Sunny Leone surprised everyone with her latest release, Ek paheli Leela. The porn star-turned actress’ sexiness was the only talent of hers put to show in her previous movies, but with her convincing performance as Leela- a Rajasthani damsel- Sunny has turned the tables around.

Owing to low expectation, Ek Paheli Leela, received a slow start in the morning shows, but as reviews started to pour in, the film picked up at the box office and finished off day 1 at Rs 5.30 crores. The film maintained its game on day 2 and brought in another Rs 5.20 crores making a total of Rs 10.50 crores. According to trade analyst Komal Nahta, EPK is expected to finish its first weekend at Rs 14-15 crores aprox.

The Bobby Khan directorial, which also stars Jay Bhanushali as the lead opposite Sunny, is a reincarnation drama of a love triangle between Sunny, Jay and Mohit Ahlawat.

BENGALURU: Snapdeal has acquired online mobile recharge platform FreeCharge in the largest buyout so far in the Indian consumer Internet sector as it arms itself with fresh ammunition to battle rivals for leadership in the online retail sector. The Delhi-based company did not disclose the financial terms of the transaction, but sources privy to the details said it paid over Rs 2,800 crore ($450 million) in cash and stock.

“We want to target the new tsunami of users who are going to come on to the Internet. This (acquisition) improves our ability to acquire users at a significant velocity at a very low cost,” said Kunal Bahl, 32, the cofounder and CEO of Snapdeal.

Bahl led the negotiations for FreeCharge, which lasted about a month. ET was the first to report about the impending deal on March 12.

Snapdeal buys Freecharge in biggest startup M&A”Together we represent the largest mobile commerce company in the country now,” said
Bahl, a Wharton Business School graduate who co-founded Snapdeal with schoolmate Rohit Bansal in 2007. The company, which began by selling printed coupon booklets, has pivoted —or changed its business model — seven times until it hit the right note as an online marketplace. It has since received funding from some of the world’s biggest corporations, including eBay and Japan’s SoftBank, from which it raised $627 million in October.The deal also marks the entry of Sequoia Capital — a significant shareholder in FreeCharge and the most prolific investor in India last year — into the online retail sector where rival venture capital firm Accel Partners enjoys a head start because of its early bet on market leader Flipkart.

“We have recently invested in multiple marketplaces, where we are shareholders. Tokopedia in Indonesia, Carousell in Southeast Asia, and now we have become a shareholder in Snapdeal. We like marketplaces more than inventory-led ecommerce,” said Shailendra Singh, a managing director at Sequoia India.

FREECHARGE DEAL OFFERS BENEFITS

FreeCharge has raised nearly $116 million from investors, including San Francisco-based hedge fund Valiant Capital Management, Hong Kong-based hedge fund Tybourne Capital Management, Sequoia Capital, RuNet and Sofina. The Mumbai-based company was founded in 2010 by Kunal Shah and Sandeep Tandon.

For Snapdeal, the merit of the acquisition lies in the fact that Free-Charge comes with a trove of payment data on the estimated 10 million users on its platform. Besides, buyers are transacting on mobile devices in ever greater numbers, meaning that FreeCharge users become potential customers for Snapdeal.

Part of Snapdeal’s game plan also involves diversifying beyond products to include services such as education, financial services and utility payments. “The race is about mobile commerce.

You have to remember that the pecking order among the Big Three will be very different when it comes to mobile,” said Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm, a rival of FreeCharge, referring to Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.

Paytm, which now calls itself a mobile marketplace, is backed by Ant Financial Services Group, the online financial services company owned by China’s Alibaba Group.

STRING OF DEALS BY SNAPDEAL

Snapdeal’s recent deal-making has consisted of the acquisition of fashion portal Exclusively.in, investment in logistics firm GoJavas, and the purchase of a majority stake in financial services player RupeePower earlier this year.

Bahl explained the allure of Free-Charge by pointing to Alibaba’s online marketplace Tmall, which he said draws one-fifth of its merchandise value from mobile recharges.

“So we realised that this category, which is at 2-3 million transactions a day right now, will go to tens of millions of transactions. It’s going to drive high-frequency customer acquisition and transaction velocity,” he said.

Snapdeal is the number three player behind Flipkart and Amazon and was aiming to sell goods worth $3 billion in 2014-15. This deal, Bahl claimed, has the potential to upend the pecking order, and promised that the competition is only going to get more intense.

“The (ecommerce) game has changed considerably in the past one year and it is only going to get brutal,” he said.

NEW DELHI: No-frills airline SpiceJetBSE 1.60 % has expanded its Boeing fleet to 20 aircraft, with the carrier taking delivery of three B-737s from a Czech company on a short term wet-lease.

This is the first fleet expansion after new promoter Ajay Singh took over the reins of SpiceJet in February.

The induction of these planes is part of the airline’s plan to lease a total of seven aircraft this month as it would be operating an enhanced flight schedule to meet summer rush.

“The three wet-lease 737s here in Delhi for high-season. Will be flown by Czech pilots,” SpiceJet’s Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor said in a tweet.

These planes have been wet-leased from TVS, a firm-based out of Czech Republic.

In wet lease, besides aircraft, pilots and crew are included whereas there is only aircraft in dry lease.

Till now, SpiceJet had 17 Boeing 737s and 15 Bombardier Q400s in its fleet.

The carrier has already scaled up the number of its flights to 270 in the current summer schedule from 210 flights operated in the last winter schedule.

Singh took over the reins of SpiceJet from erstwhile promoter the Maran family as part of the airline’s revival plan.

New Delhi: Hitting out at the Centre for declaring 12 districts of his state as ‘disturbed’ under AFSPA without any consultation, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki today said such a move was nothing but attack on the federal structure in the country.

“There was no discussion, no consultation. It was an unilateral decision by the central government to declare 12 districts as disturbed area. All these districts are completely peaceful,” he told PTI here.

The Congress leader was reacting to the NDA government’s decision to declare all districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam as “disturbed areas” under the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) due to “heightened militant activity” there.

Under the order, which will be in force for a year, security forces will have sweeping powers in all these 12 of 19 districts of the state.

“This is nothing but direct attack on the federal structure of the country,” Tuki said.

He said three districts — Tirap, Changlang and Longding — have the problems of militancy but rest of the nine districts were completely peaceful.

He rubbished the Centre’s contention that six banned militant groups like NDFB, NSCN and ULFA have their presence in some of the areas and they use the state as a safe haven.

“We completely disagree with the Centre’s contention. Arunachal Pradesh has been the most peaceful state in the northeastern region with no history of home grown insurgency,” he said.

Tuki had met Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday and urged him to review the decision.

“There are protests in my state. People in Arunachal Pradesh are angry with the decision,” he said.

In its notification, the Home Ministry said it has found that the law and order situation in all districts of Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam has continued to be a “matter of concern due to violent incident by underground outfits”.
PTI

New Delhi: Manipur is wooing investors for its upcoming textile park in the suburbs of state capital Imphal, highlighting its strategic location advantage as a gateway to South East Asia.

Although the state has faced law and order issues, the Manipur government is assuring investors safety and security as it tries to create much-needed jobs for the unemployed.

The state’s efforts to woo investors come amid the Centre’s increasing focus on the country’s eastern region. Besides, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been emphasising that Indian businesses should focus on increasing trade with the South East Asian nations.

“We have been asking investors to come and see for themselves the opportunities at the textile park in Imphal. Manipur is India’s gateway to South East Asia,” Manipur Minister of Commerce and Industry Govindas Konthoujam told PTI in an interview here.

“Considering how India has intensified its focus on the neighbouring countries with a change from ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’ policy, it is the right time to invest there,” he said.

Already some companies, including Mumbai-based Etco Denim, Triveni Rayons, Narmada Polyfab and Fairdeal Textile Park (all from Surat), have expressed interest to set up units in the upcoming textile park at Lamboikhongnangkhong in Imphal.

“They will soon come to Manipur to do a feasibility study and we will provide support to them to invest there,” said Konthoujam.

Acknowledging the problems in the state, he said: “Some key concerns among the investors are safety and security of their investments and availability of power supply. We have assured them that we will take care of these issues.”

He said special purpose vehicle would be formed for setting up units at the textile park with Centre providing support of 80 per cent of the investment required and the private investor contributing 10 per cent, while the state’s share of 10 per cent would come in the form of land provided for setting up manufacturing unit at the park.

Expressing confidence that the state’s textile park will be a success, the minister said: “Already we have acquired 70 acres of land and we are trying to get another 60 acres more so that the park has a size of at least 130 acres.”

Konthoujam said already the union Ministry of Textiles has launched an apparel and garment making centre in Manipur with a project cost of Rs 18.18 crore as well as a Power-loom Estate with a project cost of Rs 13.05 crore.

He said investing in the state was necessary “not only from the economic point of view to provide jobs to the unemployed educated youths of the state but also on a wider perspective of national integration”.
PTI

Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader and Member of Parliament Sanjay Raut has stirred a hornet’s nest by his article in party’s mouthpiece, Saamana, in which he has written that Muslims’ voting rights should be withdrawn to put an end to vote bank politics.

The Sena leader has also called All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leaders, Asaduddin and Akbaruddin Owaisi, a threat to the nation.

“Balasaheb had once said to withdraw Muslims voting rights. Owaisi brothers are doing politics of Muslim votes. They are threat to the nation,” wrote Raut.

When asked about his opinion in Saamana, Raut told ANI: “Even after independence, the politics over vote-bank does not seem to end,” adding, “Country once faced partition on the basis of religion. After that, we thought things would settle and Hindu and Muslim would be one. However, that did not happen. The Muslim population continued to grow and new Muslim leaders emerged.”

He also said that such type of politics over Muslim vote bank did not yield any positive results for either the Muslim community or the country.

Meanwhile, slamming the Shiv Sena for its statement, the Congress demanded serious action against it.

“It is unconstitutional, it calls for serious action. Motive is to communalise the whole atmosphere,” Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit told ANI.

Earlier, while hitting out at AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for demanding reservation for Muslims in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena had said that if the minority leader wants his demands to be met on religious grounds, then he should go to Pakistan and try his antics there.

Terming Owaisi’s speeches “hateful”, the Sena said that the Devendra Fadnavis government should file a case against him and start legal proceedings.

“(Asaduddin) Owaisi is insisting that Muslims should get reservation akin to the Marathas. Such insistence had caused the separation of Pakistan from India. Hatred for Hindus compelled a section of Muslims to take control over Pakistan. Hence Owaisi may try and get his demands based on religious grounds fulfilled in Pakistan,” said an edit piece in the Sena mouthpiece, ‘Saamana’.

It added that the minority community will have to respect India as their motherland.

They (minority community) will have to respect the Uniform Civil Code and stop demanding the continuation of Article 370 for Kashmir. Asking for reservations while continuing with religious rants will not work,” it said.

“Owaisi says ‘Muslims have suffered a lot and hence I speak up for them’. But will he give a count of the sufferings of Hindus due to the terrorist activities of extremist Muslims? If extremists start communal violence and terrorist activities after listening to his speeches… Owaisi’s speeches should be termed as hateful and action should be taken against him,” the Sena said.

Addressing a public gathering in Nagpur on Saturday night, Owaisi, the 45-year-old Lok Sabha MP from Hyderabad, had demanded reservation for backward Muslims in government jobs and educational institutes in Maharashtra.

Claiming that “injustice” has been done to Muslims in Maharashtra, Owaisi had blamed the more than 50 years of Congress rule at the Centre and the Congress-NCP and Shiv Sena -BJP governments in the state for the prevailing backwardness of minority community members.

PTI

Nagpur: Republican Party of India (A), an ally of the BJP-led coalition in the state, is against the blanket ban on beef in Maharashtra and will soon take up the issue with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, party chief Ramdas Athawale said today.

The RPI (A) is opposed to such a ban which has created problems with regard to the aged animals and for beef-eaters across the state,” Athawale told reporters here today.

Though the RPI (A) is part of the BJP-led alliance in the state, it is not in favour of such a ban, he said.

Athawale said his party respects the sentiments of cow worshippers, but the ban is unjust.

The government should not ban killing of undesired cows who are aged and not milking. There should be some age criteria for animals to be kept out of the purview of slaughtering, he said.

The farmers who have such aged animals will find it difficult to feed them. Moreover, there will be scarcity for the leather industry in future and “shoe-less days are ahead,” Athawale said.

Responding to a question, Athawale said it is not only Muslims but also non-Muslims who are beef-sellers in the state.

The new Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks.

The ban has sparked protests from political and cultural outfits, alleging it amounted to encroachment on individual choices and eating habits of large sections of people, especially the minority communities.

On the issue of Land Acquisition Bill, he said the government should provide adequate compensation to farmers whose land is acquired.

Athwale said the government should disburse the land, acquired during ‘Bhoodan movement’ by late Acharya Vinoba Bhave, to the landless people who are estimated to be around 35 crores in the country.

The government should ensure that the farmers whose land is acquired are paid adequate compensation and they should be fully satisfied with it.

Meanwhile, Athawale said his party has voiced concerns over the setting up of a nuclear power plant at Jaitapur.

“During UPA rule also we opposed the Jaitapur nuclear plant and on this issue, we are with Shiv Sena,” he said.

The Shiv Sena has been opposing the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, being planned in the Ratnagiri district, around 400 kms from Mumbai.

Senior BJP leader late Gopinath Munde too had opposed the Jaitapur nuclear plant, Athawale claimed.

Citing fatal accidents at nuclear power plants across the world, including in Japan two years back, he said the next generation is going to be affected by the radiations from it.
PTI

A 20-year-old British tourist has alleged that a taxi driver outraged her modesty at a hotel here, the police said today.

In the FIR filed with Brahampuri Police station, the victim alleged that Saleem Khan allegedly outraged her modesty during a dinner at a hotel on April 10.

35-year-old Khan was arrested yesterday and produced before a vacation judge of a local court who sent him to central jail, Brahampuri SHO, Sugan Singh Rathore, said.

The accused has been booked under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of IPC, the SHO said.

Saleem, who hails from Karauli district of Rajasthan, brought the foreign tourist in his taxi from Delhi to Jaipur on the night of April 9.

Unable to bear the damage caused to his crops by unseasonal rains, a 35-year-old farmer allegedly committed suicide at a village in the district, police said on Sunday.

Rains lashed the district on Saturday evening when Shivaji Anna Sul (35), a farmer from Wadgaonkar Tanpure village in Karjat tehsil, about 40 kms away from Ahmednagar, was working at his horticulture farm, Karjat police station inspector Pratap Ingle said.

The crops in his farm were damaged in the outpour which lasted for an hour, he said. Dejected after seeing the damage, Shivaji went home and committed suicide on Saturday night by consuming pesticide, he said.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, police added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a money laundering case against a close associate of Union Minister Gen. (retd) VK Singh over alleged financial irregularities in the supply of defence items.

The criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Shambhu Prasad Singh and others has been registered by the agency on the basis of a 2014 CBI FIR, sources said.

The case pertains to alleged corruption by unknown officials of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and private firms in connection with the supply of high-altitude tents to a covert unit of the intelligence agency.

A firm owned by Shambhu Prasad and his family members is alleged to have taken illegal bank loans to qualify for the bid for supply of tents or pre-fabricated dwellings for troops in high-altitude areas.

Sources said that Shambhu Prasad has for long been associated with former army chief Singh, who is now the Minister of State for External Affairs.

“The case has been registered against Shambhu Prasad and a few others who were earlier booked by CBI. The accused will soon be issued notices,” sources said.

They said that ED has identified some movable and immovable assets of the accused and these could be attached under PMLA laws after investigations and recording of statements.

Earlier, CBI had registered a case against Sai Baba Builders and Consultants and its three directors — Shyam Sunder Bhatter, JPN Singh and Manjari, Shambhu Prasad’s wife.

The CBI case was registered last year under IPC sections related to cheating and forgery and under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

“It has been alleged that wrongful favour was shown by the officials of the SFF (Special Frontier Force) and Cabinet Secretariat in the matter of the preparation of the tender, procurement, supply and installation of the pre-fabricated shelters for SFF troops during the period 2009-13 which were purchased from the company,” CBI said.