Sleuths of DVAC seize Rs 10.75 lakh from govt staff 

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

Published Jan 1, 2018, 6:22 am IST

During the search, officials seized bundles of cash from regional assistant director Kannan and superintendent Nagarajan, sources said.



The regional office controls 33 town panchayats in Salem district and 19 town panchayats in Namakkal district.

Salem: Sleuths of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti Corruption (DVAC) conducted surprise inspection at office of the Regional Assistant Director of Town Panchayats in Salem on Saturday night and seized Rs 10.75 lakh of unaccounted money from officials.

The regional office controls 33 town panchayats in Salem district and 19 town panchayats in Namakkal district. On a tip-off that officials were allegedly collecting New Year and Pongal gifts from lower level staff, a team led by DVAC DSP Chandramouli went on a surprise inspection.

During the search, officials seized bundles of cash from regional assistant director Kannan and superintendent Nagarajan, sources said. After checking the executive officers and office assistants who visited the office to pay the sum, DVAC officials seized Rs 10.75 lakh of unaccounted money.

Rajinikanth takes aim, but holds fire 

D Govardan | TNN | Jan 1, 2018, 05:58 IST



Rajinikanth After waiting for ages for the almighty to give him the green signal, actor Rajinikanth has finally taken the plunge into politics. However, by setting his eyes on the assembly election, the next one scheduled for the summer of 2021 in Tamil Nadu, he looks like he is buying time to test the waters.

The big question is - why will someone announce his entry into politics, but set a longer deadline for the actual launch. Can he keep up the excitement surrounding his entry for the next three to four years? Given his 'Hindutva ideologies' and BJP connections, perhaps he thinks midterm polls cannot be ruled out, say observers. There are more questions, than answers at present.




For the lakhs of his fans, just the announcement of launch of a party and fielding of candidates in all 234 assembly segments in the state was enough to get them euphoric. It did not bother them that their 'thalaivar' is yet to name the party and spell out its policies. For the numerous die-hard fans of Rajinikanth, who lived a better part of their lives thriving on his one-liners in films, his statement of heralding "spiritual politics" was enough.

The larger public, however, would surely look for more and better signals from him. But, that is not going to come in a hurry. Rajinikanth himself had dropped sufficient hints in his speech.

"Until we form the party, there is no need for any of us, including me, to attack anyone. It is also not necessary to react to every political development until then," he told fans on Sunday.

Till his announcement, the general perception was that he missed the bus in 1996. But, despite the twodecade delay, he had kept his reach with the masses intact. His fans, though aged compared to the present day millennial generation, are spread far and wide. With J Jayalalithaa's death and DMK leader M Karunanidhi retiring from politics, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan see a potential space.

Rajinikanth surely has a base to start his political wagon. But after his "even God cannot save Tamil Nadu" statement in 1996, he had largely confined his comments to non-political issues.

"Spiritual politics is something that (Mahatma) Gandhi had pursued and that is the path Rajinikanth will follow. There is no room for corruption, mistakes and crime in spiritual politics, which is different from religious path," said political commentator and Gandhian movement leader Tamilaruvi Manian.

Rajinikanth's political journey: All you need to know

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Dec 31, 2017, 19:43 IST

Highlights

Speculations about film actor Rajinikanth entering politics had been rife for last two decades. However, the actor, so far, had kept the cards close to his chest.

Today, the actor ended years of speculation and revealed that he will be contesting the assembly elections in 2021. In the wake of his announcement, here is a look at superstar’s hobnobbing with politics.



*The actor's first-known tryst with politics happened in the run-up to 1996 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, when he announced his willingness to support the Indian National Congress.
*However, plans of him supporting Congress remained inconclusive and Congress, much to the dismay of the actor, went forward to support AIADMK.

*Following the alliance between AIADMK and the Congress, the actor had famously said - "If Jayalalithaa (AIADMK chief) is voted back to power, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu."

*The AIADMK alliance lost, while DMK in alliance with Tamil Manila Congress swept the 1996 polls.

*A decade later, the actor went on to claim that his famous quote was the prime reason behind AIADMK party chief J Jayalalithaa's defeat in 1996.

*In the past, the actor was often accused of not fighting for the state's lifeline issues such as Cauvery water row with Karnataka. Every time, the Cauvery issue erupted, the pro-Tamil outfits used to target him for his "silence," in the matter.

*In 2002, seeking to counter such attacks, the actor had said he would start a people's movement on the Cauvery issue and also pursue the government for interlinking of Himalayan and peninsular rivers. The same year, he went on a fast asking the Karnataka government to release the Cauvery waters.

*He also offered to donate Rs 10 million from his personal fund for a project linking all the major rivers of the country in one centralised grid to solve the water problem across the country.

*In 2004, the actor extended his support to the NDA-led front on the assurance that, if elected, it will implement the water-linking project to solve country's water crisis.

*In 2008, the actor, along with colleagues from the Tamil film industry, sat on a day-long fast in Chennai protesting against Karnataka's objections to the planned drinking water project in Hogenekkal, situated on the border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

*In 2014, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, the actor once again stirred up talks of his entry into politics following his meeting with BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Top CommentOn Dec 31 normal people go to party, but Rajnikanth forms his own party on 31 Dec. His style remains...Kasturirangan

*In October 2014, the actor left everyone guessing when he met Jayalalithaa after her release from the prison. (The AIADMK leader was in in prison for 21 days following her conviction in the disproportionate assets case.) During the meeting, the actor expressed his confidence that the AIADMK leader would make a comeback as the chief minister of the state.

*On December 31, 2017, the actor announced he would contest the next (2021) assembly election and would field candidates in all the 234 assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

E-tatkal software under CBI lens

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: A week after CBI arrested its assistant programmer along with another person for allegedly running a Tatkal ticketing racket, the central agency said that a large number of online software programmes being used by travel agents to trick the IRCTC booking system is under itsscanner.

These programmes, CBI has learned while probing its own assistant programmer Ajay Garg, are easily available online for a price and they work on “auto fill” system where details of large number of ticket seekers are entered and kept ready even before Tatkal bookings open on the IRCTC website at 10am for trains departing next day.

Garg had developed one such software.

Sources added that these programmes speed up the PNR generating process, bypassing the IRCTC captcha and allowing login with multiple IDs, enabling a large number of ticket bookings simultaneously on a single click of the mouse. They further allow the users to fraudulently gain unauthorised access to computer network in contravention of rules and regulations.

“All such software programmes are under the scanner. We are examining them and may soon take action, if any illegality is found in their operations,” an official said.

“Useof such software isillegal as per rules and regulations of the IRCTC and also under the Railways Act,” said an officer. Apart from Garg, CBIhad arrestedhis associate Anil Gupta last week for developing and distributing the software to agentsfor a price.

The ticket bookings under Tatkal quota open at 10am for AC class and 11am for non-AC coaches for the trains departing next day. Under the quota, a fixed number of seats, in each coach, are sold at a premium by the railways to travellers who need tickets urgently. A common complaint of passengers is that by the time they enter details on the IRCTC website or complete booking process, seats under Tatkal quota gets full within minutes of start of the booking. Their bookings are either rejected or they get a waitlisted ticket that too at a very steep prices. Some travel agents offer to provide confirmed tickets under the quota by charging a premium.

CBI books bank officials in ₹14cr housing scam

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: The CBI has booked 44 people including top retired officials of the State Bank of India in Chennai for a ₹14 crore housing scam.

The retired SBI officials entered into a criminal conspiracy in 2015-16 with Shreepavi Constructions, a company owned by a builder S Alagesan, and sanctioned loans to ineligible persons on the basis of forged documents to help Alagesan, said the CBI. This caused a loss of ₹13.77 crores to the erstwhile State Bank of Mysore, which has now been merged with SBI.

The bank employees named as accused are Premlatha Vaikal, then chief manager of SBM, Shastri Nagar, K Jagadeeswara Rao, AGM (retired), SBM, N Bupesh, chief manager (retired) at the bank, V Saaikumar, chief manager SBI (maintenance), M Srikumar, deputy manager (sanction), VVSN Raju, deputy manager (maintenance) and Arumugam, deputy manager (maintenance). Thirty-four borrowers are also named as coaccused. A case of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and criminal misconduct by public servants has been made out.

In order to fund eight projects in and around Chennai, Alagesan had allegedly conspired with the bank employees to create namesake borrowers from SBI. Documents like the income details, bank account statements, salary slips, IT returns and Form-16 of these prospective buyers were either not obtained or verified properly by the bank officials.

The bank officials had recommended, processed, sanctioned and disbursed the loans despite knowing that some flats were not occupied. Twelve flats were not fully constructed yet full disbursement was made, the documents of 34 borrowers were fabricated and inspection reports on the progress of construction were not accurate.

The valuation of these flats and houses under construction was inflated to the extent of the margin money required to be brought in by the borrowers, said the CBI. The valuation was done by Natarajan and his associates and legal opinion of the loans was offered by the empanelled advocate KRA Muthukrishnan who did not verify the documents properly. Both have also been named as co-accused.

ESIC official booked for demanding bribe from yarn manufacturing co

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: The CBI, Chennai, booked a deputy director of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) in Madurai for allegedly giving monetary benefit to a yarn manufacturing company which was involved in a dispute over remittance of ESI for one decade.

The CBI said that the company Ramalinga Millsin Aruppukottai was chargedwith not paying the ESI contribution of ₹5.2 lakh and ₹20.8 lakh during 2003-2006. Two claims were raised against the company and notices were issued, but it had filed appeals with the ESI court in 2007, which were pending.

The accused ESIC DD Thineshkumar, who took charge in 2016, got the matter transferred from the court and back to him so he could register a favourable order for the company, the CBI alleged.

On June 30, the ESI court in Madurai set aside earlier orders and remitted the matter back to the DD to conduct a fresh enquiry.

The CBI said that during the enquiry, Thineshkumar aided Ramalinga Mills by reducing the amounts, altering facts, earlier admitted by the company and giving it undue monetary benefits. He passed orders on October 6 which caused wrongful loss to ESIC, the CBI said.

Thineshkumar also allegedly approached the company and negotiated an illegal gratification of ₹3 lakh for giving them a favourable order, investigators said. This happened through an advocate M Elanchezian, who has been named in the FIR along with the company.

A case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct by a public servant has been filed by the CBI.

WELCOME, RAJINI Now, where’s the party? 

Vows To Contest All Seats In TN Assembly Polls

Abdullah.Nurullah @timesgroup.com

More than 22 years after he gave a call to “save TamilNadufrom J Jayalalithaa”, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth sought to occupy the political space vacated by the AIADMK supremo, and DMK president M Karunanidhi, announcing his entry into politics. He, however, did not spell out the name of his party or his policies.

After five days of interaction with his fans following the RK Nagar byelection won by AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran, Rajinikanth said he wouldfloat a political party that wouldcontest all the 234 assembly constituencies in the state.

“My political entry is confirmed. This is the need of the hour,” said Rajini, calling for an honest and transparent system of governance to uproot corruption and practise “spiritual politics”.

Political reactions to the 67-year-old actor’s entry varied from caution to confrontation. BJP was the first party to welcome Rajini’s announcement. Tamil nationalist outfit Naam Tamizhar criticised the actor, referring to his non-Tamil roots.

Constantly cheered by fans, Rajini took on the AIADMK without naming it. “Political developments in the past year have brought shame to the people here,” he said. “In the olden days, when a king invaded a country, his men went about plundering the coffers. Generals and soldiers would loot the people on the losing side. Today however, partymen, under the guise of democracy, are looting their own people.”

The superstar asked his fans to take the message to every street in every village of Tamil Nadu. “First, we must integrate the registered and unregistered fans associations and bring them under one umbrella. We mustthen prepare to facetheelection through democratic means. Until then, there is no need to criticise other politicians or hold agitations. There are many others already doing that,” Rajini told fans.

The film star asked his supporters to strengthen the fans association through an enrolment drive. “Bring all those around you to the association, be it the young, the old, the illiterate or the educated.”

Fans of Rajinikanth have waited for about three decades to turn into cadres. “I do not want cadres. I want guardians capable of questioning erring legislators, officials and even partymen. I will just be a representative of the peoplewho will supervise these guardians,” said Rajini, asking fans to turn into an army of guardians. Rajini said that the guardians should not seek personal favours from legislators and officials. “The guardians will keep the plunderers out so that the people receive the benefits they are entitled to,” he said.



RAJINI BEGAN SPEECH BY QUOTING GITA

The superstar promised his fans that he was not entering politics for fame, money or power. “You have already given me much more than I could ever dream of. The throne came my way back in 1996, but I pushed it away. If I did not want the throne at the age of 45, why would I want it now when I am 68?” Rajini said.

The ‘Padaiyappa’ actor, who plans to launch his independent party at a suitable time before the state assembly election, told fans, “Our mantra is honesty, hard work and growth. Our ideology is to think, talk and do only good. Good things will happen. If elected to power we will deliver on our promises within three years. If we fail, then we will resign.”

Earlier, Rajini began his speech by quoting a verse from Bhagavad Gita. In Kurukshetra, Karnan told Arjun, “Put in your efforts. I will take care of the rest.” Citing the incident where Arjuna hesitates entering the war, Rajinikanth said, “Wage war. If you win, you will rule the country. If you are killed in war you will go to heaven. If you do not go to war they will call you a coward.”

The superstar energised his fans with his war cry. “I have put in my efforts already. All that is left is to shoot the arrows. We will contest in all 234 assembly constituencies of TN. As the local body elections are already nearing, we do not have time to prepare. As for the 2019 general election, I will make a decision as per circumstances.”