Archives for October 2020

Kevadiya: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the truth of last year’s Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, has been accepted in Pakistan Parliament.

He also said that when the entire nation was mourning the death of brave soldiers in the Pulwama terror attack, some people indulged in “dirty politics” for their political gains.

Modi’s statement came days after Pakistan’s Science & Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhry admitted his country’s role in the Pulwama attack during a debate in their National Assembly (Parliament).

The prime minister was speaking at Kevadiya in Gujarat after paying tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at the Statue of Unity on his 145th birth anniversary.

“The country cannot forget the unwanted statements given after Pulwama attack. Dirty politics laced with selfishness and arrogance was at its peak when the country was suffering from immense pain,” Modi said.

“The real face of such people has been exposed after the truth was accepted in the Parliament of our neighbouring country,” he added.

“Politics done after Pulwama attack shows that people can cross any limit for their political gains. I want to urge such political parties not to indulge in this kind of politics as it affects the morale of our security forces,” he said.

“You should refrain from playing into the hands of anti-national forces, knowingly or unknowingly,” he added.

Mumbai: Three persons who were involved in betting on the ongoing Indian Premier League matches were arrested from suburban Mulund, the police said on Friday.

A raid was conducted on a flat in Mulund on Thursday following a tip-off received by the Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU), said a crime branch official.

Three men inside the flat were found involved in illegal betting on a match between CSK and KKR, he said, adding that 41 mobile phones, several SIM cards, a smartphone tablet, two laptops, SIM cards line boxes, and Rs 1.88 lakh in cash were seized.

A court remanded them in the crime branch’s custody till November 3.

A case was registered at Mulund Police Station under various sections of the IPC, Maharashtra Prevention of Gambling Act as well as the Information Technology Act, he said, adding a probe is on.

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Friday reprimanded Madhya Pradesh minister Mohan Yadav for using “intemperate language transgressing the limits of decency” and barred him from campaigning in the state bypolls for a day on October 31.

Twenty-eight seats in Madhya Pradesh will go for bypolls on November 3 for which canvassing is on. The campaigning ends on November 1 evening.

In its order, the poll panel said it was not satisfied with Yadav’s response to its notice.

“The Commission is satisfied that the statements therein amount to use of intemperate language transgressing the limit of decency,” it said.

The notice stated, “The Election Commission hereby, reprimands you for violating the provisions of… General Conduct of Model Code of Conduct and use of intemperate language transgressing the limits of decency and expects that you, being a responsible political leader, shall not repeat such indecent utterances during election time.”

Using its Constitutional powers under Article 324, the poll panel also barred Mohan Yadav, the Minister for Higher Education in Madhya Pradesh from holding “anywhere in Madhya Pradesh” any public meeting, procession, rallies, roadshows and interviews, public utterances in media (electronic, print, social media), “for one day on October 31.”

Mumbai police raided a bogus call centre in Delhi and arrested five persons for allegedly operating it and cheating people of lakhs of rupees on the promise of a job, an official said on Friday.

The racket came to light after a woman, a resident of Ghatkopar East, approached the police on September 9 and lodged a complaint, he said.

In her complaint, the woman alleged that she lost at least Rs 8.16 lakh after a caller duped her by posing as an executive of a prominent job portal, the official said.

The complainant said she had posted her resume on the job portal through its app. She later received a call from a person, who said he was calling on behalf of that ‘placement service’ company, he said.

“Through the calls, the caller gained the woman’s confidence and obtained details of her bank account, debit card and one-time password (OTP) and withdrew at least Rs 8.16 lakh from her account,” the official said.

After losing money between August 31 and September 3, the complainant approached the Pant Nagar Police Station.

An offence was registered under IPC sections 419 and 420, as well as the IT Act against unidentified persons.

During the investigation police got information related to the caller’s mobile number, he said.

With the help of technical details, the police team raided the fake call centre in Delhi and arrested five persons identified as Aashique Iqbal Narul Hasan (27), Rahul Tilakraj (21), Ravi Hokla (24), Devesh Kumar Singh (23) and Aditya Kumar Singh (31), the official added.

Police recovered eight hard disks, 23 mobile phones, 47 SIM Cards, 12 debit cards, 11 PayTm cards and cash of Rs 1.74 lakh from the accused, he said, adding that a probe is on.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation has sought Rs 3,600 crore from the state government for payment of salaries and other essential expenses, Transport Minister Anil Parab said on Friday.

The state-run corporation has not paid the salaries of its employees for the last three months, and to pay them was its priority, the minister said.

Parab, who is also the chairman of the MSRTC, told reporters that the corporation was trying to raise money through external means too.

“Paying salaries before Diwali is the current priority and we will do it, we would borrow money if needed,” he said.

“As currently, even the earnings of the state government have gone down, instead of depending solely on government, the corporation is exploring other options too,” Parab said.

Asked about reports that the MSRTC was going to mortgage some of its properties for obtaining a loan, Parab said it could take a loan but it would not be a mortgage.

“Mortgaging properties is different,” he said.

The MSRTC needs Rs 292 crore per month for paying salaries. The cumulative losses of the transport body have ballooned to over Rs 5,500 crore, he said.

The MSRTC used to earn Rs 22 crore every day before the coronavirus outbreak, but presently its revenue from passenger services has fallen to barely Rs 5-6 crore, he said.