Saturday, November 16, 2024
Home Blog Page 2077

Elon Musk warns of Twitter going bankrupt amidst top executives quitting and cash burn

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Elon Musk warns of Twitter going bankrupt amidst top executives quitting and cash burn

On Thursday, Tesla founder and Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk raised concerns over the possibility of the popular micro-blogging platform going bankrupt after several senior executives of the company quit. 

Bloomberg reported that the billionaire told Twitter employees on a conference call that he could not rule out bankruptcy two weeks after purchasing the company for $44 billion. 

According to the report, Musk told Twitter employees that the cash burn needed to stop and that if the company did not generate more cash revenue, it may face bankruptcy.

The reported warning comes days after Musk lay off half of Twitter’s staff and ordered the rest to stop working from home and return to the office. 

Two executives, Yoel Roth and Robin Wheeler, who moderated a Twitter Spaces chat with Elon Musk on Wednesday to assuage advertisers’ concerns, have resigned, according to a source close to the situation.

Lea Kissner, Twitter’s Chief Security Officer, announced her resignation earlier on Thursday.

“I’ve made the hard decision to leave Twitter. I’ve had the opportunity to work with amazing people and I’m so proud of the privacy, security, and IT teams and the work we’ve done. I’m looking forward to figuring out what’s next, starting with my reviews for @USENIXSecurity,” Kissner tweeted.

According to an internal message shared to Twitter’s Slack messaging system on Thursday by an attorney on its privacy team, Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran and Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty have also resigned.

Following the resignation of these three privacy and compliance officers, the US Federal Trade Commission expressed “deep concern.” These resignations could put Twitter in violation of regulatory orders.

Musk warned the company could lose billions of dollars next year in his first meeting with all employees on Thursday afternoon, according to The Information.

Twitter, on the other hand, has yet to respond to reports of a potential bankruptcy, an FTC warning, or top executives leaving the company.

After Musk took over, Wheeler became the face of Twitter’s advertising. Roth, Twitter’s former head of safety and integrity, claimed that the company had reduced views of harmful content in search results by 95% since Musk’s takeover.

Musk on October 27, claimed the company was losing more than $4 million per day, owing largely to advertisers fleeing after he took over.

Musk has constrained Twitter with $13 billion in debt, with interest payments amounting to $1.2 billion over the next year. The payments exceed Twitter’s latest cash flow, which was $1.1 billion at the end of June.

Musk announced last week plans to lay off half of its workforce, promised to eliminate fake accounts, and will charge $8 per month for the Twitter Blue service, which will include the verified blue badge.

Elon Musk is quite vocal about his political opinions and had urged people to vote for Republicans in the recently held mid-term elections. Elon Musk has openly supported the Republican candidates in a recent tweet.

“To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic,” Musk tweeted on Monday ahead of the polls.

In what is seen in response to Musk extending support to Republicans, US President Joe Biden on Democrat leader Joe Biden on Wednesday said that the relationships of the new Twitter CEO Elon Musk with foreign countries are worthy of being ‘looked into’. 

SG Tushar Mehta at UNHRC slams Pakistan for raking Kashmir issue on the world stage, reiterates ‘J&K, Ladakh was, will always be India’s integral part’

OpIndia Staff
-
0
SG Tushar Mehta at UNHRC slams Pakistan for raking Kashmir issue on the world stage, reiterates ‘J&K, Ladakh was, will always be India’s integral part’

On Thursday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta lambasted Pakistan for resurrecting the issue of Kashmir on the international platform. Tushar Mehta while addressing the 41st session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working group at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) said, “the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was and will always be an integral and inseparable part of India”.

According to reports, Mehta responded to the neighbouring country of Pakistan and highlighted the Union Territory’s transformation after the abrogation of Article 370, as compared to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). “After the constitutional changes in 2019, the people of the region are now able to realize their full potential like other parts of the country,” Mehta said.

Tushar Mehta’s reply came after Pakistan’s envoy broached the topic of Kashmir during his comments in the review process. The Pakistani delegate submitted six suggestions, including undoing actions done since August 2019 and allowing impartial observers access to the region. Mehta who headed the Indian delegation at UPR said, “Despite the constant threat of cross-border terrorism, the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir has improved significantly since August 2019.”

In 2019, India withdrew the special status of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir and separated it into two union territories. He stated that the Indian government has taken various efforts toward the overall development of Jammu and Kashmir, including the restoration of democracy at the grassroots level, strong administration, and unparalleled infrastructural, tourist, and commercial growth. He also stated that around 16 million people had visited Jammu and Kashmir this year, the “highest ever.”

“Expanding more than 800 people-friendly and progressive central laws in the region has ensured better opportunities for all the people of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. These central laws include affirmative action for weaker sections, the right to free and compulsory education, non-discriminatory laws, protection against domestic violence and empowerment of women, criminalization of same-sex relationships and rights to transgender people,” he added.

Meanwhile, at the UN Human Rights Council conference in Geneva, Greece encouraged India to fully implement religious freedom, while Germany raised concerns about the state of human rights. Mehta went on to say that while India values the role of human rights defenders, journalists, and activists in the democratic system, their actions should be in accordance with the law.

He stated that India has passed laws to fill gaps in the legal system to satisfy its human rights duties and that it has conducted a thorough assessment of existing laws, including the repeal of obsolete colonial-era legislation. Meanwhile, the 41st UPR suggested that India should combat violence against women, ratify the Convention against Torture, abolish the death penalty, and safeguard civil society and human rights activists, as well as ethnic and religious minorities.

Mehta then emphasized that India had ruled the instant divorce issued by the Talaq three times as unlawful and illegal and that it has revised its criminal legislation to broaden the categories of rape, sexual abuse, and trafficking, with harsher consequences.

The delegation is led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and includes Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Indra Mani Pandey, Permanent Representative of India, KM Nataraj, Ld. Additional Solicitor General of India, and top officials from the Ministry of External Affairs. The UPR41 Working Group is scheduled to adopt India’s report at 15:30 on November 16, 2022.

Brussels: 2 police officers stabbed in a suspected terror attack, one dies, witnesses say attacker yelled ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ while stabbing

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Brussels: 2 police officers stabbed in a suspected terror attack, one dies, witnesses say attacker yelled ‘Allah-hu-Akbar’ while stabbing

On Thursday, two Belgian Police officers were attacked in the north Brussels commune of Schaerbeek in a suspected terror attack. The two officers were taken to the hospital where one of them (29) succumbed to injuries while the other one is undergoing treatment. Also, the attacker died at a hospital after he was shot at the scene.

According to the reports, the police officers were attacked at around 7:30 on Thursday evening by a sharp knife. Het Nieuwsblad reported that witnesses heard the man yell, “Allahu Akbar!” before attacking one of the police officers who was 29-year-old. The police officers in retaliation shot the attacker in the leg who later died after being taken to the hospital.

The Belgian Police suspect that the attack was a terror-related attack. The anti-terrorist squad of the Belgian Police has however taken over the investigation to identify the attacker and to know his motive. “We took charge of the case because there is suspicion of a terrorist motive, which will be confirmed or disproved by the investigators,” spokesman Eric Van Duyse said.

One of the witnesses of the incident happened to confirm that the police officers were on patrolling duty when the incident happened. The witness said that he heard five or six gunshots at around 7:30 pm and then saw a man lying on the street all covered in blood. “I started to get scared,” Kremel said.

Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo took cognizance of the incident and expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the deceased officer. “Our police officers risk life and limb every day to keep our society safe. Unfortunately, that is once again apparent today,” he said in a tweet.

Tweet by Belgian Prime Minister

Also, Belgian Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden described the incident as ‘terrible drama and heartbreaking news’. “My thoughts are first and foremost with the next of kin, the members of the police zone, and the entire police organization,” she tweeted.

Tweet by interior minister

Several terrorist attacks have occurred in Belgium over the previous few years. A similar attack happened in the year 2017 in Brussels where the soldiers were attacked by a sharp knife. The attacker died after one of the soldiers managed to shoot the attacker. ISIS had claimed the responsibility for the knife attack. 

Also, in June of that year, a suspect was fatally shot at a Brussels subway station following a botched explosion that officials labeled a terrorist act. Further in March 2016, 31 people were killed and 300 were injured in coordinated attacks at the Brussels airport and a metro station.

TMC remodels ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore into party office, gets rapped by Calcutta High Court. Here is what we know so far

Dibakar Dutta
-
0
TMC remodels ancestral home of Rabindranath Tagore into party office, gets rapped by Calcutta High Court. Here is what we know so far

A section of Jorasanko Thakurbari, the ancestral home of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, has been illegally remodelled into the office of Trinamool Shikshabandhu Samiti.

The walls of the Maharshi Bhawan, which has been witness to the Bengali renaissance, have been painted green in colour. The shade of doors and window panes, not to forget the flooring, have also been tampered with by the worker’s wing of the ruling party.

It is believed that Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the lyricist of the Indian National song ‘Vande Mataram,’ and Tagore met for the first time in the said room. Today, the same walls are ‘adorned’ with two mammoth-size images of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.

A small portrait of Rabindranath Tagore is placed between the two pictures of the TMC politicians. The room was been remodelled despite the categorisation of the Maharshi Bhawan as a ‘Grade 1 Heritage’ building.

The contentious move was however defended by the unit President of Trinamool Shikshabandhu Samiti, Subodh Dutta Chowdhury. While speaking to Anandabazar Patrika, he claimed, “We just wanted a place to sit for our members.”

“I have written permission from the secretary of the university. No additional construction was done. The room was just cleaned,” he alleged. Chowdhury further claimed that the Maharshi Bhawan was also used as a Union office during the reign of the Left parties in West Bengal.

Chowdhury defended, “Rabindranath is above our head, Mamata is in our heart.” According to the officials of the university, the campus maintenance contractor was coerced into remodelling the Maharshi Bhawan by Trinamool Shikshabandhu Samiti.

PIL and intervention of the Calcutta High Court

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed before the Calcutta High Court by a petitioner named Swadesh Majumdar, through his lawyer Sreejeev Chakraborty.

“The room in which Rabindranath Tagore and Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay interacted for the first time has been remodelled completely. Now pictures of Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee are hanging on the wall,” the PIL read.

The Maharshi Bhawan is the part of the building where Rabindranath spent his childhood. It has been illegally occupied by an office of the varsity’s workers’ wing run by the ruling Trinamool Congress,” it further added.

The matter came up before a Division Bench of Justice R Bharadwaj and Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava. The Calcutta High Court directed the administration of Rabindra Bharati University and the West Bengal government to protect the heritage building from being tampered.

Following the directions of the court, TV9 Bangla informed that the banner of ‘Trinamool Shikshabandhu Samiti’ was removed. However, the congregation of party-affiliated workers did not stop despite the High Court’s order.

Response of varsity and Opposition parties

While speaking about the matter, Vice-Chancellor of the Rabindra Bharati University, Sabyasachi Basu Roy Chowdhury, denied granting any permission for construction work.

He said, “The act (by Trinamool Shikshabandhu Samiti) is highly condemnable. Now, the HC has intervened. We noticed this two-three months ago. I tried to stop this, but I was told the people who could be involved were the supporters of the ruling party.”

Chowdhury lamented that despite directions to the contrary, nothing was done owing to political pressure. “Several officials and I were under pressure. It was difficult for us to work,” he conceded.

BJP leader Agnimitra Paul has hit out at the ruling dispensation in the State. “Mamata Banerjee’s workers have not only created an office in Jorasanko Thakurbari but also changed the colour of the wall, broke the rooms & hung pictures of CM,” she tweeted.

“How can you touch a Heritage Building mam? Kobi Guru (Rabindranath Tagore) is our sentiment, love, life. Do not dare play with it!!!” she further cautioned.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sujan Chakraborty remarked, “All this is being carried out with the help of Nabanna (State Secretariat). TMC is scared as people are against their move.”

TMC tries to distance itself from the controversy

Interestingly, the ruling Trinamool Congress has cried foul and claimed that it has no association with the Shikshabandhu Samiti.

TMC legislator Santanu Sen claimed, “Our party doesn’t have any association with any organisation named Sara Bangla Trinamool Sikha Bandhu Samiti. Our party will take the necessary action against it.”

This is despite the fact that India Today was able to access a letterhead of ‘Sara Bangla Trinamool Sikha Bandhu Samiti’, which bore the image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Uttar Pradesh: Unlawfully constructed hotel of AIMIM leader Taufeeq Pradhan bulldozed by Bareilly Development Authority

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Uttar Pradesh: Unlawfully constructed hotel of AIMIM leader Taufeeq Pradhan bulldozed by Bareilly Development Authority

The Uttar Pradesh government demolished a lavish hotel owned by AIMIM politician Taufeeq Pradhan in Bareilly as part of fresh efforts to tackle encroachment and unlawful construction in the state. The action was taken by Bareilly Development Authority (BDA).

On the action, BDA stated that Taufeeq Pradhan constructed the 2-storey hotel in the green belt region of the bypass road, without seeking permission from the authorities. The hotel was built on 700 square metres of land.

The Bareilly Development Authority is now taking action against illegal Dhabas and motels erected in the green belt. In this series, the BDA officials used a bulldozer to demolish a two-story hotel pitched on the green belt near the bypass.

Gautam Singh, the BDA’s OSD, stated “Taufeeq Pradhan built a two-story illegal Dhaba/restaurant in an area of roughly 700 square metres under the Bareilly development area, on the bypass in the green belt near village Kacholi, without the consent of the Development Authority. The hotel was demolished in the presence of the enforcement team, in accordance with relevant portions of the UP Town Planning and Development Act, 1973.”

In April of this year, the UP Government initiated action against an illegal petrol pump operated by Bhojipura MLA Shahjil Islam in the city. The Bareilly Development Authority (BDA) used a bulldozer to demolish the Samajwadi Party MLA’s petrol pump in the CB ganj neighbourhood of Bareilly.

According to sources, the Bareilly Development Authority acknowledged the petrol pump’s illegality and ordered its destruction. The station’s ceiling was levelled to the ground, leaving just the equipment operational. For security concerns, a large police force and PAC troops were deployed.

Action on illegal properties and encroachments by the Yogi government

The removal of unlawful encroachments and the crackdown on criminals have been highlights of the Yogi administration’s last five years. The government has made it plain that it would not tolerate unlawful constructions or encroachment on public property. CM Yogi’s government returned to power in March 2022 with a resounding mandate based on the pledge of strong law and order and corruption-free governance.

Delhi excise policy leaked to select liquor companies, Manish Sisodia and others changed 140 phones to destroy evidence: ED

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi excise policy leaked to select liquor companies, Manish Sisodia and others changed 140 phones to destroy evidence: ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said that the controversial Delhi excise policy was leaked to certain liquor companies way before the policy could come into effect. In its investigation, ED found that Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and several other VIPs changed around 140 mobile phones in order to destroy digital evidence. ED informed about these findings to a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court.

Notably, ED arrested two executives of private liquor companies allegedly involved in the case. Benoy Babu, Delhi regional head of French wine company Pernod Ricard, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, whole-time director of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd have been arrested.

Soon after the arrest of P Sharath Chandra Reddy, Aurobindo Pharma claimed before the stock exchange that Reddy has not been in any way connected with the operations of the Pharma company or its subsidiaries. 

Earlier in September, ED arrested Sameer Mahendru, managing director of liquor manufacturer, Indospirit.

ED told the PMLA court while seeking remand of the arrested executives, “Under the influence of accused persons, the Delhi government/excise department allowed the formation and operation of cartels although enough data was readily available on public platforms to indicate cartelization by the majority of licence holders.”

“This was done in exchange for bribes and kickbacks to Delhi excise officials and people in the Delhi government,” the federal agency stated.

Several people questioned by ED during the investigation “have revealed that a bribe to the time of Rs 100 crore was given in advance for undue advantages to select enterprises to operate in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22,”

ED also found that kickbacks and bribes were demanded and accepted by Delhi excise officials for the opening of retail shops in Delhi.

140 phones changed

According to the agency, “34 important individuals suspected to be involved in the excise scam have changed a total of 140 phones (worth approximately Rs 1.20 crore) with the intention of destroying digital evidence during the relevant time period.”

ED claimed that the suspected individuals include all of the main accused, liquor barons, senior government officials, the Delhi excise minister, and other suspects. “The timing of phone changes suggests that these phones were mostly changed shortly after the scam surfaced,” ED said.

Notably, the minister for finance and education, Manish Sisodia also held the excise charge. 

The agency stated that it has evidence that the policy was “leaked” to certain liquor manufacturers on May 31, 2021, and then made public two months later on July 5, 2021.

The agency also claimed that excise officials granted “a large number” of approvals to L1 wholesalers “after working hours or late at night.”

Cartelisation, monopoly

The ED has alleged that Benoy Babu played an important role in carrying out the Delhi liquor scam in collusion with Sameer Mahendru and others to form and nexus and establish their monopoly in the market through unethical ways.

The agency stated that it has conducted 169 searches in this case since taking cognizance of a CBI FIR that was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor. 

Bhartiya Janata Party has accused Manish Sisodia of attempting to sabotage the ongoing investigation. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla took to Twitter and shared a video message and wrote, “Despite being an accused no.1 in Sharab Ghotala – Dy CM Manish Sisodia was seeking access of Sharab Ghotala – this is clear cut proof of an attempt to sabotage the probe! Sisodia should have been sacked long back but now his continuation is untenable after this abuse of position.”

On November 5, the Enforcement Directorate questioned Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s personal assistant, Devendra Sharma. 

Interestingly, on November 7, Dinesh Arora who is a co-accused in the scam and a close aide of Manish Sisodia turned approver. According to the FIR, co-accused Sameer Mahendru transferred Rs 1 crore to Dinesh Arora’s Radha Industries bank account.

All of the accused were charged under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 477A (falsification of accounts), as well as Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Delhi High Court orders Tata Power to provide electricity connection to 200 Hindu migrant families from Pakistan

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi High Court orders Tata Power to provide electricity connection to 200 Hindu migrant families from Pakistan

On Thursday, 10th November 2022, the Delhi High Court ordered the city’s power distribution provider, Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), to provide electricity connections to over 200 migrant Hindu families who arrived in India from Pakistan and are currently living in appalling conditions in the capital.

A bench of justice Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Subramonium Prasad heard the case. After learning that the Ministry of Defence, which owns the property where the people are now living, had issued a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the same, the bench made this decision.

Adarsh Nagar in North Delhi has been home to almost 200 Pakistani immigrant families for a number of years, according to a public interest litigation petition submitted by Hariom. They have been given Aadhaar cards, and the Indian government has granted them a long-term visa to live in the country.

For years, the lives of Pakistani Hindu immigrants residing in the Adarsh Nagar neighborhood of North Delhi have been dismal. These families have been forced to live in the dark for many years as these 200 families living in the slums do not have access to electricity.

According to the petition, the area has plenty of women and young children living there. The plea further said that without electricity, it has become extremely challenging for these families to endure the tough conditions. The people had sought Tata Power for the power supply but were informed that they needed NOC from the land-owning authorities, argued the petitioner.

Tata Power, however, notified the court that they are unable to give an electricity connection in the absence of a NOC since the relevant property is owned by the Center, the Defence Department, and Delhi Metro.

The Court took note of the argument made by the attorney representing the migrants that they are prepared to install pre-paid meters to prevent losses for Tata in the event of default. The Delhi High Court ordered the business to give connections to all of the local households within 30 days of the application. The bench then disposed of the plea.

Forest and Environment ministry refutes report claiming Tiger poaching is highest in India, says the report is based on unrealistic assumptions

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Forest and Environment ministry refutes report claiming Tiger poaching is highest in India, says the report is based on unrealistic assumptions

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has refuted a report claiming that India has become the capital of tiger poaching. Referring to a report “Bharat baghon ki taskari ka gadh’’ published in Rajasthan Patrika on 9th November 2022, the ministry said that the report is based on incorrect facts and figures, and that misleading information has been published by the Hindi newspaper with the sole intention of creating sensational news.

The ministry in a statement issued today said that the report relies on certain reports which make unrealistic assumptions about the seizure of tiger parts. The ministry said that the report is incorrect because the seized ‘tiger organs’ actually includes a large number of fakes.

The Rajasthan Patrika report claimed that during the 22-year period from 2000 to 2022, as many as 759 tiger parts were seized from smugglers. Citing a report titled Skin and Bones by Traffic, the news report claimed that this was 34% of all seizures in the world for that period, as the corresponding figure for the entire world was 2205. The same report stated that the second highest seizures were from China, at 212, which was followed by Indonesia with 207 seizures.

However, the Skin and Bones report mentions that these numbers include both whole tigers and their parts. This means if multiple parts of the same tiger are confiscated from smugglers, each of them will count as separate seizure. The report by Traffic also ‘estimated’ the number of confiscated tigers from the number of seizure incidents, and they claimed that based on the 2205 seizures, 3377 tigers were confiscated. Accordingly, they claimed that there were 893 confiscations of tigers in India.

The Rajasthan Patrika report did mention that these numbers are not reliable, as the seizure of fake tiger parts is common in India. They mentioned that the skins of other animals are painted to sell them as tiger skins. Similarly, fake tiger teeth, claws etc are also sold in the illegal animal parts market.

The ministry also has said that the assumptions made in the Skin and Bones report are wrong because there are certain communities in India that specialize in making fake tiger claws using the bones of livestock. Counting seized materials like claws as that of a tiger without verifying the genuineness using DNA-based techniques will often lead to an inflated number of tiger deaths. “Such reports are published with half-baked information by the vested interests to malign the efforts of the Government of India for tiger conservation,” the statement added.

The ministry said that the systematic data of tiger mortality is being maintained by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) from the year 2012 onwards only, and therefore any report quoting tiger mortality details prior to 2012 has to invariably depend upon on unverifiable facts/ assumptions and anecdotal evidence.

The statement stated that for the period 2017-2021, NTCA has recorded 547 tiger mortality instances out of which 393 tigers were due to natural causes. Out of the rest 154, 25 were poisoning, 9 snaring, 7 shooting or elimination, 55 seizures, 22 electrocution and 33 poaching. Therefore, only 88 could be attributed to poaching for illegal body parts and wildlife trade in the strictest sense, which is 16% of tiger deaths in the last 5 years.

The ministry added that the NTCA has established stringent standards for recording tiger deaths.

ED reveals bribes worth Rs 100 crore were paid to receive unfair benefits in the Delhi liquor scam case: Reports

OpIndia Staff
-
0
ED reveals bribes worth Rs 100 crore were paid to receive unfair benefits in the Delhi liquor scam case: Reports

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a significant revelation in the Delhi Liquor scam case, claiming that bribes of Rs 100 crores were paid in the scam, reports Times Now. As per the report, while obtaining the remand of Sharath Reddy and Binoy Babu in court on Thursday, the ED stated that a Rs 100 crore bribe was given to public servants

“During the course of the investigation, various persons involved in the Delhi Excise Scam have revealed that a bribe of Rs 100 crore had been given in advance for undue benefits to select business groups by the Delhi Govt,” said the ED in its remand copy today.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate made two important arrests in connection with the money laundering investigation into the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy case. The agency detained Aurobindo Pharma’s full-time director Sharath Reddy and Pernod Ricard’s General Manager Benoy Babu under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sharath Reddy was detained, according to sources, based on the evidence against him. He is said to have strong ties with a few AAP politicians in Delhi. According to a report by republic TV, the federal agency quizzed Sharath Reddy multiple times before his arrest.

The other accused, Benoy Babu, was allegedly involved with other accused in the Delhi excise policy. He apparently refused to cooperate with the investigation, prompting authorities to arrest him.

Both the accused were produced before a court in Delhi for custody in this case.

This development comes days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s close aide Dinesh Arora, who is also a co-accused, told the court on November 7 that he is ready to turn approver in the Delhi excise policy scam.

During the hearing, Dinesh Arora sought pardon in the case and said he has made the confessional statement under Section 164 (Recording of confessions and statements) of the CrPC.

Asked if there is any pressure from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Arora replied in the negative. “I am ready to give voluntary disclosure about my involvement in the alleged offences. I have earlier cooperated during the investigation of the case by the CBI. I am doing this without any pressure or undue influence upon me by the CBI or any other person,” said Arora.

ED questions PA of Manish Sisodia in liquor scam case

Meanwhile, in another development in the case, on Saturday, November 5, Enforcement Directorate questioned Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s personal assistant Devendra Sharma. According to the reports, the ED officials also conducted raids at Sharma’s residence.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) listed Sisodia as an accused in an FIR filed in August over suspected anomalies in the Delhi liquor policy. On August 19, the CBI raided 31 locations around the country, including Sisodia’s home. While Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it was an effort to coerce Sisodia and other MLAs into joining the BJP and destabilizing the government, the BJP denied the allegations.

The CBI summoned the Delhi minister for interrogation last month. Following this, Sisodia had claimed that after nine hours of questioning, he was asked to quit AAP and that the case against him was intended to ensure the success of ‘Operation Lotus’. 

However, the CBI later published a statement rejecting Sisodia’s accusations, claiming that he was examined only on the basis of charges in the First Information Report and the material gathered throughout the investigation. The excise scheme came under scrutiny when the Delhi LG proposed a CBI investigation into potential anomalies in the execution of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22. In addition, the LG suspended 11 excise officers.

Delhi: Two injured in clashes between two student groups in JNU, police close gates of the campus

OpIndia Staff
-
0
Delhi: Two injured in clashes between two student groups in JNU, police close gates of the campus

A fierce fight erupted between 2 student groups at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi on 11th November 2022. A student living in Tapti Hostel had a dispute with a student of another hostel, which escalated into a ruckus after friends of both of them joined the dispute, and then it turned into a fierce fight. It has been claimed that outsider goons were called to JNU by both sides in this clash and after that, this ruckus escalated to a bigger fight. According to the Delhi police, two students have been injured in the clash between two groups of students in JNU over a personal dispute.

So far no information is revealed about what led to this fight and what was the dispute between these two students. The police have reached the spot, but no complaint has yet been registered. According to reports, it is being said that students from both sides involved outsiders in this dispute, after which there was a fierce fight. The police have confirmed that there is no political angle or group involved, and it was a personal fight that escalated.

“We have not received any formal complaint yet in the matter. The fight was between two students and there is no political group involved. It is a matter of personal dispute between the duo,” a police official told the media.

Videos from the JNU have gone viral on social media which show several people walking on the campus with sticks in hand. According to reports, the police have also locked all of the JNU campus‘s gates, preventing vehicles from entering or leaving.

Clashes are not new to JNU. There have been violent clashes in the university in the past.

1...2,0762,0772,078...6,962Page 2,077 of 6,962

Contact: [email protected]

About us

News and opinion website that brings you reports and narrative from a perspective often ignored or suppressed by the mainstream media of India.

Follow us

© OpIndia.com