The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

SCHOOL CHALO ABHIYAN
Drive to enrol and retain children in MCD schools
Smriti Kak
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 11
That the education in government-run schools in the National Capital is in a shambles is substantiated by the study conducted by Social Jurists, a body of lawyers which takes up public interest issues. The findings are startling:

^* More than 80 per cent of the children who pass class V from MCD schools do not even know how to read or write their names.

^* Out of the 100 children who get admitted in class I, a mere 14 reach class X and only four pass class X examination.

^* As against 21 lakh children studying in government schools, there are about 15 lakh children who are either dropouts or have never gone to schools.

^* There are more than 2 lakh children with disabilities in the age group of 6-18 and less than 6,000 such children are in school.

^* The schools lack basic infrastructure for attracting children with disabilities.

^* Three lakh children are engaged in rag picking and one lakh children in building and other construction works, and not in school.

This when Delhi has an annual budget of Rs. 1,000 crore for government schools. While administrators claim to be working on the problems, irked by the slow pace of things, the social group has formulated ways to not just bring children to school, but also ensure that these children stay in school.

“We get the children enrolled, but poor teaching and lack of amenities drives them back. So, we now have an added responsibility of keeping them in school”, said Advocate Ashok Aggarwal, Convenor.

The Social Jurists have launched the ‘ SCHOOL CHALO ABHIYAN’ in the city with the object that all children are not only enrolled but are also retained.

“To make this abhiyan a great success, we need volunteers who can spare some time to act as a catalyst between the school and the community. In the first phase of the abhiyan, the MCD schools will be targeted. Each volunteer has to target a MCD school near his residence,” he added.

Volunteers will be expected to identify the nearest MCD school, identify the locality from where the children in the school are coming and ensure they are admitted to school.

“These volunteers will have to interact with the parents and children of these localities and identify the reasons for these children being out of school. Emphasis will be placed on girl child and those with disabilities”, Aggarwal added.

The endeavour is to form a local committee of at least five persons, two of them being women, to interact with the school headmaster and teachers and identify the problems of the school and the children with regard to their educational needs, physical and academic infrastructure.

“We will monitor the quality of education being imparted to the children; for this, a weekly or fortnightly progress report has to be furnished to the convenor”, Aggarwal pointed out.

He went on to add: “We met the Director of Education, Mr. Rajender Kumar, and he has promised to extend cooperation”.

“As of now, we have around 20 lawyers who have volunteered, but we are looking for more such people from across the city”, Aggarwal said.

GURGAON’S DEGRADATION
Where is the much-touted Singapore-like city?
Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, May 11
The representatives of various Residents Welfare Associations (RWA)today expressed concern over the haphazard growth of the city and lamented that the situation was far removed from the promised “paradise” and a “Singapore-like city” made by the Haryana Urban Development Authority(HUDA) and other builders. The feeling was articulated at a meeting of the RWAs held here today.

Ironically, the lament coincided with the monthly public grievances and redressal committee meeting presided over by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

The convention was organised to assess the “infrastructure crisis” in Gurgaon at the initiative of two voluntary organisations — the Peoples Action and the Ghrahak Sahayak..

The RWAs had formed an action group to study the different aspects of the city’s life, including the infrastructure, so that the issue could be taken up with the administration in a concerted way.

Several speakers at the convention underscored the need for residents, especially in the new Gurgaon city, to organise themselves politically to exert pressure on the city’s political representatives. It was pointed out that due to their political naivete, the demands of the residents for better infrastructure often remain a cry in wilderness.

Others felt that anyone who has moved to Gurgaon in the last five years knew how things had got worse day by day. What used to be uninterrupted power supply on full blast, was now erratic, punctuated by incessant power cuts and fluctuations that knocked out appliances.

Water was rationed, with supplies trickling in for barely two-and-a-half hours a day and a ground water table that was fast depleting. What used to be a smooth flow of traffic, was today marked by chaos and unprecedented pollution.

The RWAs attributed the current ills to unplanned growth. In a couched reference to the private builders and colonisers, they alleged that the city was being sold to the highest bidder. That is why, 12 multiplexes, malls and departmental stores were coming up within half-a-kilometre stretch. That is why new industrial and commercial areas were being declared at whim — the latest being Manesar. That is why, there was already talk of a Greater Gurgaon.

There were frayed tempers at the convention. The participants alleged that Gurgaon was being boxed in by the new structures which attracted hordes of shoppers and vehicles. Result: the residents were unable to exit from the city on any arterial road. It was felt that anyone with big money could get a big project passed in the city. While these multi-crore projects were getting red-carpet treatment from the administration, the residents were being pushed around like second-class citizens, they added. It was also felt that the government, the administration and the owners of large projects were on one side: their vested interests had made them partners in the degradation of Gurgaon.

Governance at its best? Only 3 complaints in redressal committee chaired by CM
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, May 11
A kind of record was created in the monthly meeting of the District Grievances and Redressal Committee held here today when only three complaints were put up for redressal. The meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala.

Although the authorities have claimed that five complaints were taken up, it is learnt that one of the so-called complaints was actually a note of thanks from a resident whose minor daughter was abducted but recovered with the help of the police.

Yet another complaint, filed by one Birpal of Atmadpur village against a unit which was causing pollution, was withdrawn. The Chief Minister felt that the action of the complainant was suspect; he has, therefore, asked the pollution control officials to ascertain whether the complainant has accepted money from the owner of the unit.

The complaints taken up in the meeting pertained to alleged encroachments in Shramik Vihar, provisions for residents of HEWO apartments in Sector-16, and the transfer of a tubewell connection in Panhera Khurd village.

Mr Chautala expressed unhappiness over the manner in which the complaints were processed. He directed the Deputy Commissioner to look into the matter.

This was not the first time that the number of complaints filed in the grievances committee meeting was below 10. It is also alleged that several complaints are not included in the agenda for such meetings. Incidentally, such meetings chaired by the Chief Minister cost the exchequer a couple of lakhs.

Each complaint is scanned by the authorities prior to the meeting; the officials are also ready with their responses on the action that needs to be taken for redressal. No on-the-spot inclusion of complaints is allowed. The chief minister has suspended some officials for not properly handling complaints in the past.

There has been a demand in some quarters that complainants should be allowed to petition the CM directly, so that even complaints against the inefficient and corrupt officials could be taken up.

Critical disclosures not made to blood donor suffering from AIDS
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, May 11
A donor, whose blood was found to be HIV positive at a donation camp organised by the district authorities here, was not informed that he was suffering from the deadly disease. The infected blood was simply destroyed.

In fact, among the 1891 units of blood collected between January 1, 2002 and April 30, 2003 at various donation camps, about four units were found to be infected with the HIV virus.

The organisers of blood donation camps and the authorities take refuge in a legislation that proscribes doctors and the health department from informing the donors about the status of their blood. Even, if they are HIV positive!

According to Civil Surgeon Dr S P S Bhatia, they are not obliged to make any disclosures to a donor, not unless he volunteers to undergo a blood test or comes forward for counseling at an AIDS detection centre. Not even in public interest. The donor, unmindful of the fact that he is HIV positive, can go about his business of donating blood. According to district health authorities, at least two individual donors had tested HIV positive at the aforesaid camp.

Curiously, the health department is duty bound to inform an individual about the status of his blood when he visits a free counseling centre and volunteers for a test.

According to Mr Bhatia, 97 persons had come forward for voluntary counseling this year in the district; of these, 11 cases were found to be HIV positive. Not only these persons were informed about the status of their blood, detailed tests were conducted at the counseling centre free of cost.

The health department has been advising all suspect cases to get themselves tested here. But the authorities have not been able to provide such facilities in small towns and in the interior. The awareness level about AIDS is poor among villagers as the media campaign is confined to the urban areas.

The detection of 11 HIV positive cases at a counseling centre was quite alarming, it is felt. Dr Vinod Kaul, head of a pathological laboratory, feels that the health authorities and the voluntary organisations should tighten up their belts. They should not wait for people to come to them. Instead, they ought to go to the people and create awareness.

ON CAMPUS
JNU course could be stepping stone to UN
Tribune News service

New Delhi, May 11
The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has evolved a programme in Global Studies, in collaboration with two foreign universities, to help students who are looking for a career in international organisations like the United Nations.

The JNU’s Centre for the Studies of Social Systems has tied up with Germany’s Albert-Ludwigs University and the Durban-based University of Natal for the programme in Global Studies.

The first batch for this course was inducted in April 2002, and it is currently completing its third year. Now, students can hope for placements in organisations with a global presence such as the United Nations, International Labour Organisation, ActionAid, Oxfam and Amnesty International, said sources from the department.

They pointed out that international organisations are interested in recruiting people who have first hand experience of democratic processes and conflict patterns in varied cultural settings.

This apart, MNCs have also shown interest in recruiting students from this programme. Scholars point out that social sciences, which are trapped in national boundaries, need to be liberated and a course such as this would go a long way to eliminate ‘’eurocentricism’ that has influenced the theoretical understanding of globalisation so far.

The programme incorporates latest IT usage and virtual classrooms; it is an experiment in the field of social sciences with universities from India, Africa and Europe contributing in equal measure.

The programme seeks to maintain a continental balance in the intake of students and is spread over four semesters of four-and-a-half months each. Students spend the first three semesters on different campuses — Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany; University of Natal, Durban, South Africa; and JNU.

A graded system of tuition fees has been adopted. A student from Europe or North America has to pay US $ 600 for one semester while an Indian or an African student has to pay US $ 200. There are some merit-cum-means fellowships and in-built part-time jobs within the programme.

DAY OF MISHAPS
Five kids charred as Sumo catches fire
Our Correspondent

Ghaziabad (Modinagar) May 11
Five children sitting in a Sumo were badly charred in Modinagar when the vehicle suddenly caught fire while it was parked near the bus stand. They were all referred to a local nursing home. The condition of two of the kids was serious and they have been referred to Delhi’s Safdarjung hospital.

The Sumo had caught fire due to a short circuit, the police said. The family of Khemchand and Rajkumar of Phindala village were to go to Karawal Nagar in Delhi for some ceremony. The Sumo was suddenly engulfed in flames and Khemchand pulled out his wife, Babita, and his children out of the vehicle one by one. Nonetheless, five children — Pushpa, Aarti, Nissant, Vicky and Rajkumar — were badly charred. The shopkeepers of the areaea helped in dousing the blaze and pulling out the kids.

The children were rushed to the Jeevan Nursing Home for treatment. The doctors have referred Pushpa, and Aarti, who have sustained serious burn injuries, to Delhi.

PCR gutted, four cops badly hurt

Meerut: Four policemen sustained serious burn injuries when the fuel tank of a police patrol car caught fire. Some passers-by on National Highway-58 pulled extricated from the burning car.

According to some eye-witnesses, a police patrol car (UT-07-A-4444) was deployed on escort duty in the cavalcade of former chief minister Nitanand Sharma, when he was passing through Meerut district.

The four cops were identified as Ramkishan, Sayyad Ahmad, Davendra Pawar and Ravendra Kumar; their 3 self-loading rifles were also destroyed in the fire. OC

Three feared killed after inhaling gas

Meerut: At least 3 persons, including a woman, died while more than 50 persons were badly affected when ammonia gas leaked at 2 am in Rehmat Nagar locality of Khalapar area of Muzaffarnagar city. There was considerable panic in the area and the entire locality was vacated. Hundreds of persons, who had inhaled the gas, were admitted to the district hospital and some nearby private nursing homes. More than a dozen are said to be critical.

According to SSP, Muzaffarnagar, the Samajwadi Party city president, Rahsid Siddiqi, owned an ice factory in Rehmat Nagar. The gas started leaking from the factory at around 1 am. The brother of the factory owner was present on the premises at the time of the leak.

District Magistrate Rajiv Aggarwal and SSP Bhajni Ram Mina rushed to the spot with five tenders. Later, in a telephonic conversation, the SSP disclosed that the owner of the ice factory had been arrested and booked under Sections 304A, 279 and 238 of the IPC and under the provisions of the Industrial Act. Several ice factories are located in the residential area here and such incidents are common.

Villagers rue tardy road repair work
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 11
Like the previous meeting, the monthly meeting of the District Public Relations and Grievances Committee yesterday was dominated by large-scale complaints lodged by the people from more than two dozen villages about the use of substandard material and tardiness in metalling, widening and repair of the Sonepat-Purkhas road.

After listening to the complaints of the people, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Balwan Singh, who presided over the meeting in the absence of the Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, ordered the SDM, Sonepat, Mr Sujan Singh Yadav, to conduct an on-the-spot inquiry and also lift samples if any substandard material was being used by contractors in road construction works.

The villagers reminded the Deputy Commissioner that the Agriculture Minister had given orders for early completion of the road works at last month’s meeting but hardly any work commenced on the road. The villagers also pointed out road repair work was commenced about two years back but so far even a 5 km stretch of the road had not been repaired.

As many as 13 public complaints were taken up during the meeting and out of them 10 complaints were disposed of to the satisfaction of the complainants. The remaining three complaints were kept pending for want of proper inquiry and these would be taken up at the next monthly meeting.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON SONEPAT
Restaurants face closure as people stay away
B. S. Malik

Sonepat, May 11
The ongoing period of recession has brought activities in real estate and commercial dealings to a grinding halt. Hotels and restaurants are also struggling for survival in the town. According to reports, a number of owners of hotels and restaurants have already started winding up their business for want of customers.

Considering Sonepat a favourable township for the hotel business consequent to the growth of industries here in the past, with the town being second only to Gurgaon and Faridabad, and taking into account its proximity to Delhi a number of hotels and restaurants had opened in the town, including the one by the Haryana Tourism Corporation, which was named Chakor.

Another attraction for hoteliers and restaurateurs was the number of daily commuters to Delhi, whose numbers are estimated around 35,000.

A majority of them are from the middle class. “It was hoped that the people of this class must have been influenced by the Delhi culture and would celebrate their holidays and other occasions in the hotels and restaurants at least once a week or twice in a month,” remarked a restaurant owner at Atlas Road.

Much to their disappointment, the hoteliers realised that this business was not proving to be fruitful for many a reason, including shifting of the focus of industrialisation in the areas adjacent to the GT Road, developed by the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, opening of the industrial units’ corporate offices in Delhi and lack of development of posh residential areas.

An employee of the Haryana Tourism Corporation who has served in Chakor restaurant, which was located in the heart of the town and functioned for more than a decade before its closure around three year back, told NCR Tribune that despite the facilities of bar and restaurant it was running in losses before its closure.

A restaurant owner near Hindu College remarked his entire business was dependant on the college students otherwise the restaurants were hardly any attraction for the other town people. “And it might be because of the local culture, food habits and financial status of the residents,” he said.

Mr B. L. Parekh, an expert in restaurant business, categorically remarked that the focus of the business had been gradually shifting on to the GT Road from the town.

In support of his remarks, he explained that the hotels and restaurants on the GT Road in general from the Kundli border to Ganaur and at Murthal chowk in particular had witnessed rapid growth two decades back.

Town people also prefer to come to Murthal for meals instead of frequenting the town’s restaurants.

Keeping in view the attraction of the GT Road and meeting the requirements of posh residential colonies, HUDA had already commenced development work on three residential sectors adjacent to the GT Road between Bahalgarh and Murthal to give a boost to other business activities, he said.

The owner of Sagar restaurant was of the opinion that the rapid proliferation of restaurants in the town during the eighties and beginning of nineties was also one of the reasons behind their failure.

In order to overcome the problem of this trend of recession in this business, a number of restaurants and hotels in the town have introduced `thali’ system to attract customers.

Toll tax collection tender cancelled due to non-payment of dues
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 11
The Haryana Government has cancelled the tender of M/s Wazir Singh and Sons company for the recovery of toll tax along the Yamuna river on the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border, near Garh Meerakhpur village in Sonepat district.

The tender of M/s Wazir Singh and Sons was cancelled following the non-payment of toll tax collected for the last two months by Mr Wazir Singh, owner of the company.

According to a report, it has directed the authorities of the PWD (B&R) to take charge of the border post and collect the toll tax from the vehicles.

Mr Ashok Kumar, a SDO of the department, has been deputed to monitor the work for the recovery of the toll tax.

Mr Wazir Singh, owner of the company was required to pay Rs 60.75 lakh every month to the state government. However, he had failed to deposit the requisite amount with the state exchequer inspite of repeated requests. Hence, the state government had no alternative but to cancel the tender of the company. The state government, it may be recalled, had imposed additional toll tax on auto vehicles crossing the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border, along the Yamuna river, and had accepted the tender of M/s Wazir Singh and Sons.

A heavily loaded truck was required to pay a toll tax of Rs 150, whereas other types of trucks, buses, canter etc was to pay Rs 100 each.

Cong activists hit campaigning trail
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, May 11
A team of Congress activists of the district left for Fatehabad for campaigning, as part of the decision taken at a meeting held here under the presidentship of Mr Subhash Batra, a former minister today.

It was also resolved at the meeting of the Block Congress Committee (BCC) that the BCC presidents, Mr Ashok Sachdeva and Mr Azad Singh Nandal, accompanied by a large number of party workers, would survey ward number 6 in Fatehabad today and campaign as directed by the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president, Mr Bhajan Lal.

The former minister asked the party activists to reach Fatehabad in large numbers and inform the voters of the ‘anti-people’ policies of the I N L D and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

CJ lays stone of dist court in Dwarka

New Delhi: The Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Mr Justice B. C. Patel, on Sunday laid the foundation stone of the district court in Dwarka. The Department of Public Works will construct the eight-storeyed district court in 24 months at an estimated cost of Rs 86 crore.

The district court will have 79 courtrooms and like number of chambers for judicial officers. It will also have 258 chambers for advocates, library, bank, treasury and post office. Also, a parking lot that can accommodate 660 cars will be there.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister, Ms Sheila Dikshit, said nine district courts would be set up in the nine revenue districts. One district court is functioning in Karkardooma, East Delhi. Construction has reached an advanced stage for the district court in Rohini where 80 courtrooms will be ready by the year-end. TNS

NAD protests against MTNL call charges’ hike

New Delhi: Protesting against the hike in call charges, members of the National Akali Dal staged a demonstration here today. The protesters led by the president of NAD, Mr Paramjit Singh Pamma, set fire to telephone instruments near Janta Mantar here, demanding that the change in tariffs be immediately reverted.

It was alleged that while mobile companies were slashing their charges, it was ironic that MTNL had decided to go in for a price hike. The protesters pointed out that for a one-minute call from a landline to a mobile the consumer now has to pay Rs 7.20, which is an inflated price. TNS

Appeal to President

The secretary-general of the All India Citizens Committee, Mr Parmod Arya, demanded the dismissal of the Union Minister for Home, Mr L.K. Advani, for his failure to check crime and terrorism in the country. He also appealed to the President not to give his assent to the bill to hike the salaries and allowances of the members of Parliament.

NCR BRIEFS
DC for sample testing to ensure
safe drinking water
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, May 11
The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ashok Yadav, has directed the officials of the Health Department to take samples of water from wells, handpumps, ice factories and private water supply companies operative in different villages so as to ensure supply of safe drinking water. While presiding over the meeting of District Grievances Committee here today, he also directed the Health authorities to put a check on the sale of cut fruits, substandard ice cream and sugarcane juice so as to avoid the outbreak of various diseases.

As many as 25 grievances were brought to his notice during the meeting, a majority of which were settled on the spot. Complaints regarding inadequate supply of piped water dominated the meeting.

The residents of different villages and various localities in the town complained against the acute scarcity of piped water.

The Deputy Commissioner directed the Health authorities to divide the Meham, Kalanaur, Sampla and Lakhan Majra towns in zones for the purpose of supply of piped water.

Responding to the complaints of some residents of Gandhara village, the Deputy Commissioner directed the Superintending Engineer, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Niagam, to shift the high-tension transmission wires passing above the rooftops of their houses.

Fodder for Rajasthan

Sonepat: The district administration has decided to send two trains loaded with fodder to Jodhpur (Rajasthan) for providing relief to the drought hit areas of Rajasthan. According to a report, this followed the instructions received by the state government asking each district to send atleast one train loaded with fodder to the drought hit Rajasthan.

The leaders of the ruling INLD have already collected large quantity of fodder and dumped it at the railway station.

Computer thieves’ gang busted
Our Correspondent

Jhajjar, May 11
The district police have busted an inter-district gang of thieves who stole computers and computer parts worth about Rs 9 lakh from many schools, colleges and polytechnic institutes in Jhajjar and some other districts.

The police sources said four members of the gang, Kadam, son of Om Prakash, Anil, son of Budhram, Nagender, son of Bhim, and Pushpender, son of Om Prakash, all residents of Beri village, were arrested while a manhunt had been launched for Dalbir, son of Nafe, a resident of Matdola in Panipat district.

The police said the gang members had confessed their involvement in the theft of computer parts in two government schools in Beri, government colleges in Dujana and Dubaldhan, the government school in Birohar, the polytechnic institute at Jhajjar, the treasury office at Jhajjar and the primary health centre at Matanhail last year.

A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC had been registered against them. The gang stole computers, hard discs, CPUs, motherboards, keyboards, mouse, scanner and printers worth about Rs 9 lakh. The gang also confessed their involvement in theft incidents at Government School, Panipat, the government school at Shamli Kalan and Julana in Jind districts, Government College, Jind, and Government Senior Secondary School in Gharonda. The four accused were remanded in police custody.

The head of the gang, Kadam, also stole a Indica car from Delhi. They used to give some intoxicant laced water to the watchman at the school or college and then decamp with the computers.

Inter-state gang of highway robbers busted, 4 held
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 11
With the arrest of four dreaded criminals, including two from the list of most wanted criminals, the district police have claimed to have busted an inter-state gang of highway robbers operating in parts of Haryana and neighbouring states for the past few years.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, told mediapersons here today that the arrested criminals have been identified as Bijender of Bhatgaon village, Rajesh alias Bokra of Rewara village, (both are among the most wanted criminals), Rohtas of Assan village in Rohtak district and Dharminder of Roorki village in Rohtak district.

The criminals were wanted in several cases of loot, dacoity, extortion and assault. With their arrest, he said, the police had solved as many as 12 cases of loot, dacoity, assault and ransom threat. He also disclosed that the police have launched a massive hunt to apprehend the other associates of these suspects, who are still at large.

According to the Superintendent of Police, the culprits have confessed to their involvement in the murder of Sanjay Rana of Sonepat in March last year, murder of one Ashok of Rewara village in July 2001 and the kidnapping and murder of Jaypal of Garhi Haqiqat village (Sonepat) in April last year. During their interrogation, they also confessed to have snatched an Indica car in March last year at Kailana village (Sonepat) and a Tata Sumo in April last year.

Among other crimes, they confessed to have looted a TV and cash from the shop of Rama Electricals at Samata Chowk, Gohana, in November last year along with Rs 50,000 in cash and ornaments from a van near Jharot village in October last year.

Mr Ahlawat said that they were also involved in the looting of Rs 4.30 lakh from Mr Raj Kumar of Kathura village in May last year and Rs 19.54 lakh from the LIC office in Sector 15, Sonepat, in March.

Criminals killed in police encounter
Our Correspondent

Gulawathi (Bulandshahr), May 11
The Bulandshahr police claimed to have killed Deepak Jani, a prominent member of the Vijendra gang, along with a fellow gangster on Saturday. Deepak Jani was among the top criminals of the area and carried a reward of Rs 5,000 on his head, the police said. One Chinese pistol, a country-made revolver and a motorcycle was recovered from the two criminals.

An informer had tipped-off the police control room on phone that two gangsters were moving towards Hapur carrying illegal arms and ammunition on a Bajaj Pulsor motorbike. A police team of Gulawathi Police Station proceeded towards the Brawl police post looking for the duo. Both the criminals were shot dead in an encounter that took place near Phoota Atta crossing on Isepur-Harchana road.

The police recovered a Chinese pistol, a country-made revolver, some cartridges and a motorcycle from the slain criminals near the site. One of the policemen identified Deepak Jani, a resident of Jani Khurd village under Jani Police Station, Meerut. The second gangster had not been identified so far. A telephone diary recovered from Deepak contained telephone numbers of important persons of Meerut, the police said. Later, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Mr Alok Sharma, visited the site of the encounter. SSP Sharma confirmed that Deepak Jani was an important member of the notorious Vijendra gang and was the right hand man of Yogesh Badora of the same gang.

They were known contract killers and were wanted in various cases of murder, vehicle thefts and dacoities registered in various police stations viz Kankakkhoda, Jani Lal Kurti of Meerut, Sishani Gate in Ghaziabad and Ahmedgarh of Bulandshahr. The motorbike recovered from the criminals was reported to have been stolen from Jani Police Station area, Meerut, the SSP said.

Domestic help arrested for stealing cash, jewellery
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 11
A domestic help, identified as Daleep (19), was arrested for stealing Rs 1.5 lakh and jewellery worth Rs 4.5 lakh from the house of Mrs Sudha in Karol Bagh. He was arrested while trying to escape when the police arrived at the house to verify his statements.

He stole the cash and jewellery and put the almirah on fire.

Mrs Sudha was not satisfied with his reply when she questioned him about the robbery and subsequently, informed the police. When the police arrived, he tried to escape.

However, he was caught and when his room was searched, the stolen money and jewellery were recovered, the police said.

Gamblers arrested: The Anand Parbat police arrested three gamblers, who were allegedly involved in satta in the cricket match played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The suspects were identified as Naveen Gupta, Sanjay Gupta and Santosh Sapla. One mobile phone, one TV and Rs 2 lakh in cash were recovered from their possession, the police said.

SHOWCASE
Health conscious can quench their
thirst without worry

The consumer product division of Zydus Cadila has launched sugar free–D’Lite, a new age drink for health conscious adults, offering 85 per cent lesser calories than the other sugar based soft drinks. It is available in three flavours.

Bandhan watches: Titan Industries has launched a new range of Bandhan watches for the wedding season. The watches are available in 15 exclusive designs packed in traditional boxes adorned with auspicious wedding colours.

Rear projection TV: Philips India Limited, a subsidiary of the Netherlands based Royal Philips Electronics, has launched a 55-inch rear projection TV. The 55pp8620 projection TV is another world’s first and is part of the premium international ‘Matchline’ European series.

Energy drink: Rasna Private Limited has launched the Juc-Up range of pre-sweetened instant energy drink that is fortified with value added ingredients like fruit powder, vitamin and glucose.

Personality series notebooks: Srinivas Fine Arts Limited commemorates the memory of one of the greatest literary figures, William Shakespeare, by launching a personality series of notebooks, one of which is specially named after him. Every page of the notebook carries motivating quotes and interesting excerpts from the life and works of the bard.

Gold plated watches: The Sikkim Times Corporation Limited (SITCO) has come up with a new range of gold plated watches for men and women, priced reasonably to suit every pocket.

Pollution free inverter: Luminous Electronics Limited has launched what is being claimed as the country’s first pollution free inverter–Bi2 Zero P. The inverter is presently available in 750VA capacity.

Submersible pump: Indoma Industries, New Delhi, has launched Littelpump, a fully submersible pump used in desert coolers, which incorporates the latest permanent magnet technology and works completely under water.

Portable home: Aggarwal Packers and Movers have launched “Portable Home”. It promises to shift household as well as industrial assets in a secure and economic manner in an iron container available in different sizes. It is called ‘Portable Home’ as it minimises disruption during moving of household and industrial goods.

Talc for the summer season: Park Avenue has launched Deo Talc for the summer season. The new Deo Talc has been launched after extensive customer-research conducted recently so as to incorporate the aspirations of the customers.

Digital Minilab: Fujifilms has launched the Frontier 330 Digital Minilab offering the ultimate true to life print quality in an integrated system, which combines the best of silver halide and digital technologies.

I-cool series: Digital technology leader, Samsung India Electronics Limited, has launched its new I-cool series of frost-free refrigerators. Available in the capacities between 310 litres and 440 litres, the I-cool series provide optimum cooling on account of the twin shower-cooling feature.

Adjustable pen: Modi Senator (India) Pvt Limited has launched latest technology pen ‘Qlever’, the rollerball pen, which can be adjusted to the writing position of its users between 0 and 15 degrees.

Compact machine: Sharp Business Systems India Private Limited has introduced a compact and easy to use facsimile machine. This machine provides the convenience of fax, copy and phone functions and comes equipped with a 448KB memory, which enables it to store as many as 17 pages in its memory.

Sandblast denims: Pepe Jeans London has launched a sandblast denims called “Useddenimblaster”. The range includes an exciting array of bottoms in a variety of fabrics, washes and cuts.

Travellers’ companion: VIP has launched SignetEasy, a new travellers companion, which is small from outside but large from inside, with anti-theft handle lock and four roller balls for smooth handling.

Summer wear: Givo is introducing a new summer range of shirts and trousers made up of pure cotton and Irish linen fabrics in stunning array of colours. Available in plains, stripes and checks, the new range is bound to give you a calm and confident look, claims Givo.