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Over 13 lakh vehicles without valid certificates: CAG report
Head constable among two held for driver’s murder
Junk dealers were killed by police, says witness
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Woman held for smuggling liquor
DTC chief gets second contempt notice from HC
Contempt notice to Central Waqf Council, Delhi Waqf Board
DHS hauled up for ‘unfruitful expenditure’
DU to honour Bachchan, Dikshit
Exhibition of Dandi coverage in media to educate youths
Need to check corruption stressed
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Over 13 lakh vehicles without valid certificates: CAG report
New Delhi, April 10 The latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has said there are over 13 lakh vehicles on the city’s road, which do not have valid certificates. According to rules, fitness certificates of vehicles are valid for 15 years and have to be renewed every five years thereafter for payment of Rs 200. In case it is not renewed, the registration of vehicles become invalid and it is illegal to ply them. However, a test check by CAG of records of the state government’s Transport Department showed that 13.20 lakh private and commercial vehicles were plying in Delhi till March last year without valid fitness or registration certificates. “The Transport Department did not have any mechanism or laid down procedure for the periodic checking of registration/ fitness certificates so as to detect the vehicle whose fitness/registration had since expired and which had not been renewed,” the CAG report on the Delhi Government said. As it failed to track down and take action against the errant vehicle owners, the department lost revenue of Rs 69.57 crore in revalidation of registration and issue of fitness certificates, the report said. From March 21, the Delhi Government has implemented a new road tax regime under which registration of new cars became costlier by several thousand of rupees. The government is expected to add Rs 50 crore to its kitty this year from this. According to the new system, vehicles costing up to Rs 4 lakh attract ad valorem tax of two per cent while those costing more than Rs 4 lakh are charged at the rate of four per cent. While the basic Maruti 800 car now attracts a registration tax of Rs 4000, costlier cars like Baleno and Honda Accord are charged up to Rs 50,000. Under the earlier system, road tax was charged on the basis of the weight of the car with the maximum charges being less than Rs 10,000. The CAG report said the Transport Department had disputed the figures worked out by the audit, claiming that the validity period of registration and number of stolen or damaged vehicles were not taken into account. However, it added that the reply of the Department was “not tenable” because the loss of revenue was worked out on the basis of figures furnished by the Department itself and had taken into account factors cited by it.
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Head constable among two held for driver’s murder
New Delhi, April 10 The accused persons arrested have been identified as Rakesh, alias Tedha and Balraj, alias Bunty. The police received a call on April 5 at around 9.35 p.m. that one Ram Kumar (32), resident of Shahdara, was injured and when the PCR van rushed him to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital, he was declared brought dead. During examination of the bus, the police also recovered two empty bullet cartridges from the spot and the victim’s brother, Umesh Jaiswal, told the police that he along with the bus owner, identified as Ranjeet Singh, were coming in the bus (route no 211) plying from Mayur Vihar Phase-III to Mori Gate. He said that when the bus reached Khora Road, opposite the CRPF camp, Rakesh, Balraj, Asha Ram and their associate fired four rounds at the driver. Acting on this information, the police on April 8 received a tip-off about the presence of Rakesh in Khora village and nabbed him. Based on his information, Balraj was also nabbed. The weapon used in the offence has also been seized from their possession. The police are now on the look out for the remaining two suspects, who are absconding. In another case, the North-West district police today claimed to have arrested four chain snatchers and three receivers of stolen property and worked out at least eight cases of snatching. The police also claimed to have recovered four gold chains and 72 grams of smack from their possession. The accused persons arrested have been identified as Deep Chand (19), Manoj (19), Chander Shekar (20) and Anil (22). The receivers were identified as Anil Gahlot (28), Vinod Goel, alias Sonu (23) and Ram Naresh (40). With a spurt in the cases of chain snatching in the district, the police during a special drive signaled a motorcycle-borne youth to stop. However, the youth tried to speed away. Later, the police overpowered him and recovered 72 grams of smack from his possession. During interrogation, the accused identified as Deep Chand told the police that he along with his associates had been involved in at least eight cases of chain snatching in the district. Based on his information, his associates and the receivers of the stolen property were also arrested.
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Junk dealers were killed by police, says witness
Greater Noida, April 10 The accused head constable is believed to have become the key prosecuting witness in the case. The CBCID team has become pretty sure that the three junk dealers were indeed done to death in the Kasna police station during police interrogation. One of the junk dealers was savagely beaten up by the police and had become gravely injured, the head constable is believed to have told the investigating team. A doctor in a private nursing home in Greater Noida is reported to have treated him, too. Another constable, who is believed to have some valuable clues about the case and is currently absconding from the Kasna police station, is also keen to become another prosecution witness. It may be recalled that the SO, Alok Sharma, and 10 other cops were placed under suspension on March 6, and a case for kidnapping and killing three young junk dealers from Dadri was registered against them. The Head Constable, who has become the prosecution witness, has told the investigating team that the three junk dealers were brutally beaten up by SO Alok Sharma, cops Ram Mishra and Ravi Dutt Tyagi. This Head Constable and the in-charge Eccher police post Sanjeev Kumar were sent to Dadri with one of the junk dealers to raid his house, but since they had found nothing incriminating there, so the accused was brought back and all the detainees were given a thorough beating again to force them to confess before the police. During the beating, one of the accused Arshad had started bleeding profusely from his foot and SO Alok Sharma had made his dog to lap the blood up to clean the floor. Constable Bhag Mal, who is absconding from the Kasna police station for the last fortnight, is learnt to have a number of valuable clues on the case, but he is avoiding the interrogation by the CDCIB team. He has also hinted that he is interested in becoming a prosecution witness, too.
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Woman held for smuggling liquor
New Delhi, April 10 The accused has been identified as Kamla Sansi (45), resident of Brahmpuri, Pankha Road. Kamla was earlier convicted in many cases and at least 15 cases are pending trial in the court. Her husband, identified as Rajender Kumar, is also involved in at least 30 cases of NDPS and Excise Acts.
Man sentenced to life imprisonment for killing wife
A Delhi court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for killing his wife and injuring his minor daughter three years back. Additional Sessions Judge B. B. Choudhary also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Lakshmi Narayan, a resident of Nihal Vihar in Nangloi area of the Capital. He fatally stabbed his wife, identified as Reeta, with scissors on suspicion of practicing black magic on November 10, 2002.
Man missing from Rajeev Nagar
The Indira Puram police are investigation a case in which a 66-year- old person, hailing from Orissa, has been missing since April 8 from Rajeev Nagar in Khora colony. The missing person, who has been identified as Anam Kumar, came to Delhi on the morning of April 8 from Orissa and reached his son’s house in Rajeev Nagar. After taking rest he went out for a walk in the evening, but never returned home after that. After failing to trace his whereabouts, the worried family members lodged a missing complaint with the police.
— TNS
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DTC chief gets second contempt notice from HC
New Delhi, April 10 The contempt notice was issued to Mr Sahai by Justice Vikramjit Sen on a petition filed by one Virender Kumar Singh, who alleged that the CMD of DTC promoted Mr R. N. Gupta to the post of Senior Manager Accounts in violation of March 22, 2000, status quo order. Asking Mr Sahai to file his reply to the contempt petition within three weeks, the court fixed May 10 for hearing. In his petition filed through counsel Pramod Gupta, Mr Singh, a contender for the post on whose petition the status quo order was passed, allegedly sought quashing of the March 28, 2005 order promoting Mr Gupta as Senior Manager Accounts. This is the second contempt notice to Mr Sahai from the High Court within a fortnight. Earlier, another Bench of the court had issued a contempt notice to him on March 23 on a petition accusing him of failing to comply with its order for better pay scales to the security staff of the Corporation. Justice S. Ravindra Bhat had asked Mr Sahai to file his reply by May 19 to the petition by the DTC Security Staff Union, which alleged that the CMD had failed to implement the 1985 award of Industrial Tribunal in favour of the security staff despite dismissal of the corporation’s appeal against it by the Delhi High Court on November 30, 2004. The Tribunal had on August 22, 1985 held that Workmen/Assistant Security Inspectors were entitled to the scale of Rs 425-700, security havaldars the scale of Rs 260-350 and security guards of Rs 225-308 with effect from October, 1979, with subsequent increases from time to time. The DTC had challenged the award before the Delhi High Court in 1986. Pending the petition, the High Court asked the DTC to deposit 50 per cent of the back wages under the award with the Labour Commissioner and the same was disbursed to the workmen directly, the Union submitted in the contempt petition. The court had dismissed the corporation’s appeal against the award on November 30 last year and also asked it to pay a cost of Rs 25,000 to the workmen. Claiming that the workmen were entitled to get about Rs 10 crore from the DTC, union’s counsel Gupta had alleged that the CMD was wilfully and deliberately not complying with the order.
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Contempt notice to Central Waqf Council, Delhi Waqf Board
New Delhi, April 10 Justice S. Ravindra Bhat has served the notice to the Central Waqf Council Officer on Special Duty, Mr Ghaziul Islam, the Delhi Waqk Board (DWB) Chairman, Mr Matin Ahmad and the Chief Executive Officer, Mr F. O. Hashmi, for filing a reply by the next date of hearing on April 19. Chief Justice B. C. Patel and Justice B. D. Ahmed on November 20, 2004 had directed that ‘’It is required to be noted that it is the duty of the Waqf Commissioner and Survey Commissioner to see that no third party collects any offerings and that all money that is received are accounted for.’’ Mr Tahir Siddiqui, the secretary of ‘Hum Aap Ke’, alleged in a petition that the daily offerings at the dargha was about Rs 10,000, next only to Hazrat Khawaja Gharib Nawaz of Ajmer. But the board did not take any step to help the needy and poor with the money in accordance with the rules enshrined in the Waqf Act, 1995, the petition said. The DWB authorities had received the copies of the order, but due to the tremendous pressure of over 500 ‘pirzadas’ (godmen), the board did not take any step to comply with the directions, said the petition.
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In search of ‘Lost Palaces, Lost Places’ in foothills of the Himalayas
Ravi Bhatia Tribune News Service
New Delhi, April 10 The photographs capture the lost grandeur of these places despite the fact that most of them are in dilapidated conditions or in ruins now. Continuing with the Himalayan theme, the Hungarian Culture Centre is also presenting an exhibition entitled, “Manali Apple”. The exhibition comprises paintings and prints by Peter Solymosi. Solymosi, who has spent years in the area, is virtually in love with the landscapes of the region. The exhibition will be on from April 13 to April 28. Exhibition of studio pottery
Eight students of the renowned artist, Devi Prasad, held their first exhibition of studio pottery at the Open Palm Court, India Habitat Centre, here from April 2 to April 6. The items on display reflected the skill and imagination of the budding clay artists, Anju Kalsi, Mamta Singhania, Sandhya Agrawal, Shehia Hashmi Grewal, Shruti Jain, Shweta Mansinghka, Soni Dave and Usha
Chadda.
‘The Still Centre’
The Kumar Gallery in Sunder Nagar here is showcasing the work of Sohan Qadri from April 8 to April 19. Entitled “The Still Centre”, the exhibition comprises selected paintings which the artist painted between 1993 and 2005.
The Anant Art Gallery in Defence Colony here is exhibiting the paintings and fibreglass sculptures by the versatile artist, Ebenezer Sunder Singh, from April 9 to April 21. Entitled “Blind Man’s Profession” for some inexplicable reason, the exhibition will have on display some of the finest works of the artist. This is his first solo exhibition
Cultural festival
Kalikoodam (Komala Vardan Institute of Art) is presenting a two-day cultural festival on April 18 and 19 at the India Habitat Auditorium here. The festival begins on April 18 with a Bharatnatyam recital by two of her students, Nidhi Roy and Subha Sampat. This will be followed by a Hindustani flute recital by Hari Mohan Srivastava of Lucknow. Vijayanthi Kashi of Bangalore will present a Khuchipudi dance on the second day.
Musical extravaganza at National Stadium
The National Stadium here was the venue of a five-day cultural and musical extravaganza organised by LG. The event was kicked off by a Shaam-e Ghazal by the famous Jagjit Singh on April 6.This was followed by a pop nite with Shibani Kashyap and the Silk Route, keeping the crowd rocking for hours together on April 7. On April 8, the evening was devoted to folk music with the ETC Punjabi Group keeping the audience enraptured. The evening of April 9 was devoted entirely to the children with Vimal Rathod at the mike. The closing ceremony was held on April 10 and was called the Bolly Wood nite, which featured Shaan and Shreya Ghosal, the city based artists.
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DHS hauled up for ‘unfruitful expenditure’
New Delhi, April 10 According to the report, the hospital in Raghubir Nagar was surrounded by slums causing law and order problems as well as unhygienic conditions, which led to a decision to remove the hutments. The MCD demanded Rs 7.82 crore from the Health Department for the relocation of the 2,979 hutments in January 2000, which were finally cleared the following year. However, some religious structures, scattered all over the plot, remained. ‘’The Medical Superintendent informed in March 2003 that the issue of the removal of religious structures had been referred to the government for permission and that the land would be taken over only after it was fully cleared of all encroachments,’’ the report stated. In February 2002, the Directorate of Health Services sanctioned Rs 26.73 lakh for the construction of a boundary wall around the plot though they had not taken possession of the land. Of this amount, Rs 16.06 lakh was spent up to August 2002 on construction, which left a space around a temple to which the local residents raised objections, the report said. The matter has not been resolved and the work remains incomplete to date, it added. The audit observed that the hospital authorities and the DHS were parties to the joint survey of the land and as such were aware of the problems, which is why they should have ensured proper demarcation of the land and its clearance before releasing the amount of Rs 7.82
crore. Moreover, incurring Rs 16.06 lakh on the boundary wall around a plot, which was neither in the possession of the department nor free of encroachment was injudicious. The CAG report stated that the expenditure proved to be unfruitful as the wall remained incomplete, which enabled new encroachments to occur.
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DU to honour Bachchan, Dikshit
New Delhi, April 10 The Delhi University in a special convocation will award honorary doctorates to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, actor Amitabh Bachchan, industrialist Ratan Tata, R. K. Laxman, scientists C. N. R. Rao and historian Romilla
Thapar. The university had set up a special committee consisting of Dean of Colleges, all deans of faculties, director of the South Campus and one EC and AC member to finalise the names of those who will be awarded the honorary degrees. The names proposed by the committee headed by the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Prof C. R. Babu, were approved in the Executive Committee meeting held here recently. It was pointed out that while approving the above mentioned six names the EC had also authorised the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Deepak Nayar, to propose some more names for
the honour. While eight more names, including that of a famous playback singer, noted playwright and social activist, have been proposed, the decision finalising these is still awaited. It is for the first time that Delhi University is honouring Indians living in the country for their contribution and excellence in their field of work. In the past, the university awarded honorary doctorates to Indian expatriates, who had earned distinction in their chosen vocations. Notable among them was Nobel laureate, Dr Amartya Sen. An ordinance in the university’s statutes has provision that allows the university to select and honor distinguished persons for their success. Following the discussions to finalise the names of all the awardees, the university will inform them to attend the special convocation, where they will be presented the doctorate degrees.
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Exhibition of Dandi coverage in media to educate youths
New Delhi, April 10 Around 40 clippings, which contributed immensely in turning the Dandi March into a mass movement, are being displayed to mark the 75th anniversary of the famous march. “The great march for liberty begins”, reported a leading daily when on March 12, 1930, Gandhi, along with 78 satyagrahis, set out on foot from Sabarmati on a 23-day journey to the coastal village of Dandi to break the salt law. “The triumphant arrival, Mahatma reaches the field of operation with his army,” flashed Amrit Bazar Patrika in its front page in bold letters on the eve of the Salt satyagrah. A wide collection of articles are from The Tribune, Bombay Chronicles, Hindustan Times, Statesman, Times, Anand Bazar Patrika, Aaj, Malayalam Manorama and Kerala Kamudi among others and demonstrates the vibrant and courageous coverage given by the press during the national struggle. “We were inspired to educate the youth about the historic event. We spoke to Mr Ashok Gehlot, who was responsible for organising the Dandi March recently, who encouraged us to create awareness amongst the youth,” said NSUI President Kuntal Krishna. “We want to take the exhibition to various states where we can tell the youths about the role played by the press in our freedom struggle, the way they drew people to the movement, not letting restrictions come their way,” he added. From JNU, the exhibition will move to Aligarh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Jammu and Kashmir.
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Balaji medical institute inaugurated
New Delhi, April 10 An initiative of the Action Group of companies, the 400-bed super-specialty hospital, has been promoted by Lala Munni Lal Mange Ram Charitable Trust. With a mission of ‘healing with a human touch’ and serving the medical need of the society, the entire focus at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute is on the patient’s satisfaction, claimed a release by the hospital. The doctors, nurses and the support staff along with the facilities at the institute are of international standard, the release stated. With over 25 medical specialists, the institute hopes to become a centre of excellence. Situated in heart of West Delhi and spread over six acres of sprawling landscaped ground, the institute is adept to deliver the best healthcare service in the country. The institute offers state-of-the-art medical equipment so as provide the best healthcare. The president of Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Mr. Raj Gupta, said the mission is to provide world-class healthcare facilities to all sections of the society while maintaining high standard of ethical practice and professional competency. The Action Group has also extended support to various social organisations, the release stated.
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Need to check corruption stressed
New Delhi, April 10 The former Cabinet Secretary, Mr Prabhat Kumar, Fali Nariman, MP, the former Governor of Jharkhand, Mr Ved Marwah, amongst others offered valuable guideposts to the gathering of officials present at the occasion. Inaugurating the convention, Major- General Khurana, Director-General, AIMA, said, “We need to plan for 10 years from now and focus on students so that our services and promises reach the grassroot level.” A book titled, “In Search of Ethical Leadership”, by Russi Lala was also launched on the occasion. Recommending the book, Mr Nariman said that it aptly conveys the need of ethical practices in today’s corrupt atmosphere. The book is said to quote excellent examples of leaders who have held values and self-discipline in high spirits. In his address, Nariman said, “if the system today has loopholes in governance, then it’s us who has to take the responsibility for it.”
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Navratra Mela
New Delhi, April 10
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