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Archives for December 2022

ICICI-Videocon loan scam: Dhoot, Kochhar couple to be quizzed in CBI custody till Dec 28

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Founder and promoter of the Videocon group Venugopal Dhoot was remanded in CBI custody by a special court in Mumbai, along with former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar, till 28 December in connection with irregularities in a loan disbursement case – amounting to over Rs 3000 crore – sanctioned by ICICI bank to the group between 2009 and 2011.  

Dhoot was produced in the special court after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday morning in Mumbai.

The arrest comes close to the arrests of former ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar in the same case being probed by the CBI. He will be produced before a special CBI court.

The loan which was sanctioned to the Videocon Group at the time when Chanda Kochhar the chief of ICICI bank, was moved to the non-performing asset (NPA) category.

It caused losses to the tune of over Rs 1750 crores to the ICICI Bank, the CBI has alleged. Kochhar and her husband were arrested by the CBI last week, on Friday in connection with the case and were taken to Mumbai from Delhi by the CBI, where they were remanded to CBI custody till December 26.

While seeking Dhoot’s remand, the CBI also sought the remand extension of the Kochhar couple, stating that the three will be confronted and questioned together by the agency in presence of each other. All three persons were produced before the special court together.

The Kochhar couple was arrested by the CBI for “non-cooperation” with the agency during a questioning session on Friday, for which the duo was summoned to Delhi. Consistent incoherence in their deposition and non-cooperation prompted the agency to take them into custody on Friday, sources in the CBI said. The couple were remanded in CBI custody till Monday.

Seeking their remand to probe the matter further the CBI submitted before the court that the loan extended to the Videocon Group during Kochhar’s tenure had caused loss to the tune of Rs 1,730 crore to ICICI bank.

The agency alleged that when Chanda Kochhar took charge of ICICI bank, six loans were sanctioned to various companies of Videocon out of which at least two loans were sanctioned by committees where Chanda Kochhar was a member. In other instances, she influenced committees also to sanction loans to Videocon group, CBI said.

The CBI also alleged that in 2009, Rs 64 crore loan was given by the Videocon group to Nupower, which is Deepak Kochhar’s firm. The agency also informed the court that it is also probing the transaction by which a flat in Mumbai, valued around Rs 5.25 crore in 1996, was transferred to the family trust of Kochhars in 2016 at a throwaway price way less than a crore.

According to the case registered in Mumbai by the CBI Kochhar had allegedly favoured Videocon Group a multi-business entity, known for its electronic products, by allowing “deviations” in the bank’s lending policies. She was charged with criminal conspiracy and cheating by the agency for alleged irregularities in a loan extended to the Videocon Group in 2012 that turned into a non-performing asset for the ICICI Bank. The transaction however benefitted the Kochhars the CBI had alleged.

The ICICI in 2019, declared that it will classify Kochhar’s departure as “termination for cause” because she had broken the bank’s code of conduct and internal standards.

The case was out of news for a while but recently came under the spotlight following questioning of Venugopal Dhoot, the ex-chief of Videocon group, in November by the Directorate of Enforcement. Dhoot was quizzed by the agency in connection with the loan extended to the group by ICICI during Kochhar’s tenure.  The ED is investigating the money laundering angle in connection with the matter 

Chinese President Xi Jinping breaks silence over China’s war with Covid

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BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping urged officials on Monday to take steps to protect lives in his first public remarks on Covid-19 since Beijing dramatically loosened hardline containment measures this month.

Having mostly cut itself off from the rest of the world during the pandemic, China is now experiencing the planet’s biggest surge in infections after abruptly lifting restrictions that torpedoed the economy.  Studies have estimated that around one million people could die over the next few months.

Many in the population are now grappling with shortages of medicine, while emergency medical facilities are strained by an influx ,  “At present, Covid-19 prevention and control in China are facing a new situation and new tasks,” Xi said in a directive, according to state broadcaster CCTV. 

“We should launch the patriotic health campaign in a more targeted way… fortify a community line of defence for epidemic prevention and control, and effectively protect people’s lives, safety and health,” Xi said. Hospitals and crematoriums across the country have been overflowing with Covid patients and victims, while China’s National Health Commission on Sunday announced it would stop publishing daily nationwide infection and death statistics.

The decision to scrap the daily virus count comes amid concerns that the country’s blooming wave of infections is not being accurately reflected in official statistics.

Beijing has admitted the scale of the outbreak has become “impossible” to track following the end of mandatory mass testing, as people are now not obliged to declare test results to authorities. And last week, Beijing narrowed the criteria by which Covid-19 fatalities were counted—a move experts said would suppress the number of deaths attributable to the virus. 

The winter surge comes ahead of two major public holidays next month, in which millions of migrant workers are expected to travel to their hometowns to reunite with relatives.
Authorities are bracing for the virus to hit under-resourced rural areas hard.

At Christmas, Pope urges end to ‘senseless’ Ukraine war

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Pope Francis

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for an end to the “senseless” war in Ukraine, in his traditional Christmas Day message broadcast around the world

The head of the Catholic Church addressed thousands of people gathered in St Peter’s Square, some of them holding Ukrainian flags, before delivering the “Urbi et Orbi” blessing (“to the city and the world”).

A call to peace is traditionally the focus of the pope’s message at Christmas, the holiday marking the birth of Christ, which he delivers from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica and is broadcast live worldwide.

The 86-year-old on Sunday first turned to “our Ukrainian brothers and sisters who are experiencing this Christmas in the dark and cold, far from their homes”.

“May the Lord inspire us to offer concrete gestures of solidarity to assist all those who are suffering, and may he enlighten the minds of those who have the power to silence the thunder of weapons and put an immediate end to this senseless war!” he said.

“Tragically, we prefer to heed other counsels, dictated by worldly ways of thinking,” he added, recalling “with sorrow” that “the icy winds of war continue to buffet humanity”.

‘Food as a weapon’

“Our time is experiencing a grave famine of peace also in other regions and other theatres of this third world war,” he said.

Francis referenced numerous countries in difficulty this Christmas, whether due to conflict or another crisis, from Afghanistan to Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Lebanon and Haiti.

For the first time, he also called for “reconciliation” in Iran, rocked by women-led protests for the past three months.

The pope has called for peace in Ukraine ever since Russia invaded its neighbour in February, condemning the war but seeking to maintain a delicate dialogue with Moscow.

However, he has been criticised in some quarters for not being more explicit in blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In a magazine interview published last month, the Argentine pontiff denounced the cruelty of Russia’s troops in Ukraine, drawing a formal protest from Moscow.

On Sunday, the pope also urged those celebrating Christmas to remember those “who go hungry while huge amounts of food daily go to waste and resources are being spent on weapons”.

“The war in Ukraine has further aggravated this situation, putting entire peoples at risk of famine, especially in Afghanistan and in the countries of the Horn of Africa,” he said.

“We know that every war causes hunger and exploits food as a weapon, hindering its distribution to people already suffering.

“On this day, let us learn from the Prince of Peace (Christ) and, starting with those who hold political responsibilities, commit ourselves to making food solely an instrument of peace.”

Meaning of Christmas

On Saturday evening, the pope led the traditional Christmas Eve mass at St Peter’s Basilica, using a wheelchair as he continues to struggle with knee pain.

He prayed for “the children devoured by wars, poverty and injustice” and lamented that “men hungry for power and money swallow up their loved ones, their brothers”.

He called on people to “abandon the warmth of worldliness” and “rediscover the meaning of Christmas” in the face of “consumerism”, advocating for a Church that serves the poor.

The Vatican put the crowd Sunday at 70,000, while 7,000 people attended Saturday evening’s mass, with more following the service on screens outside.

“It’s very inspiring to be here with all these people,” Victoria Machado, who travelled with her family to the Vatican from Mexico, told AFP.

“We’re happy and moved to see the pope, even if we’re outside, and to feel this connection between each other,” the 19-year-old added.

Julie, a 50-year-old who manages a business in France, said the pope was a “very humble man, I think he’s capable of offering a message of peace and trying to unite people and ease tensions”.

US warns of possible attack in Islamabad amid security fears after suicide bombing

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ISLAMABAD: The US Embassy in Islamabad on Sunday warned its staff of a possible attack on Americans at a top hotel in Pakistan’s capital as the city was already on high alert following a suicide bombing earlier in the week.

The US government is aware of information that “unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays,” the embassy said in a security alert. The advisory banned its American personnel from visiting the popular hotel over the holidays.

The US mission also urged all personnel to refrain from non-essential travel in Islamabad during the holiday season.

The embassy directive came two days after a suicide bombing in a residential area of the capital killed a police officer and wounded ten others. The explosion happened when police stopped a taxi for inspection during a patrol. According to the police, a rear seat passenger detonated explosives he was carrying, blowing up the vehicle.

Militants with the Pakistani Taliban, who are separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s rulers, later claimed the attack.

Islamabad’s administration has since put the city on high alert, banning public gatherings and processions, even as campaigns are ongoing for upcoming local elections. Police have stepped up patrols and established snap checkpoints to inspect vehicles across the city.

A suicide bombing targeted the capital’s Marriott Hotel in September 2008, in one of the deadliest such incidents in the capital. Attackers drove a dump truck up to the hotel’s gates before detonating it, killing 63 people and wounding over 250 others.

China’s COVID-19 surge raises odds of new coronavirus mutant

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BEIJING: Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world?

Scientists don’t know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say.

“China has a population that is very large and there’s limited immunity. And that seems to be the setting in which we may see an explosion of a new variant,” said Dr. Stuart Campbell Ray, an infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins University.

Every new infection offers a chance for the coronavirus to mutate, and the virus is spreading rapidly in China. The country of 1.4 billion has largely abandoned its “zero COVID” policy. Though overall reported vaccination rates are high, booster levels are lower, especially among older people. Domestic vaccines have proven less effective against serious infection than Western-made messenger RNA versions. Many were given more than a year ago, meaning immunity has waned.

The result? Fertile ground for the virus to change.

“When we’ve seen big waves of infection, it’s often followed by new variants being generated,” Ray said.

About three years ago, the original version of the coronavirus spread from China to the rest of the world and was eventually replaced by the delta variant, then omicron and its descendants, which continue plaguing the world today.

Dr. Shan-Lu Liu, who studies viruses at Ohio State University, said many existing omicron variants have been detected in China, including BF.7, which is extremely adept at evading immunity and is believed to be driving the current surge.

Experts said a partially immune population like China’s puts particular pressure on the virus to change. Ray compared the virus to a boxer that “learns to evade the skills that you have and adapt to get around those.”

One big unknown is whether a new variant will cause more severe disease. Experts say there’s no inherent biological reason the virus has to become milder over time.

“Much of the mildness we’ve experienced over the past six to 12 months in many parts of the world has been due to accumulated immunity either through vaccination or infection, not because the virus has changed” in severity, Ray said.

In China, most people have never been exposed to the coronavirus. China’s vaccines rely on an older technology producing fewer antibodies than messenger RNA vaccines.

Given those realities, Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who studies viruses at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, said it remains to be seen if the virus will follow the same pattern of evolution in China as it has in the rest of the world after vaccines came out. “Or,” she asked, “will the pattern of evolution be completely different?”

Recently, the World Health Organization expressed concern about reports of severe disease in China. Around the cities of Baoding and Langfang outside Beijing, hospitals have run out of intensive care beds and staff as severe cases surge.

China’s plan to track the virus centers around three city hospitals in each province, where samples will be collected from walk-in patients who are very sick and all those who die every week, Xu Wenbo of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention said at a briefing Tuesday.

He said 50 of the 130 omicron versions detected in China had resulted in outbreaks. The country is creating a national genetic database “to monitor in real time” how different strains were evolving and the potential implications for public health, he said.

At this point, however, there’s limited information about genetic viral sequencing coming out of China, said Jeremy Luban, a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

“We don’t know all of what’s going on,” Luban said. But clearly, “the pandemic is not over.”

Seven-year-old electrocuted on Mysuru school premises in Karnataka

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MYSURU: A seven-year-old boy was electrocuted on the premises of Sri Morarji Desai Model Residential School in Nanjangud on Sunday. The police said that the boy, Navin, died after accidentally touching a live electric wire that had fallen on the ground. He is the son of the school’s physical education teacher Basavanna.

The incident occurred when he was filling water into a bottle at the school dining hall. Though the child was rushed to the Krishna Hospital in Nanjangud, the doctors declared him brought dead. The body was later shifted to taluk hospital for postmortem. DySP Govindharaju and PSI Arathi visited the spot and collected details.

Cuffs on five, Karnataka CM promises fair investigation

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MANGALURU: Five persons, including two women, were taken into custody by the Mangaluru city police in connection with the murder of Abdul Jaleel, 45, who was a store owner in Katipalla 4th Block, near Surathkal on Saturday night.

The police suspect Jaleel’s alleged closeness to a couple of women enraged some people who attacked and killed him. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai sought the cooperation of people in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi in Katipalla by not heeding any rumours regarding Jaleel’s murder and said the police will conduct a fair investigation.

Jaleel was reportedly close to a woman, which led to a heated exchange between him and two other men on Saturday night. When the assailants attacked him, Jaleel tried to escape, but slipped and fell, and was stabbed to death.

There was a similar fight between Jaleel and some persons for being close to another woman, after which representatives of the two communities intervened, and the issue was resolved, the police said.

“We have taken two women and three men into custody,” a senior police officer said. Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar on Sunday refused to dwell on the motive behind the murder and said the police have to collect evidence to establish the motive.

Meanwhile, there was a commotion near Jaleel’s house in Katipalla when a group of family members refused to take his body to the funeral. They demanded that Deputy Commissioner MR Ravikumar visit their house and promise a speedy investigation.

Kumar held a discussion with the gathering, and assured them of a speedy investigation, after which the ambulance was allowed to travel to the masjid in Panjimogaru, where the last rites were performed.At the Mangaluru International Airport, Bommai called the murder unfortunate and urged people to maintain peace.

India consolidate position at No 2, remain in hunt for WTC final

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DUBAI: India’s 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh in Mirpur on Sunday consolidated their position at the number two spot behind leaders Australia in the ICC World Test Championship standings.

The series win brightened India’s hope for a back-to-back WTC final appearance.

Chasing 145, India were in real trouble at 74 for 7 but Ravichandran Ashwin (42 not out ) and Shreyas Iyer (29 not out) held the fort and stitched unbeaten 71 runs for the eighth-wicket to pull off a three-wicket win on the fourth day of the second and final Test.

This helped India consolidate their position behind Australia with 58.92 per cent of possible points with a crucial home series against Australia (four Tests) due in February-March next year.

India need to produce some good results during their series against pacesetters Australia if they are to make it to back-to-back appearances in the WTC final.

Australia are in the box seat to qualify for their first WTC final, with the Pat Cummins’ side currently holding a healthy lead at the top of the standings with 76.92 per cent of possible points. Fresh from their six-wicket win over South Africa, Australia have two more matches at home against the Proteas in Melbourne and Sydney.

Four Tests in India for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in February and March next year will be Australia’s final assignment in this period, but they also have the chance to seal their place in the ongoing home series.

India took second place after the Proteas’ loss but Dean Elgar’s side still have an opportunity to reclaim their place inside the top two by bouncing back in the ongoing series in Australia.

South Africa do have the luxury of two matches at home against the West Indies in February and March.

Veteran Telugu actor Chalapathi Rao dies at 78

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Veteran actor Chalapathi Rao.

HYDERABAD: Veteran actor Chalapathi Rao passed away at his Hyderabad residence after suffering a cardiac arrest in the wee hours of Sunday. The actor was said to be battling age-related complications over the last two years. He was 78.

Born on May 8, 1944, Chalapathi Rao made his acting debut with Goodachari 116 in 1966 and went on to have a flourishing career. He acted in more than 1,200 films in a career spanning over 50 years, leaving a lasting mark as a villain and in supporting roles.

Some of his most prominent films include Annadammula, Anubandham (1975), Manushulanta Okkate (1976), Yamagola (1977), Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), Yuga Purushudu (1978), Driver Ramudu (1979), Vetagadu (1979), Gandeevam (1994), Bobbili Simham (1994), Arundhati (2009), Kick (2009), Ek Niranjan (2009), Legend (2014), Sathamanam Bhavati (2017), and Vinaya Vidheya Rama (2019). This year, he was seen in Bangarraju, and his final film appearance was in a film titled Oh Manishi Neevevaru. Chalapathi Rao also produced films such as Ardharathri Hatyalu (1985), Kaliyuga Krishnudu (1986), and Kadapa Reddamma (1990), to name a few. He is survived by two daughters and a son. His son Ravi Babu is a well-known actor and director.

T-wood will miss ‘Babai’

Chalapathi Rao was synonymous with cruel, ferocious villains, and he did such an excellent job on-screen that he once joked that women would stay wary of him in real life. After all, he committed over 90 on-screen rapes as a villain. So the fear is understandable. That doesn’t mean he restricted himself to negative roles. This generation of moviegoers has seen him in many supporting roles alongside contemporary actors such as NTR Jr, Mahesh Babu, and Allu Arjun.

Some of his most popular performances in the 2000s came from three films directed by VV Vinayak. As a caring guardian to Jr NTR, he was dearly called ‘Babai.’In the past decade, he mostly appeared in supporting roles, often playing a family member of the protagonist. There are stories about his tiffs with co-stars; some of them went to physical altercations too. Yet, his place in Telugu cinema remained unscathed because he was considered a family member off-screen.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed condolences on the demise of the noted film actor. He said that Chalapathi Rao, who acted in hundreds of movies in diversified roles, made his own mark on the silver screen. The CM said that the passing away of Chalapathi Rao, who worked with three generations of actors as an actor and producer, is a big loss to the film industry. He conveyed his deepest condolences to the bereaved family members.

Videocon founder Venugopal Dhoot arrested in ICICI Bank loan fraud case

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NEW DELHI: The CBI on Monday arrested Videocon group founder Venugopal Dhoot in connection with the ICICI Bank loan fraud case, officials said.

The 71-year-old Dhoot was arrested from Mumbai, nearly three days after former CEO and MD of the ICICI Bank Chanda Kochhar and her husband Deepak Kochhar were taken into custody by the CBI, they said.

The CBI had named the Kochhars and Dhoot, along with companies Nupower Renewables (NRL) managed by Deepak Kochhar, Supreme Energy, Videocon International Electronics Ltd, and Videocon Industries Limited, as accused in the FIR registered under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in 2019, they said.

The CBI had alleged that ICICI Bank had sanctioned credit facilities to the tune of Rs 3,250 crore to the companies of Videocon Group promoted by Dhoot in violation of the Banking Regulation Act, RBI guidelines, and credit policy of the bank.

It was also alleged that as a part of the quid pro quo, Dhoot made an investment of Rs 64 crore in Nupower Renewables through Supreme Energy Pvt Ltd (SEPL) and transferred SEPL to Pinnacle Energy Trust managed by Deepak Kochhar through a circuitous route between 2010 and 2012, the FIR has alleged.

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