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Karti Chidambaram arrested by CBI for INX money laundering case

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday arrested Karti Chidambaram, son of senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, from Chennai airport in connection with the INX money laundering case.

He was taken into custody just after he landed from a flight from London.

Karti’s chartered accountant S Bhaskararaman was recently arrested from a five-star hotel in Delhi on February 16 and was later sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The ED had earlier claimed that during the course of investigation, it was revealed that Bhaskararaman, a qualified CA, had been assisting Karti to manage his “ill-gotten wealth” in India and abroad.

Also read: Karti Chidambaram’s CA sent to 14-day judicial custody in INX media case

Karti’s name had cropped up in the case which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media when his father and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union finance minister during the previous UPA regime.

The ED had alleged that INX Media had deliberately and in violation of the conditions of the approval made a downstream investment of 26 per cent in the capital of INX News Pvt Ltd without specific approval of FIPB, which included indirect foreign investment by some foreign investors, and generated Rs 305 crore foreign direct investment in INX Media Pvt Ltd against the approved foreign inflow of Rs 4.62 crore.

To wriggle out of the situation without any punitive action, INX Media entered into a criminal conspiracy with Karti, the ED has alleged. The FIPB unit of the finance ministry had not only granted illegal approval but also misinformed the investigation wing of Income Tax Department, it had alleged.

(Agencies)

Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati passes away at 82

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Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi, the 69th pontiff of the Kanchi Mutt, died on Wednesday in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram. He was 82.

The senior pontiff has been ailing in recent months. He had been admitted to the hospital most recently in January. He had been admitted to Chennai’s Sri Ramachandra Hospital after he collapsed at the math with shortness of breath and low blood pressure.

He had been named as successor to the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam by his predecessor, Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, widely known as the ‘Mahaswami’ of the math, in 1954. Jayendra Saraswati had become the head of the math in 1994 after the death of Chandrashekarendra Saraswati. During his time as the head pontiff, the math expanded its presence and role in charitable activities by setting up a number of hospitals and schools that continue to function today.

He will now be succeeded by Vijayendra Saraswati.

Jayendra Saraswati’s pontificate at the math has had its moments of controversy. He had led efforts to expand the reach of the math in the 1970s and 80s, by reaching out to economically weakers sections of society. He had also attempted to take part in negotiations for the peaceful settlement of the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute in Ayodhya.

He had been acquitted in November 2013 in the case relating to the 2004 murder of A Sankararaman, manager of Kanchipuram’s Varadaraja Perumal Temple. His arrest in 2004 and the two months he spent in judicial custody had come as a jolt to many in Tamil Nadu.

(Agencies)

Sridevi cremated with state honours, procession among largest recorded in Mumbai

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Mumbai: Several lakhs turned up to join a long procession — among the largest in recent times — to mark the final journey of actress Sridevi which started near her residence to a crematorium in Vile Parle on Wednesday afternoon.

A tall, open truck, fully decorated with white flowers — her favourite colour — carried her body which was first draped in the national tricolour and then loaded in a glass casket, as cries of ‘Sridevi Amar Rahe’ rent the air among her fans.

Maharashtra government accorded full state honours for the funeral of Sridevi — who was conferred a Padma Shri in 2013, which included draping her body in the national tricolour, elaborate arrangements by the Mumbai Police and a gun salute before the cremation.

Inside the truck was Sridevi lying serene with full make-up, a large south Indian style vermillion and wearing a ceremonial gold and maroon coloured Kanjeevaram sari. A heavy, large necklace adorned her since she died a ‘suhaagan’ (still married), giving the appearance of a resplendent ‘devi’ (Goddess) in deep slumber.

Her grieving family members including husband Boney Kapoor, her step-son Arjun Kapoor and brothers-in-law Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor were among those who travelled in the truck with the body.

The truck slowly negotiated the approximately six km passing through some of the poshest areas of Andheri and Vile Parle suburbs, with a massive portrait of Sridevi visible from a distance.

Several lakhs of people including students, office-goers and others accompanied or waited on both side of the roads, looked on from buildings and bungalow terraces. Many climbed on signals and lamp posts for a last glimpse of their beloved heroine.

In terms of sheer numbers, Sridevi’s funeral is estimated to have attracted the highest number of mourners, ranking on par with the previous biggest funeral processions of the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi (July 1980: around a million mourners), and India’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna (July 2012: a little less than a million mourners).

The other big funerals of non-political personalities in Mumbai included those of Raj Kapoor (June 1988) and Vinod Khanna (April 2017).

The procession was led by several family members, close relatives, friends and even neighbours of the Green Acres society where the family lived in Lokhandwala Complex.

Among the prominent personalities who attended the funeral in Vile Parle were Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Randhir Kapoor and others who came to bid a final goodbye to Sridev

Sridevi’s daughters Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor performed the final rituals before the body was consigned to the flames with husband Boney standing nearby.

Earlier, since dawn, thousands of teary-eyed fans and admirers of the late actress, many carrying flowers, had queued up outside the Celebration Sports Club at Lokhandwala Complex for a final ‘darshan’ of their idol.

After the flower-bedecked body was brought to the club premises a steady stream of celebrities came in their vehicles and where whisked inside to pay their last respects.

Among the early callers seen were Rekha, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Arbaaz Khan, Madhuri Dixit-Nene, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Farah Khan, Nitin Mukesh, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Vidya Balan, Sushmita Sen, Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Deepika Padukone, Sanjay Leela Bhandsali, Jackie Shroff, Farhan Akhtar, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, John Abraham, Ajay Devgn and Kajol, Anupam Kher and Sulabha Arya, among others.

In the past four days since her demise, the Kapoor household had witnessed a steady stream of visitors including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Krishna Raj Kapoor.

Most of the visitors on Wednesday were sporting dark sunglasses to ward off the harsh early-summer glare, carrying flowers or small bouquets, embraced and consoled the bereaved family members, entering from the main entrance and leaving quickly from the other side as fans tried to catch a glimpse.

Sridevi’s body was flown to Mumbai from Dubai where she passed away following an accidental drowning in a bathtub in her hotel room around 11 pm on February 24, and from the airport was taken to the Kapoor residence in Green Acres.

Meanwhile, Green Acres housing society on Wednesday cancelled Holi celebrations as a mark of respect for Sridevi.

For the final journey, at the club and the crematorium, the Mumbai Police implemented elaborate security arrangements at various venues and arranged special traffic and crowd management measures.

(IANS)

Syria’s war: Eastern Ghouta ceasefire violations kill two

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The truce was supposed to establish ‘safe corridors’ to facilitate the civilian evacuation process [File: Bassam Khabieh/Reuters]

by Farah Najjar, Al Jazeera

At least two civilians have been killed less than two hours into a truce in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta, activists said, as Syrian government forces launched fresh attacks in the rebel-held Damascus suburb.

Syrian warplanes launched several air strikes in Douma and Harasta on Tuesday, Mahmoud Adam, a spokesman for Syria’s Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, told Al Jazeera.

In Douma, one of Eastern Ghouta’s main towns, two people, including a woman, lost their lives and several others have been wounded, Adam said.

Alaa al-Ahmed, a local activist, told Al Jazeera that the attacks started at 9:30am (7:30 GMT) on Tuesday, 30 minutes after a Russia-backed ceasefire began.

The truce was meant to allow civilians to evacuate from the rebel-held enclave, which has been under continuous aerial bombardment since February 18.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had ordered the ceasefire from 9am to 2pm (7:00 to 12:00 GMT) on Tuesday, as air strikes and ground operations killed more than 550 civilians in the last eight days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

According to al-Ahmed, Russia did not provide a guarantee or a “trusted third party” to help evacuate the injured out of the area.

“How could people trust Russia – the same people bombing us – with assisting in the safe evacuation of the injured?” he said. “There is huge contradiction.”

The bombardment of the Damascus suburb, home to some 400,000 people, has been one of the most intense in Syria’s seven-year-old war.

“What happened this morning is a clear violation of the truce – which is merely propaganda,” al-Ahmed said.

The suburb’s humanitarian situation has been deteriorating, causing widespread international condemnation, with UN Secretary-General describing the enclave as “hell on earth”.

On Monday, a suspected chemical attack killed one child, according to Syria’s Civil Defence.

The reported chlorine gas attack injured at least 18 others when it hit Eastern Ghouta’s Al-Shifaniyah town close to the front lines, where rebels are fighting Syrian ground forces who have been trying to penetrate into the besieged enclave since Sunday.

Nour Othman, a local journalist based in Douma, told Al Jazeera warplanes also targeted the al-Marj area on Tuesday morning, a town near the outskirts of Douma.

“Tens of people have been injured,” he said.

And in the town of Misraba, at least seven people have been wounded as a result of surface-to-surface missiles, Othman added.

“The medical facilities are in a state of chaos – either because of the shelling or due to the high number of admitted injuries,” he explained.

No ‘safe corridors’
The truce was supposed to establish “safe corridors” to facilitate the evacuation process, but activists say there has been no attempt at doing so.

“To this moment, not a single person inside Eastern Ghouta has been evacuated,” Adam said, describing the truce as “dishonest”.

“Shelling is ongoing and there have been barrel bombs used in the outskirts of Douma,” he added.

Syrian state news agency, SANA, said rebels had fired several rockets in the path a corridor that was supposed to allow for the evacuation of civilians.

Syria’s Civil Defence team have started transferring people to medical facilities.

Similarly, Firas al-Abdullah, an activist in Eastern Ghouta, confirmed that at least three towns were hit on Tuesday after the ceasefire was set to take effect.

“No one left, no one entered – there has been nothing of this sort,” he said of the proposed evacuation plan.

Locals have also noted that several government warplanes are flying over villages on the outskirts of Douma.

On Saturday, an earlier attempt to implement a 30-day ceasefire in Syria failed, when a UN Security Council resolution was not upheld.

Eastern Ghouta has been under rebel control since 2013, after which President Bashar al-Assad’s government imposed a siege on the area in an attempt to drive out opposition fighters.

The blockade has caused a food and medicine shortage, has caused inflation rates to soar and aid convoys have not been able to deliver much of the desperately needed supplies.

M M Akbar is not the last victim

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by Madhyamam

Many are the questions raised by Kerala Police’s arrest of M M Akbar, head of Niche of Truth, the body to propagate Islam, a regular speaker on platforms of Mujahid organizations, and director of Peace International School.

The case against him is based on the allegation that the text books of Peace School create communal discord, and charges him under IPC 153(A). The others accused in the same case were arrested earlier and they came out on bail. Akbar who had been in Qatar for nearly a year, was arrested around Saturday midnight at Hyderabad where he was in transit between Melbourne and Doha, after being intercepted by airport immigration. Soon after this, Kerala Police brought him over to Kochi and produced him before Judicial Magistrate in Ernakulam where he was handed to police custody for five days.

The religious text book for Class II of Peace School had contained a question, “If your classmate decides to embrace Islam, what advice would you give him?” The case was registered following the conclusion of the District Educational Officer of Ernakulam that this question and the answers to it would spread religious hatred. The head of Burouj Realization of Mumbai, the publishers of the book, its content editor and designer were the other accused in the case. They were all arrested in December 2016 and put in jail for nearly a month, but later obtained bail from High Court. The school officials explain that once they found the disputed part of the lesson inappropriate, they had already given instruction that it should not be taught.

It cannot be said that the lesson that prompted registration of a case is one that overtly spreads religious hatred. The publishers clarify that this part was included as an activity to teach children that declaration of faith by truth (kalima shahaada in Arabic) is the first step to becoming a Muslim. Still, the publishers announced, since it was likely to be misconstrued they were withdrawing the book. In other words, Peace School cannot be said to be trying deliberately to inject enmity towards other religions, although it could be argued that under close scrutiny there was imprudence in teaching second level children a lesson that was likely to create misunderstanding. As for the school, the contention that they had already issued instructions not to teach that portion, need not be taken as such by everyone. All the same, the propaganda to the effect that Peace School was a centre producing hatred are malicious. It was the wide spread of such misinformation that pitted the school and its chief MM Akbar in the centre of controversy. And then his continued tour abroad following the case gave further ammunition to those who inflated the propaganda.

M M Akbar is not the first person to be charged with section 153 (A). Of late, this particular section has been imposed on half a dozen people including SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan, former DGP T P Senkumar and BJP president Kummanam Rajasekharan. But none of them was arrested. The most recent one to be arrested under this section was Mujahid orator Shamsudheen Palath. And now, M M Akbar as well. From this, it could be easily understood that the government and the police have been adopting a bigoted stance on the matter. M M Akbar is only the latest victim of this discriminatory policy. The central government has been moving ahead with a goal of tracking down Muslim individuals and groups, demonizing them and entangling them in legal issues. It is a fact that Kerala government has been following the same approach in several matters. The girls who escaped from the controversial Ghar Wapsi centre in Tripunithura, Ernakulam had given their statements that lessons inciting hatred towards other religions were being taught there. Still, the police have been reluctant to charge section 153 (A) on the owners of the yoga centre. And as regards the Sangh Parivar influence on Kerala police, it is a matter raised as an issue even by those in the Left wing. M M Akbar’s arrest should be analysed in this perspective.

Akbar’s arrest is just one of the many instances of state terrorism aiming at Muslim community. And terrorism by state has been going forward on the pretext of fight against extremism. And often there were examples when the Mujahid movement went alongside the government position that those were necessary as part of countering extremism. And now a scholar from among them is becoming a victim of the same terrorism by discrimination. Thus the message from MM Akbar’s arrest is that collective efforts to take on governmental aggression brooks no delay.

PNB scam: Additional Rs 1,300 cr fraud revealed

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Express photo by Sumit Malhotra

Mumbai: The fraud-hit Punjab National Bank (PNB) has reported an additional Rs 1,300 crore unauthorised transactions, taking the estimated quantum to Rs 12,600 crore in the scam related to diamond trader Nirav Modi and owner of Gitanjali Gems, Mehul Choksi.

In a 11.22 p.m., late night filing with the stock exchanges on Monday, the bank said: “In continuation to our filing with stock exchanges on February 14, 2018, we have to inform that quantum of reported unauthorised transactions can increase by $204.25 million.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday said it questioned PNB Executive Director K.V. Brahmaji Rao, two General Managers and a retired official in connection with its probe into the multi-crore fraud.

The Income Tax Department also said it had attached 66 more bank accounts related to accused Choksi.

Earlier, PNB, the second largest public sector bank in India, had said it had detected a $1.8 billion fraud in the Brady House Branch in Mumbai.

“The bank has detected some fraudulent and unauthorised transactions (messages) in one of its branches in Mumbai for the benefit of a few select account holders with their apparent connivance,” the filing by PNB earlier said.

Initially it had put the quantum of such transactions at around Rs 11,300 crore.

The bank’s shares dropped drastically on Tuesday after this regulatory filing and it was trading at Rs 102.45 per share, down 8.45 per cent at 10.46 a.m.

(IANS)

Maldives declines India’s invite for naval exercise

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Indian Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba (PTI photo)

New Delhi: Maldives has declined India’s invitation to participate in the eight-day-long mega naval exercise — Milan — beginning March 6, in an apparent snub to New Delhi which has been critical of the Yameen government in view of the emergency in the island nation.

“Maldives was invited to join the Milan exercise but they have declined,” Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba told reporters, and indicated that the country may have taken the decision possibly due to the current situation there.

“They have not given any reason,” he said.

Admiral Lanba was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event.

Ties between India and Maldives nosedived after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared emergency on February 5 following an order by the country’s Supreme Court to release a group of Opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials.

On February 21, India had reacted strongly over the extension of emergency by a month.

India will host navies from at least 16 countries for the mega naval exercise at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The exercise is taking place in the backdrop of China’s growing military posturing in the Indo-Pacific region and officials indicated that the issue is likely to figure during deliberations at the event.

Officials said China’s military manoeuvres in the South China Sea may figure during discussions among navy chiefs of the participating countries at the event.

‘Milan’ was first held in 1995 with the participation of just five navies. The aim of the initiative was to have an effective forum to discuss common concerns in the Indian Ocean Region and forge deeper cooperation among friendly navies.

The exercise is being hosted by the Indian Navy under the aegis of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

Asked about the presence of Chinese ships in the Indo-Pacific region, an official said, “The deployment of ships by China’s Navy has been since 2008. At any point of time, there are 6-8 ships in the region. We monitor them and know what is happening.”

He further said, “There is no cause for concern, it is standard deployment in the Indian Ocean. As per what we have monitored, there is no change in it in the last few years. We are well aware of what is happening.

(PTI)

Sridevi death due to accidental drowning, case closed: Dubai Public Prosecution

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Dubai: The Dubai Public Prosecutors Office today closed the investigation into Bollywood actor Sridevi’s death and cited the forensic report to say she had accidentally drowned following loss of consciousness.

According to local media reports, the family has got custody of the body and taken it for embalming. The Dubai Media Office, the official Twitter handle of the media office of the government, said in a series of tweets that the decision to release the body was taken after thorough investigation.

“Dubai Public Prosecution has approved the release of the body of the Indian actress Sridevi to her family following the completion of a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances of her death,” it said.

“Dubai Public Prosecution stressed that all regular procedures followed in such cases have been completed. As per the forensic report, the death of the Indian actress occurred due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness. The case has now been closed.”

The 54-year-old actor, known as Indian cinema’s first woman superstar, passed away in her hotel room in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers late on Saturday, leaving fans, family and friends stunned.

Dubai police hands over letters for release of Sridevi’s body: Indian Consulate

The Dubai police today handed over the letters for the release of Bollywood diva Sridevi’s body to the Indian mission here and her family for embalming, Consulate General of India said.

The 54-year-old actor, known as Indian cinema’s first woman superstar, passed away in her hotel room in the Jumeirah Emirates Towers late on Saturday, leaving fans, family and friends stunned.

Her stepson Arjun Kapoor arrived here today to be with his father Boney Kapoor as he wraps up formalities and takes the body home to Mumbai.

“Dubai Police has handed over the Consulate and the family members letters for the release of the mortal remains of the Indian cinema icon Sridevi Boney Kapoor so that they can proceed for embalming,” the Consulate General of India tweeted.

Sridevi was in Dubai for a family wedding and had stayed back after the ceremonies. Her husband had flown back to Mumbai with their younger daughter Khushi, but returned to Dubai to surprise her.

(PTI)

Serial rapist ‘Psycho Jaishankar’ commits suicide in Bengaluru central jail

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Bengaluru: Serial killer and rapist M Jayashankar committed suicide on Tuesday morning at the the Parappana Agrahara Central Prisons.

It is suspected that Jayashankar slit his throat with a blade that he got during a haircut in the jail premises.

According to the police Jayashankar was kept in isolation in a separate cell and was not allowed to mingle with other convict. At 2:15 am he slit his throat and was taken to the jail hospital. He was then shifted to Victoria hospital but he died at five in the morning.

Parappana Agrahara police have registered a case of unnatural death under suspicious circumstances and are probing in to his death. The police are also looking for the recent visitor’s record to enquire who visited Jayashankar about his reason for this extreme step.

Jayashankar had previously escaped the jail by scaling the walls of the Central Prison using a bed sheet. He had sustained severe leg injury and was admitted in a hospital near a slum from where the police arrested him.

(Agencies)

MEP party will modernize govt schools, and get justice for all: Dr. Nowhera Shaik

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All India Mahila Empowerment Party’s (MEP) launched their election campaign in Bidar and Gulbarga, where party President Dr. Nowhera Shaik spoke about the problems faced by the people in the region.

Dr. Nowhera Shaik promised that if her party comes to power, she will ensure to modernise government schools, which lack basic amenities, especially girls. She said her party will ensure that govt schools are on par with private schools and that every student, irrespective of their economic status, get the same education.

Dr. Shaik also spoke about the acute water issues faced by the people and promised to solve the issue.

Dr. Shaik’s campaign, which was largely attended by women, saw a great number of people joining the party, who pledged to fight for justice and rights.

Dr. Nowhera Shaik also held a campaign in Gulbarga, where she promised justice for all women in the country, irrespective of their caste and creed.

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