Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been suspended from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), was arrested on January 5 in a case related to a mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district.

Sandeshkhali unrest: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday summoned Alamgir Sheikh, brother of arrested TMC strongman Shahjahan Sheikh and some of his close aides for questioning in connection with the attack on a team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in the restive Sandeshkhali enclave in West Bengal. on January 5 this year.

According to an official statement, a team of CBI sleuths, accompanied by local police, arrived at Alamgir Sheikh’s residence at Sandeshkhali in North 24 Parganas district. However, he was not at home and the summons was served on his family.

Alamgir has been questioned in connection with the January 5 mob attack on ED officials in Sandeshkhali, the probe agency said.

The CBI said a similar notice had also been served on a few other people, considered close to Shajahan Sheikh, who was arrested by West Bengal police last month.

A relative of another local panchayat leader, who was served the notice, acknowledged its receipt, news agency PTI reported.

According to officials, the CBI wants to question several people in connection with its investigation in the case against Shahjahan Sheikh.

Arrest of Shahjahan Sheikh

Shahjahan Sheikh, who has been suspended from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), was arrested on January 5 in a case related to a mob attack on ED officials at Sandeshkhali in Parganas district of North 24 in West Bengal, when the central service had started searching his premises in connection with an alleged ration distribution fraud.

Speaking to a television channel, Sandeshkhali MLA Sukumar Mahata of TMC claimed that on the day of the incident, he had called Sheikh asking for help to control the crowd but “Sheikh had said he was not around” .

Last week, on March 8, CBI sleuths along with forensic and ED officials searched Shahjahan Sheikh’s residence in Sandeshkhali in connection with the investigation into an attack on an ED team in the area.

On Tuesday, a district magistrate in Basirhat remanded the suspended TMC leader to 10 days’ CBI custody. The Calcutta High Court had transferred the case to the CBI on March 5.

Sandeshkhali Unrest

Since the first week of February this year, villages in Sandeshkhali region have been witnessing protests over allegations of sexual atrocities against women and land grabbing by TMC leaders, including the prime suspect, Shahjahan Sheikh.

A large number of women in Sandeshkhali had accused TMC strongman Shajahan Sheikh and his supporters of “land grabbing and sexual abuse” of them forcibly.

After the attack on ED officials, Sheikh was on the run for 55 days before he was arrested by a special team of West Bengal Police last week.

(With PTI inputs)

A CBI spokesperson said the trafficked Indian nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed against their will to frontline bases in the Russia-Ukraine war zone, putting their lives at risk.

War between Russia and Ukraine: The next day, news emerged of the death of a man from Hyderabad, who was taken to Russia after being duped under the pretext of a well-paid job abroad and forced work as a “helper” for the Russian army, the Central Bureau of Investigation said. Investigation Thursday said it has busted a major network involved in trafficking of young Indian men in the Russia-Ukraine war zone under the guise of providing employment abroad.

An official statement from the Central Investigative Agency said it found 35 cases where young people were brought to Russia after being lured through social media channels and local contacts and agents with false promises of well-paying jobs. victims.

Giving details, a CBI spokesperson said the trafficked Indian nationals were trained in combat roles and deployed against their will to frontline bases in the Russia-Ukraine war zone, putting their lives at risk.

Multi-state network

“The human trafficking network of these agents is spread across several states across the country and they operate in an organized manner,” the CBI spokesperson said.

The federal agency has registered an FIR against some visa consultancy firms and agents. It was followed by searches at 13 locations in Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Ambala, Chandigarh, Madurai and Chennai.

According to the agency’s statement, the following companies and their top executives have been booked in various states; 24×7 RAS Overseas Foundation in Delhi and its Director Suyash Mukut, OSD Bros Travels & Visa Services Pvt Ltd in Mumbai and its Director Rakesh Pandey, Adventure Visa Services Pvt Ltd in Chandigarh and its Director Manjeet Singh, and Baba Vlogs Overseas Recruitment Solutions Pvt Ltd in Dubai and its director Faisal Abdul Mutalib Khan alias Baba.

“It has been established that some victims also suffered serious injuries in the war zone,” the official said.

“So far, cash worth over Rs 50 lakh, incriminating documents and electronic documents such as laptops, mobile phones, desktops and CCTV footage have been seized. Searches are in progress. Certain suspects have also been detained at various locations for questioning,” he added.

Hyderabad man killed in Russia

The development comes a day after news emerged of the death of Mohammed Asfan, a resident of Hyderabad, who was among the Indians ‘duped’ by agents with the promise of jobs and taken to Russia and forced to to work as a ‘helper’ for the Russian army.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, the Indian Embassy in Moscow confirmed Asfan’s death on Wednesday, adding that they are in touch with the family here.

“We have learned of the tragic death of Indian national Shri Mohammed Asfan. We are in contact with the family and the Russian authorities. The mission will make efforts to send his remains to India,” the Indian Embassy in Moscow said in a message on ‘X’.

Ashfan’s elder brother Imran said the Indian embassy in Moscow informed the family about the 30-year-old’s death on Wednesday.

He requested the central government to help them recover his brother’s remains.

“We just came to know through the phone call (in which we were informed about Asfan’s death). We have no other information. His body must be returned. We request the central government to get his body back,” Imran said.

(With PTI inputs)

Money laundering case: The Bombay High Court on Friday extended the exemption from arrest in connection with the money laundering case.

Mumbai: The court postponed the case until March 27. The case was adjourned after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought time to file a brief on Sameer Wankhede’s petition challenging ED’s Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against him. ECIR is a formal registration of a complaint filed by the ED. Wankhede challenged the ECIR in the Bombay HC and sought to quash the case against him. Further, the Bombay HC has scheduled a hearing on the case before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Wankhede on the same date. The court was told that the Advocate General would appear in both cases on that date himself.

Earlier on February 10, the Enforcement Directorate initiated the money laundering case against Wankhede, admitting a CBI FIR alleging that he had sought a bribe of Rs 25 crore from actor Shah Rukh Khan’s family to spare his son in the cruise drug case.

Wankhede had expressed surprise over the fact that the ED’s ECIR is based on a CBI FIR, which is under dispute before the Bombay HC.

Last year, the CBI booked Wankhede for allegedly demanding Rs 25 crore as bribe for not framing actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan in the drugs-on-cruise case. The agency said the deal was struck for Rs 18 crore, adding that Wankhade’s assets were disproportionate to his known sources of income. The FIR copy stated that he could not justify the expenses incurred during his foreign visit.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday summoned Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav in the illegal mining case in Uttar Pradesh.

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday asked former Uttar Pradesh CM Akhilesh Yadav to appear before the agency in a Supreme Court-referred case related to sand mining. The former UP chief minister has been asked to participate as a witness in the probe before the CBI in Delhi on February 29.

A notice has been issued under Section 160 of CrPC. This section allows a police officer to call witnesses in an investigation. The case concerns the issuance of mining leases in alleged violation of the e-tendering process. The Allahabad High Court had ordered the probe.

Everything you need to know about the case

• It is alleged that officials allowed illegal mining during 2012-2016, when Yadav was chief minister, and illegally extended permits despite a National Green Tribunal ban on mining.
• It is alleged that the officers allowed mineral thefts and extorted money from tenants and drivers.
• The CBI had filed seven preliminary investigations in 2016 on the directions of the Allahabad High Court to probe the case of illegal mining of minor minerals.
• The agency claimed that then Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav’s office had approved 13 projects in a single day, officials said.
• They said Yadav, who also owned the mining portfolio for some time, had entered into 14 leases, 13 of which were on February 17, 2013, in violation of the e-tendering process.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleged that the leases were granted by Hamirpur District Magistrate B. Chandrakala on February 17, 2013, after obtaining approval from the Chief Minister’s Office, in violation of its 2012 e-tender policy, which had been ratified by the Allahabad High Court on January 29 that year.
• The CBI had in January 2019 in connection with its FIR conducted searches at 14 locations against 11 people, including IAS officer B Chandrakala, Samajwadi Party MLC Ramesh Kumar Mishra and Sanjay Dixit (who unsuccessfully contested the 2017 Assembly elections on a BSP ticket ) to investigate alleged illegal mining of minor minerals in Hamirpur district during 2012-2016.
• Yadav, who was the chief minister of the state between 2012 and 2017, held the mining portfolio during 2012-2013, apparently putting his role under scrutiny, the FIR said.
• He was succeeded by Gayatri Prajapati, who took charge as mines minister in 2013 and was arrested in 2017 following a rape complaint by a woman living in Chitrakoot.

The CBI is conducting raids on 30 properties linked to former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik. Read to know details..

New Delhi: The central investigative authorities have been extremely agile and active in recent years, including taking action in cases of corruption and money laundering, against politicians and other leaders. In a latest update, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has conducted searches or raids at a total of 30 locations linked to former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik. The raids are related to an alleged corruption case involving the Kiru Hydropower Project. Read more to know more about the case, CBI searches in the former governor's house and also about Satya Pal Malik…

CBI conducts raids on 30 premises of Satya Pal Malik

As mentioned earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has raided 30 properties linked to former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satya Pal Malik. The raids started early in the morning today, February 22, 2024, by the investigating agency; with nearly 100 officers mobilized to raid the 30 locations in multiple cities.

Corruption case against former J&K governor

The case in which the investigating agency raided the sites linked to the former J&K Governor is an alleged corruption case in the award of the civil works of the Kiru Hydro Electric Power Project; its value is around Rs 2,200 crore. The case was registered by the investigating agency in April 2022 against a total of five persons; Satya Pal Malik was one of them. This was the result of irregularities in the awarding of contracts for the projects.

With 3-4 points the difference can be made I think I think I did well I think I did well I think I can do that I think I did well
I think I can get along, I think I can ं। Yes…

— Satyapal Malik (@SatyapalmalikG) February 22, 2024

Satya Pal Malik, who has been hospitalized for the past few days, issued a statement on the CBI raids, in a post on social media platform 'X' (formerly known as Twitter). The message, which is in Hindi and directly translated into English, says: “I have been ill for the past three to four days and have been admitted to the hospital. Despite this, my house is being raided by the dictator through government agencies. My driver and my assistant are also being attacked and harassed unnecessarily. I am a farmer's son, I will not be afraid of these robberies. I am with the farmers – Satyapal Malik (former governor).”

Officials said BRS leader K Kavitha has been asked to appear before the investigation team at the CBI headquarters in New Delhi on Monday.

New Delhi: The CBI has summoned the daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and BRS legislator K Kavitha in connection with the excise tax scam case in Delhi next week, officials said on Wednesday.

They said Kavitha has been asked to appear before the investigation team at the CBI headquarters on Monday.

The agency had earlier recorded her statement at her residence in Hyderabad in December 2022, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that one of the accused in the Vijay Nair case received kickbacks worth at least Rs 100 crore from a group called South Group (controlled by Sarath Reddy, Kavitha and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) on behalf of AAP leaders.

The CBI, which has so far filed three chargesheets against a number of accused including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, has alleged that bribes of around Rs 90-100 crore were paid in advance to some politicians of the ruling AAP in Delhi and other public institutions. operated by some persons in the liquor business from South India through co-accused Nair, Abhishek Boinpally and Dinesh Arora.

The agency has alleged that these kickbacks were then returned to them from the profit margins of wholesalers holding L-1 licenses through various forms such as the issuance of excess credit notes, bank transfers and outstanding amounts remaining on the bank's accounts. companies controlled by some conspirators of the “South Lobby”.

The CBI has alleged that a cartel has been formed between three constituents of the policy – liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers – by violating provisions and against the spirit of the policy.

All conspirators are alleged to have played an active role in achieving the illegal objectives of this criminal conspiracy.

It resulted in huge losses to the exchequer and unnecessary monetary benefits to the officials and other accused involved in the conspiracy, the CBI has alleged.

(Only the headline has been reworked by India.Com. The copy is from an agency feed)

The ED officials searched more than 10 places in New Delhi from 7 am under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED raids Delhi CM's PA: While investigating allegations that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had received backhanders worth Rs 17 crore through irregularities in a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tender, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the premises of the personal assistant of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Bibhav Kumar and others. on Tuesday, official sources said the move is part of a money laundering probe targeting alleged bribes obtained through irregularities in the DJB tender process and allegedly sent as election funds to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). are channeled.

The ED officials searched more than 10 places in New Delhi from 7 am under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Among the places where the federal agency conducted search operations are the residences of Bibhav Kumar, former Delhi assembly member Jal Shalabh Kumar, the office of AAP Rajya Sabha MP and national treasurer ND Gupta, and the premises of Chartered Accountant (CA) Pankaj Mangal. and others associated with the AAP.

Reacting to the ED action, Delhi Minister Atishi accused the authorities of “intimidate” the AAP.

For those unfamiliar, the raids by the probe agency are in connection with a probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) tender process, for which the ED had earlier arrested retired Jal Board chief engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora and contractor Anil Kumar Aggarwal. on January 31.

The money laundering case stemmed from a CBI FIR that alleged corruption and bribery in the Delhi Jal Board, which falls under the district of the Delhi government.

According to the CBI FIR, Jal Board's retired chief engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora awarded contracts to NKG Infrastructure Ltd. for a total amount of Rs 38 crore, despite the fact that the company did not meet the technical eligibility criteria.

The ED alleges that the said company, NKG Infrastructure Ltd., secured the bid by submitting forged documents and the investigation further revealed that the contract was inflated, allowing the incentives to be recovered from the contractors.

The officials also alleged that Arora was aware of the company's non-compliance with technical requirements and claimed that he received the money both in cash and in bank accounts and passed on these alleged kickbacks to Bibhav Kumar, Shalab Kumar, Pankaj Mangal et al. the bribes were also passed on to the AAP as election money.

Of the contract value of Rs 38 crore, only about Rs 17 crore was spent on the tender work, while the remaining funds were allegedly siphoned off in the guise of various bogus expenditures, including bribes and election funds.

Interestingly, the ED raids took place on a day when Atishi claimed at a press conference that the ED had “deleted” audio recordings of witness statements in certain cases, including the excise policy probe involving AAP officials.

The ED has denied the claims and said the agency proposed taking legal action against the Delhi minister and that no recording had been deleted, adding that the audio recording of the interrogations began only in October 2023.

(With PTI inputs)

The agency’s case is based on a 2018 charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

ED summons Farooq Abdullah: National Conference (NC) President Farooq Abdullah was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday for questioning in a money laundering case, official sources said on Wednesday.

It is reported that the 86-year-old politician and former Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has been called by the federal agency in connection with the probe into alleged irregularities in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).

Farooq Abdullah, the Member of Parliament from Srinagar Lok Sabha seat, was charged by the Enforcement Directorate in 2022 in the case related to siphoning off the funds of the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association by way of transfer to various personal bank accounts of non -related parties, including those of JKCA office bearers, and through unexplained cash withdrawals from JKCA bank accounts, the ED had said.

The agency’s case is based on a 2018 complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Farooq Abdullah.

The summons has asked Abdullah to testify at the ED office in Srinagar.

(With PTI inputs)

The court has decided that the case will be heard on January 16.

Land-for-employment: The first chargesheet in the “railway land-for-jobs” related money laundering case, which names former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi and her MP daughter Misa Bharti, among others, was filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, the official sources said. Also named in the charge sheet are Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s other daughter Hema Yadav (40), an alleged “close associate” of the Yadav family, Amit Katyal (49), railway employee and alleged beneficiary Hridayanand Chaudhary, two companies AK Infosystems Pvt. Ltd., and AB Exports Pvt. Ltd., through their joint director Shariqul Bari.

The complaint against the seven accused has been filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court in Delhi. The court heard the matter on January 16, the sources said.

The ED arrested Amit Katyal in the case in November last year, while Lalu Prasad Yadav was summoned by the agency but is yet to be deposed. However, his son and Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav has been deposed before the duty once and has been asked to appear before the duty again.

Rabri Devi (68), RJD Rajya Sabha MP Misa Bharti (47) and two other daughters of Lalu Yadav and Rabri Devi, Chanda Yadav and Ragini Yadav, have been questioned by the ED in the case.

The alleged land-for-employment fraud in the railways dates back to when Lalu Yadav was railway minister in the UPA-1 government.

It is alleged that between 2004 and 2009, several people were appointed to Group “D” positions in different zones of the Indian Railways, and instead these people transferred their lands to the relatives of the then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and a Het associated company called AK Infosystems Private Limited, which is said to be a ‘beneficiary company’ in the case, and whose registered address in South Delhi’s New Friends Colony was used by Tejashwi Yadav, the ED had earlier said.

The ED has said that Amit Katyal was the director of this company.

As for AB Exports Pvt Ltd, it is said to be a ‘shell’ or fake company owned by Tejashwi Yadav and Chanda Yadav and its registered address is also New Friends Colony in South Delhi.

The ED alleged that Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav had ‘illegally’ sold four plots from railway appointees to Meridian Construction India Ltd., a company related to Syed Abu Dojana, a former RJD MLA, and the ‘proceeds of crime’ that were thus obtained. by Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav were further transferred through a maze of transactions to AB Exports Pvt Ltd and Bhagirathi Tubes respectively.

The ED earlier alleged that Rabri Devi and Hema Yadav sold these plots for Rs 3.5 crore against the acquisition cost of Rs 7.5 lakh, thereby making huge profits.

In the charge sheet, ED has asked the court to prosecute the suspect for the offense of money laundering and has earlier seized the assets seized in this case.

The money laundering case, filed under the criminal wings of the PMLA, stems from a complaint filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The CBI had earlier filed a chargesheet in the case.

Assets worth over Rs 6 crore belonging to Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti and associated companies were seized by the ED last year as part of this investigation.

(With PTI inputs)