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The Hindu
15 hours ago
- The Hindu
T.N. govt places Mayiladuthurai PEW DSP Sundaresan under suspension
The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday placed M. Sundaresan, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Prohibition Enforcement Wing (PEW), Mayiladuthurai District, under suspension, on charges of violating the code of conduct rules for government servants and for levelling baseless allegations against senior police officers of the department. A government order issued by the Home Department to this effect said Mr. Sundaresan had given interviews to the media without obtaining prior approval from superior officers and had also intentionally levelled baseless and frivolous allegations against senior police officers. The order said he deliberately attempted to claim that injustice had been done to him by not providing a government vehicle. However, the government vehicle was returned to him on July 17, having been previously withdrawn for VVIP bandobust duty on July 11, along with 44 other vehicles mobilised from across the districts. He had threatened and abused a woman police inspector, who was subjected to severe distress, forcing her to take an extreme decision to commit suicide, which her colleagues managed to thwart. He had exerted undue influence on a Sub-Inspector of Police of the PEW Unit, to make arrangements for installing an air-conditioner and a printer in his office. He also indulged in the practice of abusing subordinate police personnel over the VHF mic, the order said. Further he failed to approach senior officers to air his grievances through the proper grievance redressal mechanism followed in the department. In spite of holding the responsible rank of DSP, PEW Unit, he had purportedly questioned the authority of the District Superintendent of Police and exhibited sheer indiscipline on many occasions, the order said. During the period of suspension, Mr. Sundaresan shall remain in Mayiladuthurai and shall not leave the headquarters without obtaining prior permission, the order added. (Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State's health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416, and Sneha's suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Delhi High Court reserves verdict in AgustaWestland accused's plea for quashing non-bailable warrant against him
The Delhi High Court Wednesday reserved judgment in a plea by AgustaWestland deal accused and former Emaar MGF director Shravan Gupta seeking quashing of non-bailable warrants issued against him in the money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case concerns a 2010 agreement between the Indian government and AgustaWestland, a British-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, for the purchase of 12 helicopters meant for VVIP transport. The contract deal was allegedly riddled with corruption, involving kickbacks and bribes to Indian officials to secure it. Gupta had allegedly created an offshore corporate structure to launder the proceeds of crime generated by a co-accused in the case, who also reportedly received the same as kickbacks. According to the ED, Gupta received proceeds of crime amounting to approximately Rs 28.69 crore. He allegedly left the country in 2019 and has failed to join the probe despite multiple summons and warrants. A trial court issued a non-bailable warrant against him on August 31, 2020. The ED made Gupta an accused in the case in February 2022 in a supplementary chargesheet. Before the court of Justice Neena Bansal, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, appearing for Gupta, informed the court that Gupta cannot participate in the probe physically but is available to join online. It was also submitted that a fresh application has been filed seeking permission to appear virtually. According to a press release by the ED, after Pahwa sought an adjournment, Justice Krishna noted that the matter had previously been argued by both parties on two occasions, after which Pahwa requested an adjournment. The court observed that such conduct is 'unbecoming of a senior advocate' and reserved the matter for verdict. In May, hearing an application moved by Christian Michel James, an accused and alleged middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper case, Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of Rouse Avenue Court said that it was 'sad to see that the trial has not started in seven years'. ( James, who was extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2018 and has been in Tihar jail for close to seven years, had moved an application earlier requesting adequate security measures in prison, alleging that his tea was being poisoned and that there were threats to his life. —-
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
AgustaWestland: Delhi high court rejects plea by Emmar-MGF promoter for adjournment
Representative image NEW DELHI: In the politically significant AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam case, Delhi HC on Wednesday rejected a plea from fugitive Shravan Gupta, promoter of Emaar-MGF who fled to London in 2019, seeking further adjournment of his case relating to non-bailable warrant against him and that he be allowed to appear before ED through video conferencing in view of his inability to return to India. Pulling up his counsel for misleading the court repeatedly, the court refused to grant any further adjournment while reserving its order on the plea of quashing the non-bailable warrant. ED argued before Justice Neena Bansal that Gupta had failed to appear for questioning despite nine summonses issued to him since 2019. Two days after he wrote to ED (on Nov 24, 2019) seeking "some time to join the investigation" on grounds of ill health, with a doctor's prescription advising six days rest to him, Gupta had fled to London and not returned since then, sources said. Rejecting Gupta's adjournment request, Justice Bansal said the matter had already been argued by both sides on two previous occasions, and on each date after the arguments, senior counsel (for Gupta) Vikas Pahwa had sought time to get instructions from his client regarding his return to India to join the investigation. Such conduct is "unbecoming of a senior advocate", the judge said while pointing out that the counsel had been seeking repeated adjournments. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giá vàng đang tăng mạnh trong năm 2025 — Các nhà giao dịch thông minh đã tham gia IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo Gupta is accused of receiving kickbacks from AgustaWestland intermediaries for influencing the VVIP chopper deal worth Rs 3,600 crore, sealed during the UPA regime. "Shravan Gupta received proceeds of crime in Natille Overseas Inc, Switzerland; Timekeeper Ltd, British Virgin Islands; Hall Park Holdings Ltd, UK, etc which are beneficially owned by him," the ED had said earlier, and has filed 12 chargesheets in the case, including against Gupta in 2022. Probe found that a Mauritius-based shell firm received bribes in the deal signed with Agusta SPA, Italy. Bribes were laundered to India allegedly through Gupta's shell entities and shared with IAF officials, bureaucrats and politically exposed persons through a complex web of transactions.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
AgustaWestland case: HC reserves order on accused Gupta's plea to quash NBW
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on a plea filed by businessman and AgustaWestland case accused Shravan Gupta who sought quashing of a non-bailable warrant in a money laundering case probed by the ED, officials said. A Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court had issued an "open ended" NBW against him in August 2020. Gupta is alleged to have left for the UK (London) in 2019 after the federal probe agency summoned him for questioning. An Interpol Red Notice was issued against him in August 2023. The ED filed a supplementary chargesheet in February 2022 naming Gupta as an accused in the VVIP chopper case. It has attached assets worth Rs 21 crore in the probe as part of two money laundering investigations against Gupta, director of real estate company MGF Developments. The second PMLA case against is over Rs 180 crore. According to officials, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna on Wednesday heard Gupta's plea of quashing the NBW issued against him. The judge rejected the request of Gupta's counsel for adjourning the case and reserved the matter for judgment, they claimed. Gupta's legal team informed the court that their client is ready to join the investigation via a video conference link and they have also moved a fresh application seeking the court's permission for allowing the same, they said. The court observed the counsel for the petitioners have been seeking repeated adjournments in the matter and such a conduct was not expected from them, the officials claimed. Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa, representing Gupta, argued in court that his client was unable to come to India "at this stage" owing to certain medical conditions and he was ready to join the investigation via video conferencing which is permissible in law. He said the court reserved its verdict on the applications including the one for attending the probe virtually. The ED has alleged that offshore entities "beneficially owned and controlled" by Gupta received "proceeds of crime" worth more than Rs 28.69 crore (Euro 1,912,000 and USD 3,457,180) in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP Choppers "scam". In a statement issued in January, the ED had said it was "pertinent to mention that Shravan Gupta is also an accused in the ED case of AgustaWestland helicopter scandal and has fled the country." Gupta was the managing director and executive vice chairman of Emaar MGF Land Limited between 2005-2016. It is alleged by the ED that during this time, Gupta came into contact with another accused in the case Gautam Khaitan, who later introduced him to Guido Haschke (an alleged middleman and an accused in the same case). Gupta, as per ED's case, created offshore corporate structures to "launder" proceeds of crime generated by Khaitan and Haschke as "kickbacks" from the VVIP choppers deal. On January 1, 2014, India scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks to the tune of Rs 423 crore paid by the firm for securing the deal.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
PM's VVIP aircraft makes trial landing at Trichy airport
Trichy: VVIP-3, the official aircraft used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, conducted a trial landing and take-off at Trichy International Airport on Tuesday as part of a safety exercise ahead of the PM's likely visit to Tamil Nadu on July 27. Modi is expected to attend the Aadi Thiruvathirai festival at the Gangaikonda Cholapuram temple near Jayankondam in Ariyalur district. Sources said the VVIP aircraft landed at Trichy around 12.10 pm and took off at 1.30 pm. As Trichy airport's runway is relatively short at 8,136 feet, it typically handles only narrow-body aircraft even for international flights. Since VVIP-3 is a wide-body aircraft with a larger size and higher carrying capacity, the trial was held to ensure safe operations. "VVIP-3 is the longest wide-body aircraft ever to land at Trichy airport. This is also the first time the airport has handled the Prime Minister's custom-made aircraft," said S Gnaneswara Rao, director of Trichy airport. He noted that during the trial, the aircraft managed to take off using just 50% of the runway length. Rao added that the space behind the old integrated terminal building could be used to receive the Prime Minister if authorities opt to land him in Trichy. Two years ago, the airport's taxiway was upgraded to accommodate wide-body aircraft.
