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‘Police booked 636 personnel for ’84 riots’
Ghaziabad rocked by six murders in 24 hours
Discoms asked to check breakdowns
FSIA for multistoreyed complex for industry
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Govt to pay Rs 2000 to stray cattle catchers
New Delhi, August 17 The state government today informed the Delhi High Court that it would pay Rs 2000 to anyone who volunteered to catch stray cattle from the streets and delivered it to the MCD in South Delhi. Tech park to be set up in Gurgaon
Delhi Govt guilty of ‘school dress scam’: BJP
PIL in HC on lack of X-Ray films in Hindu Rao Hospital
Doctors scared of working in Noida postmortem house
300 CISF personnel deployed for Metro
NRIs to wear anti-poverty bands for Rakhi
Walia directs widening of Mathura Road
Man gets 7 yrs RI for raping step-daughter
Masked men rob house, kill one
Contempt notices to senior officials
NDMC area to be cleared of all slum clusters
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‘Police booked 636 personnel for ’84 riots’
New Delhi, August 17 Officials said that while the local police registered 381 cases, the Special Riot Cell of the Delhi Police registered 255 cases against the perpetrators of riots and violence. Of the total 636 cases, at least 353 persons were charge-sheeted, including 225 by the local police and 128 by the Special Riot cell. The police also managed to secure conviction of 37 persons including 31 by the local police and 6 by the Special Riot cell. However, 182 and 113 persons were let off by the local police and Special Riot Cell respectively as they did not find substantive evidence to proceed against them. After the riots, the Kusum Latta Mittal Commission set up by the Government had recommended departmental action against 72 police officials and Justice Aggarwal Committee had identified 90 officials for their lapses. Of the total 147 police officials, the authorities found that departmental action could not be initiated against 42 officials because they had retired by then. Of the remaining 105 officials, the Ministry of Home Affairs had processed the cases of 8 officers and the rest 97 cases were processed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi or by the Delhi Police. However, the Home Ministry soon exonerated 5 officers, finding no substantive evidence against them. The inquiry against the then Additional Commissioner of Police Mr H C Jatav was concluded with imposition of penalty of 30 per cent cut in his pension for a period of five years. Inquiry initiated against the then DCP Mr Chandra Prakash was completed but final order could not be served upon him because of a restraint order passed by the Delhi High Court. Inquiry against the then DCP Mr Sewa Dass was delayed till 1998 because of a stay granted by the Central Administrative Tribunal and the inquiry officer had later submitted his report to the Home Ministry. Since Mr Dass was exonerated by the departmental inquiry, the Nanavati Commission also recommended to the Government to exonerate him as nothing substantive was found to indict him. The Delhi Police along with the affidavits of the then Deputy Commissioner of Police (Headquarters) Mr T N Mohan produced on November 15, December 7, 2000 and November 14, 2001, a list of details of cases registered by the police on the basis of recommendations made by the Kusum Latta Mittal Commission. The police gave 1084 affidavits received by the Riots Cell and Special Riots Cell along with the Status Report and the pertaining files which were with the Vigilance and Special Branch of the Delhi Police.
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Ghaziabad rocked by six murders in 24 hours
Ghaziabad, August 17 The advocate, Alakh Singh, was killed by unidentified persons inside his house in Vaishali, Senior Superintendent of Police G N Singh said here today. The accused called the criminal advocate on his mobile phone and said they wanted to meet him. After spending some time at his home, the culprits touched Singh’s feet and opened fire with automatic weapons, the SSP said. The police feel four murders are revenge killings. In Nahli village under the Maujpur police station area, Nasir Ali, a candidate for pradhan in the panchayat elections, was shot dead by six persons. In the 2000 election he had lost by mere five votes. The Nahli village election has been suspended. Zakir, a history-sheeter from Ghaziabad and Bulandshahr, shot Nasir Ali as the latter’s name figured in Zakir’s brother Saleem’s murder case. In Mandoli under the Bhojpur police station, Lalu, alias Ajay Pal, was shot by his friend Johri who lived with him in his room. They had clashed on some issue last night. In the morning Johri shot him. Under the Sihani Gate police station, Ravinder was beaten to death by people when he barged into neighbour Ram Pal’s house along with a friend and fired shots there at 3 am. Ravinder had given a loan of Rs 3,000 to Ram Pal on interest. Ram Pal said he had returned the full amount with interest, but Ravinder was still asking for more. Ram Pal’s niece, Geeta, was injured in the gunfire. Vijay Nagar police station SO Anil Somanya said Ranvir Singh wanted to quit his job and work elsewhere, but the contractor did not allow this. It resulted in a clash. Now police is hunting for the contractor who belongs to Baraich. In Mohalla Maheshpuri, youths beat up a person with bricks to death and dumped his body in a waste of heap. The deceased’s brother has filed an FIR naming the youths. Mohalla Riazpur’s Shahnwaz was having a dispute with two persons over money matters. Two persons had taken Shahanwaz along from his house at 11 pm. The next day his body was found on the Bulandshahr road, his brother Aslam said. Aslam has named Amit of Rajiv Vihar and a friend in his report for the murder.
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Discoms asked to check breakdowns
New Delhi, August 17 Replying to a supplementary during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha on the rampant load-shedding and power failure, Mr Sayeed said he was not giving a clean chit to private discoms and would write to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in this regard. He also cautioned the private distribution companies to avoid such problems as the Regulatory Authority could revoke or even cancel the license of non-performing companies. Even though many members pointed out the dismal power situation in Delhi and complaints regarding billing and metering, the minister claimed improvement in the quality of supply. He said that load-shedding had come down from 3% in 2001-02 to 0.84% in 2004-05. Distribution transformer failure rate and transmission losses had also been reduced after privatisation. He said that slum dwellers had been kept out of tariff revision while power tariff had gone up by ten per cent for domestic consumers and 6.6 per cent for others. There had been an increase in the revenue and loss would be wiped out completely by 2006-07. Regarding complaints of higher billing, the minister said that meters had been checked twice by an independent body to check the veracity of the complaints. The Chief Minister has also spoken to private distribution companies in this regard.
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FSIA for multistoreyed complex for industry
Faridabad, August 17 According to the association, the government ought to register the factories located in the non-conforming zones and carve out smaller plots with more industrial sectors as part of the measures under the new industrial policy of the state government. The association, during its recent interaction with the Managing Director of the Haryana Industrial Development Corporation, raised this demand and asked the authorities to launch the new measures from Faridabad. The city, being the premier industrial hub of the state, required immediate attention, they said. Welcoming the new industrial policy of the state, the FSIA president, Mr Rajiv Chawla, said the new policy had been quite promising as it appeared that the government wanted to remove the bottlenecks that had been impeding the growth of the industrial infrastructure here for the past several years. He said the demand for constructing a multistoreyed factory complex was genuine as it would solve the location problems of a large number of units, which wanted a space suited to them and could not buy bigger plots due to financial constraints. He said a large number of entrepreneurs required small plots or constructed structures to start their work or carry on with the manufacturing process. There are reportedly about 10,000 small and medium type of units located here. A large number of these had been located in the non-confirming zones or residential areas due to non-availability of space or plots suitable for their needs. As these were not located in proper industrial belt, the owners of these units as well as residents here had to face several problems, including that of pollution and choking of the sewerage in some areas. The civic authorities here have not been able to solve the problem of disposal of waste water of the industrial units located in the DLF area in Sector 27 here and adjoining belts. The discharge of waste and chemicals was much more than the capacity of the sewer lines laid there. As a result, the discharged waste can be seen on the open plots and the parks. Meanwhile, the authorities concerned have informed that the government had removed the ban on the registration of units in the non-conforming areas. Promising adequate funds and measures to develop the infrastructure, the government had also announced the setting up of a special economic zone and light engineering cluster in Faridabad in the coming years. The move to construct a new gas-based power generating plant here has also been hailed by industry circles.
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Govt to pay Rs 2000 to stray cattle catchers
New Delhi, August 17 Filing a joint status report, Delhi Government said, “Public may catch the stray cattle and deposit them in the cattle pond of the MCD, South Zone at Malviya Nagar and as per the High Court direction, an amount of Rs 2000 will be paid to the depositors”. However, only those persons would be permitted to deposit the stray cattle, who were permanent residents of the South Zone and the Residents’ Welfare
Association certified that the cattle impounded was from their area, said the status report filed before Acting Chief Justice B A Khan and Justice M B Lokur. The report signed by Chief Secretary S Regunathan, NDMC Chairperson Sindhushree Khuller, MCD Commissioner Rakesh Mehta, Principal Secretary O P Kelker, Deputy Commissioner of Police Alok Kumar and DDA Vice Chairman Madhukar Gupta also said that a special campaign was launched to make the central and south zones free from stray cattle and illegal dairies. Between July 16 and August 11, 2005, about 1040 stray cattle had been impounded and 207 had been auctioned to realise Rs 5.85 lakh, the report said. To prevent the auctioned cattle from re-entering the Capital, a micro-chip was tagged on them. The micro-chips contained its identification number, name of the purchaser and other details. Common Cause Society, a voluntary agency, had pleaded to the court to issue direction to the authorities to make the Capital’s roads free of the menace of stray cattle, which hinder traffic movement and also result in accidents. “We have pleaded that stray cattle be off the city roads and streets as they not only create hindrance in the smooth movement of traffic but also were one of the main causes for accidents,” Common Cause counsel Meera Bhatia had said during the hearing of the petition. She said despite the claims of the civic authorities that they have taken required action as per the court’s earlier orders, stray cattle continue to roam freely on the Capital’s roads and streets.
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Tech park to be set up in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, August 17 The Director, Renewable Energy Department, Haryana, Mrs Sumita Misra, said the park, to be set up in 1.6 acres in Sector 29,would have a technology area with indoor exhibits and posters, a solar area with live outdoor exhibits, a central court, play areas, a hobby centre, a business centre and a cafeteria with solar cooking and outdoor seating arrangement. Also, it would have interactive models of renewable energy devices to explain the working of these devices as part of its salient features. The whole energy requirement of the proposed park would be met from a 10 KW solar power plant. It would have various species of plants like jatropa, which may provide non-edible oils for production of bio-diesel. The most salient feature of the energy park would be that its buildings would be constructed on the concept of energy efficiency and solar passive architecture, she added. The park would be set up a cost of about Rs 1.25 crore with partial financial assistance from the Union Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources. The Chief Minister would be the chief guest at a state-level function organised at the City Centre to celebrate Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas. August 20, the birthday of late premier Rajiv Gandhi, is celebrated as Rajiv Gandhi Akshay Urja Diwas in the country to create awareness among people about renewable energy sources and technologies, Mrs Misra added.
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DU course in legal aid mooted
New Delhi, August 17 The legal aid cell of the Law Centre, which is already providing services to Tihar prisoners, beggars’ court and slum dwellers, is aspiring to reach out to more people through this course. “We want to start a course in legal aid from the campus. It will help us institutionalise the work that is being carried out and as for having a court attached, we are still hopeful,” said Prof. Rajiv Khanna, In-Charge. Stressing the need to start the course, which can help the common man gain perspective into the nitty-gritty of the legal world, a third semester student Omkareshwar said, “To protect the interests of the slum dwellers, we need to educate them on the law and their rights.” Omkareshwar is also the convenor of the group that provides legal recourse to slum dwellers. He pointed out that most students involved in the legal aid cell are keen “to work extensively for providing assistance”. “We want to sensitise the people about the problems being faced by the slum dwellers and even of those lodged in prison,” he said. As part of their legal aid services, the Law Centre is currently hosting a two-day conclave on slum dwellers to focus on their problems, the provisions of basic civic amenities and the initiatives to be taken for a slum-free India. “At present, there is no national policy on slums. Each state has a policy, but for slum dwellers there is no social security. There are no employment opportunities for them and no proper procedures for their eviction and relocation,” said Akhilesh Arora, also working with the legal aid cell. “It is estimated that 30 per cent of Delhi’s population live in slums. Despite efforts to solve the problems of slums, so far none of the metropolitan cities could forge a commonly acceptable solution,” said Prof. Khanna. He added, “The conclave will help in sensitising the future lawmakers and law practitioners about the problems of the slums, provide a platform to discuss the issue, understand the issue at the grassroot levels and discuss and propose a policy on slums.”
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AISA protests against verdict on SC/ST quota
New Delhi, August 17 Hundreds of slogan-shouting AISA members walked from the Ramlila Maidan to Parliament Street where they were stopped by the police. Led by AISA President Kavita Krishnan and other office-bearers, the protestors held placards and banners flaying the Supreme Court ruling saying it would legitimise discrimination against the dalits in education. Addressing the protestors, AISA general secretary Sunil Yadav said the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was only paying “lip service” to the jobless youths in the country by raising the slogans of ‘Garibi Hatao’ and ‘Rozgar Do’. “The government is making a mockery of the Employment Guarantee Scheme. The policy of liberalisation is finishing off employment avenues through retrenchment and job cuts even as the government is promising creation of jobs,” said Yadav. On the Supreme Court ruling, Kavita Krishnan said it was a “mockery” to allow private schools and colleges to have quotas for rich non-resident Indians though it was the socially-weaker sections who needed quotas. AISA also demanded a judicial probe into the police crackdown on students of Jadhavpur University in West Bengal and restoration of students’ unions in Benaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia and the universities in Bihar. Students from universities in Assam, Bengal, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia participated in the protest.
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Delhi Govt guilty of ‘school dress scam’: BJP
New Delhi, August 17 Addressing a joint press conference here today, the BJP Delhi Pradesh president, Dr Harsh Vardhan, and Pradesh secretary Vijender Gupta said while the Chief Minister is announcing free dresses for the girl students, her party colleagues are involved in a bungle worth Rs 16.79 crore in the purchase of school dresses. The dresses are supposed to be given free to over nine lakh children in the primary schools. “The Congress tried hard to cover up the case, but the CBI took up the case on August 3 and started the probe,” Dr Vardhan said. The Chief Minister and her other senior colleagues are still trying to protect the party leaders and officers involved in the case, alleged the BJP Delhi Pradesh president. Demanding an impartial inquiry into the bungle, both the leaders have asked the CBI director to immediately book the guilty. Dr Vardhan said the MCD had invited tenders for supplying free suiting-shirting to the 8.89 lakh children of the 1,833 primary schools run by the MCD. While dresses worth Rs 8 crore were to be purchased, the officials suddenly raised the supply order to Rs 16.79 crore. Technical and legal procedures were not followed at all, he alleged.
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PIL in HC on lack of X-Ray films in Hindu Rao Hospital
New Delhi, August 17 A Division Bench of Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma asked MCD to file its reply to the petition filed by Social Jurist, a lawyers’ group, by September nine, the next date of hearing. In its petition filed through counsel Ashok Agrawal, Social Jurist submitted that till last year, X-Ray films were being supplied by a government firm viz. Hindustan Photo Films and there was never such a problem. The problem arose this year after MCD switched over to some private supplier without any valid reason, the petitioner alleged. Terming it as “criminal negligence” and lack of accountability on the part of MCD, the petitioner submitted that it had resulted in “violation” of citizens’ fundamental right to life (Article 21). Social Jurist sought a direction to the MCD to forthwith restore full supply of X-Ray films to Hindu Rao Hospital in North Delhi for treatment of needy people. The petitioner also sought direction to MCD to take appropriate action against the erring officials for the criminal negligence in failing to finalise the tender for the supply of X-Ray films to the hospital by March 31, 2005 leading to such a situation.
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Doctors scared of working in Noida postmortem house
Noida, August 17 The one-room dark postmortem house, with the unidentified bodies being kept there for 72 hours or so without deep freezing, has turned into a veritable disease house. Doctors and staff are petrified that they will fall victim to some serious disease. Even otherwise the place gives out an acute stench, making it difficult to stay there for even a few minutes, to say nothing of working on the bodies. Worms and insects start eating into the bodies kept there. The Noida postmortem house was started in February this year without the much needed equipment and facilities. Previously, the bodies from GB Nagar used to be sent to Ghaziabad for autopsy. This postmortem house is a room located on the cremation grounds. In another small room, the reports are prepared. But in the hot summer and humid months of monsoon working in the postmortem house without an air-conditioner and proper light is a mortifying experience, say the doctors who did not wish to be identified. This month, autopsy of 23 bodies had been conducted till August 14. Eight unidentified bodies out of these had been kept in the postmortem house for 72 hours in the hope that some relative of the dead might turn up to claim and identify them. After 72 hours, they are handed over to the police. As there is no separate section for keeping unidentified bodies, the autopsy house has become an unhealthy place to work in.
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300 CISF personnel deployed for Metro
New Delhi, August 17 The para-military personnel will ensure access-control at the stations involving frisking and checking of baggage, they said. The force, which is already guarding all the vital installations and monuments across the country, is working out the costs that will be incurred on its deployment on the entire Metro Rail network which it will submit to the government. Government is working on putting in place a hi-tech security apparatus besides deploying CISF to ensure safety of the prestigious Delhi Metro Rail. The security arrangements will include use of gadgetry like CCTVs, scanners, X-ray machines and door-frame metal detectors, they said. CISF has already made a presentation about its security drill to the officials of the Home Ministry.
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NRIs to wear anti-poverty bands for Rakhi
New Delhi, August 17 The global movement against poverty was launched with live concerts and worldwide rallies in July this year. Kumi Naidoo, chairperson of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), the umbrella alliance behind the Make Poverty History campaign, has supported the Oxfam’s version of the band. The iconic ‘Make Poverty History’ white band was created to tie in with the 2005 Rakhi festival. Noted NRIs are taking part in the action, backed by the international development organisation, Oxfam. The bands, being sold in Indian clubs and in Britain’s popular ‘Oxfam shops’, have been specially designed for the occasion and feature the words “Make Poverty History” in English. Besides, they bear a Hindi inscription, “sisters and brothers unite”. Commenting on the initiative, Mr Naidoo said: “The Oxfam bands are an excellent union of shared values between Make Poverty History and the Rakhi festival.”
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Walia directs widening of Mathura Road
New Delhi, August 17 Walia took a round of NH-2 accompanied by top officials of NHAI, PWD, MCD, DDA and Traffic Police and taking note of the traffic congestion on the road between Ashram Chowk in Delhi to Badarpur Border asked for a comprehensive action plan to be made within 15 days to decongest it. He said the stretch should be developed as a model road, with uniform width, which utilises the entire carraigeway of 300 feet. Walia asked NHAI and PWD to work in tandem and remove encroachments on the carriageway.
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Man gets 7 yrs RI for raping step-daughter
New Delhi, August 17 “This is monumental betrayal. The person who was to provide her protection became a demon, swallowed her sweet childhood and pushed her into hell”, Additional Sessions Judge N. P. Kaushik observed while convicting Mohammad Yasin for raping the 12-year-old child. The convict had married the girl’s mother whose first husband died, when she was five years old. Pointing out that at the time of the marriage, he had promised to take fatherly care of the girl, the judge said “the accused, out of lust for kinky sex threw all the values and promises to wind. He deserves no leniency”. Yasin was arrested in September 2000 after the victim filed a complaint in Daryaganj police station that her step-father had raped her while her mother was away. The girl told the police that the accused had raped her several times in the previous two years.
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Masked men rob house, kill one
Meerut, August 17 The assailants locked the house from inside, tied the hands and legs of all its occupants before looting it of cash and valuables.
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Contempt notices to senior officials
Ghaziabad, August 17 The notices were issued by Justice O N Khandelwal on a contempt petition filed by Fire station officer, Ghaziabad, Ashok Kumar. The petitioner was suspended by an order dated June nine, 2005 which was stayed by the court on a writ petition filed by him. It is alleged that in spite of the stay order granted by the court, the suspension order against the petitioner was not revoked. Fixing September 13 as the next date of hearing, the court said if authorities failed to comply with its order by then, they would have to appear before it on the date.
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NDMC area to be cleared of all slum clusters
New Delhi, August 17 There are at present 39 slum clusters in the NDMC area out of which six are on the Municipal land itself, he said. He added that the NDMC had spent Rs 33 lakh in the past three years to provide basic amenities to slum clusters. These include drinking water, paved footpath and Jan
Suvidha complexes.
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Delhi Book Fair from August 27
New Delhi, August 17 Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath will be the ‘guest of honour’ at the opening ceremony, Mr Malik said. Entry to the fair will be free for school and college students. The fair will begin every day at 10 a.m. and close at 8
p.m. — TNS
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Management Aptitude Test on Sept 4
New Delhi, August 17
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