TOP STORIES

Delhi cops strike it rich, net arms unit

Churned out 500 illegal weapons New Delhi, February 19 With the arrest of three persons, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police today claimed to have busted an illegal arms factory in Loni in Ghaziabad district.

Notorious Sonu gang busted New Delhi, February 19 The Special Cell of the Delhi Police today claimed to have arrested members of an interstate gang operating in the Capital and Haryana.

The arrest of three persons by the Delhi Railway Police let to the unearthing of an illegal arms unit in Ghaziabad. — A Tribune photograph

Raj Babbar let off on two counts in
rioting case
New Delhi, February 19
The Delhi High Court today dropped some charges against actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar and his supporters for disturbing peace in the Capital in May 2000 while directing the trial to continue on other counts.

MDU PG centre gets nod after remaining in limbo for 16 years
Rewari, February 19
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, laid the foundation stone of Maharshi Dayanand University’s Postgraduate Regional Centre of Rewari at Lisana village near here today.

Nana Patekar, who is in the Capital to promote his forthcoming film Ab Tak Chhappan, at a press conference on Thursday. — Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal

Choice of site for Guru’s memorial under fire
New Delhi: The chief of the National Commission for Minorities, Mr Tarlochan Singh, has criticised the decision of the government with regard to the site chosen for the memorial of Guru Teg Bahadur.

BRAZEN ATTACK
Cloth merchant shot dead; cash, jewellery looted
Ghaziabad, February 19
About a dozen armed miscreants shot dead a cloth merchant Tullan and injured many others who had resisted them in Telhiwara, Dholana. The intruders decamped with Rs 50,000 and more than Rs 3 lakh worth of jewellery and valuables.

• Man kills estranged wife

• Three power officials beaten up

COMMUNITY

Special settlement scheme for Noida power consumers
Noida, February 19
The Paschimanchal Power Company, a subsidiary of the UP Power Corporation, has announced its one-time settlement scheme for the Noida consumers, which will continue till March 15, 2004. Under this one-time settlement scheme, outstanding electricity bills of over Rs 15 lakh would be adjusted and accepted in four easy installments.

Activists of NAFRE burning copies of Education Bill 2004 for the Shiksha Samaanta Yatra during the march for Common School System in the Capital on Thursday. — A Tribune photograph

Despite good rains underground water table receding
Sonepat, February 19
Despite sufficient rains during the monsoon last year, the underground water level in Gannaur development block of the district continue to go down and this trend has alarmed the agriculture scientists whose efforts to motivate the farmers to desist from paddy cultivation have not met with any success so far.

Mela to educate people on soya benefits
New Delhi, February 19
To bring awareness to the masses about the health benefits of soya and its products, American Soybean Association is participating in a three-day Health Mela at Karol Bagh. With the initiative of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the mela is a common platform for disseminating information on soya and how it can prove to be an important ingredient in a protein-starved Indian diet.

Trade unions meet to discuss strike on Feb 24
Faridabad, February 19
The leaders of various employees associations and the trade unions met at Palwal town today to discuss the preparations for the forthcoming nationwide strike of the employees and workers on February 24, in protest against the ongoing economic liberalisation, globalisation and the alleged anti-government employees’ policies.

Some of the fashion designers expected to participate in the forthcoming Lakme India Fashion Week in the Capital on Thursday. — Photo by Kamal Singh

Kirari Suleman Nagar to be remodeled
New Delhi, February 19
The Kirari Suleman Nagar drain in North-West Delhi will be remodeled and a sum of Rs 291 crore have been sanctioned for it, said the Dr A. K. Walia. He informed that the Kirari Suleman Nagar drain starts from Sector 21 Rohini and outfalls into the Najafgarh drain after traversing a distance of 7,880 meter through Begumpura, Nithari and Kammruddin Nagar.

• Govt sanctions Rs 30 lakh to 15 wards

NCR BRIEFS
Marriage party members injured 
New Delhi, February 19
Six persons, including a bride and a bridegroom, were injured in a road accident. The injured persons have been admitted to a trauma centre. The accident occurred when a marriage party was going from Jama Masjid to Seelampur in their car.

Foundation stone laid Shivaji remembered Car snatched

Youth commits suicide Two persons hurt Strike call

BUSINESS

Unit area system will encourage transparency: CII
New Delhi, February 19
The Confederation of Indian Industry has welcomed the new Unit Area System of property tax assessment in the national Capital, which will be implemented by April this year.

• Study USA exhibition

• Home Loan fair

• Venu Menon awards

CULTURE

A hospital’s relentless fight against cataract blindness
Faridabad, February 19
The eye department of the Bhadshah Khan Civil Hospital here is always in the news for its role in the fight against the cataract blindness in the district. While hardly any day passes when there is no operation or surgery, the department is well known for overshooting the target assigned to it.

SPORTS

J N Golden down Citizen Club in DDCA League
New Delhi, February 19
J N Golden defeated Citizen Club by eight wickets in an A-I Division match of the DDCA League at the Delhi University ground. Scores: Citizen Club: 132 in 34.5 overs (Sukhvinder Dagar 25, Anuj Jain 3 for 10, Sandeep Karki 2 for 22). J N Golden: 134 for 2 in 31.1 overs (Anuj Jain 36 n o, Sandeep Karki 50 n o, Abhishek Bhandari 30).

Salwan Boys lift Ganga Inter-School Cricket Cup

New Delhi, February 19 All-round performances by man of the match Gurpreet Singh Namdhari (46 and 4 for 18) and Yogesh Nagar (44 and 3 for 24) helped Salwan Boys School, Rajender Nagar, defeat DAV School, Shalimarbagh, by ten runs to annex the Ganga School Under-17 Inter-School Cricket Tournament at the Ganga School ground. The Salwan Boys School team, who won the Ganga Cup Cricket Tournament, with principal H. S. Srow and manager S. K. Gupta, on the school premises.

Apollo Tyres win in Turf Cricket
New Delhi, February 19
Apollo Tyres defeated Jaquar by 62 runs in the fourth Turf Corporate Cricket Challenge at the Guru Gobind Singh College ground. Scores: Apollo Tyres: 160 all out in 23.5 overs (Ashok Khanna 41, Neeraj 43, Tejpal 22, Sonal Gidwani 5 for 29, Nirvan Singh 2 for 30).

Khalsa College, DAV set up title clash
New Delhi, February 19
Khalsa College, Patiala will take on DAV College, Jalandhar in the final of the 11th Nehru Champion Colleges Hockey Tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Friday. In the semi-finals on Thursday, Khalsa College blanked College of Arts and Education, Annamalai 3-0 while DAV College knocked out Faculty of Humanity, Varanasi 3-1.

Tarundeep Rai hits gold in Grand Prix Archery
New Delhi, February 19
Tarundeep Rai of India lifted the individual gold medal in the 2004 Asian Grand Prix Archery Championship at Bangkok, defeating Lee Seung Young of Korea. Archery Association of India president Vijay Kumar Malhotra hailed the feat of Tarundeep Rai, adding that it was a good augury to the Indian team’s run-up for the participation of the Olympic Games in Athens 2004.