News, Views and Gossip for NRI's

Nanda and Dilip Bhise live in a Mumbai slum with mother Lakshmi. They and their four sons are almost destitute, finding odd jobs occasionally to get them by.
The impending Mumbai Municipal elections have turned the tables for them for now, as they all, are sloganeering for various candidates for the considerable amount of Rs.100 a day.
They campaign for between 14 to 16 hours a day. As is usual the candidates promise much more but fail to deliver.
Meanwhile political parties claim they rely purely on their base of loyal activists, …

Davinder Dhaliwal 32, is among four members of a gang to be jailed for their role in an alcohol smuggling scam in the UK.
The complex scam was worth an estimated 50 million pounds a year in unpaid duty and VAT, and allowed the men to buy fast cars and luxury homes.
Dhaliwal and the other men pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and fraudulent evasion of excise duty.
Dhaliwal received a sentence of 16 months while his co-accused were jailed for between 3 and 10 years.

The Metropolitan Police have charged Amareshwar Arava 25, Sai Kishore Balguri 25, and Nishanth Puttapaka 23, with the attempted murder of Praveen Reddy, an MBA student who was critically stabbed in Newham, London recently.
The three accused are to appear at the Thames Magistrates’ court in London shortly.

Ratan Lal masqueraded as his brother Babu Ram, who qualified in recruitment tests. Ratan lacked the educational qualifications.
Ratan then proceeded to work as a constable duping the Sirsa, Haryana police force for 35 years.
Lal also served at various places in Haryana and on deputation with Chandigarh.
His charade was only discovered when he poisoned himself and was to be admitted to a hospital, but died on the way. His family who had to fill out various forms and documents gave his real name Ratan Lal.
Investigations found that …

Police said that an Indian student studying for an MBA in the UK, was stabbed in Newham, London.
As is the standard practice they did not name the victim but said he is in hospital in a critical condition. Reports in India have identified the victim as Praveen Reddy.
Officers believe the man was attacked at an address in Kent Street, E13.
Eleven people have been arrested. Four remain in custody and the other seven have been bailed until future dates.

According to Ipsos Global that surveyed the happiness of over 18,000 people in 24 countries since 2007, despite economic woes, wars and natural disasters, Indonesians, Indians and Mexicans are the most contented people on earth.
Ipsos cautioned that expectations of why people are happy should be carefully weighed as it’s not just about economy, it’s about a series of other factors.
Brazil and Turkey rounded out the five happiest nations, while Hungary, South Korea, Russia, Spain and Italy had the fewest number of happy people.

The US, Canada and Britain ranked in the …

Rajina Subramaniam 43, an accountant with ING Holdings, Sydney, who stole 45 million dollars from the company and spent it on shopping sprees, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Subramaniam’s indulgent shopping spree included jewellery from Tiffany, Tag Heuer, Bulgari and Paspaley, perfumes, makeup and designer clothes from Chanel, Hugo Boss and Armani, stationery from Mont Blanc and a vintage bottle of Moet and Chandon Dom Perignon champagne. She also bought prestige properties in Bondi, Kiribilli and the Central Business District.

During her years with ING, …

Jayesh Sharma 44, a former governor of the Roundhill Community College, Thurmaston, and advertising executive for a leading Leicester newspaper, was sentenced to over 16 months jail for stabbing his wife twice in the head when he was drunk and they had a heated row over money last October.
Sharma’s mother and his children were present at the time of the violent altercation. The mother managed to grab the knife away from Jayesh after he had stabbed his wife in the head twice. The injured woman was taken to …

The Ahmedabad city crime branch has arrested four women who were part of a marriage racket. They would target bachelors unable to find a bride, then charge them a large fee for finding them a girl to marry. Within days after the wedding, the bride would run away with cash and jewellery received as wedding gifts, leaving the bridegroom high, dry and distraught.
Among those arrested were bride Shweta Matthews 20, and Shama Luhar 25, and Maria Petras 50, who posed as the bride’s relatives. The fourth …

Sheetal Patel of Gurgaon, fell in love with Raj Kumar Patel a UK based NRI engineer, and they were married in 2009 and settled in the UK.
Sheetal has now registered a case against her husband for cheating, demanding dowry and harassing her.
Sheetal says after the marriage they bought an apartment in the UK but recently when she returned to the UK after a visit to her family in Gurgaon, she found her husband missing. She tried to contact him but was not successful. She later returned to …