In a major breakthrough in the Naval war room leak case, one of the main accused Ravi Shankaran, a close relative of the then Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash, was arrested in London. "He has been arrested by the police in London and is at present out on bail. We have moved papers for his extradition," Central Bureau of Investigation Director Ashwani Kumar told PTI.
Eight years after CBI filed the charge sheet in a case relating to leakage of information from Naval war room, a court today framed charges against Ravi Shankaran, Abhishek Varma and four other former senior defence officials under Official Secrets Act.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has sought documents related to the escrow account of New York-based firm, an alleged front company of naval war room leak case accused Abhishek Verma, from a United States-based attorney who had run this account for several years.
A Delhi court on Friday framed charges against five persons, including three former naval officers and an ex-IAF Wing Commander, in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case.
Britain has ordered extradition of one of the main Naval war room leak accused Ravi Shankaran to India to face trial, a move that may expedite court proceedings pending for several months.
The US blockade on Iranian ports is aimed to curb Iranian energy exports, thereby crippling its economy to force Iran back to the negotiating table, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
The charge sheet was filed three days before the lapse of the mandatory 90 days, failing which the accused would have stood a chance to get bail.\n\n
The US Navy seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, escalating tensions as ceasefire talks face uncertainty. The incident raises concerns about the fragile ceasefire and the ongoing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Kalra, currently the deputy general manager (customer relations) of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, was picked up from his office at Scope Complex on Friday morning.
A British court rejected the appeal by Ravi Shankaran, a key accused in the Naval War Room leak case, against his extradition to India after an assurance was given by the Central Bureau of Investigation that his bail will not be opposed once he is brought back to face trial.
A British court has deferred the hearing in the extradition case of Naval War Room leak accused Ravi Shankaran till October.
Ravi Shankaran, one of the main Naval War Room leak accused, has filed an appeal in Britain against his extradition to India to face trial. United Kingdom Home Secretary Theresa May had signed the official orders for his extradition to India to answer the Central Bureau of Investigation's case on May 22, giving him 14 days to appeal against the order.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The agonising wait for justice notwithstanding, the former navy captain soldiered on, doing low-paying jobs for Rs 20,000 a month and even ploughing farms owned by others to sustain his family. He has lost many jobs because of his past.
The purge in Washington does not pause the war. Strikes continue, Hormuz remains closed, and Brent crude is still dancing around $109 a barrel. For India, the command chaos in the Pentagon is another layer of uncertainty piled on five weeks of conflict that was already straining every buffer Delhi has.
Ravi Shankaran failed to appear before the probe agency for several months.
Parashar, who was arrested by the CBI upon his arrival from London in April last year, had approached the High Court after failing to get any relief from the lower court.
Two former navy commanders, arrested for their alleged roles in the 2006 naval war room leak case, were on Friday granted bail by the Delhi high court on the condition that they would not contact co-accused Ravi Shankaran, who is holed up in London and facing extradition proceedings. "I have allowed both the petitions (of former naval commanders Kulbushan Parashar and Vijender Rana) for grant of bail," Justice V K Shali said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday carried out searches at the premises of Naval war room leak case accused Abhishek Verma after registering a fresh case against him. The agency teams carried out searches at 10 locations in Delhi and Gurgaon, CBI sources said.
The question is no longer whether the war will expand. It has. The next few days will tell us whether the war stabilises around Hormuz or whether the Strait itself becomes the trigger for a far larger rupture. What to watch for over the next 48 hours is simple: Any move by the US toward direct naval control of the Strait; any credible Iranian attempt to disrupt or mine shipping lanes and, critically, whether energy infrastructure in the Gulf continues to be targeted.If those lines are crossed in tandem, the war will no longer be containable within the region.
16 days into the war, US forces were already running out of ground-attack missiles and Israel is about to expend its entire Arrow interceptor missiles by end March. To be sure, the Iranians are watching closely and that explains their defiant stance that 'Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its conditions are met', notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'After we were alerted about the war, none of us could sleep for the next two nights while sailing through those waters.'
'We are getting used to the constant alerts to take shelter, listening to sonic booms from jets flying above us, hearing news of neighbouring ports being targeted, and being the only ship in the terminal.'
Trump has made it clear: the US will not lift its blockade of Iranian ports until a deal is signed.
CBI sources said the defence ministry had been asked to submit all the papers.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has faced the ire of a special court which imposed Rs 10,000 cost on it for "unnecessarily" delaying the proceedings by not appointing a prosecutor in the 2006 Naval War Room leak case in which five persons, including three former naval officers and an ex-Wing Commander, face trial.
...reopen for up to six months. Until then, the Strait stays nearly closed. The world pays. And no one, including the man who started this, can say when it ends, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The cost of the war is being counted not in the corridors of power in Washington or Tehran, but in Firozabad's darkened furnace rooms, Howrah's idle casting sheds, and a barbershop in Kochi where the wait is suddenly, inexplicably, an hour long, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The other accused in the case was acquitted by the court.
Meanwhile, another accused ex-Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force Sambhajee L Surve, whom the agency considers its trump card in unravelling this case, will be produced from CBI custody on April 15.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Trump may strike. He may announce productive talks and extend again. He may do both at the same time. Iran will not open the Strait on someone else's terms, so no matter what happens, that problem will remain unsolved. And the IRGC will still be collecting its $2 million toll from every ship bold enough to ask permission to pass.
Taking Kharg would give the US control over virtually all of Iran's oil exports and thus provide significant leverage, notes Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War. It would also put American troops within range of Iran's remaining missiles, drones, and artillery on a piece of real estate that is just eight square miles in size, and just 15 miles from the Iranian mainland.
Sources in the CBI claimed that Shankaran, against whom an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued last year, is believed to be in France, a country he often visited for business purposes.
The Tribunal also refused to give any relief to Commander Vijender Rana and Commander Vinod Kumar Jha on their contention that no court martial was held against them which would have given them an opportunity to defend themselves.
Admiral Prakash was in the Madhya Pradesh capital to inaugurate India's first National Sailing School.
'The culture of mankind has been spread by the travel gene which pushes one in five people to have the curiosity to move to unknown destinations.'
After Operation Sindoor, the Army and Navy now view the IAF as not a supporting arm, but the spearhead of India's warfighting capability, capable of decisive outcomes across domains, explains Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
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