FREE PRESS INDORE BHOPAL UJJAIN - PUNE MUMBAI VOL. 10 NO. 249 | BHOPAL | TUESDAY | FEBRUARY 23, 2021 | PAGES 12 WHEN CROWDS GATHER, GOVTS GET CHANGED, SAYS TIKAIT Pg-7 EDIT CORONAVIRUS: SCIENCE IS STILL STRUGGLING TO COPE Pg- 6 CBI questions Abhishek's sister-in-law KOLKATA: A team of the CBI recorded statement of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's sisterin-law Menka Gambhir in connection with its probe into the illegal coal smuggling case. According to CBI officials, an eightmember team of the CBI led by Investigation officer Umesh Kumar along with two women officers arrived at the residence of Gambhir and recorded her statement for over two and half hours. CBI sources said that the agency questioned her about few banking transactions. PM hints EC to give poll dates in March first week GUWAHATI: PM Modi on Monday hinted that the dates for Assembly elections in Assam and other states are expected to be announced by the Election Commission in the first week of March. While addressing a public gathering at Silapathar in eastern Assam's Dhemaji district, Modi said, "Last time (2016), Assembly poll date for Assam was announced on March 4, this time also dates are expected to be announced in the first week of March. However, this is the work of the EC." Lok Sabha MP Delkar found dead in Mumbai hotel MUMBAI: Mohan Delkar, seven-term Lok Sabha member from Dadra and Nagar Haveli, was found dead in a Mumbai hotel on Monday, police said. The body of Delkar (58), Independent MP from Dadra and Nagar Haveli UT, was found in a hotel in south Mumbai's Marine Drive area. The official said a suicide note in Gujarati was also found along with the body. The cause of death will be known after autopsy, he added. OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL The income tax department has detected undisclosed income to the tune of Rs 450 crore during raids on business establishments of Congress MLA and businessman his and Daga Nilay brothers. The income tax department’s official statement said that during the course of the search operation, unexplained cash of over Rs 8 crore and unexplained foreign currency of various countries amounting to more than Rs 44 lakh have been seized. Nine bank lockers have also been found during the search. The group has introduced unaccounted income to the tune of Rs 259 crore by way of introduction of share capital at huge premium from Kolkatabased shell companies. The group has also intro- ED TO LOOK INTO FOREIGN CURRENCY, HAWALA TRANSACTIONS Sources confirmed that the case will also be referred to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as foreign currency worth Rs 44 lakh was found from the premises of Dagas. Moreover, incriminating documents indicating hawala transactions were also found by the IT officials therefore intervention of ED is must, feel I-T officials. SEPARATE FIR LIKELY AGAINST DAGAS Cong mum over I-T raids on its MLA urprisingly, Congress Smaintainedincome tax has complete silence over raids on its MLA Nilay Daga. The I-T raids concluded after four days of search operations but there has been no statement from the Congress so far. It needs to be mentioned that father of Nilay Daga, Vinod Daga was also a Congress MLA and known to be a close confidante of former CM and PCC chief Kamal Nath. duced undisclosed income of Rs 90 crore in its books of accounts by way of sale of paper investments in shell companies to another set of shell companies of Kolkata. None of the companies was found to be operational at their shown address and the group I-T sleuths said that a separate FIR will be filed against Dagas. One of Daga’s men had tried to flee with cash amounting in crores from the spot where search operations were on. However, he was caught along with cash. could not confirm the identity of such paper companies or any of its directors. Many of these paper companies were found to be struck off by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Bogus loss of Rs 52 crore was claimed by the group to suppress their profits, by indulging in intragroup out-of exchange contract settlement. Various companies were formed in the name of employees to carry out these transactions, while there was no actual business carried out between them. Directors of these companies were not aware about any such transactions. The group has also claimed incorrect Long Term Capital Gains exemption of over Rs 27 crore on sale of shares. Investi- COVID-19 CASES ON THE RISE People arriving from Maha to undergo thermal screening OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL With neighbouring Maharashtra witnessing a surge in daily Coronavirus cases, the Madhya Pradesh government on Monday directed for intensifying surveillance in districts bordering Maharashtra. People arriving from the neighbouring state will be subjected to thermal screening. Madhya Pradesh, too, is witnessing a steady rise in coronavirus cases in the last few days. Singh Shivraj CM Chouhan issued directives in this regard while reviewing the coronavirus situation in the state at a meeting of collectors at . Mantralaya on Monday Chouhan directed the collectors to call a crisis management committee meeting on February 23 regarding the upcoming Shivratri Mela as a large number of people from Maharashtra are expected to attend these fairs. The local administration will take a decision on Shivratri mela specially in 12 districts bordering Maharashtra, said Chouhan. CONTD. ON P8 Toolkit case: Court sends Disha to one-day police custody Tikait to address rallies in MP on March 8 AGENCIES New Delhi A Delhi court on Monday sent 21-year-old climate activist Disha Ravi, arrested in connection with allegedly being involved in sharing a "toolkit" on social media related to the farmers' protest, to one day police . custody Metropolitan Chief Magistrate Pankaj Sharma allowed custodial interrogation of Ravi after police said she was required to be confronted with co-ac- Nikita, Shantanu being questioned Lawyer Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk joined the probe in connection with the toolkit case and are being questioned at the Delhi Police's Cyber cell office in Dwarka, a senior police officer said. The Delhi Police, probing the "toolkit Google doc" backing the farmers' agitation shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg, had arrested Disha Ravi while Jacob and Muluk were granted pre-arrest bail by a court. cused. Ravi was produced before the court on expiry of her three-day judicial . custody The court on Friday had sent her to judicial custody after police had said her custodial interrogation was not required for the time being. The agency had said that it would seek her further interrogation custodial once co-accused -- Nikita Jacob and Shantanu Muluk -join the interrogation on February 22. Ravi was arrested by Delhi police on Feb 13 from Bengaluru. BKU leader BHOPAL: Rakesh Singh Tikait will address rallies on March 8 in MP to drum up support against the farm laws. He will address rallies in Sheopur, Rewa and Dewas on March 8, MP BKU general secretary Anil Yadav said. In, cidentally there is an arrest warrant pending against Tikait in connection with 2012 attempt to murder and rioting case in Anuppur district, said police officials. Tikait had led BKU protest against a power plant in Jaithari area, which turned violent, leading to injuries to cops and torching of vehicles, they added. Bengal has made up its mind for poriborton: Modi L aunching a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal, Prime Minster Narendra Modi said on Monday that the people of the state have made up their mind for a real 'poriborton' (change). "Bengal has made up its mind for poriborton and the BJP will bring 'aashol poriborton' (real change) in the state," Modi told a large gathering at the Dunlop Estate Village in Kolkata's neighbouring Hooghly district.He said the jubilant response of the crowd has sent out positive signals to Delhi for a regime change in Bengal. The PM said that the lotus brigade PM Modi addressing a meeting ahead of tassembly election in Hooghly district would bring 'aashol poribartan' which the young generation of Bengal aims for. "The BJP government should be formed not just for political regime change, but for 'aashol poriborton' in the state," he said. This was Modi's third visit to poll-bound Bengal in the last one month, during which he criticised the role of the state government over agricultural, health, governance and many other crucial issues. Ahead of the high-voltage state Assembly polls, Modi on Monday inaugurated a bouquet of railways projects, including the first Metro service in the Noapara and Dakshineswar section. Along with the flag-off ceremony of the Metro service between Noapara and Dakshineswar, the PM also inaugurated the 30-km third line between Kalaikunda and Jhargram. CONTD. ON P8 WEATHER 31.20c. 13.80c Sunrise : 06.53 Sunset : 06.27 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Truth is dynamic. It is not static. LOOKING AT BIGGER PICTURE ROTATION POLICY HAS MERIT: ANDERSON Pg-10 Undisclosed income of over Rs 450 crore unearthed Various Cos formed in name of employees Foreign currency worth Rs 44L seized Quality at Value www.freepressjournal.in I-T raids on Dagas News Brief `3 RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 Regd. No. Indore MP/ICD 216/2021-2023 gations revealed that the purchase of these shares was not genuine as group directors purchased shares of this entity at nominal value from non-existent Kolkata based shell companies. Various types of evidence including chats among key persons of the group reflect unexplained cash payment and hawala transactions of over Rs 15 crore. Incriminating evidence in the form of laptops, hard drives, pen drives etc have been found and seized. The Income Tax Department carried out search and seizure operations on February 18 at 22 premises in Betul and Satna in MP, Mumbai and Solapur and Maharashtra in Kolkata. Raids concluded on February 21. VAX HESITANCY: Barwani nurse chary of 2nd dose Was in a trauma after first dose OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL Namrata Chaure, 40, staff nurse, Barwani, is afraid to get the second dose of Covid vaccine as she faced a trauma after first dose of Covishield. She was admitted to the intensive-care unit (ICU) of a hospital after getting the first dose. She is the mother of twoyear-old twins and is the sole bread-earner of the . family Chaure said, “My family suggested that I shouldn’t get a second dose of vaccine as I was admitted to the ICU after being administered the first dose. I have two-year-old twins. The entire family depends on my income. I’m the sole bread. winner of my family Staff nurse is a contractual job. So, the government won’t support my family if something goes wrong with me due to vaccination.” Madras High Court, just couple of days ago, issued notices to the Union health ministry and the DCGI over a plea seeking directions that would declare Covishield vaccine “unsafe”. Covishield is one of the two vaccines that have been granted emergency use approval in India and is being used in the nationwide vaccination drive that started on Jan 16. CONTD. ON P8 Master Choa Kok Sui Cong Govt falls in Puducherry, Prez rule likely CM V Narayanasamy hands over his resignation letter to Lt Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan after he failed to prove majority in the assembly in Puducherry on Monday N CHITHRA Chennai The Narayanasamy-led Conin government gress Puducherry lost the trust , vote in the House on Monday just two months ahead of the Assembly elections. With the opposition disinclined to stake claim to form an alternative Government – as election notification is hardly a few days away – the UT is likely headed for a President’s rule. Lt Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, who had called upon the Congress , Govt to prove its majority is learnt to have passed on resignaNarayanasamy’s tion to the Home Ministry along with her report. Resignations of five Congress legislators, including two ministers and a DMK legislator, during the past month and disqualification of a Congress MLA had reduced the ruling party to a . minority CM Narayana-samy, who launched a tirade against Modi Government and former Guv Kiran Bedi accusing them of stalling all development activities in the UT since May 2016, walked out of the House with his legislators even before the Confidence of Motion moved by him was put to vote. The walkout was triggered after Speaker V P Sivakolundhu did not concede the Congress’s argument that the three nominated legislators (of BJP) did not have the right to vote. CONTD. ON P8