PM Modi and Governor unveil Shivaji Maharaj statue in Pune municipal corporation premises 2
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the premises of Pune Municipal Corporation. The statue is made up of 1,850 kg of gunmetal and is about 9.5-feet tall.
Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohol greeted Modi on his arrival at the municipal corporation headquarters here and offered him specially crafted headgear. The PM also paid floral tributes to the statue of social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule at the civic headquarters.
Earlier, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, state cabinet minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Devendra Fadnavis and BJP state president Chandrakant Patil welcomed Modi after he landed at the Lohegaon International Airport.
The prime minister will also inaugurate the Pune metro rail’s two priority stretches of 12 km, out of the total 32.2 km project in the city. The foundation stone of the metro project was also laid by Modi on Dec 24, 2016.
The entire metro project is being built at the cost of more than Rs 11,400 crore.
BMC extends the deadline to submit letters & complaints at all civic offices 4
The time for accepting any letters, complaints, and statements by Mumbai’s civic body has been extended till 5 pm from the earlier time of 4.30 pm in all its departments.
RTI activist Anil Galgali had requested an extension of time from BMC Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal. It was also mentioned in his letter, that the time for receiving letters should be extended by the corporation’s headquarter and other establishments.
In a letter addressed to Commissioner, Galgali also urged that BMC offices should conduct office work from Monday to Friday.
“The trouble and frustration, the citizens usually face will be saved if the time for accepting the letter is prolonged till 6 pm,” said Galgali.
Sandhya Vhatkar, Chief Staff Officer, General Administration Department and BMC informed Anil Galgali that All department heads/assistant commissioners have been instructed to accept letters, complaints, statements etc. from the citizens in the inward and outward sub-division of the administrative office of BMC till 5 pm.
Instructions have been given to all the Heads of Departments / Assistant Commissioners to put up such panels on the front of the office so that they can be seen clearly by the citizens.
Aviation veteran Sanjiv Kapoor to head Jet Airways 2.0 as CEO 6
Grounded carrier Jet Airways on Friday announced the appointment of Sanjiv Kapoor as the chief executive officer (CEO).
His appointment to the post comes days after the airline brought in former Sri Lankan Airlines CEO Vipula Gunatileka as the chief financial officer.
Kapoor, who is currently the president of Oberoi Hotels and Resorts, has been associated with budget carriers SpiceJet and GoAir as well as with full-service carrier Vistara in various capacities in the past.
He will join Jet Airways on April 4, the airline said.
Jet Airways, which has not flown since April 17, 2019, is in the process of re-launching operations under its new promoters Jalan-Kalrock Consortium.
”Sanjiv (Kapoor) is a seasoned aviation professional who has the right blend and demeanor to stitch a team together.
”I always believe in investing in human capital and by having Sanjiv as the CEO and Vipula as the CFO, I am certain Jet Airways will reclaim its lost glory and surpass everyone’s expectation,” said Murari Lal Jalan, lead partner of the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium and proposed non-executive chairman of Jet Airways. Kapoor will be able to lead Jet Airways and make it become the most preferred full-service carrier of India, Jalan added.
Kapoor said, ”I am looking forward to getting back to aviation. Even though Jet Airways has been out of operation for three years, it still has a large fan base of loyal customers who miss it every day and can’t wait for it to take to the skies again.” He added he looks forward to leading the charge in rebuilding Jet Airways into the most preferred customer-oriented airline once again, a people-focused airline for the digital age.
Heart burnt former BJP leader who later on joined NCP, alleged Devendra Fadnavis receiving Rs 20 crore donation from RKW Developers Ltd after 2014, which has links with late Iqbal Memon, an accused in 1993 bomb blast in Mumbai. RKW Developers Private Limited is a Private incorporated on 29 November 2007. Directors of RKW Developers Private Limited are Dheeraj Rajeshkumar Wadhawan, Placid Jacob Noronha. This company is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for business transactions with Iqbal Mirchi frequently, be it in the Raj Kundra case or PNB scam.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has suspected Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan of being the “prime mover” of a property deal between a company linked to him and past drug lord Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi. The ED, which is investigating a money laundering-terror funding case against Memon, is also inquiring into the real estate deal. The agency gathered all the details of how Wadhawan used DHFL to pay more than Rs 110 crore to Memon.
Also, payments to the tune of 128.5 million UAE dirhams (approximately Rs 154 crore) were made to Memon via Culture Estate LLC, a Dubai-based company in which Wadhawan was a director until 2008. Dheeraj Wadhavan has his links in BJP and Maha Vikas Aghadi, he has given donations to all those political parties that came to power in Maharashtra. Being a land shark, he is involved in major land deals and money laundering cases.
Iqbal Mirchi alias Iqbal Memon was an Indian underworld criminal associated with Dawood Ibrahim. Mirchi was often called the drug baron for his flourishing drugs business across Asia, Africa and Europe. The money laundering case relates to Memon’s Mumbai properties, which are being treated by the ED as the proceeds of crime. Three such properties were sold to Sunblink, the company linked to Dheeraj Wadhawan. The latter has told the ED that he didn’t know Memon was a wanted man but the agency said one of his brokers had alerted him about this. Dheeraj Wadhawan is linked with the Patra Chawl controversy.
Memon’s family originally owned shops selling chillies and spices and thus he got the nickname ‘Mirchi’. Mirchi’s luck soared after he began smuggling in banned meth tablets, heroin and Mandrax. He also owned a disco called The Fisherman’s Wharf at Worli seafront in Mumbai which was a hotbed for narcotics. In May 1986, Mirchi was first nabbed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in connection with the seizing of 600 kg of heroin — prized at around Rs 9 crore — from a farmhouse in Thane. However, prosecutors could not link Mirchi with the farmhouse and he was let off. When the heat became too much, Mirchi left India in the late 1980s first to Dubai and later to London. The front for all his businesses in the UK was a rice mill called Eden Fine Rice.
He was first arrested by Interpol in London in April 1995, following a red corner notice for his arrest issued by the CBI. An extradition request was made on the basis that Mirchi was wanted for ordering a murder, and was the prime suspect in two drug seizure cases. However, in 1999, all investigations of Iqbal Mirchi were called off for lack of evidence. The Indian government also lost its extradition proceedings against Mirchi. Mirchi always claimed that he was a victim of oppression and that all the allegations against him were unfounded and biased. In an interview with the Guardian Newspaper in London, Mirchi maintained his stance, explaining that was how he won his extradition proceedings. Mirchi also denied being associated with Dawood Ibrahim in any way.
In addition, Mirchi claimed he was a “law-abiding person with no convictions,” and that he was “being victimised for being a successful businessman”. On 1 June 2004, he was sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Though many allegations were produced in the media against Mirchi, he was never formally charged or convicted of any crime. Mirchi died in 2013 of a heart attack in London at age 63. In April 2016, Mirchi was named in the Panama papers for stashing black money in foreign bank accounts.
Iqbal Mirchi’s first wife is Hajira Memon, by whom he has two sons, Asif and Junaid. All of them live in the United Kingdom. Mirchi’s second wife is the former actress Heena Kausar, daughter of the famous film-maker K. Asif (producer-director of the epic Mughal-e-Azam) by his third wife, the actress Nigar Sultana. Mirchi and Heena got married in 1991 and they had no children together. Heena also continues to reside in the United Kingdom after Mirchi’s death. Mirchi invested in real estate and other businesses through his sources, Dheeraj builder was one of his partners in various ventures. The companies associated with Dheeraj Wadhavan are under scrutiny, but his donations can’t be translated as funds from the underworld.
Anil Gote, the NCP MLA has alleged that the former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis got Rs 20 crore from RKW Developers Ltd after 2014, which has alleged links with late Iqbal Memon, an accused in 1993 bomb blast in Mumbai and a former confidant of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim. Gote spent four years in jail charged with counterfeiting, but he was never convicted.
Iqbal Mirchi alias Iqbal Memon was an Indian underworld figure, known as the right-hand man of India’s most wanted criminal, Dawood Ibrahim. Mirchi was often called the drug baron for his thriving narcotics business across Asia, Africa and Europe, according to various media articles.
BJP received a large sum as a donation from RKW Developers — a company being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for business transactions with Iqbal Mirchi. RKW Developers Ltd gave Rs 10 crore to the BJP in 2014-15. It revealed this in BJP’s filings to the Election Commission. They associate RKW Developers Ltd with Dewan Housing Finance Limited. They have also reported that RKW is the largest company donating individually to the ruling party.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL) promoter Dheeraj Wadhawan of being the “prime mover” of a property deal between a company linked to him and erstwhile drug lord Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi. The ED, which is investigating a money laundering-terror funding case against Memon, is also inquiring into the real estate deal.
In a 7,000-page chargesheet filed earlier this month, the agency has detailed how Wadhawan used DHFL to pay more than Rs 110 crore to Memon. Also, payments to the tune of 128.5 million UAE dirhams (approximately Rs 154 crore) were made to Memon via Culture Estate LLC, a Dubai-based company in which Wadhawan was a director until 2008.
The money laundering case relates to Memon’s Mumbai properties, which are being treated by the ED as the proceeds of crime. They sold three such properties to Sunblink, the company linked to Dheeraj Wadhawan. The latter has told the ED that he didn’t know Memon was a wanted man, but the agency said one of his brokers had alerted him about this. Dheeraj Wadhawan is linked with the Patra Chawl controversy, is also one of the prime fundraisers for BJP said its former leader Anil Gote.
No relief to Neil Somaiya – What if he gets arrested? 12
BJP leader Kirit Somaiya was hounding Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders. By launching offensive statements, Somaiya said that the “dirty dozen” of the alliance would be behind the bars soon. Somaiya named Anil Parab, Sanjay Raut, Sujit Patker, Bhavna Gavali, Anand Adsul, Ajit Pawar, Hassan Mushrif, Pratap Sarnaik, Ravindra Waikar, Jitendra Awhad, Anil Deshmukh and Nawab Malik (the last two are already in jail). In counter reply, Sanjay Raut warned Somaiya of dire consequences.
Since Somaiya came up exposing ruling party leaders, the ruling party leaders also uncovered his son’s alleged corruption. Neil had approached the court last week seeking protection from arrest, stating that he had apprehended coercive action against him by the Mumbai Police. Neil Somaiya is Municipal Councillor at Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. He is another breed of nepotism in Maharashtra politics. His only credibility is that he is Kirit Somaiya’s son. This name was not much known to the commoners other than his father’s constituency.
Well, when the opposition vs State government locked horns, Neil Somaiya would be a big catch if he is sent behind bars. On Monday, Chief Public Prosecutor Jaising Desai had submitted that Neil’s plea was ‘vague’ and did not mention a specific case in which he was seeking protection. Notably, Neil has not been named in any FIR so far. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had demanded the arrest of Neil and his father for their alleged links with an accused in the PMC Bank case.
Following this, Neil through his lawyer Hrishikesh Mundargi had sought pre-arrest bail seeking a 72-hour notice before any intimidating action. Desai said that the plea was based on newspaper reports and did not refer to any particular allegations against him. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has again hit out at BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son Neil for their alleged role in the PMC Bank scam case. Probably this is disturbing both son and father and they are running to polls to seek relief for their son.
The ruling party leader made allegations that the father-son duo, Kirit and Neil Somaiya, are involved in extortion and other illegal activities. With the help of Central agencies, they are threatening others to send them to jail. The Maharashtra Police are investigating various cases related to them. Last month Raut had accused Kirit Somaiya’s son Neil of having links with Rakesh Wadhwan, an accused in the PMC bank fraud. He had also questioned the source of Rs 260 crore invested in Somaiya’s project in Palghar district and the association Neil and his wife Medha have as directors in the project Nikon Green Ville.
In a village called Vevoor in Palghar, work on a gigantic project worth Rs 260 crore is underway in Neil Somaiya’s name. His wife Medha Kirit Somaiya is the director of this project. Nicon project at Vasai was coming up on land taken from HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhwan, who has been arrested on charges of money laundering.
According to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website, while they listed Neil Kirit Somaiya as a director in Nicon Infra LLP, the Company has its headquarters in Bandra West with six others. His wife Medha Kirit Somaiya was a director between 8 July 2010 and 1 December 2016. Nirav Developers Private Limited does not have Somaiyas among the directors.
There were several allegations made, but so far Shiv Sena leaders have not produced a single document, evidence, and names of investors, Benami investors or officials. It is their government. Most interestingly, Maha Vikas Aghadi has taken no action against both father and son. What has stopped the ruling government from investigating the said corruption of Somaiyas?
BJP leader Somaiya’s business interests are reflected in his election affidavits since 1995 with the market valuation. So, everyone knows about the Vasai or Palghar (projects)… the company’s total assets do not cross Rs 20 crores and their share is around 8 per cent and hence doesn’t cross more than a couple of crores. If there is something beyond what something projects, then the ruling party should act swiftly and take advantage of the situation.
In the meantime, Somaiya visited Santacruz police station with a high media drama show to respond to the summons asking him to appear in connection with an FIR registered for alleged violation of COVID-19 norms. They issued the summons to Somaiya on February 14 in which police asked to appear within 15 days, according to a copy of the summons posted by him on his Twitter handle.
There are many other FIRs registered against the BJP leader Santacruz police station, last year under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and section 51 (b) of the disaster management act that prescribes “punishment for obstruction” for refusal to comply with any direction given by or on behalf of the central government or state government or the national executive committee or the state executive committee or the district authority under the Act.
Well, Somaiya sent MVA leaders to jail and some are under severe scrutiny. It will be interesting to look out how Raut is going to prove his claims against Somaiya.
Operation Ganga: 6,000 Indians brought back to the country from Ukraine so far 14
Of the 20,000 Indians who were stranded in war-torn Ukraine, 6,000 have been brought back to the country so far and the Centre is making all efforts for the safe return of the remaining ones, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said on Wednesday.
He was speaking to reporters here on the sidelines of an event.
“There were around 20,000 students/citizens who were stranded in Ukraine. Of them, 4,000 were brought back to India before February 24. Additional 2,000 students were brought back to India till Tuesday and efforts are on to evacuate the remaining Indians stuck there,” he said.
Since the number of stranded persons is big, defence aircraft are being used to bring them back to India, Muraleedharan said.
With the help of Ukraine’s neighbouring countries Romania, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, the students are being evacuated to India, he said.
The Union government has initiated ‘Operation Ganga’ to bring back Indians stranded in Ukraine.
When asked about Shiv Sena’s allegation that the initiative was named Operation Ganga keeping the Uttar Pradesh elections is mind, he said, “It is not a political issue. It is national issue. It is pertaining to the safety of Indian citizens. There should not be any objection to the name.”
In Pune, the minister met the parents of some children, who are stuck in Ukraine.
In a tweet posted after the meeting, the minister said, “Continuing my engagement with parents of students, who are stuck in Ukraine. This time in-person in Pune. Happy to hear them appreciate our efforts in rescuing Indians.”
He also said that the situation is being monitored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the government is making all the efforts to bring back the Indians in a safe manner.
Sandip Gulunjkar, one of the parents who met the minister here, said his daughter has crossed the border and reached Romania.
“I raised the issue in the meeting with minister that students are getting harassed by the Ukrainian police at the border and their safety and security should be ensured, to which the minister assured the safe return of all the students and citizens,” he said.
Once the students cross the border and enter Romania, they are being provided facilities, the minister said.
Satish Nalawade, another parent whose daughter was stranded in Kharkiv, said that according to the minister, the government is concerned about the safety of all the Indian students.
Raid on Yashwant Jadhav's house continues; Rs 100 crore recovered so far 16
It was Yashwant Jadhav, who is the standing committee chairman in Shiv Sena-controlled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has confessed amassed wealth. It all happened like a movie scene. First Jadhav’s house, offices and then various premises belonging to him got raided, and then he was house-arrested for interrogation by the IT department. Jadhav could not take the pressure and gave details of his income sources. In the office raid, the Income Tax department found 100 crore rupees stuffed in a cupboard.
In the purported audio clip, Jadhav was asking Suraj Pratap Singh Deora — a representative of Yash Corporation — to withdraw from the contract of development works worth Rs 2.17 crore in corporator ward 206 in E-ward (Byculla). The firm had bagged the contract through e-tendering. As Deora expressed his inability to withdraw from the works, Jadhav allegedly asked him if he wanted to continue working with BMC or not. While Jadhav is a corporator from Ward-206, his wife Yamini Jadhav is the Byculla MLA.
The Income Tax department has seized Rs 2 crore in cash from the family and associates of Shiv Sena corporator Yashwant Jadhav during a raid in Mumbai. The IT department on Friday conducted a search operation at the premises of Jadhav’s family members, associates and some of the BMC contractors. The house of one of Jadhav’s associates, Bimal Agarwal, was also searched and cash recovered from there. He recently filed a case of extortion against former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh.
Investments in shell companies
There are allegations that Jadhav took bribes and invested in shell companies between 2018 and 2020. The Income Tax Department had launched a search operation at Cooper Mahal, Mazagaon, Byculla and other places.
Allegations of taking a commission from contractors
Jadhav had taken money from contractors to avail of those BMC tenders during 2018 and 2020. Sources said Jadhav took Rs 15 crore as commission. This was black money. Sources said that Jadhav gave this money to some private firms, who later transferred the entire amount to their fictitious companies. These included his family members and relatives.
When the complaint got registered against Jadhav, the IT department launched a thorough investigation and found out that around Rs Jadhav collected 15 crores as a bribe.
Transactions are done with some firms in Dubai
The IT department knew during the preliminary investigation that they did certain transactions in his account from some Dubai-based firms. IT officials had questioned Jadhav and his family members in connection with the transaction.
The opposition had demanded an audit
The opposition in Maharashtra had earlier raised the issue and demanded a thorough audit of all the tenders passed by Jadhav.
The safety of Mumbai varsity staff & students at stake; campus lacks boundary walls & CCTVs 20
The 243 acres of Kalina Campus of the University lacks a boundary wall. This is also a residential campus where teaching and non-teaching staff, as well as students, reside. For such a huge surrounding, there are only 140 security guards. Imagine if these 140 security guards are deployed at the four entrances and the building gates there will not be even a single security guard for 10 acres for the surveillance. The availability of only 140 security guards on the campus is too less for 24×7 vigilance.
There are only 42 CCTV cameras available for the surveillance of the 5100-meter-long route of the University campus. These 42 CCTV cameras are hardly of any use for the security officers to protect the entire big campus. This lack of security issue needs to be addressed by University administrations.
Above all the unavailability of walkie-talkies is hindering smooth communication among the security forces. If any unwanted incident happens, security guards have no alternative to passing the information. In this scenario, communication becomes very difficult? If there is a lack of communication, how can one expect quick action? Most of the time outsiders and some unauthorized elements encroach into the boundary walls of the university but hardly anyone notices.
Ashish Dwivedi, a student activist told Afternoon Voice, “I tried to talk to the Vice-Chancellor several times regarding the boundary wall and the number of the security forces but now he is not answering our calls, or responding to WhatsApp messages or emails. Is the Vice-Chancellor of Mumbai University waiting for some big disaster? Or they only expect the fees from the students and not their safety?”
Amol, a Journalism student said, “The security lapse in the Mumbai university is a big threat to the safety of the students and residential staff. The incident of robbery and intruding already happened. University administration should increase the safety measure for students and staff.”
Shridhar Pednekar, a PhD Scholar, Department of Geography said, “Due to a smaller number of the security guard visiting students face a lot of problems in finding the department and issue of boundary wall is a big threat to the safety of residing staff and students at night hours.”
Some demands regarding the above issue have been placed before the University administration by mail.
Increase the number of security Guards
Walkie-talkies should be provided to all security forces
High-resolution CCTV cameras should be installed every 50 meters or at a sufficient distance on the road of the University and a large screen should be installed in the security room to show the recordings of those CCTV Cameras.
A 12 to 15 feet high perimeter security wall should be constructed around the Kalina campus and CCTV cameras should be installed at every 50 meters for the surveillance on the inside and outside the campus.
