Thursday,
March 21, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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‘Papa will set things right’
syndrome afflicts New Delhi, March 20 Amid the din of the casual atmosphere of five-star hotels and the blaring music of discotheques and bars, however, a disturbing trend is now emerging, where the rich and the powerful are being involved in daring crimes – sometimes as victims but often as accused. Flush with funds, influence and bravado that “papa will set things right”, the scions of the rich and powerful families are becoming a policing nightmare for the Delhi Police, laments a senior police officer who has seen the trend over the last few years. The murder of Kunjum Budhiraja, the Shivani Bhatnagar murder case, the BMW incident, the triple murder case of Personal Point, the Naina Sahni ‘tandoor murder case’, the Jessica Lal shooting incident, the death of Anju Illyasi, the death of Nitish Katara and now the death of Natasha Singh are all pointers to this trend. Senior Delhi Police officers here admit that enforcing the law and order among this class of people is a cause for concern. “These persons are children of influential people and wield clout in the government,” an officer said. The Delhi Police have often borne the brunt of public cynicism for the poor conviction record in such cases. “Most of these cases would have been solved by now, but for the influence wielded by those involved,” an officer said. Delhi Police officers said that large sums of unaccounted black money are primarily responsible for the rise of “you don’t know who I am” syndrome prevalent in the so-called “five-star culture”. “The police are helpless if the witnesses and the kin of the victims turn hostile. There is no concrete evidence, but it may not be wrong to assume that moneybags change hands during the course of the investigation. The prosecution naturally gets weakened,” the officer said. Observers say that the genesis of the ‘five-star culture’ can be traced back to the Asian Games of 1982. “Now partying out is more of a norm and less of an unwinding process. Otherwise how would one explain the mushroom growth of party clubs,” an old-timer said. Perhaps, the exposure to western culture through the 24-hour television channels and tips from the Internet and the general erosion of the family ties with utter lack of supervision have contributed considerably towards this trend, several psychologists contacted by the ‘NCR Tribune’ claimed. “The information boom has its own attendant evils and they have to be nipped at the lowest levels. Schools should play an important role in imparting values to children. The high costs of economy have only added to the problems as parents themselves struggle hard to keep up with the Joneses at work place,” a social psychologist said. |
MCD polls: Akalis are
testing waters New Delhi, March 20 While the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), which has an alliance with the BJP, is contesting on the “Lotus” symbol, the pro-Tohra group, Shiromani Akali Dal Delhi, has decided to go all alone and is contesting on the “car” symbol. Though the Akalis have sizeable influence in more than two dozen wards, they are contesting from six wards only. The Akalis of the Badal faction in the fray for the MCD polls are: Gurmeet Singh (Nizamuddin), S S Sandhu (Sewa Nagar), Tarjeet Singh Nagi (Geeta Colony), Paramjit Kaur (Tilak Nagar) and senior party leader Onkar Singh Thapar (Pratap Nagar). The Akali candidates put up by the SAD (Tohra group), Delhi, are: Ms Rajinder Kaur (Tilak Nagar), Harjit Singh Jaggi (Partap Nagar) and Kulwant Kaur from Raghubir Nagar. The Badal group had asked for 10 seats, but the faction had to settle for only five seats as the BJP did not accede to their demands. The SAD (Badal), which controls the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, also debated the idea of contesting on their symbol “Scales”. The party, however, decided to contest on the BJP symbol as the candidates’ poor performance would not only affect the SAD’s prospects in the gurdwara elections but also dent the party’s bargaining power in the assembly polls scheduled to be held in the next 18 months. Senior members of the DSGMC, which is headed by Mr Hit, had expressed reservations about the SAD-BJP ‘’alliance’’ for the MCD polls, saying their party itself ‘’had made a mockery of the term’’. ‘’Technically, one has to resign from the party to contest elections on a different symbol. Then, where does the question of an alliance arise? It is as simple as leaving one party and joining the other,’’ a senior DSGMC Executive member said. However, the SAD Delhi, which had expressed its willingness to align with the third front or the Congress on certain conditions, has been forced to go all alone in the polls. |
BJP digs up criminal records New Delhi, March 20 The BJP on Wednesday accused the Congress of fielding candidates who had more than one First Information Reports (FIRs) registered against them with various police stations in the Capital. Producing a list of 21 Congress candidates with criminal records, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Prof Jagdish Mukhi accused the Congress of patronising individuals who had allegedly committed such heinous crimes as rape. Recalling the “Tandoor” murder case in which a Youth Congress activist was allegedly involved, the BJP said the mysterious death of senior Congress leader Natwar Singh’s daughter-in-law Natasha was one of many instances that highlighted the party’s “orientation.” Joining issue with the BJP, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Subhash Chopra said BJP’s remarks on Natasha Singh’s death were not in good taste. The Congress, he said, would not “stoop so low” as to hit below the belt. Referring to the charge of fielding candidates with a criminal record, Chopra said most of the cases were politically motivated. Recalling the Election Commission guidelines, he said a candidate was innocent unless proved otherwise. Congress Spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said the announcements of dearness allowance to government employees and pay scale for teachers were in violation of the code of conduct as was his earlier announcement relating to rentals of shops in some of Capital’s markets but, he continued, the Congress would not press the matter further in the interest of the beneficiaries. He said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) candidate from Ward No 131 had joined the Congress. Meanwhile, BJP National President Jana Krishnamurthy addressed party workers at a meeting convened on Wednesday evening. The civic polls, he said, were important as they were being held in the nation’s Capital and exhorted them to turn out in large numbers on Sunday. Union Minister of State for Railways O Rajagopal also joined in the campaigning. |
A case of fence eating the crop Gurgaon, March 20 The Improvement Trust, whose premises have been encroached upon by the police on Khandsa Road to set up a ‘chowki’, is helpless in the face of the law-enforcing agency. The Trust has asked the police department several times to vacate the place but in vain. It is a typical case of the fence eating the crop. In the last correspondence, the district police chief told the Trust that the presence of chowki on Khanda Road was necessary to check the rising crime in the area. However, he promised that the department would vacate the premises as soon as it got a suitable accommodation. The assurance had been given about five months ago. The insiders in the Trust said that the police occupation of the premises has caused huge financial losses to the organisation. It cannot dispose of the premises. Besides, the collateral loss has been through the depreciation in the market value of the shops near the premises. The Trust got a negative public response to its plan to auction eight shops adjacent to the premises. The reason for the lack of interest in the public to buy the shops was obviously the fear of police personnel. The sources said that as the members of the Trust, including its Chairman, are private persons, they do not want to push the matter hard with the law-enforcing agency. Second they have already pleaded with the guardians of the law a number of times but of no avail. In any case, they are not sure of the kind of support they would get from the influential local leaders of the ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). |
Advocates assault cops in court complex Ghaziabad, March 20 A report has been lodged against three persons, two of whom are advocates. Anurag Gupta of F-Block in Shastri Nagar under Kavi Nagar police station area had parked his bike in the court. After a while when he came back, he found his bike missing. He immediately informed constables Salekchand and Gajender at the police post in the court complex. Both the constables started checking the bikes at the main gate of the court complex. As they stopped a motorcyclist and asked him to show the papers of the vehicle, three persons descended on the scene and assaulted the constables. They beat up Salekchand and Gajender, tore off their uniforms and helped the youth escape with the bike. The constables have named two advocates and the youth who sped away on the bike in the FIR. They have registered a case of assault on the government officials on duty, tearing off their uniforms, interfering in the performance of government duty and abetting the thief to escape with the stolen bike. |
ASI gets lifer in dowry case New Delhi, March 20 Judge Dhingra said, “Accused persons do not deserve any leniency. They perpetuated cruelty on the victim continuously for four months for not bringing sufficient dowry” “Being in the police department, he misled the police and stood in the way of proper investigation,” the court observed. The complaint filed by the mother of the deceased had alleged that her daughter was murdered by her in-laws four months after here marriage in July 1997 as her family was unable to fulfil the demand for a car. The victim was living with her husband and father-in-law. The complaint also alleged that the accused had misled the family and the police about the circumstances of the death as the autopsy report had confirmed that she was strangulated and died of asphyxia. The court also took strong exception to Lekh Ram’s story that two persons had come home with Pramila and after they left she was found murdered under her bed. |
Drunken cop sprays bullets
New Delhi, March 20 |
IN PARLIAMENT New Delhi, March 20 However, the question of authorising private medical attendants under the CGHS did not arise as the beneficiaries can get treatment through the CGHS dispensaries, the minister said. He also informed that it was not possible to open more CGHS dispensaries in Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Faridabad at present, as there were constraints of manpower and resources. He was answering a question on whether most of the central government employees have opted for private medical attendants or hospitals due to the non-availability of CGHS dispensaries in the NCR. On whether the government was aware of the wrong blood transfusion cases in the hospitals including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the minister said that so far, there had been no such reports in the central government hospitals like Safdarjung, Ram Manohar Lohia, AIIMS, LHMC and associated hospitals. He said that the procedure under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 and the rules made thereunder for quality assurance were being strictly followed in blood banks of the central government hospitals and AIIMS to avoid the cases of wrong blood transfusion. He said that there were no plans to set up any computerised blood bank in the Capital now. Many blood banks in Delhi and rest of the country had some aspects of their operations computerised for their more efficient functioning, he informed. Mr Raja said that the ministry had appointed a Chief Medical Officer, CGHS dispensary, Jawaharlal Nehru University, as the enquiry officer to look into the “prevailing” irregularities in the Unani Wing of CGHS. The enquiry officer had already given the enquiry report and it was under examination. Replying to another question, he said that the Government of NCT of Delhi had informed that a Centralised Accidents and Trauma Scheme (CATS) was started under the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 1984. It was taken over by erstwhile Delhi Administration in 1989 and had been smoothly functioning since then. At present, there were about 35 ambulances operating from various points located all over Delhi with the central command and control for effective monitoring and deployment. The Sushrut Trauma Centre under Lok Nayak Hospital is good for basic life support and advanced trauma life support for trauma victims and functions round the clock. Apart from this, another trauma block had been established in the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital. Meanwhile, Minister of State for Small Scale Industries Vasundhara Raje Scindia said that the total number of complaints received at the Prime Minister’s Office pertaining to Delhi from January 1, 1999 to December 12, 2001 was 25,883. These complaints, inter alia, related to unemployment, service-related grievances allotment of flats, plots, complaints against police officials, and other public servants, unauthorised constructions and encroachments. |
Road modernised in record time Sonepat, March 20 He disclosed that the state government had spent a sum of Rs 11.81 crore on this work and the district administration had expressed satisfaction at the use of material and timely completion of the work. He also denied that the road had developed cracks on account of use of sub-standard materials. The DC also disclosed that the width of the road from Sonepat to Gohana had been increased from 5.50 metres to seven metres and it had helped in the smooth flow of traffic. He said that the quality of the material used in the road was being examined at the Hot-Mix Plants Laboratory at Sonepat and Karnal. This followed a series of public complaints received by the district administration in this regard. According to the DC, the state government has allocated a sum of Rs 67.70 lakh for 35 development works in 24 villages falling under the jurisdiction of Sonepat Assembly constituency of this district. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, announced the launch of these works during the second leg of his tour under Sarkar Aap Ke Dwar Programme in the state. The villages selected are: Shahzadpur, Lehrara, Jahri, Bayyanpur, Chitana, Naina Tatarpur, Kilorad, Mahra, Mohana, Bhatana Zaffarabad, Hulehri, Khizarpur Jat Majra, Salimpur Trauli, Pinana, Barwasni, Bohla, Juan-II, Bhatgaon, Qumashpur, Murthal, Sandal Kalan and Sandal Khurd. The DC disclosed that the district administration had taken a series of steps to complete the work on the priority basis. |
Huda to regularise basements in markets Faridabad, March 20 While the development of basements in Huda markets is illegal, several shopkeepers have built such basements in several markets. The Huda officials last year had announced their decision to ‘close’ all the basements and impose a penalty; however, the move could not materialise as many affected persons went to court. As the matter is still pending in the court, the Huda authorities have thought of the aforesaid scheme to tackle the problem; moreover, this move will earn a handsome revenue to the department. According to a survey carried out by the department, illegal basements had come up in at least 558 booths and 136 SCFs before June last year. The Administrator has now decided to regularise those booths which are not embroiled in litigation. About 390 basements have come up in corridors of the market, which will have to pay the fine to get regularised, but on certain conditions laid by the Huda, said an official. |
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1,300 bitten by stray
animals in Faridabad Faridabad, March 20 The administration on its part says all the stray animals including pigs, dogs and monkeys will be caged and sent to a distant place. The team deputed caught three pigs here on Tuesday. According to figures and estimates, the industrial town spread on over 2,750 square kilometres could have about two lakh stray dogs and pigs at present. Besides, hundreds of monkeys and cows have been present in various localities. A prominent school in Sector-17 here had recently taken up the issue of monkey menace with the district authorities. The school had pleaded for caging of all the simians posing a danger to the residents here. Since March 9, the civil hospital has recorded 1,300 animal bites. There are cases which are simply not reported to civil hospital as many of the victims prefer to take treatment at private clinics. According to details, the civil hospital had 79 cases on March 9, 170 on March 11, 180 on March 13, 172 on March 14, 185 on March 15, 180 on March 16, 184 on March 18 and 150 on March 19. The most affected localities include Sanjay Colony, Dabua Colony, Parvaitya Colony, Old Faridabad, Chawla Colony, Ballabgarh and several villages located in the municipal limits and outside it. |
Computerised centres for power
complaints Sonepat, March 20 Every complaint centre has also been allotted code numbers which are as follows: Suraj Steel (1101), Gohana Adda (1102), Circle Office (1103), Mini Secretariat (1104), Kumahran Gate (1201), Bahalgarh (1202), Garhi Brahmanan (1203), Old Power House (1301), RRI Bahalgarh (1302), Sector 14 (1303) and Power House at Fazilpur (1304). He disclosed that the consumers have to dial telephone numbers 251420 or 244772 and after the beep, they are required to press 0 digit for Hindi and 9 digit for English for registering their complaints. The facility to know about the action taken in the previous complaints has also been provided, he added. |
Panipat Panipat, March 20 Police diary:
According to the SP, Ms Mamata Singh, 1.5 kg opium was seized and a case under the NDPS Act had been registered during he period. She said nine cases had been registered under the Arms Act and eight country-made pistols and 9 live cartridges recovered. As many as 61 persons had been booked under the Gambling Act and Rs 29,782 recovered from them. The police also registered five cases of looting and recovered Rs 33,000 of the looted Rs 1.40 lakh. Similarly, Rs 23,700 of Rs 2.74 lakh looted was recovered in 11 cases of burglary. Thirty-three theft cases were solved during period and Rs 2.3 lakh of the stolen Rs 5.62 lakh was seized, the SP added. 10-year jail term:
It may be recalled that the accused was held by the police from the local bus stand and about 3 kg of opium was seized from her about two years back. She would undergo two years’ additional imprisonment in default of the fine. PNDT panel meet:
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NCR BRIEFS Rohtak, March 20 It is learnt that the police had received information that Pramod, a drug addict, would certainly visit the Gandhi Nagar area to purchase drugs. It is pertinent to mention here that the Gandhi Nagar locality has established as a drug market in the town.
Clinic in the dock The Pre-natal Diagnostic Technique (PNDT) Advisory Committee has suspended the registration of a clinic in the town in view of the complaints of sex determination tests conducted by the
clinic. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the committee held under the presidentship of the Civil Surgeon, Dr K. K. Ranjan, on Tuesday evening. The members of the committee inspected various registered clinics in the town and directed the doctors concerned to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations.
Seminar on JP The Department of Rural Development of Maharshi Dayanand University will organise a seminar on ‘Relevance of JP at this juncture’ on March 22 on the occasion of the birth centenary of Jai Prakash Narain. Noted political analyst Yogender Yadav of the Centre for Study of Developing Societies in Delhi would be the key speaker in the seminar.
Convocation held Jhajjar Thirty-two students were awarded with Roll-of-Honours for their distinctions in the fields of studies, sports and cultural activities. Out of total 285 students, 198 were arts graduates, 13 commerce (honours) graduates, 27 commerce (pass) graduate, 11 science graduates and 36 were postgraduates. Ms R. C.0 Marvah, principal of the college, presided over the function.
Eye camp Faridabad 51 autos fined About 51 autorickshaws were challaned by the police on Wednesday for not meeting the traffic norms. The district administration has launched a drive to check plying of illegal autorickshaws in the town.
Copying cases Sonepat It is also alleged that the policemen as well as the staff of the examination centres were in league with the outsiders in rendering help to the examinees and smuggling answer notes inside the examination halls.
HVP rally on
April 6 The Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) is organising a rally on April 6 in the city to protest against the “anti-people” policies of the ruling INLD. Mr Rajiv Jain, general secretary of the HVP, told mediapersons here today that the rally would be addressed, among others, by Mr Bansi Lal, former Chief Minister and supremo of the party, and Mr Surinder Singh, former MP and the general secretary of the party.
Dowry death The police have arrested two persons, Rajpal and Sanjay, both brothers, of Khewra village in connection with the dowry death registered against them on the complaint of the father of Sunita who had set herself and her children afire in their house on March 7. According to a report, the number of arrests made by the police in this connection has risen to three now. The husband of the victim was held earlier.
Polio camp As many as 150 operations were performed by a team of doctors at the anti-polio operation camp organised jointly by the District Red Cross Society, the Jain Milan and the Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Kalyan Samiti, Jaipur-Delhi here on Tuesday. According to Mr H. C. Jain, General Manager of the Haryana Roadways and the convenor of the samiti, a similar camp would also be organised between May 8 and 15 in the city. |
L-G reviews election arrangements
New Delhi, March 20 The Lieutenant-Governor also directed the MCD to effectively remove posters and plastic buntings from public property. These decisions were taken in today’s meeting of Mr Kapoor with the Election Commissioner, other officials of the Election Commission and Delhi Police. The elections to the 134-seat MCD would be held on March 24 while counting will take place on March 27. TNS |
Woman held for Rs 60 lakh fraud on bank Faridabad, March 20 The accused, identified as Karamjit Kaur, had allegedly opened an account in the OBC in the name of Darshan Kaur and drawn the amount in an illegal manner. One of her relatives is also stated to be involved in the crime. The accused and her relative had also opened accounts in bogus names at a bank in Mohali to stash away the money. The Punjab Police has also booked a case, in this regard. The Faridabad police, which had visited Punjab at least five times in this connection, had failed to arrest her. she was nabbed from Thanola village in Ropar district on Monday night. She was living with her brother-in-law. The police had launched an investigation into the fraud on the basis of an FIR lodged by the Chief Manager of the OBC at NIT police station here on November 21 last. The court has sent her to police remand. |
Husband booked for woman’s
suicide Panipat, March 20 According to the police, those booked were her husband Suresh, father-in-law Jai Singh, mother-in-law Ratni, and brother-in-law Jagdish. Sarla’s family alleged that she was forced to end her life on Tuesday night when harassed by the in-laws to bring a motorcycle and more money for starting a business. Sarla and her sister Neelam, residents of Ramra Samaspur village in Sonepat district, were married to real brothers — Suresh and Dilbagh — on April 2 last year. However, within a few months of the marriage, Sarla was harassed for bringing more dowry and money, the family alleged. The Mahila Mandal, Sonepat, had also tried to intervene to sort out the matters but in vain. A case under Section 304-B of the IPC has been registered. |
Four forge DDs to dupe loan
aspirants New Delhi, March 20 The suspects were identified as Mukesh Nigam, prime suspect, his associates Ajai Yadav, Ajai Verma and Javed. They were arrested from different areas of the Capital. The suspects used to cheat innocent victims by posing themselves as finance consultants and offering to help them getting loans from the banks. They used to take five per cent commission of the total amount of the loan, the police said. The racket came to light when they gave drafts for Rs 15 lakh of Punjab National Bank to a retired Air Force officer. For that, they took Rs 75,000 from him as commission. When the officer went to the bank to get it encashed, he was told that the drafts were forged. He reported the matter to the Special Cell of the Delhi Police which arrested the suspects after making thorough investigation of the case. During interrogation, the prime suspect, Mukesh, disclosed that he had cheated several people in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. He used to read the newspapers and meet the people who wanted loans from banks and finance companies. He used to open offices in any area and would close them after cheating the people there, the police said. |
Man held for raping, murdering minor New Delhi, March 20 The accused, Kamal Kumar (20) of Dakshin Puri, lured the minor girl, a class 2 student, to a nearby jungle and raped her. After that, he killed her by hitting her head with a stone. The police said that the girl was reported missing from Monday night and an FIR was registered in Ambedkar by her parents. Preliminary investigations revealed that the girl was last seen with Kamal Kumar who was working as a sweeper in Nehru Place. On sustained interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime and the police recovered the body and the stone, which was used for killing the girl. |
No clue to abducted youth
Ghaziabad, March 20 |
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2 held for running satta
Sonepat, March 20 |
Ravi Sinha new CII state council chief
New Delhi, March 20 Mr Sinha, a mechanical engineer from Dayalbagh College of Engineering, Agra, joined SRF Ltd in 1968 as a senior management trainee. In 1994, he was appointed deputy managing director on SRF’s board and the managing director in 1996. He was re-designated CEO and group head in 2000. He is responsible for introducing strategic planning in the SRF Group. He was also responsible for the setting up of the auto electrical project and the refrigerant gases project. He supported the government in successfully obtaining financial compensation under Montreal Protocol for the Indian refrigerant gas industry. Mr Sinha is also the chairman of CII’s national committee on chemicals and petrochemicals.
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