Connect with us
Thursday,03-April-2025
Breaking News

National News

Politics of victimisation, says Karti on Chinese visa scam case

Published

on

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.

National News

Congress MP Imran Masood calls for banning liquor during Navratri

Published

on

Saharanpur, March 29: Congress lawmaker Imran Masood said on Saturday that not just meat shops, liquor establishments should be shut during the nine-day festival of Navratri and called for embracing and promoting the spirit of brotherhood and communal harmony.

“Everybody is demanding a ban on meat shops during Navratri. Why is no one asking for a ban on liquor shops? Why is there no outpouring on the free flow of liquor during Navratri? Will this not spoil the purity and sanctity of the festival?” Saharanpur MP said in a special interaction with media.

The Congress Parliamentarian said that peaceful celebration supersedes everything, and it is incumbent upon all communities to maintain decorum during festivities and also make certain sacrifices, be it Eid or Navratri.

Notably, Eid-ul-Fitr and Navratri are coinciding on the same day this year. Both festivals are set to fall on Monday, with little possibility of change in the Eid schedule on account of moon sighting.

Days ago, the Congress MP also extended support to the demands of a meat ban during Navratri celebrations. In an apparent message to the Muslim community, he said that nothing would change if one did not eat meat for ten days.

“What matters above everything is the peaceful co-existence of communities. At no point in time, the differences over food preferences lead to communal strife,” Masood told newspersons.

Congress MP, when asked questions on the party’s strategy for the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, said that the Opposition is fully prepared to take on the Centre on “partisan legislation”.

“We opposed the amendments in the JPC meeting, tooth and nail. We will strongly voice our dissent in Parliament too,” he said.

Notably, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Waqf Bill will not be delayed any further and will be reintroduced in the ongoing session of Parliament.

Only four working days of the Budget Session are left, as it concludes on April 4.

Continue Reading

National News

‘PM Narendra Modi Relies On Crutches Of Nitish Kumar And Chandrababu Naidu To Pass Waqf Bill”: AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi

Published

on

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi spoke on the Waqf Amendment Bill 2024 and said that the BJP does not have a majority in the Lok Sabha, and if Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar oppose it, it won’t be passed.

While speaking to media, Asaduddin Owaisi said that PM Narendra Modi is relying on the crutches of Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar. He stated that Union Home Minister Amit Shah is spreading lies in the country regarding the Waqf Bill.

“Amit Shah is the Home Minister of the Government of India and his statement is proof of the fact that you trying to make an unconstitutional law which can be challenged in the court. This is a violation of the articles of the Constitution and the Waqf of the entire country will suffer because of it. You are removing the section of the Waqf property, who will benefit from it. You are omitting the revenue of lakhs of rupees. Amit Shah is lying to the country that you can challenge the Waqf Tribunal in the court. Prime Minister Narendra Modi relies on the crutches of Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu and if they do not support this unconstitutional bill, then this law will not be made”, Asaduddin Owaisi said.

Earlier on Friday, Owaisi supported the ‘black band’ protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. Owaisi, who is also part of the JPC on the Waqf bill, joined in the symbolic protest on Friday by wearing a black armband as he offered prayers.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that Waqf Amendment Bill, on which JPC has given its report, will be tabled in the Budget session of Parliament. The Budget session is slated to conclude on April 4.

“Nobody needs to get afraid of the Waqf Bill. In 2013, the Congress-led government passed the Waqf Bill and made several provisions that are not aligned with our Constitution. We are now trying to align the bill with constitutional principles,” he said.

Asked about Asaduddin Owaisi’s black arm band protest, Amit Shah said people have a right to do so. “Some do it through their clothes, some through their words. In Parliament, one opposes through logic,” he said.

Continue Reading

Crime

Accused in Saif Ali Khan stabbing case files bail plea, claims innocence

Published

on

Mumbai, March 29: Mohammad Shariful Islam Shahzad, the accused in the stabbing of Bollywood superstar Saif Ali Khan, has filed a bail petition in the Mumbai Sessions Court, asserting that he is innocent and the case against him is fabricated.

The attack took place in the early hours of January 16 when the accused allegedly entered Saif’s Bandra residence through his youngest son Jeh’s room.

The actor, who was reportedly trying to fend off the assailant, suffered multiple stab wounds. Despite his injuries, Saif managed to go to the hospital on his own, accompanied by his son Taimur.

Shariful Islam Shahzad’s petition, filed through his lawyer, claims that the FIR was wrongly registered and that he has fully cooperated with the police investigation.

His legal team argues that since all evidence is already in police custody, there is no risk of tampering, and therefore, he should be granted bail.

Currently, the case is being handled by the Bandra Magistrate Court, but it falls under the jurisdiction of the Mumbai Sessions Court. Once the police file a charge sheet, the case will be transferred to the Sessions Court. However, the charge sheet is yet to be filed.

According to media reports, doctors removed a 2.5-inch knife from Saif’s wound. The actor sustained six stab injuries, two of which were serious as they were near his spine.

The incident reportedly occurred around 2:15 am on January 16 when the accused broke into the house, attacked the house help, and then stabbed Saif when he intervened.

Saif was alerted by noises from Jeh’s room, where he found the accused in an altercation with the house help. Attempting to protect the staff, Saif fought off the intruder with his bare hands before being stabbed multiple times.

Investigations have revealed that the accused, a Bangladeshi national, intended to rob a wealthy individual to finance his mother’s medical treatment in his home country. He has a history of petty theft and was previously dismissed from restaurants in Worli and Thane for stealing.

It is also reported that the attacker was unaware of Saif Ali Khan’s celebrity status and targeted the residence purely because it was located in an upscale apartment complex.

Continue Reading

Trending