Nirav’s bro in million-dollar fraud Nehal Modi, the younger brother of Nirav Modi, was on Saturday indicted in New York for fraudulently obtaining diamonds worth over $1.4 million Nehal told New York-based LLD Diamonds USA that he was pursuing a business relationship with Seatlle-based Costco Wholesale Corporation P9 kochi l Monday l december 21, 2020 l `7.00 l PAGES 28 l late city EDITION He sought and obtained diamonds worth $2.6 million from LLD, saying he wanted to show them to Costco for a potential sale Nehal then pawned most of the diamonds to secure loans for personal use. The rest were sold to various retailers without LLD’s authorisation Though he paid back $1.2 million to LLD, a majority of the proceeds were spent for personal purposes CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ WARANGAL ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI New cm will be from Bengal: Shah E x p r ess News S e r vi c e @ Kolkata Seeking to take the sting out of the ‘outsider’ barb frequently directed at the BJP by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday asserted that the new chief minister after polls will certainly be someone from the state’s soil. “The change in people’s mind is clearly visible. Mamata Banerjee’s misrule will end in the upcoming elections and Bengal will get a new chief minister who is from West Bengal, not an outsider,’’ said Shah. “When you (Mamata) were in Congress and Indira and Rajiv Gandhi visited Bengal, did you call them outsiders?’’ he quipped. Without specifying any deadline for implementing the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), Shah flagged the infiltration issue and said people will usher in change in the Assembly elections to stop it. “The people of Bengal are unhappy with the infiltrators. They will bring in change to stop infiltration from the neighbouring country Shah said at ,’’ the end of a huge roadshow in Bolpur town of Birbhum. He said after the Covid-19 pandemic subsides and the vaccination process is over, the Centre will begin discussions to implement the CAA. Impressed by the large turnThe Trinamool Congress can never stop infiltration as it believes in appeasement politics. Only BJP can stop it Amit Shah, Union home minister out, Shah said it was a reflection of the people’s love for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding he had never seen such a massive roadshow. “2021 will usher in change for the development of Bengal. All BJP-ruled states have already started their journey on the path of development. You gave Congress three decades; communists over three decades; and Trinamool 10 years. Give the BJP a chance and within five years, we will make it Sonar Bangla,’’ he said. P7 Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a roadshow ahead of West Bengal polls, at Bolpur in Birbhum district on Sunday | PTI Centre sends talks invite, Cong devising new tactics for assembly poll lets agitators decide date A r u n M @ Kochi Unions to approach NDA partners to pressure BJP to repeal new farm laws; chalk out fresh plans for public participation in protests H a r p r eet B a j wa @ Chandigarh Hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah indicated on Sunday that his colleague and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will meet representatives of protesting farmer unions in a day or two, the Centre sent a written invite for the next round of talks while asking them to choose a convenient date. In his letter, agriculture ministry joint secretary Vivek Aggarwal said, “I request those previously invited protesting union leaders to provide details of their remaining concerns and doubts and suggest a date as per convenience for next round of talks.” Earlier in the day farmer un, ions decided to approach allies of the ruling NDA asking them Foreign donation glare on Punjab union BKU (Ekta-Ugrahan) leader Sukhdev Singh said, “We received an email from a Central agency through our bank seeking our registration details that allow us to receive donations from abroad.’’ He said it is part of the Centre’s pressure tactics to defeat the agitation to pressure the BJP to repeal the three contentious farm laws to end the deadlock. Addressing the media in Bolpur of West Bengal, Amit Shah said: “I am not exactly aware of the timing but Tomar is likely to meet the representatives of farmers tomorrow or the day after to discuss their demands.” Also, in a gesture loaded with symbolism, PM Narendra Modi made an Actor molestation: Youths land in police custody E x p r ess News S e r vi c e @ Kochi/Malappuram After being on the run for two days, the two youths who allegedly molested a young actor at a shopping mall in Kochi landed in police custody on Sunday . Ramshad, 25, and Adhil, 24, of Kadannamanna near Mankada in Perinthalmanna were arrested from Cusat junction at Kalamassery around 9pm while they were on their way, along with their lawyer, to surrender, said Santhosh P R, Inspector of Police, Kalamassery . In a video sent to television channels earlier in the day, the two claimed to be innocent, but said they were ready to apologise. They added that after the police released CCTV visuals of them visiting the mall, they were not able to go out in public. Later in the day the actor said in an Instagram , post that she has accepted the youths’ apology  ● More on P5 . Parliament dissolved, Nepal sets poll dates M aya n k si n g h @ New Delhi Pushed to the wall by rebellion within his party, Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli Sharma on Sunday recommended the dissolution of Parliament and snap poll. Soon, President Bidya Devi Bhandari complied and announced that the first phase of general elections will be held on April 30, followed by the second phase on May 10. According to sources, the immediate reason for the dissolution was an ordinance introduced by Oli on the Constitutional Council, which his rival within the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, said will weaken the country’s checks and balances. The Constitutional Council recommends appointments to various constitutional bodies. Among Oli’s strengths was solid support from the Chinese envoy. He seems to have lost it now, said sources in Nepal. WITH THIS ISSUE THE ESSENTIAL CAMPUS DIGEST YOUR LIFE COACH 28 PAGES, INCLUDING 16 OF edex (TABLOID) unscheduled visit to the historic Gurdwara Rakabganj in Delhi to pay tribute to Guru Tegh Bahadur, a day after his death anniversary . Articulating the position of farmers after a meeting of all unions at Delhi’s border, Darshan Pal, president of the Krantikari Kisan Union, said, “We will approach NDA allies on December 26 and urge them to put pressure on the BJP to repeal the farm laws.’’ The farmer decided to observe Kisan Diwas on December 23 as a day of fast, co-opting the public by urging them not to cook lunch that day so as to skip a meal in solidarity On . December 27, when Modi’s Mann Ki Baat programme will be on, they intend to copy his Covid time strategy of urging people to beat thalis at home till his speech is over, this time to show anti-BJP unity P7 . Smarting from the local body poll setback, the Congress has decided to adopt a new approach for the assembly elections, which are just five months away, even as it is unlikely to go in for a massive overhaul of the top leadership. The party, sources said, will go for winnable candidates and discard group equations, taking lessons from the civic express read Raid on rave party in Wagamon, 60 held Idukki: Nearly 60 persons, including 20-odd women, were arrested during a rave party in a Wagamon resort on Sunday night. Acting on a tip-off received by Idukki District Police Chief R Karuppaswamy, police raided the resort and confiscated LSD, heroin and ganja from the revellers, the police said. The arrested are said to be associated with cinema and TV serial industry. polls. Selection of candidates based on groups had triggered major headache for the party in the form of rebel candidates in many seats across the state. Though top-level reshuffle is ruled out at this juncture, the sources said district Congress chiefs, who hold other positions, may be asked to step down. This means DCC presidents of Ernakulam, Palakkad and Wayanad, who are also holding the post of MLA or MP, will have to quit. Besides, insiders maintained that the party’s Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam district chiefs may have to step down in the wake of poll setback. The party feels that the rebel candidates spoiled its chances in the local body polls and such a scenario would not happen in the upcoming assembly elections. “In the central Travancore region, the Congress faced the rebel menace, which affected our prospects,” said KPCC vice-president Joseph ● More on P4 Vazhakkan.  HOW party plans to win back trust l Group equations not to be considered while choosing candidates for assembly elections l Winnable fresh faces to be given preference l District chiefs holding other posts may be asked to step down l Steps will be taken to address the apprehensions, if any, of minorities RBI says only ‘no objection’ given to KIIFB’s masala bond issuance M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has stated that it had granted only a “no-objection” to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board’s (KIIFB) masala bond issuance and it was the borrower’s responsibility to obtain other necessary approvals. “The no objection was given under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, in terms of the then prevailing instructions. The borrowing entities are expected to obtain necessary approvals of other regulatory authorities/government, where necessary,” the RBI said in response to an RTI query by TNIE. The bank, how- ever, did not reveal the other regulatory authorities concerned. The RBI’s evasive response gains significance in the wake of the adverse findings on KIIFB and its masala bond issuance in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) annual report on state finances ● More on P5 for 2018-19.