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‘Municipal’ work takes precedence over studies Sonepat, February 12 The additional deputy commissioner had written to the college principals and the civil surgeon, seeking help of the NCC and NSS students for compiling the birth data of the children. The civil surgeon had even sent the forms, along with the birth registers of the police stations, to the colleges in question. As per the directive, every information regarding birth is to be filled in the forms very cautiously; cutting and overwriting are not allowed. On an average, every college will be required to complete registration information of nearly 21,000 children. The special assignment has left the NCC and NSS students perturbed. NSS students Seema and Rachna lamented that the exercise would distract them from their studies. “This exercise could have been done after the examinations or at the beginning of the academic session. We would have done it happily,” they remarked. One of the NSS officers, on the condition of anonymity, informed that they would raise the issue in the meeting convened by the additional deputy commissioner. The administration, however, is adamant that the assignment does not involve field work and the students should be able to spare time for a national programme. “The students are not busy all the time with their studies and, moreover, the assignment will be a refreshing break in their long study hours,” it is reasoned. |
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Cong may move court to halt India Shining advt drive New Delhi, February 12 Convenor of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’s (DPCC’s) Labour Cell Shyamdev Bhadana on Thursday alleged that public money was being squandered on advertisements extolling the achievements of the BJP-led NDA Government in spite of Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy’s observation. Bhadana said that by the looks of it, the campaign for Lok Sabha Election 2004 has well and truly begun, although the Election Commission (EC) is still to declare the schedule for the parliamentary election. “The NDA Government,” he asserted, “is wrong in spending tax-payers’ money on its election campaign.” Bhadana estimated that Rs 50 crore has been spent on the two advertisement campaigns; another Rs 200 crore will be spent in the run-up to the election. “During the next two weeks more such advertisements are planned”, he said.
Stop evictions on humane grounds While conceding that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was demolishing the slums on the orders of the Delhi High Court, the Congress has sought deferment of the slum-clearing exercise on humanitarian grounds. Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) President Prem Singh on Thursday said hundreds spent the night in the biting cold after their houses were demolished in Safdarjung on Wednesday. No alternate accommodation was given to them. Describing the ongoing exercise in the Capital as the BJP-led NDA Government’s “conspiracy” to drive away Congress voters, Singh urged the Lieutenant Governor to stop the “forcible” evictions. He also claimed the bulldozers claimed the lives of three children and a man. Addressing members of his party, who had assembled at Jantar Mantar for a sit-in to protest against the demolition drive, Singh claimed that the courts did not say that the slum-dwellers should be uprooted and in “such a brutal manner” without being provided alternative shelter. He said that in a memorandum to the Lieutenant Governor, the party has demanded that the evictions be stopped for some time to allow students to take their examinations. The DDA could in the meantime provide civic amenities at an alternate location, he suggested. “The people are agitated at the inhuman manner in which they are being driven out by the DDA and the Union Government under the guise of relocating them elsewhere. The BJP will pay a heavy price for this misdeed in the Lok Sabha election,” Singh asserted. He said the BJP patronises only the rich and the powerful. “They care the least for the poor, who are being driven out like cattle to remote corners of the NCT of Delhi where civic amenities like water, electricity, road, school or hospital are non-existent”, he said. |
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14-yr-old killed to keep lid on illicit ties New Delhi, February 12 The suspect was arrested yesterday from Khichripur, where he was staying in a village chum’s jhuggi. Bloodstained clothes were recovered from the dwelling. According to the police, the suspect hails from district Mohaba and had left his village 25 years ago. He had been living with Ramesh Chander
Sharma, the father of the deceased, for the last three months. During this period, he had allegedly developed illicit relations with his Ramesh’s wife, which was in the knowledge of the 14-year-old boy, Pradeep. The suspect killed him, so that nobody would learn about his liaison with Ramesh’s wife. The boy had also stolen money from Babu Lal’s pocket, another reason for the latter feeling miffed. The police received information on January 9 that a boy had been murdered by his uncle and the body was lying near Chander Public School. When the police reached the spot, the three-year-old sister of the deceased announced: “Tau ne mara hai”. A team was constituted and a number of raids were conducted. The police was also sent to Babu Lal’s native place, but he was not to be found. Finally, the police received a tip-off that the accused was staying in Khichripur with a village chum. Policemen in plain clothes were deployed immediately deployed. The suspect fell into their hands yesterday. During interrogation, he confessed to having killed the boy. He even led the cops to the blood stained shirt of the victim. The suspect is still unmarried and has no property in his name, the police said. |
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IN A NUTSHELL New Delhi, February 12 The victim, Ravinder Singh, who runs a readymade garment factory in Gali Shankar Lal, had returned from the bank after withdrawing cash for payment of salaries and the dues of his contractors. The money and the licensed revolver were in a leather bag, lying on the footrest of the front seat. Ravinder had parked his car outside the factory and gone in for a few minutes when the youths struck, broke the glass and sped away with the bag in full view of bystanders. The police said that the youths had followed the victim from the bank. The case is being investigated by the local police.
Milk tanker driver murdered Noida: Criminals murdered the driver of a milk tanker, dumped his body in the fields near Bir Akharpur and sped away with the vehicle in Dadri police station area. The tanker was later found abandoned near Palwal. The deceased, Santosh, was a driver with Pradeep Dairy, Etah, and was taking milk in the tanker to Patiala, the police said. He had left Etah on February 9. The criminals murdered Santosh by hitting his head with a heavy implement. They had abandoned the tanker due to fear of getting caught, the police said. The murder was discovered by one Arjun; the body had been dumped in his field. The Dadri police are conducting investigations with the help of Etah and Palwal police.
Poacher arrested, leopard skins seized The Special Operation Group and Indira Puram police arrested a smuggler of animal skins near Vasundhra guest house and recovered skins of two leopards valued at Rs.2 lakh. SP city Umesh Srivastava said that following a tip-off, the Special Operation Group and the Indira Puram police team led by Circle Officer (DSP) Shatrugan Upadhyay, raided Avas Vikas Parishad’s guest house in Vasundhra and took one person into custody.
Youth murdered, cops reach 5 hrs late The body of an unidentified 20-year-old youth was discovered in the jungles of Loni by the staff of the Forest Department; the youth had been strangled. The deceased had put up some resistance. The local police post, which was informed at 6 am by the locals of the discovery, turned up five hours later at the site. The Loni police station was eventually informed at 11 am.
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UP IN ARMS New Delhi, February 12 They said that the Lt Governor Vijay Kapoor had promised to give a serious thought to the matter. The memorandum asserted that no doctor wanted to harm the patient, but if something untoward happened during the operation or treatment, they should not be compared to murderers as was being done by booking them under section 304. However, if any doctor commits negligence, the guilty should be punished as per law, memorandum said.
No clues to IIT
blast The Delhi Police are clueless about the identity of the suspects in the bomb blast that took place near IIT crossing last evening, injuring two persons, including a sub-inspector. The case has been transferred to the Special Cell, which is investigating the case from different angles. They are still working on the theory of a low intensity explosive device. The Deputy Commissioner of Police said that it was too early to name any group for its involvement. The case needs proper investigation. |
Panchayat makes effort to quell the warring families Sonepat, February 12 With the participation of the representatives of Malik, Hooda, Narwal, Mor and Chahal Khaps on Tuesday’s panchayat of Butana-12, which included the representatives of Kundu, Sangwan and Bhanwala Khaps, the earlier constituted 12-member committee has been expanded by including as many as nine more representatives of the new khaps. Representatives from nearly 150 villages participated in the panchayat and almost all were of the opinion that this bloodshed must be brought to an end by the panchayat. The panchayat was convened to listen to all the concerned families, but due to some legal problems, the family head of one family, Chhotu Ram, who have lost two sons and two nephews in the enmity within last one year, came to the panchayat under police security and agreed to abide by the panchayat decisions. However, Hukmi and his son Prakash, who are lodged in Sonepat Jail could not come to the
panchayat due to some legal complications. But it was decided in the panchayat that the 21-member committee would meet them in the jail on February 17, and would also seek legal help to facilitate their participation in the next panchayat meeting. Hukmi is the father of Sanjay and Krishan, who are absconding from the jail and were allegedly involved in these four murdered. Hukmi, Prakash, Sanjay and Krishan have been sentenced to life imprisonment in other murder case, but Sanjay and Krishan managed to escape reportedly to take revenge of their alleged false implication in that murder case. Another family involved in this case of enmity is of one Sanjit alias Sanju, who is also in jail in Rohtak, and panchayat also decided to try to get him also released on parole to enable his participation in panchayat. Sanjay’s family has deserted its own village Butana, and presently residing in village
Kasandi. |
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Delegation meets chairman on categorisation issue
New Delhi, February 12 The delegation, led by Mr Vijender Kumar Gupta, Leader of Opposition in Standing Committee and Secretary, BJP Delhi Pradesh, met the Chairman of Municipal Valuation Committee, Mr O. P. Kelkar, and informed him of the discrepancies and anomalies in categorisation in Rohini in category ‘D’ and DDA as well as Housing Society Flats in category depending upon locality in which they are situated. Mr Gupta demanded that Rohini should be placed in category ‘F’ or ‘G’. Similarly, the DDA flats and Group Housing flats should be categorised in one category ‘G’ irrespective of the locality in which these are situated. Giving details, Mr Gupta giving informed that Rohini scheme Phase-I and II is spread over on the land of Rithala, Badli and Prahaladpur Bangar villages with 19 sectors and most of the area is underdeveloped. The civic amenities like water supply, streetlighting, roads and drains, approved markets and shopping centres, government educational institutions, banks, post offices, public offices, medical institution and public transport are not available in these areas. Moreover, these areas are habitated with lower income and middle income groups, which mainly depend on their meagre salaries. Keeping in view of the economic status of these people, it would unjustified to put extra burden by categorising them in ‘D’ category. Mr Gupta alleged that keeping Rohini in ‘D’ category would amount to atrocity. Therefore, he demanded that Rohini should be kept either in category ‘F’ or ‘G’. Mr Gupta further demanded that the flats of DDA and Group Housing societies should be kept in category ‘G’ only irrespective of locality in which these are situated. He alleged that categorisation of such flats, according to locality, is irrational and unjustified, which will create inequalities in the amount of property tax since, these flats bears similar and uniform construction and covered area and are homogenous in character. Hence, it would be justified to keep all these flats in one category so as to remove anomalies. He said that this decision would benefit lower and middle income group of society.
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BJP wants changes in unit area method New Delhi, February 12 Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Jagdish Mukhi on Wednesday told the media persons that his main objection to the unit area method was that it was harsh on regular households as compared to the farmhouses. Mr Mukhi claimed that the unit area method violates the basic principle of taxation as the property tax on farmhouses will reduce drastically to 10 per cent only whereas for normal houses, the tax would increase by two to 10 times. Asserting that the categorisation of property was ‘arbitrary’, he said the different blocks within a colony had been placed in different categories. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, he added, has reneged on her assurance that the tax would not increase by more than five times. Mr Mukhi also proposed that the tax payers be allowed to assess the tax instead of relying on architects or such other agencies as might be designated by the Government of NCT of Delhi for computing the house tax. He clarified that the BJP was not against the unit area method but that the new method proposed by the Government of NCT of Delhi was not acceptable to it. The government, he added, ought to make the assessment of tax easy and transparent instead of aiming to realise maximum revenue. |
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Association seeks action against postal dept Faridabad, February 12 Komal Singh, Additional Secretary General of the Federation, in a letter to the Chairman of the Commission, recently stated that the office of the Chief Postmaster General (CPMG), Haryana, had failed to respond to the show cause notice served to it by the state office of the National Commission so far and it seemed that the officials concerned had not taken the matter seriously. It is added that the CPMG, Haryana, had been asked to submit the action taken report in connection with alleged harassment and injustice done to the employee who had been issued notice for pre-mature retirement in October last. The employee, Risal Singh Rathee, had protested over the move of the department and had raised it with the Federation and other bodies for proper action. He had claimed that there was no ground or charges against him to get him retired pre-maturely. He had alleged that the notice of ending his services was a part of the ploy by a group of officials and vested interests, as he had opposed all the corrupt practices in the office and had dared to lodge a police case against the officials responsible for assaulting him physically during the office duty a couple of years ago, while he had been posted at Amarnagar post office here. The complainant had alleged that there were certain officials who he claimed had been involved in corrupt practices and various irregularities, wanted to teach an employee like him a lesson. The SCEWASTAMB has asked the Commission to take an action in this regard. |
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‘Tantavi’ creates a magic in Surajkund Faridabad, February 12 In the dress material section, the display has ‘tussar’ ,‘mugha’, muberry’, and ‘matka’ silk matched to create a modern outfit, says one of the stall owners. Bed spreads in Ikat squares, tissue brocade, and tissue motifs delight the beauty of the weave with mingling of colours. Brocade silk, Zari brocade, Varanasi Zari with silver and gold-coloured tassels and a combination of silver, orange, black and gold create a magic of its own. The textiles displayed have used different techniques of weaving like pigment painting, dye printing, resist dyeing and traditional weaving. It is claimed that the fabrics reveal the aspects of development in the weaving traditions, which have been moulding themselves to the modern requirements and the changing times. There is also a special ‘demonstration’ section which provides knowledge regarding the weaving of silk in a traditional style. This special stall is located near the Gujarat street. A section of block printing and designing techniques has also been set up here where the use of wooden and metal to print designs on textiles by hand are being shown. Here the motifs are highly stylish, geometric, floral and figurative in form, while circles, dots and zigzag patterns are used for ornamentation. Usually the direct process of pressing a motif on the cloth is used with contrasting colours. The other method is through resist printing technique normally used for producing more complicated and multi-colour motifs. One Shri Ram Soni, an artist from Alwar in Rajasthan has come up with the handmade paper products while another craftsman in this section is from this district who specialises in terra cotta craft. Besides, the organisers have put some of the handicrafts from the theme state Tamilnadu, which are stated to be in languishing stage. Due to lack of utility and patronage, these crafts have perhaps no takers. |
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Couple suffer burn injuries Sonepat, February 12 According to a report, both the injured were admitted to a private hospital where the condition of the woman was stated to be serious. It is stated that Mrs Jyoti was preparing meals on the LPG cylinder when her clothes caught fire. She raised the alarm. Her husband rushed to the kitchen and tried to extinguish the fire, but he too sustained injuries. The police are still investigating the case.
Brothers attacked Mr Sunder Lal (42), a resident of New Tara Nagar (Sonepat) was seriously injured when he along with his two brothers, was attacked by his younger brother and his associates at Rathdhanna village about 5 km from here last night. The injured was immediately hospitalised and stated to be out of danger. Mr Sunder Lal along with his two brothers had gone to Rathdhanna village to settle the dispute over land with his younger brother Suresh. Suresh was under the influence of liquor and he along with his associates assaulted his three brothers. The police have not yet registered the case in this connection.
Cyclist killed Suresh Yadav, a factory worker and resident of Ghazipur was killed on the spot when his bicycle was hit by a tractor on the Sonepat-Kami Road near last evening. According to a report, the police have registered the case against the tractor driver and sent the body for the postmortem examination. The victim was returning home after duty in the factory. |
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, February 12 Vowing to make the opposition to the new system into a mass movement, Delhi Pradesh BJP president Harshvardhan appealed to the people not to co-operate with the Government of NCT of Delhi by refusing to fill the property tax assessment forms sent to them by the MCD.
Musical soiree ‘Sangeet Sandhya’ Noida celebrated its second anniversary in Jalvayu Vihar Community Center (JVCC) Sector 21, in aid of the needy children. A painting exhibition was also held in the morning by Indu Singh of Greater Noida. Admiral Avinash Bhatia (retd.) inaugurated the exhibition. In the evening, a musical bonanza in the Indian classical music was organised where eminent vocalist of Kirana Gharana Pandit Mani Prasad accompanied by Ustad Faiyaz Khan, famous ‘tabla’ player, performed. Praveen Sheolikar, an accomplished violinist of AIR, Bhopal, with Shambhu Bhattacharya on tabla took the audience to cloud nine. Admiral B K Rakshit, chairman of the organisation, handed over a cheque of Rs 10,000 to the vice-president of ANAWA in aid of the poor children in the community. Mrs Vasundhara Okhde conducted the concert.
Shekhawat to lay stone of Ayurveda institute Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the Akhil Bharatiya Ayurveda Sansthan, a state-of-the-art institute that will provide postgraduate teaching and research facilities and quality care services, here on Saturday. The Sansthan will come up on 4.5 acres in Sarita Vihar. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Sushma Swaraj will preside over the function, which will be attended by Delhi Lt-Governor Vijai Kapoor and Union Labour Minister Sahib Singh among others. The National Health Policy-2002 aims at achieving acceptable standards of health in the country. The government has taken a number of initiatives to achieve the objectives of this policy. The decision to set up six All India Institute of Medical Sciences in different parts of the country is a step in this regard. |
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NCR BRIEFS Faridabad, February 12 He said that the BJP was not fit for a political alliance. All parties should avoid aligning with a party which, he said, was steered by the RSS fundamentalists. In a statement issued here today, Mr Vidrohi said the break-up was evident from the day the alliance came into being. He said the external support provided by Mr Chautala’s party to the BJP-led government at the Centre had not been of any use as the Vajpayee government had not given any special help or grant to the state during the past four and a half years, especially when the state faced a severe drought in 2002. He said the Centre despite the support of the INLD had failed to take measures to solve the SYL dispute. As a result, thousands of acre of agricultural land in the state had been without water. He alleged that the BJP was not a dependable party. It had ‘backstabbed’ the Haryana Vikas Party earlier. He said the BJP would not win even a single seat in the state in the Lok Sabha elections as it had no base in the rural areas. Mr Vidrohi told the HVP not to go in for any alliance with the BJP again. Let it face the music for its failure on various fronts, he added.
Mayor urged to shelve move on Parade Ground parking New Delhi: Mr Ashok Jain, Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee today urged the Mayor of Delhi that the proposal to construct a multi-level parking site at the Parade Ground in the walled city area should be withdrawn. He said that with the construction of parking, the residents of the walled city area will face problems in organising their religious and social functions. Giving details, Mr Jain said that the Parade Ground is the only spacious ground in the walled city being used for social, religious and cultural functions. Ramlila, Balmiki Jayanti, Ravi Das Jayanti, Mahavir Jayanti, Id Milan are organised at this site. The multi-level car parking at this site will deprive the walled city of the space for such functions. Mr Jain said that parking sites are being run now at Fatehpuri, Gandhi Maidan and Dangal Maidan. Moreover, the Red Fort has been declared as green area by the Archaeological Survey of India. It is, therefore, in the interest of the residents of walled city that the proposal for the construction of multi-level parking at Parade Ground be dropped. TNS
Rail Mela to showcase
cultural heritage The Northern Railway Women’s Welfare Organisation (NRWWO) is organising a Rail Mela for the general public on February 14 and 15 on the Baroda House lawns near India Gate. The fun-filled event will include the participation of all five divisions of the Northern Railway. These divisions, including Ambala, Ferozepur, Moradabad, Lucknow and Delhi will bring in unique arts and artifacts. The mela will showcase the cultural heritage, profile of the various places served by the Northern Railway besides providing glimpses into the occupational activities of these parts. Former cricketer Kapil Dev will visit the mela on the first day. Cultural programmes focussing on the folk culture animal shows and joy rides will be part of the event. A workshop on how to grow plants in pots will also be organised. |
Students booked
for attack on Jhelum passengers Sonepat, February 12 According to a report, the students also quarrelled with the girl students, travelling in the same bogie from Jammu Tawi to New Delhi. When some teachers tried to rescue the girls, they were also attacked. An Army jawan who intervened was not spared either. The students held up the train between Sandal Kalan and Sonepat by pulling the emergency chain and got down from it afterwards to evade the arrest. A GRP constable, on duty in the train, was informed about the incident by the passengers. He sent an SOS to the GRP at Sonepat. When the train halted at Sonepat, the GRP hunted for the students but they had already fled.
Case against husband, in-laws The Ganaur police have registered a case against the husband and the in-laws of a young housewife Mrs Suman of Moi village in the district and started investigations. According to a report, Mrs Suman made a complaint against her husband and in-laws, alleging harassment for not bringing sufficient dowry.
One-day Lok Adalat The district unit of the Legal Service Authority is holding a one-day Lok Adalat on February 14 on the premises of the
judicial complex in this city. According to a report, it will dispose of criminal, civil, Hindu Marriage Act and Motor Vehicles Act. Other nature of cases will also be decided through compromise. An unidentified man was run over and killed by a train near Harsana Kalan railway station about 5 km from here last evening. According to a report, the GRP has sent the body for the postmortem examination. The body remains unidentified.
Youth hurt in train mishap A youth Daminder of Gian Nagar was seriously injured while trying to board a running train at the railway station here today. The youth was hospitalised and later referred to the PGIMS Rohtak for treatment. |
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Residents in the grip of fear after murder Faridabad, February 12 According to a report, the incident took place at about 9 pm, when the victim identified as Bhopal Singh, a resident of the house number 3036, had been coming back from the duty. While he was near the canal passing nearby some persons emerged from the dark and attacked him. He was stabbed several times before the locals heard his scream and rushed for his help. The assailants fled from the spot soon after the incident. The victim died before he could reach the hospital, it is stated. The police have registered a case and launched a hunt to nab the culprits. In another incident, a resident of Subhash colony of Ballabgarh was injured when he was attacked by some persons armed with knives. The victim identified as Ajay. The victim was also going to his house after office work on Sunday night when two armed youths intercepted him and asked the money and valuables on knifepoint. As the victim raised the alarm, the robbers stabbed him and fled away with the cash of about Rs 3,000 from him. The thieves also stole at least three motorcycles from various places in the town in the past 48 hours. |
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New Delhi, February 12
