India to push for action against terror at G-20

November 15, 2015

New Delhi, Nov 15: After a series of deadly terror attacks in Paris, India is set to raise its pitch to seek stronger global actions against the menace, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to call upon G-20 leaders assembling in Turkey to push for early adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the United Nations.

namoThe G-20 summit at Antalya in Turkey on Sunday and Monday seems set to be overshadowed by Paris attacks and Modi is likely to stress that the fight against terrorism and sponsors of terrorism will require greater and more effective international cooperation. He will argue that the global consensus against terrorism should not be allowed to be held back by a few and the world must unequivocally reject “selective approaches” in combating terrorism.

The prime minister will join other G-20 leaders for a dinner in Antalaya on Sunday to discuss global terrorism and refugee crisis. He is likely to call for international efforts to counter ideology that underpins extremism and draws youths to terrorism, officials told Deccan Herald in New Delhi.

Modi will also refer to anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan. He is likely to recall the November 26-29, 2008 terror strikes in Mumbai and call upon world leaders to nudge the Pakistan government to bring to justice the masterminds of the attacks, which had left over 170 killed and countless others injured. The similarity between 26/11 attacks in Mumbai and the string of terror strikes in Paris late on Friday already caught the attention of the international community.

Though the G-20 generally focuses on international economy, Turkey, which currently holds the presidency of the bloc, also included in the agenda issues related terrorism, with particular emphasis in the situation in Iraq and Syria, where Islamic State still controls large territories.

Modi, who was on a visit to London till Saturday, and British Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday agreed to continue to work together to disrupt all financial and tactical support for terrorist networks to prevent terror strikes and to counter violent extremism, including through exchanges of best practices and technologies.

New Delhi has of late sharpened its criticism against the United Nations Security Council for its “less than robust” response to the threat of terrorism, especially in Asia and Africa.

“The increasing number and brutality of terrorist acts meanwhile vividly illustrates the ineffectiveness of the (UN Security) Council to counter terrorism,” Ashoke Mukherjee, Permanent Representative of India to the UN, told the General Assembly of the international organisation on Thursday.

India is likely to redouble efforts to end impasse in the negotiations over the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, which New Delhi has been pushing for since 1996.

Though a draft text of the CCIT is pending before the General Assembly since 2008, negotiations are currently deadlocked, primarily due to disagreements over the definition of terrorism.

“I would like the UN that is celebrating its 70th anniversary to not waste anytime in defining terrorism,” Modi said in London on Saturday.

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News Network
May 11,2020

London, May 11: Fugitive diamond merchant Nirav Modi's five-day extradition trial over the nearly USD2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud and money laundering case is set to begin in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court today.

The London High Court rejected Nirav Modi's bail plea in Punjab National Bank (PNB) bank fraud case for the fifth time in early March.

Modi, the prime accused in the PNB fraud case, is currently lodged at Wandsworth prison in south-west London and is wanted for his alleged role in the Rs 13,570 crore loss caused to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) along with his uncle, Mehul Choksi.

Modi, 48, was arrested in March last year by Scotland Yard in connection with the case.

Modi was remanded in custody till February 27, 2020, after he appeared before a UK court on Thursday via video link from his London prison.

The latest bail hearing followed further assurances by Modi, including an increase in the amount of security he had offered as a guarantee as well as stricter bail conditions.

On his last bail application, Modi offered USD 4 million as a security guarantee in return for bail, an offer that was rejected by judges who ruled that there was a real risk that Modi would flee the UK to a country which has no extradition treaty with India.

At the same hearing, the judge ruled that there was "strong evidence" that Modi had engaged in "witness intimidation" and destroying evidence.

Given the seriousness of such allegations, it was all but certain that the latest bail application would be rejected.

Modi's lawyers had contended that their client was being held in difficult conditions at Wandsworth prison and had also claimed that his mental health was deteriorating as a result of his incarceration.

However, ruling at the High Court today, Justice Ian Dove said there was a "clear need for this application to be refused in the present circumstances."

It comes just days after the second sale of assets belonging to Modi valued at millions of dollars.

The items include a luxury Rolls Royce car, a Patek Philippe watch and a painting by the renowned Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil valued at USD 2.5 million but expected to fetch considerably more.

Meanwhile, Nirav's brother Neeshal Modi, who is also one of the co-conspirators in the PNB scam, has written to Enforcement Directorate, distancing himself from his brother's actions and said that he had no knowledge of it.

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Agencies
June 10,2020

New Delhi, Jun 10: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday brought back over 2,300 kg of polished diamonds and pearls worth Rs 1,350 crore of firms belonging to Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi from Hong Kong, officials said.

Out of the 108 consignments that landed at Mumbai, 32 belong to overseas entities "controlled" by Modi while the rest are of Mehul Choksi firms.

Both the businessmen are being probed by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an over USD 2 billion alleged bank fraud at a PNB branch in Mumbai.

The valuables include polished diamonds, pearls and silver jewellery, and is worth Rs 1,350 crore. 

The ED completed "all legal formalities" with authorities in Hong Kong to bring back these valuables, the agency said.

These will formally seized under the PMLA now, it said.

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News Network
May 28,2020

New Delhi, May 28: BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra has been admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon after he showed symptoms of COVID-19, sources said.

He is admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurgaon, hospital sources said on Thursday.

The BJP leader has shown symptoms of COVID-19, a source said.

Patra is one of the most visible BJP faces on news channels.

He is also very active on social media and posted several tweets on Thursday as well.

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