3 exMCD officials, property dealer get 4 years in jail

Three former officials of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and a property dealer have been sent to four years in jail by a Delhi court in a case of fraudulent allotment of plots meant for slum dwellers.

The convicted were retired joint director of MCD’s slums and JJ department and head of lock committee Kundan Lal, committee members Ram Charan Kamal and Shankar Sahni, and property dealer RS Sandhu. There were charged of attempt to cheat, forgery, using forged documents as genuine, and criminal conspiracy under Indian Penal Code and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act.

“Considering the nature of offence, no lenient view can be taken against the convicts. Lal, Kamal and Sahni held an extremely powerful position and they were to charter the course of destiny of the deserving, poor JJ dwellers by allotting plots to them,” said Special Judge Hemani Malhotra.

The court noted that the three public servants joined hands with Sandhu to deprive the owners of their rights to possess plots against their shanties.

“We, as citizens of India, are under a moral obligation to crush the ugly head of corruption, so that it may not raise its head again,” the judge said.

But the BJP, in some ways, can weather a loss. The implications are even more serious for the Congress, which has suffered a spate of electoral setbacks in the past three years.

Exit polls forecast a neckand-neck race between Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, where the ruling coalition, of which the BJP is a member, faces a drubbing. If Arvind Kejriwal wins, Congress’ very space as the principal opposition to the BJP will be under test.

In UP, while the Congress is the junior partner in an alliance with the Samajwadi Party, a win would mark a return to Lucknow Secretariat after 27 years. A loss in Manipur would mean the party loses yet another state after Assam in the region. In Goa, Congress prospects depends on whether it can capitalise on anti-incumbency, while in Uttarakhand, it depends on if it can beat anti-incumbency.

“This election is important for it will tell us if the Congress party has a future. BJP can weather a moderate to poor showing, but a defeat across the board would be a big blow to the Congress,” adds Mehta.

A spectacular performance by the BJP could also lead to renewed attempts by opposition parties to forge a ‘mahagathbandhan’, or grand alliance, along the lines of one which was instrumental in the BJP’s defeat in Bihar assembly polls in 2015.

But if the BJP fails to impress, it might force the NDA government to abandon fiscal pru- dence in favour of populism. Poll reverses would give voice to Modi’s critics within the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, making the NDA government vulnerable to pressures.

Similarly, should the AAP trump the Congress in Punjab, it would become the only regional party that would have a government beyond the boundary of one state—in this case the union territory of Delhi. That might pitchfork the AAP at the national political centre-stage as a rallying force for anti-BJP parties.

Another 36 people, including nine SSB personnel, were injured in Thursday’s clash. Movement across the border was suspended after the violence.

Gautam’s death created tension in Kanchanpur and hundreds protested outside the hospital where his body was kept. Nepal deployed armed police contingents to control the situation.

Nepal’s foreign secretary Shanker Das Bairagi summoned India’s deputy chief of mission, Vinay Kumar, and handed over a “diplomatic note” that sought a probe. The Nepali side asked India to “stop such inimical activates”.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval spoke to Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed sorrow over the incident.

Doval told Pracahanda India will extend all possible cooperation and requested Nepalese authorities to provide the autopsy report and other information on the incident, an official statement said. Prachanda said he hoped India would take stern action against the guilty after a probe.

Local officials from both sides held a meeting and “agreed to maintain peace and order”, he said.

The auditor was not convinced. “While audit appreciates the savings realized in maintenance cost and interest payments, such savings cannot justify the shortcomings of the sale process.”

The CAG suggested the airline should monetise more of its assets faster to reduce its debt burden and speed up the leasing of narrow-body aircraft to improve its performance.

The auditor said inordinate delay in replacing its vintage fleet of A320 aircraft has defeated the objective of reducing maintenance costs.

The government is expected to use the CAG report to evaluate the progress of Air India’s restructuring, after it was bailed out in 2012 with $5.8 billion of taxpayer’s money. The amount of bailout funds given to the airline could be reassessed as it has breached loan limits set under the restructuring plan.

The increase in loans was “due to failure in generating projected revenue, mainly on account of non-achievement of asset-monetisation target, increase in staff costs”, the report says.

(With agency inputs)

Vrinda Grover, another defence lawyer, said the police had exaggerated weak evidence to “over-awe the judiciary”. The 13 workers convicted of murder were all prominent leaders of the Maruti trade union, she added.

To illustrate her argument, Grover said 89 workers were arrested on the testimonies of four labour contractors who claimed they saw the workers rioting in alphabetical order: Virendra Yadav said he saw 25 workers – whose names ran from the letters A to G – riot in one part of the plant, while Yaad Ram saw 25 workers – with names ranging from G to P – go on a rampage elsewhere. Ashok Rana witnessed another 26 with names ranging between P and S indulge in criminal activities, while the last contractor – Rakesh – recalled seeing 13 rioting workers with names figuring between the letters S and Y.

These names, Grover claimed, were mentioned on the basis of an alphabetical list pro- vided in advance by the Maruti Suzuki management. “These workers were jailed for years without bail on the basis of this shoddy investigation,” Grover said, “The police officers who framed these workers should be prosecuted.”

“Not having minesweeping capabilities can have deadly consequences,” said Sudarshan Shrikhande, a retired rear admiral. “Even modified fishing trawlers can be used for laying mines, multiplying the threat at the sub-conventional level.”

So, how has the navy landed into this mess?

The MCMV tender for eight vessels was floated nearly a decade ago, with Kangnam emerging as the frontrunner for the order. However, the government scrapped the tender in 2014 amid allegations that the Korean firm had hired middlemen to swing things in its favour.

In February 2015, the Centre nominated the GSL to build minesweepers in partnership with a foreign shipyard. It was later clarified that the previous tender was scrapped due to “procedural issues”, and Kangnam could compete again because it was not on the government’s blacklist.

GOVT EXPECTED TO USE CAG REPORT TO STUDY PROGRESS OF AI’S RESTRUCTURING AFTER IT WAS BAILED OUT IN 2012 WITH $5.8 BILLION OF TAXPAYER’S MONEY