New Delhi, August 1
Even after 24 hours, the police have been unable to figure out the murder case in which seven members of a family were brutally killed on Tuesday.

Om Prakash, his wife Santosh, four daughters — Dolly, Pooja, Kavita and Manju and son Anuj — were found dead at their r ‘D’ Block residence in Inderlok yesterday morning.

A senior official of the Crime Branch, which was now investigating the ‘family murder’ case, said interrogation of people was on to reconstruct the chain of events. “The interrogation was not being done on suspicion, but to get to the chain of happenings,” he said.

He added that the FSL report on the viscera taken from the spot was yet to reach them as well as the post mortem report. “Only after the PM report we would be able to tell about the timing of the crime committed”.

However, the police maintained that no sexual assault or mutilation of limbs of the deceased had been done, as reported in the media, and the possibility of robbery is ruled out. Vital clues picked from the spot were being pursued and samples sent for forensic examination. Also, chance prints have also been sent for analysis, it added.

Meanwhile, sources said security guards, neighbours, relatives and factory employees of the deceased were questioned by the police to ascertain the truth behind the widespread rumours of one of the neighbours being behind the heinous crime.

Additional DCP (Central) said investigations were on taking into account all possible angles and it was expected that a breakthrough might come soon.

He conceded that the thrust was on Sikander, the servant hired by the Grovers a few days back, the prime suspect in the murder.

In another case in which an elderly couple was killed, police teams have been sent to the neighbouring states and Assam to nab the accused.

Dev Raj Grover (74) and his wife Vimla Grover (70) were found dead with their necks slashed at their house in East Park, Karol Bagh in Central Delhi. The incident took place despite repeated claims made by Delhi Police to provide maximum security to the senior citizens.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the elderly couple had hired one servant through a placement agency just four days back. Soon after the incident, the servant has been absconding, said the police. 

New Delhi, August 1
The work on the seven-km Noida line, connecting the Capital with the IT hub of Uttar Pradesh, will begin tomorrow. The work will start with test piling and will be inaugurated by Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh in Sector 32 of the satellite township.

Under test piling, holes in the ground will be made to lay the concrete foundation at equal distances. Senior DMRC officials, including its chief E. Sreedharan, will also participate in the inaugural function. The DMRC and the Uttar Pradesh government had signed an agreement for the line in April 2006, following which soil testing work was completed.

The line, a part of the second phase, will have six stations and will be complete by 2009. The second phase will be ready for operation before the October 2010 Commonwealth Games. Currently, the Delhi Metro network spreads over nearly 65 km.

The Noida stretch, starting from New Ashok Nagar will pass through Sectors 15, 16, 18, botanical garden, golf course and end at the city centre in Sector 32. The total project cost of the Metro stretch in Noida is Rs 7.36 billion. Of this, Uttar Pradesh will spend Rs 6.43 billion and the rest by the Delhi Metro.

The DMRC has also submitted a proposal of two high-speed corridors of 20 km each, linking the railway station with the airport and Patel Chowk with Badarpur.

Meanwhile, a Sanchar Haat of the MTNL today began operation at the Kashmere Gate Metro station here, the first in the series of such centres to be set up on all stations of the Rithala-Shahdara line of the Delhi Metro.

The Sanchar Haat, which was inaugurated by MTNL Managing Director R. S. P. Sinha today, will provide facilities like Cheque Drop Box for payment of all MTNL bills, sale of post-paid and prepaid connection along with recharge coupons, sale of VCC cards and provision of local PCO booth.

The MTNL has approved the opening of Sanchar Haats on three-year lease basis from Rithala to Shahdara at 18 Metro Stations. Out of 18 Metro Stations, the DMRC has allotted space at 17 Metro Railway Stations excluding Shastri Park. The work is in progress for construction of centres at the remaining 16 Metro Stations and is likely to be complete within a month.

New Delhi, August 1
BYPL today became the first discom to deploy Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel to prevent power theft in the Capital.

To give the CISF personnel a warm welcome, BYPL organized a simple ceremony attended by Delhi Power Minister Mr Haroon Yusuf and senior officials of CISF and BSES.

Welcoming the CISF Company, Mr Haroon Yusuf said, “Deployment of CISF for controlling power theft in Delhi is a milestone. I am sure that the induction of CISF will help eliminate the menace of power theft in Delhi.”

A CISF company comprising 114 officials will assist BYPL enforcement teams in their drive against power theft in Central and East Delhi areas. Under the CISF Act, its personnel may carry arms and have the mandate to take the accused into custody without a warrant and hand them over to the local police for further action. 

New Delhi, August 1
At a time when the Union Minister of Railways, Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav, is laying stress on providing a world-class image of the Indian Railways, focusing on improving the conditions at major railway platforms and enhancing facilities for the passengers, it is a Herculean task to take even a platform ticket at any station of the Capital, be it at New Delhi Railway Station, Old Delhi Railway Station or any other station.

Though the North Railway has displayed the notice regarding the availability of platform tickets at all booking counters of railway stations; in practice, platform tickets are available at just a few selected booking counters. According to sources, on an average two to three relatives accompany almost all the passengers just to send them off. “Keeping this figure in mind, there should be more counters for platform tickets rather than general tickets. The Northern Railway has placed notice of availability of platform tickets at all booking counters at many railway stations,” said a commuter.

According to Mr M. P. Dube Bijnauri, secretary of the Railway Passengers’ Association, there is complete chaos at major stations like New Delhi Railway Station and Old Delhi Railway Station.

“It is very difficult to take a platform ticket from these stations as there are just few booking counters for this. We have written many times in this regard but of no avail. Leave platform ticket, it is very hard to take even the general tickets as many booking counters remain closed due to technical fault or other problems,” Mr Bijnauri added.

He said that the passengers were also facing another malpractice at general booking counters.

“Some booking clerks would just grab currency notes of the denomination of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 given by the passengers at general booking counters, but would not return the total balance. Such cases could not be reported due to the victim’s hurry to catch the train. It is an open loot by the booking clerks which should be investigated by the higher authorities of the North Railway,” he lamented.

A senior officer of the North Railway said that they would investigate the matter.

New Delhi, August 1
Accurate answers to complex problems, this was exhibited by U C MAS students at St. Michael’s Senior Secondary School on Sunday when children of the age group of 4-12 years were seen solving complex arithmetic problems within a few seconds.

U C MAS uses the ancient tool — ABACUS for developing speed and accuracy that also enables students bring out better performance in academic subjects. The course helps children get over their fear of numbers by catching them young.

The Abacus method prepares children to be creative. When the children have acquired an astonishing calculation speed, it is actually only the end result of having developed the following mental abilities: concentration, observation, visualisation and imagination, and memory. “After the initial two levels (6 months training), the students start using mental abacus,” says Mr Basheer Ahmed, MD UC MAS.

Basically, the children are taught to picture the abacus in their minds.

With more than 1100 centres around the country, U C MAS has set a benchmark in developing programs to unleash the hidden potential of tomorrow’s whiz kids.

New Delhi, August 1
The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has a proposal to restore the Safdarjung Tomb and beautify its surroundings. The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has been asked to hand over the land in front of the monument for landscaping and maintenance.

The ASI, which is responsible for the protection and conservation of historical monuments and archaeological sites, plans to renovate the monument, beginning later this year, after a detailed study. The proposed restoration works are expected to be completed in a year.

Minister of Culture Ambika Soni told the Rajya Sabha today that the structural conservation of the main tomb, entrance gateway and enclosure wall, revitalisation of the garden and environmental development area in front of the tomb are some important works planned at the monument. There is also a proposal to illuminate the monument during night.

The Safdarjung Tomb was built after the death of Aurangzeb by Nawab Shua-Ud-Daulah in 1754 in memory of his father, Mirza Muqim Abdul Mansur Khan, also known as Safdarjung and shares some similarities with Humayun’s tomb.

The ASI will restore the Moti Mahal and the Jangli Mahal in the Safdarjung complex on the lines of the restoration of Humayun’s tomb complex. 

Noida, August 1
Irate villagers set a UP Roadways bus on fire after it had a head-on collision with a Maruti car in which one occupant, a young man, was killed and five others of a family were grievously hurt. The injured were rushed to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. The accident took place on the national highway near Dujana village under the Dadri police station yesterday. The car was reduced to a wreck.

Angry villagers blocked the GT Road for four hours. About a dozen UP Roadways and DTC buses were also damaged by a livid crowd, which was pelting stones. One bus was torched.

As a large number of people had blocked the GT Road, the police force from four police stations was deployed to bring the situation under control. It took four hours for police officials to pacify the villagers and restore traffic on the important highway.

The body of the deceased has been sent for a postmortem examination. A case has been registered against the bus driver. The car belonged to Satvir from Deli Machha village under the Dadri police station. Satvir was returning from Shoda village in Bagpat along with his family. At about 3 pm, a UP Roadways bus from Sahibabad hit Satvir’s car. Satvir died on the spot. His wife Charanwatti, Rajpal, Chanda, wife of Vir Singh, Dharam and Rakhi were all seriously injured. The bus driver fled, leaving the vehicle there, while hundreds of people from Satvir’s village blocked the road in protest.

New Delhi, August 1
A Delhi court today sentenced a man to life imprisonment for stabbing his wife to death.

Additional Sessions Judge S P Garg also imposed a fine of Rs 1000 on the convict Suraj Pal. According to the prosecution, Suraj, a resident of Etah in Uttar Pradesh, demanded money from his wife, Somwati, to purchase liquor on October 1, 1998.

When Somwati refused, Suraj stabbed her several times and even injured his daughter who was in her lap. Somwati was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. Suraj fled from the spot and was later arrested on August 8, 2002.—TNS

Faridabad, August 1
Two unidentified women were found dead under mysterious circumstances at an isolated place near Kelly village, about 20 km from here this morning.

According to the police, the throats of the two victims were slit with a sharp-edged weapon. A 16-month-old baby was also found playing near the bodies.

According to reports, one of the victims, who was in her 30s, was wearing anklets and a wrist watch. The other woman was around 18-year-old. Both were wearing blue- coloured salwar suits.

The bodies were found in the wee hours by the chowkidar of the village, who later informed the police.

After a postmortem, the bodies have been kept in the civil hospital for identification. A case has been registered by the police.

Gurgaon, August 1
The State Vigilance Bureau (SVB), Gurgaon Range, has sought cooperation from senior officials of the five districts falling in the range for eradicating corruption.

The supervisory officers of all departments are responsible for creating an in-built system of checking corruption within their own department.

In keeping with the prevailing law, they also have to inform and assist the vigilance department of the state. They have been directed to do this in a communiqué.

The letter written by the Superintendent of Police, SVB, Gurgaon Range, Mr Rajbir Deswal, to the Deputy Commissioner of five districts, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Mewat, Rewari and Mahendragarh, exhorts the officers to “identify the habitually corrupt officials in their offices”.

It further guides them on how to go about gathering information in a bid to garner evidence besides laying traps with the assistance of the SVB for nailing down such corrupt elements.

The supervisory officer of the department can also inform the vigilance bureau about the “modus operandi employed by the staff working under them”.

The SP has suggested that a nodal officer can be assigned to each department to deal with the corrupt officials.

He can assist the SVB in case of need.

The SVB has tasked at least twelve officers of the level of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and inspector to liaison with senior officers in this regard.

While explaining the objective of the letter in detail, Mr Deswal said the “eradication of corruption was the top priority of the state government led by Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda”. He added the intention of the government was to seek the implementation of this programme in letter and spirit.

He claimed that during the past about one quarter, the SVB, Gurgaon Range, had major success in netting corrupt officials.

There was a visible, sustained drive against corruption.

The SP explained that in the last quarter the Gurgaon Range SVB had lodged 30 cases with the arrest of senior officials, including executive engineers (XENs), sub divisional engineers (SDEs), a police inspector (the SHO of the DLF police station), a doctor etc. During the tenure of the previous government led by Mr Om Prakash Chautala, only 53 cases were registered by the SVB, Gurgaon Range, in four years’ time.