Tit for tat: India expels US diplomat involved in Khobragade case

January 10, 2014

New Delhi, Jan 10: India Friday expelled an American diplomat involved in the case of Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade after she was told to fly home following her indictment by a US grand jury.

Official sources said the US embassy was "asked to withdraw forthwith a US diplomat of similar rank as Khobragade".

embassy

"We have reason to believe that the officer was closely involved in the processes related to the (Khobragade case) and the subsequent unilateral action by the US side," a source said.

The US embassy could not be immediately reached for comments. The name of the expelled American diplomat was not known.

Khobragade, arrested and strip-searched for alleged visa fraud last month, was asked to leave the US after being formally indicted by a US grand jury Thursday.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin earlier said that Khobragade had been given a G1 visa with full diplomatic immunity, and was on her way back to India.

Khobragade's handcuffing and strip-search Dec 12 for alleged visa fraud and for allegedly underpaying her child's nanny caused a major row between New Delhi and Washington.

At the time of her arrest, Devyani, 39, was India's deputy consul general in New York.

Prosecutors said that after Khobragade was granted immunity, US officials told her to leave the country.

In a statement after the grand jury hearing, her lawyer Daniel Arshack said Khobragade "is pleased to be returning to her country.

"Her head is held high. She knows she has done no wrong and she looks forward to assuring that the truth is known".

Her father Uttam Khobragade thanked the Indian government for his daughter's return.

"It is only because of the entire Indian government's effort, my daughter is returning to India with full diplomatic immunity," he said.

The external affairs ministry said Khobragade was accorded Jan 8 the privileges and immunities of a diplomatic envoy.

"At the same time, the US government requested the government of India to waive (her) immunity.

"On Jan 9, India declined to do so and transferred Khobragade to the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi."

Khobragade reiterated her innocence. "She also affirmed her determination to ensure that the episode would not leave a lasting impact on her family, in particular, her children, who are still in the US," an official statement said.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

New Delhi, May 31: The income tax department has notified forms for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2019-20.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified Sahaj (ITR-1), Form ITR-2, Form ITR-3, Form Sugam (ITR-4), Form ITR-5, Form ITR-6, Form ITR-7 and Form ITR-V for the assessment year 2020-21.

The department has revised the I-T return forms for the financial year 2019-20 to allow assessees to avail benefits of various timeline extension granted by the government following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The government has extended various timelines under the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance, 2020.

Accordingly, the time for making investment or payments for claiming deduction under Chapter-VIA-B of IT Act that include Section 80C (LIC, PPF, NSC etc.), 80D (Mediclaim) and 80G (Donations) for the financial year 2019-20 had been extended to June 30, 2020.

ClearTax founder and CEO Archit Gupta said, "The new forms require a separate table to disclose tax saving investment made in the first quarter of 2020 for availing them in FY 2019-20. Taxpayers must assess their tax liability for FY 2019-20 and make sure they are maximising their Section 80C benefits if not already done so."

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News Network
March 31,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 31: Kerala Chief

Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said the government has collected the details of those who took part from the state in recent religious congregations in Nizamuddin and Malaysia and it needs to be examined if they have any health issues.

"Police have already made detailed examination in this regard. Thelist of participants have been given through respectivedistrictcollectors. Necessary precautions will be made in the concerned districts in this regard," Vijayan told reporters here.

The government has the exact number of participants and thedetails of the districts they are hailing from, he said.

Meanwhile, Pathananthitta police said they have identified 6 persons in the district in connection with the Nizamuddin congregation.

"Three persons had taken part in the congregation, of them one hadalready died. One person is in quarantine in the district while theother is located now in Thiruvananrhapuram," a senior police officialtold PTI.

The others are not participants but had travelled to Delhi along with them, he said.

In the nearby Alappuzha district, three persons have been identified in connection with the congregation, police said.

"They have been in quarantine and under the surveillance of thehealth department since they have reached back the state from Delhi," another official said.

Several people, who had attended the religious congregation at Nizamuddin in the national capital are suspected to be having symptoms of Covid19, even as at least 24 have tested positive.

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News Network
May 8,2020

New Delhi, May 8: India's count of COVID-19 cases on Friday rose to 56,342 including 1,886 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Currently, there are 37,916 active cases while 16,539 COVID-19 positive patients have been cured/discharged and one has migrated.

Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 18,120 followed by Gujarat with 7,013 cases and Delhi with 5,980 cases.

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