New Delhi, May 14
The State Transport Authority (STA), Delhi government, issued an order banning the registration of new CNG buses on the national capital roads as these were to be removed by the low-floor buses.

The order was issued on May 10 by the Secretary, STA, S. S. Sidhu.

Earlier, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced that low-floor buses would be plied on the capital roads. Some buses were also ordered, though they are hardly seen.

The order said that once these buses are replaced by the low-floor buses, the CNG buses known as Blueline buses would not be allowed in Delhi under any circumstances.

They will be allowed for interstate services in satellite towns—Faridabad, Ballabhgarh, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sahibabad, Bahadurgarh and Sonipat..

These buses will be registered under the category of interstate contract carriage. To make them different, a strip of red colour will be painted on both sides of the buses.

Government sources said that the order was issued following the court direction that, “the authorities concerned shall ensure that in Delhi, all local buses will be of low floor and only such vehicles will be registered by the authorities. This condition will be duly incorporated in the permits issued by the STA or authority concerned”.

Harsh Vardhan, president of Delhi unit of the BJP, said that the government had been issuing such orders for the last nine years, but it did nothing for the citizens. Low-floor buses will be good particularly for children and old people. Its capacity to carry passengers is also more than Blueline buses.

New Delhi, May 14
The Supreme Court today granted bail to D C Sharma, a dismissed court record keeper charged with destroying vital evidence to help some of the key accused in the 1997 Uphaar cinema tragedy in which 59 people were killed in a fire mishap.

A bench of chief justice K G Balakrishnan, Justices R V Raveendran and Lokeswar Singh Panta, granted bail despite opposition from the Additional Solicitor General Gopal Subramaniam, who argued against granting any relief to the accused.

The apex court said the original order passed by the trial court on December 4 granting bail to the accused would stand revived.

The Delhi High Court had earlier rejected the accused’s petition challenging the cancellation of the bail by the additional chief metropolitan magistrate.

Sharma, was initially granted bail by the trial court on December 4, but on an application moved by the Delhi Police his bail was cancelled on December 23 leading to his re-arrest.

The bail was cancelled on the allegations of the Delhi Police that Sharma has secured a job in a private security agency of the Ansals, the prime accused in the case who reportedly owned the theatre at the time of the fire mishap.

Besides, it was also stated that Sharma had obtained housing loan from a private bank at the instance of the Ansals.—PTI

Gurgaon, May 14
Haryana minister for revenue and irrigation Captain Ajay Singh today asserted that the completion of Butana-Hansi channel project would help in resolving the water scarcity problem in South Haryana.

The minister, speaking at a public function organised to inaugurate the Rajasthan Bank branch at Manesar near here, said work on Butana-Hansi project was being carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 260 crore.

Captain Singh said the government had taken up a number of projects to boost up the infrastructure and economy of the state, particularly South Haryana.

Citing the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal express highway project, he claimed that it would further boost up the economy of the state in a big way.

Referring to the Industrial Model Township in Manesar, he said that it had given the state a name and pushed up the process of industrialisation in the state.

In an oblique reference to the agitation here on amount of compensation money given by the government to those whose land was acquired for various projects, he said that the previous government used to provide relief at a rate of only Rs 2-3 lakh per acre, whereas the present Congress government was giving about Rs 28 lakh in the NCR zone.

New Delhi, May 14
Mayor Arti Mehra said the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had introduced e-governance and computerised all departments to make it a paperless organisation.

This was part of the government’s efforts to make the national Capital a world class city, she said. She was speaking at a seminar on e-governance organised by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

The mayor stressed the mindset of implementers must be taken care of to achieve the desired results. The e-governance system should be foolproof to achieve maximum benefit from it.

She said it had been observed 40 per cent of field employees in the sanitation department were in the habit of playing truant. E-governance would help plug such loopholes, she held. 

New Delhi, May 14
Two fire fighters got minor burn injuries fighting a fire that broke out in a busy market in the North Delhi’s Kashmere Gate area last night.

Two fire fighters, Avtar Singh, station officer of Rani Jhasi Road fire station, and another, a probationer fire officer, got burn injuries during the rescue operation. They were immediately rushed to a local hospital where their condition is stated to be normal now.

About 20 outlets of auto spare parts and lubricants were completely gutted in the fire. As a result of the presence of a huge stock of inflammable stuffs in these outlets, it was very difficult to douse the fire.

More than 40 fire engines were pressed into service to put out the blaze which broke out in the Guru Nanak Market complex in Kashmiri Gate area. The fire broke out at around 10 last night and was finally doused in the wee hours. The most affected area was the second floor of the complex which housed mostly auto spare parts’ and lubricant outlets, a fire official said.

Lack of fire prevention equipment in the market complex caused the fire to spread. “We had a tough job dousing the flames because of the narrow lanes and bylanes”, he said.

New Delhi, May 14
Fancy meeting Nelson Mandela? How about Richard Branson? Or even Samuel L. Jackson? Or maybe the opportunity to ‘do lunch’ with Archbishop Desmond Tutu is more your cup of tea? Want to give a helping hand to some of Africa’s most deserving children’s charities? Now is your chance.

A combination of international and South African leaders, celebrities, business people, movie and sports stars have joined forces to support the MasterCard Priceless Moments eBay charity auction in association with Jacaranda 94.2, which opens for worldwide bidding at www.ebay.com/pricelessmoments

For just 10 days, the charity auction will give people worldwide the opportunity to fulfil their dreams by bidding online for over 50 ‘money-can’t-usually-buy’ South African and international celebrity priceless moments to raise funds for seven African children’s charities.

According to the charity organisers, priceless moments such as afternoon tea with Nelson Mandela and Albertina Sisulu, an opportunity to spend time with Sir Richard Branson at one of his Virgin Unite projects, a round of golf with Hollywood star Samuel L. Jackson, and lunch with Archbishop Desmond Tutu are expected to raise the highest bids.

The charities that will benefit from the initiative are: the Walter Sisulu Paediatric Cardiac Centre for Africa (WSPCCA), the Childhood Cancer Foundation (CHOC), the Reach For A Dream Foundation, Cotlands, the South African Red Cross Society, the Ithemba Trust and the St Mary’s Aids Hospital in KwaZulu Natal.

Together, these charities face enormous financial challenges every day to provide for approximately half a million children collectively.

New Delhi, May 14
The third Guru Shishya Parampara Festival held at India International Centre (IIC) in the Capital focusing on Odissi, Kuchipudi, Bharatnatyam, Manipuri and Chhau dance forms drew to a close on Sunday with grand performances by renowned exponents of their respective dances.

The festival was a tribute to Gurutattava in Indian culture. The emphasis was on the styles of various gharanas prevalent in Indian classical dances and the padadhati (or tradition) of Guru Shishya Parampara Indian classical dance professes, promotes and carries forward.

On May 12, Ustad Asad Ali Khan, legendary Rudraveena maestro and musicologist, was the chief guest of the day. Depicting Guru Shishya Parampara Dance Festival as a very successful event, he said, “The festival is the third one of its kind being organised successfully by Jayantika. With the efforts of Madhumita Raut and the blessings of Guru Mayadhar Raut, it’s an excellent way to present the art for eminent and young artists on the same platform.”

The festival featured performance of Kuchipudi by Shallu Jindal who excels in the dance form of Kuchipudi. True to the tradition of her gurus, Raja and Radha Reddy, Shallu strictly represented the style of her gurus, known for perfection of technique, grace, style and individual mastery. Her performance included a spectacular thali dance (maintaining balance over the rim of a thali). Another performance on the first day of the festival was by Sanjib Bhattacharya. Trained in Manipuri dance under the able guidance of Guru Bipin Singh, Kalavati Devi and Darshana Jhaveri, Sanjib’s dance is known for intricacies of movements and rhythmic patterns. True to the tradition of Guru Bipin Singh, Sanjib’s dance laid emphasis on the classical aspects and technical perfection. Dressed in beautiful Manipuri attire specially designed for the occasion, he said, “I am carrying on the legacy of my gurus without polluting the original art but modernising it to suit the contemporary audience.”

The last dance appearance of the day was by Guru Shashadhar Acharya, a Chhau dancer. Carrying on the legacy of his father, Guru Lingaraj Acharya, representing the fifth generation in a family of traditional performers who have contributed in the evolution and development of this art form, Shashadhar Acharya is steeped in the tradition of Seraikella Chhau. The most peculiar aspect of the performance was the special masks Chhau dancers were wearing. Despite the absence of facial expressions, the performance was really mind blowing.

Shahshdhar Acharya said, “The shishya should dedicatedly follow the guru’s instructions and should compromise with the guru’s comfort ability, not his.”

Speaking about his performance, he said, “Chhau is a rare dance. It has its roots in Bihar and originated from cantonments. Chhau mask hides the actual identity of the performer and shows only the identity of the character. This is the essence and dharma of Chhau.”

On the third day of the festival, Imre Lazar, Director, Hungarian Information and Cultural Centre, was the chief guest. Addressing the august gathering, he said, “I have had a connection with India through Mayadhar Raut, Madhumita Raut and Odissi dance since 20 years and they have actually made me familiar with the eternal beauty of India through Odissi dance.”

Noida/Ghaziabad, May 14
Among the 18 IAS officers shifted by the new government of Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh on its first day is the chairman of Noida and Greater Noida Authorities Rakesh Bahadur, who has been posted out. Principal secretary, road transport and chairman of the UP Road Transport Corporation Lalit Srivastava has been appointed in place of Rakesh.

Srivastava will also be the chairman of the Taj Expressway Authority.

Both Ghaziabad and Noida districts will have new SSPs. While Deepak Rattan has been appointed the new SSP of Ghaziabad, in place of Navin Arora, A. Satish Ganesh has joined as the new police chief for GB Nagar district in place of Rajiv Sabharwal.

Talking to mediapersons today, new Noida SSP A Satish Ganesh said his first job was not only to improve the law and order situation in the district, but also to see to it that the common man felt that it indeed had been improved. “It is important to instill a feeling of security and safety among the people. Our basic function is of policing and at that effective policing,” he said.

“All FIRs will be registered in a routine way without the SSP or the courts having to specially order for it. Crimes will be investigated and the dead wood and the corrupt in the department will be weeded out, of course with the help of the public and the media,” he said.

“Traffic police needs to be improved and made more efficient but for all this perhaps a good study will have to be undertaken first to augment the force as well as the equipment,” the new SSP said. It would be his endeavour to identify the core areas and to remove rampant corruption from the lower levels of the force, he added.

In short, Ganesh said he would try to improve the image of the police force by improving its efficiency. The Noida police, he said, was going to be very harsh on mafias of all brand and the hardened criminals of all hues. The land mafia who grab the common people’s property acquired with hard-earned money would be especially targeted.

“We shall also try to improve the effectiveness of the traffic police, but remember everything is not under our control like the conditions of roads, lights and traffic signals on the crossings, etc,” the new SSP said.

Many more bureaucrats, including those in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad authorities and police officers in Ghaziabad, GB Nagar and western UP are expected to be given marching orders in the next few days by the new government. 

Faridabad, May 14
Rising cases of vehicle theft and the inability of the police department to recover them indicate at a well-organised and strong nexus operating in the city. The residents allege that the nexus includes vehicle thieves and the police officials who support these gangs to carry out their activities without any hindrance.

However, the police deny such allegations, but nothing has been done to do away with the belief. Hundreds of vehicles, including a large number of two-wheelers, are stolen every year in the city and a majority of these can’t be traced.

In a recent case, a two-wheeler (scooter) owned by one Kakkan, a tea stall owner at Old Faridabad Chowk got a shock of his life when his scooter (DAA-1111) got stolen and he traced it at a scrap-dealer’s shop (Kabaari) in a dissembled condition. It could have been reduced to pieces if Kakkan had been late by a day, said a friend of Kakkan, who helped him trace the two- wheeler.

The scooter was stolen on April 23 and it was recovered from the scrap-dealer’s shop after about a week with the efforts of the scooter-owner, who asked several of his friends to check all the scrap-dealers shops in the city.

Interestingly, the police, which allegedly did not take any action to trace the vehicle, arrested one of the employees working at the shop and charged him with the theft, instead of booking the scrap-dealer and questioning him.

The shop, where his scooter was found, is located near Octroi Tax barrier in Old Faridabad.

It is reported that the two-wheeler had been nearly disassembled with spare parts lying around. It was recognised by the side panels and a number plate.

It was alleged that the scooter was lifted by a professional auto-lifter, who sold it at the shop, but the servant at the shop was named as the accused who had allegedly bought this scooter from the thief.

It is learnt that the police have asked the complainant to accept the vehicle and some money from the scrap-dealer to withdraw his complaint.

This is not an isolated case, but several such thefts are reported to the police every month, but a majority of the stolen items go untraced. Many complaints of this nature were normally clubbed into one FIR, an employee of the department claimed.

In another such case, a thief who was arrested recently was found to be using the stolen vehicle with the same number for the past over a year.

In April 2005, Ajit, a local resident, whose mini truck was stolen, had to conduct a private raid at a scrap-dealer’s store at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh to recover the vehicle. In this case also, the police acted to cooperate with him after the department officials were asked by a political figure.

It is claimed that over half of the body of the truck had been disassembled and the owner had to bring a bag full of spare parts lying there.

In yet another incident, a car became the cause of quarrel between two residents, after a person reported that his car was stolen and sold to another person, who was found to be using it without any fear. The matter was reported to the Badarpur police. 

New Delhi, May 14
In a major breakthrough, the West district police today claimed to have busted a big gang of inter-state burglars with the arrest of 20 active members of this gang in two separate raids. Ten laptops, 59 mobile phones and a huge stock of other stolen stuff has been recovered. Two countrymade, loaded pistols and four button-actuated knives have also been seized from them during the raids.

All 20 burglars were apprehended from Moti Nagar in two separate raids. About one dozen cases of burglaries committed in Mukherji Nagar, Prasad Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Janak Puri and Nangloi have been worked out with their arrest. They used to visit Delhi at least once a month and commit burglaries in four to five places. —OC

New Delhi, May 14
The East District police claimed to have busted a betting racket with the arrest of two bookies – Mahesh Yadav and Krishan Kumar from a rented flat in Bhola Nath Nagar area.

They were allegedly betting on India-Bangladesh cricket match on Saturday. Eight mobile phones, a laptop with hard disc recorder, a colour TV and a calculator have allegedly been recovered from their rented premises.

When the police team arrived at the spot, the accused were allegedly indulged in attending telephone calls of their clients and maintaining the satta amounts on their notepads. The police claimed that a betting amount of Rs 5 lakh was at stake at that moment.

They used to keep changing their base frequently to avert their arrest, said a police officer.

In another incident, the same district police claimed to have arrested two desperate robbers – Rafique and Sultan from Maharana Pratap Park, Seelam Pur. They were allegedly planning to commit a robbery in the area.

Following a tip-off, the police team laid a trap and apprehended the robbers after a brief chase. Two button-activated knives, an iron rod and an iron pipe have allegedly been recovered from their possession.

New Delhi, May 14
The police today claimed to have arrested seven woman pickpockets who allegedly used to steal money and other valuable stuff like mobile phones and laptops from passengers in buses here.

The accused, identified as Priya, Vineeta, Neha, Leela, Reena, Kasnta and Kanchan, were arrested from a bus stand in Ashram while they were trying to decamp with the stuff they had stolen from a passenger.

The arrest was made after a victim travelling in a DTC bus complained to the police about the theft of her purse when she was alighting from the bus. She immediately raised the alarm and with the help of fellow passengers the suspects were arrested by a patrolling police team.

During interrogation, it was revealed the accused were involved in pickpocketing for quite some time. They used to carry an infant with them while committing the crime to avoid any suspicion, said a police officer.

They used to make the baby cry during travel to divert the attention of passengers, especially woman passengers. They would hire infants from their clusters, said the officer.

Ghaziabad, May 14
The riotous students of Institute of Management and Studies, Dasna Tri-junction in Ghaziabad, agitating over the death of a fellow-student, Mohit, in mysterious circumstances, clashed with the residents. Later, some people fired upon the students.

A spokesperson of the college, who came to the rescue of the students, was also wounded in the firing. The students had earlier tried to jam the Delhi-Hapur GT Road also.

The college management persuaded the students to lift the blockade and return to the college after the family of the deceased had taken away his body.

Mohit, son of Ram Babu of Fatehpur, the first year engineering student of IMS, was pursuing his studies while living in the college hostel.

In the morning on Friday, he had complained of stomachache and was rushed to a nursing home in Kavi Nagar Colony in Ghaziabad.

A large number of college students had reached the nursing home on learning about Mohit’s illness.

At 6-30 pm, however, Mohit had died during treatment in the hospital in which students accused the nursing home of carelessness in treating the student. But somehow college teachers were able to persuade the students to return to the hostel. But on Saturday morning again, a large number of students gathered at the nursing home and created a riotous situation. Getting the news of the disturbance, college director I C Agarwal also reached the spot.

The students created a scene for about four hours demanding that a case be registered against the nursing home.

The students had clashed with the local tempo drivers. Sometimes later, some people who had apparently come in support of the tempo drivers, fired from their guns.

Institute’s registrar Dinesh Singh confirmed that some elements had fired and in that firing, a college spokesman Atul Gupta had been wounded and had to be rushed to a hospital.

Mr Singh said the doctors had given the reasons for Mohit’s death as due to a heart attack. The college management was able to persuade the students to return to their hostel at about 8 pm, after an eight-hour agitation.

The Mussori police station said they had not been given any complaint, so no case has been registered, while SO Kavi Nagar police station Pankaj Labaniya said since the doctors have given the cause of Mohit’s death as heart attack, no case has been registered against the hospital.

New Delhi, May 14
A seven-day lease deed camp for allottees of plots/flats under the relocation of industries scheme to facilitate them in executing lease deeds concluded here at Udyog Sadan. The camp was organised by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC),

Manoj Parida, Managing Director, DSIIDC, said more than 670 allottees were issued lease deed formats during the camp. “The details of formats ready for issue have been given on our website and the allottees who are yet to collect them are requested to come and collect them in their own interest”, said Parida.—TNS

Gurgaon, May 14
The police arrested a person for allegedly murdering his wife, Kanta, for dowry.

The police today found Kanta dead, hanging by the roof of her house in village Fatehpuri in Manesar police station area.

On a complaint of the brother of the deceased, the police registered a case in the matter against the husband and his mother.

The complainant alleged that his sister was often pestered for dowry and ill-treated at her in-laws’ house.

The couple had a six-month-old daughter.

New Delhi, May 14
Two youths drowned last night while bathing in a canal here. Pankaj (23) and Bhushan (20) drowned in Badli Canal in Prashant Vihar in North-West Delhi, the police said.

The bodies of the two youths, residents of Sector 6 in Rohini, had been fished out, the police added.