The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SHIVANI CASE
NBW out, reward for cop’s arrest
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7
The Delhi police today announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of senior Haryana cadre IPS officer Ravi Kant Sharma and his alleged accomplice Satya Prakash. Non-bailable arrest warrants have also been issued against the duo in the Shivani murder case for evading arrest.

Taking a serious note of those who might harbour the senior officer, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) U K Katna said: “Harboring a person who is evading arrest is also an offence.”

The Delhi Police has also requested the Haryana Government to depute a Public Prosecutor as Mr Sharma might move the court for interim bail.

Besides, a Crime Branch official has been deputed by the Delhi Police to oversee the proceedings at Panchkula. An advocate will also appear on behalf of Shivani’s husband Rakesh Bhatnagar.

The police have already arrested two persons, Shri Baghwan and Pradeep, who are in its custody. “Meanwhile, efforts are on to make a sketch of the third person who was present at the murder site, Mr Katna added. The police are awaiting the forensic experts’ reports.

Officials are also in touch with the Himachal Pradesh police as latest reports suggest that Mr Sharma is in the state. ``We are also in touch with the Director General of Police, Haryana, and are keeping him informed about the latest developments,’’ Mr Katna said.

Debunking media reports that said Mr Sharma was in Delhi, Mr Katna claimed that “the police had no such information about his arrival in Delhi. We only had information that he had left his Panchkula house in a car and we are only trying to verify that fact.”

Delhi, Centre locked in land feud
Ramesh Ramachandran
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7
Dissonance between the Government of NCT of Delhi and the Centre has manifested itself yet again, this time over identifying a suitable piece of land for housing its employees.

The office of Urban Development Minister AK Walia has dug up a seven-year-old report of the Committee of Secretaries to stake its claim on 75 acres of prime land on Rouse Avenue for augmenting the housing stock.

In a letter written to Union Urban Development Minister Ananth Kumar, Walia says the Government of NCT of Delhi has been pursuing with the Ministry of Urban Affairs for transfer of land for housing its employees.

The letter dated July 5, 2002 reads: “In a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries held on October 26, 1995 it had been suggested that the Government of NCT of Delhi should create a separate pool for accommodation of its officers as well as for High Court judges.”

In support of his contention, Walia says it had been agreed upon that land for this purpose could be identified from the holdings presently with the Centre and which could be transferred at a mutually agreed inter-governmental rate of transfer. Sources in the Department of Urban Development say the then chief secretary had written to the secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Affairs, for transfer of 75 acres of land on Rouse Avenue. Several years later, they claim, the matter is hanging fire.

“We have been pursuing this matter at various levels without any tangible results,” Walia fumes. Rouse Avenue, he reasons, is ideally located for housing officers and judges. “The place is centrally located and secure. Also, it is in the vicinity of Players Building that houses the Secretariat of Government of NCT of Delhi.” Such is the Centre’s indifference, he says, that while a number of houses have been planned for the Government of India officers at Rouse Avenue no land has been allotted to the NCT of Delhi for housing the ministers and officers. The Centre however dismisses those claims. “Certain ministers of the Government of India and other dignitaries have not yet been allotted entitled types of accommodation, so Delhi will have to wait” is the stock response.

Incidentally, for one who has been served an eviction notice by the Union Urban Development Ministry’s Land and Development Office and asked to vacate the official residence at 217 Rouse Avenue, the tug of war is not new to Walia.

Outsider SCs ride piggyback in UP
Parmindar Singh

Noida, August 7
The members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in UP are being taken for a ride in matter of recruitments, paradoxically by a government which has a sizeable Dalit base. In fact, a blatant attempt is being made to benefit the SC and ST candidates from other states, who are not deemed protected castes and tribes in Uttar Pradesh. The state Chief Minister, Ms Mayawati, had ordered the early filling up of all vacancies in the reserved quota a month ago. Accordingly, applications were invited for 24 posts in 14 disciplines, which had been lying vacant for sometime, through an advertisement on July 7. Thousands had applied for these posts. A corrigendum, however, followed. It quoted the Additional CEO of Greater Noida as saying that the SC and ST certificates issued by any authority, not necessarily a UP government recognised official, will also be acceptable.

This corrigendum has rattled the unemployed SC and OBC youth of UP, whose hopes of securing a job in Noida and Greater Noida seemed to have been dashed to the ground.

The Noida administration had also, through advertisements on July 14 and 20, invited applications for 49 posts. By July 29, the last date, some 3,000 applications had reportedly been received. A similar corrigendum was issued in respect of these posts, too.

These material changes in the advertisements, the highly placed sources disclose, had been carried out on the basis of the Chief Minister’s directives to the officers of Noida and Greater Noida, apparently at the behest of BSP supremo Kanshi Ram. This is to facilitate large-scale recruitment of candidates from Kanshi Ram’s home state (Punjab), it is alleged.

IN PARLIAMENT
NDMC proposes service charges on foreign missions
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has sent a proposal for levy of service charges in respect of the premises occupied by the foreign missions in the national Capital, the Lok Sabha was told.

However, no final decision in the matter had been taken, the Minister of State for Home, Mr Vidyasagar Rao, said in a written reply here.

While recently reviewing the status of the petitions forwarded to the Delhi Police, the Prime Minister’s Office emphasised upon the Delhi Police Commissioner the need to streamline the grievances redressal system in the city police, Mr Rao said.

Between January to June this year, 702 petitions were referred to the Delhi Police by the PMO, he said, adding that the Commissioner had issued instructions for close monitoring and timely disposal of references received from the PMO.

The Minister said only one police station in Delhi was at present functioning from tented accommodation. This was mainly because the Delhi Police could not take over possession of the land allotted by the DDA for construction of a permanent building for the said police station initially due to pendency of a court case and later because of encroachment of the said plot of land.

As per the feedback given by the Delhi Government’s Drugs Control Administration, the national Capital had one of the biggest markets of drugs in the country, Minister of State for Home I D Swami said, adding as such

Delhi could be a transit point for transaction of drugs, including drugs of questionable quality.

Between April 1, 2001, and June 30, 2002, the DDA had awarded the work of construction of 17,176 houses of different categories, Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation O. Rajagopal said.

He said the DDA and the NDMC had stated that they had no pending application for approval of building plans for converting the cinema halls into commercial complexes in Delhi. The MCD had reported that three applications of building plans were pending with it.

Mr Rajagopal said the government had allowed applications for conversion of cinema plots to commercial use, subject to the condition that where such use existed, a minimum of 300 seats are retained for cinema and remaining area is used for such purpose are permitted district centres.

The Minister said the Delhi Rent Control Bill was pending before the Rajya Sabha for its consideration. The Bill was introduced in the Upper House in 1997 and was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban and Rural Development to examine and report. The committee examined the bill in detail and submitted its report in December 2000 suggesting a few more changes. The government had accepted all its recommendations.

MCF to hand over parks and green belts to RWAs
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 7
The Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), which is often criticised for its alleged failure to provide proper civic amenities to residents, seems to have developed an ‘expertise’ for experimenting with new ideas. Even as the authorities claim that such measures are taken to provide better services to the public, the moves often suggest that the MCF simply want to pass the buck. The latest proposal to hand over about 30 developed parks and some green belts to `Residents Welfare Associations’(RWAs) for maintenance, seems to be an offshoot of such a mentality.

The MCF officials held a meeting here yesterday to discuss the proposal. It was attended by officials of the MCF and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).

The authorities declared that a memorandum of understanding (MOU) had been prepared which would be signed by the office-bearers of the RWAs for the maintenance of parks in various sectors.

According to MoU, the MCF would provide gardeners and other workers but the overall supervision would be done by the RWAs. But a section of residents here believe that such a move was aimed at putting the responsibility on the residents so that the MCF was not blamed for the ‘mess.’

Mr Kailash Sharma, a resident of Sector-10, said that while the residents had not been provided basic facilities, the authorities were preparing to shrug off their responsibilities. He said the drawback in the proposal was that while the government was collecting the taxes, it was putting the burden of maintenance on the residents.

According to MCF authorities, the `various green belts’ would also be handed over the RWAs if the new experiment succeeds.

It may be recalled that a large number of parks and green belts have been lying unattended and have been reduced to garbage dumps. HUDA officials said that while they had the responsibility for the overall development of the various sectors, the maintenance of roads, sewers, parks and streetlights was the duty of the MCF. However, residents point out that the maintenance of streetlights, cleaning of sewers and even the ‘safai’ in various sectors were undertaken by RWAs.

Even the garbage disposal was arranged by the residents through private agencies. The safai karamcharis of MCF are hardly visible in the sectors, said a resident of Sector-14 here. It may be recalled that the MCF had been the first civic body in Haryana to hand over the work of garbage disposal (cleanliness) to private agencies.

Akali faction protests outside Pak mission
Our Correspondent

New Delhi, August 7
Protesting against the terrorist attack in Amarnath, protesters led by the National Akali Dal President, Mr Paramjeet Singh Pamma, today staged a demonstration near the Pakistani Embassy here today. The protesters burnt the effigy of the Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf, and the national flag of Pakistan. Party President Paramjeet Singh Pamma blamed the Pakistani Government for abetting the terrorist movement in the country and said the gruesome killing of the pilgrims goes on to prove Pakistan’s involvement in the same. He went on to add that the United States of America should place more restrictions on Pakistan.

Meanwhile, activists of the Shiv Sena also staged a demonstration in the Capital to protest against the brutal killing of Amarnath pilgrims and submitted a memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L K Advani, seeking immediate smashing of terrorist camps in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. Shouting slogans and wielding placards, the Shiv Sena cadres of the Delhi unit had assembled at the Teen Murti square as part of their plan to march to the Pakistan High Commission, but were prevented by the police from doing so. The processionists, led by Sena’s Delhi unit chief Jaibhagwan Goyal, then raised slogans against Pakistan and the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference government in Jammu and Kashmir at Teen Murti itself. Later, addressing the agitationists, Mr Goyal said there was not a shred of doubt about Pakistan’s complicity in the militant attack on the Nunwan base camp, in which nine pilgrims were killed, and the Indian Government must give a sound riposte to Islamabad by dismantling the terrorist infrastructure in POK.

Capital & Beyond
Panchayat seeks increase in ‘lal dora’ area
Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, August 7
A ‘Panchayat’ organised here today by the Dhakhini Haryana Kisan Mazdoor Union and the Gurgaon Kisan Panchayat urged the Haryana Government to increase the ‘lal dora’ area in all the villages in South Haryana.

The pubic meeting was held in protest against the police lathi charge on farmers on August 7,2000. The farmers, then, had tried to hold a dharna to press the government not to reduce the amount of compensation given to farmers whose land had been acquired by HUDA.

The lower court had enhanced the compensation money. Subsequently, the HUDA made payments to a large number of farmers. Thereafter, the Punjab and Haryana High Court lowered the compensation amount. HUDA then started making efforts to reclaim the extra money it had already disbursed to the farmers, resulting in their confrontational approach.

The Panchyat, attended by a large number of panches from various villages in Gurgaon sub-division in this district, demanded that the government must withdraw all the “fabricated” cases lodged against the farmers in connection with the events on August 7,2000.

The Panchayat, organised outside the main office of HUDA, adopted a resolution stating that the government must stop acquisition of land in villages around Gurgaon city. In case the acquisition was necessary, the government must provide Rs 23 lakhs as first installment of compensation, as was the practice in the neighbouring state of Delhi. Also, it urged that the family members of those farmers, whose land was acquired, must be given jobs in the industrial units set up in Gurgaon on a priority basis.

It further expressed the view that before the land of the farmers was acquired, the HUDA must first acquire the land of Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala in his native village in Sirsa and the land of his party leaders in the state.

In a separate resolution, the Panchayat urged that the practice of charging TDS taxes from farmers, who had received compensation, must be done away with.

The assembly expressed concern that the government was discriminating against the areas of Old Gurgaon and only concentrating on new Gurgaon in providing civic amenities. It held the HUDA directly responsible for the disparity between the quality of water and other civic amenities in the two parts of Gurgaon.

Gulmohar trees need the kiss of life
Priyanka Gupta

New Delhi, August 7
The Delhi Government has been trying hard to create an awareness on growing more trees and making the city green, but it seems the MCD Horticulture Department has some other ideas when one looks at the condition of Gulmohar Park.

The number of Gulmohar trees in the colony has been decreasing with the passage of time. The Residents’ Welfare Association, Gulmohar Park, has often approached the horticultural department for getting the Gulmohar trees pruned in the area. However, instead of pruning the trees and maintaining the parks, the authorities are bent upon felling them. The trees are not in the pink of health, aver the powers that be.

The colony has 13 parks in its vicinity but most of them are not maintained.

Many of them have become a den of stray cattle and undesirable elements.

The houses are surrounded by Gulmohar and Ashoka trees. Their branches need trimming for a long time. Two months ago, the horticulture department officials visited the area and marked 20-25 trees for chopping. Ironically, of these 25 trees, more than 14 trees are quite healthy. The officials should not x-out these trees as they are huge in size and have good commercial value.

V.C. Tondon, president of the Gulmohar Park Journalists’ Colony Welfare Association, said, “The residents approached me saying, ‘Tondonji ye to sare ped kaat jayenge’. We together went to the sight and saw that a few people were putting red marks on trees that looked quite healthy and were not creating any disturbance. We beseeched the media to intervene in the matter. Next day, they turned to me with a piece of paper and asked me to sign it. That was a list of ‘sick trees’, but I refused. And now it’s more than two months, no one has come to touch even a single tree. These trees need just pruning.” As per the residents, the officials did not take permission from the Forest Department.

On many occasions, the branches of Gulmohar trees have fallen on car parking damaging the cars. Last week’s situation was awful. The whole colony was awake till 2.00 am. The sparking from electric wires at night in D block Gulmohar Park made the residents panicky. The residents were out of their houses and created a lot of noise. After a long while, an electrician was called at 12 at night.

He told the residents that branches of trees caused short circuit and sparking. This is the third incident in the colony but it seems it does not matters to the horticulture department, who instead of pruning the trees are ready to cut healthy trees. Parks are also in a state of neglect.

Mr Tondon said, “The Deputy Director, Horticulture Department, promised to get the trees pruned six months ago. We have been sending reminders, but in vain.”

However, Horticulture Deputy Director Ishwar Singh said, “If trees were marked than they have to be done away with the permission of Forest Department only. I have taken over the area two days back so I do not have much idea about it but I will definitely look into the matter. Maybe, the officials have applied for it and the forest department asked them to mark the trees. I will look into the matter personally.

HRM summit to focus on spotting the best in corporate haystack
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7
The All India Management Association (AIMA) would hold its first ever two-day HRM Summit on August 23 in the Capital, which would address the latest trends in knowledge resource management and effective utilisation of available talent. The summit would also provide an opportunity to the HRD practitioners, academicians and management students to interact on one platform.

The theme chosen for the summit is “Winning the Strategic War for Talent”. The meet is aimed at demonstrating the potency of good HRM practices, more so in terms of the talent management, which goes beyond talent sourcing. It is intended to bring out the best of leadership.

The meet would be chaired by Mr. Jauhari Lal, Director-HR, ONGC Limited. Eminent HR professionals across the country would address the summit. Some of the speakers, who will be sharing their views on the subject, include Mr. Anand Nayak, Executive Vice President, ITC Ltd., Mr Satish Pradhan, Executive Vice President, Tata Sons, Mr. Jagdeep Khandpur, Director-HR, Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd., Dr Santrupt Mishra, President-HR, Birla Management Corp., Dr. Jeetu Singh, Head Learning & Organizational Development, Tata Steel, and Mr Ganesh Shermon, Business Consultant, Arthur Anderson India Pvt Ltd.

Some of the sessions addressed by these speakers will be ‘Dropping the Anchor – The Loyalty Factor’, ‘Retaining Leadership Talent during High Tides and Low Tides,’ `Spotting the Best People in the Corporate Haystack,’ `Human Capital Valuation through the New HR Balance Score Card’ etc. Over 150 HR professionals from the Industry and Business, members of academicians and MBA students will participate in the summit.

“The Summit will also bring out the areas, which need to be addressed in order to develop an effective Talent Management System”, says Mr Kamal Singh, Director, AIMA. The speakers will share their experiences during thematic sessions and provide practical insights into the various aspects involved in developing such a system.

REWARI
Yadavs clamour for separate regiment
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, August 7
The All India Yadav Mahasabha has launched a countrywide awareness campaign to mobilise the 20 crore Yadavs residing in various states of the country for the acceptance of its long-standing demand for creation of a Yadav Regiment in the Indian Army.

The Mahasabha is organising a massive dharna at Jantar Mantar near Palilament House on August 12 to draw the government’s attention to its demand.

Irrespective of party affiliations, all the Yadav MPs, most of whom have given their concurrence in this regard, are expected to participate in the dharna.

Besides, dozens of Yadav legislators and thousands of delegates and other activists of the Mahasabha from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and all other states of north India would join the dharna. The Mahasabha has already launched a campaign to collect signatures of at least ten lakh members of the Yadav community. The petition would be submitted to the President of India, who is also the supreme commander of the Indian forces.

This information was given by Mr D Nagendhiran Yadav, national president of the All India Yadav Mahasabha, at a crowded Press conference here today. Making a specific mention of the glorious deeds of sacrifice and valour of the Yadav soldiers during the British regime, he said that V.A. Mutthu was the first among the Yadavas to raise the banner of revolt against the East India Company in the

South in 1752. This was then followed by the historic Vellore Sepoy Mutiny of 1810, the revolt of 1857 and the rebellion of the Yadav soldiers during the Second World War.

The British never created a Yadav regiment due to their history of rebellion.

But the persistent apathy shown in this regard by the successive Union governments in the past 55 years was beyond the comprehension of the Yadav Mahasabha. It was all the more agonising as the Jat, Rajput, Gorkha, Naga and Mahar regiments were already in existence. Why then were the 20 crore Yadavas of the country being denied their legitimate demand?

The unprecedented record of one Param Vir Chakra, one Ashoka Chakra, four Mahavir Chakras, 26 Vir Chakras and numerous Sena Medals won by Yadav jawans and officers was proof of their sacrifice, valour and gallantry.

Flaying the stubborn apathy of the top leadership, he said that their delegation had met Union Home Minister L K Adavani on June 20, 2001 and submitted a memorandum, but it was highly deplorable that it had remained unacknowledged till date.

He warned that the Mahasabha would not take things lying down any longer but resort to agitation and take to the streets, if its dharna on August 12 and the signature campaign failed.

RSRTC introduces luxury AC bus on
Delhi-Jaipur route
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 7
The Volvo B7R luxury air-conditioned bus was flagged off today by Mr Banwari Lal, Minister of Transport, Government of Rajasthan, Mr Ashoke Joshi, Secretary, Ministry of Surface Transport, Government of India, Mr T R Verma, Chairman, Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (RSRTC) and Dr Manjit Singh, Managing Director, RSRTC at a ceremony held at Bikaner House.

The RSRTC Volvo bus would operate on the New Delhi-Jaipur expressway on a one-month trial basis, offering travellers an opportunity to experience a new dimension in bus journey—safe, speedy and luxurious.

It is now over nine months since the first Volvo B7R bus was introduced on Indian roads and already the luxury coach has a presence across a variety of operations. This includes private inter-city operations, tourist operations, state government undertakings and the corporate sector.

One can find Volvo B7R luxury coaches covering distances fewer than 10 km and ply on routes that span over 1000 km. Some buses have already completed over 1,00,000 km in this short period, and most importantly, without any major problem.

Mr Ulf Nordqvist, Managing Director, Volvo India Private Limited, commented, “With this trial, Volvo continues the process of introducing the latest technology products that are environment-friendly and safe to markets across India. The introduction of the Volvo B7R on the New Delhi-Jaipur expressway will change the way passengers view bus travel.”

Dr Manjit Singh, Managing Director, RSRTC said, “RSRTC continues its endeavour to introduce the latest technology and services to our customers and is delighted to offer travellers between Delhi and Jaipur the Volvo B7R bus as part of our efforts. The Delhi-Jaipur expressway and the state-of-the-art Volvo bus will offer commuters on this sector an unparalleled travel experience and RSRTC is proud to be the first operator in the region to try out the bus.”

Four ‘supari’ killers held in Jhajjar
Our Correspondent

Jhajjar, August 7
The district police today arrested four dreaded gangsters, involved in several cases of ‘supari’ murders, looting and dacoity, from an abandoned place near bus stand here on Tuesday night, when they were planning a robbery.

A district police spokesman said here today that a police party led by sub-inspector Mahender Singh was on a patrol near government college when they got a tip-off that five gangsters were plotting to loot a vehicle.

Acting on a tip-off, the SHO kept three raiding parties ready and encircled the abandoned room.

However, when the police challenged the desperadoes, one of them managed to escape under the cover of darkness while four were nabbed. A 312-bore countrymade pistol, a knife and two iron rods were recovered from their possession. They were identified as Jaipal of Rewari district, Rajesh of Gwalison village, Jaswant of Nautana village and Anand of Kasni village while Sanjay managed to escape.

During interrogation, they disclosed that they had killed a workers’ union leader Ram Avatar Singh in July 2000. His supari for Rs 3 lakh was given by the owner of a spinning mill in Dharu Hera.

Later, they threw the body of Ram Avtar on H.No 8 and run a jeep over the body.

The police said that one of the criminals, Rajesh has won a block samiti election. He murdered one Raj Kumar in Sampla in 1995. Again, he looted a car of G G Finance company in Delhi and killed one Sube Singh of Rajasthan in 1998.

The police have registered a case under Section 399/402 IPC against them.

Schoolboy stabbed to death; four arrested
Our Correspondent

New Delhi, August 7
Four persons were arrested for killing a student and then dumping his body on the school premises on August 4.

According to the police, Sanjeev, alias Johnny, a student of class X of a government school in Bawana, was stabbed to death. His body was dumped in the school later. The police have arrested Dinesh, Anil, Hemant and Meetu. Dinesh who was Sanjeev’s neighbour suspected him of having an affair with his sister. This provoked him to kill Sanjeev with the help of his accomplices. Anil lured Sanjeev to a secluded place where he was stabbed. Later, his body was dumped in the school grounds.

Minor rescued: The Delhi Police have rescued a minor from kidnappers who had been demanding a ransom of Rs 5 lakh from his parents.

Deva, a five-year-old boy, was kidnapped on August 2 while he was on his way to the tuition classes. The police arrested one Imran and his nephew for kidnapping the child. Deva’s father runs a cardboard business in Prasad Nagar, where Imran also runs the same business. To overcome huge monetary losses that Imran had been suffering in his business, he hatched a plan of kidnapping.

The police were informed about Imran’s demand of handing over the ransom money at a petrol pump at Kanjhwala. Deva was rescued from a house in Nagloi.

NOIDA
3 killed in mishaps
Our Correspondent

Noida, August 7
Three persons lost their lives in road accidents, while a ‘sadhu’ was reportedly electrocuted here on Tuesday. Three persons, including a woman, died in different accidents. Balkishan was going on his motorcycle with his wife Lord Kumar, 40, when a matador reportedly crushed his wife, according to Sector-39 police. She died on the spot. The matador driver fled. Police have registered a case against the unidentified vehicle and its driver. In Sector-51, a cyclist Pannalal, 51, was injured by a car. He was rushed to the government hospital where he died.

The police are looking for the car driver. In the third accident, Nem Singh, 55, was trying to board a bus at Rabupura bus stand in Javer. While boarding the bus, he slipped and fell down. The rear wheel of the bus crushed his head and he died on the spot, said Javer police. The driver fled form the scene.

Sector-24 police said that the body of a youth was found in forest of Sector-22. His head had been crushed with a blunt object. He was identified as Manoj, alias Divinder, 25. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. The cause of murder is not known.

10 Kanwarias given poisoned milk

Ghaziabad: The criminals in Ghaziabad did not spare even Kanwarias who were bringing Ganga jal from Hardwar. On Monday night, two youths tried to rob the pilgrims at Muradnagar Hanuman temple, where they had stopped for the night. One of the pilgrims had given his cell phone for charging to the owner of a roadside restaurant. A youth who saw the cell phone struck a bargain for Rs 3,000 for buying the mobile phone from the pilgrim. The youth also offered to spend Rs 100 on feeding milk to 11 pilgrims. Milk was served to all of them except one who did not have it. Soon all 10 pilgrims lost their consciousness.