New Delhi, April 7
The Delhi High Court today directed the Survey Commissioner of Delhi Wakf Board to keep an account of the offerings made to the 700-year-old Dargah of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia and the amount spent out of these donations.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice B D Ahmed, in the interest of the public at large, ordered the Survey Commissioner (Wakf) to monitor for the next two weeks the money received by the shrine in all forms and those spent by its Peerzadas.

The purpose, for which the money is spent, would also have to be noted and a report submitted in the court. The judge also asked Delhi Wakf Board Chief Executive Officer to be present to assist the court in the matter.

Earlier today, the court expressed its dissatisfaction with the reply filed on behalf of the Peerzadas, saying it was vague and no accounts had been given of the monies received or the amounts spent.

While the Survey Commissioner’s report had indicated the misuse of funds, large amounts were received by the shrine from offerings and donations and also from allied properties and businesses. The amounts were being distributed among the Peerzadas themselves.

In December last, in his report to the High Court, the Delhi Wakf Board Survey Commissioner had indicated mismanagement in the running of the Dargah and recommended that the affairs be controlled by a management committee constituted by the government.

In the inquiry report, conducted on the directions of the court and submitted to the division bench, it was hinted that all was not well at the shrine and there was need for proper management of the affairs at the Dargah.

The Dargah could be compared to the Dargah at Ajmer Sharif in its importance and stature, and therefore, it needed to be managed on the same pattern as the shrine at Ajmer, the Commissioner suggested.

This, it was pointed out, could be achieved either by legislation of a fresh enactment or by constitution of a proper management committee having government representatives and other eminent personalities.

The committee apart from having representatives of the Peerzadas, who were presently running the show, should also have some external presence for transparency. There should also be an official nominee to ensure that the government was aware of the activities of the shrine, it was added.

It was found that the Peerzadas maintained a website giving news about non-existing programmes and projects to solicit/collect donations from the foreign countries.

On September 28, the High Court had directed the Survey Commissioner, Wakfs to find out how the Dargah was managed and by whom.

The directions came after the judges were informed that all properties under the Wakf Board had been ‘surveyed’ except the said shrine.

The petition claimed that huge donations were offered daily at the Dargah, which was considered second in popularity only to the Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz shrine at Ajmer, where the income swelled to about Rs 1,00,000 on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The Dargah Management Committee had, however, refuted the claims of mismanagement and said the shrine was being run in accordance with the Central Wakf Act.

New Delhi, April 7
One died and at least 27 persons were hospitalised this morning following the leakage of poisonous aluminium phosphide, from a godown of a private cargo company which caught a massive fire recently.

While the victim has been identified as Aakash (17), resident of Gali Mitranwali, 27 persons, including the local MLA Rakesh Jain were shifted to the Bara Hindu Ram Hospital and kept under observation after the treatment.

The police said that the leakage could have occurred this morning following the fire recently in the Jaipur Golden transport godown in Subzi Mandi. The gas container which was kept in the godown got heated up and could have leaked.

There was considerable panic in the area as the police and the disaster management teams started cordoning the area. The teams after reaching the spot evacuated at least 300 families and shifted them to the safe area. However, the teams worked till late evening to clear the godown of the poisonous gas.

The police said that the problem started this morning when some of the residents in the nearby areas complained of pungent odour and breathlessness when the cleaning was in the process in the godown.

Noida, April 7
The rise in mercury seems to have caught the power department napping once again. For the past few days, the department has started imposing severe cuts in the power supply.

This has led to resentment among the residents who have to prepare themselves for the onslaught of breakdowns, tripping, burnt-out gadgets, and to cap it all– loadshedding.

Akhilesh Sharma, a resident and entrepreneur of the city, said, “The present situation belies the tall claims made by politicians, of Noida being a ‘no power cut zone’, of there being ‘power for all’ and availability of ‘power on demand’.”

The department has been resorting to several cuts each day and night, with each disruption lasting 30 minutes or more.

In some of the areas, the power remains off for about three hours.

The resident of Sector-19 says, “One could easily have an idea of the situation when the demand would be at its peak in May and June.” According to Tarun Deep of Sector-27, “Every year, the power situation seems to worsen instead of getting better.”

The students appearing for their board exams were badly hit by the power cuts.

Alleging that the government and the officials concerned had been misleading the common people over the power supply situation, he claimed that the cuts were proof of how poorly the system worked and what little the authorities had done to meet the growing demand.

Satinder Kaushik of Sector-9 said that while the onslaught of mosquitoes had gone up due to the climatic conditions, the power cuts are intolerable. He wondered if this was meant to promote the sale of inverters and generators.

The Noida authority claims having five of the 10 sub-stations to be under construction and at various stages of completion.

Says Munna Kumar of Sector-71, “The cables and wiring being done in the new sectors being developed by Noida are in a pathetic state and our complaints get lost in the administrative quagmire, as the UP Power Corporation and the Noida Authority play the blame games.”

Kuldeep Rana of Sector-82 says, “The wiring being done and the metre boxes being fixed are of sub-standard material in our houses and will definitely not last even one summer as already we are experiencing breakdowns.”

Deputy General Manager of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) B.B. Singh explains, “The load is increasing in the city with a minimum of 10 per cent growth every year in the requirement. Last year, we recorded 705 amperes consumed while our drawing capacity is only 690 amperes”.

Faridabad, April 7
The trafficking in minor girls brought from other states has become rampant in the state, while the government and the political leaders allegedly turn a blind eye to the curse.

An NGO, Shakti Vahini, based in Faridabad, has reported the scourge of buying and selling minor girls. The Vahini has been taking up the cudgels for the rights of women.

It has played a key role in rescuing many minor girls in the state and the region in the past few years.

According to a survey conducted by the NGO, the number of illegally bought and sold girls only in the Mewat area of the state, could be at least 5,000 in the past few years.

The survey says the majority of the minor girls had been married forcibly to the men much older. There were many who had been sold several times as ‘sex slaves’.

This trend, it says, had also caught up in other parts of the state and the recent reports in the media had indicated that hundreds of girls being married in this manner.

According to Mr Rishi Kant, working in the NGO, the main factor responsible for this could be the declining sex ratio in the state. The poor old men living in the rural and semi-rural belts had been expecting the traffickers to bring girls so that they could marry or satisfy their physical needs.

Mr Kant claimed that there had been no awareness programme for the state government and the police system. Some of the politicians and government officials had been just trivialising the issue.

He said it seemed that the politicians required a brainstorming session so that they could differentiate between a marriage and trafficking in minor and innocent girls.

The Vahini which has been demanding proper implementation of the Juvenile Justice Act and adequate measures to check the sale of girls in the name of ‘marriages’, has asked the state government to take up the matter seriously to check the rot in society.

According to the NGO, there was need to activate the Samaj Kalyan Board and relevant committees to create awareness among the officials and the police staff in handling such sensitive matters.

It has claimed that due to inept handling, many of the traffickers could not be arrested and the victim, despite being rescued from their clutches, had been living either in fear or could not be rehabilitated properly.

New Delhi, April 7
The Delhi Police Special Cell has claimed to have shot dead Vinod, an accused in the murder of a Delhi Police Sub-Inspector attached to the Crime Branch and an informer, in the Sarai Kale Khan area in the wee hours today. Vinod had been absconding after killing Sub-Inspector Satish Dalal and the informer a month ago.

The 45-year-old Dalal, posted in the Anti-Homicide Wing of the Crime Branch, had gone to carry out a raid along with informer Vijay Kumar Swami in connection with a robbery case of Mangolpuri, when they were killed. Their torsos and severed heads were recovered from separate places in Haryana on March 6.

After the brutal murder of the SI and the informer, the North-West district police had arrested four persons, including Vinod’s two brothers and mother in the sensational case. They were identified as Rajinder Singh, alias Jinder, Joginder Singh, alias Danny, Laxmi and Vinod Jatav.

After their arrest, the North-West district police had obtained non-bailable arrest warrants against Vinod. The Delhi Police Commissioner had also announced a reward of Rs 30,000 for his arrest.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Karnal Singh said that the sleuths received a tip-off on April 6 that Vinod would be coming to the ISBT Sarai Kale Khan to meet his contact.

Accordingly, a special team was constituted to track down the movements of Vinod. At around 2 am, the sleuths spotted Vinod. As they approached him for verification, Vinod whipped out a pistol and started firing at them.

However, the sleuths fired back. The accused was killed in an encounter which lasted a few minutes, said Singh.

New Delhi, April 7
The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police today claimed to have arrested an employee of the MCD for duping unemployed youths of lakhs of rupees on the promise of providing them with jobs of peons and inspectors in his department.

Rajesh Kumar Chauhan, 31, was arrested on Monday and remanded in police custody till tomorrow, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing), Mr Dinesh Bhatt, said.

Rajesh, a Class IV employee, posed as an inspector in the corporation and sold job dreams to the unsuspecting youths.

He would demand Rs 80,000 to Rs 1. 5 lakh from his victims, depending on the post. Having being tempted, the youths would pay him money by selling their household jewellery, or mortgaging their houses or taking loans on high interest, Mr Bhatt said. However, the youths were not given jobs. Their money was not returned either.

When the victims demanded their money back, they were threatened with dire consequences, he added.

New Delhi, April 7
The Congress today held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar to protest against the repeated statements made by the BJP about Ms Sonia Gandhi’s foreign origin and sought from the Election Commission (EC) derecognition of that party.

Mr Paramjit Singh Pamma and others, who assembled at Jantar Mantar, burnt effigies and raised slogans against the misleading statements emanating from the BJP camp.

“The BJP,” he said, “does not seem to respect the judiciary.

New Delhi, April 7
Lieut-Gen J. J. Singh, GOC-in-C Western Command, visited the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) Polyclinic at Noida.

The ECHS was launched by the Army Chief, General N.C. Vij, at the Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt., last year. The scheme is being constantly monitored under the command of Lt. Gen. Singh.

It is the biggest medical scheme for ex-servicemen where a one- time contribution between Rs 1800-18,000 has to be deposited depending upon their pension scale.

The scheme has taken off successfully in Delhi under the Western Command. There are three polyclinics in the national Capital-Base Hospital, Delhi, Noida and Gurgaon.

Lt.Gen. J. J. Singh said that there is no better welfare than taking care of the medical requirement of serving and retired personnel. The scheme is the brainchild of the Army chief.

A social security with a difference, it is among the best scheme available for ex-servicemen. It is a dream come true, as it would avoid delay and multiple visits by the ex-servicemen.

All the leading hospitals in Delhi have been empanelled under this scheme, ensuring the best treatment to the ex-servicemen.

Smart cards will be issued in next few weeks under this scheme.

The scheme entitles ex-servicemen to avail treatment for cancer and dialysis, apart from psychiatric treatment, which were not available to them earlier.

New Delhi, April 7
Experts have warned against assuming that minor tremors reduce the risk of earthquake and have called for reviewing the vulnerability map of the Capital to prevent any major disaster like Gujarat.

The observation of the experts comes in the wake of five tremors in the past three weeks in the Capital.

The Disaster Studies Research Group said that ‘’Delhi lies in Zone IV of seismic zones of India. The magnitude of the probable earthquake will range between 5 to 6 on the Richter scale which could be extremely devastating in the present preparedness in Delhi.’’

Prof R. B. Singh, Group Convener, said the belief that energy release through these tremors reduced the risk of a devastating earthquake was not based on definite proposition.

Professor Singh said ignoring the geographical realities could spell doom for the densely populated Capital which had loopholes in the unsafe physical structures, including buildings, bridges and heritage monuments.

Besides having a trained disaster management team, the research group further called upon the government to develop open spaces for safe shelter in congested areas like Old Delhi, Paharganj and Karol Bagh.

It further called for assessment of land in trans-Yamuna area before allowing any construction. ‘’Flood plains, reclaimed waterlogged areas and geologically weak areas should be avoided for construction purposes.’’

New Delhi, April 7
Hundreds of devotees have been attending the ‘Akanda Mahanam Sankirtan Yajna’ being held at Laxmi Narayan Temple (Birla Mandir).

The Yajna, which began on April 4, is being organised by Jai Guru Sampradaya, founded by Ananta Sri Sri Sitaramdas Onkarnath Devji. Kirtans are being performed by eminent singers from Brindavan and West Bengal. Special arati is organised in the evening daily.

A ‘Nara Narain Seva’ (food to the people) is organised daily in the afternoon.

“We are celebrating this ‘Mahanam Sankirtan Yajna’ in the Capital for the first time,” said Shri Gopal Chaturvedi, president of the Jai Guru Sampradaya.

He was sure that the people would benefit from the yajna in the Capital. He said the chanting of “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare” would help us attain eternal peace.

A large number of seers and devotees, led by Swami Biraganandaji Maharaj are attending the celebration.

New Delhi, April 7
Vivek Vihar-based ‘Shri Hanuman Sewa Sangh’ today organised Hanuman Jayanti Mahotasava at Shri Balaji Medical Center, Bihari Colony, East Delhi. The local MP, Mr Lal Bihari Tewari, inaugurated the function. According to the director of this center, Dr. Sushil Garg, a number of cultural programmes were also organised on the occasion by ‘Anil Art Group’ and ‘Tulsi Maskin and Party’.

New Delhi, April 7
The Chairman, Indian National Trust for Art and Culture Heritage (INTACH), today said, “There are many types of sites and monuments that need infrastructure development and careful planning. We should be aware that although restoration preserves a relatively small number of sites regulatory legislation can preserve thousands.” He was speaking at a seminar organised on “Tourism Preservation of Cultural Heritage” at India International Center. The function was presided over by the Union Minister of Tourism and Culture.

Mr Misra further informed, “The Government of India has also framed a modal notification to be enacted for hill stations and modal heritage regulations for all hill stations. This provides a firm base for providing protection to hill stations and other hill settlements.

New Delhi, April 7
The Fraud and Cheating Section of the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police today arrested Ravinder Kumar on the charge of cheating a man on the pretext of sale of second hand cars and properties which were either sold earlier or mortgaged with financial institutions.

The victim, Akbar Ali, has alleged that he had been cheated by Ravinder Kumar who had executed an agreement with him for the sale of a shop in Panchsheel Park at a consideration of Rs 40 lakh. Initially, an amount of Rs 4 lakh was given to Ravinder Kumar as financial assistance. Later on, a Maruti Esteem car of the victim was also sold by the suspect for a consideration of Rs 2 lakh. Post-dated cheques worth Rs 6 lakh were issued by Ravinder Kumar in favour of the victim.

When Akbar Ali demanded his money back Ravinder Kumar assured that he would sell his shop to the victim for Rs 40 lakh provided Rs 6.50 lakh were further given to him by the victim. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was executed between them to this effect. At the time of executing the MoU it was not disclosed to the victim that the shop was already lying mortgaged with the Punjab National Bank, Ashram Chowk branch.