Centre cleared renaming of Osmanabad to Dharashiv; decision on Aurangabad under process: HC told
Mumbai, Feb 15: The Union government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court it has approved the change of name of Osmanabad in Maharashtra to Dharashiv, but the approval of renaming Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar was under process.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne had last month sought to know from the Centre if it had received any proposal from the Maharashtra government over the change of names of these two cities and if yes then whether the proposal was accepted.
On Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the bench that the Centre had received a proposal from the state government.
"As far as Osmanabad is concerned, we have already notified the state on February 2 that there was no objection to name change, but there is no decision yet on the name change of Aurangabad. It is still in process," he said.
The court accepted the statement and posted the matter for further hearing on February 27.
The bench was hearing two public interest litigations (PILs) challenging the government's decision to change the names.
The Maharashtra cabinet headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had last year approved the name of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.
On July 16, 2022, the Government Resolution (GR) was passed by a two-member cabinet of CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis for changing the name and then forwarded it to the central government.
One petition filed by Aurangabad residents Mohammed Mushtaq Ahmed, Annasaheb Khandare and Rajesh More challenged the government's decision to rename Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Another PIL was filed by 17 residents of Osmanabad against the government's decision to rename it as Dharashiv.
Both the petitions termed the government's decision as "politically motivated".
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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.
