Month: July 2022

The Enforcement Directorate officials on Sunday detained Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut in connection with the Patra Chawl land scam case in Mumbai after hours of conducting raids at his residence.

Earlier in the day, the ED conducted raids at Raut’s residence. ED sleuths reached Raut’s residence around 7 am today.
On June 28 this year, Sanjay Raut was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the prevention of the money laundering case pertaining to the Rs 1,034 crore Patra Chawl land scam.

Refusing to join the probe and citing the Monsoon Session of Parliament as a reason for not joining the probe, he had then dared the probe agency to arrest him. Later, he reached the ED office.

The ED, which took Pune-based businessman Avinash Bhosale into custody earlier in connection with the DHFL-Yes Bank case, wants to grill Raut in this matter too, as per sources. They claimed that Patra Chawl case of ED is also linked to the DHFL case.

In April, the ED provisionally attached assets worth over Rs 11.15 crore of Raut’s wife Varsha Raut and two of his associates as part of this investigation.

The attached properties are in the form of land held by Pravin M Raut, Sanjay Raut’s aide and a former director of Guru Ashish Construction Pvt Ltd, at Palghar, Saphale (town in Palghar) and Padgha (in Thane district).

The attached properties also include a flat in Mumbai’s suburb Dadar held by Varsha Raut and eight plots at Kihim beach in Alibaug jointly held by Varsha Raut and Swapna Patkar, wife of Sujit Patkar, the ED said in a statement.

According to the ED, Sujit Patkar is a close associate of Sanjay Raut. After arresting Pravin Raut in February, the ED had said he appears to be “acting as a front” or in collusion with some influential person(s).

The agency had said during the probe it was revealed he made payments to certain “politically exposed persons”. (ANI)

Aam Admi Party (AAP) national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will undertake another visit to Gujarat on Monday.

Kejriwal is aggressively campaigning for the upcoming State Assembly. Kejriwal will address a public meeting in Somnath and will also tour the State, according to AAP spokesperson.

The Delhi CM visited Surat last Thursday and promised 300 units of free electricity to all domestic consumers and 24×7 supply to cities and villages across Gujarat if his party is voted to power in the state Assembly elections that are scheduled to be held this year.

Addressing a press conference in Gujarat’s Surat, the AAP national convenor had also promised to waive all pending electricity bills up to December 31, 2021.

Earlier on July 26, Delhi CM met people and their families who fell ill after drinking spurious liquor, in Botad district of Gujarat.

At least 28 people died due to the consumption of chemical-laced liquor or spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad district.

“A very sad incident came to my knowledge that more than 25 people have died in Bhavnagar after drinking spurious liquor and several others are admitted to the hospitals. I wish them a speedy recovery,” said Delhi CM Kejriwal.

Delhi CM Kejriwal further questioned the Gujarat government that if the state is a dry state then how is alcohol being sold openly in the state and who is benefitting from this?

“Why is the state government not looking after this or is there any internal conspiracy behind it?” he had said.

He further claimed, that there is a business of thousands of crores of liquor in Gujarat.

After meeting victims and their families, Kejriwal alleged that “This is not the first time people of Gujarat have died due to spurious liquor”.

“People’s lives are at stake,” said Delhi CM.

Kejriwal had met people and their families who fell ill after drinking spurious liquor, in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar.

The number of deaths due to the consumption of chemical-laced liquor or spurious liquor in Gujarat’s Botad district has gone up to 28 while three FIRs have been registered at Barwala, Ranpur and Ahmedabad Rural, informed the officials. Over a dozen were hospitalised due to the consumption of spurious liquor. A Committee to inquire into the incident of chemical misuse in Botad, Banvala and Dhandhuka Talukas has been formed.

“A total of 28 people have died in the tragedy. The chemical was directly mixed with water and consumed by people, 600 litres of this was sold at Rs 40,000,” informed the Director general of police (DGP), Ashish Bhatia.

DGP Bhatia also informed that the local police will constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) over the matter.

“Three FIRs registered at Barwala, Ranpur and Ahmedabad Rural…Local Police will constitute SIT,” he added. Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi took note of the situation and chaired a meeting regarding the case.

The incident came to light last night when several people were rushed to hospitals after consuming liquor infused with dangerous chemicals.

Further investigation is under process. (ANI)

An aggressive half-century from opener Smriti Mandhana powered India to an eight-wicket win over Pakistan in their second T20I match at the ongoing cricket tournament in Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday.

With this victory, India is on the way and in the hunt to claim another medal in CWG 2022. They crushed the Pakistan bowling lineup with amazing spells from Sneh Rana (2/15) and Radha Yadav (2/18) and bundled them out for just 99. India finished off the match easily with Mandhana leading from the front with her fifty.

Chasing 100 runs, the opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma put India to an explosive start.

Pakistan bowlers had no answers for this duo, which only deals in boundaries. They brought up their 50-run stand in just 29 balls.

Spinner Tuba Hassan gave Pakistan the breakthrough they wanted, dismissing Verma for 16 off 9 balls after she was caught by Muneeba Ali while playing a late cut.

Sabbhineni Meghana was the next batter on the crease. Mandhana was on a roll. She struck the ball well and brought up her fifty in just 31 balls.

The duo of Meghana and Mandhana kept going before the former was dismissed for 14 off six balls by Omaima Sohail.

Jemimah Rodrigues was next up on the crease. India won the match, finishing at 102/2 in 11.4 overs with Mandhana (63) and Rodrigues (2).

Sohail and Hassan took a wicket each for Pakistan.

Earlier, Sneh Rana’s fiery spell and tight bowling performance by the Indian team helped them bundle out Pakistan for 99 in the 18 overs of the rain-curtailed match of the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday.

For India, Sneh Rana and Radha Yadav bagged two wickets each. For Pakistan, Muneeba Ali (32) was the top scorer for them. Opting to bat first, Pakistan’s women’s team got off to the bad start as they lost their opener Iram Javed who was dismissed by Meghna Singh after scoring zero runs.

Captain Bismah Maroof then came out to bat and started smashing Indian bowlers all around the ground but her stint was cut short by Sneh Rana, scoring just 17 runs in 19 runs.

Rana who was in red-hot form gave another blow to the Pakistan team as she dismissed opener, Muneeba Ali. In the 10 over of the innings, Pakistan batters tried to open hands and play aggressive shots. Women in Blue bind Pakistan batters in all ways and restricted them to play big shots.

Omaima Sohail and Aliya Riaz played some good shots to keep the momentum going in the favour of their team. In the 15th over of the innings, Women in Green lost another wicket as Omaima Sohail was sent back to the pavilion after scoring 10 runs in 13 balls.

Sohail’s wicket invited Fatima Sana to the crease. Aliya Riaz played some attacking shots and smashed two fours in the over of Deepti Sharma. Riaz was later departed as she was run out by Meghna Singh after scoring 18 runs in 22 deliveries.

In the last over Pakistani batters could only manage to score just 99 runs. The all-around performance by Women in Blue bundled out Pakistan for 99 runs in 18 overs of the rain-curtailed match.

Brief score: Pakistan 99 (Muneeba Ali 32, Aliya Riaz 18; Sneh Rana 2-15) vs India. (ANI)

Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga, who won the country its fifth medal at Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham after he captured a Gold in men’s 67 kg final, shared an interesting story behind the tattoo he wears on his left arm.

On his left arm features a tattoo depicting a person lifting weights, with date 11 November 2011 written above it in Roman numerals. This tattoo signifies him and the day he started lifting weights.

Just below this, features a depiction of a man standing straight, wearing boxing gloves. This signifies his father Lalneihtluanga, who used to be a boxer.

“This story behind this tattoo is that my father used to be a boxer and I am a weightlifter. This tattoo shows just that,” said Jeremy after his match.

Indian weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga created history by capturing a gold medal with a record-breaking combined lift of 300 kg in the men’s 67 kg final at the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham on Sunday.

With this, he won the country its fifth medal at CWG 2022 and its second gold medal at the event.

He had achieved a record-breaking 140 kg lift in the snatch category and 160 kg in the Clean and Jerk category, which combined to give him a lift of 300 kg, a record at the Commonwealth Games.

Jeremy Lalrinnunga successfully lifted 136 kg in his first Snatch attempt to move to the top of the leaderboard. Edidiong Joseph Umoafia was at second with 130 kg and Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane at third with 127 kg at the time of his first attempt.

Lalrinnunga set up a new Commonwealth Games record by lifting 140 kg in his second Snatch attempt.

He tried to better this record by going for 143 kg in his final attempt but failed to do so. He finished the Snatch category with 140 kg, at the top of the table. Edidiong Joseph Umoafia was at second with 130 kg and Samoa’s Vaipava Ioane at third with 127 kg at the end of the Snatch event.

With the Indian at the lead position, proceedings moved to the Clean and Jerk category.

Ditto Titus Ika of Nauru gained an initial lead in the Clean and Jerk category and overall competition with a 135 kg C&J lift and combined lift of 240 kg. Ruben Katoatau of Kiribati took the lead further with combined lift of 250 kg, with 114 kg in Snatch and 136 kg in Clean and Jerk. The lead crossed 250-plus mark when England’s Jaswant Singh Shergill lifted 140 kg, taking his combined lift to 254 kg.

Nigeria’s Umoafia lifted 150 kg in the first attempt to take his combined lift to 280 kg. Jeremy now had to lift 154 kg in his first attempt to match the Nigerian, which he did successfully. With this, he set a new CWG record and brought himself to the lead in the overall competition with a combined lift of 294 kg.

In his second C&J attempt, Jeremy lifted 160 kg to take the lead with a combined lift of 300 kg. By lifting 300 kg combined, he had set another new CWG record.

In his final C&J attempt, Jeremy decided to lift 165 kg but he failed. Nonetheless, his combined lift stayed at 300 kg and was not matched by any other opponent.

Jeremy ended up adding the fifth medal to India’s tally by capturing a gold medal. It was India’s second at the 2022 CWG after Mirabai Chanu’s gold in weightlifting women’s 49 kg category.

Vaipava Ioane of Samoa gained the silver medal with a combined lift of 293 kg, consisting of 127 kg in Snatch and 166 kg in C&J. Bronze medal went to Nigeria’s Edidiong Joseph Umoafia, who had the combined lift of 290 kg. He had lifted 130 in the Snatch category while he attained a best of 160 kg in C&J. (ANI)

After torrential rains in the province wreaked havoc, at least seven dams have been broken in Balochistan while the death toll has jumped to 127, media reports said.

The normal life has gone for a toss due to heavy rains and floods in the province. Almost everything has been destroyed as affectees are forced to live under the open sky with thousands of houses being destroyed, reported ARY News.

Meanwhile, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said that 7 dams have broken due to rains in Balochistan, while many dams have been filled with water. The areas have come under water and communication with many cities has been cut off, the floodplain is also moving towards Sindh from Jhal Magsi.

Meerani Dam in Turbat has overflowed, due to which the spillways (passage for surplus water from the dam) have opened and water is continuing to flow, the highest level of Meerani Dam is 244 feet, and the current water level is 246 feet.

The water level in the hub dam is 339 feet while the spillway limit is 350 feet, the highest water level in Shadi Kor Dam Gwadar is 54 meters while the current water level is 51.34 meters.

Meanwhile, the water level at Guddu barrage has increased by 20 thousand cusecs during 24 hours, there is low level flood in Tarbela, Chashma, Taunsa, Guddu and Sukkur barrage, as per the media portal.

As torrential rains and flash floods continued in Balochistan, the second stream of floodwater entered in adjacent Qambar-Shahdadkot district and the hilly region of Kachho in Dadu district, causing more losses in different areas.

“Thirty more villages in Kachho and link roads have submerged in the water, as a total of drowned villages in the hilly region has reached 50,” according to sources.

The local sources said that the people of the affected areas are forced to take refuge in hills and protective dykes to save their lives.

“An elderly woman of 70 years, in a flood-hit village died of a health condition while failing to get medical help.”

In wake of the havoc heavy rains created in Balochistan, provincial authorities have imposed Section 144 in the province.

Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili on Friday said, “Section 144 has been enforced in the province and the citizens have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel for 10 days.”

He said that since June 1, rains have taken the lives of 124 people and damaged 10,000 houses in the province. The floods damaged approximately 565 km of roads and 197,930-acre of agricultural land while 712 livestock also died,” Uqaili added.

In its latest forecast on Saturday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) predicted more rains, and thundershowers in various parts of the country during the next 24 hours. MET advised the travellers and tourists to remain more cautious during the forecast period. (ANI)

R. Madhavan recently met megastar Rajinikanth along with the former scientist Nambi Narayanan, days after the release of the former’s film’Rocketry’.

On Sunday, Madhavan took to Instagram and dropped a string of images and videos from their meeting.
In the images, Rajinikanth is seen felicitating Madhavan and Nambi Narayanan at his house by giving them a bright traditional stole.

Madhavan also touched Rajinikanth’s feet and sought his blessings.

“When you get the blessings from a one-man industry and the very lLegend himself, in the presence of another Legend .. it’s a moment etched for eternity. Thank you for your kindest words and affection #rajnikanth sir. This motivation has completely rejuvenated us. We love you as does the whole world,” Madhavan captioned the post.

Soon after Madhavan shared the post, his fans flooded the comment section.

“So well deserved,” actor Tisca Chopra commented.

“What a moment! Amazing reward for an amazing movie and of course the amazing hero,” a fan wrote.

For the unversed, ‘Rocketry: The Nambi Effect’ was released on June 1. The film features Madhavan in the lead role of scientist Nambi Narayanan.

The movie was shot in India, France, Canada, Georgia and Serbia. Shah Rukh Khan and Suriya played cameos in the film.

Talking about the superstars’ cameos, Madhavan revealed that they did not charge a single penny.

“The two (SRK and Suriya) did not charge a single penny for their work in the film. They did not charge anything for caravans, costumes, and assistants. In fact, Suriya flew out to shoot in Mumbai with his crew on his own money. He did not charge for the flights or for the dialogue writer who translated his lines in Tamil. There are a lot of good people in the industry. I am an outsider and I have met several people in my career who wholeheartedly helped me. Just on my request, Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) or Priyanka Chopra post a tweet (to show their support for the film). I am grateful for their love and respect,” Madhavan had shared.

‘Rocketry’ was released in six languages worldwide, including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. (ANI)

There is a high probability that the first ship with grain cargo will depart from Ukraine on Monday (August 1), Sputnik News Agency reported quoting Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin on Sunday.

“The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain may depart tomorrow morning,” Kalin said.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that grain exports via the Black Sea will begin in the coming days.

“With the beginning of maritime grain transportation in the coming days we will make an important contribution to the upcoming global food crisis,” TASS news agency quoting Erdogan reported.

Erdogan had also said that Turkey would continue its efforts to solve the Ukrainian crisis diplomatically.

“We are resolved to continue diplomatic efforts until peace between Russia and Ukraine is ensured. In the near future, we hope to receive encouraging news at talks and with contacts at all levels, including leaders,” the Turkish President said further.

Meanwhile, a high-level UN trade official has said the world body will continue to stay engaged with partners in the European Union, the United States and Russia to understand any obstacles to grain exports in the wake of the deal with Ukraine.

This statement comes as the defence ministers of Russia and Turkey and the infrastructure minister of Ukraine met in Istanbul to ink an UN-brokered deal on grain exports that would allow Russia to export its grain and fertilizers, Washington Post reported.

The agreement has ended a wartime standoff that had threatened food security in several countries and cleared the way for exporting tons of Ukrainian grains.

The deal will enable Ukraine to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to the war.

Notably, the deal will create provisions for the safe passage of ships. Moreover, a control centre will be established in Istanbul, staffed by UN, Turkish, Russian and Ukrainian officials, to run and coordinate the process and the ships would undergo inspections to ensure they are not carrying weapons.

Ukraine is regarded as the “breadbasket of Europe” supplying 10 per cent of the world’s wheat, 12-17 per cent of the world’s maize and half of the world’s sunflower oil. Twenty-five million tonnes of corn and wheat – the entire annual consumption of all the least developed countries.

The West accused that Russia’s actions have driven up prices in countries like the UK and the ongoing blockade has placed 47 million people around the world on the brink of humanitarian disaster.

Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, security experts say one of Moscow’s earliest strategic aims quickly became apparent as its armoured columns advanced along the coast in an effort to seize Ukraine’s coastline. (ANI)

Pakistan has always been reliant on foreign patronage, be it US, China, or several Gulf nations and even after 75 years of independence, the country’s elite are continuing to tread on the same path, no matter what the consequences, media reports said.

Over the decades, Pakistan has built the desire to benefit from geopolitical “rents” and donations. This habit is instilled in their gut so much so that it is hard for the country to let go of the foreign largesse.

The current generation of elites in Pakistan is blind to how the geopolitical sands have shifted under their feet. They are still in the same slumber. Since the turn of the 21st century, Pakistan’s stability has been underpinned by four main patrons — the United States, China, and the Gulf monarchies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Starting with United States, Washington offered a lifeline to Pakistan’s former military leader Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorship following the 9/11 terror attacks. US restructured its loans for Pakistan and it sent oodles of money to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

It felt like the good times had come for Pakistan along with the US patronage and support for the country.

But the fall was awaiting. The dictatorship collapsed, under the weight of its own illegitimacy. The country now stared into the abyss.

And by the time Washington soured on Pakistan, a new economic player was in town — China, as per the media portal. Crippled by terrorism and power blackouts, Pakistan needed a saviour which emerged in the form of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Once again the good old days returned but soon Pakistan found itself on the brink of a devastating collapse.

This time around, however, the geopolitical gods were not inclined to be kind to Pakistan and its ruling elite. A multipolar world was emerging and great power competition was back in vogue; the coronavirus only accelerated the pace of events.

In the past, great power competition between the United States and the Soviet Union had been a boon for Pakistan, but this time around the action lies in East Asia.

US had to deal with the ever-rising China and hence the US wrapped the war in Afghanistan and clearly signalling that the only country in South Asia that he had a personal interest in was India.

This view was reinforced by the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s regime in the backdrop of the withdrawal of American forces; Imran Khan’s statement that Afghans had broken the shackles of slavery underscored the view in Washington that Pakistan was not worth the drama.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — long-time strategic allies — also got involved, playing the role of political guarantor and lender of last resort.

During this period, a major shift also occurred in the Gulf monarchies as well. The emergence of a younger, more globally connected leadership in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates altered the regional geopolitical map.

Apprehensions were emerging from other Arab countries and China as well. The Arab monarchies were now interested in pursuing radical transformation of their economy, society, and foreign policy. The Abraham Accords, a major achievement of Trump’s presidency, was an inflection point.

The monarchies now cared about return on investment from their allies, which included Pakistan. Unfortunately for them, both the economic and geopolitical returns in the recent past were in the red.

China also began to develop a more nuanced and jaded view of Pakistan and what its elites could offer.

Pakistan now faces a huge challenge and once elites recognise that the days of extracting geopolitical rents are over, the country can begin the process of rebuilding its value proposition to the world. (ANI)

Aamir Khan-Kareena Kapoor starrer ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ is trending on Twitter again and it’s not for the right reasons.

Netizens are using the hashtag #BoycottLaalSinghChaddha on Twitter, asking people to not watch the movie.
Apparently, some Twitter users went through the archives and dug up Aamir’s controversial “India’s growing intolerance” statement and circulated it on the micro-blogging site. Some of Kareena’s controversial statements from the past have also been surfacing online.

Well, this is not the first time that netizens have expressed anger towards the upcoming film. Earlier, when the makers of the film launched the trailer in May, the same hashtag was trending.

Talking about the controversial statement in question, in 2015, Aamir Khan said in an interview, “Our country is very tolerant, but there are people who spread ill-will”. His wife Kiran Rao also made headlines for saying that she considered leaving the country for the safety of their children.

Netizens have called him ‘Anti-Hindu’ and ‘Anti-National’ while circulating his quote and video from the old interview accompanied by the hashtag #LaalSinghChaddha.

Check out some of the Tweets here:

Recently, the makers announced that the film will be available on OTT 6 months after its release. The film is set to hit the theatres on August 11.

Produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Kiran Rao, and Viacom18 Studios, ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ also stars Mona Singh and Chaitanya Akkineni. It is an official remake of the Academy Award-winning 1994 film Forrest Gump, which had Tom Hanks in the lead role. (ANI)

Vijay Deverakonda shared a string of jaw-dropping pictures of himself in a white suit on Sunday on his social media.

Taking to his Instagram handle, the ‘Arjun Reddy’ star treated his fans with recent pictures from the sets of ‘Koffee With Karan 7’.
In the first picture, Vijay struck a pose looking away from the camera and flaunting his beard look. He wore a white three-piece suit that he teamed up with black trousers.

In the other two pictures, he flashed a cute smile towards the camera and posed by keeping his hands in the pocket of his trouser in one and holding his blazer in the other.

In the last picture, looked dapper in the classic white suit that he accessorized with a shiny golden tiger broach and pair of black formal shoes to go with his outfit.

Sharing the pictures, the ‘Liger’ actor wrote, “Hey, You all. Going on Mum’s favourite show.”

As soon as the south star posted the pictures, the fans chimed into the comment section and dropped lovely messages for the actor.

One the user wrote, ‘You’re so hot.”

Another user reacted with fire emojis and wrote, “thaliva.”

“Mass look but the best your smile effect is impressive on the click,” stated other user.

Previously, Vijay set the internet on fire by dropping his first look from the upcoming film. It showed him nude as he flaunted his chiseled body while holding just a bouquet of roses.

Meanwhile, Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday starrer ‘Liger’ has already created mass hysteria. The trailer of the film was launched on Thursday and has so far crossed 50 million views on Youtube, according to Dharma Productions’ official Instagram account.

Recently at a trailer launch, Ranveer Singh pointed out that Vijay was wearing chappals at his own trailer launch. Ranveer said, “Bhai ka style dekho, aise lag raha hai, ye mere trailer launch pe aaya hai ya main inke trailer launch. The clip of the event went viral, making Vijay’s fans praise his simplicity.

On the film front, Vijay will be seen as a boxer in ‘Liger’, which is helmed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Karan Johar.

The film marks Vijay’s debut in Hindi cinema and the ‘Khaali Peeli’ actor’s first multi-lingual film. The film is all set to hit theatres on August 25, 2022, after getting multiple delays due to COVID-19.

It will be released in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. (ANI)