Arrested Jet Airways crew part of global hawala racket: DRI

Agencies
January 9, 2018

New Delhi, Jan 9: A woman flight attendant of Jet Airways has been arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) for allegedly trying to smuggle out forex worth more than Rs 3 crore, with the agency today saying that the accused was part of a major global hawala syndicate.

The DRI officials intercepted the woman when she was on a flight to Hong Kong yesterday, the agency said in a statement.

"During examination of her checked in and hand baggage, USD 4,80,200 wrapped in aluminium foil having a market value of Rs 3.25 crore, has been recovered," it said.

During interrogation, it came to light that the woman was a carrier of a major international hawala syndicate and has carried foreign currencies many times for a Delhi-based hawala operator, it said.

The operator, identified as Amit Malhotra, is a resident of Vivek Vihar area in Delhi, a senior DRI official said.

He said Malhotra used crew members for smuggling forex.

"Malhotra would collect money from some bullion dealers in Delhi and send it via some air hostess to select foreign destinations. The money was being used for purchasing gold abroad. The gold would then be sent to India illegally," the official said.

Malhotra had befriended the Jet Airways crew six months ago during a flight to India, he said.

The DRI suspected the role of some other crew members of Jet Airways in smuggling out forex, the official said.

"Malhotra has been illegally smuggling forex for the past over one year. There are some other crew members involved in the case. We are also trying to find out the details of bullion dealers involved in this syndicate," he said.

Both Malhotra and the Jet Airways crew member have been arrested, the official said.

A Delhi court sent the two to two-day judicial custody.

The DRI has recovered Rs 3.3 lakh in cash, and foreign currencies of different countries worth USD 2,500, besides several incriminating materials from Malhtora, he said.

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Well Wisher, Riyadh
 - 
Wednesday, 10 Jan 2018

Well done DRI. A thorough investigation is required. He & individuals like him might be funding terrorist activities in India. Should be given life term.

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News Network
June 27,2020

Hyderabad, Jun 27: Ahead nurse working with a state-run hospital here died on Friday while undergoing treatment for COVID-19, a hospital official said.

The nurse, who was due to retire this month-end, tested positive about 10 days ago, he said.

The woman, who had been on medical leave for about 20 days, is suspected to have contracted the virus when she attended a private function in a neighbouring district, he said.

She was treated at the hospital for two days after she was found positive for COVID-19.

However, she was shifted to another government hospital as the symptoms continued unabated and sugar levels were high, he said.

The woman, who had comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension, died today.

Meanwhile, about 20 healthcare personnel, including doctors and paramedical staff, have so far tested positive for COVID-19 at the state-run Gandhi hospital, according to a hospital official.

He also said that there are around 50 patients whose family members have not come forward to take them home though the patients can be in home quarantine.

Family members have cited reasons such as residents not allowing a positive patient to return to the villages and presence of children at residences, for not taking them home, he added.

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News Network
June 3,2020

New Delhi, Jun 3: Over 1 lakh scanned copies of Indians' national IDs, including Aadhaar, PAN card and passport, have been put on dark web for sale, cyber intelligence firm Cyble said on Wednesday.

The leaked data seems to have originated from a third party and not from the government system, according to a report by Cyble.

"We came across a non-reputed actor who is currently selling over 1 lakh Indian National IDs on the dark net. With such a low reputation, ideally, we would have skipped this; however, the samples shared by the actor intrigued our interest -- and also the volume. The actor is alleged to have access to over 1 lakh IDs from different places in India," Cyble said.

The personal data leaked by cyber criminals leads to various nefarious activities such as identity thefts, scams, and corporate espionage. Many criminals use the personal details in the IDs to win trust of the people over a phone call for fraudulent activities.

Cyber criminals leak personal data of 2.9 cr job-seeking Indians on dark web for free

The Cyble researchers acquired around 1,000 IDs from the seller and confirmed that the scanned IDs belong to Indians.

"Preliminary analysis suggests that the data originated from a third party, and no indication or artefact is indicating that it came from a government system. At this point, Cyble researchers are still investigating this further -- we are hoping to share an update soon," Cyble said.

The scanned ID documents indicate that the data may have been leaked from a company's data base in the segment where they have to comply with 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) norms.

"Cyble researchers have also learned about a surge in KYC and banking scams -- leaks such as this are often used by scammers to target individuals, especially elderlies," Cyble said.

The cyber intelligence firm has recommended people to refrain from sharing personal information especially financial information over phone, e-mail or SMS.

"Regularly monitor your financial transaction, if you notice any suspicious transaction, contact your bank immediately," the company said.

In May, Cyble showed two instances where personal data of 7.65 crore Indians have been put on sale in the dark web. In one instance, the seller claimed to have sourced data of 4.75 crore Indians from online directory Truecaller and in other, the seller claimed to have sourced from job websites.

Truecaller, however, had denied the claim of breach in its database.

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News Network
January 17,2020

Jan 17: President Ram Nath Kovind, on Friday, dismissed Nirbhaya convict Mukesh Singh's mercy petition, according to multiple media reports.

Mukesh Singh - one of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case had filed a mercy petition on Tuesday after Supreme Court dismissed curative petitions filed by him and Vinay Sharma (another convict).

More to follow

 

MHA forwards mercy petition of Nirbhaya convict to President; recommends rejection

New Delhi, Jan 17: The Union Home Ministry on Friday forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind the mercy petition of one of the convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape case, recommending its rejection, officials said.

Mukesh Singh, one of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case, had filed the mercy petition a few days ago.

"The Home Ministry has forwarded the mercy petition of Mukesh Singh to the President. The ministry has reiterated the recommendation of the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi for its rejection," the official said.

The Delhi LG had sent the mercy petition of Mukesh to the Home Ministry on Thursday, a day after the Delhi government recommended its rejection.

The four convicts -- Mukesh Singh (32), Vinay Sharma (26), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) were to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar Jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.

However, the Delhi government had informed the high court during a hearing that execution of the convicts will not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea has been filed by Mukesh.

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