National
PNB scam: 3 bank officials in police custody till March 3
Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) A special CBI court on Tuesday sent three Punjab National Bank officials arrested in connection with the Rs 11,300-crore fraud in police custody till March 3.
Those arrested on Monday are Bechhu Tiwari, Chief Manager in charge of Forex Department, Yashwant Joshi, a Scale II Manager in the same department and Praful Sawant, a Scale I officer in the Exports Section.
They were held three days after the first arrests were made in the sensational case on July 17 and presented in the CBI court this afternoon.
on Saturday, the CBI had arrested retired PNB officials — former Deputy General Manager Gokulnath Shetty and single window Operator Manoj Kharat — besides Hemant Bhat, an authorised signatory for the Nirav Modi Group. They are in police custody till March 3.
Tiwari was entrusted with supervising the work of Shetty and his team and to ensure entry of authorised SWIFT messages only into the system. Joshi was responsible for ensuring that daily reports of SWIFT and CBS entries were prepared, while Sawant was tasked with checking these SWIFT messages daily and reporting them to the bosses.
In the ongoing investigations, the Central Bureau of Investigation has interrogated around a dozen more PNB officials, mainly from the PNB’s flagship Brady House Branch which has now emerged as the epicentre of the massive fraud.
The branch office was raided on Sunday and Monday and even sealed for a few hours on Monday to enable the CBI team to carry out its investigations.
A CBI team also swooped down on a farmhouse of absconding billionaire diamond trader Nirav Modi at the famed Kihim beach resort in Raigad.
The bungalow is constructed over nearly one-and-a-half acres, about two km from Alibaug, which houses bungalows, resorts and farmhouses of some of India’s richest personalities, businessmen, film stars and others, accessible by an hour’s catamaran ride from the Gateway of India.
–IANS
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National
Foodman Vishal Singh Honored for Hunger Free World Mission in Bangkok
Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.