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"He Is Honest, Innocent": Sanjay Singh's Mother After Son Gets Bail

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Sanjay Singh’s mother said she is happy that her son has been granted bail

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh’s mother Radhika Singh could not hold back her tears as she spoke to NDTV after her son was granted bail by the Supreme Court today, nearly six months after the Enforcement Directorate, or ED, arrested him in the Delhi liquor policy case.

“Yeh khushi ke aansu hain (These are tears of happiness),” she told NDTV.

The Rajya Sabha MP was arrested from his home in the national capital on October 4, 2023. Moments before the ED officials took him away, Mr Singh walked into his mother’s room and touched her feet. He sought her blessings and walked out before she could even react.

“When he walked in that day and touched my feet, I thought he had come to sit with me. Who knew he was being arrested? His arrest shocked me so much that I just wept. We thought how could this happen when they had found no evidence against him?” she told NDTV today.

“We didn’t know anything about his arrest. We only knew they (the probe agencies) had found nothing against him. We were certain that he would not be arrested. So when he came to touch my feet, I had no idea. Then everyone started saying he was being taken away and when I saw him sign a paper, I found out they were taking him. I was so distraught, I cried a lot,” she added.

The news of his son’s bail was sudden but not unexpected, she said.

“The news of his bail was sudden and made me very happy. Why wouldn’t he get bail? He is innocent. He was honest and not corrupt. I was confident he would never be arrested. But then he was… It is fine… The one who has power will…” she trailed off.

Sanjay Singh is also the first top AAP leader to get bail in the case. “Yes, he is the first AAP leader to get bail in connection with the case. I am very happy. I am thanking God all the time for his bail,” Ms Singh said.

Sanjay Singh was released today after the ED said it did not want his further custody. The agency told the court it would concede bail to Mr Singh “without going into the merits” of his argument.

The Supreme Court, however, posed several questions to the ED and asked why he was jailed for over six months without a trial or recovery of the alleged bribe of Rs 2 crore.

“Nothing has been recovered… there is no trace (of the Rs 100 crore the AAP allegedly received as bribes for allotting liquor licences to the ‘South Group’)…” the top court told ED.

Mr Singh was arrested on money laundering charges and has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since his arrest in October last year in the alleged excise policy scam, which has seen the arrests of Manish Sisodia and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal weeks before a crucial general election.

The AAP leader’s previous bail pleas were all turned down, with the High Court saying in February that “no ground” for relief had been made.

World

'Shocked, angry': Russia, China condemn Israeli attack on Iran's consulate

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Russia, China and several regional countries have strongly condemned the Israeli strike that targeted the Iranian consulate in Syria, warning of its potential consequences for the West Asia region.

“We are deeply shocked and outraged by the Israeli attack on the consular building of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Damascus that caused casualties and destroyed the building,” the Russian embassy in Tehran said in a statement,.

The statement stressed that the attack constitutes “a flagrant violation” of all the foundations of international law, including the Vienna Convention that guarantees the safety of diplomatic and consular places, warning that it could fuel tensions in the region.

Russia’s foreign ministry stressed that such “aggressive actions by Israel are absolutely unacceptable and must be stopped.”

“We urge the Israeli leadership to abandon the practice of provocative military actions on the territory of Syria and other neighboring countries,” it further added.

China also decried the attack, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin saying, “The security of diplomatic institutions cannot be violated, and Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity should be respected.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan also “strongly condemned” the Israeli strike as “irresponsible act”, calling it “a major escalation in an already volatile region.”

“The attack is an unacceptable violation of the sovereignty of Syria and undermines its stability and security. It is a violation of international law and the UN Charter. Attacks against diplomats or diplomatic facilities are also illegal under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961,” the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Islamabad also urged the UN Security Council to prevent Israel from “its adventurism in the region and its illegal acts attacking its neighbors and targeting foreign diplomatic facilities.”

The Israeli strike also drew condemnation from regional countries, including Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi foreign ministry on Tuesday expressed “the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of targeting diplomatic facilities for any justification, and under any pretext, which is a violation of international diplomatic laws and the rules of diplomatic immunity,” the ministry said.

In an official statement on Monday, Oman also denounced the bombing and “called for the protection and preservation of diplomatic and consular missions.”

The country’s foreign ministry stressed “the need to stop the escalation in the region and reject aggression and other actions that threaten security and stability.”

Also on Monday, Iraq warned of “the danger of compromising the security of diplomatic missions that have diplomatic immunity under international laws.”

The Iraqi Foreign Ministry urged the international community to “take urgent action to halt the killing and destruction in the Gaza Strip and the continued targeting of the Syrian territories.”

The United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Qatar as well as resistance movement also denounced the Israeli strike that killed seven military advisors of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Israeli warplanes bombed the Iranian consulate, situated next to the embassy building in Damascus’s Mezzeh district, on Monday afternoon.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps named Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force and his deputy General Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi as among the martyrs of the terrorist attack.

Iranian officials have vowed a firm response to the Israeli crime that violated all international obligations and conventions.

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IIT Hyderabad Invites Applications For PhD Interdisciplinary Admissions 2024-25, Check Details

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IIT Hyderabad Invites Applications For Interdisciplinary PhD Admissions, Check Details

IIT Hyderabad PhD Admissions: Students can apply to a maximum of two interdisciplinary proposals.

The Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IIT-Hyderabad), has invited applications from students with diverse academic backgrounds to pursue doctoral research in interdisciplinary areas. Interested and eligible individuals can submit their applications on the official website by April 11.

Research Verticals:

Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Communications & Networks
Bioengineering & Healthcare
Energy, Environment, Creative Design & Management
Novel Materials & Computational Techniques
Soft and Active Matter & Mechanics of Materials
Eligibility Criteria:

Prospective candidates must meet one of the following qualifications:

  • Possession of a Master’s degree (MA/ME/MTech) or its equivalent in any field.
  • Possession of a Bachelor’s degree (BE/BTech) or its equivalent in any field along with a valid GATE Score.
  • Possession of a Master of Science (MSc) degree or its equivalent in any scientific discipline along with a valid GATE score.
  • Successful completion of one of the following national examinations: INSPIRE, Joint CSIR-UGC NET with JRF, DBT JRF.

Admission Process:

  • Admission to the program is based on the submission of research proposals by two faculty members from different departments.
  • Prospective students can apply to a maximum of two interdisciplinary proposals. Shortlisted candidates will undergo an interview conducted by the Interdisciplinary Admissions Committee.

Requirements:

  • Detailed information about qualifications can be accessed on the admissions page.
  • Each applicant can apply to a maximum of two research proposals, specifying the proposal number and indicating their order of preference.

The five-year-long program is designed to ensure scholars attain a comprehensive understanding of their chosen field. The Interdisciplinary PhD program provides a rigorous academic experience, equipping students for careers in research, academia, and beyond. Scholars will receive an annual research contingency fund of Rs 50,000.

Hyderabad

Woman ends life along with toddler son in Karimnagar

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Family members shifted the two to the district headquarters hospital. While the child died by that time, Srija was shifted to a private hospital.

Updated On – 2 April 2024, 04:58 PM


Woman ends life along with toddler son in Karimnagar


Karimnagar: A 27-year-old woman died, allegedly by consuming pesticide, after giving the same to her one-year-old son in Vijayanagar colony, Bommakal of Karimnagar rural mandal on Tuesday morning. Family disputes are suspected to have driven her to the extreme step.

According to the police, Gade Srija consumed pesticide after giving the same to her son around 8.30 am. Family members shifted the two to the district headquarters hospital. While the child died by that time, Srija was shifted to a private hospital. However, she died while undergoing treatment.

Upset over her daughter’s death, Srija’s mother Gade Jayaprada also made a suicide attempt by consuming pesticide. She was admitted in a private hospital, where her condition was stated to be serious.

Srija got married to Naresh from Warangal three years ago and the couple had a son. Three days ago, she along with their son came to her mother’s home after an argument with Naresh, who is working as a software engineer in Hyderabad.

Karimnagar rural police have registered a case and are investigating.

World

US directly responsible for Zionist regime malicious acts

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Commenting on the Zionist regime’s terrorist attack on Iran’s consulate in Syria yesterday, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani said on his X social account that the Zionist regime, as the proxy army of the United States in the region, made a huge mistake by doing such an assault and has to pay a price for it.

He said that the claim that Washington was not aware of Israel’s intention to carry out such an action does not affect the US direct responsibility for such a criminal act and its implications.

The Israeli regime attacked Iran’s consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday evening. The Israeli aggression led to the destruction of the entire building and the martyrdom and injury of the entire people inside it.

Seven of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) military advisors were martyred in the terrorist attack.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kan’ani said on Monday night that the Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take countermeasures and will decide on the type of reaction and punishment of the aggressor on its own. 

Earlier on Monday, Iran’s Ambassador to Syria stressed that the country will give a decisive response to the Israeli regime.

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AAP MP Sanjay Singh Gets Bail After 6 Months In Jail In Liquor Policy Case

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Sanjay Singh is a two-time Rajya Sabha MP for the Aam Aadmi Party.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, even as it posed tough questions to the Enforcement Directorate – which had arrested Mr Singh – including asking why he had been jailed for over six months without a trial or recovery of alleged bribe of Rs 2 crore.

“Nothing has been recovered… there is no trace (of money allegedly received by the AAP as bribes for allotting liquor licences to the ‘South Group’)…” the court told the ED, which claims the party received Rs 600 crore in bribes.

The court then directed Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, to confer with the agency and decide if further custody of Mr Singh is warranted at this stage. Mr Singh was released after the agency said it did not require the AAP leader and that it would concede bail.

“I am making this statement (not opposing bail to Mr Singh) without going into the merits of the case and keeping all the rights and contentions open,” Mr Raju said.

The Supreme Court had earlier observed that Dinesh Arora, one of the accused who later turned approver, or government witness, had not actually implicated Mr Singh in his initial statements. Mr Singh was arrested on the basis of statements by Mr Arora, who was released on bail in August.

Sanjay Singh has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since his arrest October last year in the alleged liquor excise policy scam, which has roiled the opposition party – and seen the arrests of Mr Sisodia and his former boss, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – weeks before a general election.

Mr Singh was arrested on money laundering charges linked to the alleged scam. 

The AAP leader has seen earlier bail pleas – including in the Delhi High Court – turned down; in February, in fact, the High Court said “no ground” for relief had been made.

READ | AAP’s Sanjay Singh’s Bail Plea Rejected In Money Laundering Case

The ED then had opposed the bail plea, alleging Mr Singh was involved in acquiring, possessing, concealing, dissipating and using proceeds of the crime generated from the alleged liquor scam.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh Gets Bail

That relief was finally granted this afternoon, after a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Dipankar Datta, and Justice Prasanna B Varale said Mr Singh could be released during pendency of the trial.

The court said the terms and conditions of the release are to be fixed by the trial court. What is significant, though, is that Mr Singh can participate in political activities, meaning he can campaign for the AAP, which faces a potential shortage of big-name leaders in the run-up to the polls.

He has, however, been cautioned against commenting on the ED’s investigation.

The court also said bail to Mr Singh could not be treated as precedent in similar cases.

READ | “Court Asked About Money, Probe Agency Had No Answer”: AAP

News of Mr Singh’s release has been welcomed by his colleague and Delhi PWD Minister Atishi, who posted “satyameva jayate“, or “the truth will win”, on X (formerly Twitter). Atishi has been leading the AAP’s fight back and protestations of innocence since Chief Minister Kejriwal was arrested.

READ | Atishi Claims BJP Switch Offer, Says These AAP Leaders To Be Arrested Soon

This morning she claimed four other senior AAP leaders, including herself, had been earmarked for arrest by central agencies – in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam – if they do not join the Bharatiya Janata Party. The opposition has routinely accused the BJP of using central agencies to target rivals, particularly before an election. The BJP has equally routinely denied these charges.

NDTV Explains | Why Enforcement Directorate Arrested Arvind Kejriwal

What Is Alleged Delhi Liquor Policy Scam?

The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesellers. Of the latter, six per cent – over Rs 600 crore – were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns.

READ | Kejriwal Lodged In 14×8 Feet Cell. See What All Court Has Allowed

Chief Minister Kejriwal was declared the “kingpin” of this alleged scam by the ED and arrested on March 21. Mr Kejriwal, who continues to run the Delhi government, is now in Tihar Jail till April 15.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Hyderabad

Patancheru sub-registrar office earns record revenue

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The Patancheru Sub-registrar office alone generated nearly 70 per cent of the total revenue earned by the Medak district Stamps & Registration department.

Updated On – 2 April 2024, 04:29 PM


Patancheru sub-registrar office earns record revenue

Patancheru Sub Registrar Office

Sangareddy: The newly set up Patancheru Sub-registrar office has generated Rs.768 crore out of the Rs.1099 crore earned at 16 Sub-registrar offices in the erstwhile Medak district this financial year.

The Patancheru Sub-registrar office alone generated nearly 70 per cent of the total revenue earned by the Medak district Stamps & Registration department. The annual income of the district increased from last year’s Rs.942 crore to Rs.1099 crore this year, recording a 16.56 percent increase in annual revenue. As the financial year came to an end on March 31, the District Registrar of Medak shared the statistics of revenue earned during the last fiscal.

Though the State witnessed elections during the last financial year and the real estate sector witnessed a slump, the Medak registration office located in Sangareddy continued to increase its income as it performed more registrations than last year. The 16 Sub-registrar offices performed 1,39,337 registrations during the financial year compared to the 1,33,134 registrations it performed in 2022-23 financial year. It performed 6,208 more registrations in 2023-24.

However, the Registration department got additional revenue of Rs.157 crore than the previous financial year. The BRS government opened the Patancheru Sub-registrar office on April 1, last year following the demand from the people from the Patancheru area.

Out of 1.39 lakh registrations performed in Medak district, Patancheru Sub-registrar’s office performed 41,105 registrations during the 2023-24 fiscal. The Siddipet Sub-registrar’s office, which came a distant second, performed 14,871 registrations during the year earning a little over Rs.35 crore. Sangareddy Sub-registrar’s office earned Rs.80 crore while the Sadasivapet and Toopran Sub-registrar offices earned Rs.57 crore and Rs.48 crore respectively.

Patancheru area used to be under Sangareddy Sub-registrar’s office until last April. After the formation of the Patancheru sub-registrar’s office, it had lost a major chunk of income. During the 2022-23 fiscal, it earned nearly Rs.700 crore in a revenue out of Rs.942 crore earned by the Registration Department of Medak district.

Middle East

Ramon military airport in occupied lands targeted with drone

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The Israeli military airport is located in the Negev desert in the south of occupied Palestine.

Following the attack, relief teams were dispatched to the scene of the incident.

This attack was carried out using an offensive drone that exploded near the Ramon airport, according to the reports.

The military exercise which was underway in the area was halted following the attack.

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LS Polls: Congress fields YS Sharmila from Kadapa, to take on cousin Avinash Reddy

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Sharmila announced the list of candidates from the state, after offering prayers at her father’s grave in Idupulapaya.

Published Date – 2 April 2024, 04:40 PM


LS Polls: Congress fields YS Sharmila from Kadapa, to take on cousin Avinash Reddy

YS Sharmila

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh PCC chief YS Sharmila is pitted against her cousin and sitting YSR Congress Party MP Y S Avinash Reddy in Kadapa Lok Sabha segment while former Union Ministers MM Pallam Raju and JD Seelam will be fielded from Kakinada and Bapatla respectively in the May 13 polls.

As per a list of candidates for Lok Sabha elections released by Congress, including five from the state, Gidugu Rudra Raju will be contesting from Rajahmundry. PG Rampullaiah Yadav will be the party’s candidate from Kurnool, according to the list.

Sharmila announced the list of candidates from the state, after offering prayers at her father’s grave in Idupulapaya.

The Congress party also announced the list of 114 candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), Congress and CPI (M) are INDIA alliance partners in Andhra Pradesh.

Elections for the 175-member Assembly and 25 Lok Sabha seats in Andhra Pradesh are scheduled on May 13 and the counting of votes is slated for June 4.

Hyderabad

BJP demands judicial probe into Dharani irregularities

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State BJP Legislative Party leader A Maheshwar Reddy accused Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of attempting to shield individuals implicated in the purported irregularities of the Dharani Portal.

Updated On – 2 April 2024, 04:34 PM


BJP demands judicial probe into Dharani irregularities


Hyderabad: Accusing Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy of trying to save persons involved in the alleged Dharani Portal irrgularities, State BJP Legislative Party leader A Maheshwar Reddy demanded the State government to order a judicial probe into the alleged irregularities.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Maheshwar Reddy said as TPCC president Revanth Reddy had alleged that due to Dharani portal over 20 lakh farmers had lost lands and lakhs of acres of lands had disappeared from the government records and went into the hands of private individuals.

“CM has promised to expose the people behind the Dharani scam and send them to jail. But even after over 100 days in power he has not done anything in that direction. In fact he is trying to save them by not ordering a probe into the scam,”he said.

Stating that there were 24 lakh acres of assigned lands in the State at the time of formation of Telangana, he alleged that in the last ten years, it was reduced to just six lakh acres. In order to find out what had happened to lakhs of acres of land, there was a need to conduct a comprehensive probe into the issue, he said.