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Chaos at ‘Janata Durbar’, Kejriwal leaves mid-way 

NEW DELHI: A "Janata Darbar" of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers had a chaotic start Saturday, with the chief minister withdrawing from the scene due to the mad rush. But he promised a better show and soon.

As chaos prevailed at AAP Government's first 'janta darbar' here, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said he left the venue to avoid a stampede-like situation and admitted that arrangements were not adequate.

Tens of thousands poured into the open space at the Delhi Secretariat. But the crowds were so overwhelming that Kejriwal retreated to his room in about 45 minutes at the suggestion of Delhi Police.

Later, addressing the crowds from the roof of a single-storey building, Kejriwal said: "We will have another 'Janata Darbar' in four or five days. It will be better organised and better managed."

"We will have to improve the arrangements. If I had not left the place then there was a possibility of a stampede. "We will improve the system. I will sit with the officers and make necessary arrangements," he told reporters.

Everybody wanted to meet me. We will streamline the system so that a similar situation does not recur," he said.

The Chief Minister was taken to his office by police personnel after the crowd at the public meet outside Delhi Secretariat went out of control. Kejriwal came out after a short while and asked the people to go back.

The Chief Minister stood on the boundary wall of the Secretariat and told the crowd that their problems will be addressed at the next meeting.

The entire Delhi Cabinet was present at the meet in Indraprastha Extension to attend grievances of the citizens.

Kejriwal convened the meet to directly interact with the common people and resolve their problems. Thousands of people had gathered at the venue since 9 AM. Police had put up barricades along the road outside the Secretariat as well as other arterial roads nearby but surging crowd went out of control creating chaos at the venue.

Two days back, Kejriwal had announced that his entire cabinet will sit outside the secretariat to resolve grievances of people. 

Simple test can detect cervical cancer

WASHINGTON: Scientists have found that using the heat profile from a person's blood, called a plasma thermogram, can indicate the presence or absence of cervical cancer and also predict the stage of the disease.

Researchers at the University of Louisville led by Nichola Garbett demonstrated that the plasma thermogram profile varies when a person has or does not have cervical cancer.

To generate a plasma thermogram, a blood plasma sample is "melted" producing a unique signature indicating a person's health status.

This signature represents the major proteins in blood plasma, measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC).

Researchers believe that molecules associated with the presence of disease, called biomarkers, can affect the thermogram of someone with cervical disease.

They used mass spectrometry to show that biomarkers associated with cervical cancer existed in the plasma.

"The key is not the actual melting temperature of the thermogram, but the shape of the heat profile," Garbett said.

"We have been able to establish thermograms for a number of diseases. Comparing blood samples of patients who are being screened or treated against those thermograms should enable us to better monitor patients as they are undergoing treatment and follow-up," Garbett said.

Another researcher Brad Chaires noted that plasma thermograms have different patterns associated with different demographics, as well as for different diseases.

This results in a more thorough application of the test as a person's thermogram can be compared to specific demographic reference profiles or, even better, to the person's own profile.

Using a person's unique thermogram would provide the most accurate application of the test which could be used as part of a personalised medicine approach.

Further clinical study could result in the plasma thermogram as a compliment test to the traditional screening method for cervical cancer, the Pap smear and would be less intrusive and more convenient for the patient, researchers said.

Additionally, because the plasma thermogram test could allow treatment effectiveness to be more easily monitored, treatment that was not working could be stopped sooner and replaced with more effective treatment.

CBI unearths major recruitment scam in IMA, books 3 Lt Cols

DEHRADUN: Unearthing a major recruitment scam in the Indian Military Academy here, the CBI has booked three serving Lieutenant Colonels in connection with the case.

Lieutenant Colonels Akhilesh Mishra, Jagdish Bishnoi and Ambarish Tiwari have been accused of issuing fake experience certificates to candidates in recruitments to group C and D cadres of the prestigious institute in 2011-2012, CBI sources said here today.

A regular case was filed by the apex investigating agency against the trio earlier this week, they said.

The accused, charged with forgery, conspiracy and issuing fake certificates to candidates, are likely to be interrogated soon, they said, adding some arrests in connection with the case may also be made.

The accused officers had allegedly issued forged documents to pave the way for recruitment of 34 candidates and helped in replacing the original answer sheets of 16 others to help them clear the written test, they said. 

South Asian rights bodies support Khobragade's maid 

WASHINGTON: A coalition of South Asian rights bodies in the US has came out in support of Devyani Khobragade's maid Sangeeta Richard, who has claimed that she suffered while working for the Indian diplomat.

"We stand with Sangeeta Richard and call upon our community members to support her and domestic workers around the country," National Coalition of South Asian Organisations (NCSO), which comprises of nearly four dozen rights bodies.

In a statement, NCSO yesterday urged policymakers and government agencies to enact and enforce policies that will protect the rights of domestic workers, just as the Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice did in this case.

Referring to the grand jury indictment brought by US Attorney Preet Bharara against Khobragade for allegedly committing visa fraud and making false statements, NCSO said Sangeeta was working at least 100 hours per week for a wage that amounted to USD 1.42 per hour.

"We commend the US Attorney's Office for enforcing the rights of (Sangeeta) Richard under the law," it said, adding that at the same time, it appears that Khobragade, who was arrested and released on a bail in December, was granted diplomatic immunity and has now returned to India.

"These developments raise grave concerns about the extent to which we value the rights of domestic workers, and whether there will be a chilling effect on the willingness of domestic workers to pursue claims against their employers, diplomats or not," NCSO said.

NCSO said the case has highlighted the struggles faced by many domestic workers like Sangeeta.

"There are between 1.8 and 2.5 million domestic workers in the US - many of them South Asian immigrant women...Often, many workers are underpaid, overworked and subjected to conditions and experiences that no one should endure,"it said.

Meanwhile, the apex body of South Asian attorneys in North America also refused to take sides in the diplomat case.

"The rule of law must be followed where wrongdoing is alleged, but the application of those rules often differs from country to country," the South Asian Bar Association of North America said in a statement.

"We do not presume to know all the facts, nor do we advocate for one side or the other in this situation. The fact that both prosecutor and accused are South Asian does not and should not affect the manner in which the rule of law is applied," it said.

"We have faith in the US judicial system and its capability of resolving these types of complicated cases in a fair manner," said its vice president Neil C Maskari.

Amritsar coldest at 0.4 C as cold wave sweeps 
Punjab & Haryana 

CHANDIGARH: Cold conditions continued to sweep most parts of Punjab and Haryana today with Amritsar reeling under severe chill at 0.4 degrees Celsius. Amritsar was the coldest place in the two states recording a four degrees below normal minimum, the MeT here said. Adampur in Jalandhar district was also very cold at 1.4 deg C.

Ludhiana and Patiala, too, experienced the chill recording respective below normal lows of 5.6 deg C and 6.3 deg C. There was no let up in biting cold conditions at Hisar, which recorded a low of 3 deg C, while Narnaul's minimum settled at 4.3 deg C.

Bhiwani also reeled under piercing cold recording below normal minimum of 3 deg C, while Karnal experienced a cold night at 4.6 deg C. Ambala registered a minimum temperature of 5.8 deg C.

Chandigarh, the joint capital of the two states, had a cold night at 6.2 deg C. However, the weather was bright and sunny during the day today after fog affected visibility during early morning here.

A MeT official said that fog also reduced visibility at Ludhiana while misty conditions prevailed at a few other places in the region.