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Sleaze racket in
posh colony guesthouse Aged undertrials
languishing in prison
Held guilty, term
adjusted against |
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Govt threatens to
derecognise errant pvt schools
Wedding night
tips backfire on groom Quota of Ganga
water up in Noida Constable shoots
son over petty row
Power cuts
disrupt sowing operations
Society told to
pay interest on refund
NGOs told to
help identify child labour Distant learning
courses from Bharti Vidyapeeth
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Sleaze racket
in posh colony guesthouse New Delhi, June 6 In South district, the guesthouse owner, along with six girls and a pimp, and in North district, four girls, along with the kingpin of the racket, were arrested. In South Delhi, the high class prostitution racket was being run from an upper class guesthouse in N-Block market of Greater Kailash - I. The police had received a tip-off to that effect. A deal was struck through a decoy customer with the pimp, Suresh, for a girl for Rs 20, 000. Suresh invited the decoy customer to Mehfil Guesthouse, where the latter coughed up Rs 2,000 as advance. He was then taken to a room where six girls were paraded. As planned, the decoy signaled to the waiting police party, leading to the arrest of the girls; they were in the age group 19-25. The guesthouse owner, Inder Anand, was also arrested. During interrogation, the pimp and the guesthouse owner admitted that they had been involved in the racket for the last two and a half years. They kept a large share of the proceeds of their illicit trade. The guesthouse rooms were rented out for nothing less than Rs 1,000 for an hour. The arrested girls belong to middle class families and are moderately educated, the police said. In North district, the racket was being allegedly run by one Kamal Singhal in the garb of a marriage bureau. The police had received a tip-off that a prostitution racket was being operated from S.G. Marriage Bureau, RZ- C-7/211, Vashishth Park, West Sagarpur, Dabri. A special team was constituted to develop the information. When the information was confirmed, the police sent a decoy customer to the bureau. The kingpin, Kamal Singh, presented four girls to the decoy customer and reportedly asked him to choose one. The kingpin and the prostitutes were arrested just after the deal was struck. During interrogation, the suspect admitted that he was running the racket under the garb of the marriage bureau. He disclosed that he had four girls in his employment and all of them were from poor families. Two of them were married; they had joined the racket after they approached the marriage bureau for a solution to their troubled marriages. The kingpin, however, claimed that they had joined the racket willingly. They used to charge between Rs 500 and Rs1,000. The girls disclosed that they belonged to economically backward families. They had joined the prostitution racket as
they thought it was highly lucrative. |
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Aged undertrials languishing in prison given bail New Delhi, June 6 After dealing with several cases of women undertrials, who were languishing for many years in the Capital’s jail owing to delay in trial, a Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice B. C. Patel and Justice B D Ahmed, shifted their focus to the aged and HIV positive undertrials. The judges took up 16 cases of female undertrials above 60, 30 cases of male undertrials above 65 and 14 cases of undertrials who were HIV positive. Nine such males and females were granted bail; however, no HIV positive undertrial could get bail. The court had directed Police Counsel Mukta Gupta to draw a list of undertials in each such category and then examine each case, before granting or refusing bail. Besides granting bail, the Bench also ordered that the trial be conducted on a day-to-day basis in seven cases of male undertrials above 65, as their cases were in a final stage. In 11 cases of male
undertrials above 65 and four cases of female undertrials above 60, the court did not grant bail, taking into account the seriousness of the offence committed by the accused and/or after weighing the evidence stacked against them. Three cases each in such categories of males and females were also rejected. In the case of men, they were accused of contraband smuggling and, in the case of women, because their cases had already been considered by the high court and bail had been denied to them. The cases of HIV undertrials were rejected because almost all were accused of contraband smuggling; and in the case of those accused of lesser offences, bail applications were pending with the high court. Earlier, dealing with a bunch of 26 cases of women undertrials, following a representation made by the NHRC, the court had granted bail in 13 cases after going into the merits of each individual case. While the court was dealing with their cases, the trial court gave bail in three cases and two other cases were decided in the lower court in the interim. Acting on a complaint, an NHRC team had visited Delhi’s Tihar jail for a first-hand account of the condition of women inmates. Thereafter, the NHRC wrote to the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court giving a detailed account of the condition of such women. Taking note of the letter and the plight of such women, many of them with children, the Division Bench directed the city police to furnish records. Each case was examined individually on merit before the orders were given. The court also issued directions to the trial judges, asking them to deal with cases of women undertrials expeditiously and with due “consideration” as stipulated under the law.
BJP releases list of MCD candidates The BJP has released a list of six candidates for the forthcoming by-elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Releasing the list, Delhi Pradesh BJP President Harshvardhan said the candidates were selected keeping in mind their popularity, dedication, honesty, integrity and loyalty to the party. The candidates are: Mr RS Techno (Khayala), Mr NK Bindal (Nangloi), Ms Laxmi Arya (Keshavpuram), Mr SK Garg (Tri Nagar), Mr BS Mahor (Nand Nagri) and Mr Surender Singh (Timarpur). |
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Held guilty, term adjusted against custody period New Delhi, June 6 The Additional Sessions Judge, Mr. H. P. Sharma, however, slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on convict Mohammed Safi; in case of default, he would have to undergo simple imprisonment for one month. The court observed that it was not imposing any harsh sentence on the accused, after examining the fact that no damage had been caused to the embassy building (Only a very small portion of the boundary wall had caught fire.) The incident dates to April 30, 2003, when, at about 1.20 pm Safi arrived at the gate of the embassy situated on Barakhamba Road in the heart of the city and asked the gate keeper Harish Singh Rathore to open the gate. When Rathore refused to oblige, Safi threatened to set the embassy on fire. The gate-keeper rushed to the reception to inform the staff. When he returned, he saw the accused pouring petrol from a plastic bottle on the iron grill fixed on the wall of the embassy and setting it afire. Safi fled from the spot; however, he was arrested and taken to the embassy where he was identified by Rathore. |
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Govt threatens to derecognise errant pvt schools New Delhi, June 6 “We will derecognise schools which were provided land by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) at concessional rates but have not met the condition to make available 25 per cent seats to students from economically backward sections,” Education Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said. A total of 133 schools, which were found to have violated this crucial condition under which they were allotted prime institutional land on lease by DDA, had been issued notices by the DDA. These include top public schools like Delhi Public School and Don Bosco.
Unemployment allowance demanded Youths under the banner of Berozgar Sena held a demonstration today to protest against the diminishing opportunities of employment available to them. In a memorandum to the Prime Minister, the youths sought an unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month. They burnt effigies to highlight their concerns. The office-bearers of Berozgar Sena said that the employment scenario was so gloomy that several youths had committed suicide. Speaking at Jantar Mantar, the venue of the protest, they blamed the government policies for the alarming fall in the number of job opportunities. |
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Wedding night tips
backfire on groom Meerut, June 6 The man took tips from the brother-in-law of his elder brother besides taking some medicines to increase his sexual prowess. However, ‘Mr Advisor’ took advantage of the occasion in the guise of offering ‘useful’ tips. He himself spent the ‘suhagraat’ with the bride. In the morning when the real groom reached his room, the bride refused to even acknowledge him. By then, the accused had fled from the village. The whole drama unfolded in village Sabdalpur Rehra of Bijnore district on the night of June 3. According to some family members and relatives of the victim, Fahim, the son of Nusrat, had got married to Sabia, daughter of Abdul, on June 1. Fahim’s elder brother’s brother-in-law Sajjad (all names changed) also joined the ‘barat’ and participated in other ceremonies till the end. Fahim sought some tips from Sajjad on ‘suhagraat’. After counselling Fahim for long, Sajjad also gave him some aphrodisiacs. Instead of firing him on all cylinders, the aphrodisiacs lulled him to sleep. Sajjad, however, rose to the occasion and entered the bride’s room. He passed the whole night with her. When Fahim awoke in the morning, he went to his bride and apologised for staying away at night. The girl raised the alarm, saying that he was not her husband. Her husband had been with her throughout night, she said. Meanwhile, the family members and several villagers also reached there. The bride had a query: Who was the man with her during the night. The family members suspected Sajjad and started beating him. The parents and the family members of the girl also reached there. They took the girl back home, terming the whole incident very shameful. The girl also refused to go back to her ‘marital’ home. When some journalists reached the village, the members of the girl’s family and some villagers demanded a harsh punishment for the culprit. Feeling embarrassed, the family members of the groom tendered an apology to the girl and her parents. The matter has been reported to the local police. It is being investigated. |
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Quota of Ganga water up in Noida Noida, June 6 In the first phase, pipe-laying and pipe-testing work is proceeding apace in Sectors 50, 51, 61, 57, 58, 59, 60, 44 and likely to be completed by June-end. Under the Ganga water distribution programme, mixed Ganga water is being supplied from 25000 kilo litre capacity storage tank in Sector 65 to Sectors 1, 31, 33, 35, 40, 41, 49, 55, 56. Only 15 per cent is Ganga water, the rest 85 per cent is Noida water. Now the Ganga water percentage is proposed to be increased to 20 per cent. Though the Jal Department has been given a month to complete the target, the departmental sources say it will require at least two months. According to the Noida Authority sources, the solid solubles were 700 parts per million which now come to 400 which is considered a happy augury. The 50 cusec Ganga Jal project was approved in 2000 for supply of Ganga water to Noida, UP Housing Development Corporation and Ghaziabad Development Authority under which Noida, Housing Development Corporation and GDA were to get 20, 15 and 15 cusec Ganga water, respectively. Noida has already made a payment of Rs 48.75 crore to the UP government out of a total project cost of Rs 121.88 crore for bringing Ganga water from Muradnagar to Partap Vihar, Ghaziabad. |
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Constable shoots
son over petty row Meerut, June 6 The victim, identified as Sharad, owned a canteen in the office complex of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Meerut. According to eyewitnesses, Sharad’s father, who was on duty in the complex, entered the canteen and demanded Rs 25 for buying alcohol. He was carrying his official rifle and was under the influence of liquor. After leaving the canteen for sometime, he reappeared and demanded Rs 50 from his son. When Sharad refused to give him the money, he lost his temper and got into an altercation with him. The constable was furious and shot his son in the head with his rifle. Sharad died on the spot. His wife was also present in the canteen besides some customers. The constable was overpowered by other policemen when he tried to shoot his wife. Hearing the gunshots, Senior Superintendent of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police (Rural) and Assistant Superintendent of Police (City) besides some Circle Officers, came out from their offices and rushed to the spot. Family members revealed that the accused was an alcoholic and ill-treated his family members. He was sent to the Civil Lines police station for further action. Many have expressed surprise how the accused was able to shoot his son in the presence of other policemen in the canteen. However, in the police station, the accused stated that shots were fired accidentally as the safety lock was not working. The grief-stricken mother and the younger brother of the deceased confirmed that they were present when Sharad was shot dead by his father.
Woman, son crushed to death Ghaziabad:
A woman, along with her two-year-old son, riding pillion on a motorcycle, was crushed under the wheels of a bus on Bulandshahr Road in Hapur. Ram Avtar of village Nagla Mal under Mudali was going with wife Hemlata and son Karan to his in-laws’ village in Aligarh on his bike. A private bus being driven recklessly hit the motorcycle head-on on Bulandshahr Road. Hemlata’s head and child were crushed under the wheels of the bus. Both died on the spot. The police have sent the bodies for
autopsy. — OC |
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Power cuts disrupt sowing operations Greater Noida, June 6 The power supply and collection of bills in the villages of Greater Noida is the responsibility of Noida Power Company Ltd, which supplies power to industries, residential sectors and village at different hours. Even though the NPCL was bound to supply power to the rural areas for at least 16 hours daily, the farmers pointed out that the power supply in the past month has been unreliable. The power supply in large number of villages including Kasna, Ladpura, Luksar, Imtya, Peepalka, Suratpur, Bhagpur, Dara, Dhandhola, Tilpata, Pali, Shyorajpur, Kailashpur, Kheda, Bhamota, Vaidpura, Satyana, Tusyana, Habibpur, Surajpur, Devla, Gulistanpur have been unreliable. As a result, the farmers have been unable to complete the sowing operations for bajra and jawar. Moreover, they have been forced to operate their diesel pumps, which has proved to a costly option, particularly for the small farmers. A farmer of Kasna village, Rajveer, alleged that whenever political leaders have been approached to solve the problem, they have lost interest in the matter after ‘threatening’ the Noida Power Company Ltd with an agitation. The farmers have warned of an agitation if the power supply was not improved.
Seminar on pollution control Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on the World Environment Day here yesterday, the Secretary General of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Yoginder Narain, said the developed nations were primarily responsible for most of the pollution in the world. Their lavish lifestyle was responsible for polluting the environment. It was pointed out that the 15 most developed countries were responsible for generating over 52 per cent pollution in the world, for which the developing nations were paying a heavy price. The Regional Officer of UP Pollution Control Board, Mr J.S. Yadav, said economic development was necessary for controlling pollution. |
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Society told to pay interest on refund New Delhi, June 6 The North District Consumer Forum further asked the Saraswati Kunj Co-operative House Building Society Ltd to pay an interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum on Rs 77,500 held by it from November 4, 1996 to December 15, 2002. Brushing aside the contention of the society that there was no provision to give interest on the deposits by members, the forum observed: “In the interest of justice, we feel that interest would be payable on refund as it is chargeable on late payment.” In his complaint before the forum, Prem Chand Mittal, a resident of Rohini, had alleged that he paid the amount in November 1996 on a promise by the society to hand over plots by December 1998. However, he sought refund after the society had failed to deliver possession despite repeated requests. He said though the society returned the deposit, it refused to pay the interest. The society, on the other hand, contended that the forum did not have the territorial jurisdiction to decide any matter pertaining to the society which had its registered office at
Gurgaon in Haryana. The forum comprising president K K Chopra and members Neeru Mittal and S C Jain turned down the plea, saying the society had offices in Delhi and had also accepted the cheques through agents in the Capital.
Postal Dept seeks time to reply to notice Faridabad:
The alleged ‘harassment’ of a disabled Dalit employee of the Postal Department here has taken a new turn. The office of the Chief Post Master General, Haryana, has sought more time to reply to the notice issued by the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). Risal Singh Rathee, a grade-II employee of Postal Department, had filed a complaint with the CAT challenging his ‘forced’ retirement. Mr Rathee alleged that he was being forced into `retirement’ as he had ‘opposed’ the corrupt style of functioning of certain officials. He had even stated in his complaint that ‘hired goons’ had made murderous attempts on his life because he had opposed the wrong doings of the officials in the department. He had stated that his service record had been clean. Meanwhile, the `Baba Saheb Ambedkar Mission of India’ has written to the President of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes for launching a probe into the case. Other Dalit organisations have also taken up the case and have demanded justice for the victim. |
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NGOs told to help identify child labour New Delhi, June 6 An official of the Labour Department said the survey in Delhi would be undertaken as part of the Indus Project, a joint Indo-US venture, and would be “very comprehensive”. The survey would reach out to as many sectors as possible that employ children. “Funding was a constraint but the Centre has sanctioned Rs 2.7 lakh for each district identified as child labour-prone in the country under its National Child Labour Policy,” the official said. The shortfall in financing of the survey would be met through corporate sponsors. |
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Distant learning courses from Bharti Vidyapeeth New Delhi, June 6 The university has been accredited ‘A’ grade by the NAAC; now, it has opened an academic centre in the Capital, offering courses through external mode (Distance Education). These programmes are of two types. One, is the external mode with a supportive personal contact session, where study material would be provided to the students. In the other category, no contact sessions would be held and no supportive learning material would be provided to the students. However, in this programme, there is one-to-one academic counseling. |
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Two killed in road accidents New Delhi:
Two persons were killed in separate road accidents in Delhi yesterday. In the first incident, Ajay, 35, who was on a motorcycle, died when he was knocked down by a Santro at Aurbindo Marg. The suspect is absconding. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered.
—TNS |
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The Crime Branch of the Delhi Police today
claimed to have busted two flesh trade rackets, one each in South and North
district, which were being run in the garb of a guesthouse and a marriage
bureau, respectively.
