Month: July 2024

Megastars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, who are busy gearing up for their respective films ‘Vettaiyan’ and ‘Indian 2’ posed together for a picture sent fans into a frenzy.

Amidst the buzz surrounding the two much-anticipated flicks of 2024, the photo of the two actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan was shared by celebrity photographer Arun Prasath.

In the picture, Rajinikanth seems to be in his ‘Vettaiyan’ look while Kamal sports his Indian 2 character Senapathy’s look.

The duo were all smiles as they posed for the camera.

Sharing the picture, Prasath captioned his Instagram post, “Sharing the picture, Arun Prasath captioned his Instagram post, “What more could I ask for? Truly blessed to have been in the same studio where ‘Ulaganayagan’ @ikamalhaasan sir & ‘Superstar’ @rajinikanth sir were shooting for their respective films! Thank you Universe @shanmughamshankar sir & @lycaproductions for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Grateful to you #Indian2 #Vettaiyan #LycaProductions.”

‘Vettaiyan’, which is Rajinikanth’s 170th film, is scheduled for a worldwide release in October this year.

Earlier, the production company unveiled the title teaser of the movie on Rajinikanth’s 73rd birthday.

The film features an ensemble cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Ritika Singh, Manju Warrier, and Dushara Vijayan. Anirudh Ravichander serves as the music composer for the film.

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan is currently basking high in the success of his recent release ‘Kalki 2898 AD’.

Apart from this, he is gearing up for ‘Indian 2’.

Recently, the makers of ‘Indian 2’ unveiled the official trailer.

Taking to X, film production Lyca Productions treated fans to an exciting trailer.

The trailer is high on action and Kamal Haasan leaves his fans going gaga over his stunts and disguises.

The trailer opens by introducing Siddharth’s character, who is seen questioning the flaws of the system. Kamal Haasan is reprising his role as a freedom fighter turned vigilante.

In the clip, Kamal’s character Senapathy, who once fought against the system, is back to save society. Kamal Haasan appears in many disguises throughout the trailer.

He also says, “This is the second war of independence. You take the Gandhian approach, while I take Netaji’s approach” in the trailer.Sharing the trailer video, makers captioned the post, “SENAPATHY is back in style! The much-awaited #Hindustani2 Trailer is OUT NOW, packed with breathtaking action and visuals that will keep you hooked.”

‘Indian 2’ is the sequel to the 1996 film Indian, which also starred Kamal as Veerasekaran Senapathy. The franchise brings back Kamal and director S Shankar for the sequel. (ANI)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that terrorism in any form or manifestation cannot be justified and called on the international community to isolate and expose the countries that harbour terrorists, provide safe havens and condone terrorism.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar delivered these remarks on behalf of PM Modi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation being held under Kazakhstan’s Presidency in Astana.

Calling SCO a principle-based organization whose consensus drives the approach of its member states, PM Modi stated, “At this time, it is particularly noteworthy that we are reiterating mutual respect for sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, equality, mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs, non-use of force or threat of use of force as a basis for our foreign policies. We have also agreed not to take any measures contrary to the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The Indian Prime Minister called for giving priority to combating terrorism, which he termed as one of the original goals of the SCO.

PM Modi stressed that terrorism if left unchecked can become a major threat to regional and global peace. He asserted that cross-border terrorism requires a decisive response and terrorism financing and recruitment must be resolutely countered.

Calling on action by the global community to combat terrorism, PM Modi said, “While doing so, priority must naturally be given to combating terrorism, one of the original goals of the SCO. Many of us have had our experiences, often originating beyond our borders. Let us be clear that if left unchecked, it can become a major threat to regional and global peace. Terrorism in any form or manifestation cannot be justified or condoned.”

“International community must isolate and expose those countries that harbour terrorists, provide safe havens and condone terrorism. Cross-border terrorism requires a decisive response and terrorism financing and recruitment must be resolutely countered. We should also take proactive steps to prevent the spread of radicalization among our youth. The Joint Statement issued during India’s Presidency last year on this subject underlines our shared commitment,” he said.

Stressing that climate change remains another prominent concern, PM Modi said that they are working towards achieving committed reductions in emissions, including the transition to alternate fuels, adoption of electric vehicles, and building climate-resilient infrastructure.

He said, “Another prominent concern before us today is of climate change. We are working towards achieving committed reduction in emissions, including transition to alternate fuels, adoption of electric vehicles, and building climate-resilient infrastructure. In this context, during India’s SCO presidency, a Joint Statement on emerging fuels, and a Concept Paper on de-carbonization in the transportation sector were approved.”

PM Modi noted that the SCO Summit was being held in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic impact, ongoing conflicts, rising tensions, trust deficits and an increasing number of hotspots around the world. He emphasised that these events have put significant strain on international ties and global economic growth.

He further said, “They have aggravated some of the problems that have emanated from globalization. Our gathering is aimed at finding common ground to mitigate the consequences of these developments.”

Recalling that India became a member of SCO under Kazakhstan’s Presidency in 2017, PM Modi said, “India recalls with appreciation that its admission as a Member of SCO took place during the 2017 Kazakh Presidency. Since then, we have completed one full cycle of presidencies in SCO. India hosted both the Council of Heads of Government Meeting in 2020, as well as the Council of Heads of State Meeting in 2023. The SCO occupies a prominent place in our foreign policy.”

The Prime Minister also congratulated Iran which is participating in the SCO Summit as a member and offered condolences over the demise of former Iran President Ebrahim Raisi and others in the helicopter crash. He also congratulated Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and welcomed Belarus as the new member of SCO.

Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation in Kazakhstan at the 24th Meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State (SCO Summit).

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The the economic and security bloc comprises India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. (ANI)

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Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday invited Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president Hemant Soren to form the government in the state, a day after Champai Soren stepped down from the chief minister’s post.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held on July 7, according to Supriyo Bhattacharya, general secretary of the JMM.

“Governor has invited us to form the government. The swearing in ceremony will be held on July 7,” Bhattacharya said.

Soren along with the leaders of INDIA bloc arrived at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on the invite of Governor today.

Champai Soren resigned from the post just five months after taking the oath, setting the ball rolling for Hemant Soren to again take over the role.

“A few days ago, I was made the Chief Minister and I got the responsibility of the state. After Hemant Soren was back, our alliance took this decision and we chose Hemant Soren as our leader. Now, I have resigned from the post of Chief Minster,” Champai Soren told reporters.

Champai Soren took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand in the Raj Bhavan on February 2 this year.

After staking a claim to form government in Jharkhand, the JMM executive president said that the details of everything would be shared soon.

“The CM (Champai Soren) has told you everything…We will tell you everything in detail. We have followed all procedures,” said Hemant Soren.

Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. (ANI)

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The woman staff member of the West Bengal Raj Bhawan, who had alleged sexual harassment by Governor CV Ananda Bose, has approached the Supreme Court challenging the immunity granted to the Governor under Article 361 of the Constitution.

She has asked the apex court to decide “whether sexual harassment and molestation form part of discharging or performing duties by the Governor”, to grant him a blanket immunity under Article 361 of the Constitution.

According to Article 361(2) of the Constitution, no criminal proceedings can be instituted or continued against the President or Governor of a State in any court during their term of office.

“This court has to decide whether a victim like the Petitioner can be rendered remediless, with the only option being to wait for the accused to demit his office, which delay will then be inexplicable during the trial, and render the entire procedure a mere lip service, without any justice to the victim herein,” the plea stated.

She claimed such immunity cannot be absolute and asked the top court to frame guidelines and qualifications to the extent of immunity enjoyed by the office of the Governor.

“The petitioner is aggrieved by the sexual advances/harassment made by the constitutional authority – the Governor, State of West Bengal in the premises of Raj Bhavan itself. However, due to the blanket immunity bestowed under Article 361 of the Constitution, the petitioner is left remediless despite the offence against her person, and therefore is constrained to approach this apex court directly,” the petition stated.

The plea argued that the immunity provided by Article 361 should not be absolute, particularly in cases involving illegal acts or violations of fundamental rights.

It stated that the immunity cannot impair the police’s powers to investigate the offence or even name the perpetrator in the complaint/FIR, despite specific averments to that effect.

“Such powers cannot be understood to be absolute so as to enable the Governor to do acts which are illegal or which strike at the root of Part III of the Constitution. Moreover, the said immunity cannot impair the police’s powers to investigate the offence or even name the perpetrator in the complaint/FIR, despite specific averments to that effect,” it added.

She has also sought a thorough investigation into the case by West Bengal Police and protection and security for her and her family by West Bengal Police. The woman further sought compensation for the loss of reputation and dignity suffered by her and her family due to the failure of the State machinery to protect her identity.

According to her complaint, the Governor had called her on April 24 and May 2 on the false pretext of offering a better job only to sexually harass her within the premises of Raj Bhavan during working hours.

Though an FIR was registered against the officer on special duty (OSD) and other Raj Bhavan staff, the Calcutta High Court had in May stayed the proceedings.

The FIR accused the OSD and other staff of restraining and pressurizing the woman from lodging the alleged sexual harassment complaint against the Governor. (ANI)

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday brought the arrested accused in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-UG case to the special CBI court based in Bihar’s Patna. Soon, the accused will be presented before the court.

On Wednesday, the CBI nabbed the suspected key conspirator in connection with the irregularities in the NEET-UG case, according to an official. The suspected key conspirator, identified as Aman Singh, was arrested in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.

This was the seventh arrest made by the central agency in connection with the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exams 2024. Earlier, the CBI arrested the owner of a private school from Gujarat’s Godhra for allegedly soliciting money from candidates in exchange for enhancing their scores.

The CBI also arrested a marketing professional with a Hindi media organization. This came after the central agency, last Friday, nabbed two accused, Dr. Ehsaan Ul Haq and Imtiaz Alam, who were working as the principal and the vice principal of Oasis School in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh. Haq was appointed the city coordinator for the NEET-UG exam 2024. These arrests followed two more arrests made by the central agency in Patna.

A senior CBI official confirmed the arrest of two people identified as Manish Prakash and Ashutosh, who were found to be operating from Patna. According to the official, Ashutosh was arranging safe house premises for the students, while Manish transported the candidates to a school to ‘prepare’ them for the exam. “Manish Prakash transported the students in his car, while the students were accommodated in Ashutosh’s house,” the CBI officer pointed out.

Earlier last month, the central government entrusted the CBI with the investigation into the irregularities in the NEET-UG case. Accordingly, the CBI registered multiple FIRs related to reported paper leaks, impersonation of candidates, and cheating.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG examination, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities. This prompted a series of protests across the country, with demonstrators and political parties demanding the disbandment of the NTA.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on July 8 a batch of pleas alleging paper leaks and irregularities in the NEET-UG exam. According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the top court’s website, the pleas are listed before a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The apex court had earlier sought a response from the NTA on pleas seeking a fresh NEET-UG 2024 examination amid allegations of a paper leak and stated that the “sanctity” of the exam had been affected and required an answer from the testing agency.

The apex court had told the National Testing Agency (NTA) that any negligence in conducting the NEET-UG 2024 exam should be dealt with thoroughly. The Centre and the NTA had, on June 13, informed the apex court that they had canceled the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates and given them the option to either take a re-test on June 23 or forgo the compensatory marks awarded for the loss of time. A total of 813 students appeared for the retest held on June 23 across seven centers. (ANI)

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Rohit Sharma-led Team India reached Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence on Thursday morning after their success at the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup in Barbados.

The T20 World Cup winners will meet with PM Modi at his residence, 7, Lok Kalyan Marg in Delhi.

The Men in Blue wore a special jersey while meeting PM Modi. In the front of the jersey ‘CHAMPIONS’ was written in bold letter.

The Men in Blue got hold of the prestigious T20 WC trophy for the second time, defeating South Africa by seven runs in Barbados on Saturday.

The T20 World Cup-winning Indian team touched down in Delhi on Thursday to a warm welcome from the fans awaiting the sight of their favourite heroes and the sight of the silverware.

The squad members, support staff, their families and media were stuck in Barbados, which was hit by Hurricane Beryl, at that stage a category four hurricane that passed through Barbados, with Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown shut for three days.

The flight was organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah and departed on July 2 before arriving in Delhi at around 6:00 AM on Thursday morning. Board officials and members of the media contingent from the tournament were also on the flight.

India ended a 13-year ICC trophy drought with victory in the final, defeating South Africa by seven runs on Saturday. Virat Kohli’s 76 helped India reach 176/7 while Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) helped India restrict Proteas to 169/8 despite Heinrich Klaasen’s 52 in just 27 balls. Bumrah, who got 15 scalps throughout the tournament at a stunning economy rate of 4.17, got the ‘Player of the Tournament’ honours.

Much like other teams do after winning titles, the Rohit-led side will have an open-top bus ride in Mumbai at Marine Drive and the iconic Wankhede Stadium from 5:00 pm onwards to celebrate. (ANI)

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Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren tendered his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Wednesday to pave the way for Jharkhand Mukti Morcha executive president Hemant Soren to again take over the role. Following Champai Soren’s resignation, Hemant Soren staked the claim to form the government.

After tendering his resignation to the Governor, Champai Soren said the ruling alliance had chosen Hemant Soren as the leader.

“A few days ago, I was made the Chief Minister and I got the responsibility of the state. After Hemant Soren was back, our alliance took this decision and we chose Hemant Soren as our leader. Now, I have resigned from the post of Chief Minster,” Champai Soren told reporters.

Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail on June 28 after nearly five months following bail from Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest on January 31.

After being released on bail, Hemant Soren said on Saturday that the state is a land of courageous people and there is no need to be scared of anyone.

Earlier in the day, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey took a dig at Jharkhand Mukti Morcha over the leadership change in the state.

“The Champai Soren era is over in Jharkhand. In the family-oriented party, people outside the family have no political future. I wish the chief minister drew inspiration from Bhagwan Birsa Munda and stood up against the corrupt Hemant Soren ji,” he posted on X.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also reacted to the change of leadership in Jharkhand and alleged that a senior tribal leader was being removed.

“The removal of a senior tribal leader from the post of Chief Minister in Jharkhand by the JMM and Congress party is deeply distressing. I am certain that the people of Jharkhand will strongly condemn this action and firmly reject it,” he said in a post on X.

Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.

The investigation concerns the purported generation of substantial proceeds through the alleged forgery of official records, involving “fake sellers and buyers” to acquire large parcels of land. (ANI)

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he had given a free hand to agencies to take stringent action against corruption and there will be no interference from the government.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks in Rajya Sabha, PM Modi said that corruption is a termite that has hollowed out the nation and he is working wholeheartedly to free the country of the menace.

He said no corrupt will be able to escape the law.

“I would like to say without hesitation that I have given a free hand to agencies to take stringent action against corruption and the corrupt. Government will not interfere anywhere. They should work honestly for honesty…I would like to tell the citizens that no corrupt will be able to escape from the law. Ye Modi ki guarantee hai,” PM Modi said.

“For me, the fight against corruption is not to be measured in terms of electoral wins or losses. I am not fighting corruption to win or lose elections. This is my mission, my conviction. I believe that corruption is one such termite that has hollowed out the nation. I am working wholeheartedly to free this country of corruption and to build hatred against corruption in the minds of common people,” he added.

The Prime Minister, who faced interruptions during his speech with opposition members raising slogans, took potshots at Congress over first filing a complaint against AAP government in Delhi “over corruption” and later making charges against his BJP-led central government of misusing probe agencies.

“Congress has started running ‘Bhrashtachari bachao andolan’ now. When the corrupt are sent to jail they do hungama…It’s being said that investigative agencies are being misused…’Bhrashtachar kare ‘AAP’, sharabghotala kare ‘AAP’ aur ‘AAP ki shikayat kare Congress, AAP ko court mein leke jaye Congress, ab karyawahi ho toh gaali de Modi ko…And now they are partners….Congress had presented facts against AAP in a press conference, now they must tell if those facts were correct or not,” PM Modi said. (ANI)

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Amid the ongoing row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday claimed that strict action will be taken against the accused who played with the future of students.

Addressing a press conference, Kiren Rijiju said that the anti-paper leak law (Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024) came into effect and under that law, strict action would be taken.

“Today, the Prime Minister has written very clearly that strict steps have been taken and will be taken further too. We will take the strictest action against those who play with the future of students and if this happens, we will take more strict steps for that too, the Prime Minister has given assurance and steps are already being taken, in which a law has also been passed. Now under this law, action will be taken further too,” Rijiju said addressing a press conference on Wednesday.

“These people (opposition) keep abusing Modi from morning to evening and night and then they say that there is no freedom of speech,” he added.

Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress for creating ruckus during PM Modi’s speech in Lok Sabha and said that this is the Opposition tradition of interrupting during the Prime Minister’s speech.

“When the Prime Minister of the country and the leader of the House present their views. In the House, at that time everyone has to listen whether it is the ruling party or the Opposition. In a democracy, everyone has the right to speak and also the right to listen. When the Prime Minister started speaking in the Lok Sabha, the Congress and some of their allies created a huge ruckus and disrupted the entire speech of the Prime Minister. It is very sad because when the Prime Minister of the country speaks, he is given full time to speak, this has been the tradition. If they want to interrupt or give clarification in between, then it is fine. Some interruptions are definitely done during the speech but you will not let him speak for the entire 2-hour by making noise and raising slogans. This has never happened. The Congress party will have to think that the Prime Minister of the country does not belong to any party. He leads the entire country,” he said.

Earlier today in Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government would not spare those involved in the alleged paper leak in the undergraduate medical entrance examinations.

The Prime Minister said that had expected all parties to speak on the issue in Parliament by “rising above politics” but it was unfortunate that such a sensitive issue was sacrificed to “politics”.

“The President in her address mentioned paper leak. I had expected all parties to speak by rising above party politics. But, unfortunately, they sacrificed even such a sensitive and important issue, an issue related to the future of the youth to politics. What can be a bigger misfortune than this?” said PM Modi.

The Prime Minister was replying to the debate on ‘motion of thanks’ on the President’s address in the Rajya Sabha.

He further assured the youth that the government would not spare those involved in the irregularities in the NEET-UG exams.

“I assure the youth of the country that this government is not going to spare those who cheated them. One action after the other is being taken to ensure that those who toyed with the future of the youth of my country get the strictest punishment. In Parliament, we have formed strict laws against these irregularities. We are strengthening the entire system so that the youth of my country do not have to be in a situation of apprehension in future and that they confidently showcase their capability and get what is rightfully theirs…” he said.

The NDA government is under fire from the Opposition on allegations of paper leaks pertaining to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The NEET UG examination was conducted by the National Testing Agency on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities in the country and 14 cities abroad with 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination.

The results were declared on June 4, which immediately caused a hue and cry with aspirants raising multiple issues. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720 led to widespread protests in the country.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 23 registered a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter. (ANI)

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday moved to the Delhi High Court to seek bail in a CBI case connected to the excise policy matter.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 26, 2024, in the case.

Kejriwal recently challenged his arrest by the CBI and the remand granted by the trial court, Delhi High Court.

Advocates Rajat Bharadwaj and Mohd Irshad mentioned the matter before the bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan for urgent listing of the matter for tomorrow. After noting the submissions, the court agreed to hear the matter on July 5, 2024.

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a plea moved by Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal against his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Excise Policy case.

The bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, after hearing the initial submissions of Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said the reply should be filed within 7 days and the rejoinder within 2 days thereafter. The court listed the matter for a detailed hearing on July 17.

In his plea, Kejriwal submitted that his arrest was in clear violation of the statutory mandate as prescribed under Sections 41 & 60A of the CrPC. The offence alleged against him has a maximum punishment of 7 years and hence compliance with Sections 41 & 60A of the CrPC is mandatory and cannot be obviated by the investigating officer. In the present case, despite the offence being punishable by seven years, the requirement of Section 41A & 60A notice was not adhered to by the Investigating officer and hence his arrest without compliance with the requirement as mandated under law is illegal and non-est in law.

No proper justification or reasoning was provided for the arrest, especially considering the investigation has been ongoing for two years, stated Arvind Kejriwal in his plea before the Delhi High Court.

Kejriwal’s plea further stated that his arrest was allegedly based on material in CBI’s possession before June 4, adding that the arrest on previously available material is illegal as it involves re-evaluation, which is not permitted by law.

The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on June 29, sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Judicial custody in connection with the excise policy case.

CBI had alleged that during the police custody remand, the accused, Arvind Kejriwal, was examined/ interrogated. However, he did not cooperate with the investigation and deliberately gave evasive replies contrary to the evidence on record.

On being confronted with the evidence, he did not give a proper and truthful explanation regarding the enhancement of the profit margin for wholesalers from 5 per cent to 12 per cent under new Excise Policy of Delhi 2021-22, without any study or justification, said the CBI.

Kejriwal also could not explain why, during the peak of the second wave of COVID, the Cabinet approval for a revised Excise Policy was hurriedly obtained through circulation within 1 day, when the accused persons of the South Group were camping in Delhi and holding meetings with his close associate Vijay Nair, CBI said.

Kejriwal evaded the questions regarding the meetings of his associate Vijay Nair with various stakeholders of the liquor business in Delhi and demanded illegal gratification from them for favourable provisions in the upcoming Excise Policy, the CBI added.

Kejriwal also could not give a proper explanation regarding his meeting with Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, accused Arjun Pandey, and accused Mootha Gautham of India Ahead News. He also evaded questions regarding the transfer and utilisation of ill-gotten money to the tune of Rs 44.54 crore in the Goa Assembly Elections by his party during 2021-22, the CBI said.

In light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, further custodial interrogation of the accused, Arvind Kejriwal, is not required at this stage, the CBI said.

CBI alleged that Kejriwal was deliberately and intentionally evading the just and relevant questions related to the case.

Kejriwal, being a prominent politician and Chief Minister of Delhi, is a very influential person, as such, there are credible reasons to believe that Kejriwal may have influenced the witnesses and evidence already exposed before him during the custodial interrogation and also the potential witnesses, who are yet to be examined, tamper with the evidence to be further collected and may hamper the ongoing investigation, the CBI added.

On June 26, the CBI arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor, Kejriwal, after the Vacation Judge of Delhi Court allowed CBI to examine/interrogate him in the courtroom so that the agency could proceed with his formal arrest.

The Delhi High Court recently stayed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s bail order passed by the trial court, saying that the trial court should have at least recorded its satisfaction with the fulfilment of twin conditions of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before passing the impugned order. (ANI)

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