LIVE! PNB fraud: Modi's broom cleaning up UPA's mess, says BJP

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Sat, 17 February 2018

PNB fraud: Modi's broom cleaning up UPA's mess, says BJP

Timeline Refresh

21:22 PM Modi to inaugurate new BJP HQ tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new BJP headquarters, a multi-storeyed modern construction fitted with latest communication technologies, tomorrow in the presence of top party leaders, including its president Amit Shah.

The new party office is located at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg and will make the BJP the first major national party to shift its office outside Lutyens' Bungalow Zone, following a Supreme Court directive that party offices should be relocated from there.

The BJP's shift may put pressure on other parties to follow suit as almost all of them have been functioning for decades out of bungalows.

The saffron party has been working from Ashoka Road while the main opposition Congress office is at Akbar Road and the two premises are part of the pool of government residences.

The BJP plans to move to the new office from the current one as early as next week, official sources said.

Modi and Shah had laid the foundation stone of the new headquarters in August last year and a Mumbai-based architecture company had designed it.

The premises has three buildings fitted with modern communication tools, enabling party office-bearers to co-ordinate official works with their counterparts in states and local levels in real time.

Since taking over as its president in 2014, Shah has worked to have party-owned offices in all states and districts, a task in progress.

A host of Union ministers and former party presidents like L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi are likely to be present during the inauguration ceremony. -- PTI

The Election Commission has issued a show cause to the BJP as why the circulation of "chargesheet", a booklet prepared by them enlisting corruption and sex racket cases against some incumbent Congress ministers, should not be stopped in the poll-bound Meghalaya.

The chargesheet was released by Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons here on February 8.

The booklet is titled 15 years of loot, 15 years of destruction.

The Congress had lodged a complaint with the Election office against it.

Acting on Congress complaint, the Election Commission issued show cause to the BJP as why the circulation of the chargesheet should not be stopped for allegedly violating the Representation of Peoples Act.

The saffron party was asked to reply before 5 pm today which they complied.

Detail of the BJP's reply, however, was not known.

Chief Electoral Officer F R Kharkongor said the booklet appears to have been published by the BJP without indicating the names and details of the printer, along with the name and details of the publisher as per the Election

Commission's guidelines.

Section 127 A of the Act prohibits any person to print or publish election pamphlets/posters without the name and address of the printer and publisher. -- PTI

Union minister Jayant Sinha today said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "broom" was cleaning up the UPA government's mess.

He made the remarks while referring to the over Rs 11000-crore PNB fraud case.

"Modi's broom is cleaning up the mess... The wrongdoings which started under the UPA government are now coming to the fore," Sinha said at a seminar organised by Swadeshi Research Institute here.

The economy is going through a process of formalisation following demonetisation. Demonetisation has created pressure on black money, he claimed.

Replying to a question related to the scam, Sinha said central agencies were probing it and the guilty would not be spared.

Efforts are on to bring the guilty back to the country, like the agencies are doing in the case of Vijay Mallya, he said.

On the Union budget, he said it was pro-poor and pro-market. It tried to give succour to farmers by hiking MSP by 1.5 times the cost of production.

The biggest game changer in the budget was 'NaMoCare' which is aimed at benefiting 10 crore poor families by providing coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary healthcare, he said. -- PTI

A plenary session of the Congress to discuss and evolve the party's future strategy will be held in Delhi on March 16, 17 and 18, its chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said today.

The dates were fixed at a meeting of Steering Committee, which was formed after dissolving the Central Working Committee. Congress president Rahul Gandhi chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee.

Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leaders including A K Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge attended the meeting.

Gandhi had dissolved the Congress Working Committee and formed the 34-member Steering Committee to work in its place till a new CWC was set up.

The party's plenary session will be attended by all AICC delegates who elected the new Congress chief.

While all outgoing CWC members are part of the new committee, some permanent invitees such as Amarinder Singh, Vilas Muttemwar, R K Dhawan, Shivajirao Deshmukh, M V Rajasekharan and Mohsina Kidwai, and all special invitees have been dropped from the new panel.

As per the party's Constitution, the 25-member CWC has 12 elected members and 11 nominated members, besides the Congress president and the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

The new members of the CWC will be elected either at the plenary or after it. -- PTI

20:22 Canadian PM Justin Trudeau arrives in India

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has arrived in the national capital to start his week-long visit.

The trip, the 46-year-old prime minister said before taking the long-haul flight to India, was focused on creating good jobs and strengthening the "deep connection between the people of our two countries".

The Canadian prime minister, who had once famously remarked that he had more Sikhs in his cabinet than PM Narendra Modi, has the entire line-up accompanying him on this visit.

Raids by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with its money laundering probe against diamond czar Nirav Modi and others in the alleged Rs 11,400-crore bank fraud continued for the third day on Saturday with the agency saying it seized Rs 25 crore worth diamonds and jewellery, taking the total seizure value to Rs 5,674 crore, the agency said.

"The ED conducted further searches at 21 locations across India in Nirav Modi case and seized diamonds, gold, precious stones/metals and jewellery worth Rs 25 crore (book value). The total seizure till now is Rs 5,674 crore," it said in a statement.

The agency had earlier said it had arrived at the value of the assets seized based on the stock value at showrooms and stores, which was also the price at which the company purchased the goods.

It was also conducting an "independent valuation" of these assets.

The Enforcement Directorate had yesterday summoned Nirav Modi and his business partner and jewellery chain promoter Mehul Choksi in this case. They have been asked to appear before the Investigating Officer of the case at the ED office in Mumbai on February 23.

According to the Central Bureau of Investigation, Nirav Modi and Choksi left the country in January, before an FIR was registered in the Punjab National Bank fraud case.

The raids that began on February 15 are expected to continue tomorrow, ED officials said. -- PTI

Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi today denied any links of his family with jewellery designer Nirav Modi and Gitanjali Group promoter Mehul Choksi, accused in the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank fraud case, and charged the BJP with playing "cheap politics".

"BJP/NDA's cheap sense of politics has reached ludicrous and ridiculous proportions. Neither my wife, sons nor me have anything whatsoever to do with Gitanjali or Nirav Modi companies," he said in a statement.

Singhvi said Nirav Modi's company was a tenant of a Kamla Mills property owned by Adwait Holdings in which his wife and sons are directors.

BJP leader and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that Nirav Modi-run Firestar Diamond International had taken on lease a property of Adwait Holdings, a company in which Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi's wife is a director.

"What is important that the premises has been used by Firestar Diamond International," she alleged.

Singhvi said Adwait Holdings owns a commercial property at Parel, which was rented by Nirav Modi's company many years ago.

"Neither Adwait nor my family has any interest with Modi or the company. Last August, the company gave notice to quit tenancy and vacated Parel Kamla Mills premises in December 2017," he said.

"Neither I nor any member of my family has any interest in or relation to Nirav Modi or his companies. His company was a tenant in some commercial property owned by our family company. This tenancy ended in December 2017.

"None of us have anything to do even remotely with Gitanjali company, Firestar or any other business of Nirav modi.

"Sensationalism, ignorance and falsehood has exceeded all limits in this irresponsible charge," he said, threatening Sitharaman and her colleagues of civil and criminal defamation for making "ill-considered, ignorant and patently false allegations".

"I reserve my rights to take all such appropriate legal action against the latter and all parts of the media which carry such false and maliciously defamatory allegations," Singhvi said in a statement. -- PTI

Delhi Police has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information about the unidentified man who had allegedly masturbated in front of a Delhi University student on a moving bus last week, a senior officer said.

The girl student had filmed the accused during the act and uploaded the video on social media causing widespread outcry.

A complaint was lodged at the Vasant Vihar police station and based on it, an FIR was registered on February 10 under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to sexual harassment and obscene act in a public place.

The police have appealed to the people for help in nabbing the accused and anyone providing information leading to his arrest will be rewarded with Rs 25,000, the officer said.

Information regarding the man can be given at Vasant Vihar or any other police station and the identity of the informant will be kept secret, he said.

The Delhi University student in her complaint claimed that no one came forward to help her even after she raised an alarm. She also alleged that the man tried to touch her waist several times.

"I made a video of his act and even shouted at him, but he did not understand. I even tried to approach people but they ignored it," she said in her complaint.

The incident took place on a moving bus going from Vasant Vihar to IIT Gate, where the man got down, the student claimed, adding, "After he got down at the IIT Gate, I again tried to approach people but did not get any cooperation." -- PTI

Congress President Rahul Gandhi once again targeted Prime Minister Naredra Modi over Nirav Modi fraud case.

Rahul said that the beleaguered jewellery designer was allowed to loot India during demonetisation.

"This Rs 22,000 crore scam cannot have been done without a high level protection. It must have been known by the people in the government beforehand otherwise it is not possible. The PM will have to come forward and answer questions," Rahul told reporters in New Delhi.

Rahul said that the BJP has always refused to take responsibilities, but this time the PM must explain this.

"Nirav Modi took away 22,000 crores. PM can teach kids how to take an exam but can't tell the country who is responsible for the money Nirav Modi took away," he said.

"The PM must answer what he is going to do about it," he added.

18:22

Special CBI court sends all three arrested Punjab National Bank Officials in police custody till March 3.

17:22 Rahul Gandhi chairs steering committee for Congress plenary

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today chaired the first meeting of the party's steering committee, formed after dissolving the Central Working Committee, to finalise the schedule of plenary session.

Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, besides other leaders like A K Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge attended the meeting.

Gandhi had dissolved the Congress Working Committee and formed a 34-member Steering Committee to work in its place till a new CWC was set up.

The party's plenary session, to be attended by all AICC delegates who elected the new Congress chief, is likely to be held before March 5 when the second part of Budget Session of Parliament starts.

While all past CWC members are part of the new committee, some permanent invitees like Amarinder Singh, Vilas Muttemwar, RK Dhawan, Shivajirao Deshmukh, MV Rajasekharan and Mohsina Kidwai, and all special invitees have been dropped from the new panel.

As per the party's Constitution, the 25-member CWC has 12 elected members and 11 nominated members, besides the Congress president and the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

The new members of the CWC will be elected either at the plenary or after it. -- PTI

Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, who last year merged his faction with that of Chief Minister K Palaniswami, has said that he had acted on a suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Speaking at a party office-bearers meeting at Theni on Friday, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam coordinator said that the issue came up during a courtesy meeting he had with Modi in New Delhi last year.

"He (Modi) said that you (Panneerselvam) could join (merge the faction) to save the party," the deputy chief minister said, without specifiying the exactly when the conversation took place.

The merger of the two AIADMK factions took place in August 2017.

Panneerselvam, who had become chief minister of the state following the death of his predecessor J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, said he told the prime minister he did not want any cabinet position and can settle for a party post.

But the prime minister wanted him to join the ministry headed by Palaniswami, he said.

The deputy chief minister said he had conveyed the same to two of his cabinet colleagues from the Palaniswami camp prior to the merger, and that they also insisted he accept a minister's post.

"That is why I am a minister today. I have no desire to be a minister. Amma (Jayalalithaa) made me MLA four times and chief minister twice. That honour itself is enough for me," he told the gathering.

Panneerselvam took over as chief minister twice -- in 2001 and later in 2014 -- when Jayalalithaa was convicted in two different cases.

In 2014, Jayalalithaa and her confidante Sasikala were convicted in the Rs 66.66 crore disproportionate assets case.

Panneerselvam, who revolted against Sasikala and her family last year after allegedly being forced to make way for her elevation to the chief ministers post, charged that her family members tried to work for his defeat in the 2016 polls.

Sasikala, however, could not become the chief minister due to her conviction in the graft case.

"If anyone else had faced this amount of crisis and problems, they would have committed suicide or would have left the party. (But) I tolerated everything for Amma," he said. -- PTI

The Congress today held the Bharatiya Janata Party responsible for the Rs 11,400-crore Punjab National Bank scam involving jewellery designer Nirav Modi and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of institutionalising "crony capitalism".

Congress leader Kapil Sibal accused the prime minister and his government of bringing the economy to its knees, and warned that the country's image would get a beating internationally under him.

He also took a dig at Modi, alleging that while he was "sleeping" as the country's watchman, thieves were fleeing with the nation's wealth.

Quoting the second FIR filed by the CBI in the case, the Congress leader said that all letters of understanding to the accused were signed in 2017 under the National Democratic Alliance government, which failed to prevent the scam from happening.

Addressing a joint press conference with Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala, Shaktisinh Gohil and Pawan Khera, Sibal sought to know why Modi refused to divulge details of all those people who accompanied him during his foreign tours.

"Is this the kind of 'Ease of Doing Business' PM Modi talks about?" he asked.

"I challenge the BJP to come and talk about UPA's governance and their governance. Because of their ill-intentions, they have brought India's economy to its knees," he told reporters.

Sibal, a former minister and noted lawyer, accused the Prime Minister's office and the finance ministry of turning a blind eye to the multi-crore bank scam, saying they were very much aware of it.

"They were aware of all this. But they turned a blind eye. They were aware that the country was being looted," he alleged. -- PTI

16:01 BJP blames UPA for PNB scam

Hitting back at the Congress over the Punjab National Bank fraud, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said that the scam happened during the United Progressive Alliance government.

She also accused the opposition party of spreading lies.

"Nirav Modi may have been able to run away from the country but the government is taking action against him," she said.

Sitharaman also said that the BJP government is not conspiring to help scamsters flee the country but instead is catching them.

15:28 Now, book coaches, special trains online

Need coaches for a marriage party or a religious tour? Now, it can be done online, according to instructions issued by the railway board.

According to a circular by the railway noard, booking of special trains, coaches, saloons on full tariff rate shall now be booked through a "single window booking system" of the Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation.

"Henceforth, any individual or party seeking to book trains/coaches on FTR shall approach the IRCTC and the IRCTC will book trains/coaches online on behalf of the individual or party", stated the circular issued earlier this month.

Currently, to book such coaches or trains, the concerned party had to go to the chief booking supervisor or station master of the station from where the journey would commence and provide a written request containing journey details for FTR booking.

After depositing the money, they would be given a receipt with a unique FTR number printed on it. The process was cumbersome, officials said, which necessitated the change.

Mostly special trains or coaches were booked by travel agencies taking tour parties for religious tours, by MNCs taking employees for trips, schools booking for educational tours and even individuals travelling with a large contingent, officials said.

However, now, a charge of five per cent on the total fare shall be levied, over and above a 30 per cent service charge on such bookings.

The railway has fixed a security deposit of Rs 50,000 per coach and for special trains a minimum of 18 coaches will be charged. The entire transaction in the new online system will have to be digital, the board has said. -- PTI

India and Iran today inked nine pacts, including on double taxation avoidance, visa liberalisation as well as to ratify extradition treaty.

At a joint press conference with Iran President Hassan Rouhani, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India and Iran want to see their neighbor Afghanistan safe and prosper.

Modi said that the two countries want to see their neighbors free of terrorism.

Thanking government of India, Rouhani said that the two countries share views on two crucial issues -- transit and economy.

"We want to develop railway relations between the two countries and are seeing development of Chabahar Port," Rouhani said.

Six people, including three children and two women, were killed and five others injured in a gas cylinder blast during a wedding function in Beawar town of Ajmer.

The blast occurred last night when the wedding function was underway in a hotel, Ajmer district collector Gaurav Goyal said, adding that the explosion severely damaged the building.

Bodies of six people have been recovered while the injured five are undergoing treatment, he said, adding that rescue operation is on to trace the missing people, believed to be13 in number.

Two cars parked outside the building and the adjoining buildings also were damaged in the blast, police said. -- PTI

13:44 Nirav Modi is BJP's partner, alleges Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena today slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for having connections with celebrity jeweller Nirav Modi, who has been accused by the Punjab National Bank of swindling the second-biggest state-run bank of over Rs. 11,000 crore.

The party in its mouthpiece, Saamna, said Nirav Modi was spotted in the events organised on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Davos visit.

"Nirav Modi is BJP's partner and he has also helped the party during its elections. Here farmers are committing suicides as they are not able to finish their debt of Rs 100-Rs 500, but here people are absconding with huge amount of money," an editorial read.

The editorial also said that NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and RJD chief Lalu Prasad are behind the bars, but liquor baron Vijay Mallya and Neerav Modi are absconding with lakhs and crores worth money.

After a brief nine-month stay with the Bharatiya Janata Party, Arvinder Singh Lovely returned to the Congress today.

Lovely, who was a former minister in the Sheila Dikshit-led government, met party chief Rahul Gandhi at his residence along with Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken earlier.

He was welcomed back into the party by AICC incharge of Delhi unit PC Chacko along with Maken.

Lovely has had a long association of 31 years with the Congress before joining the BJP in 2017.

He even held the post of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president.

12:40 PNB Scam: Ex-bank official arrested by CBI

The Central Bureau of Investigation today arrested Gokulnath Shetty, deputy manager of the Kala Ghoda branch of Punjab National Bank in the Rs 11,300-crore fraud case.

On Friday, the CBI had raided Gokulnath Shetty's home in suburban Mumbai for several hours.

He is the former deputy manager of the Kala Ghoda branch of Punjab National Bank where the massive scam was unearthed.

Manoj Kharat, SWO (single window operator) PNB and Hemant Bhat, an official at the Nirav Modi Group of Firms were also arrested along with Shetty.

The three will be produced before CBI special court in Mumbai today.

12:31

Iran President Hassan Rouhani with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Hyderabad House.

12:15 Rouhani meets Swaraj

Iran President Hassan Rouhani meets External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The Pune Police today detained embattled city-based developer D S Kulkarni and his wife in New Delhi in a cheating case after the Bombay high court lifted interim protection from arrest given to them.

D S Kulkarni and his wife Hemanti were booked by the Pune Police on charges of cheating over 2,500 investors to the tune of Rs 230 crore.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Pankaj Dahane, who holds additional charge of the Economic Offence Wing, told PTI that Kulkarni and his wife were detained in Delhi this morning and the process of their arrest had begun.

"They will be brought to Pune today," the officer said but refused to share additional details.

The Bombay high court yesterday withdrew the interim protection from arrest that it had earlier granted to Kulkarni and his wife.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav had noted that the Kulkarnis had taken the court "for granted" and that they had "not only cheated their investors, but also the court".

Observing that they must not be permitted to enjoy protection from arrest at the "cost of the court's faith", Justice Jadhav had vacated her order of November, in which she had granted anticipatory bail to the couple.

In November last year, Justice Jadhav had granted protection from arrest to the Kulkarnis after they assured the court that they had every intention of repaying the investors.

At that time, they had also assured the court that they would deposit Rs 50 crore with the court registry within a fortnight. However, no such deposit was made.

Last year, following complaints from investors, the economic offences wing of the Pune Police registered a complaint against Kulkarni and his wife.

According to a complaint filed by one of the depositors, Jitendra Mulekar, investors put in lakhs of rupees in a deposit scheme of DSK Developers, but neither received the interest nor the principal amount for months. -- PTI

India's head coach Ravi Shastri Ravi Shastri is famous for his tongue-in-cheek replies and had a word of advice for a scribe, who asked him if there is a new moniker that can be attributed to describe India captain Virat Kohli's greatness.

Kohli has racked up three more ODI hundreds in India's 5-1 series win against South Africa and people are finding it hard to come up with new phrases to describe his batting.

"I have a tip for you. If I was in your position I know what I would be doing tomorrow. I would be going to the bookstore and buying the latest Oxford dictionary, just to improve my vocabulary (in praise of Kohli)," Shastri said in jest.

Famous for his cliched one-liners during commentary like "tracer bullets" and "just what the doctor ordered", Shastri sounded every bit like a broadcaster when asked about the kind of impact Kohli has had on the series.

"Huge (impact)! As a batsman? Fabulous -- over 500 runs in 6 matches against a South African attack. Do I have to say anything more?" Shastri replied with customary smug. -- PTI

11:42 Parrikar is doing fine after mild pancreatitis

The condition of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who is being treated for mild pancreatitis, is fine and he is under observation, a source close to him said today.

He is being treated at the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai's suburban Bandra under the care of noted oncologist P Jagannath.

"Parrikar is doing fine. He watched the India-South Africa cricket match yesterday. He is on a liquid diet," the source said.

The chief minister is undergoing tests at the hospital and a decision on his discharge will be taken later in the day, the source added.

Parrikar, who was initially referred to the Goa Medical College and Hospital in Panaji, was later taken to the Lilavati Hospital.

Pancreatitis is a medical condition characterised by inflammation of the pancreas, an abdominal gland situated behind the stomach in the upper abdomen. The main function of the pancreas is to secrete hormones and enzymes that help with digestion and regulate blood sugar metabolism. -- PTI

10:24 Rouhani in Delhi today, meets Prez, PM Modi

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani meets President Ramnath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Iranian President inspected Guard of Honour after arriving at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday morning.

'First visit by an Iranian President in 10 years! Ceremonial welcome accorded to President of Iran, Dr. Hassan Rouhani @rashtrapatibhvn. President Ram Nath Kovind and PM @narendramodi welcomed President Rouhani,' tweeted ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

Rouhani earlier visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Rouhani will hold bilateral talks with PM Modi today.

Discussions on oil trade, Chabahar port and visa issues are likely to be held during the talks.

IMAGE: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with President Ramnath Kovind and PM Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday morning. Photograph: Courtesy @MEAIndia/Twitter

A jeweller from Gujarat's Bhavnagar Digvijay Singh Jadeja, on Friday said that he had notified the Gujarat high court and the state government against Mehul Choksi, managing director of Gitanjali Gems, in 2015, but nobody heard him back then

"In 2015, I had notified it to Gujarat high court and state government and requested them to seize his passport. Had action been taken then, he wouldn't have escaped today," Jeweller DS Jadeja told ANI.

The Gujarat-based jeweller further claimed that Choksi duped him of Rs 60 crore.

"Mehul Choksi duped me of Rs 60 crore and took Rs 9,872 crore illegally from banks," added Jadeja. -- ANI

IMAGE: Indian Youth Congress activists raise slogans against Nirav Modi after the Punjab National Bank fraud case in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday said the Supreme Court verdict reducing the quantum of Cauvery water to be released for Tamil Nadu to 177.25 tmc ft was 'disappointing'.

Palaniswami, under attack from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam for allegedly not handling the matter in the apex court properly, however said: "Several advantageous features for Tamil Nadu find place in the verdict."

The Supreme Court directing the Centre to evolve an action plan within six weeks to implement the final award of the Cauvery Tribunal was a 'big victory', he said.

Tamil Nadu will urge the Centre to implement the action plan within a time frame, he added.

The apex court also recognised the Cauvery Tribunal's endorsement of 24.708 lakh acres in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery Basin for irrigation, he said.

Also, the top court confirmed that Tamil Nadu should be given water for 15 years as per the Cauvery Tribunal's Final Award.

Slamming the DMK for claiming that Tamil Nadu's rights were given up by the ruling dispensation, he said, "The DMK is trying to create such an impression."

'The truth is the DMK had given up Tamil Nadu's rights during its regime' and the Karunanidhi-led party did not stop the construction of a dam by Karnataka in 1974, he said.

Observing no state can claim 'exclusive ownership' of inter-state river water, the Supreme Court today hiked Karnataka's share of Cauvery water by 14.75 tmc ft and reduced Tamil Nadu's quantum by an equal amount in its verdict to resolve the decades-old dispute.

In what was being described as a balanced verdict, Tamil Nadu was, however, compensated by the court which allowed extraction of 10 tmcft ground water from the river basin. -- PTI

The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a fresh first information report against Gitanjali Group promoter Mehul Choksi in connection with alleged fraud in the issuance of Letters of Understanding worth Rs 11,400 crore from Punjab National Bank, officials said on Friday.

The CBI has alleged that the new FIR pertains to 143 LOUs worth over Rs 4,886 crore fraudulently issued to three companies of Choksi -- Gitanjali Gems, Nakshatra and Gili -- during the period 2017-18, they said.

The agency had earlier registered a separate case involving Rs 280-crore fraud, which has now been expanded to cover LoUs worth Rs 6,498 crore issued to accused companies of Nirav Modi and Choksi.

An LoU is a letter of comfort issued by one bank to branches of other banks, based on which foreign branches offer credit to buyers.

After registering the FIR, the CBI carried out searches at 26 locations across six cities covering the premises of 18 Indian subsidiaries of Gitanjali Group.

The CBI also questioned four officials of Punjab National Bank -- Bechu Tiwari, Chief Manager posted at Nariman Point branch, Mumbai during February 2015-17; DGM Sanjay Kumar Prasad who was then AGM at Brady house branch during period 2016-17; Chief Manager of zonal audit office Mohinder Kumar Sharma, who was then concurrent auditor during Nov 2015-January 17; and Manoj Kharat, then Single Window Operator during November 2014-Decemeber 2017, the officials said.

They said a special team under a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) is being formed to probe the case.

In its complaint, the public sector bank has alleged that 293 Letters of Understanding (LoUs) worth Rs 11,400 crore were fraudulently issued to the companies of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from one of its branches in Mumbai.

Expanding the ambit of the first FIR registered on January 31 against the billionaire diamond merchant and Choksi, the agency has 150 LoUs worth Rs 6,498 crore issued by the bank.

The LoUs were issued by the Punjab National Bank to Indian banks in Mauritius, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Antwerp and Frankfurt for the accused companies, the officials said.

The remaining 143 LoUs worth Rs 4,886 crore will be part of probe under the new FIR registered today.

The accused in the new FIR include Choksi (Managing Director Gitanjali Gems), Gokulnath Shetty (retired DGM of PNB), Manoj Kharat (then single window officer of PNB), and companies -- Gitanjali Gems Ltd , Gili India Ltd, Nakshatra Brand Ltd, directors of the companies Krishnan Sangameshwaran, Nazura Yash Ajaney, Dinesh Gopaldas Bhatia, Aniyath Shivraman Nair and Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth.

Also named in the FIR are Jyoti Bharat Vora, Anil Umesh Haldipur, Chandrakant Kanu Karkare, Pankhuri Abhijeet Warange, Mihir Bhaskar Joshi and unidentified bank officials.

The CBI has alleged in the FIR that accused bank officials Shetty and Kharat in connivance with accused companies and others defrauded PNB to the tune of Rs 4,886.70 crore, the CBI spokesperson said.

The agency alleged that the accused officials issued fraudulent and unauthorised letters of undertakings in favour of foreign branches of different India-based banks. -- PTI

00:11 Pakistan to deploy troops in Saudi Arabia

In a major policy shift, Pakistan will deploy troops in Saudi Arabia under an existing bilateral security cooperation agreement with its close ally which is involved in a civil war in neighbouring Yemen.

Pakistan Army announced the decision to send troops on a 'training and advise mission' to Saudi Arabia after a meeting between Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Saudi ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf Saeed Al-Maliki at the army headquarters in Rawalpindi yesterday.

"In continuation of ongoing Pak-Saudi bilateral security cooperation, a Pakistan Army contingent is being sent to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on training and advise mission. These or troops already there will not be employed outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the Pakistan Army said in a brief statement.

It also said the army "maintains bilateral security cooperation with many other Gulf/regional countries".

The move comes three years after Pakistan decided against sending soldiers to join the Saudi-led military intervention in strife-torn Yemen.

Already around 1,000 Pakistani troops are deployed in Saudi Arabia, a close ally of Islamabad, in various advisory and training roles, the Dawn newspaper quoted officials as saying.

There was no official word on the number of additional troops being sent to kingdom but the paper quoted "multiple sources" hinting that it might be the size of a composite brigade.

It also quoted army spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor that the new deployment would be much lesser than a division, and that he would give details later.

Saudi Arabia has been pushing fellow Sunni-majority Pakistan to provide troops since 2015 when it joined Yemen's civil war but Pakistan steadily refused, saying it would not become party to any regional conflict.

The civil war in Yemen stalemated and the situation has aggravated with the rebels firing missiles at regular intervals towards the kingdom.

The alliance of Muslim nations set up by Saudi Arabia and led by former Pakistan Army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif is also still in an early stage to play any role in the conflict.

Bajwa earlier this month visited Saudi Arabia for three days and met officials including Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Commander of Ground Forces Lt Gen Prince Fahd bin Turki bin Abdulaziz.

It was his second visit to the kingdom in two months and reportedly played a role in Pakistan's decision to deploy troops.

Pakistan is treading a fine line in maintaining relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Qatar and other regional players and the decision of deploying troops may annoy Saudi Arabia's rivals like Iran and Qatar.

Bajwa has been playing a major role in addressing concerns of regional countries and met with ambassadors of Iran and Turkey earlier this week. He also recently visited Qatar and met its 'emir'.

The decision may also create tension in Pakistan's internal politics as parliament had passed a resolution at the start of the Yemen crisis that said Pakistan would stay neutral in the conflict. -- PTI

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