Newsletter 05 April

National

BASTAR ATTACK: Amit Shah reached Chhattisgarh, Held a high-level meeting

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached Chhattisgarh on Mon in his first visit to Baster, to hold a high-level meeting in connection with the Maoist (Left Wing Extremism situation) attack in the state’s Bastar region that claimed the lives of 22 security personnel and 31 others injured in a gunfight, while one still in captivity, with Maoists between Jonaguda and Tekalguda villages along the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts on Sat.

Missing CRPF Jawan in Maoist Captivity After Bijapur Ambush: Mystery Caller to 2 local Journalists

Meeting

Shah along with CM Bhupesh Baghel, senior officials of the state police, and the Central Reserve Police Force will attend the meeting, on agenda as to how to deal with the situation, the official informed.

Shah will then leave for the Basaguda camp of the CRPF in Bijapur and will have an interaction with the CRPF and state police personnel there.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at the CRPF chief’s statement that the operation was not an intel failure as around 30 Maoists were killed.

“If there was no intelligence failure then a 1:1 death ratio means it was a poorly designed and incompetently executed operation. Our Jawans are not cannon fodder to be martyred at will,” Rahul wrote on Twitter.

Dig Deeper:

On Sat, a 600-member strong team of Maoists and their sympathizers — suspected to have been led by notorious Maoist commander Madvi Hidma —ambushed a security team, killing 22 security personnel in one of the worst attacks linked to Left-wing extremism.

Madvi Hidma: A most wanted least known is tribal and around 40 years old with 40 Lakh of bounty on his head. He is known for his lethal ambushes and leads a pack of 180 to 250 Maoist fighters.

He heads the ‘People’s Liberation Guerrilla Battalion number one and is also the youngest member of the CPI (Maoists) supreme 21-membered ‘central committee.’ A few unconfirmed reports suggest he has been appointed as chief of the central military commission. There are no recent pictures of Hidma available.

In April 2010, 76 CRPF personnel were killed in a similar ambush in Sukma’s Tadmetla.
In 2017, 25 police commandos were killed in an attack
In 2019, 16 commandos were also killed in the western state of Maharashtra in the lead-up to India’s election in 2019, in a bomb attack that was blamed on the Maoists.
In 2020, 17 police from a commando were killed in an attack by more than 300 armed rebels.
March 23, 2021- 5 soldiers were killed in an IED blast at Narayanpu

The militants — who say they are fighting for rural people and the poor — have battled Govt forces across eastern India since the 1960s. However, they never allowed any development of infrastructure in the area including schools, roads, etc.

Thousands have been killed in the fighting.

ISJK Commander Arrested By Jammu Police; Terror Strike Averted

Malik Umair alias Abdullah, a resident of Yaripora village in south Kashmir’s Kulgam, and a self-styled commander of the outfit in Jammu on Sunday was arrested by the Special Operations Group of the Jammu police from Jhajjar Kotli on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, the officer said.

A terror strike by the Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) was averted in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir after the police arrested, Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Mukesh Singh said.
“The terrorist was arrested on a specific information around 7 pm and a pistol, eight rounds, and Rs 1.13 lakh were seized from his possession,” Singh said adding that a terror attack by the outfit was thus averted with the arrest.
Singh said the major success came when police started checking at Jhajjar Kotli after receiving a tip-off about the possible movement of a terrorist commander.
During the inquiry, the terrorist revealed that he had received the delivery of the weapon and cash to carry out a terror strike in the Union Territory.
He said it has come to light that the arrested terrorist was in touch with several ISJK operatives and efforts are on to nab them.

Anil Deshmukh resigned as Maharashtra Home Minister after Bombay HC directs CBI to conduct a preliminary probe against him

Bombay High Court on Mon directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a preliminary investigation within 15 days against Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh over allegations of corruption leveled against him by former Mumbai Police commissioner Param Bir Singh. Pronouncing its order on Monday, the court noted that directions are required to order an unbiased probe to unearth the truth, as it cant be independent if given to Police.

Last week, the high court reserved its order on various pleas filed in this regard, including one by Singh himself.
The court’s order was on a plea filed by Dr. Jaishri Patil.
It also disposed of petitions filed by the former police commissioner, along with those by lawyer Ghanshyam Upadhyay and Mohan Bhide, respectively.
Singh was asked by the Supreme Court, where he initially filed his plea, to approach the high court first.
On Mar 17, he was removed from his position as the Mumbai Police commissioner, and sent to a “low-key” post as commandant general, Home Guards, for mishandling the probe into an explosive-laden vehicle found near billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s residence, Antilia, on February 25.
On Mar 20, Singh wrote a letter to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, accusing Deshmukh of asking the Mumbai Police to collect ₹100 crore per month from bars, hotels, and restaurants, an allegation denied by both the minister and his Nationalist Congress Party.

India, UAE, and Israel’s trilateral trade could reach $110 billion by 2030: Top diplomats

The comments were made at an event organized by the International Federation of Indo-Israel Chambers of Commerce (IFIICC) on Sun to discuss the ongoing business collaborations being pursued through IFIICC’s leadership across sectors.

The trilateral trade between India, Israel, and the UAE can propel to a high of $110 billion by 2030 by tapping into their mutual strengths, top diplomats and members of the business community have said.
“The international business potential backed by Israeli innovation, UAE’s visionary leadership and strategic partnership of both nations with India could be $110 billion by 2030,” Ambassador Ilan Sztulman Starosta, Head of the Israeli mission in Dubai, said in a press release issued by IFIICC.
Echoing similar sentiments, Ambassador of the UAE to India and Founding Patron of IFIICC, Dr. Ahmed Abdul Rahman AlBanna, said, “UAE and India’s bilateral trade is projected to grow from $60 billion in 2020 to $100 billion by 2030.
UAE is a gateway to the world and this trilateral with India and Israel could benefit the world.” Dr. Aman Puri, Consul General of India to Dubai, said,
Ran Tuttnauer, Honorary President of IFIICC in Israel and Chairman of Israeli Manufacturers Council at Manufacturers Association of Israel (MAI) participated in the event virtually from Tel Aviv and he stressed that “international business through the UAE in collaboration with India using Israeli Innovation will be the future”.
IFIICC was launched on Dec 14 last year and is looking to set up offices globally, drawing the support of the Indian diaspora, the largest in the world.
Kamal Vachani, Honorary President of IFIICC for the UAE and Group Director & Partner of Al Maya Group, noted that “the innovation and economic prospects of this trilateral are endless”.
The European business school (ESCP) in a seminar organized recently also highlighted the global potential of trilateral ties between Israel, the UAE, and India.
The seminar held last month was organized in cooperation with Mumbai-based S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR).

Dassault paid 1 million euros to ‘middleman’ in Rafale deal: French media

A French media ‘Mediapart’ report on Sun claimed that Dassault Aviation, which manufactures the Rafale jet, paid 1 million euros to a person, described as a “middleman”, in connection with the ₹58,000 crore Rafale deal for 36 jets for the Indian Air Force.

What Mediapart Claimed?

Mediapart can reveal that, alongside this controversial deal, Dassault also agreed to pay one million euros to a middleman who is now under investigation in India in connection with another defense deal. (However, no such news in Indian Media).
The French Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA) discovered this separate arrangement during a routine audit of Dassault.
This is the first part of Mediapart’s investigation into a state scandal which also raises questions over both the justice system and the political authorities. Yann Philippin reports.
The AFA decided not to refer the matter to French prosecutors even though a subsequent confidential report of the agency found that the amount of €508,925 “seemed disproportionate concerning all the other entries” under the same heading.
It said to justify the “gift”, Dassault supplied the AFA with a “proforma invoice” of Mar 30, 2017, which was given by an Indian company called Defsys Solutions (Defsys is an Indian systems integration company leveraging its capabilities to provide advanced solutions for a variety of defense and aerospace applications), owned by Sushen Gupta’s Family, who operated as an agent for Dassault, had worked on the Rafale contract and allegedly obtained confidential documents from India’s Ministry of Defence.
‘Gupta’ was the middle man, who was investigated by Indian agencies over his role in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.
“This invoice, which related to 50% of the total order (€1,017,850), was for the manufacture of 50 models of the Rafale C, with a price per unit of €20,357,” Mediapart said, quoting the AFA report.

In 2011 Mediapart made a profit for the first time, netting €500,000 from approximately 60K subscribers, which has raised 170K in Mar 2020. Interestingly, No Landmark investigations were conducted from 2014 to 2019, at least they haven’t mentioned it.

The claim comes at a time when 5 assembly elections are underway in the country.

A spokesperson for Dassault Aviation was yet to respond to the Mediapart report.

Dig Deeper

India ordered the jets in Sept 2016 as an emergency purchase through a Govt-to-Govt deal.
The Mediapart report said AFA inspectors were surprised when they came across a “suspect payment” of €508,925 listed against the head “gifts to clients.”
It said the revelation was the first installment of a 3-part investigation dubbed “Rafale Papers.”
“Mediapart understands that during a scheduled audit of the group, the agency’s inspectors found that Dassault had agreed to pay one million euros to a middleman just after the 2016 signing of the Rafale fighter jet deal.
In Oct 2018, Mediapart raised questions about the offset contract that was part of the Rafale deal.
It said a senior official in Dassault Aviation saw the partnership with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group as “imperative and mandatory” to getting the “export contract” with India for the Rafale aircraft.
The NDA’s decision to enter an $8.7 billion Govt-to-Govt deal with France to buy the 36 Rafale warplanes made by Dassault was announced in Apr 2015, with an agreement signed a little over a year later.
This replaced the previous United Progressive Alliance regime’s decision to buy 126 Rafale aircraft, 108 of which were to be made in India by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
The deal became controversial with the Opposition, led by the Congress, previously claiming that the price at which India bought Rafale aircraft – ₹1,670 crores for each – was 3 times the ₹526 crore, the initial bid by the company when the UPA was trying to buy the aircraft.
Also, because one of the offset deals signed by Dassault was with the Reliance Group of Anil Ambani, who was one among 30 others.
Congress earlier claimed the earlier deal was scrapped and a new one signed just to provide Ambani this opportunity for an offset deal.
However, at that time, the apex court refused to stop the purchasing of Rafel, which was aware of the details of the price.

International

Philippine president's aide warns of 'unwanted hostilities' over Chinese boats -Reuters

Territorial “incursions” by hundreds of Chinese vessels in the South China Sea are straining ties between Manila and Beijing, and could lead to “unwanted hostilities”, an aide to President Rodrigo Duterte’s said on Mon.

Salvador Panelo, the presidential legal counsel, said the boats’ prolonged presence in the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was an unwelcome stain on relations and “may trigger unwanted hostilities that both countries would rather not pursue.”
“We can negotiate on matters of mutual concern and benefit, but make no mistake about it – our sovereignty is non-negotiable,” Panelo said in a statement.
Though Philippine diplomats and top generals have strongly criticized China lately, Panelo’s remarks are the toughest to come from the office of Duterte, who has shown reluctance to confront China since making surprise overtures towards Beijing when he became president.
Duterte has previously said challenging China risked starting a war.
The Philippines last month filed a diplomatic protest about a “swarming and threatening” presence of 220 Chinese vessels believed to be manned by militias at Whitsun Reef, a stance backed by the US.
The ships have since spread to other areas of the Philippines’ EEZ.
Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, and Vietnam also have competing claims for islands and features in the area.
Its embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China says the boats were sheltering from rough seas and had no militia aboard.
Opposition senator Risa Hontiveros demanded “hard-headed” Chinese leave the Philippines EEZ immediately.
“We are facing a pandemic and then China is causing trouble,” she said on Monday.

Serum Institute may apply to sell Covid-19 vaccine Covishield commercially

The Serum Institute of India (SII) may apply for ‘marketing authorization’ for the Covid vaccine Covishield from the Indian drug regulator by the end of April, which will allow it to sell the vaccine commercially. Covishield has been developed by the British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca and Oxford University.