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Kids rescued from streets frown at their benefactor
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3 killed, 6 injured as vehicles collide on Expressway
IGP concerned over Ghaziabad turning haven for criminals
Dreaded criminal arrested in Noida
Looted goods worth Rs 20 lakh recovered
MCD nod to proposal on professional tax
Move SC to clear air on hoarding sites, MCD told
N Rly fresh proposal to axe trees gets nod
Agitated applicants threaten to drag HUDA to court
Workshop for reduction in load of school bags
Bhuri gang member arrested
NSUI to protest delay in finalisation of poll date
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Navy job racket busted, ex-jawan arrested
New Delhi, November 24 The trio had duped hundreds of job aspirants with promise of securing them jobs in Merchant Navy. The accused have been identified as Chander Bhan Sharma, Shankar Singh and Govind Singh. According to DCP Anita Roy, “The accused were arrested from Gole Market area in New Delhi. Various incriminating documents, including applications, educational certificates and advertisement pamphlets, were recovered from the briefcase he was carrying.” Chander Bhan Sharma, who was earlier with the Topkhana Regiment, had been serving as a constable in Rajasthan Police till he was suspended on charges of disobedience. Following his suspension, he began projecting himself as a Director of Merchant Navy Institute. During this period he cheated about 150 job seekers, making them cough up between Rs 10,000 and Rs 90,000 for non-existent jobs on cargo ships, she said. “After collecting money from the gullible job seekers, the accused would ask them to complete a three-month training stint. During this period, they would work as labourers on contract. However, they were expelled within a few months of being employed. “The accused ran four coaching institutes in Jaipur, of which three had to be shut down following protests from “duped workers”. The accused had placed ads in newspapers, which did not carry any address, only mobile phone nos. The interviews were mostly conducted in hotels, said the DCP.
Shastri Nagar robbery solved
With the arrest of three persons, the Delhi Police claims to have solved a robbery case that took place in Shastri Nagar area on Dussera eve. The accused have been identified as Shamshad 22), Imran (20) and Shakil (25). The police have recovered two country-made pistols, four live cartridges and Rs 75,000 cash from them. Sources said the accused were allegedly involved in a robbery incident that took place on October 22 in the Sarai Rohilla area.
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Kids rescued from streets frown at their benefactor
New Delhi, November 24 A group of homeless children from the NGO, Jhamghat, have accused the management of Gandhi Smriti of siding with the NGO, India Foundation, for not agreeing to the merger. Claiming that they were shown the door by Gandhi Smriti, which had in April 2004 offered to give them vocational education, the children said they were asked to choose between Jhamghat and India Foundation. Their claim, however, is rubbished by both Gandhi Smriti and India Foundation. “We offered to provide them not just education, but meals and transport fare, after being approached by Suryakanti Tripathi, who has launched the NGO India Foundation. We took them despite the fact that this is not our regular programme. However, we noticed that these children were not regular and some of them, we suspected, were dependent on drugs. We could not be held responsible for such children and therefore, asked Ms Tripathi to look for alternate accommodation and rehabilitation for these children,” said Ms Savita Singh, Director, Gandhi Smriti. Refuting the allegation that three months after the course began, these children were asked to choose between retaining their ties with Jhamghat or merging with India Foundation, she said, the children chose to refuse the help that was offered to them by India Foundation. Indu Prakash Singh of the Aashray Adhikar Abhiyam, which is a supporting Jhamghat, claimed that since the children had refused to merge with India Foundation, the management at the Gandhi Smriti refused to allow them to continue their education. Buttressing his claim, one of the boys said, “We were abused when we told them that we would rather stay with Jhamghat. In fact, the utensils and the television set that were donated to us were also taken back,
and one of the boys whose treatment was paid for by the Gandhi Smriti was told that he ought to stay behind as they had got his arm treated.” Complaining about that, Ms Savita Singh refused to meet the children and the NGOs supporting them, Indu Prakash said, “We wrote to her, went to her office and called her…but she just refused to meet us and said that she has nothing to do with Jhamghat.” He went on to add, “They told us that the reason for ousting the boys is that they used foul language and ate non-vegetarian food. Our only contention is that even if that were true, is it not our duty to reform them.”
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3 killed, 6 injured as vehicles collide on Expressway
Greater Noida, November 24 Three persons had passed the night sleeping on the wheat bags loaded on tractor trolley. The tractor trolley was hit by a dumper at about 5 am today, killing the three persons sleeping on the wheat bags. The high speed of the vehicles led to another dumper and a Tata Sumo jeep ramming into the tractor trolley. After sometime, a milk tanker, one Maruti Van and a Maruti car are reported to have rammed into the vehicles already sprawling on the Expressway, due to earlier collision of the vehicles. Among those injured, Ms Kamla and Vikram, were rushed to the Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida The exact number of those injured, however, could not be ascertained.
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IGP concerned over Ghaziabad turning haven for criminals
Ghaziabad, November 24 It is learnt that this stark reality had been brought to the notice of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Jai Narain Singh, by none other than the Inspector General of Police (Meerut Zone), Mr Mumtaz Ahmed. In a letter to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Jai Narain Singh, who has recently been transferred from the district, the Inspector General of Police pointed out that a number of criminals were hiding in Ghaziabad and Gautam Budh Nagar district. The SSP was transferred from the Gautam Budh Nagar district on November 22, 2004. The letter of the IGP mentions the names of dozens of criminals who carry rewards ranging from Rs 5000 to
Rs 10,000 each. In recent days, the police have failed to identify a number of criminals—to say nothing of arresting them—who were involved in different major crimes in the Meerut Zone. It is ironic that even as the police have failed to identify them, the people of the area are aware of those involved in these
crimes. The list includes Neetu, alias Ramesh, resident of Saroor, Meerut district (son of Ratan Singh), carrying a reward of Rs 10,000. Among others included in the list are Shammi (son of Moonga of Azad Nagar police station), Asu of Murgoots and Sharique of Islamnagar, with rewards of Rs 5000 each. The Senior Superintendent of Police has declared a reward of Rs 2500 each on Sanjay Choudhry (son of Ajaypal of Baffer, Meerut), Jagpal (son of Ram Swaroop of Kalhedi police station) Vinod Rana, alias Gandhi (son of Dharmpal of Phanphoora, Kharkhoda), Rajneesh (son of Surinder Kumar of Lalpur), Sarfraz, alias Munna, alias Sandeep (son of Janey of Salarpur, Simbhawali) and Sanjay (son of Titu Ram of Brahmpru, Meerut).
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Dreaded criminal arrested in Noida
Noida, November 24 The newly appointed Senior Superintendent of Police, Gautam Budh Nagar, Mr Piyush Mordia, said that the criminal had been arrested after an encounter in Sector 44 last night. He was wanted in Agra in about 15 heinous cases, including five murders, kidnapping and loot. A member of the notorious Shankariya gang, Kala had taken over the command of the gang after its leader, Hari Shankariya, had been arrested, the SSP added. The Superintendent of Police (City), Mr A. K. Jain, said Kala had kidnapped the son of a jeweller in Agra. Though slightly built, Kala was a professional killer, Mr. Jain said. Two country-made revolvers, some live cartridges and 250 gram of opium was seized from the arrested criminal.
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Looted goods worth Rs 20 lakh recovered
Moradabad, November 24 However, the police are yet to recover the truck from which the goods were looted. The police have seized the looted goods, which were sold to a trader. The police have arrested Nanhe, alias Azad, from Sodat village in Meerut, Zalafat from Kungarpati village of Muzzafarnagar and Arvind, alias Bala, from Mehmudpur Jado village in Noida in this regard. During interrogation, they confessed to their crime and guided the police in the recovery of the looted goods from a godown in Agwanpur. The police have also taken into custody one Alok Tyagi of Vijay Nagar, Ghaziabad, who was guarding the looted goods. The godown belongs to Sanjay Jain of Harpal Nagar. According to the SSI, Mr Goverdhan Singh, of Katghar police station, the goods were looted on November 9 along with the truck from near the Sahibabad police post. The looted truck (No. UP 17 5897) of NICC Transport Company, had left for Jamshedpur with driver Bablu (son of Ishwar Singh) and cleaner Chotu, alias Pandit, of Daraula, who later turned out to be the companion of the criminals involved in the looting. Chhotu had reportedly administered some sedatives in the tea to the driver when truck reached the check post. Meanwhile, Chhotu’s other companions had also reached the check post. Subsequently, they drove the truck towards Moradabad and dumped the unconscious driver near Gajraula. The SSI said that Chhotu, alias Pandit, was still absconding. The four criminals allegedly involved in the looting of the truck, including Alok Tyagi, was nabbed by the police. It was sold on the pretext that the goods had been purchased during trade tax auction. The SO, Mr R. P. Gupta, of Katghar police station, has seized the full consignment after arresting those involved in the crime.
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Fog sneaks in on Delhiites
New Delhi, November 24 The schoolchildren were particularly hit as buses virtually crawled at a snail’s pace owing to the poor visibility. However, no fog-related accidents were reported, though there were reports of some traffic snarls because of the slow vehicular movement. The foggy conditions are likely to continue for the next couple of days. The fog, which continued till about forenoon, was caused by moisture brought in by a western disturbance, India Metereological Department (IMD) officials said here. The system was, however, feeble, not bearing enough moisture to form rain clouds. The night temperature was slightly higher as the layer of moisture did not let the radiation escape into the atmosphere. The minimum temperature was recorded at 14.6 C, which was five degrees above normal. All through the month, the Capital has been experiencing above normal day temperatures. This, according to the IMD officials, was because of lack of rain. The Capital had rain on October 10, but since then it has been a totally dry period. An Airport Authority of India spokesperson said several early morning flights were delayed due to the fog, which was quite unexpected, he said. Trains bound for the Capital were also delayed. Trains coming from the East like Howrah Rajdhani Express, Sealdah Rajdhani Express, Lucknow Mail, Magadh Express and Shramjeevi Express were delayed because of the foggy conditions in the Capital and in several parts of Uttar Pradesh. As a result, the departure of several trains from the Capital was likely to be rescheduled.
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MCD nod to proposal on professional tax
New Delhi, November 24 At present, the corporation has only approved the bylaws on the recommendation of the Finance Commission. In future, if the government is in a financial crisis or it needs money for development, the professional tax would be imposed. The proposal has been passed so that the enactment is ready, the Chairman of the Standing Committee, Mr Mukesh Goel, said. When the BJP was in power in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, the professional tax had been implemented. This tax is also being collected in West Bengal and Karnataka, he added. There will no be special department for collecting professional tax. It will be collected by the Assessor and Collector, who would be designated as the Professional Tax Officer. The tax proposal had been drafted by the Times Research Foundation as part of the ongoing programme to review the amendments to the DMC Act. The rate of the tax is listed in the schedule to the draft bylaws. The BJP councillor, Mr Vijender Gupta, moved a resolution opposing the imposition of the new tax. But his resolution was rejected by the Leader of the House, Mr Satbir Singh, on the ground that the ruling party was only approving the bylaws while the BJP-led government had already imposed the tax in Maharshtra and Andhra Pradesh. Later, the opposition members led by Subhash Arya boycotted the meeting.
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Move SC to clear air on hoarding sites, MCD told
New Delhi, November 24 The Mayor gave the directive after councillors exerted pressure in the House meeting today; they contended that hoardings were banned only in certain places. The installation of hoardings is allowed in other metros like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The corporation chief was told to cite the example of other metros to obtain the Supreme Court’s permission for installation of hoardings. The councillors said that despite the order of the apex court against hoardings, private businessmen had erected hoarding in public places, in markets, shopping malls etc. Hoardings can even be installed at railway stations. They can be seen on walls of public lavatories, which have been handed over to NGOs for maintenance. The Mayor also asked the Municipal Commissioner to modify the advertisement policy to generate more revenue, as there were numerous lacunae in the policy. If these are corrected, the corporation can generate more money. Mr Vijender Gupta, the BJP councillor, said that the advertisement department of the corporation had failed to generate additional revenue from hoardings. The Metro Railway has allegedly installed hoardings on MCD land and is raking in Rs 30 crore. The Metro Railway only gives 10 per cent of the total collection to the MCD. This was not right, said Mr Gupta. The MCD should get 90 per cent of the total collection. The Leader of Opposition, Mr Subhash Arya, pointed out that mobile trucks were also used for advertising. Moreover, hoardings had been installed near Nizamudding Bridge, Noida Toll Bridge and a few other places by private companies.
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N Rly fresh proposal to axe trees gets nod
New Delhi, November 24 Under the new proposal, the railway can cut 15,462 trees, mostly babool, spread over about 40 hectares of land meant for the proposed Anand Vihar railway station. The railway will offset the loss by planting 10 times more trees in different parts of the city. The cutting will be in three phases. The Environment Ministry will give permission to cut trees in the third phase only when the prescribed saplings are ready to be planted. The Northern Railway has earmarked 25 places in Delhi where these sapling will be planted. Some of these areas are Pragati Maidan – Bhairon Marg, Sabzi Mandi railway station, Nangloi – Dhebra, Shakur Basti – Golden Park, Chanakya Puri – Safdarjang, Okhla – Tuglaqabad, Hazarat Nizamuddin railway yard, the Western side of Yamuna, Azadpur, Narela railway station, Omkar Nagar, Delhi – Rohtak line, Amar Park and Lodhi Colony railway station etc. Earlier, the Northern Railway had sought permission from the Environment Ministry for cutting 20,720 trees, which were creating hindrance in the construction of the railway station. Then, the ministry had rejected the proposal, contending that the number of trees should be decreased and 10 times more saplings should be planted to maintain the ecological balance in the city. The railway is constructing the railway station at an estimated cost of Rs 83 crore; after the completion of this railway station in 2007, all the East-bound trains will run from the station.
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Agitated applicants threaten to drag HUDA to court
Faridabad, November 24 The association, which held a meeting recently, expressed its resentment and anger at the ‘silence’ of the authorities and the unusual delay in holding the draw. It unanimously decided to serve a final ultimatum to HUDA here as part of the next move. It also authorised its office-bearers to go ahead with the filing a Writ petition in the High Court against the authorities concerned if the officials failed to take any action in the next two weeks in this connection. According to Mr B.R.Sachdeva, President of the association, he had written several letters and reminders to the HUDA officials here in the past one year to enquire about the date of the draw of lot and the cause of the delay so far. However, there was no information from the authorities in this regard, though 15 months had passed since filling of the application last year, he added. Mr Sachdeva said he had received a letter from the Estate Officer on October 11 informing him that the draw of lots will be held on October 18, 2004. However, the applicants were in for a rude shock when they were informed at the last moment that the draw had been postponed once again. He alleged that the authorities concerned had also postponed the draw announced earlier in August. He said he had visited the office a number of times, but he failed to get an appropriate answer in this regard. All that he was told was that there was some technical hitch, which was holding back the draw of lots. The HUDA had invited applications in August last year. The draw, which was expected within six months of the submission of the applications, had been ‘delayed’ without any valid reason, he pointed out. Even as the HUDA had collected about Rs three crore from the 62 applicants as fee, the authorities had neither allotted the plots nor provided any interest on the payment so far. It is learnt that there are about 52 plots, measuring about 2000 square metres, one of the biggest residential plots offered by the HUDA in Faridabad. The HUDA sector 44-47 is located in the serene surroundings of the Aravalli hills. It may be recalled that HUDA is holding draw of lots for plots in Gurgaon Sector-57 tomorrow.
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Workshop for reduction in load of school bags
New Delhi, November 24 The conference of Directors of State Councils of Educational Research and Training, State Institutes of Education and State Institutes of Educational Technology was inaugurated on November 22, with focus on issues like role of state governments in development of decentralised curriculum/syllabus under the National Curriculum Framework, designing and production of textbooks, innovative experiences by SCERTs/SIEs, policy overview of curriculum/syllabus/textbooks, organisation of in-service training of elementary teachers under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, use of EDUSAT in teachers training and role of research. During the conference, it was pointed out that the process of curriculum development is a collaborative partnership with the states and the goal of ‘capacity building’ needs to be reached. The process of capacity building of SCERTs in the areas of research, training and development needs to be defined and frontline curriculum areas include environmental education, information and communication technology, consumers education, life skills and adolescence education. It was also pointed out that reduction in the load of the school bags is a critical issue that needs to be addressed.
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Bhuri gang member arrested
New Delhi, November 24 The police said that the Ikon car was financed by one Gurpreet Singh Chaddah, who runs a car finance outfit in Hari Nagar area in West district. After getting the car, Chaddah did not deposit the post-dated cheques. At this, Gurpreet got suspicious and registered a case in Hari Nagar police station. The police have now arrested the accused and recovered the car from his possession. During investigation, Gurpreet told the police that Mukesh also wanted to accompany him to Sonepat to sign a loan document. According to the DCP West district, Neeraj Thakur, “Mukesh Gupta is involved in 11 cases of dacoity, robbery, snatching, criminal intimidation. These cases are registered in different police stations in Delhi. He had also reportedly been detained in Tihar jail for one year under NSA.”
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NSUI to protest delay in finalisation of poll date
New Delhi, November 24 “We have been kept waiting for a long time now. A committee to ascertain the feasibility of conducting elections was formed and a report has already been submitted by the committee, yet no announcement has yet been made, ” pointed out
Tausif, a NSUI activist. The NSUI supporters today took out a “peace march” and solicited the support of students to begin their agitation. “Since we have promised to refrain from any violence we took out the peace march, but we have decide to protest the administration’s deferring the poll process”. “We are questioning the delay… if the committee report is favourable then they should quickly announce the schedule and if they do not agree with allowing elections then the students will fight for their democratic right,” he said. Elections to students union have not been held in Jamia for the last seven years and students have raised the demand for being allowed to chose their representatives as in other institutions across the country.
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DSGMC holds anniversary function
New Delhi, November 24 On the occasion, Mr Sarna said that the DSGMC will construct a house of 250 rooms in Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore, and a house of 500 rooms at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib through Kar Sewa before the 400th Martyrdom of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Ji in 2006.
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Concern over acute LPG shortage
New Delhi, November 24 “The common public is overawed by fear due to the unassured availability of the cooking gas. The gas is not being supplied by the dealers. They are making a fast buck, but the government is sitting tight with its ears plugged,”
he said.
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Traffic diversion
New Delhi, November 24
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Student run over by truck
Faridabad, November 24
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