New Delhi, April 28
A class XII student was crushed to death by a Blueline bus in North East Delhi today, a day after another privately-operated bus mowed down a youth in the Capital.

The accident occurred at the Bhajan Pura traffic signal when Dhruv Sharma, 17, was trying to board the Blueline bus, plying on route number 335 between Nand Nagri and Hauz Khas, at around 7:15 a.m.

The police said that Sharma, who was going to his Anglo Sanskrit School in the Daryaganj area, came under the rear wheels of the bus, when its driver suddenly released the brakes.

He was rushed to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries in the afternoon.

The bus driver fled the spot.

The privately-owned Blueline buses have been dubbed “killer buses” after their negligent driving caused 120 deaths on the Capital’s roads last year. The toll this year so far has reached 23.

On Sunday, another speeding Blueline bus hit two men from behind in the Sultanpuri area of North West Delhi killing one youth on the spot and grievously injuring another. — IANS

New Delhi, April 28
The BJP has demanded from the union urban development minister, Jaipal Reddy, to regularise the shops and other constructions coming under the purview of sealing by implementing the amnesty scheme.

Chief of Delhi BJP, Harsh Vardhan ,has warned that if the Congress does not stop sealing, the BJP will start jail bharo movement again.

This demand came just after the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) announced sealing of shops in non-commercial areas. It has formed 40 squads for sealing and demolition. The squads will be given adequate police force.

He said that the Central government should save the people of the Capital from sealing by providing for amnesty in the Master Plan.

He said that the MCD has no option than to proceed with the sealing action due to the court orders. The union urban development minister is sitting over the proposal of amnesty presented by the BJP Mayor and Leader of the MCD House.

The BJP chief said that if the amnesty scheme was not implemented immediately, five lakh shopkeepers and their families will come under the purview of sealing. The Congress government could not eradicate poverty but now by implementing the anti-people Master Plan, it wants to displace the poor people from Delhi. The Congress government is under pressure of multinational companies and Mall lobbies, said Vardhan.

Meanwhile, Congress councillor and Leader of Opposition in the MCD Jai Kishan Sharma today appealed to the corporation to work for desilting of drains as monsoon would reach the Capital soon. 

New Delhi, April 28
Escaping public criticism, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit remained silent on BRT corridor’s extension from Moolchand to Dilli Gate at a cabinet meeting held today. The corridor stretch from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand has been widely criticised due to heavy traffic jams.

Dikshit said that the formal inauguration of the corridor scheduled for May 1 would not be held. It would be inaugurated only after the glitches are removed. Meanwhile, the extension work has been halted.

Expressing her government’s commitment to provide smooth vehicular flow on PWD roads, the CM informed that the Cabinet has approved three PWD projects worth Rs 1,128 crore.

The Ring Road bypass from the Salimgarh Fort to Velodrome Road will cost Rs 654.39 crore and will need 30 months’ time to be constructed. The project has been cleared by the Samadhi Committee, ministry of urban development, Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC), Yamuna Samiti, Yamuna-removal of Encroachment Monitoring Committee, DDA Technical Committee and traffic and security police. The bypass will provide an alternative route on Ring Road and ensure easy traffic between Hanuman Mandir and IP Depot.

The cabinet has given its nod to the proposal for improving the UP Link Road from NH-24 crossing Noida Mor to Chilla Regulator at an estimated cost of Rs 334 crore. It will take 27 months to be completed. This will provide hindrance-free traffic to residents of East Delhi and Noida. It will also save time, fuel and curb air pollution.

The grade separator at T-point Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar and NH-1 junction will be constructed with an estimated cost Rs 138 crore. It will take 30 months to be completed. This will facilitate signal-free traffic on GT Karnal Road and provide the much-needed relief to inter-state commuters who are forced to wait on road.

Moreover, the government has permitted higher educational institutions on Lal Dora, extended Lal Dora agricultural land, school buildings and other non-conforming areas to continue the work of imparting education. The decision will benefit nine institutes affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. 

New Delhi, April 28
Retired army officer S J Choudhary, convicted by a city court of murdering a city-based businessman 26 years ago, today fell unconscious in the courtroom immediately after the CBI took him under the custody.

Additional sessions judge Mamta Sehgal directed CBI officials to take Choudhary to a nearby government hospital for medical check-up.

Choudhary, who was present in the court at the time of pronouncement of the verdict, complained about chest pain and fell unconscious the moment CBI officials walked up to him to take him into custody. His counsel also filed an application in the court seeking medical attention.

Choudhary, 70, in his early 70’s was present in the courtroom since the morning and wore a serious look during the day’s hearing.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, had alleged that the explosive in the parcel was of Pakistan-make. The agency alleged a modern-technique was used to explode the bomb on October 2 1982 in which Krishan Sikand, alleged lover of his estranged wife, was killed.

The probe, which was transferred to the CBI from Crime Branch of the Delhi Police in 1983, had revealed that the address written on the envelop of the parcel bomb were printed from a type-writer recovered from the army officer’s residence.—PTI

New Delhi, April 28
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) that takes care of power corridors of the country and is responsible for the cleanliness of the city operates from an office that lacks infrastructure and needs intensive cleaning.

The NDMC building at Palika Kendra needs renovation.

People have to queue up and have to wait for long to get on the lift. When asked about the problem, an NDMC official said, “We are aware of the problem. Two elevators are out of order. We are getting new ones in their place. Things are being renovated in the building.”

The staircase that comes handy to those, who avoid using the lift due to the crowd, stinks badly. In spite of the signboards that prohibit people from spitting on walls, Betel stains are noticeable.

Moreover, on reaching the second floor of the NDMC complex, one finds dozens of workers sleeping on the floor. They would justify by saying that afternoons are to relax.

The local body that looks after the sanitation of the Capital requires some cleanliness in its own building.

The administration needs to put in some serious work to improve the order of the civic body building. 

Ghaziabad, April 28
The three brothers who clubbed their mother to death in a macabre crime here on Saturday were heavily into occult and would spend hours on Internet researching on the topic, according to the police.

The three—Aswani Gautam, a qualified engineer, Navneet Gautam, an MBA, and Rohit Gautam, a class 12th pass—were known in the locality to be preachers of occult and Navneet was even treated as a ‘guruji’ (godman) of the area for his expertise in solving people’s problems.

A local resident, refusing to be named, said the three brothers, sons of an Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation engineer, had performed rituals in the past and were often seen visiting graveyards, temples and crematoria during nights.

Naveen apparently had developed a reputation in the area for treating victims of ‘bad spirits’ and exorcising them.

On Saturday night, the three brothers organised an occult ritual to rid their sister Renu of the ‘bad spirit’ after she had complained that her mother-in-law Banso, who died a fortnight back, often came in her dreams and threatened her.

When the ritual was at its peak, their mother Shashi started dancing. The three brothers believed their mother was seized by the soul of Renu’s mother-in-law Banso, and reportedly beat Shashi till she collapsed and died.

The brothers then called Renu’s father-in-law Nathu, to participate in the rituals. Nathu went along with his daughters Preeti and Guddi, and son Rohit.

During the rituals, the brothers told Rohit they needed his sister Preeti’s sacrifice to revive their mother and attacked her with sharp-edged weapons.

Nathu, Rohit and Guddi suffered injuries on their necks, heads, chests and arms when they protested and tried to resist the three brothers’ attack on Preeti.

In the meantime, somebody called the police. The Vijay Nagar police raided the house and recovered choppers and other articles being used to perform the rituals. The police found Sashi lying dead, and four other people—Rohit, his father Nathu, and sisters Preeti and Guddi—critically injured. All the injured were rushed to hospitals.

The police has arrested the three brothers and lodged cases against them. — IANS

Agra, April 28
A 39-year-old man, believed to be mentally ill, attacked a Samajwadi Party MP here with a kitchen knife following an argument. The man claimed that the lawmaker’s wife was his mother.

Alok Srivastav, an IT professional from New Delhi, met SP Singh Baghael, an MP from Jalesar, at Bagahael’s home here on Sunday.

Srivastav told Baghael that he believed that the MP’s wife Madhu was his mother and demanded a DNA test. The two began arguing and Srivastav attacked the MP with a kitchen knife. However, others present in the house stopped him from inflicting any serious injury. Baghael escaped with a bruise on his neck.

After interrogating Srivastav, police said he was mentally disturbed, a fact his family confirmed on phone from Delhi.

“This psychological fixation could result in somebody’s death. He needs to be treated otherwise he could hurt someone,” said senior superintendent of police Mohit Aggarwal.

According to the police, Srivastav had been regularly SMSing and calling Madhu, begging her to accept him as her son.

Baghael said he had asked Srivastav to meet him to resolve the issue and had not suspected that he might turn violent. — IANS

Greater Noida, April 28
Greed of about a lakh rupees is reported to have driven a property dealer in Greater Noida to murder a client and bury his body in the foundation of an under-construction building.

This is incidentally the fourth murder in Greater Noida during the last 48 hours.

The customer, it is learnt, was pressing for the possession of the plot he had bought from him. The police has registered an FIR and recovered the body after some residents had complained. Dy SP Brijesh Kumar Gautam said, “Sanjay, a 38-year-old resident of Mohalla Thakuram in Dadri, had purchased a 100 sq yd plot from Triloki who was developing a colony at Railway Road, Dadri. Sanjay had purchased a plot for Rs 2.50 lakh and given an advance payment of Rs 1.10 lakh to Triloki. While Sanjay was pressing for possession of land, the market rates in the meanwhile had shot up to Rs 3.50 lakh for the same plot.

It seems Triloki became greedy. On April 24, he took Sanjay to the timber shop of Bhunesh Sharma “to mark his plot”. Here a few ‘friends had drinks. After Sanjay was made to drink a peg one too many, he was hit with a rod on his head and killed. The body was taken to colony on railway road, being developed by Triloki where he dumped Sanjay’s body in a pit, over which a foundation was constructed,” DSP Gautam said.

A murder case has been registered against seven accused on a complaint lodged by the uncle of deceased Sanjay, Raj Kumar. Three of the accused Triloki, Chanderma, security guard and Rinku a relative of Triloki have been arrested while Vijay, Bihari, alias Chhotu Agarwal, Bhunesh Sharma and Manvir are absconding, added Gautam.

New Delhi, April 28
If you suspect that the butter you are buying from the local grocer is adulterated with mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, a simple test can confirm this. All you have to do is to add a drop of tincture of iodine to the sample. If the tincture of iodine turns blue, you can be sure that the slab of butter is adulterated. This is because potatoes have starch and the tincture of iodine reacts to it by changing its colour from brown to blue.

This nugget of information and a lot more simple tests to detect adulteration in food items are contained in a booklet, “Quick Tests for Some Adulterants in Food” brought out recently by the Directorate of Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA), Government of NCT of Delhi. The booklet is available free. The tests and related information in the booklet have been compiled by experts and meant basically to educate the consumer.

The directorate has also brought out another booklet “Citizen Charter of the Directorate of Prevention of Food Adulteration” which provides crucial information about food adulteration, collection of samples by food inspectors, and Act under which the adulterators can be prosecuted.

According to Mohan Lal, director of the directorate of PFA, the publication and distribution of these booklets is a small step towards creating awareness among the public about the kind of adulteration that takes place in food items of general consumption and how the people by performing simple tests at home can detect adulteration.

The role of the directorate is basically limited to the processing of food inspectors’ requests for grant of consent and providing logistic support to them and the local health authorities in discharging their duties under the clauses of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954. The directorate also has a state-of-the-art facility to test and analyse the seized food items.

Under the Act, the samples of the food items are taken by the food inspectors under the close supervision of the area sub-divisional magistrate who is also the local health authority. These samples are then analysed by the directorate on the basis of the standards of food items as prescribed by the government.

New Delhi, April 28
Artist Abani Sen, one of the earliest modern masters, was more popular as ‘mastermoshai’, or teacher, than as an artist. His home was crammed with students every morning and he also taught art at the Raisina School in Delhi. The money he made teaching art took care of his vocation and family.

That was the era when India was battling to shake off the British, the troubled years between 1930 and 1947 when several artists, known as the “progressive group”, were struggling to come into their own.

They could not survive on art alone though it was one of the most creatively productive eras in the history of Indian art.

Since then, artists have come a long way. Art is no longer a vocation. It is a full-time profession, one that gives artists enough money to buy private home-cum-studios in posh London districts, like MF Husain’s Fida Museum at Mayfair, swank cars and artistic retreats in the countryside. It also allows artists the freedom to follow their creative instincts without counting costs.

“I follow the weather when I paint,” Kolkata-based Krishnendu Porel, a tier II contemporary artist who has been in Delhi for the last 16 years, told IANS.

A full-time painter, Porel earns enough by selling his art to experiment with mediums. During winter, Porel toys with acrylic colours because oil paintings take longer to dry, in spring he switches to oil and during monsoon, his medium is water to match the rain outside. He has sold eight major works in shows this year.

Last year, he exhibited solo in the Frankfurt Museum in Germany. “It was a great exposure. India is a global village and artists are connecting to buyers outside. Unlike yesteryears, artists do not have to depend on odd jobs. Money has brought an explosion of creativity.”

Porel personally is not restricted by the dictates of the market. “There is enough room for my kind of work. Artists are rich now,” said the abstractionist.

His paintings were on display at an exhibition, “Perfect Lines”, at the inaugural show of Easel Art Gallery in the Capital, along with those of 30 top line modern masters and contemporary painters.

The trend has its roots in skyrocketing prices of Indian art, wider appreciation of artists and their creations, recognition of art as a career choice, mushrooming galleries and promotion of Indian art abroad by the spate of global exhibitions and auctions and increased purchasing power of the Indian middle and upper classes, who are now investing more in art as an important home accessory than in jewellery as was the trend 10 years ago.

Delhi-based artist Anu Naik becomes wistful while chronicling the journey of art in India. “My life is a reflection of the change,” she says.

Her late husband Murali Naik, also an artist, worked in the government press till 1985 to support the family, children and art. Anu taught in a school, they showed their work once every year.

“In the 1970s, there was hardly any money. But the number of collectors has grown now. It is easy, for prices have doubled,” she says. The artist, who has 55 shows to her credit, works full-time now. — IANS

New Delhi, April 28
Bathed in refreshed colour palette, flowing creations of fashion designers would once again enthrall fashion freaks as the Fashion Design Council Of India (FDCI) on Friday announced that the spring-summer edition of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) is scheduled for October 15-19.

FDCI director general Rathi Vinay Jha said, “WIFW has established itself as the country’s largest national level business of fashion event. And each time we look forward to do better business.”

She also said in a statement that the ‘by invitation only’ event caters to the entire fashion fraternity. It is a successful platform that brings together the best of designers, buyers from India and overseas as well as domestic and international media.

The main aim of the event is to serve as an effective platform to promote fashion design and provide industry professionals the opportunity to form trade linkages within India and globally.

“The five-day long extravaganza offers participating designers a business presence and a series of marketing tools aimed at informing and updating buyers, investors, corporate houses and the media,” she maintained. — IANS

Agra, April 28
Tourists at the Taj Mahal got almost roasted while walking on the red sandstone lined pathways of the mausoleum on Saturday afternoon as the temperature soared to 43 degrees Celsius.

“Almost all are in a hurry to have a look and return to their hotel rooms. Such is the scorching heat that a pleasure trip for many has already turned into a nightmare. Two tourists - a Korean girl and an Indian woman - fainted three days ago. But quick help was received from the central industrial security force (CISF) personnel,” said Suresh, a tourist guide.

Though the Agra development authority (ADA) has installed cold water dispensers at two points, they cannot cope with the rush. “Most tourists carry their own water bottles, but how long can their stock last? Every few minutes one needs a sip of cold water and occasionally a little to sprinkle on the face,” said a CISF trooper.

Marie and Dicky from the US said that they had never thought Agra would be this hot. “It was difficult to spend time in Sikri and the Fort as the red sand-stone had got heated up.” — IANS

New delhi, April 28
Two persons were arrested at Jhandewalan Metro station last night for allegedly urinating on the Metro premises.

The incident took place at around 9:10 p.m. The men, identified as Baljit Singh Sabharwal, 38 and Harjit Singh, 33, residents of Karol Bagh and Ravi Nagar respectively, were allegedly in an inebriated state.

They allegedly were urinating behind the lift door at the ground level (unpaid area) when they were noticed and asked to desist. However, they allegedly manhandled the Metro staff who reported the matter to the CISF jawans. The two were handed over to the Delhi Police.

Sabharwal and Singh have been booked under Section 59(1) (a) of the Delhi Metro Railway (Operation & Maintenance) Act, 2002. 

New Delhi, April 28
One person died as a three-storeyed building collapsed in the Khichdipur area of the Capital today. The building had breakage in its walls and was vulnerable. Therefore, the residents vacated it on Sunday. Gurcharan was hit while the building was collapsing.