A major fire broke out in a building housing an electronics goods showroom in the suburban Bandra area in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting the deployment of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for firefighting operations. While no injuries were reported, the building adjacent to the affected structure was evacuated as a precaution. The fire, classified as Level IV (major), started around 4.10 am in a multistorey building on Linking Road in Bandra (west). The blaze initially confined to the basement later spread to the upper floors, engulfing the building in smoke. Thick black smoke was visible from afar, and photographs and videos of the blaze surfaced on social media. Around 6.25 am, the fire brigade classified the blaze as Level IV, indicating a major fire requiring extensive firefighting operations. Mumbai Fire Brigade chief Ravindra Ambulgekar and other senior officers rushed to the spot, with at least 13 fire engines and other firefighting vehicles deployed to douse the blaze. Other agencies have also been mobilized, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. This is the second major early-morning blaze in Mumbai in two days, following a fire at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Ballard Estate on Sunday.
Kavitha, 46, a Telangana Legislative Council member, was arrested by the central probe agency from her residence at Banjara Hills in Hyderabad Friday evening.
The Delhi high court granted bail to alleged middleman Christian Michel James in the Rs 3,600-crore AgustaWestland money laundering case on Tuesday. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma, while granting the reprieve to James, said it was an "exceptional situation" where the accused was in custody for over 6.2 years but the trial had not yet commenced due to incomplete investigation. James, who was extradited from Dubai in December 2018, can now walk out of prison subject to compliance with the conditions.
The charge sheet has been filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi and the court has listed the matter to be heard on January 16, the sources said.
The meeting, proposed at the CM House, has been called to discuss strategy over the current political situation and the Enforcement Directorate's proposed questioning of Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday, he said.
The DVAC searches were undertaken after the department arrested the ED's Madurai stationed enforcement officer Ankit Tiwari for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 20 lakh from a doctor.
Justice Jay Sengupta directed that the probe will be monitored by it and the SIT will file a progress report of the investigation on February 12, the next date of hearing in the case.
NCP MP Supriya Sule and other party leaders accompanied the 38-year-old legislator till the entrance of the probe agency's office.
The AAP said that the ED should wait for the court's decision instead of repeatedly sending summonses to Kejriwal.
Kharge claimed that the Centre accepted "intelligence failure" in an all-party meeting and said it should be held accountable for "not reinforcing" security arrangements in Kashmir to protect people.
The ED sealed the house and put up a notice summoning Sheikh to appear in person before its sleuths for questioning by January 29 in connection with its probe into the ration distribution scam, an officer said.
A dozen land parcels in Ranchi measuring about 8.5 acres in total are in 'illegal possession, occupation and use' of arrested former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and are proceeds of crime under the anti-money laundering law, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed.
The home ministry also asked the state government to send details of the action taken following the attacks on the central probe agency teams, the sources said.
Chouhan and Raje were overlooked by the BJP for the chief minister posts in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan respectively despite ensuring the party's return to power in the assembly polls held recently.
The agency had last week arrested Alam's personal secretary and state administrative service officer Sanjeev Kumar Lal (52) and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam (42) following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them.
The project was allegedly awarded to contractors linked with AAP.
The 'panchnama' document showed that the ED team took with it just two Gmail account downloads and three family phones from Kumar's house, Atishi claimed.
An Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into alleged foreign exchange law violations by edtech major Byju's and its CEO and co-founder Raveendran Bjyu is in the final stages of completion following which a show cause notice could be served to them, official sources said Tuesday. The central probe agency had in April searched two business and one residential premises, including that of the registered company of Byju's -- Think & Learn Pvt. Ltd. -- under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Other officers had to escape from the place without conducting the search to save their lives as the mob became "very violent" and even chased the officials so as to deter them from performing their official duty, it said.
Over the years, with some amount of experimenting, I have learnt exactly what freezes well and what does not.
Kejriwal was scheduled to leave for the Vipassana course on Tuesday but could not do so as he was busy with the INDIA bloc meeting. He left at around 1.30 pm on Wednesday for the pre-scheduled meditation course, officials said.
The Pandya brothers have come a long way. There was a time when they survived on just Maggi noodles for three years while chasing their dream of becoming top cricketers. Today, Hardik's net worth exceeds 100 crores while Krunal's is estimated to be around 80 crores.
About 10 premises in the national capital are being covered as part of the raids.
The high court said he was a very powerful and influential person within the power corridors of the Delhi government as he had the responsibility of 18 portfolios in the city dispensation.
"Mr Robert Vadra not only renovated the aforesaid property at 12 Bryanston Square, London through Sumit Chadha but also stayed in the same," it said.
The first batch of women cadets joined the NDA's 148th course in 2022 after the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) allowed women to apply to the defence academy following a Supreme Court direction in 2021.
The authority said in its order that it believes that the movable assets and equity shares that were attached by the ED are proceeds of crime and linked to the offence of money laundering.
RJD president Lalu Prasad has expelled his elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav, from the party for six years for "irresponsible behavior" and snapped all family ties with him. The decision comes after a viral Facebook post claimed that Yadav, a former Bihar minister, was "in a relationship" with a young woman.
The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta by senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the West Bengal government, seeking an urgent hearing.
A Delhi court has reprimanded Tihar Jail authorities for allegedly keeping Christian Michel James, an alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland case, with an inmate who has received 41 punishments for misconduct, raising concerns about Michel's safety. The court also ordered the jail to provide Michel with a table fan, stating that even animals in zoological parks are provided air conditioning. Michel had previously requested to finish his sentence and leave India due to security risks.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday raided the premises of Delhi Cabinet Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Raaj Kumar Anand and some others as part of a money laundering probe, official sources said.
Emerging out of the ED grilling in Mumbai, Rohit Pawar denied any wrongdoing and asserted struggle was imminent in fight for ideology while declaring he wasn't scared.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, that the hearing on Kejriwal's plea against arrest is likely to take time and therefore, the court was considering hearing the probe agency on interim bail to him.
The Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau on Thursday arrested an Enforcement Directorate officer, posted in Manipur, and his associate in Jaipur for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 15 lakh for settling a matter related to a chit fund case, officials said.
'Now the political boss decides, and the ED acts.'
Sandeep Raut has been asked to depose before the central agency at its office in Mumbai next week, they said, adding his statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Kundra, it claimed, received 285 Bitcoins from the mastermind and promoter of Gain Bitcoin Ponzi scam Amit Bhardwaj for setting up Bitcoin mining farm in Ukraine.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said constitutional courts cannot allow provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to become instruments in the hands of the Enforcement Directorate to continue incarceration for a long time.
In a fresh affidavit filed in the top court, the ED said no political leader has ever been granted interim bail for campaigning even if he is not contesting polls.
The complainant, Dr T Suresh Babu, told his car driver to put the Rs 20 lakh cash, into the ED officer's car trunk.
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