Former union minister duped of over Rs.34 lakh

October 8th, 2009 GHAZIABAD - A man was robbed of Rs.3 lakh by two criminals in Ghaziabad, police said Thursday. According to police, Om Prakash, a resident of Pilkhuwa, bought a plot in the city and was to pay Rs.3 lakh to the land owner Thursday.

October 8th, 2009 KOCHI - For 23-year-old Manju it was a dream marriage come true. But her love affair with her husband Binu, 30, came to an ugly end when he dumped her after selling her kidney and married another woman.

October 2nd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/NEW DELHI - The defence ministry asked the Kerala government for Rs.45 lakh for a military aircraft to transport the bodies of the people who had died in the Thekkady boat capsize, a senior Kerala minister said Friday. The state government, however, rejected the demand and instead chartered two planes from a private airline to take the bodies to different places, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, and spent less than Rs.25 lakh.

September 28th, 2009 AGRA - A woman home guard in Agra has duped over a dozen people of nearly Rs.1 crore on the pretext of getting them jobs, getting their relatives out of jail and so on, police said Monday. An FIR has been lodged against the home guard, Manju Tomar who is absconding and police have launched a hunt for her.

September 14th, 2009 GHAZIABAD - Two armed masked men robbed a cooperative bank of over Rs.1.7 lakh here Monday, police said. The heist occurred Monday in Govindpuri locality under the Modinagar police station of Ghaziabad.

September 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Burglars have looted cash and jewellery worth Rs.60 lakh from a businessman's home in Samaipur Badli here, police said Monday. According to police, when Mukesh Kumar Kashyap alongwith his family returned home around 4.30 p.m.

August 15th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect Saturday marked the Independence Day by planting a staggering 68 lakh trees in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and the union territory of Chandigarh. "Followers of Dera Sacha Sauda have planted nearly 68 lakh plants of different species on a single day.

August 15th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect Saturday marked Independence Day by planting millions of saplings in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and the union territory of Chandigarh. Till now, more than 50 lakh (5 million) plants of different species have been planted.

July 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A 23-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly cheating more than 75 credit card holders of more than Rs.4 crore, police said Saturday. "Ravi Kumar Sindhu, a resident of Paharganj area, was arrested from Sarojini Nagar area of south Delhi Wednesday.

June 21st, 2009 PANAJI - Facing criminal charges for allegedly cheating Goa Tourism Minister Francisco Pacheco of Rs.1.25 crore in gambling winnings, a casino firm has alleged that Pacheco in fact owed it Rs.30 lakh in dues. Gerald Fernandes, general manager of the Update Recreation and Gaming Pvt Ltd (URGPL) casino, which runs the Treasures casino at Majorda beach resort, has filed a police complaint against Pacheco.

April 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Political heavyweights from Delhi such as Congress candidate from New Delhi constituency Ajay Makan, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Vijender Gupta and former Delhi minister Jagdish Mukhi filed their nominations Friday for the Lok Sabha polls. Accompanied by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Ajay Makan filed the nomination papers.

April 9th, 2009 SILIGURI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavyweight Jaswant Singh, who filed his nomination from northern West Bengal's Darjeeling Hills Thursday, has movable and immovable assets worth over Rs.7 crore and his possessions include a herd of 42 cattle and two Arabian horses. Singh's wife Sheetal Kumari owns assets valued at over Rs.5 crore, according to the affidavit submitted by the former union minister.

April 6th, 2009 RAE BARELI - Congress president Sonia Gandhi owns neither a car nor a house in India but she has an ancestral home in Italy, according to papers she submitted Monday while filing her Lok Sabha nomination here. She submitted an affidavit to the district magistrate, stating the Italian house was valued at Rs.1.8 million (Rs.18.02 lakh).

April 5th, 2009 RANCHI - Saurabh Narayan Singh is the youngest candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from Jharkhand. He is also the richest candidate in the fray.

April 2nd, 2009 PATNA - Filmmaker Prakash Jha, contesting from the Bihar's West Champaran constituency, has declared in an affidavit that he has personal assets worth Rs.55 crore (Rs.550 million). Jha, who is a Lok Janshakti Party nominee, said in the affidavit submitted during filing of nominations that he has Rs.2,925,602 (Rs.29 lakh) in cash and bank deposits to the tune of Rs.41,233,548 (Rs.4.1 crore).