The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood

	Crime up by 3.6 per cent in Capital Though police claim a decline in crime against senior citizens and rape cases Our Correspondent New Delhi, January 5 Despite claiming intensive policing by the police, IPC crime has shot up by 3.6 per cent this year, the encouraging news has been that crime against senior citizens declined by 20 per cent, rape cases declined by 9 per cent, house robberies declined by 6 per cent. Addressing the annual press conference, the Commissioner of Delhi Police, Dr K.K. Paul, said that despite the severe social turmoil almost throughout the last year, the public order as well as law and order was maintained. During the last couple of years, the department adopted a proactive and a problem solving approach where a fine balance was maintained between the rights and needs of citizens. Special efforts were made to promote community policing in all the districts in various forms, he claimed. Today while each police station in Delhi gives out a computerised FIR, a beginning has been made on Simputers for printed traffic challans given on the spot of the violation of traffic rules. He said that their emphasis on fair registration of complaints had continued. As against an increase of 4.56 per cent crime recorded last year, there was an increase of 3.60 per cent in IPC crime, while the heinous crime increased by 1.21 per cent. In over all terms, the proportion of heinous and violent crime to the total crime remained much less than some of other cities and also below the national average. Dacoities showed a decline of 13 cases, while murder with increase of 10 cases remained more or less at same level, attempt to murder cases increased by 41 (some of them were of police encounters), robberies increased by 18 cases, while right cases increased by 30 cases due to public protests in various places in the Capital. M. V. theft increased by 5.76 per cent due to increase in the number of vehicles by 5.43 per cent. Snatching of chains, mobiles and bags also recorded a significant increase. During last year, only one case of explosion, from inside the Jama Masjid, was reported but no was killed in the explosion, which was of only a minor intensity. “It was, however, to the credit of the Delhi Police that in the last year, 30 militants of different outfits were arrested. In order to prevent the incident of rape and molestation, a number of steps were initiated by all districts police that included increased deployment near girl colleges and women hostels an also deployment of lady police beat constable in sensitive and vulnerable areas,” he said.
	Delhi Police march ahead with technology Nalini Ranjan New Delhi, January 5 Nearly three years ago, the Delhi Police had embarked on visionary journey of modernisation, the vision being the transformation of this organisation into a more effective, efficient and responsive organisation through the use of state-of-the-art technologies. Installation of CCTV systems in busy markets had given a multiplier effect to beat policing as well as security surveillance. A number of cases had already been worked out after installing the system. “Computerised Remote Identification of Suspects (CRIS) is a biometric sensor-based inkless fingerprint recording, transmitting and comparing system. The system is at present installed only at nine locations. It will be taken to all police stations of the Capital before the end of the current financial year”, said Dr K. K. Paul, Commissioner, Delhi Police. The newly introduced Zipnet and Simputers were working very well. On Zipnet, a search engine was provided for online verification of suspected mobile handsets. This enabled the investigating officers to speed up the recovery of such mobile phones and discouraged gray market of missing or stolen mobile phones. Through Simputers, prevention of traffic violation had been done successfully. Variable message signs had been developed for conveying traffic related messages for guidance of the public. The traffic monitoring system inaugurated recently would help in the smooth flow of traffic in the Capital. The system was being further expanded. Red light speed cameras had been installed at nine places. There were some dummies, too, as a matter of strategy, as also to deter violators. In order to ensure better attention towards the investigation of cases and as a step towards achieving separation of crime investigation from law and order, a post of Inspector of Investigation had been created at all police stations. A third passport office at Pitampura commenced operations successfully. The passport information system was further streamlined through the service of SMS. Wireless integrated public address system had been extended and was being used to its full potential. Keeping in view the emerging scenario in the cyber world, the Delhi Police had also set up two dedicated cyber forensic labs at Malviya Nagar and Lodhi Colony with fully trained staffs, said the Commissioner.
	300-member team to check heinous crime Cyber cell may be formed in Haryana Abhay Jain Gurgaon, January 5 A separate team, headed by Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order), has been formed to deal with heinous crime in the state. A team of around 300 highly experienced members consists of one Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), two Superintendents of Police (SP), 20 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) and other junior staff, revealed Haryana Director General of Police Ranjiv Singh Dalal. While addressing the media persons, the DGP said that this team would deal with heinous criminal cases and take preventive measures to check them throughout the state. He claimed that a number of changes are being carried out to make Haryana police one of the best police forces in the country. Mr Dalal added that the complainant would not have to come to the police station to get the copy of FIR as he can download it from Haryana police website after a couple of months. A system is also being developed so that one can lodge one’s complaint via e-mail. Thus, precious time of the complainant would be saved and the complaint of harassment by the police department would be wiped out, added Mr Dalal. All 219 police stations of the state have been linked with Wide Area Network (WAN). The personal record, official record and other data of the police personnel (around 40,000) of the state have been computerized for better management and supervision, added the officer. The long-pending demand of forming cyber cell in the state would soon be fulfilled as the state, particularly Gurgaon, has a lot of IT and IT-Enabled Service (ITes) centres, revealed Mr Dalal. Addressing a state-level function on the occasion of 18th National Road Safety Week, from January 1 to 7 here today, Mr Dalal lamented that around 86,000 serious accidents happen every year and about 4 lakh people get wounded while one lakh die in these mishaps. Here it is pertinent to point out that around 20,000 persons are murdered in India every year. The country suffers a loss of approximately Rs 36,000 crore due to these accidents. About 40 per cent of the accidents take place on National Highways, added the officer. The National Highway Nos 1, 2, 8, 10 and 22 pass through Haryana and about 2,000 people die in road accidents on these stretches and about 2,700 persons are injured seriously every year, added the officer. Each district in Haryana has one traffic police station whereas Gurgaon and Faridabad have two such stations with facilities like Gypsy, ambulance, cranes, para-medics, etc for better management of traffic on the these roads. He felt satisfied that the road accidents and the death on the national highways falling in Haryana had decreased during 2006. There has been a decrease of 242 in road accidents, 25 in number of death and 232 in number of injured during 2006 compared to 2005, added the officer. Mr Yash Sachdeva, Additional General Manager (Urban Transport), Rites Limited, gave a detailed presentation on the increasing traffic problems in the city of Gurgaon. While highlighting numerous problems being faced by the commuters here, he suggested that the existing roads should be widened and more connecting roads with Delhi found and built. A lot of parking space has to be identified and developed, various encroachments have to be removed and regular training to the vehicle owners have to be provided to make driving a pleasant exercise, added Mr Sachdeva. Presiding over the function, Mr Avtar Singh, Commissioner, Gurgaon Range, said that the senior government officials, junior officers and public have to be very sensitive to the traffic problems and should work jointly to resolve the issue. Inspector General of Police, Gurgaon Range, Mohinder Lal, local MLA Mr Dharambir Gauba, Pataudi MLA Chaudhary Bhupinder Singh, and other experts also spoke on the occasion.
	CAIT seeks review of Master Plan 2021, meets Acting L-G Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 5 “The Master Plan Delhi 2021 should be reviewed and drafted in a manner which addresses the burning issues being confronted by the trading community. Therefore, suitable amendments in the proposed draft are required”, said a delegation of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which met the Delhi Acting Lieutenant-Governor, Mr A. R. Kidwai, here today. The delegation, led by CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal, comprised of leading trade leaders — Mr Murli Mani, Mr Ramesh Khanna, Mr Narender Madan, Mr Vijay Pal, Mr Suresh Bindal, Mr Ramesh Ahuja, Mr Satinder Wadhwa, Mr Kailash Gupta, Mr Vijay Narang and Mr Sushil Goel. While talking to the delegates, Mr Kidwai maintained Delhi had a special character as far as trade was concerned and its distributive nature of business needed protection for all such traders who had been operating their business since decades. Trade was the backbone of Delhi’s economy and for want of policy such trade establishments should not be disturbed even from a human angle. Therefore, every effort would be made to make Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021 a true guide for the systematic future development of Delhi. Prior to this, while submitting a detailed memorandum to Mr Kidwai, the CAIT team stressed on regularisation of all business establishments existing as on December 31, 2006, without any categorisation in order to uphold the assurance given by Mr Jaipal Reddy in Parliament in its last session towards bringing suitable amendments in MPD 2021 for providing relief to traders from sealing. The delegation also demanded commercial activities should be allowed in industrial areas whereas computer centres, coaching centres and other similar activities should be allowed in all areas. A rehabilitation package for traders falling in the negative and other category should be spelled out in the Master Plan. The list of negative category and professional category should be re-drafted. The delegation also demanded roads having width of 80 ft and above and along the sides of the Metro network should be declared as “commercial corridors”. The delegation also demanded areas of the Walled City and its extensions, Karol Bagh, Shahdara town along with pre-1962 and pre-DDA Act colonies should be declared commercial areas with no provision of any conversion charge. It was also demanded that 1,472 unauthorised colonies identified by the DDA should be regularised immediately and pedestrians’ shopping streets should be declared commercial streets.
	SC dismisses petition on kids’ interview Legal Correspondent New Delhi, January 5 The Supreme Court today refused to interfere in the Delhi High Court order doing away with the compulsory interview of tiny tots by private schools in the Capital and rejected an appeal of two schools in this regard. The High Court had in its directives of August 12 and October 17 had put a blanket ban on interviews of children and their parents at the time of admission in nursery classes. In the wake of its directives, the High Court had appointed a committee under CBSC Director Ashok Ganguly to suggest measures to make the admission process simpler without putting any pressure on small kids. The Apex Court Bench, comprising Chief Justice designate K G Balakrishnan and Mr Justice D K Jain, dismissed the appeal of the school managements at admission stage, saying no interference was called for in the matter. However, the court said that the school managements were free to take up the matter with the High Court again regarding the recommendations made by Ganguly Committee. The Committee had proposed a series of measures to dispense with the practice of interviewing tiny tots. The school managements had challenged the High Court directives on the ground that it would interfere in the autonomy with private educational institutions not getting any aid from the government. They also termed the report of Ganguly Committee as “self-contradictory” and claimed that the system of interviewing children and parents was working satisfactorily. The Court had directed the schools to adhere to the Ganguly Committee report within a year. Several parent association had objected to the children’s and parents interviews that put unnecessary pressure on children. Many of them had alleged that the real motive of the interviews was to negotiate for donation, which had been declared illegal by the Court in an earlier judgement.
	88.4 per cent children aged 6 enrolled in schools: Report Charu Singh Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 5 Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairperson of Planning Commission, released the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), 2006 at Vishwa Yuvak Kendra here today. The function was attended by dignitaries like Mr Eimar Barr, the UNICEF representative; Mr Champak Chatterji, secretary school education and literacy, MHRD, New Delhi, and Dr Madhav Chavan, director programmes, Pratham, Mumbai. The report focuses on a citizen’s initiative to understand the status of elementary education in India. Some 15,610 villages; 3,18,761 households; 3,13,135 mothers and 7,58,028 children were surveyed in October and November 2006. ASER unveiled the fact that some 68.6 per cent children aged four and below are enrolled in anganwadi or balwadi schools. While, some 46.6 per cent children aged five are enrolled in Std one in the above schools. By the age of 6 the school enrollment of children in India is 88.4 per cent. Mr Ahluwalia commented, “ASER has contributed significantly in the second consecutive year. I believe that states and districts will make efforts to deliver better quality of education and measure the improvements in learning through internal and external evaluations.” He added, “I firmly believe that this survey will play an important role in realising what is happening at the grass root level. ” UNICEF representative Mr Barr observed, “UNICEF welcomes ASER 2006 as an important contribution in assessing elementary education in India. Pratham is to be commended for spearheading this.” States such as Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab and Haryana have shown significant progress in the area of learning achievement in Std I and II. Among these, MP has shown the most remarkable achievement by climbing from the list of bottom 5 to top five.
	Bad quality water in slums: NHRC asks Delhi Govt to clarify Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 5 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has asked the Delhi Government to comment on a news report on the quality of water supplied to slum clusters and resettlement colonies. Taking suo motu cognisance of a news report, the Commission has asked the Chief Secretary, Delhi Government and the Chairman, Delhi Jal Board, to send their comments within a month. Quoting the findings of a survey conducted by a non-government organisation, the report said that 92 per cent of water samples collected from five slum clusters and six resettlement colonies were not fit for human consumption.
	Faridabad residents clamour for CNG bus service Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Faridabad, January 5 Certain social bodies and local residents have demanded for the CNG-based bus service and a ban on the plying of diesel-operated three-wheeler auto rickshaws in the city to contain pollution here. They have also opposed the proposal of the Haryana Transport department to construct new bus stands in Sector 12 here and asked the government to shift the project to some other place to prevent traffic chaos and pollution in an area located in the heart of the city. The demand for local bus service operated by the Haryana Roadways has been long pending, leading to the mushrooming of over 20,000 diesel-operated autos in the city. The authorities have proposed to open about a dozen CNG outlets, but nothing is certain about the deadline. Office-bearers of the Manav Sewa Samiti and the Abhibhawak Ekta Manch have decided to write to the Chief Minister regarding the demand for CNG bus service in the city. They feel that the move to allow private bus operators to run mini-bus service on local routes has failed to provide relief to the commuters who are forced to take three-wheelers. It may be recalled that there is a distance of around 15 to 20 kms between several parts of the city. “The pollution level in the city is above all norms and it could be checked only if tough measures similar to those taken in Delhi are implemented here,” claims Mr Sharma, an advocate here. He said the district administration was yet to take measures to check pollution caused by autos and other commercial vehicles. Though the department has started several CNG buses, they ply mainly between Faridabad and Delhi. Transport Minister of Haryana, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, on a visit here on Tuesday had announced to set up two ultramodern bus stands in the 11.5-acre land lying vacant near the district headquarters office after flagging off eight CNG buses. It had been announced that the new bus stands would be constructed by a private company on Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis and by the transport department on the plot measuring about 11.5 acres. This plot which had been owned by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had been transferred to the Transport Department a few months back. While it is located in the vicinity of famous Town Park and Mini-Secretariat, the space has been used for various purposes, including holding of public meetings, and religious and social events. However, the decision has been opposed and described as an attempt to destroy peace here. Shailender of ‘Punarjagarn Sanstha’, a social body, said that it was a wrong decision and asked the government to set up new bus stands near Bata Chowk and the proposed bypass road across Gurgaon Canal, for providing better connectivity.
	Protest against W Bengal Govt Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 5 The Delhi Committee of the CPI (ML)-New Democracy organised a protest at Jantar-Mantar against “forcible land acquisition policy of West Bengal’s government and the repression it has let loose on fighting peasantry of Nandigram and Singur”. Protestors raised slogans against West Bengal’s government service of not only corporate house Tata but also Multinational Salem Group, a press release stated. Speakers condemned the CPM-led West Bengal government for ‘starting’ land acquisition in Nandigram while ‘falsely’ assuring people of Bengal during Singur agitation that the issue of land acquisition would be fully debated.
	Parkash Utsav celebrated with fervour Tribune News Service New Delhi, January 5 The Parkash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh was celebrated in the Capital with great religious devotion and dedication. The main function was held by the DSGMC at Lakhi Shah Vanjara Hall in Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib. Special arrangements of path and kirtan were made in all gurdwaras in the Capital. Free food (langar) and sweets were also served. A meeting of the Shiromani Gurdwara Sewadar Committee was held at Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Vishnu Garden, New Delhi. The committee president, Jathedar Raja Singh Sethi, congratulated people on the Parkash Utsav of Guru Gobind Singh and asked the people to follow the teachings of love, harmony and unity as preached by the great guru. He also appealed to the Sikh Sangat of Delhi to vote and support those candidates who follow the Sikh code of conduct in the forthcoming elections of the DSGMC. Jathedar Sethi is also a candidate from Vishnu Garden.