Six security personnel killed in Maoist blast
Raipur, May 20: Six police personnel were killed and another was critically wounded in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday when a landmine planted by Maoists ripped through the vehicle they were travelling in.
P. Sundarraj, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dantewada Range), told IANS: "Six personnel were killed while one was seriously injured."
Among the dead, five are from the Chhattisgarh Armed Force and one from the district police.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Bastar Range) Ratan Lal Dangi said that a road was being built on the Kirandul-Cholnar road.
"A joint team of Chhattisgarh Armed Force and district police personnel was travelling to Kirandul to provide security to the labourers and officials there."
The Maoists had reportedly planted a landmine in the Cholnar jungle area which exploded as the police vehicle drove over it, detonating with a deafening roar.
The blast killed five personnel instantly. A sixth person succumbed to his injuries later. The injured district policeman was referred to Raipur after first aid.
The powerful explosion shattered the jeep into many parts and left a 10-foot crater. The Maoists who were apparently watching from a distance took away the weapons including two AK-47, two Insas and two SLR rifles each.
Five of the dead were identified as Head Constable Ram Kumar Yadav, Assistant Constable Saligaram Vikram Yadav and Constables Teekeshwar Dhruv, Rajesh Singh and Virendra Nath.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar) Vivekanand Sinha told the media: "We have sounded a high alert in the area and launched a search operation for the Naxalites."
The blast took place two days before Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is set to hold a public meeting in Dantewada. Officials said security would be further increased for the Chief Minister's meeting.
Maoists have been active in the Dantewada region for decades, running a state within a state.
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BharatPe fraud case: Delhi HC quashes lookout circular against Ashneer Grover, wife
New Delhi, Nov 12: The Delhi High Court has ordered cancellation of a lookout circular (LOC) issued against Ashneer Grover, the former MD of payment app BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover, noting that the FIR lodged against them over allegations of cheating and forgery has already been quashed.
Justice Sanjeev Narula passed the order on Monday after the court was informed that another bench of the high court quashed the FIR on the same day.
The FIR was quashed by Justice Chandra Dhari Singh after considering a plea moved by the Grovers stating that they have arrived at a settlement with the fintech company.
In his order, Justice Narula said, "Although the copy of the order (quashing the FIR) is not available as of now, the aforenoted fact is not disputed by the counsel for the parties.
"In light of the fact that the underlying FIR has been quashed, the LOC issued by respondent No. 3 (Bureau of Immigration), in the opinion of the court, will not survive."
The LOC was issued by the Bureau of Immigration at the instance of Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in view of the investigation against the Grovers in the cheating and forgery FIR.
The court was hearing a plea moved by Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover seeking quashing of the LOC issued against them in connection with the investigation into the cheating and forgery case.
"Accordingly, the present petitions are disposed of with a direction to the respondents to cancel the LOC against the petitioners in their records," the court noted.
Earlier, the Grovers claimed that they were informed about the LOC for the first time when they were detained at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on November 16, 2023, while they were scheduled to travel to the US.
After being detained, they were informed that the LOC was operational from November 6, 2023.
In May last year, the EOW filed an FIR against Grover, his wife Madhuri, and others under eight sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 467 and 468 (forgery), and 471 (using forged documents as genuine) for an alleged Rs 81 crore fraud after a complaint was lodged by BhartPe, the fintech unicorn.
In its complaint, BharatPe alleged that Grover and his family caused damages to the tune of Rs 81.3 crore through illegitimate payments to bogus human resource consultants, inflated and undue payments through pass-through vendors connected to the accused, sham transactions in input tax credit and payment of penalty to GST authorities, illegal payment to travel agencies, forged invoices by Madhuri, and destruction of evidence.
Madhuri was the head of controls at BharatPe before she was fired in 2022 after a forensic audit revealed several irregularities.
Subsequently, Grover resigned as the chief executive officer of the fintech firm in March 2022.
