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Court holds govt liable for failure
to protect citizen’s life
Final verdict today in MAMC gang rape case
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Woman tonsured, humiliated in public
Master Plan 2021 spells out aesthetic agenda
3 dreaded criminals held after encounter
Cops ferret out Hizbul militant from hideout
Meeting takes up alternative draft to Education Bill
Mystic Mirrors
Pirated VCDs, DVDs seized
Call to make history meaningful for students
Birth anniversary of Romanian poet
Yoga mantra for healthy life
Two killed in accidents
Mobile phone thieves held
Gang of burglars busted
Cloudy sky, showers likely today
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Court holds govt liable for failure
to protect citizen’s life
New Delhi, January 16 “Nothing more needs to be said – res ispa loquitur. Such sufferance goes against the very grain of creation of State or comity of individuals,” Justice SK Kaul said, directing the Centre to pay a compensation of Rs 2.6 lakh along with an interest of nine per cent per annum from January 1998 to the blast victim, Ashwani Gupta. The 19-year-old youth had lost his right leg below the knee, both hands, except two fingers on the left hand, and sustained injury in both eyes in a bomb blast on October 1, 1997, while taking part in Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti procession in Sadar Bazar, Delhi. Observing that the individual has surrendered certain individual rights for such safety and taxes were being paid for government functioning, the court said: “Safe environment is the very basic function”. “He suffered grievous injuries and 90 per cent disability on account of the wrongful acts of other persons which the State was not able to prevent. It was undoubtedly the duty of the State to have done so,” the court said. “The fact remains that the State failed to prevent the bomb blast and prevent the bombs to be brought. There is thus definitely some failure on the part of the State in performance of its obligations. They may have occurred either in the intelligence system not giving prior information or in implementation of security arrangements.”
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Final verdict today in MAMC gang rape case
New Delhi, January 16 Additional Sessions Judge Chandra
Shekhar,
on January 6, had held prime accused Rahul alias Budh Prakash and Amit guilty of having committed the gang rape. Two others who were charged with gang rape happened to be minors
and had been sentenced by a juvenile court earlier. They had preferred not to face trial and had pleaded guilty before the Juvenile Justice Board. The four convicts had waylaid the medical student on November 15, 2002, when she was passing through the Khooni Darwaza in front of her college to cross the road at about 2.15 pm. They took her to the roof of the monument and raped her at knife-point before depriving her of her mobile phone and Rs 100 in cash. While holding the two accused guilty of the offence, Mr Chandra Shekhar had acquitted Mohanlal and Ashok who were charged with receiving stolen property (the victim’s mobile) and harbouring the main offender, respectively. Rahul and Amit were held guilty under sections 324 (causing hurt), 394, 397 (pertaining to robbery), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 376(2)(g) (gang rape) of the IPC and section 27 of the Arms Act. The punishment for ‘gang rape’ is more stringent than ‘rape’, attracting a minimum term of 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment. A judge can go for a lesser term only for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned in the judgement.
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Woman tonsured, humiliated in public
Ghaziabad, January 16 According to an eyewitness when she went to police with a compliant that she had been tortured, her report was not registered. However, Ghaziabad SSP
J.N. Singh said orders have since been issued to the police to register a case against the accused named by her. According to reports, a sister of Dasna councillor was married to
Raheesuddin, son of Rafeeque of Saidpur village, three years ago. But on December 29, she died in suspicious circumstances. A case was filed in Bhojpur police station against
Raheesuddin, his father Rafeeque, mother Haseena and uncle Jamil. Police had arrested the husband and his father and sent them to jail, but mother-in-law and younger brother of Rafeeque (uncle) were absconding. Livid at sister’s murder, the councillor had gone to the house of his sister-in-law with some people, but Haseena was missing from there. He later went to Vaidpura village in Dadri along with his followers and forcibly brought Haseena to Dasna on Friday, where some villagers beat her up, tonsured her head and blackened her face. A garland of shoes was put around her neck and she was paraded in the village atop a donkey. Hasseena was forced to confess that she had murdered the councillor’s sister. After treating her inhumanly, she was taken to Bhojpur police station. The women of village had been in the forefront to insult
Haseena. The councillor and his companions are said to have absconded. The police of the area have maintained a studied silence in the matter although Mrs Ashok
Pande, wife of S.O. Ravi Shankar Pande, is a member of the UP State Woman Conference.
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Master Plan 2021 spells out aesthetic agenda
New Delhi, January 16 There will be no more skyscrapers to disturb the skyline of Lutyen’s Delhi and no new government offices will be located in the Capital to add to its commotion. The new plan lays down that any further development of the Capital will follow some aesthetic norms to be spelt out under an urban design policy. An authority to be created, according to sources in the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), will enforce the norms laid down under the policy. The previous two Master Plans of 1962 and 1990 had defined only the land use without prescribing any aesthetic norms. Under the new Plan, all new buildings, streets, places of work and public places will be constructed and arranged, especially in the central vista of the city, with the aim of improving the city landscape. The Master Plan has put a brake on construction of high-rise buildings not only in Lutyen’s Delhi, but also in the walled city, civil lines and north campus of the Delhi University. And wherever tall buildings are allowed, they will have to confirm to the urban design scheme. In addition to these, major city hubs like Connaught Place in New Delhi area and Chandni Chowk in the Old City would be made pedestrian friendly. Also, sidewalks and public spaces would be designed for the disabled. The Master Plan also rules out any industrial activity in Lutyen’s Bungalow Zone, employees and group housing societies and Civil Lines bungalow zone. Besides, the natural features of the city’s ecology will be kept free from urban development. There will be a time-bound action plan for shifting of existing Public Sector Units to the National Capital Region and continuity would be ensured between regional plan 2021 and MPD 2021. The metropolitan city centre would be redefined with global standards. The MPD has placed in heritage zones the following areas: Walled city of Delhi, Shahjahanabad, Lutyen’s Bungalow zone, Nizamuddin and Humayun’s tomb complex, Mehrauli area, Vijay Mandal-Begumpur-Sarai Shahji-Lal Gumbad, Chirag Delhi. In addition to these, three archaeological parks are being developed-Mehrauli archaeological park, Tughlaqabad archaeological park and Sultan Garhi archaeological park. Besides, the plan lays great emphasis on development of parks in every locality and lays down norms regarding area and population etc. Each local body / land owning agency will be required to formulate special development plans for the area concerned. Under the plan, big and polluting industries will be shifted out of the Capital and only high technology industries will be retained. Wholesale markets will also be shifted out of the city and there will be restrictions on the entry of bypassing goods vehicles in Delhi to encourage regional markets in the NCR region.
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3 dreaded criminals held after encounter
Greater Noida, January 16 One of the arrested criminals is a history sheeter of Dankaur police station and another of Mathura police station, the police said. They are wanted in a number of cases of loot, theft etc. The police said the bandits were on way to sell the stolen goods. According to police, S.O. Anil Raghav of Dankaur police was on patrol duty with his force in Atta Fatehpur village on Saturday when they signalled a Tata 407, coming from the opposite direction, to stop for inspection. Instead of stopping, the bandits sitting in the Tata 407 tried to flee. The police jeep chased and caught up with the Tata 407. The police jeep blocked the Tata 407 mini truck’s path. Three bandits got out from 407 and tried to escape while firing at the police. But the police overpowered them. They were identified as Naverang of village of Moni Khera, Dankaur, Tara of village Phalauda, Rabupura and Bhura of village Pipli One leister engine, two fodder cutters and one cycle were seized from the Tata 407. One revolver and two daggers were also recovered from them. Naverang and Tara are history sheeters of Dankaur and Rabupura police respectively. All the three are wanted in a number of criminal cases, the police SO said.
— TNS
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Cops ferret out Hizbul militant from hideout
New Delhi, January 16 The accused has been identified as Aijaz Ahmed Farash (36), a resident of Natipora, Srinagar. Based on secret information received from the Superintendent of Police, East Zone, Srinagar, that Farash is in Delhi, the sleuths swung into action and picked him up from a hideout at Regarpura in Karol Bagh this morning. During interrogation, Farash told the sleuths that he had joined the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front in 1991 and later received trained in Muzaffarabad in POK in handling arms and ammunition. In January 2002, he and his associates attacked a BSF post at Haiderpura and killed two BSF jawans. Later, they also attacked a CRPF camp at Barzla, Badgaom. He was once intercepted, but he escaped after firing at the police party. In 2005, he and associate Javed Ahmed were involved in two sensational cases of grenade lobbing at Fancy Fabric and another incident near Ghanta Ghar, Lal Chowk, Srinagar.
Narcotics racket busted
With the arrest of three persons, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police claims to have busted a narcotics racket and seized 57 kilograms of ganja from their possession in the Shalimar Bagh area. The accused persons have been identified as Dharambir Rai (22), Ramu Rai (20), both residents of Bihar, and Om Prakash (42), a resident of Sonia Vihar. Acting on secret information that two persons would be coming to Shalimar Bagh area to supply the contraband, the sleuths nabbed the suppliers and a customer. During interrogation, Dharambir revealed that he is a distant cousin of Ram and the duo met Om Prakash last month through a common friend. Since there is a great demand for ganja in the slum clusters, the trio decided to supply the drugs.
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Meeting takes up alternative draft to Education Bill
New Delhi, January 16 An alternative bill, drafted by Vinay K. Kantha and Madan M. Jha following their participation in a series of discussions and consultations under the auspices of the PUCL, Bihar unit, Social Jurist, NAFRE and PSG on CABE committees, was put forth in the meeting. It was pointed out that in December 2002, Article 21-A had been incorporated in the Constitution. The article says: ‘‘The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine.” By the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, the subject “Education” was brought in the concurrent list from the State list. However, there is no Central Legislation so far on the subject of “Education”, particularly in relation to elementary education. A follow up legislation in terms of Article 21-A is a necessity. As a step in this direction, the Central Government, sometime in July-August 2003, prepared the first draft of the “Free and Compulsory Education Bill” and the same was placed on the HRD website. The said Bill was widely criticised for being anti-child and lacking in its objectivity and, thereafter, on December 10, 2003, the Central Govt came up with the second Draft of the “Free and Compulsory Education Bill”. This draft Bill was again widely criticised for the same reasons and, thereafter, on 8th January 2004, the Central Govt came up with a third draft. The Social Jurist organised consultative meetings on November 1, 2003, and November 29, 2003, to discuss the draft Bill. The Social Jurist team also participated in the consultative meeting held on December 15, 2003, organised by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) at New Delhi and placed its viewpoint. The Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), in its meeting in August 2004, decided to set up as many as seven committees to deal with different issues relating to education.
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An exhibition that tugs at viewer’s heartstrings
Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 16 The exhibition is being brought to India for the first time through the joint efforts of the Bharat Soka Gakkai, the Indian arm of the SGI. UNESCO is co-organising the event. Since its debut in Johannesburg in 2002, ‘Seeds of Change’ has toured several cities across the globe and attracted thousands of viewers. As the text of the introductory panel amply illustrates, “No matter how complex global problems may seem, it is we ourselves who have given rise to them. They cannot be beyond our power to resolve.” A message such as this, and examples which illustrate the point, provide a hopeful and refreshing perspective on a topic that more readily provokes a response of bleak despair. Initially created by the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and the Earth Charter Initiative for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, where it won third place in the independent exhibits category, the now updated exhibition links panels on the state of the world with a hopeful message about the potential of even one individual to make a positive change. It is structured around the Earth Charter–a declaration of ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society – and presents the Charter as a tool for understanding and achieving the vision of a sustainable world. Soka Gakkai International (SGI), is a UN-recognised NGO with over 12 million members in 190 countries and territories, working for peace through culture and education. The exhibition is being used as a key resource by SGI and Earth Charter-related organisations in their efforts to promote sustainable development in countries around the world. Its purpose is to offer inspiration and hope, as well as facts and information. Responses, such as, “I have been deeply moved and inspired. I will do something from today,” illustrate the kind of effect that it aims to achieve. Three panels are devoted to explaining the Earth Charter. These describe the Charter as a blueprint for sustainable development which gives a concrete breakdown of what the elements of a sustainable future should be. The panels describe the birth of the Charter, present its principles and show how it can be and has been used as an effective resource for education for sustainable development. The exhibition will be inaugurated on 20th January and will be on till the 31st at the Habi Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, here. Solo show of exquisite paintings
Mystic Mirrors is a solo show of paintings on mirror by the Delhi-based versatile artist, Usha Chengappa. The exhibition, on at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre here, was inaugurated by Mr. K. Natwar Singh, Minister for External Affairs who spared no words in praising the varied offerings of the artist. The exhibition is on view till January 20. According to critics, Usha’s paintings are not only exquisitely painted but also reflect the inner feelings of the artist. The viewers cannot help but pause and reflect at the exhibits.
Works of Bangladesh artists
An exhibition of the works of seven leading contemporary painters from Bangladesh begins here on January 17. The artists whose paintings will be on display for a week are Kalidas Karmakar, Ifteqar Ahmed, Nasreen Begum, Dilara Begum Jolly, Ranjit Das, Rokeya Sultana and Chandrashekhar Dey.
Rare paintings
of Souza
For the Sunder Nagar-based Kumar Gallery, this week was an occasion for double celebrations. The gallery not only completed 50 years of its existence in the national Capital territory of Delhi, but also put up an exhibition of 38 rare paintings of the renowned artist F. N. Souza. Some of the Souza paintings in the exhibition are on public view for the first time. What has added to the sense of romance and nostalgia to the celebrations is the fact that it was the Kumar Gallery which first introduced Souza to the Delhiites in 1962. Initially located in Connaught Place, the Gallery moved to its new location in 1958 and since then has been providing space to artists both the well-known as well as those who are out to showcase their talent in the field of art.
Tribute to beauty
Celebrating Beauty is artist Sudip Roy’s way of paying tribute to beauty in paintings and pashmina. The exhibition, which is on at the Damyanti’s Gallery at the Ambassador Hotel here, showcases some of the works of the artist in the new technique of wash paintings where he continues to delve into the beauty of womanhood in all its femininity and grace.
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Pirated VCDs, DVDs seized
New Delhi, January 16 During the raids, the sleuths also arrested five persons who were identified as Ravi Shankar (45), Sabir (20), Ganesh Kumar (26), Rajesh Kumar (34) and Jaan Mohammad (23).
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Call to make history meaningful for students
New Delhi, January 16 To make history meaningful, she suggested that students should be left to think independently, so that they get into the details of the subjects. Teachers should avoid teaching them in a story form in a set pattern. Speaking on the importance of secondary education, she said it was crucial as most of the students leave studies at the secondary level and do not graduate to higher level. Prof. Gupta, a Professor in the Department of History and Culture, Jamia Millia Islamia, said: ‘‘History is an interesting subject and we have to make it more interesting by asking students relevant questions. Teachers must provoke them to probe, so that they are attracted to the subject. Established subjects like science and mathematics teach and guide students very well and that is why they compete to opt for the profession of medicine and engineering. History can become a subject of involvement as it is based on evidences, instead of simply memorising and making it monotonous for the students.
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Birth anniversary of Romanian poet
New Delhi, January 16 The president of Indo-Romanian Cultural Association, Mr. Ashok Kumar Tyagi, translated and recited many poems of Mihai Eminescu in Hindi and Romanian and also spoke about the Romanian poet’s life, literature and philosophy.—TNS
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Yoga mantra for healthy life
New Delhi, January 16 The best technique is described in the Yoga Sutras of ‘Patanjali’, which talks about prolonged concentration, contemplation and meditation. Talking about nosode therapy, the panelists said that this could be very useful, especially in non-responding acute disorders. Nosode therapy involves extracting the life force out of the patient’s own secretions and using them in the same patient. In yet another programme organized by the Department of Science and Technology at the Civil Lines, experts said that medical practice should shift from disease management to health maintenance. Maintaining health should be the main agenda of the medical professionals than waiting for the disease to occur and then treating it, it was stated.
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Two killed in accidents
New Delhi, January 16 Joshi was rushed to the AIIMS, where he was declared brought dead. The police are now looking for the absconding driver. In the second incident, one Somwati was killed when an auto in which she was travelling overturned in Sanik Farms last night. The police said that Somwati and her relative Ratan Devi (45), both residents of Sangam Vihar, took the auto near Sanik Farms. The auto overturned within few minutes of their boarding the vehicle. Somwati was rushed to the AIIMS where she was declared brought dead while Ratan Devi sustained minor injuries. The police have registered a case of causing death due to rash and negligent driving and are looking for the driver.
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Mobile phone thieves held
New Delhi, January 16 At his instance, their another associate, Dharam Singh (20), resident of Trilokpuri, was also nabbed. The police have recovered three mobile phones from their possession. In the second case, with the arrest of two snatchers, the district police claimed to have worked out 12 cases of snatching and recovered four chains and two knives from their possession. Based on secret information that two criminals of Uttar Pradesh would be coming to the Shakarpur area, the police nabbed the accused persons. They were identified as Rashid (21) and Abdul Rab (21), both residents of Buland Shahar. During interrogation, the accused persons disclosed that they were involved in at least 12 cases of snatching in East and North East districts of Delhi.
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Gang of burglars busted
New Delhi, January 16 The accused have been identified as V Thapa (30) and Shanker (27), residents of Nepal. The police had received a tip-off that the suspect, allegedly involved in a robbery in B-1 block in Vasant Kunj after assaulting a senior citizen, would be coming with his associate from Nathupura village. Accordingly, a special team laid a trap and tried to nab them. Sensing the presence of the police, the suspects started firing at the police team but no one was injured. However, the police managed to overpower the duo. During interrogation the accused persons disclosed that they were earlier arrested in five cases, including four cases in Ballabhgarh and one case in Faridabad,. After their release from Sonepat jail in 2004, Thapa worked as a chowkidar in D block, Vasant Kunj, and also married a girl named Uma. During this time he came into contact with two other burglars, Gopal and
Shanker, and started committing burglaries in Delhi and Haryana.—TNS
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Cloudy sky, showers likely today
New Delhi, January 16 Owing to a cloudy sky temperature in the Capital rose by a degree compared to yesterday’s 9.5 degree Celsius, the Met office said. Several parts of the Capital experienced slight drizzle late in the morning, even as the sun shone for a few minutes around noon. Train timings continued to play truant with around six trains being cancelled, six arriving late and three others rescheduled due to weather conditions. The day temperature remained the same as yesterday, touching 22.6 degrees. The forecast by the weather office for the next 24 hours said that there would be generally a cloudy sky with the possibility of light rain or thundershower in some areas.—TNS
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When hopes of compensation had dimmed for a victim of bomb blast, the Delhi High Court came to his rescue directing the Centre to pay over Rs 4.23 lakh to him, saying the “failure” of the State to protect the life and limbs of its citizen “is sufficient to give rise to the liability.”
Artscape
