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Son was in Rajasthan: Mother in MAMC case New Delhi, March 13 Deposing before Additional Sessions Judge Chandra Shekhar, defence witness Saroj said the police had arrested her son Rahul from near Rajghat soon after he had come to the Capital on November 22, 2002, seven days after the gruesome incident at Khooni Darwaza on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg here. Defending her son, Saroj submitted that her son was born at Girdharilal Memorial Hospital here on October 16, 1985 and was a minor at the time of the incident. She also produced the hospital receipts issued that month with regard to the tubectomy operation performed after the birth of her second and last child Rahul to buttress her claims. Rahul also produced the Sub-Registrar, Birth and Death (City Zone), as a defence witness to prove the entry of his birth in the records. He said that the entry mentioned the birth of a male child to Saroj and her husband, Mahesh. In the list of defence witnesses submitted before the trial court on February 5, Rahul had also included Dr J. S. Uppal, a radiologist at Safdarjung Hospital, who conducted the ossification test to declare that he was a major - -ruling out trial by a juvenile court. Dr Uppal’s name was included in the list of prosecution witnesses but the prosecution preferred to drop him. He was not examined as the matter had already been decided by the Metropolitan Magistrate who ruled out trial by a juvenile court. The gang rape of the fourth year medical student by four accused in the historic Khooni Darwaza near the Police Headquarters on busy Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg on November 15, 2002 had rocked the Capital with several individuals and groups questioning the efficacy of the Delhi Police. The main accused, Rahul, alias Budh Prakash, who was arrested within a week, is facing trial for gang rape along with Amit. Two others, Mohanlal and Ashok are also facing trial with the gang rape accused for receiving stolen property (the victim’s mobile) and harbouring the offender, respectively. Two others, charged with gang rape, were minors (13 and 14 years) and have already been sentenced by a juvenile court. |
Highway cops firing on all cylinders to book violators Faridabad, March 13 In fact, dozens of challans are done on any given day at special checking points in the town. While the total number of the traffic violations is still to be made public, it is reported that the figure could be around 50 every day. Though for the residents, it had been a surprise development, an official of the highway traffic police claimed that the checking of vehicles was not new, but had been done regularly since the special unit of the police came into being in December 2000. He admitted that hundreds of challans had been done in the past several days. However, this has led to panic among the people, who claim that despite following the rules, the policemen had been harassing them for bribe. Interestingly, the highway policemen were religiously checking the pollution certificates of all the vehicles, including the brand new ones, said a resident of Sector-9. He said many of the vehicle owners had to pay a penalty of Rs 1,000 recently as they did not get their certificates renewed. He said that the authorities, expected to penalise autorickshaws, tempos and other commercial vehicles, emitting fumes to a dangerous level, had been sparing these vehicles. Instead, they were harassing those which were not contributing to the problem in any way. The ‘Manav Sewa Sangh’, a social body based here, has demanded a ban on plying of commercial vehicles older than 15 years, conversion of all buses into the CNG mode and checking the growth of the outdated autorickshaws in the town. “Although the authorities do announce various schemes in this regard from time to time, but they do not implement them,” said K.L. Gera, a social activist here. |
Boy kills ‘alcoholic’ father Ghaziabad, March 13 The Mussori police were informed on phone about the killing. CO Pilkhua said it was a case of assault. The ex-serviceman was stated to be a heart patient. Mr Pilkhua said the case would be filed only after the postmortem report.
Criminal nabbed within minutes The police of Kavi Nagar and Mussori nabbed a criminal within 30 minutes of an incident of loot. Two revolvers and looted goods were also recovered from the miscreant. However, owing to a territorial dispute between the two police stations, senior officers decided that the arrest be shown in both the police stations, so that they get equal credit for the good work. SO Mussori, Ravi Shankar Pandya, was on patrol duty last night when he saw two youths standing near Dasna. They told the SO that they were students and going home after exams. A driver of a Maruti van agreed to give them a lift, but after a while he deprived the students of their cell phones, wrist watches and other valuables at gun point. Then, the two students were also thrown out of the vehicle. The SO Mussori soon came to know of the incident and flashed a message, giving the location and description of the criminals. |
Legal corner New Delhi, March 13 A division bench, comprising Chief Justice B. C. Patel and Justice B. D. Ahmed, ordered the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB) and the Delhi Government to file reports by next week, while calling for the personal presence of the MCD Commissioner. On April 25, 2003, the HC had directed the Delhi Government and the civic agencies to rid the city of stray cattle within a year, failing which coercive action could be initiated against them. Saying that they were being given one last chance, the division bench had ordered the state government, the MCD Commissioner, the NDMC Chairman and the DCB chief executive to convene a meeting within15 days and prepare a time-bound action plan. The court was to be informed of the plan by May 23 last, otherwise the authorities could be liable for contempt of court, the judges had said. However, no reply has been filed in the court by the authorities till date. The court was dealing with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Common Cause through its counsel Meera Bhatia.
Group clash Ghaziabad: Two groups clashed in Prahalad Garhi village under Indira Puram police station last night. Apart from the use of lathis, four bullets were also fired by both the parties. Three persons were injured in the clash. The police were trying till late night to hammer an agreement between the feuding groups.
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Chautala attacks BJP top leadership Sonepat, March 13 During his two election meetings at Kharkhoda and Sonepat on Friday evening, the Chief Minister made it clear that he was not going to spare the BJP for its “opportunism”. He lambasted the BJP and did not even spare the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and Deputy Prime Minister, Mr L. K. Advani, “for showing lack of concern for the INLD even though it had unconditionally supported the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre”. “We had extended unconditional support to the Vajpayee government” because people had thought that there would be a change in the thinking of the BJP, Mr Chautala said in the election meeting at Sonepat. “But I have lost faith now that the Prime Minister has asked for a clear majority for BJP for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya,” he added. He came down heavily on Mr Advani and referred to his statement at Palwal in which the Deputy Prime Minister had asked the voters not to vote for regional parties. “When the regional parties were needed for forming the government at the Centre, they were good, and now these parties have become bad,” he remarked. He claimed that Mr Advani had his eyes on the chair of the Prime Minister and his statements were part of a pre-determined move. The Chief Minister did not spare the BJP leaders in the state and claimed that none of the leaders had any vote bank in the state, as was evident from the results of the Assembly by-elections and civic body elections. Targeting the BJP nominee, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, Mr Chautala claimed that he had won the two elections with the support of the INLD. However, “this time he will not win even in his own village,”
Mr Chautala claimed. The state BJP leaders have continuously tried to insult the INLD leaders, forgetting that both the parties were in alliance, he alleged. It was tolerated, he said, and hinted that “these insults would be taken into account after the elections.” He asked the people not to hand over power in wrong hands, saying that the BJP always protected the interests of the capitalists. As far as the Congress was concerned, Mr Chautala said, that it was a divided house, and the people of the state had already rejected the party during the last Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. The INLD nominee, Krishna Malik, state President Sher Singh Badshami and other leaders, including Padam Singh Dahiya, Suraj Mal Antil, Ram Kumar Saini, Dev Raj Dewan and Ramesh Khattak also addressed the meeting. |
Matriculation examination begins amidst tight security Sonepat, March 13 According to a report, as many as 25,000 examinees are appearing in this examination, including 23,270 regular students and 2,331 private students. The Board has declared 31 examination centres as sensitive, where extra police had been posted. Along with the district and police administration, the Board had made elaborate arrangements for conducting a free and fair examinations in this district and elsewhere. Meanwhile, as many as 32 cases of use of unfair means were detected by the members of the flying squads at various examination centres during the senior secondary examinations, which began yesterday in this city and elsewhere in the district. According to details, use of unfair means were detected in Rohna, Farmana and Khanpur villages (2 each); Kharkhauda (7), Saidpur Village (4); Gohana town (7); Ganaur (4); Krewari (3) and Mohana village (3). The flying squad cancelled the Hindi examination paper in Saidpur village for use of unfair means on a mass scale. A member of the supervisory staff was also relieved of his duty. The prohibitory orders promulgated under section 144
CrPC by the Sonepat District Magistrate was largely ignored by the people. Large number of people, mostly relatives and friends of the examinees were seen roaming outside these centres in violation of the order.
Ticketless passengers penalised A party of Railway officials, headed by Mr Vijay Singh, Railway Magistrate, arrested 102 passengers, who were found travelling without ticket in trains passing through Sonepat Railway Station yesterday. According to a report, the officials checked the 2 KDM, 1078 DN Jhelum Express, 2 DU and 303 UP, during which a sum of Rs 75,000 was realised as penalty from the ticketless passengers. According to information, ten passengers were sent to the jail as they failed to pay the penalty amount. According to another report, the Railway officials also checked the trains at the Ganaur Railway station, about 16km from here yesterday and found 30 passengers travelling without ticket. They were also fined by the Railway Magistrate on duty. |
Rowdies force suspension of Punjabi Mela New Delhi, March 13 According to witnesses, the rowdies also exchanged blows with some of the organisers, including the secretary of the Punjabi Academy, Mr Rawail Singh, when they tried to restore order at the event which was touted as one of the biggest in the Capital. The police said no one was injured in the fracas which forced the organisers to announce its suspension. ‘’We are having a meeting with the police and we are yet uncertain about resuming the mela,’’ Dr Singh said today. On display at the festival were artefacts of Punjab and traditional handmade articles. ‘’Months of our preparations have been ruined in a moment,’’ said an academy official who blamed the trouble on inadequate police presence. Pop artistes who performed on the first day of the event yesterday were Sardool Sikander, Inderjit Nikku, Bhupinder Bhuppi and Satwinder Bitti. Others who had confirmed their participation included Bollywood
singer Jaspinder Narula, Punjabi pop singers Mika, Nachchattar Gill, Varinder Viz, Lakhwinder Lakhi, Sarabjeet Cheema, Rani Randeep, Shankar Sawhney, Surinder Laadi and Kaptan Laadi. |
Nursing homes raided in Sonepat Sonepat, March 13 According to a report, this step has been taken to check the functioning of the private nursing homes to enforce the PNDT Act. The raids caused panic among other owners of private nursing homes. Some of them closed downed the shutters of their establishment and fled. The raiding party was accompanied by Mr G. R. Singla, Senior Drug Inspector, Dr Abha Sethi, Medical Officer, Dr P. N. Dhingra and Dr O.P. Buxu.
DDPO summoned The Civil Judge (Senior Division), Mr A. D. Gaur, has summoned the District Development and Panchayat Officer, directing him to appear in person before him on March 17 in connection with the petition filed by Mr Bal Kishan Sharma, a lawyer and the candidate for the post of Chairman of the Panchayat Samiti of Sonepat block. Mr Bal Kishan Sharma had filed the contempt petition against the DDPO for his failure to conduct the election on March 10 last as directed by the court.
Four hurt in mishap At least four persons were injured in different accidents on the GT Road and other state highways passing through this district on Friday. According to a report, the injured persons were immediately hospitalised and were stated to be out of danger. The police are still investigating into the cases.
House ransacked The house of Mr Vijay Tiwari, an employee of the Public Health Department, was allegedly ransacked by his tenant in New Jiwan Nagar here on Friday night. The tenant had reportedly mixed some intoxicant in ‘prasad’ and offered it to the housewife and her two sons. The three became unconscious after eating it. Thereafter, the tenant ransacked the house and decamped with all valuables and cash. When the owner of the house returned on Saturday after night duty he found his wife and children in an unconscious condition in a room locked from outside. He took them to the local civil hospital for treatment. A complaint was lodged with the police later on in this connection. The tenant along with his wife had been residing in the house since March 2. |
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Delhi digest New Delhi, March 13 The conference was organised to bring the most recent advances in spine surgery and management of spine ailments to the developing countries of the region. As many as 33 distinguished international faculty members and 63 esteemed national faculty members are participating in the conference. Stressing on the growing need for better spine related health services, Major Ahluwalia revealed that the central government had given the ISIC the task of establishing four regional centers in Cuttak, Mohali, Bareilly and Jabalpur.
Malhotra demands amendment to UAM BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra today demanded amendment to the property tax calculating method. Naming it as a “draconian method”, he said the new method of calculating property tax would economically devastate the urban villages in the Capital. He said this method had exempted even the rented properties in these villages from house tax. “The Congress in Delhi has turned blind to the aspirations and economic interest of the village by going ahead with the unit area method from April 1,” he added, addressing a meeting in Shahpur Jat and surrounding areas. “The new method should be amended so that urban villages are exempted from property tax as the villagers had been deprived of their traditional sources of income,” said Malhotra. He said the BJP would hold a demonstration tomorrow to oppose the implementation of the new method in its present form. |
Dacoity plan goes for a toss, five nabbed New Delhi, March 13 The police also recovered one countrymade pistol, one knife, two rods, two colour TVs, four cameras, silver jewellery and some antiques from their possession. The police received secret information that certain persons were planning a dacoity in a wine shop and would assemble near Ajay Ahuja Park on March 11. Accordingly, the team laid a trap near the park at around 8.30 pm and apprehended five persons, Anil (19), resident of Kalyanpuri, Sohan Kumar, alias Sonu (19), Satish, alias Pintoo (21), resident of Ghaziabad, Vicky (20), resident of Narela, and Faimal, alias Famuddin, alias Salim (20), resident of Narela.
Pre-paid booth inaugurated In order to bring some respite to the public from the problems of overcharging and misbehaviour by taxi drivers, the Delhi Traffic Police have inaugurated a pre-paid booth at ISBT Sarai Kale Khan. With the inauguration of this new booth, the traffic police operate as many as 30 pre-paid booths in the city for the convenience of the public. The pre-paid booths are already in operation from airports, railway stations, ISBTs and hospitals. |
Five hurt in fire at Azad Market
New Delhi, March 13 The five persons who were rescued by the fire personnel were admitted to the hospital and the cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, sources said. Fire sources said that initially the fire broke out in shop no 5 at around 9. 20 am The blazing fire soon engulfed some wholesale shops selling canvas and other materials. At least 30 fire engines were rushed to the spot and the medium-intensity fire was brought under control by the firemen at around 2. 20 pm. |
Eye camp tomorrow New Delhi, March 13 The eye patients will be checked by the medical team of St Stephens Hospital. Select patients would be recommended for cataract operation in the hospital. |
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Stolen vehicles worth Rs 50 lakh recovered New Delhi, March 13 The accused persons, identified as Mohammad Jalaluddin, alias Pappu (42), resident of Ahmedabad, and Mohammad Rashid (23), resident of Moradabad, used to steal the vehicles in Delhi and drive away to Jaipur to finally dispose them in Gujarat. The vehicles were stolen from South, Central, South-West, West and East districts of Delhi. The Crime Branch anti-auto theft squad received information that the Yashin-Pappu gang had been active in Delhi and was mainly targeting Maruti cars for disposing them of in Gujarat. The sleuths apprehended both Pappu and Rashid on March 1 and then took them to Gujarat for recovering the stolen vehicles. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Depender Pathak said the accused used to steal the vehicles with the help of duplicate keys and dispose them of in Gujarat with the help of forged documents with a new service book. The accused had got the registration of these vehicles done with road transport authorities in Ahmedabad, Gandhi Nagar and Himmat Nagar in fictitious names. The proof of address of these fictitious persons were also obtained by paying insurance premium of the vehicles. The Crime Branch sleuths after reaching Gujarat found the vehicles were sold to unsuspecting customers in Ahmedabad, Himmat Nagar, Mehsana and Jamnagar. The sleuths also had to face a tough time to recover the cars from the owners of the cars. Ultimately, they were convinced after being shown the FIRs of the stolen cars in Delhi. Mr Pathak said the stolen vehicles’ database located at the Traffic Control Room and the Crime Record office came very handy during the recovery of these vehicles from Gujarat. Especially, the original registration numbers, engine numbers, chassis numbers and copies of FIRs were sent through the modern communication system available with the sleuths. |
Contractor assaulted, robbed of car Sonepat, March 13 Thereafter, they pushed him out of the car at pistol-point and snatched his mobile phone. They also injured him with knife before fleeing. As Mr Jai Singh raised the alarm, a number of people reached the spot. Some of them even chased the miscreants who escaped on the motorcycle. They also fired shots in the air to scare away the crowd. |
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