Month: June 2022

The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it has seized Rs 2.85 crore cash and 133 gold coins weighing 1.80 kg from Health Minister Satyendra Jain’s aides during its day-long raid conducted on Monday.

During the search, various incriminating documents and digital records were also seized, said the ED. The ED said that the total movable assets were seized from an “unexplained source” and were “found to be secreted” in the raided premises.

The assets were seized during a search operation carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at the premises of Satyendar Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and his accomplices and other persons who had either directly or indirectly assisted him or participated in the processes of money laundering.

Those who assisted the Delhi Minister in the money laundering are named as Ankush Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Naveen Jain and Siddharth Jain (Directors of Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), G S Matharoo (Chairman of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust which runs Prudence Group of Schools), Yogesh Kumar Jain (Director in Ram Prakash Jewellers Pvt Ltd), father-in-law of Ankush Jain and Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust, said the ED.

The federal agency’s separate teams had carried out the searches at six places in Delhi, including the residence of Jain, and one in Gurugram since morning.

The places raided by the ED across Delhi included Ram Prakash jewellers Pvt Ltd in southeast Delhi.

The agency conducted raids after it arrested Jain on May 30 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

On May 31, a trial court sent Jain to ED’s custody till June 9.

The move comes days after the federal agency arrested Jain on May 30. Jain is in the custody of ED till June 9.

Investigation revealed that one accomplice member of Lala Sher Singh Jivan Vigyan Trust had provided accommodation entries for the transfer of land from a company beneficially owned by Satyendar Jain to family members of accomplices in order to alienate the property and to frustrate the process of confiscation.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of the First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on August 24, 2017, under Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against Satyendar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

The CBI filed a chargesheet on December 3, 2018, against Satyendar Kumar Jain, Poonam Jain, Ajit Prasad Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain, Vaibhav Jain and Ankush Jain.

The charge sheet mentions that Satyendar Jain while holding the office as a Minister in the Government of Delhi, during the period February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, had acquired assets which are disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The CBI has accused Satyendar Kumar Jain and others for the commission of offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

Jain was arrested after the ED in April this year attached immovable properties worth Rs 4.81 crore owned by companies named Akinchan Developers Pvt. Ltd, Indo Metal Impex Pvt Ltd, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 in connection with the disproportionate asset and money laundering case registered Jain, his wife Poonam Jain, and others. (ANI)

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met the family of the late singer and Congress leader Sidhu Moosewala at Moosa village in Punjab’s Mansa district on Tuesday.

Sidhu Moose Wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Jawaharke village of Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29. The incident took place a day after his security was withdrawn by the Punjab police among 424 others.

Earlier on Monday, former Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot visited Moose Wala’s house and met the singer’s father. He expressed grief over the murder and demanded strict action against the culprits.

BJP leaders Hans Raj Hans and Manjinder Singh Sirsa also met Moose Wala’s family.

Notably, Moose Wala’s body had 19 bullet injury injuries and he died within 15 minutes of being shot, according to the post-mortem report, which also stated that the cause of his death was “haemorrhage shock” due to antemortem firearm injuries.

Punjab Police last week reconstituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to expedite the investigations into the murder of Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moose Wala.

The death of the singer has left his fans in deep shock.

Born on 17 June 1993, Moosewala, whose real name is Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, belongs to the Moosewala village which is situated in Punjab’s Mansa district. He was widely popular among the youth having 6.9 million followers on Instagram. Moose Wala reached new heights of popularity with his songs like ‘295’, ‘So High’, ‘Issa Jatt’, ‘Tochan’ and ‘Dollar’.However, his stardom was often overtaken by the controversies surrounding him for promoting drugs and violence through his songs.

Stepping into politics in December 2021, the Punjabi singer joined the Congress party and also contested from Mansa, however, he lost. (ANI)

Delhi Police on Tuesday said that it has provided security to suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma after an FIR was registered on a complaint that she was getting death threats following her controversial religious remarks.

“Sharma and her family have been provided police security after she alleged that she has been receiving threats and was being harassed over her remarks,” an official said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday suspended its spokesperson Nupur Sharma from the party’s primary membership after her alleged inflammatory remarks against minorities.

“:@CPDelhi I’m being bombarded with rape, death and beheading threats against my sister, mother, father & myself. I’ve communicated same to @DelhiPolice. If anything untoward happens to me or any of my family members…,” tweeted Nupur Sharma on May 27.

While suspending Sharma, the BJP said that it “respects all religions” and is “strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion”.

The BJP leader’s remark drew sharp reactions from Gulf countries. India has said that it had taken strong action against those who made controversial remarks against minorities. (ANI)

China is building a naval facility in Cambodia for military use, the second such overseas outpost and its first in the strategically significant Indo-Pacific region.

The military presence will be on the northern portion of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, on the Gulf of Thailand, The Washington Post reported. This is China’s only other foreign military base right now after a naval facility in the East African country of Djibouti.

Such bases can enable the deployment of military forces in theater, and intelligence monitoring of the US military, according to the report.

It further said the new naval base is part of Beijing’s strategy to build a network of military facilities around the world in support of its aspirations to become a true global power.

Having a facility capable of hosting large naval vessels would be an important element of the country’s ambition to expand its influence in the region, according to US officials and analysts said.

“We assess that the Indo-Pacific is an important piece for China’s leaders, who see the Indo-Pacific as China’s rightful and historic sphere of influence,” one Western official said. “They view China’s rise there as part of a global trend toward a multipolar world where major powers more forcefully assert their interests in their perceived sphere of influence.”

China had signed a secret agreement to allow its military to use the base, citing U.S. and allied officials familiar with the matter, according to The Wall Street Journal published in 2019.

However, both countries had denied the report. At the time, both Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Chinese Defence Ministry had dismissed the reports.

“What we’ve seen is over time is a very clear and consistent pattern of trying to obfuscate and hide both the end goal as well as the extent of Chinese military involvement,” the second official told The Post. “The key thing here is the [PLA’s] exclusive use of the facility and having a unilateral military base in another country.” (ANI)

India’s largest private sector lender HDFC Bank has increased its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR) by 0.35 per cent or 35 basis points across all tenures, effective from June 7.

With the increase in MCLR rates, the equated monthly installment (EMI) on a variety of loans including housing, vehicle, and personal loans, will go up.
This is the second increase in lending rate by HDFC Bank since the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked the policy repo rate by 40 basis points in early May.

On May 7, just a couple of days after the RBI’s decision to hike the policy repo rate, HDFC Bank hiked MCLR by 25 basis points.

As per data updated on HDFC Bank’s website, the overnight MCLR is increased to 7.50 per cent from the earlier 7.15 per cent.

The MCLR for one month tenure is increased to 7.55 per cent from the earlier rate of 7.20 per cent. For the three-month tenure, MCLR is increased to 7.60 per cent. For the six-month tenure, the revised MCLR stands at 7.70 per cent.

The one-year MCLR is increased to 7.85 per cent. The major part of the consumer loans is connected to the one-year MCLR.

The two-year MCLR has been increased to 7.95 per cent, and the three-year MCLR stands revised upward at 8.05 per cent. (ANI)

Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, lodged in Patiala central jail, was admitted to Chandigarh’s PGIMER on Monday afternoon.

Sidhu underwent a medical examination at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research’s Hepatology department, an official statement said.

In the afternoon, Sidhu was admitted to the PGIMER where he had been brought under heavy security from Patiala prison. More tests were expected to be conducted, sources said.

“Former Indian cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu has been admitted in the Heptology ward, Nehru Hospital Extension of PGIMER, Chandigarh today due to liver related problems and requires further evaluation. He has been kept under observation and is stable now,” said the official statement.

On May 19, Sidhu was sentenced to one year of imprisonment by the Supreme Court in a road rage case that is three decades old. The Supreme Court allowed the review application on the issue of sentence against Sidhu, saying, “We have allowed review application on the issue of sentence. In addition to the fine imposed, we impose a sentence of imprisonment of one year to be undergone by respondent Sidhu.”

The order was delivered by a bench of justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul.

Earlier the court had reserved the review petition in a three-decade-old road rage case filed by the family of the victim.

Sidhu opposed the plea seeking to enlarge the scope of the road rage case against him citing earlier order of the apex court which held that there was no evidence that the death of the victim was caused by a single blow in the road rage case.

Sidhu’s submission came while replying to an application filed by family members of the victim seeking to enlarge the scope of notice in the review petition in the road rage case against him.

Sidhu, responding to the application filed by the petitioner seeking to enlarge the scope of notice, submitted that the application was devoid of any merits and ought to be dismissed.

Sidhu was acquitted in connection with the culpable homicide charges but was convicted of the offence of voluntarily causing hurt. The court had slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on Sidhu. The court had also acquitted Sidhu’s associate, Rupinder Singh Sandhu, in the case.

The case has gone through Session Court, High court and Supreme Court.

The Sessions Court Judge of Patiala had on September 22, 1999, acquitted Sidhu and his associate, due to a lack of evidence in the case and giving the benefit of the doubt.

It was then challenged by the victim’s families before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had in 2006, convicted and sentenced Sidhu to three years imprisonment. Sidhu then filed an appeal before the apex court challenging this order.

On December 27, 1988, Sidhu allegedly beat Gurnam Singh on his head, leading to his death. (ANI)

Farmers in Gassu Batpora village, which is located on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Hazratbal tehsil, are busy in the harvesting of strawberries.

This year, despite unseasonal hot weather and late rainfall that pushed the harvesting season from May to Mid April, the production is quite satisfactory allowing farmers to take a sigh of relief. Having the highest number of people growing strawberries, Gassu is famously known as the ‘Strawberry Village’.

Here farmers cultivate tonnes of exotic berries on hundreds of acres of land every year. It is also the first one to produce strawberries in the entire Kashmir valley. Women, as well as children, are also involved in the strawberry business in this village.

This year, as tourists in large number are visiting Kashmir, farmers are expecting good returns.

While talking to ANI, a strawberry grower, Manzoor Ahmed said, “Last year, harvest started around May 5 but this year as summer began early, harvest season started on April 18. But we are thankful to God that the fruit is good and we are getting good rates as well.”

He further added, “Record-breaking tourist arrivals have contributed to an increase in demand and many factory owners are also coming to us directly to buy strawberries for making juice or other products.”

Abida, Horticulture Development Officer in the Shalimar area, said, “Strawberry is our first harvest crop and its harvesting is going on for the last one month. There are many pickings in this fruit and at present, third picking is going on. As summers came earlier this year, the harvesting season of strawberries also came earlier.”

While talking about the benefit of early harvest of strawberries, she said, “Due to early harvest as only this crop is available in the market at present, we are getting good rates of it. Though in few areas, the crop got damaged due to hailstorm but rest of the fruit is being sold at good rates.”

In recent years, strawberry has emerged as a cash crop in the valley with many vegetable farmers having switched to strawberry cultivation.

Besides strawberry, Kashmiri fruits like apple, cherry, grapes, apricot and plum are also very famous across the world for their quality and rich taste and are bringing good returns to the territory’s farmers. (ANI)

Intelligence agencies have issued an alert for the concerned security agencies and state police after the banned Khalistani organization Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) released a video allegedly asking Punjab-based gangsters to join SFJ in killing Indian Army officers who led Operation Blue Star at Amritsar’s Golden Temple in 1984.

The input shared with security agencies reads that incitement on social media portals of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, General Counsel Sikh for Justice (SFJ) released a video on social media platform saying that, “Don’t kill the rising artist, if only bullets are to be fired. The Indian Army officer who led operation Blue Star, General Kuldeep Brar and Brigadier Israr Khan are enemies of the Sikh community and are responsible for the attack on the Swarna temple, Amritsar 1984.”

It further reads that “a reward of 100,000 US dollars will be given by the SFJ for reporting the foreign tours of these two officers. SFJ has called on Punjab gangsters Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Lawrence Bishnoi, Dilpreet Baba to participate in the Khalistan plebiscite and announced protection and reward for them. And on June 6, 2022, in Sri Akal Takht Sahib, voting will be announced for the campaign for the independence of Punjab, Khalistan referendum.”

The concerned state police are advised to take all precautionary measures and keep a close watch on any such kind of activity, the Indian security agencies advised.

In an about two-minute long video released by the SFJ, the pictures of Army veterans has been used giving a call for Khalistan referendum on June 6.

A senior official said to ANI on anonymity that they are keeping a close watch on social media and they request people not to share such videos. The on-ground officers of intelligence services are keeping watch on any suspicious movement and coordinating with concerned state police, an official said.

In the year 2012, Lieutenant-General (retired) Kuldeep Singh Brar, a prominent member of the team that led Operation Blue Star, was attacked as he walked with his wife in central London.

Today marks the 38th anniversary of Operation Blue Star. (ANI)

A Delhi Court on Monday reserved the order on the interim bail plea of Sharjeel Imam in the sedition case. He had moved the trial court for interim bail in view of the recent direction of the Supreme Court on the law of sedition.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitab Rawat will pronounce the order on June 10, 2022. The court on 30 May had issued notice to Delhi Police on the interim bail application.

He had moved to the lower court for the interim bail in the sedition case on 27 May. His counsel had withdrawn the bail application from the Delhi High Court after the prosecution had raised the issue of maintainability. The High court had asked him to approach the lower court for bail.

The bail application has been moved by Talib Hussain, Ahmed Ibrahim and Kartik Venu.

The application says in the view of recent direction of the Supreme Court, Sharjeel Imam should be granted bail.

Advocate Talib Hussain argued that in the light of direction given by the Supreme court on sedition law, the trial should be stayed and Sharjeel Imam should be released on interim bail.

On the other hand, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) argued that though the proceedings under sedition law are stayed by the Supreme Court, the section of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is invoked. These sections cannot be ignored. Under these circumstances, the accused should not be granted interim bail.

The Supreme Court had directed to keep all pending appeals and proceedings with the respect to the charge framed under section 124A (Sedition) of the Indian Penal Code in abeyance.

An application for bail in a sedition case registered against Sharjeel Imam for alleged speeches against the CAA and NRC was earlier moved in the Delhi High Court.

The bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Mini Pushkarna had granted the liberty to the accused after recording the objection of Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad.

SPP had submitted that in terms of the order of the Supreme Court of 2014, any such bail application would first go to the trial court and only if the relief is not granted, can the accused move to the High Court as the case is triable by a Special Court only.

The bail application had stated that his bail application was dismissed by the trial court because it found that a prima facie offence under section 124A was made out against him.

It was stated in the application that in view of the Supreme Court’s direction, the hindrance raised by the Special Court in the impugned order stands obviated, and observations surrounding the offence under section 124A IPC cannot be taken into consideration in the proceedings against the appellant pending the final outcome of the Constitutional challenges to the section.

This case was registered by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police for alleged inflammatory speeches given by Sharjeel Imam at different places in the country in protest of CAA-NRC. (ANI)