Month: March 2020

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has issued a lookout circular against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and is conducting searches at seven places in Mumbai in connection with the Yes Bank issue.

The lookout circular has also been issued against Kapoor’s wife Bindu Rana Kapoor, their daughters Roshni Kapoor, Rakhee Kapoor Tandon and Radha Kapoor, chairman-MD of DHFL Kapil Wadhawan and Director of RKW Developers Pvt Limited Dheeraj Rajesh Kumar Wadhawan.

Meanwhile, searches were underway at DHFL office, the office of Doit Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, the office of RKW Developers Pvt Ltd, the residence of Rana Kapoor in Worli, the residence of Kapil Wadhawan in Bandra West, Rana Kapoor’s daughters Rakhi Kapoor Tandon’s & Radha Kapoor Khanna’s residences.

After the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the CBI has also started a probe against the Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor in connection with a case pertaining to the alleged financial irregularities involving Yes Bank and reality company DHFL.

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the CBI had filed an FIR on March 7 against Rana Kapoor, under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Rana Kapoor was handed over to the Enforcement Directorate till March 11 by Mumbai’s Special Court on Sunday.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed several restrictions, including a Rs 50,000 cap on withdrawal until April 3 this year, saying that the bank’s financial capability has undergone a steady decline largely due to the inability of the bank to raise capital.

Former State Bank of India’s Chief Financial Officer Prashant Kumar was appointed administrator of Yes Bank last week on Thursday. A day later, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the restructuring plan for Yes Bank will be implemented within 30 days.

(ANI)

The Allahabad High Court on Monday ordered the removal of hoardings put up by the Uttar Pradesh government, with names, addresses and photographs of those who were accused of violence during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

“The court has ordered that the posters should be removed before March 16. The court will again hear the matter on March 16,” said advocate SN Naseem.

While taking suo moto cognizance of a public interest litigation on the issue, the High Court in an unprecedented sitting on Sunday termed the act of putting up photos of protesters as “unjust”.

Lawyer KK Rai had on Sunday said that the court has observed that the act is an encroachment into a citizen’s right to privacy.

“The court observed that the government could do something to rectify it,” he had further said.

On Thursday, the district administration installed hoardings with photographs and addresses of 53 anti-CAA protesters at prominent crossings across the city.

The hoardings included pictures of Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas, former IPS officer SR Darapuri and Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, all of whom were named as accused in the violence that swept the state capital on December 19 last year. (ANI)

Equity benchmark indices came under the bearish grip during the afternoon on Monday as risk sentiment worsened in global stocks due to spreading coronavirus (COVID-19) and a sharp plunge in oil prices.

Oil fell by the most since 1991 after Saudi Arabia started a price war with Russia by slashing its selling prices amid falling demand because of the virus outbreak.

At 1:15 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 2,345 points or 6.24 per cent to 35,231 while the Nifty 50 plunged by 632 points or 5.75 per cent at 10,357.

All sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were in the red with Nifty metal down by 6.7 per cent, IT by 4.8 per cent, PSU bank by 4.6 per cent, and realty by 4.1 per cent.

Among stocks, ONGC cracked by 13.16 per cent to Rs 76.85 per share. Metal and mining major Vedanta fell by 12 per cent while index heavyweight Reliance Industries dipped by 10.66 per cent at Rs 1,135.50 per share.

Among the other major losers were IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and GAIL.

However, Yes Bank gained by 31.58 per cent to Rs 21.25 per share as State Bank of India got ready to unveil a reconstruction plan for the troubled private sector lender, which has been grappling with mounting bad loans and struggling to raise fresh capital.Bharat Petroleum Corporation gained by 7.8 per cent while IndianOil Corporation rose by 0.74 per cent.

Meanwhile, global share markets tumbled as panicked investors fled to bonds to hedge the economic shock of coronavirus.

The number of people infected has topped 107,000 across the world as the outbreak reaches more countries and causes more economic pain.

At the same time, oil prices plunged almost 30 per cent after Saudi Arabia slashed its official selling price with plans to raise its production significantly after the collapse of OPEC’s supply cut agreement with Russia.

Brent crude futures were down 12.23 dollars or 27 per cent at 33.04 dollars a barrel by 0552 hrs GMT after earlier dropping to 31.02 dollars, their lowest since February 12, 2016.

Brent futures were on track for their biggest daily decline since January 17, 1991 at the start of the first Gulf War. (ANI)

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Monday said that there are 43 cases of coronavirus in the country.

“As of today, there are 43 total cases (three positive cases from Kerala which are now discharged), out of which 40 are active cases of COVID-19 in the country,” the Ministry said in a press release.

It said, “Four new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since yesterday’s update – one from Ernakulum, Kerala, one from Delhi, one from Uttar Pradesh and one from Jammu. The five cases from Kerala reported yesterday are three family members with travel history to Italy and two of their relatives who came in contact with them. The family is reported to have visited relatives and attended few functions and their contacts are being traced as we speak.”

The Ministry said, 43 samples have tested positive out of the 3,003 samples tested for COVID-19 with 2,694 samples having returned negative results.

A total of 8,74,708 international passengers from 8,255 flights have been screened at airports till now with 1,921 passengers identified as symptomatic. 177 of them have been hospitalised. 33,599 passengers are under observation. 21,867 passengers have completed their observation period, the Ministry said in the press release.

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr Harsh Vardhan is continuously monitoring and reviewing the status, actions taken and future preparedness of States. Also, Secretary (HFW) is reviewing the situation with States/UTs on a regular basis.

The Health Ministry appealed to the people to observe the Do’s and Don’ts, coughing etiquettes, hand-washing and avoid large gatherings.

The people have also been urged to clearly reveal their travel history and fill the details in self-declaration forms properly. (ANI)

Congress leader Mukul Wasnik on Monday said his party demands an independent judicial inquiry into the Delhi violence under the supervision of a sitting judge of Supreme Court or High Court.

Referring to several controversial remarks and speeches made by Parvesh Verma, Kapil Mishra, Anurag Thakur, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik while addressing a press conference here said: “We demand that an FIR be registered against Union Minister Anurag Thakur, BJP leaders Kapil Mishra and Parvesh Verma (for their speeches during Delhi polls). We also demand independent judicial inquiry in the supervision of a sitting judge of the High Court or Supreme Court.”

Wasnik was part of the five-member Congress committee formed by its president Sonia Gandhi over Delhi violence. Wasnik said the committee submitted its report to the Congress president earlier today with certain recommendations and demands.

Casting aspersions on BJP, the Congress leader wondered if it was a ploy by the ruling party at the Centre to divert attention from several problems faced by the country.

“There are several problems before the country today. It appears to us that this may also be a conspiracy by BJP to divert attention from those,” he said.

Slamming Home Minister Amit Shah, the Congress leader said: “It was one of our main demands that Home Minister Amit Shah should resign but he has not taken any responsibility till today. We understand that there was no attempt from him to control the situation which occurred in Delhi.”

“Delhi Election recently took place. You would have heard that speech where Home Minister said to press the button so hard that its current is felt in Shaheen Bagh. What does it mean?” he questioned.

Expressing condolences to the families of people and officials who lost their lives in Delhi violence, Wasnik said: “While 690 FIRs have been registered for the riots on one side, till today, no FIR has been registered against Anurag Thakur, Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma. What does that mean? Does Government want peace and harmony in Delhi or not?”

He also demanded action against officials who failed to perform their duty.

Taking a jibe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress leader said the AAP leader has also failed to tackle the situation.

At least 53 people, including Ankit Sharma and police head constable Rattan Lal, were killed in the violence that erupted in the national capital recently. (ANI)

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), will be produced before a Mumbai Court on Sunday.

Kapoor was taken to the ED office for questioning on Saturday. He left the ED office along with the officials of the central probe agency this morning.

The agency had conducted raids at Kapoor’s residence located at ‘Samudra Mahal’ residential tower in Mumbai on Friday and registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against him.

Wife of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, Bindu Kapoor, on Sunday, arrived at Enforcement Directorate’s office here in Mumbai as her husband has been arrested by the probe agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED officials are likely to quiz Bindu in connection with the case.

Rana Kapoor, who was taken to the ED office for questioning on Saturday, is scheduled to be produced before a Mumbai court.

On Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said a moratorium has been imposed on Yes Bank, stressing that the bank’s financial capability has undergone a steady decline largely due to the inability of the bank to raise capital.

During the period of moratorium, the Yes Bank Ltd will not, without the permission in writing of the RBI, make in the aggregate, payment to a depositor of a sum exceeding Rs 50,000 lying to his credit in any savings, current or any other deposit account.

Aiming to provide relief to the people “facing challenges since August 5 last year,” former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) leader Syed Altaf Bukhari launched his own new political party called the ‘Jammu and Kashmir Apni (own) Party’ (JKAP) in Srinagar on Sunday.

“It is a very happy occasion that finally we have come up with our party known as Apni Party. It puts a lot of responsibility on us as the expectations and challenges are huge. I assure people of Jammu and Kashmir that my will is strong to surmount these challenges in the interest of my people,” Bukhari told exclusively to ANI.

“After August 5, a lot has changed. People are in despair, tourism is reduced to zero and local industries have closed down. In that view, challenges are very huge. It is an endeavour to see how we can restore the semblance of these things,” he added.

The party was launched especially on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Thirty-one political leaders are expected to join the party, including those from PDP, National Conference (NC) and the Congress, sources added.

Some of them include Dilawar Mir, Noor Mohd Sheikh, Yawar Mir, Zafar Iqbal Manhas and other former MLAs from PDP; Usman Majeed, Aijaz Khan, Mumtaz Khan and Shoaib Nabi Lone from Congress; Vijay Bakaya, Syed Asgar Ali and Kamal Arora from NC.

Informed sources said that the main focus of the party will be the politics of development and that the outfit will have representatives from Jammu and Kashmir, while it is also likely to include the Kashmiri Pandits.

The formation of a political outfit by a former PDP leader — with the inclusion of leaders from the PDP and NC, and representation from pan Jammu and Kashmir — could be seen as the beginning of the political process in the region outside of the “family rule party system.”

Further stressing on the focus of the newly-formed political party, Bukhari stressed that confidence-building measures between New Delhi and Srinagar needed to be restored. “People here are feeling the absence of credible voices, who can take up their issues and get them sorted,” he stressed.

(ANI)

Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor’s daughter Roshni, who was headed to London by the British Airways, was stopped from leaving the country at the Mumbai Airport on Sunday.

Earlier, Enforcement Directorate (ED) had issued a lookout notice against Rana Kapoor and his family including his wife Bindu Kapoor, daughters Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, Radha Kapoor and Roshni Kapoor.

Rana Kapoor was handed over to the Enforcement Directorate till March 11 by Mumbai’s Special Holiday Court on Sunday.

While making a request for five-day custody of Kapoor, the ED made a “verbal submission” to the court detailing the alleged financial irregularities of Yes Bank and DHFL.

As the ED believes that Kapoor took advantage of his position to benefit his daughters’ companies, hence custody of Kapoor is needed to investigate his and his daughters’ role in the matter, said the lawyer representing ED.

The agency argued in court that many family companies are involved and there are also some cases of quid pro quo made out of the case.

Rana Kapoor, who was taken to the ED office for questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Saturday, was arrested in the wee hours of Sunday.

The agency had conducted raids at Kapoor’s residence located at ‘Samudra Mahal’ residential tower in Mumbai on Friday and registered a case under the PMLA against him.

ANI