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.

Comments

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
March 2,2020

Mar 2: Two more positive cases of the novel coronavirus -- one in Delhi and another in Telangana -were reported, the Union Health Ministry said on Monday.

The person from Delhi had travelled to Italy, it said adding he is being diagnosed at RML hospital.

The other person with the coronavirus infection has a travel history to Dubai, the ministry added.

"Both the patients are stable and being closely monitored," the ministry said.

Sunitha Krishnan is the name of the patient from Telangana and she is a social activist.

Krishnan has tweeted, "So going to enjoy hospitality at Gandhi Hospital for two days as admitted in the isolation ward suspected coronavirus. They have not started the tests yet( 1.30 hrs since I arrived).I believe the results make take 48hrs. At this pace, I have a feeling I am might be here sometime."

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News Network
June 3,2020

Jammu, Jun 3: A mob on Tuesday disrupted the last rites of a coronavirus victim in Jammu and Kashmir and forced his family members to flee with the half-burnt body, prompting intervention by the administration which later ensured the cremation at another place as per protocol.

A 72-year-old man, hailing from Doda district, became the fourth victim of the novel coronavirus to die in Jammu region. He breathed his last at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital on Monday.

"We had set out for the funeral along with a revenue official and a medical team, and had lit the pyre at a cremation ground in Domana area when a large group of local residents appeared at the scene and disrupted the last rites," son of the deceased said.

Only close relatives of the deceased, including his wife and two sons, were present during the cremation. They had to flee with the half-burnt body in an ambulance to save their skin from the mob which pelted stones and attacked them with sticks.

"We had sought permission from the government to take the body to our home district for the last rites, but we were told that all necessary arrangements were in place, and that we would not face any trouble during the cremation," the victim's son said.

He also alleged that the security officials present at the scene were of no help.

Two policemen who were present there failed to act against the unruly crowd, while the accompanying revenue official went missing, he said.

"The ambulance driver and other staff from the hospital helped us a lot and managed to take us back to the GMC hospital with the body the government should have come out with a better plan to conduct the last rites of coronavirus victims, taking into consideration the past experience and problems encountered during the funeral of such victims," the victim's son said.

Later, the body was taken to a cremation ground at Bhagwati Nagar area of the city, where it was consigned to flames in the afternoon in presence of senior civil officials, including additional deputy commissioner and sub-divisional magistrate under tight security.

"My uncle was admitted in the hospital last week and died on Monday afternoon. He was suffering from various ailments, especially lungs and heart diseases. Before shifting him to GMC hospital Jammu, he underwent a coronavirus test in Doda which came negative," nephew of the deceased said.

However, he said, the victim's second test after his admission in the GMC hospital came positive on Sunday.

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: Celebrations broke out at the AAP headquarters here as early vote-counting trends for the Delhi Assembly polls on Tuesday showed a comfortable victory for the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led party.

The headquarters were decorated with blue and white balloons and big cut-outs of Kejriwal were placed in different parts of the party office.

"We knew it. We have changed the politics of this country. Now it is Delhi, next is India," said Sanjeev Singh, a party volunteer from Hari Nagar.

Another volunteer Fareen Khan said, "We hope we get such a clear majority that a message goes out that doing Hindu-Muslim politics will not work anymore."

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is leading in 26 seats while the BJP is leading in 14 seats, according to early trends by the Election Commission.

According to the EC's website, AAP convenor Kejriwal is leading in his New Delhi constituency.

Kejriwal reached the party office as the counting of votes got underway.

Counting centres are spread across 21 locations, spanning 70 constituencies.

Polling for the 70-member Delhi Assembly was held on Saturday.

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