Investigation Archives - Lokmarg

Judicial Custody of Supertech’s Chairman Extended Till Aug7

By LokMarg 24th July 2023

Delhi’s Patiala House Court on Monday extended Supertech’s Chairman RK Arora’s judicial custody till August 7. He was recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with money laundering case.

On Monday, RK Arora was presented before Delhi’s Patiala House Court’s judge Additional Sessions Judge Devender Kumar Jangala after the end of his Judicial custody period.
The Court also fixed date of hearing on August 7 for an arguement on an application filed by accused seeking copy of grounds of arrest which is pending. Reply to said application has been filed by ED.

It was submitted by accused’s counsel that in absence of grounds of arrest given to accused the accused is not able to move an effective bail application.

Earlier while sending Arora to ED remand, Court said that “The power to seek remand is essentially a part of the power of arrest and to conduct investigation in respect to commission of the alleged offence of money laundering and this power has necessarily to be inferred with the help of above Section as Section 65 of the PMLA, 2002 does not prohibit remand of an accused under the said act to ED custody”.

The court also said that when it comes to power of the ED officers to seek ED custody of the accused, it had observed that though Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) do not confer any specific power in this regard, but this power has to be inferred with the help of provisions contained in Section 65 of the PMLA, 2002 and Section 167 of CrPC as Section 65 of the PMLA provides that the provisions of CrPC shall apply, in so far as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, to arrest, search and seizure, attachment, confiscation, investigation, prosecution and all other proceedings.

“It is contended on behalf of accused that the present ECIR was registered in the year 2021 and the applicant has been repeatedly examined by the investigating agency and after completion of investigation provisional attachment order dated 11.04.2023 has been issued and hence there was no requirement of arrest. The issuance of provisional attachment order by the competent authority does not means that the investigation qua the offences defined under Section 3 punishable under Section 4 of PMLA has been completed,” the court noted.

It has been specifically stated by the ED that the investigation for commission of offence punishable under Section 3/4 of PMLA is not yet complete, therefore the Enforcement Directorate is justified to seek custody of the applicant/accused, the court said.

However, the court had earlier directed that his interrogation shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and also in accordance with all the other applicable rules, directions and guidelines on the subject and the said CCTV footage shall be preserved.

Earlier, ED has apprised the court that 26 FIRS were registered by EOW, Delhi Police; Haryana Police and UP Police against Supertech Limited and its group companies under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 406(criminal breach of trust)/420 (cheating)/467/471 IPC having allegations of cheating atleast 670 home buyers for an amount of Rs 164 Crores. ED also alleged that the amount collected by Supertech Ltd was diverted to their group companies for purchase of properties and the company with land having much lesser value.

ED alleged that the accused persons have acquired properties, made illegal/wrongful gain arising out the said proceeds of crime by involving, indulging and commissioning of criminal activities related to scheduled offences.

It is stated that the prima facie case for commission of offence punishable under Section 3 punishable under Section 4 of the PML Act has been made out.

Arora’s defence lawyer RK Handoo opposed the plea and submitted that his client has been illegally arrested and no grounds of arrest have been furnished.

He also apprised the court that present ECIR was registered in the year 2021 and the applicant has been repeatedly examined by the investigating agency and after completion of investigation provisional attachment order dated April 11, 2023 has been issued. That once the investigation has already been completed, therefore was no requirement of arrest, the defence lawyer said.

He further submitted that the offences of Enforcement Directorate are not the police officers, under law, therefore, the enforcement directorate is not entitled for custody remand of the applicant/accused. (ANI)

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Raut Gets Death Threat From Lawrence Bishnoi Gang

By LokMarg 1st April 2023

Uddhav Thackeray faction leader and MP Sanjay Raut has allegedly received a death threat message from Lawrence Bishnoi gang, Mumbai Police said on Saturday.

Raut has filed a written complaint in this regard and an investigation into the matter is underway, the police said.
“Sanjay Raut received death threats stating that he will meet Sidhu Moose Wala’s fate. He got the threat from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. The message said that if you met in Delhi, will kill you with AK 47. He wrote a letter to the police complaining about the matter,” the police said.

The police are trying to trace the number from which Raut received the threat message.

Earlier, a threat was also received by Bollywood actor Salman Khan stating that he will “end up like Sidhu Moose Wala”. The accused, Dhakad Ram who is a resident of Luni in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, was arrested and handed over to Mumbai Police.

“In the case registered in Bandra police station of threats to kill Salman Khan via email, the Mumbai police team and Luni police team in joint action caught Dhakad Ram, a resident of Luni in Jodhpur district,” Luni Police Station Officer, Jodhpur Ishwar Chand Pareek had told ANI earlier.

Last week, Mumbai Police booked jailed gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Goldie Brar and Rohit Garg for allegedly sending threatening emails to actor Salman Khan’s office. Bandra Police registered a case under sections 506(2),120(b) and 34 of IPC.

Khan has been provided with Y+ category security by the Mumbai police as the actor is perceived to be under threat. The Maharashtra state government took this step after the actor received a threat letter from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang earlier. (ANI)

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Irish Regulator Fines Meta 265 MN Euros Over Data Breach

By LokMarg 28th November 2022

Ireland’s data regulator on Monday slapped Facebook owner Meta with a 265-million-euro (USD 275 million) fine after details of more than half a billion users were leaked on a hacking website.

The penalty resulted from an investigation, started in April 2021, related to the discovery of a collated dataset of Facebook personal data that had been made available online. Facebook was also ordered to take a range of corrective measures, reported Euronews.
Meta said it had cooperated fully with the investigation by Ireland’s Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) and made changes to its systems during the time in question, including removing the ability to scrape its features in this way using phone numbers.

Monday’s fine is the fourth that Ireland’s Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) has levied against one of Meta’s companies. It is Meta’s lead privacy regulator within the European Union and has 13 more inquiries into the social media group outstanding.

The DPC regulates Apple, Google, Tiktok, and other technology giants due to the location of their EU headquarters in Ireland. It currently has 40 inquiries open into such firms, including the 13 involving Meta, reported Euronews.

The regulator has the power to impose fines of up to 4 percent of a company’s global revenue under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation’s (GDPR) “One Stop Shop” regime introduced in 2018.

The DPC said mitigating factors in Monday’s decision – which had been approved by all other relevant EU regulators – included Facebook’s actions.

In September the watchdog hit its Instagram subsidiary with a record fine of 405 million euros, which Meta plans to appeal.

The Irish regulator said in a statement that other relevant EU regulators agreed with the decision issued on Monday after it shared a draft ruling with them last month under the bloc’s “one-stop shop” system of regulating large multinationals. (ANI)

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Delhi Court Defers Satyender’s Bail Plea Till Tomorrow

By LokMarg 16th November 2022

The CBI Court at Rouse Avenue on Wednesday deferred for tomorrow the pronouncement of the order on bail petitions of Delhi Minister Satyender Jain, and two others in the Money Laundering case.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Satyender Jain on May 30.
Special CBI Judge Vikas Dhull on Wednesday said the order copy is not ready for all three accused. It will take some time. Will pass the order tomorrow at 2 pm.

The Court on November 11, had kept the order reserved after the conclusion of arguments from all sides.

During arguments, it was submitted on behalf of Jain that the investigation related to the applicant has been completed and a charge sheet has been filed. No case of money laundering is made out against the applicant.

Senior advocates N. Hariharan and Rahul Mehra submitted that it is alleged that a conspiracy for money laundering was hatched in 2010. At the time neither Jain was an MLA nor a Minister. So how could he hatch a conspiracy for money laundering?

It was also submitted that as per the charge sheet the other accused have admitted that the money allegedly laundered belongs to them. Jain has nothing to do with the companies in question.

On the other hand, the bail plea was opposed by the ASG for ED. The ASG S V Raju submitted that there are witnesses and materials sufficient to make out a case of money laundering against the accused.

ASG submitted that the accused was involved in money laundering with other accused. He sent money to Kolkata-based companies and that money belong to Jain. He is the conspirator and kingpin.

ED also raised the issue of special treatment given to Satyender Jain in the Tihar Jail. Special food is being provided to him and getting massages from unknown people. Most of the time he is either in the hospital or in jail enjoying these facilities, said the ED.

The enforcement agency has alleged that the companies which were “beneficially owned and controlled” by Jain had received accommodation entries amounting to Rs 4.81 crore from the shell companies against cash transferred to Kolkata-based entry operators through a hawala route.

The ED case is based on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) complaint registered on the allegation that Satyender Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for. (ANI)

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Shraddha Murder Case: Police Takes Accused To Jungle in Search Of Body Parts

By LokMarg 15th November 2022

Delhi police, having already recovered around 12 suspected body parts disposed off by Aftab, the accused in the Shraddha murder case, on Sunday, has now brought him to the jungle area with an aim to recover other body parts, according to police sources.

The samples recovered so far have been sent for examination to ascertain if they are all human remains, according to police sources.
“Around 12 samples recovered of remains suspected to be of a human, have been picked up by forensic experts and sent to confirm if they’re all human remains. They’ll be sent to match with DNA samples of her father,” the sources said on Tuesday.

According to the sources the head is yet to be recovered.

Earlier today, the father of Shraddha Walker, a Maharashtra girl who was allegedly murdered by her live-in partner Aftab in the national capital, on Tuesday demanded a death penalty for the accused while also suspecting a “love jihad” angle behind the incident.

Speaking to ANI, Shraddha’s father, Vikas Walker said, “I suspected a love jihad angle. We demand the death penalty for Aftab. I trust Delhi Police and the probe is moving in the right direction. Shraddha was close to her uncle and didn’t talk to me much. I was never in touch with Aftab. I lodged the first complaint in Mumbai’s Vasai.”

I had spoken to Shraddha last in 2021. I used to take information about her from her friend. She did not talk to me much. I did not know that she had shifted to Delhi. Her friend told me that she is in Delhi. I thought that she was in Bangaluru. Aftab has got a lot of time to finish the evidence.

Delhi Police probe into the Shraddha Walker murder case has revealed that the accused Aftab Poonawalla was a food blogger who used to work at a call centre in the national capital. The police are now investigating if he had rented a flat in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area as part of a conspiracy to kill the victim.

The police investigation has also revealed that the couple had frequent fights.

According to police sources, before shifting to Delhi in 2022, the couple had come into a relationship in 2019. They stayed in Maharashtra for some time but used to visit various places as part of their travel plans.

According to the police, they went to hill stations in March-April. Both of them had travelled to Himachal Pradesh for a few days in May and stayed together where they met a man who lived in Delhi’s Chhatarpur. As per reports, upon shifting to Delhi, they had initially stayed at the flat of the same Man whom they met in Himachal. However, the stay did not change the situation between them.

Later, Aftab rented a flat in Chhatarpur where he shifted with Shraddha. She was reportedly strangled to death on May 18 in the Chhatarpur flat.

The police have come to know that the room was taken on rent a few days before the murder.

“It is also a matter of investigation whether Aftab had already hatched a conspiracy to kill her,” the police sources said.

The accused told the police during interrogation that he used to take the pieces of the dead body to the disposal at 2:00 am due to the little movement of people at this hour.

The police have come to know that the accused Aftab has done his graduation and lived in Mumbai with his family.

“Looking at Aftab’s social media, it is known that he had also done food blogging for some time, although no video had come about his blogging for a long time. His last post came in the month of February, after which there was no activity on the profile. He has more than 28,000 followers on his Instagram,” the sources said.

According to the police, till some time back both Shraddha and Aftab used to work in the call centre.

“It is learned that after the murder, Aftab used to come back home by 6-7 pm and then used to take the pieces of the dead body kept in the fridge there for disposal. The accused used to carry the pieces of the carcass in a black foil but had thrown the pieces out of the foil in the forest, making it difficult to ascertain if the pieces were thrown or the remains were due to animal hunting,” the sources said.

Delhi Police solved a six-month-old blind murder case and arrested a man for allegedly killing his 28-year-old live-in partner, chopping her body into 35 pieces, and disposing of them at different places in and around the national capital.

The accused identified as Aftab Amin Poonawalla (28), a resident of Mumbai, was caught on Saturday on the basis of the deceased’s father’s complaint and has been sent to police remand for five days, the police said on Monday.

Aftab and Shraddha met on a dating site and later moved in together at a rented accommodation in Chhatarpur. Delhi police received a complaint from Shraddha’father and registered an FIR on November 10.

Police said that Aftab, after searching on Google, cleaned blood stained from the floor with some chemicals and disposed of stained clothes. He shifted the body in the bathroom and bought a refrigerator from a nearby shop. Later, he chopped the body into small pieces and put them in the fridge.

Officials said that Shraddha Walker (27) from Mumbai, met the Aftab while working at a call center in Mumbai.

“The two got together via a dating app in Mumbai. They were in a live-in relationship for three years and had shifted to Delhi. Soon after the two shifted to Delhi, Shraddha started pressurizing the man to marry her,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi Ankit Chauhan told ANI.

“The two quarreled frequently and it used to get out of control. In this particular instance that occurred on May 18, the man lost his temper and strangled her,” said Chouhan.

“The accused told us that he chopped her into pieces and disposed of her parts in nearby areas in the jungle area of Chhatarpur Enclave. He has been arrested and an investigation is going on,” added DCP Chouhan.

Aftab allegedly chopped her body into 35 pieces, bought a refrigerator, and kept them in it. He later started disposing of the body pieces at different locations in and around Delhi during night hours for the next 18 days, said sources.

Sources further said Aftab used to sleep every day in the same room where he had chopped the body after killing Shraddha. He used to see the face after keeping it in the fridge. Aftab cleaned the fridge after disposing of the body parts.

Sources said Aftab had relations with many girls even before Shraddha. Before committing the crime, he also watched many crime movies and web series, including the American crime drama series Dexter.

In September, Shraddha’s friend informed her family that there was no contact with Shradhha for the last two and a half months and her mobile number was also switched off. Her family also checked her social media accounts and found no updates during this period.

In November, Shraddha’s father Vikash Madan Walker, a resident of Palghar (Maharashtra), approached Mumbai police and lodged a missing person complaint.

During the initial investigation, Shraddha’s last location was found in Delhi, and on the basis of this, the case was transferred to Delhi police.

Shraddha’s father told the police about his daughter’s relationship with Aftab and suspected his involvement in his daughter’s absence.

During the investigation, it was found that Aaftab and Shraddha had come to Delhi and started living in a rented apartment in the Chhatarpur Pahadi area. The police during the course of the investigation, traced Aftab and nabbed him.

Aftab, during questioning, confessed to the crime and said that they fought often as Shraddha was pressurizing him for marriage.

“The accused has been arrested and a case under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of an offense committed) has been registered at Mehrauli police station,” officials said.

Police also recovered some bones from Aftab’s rented flat and officials said that the efforts to recover the remaining parts of the body were on. (ANI)

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