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Modi didn’t accept even tea during 9-hour questioning by Gujarat riots SIT: Raghavan

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4 years ago

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Modi didn’t accept even tea during 9-hour questioning by Gujarat riots SIT: Raghavan

Without parrying a unmarried query out of the 100-ordinary ones placed to him through the 2002 Gujarat riots SIT, Narendra Modi because the then Gujarat leader minister “stored his cool” for the duration of the marathon 9-hour thinking and did now no longer receive even a cup of tea from investigators, the probe team’s leader at that point R K Raghavan has stated in a brand new book.
Modi had additionally comfortably agreed to return back to the SIT workplace in Gandhinagar for the thinking and taken his personal bottle of water, Raghavan has written in his autobiography, ‘A Road Well Travelled’
Before being requested to move the Supreme Court-appointed SIT that probed the 2002 Gujarat riots, Raghavan had additionally served as head of most beneficial probe employer CBI. He changed into additionally concerned in numerous different high-profile investigations over years, inclusive of the ones referring to the Bofors scam, the 2000 South Africa cricket-fit solving case and the fodder scam.
Talking approximately the time the SIT had known as Modi for thinking because the then Gujarat leader minister, Raghavan writes withinside the book, “We had it conveyed to his personnel that he needed to are available man or woman to the SIT workplace for this reason and that assembly him some place else might be misconstrued as a favour.”
“He (Modi) understood the spirit of our stand and comfortably agreed to return back to the SIT workplace withinside the authorities complicated in Gandhinagar,” Raghvan stated.
The former police officer in addition stated he took the “uncommon step” of asking Ashok Malhotra, an SIT member, to do the thinking, specially to keep away from any “mischievous allegation” later that Modi and he had struck a deal.
“This stand changed into advocated months later through no much less someone than amicus curiae Harish Salve. He informed me that my presence might have vitiated Modi’s announcement and might have robbed it of its credibility,” Raghavan stated, including that he had by no means consulted Salve previous to the event.
It changed into my non-public choice flowing from sheer intuition, stated the retired IPS officer of Tamil Nadu cadre, who changed into additionally appointed as High Commissioner to Cyprus in 2017.
“Modi’s thinking lasted 9 hours in my personal chamber on the SIT workplace. Malhotra informed me later that Modi stored his cool proper via the marathon consultation which ended overdue at night,” Raghavan stated.
“He (Modi) by no means parried questions. Nor did he supply the influence of padding up his responses. When Malhotra requested him whether or not he would really like to interrupt for lunch, he to start with grew to become down the offer. He introduced his personal bottle of water and did now no longer receive even a cup of tea from the SIT at some stage in the marathon thinking comprising a hundred- ordinary questions,” he stated.
Raghavan stated it required “wonderful persuasion” to make Modi conform to a quick recess. “This changed into probably Modi’s concession to the want for a respite for Malhotra as opposed to for himself. Such changed into the electricity of the man.”
In February 2012, the SIT filed a closure report, giving a easy chit to Modi and sixty three others, inclusive of senior authorities officials, pronouncing there changed into “no prosecutable evidence” in opposition to them.
In the book, the previous CBI Director additionally asserted that the probe into the Gujarat riots through the Supreme Court-mandated SIT beneathneath him changed into “medical and professional” and the SIT’s “unequivocal stand” at the leader minister’s position changed into “unpalatable to his (Modi’s) adversaries” withinside the country and in Delhi.
“They engineered petitions in opposition to me, accusing me of favouring the leader minister. The grapevine had it that they misused vital corporations to reveal my telephonic conversations. They were, however, disillusioned now no longer to discover something incriminating,” he stated.
Raghavan assumed workplace as head of SIT in early 2008 and carried on for 9 years, till April 30, 2017.

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

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1 day ago

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December 21, 2024

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HT Rewind 2024: Teja Sajja says HanuMan kicking off the year in style is the moment he’d been ‘waiting for’ | Exclusive

In conversation with Hindustan Times, Teja Sajja decodes the success of HanuMan and other Telugu films, talks about his upcoming projects, and more.
When Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan, starring Teja Sajja, was announced to be released alongside big films like Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, Venkatesh’s Saindhav and Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga in January this year, no one expected the underdog to emerge on top. And yet, the film, made on a budget of under ₹50 crore, managed to collect over ₹300 crore at the box office worldwide in 25 days, becoming one of the highest-grossing Indian films for the year. (Also Read: Ranveer Singh met HanuMan actor Teja Sajja, complimented him even after his Prasanth Varma film Rakshas got shelved)

Ask Teja about the moment he realised his film had not just fought against the tide but also risen to the top; he tells Hindustan Times in an exclusive conversation, “Since I returned to acting (as a lead actor after being a child artiste since 1998), this is the moment I’ve been waiting for. When everything from the HanuMan teaser to the songs was grabbing attention, we knew we had hit a gold mine. But I don’t think we imagined it would cross the ₹300 crore threshold. We were so satisfied with the opening numbers; everything else was a bonus.”

‘Success has given me fear of disappointing people’

Teja acted in Zombie Reddy, Ishq and Adbhutham before HanuMan, but they are what you would call ‘critical successes’, adding to his repertoire as an actor who can perform. But things have changed for him now, says Teja, who is being picky about the roles he says yes to. “Success either makes you overconfident or gives you the fear of disappointing people; I have the latter,” he explains.

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Teja admits he wants to chart out his career in Hrithik Roshan’s footsteps, but not in the way you think. “I have such a fondness for Hrithik due to Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish. No matter how well he performed after that, these left a lasting impression on me; I’m sure 90s kids will agree,” he says, adding, “Similarly, I’ve realised that I have an audience in children now. I want to be conscious of that when I pick roles. I want to make films families can enjoy together.”

But despite people in places like Mumbai or Delhi recognising him, Teja says he’s clear that he wants to cater to the Telugu audience first. “I am conscious that I am making films for my playground – the Telugu states. This is the sensibility I have grown up with, and I don’t know if I can cater to everyone else. Will I promote my films in other languages? Sure. But I also can’t be part of films that aren’t authentic to what I know or understand,” he explains.

‘Rootedness has put us on the world map’

And authenticity seems to be the need of the hour. Be it Baahubali and RRR or the recently released Pushpa 2: The Rule, Kalki 2898 AD and Devara: Part 1, certain kind of stories seem to be finding success. “Rootedness and going local is proving to be such a boon for us, be it in Devara or Pushpa or HanuMan. Kalki 2898 AD was our version of a Hollywood film (the sci-fi concept) with actors from across languages in predominant roles; it put us on the world map,” reflects Teja.

However, the actor admits Tollywood went through a phase of Bollywood-inspired rom-coms and family dramas that worked in their favour for a while. “That wasn’t easy to replicate either, but it’s just that these local stories are what the audience seems most interested in now. It can’t just be chalked up to religion, too. It’s about the morals these films are hinged on, the fighting for righteousness, and how an underdog can find their strength. Introducing Mahabharata or Ramayana to a new audience in a cool way is just a perk,” he says.

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And it’s this rootedness that Teja says his next films, Mirai and Jai Hanuman (the sequel to HanuMan), will also have ample of. “Mirai is also a superhero film that caters to kids, but it’s not an origin story like HanuMan. It has a pan-Asian and Buddhist touch because the story is based on King Ashoka’s ideologies. I hope that I will get to deliver something new to the audience again. I will only feel like I’ve arrived if Mirai is equally, if not more, successful,” says Teja.

Rishab Shetty will headline Jai Hanuman, but Teja also looks forward to shooting that. “I can’t wait to be on that set; it’ll be exciting. Now that we know India is ready to watch our films, I want to step it up. I want to shift gears and shoot for at least two films in 2025,” he says. As for what he will do next, Teja says he wants to up the ante. “When I got a SIIMA award for Zombie Reddy as a debutant, I remember telling Prasanth this would be the last award I get. But now that I won a Radio City Cine Award for Best Actor, I hope more awards will follow,” he signs off cheekily.

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