TOP STORIES

A heavyweight proves the administration is weak-kneed
Khurja (Noida), April 1
When a certain heavyweight failed to return a bank loan, the administration decided to attach 62 bighas of his land. But when the land was to be auctioned, no bidders came forward as people were afraid to incur his wrath.

Firing on Jamia campus as students 
run amok
New Delhi, April 1
Two former students of the Jamia Millia Islamia and a mess boy were injured when a group of rusticated students clashed on the university campus while examinations were on and attacked the police picket, setting fire to three vehicles.

A police contingent outside the Jamia Millia campus, which was witness to clashes and incidents of arson on Tuesday.—  Tribune Photo

Life term for three in gang rape case
Meerut, April 1
Three accused who were convicted of gang rape were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 by the Additional District and Sessions Judge here today under Section 376(2) G of the Indian Penal Code.

Millstone of existence. — PTI Photo

Canal from Karnal to Delhi to mitigate water woes
Sonepat, April 1
In order to augment the drinking water supply in Delhi, the Haryana Irrigation Department has undertaken the construction of a canal between Munak (Karnal) and Delhi. This scheme will cost the state exchequer Rs 75 crore.

His aim is to make every child smile like a flower
New Delhi, April 1
It was early 1982 when his elder brother, Prem Prakash Gupta, was killed in a road accident. He meant the world to him. It was a big loss. He was barely 16 years’ old and life, which was passing very smoothly, suddenly received a tremendous setback. It was heart-wrenching to see his nephews growing up bereft of their father’s affection.

VACATION TIME
Ten-day holiday bonanza for govt employees
Sonepat, April 1
All government offices in Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh will remain closed for 10 days at a stretch between April 11 and April 20.

BURIED ALIVE
Bodies of trapped labourers dug out
Sonepat, April 1
After a non-stop effort for a marathon 40 hours, the administrative machinery, with the help of the local villagers, succeeded in retrieving the bodies of two labourers who were buried 35-feet-deep in mud.

COMMUNITY

SPECIAL FOCUS ON GURGAON
DLF ready to take on power department this summer, comes out with dossier
Gurgaon, April 1
The builders of posh DLF City here, the DLF Universal Ltd, have learnt the bitter truth that playing ball with the electricity department need not bring it the dividends always.

Traffic diversion to BB Marg annoys residents
New Delhi, April 1
The decision of the Delhi Transport Corporation to divert 14 routes of DTC and private buses going towards trans-Yamuna area from Mall Road to Mukherjee Nagar from Haquikat Nagar point (Banda Bahadur Marg) from March 10 have made local residents and institutions worried.

Parochialism rears its head at national integration camp
Sonepat, April 1
Where is the question of national integration when they (the organisers) don’t even use the soil and water brought by us from our states for planting saplings? This was angry response of some participants at the week-long national integration camp that concluded here on Saturday.

NCR BRIEFS
Six held after lawyers’ slugfest 
Jhajjar, April 1
The district police have arrested six persons today who allegedly accompanied the advocates’ group led by Mr Jaideep Punia and Mr Kapoor Singh Sahrawat following yesterday’s confrontation between two groups of the District Bar Association here.

Army recruitment Killed while crossing road

Falls from train

DELHI DIGEST More fuss over VAT New Delhi, April 1 Even as the implementation of the new tax regime was deferred, the nationwide bandh by traders to oppose the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) system entered second day today. Most of the wholesale and retail markets in the Capital remained closed though there were reports of a few establishments being open.

CRIME

Delhi youth shot at in Loni over land dispute 
Ghaziabad, April 1
Three criminals shot at and wounded a youth in Puja Colony of Loni yesterday. The police have registered a case against the three as an attempt to murder. The youth, Ram Kumar, belongs to Delhi. He was injured on the neck and forehead with sharpnels. He had come to his father’s shop in Puja Colony when four persons on scooters came and started abusing him.

Newly wed allegedly killed for dowry
Noida, April 1
The in-laws of a newly wed are alleged to have killed her for failure to bring scooter and fridge in dowry. Her brother has registered a case against six persons in Sector-49 police station. Sushma, daughter of Sammai Veer of Faridabad was married on April 30 last year to Raja, son of Prem Singh Balmiki of Sorkha village under Sector-49 police station. 

BUSINESS

BSNL mobile phone subscribers find it hard to foot the bill 
Panipat, April 1
Subscribers of mobile phone users having Sim Cards issued by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) are upset with the early closing of cash counter of the department before the close of banking hours at the Commercial Service Centre (CSC) here in Panipat.

New IOC Director (Refineries)
New Delhi, April 1
Mr Jaspal Singh has taken over as the Director (Refineries) of Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., India’s largest commercial enterprise and flagship national oil company. Before taking over as Director (Refineries) of IndianOil, Mr Singh was the Executive Director of the fortune ‘Global 500’ oil major’s Panipat Refinery.

COURTS

Plea to ban demos dismissed
New Delhi, April 1
The Delhi High Court said today that the citizens had the fundamental right to protest and demonstrate against what they felt unjust and unlawful. “The constitution has given a fundamental right to every citizen to assemble and demonstrate peacefully,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice B.C. Patel and Justice B.D. Ahmed said, dismissing a petition seeking ban on demonstrations and rallies organised by the political parties in the capital.

CULTURE

Chefs-d’oeuvre: Showcasing 50 years of poster art
New Delhi, April 1
Having emerged in the middle of the 19th century in France, modern publicity posters are an accepted means of communicating messages. They also offer the advantage of double reading, as a work of art and a sociological document.

GLITZ&GLAMOUR
Fashion gurus unveil fabrics for the season
Just when designers have started unveiling there Spring/Summer 2003 collections, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) has announced the fabrics for the season. Titled the ‘Best of FOF’, the event was hosted by fashion designers, including J. J. Valaya, Rohit Gandhi, Rahul Khanna, Vijay Arora and Poonam Bhagat.

The big bang(le) theory: Adding colour to style Ash effect

Outfits that speak of her Bollywood connections

MUSIC ZONE Anand hi Anand Masoom was his debut as a music director, but with Kaante, Anand Raj Anand concedes that he has arrived. Ishq Samundar, the popular number from Kaante, claims Anand, is the “flower in my career”.

HEALTH

Maternal mortality: Sushma gives wake-up call
New Delhi, April 1
Taking cognisance of the high rate of maternal mortality in the country, the Government has announced plans to implement a child and mother welfare scheme, Janani Suraksha Yojana from today.

Free heart check-up camp
New Delhi, April 1
Metro Clinics, a unit of Metro Group of Hospitals and Heart Institute, is organising a free heart check-up camp for the residents of South Delhi on Sunday, the 6th April, 2003 at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Soami Nagar.

SPORTS

Inborn, Sonnet qualify for quarters
New Delhi, April 1
Rookies Inborn stunned last year’s runners-up Rohtak Road Gymkhana by two runs to enter the quarter-final of the Davinder Singh Memorial Cricket Tournament for the Tara Devi Mathur Trophy at the Harbaksh Singh Stadium.

Good response to Delhi wrestling
New Delhi, April 1
Over 400 grapplers will take part in the Delhi State Wrestling Championship, to be held at the Border Security Force (BSF) campus, Chhawla, New Delhi from April 3 to 8. BSF director-general Ajay Raj Sharma will inaugurate the championship on Thursday. The participants will include 50 women and girls.

Former Delhi soccer captain dead
New Delhi, April 1
Former Delhi State football captain Dev Raj Katyal died in Delhi on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. He was 58 years old. He leaves behind his wife, two sons and two daughters.

Dominos edge out Nirulas, lift trophy
New Delhi, April 1
Dominos edged out Nirulas by one wicket in an exciting final match to lift the 14th Inter-Hotel Cricket Tournament at the Siri Fort Complex ground. Gurmeet Singh of Dominos was adjudged the best batsman while Alam Singh Rawat of Nirulas wrested the best bowler award.

Kuldeep stars for Golden Hawks 
New Delhi, April 1
An all-round performance by Delhi Ranji Trophy player Kuldeep Rawat (3 for 17 and 32) and an unbeaten 60 with five fours by Suresh Tanwar enabled Golden Hawks Club defeat Chand Khanna Club by six wickets and entered the quarter-final of the 13th SAIL Trophy Cricket Tournament at the Mohan Meakins ground, Mohan Nagar.

Piya Modi steals the show
New Delhi, April 1
Piya Modi of Delhi, astride Veneur, clinched the title with 204 points in the sub-junior and confined dressage events of the Delhi Horse Show held at the Army Equestrian ground.

ADMINISTRATION

Highway patrol cops launch road safety drive
Sonepat, April 1
The Haryana Highway Patrol and Road Safety Police have launched a fortnight-long drive to create awareness among the people about road safety and traffic rules. All the villages, industrial units and truck unions of the towns located on national highways passing through the state would be covered under the drive.