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| Wednesday,
November 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
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DULINA LYNCHING Rohtak, November 5 Mr Surender Singh, secretary, district unit of Communist Party of India (Marxist), said it was unfortunate that a sacred place like a gurukul was being used for holding a panchayat in support of those accused of a heinous crime. He expressed concern over misuse of panchayats by unscrupulous elements. He said the employees and the leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad were also trying to save their skin, taking the plea that the incident was a spontaneous outburst of a mob, which veered out of control. The CPM leader said it was surprising that the ‘mahapanchayat’ had opposed an inquiry or an investigation into the murder of the five youths. He said the astonishing decisions taken by the ‘mahapanchayat’ clearly suggested that its meeting was stage-managed to favour those responsible for the massacre. Mr Kultaz Singh, state general secretary, Haryana Vikas Party, also condemned the unlawful decisions of the ‘panchayat’ and cautioned the people against using the panchayats as a tool to pressurise the law enforcing agencies. Mr Ved Prakash Vidrohi, state president, Haryana Pradesh Janta Dal (United), expressed concern over the ‘autocratic’ and unlawful resolutions passed by the so-called panchayats and urged the government to teach them a lesson. He also appealed to the masses to rally against such self-proclaimed leaders of the panchayat and pressurise the government for a CBI inquiry into the incident, so that the bereaved families could get justice. |
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Marauders
ran amok for 3 hrs, SSP informed Ghaziabad, November 5 Even senior police officials are not able to explain why the police develop cold feet in registering a complaint and tend to misrepresent facts. Bulandshahar SSP R N Katharya recently inspected the Urniya police station and reprimanded the SO for trying to misrepresent the facts and downplay the scene of crime. The police at Urniya lost face for presenting a distorted picture of the repeated incidents of looting on the GT Road near Dashara village and in a tourist bus, which was carrying 35 schoolgirls. The latter were later molested in a sugarcane field by the eight armed and masked desperados. Even though the marauders were reportedly in total control of the area for over three hours, the station police had tried to hold back the information from senior officers. The SSP came to know of the looting and molestation incident three days later. Incidentally, all this while the proprietor of a hotel, which was targeted by the desperados, had been requesting the police to register a case. It is only when the hotelier threatened to inform the local MP and the Central Labour Minister that the police agreed to register an FIR. Eight criminals had looted the tourist bus and molested the woman passengers but the police misrepresented facts and wrote down their number as four in its FIR. Instead of registering a case of dacoity, it was filed as a case of loot only. There were some other discrepancies, too, in the FIR. On the one hand, the police were denying the presence of the tourist bus at the hotel, on the other, the cops said that they had an encounter with the criminals while the they were looting and assaulting the tourists. It was further claimed that during the encounter, many rounds of cartridges were fired but the criminals managed to give the police the slip. However, the authorities claimed that if the police had not reached the spot on time, it could have resulted in a mayhem. But hours after the incident, the police did not bother to note down the names and other details of the victims. The SSP, Mr R N Katherya, himself knew the whole episode only when the Press correspondents contacted him to confirm the sequence of events. |
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DPCC tells councillors to get their act together New Delhi, November 5 Senior leaders, including Mr. Kamal Nath, Congress general secretary in charge of Delhi, Mr. Subhash Chopra, president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, the Mayor, Mrs. Jayshree Panwar, and Mr. Ram Babu Sharma, chairman of the all powerful standing committee and the leader of the House, were among those who participated in the two-hour-long session. The Congress had wrested control of the MCD from the Bharatiya Janata Party in the elections earlier this year. The DPCC today sought details of the achievements of the councillors in their respective areas, which would be highlighted during the poll campaign. The DPCC leaders also urged the councillors to work in tandem with the area MLAs for executing developmental works that would ultimately help win over the electorate. In case, the local MLA belongs to another party, the leaders suggested that the councillors lay emphasis on the fact that the work was being hampered by the sitting legislator. The MLAs and councillors are generally at loggerheads, blaming each other for neglecting the area. The leaders suggested that it would be better for the party and the candidates if they were practical, since the Delhi BJP, their arch rival, would take advantage of such a cleavage. The councillors, on their part, urged the party leadership to ensure that adequate funds were released by the Delhi government, so that they could “ fulfill the promises made to the public during the elections”. The councillors have repeatedly complained that the Delhi government was holding back funds. In fact, recently a large number of garbage collection trucks of the Corporation were forced to strop their operations as there was no money to buy diesel. |
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Anti-encroachment drive peters out in Faridabad Faridabad, November 5 Encroachments by the residents in several Huda sectors, removed earlier, have now begun to appear again. Ramps, boundary walls and grills have been encroached upon at several spots. The green belt along the roads and the passages has also been occupied illegally in many sectors, said a resident of Sector-16-A. He said several houses have again put up iron grills and fences in virtually all sides of their residences due to lack of checking by the authorities. With the result that the roads had got narrowed. To cap it, the parking of vehicles on roads had left little space for movement. Many of the encroachers are influential persons or they are simply in league with the officials of Huda and the Municipal Corporation. A private hospital in Sector 16-A has not only been occupying a green belt illegally, but it has also built basement structure under the road. The owner of this nursing home is reported to rub shoulders with some of the bigwigs in Haryana. Similarly, the Huda officials have also failed to rein in the shopkeepers in the market of Sector-15. The shop owners have built basements under the veranda space or have been using the walking space meant for the
customers. The Huda authorities had reportedly issued notices to encroachers about a year ago. It is alleged that some of the Huda and MCF officials had been taking bribes every month from the hawkers or stalls selling grocery and other commodities in the green belts of various sectors. The authorities have also failed to check commercial activities being carried out in various sectors. The development of the full-fledged market at the intersection of Sector-7, Sector-8 and Sector-10, better known as ‘7-10-market’, is also reported to be the result of the violation of the norms. It may be recalled that the Huda authorities had demolished more than 1,000 jhuggis and ‘kutcha’ houses from the byepass road in the past few months in order to widen the road. But, the residents of various sectors feel that in absence of a follow-up action, the encroachers are at it again. Meanwhile, several encroachments have been removed from the complex of the general bus stand at Ballabgarh in the past two days. |
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For some, the festival of lights is over in a flash The social exercise can often burn a hole in the pocket on a bad night — as much as Rs. 20,000 in a single session. But why does gambling get appended to the festival of lights? Prof. Rajni Palriwala, Deptt. Of Sociology, Delhi University, explains: “This is a Punjabi or a Delhi phenomenon, it is generally not seen in other parts of India…’’ The card parties have increasingly become a means of flaunting one’s social status. “Whom you gamble with is more important than how much you gamble with,” says Abhijeet, another card enthusiast. Social theory says the spirit of gambling accrues from camaraderie and competition. Prof. Palriwala adds, “It is propelled by the ‘high’ of winning and the passion of competing.” Gambling at Divali also has cultural connotations, she explains, “The image of Divali as the festival of spending motivates people to indulge in some splurging and risk taking.” A win also marks goddess Lakshmi’s grand entry in our lives. Fetes and ‘melas’ across the city are dotted with stalls heckling you to try your luck at ‘Lucky 7,’ ‘Banko’ and other forms of gambling. The rush at these stalls is symptomatic of the fetish that envelops the city during the season. Stall owners at a GK-2 fete make up to a lakh on a ‘busy’ night in which stakes might run as high as Rs. 1,000 in a single bet. But falling prey to this nefarious activity are hordes of youngsters, who seem to be taking a cue from their idle parents. Warns a psychologist, “This can have long-term repercussions as gambling is habit-forming. It also instills in adolescents the desire to get rich overnight.’’ Whether you ended the season “up” or “down” would have largely depended on dame fortune and a modicum amount of skill, as the card buffs would have us believe. Whether the activity breeds camaraderie or acrimony between the winner and the loser is another story. The loser might end up feeling extremely bitter towards the winner. Further, the activity might impair the sense of “right and wrong” among the adolescents, once they get into the habit of making “easy money”. These are the ‘risks’ which the card enthusiasts are willing to take. Eventually, they find some justification for indulging in ‘innocuous risk-taking’. |
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Meerut Customs, Central Excise zone reorganised Noida, November 5 The new zone of Customs and Central Excise, Meerut, shall comprise four commissionerates, two at Meerut and one each at Ghaziabad and Noida. For the benefit of the industry, five additional divisions have been created in different commissionerates and the Division Bareilly has become a part of Meerut-II Commissionerate. Each zone shall have one commissioner (Appeals) in each of the commissionerates at Meerut-1, Meerut-II, Ghaziabad and Noida. Mr Sharma said that the zone has been entrusted a target to collect central excise revenue of Rs 3,832 crore. |
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Question mark over resignation at HPCC Sonepat, November 5 According to a report, he claimed that he had sent his resignation letter through fax to the party High Command but the party sources claimed that this letter had not reached the central office of the party. The HPCC president and the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, who was said to be perturbed by the developments, heaved a sigh of relief now and he expected that Mr Sharma would work for strengthening the party. Mr Sharma, it may be recalled, had earlier reacted sharply to his appointment as one of the vice-presidents of the HPCC by Mr Bhajan Lal and he informed the Sonepat-based mediapersons on telephone that he had resigned from the post and did not want to get any post in the party. When the party’s central leaders contacted Mr Sharma and asked for explanation why he had approached the mediapersons about his resignation from the post, Mr Sharma denied that he had approached the mediapersons and given anything in writing to them in this regard. Meanwhile, several Sonepat-based Brahmin leaders of the party have charged Mr Sharma with misleading the central leaders of the party High Command. They held a meeting here and warned Mr Sharma that he should not exploit the community as the community, as a whole, was behind Mr Bhajan Lal who has emerged as the leader of 36 ‘biradaris’ in the state. These Brahmin leaders have claimed that Mr Sharma had never worked for the welfare of the community, instead he had safeguarded the interests of the family members. They alleged that Mr Sharma wanted to get an assurance from Mr Bhajan Lal that party tickets should be given to his sons. |
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Watch out! Sonepat is going to be a ‘hip and happening’ city Sonepat, November 5 According to a report, besides its strategic geographical location, the removal of industries from Delhi is helping it develop into a new urban complex. The state government through the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) has therefore decided to provide modern infrastructure for the proper growth of the area. The G T Road from Delhi up to Bahalgarh (Sonepat) has already been widened to six lanes and widening of this road up to Panipat is also in progress. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr S N Roy, told mediapersons here today that Huda had also spent Rs 281.80 lakh on the development of Sectors 7 and 8; Rs 155 lakh on construction of external roads around these sectors; Rs 142.90 lakh on the development of roads in Sector 15 part III; Rs 107 lakh on providing of SWD in Sector 12; Rs 128.62 lakh on construction of road from G T Road to Bahalgarh Road; Rs 20.15 lakh on repair of Mehlana-Kakroi Road; Rs 20 lakh on widening and strengthening of Kakroi-Sonepat Road; Rs 118.80 lakh on development of green belt along 65 mtr wide road; Rs 31.35 lakh on providing sodium lights in Sectors 7, 29, 6, 28, 4 and 5; Rs 165.28 lakh on development of Sector 12; and Rs 150.90 lakh on providing water supply in Sector 15 Phase III. He disclosed that a town park has been constructed at a cost of Rs 35 lakh in Sector 14 of this city. The pocket of 6.20 acre lying between the old city and the urban estate has been developed into a beautiful park. The site earlier used for dumping ‘malba’, has now been converted into lush green lawns with modern horticulture. The park has been provided with a little pool and walking path. The old greenhouse and glasshouse have been improved to fit in the new environment. According to the DC, Huda has decided to open a gymkhana club located on 55 mtr wide road recently constructed which connects the G T Road with the old city. It will comprise a big restaurant, a bar, a billiard room, table tennis rooms, card rooms and other multipurpose halls for holding day-to-day functions. This will be supported with a modern kitchen and toilet blocks. He said that the club would be constructed on a piece of land of three acres situated amongst green belts all around. The club will also have the facility of swimming pool and lawn tennis in addition to other indoor and outdoor games. The complete project is expected to cost Rs 2 crore and it will take about 18 months to complete. The land for this project has been provided by Huda free of charge. The DC also disclosed that Huda has decided to develop a modern park after the name of former Deputy Prime Minister Chaudhary Devi Lal in Sector 7 of Huda which will be spread over 40 acres right abutting G T Road. This park has been designed with beautiful water bodies, fountains, meandering paths, topiaries and trellises etc. Rain shelters designed on Mughal architecture on the topmost terraces will add to the beauty of the park. Huda will spent Rs 1.50 crore on the construction of this park. The civil works and the plantation work will be completed within 15 months. According to the DC, Haryana Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala had already commissioned the canal-based drinking water scheme costing Rs 4.50 crore in Sector 23, a residential colony of Huda in the city. This scheme will cover 25 per cent population on the western side of the railway line in the city. Each person will get 110 litres of water every day under this long-term water supply scheme. The present population of this city is nearly 2 lakh and the existing water supply is based on 33 tubewells. With the commissioning of this water supply scheme, there will be no problem of drinking water supply in Sector 23 and other areas on the western side of the railway line. This scheme is spread over 420 acres. The generating set of 250 KVA capacity has also been installed for use in the absence of power supply. |
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‘Conversions
against democratic ethos’ New Delhi, November 5 Professor Vijay Kumar Malhotra, MP and chairman of Khel Parishad, Govt of India said, “His contributions towards freedom struggle of India cannot be forgotten. He had done a lot for the uplift of the downtrodden: Dalits’ right to study ‘Vedas’, women’s and so-called Shudras’ right to attain education and knowledge, ‘revival’ of Vedas and eradication of social evils. His contribution is remarkable and cannot be ignored.” He said, “Some anti-social elements are trying to convert Hindus to other religions by force and greed which is against the values of democracy. Arya Samaj treats all human beings equal without any distinction of caste, religion and language.” Speaking on the occasion, Dr Dharam Pal, former vice-chancellor, Gurukul Kangri University, said that the day is historical, as the first unit of ‘Arya Samaj Delhi’ was established this day in 1878. Swami Dayanand made efforts to unite all religious, political and social leaders in 1877 through mutual dialogue at the time of historical ‘Delhi Darbar’. Dr Vijay Kumar Malhotra also released “Ishopnishad-Hindi Version”, edited by Swami Jagdishwara Nand Saraswati and published by Arya Kumar Sabha. Mr Anil Arya, national president, Kendriya Arya Yuvak Parishad, convenor of the function, said that “we had to adopt the path shown by Swami Dayanand to strength our nation”. Among those present in the function were poet Vijay Gupta, Om Sapra, Mr Ravinder Mehta, Shiv Sena leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal, Baljit Singh Aditya and Prof Vijay
Bhaskar. |
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Mission
to preach love and peace in an New Delhi, November 5 In view of the increasing incidents of violence in the name of religion reported from various parts of the world including our own country, the Samagam attains all the more significance as the Mission preaches truth, love and peace. According to a spokesperson of the Mission, the Samagam will seek to convince the world that the realisation of the ‘eternal truth that the Mission professes’, is the most effective means to achieve the long cherished goal of human unity, equality and fraternity. One will find here people belonging to different religious faiths, speaking different languages and having different cultural backgrounds, meeting together and wishing well for all, simply because they believe in one God. In the meantime, thousands of volunteers of the Sant Nirankari Sewa Dal and other devotees have been working daily from early morning till late in the evening to prepare for the Samagam. A large number of them have come from outside Delhi. Spread over more than 350 acres of land, the Samagam complex will not only have a big pandal for the Satsang programmes but provide residential accommodation also to devotees coming from far off places. The participants from Delhi and adjoining areas up to Karnal, Rohtak and Ghaziabad will commute daily. To ensure the availability of various amenities like water, electricity, transport, telephones, etc., the organizing committee of the Samagam has been working in close co-ordination with the various government departments and other organisations concerned. The fundamental basis of the Mission’s message is that God is one and so is His creation-the mankind. Different names of the almighty and the diversity of human civilisations, cultures and religious faiths do not essentially mean that the God worshipped by one community is different from the other or the fundamental unity of human race gets impaired by outer diversities. Once we realise that the supreme father God is one, even though addressed by different names, the chord of universal brotherhood cannot remain undiscerned. The Mission believes that realisation of God is possible only by the grace of a spiritual guide, the true master. Fortunate are those who come across a perfect master and are blessed with spiritual enlightenment or ‘God-knowledge’. Nirankaris have therefore, the highest regard for and deepest faith in the true master who has blessed them with God knowledge’. Human mind, the Mission believes, is the soil where all the evils like hatred, jealousy, violence and animosity are rooted, where they germinate and grow. We must, therefore, make the mind occupied by God, the source of all that is good, noble, pure and sublime. The Mission is convinced that peace within is the only way to ensure calm outside. The Mission holds all the prophets and gurus of the past in high esteem. It also shows deep respect to all holy scriptures as treasure of spiritual knowledge. The Mission, however, suggests that we must follow in our daily life what we read and recite. The Mission does not visualise any reason for contradiction between science and spirituality. On the other hand, it holds the firm view that all the achievements of science and technology shall make human life more and more beautiful, comfortable and loveable, provided they are blended with the sublime human values based on spiritual enlightenment. The Mission, therefore, welcomes all material achievements of man, even though it does not approve of the mad race for material objects. The religion symbolised by rites and rituals which differ from faith to faith, rather sect to sect, is not the true religion, simply because it seeks to segment one group of people from the other. Naturally, we conclude that if there is a religion at all, it should be humanity, taking the entire human race into its fold, promising equality and universal brotherhood. |
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Anti-smoking drive yields lakhs in fine New Delhi, November 5 The Minister of State for Health, Dr. A K Walia, told the media here that a fine of Rs.90, 000 was collected in the month of September alone. Dr. Walia added that nine teams, one for each district, have been formed to ensure that the act is implemented properly. The teams comprise of a doctor and two personnel each from the Health Department and the Police Department. These teams will conduct surprise raids in public places including the buses in the city. It was also pointed out that as many as 642 cases have been registered during the last one-year by the Delhi Police under Section 8 and 9 of the Anti-Smoking Act. Out of these, 210 cases are under investigation, 459 pending under trial and 437 cases have been decided by the court. A total of 1,035 persons have been arrested.
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NCR BRIEFS Ghaziabad, November 5 Tragically, when the girl learnt of the suicide, she also consumed sulphas tablets to end her life. She is stated to be in a critical condition. Dhruv and the 14-year old girl were employed at Dr Kumar’s house. According to police, when their families learnt of the ongoing love affair between them, they opposed it. In desperation, Dhruv consumed sulphas tablets at the clinic and ended his life.
2 killed, one injured Sonepat: Naresh, a youth was killed and his father, Mr Ram Narain, sustained serious injuries when their motorcycle was hit by a Haryana Roadways bus on the Sonepat-Rohtak road near Kanwali village, about 15 km from here last evening. According to a report, both the injured persons were immediately hospitalised and are stated to be out of danger. The police have registered a case against the bus driver and further investigations were in progress. According to another report, Sandeep a student of VIII class was crushed to death by a mini truck on the Panipat-Rohtak road near Mahra village about 40 km from here yesterday. The truck hit him while he was going to his teacher’s house. The police have registered the case and further investigations were in progress. The truck driver is still at large.
Two burnt Faridabad: While Divali festival passed off without any major fire incident, two persons were seriously burnt in a fire caused by the leakage of a gas cylinder last night, in the NIT area here. Identified as Raj Kumar and Mamman, both migrant workers from Bihar, received 30 to 35 per cent burn injuries while they were asleep. It is reported that the victims did not switch off the gas cylinder kept in the kitchen and a short circuit led to the fire. They have been admitted in the local Bhadshah Khan Civil Hospital here. The incident took place at Nangla Enclave in the NIT locality.
Two drivers killed Jhajjar: Two persons were killed in a fierce collision between a tempo and a truck near Asaudha turn on the National Highway No. 10 on Monday night. According to information, a loaded tempo of Surya Industries Limited was coming from Rohtak while a Mother Dairy truck carrying milk was going to Sarasvari Vihar in Delhi when both the vehicle collided. The milk-carrying truck caught fire and was reduced to ashes. The tempo was also destroyed. The drivers of both the vehicles died on the spot. One of the victims was identified as Joginder.
Goods worth lakhs gutted Factory goods worth of lakhs of rupees were gutted in a fire, which broke out in Asian Pencil Udhyog in the Modern Industrial Estate at Bahadurgarh here yesterday. Mr Ramdas Chawla, owner of the factory, told the police that the fire broke out at about 3 am. Two fire tenders were employed and the fire was brought under control after 5 hours. He said some chemical laden drums, woods, wax, paints and several machines were destroyed in the fire. The reason for the fire could not be ascertained. No loss life was reported. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, November 5 Most of the 100 fire incidents reported from different areas of the Capital were due to accidents related to fire crackers. Even as the DFS was ready for all eventualities, it had to intervene in only few cases as most of them were controlled by the residents. There were15 additional fire service posts in congested and sensitive areas of the Capital to help the DFS to control any untoward incident. Besides, police vehicles were also used by the DFS to carry its personnel and water drums to douse the fire. I n a few localities, residents had also taken precaution and stored water to use in any emergency. Besides, market associations had also made arrangement to meet any eventuality. Pirated VCDs seized:
In another case, the CBI arrested N.S. Joglekar, Chief Railway Parcel Supervisor, working at the Dadar parcel office, Mumbai, for allegedly demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 7, 000 from a complainant for booking and loading his consignment, a press release said. ‘Black Divali’:
He said he had covered about 250 km to check the power situation in the Capital. Mukhi claimed that since the electricity distribution was handed over to the private sector, the situation has worsened. He said that despite his repeated attempts to improve the situation by holding meetings with the BSES and North Delhi Private Limited, the private distributors lacked interest. |
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TV serial-inspired kidnappers arrested New Delhi, November 5 The victim’s father Kishan Kumar, a building contractor, reported the matter to the police in the evening when his son was found missing. Generally, children in these localities play outside their houses throughout the day and come back only in the evening, the police said. The police suspected the involvement of Pappu, a neighbour of the victim, who handed over a cassette and a letter to the victim’s father just a few hours after the incident. In the letter, the suspects had demanded a ransom amount of Rs 5 lakh from Kishan Kumar. The cassette contained the voice of a child who pleaded to be rescued from the clutches of the kidnappers. However, it was clear that the voice of the child in the cassette was not that of the son of Kishan Kumar. Moreover, even the letter sent to the victim’s father was written by someone from his village. During interrogation the suspects disclosed that the kidnapped victim was taken to house in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. The suspects disclosed that they had kidnapped the child because they wanted to make fast money to repay a large amount of money that they had borrowed from various places. They had planned that it would be easy to get the money out of Kishan Kumar and repay back their debts. They also disclosed that they had kept the victim with their relative in Mathura. Subsequently, the police rescued the victim from there. Auto-lifters held, 13 cases solved:
During interrogation, he revealed that he was involved in 10 cases of auto-lifting in West and South districts. Subsequently, seven cases in Paschim Vihar, two cases in Punjabi Bagh and one in Mehrauli have been solved. The arrest of Babu Khan alias Sahil alias Sahid, resident of Mohan Badan, the West district police have claimed to have solved a robbery case committed on October 30, where a Reliance telecom engineer was robbed of his belongings by three youngsters at a bus stop. In another case, Rohit Kochar, resident of Tilak Nagar, was caught red-handed while he was attempting to steal a car (No. DL-6CD-7259) from outside a house in Paschim
Vihar. |
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New Delhi, November 5
