Archives for November 2022

NEW DELHI: A new purported video of jailed Delhi minister Satyendar Jain having an elaborate meal inside Tihar has emerged, just a day after footage of the minister receiving an trigged an uproar.

The latest CCTV footage sourced from Tihar jail sources shows Jain getting an elaborate meal in jail.

Tihar Jail sources also said that the Delhi minister gained 8 kg weight during his time in jail, contrary to his lawyer’s claims of him having lost 28 kgs.

Sharing the video on his twitter handle BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said “One more video from media! After taking maalish. Satyendra Jain can be seen enjoying a sumptuous meal! Attendants serve him food as if he is in a resort on vacation!”

“Kejriwal ji ensured that hawalabaaz gets VVIP maza not saza!,” Poonawalla said

In an accompanying video on his Twitter account, Poonawalla said after,” He is being served outside food by two attendants as if he is in a resort or a restaurant and there is a variety of delicacies and dishes in front him, as if he is not there for the saza (punishment) of corruption, but maza (fun) of maalish (massage)and restaurant food.”

“Arvind Kejriwal must answer why the person who has been in jail for the last five months is being given this facility by keeping him in the minister post — to take ‘vasooli’ from Sukesh, maalish from a rapist and now food from outside jail,” Shehzad said.

In the latest purported footage from Tihar jail, Jain is seen having food including fruits and dry fruits.

On Tuesday, the minister’s counsel Senior Advocate Rahul Mehra had alleged that Enforcement Directorate was leaking sensitive information to the media despite the order of the Court and undertaking given in this court.

Rahul Mehra also denied ED allegations of getting privileged treatment in Tihar Jail. He asked, “What privilege are they talking about?”

“I have lost 28 kg in jail. Is this what a privileged person in jail gets? I’m not even getting proper food. What privilege are they talking about? No prison rules are violated if an undertrial is pressing his hand or feet,” Jain said.

However, appearing for ED, advocate Zohaib Hossain denied the allegations made by Satyendar Jain’s lawyer and said that there is not a single leak from the Enforcement Directorate.

The latest episode comes days after purported videos of the minister getting a massage inside his cell in Tihar went viral on social media. The Aam Aadmi Party however asserted that Jain was receiving physiotherapy.

Sources reported on Tuesday that the person administering massage on Jain was not a physiotherapist, furthermore, he has been identified as a rape accused too.

Jailed Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain, who was criticised over the viral CCTV video inside the Tihar, was being given a massage by an accused in a rape case, the official sources claimed on Tuesday.

The Tihar Jail official sources claimed that the prisoner, identified as Rinku, was “not a physiotherapist” and has been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

“The masseur providing massage to jailed Delhi min Satyendar Jain is a prisoner Rinku. He’s a prisoner in a rape case, charged u/s 6 of POCSO Act and 376, 506 & 509 of IPC. He’s not a physiotherapist,” the sources claimed.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday had claimed that the CCTV footage that went viral showing Jain being given a full-body massage was a “treatment for injury”.

“Only BJP can make cruel jokes by leaking CCTV footage of an injured person’s treatment… His (Satyendar Jain’s) spine was damaged, it’s on record,” Sisodia had said on Saturday.

However, the Deputy Chief Minister’s claim was refuted by the Indian Association of Physiotherapists.

The body also demanded an apology for “degrading physiotherapy”.

Calling out the Minister, the Indian Association of Physiotherapists tweeted on Saturday, “IAP strongly condemns the statement of the minister degrading physiotherapy by comparing it with massage given to another minister. Shows the level of education and knowledge they have about our noble profession.”

In a video, the president of the association condemned the minister while also demanding an apology from him.

“There is news going on on social media and we have received many complaints from our members. Many physiotherapists all across India that in jail, and one physiotherapy session was given to a patient. And as a professor of physiotherapy and as president of the Indian

Association of Physiotherapists, we can say that the session going on was not physiotherapy. It is a way of degrading physiotherapy. We strongly condemn this act. We want that the Minister or whosoever should apologise for that,” he said.

“I request all physiotherapists in India to write down to the news channels that please don’t degrade physiotherapy. This is not physiotherapy. Let’s condemn this act and let’s move in a direction where we can correct things,” the president added.

Earlier on Saturday, the former PRO of the Tihar jail said that it cannot be physiotherapy as the video clearly showed that co-inmates were giving him a massage.

Sunil Gupta, former PRO of the Tihar jail told ANI that the video makes it clear that other prisoners of the prison were giving the minister a massage.

“Massage is different from physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is given in physiotherapy wards in the hospital,” he said.

The purported CCTV footage dated September 13 shows the minister lying on his bed while a man seated next to him is seen massaging his foot.

In another video shared by BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on his official Twitter handle, a man is seen massaging the Delhi minister’s legs and back before proceeding to give him a full head massage.

The videos surfaced on social media on Saturday, 10 days after the ED accused the Delhi minister, was arrested in a money laundering case, of getting special treatment inside the Tihar jail.

Jain has been in jail since June. A Delhi court denied his bail application on November 16.

NEW DELHI: Adani group’s open offer to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in the media firm New Delhi Television (NDTV) from the market would start from Tuesday.

The offer, for which a price band of Rs 294 per share has been fixed, will open on November 22 and closes on December 5, said a notice by JM Financial, the firm managing the offer on behalf of Adani Group firms.

Markets regulator Sebi on November 7 granted its approval to the proposed Rs 492.81 crore-open offer.

The conglomerate, run by India’s richest man Gautam Adani, in August acquired a little-known company that lent over Rs 400 crore to NDTV’s founders more than a decade ago in exchange for warrants that allowed the company to acquire a stake of 29.18 per cent in the newsgroup at any time.

Post that, VCPL – the firm that the Adani group bought out – announced that it would launch an open offer on October 17 to buy an additional 26 per cent stake from minority shareholders of NDTV.

However, the offer was delayed since Sebi had not given its approval to the open offer.

VCPL along with AMG Media Networks and Adani Enterprises Ltd had proposed to acquire an additional 26 per cent or 1.67 crore equity shares at an offer price of Rs 294 per share.

If fully subscribed, the open offer will amount to Rs 492.81 crore at a price of Rs 294 per share.

“The decision to acquire NDTV was arrived at in furtherance of the Adani Group’s objective to set up a credible next-generation media platform with an emphasis on digital and broadcast segments, and that NDTV is a suitable broadcast and digital platform to deliver on this vision,” Adani Enterprises had said in a regulatory filing in October.

On Monday, shares of NDTV closed at Rs 382.20 on BSE, down 5 per cent, touching a lower circuit.

BENGALURU: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, during the meeting in Mumbai of the high-powered committee on the boundary dispute with Karnataka, said that they will fight the case in the Supreme Court for the interest of the Marathi-speaking population residing in the border areas in Karnataka. Shinde said that two Cabinet ministers — Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai — will be assigned to bolster its ongoing legal tussle with Karnataka. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Prithviraj Chavan, leaders of MES, among others were present during the meeting. Senior legal expert Vaidyanathan will represent Maharashtra during the hearing, he added.

Meanwhile, hitting out at the state government, Kannada leader Ashok Chandargi from Belagavi said that they are still in deep slumber. “Karnataka has not appointed a minister for the border row since 2018.

There is no high-powered committee for the issues, and the state’s Border Protection Committee has been lying defunct over the last three years. CM Basavaraj Bommai should appoint a minister in-charge for the issue,” he said.

NEW DELHI: Under the Rozgar Mela, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday will distribute about 71,000 appointment letters to newly inducted recruits. On the occasion, PM  Modi also launched Karmayogi Prarambh module, an online orientation course for all new appointees. The PM will also address the appointees through the video conferencing, Prime Minister Office said in a statement on Monday.

The Rozgar Mela is a step towards fulfillment of the commitment of the PM to accord highest priority to employment generation. The Rozgar Mela is expected to act as a catalyst in further employment generation and provide meaningful opportunities to the youth for their empowerment and participation in national development directly.

Earlier in October, appointment letters were handed over to 75,000 newly inducted appointees under Rozgar Mela. The physical copies of the appointment letters to the new appointees will be handed over at 45 locations across the country (except Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh). In addition to the categories of posts filled earlier, posts of teachers, lecturers, nurses, nursing officers, doctors, pharmacists, Radiographers and other technical and paramedical posts are also being filled. A significant number of posts are being filled by the Ministry of Home Affairs in various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs).

“Prime Minister will also launch the Karmayogi Prarambh module – an online orientation course for all new appointees in various government departments. It will include code of conduct for government servants, workplace ethics and integrity, human resource policies and other benefits and allowances that will help them to get acclimatized to the policies and transition smoothly into the new roles,” said the statement.

 They will also get an opportunity to explore other courses on igotkarmayogi.gov.in platform to enhance their knowledge, skills and competencies, it also added. In June, the PM asked various government departments and ministries to initiate the recruitment of 10 lakh people on a ‘mission mode’ in the next year and a half.

NEW DELHI: The masseur who was seen in is not a physiotherapist but an inmate who is lodged in the Tihar Jail in a rape case, sources said on Tuesday.

The claims come days after the Aam Aadmi Party, which had drawn flak over the videos, asserted that Jain was receiving physiotherapy in the jail, where he is in judicial custody for the past five months over money-laundering charges.

Jain could be seen in the purported videos getting back and foot massages in his cell, reading some documents and talking to visitors while lying on a bed.

Mineral water bottles and a remote are also seen. In one video, he was seen getting a head massage while sitting on a chair.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had claimed that following a spinal injury and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing “cheap” politics on health issues by illegally leaking CCTV footage.

However, sources claimed that the man, who was seen giving Jain a massage in the videos, was a prisoner named Rinku.

“He is lodged in the prison in connection with a rape case and sections of the Pocso Act. Rinku is not a physiotherapist,” the sources said.

AAP leader Gopal Rai alleged that the BJP was highlighting matters related to Sisodia and Jain and other sting operations since it does not have any election issues related to Municipal Corporation of Delhi election.

On Jain apparently getting special treatment inside jail, he said: “Amit Shah was in Gujarat jail and at that time, there was a special jail for him. The kind of treatment he got nobody can get ever. This is available on record.”

“The issue is not of him (Jain) getting treatment, but the issue is that what treatment will Delhi people give the BJP on December 4,” Rai said.

He alleged that the BJP’s only agenda was just to tarnish the image of Kejriwal.

“In Delhi, for the last 10 days, there are two parties that are campaigning, while Congress is not part of the battle,” Rai said.

“On one side are those who are campaigning on the basis of their work. On the other hand there are those who just want to indulge in mudslinging,” he said.

BJP MP Manoj Tiwari slammed the ruling party.

“Shameful @ArvindKejriwal Doctors have confirmed that it is not physiotherapy and moreover the person giving massage to Saryendra Jain in Tihar Jail is a rapist, accused under the POCSO, and not a physiotherapist as claimed and endorsed by you!” Tiwari tweeted.

The Enforcement Directorate had claimed in a court that Jain was getting special treatment, including massage and special food, in the jail.

It provided CCTV footage to substantiate the claim.

Earlier this month, a Tihar jail superintendent was suspended for alleged involvement in providing a special treatment to Jain in the prison.

SRINAGAR:  Senior politician and former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad is all set to rename his recently floated Democratic Azad Party (DAP) after the Election Commission of India (ECI) has raised objections over its name.

The ECI had raised objections over the name saying the party with the same name already exists in UP. Former minister and DAP general secretary R S said ECI had suggested Progressive Azad Party as an alternative name for the party but the party has told the commission that it is not comfortable with this name and would suggest new names.

“We have told the ECI that we are not in agreement with the name suggested by the commission,” he said. The founding member of DAP Salman Nizami said the party after consulting all party leaders has given four more names to the ECI and the commission is yet to approve any one of them. He, however, said whatever be the name of the party, Azad party will definitely be there in the new name.

NEW DELHI:  Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Cambodia during November 22-23. During his two-day tour, he will be attending the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM Plus) meeting. 

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sunday said, “Rajnath Singh will be addressing the Association of South-East Asian Nations Defence Ministers Plus meeting on November 23. He will also call on the Prime Minister of Cambodia.” The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN

Apart from the ADMM-Plus meeting and India-ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting, the Defence Minister will hold bilateral discussions with Defence Ministers of the participating countries. During the talks, Rajnath Singh will discuss defence cooperation matters and ways to further strengthen the mutually beneficial engagements.

Cambodia is the chair of ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus (ADMM Plus) meeting and is hosting the 9th annual meeting. “India and Cambodia will co-chair the maiden India-ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting on November 22, presided over by Rajnath Singh. Various initiatives to boost India-ASEAN partnership are planned to be announced during the meeting,” added the MoD. 

India-ASEAN are commemorating 30 years of relations. India became the dialogue partner of ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to further the dialogue.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the loss of lives in a road accident in Bihar’s Vaishali and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.ADVERTISEMENTAds by 

At least 12 people, including women and children, were killed when a speeding truck rammed into a religious procession in the state, officials said on Sunday.

“The accident in Vaishali, Bihar is saddening. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” Modi was quoted as saying in a tweet by his office.

“An ex-gratia of Rs.2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs.50,000,” he said.

The incident took place around 9 PM in Vaishali district, about 30 km from state capital Patna, and local RJD MLA Mukesh Roushan, who had rushed to the spot, said “12 people died”.