Credit goes to journalist for Nirav Modi's arrest, says Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJPled Centre saying it did not deserve credit for arresting fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in London and termed it a gotup matchThis is slyness on BJPs part The credit should go to the London journalists who found Nirav Modi It is Narendra Modis fault that he let him get away from the country Its a gotup match This arrest has happened as it is election time here Banerjee told reporters hereTerming Nirav Modis arrest a strike by the BJP ahead of the impending Lok Sabha polls Banerjee said there would be more such strikes by the ruling party during the elections Continuing her tirade against the BJP the TMC supremo said This government has passed its expiry date and hence they cannot be given credit for Nirav Modis arrestOn Wednesday Nirav Modi was sent to HM Prison Wandsworth after his bail plea was rejected by the Westminster Magistrate Court in London He will be in the judicial custody till March 29The fugitive businessman arrested by the Scotland Yard in connection with a loan default case in India on Tuesday afternoon local time was produced before the Court in London which sent him to the jail rejecting his plea for bailThe Indian Government urged the Westminster Magistrates Court to hear the extradition plea within two weeks arguing that the case involves very highvalue money Nirav Modi sought bail and offered five lakh pounds but the Court rejected it saying that there was substantial ground to believe that the businessman may not surrender The fugitive diamond merchant along with his uncle Mehul Choksi is wanted for his alleged involvement in Rs 13000 crore Punjab National Bank PNB loan default caseChoksi was granted citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda on January 15 2018 Both Modi and Choksi left India in January last year before the PNB scam came out in the public The duo has not returned to India despite repeated summons from probe agencies and courts A nonbailable warrant NBW has also been issued against Ami Modi wife of Nirav Modi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA said ED sources A London court on Monday had issued an arrest warrant against diamond merchant Modi The arrest warrant was issued by the Westminster Court sources saidThe arrest of Modi comes days after the fugitive businessman was tracked down to a 33storey Centre Point Apartment complex in Londons Theatre district The tower was an office complex and was converted into luxury residences with prices ranging from PS2 million to PS55 million all with superb views over the city of LondonModi was believed to be living in a property worth PS8 million apartments in the tower The rent for a similar apartment in the tower comes to approximately PS17000 a month Daily Telegraph had reportedA special court under the PMLA in Mumbai on Wednesday granted permission to the Income Tax Department IT to auction the paintings and cars of Nirav Modi A special PMLA court has allowed Income Tax Departments application to auction some paintings from the collection of Nirav Modi All those paintings have been seized by the Enforcement Directorate ED said the sourcesIT Department had filed an application to seek permission from the special court as it had already published the auction notice Modi is also a defaulter for the Income Tax Dept Through the auction IT Department wishes to make some recovery they saidSources said the court has allowed IT to go ahead with the auction by the end of this month but all the proceeds of this auction are to be deposited in the special PMLA court It is said that 173 paintings and 11 cars of Nirav Modi will be auctionedCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates