CBI seeks LG's sanction to proceed against Satyendar Jain in 'extortion' matter
New Delhi (PTI): The CBI has sought sanction from the Delhi LG to file a case against former Jail Minister Satyendar Jain for allegedly extorting crores of rupees from various "high profile prisoners", including alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar, to enable them to live comfortably in prison, officials said.
The CBI, while seeking mandatory sanction from Lieutenant General VK Saxena to proceed against Jain, has alleged that "a high level corruption and extortion racket" was being run in the jails of Delhi in connivance with then DG Prison Sandeep Goel and then Additional Inspector General of Prisons Mukesh Prasad along with associate officers, private persons and accomplices.
"They worked as a syndicate for the same," the CBI alleged in its letter to Saxena.
It said it has "source information" that Jain allegedly "extorted and received Rs 10 crore from jail inmate Chandrashekar in various tranches during 2018-21 either himself or through his accomplices, as protection money," to enable the alleged conman to live a peaceful and comfortable life in jail.
Chandrashekhar is lodged in a jail here on charges of money laundering and duping several people.
"Goel and Mukesh Prasad also extorted and received Rs 12.50 crore from jail inmate Sukesh Chandrashekar. The amounts were extorted and received by them in various tranches during 2019-22 either themselves or through their accomplices, as protection money, so as to enable inmate Sukesh Chandrashekar to live peacefully and comfortably in jail," it alleged.
The extortion was also carried out by Goel and Prasad from "other high profile prisoners lodged in jail as protection money" to allow them live in jall safely and comfortably, the agency alleged
The CBI alleged that Raj Kumar, the then Jail Superintendent, Central Jail-4, Tihar was a close associate of Goel and aided him in extorting money from Chandrashekar.
Jain, Goel, Prasad and Kumar "misused their official positions" as public servants and "extended undue favour and advantage" to Chandrashekar and other high profile inmates in the jails of Delhi "in lieu of valuable considerations from the inmates", the agency alleged.
AAP leader Jain is lodged in a Delhi jail in connection with a money laundering case.
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Los Angeles county wildfires could be costliest in US history, early estimates say
Los Angeles, Jan 11: The wildfires that erupted this week across Los Angeles County are still raging, but already are projected to be among the costliest natural disasters in US history.
The devastating blazes have killed at least 11 people and incinerated more than 12,000 structures since Tuesday, laying waste to entire neighbourhoods once home to multimillion-dollar properties.
While it's still too early for an accurate tally of the financial toll, the losses so far likely make the wildfires the costliest ever in the US, according to various estimates.
A preliminary estimate by AccuWeather put the damage and economic losses so far between USD 135 billion and USD 150 billion. By comparison, AccuWeather estimated the damage and economic losses caused by Hurricane Helene, which tore across six southeastern states last fall, at USD 225 billion to USD 250 billion.
“This will be the costliest wildfire in California modern history and also very likely the costliest wildfire in US modern history, because of the fires occurring in the densely populated areas around Los Angeles with some of the highest-valued real estate in the country,” said Jonathan Porter, the private firm's chief meteorologist.
AccuWeather factors in a multitude of variables in its estimates, including damage to homes, businesses, infrastructure and vehicles, as well as immediate and long-term health care costs, lost wages and supply chain interruptions.
The insurance broker Aon PLC also said Friday that the LA County wildfires will likely end up being the costliest in US history, although it did not issue an estimate. Aon ranks a wildfire known as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, in 2018 as the costliest in US history up to now at USD 12.5 billion, adjusted for inflation. The Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed about 11,000 homes.
The LA County wildfires, which were fuelled by hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and an extreme drought, remained largely uncontained Saturday. That means the final tally of losses from the blazes is likely to increase, perhaps substantially.
“To put this into perspective, the total damage and economic loss from this wildfire disaster could reach nearly 4 per cent of the annual GDP of the state of California,” AccuWeather's Porter said.
In a report Friday, Moody's also concluded that the wildfires would prove to be the costliest in US history, specifically because they have ripped through densely populated areas with higher-end properties.
While the state is no stranger to major wildfires, they have generally been concentrated in inland areas that are not densely populated. That's led to less destruction per acre, and in damage to less expensive homes, Moody's noted.
That's far from the case this time, with one of the largest conflagrations destroying thousands of properties across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, home to many Hollywood stars and executives with multimillion-dollar properties. Already, numerous celebrities have lost homes to the fires.
“The scale and intensity of the blazes, combined with their geographic footprint, suggest a staggering price tag, both in terms of the human cost and the economic toll,” Moody's analysts wrote. The report did not include a preliminary cost estimate of the wildfire damage.
It could be several months before a concrete tally of the financial losses from the wildfires will be possible.
“We're in the very early stages of this disaster,” Porter said.
