Month: July 2022

According to the information received from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Thursday, a witness in the Patra Chawl scam case, Swapna Patkar, who is the wife of Sujit Patkar, a close associate of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, received rape and death threat.

Earlier, Swapna Patkar reached the ED office along with some documents and recorded her statement that is said to be against the Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut. The official informed that in her statement, she mentioned receiving rape and death threats for her statement against Raut in the Patra Chawl case.
A statement of Sujit Patkar was also recorded by the ED.

Recently, a letter was also received by Swapna Patkar in which Swapna is being asked to withdraw her statement or else she will be raped and killed and later, her body will be thrown in the bay.

She is also receiving threats from some international numbers.

After several rape & death threats, Swapna finally filed a written complaint at the Vakola Police Station in Mumbai. She also wrote a letter to Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar.

Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut did not appear before the ED on Wednesday even after receiving several summonses. ED is probing the land scam case of Rs 1,034 crore.

The Rajya Sabha MP was scheduled to appear for questioning on July 19. However, his lawyer had sought 13-14 days time to present the documents in front of the probe agency but the request was declined by the Agency.

The ED had sent him a second summons to appear before July 1, after he failed to appear in his first summon on Monday due to the then political crisis in Maharashtra.

Raut is being probed in connection with the re-development of Mumbai’s Patra Chawl case.

In April this year, the ED had attached immovable properties worth Rs 11.15 crore, including a flat at Dadar, held by Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha and eight land parcels at Kihim near Alibag, jointly held by the latter with Swapna Patkar, in connection with the redevelopment scam. Swapna is the wife of Sujit Patkar, a close associate of the Sena leader.

The federal agency said its investigation revealed that around Rs 100 crore was transferred from the real estate company, HDIL, to the account of Pravin Raut, who in turn diverted part of these funds to various accounts of his close associates, family members, and business entities.

Praveen Raut has been a director in an infrastructure company called Guruashish constructions and is stated to be a subsidiary of the HDIL (Housing Development Infrastructure Limited), an accused in the case. Pravin Raut was arrested in the past by the Maharashtra police’s economic offences wing.

The ED’s summons to Raut, who is considered to be a confidant of Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, comes amidst mounting trouble for the party in the wake of internal rebellion. The federal agency has also been probing the Rs 4,300 crore PMC Bank money laundering case against Sanjay Raut’s wife Varsha Raut who was questioned last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the central probe agency.

The agency is probing her role in the alleged bank loan scam with regard to the transfer of Rs 55 lakh funds by the wife of an accused in the case, Pravin Raut, apart from some other transactions. (ANI)

Amid the ruckus by the Opposition over several issues, action will now be taken against ‘placard holders’ in the Rajya Sabha from now on, said sources.

As per the Parliamentary Customs and Conventions as codified in the ‘Handbook for the Members of Rajya Sabha’, “Production of exhibits on the Floor of the House is not in order” and the Members are required to note and observe these customs and conventions.
Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu has been all the while objecting to the Members holding placards during the proceedings of the House whenever it so happened and urged the Members to desist from the same. He raised this matter in his meetings with the leaders of the Opposition and asked them to advise members of respective parties to stop displaying placards.

For the first time, “…….displayed placards this morning” was specifically mentioned along with other acts of disruption in the motion moved on Thursday by the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan for suspending three Members of Rajya Sabha. The other acts mentioned include entering the Well of the House and shouting slogans that disrupted the proceedings of the House in utter disregard to the House and the authority of the Chair.

Sushil Kumar Gupta and Sandeep Kumar Pathak of AAP and Ajit Kumar Bhuyan, an Independent Member were suspended for the remainder of this week.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday met Chairman Naidu this morning and sought revocation of the suspension of Members of Rajya Sabha done over the last two days.

Naidu underlining the gravity of unruly behaviour by some Members in the House reiterated that revocation of suspension could be considered only if the suspended Members regret their conduct in the House.

The total number of suspended MPs from the Rajya Sabha is now 23.

Lok Sabha also witnessed adjournments on Thursday.

Both the Houses have been facing adjournments on various issues due to the Opposition ruckus since the Parliament’s Monsoon Session started.

The Monsoon Session of Parliament commenced on July 18 and will continue till August 12. There will be 18 sittings during the Session. (ANI)

Enforcement Directorate officials on Thursday reached the New Town residence of Arpita Mukherjee, a close aide of former West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee, in connection with the teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

The officials reached her residence at the Royal Residency flat at Chinar Park in New Town in West Bengal’s Kolkata along with the central force personnel.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Thursday morning left the Belgharia residence of Arpita Mukherjee after filling ten trunks with cash amounting to approximately Rs 29 crore that was found there.

ED sleuths on Wednesday began its fresh searches on the premises linked to Arpita Mukherjee.

The flat of her mother at Belgharia Club town in North 24 Parganas and three other premises was covered in the action initiated on Wednesday. One of the two flats of Arpita Mukherjee, in Belghoria, has been sealed by ED.

Earlier, Rs 20 crore was recovered from her residence in South Kolkata.

ED officials also conducted a raid at the residence of businessman Manoj Jain in Ballygunge. Jain is reportedly an aide of state minister Partha Chatterjee.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on Saturday arrested Partha Chatterjee in connection with the West Bengal Primary Education Board recruitment scam.

Partha Chatterjee was relieved of his duties as a minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led state government on Thursday. (ANI)

Ever since British actor Daniel Craig’s stint as the iconic James Bond came to an end with last year’s ‘No Time to Die’, the search for a new 007 has been up and now ‘Luke Cage’ creator Cheo Hodari Coker has suggested South star Ram Charan’s name for the role.

Charan’s recent performance in SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus ‘RRR’ has received global appreciation since its release this year. Seems like Charan has also caught the fancy of the Marvel creator.
Floating the idea that Charan might be a good contender for the part of 007, Coker took to his Twitter handle and shared a number of names as his choices for the next James Bond, which included actor Idris Elba.

He wrote, “Bond? Idris Elba, Sope Dirisu, Matthew Goode, Damson Idris, and Ram Charan.”

After that tweet went viral, Coker shared another message that read, “Damn! That escalated quickly. Everyone knows Idris from, well, everything, but to get inside my thinking, watch Sope in Gangs Of London, Matthew G in The Offer, Damson in Snowfall and Ram in RRR. They all deserve a shot at a Savile Row suit and a Walther PPK.”

Earlier, ‘Doctor Strange’ screenwriter C Robert Cargill, the writer of DC’s ‘Batman Beyond’ and MARVEL Comics’ ‘Captain America and Kang’ writer Jackson Lanzing, have all showered praises on the film.

Also starring Jr NTR, ‘RRR’ is a fictional story based on the lives of two Telugu freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharama Raju and Komaram Bheem. Ram Charan and Jr NTR played lead roles, respectively. The film collected over Rs 1200 crore worldwide.

Meanwhile, Daniel Craig’s tenure as 007 is now over following ‘No Time to Die’, and the search for the next Bond will begin sometime this year.

For the unversed, if Charan lands the part, he will become the seventh actor to play Bond as part of the franchise – following in the footsteps of Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. (ANI)

Seems like the controversy surrounding Ranveer Singh for posting nude pictures on his Instagram account will not end anytime soon.

On Wednesday, a complaint was filed against Ranveer before the Maharashtra State Commission for Women.
As per complainant Ashish Rai, an advocate, Ranveer’s pictures are against the “dignity of women and small children.” He demanded his nude photos to be deleted from social media. Through the complaint, demand has also been made to the Women’s Commission to take action under suo-motu cognizance.

Prior to this complaint, on Tuesday, an FIR has been registered against him on a complaint filed at the Chembur Police Station. Reportedly the case has been filed after receiving the complaint by an office-bearer of the NGO who had alleged that the actor hurt the sentiments of women with his nude photos.

The Mumbai Police filed the FIR under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code like 292 (sale of obscene books, etc), 293 (sale of obscene objects to young people), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The images from Ranveer’s photoshoot for Paper Magazine were posted online on July 21. In the images, Ranveer is seen wearing no clothes. In one of the images, he was seen lying on a rug naked recreating Burt Reynold’s famous photograph.

In an interview, as quoted by an Instagram page that goes by the name DietSabya, Ranveer said, “I work f* hard. I want to wear nice shit. Eat my f* a, I will wear nice f* shit. I bust my balls, I work 20-hour days. I’m not complaining — I’m only too happy and too grateful — but I go f* hard. I will f* buy Gucci, I will wear it from head to toe. Anybody who judges me can eat my f* a.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Ranveer was recently seen in Netflix’s interactive special ‘Ranveer vs Wild with Bear Grylls’ which received a positive response from netizens all over the globe.As far as films are concerned, he will next be seen in Rohit Shetty’s next directorial film ‘Cirkus’ with Jacqueline Fernandes and Pooja Hegde. The film is slated to release on the occasion of Christmas 2022.

Apart from that, Ranveer also has ‘Rocky aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ with Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Shabana Azmi and Jaya Bachchan. The film is all set to hit the theatres on February 11, 2023. (ANI)

The Dalai Lama, one of the most admired spiritual leaders, is an icon who advocates democracy and freedom not only for his country but also for the world, a Sri Lanka-based professor said.

On the 87th birthday of the spiritual leader, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka’s Ven Prof Lenagala Sirinivasa said that the Dalai Lama is a role model to everyone who wants to see a positive difference in the world, Daily Mirror reported.
The Dalai Lama relinquished his role as the spiritual leader of more than 7 million Tibetan Buddhists because of the Chinese aggression and has lived in exile for 60 years, he said.

Sirinivasa also said that the Dalai Lama has inimitable characteristics of a divine presence on earth such as not losing composure, a sense of humour, altruistic tendencies, simple childlike nature and relentless hard work to achieve global and national commitments.

His achievements over his exile would need many pages to record, he added.

During the recent events conducted by the Dalai Lama over the years, many people have witnessed his simple childlike nature, capacity to laugh aloud without any trace of concern or worry while engaged in grave global issues and threats, his unreserved pure, willful, sacrificial love that intentionally desires another’s highest good and his equilibrium and blissfulness at all occasions, the publication said quoting Sirinivasa.

He mentioned that the simplistic nature of Dalai Lama was evident during his address at a symposium at the Cambridge Union, and added that his outlook on fellow human beings and his approaches to the contemporary world is visible in his lectures and discourses in world capitals.

Even during extreme aggression, Dalai Lama advocated policies of non-violence, the professor said adding that the spiritual leader has received more than 84 awards, honorary doctorates, and prizes since 1959 for his messages of peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion.

Spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has three main commitments in his life. The first includes promoting human values such as compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment and self-discipline, the publication reported citing Sirinivasa.

The second includes promoting religious harmony and understanding among the world’s major religious traditions, he added.

The Sri Lankan professor added that the third commitment of the Dalai Lama, who is a Tibetan, is to preserve Tibet’s Buddhist culture as a culture of peace and non-violence and protect the natural environment of Tibet.

Sirinivasa also said the Dalai Lama believes ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind and emotions, as well as mental training such as meditation, are of great relevance today and can be combined with modern education. (ANI)

Amid the row over the alleged involvement of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Partha Chatterjee in the West Bengal teacher recruitment scam, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Thursday said embezzlement worth thousands of crores had taken place but the state’s ruling party was busy only trying to save its leader just like the Congress.

Speaking to ANI, Ghosh said, “These people keep changing their statements every day. This is all drama. The party wants to cut relations with Partha Chatterjee. Now Mamata ji, her nephew and the government all are busy saving the family. All of them (TMC) are busy saving the family, to save their leader like the Congress party. I do not think anyone will be saved.”
The BJP national vice president alleged that the scam was to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore.

“Hundreds of people are involved in that scam who used to collect money. Government officials, MLAs, MPs, Ministers and leaders of block levels are involved in the scam. And gradually all the information will come out, there is a big scam. Didi says Bengal is the frontrunner. Yes, she is right Bengal is the frontrunner in corruption.”

BJP MP and West Bengal BJP vice president Saumitra Khan alleged Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s involvement and demanded her arrest.

“Mamata Banerjee is 100 per cent involved with Partha Chatterjee in the whole scam. She should be arrested. This is just a small amount. Mamata ji’s nephew has at least thousands of crores in Kalighat. The biggest thing is that this is only cash. Apart from this, there is black money in bank accounts,” Khan told ANI.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Minister Partha Chatterjee was relieved of his duties as a minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led state government on Thursday.

The announcement was made through a notification issued by the West Bengal government. Chatterjee was the minister in charge for the Department of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises, Department of Information Technology and Electronics, Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Department of Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction.

Earlier on Thursday, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh urged his party to sack West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee and also remove him from all party posts following allegations of his role in a massive school jobs scam.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday had arrested Chatterjee in connection with the West Bengal School Service Commission and West Bengal Primary Education Board recruitment scam.

The ED also claimed to have seized a huge amount of cash in the case. (ANI)

A petrol pump manager was shot dead in broad daylight on Thursday when he tried to stop miscreants from stealing diesel from a truck parked on the Lucknow-Delhi National Highway 24.

The manager, Sushil Kumar, was at his petrol pump along with two of his co-workers when he saw some men taking out diesel from a truck.
When he and his co-workers objected, the miscreants shot him dead and fled in their car.

Raj Kumar Aggarwal, SP Rural Bareilly said, “A petrol pump manager, along with his two co-workers were at their petrol pump on the road when they saw some suspicious activity going on around the truck that was parked on the road. They saw some people park their car and steal diesel from the truck.”

“When they approach the thieves and asked them to stop, they opened fire in which the manager died,” he further added.

Raj Kumar, SP (rural) said that the body has been sent for post-mortem and CCTV footage is being scanned to identify the accused. He said that a team had been set up and efforts were on to arrest the accused at the earliest. (ANI)

West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee, who was accused in the West Bengal SSC recruitment scam, was relieved of his duties as minister in the Mamata Banerjee-led state government.

The announcement was made through a notification issued by the West Bengal government.

Partha Chatterjee was the minister in charge for Department of Industry, Commerce and Enterprises, Department of Information Technology and Electronics, Department of Parliamentary Affairs and Department of Public Enterprises and Industrial Reconstruction. (ANI)