UP ATS arrests Pak ISI agent working at Indian Embassy in Moscow from Meerut
Lucknow (PTI): The Anti-Terrorist Squad of Uttar Pradesh Squad (ATS) has arrested a person working in the Indian Embassy, Moscow, for his alleged involvement in anti-national activities with Pakistani intelligence agency ISI and providing them important confidential information regarding the strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian military establishments, an official statement issued here on Sunday said.
Satendra Siwal, the son of Jaiveer Singh, a resident of Shahmahiuddinpur village in police station area of Hapur district has been arrested by the ATS, the statement said.
Siwal is working in the Ministry of External Affairs and presently posted in the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, it said.
The ATS was receiving intelligence from various confidential sources that the handlers of the Pakistani intelligence agency ISI, through some persons, were luring the employees of the Ministry of External Affairs with money to obtain strategically and strategically important information related to the Indian Army that is likely to pose a huge threat to the internal and external security of India, the statement said.
The ATS in its probe through electronic and physical surveillance found that Siwal was involved in anti-India activities with the network of the ISI handlers and providing important confidential information regarding the strategic activities of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian military establishments is being made available to them for money, it added.
Siwal was called to the ATS field unit Meerut and interrogated as per rules, the statement said.
He could not give satisfactory answers and confessed to his crime during the interrogation, it added.
An FIR has been registered against Siwal, who is working as the IBSA (India Based Security Assistant) in the Indian Embassy in Moscow, Russia, from 2021, at ATS police station, Lucknow, under Section 121A of the IPC (waging war against the country) and official secrets Act 1923, the statement said.
Satyendra Siwal working as MTS (Multi-Tasking, Staff) at the Ministry of External Affairs, has been arrested by UP ATS. He is accused of working for ISI. Satyendra was posted at the Indian Embassy in Moscow. He is originally a resident of Hapur: UP ATS pic.twitter.com/BY4ueim0KU
— ANI (@ANI) February 4, 2024
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ICICI Bank trims hike, lowers min balance requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): In a U-turn, ICICI Bank has slashed the minimum monthly average balance (MAB) requirement to Rs 15,000 from Rs 50,000, citing "valuable feedback" from customers.
The minimum balance requirement for its new savings bank accounts opened on or after August 1 was recently raised five times to Rs 50,000.
"Following valuable feedback from our customers, we have revised these requirements to better reflect their expectations and preferences. We thank our customers for their continued trust and feedback, which help us serve them better," ICICI Bank posted on its website.
Similarly, the MAB for semi-urban and rural locations has been revised downwards to Rs 7,500 and Rs 2,500 respectively, it said.
Before August 1, the MAB for semi-urban and rural was Rs 5,000.
However, the bank said the revised MAB requirements are not applicable to salary accounts, senior citizens/pensioners (above 60 years), basic savings bank deposit account/PM Jandhan Yojana, and accounts for people with special needs.
They are also not applicable to savings accounts opened before July 31, 2025.
MAB is the minimum balance that a customer is required to maintain in a bank account. If the balance falls below the required amount, the bank levies a penalty.
In case account holders fail to meet the MAB, customers will be liable to pay penal charges of 6 per cent of the shortfall in required MAB, or Rs 500, whichever is lower.
The balance in the savings bank account of ICICI Bank earns an interest of 2.5 per cent per annum, it said.
The hike in MAB comes at a time when public sector banks have rationalised their penalties or completely waived them.
