84 artistes conferred with Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards
New Delhi (PTI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday presented the one-time Sangeet Natak Akademi Amrit Awards to 84 artistes from varied fields of performing arts.
The award was constituted to honour Indian artistes aged above 75 years who have not been accorded any national honour in their career so far.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Dhankhar said this is the first time in the nation's history that these artistes are being recognised for their work.
"All these artistes are those who have never been given their due in the last 75 years. By giving them respect, we give respect to the Indian culture; it increases India's glory in the world," he said.
The vice president added that it is important to help such artistes in a "structured manner" through several schemes launched by the government.
"There are very few countries in the world whose culture is not more than 500-700 years old. But India's culture is 5,000 years old. Hence, eit is important that we appreciate these artistes, take care of them, protect them, nurture them, and help them in a structured manner. I am aware that there are several innovative government schemes under which artistes are receiving help," Dhankar said.
A total of 84 artistes, including 70 men and 14 women, received the award at the ceremony.
The list of awardees include Krishen Langoo (theatre and music) from Jammu and Kashmir, John Claro Fernandes (playwriting) from Goa, Mahabir Nayak (folk music and dance) from Jharkhand and Tsering Stanzin (folk music) from Ladakh.
Three artistes from Andhra Pradesh, two from Arunachal Pradesh and six from Maharashtra also received the prestigious award. Three from Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and two each from Punjab and Delhi were also selected.
Four award recipients each are from Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka while five each from Assam and Rajasthan also received the prize.
The awardees received Rs 1 lakh, besides a Tamrapatra' and Angavastram'.
Sandhya Purecha, chairman of Sangeet Natak Akademi, said that the Akademi is awarding those artistes who have given a lifetime to preserve and protect Indian arts and culture.
"All of you represent the diverse cultural fields and arts of India. All of you are experts in your respective fields and have maintained the continuity of the Indian culture through your practices. You have made an important contribution to keeping the Indian heritage alive. This is a reward for that contribution," Purecha said
The award ceremony was also attended by Minister of State for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi.
The Sangeet Natak Akademi has also organised a four-day festival from September 16 to 20 at the Akademi complex featuring the recipients of the awards.
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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.
