The Evening Wrap: ED arrests Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, official sources said. The 51-year-old was placed under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail, they said. The agency alleged Sisodia was “evasive” in his replies and was “not cooperating in the probe.” The federal probe agency had recorded the statement of the 51-year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for the first time on March 7 for about five hours. Sisodia is currently lodged in judicial custody after the CBI arrested him on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021-22. The ED obtained a local court’s permission to question the politician in the cell number 1 of the jail. It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped and the Delhi LG recommended a CBI probe following which the ED booked a case against the same accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). U.S. intel community fears increased India-Pakistan, India-China tension and conflict The American intelligence community has told lawmakers that it apprehends increased tension between India and Pakistan and India and China with the possibility of a conflict between them. It also noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to “perceived or real” provocations from Pakistan. This evaluation on March 8 forms part of the annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that was submitted to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during a Congressional hearing. While India and China have engaged in bilateral border talks and resolved border points, relations will remain strained in the wake of the countries’ lethal clash in 2020, the most serious in decades, said the report. The expanded military postures by both India and China along the disputed border elevate the risk of armed confrontation between two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to U.S. persons and interests and calls for U.S. intervention. Previous standoffs have demonstrated that persistent low-level friction on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has the potential to escalate swiftly, it said. Relations between China and India have virtually frozen ever since the eastern Ladakh military standoff between the two countries in May 2020. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. According to the report, the crises between India and Pakistan are of particular concern because of the risk of an escalatory cycle between two nuclear-armed states. New Delhi and Islamabad probably are inclined to reinforce the current calm in their relationship following both sides’ renewal of a ceasefire along the Line of Control in early 2021. Howevever, Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India militant groups, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations. Each side’s perception of heightened tensions raises the risk of conflict, with violent unrest in Kashmir or a militant attack in India being potential flashpoints,” it said. Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. India has maintained that terrorism and talks cannot go together and Islamabad should provide a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of dialogue. Meanwhile, Pakistan and the U.S. have held a round of counterterrorism dialogue. The two-day discussions covered a range of topics including counter-terrorism cooperation at multilateral forums, assessment of the regional counterterrorism landscape, cyber security and countering violent extremism. BJP government will never support demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’: Manik Saha Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on March 9 asserted that the BJP-led government will never support demand such as ‘Tipraland’ or ‘Greater Tipraland’, a day after a high-level meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma in Agartala. The Tipra Motha, a regional party banking on the ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand contested the 2023 Assembly elections and emerged as the second largest party by winning 13 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly. We had discussion on tribal welfare on how to uplift the socio-economic condition of the indigenous people. No decision of appointing an interlocutor was taken in the meeting but there will be discussion on the tribal welfare”, Saha said. Soon after the meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP national president JP Nadda, the Tipra Motha supremo claimed that the Central government will officially appoint an interlocutor to look into the problems of indigenous people for taking corrective measures. The chief minister reiterated that tribal welfare will be a priority sector for the BJP-IPFT government. Saha said the BJP-IPFT government will work on the vision document unveiled by the party’s national president before the 2023 Assembly elections. SC acquits man convicted of sexual assault of then minor wife The Supreme Court has acquitted a man convicted of sexually assaulting his “wife” when she was a minor over 10 years ago. The fact that the woman and her parents told the court that the relationship was “consensual” and she was not kidnapped helped the man go scot-free. The trial court in Karnataka had convicted the man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and ₹1 lakh in fine. The High Court had, however, altered the conviction from the offence under the POCSO Act to Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. The High Court justified that the alleged incident happened a month before POCSO Act came into existence, and so the law would not apply in this case. The POCSO Act was implemented from November 2012 while the incident in question occurred in September 2012. The man appealed in the Supreme Court, which in turn saw the woman file an affidavit saying she was “married to the appellant and that they have also begotten a child out of the said wedlock. It is a specific case of the appellant that the appellant had married the prosecutrix and their relationship was consensual”. A Bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai referred to how sexual intercourse in marriage would not amount to rape under the penal code. “In the result, the conviction is not sustainable… The appellant is acquitted of the charges charged with. He is directed to be set at liberty,” the court ordered. The order in the case precedes the top court’s scheduled hearing, from March 14, of a series of petitions seeking to criminalise marital rape. The Karnataka High Court had earlier held that a husband was liable to be charged for rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if he has forcible sex with his wife. The Karnataka government had supported the High Court judgment in an affidavit in the top court subsequently. Exception two to Section 375 of the IPC decriminalises marital rape and holds that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, who is not under 18, without her consent is not rape. “A man is a man; an act is an act; rape is a rape, be it performed by a man the ‘husband’ on the woman ‘wife’,” the Karnataka High Court had observed in its decision, saying an accused should undergo trial regardless of the immunity in the penal code. In May last year, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict in a separate case on the identical issue. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who headed the two-judge Bench, struck down as unconstitutional the Exception two to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, Justice C. Hari Shankar, the associate judge on the High Court Bench, had rejected the plea to criminalise marital rape, noting that any change in the law should be carried out by the legislature since the issue required consideration of various aspects, including social, cultural and legal. The Karnataka government has referred to the report of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee of 2013, which had recommended the removal of the exception for marital rape and proposed that the law should specify that “marital or other relationship between the perpetrator or victim is not a valid defence against the crimes of rape or sexual violation”. The petitioners, including one by activist Ruth Manorama, has argued that the Exception undermined women’s consent to sex and violated bodily integrity, autonomy and dignity. In Brief: Atishi new education minister, Saurabh Bharadwaj new health minister of Delhi Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi were sworn in as Ministers by Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena on March 9 in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhur also attended the oath-taking ceremony. Atishi will handle education, PWD, Power and Tourism departments, while Bharadwaj will look after Health, Urban Development, Water and Industries. WHO fires director in Asia accused of racist misconduct The World Health Organization has fired its top official in the Western Pacific after the Associated Press reported last year that dozens of staff members accused him of racist, abusive, and unethical behavior that may have compromised the U.N. health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Dr. Takeshi Kasai’s appointment had been “terminated” after an internal investigation resulted in “findings of misconduct.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 09 March 2023 [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]( Delhi excise policy case | ED arrests Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges The [Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia]( on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, official sources said. The 51-year-old was placed under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail, they said. The agency alleged Sisodia was “evasive” in his replies and was “not cooperating in the probe.” The federal probe agency had recorded the statement of the 51-year-old Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for the first time on March 7 for about five hours. Sisodia is currently lodged in judicial custody after the CBI arrested him on February 26 in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021-22. The ED obtained a local court’s permission to question the politician in the cell number 1 of the jail. It is alleged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped and the Delhi LG recommended a CBI probe following which the ED booked a case against the same accused under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). U.S. intel community fears increased India-Pakistan, India-China tension and conflict The American intelligence community has told lawmakers that it apprehends [increased tension between India and Pakistan and India and China with the possibility of a conflict]( between them. It also noted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to “perceived or real” provocations from Pakistan. This evaluation on March 8 forms part of the annual threat assessment of the U.S. intelligence community that was submitted to the U.S. Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence during a Congressional hearing. While India and China have engaged in bilateral border talks and resolved border points, relations will remain strained in the wake of the countries’ lethal clash in 2020, the most serious in decades, said the report. The expanded military postures by both India and China along the disputed border elevate the risk of armed confrontation between two nuclear powers that might involve direct threats to U.S. persons and interests and calls for U.S. intervention. Previous standoffs have demonstrated that persistent low-level friction on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has the potential to escalate swiftly, it said. Relations between China and India have virtually frozen ever since the eastern Ladakh military standoff between the two countries in May 2020. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. According to the report, the crises between India and Pakistan are of particular concern because of the risk of an escalatory cycle between two nuclear-armed states. New Delhi and Islamabad probably are inclined to reinforce the current calm in their relationship following both sides’ renewal of a ceasefire along the Line of Control in early 2021. Howevever, Pakistan has a long history of supporting anti-India militant groups, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is more likely than in the past to respond with military force to perceived or real Pakistani provocations. Each side’s perception of heightened tensions raises the risk of conflict, with violent unrest in Kashmir or a militant attack in India being potential flashpoints,” it said. Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan. India has maintained that terrorism and talks cannot go together and Islamabad should provide a conducive atmosphere for the resumption of dialogue. Meanwhile, Pakistan and the U.S. have held a round of counterterrorism dialogue. The two-day discussions covered a range of topics including counter-terrorism cooperation at multilateral forums, assessment of the regional counterterrorism landscape, cyber security and countering violent extremism. BJP government will never support demand for ‘Greater Tipraland’: Manik Saha Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on March 9 asserted that the[BJP-led government will never support demand such as ‘Tipraland’ or ‘Greater Tipraland’]( a day after a high-level meeting between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Tipra Motha supremo Pradyot Kishore Debbarma in Agartala. The Tipra Motha, a regional party banking on the ‘Greater Tipraland’ demand contested the 2023 Assembly elections and emerged as the second largest party by winning 13 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly. We had discussion on tribal welfare on how to uplift the socio-economic condition of the indigenous people. No decision of appointing an interlocutor was taken in the meeting but there will be discussion on the tribal welfare”, Saha said. Soon after the meeting with Union Home Minister and BJP national president JP Nadda, the Tipra Motha supremo claimed that the Central government will officially appoint an interlocutor to look into the problems of indigenous people for taking corrective measures. The chief minister reiterated that tribal welfare will be a priority sector for the BJP-IPFT government. Saha said the BJP-IPFT government will work on the vision document unveiled by the party’s national president before the 2023 Assembly elections. SC acquits man convicted of sexual assault of then minor wife The [Supreme Court has acquitted a man convicted of sexually assaulting his “wife” when she was a minor over 10 years ago](. The fact that the woman and her parents told the court that the relationship was “consensual” and she was not kidnapped helped the man go scot-free. The trial court in Karnataka had convicted the man under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment and ₹1 lakh in fine. The High Court had, however, altered the conviction from the offence under the POCSO Act to Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code. The High Court justified that the alleged incident happened a month before POCSO Act came into existence, and so the law would not apply in this case. The POCSO Act was implemented from November 2012 while the incident in question occurred in September 2012. The man appealed in the Supreme Court, which in turn saw the woman file an affidavit saying she was “married to the appellant and that they have also begotten a child out of the said wedlock. It is a specific case of the appellant that the appellant had married the prosecutrix and their relationship was consensual”. A Bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai referred to how sexual intercourse in marriage would not amount to rape under the penal code. “In the result, the conviction is not sustainable… The appellant is acquitted of the charges charged with. He is directed to be set at liberty,” the court ordered. The order in the case precedes the top court’s scheduled hearing, from March 14, of a series of petitions seeking to criminalise marital rape. The Karnataka High Court had earlier held that a husband was liable to be charged for rape under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) if he has forcible sex with his wife. The Karnataka government had supported the High Court judgment in an affidavit in the top court subsequently. Exception two to Section 375 of the IPC decriminalises marital rape and holds that sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife, who is not under 18, without her consent is not rape. “A man is a man; an act is an act; rape is a rape, be it performed by a man the ‘husband’ on the woman ‘wife’,” the Karnataka High Court had observed in its decision, saying an accused should undergo trial regardless of the immunity in the penal code. In May last year, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court delivered a split verdict in a separate case on the identical issue. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who headed the two-judge Bench, struck down as unconstitutional the Exception two to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). However, Justice C. Hari Shankar, the associate judge on the High Court Bench, had rejected the plea to criminalise marital rape, noting that any change in the law should be carried out by the legislature since the issue required consideration of various aspects, including social, cultural and legal. The Karnataka government has referred to the report of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee of 2013, which had recommended the removal of the exception for marital rape and proposed that the law should specify that “marital or other relationship between the perpetrator or victim is not a valid defence against the crimes of rape or sexual violation”. The petitioners, including one by activist Ruth Manorama, has argued that the Exception undermined women’s consent to sex and violated bodily integrity, autonomy and dignity. In Brief: Atishi new education minister, Saurabh Bharadwaj new health minister of Delhi Aam Aadmi Party MLAs [Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi were sworn in as Ministers by Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena]( on March 9 in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhur also attended the oath-taking ceremony. Atishi will handle education, PWD, Power and Tourism departments, while Bharadwaj will look after Health, Urban Development, Water and Industries. WHO fires director in Asia accused of racist misconduct The [World Health Organization has fired its top official in the Western Pacific]( after the Associated Press reported last year that dozens of staff members accused him of racist, abusive, and unethical behavior that may have compromised the U.N. health agency’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Dr. Takeshi Kasai’s appointment had been “terminated” after an internal investigation resulted in “findings of misconduct.” Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. First Day First Show Stay up-to-date on all things cinema with the "First Day First Show" cinema & entertainment newsletter. Every week, we bring you movie reviews, news from regional cinema, Bollywood, Hollywood, and beyond, as well as updates from the streaming platforms. Whether you're a cinephile or just looking for your next great binge-watch, we've got you covered. 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