New Delhi, August 6
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today announced that issuance of fancy registration numbers of vehicles had been suspended and a new policy would be framed for allotment of VIP numbers. This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting held today.

The Chief Minister said that a ban on registration of fancy numbers of vehicles under the Vehicle Registration Act would remain in force till a new policy was finalised by the Delhi government. The government has initiated consultations for finalisation of a more justified policy keeping in view large number of requests pouring in for fancy numbers.

She expressed confidence that the new policy would be able to provide more feasible solution.

The government was 'forced' to freeze the fancy numbers following the arrest of Ashok Malhotra who allegedly possessed 50 luxury cars with VIP registration numbers. He was arrested today and on interrogation, he admitted that he had 17 cars. The land scam worth crores of rupees also came to light.

Following the arrest of Malhotra, a political turmoil was witnessed in the Delhi Congress and there was a rumour doing the rounds in the political circle that anti-Sheila faction was hatching a plot to topple her government.

As Congress leadership was already grappled with the land scam issue, rumours of toppling Sheila government made it more tensed. The AICC president Sonia Gandhi today met the Chief Minister's detractors - Delhi finance minister Dr A. K. Walia, transport minister Haroon Yusuf and education minister Arvinder Singh Lovely - as their names had figured in allegations levelled by pro-Dikshit leaders that a plot was being hatched by her dissidents to topple her with logistical support from Ashok Malhotra, the alleged master-mind in the scam.

The meeting with Gandhi came a couple of days after the detractors put their side of the story before the AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot, who was in-charge of party affairs in Delhi.

It has been alleged that Malhotra was to fund the anti-Dikshit campaign by providing luxury cars to legislators in lieu of their support to the move. However, after the meeting, Gehlot said there was no danger either to the Dikshit government or to the Congress party. "Instead of giving it significance, guns should be trained towards the BJP. Issue of slum is more important and it should be probed thoroughly. It involves fraudulent sale of a large number of plots meant for rehabilitating slum dwellers," he said. However, the Delhi ministers - Walia, Haroon and Lovely - made no comment about the issues discussed with Sonia Gandhi saying that she was president of the party and "we of and on meet her to discuss party issues".

They added that there were no factions in the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee and the party members were united. 

New Delhi, August 6
Maintaining that it is not a public body and does not discharge any public duty, the India International Centre (IIC) has pleaded before the Delhi High Court to dismiss a writ petition filed against it over the membership issue.

The "IIC is not a state within the meaning of Article 12 of the constitution. The present writ petition against it is not maintainable," the centre said in reply to a court notice.

The notice was issued in March,this year on a PIL seeking formulation of a transparent criterion for granting IIC membership.

Contending that filing a writ against a registered society was an abuse of the process of the court, the IIC said, "It is not a statutory body. It does not perform public function nor discharge a public or statutory duty."

"It cannot be reasonably said that functions and activities of the IIC are similar to or closely related to those performed by the state in its sovereign capacity," it said in the affidavit. On November 24 ,last year, a petition was filed by social worker Rajesh Mehta alleging the present selection process for membership was a closed-door affair akin to a state secret arbitrarily controlled by a few individuals. Denying the allegation, the affidavit said the board of trustees had denied membership to the petitioner purely due to limited availability of vacancies, infrastructure and facilities in the institution. — PTI

New Delhi, August 6
A court here has sentenced a man to rigorous imprisonment for three years for selling rare species of birds 15 years ago.

Additional chief metropolitan magistrate Alok Aggarwal held Mohsim Ali, 43, resident of the Jama Masjid area here, guilty under the Wildlife Protection Act ,1972 , and also slapped a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

Ali was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police near the Jama Masjid on September 17, 1992 while he was trying to sell the rare birds.

According to the prosecution, Ali had in his possession 25 rose-ringed parakeets, 73 munias and seven black-headed munias.

Four witnesses, including the complainant, wildlife inspector S S Negi, consistently deposed that Ali possessed the birds without valid authorisation.

"The essential ingredients of the offence have been proved beyond shadow of reasonable doubt. There is no reason to disbelieve the testimony of the complainant and witnesses who deposed in a natural, consistent, reliable and trustworthy manner," the judge said in his order. "Keeping in view the incriminating and mitigating circumstances and the mandate of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, I am of the firm opinion that the accused, Mohsim Ali, should be jailed for a minimum of three years for committing the said offence," the judge said. 

New Delhi, August 6
BJP Delhi Pradesh president Harsh Vardhan has asked the Delhi government to make the DERC a public-oriented organisation.

In a statement issued here today, he said that from the day the DERC was constituted, it had been favouring the private power companies.

It was expected of the commission to protect the interests of the people. It will control the private power companies and compel them to curb theft and reduce the power tariff. The commission, he said, failed to initiate a healthy competition between the three companies. This is the reason that there are apprehensions in the minds of the people regarding this commission.

Harsh Vardhan claimed that the DERC had not conducted an impartial enquiry into the annual revenue requirement(ARR) of the three private power companies.

It may be mentioned that the DERC has allowed the power companies to increase power tariff three times on the basis of this ARR. The commission has also decided to increase the power tariff for the fourth time, from December ,this year.

The NDPL has demanded from the commission that the consumers should be allowed to benefit from the money saved by it. In spite of this, the commission has made all the preparations to increase the power tariff. It proves that it was serving the interests of the power companies.

The BJP pradesh president alleged that the case of power consumers had never been heard in the DERC. Now,in order to mislead the consumers, the government is going to constitute the office of Electricity Consumers Advocate. The government claims that this organisation will plead the case of the consumers before the DERC.

Harsh Vardhan said that the government would fill this organisation with its own representatives who will not plead in favour of the common consumers.

He wondered at the justification of increasing power tariff again in December 2007,when all parties were claiming that power theft had been curbed. There was no logic in fixing separate power tariff for peak hours and off peak hours, he insisted.

New Delhi, August 6
The Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University recently held the inauguration of yet another new programme, an MA in English and Communication Studies. This programme falls under the university school of humanities and social sciences.

The first batch includes some 30 students. At the inaugural, Prof Aggarwal commented, "GGSIPU is an interdisciplinary varsity where we have tried to diffuse the boundaries between disciplines and encourage interaction between students and faculty of varied disciplines. This programme is an amalgamation of English literature and communication skills. I am sure it will be immensely useful for students."

This programme is designed to open employment opportunities in careers like media, advertising and public relations, publishing and editing, corporate and communication centers, the burgeoning BPO sector or even the teaching sector. The programme will also provide inputs on written and oral psychology, organisational behaviour, contemporary Indian cinema, language and discourse, legal communication and English literature. 

New Delhi, August 6
The Central Information Commission (CIC) has depreciated the suspension of the registrar of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) here by the institute's director for purportedly failing to pay a penalty under the RTI Act and directed that he be reinstated.

The direction came in response to a complaint by registrar Rajendra Singh, who challenged his suspension by director Surendra Prasad after he allegedly refused to pay a penalty of Rs 25,000 imposed on him under the Right to Information Act by the CIC on May 31. "From the way the director has acted in the matter, it appears to the commission that the director has used the RTI Act and the commission's order to settle personal scores with the registrar. The commission depreciates any such attempt," information commissioner O P Kejariwal said.

Asking Prasad to revoke the suspension, the CIC said it had only authorised and empowered him to recover the penalty from the salary of the registrar and public information officer.

The CIC also noted during the hearing that Prasad had already sent the penalty to it after recovering the same from Singh.

The commission also directed that its order be sent to the union human resource development ministry to take any administrative action it considered fit against Prasad. 

New Delhi, August 6
A three-day exhibition of century old lithographs and 400-year-old maps, is scheduled to begin here on Friday.

Conceptualised by People for Animals, an animal welfare organisation, the exhibition will be inaugurated by actress Bipasha Basu.

The exposition titled 'Vintage India' promises viewers a collection of some of the finest British lithographs of colonial India.

These lithographs enable viewers examine the artist's reflection of India.

Besides showcasing aquatints, etchings, wood cuts, cipper and steel engravings, the exhibition will display antique maps and chromolithographs of many well known artists of the period. Sourced from private collectors, the lithographs will be on sale at Hotel Inter Continental. Lithographs and old maps have been collector's items for many years. Found in antique shops, flea markets and antiquarian bookshops across Europe, they have been bought by Indians with an artistic taste and framed with as much care as original paintings. The works on display include a collection of lithographs by the famous uncle and nephew pair of Thomas and William Daniel, besides William Hodges, James Forbes, John Luard and Emily Eden. It also comprises artwork focussing on Tipu Sultan. Many royal families in India have large collections of Daniells, Emily Edens and all the important lithographers of the last two centuries.

Thomas Daniell and his 16-year-old nephew William came to Calcutta via China in 1786 to explore the sublime, the exotic and the picturesque. During the seven years spent sketching in India, they produced a large collection of working drawings that they later used for their aquatints and paintings.

Emily Eden (1797-1869), a gifted novelist and painter, was the sister of the first Earl of Auckland, Governor General of India (1836-42). Her depiction of the Sikhs is remarkable.

Sources in PFA, who have painstakingly put the exhibition together, said that the works of arts would be sold at half the current market price to enable amateur art investors and serious art connoisseurs.

Most lithographs were bound into books and have been carefully dismantled by antique sellers to sell individual prints. A very few are available in India as the artists published a limited number of prints and that too in their own country. A first edition of Emily Eden's lithographs go for as high as 30,000 pounds. The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata boasts of an entire section on William Daniells' aquatints.

Parul Dev Mukherjee, Professor of Art History at Jawaharlal Nehru University who has done lithography in Shantiniketan, says, "Interest in lithography is purely historical and aesthetic. It tells you about how the Europeans perceived India as an exotic land. When the English lithographers sold their prints in London, it fetched them a lot of fame and money."

Professor Mukherji said that the exhibition might generate interest in lithography, which is a fine art. "Lithography has lost its commercial appeal but it continues to be fine art and much in demand because of the antique value," she said.

Animal rights activist and founder chairperson of People for Animals Maneka Gandhi said that the exhibition would be extraordinary as it would place lithographs firmly at the centre of the art world.

The beginning of lithography in India is fascinating. In 1770, the British East India Company brought professional artists, most of whom were well known lithographers, to observe Indian life. Soldiers of the British Army who had the advantage of touring India drew their own impressions. Many of these soldiers were as good as professional artists and their works are now rated by collectors as equally valuable.

The subjects chosen by the lithographers were based on themes inspired by slices from the daily lives of Indians apart from customs, social hierarchy, concept of servantry and hunting. From 'Shikar' to the bungalow style, from garden parties to the Sepoy Mutiny and Afghan wars, from princes in their regalia to the man on the street, the British observed the Indian way of life in great detail in an attempt to map their Empire in India and generate interest back home in India.

New Delhi, August 6
Subhash Arya, Leader of House today informed that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was making elaborate arrangements for convenience of kanwarias at various places.

It will clean the entire route from Delhi border which is used by kanwarias day and night. Additional safai karamcharies are being deployed for this work. Sanitary inspectors will also inspect the cleanliness work. Besides, better sanitation will be maintained in and around the kanwaria camps. Dustbins are being provided at the camps and special arrangements have been made to lift the garbage.

New Delhi, August 6
Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS), an advanced pain management treatment, is here. It is designed to help patients suffering from neuropathic low-back pain.

Neuropathic low-back pain, often described as an intense burning or stabbing pain, can be caused by an injury to nerves or by an underlying disease or dysfunction.

Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) can be programmed to send mild electrical pulses to

low-back nerve fibers while minimizing unwanted stimulation. These independent

electrodes can also be programmed to provide stimulation to multiple areas for those patients who have pain in more than one area of the body.

"Low-back pain is one of the most difficult pain

patterns to treat," said Dr Sudheer Tyagi, consultant neurosurgeon, Apollo Hospital. "The development of these new paddle leads improves our ability to treat this area through targeted, sustainable stimulation therapy," said Dr Tyagi.

"This treatment option is new for Indian patients. SCS is a fully implantable and programmable system to treat patients who complain of pain after nerve damage, spinal trauma, failed spine surgeries, vascular diseases and various neurological pains. SCS with octrode lead offers wider pain coverage and more programming options to cover difficult pain regions. In India, it is available at 1/3rd of the cost available abroad, " said Dr G P Dureja, director, Delhi Pain Management Centre.

New Delhi, August 6
Having realised the commercial value of Gandhi memorabilia after the recent storm raised by a London auction house putting Mahatma's letter under hammer, a number of Gandhi items have found their way on Internet auction sites.

E-bay, an Internet auction site has hordes of Mahatma Gandhi memorabilia up on sale. Be it the postcard with Gandhi's pictures on it selling for minimum Rs 10 to leather watch with Gandhi's face embossed on the dial selling for a whooping Rs 2 lakh, a buyer can choose anything depending on his interest and his purchasing power.

Soon after Gandhi's assassination, Gandhi topi (cap) had become a craze for many Indians but lately, T shirts with Gandhi's picture printed on them to even coffee mugs with Gandhi's slogan has become popular.

So you have people selling everything from stamps to some really funny pictures of Gandhi's like him grinning while being escorted by two detectives in Folkestone are now receiving a number of queries from potential buyers. Even Rs 2 note bearing Gandhi's pictures is now being sold for 100 times and more than its original value. Gandhi memorabilia have now become popular. I had bought 3000 sets of 1969 Gandhi stamps which are no longer available in India. I have now sold most of them online, says Amit Chowdhury, Stampex, a Kolkata-based group selling old stamps on Internet.

The demand for Gandhi stamps come from a number of other countries too and not just India, he adds.

Chowdhury says that it is not just the stamps which are in demand online but also folders and articles related to Gandhi.

Up on sale is also a postcard with former US President Abraham Lincon and Mahatma Gandhi. Even the ordinary sheet of postal stamps with Gandhi's picture on them is selling for much higher than the market price. — PTI 

New Delhi, August 6
The South district police today claimed to have solved a murder case with the arrest of four persons - Niti Aggarwal, Nandlal, Radhey Shyam and Zile Singh.

According to the police, the deceased, Aditya Kumar Aggarwal, was killed by his wife Niti and her cook and two drivers.

Aditya went missing on July 29 after his driver, Shiv Shanker Dixit, dropped him at Kalkaji petrol pump.

During investigation, the police found out that Aditya Kumar had a history of marital discord with his wife Niti Aggarwal. He had also filed a divorce case in this regard. The couple, however, maintained telephonic communication with each other.

Call details of both the numbers were taken out and it was established that the last call Aditya attended on his phone was from Niti's number. She was also involved in the investigation of the case.

The police concluded that Niti had played a role in the murder of her husband Aditya. On interrogation, she allegedly confessed to have planned the murder of her husband in association with her cook Nandlal, drivers Radhey Shyam and Zile Singh.

According to the police, on July 28, there was a telephonic conversation between Niti Aggarwal and Aditya Aggarwal after which Aditya started from Pilibhit at early hours. On July 29, Aditya Aggarwal along with his driver Shiv Shanker Dixit reached Kalkaji Filling Station where after filling diesel in the Scorpio, Aditya asked his driver to stay back and look for his accommodation some where and that he would contact him on his mobile phone.

Aditya reportedly proceeded to Silver Oak Apartment, Gurgaon where Niti was waiting outside her apartment to receive him. As soon as Aditya and Niti entered the house, Niti asked Aditya to hug her and while hugging Aditya, she allegedly gave a signal to Nandlal, who was also present in the house. Nandlal came out of his hiding and gave a severe blow to Aditya with the rod on his head. Aditya fell on the ground after which Nandlal allegedly took out a nylon rope and strangulated the deceased with the help of Niti.

The police claimed that the dead body was then buried into a pit in Behror. The belongings of Aditya, along with the weapon of offence were burnt.

The police has recovered a rope, kassi and the dead body of Aditya. The Scorpio which was reportedly set ablaze in the jungles near Gwalior is to be recovered along with other case properties. A team had been dispatched along with the accused to recover them, the police said. 

New Delhi, August 6
The Delhi cabinet today approved Lifetime Achievement Award for Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar.

Briefing media after the meeting, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that Sahitya Kala Parishad would confer the Lifetime Achievement Award of Rs 11 lakh on Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar for his outstanding contribution in the field of classical music. The award will be presented in a function organised by the Sahitya Kala Parishad in New Delhi.

Ustad Fahimuddin Khan Dagar is one of the greatest living musicians of the country. He is a doyen of Dhrupad style of singing and the seniormost member of the Dagar family which has been dedicated to the cause of Dhrupad music for over 20 generations.

Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar was born in Alwar in 1927. He is the only living son of illustrious musician Padma Bhushan late Ustad Allabande Rahimmudin Khan Dagar.

Ustad Fahimuddin Khan Dagar has been honoured with various awards, prominent among them are Sangeet Natak Academy Award (1993-94), Sahitya Kala Parishad Award (1996), Indira Gandhi Fellowship (1997), Kali Das Award (2002) and Rajasthan Sangeet Natak Academy Award (2003).

Ustad Fahimuddin Khan Dagar is known not only for the power and spontaneity of his "alaap" but also for his rich repertoire of composition. It is the quality of music and his distinct style of singing which has captivated millions of listeners.