New Delhi, July 25
With the arrest of three persons — Vipin, Hazari and Ghanshyam — by the Rohini police yesterday, the outer district police claims to have worked out a case of credit card theft.

Four credit cards, many fake ID proofs, bank pass books, cheque books, PAN cards prepared by computers have been recovered from the accused.

The modus operandi of the accused was to pose as authorised agents of a bank and take the existing credit card of the applicant on the pretext of taking an impression for verification.

The Rohini police was hunting for the accused after a man called Adarsh Khanna complained of being robbed of his credit card by them.

Adarsh had applied for a credit card in Kotak Mahindra Bank. He received a call from the bank regarding the verification of his original documents and a person posing as bank representative namely Arun came to him.

On the pretext of verifying the documents, Arun took Adarsh’s ICICI Bank credit card to take an impression of it. But he replaced the original credit card with a fake credit card and returned it.

However, by the time Arun could realise that his credit card had been replaced by a fake one, Arun had vanished.

Adarsh then immediately called up the customer care section of the ICICI Bank and reported the matter.

But, even before the bank could take any precautionary action, he received a message on his mobile phone that his credit card had been used for Rs 30,000.

During investigation, the police found that the accused had used Adarsh’s credit card to buy two mobile phones and 2 shirts from the Big Bazar shop at Inder Lok Metro station.

A manhunt was launched to catch them, but they had stopped using their mobile phone that they had used to contact Adarsh.

They had also left their rented accommodation. The accused have accepted that they use to pose as authorised agents of various banks and have cheated many people by changing their credit cards with fake credit cards.

In this case, Vipin posed as Arun and Ghanshyam was standing outside the house for any help.

Hazari alias Rahul use to operate from the office and their other accomplices would call people, posing as agents of different bank for credit cards, loans scheme etc.

Investigation of the case is being carried out by SI Varun Dalal and search for three other associates who are absconding, is on.

New Delhi, July 25
The national Capital has been put on high alert after seven near-simultaneous blasts rocked Karnataka capital Bangalore today afternoon.

The Delhi police has deployed extra personnel at crowded areas of the Capital like airport, railway stations and busy market places.

Police vigil has also been intensified in the VIP zone of New Delhi district. According to Delhi police PRO, Rajan Bhagat the high alert was sounded in the Capital as soon as the news about the blasts in Bangalore was received.

“The police have intensified checking and deployed extra force for vigil in the city as soon as the news of blast in Bangalore reached us”, said Bhagat.

Requesting the public to be calm and not to panic, the Delhi police has appealed citizens to report any suspicious movement or object to its nearest staff or emergency call numbers.

This would ensure timely blood donation to needy people. Requests made by NGOs to the health ministry in this regard have been of no avail.

Noida, July 25
The 152nd board meeting of Noida Authority has allowed 100 per cent coverage in the basements of residential plots.

In basements, area equal to ground floor can be covered by the house owners in Noida, subject to national building code guidelines and Noida authority byelaws.

No bathroom, toilet or kitchen would, however, be constructed in the basements while the minimum height of ceiling will be 7 feet and the number of entrances and exits will have to be more than one, clarified Noida chief executive officer Mohinder Singh.

The distance between the basement and the neighbour’s boundary has to be at least one metre.

The board also decided to allow the allotment of cancelled plots in residential sectors within three years.

In another decision, the Noida Board allowed a house to be transferred to daughter-in-law or son-in-law without charging transfer fee.

In another significant decision, the board decided that the guidelines and norms will be amended for Abadi land. Abadi and encroachment are two important disputed areas between farmers and the Noida Authority.

In view of this, the board has decided to amend guidelines and norms of Abadi
Land, 2006.

A committee headed by the additional CEO with members from finance, engineering and other departments will review the 1931 bandopast record. A fresh survey will be conducted of the Abadi land, CEO informed.

Faridabad, July 25
Relatives of the Mewla Maharajpur village youth, who was allegedly killed in a group clash last Friday, today complained to the district police chief that the councillor of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), Kailash Bainsala, who is an accused in the case, and his accomplices were moving around scot free.

On the other side, three councillors and elder members of Mewla Maharajpur have counter-alleged that Kailash Bainsla had been implicated in the case on political grounds.

They claim that he was in Ananagpur village when the violent incident took place. District police chief Shrikant Jadav has marked an inqiury to the Suraj Kund police station.

A relative of the murdered youth alleged that the accused were roaming around freely and demanded their immediate arrest. The councillor and 14 others have been accused in the murder case.

A violent clash between the two groups had taken place following alleged attempts made by Kailash Bainsala and his supporters to grab a piece of land, which was
once a pond.

This was opposed by the other group. Both sides are reported to have used lathis and other countrymade weapons.

The relatives of the youth have warned that they would move the case to the higher authorities if they did not get justice.

Their apprehension is that the accused councillor would mobilise political support to wriggle out of the case and to put pressure on the police.

New Delhi, July 25
Bringing some of the best international children’s films to the city, WorldKids today started a weeklong film festival in Delhi.

The festival, which provides unique opportunity to both children and parents to catch up with exclusive films, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit at PVR Select City Walk.

Emphasising on the necessity to make children’s cinema accessible to Indians, the organisers kept the film screenings free of charge.

“India does not really have its own children’s cinema. Kids here grow up watching all sorts of Bollywood films. We have tried to get the best of world cinema for them,” said Manju Singh, founder, WorldKids foundation.

To enhance the impact, the festival has separate films for different age groups. “We do not believe that similar things work for all the kids. So, we have marked films for different age groups within children,” said Manju.

The festival would screen films for schools and individuals in the city till July 31. Considering the response, the organisers are expecting more than 23,000 children in a week’s time.

“We are getting good response from both parents and kids. Such beautiful initiatives should be taken up more often,” said KVS Manian, group head, Kotak Mahindra Bank, sponsors of the film festival.

Some of the main films that were screened today included Red Like the Sky from Italy, Tot ou Tard from Switzerland, Hayat from Iran and Little Heroes from Israel.

“I loved the films that I could catch today. I am looking forward to attending the festival for all seven days,” said Saumya Nath, who was dropped at the venue by his parents.

The festival is also giving a rare opportunity to aspiring filmmakers and animation gurus to watch the cinema of their interest.

“I want to make some animated and inspirational films. This festival is super cool and I can watch these films several times over,” said 15 year-old Mayank Adhlakha, from Amity School.

The festival honoured the creative director of Taare Zameen Par, Amole Gupte for his contribution in providing “entertainment with purpose”.

Tomorrow’s attractions include Summer with the Ghosts and Two Brothers. A workshop with Amole Gupte is also lined up for tomorrow afternoon.

Ghaziabad, July 25
The situation in Loni town, where members of two communities traded gunfire and indulged in arson, was today returning to normal even as the police said that no one died in the violence.

Inspector general of police (Meerut zone) Gian Singh, who visited the town, about 24 kms from here, along with SSP Deepak Ratan, said that reports suggesting that three persons were killed in the violence were not correct.

He said the reports about the deaths emanated due to miscommunication between the police and the medical staff in a hospital where those injured in the firing and stone pelting were admitted.

Ratan had, last night said that the warring groups opened fire at each other leaving three persons dead and six with bullet wounds.

The IGP said the situation in the town was under control and returning to normal. Personnel of paramilitary provincial armed constabulary (PAC) have been deployed in the affected areas, he said, adding that 14 people belonging to both the groups have been detained on charges of arson and violence.

At least 30 people were injured including three police officials in the violence last night during which a police post, one police jeep and two other vehicles were set on fire and three Uttar Pradesh Roadways buses damaged.

The clashes took place following a dispute over construction of a wall in a locality dominated by the minority community.

According to the police, some people were constructing a place of worship in Khanna Nagar close to Tronica City on the Delhi –Saharnpur road at noon.

It is a disputed land, which belongs to a land management committee of the area and so the police tried to stop the construction.

But, when the police failed to persuade the people, SDM Vishal Singh tried to convince them to hold talks with administration to sort out the matter. Five persons were detained while rest of them went away.

Later in the evening, a mob reached Loni police station and after talking with the authorities got the five detained persons freed. But, then suddenly the mob turned violent and tried to set the police post on fire.

According to district magistrate Deepak Agarwal, the mob then moved to Nathora police post and set it on fire.

The rioters who were joined by Shiva devotees going to Haridwar blocked traffic for over two hours in the area.

The authorities had to summon additional forces from Ghaziabad, Noida and Bagpat to control the situation, which could be brought under control only by 9.45 pm.

She did not tell us about her results, but it was apparent from her body language that she was depressed about something.

“I wish she had discussed her results with us, her extreme step could have been avoided.” — IANS

Ghaziabad, July 25
All city-specific TV channels here were banned by the district administration today for presenting “wrong facts” in their news programmes.

District magistrate Deepak Agarwal ordered that all such channels be closed down with immediate effect, saying that they often telecast false and frivolous content in the name of news bulletins.

“These channels resort to presenting wrong facts and mislead the viewers while depriving them of the actual truth. They at times show stories that are far from reality, sending a wrong message to society,” Agarwal said. — IANS

New Delhi, July 25
The 15th annual health event, MTNL Perfect Health Mela 2008, will be held from October 17 to 26 at Chirag Delhi Park, Sheikh Sarai, here.

The theme for the 10-day mela this year will be “Healthy and Smoke Free Delhi”. The event is being organised by the Heart Care Foundation of India jointly with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, department of health, government of Delhi and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.

The associated groups will be various other departments of Delhi and Central government department of Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad, department of science and technology, New Delhi, NDMC, LIC, Oriental Insurance Company, Punjab and Sind Bank, etc.

The event is being held to create awareness about the rising incidence of various diseases and the much-needed education about preventive measures.

This year the mela will focus on “Healthy and smoke free Delhi” so as to provide a healthy environment for the forthcoming common wealth games.

Addressing a press conference, Dr K K Aggarwal, president, Heart Care Foundation of India, said the mela will be a reproducible module of providing health awareness to people from all sections of society incorporating all pathies under one roof through the medium of infotainment and one liner health sutras.

Co-addressing the media, A. K. Arora, ED MTNL, Dr V. K. Monga, chairman, Health Committee, MCD, Dr Jilli Devi, director health services, Dr N. K. Yadav, MHO MCD, Dr P K Sharma, MOH NDMC, D. K. Pandey, scientist D from DST, Ashok Shah, zonal manager LIC, and Dhirendra Verma senior manager OIC, in a joint statement said the mela would be a perfect picnic health spot for 10 days during the festive season between Dasehra and Diwali and will be a unique opportunity for the general public to know all about health, diseases and their prevention.

Chief guest of the day Padma Vibhushan Pt. Birju Maharaj and Sangeet Natak Academy Award winner Saswati Sen released the “mela theme and logo”.

They said traditional dancing is good for both mental and physical health and can be used as a preventive tool for most lifestyle disorders.

They welcomed the foundation’s effort in organising “heritage” an inter-dancing school festival for promoting traditional dancing.

New Delhi July 25
To celebrate the launch of the Sheffield Hallam University India office in July 2008, the university announced one full tuition fee scholarship to an Indian applicant for a 2008-09 postgraduate course.

Y Siva Sankar has been selected for the Vice-Chancellor’s scholarship. Siva Sankar will pursue MA in international broadcast journalism at Sheffield Hallam University

The university has 26 scholarships for Indian students ranging from an amount of £ 1000 to £ 3000, and two full scholarships. Also, one of the SHU current students is a winner of the British Council Chevening Scholarship. 

Currently, the university recruits over 400 students from India every year for a wide range of courses that have high employability value. The courses have been designed looking at the needs of the industry.

Around 89 per cent of SHU graduates get good jobs within six months of completion of their course.

Courses that are popular with Indian students are physiotherapy, pharmaceutical analyses, information technology, computing and networking, hospitality management and journalism.

New Delhi, July 25
Ardas shukrana is being held at the Sri Guru Singh Sabha premises on July 27 to thank the Almighty for the success of Dr Manmohan Singh in the vote of confidence in Parliament.

President of the Sri Guru Singh Sabham, Model Town, and former president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Prahlad Singh Chandhok is organising it.