Daily News (In Short)-30-June-2015

#* IPL money laundering case: ED seeks LRs to Singapore, Mauritius

Officials said the agency has initiated the "legal procedures" to obtain from a court two Letters Rogatories (overseas judicial requests) to be sent to the two countries as part of its probe in the alleged laundering of funds in awarding media rights of the money spinning cricket tournament in 2009.

An ED team from its Mumbai zonal office has also been sent to Singapore but officials indicated they are part of an investigating team probing another case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

However, it is understood, the team could gather some important leads in connection with this deal case where the ED has recently showcaused, under foreign exchange violation laws, Modi and 13 other BCCI-Indian Premier League (IPL) officials and other private entities.

The two accused companies in this case are based in either country and hence an LR is aimed to help ED obtain more details about their transactions and international financial deals vis-a-vis IPL.

The money laundering case pertains to a compliant filed by former BCCI chief N Srinivasan in the same deal with Chennai police in 2010 against Modi and others charging them with alleged embezzlement of funds and cheating the cricketing body in the awarding of telecast rights.

The ED registered its own criminal case under PMLA early this year and later carried out searches in Gurgaon and Delhi to probe this deal which it suspects generated tainted funds.

#* After Pankaja Munde, Maharashtra minister Tawde accused of scam

Education minister Vinod Tawde has become the second minister in the Maharashtra government to be accused of irregularities in awarding contracts, with authorities seeking a probe into allegations that his department finalised a Rs 191-crore contract without mandatory e-tendering.
 
Last week, Tawde’s colleague, women and child welfare minister Pankaja Munde was accused of involvement in a scam related to the award of contracts worth Rs 206 crore for purchasing items for state-run schools.
 
The back-to-back scandals were the first to hit the eight-month-old state government headed by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Maharashtra’s finance department has sought a probe into allegations of irregularities in a Rs 191-crore contract awarded by the school education department without conducting compulsory e-tendering, which is required for any deal over Rs 3 lakh.
 
The contract for supplying fire extinguishers to 62,105 zilla parishad schools, cleared by Tawde, was put on hold after the finance department objected, media reports said on Tuesday.

Tawde denied the charges and told NDTV: "The finance department has raised objections, we are clarifying to them on the issue...I have not given a single rupee to any contractor."

On February 11, Tawde’s department issued a government resolution authorising the office of the education director (primary) to enter into a rate contract to supply fire extinguishers. Each fire extinguisher was to be bought for Rs 8,321 and each school was to be given three extinguishers.

#* Check out what’s new in Google’s Hangouts 4.0

Google has just updated Hangouts to version 4.0 with a number of design tweaks aimed at improving the messaging app’s overall user experience.

The tweaks are quite subtle, and thus may not be immediately apparent. But they’re sure to catch your notice as you continue using the app.

Read and send messages more easily
For one thing, the muted green tones of your message bubbles in the conversation view have been replaced by a darker shade of green that highlights the messages of the person you’re chatting with. This makes it easier for you to see your friends’ messages, especially when scrolling through long conversation threads.

In addition, the attachment options (new photo, photo library, location, emoji) are now readily available through a new toolbar, instead of being hidden beneath the old paperclip button.

#* Cash-for-vote-scam: TDP MLA Revanth Reddy gets bail

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh high court on Tuesday granted bail to Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA Revanth Reddy, an accused in the cash-for-vote case. 

ACB had arrested TDP deputy leader in Telangana assembly Revanth Reddy on May 31 while he was handing over bribe of Rs 50 lakh to nominated legislator Elvis Stephenson to induce him to vote for TDP-BJP candidate in Telangana legislative council elections. 

Revanth's two aides were also arrested by the ACB in a trap laid on a complaint by Stephenson. 

#* Sec 377 of IPC that criminalises gay sex may be scrapped: Gowda

India could abolish Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code that criminalises gay liaisons and the legalisation of same-sex marriages could be considered, Union law minister DV Sadananda Gowda has said.
 
However, any such move will require wide-ranging consultations, he said. A recent legislation on the rights of transgender people could provide a model for India’s gay community, he added.
 
“The mood appears to be in favour of it. But it can be done only after widespread consultations and taking all views into account,” Gowda was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.

Read: US legalises same-sex marriage, India has a long way to go

Gowda was speaking in the context of the US Supreme Court's historic verdict last week that legalised same-sex unions and the positive reception to the ruling on social media in India. 
 
Referring to a private member’s bill on the rights of transgender people, Gowda said it could be a model for the gay community. After several years of delay, the bill moved in the Rajya Sabha by Tiruchi Siva of the DMK received overwhelming response, he said.

#* White House condems car attack that killed Egypt's top prosecutor Hisham Barakat

Cairo: Egypt's top public prosecutor died of wounds sustained in a car bomb attack on his convoy as it was leaving his home on Monday, the most senior state official killed in militant violence since the toppling of an Islamist president two years ago.
Chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat was the highest-ranking state official to die in a militant attack since Sisi, a former army chief, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in mid-2013 after mass protests against his rule.
The White House condemned the car attack and said, "The United States stands by Egypt at this difficult time, as we continue to work together to fight the scourge of terrorism,"
Mursi, a Brotherhood leader who was freely elected as Egypt's president in 2012, was sentenced this month to death over a mass jailbreak in 2011. The Brotherhood has denied any link to recent militant bloodshed, reiterating what it calls a long commitment to non-violence.
Policemen secure the site of a car bomb attack on the convoy of Egyptian public prosecutor Hisham Barakat. ReutersPolicemen secure the site of a car bomb attack on the convoy of Egyptian public prosecutor Hisham Barakat. Reuters
Judges and other senior officials have increasingly been targeted by radical Islamists opposed to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Last month, the Islamic State militant group's Egypt affiliate urged followers to attack judges, opening a new front in an Islamist insurgency in Egypt.

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