The Evening Wrap: ED quizzes Hemant Soren in money laundering case

Enforcement Directorate sleuths continued to question Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his official residence here on Saturday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. The entire area has turned into a virtual fortress with heavy deployment of security forces, an official said. Mr. Soren, 48, who is also the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had earlier skipped seven summonses by the ED. He finally gave his consent after the probe agency summoned him for the eighth time. The ED personnel reached Mr. Soren’s residence around 1 p.m., the official said, adding, the questioning has been underway for more than six hours now. Security personnel, deployed in large numbers at the spot, are using high-resolution body cameras to keep track of activities around the house, he said. The measure comes in the wake of the recent attack on ED officials in West Bengal during a raid pertaining to an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam. The Ranchi district administration has also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC near Mr. Soren’s house, disallowing any demonstration, carrying weapons and public meetings. “The restrictions will be in place till 11 p.m. on Saturday,” Ranchi SDO Utkarsh Kumar told PTI. Hundreds of JMM workers, armed with bows and arrows, demonstrated a few hundred metres away from the CM’s residence. The JMM along with different tribal outfits also staged demonstrations across Jharkhand. India-Myanmar border to be fenced soon, says Home Minister Amit Shah The Union government will soon fence the 1,643 km border between India and Myanmar, and will consider ending its free movement regime (FMR) agreement with the neighbouring country, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday. The FMR, implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East Policy, allowed residents of both countries living along the border to travel up to 16 km into each other’s territory without a visa. Ending the agreement will restrict this movement. “I want to tell my friends in Assam that the Narendra Modi government has decided to fence India’s open border along with Myanmar just like we have fenced the country’s border along with Bangladesh,” Mr. Shah said, while addressing the passing-out parade of 2,551 Assam Police commandos in Guwahati. Much of India’s 4,096 km border with Bangladesh has been double-fenced to stop the unauthorised entry of people into India, a major concern for the northeastern States, especially Assam. “The government is also reconsidering India’s FMR agreement with Myanmar and will soon end the free movement into India,” Mr. Shah said. Manipur wants the Myanmar border to be fenced, and the free entry of Myanmar nationals, accused of stoking the ongoing ethnic conflict, stopped. Mizoram and Nagaland, on the other hand, are against the dual move on the Myanmar front as the people on either side of the international border in those States belong to the same ethnic communities. Some 30,000 Chin people from civil war-torn Myanmar have also taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021. Pannun plot case | Czech court rules Indian national can be extradited to U.S. A Czech appeals court has ruled that Prague can extradite to the United States an Indian man accused by the U.S. of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, the Justice Ministry said on Friday. A final decision on the extradition of Nikhil Gupta, 52, will be in the hands of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek once the ruling is delivered to all parties in the case, a ministry spokesperson told Reuters. Mr. Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of working with an Indian government official on the plot to kill a New York City resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Mr. Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in June last year when he travelled from India to Prague. A Czech news website which first reported on the appeals decision, said Mr. Gupta had argued his identity was mistaken and that he was not the man the United States was looking for. He described the case was political, it said. “The time frame for the minister’s decision cannot be assumed at this point,” the Justice Ministry spokesman said, adding that Mr. Gupta could be expected to take all steps possible to try to prevent extradition. Modi visits Srirangam and Rameswaram, ahead of consecration ceremony in Ayodhya Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered worship at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam in Tiruchi and the Ramanathanaswamy Temple in Rameswaram on Saturday, ahead of the pran pratishtha (idol installation) of Sri Ram Lalla at the Ayodhya temple on January 22. Srirangam is the foremost among the 108 Divya Desams, and its presiding deity, Sri Ranganatha, is believed to be the family deity of Lord Ram. Mr. Modi, who arrived in Tiruchi from Chennai in the morning, was welcomed with temple honours by the priests. He then offered worship to Sri Namperumal, the processional deity at the Ranga Vilas mandapam, Garudazhvar and Sri Kambathadi Anjaneyar. He then offered prayers to Lord Ranganatha at the sanctum sanctorum before paying obeisance to Sri Ranganayaki Thayar and Sri Ramanujar. Clad in traditional attire, Mr. Modi spent about one hour and 20 minutes inside the temple. The Prime Minister spent about 35 minutes at ‘Kambar Mandapam’, where a seven-member crew of musicians and Tamil scholars recited and explained selected verses from the Kamba Ramayanam, the epic as scripted in Tamil by the poet Kambar. Earlier, Mr. Modi arrived at the Tiruchi International Airport by a special aircraft from Chennai and switched over to a helicopter to proceed to Srirangam. He landed at the temporary helipad near the Kollidam River bank and drove down to the temple through the temple town, greeting enthusiastic residents and party workers, who had gathered in strength along the way. Later, Mr. Modi left for Rameswaram by helicopter. At Rameswaram, he took a holy dip at the ‘Agnitheertham’ on the eastern beach of the Ramanathanaswamy Temple. After this, he entered the temple from the east tower. The PM witnessed special pujas performed at the Swami and Ambal sannidhis. He also attended a “Ram Katha” (Sri Ramayana Parayanam) at the Thirukalyana Mandapam, for about 45 minutes. After an overnight stay at the Ramakrishna Math in Rameswaram, Mr. Modi is expected to proceed to Dhanushkodi and Arichalmunai on Sunday. Around forenoon, he would fly by a special helicopter to Madurai, from where he would take a flight to Ayodhya, officials added. In brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to succeed and that is why Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was creating difficulties for it, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh has alleged. Addressing a press conference at Gobindapur in Lakhimpur district, he alleged that Mr. Sarma was trying to give a communal colour to the programme. After three days in Assam, the Yatra entered Arunachal Pradesh. It will resume its Assam leg on January 21 and travel through the state till January 25. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 20 January 2024 [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 quizzes Hemant Soren in money laundering case Enforcement Directorate sleuths [continued to question Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren]( at his official residence here on Saturday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. The entire area has turned into a virtual fortress with heavy deployment of security forces, an official said. Mr. Soren, 48, who is also the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had earlier skipped seven summonses by the ED. He finally gave his consent after the probe agency summoned him for the eighth time. The ED personnel reached Mr. Soren’s residence around 1 p.m., the official said, adding, the questioning has been underway for more than six hours now. Security personnel, deployed in large numbers at the spot, are using high-resolution body cameras to keep track of activities around the house, he said. The measure comes in the wake of the recent attack on ED officials in West Bengal during a raid pertaining to an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam. The Ranchi district administration has also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC near Mr. Soren’s house, disallowing any demonstration, carrying weapons and public meetings. “The restrictions will be in place till 11 p.m. on Saturday,” Ranchi SDO Utkarsh Kumar told PTI. Hundreds of JMM workers, armed with bows and arrows, demonstrated a few hundred metres away from the CM’s residence. The JMM along with different tribal outfits also staged demonstrations across Jharkhand. India-Myanmar border to be fenced soon, says Home Minister Amit Shah The Union government will soon [fence the 1,643 km border between India and Myanmar]( and will consider ending its free movement regime (FMR) agreement with the neighbouring country, Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday. The FMR, implemented in 2018 as part of India’s Act East Policy, allowed residents of both countries living along the border to travel up to 16 km into each other’s territory without a visa. Ending the agreement will restrict this movement. “I want to tell my friends in Assam that the Narendra Modi government has decided to fence India’s open border along with Myanmar just like we have fenced the country’s border along with Bangladesh,” Mr. Shah said, while addressing the passing-out parade of 2,551 Assam Police commandos in Guwahati. Much of India’s 4,096 km border with Bangladesh has been double-fenced to stop the unauthorised entry of people into India, a major concern for the northeastern States, especially Assam. “The government is also reconsidering India’s FMR agreement with Myanmar and will soon end the free movement into India,” Mr. Shah said. Manipur wants the Myanmar border to be fenced, and the free entry of Myanmar nationals, accused of stoking the ongoing ethnic conflict, stopped. Mizoram and Nagaland, on the other hand, are against the dual move on the Myanmar front as the people on either side of the international border in those States belong to the same ethnic communities. Some 30,000 Chin people from civil war-torn Myanmar have also taken shelter in Mizoram since February 2021. Pannun plot case | Czech court rules Indian national can be extradited to U.S. A Czech appeals court has ruled that [Prague can extradite to the United States an Indian man]( accused by the U.S. of involvement in an unsuccessful plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, the Justice Ministry said on Friday. A final decision on the extradition of Nikhil Gupta, 52, will be in the hands of Justice Minister Pavel Blazek once the ruling is delivered to all parties in the case, a ministry spokesperson told Reuters. Mr. Gupta has been accused by U.S. federal prosecutors of working with an Indian government official on the plot to kill a New York City resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. Mr. Gupta was arrested by Czech authorities in June last year when he travelled from India to Prague. A Czech news website which first reported on the appeals decision, said Mr. Gupta had argued his identity was mistaken and that he was not the man the United States was looking for. He described the case was political, it said. “The time frame for the minister’s decision cannot be assumed at this point,” the Justice Ministry spokesman said, adding that Mr. Gupta could be expected to take all steps possible to try to prevent extradition. Modi visits Srirangam and Rameswaram, ahead of consecration ceremony in Ayodhya Prime Minister [Narendra Modi offered worship at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam in Tiruchi and the Ramanathanaswamy Temple in Rameswaram]( on Saturday, ahead of the pran pratishtha (idol installation) of Sri Ram Lalla at the Ayodhya temple on January 22. Srirangam is the foremost among the 108 Divya Desams, and its presiding deity, Sri Ranganatha, is believed to be the family deity of Lord Ram. Mr. Modi, who arrived in Tiruchi from Chennai in the morning, was welcomed with temple honours by the priests. He then offered worship to Sri Namperumal, the processional deity at the Ranga Vilas mandapam, Garudazhvar and Sri Kambathadi Anjaneyar. He then offered prayers to Lord Ranganatha at the sanctum sanctorum before paying obeisance to Sri Ranganayaki Thayar and Sri Ramanujar. Clad in traditional attire, Mr. Modi spent about one hour and 20 minutes inside the temple. The Prime Minister spent about 35 minutes at ‘Kambar Mandapam’, where a seven-member crew of musicians and Tamil scholars [recited and explained selected verses from the Kamba Ramayanam]( the epic as scripted in Tamil by the poet Kambar. Earlier, Mr. Modi arrived at the Tiruchi International Airport by a special aircraft from Chennai and switched over to a helicopter to proceed to Srirangam. He landed at the temporary helipad near the Kollidam River bank and drove down to the temple through the temple town, greeting enthusiastic residents and party workers, who had gathered in strength along the way. Later, Mr. Modi left for Rameswaram by helicopter. At Rameswaram, he took a holy dip at the ‘Agnitheertham’ on the eastern beach of the Ramanathanaswamy Temple. After this, he entered the temple from the east tower. The PM witnessed special pujas performed at the Swami and Ambal sannidhis. He also attended a “Ram Katha” (Sri Ramayana Parayanam) at the Thirukalyana Mandapam, for about 45 minutes. After an overnight stay at the Ramakrishna Math in Rameswaram, Mr. Modi is expected to proceed to Dhanushkodi and Arichalmunai on Sunday. Around forenoon, he would fly by a special helicopter to Madurai, from where he would take a flight to Ayodhya, officials added. In brief Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra to succeed and that is why Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was creating difficulties for it, Congress general secretary [Jairam Ramesh has alleged](. Addressing a press conference at Gobindapur in Lakhimpur district, he alleged that Mr. Sarma was trying to give a communal colour to the programme. After three days in Assam, the Yatra entered Arunachal Pradesh. It will resume its Assam leg on January 21 and travel through the state till January 25. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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