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Lakhimpur Kheri violence: UP court sent Ashish Mishra to 14-day judicial custody

By
Web Team
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ashish mishra, lakhimpur kheri, ajay mishra, bjp, uttar pradesh police, up, up court, uttar pradesh court, lakhimpurAshish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra, was produced before a court late on Saturday night, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the October 3 Lakhimpur violence.

After around 12 hours of questioning in connection with the violence in which eight persons including four farmers were killed, a medical team examined Ashish Mishra in the crime branch office after which he was taken for production before a judicial magistrate, who sent him to custody, senior prosecution officer SP Yadav told PTI.

He said an application for police remand of Ashish Mishra was submitted to the judicial magistrate who fixed it for hearing for 11 am on Monday.

Ashish Mishra was named in an FIR following allegations that he was in one of the vehicles that mowed down four farmers protesting over UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit last Sunday.

Farmer leaders and opposition parties had been demanding Mishra’s arrest but the minister and his son had denied the allegations.

Two BJP workers and their driver were allegedly lynched by angry farmers in the incident. Local journalist Raman Kashyap also died in the violence, which has triggered a political storm and put the BJP government on the back foot in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Ashish Mishra, who is known as ‘Monu Bhaiya’ in the area, spent the night in the district jail. He had appeared before the SIT at around 10.30 AM on Saturday after a second summons was served to him the previous day when he did not turn up for interrogation. He was arrested at around 11 PM on Saturday after being grilled by the SIT at the crime branch office in the Police Lines.

Aged around 35, Ashish Mishra looks after the political activities of his father in his Kheri Parliamentary constituency.

The Supreme Court had on Friday questioned the non-arrest of the accused, directed preservation of evidence and mulled transferring the probe to another agency.

Without mincing words, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana had said, the law must take its course against all accused and the government has to take all remedial steps in this regard to inspire confidence in the investigation of the brutal murder of eight persons.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), which is spearheading the agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws, had alleged that the violence was held under a pre-planned conspiracy and demanded the arrest of the minister and his son.

The farmer unions said if the government does not accept their demands by October 11, they will take out a ‘Shaheed Kisan Yatra’ from Lakhimpur Kheri with the ashes of slain farmers.

The SKM has also given a call for a “rail roko” protest across the country from 10 AM to 4 PM on October 18 and a “mahapanchayat” in Lucknow on October 26.

Ajay Mishra should be “dismissed from the cabinet and arrested on charges of spreading disharmony, murder and conspiracy. He is also protecting the culprits in the case”, SKM leader Yogendra Yadav had alleged during a press conference in Delhi.

A nine-member team headed by the SIT team headed by Deputy Inspector General of Police (Headquarters) Upendra Agarwal has been formed to investigate the FIR lodged against the minister’s son and others in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

After two men were arrested on Thursday in the case, police had put up a notice outside Ashish Mishra’s house asking him to appear before it.

 

2022 BMC elections – BJP and Shiv Sena geared up; Congress to go solo; AAP can’t be ignored

By
Vaidehi Taman
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bmc, building, elections, bmc elections, 2022 bmc elections, shiv sena, bjp, sena vs bjp, aap, congress, aam aadmi party mumbai, electionsTo prepare for the upcoming civic polls in February 2022, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started the process of verification for delimitation (redrawing) of the boundaries of the 24 administrative wards.

The BMC currently has 227 corporators who are elected representatives across 24 administrative wards formed on the basis of the census conducted in 2011. The census for 2021 was delayed amid the pandemic. Allocation is undertaken to ensure that all electoral wards largely have the same amount of population. The state election commission had last month given permission to several municipal corporations including Mumbai civic body to go ahead with the delimitation process.

Meanwhile, political parties are doing their homework to nail it. BJP aims to wrest control of BMC, which has been Sena’s source of wallop and resources for three decades and set the stage for the Thackeray-led Maharashtra government’s defeat in the next elections or even the collapse of the three-party ruling coalition before that.

The BJP had given Narayan Rane the task to damage the Shiv Sena but somehow Maha Vikas Aghadi government was successful enough in taming him down. Rane is the choice of the central leadership; many believe that his time is over in Konkan, the BJP had given him the mission to damage the Shiv Sena in the BMC polls. But, the Shiv Sena is ready to counter him. If you read the statements of Shiv Sena leaders, they are of the opinion that Rane will help Sena to energize its cadres. The fatigue of the workers would go away as Shiv Sena workers like to counter aggressive politics.

The fight between the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is likely to intensify but at this hour BJP needs to make extra efforts. Unleashing Rane against Shiv Sena was one of the most inane moves by the BJP. The recent episode of Narayan Rane’s controversial statement has given the Shiv Sena and the BJP a fresh issue before the civic body polls as both parties mobilized their workers across the state and showed their strength by conducting protests.

The BMC is the largest corporation in the country with an annual budget of over Rs 35,000 crore and has been single-handedly run by the Shiv Sena for over three decades since 1989. In the 2017 BMC polls, Shiv Sena and the BJP, who were alliance partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had contested against each other with Shiv Sena winning 84 seats and the BJP winning 82 seats. The Shiv Sena formed a government with the help of independents.

However, in the past 10 months, BJP leaders feel that there is confusion over the way forward and that they would need a course correction. The local leadership is not effective enough to take the Sena head-on, there is a flip-flop on part of the party over the issue of alliance with the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) and moreover, some controversies created by the party leaders have given the Sena leaders ammo to charge up the party workers and even BJP’s loyal support base.

The Congress Party, which plans to contest all 227 seats in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections on its own, has recommended three popular names for the post of Mumbai Mayor. The Strategy Committee has recommended the names of Bollywood actors Sonu Sood, Riteish Deshmukh, and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman as potential candidates for the Mumbai Mayor’s post. The incumbent chief Kishori Pednekar is a leader of the ruling Shiv Sena.

In its report, Committee opined that the face of BMC Mayor should attract the youth and bring the public to its side. The BMC election is scheduled to hold in February 2022. The municipal corporation is considered Asia’s richest civic body with an annual budget of nearly Rs.37, 000 crores. Shiv Sena has been a formidable force in the civic elections even when NCP-Congress was in power in the state. Having dominated the BMC since 1985, the Shiv Sena, eyes to retain it by jointly contesting with NCP and Congress against BJP.

Let us see if Sena can bring down BJP from 82 seats, and gain some more to their kitty, or BJP stands alone and competes successfully. Among all one cannot ignore Aam Aadmi Party, slowly and steadily they are making their presence in civic polls.

 

BJP claims to win BMC elections; Shiv Sena is geared up to tame opposition

By
Vaidehi Taman
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shiv sena, bjp, bmc elections, brihanmumbai municipal corporation, bjp vs shiv sena, uddhav thackeray, ashish shelar, fadnavis, devendra fadnavisThe Sena has been in control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the richest in India, for nearly 30 years. In the BMC elections held in 2017, the BJP had made huge strides by winning 82 seats out of the total 227, closing the gap with the Sena, which bagged 86 seats.

Later, six corporators of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena joined the Sena, taking its total to 92. The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party have 30 and nine corporators, respectively.

The dedicated Gujarati voters are with BJP and they will not vote for others unless Sena makes some extraordinary efforts. The Sena is organizing several programs to reach out to voters in the Gujarati community. Meanwhile, Muslims and the rest others are voters of Shiv Sena, though the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls are a year away, the Shiv Sena has already pulled its socks to gear up for elections.

In one year around half a dozen leaders from the BJP have switched sides to the Sena, which is likely to reduce BJP’s prospects in several pockets of Mumbai. On February 5, 2020, former Congress MLA-turned-BJP leader Krushna Hegde joined the Sena along with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Juilee Shende.

Hegde, the son-in-law of former Sena MLA and ex-mayor Ramesh Prabhu, is a prominent face to join the party. The next day, the three-time winner from the Borivali Assembly constituency and former BJP MLA Hemendra Mehta joined the Sena.

The BJP has made claims of winning the polls and by inducting disgruntled BJP leaders; the Sena is looking to dent its prospects. Ex-corporator Presila Kadam, BJP leader Anil Kadam, and BJP-affiliated BEST union’s working president Vivek Gholap also shifted to the Sena. Sena has good numbers with them and they have strategically worked towards BMC elections.

 

Heavy rush of passengers at Mumbai airport’s Terminal 2 amid festive buzz

By
Web Team
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mumbai airport, chaos, terminal 2, csmia, chhatrapati shivaji maharaj international airport, chaos at airport, adani group
Image: Twitter / @PrakarshGagdani

The Mumbai airport witnessed chaotic scenes on Friday due to heavy passenger rush amid the festive season and airlines advised travellers to report early to allow sufficient time for security check.

Many people took to social media to mention about the chaos and also shared pictures and videos of the scenes at the airport, which is operated by Adani Group.

In a statement, the airport operator said with the onset of the festive season, there has been a surge in passenger traffic and a sudden spike was witnessed at CSMIA this morning. The aerodrome is known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

Other city airports of the country also witnessed similar scenes, it added.

The operator also expressed regret over the inconvenience caused to any passenger and said that it was offering them all the support required.

In a tweet, Bollywood musician Vishal Dadlani said, “literally feels like we’re in the dark ages”.

“Endless milling crowds, machines breaking down, tempers frayed, chaos everywhere. Staff doing their best but absolutely unable to cope,” he said.

Along with a video of the jam-packed terminal, another passenger said, “complete chaos at Mumbai airport and the poor admin/officials have no idea how to control it. Proper mismanagement”.

“Due to Security Hold Area congestion at Terminal T2 Mumbai Airport, we recommend our customers to report early for check-in to avoid any inconvenience,” Vistara said in a tweet.

IndiGo issued an advisory asking its passengers at Mumbai and Chennai airports to report early to allow sufficient time for security checks.

According to the airport operator, owing to recent intelligence reports received by stakeholders and threats at another airport in the state, security has been further beefed up at CSMIA.

“The security and safety of our passengers are of utmost priority and our endeavour is to continue to not compromise on these critical aspects,” it added.

CSMIA has deployed additional staff for a quicker turnaround at all the security checkpoints for a smoother passenger experience. Additionally, the airport is following all the COVID protocols laid down by the government to ensure a smoother transition, the statement said.

 

Lakhimpur Kheri violence: Supreme Court asks UP govt why accused Ashish Mishra hasn’t been arrested yet

By
Web Team
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ashish mishra, lakhimpur kheri, lakhimpur, mishra, ashish, supreme court, scThe Supreme Court on Friday said it is “not satisfied” with the action taken by the Uttar Pradesh government in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3 in which eight people were killed and also asked the state why accused Ashish Mishra has not been arrested yet.

Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ajay Kumar Mishra ‘Teni’ had allegedly mowed down farmers with his car. Yesterday, the police served a notice to Ashish Mishra and summoned him for questioning.

The bench of Chief Justice Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said the Uttar Pradesh government is not proceeding in the manner in which it should proceed against the accused while adding that the killing of eight people in Lakhimpur Kheri is a “brutal murder” and law must take its course against all accused. The top court asked the Uttar Pradesh government whether in other murder cases the police issue summons instead of arresting the accused.

Not arresting the accused is sending a “wrong message,” the Bench observed as the police have not arrested Ashish Mishra. The Bench further observed that transferring the case to CBI for investigation is also not a solution. “We are not making comments. CBI is not a solution for reasons known to you… because of the persons involved… better some other people look into it,” Chief Justice told senior advocate Harish Salve appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.

The apex court ordered the DGP of the Uttar Pradesh government to protect evidence and other materials in the case and not destroy all in the interim by the time another agency takes it over. It listed the matter for hearing on October 20 as the first case. The Bench said it hopes the State government will take necessary steps due to the sensitivity of the issue and it expects responsible government, system and police.

Salve told the Bench that what has been done by State is not satisfactory and assured it that remedial action will be taken soon. During the hearing of the case on violence in Lakhimpur Kheri, the top court expressed apprehension over the fair probe in the case because of officers involved in the case, saying that it has seen details of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to probe the matter, and the DIG, Superintendent of Police, Circle Officers, etc are all local people.

At the outset, Salve said that that “young man (Ashish Mishra) who is being targeted has been given notice and he will appear tomorrow at 11 am”. Salve said that if he does not come, the rigour of law will take its course.

To this CJI Ramana asked Salve when there is a serious allegation of death or gunshot injury will the accused in this country be treated the same way? He further observed that charges against Mishra are very serious. Salve further said that he was told that post mortem did not show any bullet wounds and explained that it was the reason why the notice was sent under section 160 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) notice. He added that police have found two cartridges; maybe Mishra had bad aim and missed it.

“But the manner in which car was driven, allegations are true. I am saying allegations are true and there is a case under section 302 of IPC,” Salve added. The Bench also expressed its displeasure with the media’s coverage of the incident.

Yesterday, the Bench had directed the Uttar Pradesh government to file a status report on who are the accused against whom FIR has been filed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence and how many of them are arrested. The Bench was hearing a letter petition by two advocates — Shiv Kumar Tripathi and CS Panda — seeking punishment for politicians allegedly involved in the ghastly incident. The letter has stated, “Having regard to the seriousness of the killing of the farmers at district Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, it is incumbent upon this Court to intervene in the matter as flashed in the press.”

A single-member Commission of Enquiry with headquarters at Lakhimpur Kheri has been constituted to investigate the death of 8 persons in Lakhimpur Kheri. Uttar Pradesh government has appointed retired Allahabad High Court judge Pradeep Kumar Srivastava as a single-member Commission to inquire about the incident and inquiry to be completed within a period of two months. Earlier, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, party MP Deepender Hooda, and Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu, reached the village and visited the victims’ families.

Local farmers blamed Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Kumar Mishra ‘Teni’ and his son for the violence that left eight dead, including four farmers and a local journalist. They were mowed down by a vehicle that was part of the convoy of Minister in Lakhimpur Kheri in north-central Uttar Pradesh. Videos are also being circulated on social media where a Mahindra Thar was seen knocking down protesters from behind.

The Minister and his son deny the charges. Ashish Mishra and 20 others have been booked for murder but have not been arrested yet. The government gave Rs 45 lakh as compensation for each family and announced a judicial probe. Channi and Baghel also announced Rs 50 lakh compensation each to the victims’ families.

 

The condition of most farmers is terrible in India

By
Vaidehi Taman
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protests, farmers protest, india, farmers conditions, farm laws, farmers bill
Image: AFP

Farmers were peacefully protesting against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Lakhimpur Kheri district that took an ugly turn at least four farmers were killed and several injured after they were deliberately run over by a car that was part of the convoy of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Mishra. Four persons in the Minister’s convoy were also killed in the violence. Farmers in the Tikonia area of Kheri had gathered at the helipad at Maharaja Agrasen ground to prevent Maurya from landing, and the incident took place as the farmers were scattering from the protest site.

A new video has shown an SUV crashing into the protesters from behind. Farmers say the minister’s son, Ashish Mishra, was behind the attack. The Mishras deny the charge. Two workers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the driver were subsequently beaten to death by a mob of protesters. A fourth person, a journalist, also died in the violence. After a lot of uproar and criticism, authorities in Uttar Pradesh have appointed a retired judge to probe the violence that broke out during a farmers’ protest.

Farm unions say two protesters died when they were run over and two others who were injured later succumbed in the hospital. They are now demanding the purported video footage be treated as evidence against the minister and the son. The violence, which took place in the Lakhimpur district on Sunday, marks a dramatic escalation in a 10-month-old protest against agriculture reforms that the ruling BJP government passed without any substantive discussion in Parliament last year.

One of the major challenges the Narendra Modi government faced was tackling agrarian distress in the face of slack markets, flawed import and export policies, and demonetization. It came up short. That is why since 2016, farmers across the country have held protests against the government, demanding, among other things, that it implement MS Swaminathan Commission Report’s recommendations and increase minimum support prices for various crops.

The Bharatiya Janata Party came to power promising to double farmer incomes, increase minimum support prices to 1.5 times the cost of production, rationalize agricultural markets, make institutions for procurement more efficient, and promote value additions to food production. Agriculture is the engine of India’s economic growth and the largest employer and the BJP commits the highest priority to agricultural growth, increase in farmers’ income and rural development.

One of the BJP’s key promises was doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. In 2016, the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development released a report on how this could be done. The Niti Aayog followed up with its own report in 2017. Yet, in real terms, farm income growth in October to December 2018 quarter was at its lowest in 14 years. The Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana was announced in 2015. In February 2019, the Centre told the Lok Sabha that from 2015-’16 to 2017-’18, it created 11,831 organic farming clusters, each of around 500 to 1,000 hectares. Another 20,000 such clusters were added across India in 2018-’19.

Around Rs 800 crore had been released to such clusters since the scheme started, the government added. Much of this money went to Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. A report in Down to Earth notes that while India has the highest number of organic farmers in the world, many of them face problems of limited markets, high production costs and confusing certification systems.

The laws, which have been suspended by the country’s supreme court, are intended to overhaul a system that economists call wasteful and ineffective in meeting the country’s needs. But many farmers fear that the overhaul will undermine government-run markets for grain, leading to plunging prices. A majority of people in India depend on agriculture for their livelihood, and the country lacks job growth in other areas to take up the slack.

The farmer, who too had suffered the curse of black money and complicated tax structure and had suffered the same ‘decisiveness’ of the government in demonetization and GST, has good reasons to be wary of the Farm Bill pushed through the convenient cover of the COVID-induced circumstances.

The condition of most farmers is terrible. About 80% of farmers in India are marginal (less than 1 hectare) or small farmers (1–2 hectare) category. Agriculture supports about 60% of employment but contributes only 17% to GDP. Every day, there are reports of Indian farmer suicides from different parts of the country.

 

Varun Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi paid price for condemning BJP

By
Afternoon Voice
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varun gandhi and maneka gandhi, gandhi, varun gandhi, farmers, lakhimpur kheri, lakhimpurVarun Gandhi the Pilibhit MP’s stance did not go down well with the top leadership. He was the only BJP leader to take flag the issue, in which the son of a BJP Union minister has been accused of murder. Ashish Mishra, the son of BJP’s junior home minister Ajay Mishra, has not been questioned or arrested.

The names of Varun Gandhi and his mother Maneka Gandhi were dropped from the fresh list of the 80-member BJP national executive posted on Thursday amid a flurry of tweets by the BJP MP, condemning the events of UP’s Lakhimpur Kheri. The party brushed off the omission — sources said such rejigs are a “routine exercise”.

“There are other senior leaders from UP who have become part of the council in their place. There are at least ten. They must have lost their utility or relevance. We have seen the statements of the son on various occasions. It is after all the party’s decision,” news agency ANI quoted a senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh as saying.

“He projected as if the entire fault lies at the doorsteps of the leaders. We are awaiting the investigation report and believe that incident was unfortunate. He should have been patient at a time when the entire opposition is targeting the party,” ANI quoted a senior BJP leader as saying.

Varun Gandhi has been consistently speaking in support of farmers during their ongoing stir against the Centre’s new farm laws. His mother Maneka Gandhi has also been sympathetic to the farmers’ cause. Former Union minister Birender Singh, who was also seen as sympathetic, has been dropped as an executive member. So has Subramanian Swamy, who was seen as being critical of the party of late.

Calling it “murder”, Varun Gandhi said the video was enough to “shake the soul”.

On Tuesday, Varun Gandhi had tweeted a rather grainy video of a black SUV ploughing through a group of peaceful protesters from behind. Four farmers had died, another four lives were lost in the subsequent violence and arson.

Yesterday, tweeting what he called a “crystal clear” version of the same video, Mr Gandhi called for “accountability for the innocent blood of farmers”.

“Protestors cannot be silenced through murder. There has to be accountability for the innocent blood of farmers that has been spilled and justice must be delivered before a message of arrogance and cruelty enters the minds of every farmer,” he posted on Twitter.

He has also written to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, asking for a CBI probe and Rs 1 crore compensation for the families of the dead farmers.

Both Ajay Mishra and his son have denied that they were present at the spot, though the minister told media that the SUV belonged to his family. Amid opposition demands that he step down, Mishra met his boss, Union Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday. The government sources have ruled out any resignation.

Varun Gandhi has been consistently speaking in support of farmers during their ongoing stir against the Centre’s new farm laws. His mother Maneka Gandhi has also been sympathetic to the farmers’ cause. Former Union minister Birender Singh, who was also seen as sympathetic, has been dropped as an executive member.

 

Centre has completely failed in providing security in J-K: Rahul Gandhi

By
Web Team
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rahul gandhi, gandhi, edgah, srinagar, violence in kashmir, rahul

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday condemned the incidents of violence in Kashmir and alleged that the central government has completely failed to provide security to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Incidents of violence are increasing in Kashmir. Terrorism has neither stopped due to demonetisation nor after the abrogation of Article 370 – the central government has completely failed to provide security,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

“We strongly condemn the attacks on our Kashmiri brothers and sisters and send our condolences to the families of the deceased,” the former Congress president also said.

Gandhi’s remarks on Kashmir came after two government school teachers, including a woman, were shot dead by militants in the Eidgah area of Srinagar.

The killing of the teachers, which drew widespread condemnation, took the number of civilians shot dead in the last five days in Kashmir valley to seven, including four from among the minorities.

On Tuesday, the Kashmir Valley witnessed three targeted civilian killings in 90 minutes, which included a prominent Kashmiri Pandit businessman Makhan Lal Bindroo and the owner of the city’s most famous pharmacy, and a ‘golgappa’ and ‘bhelpuri’ seller from Bihar.

 

T20 WC Match officials: Menon lone Indian umpire; Erasmus and Gaffaney to officiate Indo-Pak game

By
Web Team
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nitin menon, mens t20, men's t20, umpire, cricketThe International Cricket Council on Thursday announced the appointment of 20 match officials for round one and Super 12 phase of the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup, with Nitin Menon being the lone Indian named among the umpires.

Seasoned South African umpire Marais Erasmus and England’s Chris Gaffaney will be the two on-field umpires for high-profile India versus Pakistan game on October 24 while Richard Illingworth will be the TV official. David Boon will be the match referee. The 16 umpires and four-match referees finalised for the 45-match tournament include three umpires who will be officiating in their sixth men’s T20 World Cups — Aleem Dar, Erasmus and Rod Tucker.

Former India pacer Javgal Srinath is one of the four-match referees named for the tournament, being played in Muscat (Oman), Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai (UAE) from October 17 to November 14.

The match officials for the semi-finals and final of the tournament in the UAE and Oman will be named in due course.

The ICC said a 20-strong group of match officials meant that for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be neutral umpires for all matches of the tournament, Sri Lanka’s Kumar Dharmasena, who was one of the on-field umpires for the final of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, will be in the middle for the first match of the tournament, when Oman takes on Papua New Guinea, alongside New Zealander Chris Gaffaney.

Another Sri Lankan, the vastly experienced Ranjan Madugalle, will be the match referee, with Richard Kettleborough the TV umpire and Ahsan Raza the fourth official. Dar and Erasmus have been selected for the Super 12 clash between England and the West Indies, a rematch of the last ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final back in 2016, with Australian great David Boon the match referee for that encounter and Chris Brown, appearing in his first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, on TV duty.

Adrian Griffith, ICC Senior Manager – Umpires and Referees, said: ”We are delighted to be able to call on some of the world’s top officials for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a group of 16 umpires and four-match referees.

”Our aim is always to appoint the best possible officials, and we have also been able to appoint neutral umpires and referees in all matches. We wish them all the very best, and we are confident they will ensure the smooth conduct of matches.” Match Referees: David Boon, Jeff Crowe, Ranjan Madugalle, Javagal Srinath.

Umpires: Chris Brown, Aleem Dar, Kumar Dharmasena, Marais Erasmus, Chris Gaffaney, Michael Gough, Adrian Holdstock, Richard Illingworth, Richard Kettleborough, Nitin Menon, Ahsan Raza, Paul Reiffel, Langton Rusere, Rod Tucker, Joel Wilson, Paul Wilson.

 

Income Tax dept conducts raids against sisters’, family of Maharashtra Dy CM Ajit Pawar

By
Web Team
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income tax, income tax department, it department, pawar, ajit pawar, pawar family, it dept raid

The Income Tax Department on Thursday raided some businesses linked to family members of Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and some real estate developers on charges of alleged tax evasion, official sources said.

They said the searches are being conducted in Mumbai, Pune, Satara and a few other cities in Maharashtra and Goa.

The premises linked to business groups such as DB Realty, Shivalik, Jarandeshwar Sahkari Sugar Karkhana (Jarandeshwar SSK) and businesses linked to Pawar’s sisters are being covered under the ongoing operation, the sources said.

Some documents have been recovered and are being studied, they said.

Jarandeshwar SSK was in the news recently after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), in July, attached over Rs 65 crore worth of land, building, plant and machinery of its sugar mill at Chimangaon-Koregaon in Satara under the anti-money laundering law.

The ED had claimed that the cooperative-run sugar mill was linked to Pawar and his family.

“The assets (of Jarandeshwar SSK) are currently held in the name of Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd (an alleged dummy company) and leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd,” the ED had alleged in a statement.

“Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd is holding majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills and investigations revealed that the former firm is a related company to Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, and Sunetra Ajit Pawar (his wife),” it had alleged.

Pawar had then denied any wrongdoing.

The ED action was part of its probe into the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) scam case where it is alleged that SSKs were fraudulently sold by the then officials and directors of MSCB at throwaway prices to their own relatives and private people “without following” due procedure prescribed under the SARFAESI Act.

The ED said that MSCB conducted an auction of Jarandeshwar SSK in 2010 at an “under-valued price” and without following due procedure.

“Ajit Pawar was one of the prominent and influential members of the board of directors of MSCB at the relevant time.” “The SSK was purchased by Guru Commodity Services Pvt Ltd and was immediately leased to Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd, which is presently operating the Jarandeshwar SSK,” the ED claimed.

The “major part” of the funds utilised towards the purchase of the said SSK was received from Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd which received the same from Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd, a company related to Ajit Pawar and his wife, the agency alleged thus linking the NCP politician to the case.

The ED claimed that the attached sugar mill was “actually controlled and run” by Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd.

 

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