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AgustaWestland middlemen, Christian Michel to be extradited to India tonight: Republic TV

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AgustaWestland middlemen, Christian Michel to be extradited to India tonight: Republic TV

Middlemen Christian Michel of the AgustaWestland scam will be extradited to India from Dubai tonight, Republic has reported.


As we reported earlier, the Dubai government had cleared the decks for the extradition of the alleged middlemen in the AgustaWestland VVIP Chopper scam to India. Indian authorities were reported to be in Dubai already completing legal formalities. After his arrival in India, Michel will be formally arrested and produced at Patiala Court for custodial interrogation.

Last month, the highest Court in Dubai, upholding the appellate court’s decision to extradite Michel, had granted approval to India’s request for his extradition.

Michel is accused of money laundering, bribery, and fraud in connection with the Rs 3,600-crore worth scam. It is believed that not only did he pay kickbacks to politicians, officers and agents but certain celebrity journalists were also involved.

The complete details of the scam can be read here.

Kumar Ketkar’s rant: ‘Global conspiracy’ that murdered Mujibur Rahman, Indira Gandhi, Bhutto wants Modi to stay in power

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Kumar Ketkar’s rant: ‘Global conspiracy’ that murdered Mujibur Rahman, Indira Gandhi, Bhutto wants Modi to stay in power

Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, Kumar Ketkar was invited in an event in Pune marking the birthday celebrations of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Former ministers Balasaheb Thorat, former MP Rajni Patil, former MLA Mohan Joshi and other Congress leaders were also present in the event.

Speaking at the event, Ketkar enlightened the audience by revealing that Modi’s ascendancy to power is a part of a “wider global conspiracy”. He claimed that if Narendra Modi comes to power again in 2019, then India might shun its democratic roots and elections may not happen in 2024.

In fact, Ketkar even raised doubts on the occurrence of 2019 elections. “If a united opposition defeats Modi, he will be uncomfortable in transferring the power. If Modi is defeated in the elections, he will not follow the democratic process of relinquishing his position,” Ketkar said.

Strengthening his conspiracy theory, Ketkar expressed deep shock over the selection of Narendra Modi as the PM candidate by the BJP in 2014. He claimed that the selection of then CM Narendra Modi for PM candidature was rigged as Nitin Gadkari left the BJP chairmanship for Rajnath Singh, who in turn chose Modi’s candidature for PM post.

“There was a lot of pressure on Rajnath Singh to appoint Modi as BJP’s PM candidate”, said Ketkar. According to Ketkar, not the voters but the global powers were calling the shots in 2014 elections.

Citing CBI imbroglio, Rafale controversy, Haren Pandya murder case, Justice Loya dies, and Gujarat 2002 riots Ketkar said, “Modi and Amit Shah have very serious allegations against them. If the facts are revealed after the change of power, they can be punished with life imprisonment.”

If this was not enough, Kumar Ketkar even conjoined disparate tragic incidents in the past such as Bangladesh’s army chief Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s murder, Indira Gandhi’s assassination and former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Bhutto’s death in 1979 to a “global conspiracy” which also wants Modi to remain in power in India.

Without producing any evidence to back his claim, he alleged that such widespread global shenanigans have been happening in the world since the last 30-35 years.

Kumar Ketkar’s statements might seem like the ramblings of a deranged man, and one might be tempted to laugh his shenanigans off, but behind these statements what is apparent is the deep fear of not only PM Modi coming back to power, but more so, Congress losing power.

The Lutyen’s circuit has been thriving on the patronage of the Congress dynasty and now, the prospect of that circuit being dismantled forever isn’t being accepted very well by the usual suspects who were long touted as “independent journalists”.

Operation Trident: When Karachi burned for seven days, historical victory of Indian navy over Pakistan

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Operation Trident: When Karachi burned for seven days, historical victory of Indian navy over Pakistan

As India celebrates its 47th Navy Day today with the fascinating annual Beating Retreat and Tattoo ceremonies at the Gateway of India, we commemorate a remarkable victory in the history of Military of Independent India.

Navy Day is celebrated to mark the success of the audacious naval operation, known as Operation Trident, carried out by the Indian Navy during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The operation was carried out on the night of Dec 4 by inflicting a ravaging attack on the Karachi port where the headquarters of the Pakistani Navy was located. Just the night before, Pakistan had attacked six Indian airfields.

It was planned that India would launch the attack at night as the Pakistani air crafts lacked night bombing capabilities. The strike team positioned itself at 250 nautical miles south of Karachi to avoid the range of Pakistani radar. The ship crews communicated in Russian, making it difficult for the Pakistani vessels to intercept the transmissions between the attacking vessels.

At around 10:40 pm, INS Nirghat attacked the Pakistani ship PNS Khaibar with its first Styx missile. A baffled Pakistani Navy assumed it to be an aircraft fire and responded with their anti-aircraft guns. PNS Khaibar transmitted the wrong position of their ship which delayed the help from their rescue teams and gave more time to the Indian strike team to attack. The vessel finally sank after another blow from the Indian side. None on the ship survived.

Two other vessels of the Pakistani Navy, PNS Muhafiz and PNS Shah Jahan were also destroyed by the Indian Navy. India suffered zero casualties during Operation Trident while inflicting gravest injuries on Pakistan. With INS Nipat, INS Nirghat, INS Veer, two submarines and a tanker, Indian Navy sank two Pakistani warships while damaging a third one. Operation Trident saw the first use of anti-ship missiles in combat in the region.

After the remarkable success of Operation Trident, Indian Navy launched another attack on the Pakistani Navy on December 8. This operation was called “Operation Python“. This time two Pakistani fleet tankers sank. The Indian Air Force then attacked the fuel and ammunition depots of Karachi. ‘Karachi burned for seven days,’ in the words of Admiral  SM Nanda. The attack proved lethal for Pakistan’s economy as it reportedly destroyed more than 50% of the total fuel requirement of the Karachi zone. The loss of fuel which was estimated to be worth $ 3 billion also affected the Air Force of Pakistan.

Madhya Pradesh: Vehicle with Congress sticker slams into EVM strong room, riders demand immediate counting

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Madhya Pradesh: Vehicle with Congress sticker slams into EVM strong room, riders demand immediate counting

A black Scorpio car rammed into the boundary wall of a strong room in Satna district in Madhya Pradesh past midnight on Sunday, giving a fresh twist to the recent EVM security row.

Talking about the incident, Kotwali police station in-charge Vidyadhar Pandey said that the vehicle with six occupants rammed into the boundary wall of the strongroom where the EVM was kept. While two persons, identified as Pramod Yadav and Rudra Kushwaha, were immediately arrested while the other four, namely Shailesh Kushwaha, Sanu Kushwaha, Satyavrat Singh and one other, managed to flee from the spot. The vehicle bearing registration number MP 19 CB 0505 was, however, impounded.

As reported by Dainik Bhaskar, the vehicle seized had Congress stickers stuck on it. The youths who were arrested demanded immediate counting of votes. A portion of the wall was damaged due to the collision.

Earlier too, a portion of the boundary wall of the same strong room was found damaged on November 30.

According to the reports, all the accused were intoxicated and during the police interrogation, they confessed that they wanted to check the EVM strongroom. The police have registered a case for trespassing, violating the model code of conduct and other relevant sections were registered against the accused after the report of the returning officer and SDM Satna CS Tripathi.

This incident gave a chance to the Congress, who have been obsessing over the ‘EVM hacked theory’, to immediately encash the situation and launch a protest. Recently a Congress worker died after being exposed to cold in neighbouring Chhattisgarh because he was outdoors all night ‘guarding’ the strong rooms.

This was the second mishap with EVM strong rooms in Madhya Pradesh. On November 30, the CCTV cameras and LED screens at a strong room in Bhopal had stopped working for around an hour due to power failure. After that incident, the EC had arranged for power backups at the strong room.

India-Canada relations at a standstill, no ministerial level talks after Trudeau’s controversial visit

OpIndia Staff
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India-Canada relations at a standstill, no ministerial level talks after Trudeau’s controversial visit

India-Canada relations are at a standstill, with no ministerial level engagements happening for almost 9 months. According to a Hindustan Times report, there have been virtually no ministerial-level bilateral visits since PM Trudeau’s week-long visit to India in February this year.

The last visit of Trudeau to India was embroiled in controversies and had received a lukewarm response from the government. The scepticism of the Indian government reportedly was because of alleged bonhomie between the Canadian government and Khalistani elements. During PM Trudeau’s visit, things turned markedly worse for India-Canada relations, when the news broke that Trudeau’s entourage to India included Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal. Jaspal was convicted for trying to assassinate former Punjab minister Malkiat Singh Sindhu in 1986.

Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu was expected to visit Canada in September, but the visit was reportedly called off. Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari also had a scheduled visit, as per the HT report, but it got cancelled too.

MoS for External Affairs General VK Singh was supposed to attend the Halifax International Security Forum scheduled in November. He was going to attend in lieu of Minister of State for External Affairs MJ Akbar, who had to resign over charges of sexual harassment. But even that was cancelled.

Several attempts to schedule a bilateral meeting between External Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Canadian counterpart have reportedly yielded no results.

A visit by Canada’s minister of environment Catherine McKenna to India has also been cancelled. Though Canada’s parliamentary secretary for International Development Kamal Khera is scheduled to be in India in the coming days.

Trudeau’s visit to India was marred with numerous controversies. Trudeau was not extended a lavish ceremonial welcome like other prominent nation-heads. His initial reluctance to meet Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh had also caused a major stir in the diplomatic circles. After objection by Indian authorities over Jaspal Atwal’s presence in an event with the Canadian PM, Canadian authorities had to apologise for the ‘oversight’.

India’s strong objection to Trudeau’s soft stand over pro-Khalistani elements had eventually made Trudeau make some efforts to correct course and finally, he had, in his joint statement with India, named pro-Khalistani groups like Babbar Khalsa and ISYF along with global terror outfits like ISIS and Al Qaeda. Trudeau’s visit was criticised widely by the media in Canada too.

The report by HT quotes officials saying that the situation might not see improvement for another year as India will conduct general elections in April 2019 and Canada is to hold federal elections in October.

PM Modi questions Congress’ betrayal on Kartarpur during partition

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PM Modi questions Congress’ betrayal on Kartarpur during partition

Mounting a fierce attack on Congress, PM Modi, at a rally in Hanumangadh, Rajasthan questioned Congress’ wisdom, sensibility and seriousness towards the Sikh community during the partition of the country in 1947. He alleged that Congress could have shown a little sensitivity and ensured that Kartarpur, which is merely 3Kms away from the international border, remains on the Indian side.


Kartarpur holds a special significance for Sikhs all over the world as Guru Nanak Dev made it his seat towards the later part of his life and it is where he had breathed his last. Modi blamed Congress for disregarding Sikh sensitivities in 1947 which led to Kartarpur being a part of Pakistan.

Taking a jibe at Navjot Singh Sidhu and Congress, Modi claimed that the credit for the Kartarpur corridor initiative lies with the people of this country who made it possible after 70 years of partition and not with an individual or a party.

Addressing the chronic agrarian distress, Modi asserted that had Sardar Patel been elected as India’s first Prime Minister, farmers would not have to suffer the miseries they are facing now. Modi asserted that this distress is because of previous Congress-led governments at the centre and their disastrous policies regarding agriculture. He said, “Congress has made so many mistakes while being in the government that we are still suffering from their outcomes.”

Highlighting BJP government’s transparency and strict measures to rein in corruption, Modi emphasised on the fact that there has been no news of scams or corruption under the BJP led central government whereas, during UPA rule, news reports were filled with various scams like Coalgate, 2G scam, Submarine scam, and others.


Rajasthan will hold elections for its 200 member assembly on December 7. The results will be declared on December 11.

Tamil Nadu: Christian missionary run children’s home sealed after sexual abuse of minor girls, director and family arrested

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Tamil Nadu: Christian missionary run children’s home sealed after sexual abuse of minor girls, director and family arrested

A private children’s home in Tamil Nadu was shut down by authorities and its directors and others were arrested for sexually abusing minor orphan girls.

According to reports, the Mercy Adaikalapuram Missionary Home in Tiruvannamalai housed 50 minor children, aged between 5 and 17. The director Luban Kumar, his wife Mercy Rani, and her brother Justin Manavalan were arrested and booked under POCSO act. The abuse came to light after Thiruvannamalai district collector received a tip-off that the house was being run illegally and the house was raided.

The director’s family resided in the same building where the children’s home was operating. The victim girls said that Luban used to call them to his room late in the night and sexually abuse them. He threatened the girls not to complain about the same with anyone. When the girls complained about the abuse to Luban’s wife, her brother Justin came to their room and repeatedly thrashed them until they promised that they will not tell it to anyone else.

The district collector said that the children were targeted because they had nowhere to go or complain. He also said that the children’s home lacked basic amenities, the girls had no privacy. The bathrooms in the home had no doors, and the girls had to change in one common hall. In addition to this, they were supervised by a male security guard.

When the children in the home were shifted to a government-run children’s home, three of the girls told the warden that they wanted to talk with the collector privately. That is when the girls narrated their story of sexual abuse and intimidation they faced. They told him that the bathroom stalls originally had doors but Luban had removed them on purpose. His room was attached to the bathroom and he used to see the girls showering through a window.

They also said that the director has installed a CCTV camera in the hall where they were forced to change and he would watch them on the screen in his room. Moreover, the girls were forced to go to his room to give him a massage, where he sexually abused them.

The girls were also made to household chores for the Luban’s family, including scrubbing toilets, cooking and cleaning.

Luban Kumar is a retired teacher who used to teach in Danish Mission Higher Secondary School in Tiruvannamalai. He is also the finance coordinator of Arcot Lutheran Church and the founder of Jeeva Thaneer Ministry.

The accused persons have been arrested by the local police, and the private children’s home was sealed by authorities.

Time to back PM Modi on trying to maintain peace: US Secretary Jim Mattis to Pakistan

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Time to back PM Modi on trying to maintain peace: US Secretary Jim Mattis to Pakistan

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said that Pakistan should support peace initiatives of PM Modi and the United Nations to maintain peace in south-east Asia.

“It’s time for everyone to get on board, support the United Nations; support Prime Minister Modi, President Ghani and all those who are trying to maintain peace and make for a better world here,” Jim Mattis was quoted by reports.

This statement came as a response to a question regarding a letter the US has written to Pakistan soliciting its support for negotiating talks with the Afghan Taliban. He addressed reporters at the Pentagon yesterday as he welcomed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for talks.

Nirmala Sitharaman is visiting the USA from Dec 2 to 7 on an official visit. She was accorded the Armed Forces Enhanced Honours Cordon welcome by US Sectary Jim Mattis.


The USA wants to put an end to conflicts between America backed Afghan forces and Taliban, that has escalated post 9/11. Foreign Ministry of Pakistan, without disclosing the contents of the letter, had said that USA’s participation in negotiations with the Taliban is in tandem with Pakistan’s stand of bringing peace and stability in Afghanistan.

The letter by the USA has come days before Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad’s visit to Islamabad.

This letter showcase USA’s urgency in dealing with the Taliban, who are against USA’s presence in Afghanistan. The USA still has 15,000 troops stationed there. Zalmay in past has conducted peace negotiations with the Taliban, without any remarkable breakthrough. But, this time the USA hopes to get Pakistan’s backing on the negotiation table.

The USA and Pakistan share a conflicting relationship, especially regarding the Taliban menace. President Trump has always alleged that Pakistan acts as a voluntary host for Taliban insurgents and have turned a blind eye towards the Haqqani network, active on Pakistan and Afghanistan’s shared borders. Citing these reasons, last year the USA had suspended military aids to Pakistan.

Recently too, friction between two nations had led Pentagon to severe monetary help of $1.66 billion in security assistance to Pakistan. The decision had come days after Trump’s statements slamming Pakistan of not doing ‘a damn thing’ for the US, alleging that its government had helped Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden to hide near its garrison city of Abbottabad. The USA also alleges that Pakistan plays a double role while dealing with the Afghan Taliban.

India also on the international forum of UN have time-and-again reiterated that Pakistan not only harbours terrorists but also sponsors them to attack other countries. India has always maintained the stand of ‘terror and talks can’t go hand-in-hand.’ India has not engaged with Pakistan since the cancellation of proposed talks between India MEA Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan foreign minister at the sidelines of the UNGA meeting in September in the United States.

“The United States and India, in Prime Minister Modi’s work, have overcome hesitations of history, carrying forward the legacy of friendship and making clear there is no contradiction between strategic autonomy and strategic partnership,” Mattis said at the event.

Prime Minister Modi and President Trump had recently met on the occasion of G20 In Argentina.

National Herald case: trouble mounts for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as SC allows re-assessment of tax files

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National Herald case: trouble mounts for Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as SC allows re-assessment of tax files

Trouble seems to be intensifying for Congress President Rahul Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi and close aide Oscar Fernandes, as the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Income Tax department to continue with the tax re-assessment for the year 2011-12 in the National Herald case. A bench headed by Justice A K Sikri scheduled the next hearing for January 8, 2019.

The tax matter is related to the National Herald case in which the Congress leaders are also facing criminal proceedings.

The Gandhis had challenged a Delhi High Court order which dismissed their pleas against the Income Tax Department’s decision to re-open their tax assessment for the financial year 2011-2012 in connection with the National Herald Case. Congress leader Oscar Fernandes, too, has filed an appeal in the matter.

Earlier in August, Rahul Gandhi had appeared in the Delhi High Court and challenged re-opening of his tax assessment, after the I-T department accused him of concealing his income in the years 2011-2012. The department had considered reopening Rahul’s case because he did not disclose his directorship in Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) since 2010.

The same day, Sonia Gandhi and Oscar Fernandes too had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the reopening of their assessments by the Income-Tax regarding the Young Indian- National Herald transactions.

As the judiciary is tightening the noose, things seem to be slipping out from the  Congress party bigwigs’ hands. Earlier too, we had reported how high-strung Gandhis had tried to oppose the Income Tax’ investigation into the National Herald case. Congress had also earlier reportedly threatened tax officials with legal consequences for asking “irrelevant questions” during their investigations. Baffled with so much going against them, the Congress president had asked the court to gag media on National Herald case which the Court in all earnestness had declined.

It is notable here that the income tax assessment cases against the Congress leaders relate to an investigation into the complaint filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy in connection with the National Herald case.

In the complaint, Swamy had accused Sonia and Rahul of conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying just Rs 50 lakh, through which Young India (YI) had obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore that the Associated Journals Ltd (AJL) owed to the Congress party.

Viral video shows Rajdeep Sardesai admitting journalists are like vultures

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Viral video shows Rajdeep Sardesai admitting journalists are like vultures

In a video which has gone viral on social media, controversial journalist Rajdeep Sardesai is heard that journalists behave like vultures.

Sardesai is recounting the December 2001 attack on Indian Parliament where he and his crew were preparing for a picnic owing to a slow news day. Preparing for a feast in garden near the Parliament, he and his team entered the Parliament at around 11 am. Within minutes of the team entering the Parliament, he says they heard gun shots. The Parliament was attacked.

He then recalls that when his colleague asked him to leave, he directed him to suggest the guard to close the gates. He explains with a wide grin that he did so so that no other channel crew could enter. Those days there were fewer channels and Sardesai was excited at the prospect of doing an exclusive story.

He then says how the exclusive story of parliament attack made the team forget the wine and kababs they were planning to picnic on. “It was a great day. We are like vultures. We feed on these moments.” he added.

The video is from November this year where he is communicating to students at St Pauls Institute of Communication Education.

During December 2001 Parliament attack, Sardesai was associated with NDTV. Barkha Dutt, another celebrity journalist associated with NDTV had also come under fire for their coverage of sensitive issues like the Kargil war and Kandahar hijacking as well as her views on Kashmiri Pandits among others.

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