Haily Mandi (Gurgaon), January 22
Led by Congress MLA Bhupinder Chaudhary, prominent persons from the Pataudi assembly segment in which Haily Mandi falls, installed another bust of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar today by replacing the one which had been broken by certain unidentified anti-social elements. However, the Joint Action Committee, constituted by local persons and followers of Dr Ambedkar to spearhead the agitation to press for action against those responsible for defiling the statue, continued with its sit-in dharna for the second day today at Dr Ambedkar Bhawan.

The leader of the Joint Action Committee, Mr Ram Kishan Rewaria, said the administration had sought 24 hours’ time yesterday to arrest the culprits. But, as this had not happened, the dharna was continuing.

Members of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also took out a procession and pressed for action against the culprits.

Dr Ambedkar’s bust, installed at Dr Ambedkar Bhawan here, was broken on Saturday. It had triggered an agitation yesterday in which followers of Dr Ambedkar indulged in blocking the roads for several hours and pelted stones on the vehicles passing by.

However, this morning elected sarpanches of Haily Mandi and Pataudi revenue blocks, cutting across party lines, assembled here at the initiative of the local Congress MLA and decided to install a new bust of Dr Ambedkar. They prevailed upon some elements who were adamant that the Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, should install the bust. The installation was done by the MLA.

Later, the MLA, local elected representatives of Panchayati Raj institutions and other prominent persons issued a statement making an appeal to the police to take immediate action against those outside elements who were trying to stoke anti-social elements here.

They condemned the sacrilegious act. They also alleged anti-social elements from outside were trying to disturb the peace and tranquility of Haily Mandi for the past three days. These forces were not happy with the slew of development projects initiated by the present government. Hence, they were trying to orchestrate and foment trouble and violence.

They cautioned the anti-social elements.

Meanwhile, the police said they had already registered a case in connection with the sacrilege and were trying to identify the culprits. They warned strict punitive action would be taken against those found guilty.

Faridabad, January 22
The Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, a parents’ body, has decided to expose the various flaws in the government policy while enforcing the Education Rules 2003 through a campaign. The manch has asked the state government to fix a cap on the increase in fees and other charges by the private schools and educational institutions annually through a Bill. There were about 75 private schools located on government land allotted to them here.

Reacting to an order issued by the Director, School Education, Haryana, recently, the president of the manch, Mr O. P. Sharma, said the issuance of directions regarding the submission of details about the fee structure each year by private schools to the education department authorities may be a welcome step, but claimed such orders carried value when the management of the institutions followed these and had a regard for various rules. He said it was surprising three prominent schools here, which had been derecognised by the Haryana Government in October last for violations of the Rules, had been given relief by the office of the Financial Commissioner, Schools Education, by withdrawing the derecognition order within a period of one month due to political pressure.

The manch had brought the issue to the notice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where a PIL had been pending. According to it, the court has asked the education department to submit a reply before it on March 24, the next date of hearing. The manch has alleged exploitation through exorbitant fee structure and violations of the rules framed by the state government and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) by the various schools which were allotted land in sectors on subsidised rates.

While the manch has demanded strict implementation of the rules already framed and legislation for checking the fee rise and other charges by the schools from students, it has asked senior officials to abstain from attending any function organised by the tainted schools to give an indication that the violations will not be tolerated at any cost. It has been alleged the schools which challenge the authority of the education department normally invite senior officials of the government as chief guest at various functions to avoid any action against them.

According to the directions of the department, schools should provide 20 to 25 per cent reservation to students coming from weaker sections. The fee structure should be framed after talking to the Parents’ Association and as per the bylaws of the CBSE. It is said schools should not run a shop or any outlet selling uniforms and books on the campus.

Following the rules framed by the Haryana Government, the schools here could not refuse inspection of the records, including the submission of details regarding the fee structure to the competent authorities. Any violation would make the schools liable for action under Rule 43 of the Haryana School Education Rules Act, 2003.

New Delhi, January 22
The Shilpa Shetty-Jade Goody episode happened thousands of kilometers away from our country but can you imagine a case of racial discrimination at the hands of a foreigner happening in our country and at a place few kilometers away from this cosmopolitan city?

The episode came to light in the Greater Noida Expressway area yesterday where a four-day international exhibition on garment technology was on at the Expo Mart.

A Delhi-based journalist, Kiran Mundra, was invited to the exhibition by a participant company to cover the event.

The inviting company had promised to make arrangements for dropping her at her residence after the completion of the event. To her surprise, when she came out from the exhibition venue at around 9 in the night, no drop facility was available.

Seeing no alternative in sight, she approached a luxury bus (DLIP A 6831) parked outside the exhibition site. She requested the driver of the bus to drop her at a place from where she could take a bus or hire an auto to her destination.

Despite her repeated requests, a foreigner was reluctant to let her board on the bus on the ground that she was an Indian. She said an Indian could not be allowed on board the bus as the vehicle was reserved for foreigners.

“The driver of the bus, a Punjabi, made efforts to let her in but the woman and her fellow passengers refused to let me get on the bus. I had to spend the night outside the exhibition site”, said Mundra. “If they have the audacity to behave like this in our country, what one can expect from them in their country”, she wondered. 

Faridabad, January 22
The decision to shift the work of maintenance of the 66 KV substations from the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) to the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), without the provision of staff, has caused resentment among the employees of the power department. The employees’ body has announced to oppose the move until the staff of the substations was transferred and no outsourcing was done to look after the work of substations. The work of maintenance of the substations had been with the HVPN, an entity of the power utilities of the state.

The government has proposed to hand over the work of 66 KV substations to the UHBVN and the DHBVN from April 1. The value of the property to be shifted is stated to be worth Rs 280 crore.

While it is reported that the work of maintenance of the substations above the 66 KV capacity would be with the HVPN, the decision of shifting the 97 substations of 66 KV capacity was communicated recently by the office of the company secretary of the power department after a meeting of the Board of Directors.

The letter has been sent to the heads of the UHBVN and DHBVN, stating that the work of maintenance would be done by these bodies from April onwards. But what has infuriated the ‘All Haryana Power Corporations Workers Union’ is that there has been no mention of the transfer of the staff employed to do the maintenance of these substations.

The union has opposed the transfer of the substations without the staff, stating that there was already a crunch of employee strength in the UHBVN and the DHBVN and there was no justification in this move. Claiming that there have been about 1,100 employees looking after the work of 66 KV substations in the HVPN and without their transfer, the work could not be done properly, as there have been no such staff with the Nigams engaged in supply work.

Alleging that the higher authorities either wanted to retrench such a staff and go for outsourcing to do this

job later, he said this development could further affect the morale of the employees, who were already doing additional work due to the shortage of employees in the department.

At least 25,000 posts in the department have been lying vacant, it is added. Stating that the union was not taken into confidence before taking such an important decision, the union has claimed that a top official of the HVPN had also opposed such a move and the decision was taken amidst protest.

The employees’ body has announced to hold a meeting of its Executive Body on January 28 at Bhiwani to chalk out its strategy on the matter.

Ghaziabad, January 22
While investigations into the disappearance of Meerut’s Dr Kavita Rani and Noida’s Nithari killings are still going on, a schoolteacher in Meerut has reportedly been found involved in a pornography racket.

While in Nithari children and girls were sexually abused before they were savagely killed, the case of Dr Kavita, a college lecturer, had highlighted the craze for sex and making money through blue CDs.

In the latest case, a teacher let go of all decency and morality to exploit one of his young students of class XII who used to come to him for tuition. The teacher had reportedly offered the student a drug-laced drink. When he fell unconscious, the teacher not only had unnatural sex with him but also took some snaps and shot a movie. The teacher is reported to have exploited and blackmailed the student.

He did not stop there, but extorted Rs 40,000 from him under duress. The tutor is further reported to have forced the boy to sell his blood for money. When the teacher thought he had the student in his clutches, he even asked him to market some fake currency notes.

Fed up with the exploitation, the boy told his family everything. When his family contacted the police, their attempts to get an FIR registered were fobbed off. At this, the student’s family met the SSP to lodge a complaint against the police.

The police have registered a case against the teacher after the SSP’s orders.

According to sources, Sanjay, son of Inderpal Singh, resident of Nizampur Khadoi village under the Sambhawali police station in Ghaziabad, who was a teacher in a public school in Meerut, used to take tuition. A class XII student of Kisan Inter College used to go to Sanjay for tuition in the afternoon.

One day, Sanjay called him alone for tuition and gave him drug-laced tea to drink. As the student fell unconscious, tutor Sanjay reportedly performed an unnatural sex act with the boy. He took photographs and shot a movie, too. When the student came around, he was threatened with death. After that day, Sanjay regularly abused and blackmailed the student. The police are interrogating the teacher. 

Are you planning to go abroad and stay connected without paying any roaming charges? Yes, there are companies who have an extensive global customer base and who provide you SIM cards for the countries you intend to visit and charge you in Indian currency on your return.

“We provide local mobile phones and SIM cards for 23 countries, including the UK, the USA, China, Singapore, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Greece and Sri Lanka. The mobile communication services we provide are up to 60 per cent cheaper than one’s own international roaming number”, says Ms Himani Seith of Falcon Business Resources.

“After the launch of our operations in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, we plan to expand our business in Chandigarh and Punjab. We initially intend to serve corporate clients,” says Ms Seith. Falcon Business Resources was established in 1983 and is the world’s leading phone rental specialist. Clay Solution is a division of Falcon Business Resources that takes care of its international communication services.

It has alliances with over 20 networks worldwide and provides a range of global rental solutions and different airtime proportions.

“Our corporate mission is to provide the best mobile solutions anywhere,” she adds. Comparing the international roaming and local solution, she says that if a client travelling from India to England carries a SIM card from Clay International and his friend carries his own SIM card using international roaming, the former would end up saving Rs 37.05 per minute for calls made on the same network and landline.

With TmobileSIM card of Clay, he will spend 12 pence while his friend using Indian SIM card with international roaming will pay 55 pence.

For making a call to India from England, the one using TMobileSIM card will spend 77 pence while the other using the Indian card will spend two pounds and 12 pence. While all incoming calls on TMobileSIM card are free, his friend will pay 40 pence per incoming call.

“Our clients get all their incoming calls free and all cards given by Falcon Business Resources are VAT- free,” reveals Ms Seith, holding that “in Europe to buy a charge card, one has to pay a minimum of 40 to 50 Euros while our clients pay a monthly rent of 7 pounds and pay for what they use.

In a nutshell, carrying international cards from India for a specific country works out to a minimum 20 per cent cheaper than taking call cards from outside. They work out to a minimum 40 per to 60 per cent cheaper compared to carrying Indian SIM cards with international roaming,” she adds.

New Delhi, January 22
With the arrest of four persons—Miraaz (23), Sushai Nathan (26), Narain (25) and Vishal Nischal (31), the South district police today claimed to have solved a sensational murder case of a senior citizen about one month back.

With their arrest, stolen cell phone, jewellery worth Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000 were also recovered.

It was a blind murder case of an old woman Sneh Lata, a resident of Kalkaji area.

During investigations, it was found that the son of the deceased Akhil had been deserted by the family and he was also in the jail in a case of cheating.

The investigation further revealed that his other accomplices were also in jail for committing other crimes.

Following a tip-off, Akhil was apprehended on the basis of suspicion but after sustained interrogation, he broke down and accepted his crime. 

New Delhi, January 22
The South-West district police today claimed to have busted a gang of auto-lifters with the arrest of two members of the gang – Harvinder Pal Singh (27) and Tajender Singh (30) from Mayapuri area. Another three persons – Ranjet Singh (25), Surjan Singh (26) and Jaswinder (24) who

allegedly used to change the number plates of the stolen vehicles, were also arrested at the instance of the duo.

Six stolen luxurious cars have allegedly been recovered from them. Following a tip-off that stolen cars would be disposed off in Mayapuri area, all five persons were apprehended red-handed. A Honda City car, one of the stolen vehicles recovered from them, was found to be stolen from Rithala Metro Station.

During interrogation, they allegedly confessed to having been involved in several incidents of car theft and snatching in various parts of the Capital like Badar Pur, Hari Nagar, Tilak Nagar and Vikaspuri. 

New Delhi, January 22
A special CBI court today sentenced a junior MCD engineer to five years rigorous imprisonment for demanding and accepting bribe.

Special CBI judge Sunil Gaur convicted Rajpal Sharma for accepting bribe of Rs 20,000 from the complainant. Sharma was also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000.

Sharma was arrested red-handed while accepting Rs 20,000 on May 14, 1999 from Mr Raj Kumar Sodhi.— OC

New Delhi, January 22
The Supreme Court today allowed Delhi Transport and Power Minister Haroon Yusuf’s rival in the last election to place before it his election petition, which according to him was not heard properly by the Delhi High Court.

Naved Yar Khan, who was defeated by Yusuf in 2003 assembly election from the Balli-Maran seat, had moved two-fold petition in the High Court – one dealing with the Minister holding the office-of-profit for being the head of the Wakf Board and second challenging his election – on the ground of alleged corrupt practice.

Arguing his case personally, Khan told a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Mr Justice D K Jain that the High Court while rejecting his petition on the issue of office-of-profit, had not considered at all his election petition.

He said since appeal in the election petition was mandatory in nature and the apex court was bound to issue notice on it, the court first wanted to look at his election petition in the context of the conclusion drawn by the High Court.

The High Court had rejected his claim that the office of Wakf Board fell in the category of offices covered under the office-of-profit rules.

Khan has sought disqualification of Yusuf from the membership of the House on the question of his holding office-of-profit, when he contested the last assembly election.

New Delhi, January 22
A special CBI court today sentenced a junior MCD engineer to five years rigorous imprisonment for demanding and accepting bribe.

Special CBI judge Sunil Gaur convicted Rajpal Sharma for accepting bribe of Rs 20,000 from the complainant. Sharma was also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000.

Sharma was arrested red-handed while accepting Rs 20,000 on May 14, 1999 from Mr Raj Kumar Sodhi by the anti-corruption cell of the Delhi Police.— OC