Month: May 2022

Dropping the drugs charges against Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan on Friday, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), SN Pradhan said WhatsApp chats without physical evidence hold “no value”.

He said that a person can talk about anything on WhatsApp, but without physical existence, it’s not complete evidence.

“There should be physical corroboration of WhatsApp chat. Courts have clarified that WhatsApp chat, in itself, holds no value. You can talk about anything on WhatsApp but if not corroborated with physical evidence, it’s not complete evidence,” the NCB head told media persons.

The NCB chief further clarified that there should be beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officials did not find.

“The principle of preponderance and probability is not applicable to NDPS Act. There should be beyond a reasonable doubt, that we did not find such evidence,” he added.

NCB has not filed any complaint against Aryan Khan and five others in the alleged cruise drug bust case due to a lack of “sufficient” evidence.

“A complaint against 14 persons under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is being filed. Complaint against rest six persons is not being filed due to the lack of evidence,” the Deputy Director-General (DDG) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said.

Apart from Aryan and five others, the NCB has submitted a complaint against all the 14 persons accused in the case.

An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2 night. Eight persons were arrested 20 people including Aryan Khan, along with other accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha the case.

Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on 28 October 2021. (ANI)

India on Friday slammed OIC-IPHRC for its criticism of judgement in the terror funding case involving Yasin Malik and said the organisation has implicitly expressed support for the terrorist activities.

India urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) not to justify terrorism in any manner, saying the world seeks zero-tolerance against the menace. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that Malik’s terrorist activities have been documented and presented in court.

Responding to media queries on the comments made by OIC-IPHRC on the judgement of NIA Court regarding Yasin Malik, Bagchi said India finds the comments unacceptable.

“India finds unacceptable the comments made by OIC-IPHRC today criticising India for the judgement in the case of Yasin Malik. Through these comments, OIC-IPHRC has implicitly expressed support for the terrorist activities of Yasin Malik, which were documented and presented in the Court. The world seeks zero tolerance of terrorism and we urge OIC not to justify it any manner,” Bagchi said.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to Yasin Malik, a separatist from Jammu and Kashmir, in a terror funding case.

The NIA court while sentencing life imprisonment to Malik also imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment twice. NIA had sought the death penalty for the separatist leader who was convicted on May 19.

Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him. (ANI)

World Health Organisation said on Friday that Monkeypox cases have risen across the world taking the total number of infections to 200 and cases have been reported across 20 countries.

“We have about 200 confirmed cases and more than 100 suspected cases, but we expect those numbers to go up. It is across more than 20 countries and in four WHO regions” Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead of COVID-19 response at WHO’s Emergency Diseases Unit said today.

The health body said this virus has been circulating for decades and very little attention has been paid to this. “Sadly and there are 1000 if not thousands of cases that are occurring there,” she said.

“We are asking countries to increase surveillance,” she said.

According to the top official of World Health Organization most of the cases that have been detected in non-endemic areas are among populations of men having sex with men, that identify as men having sex with men, but it not necessarily will be only exclusive to that group.

“So, we want to make sure that we dont stigmatise anyone related to this. This is about raising awareness. This is not a sexually transmitted infection. We do know that Monkeypox does transmit primarily from physical contact, skin to skin contact and that includes sexual contact,” she said.

The WHO official noted that Monkeypox is not the same as COVID-19 and “we are not seeing that type of expansion.”

Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms very similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe.

According to WHO, Monkeypox typically presents clinically with fever, rash and swollen lymph nodes and may lead to a range of medical complications. Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with symptoms lasting from 2 to 4 weeks.

Issuing an alert to the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Central government has asked them to keep a close watch on the monkeypox situation and send samples of symptomatic travellers to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune for further investigation.

“Keep a close watch on Monkeypox situation abroad. Send samples (to NIV, Pune) only in such cases where people display certain specific symptoms. Not samples of sick passengers,” sources told ANI. (ANI)

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the condition imposed by the Allahabad High Court directions to the District Magistrate to hold a measurement of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as part of the condition of bail granted to Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan.

A vacation bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Bela Trivedi also issued notice on a plea filed by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan against the impending threat of demolition of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as part of the condition of his bail. The Court stayed the conditions till the next date of listing of the matter.
Azam Khan has apprehended that conditions imposed by the Allahabad High Court may be led to demolishing of buildings of Jauhar University.

The top court said that Allahabad High Court while imposing conditions for grant of bail has exceeded the settled parameters laid down in certain sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The top court also said that prima facie conditions imposed for the grant of bail are disproportionate and have no reasonable link to the means to secure the presence of the accused.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear this week a plea filed by Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Azam Khan against the impending threat of demolition of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University as part of the condition of his bail.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal on Tuesday, appearing for Azam, mentioned the matter for urgent hearing before a bench of Justices DY Chandracud and Bela M Trivedi. The bench said it will list the matter for hearing this week.

On May 10, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in a case related to wrongful possession of the land. The case is about wrongful possession of Waqf Board property.

The Allahabad High Court had imposed various conditions including directions to the District Magistrate, Rampur being a representative of Custodian/Administrator of Evacuee/Enemy Property, to hold a measurement of the landed property in dispute which is the centre dispute of this issue admeasuring area of 13.842 hectares village Singhan Khera, Pargana and Tehsil-Sadar, District Rampur and thereafter, raise a boundary wall and barbed wire around it to take the actual physical possession of the property in dispute on behalf of the administrator of evacuee property Mumbai latest by June 30, 2022.

Khan, who walked out of jail a few days ago, had been lodged in Sitapur jail since February 2020 last year as many cases are registered against him. (ANI)

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons to former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah for the alleged misappropriation of funds of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA), official sources said.

Abdullah has been asked to join the investigation on May 31 at its Chandigarh office, the officials said. The ED questioned Abdullah in the same case earlier on two occasions in 2019 and 2020. Last time, the ED questioned the 84-year-old leader at its regional office at Raj Bagh in Jammu and Kashmir.
The ED had recorded Abdullah’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on both occasions.

He has been previously interrogated by a team of Central Bureau Investigation (CBI) in the alleged scam in January 2018. The investigation into the case is still underway.

The ED had filed the money laundering case after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR, which booked former JKCA office-bearers, including general secretary Mohammed Saleem Khan and former treasurer Ahsan Ahmad Mirza.

In 2015, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court handed over the investigation of the alleged Rs 113-crore scam in the J-K Cricket Association to the CBI while indicting the state police for failing to carry out the probe in which former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah has been named.

While referring to Abdullah’s name in the scam and citing reasons for handing over the probe to the CBI, the court had said that the president of the JKCA is a “tall political personality” having served as the CM of the state and served as the Union minister in the previous government.

His complicity is alleged in granting approval to two contradictory resolutions pertaining to the operation of bogus accounts of the JKCA to keep accused Ahsan Mirza in control of financial matters despite his ceasing to be a treasurer after the 2011 elections.

The CBI has interrogated many others in connection with the case. (ANI)

Dropping the drugs charges against Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan on Friday, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), SN Pradhan said WhatsApp chats without physical evidence hold “no value”.

He said that a person can talk about anything on WhatsApp, but without physical existence, it’s not complete evidence.
“There should be physical corroboration of WhatsApp chat. Courts have clarified that WhatsApp chat, in itself, holds no value. You can talk about anything on WhatsApp but if not corroborated with physical evidence, it’s not complete evidence,” the NCB head told media persons.

The NCB chief further clarified that there should be beyond a reasonable doubt, that the officials did not find.

“The principle of preponderance and probability is not applicable to NDPS Act. There should be beyond a reasonable doubt, that we did not find such evidence,” he added.

NCB has not filed any complaint against Aryan Khan and five others in the alleged cruise drug bust case due to a lack of “sufficient” evidence.

“A complaint against 14 persons under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act is being filed. Complaint against rest six persons is not being filed due to the lack of evidence,” the Deputy Director-General (DDG) of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) said.

Apart from Aryan and five others, the NCB has submitted a complaint against all the 14 persons accused in the case.

An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa at mid-sea on October 2 night. Eight persons were arrested 20 people including Aryan Khan, along with other accused Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha the case.

Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on 28 October 2021. (ANI)

Troops of the Assam Rifles seized a huge consignment of foreign-origin cigarettes estimated to be worth over Rs 23 crore in Mizoram’s Champhai district on Friday.

The Serchhip Battalion of 23 Sector Assam Rifles under the aegis of Headquarters Inspector General Assam Rifles (East) recovered foreign-origin cigarettes estimated to be Rs 23,40,00 at Zokhawthar in Mizoram’s Champhai district.
According to a press release issued from HQ Inspectorate General Assam Rifles (East), the operation was carried out by a team of eight Assam Rifles who acted on specific information.

The Customs Department, Champhai has seized the contraband items for further legal proceedings.

The smuggling of foreign-origin cigarettes is a major cause of concern for the state of Mizoram, especially along the India-Myanmar Border. (ANI)

Nepal is working to remove the infrastructure tax on petroleum products soon in order to lower the price of petrol which has reached an all-time high in the country.

Dilendra Prasad Badu, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies in his address at the lower house on Friday informed the parliament that a meeting of council of ministers already has taken the decision.
“Due to the rise in the price of petroleum products, keeping in mind the discomfort faced by the general public, taxed levied by the government on the petroleum products would be adjusted which is aimed to give relief to the public,” he said.

“A proposal has already been endorsed by a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday (May 24). Regarding the adjustments to be made on the levied taxes, the Ministry of Finance is working into it,” Minister Badu said further.

At present, an infrastructure tax of Nepali rupees 10 is being levied on petrol. As per the sources, the Ministry is working on the removal of the tax levied on it and submit the report by next week. With the recommendation to be placed into action, the price of petroleum is expected to reduce by Nepali rupees 10 per liter.

Petroleum products are subject to customs and declaration fees, road maintenance charges, pollution charges, infrastructure taxes, and money going to the price stabilization fund. Adding all these taxes and fees, Nepali rupees 63.34 per liter of petrol (Nepali rupees 180) goes to the government account.

The state-owned monopolist- Nepal Oil Corporation earlier on Sunday (May 22) hiked the prices of petrol, diesel, kerosene, aviation fuel, and cooking gas. The NOC increased the prices of petrol, diesel kerosene, and aviation fuel (domestic) by Nepali rupees 10 per liter.

Likewise, the price of cooking gas was increased by Nepali rupees 200 per cylinder. With the new price list, petrol costs Nepali rupees 180 per liter and Nepali rupees 163 per litre for diesel and kerosene while Nepali rupees 166 per liter for domestic aviation fuel.

Earlier on May 14, the state monopoly had increased the prices of petrol, diesel, and kerosene by Nepali rupees 10 per liter. Following the revision, petrol will now cost Nepali rupees 180 per litre, while diesel and kerosene will cost Nepali rupees 163 a litre each. LPG will cost Nepali rupees 1,800 per cylinder.

According to NOC, it is purchasing petrol at Nepali rupees 194.64 per litre, diesel at Nepali rupees 189.82 a litre, kerosene at Nepali rupees 140 per litre, domestic aviation fuel at Nepali rupees 152.02 a litre, international aviation fuel at Nepali rupees 131.19 per litre, and LPG at Nepali rupees 2,679.75 a cylinder from the Indian Oil Corporation.

Despite the increase in fuel prices in the domestic market, the NOC has clarified that it would still face losses of Nepali rupees 14.64 per litre on petrol and Nepali rupees 23.82 a litre on diesel. It will incur a loss of Nepali rupees 869.75 per cylinder of cooking gas.

NOC further has stated that its fortnightly losses, after the price revision, would be Nepali rupees 3.35 billion, indicating another hike soon.

In addition, Nepali rupees 43 billion amount that it needs to pay its supplier Indian Oil Corporation, by May, only Nepali rupees 20.60 billion has been cleared so far due to cash shortage, the state owned supplier stated. It owes Nepali rupees 22.40 billion in dues to the Indian Oil Corporation.

The state monopoly earlier in January had declared itself bankrupt despite hiking fuel prices to near-record levels. The high cost of fuel is digging deeper into consumers’ pockets, and the monthly consumer price inflation climbed to its highest level of 7.28 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year that ended in mid-April.

The transport and airline industry may increase the ticket rates as per the auto pricing mechanism. Since this month, the government has allowed transport operators to revise fares if the fuel price fluctuates by Nepali rupees 5 per litre. (ANI)

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, while taking part in the 4th Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan in Dushanbe on Friday, highlighted that India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan and asserted that “nothing can change this.”

Following the 3rd Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan held in New Delhi in November 2021, the National Security Advisors of Tajikistan, India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Kyrgyzstan and China took part in the regional security dialogue on Afghanistan in Dushanbe.
Taking forward the spirit encapsulated in the Delhi Declaration, the NSAs discussed the situation in Afghanistan and the region. The NSAs highlighted the need to find constructive ways to ensure peace and stability in Afghanistan and combat risks from terrorism emanating from the region.

“India was and is an important stakeholder in Afghanistan. Special relationship with the people of Afghanistan over centuries will guide India’s approach, nothing can change this,” Doval added.

According to sources, NSA took the opportunity to meet his counterparts from Iran, Tajikistan, Russia and other partners in the Dialogue on the sidelines of the meeting.

Doval told his counterparts that the people of Afghanistan have a special place.

NSA Doval highlighted the need for representation of all sections of Afghan society including women and minorities so that the collective energies of the largest possible proportion of the Afghan population feel motivated to contribute to nation-building.

India has focused on infrastructure, connectivity and humanitarian assistance over the decades. After August 2021, India has already provided 17000 MT of Wheat out of a total commitment of 50000 MT, 500000 doses of Covaxin, 13 tons of essential life-saving medicines and winter clothing as well as 60 million doses of polio vaccine

NSA also reiterated India’s position on the distribution of aid to all sections of society. He highlighted, “Assistance should be accessible to all, respect for all obligations under international humanitarian law should be ensured.”

Emphasizing on the rights of women at the meet, Doval said, “Women and youth are critical for the future of any society. Provision of education to girls and employment to women and youth will ensure productivity and spur growth. It will also have a positive social impact including discouraging radical ideologies among youth.”

(ANI)

Special CBI court in Delhi on Friday sentenced former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to four years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh in a disproportionate assets case.

The Court also ordered the confiscation of four of his properties.
Chautala appeared physically and was present in the courtroom.

Special Judge (PC Act) Vikas Dhull last week had convicted Chautala and said the accused had failed to satisfactorily account for such dis-proportionality by proving his source of income or means by way of which, he acquired assets during this period.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) FIR accused Om Prakash Chautala, while functioning as Chief Minister of Haryana during the period from July 24, 1999 to March 5, 2005, in collusion with his family members and others, accumulated assets, immovable and movable, disproportionate to his known lawful sources of income, in his name, in the names of his family members and others to the extent of Rs 1,467 crores.

FIR further stated that the accused accumulated enormous wealth and invested the same throughout the country in the shape of thousands of acres of land, multi complexes, palatial residential houses, hotels, farmhouses, business agencies, petrol pumps and other investments apart from investments in foreign countries.

FIR also stated that 43 immovable properties in all, apart from cash and jewellery were accumulated. Apart from 43 alleged properties listed in the FIR, additional properties were also suspected to be of the accused family.

An investigation with regard to additional properties was also conducted for ascertaining the link of the accused family with the said properties.

The chargesheet filed in the matter after the conclusion of the investigation stated that accused OP Chautala had acquired assets, both immovable and movable, which were disproportionate to his known source of income.

The disproportionate assets were calculated to be Rs 6,09,79,026 and the percentage of DA (Disproportionate Assets) was 189.11 per cent of his known sources of income.

Accordingly, CBI had charge-sheeted the accused for the offence under the relevant section of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Apart from the chargesheet filed against the accused OP Chautala, the CBI had filed two more charge sheets arising out of the present FIR, against the sons of the accused including Abhay Singh Chautala and Ajay Singh Chautala and others, which are being tried separately.

Om Prakash Chautala is a former Chief Minister of Haryana from the Indian National Lok Dal and son of sixth Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal.

Chautala was released from the Tihar Jail on July 2, 2021, from a 10 years prison sentence after completing the due formalities.

He and 53 others, in June 2008, were charged in connection with the appointment of 3,206 junior basic teachers in the state of Haryana during 1999-2000.

In January 2013, a Delhi court sentenced Chautala and his son Ajay Singh Chautala to 10 years’ imprisonment under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. (ANI)