CBI court convicts former Union Coal Secretary Gupta in a coal scam case

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July 29, 2022

hc gupta, coal scam, coal india scam — Image: Agency

A Special CBI Court on Friday convicted former Coal Secretary HC Gupta, former Joint Secretary, KS Kropha, Nagpur-based firm Grace Industries Limited and its director Mukesh Gupta after finding irregularities in the allocation of a coal block in Maharashtra. The Court of a special judge Arun Bhardwaj convicted HC Gupta and others under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The case relates to the allocation of the Lohara East Coal block in Maharashtra. The court will now hear the arguments on the point of sentence on August 4, 2022. Earlier, the CBI had registered a case in the matter on September 20, 2012, under section – 120B r/w 420 IPC r/w 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. On completion of the investigation, a chargesheet was filed by the CBI against Grace Industries Limited and Mukesh Gupta, director of the company in court on October 28, 2014.

The special judge while discussing the role of public servants at the Centre and the state 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 providing sanction to prosecute public servants namely KS Kropha, the then Joint Secretary, Ministry of Coal and VS Sawakhande, the then Director, Directorate of Geology and Mining, Nagpur, Government 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) and (d) of the PC Act, 1988 and substantive offences. Accordingly, summons were issued to the accused persons for their appearance before the Court. During the course of the trial, a 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 the year 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. HC Gupta, KS Kropha and cheated by 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 Rs 3.3 crores only the company falsified its existing capacity as 1,20,000 Third Party Administrator (TPA) against 30,000 TPA.

In an 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.

A 27-year-old woman was killed on suspicion of an affair, accused was arrested in Mumbai

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PTI

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July 29, 2022

Image : Representative purpose, Akhilesh Pyarelal Gautam — Image: Representative purpose

A 27-year-old woman was murdered allegedly by her boyfriend, who suspected she was in a relationship with another man, in the early hours of Thursday here in Mumbai, police said.

The police cracked the murder case within 12 hours of the incident by arresting the accused, Akhilesh Pyarelal Gautam (24), from suburban Mankhurd in the afternoon, an official said.

Gautam and the woman, Manisha Jaiswar (27), were in a relationship and planning to get married in near future, he said.

However, Gautam suspected his girlfriend was having an affair with another man, the official said.

He went to her residence in suburban Kandivali in the early hours of Thursday and after an argument, slit her throat. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared dead before admission, he said.

She also had two major injuries on her head, following which a case of murder was registered, the official said.

The police formed three teams to investigate the case and started collecting information about the deceased, he said.

After gathering details about her boyfriend, the police traced him and arrested him for the murder, the official said, adding further investigation was on.

Exclusive: Eknath Shinde is hell bent on taking over the Shiv Sena

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Vaidehi Taman

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July 29, 2022

eknath shinde playing chess — Exclusive: Eknath Shinde is hell bent on taking over the Shiv Sena 4

Last month on this day, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as chief minister of Maharashtra after 40 of Shiv Sena’s 54 MLAs rebelled against him under the leadership of party’s Thane strongman Eknath Shinde. Eknath Shinde’s bid to take over the Shiv Sena. Shinde’s rebellions are unstoppable and they are hell bent on bringing down the Thackeray legacy.

Eknath Shinde sought to take control of the Shiv Sena party and corner Thackeray and his loyalists. This all has become even more desperate to escape the hitches that would have arisen because of the anti-defection law and second, to make it difficult for Thackeray to revive the party which is directly related to the survival of his faction. Under the provisions of the anti-defection law, any nonaligned faction has to merge with any of the existing parties in the assembly after defecting from the parent party. It means the Shinde faction would have had to merge with BJP or any other party to prevent disqualification under the law. If Shinde has to join BJP, then he would not be able to take independent decisions.

These days, Eknath Shinde greeting the old guards of Shiv Sena to claim his ownership over the party. A few days back he had met MP Gajanan Kirtikar and yesterday he met veteran Shiv Sena leaders Manohar Joshi and Liladhar Dake. The purpose of these meetings of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is to make a dent in the national executive of Shiv Sena. So that Uddhav Thackeray will come in minority. Thackeray will be left with Aditya Thackeray, Subhash Desai, Diwakar Raote, Sanjay Raut and Chandrakant Khaire.
The roles of Anant Geete and Anandrao Adsul are overwhelming. The Shinde faction and the BJP will soon have an electoral alliance. The Shiv Sena faction led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party will form an alliance and contest the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections. This alliance will also contest the elections of Mumbai Municipal Corporation, which is dominated by Shiv Sena for the last 25 years. The expansion of the cabinet of Eknath Shinde and the BJP government will be done before August 3.

That’s why those aspiring to become ministers have intensified the fielding. Several dozen people are willing to become ministers. Some people have faith in the attendance of Delhi Durbar, while some are making rounds of Mumbai Durbar. Ramdas Kadam is likely to go on Legislative Council. Ramdas Kadam’s claim on the Legislative Council seat vacated by the resignation of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. At present one more seat in the Legislative Council has fallen vacant with 12 MLAs appointed by the Governor.

IAF retiring one Squadron of MIG-21 Bison after recent aircraft crash in Rajasthan

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ANI

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July 29, 2022

mig 21 1 — Representative Image of MIG-21

Amid recent crashes involving its vintage Russian combat aircraft fleet, the Indian Air Force is now going to retire one more squadron of the MiG-21 Bison aircraft by September 30.

On Thursday evening, a MiG-21 Type 69 Trainer aircraft crashed in Barmer, Rajasthan killing both the pilots including a youngster Flight Lieutenant A Bal and Wing Commander Rana.

“The 51 Squadron based out of Srinagar air base is being number plated on September 30. After this, only three squadrons of the planes would be left in service and would be phased out by the year 2025,” sources in the IAF told to agencies.

Now every year, one squadron each of these planes would be number plated, they said. The 51 squadron is famous for thwarting Pakistan’s aerial attack on India on February 27, 2019, and taking out an F-16 in an aircraft flown by Wing Commander (now Group Captain) Abhinandan Varthaman.

This is the only instance when a MiG-21 aircraft brought down an F-16 in air-to-air combat, the sources said. The IAF has been replacing the MiG-21 fighter jets with more capable aircraft like the Su-30 and the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

In the last 20 months, 6 MiG-21s have been lost in crashes in which five pilots have lost their lives. The MiG-21s were supposed to be retired a long time ago but delays in induction of the LCA Tejas aircraft have forced the IAF to continue flying these planes.

The IAF carries out extensive checks on these planes before flying and all safety aspects are taken care of before the pilot takes off, the officials said. The number-plated squadron would be reactivated soon with a more capable aircraft in the near future, the officials said.

BMC to close jumbo covid centre in phases

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Web Team

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July 29, 2022

Mumbai is geared up to close all the covid jumbo centres and a field hospital in a phased manner as covid cases have been declining in the past few months according to BMC.

BMC closed three jumbo centres after phase one while others are still running. BMC also state that the Somaiya Jumbo centre in Sion will be kept open in case of emergency. Also, Covid treatment will be provided by 4 main civic hospitals and 16 suburban hospitals besides Kasturba hospital.

A total of 11,165 beds will be available across the city for Covid 19 patients after closing the right jumbo centre also. Additional beds will also get added as per needed bases according to BMC.

Mumbai’s first jumbo covid centre was set on 18 May 2020 at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) after the first case of Covid 19 found in the city

As the number of cases increased the civic body set a total of eight covid jumbo centres across the city which includes a total of 12,375 beds and 907 ICU beds. The field hospitals also opened inoculation centres.

The number of covid patience in the last couple of months is negligible. Prompting the BMC to close down the covid jumbo centre in phases, according to additional municipal commissioner Sanjeev Kumar

SA won by 58 runs against England: Rossouw, Shamsi shines

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ANI

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July 29, 2022

An all-round show from South Africa led from the front by Rilee Rossouw and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi helped the visitors seal a 58-run win over England in the second T20I of the three-match series at Cardiff on Thursday. The three-match series is now level at 1-1.

In the first innings, South Africa put up 207/3 on the board, with Rilee Rossouw smashing an unbeaten 96 off 55 balls with ten fours and five sixes. Reeza Hendricks also played a great knock of 53 off just 32 balls. England could not inflict much damage with the bat as spinner Moeen Ali and pacers Richard Gleeson and Chris Jordan could only manage a wicket each.

In chase of 208 runs, England lost wickets regularly and it never looked as if they posed a threat. Half the team was back in the hut before it could cross the 100-run mark. Contributions did come from skipper Jos Buttler (29), Moeen Ali (28) and Jonny Bairstow (30) but it was not enough to stop Proteas from securing a 58-run win as the hosts were bowled out for 149.

Shamsi (3/27) was the best bowler for South Africa. Put to bat first by England, South Africa did not have a very good start as they lost Quinton de Kock for just 15 when the team was at 39. From that point. Hendricks and Rossouw stitched an attacking stand of 73 runs, with the former bringing up his ninth fifty. Gleeson sent him back for 53 off 32 balls after Bairstow took a solid catch at fine leg. Afterwards, Rossouw and Heinrich Klaasen kept the scoreboard ticking for a while before Klassen was dismissed for 19 off 10 balls by Jordan.

Finally, a 64-run stand between Rossouw and Tristan Stubbs (15*) took the visitors to 207/3. Ali, Gleeson, Jordan managed a wicket each for England. In chase of 208, skipper Buttler gave England a solid start, hitting three sixes and a four before being dismissed for 29 off 14 balls by Phehlukwayo when the team was at 37. From this point, England’s innings met an early collapse and the next four wickets fell for 55 runs.

Dawid Malan (5), Jason Roy (20), Moeen Ali (28) and Sam Curran (2) fell without making a heavy impact. Spinners Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj did not allow any big partnership to develop.

Bairstow and Liam Livingstone tried to stabilise the innings with some solid strike rotation and boundaries, but their resistance could last for only 36 runs before the former was dismissed by pacer Rabada for 30 runs. Livingstone followed him back to pavilion shortly for 18 after being dismissed by Phehlukwayo. England was seven for 141 runs. The rest of the lineup could not put up a fight against the Proteas and the hosts were bundled out for 149, losing the game by 58 runs.

Shamsi (3/27) and Phehlukwayo (3/39) were the leading bowlers for South Africa. Rossouw’s knock of 96* earned him the ‘Man of the Match’ title.

Brief Scores: South Africa: 207/3 (Rilee Rossouw 96*, Reeza Hendricks 53, Moeen Ali 1/17) defeated England: 149 in 16.4 overs (Jonny Bairstow 30, Moeen Ali 28, Tabraiz Shamsi 3/27) by 58 runs.

Muslim youth Mohammed Fazil, a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal hacked to death in Karnataka

By

Vaidehi Taman

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July 29, 2022

Muslim youth Mohammed Fazil — Image: Agencies

A group of goons allegedly hacked a Muslim youth to death in Karnataka’s Mangaluru district, hours after Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai visited the family of slain BJP worker Praveen Nettaru. The deceased Muslim youth has been identified as Mohammed Fazil, a resident of Mangalpete near Surathkal, located on the outskirts of Mangaluru. The man was confronted and killed by unidentified attackers outside a clothes store in Surathkal on Thursday, July 28 evening.

Mangaluru Police Commissioner, N. Shashikumar told Afternoon Voice “we are trying to maintain law and order. Prohibitory orders have been imposed within the limits of four police stations in surrounding areas of Surathkal. A holiday has been declared for schools in the four police station limits. The prohibitory orders under Section 144 have been imposed in Surathkal, Mulki, Bajpe and Panambur till 6am on Saturday. Liquor shops have been closed down and police are not permitting more than five persons in a group.”

Tuesday evening BJP Yuva Morcha leader Praveen Nettaru was murdered in Bellare, this has sparked outrage in coastal Karnataka, with tensions running high at some areas and authorities forced to ban large gatherings in Puttur with heavy security deployed. This Killing is seen as reaction to BJP youth leader’s killing.

According to police, a group of people came in a car and rushed towards Fazil, who was standing outside a clothing store owned by him, and attacked him. Fazil was chased for long time and cruelly battered with lethal weapons. The CCTV footage has all the event reordered on it. He was taken to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Earlier, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Thursday handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to Praveen Nettaru’s family. He said that all efforts will be made to solve the murder case.

Assam government will be focusing on exploring ways to utilize the forest resources

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PTI

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July 29, 2022

Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma — Image: Agencies

The Assam government is exploring means for judicious utilization of forest resources to add to the state’s revenue and thus augment its development, an official release said.

It is also focussing on the use of technology, including drones and satellite imagery, to prevent encroachment of forest land.

Measures to be adopted for these purposes were discussed in detail at a meeting by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with divisional forest officers (DFOs) of Environment and Forest Department, treasury officers and additional deputy commissioners (revenue) here on Thursday.

Besides putting emphasis on the conservation of forest resources, Sarma also asked officials to lay importance on prudent utilisation of these to aid sustainable development of the state.

In a bid to keep constant watch on encroachment of forest land, Sarma stressed on the extensive use of technical gadgets, including drone survey and satellite imagery.

The chief minister also reviewed an ongoing plantation programme being carried out across the state.

He asked the DFOs to take special care to ensure survival of the saplings after their plantation.

Environment and Forest Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, principal secretary to the chief minister, Samir Kumar Sinha, and other senior officers of the government were present at the meeting, the release added.

Supreme Court to hear plea against tree felling in Aarey Colony

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Web Team

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July 29, 2022

The Supreme Court will hear an appeal filed by NGO Vanashakti alleging that a large number of trees are being cut afresh in the Metro car shed plot in Aarey Colony in violation of SC orders.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the protests against mass cutting of trees in the Aarey car shed plot in 2019 and had ordered status quo on October 7, 2019, after solicitor general Tushar Mehta gave an undertaking that no fresh felling would be done till the next date of hearing.

The status quo order had been extended from time to time.

13-year-old dies, grandfather injured in Ernakulam house collapse

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ANI

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July 29, 2022

In a tragic incident, a 13-year-old boy died after a two-storey building collapsed in the Keezhillam area of Kerala’s Ernakulam district, police said. The deceased identified as Harinarayanan was asleep when the house collapsed on him.

His grandfather Narayanan Namboothiri has been admitted to the hospital after he was critically injured.

There were 7 members of the family present inside the house when this mishap happened. But nobody was injured apart from these two.

The boy was rushed to the Perumbavoor Taluk hospital, but he could not be saved. Narayanan Namboothiri who sustained head injuries is now in the ICU.

Station House Officer (SHO) of the Kuruppumpady Police Station said, “We have not yet identified the reason for the building collapse. But it might be because of continuous rain in that particular area which affected the walls of the house which was built by using bricks.”

Harinarayanan and his grandfather were the only people were at the ground floor of the two-story building at the time of this mishap. They were rescued with the help of Fire and Rescue services. We have used three earth movers for that. The neighbours rescued Harinarayanan’s sister.”

Ernakulam District Collector Dr Renu Raj sought a report from Perumbavoor Tahsildar.

“After hearing a loud noise, the boy’s mother and sister went upstairs to check what had happened. He had gone into his grandfather’s room by then and was sitting in front of a table and seemed to be trapped between a cement board,” said Ajayakumar NP, chief of Rayamangalam Panchayat. The sister miraculously escaped as they went upstairs. And another sister, his father and uncle, who all stayed at home, was abroad, were abroad.”

The boy, an eighth-standard student was rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries where he passed away.

“Apart from the two floors, there were roof panels installed above the roof. To ensure the building did not collapse further, a JCB was brought in to support the remaining structure. Then a part of the room where they were open was cut open. The grandfather was then moved outside after cutting,” a firefighting officer said.

Two firefighting units from Perumbavor Fire Station and one from Muvatupuza Fire Station were rushed to the site and District Fire Officer K Harikumar led the rescue operation. The body of the deceased was handed over to relatives after an autopsy and the body was cremated on Thursday evening.

Kurupamabadi Police is probing the matter.