Robert Vadra to face CBI heat as probe to begin in Bikaner land deals case

Agencies
August 31, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 31: After registering a case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and AAP minister Satyendra Jain, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now going to probe the land scam involving Robert Vadra, the son-in law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The CBI registered 18 FIRs on Wednesday after the BJP-led Rajasthan government asked for a probe into alleged land scams in Bikaner.

Separate FIRs were registered under several sections of IPC regarding a series of transactions of land allotted in lieu of Mahajan Firing range in Bikaner, of which Vadra's companies also made a few purchases and later sold them at a hefty profit. The case emerged in 2014 when the state cancelled 18 mutations, that is, transfer of ownership in Bikaner, after finding them to be illegal.

The land was illegally allotted or possessed in 2006-07 by some villagers who were "wrongfully" shown as farmers displaced by Mahajan Field Firing Range of the army.

Land Scam

While those who had actually lost the land were rehabilitated in the 90s, it was alleged that several parties, including Vadra's company, had purchased large amounts of land.

The CBI investigations are likely to land a few influential people from the region, including some Congress leaders, in trouble. Vadra came into the picture at a later stage and most of the land he purchased in the name of a few companies had already exchanged hands a few times.

At one point, he was the director of more than one company whose net land holding in that area exceeded land ceiling by a small margin, but he once clarified that the excess land was surrendered.

However, he faced the allegation of buying land on being sounded by Congress governments at the center and the state about proposed setting up of solar parks - which got the rock bottom land prices to skyrocket at once. Yet, the profit he made was estimated to be only a few crores - a meager amount compared to what his land deals in Gurugram are alleged to have yielded.

CBI Investigations to Bring Trouble

Some of the lands he sold were bought by the state's Congress leaders. The state government, according to home minister Gulab Chand Kataria, found it difficult to investigate the web of transactions and alleged violations. There were also allegations that Vadra had bought a lot more than what has been reported, but these claims remain unsubstantiated. This shows that either the Vasundhara Raje government in the state was reluctant to nail Vadra or it did not find enough substance to go after him and therefore decided to send the cases to the CBI. There have been a few arrests in the past, and CBI investigations are expected to bring trouble for many more.

This is why, Vadra may be interrogated by CBI and end up facing charges of wrongdoings such as buying from those who had bought it fraudulently or exceeding land ceiling at one point.

Vadra had earlier claimed that he was innocent and was being targeted. He took to Facebook to vent his ire and wrote, "Another attempt of malicious prosecution exposed. First, Rajasthan police filed a FIR on 26 August 2014. In 3 years, they filed the chargesheets, summoned documents, as also company officials, yet found not an iota of evidence. Neither the FIR nor the chargesheets accuse the companies associated with me in any manner whatsoever."

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News Network
May 21,2020

London, May 21: Working mothers in Europe and the United States are taking on most of the extra housework and childcare created by lockdown - and many are struggling to cope, a survey showed on Thursday.

Women with children now spend an average 65 hours a week on the unpaid chores - nearly a third more than fathers - according to the Boston Consulting Group, which questioned parents in five countries.

"Women have been doing too much household work for too long, and this crisis is pushing them to a point that's simply unsustainable," Rachel Thomas, of U.S.-based women's rights group LeanIn.Org, said in response to the data.

"We need a major culture shift in our homes and in our companies ... We should use this moment to build a better way to work and live – one that's fair for everybody."

Researchers say fallout from the pandemic weighs on women in a host of ways, be it in rising domestic violence or in lower wages, as some women cut paid work to take on the new duties.

With lockdowns shutting schools and keeping citizens at home, creating a mountain of domestic work, public campaigns from Georgia to Mexico have urged men to do their fair share.

But women, who on average already do more at home than men, are now shouldering most of the new coronavirus burden, too, said the survey of more than 3,000 working parents in the United States, Britain, Italy, Germany and France.

Women's unpaid hours at home have nearly doubled to 65 hours a week, said the survey, against 50 logged by an average father.

British women are more likely to support others in the COVID-19 pandemic and are finding it harder to stay positive, according to separate analysis released this week by polling firm Ipsos MORI and feminist organisation The Fawcett Society.

It is "no surprise" to see women do more childcare and housekeeping on top of their day jobs, Jacqui Hunt of women's rights group Equality Now, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

However, there are "hopeful signs" that men in West Africa are sharing more childcare during the pandemic in a shift in social norms, found a small rapid analysis by humanitarian organisation CARE International released on Wednesday.

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Agencies
February 14,2020

Lucknow, Feb 14: Uttar Pradesh doctor Kafeel Khan was on Friday booked under the National Security Act (NSA) over his alleged anti-CAA speech at Aligarh Muslim University on December 12, 2019.

The Uttar Pradesh slapped NSA on Kafeel Khan on Friday even as the doctor waited to be released from jail despite being granted bail on Monday in connection with his alleged inflammatory speech.

SP Crime Dr Arvind said that there were sufficient grounds to book the doctor under NSA.

The suspended pediatrician, Kafeel Khan, was arrested for allegedly delivering a controversial speech during Anti-CAA protests on December 12 at the Aligarh Muslim University or AMU. While he was granted bail on Monday, his family members claimed on Thursday that he was yet to be released.

Dr Kafeel Khan's brother Adeel Ahmed Khan had issued a statement saying that despite being granted bail Mathura jail authorities had not honoured the court's order.

Dr Kafeel Khan was arrested by the UP Special Task Force from Mumbai on January 29 for participating anti-CAA protest at AMU. A case was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station here for promoting enmity between different religions.

After his arrest in Mumbai, Dr Khan was brought to Aligarh, from where he was shifted to the district jail in neighbouring Mathura.

According to police, this was done as a precautionary measure in view of the anti-CAA protests on the AMU campus and at the Eidgah grounds in the old city. Police had said that the Dr Khan's presence in the Aligarh jail could have aggravated the law and order situation in the city.

The doctor was earlier arrested for his alleged role in the death of over 60 children in one week at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur in August 2017. Short supply of oxygen at the children's ward was blamed at that time for the deaths.

About two years later, a state government probe cleared Khan of all major charges, prompting him to seek an apology from the Yogi Adityanath government.

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News Network
April 20,2020

New Delhi, Apr 20: With 1,553 more COVID-19 cases, India's total number of coronavirus cases has reached 17,265, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Monday.

Out of the total cases, 14,175 cases are active, while 2,547 people have been cured/discharged/migrated and 543 deaths have been reported, as per the ministry.

As many as 36 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Maharashtra continues to be the worst-affected state with a total of 4,203 cases. While 507 patients have recovered, 223 deaths have been reported.

Delhi comes next with 2,003 cases, out of which 72 patients have recovered while 45 patients have died.

Rajasthan has confirmed 1,478 cases, out of which 183 people have recovered while 14 patients are dead.

Tamil Nadu has reported 1,477 cases, out of which 411 have recovered and 15 have succumbed to the virus.

Madhya Pradesh has reported 1,407 cases, including 127 patients recovered and 70 patients dead. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh has 1,084 COVID-19 positive cases.

In Kerala, which reported the country's first COVID-19 case, 402 people have been detected positive for coronavirus.

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