London: The chief of the Dutch subsidiary of i-Flex Solutions Senthil Kumar, who was arrested on alleged violation of Dutch visa rules, was on April 2 granted bail by a local court.

Magistrate Workman, while granting bail on a bond of 20,000 Pounds directed Kumar not to leave London city and fixed the case for hearing on April 11.

Senthil Kumar was detained in London by police on March 26 on a request from the Dutch authorities and sent to judicial custody in yet another incident involving harassment of Indian IT professionals abroad.

Fourteen other employees of i-Flex working for the Dutch subsidiary were also asked last week to quit the Netherlands.

The latest incident triggered an outcry in the Information Technology industry in the country and the Indian and the Dutch governments were locked in a war of words.

Kolkata: Traders in West Bengal downed their shutters for the second day on April 1 in protest against Value-Added Tax (VAT), even as the state government deferred its implementation from April 1.

Mahesh Kumar Singhania, chairman of Federation of West Bengal Trade Associations, said that shops throughout the state remained closed for the second consecutive day.

Despite state Finance Minister's appeal to the traders on March 31 to come for talks without going for bandh, he said that Dasgupta did not say that he would not introduce VAT.

''We have gone ahead with the bandh since we are opposed to VAT,'' he said.

Singhania, however, said that they would hold dialogue with the state government on April 12 on this issue.

The Finance Minister had stated that the government could not introduce VAT from April 1 as it has not received the final approval of the President on the Bill for introducing VAT.

PTI

PTI