Govt ready to talk with DVB bidders
Tribune News Service

Only two out of the four short-listed companies bid for the DVB. The bids of two companies are below expectation. The government feels they cannot be accepted in the present form. The companies have also laid conditions, which are unacceptable. Now, the government says it is open to all options, including negotiations with the bidders and calling for a fresh global tender. Opposition says there should be no negotiations as the bidders have rejected the conditions laid down by the government and instead are pushing their own terms. CM says there will be no sell-off. The deal will be profitable to the companies and will lead to better services for the people.

Weekend sojourn: Will someone lend BJP a thinking cap?
Ramesh Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and BJP leaders Madan Lal Khurana and Sahib Singh Verma are flying to Guwahati and Goa on Friday to attend their respective parties’ conclaves there over the weekend.

Pen and paper will be out and eyes fixed at the body language and disposition of participants as leaders from both parties come under media glare. The BJP, smarting under electoral defeats in quick succession, will be looking in the rear view mirror and introspecting about the reasons for the ground slipping from beneath its feet. The Congress, in contrast, will be looking ahead and prospecting for high tide to sweep the party back to power.

While Khurana and Verma will be pre-occupied with “course correction” in the wake of the BJP’s decimation in the civic polls, Dikshit will be making a presentation in the company of chief ministers of Congress-ruled states on the achievements notched up by her three-year-old government.

According to Congress sources, the chief minister will be “hardselling” the concept of Bhagidari (government-citizen partnership) and Stree Shakti (a welfare programme for women.) Asked about it, Ms Dikshit told the NCR Tribune that the conclave would also deliberate on how to implement the other programmes on her agenda over the next year. Assembly polls in Delhi are scheduled for 2003.

BJP sources said the party would not only determine the cause of a poor run in polls but also how to redeem their constituencies. The loss in the civic elections have been variously attributed to a harsh budget presented by Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and internal wrangling among the party’s senior leaders.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, however, is travelling at a time when the Capital is reeling under a transport crisis. On Thursday, however, she patted herself on the back for restoring normalcy quickly. She said 2,000 diesel buses had hit the roads since the April 5 Supreme Court order and more private bus operators were likely to follow suit in the next few days.

She said the Cabinet would be meeting on Friday morning to give the nod to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) Board’s decision to buy 1,000 new CNG buses. Detailing the measures adopted by her government since yesterday, Ms Dikshit said she had spoken with Chairman of Railway Board and also approached the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for ways to augment the Ring Railway service.

The RTVs, she said, would soon be granted Stage Carriage permits in order to facilitate their plying as a feeder service. She reiterated that the Centre would have to evolve a mechanism to shore up the supply of CNG for the transport sector.

Meanwhile, on the Delhi roads the situation was no different. The buses were packed, queues were long and absenteeism in offices and schools still rampant. It was apparent that the crisis is likely to linger on for some time and the average commuter was reconciled to the bitter truth – fend for your self the best way you can. Most of them blamed both the BJP and the Congress for playing politics and in the process causing additional burden on the already beleaguered citizen of the nation’s Capital.

Saathi rolls back sales tax on CNG
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
Finance Minister Mahender Singh Saathi on Thursday rolled back the Budget proposal to levy sales tax on CNG. He gave the indication while replying to the discussion on the Budget. The Budget (2002-2003) was passed by the Legislative Assembly with a similar sales tax exemption on oiled cake. This, he said, would benefit farmers engaged in dairy or milk production. In another sop, the limit of mandatory registration was raised from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 4 lakh in the case of dealers and from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for manufacturers.

The government, he clarified, only proposed to tax the consumer packs and not the foodgrains sold in gunny bags in wholesale market. “Only those food grains, cereals and pulses that are branded and packed in consumer packs of 20 kg or below shall be taxed and the remaining shall remain exempt,” he said. Announcing the withdrawal of the four per cent sales tax on CNG, Mr Saathi quipped: “I request our Opposition to show their commitment by persuading the Government of India to withdraw the increased excise duty on CNG.”

The minister disclosed that a sum of Rs 1,200 crore had been set aside in the energy sector for providing loans to private companies keen on taking over electricity distribution in Delhi.

“This is a part and parcel of power sector reforms and has been appreciated and approved by the Planning Commission … this loan amount is to assist distribution companies to meet the deficit in the recovery due to T&D losses,” he said. Leader of Opposition Jagdish Mukhi had earlier in the discussion alleged that the Plan size of Rs 4,700 crore was not the actual size as it included Rs 1,200 crore for terminal liability fund of the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) employees.

Responding to the hue and cry over restructuring of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), Mr Saathi said the Leader of Opposition himself had suggested that losses in these undertakings should be checked. “Yet when we say we want to restructure DTC and DJB on the basis of a comprehensive study and appraisal of these organisations by experts, it is not acceptable to the Opposition,” he remarked.

Privatisation, he said, meant some of the activities that may be recommended by experts might be outsourced for efficiency and cost-effectiveness and reaffirmed the Government of NCT of Delhi’s commitment to improving the quality of delivery of services. 

NHAI toll tax: Some are more equal than others
Ravi S.Singh
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon/Dharuhera (Rewari), April 11
The Haryana Government has decided to take up with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) its decision to levy “discriminatory” toll tax at Bilaspur in Gurgaon city. While the NHAI move to provide some relief to the commuters from Gurgaon city to Kapdiwas has brought little cheer to the beneficiaries, others, who have been completely left out of the loop, feel discriminated against by the highway authorities. Not leaving anything to chance, more than a dozen village panchayats — falling along Dharuhera and Masanii Barrage (Rewari district)— have signed a memorandum and submitted to the NHAI, expressing resentment on the imposition of high rate and discriminatory nature of toll tax.

The residents of Dharuhera have also decided to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue. Recently, they met the area BJP MP, Mrs Sudha Yadav, on the issue under the leadership of prominent party leader from Ahirwal belt, Rao Shiv Ratan Singh. A state office-bearer of the Haryana Congress and party MLA from Sohna (Gurgaon), Rao Dharam Pal, urged the Centre to intervene and reduce the toll tax structure as the rate was ‘discriminatory’.

According to reports reaching here, the Bhiwadi Industrial Association in Rajasthan has also submitted a memorandum to the NHAI on the discriminatory rate of tax.

Mr M.K.Miglani, Principal Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, has assured the industrialists and the commoners to take up the issue with the NHAI. The NHAI has set up a barrier at Bilaspur on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway for the tax collection. The tax is for 125 km starting from the intersection at Sector 10 on the highway in Gurgaon to Kotputli in Rajasthan.

That means anyone coming from Delhi crossing the toll barrier en route to Gurgaon, even those whose movement were intra-Haryana state, would have to pay the tax for 125 km. There are a number of units in Gurgaon and Dharuhera and the workers move from one place to another within the state every day. The earlier toll structure was Rs 60 for car/jeep/van. For the light commercial vehicle, it was Rs 105 and for trucks/bus, it was Rs 170. This was for crossing the barrier even for a single time. However, there was concession if the vehicles which are taxed, returned the same day provided they notified the authorities in advance.

However, after a public outcry, the NHAI provided relief to the residents of Gurgaon-Kapdiwas by providing multiple taxing structure which envisages a monthly pass for the local residents.

What happened in the process was that the areas of Dharuhera, one of the industrial hubs, which is just four km from Kapdiwas, has been left out of the concession loop. Incidentally, Kapidiwas also falls in Rewari district. Although the NHAI authorities feel that the move was discriminatory, they opine that they have to draw the line somewhere as otherwise there would be no end to providing concessions. However, a number of people in South Haryana opine that the NHAI’s moves have fallen foul of Article 14 of the Constitution which enjoins upon the state not to “deny any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India” and the Article 15, which prohibits the state from discriminating any citizen on grounds of, inter alia, place of birth. The residents of major parts of South Haryana feel that in the given case they were discriminated as a whole as the people from Rajasthan would pay the toll tax for using the service of entire 125 km whereas they would pay the same amount for using only about 40 km of the highway as they move from one part of Haryana to another.

Couple, children stabbed to death
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
A 35-year-old partner of a private security agency, Lal Singh, his 32-year old wife Manju and their two sons, Ajay (14), and Akash(8), were stabbed to death by some unidentified persons who intruded into their Mangolpuri house late last night.

The gruesome murders were discovered in the morning when an acquaintance of the deceased came to their house to borrow a two wheeler and pushed the door open when there was no response to his repeated knocks. He found the couple sprawled on the floor in a pool of blood. He informed the police who found the two children similarly murdered in another room of the three-room house.

The police said that all the four were apparently stabbed to death with sharp edged weapons. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination. Cases of murder have been registered and efforts were being made to ascertain the motive. Since the house was neither ransacked nor valuables were stolen, the police believe that the motive could be revenge, emanating from business rivalry.

The multiple murder sent shock waves through the congested resettlement colony in North-West Delhi as neighbours thronged the house after hearing the news. The police said that a large number of Lal Singh’s business associates and some of his employees were being questioned. The clients of Lal Singh’s agency were also being questioned.

The police believe that the assailants must have attacked Lal Singh when he opened the door; his wife was possibly stabbed to death when she came to his aid. The children were sleeping in the adjoining room and were done to death later. Further investigations are on and the Dog Squad has been deployed.

Diversion-hit residents rail against metro project
Priyanka Gupta

New Delhi, April 11
The Delhi Metro Rail Project is making rapid strides. The 11-km stretch of Metro Railways in North Delhi that includes Vishwa Vidyalaya station, Old Secretariat station, Civil Lines and Inter State Bus Terminus has almost been carved out. However, with the strides come the hurdles in the shape of diversions of traffic and snarls. Many a resident is peeved about the metro project which leads to route diversions at quite a few places.

In several places though, the regular routes have been diverted without creating traffic congestion. After Shamnath Marg, it is Mall Road traffic that would be diverted towards Cavalry Lines to pursue the metro work of one of the main stations at Vishwa Vidyalaya Marg.

The Vishwavidalaya Marg station would be able to catch the passengers of Azadpur, Model town, Mukherjee Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Kamla Nagar and other adjoining areas.

To speed up the work of this station, about 32,000 square meter land has been acquired. Of this, approximately 20,000 square meter would be used to maintain the parking lots and public conveniences and the rest will be used for constructing office of metro.

More than 3,000 vehicles, including two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, buses and cars would be able to park here. The traffic of Inner Ring Road near Mall Road would be diverted to other sides to facilitate the parking. But the residents of Cavalry Lines do not seemed to be happy.

Promila Jain (name changed) said, “I agree that metro would help but the diversion towards our side, will only increase the congestion. This used to be such a peaceful and green area. Now, it has become difficult for us to stay at home for long hours.”

Another resident Mrs Veena Chhabra (name changed) said, “It’s fine that metro will help public, but as residents of this area, we are not happy. As the greenest patch of Mall Road gives a look of highway now. Even when metro starts, it will disturb the peace in the area. There will be a number of parking slots, which means the public will commute from here round the clock.”

But the site engineers do not agree. The Deputy Chief Engineer, North, Mr Rajesh Aggarwal, said, “The survey had been conducted to review the condition. Experts have been invited to design the road in order to avoid jams. Besides, when the previous diversion at Shamnath Marg is working smoothly, we can ensure smooth traffic here also.”

Starting from Chatra Marg, the traffic will merge at Cavalry Lines and vice versa. Two-lane diversion has been planned for this also. Besides, three other major changes are in the pipeline that includes diverting the bus route straight from Majnu ka Tila to ISBT via Ring Road. This will make the ISBT junction free of red-lights and restrict Mall Road from six lane to four lane. The routes will be restored only when the metro construction is over. 

Move to ban Sikh jathas to Pak flayed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
The government’s move to ban Sikh jathas to Pakistan on the occasion of Baisakhi evoked strong criticism from a section of the community leaders here today. The general secretary of the Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi, Mr Harcharan Singh, said the government’s move had deeply hurt the Sikh sentiments. There were several historic gurdwaras in Pakistan, including Nankana Sahib, and the members of the community wanted to visit them on the occasion of Baisakhi.

He said the government had not stopped the members of the community from visiting the historic places even after Operation Blue Star and at the height of militancy. The present political and security conditions were not as bad as they were then, he said, adding it was wrong on the part of the government to prevent the members from visiting the places with which sentiments of the community members were attached.

The DSGMC member said the Pakistan Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee had sent an invitation stating that they would provide all the facilities to the jathas that cross over to Pakistan. “We urge the government to take steps to enable the Sikhs to cross over to Pakistan and visit the historic places,” he added.

Jind RPF runs amok as vendors ‘refuse’ to comply
Our Correspondent

Panipat, April 11
The personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) stationed at Jind destroyed the medical certificates, card passes, permission letters of vendors of a Panipat-based railway kitchen contractor whose staff have been authorised to operate between Panipat and Jind section by the Delhi Division of Northern Railways. Worse, the RPF penalised them as well.

According to information, the RPF staff of the Jind station caught three vendors of the base kitchen contractor of Panipat Railway Station on Sunday when they were serving in the Dainik Express (4721) between Panipat and Jind.

The RPF staff had allegedly laid a trap to nab the three vendors to force them to accept their terms without knowing the fact that they were authorised by the Railways. Though the vendors provided all the relevant papers to the RPF staff, the latter challaned them and asked them to hand over the authority letter, passes, medical certificates and other papers to their immediate bosses.

The vendors handed over the papers to an RPF constable who in turn destroyed them and his superior, an official of ASI rank, burnt the other papers and challaned them for not having possessing the requisite documents. They were later send to jail in Jind.

It is alleged that the action came after the contractor refused to accept a “deal” offered by the RPF staff on duty. The contractor got bail for his three vendors in Jind and reportedly lodged a complaint with the Railway Department pleading for an appropriate action against the erring RPF personnel.

The contractor alleged that he had an authority letter issued by the Northern Railways headquarters at Baroda House in which the competent authority had allowed him to serve in Dainik Express (4721 - 4722) between New Delhi-Sabzi Mandi and between Panipat and Jind through the vending contractor stationed at Panipat. The letter, issued on March 21, 2002, clearly showed that the authority had given permission to the contractor for four months from February 23 to June 22, 2002, as stated by him.

The contractor has decided to file a case against the working style of the RPF. He said that he would also file a defamation suit if the authority did not take an action.

The Company Commandant, RPF, stationed at New Delhi was not available for comments. However, sources confirmed that an enquiry was marked today by the Divisional Commissioner (Security). The probe will be conducted by an Assistant Security Commissioner of the RPF stationed at New Delhi and the report will be submitted soon.

CBI-IB probe urged into links of fake IAS man
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, April 11
The arrest of alleged ISI man Abhikar Raj, when he was staying in the PWD (B&R) rest house here last week posing himself as an IAS officer, has taken a new turn with Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, senior Congress leader and former Haryana minister, calling for a joint CBI-IB probe into his activities and his association with senior bureaucrats and other high-ups in the country. Mr Hooda today urged the Union Home Minister, Mr L. K. Advani, to order such a probe as it was a case of national security which should be given top priority.

Meanwhile, the accused was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate Ritu Tagore here today who remanded him to police custody until April 15 for further interrogation. The accused, during the course of interrogation, had revealed his links with the Pakistan’s ISI, high-ups in India and Pakistan and bureaucrats in Chandigarh and parts of Haryana. The authorities of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) are still investigating the case and the details are awaited. During his arrest, the police had also seized a car, a tape recorder and some other incriminating documents from his possession.

In a signed press statement today, Mr Hooda alleged that the accused was given a VVIP treatment by the district and police administration in Panipat and Sonepat at the behest of senior bureaucrats at Chandigarh. He also alleged that the state government had not been taking up the matter seriously despite the question of national security involved in it.

He threatened that if such probe were not conducted within next 10 days, he would stage a dharna in front of the office of the Union Home Minister in New Delhi to register his protest against the indifferent attitude of both the central and state governments and hushing up of a case which impinged on the national security.

He said that if the entire matter were probed judiciously, the involvement of some top-level political leaders and bureaucrats could be unearthed. Keeping in view of the sensitivity of the matter, the state government should institute a high-level probe into the case and bring the culprits to book, he demanded.

He apprehended that the state government was trying to hush up the case by making a class IV employee of the PWD (B&R) rest house as scapegoat. He said that the people of Haryana were keen to know that how the fake IAS officer reached Panipat and Sonepat and under whose patronage was he entertained by the district and police administration at both these places.

He alleged that the top leaders of the ruling party as well as top-level bureaucrats were hand in glove with the accused. He made a fervent appeal to all the Opposition parties to take up this serious issue and expose those who were involved in it.

Farmers refuse to accept compensation
Our Correspondent

Panipat, April 11
Hundreds of farmers of four villages adjoining Panipat today refused to accept the compensation amounts assessed by the government for their land acquired for developing part II of industrial Sector 29.

The Land Acquisition Officer (LAO) from Chandigarh came here in PWD Rest House today to disburse the compensation to the farmers of Risalu, Afghan Patti, Siwah and Nangal Kheri whose agricultural land of over 571 acres had been acquired.

When the LAO, Mr H. S. Sihag, announced the rates of compensation Rs 4,79,279 per acre for the land belonging to the farmers of Risalu, Afghan Patti and Siwah villages and Rs 5,47,747 per acre to the farmers of Nangal Kheri village, the farmers of these villages numbering around 400 got infuriated and refused to accept the amount of awarded compensation.

The LAO tried to convince the farmers stating that the assessment was made on the basis of prevailing collector-rates but the agitated farmers did not agree.

The farmers also demanded a copy of the assessment award which was refused by the LAO.

Talking to mediapersons, several leading farmers, including Mr Balraj Malik, Mr Raj Kumar Kadian and Dr Karan Singh, said that the compensation was far below the prevailing market rates. They claimed that even the Supreme Court had ordered in the past for payment of award compensations at the market rates. The local courts had also awarded compensation rate of Rs 178.40 per square yard in 1993 and Rs 185 per square yard in 1995 of the land in Afghan Patti and adjoining Sector 18 respectively.

The affected farmers had formed a sangharsh samiti which would pursue their claims for higher rates with the government authorities, they said and threatened that if they did not get justice from the government, they would knock the doors of the courts. Later, the farmers staged a protest demonstration in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office and submitted a memorandum of their demands.

Panipat first in small saving deposits
Our Correspondent

Panipat, April 11
The Panipat district has achieved first position in small savings deposits in the state during 2001-2002 by depositing more than the doubled deposit target of the district.

According to Deputy Commissioner M. R. Anand, the total deposit during the year was Rs 120.08 crore against the doubled target of Rs 118 crore. Panchkula district got second position with deposits of Rs 70 crore against the target of Rs 112 crore and Faridabad district remained third with deposits of Rs 157 crore against the target of Rs 207 crore.

The DC also said that Panipat was at third position up to the end of February with deposits of Rs 47.64 crore against the initial annual target of Rs 59 crore. However, the target was doubled in the beginning of March by the Chief Minister. The district succeeded in depositing over Rs 72 crore only in the month of March, he added.

The DC said this achievement could become possible due to the active involvement of every section of the society and all-out efforts of the government officials. He also informed that as many as 35 persons who had deposited Rs 5 lakh each had been given gold ‘ginnies’ and 220 people who deposited Rs 1 lakh was given a blanket each.

The DC said that the district would get an equal amount of deposit as development grant and it would accelerate the tempo of development in the town and villages of the district.

FARIDABAD
Three kids fall in heap of hot ash dumped by factory
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, April 11
Three children received burns after they fell into a heap of hot ash thrown by a factory in Sector 24 here near its boundary wall while playing on Wednesday. The condition of one of the children is reported to be serious.

Ravi, Deepak and Saroj, aged between 7 and 9 years, fell into the heap of ash while playing near it. While one of them got serious burns, a passer-by came to their rescue. While Deepak and Saroj have been discharged, Ravi is still under treatment.

Inspector booked
An Inspector of the Haryana Highway Police has been booked on charges of issuing a bogus challan. According to a report, the Inspector, identified as Rajender, had stopped a tractor-trolley near Dadich village on the national highway and issued a challan of Rs 700 for overloading. However, the Inspector gave the tractor driver, Teji, a resident of Mindkola village, the receipt for only Rs 600. Following a probe by the DSP of Palwal on a complaint by the driver, it was found that the receipt of challan was bogus.

Colleges’ festival
The all India inter-engineering colleges’ cultural and technical festival, ‘Elements Culmyea 2K2’, took off at YMCA Institute of Engineering here today. Students from as many as 60 colleges are taking part in the programme, Mr R S Aggarwal, MD of Tayal Motors, was the chief guest. Mr Dharamvir, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Haryana will be presiding over the valedictory function of the festival on April 13.

Work on roads
The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will inaugurate the work of construction of concrete roads in the new Anaj Mandi at Ballabgarh town on April 13. Agriculture Minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhee and MLA Rajender Singh Beesla will be present on the occasion.

Woman beaten to death
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, April 10
A married woman was beaten to death in the district. Though the incident occurred on Sunday, she died on Wednesday. Pushpa, wife of Sita Ram of Prem Nagar hutments in Sector 17 here, had a quarrel with her neighbours over using an open space for toilet by her son on Sunday. She was allegedly beaten up badly by the neighbours.

When she was taken to the civil hospital, the doctor on duty agreed to check her up only after he was allegedly bribed. According to the husband of the victim, the doctor discharged her after prescribing some medicines. But the woman’s condition failed to improve and she was again taken to the hospital where she was advised to get her an X-ray done. The woman succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday in her house. Sita Ram has alleged that while the doctor did not take up the case seriously, the police station at Sector 17 also shooed them off, when they demanded registration of a case against the culprits. The police booked a case, that of murder, only after the death of the woman. The accused have been identified as Majeedan, Jeevan, Tabassum, Haroon, Tshaad and Shakir.

NCR BRIEFS
Dhaba worker shot dead by owner’s kin
Tribune News Service

Panipat, April 11
A dhaba worker, Vijendar, was shot dead by a relative of the owner of the dhaba, Sanjay, on the GT Road near the Panipat Refinery overbridge today. According to sources, the worker wanted to quit the job and had been requesting his dhaba owner and namesake, Vijendar, and an uncle of Sanjay, a resident of Siwah, to settle his accounts for quite sometime now. However, they did not listen to him and wanted him to continue. This morning when Vijendar came out of a nearby PCO booth after making a call, he again had an argument with Sanjay over quitting the job. As they exchanged heated words, Sanjay pulled out a pistol and shot Vijendar from the point blank range, killing him on the spot. Later, Sanjay and Vijender fled the spot in the latter’s car.

Khulla darbar
As many as 45 applications were received at a khulla darbar at Seinkh village in the district here on Wednesday. The ADC, Mr U. S. Sohal, who presided over the darbar, instructed the officials concerned to redress the grievances of the complainants.

Nitra courses
The Powerloom Service Centre and the Textile Testing Lab of the Northern India Textile Research Association (Nitra) announced the launch of three courses for the benefits of the textile workers. The course in weaving, designing and computer designing will last for three months and the applicants should be matriculates.

Record revenue Rohtak
The Uttar Haryana Bijlee Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has created a record of sorts when it collected a revenue of Rs 139.59 crore during March. The highest revenue collected by it earlier was Rs 129.63 crore in October 2001. An official spokesman told ‘NCR Tribune’ that during the year ending March 31, the UBVN had collected a revenue of Rs 1,365.87 crore, an increase of 21 per cent over the collections made during 2000-2001.

Bail in ST case
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Shiva Sharma, today granted bail to a transporter, Prem Singh, who was arrested by the police on April 1 in connection with a sales tax evasion racket. He was directed to furnish a surety bond of Rs 15,000 by the court. However, the court rejected the bail pleaof Ishwar Malik, a brother of Prem Singh.

CRIME

Missing child found dead in neighbour’s house

New Delhi, April 11
Pankaj alias Amit (11), who was missing since Tuesday from his house in Rohini in North West district, was found dead last night in his neighbour’s house. The owner of the house, Usha, who is suspected to have kidnapped and killed the victim, is absconding. The police have registered a case of kidnapping-cum-murder and trying to trace the suspect, the police said. According to the police, children of the neighbourhood used to visit her house and play there. Pankaj was seen along with the woman on Tuesday afternoon at Rithala bus stand and nobody suspected that she had kidnapped the child. Till Tuesday evening parents of the victim waited for Pankaj to return.

The victim’s father, Mangal Sen, lodged a complaint at the police station yesterday that his son was missing since Tuesday and that he was last seen with Usha. The police broke open Usha’s house and recovered the body. Ligature marks were visible on neck of the victim. TNS

Sonepat :A couple was killed and a 13-year-old girl sustained bullet injuries when a group of eight persons barged into their house in Adarsh Nagar and fired indiscriminately around 8.30 p m last night. The deceased have been identified as Ram Singh, an ex-armyman, and his wife, Sarita. Miss Chetna, the daughter of the deceased, also sustained injuries. She was rushed to the local civil hospital by the neighbours, and is stated to be out of danger. OC

Huge drugs haul, five peddlers nabbed
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
The Delhi Police Narcotics Cell has apprehended two persons and claimed to have seized heroin worth Rs 70 lakh and hashish worth Rs 1 lakh from them in Uttam Nagar.

The police acting on a tip-off nabbed Vikas Gupta (30), resident of Raja Puri, and Arvind Kumar alias Kaley, resident of Chanakya Place.

While 450 grams of heroin were seized from Vikas, 50 grams of heroin was seized from

Arvind. Arvind was involved in more than 11 criminal cases and his wife, Kamlesh, is lodged in the Tihar Jail at present where she is undergoing 10 years’ of rigorous imprisonment after being caught by the Narcotics Branch.

Another drug peddler, Arvind Kumar Gupta alias Titu, resident of Sangam Vihar, and Krishnan Murari Gupta, also staying in Sangam Vihar, have been arrested with 100 grams of heroin. Arvind and his father were notorious drug peddlers and had been wanted by the Narcotics Cell for the last six months.

In another case, Satywan (31), hailing from Jind, Haryana and staying in Pratap Vihar at present, was nabbed from near Lokesh Cinema in Nangloi after he was found supplying hashish. The police also recovered 8 kilograms of hashish from him.

Pak national held for overstaying
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 11
The Delhi Police today arrested a Pakistani national from the central Delhi area for allegedly overstaying.

The suspect, Mohd Sheikh Budgez, was arrested from a house in the Churiwala area of Chandni Chowk on a tip-off. Budgez had been allegedly staying illegally alone here since 1994, sources said.

He is being interrogated to ascertain whether he was involved in some terrorist activities or had links with any terrorist group in the country.

A number of Pakistani nationals with terrorist links have been arrested in Delhi and five of them associated with the Harkat-e-Jehad-ul-Islam (HUJI), were arrested in February and were found to be linked to the January 22 shootout at the American Centre in Kolkata.

Traffic cop killed
A traffic constable died on the spot and two persons, including an autorickshaw driver, sustained minor injuries when an unknown vehicle hit the autorickshaw on Wednesday night near the Hindustan Times Apartments. The traffic constable, Netrapal, posted near the Chanakya Puri area took the autorickshaw for Noida near T-point and when they reached the Hindustan Times Apartments, an unknown vehicle hit the vehicle. The constable was reported brought dead at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital and the TSR driver, Narender Kumar, and a passenger, Vijay, were admitted to the hospital.

Rs 1 lakh snatched
Two motorcycle-borne youths robbed Rs 1 lakh in Sarai Rohilla from Pawan Jain, a businessman of Karol Bagh and a resident of Rana Pratap Bagh, after throwing chilly powder in his eyes this afternoon. The victim withdrew the money from the Shakti Nagar branch of Punjab National Bank and was on his way to his office in Karol Bagh. He was on a two-wheeler, the police said.As the victim reached near Sarai Rohilla Bridge, the robbers who were on a motorcycle came parallel to the victim’s vehicle and threw chilly powder in his eyes. When the victim fell down and started rubbing his eyes, the robbers drove away with the bag in which he was carrying the cash amount, the police said. 

Gang busted

Jhajjar
The district police claimed to have recovered stolen goods worth lakhs of rupees with the arrest of a gang of three thieves in the Jargadpur village of the district. A district police spokesman said here today that the Crime Branch of Bahadurgarh on a tip off put up a naka at the bus stand in Jargadpur village . OC