Archives for 2024

New Delhi: Five people, including a woman, were arrested in connection with the theft of the Padma Bhushan medallion of former Panjab University VC G C Chatterjee, Delhi Police said on Wednesday.

The accused have been identified as Shrawan Kumar (33), Hari Singh (45), Rinki Devi (40), Ved Prakash (39), and Prashant Biswas (49), all residents of Madanpur Khadar here, they said.

According to police, Biswas is a jeweller who allegedly bought the medal.

On Tuesday, Hari Singh, Rinki Devi and Ved Prakash went to a jeweller, Dalip, to sell the medallion having two golden embossments on both sides. Dalip did not buy it and alerted police, a senior police officer said.

In the meantime, the accused left the shop, they said.

Police swung into action and a team comprising the SHO Kalindi Kunj and other personnel was formed under the supervision of the ACP Sarita Vihar in order to arrest the accused persons, they said, adding that the CCTV footage of the area was checked.

After a thorough analysis of the CCTV footage and gathering local intelligence, the three accused were identified as Hari Singh, Rinki Devi, and Prakash Biswas, the officer said.

On sustained interrogation, it was found that the medallion was stolen by Shrawan Kumar, who works as a medical attendant to Samaresh Chatterjee, a Saket resident and the grandson of G C Chatterjee, police said.

Samaresh Chatterjee is not in good health and lives alone.

Shrawan Kumar stole the medallion and handed it over to the three accused persons for its disposal, the officer said.

All the accused were nabbed by the staff of Kalindi Kunj police station.

The medallion has been recovered, while efforts are being made to recover the golden Lion Capital embossment and circular brass disk of the medal, the officer said.

The stolen Padam Bhushan was granted to G C Chatterjee who was the vice chancellor of Panjab University, Rajasthan University, member of the Union Public Service Commission, and chairman of National Book Trust, the police said.

Chennai: In the second season of the RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, the 27-year-old Ashamat Ullah had a bright start. Playing for the Hyderabad Black Hawks against the Ahmedabad Defenders, the Outsider Hitter scored 6 points, and helped his side attain a thrilling 3-2 win. The future seemed bright, but Ashamat’s destiny had other plans for him.

While training for the next game against the Kolkata Thunderbolts, Ashamat suffered a fracture in his pinky finger, ruling him out for the rest of the tournament.

“I was heartbroken and I cried a lot. At the time, I had thoughts in my mind to just quit volleyball. It was a fracture, I knew it would recover, but I was really depressed,” Ashamat, who is once again back this year for the third season of RuPay Prime Volleyball League powered by A23, representing Hyderabad Black Hawks, said.

Supported and motivated by friends and family members, Ashamat went through an intense three-month recovery process, and found a way back to the sport he fell in love with at a young age. “It was hard period, but I knew the injury would heal. I am grateful to be given another chance this year by Hyderabad. This tournament is important for all of us as it gives us a platform to get recognition.”

While growing up at Jangamakote village in Karnataka, Ashamat’s school did not have any sports. To spend time with his friends, he started competing in local volleyball matches in his village. “Volleyball is a popular sport in our village and a lot of players come from there. But at that time, I was not aware about professional volleyball.”

The stars aligned for Ashamat when he was spotted by a player from SRM University, Chennai, during a local match in his village, and was invited to give trials. But his parents, who ran a small, dwindling, silk business, were not keen on allowing him to travel far away. Ashamat lied that he is going for a state match, gave his trials and was selected. “At SRM, everything was free for us. We used to earn money after our matches which helped in sustaining myself,” he recalled.

After a couple of months, Ashamat returned home without telling his coach due to family pressure, and he decided to give exams for Reserve Police Officer. But he needed documents to appear for the exam and he called his coach for help. But his coach insisted that he return to play volleyball.

Ashamat, once again, told his parents that he is going to fetch his documents, and did not return for 2.5 years, sharpening his skills at the University. “I learnt everything at the University under the guidance of the coaches and my fellow players. After spending nearly 3 years, I had to return home once again after our silk business closed down and my brother suffered an accident. I gave an examination for the Army and I was selected.”

Holding the Havildar position at the Indian Army, Ashamat was able to help sustain his family. While his parents passed away, his brother and his extended family now run a small grocery shop. Meanwhile, the 27-year-old continued playing for the Indian forces team, and eventually, managed to earn his first international cap for India last year, showcasing his talent at the Asian Championships in Iran.

Now, Ashamat has one dream left. “All I want to do is continuing playing the sport. I want to see Indian volleyball reach the Olympics, and I hope I could represent my nation at the biggest stage,” he signed off.

The parents of the late Punjabi singer, Sidhu Moosewala, are anticipating the arrival of another child through in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to family sources confirmed by Tribune.

Sidhu’s mother, Charan Singh, who is reportedly 58 years old, underwent successful IVF treatment and is due to deliver the baby in March. Sidhu was the couple’s only child and tragically lost his life in a shooting incident in May 2022.

In 2022, Charan Singh had declared her age as 56 when filing an affidavit as a covering candidate for Sidhu during his election campaign in Mansa. She is currently under medical care in connection with her pregnancy.

Sidhu Moosewala was fatally shot in Punjab’s Mansa district in May 2022 by six assailants while traveling with his cousin and friend in a jeep to Jawaharke village in Mansa, located 10 km from his native village Moosa.

The case surrounding Sidhu’s death is under investigation by the Punjab Police Special Investigation Team (SIT). The team has filed charges against 32 individuals, including gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldy Brar, and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria.

Sidhu Moosewala, known for hits like “So High,” “Same Beef,” “The Last Ride,” “Just Listen,” and “295,” had also ventured into politics before his untimely demise.

Shimla: Amid cross-voting, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan on Tuesday won the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal Pradesh, defeating ruling Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi, officials said.

The contest was tied at 34-34 votes, after which Mahajan was declared winner by draw of lots, they said.

It is a major jolt for the Congress which has 40 MLAs in the 68-member state assembly and claimed support of the independents. The result made it clear that nine MLAs voted in favour of the BJP which was confident that Congress MLAs would exercise ‘conscience vote’.

At present, the BJP has 25 MLAs in the state assembly.

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has issued summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the eighth time for questioning in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, official sources said on Tuesday.

Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has now been asked to depose at the agency’s headquarters here on March 4, they said.

Kejriwal on Monday skipped the seventh summons issued to him in the case, saying he would appear before the agency if a court ordered him to do so.

A city court, approached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over Kejriwal skipping its summonses, has listed this matter for further hearing on March 16.

The ED, while issuing the eighth summons, rejected the contention that a fresh notice for Kejriwal’s attendance was wrong as the matter was sub-judice.

The agency believes that the local court has prima facie held Kejriwal guilty of “disobeying” the earlier notices issued to him in this case, warranting the eighth summons.

Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED in the case. The agency has said that the accused were in touch with him regarding the preparation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

Kejriwal and his party have alleged that the summonses issued by the ED were “illegal”.

“They want us to break the alliance. Their message basically is that we should quit the alliance,” he said, claiming there were informal messages to that effect from different quarters.

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh apart from communications in-charge of the party Vijay Nair have been arrested in this case by the ED till now.

The ED had claimed in its charge sheet that the AAP used “proceeds of crime” to the tune of about Rs 45 crore in its Goa election campaign.

The agency is also expected to file a fresh supplementary charge sheet in the case and may name the AAP as a “beneficiary” of the alleged kickbacks that were generated through the excise policy.

It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

New Delhi: The rules for the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) for fast-tracking citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are likely to be issued before the Model Code of Conduct for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections comes into effect.

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) gets enforced immediately after election schedule is announced, which is likely in next fortnight.

The rules for the CAA is likely to be issued before the MCC comes into effect, sources privy to the development said.

When the rules for the CAA are issued, the Modi government will start granting Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants — Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians — from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had come to India till December 31, 2014.

The CAA was passed in December 2019 and it got president’s assent subsequently.

However, the law could not be implemented so far as rules are a must for its implementation.

There were massive protests in some parts of the country after the CAA was passed by Parliament. Over a hundred people lost their lives during the protests or police action.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has readied a portal for the convenience of the applicants as the entire process will be online.

The applicants will have to declare the year when they entered India without travel documents. No document will be sought from the applicants, an official said.

According to the law, the benefits under the CAA will be given to the undocumented minorities from the three neighbouring countries.

On December 27, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land and accused the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading people on the issue.

Addressing a party meeting in Kolkata, Shah said it is the BJP’s commitment to implement the CAA.

The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, has been opposing the CAA since beginning.

The promise of implementing the controversial CAA was a major poll plank of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in West Bengal.

The saffron party’s leaders consider it a plausible factor that led to the rise of the BJP in Bengal.

According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of presidential assent or seek extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Since 2020, the home ministry has been taking extension in regular interval from the parliamentary committee for framing the rules.

Meanwhile, in last two years, over district magistrates and home secretaries of nine states have been given powers to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

According to the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2021-22, from April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, a total of 1,414 foreigners belonging to these non-Muslim minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were given Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The nine states where Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation is given under the Citizenship Act, 1955 to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra.

Interestingly, authorities of none of the districts of Assam and West Bengal, where the issue is politically very sensitive, has been given the powers so far.