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ED questions Robert Vadra for over six hours in money laundering case

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Nasheman News : Four days after a Delhi court ordered Robert Vadra to join the Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation, he was questioned for over six hours on Wednesday.

Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, arrived at the ED’s office located in central Delhi’s Jamnagar House at 3.45 p.m and left at 9.35 p.m.

He was accompanied by his wife and Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to the agency office earlier in the day.

However, after dropping Vadra at the ED office, Priyanka left the premises.

It was the first time that Vadra was questioned by any investigative agencies.

He was questioned by a team of seven ED officials of the rank of Deputy Director and Assistant Directors under the sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

According to a financial probe agency official, Vadra was asked questions relating to transactions, purchase and possession of certain immovable assets in London.

The case relates to the ownership of 1.9 million pounds of undisclosed assets abroad, allegedly belonging to Vadra.

The ED also lodged a money laundering case against Vadra’s close aide Manoj Arora after his role surfaced during a probe by the Income Tax Department into another case under the new Black Money Act and tax law against absconding arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari.

The London property was allegedly bought by Bhandari and sold in 2010 for the same amount despite incurring additional expenses on its renovation.

On December 7, as part of the investigation, the ED conducted searches at a number of premises in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.

The ED counsel told the court earlier that the London property was part of the kickbacks received in a petroleum deal. The money was transferred by Santech International, FZC, a UAE-based company controlled by Bhandari.

There were a few more properties that needed to be probed, the counsel said.

The official said that Arora, an employee of Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality LLP, is a key suspect in the case as he is aware of the overseas investments and purchases made by his employer.

He also said that the agency also confronted Vadra with the statement given by Arora.

The questioning came in the wake of an order by a Delhi Court on February 2 directing Vadra to appear before the ED for questioning while hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by him.

The court had on Saturday also granted interim bail to Vadra till February 16.

Earlier in the day, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who accompanied her husband to the ED office made a strong political statement.

“I stand by my family,” she later told reporters at the AICC headquarters where Congress workers shouted slogans hailing her. “Priyanka you fight on, we are with you!”


Amitabh Bachchan urges people to use toilets

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Nasheman News : Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Wednesday unveiled the ‘Darwaza Band -Part 2’ campaign films, which focus on sustaining the open defecation free (ODF) status of villages across the country.

Launched by Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Grameen, the campaign is produced by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and supported by the World Bank.

At the event, Amitabh gave a brief background to the development of the campaign and mentioned that the campaign talks about how a toilet must be used by all, always and under all circumstances (‘har koi, har roz, hamesha’), read a PIB statement.

He also dedicated a re-adaptation of a poem of his father, the late Harivansh Rai Bachchan to the Swachh Bharat Mission — “Swachh Tann , Swachh Mann, Swachh Bharat, Mera Parichay”.

Maharashtra’s Minister for Water Supply and Sanitation Babanrao Lonikar, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, and other dignitaries were a part of the event.

Lonikar said the Centre and state together had spent over Rs 6,000 crore on sanitation in Maharashtra and over three crore people have stopped defecating in the open in the state.

Iyer said over 50 crore people stopped defecating in the open since the launch of the SBM and with over 5.5 lakh villages having already been declared Open Defecation Free (ODF), the national sanitation coverage is now in excess of 98 per cent, compared to 39 per cent in 2014.

He said the primary focus of the programme is on behaviour change and promoting sustainable usage of toilets, at both community and village levels.

The officials thanked Amitabh for his continued support to SBM.

BJP disrupts Karnataka Governor’s address; 10 Congress MLAs skip joint session

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Nasheman News : The 10-day Budget session of the Karnataka legislature began on a stormy note on Wednesday with the opposition BJP legislators disrupting Governor Vajubhai Vala’s address and 10 Congress lawmakers skipping the joint session.

Though the session began cordially at 11 a.m. with the Governor reading his address in Hindi, 5 minutes later, about 30-40 BJP members trooped into well of the House, raising slogans against the JD-S-Congress coalition government and made the former’s speech inaudible in the din.

As the BJP sloganeering intensified, Vala abruptly cut short his speech and concluded by reading the last page of his address.

Soon after the Governor left, Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar tabled his address as ‘read’ for adoption by the House after a motion of thanks during the budget session till February 15.

Kumar adjourned the House after the House paid tributes to state’s iconic seer Shivakumara Swami, who passed away at Tumakuru on January 21, and Mangaluru-born former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who died in New Delhi on January 29.

The BJP’s contention is that the coalition government had no moral right to continue as it has “lost” the majority in the lower House.

The Congress state unit in a tweet in Kannada termed the disruption by the BJP as a “disrespect” to the Governor and the House.

Defying the chief whip issued by Ganesh Prakash Hukkeri on Tuesday to the ruling Congress lawmakers for attending the session, party spokesman Rizawan Arshad told reporters 9 members, including the four arebels’ were absent at the joint session.

Besides the rebels — Ramesh Jharkiholi, Mahesh Kumatalli, Umesh Jadhav and B. Nagendra, other five are Basanagouda Daddal (Raichur Rural), B C Patil (Hirekerur), Paratapgouda Patil (Maski), B. Ramalinga Reddy and his daughter Sowmay Reddy from Bengaluru assembly segments.

Congress legislator from Kampli J N Ganesh, who is facing attempt to murder charge for attacking his party’s Vijayanagar MLA Anand Singh at a resort near Bengaluru recently, was also not seen in the House during the session.

Three BJP legislators were also conspicuously absent from the House.

“Our three legislators — Karunakara Reddy, Doddannagouda Patil and Chinnappa Nimbannavar — had taken permission from party leaders for not being able to attend the session for personal reasons,” BJP state unit spokesman Vamanacharya told media here.

Two legislators, H. Nagesh of Karnataka Pragnavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and Independent R. Shankar, who withdrew their support to the coalition government last month were also not present at the legislature session.

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) member Narayan Gowda (K R Pet) was also absent.

In the 225-member Assembly, including one nominated from the Anglo-India community, the Congress has 80, including the Speaker, JD-S 37, BJP 104 and remaining are an Independent and one each from the BSP and the KPJP.

Defending the protest against the ruling alliance partners, BSP’s state unit president and opposition leader in the House B.S. Yeddyurappa said as the government was not stable due to arevolt in the Congress and serious differences with the JD-S, the government had no moral right to continue.

Yeddyurappa, however, reiterated that the BJP would not move a no-confidence motion against the coalition government.

“We will neither move the no-confidence motion nor approach the Governor. The government will collapse on its own, given the bickering among the MLAs. I have learnt that 10-12 Congress MLAs did not attended the session,” Yeddyurappa told reporters outside the House.

Congress Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries K.J. George said the BJP was free to move a “no-confidence” motion.

“There is no use of the BJP creating a ruckus in the Assembly. If they are uncertain that the coalition has the support of the majority, they are free to move a no-confidence motion,” he retorted.

Chief Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy of the JD-S, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is scheduled to present the state budget for ensuing fiscal (2019-20) in the Assembly on Friday afternoon, amidst growing uncertainty over the continuation of the 8-month-old coalition government.


Cabinet approves jail term for film piracy

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Nasheman News :The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved an amendment to the Cinematograph Act, 1952, to tackle the menace of film piracy and copyright infringement making penal provisions of three-year jail term or Rs 10 lakh fine or both.

Addressing the media, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said “If one, without authorisation, undertakes digital duplication of various creative works or by any other means of digital technology, one can be made to suffer three-year jail punishment and Rs 10 lakh fine.”

This step will help our film industry in dealing with the menace of piracy, he said.

Cabinet approves Calcutta High Court’s circuit bench at Jalpaiguri

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Nasheman News : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the setting up of a circuit bench of the Calcutta High Court at West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri.

The bench will have jurisdiction over four districts: Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar.

According to an official release, the decision comes against the backdrop of the decision of the Calcutta High Court Full Court Meeting in 1988, the cabinet decision of June 2006 approving the setting up of high court circuit bench at Jalpaiguri and the visit by a team of judges led by Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to the proposed site of the circuit bench on August 30, 2018 to assess the progress on infrastructure facilities there. 

CBI officers named in Verma-Asthana clash shunted out

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Nasheman News : Two days after new CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla took charge, the government on Wednesday shunted out two Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officials from the agency, including one whose name surfaced during controversy between former Director Alok Verma and his then deputy Rakesh Asthana.

The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet approved the curtailment of tenure of Abhay Singh, a 2002-batch Madhya Pradesh cadre officer and Anish Prasad, a 2003 batch Tripura cadre officer, whose name figured during the clash in the agency as in favour of Verma.

The Committee also promoted CBI Joint Director Praveen Sinha, a 1988-batch Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, to the post of Additional Director in the agency and DIG Amit Kumar, a 1998-batch Chhattisgarh cadre officer, to the rank of Joint Director.

Anish Prasad was the head of CBI’s special unit, which taps phones and also keeps an eye on the activities of agency officers, when Verma ordered to registration of an FIR against Asthana on October 15, 2018. 

The special unit’s conduct came under scrutiny after CBI’s now Additional Director M. Nageswar Rao was given charge of interim Director of the agency when the government’s October 23, 2018 order divested Verma and Asthana of their powers and sent them on forced leave.

Soon after, Rao moved out Prasad from the special unit. Since, Prasad has been handling the charge of the administration division. 

Prasad will now have to go back to Tripura with immediate effect as the government order said it is the “premature repatriation” of the the officer who is being sent to his “parent cadre consequent on curtailment of the tenure in CBI”.

Abhay Singh was the in-charge of the CBI’s Narda sting probe involving several Trinamool Congress leaders till June 2018 but there wasn’t any movement in the case due to which he was shifted to Ranchi at that time. Singh has been placed at the disposal of the union Home Ministry, the Department of Personnel order said. 

Bangladesh, Indian Foreign Ministers to hold consultative meeting

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Nasheman News :Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen will co-chair the Fifth Joint Consultative Committee meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Friday, an official statement said.

Momen, who is on a three-day visit to India, will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, it said.

It is the first high-level visit from Bangladesh since Sheikh Hasina’s victory in the parliamentary elections.

The two sides will also sign agreements during the visit. 


Jet introduces staggered penalty framework for domestic network

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Nasheman News :  Private airline Jet Airways on Wednesday introduced a staggered framework to reward its domestic guests with substantially lower penalties in exchange for advanced intimation for changes in their bookings including cancellations, changes.

The new policy would be implemented from February 7.

“As part of the new policy, charges for various changes including those for flight, date, sector, booking class, cabin and others and refund penalties for ticket cancellations at least seven days prior to the date of travel would attract lower penalties compared to those who undertake booking changes within seven days,” Jet Airways, said in a statement.

“The dynamic penalties will reward guests who plan in advance with substantial savings,” it added.

Heavy snow in J&K, roads closed, flights cancelled

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[Nasheman news] Srinagar Fresh snowfall in the Kashmir Valley and rains in plains of Jammu on Thursday adversely affected life across the state with people forced to stay indoors without electricity at many places, road links snapped and flight operation disrupted.

Most people in Srinagar city and other places preferred to remain indoors as snow and water logging made many roads inaccessible. 

Fresh snowfall started early in the day in the city here as it recorded 0.5 degrees Celsius. Heavy spells were reported from the hills. Pahalgam and Gulmarg recorded minus 0.6 and minus 4 degrees, respectively.

The strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway remained closed for a second consecutive day due to the fresh snowfall in Bannihal sector and landslides in Ramsoo-Ramban. 

The one-way traffic from Srinagar to Jammu that was allowed on Wednesday, was halted. 

Prices of essentials like vegetables, mutton and poultry products, have skyrocketed in the landlocked Kashmir Valley due to severing of road links.

Flight operations, too, were suspended at the Srinagar airport due to poor visibility amid heavy snowfall. “All flights to and from Srinagar were cancelled on Wednesday. 

“No flight could land or take off from the airport today morning,” an official at the Srinagar International Airport said.

Flight operations will start only after visibility improves, he said, adding that snow clearance on the runway was hampered by the continued snowfall.

Electric supply was interrupted in many parts of the valley, especially north Kashmir areas with the Power Department informing that efforts were on to restore snapped lines.

“Our supply is normal in Srinagar city. There have been problems in Bandipora, Ganderbal and other reas due to hiccups in 33 KV transmission lines, but the problem is being addressed. 

“The staff has been at it even in the midst of heavy snowing this time,” Qazi Hashmat, Chief Engineer, maintenance and rural electrification Kashmir told IANS.

He said at present the department is supplying 850 megawatts to consumers against the requirement of 1,200 MW in the valley.

The Met said a western disturbance active over Jammu and Kashmir is likely to weaken after 24 hours on Friday.

“As the western disturbance persists, widespread snowfall and rain is expected today though there should be signs of improvement later in the evening,”

“Significant improvement is forecast from tomorrow onwards,” a Met official said.

In the Ladakh region, Leh recorded minus 3.2, Kargil minus 16.4 and Drass minus 5.8 degrees Celsius

Jammu was at 9.3, Katra 7, Batote minus 1.6, Bannihal 0.2 and Bhaderwah was at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius.

Rains in Delhi, more in store

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[Nasheman news] New Delhi it  was a cloudy Thursday morning here as light to moderate rains lashed parts of the National Capital Region (NCR), while the weather office has predicted more showers throughout the day.

The showers however, had no effect on the mercury with the minimum temperature recorded six notches above the season’s average at 15 degrees Celsius.

With humidity recorded at 89 per cent, the air quality was ‘very poor’ in the city.

According to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), the overall quality index (AQI) of the national capital region was recorded at 265.

“The sky will remain generally cloudy throughout the day with light to moderate rain or thunderstorm and hail likely in the later parts of the day as well,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

At least 16 Delhi-bound trains were delayed by two to six hours due to fog and low visibility. 

In the past 24 hours, the city witnessed about 1 mm of rain.

On Wednesday, the maximum temperature was recorded at 25.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above the season’s average while the minimum was 12 degrees Celsius, three notches above the season’s average.

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