New Delhi, June 3
A young man, convicted twice for the same offence within three days, got some reprieve when a sessions judge quashed a lower court's order sentencing him to two years in jail for being in possession of a stolen car.

Rescuing Shiv Kumar from being convicted twice, Additional Sessions Judge V. K. Bansal has acquitted him of having been found in possession of a stolen vehicle after

noting that he had already served the jail term for its theft by another court.

"In my opinion the order of the trial court is not sustainable, and hence, the same is set aside," the judge said, adding that the Code of Criminal Procedure barred the trial of the accused for the same offence twice.

Acceding to the defence plea that sentencing Kumar twice for the same offence would amount to "double jeopardy", the judge said in a recent order that he could not be tried again by a Delhi court as he had already faced a complete trial by a court in Gurgaon.

Kumar, who was on April 4 last year found in possession of a stolen car near Centaur Hotel here, was sentenced to a term already served during the trial by a Gurgaon court for the offence of theft.

However, the police had registered a case here as well and a metropolitan court on April 10 sent him to a jail term for two years for being in possession of the stolen car.

New Delhi, June 3
The police today claimed to have busted an international gang of drug traffickers with the arrest of three Afghan nationals from Qutab Road with 4.6 kg of heroin worth Rs 5 crore in the international 
market.

Acting on a tip-off that two Afghan nationals would be coming near Air Line Hotel in Qutab Road with a contraband of heroine to supply to their contact, another Afghan national, Rahim, a trap was laid around the area.

They were apprehended red-handed.

Five packets of heroin were seized during a search which was found in a belt made of fabric. The belt had been tied over the waist of Nasir.

During interrogation, it revealed Nasir and Fazal Haq carried the contraband with them from Afghanistan and had arrived here last morning, while Rahim had arrived three days back.

On inquiry, it also revealed Nasir had come to India the first time while he had visited Iran many times. Another Afgan national, whose identity has not been revealed yet, was arrested by custom officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport with four kg of heroine. He arrived here in the morning from Kabul.

The contraband seized from has a street value of around Rs four crore. Further investigations were in progress.

In another incident, the Central district police claimed to have arrested one drug peddler, Munna Sheikh, with two kg ganja was seized near Zakir Hussain College.

During interrogation, he revealed he used to buy ganja from the slum area near Priyadarshini Vihar at the rate of Rs 1,000 per kg and make double profit by selling it in small packets of Rs 10. His associate Akhtar had been absconding after hearing the news of the arrest of his partner, said a police officer.

New Delhi, June 3
Nearly four lakh buildings, including the Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Gurdwara Sis Ganj and the Town Hall, falling in the special areas, unauthorised regularised colonies and village abadi categories, will have to register themselves with the MCD positively by June 7.

A large number of traders, under the banner of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) held a meeting today on the issue, which was also attended by the MCD deputy commissioner Vijay Singh.

The confederation, which is spearheading the traders' movement on the contentious sealing issue, has demanded extension of the last date as much confusion prevails over the registration with MCD.

The periphery of special area is not known and areas falling in village abadi are not clear thereby generating much hue and cry among traders and other section of people. Even the list of unauthorised regularised colonies is yet to be released by the MCD, said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of CAIT.

Section 16.2 of the Master Plan 2021 specifies a three-year moratorium and prescribes preparation of redevelopment plan of these areas by the MCD. The MCD is yet to prepare parameters and modalities of redevelopment plan and the situation being totally unclear is generating anxiety among traders of the Walled City, its extensions and Karol Bagh etc.

The CAIT has also demanded that the MCD simplify the registration form and delete the condition of furnishing building plans. Even the condition of furnishing certificate from structural engineer is ambiguous and will also create problems as large number of buildings are decades old and no engineer will ever be inclined to testify.

According to an estimate, more than four lakh buildings were supposed to fall in the special area, unauthorised regularised colonies and village abadi and are required to obtain online registration with MCD.

The special areas include Chandni Chowk, Kashmiri Gate, Mori Gate, Chawri Bazar, Ajmeri Gate, Nai Sarak and Shradhanand Marg, etc.

New Delhi, June 3
The Delhi government has allotted a plot of 136 acre at Kanjhawala and 32-acre land at Bawana to the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) for construction of multi-storeyed building for slum dwellers and JJ clusters.

This is the first effort of its kind after declaration in the master plan that jhuggi dwellers will be given flats in multi-storeyed buildings.

This decision was taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Delhi Development Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan.

The foundation stone for the first phase of the scheme will be laid by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the third week of June. About 10,000 flats would be constructed in the first phase.

The corporation has completed the process of tender.

The minister pointed out that the government had plan to construct 24,000 flats for the people of Delhi living in slums and JJ colonies. These flats would be constructed with the pre-fabricated material and one flat would comprise one bedroom, one living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. It will be constructed in the area of 17x25 square foot.

The map and layout plan for the housing societies have been formulated.

He also said that a high-level committee had also been constituted for allotment of the newly constructed flats. The committee would decide on what basis the flats would be allotted to the people of JJ clusters.

It would also decide how much money would be paid by the allottees and which department and bank would provide the remaining amount.

Raj Kumar Chauhan made it clear that under the first phase, 42 slum and JJ clusters had been identified and the people living in these colonies would be first allotted the flats. 

New Delhi, June 3
Devoid of any respite from the scorching summer heat, Delhi continued to sizzle at 44 degree Celsius, three degrees above normal, for the second consecutive day today.

Even the minimum temperature soared to 30.3 degree Celsius, two degrees above normal, from yesterday's 27 degrees.

Yesterday, the national Capital recorded the season's hottest day at 44.1 degree Celsius.

As the mercury remained static around the 44-degree mark, the unbearable heat over the weekend forced people to stay indoors. However, the Met department has forecast isolated duststorm or thunderstorm over the region during the next 24 hours.

The Met department said the excessive heat was mainly due to the fact that disturbances in the airflow had moved ahead and there was no circulation of air in the upper reaches in and around the Capital.

New Delhi, June 3
The Embassy of Israel here and the India Habitat Centre jointly bring back to the national Capital a festival of Israeli films, featuring the diversity of the Israeli society through the works of the new generation of film makers.

The festival will showcase eight Israeli films from documentaries to features, from comedies to dramas, covering a wide range of social, political and moral issues, which concern and stimulate the society in Israel today.

The award-winning documentary film "Two States of Mind", directed by Ms Shira Richter, will open the film festival on June 4.

The film is a story of two actresses, an Israeli from Tel Aviv and a Palestinian from Ramallah, who are invited to compete in a jeep rally in Morocco as 'The Peace Team'. With no experience, but plenty of enthusiasm they agree, imagining a Club-Med type vacation. Two women, two cultures, two personalities, cooped up in one jeep for 12 scorching days and frozen nights in the unforgiving Sahara Desert.

The film is about how they cooperate to survive this 'vacation'. Israeli cinema has come a long way since its inception in the 1950s. More and more Israeli-made films have become successful abroad as the energetic creativity of a new generation is shedding a different light on local and universal themes. Today, both independent and studio Israeli films are gaining worldwide recognition through film festivals all over the world.

Recently two Israeli films won prestigious awards at international film festivals:

"My father my Lord" won the renowned Tribeca Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature Film and "Meduzot" (meaning Jellyfish), won the "Camera d'or" Award (award for the best film made by debut directors) at the Cannes Film Festival 2007.

The Film Festival will be inaugurated by the Ambassador of Israel, Mr David Danieli, and Israeli Film Maker, Ms Shira Richter, whose film