The BJP has won 10 seats uncontested in the 60-member Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.
The party, however, fell short of the Congress record of 11 seats won unopposed in 2014.
While no Opposition parties fielded candidates in five constituencies, rivals of the BJP withdrew their nominations in five more by March 30, the last day of withdrawal of candidature.
Among those who won uncontested were Chief Minister Pema Khandu from Mukto and Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein from Chowkham.
The other winners are Ratu Techi from Sagalee, Jikke Tako (Tali), Nyato Dukam (Taliha), Mutchu Mithi (Roing), Hage Appa (Ziro-Hapoli), Techi Kaso (Itanagar), Dongru Siongju (Bomdila), and Dasanglu Pul (Hayuliang).
“...It’s all because of the people’s love and trust in #ModiKiGuarantee and our dedication in ensuring all-round development of the State,” CM Khandu wrote on X.
250 Indians lured into cyber crime abroad have been rescued and returned home: Ministry of External Affairs
The Union government is “collaborating closely” with Cambodian authorities and has rescued about 250 Indians from Cambodia, who had been lured there by cyber fraud and fake online recruitment scams, the Ministry of External Affairs said on March 30. About 75 of them have returned to India over the past three months.
The return of the Indians comes as investigating agencies launched a nationwide operation against agents — many of them believed to be linked to companies in China — that operate in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar to recruit job seekers across South Asia and South East Asia on the promise of working in the information technology industry there.
Once they go abroad, the recruits are instead forced to work in cyber fraud centres, and coerced into defrauding others over the telephone and online.
“Our Embassy in Cambodia has been promptly responding to complaints from Indian nationals who were lured with employment opportunities to that country but were forced to undertake illegal cyber work,” the MEA said in a statement on March 30.
The statement followed reports that the MEA has been coordinating with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and law enforcement agencies to help bring back about 300 of those who have reached out to the Indian Embassy in Pnom Penh.
In January this year, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre and the MHA had said that about half of the 5,000 calls received on the cybercrime helplines on an average day relate to such scams involving companies based in Cambodia and Myanmar, linked mainly to Chinese apps.
The MEA and the Indian Embassy have issued several advisories warning job-seekers against accepting such job offers.
Over the past year, police in several Indian States, including Odisha, Punjab, and Kerala, have made arrests in such cases. Officials conceded that there were likely to be many more victims across South East Asia, but said that they were working mainly with those who have reached out to Indian embassies abroad, and those whom the local police officials in those countries have managed to rescue.
Washing machine on dais, Congress taunts BJP over ‘clean chit’ to leaders aligning with ruling party
Displaying a washing machine on its press conference dais, the Congress on March 30 taunted the BJP over the CBI filing a closure report in a 2017 corruption case against NCP leader Praful Patel and said the ruling party’s “fully automatic washing machine” works on the principle — “join BJP, case closed”.
The Congress raised the issue of leaders, against whom there have been corruption charges, joining or aligning with the BJP only to see “the cases against them being closed”, an allegation often levelled by opposition parties.
The party warned it will “go after every single officer” of agencies “who has willingly become a party to undermining our democracy and our Constitution”.
Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera’s press conference at the AICC headquarters was all about symbolism, with a “BJP washing machine’ kept on the table and a demonstration of a “dirty T-shirt” with “corruption, fraud, scam” written on it going into the machine and a clean T-shirt with “BJP Modi wash” written on it coming out of it.
In keeping with the flavour of the press conference, Khera alleged that the “BJP machine costs over ₹8,500 crore” - the money the ruling party got through electoral bonds — and it is effective in cleaning all types of stains of corruption when used with “Modi washing powder”.
A leaflet on the “Modi washing powder” was also distributed at the press conference with the PM’s picture and a tagline All stains will be washed away in a jiffy.
Khera said months after Praful Patel joined the BJP alliance in Maharashtra by splitting the NCP, the CBI filed a closure report in a 2017 case of corruption which the BJP had mentioned in its “charge sheet” released in 2014.
The BJP in its 2014 Lok Sabha elections “charge sheet” against the UPA government had listed what it described as the “Air India scam”.
Khera pointed out that the BJP had stated that the “whole scam is approximately ₹25,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore”.
The CBI had alleged that in 2006, Patel abused his position as the Union Civil Aviation Minister in the UPA government to lease several aircraft for five years to Air India to benefit private players, Khera said.
Not only this, in 2019, the BJP made “some vile allegations” against Patel claiming that “he was involved in a property deal with 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts accused Iqbal Mirchi”, the Congress leader said.
“BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra asked the Congress to come clean on the allegation of a land deal between Mr. Patel and Mirchi, a close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim who was declared a global terrorist. We ask, what happened to that ludicrous allegation, now?” Khera said.
He claimed that there are at least 21 major leaders who have been whitewashed “clean” after the BJP made allegations of corruption and illegality against them.
Khera cited the names of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Narayan Rane, Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Ashok Chavan as being among those against whom the BJP had levelled allegations of corruption but stopped talking about it when they joined the ranks of the BJP.
Nine pirates being brought to India to face legal action: Indian Navy
A day after rescuing a hijacked Iranian fishing vessel and its 23-member Pakistani crew under an anti-piracy operation at sea, the Indian Navy on March 30 said the nine surrendered pirates are being brought to India for further legal action.
Legal action will be taken against them under the Maritime Anti-Piracy Act, 2022.
The Indian Navy’s specialist teams have completed sanitisation and seaworthiness checks of fishing vessel Al-Kambar, according to a statement shared by the Navy’s spokesperson.
“The crew, comprising 23 Pakistani nationals, were given a thorough medical checkup prior to clearing the boat to continue with her fishing activities,” it said.
The Indian Navy on March 29 had rescued the hijacked Iranian fishing vessel and its crew, after more than 12 hours of “intense coercive tactical measures” as part of the anti-piracy operation.
The hijacked vessel was intercepted on March 28, the Navy said.
The fishing vessel at the time of incident was approximately 90 nm southwest of Socotra and was “reported to have been boarded by nine armed pirates,” it said.
The Indian Navy said it remains committed to ensuring maritime security in the region and safety of seafarers, “irrespective of the nationalities”.
Socotra Archipelago is in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden.
NewsClick case | Delhi Police file over 8,000-page charge sheet, names Prabir Purkayastha as accused
Delhi Police on March 30 filed its first charge sheet, spread across about 8,000 pages, in the UAPA case against NewsClick and its founder Prabir Purkayastha for allegedly running Chinese propaganda, naming him and the firm owning the portal as accused.
The final report was filed by the Delhi Police Special Cell before Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur.
According to special public prosecutors, Akhand Pratap Singh and Suraj Rathi, the charge sheet names Purkayastha and PPK NEWSCLICK Studio Private Limited as accused.
Court sources said the charge sheet contains over 8,000 pages, including annexures. The matter has been posted for further proceedings on April 16.
In Brief
No exit poll from 7 a.m. on April 19 to 6.30 p.m. on June 1, says Election Commission
The Election Commission of India has issued a notification banning the conduct, publication or publicising of exit polls between 7.00 a.m. on April 19 and 6.30 p.m. on June 1 when votes will be cast for the Lok Sabha and the four State Assembly polls. The notification issued on Thursday also made it clear that under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited during the 48-hour period ending with the time fixed for the conclusion of the poll.
ED files first charge sheet in Delhi Jal Board money-laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate has filed its first chargesheet in connection with the money-laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board, official sources said on March 30. The about 8,000-page-long prosecution complaint, which includes 140 operational pages apart from annexures, was filed by the federal agency before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Delhi on March 28. The court has listed the matter for April 1 for taking cognisance of the chargesheet, they said.
Dutch hostage drama over, suspect held
A hostage drama in the Netherlands that lasted several hours on March 30 ended without bloodshed as all hostages were freed and police took the suspect into custody. Authorities have said there was no reason to suspect a “terrorist motive” for the ordeal, which took place at a night spot popular with young people in the town of Ede. Several local media reported that a “confused” man had burst into the cafe in the early hours of the day and made threats, holding four people hostage.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
