Mirabai Chanu wins gold at Commonwealth Senior Weightlifting Championship
Apia (Samoa), Jul 9: Former world champion Mirabai Chanu led the Indian medal rush by notching up a gold on the opening day of the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship here on Tuesday.
The Indian contingent won 13 medals that included eight gold, three silver and two bronze medals in senior, junior and youth categories.
Mirabai lifted a total of 191kg (84kg + 107 kg) in the senior women's 49 kg event to win the gold medal in the Olympic qualifying event, the points from which will come in handy for the final rankings of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Mirabai last took part at the Asian Championship in Ningbo, China in April where she lifted 199kg (86kg+113kg) to miss out on a medal by a whisker.
The qualification process for the 2020 Olympics is based on the performances of the weightlifters in six events over a period of 18 months out of which the four best results logged by a lifter will be considered.
Jhilli Dalabehra also clinched the first place on the podium with a lift of 154kg (70kg+94kg) in the senior women's 45 kg event which is not an Olympic weight category.
In the senior women's 55kg, Soroikhaibam Bindyarani Devi and Matsa Santoshi won the gold and silver medals respectively.
Bindyarani lifted 78 kg in snatch to bag the silver medal. Her effort of 105 kg fetched her a gold medal in clean and jerk as well as the overall gold.
Santoshi stood first in snatch with a lift of 80kg but could only manage 102kg in clean and jerk taking her total to 182kg.
In the senior men's 55kg category, Rishikanta Singh grabbed the gold with a total lift of 235kg (105kg+130kg).
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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.
