New Delhi: A special CBI court on Thursday acquitted all the accused including former Telecom Minister A Raja and DMK chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi in the multi-crore 2G spectrum allocations cases. Fifteen other accused in the case and three companies were also acquitted.

Others acquitted in the case are former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja’s erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) — Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair.

Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also acquitted in the case.

Besides them, three telecom firms — Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL), Reliance Telecom Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd — were also accused and acquitted in the case.

Special CBI Judge O P Saini pronounced the judgement in the 2G scam which had rocked the UPA government.

In its charge sheet filed in April 2011 against Raja and others, the CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in allocation of 122 licences for 2G spectrum which were scrapped by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012.

All the accused facing trial in these cases had denied allegations levelled against them by the CBI and the ED.

The court’s verdict came more than eight years after the CBI filed an FIR against “unknown persons” and began its investigations following a recommendation by the Central Vigilance Commission.

(PTI)

Bengaluru: In a shocking incident, a BJP leader Ramakrishnappa was found slapping the headmistress of a school M Asha, within the school premises in Singanayakanahalli in North Bengaluru for not repaying the loans. The entire incident has been captured on CCTV.

In the video, a man is seen yelling at the headmistress of the school in her cabin, before proceeding to slap her repeatedly and hitting her with what looks like a rope.

According to police, Ramakrishnappa repeatedly asked the schoolteacher to return the rest of the loan.

When Ramakrishnappa got, angry over not paying the interest amount owed to him by the school, he started slapping and assaulted the headmistress, M Asha.

According to Asha, she had taken a loan of Rs. 70,000 from him at an interest of 10 per cent and had repaid up to Rs 50,000 in installments. While she had been prompt with her repayments, personal problems prevented her from repaying him for the last four months.

In a statement to police, M Asha, 35, said Ramakrishnappa arrived at the school in Rajanukunte around 12.30pm and started shouting at her

Based on her statement, police have registered an FIR against Ramakrishnappa, 45, under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. Police have launched a hunt for the worker.

The woman told police “On Monday, Ramakrishnappa entered my office room and asked me to return the entire amount. Four students were in the room at that time. Feeling embarrassed, I sent them out. Then, he raised his voice and started using abusive language. I was seeking more time to repay the loan when he repeatedly slapped me. My earrings came off.”

The accused BJP leader is the father of Janardhan, the president of BJP Yuva Morcha in Yelahanka. He is also known to be a close associate of Yelahanka MLA Vishwanath. He is currently absconding as the Rajanakunte police are on the lookout for him.

According to sources, the police have detained his son Janardhan for questioning.

(Agencies)

New Delhi: India has become the fifth most vacation deprived country globally, just after South Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong and France, says an annual survey conducted by online travel agency Expedia.

Expedia released the results of the 2017 Vacation Deprivation study, an annual survey of vacation habits across multiple countries and continents and the survey ranks India as the fifth most vacation deprived country globally.

Also 67 percent Indians have cancelled or postponed vacation plans because of work; on the other hand, 74 percent Indians would prefer an unlimited vacation policy.

According to findings, 55 percent Indians take fewer days of the vacation days they get and 28 percent don’t take leave as the work schedule does not allow for vacation or there are not enough staff to cover.

“It is very important to inculcate an organisational culture that promotes healthy work-life balance through timely vacations. While technology helps us leave the office in time, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are disconnected from work,” said Manmeet Ahluwalia, Marketing Head, Expedia in India.

“As per our study this year- on a one-week vacation, 37 percent Indians would check their work email/voicemail more than once per day and 21 percent check once per day. It is no surprise that 48 percent Indians feel the happiest during a vacation when they disconnect from work, even though the figures have dropped from 53 percent last year.

“A good vacation and disconnecting from work at least once or twice a year is crucial in rejuvenating not just the body, but the mind,” he added.

(IANS)

Chennai: A day ahead of the RK Nagar by-poll here, the AIADMK’s rival T T V Dhinakaran faction Wednesday released a video purportedly showing late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in a hospital here.

The footage of about 20 seconds, aired by TV channels, showed the AIADMK supremo in a nightdress, looking frail and sipping what appeared to be a health drink with the help of a straw.

A year after Jayalalithaa’s death, the clip released by the Dhinkaran camp and made available to the media showed her in a reclining position in a corporate hospital bed.

The chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu, Rajesh Lakhoni, told reporters here that that television channels had been asked to immediately stop airing the clip.

Jayalalithaa was admitted to Apollo Hospital here on September 22 last year after she complained of fever and dehydration.

She died on December 5 that year after 75 days in the hospital. There was no immediate response from Apollo Hospital to a query on the veracity of the video.

The video showed her sipping the drink with a straw from a use-and-throw glass topped with a lid.

On her bedside was the portrait of a deity.

However, the date and time of the footage is not known.

Lakhoni said telecasting or displaying any election- related material 48 hours before the poll to the day of election was barred under election laws.

Ruling AIADMK sources refused to comment on the video.

Jayalalithaa represented the RK Nagar constituency.

(PTI)

New Delhi: A Delhi court today awarded life imprisonment to former television serial producer Suhaib Ilyasi for killing his wife Anju 17 years ago.

Additional Sessions Judge S K Malhotra also imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh on Ilyasi, who was convicted on December 16 for stabbing to death his wife.

The court also directed that Rs 10 lakh would be paid as compensation to the parents of Anju.

Earlier, Ilyasi was only charged with milder sections including 304 B (dowry death) of the IPC.

However, Anju’s mother Rukma Singh and sister Rashmi Singh moved the Delhi High Court which in August 2014 ruled that Ilyasi would be tried under Section 302 for the offence of murder.

Anju was rushed to a hospital on January 11, 2000 with stab wounds she received at her East Delhi residence.

Ilyasi, who had shot into limelight after hosting TV crime show – ‘India’s Most Wanted’, was arrested on March 28, 2000 and later charges were framed against him in the case after his sister-in-law and mother-in-law alleged that he used to torture his wife for dowry.

(PTI)