Complaint filed before a special court on Wednesday ED files chargesheet against Vivo NAGAPATTINAM l Friday l December 8, 2023 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION ED says Vivo transferred `62,476 cr to China to avoid paying taxes in India Lava MD’s lawyer says his client not engaged in any transaction with Vivo Others arrested are Chinese national Guangwen and chartered accountants Nitin Garg and Rajan Malik The action is seen as part of the Union government’s effort to tighten checks on Chinese entities that are allegedly indulging in serious financial crimes like money laundering and tax evasion while operating here CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ BJP brass may take a call on three CMs by Sunday Cassation court to hear case of naval veterans Y e s h i Seli @ New Delhi The third hearing of the eight Indian naval veterans on death row in Qatar was held on Thursday in Doha in the Court of Appeal. The next hearing, which is expected within the next few days, will now be in the Cassation court. A court of Cassation is a high-instance court, which is the highest court of appeal. Such courts do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. “The next hearing (in the Cassation court) will make things more clear. There is optimism after Prime Minster Narendra Modi met the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamas Al Thani, in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28 in Doha,’’ said a source. “We had a good conversation on the potential of bilateral partnership and the well-being of the Indian community in Qatar,” Modi later posted on X. December 18 is observed as Qatar’s National Day It is also . a day when the Emir grants pardons to prisoners. Families of these veterans are hoping that these eight are pardoned by the Emir and repatriated. Some family members of these naval veterans had filed a mercy petition seeking pardon of the Emir in the past. Four days ago, Qatar had allowed the Indian ambassador there to meet the eight naval veterans in prison. The three hearings on the appeal so far were on November 23, November 30 and December 7. The agency has filed its first chargesheet against Chinese smartphone maker Vivo for money laundering | P10 4 persons earlier arrested including Lava Intl MD R A J E SH K U M A R T HAK U R @ New Delhi A woman lighting a lantern at a home in Pallikaranai; an inundated road in Kolapakkam | P Ravikumar, Martin Louis Anger spills over to flooded Chennai roads E x pre s s N ew s Service @ Chennai Patience seems to be running thin in Chennai as several pockets remained flooded even four days after Michaung havoc. Sporadic protests broke out in some places including Thiru Vi Ka Nagar and Pulianthope on Thursday with residents taking to the streets over inundation and shortage of relief materials and essential supplies, and officials and politicians facing a deluge of complaints. The Medavakkam-Sholinganallur main road remained shut for the fifth day on Thursday and Perumbakkam continued to remain under waist-level water. While several roads in the localities are inaccessible, Kailash Nagar and Cheran Nagar in Perum- CM seeks `2,000cr for urgent relief work ‘Ban development work on flood plains’ The CM has sent letter to the PM urging him to give at least `2,000 crore for urgent relief work. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh undertook an aerial survey and held discussions with the CM over the extent of damage | P4 The Thiruppugazh panel’s interim report shows that the biggest challenge to mitigation is the poor flood water carrying capacity of waterbodies. It has sought a ban on development works along Chennai flood plains | P4 bakkam have been without electricity for four days. Water has started receding in urban habitat board settlements in Perumbakkam and Semmenchery but power and , water supply have not been restored in many blocks. Prices of essential commodities too have skyrocketed with 500ml milk costing `50 and a kg of tomato costing ` 1 2 0 i n Pe r u m b a k k a m . Though major roads in Thiruvanmiyur are open to traffic, several streets along the Kalakshetra Road are still under water. As relief materials from volunteers, NGOs and political parties continued to arrive in Perumbakkam, authorities had a tough time in managing crowd in some places as people gathered in large numbers to get them.  More reports: P4 Amid a day of intense speculation over who will be the chief ministers of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, many elected MLAs, including former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje, met the top leadership of the BJP reportedly to lobby for the CM post. With the hectic parleys still underway, party sources said the names of the three chief ministers will be known by Sunday “How . can anyone announce the names without appointing observers to states and without holding the legislature party meeting? The BJP goes by the book, not by hearsay. Wait by Sunday evening, almost everything will be clear as the central leadership is on the job,” said a source. Raje had reached Delhi late on Wednesday night, creating a buzz that she would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP president J P Nadda on Thursday. For the record, however, Raje said she came to Delhi to meet a member of her family . Renuka Singh, who on Thursday resigned as Union minister of state for tribal affairs, met Nadda and had a 30-minute discussion. The meeting sparked a speculation that she is a strong contender for the Chhattisgarh CM post. Singh had contested from the Bharatpur-Sonhat What happens next The BJP is expected to name central observers for electing the leaders of its legislature parties in MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan on Friday. The observers will travel to the states to oversee meetings of newly elected MLAs, who will formally name the CMs constituency and won. Speaking to reporters, Singh, however, claimed that she was not in the race for CM. She belongs to a tribal community and holds immense influence. According to BJP sources, choosing her will help the party in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The other names doing the rounds within BJP circles are former CM Raman Singh, who served Chhattisgarh 15 years, and bureaucrat-turned-politician O P Chaudhary Some BJP . leaders feel Chaudhary has better chances as he is a strong OBC face and enjoys the trust of both Modi and Shah. Meanwhile, Rajasthan MLA Mahant Balaknath Yogi also met senior BJP leaders in Delhi. According to party insiders, the BJP’s central leadership has a tough job in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh with multiple influential contenders lobbying for the hot seat. Apart from Raje, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and Arjun Meghwal are in the race in Rajasthan. Notably the incumbent Mad, hya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who has developed a strong vote bank in the state, has chosen to stay back instead of rushing to Delhi to meet central leaders. Pralhad Singh Patel, Narendra Singh Tomar, Rajendra Shukla, and Jyotiraditya Scindia are the other contenders for the CM post in MP . express read Sterlite firing: CBI chargesheet binned SC’s Article 370 verdict on Monday Madurai: Rejecting the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the Thoothukudi police firing case in which 13 people were killed during anti-Sterlite protest on May 22, 2018, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Madurai A Pasumpon Shunmugiah has ordered the agency to conduct further investigation and file a report within six months. CBI had indicted only one inspector | P2 New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday pronounce its verdict on petitions challenging the changes to Article 370. A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had reserved the judgment on September 5 after a marathon 16-day hearing. One of the judges, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, is retiring on December 25 | P7