Companies competing with Adani for 'prized assets' faced CBI, ED, IT raids: Congress
New Delhi, Aug 5: The Congress on Saturday cited the takeover of a cement company to allege that probe agencies were being misused by the BJP government to "enrich" a select few crony capitalists.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that in sectors such as airports, ports and cement, companies competing with the Adani Group for prized assets have faced CBI, ED and Income Tax raids "that have dissuaded them from proceeding with their bids, and the assets have ultimately gone to Adani".
"In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors," he said in a statement.
"The latest episode involves the takeover of Sanghi Industries by the Adani-owned Ambuja Cements," Ramesh said.
"Aap chronology samjhiye: April 28, 2023: India's third-largest cement producer Shree Cement is reported to be in talks to acquire Sanghi Industries. June 21, 2023: Income Tax Department launches raids against Shree Cement at five locations. July 19, 2023: Shree Cement exits race to acquire Sanghi Industries. August 3, 2023: Adani-owned Ambuja Cements announces it has acquired Sanghi Industries," the Congress leader claimed.
Ramesh said Sanghi's unit in Sanghipuram, Gujarat, is India's largest single-location cement and clinker plant.
The associated Sanghipuram Port will also further facilitate Adani's ports monopoly, he alleged.
"Agencies like the ED and CBI are not only being used to break apart opposition parties and bring down opposition-ruled governments, with 95 per cent of investigations aimed against opposition leaders. Prized assets like Mumbai airport, Krishnapatnam Port and, now, Sanghi Industries are being handed over to the Adani Group following raids by these agencies," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Ramesh said the party has every expectation that, as in previous cases, the promoters of Shree Cement will be "pressured" to deny that the raids affected their decision to withdraw from bidding.
Congress has been raising several questions on the Adani issue ever since a US research firm Hindenburg came out with allegations of stock manipulation and financial irregularities against the Adani Group and demanded answers from the government.
The Adani Group denied all the allegations made in the Hindenburg report and claimed there had been no wrongdoing on its part.
The entire Budget session of Parliament was washed out over the Adani issue, with the opposition demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the entire issue.
In our Hum Adani ke Hain Kaun (HAHK) series of 100 questions for PM Modi, the Congress party had pointed out how the Adani Group has repeatedly profited from well-timed, Modi-made raids by investigative agencies on its business competitors.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 5, 2023
The latest episode is the chronology… pic.twitter.com/fiCTDiRCne
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
