New Delhi, November 18
Doubts over what really happened in the case involving the kidnapping of a wealthy executive’s child in Noida deepened today with the driver of the autorickshaw in which the boy reached home contending that the abductors handed over the boy to him at Sarita Vihar.

Bhupinder Singh, who claimed that he was detained overnight at a police station in Noida, said that two men approached him at Sarita Vihar yesterday and gave him Rs 50 to drop Anant at the address given on his school badge, saying the child had lost his way.

“They approached me at the CNG station near Apollo Hospital and I took the boy home,” he said, raising further doubts about the role of police, which claims that they took over custody of the child in Kakod village on Noida-Bulandshahr border and sent him home on the autorickshaw accompanied by a policeman.

He added that the guard at Gupta’s residence did not recognise the child and just escorted him inside the house. Later, he was called in and the whole family was elated to see the child.

The drive said he was given sweets and something to eat, after which the police took him to the Sector 63 police station here, where he was kept overnight and not allowed to make any phone calls, he alleged.

He said Anant’s mother lated visited him in the police station and gave him a reward of Rs 1,000.

“The boy’s maternal grandfather also gave me a reward of Rs 5,000,” he said.

Singh said he was let off today after having been thoroughly interrogated by the police.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police today claimed to have rescued a six-year-old boy abducted last month and arrested one person in this connection.

Ashish, resident of Bhajanpura in North-East Delhi, was rescued from the clutches of his abductor at New Delhi Railway Station yesterday when the accused was about to board a train for taking the boy to Mumbai.

The boy was kidnapped by one Afzal, a resident of Ghaziabad, on October 31 with an intention to sell him, police said.

Police had formed several teams and interrogated scores of persons before finally rescuing the boy.

Faridabad, November 18
An application under the Right to Information Act (RTI) regarding alleged non-payment of rental charges collected from kiosks at the mini-secretariat complex here has rekindled the controversy over the issue.

A complaint in connection with the non-payment of charges by certain kiosk owners at the complex was lodged with the higher authorities. In this connection, the concerned officials have allegedly been ‘pulled up’ and a reply sought on the matter. A revenue loss of over Rs 3 lakh was allegedly incurred by government due to the non-payment of rent.

Some of the booth owners raised objection to the move by the administration allowing several new kiosks to be built. They alleged that the space was allotted to people who were ‘close’ to officials of the district administration.

Their resentment grew when they learnt that several of these new booth owners were ‘exempted’ from paying the monthly rent of Rs 2,500 for around one year.

One of the owners of a booth installed earlier filed an application in the office of the District Information Officer seeking information about the number of allocated kiosks and mode of payment of rent.

When no satisfactory response was received, the applicant took up the matter with the State Information Commissioner.

The applicant also alleged harassment by officials to force him to vacate the complex, which was denied by the district authorities. A senior official claimed that the matter was related with the installation of kiosks in a manner that was against the commercial interests of the existing booth owned by the applicant.

However, sources claimed that ten kiosk owners did not pay rental charges for a period of about a year.

It may be recalled that the authorities took over the control of kiosks and booths operating in the district judicial complex about a year ago following a violent clash between two groups of lawyers over the right to collect monthly rent, which comes to around Rs 2.5 lakh. It was decided that the amount collected as rent would go to the treasury.

There is also a controversy over some tea stalls operating in the complex in the absence of a canteen. 

New Delhi, November 18
Several resident welfare associations (RWAs) along with some NGOs have demanded a CBI inquiry into the suicide by a BSES consumer due to alleged ‘harassment’ by the discom.

Mr Sardar Singh, the deceased’s brother, claimed that the extreme step was prompted by ‘mental agony’ caused by an irrationally inflated bill and ‘acute harassment’ by the police allegedly acting on the instructions of the security office of the BSES.

The discom had slapped a penalty of Rs 12 lakh on Harichand on the charges of power theft.

Mr Sanjay Kaul, President of People’s Action, said, “The Delhi Government under present Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has thrown residents to the wolves, given a lame duck regulator which is clearly under the thrall of the discoms, a security office of the BSES that mirrors the Gestapo in its antics and a one-sided electricity regime that allows residents to be skinned openly by discoms due to their access to the CM’s office.”

Mr N. N. Mishra of Mayur Vihar RWA said, “The recent move by the Delhi Government to summon NDPL and BSES CEOs is a classic smokescreen strategy to cover up the shocking incident where a consumer was driven to commit suicide due to the draconian stranglehold that discoms have on consumers of power in the city.”

Mr V. N. Bali, secretary-general, Federation of East Delhi RWAs, said, “The contract of BSES Yamuna, which is going to end this fiscal year, should not be renewed by the Delhi Government.”

Mr Rajesh Dokwal, East Delhi coordinator of URJA, said, “N. N. Mishra of the Mayur Vihar RWA was also similarly threatened until the BSES had to back off due to the support he enjoyed in the local community.” 

New Delhi, November 18
A UGC workshop on “Capacity Building of Women Managers in Higher Education” concluded at Jamia Millia Islamia today. It was held in keeping with UGC’s current effort towards launching major programmes for women in higher education in the academic and administrative streams.

The workshop was inaugurated on November 13.

This main idea behind this programme came up way back in 1997. The training manuals were readied in 1998. Since 2003, more than 14 regional workshops in this area have been held. The UGC’s current initiative is fuelled by the fact that a very low percentage of women are involved at the decision-making levels in Indian universities and colleges.

The UGC has been stressing on the need to weave in gender justice and equality in higher education policies and curricula. Its target is to help raise the number of women in decision-making positions in higher education, which continues to be extremely low.

The scheme invites universities to nominate women in the middle level and higher level positions to undergo the programme, which extends from five to six days.

In due course of time, some of these women are identified as trainers and they in turn organise and run special skills training workshop to take on the role of coordinators and resource persons. Currently, a pool of more than 100 trainers has been put together.

Jamia had deputed participants for the workshop. The university has conducted a programme for higher education institutions in its geographical area, which is specifically aimed at women academicians or administrators who are in the middle or higher level positions in universities.

New Delhi, November 18
A fifty-two-year-old woman died due to dengue in the national Capital, taking the toll nationwide to 185 as 33 more people were afflicted with the mosquito-borne disease.

Khurshida, a resident of Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, was admitted to AIIMS yesterday with symptoms of Dengue Shock Syndrome.

“She died a few hours later after she was admitted to the casualty ward,” said a health official.

According to the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme, as many as 10,067 people have been affected with dengue in the country.

“Thirty-three fresh cases were reported in the country till noon today. Out of these total cases, 14 are from Delhi, while five are those who had come to Delhi from the neighbouring cities for treatment,” the official said.

With the death, the toll in the national Capital has gone up to 76, while the total number of people affected with the disease here till noon today has touched 3209.

At AIIMS, 17 people are still undergoing treatment for dengue, while there has been no new admissions in the last three days.

“We have shut down dengue screening unit since Novemeber 7,” AIIMS spokesperson Dr Shakti Gupta told.

The toll nationwide stands at 185 so far, though government has confirmed 174 deaths due to dengue in the country.

New Delhi, November 18
The commuters are still having problem due to the adamant attitude of the UP as well as the Delhi government over the plying of buses in both the states. Buses are not allowed to cross the border of each other’s state.

The problem arose after the transport department of Delhi government impounded buses of UP roadways. A number of meetings between senior officials of both the states took place but of no avail. A meeting took place today also, but the situation remains the same, sources said.

Thousands of children are enrolled in public schools located in various sectors of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. Their parents were tense after getting warnings given by the government that if the situation became serious, the schools would have to make their own arrangements for transportation. Thereafter many schools asked parents to make their own arrangements to drop and pick up their wards. Earlier, DTC buses were hired by the school management. Now these are not allowed to cross the UP border after the row between the states.

Mr Anil Shukla, whose son is studying in a Noida school, said that the school authorities were being irresponsible. “They charge transport fee quarterly. If the government buses are not allowed, they should hire private buses,” he said. Seema, another parent, said that she had to take leave from her office just to drop and pick her child since her husband was away.

If the deadlock is not resolved soon, Delhiites will prefer to send their children to schools located in Delhi.

She pointed out that currently many people who reside in Sarita Vihar, Jamia Nagar, Mayur Vihar and other border areas, prefer to enrol their children in Noida schools.

New Delhi, November 18
Two persons have been arrested in North-East Delhi for their alleged involvement in the
trade of duplicate Bombay Dyeing dress material.

The arrested were identified as Veerpal and Amit Aggarwal and police said they have seized 103 duplicate rolls of Bombay Dyeing, 1,634 fake stickers and 15 rolls, police said.

Interrogation revealed that Veerpal used to purchase the dress material from Aggarwal.

A raid was conducted at Aggarwal’s shop in Chandni Chowk and the dress material and stickers were recovered.

New Delhi, November 18
Two persons, one of whom was believed to be mentally unstable, allegedly committed suicide in the Capital today, police said.

Vikran, 38, a resident of INA Colony, first tried to immolate himself and then hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his residence this afternoon. He was rushed to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries.

In another incident, 48-year-old Satbir, a resident of Ladu Sarai, hanged himself in his residence.

No suicide notes were recovered from them, police said.—OC

New Delhi, November 18
Two proprietors of a private chit fund were arrested in South Delhi by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police on the charge of cheating investors to the tune of crores of rupees.

Naresh Gupta (50) and Avdesh Aggarwal (44) had come under the scanner after an investor filed a complaint that the duo were not returning the money she had invested in their Bundella Chit Fund.

They had promised two to three per cent interest every month for the investments, but paid neither the interest nor returned the money ever after the maturity period, Kamlesh Keswami said in her complaint.

On investigation, police found out that Gupta and Aggarwal were prima facie guilty and registered a case against them under relevant sections of the Madras Chit Fund Act, 1961.

A hunt was soon launched and the two, residents of posh Chittaranjan Park, were arrested in South Delhi. Both of them admitted that they have duped several investors to the tune of crores of rupees, police said.

Investigations conducted have revealed that they have cheated more than 150 persons, police added.

New Delhi, November 18
The latest gadgetry used by the police in traffic management, including equipment like speed radar and alchometer, are on display at the road safety exhibition at the India International Trade Fair (IITF) here.

The exhibition, themed ‘Alertness can make a difference’, focusses on inculcating basic road sense among the public and puts the spotlight on vulnerable road users like pedestrians and two-wheeler users, who form 82 per cent of the victims.

Photographs and general safety tips are also being displayed at the pavilion, which was inaugurated by the chief secretary of Delhi, Mr. Narayana Swami, yesterday. The city Police Commissioner, Mr K K Paul, was also present on the occasion.—OC

New Delhi, November 18
Resident doctors at Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Hospital went on a flash strike today in protest against the alleged assault on a colleague by relatives of a patient who died in the hospital.

The relatives claimed that the patient lost his life due to medical negligence. 

Gurgaon, November 18
A bomb scare gripped the area near Pataudi Road yesterday evening when a transistor was found abandoned on a road.

According to reports, a person alighted from a Sumo van and placed a transistor on the road divider. Thereafter, he vanished from the scene, triggering a bomb scare in the area. A bomb squad team was requisitioned from Rohtak, but it failed to turn up. The in-charge of Pataudi police post eventually picked up the instrument and put it in a hole surrounded by sandbags. The transistor was later found to be ‘normal’.—TNS

Faridabad, November 18
Three minor girls working as domestic help were rescued by an NGO, Shakti Vahini, from a house in Sector 30 today.

The girls, aged between 8 and 12 years, were being treated “inhumanly” by the owner of the house, the NGO alleged.

The girls were brought here from Midnapore district of West Bengal through a placement agency about eight months ago.

A complaint has been filed under the Child Labour Act in this connection.

According to Mr Ravi Kant, the director of Shakti Vahini, a search operation was conducted this morning in the house at the Indraprastha Colony following an information that three minor girls had been kept there ‘forcibly’ as domestic servants.—TNS

New Delhi, November 18
A special court was today held in Tihar court complex to dispose of cases of petty offenders languishing in various jails. This court was presided over by the metropolitan magistrate of Delhi, Mr P S Malik. The court took up the cases of 23 confessing prisoners out of which 22 cases were disposed of and the remaining one case has been referred back to regular courts.

These cases were screened by fingerprint bureau of the Delhi Police so as to eliminate the habitual offenders. This was 73rd court in succession and till date, 3879 cases of petty offenders have been decided by these special courts organised at Tihar court complex.