TOP STORIES

59-yr-old Australian takes pre-paid ride to death
New Delhi, March 17
A 59-year-old Australian woman was allegedly murdered by a pre-paid taxi driver in the wee hours today in a deserted field near the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The face of the victim, Ms Dawn Enelie Griggs, was found smashed; she had stab injuries in her eye also.

Livid over power pangs, protestors block highway 
Ghaziabad, March 17
A large number of people descended on Loni’s old power house to protest against corruption, lack of power supply and other connected problems of the Power Corporation. The protesters also blocked the Delhi-Saharanpur highway for a couple of hours. The police had to divert the traffic through alternate route.

Canadian, priest in murky row
Gurgaon, March 17
The police today arrested a Canadian citizen from the local Ghanteswar Temple after her travel documents were rejected by the authorities at Indira Gandhi International Airport last evening where she had gone to board a flight bound for Canada. 

POLL TIDINGS
Disabled rights activist to contest from Capital 
New Delhi, March 17
Javed Abidi, a disabled rights activist, would contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha election from New Delhi constituency. He himself is a wheelchair bound person and has been fighting for the rights of the physically challenged persons. Abidi, who is the convenor of the Disabled Rights Group (DRG), would fight the election as an independent candidate. 

LIFE'S HARD KNOCK
The buck stops at the cash counter...
New Delhi, March 17
Count your currency notes before you leave the bank, otherwise you will have to face the music. This is what 70-year-old Labh Singh learnt the hard way. Labh Singh, a resident of Govindpuri, has an account in the State Bank of India, Greater Kailash branch, against which he has filed a complaint. 

DUTA intensifies stir against VC
New Delhi, March 17
The Delhi University Teachers Association today held a dharna at Jantar Mantar to further intensify their protest against the Vice Chancellor of the Delhi University. They also submitted a memorandum to the President of India (Visitor of the University) and the Union HRD minister. They demanded an inquiry by the Visitor into the arbitrary functioning of VC Deepak Nayyar and his immediate removal from the office.

A DUTA activist sitting on dharna in protest against the VC of Delhi University at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Wednesday. 
— Tribune photo by Mukesh Aggarwal 

Pedal your way out of congestion: Sheila
New Delhi, March 17
To promote cycle riding as a means to de-congest roads and check the level of pollution, the Delhi government is embarking on a new mission to promote cycling. Inaugurating the Indo-Bike Expo ‘04, Chief Minister Ms Sheila Dikshit today said ‘’Cycling is a joy, a sport which is not only good for health but also for the environment’’. ‘’To make people come back to cycling, the Delhi government is embarking on a major mission which starts with a campaign involving school-children.’’

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at the inauguration of the Indo Bike Expo 2004 at Pragati Maidan in the Capital on Wednesday. 
— Photo by Kamal Singh

POLITICS

Ch Prem Singh, DPCC president, with actvists sitting on dharna to protest against the large-scale demolition of jhuggis, specially in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency at the behest of the BJP-led central government on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections at Jantar Mantar in the Capital on Wednesday. — A Tribune photograph

Ex-MP speaks up on need for clean track record 
Faridabad, March 17
A former president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee and former MP, Mr Ram Krishan Gupta, has criticised the present criteria being adopted by various political parties for allocation of tickets to candidates for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. He has demanded strict measures by the Election Commission to prevent candidates with a dubious record to contest the poll and keep a check on the expenses by the parties and the candidates.

Both BJP, Cong anti-farmer, proclaims Gowda 
Sonepat, March 17
Mr H. D. Deve Gowda, former Prime Minister and the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular), has termed the BJP and the Congress anti-farmer, saying that these parties had failed to safeguard the interests of the farmers in the country. Addressing an election meeting here yesterday, he alleged that these parties had the policies to come into power but failed to work for improving the lot of the farmers.

Lok Sabha candidates of Janata Dal (S) finalised
Sonepat, March 17
The Janata Dal (Secular) has finalised the names of its candidates for the Lok Sabha elections from Sonepat, Karnal, Faridabad and Rohtak. Stating this, Mr Babu Kaal Datey, national secretary-general of the party, told mediapersons here yesterday that the names of the selected candidates have already been recommended by the state unit of the party, and the party High Command would announce the decision in a meeting to be held in Delhi next week.

COMMUNITY

With malpractices galore, PDS collapses in Sonepat 
Sonepat, March 17
The public distribution system seems to have collapsed here and elsewhere in the district despite the steps taken by the Food and Supplies Department to streamline it. According to a report, the department has cancelled the licences of nine fair price shops and suspended the supply of 32 others on the charge of indulging in irregularities and malpractices in the distribution of rationed commodities.

CRIME

The Delhi Police arrested a cheat, Vipin Sachdeva,  for forging a jail release warrant in the Capital on Wednesday.  — Photo by Kamal Singh

Rs 2.25 lakh looted from employee in Ashok Vihar
New Delhi, March 17
Three motorcycle-borne youths looted Rs 2.25 lakh from an employee after knocking him down near C-block, Ashok Vihar, in North-West district. The criminals also took away his scooter on which he was travelling. The police said that the victim, identified as Harish Taneja (30), resident of Subhash Nagar, was an employee in a shop in Tri Nagar.

• Five held for preparing forged travel documents

• Extortionist nabbed

• Nine robbers arrested

• Thefts create panic among residents

• Youth killed

Housewife raped
Sonepat, March 17
The police have registered a case against three persons for allegedly raping a 30-year-old housewife of Nangal Kalan village and assaulting her with knives before fleeing from her house.

Lovers commit suicide in Sonepat 
Sonepat, March 17
A girl, identified as Usha, of Bhainswal Kalan village and her lover, Sandeep (26), committed suicide by jumping before a running train near Sandal Kalan Railway Station, about 5 km from here last evening.

EDUCATION

CAMPUS
Fortune launches international business programme
With Indian market opening to FDIs (Foreign Direct Investment) and Indian export industry heading for a boom, HR managers of most companies are scouting for professionals who are trained to handle various aspects of international business. 

Students of Maharaja Surajmal Institute presenting a cultural programme at their annual festival. 

• Annual Day celebrations

• Management Aptitude Test

• Book for managers  and students

• Hedonic Hearth-The Hot floor 2004

• Seminar on value  oriented education

• Special programme in Net technologies

• Cultural programme  at NCPE

GGSI University to conduct MBBS entrance exams
New Delhi, March 17
The Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University would conduct the entrance examination for its MBBS course this year. The entrance examination last year was conducted along with the AIIMS entrance exam, as the IP University did not have adequate arrangements for it. 

COURTS

Plea filed in HC against block samiti vice chief
Sonepat, March 17
After getting the chairman of Sonepat block samiti removed from his post the Balkishan Sharma group in the samiti has filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the election of the vice-chairman of the samiti, Mr Vijay Kumar.

SPORTS

Ganguly keeps Indian hopes alive
New Delhi, March 17
Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly renewed the hopes of an Indian triumph when he defeated GM R B Ramesh in the tenth and penultimate round of the second Parsvnath International Open Chess Tournament at the Bapu Samaj Sewa Kendra in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Local lad to play in Australia
Faridabad, March 17
Virender Singh, an upcoming and international hockey player from the district, has been selected to play professional hockey in Australia, this year. Twenty-five-year-old Virender is perhaps the first such player from Haryana to get this honour.

Baljinder Singh to lead disabled cricket team
New Delhi, March 17
Baljinder Singh will lead a 13-member Delhi team in the 15th Inter-State Cricket Tournament for the Disabled, to be held in Bhopal, from April 6 to 8. Other members of the team are: Rajinder Sharma, Madan Lal, Gynander Dayal, Vijay Sharma, Satish Chaudhary, Pramod Kumar, Harjeet Singh, Raju Kumar, Mahesh Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, Surjeet and Dhanesh Ram. P S Chauhan will be the coach and Nisar Ahmed the manager.

• Sonnet Club advance

• Sandeep shines

South West Air Command score facile victory
New Delhi, March 17
South West Air Command defeated Southern Air Command by ten wickets in the Inter-Command Air Force Cricket Tournament at the Air Force ground, Palam. Scores: Southern Air Command: 66 all out in 18 overs (H Singh 23, Dheer 2 for 28, A P Singh 2 for 15, Verma 3 for 15, Asit Khan 2 for 4). South West Air Command: 70 for no loss in 10 overs (G Vishal 39 n o, Nagpal 25).

• New Zealand HC win

• HDFC Bank beat  Hero Honda

Manish Chawla hits ton
New Delhi, March 17
Manish Chawla cracked a spitfire century with the aid of 11 boundaries and four sixes to help Lion Kanishka defeat Bank of India by 191 runs in an A-II match of the DDCA League at the Yamuna complex ground.