Latest News LIVE: CBI books 6 lieutenant colonels in Army recruitment scam

CBI booked 23 Army personnel and civilians, including relatives of officers, for allegedly demanding bribe and facilitating bribery. Stay tuned for Latest LIVE news

The CBI on Monday booked six lieutenant colonel-ranked officers along with some others for alleged corruption in the recruitment of Army officers through Service Selection Board centres.
 

Banking services such as cash withdrawals, deposits, cheque clearing and business transactions were impacted across the country on Monday, the day one of the PSU bank union's strike, against the proposed privatisation of two more state-owned lenders. United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16, and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price index-based inflation doubled to a 27-month high in February, led by soaring fuel prices and an uptick in food prices. This effectively dims hopes for any policy rate reduction in the near term to spur economic growth amid the pandemic.

In another news, the CBI today questioned relatives of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in connection with its investigation into the multi-crore coal pilferage case. The central agency had on Friday issued a notice to Ankush Arora, husband of Menaka Gambhir who is the sister-in- law of Banerjee, for questioning in the illegal coal mining case.
 

Stay tuned for the latest news of the day.

9:08 PM

Army recruitment scam: CBI books six Lt Col-ranked officers and others, carries out searches

The CBI has booked six lieutenant colonel-ranked officers along with some others for alleged corruption in the recruitment of Army officers through Service Selection Board centres, officials said on Monday. The agency also carried out searches at a number of locations in connection with the case, they said. MCSNA Bhagwan of the Army Air Defence Corps, the alleged mastermind of the recruitment racket, is among those booked, they said.

 

The CBI has acted on a complaint from Brigadier (Vigilance) V K Purohit alleging that on February 28, 2021 an input was received about alleged involvement of serving personnel in accepting bribe for clearance of review medical exam of temporarily rejected officer candidates at the Base Hospital in New Delhi.

 

The complaint stated at Lt Col Bhagwan, currently on study leave, and Naib Subedar Kuldeep Singh are also involved in seeking gratification from potential officer candidates at SSB centres, they said.

8:45 PM

No proposal at present to include petroleum under GST: Nirmala Sitharaman

Amid rising fuel prices, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday informed Parliament that there is no proposal at present to include petrol, diesel and three other fuels under the goods and services tax.

 

“At present, there is no proposal to bring crude petroleum, petrol, diesel, ATF and natural gas under GST,” she said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

 

She said inclusion of these products in GST will require recommendation of the GST Council. READ MORE...

8:29 PM

CBI books six lieutenant colonels in Army recruitment scam

Army recruitment scam: CBI books six lieutenant colonels along with several other officers and their family members, say officials

8:22 PM

NIA conducts searches in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka in ISIS module case; three arrested

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested three persons as it conducted simultaneous searches at 11 locations in Kerala, Karnataka and Delhi in connection with terror activities of a group propagating the violent ideology of the ISIS, an official said.

 

An NIA spokesperson said the searches were carried out by the premier anti-terror probe agency with local police units at 11 locations -- eight in Kerala's Kannur, Mallapuram, Kollam and Kasargod districts, two in Bengaluru and one in Delhi.

 

The case pertains to the terrorist activities of a group led by one Mohammed Ameen of Kerala, the official said. Three people -- Ameen and his associates Mushab Anuvar and Rahees Rashid -- were arrested after preliminary examination, the NIA official said.

8:01 PM

100% of estimated GST compensation shortfall of Rs 1.1 trn released: Govt

The Finance Ministry has released the final weekly instalment of Rs 4,104 crore to the states to meet the GST compensation shortfall.

 

Out of this, an amount of Rs 4,086.97 crore has been released to 23 states and Rs 17.03 crore to 3 Union Territories with Legislative Assemblies.

 

With the current release, 100 percent of the total estimated GST compensation shortfall of Rs 1.1 trillion for year 2020-21 has now been released to the states and UTs with Legislative Assemblies. READ ON...

7:12 PM

2008 Batla House encounter case: Court awards death penalty to Ariz Khan

While calling it a 'rarest of rare case', a Delhi court on Monday awarded death penalty to convict Ariz Khan for murder of inspector Mohan Chand Sharma in 2008 Batla House encounter case. Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav also imposed a total fine of Rs 11 lakh against Ariz in the case. The court said Rs 10 lakh should be immediately released to the family members of Sharma.

 

Earlier on Monday, the Delhi Police urged the court to award the death penalty to convict Khan. READ MORE...

6:33 PM

Rajnath Singh calls for dialogue on farmers' issue

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday called for a dialogue between the protesting farmers and the union government. Appealing to the agitating farmers, who have been upset over the new farm laws since they were passed in September last year, Rajnath Singh said any problem can be resolved through talks.

 

"The BJP's resolve is to double the farmers' income, and in no case, the MSP will end," he said, referring to the apprehension among farmers who have been agitating on the Delhi borders since November 26, 2020.

 

Singh, who was addressing a meeting of the BJP state executive in Lucknow, said: "We are all from farmers' families and we are ready for amendments and solutions, whatever is needed in the interest of agriculture."

5:33 PM

NEET to be conducted only once this year: Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal

Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Monday announced that the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate will be conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) only one time in 2021.

 

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, the Union Minister said that NTA under the Ministry of Education conducts NEET for the undergraduate programme in medical sciences, in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. READ MORE...

 

5:16 PM

Nationwide strike impacts banking services of PSU banks on day one

Banking services such as cash withdrawals, deposits, cheque clearing and business transactions were impacted across the country on Monday, the day one of the PSU bank union's strike, against the proposed privatisation of two more state-owned lenders. United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU), an umbrella body of nine unions, had given a strike call for March 15 and 16, and claimed that about 10 lakh bank employees and officers of the banks will participate in the strike, PTI reported.

 

In the Union Budget presented last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced the privatisation of two public sector banks (PSBs) as part of the government's disinvestment plan.

 

All India Bank Officers Association (AIBOC) General Secretary Sowmya Dutta said the government policies are going to have ill effects on the economy as also it will be reflected in the upcoming polls in some states. He said nearly all the bank employees have taken part in the two-day strike except for top-level employees.

5:01 PM

Congress, govt spar in Lok Sabha over donations to PM Cares Fund

The Congress and the government traded barbs in Lok Sabha on Monday over donations to the PM Cares Fund, with the opposition party alleging that LIC gave money to the corpus instead of providing benefits to people and union minister Anurag Thakur hitting back at it over the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation accepting funds from China.

 

During the Question Hour, acting Leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha Ravneet Singh said migrant labourers and the poor suffered during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

 

"They did not get the benefits they should have got. LIC gave its funds only to PM Cares. Why is it so?" Bittu alleged and asked the minister not to give a "political answer".

 

Speaker Om Birla told Singh that if he asks a political question, he ought to get a political reply.

4:59 PM

Rs 2,000 currency notes have not been printed in last two years: Govt in Lok Sabha

4:56 PM

Will tell Centre to form a farmers' committee which will advise on MSP: BKU chief

4:50 PM

No proposal as of now to bring crude oil, petrol, diesel, jet fuel and natural gas under GST: FM Sitharaman

4:33 PM

CBI interrogates TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee's relatives in coal scam case

The CBI on Monday questioned relatives of Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in connection with its investigation into the multi-crore coal pilferage case. The central agency had on Friday issued a notice to Ankush Arora, husband of Menaka Gambhir who is the sister-in- law of Banerjee, for questioning in the illegal coal mining case.

 

The agency also asked Gambhir's father-in-law Pawan Arora to join the investigation.

 

"Both have appeared before the anti-corruption branch officers at CBI's Nizam Palace office here for interrogation," a source in the agency said, according to a PTI report. A CBI team had on February 23 visited the residence of Banerjee and examined his wife Rujira in connection with the case. The agency also examined Rujira's sister on the previous day on the same matter.

4:08 PM

Sensex tumbles 397 points to settle at 50,395.08; Nifty declines 101.45 points to 14,929.50

Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 397 points on Monday, tracking losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and ICICI Bank amid weak macroeconomic cues.

 

After gyrating 1,035.71 points during the day, the 30-share BSE index ended 397 points or 0.78 per cent lower at 50,395.08. The broader NSE Nifty finished 101.45 points or 0.67 per cent down at 14,929.50.

 

Bajaj Finserv was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, L&T, Asian Paints, Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries. On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech and NTPC were among the gainers.