Mumbai: Dear Mr Azmi, this cheque of Rs 2 crore will bounce

August 23, 2012

raj_takrey

Mumbai, August 23: Find Bangladeshis, get Rs 2 crore. That was Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Asim Azmi’s singular challenge to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday. While blaming ‘illegal immigrants’ to the city for the August 11 violence at Azad Maidan, Raj had alleged during his rally on Tuesday that Azmi — a Maharashtra MLA — had won the 2009 polls because of the Bangladeshi voters in his constituency.

“Raj Thackeray says there are lakhs of Bangladeshis in my constituency. I will give Rs 2 crore if he shows even one lakh Bangladeshis and Pakistanis in Bhiwandi,” Azmi said at a press conference in Mumbai. He even flaunted the Rs 2 crore cheque on the occasion. Bear in mind the cheque has been issued on a Samajwadi Party account.

On Raj Thackeray displaying a purported Bangladeshi passport at the MNS protest, Azmi said, “The throwing of passport should be inquired into. It is a serious offence.”

Where’s the money?

Even as Azmi’s grandstanding was being commended by party leaders, MiD DAY paid a visit to Citizen Credit Co-operative Bank Ltd at Colaba, where the particular account exists. While the manager wasn’t available, another officer informed us that anyone who deposits such a huge amount in an account should confirm the situation with the branch. He also claimed he has never seen Azmi entering the premises.

We then contacted Ganesh Kumar Gupta, the SP treasurer in Maharashtra, to check on the availability of funds. Also, the cheque displayed yesterday had Gupta’s signature along with Azmi’s. But, initially the treasurer appeared oblivious of any such development. In fact he was shocked to hear the amount and the person in whose name the cheque had been written.

“For the last 20 years my party has been in deficit. We do not get any funds except the membership fees. I would have to verify if any large amounts have accumulated in the last two months,” he told this reporter.

Gupta immediately called up Azmi to confirm the facts. Then his tone changed. “Yes, today at the press conference we issued a cheque. The funds do not matter, because we are sure Raj Thackeray won’t be able to prove his allegations.”

While Azmi desires to put up banners pertaining to the cheque at Shivaji Park in Dadar among other parts of Mumbai, Gupta, now extremely excited, went ahead and announced that the reward can go up to Rs 4 crore. “Let him prove that there are illegal immigrants. We will hike the prize to Rs 4 crore. We are certain Raj won’t be able to corroborate anything,” said Gupta.

Azmi speaks

When Azmi realised his party treasurer had told MiD Day too much, he called up this reporter and said, “I am someone whose cheques never bounce. If this cheque bounces, I will quit politics. Also the account has over Rs 1 crore. If needed I can arrange for Rs 3 crore within a day.”

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Financially troubled Yes Bank on Saturday reported a standalone net loss of ₹ 18,560.31 crore for the third quarter of the financial year 2019-20. This is amongst the biggest losses reported by the India Inc.

At present, the private lender is under a moratorium and is controlled by the office of the administrator appointed by the RBI.

The bank had reported a net profit of ₹1,001.85 crore during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

Besides, the bank's total income fell to Rs 6,268.50 crore from Rs 8,849.81 crore earned during the October-December quarter of the previous fiscal.

On consolidated basis, Yes Bank reported a net loss of ₹18,564.24 crore for the December quarter from a net profit of Rs 1,000.57 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The independent auditor's review report on the consolidated results pointed out that there is a "material uncertainty related to going concern" of the bank.

"The said assumption of going concern is dependent upon the degree of success of the final reconstruction scheme, the quantum of capital infused into the bank and the bank's ability to stabalise its deposit balances post withdrawal of the moratorium by the RBI. Our conclusion is not modified in respect of this matter," the auditor said.

Furthermore, the bank recognised additional loans of ₹ 5,150.2 crore as NPAs and related provisioning requirements of ₹772.5 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

The bank has recognised an additional provisions of ₹15,422.0 crore in the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

Last week, the RBI placed Yes Bank under moratorium and capped the withdrawal limit at ₹50,000 till next Wednesday.

Additionally, the central bank also superseded Yes Bank's board of directors and appointed former SBI CFO Prashant Kumar as its administrator.

Meanwhile, Kumar has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the financially troubled lender. He will take over his new responsibilities once the moratorium on the stressed lender is lifted on Wednesday.

Apart from Kumar, Sunil Mehta, former non-executive Chairman of Punjab National Bank, will take over as the non-executive Chairman of Yes Bank.

Other board members include Mahesh Krishnamurthy and Atul Bheda, both as non-executive Directors.

Additionally, six private lenders have joined the SBI to rescue Yes Bank with Federal Bank committing ₹300 crore by subscribing to 30 crore shares of ₹2 each at a premium of ₹8 per equity share.

The six private lenders have now committed an investment of ₹3,700 crore in the cash-strapped private sector bank.

On Friday, ICICI Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Ltd had announced that they will be investing ₹1,000 crore each in Yes Bank's equity. Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank will be investing ₹ 600 crore and ₹500 crore, respectively, while Bandhan Bank will invest ₹300 crore.

The SBI board has already approved up to 49 per cent stake purchase in Yes Bank, as per the RBI's reconstruction scheme for the lender. It had said on Thursday that an investment of ₹7,250 crore would be made in Yes Bank to pick up₹ 725 crore equity shares.

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News Network
June 30,2020

New Delhi, Jun 30: Amid calls for boycotting Chinese products after India-China face-off in eastern Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government claiming that imports from China have increased under the NDA regime.

"Facts don't lie. BJP says: Make in India. BJP does: Buy from China," Gandhi tweeted along with a graphic of the percentage of imports from China during the UPA rule and the NDA government.

The graphic claims that imports from China were at 12-13 per cent when the Congress-led UPA government vacated office in 2014 but now stood at 17-18 per cent in 2020.

The Congress leader has been vehemently targeting the Centre on the India-China border situation after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in violent face-off with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan valley earlier this month.

Indian intercepts have revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties, including dead and seriously injured, in the face-off.

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Agencies
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: Suspended Deputy Superintendent of J&K Police Davinder Singh had ferried Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Naveed Babu to Jammu last year also and facilitated his return to Shopian after "rest and recuperation", officials interrogating him said here Tuesday.

"Meri mati maari gayi thi (I must have lost my mind to do what I did)," an interrogator quoted Singh as saying after the DSP failed to impress them with his theory of catching a big terrorist.

Singh was arrested last Saturday along with Naveed Babu alias Babar Azam, a resident of Nazneenpora in South Kashmir's Shopian district, and his associate Asif Ahmad.

He is believed to have taken Rs 12 lakh for smuggling the two to Chandigarh for providing them accommodation for a couple of months, officials said. The officials, who have been spending considerable time questioning Singh, said there have been many inconsistencies in his statements and everything was being crosschecked and corroborated with the confessions of captured militants who have been kept in different rooms at an interrogation centre in South Kashmir.

During questioning it emerged that Singh had taken them to Jammu in 2019 also, the officials said.

In a tone laced with sarcasm, they said the DSP was taking the militants for "rest and recuperation".

Naveed told the interrogators that they used to stay in the hilly regions to avoid the J&K police and left the areas to escape harsh winters, they said.

The official said the DSP's bank accounts and other assets were being verified by the police and papers were being collected, amid speculations that the case may be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Going into the service history of Singh, majority of retired and serving officials of the JKP spoken to referred to a proverb -- coming events cast their shadows long before -- to say that if action had been taken against the officer during his probation period, such things would not have happened.

Recruited in 1990 as a sub-inspector, Singh along with another probationary officer were subject of an internal enquiry where some narcotics had been seized from a truck. However, the contraband was sold by Singh and another sub-inspector, the officials recalled.

There was a move to dismiss them from the service which was stalled by an Inspector General rank officer purely on humanitarian ground and the duo was shifted to the Special Operations Group, a team of policemen engaged in counter-militancy offensive.

However, he could not last there for long and was shifted this time to the police lines only to be rehabilitated in 1997 again in the SOG.

During this period, he was posted in Budgam and is alleged to have indulged in extortion for which he was sent back to the police lines.

His proper rehabilitation began in 2015 by the then Director General of Police K Rajendra, who posted him in district headquarters of Shopian and Pulwama, the officials said.

However, after some alleged wrongdoing during his stint in Pulwama, the then Director General of Police S P Vaid transferred him in August 2018 to the sensitive Anti-Hijacking Unit in Srinagar, though the move was opposed by some other officers.

An advocate, Irfan Ahmad Mir, was driving the vehicle when they were caught by the police on National Highway in Kulgam district.

The advocate, who has also been arrested, had travelled to Pakistan five times on an Indian passport.

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