Rs 15 crore cash deposits termed benami

New Delhi, Press Trust of India, Nov 27 2017, 1:24 IST

Cash deposits of Rs 15.93 crore made in a Delhi bank post demonetisation have been held as benami property by a special court. This is one of the first adjudication cases of the new anti-black money law, even as the depositor and the beneficial owner of the stash are untraceable.

The case pertains to Ramesh Chand Sharma, a resident of Naya Bazar area of old Delhi.

The Income Tax Department, as part of its drive against black funds post the note ban, had conducted a survey at the Kotak Mahindra Bank branch on K G Marg in December last year and found that Sharma had deposited Rs 15,93,39,136 cash in old notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 in the account of three firms, suspected to be fake.

Salem: Sons tie alcoholic dad to cot, throw him inside well 

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | ZAKEER HUSSAIN

Published Nov 27, 2017, 6:24 am IST

Jayaraman’s liquor addiction became a constant source of friction and fights in their home.


His family were constantly irritated by the constant behaviour of their father.

Salem: In a bizarre instance of patricide near Salem, two youth, angered by their father's frequent drunken brawls at home, killed him on Saturday night.

Police said Munivel, 25, and Sathish, 20, took this extreme step of finishing off their 55-year-old father, Jayaraman, a daily wage worker of Mecheri near here, as he started coming home drunk every day in recent months.

Jayaraman’s liquor addiction became a constant source of friction and fights in their home and last night he again returned home drunk and started quarrelling with his wife and sons. His family were constantly irritated by the constant behaviour of their father.

Disgusted with their father's behavior, a his two sons tied him to a cot and threw him inside a well, police said, adding, both Munivel and Sathish were arrested on Sunday.

After neighbours alerted the police, Mecheri station cops rushed to the spot and recovered Jayaraman's body from the well and sent it for post-mortem.
Further investigations are on.

Fathima College students climb cell tower for med seats 

DECCAN CHRONICLE.

Published Nov 27, 2017, 2:48 am IST

Students on the tower refused the calls of Mr Ramana Kumar, joint- commissioner of police, who reached the spot with policemen.


The parent of a student checks his mobile phone atop a cellphone tower at Vijayawada on Sunday. (Photo: DC)

Vijayawada: Six students of Fathima College, Kadapa, and a parent boarded a mobile cell tower here on Sunday and created a furore. The high drama started at about 10 am. The Fathima College students and parents started their protest at Vijayawada Dharna Chowk 27 days back. But as there was no response from the state government, the victims of Fathima College climbed the mobile cell tower and stayed there for the next eight and a half hours.

The students involved in this high voltage drama included Kesar Khan, Jakeera Khan, Farook, Noorullah, Hussain, Kishore and Mr Jaganmohan Reddy, father of the student Vishnu. They refused the request of the citizens, students, police and the college officials.

Students on the tower refused the calls of Mr Ramana Kumar, joint- commissioner of police, who reached the spot with policemen. The fire brigades also reached the spot. Finally, district collector Mr B. Lakshmikantham reached the spot and talked to the protestors over phone. Protestors demanded justice and the arrest of the management who allegedly cheated them. They asked for relocation as they were fighting with the management for the last two years. They demanded an assurance of CM, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu.

The district collector informed the demands of the students to the CM who then agreed to talk to the students and gave them an appointment at 9 am on Monday. Only then did the protesting students come down the tower. Parents of the students, officers and police were finally relieved of the tension.

Supreme Court to hear woman’s plea to exhume Jayalalithaa’s body

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | J. VENKATESAN

 

Published Nov 27, 2017, 1:29 am IST

Explaining her relationship, Ms. Amrutha said her adoptive mother Shylaja, sister of Ms. Jayalalithaa died in 2015.

 

 Supreme Court of India

 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a writ petition from a woman Amrutha alias Manjula, claiming to be the biological daughter of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, seeking DNA test to substantiate her claim.
People of Tamil Nadu and across the country believe that Ms. Jayalalithaa was a spinster and the present petition which also seeks a direction for exhuming the body, buried on the shores of Marina beach in December 2016 to be cremated as per Hindu tradition is bound to create ripples in Tamil Nadu.

The Bangalore based woman along with two other elder cousins L.S. Lalitha and Ranjani Ravindranatha have sought the  Supreme Court intervention as her efforts to meet Ms. Jayalalithaa during her life time was in vain as Ms. Sasikala family prevented such a meeting. She was also not allowed to attend the burial ceremony.

She submitted that she had made representations to the President Ram Nath Kovind, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CBI, judges of the apex court but she could not get any justice. Hence she is seeking redressal from court.

Explaining her relationship, Ms. Amrutha said her adoptive mother Shylaja, sister of Ms. Jayalalithaa died in 2015. Adoptive father Sarathy died on March 20 this year.

Raped over 4 years, girl puts attacker in jail

TNN | Updated: Nov 27, 2017, 06:48 IST

CHENNAI: Raped and blackmailed for four years starting from age 13, a 17-year-old girl from Periamet finally found some measure of justice on Sunday when the city police arrested one of her two tormentors.

Investigators arrested 21-year-old G Ravinder Sharma, a friend of the main suspect, identified only Moni, also 21, who befriended the girl on Facebook in 2013 before he sexually assaulted her.

Moni, a resident of Sowcarpet, used compromising videos of them together to repeatedly rape the girl, coerce her into a relationship with Ravinder and force her to pay him Rs 1.5 lakh over a four-year period, an investigating officer said.

"Moni is on the run," he said. "We have launched a search for him."

The girl's family only recently discovered what had been happening, after she revealed that she was pregnant and her father lodged a police complaint.

"Moni misused the girl's trust after they established a relationship online and then met in person," the officer said. "He recorded videos on his cellphone of them together and threatened to put the clips online."

Moni not only demanded that the girl make herself available whenever he called, but also pressured her to sell her gold jewellery and steal money from her parents. They met in a rundown hotel in Periamet, where he collected the cash and forced himself on her.

"Moni in 2016 introduced her to his friend Ravinder, a resident of Vyasarpadi," the officer said. "The girl refused to have anything to do with his friend, but Moni used the videos to threaten her and Ravinder also raped her."

When the girl informed Moni and Ravinder a few weeks ago that she was pregnant, they tried to get her to abort the child. They also demanded Rs 5 lakh to delete the videos that Moni had filmed.

"She recently learned that Ravinder had married and informed his father about the agony that his son had put her through," the officer said. "Ravinder's father said his son's wedding had taken place on November 10 and she could only be his 'second wife.'"

The girl then confided in her parents.

Encroachment obstructing Chitlapakkam surplus demolished

TNN | Nov 26, 2017, 23:57 IST

CHENNAI: The Kancheepuram district administration pulled down a marriage hall built over the Chilapakkam lake surplus channel on Sunday.

In the past two weeks, the Public Works Department and Kancheepuram district revenue officials had been taking down structures encroaching the lake. These structures did not let rain water drain into the lake during the 2015 monsoon and inundated the area.

On Sunday, the Tamil Nadu state disaster management authority tweeted a photograph of the demolition work with the caption, "Surplus canal restored. It was buried under a private marriage hall."

According to residents, the hall, owned by S Pandian of S V V Trust, caused flooding in the Ramakrishnapuram area of Chitlapakkam. "Only after the building's debris was cleared could we see the channel," said a government official.

Latest Comment  Great move but why is it targeted against an individual when a 40 road several apartments & NSN school are all enchroachments.sreeni vasan

Last week, TOI reported on the multiple encroachment structures constructed by Pandian which includes temples and convention halls. Three temples built by Pandian along the Chitlapakkam lake are earmarked for demolition.

Sunil Jayaram, a local resident, told TOI that the onus was on the government to prevent further encroachment. "The channel must be rebuilt and widened. It flow to the Sembakkam lake should be without obstructions and only then can we prevent flooding," he said.

Encouraged by April experience, RK Nagar voters now want cash

Pradeep Kumar | TNN | Updated: Nov 26, 2017, 10:00 IST

Highlights

In April, TOI revealed how bribing agents had gone around RK Nagar interacting with voters using a code phrase.

“Sami Kumbitaacha?” (Did you offer prayers to God?) – the agent would ask and an affirmative reply meant that a cash transaction had taken place the night before.

There are no doubts among voters in Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar (RK Nagar) assembly constituency on whether they would like to be "paid to vote" by candidates.
CHENNAI: There are no doubts among voters in Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar (RK Nagar) assembly constituency on whether they would like to be "paid to vote" by candidates. Answers that the voters here seek are to questions such as when, where and how much.

In April, TOI revealed how bribing agents had gone around RK Nagar interacting with voters using a code phrase. "Sami Kumbitaacha?" (Did you offer prayers to God?) - the agent would ask and an affirmative reply meant that a cash transaction had taken place the night before. This unprecedented scale of bribing left an indelible mark on the minds of voters so much so that they now expect candidates to come knocking on their doors carrying at least a couple of magenta-coloured banknotes in hand. Unlike in April, voters also appear confident when discussing money for votes.

"People who can vote but don't have a voter ID card are rushing to get theirs. Nobody wants to let go of an opportunity (to get paid)," said Kannan*, a shopkeeper in Shastri Nagar. What RK Nagar witnessed in April was the extent of desperate measures the contesting candidates willingly resorted to. "It is a high stakes political war. But the fact is that these candidates don't care an iota about the people and the constituency," said Anbu, a resident of Marimuthu Street in Korukkupet, adding that he sees no wrong in taking money.

"What would I gain by taking Rs 4,000 or Rs 5,000? The best I can do is pay off a month's rent," said S Palanisamy, a resident of Kesava Street. For people like Ranjith Kumar, who is self-employed, the money that is paid as bribe comes "from the government".


"Preaching to people about not taking money will change nothing. If the authorities are serious about holding cash-free elections, they should bar entry of outsiders into the constituency," Kumar said.

VCK spokesperson D Ravikumar attributed the prevailing mindset to a failure on the part of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to punish those who were caught bribing voters. "When people see that the ECI has done next to nothing to curb the cash flow or punish the people who distributed money, they see nothing wrong in taking what is offered to them," he said.

V Suresh, general secretary, People's Union for Civil Liberties, echoed Ravikumar's thoughts. "That there was no prosecution launched will only encourage the dole-giving politicians to indulge in nefarious activities once again," he said. Suresh suggested that the ECI should set up citizen-monitoring committees to check this widespread menace (bribing).

Top CommentPeople are talking as if they are saints. Just arrest the people who take money and jail them. Taking money is the first offense then only giver will be punished.Lanjappan

"Putting the blame on voters is not the solution (for ECI) because they are not the disease. Their (voter) mindset is a symptom of the disease that affects the whole of our electoral system," Ravikumar said.

*Name changed on request