Innholdsfortegnelse for 20 June 2022 i India Today

On October 2, 2021, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede led a sensational raid on Cordelia, a luxury cruise ship, and arrested 20 people who had come for a spot of merrymaking, confiscating what the sleuths claimed was a large haul of illicit drugs. The most sensational catch: Aryan Khan, son of cinema icon Shah Rukh Khan. It was no mere gathering of revellers, the NCB investigators claimed. The volume of drugs seized, in their view, pointed to links with an international drugs syndicate. They insisted that Aryan was complicit. If charges were proven under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the punishment could range from six months to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment. When the rich and famous are in trouble, public hoopla…

On April 28, India’s cybersecurity watchdog Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) issued a set of rules—called Cyber Security Directions—which require companies offering Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to store in their servers a wide range of data on their subscribers, including names, addresses, contact numbers, email addresses, IP addresses, ownership patterns and purpose of hiring the services, for a period of five years. The directive made it mandatory for VPN service providers to report cyber security breach incidents within six hours of noticing them. Failure to comply can invite a jail term of one year or a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both. Corporate and enterprise VPNs have been exempted from the regulations, expected to come into effect on June 27. In response, ExpressVPN, a popular VPN service…

With Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren questioning the lack of ‘official briefings’ by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the raids in the state, his party JMM has accused BJP MP Nishikant Dubey of tweeting about the ED’s action beforehand. Though Dubey denied the allegation, his tweets about the ED’s findings are drawing traction. From tweeting about a Jharkhand politician having invested Rs 54 crore in properties to likely action against the CM’s advisor, Dubey has kept Twitterverse agog.…

Controversy and the attendant spotlight have followed Sameer Wankhede ever since he joined as Mumbai zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) two years ago. Wankhede prided himself on taking on the rich and famous even when he served in the customs department and later at the NCB. He loved the good life, dressed well, wore fancy watches and in his personal life, had married again after divorcing his first wife, a Muslim doctor. He shot into the limelight when he headed the team that probed the use of drugs by Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput—before he took his life in June 2020—and his ex-girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. Wankhede’s team charged Rhea and her brother with possession and consumption of drugs, apart from its sale, under sections of the NDPS…

Amend the NDPS Act to decriminalise consumption of certain drugs. Currently, depending on the quantities possessed and consumed, consumption is punished with rigorous imprisonment ranging from 6 months to 10 years The NCB is advocating that instead of criminal charges, there should be graded punishment norms for those caught consuming or possessing illegal drugs for personal use–starting with a warning, followed by social service and then mandatory rehabilitation Rather than go after the small peddlers and consumers, the NCB needs to focus on the big fish and its staff and facilities need to be beefed up to tackle both national and international cartels State police need to be trained to investigate drug-related cases to tighten the noose on cartels The Ministry of Social Justice needs to set up more drug…

Gang Leader: Lakhbir Singh Landa Location: Canada USP: Extortion, bank robbery, contract killing Area of influence: Majha region Cases: Contracted for RPG attack on Punjab Police intel HQ this May. Has over 20 criminal cases in Punjab, including of murder and attempted murder Gang: Davinder Bambiha Gang Leader: Lucky Patiyal Location: Armenia USP: Contract killing, smuggling, extortion Area of influence: Malwa region, Haryana, Rajasthan, Highlight: Has now vowed to avenge Moosewala’s killing. Earlier, Patiyal had threatened singer Mankirat Aulakh Gang Leader: Satinder Singh, a.k.a. Goldy Brar Location: Canada USP: Extorts from businessmen, movie and music stars Area of influence: Doaba region Cases: Murder, extortion, attempt to murder, robbery Highlight: Owns up to Moosewala killing. Extended the reach of the Bishnoi gang in Canada…

Punjab Police is gradually zeroing in on the role of Toronto-based ganglord Goldy Brar and seeking his extradition. In the past few years, Canada has become a safe hideout for Punjab’s gangsters, who use social media and virtual phones to conduct their operations remotely. Another name popping up on the register is that of Lakhbir Singh Landa. In 2018, he had fled to Canada after a series of cases piled up against him, including those of murder, extortion and robbery. The latest on that list: he was the one who executed the rocket-propelled grenade attack on Punjab Police’s in-tel HQ in Mohali, apparently at the behest of Khalistani militant-cum-gangster Harinder Singh Rinda. Over 30 gangsters are suspected to have fled to the western nation. The issue escalated when a National…

Easing of the pandemic and reopening of offices and schools is creating a bigger demand for physical classes, shopping and eating out. This has dented the demand for online retail, food and education businesses Uncertainty about Russia’s war on Ukraine has stoked inflation and raised interest rates, making capital expensive. Investors are back in the driver’s seat, but are cautious and asking tough questions, sometimes shunning risky investments Investors are keen to do more due diligence before they decide to fund start-ups. This helps them study the business models of the start-ups and their path to profitability better, as well as gauge the integrity of the promoters and the organisation’s culture Huge “burn” in startups as some of them spent recklessly on promotions, hiring and compensation and on physical infrastructure,…

Svetha Rao, better known as Raja Kumari, had had enough. For seven years, the Indian-American rapper, singer, recording artist and Grammy-nominated songwriter had been dealing with the whims of record labels. “There was a string of men between me and the music,” she says. “And so many opinions. I had one label head tell me that Indian girls don’t rap. Another said they’ll increase the budget for a music video if I don’t wear a bindi!” Screw this, she said, and started Godmother, her own label. Through it, she plans to support younger women artists and provide a safe space for them. The inaugural release on Godmother is her new EP, appropriately titled HBIC (“head b**ch in charge”). “It was a statement… it’s not like ‘Oh, I’m better than anyone’.…

PRIYANKA CHOPRA JONAS Sona, New York In March 2021, Priyanka Chopra Jonas joined the elite list of celebrities-turned-restaurateurs with the launch of her luxurious Indian restaurant, Sona, in New York. Though the property doesn’t showcase any PC memorabilia, a private dining area within the sprawling rectangular property has been christened ‘Mimi’, because Priyanka’s mother used to call her that when she was a little girl, saying she’d grow up to be another Mimi Rogers. Much talked about since the place opened, Chef Hari Nayak’s menu includes familiar options—mutton cutlet, Awadhi gosht korma, halwa and Rajasthani jungle maas—but also dishes aimed at pleasing the American palate like butter roasted oysters, Gruyere cheese dosa and burrata tikka masala. One of the most popular items here is the vada pav, which, New Yorkers…

“We have focused on reducing our operational cost and the effects are visible. In three years, our losses will come down to almost zero. At the same time, our priority is to increase reliability and availability of BEST buses”—LOKESH CHANDRA General Manager, BEST 3,600 Total buses 386 Electric buses 3,000 Electric buses to run by end of 2023 27 Bus depots 4 Depots with charging facility for electric buses 6,000 MILLION LITRES Fuel expected to be saved by 2032 50% Passengers with smart cards 6.5 CRORE Annual savings on coin-handling charges paid to banks 3 CRORE Savings on printing tickets 20 MINUTES Maximum waiting time in January 2022 15 MINUTES Maximum waiting time in June 2022 136 Dedicated buses for women passengers 60 Buses required per one lakh people 20…

Gujarat’s Hardik Patel, who has recently switched to BJP from Congress, is damaging his former party in neighbouring Rajasthan too. He has revealed that Raghu Sharma, the Congress in-charge for Gujarat, had confided in him that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had performed so poorly that the party would not win more than 10 seats in the next assembly election. Sharma has denied having said any such thing to Patel and questioned his credibility and stature. Interestingly, Congress insiders claim that Sharma was made in-charge of Gujarat because the high command wanted to get rid of him as the health minister of Rajasthan.…

Q. After such a high-profile arrest, why did NCB drop charges against Aryan Khan and five others? Essentially, there must be direct criminal liability, we cannot construct liabilities without physical and corroborative evidence. Already, the courts have been very strong on the rebound in cases where liability is constructed out of thin air and some speculative aspect creeps into the investigation. We didn’t want any speculative aspect, we wanted every evidence, every accusation, to be anchored in evidence, solid evidence. We extended it to the principle underlined by the Supreme Court, of evidence being beyond reasonable doubt. Those six, including Aryan Khan, could not have been charge-sheeted as there was not a shred of evidence beyond reasonable doubt to indict them. Nor was there any possibility to anchor it to…

Gang Leader: Harinder Singh Rinda Location: Lahore, Pakistan USP: Cemented alliance between Khalistani groups and gangsters Area of influence: Nanded Sahib and Punjab Highlight: Popular in the kabaddi scene. Fixes matches, decides which player will play for which team Gang Leader: Ranjit Singh Neeta Location: Lahore, Pakistan USP: First to use the new Khalistanigangster alliance to smuggle drugs, arms, ammunition Area of influence: Indo-Pak border Highlight: Active in Khalistan Zindabad Force. Linked to murder of DSP in Jammu, bomb blasts in Punjab…

EMPEROR ASHOKA Kshatriya or Kushwaha? On the birth anniversary of the 3rd century BCE ruler, the BJP assigned the responsibility of organising a grand celebration at his birthplace in Pataliputra, modern-day Patna, to Kushwaha leader Samrat Chaudhury. Uttar Pradesh deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya was a special invitee as, apart from being a Kushwaha, he also has Maurya in his name. Another Maurya leader, Keshav Dev, too, celebrated the occasion with great gusto in UP. "Ashoka was a king, so he was called Kshatriya," he says. "But we are from the same lineage. Our place in the varna system changed after we took to farming" RAJA SUHAIL DEV Pasis vs the Rajbhars The Maharaja Suhail Dev Seva Samiti claimed that the raja was a Pasi in 2001. Rajbhars, on the…

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE WAS not plasticine when my generation read it at school. But, by college, we’d begun to play with it like clay, because it seemed less of an imported toy. The question of irreverence to the Queen’s English was catching on when I practised copywriting. But The Line of Mercy by Tarun Tejpal may well be the best bedside reading for the eternal Queen Elizabeth II. She’ll be fascinated with the writer’s facility with a language she must know better but hasn’t dared to make as malleable. Every other line of this opus fills the reader with wonder at the mind of a provincial Chandigarh boy who has married his Naipaul with Dostoevsky and Marquez with Ferlinghetti to create with his bewildering new vocabulary of images a rebellious…

Asha Bhosle Live with the Bengal Tigers Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai June 25 Perhaps one of the greatest living singers in India, Asha Bhosle will pay tribute to the four ‘Bengal Tigers’ of Indian music—S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, Salil Chowdhury, and Hemant Kumar. Accompanied by singer Shaan and her grandson Chintu Bhosle, she will sing songs composed by these legends and share stories about each. JUSTIN BIEBER Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi October 18 As the country, and indeed the world, tries its best to move away from one kind of fever, there’s another one approaching: Bieber Fever. October sees pop music sensation Justin Bieber, global superstar with hordes of fans (and nearly as many haters), make his return to India for a stadium concert as part of his Justice World Tour.…

The food is less mysterious than the decor, and the presentation of each dish is testimony to chef Abhinav Sharma’s artistry The restaurant business is tough. And when you aim to replace a much-loved property, comparisons are inevitable. No wonder then that the gorgeous colonial bungalow that housed Rahul Akerkar’s Indigo has remained vacant since the restaurant closed down in 2018. Finally, there was some excitement when news came in some weeks ago that filmmaker Karan Johar had taken over the Mandlik Road space to open a restaurant of his own, but, predictably, it was impossible to get a table at Neuma for the first couple of weeks—it’s still virtually impossible (but that’s also because no one ever answers their phone). Decorated by architect Ashiesh Shah, the restaurant is pretty,…

Q. What was running through your mind before the final bout of the World Boxing Championship? Before my final bout, I was a bit anxious and nervous. But I kept myself calm and focused. I didn’t let feelings overwhelm me. I would like to give credit to my coaches and support staff, to my sponsors and, most of all, to my family for believing in me when everyone thought I was finished. Q. MC Mary Kom is a senior boxer in your weight category and she has been your challenger on multiple occasions. Are there any lessons you have learnt from her? She is my idol. That’ll never change. The most important thing that I’ve learnt from her is the hunger to strive for more and never settle for what…

BJP national secretary Pankaja Munde convinced Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to visit her father Gopinath Munde’s memorial in Beed, Maharashtra, on his death anniversary on June 3. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Pankaja is co-in-charge of MP, which goes to the polls next year. She and Chouhan both represent the OBC community. As politics over OBC reservation is heated in both states, Pankaja’s Chouhan outreach is seen as an attempt to consolidate support for her candidature in the Maharashtra legislative council polls due in July.…

Aryan Khan was detained on October 2, 2021, when he was about to board the Goa-bound Cordelia cruise ship along with long-time friend Arbaaz Merchant and a few acquaintances. He was arrested the next day by the Narcotics Control Bureau’s (NCB) Mumbai unit, then helmed by zonal director Sameer Wankhede, on charges of possession and consumption of drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985. Punishment for the offences is rigorous imprisonment for anything between six months and 20 years. Here are the major reasons why the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Sanjay Singh of the NCB dropped the charges against him: POSSESSION OF DRUGS While Wankhede’s team had not found any drugs in Aryan’s possession, it initially charged him on the basis that Arbaaz,…

Gang Leader Jasdeep Singh alias Jaggu Bhagwanpuria Location: Tihar Jail USP: Contract killer, supari king Area of influence: Punjab’s Majha region, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, Himachal, Jammu Cases: Robbery, murder, smuggling of arms and drugs Highlight: Active in kabaddi circuit in rural Punjab and abroad. Fixes matches, decides which player will play for which team. Gang Leader: Lawrence Bishnoi Location: Tihar Jail USP: Has a gang of over 700 criminals Area of influence: Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan Cases: Attempt to murder, extortion, carjacking, Arms Act; 25 cases in all Highlight: Law graduate, Panjab University. Was leader of Student Organisation Panjab University (SOPU), which has produced politicians across three states Gang Leader: Dilpreet Dalhan Location: Patiala Jail USP: Contract Killer Area of influence: Malwa region Cases: An accused in…

Outfit: ISYF, International Sikh Youth Federation Leader: Lakhbir Singh Rode Plot: Use Sukh Bikhariwal’s gang for targeted killings of anti-Khalistan activists in Punjab, also to courier drone-delivered arms, ammunition, drugs in Amritsar and Gurdaspur Outfit: Babbar Khalsa International Leader: Wadhawa Singh Babbar Plot: Another instance of the pact between Khalistanis and gangsters. The ageing Babbar and his ISI masters have sheltered gangster Harvinder Rinda (left), who’s now in Lahore. Use Punjab-based gangs for smuggling arms, targeted killings and attacks Outfit: Khalistan Commando Force Leader: Paramjit Panjwar Plot: Uses the network of Rinda, its own network as well as smaller gangsters in the border areas of Punjab to keep up a busy calendar of smuggling, highway robbery and contract killings. Arms, ammunition, drugs...the gangs come in handy as couriers…

“There is a natural chasm between the literary and the military which only a great war can bridge” “There was no way for him to know that literature is not a weapon for the conquest of the world. It is mainly a bomb to explode the self and in the atoms of the fragments to sift for the meaning of first things” “How did men who had a surplus to eat get to make laws for men who had so little to eat?” “Indians don’t need facts. They need fictions. And the most compelling fictions are always those that tell of the venalities of the good.” “Long relationships layer and deepen by the sharing of vulnerabilities. Marriages thrive on failings. Couples fit into each other in their softness. Two bodies…