New Delhi, October 2
Wooing the Muslim minority with promises may not be that easy in the Delhi assembly elections for any of the political parties, including the ruling Congress.

As a major chunk of the Muslim community could refrain from voting first in November polls here and then in the general elections next year if the concerns of the section go unaddressed, warn representatives of the section from across the country here.

Remuneration to be provided by the government to imams (clerics) and moyazens (caretakers) in government-aided and non-aided mosques in line with the 1993 Supreme Court judgement on a petition of the All India Imams Organisation, is one of the several demands that imams and social activists are planning to make a poll issue this time.

They have submitted a petition regarding this to the President, Prime Minister and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under the banner of All India Madrasa/ College/ University Muslim Minority Education and Jama Masjid/Imam/Moyazen Kalyan Trust.

In this regard, they would mobilise the community in the coming days to boycott the elections first in Delhi and then elsewhere using the “right to reject” button on EVMs.

According to them, in the national Capital the ruling Congress government has cheated the section treating them nothing more than vote banks in the last 15 years of its rule.

“In protest, people from the Muslim community are going to boycott the Vidhan Sabha elections. Mere assurances will not get them (political parties) votes,” said Mufti Ashfaq, head of the All India Tanzeem Ulema-E Islam and imam of Shashtri Park Quadri Masji.

Rejecting the vote-bank politics of the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government, he added, “We are not going to be trapped by poll promises any more, but this time we would ensure that our issues are addressed.”

“We want to have a change for good and the Congress party which has taken us for a ride in the last 15 years has failed us,” general secretary of All India Jamat Raza-E-Mustafa Maulana Shahbuddin Razvi noted.

Some of the other longstanding demands that the section has been pushing for are reservation on the basis of income criterion and not on caste, creed or religion and allowing Muslims to enjoy the benefits meant under the SC/ ST categories.

Citing Justice Rajinder Sachar committee observations stating that just 2.4 per cent of Muslims are engaged in high-end jobs, social activist Jaideep Singh noted, “The current reservation system for SCs and STs excludes Muslims in education, employment and electoral process. We want equal opportunities for all. Another important recommendation of Tanzeem Ulema is to form a local committee with representation from all religious communities in the area to be consulted on people arrested for terrorism.”

New Delhi, October 2
The Delhi High Court has sought status report from DDA and other agencies of city government on a PIL alleging “rampant” illegal construction on public land in and around the Capital. Seeking response from DDA and also from police, South Delhi MCD, DJB and BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana in a recent order sought a status report by November 27.

The bench was hearing a PIL by Fraternity Against Corruption, a registered trust, alleging “rampant land grabbing, encroachment and illegal construction on DDA lands in and around Delhi which is open and brazen loot of public resources affecting public at large.”

According to the plea, due to mismanagement of DDA, large chunks of land particularly in South Delhi are being misused and the land owning agency has failed to take care of them properly.

“The land mafia in connivance with corrupt officials of DDA grab the vacant DDA lands and then raise unauthorised construction over these lands. Their illegal activities do not end with this and they further sell these illegally constructed houses to innocent public and dupe them of their hard earned money,” the plea alleged.

Referring to a high court’s decision in which the bench had ordered police to inform the concerned agency and also stop the illegal construction on DDA land, the plea said, “Delhi Police merely acts as a post office, they just inform this illegal activity to the public authority once, after that they just remain mute spectator to this brazen activities.”

The PIL, filed through counsel Sunder Khatri and Dhananjay Tyagi, cited some areas where the alleged illegal activities involving the land grabbing had occurred in South Delhi. — PTI

New Delhi, October 2
An 11-year-old boy was seriously injured when he was hit by a javelin at a playground in a government school at south east Delhi’s C R Park area during recess late on Tuesday afternoon.

The victim has been identified as Roshan Lama. He has been admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he is in a critical condition.

The police said they have registered a case under Section 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code against the physical training instructor of the school, identified as Sushil Kumar Sharma. He has been arrested. 

The victim’s father, Suraj Lama, who works as a driver, said the incident took place at about 4 pm on Tuesday. Like every day, Roshan left his house in Chirag Delhi at about 12.30 pm to reach his school, Sarvodaya Government School in C R Park.

“During the recess, Roshan with his friends went to a playground at the school, where students play football and cricket. Some students of class XII were throwing javelins,” said Suraj.  

When Roshan and his friends reached the playground, a javelin hit his head near the left ear and he fell to the ground.

New Delhi, October 2
The BJP has not yet decided whether it would give more than four seats to the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), its alliance party in Delhi as well as in Punjab to contest the assembly elections.

According to sources in the BJP, the SAD Badal was demanding 10 seats out of total 70 assembly constituencies. In the last assembly elections in 2008, the SAD Badal was given only four seats – Rajouri Garden, Adarsh Nagar, Jangpura and Vivek Vihar in the Trans-Yamuna area. The Akali Dal candidates had lost all the seats.

After having seen the performance of the party in the past, the BJP could not afford to give more than four seats on which the SAD candidates had contested elections, the sources said.

A senior leader of the Delhi unit of the SAD on condition of anonymity said that SAD demanded six more seats where Sikh voters are in good number like Tilak Nagar, Hari Nagar, Kalkaji, Greater Kailash, Model Town and Tri Nagar. The second important issue is that in this election, the SAD decided to contest election on its own symbol.

In the last election, the SAD candidates were Avatar Singh Hit from Rajouri Garden, Ravinder Singh Khurana from Adarsh Nagar, Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Jangpura, Jitender Singh Shunty from Shahadra.

However, sources said in this election the SAD Badal would not field its candidate against Congress MLA Tarvinder Singh Marwah in Jangpura.

A senior SAD leader, in charge of the SAD Badal in Delhi during the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee election, B. S. Ramoowalia said, “We will be given the number of seats we have demanded. Only the name of the seats is to be decided. We have alliance with the BJP and we want to make it stronger.”

New Delhi, October 2
With the arrests of three persons who allegedly supplied the pseudoephedrine drug to Myanmar and China, the police claim to have recovered 200 kgs of the contraband from them.

Pseudoephedrine is used to manufacture party drugs such as methamphetamine, commonly known as ice and ecstasy.

The accused have been identified as Mohammad Asgar, alias Akser (33), Mohammad Asker, alias Shaker (25) and Abdul Kalam (31). They were apprehended by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.

Asgar is a resident of Thoubal in Manipur, according to the Special Cell. In Delhi, he allegedly came in contact with one, Gulab Khan, a resident of Bihar. “Khan taught him the tricks of procuring pseudoephedrine and supplying it to the northeastern states at a huge margin. From there it is trafficked to Myanmar and China for the manufacture of high quality party drugs, which are sold at exorbitant prices in the international market,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav.

The officer claimed that Shaker worked as an airman in the Indian Air Force (IAF). “In the beginning of 2012, he came in contact with Asgar and started working for him. In the same year, he was dismissed from the IAF, due to his suspected involvements in drug trade,” said Yadav.

Kalam is Shaker’s cousin and was allegedly helping him in his activities. Kalam allegedly procured pseudoephedrine from one, Kapil from Meerut. He then supplied it to one, Farooq, who sent the consignments to Myanmar from the border at Moreh in Manipur.

The Special Cell said that in December, 2012, they had busted a drug trafficking module, involved in supplying pseudoephedrine to Myanmar via Delhi.

“The people who were arrested then revealed that Asgar was the main conduit, who procured these drugs from clandestine pharmaceutical units at Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, Dehradun in Uttarakhand and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. He placed orders to these manufacturing units under the names of fictitious pharmaceutical companies,” said Yadav.

The Special Cell started searching for Asgar. On Tuesday, they were informed that Asgar, who was staying in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area will be travelling in a white Honda City car with a large consignment of the drug. A police team waited for him at Masigarh village near Jamia Nagar.

Asgar was caught at about 9.30 pm. “Two kgs of pseudoephedrine tablets were seized from him. From his car, we recovered five more cartons of 41,900 tablets of pseudoephedrine,” said Yadav.

Asgar allegedly disclosed to the police that he was being assisted in the racket by his two associates, Shaker and Kalam. “He also said that his associates could be found at a godown in Noor Nagar, where they were packaging another consignment of the drug,” said Yadav.

The police conducted a raid at Johri Farms in Noor Nagar and apprehended Shaker and Kalam.