Shashi Tharoor's ex aide detained in gold smuggling case
New Delhi, May 30: Customs authorities have detained a former member of Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's staff and another person at the IGI airport here in an alleged case of gold smuggling.
In a statement, the Customs said that on the basis of suspicion, its officers have booked a case of gold smuggling against an Indian national who arrived here from Bangkok on Wednesday.
It said further investigations revealed involvement of another individual, who had come to the airport to receive the passenger and also assist in the alleged smuggling.
The said the individual was intercepted and a heavy gold chain weighing 500 gm, valued at 35.22 lakh, was recovered from him. The gold was handed over to him by the passenger inside the arrival hall, the customs said.
Enquiry revealed that the individual had a valid Aerodrome Entry Permit.
The circumstances of acquisition of Aerodrome Entry Permit by the receiver, as a part of the protocol team for a Member of Parliament, are being looked into, the the customs said.
The recovered gold has been seized under section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962 and further investigation is underway, the statement said.
Tharoor, who is in Dharamshala for campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, said he was shocked to hear of the incident involving "a former member" of his staff who has been rendering part-time service to him in terms of airport facilitation.
"He is a 72-year-old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis and was retained on a part-time basis on compassionate grounds.
"I do not condone any alleged wrongdoing and fully support the authorities in their efforts to take any necessary action as may be required to investigate the matter. The law must take its own course," Tharoor wrote on X.
While I am in Dharamshala for campaigning purposes, I was shocked to hear of an incident involving a former member of my staff who has been rendering part-time service to me in terms of airport facilitation assistance. He is a 72 year old retiree undergoing frequent dialysis and…
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 30, 2024
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
