India's protests: why now?

Yahoo – AFP, Ammu KANNAMPILLY, December 28, 2019

The new citizenship law has sparked two weeks of protests across India (AFP
Photo/Manjunath Kiran)

New Delhi (AFP) - Mumbai-based copywriter Sarah Syed says she was long alarmed by the Hindu nationalist direction of India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but felt powerless to stop it -- until now.

Like many others taking part in the current wave of protests, the final straw was Modi's new citizenship law and then the images of students being tear-gassed when they demonstrated against it.

"It's not as if one didn't know that things were not right. But for many of us, politics was just too depressing to think about," said Syed, a Muslim married to a Catholic.

"Now though it feels criminal to sit out the protests and say nothing," the 27-year-old told AFP.

The law, which offers fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim nationals from three neighbouring countries, is the latest policy instituted by Modi's government that critics accuse of marginalising Muslims in the Hindu-majority nation.

During his nearly six years in power, Modi's party has renamed places with Islamic-origin names, rewritten history textbooks to diminish or discredit the role of Muslim leaders, and stripped the Muslim-dominated region of Kashmir of its special autonomy.

The new citizenship law offers fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim nationals from 

three of India's neighbouring countries (AFP Photo/NARINDER NANU)

Modi has insisted the legislation will have no impact on Indian Muslims, however his party's 2019 election pledge to conduct a nationwide survey to identify illegal immigrants has raised fears among Muslims of becoming stateless, with no fast-track naturalisation option available to them.

Mumbai-based lawyer Momin Musaddique, who has been providing free legal advice to people worried about the implications of the law, said years of pent-up anxiety among Muslims have finally found an outlet in the protests rippling across the country.

"People have been afraid for so long of this government's Hindu nationalist agenda that they now feel like they have nothing left to fear," he told AFP.

"Now that their very survival in India is under threat, they have no option but to protest," he added.

'We have woken up'

In addition to Muslims, the demonstrations have galvanised large sections of Indian society, from secular Hindus and members of other minorities to intellectuals and opposition politicians.

Historian Zoya Hasan of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University told AFP the protests represented "the biggest challenge to the Modi government in the last six years".

The unrest is unlikely to derail Modi's Hindu nationalist campaign, said one 

analyst (AFP Photo/Manjunath Kiran)

Several local governments in opposition-ruled states such as Kerala and West Bengal have said they will not conduct surveys for the national citizens' register, responding to the public mood and undermining the prime minister's authority.

Although the protests began as a fight against the citizenship law, many of the demonstrators are now seeking a rollback of the government's push to remake officially secular India as a Hindu nation, said Hasan.

Nevertheless, she added that the unrest was unlikely to derail Modi's Hindu nationalist campaign and risk alienating his base which propelled him to a landslide re-election victory in May.

"The government may take a step back as a result of the protests but they are not going to move away from their core agenda," Hasan said.

For first-time protester Syed, participating in the demonstrations left her with "goosebumps" as she described her elation at seeing people from different communities come together.

"I used to feel so helpless before, like there was nothing I could do to change the way things were in this country," she said.

"The government's strategy has been all smoke and mirrors", she said.

"Now we have woken up."

India court orders release of jailed journalist

Yahoo – AFP, June 11, 2019

India's supreme court said its order to release the freelance journalist did not
reflect approval of his social media posts (AFP Photo/Sajjad HUSSAIN)

A journalist jailed for making derogatory comments on social media against a chief minister with the ruling-right wing party was ordered released by India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday.

Prashant Kanojia, a freelance journalist, was arrested Saturday after he uploaded and commented on a video of a woman claiming to be in love with Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu monk who is chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state.

"The judges have directed (the) immediate release of Prashant today," defence lawyer Shadan Farasat told reporters.

Local media reports said the judges had criticised the high-handed manner of Kanojia's arrest, calling it "illegal" and "unconstitutional".

The court however said its order should not be seen as approval of Kanojia's social media posts and that legal proceedings against him would continue according to law.

The head of a local news channel that broadcast the video shared by Kanojia has also been arrested along with one of the editors, for operating without a license.

A fourth person was arrested Monday for allegedly uploading altered images of Adityanath on Facebook.

The Editors Guild of India had slammed Kanojia's arrest, calling the police action "arbitrary" and "an authoritarian misuse of laws".

"The Guild sees it as an effort to intimidate the press, and stifle freedom of expression," it said in a statement on Sunday.

In recent years, laws have frequently been deployed by politicians from all parties seeking to stifle social media criticism.

Last month, a ruling party activist was arrested for posting a meme on opposition West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. She was later released on bail by the Supreme Court.

A journalist in northeastern Manipur state was jailed last year for allegedly criticising the state's BJP chief minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India's top judge faces sexual harassment storm

Yahoo – AFP, Abhaya SRIVASTAVA, April 20, 2019

Gogoi (C) is due to retire in November this year (AFP Photo/CHANDAN KHANNA)

New Delhi (AFP) - India's top judge fought off a sexual harassment storm Saturday after a former Supreme Court staff member accused him of making unwanted advances and hounding her.

Chief justice Ranjan Gogoi said the accusations made by a 35-year-old former court assistant were "unbelievable" and an attempt to stop him hearing important cases.

Saying judicial independence was at stake, Gogoi, 64, called a special session of the apex court after the woman wrote to 22 Supreme Court judges on Friday, alleging he twice made sexual advances in the office of his official residence in October last year.

"He hugged me around the waist, and touched me all over my body with his arms and by pressing his body against mine, and did not let go," she wrote in an affidavit seen by AFP.

"He told me 'hold me', he did not let go of me despite the fact that I froze and tried to get out of his embrace by stiffening and moving my body away," the document added.

The woman claimed she was dismissed from her job and her family had been harassed after she rebuffed Gogoi's advances.

She also said she was summoned by Gogoi's wife who asked her to prostrate herself and rub her nose at her feet to seek forgiveness.

Reputation at stake

"I have taken this unusual and extraordinary step of sitting in court today because things have gone too far," Gogoi said.

"This is unbelievable. I don't think I should stoop low even to deny these allegations... there has to be a bigger force behind this."

The chief justice, who is to retire in November after a year as chief justice, said he was scheduled to hear many sensitive cases in coming days and that he would continue his work "without any fear".

"Why do you think a person decides to become a judge? Reputation is all that matters for a judge. If that is also under attack, what is left?"

Gogoi said the woman had a criminal background and that the media must act responsibly on reporting the allegations.

A New Delhi court is to hear a police application on Wednesday to cancel bail for the woman in a separate criminal investigation.

The woman, a married mother of one, has called on the Supreme Court to set up a "special inquiry committee" to look into her accusations.

The #MeToo movement has touched several Bollywood directors, actors and media figures accused of sexual harassment.

A junior foreign minister was forced to resign last year after several women accused him of harassment.

The Supreme Court, one of India's most respected institutions, has 25 judges appointed by the president, including the chief justice.

The court often rules on key policy matters and orders measures taken in public interest.

The latest allegations set Twitter abuzz Saturday with a leading women's rights activist, Kavita Krishnan, saying the judiciary must come clean on the "extremely serious" charges.

Indian court declares tycoon Mallya a 'fugitive economic offender'

Yahoo – AFP, 5 January 2019

A British court in December ruled Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya can be extradited to his
homeland to face fraud charges, although Mallya has challenged the London court order

Billionaire tycoon Vijay Mallya was declared a "fugitive economic offender" by an Indian court Saturday, the first businessman to be indicted under the country's new anti-money laundering law.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act approved in August targets suspects who flee abroad or ignore warrants, and allows the government to confiscate assets of those accused of financial frauds and crimes.

The new law enables authorities to charge suspects if the case involves at least one billion rupees ($14 million).

The special court in Mumbai declared Mallya an economic fugitive following a request by India's financial fraud police that is investigating money laundering charges against him.

The court is also due to hear another prosecution plea to seize Mallya's properties.

The 62-year-old liquor baron fled the country in 2016 after failing to repay state-owned banks more than $1 billion in loans that prosecutors say was diverted to other businesses.

The owner of Kingfisher beer and head of the Force India Formula One team is currently in the United Kingdom.

A British court in December ruled he can be extradited to his homeland to face fraud charges, although Mallya has challenged the London court order.

Mallya was once known as the "King of Good Times" but dropped off India's most wealthy list in 2014, engulfed by Kingfisher Airlines' massive debts.

Known for his lavish lifestyle, Mallya made Kingfisher beer a global brand.

He has been living in a sprawling $15 million mansion in southeast England but has denied absconding and any wrongdoings, instead saying the charges are politically motivated.

Beyonce, Bollywood, Hillary as India's richest daughter weds

Yahoo – AFP, December 12, 2018

Isha Ambani was set to wed Anand Piramal in the Ambanis' 27-storey home
in Mumbai (AFP Photo)

Topping anything in hit film "Crazy Rich Asians", the only daughter of India's richest man ties the knot Wednesday after days of lavish celebrations that included a Beyonce concert in a lakeside palace.

Isha Ambani, whose father is tycoon Mukesh Ambani, was set to wed Anand Piramal, son of Indian billionaire industrialist Ajay Piramal, in the Ambanis' 27-storey home in Mumbai.

Days of pre-wedding festivities at a sprawling palace in Udaipur in the desert state of Rajasthan included a concert by Beyonce, purportedly the bride's favourite singer.

Attendees included Hillary Clinton, former US Secretary of State John Kerry and dozens of Bollywood stars including Salman Khan and Aamir Khan as well as cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar.

Joining them was a who's-who of India's super-rich elite, arriving on dozens of specially chartered flights into Udaipur's normally sleepy airport and whisked away in expensive cars.

Attendees at pre-wedding festivities in the desert state of Rajasthan included 

Hillary Clinton (AFP Photo/Handout)

Actress Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas, who themselves became husband and wife earlier this month, were also guests at Udaipur's City Palace on the banks of Lake Pichola.

Wednesday evening's actual wedding was set to be a more private affair with around 600 close friends and family, and some politicians, expected to be on the guest list.

There was a high police presence in the south Mumbai area around the Ambanis' home, which is called Antilia and reportedly cost over $1 billion when it was completed in 2010.

Indian newspapers have been abuzz with speculation about the total cost of the wedding. Conservative estimates have put it around $15 million while others insist $100 million is closer to the truth.

Ambani, 27 and Piramal, 33 got engaged at Lake Como in Italy in September and the high-profile wedding brings together two of India's biggest industrialist families.

Mukesh Ambani is the chairman of oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries. He is worth more than $47 billion and recently overtook China's Jack Ma as Asia's wealthiest man.

The respective families will hold several other receptions across India's financial 

capital in the coming days (AFP Photo/Handout)

The respective families will hold several other receptions across India's financial capital in the coming days.

The wedding caps a big month for what social media users have been calling "big fat Indian weddings". The Chopra-Jonas nuptials came shortly after Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh wed.

Not everyone is happy though.

"Isha Ambani's wedding is a perfect example of the wealth inequality in India," wrote one Twitter user.

"Here you have one of the richest families in the nation spending so much while millions still can't even afford food or shelter," she added.

"The new standard for lavish Indian wedding is Beyonce. Imagine," tweeted another.

Indian bishop refused bail in nun rape case

Yahoo – AFP, 22 September 2018

The scandal has sparked angry protests by clergy over police inaction

An Indian bishop accused of raping a nun was refused bail Saturday, and ordered to remain in police custody to face questioning in a case that has triggered outrage among clergy.

Bishop Franco Mulakkal was arrested in southern Kerala state on Friday after Pope Francis relieved him from duty over the scandal that has sparked days of angry protests by clergy over police inaction.

Mulakkal, who heads the Roman Catholic diocese of Jalandhar in the northern state of Punjab, is accused of raping the nun 13 times between 2014 and 2016.

The nun, who has not been named, first accused Mulakkal in June but police only started formal questioning this month as fury over the case mounted.

Police asked for more time on Saturday to question the 52-year-old, who has denied the accusations.

In its submission to the court in Kerala, police said Mulakkal had illegally confined the victim in a guesthouse and subjected her "to rape and unnatural sex 13 times in the same room," the Times of India newspaper reported.

Mulakkal has called the scandal a conspiracy by those opposed to the Roman Catholic Church.

The Catholics Bishops' Conference of India has said Mulakkal's arrest was a "sad moment for all of us".

"As said before we expect the law to take its course and for the truth to emerge. At his moment our prayer is for healing," it said in a statement Friday.

Sexual abuse by clergy and the failure of Church officials to take action has been one of the biggest scandals facing Roman Catholicism globally in recent years.

Recently five priests from Kerala, home to India's largest Christian population, were arrested after sexual assault allegations.

S.Africa looks to strip Gupta brother's residency

Yahoo – AFP, March 11, 2018

In February, South African police raided properties belonging to the Gupta
family in Johannesburg as part of a graft probe (AFP Photo/WIKUS DE WET)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has launched proceedings to strip the permanent residency status of one of the lynchpins of a controversial Indian business family accused of corruption, an official said on Sunday.

Ajay Gupta, a fugitive sought by police over alleged graft, now faces the prospect of losing access to banking facilities as well as his South African identity papers if his residency is rescinded.

Ajay is one of three Indian-born Gupta brothers who are among South Africa's richest people who are now being investigated by police over corruption allegations. The country's graft watchdog has also accused them of having improper links to former president Jacob Zuma.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has discussed the "the possibility of revoking Ajay's residency" with President Cyril Ramaphosa, his spokesman told AFP.

"Since then, he has instructed the director-general of home affairs to investigate the legal environment for that to happen," Mayihlome Tshwete told AFP.

Gigaba has had a torrid week after insisting that Ajay's brother Atul was not a South African citizen, only to be contradicted by the election commission which confirmed he was a citizen who was listed on the electoral register.

Gigaba then skipped a sitting of parliament on Wednesday at which he had been due to answer MPs' questions, citing illness.

South Africa has launched several investigations into the Guptas and Indian tax officials this week raided several properties belonging to the brothers in their former hometown as part of a money-laundering probe.

Last month, South African authorities raided Gupta properties in Johannesburg as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged graft.

Ajay was declared a "fugitive from justice" by police after failing to respond to a summons.

Thirteen other people are facing charges linked to allegations that the Guptas embezzled millions of dollars of public money meant for poor South African dairy farmers.

They are also accused of receiving highly-favourable government contracts during Zuma's presidency.

Led by Atul, the family arrived in South Africa in 1993 as white-minority apartheid rule crumbled, a year before Nelson Mandela won the country's first democratic elections.

Related Article:

PR firm Bell Pottinger seeks rescue after South Africa scandal

PR firm Bell Pottinger seeks rescue after South Africa scandal

Yahoo – AFP, Kenza BRYAN, September 8, 2017

British public relations firm Bell Pottinger was accused of orchestrating a
racially-charged campaign on behalf of the controversial Gupta family in South
Africa (AFP Photo/Rodger BOSCH)

London (AFP) - British public relations firm Bell Pottinger, accused of stirring racial tension in South Africa, faces administration to save it from collapse, a company source said Friday.

"We may well be in administration by Monday," the source told AFP, in reference to the process whereby a troubled firm calls upon independent expert financial help in a bid to remain operational.

In a chaotic week, major clients including banking giant HSBC and telecommunications group TalkTalk have axed ties with Bell Pottinger after it was accused of orchestrating a racially-charged campaign on behalf of the controversial Gupta family in South Africa.

Other fleeing customers include construction company Carillion, financial services firm Investec and luxury goods maker Richemont, according to media reports.

Britain's Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) trade body expelled Bell Pottinger on Tuesday over a campaign deemed "likely to inflame racial discord".

'White monopoly capital'

"White monopoly capital" was one of the slogans Bell Pottinger used on behalf of Oakbay Capital, an investment holding company run by the Indian Gupta family.

The Twitter hashtag #whitemonopolycapital is used by supporters of South Africa's ruling Zuma family, which has controversial ties to the Guptas, to discredit opponents.

The British PR giant deliberately created a narrative of "economic apartheid" to defend the Guptas, according to an independent report, which was conducted by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills and published on Monday.

By Thursday, Bell Pottinger chairman Mark Smith told a staff meeting at the PR firm's headquarters in Holborn, central London, that it was likely to go into administration.

Accountancy firm BDO has been hired to look at options including a possible sale.

Various media reported that Bell Pottinger's Asian division will separate from its parent group and rebrand under the name Klareco Communications.

The group's second biggest shareholder, advertising firm Chime, has meanwhile written off its investment and handed back its 27-percent stake.

Nevertheless, Bell Pottinger is still "considering all the options", according to an official spokesman.

The group has pledged to introduce a more formal review of client work to help "identify high-risk clients and high-risk mandates", as well as redeveloping its corporate policies, including for social media, and establishing a new ethics committee.

'Fall from grace'

Bell Pottinger was created in 1987 by Tim Bell, one of Margaret Thatcher's foremost PR advisers, and is well known in the UK for its links to the world of politics and business.

British peers were informed on Thursday that the government has no power to remove the firm from its register of lobbyists.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Conservative Party frontbencher Lord Young said that while the company had acted "unprofessionally and unethically" in South Africa, the only way it could be struck off was if it ceased its public relations business.

He also said that the scandal has had "a very damaging impact" on the Britain's reputation in South Africa.

AFP's source said Friday that they were still "hopeful" about the company's situation, adding that the international response to the scandal in their view had been "out of proportion".

Bell Pottinger accused of 'racial' South Africa PR campaign

Yahoo – AFP, September 5, 2017

British public relations firm Bell Pottinger was expelled from a trade body over
 a controversial campaign in South Africa that was found "likely to inflame racial
discord" (AFP Photo/RODGER BOSCH)

London (AFP) - British public relations firm Bell Pottinger was expelled from a trade body Tuesday over a controversial campaign in South Africa that was found "likely to inflame racial discord".

The decision by the Britain-based Public Relations and Communications Associations (PRCA) comes after Bell Pottinger ran a campaign which included the phrase "white monopoly capital".

The campaign was carried out on behalf of Oakbay Capital, a company run by the wealthy Gupta family, who are accused of wielding undue influence over the South African government.

A PRCA committee set up to investigate said the British firm's work was "likely to inflame racial discord in South Africa and appears to have done exactly that".

"Bell Pottinger have stirred up racial tensions in South Africa, they haven't been honest with the public," PRCA director general Francis Ingham told AFP.

"Bell Pottinger pitted white people against black people and those who possess goods to those who don't possess much."

Ingham cast doubt on whether the high-profile company would survive, adding that "Bell Pottinger is going to have to prove that it has changed, and changed fundamentally."

S.Africa's 'fragile race relations'

Bell Pottinger co-founder Tim Bell told the BBC on Monday that the scandal "almost certainly" signalled the end for the firm.

"I think it probably is getting near the end, you can try and rescue it but it won't be very successful," Bell told the BBC's Newsnight programme.

"I don't take any responsibility... I resigned from the company in August last year, I published my resignation and I said one of the reasons I was leaving was because of the Gupta account," he said.

South Africa's main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), which lodged the complaint with the PRCA, hailed Bell Pottinger's expulsion.

"It will take our country years to rebuild our severely fragile race relations, which Bell Pottinger, the Guptas and (South African President Jacob) Zuma sought to exploit for their own financial gains," it said.

The DA previously accused Bell Pottinger -- which was tasked with defending the Guptas' reputation -- of having run a "campaign to divide South Africa along the lines of race".

President Zuma is accused of unfairly granting lucrative government contracts to the Guptas and even taking orders from them over ministerial appointments.

The DA party hopes to make major gains against Zuma's ANC party, which was led to power in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, at 2019 elections.

On Sunday, Bell Pottinger's chief executive James Henderson resigned.

"There were warning signs that I should have heeded. Therefore I must take responsibility," he said.

An independent report conducted by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills released on Monday found senior management at fault for failing to put in place adequate policies.

British PR firm Bell Pottinger seeks rescue after South Africa scandal - @KenzaBryan reports https://t.co/T6O0AAnzsd #BellPottinger pic.twitter.com/FU9vLm51ux

— AFP news agency (@AFP) September 8, 2017

Britain arrests Indian tycoon Mallya for extradition

Yahoo – AFP, April 18, 2017

Vijay Mallya secretly fled India in March 2016 owing more than $1 billion after
 defaulting on loan payments to state-owned banks and allegedly misusing
the funds  (AFP Photo/Oli SCARFF)

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya has been arrested in London following an extradition request from India where he is accused of fraud, British police said on Tuesday.

The flamboyant financier, who co-owns Formula One team Force India, appeared in a London court on Tuesday and was granted bail.

Mallya fled India in March 2016 owing more than $1 billion after defaulting on loan payments to state-owned banks and allegedly misusing the funds.

India submitted an extradition request to Britain in early February after investigators demanded the 61-year-old be brought home to face charges.

India's junior finance minister Santosh Gangwar said the government would do everything in its power to bring Mallya to justice.

"We will not spare anyone who is within the ambit of law. Criminals will not be spared," Gangwar told reporters in New Delhi after the arrest.

"We will definitely work to bring him back to the country."

But the business baron played down the arrest.

"Usual Indian media hype. Extradition hearing in court started today as expected," he posted on his official Twitter account on Tuesday.

Mallya, known for his lavish lifestyle, made Kingfisher beer a global brand and ran a now-defunct airline with the same name.

He stepped down as the director of the Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers Bangalore last year but still owns the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League.

In February the Indian government said it was considering new measures to seize the assets of "big time offenders" who fled abroad.

That same month Mallya was sacked from the board of United Breweries, the firm through which he once controlled his business empire.

'King of Good Times'

Mallya's financial dealings are being investigated by the federal Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate, a financial crimes agency.

A Indian court in January ordered a consortium of banks to start the process of recovering loans from the tycoon.

Mallya was once known as the "King of Good Times" but dropped off India's most wealthy list in 2014, engulfed by the massive debts of his grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines.

His huge debt has come to symbolise the problems which bad loans pose to Indian banks and to overall financial stability in Asia's third-largest economy.

Critics say the government has not done enough to tackle the issue of wealthy individuals such as Mallya, who obtain huge loans which they later fail to repay.

Mallya inherited United Breweries Group from his father at the age of 28 and turned it into one of the world's largest spirits makers, hosting extravagant yacht parties with Bollywood stars and politicians along the way.

His profile rose further when he acquired a stake in the Force India F1 team and ownership of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

But his fall from grace was spectacular.

The businessman was forced to quit as a member of India's parliament last year after an upper house ethics committee recommended his expulsion.

His diplomatic passport was revoked in April last year after he repeatedly failed to appear before investigators.

Mallya, who now lives in a sprawling $15 million mansion in England's county of Hertfordshire, has denied absconding and has criticised the media for what he has called a "witch hunt".

India sports minister draws flak over Rio entourage behaviour

Yahoo – AFP, August 12, 2016

India's sports minister Vijay Goel attends a Rio Olympics press conference in
New Delhi on July 25, 2016 (AFP Photo/Sajjad Hussain)

New Delhi (AFP) - India's sports minister drew widespread criticism Friday after the organisers of the Rio Olympics reportedly accused his entourage of "aggressive and rude" behaviour at the Games and threatened to cancel his accreditation.

The Rio organising committee said it had received multiple reports of Vijay Goel trying to get unaccredited people accompanying him into Olympic venues.

"We have had multiple reports of your minister for sports trying to enter accredited areas at venues with unaccredited individuals," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted committee manager Sarah Peterson as saying in a letter to India's chef de mission Rakesh Gupta.

"When the staff try to explain that this is not allowed, they report that the people with the minister have become aggressive and rude and sometimes push past our staff," she said.

"Should our protocol team be made aware of further examples of this type of behaviour, the accreditation of your minister for sports will be cancelled and his privileges at the Olympic Games withdrawn."

Goel has denied any wrongdoing, saying it was a "misunderstanding".

"What is being said is that my staff may have done something wrong, but I am not aware of this or any misbehaviour. Nothing is being said about me, it is about my staff," he told the NDTV news network in Rio.

But the charge has led to an outpouring of anger on social media in India, where politicians are frequently accused of abusing their position to skip queues or zip through traffic in their official cars.

"Sad to see our ministers carrying the 'do you know who I am?' attitude to Rio Olympics," said one Twitter user, Karun Chandhok.

"Finally, India has won a medal at Rio Olympics. It's for lunatic behaviour. Thank you sports minister," tweeted another.

The Indian Express newspaper meanwhile accused Goel of spending his time in Rio taking selfies with "exhausted Indian athletes".

India has sent a 118-strong contingent to Rio, its largest ever for an Olympic Games, and the sports ministry has set a target of 10 medals.

But athletes complain of substandard training facilities and a lack of government investment in sport in a country that has enjoyed two decades of rapid economic development and has a booming population of 1.25 billion.

Ex-Satyam chief gets seven years for 'India's Enron'

Yahoo – AFP, Vivek Nemana, 9 April 2015

Then chairman of India's Satyam Computer Services Limited Ramalinga Raju,

pictured in 2008 (AFP Photo/Noah Seelam)

An Indian court on Thursday sentenced the former chief of outsourcing giant Satyam to seven years in jail over a $2.25 billion accounting fraud scandal dubbed "India's Enron".

Byrraju Ramalinga Raju, his brother and eight others were found guilty of manipulating Satyam's books in a 2009 case that shook the industry and raised questions about the country's regulators.

"All the accused have been convicted of almost all charges," prosecutor K. Surender told reporters outside the court in Hyderabad, capital of southern Andhra Pradesh state.

Byrraju Ramalinga Raju (C), the former

 chairman of outsourcing giant Satyam,

 leaves the Metropolitan Criminal Courts 

in Hyderabad, on March 9, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Noah Seelam)

Raju was charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and breaching public trust in a fraud during India's IT boom that prosecutors told the court caused 140 billion rupees ($2.25 billion) in losses to shareholders.

Raju and the others refused to comment to reporters and television crews as he was led by a throng of officers into a police van after sentencing.

"It goes without saying that we will appeal the judgement," one of his lawyers, E. Uma Maheshwarao, said before his client was taken to Hyderabad's Cherlapally Jail.

The court imposed seven-year jail sentences and fines of 50 million rupees on Raju and his brother following a trial in which prosecutors produced thousands of pages of financial documents and 200-odd witnesses.

The eight other defendants were sentenced to seven years in jail and given fines of 2.5 million rupees, according to V. Chandrasekhar, deputy inspector general of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

"India very rarely prosecutes corporate fraud. And this is the biggest corporate fraud case in South Asian history. So for us, getting a conviction is a big victory," one of the investigating officers told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Satyam scandal erupted in 2009 after Raju admitted in a letter to shareholders to overstating profits for years and inflating the company's balance sheet, a confession that saw the company's share price plummet.

Tech Mahindra, a unit of Indian vehicle and farm equipment manufacturer Mahindra and Mahindra, bought Hyderabad-based Satyam in April 2009, saving it from collapse.

File photo of Satyam Info-City office

 building in Hyderabad, taken in 2009

(AFP Photo/Noah Seelam)

Raju, who was educated in India and the United States, was one of the stars of India's software boom -- a key driver of the country's economic growth over the previous decade.

"The concern was that poor performance would result in a takeover," he said in his letter to shareholders.

"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten."

'Messiah of IT'

The confession sent shockwaves through the industry, which had put Raju's success down to dedication and hard work in Hyderabad, an IT hub that acts as the Indian headquarters of Google and Microsoft.

"Raju was like the messiah of IT for Andhra Pradesh back then," said KV Kurumanath, an editor at the Hindu BusinessLine newspaper.

"He was looked upon as a god, and a big achiever," said Kurumanath, who has been closely following the case.

Raju has been out on bail since November 2011 after spending nearly three years behind bars during the trial.

Founder and former Chairman of fraud-hit

 Satyam Computers, B. Ramalinga Raju is 

escorted from Chenchalguda Jail in

 Hyderabad, in April 2009, enroute to a 

court appearance (AFP Photo/Noah Seelam)

His brother, Satyam's former managing director B Rama Raju, was also convicted, along with other employees and two former staff at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm's auditors.

PwC said it was "disappointed" by the verdict, and its former staff were considering an appeal.

"As we have said many times, there has never been any evidence presented that either of our former partners S Gopalakrishnan or Srinivas Talluri were involved in or were aware of the management-led fraud at Satyam," said PwC in a statement.

Raju's lawyers had told the court that he was not responsible for the losses and that documents filed during the trial were fabricated.

India's equity market regulator last year slapped multi-million-dollar fines on Raju for manipulating the firm's shares during the scandal.

But the case raised concerns about why regulators, who were only prompted to act after Raju confessed, failed to spot the scam earlier, along with corporate governance issues and accounting standards.

"The biggest thing this reveals is the failure of India's regulatory system," said S. Nagesh Kumar, a news analyst and former editor based in Hyderabad.

US energy giant Enron collapsed in 2001 in the wake of massive false accounting revelations.