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August 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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BARBARISM LIVES Sohna (Gurgaon), August 19 Memuna had committed the cardinal sin: She had married Idris, a resident of her native village, Sudana, in Nuh tehsil, thus trampling under her feet the societal mores of the predominantly Muslim village, where marriage of a girl and a boy from the same village is a strict no-no. Aammin allegedly murdered his sister on July 29 and was arrested yesterday. He has confessed to the crime, but dubbed it an act of ``honour,’’ carried out under pressure from his clan. Had he not killed her, the clan would have accused him of being in league with the husband, he has told the police. Memuna and Idris had hit newspaper headlines in the early 90s when they threw all norms to the winds, eloped and got married under the Shariat. Aware of the staunch opposition, they later had a court marriage, so that the bond was not severed. Still, the panchayat refused to accept that they were married and fined them for breaching the mores. (While Idris was a Meo Muslim, Memuna was from the Kasai sect. Marriages between members of these two sects are not permitted). On the directive of the panchayat, the two were forcibly separated. The matter reached the court, which restored their right to stay married. Significantly, the matter also reached the National Commission for Women. The then Chairperson of the commission also visited Sudana. The villagers had mobbed the Chairperson then and also attacked her official vehicle. However, the deep-seated hostility compelled the couple to leave their native village and settle down in Taoru in Mewat. It was here that she was lethally attacked and injured by her cousin, Jalaludin, for which the latter was prosecuted. About six months back, the two shifted to Sohna in their quest for peace and tranquility, hardly realising that tragedy was around the corner. According to Nazrana, who was an eyewitness to the murder, Aammin arrived at their house and had an altercation with Memuna. Memuna is said to have pleaded guilty but beseeched him to let bygones be bygones. This did not satisfy Aammin. While Memuna was offering namaaz, he fatally wounded her in the neck. As their parents were always on the run, Nazrana had never got an opportunity to meet her maternal uncle. She learnt after the killing that the assailant was her maternal uncle.
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Fire in Noida paint factory Noida, August 19 Some 12 fire engines and 50 firemen struggled for two hours to douse the flames in the heart of the industrial sector in Noida. Circle Officer, Fire Services, Rama Kant Prasad, supervised the operations while SP City Vijay Bhushan monitored the situation. According to eyewitnesses, containers of chemicals stored on the ground and the first floor exploded with a bang. The two floors were badly damaged and all glass panes in the building were smashed. The two floors, parts of the basement and the rear portion of the building were smouldering even after three hours. Though proprietor Rahul Kapoor, a resident of Delhi, was not to be seen, it is estimated that the blaze must have caused a damage of Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh. No official of the factory was available for comments. The stored chemicals, furniture, air conditioners etc have been completely destroyed, even though fire safety equipment had been installed in the factory. The fire had started on the ground floor, CO, Fire Services, said. Six fire engines from Noida, two from Phase 1 and II, and three from Ghaziabad helped control the fire. Two more fire engines from Delhi and one from Honda Siel factory in Greater Noida had also reached the spot. |
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TIP
OF THE ICEBERG New Delhi, August 19 They were arrested from the Rohini office of the corporation, where the tender pooling racket thrived in the room of a tender clerk. The arrested contractors were identified as Brij Mohan, Ajay Bansal, Subhash Chand Dua, Suresh Chand Gupta, Subhash Gupta, Mahesh Kumar, Rajiv Saxena and Sunil Kumar. The MCD official was identified as Jai Singh. They were arrested for allegedly manipulating the tenders and fudging their values, the police said. The police had received information that the manipulation was done in the Rohini office of the corporation. The police raided the office and caught the tender clerk red-handed. The tender was worth Rs 53 lakh involving 31 works. There is a fixed date for the sale of applications for tenders with Rs 150-500 as the quoted fee. The Crime Branch had received information about irregularities in the tender issued on August 11, and its sleuths were keeping an eye on the activities of the contractors and the tender clerk employed in the Rohini office, Division –II. During investigation, the police learnt that 27 contractors had applied for the 31 works. Some contractors had applied for as many as 16 works. Out of the 31 works, listed item number 1-6, 8-20, 23-24, 29-31 were pooled by the contractors in collusion with the tender clerk. Later, they submitted the application forms with the earnest money. The police also learnt that the contractors and the tender mafia colluded in distributing the work by auction, causing a hefty loss to the exchequer. Moreover, the cartel kept the new contractors at bay. They have a henchman at their beck and call who can throw his weight around, if need be. Brahm Nagar, the henchman, is at present in hiding due to police pressure. However, Nagar gets his due share for his complicity. The police disclosed that the contractors had registered dummy companies for their operations, in order to hoodwink the vigilance. This group of contractors pays 10 per cent of the total amount of the tender to the henchmen. |
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Father, son team up to
fake licences New Delhi, August 19 Acting on a secret tip-off, the police raided a photostat and lamination shop, ‘Jai Ambey,’ at DDA Centre, Janakpuri. Two decoy customers were sent to the accused, Ajay Bharadwaj (24), who had arranged two driving licences for Rs 1000 each. During interrogation, Ajay disclosed that he had been in the business for the last two years. He said that he was forced into the racket by one Subhash Sehgal (53) and his son Manish Sehgal (23). Ajay, a Delhi University graduate, was not earning enough from the photostat shop to support his family.
No end to Sonepat
power pangs Sonepat: Sonepat city and its suburbs plunged into darkness for almost an hour last night following a power breakdown. The breakdown occurred at 8.15 pm and the supply was restored around 9.25 pm in areas falling under the main feeder and at 9 pm in areas fed by the subzi mandi feeder. A fault developed in the breaker of the 25 MVA transformer of the 132 KV power substation in Fazilpur village about six months ago. This has resulted in load shedding for hours daily. This breaker functions automatically and stops the supply when a fault develops. The officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam are making efforts to replace the breaker. In the interim, they are enforcing load-shedding for nine to 12 hours daily in different parts of the city. The officials claimed that the load-shedding would be stopped after the work of replacing the breaker is over. Many residents alleged that the UHBVN had failed to keep them informed about the load-shedding. Small shopkeepers were the worst-hit.
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Sunil Dutt’s message of amity lost in Cong dinner Faridabad, August 19 Interestingly, at the receiving end were loyalists of HPCC president and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. They jostled for seats on the stage and when that was denied they protested by, first, squatting on the ground near the stage and, then, by walking out, much to the embarrassment of their leader. Mr Bhajan lal finally requested them to return. On his intervention, chairs were later provided to them on the dais. The organisers added insult to injury by not including the names of his loyalists in the list of speakers. Insiders say that Mr Bhajan Lal was shocked at the attempts made to sideline prominent party leaders, including HPCC general secretary J. P. Nagar and District Congress Women’s Wing president Sharda Rathaur. Mr Nagar and Ms Rathaur are known to be close confidants of Mr Bhajan Lal and are believed to be top contenders for tickets in the Assembly poll. Mr Lal’s supporters have also alleged that due importance was not given to the HPCC president in the publicity campaign and during the function. In fact, Mr Bhajan Lal was welcomed by Ms Sharda Rathaur, Mr Tek Chand Sharma and Mr J. P. Nagar at a venue near Sector 6 here. Interestingly, Mr Bhajan Lal declared at the function that there was no disunity in the party, which would stage a comeback. |
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SPECIAL
FOCUS ON GURGAON Gurgaon, August 19 The police had arrested 10 youths in the age group of 17 and 27 from a house located in a posh colony of Sector 15. One camera, four video cassettes, a television set and a VCR were recovered from the house which had been taken on rent by them. The arrested youths have been identified as Ravinder, Yashpal, Abhishek, Kalesh, Puneet, Umesh, Ashwani, Vikas Kuldeep and Jitender. Residents of Gurgaon, they all belong to rich families. They used to attract college and school-going girls by frequenting their academic institutions in flashy cars and mobikes. The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Kuldeep Singh Siag, informed that they used to take the girls to the rented room and shoot their photos in objectionable poses. Afterwards they blackmailed the girl and forced her to come to the particular place where they would shoot films using hidden cameras. When the police arrested them, seven out of the 10 gang members were seeing the films made by them. The sources in the Police Department further revealed that a Delhi-based teacher and a fashion designer were also suspected to be involved in the gang. The police are on the lookout for them. The gang had been functioning for the past more than six months. The gang members had made movies featuring at least five to six girls during this period. However, the police are still tracing the persons to whom these youths sold the cassettes. Mr Siag warned girls not to fall prey to the evil designs of attractive men after seeing their flashy vehicles and other accessories. They should not move with them unless they know their background, the police chief has advised.
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Livid villagers wreak havoc over gang rape Meerut, August 19 Tension has gripped the town and half the population of the minority community has migrated since the rape incident. The police and PAC personnel have been deployed in view of the simmering tension. The administration has ordered the closure of schools and colleges for the next few days. The girl, Arti Pundib (13), was allegedly gang raped and murdered by three youths while she was returning from school after attending the Independence Day function. As the news spread today, thousands of villagers from Khindora and adjoining areas moved towards Aminagar Sarai town, demanding the arrest of the suspects. Armed with firearms and sticks, they forced the closure of the market and blocked the Meerut-Panipat road for several hours. Later, they reached the houses of the accused, even as the police was about to seal them. They ransacked the houses and razed them in the presence of the cops. |
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Dalits languishing in Mayaland Greater Noida, August 19 The flip-flop started in 1997 when the Pradhan of Habibpur village handed over allotment letters of residential plots (200 sq yards) to the 52 Dalits. The then SDM of Dadri, Tulsi Ram, had given the possession of the plots. The allottees built houses on the plots and started living there. However, the Greater Noida administration razed all these houses, saying they had been built illegally. The residents had strongly opposed this action then, but the authority managed to silence the opposition by promising that the Dalit families would be allotted alternative plots. Six years have passed since then but no Dalit family has been allotted any alternative plot yet. Surinder Mahipal and many other Dalits have been knocking on the doors of Greater Noida and district administration for the last six years, but they are nowhere near getting the ‘promised land’. According to sources in the district authorities, now it is for the Greater Noida administration to act. However, the latter is in no hurry to mitigate the suffering of the poor villagers. The Greater Noida officials, however, say that a proposal is under consideration for the allotment of 60 square metre plots to the Dalit families. Another promise, this! |
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Haryana divided into 21 dists for BJP poll Sonepat, August 19 According to available information from the state spokesman of the BJP, the state has been divided into 21 districts. For Sonepat district, Mr Ramesh Kashyap has been appointed the election officer and Mr Gulshan Chhabra and Mr Rishi Parkash the assistant election officer and verifier, respectively. Other district election officers are Ms Neeta Khera in Panchkula, Mr Kanwarpal Singh in Ambala, Mr Fakir Chand Aggarwal in Ambala, Ms Beena Chhibbar in Kurukshetra, Mr Satya Parkash Rosha in Karnal, Mr Santosh Atreja in Panipat, Mr Vijaypal Singh in Kaithal, Mr Satya Parkash for Rohtak, Mr Pradeep Jain for Jind, Mr Dharambir Nandal for Jhajjar, Mr Sita Ram Bagri for Hisar, Mr Dev Kumar Sharma in Fatehabad, Dr Kamal Gupta for Sirsa, Mr Ashrath Chauhan in Bhiwani, Mr Arvind Yadav in Charkhi Dadri, Mr Rattan Singh for Mahendergarh, Mr Govind Bhardwaj for Rewari, Mr Deepak Mangla in Gurgaon, Mr Bhani Ram Mangla for Faridabad and Ms Neera Tomar in Palwal. The state BJP has directed the election officers to get the membership copies and registers fully verified before holding the elections so that there is no chance for any discrepancy in the elections. |
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Eco development: Panipat’s day has finally come Panipat, August 19 The brainchild of Dr Jagveer Rawat, Chief Adviser of the HABITAT Centre, the ambitious project will encompass nine villages in all blocks and devise a comprehensive ecosystem-centred developmental model involving agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, biotechnology, khadi, rural industries and eco-tourism sectors. In fact, the centre had been in contact with Sahara India to sponsor such a dream project in Samalkha block, Dr Rawat told NCR Tribune. Giving details, Dr Rawat informed that the project would endeavour to demonstrate the success story of such scientific methods which speak of understanding the processes of nature and utilising its diversity in tackling the problems of degradation which were rampant in our health. The food and water produced in the district is targeted to be marketed directly to the consumer cooperatives in Delhi. The farmer-consumer cooperative scheme had already been devised by the Centre. The Delhi Government had already sounded the NGO to devise a detailed plan of “safe food, safe water, safer Delhi” for the NCR, Dr Rawat stated. The HABITAT Centre is, in fact, buoyed by the success of Phase 2. During Phase 2, the ecosystem approach had led to some meaningful targets like devising technologies for reducing the use of water in crops such a sugarcane, reducing the use of pesticides through the use of bio-pesticides, reduction in the use of fertilisers by the popularisation of bio-manure, bio-compost and bio-fertilisers. With that end in mind a padayatra with the specific economic objective of urging on the farmers the need for creating suitable conditions for the establishment of the “agri export zone”, employing the principles of ecological balance, was organised. What is heartening to note is the fact that a majority of the farmers of the district had passed a resolution demanding a ban on genetically modified crops on the plea that these would make the export of products from Panipat district ineligible to several countries. This will act as a non-tariff barrier imposed by a number of countries of the world and could compromise the efforts of HABITAT to create conditions of providing predictable and higher prices of the crops produce. Meanwhile, the Centre has urged the Haryana Government to appoint a high-level committee to monitor the project. If the problem of protection of the interests of farmers through a legitimate way is solved, it will pave the way for the establishment of a successful “agri export zone” in the district. |
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CM promises ‘A’ class amenities in rural areas Rewari, August 19 Addressing a villagers’ meet, held under the current phase of the government’s Sarkar Aap Ke Dwar programme, at Sudhrana village, about 40 km from here, the CM said that adequate drinking water, uninterrupted power supply and proper irrigation facilities in rural areas were on the top of his government’s agenda for implementation. He said that under an innovative project to relieve schoolchildren from the travail of squatting on the floor in classrooms, desks were being supplied to the schools throughout the state by the government. Regarding encroachments on panchayati lands and other areas in Lilodh and other surrounding villages, Mr Chautala informed that he had issued a directive to the Deputy Commissioner that all such illegal encroachments be removed within five days.
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Noida expansion at the cost of public utilities Noida, August 19 “The Noida Authority had promised a quick power connection at the time of handing over possession of flats. But this promise was not kept. Besides inadequate power supply we are facing water shortage also. The Executive Engineer, Mr A. Malhotra, has told us the work of laying power infrastructure in the sector is yet to be completed”. Besides, he had not received any orders from UPPC’s Deputy GM B. B. Singh in this connection. Mr Malhotra said he could not give new connections without orders from the DGM. When a residents’ delegation went to see Mr B. B. Singh, he was not available in office. A delegation of residents of this sector had met officials of the UP Power Corporation and the Noida Authority yesterday in a last ditch effort to secure the essential services for the sector. Mr Kuldip Singh Rana, who led the delegation, said the residents in Sector 32 had to put up with great inconveniences, the biggest being the power shortage. ACEO Hira Lal, however, has assured them that these problems will be resolved soon. “However, when our people went to the Sector 39 Power Corporation office to procure application forms for new power connections the applications for new connections were not accepted, Mr Rana said. |
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Security
beefed up around Krishna temples New Delhi, August 19 Among the other prominent temples, which thousands of people are expected to visit, are Chhattarpur Temple in South Delhi and Laxmi Narayan Temple in Shakarpur area of East Delhi. A senior police officer said that there had been general threats from anti-national elements. However, there was no specific intelligence input suggesting any particular threat. The Janmashtami celebrations come within five days of the country celebrating its 57th Independence Day. The police have advised devotees to co-operate with the security officials and not to carry any object which could pose a security threat. The ban will cover firearms, knives, mobiles, pagers, and cameras. Bank employees miffed:
The Congress government had not granted holidays on the three major Hindu festivals of Mahashivratri, Ramnavami and Janmashtami this year even though these were granted in 2002, the NOBW said in a statement today. It also urged the government to declare these three festivals as holidays in 2004. As per the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, holidays were declared through the gazette notification issued by the state government every year, but the three of the 15 holidays dispensed with in 2003 were all Hindu festivals, it said. “The Muslims have been granted four holidays even though they constitute only one per cent of the bank employees and the Christians have been given two holidays. The remaining holidays had to be shared by the Sikhs, Jains and Hindus”, the statement said. Sheila greets people:
Addressing a function organised at her official residence here today, she said apart from being an icon of justice and truth, Lord Krishna was the edifice of true statesmanship and urged the people to adopt his pristine qualities and preaching. She said observing days in honour of the great personalities served as a reminder of their teachings and an inspiration when facing bad times. The function was organised by the Kendriya Arya Yuvak Parishad. |
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IN
PARLIAMENT New Delhi, August 19 Complaints: 4,231 complaints were received regarding misbehaving and irregular practices of Delhi Police in 2003 up to July 31, Pathak said. As many as 506 police personnel were found prima facie involved in such cases of misbehaviour and irregular practices and suitable departmental action was initiated against them, the Minister said. Out of total sanctioned strength of 59,077 posts in Delhi Police, the number of women police personnel in position is 1,862 of whom 21 have expertise in the martial arts. Vacancies:
There are 1,404 vacancies of primary teachers in MCD schools and 21 in NDMC schools in 2003, Pathak said. The recruitment of teachers in both MCD and NDMC is made through Delhi Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Board, the Minister said, adding both the organisations have already sent appropriate requisitions for filling up vacant posts to the Delhi Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Board. Water:
The water demand for Delhi is about 828 million gallons per day (MGD) against which Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is producing on an average about 670 MGD of water leaving a shortfall of about 158 MGD, Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Pon Radhakrishnan said. |
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NCR
BRIEFS Jhajjar, August 19 In his second round whistle stop tour of about ten villages, the Chief Minister listened to the complaints of people in Matanhail, Sasrola, Birohar, Sehlanga, Jhalri, Jhamri, Khanpur Khurd, Bahu, Goria, Kaliawas and Rudiawas villages.
Kalam’s last rites Rohtak: Major Kalam Singh, who died on August 10, would be paid homage at ‘Tehrvin’ at his native village Dhandlan, on August 22. Major Kalam Singh had got commissioned in 3 Raj Rif Battalion in 1963 and took part in 1962, 1965 and 1971 operations. He also served his unit in Korea. In 1971 operations, his advance to Islamagarh Fort in Pakistan, in front of Barmer Sector, was personally commended by Mr Jagjiwan Ram, the then Defence Minister as ‘most daring venture’. He retired from service in 1983 and got involved in the Ex-servicemen League and Jat Sabha functions. He was suffering from cancer. However, he used to go to such patients and cheer them up.
Rajinder retains post Sonepat:
Rajinder Singh Rathi has been re-elected president of the district unit of the Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh (SKS). He defeated Janardhan Kothari by a margin of six votes at the elections held in local Kumhar Dharamshala on Monday. Rathi got 21 votes and he is from the all Haryana power corporation union. The elections were supervised by Jeevan Singh the general secretary of the state SKS as central observer and state spokesman Silak Ram Malik as election officer. |
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Housewife strangled to death
Noida, August 19 According to information, Santosh was married to Azad for eight years. However, there had been domestic discord for quite some time in the family. Omi alleged that Santosh’s in-laws had also performed the last rites in a hurry without informing her parents. In his complaint, he accused Santosh’s husband Azad, his elder brother Rohtas and his wife Rajwati, mother Shanti and sisters Bholi, Prabha and Poonam. The police are investigating the matter. Six factory robbers held:
Ghaziabad: The Link Road police arrested six persons, allegedly involved in looting factories in the Sahibabad, in an encounter last night. Three country-made revolvers, live cartridges, three knives and a considerable quantity of smack were recovered by the police.
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Housewife shot dead Sonepat: A young housewife, Mrs Sudesh, was allegedly shot dead by one Dalbir, elder brother of the victim’s husband, in their house on Ganaur-Garhi Jhinjhara road, about 16 km from here last night. According to a report, Dalbir, along with his son, dragged the body of the victim to a field in Gumar village and set it on fire. However, the police arrived on the spot and seized the half-burnt body, which has been sent for a post-mortem examination. It is stated that Mrs Sudesh’s husband had died about eight years ago. On the fateful day, the prime accused, Dalbir, had cast aspersions on Mrs. Sudesh. The ensuing argument had resulted in Dalbir killing her. The victim is survived by her two sons and two daughters. The police have registered a case against Dalbir and further investigations are on. According to another report, a young housewife allegedly assaulted her husband with sharp-edged weapons while he was asleep in the house at Chhatehra village in the Gohana sub-division. OC
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