TOP STORIES

EXCISE DUTY WOES
Panipat industrialists in search of a godfather
Panipat, April 15
The industrialists of Panipat, reeling under excise duty levies, are in search of a godfather who can plead their case in the Capital and bail them out. The entire industry in the area is up in arms: A relay fast by various handloom textiles, velvet, blankets and shoddy yarn associations entered the second day today.

Fire in coach, scare on passenger train 
Sonepat, April 15
It was a providential escape for hundreds of passengers of a DPM passenger train, running from Delhi to Panipat, when one of its compartments caught fire on Sunday evening.

Children clad in white took a procession through Chandni Chowk on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti in the Capital on Tuesday. — Tribune Photo Mukesh Aggarwal

Rewarding politicians for their benign neglect
Faridabad, April 15
Honouring political bosses and the powers that be with cash and other valuables seems to have become the norm; in fact, there seems to be no better way to grab the attention of the authorities.

BEARING THE BRUNT
With buses on rally duty, students pedal to exam centre 
Noida(Dankaur), April 15
The student community had to bear the brunt of Chief Minister Mayawati’s ‘pardafash’ rally in Lucknow yesterday. A large number of buses had been taken away by the administration for ferrying supporters to the CM’s rally at Lucknow, which created a serious problem for the examinees, who had a tough time reaching their centres on Friday, Saturday and Monday.

Taking a cue from kangaroos in infant care
New Delhi, April 15
Despite the tremendous developments made by mankind, when it comes to the basics of life, the best lessons are learnt from Mother Nature. At least, this is what neonatologists or the newborn specialists suggest.

Haryana getting water savvy
Gurgaon, April 15
A tap that leaks all day could fill a bucket. For the sake of trivia, a drop per second adds to 25 litres a day and 10,000 litres per year, which could be used to wash more than 65 loads of clothing or 40 cars. (Incidentally, these figures have been provided by an aqua expert.)

Five youths die in car-dumper head-on collision 
Noida, April 15
A Maruti car carrying eight youngsters met with an accident while it was on its way from Delhi to Bulandshahar, killing five of the occupants on the spot. The three others have sustained serious injuries. The injured have been admitted to a hospital in Dadri.

COMMUNITY

A bomb disposal squad searching the Vijaya building on Barakhamba Road after a hoax call in the Capital on Tuesday. Sharmila Tokas, wife of Hiren Tokas, who has been arrested on corruption charges, protesting outside 10 Janpath. — Tribune Photos A king-sized mascot of Bajrang Bali was part of a procession taken out by Shri Hanuman Seva Sangh on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in the Capital on Monday.

Making an effort to provide a roof to the homeless
New Delhi, April 15
The increasing population migration and their inability to rise above the poverty level has led to dramatic increase in number of homeless people in the national Capital. The incidence of homelessness is particularly high among rickshaw-pullers and daily wage earners.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON GURGAON
Sohna: Excellent connectivity in bootlegging
Sohna (Gurgaon), April 15
The liquor mafia is spreading its tentacles. There is no let-up in the illegal sale of country-made liquor in polythene pouches in the countryside despite police vigil. According to local sources, almost all the 85 villages falling in the Sohna police station area are connected with the bootlegging network.

Probe sought into awarding of contracts by PWD
Sonepat, April 15
Representatives of various political parties, including the Congress, the Haryana Vikas Party, the CPI and the CPM, have urged the state government to order a high-level probe into the functioning of the PWD (B and R) offices in this city and elsewhere in the district.

Plea for CBI probe into misuse of funds by MC
Sonepat, April 15
The Residents Welfare Association and the Sonepat Citizens Council today sent a joint memorandum to the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, demanding immediate dissolution of the Sonepat Municipal Council and a CBI inquiry into the scandalous working and misuse of funds allotted to it for the development of slum areas and construction and repair of the roads and pavements in this city.

Widow sees plot to grab her property
Sonepat, April 15
A widow of village Bajana has lodged a complaint with the District Public Relations and Grievances Committee charging her brother-in-law and sister in-law (Jeth and Jethani) of plotting to kill her and her children so as to grab her property.

Phone tariff hike flayed by Haryana Congress leader
Rohtak, April 15
The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee has condemned the enormous hike made by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in the tariff for calls made from landline to mobile.

Residents to get piped water
Rohtak, April 15
The district administration has devised an ambitious scheme to provide piped water to every resident in Kiloi village. According to official sources, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ashok Yadav, inspected the waterworks at Kiloi village yesterday and assured the residents that they would soon be able to get piped water. He said pipes would be laid in the whole village under the Swajaldhara scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 25 lakh.

NCR BRIEFS
No trace of missing driver 
Dadri (Noida), April 15
The relatives of Ravinder, a Sumo driver missing since April 6, have accused the Dadri police of negligence in tracing him. Hundreds of people from Palla village marched to the office of the Circle Officer, Mr Pradeep Gupta and protested against police inaction in the matter.

Water projects

False alarm

DELHI DIGEST Social service marks Vishu celebrations New Delhi, April 15 Malayalees in the Capital celebrated Vishu, their New Year Day today, bringing light to the lives of underprivileged children including visually challenged. The day, which began with Vishukkani (first glimpse of God amidst illumination) in homes, was marked by special celebrations, feast and community gatherings across the metropolis in which children, women and elders took part, attired in their festive best.

Three prisoners injured in group clash in jail 
Sonepat, April 15
Three prisoners sustained injuries when they clashed with each other in the district jail here last night. According to a report, the prisoners were identified as Sanjay, son of Om Prakash, Rohtas, son of Om Prakash and Bijender, son of Zile Singh.

CRIME

Tutor arrested for abetting suicide
New Delhi, April 15
A tutor was arrested by the East district police on charges of raping and abetting the suicide of his 21-year-old student in Krishna Nagar area. The deceased, a second year student of Pharmacy, reportedly consumed sulphas tablets last night at her house. She was rushed to the GTB Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Youth held for purse snatching
New Delhi, April 15
One of the two persons who had snatched a purse from a girl student of Venketeshwara College last night, was nabbed after a brief chase by a person in the Vasant Vihar area of South West district.

Two killed in road mishaps
Ghaziabad, April 15
A trader and the driver of a Tata 407 were killed in separate road accidents. The Tata 407 was hit by a truck, killing its driver, Nawab Singh Chauhan, on the spot in the Loni area at 10 am.

EDUCATION

Teachers hold Board responsible for copying
Sonepat, April 15
The cancellation of examination following leak of the question paper and imposition of fine on students for rearranging the examination has invited criticism from every section of society, particularly the students and their wardens.

SPORTS

Jagdish, Sonika emerge wrestling champs

New Delhi, April 15 Chandgi Ram siblings Jagdish Kaliraman and Sonika Kaliraman hogged the spotlight as they cantered away with the top prizes in the second Guru Hanuman Gurj Dangal held at Majri Karala. Jagdish Kaliraman, son of Master Chandgi Ram, the former Asian champion, defeated Surender Nad of Haryana convincingly to lift the men’s title while Sonika Kaliraman outpointed international Kamini Yadav by a huge margin of 11-1, to record victory through a technical fall.

Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma honouring Master Chandgi Ram’s children Jagdish and Sonika after they won the Guru Hanuman Gurj Dangal held at Majri Karala.

Yashpal Singh slams century for Sonnet
New Delhi, April 15
An electrifying unbeaten century by Services middle order batsman Yashpal Singh (110 n o, 2x6, 9x4, 88b) and a dashing 81, studded with eight boundaries, by Mayank Sidana helped Sonnet Club beat DSI XI by 89 runs to enter the pre-quarter-final of the 13th All-India Om Nath Sood Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Khalsa College ground.

JNST lift Commonwealth cricket title
New Delhi, April 15
Jawaharlal Nehru Sports Trust (JNST) defeated British High Commission by 145 runs to win the second Raymond Commonwealth Cricket Tournament, played at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ground.

Ganga School move into final
New Delhi, April 15
Vikram cracked a strokeful 124, laced with 15 boundaries and two sixes, and Puneet Zakra hit a rapidfire 60 with ten fours, to help Ganga School beat Hansraj Model School, Punjabi Bagh by 75 runs and entered the final of the Pankaj Jain Under-13 Cricket Tournament at the Bal Bharti School ground, Pitam Pura. Vikram was named the man of the match.

Neeraj, Hitanshu star for K N Colts
New Delhi, April 15
A strokefilled 85, with 12 fours, by opener Neeraj Sehgal and his 110-run partnership with Hitanshu (48, 6x4) helped K N Colts beat Canara Bank by 68 runs in a Group A League match of the Rajiv Gandhi Smriti North Delhi Cricket League at the Siri Fort Sports Complex ground. Neeraj Sehgal was named the man of the match.

GHPS Loni Road record big victory
New Delhi, April 15
Guru Harkrishan Public School, Loni Road crushed Guru Harkrishan Public School, Fateh Nagar 9-0 in the All-India Sahibzada Ajit Singh Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at the Shivaji Stadium on Tuesday. Navetej scored three goals while Prashant and Jagdeep accounted for one and two goals respectively.