Nirav Modi in UK, CBI seeks extradition
New Delhi, Aug 20 : Fugitive diamond jeweller Nirav Modi, wanted in the Rs 13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud, is in the United Kingdom, the Interpol has confirmed, prompting the CBI to seek his extradition, officials said on Monday.
According to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) official, the UK authorities confirmed Nirav Modi's presence in the country on Sunday through a mail on the basis of the diffusion notice issued against him by the probe agency to the Interpol.
The official also said the CBI sent an extradition request to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday.
"The Home Ministry has also been requested to move its extradition request to the Ministry of External Affairs and through the MEA to the UK authority."
Earlier on August 2, Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh informed Parliament that the government had sent a request to the UK for extraditing Nirav Modi.
On July 2, the Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice (RCN) against Nirav Modi under money laundering charges levelled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Nirav Modi along with his uncle Mehul Choksi of the Gitanjali group is being probed in the fraud case by the CBI and the ED.
The ED had, on May 24 and May 26, filed prosecution complaints or chargesheets against Choksi and Modi. The court has taken cognizance of the chargesheets and issued non-bailable warrants against both of them.
Nirav Modi left India along with his family in the first week of January, weeks before the scam was reported to the CBI. His wife Ami, a US citizen, left on January 6 and Choksi on January 4.
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Death toll from Israeli strikes in northeast Lebanon rises from 8 to 24, Lebanese news agency says
Deir al-Balah, Nov 1: Israeli airstrikes on Friday killed at least 24 people in northeastern Lebanon, the country's news agency said, raising the death toll from eight there.
It was the latest deadly toll in the area since the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah escalated last month.
Israel's military has said that its operation in Lebanon is targeting Hezbollah's military infrastructure.
Lebanon's state National news Agency reported four airstrikes in different villages across country's northeast, saying rescuers were still searching for survivors in Younine, a town in the Bekaa Valley, from the rubble of a targeted house.
Hussein Haj Hassan, a Lebanese lawmaker representing the region in Baalbek-Hermel region, said that 60,000 people have already fled their homes in the area due to Israeli bombardment.
