PNB fraud: Ex-Deputy Bank Manager Gokulnath Shetty arrested
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested Punjab National Bank's retired Deputy Manager, Gokulnath Shetty and two others in a multi-crore bank fraud case, officials said on Saturday.
"CBI had Shetty, Single Window Operator Manoj Kharat and authorized signatory of the Nirav Modi Group of Firms, Hemant Bhat," a CBI official said.
The official said that they would be presented before the CBI special court in Mumbai later in the day.
PNB's retired Deputy Manager and Operator are named in the CBI FIR along with ten directors of the three private firms namely Krishnan Sangameshwaran, Nazura Yashjaney, Gopal Das Bhatia, Aniyath Shivraman, Dhanesh Vrajlal Sheth, Jyoti Bharat Vora, Anil Umesh Haldipur, Chandrakant Kanu Karkare, Pankhuri Abhijeet Varange and Mihir Bhaskar Joshi.
According to the FIR, it was alleged in the PNB complaint that Gitanjali Gems, Gili India Ltd and Nakshatra Brand Ltd and their directors in connivance with Sethi and other officials had caused an alleged loss of Rs 4,886.72 crore to the bank.
The CBI on Friday registered fresh FIRs against ten directors of the Gitanjali Group of companies under charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating of Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act against Mehul Choksi, the Managing Director of Gitanjali Gems Ltd based at Mumbai's Walkeshwar.
The FIR has also named two former bank employees who were said to be directly involved in the fraudulent transactions.
Additionally, three companies of Gitanjali Group were also named in the CBI FIR registered on Thursday for causing alleged loss of Rs 4,886.72 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched a nation-wide raid on the offices, showrooms, and workshops of billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi.
The multi-pronged action came a day after the Punjab National Bank admitted to unearthing a fraud of Rs 11,515 crore involving Nirav Modi's companies and specific other accounts with the bank's flagship branch (Brady House Branch) in Mumbai and its second largest lending window in India.
The fraud, which includes money-laundering among others, concerns the Firestar Diamonds group in which the CBI last week booked Modi, his wife Ami, brother Nishal Modi and their uncle, Mehul Choksi.
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Kejriwal responds to EC, says water received from Haryana 'extremely poisonous' for human health
New Delhi (PTI): AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday responded to the Election Commission notice over his claim the Haryana government was "mixing poison" in Yamuna, and said raw water received from the BJP-ruled state in the recent past has been "highly contaminated and extremely poisonous" for human health.
In the 14-page reply to the Election Commission, the former Delhi chief minister said if such "toxic water" is allowed to be consumed by human population it would lead to grave health hazard and fatality.
Kejriwal said he only wanted to highlight the "urgent public health crisis" due to the quality of drinking water in the city, and he violated no law or Model Code of Conduct, hence the issue should be closed.
He said the "alleged statements" attributed to him were made as it was his public duty to red flag the "severe toxicity and contamination" of raw water received from the BJP-ruled state.
Following a complaint filed by the BJP over the matter, the Election Commission issued the notice to Kejriwal on Tuesday, giving him time till Wednesday 8 pm to furnish his reply.
Kejriwal also said the ammonia level in raw water received from Haryana was so "extreme" that water treatment plants in Delhi are unable to process and bring it down to safe and permissible limits for human consumption.
Following their party chief's response, the AAP issued a statement, saying, "It is an undisputed fact that there is 7 ppm ammonia in Yamuna water, A Delhi Jal Board CEO letter admits toxicity is 700 percent higher than the permissible limit."
In his response to the EC, Kejriwal also alleged that Haryana's "failure" in controlling pollution in Yamuna has resulted in an "unprecedented public health crisis" in Delhi. He alleged "indiscriminate" discharge of industrial waste in the river by the state.
The AAP supremo said Haryana is an upper-riparian state and Delhi, ruled by his party, has no role to play in the high level of toxic water being made available to the city.
"Due to such high level of toxic content in the raw water supplied by Haryana, the water treatment plants in Delhi are operating below capacity and there is a shortage of treated water in Delhi," he claimed.
Saying that access to clean water is a basic human right, the AAP chief asserted that raising this critical issue cannot be considered an offence.
"The said statement by no stretch of the imagination can be termed inciting enmity between different groups or prejudicial to national integration," he said.
On the contrary, the substance and purpose of these statements are rooted solely in the public interest, aimed at highlighting a legitimate civic concern that requires urgent institutional intervention, he asserted.
He requested the EC to intervene in the matter and issue appropriate directions to Haryana so safe water is made available to the people of Delhi.
