Moon sighted, India to celebrate Eid on Monday
New Delhi (PTI): Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, will be celebrated in the country on Monday as the moon was sighted this evening.
Fatehpuri Masjid Imam Mufti Mukarram Ahmad told PTI that the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of the mosque contacted many places and was informed that the moon was sighted at several places.
Eid will be celebrated in the country on March 31, Monday, he said.
Describing Eid as a festival of brotherhood and harmony, Ahmad said, "On this occasion, we pray that brotherhood and harmony in the country continues to prosper and is strengthened with love."
In Jammu and Kashmir, Grand Mufti Nasirul Islam said that the festival will be celebrated on Monday as the crescent moon was sighted at many places in the Union territory. "Reports of moon sighting have been received from various parts including Srinagar," the Grand Mufti told reporters in Srinagar.
Eid-ul-Fitr is celebrated across the world on different days and it is determined by the sighting of the crescent moon which is supposed to denote the start of the Shawwal month in the lunar Islamic calendar.
Meanwhile, Muslim organization Imarat-e-Shariah-Hind also issued a statement confirming the sighting of the Eid moon in different parts of the country including in the national capital.
The statement quoted Maulana Najibullah Qasmi, secretary of the organization's Ruat-e-Hilal Committee (Moon Committee), as saying that it is announced that the "month of Shawwal will start from Monday, March 31 and special prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr will be offered tomorrow morning".
Meanwhile, Shahi Jama Masjid Imam Syed Shaban Bukhari said in a video shared on social media that the moon of the Islamic month of Shawwal was sighted in different parts of the country on Sunday, hence it is announced that Eid-ul-Fitr is on Monday.
Head of prominent Muslim organization Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Maulana Arshad Madani, in a post on Facebook, greeted people on Eid and said he prays that Allah makes this Eid "an opportunity to remove differences and promote the spirit of tolerance and love among us".
This year the month of Ramzan was of 29 days, while last year it was of 30 days.
According to the Islamic calendar, there are 29 or 30 days in a month, depending on the sighting of the moon. During the month of Ramzan, people do not eat or drink anything from sunrise to sunset.
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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.
