New Delhi, October 4
In five separate cases, six persons have been sent to the Tihar Jail for varied terms. BSES enforcement teams caught them stealing electricity in East and Central Delhi.

A special court granted bail to three of the six accused.Their bail amounts ranged between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1 lakh. On November 30, 2006, a BSES enforcement team, accompanied by the CISF and Delhi Police personnel, caught Ajay and Jaggan stealing over 14 KW of power. Ajay, the owner of the mid -sized jeans washing and dyeing unit, located at 4774, School Wali Gali, Seelampur, was charged with theft of electricity. Jaggan was charged with the abetting power theft, BSES spokesman said. Ajay and Jaggan used to bypass the BSES meter and tap into the service line. Subsequently, Ajay and his accomplice Jaggan were slapped with a power theft penalty bill of Rs 5.14 lakh. When the duo failed to deposit the penalty by the stipulated date, an FIR was lodged against them at the local police station. Ismail, a resident of Chauhan Bangar, was caught stealing 38 KW power.He was arrested and produced before a special court. He was granted bail only after paying Rs1 lakh as bail amount. The accused had earlier been caught stealing 38 KW of electricity for commercial purposes by a BSES enforcement team. He was directed to pay Rs 15 lakh.

Later, when the accused did not pay the penalty amount by the stipulated date, the BSES lodged an FIR at the local police station. But the accused went into hiding.

Only when the special court issued orders for attachment of Ismail’s property, he presented himself before the police. He was arrested and produced before the special court. In another case, Vijender, a resident of 30, Jiley Singh Gujjar Mohalla, Hohripur was earlier caught stealing electricity.

New Delhi, October 4
Private radio channel Red FM today got a breather from the Broadcast Tribunal Tdsat which stayed the ministry of information and broadcasting’s order to ban it after one of its presenters made an allegedly derogatory remark against the Gurkha community.

A Tdsat bench headed by justice Arun kumar observed that the ministry did not follow its own rule of giving 15-day prior notice in this case.

However, the bench also said if the ministry wants to take fresh action against the FM channel within the legal terms then it can go ahead

Tdsat directed the ministry to file a reply over the notice issued by it within 10 days and posted the matter for November 13 for next hearing.

The tribunal had on October 1 allowed the ministry to go ahead with the proceedings against the channel, but had stayed implementation of its direction. Any ministerial order was, however, subject to the outcome of the case in the tribunal.

Yesterday, the ministry decided to ban the private channel. — PTI

New Delhi, October 4
Astronaut Sunita Williams had a pleasant surprise waiting for her on the dining table in Rashtrapati Bhavan today as President Pratibha Patil ensured her favourite delicacy, samosa, be included in the menu.

“We have especially included samosa in the menu for you”, the President told the astronaut, who had carried samosa during her space odyssey.

During the 45-minute meeting, the President posed some searching questions to the 42-year-old astronaut on how she managed to take care of herself during the record 195 days stay in the space.

Patil was especially keen to know about other women astronauts working in the space programme, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman said.

They discussed about how the space exploration could benefit the mankind. Williams said scientists should work for space exploration programme for the good of the world.

Williams observed that children were the future of the world and they should be geared up to take responsibilities.

Williams, who had earlier met PM Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, said she was touched by the reception she has received. — PTI

New Delhi, October 4
Jamia Millia Islamia university recently announced the institution of a permanent Qurratulain Hyder Chair at the university.

Initially pegged to the university’s Department of Urdu, the professor-level chair shall rotate among the different departments of languages and humanities. Jamia had written to the ministry of human resource development in this regard immediately after the death of Hyder in August and received a prompt response.

The decision to initiate such a Chair in the name of the illustrious writer received unanimous approval both in the Academic Council and the Executive Council.

The Chair shall be funded under the XIth Plan Allocation, which is already under way from this financial year. In effect, Jamia can find a suitable candidate to occupy this Chair virtually with immediate effect.

Hyder (1927-2007) was earlier associated with Jamia as visiting professor under the Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Chair. Winner of the Padma Bhushan, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Jnanpith and numerous other awards and encomiums, Hyder was a prolific writer and social essayist. At the forthcoming convocation on October 30, 2007, the university has also decided to confer a posthumous degree of honoris causa on Hyder.

In honouring Qurratulain Hyder, Jamia is also paying homage to not just a great literary figure, a champion of women’s rights and a woman of remarkable convictions but also to one of the last living embodiments of our secular nationalist heritage and a vocal proponent of composite culture. Imbued by an all-consuming Nehruvian idealism, Qurratulain Hyder remained till the very end, a profound scholar and aesthete, and the high priestess of pluralist inheritance.

Ghaziabad, October 4
A Dalit youth was beaten to death late yesterday night in Asauda village under Hapur Dehat police station area by some people who said he was a thief.

A strong wave of anger was seen among the Dalit community which gave rise to tension in the area.The community is demanding the arrest of the accused killers.

The youth Babbloo, 22, was said to be involved in a love affair with a girl of the village and he was murdered by the relatives of the girl, it was alleged.

One Prem Kumar Tyagi, alias Bijjan Master, raised the alarm at 10 pm that there were some bandits at the terrace of his house, one of whom he had managed to catch.

The youth who had been beaten up mercilessly succumbed to his injuries a little later.

Hundreds of villagers then thronged Tyagi’s house.

They were told by Tyagi that two of the three thieves had slipped away while one had been caught and taught a lesson. The police were informed.

At 11.30 p.m. the “thief” was identified as Babbloo, son of Kalchand Jatav of Asauda village itself.

His relatives accused then Tyagi that he had called Babbloo from their house a little earlier when he was taking his meal.

They also alleged that two days ago, they had learnt that Tyagi was planning to get their son murdered.

Noida, October 4
An anti-encroachment squad of Noida Authority was attacked in Hoshiarpur village by hundreds of villages who pelted the police contingent with stones and even torched a gypsy of the Noida Authority. About half a dozen officials, including two cops, were injured in the stoning.

Some of those who had encroached on public land turned out to be Noida Authority’s own employees, who were later suspended from service.

Stone-throwing by villagers was very persistent and intense. To control the crowd, police had to resort to many rounds of firing in the air. The battle went on for over three hours.

The police arrested the Samajwadi Party’s city president for provoking and inciting people to violence. Noida Authority employee Uday Veer was suspended from his job for having encroached on the government land.

The Samajwadi leader was said to have taken these plots, including plot Nos. 6 to 17 in Sector 51 where some encroachment had been done. The plots had been allotted a few years ago but their possession was not handed over due to some encroachments, an official said.

The brickbatting was so intense that the Noida Authority squad and police had to beat a retreat. 

New Delhi, October 4
The Delhi Lt-Governor, Tejendra Khanna has exhorted the citizens of the Capital to contribute their mite for control of tuberculosis as well as welfare of TB patients by making generous contributions to the Delhi Tuberculosis Association.

The Lt-Governor made this appeal at the launch of 58th state level TB Seal Sale Campaign of the association at Raj Niwas here today. Secretary and commissioner, Industries, Narendra Kumar; director, Health Services, Dr Jillie Devi; secretary-general, TB Association of India, S.C. Goyal; honorary secretary, Delhi Tuberculosis Association, Dr S. M. Govil; and chairperson, INTACH and executive member, DTBA, O. P. Jain were also present.

The Lt-Governor said tuberculosis continues to be a major health challenge and ignorance about the fact that the disease is curable is also one reason for its higher incident.

New Delhi, October 4
The best of Japanese contemporary art in all its genres would be on display when the exhibition “Vanishing Points: Contemporary Japanese Art” opens at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Jaipur House from October 12.

The exhibition being put up by the NGMA in association with the Japan Foundation will be open for public viewing till November 11 and is being organised as part of the Indo-Japanese Friendship Year which is being celebrated this year.

Curated by Tadashi Kanai, associate professor, Shinshu University, the exhibition presents works in variety of media like paintings, sculptures, drawings, etchings, videos, installations and performances by ten Japanese artists: Noritoshi Hirakawa, Tomoaki Ishihara, Takehito Koganezawa, Mitsuko Miwa, Saburo Muraoka, Kyoko Murase, Yukio Nakagawa, Masanori Sukenari, Atsuko Tanaka and Keisuke Yamaguchi.

What is interesting in the exhibition is the fact that some of the artists stayed in India for some time and are putting up the works inspired and created in India. For instance, Hirakawa will be exhibiting a video installation made in association with author Rajkamal Jha.

The other feature of the exhibition is that the artists whose works are being put up at the exhibition are from different age groups varying from 79 years (Saburo Muraoka) to 33 years (Takehitu Koganezawa).

Prof. Rajeev Lochan, director NGMA says, “The participating artists differ from one another in age, trajectory of artistic career and style of works. However, they have a similar relation with the theme of the exhibition. They exhibit internationalism in their art while remaining rooted in the sensibilities of their country.”

The works of the various artists on display have a common visual language despite differences in style.

The impetus in all the works is to discover a meeting point with the stylistic without distorting the realities of the artists’ experiences and physical environments. For instance, Keisuke Yamamguchi creates works that are analogous to the plant world and hint at discovering life.

His work titled “The Heart of the Plant” presents a unified vision of the human heart with a flower’s life and importantly he would be making these installations during the period of the exhibition.

No figure of speech can truly fill in the blanks like Masanori Sukenari’s works that inhabit, fill and reconstruct space in their almost condensed monumental forms and shapes.

Artist Tomoaki Ishihara says, “I am simply trying to convey something that everyone is familiar with0—the point in a dream when your foot slips on a crack in space and you fall. The dream suddenly comes together with your heavy body at that moment. It is an instant in time when a non-material vision becomes flesh.”

Ishihara uses photographs to play up the dualistic cosmology comprising the foreground and its depth. In a similar fashion, Nakagawa Yukio incorporates photographs, antiques, calligraphy and ceramics in his works. His ceramics and glasswork are a revalidation of the sensibility of his nation and culture in an avant-garde fashion.

For Atsuko Tanaka, the creator of the “Electrical” dress, electronics and mechanics form the basis of her exploration of unknown dimensions. What makes Tanaka’s work notable among her contemporaries is her novelty in making her works living creatures.

On the other hand, Murase’s work is an isolated journey to discover herself. She sets her exploration in tune with nature, in a sensibility that is essentially feminine. Artist Mitsuko Miwa employs the concept of duality in his images. His works like Double Buffalo, Holy Supper and Religion and Nude move beyond the simple images of a linear reality to express the dual facets of everyday life.

Hirakawa makes digital installations to recreate Japanese landscapes through a brilliant interplay of colour and light.

Perhaps, the most cutting edge in this group of artists is Takehito Koganezawa who believes in preserving every interesting dream by sketching and making notes. He integrates latest technology, video and science in explaining the concept of nothingness.

In his “Stir of Universe series”, there is no room for despair as the neon signs and bold colours underscore the vitality of modern-day life albeit juxtaposed with the vastness of the night sky.

Last but not least is Saburo Muraoka, the seniormost artist in this group, who reinterprets the sensuality of the self through his art. Muraoka’s work’s thematic concern is to encompass invisible energies.

Hence, heat (i.e. body temperature) and even oxygen are used as material in his work. His movement from iron to other material essential to life introduces scope for ceaseless interpretations.

New Delhi, October 4
While residents in the Capital might be still waiting for more monsoon rain but India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said the southwest monsoon has already withdrawn from Delhi.

“Yes, the southwest monsoon withdrew from Delhi on October 2,” IMD director S.C. Bhan told IANS.

As per IMD data, Delhi received less than the average rainfall in 2007.

While the city gets over 645 mm of rainfall every year, it rained 613.9 mm between June 1 and September 30.

However, officials said the rainfall was normal.

“The rainfall was almost normal during the monsoon season this year, though it was just five per cent less than average,” Bhan added.

The amount of rain could have measured much less than 613.9 mm, had there been no heavy downpour on August 1 and August 2. Trains came to a halt and buses were stranded as roads got blocked due to the heavy rainfall (184 mm) on the first two days of August in the Capital.

Weathermen said the city would experience pleasant weather for sometime, before winter sets in.

“Enjoy pleasant atmosphere for sometime now. There might be some mist in the coming days but winter is yet to set in,” said another IMD official.

On Thursday, Delhi experienced a maximum temperature of 37.3 degrees Celsius (3 degrees above normal) and a minimum of 19.5 degrees Celsius (2 degrees below normal).

Ghaziabad, October 4
The popular farmer leader and national president of Bharatiya Kisan Union, Chaudhary Mahindra Singh Tikait, has been declared an absconder by a Bagpat court. Tikait is known to have absented himself from a number of past hearings in the court.

The court has also ordered SSP Muzzafarnagar that Mahindra Singh Tikait should be arrested and presented in the court at next hearing which was fixed for November 12, 2007.

It is recalled that Satbir Singh of village Daha was killed in a road accident on November 1, 1989 after which Mahindra Singh Tikait of BKU had reached the accident side and did not allow the police to remove Satbir’s body. He was alleged to have snatched the body from the then police station in-charge P.K. Sharma and even assaulted him. Subsequently, a case under IPC 147 and 353 was registered against Ch Mahinder Singh Tikait.

Tikait was also alleged to have incited and provoked villagers on the occasion. The case was being heard in a Bagpat court and for last many hearings Tikait has not presented himself in the court. 

New Delhi, October 4
With the arrest of Santosh Kumar, the south district police has solved the murder of Brijesh Kumar. He was arrested from Chattarpur. Santosh is the deceased’s cousin brother.

The residents complained of foul smell from a house in Malviya Nagar. A highly decomposed body of a male of around 22 years was found. A nylon rope was tied around his neck.

The owner of the house informed that he had rented the house to Santosh and Brijesh of Bihar. Santosh was missing with the ATM card, mobile phone and keys to the house.