104-yr old man released from Bengal jail after spending 36-years in jail
Kolkata/Malda (PTI): A 104-year-old man released from West Bengal's Malda Correctional Home after languishing in jail for 36 years said he will spend time with his family members and do gardening.
Rasikt Mondal was sentenced to life imprisonment by District and Sessions court in Malda in 1992 after being arrested in 1988, on the charge of murdering his brother in a land dispute case.
He had been enlarged on bail for about one year and given parole another time but again went back to the prison once the period was over and the high court turned down his pleas for release on past occasions.
Mondal, a resident of Manikchak in Malda district, told reporters emerging out of the gate of Malda Correctional Home on Tuesday that he will now devote full time to gardening/nurturing plants and spending time with family members.
Asked how old was he, Mondal mumbled 108 years but his son, accompanying him, corrected that he was 104. Correctional home authorities said records showed he was 104.
"I don't remember how many years I had spent in jail. It seemed never-ending. I don't even recall when I was brought here," the elderly man, looking remarkably agile considering his age, said.
However, he added "now I have come out I can do justice to my passion - attending plants in the small garden in my courtyard. I missed my family and grandchildren. Want to be with them."
Mondal's son Prakash Mondal said his father was released following an order of the Supreme Court.
"After serving a considerable period in prison, every prisoner is entitled to release from prison if he has not committed any improper act during incarceration as informed by our lawyer. Happy the SC finally paved the way for his release," the son said.
Mondal had been sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992 by the district and sessions court Malda when he was 72 years old.
However, during the hearing at Calcutta High Court, he was released on bail. However, he went back to the correctional home as the high court upheld the life sentence verdict of the lower court.
In 2020 he was granted parole but went back to the correctional home in 2021 and remained lodged in lock up till the SC issued the order last month.
"I am very happy," his wife, octogenarian Meena Mondal said.
The elderly man, who used to do physical exercise during his stay in prison and looked fit considering his advanced age, claimed "I am innocent and a victim of circumstances."
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ED arrests Sandeepa Virk, 'cosmetologist' for alleged money laundering
New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate said on Wednesday it has arrested a woman, who claims to be an actor and a cosmetologist, under the anti-money laundering law in a case of alleged fraud and misrepresentation.
The agency said the purported links of the woman, Sandeepa Virk, with a Reliance Group executive, Angarai Natarajan Sethuraman (President, Corporate Affairs), are also under its scanner. Sethuraman, in a statement, denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Virk was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday after searches were conducted against her and her associates in Delhi and Mumbai over the last two days.
A special court sent her to the ED's custody till August 14, the agency said. The woman claims to be the owner of a skin care products selling website named hyboocare.com, which the ED claimed was a "front" for money laundering.
She and her associates are being probed for allegedly exerting undue influence through "misrepresentation" and "defrauding" individuals by soliciting money under false pretences.
According to an Instagram ID of Virk, she is an actor and entrepreneur and the founder of the said website.
The federal agency said in a statement that the woman was also "in touch with" Sethuraman, former director of erstwhile Reliance Capital Limited.
She was communicating with him regarding "illegal liaisoning", the ED claimed, adding that the searches at Sethuraman's residence "confirmed" these allegations.
"Besides, diversion of funds for personal benefit has also been unearthed during the course of the search action," it said.
The ED alleged that public money worth about Rs 18 crore belonging to Reliance Commercial Finance Limited (RCFL) was disbursed to Sethuraman in 2018 by "flouting" prudent lending norms.
The funds were lent under terms that allowed a deferment of the principal amount as well as the interest, with multiple waivers granted and no due diligence conducted, it said.
The ED claimed that besides this, a home loan of Rs 22 crore was provided by Reliance Capital Limited by "violating" the prudential norms. "A large part of these loans are seen to have been eventually siphoned off and remained unpaid," it alleged.
Sethuraman, in a statement, dismissed the allegations as "baseless". He denied any connection with Virk or any transactions related to her.
Detailing about Virk's web portal, the agency said it purportedly sold FDA-approved beauty products. However, the ED said the products listed on the website have been found to be non-existent and the portal lacks a user registration option and is plagued by persistent payment gateway issues.
A scrutiny of the website uncovered minimal social-media engagement, an inactive WhatsApp contact number and an absence of transparent organisational details, all of which reinforce the finding of "non-genuine" commercial activity, the ED claimed.
"These factors, including limited product range, inflated pricing, false claims of FDA approval and technical inconsistencies, indicate that the website serves as a front for laundering funds," it said.
Another social media-hosted bio data of the woman said she is a certified cosmetologist.
The ED said several "incriminating" documents were seized during the searches and the statement of a man named Farrukh Ali, stated to be an associate of Virk, was recorded.
The money-laundering case stems from an FIR lodged by the Punjab Police.
Sethuraman said that the home loan he received from Reliance Capital was granted following due process and was secured by the property offered as collateral.
