IPS officer sent on compulsory leave over DHFL promoters’ travel during lockdown
Mumbai: Maharashtra government on Friday sent a senior IPS officer on compulsory leave for allowing DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan to travel despite the ongoing lockdown, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said.
The bureaucrat had issued a letter exempting the Wadhawans from the lockdown norms citing a family emergency.
"As per discussion with Hon. CM, Mr Amitabh Gupta, Principal Secretary (special), has been sent on compulsory leave with immediate effect, till the pending of enquiry, which will be initiated against him," Deshmukh tweeted.
The Wadhawans were detained at Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra's Satara district on Thursday for violating prohibitory orders amid lockdown, police said.
Police found 23 people including members of the Wadhawan family at their farmhouse, an official said.
According to local police officials, the Wadhawan family along with others travelled from Khandala to Mahabaleshwar on Wednesday evening in their cars, even when both Pune and Satara districts are sealed amid ongoing lockdown for containing coronavirus.
Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan are accused in Yes Bank and DHFL fraud cases. They were spotted at their `Diwan farm house' by civic authorities, officials said.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had recently issued summons to Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in Yes Bank case and asked them to appear on March 17.
The duo reportedly cited the pandemic and skipped the appearance, officials said. Meanwhile, opposition BJP has latched onto the issue.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis wondered how could one vacation in Mahableshwar with official permission from the police when lockdown is in force.
"No lockdowns for mighty and rich in Maharashtra?.
One can spend holidays in Mahabaleshwar with official permission from police," the former chief minister said.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
