CEO of news channel arrested in extortion case
Ghaziabad/Dehradun, Oct 29: The Editor-in-Chief and CEO of a news channel in Uttarakhand was arrested from his Ghaziabad residence on Sunday for allegedly putting pressure on one of his employees to do a sting operation on prominent politicians including the state chief minister with an intent to blackmail them, police said.
Samachar Plus CEO Umesh Kumar Sharma was arrested from his Ghaziabad residence after raids were conducted at his office in Noida and residence in Ghaziabad, ADG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said.
Samachar Plus channel, which has operations in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, was in the news in 2016 when it did a sting operation of the then Chief Minister Harish Rawat purportedly showing him negotiating a deal to bribe disgruntled MLAs and buy their support ahead of a floor test in the state assembly.
Sharma was arrested following a complaint lodged against him by a journalist of the channel Ayush Gaud accusing him of threatening to eliminate him after he failed to do a sting operation on prominent politicians and senior bureaucrats of the state for which he was being pressured, he said. The FIR on the basis of which Sharma was arrested accuses him and four others of doing sting operations on senior politicians and bureaucrats with the purpose of blackmailing them and extorting money from them. A case has been registered against Sharma under sections 386 (extortion by putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt) , 388 (extortion by threat of accusation of an offence) and 120 b (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, Kumar said. Rs 39.73 lakh in cash, USD 16,279, 11,030 Thai Baht besides a number of mobile phones, hard disc, pen drives, memory cards, i-Pad, laptop and camera have been seized from Sharma's office and residence, the ADG said.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (circle officer Indirapuram) Ravi Kumar said Uttarakhand Police had sought assistance from local police and conducted raids.
Sharma has been brought to Dehradun and is being interrogated, he said.
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Rally against "vote chori" to protect every citizen's right, says D K Shivakumar
New Delhi/ Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar asserted that the Congress party's rally against alleged 'vote chori' (vote theft) in New Delhi is to protect every citizen's right to vote.
Accusing BJP government at the Centre of restricting vehicles with Congress workers from entering Delhi to participate in the party's mega rally, Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress chief, said that about 3,500-4,000 party leaders and workers have come from the state to participate in the rally.
Congress is holding a mega rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on Sunday, against the alleged "vote chori" (vote theft).
"We (state Congress) have made accommodation for 1,500 people (party workers and leaders), more than 2,000 people have made their own arrangements. They have come by flight and train. About 3,500-4,000 people have come. About 1.42 crore signatures have been gathered from the state (as part of its signature campaign)," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, he said, there is a lot of enthusiasm among party workers and leaders, and they are committed to saving the Congress party in the state and the country, and protecting the citizens' right to vote.
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"As per the information that I have received this morning, the BJP and the central government are stopping vehicles (with Congress workers) from coming to Delhi, they are apparently not allowing vehicles to enter the city. I don't know why they are doing this. I don't know why the BJP and the central government are so worried. But no one can stop our voice," he added.
Further stating that Congress is fighting on behalf of the people of the country to protect their right to vote, the Deputy CM said, there is no politics in it. He said, all the leaders will be leaving for the protest venue from the Congress office in Delhi.
Reacting to a question on Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly terming Congress party's rally as an "act of frustration" due to electoral losses, and similar criticism from other BJP leaders, he said, he doesn't want to react to anyone from the saffron party.
"Let them say anything for their enjoyment. We, the Congressmen, won't think about electoral victories and losses. We think about the sacrifice made by our elders during the freedom struggle, to give democracy and a constitution to the country. Sonia Gandhi sacrificed power (PM post) and gave it to an economist like Manmohan Singh. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi sacrificed their lives for this country," he said.
Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi went to jail for the sake of this country, he further pointed out, adding that, "A hundred years ago, Gandhi took over the leadership of the freedom struggle; today in these difficult times, Mallikarjun Kharge has taken the responsibility as the Congress President."
Shivakumar, responding to a question, said, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will also be attending the rally. "Both of us will go together (to the venue) from the Indira Gandhi Bhavan (in Delhi)."
He, however, did not wish to comment on any meeting with the Congress high command, including Soina Gandhi, on the issue of leadership change in Karnataka. Meanwhile, slogans calling Shivakumar the "next CM" were raised by his supporters as the Deputy CM left the Karnataka Bhavan.
