Airtel pays Rs 10,000 crore to govt towards AGR dues
New Delhi: After Supreme Court rap and the government's stringent deadline, Bharti Airtel on Monday said it has paid Rs 10,000 crore to the telecom department towards statutory dues. The company said it will make payment of the balance amount after self assessment exercise.
"The...total amount of Rs 10,000 crore has been paid on behalf of Bharti Airtel, Bharti Hexacom, and Telenor.
"We are in the process of completing the self assessment exercise expeditiously and will duly make the balance payment upon completion of the same, before the next date of hearing in the SC," Bharti Airtel said.
The company said it will also submit supporting details at the time of making balance payment.
The telecom department on February 14 began issuing orders asking firms such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea to clear past dues immediately.
The DoT, which faced the ire of the Supreme Court for putting on hold recovery of dues from telecom companies, had started issuing circle or zone-wise demand notices to the firms.
Airtel had previously responded to DoT order by offering to pay Rs 10,000 crore by February 20 and the remaining before March 17. Airtel owes nearly Rs 35,586 crore, including licence fee and spectrum usage charge, to the government.
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Man arrested for murder after drunken brawl with friend in Idukki
Idukki (Kerala) (PTI): A 33-year-old man was allegedly murdered following a drunken brawl with his friend at Erattayar here, police said on Sunday.
The deceased has been identified as Rahul, a native of Erattayar.
Police have arrested his friend Sajayan in connection with the incident.
According to police, the incident occurred around 10.45 pm on Saturday near the old panchayat office in Erattayar.
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Rahul and Sajayan were engaged in painting work and had reportedly purchased liquor and consumed it together on Saturday night.
After consuming alcohol, a quarrel broke out between the two.
During the altercation, Sajayan allegedly assaulted Rahul and later strangled him, police said.
He then dragged Rahul to some distance before leaving the spot, police said.
Local residents who witnessed the incident alerted the police. Rahul was rushed to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries, officials said.
Police later took Sajayan into custody from his residence.
A case of murder has been registered by Kattappana police, and the accused will be produced before a court as part of remand proceedings, police added.
