Court sentences former Coal Secy. HC Gupta to 3 years imprisonment

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August 8, 2022

A Special CBI Court of Delhi on Monday awarded three years imprisonment to former Coal Secretary HC Gupta in a coal scam case after finding irregularities in the allocation of a Maharashtra coal block.

The court also awarded two years imprisonment to former joint-Secretary K S. Kropha and four years to director Mukesh Gupta of Nagpur-based firm M/s Grace Industries Ltd in the coal scam case.

The Special judge Arun Bhardwaj (Coal Scam) Rouse Avenue Court on Monday while pronouncing the Judgement on sentencing also imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on HC Gupta, 50,000 Rs on KS Kropha, two lakhs on Mukesh Gupta and 2 lakhs on Nagpur based firm M/s Grace Industries Ltd.

The same court last week convicted H C Gupta Under section – 120B and section – 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, K S. Kropha, Under section – 120B and section – 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, Mukesh Gupta, Director of M/s Grace Industries Ltd. under section – 120B and section – 420 IPC and M/s Grace Industries Ltd. under section – 120B and section – 420 IPC.

The court convicted them in the Coal Scam case related to the allocation of the Lohara East Coal block situated in Maharashtra. CBI had registered on September 20, 2012 under section – 120B r/w 420 IPC r/w 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the PC Act, 1988.

On completion of the investigation, a charge sheet under section – 420 IPC was filed by CBI against M/s Grace Industries Ltd. and Mukesh Gupta, Director of the company in the Court on October 28, 2014.

Special Judge while discussing the role of Public Servants of Ministry of Coal, Govt. of India and government of Maharashtra in the alleged crime on January 19, 2015, ordered further investigation into the matter with a direction that the evidence collected during further investigation, may be placed before the Competent Authority for the consideration of the issue of sanction to prosecute the public servants namely K. S. Kropha, the then Joint Secretary, Ministry of Coal and V. S. Sawakhande, the then Director, Directorate of Geology and Mining, Nagpur, Govt. of Maharashtra under section – 19 of the P.C. Act, 1988.

The Court on August 10, 2015, took cognizance of the offences punishable under section – 120B r/w 409/420 IPC r/w 13(2) r/w 13(1)(c) & (d) of the PC Act, 1988 and substantive offences.

Accordingly, the summons was issued to the accused persons for their appearance before the Court. During the course of the trial total of 34 witnesses had been examined by the prosecution/CBI to prove its case.

According to the CBI, allegations against the convicts M/s Grace Industries Ltd. and Mukesh Gupta during the period between years 2005 to 2011 in New Delhi, Maharashtra and other places, in furtherance of the common object of the criminal conspiracy hatched with other co-accused persons i.e. H.C. Gupta, K. S. Kropha and cheated Ministry of Coal, Government of India by dishonestly and fraudulently inducing the Ministry of Coal to allocate “Lohara East Coal Block” situated in the state of Maharashtra in favour of M/s GIL on the basis of false information about net worth, capacity, equipment and status of procurement and installation of the plant.

CBI also stated that the said company in its application claimed its net worth as Rs. 120 Crores whereas its own network was 3.3 crores only Company falsified its existing capacity as 1,20,000 TPA against 30,000 TPA.

In a video order dated August 25, 2014, the Supreme Court of India cancelled the entire allocations of Coal Blocks.

Vide order dated: January 19, 2015, Special Judge of the trial court had observed that the working of the officers of the Prime Minister’s office also does not appear to be above Board.

The trial of this case was conducted by Sanjay Kumar, Deputy Legal Advisor of CBI as he was appointed by the Supreme Court vide order September 1, 2014 passed by the Supreme Court of India in Coal Scam.

Money laundering case: Mumbai court remands Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut to judicial custody till 22 Aug

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PTI

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August 8, 2022

sanjay raut, raut, ed, enforcement directorate, ed custody, varsha raut — Image: ANI

A special court on Monday remanded Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut to 14-day judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the redevelopment of a Mumbai ‘chawl’.

The court allowed Raut’s plea for home food and medicines, but refused to pass an order on his prayer for bedding.

The judge said as per the prison manual, jail authorities make adequate bed arrangements.

Raut, 60, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on August 1 in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra Chawl (row tenement) in suburban Goregaon.

He was produced before special PMLA judge MG Deshpande at the end of his ED custody on Monday.

The federal probe agency did not seek further extension of his custody. The judge then sent Raut in judicial custody.

The ED probe pertains to alleged financial irregularities in the redevelopment of the Patra ‘chawl’ and related financial transactions involving Raut’s wife and associates.

Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Devendra to be Home Minister

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Web Team

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August 8, 2022

Devendra Fadnavis 1 — Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Devendra to be Home Minister 4

The cabinet expansion in Maharashtra is likely to happen this week after a series of meetings to settle pending issues that were holding up the move amid wrangling over the Home Ministry in the state, sources have said.

The expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet will take place “before you can even imagine”, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had told reporters in Delhi in response to questions on the induction of new ministers.

Both Fadnavis and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde were in Delhi over the weekend as Mr Shinde along with 22 other chief ministers attended a NITI Aayog meeting.

Fadnavis is likely to get the Home portfolio, clearing the path for cabinet expansion in Maharashtra which has been functioning with a two-member cabinet since June 30.

Fadnavis announced that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been given the responsibility to coordinate efforts to better the BJP’s performance in Baramati, the Pawar family stronghold in western Maharashtra, from where Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule is the MP.

Fadnavis has said the BJP has embarked on a mission to improve its footprint in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by identifying 16 parliamentary constituencies where opposition parties have had a consistent winning streak.

India defeat WI in 5th T20I; won series by 4-1

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ANI

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August 8, 2022

Ravi Bishnoi’s four and Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul guided India to victory against West Indies by 88 runs and clinch the series by 4-1 at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill on Sunday.

Chasing the target of 189, West Indies got off to the worst start as they lost their three wickets in the powerplay to Axar Patel, Jason Holder (0) Shamarh Brooks (13) and Devon Thomas (10).

West Indies kept on losing wickets and after ten overs of the innings, their score read 64-4. Captain Nicholas Pooran was lbw by Kuldeep in the eighth over.

Bishnoi bagged two wickets in the 12th over. He sent Rovman Powell (9 off 13 balls) and Keemo Paul (0) lbw to the pavilion.

In all the struggle, Shimron Hetmyer brought up his half-century in the 26 balls and shortly after he was sent back to the pavilion by Ravi Bishnoi.

West Indies lost 6 wickets for a total of 88 and the next four wickets fell within just 12 runs handing India the 88 runs victory.

Earlier, opted to bat first, India scored 188 runs thanks to Iyer’s half-century, which opened the innings for the first time in T20Is.

Hardik Pandya (28) and Deepak Hooda (38) both contributed crucial runs in the death and middle overs. The Shreyas Iyer and Hooda pair gathered 76 runs in only 7.1 overs and their partnership was stunning as the duo kept hitting many fours and sixes.

After the middle order batters, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik were unsuccessful to leave a mark. It was the stand-in captain who displayed his trademark big-hitting abilities and smashed 28 runs in 16 balls to help India put a total of 188 on the board.

Brief score: India 188/7 (Shreyas Iyer 64, Deepak Hooda 38; Odean Smith 3-33) vs West Indies 100 all out (Shimron Hetmyer 56, Shamarh Brooks 13; Ravi Bishnoi 4-16).

Mumbai to get heavy rains from Monday; orange alert issued

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Web Team

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August 8, 2022

After a dry weather spell over the past few days, heavy rains made a come back to the city on Sunday. The IMD in its five day district forecast gave out an orange alert for Mumbai, Thane and Palghar starting from Monday.

An orange alert by the IMD indicates heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places be very likely.

A warning has also been issued to fishermen by the IMD. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the high sea from Monday till August 9.

IMD said that the existing meteorological conditions bringing in the heavy rains include an offshore trough at mean sea level rains high runs from south Maharashtra to north Kerala.

“Also a cyclonic circulation over central parts of Karnataka & neighbouring states as well as a cyclonic circulation over north Coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining West central Bay of Bengal.

Under its influence, a low pressure area has formed over the same region and is likely to become more marked during next 24 hours,” said the IMD.

Mumbai cops now get to grill loan app Koko accused

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Web Team

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August 8, 2022

Three men, arrested by economic offences wing (EOW) of state crime branch for running dubious loan apps in connivance with Chinese and cheating many people in Odisha, were taken on remand by Mumbai Police for interrogation.

Police took Nitin Mallik, arrested on July 15 from Delhi, on 15-day remand. Mallik was director of Good Start Business Services Pvt Ltd, a shell company which operated an illegal loan app, Kredit Gold.

The other accused, Rakshith and Sushanth, who were from Karnataka, were granted a 12-day remand to Mumbai Police. The duo was arrested from Bhubaneswar on June 10 fo r illegally running the loan app Koko.

Liquor companies seek hike in prices of Indian made foreign liquor

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Web Team

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August 8, 2022

Liquor representative Image — Image for representative purpose

The liquor industry, especially those selling Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) and wines, have requested the state to allow them a hike in prices in the range of Rs 85 to Rs 125 per 750 ml bottle, depending on the respective segments and brands.

This they claim is a bid to cope with the inflationary trends that have increased costs in production.

Pak: Imran Khan summoned in ‘Toshkhana’ controversy

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ANI

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August 8, 2022

imran khan 1 — Pak: Imran Khan summoned in 'Toshkhana' controversy 10

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has issued a notice to former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, Imran Khan in connection with the government treasure-house collection controversy and summoned him for a hearing on August 18.

The notice was issued to Khan after Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) filed a reference against him claiming that the ex-PM took most of the items from the treasure house “free of cost” during his tenure, Geo TV reported.

PDM filed the reference claiming that Khan had paid for only some items that he took home from the ‘Toshkhana’, but most items that he took from the government treasure-house was done so without paying for them.

In the reference, it was alleged that Khan did not disclose the gifts he took and concealed the information in his statements.

Reportedly, gifts received by government officials are to be reported immediately, to enable its value to be assessed. Only after an assessment is conducted can the recipient take away the gift, if he wants to keep it, after depositing a specific amount.

These gifts either remain deposited in the Toshakhana or can be auctioned and the money acquired through it is to be deposited into the national treasury

Last month, the former Pakistan Prime Minister sold three expensive watches from the government treasure-house collectively worth more than 154 million Pakistani rupees (Pkr) to a local watch dealer, media reports said.

Imran Khan reportedly earned millions of rupees from these jewel-class watches gifted to him by foreign dignitaries, The News International newspaper reported.

The most expensive watch worth over Pkr 101 million was retained by Khan at 20 per cent of its value after his PTI government amended the rules and settled the gift retention price at 50 per cent of its original value.

The PTI chief first sold the watches and then deposited 20 per cent of each in the government treasury, the Pakistan daily said citing documents and sale receipts.

It added that these gifts worth millions of rupees were never deposited in Toshakhana. In April this year, Shehbaz Sharif had accused his predecessor Imran Khan of selling Toshakhana gifts worth Pkr 140 million in Dubai.

“Imran Khan sold these gifts for Pkr 140 million in Dubai,” Shehbaz had said.

He said that the expensive gifts included diamond jewellery sets, bracelets and wristwatches. Shehbaz’s revelation came in response to a question regarding a petition seeking the details of the Toshakhana that had been filed in the Islamabad High Court on which then PM Imran Khan had commented that the details cannot be revealed as per the Official Secrets Act, 1923

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde will be visiting Nanded today

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ANI

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August 8, 2022

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is scheduled to visit Maharashtra’s Nanded district on Monday.

The visit comes on the heels of the expulsion of Shiv Sena’s Nanded district chief Umesh Munde and several other leaders for indulging in “anti-party activities”. Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray had on Sunday sacked Munde and others.

Shinde was in the national capital on Sunday to participate in the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In June, Shinde and several other Shiv Sena leaders had rebelled against the party leadership, leading to the fall of the 31-month-old Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which comprised the Sena, NCP and Congress.

Following this, on June 30, Shinde, who led a revolt against Shiv Sena took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Days after, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra stating that Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion with party MLAs to bring down the MVA government had “backstabbed” him.

Earlier on July 22, a notice was served to the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction wherein the Election Commission had stated that Eknath Shinde and some other persons have sought to be recognised as the ‘real’ Shiv Sena and are claiming right over the election symbol, the application said.

The Commission had sought the Thackeray camp’s response by August 8.

On August 4, the Supreme Court said it may decide on August 8 whether to refer some issues involved in the Maharashtra political crisis to a five-judge Constitution bench.

A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli also asked the Election Commission of India not to decide the application filed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s camp for recognition as the ‘real Shiv Sena’ party and allotment of the bow and arrow symbol to it.

Stampede at Khatu Shyamji Temple in Rajasthan: 3 dead, 2 injured

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ANI

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August 8, 2022

At least three people were killed and several were injured at a stampede at the Khatu Shyamji Temple in Sikar early on Monday morning during the monthly fair.

Two injured have been shifted to a hospital in Jaipur. The three deceased were women. Police have reached the spot and are exercising crowd control.

A stampede took place at around 5 am at the entrance of the temple. Today, the 11th day of the lunar calendar is considered auspicious for darshan of Khatu Shyam Ji who is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna.

The temple is considered to be one of the most important pilgrim destinations in Rajasthan and sees huge crowds.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to express his grief. “Saddened by the loss of lives due to a stampede at the Khatu Shyamji Temple complex in Sikar, Rajasthan. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who are injured recover at the earliest,” the PM tweeted.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed grief over the loss of lives in the stampede and wished a speedy recovery of the injured.

Taking to Twitter, Gehlot wrote “The death of three women devotees due to a stampede in Khatu Shyamji Temple in Sikar is very sad and unfortunate. My deepest sympathies are with the bereaved family, may God give them strength to bear this loss and may the departed soul rest in peace.”

“Wishing a speedy recovery to the devotees injured in the stampede,” he said in a subsequent tweet.

Further details are awaited. Meanwhile earlier in April this year, three people were injured in a stampede-like situation at the ticket counters at the Tirumala shrine in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati.

Also, In January this year 12 people died in a stampede at Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra.