Chidambaram appears before ED in Aircel-Maxis case
New Delhi, June 12 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned former Finance Minister and Congress leader P. Chidambaram for a second time here in the Rs 3,500 crore Aircel-Maxis deal case, officials said.
An ED official said Chidambaram appeared for questioning at the ED's office around 11 a.m. He was summoned to appear on June 6, a day after the agency questioned him for over five hours.
Earlier, a Delhi court had extended the interim protection to him from arrest till July 10 in connection with the case, after directing him to join the probe whenever required. It was the second time when the Congress leader joined the probe.
The ED had issued a fresh summons to him on June 5 to appear before the investigating officer of the case. The agency recorded his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The questioning is part of ED's investigation in a money laundering case registered in 2017 against Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram in the Aircel-Maxis case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and ED are investigating how Karti Chidambaram allegedly managed to get a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-Maxis deal when his father was the Union Finance Minister in 2006.
The ED, in September 2017, had attached Rs 1.16 crore worth of assets of Karti Chidambaram, who is being probed for allegedly receiving kickbacks in lieu of the FIPB clearance.
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Women’s Asian Champions Trophy: Deepika stars again as India cruise to semis with 3-0 win over Japan
Rajgir (Bihar), Nov 17: Defending champions India stormed into the semifinals of the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy with an unbeaten record, defeating Japan 3-0 here on Sunday.
Continuing her stellar form, star striker Deepika netted a quickfire brace from penalty corners in the final quarter to seal the victory, following vice-captain Navneet Kaur’s opener in the 37th minute.
With this win, India topped the league stage with maximum 15 points from five matches, ahead of Olympic silver medallists China (12 points).
India will take on fourth-placed Japan in the semifinal on Tuesday, while China will play third-placed Malaysia in the other last-four game.
Deepika, the tournament’s leading scorer, now boasts 10 goals, including four field goals, five penalty corners, and one penalty stroke, underscoring her dominance.
In the day’s other matches, Malaysia beat Thailand 2-0, while China defeated South Korea by an identical margin.
The Indians secured their first scoring chance in the form of back-to-back penalty corners in the eighth minute but Deepika's flick from the second effort was brilliantly saved by Japanese goalkeeper Yu Kudo.
India earned another penalty corner in the 13th minute but yet again wasted the chance.
The Indians continued to dominate and secured their fourth penalty corner in the 25th minute but once again Kudo rose to the occasion and made three brilliant saves to deny the hosts.
A minute after the change of ends, Kudo again came to Japan's rescue to deny Deepika.
India eventually broke the deadlock in the 37th minute through Navneet's brilliant reverse hit to the second post.
Deepika's brilliance
The Indians continued their domination and earned three back-to-back penalty corrners in the 47th minute and star dragflicker Deepika finally found the back of the net with a powerful low dragflick to open her account.
A minute later, the Indians secured another set piece and this time too Deepika struck again with a powerful flick into the top right corner, effectively sealing the match.
Credit must also go to the Indian defence, led brilliantly by Udita and Sushila Chanu, as they didn't let the Japanese take a single shot at the Indian goal.
Skipper Salima Tete, Neha and Sharmila Devi too were brilliant in the midfield, creating numerous chances for the forwardline with their runs and neat dribbling skills.
