New Delhi, August 3
The Delhi High Court today directed magisterial inquiry into a case of an alleged medical negligence, leading to amputation of a child's limb.

"We direct Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate New Delhi to conduct a fact-finding inquiry regarding the alleged medical negligence and submit a report before the court within three months," a bench comprising justices T S Thakur and S N Aggarwal said.

"We direct the medical superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital, to pay an ex-gratia payment of Rs 10,000 as an interim measure to the family of the victim," the bench said, directing all authorities concerned to assist the fact-finding team.

The court had on March 8, taken suo motu cognisance of a media report alleging that the 11-year-old boy lost his limb due to medical negligence on the part of the hospital.

It had issued notices to the Centre and the hospital, besides directing them to file reply before it.

The boy had lost his limb on February 22 due to infection contracted during his treatment for fracture in the leg. The hospital, however, had refuted the allegation of negligence on its part saying, the parents were not concerned about the child and they did not follow instructions of the doctors while he was being treated. 

New Delhi, August 3
A city court yesterday issued a production warrant for underworld don Abu Salem as Mumbai police failed to produce him before it in connection with a case of alleged attempt to extort Rs 5 crore from a contractor here.

Additional sessions judge Ravinder Kaur directed the Arthur Road jail authorities to ensure Salem's presence on August 21.

Salem, who was brought here from Mumbai in connection with another extortion case, was declared a proclaimed offender in the case in which five of his alleged syndicate members, including a woman, were arrested for threatening Ashok Gupta, a south Delhi contractor.

The court had allowed special cell of the Delhi police to quiz him after it moved an application about the case registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) against the gangster and his associates.

The police have already filed a chargesheet against the other five accused - Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Raja Bhai, Sajjan Soni alias Babu Bhai, Majid Khan alias Raju Bhai, Mohammed Ashraf alias Babloo and a woman Chanchal Mehta.

According to the police, the don, in the year 2002, had made threat calls to contractor Ashok Gupta, a resident of Greater Kailash in south Delhi here, demanding Rs five crore as protection money.

Salem, who is facing trial in eight cases in the country, was lodged in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail after his extradition from Portugal in 2005. 

Faridabad, August 3
A local court has awarded life imprisonment to nine persons for killing director of Aravali International Public School, and his brother over property dispute.

The court of Additional District Session Judge A. K. Singh Pawar, while holding out life imprisonment to nine of the accused, acquitted one of the accused for lack of sufficient evidence against him.

On September 25, 2004, Udai Singh, director of the Aravali International School, located on Surajkund Road, his brother and one other were levelling a field behind the institute when they were attacked by Ranjit, a resident of Mewla Maharajpur, and his family members with firearms.

Udai Singh and his brother were killed in the attack, while the third person was injured.

New Delhi, August 3
On the CBI raids issue, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) president Ram Babu Sharma today assured that every effort would be made to bring the guilty to book and none would be allowed to go scot-free for committing such a heinous crime.

Addressing a gathering at a demonstration at Jantar Mantar organised by the 'jhuggi jhopri' cell of the DPCC, Sharma said, "The Congress party would expose the land scam committed by the BJP through Malhotra." He demanded a judicial inquiry into the land scam.

The Congress government had always striven to give better facilities to those living in the JJ clusters and it was a shameful act by the people involved in the scam.

He said, "The allotment of plots to the JJ colony dwellers was done through the Slum Wing of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2002 when all the key posts in the corporation, including Standing Committee, were held by the BJP leaders." A judicial inquiry should be made and the land should be returned to the JJ cluster dwellers, he demanded. 

New Delhi, August 3
Pamela Mountbatten's personal account of tumult and tragedy on the eve of partition in her recent book: "India Remembered: A Personal Account of the Mountbattens" was discussed at a function in Jamia Millia Islamia university on Thursday. An exhibition of photographs from the book was also held on the campus which was inaugurated by Dr Karan Singh.

"This book is a useful intervention by Pamela and is largely based on memoirs, diaries and papers," said Jamia Vice Chancellor and eminent historian, Mushirul Hassan. "However,the reconstruction of such a traumatic event is bound to have its limitations. For instance I don't like this mention of Edwina's relationship with Nehru this is nothing new and has been much commented and written on. To say that Edwina influenced Nehru and his decisions is preposterous. To say that he would be carried away by a personal relationship does not hold water.

To single out an individual's role in critical decisions is un-historical. I think Mountbatten had a lot of things to answer for and I think there should be more criticism of this man who has responsibility for violence and bloodshed across the border."

Dr Karan Singh said: "I completely disagree with Mushirul here and am going to say everything contrary to his view. I found this book very interesting and for me Mountbatten was an outstandingly charismatic figure, I do not think that after Jinnah's direct action too many choices existed before Mountbatten.

The situation had already spiraled out of control.

I don't think Pamela's book is historical but it adds to the numerous viewpoints and personal accounts of the period."

On New Year's Day 1947, Lord Mountbatten was summoned to Downing Street to discover his future role in history to guide India to independence as the last Viceroy. Travelling from post-war Britain under rationing to the outsized splendour of Viceroy's House in New Delhi, the Mountbattens leapt straight into their responsibilities. Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Patel, Baldev Singh and a wealth of Maharajas all appear in this testament to the biggest challenge faced by a Viceroy- to break the deadlock that existed between the Indian politicians, to try to avert civil war and to achieve an honourable exit for the British. The result was the creation of India and Pakistan on 15th August 1947.

Lord Mountbatten's seventeen-year-old daughter, Pamela, was taken out of school to accompany her parents to India, and spent the next 15 months recording the birth of two nations alongside her own transition to adulthood. Beside her mother, Edwina, this young woman took on far more responsibility than would normally be required of a girl just finding her feet in the adult world. 

Noida, August 3
A portion of the ceiling of a staff quarter in the district hospital in Sector30, here, came crashing down, but no one was injured as the quarter had been locked for a few months. 

Every year, during monsoon such incidents take place on the hospital campus. The hospital building, especially the staff quarters, are in a dilapidated condition. Some staff members had a narrow escape last year .Two years ago a nurse and her family were injured as part of their quarter caved in. 

According to hospital sources, a few months ago a proposal was sent to the government for repairs of the hospital complex, but its sanction was still awaited. The quarter No. 12 of Type-I in Block 1 of the hospital complex was lying locked. It is a four-storeyed block. 

According to the sources,84 staff quarters were constructed a few years ago. About a dozen houses were so dilapidated that they were declared dangerous and its occupants were also moved out. 

Gurgaon, August 3
The Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) has rejected the proposal for levying extra charge on the consumers to make Gurgaon a no power-cut zone. 

HERC had received a proposal from the CII, the Gurgaon Industry Association (GIA) and RICCO Auto to rid the city of power cuts. It was backed by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam (DHBVN).

The CII has proposed that the industry will have a captive power plant (CPP) which would generate electricity for consumption by the industry and power utilities rather than drawing from the DHBVN system. 

The differential cost per unit generated by CPPs and the tariff applicable to each category would be paid to the CPPs for the units consumed by them. 

In this context managing director, DHBVN ,clarified that in the exisiting constrained transmission and distribution system in the area, it would not be possible to immediately implement the scheme in the entire Gurgaon city. 

He stated that most of 25 grid sub-stations serving Gurgaon were over- loaded. However, even after the scheme was implemented 24 hours supply couldn't be guaranteed due to technical faults leading to breakdowns. 

New Delhi, August 3 
Urging the Centre to relax the norms governing construction of airports in the NCR region, Deepender Hooda, MP, has demanded an airport in the NCR region falling in Haryana. 

\Hooda, who is a member of the Consultative Committee of the Civil Aviation Ministry, said here that the Centre should relax the norms regarding the minimum distance between two airports for the NCR region. 

"London with population of nearly 68 lakh has seven airports. NCR with three crore population can also have multiple airports," he said. 

Welcoming the proposal of UP to have an airport in Greater Noida, he said Haryana government had also made proposals for an airport in the NCR region. Hooda demanded that the airport should be constructed in Rohtak or Jhajjar district.

Noida, August 3 
Chief executive officer, Noida Authority, Balvinder Kumar, has suspended the licence of Adani Energy Ltd, the company laying the CNG pipeline in Noida. The company has been ordered to submit a gas transportation agreement to the Noida Authority within two months else its earnest money of Rs. 3 crore would be forfeited and its licence cancelled.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd (IGL) will be entrusted with the CNG project. The CEO, it is learnt has sent a proposal to this effect to the administration. The Noida Authority had invited tenders for the CNG project in February 2006. Under its provision the company was to bring the gas from the Gas Authority of India within three months. But Adani Engery did not take up this commitment with earnestness. Even a notice to the company did not elicit a satisfactory reply, the CEO said. The Noida Authority has suspended the licence of Adani Energy Ltd. Various companies are however undertaking the CNG work in Lucknow, Noida, Khurja, etc.

Adani Energy has already laid the gas pipeline in 50 per cent of Noida, but have failed to clinch the gas transportation agreement. 

New Delhi, August 3
Murti Films Productions Private Limited is to shoot a film that will explain the difficulties faced by Indian girls who are married to NRIs. 

They are made to work as bonded labourers in restaurants and other establishments run by their husbands and in-laws. Producer of the film is R. D. Sandhu, director Chandra Mohan Nile, story writer is O. P. Pandey and play back singer Shabir Kumar, a press release said. 

New Delhi, August 3
Taking a strong view of the controversial medical check-up of children in the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, the enquiry committee looking into the matter has recommended that the students should be compensated and the school should issue a public apology. 

A two-member committee was set up by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights after the parents and students sparked off an agitation against the medical check-up where the students were asked to strip. The committee has wrapped up its investigations in the incident, today.

The committee concluded that the children were made to go through acute embarrassment.  "The doctors went much beyond a normal health examination. The children were asked questions seeking private information such as sexual maturity," said Ashok Aggarwal, a member of the committee. "There was a commercial angle to the tests as the data collected would in no way benefit the children who were examined."

"Medical check-up of minor children cannot be done without the permission of their parents. There are laws in this regard," said Renuka Choudhry. "The guidelines are quiet clear on this. Even their photographs cannot be published without permission."

New Delhi, August 3
Delhi University recently launched a rather innovative programme targeting at industry-academia interaction. The programme is geared to help train students in skills suited to match specific job requirements of various banking and other financial services.

DU vice-chancellor Deepak Pental feels that "the university went ahead with the decision so that students who pass out from the varsity can get employment straight after finishing their degree programmes."

The course has been designed in such a way that students can easily prepare themselves to grab new job openings in various financial sectors in the next three years. 

It is expected that more than 250,000 people would be required to manage commercial banks, banks, financial services, brokerage firms, mutual funds, etc in the coming years. The course has already been started at the Institute of Life Long Learning, North Campus, DU. 

The varsity has made an industry collaboration with ICICI Bank to familiarize students and teachers with corporate practices in the banking and financial sector. 

Consensus among academia in the university is that the university curriculum, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, is simply inadequate in its current shape to prepare students to meet industry requirements. All job aspirants should be trained in soft skills and communication skills before they can be considered for employment. So a need was felt to revise the curriculum, giving more emphasis on practical knowledge than on core subject knowledge.

New Delhi, August 3
Nearly 200 resident doctors, senior faculty members and students of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, today marched to the Prime Minister's residence to draw his attention to instances of reservation denial and caste discrimination in the nation's premier medical institute. 

In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, the doctors led by Dr Kapil Yadav of the Progressive Medicos and Scientists Forum, sought adherence to the government's reservation policy in selection of senior residents and faculty members.

The PMSF has demanded that Ajay Singh, a final year medical student at AIIMS, be given a chance to appear in the examination as per the directives of the AIIMS governing body. The doctors have alleged that the authorities failed Singh as he had galvanised students to oppose caste based discrimination. 

They have also pointed a finger at the AIIMS administration recently made appointments for vacancies of senior resident doctors at AIIMS.

Sources in PMSF said that this was not the first time that they had drawn the attention of the Prime Minister to the issue of denial of reservation.

"The PM has not even cared to give us an appointment despite several attempts on our part. This speaks volumes of the earnestness of the UPA government headed by Dr Manmohan Singh, to the issue of reservation," said PMSF founder and senior faculty member Dr Anoop Saraya.

New Delhi, August 3
The FORE School of Management (FORE) has signed an MOU with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). FORE and CSIR have plans to partner through this MOU to help further the interest of bettering the management of technology and research and development through training and expanded investigation. 

Dr. Seema Sanghi, director, FORE,said "this joint venture will contribute to the development of management aptitude in the R and D sector. FORE will be leading the way by conducting research, holding seminars and conferences, and developing case studies in collaboration with CSIR, while also conducting management development programmes for the scientific and administrative executives of the CSIR."