Journalist Upendra Rai held after dubious transactions worth crores detected
New Delhi, May 3: The CBI on Thursday arrested senior journalist Upendra Rai for dubious transactions in his accounts to the tune of over Rs 100 crore during 2017-2018 and also using false information to obtain access to sensitive areas through Aerodrome Entry Pass (AEP) for all airports across the country.
Rai, who was taken into custody here and was being questioned, is accused of committing the offence in connivance with the officials of aviation company Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd and some public servants of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR on Tuesday naming Upendra Rai, Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd, its Chief Security Officer Prasun Roy, some unidentified public servants of BACS and others.
The agency on Thursday also searched eight places in Delhi, Noida, Lucknow and Mumbai in connection with the case.
Rai, owner of Printlines Media Group and formerly employed with Tehelka, Roy, some public servants and other private persons were questioned by the CBI at its headquarters here, a CBI official said.
The CBI has found that in 2017, Rai's bank accounts show credit of Rs 79 crore with several transactions of over Rs one lakh each, while in the same period, the accounts reflect debit amount of Rs 78.51 crore.
Rai, the CBI said, has purchased a fleet of cars out of the ill-gotten money. "It is also learnt that he has received Rs 16 crore in one year from shell companies for bribing or fixing case in Income Tax and that he has received about Rs 6.5 crore from Sahara India in one year."
The CBI said that two persons -- Rahul Sharma, a resident of Palam in west Delhi, and Sanjay Snehi, a resident of Laxmi Nagar in east Delhi-- assist Rai to park the ill-gotten money.
A resident of Greater Kailash in south Delhi, Rai is also accused conspiring with Roy and others with an intent to obtain AEPs on false information for gaining access to the restricted areas of airports in India.
The CBI FIR said that Rai managed to get the first AEP in January 2017 showing himself as a permanent employee of Air One to gain access at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. He renewed the pass in April 2017 before its expiry after 90 days.
In June 2017, he applied for permanent AEP and managed to get it with its validity upto December 2018, it said.
"Air One sponsored Upendra Rai's name as its employee whenever he applied for the AEPs and forwarded his applications to the BCAS, which in-turn forwarded these applications to the Delhi International Airport Ltd without verifying his genuineness."
Rai also managed to get all India airport AEP with the help of Roy by falsely showing himself as Director Quality Control of Air One, said the FIR, noting he was not technically qualified and his name was not approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for the post
"In his application for issuance of Press Information Bureau (PIB) card for the year 2018, Upendra Rai has not declared himself as employee of Air One," the FIR said.
The CBI also found that Rai had paid an amount of Rs 13,92,000 on January 2, through his account, to Airone Charters Pvt Ltd, the parent firm of Air One Aviation Pvt Ltd.
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SRH knocked out of play-off race after washout against DC
Hyderabad, May 5 (PTI): Sunrisers Hyderabad were eliminated from the play-offs race after their Indian Premier League fixture against Delhi Capitals was called off due to heavy rain following the first innings here on Monday.
Pat Cummins-led SRH pace attack ran through the DC batting line-up to limit the visitors to 133/7 before rain dashed the slim hopes of the home team. Both teams shared a point each for the abandoned game.
With 13 points from 11 games, DC remain in contention for a top-four spot.
After reaching the final last year, it was a season to forget for SRH who could not replicate their ballistic run of 2024 with the bat. Having collected only seven points from 11 matches, SRH will now be playing for pride.
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were already eliminated from the competition.
Before rain lashed the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, the hosts put up a clinical effort with the ball and were on course for only their fourth win of the season until rain arrived, creating large puddles of water on the outfield. The match officials decided to call off the game at 11.10 pm local time.
The shot selection of Delhi Capitals' batters contributed to their downfall after being put in to bat.
They were left reeling at 29 for five in 7.1 overs with captain Cummins causing the maximum damage.
Cummins had Karun Nair caught behind on the very first ball of the match with a good length ball around the off-stump. It was a rather loose shot from the DC batter first up.
Faf du Plessis departed in Cummins' following over, a failed attempt to put the relentless Australian away for a boundary. Not getting any loose ball from Cummins, the South Africa went for a pull on the charge only to be caught by the wicket-keeper.
Cummins' third victim was Abhishek Porel who was caught after mistiming a flick.
Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat then got into the act by dismissing Axar Patel and K L Rahul respectively. The in-form Rahul went for a drive on the up but ended up edging it to Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
It was one way traffic until Tristian Stubbs (41 not out off 36) and impact player Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26) combined to take DC to a respectable total. They shared a 66-run stand off 45 balls.
Sharma was able to break the shackles by depositing leg-spinner Zeeshan Ansari for a couple of sixes over long-on in the 15th over.
Stubbs did not look as comfortable as Sharma in the middle but managed to provide much needed support to the latter. The South African could find only four boundaries with the last one coming off the final ball of the innings.
🚨 News 🚨
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2025
Match 55 between @SunRisers and @DelhiCapitals has been called off due to wet outfield.
Both teams share a point each.
Scorecard ▶ https://t.co/1MkIwk4VNE
#TATAIPL | #SRHvDC pic.twitter.com/VnVZWjsjGJ
