FREE PRESS The publishers permit sharing of the e-paper's pdf on WhatsApp and other social media platforms VOL. 13 NO. 140 | BHOPAL | THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 2, 2023 | PAGES 16 HAVE A HEART-TO-HEART TALK: RAJNATH APPEALS KUKIS, MEITEIS Pg-8 - `3 EDITIONS: INDORE, BHOPAL, UJJAIN, MUMBAI, PUNE WORLD AFTER HAMAS, WHAT? ED attaches assets worth Rs 538 cr of Jet founder BANK FRAUD & MONEY LAUNDERING CASE PROPERTIES of Naresh Goyal & others in London, Dubai attached AGENCIES New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached in London, Dubai and India assets worth Rs 538 crore of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, his family members and companies as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud. The attached properties include 17 residential flats, bungalows and commercial premises. Located in London, Dubai and various cities in India, these properties are in the name of various companies like Jetair Private Limited and Jet Enterprises Private Limited, Goyal, his wife Anita, and son Nivaan, the federal agency said in a statement. The total value of these assets is Rs 538.05 crore, the ED said. Goyal, 74, was arrested by the ED on September 1 and the agency filed a charge sheet against him on Tuesday before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai. He is in judicial custody and lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail. Jet Airways, a full-service carrier, shut its opera- tions in April 2019 after running out of cash. Later, Goyal stepped down as the chairperson of the airline. The money laundering case against Goyal stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR that was registered on the basis of a complaint by Canara Bank, Mumbai. According to the bank's complaint, JIL, its promoters and directors committed offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct, resulting in a "massive" NPA (non-performing asset) of Rs 538.62 crore, the ED said. CONTD. ON P8 Chouhan to address seven rallies daily, Nath to hold 3 ELECTIONEERING TO PICK UP IN TWO WEEKS MODI, RAHUL, Priyanka, Shah, Nadda, Kharge, Yogi to campaign in state OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL News Brief Over 7.85cr I-T returns filed till Oct 31 NEW DELHI: The Income Tax Department appreciated taxpayers and tax professionals for ontime compliance, resulting in a record number of filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) till October 31, 2023, said a press release by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). According to the official release, October 31 was the due date for filing ITRs (other than ITR-7) for taxpayers (not having any international or specified domestic transaction), in whose case books of account were required to be audited. GST revenue in Oct rise to Rs 1,72,003 cr NEW DELHI: The gross GST revenue in October rose by 5.7 per cent to Rs 1,72,003 crore from Rs 1,62,712 crore in September. Of the Rs 1,72,003 crore GST collections, Rs 30,062 crore was CGST, Rs 38,171 crore was SGST, Rs 91,315 crore (including Rs 42,127 crore collected on import of goods) was IGST and Rs 12,456 crore (including Rs 1,294 crore collected on import of goods) is cess. UPI transactions soar to Rs 17.16l-cr in Oct NEW DELHI: Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions soared to an alltime high of Rs 17.16 lakh crore in October with a 9% increase from Rs 15.8 lakh crore in September this year, according to data. In volume terms also the number of transactions touched a record 11.41 billion, up 8% compared to 10.56 billion in September, the data compiled by the NPCI, which runs the real-time payments platform, revealed. Electioneering in Madhya Pradesh is going to pick up in the coming two weeks. Besides Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and MPCC president Kamal Nath, the central leaders of the ruling party and those of the opposition will be seen campaigning for their candidates. The party is planning to organise seven meetings to be addressed by Chouhan daily, besides he will hold road shows at a few places to woo voters. Nath will address three public meetings daily . Apart from these leaders, First foreigners leave Gaza for Egypt through Rafah RAFAH: Scores of foreign passport holders started leaving war-torn Gaza Wednesday after Egypt opened the Rafah crossing for the first time since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, AFP correspondents said. It was not immediately clear how many people managed to leave via Rafah on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, but live footage from the scene showed crowds of people entering the Palestinian side of the terminal. Although more than 200 trucks of desperately-needed aid have crossed into Gaza from Egypt, no people have been allowed to flee the battered enclave, with some 400 foreigners and dual nationals expected to make the crossing on Wednesday Foreign govern. ments say there are passport holders from 44 countries, as well as 28 agencies, including UN bodies, living in the Gaza Strip where 2.4 million people have endured more than three weeks of unrelenting Israeli bombardment in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks. CONTD. ON P8 r RNI No. mpeng/2010/35815 r RNI No. 38281/83 QUALITY AT VALUE WEATHER FP 31.40c. 17.80c Sunrise : 06.31 Sunset : 05.50 FPJ: www.freepressjournal.in for 24x7 updates NEW ADMISSIONS Pg-16 Selective Anonymity, says SC on Day 2 of electoral bonds hearing NEW DELHI: Electoral bonds "provide (only) selective anonymity confiden... tiality" since purchase records are available with the State Bank of India and can be accessed by investigative agencies, the Supreme Court noted Wednesday as it , responded to the government's argument that absent provision for anonymous donations, a large volume of political funding could revert to black money The . court was conducting a second day of hearing of challenges to the legal validity of the electoral bonds scheme. "If I gave to Party 'A' and Party 'B' formed the government, I'd (fear) victimisation... so safest course was pay cash. Practicality requires... so I'm not victimised. So, my clean money , is converted to black money ... and that is disastrous for the economy Solicitor General ," Tushar Mehta argued. The provision for anonymous donation, therefore, is needed to protect donors from "victimisation and retribution", if the party they did not donate to won the election, the government argued. To this, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud pointed out, "The problem with the scheme is that it provides (only) selective anonymity It . is not confidential qua SBI... not confidential qua law enforcement..." CONTD. ON P8 Modi, Hasina launch key rail link, two other projects PM Narendra Modi and PM of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina attend the inauguration of three Indian-assisted development projects via a video conference, on Wednesday AGARTALA Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday jointly inaugurated three projects via virtual mode, including a key rail link between Tripura's Nischintapur and Gangasagar in the neighbouring country . The other two projects inaugurated by Modi and Hasina are the 65-km Khulna-Mongla Port Rail Line, and Unit 2 of the Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant in Bangladesh's Rampal. The cross-border rail project near Tripura's capital Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh is expected to boost cross-border trade, and significantly reduce the travel time between Agartala and Kolkata via Dhaka. Modi said inauguration of the Agartala-Akhaura Cross Border Rail Link was a "historic" moment. "This is the first rail link between the northeast and Bangladesh," he said. All the three projects are India-assisted development initiatives. The trial run of the 12.24km rail project (6.78 km dual gauge line in Bangladesh and 5.46 km in Tripura) was completed on Monday, after a train from Gangasagar railway station in Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh arrived at Nischintapur railway station. "It is a matter of joy that we have connected once again to celebrate the success of the IndiaBangladesh cooperation. In the past nine years, the work we have done together has not happened in decades," Modi said in an interaction with Hasina over video-conferencing. CONTD. ON P8 Panels don't have criminal jurisdiction: Mahua Moitra writes day before hearing NEW DELHI Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has claimed the Lok Sabha ethics committee that is looking into the cash-for-query controversy does not have powers to examine allegations of alleged criminality. She released her response on Wednesday that she had prepped to give to the committee tomorrow when she 47 log-ins to parl account from Dubai A day before TMC MP Mahua Moitra appears before Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee, sources privy to the matter alleged that nearly 47 log-ins to her parliamentary account were made from Dubai. Moitra has admitted that she shared her log-in credentials with Hiranandani, whom she has described as a close friend for a long time, but has ruled out any pecuniary motivation and asserted that the questions were always hers. appears before them. This, Moitra said, was because the “ethics committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media...” “... I think it is important that I too release my letter to the committee before the 'hearing' tomorrow," Moitra said in a post on X. CONTD. ON P8 I T Gwalior joins UNESCO‘s Creative Cities Network as MUSIC CITY OUR STAFF REPORTER BHOPAL the itinerary of central leaders of both the parties has been prepared. Prime Minister Narendra will address a public meeting in Ratlam on November 4. Before the campaigning ends on November 15, the BJP is planning to organise three events of Modi. Apart from Modi, the programmes of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and those of BJP's national president JP Nadda have been fixed. Nadda will be on a trip to Rewa on November 3 and 4, and Shah will be on a twoday visit to the state next week. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi will visit Sanwer and Khategaon on November 8 and Rewa on November 9. CONTD. ON P8 DE COCK HITS 4TH TON IN WORLD CUP, EQUALS SANGKARRA’S RECORD NATIONAL GAMES UNESCO has included Gwalior as the city of Music under the Creative Cities Network (UCCN). Fifty-five new cities from all over the globe joined the UCCN. The project was led by Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board in cooperation with the Municipal Corporation of Gwalior, Gwalior Smart City Development Corporation Limited, Raja ndia's cultural vibrancy "shines brighter on the global stage". As India celebrates this international recognition, the nation "reaffirms its commitment" to preserving and promoting its diverse cultural traditions NARENDRA MODI, PM he global recognition of our creative spirit will endow the creative pursuits of our poets, authors and musicians with a renewed zest while strengthening our cultural identity AMIT SHAH, UNION HOME MINISTER Mansingh Tomar Music & Arts University, music artists and other stakeholders. The Network now includes 350 cities in over one hundred countries, representing seven cre- ative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. Continuous efforts have been made including multiple stakeholder consul- Nomination papers of Patwa & Singh accepted OUR STAFF REPORTER city.bhopal@fpj.co.in It’s a big relief for BJP candidate Surendra Patwa Bhojpur (Raisen district) as his nomination papers were accepted by the returning officer after the initial hearing on Wednesday Likewise, the candida. ture of Congress candidate from Churhat Assembly seat, Ajay Singh was also accepted after the hearing. On Tuesday, the nomination papers of both aforesaid candidates were put on hold after their rivals RAHUL LODHI'S NOMINATION ALSO ACCEPTED Surendra Patwa & Ajay Singh made objections by accusing them of hiding the necessary information related to properties and criminal details. The nomination paper of Surendra was challenged by BJP rebel Ganesh Malviya and Congress candidate Rajkumar Patel. CONTD. ON P8 The nomination paper of BJP candidate from Khargapur in Tikamgarh district, Rahul Singh Lodhi was accepted by the returning officer on Wednesday evening. Lodhi's nomination paper was put on hold on Tuesday following objection raised by Congress candidate Chanda Gour, After hearing Lodhi's nomination was declared valid and accepted. CONTD. ON P8 Dewas pole vaulter Dev Meena clinches gold PANAJI Pole vaulter Dev Kumar Meena qualified for next year's World U20 Athletics Championships with a 5.16m effort that also fetched him gold medal at the National Games on Wednesday . The 18-year-old from agricultural belt of Dewas in Madhya Pradesh unsuccessfully attempted to cross 5.20m at Bambolim Athletics stadium but said the competition was a valuable learning experience."The World U20 scheduled in Lima will be a good opportunity for me to further scale new heights," said the trainee of Madhya Pradesh Athletics Academy in Bhopal. Akash wins 1st medal for Indore in weightlifting Akash Kaushal of Indore secured third place in 109 kg weight category. Akash missed silver by only 1kg in weight. He stood third by lifting 141 kg in snatch and 178 kg in clean and jerk. Indore has received this medal for the first time. Indore's Hansaben wins bronze in wrestling In the 62 kg women's category, Hansaben of Indore won the bronze medal by defeating Rajandeep of Punjab 10-0 on the first day of the wrestling competition. There were 4 international wrestlers playing in this category. tations and a dedicated feasibility study of the city since 2019 to map the potential for UCCN membership followed by the drafting of the application. CONTD. ON P8 BJP: Soros-funded 'Access Now' behind Apple alerts on Oppn leaders' phones NEW DELHI Giving a new twist to the Opposition leaders' allegations of "state-sponsored" hacking bid alerts by Apple, the BJP on Wednesday claimed that George Sorosfunded 'Access Now' was behind the notifications. In a series of posts on X, BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya said, "Interesting thread that draws link be- Parliamentary panel on IT may discuss 'Apple warning' issue in next meeting tween George Soros-funded 'Access Now' and Apple notifications, supposedly received only by Opposition leaders. It is therefore no surprise that Rahul Gandhi dropped everything and rushed to hold a press conference. See the sinister plot here?" He posted, "Part-2 of the thread details out the network George Soros-funded 'Access Now' has built in India. CONTD. ON P8