Combative Maran accuses CBI of 'fixing', claims RSS link

January 22, 2015

Chennai, Jan 22: A day after CBI arrested his close aide and two others in illegal telephone exchange case, former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran today charged the agency with trying "to fix" him to please an RSS leader from Tamil Nadu.Dayanidhi Maran

"CBI should be a fact-finding machine and not a fixing one.... I am being singled out. CBI is fixing me to please an RSS ideologue from Tamil Nadu," a combative Maran told reporters here after briefing DMK chief M Karunanidhi on the developments. He, however, did not name anyone.

Maran, who is facing CBI heat, alleged that the investigating agency was compelling the three arrested persons to complain against him and that they were even tortured to give "false statement".

CBI had yesteday arrested V Gowthaman, then Additional Private Secretary of Dayanidhi Maran, and two others in connection with alleged allotment of more than 300 high-speed telephone lines to the the former Telecom Minister's residence in Chennai which were extended to his brother's TV channel.

CBI had named Maran and BSNL officials, including the then Chief General Manager K Bramhanathan and MP Veluswami in the FIR filed in October 2013.

"...after eight years, they are just fixing this case. They have arrested three people. Irony is they have been ill-treated and were forced to give false statement. When they refused, they were arrested. They were compelled to complain against me. Third degree treatment was meted out to them," " Maran alleged.

Asserting that he would fight out the case, Maran hit out at CBI, saying "Is CBI trying to impress the RSS ideologue from Tamil Nadu? The telephone line still functions in my residence....CBI wants to pass the buck, I have no choice but to fight it out."

"CBI has filed FIR against me alleging when I was the telecom minister and there was excess use of telephone connection. I have explained. This investigation has been going on for eight years", he said.

He said for the last 18 months the arrested people have been called by CBI and they cooperated in all the investigation procedures.

The arrested persons included Chief Technical Officer S Kannan and electrician L S Ravi of Sun TV network.

"They were also promised if they give such a statement against me, they will be allowed to go," Maran claimed.

"The case was foisted against me during the UPA regime. The intellectual from Tamil Nadu fixed it, it was done by him," he said.

"There is only one telephone connection.... I will be writing to the CBI on this matter", he said.

CBI has alleged that nearly 323 residential lines were allegedly in the name of the BSNL General Manager connecting the Boat House residence of Maran with the office of Sun TV through a dedicated underground cable during his tenure as Telecom Minister.

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News Network
June 5,2020

Jun 5: Meerut Police on Thursday claimed that around 13,500 mobile phones in the country are running on the same IMEI, the number used to identify the device.

A case of fraud has been registered against the mobile phone manufacturing company and its service center, the police said.

The matter surfaced, after police personnel gave his mobile phone to the staff at cybercrime cell for examination, as the new phone was not working properly despite being repaired, Meerut SP (city) Akhilesh N Singh said.

The cyber cell found that around 13,500 other mobile phones are also running on the same International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) as that of the police personnel's phone, the superintendent of police said.

He said the matter is a serious security issue.

Prima facie it appears to be negligence on part of the mobile phone company and criminals can use it to their advantage, Singh said.

He said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law at a Medical police station and a team of experts has been called to look into the matter.

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News Network
January 9,2020

New Delhi, Jan 9: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will be visiting India next week and is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials, besides industry leaders, according to sources.

The top executive will also attend SMBhav – an event focussing on small and medium businesses in India - that is slated for January 15-16 in the capital city.

When contacted, Amazon declined to comment.

Amazon, which has seen significant growth in its business in India, has also witnessed protest from a section of traders in the country who claim that e-commerce giants including Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart offer deep discounts and engage in unfair business practices.

Last year, the government had tightened rules for e-commerce marketplaces with foreign investment. These rules barred such platforms from offering products of sellers in which they hold a stake and banned exclusive marketing arrangements among other clauses. Following this, Amazon restructured its joint ventures to ensure compliance.

Bezos is likely to discuss regulatory issues in his meeting with the government officials.

He is also slated to engage with SMBs during the SMBhav event. The event - which will focus on discussions around how technology adoption can enable SMBs in India - is slated to see participation from industry experts, policymakers, solution providers and Amazon leadership.

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News Network
March 4,2020

New Delhi, Mar 4: A court in Delhi on Wednesday convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the death of the Unnao rape victim's father.

District judge Dharmesh Sharma said Sengar had no intention of killing the victim's father. “He was beaten in a brutal manner that led to his death,” the judge said.

The court had sent Sengar to jail on December 20 for the “remainder of his natural biological life” for raping the woman in 2017, when she was a minor.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had examined 55 witnesses in support of the case and the defence examined nine witnesses.

The court had recorded the statements of the rape survivor's uncle, mother, sister and one of her father's colleague who claimed to be an eyewitness to the incident.

Charges were framed against Sengar, his brother Atul, Bhadauria, sub-inspector Kamta Prasad, constable Amir Khan and six others in the case.

The case was transferred to Delhi from a trial court in Uttar Pradesh on the directions of the Supreme Court on August 1 last year.

In July, 2019 a truck rammed into the car the rape victim was travelling in with some family members and her lawyer.

Two of her aunts died in the incident. She was airlifted from a hospital in Lucknow and to AIIMS in Delhi.

The victim has been provided accommodation in Delhi and is under CRPF protection.

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