New Delhi, June 11
Just three days before she was to get married, Monica Jaiswal who worked with a multi-national call centre in Gurgaon was found murdered in her rented accommodation in Madangir. The police has arrested her fiancé, Ravi Mishra, for the crime.

The accused has reportedly confessed to the crime.

Interestingly, it was Mishra who informed her parents that Monica had not been attending to calls on her mobile phone. They grew more apprehensive, when Monica did not even answer to their calls for the past two days. The murder came to light after the victim’s parents— Ravindar and Sunita Jaiswal reached her house today. They found the house locked from outside and called the police. The police broke open the door and found Monica lying dead.

The police said Mishra allegedly murdered Monica (23) as he had developed cold feet over their marriage. They reportedly had an argument on Wednesday. He hit her on face and then smothered her to death, additional deputy commissioner of police (south) S.K. Jain said.

Mishra, who also works at a call centre, also arrived. He told the police that he had been trying to reach her but returned from her house yesterday, finding it locked.

However, the police said Mishra did not look disturbed. Besides, he did not look for her as one would if his fiancée goes missing a few days before marriage.

“The entry to her house was friendly. Nothing was missing from her house. They were to get married on Monday. So it was natural for us to think that the murder might have something to do with the marriage,” the police said.

After intense questioning, Mishra broke down and confessed to the crime, the police said.

Monica’s parents Ravindar and Sunita Jaiswal said they got apprehensive when she did not answer to their repeated calls for two days.

Monica and Mishra belonged to different castes. The police said that Mishra’s parents did not approve of their relation and had been pressuring him to call of the wedding.

The accused told the police that he had agreed to his engagement with Monica as she ‘pressurised’ him but did not want to go ahead with the marriage.

As the D-day approached, he was getting reluctant and Monica also realised it. Things came to a head on Monday and he killed her, the police said.

New Delhi, June 11
“We have become victims of the Commonwealth Games. The government has acquired our agricultural land for constructing the Ring Road bypass, but it has not given any compensation,” says a group of farmers from north-east Delhi.

The farmers—Lal Chand, Chaudhary Bansi Lal, Jai Prakash, Dina Ram Saini and Inder Saini— told The Tribune, “The government has snatched our livelihood in the name of the Games.”

“First, our lands were taken for the construction of Metro line from Shahdara to Inderlok and, now, it is the Commonwealth Games. We were allotted the land in 1954 on lease for 99 years by the first Chief Minister of Delhi, Brahm Prakash. He had constituted the Peasant Cooperative Multi-Purpose Society to help poor farmers. The society still has its office in Ballimaran.”

The issue came to light when Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit along with development minister Raj Kumar Chauhan visited the construction site of the Ring Road bypass to monitor the progress. A group of farmers gheraoed the Chief Minister, demanding their rehabilitation as they had not been given compensation in lieu of their lands taken for the project.

The farmers said they had been farming on the land for the past 60 years and now it had been suddenly occupied without giving them any compensation.

The Delhi government has a law for giving compensation to farmers after acquiring their lands. The government had recently increased the compensation amount from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 75 lakh per biga.

However, in this case, the lands of the farmers have been acquired for constructing the Ring Road bypass but nothing has been given to them so far though the project is nearing completion.

Sources said the Chief Minister assured the farmers of compensation for damage of their crops. But as far as the land was concerned, the sources said, it was given to them on lease and could be taken back by the government anytime it needed.

New Delhi, June 11
A Delhi court today ruled that the mother had the first right over a daughter. The remarks came after the court directed the father of a minor girl to handover her custody to his wife.

Metropolitan magistrate Rachna Tiwari Lakhanpal directed the father, Ravinder Singh, who allegedly ran away with her three-and-half-year-old child on March 6, to handover her custody to her mother, Avaneet Kaur. The court room witnessed high drama when the girl child, Jasbani Kaur, on entering the courtroom, rushed to her mother, who hugged her tightly. The mother then burst into tears as she started cuddling her.

Avaneet was married to Ravinder Singh on October 17, 2004. After the marriage, she was continuously harassed and maltreated for bringing less dowry and was thrown out of the house. In October 2006, she gave birth to a girl child.

On March 6, when Jasbani was playing outside her house around 8.30 pm, Ravinder took her away without informing anyone. Since then, Avaneet had not seen Jasbani.

In her complaint, which she filed before the court, she stated even after repeated complaints made to the SHO and ACP of the Nihal Vihar police station, no action was taken against her husband.

She also submitted that the SHO not even once bothered to take the photograph of Jasbani.

The court termed Ravinder’s act of keeping Jasbani beyond the reach of Avaneet as ‘wrongful confinement’ and ordered the police to take action on the issue.

Avaneet had in March filed an application before the court under Section 97 (search for persons wrongfully confined) of the Criminal Procedure Code. During the proceedings, the husband had readily agreed to handover the child to her on the condition that she withdrew the criminal cases lodged against him.

The court had even issued notices to senior police officers, including the deputy commissioner of police , in the matter.

New Delhi, June 11
With the upcoming Commonwealth Games, while money may no longer be an overriding concern for heritage conservationists in the Capital, a fact which even the leading heritage NGOs and historians believe is that the current conservation outlook in the Capital is lopsided; the focus being only on popular monuments like Qutub Minar, Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort and a handful of others while scores of smaller monuments are given the go-by.

While the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) is working on the restoration and lighting up of 46 monuments of national importance before the Commonwealth Games, experts say that many smaller monuments, havelis and tombs encroached upon across the city are simply neglected.

Speaking on the widespread problem of abandoned and encroached monuments in the city, Janaki Nair, professor, Social Sciences, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal University, said, “There are several places where the local communities have taken over heritage monuments. For instance, in GK-I, a dome of Sultanate period has been converted into a ‘Pracheen Shiv Mandir’ while a boutique operates from a Sultanate period dome in Adhchini.”

Another expert Gurpreet Kaur said, “Tughlaqabad, the Khirki Masjid, Begumpur Masjid, Sultan-e-Ghari are being used as public toilets. No one seems to care for places like Rajon Ki Baoli and the tomb of Adham Khan, not to forget the inaccessible Sher Mandal; the list is endless. The ASI does not have enough resources to post guards at these monuments. No wonder, most of them have been taken over either by local ruffians or large parts of these monuments locked up permanently,” she said.

However, historians agree that the situation could have been worse had the NGOs not been involved in the conservation process. Currently, the ASI is working in close coordination with Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) that has helped in the restoration of many smaller monuments.

“INTACH took over the restoration work of ‘Bhuli Bhatiyari Ka Mahal’ along with the unnamed Lodhi period tomb at Lado Sarai, besides 24 other monuments in the Qutub complex. We have also been working with the state department for the restoration of 14 other smaller monuments, which are not in ASI’s list. These monuments will also be lit up along with the main 46 monuments,” said AK Menon, convener, Delhi chapter INTACH.

Added K K Muhammad, chief engineer, ASI, “We are doing our best. Every little detail cannot be taken care of before the Commonwealth Games. With encroached places, there are larger issues to be dealt with which involve the MCD, police and courts at times. Conservation requires meticulous planning and years of preparation in terms of archival research.”

New Delhi, June 11
Demanding reservation for Delhi students in some colleges of Delhi University (DU), students under the banner of DU Students’ Union (DUSU) today held a demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

Giving support to the students was BJP leader Vijay Goel.

“The demand for a fair share to Delhi students in the university has been there among the students and is now gaining strength. It is essential that students get full access to higher education,” said Goel.

While DUSU president Manoj Choudhary issued a statement to the students of the university, asking them to join him in demanding 85 pre cent reservation for Delhiites in 18 state government- funded colleges affiliated to DU. Former vice-president of DUSU Vikas Dahiya also joined the demonstration. He said besides reservation in existing colleges, a new university for undergraduate courses should also be opened.

The students said a delegation would soon meet Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit with a representation in this regard.

New Delhi, June 11
Several faculty members of AIIMS have expressed concern over the institute’s decision to conduct re-examination for three postgraduate students of the gynaecology and obstetrics department of the premier institute before the stipulated six months’ period.

AIIMS sources said senior faculty members have launched a signature campaign across departments and submitted a memorandum to the Union minister of health and family welfare. They have blamed institute’s director Dr R.C. Deka for it.

“The decision has been made without the necessary sanction by the academic’s examination committee. The exam if allowed would have serious repurcussions. We have given our dissent in writing to the ministry and in order to have a consolidated opinion on the matter, we are also running a campaign for the same,” said several senior faculty members of AIIMS.

These students in a complaint had blamed their department head for failing in the examination. The AIIMS order said the director would appoint the examiners and conduct the re-exams.. The re-exam would be counted as a regular exam instead of another chance accorded to failed students.

On the matter, AIIMS director Dr R C Deka couldn’t be reached for comments despite several attempts.

Sujata Rao, a senior official in the health ministry, said that the matter of re-examination is the domain of institute’s academic body and in no case should any authority intervene without the approval of the committee concerned.Though she declined to comment over the specific issue, her comments appear to be an indictment of the director’s stand in the present case.

According to the system that governs the academics of AIIMS and medical colleges in India, if postgraduates fail to clear their exams, there would be a re-exam only after six months and it is only for the under-graduate students who fail to score pass marks in professional examination (I, II, III) that the supplementary exams are held after six weeks following which they are permitted to join the regular batches.

New Delhi, June 11
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the chief secretary of Delhi and the commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, calling for their reports within four weeks on the death of three labourers who died inside a manhole while cleaning it on May 18.

In a statement today, the NHRC termed the incident, as reported in media, distressing, especially because the victims had covered their nose with only a handkerchief instead of a protective gear, which is mandatory.

Two labourers— Babu Lal (17) and Ravinder Kumar (27)— had entered a manhole at a banquet hall in Adarsh Nagar of north-west Delhi to clean it, but fell unconscious after inhaling toxic gases.

Another labourer, Harish Maini, was then forced by the banquet hall owner to go inside the manhole to help his friends. But on entering the manhole, Maini also fell giddy and became unconscious.

Reports said the victims tried to come out but could not make it and died inside the manhole.

The commission has expressed its shock over the deaths and said it was a serious case of violation of the human rights of the victims.

The commission has also asked officials to tell it about the number of deaths caused during manhole cleaning in the past five years.

New Delhi, June 11
With the first lot of the Commonwealth Games tickets already sold out, the organising committee (OC) officials said that the second set would be launched soon.

Tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies, to be held in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, are the bestsellers and are in huge demand, followed by tickets for popular sporting events like hockey, athletics, swimming, tennis and squash.

“The first lot of the opening ceremony tickets priced at Rs 1,000 has been sold out. We got good great response for tickets of all categories, but Rs 1,000-tickets were sold like hot cakes. We will be releasing its second lot soon,” said an official.

Of the 10,800 tickets sold so far, 60 per cent have been sold through the website and the rest through retail outlets and the call centre.

“Everyone wants to watch at least one of the events. Going by the present trend, when tickets to the bigger events will be sold out, people are expected to shift to the less popular events as well,” said an official.

Games tickets also give the holder the right to travel free on Metros and DTC buses to reach and return from the venue on the day of the event.

As soon as the ticketing programme was launched on June 4, the ticketing website got thousands of hits and the toll-free number kept ringing 24x7. People were also seen queuing up at the retail outlets of Central Bank of India and Hero Honda to book their places for witnessing India’s biggest sporting extravaganza.