Kapil Parmar wins historic judo bronze for India at Paralympics
Paris, Sep 5: Kapil Parmar bagged India's first-ever Paralympic medal in judo, winning a bronze in the men's 60kg (J1) after convincingly defeating Brazil's Elielton de Oliveira in the play-off here on Thursday.
Parmar produced a superlative performance, dominating his opponent from start to finish to record a 10-0 win in the bronze medal contest.
He had earlier lost to S Banitaba Khorram Abadi in the semifinals, beaten 0-10 by his Iranian opponent.
The J1 class in para judo is for the athletes who suffer from no to very low visual activity. Athletes in this category wear red circles to indicate that they may need guided support before, during and after a contest.
Parmar, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Asian Games in the same category, had earlier beaten Venezuela's Marco Dennis Blanco 10-0 in the quarterfinals.
Parmar was, however, handed a yellow card in each of the two contests on Thursday.
Yellow cards in judo are given for minor violations such as passivity or using a technique that might hinder the opponent or cause injury.
Parmar hails from a small village named Shivor in Madhya Pradesh. As a child, Parmar had a life-altering accident when he was playing in the fields of his village and accidentally touched a water pump, resulting in a severe electric shock.
He was found unconscious by a villager and taken to the hospital, where he remained in coma for six months.
He is the youngest of four brothers and a sister. His middle brother, who is also into judo, often trains with him. Parmar's father works as a taxi driver, while his sister runs a primary school.
Despite the setback, Parmar never gave up his love for judo. He continued to pursue his passion in blind judo, thanks to his mentor and coaches Bhagwan Das and Manoj.
It was not end of the struggle for Parmar who used to run a tea stall with his brother Lalit to make ends meet.
Lalit, his source of inspiration, even now remains his main source of financial support.
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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.
