Satya Pal Malik appointed Meghalaya Governor
New Delhi: Satya Pal Malik was on Tuesday transferred as Governor of the northeastern state of Meghalaya, replacing Tathagata Roy who completed his five-year tenure on the gubernatorial post.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said Malik has been shifted to Meghalaya, and Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been asked to discharge the functions of Goa governor in addition to his own duties.
There was, however, no mention of Roy, who completed his five-year tenure by serving as governor of Tripura for three years and the remaining in Meghalaya.
There is no fixed tenure for governors, but conventionally it is considered for a period of five years. There have been examples in the past where governors have served for a longer period like that of E S L Narasimhan, who served continuously for 12 years in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh (undivided) and later in Telangana.
Roy, who would turn 75 next month, had stoked a controversy last year when he supported a tweet by a retired army official calling for banning of Kashmiri goods in the aftermath of an attack on the CRPF convoy that killed 40 security personnel.
As the news of the new appointment reached Shillong, Roy tweeted, "Upon receipt of news from Rashtrapati Bhavan I spoke to Shri Satyapal Malikji, the new Governor-Designate and welcomed him to Shillong. It may take him a little time to come here."
"I was supposed to have been relieved on 20th May. Now the end of the road is in sight!" he said.
Roy was appointed governor of Meghalaya in August 2018 and continued till date, barring absence between December 2019 to January 2020 when he was on leave.
Malik (73) was the last governor of erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir before it was divided into two union territories -- Ladakh and JK-- on October 31 last year. The announcement in this regard was made on August 5 last year when the Centre abrogated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
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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.
