Talwar was Praful Patel’s point man
Controversial lobbyist Deepak Talwar’s unexpected extradition on Thursday early morning has sent shivers down the spines of many corrupt journalists and bureaucrats. Now Talwar is in seven-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and is expected to sing like a canary on how he pumped money to many Editors and top Bureaucrats, especially in the Civil Aviation sector. Many journalists and Editors were associated and got largesse from Deepak Talwar’s firms such as DTA, think-tank-kind organisation Advantage India and Public Relations firm Integral PR.
It is a million-dollar question as to why the media never made any hue and cry while Deepak Talwar was parked in Dubai for the past 20 months, evading Indian agencies.
It is known to all that a former Editor who worked with Economic Times, Financial Express and now running a news portal was close with Deepak Talwar’s liaison and lobbying activities and associated with his firms DTA, Advantage India and Integral PR. Deepak Talwar escaped from India in mid-2017, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income Tax and Home Ministry started zeroing in his accounts. There was not a peep from MSM over his exit. Why? Because many Editors and journalists working in the aviation sector got huge moola from Talwar.
Deepak Talwar, who is in the league of Delhi’s powerful lobbyists like Niira Radia, Tony Jesudasan, A N Sethuraman, V Balasubramaniam, Dilip Cherian, and Suhel Seth had an army of journalists and bureaucrats on his payroll to give him heads up. It is a known secret that even Cabinet Notes used to reach him before the Cabinet convened.
Talwar started his lobbying career with the Coca Cola brand in the 90s and was very close with Ranjan Bhattacharya, the controversial foster son-in-law of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His business got a huge boost when Praful Patel became Civil Aviation Minister in 2004. In the Civil Aviation sector Talwar was known as the point man of Patel.
CBI first registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Talwar on Home Ministry’s complaint in November 2017 for siphoning funds through NGOs[1]. Then CBI registered an FIR in the Air Asia case and PGurus have reported that Talwar used to charge Rs.35 lakh per month from Air Asia to handle pliable journalists and bureaucrats[2].
Deepak Talwar in ED custody
On Thursday, the ED told the Court that Talwar acted as a middleman in negotiations to favour foreign private airlines causing huge losses to the national carrier Air India. The Agency told the court that by interrogating Talwar it has to find out the names of officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, National Aviation Company of India Ltd and Air India, who favoured foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia, by making the national carrier to give up profit-making routes and profit-making timings.
“It has been alleged that officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, NACIL, Air India, by abusing their official positions as public servants and receiving illegal gratification, in conspiracy with other public servants, private domestic and foreign airlines, made the national carrier gave up profit-making routes and profit-making timings of Air India in favour of national and international domestic and foreign private airlines.
“This resulted in a huge loss of market share to the national carrier and also led to pecuniary benefits to private domestic and foreign airlines,” the ED told Special Judge Santosh Snehi Mann.
ED’s Special Public Prosecutors D P Singh and Nitesh Rana told the court that India held bilateral meetings with Dubai, Sharjah, and Qatar after which there has been an increase in the seat entitlements for both the contracting countries and increase in points of call for foreign carriers.
ED also submitted a chart during their arguments to show that total USD 60.54 million received by the firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008, to February 6, 2009. The agency termed him as a habitual offender and accused in various other cases.
As Deepak Talwar is in custody of ED, the media world and bureaucrats are keen to know who he is going to rat on. It is a million-dollar question as to why the media never made any hue and cry while Deepak Talwar was parked in Dubai for the past 20 months, evading Indian agencies. The answer is that many big Editors were in league with Deepak Talwar and enjoyed his munificence till mid-2017.
References:
[1] Who is Deepak Talwar, the lobbyist caught for siphoning funds through NGOs? Nov 18, 2017, PGurus.com
[2] Deepak Talwar charged more than Rs.35 lakhs monthly from AirAsia for lobbying with officials, media houses, journalists – Jun 1, 2018, PGurus.com
- Elon Musk postpones India visit. Non-clarity in Tesla partner and Starlink license might be the reasons - April 20, 2024
- NIA confiscates Pak-harboured Khalistani terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode’s key aide’s land in Moga - April 19, 2024
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi: A Gujju businessman who does not invest his precious time for a losing battle - April 13, 2024
What we are reading and trying to interpret with the situation, I am sure will be just the tip of iceberg. Gave me shivers to imagine the situation. PM Modi has been sarcastically calling for the lutyens in Delhi corridors. Now I sense that nexus.
Too littke too late. Just like Obama ordered execution of Osama did not help Democrats to win, it is unlikely late fishing will feed the victory.
Unless !
There are continuous high profile extraditions and dramatic confessions and ongoing revelations, as orosecution and sentencing in our decadent pricesses takes far too long to give true and sincere justice.
Time to reveal the names of the media now !! Burka Dutt (Buffalo Beauty), Sagar Ghost & many more
Good development. But BJP’s supporters will be happier if these crooks are sent to jail.
The Indian politico class killed Air India and Indian Airlines and p Patel has all the details. Such an act is not seen in ANY country in the world. Destroying national wealth and helping a foreigner ?
During UPA rule there was a fee for allotting seats to gulf based airlines and shutting AI routes. Further Rs 60,000 Cr worth aircraft’s were purchased, beyond requirement, and later few Boeing 777 were sold at heavy discounts to gulf carriers.This is not loot but legalised decoity.
During UPA it was Sab Ka Saath sab cheese Ka Gutala. Unless special military courts for national looters are involved, the involved people will go unpunished.
Journalists were the key middlemen between politicians/ beurocrats and businessmen to fix deals. Catch the lot, every truth will come out.Easy to catch them, they are in our court yards. The journalist quoted in the article looks goody goody on TV and was the person accused V K Singh, former army chief of planning a coup against Govnt. Bunch of secularists, naturally carry a Hindu name.
It’s nothing new DIRECTORS IN AIR INDIA bent backwards to help the loot of AIR INDIA .
PROMOTIONS WERE FRRADULENTLY GIVEN TO SCORES OF YES MEN.
AIR INDIA WAS A PROSITUTE WHO EVERY DIRECTOR ,GM SCREWED .
we have unscrupulous elements .Even today AIR INDIA IS BEING BRYTALLY RAPED AND LOOTED BY LAW FIRM WHO GIVE SOMETHING IN WRTING AND DO THE OPPOSITE IN ACTION.
FATTENING ITS PURSES AT ITS COST.
AIR INDIA IS PAYING ITS LAW FORUM TO SUPPORT THE CRIMINAL ACTS OF ITS OFFICER WHO COLLECTIVELY LOOTED THE COMPANY .
THE VIGILANCE DEPARTMENT OF AOR INDIA IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD.
HONEST VIGILANCE OFFICERS WHO EXPOSED CORRUPTION WERE TRANFERREF SO THAT A CORRUPT VIGALANCE MAN COULD GET PROMOTED.
AIR INDIA HAS BECOME A CESS POOL
PERSONNEL INTEGRITY IS AT THE LOWEST TODAY.
Good. We have many people in line. But love to see the end as well.
All are lingering. But this is great happening for us in India.
Love to see all them have a Party in Tihar.
Dear Team Gurus, it is a usual and traditional for you to
Bring out such news, but what will be the net result?! We have been reading PC, his son, ndtv for past one year, but nothing happened. Yesterday ndtv website posted a news Reg appointment of new CBI chief. They claim that they have full list of 33 aspirants for the post.!How such sensitive and top secret information can be accessed by a private news channel, it is clear they have informers everywhere. Whether PMO can do anything to stop leak of such sensitive documents??
Why this rascal Praful Patel is still roaming free?
–
Why are the ‘looter Pawars’ not charge-sheeted yet – despite the fact they siphoned off billions in the 1 Triilion irrigation projects?