Rahul meets Youth Cong workers arrested for 'shirtless protest' at AI meet, calls them 'babbar sher'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday met the Indian Youth Congress members who were arrested for a "shirtless" protest during the AI Impact Summit here in February and said he is proud of the courage and patriotism of these "lions".
This was Gandhi's first joint meeting with all the Youth Congress members who were arrested following the protest. The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha shared photographs of the meeting held at the Congress headquarters here on his Instagram page.
"Today, I met with my fellow 'babbar sher (lion)' members of the Youth Congress who had been arrested for their peaceful protest. Peaceful protest is a constitutional right of every citizen. And it becomes all the more essential -- especially when the country's Prime Minister is compromised," Gandhi said in his post on Instagram.
"The Congress party and I take immense pride in the courage and patriotism of our 'babbar shers'," he added.
A group of Youth Congress workers had staged a dramatic protest inside a hall of the AI summit venue by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal, before being whisked away by security personnel.
Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib, along with those who participated in the demonstration, was arrested in connection with the "shirtless protest" at the venue of the summit at Bharat Mandapam. Chib and others were later released on bail.
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Karnataka: Commercial Taxes Dept busts Rs 410 crore GST fraud network, arrests one
Bengaluru (PTI): The Commercial Taxes Department on Wednesday said it has arrested a man involved in generating and routing fraudulent ITC across multiple states and has unearthed a GST fraud worth Rs 410 crore.
In a statement, the Commercial Taxes Department said its Enforcement Wing (south zone) arrested Mohammed Tauqeer (42) when he attempted to abscond.
“Mohammed Tauqeer has been arrested for his active role in floating bogus firms and facilitating large-scale fake Input Tax Credit transactions. The accused was produced before the Special Court for Economic Offences here, which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days,” the department said.
Further investigation has revealed that Mohammed Tauqeer and his accomplice, Shaik Jakeer Hussain, alias Basha, are the principal masterminds operating behind the network, it said.
It added that the duo had floated multiple bogus business entities and systematically issued fake tax invoices without actual supply of goods, thereby generating and passing fraudulent ITC to entities in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu.
The investigation has revealed that the accused routed fake ITC to various entities, including previously arrested operatives, who in turn passed it on to works contractors and traders for offsetting their tax liabilities.
This mechanism enabled beneficiaries to discharge tax liabilities through ineligible ITC instead of cash payments, causing a significant loss to the government exchequer.
“The financial magnitude attributable to this network is Rs 410 crore in fraudulent transactions involving wrongful ITC of Rs 102.5 crore,” the department said.
The statement said the modus operandi adopted by the accused reflects a well-structured and evolving pattern, involving frequent creation and cancellation of GST registrations within short durations, continuous changes of mobile numbers and bank accounts, operation through multiple-layered entities, and functioning in isolated silos to evade detection.
The accused are originally from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh, with Mohammed Tauqeer currently residing in Bengaluru and Basha operating from Andhra Pradesh.
“Despite sustained efforts over the past month, Shaik Jakeer Hussain managed to flee overseas and remains absconding,” the department said.
Efforts are underway to trace and secure him through appropriate legal channels, it added.
