New Delhi, Sep 18 : Upping the ante against the Narendra Modi government for its "collaboration" in letting Vijay Mallya flee the country, the Congress on Tuesday demanded a probe into why the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did not act against the liquor baron.
"Complicity, collusion, connivance and collaboration of the Modi government at the highest level has been unmasked. Nothing can absolve Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley of their responsibility in Vijay Mallya's escape," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.
Pointing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s changing stance against Mallya in the Rs 9,000-crore loan default case, the Congress leader questioned if the "PMO nudged the CBI to protect Mallya".
"Why has CBI shifted its stance thrice - ‘Seeking Advance Information' to ‘Inadvertent Error' to ‘Error of Judgment'? Why are the two officers -- Joint Director A.K. Sharma and SP Harshita Attaluri -- mum on the reason for changing ‘Lookout Notice to Detain' to ‘Inform'?" said Surjewala.
He also said that a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India was advised to move the Supreme Court against Mallya on February 29, 2016 and get his passport impounded.
"On February 29, the banks failed to file a case or move for confiscation of Mallya's passport. They moved the Supreme Court against Mallya only on March 5 after he had escaped on March 2, 2016. Who directed them not to act against Mallya?" he said.
Surjewala also questioned Jaitley's failure to inform the banks, the CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the immigration authorities about his meeting with Mallya and to detain him.
The Congress demanded a comprehensive probe into the role of the PMO, Jaitley and officers of the Finance Ministry, the CBI including then Director Anil Sinha, Joint Director Sharma and SP Attaluri as well as the consortium of banks, particularly the management of State Bank of India, for not acting against Mallya.
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Buxar (PTI): A man was arrested in Bihar’s Buxar district for sending a message to a foreign intelligence agency’s website, claiming that he could compromise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security in exchange for money, police said.
The accused, identified as Amal Kumar Tiwari of Simri locality, was apprehended on Thursday night. Police seized a laptop, mobile phones and other digital evidence from his premises.
“Police received information that Tiwari posted a message on the website of the USA-based intelligence agency. He demanded money in exchange for compromising the security of the Indian PM," the Buxar police said in a statement on Friday.
It was found that in his seized mobile phone, multiple virtual private networks (VPNs) and some apps were installed, which were used to access the dark web, it said.
A VPN is a tool that creates an encrypted, private tunnel for one's internet traffic over public networks, providing enhanced privacy, while the dark web is a part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines and requires special software to access.
The police statement said that fake identity documents were also recovered from his premises, which were being used for cybercrimes.
“During interrogation, the accused confessed his involvement in the incident. It was also revealed that earlier he had been involved in a case of threatening to hack Kolkata airport's website,” the statement said.
