India rejects Pakistan's claim over Jinnah House; says it belongs to India
New Delhi, Dec 21: India Thursday strongly rejected Pakistan's claim of ownership of the Jinnah House in Mumbai and said the property belongs to it.
"Pakistan has no locus standi as far as this property is concerned. It is a government of India's property and we are in the process of renovating it," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
The Jinnah House on Malabar Hill in Mumbai was designed by architect Claude Batley in European style and Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah lived there in the late 1930s. Pakistan has been demanding that the property be handed over to it for housing its Mumbai consulate.
Kumar said the government is considering putting the Jinnah House into use on the lines of the Hyderabad House here. The government uses the Hyderabad House for holding meetings and hosting banquets for foreign dignitaries.
The MEA spokesperson's comments came on a day Pakistan asserted that the Jinnah House belonged to it and any attempt by India to take the building under its control will not be accepted.
"We have a claim over it (Jinnah House) and we do not accept that anyone tries to take custody of it. They (Indians) have already accepted that it belongs to Pakistan. We have record of it. They (Indians) have accepted that it belong to Pakistan," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Mohammad Faisal said in Islamabad.
Pakistan's claim over the property came days after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in a letter to Mumbai city BJP legislator Mangal Prabhat Lodha, said the government was in the process of renovating the Jinnah House.
Jinnah's daughter Dina Wadia had in August 2007 approached the Bombay High Court claiming that being the sole legal heir of Jinnah, she should get the possession of the house. After her death, her son and Wadia Group chairman Nusli Neville Wadia is carrying on the litigation.
Asked about the court case initiated by Dina Wadia, Kumar said, "It has nothing to do with who is contesting. This property belongs to government of India," adding the nationality of the petitioner is not in question.
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Goa nightclub fire: Co-owner Ajay Gupta's police remand extended by four days
Panaji (PTI): A Goa court on Thursday extended by four days the police remand of Ajay Gupta, co-owner of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a devastating fire on December 6 killed 25 persons.
Gupta was arrested from New Delhi on December 10. A court in Mapusa had remanded him in police custody for seven days at the time.
Gupta was presented before the lower court, which sent him to four-day police custody as his initial remand was expiring, his advocate Rohan Desai told reporters.
"Gupta had complained about back pain. The court ordered his medical examination, after which he was allowed use of a mattress in custody. He was examined by a specialised doctor at Goa Medical College and Hospital near here," the lawyer said.
Twenty-five persons, including 20 staff members and five tourists, were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub at Arpora in North Goa around midnight of December 6.
Gupta had, during the day, filed an bail application.
So far, eight persons have been arrested in connection with the case, including Gupta, and two other owners - Gaurav Luthra and his brother Saurabh - who were deported from Thailand.
Five other staffers of the nightclub arrested in the case are Rajiv Modak (Corporate General Manager), Priyanshu Thakur (Gate Manager), Rajveer Singhania (Bar Manager), Vivek Singh (General Manager) and Bharat Karan Singh Kohli (employee).
A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against Surinder Kumar Khosla, another owner of the nightclub who is a British citizen, police said.
