The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	Owner of ‘sex clinic’ shot by disgruntled patient Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 28 A doctor was shot dead today morning just outside a hospital near Gole Market in New Delhi district. The deceased has been identified as Rajesh Abbot (28), a Registered Medical Practitioner running a ‘sex clinic’ in Paharganj. While the investigations are in progress, the police said that Rajesh was a resident of Rajouri Garden and was running his clinic in Paharganj. The incident took place at 11.50 am when a person, later identified as Javed Ali, opened fire on the doctor indiscriminately killing him on the spot. He reportedly pumped at least 12 bullet into Rajesh. He was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where he was declared brought dead. Immediate after shooting the doctor, the accused tried to escape from the spot but was apprehended by the public and handed over to the local police. The police recovered a revolver from his possession, the weapon of offence used in killing the doctor, police said. It seems that Ali, a patient of Dr Abbot since 2003, was not “satisfied” with the treatment, as he was not getting the desired results. The accused, hailing from Nand Nagri, was tracking the doctor’s movement for the past few days. This morning, after the doctor parked his car near Gole Market metro station, Ali shot him outside Kalavatisharan Hospital. The police are trying to find out whether the revolver was licensed or not. Meanwhile, a case under relevant sections of IPC has been registered in Mandir Marg police station. In another incident, an MCD contractor was shot at by unidentified persons in North West Delhi today. Sudesh Kumar (45) was found with two bullet wounds lying in his car in Rohini’s sector 24 at about 6.15 pm, police sources said here. Some empty cartridges were also found near the car, sources said. Kumar was rushed to Jaipur Golden Hospital and his condition is stated to be serious.
	One held for UTI bank robbery Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 28 Police today arrested the man who had allegedly looted Rs 40 lakh from a bank in West Delhi by posing as a human bomb earlier this month. Sandeep Bhatnagar, along with two others, allegedly robbed the Unit Trust of India (UTI) bank in Vikaspuri on May 8. Police said that Bhatnagar, a travel agent, had conspired to loot the bank along with two accomplices who are still absconding. They said Rs 10 lakh and 600 Euros were recovered from him, while the remaining sum of money was distributed amongst the other two partners. Bhatnagar had apparently looted the bank to pay off his debts. “He was under a lot of debt and therefore, he looted the bank,” DCP (West) said. After paying off his debt, he had apparently gone for a vacation in Thailand with a girl. “We are trying get more details about the trip,” he said. Police are tightlipped about the identity of Bhatnagar’s accomplices as a hunt was on to nab them. Police said the three accused had planned the robbery for a long time before executing their plan. On May 8, after standing in a queue at the cash counter for about half-an-hour, Bhatnagar went to the manager’s cabin and threatened to blow himself up if he was not given the money. Bank manager Sandeep Dham had then handed over the keys of the strong room and later directed the cashier to hand over cash to Bhatnagar, before escorting him to a car.
	Man stabbed to death by brothers Our Correspondent Bulandshahr, May 28 A man was allegedly stabbed to death by his own brothers due to a property dispute in Mohalla Balmiki here yesterday. Some people managed to overpower two of the three brothers who were trying to flee after committing the murder and handed them over to the police. According to the police, one Noor Mohammed, a resident of Shiv Dyalpuri, told them that he was returning home at 10 pm on Saturday with his vegetable trolley along with his nephews Wahid and Zahid and brother-in-law Sheru who was following a few steps behind, when the latter was suddenly attacked by four persons. When Noor tried to confront them, he was assaulted and pushed into a ditch. Before Noor could stand up, the assailants had stabbed Sheru repeatedly. When he raised an alarm, some people caught hold of two of the fleeing assailants and handed them over to the police. According to the police, the accused identified themselves as Mushtaque and Shahid. Sheru had four brothers out of which three above-named brothers were jealous of Sheru, although Sheru had spent Rs 8,000 on arranging the bail of Mushtaque and Gulzar in a theft case recently. They were ready to return Sheru’s money, but wanted him to abandon his claim on the parental house.
	Wanted gangster shot in encounter Our Correspondent Bulandshahr, May 28 The Secunderabad police killed two men riding on a motorcycle here late last night. One of the deceased is suspected to be Dadri’s Ranpal Bhatti, while the other has yet to be identified. Ranpal Bhatti was allegedly involved in a triple murder case and carried a reward of Rs 5,000 on his head. According to the local SP, a team of Kotwali police was on a patrol duty on Saturday night. When two persons were waved to a stop near Sarswati School, they fired on the police party in which a cop was wounded. Both the bandits were also injured in the police fire. When taken to a hospital, they were declared brought dead. It may be mentioned that Ranpal is the brother of former Gautam Budh Nagar panchayat chief, Naresh Bhatti, who was shot dead near Gangrole brick kiln about two years ago. The dreaded gangster Sunder Bhatti of Gangrole and 13 others were suspected of behind the killing. Sunder Bhatti is currently lodged in jail in connection with the same. Subsequently, Sunder Bhatti’s brother Partap and three others were shot dead on Dankore road in Secundeabad area last year. Ranpal and eight others had been named in this connection.
	Govt sleeps over menace of pollution Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Faridabad, May 28 Though the real estate prices in this industrial hub have gone up sharply in the past couple of years, high pollution levels seem to be hampering the demand of property seekers in real terms. What’s worse is that the Government seems to have no long term plan or strategy to tackle the menace which has put Faridabad in the list of ten most ten polluted cities of the country. “While the overall spurt in the property prices in the NCR may have sidelined the pollution factor to quite an extent, mainly perhaps due to reports of speeding up of the infrastructural development and the entry of the private builders who have launched or announced to launch several residential projects in the city, there were still several buyers who insist on buying a property not affected by pollution,” said a property agent based in sector 21C. He said there had been several instances of property deals in which the sellers had primarily desired to get rid of their property located in the areas where the air and water had not been very clean. He said that Faridabad was one of those towns where industrial and residential sectors in many parts had been intermingled or located very closely, making it unattractive for residents. There are hundreds of industrial units located in non-conforming zones which cause acute air and noise pollution in many residential colonies, though the majority of the population residing in these is the labour and worker class. “If the Government relocates some of these units from such areas and develops the colonies in a proper manner, the property rates could rise sharply,” said RC Verma, another property agent based in sector 16-A. He blamed the haphazard location of industrial units as one of the main causes of the slump in property prices in certain areas. He also opined that the failure of the authorities concerned to provide a cleaner fuel like CNG for the thousands of commercial vehicles that ply on the city roads and Mathura Road, also known as National Highway 2, which dissects the city in two parts, added to the problem. He said there were over 18,000 autorickshaws plying in the city which spew tons of harmful gases on the road daily. Quoting certain reports, he said the SPM level at all the important points in the city was much higher than the standard level, but the authorities had failed to take any measures to check it. The location of the thermal power station near Bata Chowk, in the heart of the city, has also been a cause of resentment among the residents here. Several social organizations and individuals have asked the Government to immediately introduce CNG to replace diesel operated three wheelers in the city. Mr Rajender Singh Bisla, a former MLA and social activist, said that strict action should be taken against those violating pollution norms.
	Principals of three MCD schools suspended Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 28 The principals of three schools run by MCD have been suspended for their failure to ensure basic facilities and hygiene in their schools. In an Action Taken Report (ATR) submitted to the Delhi High Court, the Deputy Education Officer claimed that besides suspending the three principals, nine staff members, including three school assistants, were transferred while a safai karamchari’s services were terminated. The action follows a report submitted by the ‘Right To Education Task Force Team’, constituted by NGO Social Jurists. The report complained that the children studying in these schools were subjected to “inhuman” conditions due to lack of basic infrastructure and facilities like potable water, toilets, seating facilities etc. As part of its inspection, the team had visited the schools located at Vasundhara Enclave, Dallupura and Khichripur during which it noticed that the rooms in the schools, including that of the principals, were dusty and full of spider webs and the overcrowded class rooms had no electricity, compelling the children to study under searing heat conditions in summer. Drinking water tanks had not been cleaned for years and the toilets were choked and unusable, the report submitted to the court on April 29 had stated. According to the Director, in the wake of the complaints, the MCD had identified the schools lacking facilities for initiating appropriate action.
	HC panel to monitor Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah’s accounts Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 28 For the first time in its 700-year history, the accounts of Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah will be subjected to a scrutiny by a panel approved by the Delhi High Court. A seven-member committee comprising four representatives of the Delhi Waqf Board and three “descendants” of the noted Sufi saint will monitor the accounts of the dargah, which generates revenues running into several crores of rupees every year. A division bench of Delhi High Court comprising Justices M K Sharma and Reva Khetrapal, while granting approval to the committee, asked it to submit a preliminary report within eight weeks. It also asked Waqf Board’s counsel to examine the feasibility of including an official representative of the court in the panel. The committee was constituted following a public interest litigation by an NGO, Hum Aapke, which complained that revenue worth crores of rupees earned by the dargah was being pocketed by “vested interests” who claimed to be the descendents of the late Hazrat Nizamuddin. Believed to be more than 700 years old, the dargah is visited round the year by thousands of people from India and other countries. Followers of the saint make liberal cash donations and offerings in kind at the dargah. The NGO has alleged that the money is pocketed by “self-styled” descendants of the saint. It urged the court to intervene to ensure that the funds were utilised only for charitable purposes in accordance with Islamic tenets.
	Artscape Art scene in Capital under spell of heat stroke Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service New Delhi, May 28 Notwithstanding the short spells of pleasant weather, thanks largely to the magnanimous western disturbances, the Capital continues to reel under scorching summer sun, virtually giving a heat stroke to the art scene in the metropolis. With few exhibitions and shows planned for the first week of June, it is apparent that artists and patrons too have left for cooler climes. Exhibition of rare archival photographs Braving the heat, however, is Indiapicture.com, a leading photo stock agency, which is holding an exhibition showcasing rare archival photographs taken by its founder, R. C. Mehta. Entitled ‘Kashmir Views’, the exhibition will be on from June 2 to June 8 at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre here. According to the organizers, R. C. Mehta’s oeuvre is a broad swathe that took in studio portraits as well as the landscape, the culture, the style of the royalty and some milestones in history”. His images, shot between 1934 and 1959, are a unique and important documentation of the Kashmir of his times. This is the first time that his images of the valley are being put on for public viewing. Art e-zine launched The country’s first art e-zine (magazine on internet), www.mattersofart.com , was formally launched with a group exhibition entitled ‘Real 2006’ at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre here last week. The owners of the e-zine claim that it is updated on the first and 15th of every month in order to provide the latest on the art scene to those who are interested in it. Apart from the usual reviews, the e-zine will also post in depth articles on art and the artists. Comedy play based on Krishan Chander’s novel At the Shri Ram Centre here, it was the Donkey’s week despite the heat. On May 30 and May 31, the Centre is staging ‘Gadhe Ki Wapasi’, a comedy play based on the famous novel by Krishan Chander. This is the sequel to ‘Gadhe Ki Atma Katha’, also based on a novel by the same author, which was staged on May 27 and 28 to the delight of the audience. Children to stage ‘Girgit’ and ‘Tato’ LeapYears Kids Theatre is presenting ‘Girgit’, an adaptation by Safdar Hashmi of Chekov’s Chameleon, and ‘Tato’ which deals with the questions of freedom and confinement at the India Habitat Centre theatre on May 30 from 7 p. m. onwards. The two plays will be performed by children artistes between the ages of 4 and 12 years. There will also be a display of artwork and photographs taken and edited by children.