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Yet another toxic mid-day meal, NGO’s kitchen sealed New Delhi, February 26 A similar incident occurred yesterday at the Jaunapur village school run by the corporation, where the mid day meal was supplied by R.K. Education Society. The kitchen of R.K. Education society was checked yesterday but it was found up to be satisfactory, the principal of the school, Mr Murari Lal Sharma, said. Sources in the MCD said that 146 students of Kadipur school were admitted to Babu Jagjeevan Ram hospital with food poisoning. Of them, 126 were discharged after first aid while 20 were still under observation. Stri Skati had supplied rice and sambhar to the students today. They fell ill after eating the meal. Incidentally, the meal was tasted by a teacher, Ms Krishna Devi. She was fine in the school, but when she went to the hospital to admit students who had taken ill, she also complained of vomiting and stomachache. Later, she was also hospitalised. The students in Jaunapur village had a similar complaint. The RK Education society had supplied dalia and it was tasted by a few teachers who did not take ill. However, 119 children had to be hospitalised at AIIMS. Of them, 108 were discharged after first aid while others were under observation. There was complete chaos in both schools as parents of the students rushed to the institutions on getting news about the food poisoning. The parents said that the quality of mid day meals was not good. Every day their children had one complaint or the other. The MCD is paying the NGO Rs 2 for each mid day meal, which is not enough. This money is given to the MCD by the Central Government. Leader of Opposition Subhash Arya said that ex-chairman of Standing Committee Ram Babu Sharma had announced last year that the corporation would sanction Rs 10 crore for mid meals, but this money had not been given to the department. The Congress- ruled corporation is not serious about the health of the students, he alleged.
Housewife murdered Faridabad: The murder of a middle-aged housewife in her house in sector 3 here yesterday has left the residents shell-shocked. This the second such case in the Ballabgarh subdivision in the past three days. According the information, the incident took place when the victim, aged about 42 years, was at her house; her son had gone with an unidentified person in connection with some work. The family suspects the involvement of the youth who had come to the house just before the incident to take the son with him. The deceased, identified as Mrs Sandhya Shah, was stabbed several times and her body was found in a pool of blood when her son Ishan came back. The culprit had locked the door of the house before fleeing. |
Illegal colonies: Centre seeks HC nod on norms New Delhi, February 26 The application seeks modification of the court’s February 27, 2001, order without the naming posh South Delhi colony of Sainik Farms. The application says that in colonies like Anant Ram Dairy and Mehendru Enclave, which are on public land and inhabited by affluent sections of the society, the cost of land would be recovered as per current market value. The value would be determined by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on the basis of market rates prevalent in authorised colonies in the neighbourhood, plus a penalty of 50 per cent of the land value. Earlier the government had constituted a committee to examine the then guidelines and recommend modifications that would be practicable, workable and such that within planned and sustainable development parameters, unauthorised colonies could be regularised in the national Capital. Based on the suggestions of the committee, the revised guidelines were framed recently. The government also decided to approach the high court to seek its approval of the new guidelines and modify its earlier order accordingly, so that regularisation could be carried out under the new policy. The new policy also does away with the Development Charge of Rs 514 per sq m that was coughed up by plot owners. However, the onus of development work was shifted to Residents Cooperative Societies, which were to be formed in place of the earlier Resident Welfare Associations. The revised guidelines state that in unauthorised colonies on public land inhabited by non-affluent sections of society, the cost of land would be recovered as per Land and Development Office/Delhi Development Authority rates, together with ten per cent penalty (50 per cent in case the plot size exceeded 100 sq m) on the land rates. In October 1993, the high court, while dealing with the PIL filed by NGO Common Cause against regularisation of unauthorized colonies, restrained the authorities from taking any further decision or action for regularising any unauthorised colony in Delhi till further orders. During the pendency of the proceedings, the court asked the Government to formulate a complete package of guidelines for regularisation of unauthorised colonies on both public as well as private lands. Guidelines were submitted in the high court, which taking it on record, on February 27, 2001, disposed of the PIL while directing the Union Urban Development Ministry to notify colonies which were to be regularised and which could not be in terms of the policy. Thereafter, the Central Government consulted the Delhi Government and other local authorities for preparing the list of such colonies. Difference of opinion arose between the authorities over the guidelines and the list of colonies to be regularised. |
Detailed probe into allegations
of abuse against New Delhi, February 26 The 12-year-old domestic help has filed an FIR in the Tilak Marg police station stating that she was tortured and forced to have sex with Rekha’s friends. Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Maxwell Perierra said that the CAW, assisted by the juvenile justice officer, will look into the case of alleged torture and pertinent sections will be added if Rekha was found guilty during the course of investigation. The police will also look into the angle of illegal confinement of the victim, since the victim was staying with Rekha for the past seven years on her own and her mother has been working in Rekha’s brother’s house in Gwalior. About the alleged favouritism shown by some senior officer in allotting the police quarter to Rekha in Tilak Marg police colony, Perierra said three years back a Delhi Police inspector had challenged her allotment in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and the court, after hearing the case, had dismissed the petition and justified her allotment on compassionate grounds. He also said that since there was no concrete evidence against her in the case, the court had granted her bail. However, the Delhi Police investigation was under way and if she was found guilty she would obviously face the music. Mr Perierra said at that no point of time the victim had mad allegations of sexual abuse against Rekha in front of the police and the representatives of the NGO. |
Modus operandi Noida, February 26 The Sector-49 police have arrested three criminals and recovered a truck and a tractor from their possession. According to SP City Anant Dev, the police had been getting reports of some people’s involvement in the racket. Dy. S.P. Kuldip Naryan constituted a team under SO Vivek Ranjan Ray and SI Mahesh Mishra The team sighted one such gang in Barola and arrested three of its members; however, one of them escaped in the melee. Under interrogation, accused Niraj, a resident of Muzzafarnagar, Ajay, a resident of Loni, and Jairam of Etawa confessed that on December 23, 2003, they had brought a truck laden with sand from Ghaziabad to Barola. They had rendered the driver unconscious by giving them drug laced tea and looted the truck. The unconscious driver and cleaner were dumped on the way. The gang’s modus operandi was simple: They would go to a transport company and book trucks for transporting building material. They would even pay some advance amount to establish their bona fide. Captive cops rescued Gurgaon: The police had to use heavy force to rescue two of its personnel, who were detained by criminals and their supporters in village Nangli, about 60 km from here in Mewat area. The two personnel were SHO, Nagina Police Station, and an Assistant Sub Inspector. The police had to battle for more than two hours to rescue its personnel. The incident took place when the police raided a nearby village, Rithat, after a tip-off about a gang of fours criminals. However, the gang got a wind of the raid and in the nick of time fled from the spot. They hid themselves in village Nangli and opened fire on the police party when it headed towards them. However, the team overpowered the assailants and took them into its custody. But when the police team was bringing them to the police station, they were attacked by a group and the captives were rescued. When the personnel gave chase, two of them were held hostage by the crowd.
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Legal corner New Delhi, February 26 A Division Bench comprising of Chief Justice Mr. B. C. Patel and Justice Mr. B. D. Ahmed, which took strong exception to the dilly-dallying by the authorities on the issue, asked the two officials to file affidavits, explaining their stand by March 17. The bench expressed displeasure over the dismal performance of the police and the Delhi Government in deporting 3,000 Bangladeshis every month as per a plan approved by the court. The court noted that in the last three months only 1,678 Bangladeshis were deported against an approved target of 9,000. It also took into account the figure between June 1, 2000 and September 18, 2003 during which only 6,684 foreign nationals were deported. The order came on a PIL filed by advocate Chetan Dutt, seeking action against Bangladeshis illegally living here. The court had on December 10 pulled up the city police for its “laxity” in detecting and deporting lakhs of Bangladeshi infiltrators living here and asked them to be ready with a plan.
Sharda Jain seeks Bail to assist kid in school exam The Delhi High Court today issued a notice to the police on a petition filed by Sharda Jain, prime accused in Congress Councillor Atma Ram Gupta murder case, seeking interim bail on account of her daughter’s school exams. Justice O. P. Dwivedi issued the notice on the application in which the petitioner, through counsel Ritu Gauba, said her daughter’s exams were due on March 3 and she would be able to assist her being an MA and M. Ed. herself. On February 17, the high court had rejected the interim bail pleas of Sharda Jain and her brother and co-accused Raj Kumar. The two had sought bail to attend on February 18 and 19 the remembrance ceremony of their father who died on February 4 in Bulandshahar, Uttar Pradesh. Justice Dwivedi dismissed the petitions after he was informed that on verification it was found that the ceremony had already taken place the day before. The prosecution also apprehended that the accused may ‘’tamper’’ with evidence, if they were enlarged on bail. Gupta was murdered in Chajjupura village in Ghaziabad district on August 24, 2002, shortly after he and Sharda Jain left together, after attending the Congress rally at Ferozeshah Kotla Grounds here. |
TRAI recommendation on CAS welcomed New Delhi, February 26 The organisations included the Consumer Coordination Council (CCC) and Consumer Online Foundation (COF), which were the petitioner organizations that had challenged the introduction of CAS before the Delhi High Court as being anti-consumer. Welcoming the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) interim recommendations, the CCC chairman, Mr Bejon Misra, said, “the detailed observations made by TRAI with regard to CAS have instilled faith in the consumers that their grievances are not being overlooked.” The managing trustee of the COF, Mr Joseph Pookkatt, also welcomed the move. “We are glad that TRAI has diligently taken note of the multifarious issues that had been pointed out by us in the petition, including the lack of transparency, arbitrary hike of pay channel charges, consumer having to pay more for viewing less, lack of redressal mechanism and lack of awareness among the consumers,” he said. “Considering that the forthcoming period is critical for the right to information and the need for consumers to access a variety of news sources to make an informed choice at elections, we are happy to extend our full support to TRAI,” Mr Pookkatt further added. He said that CAS curtailed the freedom of the media to provide access to information. The TRAI issued the interim recommendations on 23rd February after being appointed as the regulatory authority in the wake of the Delhi High Court directions. The terms of reference of the TRAI were very identical to the several issues raised by both CCC and COF in their writ petitions. TRAI had earlier invited representations from various stakeholders, consumer organisations and governments of the four states where CAS had been implemented. In its interim recommendations, TRAI had stated, “the detailed recommendations/requirements that underlie the implementation of CAS are still not implemented or are difficult to implement without a further consideration of policy guidelines on those matters.” TRAI had further observed, “Cable TV is regulated in most countries and CAS and other forms of regulation have been implemented after setting up regulatory structure. The absence of such arrangement in India has led to a situation that patent illegalities are being committed.” The consumer groups have said that the recent TRAI move of putting CAS on hold for three months was most appropriate given the fact that the entire policy was ill advised and totally anti-consumer. They pointed out that the existing policy was geared towards pushing the sales of set-top boxes rather than addressing the alleged issues of under-
invoicing by cable operators or over-charging by broadcasters. “The period of three months is very crucial and essential for sorting out the various lacunae that exist in the CAS implementation and we are hopeful that TRAI would strive to plug in the loopholes as they exist within this time,” said Ms Ritu Kumar, secretary, Consumer Online Foundation. It may be noted that TRAI, after being appointed the regulatory authority following the recommendations of Delhi High Court in its order dated December 26, 2003, had released a consultation paper inviting comments from various stakeholders and the consumers and their representatives. Many consumer organizations, including CCC and COF have already submitted their representations to TRAI. |
Painting competition held on eve of New Delhi, February 26 Children from fourteen leading public schools of the national Capital Delhi pictorially expressed their understanding of the theme “Bamboo and Us”. Some of the participating schools were DPS, Noida and East of Kalash, APJ School, Noida and Faridabad, Summerfield School, Cambridge, Noida and Kendriya Vidyalay. The event showcased the creative brilliance among the young minds of Delhi. There were attractive prizes for the winners in various categories, the 1st prize being a Compaq PC, each of the five 2nd prizes were Hero bicycles and each of the ten 3rd prize winners being books worth Rs five hundred. In addition, there were 20 consolation ‘Funky Orbit Gift Vouchers’. The judges for the competition, Mr Jatin Das and Mrs and Mr Kundu viewed the work of the children and named the winners. The judges were caught up in the enthusiasm of the children and their appreciation was evident. They spoke at length about the need for creating awareness in society about the importance of bamboo in contemporary society and the role children can play in furthering this effort. There was healthy interaction among the participants and the judges and there was a palpable excitement in the air before and during the competition. |
Prizes for NDMC at Garden Tourism Festival New Delhi, February 26 Various government departments and corporates from the private sector, including CPWD, DDA, Delhi Jal Board, MCD, Greater Noida, HUDA, Hero Honda and Thapar group participated in the show. Sindhushree Khullar, Chairperson, NDMC, congratulated the employees of Horticulture Department for their excellent performance. She hoped that better efforts would be made in such shows in the future. Besides, the department also won a special trophy in class XIV competition arranged under the theme ‘Indian Garden’. |
Accident victim succumbs to injuries Sonepat, February 26 According to a report, he later succumbed to his injuries for want of medical aid. The driver of the vehicle, however, managed to escape. The police have registered the case against him and sent the body for the postmortem examination. According to another report, Mr Dayanand, an employee was seriously injured while crossing the road near Karewari village about eight km from here last evening. He was hit by an unknown vehicle. He was immediately hospitalised and stated to be out of danger. The police have registered the case against the driver and launched a hunt to apprehend him. Meanwhile, Mr Har Narain (44), a resident of Hanuman Nagar, was seriously injured when his clothes were trapped in the thresher while he was working in the field of the local cooperative sugar mills here yesterday. The employee was rushed to the local civil hospital where he is stated to be out of danger. House
burgled Thieves are reported to have broken the locks of a house in Braham Nagar area here last night and escaped with cash and gold ornaments worth several thousands of rupees from it. According to a report, the house owner along with his family members had gone to Karnal to attend a wedding there. Finding the house unattended, the thieves improved the shining hour by committing a theft. The house owner has lodged a complaint with the police in this connection. Farm workers rally A large number of farm workers, affiliated to the All India Khet Mazdoor Union, held a demonstration in front of the SDM’s office at Ganaur, 16 km from here yesterday in support of their demands. According to a report, the demonstrators were headed by Mr Daryao Singh Kashyap, general secretary of the Haryana state unit of the union. They raised anti-government slogans and submitted a 10-point memorandum to the SDM to be forwarded to the state government. The main demands of the union, among other things, included the guarantee of employment throughout the year, giving of plots for the construction of houses, increased pension for senior citizens, widows and handicapped pensions amounting to Rs 500 per month and an end to atrocities on the farm workers and the Dalits. Widow cheated A widow Mrs Savitri of Gumar village has been cheated out of Rs 9,000 by a youth Suraj Bhan of the same village. She has sought the good offices of SDM Ganaur for the return of the amount. According to a report, the woman alleged that the youth had assured her that he would help her two daughters pass the XII class examination. Chemist shops raided The officials of the Health Department carried out a number of raids at the chemist shops in Gohana town 35 km from here yesterday and seized at least six samples of medicines from them. According to a report, this action followed the order of the Directorate of Health, Haryana. This has caused a panic among the chemists and most of them kept their shutters down throughout the day. Block samiti poll put off The election for the post of the chairman of block samiti Sonepat was postponed as the quorum of the samiti members was not complete before beginning the election process in samiti office here. The returning officer-cum-district development and panchayat officer, Jag Mohan Bhardwaj deferred the election and decided that the next date of election would be announced later. Meanwhile, a local court has fixed March 2 as the next date of hearing on the petition of one of the block samiti members, Bhagirath, for staying the election process. According to the pre-determined election schedule, the election for the post of the chairman of the samiti was to take place on February 24 at 11 am in Samiti office. As many as 15 members out of total 30 members of the samiti reached the office. The returning officer waited for other members up to 12 O’clock, but when the quorum of two-thirds members could not be completed, he announced postponement of the election. |
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briefs Jhajjar, February 26 The deceased, Rekha, was married to one Azad Singh three months ago. According to the father of the woman, the husband and in-laws had been harassing his daughter. They were demanding Rs 50,000 for the purchase of a tractor. Fed up with the torture, Rekha reportedly ended her life. The police registered a case of dowry death against the husband and in-laws.
Brick kiln labour strike Bhiwani: The strike by brick kiln labourers for implementing the Labour Act and fixing the labour rates according to inflation, continued for the third day in the district. The Communist Party of India and Lal Jhanda Bhatha Mazdoor Union Haryana have extended support to the agitation. LJBMUH state president Vinod Kumar said here today that due to the apathy of the brick kiln owners, the labourers had to choose the path of agitation. He alleged that the owners had resorted to terror tactics and instituted false police cases against them. Water spat leads to death Sonepat: A youth assaulted a resident Satya Narain and injured him at Mahra village about 40 km from here last night. Later, he succumbed to his injuries. A dispute over the irrigation water was stated to be the cause of the assault. According to a report, the alleged assailant Ashok, however, managed to escape. The injured was rushed to the community health centre at Gohana town from where he was referred to the PGIMS at Rohtak. He succumbed to his injuries there. The police have registered the case against the alleged assailant and sent the body for the postmortem examination. A hunt is on to apprehend the culprit who is still at large.
Skeleton found in well The Faridabad police have found the skeleton of one Hari Singh of Rajasthan in a well at Kathura village in this district and sent it for the postmortem examination. The victim who was an employee of a Faridabad factory had been missing for the last three years.. |
Delhi digest New Delhi, February 26 Sr Navtej Sarna, spokesperson, MEA was the chief guest. Also gracing the occasion were Sr. Prahlad Singh Chandok, president, DSGMC and other Governing Body members. Former teachers and students gathered in large numbers to attend the function. About 150 students, who had excelled in academics, sports and extracurricular activities received College Colours and special prizes from the chief guest. Eight of the students secured first position in their subjects in the Annual Examination held in Delhi University in 2003. In sports, the hockey team won the Inter College Title for the 16 time and the cricket team finished runners-up for second successive year. Best Sportsman of the Year Award went to Amanjeet Singh Dhilon, who represented Combined Universities in Hockey. College colours and blazers were also given to president of the Students Union Jaspreet Kaur and Prerna Alley, Director of the Choreography Team, which won 10 first prizes including 03 All India First Prizes, this year.
Shri Radha Govind Award Shri Radha Govind Seva Sanstha will give Shri Radha Govind Award in the field of journalism once in two years. The award would be given to the journalists for their special contribution in journalism and consists of a citation, shawl and Rs 11,000.
Loadshedding The Yamaha company has announced loadshedding in the Shanti Vihar, Krawal Nagar, Govind Vihar, Babu Nagar, Behari Colony, Kabool Nagar, Panchsheel, Shahdara Police Station, Sewage Pump Station on February 26 and February 28 from 10 am due to maintenance work. |
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6 autolifters held, lid off 40 cases New Delhi, February 26 Based on a tip-off, the police laid a trap near Press Enclave Road and apprehended Satish Chand (42), resident of Faridabad, Udham Singh (30), resident of Faridabad, Akhtar Khan (55), resident of Allahabad, Suman Thapa (28), resident of Dimapur and Gyaneshwar Singh, alias Nannao, (22), resident of Imphal. During interrogation, the accused told the police that they had committed thefts in the South, South-West districts, Noida and Faridabad. The accused were supplying the stolen vehicles in Vishakapatanam, Tejpur, Itanagar, Dimapur, Guwahati, Patna and
Amritsar.
Two robbers nabbed The South district police claimed to have arrested two notorious robbers Ashish, alias Pali (22), resident of Tigri, and Deepak (24), resident of Okhla Phase-I. With their arrest, the police solved a sensational case in Malviya Nagar where one Mohan Singh, resident of Chattarpur, was robbed of Rs 25,000. |
Cops nail three cheats New Delhi, February 26 One Babu Ram Sharma, resident of Tirlokpuri complained that three persons had cheated him and taken Rs 3,200 for the chain. However, when the complainant went to a jeweller, it was found that the chain was made of some metallic thing. The police launched a hunt and apprehended three persons—Mohan Lal (30), resident of Jaipur, Vijay (20), and Dani (32), resident of Kalyanpuri. During interrogation, the accused confessed to their crimes and the police seized 20 such chains from the possession.
Man beaten to death One Rashid Khan was beaten to death by his neighbour Yaad Ram and his brothers-in-law as Ram suspected that Rashid had developed illicit relations with his wife. The victim and his sons Khusu and Azad were beaten up last night and Rashid was declared brought dead in the AIIMS. The accused Yaad Ram is a florist while Rashid dealt in making keys. The police have registered a case and launched a hunt for Ram and his brothers-in-law Som, Raju, Babloo and Birender.
House heist Four persons armed with kattas and knives last night entered the house of one Deep Chand Bhatnagar in the Yamuna Vihar area and robbed Rs 20,000 and jewellery worth Rs 1 lakh after locking the family members in a room. The Bhajanpura police have registered a case of robbery and launched a hunt to trace the suspects involved in the crime. |
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