National News
Politics of victimisation, says Karti on Chinese visa scam case
Karti Chidambaram, who on Thursday appeared before the CBI here in connection with the Chinese visa scam case, denied all the allegations and said that he “did not felicitate a single Chinese national” and the case was bogus.
He said that the earlier cases lodged against him were also “bogus and this one was the biggest of them”.
While arriving at headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) here, he spoke to the waiting mediapersons and said, “This is politics of victimisation and they are trying to tarnish my image,” said Karti.
Karti had to appear before the CBI on Wednesday but due to some reasons he could not. Now a team of elite officials of the CBI will record his statement.
S. Bhaskararaman, his Chartered Accountant, is currently in custodial remand of the CBI. Karti will be confronted with him. The CBI had told the court hat they wanted to confront him with Karti and other accused.
The CBI has also recovered 65,000 emails which will be used as evidence.
A sales deed recovered during the raids is of a property bought in Delhi’s Jor Bagh and the power of attorney is in the name of Bhaskararaman whereas the property was bought by Karti and his mother.
Karti Chidambaram will be questioned in this connection.
According to the FIR, a Mansa (Punjab) based private firm, Talwandi Sabo Power Limited, took help of a middleman and allegedly paid Rs 50 lakh to get the visa issued for Chinese nationals to complete a project before the deadline.
“The Mansa (Punjab)-based private firm was in the process of establishing a 1,980 MW thermal power plant and was outsourced to a Chinese company. The project was running behind its schedule. In order to avoid penal actions for the delay, the said private company was trying to bring more and more Chinese persons, professionals for their site at district Mansa (Punjab) and needed Project visas over and above the ceiling imposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs,” said the CBI official.
The official said that for the said purpose, the representative of the said private company approached a person based at Chennai through his close associate and thereafter they devised a back-door way to defeat the purpose of ceiling (maximum of Project Visas permissible to the company’s plant) by granting permission to reuse 263 Project Visas allotted to the said Chinese company’s officials.
In pursuance of the same, the said representative of the Mansa-based private company submitted a letter to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs seeking approval to reuse the Project Visas allotted to this company, which was approved within a month and permission was issued to the company.
“A bribe of Rs 50 lakh was allegedly demanded by the private person based at Chennai through his close associate which was paid by the Mansa-based private company. The payment of said bribe was routed from the Mansa-based private company to said private person of Chennai and his close associate through a Mumbai-based company as payment of false invoice raised for Consultancy and out of pocket expenses for Chinese Visas related works whereas the private company based at Mumbai was never in any kind of work relating to visas rather it was in an entirely different business of industrial knives,” said the CBI official.
It has been alleged that Karti’s father — senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram allegedly helped the Chinese get visas by flouting rules.
The CBI officials said that they were looking into the matter.
Crime
Samrat Choudhary takes charge as Bihar Home Minister; warns criminals

Patna, Nov 22: After becoming Bihar’s Home Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has taken a tough stance on maintaining law and order in the state.
On Saturday, soon after assuming office, he issued a stern warning to criminals, declaring that no offender would be spared and that the police had been given full freedom to act.
Deputy CM Choudhary said that the police are no longer bound and now have complete authority to take action openly.
He reaffirmed that criminals have no place in Bihar and asserted that the Home Ministry will work under the guidance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Good governance, he said, existed earlier and would continue even more firmly in the future.
He added that the ‘jungle raj’ that had been eliminated would not be allowed to return.
Responding to a query about his earlier controversial remark — saying that criminals in Bihar would be cremated in Gaya — the State Home Minister said the police were doing their job.
This marks the first time Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has handed over the Home Department to the BJP since 2005.
In the new Cabinet, along with Nitish Kumar, 26 Ministers were sworn-in.
Samrat Choudhary has been appointed both the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, while Vijay Kumar Sinha has also been appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
He is holding the charge of Revenue, Land Reforms and Mining departments in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.
Ministers from all NDA constituents have found a place in the Bihar Cabinet.
The BJP has the highest representation in the state Cabinet with 14 Ministers, followed by Janata Dal-United with eight, Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas with two, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with one, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) with one.
Despite having two Deputy CMs and 14 Ministers, the BJP’s share of the allocated departmental budget is lower compared to JD-U.
The BJP controls 29.22 per cent of the total budget, LJP-RV Ministers 0.91 per cent, HAM 0.58 per cent, and RLM 3.56 per cent.
The remaining departments, accounting for around 65 per cent of the total budget, remain with the JD-U.
Crime
Palghar Crime: 3 Arrested For Attempted Murder And ₹10 Lakh Robbery In Vasai; Police Bust Interstate 6-Member Gang

Palghar, Maharashtra, Nov 22: The Crime Detection Unit (Unit 2) of the Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar Police has arrested three men involved in an attempted murder and armed robbery at a residence in Vasai, recovering gold jewellery and cash worth ₹10 lakh.
The incident took place on November 18 when three unidentified men forcibly entered the home of 37-year-old Geeta Raut in Reliable Glory Building at Sativali, Vasai West.
The intruders threatened Raut and her son Santosh at knifepoint, demanding information about the location of their gold. When Raut said she did not know, one of the assailants attempted to stab her.
She managed to evade the blow but sustained an injury to her left arm. The attackers then broke open a cupboard and escaped with 12 tolas of gold ornaments and a mobile phone.
Following the registration of the case at Waliv Police Station, officials conducted a detailed investigation at the crime scene and surrounding areas.
Through technical analysis and intelligence from informers, the police identified the suspects and learned that they were residing in Nandagaon, Karnataka.
A team was immediately dispatched, and on November 20, three accused were detained along with 8 tolas of stolen gold, cash, and a mobile phone, collectively valued at ₹10 lakh. During interrogation, it was revealed that they were part of a six-member gang involved in the crime.
The arrested accused have been identified as Ashok alias Babu Raju Shinde, a resident of Shantinagar Dongripada in Vasai East originally from Nandagaon in Karnataka; Abdul Rauf Hashmi, a resident of Richard Compound in Manocha Pada, Vasai East originally from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh; and Ritik Ravi Belangi, also living in Richard Compound and originally from Nandagaon in Karnataka.
Police have also named three absconding accomplices: Nur Hasan Khan from Patil Wadi in Nalasopara East, Suraj Kishor Jadhav from Shantinagar in Nalasopara East, and Kalu Prabhakar Sahu from Kendrapara in Odisha.
The detained suspects have been handed over to Waliv Police for further action under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is underway.
National News
Mega Block On Sunday, 23-11-2025: Mumbai Local Train Services To Be Affected On CR’s Main Line, No Block On Harbour & Trans-Harbour Line; Check Details

Mumbai, Nov 22: Central Railway, Mumbai Division will operate Mega Block on its main line suburban sections to carry out various engineering and maintenance works on Sunday, 23th November.
UP and DOWN FAST Lines between Thane and Kalyan stations from 10.40 am to 3.40 pm
Down Fast/Semi-Fast local services departing CSMT Mumbai from 09.34 am to 15
3.03 pm will be diverted on Down Slow line between Thane and Kalyan stations halting at Kalva, Mumbra and Diva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.
Up Fast/Semi-fast services departing Kalyan from 10.28 am to 3.40 pm will be diverted on Up Slow line between Kalyan and Thane stations halting at Diva, Mumbra and Kalva stations in addition to their respective scheduled halts and further re-diverted on Up Fast line at Mulund station and will arrive destination 10 minutes later than their scheduled arrival.
Down Mail/Express trains departing CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 5th line between Thane and Kalyan stations.
Up Mail/Express trains arriving CSMT/Dadar will be diverted on 6th line between Kalyan and Thane/ Vikhroli stations.
There will be no Mega block on Harbour line & Trans-Harbour line-Only special traffic block between Belapur & Panvel.
According to Railway, these maintenance mega blocks are essential for infrastructure upkeep and safety. Passengers are requested to bear with the Railway Administration for the inconvenience caused.
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