TOP STORIES

Natasha: Death due to fall from height
2nd autopsy concurs with first one; cops refuse to dub it suicide yet
New Delhi, March 19
The Delhi Police today said that the second autopsy report of Natasha Singh, estranged daughter-in-law of senior Congress leader Natwar Singh, concurred with the first one and establishes that she died due to injuries “sustained in a fall from a height”. 

Natasha’s brother (left) and her husband Jagat Singh (right) before the cremation in New Delhi on Tuesday. —Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Can SMS message be considered a suicide note?
New Delhi, March 19
Even though the Delhi Police are yet to formally conclude that Natasha Singh, the 31-year-old estranged daughter-in-law of Congress leader K. Natwar Singh, had committed suicide, they are seeking legal opinion to ascertain if the SMS messages sent by her to some of her friends on Saturday night could be construed as a suicide note.

New Delhi, March 19 The size of the Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has been pegged at Rs 26,681 crore, more than double the size of the Ninth Plan. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who met with Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission KC Pant on Tuesday to finalise the Plan allocation, said the 2002-2003 Annual Plan as approved by the Planning Commission has been fixed at Rs 4,700 crore, up 24 per cent from Rs 3,800 crore last year.

Much-hyped Metro is not what the Capital needs

New Delhi, March 19 The much-hyped Mass Rapid Transport System or Metro will not solve the transportation crisis faced by the National Capital Territory of Delhi, said a leading expert on transport management. “Metro will not solve Delhi’s transport problem or any problem faced by the city. It would rather strengthen migration of people into the city,” said Prof Dinesh Mohan of Indian Institute of Technology here.

KU-college stand-off over principal
Panipat, March 19
The S. D. College Management Committee and Kurukshetra University (KU) are on the warpath over the continuation of Dr H. K. Sehajwani as the acting principal of the college.

Follow-Up
Fake medical colleges: directors arrested
Faridabad, March 19
The ‘directors’ of two ‘self-styled’ medical institutes, which were offering `degrees’ in an unauthorised and illegal manner, have been arrested. They were produced in two separate courts, which remanded them to police custody till tomorrow.

• Spate of poll complaints

• Industrialist ends life

• Pahelwan’s assets attached

COMMUNITY

Rozgar Yojana weighed down by bad debts 
Gurgaon, March 19
The Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna (PMRY) for providing self-employment for educated youth of the country has failed to serve the purpose for which it was set up. As the banks refuse to consider collateral security or surety from the applicants for sanctioning loans, few bother to return the loans.

MCD ELECTION
BJP changes tack: It is back to basics
New Delhi, March 19
Even as Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit gets down to campaigning for the Congress in the few days remaining, ahead of Sunday’s civic elections, in a bid to rub off her government’s “achievements” on the party’s fortunes at the hustings, the “performance” of her government has come under fire from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

IN PARLIAMENT
Delhi housing shortage projected at 2.9 lakh 
New Delhi, March 19
The Department of Drinking Water Supply, Government of India, has provided central assistance of Rs two crore during the year 2001-2002 to the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi under the Prime Minister’s Gramodaya Yojana (PMGY).

Water theft by ‘big’ farmers leaves tail-end fields dry
Sonepat, March 19
Farmers in the villages falling under the jurisdiction of the Rai Water Service Division and the Samalkha subdivision have been facing an acute shortage of canal water for irrigating their fields for the past a few months.

Yogindra Yadav  for rollback of reforms
Panipat, March 19
Coming down heavily on the economic and liberalisation policies of the Union Government, Dr Yogindra Yadav, Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), New Delhi, today demanded a “rollback of the second generation reforms”.

• Shahi Imam calls for ban on RSS, VHP

GLITZ & GLAMOUR
Leave your footprints on the sands of time 

Gone are the days when you could hide your cracked heels under a saree or pull your socks up. Feet are no longer the can-be-neglected part of your body. For tiptoeing on the sands of time and leaving your footprints behind, make sure you pay them the same attention that your face deserves. Get rid of dirt, the very first step to beautiful feet. If you can’t go for a pedicure, try giving your feet a good wash at home. Add a capful of shampoo to some lukewarm water, soak your feet in this for a while. Best foot forward.

Razzle-dazzle

Herbal Holi

Grooms have a reason to smile this season
Renu Nigam hit headlines when Bill Clinton, in the royal Mughal tradition, wore a sherwani stitched by her during his visit to India last year. Renu’s expertise lies in ‘special sherwanis’ that include Kangani, Pita Dahka and flat Kasab. 

• Compositions  lack freshness

Rohtak
SSIs cry for short-term steps to revive business
Rohtak, March 19
The union and the state Budgets have disappointed the small-scale industry in Haryana which was facing tough competition from the large and multinational companies.

Four die in mishaps

Teachers’ dharna

NCR BRIEFS
Lok Adalat disposes of 499 cases 
Faridabad, March. 19
A Lok Adalat held here disposed of as many as 499 pending cases. It was presided over by Ms Nirmal Yadav, District and Sessions Judge. According to Ms Yadav, the majority of the cases were settled with mutual understanding and cooperation.

• Minor fire at Shram Shakti Bhawan

CRIME

Chemist shot at in Kotwali
New Delhi, March 19
A chemist sustained bullet injuries when he was shot by some unidentified persons in Bagirathi Place in the Kotwali area when he was returning home. Harish Gupta (26), resident of Gulabi Bagh, runs a medical store in Mangal Puri.

HEALTH

The waiting sufferers outside AIIMS: Medicare gone awry?
New Delhi, March 19
Mr Shambu Nath, 73, has been waiting outside the OPD of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for nearly a week to get himself treated for Malaria. He sleeps on the pavement outside the department hoping that his turn might come the next day.

SPORTS

BSF to meet AG Haryana in NFL opener
New Delhi, March 19
Border Security Force (BSF) will take on AG Haryana (Chandigarh) in the opening match of the Phase II Second Division National Football League at the Ambedkar Stadium in the Capital on Wednesday at 2 pm.

Saket Bhatia stars in Sonnet’s victory
New Delhi, March 19
Saket Bhatia played a fine all-round game (89 and 2 for 26) to help Sonnet Club beat Indian Airlines by 85 runs in a Super A Division match of the DDCA League at the Kotla No I ground in the Capital.

On a voyage to spread the message of peace
New Delhi, March 19
Two adventurous young students with a sense of responsibility to the environment and society, Harinder Singh Flora and Harjinder Singh, are on a worldwide motorbike sojourn to spread the message of “peace, brotherhood, environmental protection, Inter-Universal Globalism, disarmament of nuclear weapons and ending terrorism worldwide”.

SPORTS CORNER
Air Force ground K N Colts
New Delhi, March 19
Air Force grounded K N Colts by eight wickets in the second Krishna Verma League-Cum-Knockout Cricket Tournament at the Captain Dharam Pal Sports Complex. An unbeaten knock of 53 by Mohd. Imtiyaz was the highlight of Air Force’s victory.

S P Jain Cricket Tourney

Senior National Judo

Harish helps Adidas enter quarter-final
New Delhi, March 19
Harish Doraiswamy played a stellar all-round role to star in Adidas' 30 runs victory against Bechtel in the ninth Teri Cup Cricket Tournament organised by Teri at the Teri Oval.