National News
Finance Ministry Orders Fact-Based Inquiry After Wintrack Inc Alleges Corruption, Harassment By Chennai Customs
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry said on Thursday that the Department of Revenue (DoR) has been asked to undertake a fair, transparent, and fact-based inquiry following allegations made by Wintrack Inc (Chennai) of “corruption and harassment” against Chennai Customs and the matter is being dealt “with utmost seriousness”.
The Finance Ministry said in a post on X that the Government is committed to taking appropriate and expeditious action in accordance with the law and is committed to enhancing ease of doing business.
Wintrack Inc had said on Wednesday that it will “cease import/export activities in India” from October 1 alleging that “Chennai Customs officials have relentlessly harassed us for the past 45 days”.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had responded to Wintrack Inc’s allegations on Wednesday, stating that the “issue pertains to misdeclaration and misclassification by the importer” and that Chennai Customs has already responded on this aspect. It said necessary action, as per law, will be taken.
In its post on X on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said that the Government has taken cognizance of the matter raised by M/s Wintrack Inc (Chennai).
“The Department of Revenue (DoR) has been asked to undertake a fair, transparent, and fact-based inquiry into the present issue. A Senior Officer from DoR has been deputed to conduct a detailed factual enquiry, hearing the parties concerned, officials and thoroughly examining all relevant documentary evidence,” Finance Ministry said.
It said that in recent years, the Government has implemented a series of taxpayer-friendly initiatives such as the adoption of the Taxpayer Charter, the introduction of faceless customs procedures, and the establishment of appellate bodies for dispute resolution — with the objective of enhancing transparency and promoting ease of doing business.
“The matter is being dealt with utmost seriousness, and the Government is committed to taking appropriate and expeditious action in accordance with the law. It is reiterated that the Government is committed to enhancing ease of doing business,” Finance Ministry said.
In its post, Wintrack Inc alleged that Chennai Customs retaliated after “their bribery practices” were exposed twice this year.
“From October 1, 2025, our company will cease import/export activities in India. For the past 45 days, Chennai Customs officials have relentlessly harassed us. After exposing their bribery practices twice this year, they retaliated, effectively crippling our operations and destroying our business in India. We deeply thank everyone who has supported us during these difficult times,” Wintrack Inc said in a post on X.
In another post by Wintrack Inc on Thursday, its founder, Prawin Ganeshan posted a video describing the “sequence of events leading to our closure”. He urged people to join together to “abolish corrupt hands” on Gandhi Jayanti.
“I will stay alive,i will survive,never give up On this Gandhi Jayanthi, Lets all join together to reduce,abolish corrupt hands I have lost my health, got stress, still little left,” the post said.
In the accompanying video, Ganeshan recounted incidents beginning in January when, “after refusing to pay an alleged bribe on a shipment”, he recorded a call with an agent and shared it publicly. “Subsequently, the shipment was released and the issue was solved,” he said, noting that he had even thanked the customs officials at the time.
However, Ganeshan said that problems resurfaced between May and August. He claimed that bribe demands escalated and that shipments were repeatedly delayed or held up. He alleged use of abusive language and repeated obstacles on his consignments.
Ganeshan added that he attempted imports through a new company registered in his wife’s name, but faced similar demands and delays.
“I decided I’m no longer going to do business in India in the form of importer, exporter, anything… I just appeal to all the importers and exporters, if each one of you also raise the voice against this kind of bribery corruption, then only everything can be abolished,” he said in the video.
The CBIC had responded to Wintrack Inc’s allegations on Wednesday night and tagged Finance Ministry and office of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“Regarding the allegations of corruption against Chennai Customs raised by @PrawinGaneshan on Twitter, it is clarified that the issue pertains to misdeclaration and misclassification by the importer. Chennai Customs has already responded on this aspect. Subsequently, the importer has shared certain names and screenshots on Twitter. The matter has been noted, and all facts will be duly examined. Necessary action, as warranted under the law, will be taken,” the CBIC said.
Crime
Delhi Police arrest three in illicit liquor supply case

New Delhi, Aug 22: In a major crackdown on the illegal transportation and supply of liquor, the Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS) team of the North-East District of Delhi Police arrested three persons and recovered 778 quarters of Haryana-marked illicit liquor along with two taxis allegedly used to transport the consignment.
The action was carried out on August 21, 2026, after Head Constable Deepak, along with Head Constable Anuj and Constable Mukesh, was conducting area patrolling duty near Maujpur Chowk.
At around 6:30 a.m., the police team received information from a secret informer that two taxis carrying illicit liquor from Haryana would arrive near Seelampur Metro Station. The taxis’ numbers were also shared by the informer.
Acting on the information, the police team reached the location. At around 7:30 a.m., both taxis arrived and were intercepted. Three persons were apprehended, while another individual reportedly managed to flee from the spot.
A search of the vehicles led to the recovery of 399 quarters of illicit liquor from taxi HR55AX3345 and 379 quarters from taxi DL1ZD5015, taking the total recovery to 778 quarters.
The arrested accused have been identified as Vinit Chauhan (35), owner of taxi bearing number — HR55AX3345; Akash Sharma (25), driver of taxi bearing number — DL1ZD5015; and Vishal (23), who was allegedly accompanying the other accused.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly disclosed information about the source of the illicit liquor. Police are verifying the information and conducting further investigation to identify other individuals allegedly involved in the supply chain.
A case has been registered as FIR No. 288/26 under Section 33 of the Delhi Excise Act at Seelampur Police Station. Police said none of the three arrested accused has any previous criminal involvement on record. Further investigation is underway, according to police.
Business
Banks raise $72.8 billion in forex inflows till Aug 21, FCNR(B) deposits reach $65.4 billion: RBI

New Delhi, Aug 22: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Saturday said that authorised dealer banks have raised a massive $72.848 billion in forex inflows till August 21, and a major chuck came from FCNR (B) deposits at $65.397 billion.
External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) and Overseas Foreign Currency Borrowings (OFCBs) under Reserve Bank’s Swap facility helped raised another $7.451 billion till August 21.
RBI had introduced a special USD-INR forex swap facility covering FCNR(B) deposits, ECB and OFCB inflows on June 8, 2026.
“As already announced vide Press Release dated August 14, 2026, the Scheme is open till August 31, 2026 for FCNR(B) deposits, and up to December 31, 2026 for ECBs and OFCBs,” The Research Bank said in a statement.
The massive foreign inflows arrive as Indian banks have stepped up their efforts to attract FCNR(B) deposits by offering higher interest rates after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) suddenly cut short the deadline for its dollar-rupee swap window to August 31, from September 30.
The swap facility, announced in June to boost the inflow of dollars amid a weakening rupee, was originally available until the end of September, but the RBI abruptly shortened this by a month due to the “encouraging response” to the facility, which resulted in the required amount of foreign exchange flowing into the country.
While there may be valid reasons to justify an early closure of the RBI’s FCNR(B) deposit scheme, the most likely reason could be that the target for dollar mobilisation has already been achieved with inflows at $57 billion, and another $25-30 billion could easily flow in the remaining days of August, taking the total collections to around $85 billion, an SBI Research report said earlier this week.
According to the SBI report, “we don’t believe that the cost of swap could have been a constraining factor”.
“Our estimates show that the cumulative cost would amount to around 15 per cent of the corpus, or $10.5 billion. While this appears sizeable in absolute terms, it needs to be viewed against the scale of India’s foreign-exchange reserves rather than the FCNR(B) corpus alone,” the report argued.
Meanwhile, foreign exchange reserves jumped $9.905 billion to $716.90 billion during the week ended August 14, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday. The latest increase comes a week after the country’s forex reserves had surged by $14.1 billion to $707 billion, marking their highest level in the current financial year.
The rise in reserves was supported by inflows under the RBI’s FCNR(B) deposit scheme, which began to reflect in the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
National News
CJP vs villagers: Rajasthan school shifted within 24 hours in Jaipur

Jaipur, Aug 22: A day after a dispute between the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and villagers of Rampura over an inspection of a government school in Jaipur escalated into allegations of assault, intimidation and a law-and-order breakdown, the government school was shifted to a building about 50 metres away, within 24 hours of Friday’s clash.
After the confrontation, CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke had warned of an escalation stating that he would sit on a dharna in Jaipur if steps weren’t taken within 48 hours to improve the condition of the school.
The Rampura government school was shifted to a house in the village on Saturday morning. More than 16 children were present at the new location along with two teachers.
The room being used for classes had previously operated as a grocery shop. At the time of inspection, some children were also seen studying outside in the Sun.
A blackboard had been placed outside one of the rooms, while the room itself contained a storage chest and other belongings.
Children also reported that the ceiling fan inside the room was not working, leaving them uncomfortable in the heat.
On Saturday morning, both sides filed complaints against each other at Shivdaspura police station, accusing one another of assault and creating a ruckus.
Both parties have also alleged that police personnel are putting pressure on them.
CJP national spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka alleged that party workers were assaulted in the village on Friday and that their clothes were torn. He demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible.
Ranka further alleged that people from outside the village were brought in for the attack and claimed that some of those involved were later seen with local BJP MLA Kailash Verma. He described the incident as a “pre-planned attack” and alleged that stones were used with the intention of causing serious harm.
According to Ranka, police personnel were not present at the spot despite repeated attempts to contact them. He said the CJP has made videos of the incident public and demanded an impartial investigation by the Rajasthan Police.
Ranka also alleged that Pratap Nagar police were intimidating him and putting pressure on him. He claimed police personnel were questioning CJP workers about him and his family.
In their complaint to the police, villagers alleged that the CJP had disturbed the atmosphere in Rampura.
They claimed that the arrival of a large number of people, allegedly carrying weapons, created fear in the village and that children were now frightened to attend school.
The villagers have denied the allegations made by CJP workers and sought action over what they described as intimidation and disorder.
Villagers said they want the government to reconstruct the school building at the earliest so that classes can resume properly within the village.
Reacting to the developments, Ranka said the CJP would not be intimidated and would continue its ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign over the condition of government schools.
He alleged that Education Minister Madan Dilawar would face embarrassment over the condition of Rajasthan’s schools and said he would personally visit schools again.
Ranka also said the CJP’s demand could now extend beyond school-related issues to seeking Dilawar’s resignation.
Meanwhile, Dilawar posted on social media that continuous efforts were being made to strengthen government schools in Rajasthan, including infrastructure development, construction and repairs, smart classrooms, laboratories and other essential facilities.
The allegations made by both sides have yet to be independently established.
The police investigation and the FIRs filed by the two parties are expected to determine the sequence of events and responsibility for Friday’s clash.
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