Indian-American Richard Verma has been confirmed as Deputy Secretary of State, Management and Resources by the US Senate by a vote of 67-26.

In his new role, Verma will be responsible for directing, coordinating, and supervising State Department operations such as foreign assistance and civilian response programmes.

Verma previously served as US Ambassador to India (2015-17) during the Obama Administration, becoming the first person of Indian descent to hold that position.

He is presently the Chief Legal Officer and Head of Global Public Policy at Mastercard. He also served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, where he led the State Department’s efforts on Capitol Hill.

A US Air Force veteran, Verma served on active duty as a Judge Advocate. His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

Verma is the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Service Award, the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship, and was ranked by India Abroad as one of the 50 most influential Indian Americans.

He holds degrees from the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), American University’s Washington College of Law (JD), and Lehigh University (BS).

In the new policy, the application fee for new/renewal of foreign liquor ‘OFF’ shops has been hiked to Rs 1.2 lakh from Rs 1.1 lakh. Similarly, the annual composite Label registration fee for FL OFF shops, FL ON shops for sale of all brands through the shop has been fixed at Rs 50,000.

While the abduction and subsequent killing of a 15-year-old boy for a ransom of Rs 50 lakh in Odisha’s mineral-rich Jharsuguda district has sent shockwaves across the State, the involvement of the two persons in the crime, who don’t have any criminal antecedents, has deepened the mystery surrounding the case.

Though police have arrested the two accused- Amit Kumar Sharma of Jharsuguda and Dinesh Kumar Agarwal of Brajrajnagar in connection with the case, the motive behind the crime is yet to be established.

Earlier on March 28, police had recovered the body of Samarth Agarwal, son of a businessman of Sarbahal, Bargarh.

Amit along with his aide Dinesh abducted Samarth on March 27 while the latter was on his way for cricket practice on a scooter.

According to sources, the duo first demanded Rs 50 lakh and later Rs 90 lakh from Samarth’s father even after knowing he is not financially strong.

Interestingly, Amit was the neighbour of Samarth at Jharsuguda’s Brundaban colony. Even Amit’s daughter used to tie Rakhi to Samarth and call him brother.

But what led Amit to hatch the kidnapping plot and kill Samarth for the ransom is still a mystery. 

“We are investigating from all angles. As per preliminary investigation, the accused have called Samarth’s father on March 27 night and later on March 28 after killing him,” said Smit Parmar, Jharsuguda SP.

On the other hand, the family members of the deceased have demanded stern action against the accused and restoration of law and order in the district.

“The entire family is broken. After Samarth’s death, common people will not feel safe to send their children outside. The government must take necessary steps to restore the law and order situation,” said Gobinda Agarwal, relative of the deceased.
Meanwhile, friends and the coach have mourned Samarth’s death.

“Samarth was well behaved and we were good friends. We used to practice daily and played many matches,” said the friend of the deceased.

“He (Samarth) was very serious about his game and he had already represented Jharsuguda U-16 team. He could have represented the State team soon. The district has lost a very talented player,” said Sumit Singh, coach of Samarth.

(Reported by Debandra Behera, Bhagirathi Sahoo and Sanjay Jena, OTV)