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Summons to accused in silk smuggling case
MTNL fined for failing to shift phone for
IT official sent to judicial custody on graft charges
DUSU president accused of bungling funds
Air at ITO has cancer-causing benzene: Report
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Safdarjang rape accused gets bail
Minister makes surprise inspection of railway stations
Urgent care centre opens at Moolchand Hospital
Project to develop Rajpath yet to get nod
Torchlight processions banned for two months
Driver escapes with Rs 55 lakh
Symposium on concept of freedom
No fee for restoring power to shops
AIT announces new courses
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Summons to accused in silk smuggling case
New Delhi, June 3 In the first step towards framing the charges in the case, Special Judge B S Mathur has ordered the accused persons, who are on bail, to personally appear before the court on July 17, the next date of hearing. The chargesheet in the case was filed on February 27 by the CBI against 31 persons, including Uzbek national Olga Kozireva and 27 Customs officials. Of the 27 government officials chargesheeted, V K Singh Kushwaha is now Commissioner, while H R Bhima Shankar, Rajiv Gupta, Virender Kumar and Upendra Gupta were Deputy Commissioners when the alleged smuggling took place. CBI had earlier sent a request for sanction for prosecution of 44 customs officials, including nine top ranking officers, in connection with illegal smuggling of Chinese silk and other goods from Uzbekistan in 2004. However, the sanction came in February this year after dozens of reminders. The alleged role of the customs officials had come to light after the CBI conducted searches at 35 residential premises and 15 office premises in Delhi, six locations in Mumbai, three in Haryana, one each in Kerala and Kolkata in 2001. The searches followed extensive interrogation of Olga who was arrested from Indira Gandhi International Airport in 2000 with excessive baggage of Chinese silk measuring to almost 81,000 yards. Kozireva had also travelled to India over 68 times in 2000 alone and CBI alleged customs officials were being paid $ 700 to 800 per big baggage and $400 per small baggage that she brought in to the country. CBI had also booked another Uzbek woman Nazira Ibragimova and two Afghan nationals Del Agha and Mamoor Khan. While Agha became an approver, Khan and Ibragimova are still absconding. The CBI investigations had revealed Olga had gone through IGI customs 17 times and on seven occasions, records of baggage had not been entered, and on nine occasions, the flight numbers were not mentioned. Between January-October 1999, Olga had allegedly visited India through IGI airport 14 times out of which on 10 occasions, records of description of goods were missing. In its FIR, CBI had named Del Agha and another Afghan national Mamoor Khan as Olga’s aides who had fled before the March 31 CBI raids at the offices and residences of 48 customs officials across the country. CBI had alleged that Agha and Mamoor used to bribe customs officials for clearing the baggages of Uzbek women including Olga. |
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MTNL fined for failing to shift phone for 13 years
New Delhi, June 3 “There was gross deficiency of service on the part of MTNL in not processing the application of shifting of phone for 13 years… in our considered opinion, the respondent should pay a sum of Rs 23,400 at the rate of Rs 150 per month to the complainant towards mental agony, harassment, litigation charges and economic utility values of telephone facilities,” a three-member District Consumer forum headed by its president S. K. Tandon ruled in a recent order. Complainant Ram Prakash Gupta, a former Director of the Central Water Commission and resident of Masjid Moth DDA Colony, had applied for shifting of his telephone in January 1992 with Nehru Place Exchange. Since the MTNL failed to proceed with the application for 13 years, Mr Gupta finally surrendered the telephone in 2005. MTNL took the defence that the application was not processed because it was submitted to the wrong exchange as it should have been submitted to the Hauz Khas exchange. But Mr Gupta contended that when the application was submitted, both Nehru Place and Hauz Khas exchanges were under the control of Area Manager (South), which therefore, did not make any difference. Allowing his argument, the forum said, “Otherwise also, it was the duty of the Area Manager to send the application to the Hauz Khas exchange where it was supposed to be filed and processed accordingly. It is a clear case of gross deficiency of service on the part of MTNL,” the order said. Mr Gupta had claimed Rs 39,000 compensation at the rate of Rs 3,000 per year with compound interest at the rate of 18 per cent on security amount and Rs 10,000 towards the litigation charges from MTNL for harassment.
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IT official sent to judicial custody on graft charges
New Delhi, June 3 Satish Kumar, Deputy Director, Income Tax (Meerut Circle), was produced before Additional Sessions Judge S. K. Kaushik who remanded him in judicial custody till June 16. Satish Kumar had surrendered before a local court on May 27 and was remanded in judicial custody. The CBI had launched a hunt for Kumar, the son of a former Director-General of Home Guard, who had allegedly demanded Rs 30 lakh as bribe from a Delhi-based senior official of a pharma company. CBI sleuths had carried out raids on the premises of the senior income tax official, which allegedly revealed assets worth crores of rupees. CBI searches at the residence and office of Kumar allegedly revealed huge assets, including a 125-acre ‘’benami’ farmhouse in Meerut worth several crore rupees. The CBI has also recovered investments worth Rs 12 lakh, besides having frozen 15 bank accounts held by the accused, while they are examining immovable assets purportedly owned by Kumar in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. According to the CBI, Kumar had allegedly demanded a Rs 30 lakh bribe from Delhi-based senior official of a pharma company through two middlemen, who were arrested by CBI at Partappur on the Delhi-Meerut road on Thursday. The sum was allegedly demanded to avoid harassment by the IT dept.
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DUSU president accused of bungling funds
New Delhi, June 3 ABVP state general secretary Nakul Bhardwaj has alleged that DUSU president, Ragini Nayak, belonging to National Students Union of India, had bungled the funds meant for the union. “Ragini Nayak has accepted a cheque of Rs 2 lakh from a private university and certain private institutions in her own name for sponsoring the information bulletin which DUSU brings out every year,” Bhardwaj alleged. He said the president of DUSU was not entitled to accept any money meant for the union in her own name as per the norms. “There is a DUSU account to which the money should have gone. And the information bulletin for which the money was given is nowhere to be seen,” he said. He also claimed that DUSU had set up only three help desk centres during admission time in the university against the general practice of setting up at least 30. “The DUSU help desk centres are in Kirori Mal College, Arts Faculty and South Campus whereas they should have been spread across the colleges affiliated to the university,” Bhardwaj, a former president of the union, said. Seeking action against DUSU, the ABVP has demanded a proctorial inquiry into the bungling of funds apart from ascertaining the terms and conditions on which the money was given to Ragini. “We will meet the Vice-Chancellor on Monday. If he fails to accept our demands and take action, we will demonstrate outside his office and the AICC office as well,” said Bhardwaj. Reacting to the charges, Ragini Nayak denied that she had flouted any rules. She said, “I took the money in my name because the adviser to the DUSU is in Japan and I couldn’t have withdrawn money from the DUSU account without his permission and signature. I needed the money to pay the publisher because it was not possible to wait for the advisor to return”. Ragini, however, admitted that she did not consult any member of the union or its treasurer over the issue. “It is the president’s prerogative to take such decisions,” she said. A member of the union, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “DUSU is not at fault. We were not even aware of the fact that anyone has accepted money from institutions. If the inquiry is to be conducted, it should not be against the union, but the person concerned.”
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Air at ITO has cancer-causing benzene: Report
New Delhi, June 3 Titled ‘Smokescreen: Ambient Air Quality in India’, the report by Chennai-based Community Environmental Monitoring lists out 45 toxic chemicals that were found in ambient air samples taken from 13 different locations in the country during 2004-06. Out of these, the toxic levels of 28 chemicals were found up to 32,000 times higher than levels fixed as safe in residential areas by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The report also said that in the busy traffic intersection at ITO in the national Capital, 18 toxic chemicals were found from the air samples, of which cancer-causing benzene was recorded at 104 times higher than safe levels. Releasing the report, Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said India lacked the mechanism to monitor and regulate toxic gases in ambient air and hoped the report would act as an “alarm bell” to set standards in this regard at the earliest.
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Safdarjang rape accused gets bail
New Delhi, June 3 Additional Session Judge S. P. Garg released Sanjay, alias Sonu, on bail on a personal bond and surety of Rs 10,000 after admitting the defence plea that the victim had not identified him and the DNA samples of the prosecuted person did not match with the samples taken from the spot. Sanjay, a resident of Shahpur Jat in South district, was arrested on September 16 last year, two days after the alleged rape was committed. The court framed charges of rape, criminal intimidation and robbery against Sanjay while Hari Om, the another accused in the case, was charged with dishonestly receiving stolen property. The charges were framed just over a month after the police filed a report in the case, stating that the DNA samples of the prosecuted did not match with that of the accused. The incident took place on September 14 in the OPD on the fifth floor of Safdarjung Hospital where the victim was allegedly raped and robbed of her jewellery at knifepoint, according to the complaint lodged with the Sarojini Nagar police station.
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Minister makes surprise inspection of railway stations
New Delhi, June 3 During his 90 minute round of the New Delhi Railway station, Lalu expressed displeasure over lack of cleanliness and basic amenities. He pointed to filth and unpicked garbage on the tracks and ceiling fans in need of repair. He stepped into a compartment of Guwahati Rajdhani and expressed dissatisfaction over the conditions in the pantry car. He picked up some food samples and ordered that they be sent for testing. He found that the bedrolls and pillow covers were also not clean. The Minister then headed to the Delhi Main station which he found no better. He asked railway officers to pay special attention to food and cleanliness. Sources in Rail Bhawan told TNS that the Railway Minister was accompanied by the Chairman, Railway Board, Northern Railway General Manager, V.N. Mathur and Delhi Divisional Railway Manager, Pradeep Kumar. |
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Urgent care centre opens at Moolchand Hospital
New Delhi, June 3 Dr Shastri said this initiative was a paradigm shift for emergency services in hospitals of the Capital. He expressed the hope that the hospital would continue to provide quality services to the people of Delhi in keeping with its half century legacy of affordable care and tradition of charitable health care in the Capital. He said the centre had been designed by international experts to meet any emergency with a quick and easy access, specialised and dedicated emergency physicians and staff, super specialist backup on call and all essential back-up facilities like diagnostics, intensive care, blood bank, emergency operation theatre and advanced cardiac life support ambulance service. Dr Shastri noted that it also offered specialty services to address key emergencies like heart attacks, respiratory distress, strokes, neonatal and paediatric care, trauma and urgent care for the patients. Mr Shravan Talwar, CEO, Moolchand Healthcare, said the group had plans to set up another 200-bed hospital in about six months’ time.
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Project to develop Rajpath yet to get nod
New Delhi, June 3 While the Home Ministry and Defence Ministry have expressed concern over the proposed construction of permanent seating arrangements and construction of parking lots due to security reasons, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Central Public Work Department (CPWD) have their own differences of opinion on the project. As a result, a fund of Rs 59.65 crore released at that time to the Central Vista Committee, constituted for the project, remains unutilised. According to sources, besides permanent seating arrangements, there was a proposal to provide for better inter connectivity between ministry buildings near Central Vista. Other proposals in the project included providing fixed kiosks to vendors of the area, cleaning of water ponds and making arrangements of fresh water from time to time for these ponds, and stopping misuse of green belt and other encroached areas of Central Vista, said an NDMC official.
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Torchlight processions banned for two months
New Delhi, June 3 Police Commissioner K. K. Paul issued the order saying information had been received that some people/groups may indulge in activities prejudicial to the maintenance of peace in the city. Information had also been received that such activities may seriously endanger life and property of the citizens and maintenance of law and order in the Capital, he said. Any person contravening the order could be punished under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. Dr Paul also prohibited carrying any box, bag, handbag and any other container capable of concealing any arm/firearm/explosive material inside any place of public amusement, including cinema houses, in Delhi. The order would be in place for two months starting June 10. The Commissioner also prohibited holding processions/demonstrations in and around Delhi Secretariat and Delhi Assembly for a period of two months starting June 9 and June 6, respectively. However, religious functions can be held with prior permission.
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Driver escapes with Rs 55 lakh
Ghaziabad, June 3 The Ford Ikon car was being driven by Veerpal of Mainpur. According to reports, even as Mohan Lal and Arvind got down to relieve themselves near Vaishali sector-IV, the driver drove away the car with Rs 55 lakh. The police have registered a case against Veerpal after the manager and accountant informed the police about the incident. The SO Sahibabad police station, OP Yadav, said that Mohan Lal and Arvind have been taken into custody for
interrogation. — OC |
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Symposium on concept of freedom
New Delhi, June 3 Mr S. H. M. Shakeeb, Cultural Counsellor, Iran Culture House, with guest of honour Rashid Alwi, MP, headed the programme. Dr Y. P. Anand, Director, National Gandhi Museum, said Gandhi’s concept of “Swaraj” meant complete freedom from poverty and untouchability. Real Swaraj comes when there will be freedom for every men and women, no high class and no low class. Mr Alvi said that there were similarities between Mahatma Gandhi and Imam Khomeimi’s concept of freedom. Both were pioneers of the freedom movement in two different countries and shook the world with their waves of
thought. — OC
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No fee for restoring power to shops
New Delhi, June 3 He issued the direction in a meeting attended by senior officers of the power department and private power distribution companies BSES and NDPL. During the sealing and demolition drive launched by the MCD, the power companies had disconnected connection of 14,000 shops. When a special Bill of Delhi bylaws was passed in Parliament, giving one year relief to the owners of business establishments in residential areas, the power companies were asked to restore the power connection to the
establishments. — TNS |
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AIT announces new courses
New Delhi, June 3 The institute stated in a press release that students have also shown eagerness for computer-related courses offered at the
institute. — TNS
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