The Evening Wrap: ED attaches 45-acre land allegedly linked to former Union Minister A. Raja

The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached 45 acres of land worth about ₹55 crore in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore allegedly held in the name of a “benami” company of former Union Telecom Minister A. Raja, the agency said on Thursday. According to the ED, Raja — during his tenure as the Union Minister of Environment & Forests from 2004 to 2007 — had granted environmental clearances to a real-estate company, based out of Gurugram. It is one of the largest real estate companies in the country, also listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, it said. “...During the course of PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] investigation, ED has found that the real-estate company has given kickback to A. Raja as quid pro quo for awarding the environmental clearance, around the same period in the year 2007, in the garb of land commission income in the hands of one ‘benami’ company of A. Raja,” said the ED statement. The agency alleged that Raja had incorporated the company in 2007 in the name of his family members and his close family friend, “with the sole objective of using it as a vehicle to park the proceeds of crime…The said company was never engaged in any business activity since inception and the entire money received in the company was quid pro quo from the real estate deal and was used for acquiring land in Coimbatore district,” it said. The Gambian panel blames Haryana-based Maiden Pharma for childrens’ deaths Cough syrup made in India and sold in The Gambia contained “unacceptable levels” of the toxins diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG), according to tests conducted by a Swiss laboratory. Samples of the syrup, made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals, were sent for analysis by The Gambian government as part of its investigation into an epidemic of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), suspected to have killed atleast 70 children in The Gambia between July and October 2022. The Swiss lab’s results are part of a report by a ‘Select Committee’, an expert parliamentary panel constituted by the government of The Gambia to investigate the cause of death of the children, as well as the institutional challenges that led to a situation resulting in the deaths of the children. “The Select Committee is convinced that Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is culpable and should be held accountable for exporting the contaminated medicines that was linked to the death of at least 70 children in The Gambia 2022,” said the report, which was made public on December 20. AKI can result from a variety of causes — chemical poisoning as well as viral infections — but the actual cause of these deaths is still being investigated by the country’s health ministry. The Gambia’s health ministry collected 10 syrup brands commonly consumed there and sent them for analysis. Only four of them — Makoff Baby, Kofexmalin Baby, Promethazine Oral Solution, MaGrip N Cold Syrup — all manufactured by Maiden Pharma, were found contaminated with DEG and EG. While made by the Haryana-based firm, the products were imported and supplied to The Gambia by local firm Atlantic Pharmacy, which said that it had distributed the products based on a certificate of ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’ issued by Maiden Pharma itself. The Gambia lacks an independent agency that performs quality checks on imported pharmaceutical products. Between June 4 and November 6, the country’s health authorities reported 82 cases of AKI with 70 deaths. Fifty of the victims were male and 68 of them were below three years of age. The report does not mention how many children who died had consumed the toxic cough syrups. Instead, the committee relied on testimony from parents and from doctors who had treated several of the deceased children, as well as the evidence of stool and blood samples from a subset of children which was found to contain high levels of paracetamol, a key ingredient of the cough syrups. The government then subsequently issued a series of bans on the sale of paracetamol and promethazine syrups between September 10 and 16, and this correlated to a sharp drop in AKI cases, the panel observed. Following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) warning on October 5, linking the four syrups to the deaths in The Gambia, Maiden Pharma’s export license has been suspended. However, India has said that the WHO has drawn a “premature link” between the deaths of the children and the India-made cough syrups. In a letter to the WHO last week, Central Drugs and Standards Control Organisation director general V.G. Somani said that samples of the cough syrup tested in a government laboratory in India “were compliant” with specifications and uncontaminated with DEG or EG. The WHO had also not sent a report establishing a “causal link” between the consumption of syrup and the deaths, his letter noted. “This (incident), in turn, has adversely impacted the image of India’s pharmaceutical products across the globe, and caused irreparable damage to the supply chain of pharmaceutical products, as well as the repute of the national regulatory framework over an assumption that has yet not been substantiated by the WHO or its partners on ground,” said Dr. Somani. ‘Chronology Samjhiye’: Congress’ jibe at govt. over PM’s Covid meeting “Understand the chronology,” the Congress said on Thursday as it pointed out that the Health Minister wrote to Rahul Gandhi over Covid concerns and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reviewing the virus-related situation just days before the Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Delhi. The Congress’ jibe came just hours before Prime Minister Modi was set to review the situation related to COVID-19 in the country at a high-level meeting Thursday afternoon. “4 cases of Omicron sub-variant driving Chinese surge were reported in Gujarat and Odisha in July, September & November,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter. “Health Minister writes a letter to Rahul Gandhi yesterday. PM is reviewing situation today. Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Delhi day after. Ab Aap Chronology Samjhiye…(now, understand the chronology),” he said. Accusing the government of selectively picking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra over Covid concerns, the Congress on Wednesday had pointed to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and asserted public health is far too serious an issue to play party politics on. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, citing concerns raised by three BJP MPs over the spread of coronavirus, has urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if adherence to Covid protocols cannot be followed. The yatra entered Haryana on Wednesday from Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the government is coming up with “excuses” to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “This yatra will go to Kashmir. Now, they have come out with a new idea. They wrote me a letter that Covid was spreading, stop the yatra,” Gandhi said while addressing a gathering in Ghasera village in Haryana’s Nuh district. “Now, they are coming up with excuses to stop the yatra. Wear masks, stop the yatra, Covid is spreading, these are all excuses,” he said. Targeting the BJP, which is in power at the Centre and in Haryana, Gandhi said it is scared of the truth. “Hindustan ki shakti say, Hindustan ki Sachai say, yeh log dar gaye hai, yeh sachai hai (they have got scared of power and the truth of the country. This is the truth),” the former Congress chief said, adding that “we do not want RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s hate-filled India”. The BJP government is also trying to suppress the (opposition) Congress’ voice in Parliament and this is also a reason why this yatra was taken out, Gandhi said. The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 7 and will end on December 23, a week ahead of schedule. “If we want to speak in Parliament or raise an issue such as the Rafale jet matter, demonetisation, GST (Goods and Services Tax) or regarding hatred spreading in the country, do you know what happens? The mic is switched off... keep on speaking, (but) no one will hear,” he said. “The TV camera’s direction is changed and the (Lok Sabha) speaker’s face is visible and the mic is switched off in Parliament,” Gandhi said, and added that “this is why, we had to take out this yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir”. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been going on for more than 100 days and in this people from all faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, men, women, and children have taken part, he said. Calling the media his friends, Gandhi said, “I call them friends, but generally they don’t do the job of friends. Their friends are someone else, who are seen on TV for 24 hours. Our Yatra is going from Kanyakumari and to Kashmir, and lakhs are taking part in it, but you will not see this on media.” “But if Narendra Modi ji walks even 10 to 15 steps, you will get to see this on TV for 24 hours,” he said. This is not the fault of the media and “I am not against them (media)...there is a controller at the back...”, Gandhi said, adding that “so, this is the situation in the country”. The Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress, started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about nine days, move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and finally, Jammu and Kashmir. Jacqueline Fernandez withdraws plea for permission to go abroad, court says case at crucial stage Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, accused in a money laundering case, on Thursday withdrew from a Delhi court her plea for permission to go abroad. The actor told the court about her decision after the judge said the case was at a crucial stage and suggested that the question of charge should first be decided. Fernandez had sought permission to visit Bahrain from December 23 to January 5 to see her mother. “You want to meet your mother who suffered stroke in 2021? We all are emotional for our parents, but the case is at a crucial stage...You can withdraw the application and let the question of charge first be decided. Otherwise I will pass a judicial order,” Special Judge Shailendra Malik told Fernandez. Thereafter, the actor had a discussion with her lawyers and informed the court that she was withdrawing her application “at this stage”. During the brief arguments, the Enforcement Directorate opposed her plea, saying if she is allowed to go abroad she may not return. “She is a foreign national. Though she has her career here, but she can make her career somewhere else (also),” the anti-money laundering agency said. Prior to withdrawing the application, the actor told the court that during the probe she was earlier granted permission to travel abroad. She said the ED had opposed her petition but the Delhi High Court allowed it. “My next date in this case is Jan 6. I will return by Jan 5, even though that’s not my turn to argue on 6th. There’s no lack of cooperation from me, never was, nor will,” her counsel told the court. Fernandez was earlier permitted by the Delhi High Court on May 31 this year to travel abroad for the IIFA awards subject to certain conditions. The high court had then rejected the ED’s appeal against a trial court order permitting her to visit abroad. The court had on November 15 granted regular bail to the actress, who has not been arrested yet in ₹200 crore money laundering case also involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. It had on August 31 taken cognizance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate and asked Fernandez to appear before the court. Fernandez, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate several times in connection with the investigation, was named as an accused for the first time in the supplementary charge sheet. The ED’s earlier charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. In Brief: The Delhi High Court on December 22 asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s plea seeking interim bail in a case in which he is serving life term for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017. A Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Poonam A. Bamba asked the investigating agency to file a status report after Sengar sought suspension of his sentence on account of his daughter’s wedding ceremony. The High Court has listed the case for further hearing on January 16. The counsel appearing for Sengar told the court that while the marriage will take place on February 8 next year, a ceremony related to it will be held in January. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 22 DECEMBER 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Dear reader, We have now made it easier for you to manage your The Hindu newsletter subscriptions in one place! 1. Visit [The Hindu newsletters page]( 2. Click MANAGE tab and then click LOGIN / SIGN UP 3. If you don’t have an account with The Hindu, please click SIGN UP OR If you already have an account with The Hindu with this email ID, please login using the email ID ED attaches 45-acre land allegedly linked to former Union Minister A. Raja The Enforcement Directorate has [provisionally attached 45 acres of land worth about ₹55 crore]( in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore allegedly held in the name of a “benami” company of former Union Telecom Minister A. Raja, the agency said on Thursday. According to the ED, Raja — during his tenure as the Union Minister of Environment & Forests from 2004 to 2007 — had granted environmental clearances to a real-estate company, based out of Gurugram. It is one of the largest real estate companies in the country, also listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, it said. [A Raja. File] “...During the course of PMLA [Prevention of Money Laundering Act] investigation, ED has found that the real-estate company has given kickback to A. Raja as quid pro quo for awarding the environmental clearance, around the same period in the year 2007, in the garb of land commission income in the hands of one ‘benami’ company of A. Raja,” said the ED statement. The agency alleged that Raja had incorporated the company in 2007 in the name of his family members and his close family friend, “with the sole objective of using it as a vehicle to park the proceeds of crime…The said company was never engaged in any business activity since inception and the entire money received in the company was quid pro quo from the real estate deal and was used for acquiring land in Coimbatore district,” it said. The Gambian panel blames Haryana-based Maiden Pharma for childrens’ deaths Cough syrup made in India and sold in The Gambia contained [“unacceptable levels” of the toxins diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG)]( according to tests conducted by a Swiss laboratory. Samples of the syrup, made by Haryana-based Maiden Pharmaceuticals, were sent for analysis by The Gambian government as part of its investigation into an epidemic of Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), suspected to have killed atleast 70 children in The Gambia between July and October 2022. The Swiss lab’s results are part of a report by a ‘Select Committee’, an expert parliamentary panel constituted by the government of The Gambia to investigate the cause of death of the children, as well as the institutional challenges that led to a situation resulting in the deaths of the children. “The Select Committee is convinced that Maiden Pharmaceuticals Ltd. is culpable and should be held accountable for exporting the contaminated medicines that was linked to the death of at least 70 children in The Gambia 2022,” said the report, which was made public on December 20. AKI can result from a variety of causes — chemical poisoning as well as viral infections — but the actual cause of these deaths is still being investigated by the country’s health ministry. The Gambia’s health ministry collected 10 syrup brands commonly consumed there and sent them for analysis. Only four of them — Makoff Baby, Kofexmalin Baby, Promethazine Oral Solution, MaGrip N Cold Syrup — all manufactured by Maiden Pharma, were found contaminated with DEG and EG. While made by the Haryana-based firm, the products were imported and supplied to The Gambia by local firm Atlantic Pharmacy, which said that it had distributed the products based on a certificate of ‘Good Manufacturing Practices’ issued by Maiden Pharma itself. The Gambia lacks an independent agency that performs quality checks on imported pharmaceutical products. Between June 4 and November 6, the country’s health authorities reported 82 cases of AKI with 70 deaths. Fifty of the victims were male and 68 of them were below three years of age. The report does not mention how many children who died had consumed the toxic cough syrups. Instead, the committee relied on testimony from parents and from doctors who had treated several of the deceased children, as well as the evidence of stool and blood samples from a subset of children which was found to contain high levels of paracetamol, a key ingredient of the cough syrups. The government then subsequently issued a series of bans on the sale of paracetamol and promethazine syrups between September 10 and 16, and this correlated to a sharp drop in AKI cases, the panel observed. Following the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) warning on October 5, linking the four syrups to the deaths in The Gambia, Maiden Pharma’s export license has been suspended. However, India has said that the WHO has drawn a “premature link” between the deaths of the children and the India-made cough syrups. In a letter to the WHO last week, Central Drugs and Standards Control Organisation director general V.G. Somani said that samples of the cough syrup tested in a government laboratory in India “were compliant” with specifications and uncontaminated with DEG or EG. The WHO had also not sent a report establishing a “causal link” between the consumption of syrup and the deaths, his letter noted. “This (incident), in turn, has adversely impacted the image of India’s pharmaceutical products across the globe, and caused irreparable damage to the supply chain of pharmaceutical products, as well as the repute of the national regulatory framework over an assumption that has yet not been substantiated by the WHO or its partners on ground,” said Dr. Somani.  ‘Chronology Samjhiye’: Congress’ jibe at govt. over PM’s Covid meeting [“Understand the chronology,” the Congress said on Thursday]( as it pointed out that the Health Minister wrote to Rahul Gandhi over Covid concerns and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reviewing the virus-related situation just days before the Bharat Jodo Yatra enters Delhi. The Congress’ jibe came just hours before Prime Minister Modi was set to review the situation related to COVID-19 in the country at a high-level meeting Thursday afternoon. “4 cases of Omicron sub-variant driving Chinese surge were reported in Gujarat and Odisha in July, September & November,” Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on Twitter. “Health Minister writes a letter to Rahul Gandhi yesterday. PM is reviewing situation today. Bharat Jodo Yatra will enter Delhi day after. Ab Aap Chronology Samjhiye…(now, understand the chronology),” he said. Accusing the government of selectively picking on the Bharat Jodo Yatra over Covid concerns, the Congress on Wednesday had pointed to the BJP taking out marches in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and asserted public health is far too serious an issue to play party politics on. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, citing concerns raised by three BJP MPs over the spread of coronavirus, has urged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to consider suspending the Bharat Jodo Yatra if adherence to Covid protocols cannot be followed. The yatra entered Haryana on Wednesday from Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said the government is coming up with “excuses” to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra. “This yatra will go to Kashmir. Now, they have come out with a new idea. They wrote me a letter that Covid was spreading, stop the yatra,” Gandhi said while addressing a gathering in Ghasera village in Haryana’s Nuh district. “Now, they are coming up with excuses to stop the yatra. Wear masks, stop the yatra, Covid is spreading, these are all excuses,” he said. Targeting the BJP, which is in power at the Centre and in Haryana, Gandhi said it is scared of the truth. “Hindustan ki shakti say, Hindustan ki Sachai say, yeh log dar gaye hai, yeh sachai hai (they have got scared of power and the truth of the country. This is the truth),” the former Congress chief said, adding that “we do not want RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s hate-filled India”. The BJP government is also trying to suppress the (opposition) Congress’ voice in Parliament and this is also a reason why this yatra was taken out, Gandhi said. The Winter Session of Parliament began on December 7 and will end on December 23, a week ahead of schedule. “If we want to speak in Parliament or raise an issue such as the Rafale jet matter, demonetisation, GST (Goods and Services Tax) or regarding hatred spreading in the country, do you know what happens? The mic is switched off... keep on speaking, (but) no one will hear,” he said. “The TV camera’s direction is changed and the (Lok Sabha) speaker’s face is visible and the mic is switched off in Parliament,” Gandhi said, and added that “this is why, we had to take out this yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir”. The Bharat Jodo Yatra has been going on for more than 100 days and in this people from all faiths, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians, men, women, and children have taken part, he said. Calling the media his friends, Gandhi said, “I call them friends, but generally they don’t do the job of friends. Their friends are someone else, who are seen on TV for 24 hours. Our Yatra is going from Kanyakumari and to Kashmir, and lakhs are taking part in it, but you will not see this on media.” “But if Narendra Modi ji walks even 10 to 15 steps, you will get to see this on TV for 24 hours,” he said. This is not the fault of the media and “I am not against them (media)...there is a controller at the back...”, Gandhi said, adding that “so, this is the situation in the country”. The Yatra, a mass contact initiative of the Congress, started from Kanyakumari on September 7 and has covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. It will enter Delhi on December 24, and after a break of about nine days, move on to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and finally, Jammu and Kashmir. Jacqueline Fernandez withdraws plea for permission to go abroad, court says case at crucial stage Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez, accused in a money laundering case, on Thursday [withdrew from a Delhi court her plea for permission to go abroad](. The actor told the court about her decision after the judge said the case was at a crucial stage and suggested that the question of charge should first be decided. Fernandez had sought permission to visit Bahrain from December 23 to January 5 to see her mother. “You want to meet your mother who suffered stroke in 2021? We all are emotional for our parents, but the case is at a crucial stage...You can withdraw the application and let the question of charge first be decided. Otherwise I will pass a judicial order,” Special Judge Shailendra Malik told Fernandez. Thereafter, the actor had a discussion with her lawyers and informed the court that she was withdrawing her application “at this stage”. During the brief arguments, the Enforcement Directorate opposed her plea, saying if she is allowed to go abroad she may not return. “She is a foreign national. Though she has her career here, but she can make her career somewhere else (also),” the anti-money laundering agency said. Prior to withdrawing the application, the actor told the court that during the probe she was earlier granted permission to travel abroad. She said the ED had opposed her petition but the Delhi High Court allowed it. “My next date in this case is Jan 6. I will return by Jan 5, even though that’s not my turn to argue on 6th. There’s no lack of cooperation from me, never was, nor will,” her counsel told the court. Fernandez was earlier permitted by the Delhi High Court on May 31 this year to travel abroad for the IIFA awards subject to certain conditions. The high court had then rejected the ED’s appeal against a trial court order permitting her to visit abroad. The court had on November 15 granted regular bail to the actress, who has not been arrested yet in ₹200 crore money laundering case also involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar. It had on August 31 taken cognizance of a supplementary charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate and asked Fernandez to appear before the court. Fernandez, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate several times in connection with the investigation, was named as an accused for the first time in the supplementary charge sheet. The ED’s earlier charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet did not mention her as an accused. In Brief: The Delhi High Court on December 22 asked the [Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to respond to expelled BJP leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s plea seeking interim bail]( in a case in which he is serving life term for raping a minor girl in Uttar Pradesh’s Unnao in 2017. A Bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Poonam A. Bamba asked the investigating agency to file a status report after Sengar sought suspension of his sentence on account of his daughter’s wedding ceremony. The High Court has listed the case for further hearing on January 16. The counsel appearing for Sengar told the court that while the marriage will take place on February 8 next year, a ceremony related to it will be held in January. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. Interested in Science? Our "Science For All" weekly newsletter takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! [Subscribe Now!]( Today’s Top Picks [[Arvind Panagariya cautions against cutting trade ties with China] Arvind Panagariya cautions against cutting trade ties with China]( [[Elderly COVID-19 patients fill hospital wards in China's major cities] Elderly COVID-19 patients fill hospital wards in China's major cities]( [[Turkey, Saudi Arabia decry Taliban university ban for women] Turkey, Saudi Arabia decry Taliban university ban for women]( [[FIFA 2022 World Cup wrap: What made it fifth time lucky for Lionel Messi? | In Focus podcast] FIFA 2022 World Cup wrap: What made it fifth time lucky for Lionel Messi? | In Focus podcast]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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