National Herald Case: Delhi court refuses to take cognisance of ED chargesheet against Gandhis
New Delhi (PTI): A court here on Tuesday refused to take cognisance of the Enforcement Directorate's money laundering charge against Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and five others in the National Herald case.
The ED said it would file an appeal against the court order.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne noted the chargesheet filed in the case is based on an investigation into a complaint by a private person and not on an FIR of a predicate offence. Its cognisance is impermissible in law, the judge said.
Reading out the operative part from the order, the judge said the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing has already lodged an FIR in the case, and hence it will be premature to adjudicate on ED's arguments in the case based on merits.
The ED has accused Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, as well as late party leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernandes, along with Suman Dubey, Sam Pitroda, and a private company, Young Indian, of conspiracy and money laundering.
It has been alleged that they acquired properties worth approximately Rs 2,000 crore belonging to Associated Journals Limited (AJL), which publishes the National Herald newspaper.
The investigation agency further alleged that the Gandhis held the majority 76 per cent shares in Young Indian, which "fraudulently" usurped the assets of AJL in exchange for a Rs 90 crore loan.
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Bengaluru: Woman techie dies by suicide after son drowns
Bengaluru (PTI): A 29-year-old tech professional has allegedly died by suicide after her 11-month-old son was suspected to have accidentally drowned in a bucket of water at their residence here, police said on Thursday.
The incident occurred on April 1 within the limits of the Chandra layout Police Station, they said.
Police said a letter written in English by the woman was found near the bed, in which she stated that their son had fallen into water and died and that she could not save him, and sought forgiveness.
The matter came to light after the woman's husband, Mahantesh Wali, an engineer, filed a complaint with the police, officials said.
The couple had been living in a rented house for the past four years, and they had a 11-month-old son, Agasthya, they added.
According to the complaint, Pratibha Wali was employed at a tech company near Silk Board and had been working from home.
On April 1, at around 9 am, Mahantesh left for work while his wife and child remained at home. At around 6.30 pm, when he returned and knocked on the door, there was no response. He tried calling his wife on her mobile phone, but she did not answer.
He then retrieved a spare key kept near a window, opened the door and entered the house. On checking the room, he found his wife had allegedly hanged herself by tying a saree to a cradle hook. He also noticed a cut on her left wrist and blood stains, a senior police officer said.
Their son Agasthya was found lying on the bed, and when he checked, the child was also dead, the officer said.
An empty strip of 15 tablets was also recovered from the spot, and it is suspected that the woman may have consumed the tablets, police said.
Prima facie, it appears that the infant strayed into the bathroom and fell into a bucket filled with water while the woman was away, seemingly gone to the terrace to dry the clothes. It appears that the woman, distressed over the death of her son, died by suicide, police said.
However, the husband has expressed suspicion regarding the deaths and sought legal action. Further investigation is underway, police added.
