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ED raids Amnesty International’s office, NGO calls it assault on civil society

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ED raids Amnesty International’s office, NGO calls it assault on civil society

Raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) yesterday on charges of violating FCRA, human rights organisation Amnesty International (AI) on Friday, October 26, questioned the grounds claiming its structure is compliant with Indian laws.

It said the Enforcement Directorate has frozen its bank accounts and that it has become “the latest target of the government’s assault on civil society”.

It said that Enforcement Directorate officials had searched its Bengaluru office for 10 hours on Thursday, finishing only at midnight.

“Government authorities are increasingly treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises,” said Amnesty India Executive Director Aakar Patel in a statement. “As an organisation committed to the rule of law, our operations in India have always conformed with our national regulations. The principles of transparency and accountability are at the heart of our work.”

The statement said the Enforcement Directorate’s questioning focussed on the relationship between Amnesty International India Private Ltd and Amnesty International India Foundation. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Amnesty India bypassed the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act to float a commercial entity – Amnesty International India Private Ltd.

The AI statement said most of the documents asked for during the search were available in the public domain or were already filed with the relevant authorities. It said details of the organisation’s current structure, which was also the focus of the questioning, has been available on its website since 2014.

Asserting that its structure is compliant with Indian laws, the AI said the ED raid shows “a disturbing pattern of government silencing organisations that question power.” The human rights watchdog alleged that the government is instilling fear among civil society organisations by conducting such raids.

On Thursday, ED conducted searches at two locations of the human rights watchdog in connection with a foreign exchange law contravention case. The searches were in connection with alleged violation of foreign direct investment norms linked to a previous case of revocation of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence of the NGO by the Union Home Ministry in 2010.

The ED, in a statement, had said, “After Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT) was denied the permission/registration under FCRA by the MHA (ministry of home affairs) they resorted to bypass the FCRA by floating commercial entity in the name of Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL).

“This entity has received foreign funds through commercial route to the extent of Rs 36 crore till date,” it had said. Of the total amount of Rs 36 crore, it said, Rs 10 crore was received as long-term loans.

“This amount was immediately placed in FDs (fixed deposits) and another Indian entity Indians for Amnesty International Trust (IAIT) had established an overdraft facility for Rs 14.25 crore keeping the said Rs 10 crore FD as collateral which means the receipt of FDI by trust only.

“The remaining Rs 26 crore was received in two other bank accounts of AIIPL as consultancy services. The inwards remittances received by the AIIPL from overseas is in violation of FDI guidelines,” it had said.

In this background, searches were conducted at Bengaluru office of the NGO and further probe is in progress, it had said. The agency, sometime back, had frozen over a dozen bank accounts of environmental NGO Greenpeace and its linked entity after it conducted searches at their premises in Bengaluru on charges of alleged forex violations after taking cognisance of the FCRA action against it.

2024 Lok Sabha Elections

Prime Minister Narendra Modi says listening to Hanuman Chalisa under Congress rule is a crime

PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, on a day as India celebrates Hanuman Jayanti.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hit out at the Congress and said even listening to Hanuman Chalisa has become a crime under the party’s rule. The Prime Minister also said it was difficult to follow one’s faith under the party and accused it of hatching a deep conspiracy to snatch people’s wealth and distribute it among selected few people in the society. PM Modi was addressing an election rally in Rajasthan’s Tonk-Sawai Madhopur, on a day as India celebrates Hanuman Jayanti.

PM Modi said in a state like Rajasthan where people chant Ram-Ram, Congress banned Ram Navami. He reffered to the redistribution of wealth remarks he had made during a rally in Rajasthan’s Banswara on Sunday and said it has angered the Congress and INDI Alliance so much that they have started throwing abuses at Modi everywhere.

The Prime Minister said that Congress has written in their manifesto that they will survey the wealth. He said the Congress leadership had said in a speech that an X-ray of wealth will be done. He added when Modi exposed the secret then the hidden agenda came out and this has left the people trembling. PM Modi further added that the Congress party has played with the Constitution of the India.

He said when the Constitution was drafted, reservations based on religion were opposed, so that Scheduled Casts (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) could get protection. He said former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had said that Muslims have the first right to the country’s resources.  The prime minister further added Congress’s ideology has always been of appeasement and vote bank politics. He said stones would still be pelted in Jammu and Kashmir, and enemies would still be cutting off the heads of India’s soldiers had Congress been in power.

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NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar says Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to create fear like Russian President Vladimir Putin

Sharad Pawar said that former prime ministers worked to make a new India but PM Modi only criticises others and does not speak about what his government has done for the people of India in the last 10 years.

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NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that he fears a new Putin is in the making in India. Pawar alleged PM Modi is trying to create fear and emulating Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sharad Pawar said that former prime ministers worked to make a new India but PM Modi only criticises others and does not speak about what his government has done for the people of India in the last 10 years.

Sharad Pawar was addressing a campaign rally in Amravati for a Maha Vikas Aghadi candidate and said former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s contribution to the nation cannot be questioned. He said some BJP leaders had spoken publicly about changing the Constitution and appealed to the people to stop allowing autocracy from taking shape in India.

Pawar said he had seen Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, and had seen the work of almost all Prime Ministers ranging from Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Narasimha Rao to Manmohan Singh. The NCP (SP) chief said he had seen that their efforts were to make a new India, but PM Modi knows only how to criticize. He said nobody in history can forget the contribution of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, but the PM Modi continuously criticises him.

Sharad Pawar further added that he wanted to apologise to the people of Amravati for the mistake he had committed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by supporting Navneet Rana. He hailed Shiv Sena (UBT) led by Uddhav Thackeray for taking up the responsibility to protect the national interest by working closely with the Congress and the NCP (SP) as they did in the past. Speaking to the media, Pawar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constant attack on the Congress was not a wise decision as that party is not in power.

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Salman Khan house firing case: Mumbai crime branch recovers gun, cartridges from Tapi River in Surat

One gun and some cartridges have been recovered from the Tapi river in Surat by the Mumbai Crime Branch in the firing case outside Salman Khan’s residence, as per reports.

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The Mumbai Crime Branch on Monday, April 22, found a gun and some live cartridges, which was used for firing outside Salman Khan’s house, from Tapi River in Gujarat’s Surat.

This is a fresh update related the gunfire incident outside Salman Khan’s apartment at the Galaxy Apartment in Bandra on April 14. According to the crime branch, they are currently looking for another gun.

It is interesting to note that the accused, after performing the crime, dropped the gun into the Tapi River in Surat.

As to the Mumbai Crime Branch, the shooters who opened fire outside Salman Khan’s residence have two guns and were instructed to shoot 10 rounds of fire.

Outside the actor’s apartment at the Galaxy Apartments in the early hours of April 14, two people arrived on a motorcycle and fired four rounds.The attackers left the location shortly after the event. Both individuals were wearing headgear and carrying backpacks, according to surveillance footage.

The Mumbai Crime Branch has taken the accused Vicky Gupta with them to the Surat Tapi river, where they had thrown the gun. The police can add more sections to this case. More than ten people’s statements have been recorded in the Salman Khan case, and the recording process is still ongoing.

The Mumbai Crime Branch announced on April 20 that three more sections have been added to the FIR against the offenders in an effort to step up the investigation into the shooting incident at Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s home.

The case has been appended with the extra sections under IPC 506(2) (threatening), 115 (abetment), and 201 (tampering with evidence). Gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his brother Anmol Bishnoi have been named as wanted suspects in connection with the crime, according to Mumbai Crime Branch police.

Shortly after the shooting, Anmol Bishnoi, the younger brother of criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently incarcerated, allegedly claimed responsibility for the incident on Facebook.

Notably, Salman’s security level has been increased to Y-Plus since November 2022 because to threats from gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Goldy Brar. The actor also obtained a new armored vehicles for increased protection and was given permission to carry a handgun on his person.

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