The Evening Wrap: ED says ₹600 crore in proceeds of crime detected in raids against Lalu family

The ED on March 11 said it has seized “unaccounted cash” of ₹1 crore, and detected proceeds of crime worth ₹600 crore after it raided RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family in connection with the railways land for job ‘scam’ linked money laundering case. The agency said that investigation is underway to unearth more investments made on behalf of Prasad’s family and their associates in various sectors, including real estate, at various places. The ED had launched raids on March 10 at multiple locations linked to Prasad’s family members including that of his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Delhi. In May last year, the agency had carried out searches in Delhi and Bihar after registering the case against Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, two daughters — Misha Bharti and Hema Yadav, and 12 others, alleging that the appointment of several substitutes to the Railways’ Group-D posts were made in lieu of land parcels. Meanwhile, the CBI, on the day, summoned Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav for recording his statement in connection with the land-for-job case, agency sources said. Attacks on Hindu temples have no place in Australia, says PM Albanese Australia won’t tolerate any extreme actions and attacks that took place in religious buildings, and there is no place for such action against Hindu temples, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, an official statement said. Regarding assurances that he gave to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Albanese said, “I gave him the assurance that Australia is a country that respects people’s faith. That we don’t tolerate the sort of extreme actions and attacks that we’ve seen on religious buildings, be they Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches. This has no place in Australia.” “And we will take every action through our police and also our security agencies to make sure that anyone responsible for this faces the full force of the law. We’re a tolerant multicultural nation, and there is no place in Australia for this activity,” the statement further said. Delhi Excise policy case | BRS leader Kavitha appears before ED Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha deposed before the ED in Delhi, with the agency all set to confront her with an arrested accused and record her statement in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy. There was a heavy presence of Delhi Police and central paramilitary forces personnel for barricading the ED office even as the supporters of the BRS leader staged a protest on APJ Abdul Kalam Road. The ED had asked Kavitha to depose on March 9, but she sought a fresh date due to her scheduled day-long hunger strike in Delhi on March 10 seeking the passage of the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament. She has been called by the agency so that she can be confronted with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, an alleged frontman of the “south group”, who was arrested by the ED earlier this week. The agency will also record Kavitha’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages on Monday The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages on March 13. According to cause list uploaded on the apex court’s website, the pleas are listed for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala. The Supreme Court had on January 6 clubbed and transferred to itself all such petitions pending before different high courts. The counsel for multiple petitioners had told the bench that they want the apex court to transfer all the cases to itself for an authoritative pronouncement on the issue and that the Centre can file its response in the top court. The top court’s five-judge Constitution bench, in a path-breaking unanimous verdict delivered on September 6, 2018, held that consensual sex among adult homosexuals or heterosexuals in a private space is not a crime while striking down a part of the British-era penal law that criminalised it on the ground that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity. The apex court, in its 2018 judgment, held that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalised consensual gay sex was “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”. It had said the 158-year-old law had become an “odious weapon” to harass the LGBT community by subjecting its members to discrimination and unequal treatment. ‘Mistaken identity’: CID probe affirms wrong person killed in police encounter in Assam A CID probe into the death of a person, suspected to be a dacoit, in a police encounter in Assam’s Udalguri district affirmed that it was a case of “mistaken identity”, a senior officer said. The probe concluded that the deceased was not dacoit Kenaram Boro alias Kenaram Basumatary but a person identified as Dimbeswar Muchahary, who his family asserted was a “small-time farmer” but police claimed was also a “hardened criminal”. The body was initially handed over to Boro’s mother after she identified him as her son. However, after the final rites were conducted and the body was buried, Muchahary’s family claimed it was their son. A police complaint was filed, following which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the director general of police to order a CID probe, which began on March 2. Subsequently, the body was exhumed, a DNA analysis was conducted and it was found that the body was of Muchahary and not of Boro, the police officer said. The inquiry report will be submitted to the government soon, he said, adding the body was handed over to Muchahary’s family. China denies hidden motives after hosting Iran-Saudi talks After hosting talks at which Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations, China said it has no hidden motives and is not trying to fill any “vacuum” in the Middle East. The agreement announced on March 10 to re-establish Iran-Saudi ties and reopen embassies after seven years was seen as a major diplomatic victory for China, as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States as reducing its presence in the Middle East. The Foreign Ministry quoted an unidentified spokesperson as saying China “pursues no selfish interest whatsoever” and opposes geopolitical competition in the region. China will continue to support Mideast countries in “resolving differences through dialogue and consultation to jointly promote lasting peace and stability”, the spokesperson said. Following March 10’s announcement, China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi said the agreement showed China was a “reliable mediator” that had “faithfully fulfilled its duties as the host”. In Brief: Election Commission comes up with vote-from-home option for voters above 80 years The Election Commission said it has introduced the facility to Vote-from-Home for people above 80 years of age and those with disabilities in the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. “Though we encourage those above 80 years to come to the polling station, those who cannot can avail this facility,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. “Secrecy will be maintained and the entire process will be videographed,” he added. Non-BJP parties meet in J&K decide to meet EC in for early election, press for Statehood National Conference President Farooq Abdullah chaired a meeting with leaders of more than a dozen parties which culminated with the decision to meet the Election Commission in Delhi for an early Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir and restoration of its Statehood. Reducing Jammu and Kashmir from a full-fledged state to a Union Territory is a tragedy for the nation, Abdullah said after the meeting. Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani, CPI(M) leader M. Y. Tarigami, PDP leader Amrik Singh Reen, National Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, AAP leader T. S. Tony were among those present. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 11 March 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( ED says ₹1 crore in unaccounted cash seized, ₹600 crore in proceeds of crime detected in raids against Lalu family The ED on March 11 said it has seized [“unaccounted cash” of ₹1 crore, and detected proceeds of crime worth ₹600 crore]( after it raided RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s family in connection with the railways land for job ‘scam’ linked money laundering case. The agency said that investigation is underway to unearth more investments made on behalf of Prasad’s family and their associates in various sectors, including real estate, at various places. The ED had launched raids on March 10 at multiple locations linked to Prasad’s family members including that of his son and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav in Delhi. In May last year, the agency had carried out searches in Delhi and Bihar after registering the case against Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, two daughters — Misha Bharti and Hema Yadav, and 12 others, alleging that the appointment of several substitutes to the Railways’ Group-D posts were made in lieu of land parcels. Meanwhile, the CBI, on the day, summoned Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav for recording his statement in connection with the land-for-job case, agency sources said. Attacks on Hindu temples have no place in Australia, says PM Albanese [Australia won’t tolerate any extreme actions and attacks that took place in religious buildings]( and there is no place for such action against Hindu temples, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said while addressing a press conference in New Delhi, an official statement said. Regarding assurances that he gave to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Albanese said, “I gave him the assurance that Australia is a country that respects people’s faith. That we don’t tolerate the sort of extreme actions and attacks that we’ve seen on religious buildings, be they Hindu temples, mosques, synagogues, or churches. This has no place in Australia.” “And we will take every action through our police and also our security agencies to make sure that anyone responsible for this faces the full force of the law. We’re a tolerant multicultural nation, and there is no place in Australia for this activity,” the statement further said. Delhi Excise policy case | BRS leader Kavitha appears before ED [Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha deposed before the ED in Delhi]( with the agency all set to confront her with an arrested accused and record her statement in connection with its money-laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy. There was a heavy presence of Delhi Police and central paramilitary forces personnel for barricading the ED office even as the supporters of the BRS leader staged a protest on APJ Abdul Kalam Road. The ED had asked Kavitha to depose on March 9, but she sought a fresh date due to her scheduled day-long hunger strike in Delhi on March 10 seeking the passage of the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill in the Budget Session of Parliament. She has been called by the agency so that she can be confronted with Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandran Pillai, an alleged frontman of the “south group”, who was arrested by the ED earlier this week. The agency will also record Kavitha’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Supreme Court to hear pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages on Monday The [Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages]( on March 13. According to cause list uploaded on the apex court’s website, the pleas are listed for hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala. The Supreme Court had on January 6 clubbed and transferred to itself all such petitions pending before different high courts. The counsel for multiple petitioners had told the bench that they want the apex court to transfer all the cases to itself for an authoritative pronouncement on the issue and that the Centre can file its response in the top court. The top court’s five-judge Constitution bench, in a path-breaking unanimous verdict delivered on September 6, 2018, held that consensual sex among adult homosexuals or heterosexuals in a private space is not a crime while striking down a part of the British-era penal law that criminalised it on the ground that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity. The apex court, in its 2018 judgment, held that section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalised consensual gay sex was “irrational, indefensible and manifestly arbitrary”. It had said the 158-year-old law had become an “odious weapon” to harass the LGBT community by subjecting its members to discrimination and unequal treatment. ‘Mistaken identity’: CID probe affirms wrong person killed in police encounter in Assam A CID probe into the death of a person, suspected to be a dacoit, in a police encounter in Assam’s Udalguri district affirmed that it was a [case of “mistaken identity”]( a senior officer said. The probe concluded that the deceased was not dacoit Kenaram Boro alias Kenaram Basumatary but a person identified as Dimbeswar Muchahary, who his family asserted was a “small-time farmer” but police claimed was also a “hardened criminal”. The body was initially handed over to Boro’s mother after she identified him as her son. However, after the final rites were conducted and the body was buried, Muchahary’s family claimed it was their son. A police complaint was filed, following which Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the director general of police to order a CID probe, which began on March 2. Subsequently, the body was exhumed, a DNA analysis was conducted and it was found that the body was of Muchahary and not of Boro, the police officer said. The inquiry report will be submitted to the government soon, he said, adding the body was handed over to Muchahary’s family. China denies hidden motives after hosting Iran-Saudi talks After hosting talks at which Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations, [China said it has no hidden motives and is not trying to fill any “vacuum” in the Middle East](. The agreement announced on March 10 to re-establish Iran-Saudi ties and reopen embassies after seven years was seen as a major diplomatic victory for China, as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States as reducing its presence in the Middle East. The Foreign Ministry quoted an unidentified spokesperson as saying China “pursues no selfish interest whatsoever” and opposes geopolitical competition in the region. China will continue to support Mideast countries in “resolving differences through dialogue and consultation to jointly promote lasting peace and stability”, the spokesperson said. Following March 10’s announcement, China’s senior diplomat Wang Yi said the agreement showed China was a “reliable mediator” that had “faithfully fulfilled its duties as the host”. In Brief: Election Commission comes up with vote-from-home option for voters above 80 years The Election Commission said it has introduced the [facility to Vote-from-Home for people above 80 years of age]( and those with disabilities in the upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. “Though we encourage those above 80 years to come to the polling station, those who cannot can avail this facility,” Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said. “Secrecy will be maintained and the entire process will be videographed,” he added. Non-BJP parties meet in J&K decide to meet EC in for early election, press for Statehood National Conference President Farooq Abdullah chaired a meeting with leaders of more than a dozen parties which culminated with the decision to meet the Election Commission in Delhi for an [early Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir and restoration of its Statehood](. Reducing Jammu and Kashmir from a full-fledged state to a Union Territory is a tragedy for the nation, Abdullah said after the meeting. Congress president Vikar Rasool Wani, CPI(M) leader M. Y. Tarigami, PDP leader Amrik Singh Reen, National Panthers Party leader Harsh Dev Singh, AAP leader T. S. Tony were among those present. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. First Day First Show Stay up-to-date on all things cinema with the "First Day First Show" cinema & entertainment newsletter. Every week, we bring you movie reviews, news from regional cinema, Bollywood, Hollywood, and beyond, as well as updates from the streaming platforms. 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