New Delhi, April 12
The Economic Offences Wing claimed to have arrested two persons who had cheated the ICICI Bank out of Rs 60 lakh by selling the hypothecated vehicles on the basis of forged documents.

The accused were identified as Udayan Dravid (45) and Gurvinder Singh, alias Kittu (37).

The EOW received a complaint from the bank that Dravid, Director of Gravity Logistics Limited had obtained loan of Rs 1.10 crore from the bank against hypothecation of 24 vehicles.

After obtaining the loans, they repaid the instalment initially and then went underground. They also sold the hypothecated vehicles to unsuspecting customers in Delhi, Maharashtra, UP and Haryana, without clearing the loan. The accused Dravid was apprehended on April 7 and has been remanded in police custody.

During interrogation, the accused told the sleuths that he opened the office in 1999 for business in transportation and warehousing facilities. After obtaining the loan from banks and other financial institutions, the accused and his associate closed down the office in Aravali Farms and went underground.

It was also revealed that as many as eight vehicles have been disposed of in Moradabad.

Two vehicles were identified in Haryana while two had been captured earlier by the bank.

The sleuths are still investigating the case to ascertain the actual number of vehicles the accused has sold so far.

In another case, the EOW sleuths arrested two persons, including a woman psychologist for cheating various showrooms by issuing post-dated cheques.

Several items, including ACs, inverters, refrigerators, washing machines, stabilizers, gas stoves in packed condition were recovered from her possession.

The accused were identified as Dr Dimple Marwah (39), a Ph.D in Psychology and her associate Babu Khan (50).

The sleuths received a complaint from one Ram Prakash Malhotra, proprietor M/s Shakti Enterprises, Vikas Marg that one woman had purchased electronic items worth Rs 37,750 from his showroom on January 30, 2004 against some post-dated cheques. When the cheques were issued to one Jai Laxmi Bank, they were dishonoured. When Malhotra reached the woman’s house, she had vacated the house.

Again on April 9, she tried to purchase some items from Shiv Shakti Enterprises, Mayur Vihar, using the same modus operandi. But since the proprietor was related to Malhotra, he immediately alerted him and the police were also informed.

Dadri, April 12
The New Delhi-Howrah 2312 Dn Kalka Mail was held up here for three hours on account of a bomb hoax.

The train was emptied and the police, bomb disposal and dog squads were pressed into service to examine the compartments and baggage of passengers.

The train was detained at Dadri station after an official DP Gupta of the Section Control of Railways in New Delhi had given the information about the bomb.

Mr Gupta had informed L Shukla of TD Ghaziabad and Station Master Dadri through Tandla control.

The bomb had reportedly been planted in the third compartment from the engine at New Delhi station before the train’s departure.

Police Circle Officer S.N. Sinha and Inspector Chander Pal Singh had reached the Dadri station with the police force before the train reached the station.

It had been stopped on a different line so that it could not affect the running of other trains.

New Delhi, April 12
A fire broke which out in a jhuggi cluster near Rajghat today, claimed the life of a child and injured a number of dwellers. Thousands of jhuggis were destroyed in the devastating fire. With the beginning of summer, the incidents of fire have increased in the Capital.

A spokesman of the Delhi Fire Service said that the blaze, which broke out at about 2.20 pm, reduced to ashes about 2,500 to 3,000 jhuggis in Dholak Basti near Rajghat in central Delhi. The body of an eight-year-old child has been recovered from the debris, they said. About 30 fire tenders were rushed to the slum cluster. Though the fire has been controlled, the cooling operation was on. Senior fire brigade officials have reached the site to oversee the operation.

The cause of fire could not be known so far. However, the DFS sources said that somebody had thrown a butt of ‘biri’ over some combustible material, kept near a jhuggi which was made of wood and tarpaulin.

In the beginning, smoke billowed out from the combustible material, but people did not take it seriously. Suddenly, fire broke out and caught the tarpaulin hanging from the wall of a jhuggi. People tried to douse the flames themselves but in vain. Strong wind provided fuel to the fire which caught the neighbouring jhuggis also.

The jhuggi dwellers immediately informed the DFS control room. By the time the firemen reached there, it had become engulfed a large number of jhuggis. People were seen running helter-skelter with their children and belongings.

Sonepat, April 12
Two young traders, Sunny Jain and Ashu Jain, who had been allegedly kidnapped on March 25, returned home safely in Sector 14, a residential colony of HUDA here last evening.

According to a report, the parents of both the traders are tight-lipped and did not say anything about the return of their wards. The police are investigating and inquiring about the kidnappers. Both the traders have also declined to say anything.

However, sources close to the family say that both of them had been released after paying the ransom to the alleged kidnappers and it may be either Rs 25 lakh or Rs 1 crore. Both the traders, it may be recalled, were allegedly kidnapped while they were going to Gohana by car on the night of March 25.

New Delhi, April 12
Even after eight months, the Delhi University is maintaining a silence over the issue of Rs 30 lakh, given to six newly appointed teachers, reportedly without the knowledge of the head of the department.

The Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University gave this sum to the teachers of the Botany department to set up their own laboratory and for certain other purchases. He granted this amount without the knowledge of the head of the department.

The university has no record of any purchase, sources claim.

The head of the department, Prof. S K Sahney, who has termed it as embezzlement of money, had written an official letter to the pro V-C of the university in this connection.

According to sources, the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University, Prof. Deepak Nayyar, had appointed six lecturers in the Botany department last year. The V-C had also granted Rs 30 lakh to them, Rs five lakh each.

The six lecturers were Prof. SR Yadav, Dr Renu Deswal, Dr Inderjeet, Dr Suman Lakhanpal, Dr Sudeshana Majumdar and Dr Anjayeya Vanamala.

For this purpose, a purchase committee of four members was formed whose members were Prof S R Yadav, Dr Renu Deswal, one Finance Officer and one Executive Engineer.

During this process, the head of the department was not consulted and he allegedly remained unaware of these grants. When the president, Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), Mr Aditya Narayan Misra, was contacted, he said that the matter is in his knowledge and no purchase could be made without the permission and knowledge of the head of the Department. But in this case, the head of the department was not consulted.

Prof Sahney had written in his letter that the purchase committee should be headed by the head of the department.

He further said that since all the purchases were made without his knowledge, the details of the purchases were not entered in any stock register. “This was done without my knowledge and the university has not replied since last year over the issue. I received the letter that the university has granted a sum of Rs 30 lakh to the department of Botany but not given the money,” said Dr Sahney. He added that the department was totally unaware whether the goods were purchased.

“Later, if the goods would not be found on the premises, the department would not be responsible for it as the goods purchased of this huge amount are not on record,” he added.

Noida, April 12
The police launched a hunt for the thieves who had been nabbed by the villagers and beaten up.

The injured criminals had been admitted to a private hospital in Sector 27 and were later shifted to the government hospital in Sector 30. They escaped from the hospital.

The criminals, who had been overpowered by villagers, were caught stealing iron angles on the expressway near Sultanpur village.

An ambulance of the private nursing home had left the injured criminals in the government hospital in Sector 30 here where they had been admitted by the doctors.

Karn, 25, son of Dharam Ram, was brought in with a glucose drip. He regained conscious after three hours’ treatment. He later went to sleep.

Naresh Bhatti was shot dead on 28 March in village Gangola while he was returning from village Chachoola. Naresh Bhatti’s relatives had lodged an FIR against eight persons, including Sunder Bhatti of Gangola village.

Sonepat, April 12
Standing wheat crop in 15 acres of land was gutted in fire incidents in five different villages in this district yesterday.

According to a report, fire cases were reported from Maqimpur, Janti Kalan, Jatheri, Deepalpur and Bega villages. The municipal fire brigades rushed to the sites and brought the fire under control.

According to information, short-circuit were the main cause of the fire incidents.

Sonepat, April 12
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) candidate from Sonepat Parliamentary constituency, Mrs Krishna Malik, refrained from making any comment against her opponents as her agenda was based on the development of the area. Talking to mediapersons here, Mrs Malik said she was not hungry for posts as she belonged to a family, which has held a number of posts. “My aim of joining politics is to do social service. For me, politics is social service,” she said.

Despite drawing her attention towards the statements of the BJP leaders and other candidates of the Opposition parties against her husband, she refused to comment on their allegations.

Her husband, DGP Mahender Singh Malik, has proceeded on leave after receiving directions from the Election Commission.

Her media advisor, Dr Ved Varat, who was also present in the press conference, alleged that the Opposition parties were indulging in false and baseless allegations against her husband because they did not have any issue against Mrs Malik.

Replying to a question, Dr Ved Varat clarified that some reports had falsely claimed that police personnel were found involved in electioneering for the INLD nominee.

Mrs Malik claimed that she was getting the full support of the people and claimed that she would win the election with a big margin.

Sonepat, April 12
The general secretary of the Haryana unit of the BJP, Mr Veer Kumar Yadav, has criticised the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for releasing at least 300 dreaded and notorious criminals on parole. He alleged that they would be used by the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) for booth capturing and overawing the electorate on the polling day i. e. May 10 next.

Talking to Gohana-based mediapersons at Gohana, 35 km from here, he urged the Chief Election Commissioner to take serious note of this and take steps to curb their activities with a strong hand during the Lok Sabha elections to ensure free and fair elections.

He also demanded that the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police, Sonepat, Rohtak, Bhiwani and Kurukshetra, should be transferred immediately as they had violated the model code of conduct by helping the ruling INLD candidates. He also alleged these bureaucrats were still taking part in the election meetings addressed by the Chief Minister and the candidates.

The BJP leader also claimed that on account of a pro-BJP wave and the popularity of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, the party would win all 10 parliamentary seats from Haryana.

FACE TO FACE
Mission minorities

Adeeb, 59, who belongs to a well-known family of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh, has been leader of the All India University Students and led the All India University delegation to Australia and West Asia to participate in the World Assembly of Forum of Youth in 1968. He contested Assembly elections in Lucknow as a joint candidate of four national parties in 1971. He was also member of the Sangharsh Committee – a movement started by late Jai Prakash Narayan. He has been member of the Aligarh Muslim Court – the highest governing body of the university and executive member of the All India Muslim Education Society.

After having spent his formative years in Lucknow, a one-time cultural Capital of the country, he came to Delhi in 1990, and has been active in social work in the minority community since then. It was precisely for his selfless role in helping the deprived that the AICC leadership appointed him as the coordinator of the minorities cell.

Whether it is Delhi or other states, the Muslim voters have decided to strengthen the Congress party in this parliamentary election. After demolition of Babri Masjid, the Muslim have left the Congress and they voted the regional parties like SP and BSP in Uttar Pradesh and Chandra Babu Naidu’s party in Andhra Pradesh. They wanted to make regional parties powerful to prevent the BJP to come to power. When regional parties supported the BJP in the form of the NDA in Centre after the last parliamentary election, the Muslims thought that they had been cheated. They again adopted their old strategy to strengthen the Congress party, as it is the only secular party on national level. The regional parties did nothing for the uplift of their voters. They supported the BJP just to enjoy power. At the same time, the Congress also realises the significance of the Muslims, its vote bank.

Seeing their role in the democratic government, the Congress has formed a co-ordination cell to persuade Muslims to vote for the Congress. As for as Delhi is concerned, the cell members have contacted religious, social organisations and Muslim intelligentsia in the Capital to convince them to forget the old issues and let us join the Congress with new agenda and vote it to power. The cell members have discussed this issue with Jamat-e- Islami Hind, Jamiat-ul- Ulma-e-Hind, Mushwarat, Milli Council and senior religious leaders at Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin. They promised to work for the Congress in the elections. The cell members have also contacted social activists in colonies and asked them to talk to local people to vote for the Congress party.

I believe that the Congress will win six seats in the national Capital. There are certain reasons to support this claim. In Delhi, anti-BJP voters, including Muslims, have no choice but vote for the Congress party. As far as Muslims are concerned, 90 per cent voters will exercise their franchise for the Congress. Ten per cent can be misguided by the people like Arif Mohammad Khan and others who have joined the BJP recently. Muslims are deciding factor in Chandni Chowk, East Delhi parliamentary constituencies. If they do vote in favour of the Congress party, these seats can go into the Congress pocket.

In Chandni Chowk, the BJP can play some tactic to devoid the minority votes. But the Congress activists are making efforts enough to unite their vote bank. In South Delhi, only 10 per cent Muslims exercise their franchise last time. In this election, I and other cell members are in their contacts and hope that 70 per cent electorates will use their democratic right against the BJP. Besides, the Congress has chosen strong candidates this time, which can be another factor of winning the election.

In fact, in Assembly elections in 41 constituencies, the Muslim voters were the deciding factor. Of them, only Karawal Nagar seat went to the BJP favour.

You have been active in politics in your college days. Also, you are the executive member of the All India Muslim Education Society founded by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. What have you done for the uplift of the Muslim community?

That is right. I have worked in different forums, where I raised Muslim issues. But it is difficult to say how much Muslims have been benefited from my efforts. One can do only efforts.

Since 1996, I have been active in forums, which work against the communal forces in Delhi and in other parts of the country. I, along with other secular minded people, visited selected constituencies and had discussion with people of different cast and religion. The change, I have seen this time, is that people want a change on national level. They want a strong secular government. Earlier, people afraid of talking against RSS, BJP and their sister organisations, but now there is no fear at all. They are fed up with BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal. A group of Muslim intelligentsia also visited parliamentary constituencies, where Muslims are in strong possession.

In these constituencies, I have seen a lot of change in Muslim youths. They are sincere for education. They want to rise through education not through technical skills. And you know knowledge is the power. If they continue their efforts, one day they will be successful in electing a secular party at the helm of affair. When Muslim intellectuals met their Hindu brothers they found them very much secular. They praised our efforts. The RSS and BJP also know their fate in the parliamentary elections. That is why they have taken some action to confuse secular votes.

They hire Muslims and make them sit in front row in their functions just to show that the BJP is a secular party and is not against the Muslim community. This is the reason that Arif Mohammad Khan and a few others have joined the BJP party.

Both the Union Government and the state governments have minority commissions. But it is my personal observation that they hardly do any work for the betterment of any community. If you have connections then only you can get the benefits. It is difficult for needy people to approach the bosses sitting in these offices.

Sonepat, April 12
A student of class VI, identified as Anju, tried to commit suicide here last evening by taking sulphas tablets in her house in Shiv Colony on the Sonepat-Dewru road here last evening. According to a report, the girl was hospitalised and was stated to be out of danger.

Noida, April 12
People are keen to have their voters’ photo ID cards so that they can cast their votes in the coming elections.

Those who don’t find their name in the voters’ list are quite upset. To get their names included in the voters’ list and get their photo ID cards people are reportedly being forced to pay a price.

If you pay Rs 100 as “tip” to get your name in the voters’ list you get a bonus along with it - your photo identity card. After all, it is age of marketing.

Mostly, such touts are active in the slum areas but in sectors inhabited by the middle class and well-to-do people touts claming to have contacts are promising to get the missing names included in the voters’ list. They also promise to deliver your photo identity cards delivered at your home.

The election office had stopped accepting form no 6 for getting the names included in the voters’ list.

Certain people had reportedly offered their services. “Now I shall have to spend Rs 100 for this work,” was their refrain.

Sonepat, April 12
The District Magistrate of Sonepat, Mr M. R. Anand, has promulgated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC banning the carrying of firearms throughout the district.

The firearms include swords, lathis and knives etc. This order, which comes into force with immediate effect, will continue until May 25. This step has been taken to maintain peace and law and order in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

This order will not be applicable on the officials and policemen on duty.

New Delhi, April 12
Two persons last night robbed a car driver of his Toyota Qualis jeep near the Hanuman Mandir in the Delhi Cantonment area. The suspects, in their late twenties, hit the driver Girdhari, resident of Ramesh Nagar, and sped away with the vehicle (No HR-55-AT-2436) along with his mobile phone.

The victim, who was lying unconscious, was admitted to the DDU Hospital by the PCR staff at around 2.20 am.

The vehicle belongs to one Narender Dhingra, resident of Karampura.

The victim told the police that he had picked up some people near Seethlamata Mandir last night in Nand Nagari who wanted to be dropped in Gurgoan.

While he was returning from Gurgoan, two persons asked for a lift near the Gurgoan crossing. The suspects hit the victim with a blunt object on his head and made him unconscious.

New Delhi, April 12
Baisakhi, the day the Khalsa Panth was founded, will be celebrated with great enthusiasm under the aegis of the DSGMC on April 14 (Wednesday) at Gurdwara Majnu Ka Tilla Sahib, Khyber Pass, Delhi.

A big congregation will be held at the gurdwara which will start early morning with recitation of Nitnem and Sukhmani Sahib. Famous ragi jathas from all over India will participate with shabad kirtan. Bhai Manohar Singh Gurinder Singh Ji will perform the shabad kirtan with Asa Di Vaar.

Bhai Satnam Singh, Head Granthi, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, will revive the memory of devotees about the creation of the “Order of the Khalsa” by Sahib Guru Gobind Singh Ji on the Baisakhi day of 1699.

Faridabad, April 12
At least two cases of crime against women, including a ‘dowry death’ were reported in the district in the past two days. According to reports, a young woman, identified as Manju, married to one Govind of Sanjay Colony, died in a Delhi hospital of serious burn injuries. Her parents alleged that she was ‘burnt’ to death by her in-laws after she failed to satisfy their dowry demands.

They complained that her in-laws had been demanding a motorcycle from them. She was beaten up number of times before her death.

The police have booked a case in this connection.

In the other case, a woman who was doing the duty of a watchman in place of her husband at a school at Gudrana village of Palwal subdivision of the district was allegedly gang raped by two persons of the same village.

The complainant told the police that she was doing duty in place of her husband who was away in Hodal in connection with some work.

New Delhi, April 12
The Crime Branch claimed to have arrested a dismissed constable of Railway Protection Force (RPF) for his involvement in bootlegging and other criminal cases in the national Capital.

With his arrest, the sleuths also claimed to have solved a sensational murder in which the accused, Randhir Singh Chauhan, murdered his own brother, identified as Sunil.

A loaded country-made weapon and two live cartridges were recovered from his possession. The accused was involved in five criminal cases in Nangloi and three cases in Sultan Puri.

In a special drive against bootleggers, the West district police claimed to have arrested two persons and recovered 1,743 bottles of country-made liquor local from different places in the district.