Commemorative notes to mark Gandhi’s 150th birth anniv
Mumbai: To mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a UAE-based company will globally release 12 bank notes of zero value, the first-ever limited edition commemorative series, an official said here on Wednesday. The first two notes of the 12-part series, with just 5,000 pieces to be printed in each design, will go on sale at select outlets globally and online platforms while the remaining will be released in phases till October 2, said the top official of Numisbing Group, Dubai. The special notes have been designed by Dubai-based Indian artist Akbar Saheb who is also the main illustrator for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s book “Mann Ki Baat”. Each note will feature memorable incidents from the personal and political life of Gandhi as a tribute to his legendary status, said Ramkumar Sarangapani, Numisbing Group founder and President of the International Bank Note Society, Dubai. (IANS)
Saxena wants to turn approver
New Delhi: Dubai-based businessman Rajiv Saxena on Wednesday moved an application in a Delhi court seeking to become an approver in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal case. Special Judge Arvind Kumar asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a response on Saxena’s plea and listed it for hearing on Thursday. Saxena told the court in his application that he has co-operated in the investigation and disclosed the entire facts as known to him. He said he will make a full disclosure of the case if he was granted pardon. Saxena also told the court that he had moved the application on his free will. He was granted bail on Monday. The ED did not oppose Saxena’s bail plea on medical grounds.Saxena told the court that he was suffering from radiating back pain, numbness and heaviness in legs along with other ailments. (IANS)
Indian acquitted in Sri Lanka
Colombo: An Indian national held in Sri Lanka over an alleged plot to assassinate president Maithripala Sirisena was acquitted on Wednesday, court officials said.
Marceli Thomas, from Kerala, was arrested in October following a complaint by Namal Kumara, a police informant, who had alleged a plot to assassinate Sirisena and Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, the former top defence ministry bureaucrat and brother of ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court acquitted Thomas of the charges of conspiring to assassinate the VIPs when the case was taken up for hearing on Wednesday. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake on February 13 informed the CID to present to court evidence against the suspect regarding the plot in two weeks. However, the CID has not been able to produce any evidence against Thomas implicating him in the conspiracy charges. Thomas had denied the allegation in the court and claimed that he is innocent and that an attempt was being made to frame him. (PTI)
Robert Vadra appears before ED
New Delhi: Robert Vadra, son-in-law of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged purchase of a London-based property. A Delhi court had on Monday rejected Vadra’s application for a stay on questioning and directed him to appear before the ED. He had sought the stay till required documents were supplied to him and his legal team. On another application of Vadra, the court had directed the ED to provide hard copies of documents to his legal team within five days in connection with the case. Vadra, who approached the court on Saturday, had sought a complete list of documents with full description of each document allegedly seized during a search of his office by the agency. (ANI)
Stalker sets afire college student
Hyderabad: In a shocking incident, a stalker set afire a college student in full public view in Telangana’s Warangal district on Wednesday, police said.The incident occurred in Hanamkonda town when the victim, a final year BSc student, was on her way to college. She sustained critical injuries and was battling for life in the hospital. Avinash, said to be a student of the same college, allegedly poured petrol on the student and set her afire. When a couple of passersby tried to rush to the rescue of the girl, the attacker threatened them and later escaped from the scene. The girl sustained 90 per cent burns and was shifted to a hospital where her condition was stated to be critical. Police suspect that the youth set the girl afire for spurning his love. (IANS)
Two JMB men held in Bengal
Kolkata: The Special Task Force of the Kolkata Police arrested two operatives of terror outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) from West Bengal’s Murshidabad district and seized a huge cache of explosive making material from them, an officer said here on Wednesday. Police said the two accused were associates of JMB leader Kausar, one of the key accused in Burdwan’s Khagragarh blast case of 2014. “Two JMB operatives – Moshibur Rahman (35) and Ruhul Amin (26) – were arrested from Murshidabad during a joint raid with the district police here. Both are residents of the district’s Raghunathgunj area,” a release issued by the STF said. According to STF officers, interrogation of a previously held JMB operative named Sajjad revealed that the two accused took training in making acid bombs and were planning an attack on the police to get Kausar released. (IANS)