For namesake's visa, Harbhajan gets a googly

JALANDHAR: Cricketer Harbhajan Singh may have tormented many batsmen with his bowling but this is one googly he may fail to comprehend himself.

Police in Jalandhar are investigating a scam in which a namesake of the Indian cricketer used his bank statement to get a visa to visit Britain.

The New Delhi-based British high commission has refused a visa to Harbhajan Singh of Patti in the border district of Tarn Taran after his bank statement was found to be fake.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Harkanwaljit Singh Khakh said police were probing how the namesake Harbhajan Singh was able to procure the bank statement of the cricketer from the Civil Lines branch of HDFC Bank.

The high commission became suspicious about the documents submitted by the namesake, as his mother's name was mentioned as Kulwant Kaur while the bank statement showed the name as Avtar Kaur.

The high commission complained to the Jalandhar police commissioner. "We have sent summons twice to the other Harbhajan Singh Singh, who works in a oil company in Mumbai, but he has not joined the investigation," Khakh said here.

Police are also investigating the role of agents and HDFC bank employees to unearth if there was a racket of supplying fake bank account statements.

The fake statement submitted to the embassy showed an account balance of over Rs 4,00,000, in the name of the cricketer who resides in Jalandhar city, 150 km from Chandigarh. Police said the manager of the HDFC Bank had confirmed that the account statement sent to the embassy belonged to the cricketer.

Police have questioned members of the family of the Tarn Taran Harbhajan Singh.

Cricketers Harbhajan, fondly called 'Bhajji', is now out of the Indian cricket team owing to poor form.

The ace spinner had his bag, containing his passport and other documents, stolen from his SUV near Haryana's Karnal town in December when he was on his way to Delhi and had stopped for coffee.

Lawyer of tortured Indian maid in US to target diplomat's assets

NEW YORK: A day after a US judge recommended nearly USD 1.5 million to an Indian maid for the "barbaric treatment" by an Indian diplomat and her husband, the woman's lawyer today said he plans to go after the couple's assets as he asked New Delhi to take appropriate action in the case. 

US judge Frank Maas has recommended thatShanti Gurung be awarded USD 1.5 million in compensation by Neena Malhotra, an Indian diplomat who had worked at the Indian Consulate General in Manhattan, and her husband Jogesh Malhotra. 

Gurung has alleged that the Malhotras treated her unfairly, giving her a meagre salary for long hours of work. 

"The Indian government has consistently ignored this matter and refused to take responsibility for it, which we think is very irresponsible of them and we are hoping that they will now behave appropriately," Mitchell Karlan, the lawyer for maid Shanti Gurung, told reporters here. 

In New Delhi, sources said that it was "premature" to comment on the issue as the compensation is recommendatory in nature. 

"It is premature for us to react. It is only a recommendation to the judge. We will have to wait till the process is over," sources said. 

Karlan said it is "regrettable" that the Malhotras have "refused" for over a year to participate in the case and defend themselves. 

"Now we have a judgement and we intend to execute on their assets. We intend to begin the process of tracking down Malhotras assets," to ensure compensation is paid to Gurung, he said. 

The Malhotras had brought Gurung, who is in her early twenties, to work as their domestic help in New York in 2006.

NRI Assult Case

Saif Ali Khan's counter complaint does not stand: Police sources

Mumbai:  Actor Saif Ali Khan’s counter complaint against Iqbal Sharma, the man who claims that the actor assaulted him and fractured his nose at a restaurant in Mumbai late on Tuesday night, does not stand, police sources have told Informatives.

In his complaint last night, Saif alleged that Mr Sharma`s father-in-law punched him first and that the duo abused the women who were accompanying him at the restaurant. The actor alleged that his eye was swollen after he was punched.  After studying the application, police sources say the actor`s injuries cannot be ascertained as he has not backed it up with a medical certificate. The police, sources add, have examined 15 people so far, which includes Mr Sharma‘s father-in-law and the waiters at the restaurant.

Yesterday, at around 7:50 pm, Saif was arrested by the police at his lawyer’s office based on the complaint filed by Mr Sharma. Girlfriend and co-star Kareena Kapoor accompanied him. Around 90 minutes later, he left the Colaba police station after having paid Rs. 15,000 and being granted bail.

Mr Sharma, a businessman from South Africa, says he was seated at the table next to Saif and his group at Wasabi, the uber-fancy restaurant at the Taj hotel in Colaba. The actor had other Bollywood friends with him –Kareena Kapoor, Kareena’s sister Karisma Kapoor, actor Amrita Arora and her husband, Shakeel Ladak, andBilal Amrohi, a producer.

In his version of events, Mr Sharma says he sent a note to Saif`s table, asking his group to talk a little softer. “They were making a lot of noise. And we asked the management to ask them to be quiet so that we could also enjoy our evening. This failed on about three occasions at least. Mr Sharma says his family and he decided to leave the restaurant..

Saif Ali Khan was the first to hit Iqbal: Eyewitness

Saif Ali Khan's NRI assault case gets a new and fresh angle, from where things looks clearer. According to reports of a leading news channel, one of the eyewitnesses of the incident revealed that it was actually Saif Ali Khan who provoked Iqbal Sharma. In fact, Saif was the one who punched Sharma first.

But the actor has a different story to say. Saif told that he was hit first and hence reacted in self defence. "I was hit first and verbally abused," Saif said, talking to reporters at his home. "I was hit first. And as shocking as it may seem, the elderly gentlemen hit me. I'm not sure what provoked him.” "I am looking forward to CCTV footage (inside the restaurant)," he said.

On Tuesday night, Saif and his friends who were dining in a restaurant at Taj, got into a brawl with an NRI who reportedly asked the actor to maintain silence. The Mumbai Police has recorded the statements of 15 people over this assault case.