"K Kavitha's Brother, Lawyers Delayed Proceedings": Probe Agency's Claim

BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested at 5:20 pm on Friday evening, but 40 minutes later, at 6pm, people claiming to be her brother and lawyers entered the Telangana leader's Banjara Hills home unlawfully and delayed the proceedings, the Enforcement Directorate has claimed.

Ms Kavitha, a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) in Telangana and the daughter of former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested today in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

"At around 6 pm, few persons who claimed themselves as brother of K Kavitha, lawyers and other persons around 20 in number entered the premises unlawfully. On being asked their identity, none showed their identity. A ruckus was created which delayed the proceedings," said the central probe agency, which investigates financial frauds.

The searches began at 1:45 pm and concluded at 6:45 pm, said the agency.

In a dramatic video, Ms Kavitha's brother and former Telangana minister KT Rama Rao can be seen confronting agency officials after he was asked how family members had entered the house.

Mr Rao accused the officials of violating an undertaking the agency had given to the Supreme Court. "You are in serious trouble," he is heard saying on camera. Legal remedies are available, an ED shot back.

"After the due process of law, K Kavitha was arrested under section 19 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 at 5:20 pm," said the central agency, adding that five mobiles were seized in the searches.

"The search was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner and no damage to the person or property was caused during the course of the search. During the search proceedings, no religious sentiments of anybody were hurt and Covid 19 protocol was followed," the agency added.

Videos also showed the agency's cars being surrounded when they were leaving with Ms Kavitha.

Mr Rao has, however, claimed the family is cooperating with the agency. Terming the arrest illegal, he said he and other senior leaders have asked party workers to remain peaceful and not prevent the arrest.

The Enforcement Directorate has claimed that Ms Kavitha was part of a lobby called the 'South Group', which played a key role in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

The BRS leader has said in the past that she had done nothing illegal, and accused the BJP of using the ED for political gains.
 

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PSL Team Receives 5-Run Penalty For 'Illegal Fielding' In Bizarre Incident

Peshawar Zalmi were awarded five penalty runs after a throw from the Multan Sultans fielder hit Mohammad Rizwan's wicket-keeping glove which was lying on the ground during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 match on Thursday. Zalmi batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore played the ball from spinner Khushdil Shah towards fine-leg and Rizwan dashed from his wicket-keeping stance to retrieve the ball. The ball was ultimately collected by a fielder and his throw hit one of Rizwan's gloves that he took off and threw on the ground while running. Babar Azam, who was in the non-striker's end, pointed it out to umpire Aleem Dar who decided to award five runs as penalty due to 'illegal fielding'.

According to the rules of cricket, a fielder “will be deemed to have fielded the ball illegally if, while the ball is in play he/she willfully discards a piece of clothing, equipment or any other object which subsequently makes contact with the ball”.

A similar incident happened during the 2022 T20 World Cup when South Africa conceded a five-run penalty against Zimbabwe when the ball hit Quinton de Kock's glove.

Earlier, Wasim Akram blasted the infrastructure of the Pakistan's cricket stadiums and said that the authorities have been unsuccessful in maintaining the three stadiums on the northern side.

During a discussion on A Sports, Akram was asked by a fan about Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) not investing in a new stadium in northern Pakistan with references to India's Dharamsala Stadium and New Zealand's Queenstown Stadium.

Akram remarked that the roof on the Gaddafi Stadium is currently in poor condition before adding that they can only dream of building a new stadium despite having a lot of area in places like Abbottabad.

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Top 10 Recommendations Of Ex-President-Led Panel On Simultaneous Polls

1. The government must develop a legally tenable mechanism to restore the cycle of simultaneous elections.
2. In the first stage, elections for the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies can be held together.
3. In the second step, the elections to municipalities and panchayats will be synchronised with the Lok Sabha and state assemblies in such a way that elections to municipalities and panchayats are held within 100 days of the holding of parliamentary and assembly polls.
4. To synchronise Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the president shall notify the date of the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after a general election as the "appointed date".
5. The tenure of all state assemblies formed via polls after the "appointed date" and before the expiry of the full term of the Lok Sabha, will be only for the period ending up to the subsequent parliamentary polls. After this one-time transitory measure, all Lok Sabha and assembly polls will be held simultaneously.
6. Fresh elections could be held to constitute a new Lok Sabha in the event of a hung House a no-confidence motion, or any such event.
7. Where fresh elections are held for the House of the People (Lok Sabha), the tenure of the House will be "only for the unexpired (remaining) term of the immediately preceding full term of the House.
8. When fresh elections are held for state legislative assemblies, then such new assemblies -- unless sooner dissolved -- shall continue up to the end of the full term of the Lok Sabha.
9. A single electoral roll and Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) shall be prepared by the Election Commission of India in consultation with the State Election Commission and the same will substitute any other electoral roll prepared by ECI.
10. For making logistical arrangements for the conduct of simultaneous elections, the ECI may draw up a plan and estimate in advance for the procurement of equipment, such as EVMs and VVPATs, deployment of polling personnel and security forces and make other necessary arrangements.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Supreme Court Rejects Manish Sisodia's Curative Petition Seeking Bail

The Supreme Court has rejected Manish Sisodia's curative petition challenging the top court decision rejecting his bail plea in liquor policy irregularities.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, with justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and SVN Bhatti dismissed the curative petition filed by Manish Sisodia.

"We have gone through the Curative Petitions and the connected documents. In our opinion, no case is made out within the parameters indicated in the decision of this Court in Rupa Ashok Hurra vs Ashok Hurra," the top court said in its March 13 order.

"The Curative Petitions are dismissed," the top court said.

Earlier on December 13, the top court rejected former Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Siodia's review petition against top court order denying him bail in the excise policy irregularities case.

On October 30 2023 the top court dismissed Manish Sisodia's bail plea.

The court had earlier noted that the existing excise policy was changed to facilitate and get kickbacks and bribes from the wholesale distributors by enhancing their commission/fee from 5 percent under the old policy to 12 percent under the new policy. Accordingly, a conspiracy was hatched to carefully draft the new policy, deviating from the expert opinion/views to create an eco-system to ensure unjust enrichment of the wholesale distributors at the expense of

government exchequer or the consumer. The illegal income (proceeds of crime, as per the DoE) would partly be recycled and returned in the form of bribes, it noted.

The probe agency has alleged that Vijay Nair, who was the middleman, a go-between, a member of AAP, and a co-confident of the appellant - Manish Sisodia, had interacted with Butchi Babu, Arun Pillai, Abhishek Boinpally and Sarath Reddy, to frame the excise policy on conditions and terms put forth and to the satisfaction and desire of the liquor group.

The policy favoured and promoted cartelisation and large wholesale distributors with high market share because of extraneous reasons and kickbacks, were ensured to earn exorbitant profits, CBI alleged, which was noted by the court.

The top court had earlier also noted the CBI's submission that the excess amount of 7 percent commission/fee earned by the wholesale distributors of Rs. 338,00,00,000 (rupees three hundred thirty-eight crores only) constitute an offence as defined under Section 7 of the PoC Act, relating to a public servant being bribed. (As per the DoE, these are proceeds of crime). This amount was earned by the wholesale distributors in a span of ten months.

On July 3, 2023, the Delhi High Court denied him bail in both matters being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate.

In February 2023, Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of now-scrapped Delhi's new excise policy. The policy was withdrawn amid allegations of foul play by the opposition. Manish Sisodia is currently in judicial custody.

According to the CBI, Manish Sisodia had played the most important and vital role in the criminal conspiracy and he had been deeply involved in the formulation as well as the implementation of the said policy to ensure the achievement of the objectives of the said conspiracy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Pregnant US Teacher Collapses In Class And Dies Weeks Before Baby Was Due

Tragedy struck a rural New York school community.  Pregnant teacher Courtney Fannon, 29, died
unexpectedly just weeks before welcoming her first child. Mrs Fannon, a beloved special education teacher at Kendal Central School, was found unresponsive in her classroom, shortly after sending her husband a quick text on Friday, USA Today reported. 

Mrs Fannon proceeded through that day much like any other after the final bell at Kendall Central School, collecting her thoughts and belongings before departing for home. Shortly after she sent a message to her husband, she was found unconscious in her classroom, as reported by Matthew Smith, a dear friend of the couple, on GoFundMe.

Mrs Fannon, expecting her first daughter, Hadley Jaye, was taken to a nearby hospital, where life-saving efforts began for both mother and daughter. Tragically, they died later that evening.

“The world lost 2 beautiful souls, Courtney Fannon and Hadley Jaye Fannon, long before we were ready to live in a world without them. They were called to eternal rest the night of March 8th, after a very tragic and unexpected turn of events,” according to the GoFundMe post. 

The GoFundMe campaign has garnered approximately $47,623 as of Wednesday. These funds will be allocated to cover various final expenses, such as medical bills, and funeral service costs, and to provide short-term financial support for Mrs Fannon's husband, Kurtis.

The media outlet reported that Mrs Fannon had taught special education in the district since 2018. 

“Courtney was a special education teacher who served her students with passion and joy each day,” Schools Superintendent Nicholas Picardo said in a message, USA Today reported.

“When she wasn't in her classroom sharing her love and gift for teaching with her students, she could be found walking our halls with a smile and a friendly hello,” he added.

Mr Smith in his lengthy post on GoFundMe wrote that Mr Kurtis is living the “worst nightmare of having to return to a home, filled with baby toys, bottles, furniture and a finished nursery, that will no longer be filled with the cooing sounds and shuffling of a newborn.”

Mrs Fannon was due to give birth “in just 4 short weeks,” he wrote.

“For those who did not have the wonderful opportunity to meet or get to know Courtney, there is an endless amount of positive and good things that can only be said about her,” Smith continued.

“She was loving, genuine and organized in a way that always placed her students ahead of herself, ultimately changing the lives of her students and caregivers, always for the positive,” he wrote.

Smith also addressed the unborn girl in his tribute.

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Caught On Camera: 22 Lions Unleash Hunting Fury On Herd Of Impala

A Zimbabwean family on vacation witnessed a fierce lion hunt targeting a herd of impala at Matusadona National Park. The intense encounter, captured on video by Simeone Lategan, has been uploaded to Latest Sightings' YouTube channel, offering a rare glimpse into the power and precision of lion hunting tactics.

The video showcases the ensuing chaos as the startled impalas attempt to escape the approaching predators. Despite their agility, the lions manage to successfully take down one unlucky antelope.

 

While celebrating her father's 70th birthday on a houseboat on Lake Kariba, Mr Lategan documented the 22 lions dividing their forces to flank a large herd of impalas.

Describing the event, Mr Simeone recounted, "During our boat safari, we witnessed buffaloes and elephants, which was truly awe-inspiring. However, as we were returning to the main boat, we observed movement and activity on Fothergill Island, approximately 500 meters away. Initially resembling lions from a distance, it became clear as we approached: there were 22 lions in the midst of hunting down impalas".

"The lions were all split up, with half surrounding the herd while the others sat in ambush close to the water's edge; this resulted in chaos. The herd began scattering and running in all directions. Some of the impalas came within inches of being caught, while others managed to make a safe escape," he added.

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Crew Song Ghagra: Kareena Kapoor, Tabu And Kriti Sanon's Party Anthem

The new song from the film Crew is out and it's a fun-riot. In the song titled Ghagra, the three lead actors of the film Tabu, Kriti Sanon and Kareena Kapoor can be seen dancing their heart out at a pub. Dressed in their party best, the leading ladies put their party shoes on and let their hair down. The video also features glimpses of Diljit Dosanjh, Kapil Sharma and Rajesh Sharma. In one scene, Tabu can be seen dancing while Kapil Sharma showers money on her. The three ladies are handed out a handsome amount of money in another scene. Money seems to be a leitmotif in the song. After all, how can one party without money?

The film song Ghagra is a new rendition of Ila Arun's Ghagra. Bharg has composed the music and words are by Juno and Srushti Tawade. Romy and Srushti Tawade have sung the song. Sharing the song Kareena Kapoor wrote, "Grab your #Ghagra, and get groovin' with your #Crew!Song out now #CrewInCinemasOnMarch29." Take a look:

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Before the release of the song, Kareena teased fans with a glimpse of the song. "Money makes the world go round, and so does our #Crew Stay tuned for #Ghagra. Song out today," she wrote in the caption. Take a look:

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The song Naina from Crew was released a few days back. It has been composed by Raj Ranjodh and the lyrics are by Raj Ranjodh and Badshah. It has been sung by Diljit Dosanjh and Badshah. Sharing the song Kareena Kapoor wrote, "Get ready to turn up the heat and groove to the most sizzling track of the year! #NainaSong, out now #CrewInCinemasOnMarch29." Take a look:

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Other than Kareena Kapoor, Tabu, Kriti Sanon, Crew also stars Diljit Dosanjh. Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma will also feature in the film in a cameo appearance. The film has been directed by Rajesh Krishnan and it is slated to release in theatres on March 29, this year.

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