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Police may appeal against acquittals Free stay at night shelters for two months
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Verdict in councillor’s murder case today ‘Municipal elections
to be held in March’ MCD to seek clarification
from Centre Capital to have
self-assessed regularisation plan Three criminals held Man awarded 10 years’ RI for raping minor girl Delhi to get BRTS corridor by next year
Cell phones’ loot registered as mere theft HP to help Delhi in meeting water demand Haryana govt to honour 102 girls Couple charred to death, children injured Trader’s body awaits cremation Classical dance function held 60 units sealed
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Police may appeal against acquittals New Delhi, December 20 “We are examining relevant papers. A decision in this regard will be taken soon,” a top police official said soon after the Delhi High Court handed out sentences in the case including a life term to Manu Sharma for murdering Jessica. The court on Monday had acquitted Shyam Sunder Sharma, a relative of former President S D Sharma, Harvinder Chopra, Chartered Accountant in Piccadilly Industries owned by Manu's father, Yograj Singh, father of cricketer Yuvraj Singh and Vikas Gill, who absconded after the appeal was filed, businessman Raja Chopra and Aloke Khanna, formerly an executive in an multinational company. All these accused were mainly charged with harbouring Manu Sharma and destruction of evidence. Dismissing the appeal against their acquittal by the trial court, the court had said the prosecution had not been able to bring home its case against them. Dealing with the charges levelled against them separately, the court concluded that allegations that they, at different point of time after the incident, harboured Manu Sharma were not supported by prosecution witnesses. The other two convicts - Vikas Yadav, son of controversial Uttar Pradesh politician D P Yadav, and Amardeep Singh Gill alias Tony, an executive with multinational company, were sentenced to four years imprisonment with a fine of Rs 3,000 each for conspiring to destroy the evidence. The 32-year-old model, Jessica Lal, was shot dead by Manu at the South Delhi's Tamarind Court restaurant and bar owned by socialite Bina Ramani, who became key witness in the case.
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Free stay at night shelters for two months New Delhi, December 20 The civic body at a meeting of its Standing Committee today passed a resolution stating that night shelters would be made free from January one to February 28. Currently people have to pay Rs 6 for a night stay at these shelters. Members of the Standing Committee also demanded that separate shelters should be made for women on a permanent basis. “Apart from this, the total number of shelters should also be increased,” the Leader of the House, Mr Jiten Kocchar, said.
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Mist, breeze add to the chill factor New Delhi, December 20 There was a slight fog during the early hours and as a result visibility dipped to 400 m. It, however, improved with day break, the Met office said here. The maximum temperature yesterday was 26.1 degrees Celsius, three degrees below the normal.
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Verdict in councillor’s murder case today New Delhi, December 20 Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Bharat Parashar, who was to deliver the verdict in the case on December 14, had adjourned it for December 21. The arguments in the case were completed on November 27, wrapping up 13 dates of hearing. A total of nine accused, including the then Keshavpuram councillor Sharda Jain, her brother Raj Kumar and three UP policemen, were named accused in the case of murder which took place on August 24, 2002. According to the chargesheet, a conspiracy was hatched by Jain with her brother, one former village head Roshan Singh and one Rajender to eliminate Trinagar councillor Gupta after she became jealous of his growing affinity with another woman councillor Memwati Barwala. “Jain felt that Gupta by promoting Barwala was bent on to destroy her political career,” it said.
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‘Municipal elections
to be held in March’ New Delhi, December 20 Taking the civic body elections seriously, the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Delhi, Mr Ashok Gehlot, held a meeting today with the Chief Minister of Delhi, Ms Sheila Dikshit, local MPs and ministers. At the meeting, the leadership decided not to postpone the elections as it would send a wrong message among the citizens of Delhi, sources said. The meeting was also attended by the DPCC President, Mr Ram Babu Sharma, who reportedly emphasised upon implementation of Delhi Master Plan 2021 by January 31, lowering of conversion charges of commercial properties and regularisation of over 1500 unauthorised colonies at the earliest. The sources said the sealing and demolition drives in the Capital have tarnished the image of the party in the Capital. To clean its image as 'pro-people', the party should notify the new Master Plan, the sources said. The Congress also decided to organise a workers' convention in the city to show its strength. The Chief Minister and the DPCC president have also been asked to work together to win the election, sources said. Meanwhile, the delimitation work of the Municipal Wards has not yet been completed. Raising objections on the delimitation committee, the Union Law Ministry's Secretary sought map of all the municipal wards before giving a final touch to the report. He had sent the report back to the Chief Electoral Officer, NCT government of Delhi. Instead of giving maps of the wards to the Union Law Ministry, the Chief electoral officer submitted the report before the Lt Governor of Delhi, Mr B. L. Joshi, saying that no change could be made in the report before making it public. The Election Commissioner also said, “The work of delimitation is privilege of Lt. Governor and it cannot be changed.” At present, the report is lying with the Chief Minister of Delhi, sources said. |
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MCD to seek clarification from Centre New Delhi, December 20 The Municipal Commissioner made this assurance after he was questioned by the Congress Councillor, Mr Brij Mohan Sharma, about the status of the Chandni Chowk, known for fancy and wholesale cloth market. He pointed out that the shopkeepers of the market had received registration forms to declare their business, which was mandatory for the notified roads. Not only Chandni Chowk but also the entire Walled City had been declared as commercial area in 1962 Master Plan of Delhi, he claimed. Giving answer to the councillor's question in the Standing Committee meeting, the Municipal Commissioner admitted that Chandni Chowk was notified for commercial usage in the 1962 Master Plan, but had been put under the mixed land use and residential usage category via the civic body's September notifications. In this scenario, traders on these roads would have to pay conversion charges to get their units regularised. “We would thus approach the Union Urban Development Ministry and seek a clarification on this issue. If it's a commercial area, the shopkeepers will be given relief,” Mr Nigam said. Councillors across the party line also raised objections to the online registration of commercial establishments saying that it was not viable for all shopkeepers. Following this, the Standing Committee Chairman, Mr J. K. Sharma, assured that the MCD would soon approach the Supreme Court to seek an extension to the last date of filing forms which was at present December 31.
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Capital to have
self-assessed regularisation plan New Delhi, December 20 In this scheme, the building plans submitted need to have signatures of both the owners and an architect who has verified the property along with photographs of the premises which clearly demarcate the unauthorised and authorised portions, senior officials said today. The plans need to be submitted with certain documents including ownership papers, structural safety certificate, and separate affidavits by the architects and owners. For the convenience of survey or verification, the plans should have the unauthorised constructions demarcated in yellow and the ones, which were The owners have to remove the unauthorised constructions themselves. While one copy would be given to the owners, the second one would go to the MCD House Tax department and the third one would be kept with the civic body. The civic body proposes to bring out a notification to this effect by Friday, they added. The MCD would carry out random checking of the premises and there would be as such no site verification. |
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New Delhi, December 20 A country-made loaded pistol, a live cartridge, and two iron rods have allegedly been recovered from them. Following a tip-off, the trio was arrested near Salvan Public School while they were allegedly planning to loot a petrol pump.—OC
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Man awarded 10 years’ RI for raping minor girl New Delhi, December 20 The Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) held Gopal Ram guilty of the offence and slapped a fine of Rs 1,000 on him. “The credibility of the deposition statement of the eight-year-old-prosecutrix, her father and mother has remained unimpeached. Coupled with the medical evidence, the only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that the accused committed a heinous crime (rape) on the minor girl,” the judge said in his order. According to the prosecution, Gopal Ram, on the night of May 20, 2000, forcibly took the girl after giving her a ten rupee note. She was alone in her room, as her parents had gone out. He took her to his house and raped her. He was arrested on the same day. The prosecution produced sixteen witnesses to prove its case.
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Delhi to get BRTS corridor by next year New Delhi, December 20 The Delhi Transport and Power Minister, Mr Haroon Yusuf, while speaking at a function to felicitate the elderly, organised by The Eminent, a non-government organisation, late yesterday evening said, "The first BRTS corridor will be introduced between Ambedkar Nagar and Delhi Gate. This corridor will be exclusively for the buses and help in enhanced mobility of the buses besides improving the frequency of the bus service. Mr Yusuf, while launching a magazine, "Inspire", dedicated to the elderly and brought out by The Eminent, said apart from the introduction of BRTS, the Delhi Government had also ordered new low-floor buses for the benefit of the elderly and women. Due to low-floor steps, it would be easy for commuters to climb and get down on these buses. Mr Yusuf said a high-capacity bus was already running on 'normal' roads from Hauz Khas to Madras Hotel and 12 new routes, like outer Mudrikas and those in South and East Delhi, had already been finalised for the new buses. More routes were going to be decided soon. "Being low-floor buses, the height of speed-breakers on these routes would have to be checked." The Delhi Transport and Power Minister honoured senior citizens, including 92-year-old Savitri Gupta, daughter of veteran freedom fighter Shyam Sunder and the next door neighbour of Indira Gandhi in Allahabad, Mr Brij Lal Singh, 85, whose son laid down his life during the Kargil war, and Mr Rajender Singh Faujdar, 70, father of another Kargil war hero. Dr A. K. Aggarwal, president, The Eminent, said, "The main aim of felicitating the elderly is to bring them back to the mainstream and express feelings of support to them.”
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CM inaugurates animal home New Delhi, December 20 Praising the work of the SPCA in providing protection to the animals against cruelty, Ms Dikshit said, “The organisation has been able to record revenue collection of Rs three crore as penalty from offenders through court since 1999 against Rs 52 lakhs garnered during the past 23 years.” The SPCA has set up a new housing complex comprising six enclosures having a large underground tank for proper and hygienic disposal of cowdung to be converted into manure, said an official from the NGO.
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Cell phones’ loot registered as mere theft Noida, December 20 Accused Surinder and Joginder, who were caught on Monday night, told the police that they had entered the godown of Sony Erricson along with two accomplices. Three guards were locked by them in the guard room at the point of guns. They had taken out the phones and fled after putting them into sacks on December 14. This armed loot was registered as a theft by the Phase-II police. The police officials claimed to have recovered only 452 cell phones. The criminals are being interrogated to find out the remaining phones. Earlier also, criminals are known to have overpowered the security guards and looted factories in hosiery complex and a transformer manufacturer. They had even taken away the rifles of the cops along with goods worth crores of rupees. The police have not been able to nab any of these criminals.
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HP to help Delhi in meeting water demand New Delhi, December 20 Speaking at the meeting of the Irrigation and Water Resources Ministers of Upper Yamuna Basin states here, Himachal Pradesh Irrigation Minister Thakur Kaul Singh said Delhi Government had accorded highest priority to the construction of Renuka Ji Dam in Sirmour district to solve its water problems. He said the tentative revised cost of the dam was Rs 2,911.70 crore and Delhi Government had agreed to meet the cost. Mr Singh said that Delhi Government had also agreed to meet the revised cost of environment and forest clearance besides relief and rehabilitation plans.
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Haryana govt to honour 102 girls New Delhi, December 20 Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will present appreciation letters to girl achievers, at the programme organised by the state Women and Child Development Department. On the occasion, Babita of Sonipat district would be honoured for her act of bravery in saving several schoolchildren from a bus that had fallen into a river. Swati Tyagi, Sarita Tyagi, Neelam Rani and Sushma Rani from Kaithal district would get the award for raising voice against child marriage. Suman Chopra would be honoured for fighting against her physical disability and Sarita Verma and Jagriti for their remarkable performances in sports. Sanjouli from Karnal would get the award for a documentary film on female foeticide.
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Couple charred to death, children injured Gurgaon, December 20 By the time a fire brigade arrived, the couple were charred to death. The three kids aged between one year to three years were rescued with severe burnt injuries. They were referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. The couple were migrant labourers residing in a 'jhuggi' near Malibu Towne. There is a cluster of about 40 jhugies at the site.
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Trader’s body awaits cremation Noida, December 20 On arrival of a son of the deceased businessman from the USA, the tangle will be solved. The children refused to accept late Bhargava's second wife as their mother. The widow of 83-year-old K.L. Bhargava had brought his body to Kailash Hospital on Sunday claiming that she was wife of the deceased K.L. Bhargava. Meanwhile, late Bhargava's sons have told the hospital management not to allow anybody else to take away the body of their father. Dr Mahesh Sharma, CMD of Kailash Hospital, said Mr Bhargava was being treated for some time. After his death, his sons from Indore, the USA and his son-in-law in Noida, told the hospital authorities not to hand over the body of Mr Bhargava to anybody else. Dr Sharma said he has informed the police and the body has been kept in the mortuary of the hospital. Mr Bhargava had married the sister-in-law of his sister in 1955 after the death of his first wife. Now a dispute over the property between the second wife and children of the first has erupted.
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