Liquor baron Ponty Chadha’s mercurial rise is all ‘Maya’ A reclusive liquor baron may seem like an anomaly in these never-ending good times. But Gurdeep Singh Chadha—better known by the moniker Ponty Chadha—fits the bill. Often called “Mayawati’s financier”, the 57-year-old Ponty has been making large (if silent) waves for the political patronage he enjoys in Uttar Pradesh. Any bottle of liquor sold in India’s most populous state goes through his...

A confidential report by a Supreme Court-appointed lawyer has contradicted the special investigation team’s (SIT) findings on two crucial aspects to decide the role of Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and top police officials in the 2002 Gulbarg Society massacre case. Raju Ramachandran, amicus curiae (friend of the court), has in his report found “no clinching evidence” to dispute the presence of suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt at Modi’s residence...

In the past week the media has been reporting that the SIT has filed a closure report that gives a “clean chit” to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on the grounds that there is no prosecutable evidence against him. However, Tehelka has now scooped amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran’s explosive confidential report that had told the Supreme Court that Modi should be chargesheeted and prosecuted for serious criminal offences like promoting religious...

-Express News Service RTI activists across the state have called for a protest at the Dharna Chowk here on Saturday against the appointment of eight information commissioners to the AP Information Commission. Terming the appointment a farce, B Ramakrishna Raju, convenor of the United Forum for RTI Campaign, said that the forum members had met the governor on Thursday and presented the many flaws in the appointments during a 45minute meeting....

-Greater Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir RTI Movement has started a membership drive across the State for awareness and sensitization of public about matters related to governance, corruption and other allied issues by making rigorous use of the Right to Information Act (RTI).   The Convener of J&K RTI Movement Dr Raja Muzaffar Bhat in a statement said the group plans to register 30,000 members across the State this year.  “The aim of this membership...