Children being given the third degree 
for religious instructions
Our Correspondent

Noida (Bulandshahr), June 18
One does come across allegations of communal bias in the name of imparting religious instruction in madrassas from time to time, but a rare case of having the innocent children bound in chains and giving them religious instructions in madrassas has now come to light in Bulandshahar.

Three children who have escaped from a madrassa in Chandpur village under Kotwali Dehat area in Bulandshahr have made startling revelations.

They have stated that their hands and feet were put in chains and they were forced to receive instructions in madrassas.

The children are in the police custody right now. One frail child was found bound in chains yesterday in the madrassa. The children said that they were getting education in Madrassa Faiz-e-Aem in Chandpur village under Kotwali where they were subjected to inhuman treatment. They were hit with sticks and wooden writing planks on head, joints, hands etc.

These three children were found at railway crossing near Mankhera village on Sunday morning at 3 am frightened and confused, the police said.

If a student attempted to escape, heavy chains would bind them to a bed or pillar so that they could not move about. Fed up with this inhuman behaviour, they had somehow managed to escape, the children said.

When the SO incharge Kotwali mentioned that he would have to inform the madrassa management about their escape, the children were apparently petrified. They all implored the SO not to tell the madrassa Maulvi Sahib (religious teacher) otherwise “his beatings will skin them alive and break their bones”.

The children are: Aashad, 8, son of Mohammed Din of Mohalla Sadiq Nagar of Meerut’s Lisari Gate police station area; 10-year-old Iqram, son of

Shah Jamal of Sardya police station; and seven-year-old Aasif, son of Rais, resident of Shastri Park under Kotwali area of Bulandshahr.

When some journalists reached the madrassa on Tuesday, they found a child Rijwan, son of Islam, chained to a 10 kg iron chain, sitting on the edge in the madrassa compound.

Maulana Mohammed Ismail said those kids who try to escape from madrassa have to be confined with chains this way.

“Most of the children in this madrassa are from very poor families and they are imparted free instruction. And sometimes we have to deal with them sternly,” Mohammed Din, originally of village Ferozpur Namak under police station Nuh in Haryana, said.

Currently 35 children from Rajasthan, Bihar, UP, Haryana, receive education in this madrassa.

Weather gods smile on sunburnt residents
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 18
The first pre-monsoon showers preceded by a squall this morning broke the prolonged heat spell in the Capital much to the relief of the residents battered by heat and humidity.

Mid-day temperature plummeted to 27.0 degree Celsius after the rains. The Capital had recorded 9.1 mm rains since this morning, and more rains are to follow in the next 24 hours, the weather office predicted.

It said the rains were the result of winds both from the Bay of Bengal and Gujarat. June has so far been the hottest in the past few years.

On June 3 and 4, the Capital had experienced the hottest days of the season and of the last eight years with maximum temperature shooting up to 45.6 degree.

The rains, of course, brought along the usual problems of waterlogging and traffic snarls but for once the people were not complaining and suffered in silence so as not to annoy the weather gods.

Particularly affected were the areas in South, East and Central parts of the Capital. There were smiles all around and those out for their morning stroll did not rush back to the shelter of their homes but instead lingered on to savour the showers from the skies.

The squall and the rains also affected power supply in several parts of the Capital where residents complained of long hours of shutdowns. The residents of Kalkaji Extension were particularly affected as the power in their area was disrupted for more than nine hours. Irate residents alleged that the centralised complaint centre of the BSES was not even responding to the calls.

The local complaint centres were equally apathetic to the woes of the residents. “Perhaps the BSES thinks that since the weather has improved, there is no need for electricity,” was a wry comment of one of the residents.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi claimed that the annual desilting of drains was continuing and the work was likely to be completed before the monsoons arrive. However, residents claimed that the MCD had left the silt piled up on the sides of the drains and this had now been washed back into them thus defeating the entire exercise. The MCD officials said that they would look into this.

As rains come, ‘anti-malaria’ month goes
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, June 18
Strange are the ways of the government departments. By the time the rainy season starts and the malarial parasites begin to develop, the official ‘anti-malaria’ month would be over. The Health Department announced that it was observing June as the month to propagate measures against the malarial disease.

The monsoon that normally begins in the first week of July also triggers the outbreak of malaria in both urban and rural areas. The effect of malaria and its related fever is witnessed in the latter part of July and August in case of a normal rainfall, as the accumulated water in the open areas and surroundings with a drop in day temperatures cause the growth of mosquito larvae. But it seems that the Health Department is anxious to observe this annual feature in June only when the growth of malaria parasites is minimal due to extreme temperatures.

The Health Department has already started advising the people on the ways and means to check and prevent malaria. According to district malaria officer, any fever could be due to malaria and if it was there, one should go to the nearest health centre for a blood test and collect ‘chloroquine’ tablets given free by the health volunteers.

It is informed that anti-malaria tablets have been made available in each town and village through volunteers and officials like sarpanch, teachers and Anganwadi workers.

The department has asked the residents not to allow accumulation of water for more than seven days at one spot and keep changing the water of coolers, tanks and other storing devices and get pesticides sprayed at the suspected places. Blood slides and tablets have been made available at all health centres and dispensaries.

Contrary to this, the situation regarding the malaria and the effect of the disease was much more serious in April this year. But ironically, there was no ‘awareness’ campaign launched then. Despite pleas, the health department failed to carry out fogging to prevent the growth of mosquitoes in various parts, says R K Dass, a resident of Jawahar Colony here.

Basic civic amenities: The rich get more for less!
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 18
The poor of Delhi are being deprived of basic civic amenities as the rich are getting them at subsidised rates, according to development experts. While calling for an end to these subsidies, they have also advised against bulldozing the poor out of the Capital to solve the problem of slums.

Uprooting the poor forcibly was not a humane solution to the problem of slums, the experts said releasing to the media the conclusions of a two-day seminar on “Sustainable Development of Delhi”, organised by the Institute of Human Development (IHD).

The IHD said representatives of the NGOs and the government departments who participated in the seminar felt that the civic amenities such as water and power were being provided to the rich at prices much below what they could pay. For example, the cost of supplying treated water in Delhi was five times more than the revenue the government got from it. So, some rational system of pricing was a must to make distribution of amenities more equitable.

The experts also called for setting up a department of rehabilitation to take charge of settling slum dwellers after the relocation of their dwellings. According to them, it was better to give the poor plots instead of asking them to pay for constructed house because it has been seen that the finished houses were beyond their capacity to pay and they often fell in the hands of the economically better off. This was what had happened in Delhi and Maharashtra.

They also called for a just land policy to make land accessible to the poor. They said the city would have to find a solution to its problem through scientific planning keeping in view the sustainability of developmental work to be undertaken. The problem of migration would always be there as Delhi was not only the economic hub but also the political hub of the nation.

A view also emerged at the seminar that the government could not achieve this task without the participation of the private sector.

The Bhagidari system, recently started by the Government of NCT of Delhi, was supported by the experts as an important step to ensure people’s participation in developmental programmes.

IMD finds no sign of seismic activity in crack
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 18
A team of experts of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has examined the site in a Haryana village where a deep crack appeared on the land surface and found no associated seismic activity.

It has now written to the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to investigate about 300-metre-long crack which appeared in a village in Narnaul district. The appearance of the crack in the land surface had been reported first in the ‘NCR Tribune’ on June 2. The crack had caused considerable fear among the villagers.

Officials said that the IMD had visited the site about 15 days back and found no sign of seismic activity which is often associated with such occurrences.

“We have now written to the GSI to investigate and collect information to know the cause,” a senior official said, adding that such cracks on land surface were not a rare phenomenon. They may be caused by earthquakes or too much of heat in summer.

The Central Ground Water Board had also been informed of the matter which would collect data on underground water to see if drawing up of too much water led to the cracks. According to experts, such cracks may be a precursor to seismic activity sometimes.

IN THE DOCK
Home guard recruitment: Two booked for bribe
Our Correspondent

Ghaziabad, June 18
Two officials have been taken into custody by local policemen on charges of accepting bribe in the recruitment of home guards which is in progress these days in Har San police lines here. Those arrested are a company commander and another senior officer, a lady block organiser. They were both detained in Kavi Nagar police station till late in the night. Company commander whose post is honorary, however, alleged that he is innocent and was being framed. Recruitment of home guards has been in progress in Har San police lines for the last three days in which about 150 home guards were to be selected. “Company commander Rakesh and lady block organiser were caught red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 1,000,” the police said. Pilkhua CO Shish Pal Singh, who was present in Lines had left the two officials in Kavi Nagar police station. The police had to put the company commander in the police station lock-up while the lady officer was waiting outside. Rakesh said some cops were trying to influence him for selection of some candidates but he stood his ground.

“Some of the cops were trying to shake bands with him and one of them was carrying Rs 1,000 in his hand. In this confusion, other policemen pounced on him, saying that he had accepted the bribe,” the arrested commander said.

MCD urged to withdraw demolition notices

New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in the Standing Committee of the MCD and BJP councillor Vijender Kumar Gupta today demanded that the corporation should withdraw the notices sent to the house owners in residential colonies for demolition of unauthorised constructions. The demolition in corporation areas should be stayed forthwith till the finalisation of the policy to regularise the constructions.

Mr Vijender Gupta said that thousands of citizens were facing harassment as a result of the notice of demolition issued by the civic body. Giving details, he said that the MCD started implementing the relaxed building norms with effect from November 27, 1998. The relaxed by-laws came into force as the Government of India had by and large accepted the recommendations of the Vijay Kumar Malhotra Committee on amendments in the building by-laws. He said that the corporation accepted Part 1 of the report and accordingly many unauthorised constructions were regularised after charging a compounding fee of Rs 450 per square metre. The MCD published repeated advertisements in the local newspapers to this effect so that a large number of people could avail themselves of the opportunity.

Mr Vijender Gupta disclosed that an exorbitant amount of Rs 65 crore was collected as compounding fee by the civic body. Notices had been issued to those who had opted for the scheme of relaxed building by-laws. They were allegedly being threatened that their remaining part of unauthorised constructions would be demolished since the Part II of the Malhotra Committee had not been accepted by the Delhi Government.

He alleged that the MCD had forwarded Part II of the Malhotra Committee report to the Delhi Government but it was not accepted by the Secretary, Urban Development. The second part of the report was being delayed deliberately. The MCD itself was not fulfilling the promises made under the liberalized building by-laws scheme. The amount of Rs 65 crore had to be spent on strengthening the infrastructure of civic services but it had not been done, he alleged. TNS

LIFE’S HARD KNOCKS
Village ‘pradhan’ shot at in Dadri
Our Correspondent

Noida, June 18
The ‘pradhan’ of Sonepur village in Dadri, Prakash Lakhanwala, 32, a notorious criminal himself, was attacked by four persons in Dadri Tehsil Complex in the afternoon today where he had reportedly gone in connection with the date in a land consolidation (chak bandi) case.

As he was spotted by the assailants, Prakash ran out of the Tehsil Complex with the attackers breathing over his neck. In all, four bullets were fired on him, one in the arm and three in the back on either side of spine. One bullet is reportedly embedded five inches deep in his liver. According to SP Rural Umesh Srivastava, there was a gang war between Lakhanwala and gangster Ramvir.

One of the assailants, Parvesh is arrested. He is Ramvir’s brother. The other is absconding. Prakash Lakhanwala, has a criminal record with involvement in about 30 heinous crimes including murder, extortion, loot, gang war, S P (Rural) said.

As Lakhanwala ran out to G T Road, he saw a police Gypsy and reportedly jumped into it. He was rushed to Noida’ Kailash Hospital by the same Gypsy. It is believed that Prakash was attacked by men of his arch rival, Ramvir who had a rivalry regarding election of village Pradhan. One of the assailants Parvesh, who had been nabbed from the scene of crime told police that they had been shadowing Prakash Lakhanwala for the past three years. Dr Mahesh Sharma of Kailash Hospital said the one bullet embedded in his liver is causing worry. If it results in excessive bleeding, it could be fatal. At the time of admission to hospital, Lakhanwala was conscious and was reportedly assuring his friends that he would be okay. At the time of going to the press, a team of doctors including Dr Deepak Arora, Dr Mittiani, Dr Rajnish, Dr Jain were performing an operation on Prakash from 4 pm today onwards.

Four of marriage party killed in head-on collision

Rohtak: Four youths of a marriage party died on the spot when a Maruti Gypsy carrying them collided head-on with a private bus near Sorkhi village today. The deceased have been identified as Samunder Singh, Bantu and Ashok of Mundhal village and Naresh of Banda Heri village. Five other occupants of the vehicle sustained injuries, two of them severe, and were admitted to a hospital at Hansi (Hisar). The accident took place when the bonnet of the Gypsy got opened suddenly hindering the front view. Some eyewitnesses said they heard the bang of the accident up to nearly 500 meters. OC

Student commits suicide

New Delhi: Divya (19), a student of BCA, fourth semester in Trinity Institute of Higher Education in Rajouri Garden reportedly committed suicide this morning after jumping down from the seventh floor of Krishi Kunj apartments near the institute.

A suicide note was recovered in which she had written that she ended life due to depression. The reason of depression was not mentioned in the note, police said. She came to the institute in the morning and studied in the library for 30 minutes. Later, she went to Krishi Kunj apartments to commit suicide, the police said. TNS

No water at Panipat railway station for fifteen days
Our Correspondent

Panipat, June 18
Water supply at the Panipat railway station has been stopped, forcing commuters to quench their thirst by buying bottled water from the stalls. The only other succour is two social welfare societies, whose sevadars move around the platforms supplying water purchased from water tankers.

When this correspondent visited the station last evening, it was found that the tubewells supplying water to the platforms are overbooked. Sources confirmed that the tubewells are the lone source of water for passengers as well as for supplying water to the toilets of subordinate staff of the railway colony as also to the running rooms.

Sources informed that more than 30 per cent of the water is being wasted as taps on the platforms are missing. When some senior officers from the Divisional Railway Manager’s office in New Delhi came on an inspection, plastic taps could be seen. The same were removed after the inspection, leaving the taps open.

On inquiry, it was found that there are six tubewells on the railway station premises, which are catering to the needs of 354 residential railway quarters and five platforms. However, these work only at 33 to 40 per cent capacity due to the low voltage of electricity. This is when there is a big generator dedicated only to the six tubewells.

One mechanic on duty told this correspondent that of the six tubewells, two of 2,25,000 litres capacity are feeding the residential colonies of the Railways; one is serving the hospital area; and three with smaller capacities are being used for the station premises. Thanks to the wastage from the lines without taps, low drawing of water due to voltage fluctuations and alleged infighting between the electrical department and IOW of the Railways, water is always at short supply. He assured that within a day or two, the problem would be overcome. However, without the intervention of the IOW, Panipat, the target cannot be achieved, he added.

When the Assistant Engineer (Construction), Mr Rajiv Goel, was approached at his residence, he said that even though it is not his job, he would do his best to sort out the problem within a day or two.

It may be recalled that during the visits of the DRM, chief commercial manager and other senior officers of the Northern Railway, it was stressed that “passenger amenities would be comparable with any other service provided by the Railways”. However, commuters from the station here have been going without water for the last 15 days.

SPECIAL FOCUS ON PANIPAT
Ward I residents blame authorities for civic problems
Rakesh Bhardwaj

Panipat, June 18
Ward I of the town, established by the Rehabilitation Department at the time of Partition, is crying for attention. The civic amenities provided by the municipal council for over 25,000 people of about nine colonies in the ward — Diwan Nagar, New Dewan Nagar, Arya Nagar, Basant Nagar, Guru Nanak Pura, Purewal Colony, Janak Garden, Batra Colony and Roshan Lal Colony – are grossly inadequate.

Regarding cleanliness in the ward, a STD-PCO owner of Guru Nanak Pura said that whenever the present councillor visits the ward, nobody complains to him about the unsanitary conditions. Even if one does, he would harp on the shortage of sweepers for the situation. The result is that heaps of rubbish can be seen in every nook and corner of the streets and roads.

Tarsem Singh, a Congress nominee from the ward in the MC elections, also endorsed the view. He said that heaps of rubbish could be seen everywhere and the sweepers are least bothered. He walked with this correspondent to show the streets littered with garbage and polythene bags.

Manju Batra, a resident of Diwan Nagar, is agitated over the water scarcity. A majority of residents feel cheated by the district administration, which has tried to disconnect the water supply due to pending dues, she said. There are hardly 600 connections in the area. Even then, there is not enough water, she said.

Kamlesh Bala, a sewing instructor at a training school, also confirmed that water is the main problem. Generally, water is released at night and the people are forced to keep awake till the taps start to run. Sometimes, it won’t come for four to six days continuously, Kamlesh Bala said.

Another former councillor, Dr Baldev Kapoor, said that there are four only tubewells in the ward. Of them, two are out of order due to some reasons. One new tubewell in the area is working. Another one in Batra colony gives water only by drops.

Some persons sitting near one of the tubewells alleged that they had been paying house tax and development charges but without getting the amenities. They said that most of the residents here are labourers and below the poverty line. Due to the lack of civic facilities, they are forced to live in slum-like conditions.

Dewan Chand of Diwan Nagar alleged that owners of the four ration depots in the area are busy minting money by selling the commodities in the black market. The labourers who get their wages only on seventh day of every month or get an advance by the 22nd find the ration shops closed on these days leaving them with no choice but to purchase commodities from other open market.

Dr Baldev Kapoor alleged that the present councillor’s brother, who is also a nagar parishad contractor, had constructed a road in Diwan Nagar four months ago. Several potholes have appeared on this road even before the rains arrived.

When the present BJP councillor of the ward, Mr Shayam Sunder Kamal, was contacted, he said the problems are compounded by the non-cooperation by the district administration, including the Deputy Commissioner, Nagar Parishad, Power Department and Public Health Services.

About cleanliness, he said that there are about 10 sweepers in the area and a majority of them are not doing their duties. At least 50 more sweepers are needed without proper cleanliness cannot be achieved. The absence of a garbage depot, where all garbage can be collected, has added to the problem. Not a single resident is ready to allow such a depot to come in front of his/her house. About ration depots, Mr Shyam Sunder Kamal said that it was the duty of the Department of Food Civil Supplies to intervene and cancel the licences of the depot holders found guilty. 

Rs 60 cr spent on power development in Mahendragarh
Our Correspondent

Bhiwani, June 18
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has spent Rs 60 crore on power development activities in Mahendragarh district during the last three years. A spokesman of the nigam said here today that under a comprehensive plan, six new substations had been commissioned and the capacity of 14 existing substations augmented.

The new substations included a 220 KV substation at Mahendragarh, 132 KV substations at Mundia Khera and Satnali and 33 KV substations at Bawania, Dublana and Garhi Mahasar. Those whose capacity had been augmented were 220 KV substations at Narnaul and Mehendragarh, 132 KV substations at Mahendragarh, Kanina, Narnaul, Ateli, Nangal Chaudhary and 33 KV substations at Nizampur, Mundia Khera, Dhani Bathotha, Garhi Mahasar, Kanti, Barda and Nangal Srohi.

Besides this, the DHBVN divided 18 feeders of 11 KV level into 49 feeders of comparatively shorter length and lesser load. The complete system of these feeders,
from their emanating points at substations to the meters of consumers, had been renovated. The feeders included those at Gujjarwas, Kunjpura, Akbarpur, Ganiyar, Annawas, Kariawas, Tigra, Nangal, Raipur, Nayan, Gokalpur, Jatwas, Bulana, Nangal Malla, Shobhapur, Nangal and Majar. Six new 11 KV feeders at Surjanwas, Nangal Harnath, Bulana, Bachini, Khatripur and Sari were added in the system to further strengthen power distribution in the district.

The DHBVN had installed 812 new power distribution transformers in the network, increasing the number of transformers in the district to 6,568, and replaced existing 335 transformers with that of larger capacity, which improved quality of power considerably. As many as 628 new transformers of different capacities were proposed to be added in the system and the capacity of 210 existing transformers would be augmented.

The DHBVN had erected electricity lines of a length of 1,465 kilometres during last three years in the district increasing the total length of the network to 10,731 kilometres. 

Theft leaves honest consumers powerless
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, June 18
Panches, sarpanches, members of the block samitis and Sonepat Zila Parishad said here today that the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) had failed to supply adequate load of electricity even when power theft was going on unabated.

A large number of villages falling under the jurisdiction of Murthal, Kundli, Rai, Ganaur, Kharkhauda and Gohana subdivisions had been facing difficulty for want of power to run tubewells, they told this correspondent. This was when electricity worth several lakhs of rupees was being stolen not only by owners of dhabas and restaurants on National Highway 1 between Kundli and Haldana Border but also by rural and industrial consumers in the district every month. The theft was taking place allegedly in collusion with certain officials of the UHBVN, they said. Several consumers in villages feel tempted to misuse power as they get unmetered supply at a fixed rate for running tubewells. Besides, they feel free to tap the feeders passing near their houses. Farmers with power connections for tubewells, grinding machines or crushers are allowed to tap power allegedly in return for fixed payments to the officials involved. This results in a shortage of power that could be supplied to honest consumers.

NCR BRIEFS
MDU entrance test for MBA on July 8
Our Correspondents

Rohtak, June 18
Maharshi Dayanand University has notified the admission schedule for its prestigious five-year integrated MBA programme of the Institute of Management Studies and Research (IMSAR) for the session 2003-04.

A press statement issued by the university today said the course was meant for the candidates who had passed their senior secondary (ten plus two) examination with 50 per cent marks in aggregate.

The last date for submission of application forms for this course, having 60 seats, is June 20.The entrance test will be conducted on July 8 here.

B Ed entrance test

The entrance test for admission to Bachelor in Education (B Ed) will be conducted by Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Sonepat, Bahadurgarh, Rewari, Faridabad and Gurgaon on June 30.

A spokesman for the university administration today said the admit cards had been despatched to all candidates. However, he said those not receiving their admit cards till June 24 might contact the colleges branch of the university for duplicate admit cards from June 25 to June 29.

Campaign to ensure punctuality

Sonepat: A special campaign to ensure punctuality of the heads of the departments and subordinate staff, in the offices located in the city and other parts of the district, has been launched by the district administration.

According to a report, as many as eight heads of the departments and subordinate

Staff, including two Naib Tehsildars, were found absent from duty by the senior staff during the raids. They also recommended disciplinary action against the erring officials.

Youth attempts suicide

A youth, Bhim, is reported to have made an attempt to commit suicide by taking insecticide tablets, in his house in Arya Nagar here last evening.

According to a report, the youth was immediately rushed to the local civil hospital and he was stated to be out of danger. A family feud is stated to be the main cause of his extreme step. The police are investigating into the matter.

DELHI DIGEST
BHEL to set up 220 KV grid
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 18
Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) will set up a 220 KV grid substation on turnkey basis. The Delhi Transco Limited has placed an order for the project in Geeta Colony. With the commissioning of the substation, 220 MW of power will be made available to East Delhi. The project will be commissioned in 18 months.

LG reviews flood control measures: The Lieutenant-Governor, Mr Vijai Kapoor, today reviewed the flood control measures, particularly the arrangements made with regard to flooding caused by the Yamuna, surface and internal flooding caused by rain in low-lying areas and the waterlogging caused by back flow in the sewer system. Some 177 lakh metric tonnes of silt had already been removed by the MCD.

Vijay Goel meets DJB men: Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk Vijay Goel on Wednesday met officials of the Delhi Jal Board to redress complaints about acute shortage of drinking water in the area. He said the DJB had assured the people of ensuring adequate supply of water to tide over the crisis.

Five planning bus robbery nabbed: Five robbers who were planning to commit a bus robbery have been arrested by the South district police. The police have recovered one two-wheeler, four knives and a rod from their possession. The accused, Ajay alias Chotu (28), resident of Sangam Vihar, Sunder (24), resident of Dakhinpuri, Ajay alias Lakshman (25), resident of Sangam Vihar, Vinay Massey (28), resident of Tigri Extension and Rakesh (25), resident of Devli village were involved in more than 40 such cases, the police said.

Herion worth Rs 3 crore seized: The Narcotics branch has claimed to have arrested a drug peddler and seized three kilograms of heroin worth Rs three crore in the market. The accused, Narinder Singh Chauhan (33), resident of Neemach, Madhya Pradesh was arrested from the Rajghat area.

The accused, who is an agriculturist, told the police that he used to supply drugs in Jind, Haryana through a female carrier. The police are on the look out for the woman.

‘Bhoot’ snuffs out man’s life

New Delhi: The police today claimed to have discovered the body of a middle-aged man in a theatre in South Delhi showing Ram Gopal Verma-directed horror movie ‘Bhoot,’ late on Monday night.

Since the body had no injury marks, the police said that he could have died of heart attack during the show. TNS

CRIME

Two youths killed as truck hits mobike 
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, June 18
Two youths were killed in an accident on the GT Road, near Kuber hotel, about 10 km from here, last evening when their motor cycle was hit by a truck. According to a report, the seriously injured youths were rushed to the local civil hospital by the highway police where they were declared brought dead. The victims were identified as Sandeep of Shiv Colony, Sonepat, and his relative Krishan. Both were proceeding towards Sonepat from Panipat on a motor cycle. The truck driver, however, managed to escape immediately after the accident. The police have registered a case and launched a hunt to apprehend him.

It is stated that Sandeep had got married about two months ago and his father had died about six months ago.

According to another report, a young housewife, Mrs Anita, died on the spot when the motor cycle on which she was riding pillion and which was being driven by her husband, Mr Lachhman Singh, was hit by a car on the GT Road near Bari village, about 15 km from here, last evening. The two were returning to Turkpur village. Mr Lachhman Singh, who sustained injuries, was immediately hospitalised and stated to be out of danger. The police have registered a case and further investigations are in progress.

In the third accident which occurred on the G T Road, a woman was hit by a private tourist bus and killed on the spot. The police have registered a case and sent the body for a post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, Mr Satpal a resident of Chirashmi village, was killed when he was hit by a Jammu-bound private tourist bus on the GT Road near Ganaur Chowk, about 20 km from here, last evening.

The police have registered a case and sent the body of the victim for a post-mortem examination.

Man cons parents over kids he had not abducted
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 18
The Inter-state cell of the crime branch today claimed to have arrested a person, who had been posing himself as a professional extortionist, and demanding money from the parents of missing children, last afternoon from the Ghaziabad area.

The accused, Dilip Kumar (26), resident of Sahibabad, used to make threatening calls to the bereaved parents of the children who had gone missing and would even send letters with the stamp of ‘Jaish-E-Mohammed, National Liberation Army.’

The accused used to get the information of the missing children through reading newspapers and advertisements.

Infact, Dilip was caught by the sleuths last afternoon after he was found making calls to the parents of a four-year girl Samiksha Gupta, resident of Najafgarh who has been missing since March 2002. The girl’s father had also announced a handsome reward if the child was found. Dilip, after getting the information, claimed to her parents that he is the actual kidnapper and demanded Rs Five lakh from her father, N L Gupta. He also threatened to severe the head of the child, if the family members failed to oblige his demand. The accused also made several calls to other parents like Kuldip Singh, resident of Najafgarh, Bahadur Singh, resident of Dayalpur and Narender Chaudhury, resident of Sahibabad.

Police solves five auto theft cases: The Special Cell has nabbed an inter-state auto-lifter and claimed to have solved more than five cases of auto-lifting in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The accused, Deepak, was nabbed by the police in the Lodhi Colony area when he was driving an Indica car. On questioning, he confessed to the police that he had stolen the car from his employer in Noida. Deepak, a driver by profession, and his associate, Surjit Singh, also a driver, together had stolen a Hyundai Accent car from Nehru Place, Parking place.

He told the police that he made a fake parking slip with the number of the Hyundai car which they wanted to steal. The duo gave the slip to the parking attendant and fled away with the car. The car has been recovered from their possession.

Bhiwani
Man held for Rape: The police have arrested Pradeep, son of Prakash of Chiriya village, on the charge of raping a minor girl of the same village. A case was registered on the complaint of a relative of the victim. 

Illegal arms factory unearthed
Our Correspondent

Noida, June 18
The Noida Sector 39 police have unearthed an illegal factory manufacturing arms. One person engaged in manufacturing has been arrested from the site. An informant had tipped the Sector 39 police that an almost dilapidated house near ranney well no V was being used for manufacturing illegal arms, especially countrymade revolvers. The Station Officer of the R K Paliwal police station raided the house with his police force and arrested Salek Chand of Jalalpur on the spot while he was engaged in making countrymade revolvers.

The police seized seven fully manufactured revolvers, dozens of semi-finished countrymade revolvers along with a large number of cartridges, bearing machines, drilling machines and other machinery and gadgets used in arms manufacture.

Salek Chand told the police he had been manufacturing arms in this place for the past about two years. His other companion was Abdul from Bihar who was currently absconding. The police are trying to trace Abdul. Salek Chand told the police he had been engaged in this illegal trade for the past four years.

Two youths murdered by history-sheeter

Ghaziabad, June 18
Sushil, a dreaded criminal from Jalalabad village in Muradnagar, who is himself a history-sheeter, had murdered two young men after inviting them to the village and later threw their bodies in the Ganga canal.

BUSINESS

Traders form another manch to protest VAT
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, June 18
Traders and businessmen of the state have formed a new organisation called the Haryana Beopar Manch (HBM) to highlight the issues affecting them and protest against the implementation of value added tax (VAT) in the state.

Stating this, Mr Sanjay Sethi, convener of the HBM, said in a statement today that the new organisation was an independent body and it represented various sections of the trade and business community. He said the Federation of All India Trade Representatives (FAITR) had recognised the HBM as an affiliated body. He said the manch came into being after a meeting of traders and their representatives was held at Delhi recently. He said while various issues were discussed it was felt that the problems and inconvenience felt by the traders due to implementation of VAT were not being raised at a proper platform and the traders were forced to accept it in the present form.

At the meeting, the president of the trade cell of the Haryana Congress party, Mr Rahul Setia, alleged the interests of the traders and businessmen were being overlooked in Haryana and the implementation of VAT here was a glaring example. Mr Dharampal Gupta of the Beopar Cell of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) opined the problems of small-time traders were many and there was no scheme for promoting self-employment for jobless youths, who wanted to adopt trading to earn their living. The president of the Haryana Chemists Association criticised the authorities for harassing chemists for not propagating the sale of certain medicines.

While the traders’ cell of the BJP demanded withdrawal of VAT from Haryana and its replacement with some other acceptable tax system, the members of the HBM decided in principle to raise their voice against any decision or system that was detrimental to the interests of business as a whole. According to Mr Sethi, the HBM was created on the initiative taken by the Haryana VAT Sangharsh Samiti, which feels that the imposition of VAT in the state is wrong. It had supported the Haryana bandh of June 2. He said the agitation against VAT would continued.