Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has intensified its crackdown on Hiren Bhanu and his wife Gauri, the absconding couple in the Rs122 crore scam at New India Cooperative Bank.

Blue Corner Notice Issued

The EOW has issued a Blue Corner notice against Hiren, the alleged mastermind and former chairman of the bank, and Gauri, who was the acting vice-chairman. Investigators have traced Hiren to Abu Dhabi and Gauri to Thailand, leading to the issuance of the notice. The EOW had initially issued a lookout circular.

Now, with confirmed foreign locations, the alert has been issued. The Blue Corner notice will help track Bhanus’ locations, monitor their activities, and facilitate their arrest.

According to EOW sources, the duo fled abroad just before the scam was exposed. As per the probe, Hitesh Mehta, the bank’s general manager, executed the fraud under the instructions of the Bhanu couple.

Reports indicate that they received Rs28 crore from the embezzled funds. Hiren fled to Dubai on January 26, while Gauri left for Thailand on February 10 just before the scam was uncovered on February 12.

Guwahati, March 7: Assam Police are set to send fresh summons to the YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, who had not appeared before the investigation team against the earlier summons.

A senior police official on Friday said, “A team of CID will travel to Mumbai shortly to Allahbadia’s house, and they will hand over a fresh set of summons for appearing before the investigation team on the probe.”

Allahbadia was supposed to appear before the Assam Police the previous week in the case related to his controversial comments on the stage of the ‘India’s Got Latent’ show that has attracted massive backlash for the podcaster.

A case against Allahbadia was registered in Guwahati, and he was served summons to appear before the Assam Police here. The Guwahati Crime Branch, in the previous week, questioned another YouTuber, Ashish Chanchalani, who has also been embroiled in the controversy for his comments made during an episode of the show.

The interrogation lasted for several hours after the YouTuber arrived at the Crime Branch office. He was questioned about a number of accusations before being let go in the evening. “YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani showed up for interrogation at the Crime Branch. He has complied with our inquiry. We will phone him if necessary, but we are not currently calling him again. Police notices have not yet received a response from other people connected to the investigation. They will receive new summonses shortly,” Guwahati’s Joint Police Commissioner Ankur Jain told reporters here.

On February 21, the Supreme Court asked the Governments of Maharashtra and Assam to respond to the YouTuber’s request to have a formal complaint against the show’s alleged pornographic remarks dismissed or transferred to Mumbai.

When Allahbadia made controversial comments on the show hosted by Samay Raina, Chanchlani was listed in the Assam FIR. Due to his remarks regarding parents and sex in an episode of the show, Ranveer Allahbadia, better known by his stage name BeerBiceps, was the target of multiple formal complaints.

Chanchlani has pleaded for the FIR filed at the Guwahati Crime Branch, Guwahati Police Commissionerate’s Cyber Police Station to be quashed because the Maharashtra FIR was filed first. The YouTuber requested that the Guwahati FIR be transferred to Mumbai.

\While considering Chanchlani’s anticipatory bail motion, the Gauhati High Court granted him temporary relief on February 18 and instructed him to appear in person before the investigating officer within ten days.

The lawyer for Chanchlani contended that their client made no statements on the show and that the FIR’s accusations were limited to the co-accused. In accordance with certain provisions of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhtia, Information Technology Act, Cinematograph Act, and Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, the Guwahati Police filed a formal complaint on February 10.

New Delhi, March 7: The US Supreme Court has rejected a plea by 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana, seeking a stay on his extradition to India to face trial

Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, had filed an “Emergency Application For Stay” with the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the US and Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit.

He argued in his plea that his extradition to India violated the US law and the United Nations Convention Against Torture “because there are substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited to India, petitioner will be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

“The likelihood of torture in this case is even higher though as petitioner faces acute risk as a Muslim of Pakistani origin charged in the Mumbai attacks,” the application said.

The application also said that his “severe medical conditions” render extradition to Indian detention facilities a “de facto” death sentence in this case.

The plea cited medical records from July 2024 showing that he has multiple “acute and life-threatening diagnoses”, including multiple documented heart attacks, Parkinson’s disease with cognitive decline, a mass suggestive of bladder cancer, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, a history of chronic asthma, and multiple Covid-19 infections.

Rana’s extradition was cleared by US President Donald Trump last month. In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump announced that Rana’s extradition had been approved. “We are giving a very violent man back to India immediately. There is more to follow because we have quite a few requests. We work with India on crime, and we want to make things better for India,” Trump stated.

He is wanted in India for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists. Eight locations in Mumbai were targeted by terrorists on November 26, 2008, which claimed the lives of over 174 people.

Rana, 64, faces charges in India for providing logistical support to LeT. He was found guilty in the US for assisting the group, and India has long sought his extradition. He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.