1. PNB Fraud Case: Firestar Finance Head Vipul Ambani Arrested
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, 20 February, arrested Firestar International president (finance) Vipul Ambani and four other key executives of companies implicated in the alleged Rs. 11,400-crore fraudulent transactions in the Punjab National Bank (PNB).
Ambani, who was President (finance) of the Firestar Diamonds of the Firestar International group, has been arrested in the case against Nirav Modi and others. “He has been accused of being involved in the scam,” said a CBI official.
Executive Assistant Kavita Mankikar, an authorised signatory of three accused companies, and Arjun Patil, a senior executive with the Firestar group, have also been arrested.
(Source: The Indian Express)
2. Look for Jobs, I Can’t Pay You: Nirav Modi Writes to Staff
Disgraced diamond czar Nirav Modi on Tuesday wrote an email to his employees in India saying they should look for other jobs because he will not be able to pay them, what with investigative agencies seizing the stock of all his companies and the income-tax department freezing their bank accounts. ‘The near future is uncertain,” he wrote in the email, which has been seen by Hindustan Times.
A person associated with Modi’s legal team claimed the email is authentic.
Referring to the seizure by the ED, Modi, who left India on 1 January for an unknown destination, told his employees:
As of now, because of seizure and removal of all stocks in factories and showrooms, and freezing of bank accounts, we shall not be in a position to pay your dues, and it would be right on your part to look for other career opportunities.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
3. Rotomac: Enforcement Directorate Notifies All Ports to Prevent Kothari Fleeing
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 20 February said it had issued a Look-Out Circular (LOC) to all land, sea, and airports in the country to prevent the exit of the promoter of Rotomac pens, Vikram Kothari, and his family members from India, in connection with its money laundering probe into the alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 3,695 crore.
The agency also conducted searches at multiple locations in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, including in Unnao and Kanpur, to gather evidence in the case.
Rotomac Pens owner Vikram Kothari was interrogated by the CBI in Kanpur on 20 February, a day after the central investigation agency as well as the ED registered separate cases against him and his company for allegedly swindling of Rs 3,695 crore from seven banks from 2008.
(Source: Business Standard)
4. MPs Hiking Own Pay an Ethical Issue: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on 20 February agreed to examine a plea seeking a permanent mechanism to fix and revise the salary and allowances for MPs and MLAs, saying lawmakers increasing their own salary raised an "important ethical and legal issue" that needed adjudication.
A bench of Justice J Chelameswar and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the Centre had been considering setting up a permanent body for the purpose for more than a decade and it was high time the matter was decided. "The policy is there since then (2006), but tell us what is the government's view," the bench said
The SC also made it clear to the Centre that it should not ask the court not to adjudicate the issue by arguing that it was a policy matter which should be decided by Parliament and the government.
(Source: TOI)
5. Delhi Chief Secy Alleges Assault, AAP MLA Prakash Jharwal Detained
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Prakash Jharwal was detained for questioning in the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on Tuesday, 20 February. Police were also deployed outside AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan’s residence on the night of 20 February in connection with the case.
Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash alleged that he was assaulted by AAP MLAs Amanatullah Khan and others during a meeting at the Chief Minister's residence on the evening of 19 February. AAP and the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) have refuted the allegations, calling them "bizarre" and have asked for an “independent” probe.
The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Khan and others under Sections 186 (obstructing a public servant from performing the duty), 353 (assaulting a public servant), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342, 504, 506(2) and 120b and 34, on the basis of Prakash's complaint .
(Source: The Indian Express)
6. BJP Seeks CMs Views on Holding Simultaneous Polls
The BJP has sought its chief ministers’ opinion on holding simultaneous election for the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, a party leader aware of the development said, Hindustan Times reported.
The CMs will submit their responses to the party and will discuss it, among other things, at a day-long meeting at the party’s newly built headquarters in Delhi on 28 February. The convention will be addressed by PM Modi and party president Amit Shah.
The BJP has 13 CMs and it rules five more states with allies. The BJP leadership has told the CMs that it sees several benefits, such as being able to keep corruption in check, make the best use of security forces, and save public money with the implementation of the One-Nation-One Election idea.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
7. Govt Plans to Use Unique Numbers to Track Children in India
The Government plans to give children born in India unique numbers which will be used to track the holistic development of children in education, health, and jobs, a senior official said to Hindustan Times.
“We are planning to set up a database that will track the child from birth till the child gets employment. So this database will capture health-related issues of the child, then the same data can be used by the women and child development ministry; the same unique numbers will be connected with school-related data,” a senior HRD ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
The move has divided analysts, who see it as both well-meaning and controversial, given the privacy and security concerns that have surfaced around Aadhaar, the unique biometric enabled ID.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
8. Nearly 250 Dead in Syria “Bloodbath”
Syria’s main opposition group on Tuesday 20 February condemned a government offensive in Eastern Ghouta as a “bloodbath” and a “war crime”, saying it may pull out of UN-backed peace talks in protest.
Three days of air strikes, rockets and artillery fire have left nearly 250 civilians dead in the rebel-held enclave near Damascus, with 13 children killed on Tuesday morning alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Nasr al-Hariri, president of the Syrian Negotiation Commission said it was clear the Damascus government had “zero interest to engage” in dialogue.
“The Syrian regime with the direct support of Russia and Iran have turned Ghouta into a bloodbath of innocent women and children,” Hariri said in Brussels.
“What’s happening in Ghouta is a war crime. International law is very clear on the matter but in Syria the implementation of international law doesn’t exist.”
(Source: Hindustan Times)
9. Maldives Crisis: Emergency Extended by 30 Days Despite India’s Warning
The state of emergency in trouble-torn Maldives was on, 20 February extended by 30 days after Parliament approved a request by President Abdulla Yameen.
The Maldivian Parliament approved the 30-day extension of the state of emergency sought by President Abdulla Yameen, who cited an ongoing national security threat and constitutional crisis.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had cautioned the Maldivian government against the extension. “It is our expectation that the Government of Maldives will not be seeking extension of the State of Emergency so that the political process in Maldives can resume with immediate effect,” the MEA said in a statement on 20 February.
The ministry also asked the Maldivian government to implement its Supreme Court order of 1 February, regarding the release of exiled former leader Mohamed Nasheed and eight others.
(Source: Hindustan Times)
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