New Delhi, July 17
The Food and Civil Supply department of Delhi government has stopped accepting application forms for ration cards under the "Antodaya Scheme" of central government. Citizens living below the poverty line are issued ration cards under the scheme, sources said.

Sources said that the government had to issue 1.50 lakh ration cards under the Antodaya Scheme but it had crossed the target and 7,000 more cards had been issued. No new applications will be accepted. A majority of the cards have been issued to the citizens residing in the assembly constituency of Delhi food and civil supply minister Raj Kumar Chauhan.

According to the sources, the majority of the citizens below the poverty line live in North East Delhi. They are more needy but they could not get the benefit of this scheme as politicians and social workers of the area did not take interest. Though the scheme was advertised, people below the poverty line being illiterate could not get this information. Food and civil supply department in North-East Delhi was not active either to inform the residents about the benefit of the scheme.

New Delhi, July 17
The Delhi police has nabbed two sharp shooters, Ravi Kumar and Jyoti Prakash. The police has allegedly recovered arms and ammunitions from them . The duo was allegedly involved in many cases of murder and attempt to murder in Delhi and Haryana.

Neeraj and Hindu Singh Yadav held for possessing fake currency.

Fake currency seized

New Delhi, July 17
Five schoolchildren were injured, one of them seriously, when the van in which they were travelling was hit by a utility vehicle at Rohini in north Delhi this morning, police said. The Tavera, carrying the employees of Airtel company, hit the Maruti van carrying children of Sarvodaya School in Rohini at Bhagat Singh Chowk near Rohini. Five children were injured in the accident, the police said.

While four were discharged after first-aid, the fifth child has been admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The driver of the Tavera has been arrested. — UNI

New Delhi, July 17
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today launched Grow More Trees campaign of the Delhi Transco Limited (DTL) at 400 KV substation, Maharani Bagh, opposite Sarai Kale Khan ISBT, here.

Dikshit complimented efforts of the DTL in extending green cover of Delhi, which has been described as the greenest Capital of the world in an international conference on climate change recently concluded at New York. She called upon all stakeholders of the power sector to come forward in planting large number of saplings as power generation alone is responsible for 27 per cent loss to the environment. Transport and Power Minister Haroon Yusuf, principle secretary (power) and CMD, DTL Rakesh Mehta also expressed their views on this occasion. Large number of schoolchildren also planted saplings along with Dikshit in the complex of 9,000 sq meter fully green concept building called Urja Bhawan being developed near Sarai Kale Khan.

Dikshit further said that bold steps of privatisation of power sector taken five years ago by her government has brought pride for Delhi where T and D losses have come down from 55 per cent to 32 per cent. It is expected to bring down T & D losses up to 18 per cent in two years. It has been possible to provide reliable power supply to the people in Delhi.

While mentioning ongoing ecological imbalances, climate change and global warming, she underlined the need of protecting and nurturing trees like members of the family. She called upon children to involve themselves in planting saplings. She expressed confidence that children would definitely become catalyst force in greening of Delhi as their contribution to eco-clubs have been commended by one and all. Delhi Transco Limited has earmarked 1,04,630 sq. meter of land at its various sub-stations for planting trees.

New Delhi, July 17
BJP Delhi Pradesh president Harsh Vardhan has said that the failure of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to take any action against the four DJB engineers, who were accused of rape, is indicative of a grave conspiracy.

He was addressing the women participating in the dharna organised by the BJP Delhi Pradesh Mahila Morcha to demand stern action against the alleged rapists in Shahidi Park today.

On this occasion, Mahila Morcha president Vishakha Shailani said that despite Delhi being the capital of India, rapes are still committed on open roads, running buses, schools, hospitals, work places. Now the government officers became so daring that they entered the house of a woman and fed her a pastry containing intoxicating substance. They committed mass rape. They made a film on this rape and blackmailed the woman.

The demonstrators raised slogans against Sheila Dikshit. Later, a delegation under the leadership of Vishakha Shailani, former MP Anita Arya and Pradesh vice-president Neera Shastri met the Chief Minister.

They demanded suspension of the accused engineers and high-level enquiry into the case.

Dharna continued for more than three hours and ended with the submitting of a memorandum to the Chief Minister.

Gurgaon, July 17
Three died on the spot and eight were seriously injured on Monday when a maxi cab and a truck collided head-on on Gurgaon-Alwar Road in Sohna, near here.

Those died have been identified as Dharampal, Rehman and Arun. Among those injured comprise three women. The maxi cab, loaded with passengers, was alleged to be doing business unauthorisedly, and was headed towards Gurgaon. The empty truck was going to Sohna from Gurgaon. The collision took place at Chungi barrier No-1 on the outskirts of Sohan township. The incident once again brings to the fore the lacklustre approach of the law-enforcing machinery in stopping maxi cabs, tempos and other vehicles from doing illegal business in Gurgaon and nearby areas. What stumps the residents is that the vehicles, lacking proper documentation, do business without obtaining permits even after the much-touted Police Commissionerate system has been put in place in Gurgaon. It is not the illegal business per se which has been raising the hackles of resident groups, but the lack of safety standards in these vehicles. The maxi cabs and other vehicles allow several times more passengers than considered safe just to prop up their business. The illegal business has been going on for several years, but the intensity appears to have increased now.

The mafia employing trucks for transportation of rocks has no regard for the quality of drivers. Labourers and helpers often double up as drivers. It is on account of these developments that the Sohna-Alwar road has become a byword for accidents.

These unauthorised vehicles, while proving to be nuisance, also deprive the government of taxes on a daily basis. To cap it, they steal the business of buses, including Haryana Roadways.

Greater Noida, July 17
The bulldozers of GNIDA demolished illegal constructions in Ladpura, Khanpur and Sirsa villages on Monday. About 500 bigha public land encroached illegally by some people, including two 'influential' political leaders, was also freed under this anti-encroachment campaign.

The anti-encroachment teams under Deputy CEO P. K. Gupta and GM Projects SSA Rizvi of Greater Noida reached Kasna road and razed all constructions found in the fields. One of the encroachers had even rented out a field to a company after building a boundary wall around it, which was being used as a parking lot of the company.

As the anti-encroachment squad reached Ladpura, the people started demanding that encroachment by two leaders should be razed first. It was pointed out that all constructions by the roadside were illegal.

It was the second phase of anti-encroachment drive on Monday. In the first phase, illegal constructions on 80 acres of land on NH-24 were razed to ground.

The Greater Noida Authority had conducted a survey and filed reports against all the land mafia, before starting the demolition drive. As a result, all the encroachers had absconded and there was none to offer resistance. The campaign, which was started in the morning, continued till afternoon under heavy police bandobast.

Faridabad, July 17
Two employees of a petrol pump at Hodal, a sub-divisional town about 60 kms from here, foiled a robbery bid by two armed assailants, who attempted to loot an amount of Rs 2.20 lakh, this morning.

The employees, who got injured in the incident, were admitted to a hospital. The robbers, however, were able to escape.

According to police, one Subhash, manager of Neo Petrol Pump, and his cashier Narvir were on their way to a bank to deposit an amount of Rs 2.20 lakh on a motorcycle around 10.30 am when they were intercepted by two youths on a motorcycle near Dabchick tourist complex on the main highway. The assailants took out a revolver and asked for the cash, but when the two employees resisted, one of them opened fire hitting the cashier sitting on the pillion seat.

The assailants snatched the bag and sped away with the vehicle. But Subhash, who was riding the bike, chased them covering around 6 km distance and managed to pull them down from their bike.

Though the criminals allegedly tried to fire and hit Subhash, but they could not do that as some locals started gathering at the spot. However, the assailants managed to flee away leaving the cash there.

A complaint in this connection has been lodged with the police.

Relief for rape victims

Ghaziabad, July 17
The District Magistrate Ghaziabad Ajay Kumar Shukla, who visited Upeda village in Hapur Tehsil, where two schedule caste girls were allegedly raped under Babu Garh police station area, has announced Rs 25,000 relief to each of the victims. This is the first time that such a relief has been administered to the rape victims belonging to the socially weaker sections of the people. DM Shukla ordered the police to promptly arrest the accused. Both the victims were presented a cheque of Rs 25,000 each by SSP Deepak Rattan from the funds of Unsoochat Jati Atyachar Utpeerat Yojna.

The DM has appealed to people to maintain peace in the area. A police team has been deployed in the Upeda village as tension mounted in the village.

Murder accused nabbed

Noida, July 17
The Dadri police claimed to have arrested the prime accused in a murder case from the Ajaibpur railway station while he was trying to flee. The bricks used by the accused and his accomplices in the crime have also been recovered from him. His two accomplices are said to be absconding.

Dadri SO YP Ahlawat said that three persons had allegedly killed a worker Satyapal of Shiela Foam factory on July 8 hitting him on head with bricks. An uncle of the deceased had filed an FIR with Dadri Kotwali police naming three, including Jatinder and Jeetpal.

The police nabbed Jeetpal from Ajaibpur railway station on Thursday, while he was waiting for a train to flee. On interrogation, Jeetpal guided the police to recover the bricks used in the Satyapal's murder, Alahwat said.

According to the police, Jeetpal allegedly confessed to have committed the murder as Satypal used to harass his sister. Enraged by this, he decided to kill him, the police said.

The police are looking for the two absconding accomplishes of Jeetpal.