Gujarat: AAP MLA Bhupat Bhayani denies talk of joining BJP, but hails PM Modi
Ahmedabad, Dec 11: Newly-elected Aam Aadmi Party MLA Bhupat Bhayani on Sunday denied speculation he would join the BJP in Gujarat but said he was proud of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bhayani won from the Visavadar constituency in the recently-held Assembly polls by beating BJP's Harshad Ribadiya. The AAP had won five seats in the 182-member House.
"I am not at all unhappy with AAP and I have not taken any decision about joining the BJP as of now. I will decide only after meeting my workers and people. As of now, I am with AAP,"
Bhayani told reporters in Gandhinagar ahead of the swearing-in of the BJP government scheduled for Monday.
The BJP won a landslide mandate in the polls by winning 156 seats in the Gujarat Assembly.
Hailing the PM, Bhayani said, "I emerged as a leader in BJP during Narendra Modi's tenure as the chief minister in Gujarat. As a committed BJP worker (in the past) and as a Gujarati, it was a matter of great pride for me when Modiji become PM in 2014. I am still proud of our PM."
Bhayani hinted he may have to support BJP in the future to resolve several key issues of his constituency.
"I respect the people's mandate given to BJP. To solve key issues of my region, such as water for irrigation, I may have to take support from the BJP," said Bhayani.
Meanwhile, Independent MLAs and BJP rebels Mavji Desai, Dharmendrasinh Vaghela and Dhavalsinh Zala held a meeting in Bayad town in north Gujarat during the day.
The trio was with the BJP in the past but contested as Independents after being denied tickets in the recent elections.
After the meeting, Vaghela said he has already extended his support to the BJP because he was with the party since the beginning of his political career.
While Desai and Zala have not made any statement in this regard, it is widely speculated they too will offer support to the ruling party.
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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.
