhi

The first list of 184 candidates from 20 states, announces by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday is like a blizzard on the face of a whippet, in this case, the Congress party.

While silly noises have been ratcheted up in the Congress camp on the sidelining of BJP patriarch L.K. Advani from Gandhinagar, they are being hard put to explain their lack of respect for Manmohan Singh who wasn’t put up as a candidate in three successive Lok Sabha elections—2004, 2009 and 2014. Nobody is even asking why the former Prime Minister has pulled out of 2019 contest. That he still has been a Rajya Sabha member since 1991 is another story for another day.

Smriti Irani is being projected as someone who would have her third successive defeat in Amethi though the fact is it would keep Rahul Gandhi grounded in his own bastion where little development is reported, unlike Varanasi which is shinning under a single spell of Prime Minister Narendra Modi thus far. Rahul Gandhi would be hard put to explain his record not just in his constituency but also in the Parliament: No question in five years in Parliament; No private member bill; only 14 debates when the national average is 67; only 52 per cent of attendance when the national average is 80 per cent.

The massive first list of BJP itself shows the scrambled-eggheads of Congress in poor light for its first two lists only have 12 and 5 candidates thus far and strategic alliances are quickly slipping like sand out of their grasp.

The pliant Lutyens Media is doing a good job in putting a photo of Priyanka Gandhi every day in its editions as a matter of shahadah of a devout Muslim but the poor crowd and “Modi, Modi” chant in her public appearances is secret to no-one but to them.

This Lutyens media goes to town when Congress strikes a pact with National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir and strives hard to hide the dichotomy of the two parties being rivals in half of the seats in the state.

The crumbling façade of Congress is evident in Karnataka itself where it had struck an unholy alliance with bitter enemy JD (S) just to be in power—three of its MLA who defected to BJP in recent days have been given tickets.

Umesh Jadhav will take on Congress leader in Lok Sabha, Malikarjun Kharge from Gulbarga. A. Manju and Devendrappa have been rewarded with tickets from Hassan and Bellary.

The boldness of BJP is apparent in that it has 21 present Union and ministers of state in the list, alongside the candidature of its party president, Amit Shah from Gandhinagar in Gujarat. It’s a confident stride in seeking a mandate on not just Modi but the entire Modi government. Contrast this with not just the Congress but others who are in anti-Modi mode: Mayawati won’t contest the 2019 Elections (even though she says she won’t mind being Prime Minister); and so do K Chandrashekhar Rao from Telangana. Sharad Pawar has already pulled out of contesting 2019 polls.

BJP’s aggressiveness is also evident in that it is fielding candidates from every seat in West Bengal and Kerala, the two states where Mamata Banerjee and Pinaryi Vijayan and their goons of TMC and CPI(M) have indulged in politics of hate, vendetta and killings.

Jaish terrorist Sajjad Khan, aide of Pulwama terror attack mastermind arrested in Delhi

OpIndia Staff
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Jaish terrorist Sajjad Khan, aide of Pulwama terror attack mastermind arrested in Delhi

A terrorist of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) has been arrested in Delhi by the officers of the special cell of Delhi Police. As per reports, the JeM terrorist Sajjan Khan was arrested from the Red Fort area on Thursday night.

According to reports, Sajjad Khan was constantly in touch with Mudasir Ahmed Khan, who is believed to be the mastermind of the Pulwama terror attack. Mudasir was gunned down by security forces in an encounter in south Kashmir’s Tral area on March 11. Khan, who used to sell shawls in Delhi, was on the wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Sajjad Khan, who is the resident of Jammu and Kashmir, allegedly had the details of the Pulwama attack on the CRPF convoy. Reportedly, his two brothers were also Jaish terrorists, who were killed by the forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir. One of his brothers was killed in an encounter along with Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s nephew Usman in South Kashmir’s Tral in October 2018.

Suicide attacker Adil Ahmed Dar, who blew his explosive-laden vehicle next to a bus in a CRPF convoy on February 14, had been in constant contact with Mudasir. The investigation has revealed that Sajjad was communicating with Mudassir and Pakistani terrorist Yasir via an app using fake numbers. Mudassir Ahmed Khan arranged the vehicle and explosives used in the Pulwama terror strike.

Adil Ahmed Dar, a terrorist belonging to Pakistani Army backed Islamic terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad, had rammed an SUV laden with over 300 kg of explosives into the CRPF bus carrying about 40 personnel. The collision exploded the bus and the vehicle, causing the deaths of more than 40 CRPF soldiers.

Christchurch Mosque shooting: New Zealand women wear Hijab to show solidarity with Muslims, critics term it ‘cheap tokenism’

OpIndia Staff
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Christchurch Mosque shooting: New Zealand women wear Hijab to show solidarity with Muslims, critics term it ‘cheap tokenism’

As a mark of homage to the victims, women all over New Zealand on Friday wore Hijabs and scarfs along with some men who wore the scarf around their shoulders, to express their solidarity with Muslims a week after 50 people were killed at two mosques in the city of Christchurch, reported New Zealand Herald.

According to the reports, a doctor in Auckland, Thaya Ashman, came up with this idea to inspire people to wear a ‘Hijab’ after hearing about a woman who was too scared to go out as she felt her headscarf would make her a target for terrorism.

“I wanted to say, We are with you, we want you to feel at home on your own streets, we love, support and respect you,” Ashman said.

Last week, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden had also worn a black ‘Hijab‘ when meeting members of the Muslim community after the shootings. Interestingly, on Friday, Radio and TV stations across New Zealand has decided to broadcast the Muslim call to prayer. Meanwhile, journalists and TV anchors are wearing ‘Hijab’ or scarfs to express their solidarity with Muslims in the country.

However, a Muslim woman has written an opinion piece in Stuff.co.nz, calling the so-called solidarity movement as a “cheap tokenism”.”The attack in Christchurch was not just about Muslims, it was against any person of colour in a ‘white’ country so this focus on hijabs is derailing the examination of white supremacy, systematic racism, Orientalism and bigotry,” she said.

In a dastardly shooting attack, nearly 50 people were killed and several others were injured in two New Zealand mosques last week after a terrorist had opened fire. The mass shootings have taken place one at the Al Noor Mosque next to Hagley Park, and another at the Linwood Mosque in the suburb of Linwood.

Hijab or a headscarf is one of the most regressive and patriarchal symbolism in Islam, which depicts the sign of female oppression. Throughout the world, there has been a growing movement across the world, especially in Islamic nations against regressive practices of forcing women to wear ‘Hijab’.

Even some of the critics have pointed out that women in Iran, who are protesting again oppression, are discarding their headscarf indicating that ‘Hijab’ was an expression pointing towards negativity and regression. It is rather perplexing to understand why a progressive society like New Zealand chose a symbol of oppression and discrimination to mourn a shooting incident.

Latest News: Former Word Cup Winning cricketer Gautam Gambhir joins BJP

OpIndia Staff
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Latest News: Former Word Cup Winning cricketer Gautam Gambhir joins BJP

Cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who retired in December last year, has started his new innings by joining Bhartiya Janta Party today, in presence of Union Ministers Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. The former opener batsman cited PM Modi’s vision for the country as the reason for him joining the party.


Gautam Gambhir is a resident of Rajendra Nagar in Delhi and reports are speculating that he might contest Lok Sabha elections from New Delhi seat, currently held by BJP leader Meenakshi Lekhi. The New Delhi seat has been considered a bastion for the BJP, making it first choice of all leader contesting from Delhi. Gambhir, however, has stated that he has a young family and needs to spend time with them.

BJP is yet to declare the name of candidates for the seven Lok Sabha seats and is reported to announce it soon as its rival Aam Aadmi Party has already done so.

Gautam Gambhir was conferred with the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri, earlier this month. Gambhir had debuted in April 2003 as a cricket player and played for team India for 15 years. During tenure he played, 58 test-matches scoring 9 centuries and 147 ODIs scoring 11 centuries.

Gautam Gambhir has been vocal about national security and armed forces and on issues like Kashmir. In 2017, Gautam Gambhir had pledged to bear all the educational expenses of the children of the 25 CRPF jawans who were martyred in Sukma on 24th April.

Gambhir is popular on Twitter and is often in the news for his support of the Indian armed forces. He has over 9 million followers on Twitter.

Here are the opposition members who have asked for proof of Balakot airstrikes

OpIndia Staff
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Here are the opposition members who have asked for proof of Balakot airstrikes

Sam Pitroda, one of the accused in the National Herald ‘cheating and breach of trust’ scam and one of the most trusted aides of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, today came out to back Pakistan to demand proofs of the Balakot airstrikes carried out by the Indian Air Force on Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camps in Pakistan.

The Indian Overseas Congress chief, adding insult to injury, said that he would like to know a little more about the Balakot airstrikes since he has read in New York Times and other newspapers ‘what did we really attack’.

He questions, did we really kill 300 people? “I don’t know that. As a citizen, I am entitled to know. And if I ask, it is my duty to ask. That does not mean I am not nationalist. That does not mean I am on this side or that side. We need to know the facts. If you say 300 people were killed, I need to know that. We all need to know that. People of India need to know that. And then the global media says that nobody was killed. I look bad as an Indian citizen,” he said.

Over and above the fact that Congress leader is again toeing the line of Pakistan, Pitroda is giving credibility to New York Times article, which had not only downplayed Pulwama terror attack by referring to it as ‘explosion’ but also peddled half-truths and whole lies to perpetuate its anti-India narrative.

Unfortunately, Pitroda is not the only Congress leader to cite pro-Pakistan foreign media to make a point. Referring to the terror attack as an ‘accident’, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had said that reports in various foreign media regarding the “air strike” have created a doubt in our minds. This has made us question the credibility of the Indian government as well, he added. Kapil Sibal and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath were also seen taking a similar stand.

With these statements, however, Pitroda joins a lost list of Opposition leader who have questioned the Balakot airstrikes as well as floated conspiracy theories regarding the Pulwama terror attack itself.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi himself was caught on camera dancing just hours after the Pulwama attack. Congress then deleted the video after it was pointed out.

Congress leader B K Hariprasad, a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, had stirred a controversy by mocking the Pulwama terrorist attack which claimed the lives more than 40 CRPF personnel. Hariprasad called the terrorist attack a ‘fixed-match’ between PM Modi and Pakistan.

Similarly, Goa Congress leader Chellakumar had alleged that the Pulwama attack was orchestrated by PM Modi and went on to ask where were the bodies of terrorists who were killed in the airstrikes. Kumar had also floated a conspiracy theory that the Pulwama terror attack, the responsibility of which was claimed by Pakistan based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad, was an inside job.

Just after the cowardly attack by a Kashmiri terrorist belonging to the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad claimed 40 lives of our CRPF soldiers, the Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had rubbed salt on their wounds by alleging that the terrorist was a ‘Home-grown so-called terrorist’.

Following Pitroda’s shameful comment, Prime Minister Modi came down heavily on him and said that the Indian citizens will not forgive Congress leaders’ pro-Pakistan stand.

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