India's opposition protests against billionaire facing US bribery and fraud charges

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of supporters of India's main opposition party protested on Monday against billionaire Gautam Adani, who was recently indicted in the U.S. for alleged fraud and bribery, and accused the government of protecting the Indian coal magnate whose companies' shares have plunged since the charges last week.

Activists belonging to the Congress party demonstrated near Parliament in New Delhi to demand the immediate arrest of Adani, who is seen as close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some held up placards reading “Modi and Adani are one” and “Modi's friendship is costing the nation." Several were detained by police.

Also on Monday, opposition parties attempted to raise the Adani allegations in Parliament, but the session was adjourned over disruptions. They called for a joint committee to investigate his companies, which include agriculture, renewable energy, coal and infrastructure.

Adani, 62, one of Asia's richest men, was thrust into the spotlight last week when U.S. prosecutors in New York charged him and seven of his associates with securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, alleging that Adani duped investors in a massive solar project in India by concealing that it was being facilitated by bribes.

The indictment outlines an alleged scheme to pay about $265 million in bribes to government officials in India.

The government has not officially commented on the charges, which the Adani group has denied as baseless. On Saturday, the group's CFO said the indictment was linked to one contract of Adani Green, its renewable energy arm, that comprised 10% of its business, adding that none of the group's other companies was accused of wrongdoing.

Ishita Sadha, part of the Congress party’s youth wing, said the allegations were embarrassing for India. “Modi is keeping Adani safe,” she said.

After the indictment was unsealed last week, the Congress party's Rahul Gandhi said the Modi government was protecting Adani and that the billionaire wouldn't be arrested or investigated. “The prime minister's credibility has been destroyed. The entire country knows they (Adani and Modi) are one. We will expose the entire network,” Gandhi told reporters.

The main opposition bloc, called INDIA, led by the Congress party, has repeatedly called for investigations into Adani. They have hit out at the tycoon and his perceived links to the government since a U.S.-based short-selling firm released a report last year accusing the billionaire’s companies of stock price manipulation and fraud.

Adani denied those claims too, but the report triggered the selling of his companies’ stock and an ongoing investigation by the country’s market regulator. Market analysts say Adani had just about recovered from the shock from the report when the charges were announced, making it the biggest test yet for the beleaguered billionaire. A day after the indictment, his companies’ stocks plunged up to 20%.

Adani’s imprint across India’s economy runs deep. His group is the country’s largest operator of coal mines and largest infrastructure developer, operating several ports and airports, and employs tens of thousands of people. Despite his fossil fuel roots, Adani has ambitions to become the world’s largest player in renewable energy by 2030.

Analysts say a key factor in his meteoric rise over the years has been his knack for aligning his group’s priorities with those of the Modi government. His critics accuse him of crony capitalism and of gaining preferential treatment from the government, including in winning contracts, which the group has denied.

Police detain a Congress party supporter participating during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

Police detain a Congress party supporter during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)

Security officials stand during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

A Congress party supporter holds a banner during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party members shout slogans during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Congress party supporters hold a banners during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party members shout slogans during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

India's opposition Congress party members shout slogans during a protest against Indian billionaire Gautam Adani and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Adani was indicted by U.S. prosecutors for bribery and fraud, in New Delhi, India, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A DHL cargo plane crashed on approach to an airport in Lithuania's capital and skidded into a nearby house Monday morning, killing a Spanish crew member, officials said. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The head of the country's firefighting service said that the plane skidded a few hundred meters (yards), and photos showed smoke rising from a damaged structure in an area of barren trees.

A surveillance video from a nearby company showed the plane descending normally as it approached the airport, and then exploding into a huge ball of fire behind a building. The moment of impact could not be seen in the video.

Rescue workers sealed off the area, and fragments of the plane in the company’s trademark yellow color could be seen amid wreckage scattered across the crash site.

The cargo aircraft was carrying four people when it crashed at 5:30 a.m. local time. One person, a Spanish citizen, was declared dead and the other three crew members — who were Spanish, German and Lithuanian citizens — were injured, said Ramūnas Matonis, the head of communications for Lithuanian police in an email.

Matonis added that the circumstances of the accident were still being investigated.

“Residential infrastructure around the house was on fire, and the house was slightly damaged, but we managed to evacuate people," said Renatas Požėla, chief of the Fire and Rescue Department.

One eyewitness, who gave her name only as Svaja, ran to a window when a light as bright as a red sun filled her room, and then heard an explosion followed by flashes and black smoke.

“I saw a fireball,” she said. “My first thought is that a world (war) has begun and it’s time to grab the documents and run somewhere to a shelter, to a basement.”

Lithuanian’s public broadcaster LRT, quoting an emergency official, said two people had been taken to the hospital after the crash, and one was pronounced dead.

The person who was killed was a member of the flight crew but not a pilot, officials said. Firefighters freed two pilots from the cockpit, one of whom was more seriously injured, according to the General Commissioner of the Lithuanian Police Arūnas Paulauskas.

Paulauskas told a news conference that the cause of the crash was under investigation. He said officers went to the hospital to interview the crew members.

He added that investigators were considering possible causes including technical failure and human error, and have not ruled out the possibility of a terrorist act.

The Lithuanian airport authority identified the aircraft as a DHL cargo plane arriving from Leipzig, Germany, which is a major freight hub.

Flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24, analyzed by the AP, showed the aircraft made a turn to the north of the airport, lining up for landing, before crashing a little more than 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) short of the runway.

The crash happened just before 5:30 a.m. Weather at the airport was around freezing temperature, with clouds before sunrise and winds around 30 kph (18 mph).

DHL Group, headquartered in Bonn, Germany, did not immediately return a call for comment.

The DHL aircraft was operated by Swiftair, a Madrid-based contractor. A representative from the company said it not have any immediate comment.

The Boeing 737 was 31 years old, which is considered by experts to be an older airframe, though that’s not unusual for cargo flights.

This story corrects the title of Renatas Požėla.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Lithuanian emergency personnel prepare to work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian emergency personnel work by parts of the wreckage of a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A piece of debris from a DHL cargo plane which crashed into a house is seen near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian police investigators work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees and police officers stand near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the site where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Police guard an area near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

A smoke rises from the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Lithuanian Emergency Ministry employees work near the place where a DHL cargo plane crashed into a house near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)