Hasan Ali denied bail again

Special Judge Swapna Joshi of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court rejected on Thursday a bail application of Pune stud farm owner Hasan Ali Khan, an alleged money launderer and top tax evader. This is the second time the court has denied him bail in the past year-and-a-half.

Khan argued that there was no substance in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claim that he made a fortune by selling antique jewellery belonging to the Nizam family of Hyderabad. He said he had come to know through an RTI plea to Hyderabad Police that there was no theft in the Nizam family between 2002 and 2006, the time police claimed a theft occurred.

However, sources in ED claimed the RTI reply only said investigation was under way and a chargesheet in the case was still to be filed. Khan's lawyer argued ED had no proof to establish his client was involved in the billion-dollar transactions mentioned in the charegesheet.

The ED chargesheet includes only two allegations — $700,000 parked in Citibank, New York, and $93,00,00,000 in SBC Bank, Singapore. Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam had said during arguments a supplementary chargesheet was awaited.

Khan, accused of stashing away billions of dollars in foreign banks with the help of Kashinath Tapuriah, has been behind bars since his arrest in March last year. He also faces a near-Rs 70,000 crore income-tax notice, besides a fake passport case in Mumbai and Bihar.

Azad Maidan riot: One more arrested

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Thursday made a fresh arrest in the Azad Maidan riot case. The accused has been identified as Mohsin Aslam Kashmiri, a resident of K D Heights building at Kathewadi Chowk in Malad (East).

According to the police, Kashmiri works as a junior artiste in movies. Officers said he was arrested after being identified from photographs taken during the violence that erupted during a protest at the grounds on August 11.

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