Two teams of the 11th Special Rangers Group, stand withdrawn from VVIP security duties and have been tasked to undertake counter-terror operations.
Former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi was questioned by an Italian magistrate on Wednesday in connection with allegations that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were paid in India to bag VVIP helicopter deal.
I learnt that Yogi was deeply unhappy with the BJP's choice of Lok Sabha candidates. He had proposed a list of names, but hardly any of his suggestions were accepted.
The documents related to the procurement of the AW-101 helicopters have revealed that the increase in number of seats for VVIPs from two to four and inclusion of the medical evacuation system for the choppers increased the cost of the project by around Rs 300 crore more, IAF sources said in New Delhi.
Along with Tyagi, his cousin Sanjiv alias Julie Tyagi and lawyer Gautam Khaitan were also arrested.
After an Italian court partially lifted the freeze and allowed India to encash bank guarantees worth Rs 1,818 crore deposited by AgustaWestland in the VVIP chopper deal, the defence ministry on Saturday said it will take "immediate steps" to fully recover the amount.
The central government is pursuing the allegations of bribery in a deal to procure VVIP helicopters from Augusta Westland, but no formal inquiry has been ordered into the case due to lack of "specific information" so far, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has sent invitations to 7,000 people, including 3,000 VVIPs, for the consecration.
Devendra Fadnavis will lead the new Mahayuti coalition government in Maharashtra, with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as deputy chief ministers. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for Thursday evening at Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai and will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several Union ministers. The Mahayuti coalition won the recent assembly elections by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
Pseudonymous or anonymous nature of the social media handle, analysis of the geopolitical situation and presence of VIPs onboard are some of the new criteria that agencies will keep in mind while considering the seriousness of a bomb threat made to Indian airlines.
Rediff.com takes you through the high profile guests at the New Delhi's Tihar Jail
Rediff.com takes you through the high profile guests at the New Delhi's Tihar Jail
President Pratibha Patil will do the honours first by taking a ride on the Indian Air Force's Boeing Business Jets from the Palam air base that day, IAF officials said in New Delhi.
Air India's turnaround plan staggered over a period of 9 years.
With the deal for procuring VVIP choppers from AgustaWestland facing the prospect of being scrapped, the Defence Research and Development Organisation on Wednesday said it has the capability to manufacture such helicopters even though it contended that producing anything entirely indigenously was impractical.
Rediff.com's Rajesh Karkera captures the faces from Ayodhya.
The ED, in its chargesheet filed against Michel in June 2016, had alleged that he received 30 million (about Rs 225 crore) from AgustaWestland.
Doubting the United Progressive Alliance government's intentions in conducting an impartial probe into the VVIP chopper deal, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded that a special investigation team be set up to investigate the matter under a monitoring mechanism.
In the wake of charges of delay in conducting a probe in the VVIP chopper deal, the government on Thursday said an independent probe by the Enforcement Directorate was underway and investigations should be allowed to run their due course.
Moving ahead towards scrapping the Rs 3,600 crore controversial chopper deal, Defence Minister AK Antony on Wednesday said AgustaWestland has "violated the contract" for supplying 12 VVIP choppers for the air force.
Expanding its probe, the Central Bureau of Investigation has shared crucial documents with the Enforcement Directorate showing money trail of the alleged Rs 362-crore kickback in the VVIP chopper deal with Anglo-Italian firm AgustaWestland.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday virtually rejected the government's proposal for setting up a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the VVIP helicopter deal, saying that the move was aimed at scuttling the probe as current Lok Sabha's term will end next year.
Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation has decided to send a team to Italy to gather details on the VVIP chopper scam, evidence regarding links with the Emaar-MGF is slowly coming to light, reports Vicky Nanjappa.
The Rs 1,700 crore contract is for 98 Blackshark heavyweight torpedoes for the navy's six Scorpene submarines. Ajai Shukla reports
Cracking the whip, India on Friday initiated action to scrap the deal for purchase of 12 VVIP helicopters from Italian firm AgustaWestland in the wake of allegations that kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore were paid to bag it.
In a script straight from a Bollywood thriller, a man accused of attempt to rape fled in a state helicopter used by the Chief Minister and other VVIPs after he conned the police in Rajouri by mingling with accident victims being airlifted to Jammu.
The allocated amount is substantially lower than the Rs 1,803.01 crore earmarked in 2023-24.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday said India has sought details from the United Kingdom in connection with corruption allegations in the VVIP helicopter deal with Italy and "strong action" would be taken in case any foul play is detected in the procurement process.
The ED also told the special court that Christian Michel had spoken about 'the son of the Italian lady' and how he is going to become the 'next prime minister of the country'.
Facing the threat of cancellation of its Rs 3600-crore deal for VVIP choppers, AgustaWestland has asked the government to release its payments saying withholding it was a 'breach of contract'.
Former Finmeccanica CEO Giuseppe Orsi, who faces an 'instant trial' in June over allegations of corruption in the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal with India, was on Saturday released from jail.
There will be no separate samadhis for VVIPs in Delhi as the government on Thursday decided to have a common complex for memorials of departed national leaders like Presidents, vice presidents and prime ministers. The Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to set up 'Rashtriya Smriti' along the Yamuna river in central Delhi in view of the paucity of space as around 245 acres of prime land in the national capital has already been occupied by separate samadhis.
Though Antony did not name the IAF chief in his reply, former Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi's role in the deal is being inquired by the CBI. Tyagi's bank account was recently frozen by the investigative agency and he was also questioned by them.
The Comptroller and Auditor General on Tuesday slammed the Defence Ministry and Air Force for "several instances" of deviation from rules in the procurement of VVIP choppers in the Rs 3,727 crore AgustaWestland deal.
Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma is scheduled to visit London on Saturday for the ADD on Monday there where the issue of payment of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 362 crore in the deal is expected to come up, defence ministry sources said in New Delhi.
Officials said Michel's driver, Narayan Bahadur, was questioned at length by ED sleuths in the last few days.
The deal to procure 12 VVIP choppers for the IAF is under scanner as an American-Italian person is being investigated for allegedly paying kickbacks for securing the deal for Agusta Westland.
Michel, who was extradited from Dubai recently, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on December 22 and sent to a seven-day custody of the agency over money-laundering charges in the scam by a court.
Pune police on Sunday confiscated a luxury car used by controversial probationary Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Khedkar by allegedly installing a red beacon light on it illegally, an official said.
The Pakistan government will provide the South Africans security cover, normally given to visiting statesmen.
